Sen. Richard Shelby’s (R-Ala.) decision to place a “blanket hold” on all presidential nominations until a pair of billion-dollar earmarks for his home state are fast-tracked has reignited the debate over the parliamentary tactics being deployed by the Republican Party. It also has thrust into the spotlight the clout that major defense contractors often yield on the political process.

On Thursday evening, news broke that the Alabama Republican has taken the extraordinary measure of holding up at least 70 “nominations on the Senate calendar” — essentially threatening to filibuster the confirmation processes if they came to a vote. The move has spurred a series of recriminations from Democratic officials who see it as yet another instance of over-the-top obstructionism of the president’s agenda.

It also has turned inquisitive eyes towards Shelby himself.

The Senator confirmed that he launched the hold, in part, because he is upset with a tanker contract worth $35 billion that remains unresolved between Northrop Grumman/EADs and Boeing. Shelby favors the Northrop Grummann-EADS bid largely because it would result in tankers being assembled in his home state. The two contractors, in turn, have donated to Shelby’s campaign committees, hoping ostensibly to secure favor or at least an audience with the Alabama Republican.

Check out the rest over at the Huffington Post.

YouTube Link

Sent along by our own Peter Godbold!

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Much ado has been made about criticism directed at President Obama’s speech to school kids earlier this week, and the evil liberal investigation into President George H.W. Bush’s speech to school kids in 1991. Plenty of articles make reference to the investigation, but none of them link to it, as if there was something to hide. Since The Head On Radio Network only deals in reality, we found it, and we’re linking to it. Here’s what actually happened.

President Bush’s speech occurred on October 1, 1991. On October 2nd, The Washington Post printed an article (scroll down to the headline “TV Technique 101 With George Bush”), which accused the Bush White House of improprieties, by using Department of Education funds to pay for the privatized production of the televised speech. Imagine that – a mainstream corporate-owned media outlet flinging allegations of improper activity. According to Fox News, the Obama administration is illegal from the word “Go”, but I disgress.

Democratic Congressman William D. Ford of Michigan, was chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor. Lamar Alexander, Bush’s Secretary of Education, and now-republican Senator from Tennessee, was invited to come before Ford’s committee to discuss the allegations. As reported, this is true. The Office of The President of The United States had been accused of seemingly illegal activity – not by the Democrats in Congress, but by the media.

This, however, is where the evil liberal conspiracy ends.

Chairman Ford in his opening statement declared:  “And I say this to indicate to you that I fully expected on the basis of preliminary information I had and the preliminary study that our people did that they would find a legal justification for what was done, and I can’t understand why the people at the White House didn’t understand the importance of having the GAO make that kind of report here with or before your appearance in the committee.” He further added: “I want you to know that we are not trying to hold back, and that I personally expect that at some stage the GAO will tell us that the transfer of funds was legal.”

What?! You mean the evil Democrats had already looked into the matter, found nothing illegal, and expected the Bush White House to agree?? Oh, my! That’s a terrible conspiracy! It looks as though the Democrats were now attempting to CLEAR the Bush White House of any wrong-doing by holding a hearing.

Committee member after committee member all stated the same thing. None of them found anything illegal. You can read the transcript of the hearing in pdf format here. It’s only 64 pages.

So, is that to say the Democrats had no objections to President Bush’s speech at all? No. They had but one objection to it. They objected to its production costs being paid for out of the Department of Education’s budget, rather than the White House’s own budget. The Democrats did not, however, approach this hearing with a preconceived notion that the Bush administration had done anything illegal. In fact, quite the opposite is true. They approached it with the preconceived CONCLUSION that the Bush administration had done nothing wrong, and that’s clearly reflected in the transcript.

No Democrats said Bush should have never given the speech. No Democrats said Bush had no business addressing America’s school kids. No Democrats ever promoted the wholesale preemptive censoring or banning of Bush’s speech. No Democrats ever advocated parents keeping their children home from school that day.

What was the final conclusion, then? The Bush White house had done nothing illegal, which is exactly what the Democrats had concluded, before the hearing ever convened. The media had falsely accused the republican President, and the Democratic-controlled Congress worked to clear his name. It really is as simple as that. We’ll see how long it takes the republicans to offer any reciprocity regarding the currently-sitting Democratic President.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a rather glaringly-humorous juxtaposition that the political party, which is historically noted for its deep slashes to education funding, would use an education budget to pay for a broadcast, to promote their agenda about a program they feel the government has no business being involved with in the first place.

Ironic? Yes. Illegal? No, and the Democrats made sure the media knew it. And now you do, too.

-Sue and the Ranting Keyboard

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Judge Sonia Sotomayor won U.S. Senate approval on Thursday to become the first Hispanic on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Democratic-led Senate voted largely along party lines, 68-31, to approve President Barack Obama’s nomination of Sotomayor for the lifetime appointment on the highest U.S. court.

The large number of Republican “no” votes reflected the party’s resistance to the Democratic president on several fronts including his bid to overhaul healthcare.

When sworn in, Sotomayor, 55, a federal appeals judge in New York since 1998, will be the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the 220-year-old Supreme Court.

Read the rest of this great news here!

Congratulations, Judge Sotomayor!

For those who missed Keith Olbermann’s Special Comment on Countdown last night, here’s your chance to watch it in all its glory!

What is it going to take to let Congress know that the longer they keep on with their pissing match, Americans are DYING daily because they have no health care. We cannot wait any longer, Capitol Hill, so GET WITH IT!

Friday night (10 July, 2009) Bill Moyer’s Journal exposed Health care. It was especially good and should be required viewing. The three videos below are the complete show (all three combined are 51 minutes and 31 seconds long) and they are a must see, especially the second one…Take your blood pressure medicine before you view them.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch.html (11 minutes, 17 seconds)

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch2.html (36 minutes, 30 seconds)

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch3.html (3 minutes, 44 seconds)

This is unbelievable…

In the first video, watch for the parts where Congressmen Stupak and Barton ask the questions. They are an eyeopener.

In the second video, in the interview with ex CIGNA Head of Corporate Communications, Wendell Potter, we learn that Michael Moore’s film Sicko was dead accurate and that the health insurance industry threatened the Democratic Party with a return to minority party status if they endorsed the film in the slightest way. The part on the outdoor clinic in Virginia was not only disheartening but it reminded me of the third world nation that we are quickly becoming.

The third video is a commentary by Bill Moyers on the media and in particular on a member of the media, the publisher of THE WASHINGTON POST Katharine Weymouth, and her way of capitalizing on the plan to reform health care.

Welcome to Fascist America.

Please forward this to everyone because it needs the widest possible exposure.

Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin has announced that she will resign as governor within a few weeks. Her reason? “No more politics as usual.” Whatever the hell THAT means.

There have been no reports of any reaction from Joe The Plunger.

So let’s look at the scorecard. She leaves the town she was once mayor of in millions of dollars of debt. Then her utter stupidity results in a losing vice presidential bid. Now she just up and quits, under the lamest of excuses.

Given her performance to this point, I think we can kiss her goodbye for good.

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Democrat Al Franken the winner of a tight U.S. Senate race over Republican Norm Coleman, which should give Democrats the 60-seat majority they need to overcome procedural obstacles and push through their agenda.

Coleman has said in published reports he is unlikely to appeal the state court’s decision to the federal courts. Under state law, the court’s decision gives Franken the right to occupy the seat, which has been up for grabs since last November’s election.

Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty has said he will certify the election winner based on what the state court decides.

Read the rest of this article here.

Congratulations, Senator Franken!

The Nevada Senate has voted to override Gov. Jim Gibbon’s veto of a measure that would give domestic partners, whether gay or straight, many of the rights and benefits that Nevada offers to married couples.

The bill provides that domestic partners have the same rights as married couples in matters like community property and responsibility for debts.

More from The New York Times/AP Story.