December 15, 2008

According to Barack Obama’s official inauguration site (who knew?), a whole bunch of regular folks have given a whole lotta moolah to help him usher in his administration. Obama doesn’t have a PAC, he has a PIC, which is described on the page:

In keeping with President-elect Obamaâ€™s commitment to changing the way business is done in Washington, the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) is taking unprecedented steps to insure transparency in the public reporting of donors to a Presidential Inaugural Committee. This chart will allow you to view, sort, and search virtually real-time information on all donors contributing over $200 to the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee.

Unlike previous inaugural committees, the 2009 PIC does not accept contributions from corporations, political action committees, labor unions, current federally-registered lobbyists, non-U.S. citizens and registered foreign agents and does not accept individual contributions in excess of $50,000.

The list has some well-known names or names that seem like they belong to well-known people: Halle Berry from Bumper Inc. gave $50k, the max. Several people from the Powers, Rogers and Smith firm in Chicago gave $25k, for a total of $100. Glass sculptor Dale Chihuly gave $50k. Jamie Curtis of Santa Monica gave $25k. Berry Gordy of L.A. gave 50. Christopher Guest gave 25. Samuel Jackson of SZT Promotions in L.A. gave 50. Wendy Rockefeller of the Rockefeller Family Foundation gave $12k, while Laurance Rockefeller of the League of Conservation Voters gave $38k, for a total of 50. Five members of the Soros family each donated $50k. Sharon Stone of L.A., who lists herself as self-employed, gave $50k. Robert Zemekis of Burbank, also self-employed, gave 50.

Gee, I guess all that stuff they said about Obama and celebrities was true after all.

The site has a schedule of events, a blog and my favorite part â€” Inaugural Store: Coming Soon!

Day: December 15, 2008

Quote du Jour

Can we continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh? Is this really the kind of party that we want to be when these kinds of spokespersons seem to appeal to our lesser instincts rather than our better instincts?

â€” Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, in an interview on CNN, on the problems of the Republican party.

Bush Is Target in Shoe-Throwing Incident in Iraq

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

A new Fox News Poll finds 71% of voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran War, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 43% of Republicans. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while just 37% say it was right.

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.