It is with great pleasure that I take the time to comment on the running clusterfuck that is California's state government.  Here at DagBlog, we've gone back and forth a bit about the possible ramifications of expansive fiscal policy that has now been signed into law by President Obama.  If you want a real lesson in when deficits get sticky, look no further than the Golden State.

So we've covered Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Song. Now, it's time to turn our attention to Best Actress. And the nominees are:

Turns out, even I underestimated the stupidity of Roland Burris, a feat, I assure you, that is as difficult as it is unexpected, seeing as how I've been criticizing him for weeks.

(Video below)

So Obama is signing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law in Denver this afternoon. I've heard several pundits calling the $787 billion stimulus package the beginning of Obama's New Deal. In today's dagbuzz, I discuss why that comparison is foolish, and why we probably couldn't even afford a new New Deal even if we desperately needed one.

Brought to you by wordle.net. I like the big Bush falling off the bottom...

Defying expectations and confounding the critics one last time, George W. Bush is not the worst president ever according to C-Span's Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership. Bush beat out Millard Fillmore, Warren Harding, William Henry Harrison, Franklin D. Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and James Buchanan to place a respectable 36th out of 42.

The big night is just a week away, so it's time to get serious. The Best Picture nominees are covered here. For the rest of this week, I'm going to do my level best to post my predictions for the other major categories.

For Best Actor, the nominees are:

Sometimes, being right is cold comfort. 

As Genghis mentioned in his post, Roland Burris has "elaborated" on his testimony regarding his contact with Rod Blagojevich prior to his appointment to the United States Senate seat once held by President Obama. The Illinois State Senate is looking into whether he committed perjury and State Rep. Barbara Flynn Curie thinks it's "odd."

Senator Roland Burris (D) speaks...

Jan 5, sworn affidavit:

There was not any contact between myself or any of my representatives with Governor Blagojevich or any of his representatives regarding my appointment to the United States Senate.

Contact counter: 0

Jan 8, sworn testimony:

Before last week, all I knew about Papua New Guinea was that its capital was Port Moresby and that it was that island on top of Australia. But while I was searching the internet for examples of the country’s musical offerings, I was fascinated to learn that over 700 languages are spoken there, that most of the island doesn’t have access to television and can only be reached by airplanes, and that there is an incredible diversity of flora and fauna in the mountains and rainforests.

On January 29th, Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr., passed away.  Though he left his mark on music in a very direct way, both through his own recordings and compositions and through working with legends like Ray Charles, Etta James, Lou Rawls and B.B. King, Crawford's musical legacy extends into the realm of hip-hop as well.

I have really little to add here, but this may be one of the most uncomfortable celebrity interviews I've ever seen. This guy is clearly fruit loops.

The $789 billion stimulus bill passed today. As expected, the Republican leadership carped about the cost. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell complained, "We've heard a lot from our friends about the danger of deficits over the past few years...Americans are wondering how we’re going to pay for all this." In case this message was too abstract for average Americans, McConnell supported his point with a common sense analogy, "Any parent knows you don't buy a new car and plan the summer vacation before you set the family budget for the year."

It’s not surprising that few acts out of Papua New Guinea have found international recognition. The country is largely rural and connections are made difficult by the mountains and rainforests. Television is only readily available in the capital of Port Moresby and most of PNG is connected to the outside world only through government radio.