Wiki: Earth, Wind & Fire is an American R&B and funk band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 by Verdine and Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.[1][2] Rolling Stone has described them as “innovative, precise yet sensual, calculated yet galvanizing” and has also declared that the band “changed the sound of black pop”.[3] In 1998, they were ranked at number 60 on VH1‘s list of the 100 Greatest Artists of Rock N’ Roll.[4]
The band’s music contains elements of African, Latin American, funk, soul, pop and rock music, jazz and other genres. The band is known for the dynamic sound of their horn section, and the interplay between the contrasting vocals of Philip Bailey‘s falsetto and Maurice White’s tenor.[5] The kalimba (African thumb piano) is played on all of the band’s albums.[6] Complete chronology of band members here
Happy MUN-dane, Everybody!
*Remember to catch the State of the Union Address here with 3 Chics tomorrow night.
Jan 24, 1:06 PM EST
Biden called for jury duty in Del., but dismissed
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Joe Biden may be the nation’s vice president, but that doesn’t mean he can avoid fulfilling his civic duty.
Biden reported Monday morning for jury duty along with about 100 other people at the New Castle County courthouse after receiving a jury summons.
“I don’t consider myself different than any other person,” Biden told The News Journal of Wilmington, Del. “This is important … It is an honor to be a part of the system.”
Biden and several Secret Service agents waited with other prospective jurors in the jury assembly room. During a break, staffers and security poured in from a side door to consult with the vice president. Biden said he had to make several calls on a secure telephone during the break, including one to President Barack Obama.
Biden, along with other prospective jurors, was dismissed shortly after noon.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BIDEN_JURY_DUTY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-01-24-11-19-34
Didn’t Justice Kagan get called on for jury duty too and was dismissed?
Just wasting these folk’s time…
Court: Rahm Emanuel Can’t Run For Mayor, Not Chicago Resident
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/24/rahm-emanuel-mayor-chicago_n_813126.html
UPDATE: A prominent Illinois election lawyer who asked to remain anonymous because of his many political clients in Chicago, told the Huffington Post that there may be hope for Emanuel yet.
The Illinois Supreme Court, he said, “would certainly give the Appellate Court respect but I wouldn’t say that they are constrained from reversing their decision.”
That said, Monday’s two-to-one ruling throwing Emanuel’s name off the Chicago mayoral ballot was a major legal set back that dramatically complicated the former White House chief of staff’s run for the post. Rather than seek a rehearing with the appellate court, the Illinois lawyer said he expected the Emanuel campaign to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court either Wednesday or as early as Tuesday. The Court will likely choose to take the case before the week was over.
“This is a matter of serious importance affecting essentially half of the state of Illinois just because of the population and impact of the economy,” the lawyer said. “So you can expect the Supreme Court will act very quickly. The parties will simply recycle their briefs responding to the appellate court opinion.
Oh Oh!
Report: Ed Rendell Finalizing Deal To Be A MSNBC Pundit
by Matt Schneider | 10:16 am, January 24th, 2011
Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has regularly appeared across all news networks providing his analysis on national issues, and it looks as if soon he will be paid to continue to do just that as a political commentator for MSNBC. Politico reports that Rendell is in final negotiations with the network to be a contributor for the 2012 election cycle.
Rendell has previously shown his passion for certain issues and is often an aggressive, but still entertaining debater. In an interview, he said “I’m doing it mostly because I want to continue to participate in the public dialogue and speeches and television are the best venues to do that.” With Keith Olbermann out, might MSNBC have some extra money lying around, allowing the network to continue shopping for new talent?
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/report-ed-rendell-finalizing-deal-to-be-a-msnbc-pundit/
Ed Rendell?
Ha! Old Ed’s a media whore; you know that.
…And a 2 bit one at that!
Special Ed is only getting a gig because he’ll bash the President
****DEAD@special Ed****
You know it’s true, Dannie!
Special Ed has nothing intelligent to say. He’ll say the same thing over and over again. It would be cheaper if msnbc bought a stuffed doll and a tape recorder.
special Ed is a Clintonista of the highest order. MSNBC has jumped shark….losers
Fickle independents return to Barack Obama
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48023.html
President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats learned at least one big lesson in the November elections: What the independent voter gives, the independent voter can also take away.
But now, the same temperamental bloc that threw House Democrats out of power appear to be in a giving mood again – at least as far as Obama is concerned.
That unpredictable, cranky group of voters who helped carry the president into office two years ago before turning against him in dramatic fashion, may be turning back in Obama’s direction even more quickly.
A series of national polls released over the last week shows Obama’s approval rating on the upswing among voters who don’t affiliate with either political party.
In two polls, Obama’s standing with independents jumped by double digits. An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed him clocking 46 percent approval among independents – an 11-point increase since December.
Mike Huckabee’s Wife Goes Head-To-Head With State Trooper After Accident
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/24/janet-huckabee-accident-video_n_812959.html
Janet Huckabee, the wife of former Arkansas governor and potential 2012 GOP presidential contender Mike Huckabee, was recently involved in a multi-car traffic accident that later sparked an argument with the officer who appeared on the scene.
The Tolbert Report provides a transcript for part of the conversation, in which Huckabee appears to suggest that the passengers of another automobile in the accident were lying about her being on a cell phone, and therefore lying when they alleged that the former Arkansas first lady had improperly merged into their lane, causing the incident.
Janet Huckabee – “Did she say I was on the phone?” Trooper Blackmon – “Ma’am, that has nothing to do with it.” Huckabee – “It has everything to do with it. Trooper – “No it doesn’t.” Huckabee – “It has to do with whether I am telling the truth or not.” Trooper – “Okay, they gave me an exact description of your vehicle. I mean…” Huckabee – “That’s why I stopped up here. Yeah, that’s right. I realize there was a vehicle and we were both merging.” Trooper – “They gave me an exact description of your vehicle. They told me exactly what you were doing. You told me that you were going into their lane as well.” Huckabee – “Did she tell you I was talking on the phone?” Trooper – “Ma’am, that has nothing to do with…” Huckabee – “I just want an answer from you. Did she tell you I was talking on the phone?” Trooper – “She didn’t tell me. The passenger told me.” Huckabee – “That is a lie. That is an out lie.” Trooper – “Ma’am, I don’t have anything to…” Huckabee – “So if that is a lie how can I know that the other part is not a lie.” Trooper – “Ma’am, you verified it by your own statement.” Huckabee – “I said I was merging but I said she was merging.” Trooper – “Okay, well she said she wasn’t merging.” Huckabee – “She also said I was on the phone. So if one is a lie, why shouldn’t the other be a lie.”
The Arkansas Times reports on the recently resolved outcome of the Sept. 20 episode:
Former Arkansas first lady Janet Huckabee paid a $100 fee in Pulaski County District Court yesterday and received a “reserve judgment” ruling from Judge Wayne Gruber, with an agreement that charges of careless and prohibited driving against her would be dismissed if Huckabee doesn’t get into any more vehicular trouble for six months.
You play you pay. That.is.all.
The Tea Party Could Learn A Lot From Justice Scalia Today
Justice Antonin Scalia will speak today to a group of Tea Party Members of Congress organized by ultra-conservative Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), an arrangement that even President George W. Bush’s former ethics attorney finds questionable:
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/01/24/scalia-bachmann/
Eric Cantor= bullsh*t coward!
I’m surprised at Gregroy questioning him for an honest response, but the yellow-bellied coward Cantor, would not come right out and answer it.
Arizona ‘Hero Intern’ To Sit With Michelle Obama At State Of The Union
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/01/tucson-hero-to-sit-with-michelle-obama-at-state-of-the-union-on-his-birthday.html?xid=huffpost
Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the State of the Union on Tuesday, which happens to be his 21st birthday.
“I’m both honored and excited to have the opportunity to travel to our nation’s Capitol for a once in a lifetime event. Also the chance to bring my father along for his first trip to Washington, D.C. The State of the Union is a pivotal moment because it is our opportunity to find where we are and where we will be going as a nation in this upcoming year,” Hernandez said.
Two weeks ago, Hernandez, an intern for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, rushed to her aid when Jared Loughner allegedly opened fire at one of her public events, killing six people and wounding 14 others, including Giffords.
Yes, I heard this. Gabby’s husband Mark got the invite too, but he’s staying with Gabby.
Christina Green’s family will be there and so will Dr Rhee!
The West Wing, Season II
Almost overnight, Barack Obama overhauled his White House and rewrote much of the script. Now all he needs is a happy ending.
http://nymag.com/news/politics/70829/
David Axelrod awoke at three in the morning and checked his BlackBerry. It was January 12, a few hours before Barack Obama would fly to Arizona for the memorial service for the victims of the Tucson shootings, and a few hours after Obama’s speechwriters had handed him a draft of the address he would give there. The president knew well that a big moment was at hand, that what was called for was more than mere eloquence, but a speech that was deeply … his. “I want to work on this,” Obama said to Axelrod upon examining the text. “I’ll have a redraft for you by ten or eleven tonight.”
But those hours had passed without any sign of the president’s revisions.
Now, as Axelrod combed his in-box in the predawn darkness, he saw an e-mail from Obama, time-stamped 1:20 a.m. Although the early portions of the draft remained largely intact, the president had thoroughly rewritten the crucial last two pages—from the call for a new era of civility in our discourse to the grounding of that challenge in the imperative of living up to the expectations of the fallen 9-year-old, Christina-Taylor Green. Axelrod recalled the last time his boss had taken such personal ownership of a piece of oratory: his speech on race in March 2008. Obama had labored over that one, too, late into the night, and after reading it in the morning, his message guru e-mailed him back, “This is why you should be president.” The Tucson speech inspired in Axelrod a similar reaction.
LIKE X’S 1000 :-) That’s our President!
President Obama, The First Lady, and Dr. Biden Speak at Federal Government’s Support for Military Families
11:00 AM EST
http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
Wonderful. Isn’t the First Lady going to be on Oprah Thursday?
Yes!
Did y’all watch today? Oprah has a half sister. I didn’t see the whole episode. What did u all think?
I didn’t see it; I was at work. LOL. What do you think about what you did see?
All I saw was the sister, Patricia and their mother. I was on my way to work. I think Patricia had tried three times to meet the mother without success. I didn’t get a chance to see how it all unfolded.
Lawdy, I do believe we can access the episode online. I have a sister named Patricia too. We’ll keep an eye out for the video though
New GOP Senator: Toning Down Rhetoric Would Mean ‘Shooter Wins’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/24/mike-lee-arizona-shooter-wins_n_812922.html
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) seemed to imply recently that any change to the behavior of elected officials spurred by the shooting in Arizona earlier this month would be tantamount to making a concession to the alleged shooter.
“The shooter wins if we, who’ve been elected, change what we do just because of what he did,” Lee said on ABC News’s “This Week,” during a segment about members of Congress being more sensitive about their use of inflammatory political rhetoric.
Lee earlier suggested that the nation’s gun control laws should similarly remain steadfastly intact. According to Lee, the tightening of laws meant to prevent people with mental illness from obtaining a firearm should not considered, despite the fact that alleged gunman Jared Lee Loughner was able to purchase a semi-automatic handgun and multiple high-capacity magazines at the end of last year, even in the face of some clear questions about his mental stability.
“We have state and federal laws on the books that already prohibit citizens who have been deemed mentally ill from possessing firearms,” Lee said during an interview with CNN earlier this month, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. “I don’t think we’re going to lessen our way out of the risk [by adding more restrictions]. To the contrary, there is abundant research suggesting in cities where more people own guns, the crime rate, especially the murder rate, goes down.”
Breaking News Alert: Explosion kills up to 31 at Moscow airport
January 24, 2011 10:05:19 AM
—————————————-
An explosion at Domodedovo Airport, on the southeast outskirts of Moscow, killed up to 31 people Monday afternoon.
http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/NQU5FR/NSNBNK/7M4UQY/SMPTJR/XXT5S/CM/h
POLITICS
JANUARY 24, 2011
Postal Service Eyes Closing Thousands of Post Offices
HOLMES MILL, Ky.—The U.S. Postal Service plays two roles in America: an agency that keeps rural areas linked to the rest of the nation, and one that loses a lot of money.
Now, with the red ink showing no sign of stopping, the postal service is hoping to ramp up a cost-cutting program that is already eliciting yelps of pain around the country. Beginning in March, the agency will start the process of closing as many as 2,000 post offices, on top of the 491 it said it would close starting at the end of last year. In addition, it is reviewing another 16,000—half of the nation’s existing post offices—that are operating at a deficit, and lobbying Congress to allow it to change the law so it can close the most unprofitable among them. The law currently allows the postal service to close post offices only for maintenance problems, lease expirations or other reasons that don’t include profitability.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704881304576094000352599050.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories&om_rid=DRaeQf&om_mid=_BNPYUIB8XljYF8
Good morning all!!
Morning, Dannie!
Good morning, Dannie! :-)
Good Morning, Everybody! :-)
Good Morning, Ametia & 3 Chics!
Morning Graphics – Tumblr Backgrounds
I’m loving Earth, Wind & Fire this morning.
Hearts of fire creates love desire
Take you high and higher to the world you belong
Hearts of fire creates love desire
High and higher to your place on the throne…..
LOl Alright, MADAM, up and at ’em!
http://www.theluxuryspot.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/cup-of-coffee.jpg
Thank you. I could use a cup to help wake me up. SG2 is tired this morning.
Cutting you some slack, now get outta the sack! LOL