Friday, December 12, 2008

Bush White House Blocks Blair House From Obamas - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com

Sorry, We’re Booked, White House Tells Obamas - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com: “CHICAGO—The White House has turned down a request from the family of President-elect Barack Obama to move into Blair House in early January so that his daughters can start school on January 5.

The Obamas were told that Blair House, where incoming presidents usually stay in the five days before Inauguration Day, is booked in early January, a spokesperson to the Obama transition said. “We explored the idea so that the girls could start school on schedule,’ the spokesperson said. “But, there were previously scheduled events and guests that couldn’t be displaced.”

It remained unclear who on Bushes guest list outranked the incoming President.

“It’s not a public schedule,” said Sally McDonough, spokeswoman for First Lady Laura Bush, in refusing to disclose who was staying at Blair House. “It’s not a question of outranking the Obamas. Blair House will be available to them on January 15.””

Fox News - Rahm Emanuel Gave Blagojevich List Of 'Acceptable' Senate Candidates: Report

Rahm Emanuel Gave Blagojevich List Of 'Acceptable' Senate Candidates: ReportHuff Post: “President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had direct conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich about Obama's replacement in the US Senate, FOX News Chicago reports.

Citing "a source familiar with the investigation," Fox says that Emanuel had "multiple conversations" with Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris, who was also arrested Tuesday on federal corruption charges, about the seat and that they we're "likely recorded and in FBI possession."

Fox's source said that Emanuel gave the governor's office a list of "candidates that would be acceptable to President-elect Barack Obama" but no "quid pro quo" or "dealmaking" is suspected.

Meanwhile, an angry Emanuel says he won't go to work because of the media stakeout. He told an ABC News cameraman that has received death threats:”

Norm Coleman - Did Coleman's Financial Straits Force Him To Solicit Donor Favors?

Huff Post - Did Coleman's Financial Straits Force Him To Solicit Donor Favors?: “Did Norm Coleman's financial problems compel him to turn to friends and GOP donors for help with his living situation?

That's what a new story out of Minnesota alleges. Friday morning, a local Fox News affiliate reported that at the time that Coleman allegedly received $75,000 in unreported payments from a prominent Republican businessman, he was also struggling to make payments for the restructuring of his home.”

John Harris - Gov. Rod Blagojevich Chief Of Staff John Harris Resigns

Blagojevich Chief Of Staff John Harris Resigns: “John Harris, chief of staff to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, resigned Friday morning.

Harris submitted his resignation letter in person, his lawyer told the Chicago Tribune, and will not be returning to the office.

Harris and Blagojevich were both arrested Tuesday morning on federal corruption charges. His resignation came as Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan asked the state Supreme Court to have Blagojevich declared unfit to serve and removed from office.”

Al Franken Wins Major Victory In Absentee Count For Senate Seat

Franken Wins Major Victory In Absentee CountHuff Post: “Al Franken received a potentially major boost towards his hopes of becoming Senator on Friday, when Minnesota state officials ruled that absentee ballots rejected because of clerical or administrative errors should, in the end, be counted.”

Who's Buying What in Super Bowl XLIII - Advertising Age - News

Who's Buying What in Super Bowl XLIII - Advertising Age - NewsAn excerpt: “A Rundown of Marketers and Their Spots in the Big Game

Published: December 08, 2008
Anheuser-Busch
Buy: The maker of Budweiser and Bud Light is expected to run five minutes' worth of advertising, according to Bob Lachky, chief creative officer of the A-B InBev unit.
Creative: A-B is testing as many as three different ads using its famous Clydesdale horses and is considering one spot apiece for its Bud Light Lime and Budweiser American Ale products. Bud Light is also expected to get plenty of face time, with at least three spots possible. A-B is famous for testing its Super Bowl ads among consumers again and again, so the final lineup is still in question.
Agency: Omnicom Group's DDB, Chicago; Havas' Euro RSCG, Chicago; and St. Louis independent Waylon are among the agencies with ads that could appear.
Audi
Buy: The automaker will air one :60 during the game's first quarter. Audi's 2008 Super Bowl spot featured its R8 sports car in a spoof of "The Godfather," and earned Audi the No. 2 spot in total buzz after the game, the company said. It also successfully drove traffic to Audi's web site.
Creative: Audi declined to comment on which vehicle would be featured or what the content of the spot will be.
Agency: Venables Bell & Partners, San Francisco.
Bridgestone
Buy: The tire maker will once again sponsor the Super Bowl halftime show, which this year features Bruce Springsteen. The company will also run two 30-second commercials, according to Phil Pasci, VP-consumer marketing for Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire. Placement of the ads during the game is being negotiated with NBC and the NFL.
Creative: The ads will contain humor while focusing on showcasing the performance of the company's tires.
Agency: Independent Richards Group of Dallas
CareerBuilder
Buy: The jobs site intends to run two 30-second ads, one in the second quarter and one in the third, according to Cynthia Walker, the company's senior director of advertising.
Creative: Ms. Walker said the ads will not use the famous monkeys from Super Bowl ads past.
Agency: Independent Wieden & Kennedy
Cars.com
Buy: The website will air one 60-second ad in the second quarter.
Creative: A person familiar with the situation said the ads are expected to be humorous.
Agency: DDB, Chicago
Coca-Cola Co.
Buy: The beverage company intends to advertise its flagship cola in multiple spots.
Creative: In the last Super Bowl, Coke received critical acclaim for a majestic ad featuring balloons from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade slugging it out for a bottle of the fizzy brown liquid.
Agency: Wieden & Kennedy
E-Trade Financial
Buy: A company spokeswoman said E-Trade has purchased one spot; in recent years, E-Trade has run two 30-second commercials.
Creative: A person familiar with the situation suggested E-Trade is likely to bring back the talking baby it used in the last contest. E-Trade declined to comment on the content of its Super Bowl advertising.
Agency: WPP Group PLC's Grey New York
PepsiCo's Frito-Lay
Buy: The company's cheesy-chip brand will solicit self-made ads for Doritos from consumers and air one as a 30-second spot.
Creative: Doritos will give the winning entry $1 million if the ad becomes "the first-ever consumer-created commercial to claim the No. 1 ranking in USA Today's annual Ad Meter."
Agency: n/a
General Electric
Buy: The owner of NBC, broadcaster of the 2009 Super Bowl, intends to run one spot in the game.
Creative: A company spokeswoman declined to speak about the length of the commercial.
Agency: Omnicom Group's BBDO
GoDaddy
Buy: The registrar of online domain names has purchased one 30-second ad in the Super Bowl and is mulling the purchase of another, said Bob Parsons, the company's CEO and founder.
Creative: GoDaddy is producing two ads, both of which will feature race-car driver Danica Patrick and embody the slightly inappropriate tone of the company's past Super Bowl ads.
Agency: In-house
Hyundai
Buy: Two commercials
Creative: The ads are for the launch of its 2010-model Genesis coupe.
Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco
Monster
Buy: One 30-second ad
Creative: Monster is kicking off a campaign highlighting the fact that it has become the official careerservices sponsor of the NFL. As part of that pact, the company said, it will run an additional 30-second "in-game enhancement" to launch an NFL-themed promotion intended to drive traffic to the site.
Agency: BBDO”

Mayor's Office Treatment of Anne Campbell Washington Example of How Terrible City of Oakland Can Be - Chip Johnson, SF Chron

Mayor's Office Treatment of Anne Campbell Washington Example of How Terrible City of Oakland Can Be - Chip Johnson, SF Chron: “Chip Johnson SF Chron: - Loyalty or else in King Dellums' realm: “The city of Oakland no longer operates under a representative democracy - it's now a monarchy.

And within the confines of that form of government, any criticism or disloyalty directed at the king - whether real or imagined - is dealt with.

Her crime: She gave an affectionate hug to an elderly woman who spoke at a City Council meeting against a Dellums appointment to the city's housing authority commission in early October.”

--- This is unfortunate but nothing new. It's what happens when you are in an arena where people are not compensated for creating wealth but for artificially giving loyalty just to get paid. Thus, the way to rise in such organizations is via the backstabbing Johnson points to.

It's why we didn't get the 2005 Super Bowl. Forget the Raiders and the legal matters, it's this kind of rampant disfuction that is the reason. It's fair to say if you see a person of high rank in the offices of elected officials, it's commonly for this reason.

Now here, I'm going to give my friend Oaland City Attorney John Russo his "props" -- you'd never hear of that coming out of his office. And there's a way to measure how people do their jobs. Mayor Dellums should be ashamed that a story like this ever developed.”