The Stonecipher Report

Taking Out the Trash of Friday Political News…

Posted By: Michael Sweeney

May 29, 2009

Note: This piece is cross-posted at Eyes on Obama

Hey, and I always thought Friday was supposed to be a sort of political "take out the trash" day, with potential news items getting buried by the impending arrival of the much-waited-for weekend, especially now, during the hot-movie, time-off-of-work-and-school, baseball-games-PLUS-basketball-and-hockey-playoffs, pleasant-weather weeks…But I’ve been busy surfing online today, and turned up a number of interesting recent political news stories that I thought you all might appreciate.

…So let’s take a peeky-boo at what’s going on in the halls of US politics this late-May Friday, shall we?

The Stonecipher Report On the Air Today - Monday, 5-25

Posted By: Michael Sweeney

May 25, 2009

Sure, it may be a holiday – and Happy (and thoughtful) Memorial Day, everyone! – but it’s also the alternating Monday, so it's time again for The Stonecipher Report radio show, available over the air or via the Internet. We'll be on Monday, May 25, from 3:00 - 4:00 PM Chicago time on WHPK-FM (tune in locally at 88.5 FM). And, of course, you can also hear us online at WHPK.org, streaming live from 1:00 - 2:00 PM on the West Coast, 4:00-5:00 PM on the East Coast (just click the "Listen" tab or the "We are STREAMING" window on the station's website).

Tune in today for site honcho Tyler Rippeteau, and me – TSR’s Political Director – as we conduct another hour of lively political talk about current events, including looking at the ongoing disappearance of "moderate" Republicans. We’ll also be doing our regular quick-fire, back-and-forth segment, "Pardon the Insurrection." In between BBQs, ballgames, and backyard relaxation, we hope you get a chance to listen to today’s live show – thanks!

Are Moderate Republicans Already Sitting Out the 2012 Presidential Race?

Posted By: Michael Sweeney

May 22, 2009

Note: This piece is cross-posted at Eyes on Obama

Things have been happening in the political zeitgeist – some major, others more subtle. Individually, these may be unrelated blips...but combined, they may also be simply the first building blocks in a trend that could eventually become quite significant.

A-Rod: Sit Down

Posted by Z. Z. Rudin

May 19, 2009

You might have thought it was a playoff series. You might have thought it was the World Series. You might have thought just as easily that it was the Little League World Series the way Alex Rodriguez hooted and hollered around the base-paths after hitting a walk-off home run Saturday evening against the floundering Minnesota Twinkies.

Don’t get me wrong – no one loves a walk-off winner more than this guy. How can I be so sure, you wonder? Just ask the series of fist-shaped holes in my ceiling (I initial and date each one, giving a brief recap as well; my ceiling has so much writing on it that it looks like the side of an orphanage doorway).

If You Thought Donald Rumsfeld's Use of Bible Quotes Was Bad...

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

May 19, 2009

This piece is cross-posted at Eyes on Obama.

On Monday, GQ Magazine dropped a minor political bombshell when it published a feature article by Robert Draper about the disaster that was Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld.  The piece led off with the revelation that Rumsfeld used quotes from the Bible and "Crusades-like messaging with war imagery" on the cover sheets of the daily Worldwide Intelligence Update during the Iraq war in an apparent effort to make a stronger personal connection with President Bush.

No Crying in Baseball

Posted by: Mike Rodbard

May 16, 2009

Well, Cubs fans, your trusted scribe comes to you today from the nation's capital, thanks to the day job with blues man Lonnie Brooks.

And like most road trips, I do what the players tend to do (albeit in a less than swanky hotel suite): I'm watching a movie, A League of Their Own. Seems appropriate since I won't be anywhere near the Friendly Confines this weekend.

Lisa Madigan Gets to Pick Her Political Spot – While Everyone Else Waits

Posted By: Michael Sweeney

May 16, 2009

In local, statewide Illinois politics, current Attorney General Lisa Madigan is the proverbial 800 lb. gorilla – and nobody is sure just yet where she wants to plop that considerable poll and electoral weight next…

For years, the assumption has been that she was tuning up and aiming for the Governor’s office. Even her being from the same party – Democratic, natch – as the until-recently two-term incumbent Guv was not going to be a stumbling block; even if Rod Blagojevich had not been impeached and hounded from office, I – and most other observers – fairly strongly assumed that Madigan would’ve challenged him in the 2010 primary…and almost certainly would’ve whomped the Serbian Haircut out of town.

W.R. Grace Corporation Off the Hook for Asbestos Pollution

Posted by: Madame Fleur

May 14, 2009

It took little more than a day for the jury in the W.R. Grace trial to reach a verdict last week, signaling the end to the largest environmental crimes prosecution in U.S. history. For the residents of Libby, Montana, the closure was more bitter than sweet: Grace and three former executives - Robert Bettacchi, Jack Wolter and Henry Eschenbach - were acquitted of federal conspiracy charges involving Clean Air Act violations and obstruction of justice.

An eight-count indictment filed in 2005 alleged that W.R. Grace and its top employees knowingly endangered the Libby community by mining asbestos-laced vermiculite.

Keith Says “WTF?” to the GOP Renaming the Dems “The Democrat Socialist” Party

Posted By: Michael Sweeney

May 13. 2009

Genius, I tells ya – it’s genius! As usual, I’m solidly with MSNBC newsman Keith Olbermann on this one…

Tonight, on his "Countdown" show’s new "WTF?" segment, Olbermann topped off the evening’s stories with a look at the Republican’s new "brilliant" ("genius!" as K.O. kept mocking it) strategy of trying to tie the Democrats to Socialism in the US public’s mind. Therefore, watch for Steele, Limbaugh, McConnell, Boehner, Palin, Gingrich, et al, to start dumping out the mouthful "Democrat Socialist Party" whenever they actually mean the current US Dems.

Cubs Exercise "Backsies" Clause in Marquis Trade

Posted by: Will C

May 11, 2009

Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry, in light of recent struggles by his team’s bullpen pitchers, has finally acknowledged that his personnel moves in the past off-season may not have been the best thing for the team.

This week, Hendry took the first step toward rectifying his mistakes by choosing to exercise the “Backsies” clause in the Cubs’ trade of pitcher Jason Marquis to the Colorado Rockies.