(CNN) — “The political circus surrounding the selection of New York’s next senator is over — at least for the next two years. New York Gov. David Paterson announces the choice of Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand fill Clinton’s seat.

On Friday, New York Gov. David Paterson, a Democrat, appointed Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to serve the remaining Senate term of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Paterson had the task of choosing among at least 10 people for the job. The list included New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Caroline Kennedy.”

According to CNN, the replacement of Hilary Clinton in the New York Senate has finally been found. Her name is Kirsten Gillibrand and she has immense experience in New York politics. Though many are against her views toward the right to bear arms, Gillibrand is overall a good choice for the seat.

When I read this article, I was fairly surprised that Caroline Kennedy nor Attorney General Cuomo had been chosen for the job. As I read further I was informed that Kennedy stepped down in the running shortly before the decision was made.

Do you feel Gillibrand was a smart choice as the new Senator of New York? Were you surprised that Kennedy stepped down in the running of such an important position? Do you think there are any obvious reasons as to why Cuomo was not chosen?

The Inauguration of Obama yesterday was a colossal event with about two million people present. Chief Justice John Roberts was to swear in Obama but it seemed that the actual process was not well rehearsed. The pausing was a little off and the words were not completely in order. USA Today states that it was John Roberts’ mistake and not that of Obama.

USA TODAY- WASHINGTON — “When Chief Justice John Roberts began the presidential oath, he asked President Obama, “Are you prepared to take the oath, Senator?” Obama said he was.

Yet it appeared Roberts wasn’t quite set. Roberts, who was administering the oath for the first time, had some trouble with the pauses — which allow time for the president to repeat the 35-word consitutional oath — and with the order of the phrasing.”

Regardless of the awkward phrasing and pausing, the Inauguration still went amazingly smooth. Most media networks are disregarding the confused situation and are focusing more on the positive fact that the first African American president has finally arrived.

Did you know that it was not Obama’s fault for the word mix-up? Do you feel that the media’s steering away from the word confusion added to the overall positive feed back from the Inauguration? Ultimately, do you believe that the Inauguration was a huge historical event in the history of America?

As talked about in class, many democrats are livid with Obama’s choice to have evangelical pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inaguration.  Rick Warren is an evangelical paster at Saddleback Church with very conservative beliefs regarding gay rights and was a huge proponent of California’s Proposition 8 banning gay marriage.

Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solomnese sent Obama a letter asking him to reconsider what they say is a show of “disrespect” and a “genuine blow” to the gay community.  “We feel a deep level of disrespect when one of the architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination,” Solomnese wrote.

However, in his speech Thursday Barack Obama made no apologies for his appointment and noted that he had previously been invited by Rick Warren to speak at Saddleback Church.  “We have to disagree without being disagreeable and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans.”

Rick Warren has been praised by Obama for many of his humanitarian efforts which is the main reason why he was asked to speak at Obama’s inauguration.

Although I can see how liberals and gay rights activists are upset with the choice out of dislike for Warren, Warren’s views on Gay rights is in no way a representation of the Obama administration and will not be reflected in his inaugural blessing.  Rick Warren has an opinion, an opinion that every American is entitled to have.  Liberals constantly say that they are the party of tolerance; tolerant of everyone from all walks of life.  However when people voice opinions different from their own they seem to become enraged more times than not and this is a perfect example.  Rick Warren has done many great things and is a great proponent of humanitarian efforts.  He has not acted out in any way against his country and will not be  doing nothing other than blessing his president and his country– not voicing his opinions, though he is entitled to have them.

I didn’t know there even was such a thing!  John Walker Lindh is an American from California who converted to Islam as a teenager.  “His parents repeated their contention that Lindh went abroad to study Islam, found himself in Afghanistan in a civil war and joined the Taliban with no intent to support terrorism or fight against his homeland.”  He joined the Taliban to fight with them in Afghanistan’s civil war a month before the US-led invasion.  During his trial seven six years ago, Lindh said that he “made a mistake by joining the Taliban” and “had I realized then what I know now about the Taliban, I would never have joined them.”  His parents have said that he never fought against Americans.  The judge called it a bad choice–I would say that is an understatement.  Well, now he is asking for President Bush to commute the rest of his 20 year sentence, of which he has served seven.  What do you think?  Should he go free?  I’m not sure–I mean, he says he’s seen the error in his ways, but still.  How can you not know about what the Taliban has done, even before the September 11 attacks.  They were involved in lots of other terrorist attacks before that, and they have a bloody history in Afghanistan.  Unless he was just stupid, how could he not have known about who the Taliban was and what they were involved in?  It’s not as if the outside world had no knowledge of the Taliban and what they were doing before September 11.  It is also astounding to me that a born and bred American, who learned US history all through school, would support an organization that so severely limited the freedom that America holds dear?  Even if he was not fighting American soldiers, it seems as though he was still “fighting America,” by supporting the Taliban who were vocally anti-American, anti-West, and anti-freedom.  Thoughts?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/17/john.walker.lindh/index.html

Today Obama announced that he is adding another Republican to his Cabinet; Ray LaHood from Illinois will be his Transportation Secretary.

In everything that we have been talking about with having a majority party making it easier to get things done, does it complicate things when a cabinet position is filled by a member of the other party? Apparently LaHood is versatile in his beliefs and is open to the beliefs of people outside his party.

LaHood is well-respected by Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill.

One of LaHood’s closest friends in Congress, fellow Illinois Republican Tim Johnson, said LaHood “has the ability to work both sides of the aisle well” and called him “an extraordinarily talented legislator.

As a Republican I obviously believe that it’s great that LaHood is being added to the cabinet. Not only because he is a republican but also because I believe that the most qualified people should be in federal offices and if Obama thinks LaHood is qualified then that’s great. I hope that Obama continues to reach across party lines in his decisions throughout his presidency!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/17/transition.wrap/index.html

 

The people were very interested to find out that  Senator Schumer reported that one of the Kennedy children is very interested in the open senate seats. The senator schumer said that Caroline Kennedy is one of 12 different people interested in taking over. If Caroline does get the seat this would be a continuation of her family legacy.  Governor Paterson can appoint a replacement who would later be in a special election in 2010. Caroline is 51 years old, and has expressed a lot of interest in filling the New York senate seat that Hilary Clinton has left open. Kennedy has talked to the Governor already and discussed having a seat down meeting with him to talk about what she could bring to New York.

 

Kennedy is going to have some tough competition though because New York Attorney General has also expressed interest in the position.  It does help Caroline though that she has deep roots in New York.

 

“But in January, she backed a political candidate for the first time, announcing her endorsement of Obama during the Democratic primary season with an op-ed in The New York Times that drew days of the kind of media attention she has spent her life avoiding.”

 

“I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them,” she wrote. “But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.”

 

“Apparently, she has acquired a taste for politics,” Schneider noted. “She wants to be part of this new regime in America, clearly playing a key role in the Senate if she gets that appointment.”

 

What is your opinion of another Kennedy in office? Do you think she is qualified?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/15/kennedy.senate/index.html

According to a CNN poll, twice as many people prefer that the Obamas get a shelter dog, rather than one from a breeder or pet store.  This is probably partly because Barack specified that they preferred to get a shelter dog, as well as one that wouldn’t bother people with allergies very much.  From the more than 70 breeds suggested by pollees, labs topped the list, followed closely by mutts and poodles.  Poodles?  The newest Obama will be a part of a long line of white house dogs, from Nixon’s infamous Checkers (though technically he was a vice presidential mansion dog), LBJ’s Yuki, and the current first dogs Barney and Miss Beasley (the newest puppy).  Though I personally think that it is none of anyone’s business what kind of dog the Obamas choose to get, it might make people feel more connected to the soon-to-be first family and their pet.  If the Obama’s adopt from a shelter like they have talked about, then that will probably raise shelter dogs’ profile and more people will want to adopt from shelters, which will alleviate shelters’ burdens.  Whatever the Obamas decide, I’m sure the first dog will be beloved by many Americans, especially considering Obama’s popularity.   

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/16/obama.puppy.poll/index.html

http://www.presidentialpetmuseum.com/whitehousepets-1.htm  look at all the pictures of first pets–my favorite is the one of President Johnson and Yuki!

Over the weekend, it was reported that Sarah Palin’s hometown church was badly damaged from a fire. The damages total over one million dollars, but thankfully, no one was hurt. It was discovered today, however, that “an accelerant was poured around the exterior” of the church, which would lead any logically thinking person to believe that this fire was, in fact, the work of an arsonist. Many also believe that it is connected with a Sarah Palin adversary, seeing as this is the church she attends regularly. I think it is extremely sad that someone would go so far as to burn a person’s church when they are opposed to them. In addition, Sarah Palin’s ticket did not even win, so I’m not sure I even understand the point of the attack on her church. She lost the race, why should she have to lose her church as well? Thankfully though, the church feels more united than ever as the whole congregation is coming together to cope with the losses, making the arsonist an epic failure.

Here’s the related article: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2008/12/15/churchgoer-says-palins-church-lifted-spirits/

New York Gov. David Paterson’s office said “Saturday Night Live” went too far in its portrayal of the legally blind governor over the weekend.

Paterson became governor last spring after then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer was forced to resign amid a sex scandal. The “SNL” skit featured cast member Fred Armisen as the governor. It referred to cocaine use, with Armisen saying he became governor due to a “sex scandal I was miraculously not at the center of. Come on, I’m a blind man who loves cocaine who was suddenly appointed governor of New York. My life is an actual plot from a Richard Pryor movie,” Armisen said in the skit.

A spokeswoman for Paterson suggested the skit was offensive to all people with physical disabilities. The governor’s communications director has said that the governor has a good sense of humour and that SNL is surely capable of being funny without being inappropriate and inoffensive, and ridiculing people with disabilities. Does SNL cross the line occasionally in attempt to get laughs from the audience, and is this one of those cases?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/15/paterson.snl/index.html

Earl Stafford, A Virginia businessman has spent $1 million to hundreds of poverty-stricken and terminally ill Americans, along with wounded men and women in uniform, an inauguration experience that won’t cost them anything.

“I was inspired to do this by the Lord. … It’s not about us but about us helping other people,” he said.

At least third of the tickets to the event will go toward people who are needy or underprivileged, and the rest of those participating could be people from sponsoring foundations, companies or volunteers. He hopes that providing a front row seat to history will inspire those invited to do good things in their communities. The project takes care of everything; It includes high-end hotel rooms and luxury suites, food and drinks, a heated viewing spot right above the parade route, even gowns and tuxedos to wear to celebratory balls and a beautician to help attendees get ready.

Even though Staffer notes that he does not agree with Obama on all of his positions, he believes the inauguration will be “a transition in history, if you will … and everyone should be included.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/04/peoples.inaugural/index.html