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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Gov. Rod Blagojevich has told the Illinois Senate impeachment trial that he has "done nothing wrong." He asked how the Senate can oust him based on a criminal complaint that hasn't been proven. Blagojevich's own words prove "a pattern of abuse of power," the prosecutor at his impeachment trial insisted Thursday, .. "I'm not giving up hope here. I'm going to keep fighting for the people of Illinois," Blagojevich said as his security detail dropped him off near a side door to the Capitol.

The Rev. Canon J. Edwin Bacon Jr. from Southern California has made it no secret that he supports gays and lesbians and same-sex marriage. But his recent pro-gay comments on the Oprah Winfrey show have stunned even the popular talk show host herself. "Being gay is a gift from God," Bacon declared in an episode that aired Jan. 7. Appearing shocked, Winfrey responded, "Well, you are the first minister I’ve ever heard say, 'Being gay is a gift from God,' I can tell you that." Bacon's controversial statement sparked a fiery debate on Winfrey's website, leading the talk show host...

Look at my fellow conservatives…… silver lining in …… Barak Obama…. Presidency : The Era of White Guilt is over. …..white Americans didn’t [care] about skin color. [Voted] for.. black man. Therefore, as of Nov 4th, 2008, white guilt is dead. ….if a black man can become President, exactly what significant barrier is left?... The dragon is hereby slain. … today, I’m feeling a little “uppity,” if you will. From this day forward, my tolerance level for having my skin color hustled is now exactly ZERO. … time to clean house. No more Reverend Wright’s “God Damn America,” Al Sharpton’s...

It's one of those things that sneaks up on you in politics, a sense of things happening not quite as you expected. It started in April when our Times colleague Louise Roug called with a quote from Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Independent Sector, a coalition of liberal charities and foundations, wants to cash in on Washington's bailout fever, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. “There’s simply not enough cash to respond to the amount of the needs,” said Diana Aviv, president of the group. “The demand is much greater and the dollars that are secured from traditional sources are shrinking.” Call it charity welfare. If you don't dig deeply enough into your pockets for charity, the government will force you to, or at least that's what Aviv wants.

(CNN) -- Between 1.5 trillion and 2 trillion tons of ice in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska have melted at an accelerating rate since 2003, according to NASA scientists, in the latest signs of what they say is global warming. This image shows the changing rate of mass in mountain glaciers on the Gulf of Alaska. Using new satellite technology that measures changes in mass in mountain glaciers and ice sheets, NASA geophysicist Scott Luthcke concluded that the losses amounted to enough water to fill the Chesapeake Bay 21 times. "The ice tells us in a very real way how the...

WASHINGTON – More than 2 trillion tons of land ice in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska have melted since 2003, according to new NASA satellite data that show the latest signs of what scientists say is global warming. More than half of the loss of landlocked ice in the past five years has occurred in Greenland, based on measurements of ice weight by NASA's GRACE satellite, said NASA geophysicist Scott Luthcke. The water melting from Greenland in the past five years would fill up about 11 Chesapeake Bays, he said, and the Greenland melt seems to be accelerating. NASA scientists planned...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If the United States focused on curbing climate change as soon as a new president took office -- or sooner -- it could help pull the world from the financial brink, environmental policy experts told Reuters. "Skyrocketing energy prices and the financial crisis have been a wake-up call that something's got to change," said Cathy Zoi, chief executive officer of the Alliance for Climate Protection, which is chaired by former Vice President Al Gore.

CNBC's Mad Money showhost Jim Cramer made an on-air apology last night (9/30/08) for recommending Wachovia stock just 2-weeks ago. His recommendation followed a Mad Money appearance by Wachovia's CEO Robert Steel. On Sept. 15, the day Steel appeared on the Cramer's TV show, Wachovia stock closed at $10.71 per share. On Sept. 29th, it closed at $1.84 per share. Youtube likely has the clip showing Steel's appearance. And last night after Wachovia's implosion, comes Cramer's apology: "I let you down, because I wasn't skeptical enough." Compare Cramer's "I let you down because I wasn't skeptical enough" statement with America's...

Bush is seeking $700 billion to buy “bad mortgages” in the largest bailout in history.  The proposal attempts to bail out the entire financial system, rather than individual banks.  This sweeping federal intervention will turn out to be either excessively costly, or unnecessary.  Defenders of this bailout, like Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, claim it is needed because the mortgage meltdown and ensuing panic have led to mortgages having a market value of far less than they are truly worth, drying up markets for mortgages and resulting in “frozen” credit markets. But even if this is true, it’s no reason for a bailout.  There are two possibilities, neither of...

[1] We need to have the Treasury and the Fed on television saying that they will issue $300 billion in one-year paper that will be used to finance the purchase of distressed assets that do not have home equity loans attachments at 30 cents on the dollar for those who want to sell them. ... [2] We also need, as I have been calling for endlessly, a Home Mortgage Resolution Trust that can buy distressed mortgages from banks and brokers and then work them out over time turning absurd exotic mortgages into 30-year fixed mortgages that would keep hardworking people...

The Strong Dollar Illusion By Peter Schiff Economists who now see American troubles spreading around the world are predicting that foreign central banks will ignore the gathering inflation threat and follow the Fed down the rate cutting path. Similarly, they argue that since the downturn began here, the U.S. recovery will likely be underway while the rest of world is still decelerating. These assumptions have prompted a rally in the dollar, a sell-off in gold, commodities and foreign stocks, and have cast doubts on the ability of foreign economies to "decouple" from the United States. Investors should not take...

He maintains he is following the Holy Spirit in calling for this radical revision of Christian orthodoxy. Yet, he argues against the clear teaching of the Scriptures and unbroken teaching of the Christian tradition that reserve sexual activity to the loving, lifelong marriage bond between a married man and woman. Clearly, Bishop Gene Robinson views himself as a liberator, and he is doing more to foster the splintering of the Anglican Communion worldwide singlehandedly than anyone else. He seems to take delight in both his celebrity and his self appointed task. Now, the controversialist crusader for homosexual equivalency with marriage...

Embarrassed at charges Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had accepted envelopes stuffed with cash from an American businessman, Israelis are doubly stunned to discover that the investigation of Mr. Olmert has won Israel extraordinary praise from bitter enemies throughout the Arab world. "This is democracy at its best. Enough of dictatorship in the Arab world. Let's learn from the Israeli example. Let's benefit from Israel's democracy," a Palestinian named Hani wrote on his blog from the West Bank city of Ramallah. A flood of similar sentiments has appeared on Arabic Web sites in recent days, many of them recorded by journalist...

If Edwards, gave his delegates to Clinton, she would take the lead 290 - 286. That would be interesting.

Anger is a tough emotion to conceal and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's simmered barely beneath the surface during his Monday performance at the National Press Club. Oh, he was funny and entertaining. He's got the gift of gab and knows how to bring an audience to its feet. "Amens" rolled easily off the tongues of his supporters. But make no mistake: Barack Obama's "former pastor," by virtue only of Wright's recent retirement, is a righteously angry man. And he's mad principally at white folks -- descendants of slaveholders, authors of Jim Crow laws and alleged conspirators to genocide. Whites, he...

More than 80 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, the highest such number since the early 1990s, according to a new survey. The CBS News-New York Times poll released Thursday showed 81 percent of respondents said they believed "things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track." That was up from 69 percent a year ago, and 35 percent in early 2002.

Just weeks after publicity over his controversial sermons rocked Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright will preach three guest sermons at Houston's Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. Wright, who until February was minister of Obama's church, Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, will preach Sunday, March 30. Wheeler pastor, the Rev. Marcus Cosby, could not be reached for comment Friday. A spokesman for the church said Wright, who has offered sermons at Wheeler annually for the past 15 years, had been scheduled as part of the church's regular speaker's program.

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2008 – Military personnel serving in combat zones are eligible for an economic stimulus payment, an Internal Revenue Service spokesman said today during an “America Supports You Live” interview on BlogTalkRadio.com. While combat pay generally is nontaxable, servicemembers are permitted to count this pay on their 2007 or 2008 income tax returns if it helps their eligibility, Clay Sanford explained. “A military person who would not normally file a 2007 tax return because the 2007 income is not taxable, can file a 1040A with the IRS and receive the stimulus payment,” he said. Servicemembers should report...

Blame bad timing and bad media practices for the surprise in the New Hampshire primary on the Democratic side, two political watchers say. Hillary Clinton's popularity resurged quickly after her defeat in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus, so it was difficult to measure in the four days running up to Tuesday, said Dick Bennett, president of American Research Group, based in Manchester, New Hampshire. ARG's final results prior to the primary put Barack Obama ahead by 9 percentage points. Similar results were predicted by pollsters Reuters/C-Span/Zogby, Rasmussen, CNN/WMUR/UNH, Marist and CBS News. Bennett says Clinton, who won the primary with...