President Barack Obama waves to onlookers as he departs for a day trip to Kansas
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Good morning everyone! I’m super excited about today’s appearance! Btw, am I first on this post? Woot!
Jeez PBO get a coat or something. It’s 43 degrees here and I’m freezing my ass off.
He on the other hand; no problemo. Oooooh me likey the steely look. Kinda like he spotted McTurtle and Weeper of The House and he’s thinking about how he’s going to relish crushing them with his speech in KS.
Ha UT, I was shivering just looking at the pics! The steely look is begging for a caption …. will get back to it later
Let’get it done.
Okay we have funky weather here today. It was 62 degrees when I arrived at work. It has since gotten windy and a little drizzle but right now the weather looks a lot worse than it really is. As I type this its 59 degrees in downtown DC
I thought it must be a bit warmer because that little girl in the front doesn’t have a sweater on. However, it’s snowing in Kansas!!
Be glad you are not in Denver. It was minus 6 when I drove to school!
its barely thirty degrees in Kansas so he better wrap up.
Ha UT - I’m in Southern California and it is freezing for us. Brrrrr - just cannot get warm! Hm, back to bed? Nah.
Hey, Chips (or anyone), will PBOs speech at noon today (ET) be on CSPAN or ? Maybe on the White House feed. He’s giving it at the same place FDR gave a major speech - the location is certainly not a coincidence.
Stay warm. Oh and Chips, I think that steely look is gonna give some GOTPers an ass-kicking, which they so richly deserve.
Oops! Not enough java this AM or maybe too much. I see at the top where to watch the speech. At least that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. This should be great!
Here ya go Jennifer:
MMMMMmmmmmmm.
Oooooooooo…liking this…i will take a cup too….
TOD - a FULL SERVICE blog!!!!
OMG, my sides hurt from laughing.
YOU’RE KILLING ME!!
Too funny! I love that pic.
Now Chips, you are truly creative, the coffee not only looks Inviting, but also loving with the heart of cream, niceeee
Teddy Roosevelt, not FDR.
TOO BAD HE DOESN’T HAVE MY RED SEQUINED SHOES…HE COULD JUST CLICK HIS HEELS AND GO! CAN’T FORGET TOTO! LOVE MY PREZ…GET YOUR OWN! LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL…I’LL BE WATCHING!
Roosevelt made the case for what he called the New Nationalism in a speech in Osawatomie, Kansas, on August 31, 1910. The central issue he argued was government protection of human welfare and property rights,[1] but he also argued that human welfare was more important than property rights.[1][2] He insisted that only a powerful federal government could regulate the economy and guarantee social justice,[1] and that a President can only succeed in making his economic agenda successful if he makes the protection of human welfare his highest priority.[1] Roosevelt believed that the concentration in industry was a natural part of the economy. He wanted executive agencies (not the courts) to regulate business. The federal government should be used to protect the laboring men, women and children from exploitation.[3] In terms of policy, Roosevelt’s platform included a broad range of social and political reforms advocated by progressives.[4][5][6]
In the social sphere the platform called for
A National Health Service to include all existing government medical agencies.
Social insurance, to provide for the elderly, the unemployed, and the disabled.
Limited injunctions in strikes.
A minimum wage law for women.
An eight hour workday.
A federal securities commission.
Farm relief.
Workers’ compensation for work-related injuries.
An inheritance tax.
A Constitutional amendment to allow a Federal income tax.
The political reforms proposed included
Women’s suffrage.
Direct election of Senators.
Primary elections for state and federal nominations.
However, the main theme of the platform was an attack on the domination of politics by business interests, which allegedly controlled both established parties. The platform asserted that
To destroy this invisible Government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.[7]
To that end, the platform called for
Strict limits and disclosure requirements on political campaign contributions.
Registration of lobbyists.
Recording and publication of Congressional committee proceedings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Nationalism
WOWWWWWWWWwW…..how many of these things have become the law of the land…and how many of these are being threatened today….
simply amazing
Teddy was a visionary with a reformer’s heart. It’s sad that, aside from the president, few people in our current political environment think and operate on Teddy’s level. Were he alive today, he could not win a Republican primary. The Roosevelts were a truly remarkable family to whom we owe a lot as a nation. I remember reading that as a young man TR was appointed as one of New York’s police commissioners. The police in that era were riddled with corruption and policeman could buy their way to promotion. Despite enormous opposition, teddy introduced the idea of promotions through merit and paved the way for a later transformation of how police departments were run.
Wow and thank you for the history lesson. TR was a true democray with a small D. The Repus today have fallen off a cliff.
STRENGTH AND HONOR SIR!!!
I KNOW THIS SPEECH WILL BE HISTORIC…OBAMA / BIDEN 2012!!!!
Some photos of yesterday’s WH tweetup:
http://www.welovedc.com/2011/12/06/holidays-at-the-white-house/
These are really lovely!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tbridge/sets/72157628296474073/with/6463243013/
HGTV is having a special on the WH Xmas decorations this weekend…either Saturday or Sunday.
I am so looking forward to that.
While we wait:
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!
While we wait…..
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/malia-obama-grows-up-1323188156-slideshow/malia-obama-photo-1323188033.html
Oh Chips thank you for this. Its so wonderful to see how these sweet kids blossoming into beautiful young ladies right before our eyes.
What an amazing First Family we have been blessed with.
They’re just lovely Donna, aren’t they?
Yep, the whole Family….Mrs O is simply stunning both inside and out….PBO is gorgeous both inside and out and the kids are well adjusted, polite, bright and magnificent. We couldn’t have dreamed up a more beautiful family.
Oh wow Chips. Thanks for the pictures. The whole family is lovely and it’s wonderful to see how the First Daughters have grown before our very eyes.
Yes Indeed, they’re towering before me, wowwwwwwwww, but they are so pretty and cute
thank you for these
Thanks for the “while we wait” pics! Time seems to be passing slowly while we wait for the speech today!
I could just weep looking at those early pictures of Malia and Sasha. Sweet babies!
“Why are we paying a Federal Employee to be on a book signing tour ? She needs to resign immediately.”
Can’t get sound…what did he say to her?
He said ” My mom is gay…and she does not need fixing “.
Welllllll, out of the mouths of Babes, comes the truth, OOPS!
President Obama—-lookin’ good, and I know he will be soundin’ good. He always rises to the occasion.
On the other hand, Whoopi Goldberg, soundin’ bad—-just introduced Condoleeza Rice on The View as “the most amazing woman we all know”. What???
View ladies puffing up Rice and fawning all over her, obviously forgetting her role in 9/11. Sheri Shepherd just said to her that it was rumored that you voted for Obama, is that true and will you vote for him in 2012? Rice said her ballot was secret and that she will be voting for the Repub. nominee in 2012. Ka-boom! End of fluffing.
Grotesque.
Rumors were floated that she could possibly be a VP candidate for Romney.
Let Rice vote for whoever she wants, it’s clear the best S.O.S is Hillary Clinton, better than Ms. George Bush. I meant Ms. Rice.
So glad I didn’t see Rice on the View.
Good morning TODville. It is so great to see our President fighting the good fight. Love him.
Morning relellit
Good morning Chips and friends. I see that CNN has the time for PBO’s speech listed at 2:05 est? Is that correct? WH.gov has it listed at 1:55 est.
Morning COS, CNN probably just want to cut out the rapturous reception he’ll receive! Go with 1:55 est, that seems to be the time listed most places.
Thx Chips.
Chipsticks! I want to thank you for featuring my silly comment in the last thread and on Twitter. I’m a happy camper!
FiredUp, it wasn’t silly, it was SUBLIME!!!!!!!
Good morning Chips and TODville! Today is a very emotional day for me. Kansas is my home. I was born there and lived the first 18 years of my life. Both sides of my family go back 6 generations. Both of my parents are buried there. I love my family and history there but I can’t talk to my family about politics because they are all evangelical repubs. I wish I could be there. Can’t wait to hear his speech.
It is 19 here in MT. Stay warm everyone. Press On!
This station says it will have his arrival:
http://livewire.kmbc.com/Event/President_Obama_Visits_Kansas
Thanks Meta, looks like this station will too:
http://www.kwch.com/videogallery/66547314/live/President-Obama-in-Osawatomie-Live-Streaming-Video
Oooooh, I think that one’s better. Thanks!!
Did I miss the arrival? I’m looking at video of Maxine Waters from the above link. Where’s my President?
I gotta’ say-I don’t like to be critical of other women’s looks. BUT, I have it in for Mrs. Newt and have done my share of bashing. She and her portly hubby represent all that is bad about American politics. First, I resent the gravy train they are on-with Mrs. Portly writing a children’s book for God’s sake, plus all the other books, films, think tank profits etc. that has allowed them to exploit the Americans. Who is she? A women who shacked up with a married man and now wraps herself in the cloak of family values-give me a friggen’ break. That brittle, hard look is a shell that protects her from who she really is, and is an attempt to shield us from who she really is. Mark Twain said, “The older a person gets, the more like themselves they become”. When you look at her face, you see it all. It’s all surface. There isn’t any depth to either of them. I don’t care how involved they are with church-it’s all show-their hearts are as cold and hard as as her face. God help this country if through some sort of comic joke he became president.
Charlotte HSR update-
http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2011/12/05/innovative-financing-points-the-way-ahead-for-a-rail-project-in-charlotte/
Btw/ thanks for the pictures chip.
You’re welcome Jovie
Thank you for all the great links.
What a glorious morning.
It’s like we have a week’s worth of good news in one day. From the scathing ads about Newt (which would have been condemned if Dems had done them, but since they come from “Christians” they are God’s will) to the encouraging stories about Healthcare - my head is spinning.
This is truly a special community and I feel so lucky to be a part of it. Wowsa.
Off to do school work, then I can come back and further organize all the wonderful resources found here today. How Fun.
This one is live now.
http://livewire.kmbc.com/Event/President_Obama_Visits_Kansas
Let’s not set the bar way too high for this speech just because it has historical backdrop. There is no way Pres. Obama can give a speech even fractionally as impactful as Teddy Roosevelt’s speech in this day in age and instant gratification media. In 1910 Teddy’s speech would have been in newspapers for weeks, this speech, on a nondescript Tuesday afternoon is early December, will not even lead off newscasts of front page newspapers outside of Kansas and will probably be bumped out of consciousness by Kim Kardashian or the like by the 11pm news.
I’m sure it will be a brilliant speech and we’ll all love it here. I wish it was a prime time address at least.
In that vein, I see msnbc is asking, “Is this a make or break moment for Obama?” Sigh—our media. Setting sights sky high so they can say overhyped?
I mean picking the historical backdrop of the Teddy Roosevelt speech the Obama folks helped set the high expectations. I just hope it isn’t a regular AJA speech and that he went to Kansas because the Press was on him about only going to toss up states for his AJA messages.
Great analysis and opinions SR.
My God you are preaching to the CHOIR. The majority of us could give a FLYING “F” what the media thinks. IF he meets our personal expectations that is all thats important. We have known what the MSM’s agenda is since 2007. PRESS ON folks. It is another Obama DAY. 
KEEP HOPE ALIVE!!!! Obama/Biden 2012
My expectations for the speech really have nothing to do with what the media does with it before, during, or after. I don’t give one flying fuck what they say.
No matter whether it is 1910 or 2011, whoever has an ear to hear will hear.
+ 1,000,000,000
Fanned and Faved PJ. Tell it!
WORD.
I don’t care what all those idiots think. I don’t need Chris Matthews or Jake Tapper or Chuck Todd or anybody to tell me what I think about President Obama. Worthless drivel.
True That!!! No low information supporters on this site.
Unfortunately, the very likes of these pundits are the reason that the public is so misinformed. I place zero faith in anything they say. They simply don’t tell the truth. They say what they think will garner them the most controversy to keep folks coming back for more. “Worthless drivel” is being too kind Meta.
PJ thanks for speaking the truth. My sentiments exactly.
How Herman Cain Killed Black Republicanism
One day the GOP will get a legitimate black conservative voice. That day hasn’t come.
This past Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, the once jocular and front-running, now defiant and rapidly crumbling, GOP presidential contender Herman Cain announced that he’s indefinitely “suspending” his bid for the White House — and in the process he killed black Republicanism.
That probably wasn’t his plan, but after running a race filled with gaffes and gimmicks and lacking any humility or substance, Cain left the conservative movement unharmed and the mainstream GOP alive and well, but he may have finally laid to rest the peculiar strain of political thought that’s been driving black Republicans ever since the kinder, gentler Rockefeller Republicanism of former Sen. Edward Brooke and the late NAACP President Benjamin Hooks was replaced by the talking-point parroting brand that found its ultimate distillation in Cain.
After Cain’s woeful run, American politics may have finally seen the last of the “I’m not like those other blacks” candidate — and good riddance.
Cain called himself conservative, but he mostly encouraged supporters to see him as the ultimate anti-Obama — claiming to be the “real black man” in the presidential race and saying America needed “a leader, not a reader.” Yet when the time came, Cain couldn’t back up those claims.
He tried to be the “likable” candidate in the Republican field but went about it by indulging in a faux-folksiness unbecoming a serious contender — kicking off stump speeches by exclaiming “Aw, shucky-ducky!” and wishing aloud that he’d get the Secret Service code name “Cornbread.”
http://www.theroot.com/views/how-herman-cain-killed-black-republicanism
Cain and former RNC Chair Michael Steele were picked for a reason. They are caricatures of what white republicans think black folks are. Steele and Cain seemed all too happy to play their parts.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Minstrel show at its best. Both are disgraces to African American Heritage and a disgrace to American politics in general.
Mark Knoller haz a sad. Stopped snowing, sun’s out now in Kansas. Said it’s still cold though, just so you don’t get too carried away by the improving bright and optimistic signs for Obama’s arrival.
Ha Dotster, that guy haz a permanent sad!
Hiya Chips. That guy needs to google the nearest Lifetime Gym on the double and shut his yap up!
Hi chippie—-I’m just tired of Knoller always having to add a dash of negativity, no matter what the observation, trivial or serious. I will not be hangin’ with him. I don’t like droopy mopes. I will not be his friend, even if he begs, even if he buys.
Breaking News
Republican convicted of election Fraud
Schurick guilty of election fraud in robocall case
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-schurick-robocalls-verdict-20111206,0,7659803.story
//snip//
A Baltimore jury said Tuesday that Paul Schurick, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.’s campaign manager, was guilty of election fraud for his role in an Election Day 2010 robocall.
The jury found Schurick guilty on all four counts, including election fraud and failing to include an Ehrlich campaign authorization line on the calls.
Prosecutors said the call, made as Gov. Martin O’Malley swept to a re-election victory, was designed to suppress black votes.
//snip
Woo Hoo!!
That whole thing was so disgusting. I remember last year on election night when I got home from work and that disgusting robocall was on my answering machine. How they thought they were going to get away with this is beyond me but hey that’s the arrogance of the Republican Party on full display!
if you check either Politico or the WP this Ehrlich character had the audacity to write a book blasting Potus I believe and the book came out just this week or Friday
It’s normal for them. You see Fred they feel entitled to politics. They don’t believe any Dem is worthy of holding office and even in the face of scandal they just fluff it off because you know…their $$@$ don’t stink. Why else would Gingrich be aspiring to the highest office in the land with all the baggage he has in his public and private life? Its because in his arrogance he believes he is entitled to it. A Dem with this kind of baggage wouldn’t even attempt to run for dogcatcher much less President of the United States.
I am so glad that justice prevailed.
Oh I’m shock that the Republicans would do something like that. Just so shock.
Well, well, well. We called it, didn’t we?
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/occupier_gets_an_occupation_o8x0D8DkpsWB60rSMhcEgP#ixzz1fm4hZZbI
Occupier gets an occupation
By CYNTHIA R. FAGEN
Last Updated: 4:44 AM, December 5, 2025
Posted: 12:51 AM, December 5, 2025
She’s gone from Occupy Wall Street to occupying a job on Wall Street.
Down-on-her-luck protester Tracy Postert spent 15 days washing sidewalks and making sandwiches at Zuccotti Park — then landed a dream job at a Financial District investment firm thanks to a high-powered passer-by who offered her work.
“I never thought I would be doing this,’’ Postert admitted to The Post.
The Upper West Sider, who has a Ph.D. in biomedical science specializing in pharmacology, was unemployed and had all but given up on finding work in her preferred field of academia when she joined the movement in October.
She held signs that read, “Reagan sucks,” and, “I’ll vote after the revolution.”
But she said she still needed to get a real job. So she made a new sign.
On the front, she wrote, “Ph.D. Biomedical Scientist seeking full time employment,” and on the back, “Ask me for my resume.”
It caught the eye of Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst for John Thomas Financial Brokerage. The exec wasn’t looking to hire, but he took Postert’s résumé anyway.
That was Oct. 22, Postert’s Day 10 as an Occupier.
The next day, Kaufman, impressed by her CV, sent her an e-mail asking if she’d like to come for an interview.
It wasn’t far — only two blocks from Zuccotti Park at 14 Wall St.
“I had been unemployed for so long, I thought why not?” said Postert, adding that she is in her 30s and has no background in finance or business.
Her last paying job was as a lab assistant at Touro College making $2,500 for the one semester she worked there, she said.
Kaufman offered her a job as a junior analyst evaluating medical companies as potential investments.
Postert said the decision to accept was painful.
But practicality won out.
The starting salary as a junior analyst is near minimum wage, but in time, she can earn a cool six figures, assured Kaufman.
Postert has now just completed her third week as a Wall Street geek.
She’s already studying for her exams to be a certified financial analyst.
“I want to get a perfect score,” she said.
Life has definitely changed for the former Occupier.
She’s in the office by 8 a.m., and she still has to get used to Kaufman’s rallying cry of “Go! Go! Go!” blaring over the speakers in the morning.
CEO Thomas Belesis said he believes Postert will be a great asset.
“She was ranting about Wall Street, and now she’s working on Wall Street. Banks are not so bad. I hope we have opened her eyes,” he said.
[email protected]
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/occupier_gets_an_occupation_o8x0D8DkpsWB60rSMhcEgP#ixzz1fm8ks3kv
She was hired as a publicity stunt.
THIS
THIS
THIS
yeah I’m calling bull shit on that story.
All I can say is “SELL OUT”!
December 06, 2025 11:25 AM
Voter-ID schemes keep snagging the elderly
By Steve Benen
Republican policymakers across the country are pushing a variety of schemes as part of the “war on voting,” but none are as pernicious as voter-ID measures. The practical effect of these laws will be to keep more minorities and senior citizens from participating in elections.
And the examples to reinforce the concerns keep piling up. Tanya Somanader yesterday highlighted the story of Wisconsin’s Ruthelle Frank, who’s been voting for 63 years.
Though paralyzed on her left side since birth, the 84-year-old “fiery woman” voted in every election since 1948 and even got elected herself as a member of the Brokaw Village Board. But because of the state’s new voter ID law, 2012 will be the first year Frank can’t vote. Born after a difficult birth at her home in 1927, Frank never received an official birth certificate. Her mother recorded it in her family Bible and Frank has a certification of baptism from a few months later, along with a Social Security card, a Medicare statement, and a checkbook. But without the official document, she can’t secure the state ID card that the new law requires to vote next year.
“It’s really crazy,” she added. “I’ve got all this proof. You mean to tell me that I’m not a U.S. citizen?” But state officials have informed Frank that, because the state Register of Deeds does have a record of her birth, they can issue her a new birth certificate — for a fee. And because of a spelling error, that fee may be as high as $200:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/voterid_schemes_keep_snagging033927.php
December 06, 2025 9:30 AM
The hard-drive plot thickens
By Steve Benen
Shortly before Mitt Romney departed the governor’s office, 11 of his top aides purchased 17 state-issued hard drives, and purged the Romney administration’s email records in advance of his presidential campaign. The move has no precedent among modern Massachusetts governors, including Romney’s recent Republican predecessors.
Two weeks ago, the story got a little worse when Romney admitted the move was intended to hide official correspondence from the public and keep potentially-embarrassing information from “opposition research” teams.
Today, the controversy managed to take an even more serious turn. Reuters reported overnight:
Mitt Romney spent nearly $100,000 in state funds to replace computers in his office at the end of his term as governor of Massachusetts in 2007 as part of an unprecedented effort to keep his records secret, Reuters has learned. […]
The cleanup of records by Romney’s staff before his term ended included spending $205,000 for a three-year lease on new computers for the governor’s office, according to official documents and state officials.
In signing the lease, Romney aides broke an earlier three-year lease that provided the same number of computers for about half the cost — $108,000. Lease documents obtained by Reuters under the state’s freedom of information law indicate that the broken lease still had 18 months to run.
As a result of the change in leases, the cost to the state for computers in the governor’s office was an additional $97,000.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/the_harddrive_plot_thickens033924.php
Here he comes!!
Wheels down.
The sunny is shining on our President!
6 Dec 2025 10:54 AM
Ron Paul vs Roger Ailes In Iowa
Robert Costa reports on Paul’s steady, traditional strategy:
According to state GOP insiders, a Paul victory is a real possibility. In background conversations, many say Paul is much stronger than outside observers believe, with deep and wide support among a frustrated electorate. With Herman Cain’s departure from the race, operatives see Paul potentially collecting a quarter of caucus attendees. … “Ron Paul’s Internet operation is to Republicans in 2012 what Barack Obama’s Internet operation was to Democrats in 2007 and 2008,” [Paul adviser Trygve] Olson says. “It’s very grassroots and national, with thousands of very active supporters who spread the message in every state. That energy is the undercurrent to what’s happening on the ground, where people are going person to person.”
Last night, I sat through both O’Reilly and Hannity to get a read on the Ailes propaganda at this moment in time. The line on Paul is clear: they all say in unison at any available moment: “Ron Paul has zero chance of getting the nomination.” They never said that about Cain or Bachmann of Perry, over whom Paul has solid leads. A new NBC/Marist poll indicates that Paul could attract independent voters and even disaffected Democrats in Iowa:
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/12/a-ron-paul-surprise-in-iowa.html
Ron pauls new ad says he would cut government spending 1 trillion first year and abolish five federal agencies.
I wonder if Rachel will play this ad on her show tonite? Nope! She endorsed him, because he wants out of all wars.
But not because he is anti war, but, he is anti military and wants to gut that too.
Oh, Rachel!
Which is good news for Newt as Fox will go all in supporting him to make sure Paul doesn’t win Iowa. And this could piss off Paulites come the general when Paul isn’t on the GOP ballot and Paulites know they were done dirty by the Republican establishment.
PBO arriving: http://www.ustream.tv/cbsnews
Ready for Another Shutdown?
by BooMan
Tue Dec 6th, 2011 at 09:05:13 AM EST
Back in August, the Republicans made a deal on the debt ceiling that set overall spending at $1.043 trillion for the next fiscal year. Speaker Boehner has said that he feels bound by that agreement. I think that’s very nice. Imagine, he thinks a person should keep their word. I am almost surprised. In any case, only three appropriations bills have been passed, and there’s $900 billion left to spend. Since Congress is out of time, they’re going to put all the bills (except defense) into an omnibus bill. If the omnibus bill doesn’t pass by Dec. 16th, most of the government will shut down.
The Republican leadership has reportedly read the polls and concluded that another government shutdown will give them a lower public approval number than Satanic ritual murder. However, their rank-and-file members are like the Honey Badger. They don’t give a shit. There are enough Republican house members opposed to honoring the debt ceiling agreement that Boehner needs to crawl on his hands and knees to Nancy Pelosi and beg for some Democratic votes.
That’s a problem, because Boehner’s nutty caucus wants to attach all kinds of obnoxious ‘riders’ to the omnibus bill. They want to limit what the EPA can do about greenhouse gases. They want to defund public broadcasting. They want to defund Planned Parenthood and all Title X Family Planning programs. They want to cripple the healthcare and Wall Street reforms. They want to kill the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in its crib. They want to prevent the courts from determining whether the grey wolf is an endangered species. But, Nancy Pelosi doesn’t approve of any of these riders, and the Senate Democrats are unlikely to be too keen on most of them either.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2011/12/6/9513/81838
I love this comment from Booman’s post:
In Monty Python terms, the House has the Sensible Party (Democrats) in opposition to a coalition of the Silly Party (establishment GOP) and the Very Silly Party (Tea Party).
Will The GOP Establishment Veto Newt?
Chait is unconvinced:
Jonathan Bernstein has made the most confident version of this argument, though others have echoed it as well. Bernstein argues that Republicans understand how erratic and ineffective Gingrich is, and won’t let him get the nomination. I see a couple flaws in this assumption. First, insiders can’t always get their way. The party elite knew full well in 2010 that nominating candidates like Joe Miller in Alaska, Sharron Angle in Nevada, and Christine O’Donnell in Delaware was suicidal. They just couldn’t sway the voters not to nominate them in primaries. And presidential nominations are just a series of primaries.
Nate Silver makes an important observation along these lines:
Republicans are sometimes thought of as the party of the establishment. But the party’s leadership has spent much of the last three decades cultivating distrust among its rank and file about the legitimacy of these institutions, particularly the government and the news media. This may have contributed to the party’s electoral successes. But it’s also possible that Republican elites have neutered their ability to influence how voters decide on a candidate. If so, they may end up with Mr. Gingrich rather than Mr. Romney.
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/12/will-the-gop-establishment-veto-newt.html
Well, the Republicans just voted down a judicial nominee, dc circuit court.
They said she would have been an activist.
They had been doing well, don’t know what one qualifies to be an activist, but other judges have sailed through.
Maybe, the Republicans are just reminding the Democrats what they can do, at anytime? Sigh!
G’day to all you TODers. i can tell by the posts that everyone is “hot-to-trot; with no place to race.”
It’s gonna be a great day. We will either learn something new, or get confirmation on an earlier thought or idea. 
Good morning, yardarm!! It will be a great moment either way.
Another reason why I am not scared of a Mitt Romney campaign.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-december-1-2011/moment-of-zen—mitt-romney-s-1994-senate-campaign
Teddy Roosevelt delivered a great speech before 30,000 folks in launching the Progressive Party.
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/politicalparties/p/bull_moose.htm
Origin of the Bull Moose Party:
Theodore Roosevelt was president of the United States until 1909. When he left office, William Howard Taft was chosen to run and won the presidency for the Republican Party. In 1912, Roosevelt was unhappy with Taft’s time in office and put his name forward to become the Republican Party’s nominee again. The Party chose to stick with Taft. This angered Roosevelt who walked out of the convention and then formed his own party, the Progressive Party in protest. Hiram Johnson was chosen as his running mate.
When asked whether he was fit to be president, he responded that he was as fit as a “bull moose.” Thus the Progressive Party of 1912 was
nicknamed the Bull Moose Party.
——————————-
His speech in full is at this site:
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=501
Here’s an excerpt, but I’d encourage reading the whole beautiful thing:
New Nationalism Speech
Theodore Roosevelt
1910
Excerpt:
Of that generation of men to whom we owe so much, the man to whom we owe most is, of course, Lincoln. Part of our debt to him is because he forecast our present struggle and saw the way out. He said:
“I hold that while man exists it is his duty to improve not only his own condition, but to assist in ameliorating mankind.”
And again:
“Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.”
If that remark was original with me, I should be even more strongly denounced as a Communist agitator than I shall be anyhow. It is Lincoln’s. I am only quoting it; and that is one side; that is the side the capitalist should hear. Now, let the working man hear his side.
“Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as any other rights. . . . Nor should this lead to a war upon the owners of property. Property is the fruit of labor; . . . property is desirable; is a positive good in the world.”
And then comes a thoroughly Lincoln-like sentence:
“Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built.”
It seems to me that, in these words, Lincoln took substantially the attitude that we ought to take; he showed the proper sense of proportion in his relative estimates of capital and labor, of human rights and property rights. Above all, in this speech, as in many others, he taught a lesson in wise kindliness and charity; an indispensable lesson to us of today. But this wise kindliness and charity never weakened his arm or numbed his heart. We cannot afford weakly to blind ourselves to the actual conflict which faces us today. The issue is joined, and we must fight or fail.
In every wise struggle for human betterment one of the main objects, and often the only object, has been to achieve in large measure equality of opportunity. In the struggle for this great end, nations rise from barbarism to civilization, and through it people press forward from one stage of enlightenment to the next. One of the chief factors in progress is the destruction of special privilege. The essence of any struggle for healthy liberty has always been, and must always be, to take from some one man or class of men the right to enjoy power, or wealth, or position, or immunity, which has not been earned by service to his or their fellows. That is what you fought for in the Civil War, and that is what we strive for now.
At many stages in the advance of humanity, this conflict between the men who possess more than they have earned and the men who have earned more than they possess is the central condition of progress. In our day it appears as the struggle of freemen to gain and hold the right of self-government as against the special interests, who twist the methods of free government into machinery for defeating the popular will. At every stage, and under all circumstances, the essence of the struggle is to equalize opportunity, destroy privilege, and give to the life and citizenship of every individual the highest possible value both to himself and to the commonwealth. That is nothing new. All I ask in civil life is what you fought for in the Civil War. I ask that civil life be carried on according to the spirit in which the army was carried on. You never get perfect justice, but the effort in handling the army was to bring to the front the men who could do the job. Nobody grudged promotion to Grant, or Sherman, or Thomas, or Sheridan, because they earned it. The only complaint was when a man got promotion which he did not earn.
It would have been a nice gesture if some of those people who were not able to get tickets to see the Presidents speech today had been given an opportunity to greet him at the airport today. I guess there wasn’t enough time for that but so many of those people seemed genuinely disappointed that they didn’t get tickets.
Donna, thats what happen when you are loved my MILLIONS, you can’t satisfy everyone. To be in PBO’s presence is a chance that comes very rare.
I think there will be quite a reception for the motorcade.
New post here:
http://theobamadiary.com/2011/12/06/osawatomie-updating/
While we wait: Rev. Sharpton’s Power-Talking Fitness Routine .
Anyone who thinks the Rev. Al Sharpton is a loud public presence can blame his weight loss. “I can speak much more easily now that I’ve lost weight,” says the activist and host of MSNBC’s PoliticsNation and the nationally syndicated radio show “Keepin’ It Real with Al Sharpton.”
“I’m not reaching for words. I don’t get out of breath at the high point of a sermon,” he says. “I’m gliding rather than struggling.”
Rev. Sharpton, 57 years old, says he weighed more than 300 pounds from the late ’80s through the ’90s…
Al Sharpton has shed nearly 85 pounds since starting a strict workout and diet regimen about a decade ago. He discusses the importance of discipline for keeping the weight off..
Video of him talking about his routine, etc: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203935604577066350673704314.html
Hello from KC.
It is really noisy around here. First I heard what sounded like several huge planes fly in towards MCI very loud but I had my times mixed up with the EST while I was expecting CST so I missed it but it was right on time.. I just ran out and watched three helicopters not to far above me fly over. Funny though, one was white and very odd shaped with two regulary military type flying on each side. They were flying southwest and Osawatamie is southeast. Maybe they are going to follow I-435 to I 35. We have snow but just a slight dusting. It is very cold though. To quote Neil Diamond, “What a Wonderful Noise.” I’m going out again so signing off for now..
Hello Chips,
I have been so busy since the last time I posted here. I did not get a chance to share the experience of seeing Our President last week in New York City at the fundrasing event at the Sheraton Hotel. Well, I dropped my camera, mouth was dry, tears streaming down(tears of joy). A complete mess. I cannot explaint what it feels like to see him in person and to shake his hand. I had to keep repeating to myself to breathe as he came close to shaking my hand(that’s when I dropped the camera). A new found friend picked it up and told me to….yelled to me to take the picture. The SS forewarned us not to snap pictures in his face. My friend was rambling on about something and I just stood their frozen in time. lol.
But seriously, it was a pleasure to be their to hear and see such a gifted, kind caring person who works so hard for us. I really stood there and could not fathom why anyone would not vote for this man. Or appreciate all that he is doing. I left there feeling that I must work harder to get him re-elected, send more donations, educate and re-educate people who are so misinformed…. but most of all…..pray for this kind soul. I am so looking forward to THIS speech. I feel this will be different and will set the stage of what is yet to come.
As Deborah Wasserman said in her opening speech that night, 2008 was extraordinary but 2012 is personal (paraphrasing)…..I would go further to say, this is spiritual. I feel that his mother from Kansas and his father from Kenyan was no chance meeting. This one is for “US”. God loves us that much and more to give us another chance. We cannot afford to sit this one out. Too much at stake……Enjoy the speech!