George Wenschhof Bio
Today, President-elect Barack Obama will officially announce Panetta and Blair - he is expected to hold a press conference this morning announcing what has already been leaked days ago. Leon Panetta as director of the CIA and retired Admiral Dennis Blair as national intelligence officer. Time.com has more here. Also, John Brennan is expected to be named White House Homeland Security adviser.
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Vice-President elect Joe Biden is in Pakistan - in a little publicized trip in his capacity as outgoing chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is joined by Republican Senator Lindsay Graham. They will meet with Pakistani Leaders and discuss the war on terror and recent flare up of tensions between India and Pakistan. You can read more here.
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National unemployment rate hits 7.2% - the Labor department reported that 2.589 million jobs were lost in 2008, the most in a single year since 1945. Bloomberg.com has more here.
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UN votes 14-0 for cease-fire in the fighting in Gaza - it has now been 14 days of fighting with no immediate end in sight. The U.S. abstained in the UN vote. The NY Times has more here.
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Illinois legislative committee recommends impeachment of Blagojevich - yesterday, they voted to recommend impeachment hearings. The Illinois House is expected to vote today and if a yeah vote, the proceedings would then move to the Illinois Senate. Also yesterday, Roland Burris testified and stated there was no quid pro quo in his appointment to the vacant Senate seat by the Governor. CNN.com has more here.
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Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC) announces 5000 Tickets will be made available to the public today - the fee is $25 and will give you access to the bleachers along the route from the Capitol to the White House. They will be made available today at 1:00 PM ET on Ticketmaster.com on a first come-first serve basis and only up to four per person. PIC has more on their website here.
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Friday, January 9, 2009
Democratic Chatter 1-9-2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Democratic Chatter 1-6-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
President-elect Barack Obama to meet with his economic team today - it is now two weeks until Inauguration Day and today he will be discussing the budget, the economy and ways to reduce the spiraling budget deficit facing the national budget. ThePage.Time.com has more here.
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New Congress to be sworn in today - the perfunctory action has added drama this year as Roland Burris will show up to be sworn in as the new Senator from Illinois and Al Franken may show up as the new Senator from Minnesota. Senate Majority Leader has said neither one will be seated. For Burris, it is due to the cloud surrounding Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich who appointed him to fill the vacant Obama Senate seat. For Franken, it is due to the legal challenges to be filed by his opponent Norm Coleman. Franken was declared the winner by 225 votes yesterday by the state canvassing board after the recount of 2.9 million votes. Coleman has seven days to file a legal challenge before the vote can be certified.
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Obama announces Panetta for CIA and Blair for National Intelligence - Retired Admiral Dennis Blair was expected to be named as Director of National Intelligence. The surprise pick, which is already drawing fire from the Hill, was Leon Panetta as CIA Director. Panetta was former chief of staff for the Clinton administration and has little intelligence field background. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calf.) who will chair the Senate select Committee on intelligence said she was not consulted by the Obama administration and felt the position should be filled with someone with experience in the field. The Washington Post has more here.
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Xavier Becerra rumored to be a contender for Commerce Secretary - the eight term Democratic Representative from California had earlier been offered the position of U.S. Trade representative and he turned it down. With the withdrawal of Governor Richardson, Hispanic leaders have indicated they would like to see another Latino nominated for the position. You can read more here.
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NY Governor David Paterson sends questionnaire to contenders for Cinton's soon to be vacant Senate seat - Reportedly, the questionnaire was sent to Caroline Kennedy, Representatives Steve Israel, Carolyn Maloney, Kristen Gillibrand, and Jerrold Nadler. Also Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi. The NY Times has more here.
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Obama announces Justice Department picks - Dawn Johnson to head office of legal counsel, David Ogden for deputy attorney general, Elena Hagan for solicitor general, and Tom Perrelli as associate attorney general. They will be replacing those who provided the justification for the Bush administration use of harsh interrogation techniques, detention of terrorist suspects and more. McClatchydc.com has a good read here.
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