“A conservative blog posts 2 minutes, 38 seconds of video clips of a black federal agriculture official saying she didn’t do everything she could to help a white farmer. The blogger labels it racism. Calls grow for the Obama administration to remove her. No one at the Agriculture Department or the White House checks further. The official is forced to resign. Monday ends, but not the story…”

“In a mostly blue state where Democrats control the Legislature, Mr. Christie, a Republican, won election last year mostly because of the deep unpopularity of his opponent, Gov. Jon S. Corzine. Mr. Christie, a former federal prosecutor known for aggression rather than deal-making, took office to predictions that his hard-charging style would not work in the labyrinth of Trenton, where factions of party, region and interest group would slow him down.

“Instead, he confronted the powerful public employees’ unions and won, cutting future pensions and benefits, and persuaded voters to defeat hundreds of local school budgets. He got nearly everything he wanted in the state budget, making the deepest cuts in generations. And the Assembly is expected this week to give final passage to one of his cherished goals: a cap on local property taxes. …”

For a similar person in a very similar situation (except it was in 1983!), see also:
Stanislav Petrov — Wikipedia
(HT: The Fat Triplets)

• The Coburn Amendment – A Blog Swarm?
• Press Statement (from CFG)
• Extensive Coverage on the Coburn Amendment
• Roll Call Vote on Smaller Coburn Amendment fails, darn it.
• Patty Murray Issues a Threat? Who does she think she is?
• Bridge to Nowhere: A National Embarrassment. Ain’t that the truth…
• It’s Time for Liberal Blogs to Step Up and Help “Come together! Right now…”
• The Sierra Club Supports Coburn Amendment to counter urban sprawl.
• An Update on the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ Amendment sponsored by Tom Coburn.
• Kit Bond is a greedy power monger.
• Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska is a freakin’ cry-baby.
• Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is only fooling herself.
• NEWSFLASH! Don’t let the door hit ya where the dog would have bit ya.
• Some organizations were Key Voting the Coburn Amendment today.
• Then there was an Update on the Coburn Amendment Vote.
• Pat Toomey, president of Club for Growth speaks at Today’s Press Conference on TV.
• The Daily Kos gets this one right.
• The Vote Has Concluded. Fiscal sanity lost, and the wicked power-hungry majority won …this time.
• Senator Coburn Issues a Statement, showing him to be a true public servant.

“This is not the way to treat a state. We are a sovereign state.” “The amendment before us now will affect only Alaska…this is something that I think is—every Senator must examine his own conscience.” “This is not the way to meet a disaster need.” “We have the smallest allocation per area of any state in the union.” “We must build bridges so we can bring together areas that are inaccessible otherwise.” (uh, he’s yelling now…) “I have never seen this suggested, to single out a state and say, ‘You pay! You pay for a disaster 5,000 miles away. You shoulder the burden!’” “We need bridges so we can get from one private area to another private area.” “It’s not taxpayer money. It’s highway-user money.” “We came here to have the same rights, same privileges counted to the people in every other state.” “It’s wrong to put us into a position where we have to explain why — why! — this is being done, something that has never been done before — NEVER!” “This amendment will not pass. If it does, the bill will not pass. If it does, I’ll be taken out of here on a stretcher.”

“The American people expect their elected officials to make sacrifices in a time of war, rising deficits, and disaster recovery. Unfortunately, many members of Congress are more committed to protecting a system that allows them to fund extravagant projects at the expense of the common good. Our refusal to prioritize spending and exercise restraint has created a rumble among the American people. Tonight’s vote will only cause that rumble to grow,” Dr. Coburn said.