Apparently, Congress isn’t just going to pass whatever economic stimulus ideas President-elect Obama requests. Already, there’s opposition brewing from both sides of the aisle. Republicans, in a sudden burst of fiscal responsibility, are worried about tacking on even more spending to what is projected to be a $1.2 trillion dollar deficit in 2009. Some Democrats [...]

And not only that, my sister’s boyfriend wrote the issue! He’s Zeb Wells and he’s mentioned further down in the following excerpt from USA Today: On Jan. 14, Marvel Comics is releasing a special issue of Amazing Spider-Man #583 with Obama depicted on the cover. Inside are five pages of the two teaming up and [...]

This is a pretty big reversal, but I can understand why the big banks are starting to figure out that helping people adjust their debt is preferable to foreclosure. From CNBC: Until now, banks have been ardently opposed to the proposal, which key Democratic lawmakers hope to attach to President-elect Obama’s economic stimulus legislation. The [...]

Presented in full by MSNBC… You can also read the text here.

Watch this… Spooky, but I totally want one. (h/t: TechCrunch)

You gotta love this!  The Blue State Cowboys, led by Matt Farmer, sing country-style about “pay to play” in the Windy City. For those who might want to adopt this in their band’s repertoire, I’ve posted the lyrics on my blog at: http://thepurplecenter.blogspot.com/2009/01/blue-state-cowboys-sing-pay-to-play-but.html

Thomas Geoghegan, a well-known liberal lawyer who is running for Congress in Illinois, had an op-ed piece in the The New York Times yesterday that raised a question I must admit I hadn’t known even was a question: are appointments by governors to fill Senate vacancies unconstitutional? The 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in [...]

I’ll have the video when it’s posted, but from what I’ve read below this is, once again, exactly in line with the type of pragmatic, common sense leadership Obama promised on the campaign trail. Here are a few key thoughts… Our problems are rooted in past mistakes, not our capacity for future greatness The true [...]

The Wall Street Journal explains why we shouldn’t put a “buy American steel provision” into the upcoming stimulus plan. 1) The domestic steel industry cannot supply all our needs (20-25% of our steel is imported). 2) American steel companies have become highly consolidated and, without international competition, would be able to raise prices and bilk [...]

A followup to Pew’s findings recently are the following numbers compiled by NBC: UNEMPLOYMENT RATE Then: 4.2% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2001) Now: 6.7% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2008) DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE Then: 10,587 (close of Friday, Jan. 19, 2001) Now: 9,015 (close of Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009) BUSH FAVORABILITY RATING Then: [...]

Durbin, Burris and Reid enjoy a chuckle together Wow, that was fast! One minute Harry Reid and Dick Durbin are vowing never to seat anyone appointed to the Senate by Hot Rod Blagojevich and turning the appointee away in the rain. The next, we’re all chums (“Rod who?”). After several days in which only attacks [...]

I did some digging and found the following interview Joe Wurzelbacher did with Shepherd Smith on Fox News back in October. Among the highlights… When asked if he knows anything about Obama’s positions on Israel, Wurzelbacher doesn’t have an answer. Instead he tries to hide behind some lame excuse about people going out and finding [...]

“Michael has everything that the GOP desperately needs right now: the ability to communicate our message from a fresh point of view, an appreciation of how we can use technology to build the party, and the ability to reach out to new voters. Democrats are not the only people calling for change. These are our [...]

Pajamas TV just got more awesome! Because now they’re sending somebody into the field who agreed that “a vote for Obama is a vote for the death of Israel.” Here’s the announcement… Honestly, I think they’re using this guy as a stunt, but if he’s willing to be used that’s his cross to bear. By [...]

Remember all those deep dish analyses a few months ago wondering whether we’d ever be able to make fun of a president again in a Barack Obama world? Would Jon Stewart or Jimmy Kimmel really step up in the face of all that public adoration and inspiration? Well, how fast the curtain goes up on [...]

Did tax havens help enable the financial mess? This is Lagan from ANP The financial crisis seems as if it emerged from nowhere and struck as hard and fast as lightning. How did so many financial institutions crumble with so little warning? There are many reasons, but one that has not been given much attention [...]

Will this day ever come? Discuss.

Over the last week, some Americans and many others around the world have grown increasingly irritated with Barack Obama’s silence on the conflict in Gaza. Yesterday Obama at least acknowledged he is engaged with the issue. Is that enough? Knowing Obama’s plans for resolving the conflict would be useful to many. But he is smart [...]

Yesterday they cut off their natural gas supply to the Ukraine. Completely. That also means the supply to numerous European countries has been severely diminished. From AP: The Russia-Ukraine natural gas dispute hit Europe with the force of a winter storm Tuesday, cutting or limiting supplies to nearly a dozen nations. Tens of thousands of [...]

Why? Because it looks like she’d be embarrassed by the Republican incumbent. From KTUU: Pollster Dave Dittman just finished a statewide survey on a possible Palin-versus-Murkowski matchup – and Murkowski beats Palin, at least in this poll, hands down. Murkowski garnered 57 percent to Palin’s 33 percent; 9 percent said they were not sure. And [...]