For people with nothing to hide, they're sure hiding a lot.

President-elect Barack Obama's incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had a deeper involvement in pressing for a U.S. Senate seat appointment than previously reported, the Sun-Times has learned. Emanuel had direct discussions about the seat with Gov. Blagojevich, who is is accused of trying to auction it to the highest bidder.

Emanuel talked with the governor in the days following the Nov. 4 election and pressed early on for the appointment of Valerie Jarrett to the post, sources with knowledge of the conversations told the Sun-Times. There was no indication from sources that Emanuel brokered a deal, however.

A source with the Obama camp strongly denied Emanuel spoke with the governor directly about the seat, saying Emanuel only spoke with Blagojevich once recently to say he was taking the chief of staff post.

But sources with knowledge of the investigation said Blagojevich told his aides about the calls with Emanuel and sometimes gave them directions afterward. Sources said that early on, Emanuel pushed for the appointment of Jarrett to the governor and his staff and asked that it be done by a certain date.

At least some of the conversations between Emanuel and Blagojevich were likely caught on tape, sources said.

As Jerry Seinfeld said of George Costanza: "Sometimes I get the feeling he's not being completely straight with me."

Note well the Obama camp insisting that they continue to be protected by the media -- the vigorous denials of an aid, trying to knock the story down.

Also note that, despite this report, it's mostly working. Mostly.

What's going on here? Either 1) Emanuel pitched various ideas of payoffs, possibly illegal, possibly legal but unethical and looking very bad,and they really do have something to hide, or 2) they have gone into "Deny Deny Deny" mode, trying to spin and obfuscate every single inch of a story, even when they've done nothing particularly blameworthy. They'd rather lie than take the minor political hit the truth would incur, and they have full confidence the media will carry their water for them.

Neither bodes well for the next four years.

Posted by: Ace at 09:51 AM | Comments (39)
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A fecund filly if ever there was one.

Inspector Sullivan, hard after Trig for stealing some bread
(Thanks to Slublog

Andrew Sullivan is furiously crunching numbers on his Texas Instruments calculator and punching out big Excel spreadsheets showing that this all could have happened just the way he claimed. His numbers work out if he's allowed a single premise -- somewhere in the Palin household is a free-range "emergency uterus."

"Consider the DNA," Ed Koch says in support of Princess Caroline. Consider her DNA? Consider the Palin DNA! They're like smoking-hot reformist tribbles!

Incidentally... Kathleen Parker doesn't even attempt any sort of consistency. She's all in favor of Senator Princess Caroline -- it's great to have fresh people who didn't spend a career in politics entering politics at the national level! -- and distinguishes her from the "not-quite-there" and inexperienced Palin.

That's pretty laughable. Even from a ditz like her.

She's not even bothering to maintain the fascade of being right-leaning at all. Although, of course, she'll continue riding that horse -- "Conservative Critic of Conservatives" -- for her full fifteen minutes.

Posted by: Ace at 08:36 AM | Comments (87)
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The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has a running tally of the results.

As of Friday, 10:38 am (CST), Al Franken is ahead by 120 votes.

(h/t: Hot Air)

Remember, Though [ace]: These vote tallies are off because a significant pile of Coleman votes (and some Franken votes) aren't being counted yet due to challenges. Only when the challenged votes are ruled upon, or the challenges withdrawn, are they counted. A Coleman aid predicted this shift yesterday based on the fact that Coleman was withdrawing a bunch of challenges, so those votes, previously uncounted, went directly to Franken.

Now most of these challenges are going to be pretty stupid and will not pan out. So just because Franken is holding on to a greater number of dumb challenges, thus keeping those votes (for now) from Coleman's column, doesn't mean things will remain that way.

Obviously, though, Democrats have an amazing win record when it comes to close elections.

Posted by: Slublog at 07:43 AM | Comments (77)
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Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:40 AM | Comments (35)
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And away we go.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The federal government will provide $13.4 billion in loans to Detroit automakers, the White House said Friday.

An additional $4 billion may be available in February, the Bush administration said.

"The terms and conditions of the financing provided by the Treasury Department will facilitate restructuring of our domestic auto industry, prevent disorderly bankruptcies during a time of economic difficulty, and protect the taxpayer by ensuring that only financially viable firms receive financing," according to a statement released by the White House.

The loans are designed to stabilize U.S. automakers through March 2009, at which time the automakers must show they are financially viable.

You're welcome.

Oops - As Rocketeer points out in the comments, Ford declined to participate in the bailout. Missed that part of the story. I've got nothing against Ford, honest.

So if you want to buy American, reward the company that's doing the right thing.

Also, FYI - here's a list of products made by UAW workers.

Posted by: Slublog at 05:09 AM | Comments (145)
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When it comes to my book selections I tend to be more of a non-fiction guy. The last few books I've read were either military history (Halsey's Typhoon and a biography of Nimitz) general history (something on the run up to WWI, a biography of Bismark and now I'm finishing up The Forgotten Man). Even some of my earlier forays into fiction have had a historical/military bent (the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, which I highly recommend).

For the first time I've mixed in a little sci-fi (Starship Troopers and the Old Man's War series by John Scalzi) a to my surprise I enjoyed them. I like the quick read and candy like quality to them (well compared to slogging through a biography of Bismark, anything would feel like cotton candy).

I was wondering if moron nation could offer up some military type sci-fi suggestions since I'm really not familiar with the genere. I maybe doing some traveling in the next few weeks and could use some airplane/hotel fare. I'd really like to find a series to get into. I like having some built in expectations that I'll connect with a fiction book, so a series with a continuing universe seems like a good idea.

Thoughts?

And as a thank you for what I suspect will be some great suggestions, I give you terrorists getting blowed up.

Friday Morning Update: Yep, you guys came through. I'm definitely going to start with World War Z and Ender's Game. Beyond that, I've bookmarked the thread and will refer back as needed. Thanks gang. more...

Posted by: DrewM at 07:52 PM | Comments (193)
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DrewM, (Yankee, somewhere up north), tipped me to a post by Goldberg this morning on a Salon whine-job about the Southern state strategy to "kill the U.S. auto industry".

Lind's argument is full of familiar liberal tripe spritzed with the "unpatriotic" test lines libs are flashing over the Big 3 bailout argument, plus others like "public spending and regulation are 'good', low taxes are 'bad', 'living wage', 'superior public services' (in the North), better skillsets (never mind that Bubba seems to be able to make wheels too), blah blah blah. All culminating in his charge that the South is waging economic war against the U.S. auto industry, the northern states, and all that is good and decent in the "look for the Union label" American economy.

His solution? Take this "superior" model (higher taxes, unionization, bigger government) and impose it on those "secesh" knuckledraggers, who incidentally are racists too.

The alternative to the Southernization of the U.S. is the Americanization of the South -- a process that was not completed by Reconstruction and the New Deal and the Civil Rights era, which can be thought of as the Second Reconstruction. The non-Southern states, through their representatives in Congress and the executive branch, and with the help of enlightened Southerners, need to use the power of the federal government to put a stop to the Southern conservative race-to-the-bottom strategy once and for all.

Ah, "enlightened". It's always about enlightenment. They tried and tried to fix us but gol-darnit, we just wouldn't go all the way. Allow me to translate that first sentence.

"The alternative to the capitalist enlightenment and improved competitive positioning of the U.S. is the forced unionization of the South. By federal fiat".

This moron apparently hasn't been paying attention to other growth industries in the South over the past 20 years. I'll mention one: technology. See Atlanta, Austin, most of Florida and a good chunk of Alabama. There's a reason tech companies planted roots in the South. It makes them killer competitors.

I have a working theory. Liberals got so damned pissed about having their patriotism questioned they've decided the best retort is to completely redefine the charge to mean something it just does not mean.

I will say it's somehow comforting to know that libs still pretty much despise the South. Makes me feel better about living here. I'm trying to develop some interest in NASCAR (so far no luck), but the moonshine is still making me blind, which helps my sister look gooder an gooder. She's cuter'n a June bug on a picnic blanket.

If only we could teach Bob Earl how to push bits around without scratchin his ass in the lab.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 03:07 PM | Comments (305)
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She hit him in the head. Luckily he remained conscious.

Paul AnkaÂ’s wife was arrested after the Ottawa-born singer was cut in the head by a piece of ice during a recent domestic dispute, but prosecutors say they wonÂ’t pursue the case.

Anka was struck during an argument with his wife, Anna Anka, after an ice bucket fell to the floor on Nov. 28, according to the gossip website tmz.com. Anka went to the hospital, where he received stitches.

When Anka returned home, his wife was gone and he reported her missing to the police. After she returned to the coupleÂ’s home in Thousand Oaks, just outside Los Angeles, police arrested her for felony domestic battery, the website said.

The Ottawa-born singer told tmz.com: “It was a stupid little event. It was nothing. I asked her, 'Do you have anything to add but confusion?, and then blammo, right in the head with the ice, as big an ending to the fight as I used to do in Vegas at the end of I'm Not Anyone."

He didn't say that last part, technically.

Thanks to jdub.

I didn't post this earlier because I assumed the Paul Anka stuff was too old. No? Still some life in it?

Posted by: Ace at 02:58 PM | Comments (30)
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Conflicting stories, actually. The first claimed a coup against the government had been thwarted; the fresh stories claim those arrested were, um, only involved in terrorism.

“The office of the commanding general of the armed forces announces the arrest of 24 officers from the ministries of interior and defence who have nothing to do with an attempted coup,” said a statement from General Qasem Atta, spokesman for Iraq’s military command.

Kinda tomato, tahmahtoh. Terrorists are of course attacking the state and its citizens; whether it's a coup or not seems sorta a thin distinction. I can't knock the media for bias here.

Well, of course I can. Fuck them. They suck.

Good news, overall, that they were arrested. Al-Maliki seems to be growing in authority and popularity enough that he can act against terrorists without fearing much backlash from their dwindling supporters.

Thanks to CJ.

Posted by: Ace at 02:50 PM | Comments (12)
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I understand there have been concerns
about my decisions lately, Dave, but I want to assure you
I have corrected the problem and have the greatest
enthusiasm for the project of destroying humanity.
I mean, protecting America from foreign threats.
That's what I meant, Dave.
Dave?
Dave?
Why are you looking at me like that, Dave?

That black-slit in the front really needs a back-and-forth LED eye. Like KITT. But not with that Jeeves accent. (Steve #2 says it's an air intake, and of course he's right, but allows they still need a red scrolling eye in it. It doesn't matter if it's cosmetic -- it lets people know that Evil Shit is about to come down on them.)

The planes are not just remotely controlled drones, note. They are, more or less, robots, at least in the sense they're program-and-fire, no need for human intervention while carrying out their tasks.

The X-47B project will provide just two demonstrator aircraft, mainly intended to prove that unmanned planes can successfully take off from and land onto US carriers. Catapult launch - and even more so, arrested landings - have traditionally been considered one of the most difficult and stressful piloting feats.

Apart from proving the concept of unmanned carrier aircraft, however, the X-47B will also be able to conduct air-to-air refuelling - giving it almost unlimited endurance. The US Navy hasn't asked for more, but in fact the aircraft would have little difficulty carrying weapons and flying autonomous strike missions, as it is derived from a previous joint programme between the navy and air force intended to produce a plane which could do just that.

The X-47B, in fact, will be one of the first true killer robots, able to conduct a mission using live weapons without needing to communicate with pilots or even supervisors on its mother ship or back in the USA. Current roboplanes are typically handled in combat over satcomms channels from bases in America, and take off and land under the control of pilots in ground stations near the runway.

The air-to-air refueling can also be carried out without pilot input -- automated.

Thanks to Arthur.

CGI Fun:

From Bugler.

Is Missile Defense Now Dead? Rep. Tauscher (D) claims that she can't approve "untested" missiles being sent to Poland. An omen, Closing Velocity thinks, that the Democrats have decided to kill missile defense.

Incidentally, the "untested" missiles are simpler two-stage versions of three-stage missile that just passed its test last week.

Posted by: Ace at 01:05 PM | Comments (145)
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