We are, again, a nation of laws.

By a vote of 75-21, U.S. Senate confirms Eric Holder as first Black Attorney General in our country’s history.

The nays? All Republicans:

Barrasso (R-WY) – Brownback (R-KS) – Bunning (R-KY) – Burr (R-NC) – Coburn (R-OK) – Cochran (R-MS) – Cornyn (R-TX) – Crapo (R-ID) – DeMint (R-SC) – Ensign (R-NV) – Enzi (R-WY) – Hutchison (R-TX) – Inhofe (R-OK) – Johanns (R-NE) – McConnell (R-KY) – Risch (R-ID) – Roberts (R-KS) – Shelby (R-AL) – Thune (R-SD) – Vitter (R-LA) – Wicker (R-MS)

Their primary objection to Mr. Holder? His refusal to break the law by stating before the Judiciary Committee on January 15, 2009:

His critics don’t like his views on torture or his views on gun rights. They apparently did like the ineffective and illegal practices of his predecessors. Judge Holder pledged to review practices of the previous administration. The full vote call can be viewed on Senate.gov.

Now begins the task for Mr. Holder, 57, a federal prosecutor, judge and Washington lawyer, to restore confidence in a branch of our government that allegedly was used as a political tool by Karl Rove in any number of scandals and invented rules, not the least of which was the scandal of the firing of nine U.S. attorney general firings and other nefarious practices. (“Oh what a web we weave when first we practice to deceive….”)

As previously reported, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has subpoenaed Karl Rove to be deposed under oath to answer questions about his alleged role in the firing of U.S. attorneys and the prosecution of the former Democratic governor of Alabama, Don Siegelman. The former administration still maintains that Rove not testify by asserting executive privilege.

From Michael Isikoff at Newsweek:

“On Jan. 16, 2009, then White House Counsel Fred Fielding sent a letter (.pdf) to Rove’s lawyer, Robert Luskin. The message: should his client receive any future subpoenas, Rove “should not appear before Congress” or turn over any documents relating to his time in the White House. The letter told Rove that President Bush was continuing to assert executive privilege over any testimony by Rove—even after he leaves office.”

Investigative reporter for the BBC, Greg Palast, was instrumental in the resignation of Tim Griffin, a former protégé of Karl Rove’s and US Attorney for Arkansas hours because Mr. Palast had obtained confidential emails from the 2004 Bush/Cheney campaign detailing ‘caging voters.’ Griffin, at the time was the Deputy Communications Director for the GOP, had emailed so-called ‘caging lists’ of voters to state party leaders.

NOTE: Lawyer says Rove will cooperate with US Attorney firings probe

The former Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, dissected on Bill Moyers:

OBAMA FACING PRESSURE TO MODIFY PLAN
MORE BANK FAILURES ON THE WAY
CASTRO WANTS GITMO BACK

President Barack Obama told us if we needed to be told: “It will not be easy to make change.” He’s been in office for just two weeks but the pressure is building on a many fronts. Two new items of note:

• Obama Promises, “New Rules of the Road,” with a Bailout Review Board

• Relief for Gaza

President Obama signed a memorandum Monday directing more than $20 million for “urgent refugee and migration needs” in Gaza. READ FULL STORY HERE

On Monday, Obama said, “very modest differences” over a massive package to revive the economy should not delay its swift passage, with a fresh appeal to Congress as the nation dealt with another dose of dire financial news. (The Treasury Department said Monday it will need to borrow $493 billion in the first three months of this year, a record amount for the January-March period.)

In the Senate, where the bailout debate began Monday night, the Republicans built a line in defense of the status quo as firm as anything the Pittsburgh Steelers could assemble. Some Repugs see themselves as holding off the commie hordes. John McCain has advised Obama he MUST compromise with the GOP. Must!

LBN reports, “Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday the massive stimulus bill backed by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats could go down to defeat if it’s not stripped of unnecessary spending and focused more on housing issues and tax cuts.”

Noah Winer of MoveOn.org says,

“…right now, the stimulus doesn’t have the votes to pass.

1. Republicans and conservative Democrats are teaming up to strip out the good stuff—college loan assistance, health research, tax cuts for poor folks, and more—in favor of more tax cuts for corporations.

2. If they don’t get their way, they’ll block the plan.”

Over at the Pentagon, they are building another more aggressive line in defense of their war in Iraq. The Generals are being mobilized in a way that could turn into a challenge to Constitutional authority. CENTCOM commander, Gen. David Petraeus, fresh from his uniformed coin toss at the Super Bowl –heads–and supported by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, tried to convince President Barack Obama that he had to back down from his campaign pledge to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 18 months at an Oval Office meeting Jan. 21.

Save the Date: First Meeting 2/27/2009

The task force’s first focus will be green jobs as a pathway to a strong middle class. READ FULL STORY HERE

On the fringes of the right, the hysteria is building. Check out this message from the Minutemen PAC, the paramilitary crazies patrolling the Mexican border, In their eyes, Obama, Pelosi and Reid are the new Marx, Engels and Lenin:

Fellow Patriots,

I’m mad…I’m steaming mad! We knew it was coming, and we told you about it for weeks before the inauguration. But, knowing the naked truth and actually watching it happen in front of our eyes are two different things. And now, as we predicted, the socialist gravy train is in full steam.

Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid–the three stooges of the left–have unashamedly stacked the decks and dealt the cards in their game to turn our republic into a full-scale European socialist regime.

STOP THE SOCIALIZATION OF AMERICA! HELP MINUTEMAN PAC ALERT AMERICA NOW!

Some of these Minutemen and, of course, McCain call Arizona home. They should know that the Steeler Nation thanked Obama. Politico reports:

“After his team won an NFL-record sixth Super Bowl, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney gave a shout out to one of the team’s… 

…more recent, albeit less committed, fans. “I would just like to thank President Obama and all the Steelers nation for supporting us through the years,” Rooney said. 



Obama said he was rooting for the Steelers over the Arizona Cardinals in Sunday’s game because his team, the Chicago Bears, wasn’t in the running and because Rooney was a big supporter of his campaign.



”He didn’t just endorse me,” Obama said of Rooney during a pre-game interview with NBC. “That guy was out going to steel plants campaigning for me.”