I Hope You're Happy

So, I’m moving servers, and some rebuilding must take place, but I’m back…..

I’ll be back to the podcast soon. I’ve been getting some major projects done, and will soon be able to start it up again. Just wanted to let you all know.

Sorry this is late. Life’s been Hell. If you want more regular content, you could hit the donate button on the right and help me get my company, gearsecure.net, started. It would bump this site up one notch in the ranks of what is important in my life.

The episode features music by The Girl with The Replaceable Head. I really like their songs and their sound. Find them at http://www.myspace.com/thegirlwiththereplaceablehead They are from the UK, and follow gearsecure on twitter.

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Today Rod Blagojevich used his gubernatorial powers to appoint Roland Burris to the Senate to fill Barack Obama’s vacated seat. I knew something like this would happen, so here’s my analysis of what’s going on. Are you ready?

First, Blago’s point of View: Blago thinks because he is the chief executive of the state of Illinois, he is right, no matter what the rule of law may be. He probably learned this tactic from his hero Richard Nixon, and will probably go down just as hard. The Illinois legislature is moving quickly on impeachment, which gives him an impetus to act. He said he wouldn’t make an appointment, and his attorney did as well, but that wouldn’t stop anybody with as Napoleonic an ego as Blagojevich. The key was to find the right person, and so he dug up Roland Burris. Burris is practically perfect because he has no taint on him from any part of the current scandal, the last governor’s scandal, or anything else that anyone could actually remember. Plus he’s African American. Let’s just say that up front, because if he selected another white guy, there would have been more to fight about.

Blago saw the Democrats in the state legislature too scared of losing a seat for their U.S. Senate brethren to strip him of his seat, and so he called their bluff. This is political poker, and I think everyone is holding a pair of twos, but the stare-down is happening right now.

This maneuver is interesting, and I’m at the same time amazed at the stupidity of it, and the brilliance of it. The Democrats in the State legislature, in their fear of political loss tried to come out on top with an impeachment, but no other action. In that way, Blago’s successor, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn would be able to properly appoint a Democrat to the seat and we could all live happily ever after (except Rod, but well, he gets what he gets). It was stupid to appoint somebody because he knows he’s overstepping the bounds of propriety and good taste, but it was brilliant because now the State Democrats are looking like the fools. He has undermined their strength and credibility by standing up to the challenge.

As for the reaction, the U.S. Senate says they won’t seat Roland Burris, Secretary of State Jesse White says he will not certify it, and in his interpretation of the law, this doesn’t impede it moving on past him, but does show he does not approve of it. The Illinois Democrats are saying they’ll now act, but the move is now reactionary, and not like it could have been, the right thing.

As I said before, the Illinois Democrats could have done the right thing by stripping him of this power, holding the run-off election, and let the due process decide who go the seat and of the Republicans got it, well, the Democrats should have worked harder in the election. Fear of losing a seat caused them to take this waffling excuse of an action where they hoped to impeach him hoping that he’d play fair (yeah, right), not appoint somebody, and let the next Democratic Governor appoint by the backdoor. Well, now that plan is shot. Even worse, they go down as the people who blocked the appointment of America’s only Black Senator, as Rep. Bobby Rush pointed out. Blago has made them all look like the bad guys in all of this.

This appointment is a middle finger to their weakness, and I for one think it is just desserts.

It has all the brilliance of McCain revitalizing his ticket with an unknown Sarah Palin without the fallout of her being a looney, because what does he have to lose? Nothing.

This leaves one last person to consider, Roland Burris. What is he thinking? Is he actually thinking this is a good career move? That he’s actually going to serve in the Senate? I worry that he doesn’t realize that he is a pawn in a game of people who are bigger than him. Roland Burris was a competent politician by all accounts, but he lost four elections, among them for Governor, Senator, and Mayor of Chicago. In Burris, Blago has a white knight. He’s pure, uncorrupt, unassociated with scandal until now, and that’s the best part of it all, as well as the tragedy of it. Without the circus, he’d probably be a decent candidate.

I’m impressed, and I think this is even more of an indication of his nature as a politician. He’s willing to play dirtier than anybody else. He’s still an asshole, but he’s crafty.

In this episode we cover:

Note to Republicans: Stop Comparing Obama to Hitler
Joe Lieberman: Featherless Biped of the Democrats

and special musical guest:

Lena (link)

ihyh081126.mp3