When It Smells, It's Usually Rotten

When then-governor Rod Blagojevich played the race card and nominated Roland Burris to be the replacement for Barack Obama in the US Senate, representing the State of Illinois, people blanched. At least I did. Although on the surface, Burris appeared to have qualifications: he served as attorney general and as comptroller for the state, he had run unsuccessfully for several state-wide offices, and he claimed to be clean. However, having been nominated by Blagojevich, everyone considered the nomination tainted, since the governor had already been indicted for trying to sell Obama's senate seat.

First, the Senate Democrats said they wouldn't seat Burris. Then they recanted. Some press revealed some not so pleasant aspects about him. For reasons we don't know, Burris was sworn in and seated on January 15, 2009.

After Blagojevich was impeached and convicted, Burris' story began to change. OK, Rod's brother might have asked him to raise money for Blagojevich's campaign, more than once actually. And now, today, Burris admitted that he even tried to raise money for the former governor.

What does this mean? On the same day that yet another Ponzi scheme was uncovered--the Stanford Financial Group out of Texas-- a mere $8 billion this time, President Obama signed the stimulus package into law which will haunt America through several generations, America's car industry announced job layoffs of 50,000, and the stock market fell nearly 300 points, America needs legislators we can trust.

Recently I've been struck by the desperation of some men's ambition, their need to leave an imprint on the world. When that ambition is solely self-centered and corrupting, then we can do without the imprint, please.

February 20 update: Burris' list of lobbying clients leaves out important names when he appeared at Rod' s impeachment hearing.

Where Did All The Money Go?

The New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof in his blog has posted a listing, compiled by Daniel E. Smith, of the private foundations whose assets had been "invested" by Bernie Madoff, which means that they lost either a portion, or in too many instances, the entirety of their endowments.

This list of private foundations illustrates just how foolhardy rich folks have been. As Kristof points out, "A surprising number of the foundations invested in Mr. Madoff shared the same accounting firms, generally small ones at that. One wonders if they could have looked more skeptically at the kinds of trades that supposedly were being placed on the foundations’ behalf by Mr. Madoff."

The impact of the loss of this money will be felt by the nation's non-profit organizations who count on contributions from individuals and their private foundations. The Smith list also includes the major beneficiaries of each foundation's annual gifts.

As previously noted, Madoff's sons did not invest their foundations with their father and used larger accounting firms to file those returns.

Self-Interest At Its Worst

Rod Blagojevich is making the rounds of the television talk shows while the Illinois legislature begins his impeachment trial.

By trying to equate himself with the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Gandi, Gov. Rod has revealed his true self: self interest. Now that isn't wrong in and of itself. But when it results in poor choices, choices that don't take into account his responsibility to the people of Illinois, then it's wrong. Plain and simple. And Blagojavich's appointment of Roland Burris, in order to play the race card instead of picking a candidate that would truly fill the shoes of Barack Obama in the US Senate, is why he is just a hack politician if not a corrupt one.

And turning to Governor David Paterson of New York. There was no reason to choose Carolyn Kennedy for the position after she revealed herself to be inarticulate and disengaged, and according to the New York Times, not willing to answer questions about her issue positions. I don't believe in dynasties, and certainly, although she might be fabulous in the private sector, Carolyn didn't show what we need for a tough, effective senator to plug for New York's interests in the Senate.

To pull Andrew Cuomo from the Attorney General's position at a time of financial crisis when New York is the heart of the financial crisis seems downright stupid, so I'm glad Gov. Paterson didn't go there.

But he could have gone for someone more inspired than Kirsten Gillibrand, whose efficacy in a conservative Republican district means one thing: Paterson might have more leverage in a re election campaign, his own.

That doesn't mean that Peter King has any moral or legal authority to demand access to Paterson's thinking process. The governor has the right to appoint a new Senator to run out Hillary's term, whether Peter King likes it or not.

But the worst of self interest came out in Alberto Gonzales' interview today about the possibility of the Obama administration prosecuting him and other Bush officials for authorizing torture of "war on terror" suspects. In an interview with NPR radio that was written up in the Chicago Tribune, Gonzales said: I don't think that there's going to be a prosecution, quite frankly. Because again, these activities.... They were authorized, they were supported by legal opinions at the Department of Justice.

Of course, those legal opinions at the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel were written under the instructions of David Addington, counsel to then Vice President Cheney. Not exactly the independent legal opinions that the Office of Legal Counsel are supposed to be giving. Gonzales' statement follows the talking points that Cheney started in the last days of the Bush administration. There is too much evidence to show that the independence of the office was breached.

More on Men Behaving Badly

Two seats in the United States Senate are in contention now, weeks after the election. First, there is the still too-close to call contest between Al Franken and incumbent Norm Coleman in Minnesota. Franken is 49 votes ahead of Coleman. That is a flimsy lead by any measure. The two camps had agreed to count about 1350 absentee ballots that were originally disqualified. What remains in contestation is a group of 650 absentee ballots out of 1350 that have been discarded, but which might require another look, at least according to the Coleman camp. A lawsuit by Coleman is virtually guaranteed according to The Hill.

Senator Cornyn (R-TX) has been chest-thumping, claiming a Republican filibuster, if the Democrats try to seat Franken while the litigation is still on going.

I like Al, I like his energy, I like his ideas and the respect that he shows for folks with different beliefs. But no election should be won on such close counts, not when our election system is so vulnerable to hanky panky, and the process of registration and follow through is as poorly conceived, policed, and implemented as I witnessed while working the polls in New York.

Then there is Illinois. Embattled governor Blagojevich has cleverly pushed the attention off of him and the allegations that he was about to sell the empty Obama seat to the highest bidder by appointing while he is still governor, an apparently qualified Roland Burris, who just so happens to be African American when there are currently no African Americans in the Senate.

Illinois has removed Blagojevich's security clearance, and is moving closer to impeachment. The interesting question is whether a subsequent impeachment will invalidate an appointment made while he was still governor.

So Monday when the new Congress convenes, will Roland Burris try to enter the Senate to defy Harry Reid (D-NV) and claim his seat?

TalkingPointsMemo.com seems to think not. Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Gainer, a former chief of the Capitol Hill police, told the Associated Press that he does not expect any trouble from Roland Burris should Burris be turned away from the Senate door next week. "He is a good man," said Gainer, who has known Burris for years. "He plays by the rules. I don't think there's going to be a confrontation."

Of course, we don't need all of this added drama when the real drama of how to jumpstart the economy, remake a failed federal government, and reassert a country dedicated to the rule of law and not the rule of Bush/Cheney is so pressing and requires creativity, new coalitions, and trust. I have to giggle at the chutzpah of Blagojevich, but would appreciate it more if we weren't in such a mess.

Boy Games

And they call women drama queens! Let's see what's happening: The governor of Illinois is testing his ability to rile within the political arena by appointing a replacement for Barack Obama after being arrested for trying to sell the seat he has just given to Roland W. Burris, a former Illinois comptroller and attorney general. Who just so happens to be African American! And if the Senate allows him to take his seat, he will be the only African American Senator.

Bad boys behaving badly so that they can upkeep their public presence while the storm of history swirls by?

“Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat,” Mr. Obama said. “I agree with their decision, and it is extremely disappointing that Governor Blagojevich has chosen to ignore it.”

According to the New York Times, "[A]s governor, Mr. Blagojevich has the authority under the Illinois Constitution to appoint Mr. Obama’s replacement. But on Dec. 11, Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, said: “If the allegations in the criminal complaint against Governor Blagojevich are proven true, he has clearly abused the public trust. No appointment by this Governor could produce a credible replacement.”

Then there is Hamas and Israel in another squabble, asking for "Daddy Obama" to settle their latest dispute before too many innocent people get killed in the cross fire.

Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Thailand?

Will Obama be able to take a moment to breathe? Pick out the colors for the private quarters of the White House? Choose the puppy for his daughters?

And ironies of ironies: AIG, once the world's largest insurance company, now owned by the American public and nearly worthless, might have to pay off in the Bernard Madoff scandal for the losses resulting from the fraud. Read here and laugh. We always end up losing.

Hysterical again!

With General Motors announcing that it will close 20 plants in the United States, and the Republican Senators, the almost majority that will be no more once the new Congress is sworn in, refusing to bail out the Big Three auto makers, I began to hyperventilate again today.

One UAW member put it bluntly: These Southern Republican senators want to do away with the UAW and create a domestic automobile industry based on Toyola and other foreign manufacturers with plants in their states, those "anti-union" states.

And then it was announced by Fox that President -elect Obama's chief of staff, the very wily Rahm Emanuel, had indeed spoken several times with the disgraced governor of Illinois.

More anxiety. Read the timeline for the scandal here.

For a few weeks, we were infused with hope. Now what?