A quote from former Senator (R-Alaska) and convicted felon, Ted Stevens:

“The Internet is not something that you just dump something on.  It’s not a big truck.  It’s a series of tubes.  And if you don’t understand, those tubes can be filled, and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and it’s going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.”

At the time, Stevens was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and was pushing a rewrite of the nation’s fundamental communications act.  Would you want this man in charge of the debate on net neutrality?  This is why it’s important for everyone to pay attention to politics.  Quite often our political leaders are simply not qualified to make the decisions we’ve elected them to make.

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Both the New York Times and the Washington Post, as well as hundreds of news organizations across the country, have wrongly attributed this quote to the Obama administration:

“A midnight rule change by the Bush administration to allow carrying of concealed weapons in the national parks will not have any significant impacts on public health and safety.”

It turns out this statement did not come from the current Justice Department under Obama, but rather from a Department of Interior memo dated November 18, 2008 during the Bush administration.

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“Her skirt was very short, and Josh found himself mesmerized by her perfectly shaped, silken legs with kneecaps that reminded him of golden apples.”

– excerpt from Senator Barbara Boxer’s (D-California) novel, A Time to Run

Editorial review by Publisher’s Weekly:  “The three-term senator from California offers a debut novel to relate ‘a story I had long wanted to tell.’  Aspiring political activist Josh Fischer and aspiring journalist Greg Hunter are best friends and roommates at 1970s Berkeley: Josh is dark, sensitive and liberal; Greg is blond, gregarious and leans right.  When the two meet Ellen Downey, a petite redhead with a steely determination to make the world a better place, romantic entanglements ensue, with Ellen ultimately marrying Josh shortly after graduation.  When Josh dies during his Senate campaign, Ellen assumes his candidacy and scores an upset victory…”

Who knew Boxer had a bit of Jacqueline Susann in her?

Georgia Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss’ late win in the 2008 election blocked the Democrats from having a filibuster-proof super-majority of 60 seats in the Senate.

The victory came after a tough one-month runoff campaign against Democrat Jim Martin.  Given the importance of this undecided race, political celebrities from both parties flooded the state with stump speeches and attack ads.  Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Barack Obama stumped for Martin.  John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin all stumped for the winner Chambliss.

“It’s been a hard and tough four weeks,” Chambliss said at his victory party.  “We had a hardcore campaign on both sides and while things look good right now, we’re going to continue to follow the returns as they come in.”

Chambliss’ platform in the runoff was simple: prevent the Democrats in Washington from having a blank check.  Chambliss’ win is a small victory in a terrible year for Republicans, who lost the White House and multiple seats in the House and the Senate.

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From Jay Leno on the Tonight Show:

Happy birthday to convicted senator of Alaska, Ted Stevens, who turned 85 today.  Turns out he didn’t get any gifts.  Or, at least he didn’t report any…

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens officially conceded the Senate race to Democrat Mark Begich on Wednesday.  Begich is currently mayor of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city.

“Given the number of ballots that remain to be counted, it is apparent the election has been decided, and Mayor Begich has been elected,” Stevens said in a news release.  “It was a tough fight that would not have been possible without the help of so many Alaskans — people who I am honored to call my friends.  I wish Mayor Begich and his family well.  My staff and I stand willing to help him prepare for his new position,” Stevens added.

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Alaska Republican Senator Ted Stevens has been convicted on federal corruption charges.  “I am innocent,” the 84-year-old Stevens said in a written statement.  “I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have.”

Stevens was convicted of seven counts of making false statements on Senate ethics forms in order to hide hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and work on his Alaska home by an oil contractor who is currently target of a corruption investigation.

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