Obama’s Sinking Ship? Corrupt Sen. Christopher Dodd won’t seek re-election, will retire at end of term

By Chris Cillizza and William Branigin
Wednesday, January 6, 2010; 1:30 PM

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) formally announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection to the Senate this year, saying that “none of us is irreplaceable” and that it was time for him to “step aside.”

In a brief speech outside his home in East Haddam, Conn., Dodd said that after representing the people of his state in Congress for 35 years, “I will not be a candidate for reelection this November.”

Although he said he loves his job as senator, the past year has “raised challenges that insisted I take stock of my life.” He cited the strain of managing four major pieces of legislation, serving as chairman or acting chairman of two major Senate committees, losing his sister and one of his closest Senate colleagues — Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) — and battling cancer over the summer.

“And in the midst of all this, I found myself in the toughest political shape of my career,” Dodd said, acknowledging polls that showed he would have faced a difficult reelection campaign. While he is “very aware of my present political standing” in Connecticut, he added, “it is equally clear that any certain prediction about an election victory or defeat nearly a year from now would be absurd.” And he said that none of the circumstances he cited, “either individually or collectively,” was the cause of his decision not to run.

“I’m very proud of the job I’ve done and the results delivered,” Dodd said. “But none of us is irreplaceable. None of us are indispensable. And those who think otherwise are dangerous.”

He said he came to his decision on Christmas eve, while visiting Kennedy’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery.

“In the long sweep of American history, there are moments for each elected public official to step aside and let someone else step up,” Dodd said. “This is my moment to step aside.”

A byproduct of his decision — but not the motivating reason for it — would be spending more time with his family, including two young children, he said, although he allowed that “there’s nothing more pathetic” than politicians who give that excuse for leaving public life. Dodd did not say what else he would do upon leaving the Senate early next year.

Dodd’s retirement announcement came after months of speculation about his political future, his faltering poll numbers and a growing sense among the Democratic establishment that he could not win a sixth term in the Senate. Word of his plans leaked Tuesday after Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) announced he would not seek reelection.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, a well-known and highly regarded Democrat in the state, is expected to announce that he will run for Dodd’s seat.

CtPatriot…. Thank God … GOODBYE DODD… Obama’s ship is starting to Sink. I hope this is the Start of the end of this Madness… Dodd was one of the Main reasons our Economy is in the Dumper… i say Good Riddance …

Tragic heiress Casey Johnson ‘spent final days in rat-infested slum with no water or electricity’…

By David Gardner

Tragic heiress Casey Johnson lived her final days in squalor in a rubbish-strewn slum with no electricity, water or gas, and rats in her swimming pool.
Cut off from her family fortune, the 30-year-old Johnson & Johnson scion’s privileged life spiralled out of control into a drug-fuelled hell, according to reports in the U.S.
Police were still investigating the circumstances surrounding Ms Johnson’s

Tragic: Casey Johnson, centre, with Nicky and Paris Hilton; Paris posted the picture on her Twitter page with the message 'We Love and Miss You Casey!'

But last night, friends said the heiress was broke as she battled diabetes and emotional demons in the final months of her life.
She reportedly lived without basic utilities at her rented home because she couldn’t afford to pay the bills and kept her Porsche hidden in the garage to prevent it from being repossessed.

Infested: The grounds of the home, which was crawling with rats

Squalid: Conditions were said to be 'slumlike' inside Casey Johnson's LA home Grumblenot

It was like Grey Gardens,’ said one friend, referring to the infamously squalid mansion lived in for decades by relatives of Jackie Onassis, which was the subject of a TV drama last year starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.
‘There are dirty dishes everywhere and rotting food. There is graffiti on the walls. The pool looks like a swamp,’ the source told the New York Post.

Ms Johnson had claimed her biggest regret was turning down the chance to star in the TV show The Simple Life that made her friends famous.
Her diabetes was said to be getting worse after her body built up a tolerance to insulin.

But friends claimed she made her condition worse by taking prescription medication such as OxyContin and Adderall as well as drugs like marijuana, Ecstasy and cocaine.
Her fall from grace gathered pace last year when she was arrested and charged with stealing thousands of pounds worth of clothes and jewellery from a friend’s home.

There was also an episode when her former girlfriend Courtenay Semel – daughter of former Yahoo boss Terry Semel – allegedly set her hair on fire.
And she lost custody of her three-year-old adopted daughter Ava-Monroe because her mother was worried the little girl wasn’t being cared for properly.
Neighbours said there was a revolving door of shady-looking characters at Ms Johnson’s house.
‘I saw very trendy rock-and-roll seedy types coming in there at all hours of the night,’ said one neighbour.
In her dark pit of despair, the troubled heiress claimed she had found love with D-list actress Tila Tequila and the couple put a video online last month showing them both in their underwear announcing their engagement.
Ms Johnson, whose father owns the New York Jets American Football team, was reportedly rushed to hospital several times in recent months because she failed to take her insulin properly, although her family disputed the claim saying a pump delivered her medicine automatically.

Stop Healthcare Reform? No 60th Vote, thats How…Must Read This!!!

STOP HEALTHCARE “REFORM”

STOP REID , PELOSI AND OBAMA – Help Scott Brown (R) win back Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat on Jan 19th

The Massachusetts special US senate election is Jan 19th. This is the key vote #41 that gives back the power to the Republicans and allows them to finally filibuster and block cloture. Scott’s vote could KILL the Healthcare bill if the debate drags out to Jan 20th. This is the way to STOP Harry Reid. Motivation: Imagine the looks on Obama, Reid and Pelosi’s faces when a republican wins Ted Kennedy’s senate seat!

Do not allow Coakley(D) the self professed progressive who is being funded by SEIU, IBEW,and Planned Parenthood to get into the Senate. Most people think Coakley has already won and do not even know about the special election. Once they learn about Scott and the election, they are excited to go vote for Scott Brown.

The key is for ALL OF US to make phone calls through his national phone bank and get out the word to the citizens of Massachusetts about the vote. Coakley is so overconfident she is going to win that she is on vacation and not even campaigning.

Volunteers across the country who are interested in making calls from home to citizens of Massachusetts on Scott Brown’s behalf, please contact Field Director Brad Hansen at:

brad@brownforussenate.com or call 509-595-4683

Brad will set you up with a username and password. You will receive an email with your unique user name and password, as well as a link to the website where you will log in. Once you are logged in, watch the tutorial on how to use the system and then you can start making calls.

Shock Poll– Scott Brown Within 9 Points in Massachusetts Senate Race

Jim Hoft

Republican Scott Brown is now only 9 points down in the Massachusetts Senate race.
His creative advertising on fiscal responsibility is helping to lift his campaign. In this ad Scott Brown and John F. Kennedy take turns reading from the same 1962 Kennedy speech calling for tax cuts.

The special election is Tuesday January 19.
Rasmussen released its first polling on the Massachusetts senate race to fill Teddy Kennedy’s seat. Republican Scott Brown is only down 9 points to democrat Martha Coakley who reportedly went on vacation 20 days before the election.

GOP Mass. Senate Candidate Scott Brown: Send Abdulmutallab to Gitmo

Stephanie Condon

Republican Massachusetts Senate candidate Scott Brown sharply distinguished himself from his Democratic opponent this morning, when he endorsed the use of waterboarding as an interrogation technique against suspected terrorists.

In a broadcast debate with his political adversaries, Brown, a state senator, said he disagrees with Republican Sen. John McCain’s opposition to the simulated drowning technique, the Associated Press reports.

“I believe that it’s not torture,” he said. “America does not torture. We used aggressive enhanced interrogation techniques.”

He added, “The bottom line is I will use any means possible, and encourage the president, and support him, in any means necessary, to gather any information to keep our country safe.”

CtPatriot… If we can support Scott Brown… If for any other reason than to not allow total Control to the Democrats, checks and balances… or if you like me and detest the direction our country is going in. Get involved… contact Scott Brown and help stop This Economy Killing, Total Control, Healthcare Montrosity… We owe it to our Children and Ourselves… And America… Help Scott Brown end the 60 Vote Majority…