According to one Republican, this election is all but won for McCain. If this is the case, I believe that he will pick Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a relative safe pick, therefore allowing McCain to win the election in a walk maybe even a landslide rather than Romney, who could bring on attacks from the Democrats as the “elitism ticket.”

*Dark Horses* Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida and Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas

Technorati Tags: John McCain, Vice Presidential pick, frontrunner, Mitt Romney

On the opening night of the 45th Democratic National Convention, alongside the headlining speech of Michelle Obama, a video montage of the Kennedy family will be played. The long thought has been that the liberal lion Sen. Ted Kennedy would address the convention via a video message recorded early last month at the chance that he would not be able to attend following his diagnosis of brain cancer, resulting in surgery to remove a tumor in his brain.

It has now been confirmed that Sen. Kennedy has arrived in Denver. No confirmation if he will speak but it has been confirmed that he will be attending tonight’s portion of the convention. His niece Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, the daughter of the 35th President John F. Kennedy has stated that Sen. Kennedy is “humbled” by the warm reception towards him and his family throughout his recovery process as well as the Democratic Party’s tribute to the Kennedy legacy.

Technorati Tags: Sen. Ted Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, Democratic Party, John F. Kennedy, tribute, Denver, DNC

If you’d like more on the adventures of Kate Michael, Miss DC 2006 head over to KStreetKate.net, compliments of ClubRelaford.com/roostertalk

Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) has been selected as Sen. Barack Obama’s running mate. Secret Service arrived at his Delaware home late Friday night.

*Get to know Joe [Biden] at Club Relaford *

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Democratic vice presidential nominee, secret service

On the heels of the announcement that Lifetime picked up the Late Night Shots-inspired reality show that’s been in development since early this year, we now have the title. According to the Post’s Lisa de Moraes, they’re going to call it Blonde Charity Mafia. That’s the nickname three of the show’s main characters, one of them Katherine Kennedy, have given themselves, due to their reputation for throwing elaborate parties that raise money for charitable causes.

So what do you think of the name? It doesn’t exactly scream “Washington, D.C.,” but maybe that’s all for the best. At least this way, the title accurately reflects that the show is following the lives of these specific characters, and not pretending to represent some larger view of what the lives of young people in D.C. are really like.

By SARAH CRISTOBAL

Getting the Ronson siblings together is no easy task. After all, they have made being in demand an art form. Mark, 32, the hotshot music producer responsible for Amy Winehouse’s breakout album and whose own release, Version, went double platinum in the U.K., splits his time between London and New York when he’s not performing with the likes of Duran Duran or Jay-Z. Charlotte, 31, the downtown fashion designer who counts Kate Moss among her following, is busy working on her eponymous label and cohosting charity events. Her twin, Samantha, is an international DJ whose turntable skills are requested everywhere from Bel Air to Mumbai (though recently her most famous asset is Lindsay Lohan, whom she is rumored to be dating). “Not even on the high holiest of Jewish holidays do we all get together,” says Mark wryly. “But we get together individually whenever we can.”

Even before tabloid targets Winehouse and Lohan entered the picture, the Ronson family was a source of intrigue. Mother Ann Dexter-Jones is a social darling who married Laurence Ronson, a British real estate heir and band manager, and then eventually remarried to Mick Jones of Foreigner. The couple (who recently divorced) moved the family to New York when the children were in grade school and had two more of their own: Annabelle, 21, is a Bard student and aspiring actress who serves as Charlotte’s top model, and Alexander, 23, is also a musician and DJ. “It would appear that we had a bohemian, rock ‘n’ roll upbringing,” says Charlotte. “And in many ways it was, but our mother was superstrict, and we also had the very English, proper nanny.” When asked about this, Dexter-Jones deadpans, “I used to be nicknamed Mummy Dearest.”

That said, Dexter-Jones’s get-togethers are legendary. Yes, the kids would wake up to the elder Ronson drinking Johnny Walker and playing chess with Daryl Hall at 8:00 a.m., when they were leaving for school. And sure, Al Pacino has come over for Christmas lunch. (”It was epic,” says Samantha. “I had just watched Scarface, and I don’t think I spoke.”) Speculation about who was a houseguest has taken on mythic proportions. “People say that David Bowie and Andy Warhol would pop over for tea,” says Mark. “If they did, I wish I had known.”

The parallel between the Ronsons and the quirky prodigies, Chas, Margot, and Richie Tenenbaum, of the 2001 Wes Anderson-directed dramedy The Royal Tenenbaums isn’t just a clever concept. All are products of an unusual upbringing and artistic environment.

See the full story here:http://www.harpersbazaar.com/magazine/feature-articles/the-royal-ronsons-0908?click=pp

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) (r) with Sen. Hillary Clinton 

*Update* U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first African-American woman to represent Ohio in Congress was in critical condition, in which her doctors stated with ‘limited brain function.’

It was reported first by the Cleveland Plain Leader newspaper that the Congresswoman had passed away.

Tubbs Jones, 58, served as a Cuyahoga County judge and prosecutor before succeeding U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes. She has served five terms in Congress and is expected to easily win her sixth in November.

The mood of supporters around noon was somber. Cleveland Councilman Roosevelt Coats was seen sobbing outside the hospital. He said that Tubbs Jones was unconscious and that her friends and relatives were preparing for the worst

The Congresswoman was pulled off of life support a little after 6 pm. Wednesday night.

Technorati Tags: Stephanie Tubbs Jones, died, aneurysm, Roosevelt Coats,

Technorati Tags: John McCain, “my friends”

U.S. Stocks Drop as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Plunge; UAL Falls

By Eric Martin

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks dropped for a third day as speculation grew that government will take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and oil’s climb to a two-week high sent airlines and consumer shares falling.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the biggest U.S. mortgage financiers, tumbled more than 17 percent on concern rising debt costs will force the Treasury to bail them out. UAL Corp., the parent of United Airlines, and US Airways Group Inc. declined more than 12 percent. Macy’s Inc. and Kohl’s Corp. retreated, leading retailers lower, after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the rally in department stores will end.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slumped 3.84 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,262.85 at 10:04 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 41.53, or 0.4 percent, to 11,307.02, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 4.08, or 0.2 percent, to 2,380.28. Two stocks retreated for each that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.

The S&P 500 is down 19 percent from an October record after the biggest U.S. housing slump since the Great Depression slowed consumer spending and spurred more than $500 billion of credit market losses for banks globally.

Fannie Mae slumped $1.08 to $4.93, and Freddie Mac decreased 85 cents to $3.32.

$223 Billion of Bonds

The companies have to repay $223 billion of bonds due by the end of the quarter, according to figures provided by the government-chartered companies and data compiled by Bloomberg. Rising borrowing costs and evidence that demand for their debt was waning last month led Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to seek the authority to pump unlimited amounts of capital in Fannie and Freddie in an emergency.

Read full article here

Technorati Tags: Fannie and Freddie, Henry Paulson, NYSE, UAL, Kohl’s, Dow Jones