Obama is evidently the only one with any common sense here. The entire issue is an open sore that will just continue to fester. It threatens to become an enormous media spectacle that will completely overshadow the opening days of the Obama presidency and erode public confidence in the Democrats’ ability to govern.

If you think the Burris fiasco is embarrassing for Reid and the Democrats now, wait until there are are two appointees duking it out. Just imagine the levity among us hippies if this scenario were playing out with dueling Republican appointees, and then triple it. At least.

My employment circumstances at 56 in today’s economy, using just released jobless numbers. . . .

An interesting story hitting the wires from the Washington Post this afternoon says that the lame-duck Bushites are preparing to ask Congress for the second half of the $700 billion financial rescue package — so Barack Obama will have the funds available on January 20th. WTF?

Blago’s lawyer seems to be as crazy as he is. The “impropriety” and violations of criminal procedure law and prosecutorial ethics could not have happened as he said they did. The quotes Pat used were already unsealed when he used them. Blago’s lawyer knows, or should know this.

Sounds like John Bates wants to make sure his order giving HJC the documents pertaining to the US Attorney firings goes into effect sooner rather than later.

Frank Rich has a nice column in today’s NYT about how sick America is of Dubya, in which he also attempts to figure out how such a small, mediocre man could have caused such epic destruction here and overseas:Even the banality of evil is too grandiose a concept for 43. He is not a memorable villain so much as a sometimes affable second banana whom Josh Brolin and Will Ferrell can

Rod Blagojevich just had a fascinating press conference. Like a demented king (there is that Elvis parallel again) holding forth in his court. Probably not for long, but the guy knows how to play a room, you have to give him that.

The recession neared 3 million victims last month, as upward revisions for November and October made it four straight months with at least 400,000 or more payroll positions lost. The December number was 531,000 private payroll positions. In all this recession has reduced private sector payrolls by 2,784,000 – that compares with 3,450,000 from the entire previous recessionary period which ran from January of 2001 until July of 2003.

Photo via Library of Congress.Rosie the Riveter is on her way to getting paid equally with the men at the plant. And the office. And wherever else she might be doing an equal job for equal pay.

The House overwhelmingly passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R. 11) and the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R.