The Paper Trail

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Happy Birthday, Senator. Which one of your SEVEN felonies is your favorite?

Alaskan Senator Republican Ted Stevens has lost his re-election bid for what would have been his seventh term. Anchorage Mayor Mark Belgich, a democrat and not a convicted felon, won the Senate seat.

Stevens said that he will not ask President Bush for a pardon and that he wouldn’t wish his current state on his worst enemy.

Today is also Stevens’ 85th birthday and the voters of Alaska have given him quite the gift! This also means that democrats now hold 58 Senate seats and with Minnesota still up in the air, the democrats’ political currency and power grows stronger by the day. Democratic leaders today also announced that Joe Lieberman will be allowed to remain committee chair, essentially forgiving him for his support of McCain during the presidential campaign.

Do you think President-elect Obama will have the support necessary to pass and institute the policies he promised to?

Let me just preface this by saying that I am not currently in my parents basement nor am I wearing pajamas(watch the video to make sense of that proclamation).

According to the consistently brilliant Sarah Palin, who went on a “mainstream media” blitz this week, bloggers are not real journalists and just sit at home making things up (kinda like the McCain-Palin campaign, no?)

Per usual, Rachel Maddow responded to Palin’s claims in her signature way, i.e. it was very witty, so I’ve decided to share with you the video below.

It’s nice to see a “mainstream media” suit-wearing journalist stand in solidarity with the pajama loving bloggers.

This brings me to a bigger question, after the onslaught of interviews with Sarah Palin this week, it seems we’ve gotten the answer to the question of whether or not she was going to go quietly into the Alaskan night. It’s a very resounding no, and a very convincing bid for “Palin 2012.”

Let me first say that I hope anyone affected by the fires directly or indirectly is safe tonight and my thoughts are with you. The fire season this year has been very destructive and I can only hope that the fires will be contained soon.

Bob Chamberlin, LA Times

Even with the turmoil the fires have caused, the scheduled nationwide “No on Prop. 8″ protests carried on. In Los Angeles, thousands rallied to protest the ban on gay marriage. The LA Times has a great story on the protests, make sure to check it out. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-prop816-2008nov16,0,1684268.story

Did any of you happen to go to any of the protests? If so, share your experiences.

It has been interesting to see the fierce debate Prop. 8 has ignited and what it says about our society. What is often lost in all of the discussion is the very basic recognition that people are being denied a fundamental right to marry the people they love. This is most definitely a civil rights issue. I just hope to see this ban overturned soon.

Last week, Daily Sundial reporter Andrew Fingerett wrote a wonderful op-ed piece on this topic. For those of you who might have missed it, http://sundial.csun.edu/since_when_did_civil_rights_become_a_legal_issue

I know we’ve all been very emotionally involved in the presidential election and that some of us are still floating along on the lingering up-currents of hope and political change, but we cannot allow this elation to distract us from other important issues. For example, the economy. Remember the big uproar about a $700 billion bailout plan? Yeah, that TARP thing. Well, it looks as thoughTreasury Secretary Henry Paulson has decided that his initial plan to buy up troubled mortgage assets will not work and that instead the Treasury will focus on looking into ways to stabilize credit-card, auto-loan and other nonbank businesses. This change in tactics has not been well recieved. What do you make of this choice?

Visit these sites to see just how much turmoil this move has caused:

• Wall Street Journal 1
• Wall Street Journal 2
• The Associated Press

Sucks to be you buddy...

               Your new corner office? Eh, maybe not…

We are living in tough economic times. Some say it’s a recession. Others call it a depression. Either way, the newly released unemployment numbers paint an increasingly bleak picture.

There is hope, however. And none other then President-elect Obama is hiring. So while Secretary of State or Defense might be out of your league, there are other options.

The Obama transition team have set up a website with information about the new administration. There is a news room and blog, but more importantly there is a special section for job applications!

http://change.gov/ Check out the website, apply and make sure to list the Paper Trail as a reference.

And for those of you keeping track, 68 days left until the inauguration. The times, they are a changin’.

Last night Rachel Maddow discussed President-elect Obama’s most recent choices for his cabinet and attempted to dispel some of the worries/criticisms about Obama’s first term being spent in pursuit of more “Clintonian” politics than the politics of change.

Just for the record Obama has appointed:

• Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., as chief of staff (veteran of the Clinton administration/policy adviser)
• David Axelrod, Obama’s chief campaign strategist, may become a White House senior advisor
• Robert Gibbs, one of Obama’s top aides, for the position of White House press secretary
• John Podesta, former Bill Clinton Chief of Staff has been chosen to oversee Obama’s transition into the White House

Take a look:

Obama has 74 days to hand-pick a Cabinet and advisers to help him begin implementing his political agenda. While this is already enough of a challenge, it is made more difficult by Obama’s interest in carrying out his promise to change the culture of Washington.

• Is this a realisitc promise?
• Can it be done?
• Do Americans have an inflated idea of who Barack Obama is and what he is capable of?
• How much change can be expected and how soon?
• What kind of change is most important to the American people?
• What change comes first?
• What do you think?

Chickens and farm animals will receive more humane living conditions in California but civil rights has suffered a significant a blow with the passing of Proposition 8.

To voice their disagreement and disappointment of its passage, nearly 5,000 people congregated in West Hollywood this evening to demonstrate against the proposition. 

Barbara Davidson, LA Times

Did you attend the rally or do you know someone who did? Tell us about it!

The San Francisco Gate published an article related to Prop. 8 saying that the issue of Same-sex Marriage is heading back to the Supreme Court. Read the article here…

11/6/08 Update:
Several individuals were arrested at last night’s Prop 8 Rally in West Hollywood when a group of demonstrators broke away from the main crowd. Read more at the LA Times and the Daily News.

11/7/08 Update:
Daily Sundial Reporter Paula Munoz has created a wonderful visual/audio slide show of the West Hollywood protest on Wednesday. Take a look…

I was still bathing in the afterglow of last night’s Democratic victory when I woke up this morning to see the California proposition voting results. I will let them speak for themselves.

According to  the LA Times the votes turned out as follows (Click on the Props to see more info.):

• 1A: High-speed rail Yes 52.2% No 47.8%
• 2: Farm animals Yes 63.2% No 36.8%
• 3: Children’s hospitals Yes 54.7% No 45.3%
• 4: Abortion notification Yes 47.6% No 52.4% (Too close!)
  
• 5: Drug offenses Yes 40.2% No 59.8%
• 6: Criminal justice Yes 30.5% No 69.5%
• 7: Renewable energy Yes 35.1% No 64.9%
• 8: Gay marriage ban Yes 52.0% No 48.0% (Huh!?)
  
• 9: Victims’ rights Yes 53.2% No 46.8%
• 10: Alternative fuels Yes 40.1% No 59.9%
• 11: Redistricting Yes 50.5% No 49.5%
• 12: Loans for veterans Yes 63.4% No 36.6%

What do you make of the outcomes? Share your thoughts…

Here is the full length video of President-Elect Barack Obama’s victory speech. Watch, smile, cry…witness change.