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What Change!!!!

Russia has thrown down a new gauntlet to Barack Obama

In announcement that it will sharply increase production of strategic nuclear missiles

The latest of a series of combative moves by the Kremlin, a senior government official in Moscow said the Russian military would commission 70 strategic missiles over the next three years, as part of a massive rearmament programme which will also include short-range missiles, 300 tanks, 14 warships and 50 planes.

Military experts said the planned new arsenal was presumed to consist of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) rather than submarine-launched missiles. If this is the case, the plans represent a fourfold increase in the rate of ICBM deployment. The arsenal will include a new-generation, multiple-warhead ICBM called the RS-24. It was first test-fired in 2007, with first deputy prime minister Sergei Ivanov boasting it was "capable of overcoming any existing or future missile defence systems".

The new missiles will be part of a £95bn defence procurement package for 2009-2011, a 28% increase in arms spending, according to Vladislav Putilin of the cabinet's military-industrial commission. There will be further increases in spending in the following two years.

The new military procurements follow the war in Georgia in August. Russian forces easily routed Georgian troops, but the conflict exposed weaknesses in the Russian army, including outdated equipment and poorly co-ordinated command structures. The defence ministry said it would carry out drastic reforms, turning the army into a more modern force.

Vladimir Putin on Monday urged cabinet officials to quickly allocate funds for new weapons and closely control the quality and pace of their production. Military experts said the construction of 70 long-range nuclear missiles in the next three years represented a Russian attempt to strengthen its bargaining position with Washington, in talks aimed at agreeing new nuclear weapons cuts when the current treaty in force, Start I, expires next December.

Moscow's strategy appears to be to challenge Obama's new administration as soon as it takes office on 20 January. On the day Obama was elected the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, announced plans to station short-range Iskander missiles in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave as a counter to American installation of its missile defence system in eastern Europe.

Ruben Sergeev, an expert on disarmament issues, said Moscow was afraid of falling behind in a new arms race.

"Russia is decommissioning its old liquid-fuel missiles from the Soviet era at a rate of several dozen every year," he said. "The Kremlin knows that if it doesn't increase production of ICBMs rapidly now then it will have no chance of getting a new arms reduction treaty out of the US, which has much greater quantities of missiles." Negotiations on a successor to Start I have been bogged down in detail, and hamstrung by the Bush administration's lame duck status.

The chief US negotiator, John Rood, said last week that the latest sticking point was Russian insistence that the new treaty cover long-range delivery systems, such as bombers and missiles, intended for conventional arms as well as nuclear warheads. The US wants the treaty to focus solely on nuclear warheads.

Moscow has also signalled that it would supply Tehran with new surface-to-air missiles in defiance of US opposition. Washington has asked for more information on the sales, fearing the weapons being sold include long-range S-300 missiles, which have a 120km (75 mile) range. They could threaten US planes in Iraq, and could also protect Iranian nuclear sites from aerial attack.

The US has set aside its own plans for military action against Iran for now, but US officials hoped that fear of an Israeli strike would make Iran more amenable to suspending its enrichment of uranium.

Arms treaties
Start I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, July 1991, limited US and Soviet Union to long-range nuclear arsenals of 6,000 warheads on 1,600 delivery systems. Expires 5 December 2009.

INF Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty 1987 banned missiles such as the US Cruise with range of 3,500 miles.

Start II Signed 1993, supposed to ban multiple warheads on long-range missiles. Russian Duma delayed ratifying and it never came into force.

Start III Negotiated in 1997 to reduce nuclear stockpiles to 2,000-2,500 warheads, but fell apart over the US missile defence system. Talks resumed in 2007.

Sort Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, or 2002 Moscow Treaty, cuts US and Russian arsenals to 1,700-2,200 operationally deployed warheads each. No verification procedures.

President-elect team Barack Obama says his own investigation shows no wrong doing by his own team

Washington(AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama and two of his top aides met last week with federal investigators building a corruption case against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, accused of trying to swap Obama's Senate seat for cash or a lucrative job.

The interviews with Obama, along with incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and adviser Valerie Jarrett, were disclosed Tuesday in an internal report produced for Obama on contacts with Blagojevich. The report supported Obama's insistence last week that there had been no inappropriate contact with the governor's office by Obama or his staff.

Obama delayed releasing his report until U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's staff had completed the interviews with Obama and his two top aides, incoming White House attorney Greg Craig said in the review he wrote for Obama.

Obama, who was accompanied by lawyer Robert Bauer in the interview, had no contact with the governor or his aides, the report states. Prosecutors have said Obama is not implicated in the case.

"We are satisfied there was nothing inappropriate that took place here, either in terms of conversations or communications or contacts, between transition officials and the governor's office," Craig said after releasing the report.

Emanuel was the only Obama transition team member who discussed the Senate appointment with Blagojevich, and those conversations were "totally appropriate and acceptable," Craig said Tuesday. No one on Obama's transition team discussed any deals or had any knowledge of deals, Craig's report said.

Sources have said Emanuel is not a target in the case. Jarrett also is not a target of the federal investigation, a transition official said. Both were accompanied by lawyers for their interviews with the prosecutor's staff, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

Craig's report identified close Obama friend Eric Whitaker as someone approached by one of Blagojevich's top aides to learn "who, if anyone, had the authority to speak for the president-elect" about the Senate appointment.

The report states that Obama told Whitaker that "no one was authorized to speak for him" and that "he had no interest in dictating the result of the selection process."

Blagojevich was charged on Dec. 9 with plotting to use his governor's authority to appoint Obama's Senate replacement and make state appointments and contracts in exchange for cash and other favors. He has denied any criminal wrongdoing and has resisted multiple calls for his resignation, including one from Obama.

Blagojevich attorney Edward M. Genson, who has said allegations that the governor was trying to sell or trade the Senate seat are built on nothing but talk, said Obama's report proves his point.

"I've said from the beginning that there was nothing inappropriate, and this just corroborates what I've said," Genson said.

Prosecutors have accused Blagojevich of scheming with aides and advisers to reap some personal benefit in the Senate appointment, starting days before Obama's Nov. 4 election through Dec. 5. Their conversations are characterized and quoted in the criminal complaint, including discussions about swapping the appointment if Obama provided a Cabinet post, an ambassadorship and help raising millions for a private foundation that Blagojevich could tap for personal use.

But Obama's report says none of Blagojevich's aides reached out to the president-elect's staff. Only the contact with Whitaker is noted in the report.

Emanuel's contacts with the governor and his staff are identified in Obama's report.

During Emanuel's interview Saturday with federal authorities, he listened to a taped recording of at least one conversation he had with Blagojevich's office, according to a transition official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss information not included in the report.

Craig's report states that Emanuel had "one or two telephone calls" with Blagojevich and four conversations with John Harris, the governor's chief of staff who later resigned after being charged in the federal case. Craig told reporters Emanuel said he couldn't be sure it was only one call.

Harris' lawyer, James Sotos, declined to comment Tuesday.

Emanuel left for a long-planned family vacation in Africa on Tuesday and was not available for comment.

The report was released in Washington while Obama was vacationing in Hawaii. The president-elect did not make himself available for questions.

The report said Obama authorized Emanuel to pass on the names of four people he considered to be highly qualified to take over his seat - Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, Illinois Veterans' Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth, Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

Obama later offered other names of what he thought were qualified candidates, including Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Chicago Urban League Director Cheryle Jackson, the report said.

"Mr. Harris did not make any effort to extract a personal benefit for the governor in any of these conversations," the report said. There was no discussion of a Cabinet position, creation of a nonprofit foundation for Blagojevich, a private sector position or of any other personal benefit for the governor, according to the report.

The report said that earlier, Emanuel recommended Jarrett for the Senate seat without Obama's knowledge, and Jarrett later accepted a job as a senior White House adviser.

Obama's report states Jarrett did not have any contact with the governor or his staff about the appointment, and had no sense Blagojevich was seeking something in exchange. But she discussed the appointment with Tom Balanoff, the head of the Illinois chapter of the Service Employees International Union, the report states.

SEIU officials are referenced, but not named, in an FBI affidavit filed with the federal complaint against Blagojevich. Blagojevich is quoted as discussing some of his schemes with a union official.

Balanoff, believed to be one of the unnamed parties referenced in the affidavit, told Jarrett that he spoke to the governor about her possible appointment to the Senate, the Obama report says. In that conversation, Balanoff also told Jarrett that the governor "raised with him the question" of being appointed Obama's health and human services secretary.

Balanoff said he told Blagojevich that wouldn't happen, and Jarrett agreed, the report states.

There was no suggestion to Jarrett that the Senate appointment was linked to the Cabinet post, the report states.

Blagojevich mentioned in a Nov. 5 conversation with an aide taped by the FBI that he would take the HHS job or "various ambassadorships" in exchange for appointing Obama's choice, according the affidavit. The affidavit states he discussed again days later with an unnamed SEIU official, believed to be Balanoff.

The governor told advisers in a Nov. 10 discussion that "it was unlikely" Obama would give him the HHS appointment or an ambassadorship, and he discussed other favors he could seek, according to the complaint.

Obama's report also addresses confusion over earlier statements by David Axelrod, a top adviser who had said at one point that Obama discussed the Senate appointment with Blagojevich. Axelrod had discussed potential recommendations for the Senate appointment with Obama and Emanuel, and "was under the impression" that Obama would offer those to Blagojevich.

"He later learned that it was Mr. Emanuel who conveyed those names," the report states.

Craig revealed his findings in a memo to Obama. The memo was dated Tuesday, but a transition official said an initial copy was given to Obama on Dec. 15. On that day, Obama announced that the report was ready but that he was withholding it from the public for a week at the request of prosecutors still conducting their investigation.

The report is based on the Obama team investigating itself, and was conducted by interviewing staff and taking their answers about any contacts at their word. Gibbs said this was consistent with the charge given to Craig by the president-elect.

A transition official said Craig doesn't have the legal power to more thoroughly investigate and try to corroborate the accounts The official spoke on condition of anonymity to more freely discuss the thinking behind the inquiry.

---

Associated Press writers Jennifer Loven and Ben Feller in Washington, and Mike Robinson in Chicago, contributed to this report.

Obama's change message may Ground NASA's Next Moon Mission?

Getting into a shouting match with the HR rep is not exactly the best way to land a job. But according to the Orlando Sentinel, that's just what happened last week between NASA administrator Mike Griffin and Lori Garver, a member of Barack Obama's transition team who will help decide if Griffin keeps his post once the President-elect takes office. If the contretemps did occur, it could help doom not only the NASA chief's chances, but the space agency's ambitious plans to get Americans back to the moon.

The mere fact that the story is making the rounds reflects the very real friction between NASA and the transition team — which has sparked a groundswell of support among space agency employees to keep the boss. Within NASA, there is a real concern that while the Obama campaign rode the call for change to a thumping victory in November, change is precisely what the space agency does not need. (See photos of different countries' space programs here.)

The stagnant NASA of the past 20 years has been poised to become a very new NASA — thanks, in many respects, to the outgoing Bush Administration. In 2004, the President announced a new push to return astronauts to the moon and eventually get them to Mars. Many skeptics saw the hand of political whiz Karl Rove in that, suspecting that the whole idea was just a bag of election year goodies for space-happy states like Florida and Texas, as well as for voters nostalgic for the glory days of Apollo. But Bush, NASA and Congress did mean business, and eventually came up with a plan under which the space station would be completed and the shuttle would be retired by 2010. That would free up about $4 billion per year, which would be used to pay for a new generation of expendable boosters as well as a 21st century version of the Apollo orbiter and lunar lander for those rockets to carry. (Read about the space moon race here.)

"At the time, the shuttle had flown 290 people, and out of those 14 were dead — nearly one in 20," says Scott Horowitz, a four-time shuttle veteran who designed the Ares 1, one of the new boosters. "We needed something that was an order of magnitude safer."

NASA has moved with uncharacteristic nimbleness in the last five years and is already cutting metal on the new machines in the hope of having crews in Earth orbit by 2015 and on the moon by 2020. Schedules have slipped some — the original plan was to launch the orbital missions in 2014 — and costs have swollen, though so far not dramatically. (See the Top 50 space moments since Sputnik.)

"We've been moving in the right direction since the Columbia accident [in 2003]," says Chris Shank, NASA's chief of strategic communications. "The concern is that we'll lose that." Lately, that concern appears well-placed.

The Obama team picked Garver to run the NASA transition, in part because of her deep pedigree and long history at the space agency, which saw her climb to the rank of associate administrator. But Garver started as a PAO — NASA-speak for a public affairs officer — and never got involved in the nuts and bolts of building rockets. She is best known by most people as the person who in 2002 competed with boy-band singer Lance Bass for the chance to fly to the International Space Station aboard a Russian rocket. Neither of them ever left the ground.

Garver's lack of engineering cred is especially surprising in light of the eggheads with whom Obama has been surrounding himself — most recently, Nobel prize winning physicist Steven Chu, who has reportedly been tapped to be Secretary of Energy. Garver is also not thought to be much of a fan of Griffin — who is an engineer — nor to be sold on the plans for the new moon program. What she and others are said to be considering is to scrap the plans for the Ares 1 — which is designed exclusively to carry humans — and replace it with Atlas V and Delta IV boosters, which are currently used to launch satellites but could be redesigned, or "requalified," for humans. Griffin hates that idea, and firmly believes the Atlas and Delta are unsafe for people. One well-placed NASA source who asked not to be named reports that as much as Griffin wants to keep his job, he'll walk away from it if he's made to put his astronauts on top of those rockets.

NASA is right to be uneasy about just what Obama has planned for the agency since his position on space travel shifted — a lot — during the campaign. A year before the election he touted an $18 billion education program and explicitly targeted the new moon program as one he'd cut to pay for it. In January of 2008, he lined up much closer to the Bush moon plan — perhaps because Republicans were already on board and earning swing-state support as a result. Three months before the election, Obama fully endorsed the 2020 target for putting people on the moon. But that was a candidate talking and now he's president-elect, and his choice of Garver as his transition adviser may say more than his past campaign rhetoric.

The dust-up between Griffin and Garver is said to have occurred last week at a book launch party in Washington when, according to the Sentinel, a red-faced Griffin told Garver she was "not qualified" to make engineering decisions. Horowitz, who was not at the party but knows the NASA boss well, says he doubts that Griffin raised his voice.

"I think that's bulls---," he says. "I believe that anything he was asked he was very honest in answering because he's a systems engineer. And Lori Garver is not equipped to make technical judgments on the architecture of a space exploration system." The unnamed NASA source concedes that Griffin can be brutally honest and occasionally tactless, but insists that his shouting is simply improbable. The Obama transition office did not return an e-mail seeking comment from Garver.

For now, says the NASA source, both present and former astronauts as well as some NASA contractors are quietly — and sometimes not so quietly — lobbying for Griffin to stay. But the incoming administration is not saying anything so far. It was President John F. Kennedy who famously committed Americans to reaching the moon. Now it is Obama — who so often invokes the themes and style of JFK — who may decide if we go back.

By Jeffrey Kluger time

Obama future Pardons list already started

Barack Obama’s promise on Guantanamo Bay prison camp

(Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama’s promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for suspected terrorists will force the new president to decide what to do with inmates who can’t be tried for war crimes yet are deemed too dangerous to be released.

About 250 detainees remain at the prison camp opened on a U.S. Navy base in Cuba after the Sept. 11 attacks. More than 520 others have been repatriated or sent to another country. Obama said Nov. 16 on CBS he will close the prison as part of an effort, including a ban on torture during interrogations, “to regain America’s moral stature in the world.”

Logistically, Obama may be able to “close Guantanamo pretty quickly” once he finds facilities on the mainland to house the prisoners, said Matthew Waxman, a former Defense Department official who teaches law at Columbia University. “The bigger issue is on what legal basis are you going to hold them?”

More than 100 inmates can’t be put on trial because of a lack of evidence and the Bush administration considers them too dangerous to release. Legal experts suggest several options, such as keeping them under the Bush administration designation of “unlawful enemy combatant,” labeling them prisoners of war or asking Congress to create a new type of preventive or administrative detention.

Obama has called for trying detainees in civilian or regular military courts instead of the military war-crimes tribunal created in 2006. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of al-Qaeda’s Sept. 11 attacks, and four co-defendants are scheduled to appear before a tribunal next week, possibly their last hearing if Obama quickly abolishes or replaces the war-crimes courts.

Defense Secretary

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who will remain in Obama’s administration, said at a news conference yesterday that closing Guantanamo should be a “high priority” and that new legislation will be needed to keep released detainees from seeking asylum in the U.S. In May, Gates said the U.S. was “stuck” with Guantanamo because some inmates couldn’t be charged or released.

Adjusting the legal status of the Guantanamo detainees means “you are not just going to close the base and give everyone an airline ticket,” said Senator Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who has supported expanding due-process rights of Guantanamo inmates.

Closing Guantanamo won’t “happen as quickly as people would like. It’s such a Gordian knot,” said Democratic Representative Adam Schiff of California, a former prosecutor who has pushed for changes in detainee policy.

Obama’s first step should be to announce a plan to close Guantanamo, then review all detainee files to determine which ones can be prosecuted, said Jennifer Daskal, counterterrorism counsel for Human Rights Watch.

Coerced Evidence

That will depend on whether the evidence meets the higher standards of proof required in those courts, including a ban on evidence obtained by coercion, experts say.

Such legal determinations may complicate the prosecution of such “high value” detainees as Mohammed, who has alleged during courtroom appearances that he was tortured in CIA custody.

The CIA said he was one of three inmates subjected to waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning. If his statements on the Sept. 11 attacks are barred from use in court, Mohammed still could be taken to trial on 1996 criminal charges of conspiring to blow up U.S. airliners en route to the Far East.

In addition to the Sept. 11 defendants, 12 other people await trials before the military tribunals. The Pentagon is preparing to bring war-crimes charges against as many as 80 detainees altogether.

The new administration then should “move quickly to repatriate or resettle others,” Daskal said.

Resettlement

Resettlement won’t be easy. The Pentagon has determined that at least 60 Guantanamo detainees are releasable if the U.S. can persuade other countries to accept them.

In the last seven months, almost 20 have been released. The latest is Salim Hamdan, a former bodyguard and driver for al- Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Hamdan, convicted of providing material support for terrorism, was sent from Guantanamo to Yemen in November to serve the final month of his 5 1/2-year sentence.

More than 100 inmates are classified as not releasable because they can’t be put on trial and they also pose a threat to national security.

“There are some real concerns” these detainees “will join the fight against us” or will be tortured if returned to their homeland, Schiff said.

“Clearly some are more of a threat than others” and the Obama administration may have a different view on whether releasing a particular detainee would endanger U.S. security, said Anthony Clark Arend, a government and foreign service professor at Georgetown University.

Enemy Combatants

The new administration may decide to continue to hold this group as enemy combatants subject to periodic administrative review, though Obama criticized the procedure in 2006.

Federal judges in Washington are considering about 200 Guantanamo inmates’ challenges to their detention, and the Supreme Court has signaled there may be a limit on indefinite detention. One judge last month ordered the release of five inmates on grounds the government didn’t prove they were enemy combatants.

Obama could also ask Congress to create a new legal status called preventive or administrative detention. Waxman said that would be “politically controversial” and trigger a debate about “the dangers to our legal system and legal principles that flow from institutionalizing a system of detention without trial.”

Alternatively, the Obama administration could declare these detainees to be prisoners of war, which would remove them from the jurisdiction of federal courts.

Geneva Conventions

Under the Geneva Conventions, prisoners of war must be released once hostilities end. President George W. Bush declared that al-Qaeda terrorists weren’t traditional POWs -- soldiers who could be relied upon not to attack the U.S. once their country ceases the hostilities of war.

“The real challenge when you are dealing with non-state actors and terrorists in a so-called war on terror” is that they “want to continue to challenge you,” Arend said.

For inmates awaiting trials before the military tribunals, a fresh review of their cases by new political leadership at the Pentagon may enable some to be tried in federal courts or under military court-martial, said Schiff, a former prosecutor.

The Obama administration “may well face extremely difficult, shattering choices” of dropping some cases because the evidence doesn’t meet higher standards of proof, said Eugene Fidell, who teaches military law at Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, and is president of the National Institute of Military Justice.

The new administration “may have to allow one or two people to escape justice in order to accomplish a larger goal” of restoring confidence in U.S. rule of law, Fidell said.

Dodd acknowledged the difficulties the new administration faces in closing the prison camp. Still, he said, “the most important point is closing the place” because “that message is the one that is going to resonate.”

Obama picks Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary

CHICAGO (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama named New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary on Wednesday, placing a second former campaign rival in his new Cabinet.

Obama called Richardson a leading "economic diplomat for America. During his time in state government and Congress, and in two tours of duty in the Cabinet, Bill has seen from just about every angle what makes our economy work and what keeps it from working better."

Richardson, 61, was United Nations ambassador and energy secretary during the Clinton administration, and he is in his second term as New Mexico's governor. He also served seven terms in the House of Representatives.

One of the nation's most prominent Hispanic politicians, Richardson pledged - in English and Spanish - to work to renew the economy.

If confirmed by the Senate, will become the latest former Democratic primary opponent to join Obama's Cabinet. The incoming chief executive has chosen another adversary-turned-ally, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to be his secretary of state. Obama also chose former rival Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate.

Obama is considering another Hispanic politician, California Democratic Rep. Xavier Becerra, to be U.S. Trade Representative, according to two Democratic officials speaking on a condition of anonymity ahead of an announcement for the position.

New Mexico's Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, a Democrat will become the state's first female governor when Richardson leaves to assume his new post. Denish will take over for the remainder of Richardson's term, which runs through 2010.

In neighboring Arizona, the ascension of a Democratic governor will put the state in the hands of a Republican governor.

Under Arizona state law, the move of Gov. Janet Napolitano to secretary of Homeland Security will mean a Republican, Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer, will assume the reins there.

The president-elect has moved quickly to fill out his Cabinet, having named more than half of it in the month since he was elected the country's 44th president.

An energy secretary and United Nations ambassador in President Bill Clinton's administration, Richardson was a contender for the State Department job, but Obama offered him the post as commerce secretary after choosing the former first lady as his top diplomat.

Richardson sought the Democratic presidential nomination this year but eventually dropped out and endorsed Obama.

On Monday, Obama announced his foreign and national security team, led by Clinton and current Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a Republican. A week ago, Obama named his economic team, led by Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary. In the coming weeks if not days, he plans to announce former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as health and human services secretary.

The upper echelon on his Cabinet now is in place.

Among those posts yet to be disclosed if not chosen: the heads of the Interior, Transportation, Labor, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs departments. Obama also has yet to name his intelligence team, including his director of national intelligence and CIA chief.

President Elect obama’s ho-pocrisy: when it comes to his music.

Obama recently told Rolling Stone magazine that Jay-Z and Ludacris are "great talents and great businessmen".The President Elect listens to Ludacris and other rapers while working out.

"It would be nice if I could have my daughters listen to their music without me worrying they were getting bad images of themselves," the candidate said.

LUDACRIS LYRICS

“Ho”

[Chorus]
Hooooooooo (Ho)
Youza Hoooooo (Ho)
Youza Hoooooo (Ho)
I said that youza hooooo (Ho)
[Repeat 1x]

[Ludacris]
You doin ho activities
With ho tendencies
Hos are your friends, hoes are your enemies
With ho energy to do whacha do
Blew whacha blew
Screw whacha screw
Yall professional like DJ Clue, pullin on my coat tail
an why do you think you take a ho to a hotel?
Hotel everybody, even the mayor
Reach up in tha sky for tha hozone laya
Come on playa once a ho always
And hos never close they open like hallways
An heres a ho cake for you whole ho crew
an everybody wants some cuz hoes gotta eat too

[chorus x2]

[Ludacris]
Cant turn a ho into a housewife
Hos dont act right
Theres hos on a mission, an hoes on a crackpipe
Hey ho how ya doin, where ya been?
Prolly doin ho stuff cuz there you ho again
Its a ho wide world, that we livin in
feline, feminine, fantastical, women
Not all, just some
You ho who you are
Theres hoes in tha room, theres hoes in tha car
theres hoes on stage, theres hoes by tha bar
hos by near, an hos by far
Ho! (But can i getta ride?!)
NO! (Cmon, nigga why?!)
Cuz youza

[chorus 2x]

[Ludacris]
You gotta run in your pantyhos
Even your daddy knows
that you suckin down chocolate like daddy-o’s
You hos are horrible, horrendous
On taxes ya’ll writin off hos as dependents
I see tha ho risin
it aint surprisin
its just a hoasis
with ugly chicks faces
but hos dont feel so sad and blue
cuz most of us niggaz is hos too

[chorus x2]

(Ho)
Muthafuckas im so tiired of yall niggaz always talkin
bout hos this, hos that, you tha muthafuckin ho nigga
I wasnt no ho last night

(Pimp)
Ho, bring yo ass!

(Ho)
Ok, hold on
get that man a grammy! i think we can all see the artistic merit there.

maybe obama hasn’t condemned ludacris’ behavior because of the sheer time commitment it would entail. it would take weeks to catalog every harmful line the artist has sung. plus, the press conference would be mostly bleeped out, so what’s the point?

here is what i have concluded: obama doesn’t mind when ludacris calls his daughters hos. he minds when imus calls his daughters hos (or cute, depending on whether his daughters dress more like the girls from rutgers or tennessee).

ludacris’ entire discography is available by searching google for “ludacris discography” (without quotes). there, you will find that about 1/3 of the song titles directly discuss vulgar sexual behavior or innuendo. the other 2/3 just mention the subjugation of women within the songs themselves, not the titles. here are a few of my favorite titles:

girls gone wild
move bitch
pimpin all over the world
hoes in my room
and of course,i haven’t explored them to see which ones are the most offensive.

Obama Quote of Imus;
imus] didn’t just cross the line. [imus] fed into some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal with today in America. The notions that as young African-American women….that that somehow makes them less beautiful or less important. It was a degrading comment. It’s one that I’m not interested in supporting….What we’ve been seeing around this country is this constant ratcheting up of a coarsening of the culture that all of have to think about….Insults, humor that degrades women, humor that is based in racism and racial stereotypes isn’t fun….And the notion that somehow it’s cute or amusing, or a useful diversion, I think, is something that all of us have to recognize is just not the case….as a culture, we really have to do some soul-searching to think about what kind of toxic information are we feeding our kids.

Our Proud President of the United States "Change is comming"

President Elect The Message of Change has many faces

President Elect Obama over his primary campaign for the last two years had stated it was time for change in Washington to bring in fresh new faces and clean up Washington.

Take a good look at some of the 17 people our nation’s president-elect chose last week for his Transition Economic Advisory Board. And then try saying with a straight face that these are the leaders who should be advising him on how to navigate through the worst financial crisis in modern history. First, there’s former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. Not only was he chairman of Citigroup Inc.’s executive committee when the bank pushed bogus analyst research, helped Enron Corp. cook its books, and got caught baking its own. He was a director from 2000 to 2006 at Ford Motor Co., which also committed accounting fouls and now is begging Uncle Sam for Citigroup- style bailout cash.Two other Citigroup directors received spots on the Obama board: Xerox Corp. Chief Executive Officer Anne Mulcahy and Time Warner Inc. Chairman Richard Parsons. Xerox and Time Warner got pinched years ago by the Securities and Exchange Commission for accounting frauds that occurred while Mulcahy and Parsons held lesser executive posts at their respective companies. Mulcahy and Parsons also once were directors at Fannie Mae when that company was breaking accounting rules. So was another member of Obama’s new economic board, former Commerce Secretary William Daley. He’s now a member of the executive committee at JPMorgan Chase & Co., which, like Citigroup, is among the nine large banks that just got $125 billion of Treasury’s bailout budget.


Now here is his national security team list

Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator from New York and former First Lady, will serve as Secretary of State. March 8, 1992 WHITEWATER, Whitewater runs deep - investigation into Bill and Hillary Clinton's real estate investments that may have involved abuse of government funds
Secretary Robert Gates, the current Secretary of Defense, will continue to serve in that role.
Eric Holder, former Deputy Attorney General and a former United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, will serve as Attorney General. In 1993, President Clinton nominated Mr. Holder to become the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. In 1997, President Clinton appointed Mr. Holder to serve as Deputy Attorney General, the number two position in the United States Department of Justice. Then came the Pardon of Marc Rich during the Clinton administration.

Janet Napolitano, Governor and former U.S. Attorney for Arizona, will serve as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. This pick is not an a surprise for the President Elect the Bills she has vetoed include one denying in state tuition and day care for illegal aliens, and one allowing law enforcement to enforcement to enforce immigration law on May 20. On May 10 she also vetoed a bill making English the official state language which would have allowed the state to save money by not having to provide all official documents in multiple languages and would have encourage assimilating immigrates into the American culture more effectively. But the Governor did endorse the senate amnesty bill.

Her statement on the Bill"The status quo is not acceptable, and when I hear those who are opposed to the bill call it amnesty, I really want to say to them what we have now is silent amnesty, because nothing is being done with those who are already illegally in this country, and we have no system to do anything with those already illegally in this country," she said.

Janet Napolitano is one of the reasons that nothing is being done to end illegal immigration. She silently stands by and watches as her state is inundated with illegal aliens taking advantage of the Arizona taxpayers and then blames it on the federal government.


Dr. Susan E. Rice, Born November 17, 1964 (age 44) Political Party Democrat a Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Obama for America campaign, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, will serve as Ambassador to the United Nations.
served in the Clinton administration in various capacities: at the National Security Council from 1993 to 1997 then appointed as Assistant Secretary for African Affairs until Clinton left office in 2001.

General Jim Jones, USMC (Ret), former Allied Commander, Europe, and Commander of the United States European Command, will serve as National Security Advisor.


If you were Hoping for Change… Don’t hold your Breath

Pardon Is Back in Focus for the Justice Nominee

New York Times Story Eric H. Holder Jr. faced questions from a Congressional committee in 2001 about the efforts to secure a presidential pardon for the financier Marc Rich.

President-Elect Obama's Cabinet taking on Old Clinton look

A picture of President-elect Barack Obama"s Cabinet became clearer Friday, with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson emerging as a likely pick for commerce secretary.

As word spread Friday that Sen. Hillary Clinton was expected to accept the secretary of state position, senior Democratic officials said Obama intended to name Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve, as his Treasury secretary to confront the nation"s intense economic turmoil.

Obama has moved with unusual speed to select officials for his administration. One Democrat said John Podesta, a leader of the transition team, had told Senate aides Friday that Obama hoped for speedy confirmation so the new administration could get to work quickly after Jan. 20.

The president-elect, who has repeatedly referred to the economic crisis as the top priority for his new administration, was considering Lawrence Summers "” a former Treasury secretary and onetime Harvard University president "” as an economic adviser. Economic posts also seemed likely for Obama"s top two economic advisers during his campaign, Austan Goolsbee and Jason Furman.

While speculation has been rampant about most top-level appointments, there has been relatively little about Obama"s choice for defense secretary. His aides encouraged speculation before the election that Robert Gates, who now holds the position, would remain in office for an interim period.

/>Other Cabinet selections so far include former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota as secretary of health and human services and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, likely to be named as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Napolitano was an early supporter of candidate Obama among the ranks of Democratic governors, as was Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. Sebelius has figured prominently in recent days in speculation as possible secretary of labor.

Additionally, retired Gen. James Jones, a former Marine Corps commandant and NATO commander, was among those under consideration for national security adviser. James Steinberg, an Obama campaign aide who served in Clinton"s White House, was another possibility, according to officials.

The possible Cabinet role for Richardson may calm anxiety that is running high among Latino leaders because Obama has yet to name a Latino to a top White House or Cabinet position.

This is also on the minds of senior transition officials "” including Obama"s designated chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel "” who are said to be considering Latino candidates for several Cabinet posts.

"The Obama transition team and the chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, understand the role that the Latino vote played in this election, and I think we will see representation in the Obama Cabinet and at the White House," said Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza.

At least four Latino candidates are said to be under consideration to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development: Miami Mayor Manny Diaz; Adolfo Carrion Jr., a longtime New York pol and Bronx borough president; Saul Ramirez Jr., a former deputy HUD secretary; and Nelson Diaz, who has been a judge and a HUD general counsel.

With Cabinet positions up in the air, Obama"s team has been filling out the ranks of the White House staff.

Obama named Patrick Gaspard as his political director. Gaspard was Obama"s national political director during the general election campaign, and has long ties to labor.

Other appointments included: Jackie Norris as chief of staff to first lady Michelle Obama; Catherine M. Russell as chief of staff to Vice President-elect Joe Biden"s wife Jill; Cynthia Hogan, as counsel to the vice president, and Moises V. Vela Jr. as director of administration for the vice president.

No Public Schools for President-elect Barack Obama

The Obama children, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, will attend Sidwell Friends School, a private Quaker school that another White House child, Chelsea Clinton, attended a decade ago.

President-elect Barack Obama and his wife have chosen a private school for their two daughters, opting for an institution that another White House child, Chelsea Clinton, attended a decade ago.

Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, will be attending Sidwell Friends School, a private Quaker school with a campus in northwest Washington for grades 5-12 and another in suburban Bethesda, Maryland, for kindergarten through fourth grade. Malia is in fifth grade and Sasha is in second grade, suggesting that the girls would attend schools at different locations.

"A number of great schools were considered," said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama. "In the end, the Obamas selected the school that was the best fit for what their daughters need right now."

She said Sidwell can provide the security and privacy that the girls will need as part of the new first family. She also said that Sasha and Malia had become good friends with Vice President-elect Joe Biden's grandchildren, who go to the school.

Michelle Obama and her daughters visited Sidwell and another elite private school, Georgetown Day, earlier this week. The soon-to-be first lady visited both schools last week, without her daughters.

Lelyveld said that while public schools were considered, the Obamas felt that a private school was in the best interest of their children. The two girls currently attend the private University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, where Michelle Obama is on the board.

Jimmy Carter's daughter, Amy, went to a public school, but Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton chose Sidwell for Chelsea. Hillary Clinton later said she received "unfortunately, good advice" that the press would bother Chelsea if she attended public school.

Messages left with school administrators on Friday were not immediately returned. A woman who answered the phone at the home of Bruce Stewart, Sidwell's head of school, said he was not home. But she said the school would not release a statement before Monday.

Al Gore III, the son of former Vice President Al Gore, also attended Sidwell, where tuition is $28,442 at the lower school and $29,442 at the middle and upper schools.

President-elect Obama economic plan aiming to create 2.5 million jobs

In the weekly Democratic radio address, President-elect Obama outlines economic plan aiming to create 2.5 million jobs by January 2011.

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday outlined his plan to create 2.5 million jobs in coming years to rebuild roads and bridges and modernize schools while developing alternative energy sources and more efficient cars.

"These aren't just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis; these are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long," Obama said in the weekly Democratic radio address. The economic recovery plan being developed by his staff aims to create 2.5 million jobs by January 2011, and he wants to get it through Congress quickly and sign it soon after taking office.

He called the plan "big enough to meet the challenges we face" and said that it will jump-start job creation but also "lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy."

Aides said the economic plan outlined Saturday went further that the president-elect has gone before.

A trio of crises -- housing, credit and financial -- have badly damaged the economy, and financial analysts have projected the country's economic hardships will continue through much of 2009.

Obama acknowledged Saturday that evidence is growing the country is "facing an economic crisis of historic proportions." He noted turmoil on Wall Street, a decrease in new home purchases, growing jobless claims and the menacing problem of deflation.

He said he was pleased Congress passed an extension of unemployment benefits this week, but added, "We must do more to put people back to work and get our economy moving again."

Figures out this week showed new claims for jobless aid had reached a 16-year high. "If we don't act swiftly and boldly, most experts now believe that we could lose millions of jobs next year," Obama said.

He cautioned, "There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better." But Obama said Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, "is our chance to begin anew."

Obama said getting congressional approval for his broad economic plan will not be easy.
"I will need and seek support from Republicans and Democrats, and I'll be welcome to ideas and suggestions from both sides of the aisle," he said. "But what is not negotiable is the need for immediate action."

Across the country, Americans "are lying awake at night wondering if next week's paycheck will cover next month's bills," people are showing up at work to clear out their desks and retirees are watching their life savings disappear, Obama said.

On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to 542,000. That marked the highest level since July 1992 and provided fresh evidence of a rapidly weakening job market that is expected to get even worse next year.

In this country's darkest hours, the American people have risen above their divisions to solve their problems, he said.

"We have acted boldly, bravely, and above all, together," Obama said. "That is the chance our new beginning now offers us, and that is the challenge we must rise to in the days to come. It is time to act. As the next president of the United States, I will."

Pres.-Elect Obama's Transition to the White House

As Inauguration Day quickly approaches, a daunting transition to-do list awaits the Obama administration.



Nearly 8,000 jobs waiting to be filled. Empty file drawers. Missing computer hard drives. Even furniture piled in the hallways.

The most powerful office in the world has less than three months to come into being, essentially from scratch.

"It is a very weird thing to walk into," said White House chief of staff Josh Bolten, who helped President Bush build a new government eight years ago. "There are no papers, no books. You have computer equipment but there's nothing on there. You've got a telephone but you just sort of barely know what everybody else's phone number is."

Bush's White House started working nearly a year before Election Day to get the government in shape to be handed off. Aides to President-elect Obama also began planning before the voting, just in case their candidate won. But everything accelerates into overdrive now that the 77-day presidential transition clock has started ticking.

Everything on the daunting transition to-do list will certainly not be checked off by Jan. 20, when President-elect Obama walks through the door of the White House as President Obama. But much must be done, especially naming staff and officials.

Put aside that it's the first wartime presidential transition in 40 years and that the country is gripped by fierce economic troubles. Consider that only days after taking over the Oval office, Obama must present to Congress his first budget request for the entire government.

After 232 years, America can be quite quaint about the transfer of power from one administration to the next. Even when a different party is taking over, there are tried-and-true rituals to be indulged.

There's the White House meeting between the outgoing and incoming commander in chief, usually accompanied by a parallel confab between their spouses. This time it's taking place much sooner than is typical, Today will be less than a week after Election Day.

What White House spokesman Tony Fratto called "a very special meeting in our democracy" brings the new guy to the White House in a way he never has visited before. Obama will be treated to a tour of his new home and office with the eyes of someone about to move in, and with the man holding the secrets known by only the small club of presidents as his guide.

In other words, Obama will get to hear and see the good stuff: maybe the weapons cache hidden in the West Wing or classified communications capabilities or the instructions for summoning a cup of coffee. The president-elect gets to, in that hackneyed cliche of campaigns, actually measure the drapes.

Incidentally, one design item that might draw particular interest is the rug in the Oval Office.

Each new occupant gets to custom-design a new one. Bush frequently cites that duty as a) his first presidential decision and b) one that revealed something he believes central to his personal character and approach to leadership. As he likes to tell it, Bush delegated the rug-picking to his wife with orders to have it reflect optimism, so the cream-colored concoction that covers his floor resembles a sunburst.

Another transfer-of-power tradition is the remarkable chain of events prescribed for Inauguration Day. It could be called Moving Day on steroids.

The night before, the Bush White House staff will leave their offices for the last time, turning in badges and keys. They will be unable to get back into the White House unless for a crisis.

The next day, as soon as Bush leaves the White House to go to the Capitol to watch Obama take the oath, and while Obama rides in the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue and sits in the reviewing stands outside his new residence, an army of workers will box up and cart off the Bush-related contents of the building, personal and professional. Obama's, likewise, are brought in.

As mandated by federal law, the institutional memory of the place is wiped almost entirely clean. The Presidential Records Act of 1978 requires that all documents leave the White House with the outgoing president, except some in the National Security Council and the counsel's office.

That's not to say there aren't cheat sheets -- lots of them -- to help the new team.

Bookshelves in the office of White House deputy chief of staff Blake Gottesman are now covered with thick three-inch binders. Four of them, the thickest, spell out in detail the most daunting task of any incoming White House -- choosing 7,840 presidential appointees, and shepherding the 1,177 of those that need Senate confirmation through the Capitol Hill process.

Some estimate that 40,000 people will flood the new White House with resumes for those jobs in the first few weeks, and 75,000 in the first few months. A hint of how huge the task is: No administration has had confirmed more than about 25 Cabinet and sub-Cabinet personnel by April 1 or more than about 240 by its eighth month.

An additional dozen or so binders fill a separate long cabinet in Gottesman's office, coming from each part of the Executive Office of the President, such as the press shop and the congressional liaison group.

In addition, the NSC has prepared extensive briefing materials on every global hot spot imaginable, complete with contingency options for several possible emergency scenarios, said a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to more freely describe the preparations. Bolten also said that members of Obama's staff will be invited to attend at least one "tabletop exercise" at the White House, a regular simulation of an emergency such as a terrorist attack or disease outbreak.

Obama's team started receiving information about key issues even before Election Day. Those briefings -- and efforts such as establishing side-by-side workspace for Treasury Department's $700 billion financial rescue program -- now are ramping up more each day.

Bolten said this earlier and more intense transition activity is crucial because of the dire times. The goal is something akin to a relay race, where "we are carrying the baton but the next runner will be running before we actually hand them that baton."

Bush aides are also under orders to leave the place tidy, and not repeat the acts of minor vandalism that slightly marred the transition from President Clinton to Bush.

"We will vacuum, we will clean our desks, we will take the gum out from under the conference tables," Bolten joked.

Obama's Heightened Security Turns Neighborhood Into Virtual Fortress

Secret Service has taken over once easy-going Chicago area where president-elect resides.


Reported By FoxNews
President-elect Barack Obama's Chicago neighborhood has become a very different place to live now that Secret Service agents have turned the once easy-going area into a virtual fortress to protect the next president, The Times of London reported.

Assassination fears surrounding Obama, codenamed "Renegade" by his security on the campaign trail, mean that he may become the most heavily guarded president in history. After months of shaking hands with strangers, the President-elect delivered his victory speech from behind bulletproof glass in Chicago's Grant Park.

Streets around his mock-Georgian mansion in enclave by the University of Chicago have been closed. The main thoroughfare has been shut down because it passes his yard.

Visitors to the synagogue that faces his house must put their names on a list 24 hours before they attend so that their identities can be checked.

"I live one block away. I get carded to go on my block," said Adrienne Stone, 33, a U.S. Air Force veteran. "I have become accustomed to the Secret Service being everywhere. I don't get a lot of sleep. There are helicopters overhead. But he deserves this. We have lost too many leaders before their time," she said.

The United States has seen the assassination of four presidents -- Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy. Eight others have survived attempts on their lives.
Reported By FoxNews

Farrakhan Says Obama Presidency Will Bring 'New Beginning'

Americans can expect a "new beginning" when Barack Obama officially takes over the White House, Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan said on Sunday.


Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan says the U.S. can expect a "new beginning" under the leadership of President-elect Barack Obama.

The 75-year-old is scheduled to make a speech on that topic Sunday at Mosque Maryam, the Chicago-based movement's headquarters.

The address is called "America's New Beginning: President-elect Barack Obama."

Farrakhan has praised Obama and publicly supported his bid for the White House, which Obama's campaign quickly denounced.

In February, Farrakhan called Obama the "hope of the entire world" that the U.S. will change for the better at a Chicago Saviours' Day event.
foxNews Reported

Reported 10/13/08 by True Facts News Louis Farrakhan Calls Obama the Messiah

Ralph Nader Calls Obama an Uncle Tom

Ralph Nader told a TV reporter that President-elect Barack Obama has to choose between being "Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations," a remark he refused to apologize for later in a heated interview later with Fox News' Shepard Smith.

Ralph Nader is a washed up far left wing wack case, with no class what-so-ever, to disagree with ones views or polices is one thing. but to call the First black President of the U.S a Uncle Tom is another.

Obama campaign workers angry over unpaid

Obama campaign workers angry over unpaid wages and the use of spreading the wealth when not getting all their money.

Indianapolis - Lines were long and tempers flared Wednesday not to vote but to get paid for canvassing for Barack Obama. Several hundred people are still waiting to get their pay for last-minute campaigning. Police were called to the Obama campaign office on North Meridian Street downtown to control the crowd.

The line was long and the crowd was angry at times.

"I want my money today! It's my money. I want it right now!" yelled one former campaign worker.

A former spokesman for the Obama campaign said 375 people were hired as part of the Vote Corps program and said people signed up to work three-hour shifts at a time. Three hours of canvassing got workers a $30 pre-paid Visa card.

The workers showed up to get their cards Wednesday morning at 10:00 am.

The large gathering of around 375 people prompted police to call in extra officers and set up temporary barricades. The barricades helped keep the crowd from spilling out onto Meridian Street. Police say the several hundred people in line were for the most part orderly.

"Still that's not right. I'm disappointed. I'm glad for the president, but I'm disappointed in this system," said Diane Jefferson, temporary campaign worker.

"It should have been $480. It's $230," said Imani Sankofa.


"They gave us $10 an hour. So we added it. I added up all the hours so it was supposed to be at least $120. All I get is $90," said Charles Martin.

"I worked nine hours a day for 4 days and got paid half of what I should have earned," said Randall Waldon.


Some people weren't satisfied with filling out a claim form for money they felt was still due to them.

"They say that they gonna call you or they going to mail it to you, but I don't know. We'll see what happens," said Antron Grose.

"Talking about they'll mail it to us. I ain't worried about that, man. They're not going to mail nothin'," said Martin.

Obama Bought White House for $650 Million

Reported By News Max
By: Jim Meyers
Barack Obama’s presidential campaign smashed all previous fundraising records, raking in more than an astounding $650 million from some 3 million donors and giving him a huge advantage over rival John McCain.
But questions abound regarding the legality of many of the donations that helped propel him to victory.
And one question is: Did Obama “buy” the election?
Obama’s fundraising haul was more than twice the amount Democrat John Kerry raised in 2004, and more than twice what George Bush and Al Gore combined brought in during the 2000 presidential campaign.
“Nobody could have imagined numbers like this or participation like this,” veteran fundraiser Alan Solomont told Bloomberg.com.
Obama’s fundraising effort was in high gear from the very start, bringing in $24.8 million for the primary during the first three months of 2007, compared to $19.1 million for Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
By the end of 2007, Obama had raised $102 million. He won the Iowa primary on Jan. 3, 2008, and raised another $36 million that month.
Almost half of Obama’s money came from people donating $200 or less, compared with 34 percent for McCain, Bloomberg reported.
Obama on two occasions promised to work with McCain on an agreement to accept public financing. McCain did accept public financing, limiting his ability to raise private donations, but in June Obama reneged on his vows, enabling him to raise unlimited amounts from donors.
The press by and large did not hold Obama accountable for the broken promises. But McCain sharply criticized him, saying: “Twice he looked the American people in the eye and said he would sit down with me before he abandoned public financing. He didn’t mean a word of it. When it was in his interest to break his promise, he tossed it aside like it didn’t mean a thing.”
Obama’s fundraising “revolutionized the way presidential campaigns are financed and may kill the Watergate-era system of providing public money for the general election,” Bloomberg observed.
Free to raise unlimited funds, Obama’s campaign brought in at least $200 million in September and October, more than doubling the amount available to McCain.
Obama’s huge edge in finances enabled him to devote nearly three times as much as McCain to advertising, with the Democrat spending $21.5 million to McCain’s $7.5 million from Oct. 21 to Oct. 28 as Election Day neared.
On the day before the election, Obama ran 3,410 ads in seven competitive states, while McCain ran only 1,900.
Obama also far outspent McCain on staff salaries, helping him to open field offices and fund a get-out-the-vote effort.
But an investigation by Newsmax correspondent Kenneth R. Timmerman has uncovered numerous examples of questionable donations, including those originating from foreign sources in apparent violation of laws forbidding candidates from accepting foreign money.
On Sept. 29, Timmerman first disclosed that more than half of the $426.9 million Obama had raised at that point came from small donors whose names the Obama campaign would not disclose — making it impossible to verify that donors were not surpassing the $2,300 an individual can contribute to a candidate for the general election.
The Federal Election Commission cited a series of $25 donations from a contributor identified as “Will, Good” from Austin, Tex. A Newsmax analysis of the master file for the Obama campaign discovered 1,000 separate entries for Mr. Good Will, totaling $17,375.
Similarly, a donor identified as “Pro, Doodad” gave $19,500 in 786 separate donations. The donor listed his employer as “Loving” and his profession as “You.” Some of Doodad Pro’s donations were refunded by the campaign, but as of Sept. 20 more than $11,000 had not been returned.
Timmerman disclosed that the FEC compiled a database of potentially questionable overseas donations totaling $3.38 million. The funds came from such places as Abu Dhabi, Beijing, and Ethiopia.
In June, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi gave a speech in which he claimed foreign nationals were contributing to Obama’s campaign.
Timmerman also reported that donors from the Gaza Strip had contributed $33,000 to the Obama campaign through the purchase of Obama T-shirts they had shipped to Gaza.
Timmerman published a new report on Oct. 8, disclosing that an investigation of Obama’s campaign finance reports turned up more than 2,000 cases in which individuals made donations far above the legal limit of $2,300 per election.
For example, in August the campaign filed a report listing a single donation from a Debra Myers in “Rancho Palos Verde, Calif.,” for $28,500, and a $28,500 contribution from a donor identified as Woodrow Myers Jr.
The Obama campaign said it had refunded both donations on Sept. 30, the day after Newsmax published Timmerman’s first report.
Timmerman followed up with a new report on Oct. 19, disclosing that more than 37,000 Obama donations appeared to be conversions of foreign currency, totaling as much as $63 million.
The red flag was the odd amounts donated by a number of suspected foreign donors. One contributor gave $188.67, $1,542.06, $876.09, $388.67, $282.20, $195.66, and $118.15.
“They are obviously converting from local currency to U.S. dollars,” said Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center.
On Oct. 21, Timmerman revealed that the Obama campaign had accepted contributions from donors identifying themselves as King Kong, Daffy Duck, and Bart Simpson — without any apparent effort by the campaign to screen them out as suspect donors.
An individual using the name “O.J. Simpson” donated to the campaign on Oct. 14, giving his occupation as “convict.” The campaign sent O.J. a thank-you note.
Other donors with clearly fictitious names include “Dertey Poiiuy,” “Mong Kong,” “Fornari USA,” and “jkbkj Hbkjb.”
Timmerman reported on Oct. 29: “A Newsmax investigation of Obama/Biden campaign contributors, undertaken in conjunction with a private investigative firm headed by a former CIA operations officer, has identified 118 donors who appear to lack U.S. citizenship.
“Some of these ‘red flag’ donors work for foreign governments; others have made public statements declaring that they are citizens of Cameroun, Nigeria, Pakistan, Canada, and other countries.”
Frederick W. Rustmann Jr., the former CIA operations officer, told Newsmax: “Hillary and McCain demanded proof of citizenship of all their donors. Obama did not, so he benefitted by receiving an enormous amount of money from foreign donors who wanted to influence the U.S. election process.”
The conservative Heritage Foundation has taken the first step in what could be an in-depth investigation of Obama’s fundraising efforts, demanding that the FEC audit the Obama campaign.
The foundation issued a release on Tuesday declaring: “No doubt there is great ‘cause’ to be concerned about Obama’s fundraising effort.”
The foundation also pointed to a test by the independent National Journal to determine the veracity of allegations that the Democrat’s online fundraising system literally was designed to facilitate fraud.

U.S. Stocks Tumbles 486 Points after a Historic Presidential Election of Barack Obama

The stock market posted its biggest plunge following a Presidential Election, with euphoria vanishing into a cloud of negativity. its worst post-election plunge on record. In the aftermath of an election there is often a bounce in terms of confidence. Those that supported the winner are in a good mood and most of the public greets the new leadership with a mix of hope. These voters are now back to their normal duties as consumers and workers and now they want some justification for feeling positive. But this year has been different. There was no incumbent running this time and thus no authority figure pulling out all the stops. Both the candidates attacked the policies of the past and essentially neutralized the messages from the White House while Congress spent most of its energy distancing itself from the very actions it was being forced to take.
The Jimmy Carter Presidency tried "tough love" and tried to tell people just how bad things were. He became noted for his downbeat assessments and calls for people to sacrifice. His successor was Ronald Reagan who approached his Presidency as one in which he needed to inspire and motivate. The US population tends to respond better to the inspirational message.
President-Elect Obama needs to act fast, and with a message that starts to reverse the negative attitudes without sugar coating anything. The two most important actions the President-elect Obama could take would be to choose the economic team that will manage the economy and start making remarks that serve to rally the consumer that is fearful and paralyzed by a there future.

January’s 2009 Agenda for Democrats starts with the Elimination of your 401K

Powerful House Democrats in July 2008 were eyeing new proposals to overhaul the nation's $3 trillion 401(k) system, including the elimination of most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, are looking at redirecting those tax breaks to a new system of guaranteed retirement accounts to which all workers would be obliged to contribute. Under the plan, all workers would receive a $600 annual inflation-adjusted subsidy from the U.S. government. The employee would be limited to max 5% investment of their pay into a guaranteed retirement account administered by the Social Security Administration. The money in turn would be invested in special government bonds that would offer a lousy 3 percent return a year, adjusted for inflation. The current system of providing tax breaks on 401(k) contributions and earnings would be eliminated. With the majority in the House and Senate in control by the Democrats, this program will be on Priority Fast Track.

Well it appears the democrats are following in the same steps as the cash-strapped Argentina (socialist system )who just did it in the name of protecting workers' retirement accounts.

This plan was originally proposed by Theresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, and presented to Miller and McDermott last july 2008 at a House hearing.

Obama did promised to solve this problem by making "rich people" pay more into Social Security while reducing their benefits, transforming a retirement plan into a wealth transfer plan.

In one move, the hated private market would be deprived of the capital that makes "capitalism" possible, and the government would have the money to fund the massive expansion of government programs, subsidies and tax "cuts" promised by Barack Obama.

Russia to Deploy Missiles in Response to U.S. Missile Shield

Associated Press
Wednesday, November 05, 2008

MOSCOW — Russia will deploy missiles near NATO member Poland in response to U.S. missile defense plans, President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday in his first state of the nation speech.

Medvedev also singled out the United States for criticism, casting Russia's war with Georgia in August and the global financial turmoil as consequences of aggressive, selfish U.S. policies.

He said he hoped the next U.S. administration would act to improve relations. In a separate telegram, he congratulated Barack Obama on his election victory and said he was hoping for "constructive dialogue" with the incoming U.S. president.

Medvedev also proposed increasing the Russian presidential term to six years from the current four, a major constitutional change that would further increase the power of the head of state and could deepen Western concern over democracy in Russia.

The president said the Iskander missiles will be deployed to Russia's Kaliningrad region, which lies between Poland and the ex-Soviet republic of Lithuania on the Baltic Sea, but did not say how many would be used. Equipment to electronically hamper the operation of prospective U.S. missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic will be deployed, he said.

He did not say whether the short-range Iskander missiles would be fitted with nuclear warheads and it was not clear exactly when the missiles would be deployed.

"Mechanisms must be created to block mistaken, egoistical and sometimes simply dangerous decisions of certain members of the international community," he said shortly after starting the 85-minute speech, making it clear he was referring to the United States.

The president said Georgia sparked the August war on its territory with what he called "barbaric aggression" against Russian-backed South Ossetia. The conflict "was, among other things, the result of the arrogant course of the American administration, which did not tolerate criticism and preferred unilateral decisions."

Medvedev also painted Russia as a country threatened by growing Western military might.

"From what we have seen in recent years, the creation of a missile defense system, the encirclement of Russia with military bases, the relentless expansion of NATO, we have gotten the clear impression that they are testing our strength," Medvedev said.

He announced deployment of the short-range missiles as a military response to U.S. plans to deploy missile-defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic — former Soviet satellites that are now NATO members.

Speaking just hours after Obama was declared the victor in the U.S. presidential election, Medvedev said he hoped the incoming administration will take steps to improve badly damaged U.S. ties with Russia. He suggested it is up to the U.S. — not the Kremlin — to seek to improve relations.

"I stress that we have no problem with the American people, no inborn anti-Americanism. And we hope that our partners, the U.S. administration, will make a choice in favor of full-fledged relations with Russia," Medvedev said.

Tension in Russian-American relations has been driven to a post-Cold War high by Moscow's war with U.S. ally Georgia.

On the financial crisis, Medvedev said overconfidence in American dominance after the collapse of the Soviet Union "led the U.S. authorities to major mistakes in the economic sphere." The administration ignored warnings and harmed itself and others by "blowing up a money bubble to stimulate its own growth," he said.

Medvedev said the president's tenure should be lengthened to six years to enable the government to more effectively implement reforms. He said the term of the parliament also should be extended by a year to five years, and that parliament's power must be increased by requiring the Cabinet to report to lawmakers regularly.

The proposals were Medvedev's first major initiative to amend the constitution since he was elected in March to succeed his longtime mentor Vladimir Putin.

Putin, who is now prime minister and has not ruled out a return to the Kremlin in the future, has favored increasing the presidential term.

Historic Obama Election Nov 4, 2008

Barack Hussein Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States, this historic election made U.S History. The first African American, a 47-year-old man from the state of Illinois. His 52.1% majority has given him a mandate for his change message, although we as Americans are still unsure what this will mean in regards to foreign policy or economic policy. When President Bill Clinton ran and won he too promised tax cuts for the middle class but once he took office the first thing he did was cut the capital gains tax, and not give the tax cuts that were promised during the primary. President-Elect Obama will need to get an eye opener once he takes office in January 2009. Obama will be the new Teflon President because certain segments of the Media, and our population will give him a pass on everything does. Barack Obama's Senior Advisers have already drawn up plans to lower expectations for his presidency amid at concerns that many of his euphoric supporters are harboring unrealistic hopes of what he can achieve.

Like this supporter below


The sudden financial crisis and the prospect of a deep and painful recession have increased the urgency inside the Obama team to bring people down to earth, after a campaign in which his soaring rhetoric and promises of "hope" and "change" are now confronted with the reality of a stricken economy. His own Senior adviser has already stated that the first few weeks of the transition, and immediately after the election, is critical, "so there's not a vast mood swing from exhilaration and euphoria to despair." The Senior aide stated "The first hundred days is going to be important, but it's probably going to be the first thousand days that makes the difference," he said. He (Obama) has also been reminding crowds in recent days how "hard" it will be to achieve his goals, and that it will take time.Obama with one eye looking at his re-election bid 2012, and the other eye on the Senate and House mid-term elections in 2010, will have too lead from the center to keep his Democratic liberal Senate and House in check, as to not upset the apple cart with Voters. But that will be hard with the likes of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.

As for The Republican Party's role,they will rebuild in the shadow of the frustrations of the Obama presidency, so Republicans must go down to their grass roots, get in touch with their base and rebuild an opportunity to win national elections.

Election Night Transcript of Speech Barack Obama Nov. 4th 2008

BARACK OBAMA: Hello, Chicago.

(APPLAUSE)

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

(APPLAUSE)

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.

(APPLAUSE)

A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain.

(APPLAUSE)

Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

(APPLAUSE)

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton...

(APPLAUSE)

... and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

(APPLAUSE)

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years...

(APPLAUSE)

... the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady...

(APPLAUSE)

... Michelle Obama.

(APPLAUSE)

Sasha and Malia...

(APPLAUSE)

... I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us...

(LAUGHTER)

... to the new White House.

(APPLAUSE)

And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.

(APPLAUSE)

And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe...

(APPLAUSE)

... the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best -- the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

To my chief strategist David Axelrod...

(APPLAUSE)

... who's been a partner with me every step of the way. To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics...

(APPLAUSE)

... you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done. But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy...

(APPLAUSE)

... who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.

It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

This is your victory.

(APPLAUSE)

And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me.

You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.

There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there.

(APPLAUSE)

AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!

OBAMA: There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

(APPLAUSE)

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

(APPLAUSE)

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

(APPLAUSE)

To those -- to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

(APPLAUSE)

That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

(APPLAUSE)

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can.

OBAMA: When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can.

OBAMA: She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can.

OBAMA: A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can.

OBAMA: America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see?

What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

Closing arguments against the Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury. It now becomes my duty, as well as my privilege, to address you on behalf of the RNC, people who cling to their Guns and Religion, all of the Joe the Plumbers, and regular Voters all across the United States. This case against Senator Obama and the evidence you will hear today is very compelling. You will hear in Senator Obama’s own words talk about his relationships with Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers, his refusal too admit that he was close friends with an unrepentant terrorist. We will also hear from The Jeremiah Wright in his distaste for the American way of life as well as here from Senator Obama on his denials that Jeremiah Wright said any of those horrible things about Americans. This case will also show when he was a community organizer that he sat on the Board with Bill Ayers.



Not willing to salute the U.S Flag



The rise of the “ONE”


OR

Country First



Democrats vs. Obama


Barack Obama the Community Organizer


Obama's Priest

Father Micheal Pfleger, Attacks Clinton

Obama's ChurchSays America Rapes BlackPeople; AttacksHillary




Best of Jeremiah Wright's Sermons



Obama Will Not Denounce Church



'The View' Audience Angry At Obama's Lies


Another Obama mentor, Dr. Khalid al-Mansour, calls for the murder of white people.
















Joe Biden Ads


Joe Biden 2008 Final Edition


We're not electing Barack Obama to be Class president



BIDEN SAYS AD MOCKING MCCAIN WAS TERRIBLE by Associated Press Monday, September 22, 2008



Even Joe Biden does not believe in Barack Obama!

Hillary Clinton Campaign AD 3 A.M
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CNN Busted Obama For LYING On His Ads About McCain




He is not the “ONE”


Barack Hussein Obama refuses to salute US flag

The evidence against Senator Obama is very strong and I hope once you see the tapes you will reject his Presidential bid.
Get out and Vote………………… this Man is Not Fit To Be President.