Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich couldn't make it to his impeachment trial in Springfield today. He was too busy with his Imploding Tour by making the media rounds, including a spot on "The View."
House prosecutor David Ellis began his opening statements in the impeachment trial of Gov. Rod Blagojevich shortly before 3 p.m., thanking senators for their role in this "awesome task."
"Thank you for the awesome task that you are undertaking today for, indeed, it is an awesome task,” Ellis said.
“Impeachment and an impeachment trial is not a criminal proceeding. It is not punitive in nature. We are not here today to punish Gov. Blagojevich. The purpose is remedial, to protect the people of this state from the abuses of a public official,” he said.
Blagojevich, Ellis said, “repeatedly and utterly abused the powers and privileges of his office.” He said Blagojevich demonstrated that he was "actively plotting" to enrich himself in carrying out official actions of the state, violating the public trust and his oath of office
Blagojevich can read about the rest of his impeachment trial at the Tribune, which is providing live blog reports.
Ann Coulter, promoting her book "Guilty: Liberal Victims and their Assault on America," appeared on ABC's "The View" this morning. As you can imagine, they didn't talk about the NFL playoffs.
At one point, the discussion focused on Coulter's opinion about single mothers. Not the one forced into being a single parent by divorce or a death of a spouse, but rather the women who choose to be single mothers. Here is a transcript provided by NewsBusters.org:
[Whoopi] Goldberg immediately asked Coulter, "What is your issue with single mothers?" and cited stats from "Guilty" that said 70 percent of inmates in prisons come from single-parent homes." Coulter tried to defend her statements but Goldberg wouldn't let her finish before attacking the studies Coulter used:
COULTER: We now have 30 or 40 years of social science research. I mean, I'm just citing, this is um, you know, dressed up numbers crunching. I'm just giving the numbers. 80% of the inmates in prisons were raised by single mothers. About 70% of the runaways of the child, um juvenile delinquents, juvenile murderers, rapists, raised by single mothers. And the point is this didn't happen by accident. The illegitimacy rate alone has gone up over 300% since 1970. And as I describe in my book, this was a specific plan by the left attacking the nuclear family the most famous example --
GOLDBERG: Wait a minute.
ELISABETH HASSELBECK: I just want to go --
GOLDBERG: I'm sorry, I know you want to do this left thing because that's what you do, that's your act.
COULTER: No, it's because I think it's true.
GOLDBERG: But I do want to know, because a lot of what you've cited in terms of this, just specifically this, is based on sort of not great research. Because we've seen this research discounted time and time again.
Colleen Raezler of NewsBusters.org sums it up perfectly:
There is no doubt that Coulter's statements are provocative and can inspire heated discussion. However, it could be that the gals were more hostile to Coulter than other controversial personalities simply because of her conservative views. After all, when Bill Maher, another controversial personality appeared on "The View," he was greeted with open arms and able to fully defend his film "Religulous," a movie many religious people found extremely offensive.
Bill O'Reilly spent time on the sofa at "The View" today, providing some much needed entertainment.
Highlights of their verbal sparring include:
* O'Reilly called Sen. Barack Obama a "communist," but later amend his comment to describing him as a "socialist." * O'Reilly told Joy Behar, "Your name is Joy, you should be joyful." * Behar told O'Reilly that "I don't hate you. I dislike you." * O'Reilly said that Keith Olbermann and other critics are "jealous." * Behar told O'Reilly, "I don't believe anything you say." * O'Reilly called Behar a "Kool Aid drinker," and Behar responded, "You drank the Kool Aid on George Bush for eight years, Bill." * Behar, referring to a picture of O'Reilly as a kid, "That's what the devil will look like when he comes."
I would not expect that Behar is getting an invitation to O'Reilly's show anytime soon.
Here's the first segment:
In another sparring match today, Behar called Elisabeth Hasselbeck delusional and Rush Limbaugh a terrorist.
About four minutes into the discussion Haseelbeck repeats the charge that Sen. Joe Biden once said that Obama was not ready for the presidency. Babara Walters, defending Obama, tells her that Obama never said that, and when she finds the exact quote to let her know. Here is Biden (in a McCain commercial) during a primary debate saying he stands by his comment:
Here is part of the transcript of today's quarrel on "The View."
BARBARA WALTERS: Elisabeth, Elisabeth. Do you ever, ever doubt anything about the Republicans? Do you ever doubt, well, you’re saying-
ELISABETH HASSELBECK: Sure, I’ve sat here and I talked about Rush Limbaugh.
JOY BEHAR: He’s not a Republican.
HASSELBECK: I actually, when Barack Obama gave his speech and I said this, when I have said I-
BEHAR: He’s a terrorist. Rush Limbaugh is a terrorist. You heard it here ladies and gentlemen.
[applause]
HASSELBECK: Make your news headline. The-
WALTERS: I mean people running, people. Can I get into- HASSELBECK: When I came here, Barack Obama actually could have potentially had my vote after his speech at the R- DNC.
BEHAR: Oh, come on! HASSELBECK: You don’t believe me?
BEHAR: No, I don’t. HASSELBECK: Call me a liar then Joy.
BEHAR: No, not that you’re lying, you’re being delusional.
HASSELBECK: I believe I was the first person to say- no I’m not being delusional.
[laughter]
BEHAR: I just don’t believe that. That is like me saying-
HASSELBECK: Do you want some more Barack Obama Kool-Aid or what would you like?
BEHAR: That is like saying I would have voted for George Bush. That was low, but we’re okay.
