The Clinton Compromise – Bill tells all for sake of Hillary’s career

No, no, no….everyone already knows all about that!  What with Bill’s book, Hillary’s book, and the daily coverage on the news during his administration, Bill’s sexual exploits have been thoroughly covered.

The title is about how former President Bill Clinton has decided to disclose information so Hillary can be Secretary of State. President-elect Obama’s choice for the position, however, still raises eyebrows of many considering the heated contention between the two on the campaign trail.  And many pundits are still asking, “What will Bill’s role be in all of this?”

No matter what Hillary Clinton wants to do in her career, as long as she is married to the former president she will have to contend with questions like that.  Bill is still very active in his post-presidential career and is enjoying a continued success of which Hillary is still quite envious.  As a junior senator, Hillary wouldn’t have the opportunity for immediate advancement she feels entitled to after her run at the presidency.  Regardless of her pledges to represent New Yorkers in her senatorial re-election bid, she never really was satisfied being the small fish in the big pond.  Add to that how much Bill’s celebrity has grown, especially since he’s been out of office, and you can see how Bill’s activities still impact what she can and cannot do.

Bill Clinton has always stated that he would not disclose the names of those who have contributed to his foundation since many did so on the understanding that they would remain anonymous.  Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, who plans to vote to confirm Hillary’s appointment as Secretary of State, said:

I don’t know how, given all of our ethics standards now, anyone quite measures up to this who has such cosmic ties, but … hopefully, this team of rivals will work.”

Was there any English in that??

Lugar also said that “legitimate questions” will be raised with regards to Bill Clinton’s activities.  However, there are many, including Democrats, who feel Hillary is too politically ambitious to effectively serve in a new position.  Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island noted,

The presumption will be that both Secretary of State Clinton and former President Clinton will be very judicious in what they take on, because there’s a new dimension here.

But, in order to appease his wife (and, more likely, to help his star to continue to rise), Bill has agreed to terms that the President-elect’s transition team required.  Included are agreements:

-to disclose the names of every contributor to his foundation since its inception in 1997 and all contributors going forward.

-to refuse donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Global Initiative, his annual charitable conference.

-to cease holding CGI meetings overseas.

-to volunteer to step away from day-to-day management of the foundation while his wife is secretary of state.

-to submit his speaking schedule to review by the State Department and White House counsel.

-to submit any new sources of income to a similar ethical review.

While Bill may be willing to compromise like that, the larger question is whether Hillary really is ready to follow suit.  By agreeing to take the position, President-elect Obama has assured her that she will have direct contact with him and can pick her own staff.  But is she really ready to let go of her campaign and fundraising habits?  It certainly wouldn’t help the new president’s administration to have someone covertly planning a run at his office in 2012.  And can Hillary really stand having to wait four or eight years to try again at the office for which she feels entitled?

After the way Hillary and Obama sniped at each other on the campaign trail and Hillary’s ambitious nature, is Bill really the biggest concern to the incoming presidency anymore?  Maybe this is a way of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.

WKRP returns to the airwaves in Cincinnati

Hooray for UHF television!  Okay…it’s not actually UHF, but if you live in Cincinnati, OH, and have an antenna, you can now receive the signal for WKRP.  Seriously!

Playing off the widely popular TV show “WKRP in Cincinnati,” the station formerly was known as WBQC-TV and changed it’s call letters in time for the switch to digital cable.

Maybe next Thanksgiving we’ll see a repeat of the famous turkey drop?

Kids ask Santa for economic help this year

In an earlier blog post this week, I mentioned how hard it is for people this year at Christmas because of the economy.  And just as I said would happen, children are asking Santa for help.

Joe Jackson, a Santa in Columbia, SC, said this:

You see things behind the beard that nobody else will ever see or hear. I’ve had children just literally tear my heart out.

Parents are helping their children through tough times by trying to keep traditions alive.  Many know that their children desperately want the latest and greatest toy from Santa this year and that it just won’t happen.  Sadly, many don’t realize that the kids know this as well regardless of how much Mom and Dad try to hide it.

Children this year aren’t asking for as many toys as before, the article says.  They’re asking for warm clothes and personal care items — things most people would be offended to receive as a present.  In days gone by when people were happy to receive simple homemade presents, a pair of socks or a hastily-knitted scarf was the highlight of someone’s holiday.  Now, if it doesn’t have a memory card or isn’t the latest model of something they already have, people don’t want it.  To many, if you can’t prove you spent a quarter of your annual salary on their present then you’d be better off not buying anything at all.

Civic organizations are scrambling to help families provide a simple Christmas for children this year.  With more families signing-up for services and less people donating money, it’s going to be thin all around.

Having to cancel Christmas breaks the hearts of parents everywhere.  And it’s not only Christian families that are hurting this year.  Those who celebrate Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and no specific holiday at all are also in need.  It’s not just during the winter non-denominational holiday season that people need assistance.

Stiff holds up bank – Cardboard cutout confused for criminal

In Montgomery Township, NJ, police held a standoff with a cardboard cutout in a bank.  I can only assume that it was the police who blinked first.

The cutout was seen through the windows of the bank after the police responded to an alarm.  It is not yet known what set off the alarm, but three nearby apartment buildings were evacuated after the “person” inside refused to answer the phone or responded to the bullhorn used by officers on scene.  After realizing the suspected robber was not going to make contact with them, the police sent in the SWAT team.

True, this is be a case of “better safe than sorry.”  I’m wondering if the cutout will be charged for the expenses.  I’m pretty sure someone in the apartment buildings has already contacted their lawyer over the inconvenience of being evacuated for “no reason.”  At least the “criminal” is a stand-up guy who didn’t try to run.

That’s not mistletoe! Illinois zoo offers reindeer poop ornaments.

This Christmas people can decorate their trees with poop.  Although reindeer are large creatures, their poo is quite small and, so it seems, desirable when rolled in glitter and strung on wire with beads.

Actually, it is an interesting fund-raising method for the zoo.  The ornaments are sold for $5 each and come with a certificate of authenticity.  I’m not sure you’ll find many who want the job of sitting and watching reindeer defecate in order to make the certificates, but I guess it’s got its own prestige.

Just don’t expect to get too many kisses if you hang it from the ceiling…

Is shopping worth your life? Wal-Mart employee killed during Black Friday store rampage

Just how much is your life worth?  Shoppers at a Long Island, NY, Wal-Mart felt that anyone standing in their way was worth less than saving a few dollars.

A clerk at the store was trampled after the crowd broke the doors off the hinges.  A pregnant woman has been taken to hospital for observation and may have lost her unborn child.  Many others sustained injuries from the riot and the store had to be closed.

The Bentonville, AR, headquarters stated the store had to be closed for a “medical emergency” but has yet to confirm or deny the rampage by its customers.

So, are your kids just that spoiled that you’ll threaten the life of another person for a stupid toy?  Are you that greedy that you can’t wait until the store opens to plunk down money you can’t afford to spend on an HD TV?  And have we all become so blind to the plight of others that people will actually step on others in pursuit of material goods that no one notices someone has been hurt until it’s too late?

What does that say about the state of the world today?  True, people want to continue their holiday traditions and provide presents for family members but can’t afford to spend as much as years past.  We’re all out looking for a way to save some money.  But instead of living within the means they have now, there are many who find the after-Thanksgiving sales as the only way to appease their spoiled children, guilty conscience, or greedy desires.  Every year we hear about someone getting hurt in a shopping rush.  Every year we hear people complain about how they overspent on holiday gifts because “it was on sale” or “they just had to have it.”

So how much is your life worth?  I’d like to think we could all agree it’s worth more than anything that comes wrapped with a bow.

Merry Hanukkah?? White House invitation has Christmas tree on it…

Okay…who screwed this one up?? The White House Haunkkah Reception invitation sent out this year comes complete with a Christian/pagan Christmas tree right on it!

Will Santa be there too?  Maybe everyone will get to light the Misumaa Saba candles (they’re for Kwanzaa, if you didn’t know that).  I love the clydesdale horse towing the sled, too.  I guess ABInBev (what used to be Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis) will provide all the refreshments.

Supposedly it’s just a slip-up.  This late in the game, we should be used to that from the current White House.  It just reminds us that they’re not done yet — so don’t close the printing deals on your “Bush Gaffe” books!

Why not a chocolate Jesus for Easter?

The Roman Catholic Church once again is upset over a chocolate Jesus.  This time, a German chocolatier is under fire for creating gold foil-wrapped miniature Jesuses (yes, I looked it up and that is the correct spelling for the plural of “Jesus”…. jeez…).

Well, why not?  Just because someone decides to feed their Lord and Savior to children along with chocolate eggs on a bed of plastic grass it’s now a mortal sin?  I don’t see anyone going to Hell yet over Jesus of the Week, and I’ve been looking at it for years!

Actually, Frank Oynhausen set up his “Sweet Lord” business in order to renew traditional values.  Plus, he had been unemployed for two years and was motivated enough to pull himself up and create some income.

But let’s look at the traditions.  Children eat chocolate eggs at Easter.  The date changes every year based on the cycles of the moon.  And the Roman Catholic church is upset over a candy Jesus?  They don’t care that their Christmas trees and date of their holiest holiday celebrating the resurrection are guided by pagan origins?

Does anyone explain to the kids that the eggs are actually fertility symbols for the pagan Saxon Spring Festival?  And so are the bunny rabbits!  Think about that when you’re telling your kids to wait anxiously for colored ovum to be deposited in the lawn for them to hunt.

So Mr. Oynhausen wants to make and sell chocolate Jesuses.  True, it can be disconcerting to bite the head off the Son of God (if that’s your belief).  But what about those who don’t hold that belief?  Or any belief?  Does it matter?  Why restrict the sale of something that others may wish to purchase that isn’t illegal to own (unless you want a riot of chocoholics on your doorstep!)?  You’d think so long as they weren’t bowing down and offering live sacrifices to them it would be okay.

Now, if he stuffs them with a gooey red center, even I might have to opt out of those….

Hit and….lay there? Man accused of DUI runs over self.

I guess it’s not hard to do if you’ve had enough to drink.  In Santa Fe, NM, a 21-year-old man ran over himself after leading police on a drunken chase.

He was treated for minor injuries as only his legs were actually run over by the front tire.  The man had tried to exit the vehicle after attempting to put it in reverse.

The good news out of this is that the state’s DrunkBuster hotline is being used and does work.  Police had received a tip-off about a possibly drunken driver and State Police officer spotted him.  Many people are reluctant to use the hotlines because they believe no one will respond if there is a valid claim.  The actions of the officer to follow and attempt to stop the driver may have saved others.

Fortunately in this case, no one other than the alleged drunk driver was injured.  Though, I’m sure he’s not really going to want to tell the truth of what happened while he’s sitting in jail….

Poetic Justice — Suspected dogfighter bitten by police dog

Talk about poetic justice!! Sunday, a Dayton, OH, man suspected of running a dogfighting was bitten by a police dog.  The man was attempting to run from police when the K9 officer grabbed him by the wrist.

The suspect was treated for bites and taken to jail.

Bravo to the police dog!  I just hope that if the guy really is guilty he doesn’t get some ambulance-chasing lawyer to sue the police department for damages.