ZOMG-This admin is the most PARTISAN evah evah evah
Seven states won a share of $200 million in federal “Race to the Top” money to improve K-12 education programs, the Education Department announced ThursdayThe winners are Arizona, $25.1 million; Colorado, $17.9 million; Illinois, $42.8 million; Kentucky, $17 million; Louisiana, $17.5 million; Pennsylvania, $41.3 million; and New Jersey, $37.9 million.
Let’s see AZ, LA, PN, NJ all Repub govenors
Sigh. One of these days they will learn…one of these days.
Jackie, you are so right!! Fellow Pennsylvanian here. Corbett is a perfect example of elections having consequences. What a horrible, horrible, governor.
Getting ready to take my grandkids Christmas shopping. Can’t wait to get back to see the latest Chips as
we had a good time this morning riding @byrontau at Polico 44. LOL.
whoa you guys were awesome. you really had a conversation with byronT I wonder if he will start being more balanced now that he has been ‘engaging’ (his term) with tweeters who have something to say about his biased coverage of PBO.
Alice, no change in Byron at all! His first story after our exchange was to pick out from the Walters interview PBO saying he was lazy sometimes ….. he could have chosen 50 other points, but that was the one he liked.
Presidential Cojones: Obama Gives House GOP No Credit For Payroll Tax Extension
In his statement praising the payroll tax cut extension, President Obama praised and thanked the American people, and made sure that House Republicans got zero credit.
Obama said in a statement:
For the past several weeks, I’ve stated consistently that it was critical that Congress not go home without preventing a tax increase on 160 million working Americans. Today, I congratulate members of Congress for ending the partisan stalemate by reaching an agreement that meets that test.
Because of this agreement, every working American will keep his or her tax cut – about $1,000 for the average family. That’s about $40 in every paycheck. Vital unemployment insurance will continue for millions of Americans who are looking for work. And when Congress returns, I urge them to keep working to reach an agreement that will extend this tax cut and unemployment insurance for all of 2012 without drama or delay.
This is good news, just in time for the holidays. This is the right thing to do to strengthen our families, grow our economy, and create new jobs. This is real money that will make a real difference in people’s lives. And I want to thank every American who raised your voice to remind folks in this town what this debate was all about. It was about you. And today, your voices made all the difference.
Notice who was missing from Obama’s statement? Did you happen to catch who wasn’t mentioned in any way, shape, or form? President Obama got one final shot in at the House Republicans by completely ignoring them in his statement. Unlike after previous House temper tantrums, Obama did not sound a bipartisan tone this evening.
I don’t understand why the “pundits” & others are saying that the President initially caved on having a clean bill when if not agreed to would have meant sorrow for so many millions. No heart and also looking for sensationalism, It makes me want to puke.
“Oh, he really didn’t win”, forgetting completely its the PEOPLE who won.
Late yesterday, House Republicans caved to Democratic demands agreed to accept a slightly-tweaked bipartisan compromise from the Senate. This morning, just to move the process along, the Senate preemptively approved the tweaked version by unanimous consent. Less than an hour later, the House took up that bill and it too passed it by unanimous consent.
And with that, the bill heads to President Obama for his signature. The White House took down its countdown clock this morning.
There was some question as to whether House passage would be this easy. Boehner told his members that any of them objected, he’d hold an up-or-down vote on this bill next week — a vote that was very likely to pass the deal anyway — so rather than delay the inevitable, House Republicans bit their tongue, dropped the silly “Braveheart” routine, and let the two-month extension pass.
The next step is the arguably-more -difficult conference committee, which will be tasked with shaping a year-long extension. This morning, Democratic leaders — who seemed to be in a very good mood — announced which members would lead the negotiations.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) said yesterday that he approves of deporting an uncle to President Barack Obama who was arrested in August on a charge of drunk driving, even though the man has a driver’s license, Social Security card and no prior criminal convictions.
“Well, if the laws of the United States say he should be deported, and I presume they do, then of course we should follow those laws,” Romney replied, according to quotes transcribed by ABC News. “And the answer is yes.”
The president’s half-uncle was charged with an immigration violation 20 years ago, but is currently in the country legally.
I’m sure Mitt Romney didn’t know that, and I wouldn’t even expect him to, which means the appropriate answer for him to give in this situation would have been “I don’t know enough about the situation to comment.” Not “Yes.”
After Charlie White admitted to voting last year in a precinct in which he did not live during a strange 13-minute talk with reporters on his way into court Friday, his lawyer had a piece of advice for him. “Shut up,” Dennis Zahn told his client. He grabbed White by the arm and escorted him away from reporters.In the hours that followed, it became apparent that Zahn was not the only one at odds with Indiana’s secretary of state.
Sean Keefer, who was White’s campaign manager and then his deputy secretary of state and chief of staff, resigned Friday. Keefer’s deputy position is established by law, and he would have assumed White’s duties if, as many top Republican officials had urged, White took a leave of absence while his legal matters are being resolved. A Hamilton County grand jury has indicted White on seven felony counts. He is accused of voter fraud stemming from his decision to register to vote at his ex-wife’s address around the same time he was moving to a new condominium across the town of Fishers, Ind., last year.Two special prosecutors allege that White did so in order to keep his seat on the Fishers Town Council. His ex-wife’s address is within the district he used to represent, but his new condo is not.
Here’s where we are now:
………………………………………………
Besides the obvious embarrassment of the state official who is in charge of elections being indicted on charges of voter registration fraud, it’s just perfect that this happened in Indiana, because Indiana paved the way for the voter suppression laws we’re seeing all over the country. Indiana led the way with the most restrictive voter ID law in the country. There are now more restrictive laws in other states, because once conservatives get a voter suppression law past a federal judge they then work to make it still more restrictive, but Indiana was the undisputed national leader on voter suppression efforts.
This is voter registration fraud, not voter impersonation fraud. So. Indiana has one of the most restrictive voter ID laws in the country, and that didn’t stop their top elections official from registering and voting in the wrong place. That’s because voter ID laws target the imaginary problem of voter impersonation fraud, while doing next to nothing to address the fraud that actually occurs.
Presidential Cojones: Obama Gives House GOP No Credit For Payroll Tax Extension
By: Jason Easley| December 22, 2025
In his statement praising the payroll tax cut extension, President Obama praised and thanked the American people, and made sure that House Republicans got zero credit.
~snip~
Notice who was missing from Obama’s statement? Did you happen to catch who wasn’t mentioned in any way, shape, or form? President Obama got one final shot in at the House Republicans by completely ignoring them in his statement. Unlike after previous House temper tantrums, Obama did not sound a bipartisan tone this evening.
By not mentioning the Republicans, Obama didn’t try to give them any of the credit that they didn’t deserve. The message was clear. The president was not going to praise House Republicans for finally doing what Speaker Boehner agreed to do in the first place. Obama tried to give the credit to the American people, but the truth is that much of the credit goes to the president.
Click on the time stamp in the lower left hand corner of the tweet. That will take you to a unique URL. Cut and paste here and it shows up as a graphic.
Romney’s limited understanding of ‘jobs’
By Steve Benen
Mitt Romney seems to think his strongest issue in a general-election race against President Obama is jobs. I’d argue he has that backwards.
In an interview with TIME Magazine’s Mark Halperin, Romney said, “I know that the Democrats will try and make this a campaign about Bain Capital…. 25 million people are out of work because of Barack Obama. And so I’ll compare my experience in the private sector where, net-net, we created over 100,000 jobs.”
“I’ll compare that record with his record, where he has not created any new jobs.”
This detachment from reality fascinates me, so let’s unwrap the argument.
First, the confused former governor believes 25 million people are out of work “because of Barack Obama.” If Romney can explain why Obama is to blame for a recession that began in 2007, I’d love to hear it. For that matter, the economy lost 3.6 million jobs in 2008 — the year before the president took office. How exactly is Obama responsible for that, too?
Romney seems to have a really clumsy reasoning process. He must be used to having people agree with him without questioning his statements. When has to confront a brilliant opponent who knows the facts backwards and forwards, he won’t know how to cope. And this is the best the R’s cando.
Off Thread: I just saw a cute Air Force One wooden toy plane with President
Obama’s face on it. They sell them with other Presidents on them too. Incidentally, I will say right now I have no idea about the company or where the toys are made, but thought some of you might be interested so here is a link…
I do believe I really must order one for my two year old! It is a good gift idea to keep in mind for nieces/nephews/grandkids or any other obamabot in your life!
Why Democrats Can Successfully Recall Walker
Written by: Taegan Goddard| December 23, 2025
“After the summer recalls ended with Democrats falling short of their oft-repeated goal of retaking control of the state Senate, many were left wondering if the wind was potentially taken out of the sails of a Walker recall effort, and whether such a push would even be launched at all. You don’t have to look any further than the signature collection process right now to get a better sense of how energized activists are…
Overlooked in the effort to get Walker’s name on the ballot next year is the fact that Democrats are targeting four GOP state senators as well… While the recalls will take place much earlier than the November general election, the thinking goes that since it is a presidential year, more people will be paying attention to politics, and turnout will likely be higher than it was this year.”
Iraq Is a Mess. But Leaving Was the Right Call.
Douglas Ollivant| December 23, 2025 | 12:00 am
Let us stipulate some ugly facts up front. Iraq remains a weak state. The political institutions are—charitably—immature. The business climate is not overly attractive and corruption is endemic. Were it not for oil, there would be no real economy. There is a serious terrorism problem. Relationships with all the neighboring states are problematic. Sectarian divides remain tense, with some key fault lines unresolved. The country’s armed forces remain incapable of defending its international borders. Given all these facts, it is still very possible that Iraq could revert to its previous state of dysfunction, or find a new variety into which to fall. The chaos of the last few days in Baghdad—in which the Shi’a Prime Minster has pursued charges against his Sunni Vice President, with the latter taking refuge among the Kurds—is likely a precursor of the sort of political drama we can expect for some time to come.
But with all this said, we should still sound a muted victory cheer and embrace the Iraqi decision to decline an extension of the U.S. military presence in Iraq (excepting a small detachment, the Office of Military Cooperation in Embassy Baghdad, as is typical of embassies everywhere). The departure of U.S. military forces will give space for Iraq politics—both domestic and international—to normalize, it will permit the development of a more normal bilateral relationship between the United States and Iraq, and it sends an important signal that the United States is not attempting to impose a series of “satrapies” in the Middle East and around the world.
Democratic PAC Takes Credit for NewtGingrich.com Prank
By Heather| December 22, 2025 07:16 PM
A Democratic PAC, American Bridge 21st Century, took credit for having a bit of fun after they bought the newtgingrich.com domain name and they are currently offering to sell the name back to him for $1 million, but as they wrote on their site “Heck in the spirit of Christmas we might even let it for for $10,000,” a likely dig at Gingrich’s fellow Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.
I had an interesting to-and-fro with Politico’s Byron Tau on Twitter today. I disagree with almost every point he made, but I give him credit for discussing it all:
Chips - No matter what happens from this point on, you can be assured your little chats with him will have had an impact. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Ah, thank you Jacqueline! I wouldn’t expect any changes at all at his Politico blog, whatever about his private views his bosses will demand that he maintains the tone, but at least he knows we’re watching
Fantastic work dear Chips. He may not have admitted it but I think you really gave him something to think about. That call out of the 10 articles and 6 being negative was gold. Again you are the best. Thanks again for all you do!!!!
OK, so this twerp is sitting at his desk all day waiting for the stories to come to him. Waiting for the faxes and talking points to come to him. CLUE: journalism isn’t the regurgitation of talking points. Investigate, mine, ask questions, probe, search for the TRUTH. Geezis H. Crackers, I’m so sick of this mess. His attitude just illustrates the horserace mentality of the press. UGH. UGH. UGH.
Chips, you’re a true brave soul. Thanks for trying to converse with that dink.
Apparently everyone in the INDUSTRY got it at the same time, (sets are giant petri dishes) and everyone who has had contact with anyone in the biz has it, so EVERYONE in SoCali is sick.
I better be better tomorrow, got a lunch party to go to a Disneyland’s Club 33 tomorrow.
So sorry you have a cold Tally. I guess I am just lucky…no colds here but everyone I know young and old has gotten a cold or bronchitis this month. Dress warm, drinks lots of liquids, and get well soon.
Betsy, sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. Please keep the body in a restful state and do not forget to drink your liquids. Our weather out here has a way of putting its hands all over us, especially these last few weeks. Those hands have been cold on some days, windy on others, and that leads us to our share of the ugly colds.
Rest, relax, and feel better, Betsy. Have a joyful and peaceful Christmas. HZ
His replies made no sense even though your questions were well stated and quite clear. I hope it makes a difference but he seems either quite thick in the head or has an agenda.
The oddest one for me Forus was his suggestion that he can only write positive (aka ‘balanced’) news on the President if he’s sent something from the WH or OFA? What?!
Yeah. I question if some of these people graduated from journalism school or maybe they are only teaching transcribing skills now, i.e. copy/paste skills. For many of them, including this Byron fool, that might be a 4 year course.
What Is Good Fact-Checking?: Amid PolitiFact’s “lie of the year” controversy, a shout-out to what it takes to get to the facts of the matter.
—By Mac McClelland| Wed Dec. 21, 2011 3:00 AM PST
The first rule of fact-checking is that everything you read and hear is wrong. It is, rather, presumed fallacious until proved otherwise. Statistics and news clips must be subjected to intense tests of verification. Don’t even think the word “Wikipedia.” In true fact-checking, literally every word of every factual statement must be traced to a primary source, whether a document or the corroborated accounts of independent experts or witnesses.
People just get things wrong. They read them wrong, or remember them wrong or the way they want to, or the information they read right was wrong in the first place. You hear the same a fact a thousand times, but if you track down its origins, you find out all the repeaters are using the same source, and source zero was just guessing, or citing a highly questionable source or study. Or misciting a highly questionable source or study. Or confusing the details, so that by now, everybody’s under the erroneous impression that a shot of espresso contains more caffeine than a cup of coffee.
Every femal in AMERICA, no, every FEMALE ON THE PLANET should demand an apology from the mysogynistic MEGA DOUCHEBAG Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) for what he said about our FLOTUS:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2011/12/fashion-news-michelle-obamas-fitness-initiatives-defended.html
“U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) reportedly was overheard complaining about First Lady Michelle Obama’s health and fitness initiatives by saying that someone with a posterior as large as hers shouldn’t tell the rest of us what to do.”
I’m sorry, if Michelle Obama has a big ass, then so does every female on EARTH.
FUCK YOU SENSENBRENNER!!!
If I had skills, I’d post my tweet - perhaps one of you that knows how can do it -
@RpSensenbrenner needs to apologize to EVERY WOMAN IN AMERICA along with Michelle Obama for his misogynistic comment latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/201…
@RpSensenbrenner needs to apologize to EVERY WOMAN IN AMERICA along with Michelle Obama for his misogynistic comment latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/201…— Tally Briggs (@bardgal) December 23, 2025
it’s all true but the really ridiculous thing is that if you see FLOTUS in person she is not overweight in the least. Ask anyone who’s met her. She’s a stunning beauty, very tall and really well proportioned. In any case, it’s just plain absurd for this overweight jerk to make that remark.
In updated guidance released at 11 a.m., the White House said that the president’s Air Force One flight from Joint Base Andrews will depart at 1:20 p.m. ET and arrive at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham at 6:25 p.m. local time, which is five hours behind the East Coast.
Every Republican running for president (except John Huntsman) has signed Norquist’s no-tax pledge. So have 13 governors, 1,300 state legislators, 40 of the 47 Republicans in the Senate, and 236 of the 242 Republicans in the House.
With the payroll tax extension fight behind him (at least for now), Obama will be joining his family in Hawaii for the Christmas holiday, the White House said on Friday.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Friday named four Senate Democrats to negotiate a full-year extension of the payroll tax holiday and said a surtax on millionaires is back on the table in the discussions.
Last week, Senate Democrats dropped their demand to offset the cost of a full-year payroll tax holiday with a surtax on income over a million dollars.
But on Friday, Reid signaled Democrats will renew the push for the millionaires tax, which Republicans in both chambers strongly oppose.
Folks ( I love Joe Biden. Ever since he’s come on the scene, I’ve been using the word ‘folks’ more and more often), I believe that the WH’s gloves are now officially off. I don’t know what I was listening to last night, perhaps the last 20 minutes of Rev Al or Ed or someone. But they had a guest on that said that legislatively, there isn’t much left on the menu that calls for PBO to work with the Congress except the payroll extension for a year and UEI — which, as we’ve seen, falls right into PBO’s messaging which he is using to shape the landscape for the 2012 campaign. Therefore, methinks there will be less of a willingness on the part of the WH to compromise too much in order to get the payroll/UEI deal done. Will they likely swallow a few poison pills? yes. But they won’t be doing it without a few screaming and hollering, knock-out, drag-down fights, that pound into the GOP and the American people that fair is fair and everyone should do their share. The left has been complaining that the WH starts of negotiations at the middle rather than from the far left working to the middle, but methinks the WH is gonna come on hard and strong when we get back and they once again face down Repugs. I also think Dems will attempt to be more on message and unified. They’ll likely come on the teevee more using the same talking points (from my fingertips to God’s ear, please God). I think this useless fight (on the part of the Greed Over People party) has re-energized the Dems. PBO is likely to continue campaigning for the middle class like he’s been doing since his SOTU by conducting interviews with local stations, making day long trips to different cities/ states to talk about middle class issues, etc in order to build momentum for the upcoming fight in Feb and the fight in 2012 about which vision of America will make us strong again.
When you are in negotiations with someone who can walk away w/o any backlash, it doesn’t matter how far left you start. Its not that simple and the left should never present it that way.
The GOP Is Getting Scared: Joblessness Is Down & Economic Growth Is Up
By: Rmuse| December 23, 2025
During times of increased drama and uncertainty in Washington, good news is often lost in the contentious circumstances of political maneuvering. For the past week, there has been such combative discourse over the payroll tax cut extension and the Republican opposition to helping 160 million Americans survive the slowly recovering economy, that the fate of millions of unemployed Americans has taken a backseat in the 24-hour news cycle. Yesterday, there was good news that House Republicans caved to immense pressure from President Obama, the public, and Republicans in the Senate and agreed to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits for millions of Americans. However, there was also good news on the jobs front that portends well for the economy and struggling Americans.
~snip~
For the doubters who questioned the Obama Administration’s economic acumen, their questions have been answered. Economic stimulus works, and tax cuts for the wealthy and deregulation does not; but business owners have known for years that the best way to stimulate hiring that leads to more jobs and economic growth is entirely dependent on increased consumer spending.
After a full year of bad news courtesy of Republicans in Congress, the holidays may be happy after all, at least for two more months. There is still that little problem of one-in-two Americans living at or near the federal poverty level and that Americans now understand that Republicans will do anything to increase the number of Americans living in poverty; but they also know the President and Democrats will not allow it to happen. With so much good news in one day, this will surely be a happy holiday.
Since 1998, scientists at the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory have been using the latest in satellite and radar technology to track Rudolph’s red nose, and in doing so, Santa, as he cruises the globe on December 24th. Thanks to their expert work, we can follow his journey live starting at 6AM EST on Christmas Eve.
Last December, I had the pleasure of talking with the program’s lead researcher, Diane Roussel-Dupre. She explained in detail how the lab uses advanced optical cameras and radar receivers on the FORTE and Cibola Flight Experiment space satellites to monitor the breathtakingly-fast gift-giving team and talked openly about Mrs. Claus’ appreciation that the lab can help assure Santa and the reindeers safe travels throughout the night.
Marco Rubio Getting Heat Over Aponte Filibuster
By Humberto Sanchez| Dec. 23, 2011, 5 a.m.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) appears to be doing damage control over his vote last week to filibuster Mari Carmen Aponte’s nomination to be ambassador to El Salvador, according to Democrats and pundits. “I think that his votes were telling of where he was at, and he didn’t change his tune until after it made it into his hometown paper and papers across the state of Florida,” said state Rep. Darren Soto, an Orlando Democrat who represents part of the Interstate 4 corridor, where much of the state’s Puerto Rican community lives.
“Motivations are best shown when [people think] no one is paying attention,” Soto added.
Nevada Poll Finds Shelley Berkley, Dean Heller Tied in Senate Race
By Kyle Trygstad| Dec. 23, 2011, 11:43 a.m.
The Nevada Senate race will kick off the new year as one of the closest races in the country, according to a new poll released today. The Las Vegas Review-Journal/8NewsNow poll found Rep. Shelley Berkley (D) and Sen. Dean Heller (R) statistically tied, with Berkley taking 44 percent and Heller 43 percent. Nevada promises to be a political hotbed in 2012, with President Barack Obama targeting the state as a must-win and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) working to make sure both Obama and Berkley are victorious.
BREAKING WIND: SOH Boehner states: “All I want for Christmas is my dignity, my dignity, oh my dignity.” Details of when the speaker will regain said dignity at half past nevvah!
huh!!! there’s nothing that can take the sting out of a good burn like bad spelling or being unable to accurately calculate syllables. Grrrr
correction: nevah!!!
oooooooooooooooooooooh. Nice! He’s really hot! He looks familiar though so I looked at his list of movies but I don’t think I’ve seen any of thwm. I love his eyes. They are gorgeous! I had to enlarge the photo just so I could drool over them up close and personal. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I guess I can’t haz
Yup. Pretty much everyone is back from LOTR except Viggo (another crush) because Aragorn isn’t in The Hobbit. His character only appears in the trilogy.
I also think Merry & Pippin are also missing for the same reason.
Richard Armitage is nice, but I’ll have my eye on the equally yummy Aidan Turner.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2636108/
Loved him in the original BBC version of Being Human. He left the show (and they killed off his character) so he could take the part of Killi in The Hobbit. I’m gonna be crushed that he’s not there when the new season begins.
WSJ & Politico Still Horribly Inflating Size of US Chamber of Commerce
—By Josh Harkinson| Thu Dec. 22, 2011 1:44 PM PST
The bad news for the US Chamber of Commerce is that the world now knows that Chinese hackers broke into its computer system. The good news is that its membership has suddenly increased tenfold. This is according to the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Politico, which reported yesterday that the US Chamber of Commerce has 3 million members, 2,700,000 more than it has claimed as of late.
Did a few reporters accidentally misplace a decimal point? Not likely. Most media outlets used the “3 million members” line until 2009, when I discovered that the Chamber’s true membership is no more than 300,000. After a bit of back and forth, the Chamber was forced to agree with me. Many reporters continued using the wrong number until I called them on it, at which point the 300,000 figure finally won out. Or so I’d thought. The inflated reports of the Chamber’s size have allowed it to claim to speak for a broad swath of American businesses, when in reality it’s a dark money outfit controlled by a few ultra-wealthy special interests. In 2009, just 16 members accounted for 55 percent of its $200 million budget.
Romney Flip-Flops on Bin Laden, Pakistan and Iraq
By Jon Perr| December 23, 2025 07:00 AM
From almost the moment Barack Obama took the oath of office, Mitt Romney has attacked the President for showing a lack of leadership on foreign policy and “apologizing for America.” Now more than ever, it’s Mitt Romney who owes President Obama and the American people some apologies.
Four years after declaring his full-throated support for the invasion of Iraq as “the right decision,” Romney now says “of course not.” As for President Obama’s daring raid to kill to Osama Bin Laden, a man Mitt announced in May 2007 was “not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch,” Romney contended this week that “other presidents and other candidates like myself” would have done the same thing. Just not, it turns out, the version of candidate Romney from four years ago.
Betsy - up on the top of your screen menu on the right, just right of the sound/volume icon, is on the Character Viewer icon - click that, click SHOW CHARACTER VIEWER and it will come up.
At the bottom of the Character Viewer, on the right, is a little search window with a magnifying glass, that says Description & code. Click in that and type - heart - then hit enter and it will search for it. Once you find what you want (there are several) click on it, then click INSERT button on the bottom left.
On the bottom left is a little favorites button - click that and you can click ADD TO FAVORITES so you can find it faster next time.
Turned on the tv cause I heard Lawry was on and saw GAGner ask her panel whether or not PBO deserves a vacation in Hawaii.—- is this heifer for real? Hawaii is him home. It’s where he grew up. He’s going HOME for the holidays, much like everyone else does. This was the first time I’ve seen her in action ( had I known her fool show was on, I wouldn’t have watched) and I will not be repeating that mistake. That’s two minutes of my life I just wasted and now can’t get back. I could have been doing something more stimulating and worth while, like huffing paint thinner.
House And Senate Lock In New, Higher-Stakes Fight Over The Payroll Tax Cut
Brian Beutler| December 23, 2011, 10:06 AM
On MSNBC earlier Friday morning, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) suggested Dems would renew their push to pay for the extensions by raising taxes on corporations, and fight GOP efforts to use the provisions as an opportunity to cut Medicare. “I heard Eric Cantor at one point say the parties were really close on the one year deal,” Van Hollen said. “That’s just not the case. Republicans continue to object to some of the methods we want to pay for this. We want to pay for it by closing corporate tax loopholes. I mean you’ve got a corporate jet loophole, you’ve got oil and gas subsidies that we think can be closed. So you’ve got that aspect of it. Republicans have proposed to raise Medicare premiums on seniors. … When it came to federal employees like the folks at the CIA who tracked down Osama bin Laden, they want to cut their pensions.”
If a chastened GOP majority recognizes their error, stops second-guessing Speaker John Boehner, and decides not to put up much of a fight, the Christmas standoff will be more easily forgotten. If, on the other hand, the same thing plays out all over again, Democrats will retain the upper hand, and the implications — for the economy, for the 2012 election, for Boehner’s speakership — will be enormous.
It’s great to have someone in the White House that KNOWS how to win. And his winning is not luck or knowing the right people. It’s intelligence, a commitment to representing the American people, integrity and hard, grueling work. The GOP has NONE of those traits which is why they will never win against POTUS.
I think he did with many of the regulations kicking into effect through the year and people seeing the favorable results of it. There must be a poll that shows more people now understand and support it. ?
Bush Spent 5 Times More On Flights To Texas Than Obama‘s Christmas Vacation Costs
Those who criticize the cost of Obama’s Christmas vacation don’t want you to know that George W. Bush spent at least $20 million taxpayer dollars just on flights to his ranch in Crawford.
The right wing has been outraged at the four million dollar plus price tag for Obama’s family Christmas vacation, and they constantly hold George W. Bush up as an example of how thrifty a president should be when going on vacation.
The problem is that W. wasn’t thrifty. He was the most expensive vacation president in US history. Not only did Bush spend more days on vacation than any other president, but he used Air Force One more often while on vacation than any other president.
During Bush’s two terms, the cost of operating Air Force One ranged from $56,800 to $68,000 an hour. Bush used Air Force One 77 times to go to his ranch in Crawford, TX. Using the low end cost of $56,800, Media Matters calculated that each trip to Crawford cost taxpayers $259,687 each time, and $20 million total for Bush’s ranch flights.
If cost of the flight was the only expense involved to taxpayers Bush’s vacations would still seem rather economical, but there is more, much more. Unlike the Obama’s $4 million Christmas vacation price tag, which includes the cost of everything from transportation from transportation to accommodations for the First Family, the White House staff, and the White House press corps, Bush’s numbers only include the cost of flying the president to Crawford. The cost of transporting and accommodating staff, media, friends and family is not included in Bush’s vacation numbers.
December 23, 2025 12:40 PM
Ron Paul had racist direct mail, too
By Steve Benen
Well, he wanted to be taken seriously as a presidential candidate. And with leading status comes scrutiny.
First it was the racist newsletters. Now it’s the direct mail advertising them. In a signed appeal to potential subscribers in 1993, Ron Paul urged people to read his publications in order to prepare for a “race war,” military rule, and a conspiracy to use a new $100 bill to track Americans.
The eight-page mailer obtained by Reuters via Jamie Kirchick, who unearthed Paul’s newsletter archives in 2008, is mostly focused on a rambling conspiracy theory about changes to the dollar. But Paul tries to bolster his credibility on the issue by noting that his newsletters have also “laid bare the coming race war in our big cities” as well as the “federal-homosexual coverup on AIDS,” adding that “my training as a physician helps me see through this one.”
We need to legalize pot for a bazillion reasons, but most of all so we can GROW HEMP for everything from paper to fuel. it would save our economy overnight.
But the Lumber Lobby still owns this fight and it sickens me.
Ron Paul has no chance…he is just an old racist bigot that is retiring….I wish they would just leave him alone…They are not saying anything new about him.
Hmmm…didn’t Ron Paul say that he didn’t know what was in the newsletters and he didn’t read them because he was busy “doctoring?” He’s getting caught up in his lies….
Maybe this long wait is the coal in the stockings of the MSM They don’t realize that he’s already airborne and on his way (not really true, but I would laugh)
I have had a number of problems of late and have not been able to post but still check in from time to time.
Merry Christmas to all and may good health and happiness attend all and families.
There is a lot of reporting of how the President and the Dems did not cave into the Repubs this time…but where we are now did not happen by osmosis…a lot of groundwork took place…
Let’s go back to the debt ceiling/deficit debate…..in which this same tea-party faction of the Republican party nearly drove our country over the cliff…this was the first heads up that the American people saw how extreme the Tea Party is…but the President called for a balanced approach-spending cuts along with increased revenue…and the American People agreed……and so the President called on us to get involved…and so we did…so much so that we crashed a few servers….in the end….Speaker Boehner claimed to have gotten 99% of what he wanted…but considering what the President and the Dems got…I am not so sure.
Fast forward to the fall of 2011….the President rolled out his American Jobs Act…and decided to take his case to the American People….the Senate filibusters….did not allow a vote….but our President was not done…he says well maybe it is just too complicated….so he breaks up the parts of the bill….forcing the Repubs to vote NO on rebuilding Infrastructure…..to vote NO on putting fire fighters…teachers and police officers back to work…..each time he rolled out a portion of the bill he goes out among the people…taking his case directly to the American people….and the American People are highly supportive of the American Jobs Act..
Soooooooooooooo now it comes to tax cuts for the Middle Class…extending unemployment benefits…etc…will the Repubs go with the year’s extension as the President requested….NOOOOOO….once again the President goes to the American People,,,,,as we came down the wire….the Senate Dems/Repubs….voted for a 2 mos extension while they continue to iron out the difficulties…once again…the extreme faction of the Repub Party…the Tea Party…tried to send the American People over a cliff….but the American people demanded better…
The President..stands tall….and the Dems stands tall with him….
This feels good….
Obama Called ‘Skinny, Ghetto Crackhead’ On Fox News
A Fox News guest on Thursday said that “you might want to say” President Obama looks like “a skinny, ghetto crackhead.”
Brent Bozell, of the conservative Media Research Center, appeared on Fox Thursday night, where guest host Mark Steyn showed a clip of MSNBC’s Chris Matthews saying that Newt Gingrich “looks like a car bomber.”
Steyn said that aside from anything else, Newt doesn’t even look like a car bomber, but a “big, cuddly, slightly older Winnie the Pooh.”
“How long do you think Sean Hannity’s show would last if four times in one sentence, he made a comment about, say, the President of the United States, and said that he looked like a skinny, ghetto crackhead?” Bozell wondered. “Which, by the way, you might want to say that Barack Obama does.”
PBO and Democrats seem to be kicking ass all over the place when it comes to Congress *dances*… even at Faux News by a Democratic Strategist:
This morning on Fox and Friends, a panel led by Brian Kilmeade discussed the payroll tax cut deal reached by Congress late Thursday. While the consensus was that John Boehner‘s job is safe — and Jon Bramick, a New Jersey lawyer, said that Boehner showed some impressive leadership skills — it was Dan Gerstein, a Democratic strategist, who stole the show, giving a concise, pointed statement on just how bad things have gotten in Congress.
I vehemently disagree with his assertion that it was a “small, puny tax”. If the tax holiday had been allowed to expire, every reputable economist was on record as saying that it would damage the economy. Puny tax breaks aren’t that threatening. But, other than that, yes, this GOP-led House is pathetic.
The delicious thing about the torrent of Ron Paul writings isn’t that it hurts Ron Paul; it doesn’t, because those who follow him follow him blindly, and many of them probably agree with those newsletters. The truly wonderful thing is that it puts before the American voter yet another face of modern Republicanism: racist, homophobic, conspiratorial. No amount of blandness from Mittens will make the voter forget that the GOP field is literally insane. And Mitt’s embrace of so many right wing positions in order to become the nominee will stay in people’s minds. The broad middle will think one of two things: either that he really does embrace those toxic ideas, or that he just mouthed the niceties to get the nomination, and that therefore he can’t be trusted. We really are witnessing the slow-motion suicide of the GOP.
I was thinking something similar LL. Just a few days ago Chips posted an article about Rick Perry and how many Texans were embarassed by him and felt it would cause further stereotyping of the state given its last dumb governor, W., did not fare so well on the national stage. Well looky here, Ron Paul is from Texas too. I’m sure the sane people there must be thinking we can’t catch a break.
President Obama and congressional Democrats are doubtless savoring their pretty thorough victory in their standoff with House Republicans over an extension of the payroll tax holiday. The congressional spit fights to come will soon take off some of the sheen.
But perhaps the real political win - the one with real electoral implications - is that more Americans now know that they actually have a payroll tax cut to lose, and the President emerged looking most like the one who wants to keep them from losing it.
Let’s see. Boehner’s been declared a bust. Cantor’s hiding. McConnell had to agree with Reid. Newt’s fallen. Romney’s shielding something in his tax returns. Paul has finally been declared a racist bigot, with written and oral proof.
Good end to the Republican political year!
I won’t add any comments on how good PBO is looking, because I don’t want to associate him with those turds. But - damn - if I were going to add anything, it would be that he’s looking great.
Its the Eve of Christmas here… 07:35 and a sunny morning……. and the first thing I do for the day is read TOD lol I just LOVE this site!! Chips, I saw the back and forth tweets with Brian Tau…… You were BRILLIANT!!! I re-read the TL a few times more, it was THAT good lol!
Smiling, when you see a Tweet, right click on the date stamp in the lower left hand corner, and copy the link. Then past the link in here, and voila, you have it.
Have a great trip, Mr. President. I love the way he walked his fine self off and shut it off. Even a beautiful baby boy knows how to greet and say good bye to the leader of this country, Mr. President. The slimes within the WH Press need to find that baby and takes some lessons.
I am sick of all of these over paid incompetent ugly people within the WH Press Corp. And that Ed and Nora, make me want to throw up.
Luke Russert should be hiding his face. His father would surely not be proud of him. You can do better than that, Luke. Do not mess up your dad’s name.
Have a great trip, Mr. President. We love you, we support you, and we have your back. Play the hell out of those golf balls. Rip it up, Mr. President.
They all can kiss my behind. Now, I need to go and get some meds, and a few food items. Have a great day, TOD Family. Love you all.HZ
The first Christmas was a Republican dream come true: a woman and child being forced to live in an unheated barn.— Andy Borowitz (@BorowitzReport) December 23, 2025
BREAKING: Justice Department Blocks South Carolina’s Voter ID Law tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/breaki…— AW (@Gobrooklyn) December 23, 2025
White House.gov
1st!
First?
I mean almost?
Derbingle, some champagne for you too - as someone who never won a medal, I’d be more than happy with silver!
Liar. Just yesterday, you won the gold.
/Sd - your conscience
Pragmatism calls for me to yield to my good friend derbingle.
I thank the gentleman for yielding his place. Madame Speaker I rise in support of this bill. The Can’t With Cantor Act will benefit all Americans.
All in favor say aye? The ayes have it.
LOL!. Unanimous consent.
Hahahaha….you guys are delightfully nuts.
ZOMG-This admin is the most PARTISAN evah evah evah
Seven states won a share of $200 million in federal “Race to the Top” money to improve K-12 education programs, the Education Department announced ThursdayThe winners are Arizona, $25.1 million; Colorado, $17.9 million; Illinois, $42.8 million; Kentucky, $17 million; Louisiana, $17.5 million; Pennsylvania, $41.3 million; and New Jersey, $37.9 million.
Let’s see AZ, LA, PN, NJ all Repub govenors
Sigh. One of these days they will learn…one of these days.
http://news.yahoo.com/7-states-win-federal-education-competition-050217258.html
Yep. Good to get that news around the country!
Wow, I am excited to hear more of how the money will end up being spent. Congrats to all the winners! Thanks for the news LOL!
AZ is going to need all the help it can get. The idiot gov cut BILLIONS from the budget…..idiot that she is.
and, as predicted, the 2% education tax they pass ended up paying for lowering the corporate tax rate.
Yep…..and TN was in the first round of states for Race to the Top—-Repub governor here too.
I think in the first round, AZ was too lazy to even TRY to get the funds.
I hope there is strict monitoring of that money because PA’s Corbett hates public education and will try to steer the money to private schools.
Jackie, you are so right!! Fellow Pennsylvanian here. Corbett is a perfect example of elections having consequences. What a horrible, horrible, governor.
Getting ready to take my grandkids Christmas shopping. Can’t wait to get back to see the latest Chips as
we had a good time this morning riding @byrontau at Polico 44. LOL.
you all can follow me on twitter @avd911
Following! @JOBoomr
Me too! @bbkenn92
whoa you guys were awesome. you really had a conversation with byronT I wonder if he will start being more balanced now that he has been ‘engaging’ (his term) with tweeters who have something to say about his biased coverage of PBO.
Alice, no change in Byron at all! His first story after our exchange was to pick out from the Walters interview PBO saying he was lazy sometimes ….. he could have chosen 50 other points, but that was the one he liked.
Presidential Cojones: Obama Gives House GOP No Credit For Payroll Tax Extension
In his statement praising the payroll tax cut extension, President Obama praised and thanked the American people, and made sure that House Republicans got zero credit.
Obama said in a statement:
For the past several weeks, I’ve stated consistently that it was critical that Congress not go home without preventing a tax increase on 160 million working Americans. Today, I congratulate members of Congress for ending the partisan stalemate by reaching an agreement that meets that test.
Because of this agreement, every working American will keep his or her tax cut – about $1,000 for the average family. That’s about $40 in every paycheck. Vital unemployment insurance will continue for millions of Americans who are looking for work. And when Congress returns, I urge them to keep working to reach an agreement that will extend this tax cut and unemployment insurance for all of 2012 without drama or delay.
This is good news, just in time for the holidays. This is the right thing to do to strengthen our families, grow our economy, and create new jobs. This is real money that will make a real difference in people’s lives. And I want to thank every American who raised your voice to remind folks in this town what this debate was all about. It was about you. And today, your voices made all the difference.
Notice who was missing from Obama’s statement? Did you happen to catch who wasn’t mentioned in any way, shape, or form? President Obama got one final shot in at the House Republicans by completely ignoring them in his statement. Unlike after previous House temper tantrums, Obama did not sound a bipartisan tone this evening.
http://www.politicususa.com/en/obama-payroll-tax-statement
I don’t understand why the “pundits” & others are saying that the President initially caved on having a clean bill when if not agreed to would have meant sorrow for so many millions. No heart and also looking for sensationalism, It makes me want to puke.
“Oh, he really didn’t win”, forgetting completely its the PEOPLE who won.
Merry Christmas to all and a prosperous New Year.
December 23, 2025 11:15 AM
A done deal
By Steve Benen
Congress sure can move quickly when it wants to.
Late yesterday, House Republicans caved to Democratic demands agreed to accept a slightly-tweaked bipartisan compromise from the Senate. This morning, just to move the process along, the Senate preemptively approved the tweaked version by unanimous consent. Less than an hour later, the House took up that bill and it too passed it by unanimous consent.
And with that, the bill heads to President Obama for his signature. The White House took down its countdown clock this morning.
There was some question as to whether House passage would be this easy. Boehner told his members that any of them objected, he’d hold an up-or-down vote on this bill next week — a vote that was very likely to pass the deal anyway — so rather than delay the inevitable, House Republicans bit their tongue, dropped the silly “Braveheart” routine, and let the two-month extension pass.
The next step is the arguably-more -difficult conference committee, which will be tasked with shaping a year-long extension. This morning, Democratic leaders — who seemed to be in a very good mood — announced which members would lead the negotiations.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/a_done_deal034286.php
http://bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2011/12/romney-keeps-saying-stupid-stuff-continued.html
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) said yesterday that he approves of deporting an uncle to President Barack Obama who was arrested in August on a charge of drunk driving, even though the man has a driver’s license, Social Security card and no prior criminal convictions.
“Well, if the laws of the United States say he should be deported, and I presume they do, then of course we should follow those laws,” Romney replied, according to quotes transcribed by ABC News. “And the answer is yes.”
The president’s half-uncle was charged with an immigration violation 20 years ago, but is currently in the country legally.
I’m sure Mitt Romney didn’t know that, and I wouldn’t even expect him to, which means the appropriate answer for him to give in this situation would have been “I don’t know enough about the situation to comment.” Not “Yes.”
Share
Keep talking, Charlie
by Kay
Last spring:
After Charlie White admitted to voting last year in a precinct in which he did not live during a strange 13-minute talk with reporters on his way into court Friday, his lawyer had a piece of advice for him. “Shut up,” Dennis Zahn told his client. He grabbed White by the arm and escorted him away from reporters.In the hours that followed, it became apparent that Zahn was not the only one at odds with Indiana’s secretary of state.
Sean Keefer, who was White’s campaign manager and then his deputy secretary of state and chief of staff, resigned Friday. Keefer’s deputy position is established by law, and he would have assumed White’s duties if, as many top Republican officials had urged, White took a leave of absence while his legal matters are being resolved. A Hamilton County grand jury has indicted White on seven felony counts. He is accused of voter fraud stemming from his decision to register to vote at his ex-wife’s address around the same time he was moving to a new condominium across the town of Fishers, Ind., last year.Two special prosecutors allege that White did so in order to keep his seat on the Fishers Town Council. His ex-wife’s address is within the district he used to represent, but his new condo is not.
Here’s where we are now:
………………………………………………
Besides the obvious embarrassment of the state official who is in charge of elections being indicted on charges of voter registration fraud, it’s just perfect that this happened in Indiana, because Indiana paved the way for the voter suppression laws we’re seeing all over the country. Indiana led the way with the most restrictive voter ID law in the country. There are now more restrictive laws in other states, because once conservatives get a voter suppression law past a federal judge they then work to make it still more restrictive, but Indiana was the undisputed national leader on voter suppression efforts.
This is voter registration fraud, not voter impersonation fraud. So. Indiana has one of the most restrictive voter ID laws in the country, and that didn’t stop their top elections official from registering and voting in the wrong place. That’s because voter ID laws target the imaginary problem of voter impersonation fraud, while doing next to nothing to address the fraud that actually occurs.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/12/23/keep-talking-charlie/#comments
Good morning, TOD!~
Presidential Cojones: Obama Gives House GOP No Credit For Payroll Tax Extension
By: Jason Easley| December 22, 2025
In his statement praising the payroll tax cut extension, President Obama praised and thanked the American people, and made sure that House Republicans got zero credit.
~snip~
Notice who was missing from Obama’s statement? Did you happen to catch who wasn’t mentioned in any way, shape, or form? President Obama got one final shot in at the House Republicans by completely ignoring them in his statement. Unlike after previous House temper tantrums, Obama did not sound a bipartisan tone this evening.
By not mentioning the Republicans, Obama didn’t try to give them any of the credit that they didn’t deserve. The message was clear. The president was not going to praise House Republicans for finally doing what Speaker Boehner agreed to do in the first place. Obama tried to give the credit to the American people, but the truth is that much of the credit goes to the president.
Read more: http://www.politicususa.com/en/obama-payroll-tax-statement
How do I post a tweet over here?
Click on the time stamp in the lower left hand corner of the tweet. That will take you to a unique URL. Cut and paste here and it shows up as a graphic.
Voila!!
I WORSHIP YOU!
Hi Tally,
Merry Xmas!
Hey JoJo!!! You tooooo!!!
igaulmente!!
December 23, 2025 10:40 AM
Romney’s limited understanding of ‘jobs’
By Steve Benen
Mitt Romney seems to think his strongest issue in a general-election race against President Obama is jobs. I’d argue he has that backwards.
In an interview with TIME Magazine’s Mark Halperin, Romney said, “I know that the Democrats will try and make this a campaign about Bain Capital…. 25 million people are out of work because of Barack Obama. And so I’ll compare my experience in the private sector where, net-net, we created over 100,000 jobs.”
“I’ll compare that record with his record, where he has not created any new jobs.”
This detachment from reality fascinates me, so let’s unwrap the argument.
First, the confused former governor believes 25 million people are out of work “because of Barack Obama.” If Romney can explain why Obama is to blame for a recession that began in 2007, I’d love to hear it. For that matter, the economy lost 3.6 million jobs in 2008 — the year before the president took office. How exactly is Obama responsible for that, too?
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/romneys_limited_understanding034285.php
Romney seems to have a really clumsy reasoning process. He must be used to having people agree with him without questioning his statements. When has to confront a brilliant opponent who knows the facts backwards and forwards, he won’t know how to cope. And this is the best the R’s cando.
Shaking head. This guy wants to be President? good luck.
Someone on the last thread asked about Ron Paul’s movie debut with Sasha Baron Cohen. Thanks for reminding me, here it is:
That was so HILARIOUS! I LOVE SASHA!!!
Off Thread: I just saw a cute Air Force One wooden toy plane with President
Obama’s face on it. They sell them with other Presidents on them too. Incidentally, I will say right now I have no idea about the company or where the toys are made, but thought some of you might be interested so here is a link…
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=holgate+airforce+one+toy&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=648405361099797657&sa=X&ei=Oa_0Tv7NNYXt0gG1wPmpAg&ved=0CGUQ8wIwAw#ps-sellers
Cute, L&L.
I do believe I really must order one for my two year old! It is a good gift idea to keep in mind for nieces/nephews/grandkids or any other obamabot in your life!
Why Democrats Can Successfully Recall Walker
Written by: Taegan Goddard| December 23, 2025
“After the summer recalls ended with Democrats falling short of their oft-repeated goal of retaking control of the state Senate, many were left wondering if the wind was potentially taken out of the sails of a Walker recall effort, and whether such a push would even be launched at all. You don’t have to look any further than the signature collection process right now to get a better sense of how energized activists are…
Overlooked in the effort to get Walker’s name on the ballot next year is the fact that Democrats are targeting four GOP state senators as well… While the recalls will take place much earlier than the November general election, the thinking goes that since it is a presidential year, more people will be paying attention to politics, and turnout will likely be higher than it was this year.”
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/12/23/why_democrats_can_successfully_recall_walker.html
Iraq Is a Mess. But Leaving Was the Right Call.
Douglas Ollivant| December 23, 2025 | 12:00 am
Let us stipulate some ugly facts up front. Iraq remains a weak state. The political institutions are—charitably—immature. The business climate is not overly attractive and corruption is endemic. Were it not for oil, there would be no real economy. There is a serious terrorism problem. Relationships with all the neighboring states are problematic. Sectarian divides remain tense, with some key fault lines unresolved. The country’s armed forces remain incapable of defending its international borders. Given all these facts, it is still very possible that Iraq could revert to its previous state of dysfunction, or find a new variety into which to fall. The chaos of the last few days in Baghdad—in which the Shi’a Prime Minster has pursued charges against his Sunni Vice President, with the latter taking refuge among the Kurds—is likely a precursor of the sort of political drama we can expect for some time to come.
But with all this said, we should still sound a muted victory cheer and embrace the Iraqi decision to decline an extension of the U.S. military presence in Iraq (excepting a small detachment, the Office of Military Cooperation in Embassy Baghdad, as is typical of embassies everywhere). The departure of U.S. military forces will give space for Iraq politics—both domestic and international—to normalize, it will permit the development of a more normal bilateral relationship between the United States and Iraq, and it sends an important signal that the United States is not attempting to impose a series of “satrapies” in the Middle East and around the world.
~snip~
http://www.tnr.com/article/world/98863/iraq-withdrawal-maliki-stability-violence
Democratic PAC Takes Credit for NewtGingrich.com Prank
By Heather| December 22, 2025 07:16 PM
A Democratic PAC, American Bridge 21st Century, took credit for having a bit of fun after they bought the newtgingrich.com domain name and they are currently offering to sell the name back to him for $1 million, but as they wrote on their site “Heck in the spirit of Christmas we might even let it for for $10,000,” a likely dig at Gingrich’s fellow Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.
~snip~
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/democratic-pac-takes-credit-newtgingrichco
I had an interesting to-and-fro with Politico’s Byron Tau on Twitter today. I disagree with almost every point he made, but I give him credit for discussing it all:
Chips - No matter what happens from this point on, you can be assured your little chats with him will have had an impact. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
May I also suggest that everyone who isn’t already following @ByronTau do so … so he knows we’re watching!
Ah, thank you Jacqueline! I wouldn’t expect any changes at all at his Politico blog, whatever about his private views his bosses will demand that he maintains the tone, but at least he knows we’re watching
Fantastic work dear Chips. He may not have admitted it but I think you really gave him something to think about. That call out of the 10 articles and 6 being negative was gold. Again you are the best. Thanks again for all you do!!!!
Great Job….You are my Shero!!!!
Great work Chips! I love the line “not expecting u to become an obot (although feel free)!”
Thanks lovingandlaughing, I won’t hold my breath for him to become an Obot!
OK, so this twerp is sitting at his desk all day waiting for the stories to come to him. Waiting for the faxes and talking points to come to him. CLUE: journalism isn’t the regurgitation of talking points. Investigate, mine, ask questions, probe, search for the TRUTH. Geezis H. Crackers, I’m so sick of this mess. His attitude just illustrates the horserace mentality of the press. UGH. UGH. UGH.
Chips, you’re a true brave soul. Thanks for trying to converse with that dink.
OMG I need a shower after reading that, and I wasn’t even taling to him. EEEEW.
I bow to your greater GODDESSNESS Chips!
TALKING. frak
I’m in bed with a horrid cold and it’s effecting my typing. /cry
Aw, only just saw your comment about your cold
Look after yourself you and get better very, very, very soon.
I’m just recovering from a bad cold too, Tally. It must be this Southern Cali cold air that we’ve been in for the past few weeks
Crikey, two Californians with a cold - is that a record? Get better soon Betsy.
Thanks.
Apparently everyone in the INDUSTRY got it at the same time, (sets are giant petri dishes) and everyone who has had contact with anyone in the biz has it, so EVERYONE in SoCali is sick.
I better be better tomorrow, got a lunch party to go to a Disneyland’s Club 33 tomorrow.
So sorry you have a cold Tally. I guess I am just lucky…no colds here but everyone I know young and old has gotten a cold or bronchitis this month. Dress warm, drinks lots of liquids, and get well soon.
Betsy, sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. Please keep the body in a restful state and do not forget to drink your liquids. Our weather out here has a way of putting its hands all over us, especially these last few weeks. Those hands have been cold on some days, windy on others, and that leads us to our share of the ugly colds.
Rest, relax, and feel better, Betsy. Have a joyful and peaceful Christmas. HZ
ack - didn’t see the post - going now.
His replies made no sense even though your questions were well stated and quite clear. I hope it makes a difference but he seems either quite thick in the head or has an agenda.
The oddest one for me Forus was his suggestion that he can only write positive (aka ‘balanced’) news on the President if he’s sent something from the WH or OFA? What?!
It was like English is his second language.
Yeah. I question if some of these people graduated from journalism school or maybe they are only teaching transcribing skills now, i.e. copy/paste skills. For many of them, including this Byron fool, that might be a 4 year course.
What Is Good Fact-Checking?: Amid PolitiFact’s “lie of the year” controversy, a shout-out to what it takes to get to the facts of the matter.
—By Mac McClelland| Wed Dec. 21, 2011 3:00 AM PST
The first rule of fact-checking is that everything you read and hear is wrong. It is, rather, presumed fallacious until proved otherwise. Statistics and news clips must be subjected to intense tests of verification. Don’t even think the word “Wikipedia.” In true fact-checking, literally every word of every factual statement must be traced to a primary source, whether a document or the corroborated accounts of independent experts or witnesses.
People just get things wrong. They read them wrong, or remember them wrong or the way they want to, or the information they read right was wrong in the first place. You hear the same a fact a thousand times, but if you track down its origins, you find out all the repeaters are using the same source, and source zero was just guessing, or citing a highly questionable source or study. Or misciting a highly questionable source or study. Or confusing the details, so that by now, everybody’s under the erroneous impression that a shot of espresso contains more caffeine than a cup of coffee.
Read more: http://motherjones.com/media/2011/12/mac-mcclelland-burma-fact-checking-politifact
OK - SO I am ON FIRE ANGRY!!!!
Every femal in AMERICA, no, every FEMALE ON THE PLANET should demand an apology from the mysogynistic MEGA DOUCHEBAG Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) for what he said about our FLOTUS:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2011/12/fashion-news-michelle-obamas-fitness-initiatives-defended.html
“U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) reportedly was overheard complaining about First Lady Michelle Obama’s health and fitness initiatives by saying that someone with a posterior as large as hers shouldn’t tell the rest of us what to do.”
I’m sorry, if Michelle Obama has a big ass, then so does every female on EARTH.
FUCK YOU SENSENBRENNER!!!
If I had skills, I’d post my tweet - perhaps one of you that knows how can do it -
@RpSensenbrenner needs to apologize to EVERY WOMAN IN AMERICA along with Michelle Obama for his misogynistic comment latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/201…
DRUMROLL -
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT
What a thing LEARNING IS!!!
You did it! You really did it!
*HAPPY DANCE*
look at you - you’re all grown up now learning how to post tweets!
This is most excellent Tally. I’ve retweeted his a$$. grrrrrrrr
“look at you – you’re all grown up now learning how to post tweets!”
Oh Alice, that made me roar!!!
I retweeted. Excellen tweet Tally.
it’s all true but the really ridiculous thing is that if you see FLOTUS in person she is not overweight in the least. Ask anyone who’s met her. She’s a stunning beauty, very tall and really well proportioned. In any case, it’s just plain absurd for this overweight jerk to make that remark.
I will be sending that bastard Sensenbrenner a email and it won’t be a nice one either.
I won’t be wishing him a Merry Christmas.
Woooooooooooooooooooot!!
In updated guidance released at 11 a.m., the White House said that the president’s Air Force One flight from Joint Base Andrews will depart at 1:20 p.m. ET and arrive at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham at 6:25 p.m. local time, which is five hours behind the East Coast.
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Merry Christmas, Mr. President!
Happy Hols, Mr President. {and to his ebil minions here.
}
Happy hols minion!
Happy Hols, Chief (of Minions). Have a great weekend. It’s 11 pm in my world and wifey is getting kinda crabby.
The REPUBLICANS work on behalf of THIS guy!!
http://www.truth-out.org/grover-norquists-real-game-shifting-power-and-wealth-one-percent/1324567657
Every Republican running for president (except John Huntsman) has signed Norquist’s no-tax pledge. So have 13 governors, 1,300 state legislators, 40 of the 47 Republicans in the Senate, and 236 of the 242 Republicans in the House.
President Obama can finally say “Aloha.”
With the payroll tax extension fight behind him (at least for now), Obama will be joining his family in Hawaii for the Christmas holiday, the White House said on Friday.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/201189-obama-to-say-aloha-heads-to-hawaii-friday-afternoon
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Friday named four Senate Democrats to negotiate a full-year extension of the payroll tax holiday and said a surtax on millionaires is back on the table in the discussions.
Last week, Senate Democrats dropped their demand to offset the cost of a full-year payroll tax holiday with a surtax on income over a million dollars.
But on Friday, Reid signaled Democrats will renew the push for the millionaires tax, which Republicans in both chambers strongly oppose.
http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/201167-reid-says-millionaires-tax-is-back-on-the-table-in-payroll-talks
Folks ( I love Joe Biden. Ever since he’s come on the scene, I’ve been using the word ‘folks’ more and more often), I believe that the WH’s gloves are now officially off. I don’t know what I was listening to last night, perhaps the last 20 minutes of Rev Al or Ed or someone. But they had a guest on that said that legislatively, there isn’t much left on the menu that calls for PBO to work with the Congress except the payroll extension for a year and UEI — which, as we’ve seen, falls right into PBO’s messaging which he is using to shape the landscape for the 2012 campaign. Therefore, methinks there will be less of a willingness on the part of the WH to compromise too much in order to get the payroll/UEI deal done. Will they likely swallow a few poison pills? yes. But they won’t be doing it without a few screaming and hollering, knock-out, drag-down fights, that pound into the GOP and the American people that fair is fair and everyone should do their share. The left has been complaining that the WH starts of negotiations at the middle rather than from the far left working to the middle, but methinks the WH is gonna come on hard and strong when we get back and they once again face down Repugs. I also think Dems will attempt to be more on message and unified. They’ll likely come on the teevee more using the same talking points (from my fingertips to God’s ear, please God). I think this useless fight (on the part of the Greed Over People party) has re-energized the Dems. PBO is likely to continue campaigning for the middle class like he’s been doing since his SOTU by conducting interviews with local stations, making day long trips to different cities/ states to talk about middle class issues, etc in order to build momentum for the upcoming fight in Feb and the fight in 2012 about which vision of America will make us strong again.
When you are in negotiations with someone who can walk away w/o any backlash, it doesn’t matter how far left you start. Its not that simple and the left should never present it that way.
Found this Tweet from David Corn…that Boehner said:
DavidCornDC: Boehner: “Why not do the right thing for the American people even if it’s not exactly what we want.” Ponder that! #WhatAnAdmission
Seriously.HE.IS.THE WORST.SPEAKER.EVER.
no argument here.
sincerely
Nancy Smash
(best speaker evah)
The GOP Is Getting Scared: Joblessness Is Down & Economic Growth Is Up
By: Rmuse| December 23, 2025
During times of increased drama and uncertainty in Washington, good news is often lost in the contentious circumstances of political maneuvering. For the past week, there has been such combative discourse over the payroll tax cut extension and the Republican opposition to helping 160 million Americans survive the slowly recovering economy, that the fate of millions of unemployed Americans has taken a backseat in the 24-hour news cycle. Yesterday, there was good news that House Republicans caved to immense pressure from President Obama, the public, and Republicans in the Senate and agreed to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits for millions of Americans. However, there was also good news on the jobs front that portends well for the economy and struggling Americans.
~snip~
For the doubters who questioned the Obama Administration’s economic acumen, their questions have been answered. Economic stimulus works, and tax cuts for the wealthy and deregulation does not; but business owners have known for years that the best way to stimulate hiring that leads to more jobs and economic growth is entirely dependent on increased consumer spending.
After a full year of bad news courtesy of Republicans in Congress, the holidays may be happy after all, at least for two more months. There is still that little problem of one-in-two Americans living at or near the federal poverty level and that Americans now understand that Republicans will do anything to increase the number of Americans living in poverty; but they also know the President and Democrats will not allow it to happen. With so much good news in one day, this will surely be a happy holiday.
http://www.politicususa.com/en/obama-economy-improves
Anyonw know if POTUS statement will be on the TV??
My wifi at home won’t give me white house live.
Looks like CNN will have it - if I don’t throw something at DoucheBoyBlizter.
I don’t know, but it looks like it will …MSNBC?
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/updates/3137
Yummy LOD is on the MSNCB - I’m there.
I think C-SPAN will be airing it.
C-Span will carry it. Camera is live; awaiting PBO’s arrival to press briefing room.
Since 1998, scientists at the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory have been using the latest in satellite and radar technology to track Rudolph’s red nose, and in doing so, Santa, as he cruises the globe on December 24th. Thanks to their expert work, we can follow his journey live starting at 6AM EST on Christmas Eve.
Last December, I had the pleasure of talking with the program’s lead researcher, Diane Roussel-Dupre. She explained in detail how the lab uses advanced optical cameras and radar receivers on the FORTE and Cibola Flight Experiment space satellites to monitor the breathtakingly-fast gift-giving team and talked openly about Mrs. Claus’ appreciation that the lab can help assure Santa and the reindeers safe travels throughout the night.
http://energy.gov/articles/follow-live-dec-24-los-alamos-national-lab-tracks-rudolph-s-nose-santa-s-sleigh
Marco Rubio Getting Heat Over Aponte Filibuster
By Humberto Sanchez| Dec. 23, 2011, 5 a.m.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) appears to be doing damage control over his vote last week to filibuster Mari Carmen Aponte’s nomination to be ambassador to El Salvador, according to Democrats and pundits. “I think that his votes were telling of where he was at, and he didn’t change his tune until after it made it into his hometown paper and papers across the state of Florida,” said state Rep. Darren Soto, an Orlando Democrat who represents part of the Interstate 4 corridor, where much of the state’s Puerto Rican community lives.
“Motivations are best shown when [people think] no one is paying attention,” Soto added.
~snip~
http://www.rollcall.com/news/marco_rubio_getting_heat_mari_carmen_aponte_filibuster-211248-1.html?pos=hln
I do not understand why so many find Rubio a future super star in the Republican party.
that guy is a disgrace. Hope he loses his seat.
PBO “slightly delayed”
Nevada Poll Finds Shelley Berkley, Dean Heller Tied in Senate Race
By Kyle Trygstad| Dec. 23, 2011, 11:43 a.m.
The Nevada Senate race will kick off the new year as one of the closest races in the country, according to a new poll released today. The Las Vegas Review-Journal/8NewsNow poll found Rep. Shelley Berkley (D) and Sen. Dean Heller (R) statistically tied, with Berkley taking 44 percent and Heller 43 percent. Nevada promises to be a political hotbed in 2012, with President Barack Obama targeting the state as a must-win and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) working to make sure both Obama and Berkley are victorious.
~snip~
http://www.rollcall.com/news/nevada_poll_finds_berkley_heller_tied_in_senate_race-211260-1.html?pos=hln
BREAKING WIND: SOH Boehner states: “All I want for Christmas is my dignity, my dignity, oh my dignity.” Details of when the speaker will regain said dignity at half past nev vah!
huh!!! there’s nothing that can take the sting out of a good burn like bad spelling or being unable to accurately calculate syllables. Grrrr
correction: ne vah!!!
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Half past nev vah!! OMG girl, that is GENIUS! I am so stealing that!
Hey Lisa - I have a new übercrush:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0035514/
oooooooooooooooooooooh. Nice! He’s really hot! He looks familiar though so I looked at his list of movies but I don’t think I’ve seen any of thwm. I love his eyes. They are gorgeous! I had to enlarge the photo just so I could drool over them up close and personal. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I guess I can’t haz
He’s just EDIBLE. He plays Thorin Oakenshield in the upcomming The Hobbit - He sings in this trailer - MELT!
Sexy Dwarves!!! I AM SO IN!!
his voice is really sexy……..mmmmmmmmm!! {{GASP!!!}} Is that Cate Blanchett I see too?!
Yup. Pretty much everyone is back from LOTR except Viggo (another crush) because Aragorn isn’t in The Hobbit. His character only appears in the trilogy.
I also think Merry & Pippin are also missing for the same reason.
mmmmmmmmm. Viggo………… wonder what he’s doing now? Wasn’t he in some cowboy alien movie?
He is in the new film A Dangerous Method, with two other of my crushes, Michael Fassbender and Vincent Cassel - it’s out right now…
Richard Armitage is nice, but I’ll have my eye on the equally yummy Aidan Turner.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2636108/
Loved him in the original BBC version of Being Human. He left the show (and they killed off his character) so he could take the part of Killi in The Hobbit. I’m gonna be crushed that he’s not there when the new season begins.
He’s yummy tooi - but a bit young. I also think the guy on the left is cute - SEXY DWARVES!!
http://film-book.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/dean-o-gorman-aidan-turner-the-hobbit-2012-2013-02.jpg
If you have Netflix - Stream MI5 (Spooks in the UK), start with Season 7 - 1st episode.
AND
North and South from the BBC - also streaming on Netflix.
You guys are totally cracking me up. I’m a big LOTR yippee! Can’t wait for this!
I couldn’t listen to the ignorant “Republican line” on CSpan….switched to WH.gov.
OMG….I was listening also…..they cannot even speak proper English.
Dumbing down of America! You know, education isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!
These people vote too.. Yikes !
The “Dumbing down of America” — one repug at a time.
WSJ & Politico Still Horribly Inflating Size of US Chamber of Commerce
—By Josh Harkinson| Thu Dec. 22, 2011 1:44 PM PST
The bad news for the US Chamber of Commerce is that the world now knows that Chinese hackers broke into its computer system. The good news is that its membership has suddenly increased tenfold. This is according to the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Politico, which reported yesterday that the US Chamber of Commerce has 3 million members, 2,700,000 more than it has claimed as of late.
Did a few reporters accidentally misplace a decimal point? Not likely. Most media outlets used the “3 million members” line until 2009, when I discovered that the Chamber’s true membership is no more than 300,000. After a bit of back and forth, the Chamber was forced to agree with me. Many reporters continued using the wrong number until I called them on it, at which point the 300,000 figure finally won out. Or so I’d thought. The inflated reports of the Chamber’s size have allowed it to claim to speak for a broad swath of American businesses, when in reality it’s a dark money outfit controlled by a few ultra-wealthy special interests. In 2009, just 16 members accounted for 55 percent of its $200 million budget.
So here we go again…..
~snip~
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/12/wsj-politico-still-horribly-inflating-size-us-chamber-commerce
Cool, Tally! That’s what I said to the President and his family on the Card I signed. As well as Hau’oli Makahiki Hou~ Happy New Year!~
Romney Flip-Flops on Bin Laden, Pakistan and Iraq
By Jon Perr| December 23, 2025 07:00 AM
From almost the moment Barack Obama took the oath of office, Mitt Romney has attacked the President for showing a lack of leadership on foreign policy and “apologizing for America.” Now more than ever, it’s Mitt Romney who owes President Obama and the American people some apologies.
Four years after declaring his full-throated support for the invasion of Iraq as “the right decision,” Romney now says “of course not.” As for President Obama’s daring raid to kill to Osama Bin Laden, a man Mitt announced in May 2007 was “not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch,” Romney contended this week that “other presidents and other candidates like myself” would have done the same thing. Just not, it turns out, the version of candidate Romney from four years ago.
~snip~
http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/romney-flip-flops-bin-laden-pakistan-and-iraq
US durable goods orders jump 3.8% in November
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/business-16315624
I’m seeing the Fat Head of that ‘moran’ Ed Henry on the TeaNN feed.
I’m staring at the the WH Crybabies and you can tell that they are just itching to go to Hawaii. Bunch of useless slobs. :sneer:
Trying something.
<3
BBC top headline
Obama beats congress in tax fight
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/
Great headline!
<3
I tried to make a heart shape, does anyone know how to make one?
Betsy,
I haven’t been able to get that to work on here either. That is how i have tried too. <3
I don’t think WordPress has a heart emoticon.
no but Mac does.
I ❤
How do you get the mac one? In fact how do you find the emoticons? I am so ignorant
I forgot to say that I have a mac too.
Betsy - up on the top of your screen menu on the right, just right of the sound/volume icon, is on the Character Viewer icon - click that, click SHOW CHARACTER VIEWER and it will come up.
At the bottom of the Character Viewer, on the right, is a little search window with a magnifying glass, that says Description & code. Click in that and type - heart - then hit enter and it will search for it. Once you find what you want (there are several) click on it, then click INSERT button on the bottom left.
On the bottom left is a little favorites button - click that and you can click ADD TO FAVORITES so you can find it faster next time.
♥
Copy!
Paste!
yeah - but you have a Mac too.
♥
WordPress responds to the special character codes, though. A heart can be done by writing & # 9 8 2 9 ;
Remove the spaces. AmpersandHashtag9829semicolon
Let us not forget that Romney strapped his dog on the roof of the car!
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/23/romney-on-irish-setter-strapped-to-car-roof-love-my-dog/
Yeah - that ALONE is all I need to know about how sub-human Romney is.
Someone needs to call animal protective services.
Turned on the tv cause I heard Lawry was on and saw GAGner ask her panel whether or not PBO deserves a vacation in Hawaii.—- is this heifer for real? Hawaii is him home. It’s where he grew up. He’s going HOME for the holidays, much like everyone else does. This was the first time I’ve seen her in action ( had I known her fool show was on, I wouldn’t have watched) and I will not be repeating that mistake. That’s two minutes of my life I just wasted and now can’t get back. I could have been doing something more stimulating and worth while, like huffing paint thinner.
LOL. Love your comments. Merry Christmas Lisa!
She is an elementary school mean girl….
We would never tolerate that mean girl behavior in MY elementary school
She’d be suspended!
she’s ridiculous. Don’t know how she got her show but hard work, intelligence and journalistic integrity weren’t factors.
House And Senate Lock In New, Higher-Stakes Fight Over The Payroll Tax Cut
Brian Beutler| December 23, 2011, 10:06 AM
On MSNBC earlier Friday morning, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) suggested Dems would renew their push to pay for the extensions by raising taxes on corporations, and fight GOP efforts to use the provisions as an opportunity to cut Medicare. “I heard Eric Cantor at one point say the parties were really close on the one year deal,” Van Hollen said. “That’s just not the case. Republicans continue to object to some of the methods we want to pay for this. We want to pay for it by closing corporate tax loopholes. I mean you’ve got a corporate jet loophole, you’ve got oil and gas subsidies that we think can be closed. So you’ve got that aspect of it. Republicans have proposed to raise Medicare premiums on seniors. … When it came to federal employees like the folks at the CIA who tracked down Osama bin Laden, they want to cut their pensions.”
If a chastened GOP majority recognizes their error, stops second-guessing Speaker John Boehner, and decides not to put up much of a fight, the Christmas standoff will be more easily forgotten. If, on the other hand, the same thing plays out all over again, Democrats will retain the upper hand, and the implications — for the economy, for the 2012 election, for Boehner’s speakership — will be enormous.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/house-and-senate-lock-in-new-higher-stakes-fight-over-the-payroll-tax-cut.php?ref=fpb
It’s great to have someone in the White House that KNOWS how to win. And his winning is not luck or knowing the right people. It’s intelligence, a commitment to representing the American people, integrity and hard, grueling work. The GOP has NONE of those traits which is why they will never win against POTUS.
Just think this needs to be said:
Cool!!
Luke Russert just said PBO got a boost at the end of the year for Healthcare Reform.
This child is an embarrassment.
I think he did with many of the regulations kicking into effect through the year and people seeing the favorable results of it. There must be a poll that shows more people now understand and support it. ?
huh? is this guy for real?
He said PBO seems to get a bump at the end of every year….he said blah…blah…blah for last year and HCR the year before.
The mind reels.
Did I miss it? Their idea of “Slight delay” and MY idea of slight delay are not the same
Maybe there’s a crisis he’s dealing with?
He’s wrangling Bo.
This is a good rebuttal about how much PBO’s vacation’s cost compared with Bush.
http://www.politicususa.com/en/cost-obama-christmas-vacation
The people whining about POTUS GOING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS can go FUCK A FLAMING SWORD.
haaaaaha! Sounds painful but knowing how deranged the repugs are, I’m sure they would enjoy it.
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oooouch…I would not want to be in word fight with you, you go girl!
Bush Spent 5 Times More On Flights To Texas Than Obama‘s Christmas Vacation Costs
Those who criticize the cost of Obama’s Christmas vacation don’t want you to know that George W. Bush spent at least $20 million taxpayer dollars just on flights to his ranch in Crawford.
The right wing has been outraged at the four million dollar plus price tag for Obama’s family Christmas vacation, and they constantly hold George W. Bush up as an example of how thrifty a president should be when going on vacation.
The problem is that W. wasn’t thrifty. He was the most expensive vacation president in US history. Not only did Bush spend more days on vacation than any other president, but he used Air Force One more often while on vacation than any other president.
During Bush’s two terms, the cost of operating Air Force One ranged from $56,800 to $68,000 an hour. Bush used Air Force One 77 times to go to his ranch in Crawford, TX. Using the low end cost of $56,800, Media Matters calculated that each trip to Crawford cost taxpayers $259,687 each time, and $20 million total for Bush’s ranch flights.
If cost of the flight was the only expense involved to taxpayers Bush’s vacations would still seem rather economical, but there is more, much more. Unlike the Obama’s $4 million Christmas vacation price tag, which includes the cost of everything from transportation from transportation to accommodations for the First Family, the White House staff, and the White House press corps, Bush’s numbers only include the cost of flying the president to Crawford. The cost of transporting and accommodating staff, media, friends and family is not included in Bush’s vacation numbers.
http://www.politicususa.com/en/cost-obama-christmas-vacation
What I wish for my President is lots of rest and continuous joy with his family. And as much golf as he wishes. And lots of LOVE.
December 23, 2025 12:40 PM
Ron Paul had racist direct mail, too
By Steve Benen
Well, he wanted to be taken seriously as a presidential candidate. And with leading status comes scrutiny.
First it was the racist newsletters. Now it’s the direct mail advertising them. In a signed appeal to potential subscribers in 1993, Ron Paul urged people to read his publications in order to prepare for a “race war,” military rule, and a conspiracy to use a new $100 bill to track Americans.
The eight-page mailer obtained by Reuters via Jamie Kirchick, who unearthed Paul’s newsletter archives in 2008, is mostly focused on a rambling conspiracy theory about changes to the dollar. But Paul tries to bolster his credibility on the issue by noting that his newsletters have also “laid bare the coming race war in our big cities” as well as the “federal-homosexual coverup on AIDS,” adding that “my training as a physician helps me see through this one.”
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/ron_paul_had_racist_direct_mai034288.php
But he wants to legalize pot, so all the cool kids like him. Turds.
He’s a tool.
We need to legalize pot for a bazillion reasons, but most of all so we can GROW HEMP for everything from paper to fuel. it would save our economy overnight.
But the Lumber Lobby still owns this fight and it sickens me.
Yes!!! You can make SO MANY THINGS from hemp!! It’s a cash crop that could do a lot to help our farmers!!
Ron Paul has no chance…he is just an old racist bigot that is retiring….I wish they would just leave him alone…They are not saying anything new about him.
I always look at people’s aura and their face. Ron Paul’s aura is in his old mean racist face.
Hmmm…didn’t Ron Paul say that he didn’t know what was in the newsletters and he didn’t read them because he was busy “doctoring?” He’s getting caught up in his lies….
Maybe this long wait is the coal in the stockings of the MSM
They don’t realize that he’s already airborne and on his way (not really true, but I would laugh)
I have had a number of problems of late and have not been able to post but still check in from time to time.
Merry Christmas to all and may good health and happiness attend all and families.
Stay safe.
AND YOU BABE!!
I had to step out. Is he late? Did I miss him?
Delayed until 1:45 I think
Nevermind! Just heard 2 minute warning on my live feed.
2 minute warning!!
2 minute warning for PBO!!!
There is a lot of reporting of how the President and the Dems did not cave into the Repubs this time…but where we are now did not happen by osmosis…a lot of groundwork took place…
Let’s go back to the debt ceiling/deficit debate…..in which this same tea-party faction of the Republican party nearly drove our country over the cliff…this was the first heads up that the American people saw how extreme the Tea Party is…but the President called for a balanced approach-spending cuts along with increased revenue…and the American People agreed……and so the President called on us to get involved…and so we did…so much so that we crashed a few servers….in the end….Speaker Boehner claimed to have gotten 99% of what he wanted…but considering what the President and the Dems got…I am not so sure.
Fast forward to the fall of 2011….the President rolled out his American Jobs Act…and decided to take his case to the American People….the Senate filibusters….did not allow a vote….but our President was not done…he says well maybe it is just too complicated….so he breaks up the parts of the bill….forcing the Repubs to vote NO on rebuilding Infrastructure…..to vote NO on putting fire fighters…teachers and police officers back to work…..each time he rolled out a portion of the bill he goes out among the people…taking his case directly to the American people….and the American People are highly supportive of the American Jobs Act..
Soooooooooooooo now it comes to tax cuts for the Middle Class…extending unemployment benefits…etc…will the Repubs go with the year’s extension as the President requested….NOOOOOO….once again the President goes to the American People,,,,,as we came down the wire….the Senate Dems/Repubs….voted for a 2 mos extension while they continue to iron out the difficulties…once again…the extreme faction of the Repub Party…the Tea Party…tried to send the American People over a cliff….but the American people demanded better…
The President..stands tall….and the Dems stands tall with him….
This feels good….
great analysis prettyfoot
racist ass mofos
………………………………….
Obama Called ‘Skinny, Ghetto Crackhead’ On Fox News
A Fox News guest on Thursday said that “you might want to say” President Obama looks like “a skinny, ghetto crackhead.”
Brent Bozell, of the conservative Media Research Center, appeared on Fox Thursday night, where guest host Mark Steyn showed a clip of MSNBC’s Chris Matthews saying that Newt Gingrich “looks like a car bomber.”
Steyn said that aside from anything else, Newt doesn’t even look like a car bomber, but a “big, cuddly, slightly older Winnie the Pooh.”
“How long do you think Sean Hannity’s show would last if four times in one sentence, he made a comment about, say, the President of the United States, and said that he looked like a skinny, ghetto crackhead?” Bozell wondered. “Which, by the way, you might want to say that Barack Obama does.”
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/obama_called_skinny_ghetto_crackhead_on_fox_news.php?ref=fpb
ALOHA, Mr. President!!
Aloha! I love it!!!
What a cool way for Pres. Obama to end his presser.
Which Jackal yelled out ” Are you concerned about Iraq” ?
Gawd they are pathetic.
Are you concerned about Iraq sir? No, but I am concerned about you being a douchebag. ALOHA MFer
It’s hilarious how he ignores the jackals when they try to yell out questions.
The president is on his way to Hawaii. God speed Mr. President.
PBO and Democrats seem to be kicking ass all over the place when it comes to Congress *dances*… even at Faux News by a Democratic Strategist:
This morning on Fox and Friends, a panel led by Brian Kilmeade discussed the payroll tax cut deal reached by Congress late Thursday. While the consensus was that John Boehner‘s job is safe — and Jon Bramick, a New Jersey lawyer, said that Boehner showed some impressive leadership skills — it was Dan Gerstein, a Democratic strategist, who stole the show, giving a concise, pointed statement on just how bad things have gotten in Congress.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-news-analyst-thrashes-congress-on-the-payroll-tax-deal-with-spot-on-nfl-analogy/
I vehemently disagree with his assertion that it was a “small, puny tax”. If the tax holiday had been allowed to expire, every reputable economist was on record as saying that it would damage the economy. Puny tax breaks aren’t that threatening. But, other than that, yes, this GOP-led House is pathetic.
I call that show ” Freaks and Fiends “
Chopper blades of Marine One firing up. Godspeed Mr. President. Have a Merry Christmas!
The delicious thing about the torrent of Ron Paul writings isn’t that it hurts Ron Paul; it doesn’t, because those who follow him follow him blindly, and many of them probably agree with those newsletters. The truly wonderful thing is that it puts before the American voter yet another face of modern Republicanism: racist, homophobic, conspiratorial. No amount of blandness from Mittens will make the voter forget that the GOP field is literally insane. And Mitt’s embrace of so many right wing positions in order to become the nominee will stay in people’s minds. The broad middle will think one of two things: either that he really does embrace those toxic ideas, or that he just mouthed the niceties to get the nomination, and that therefore he can’t be trusted. We really are witnessing the slow-motion suicide of the GOP.
Very well said - as usual!
I was thinking something similar LL. Just a few days ago Chips posted an article about Rick Perry and how many Texans were embarassed by him and felt it would cause further stereotyping of the state given its last dumb governor, W., did not fare so well on the national stage. Well looky here, Ron Paul is from Texas too. I’m sure the sane people there must be thinking we can’t catch a break.
“fair”
That good-bye wave the President made at the press corp almost looked like he was flipping them off! LOL! No more than they deserve.
Now he’s off to Hawaii to enjoy the rest of the holidays with his family! Aloha Mr. President. God Speed!
“It may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world.” - Boehner
You’re right Mr. Speaker; and Aloha to you!
This. From TPM:
THIS.
More people have LEARNED ABOUT THEIR GOVERNMENT from our Professor President than at any time in HISTORY. And that is full of WIN.
Let’s see. Boehner’s been declared a bust. Cantor’s hiding. McConnell had to agree with Reid. Newt’s fallen. Romney’s shielding something in his tax returns. Paul has finally been declared a racist bigot, with written and oral proof.
Good end to the Republican political year!
I won’t add any comments on how good PBO is looking, because I don’t want to associate him with those turds. But - damn - if I were going to add anything, it would be that he’s looking great.
Well said!
President Obama arriving to board AF1: http://www.ustream.tv/cbsnews
That was awesome! Thank, JER
Thaks, JER!
Its the Eve of Christmas here… 07:35 and a sunny morning……. and the first thing I do for the day is read TOD lol I just LOVE this site!!
Chips, I saw the back and forth tweets with Brian Tau…… You were BRILLIANT!!! I re-read the TL a few times more, it was THAT good lol!
Hey NZ - can you run down to The Hobbit set and give Richard Armitage a big sexy Christmas kiss from me please?
kthx
Aloha! New post here:
http://theobamadiary.com/2011/12/23/dont-forget-tonight/
First attempt to bring a tweet over. Hope it works.
@Smilingl8dySmilingl8dy
@ByronTau Must say that wht I hv seen so far u should be on Drudge payroll 2 Hope yr objectivity re: PBO improves SOON!
42 seconds ago via webFavoriteReplyDelete
Guess not. Will try again sometime.
Smiling, when you see a Tweet, right click on the date stamp in the lower left hand corner, and copy the link. Then past the link in here, and voila, you have it.
Have a great trip, Mr. President. I love the way he walked his fine self off and shut it off. Even a beautiful baby boy knows how to greet and say good bye to the leader of this country, Mr. President. The slimes within the WH Press need to find that baby and takes some lessons.
I am sick of all of these over paid incompetent ugly people within the WH Press Corp. And that Ed and Nora, make me want to throw up.
Luke Russert should be hiding his face. His father would surely not be proud of him. You can do better than that, Luke. Do not mess up your dad’s name.
Have a great trip, Mr. President. We love you, we support you, and we have your back. Play the hell out of those golf balls. Rip it up, Mr. President.
They all can kiss my behind. Now, I need to go and get some meds, and a few food items. Have a great day, TOD Family. Love you all.HZ
LOVE YOU MORE HZ!!!
❤❤❤
Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!
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