SPRINGSTEEN HEARTS RAHM, WARRANTS EVEN LESS RESPECT

I really didn't need a reason to have less respect for Bruce Springsteen than I already do but courtesy of the Chicago Tribune, I got one anyway. It appears that Springsteen and Rahm Emanuel are personal friends. The New Jersey rocker apparently gifted Rahm 25 tickets to his concerts in Washington, D.C. Having been a Springsteen fan - I'm ashamed to say - as recently as 2004, he lost me big time when he decided to stump for John Kerry. For me, that proved he was less intelligent than I had given him credit for.

Now we learn that he's personal friends with a foul, dirty, leftwing, Chicago-style politician, in addition to being quite far down on the leftwing side of the spectrum himself. Springsteen could almost factually be labeled a socialist at this point. He started showing his true colors a little more brightly in 2000 when he released a song called, "41 shots", which was an anthem against police - though he provided enough vagueness in the song to allow him some wiggle room. Since then, Bruce has reached full socialist bloom.

Via the Tribune:

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel's new financial disclosure report shows investments worth a minimum of $6.7 million, plus what many would consider priceless: 25 seats to Bruce Springsteen concerts directly from "The Boss."

At $95 a seat, the gift totaled $2,375. Emanuel received 10 seats for a show May 18, 2009, and 15 for one on Nov. 2, 2009. Both were in Washington.

Emanuel and his wife, Amy Rule, are personal friends of Springsteen and his wife, Patti Scialfa, a White House official said, and ethics rules let friends gift friends.

For years, Springsteen stayed intentionally out of politics. He was respected by most everyone for his ability to remain apolitical. He seemed to "get it" when it came to politics having no place in entertainment. We learned in 2004 that he just couldn't stay in the leftwing closet anymore.

Springsteen is now friends with a political Chicago thug who is being exposed as such on a near daily basis.

h/t to Free Republic

VIDEO: AFL-CIO ECONOMIST CALLS CAVUTO A**HOLE

My first reaction to this was apoplexy at the fact that the AFL-CIO actually has a chief economist. The whole concept seems oxymoronic since these people have proven time and again that they don't even know where money comes from. Nonetheless, Fox's Neil Cavuto has an interview with Ron Blackwell, who holds that very position. The level of frustration coming from Cavuto is more than warranted. In fact, it gets so palpable that he rhetorically asks Blackwell if he got his degree from a 'Baking School'.

Perhaps most revealing about Blackwell's lack of qualifications is that he doesn't whip out the name of the highly reputable institution he did come from, which would have immediately made Cavuto look foolish. Instead, he calls Neil an "A**hole" which actually makes Cavuto's frustration justified.

The essence of Blackwell's argument - I think - is that the $787 Billion stimulus prevented much worse conditions but he can't explain how. At the heart of Cavuto's frustration is Blackwell's ignorance of - or refusal to acknowledge - very basic economic principles.

Some may say Cavuto is badgering but this guy Blackwell makes so little sense, I thought Cavuto went easy on him.



h/t to Hot Air

BLAG-O-BAMA: BLAGO AIDE SAYS OBAMA KNEW

The Rod Blagojevich trial is definitely starting to heat up. Audio recordings of conversations between the former Governor, his brother, his then Chief of Staff John Harris, Lon Monk, etc. are in abundance and posted on line. They are very interesting to listen to and provide a look into how Chicago style politics work.

In testimony on June 24th, Harris said he believes Obama knew about Blago wanting something in exchange for appointing Obama's choice, Valerie Jarrett to the newly vacated Senate seat. Via POLITICO:

John Harris, Blagojevich’s former top aide, testified during the governor’s corruption hearings this week that three days after Obama’s election as president, Blagojevich felt assured he had a deal from the president that would place aide Valerie Jarrett in the Senate. He offered no proof of his claim.

“The president understands that the governor would be willing to make the appointment of Valerie Jarrett as long as he gets what he's asked for,” Harris said in testimony.

If there weren't other instances - like the confirmed offer to Sestak and the "dangled" offers to Romanoff - perhaps less credence could be given to Harris' testimony. The fact that Rahm Emanuel provides a common thread to all three, Obama should have to answer questions at some point.

They appear more interested in continuing the stonewalling...

The White House has declined comment. The same claim has been made by defense lawyers in past court filings, without supporting evidence.

This is exactly why Blago's motion to subpoena Obama needs to be granted. Either Harris is lying under oath or he's telling the truth and Obama's testimony is required.

So far, repeated attempts by Blago's attorneys to get transcripts or even summaries of the interviews between Obama and the FBI have fallen on deaf ears.

The president spoke with FBI agents about the Blagojevich scandal soon after the former governor was arrested in 2008. Blagojevich’s legal team has tried to compel the FBI to release a transcript of the interview it conducted with the president, but the bureau has declined all requests.

While the FBI head reports to the president, he is supposed to be able to act independently. That's a laugher. The Department of Justice isn't supposed to protect the president either but that's actually become SOP. Is there a legitimate reason why the FBI won't turn over the contents of that interview?

In light of the recent events, I can't think of any.

More on Blago trial HERE.