Seem like I’ve seen that golf swing before. Is that POTUS? I’m not a fan of golf at all, but I sure hope POTUS enjoy himself playing golf and spending some relaxing good time with his family and friends.
TEE-HEE…A LITTLE SNOW ON THE PALM TREES! SNOW IS SO PEACEFUL AND AN INTRICATE BLESSING CREATED BY GOD. JUST LIKE PEOPLE…EACH SNOWFLAKE IS DIFFERENT…NONE ARE THE SAME…ALL UNIQUE! MAYBE THE FIRST FAMILY CAN FIND A PLACE TO MAKE A SNOWMAN…SNOW-BO! LOL!
Lol. That picture of POTUS swinging that big ole golf club on the golf course in Hawaii last year always makes me think of the TV cartoon character Doug Funny that my kids used to watch. (It’s the long khaki shorts and baseball cap). Nevertheless, my President still looks good in any setting. Can’t wait to see more updated photos of the whole First Family in Hawaii this year.
Oh, but so deliciously’ puny ‘to be just enough to wrap around the beauty of our lovely First Lady where they belong. Naughty mat out, Chips. No, not HZ. Oh, no just speaking the truth. Love our POTUS and FLOTUS. HZ
Hi Meta. Good to see you. Hope all is well. Yes, the sun is beautiful this morning ,and I was up early, so things are really looking pretty good for these long legs. I just had to put in my two cents about our handsome and brilliant President. I love those shorts and those legs are not ‘puny’ to me, they are just well made for a beautiful man as our beloved President of the United States of America. And you go Mrs. First Lady, enjoy you man’s elegant presence with those legs. Amen.HZ
LadyTNT, reading HZ’s comment above makes me think Chipsticks must have put away the naughty mat for the holidays. If that’s the case, maybe HZ needs to add the following comment for those who like to criticize the President’s skinny legs: Attached to those “deliciously puny” legs are some very big feet.
Meta, LadyTNT, and NCW, me think that our wonderful Chips might be out because we all would be on the naughty mat by now. And I promised the other day that I would be so good. However, I do think that LadyTNT might have a point about ending the year with a ‘naughty mat whopper.’ What do you all think?HZ
Yes, geegee. It is me acting up. But what’s a girl to do when we are having good respectul and delicious fun.
I am tired of looking at these stiff, dried up old cranky guys taking up space on this planet and trying to move into the Oval Office. NOT ON MY WATCH!!!
I need the long and , elegant legs with the presence that they bring of the man sitting in that Oval Office now and again in 2012. That is a fact. Lets get to work, legs and all. Love you all so much.HZ
NCW, co-sign about big HUGE feet being connected to those “deliciously puny” legs.
HZ, I love you lady and your respectful naughtiness seems to be more steamy and sexy than other blatant naughtiness. Why is that, Lol?!
Hi LadyTNT. Just read your comments and had to smile. Someone else made the comment about our wonderful President’s legs being ‘puny’ and then I made the comment about them being ‘deliciously puny.’
As we all know here in our TOD Family, I would be the first to make it known that I highly respect our First Lady and also highly respect our President. No doubts there at all. I believe we all highly respect President Obama in every way. He is our President and they are the First Couple who represent us to the highest degree. I would never Not give them respect. Plain and simple. However, I also know that we are a fun family who engage in some fun at times BUT with Great Respect. We would have it no other way, for sure.
To answer LadyTNT question(which was asked very sweetly), I just love to see love all around me. I love for couples to be in love. I love making people have beautiful relationships that show beautiful love. I am a total romantic person. When I was married, I made the marriage a beautiful romantic place for my husband and for me all the time. It was done with respect and a lot of fun. Sorry he could not honor it. When you have it, appreciate it and enjoy it ALL the time. Life is too short and unpredictable.
When our TOD family have respectful fun here and Chips has to bring out the ‘naughty mats’, it is a respectful delight. You all must know that this is the most romantic, affectionate, beautiful, handsome and just plain fineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee First Couple in our lifetime. Come on, be honest. When have we seen this much pure love, holding hands and having it real, kisses on the cheeks, top of the head of our beautiful First Lady by the President, hugs, great legs on both, and just a very attractive and very lovely and glamorous couple? This is it for us. So we enjoy it, BUT we do it with complete Respect.
‘Your respectful naughtiness seems to be more steamy and sexy than other blatant naughtiness.” Why is that?, stated LadyTNT. Well, one thing for sure is that we have a very respectful fine and beautiful President and First Lady. They make us young, loveable, laugh, and seeing and enjoying that love and romance is in the air and mainly in the WH is such a joy to behold. That is one heck of a thought, when it comes to the most powerful man of the free world. We have it going on, and I love it.
It makes me think of my young days, ofcourse, I am not the First Lady, but they remind me of what it is like to be in love with a person who lights your fire. You know what I mean. I love that about them. They just seem to have the chemistry that leads to such beautiful and respectful sparks in their lives. And we must admit it, we love to seem them together. They are a fine looking couple who do not pretend. They really do respect and love each other. We will not see this for a long time to come.
So let us enjoy with respect and pray and wish them many, many more days of this’ beautiful steamy and sexy respectful affection’. I love it.HZ Now may I be removed from the ‘Respectful Naughty Mat’ please, Chips. I love you all so very much.HZ
LOL! I love his caring heart too anniebella. I hope the First Lady could cut him some slack and let him beef up just a tad, so he doesn’t look like he’s withering away. It’s a stressful job, of course. I remember reading or hearing somewhere that he sometimes forgets to eat. It definitely shows on those shins. I say this with love though. Trust me.
Washington Post: Veterans Affairs claims progress in ending homelessness among vets
_____________________________________________________________________
By Steve Vogel, Published: December 26
Halfway into an ambitious five-year campaign to end homelessness among veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs says it has made enough progress that the goal is within reach, even as a new generation of veterans returns from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Making aggressive use of a voucher program, Veterans Affairs has housed more than 33,000 veterans in the past 21 / 2 years. It did so by changing its longtime policy of requiring homeless veterans to be successfully treated for substance abuse and mental ailments before being given apartments.
The shift in approach means that there is “a better opportunity to end veterans’ homelessness by 2015 than at any time in the past,” said Susan Angell, VA’s director of homeless initiatives.
Although many agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, have adopted a housing-first strategy, Veterans Affairs had resisted. “Folks were initially concerned about the safety aspects of it,” Angell said. “We wanted to make sure they were clean and sober.”
VA and HUD want enough funds to issue 60,000 vouchers at the rate of 10,000 a year through 2014.
Thanks for posting this article here gobrooklyn. I see many where I live, and there is some progress being made by this POB’s Administration is ways that we have not seen for years. I called the VA and HUD offices earlier this year about a measure within the voucher plan that the Congress was giving the Administration a hard time on. Both departments did get some assistance that was much needed because of the calls and contacts that were made.
We just have to keep pushing on those issues that we all care about, and we know this should be at the top of our list. POB promised that he would make a great dent into this problem, and looks like he is on the way of doing it. Now, if we can stay on Congress, we will make it work for our veterans. They deserve our best. Let us keep praying, and working with POB. Thanks again.HZ
I had a wonderful Christmas. Santa brought me a “Kindle Fire” because I LOVE to read and as soon as I figure it out (I’m told its like a tablet) I’ll be as techie as my kids
Good morning TODville!!!! I love the snow falling about the President in Hawaii. What a great picture to wake up to.
donna, I got my husband a kindle fire for Christmas. He is having hip replacement surgery in 2 week. He isn’t a gadget person but I knew when he was laid up he would want something. So far we have had fun with it. I highly recommend audible.com. I love listening to books as I work around the house and at night you can listen. I have a kindle on my Droid. They have a sleep button so the book will close in 1/2 hour or so. This is so you can fall asleep and not worry about missing chapters. I sure hope you enjoy yours.
Good Morning Donna D4O. Look like Santa was pretty nice to you. Enjoy your terrific gift. Reading is such a relaxing and enjoyable time in our lives. So enjoy it, Donna.HZ
Hi fellow readers,** though not keen on technology I might have to start considering an e-reader myself as I’ve run out of space to store my ‘good reads’. I’m the kind of idiot who later buys my own copy if somebody lends me a book I enjoyed, which is why my library card was only used once or twice before I parked it. Like you, Go-B, I love having a book in hand when I read, partly because I can underline or circle things the editor missed.
** fellow reader BEFORE I got addicted to TOD. Now I only read before I fall asleep, and by the time i drag myself from TODville my eyes are already closing so not much gets read anymore. Sigh! The ‘faults’ for Ms Chips is responsible!
Love to read also. I purchased three e-readers. My shelves are overflowing in my library, so I have onee-reader for topical readings. Some books I still like to have the copy in my hands to make notes as well. Book lovers will find a way to get in our groove, somehow.
I love to read too…growing up as an only child, books were my sister, brother, and best friends…I always have a book with me…I love turning the pages, so I haven’t joined the electronic age yet.
When we talk about the Republicans’ war on voting, we tend to focus on the impact felt by the elderly, the poor, and racial and ethnic minorities. But the youth vote matters every bit as much, and GOP policies are deliberately intended to limit their participation, too.
There’s no mystery here, and Republicans aren’t even being subtle — they’re trying to rig an entire election cycle by putting the most severe hurdles between Americans and the voting process since Jim Crow. The GOP fears losing in a fair fight, so the party is trying to rig the game through voter suppression, plain and simple.
TIS’ SNOWING HERE IN INDY TOO! YEEEEHAAAAAH…I WAS HOPING FOR SOME. HOPE PBO IS HAVING A SUPER TIME!!!! I MISS HIM BUT I KNOW HE HAS TO GET AWAY FROM THE ‘YOU FILL IN THE BLANKS’ CESSPOOL!
I’m heading out to get salt for my driveway so it doesn’t stick. Ugh. I hate it, Sue. Ha, but I live with it. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and are doing fantastic this morning. Am I the only one who can’t wait to see Willard “Gordon Gecko” Romney get his stiff butt whipped in Iowa? Can’t stand Ron Paul, but hope he upsets the Rs plan.
I’m almost at the point of starting to pray for Romney to be taken down a notch. He’s so full of himself and entitled. He thinks somehow that he’s owed the Presidency. And the fact that he’s lying and lying - I’m torn. Half of me wants him to be denied the nomination - I can’t imagine that the GOP would let him out of the gate again. And the other half wants him to get the nomination and have to stand in front of President Obama with all his lies exposed. I’m not sure which I want more.
The Fallout from the Virginia Fiasco
by BooMan
Tue Dec 27th, 2011 at 09:12:48 AM EST
Hopefully, you’ve heard that only two candidates qualified to be on ballot in Virginia for the Republican primary: Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. It’s rather inopportune for this news to come out a mere week before the first contest, in Iowa. It makes Newt Gingrich and the other non-qualifiers look extremely unelectable at the exact time that they’re trying to make the opposite case. If I’m opposed to Romney, I have to take a harder look at Ron Paul. As far as I am concerned, there are three things to look for as potential outcomes of the Virginia fiasco.
First, it could take more air out Gingrich’s tires, but also any momentum Rick Perry or Rick Santorum might be building in the Hawkeye State. Ron Paul could be the beneficiary of that, and he might post a stronger victory in Iowa than people are anticipating. There’s another subset of voters who are opposed to Ron Paul on foreign policy issues who may just throw up their hands and settle for Romney. We might see a result where the third-place finisher polls quite far behind the second-place finisher. In other words, we could see a strong Paul victory, followed by a relatively weak second-place finish for Romney, with the rest of the pack in single-digits.
Second, Gingrich is still polling well ahead in both South Carolina and Florida. His job is to do well enough in Iowa and New Hampshire that his polling lead in the South doesn’t evaporate. Failing to get on the ballot in Virginia is a major blunder that makes Newt’s job much harder.
Third, now that the Virginia race has become a one-on-one contest between Romney and Paul, we get to find out which candidate has the true ceiling. Ironically, Ron Paul has a lot of support from rank-and-file members of the military. Members of the U.S. Army and Navy are his two biggest financial contributors. Yet, Virginia is awash with active and retired military officers, who will tend to be opposed to Ron Paul’s positions on military policy and spending. And then there is the Intelligence Community. The Virginia primary will be a true Clash of the Titans, and we’ll learn something most of us want to know. Also, remember, Virginia law prohibits write-in votes in the primaries. This will be a true race for 50+1%. The assumption has always been that neither Romney nor Paul could actually win such a contest, but one of them will.
If Ron Paul wins in Virginia, it’s hard to see why he couldn’t win the nomination. But the Republican Establishment will do anything to prevent that from happening.
I can’t stand to look at, or listen to Ron Paul. I can’t stand it for any of the candidates, but Ron Paul brings out a special kind of response. I just don’t know why so many young people and military find him attractive, when even the slightest analysis of his theories shows that he has no clue what he’s talking about, and the consequences of his proposed actions would be disastrous and impractical. And I’m not even talking about his racist, bigoted, vile views. Why are people so blinded?
Because we live in an instant gratification society. End wars and do all the dope you want. To some that sounds just fine. They then find reasons to defend all of his outrageous beliefs just so they can get their quick fixes both literally and figuratively.
Bingo. He’s pandering to the lowest common denominator by selling fantasy politics which appeal to people who just aren’t paying that much attention. But I think that it really speaks to the weakness of the GOP’s presidential bench, that someone who is this fringe is considered a bona fide and legitimate front-runner. Ron Paul had a very similar devoted following in 2008 as well, but unlike President Obama, his candidacy was never taken seriously beyond the Internet. He’s doing so well now because the competition is so incredibly thin.
I am so glad to here from you, GN! I’ve been missing your incisive commentaries. I hope you are well and you and your family had a wonderful Christmas.
So, it’s not just me, theo. I have never heard him speak and don’t want to but everything else from his face on the net to his ugly racism and ayn rand bullshit..he reminds me of a vicious little cockroach.
“While Standard & Poor’s stripped the U.S. of its AAA credit rating on Aug. 5, Treasuries due in 10 years or more returned 25.6 percent this year.
The spreading sovereign debt crisis in Europe and slower global growth are driving investors to the safety of U.S. assets, helping to contain borrowing costs and making it cheaper as a percentage of gross domestic product to finance deficits than when the nation last had budget surpluses.
“If the last two weeks are any indication of how next year will start, there’s near-insatiable demand,” Ira Jersey, an interest-rate strategist at Credit Suisse Group AG in New York, one of 21 primary dealers that are required to bid at the auctions, said in a Dec. 21 telephone interview. “We have a significantly shrinking supply of risk-free assets in the world and U.S. Treasuries are one of the few left.”
As you pointed out several threads back, I concur w/both:
For their role in knowingly inflating the value of dubious mortgage backed securities and for their downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, I hoped the S&P 500 is sued into bankruptcy:
(Reuters) – A federal judge has said credit ratings are not always protected opinion under the First Amendment, a defeat for credit rating agencies in a lawsuit brought by investors who lost money on mortgage-backed securities….
These agencies had argued that the Constitution protected them from claims they issued inflated ratings on more than $5 billion of securities issued in 2006 and 2007, and backed by loans from former Thornburg Mortgage Inc and other lenders….
S&P has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission not to file threatened civil charges over its ratings for a 2007 offering, Delphinus CDO 2007-1.
Goodness I hope these lawsuits go forward. The only way to make these corps. think twice is to hit them where it hurts. And, that’s always the pocket-book.
December 27, 2025 9:20 AM
Disenfranchising young voters
By Steve Benen
Ruy Teixeira makes a strong case today that the youth vote will be critical to President Obama’s re-election chances, and if young adults don’t show up, Republican odds improve significantly.
This point is not lost on GOP officials. Indeed, as a New York Times editorial makes clear today, the importance of the youth vote has led Republicans to consider this as part of their war on voting.
Next fall, thousands of students on college campuses will attempt to register to vote and be turned away. Sorry, they will hear, you have an out-of-state driver’s license. Sorry, your college ID is not valid here. Sorry, we found out that you paid out-of-state tuition, so even though you do have a state driver’s license, you still can’t vote.
Political leaders should be encouraging young adults to participate in civic life, but many Republican state lawmakers are doing everything they can instead to prevent students from voting in the 2012 presidential election. Some have openly acknowledged doing so because students tend to be liberal.
Seven states have already passed strict laws requiring a government-issued ID (like a driver’s license or a passport) to vote, which many students don’t have, and 27 others are considering such measures. Many of those laws have been interpreted as prohibiting out-of-state driver’s licenses from being used for voting.
It’s all part of a widespread Republican effort to restrict the voting rights of demographic groups that tend to vote Democratic.
Thanks for posting this, rikyrah. Must read, and something we all have known for some time. Shameful that if they can’t win fairly, they will try and disenfranchise voters to win. Not enough that they have that awful Citizen’s United, now they want to rig this too. We have lots of work to do. Love our Constitution, except when they don’t. Which lately,seems more and more like they DON’T!
Obama’s Approval Rating Surges A Net 12 Points In Less Than Two Weeks
According to the new Gallup daily tracking poll, President Obama has seen approval rating surge. Since December 15, Obama has gained a net 12 points in the poll.
In the poll taken from December 21- December 23, respondents narrowly approve of Obama 47%-45%. This is big swing from the poll taken December 13- 15, which found Obama at net (-10) approval rating, (41%-51%). The President has gained 6 points in approval and lost 6 points in disapproval since the first day of the previous polling cycle 13 days ago. This marks the first time since June 17-19 that Obama has been in positive territory in the Gallup daily tracking poll.
Daily tracking polls are particularly tricky, and at best only provide a momentary snapshot of how a respondent feels about an election or a president on a given day, but Gallup also gives us the ability to compare presidents at the same point in their terms.
Obama often gets compared to Jimmy Carter, but an analysis of the Gallup data for both Carter and Obama shows that the two presidents don’t have much in common. During the October of their third year of their administrations, both Carter and Obama suffered through woeful months.
Jimmy Carter had a 29% approval rating in early October 1979, but during same time period in his administration Obama’s approval rating was 40%. Towards the middle of the month, Obama’s approval rating was 10 points better than Carter’s 41%-31%. At the end of October/early November, Obama was 9 points stronger than Carter, 41%-32%. Carter got a rally around the flag bounce at the beginning of the Iran Hostage Crisis in November 1979, but as the crisis lingered on it took Carter down with it.
But, But, But this morning on GMA sai tha 70% of the people think that the country is going in the
wrong direction is he fucking kidding me? and he went unchallange by Elizabeth Vargas woow
who are those asshole are polling??????? they are sooooo full of shit they are pathetic, The game will
be play on the ground just like in 2008 Obama had anexcellent gronud game, We need to foucus here
on the ground rather than to pay attention to the talking heads on the fucking TV so let’s move.
If the media weren’t so lazy, they’d ask the next question after that one: Why do people think the country is going in the wrong direction? I’m sure they’d find that people would point to the GOP actions to deprive people of collective bargaining, right to vote, women’s health services, food programs for hungry children, mass layoffs of teachers, firefighters, police. They’d see that people don’t like the toxic environment in Washington that has been introduced and perpetuated by the GOP for these past three years. They’d see that people don’t want talk of endless wars, and they don’t want their money going into the pockets of the very wealthy, while their own incomes continue to flat line. And they’d see that the majority of people don’t blame President Obama for the state of affairs, since they’ve seen him working hard towards bi-partisanship and to make progress on the economy.
Good Morning Everybody! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas weekend! It was great having the family altogether and getting a chance to relax. I’m looking forward to the coming new year and the re-election of our most awesome President!
Just a few weeks ago, Bill Kristol argued that it’s still not too late for “a late entry” in the Republican presidential race, and that he sees “a window of opportunity in February.” The Weekly Standard editor is apparently hoping for a ticket with Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio, in that order.
Today, Kristol is at it again, writing a message to “the Republicans of the states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida,” letting them know that their primary and caucus votes will, among other things, affect “whether others will feel impelled to enter the race.”
Though the column isn’t entirely about this fanciful dream, Kristol’s piece went on to say:
[I]t is a moment, as you prepare to cast your vote, for others to reflect on whether they don’t owe it to their country to step forward. As this is no time for voters to choose fecklessly, it is no time for leaders to duck responsibility. Those who have stood aside — and who now may have concluded, as they may not have when they announced their original decision, that the current field is lacking — will surely hear the words of Thomas Paine echoing down the centuries: “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
Now is not a time for leaders to engage in clever calculations of the odds of success, or to succumb to concerns about how they will look if they enter the fray and fall short. Now is a time to come to the aid of our country.
Sounds like he’s crying for Chris Christie. As President Obama said, it really doesn’t matter who the GOP nominee is - they’re all playing off the same playbook. Americans will have to decide what the country stands for.
If Shariah Law Makes its Way to America it Will Be Wrapped In Conservative $$$
There has been a drum beat in America that encourages fear of Shariah Law invading our shores. As ludicrous as this message is, there is a loud and angry minority who drive this beat and disseminate propaganda to a population who ironically turn to FOX News for their “news”. Why is this ironic? It is because one of the investors in FOX’s parent company, News Corp is a Saudi Prince named AlWaleed who actually is a Wahabbist.
Most of what is being spread is hyperbolic uber-conservative hate wrapped in concern that ignites and fuels hatred and discrimination against an entire group of people who are Muslim. Not only is this un-American, it is dangerous. We have witnessed this escalate from the anti-Park 51 protests and demands that construction of mosques be banned altogether in the United States, to the threat of burning the Qur’an, to congressional committee hearings led by Representative Peter King NY (R) rising as the new “McCarthy” in his hunt for perceived enemies in the American Muslim community. Most recently we saw it rear its ugly head in the campaign to dissuade advertisers such as Lowe’s home improvement from airing their ads during a new reality television show titled, ” American Muslims”.
Yet, while all of these, and so many more insidious attacks against the entire Muslim community have been marching a boisterous segment of our population into the land fear and paranoia we miss what is happening in the background.
On December 19th it was announced that billionaire Saudi Prince Tal-al AlWaleed bought 300 million persuasive dollars into Twitter. As this article from Reuters points out:
Morning Joe and Mika both told Willard recently that they “love” his family. The MSM relate to Willard and believe he will provide the closest contest for President Obama which they desire. They seem to overlook the fact Willard will bore everyone to death.
Morning Joke hates Newt…and like most half-way repubs, he knows Newt doesn’t stand a chance in the general…unfortunately for them Willard is not going to win the general either (especially if TOD has anything to say/do about the matter )…it is what it is…we all know this is why they are trying to do whatever they can (voter id, etc) to change the foreseen outcome…bless their hearts!!!
Good morning, TOD! The saga continues…THIS…from the candidate who adamantly denies that he didn’t read, and was unaware of, the racist content in newsletters that were published his name. Yet, another video has appeared which shows that he was!~
It’s hard to write something negative with snow falling all around (ha!), but - like Andrew Sullivan - I’m going to re-think. But, for me, I’m rethinking what I think OF ANDREW SULLIVAN. His support of PBO in the past always thrilled me, since I think Sully is a great writer and thinker. But the fact Sully could still somewhat support Paul while halfheartedly giving him a pass on his racism, even though Sully claims to be a gay male who must have experienced discrimination himself, is ghastly.
He changed his mind: http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/12/re-thinking-the-paul-endorsement.html. Evidently the avalanche of negative feedback led him to rethink things, which is one of the things I like about him. But he’s still saying he doesn’t think RP is a racist, and how you can come to that conclusion I have no idea.
In the article that Betsey posted a link to, this element of Sullivan’s “rethinking” his endorsement of Ron Paul disturbs me even more.
“And so, until Paul fully explains this incident, in the kind of way Michael Tomasky recommends, I have to say there is an alternative, as I described at length in the endorsement: Jon Huntsman. He’s what my super-ego tells me is the right choice. My id remains with Ron.”
Melody Barnes trades White House for family life
By Sophia A. Nelson
2:30 PM on 12/23/2011
Among the achievements Barnes said she is proudest of:
• Education reform, including $100 billion in American Recovery Act dollars; the Race to the Top Challenge which, for just 1 percent of our nation’s spending on education, inspired 40 states to reform their education laws to create rigorous college and career ready standards; and the Investing in Innovation fund and School Improvement Grants, designed to turn around the nation’s lowest-performing schools.
……………………………………………………..
I asked Barnes how she felt the Obama administration had performed on domestic policy and jobs relative to the Black community — a subject of some controversy this year. Her answer was revealing.
“When we came in we had to assess just where things were,” Barnes said. “The black community had been hard hit by the recession since 2007, and it wasn’t until December 2008, sitting in the presidential transition headquarters in Chicago, that we realized the full scope of how bad the economic situation was for all Americans. But for the black community the impact was even moreso. We had to get here to do the work, in order to talk about the work; not the other way around, which is often the case in Washington.”
“Despite what many of our critics say about our lack of attentiveness to the black community, we have a large basket of policy achievements that have directly impacted in a positive way the community,” Barnes said.
So, what’s next for Barnes?
“Be clear,” Barnes said, “the first thing I told the president when I informed him that I was going to leave my post, is that he can count on me for the re-election campaign.”
And yet, you could see in her eyes the toll the heavy workload at the White House has taken on this still young woman’s life over the past few years.
“Look, these jobs are an honor,” said Barnes. “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to work for this president as I have. But it’s a 24/7 commitment. That’s our job, but it does take a toll on your family and personal life.”
Melody Barnes has served the President and this country brilliantly. I followed her worked while she was working in the WH, and she can be nothing but proud and honored to have served the President and the people. She is a person of quality first. The President requires that of all who work for and with him, and Ms. Barnes did it well.
I admire her for knowing when to take the time off to be with her family now. She is still a very close friend of the President, and we have not heard the last of Ms. Barnes, I am sure. Good friends do not leave you standing alone. She has been a great friend of the American people.
I love the thought that she brought out in the interview,”We had to get here to do the work in order to talk about the work; not the other way around, which is often the case in Washington.” This is one thing so many often forget: POB is a President who came in and had his team assess the many, many problems (left for him) and did and has been every minute since been constantly working on trying to solve as many of the crucial problems as he possiblly can. He and his team is to be commended for such brilliant work,,as our President.
I thank all of those like Ms. Melody Barnes who helped him accomplish so much in such a short time. That is why it is imperative that we all do what we can to help re-elect President Barack Obama. HZ
Good Morning Chips and TOD Family. Hoping that everyone is rested and enjoying the week from all celebrations this holiday. I hope that our President and First Family are enjoying their time together as well. So elated for all of them to be together in beautiful Hawaii. Have fun for all of us, Mr. President. Play the heck out of those golf balls. Laugh and enjoy your beautiful wife and lovely daughters. Yes, we know that you are still working on our behalf, but enjoy all of your time there. We love you, Mr. President.
Another good wish for our VP as well and Dr. Biden. May there time with family and friends be an enjoyable one as well. We love you, Mr. Vice President.
Chipticks, thanks for our beautiful site here. I hope that Fred is also doing fine as well. The very best to you and your Mom, Fred. Also a big prayer for Desertflower and family. DF, you are in my prayers and thoughts for the best for hubby.((((((((((((((((((( Love you)))))))))))))))))))HZ
AJ, don’t laugh, but I’ve been unsuccessfully trying to get a snowflake to turn in a circle ever since Chips started our snowfall! They just keep going left to right without paying any attention to my circular turning. But I’m not giving up!
The GOP is even undergoing a cultural revolution to match its ideological reboot. A party that has spent much of the past three decades pandering to the religious right remains adamantly opposed to reproductive rights for women and equal rights for gays. But now it routinely rationalizes and even embraces the same licentious sexual culture it once opposed with incessant anti-indecency crusades. Extramarital behavior that Republicans decried as an apocalyptic stain on the national moral fabric in the Clinton era is the new normal on the right. Just look at Iowa, long an epicenter of the family-values brigade, and the plight of Rick Santorum, a hard-line proselytizer for every religious-right cause and an ostentatious promoter of his own religious orthodoxy and procreative prowess. He has not had one even near-winning week in state polls in 2011 despite campaigning in all 99 counties among what would seem to be his natural constituency. The thrice-married philanderer Newt Gingrich, despite little presence in Iowa and an even smaller campaign outlay than Santorum’s there, effortlessly surged to the top, however transitorily, beating his nearest competitor (Paul) by nearly a two-to-one margin among white Evangelical Christians in an early December Times–CBS News poll of likely Republican caucusgoers.
Consumer Confidence Surges
The Consumer Confidence Index has surged to 64.5 in December, the highest level since April, indicating rising optimism about the economy, the AP reports.
Oh dear!!!!! Bad news for Mittens,Grinch,Paul,The Dog man, and whatever other crazies are left!
The economists surveyed Dec. 14-20 expect the country to create 177,000 jobs a month through Election Day 2012. That would be up from an average 132,000 jobs a month so far in 2011.
Happy Tuesday, Chips and TOD family. We have snow on the ground and more coming this week, but the temp is in the 30s so I am fine. Love the snow in Hawaii. Looks like the President is having fun. This whole week I am home. Time to really clean out stuff. I am of the age when I want to get rid of things and have less to deal with.
Thank you everyone for all the news you bring. Looking forward to next year with excitment and worry. I am looking for to the President being in campaign mode but not the ads all the pacs will be playing. Know we will get thru this together. Have a great day everyone.
Happy Tuesday to you as well MTmarilyn. Keep warm. It is a lovely bright day here. Enjoy you time at home. I am at that age where I also want to do the same.
Yes, we will be looking for strength from each other when we really get into the campaign mode. Our TOD Family strength will be needed most during this time. However, I do believe that we will make it with our concerted efforts. We have to. We need our President so much.
You enjoy your day, MTmarilyn. Love you back also.HZ
MTmarilyn - *I am of the age when I want to get rid of things and have less to deal with* - I am, too! It’s actually fun not carrying so many things from place to place, as I’ve been giving away lots during the last couple of years. Whenever I think I have too much in one spot now, I turn on the show “Hoarders” and start tossing! I’m not a hoarder, but maybe those people didn’t think they were at one point either!
Thanks, AJ. and Pamela. Something is playing in my backyard at my home and on my my computer. Have to call my assigned protected team out again during this crazy time. They watch over me very nicely, thanks to a beautiful silbling.HZ
We did. This was part of the agreement. Pres asks for it, Congress gets it’s vote to block it and Pres vetoes the block and it’s raised. Here is the key part from the link -
“Under the new budget, Congress can only vote to block the debt-ceiling extension with a disapproval resolution.”
Before Congress needed to vote to pass it and the GOP House could block it. However now it’s raised unless they pass a disapproval resolution - which they will, but Pres can veto it unless it gets 2/3rds in both House and Senate which it will not.
This was a bit of gotcha politics put in by the GOP to allow it’s members to vote against debt ceiling raise and force the President to look like he’s spending, and also force tough votes on the Dems in congress - especially the Senate Dems like Manchin, Tester, Nelson, McCaskill who are up for re-election in 2012. The GOP will attempt to recapture the debate and make it about debt and deficit with this, but with the discussion changed from debt/deficit to jobs and fairness in taxes this will not be the winner the GOP thought it would be when they made this part of the debt ceiling agreement. It could even bite them a bit if all GOP in the House vote in favor of disapproval resolution as they’re seen as voting not to pay America’s bills - they could further the idea that they are extremists and Pres Obama is the only adult in the room.
It will also be very interesting to see how the GOP Presidential candidates handle this issue - will they come out and say “look we need to raise it, it’s our debt we already spent and not new spending” or will they all try to out demagogue each other to the far right? What will Romney do when I suspect all the Not-Romneys say they wouldn’t raise it? I bet he waits to see what Gingrich says first, and I could see Gingrich laying a trap and saying “we need to raise it” if Romney does come out against it first.
Thanks saintroscoe. The GOP should have realized by now that they are not dealing with a President who is sleeping at the wheels. Hopefully they will get it when we vote their behinds out of office and President Barack Obama will still be in the Oval Office.HZ
Good Morning Desertflower. I wrote a comment last evening when I read your comment, but I did not get through.(My computer.)
However, you are in my prayers and thoughts for the Best to happen for you, May a Big Door open up for the JOB for your family. Keep your thoughts strong as you can, and know that we love you all and will lift you up with our thoughts,prayers and meditations of goodness(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( A Beautiful Job, we need Lord))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))).HZ
Thank you so much, HZ ! Hugs to you, love I read “medications” instead of “meditations” and coffee just about came out of my nose! This year will be good…keep us in your thoughts!
California city council candidate apologizes for threatening Obama
By theGrio
3:09 PM on 12/22/2011
The Carson City Councill candidate that threatened President Obama Monday has apologized after a visit from the Secret Service.
Jules Manson said federal agents paid him a visit at home to investigate a threat he posted to Facebook early this week. “Agents Corey, Andy, and Stephanie were very pleasant with me,” he wrote. “They must have had 30 questions. They listened to what I had to say.”
George Ogilvie, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service, said to the New York Daily News, “We’re aware of the situation and conducting appropriate follow-up.”
Manson posted, “Assassinate the f*****g n****r and his monkey children” to his public Facebook account Monday. He followed up that post with another stating, “I have something to admit to all you good people. I am very RACIST: an Insidious American Against Socialist Takeover. Now that I own up to my faults, please stop clutching at your pearls as you gasp for air while you get the vapors. Did your prissy virgin ears bleed at my original rant?”
Manson has since deleted and apologized for the first post saying that he is not a racist but used the “most hateful and vial words” to express his feelings over the president passing the National Defense Authorization Act
God it really is a petpeeve of mine when they write “President passed… bill” I want to scream. Congress passes bills, President signs bills. Congress also can pass veto-proof bills like they did with NDAA.
Exactly Jessica. It’s really a case of ignorance. This is U.S. Government 101. The other egregious factoid is that he’s a city council candidate and he doesn’t know that Congress is the legislative branch and passes bills not the President? The pride in being dumb that’s prevalent in the GOP and perpetuated by them really is a disease.
Thank God for our SS getting on this. We keep our POTUS and Family in our prayers and thoughts daily for total protection. POB will be sustained by His grace, we pray.
We shall keep happy, loving, and patient prayers for our SS people and their families who give us each one of these beautiful servants who are trained to be the best. We will not allow anything to steal our joy. We are strong within our family with our prayers, thoughts, and meditations of goodness going out toward our POTUS, FLOTUS, and VPOTUS and Dr. Jill and the families. We have goodness in our heart for the best.HZ
He is a racist. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You think PBO wants his apology? Hell no because he’s always said you could say what you want about him, but leave his wife and especially his girls alone. This racist piece of Shit needs to go to jail or pay a fine because there are too many crazy people in this world who will try to do what he said. Thank you Lord for the SS!
This man apologized? And that’s supposed to settle this incident? He threatened the President of the United States and in addition
incited others to violence not just against the President, but against two minor children as well. This person needs to be prosecuted, convicted and punished. There have to be consequences to this type of behavior or it will get worse. In a democraqcy, we settle our poltical differences at the ballot box. Violence or the threat of violence is not a political expression, it is a crime and should be treated as such. No exceptions!
President Obama may have been able to laugh off the mouthful of fingers given to him by an 8-month-baby while visiting U.S. troops in Hawaii, but the baby’s parents could not.
“I was mortified. I was so embarrassed,” Meredith Wagner, mother of the five-fingered culprit, Cooper Wagner, said today on “Good Morning America.”
Wagner, 27, and her husband, Capt. Greg Wagner, 25, were smiling for the cameras with their son and President Obama on Christmas Day at the Marine Corps Base at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, which the president visited while vacationing on the island with his family.
As the three adults struck a pose, Cooper reached up and stuck his tiny fingers in the president’s mouth.
Meredith Wagner saw it all happen and reached up to pull Cooper’s hand away from the mouth of the leader of the free world, while her husband smiled straight ahead at the roomful of photographers, ensuring the moment would be captured in perpetuity.
“I actually didn’t even see it until the president had already left,” Capt. Wagner told “GMA.”
“She had to tell me about it,” he said of his wife.
Meredith Wagner can be seen looking a bit red and embarrassed in the moment, while an amused Obama, a father of two daughters himself, laughs it off.
“He kind of laughed and said that Cooper looked up and saw his big nose and just wanted to get a hold of it,” Capt. Wagner said of the president’s reaction. “He played it off really well and got a good chuckle.”
Also not concerned, said the Wagners, were the roomful of Secret Service agents guarding the president and first lady Michelle Obama.
I agree, Tien! If a child puts their fingers all over your face you know they like you. If a child doesn’t like you, or is afraid of you, he/she will either cry, hold on to their mothers/fathers very tightly, or look at you with a fearful face. Cooper seemed comfortable with the President and wanted to play with his face. This is another example of how calming the President is in his interactions with children.
An 8 month old us thinking about what kind of teeth to grow ….. Cooper saw a beautiful set of teeth in an intensely handsome face, and he just wanted to explore his options! He is a baby, that is what babies do! Smart boy… Bright future!
Americans rank mixed race people ahead of blacks socially
By Jay Scott Smith
8:25 AM on 12/21/2011
It is one of the black community’s most pervasive issues, one that held on through slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights movement: dark skinned vs. light skinned. A recent study shows that people of mixed race are placed below whites socially, but ahead of blacks, adding more fuel to the fire.
A study by Pamela Bennett, an assistant professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University, found that multiracial people — such as black-white, Asian-white or Native American-white — fall between blacks and whites in the American social hierarchy.
Bennett also studied the connection between race, residence and socioeconomic status applies to people of multiple races rather than racial minorities.
“For patterns of segregation, taking socioeconomic status into account does not change that picture,” Bennett said. “So while some scholars and activists view official recognition of multiracial identities as a movement toward the deconstruction of race, I caution against such an optimistic narrative for now.”
Bennett also used residential segregation, studying Census numbers from 2000-2010, as an indicator of a social position. Bennett attempted to determine what the segregation of groups from both whites and minorities says about social position.
No, it is not new, but it needs to stop. How much longer do we need to keep going down this road with this? Are we not better in our souls than this, especially during this time in our lives. Surely, there are those of us who are moving on , will move on, and know that we have to move on for the sake of the bright, ever-present sensible good hearted young people who will have to live in this world long after we depart. It has to happen,and I will do everything in my power to encourage that it moves on to a more perfect and beautiful level.HZ
It is hard to move on…when the notions of racism continue to bombard us….just recently…a member of the state legislature made inflammatory remarks about the physique of the First Lady…and just in this thread…a candidate for City Council called the President the “N” word….
Not to mention…Ron Paul…..running for the highest office of the land….
and yes there are those who despite the ever present insistence of racism…..try to move forward….whenever i read or experience these things …i am ever reminded of something my nana would say when i was lil girl…..”never let racism be an excuse for failure”…
And as the President has said….
I do not have time to feel sorry for myself…i have to PRESSSSS ONNNN
stillllll…the impact of racism continues to wreak havic on the psyche of our nation and its people…
I hate that all of this remains an issue in 2011, but it always will due to the cavemen mentality of human beings (“somebody different who might hurt us is coming over the ridge”). At least I tell myself it’s somehow biological, because rational thought wouldn’t get anybody to this point in 2011, when we’re all supposed to be “smarter.” Unreal.
Seriously, this is nothing new! I also don’t agree that it’s such a “pervasive issue in the African American community.” Besides, this “colorism” is the direct result of the ideology of white superiority that go as far back as the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but was more perfected in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Both Judeo-Christianity and Science payed a major role in constructing the doctrine of race and the ideology of white superiority. If you advance a social theory that classifies humans on the basis of racial hierarchy, with whites at the top and blacks at the bottom, it does not take a genius to realize that people of mixed race will always be classified above Blacks. Although the United States never developed a legally recognized mixed race class, as for example happened in the French Caribbean colonies, or Apartheid South Africa; still, color continued to define social status, and especially when it came to dealing with question of what constitutes beauty. But, since the U.S never developed a specific legal class for people of mixed races, all African Americans, with any drop of African blood, were classified as one race. Consequently, they intermarried and produced a whole spectrum of colors, as is quite evident even within each family, who belonged in the same African American community.
This is why I don’t buy the notion that the issue of mixed race is currently a major issue in the Black community. I am afraid that exaggerating this issue is aimed at creating unnecessary divisions in the Black community. I also see it as an insidious effort to try to call into question the authenticity of President Obama’s blackness. Suffice it to say that looking at President Obama’s beautiful family only an idiot can question the authenticity President Obama’s blackness. Moreover, I think the majority of us in the Black community voted the President not just because he was Black but because he was a brilliant candidate who also happened to be Black. Naturally, the fact that he is the first Black president in over 200 years of American history gave us a sense of pride, just the Irish were proud to vote for the first brilliant Irish-American, John F. Kennedy. I seriously doubt that the Black community would have been enthusiastic voting for Black candidates like Alan Keys, Allen West and Herman Cain. I know I wouldn’t have voted for any of those people.
It’s also important to point out that some of the most fierce champions of race pride were not necessarily the most visibly “pure’ blacks. Likewise some of the most supposedly “pure” blacks are often preferred by conservatives who elevate them to high positions because of their willingness to betray the interests of the Black community as a whole. Moreover, some, like Justice Clarence Thomas, end up marrying white, while some of mixed race, like President Obama, end up marrying Black. I sincerely hope that the Black community will not fall for this nonsense aimed at divide and conquer. When Homer Plessy (of the infamous 1896 “Plessy v. Ferguson” Supreme Court decision that endorsed racial segregation) was denied a seat on the white only railroad car, the fact that he asserted that he was 7/8 white did not save him from being segregated. So longer as he had a trace of African blood he was classified as Negro/Colored.
Finally, although the concept of race is undoubtedly still a very powerful social construct, the truth of the matter is that science, which played an early role in the invention and promotion of the concept race, no longer subscribes to the notion of race as a biological construct. The fact that African and European; African and Asian; African and Native American; Asian and European; Asian and Native Americans; European and Native American; and any other human configuration you can come up with; can all produce off springs, without any genetic engineering, proves the absurdity of this concept of race as some fixed category. Science has clearly demonstrated that when it comes to biology it’s better to see all of us as part of one race-the human race. In fact, most Paleontologists now believe that we are all descendants of Africans. One of my heroes, Frederick Douglass (who I suppose would now be classified as bi-racial or multi-racial) used to question the intelligence of the advocates of racial classification based on racial hierarchy. Douglass always pointed out how advanced cattle were compared to human beings. He pointed out that, from his observation, the cattle who came in all colors and sizes, the long horns and the no horn, always peacefully grazed together and produced offsprings together without a fight. Yet, the so called intelligent humans incessantly obsessed about who was superior and inferior even as they were busy secretly commingling their so called different blood. How in the world do we end up with people we call mixed race if it weren’t for the fact the so called races are always mixing? How in the world, except for pure stupidity, do we end up classifying a child of black father and white mother, or black mother and Asian father, etc, etc to superior to a child of two blacks, mother and father, who may themselves have been offsprings of mixed races?
After the end of Apartheid in South Africa and the election of Nelson Mandela as the first Black President of South Africa; after the election of successive U.N Secretary Generals from Latin America, Arab-Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and now East Asia; and after the monumental and historical election of the first African American as President of the U.S., the most powerful country in the world; I was absolutely euphoric that finally, in the closing decades of the Twentieth century, and the early decades of the Twenty-First century, the world had finally began to solve what W.E.B. DuBois called the “Problem of the Color line.” Sadly what DuBois thought was the “Problem of the Twentieth Century,” appears to be once again raising its ugly head in the Twenty-First Century. It’s also a shame that some of the victims of the “color line” have become willing participants in perpetuating the problem people like W.E.B. Dubois worked so hard to eradicate. Some one please explain to me how the descendants of Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, James Weldon Johnson, Charles H. Houston, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers and, yes Elijah Mohammed and Malcolm X, and countless others, could now be so consumed with who is pure black, mixed race and multiracial. On this issue race and racism, I am with the great Frederick Douglass; some times humans are dumber than cattle and other beasts of the wild who rarely, unlike humans, dwell on fighting over their different colors and shapes!
Chipsticks and fellow Todders, I apologize for this long rant! Just some thoughts I had to get off my chest in order to embark on a positive struggle to re-elect this brilliant President, who, in my judgement, has worked so hard to transcend the pettiness of race/racism without surrendering his pride in his cultural identity and his unique historical experience.
Thank you HZ! I am grateful that my rant made sense to you. Your praise means so much to me. I truly value your wisdom, your compassion, your sense of humor, and, above all, your humanity that comes through in all your commentaries. I wish I had taken time to correct all the spelling, punctuation and structural errors. But, I just get so pissed with people who are so bent on blowing out of proportion the fact that there are some Black people, as well as people of other ethnicity, who have not completely shaken off the centuries of teaching which continuously promoted the ideology/doctrine of White Superiority. On the other hand, many of us in the Black community know fully well that race mixing has been going on for centuries. Not only in the United States, but throughout the world. We know that, and there is nothing we can do to change that reality. Unlike the White Supremacist segment of the white community, the African American community has never required 100% racial purity. Even the most Black nationalistic segment of the community could not pass the biological test of Black racial purity. So, despitethe obvious color differences that obvious, African Americans, of all hues, maintained a unified cultural unity and cultural sensibilities that merged the African and the American cultural practices.
This is why I question the agenda of all these studies that are, once again, aimed at dividing the African American community on the basis of some artificial non-cultural basis. Why is it that all of a sudden people are obsessed with this notion of mixed race? Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington were of mixed race, does that mean Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington were not regarded as Black? W.E.B. DuBois’ parents were both Black (the terms used during their time were Colored/Negro), yet, W.E.B. DuBois was lighter than Booker T. Washington who was, to use the terminology of the period, a pure mulatto. Both DuBois and Wahington regarded themselves as Black (Negro), and they never contemplated forming a new category of mixed race. I wish all these scholars would spend their time examining the debilitating impact of the ideology/doctrine of white supremacy on people all over the world, instead of trying to encourage and promote divisions in the African American community, which has historically suffered its share of mis-education. For all the people who want new classifications of: mixed race, bi-racial, and multi-racial, All I can say is: WELCOME TO THE REALITY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS! To begin with, many enslaved Africans ended up being ethnically mixed. That is to say that an enslaved African could end having the mixture of a Mandinka, the Igbo, the Yoruba, the Ashanti and the wolf! Which in, my judgement makes him a true African. But the same African American could end up having a mixture of Mandinka, Cherokee, Irish, Scotch, Ashanti, Yoruba, Spanish and French. But as along as he /she had visible trace of African blood he/she was still classified as Negro/Colored/Black and eventually African American.
In other words, my contention is that all these studies about bi-racial and multi-racial new groupings tell me absolutely nothing that I already didn’t know. To use VP Biden’s favorite term: “Folks” have been commingling, from time immemorial; notwithstanding the stupid Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson that railed against the commingling of the races. At the time when our focus should be on exposing the absurdity of the concept of race, which has no basis in science, I am just appalled that some people are interested in further creating more false racial categories. I don’t know for sure what is behind all this clamor for bi-racialism and multi-racialism. I believe that a great deal of this, especially for those who have any connection with African Americans, has to do with their poor knowledge of the history of the African Community. The other explanation, of course, is the continuing power of the doctrine/ideology of White Supremacy! This pre-occupation with creating so called new racial categories of bi-racial and multi-racial, really vindicates Kenneth Clarke’s White doll experiment. The pervasiveness of the ideology/doctrine of White Supremacy cannot be underestimated.
Tuesday, December 27, 2025
What Do They Call a President Who Happens to be Black? If You Are Fox News You Call Him a “Ghetto Crackhead”
Malcolm X famously asked, “what do you call an educated negro with a B.A. or an M.A., with a B.S., or a PhD?” The answer? “You call him a nigger, because that is what the white man calls him, a nigger.”
Decades later, his wisdom endures.
Malcolm’s observation captures the pain experienced by many African Americans, when during their coming of age moment (either before or after the talk about how not to get shot by the police during a routine traffic stop), they realize that being “young, gifted, and black” is not, all things being equal, sufficient for success in America. Malcolm’s words also capture the sentiments felt by any black person whose confidence has been described by their managers or peers as “threatening” or “arrogant.”
His wisdom also explains the moment when black professors walk into a room for the first time and their students look at each other in shock, wondering if this teacher is “qualified” to teach them; Malcolm’s wit also captures the frustration and insult felt by any black or brown person who has been presumptively assumed to be a janitor, maintenance worker, or mail clerk at their job, when in fact, their titles are actually “manager,” “director,” or “vice president.”
I find this so sad and angry at the same time but also it makes me look at myself. How do I treat my fellow human beings who happen to be black? Do I make those assumptions? Do I treat my African American students differently than my white students, and if so, how? It’s good to be reminded of this. We can also see it in how PBO is treated. He is seen as arrogant, when he is simply confident. This inspires so much hatred in people who see all blacks as janitors, criminals (Ron Paul anyone?), and can’t imagine that PBO is actually superior to them. I get scared of people like that and worry about what that hatred can inspire.
You are so right - everybody needs to self-examine and not pretend this doesn’t exist. I hate that it exists, but I try to do my tiny little part to help end it.
Hi Betsy and Jacquelineoboomer. You both are so correct in your thoughts on this matter. I think when the problem confronts you, it is best to take it head on, but in a manner that will not make you less of a decent person first. Some evils just parade around our life daily trying to uproot our ‘core of goodness.’ ” But be as ready as possible to fight with the good, decent, loving, but firm core of who and what we have tried to instill into each of you.” That was one important thing that my precious grandparents and mother taught me and my silblings. To this day, we both still carry those thought around deep within our being and we do not hesitate to act upon them..
I find when you look at success of education, especially, you take much pride in the fact that you have accomplished something that is worthwhile for your life and your soul. So be sweetly proud of that. You worked hard for that, and no one, but the Almighty can take it away from you. So keep that thought.
There is no need to be arrorgant. People will always(depending on their up-bringing) try to place (I do mean place) that label on you because it gives them a sense of the ugly person that they really are deep inside. Some people have made it a lifelong job to be ugly and just show off on people all the time. Rather than taking an examination of themselves first, they want to play doctor on your core. It does not work like that in a decent mind. And that is why we who do not practice that feel so sick to our stomach when we see it around us.
Secondly, look at people with much decent love, respect, proudness of what they have accomplished in an imperfect world. These are the worthwhile things that give good thinking peoples a reason to be proud and loving human beings. Because, really, when they accomplish, we accomplish in this world, and then we all can make it a better world to live in.
Next, try very, very, very, hard to erase as much of the crap that the world will try to lay at your feet daily. Erase it with good thoughts, good works, good books, good food that is shared with other ethnic groups in your homes, good music of all nations, good clothes from all around the world worn on your backs that have gently, beautifully made with the hands of someone in a far away country from yours, or one that you have travelled and now know a little more about.
And most of all get to know a few hundred people of all different cultures right where you live, if possible and mingle with them, talk with them, laugh with them, have them over for a meal, a cup of tea, cup of coffee and enjoy meeting them.
Speak love, kindness, enjoy great accomplishments like listening to a great composition at a great concert hall. Enjoy people like you would your favorite food, book, coffee, tea, and laughter, That is what a God is about. We can talk this ‘God stuff like we now see within the debates, but that is NOT the essence of God. God wants us to see, do, and be the best in and for people. HZ
HZ, Thanks you so much for your excellent comment! You totally captured everything I was taught. Now that I am older I feel I have the obligation to tell the Truth, the best way I can. By the way, rikyrah, I think that, despite their different approaches, both Dr. King and Malcolm X were dedicated to improving the lives of Black people as well as the lives of all of humanity. First, because Black people are human. Second, because they couldn’t take on the mantle of humanity without first solving the immediate human problem that personally confronted them. As Malcolm insisted, the racial oppression of African Americans was not simply a civil rights issue; It was ultimately a human rights issue. The same way Apartheid, Nazi genocide, etc, were human rights issues. They both tried heroically to educate the world that the oppression of African Americans was a human problem that demanded world wide human attention. One of my major disappointments with European thought is its insistence on framing everything that has to do with Europe as universal while relegating all other problems in which Europeans (read white Americans) are not the center of concern, as particular or unique issues that do not rise to universal concern. Thankfully, there are many Europeans (read whites) who have always been in the vanguard of universalizing problems that did not necessarily put Europeans (read whites) at the center. Many of these whites came to embrace Dr. King’s vision and its universal appeal. People in Eastern Europe had no problems singing “We Shall Over Come…!”
HZ it is so wonderful to see you up and sharing your wisdom with us. Love you. Speaking of Race, I have always worked in an internationally multiracial enviroment in the medical field. We party, laugh and work diligently for the good of all of our patients. I would feel as if something was terribly missing if we were limited to one race. All of us together make my world a better place.
Barb, I love your comments. Thanks for sharing. This is what I feel is a great attitude to take and actions to live by. Lots of love back to you, Barb.HZ
♪♪Good Morning to you.♪
♪Good Morning to you.♪
♪Good Morning , Dear TODville.♪
♪Good Morning to yooou. ♪♪♪
At a passing glance there are several of you already heavily involved in discussion, so I’m going back upstream to see what is the topic du jour. In the meantime, I hope you are having yourselves a Terrific Tuesday!
Thanks for this article, WIW. Tweeted it as well. Now that is a great gift. Also to see my favorite singer, Mr. Tony Bennett involved with this beautiful couple. Great people doing great things. That is what it is all about. Tapping into the resourceful people to help us with the many who need the help.
A (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( Thank You For Helping))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Season’s Greetings, WiW, and best wishes for 2012! I not only watched the 101 Homes’ video but also viewed a few of the others. Thank you again for your continued focus on that which uplifts the spirit.
It’s a hit now, but it will bite Dems in the but down the line when taxes on all need to be raised. But I guess the plan now is not to raise taxes on middle class, working class and poor so they can pull this gimmick. I guess when the Bush Tax Cuts are due to expire the Dems will still be pushing to extend the middle tax cuts longer if not permanently - so the GOP could try the approach of “what does $40,000 buy” for it’s millionaires and billionaires who will see their taxes go up 4% when the Bush tax cuts expire for them.
Also what happens in a years time when the payroll tax needs to expire? It can’t be permanent unless Social Security is paid for by other means permanently as well. So in a years time if Dems want to end the payroll tax, GOP could flip the script.
I’m pretty sure they are going to try to extend it into 2013. PBO will definitely used the 600 billion defense cuts as leverage. My guess is the defense budget will not be cut so drastically.
I believe the thinking was that the economy needed time to get stronger and for unemployment to drop. When there is more solid growth and lower unemployment, the tax cuts can expire without devastating effect to the current fragile situation. Among all other considerations, we need the economy to go forward, not backward, in this critical election year.
I agree, Jackie. It wasn’t a gimmick - it was a way to relate the issue to the American people and back again to Congress critters against keeping the tax cut. We needed this tax relief to continue until the economy gets stronger via less unemployment and other means.
Thank you for your responses Jessica, Jackie & Jacque[ ]. As someone who loves words, I sometimes get my back up at a word choice and then get sidetracked. This time the word ‘gimmick’ threw me, but you all stressing the point that this ‘solution’ is for the current economy and the current state of unemployment helped to stabilize me. Thanks.
*Gimmick* got me, too, because when I think of gimmicks, I think of the GOP (tricks to keep people away from their real agenda). This #40dollar idea may have been a catchy phrase, etc. (gimmick), per se, but it came from a good point and then pointed to a solution that benefited the American people. Hence, not a GOP-type gimmick!
Hope that was clear, since I could have written it better!
Oops, Jacque, I guess I wasn’t clear myself. it wasn’t your use of ‘gimmick’ that rubbed me the wrong way; it was the ‘so they can pull this gimmick’ used by StR. I was thanking you for stressing that the $40 strategy was not a gimmick with the negative connotation that goes along with that word. Sometimes communicating this way without the verification of facial expressions and gestures creates more misunderstanding than clarification. Ah well, ‘virtual’ life goes on!
They’ll vote it down(Ie vote for the dispproval reso), but Pres. Obama will veto the disapproval resolution and debt ceiling will be raised. Now it will be interesting to see if the GOP tries to play up this vote to try and make it ugly for the President or if they think that the political/economic discussion has changed to the point that they don’t want this to be seen as a big issue and they try to keep the vote off the front pages. This was supposed to be a gotcha politics when the debt ceiling deal was passed, to force the President to have to veto congress to raise the debt ceiling on his own - but with the House GOP stunt on the payroll tax/UEI extension they might be wary of playing the roll of extremist again and allowing Pres. Obama to be seen as the responsible actor who pays America’s already accrued debts.
GOP will also realize that Pres. Obama has the SOTU in the end of January where he gets to frame the debate to 25M viewers+ and it might not be a battle worth waging heading into full bore campaign season.
That’s of course, if they actually think with their heads, rather than go with their emotions of the moment. The Tea Party congressman doesn’t seem capable of strategic thinking, which is why I think PBO will be ten steps ahead of them on this.
Breaking News just reported from MSNBC on the celebrity endorsement front
Cindy Crawford, who supported President Obama for 2008, has flipped to Romney this time around. Let’s all let out a collective supermodel pout to show our profound sadness at this pivotal loss for PBO. [thus endeth the snark]
Why would a wealthy supermodel care whether Romney makes the Bush tax cuts permanent. That would only benefit her. She could care less about education because her kids go to private school. Romney is seen as the moderate even though he’s recently embraced ultra-conservative ideas.
HAHAHA! Recycling 8-month old news to give a struggling candidate a boost. And even if it were yesterday, who gives a shit about has-been Cindy Crawford? Desperate, aren’t we MSNBC?
It is evident that they put it in the wrong bin. It should have gone in the garabage bin , no recycling bin. That way it will not show up on us again. Who cares. Let her move on. See where Willard will take her with their millions.
Where one leaves many many more will enter to help us win this.
They are doing everything they can to make this a horse-race next year. And, recycling irrelevant celebrity news is the way to do it. Any celebrity (Crawford, Damon) who flips from PBO to Mitt Romney are full of B.S. because they are obviously not paying attention to all that’s been accomplished.
Cindy who? We will have some to leave the Obama nest, but I have a feeling most of them who supported him in 2008 will do so again. And to those who leave, so long we won’t shed one tear. So long Cindy Crawford, there’s the door, don’t let the door knob hit you were the good Lord split you. I have a feeling Crawford was never really a supported, maybe a Hillary supporter. The fact that Cindy Crawford can support something like Willard Mitt “the flip flopper liar” Romney says something about her, and it ain’t good.
So this big endorsement from Crawford was months ago. Did they carry the endorsement on tv, did they cut into the shows to make the announcement? Hopefruit2,I am right with you, who gives a shit about a has been supermodel? Why wouldn’t a 1% stick with a 1%? As for as MSNBC goes, they ain’t shit either.
Wow, who knew there’d be such interest over this little tidbit?
Full disclosure, use of the term “Breaking News” was my attempt at snark. There was a video short discussing Ms. Crawford’s choice at the end of the Jansing & Co just before the opening into Alex Wagner’s show on Tuesday. The story did not mention that this was a rehash of a story from 8 months ago. I had hoped to find a link to the video, but no luck so far.
Anyway it looked like an almost word for word lift from this NY Daily News article from Christmas eve:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/celebrities-cindy-crawford-gary-busey-chuck-norris-presidential-picks-article-1.996290
The MSNBC piece did list Obama supporters Alec Baldwin, Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Steven Spielberg and Michael Douglas; mentioned Gary Busey’s switch from Gingrich to pick from the last two candidates left; it also mentioned Kelsey Grammar backing Michele Bachmann and oddly omitted the pivotal Chuck Norris nod to Ron Paul.
I agree with the comments that MSNBC appears to be in the tank for Romney — rehashing 8 month old “news” without citing it as such is pretty skeevy.
Kat4Obama, that’s a very nice piece written by Steve Benen. And what’s more, IMO, if you add President Obama’s extraordinary compassion and diplomacy to the equation, he surpasses even those three predecessors who POTUS himself names -Johnson, FDR, and Lincoln-when it comes to being an effective world leader.
Thanks Kat! I especially think this is important to highlight..
“Steve M. noticed that most of the nonsense came from the right, but not all of it. Dylan Ratigan told viewers that Obama had claimed to be the “fourth best president ever,” even though Obama had said no such thing. Even some liberal netroots leaders, who criticize the president from the left, repeated the far-right attack.”
Just an another example of the mediawhore, ratigan’s, pretending to represent the “left” when he’s just another lying asshole like greenwald and hamsher. Profiteeriing off of suckers is quite lucrative.
Nebraska Democratic Senator Ben Nelson To Retire
Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) is set to announce on Tuesday that he will retire in 2012, a Democratic source has confirmed to TPM.
Nelson was already probably the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent going into 2012, and Republicans and GOP-aligned groups were already advertising against him.
Holding this seat could be difficult for Democrats, as the state voted 57%-42% for John McCain in 2008, and has not voted Democratic for president since the 1964 Lyndon Johnson landslide.
I have been expecting this. My hope is that we will indeed take back the seat in Massachusetts and that is looking good for us as of now. One other place that we may have a shot to pick up a seat is Nevada. Heller (Incumbent) and Berkley were tied in the last poll I saw. With a strong Hispanic turnout and President Obama at the top of the ticket (although Romney will do better than McCain since he will have the Mormon vote) I think we can win that seat in a close election. A longer shot but maybe doable is Arizona. With Kyl retiring and the Hispanic vote we have a small chance we could possibly pick up that seat. Although I admit this one is probably more of a wish than the reality.
DonnaD4Obana, you are on point IMO. We are reaching out in force to Nevada. There is a caucus in Jan. there. People are on the job working hard for Nevada.HZ
This is great to hear HZ. Meta has shared with us as well that California volunteers for the President will be working with Nevada quite a bit again this election cycle. Thank you for all that you do to inspire us to win that state again next year.
She would probably be my choice. I like the wildcard potential of running a woman in States that haven’t had women in leadership as I wonder if it could knock loose some votes from moderate republican woman voters who are free to vote as they desire in the privacy of the voting booth. Other names floated - Kerrey and even potentially Chuck Hagel under the Dem banner I don’t think would work. I guess Hagel would run as a foreign policy expert (which could be a big selling point with Lugar potentially losing, Graham likely toast in 2014 and McCain fading in relevance) and Reagan Democrat type who would claim the party left him.
This is bad news for the Dems as Nelson was the only Dem who had any chance at holding it. And the DSCC has wasted nearly $1M in ads fluffing up Nelson in Nebraska, so that’s money down the toilet. Of course on the other hand, a lot of folks thought that wasted money all alongas Nelson was going to lose anyways but DSCC would keep pumping in bad money to support him and with Nelson retiring the DSCC will write off Ne and stop spending there.
2012 is looking tougher to hold for the Senate as Nebraska is lost, Tester will be in very tough and it’s lean Repub as a result and with Conrad retiring Dakota looks lost as well, though Dems did get their top recruit there in Heidi Heitkamp, who was elected there statewide as it’s AG, but left elected office when I believe she got cancer.
Massachusetts and Nevada will need to be picked up by Dems to give them any buffer to lose in Mo, Va, Wi and Fla and still hold the Senate.
I agree. I like our odds in Missouri, Virginia, Wisconsin as well if you twisted my arm for a prediction. But we have no room for error with Dakota, Nebraska and Montana all looking very tough. Tester has a fighting chance as well, but I think it being a Presidential year will doom him as I can’t see enough Montanans splitting their ticket. Your Nelson should benefit from the Presidential, as he’ll get the same voters who always have voted for him and Pres Obama should find more young voters who will vote the party line.
We are on the brink of an election cycle unlike any we have ever seen before. PBO will be attacked with outrageous ads from both the Romney camp and out side agencies. We will have to put up our body armor to deflect the vicious distractions that the Repubs will constantly spin. Our wonderful blogger “What is Working” always reminds us that we cannot control what the media will do but we can control how we react to them. These are wise words. So with that said I would like to share some ideas I have been thinking of as “Election Year Resolutions” that we as a community might want to pursue.
1) We have talked about this but have never really formalized the ideas but it would be great to form a media team that pushes back on the negative spin (twitter, emails, phone calls) but it must be coordinated and in great numbers. We would have to have someone take the lead on this. I have been reading comments both here and on twitter over the last month to get a gauge on our viewers and there is a whole crew of supporters who watch every cable show that comes on throughout the day. I believe we can make that work to our benefit. Just as a FYI - President Obama has 11.6 Million twitter followers and 24 Million Facebook followers.
2) Each one teach one ongoing campaign. Every month until Election Day we each commit to engaging someone on the fence or on the other side politically to share successes of the Obama administration and share your story (good or bad) with the blog community as teachable moments for us all.
3) Step out side of your comfort zone. Try and do something for the campaign this election cycle that you have never done before. (Lurkers this is especially for you) One of the things that impressed me the most during my experience in my quest to win the fundraising challenge was the overwhelming number of “lurkers” who contacted me via email after I thanked them for their many donations. There is a huge ‘silent’ majority who support this President and follow this blog everyday. What you have to share is paramount to the success of this re-election campaign. Please don’t discount what contribution you can make to this blog. Share your stories and join us with our online efforts and conversations to ensure the Presidents re-election. We need ALL hands on deck this election cycle.
4) I believe that this blog community can raise a ton of money for this election. Your five dollar donations one donation at a time can help Chips and little ole me to raise tens of thousands of dollars by November 2012. It’s a tall order but as a wise articulate Senator once said: “nothing can stop the millions of voices calling for change”. Yes We Can
5) Believe it or not every one of us knows someone who is not registered to vote. It could be a recent high school graduate, a college student or an older relative or friend that just never registered. Help them register online to vote in their state. Its easy and so rewarding. Once you get them registered commit to be their “god-voter-parent” that ensures on Election Day that they actually get to the polls and vote for Obama/Biden.
6) Last but not least is to commit to volunteer in some way large or small (every effort is important) with OFA. I think that this is going to be the key to our success in 2012. It’s going unnoticed by the media (I’m actually quite pleased about that). The Republican Party has nothing to compare with our grassroots organization. They may have conservative talk radio and Fox news which is in effect their grassroots but a few million volunteers on the ground and online doing everything possible to get people to the polls for this President next year is our secret weapon.
Please think about participating in some of these Election Year Resolutions for 2012. We are a powerful force when we set our minds and actions to it.
Donna, this is a great idea and one we have to pursue. The biggest challenge is to focus on the issues that are most likely to be twisted by the media and misunderstood by people. We’ll have to make sure we get clear, concise talking points on the main issues so that we don’t end up unintentionally confusing people. I’ve had people tell me that in the heat of the moment, they forget the main points and then kick themselves that they didn’t make the most of their contact. So I think we need that central place that lays out each major issue in a way that’s understandable. And, in my dream world, all the talking points would also be translated into Spanish for those in states and cities with large Latino populations.
We have a big, big challenge when we register people to get the facts right about what will be required of them when they go to the polls to vote. That’s why I hope OFA or the DNC will lay out a chart of state by state requirements for voting. We’ll also have to develop a plan for helping people to get the ID’s they need. In our area, we have had good success getting permission to register going on 18- year-old voters during lunch hours in school cafeterias as long as we don’t push a specific party. We’ve also had good success at farmer’s markets, in front of movie theaters and in front of some malls.
I’ve talked to a number of fellow Democrats in my county and they are willing to throw in whatever extra dollars it takes to help individuals with low incomes to get their photo IDs.
Donna, I have been thinking about these issues too. Thanks you so much for sharing these resolutions.
I would love to help in any way I can.
All of your suggestions are spot on. I would especially encourage folks to join their local OFA. Whatever is stopping you from signing up, let us know and we can help you work through it. The folks in our OFA are soooo nice and are soooo in tune with my values. Of all the political groups I have worked with, this one is the most comfortable.
I would also encourage folks to share at the blog, when they carry out a resolution - post that you talked to neighbor, registered a voter, or sent a tweet. It encourages others to do the same, and gives everyone hope. One of the reasons I am posting stories about OFA volunteers is that it puts a face and a life experience onto the campaign. We can all relate to these OFA volunteers. We will all relate to your story when you switch from lurking to posting.
Finally one of the keys to success is strong messaging, I am collecting talking points for various issues, I have a list of elected officals and media contacts, and would be happy to make lists of whatever resources folks need.
One final suggestion, for some folks it can be easier to copy someone else’s message or slightly modify it, so we may want to have someone on the messaging team that formulates a few key phrases we can all use in making phone calls, sending faxes, or tweeting.
The payroll debate was a great example of Dems speaking with one voice, I am ready to do this every week until 2012.
Thank you, Donna, for the timely reminder. I so agree that our grassroots effort will be the key to the outcome next November. I have one very simple suggestion for everyone. Get a Twitter account if you don’t have one already. Believe me, if anyone as technologically challenged as I am can do this, so can you. Then go through all the pro Obama blogs as well as whitehouse.gov and the OFA blog and tweet every good article you find. In the beginning, if you are new to Twitter, you will have just a few followers. But you will be surprised how quickly others will start to follow you. I still don’t know all the things you can do with Twitter, but in less than 4 months I acquired 350+ followers, and between them, these followers have tens of thousands of followers of their own. I tweet and I get dozens of emails every day notifying me that someone re-tweeted one or more of my tweets. So therefore the good news spreads to thousands of people - and it takes me less than 15 minutes to do it every day. You can also use Twitter to send messages to Congress and the media. It is such a fabulous communication tool - it should be used by everyone.
Of course, this is just one example of what we all can do. Joining OFA is just as important. You will find many ways to support the President and will also have access to the most up-to-date information and talking points.
Donna, please count me in. I confess that I do not follow cable and rarely watch TV. I get all my news from the internet and usually rely on C-Span and printed media for the latest news. In addition, I listen to or read the WH press conferences.
DD4O, I’m so glad you are starting to pick up and pull the reins together for 2012!
Though I don’t have the skills/knowledge to lead it, I’m quite interested in participating on the media team. We could have a ‘day shift’ and a ‘night shift’ team for those whose jobs do not allow them to access twitter etc. As I’m on call and, I suspect/hope, will be mostly at work during the day I’m choosing the night shift. A part of me can’t wait for the 2012 battle to begin, because I can’t wait for the issue of #44 for 4 more to be settled.
WE CAN DO THIS! WE HAVE TO DO THIS!
Thanks DonnaD4O!
Santorum: Obama Is Against Individual Freedom and Free Markets
At a town hall in Mason City, Iowa, Rick Santorum told the audience that President Obama is against both free markets and the founders’ idea of individual liberty. He cited his recent speech in Kansas as evidence that he doesn’t trust individuals or markets to be free.
You’re opening line says it all about Ricky S. He will say and do anything and could care less how much he lies. He obviously is either hearing impaired or has reading problems to get this interpretation from the Kansas speech. I hope he flames out soon because even the sound of his name, let alone a photo of him gives me the creeps. Ricky has exposed the ugliness of his soul and needs to go home and spend some time with his sick daughter.
Oops - forgot the second “e” in Kerrey. He’s a disabled Vietnam vet, colorful character, speaks up about what he thinks, was for Hillary but probably reconciled with PBO, and a real smart guy. He does march to the beat of a different drummer at times. If he runs and wins, I’m hoping he’ll line up with other Democrats instead of going where Ben Nelson went - Ben was the next best thing to a Republican.
He ran for president wasy back in ’92, but, of course, lost the primary to Bill Clinton. I suppose the Wikipedia article has al lthat infor in there, anyway. Still, I’m sure he’d be better than Nelson-and he’d be better than any Republican.
Interesting. I barely remember his name (had to go look him up on Wikipedia), but I’d love to see us keep the D- label on that seat even if he’s not 100% down the line. I suspect that would be the best we could expect from Nebraska. If he’s got a chance of winning, I’d send him a couple of bucks.
President Barack Obama will announce Tuesday that he plans to nominate a Harvard University finance professor and a former private-equity executive to fill the two vacancies on the seven-member Federal Reserve Board, a White House official said.
The nominees are Jeremy Stein, 51 yeas old, an economist who did a five-month stint in the Treasury and White House in the early months of the Obama administration, and Jerome Powell, 58, who was undersecretary of the Treasury for domestic finance in the early 1990s during the George H.W. Bush administration.
This is great. I do alot on Twitter, and I try to donate when I can, and I am encouraging my students to tell their non-voter parents to be voters, but I teach in a primarily Republican district, my House member is Dana Rohrabacher who I have written to several times, and will continue to email, but as a teacher of middle school children who lives in that same district, I can not be perceived as being political or I could lose my job. I would LOVE to volunteer, but I can’t take that risk. We have a lot of tea party people, some of whom are parents of the students I teach.
I meant to say we have a lot of tea party people here, some of whom are the parents of students I teach, so it makes it more challenging. I don’t believe in being partisan with them, but I do share all good economic news from this site, all technology advancements put forth by the Obama administration, and I give the president the credit. I do talk a lot about who passes the laws, what the president can and cannot do, so I am trying to teach them to think for themselves. I do what I can.
Betsy, I understand the position that you are in now with your profession. The political scene has changed tremendously, since I was in the halls of the profession, but I will promise you one thing during this time. I will lift you up in prayer and meditations as we move into this surely challenging campaign season. Be you, and trust for your leading to go where it needs to go for your peace of mind.
Our profession,(mine for life) will give us opportunities outsides the halls of academia, so keep your eyes and ears open. Your heart seems to be in the right place on this issue. However, the political climate is vicious now, so follow you heart and mind as to where and what you should do. Ask for wisdom above all.
I will keep you in my prayers. Be of good courage and teach with all of your knowledge, love, and passion. We need great citizens open to the world that they will face for sure in this life. Thank you for your service to our society. HZ
Thanks HZ. I appreciate the prayers. Sometimes it’s hard to be cautious when everything is screaming in me to speak out, so I take a deep breath and speak out against the things that should concern us all: voting rights, women’s rights, racism, and a proper understanding of the constitution. I do need the prayer, constantly and daily. So thanks.
December 27, 2025 2:05 PM
Ben Nelson to retire
By Steve Benen
Democratic leaders from the White House and Capitol Hill pleaded with Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), asking him to run for re-election for one main reason: the party is desperate to keep its Senate majority and it has no one else to run in Nebraska.
As is often the case, Nelson is letting his party down.
Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska will announce today that he is retiring after two terms, a serious blow to Democratic efforts to hold onto their majority in the chamber next November.
Nelson is scheduled to hold a press conference back home in Nebraska as early as today to make his decision official, said several Democratic insiders close to the leadership.
The 70-year-old Nelson was considered one of the most endangered Democratic incumbents this cycle. GOP-affiliated outside groups have already dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into TV ads bashing Nelson, while the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spent over $1 million on their own ad blitz to bolster his image.
That last part is of particular interest. Remember, Nelson waited until after Democratic and allied groups had invested quite a bit of money to strengthen his standing in Nebraska, and then decided to retire.
OMG!!! Cindy Crawford has just endorsed Mitt Romney seven months ago. That’s it! We’re going to defcon 4, the election hangs in the balance. If we lose the Carrot Top endorsement it’s all over.
You guys ought to read some of the gossip blind items on Cindy. She ain’t exactly wholesome. She fits right in with the repugs. Especially Newt, hint hint.
Political AnimalBlog
December 27, 2025 1:25 PM
Tea Party governance gone horribly awry
By Steve Benen
Officials in Troy, Michigan, worked for years to build a local transportation center, and the Obama administration agreed to fully fund the project with federal stimulus money. In fact, the local community would have received an $8.5 million grant to cover all of the costs, with no strings attached.
But Troy’s elected leaders decided to turn down the money. Their Tea Party principles told them it was a bad idea.
The terminal, which would help Troy become a transportation node on an upgraded Detroit-to-Chicago Amtrak line, was hailed by supporters as a way to create jobs and to spur economic development. But federal money is federal money, so with the urging of the new mayor, who helped found the local Tea Party chapter, the City Council cast a 4-to-3 vote this week against granting a crucial contract, sending the project into limbo.
“There’s nothing free about government money,” Mayor Janice Daniels said in an interview. “It’s never free, and it’s crippling our way of life.” […]
The Troy transit center’s construction … required no local contribution, and its predicted annual maintenance cost of $31,000 was, in the context of the city’s $50 million budget, “de minimis,” said Mark Miller, the assistant city manager.
Troy’s ridiculous, right-wing mayor justifies the decision by saying it’s more important to pay down the federal debt than it is to create jobs in her community. This only helps underscore one of the problems with Tea Party governance: it’s often based on striking ignorance (the $8.5 million grant will now go to help create jobs in some other area, not go back to the Treasury to pay down the debt).
December 27, 2025 12:30 PM
Romney’s ‘carried interest’ problem
By Steve Benen
We talked last week about Mitt Romney’s decision to keep his tax returns hidden, despite the fact that every major-party nominee in the post-Watergate era has released their tax records. Romney’s position has already generated some pushback from Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, and if Romney wins the GOP nod, Democrats will likely keep this going.
It’s worth noting, however, that Romney isn’t just being secretive for the sake of secrecy — there’s a good reason he’s rejecting transparency. Alec MacGillis flagged this Boston Globe piece, which suggests Romney is, in fact, paying a lower tax rate than nearly everyone else, which probably has a lot to do with his campaign’s decision.
In case anyone needs a refresher, there’s a tax loophole on “carried interest” — sometimes called “the carry” — that taxes private equity and venture capital income at a lower, 15% rate, as compared to 35% on ordinary income. Hedge-fund managers and the Wall Street have fought tooth and nail to protect this loophole — even after the Obama White House tried to eliminate it — and so far, they’ve been successful.
Because Romney still collects seven-figure checks from his vulture-capitalist firm, he’s paying less in taxes than middle-class families nationwide. And with that in mind…
Romney also indicated that he would not shy away from a legal tax break that shelters partners at private equity firms, like Bain Capital, from high tax rates on the largest part of their take-home profits.
“I can tell you we follow the tax laws, and if there’s an opportunity to save taxes, we like anybody else in this country will follow that opportunity,” he said.
I think this is a trap. He’s been running for President basically his whole life, especially for the last 6 years, I can’t imagine he would play games with his taxes knowing that every Presidential candidate has released their filings for 40 years. I think he wants the Obama campaign or Dem third party outfit to make a huge deal out of it so he can release them and then say “See nothing there suckers”.
Yeah, the only way they are smart is that they don’t want the Heinz effect. He releases them and people see how realy RICH he is. He would be the face of the 1% running for President.
Seriously, they have spent the past year trying to take this away as a talking point and it’s only getting louder. There’s nothing wrong with being rich, but it’s doing it on the little guy’s back that has everyone so angry. I don’t think we can push this enough. Mittens is not playing “I Made you Look”. He doesn’t want anyone looking too closely and making the parallels they made against Kerry in 2004.
saintroscoe, The populist “1% vs 99%” meme was not the focus of the last few elections. And Romney was not the GOP nominee nor was he expected to be in past elections. However, things are different this time around. Very different.
27 Dec 2025 01:43 PM
The Backlash Against The Gingrich Backlash
Noam Scheiber explains why Newt isn’t finished yet:
Unfortunately for Mitt Romney and the anxious Republican establishment, [Gingrich] appears to have flamed out too soon-which is to say, soon enough to give him time to recover a bit. …. Newt has basically stabilized himself in New Hampshire and South Carolina. More impressively, given the barrage of incoming he took there, Newt appears to have bottomed out in Iowa early last week and is enjoying a slight uptick in the state. What accounts for Newt’s glimmer of life? My guess is that, while Republican voters don’t want him to be their nominee, they don’t want Romney to stroll to the nomination either.
The week-and-a-half or so Newt spent in freefall gave them a chance to imagine the primaries playing out as a Romney coronation, and they didn’t find the scenario especially heartening. So just like Newt needed to peak within a day or two of Iowa to have a shot of winning, Romney probably needed Newt to flame out within a few days of Iowa to have a shot of wrapping this race up very quickly. Otherwise there was going to be too much time for buyer’s remorse to set in toward Romney, as may be happening now.
December 27, 2025
‘Obama and the Communists’
Politico:
According to the latest Gallup tracking poll, more Americans approve of the job that President Obama is doing than disapprove for the first time since this summer….
It’s too soon to draw sweeping conclusions, but it seems that the standoff with House Republicans over the payroll tax cut did no damage at all to the president.
No doubt. And since we’re all going to draw sweeping conclusions anyway, after judiciously noting it’s too soon, here’s mine; which, while related to the above, hauls the militant act of sweeping conclusions to a whole new theatre of speculative operations. To wit …
Over at the NY Times’ “Campaign Stops,” Harvard’s Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson, authors of The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism, relate this desperate gem, gathered up from a Virginia Tea Partier: “We have to get Obama out; Obama and the Communists he’s surrounded himself with.”
on’t look now, but while we were all preoccupied with the payroll tax cut, presented by our ridiculous, dysfunctional Congress in the form of a flailing machete-and-chainsaw interpretive dance, the next bill has come due. Don’t worry, this one won’t hurt a bit:
President Obama will ask this week for a $1.2 trillion raise in the federal borrowing limit, according to a Treasury Department official. [...]
Lest the words “debt ceiling” spark panic over the possibility of another showdown with Congress that could bring the nation to the brink of default, fear not. The August debt deal provides for a $1.2 trillion increase that can be blocked only if Congress passes a “resolution of disapproval.”
This is part of the same debt ceiling deal that brought us the SuperCongress; Republicans agreed to raise the debt limit only in installments, thereby giving themselves a chance to preen for the cameras several times, instead of just once. So Obama will request the debt ceiling be raised again; the House of Representatives will have what is termed, in legislative circles, a gigantic whining hissy fit, Obama will then veto the Resolution of Gigantic Whining Hissy Fit (if it even makes it out of the Senate, which almost assuredly won’t even bother with it); the debt ceiling automatically gets raised, and life goes on.
In a bold stroke of parenting, however, Obama may have even deprived the House of their opportunity for televised hissy fit:
If Obama announces his position this week, Congress would have to vote on a disapproval resolution by Jan. 12 at the earliest.
But the House isn’t scheduled to return to the Capitol until Jan. 17, and the Senate doesn’t return until Jan. 23.
The odds that John Boehner will summon the House back from vacation early just so they can vote on whether to have a hissy fit are probably low: I suspect Boehner is not feeling terribly enamored with his House or their hissy fits right now, after getting so thoroughly burned in the payroll tax cut debacle. So in all likelihood they won’t even schedule their hissy fit until a few days after it’s already turned pointless.
( Sorry for the long post, but I think our Ninja President just punked the GOP AGAIN.)
I DON’T KNOW WHY ANYONE WORRIES ABOUT THESE FOOLISH GOP CANDIDATES..PBO CAN MAKE MINCEMEAT OUT OF ANY ONE OF THEM IN A DEBATE! IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO THE FINAL GOP NOMINATION GOES TO…NONE OF THEM WILL GET ANYWHERE. PBO IS WAY AHEAD OF THEM IN ALL CATEGORIES! THE GOP LEADS IN ONE CATEGORY…’STUPIDITY!’
White House.gov
Morning all. Have a great day!!!!
Greetings, everybody!
Seem like I’ve seen that golf swing before. Is that POTUS? I’m not a fan of golf at all, but I sure hope POTUS enjoy himself playing golf and spending some relaxing good time with his family and friends.
OMG! It is snowing in Hawaii. Hope you all had wonderful holidays.
I toldja. Climate change.
Also.Too.
Hahahaha
TEE-HEE…A LITTLE SNOW ON THE PALM TREES! SNOW IS SO PEACEFUL AND AN INTRICATE BLESSING CREATED BY GOD. JUST LIKE PEOPLE…EACH SNOWFLAKE IS DIFFERENT…NONE ARE THE SAME…ALL UNIQUE! MAYBE THE FIRST FAMILY CAN FIND A PLACE TO MAKE A SNOWMAN…SNOW-BO! LOL!
That’s hilarious. The President in shorts swinging on the golf course with snow falling all around him. Only in TODville is such a thing possible
Lol. That picture of POTUS swinging that big ole golf club on the golf course in Hawaii last year always makes me think of the TV cartoon character Doug Funny that my kids used to watch. (It’s the long khaki shorts and baseball cap).
Nevertheless, my President still looks good in any setting. Can’t wait to see more updated photos of the whole First Family in Hawaii this year.
The President needs to eat a few more burgers. Holy moly, those legs are puny!
Oh, but so deliciously’ puny ‘to be just enough to wrap around the beauty of our lovely First Lady where they belong. Naughty mat out, Chips. No, not HZ. Oh, no just speaking the truth. Love our POTUS and FLOTUS. HZ
Well, hello, HZ!! Great to see your spirits are high!!
Hi Meta. Good to see you. Hope all is well. Yes, the sun is beautiful this morning ,and I was up early, so things are really looking pretty good for these long legs. I just had to put in my two cents about our handsome and brilliant President. I love those shorts and those legs are not ‘puny’ to me, they are just well made for a beautiful man as our beloved President of the United States of America. And you go Mrs. First Lady, enjoy you man’s elegant presence with those legs. Amen.HZ
Lol HZ needs a naughty mat and you might as well bring the rest out. Why not end the year with a bang!
LadyTNT, reading HZ’s comment above makes me think Chipsticks must have put away the naughty mat for the holidays.
If that’s the case, maybe HZ needs to add the following comment for those who like to criticize the President’s skinny legs: Attached to those “deliciously puny” legs are some very big feet. 
Meta, LadyTNT, and NCW, me think that our wonderful Chips might be out because we all would be on the naughty mat by now. And I promised the other day that I would be so good. However, I do think that LadyTNT might have a point about ending the year with a ‘naughty mat whopper.’ What do you all think?HZ
Those puny little legs can wrap around me any time!
See J4O, I am calling Chips right now. I was trying to be good. See what you started. Love you back also.HZ
HZ is that you
. Oooowee, can’t believe what I just read from our HZ 
Love ya girl. Happy Holidays!!!
Yes, geegee. It is me acting up. But what’s a girl to do when we are having good respectul and delicious fun.
I am tired of looking at these stiff, dried up old cranky guys taking up space on this planet and trying to move into the Oval Office. NOT ON MY WATCH!!!
I need the long and , elegant legs with the presence that they bring of the man sitting in that Oval Office now and again in 2012. That is a fact. Lets get to work, legs and all. Love you all so much.HZ
NCW, co-sign about big HUGE feet being connected to those “deliciously puny” legs.
HZ, I love you lady and your respectful naughtiness seems to be more steamy and sexy than other blatant naughtiness. Why is that, Lol?!
Hi LadyTNT. Just read your comments and had to smile. Someone else made the comment about our wonderful President’s legs being ‘puny’ and then I made the comment about them being ‘deliciously puny.’
As we all know here in our TOD Family, I would be the first to make it known that I highly respect our First Lady and also highly respect our President. No doubts there at all. I believe we all highly respect President Obama in every way. He is our President and they are the First Couple who represent us to the highest degree. I would never Not give them respect. Plain and simple. However, I also know that we are a fun family who engage in some fun at times BUT with Great Respect. We would have it no other way, for sure.
To answer LadyTNT question(which was asked very sweetly), I just love to see love all around me. I love for couples to be in love. I love making people have beautiful relationships that show beautiful love. I am a total romantic person. When I was married, I made the marriage a beautiful romantic place for my husband and for me all the time. It was done with respect and a lot of fun. Sorry he could not honor it. When you have it, appreciate it and enjoy it ALL the time. Life is too short and unpredictable.
When our TOD family have respectful fun here and Chips has to bring out the ‘naughty mats’, it is a respectful delight. You all must know that this is the most romantic, affectionate, beautiful, handsome and just plain fineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee First Couple in our lifetime. Come on, be honest. When have we seen this much pure love, holding hands and having it real, kisses on the cheeks, top of the head of our beautiful First Lady by the President, hugs, great legs on both, and just a very attractive and very lovely and glamorous couple? This is it for us. So we enjoy it, BUT we do it with complete Respect.
‘Your respectful naughtiness seems to be more steamy and sexy than other blatant naughtiness.” Why is that?, stated LadyTNT. Well, one thing for sure is that we have a very respectful fine and beautiful President and First Lady. They make us young, loveable, laugh, and seeing and enjoying that love and romance is in the air and mainly in the WH is such a joy to behold. That is one heck of a thought, when it comes to the most powerful man of the free world. We have it going on, and I love it.
It makes me think of my young days, ofcourse, I am not the First Lady, but they remind me of what it is like to be in love with a person who lights your fire. You know what I mean. I love that about them. They just seem to have the chemistry that leads to such beautiful and respectful sparks in their lives. And we must admit it, we love to seem them together. They are a fine looking couple who do not pretend. They really do respect and love each other. We will not see this for a long time to come.
So let us enjoy with respect and pray and wish them many, many more days of this’ beautiful steamy and sexy respectful affection’. I love it.HZ Now may I be removed from the ‘Respectful Naughty Mat’ please, Chips. I love you all so very much.HZ
Oh my goodness, HZ! Naughty mat indeed!
Dudette, he said he has skinny legs. That’s alright though, We love his big caring heart. And I have a feeling Michelle loves those skinny legs .
LOL! I love his caring heart too anniebella. I hope the First Lady could cut him some slack and let him beef up just a tad, so he doesn’t look like he’s withering away. It’s a stressful job, of course. I remember reading or hearing somewhere that he sometimes forgets to eat. It definitely shows on those shins. I say this with love though. Trust me.
Good morning everyone; hope you had a great holiday.
Washington Post: Veterans Affairs claims progress in ending homelessness among vets
_____________________________________________________________________
By Steve Vogel, Published: December 26
Halfway into an ambitious five-year campaign to end homelessness among veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs says it has made enough progress that the goal is within reach, even as a new generation of veterans returns from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Making aggressive use of a voucher program, Veterans Affairs has housed more than 33,000 veterans in the past 21 / 2 years. It did so by changing its longtime policy of requiring homeless veterans to be successfully treated for substance abuse and mental ailments before being given apartments.
The shift in approach means that there is “a better opportunity to end veterans’ homelessness by 2015 than at any time in the past,” said Susan Angell, VA’s director of homeless initiatives.
Although many agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, have adopted a housing-first strategy, Veterans Affairs had resisted. “Folks were initially concerned about the safety aspects of it,” Angell said. “We wanted to make sure they were clean and sober.”
VA and HUD want enough funds to issue 60,000 vouchers at the rate of 10,000 a year through 2014.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/veterans-affairs-claims-progress-in-ending-homelessness-among-vets/2011/12/19/gIQAMwfTJP_story.html?wprss=
Thanks for posting this article here gobrooklyn. I see many where I live, and there is some progress being made by this POB’s Administration is ways that we have not seen for years. I called the VA and HUD offices earlier this year about a measure within the voucher plan that the Congress was giving the Administration a hard time on. Both departments did get some assistance that was much needed because of the calls and contacts that were made.
We just have to keep pushing on those issues that we all care about, and we know this should be at the top of our list. POB promised that he would make a great dent into this problem, and looks like he is on the way of doing it. Now, if we can stay on Congress, we will make it work for our veterans. They deserve our best. Let us keep praying, and working with POB. Thanks again.HZ
What wonderful news, brooklyn, thanks! POTUS and VPOTUS have been so supportive of veterans and soldiers and they deserve it. Great news.
A super duper batbus.
http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-a-stunning-superbus-that-beats-a-private-limo/20111227.htm
When is that good for? Driving around the leaders at the G20 Summit?
probably see it in a rap video first.
Oh. Good Morning TOD Fam. Hope everyone had a great holiday.
Good Morning gobrooklyn and the TOD Fam
I had a wonderful Christmas. Santa brought me a “Kindle Fire” because I LOVE to read and as soon as I figure it out (I’m told its like a tablet) I’ll be as techie as my kids
I’ll be getting via my pal in us of a in another 2 weeks. Another bookworm here who will palm off his kindle 3G to his mom, who is also a bookworm.
It’s easy peasy, Donna, for a smart cookie like you!
Good morning TODville!!!! I love the snow falling about the President in Hawaii. What a great picture to wake up to.
donna, I got my husband a kindle fire for Christmas. He is having hip replacement surgery in 2 week. He isn’t a gadget person but I knew when he was laid up he would want something. So far we have had fun with it. I highly recommend audible.com. I love listening to books as I work around the house and at night you can listen. I have a kindle on my Droid. They have a sleep button so the book will close in 1/2 hour or so. This is so you can fall asleep and not worry about missing chapters. I sure hope you enjoy yours.
Good Morning Donna D4O. Look like Santa was pretty nice to you. Enjoy your terrific gift. Reading is such a relaxing and enjoyable time in our lives. So enjoy it, Donna.HZ
Cool. I’m still not keen on these e-readers because I love the smell of books and having them in my hand,
Hi fellow readers,** though not keen on technology I might have to start considering an e-reader myself as I’ve run out of space to store my ‘good reads’. I’m the kind of idiot who later buys my own copy if somebody lends me a book I enjoyed, which is why my library card was only used once or twice before I parked it. Like you, Go-B, I love having a book in hand when I read, partly because I can underline or circle things the editor missed.
** fellow reader BEFORE I got addicted to TOD. Now I only read before I fall asleep, and by the time i drag myself from TODville my eyes are already closing so not much gets read anymore. Sigh! The ‘faults’ for Ms Chips is responsible!
Love to read also. I purchased three e-readers. My shelves are overflowing in my library, so I have onee-reader for topical readings. Some books I still like to have the copy in my hands to make notes as well. Book lovers will find a way to get in our groove, somehow.
Enjoy your e-readers!!!! HZ
I love to read too…growing up as an only child, books were my sister, brother, and best friends…I always have a book with me…I love turning the pages, so I haven’t joined the electronic age yet.
THE GOP WAR ON VOTING
Disenfranchising young voters
============================
When we talk about the Republicans’ war on voting, we tend to focus on the impact felt by the elderly, the poor, and racial and ethnic minorities. But the youth vote matters every bit as much, and GOP policies are deliberately intended to limit their participation, too.
There’s no mystery here, and Republicans aren’t even being subtle — they’re trying to rig an entire election cycle by putting the most severe hurdles between Americans and the voting process since Jim Crow. The GOP fears losing in a fair fight, so the party is trying to rig the game through voter suppression, plain and simple.
============================
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/disenfranchising_young_voters034339.php
TIS’ SNOWING HERE IN INDY TOO! YEEEEHAAAAAH…I WAS HOPING FOR SOME. HOPE PBO IS HAVING A SUPER TIME!!!! I MISS HIM BUT I KNOW HE HAS TO GET AWAY FROM THE ‘YOU FILL IN THE BLANKS’ CESSPOOL!
I’m heading out to get salt for my driveway so it doesn’t stick. Ugh. I hate it, Sue. Ha, but I live with it. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and are doing fantastic this morning. Am I the only one who can’t wait to see Willard “Gordon Gecko” Romney get his stiff butt whipped in Iowa? Can’t stand Ron Paul, but hope he upsets the Rs plan.
Morning PFO. Keep warm. I love your description of Willard. Just watching him walk makes my entire body go into a ‘pain zone.’HZ
I’m almost at the point of starting to pray for Romney to be taken down a notch. He’s so full of himself and entitled. He thinks somehow that he’s owed the Presidency. And the fact that he’s lying and lying - I’m torn. Half of me wants him to be denied the nomination - I can’t imagine that the GOP would let him out of the gate again. And the other half wants him to get the nomination and have to stand in front of President Obama with all his lies exposed. I’m not sure which I want more.
Looking good, Mr. President.
Good Morning, Chips and TOD
PBO IS GOING TO HAVE TO GET SOME ORANGE GOLF BALLS IF IT GETS DEEP OVER THERE! I LOVE SNOW AND RAIN…DOESN’T TAKE MUCH TO ENTERTAIN ME!
The Fallout from the Virginia Fiasco
by BooMan
Tue Dec 27th, 2011 at 09:12:48 AM EST
Hopefully, you’ve heard that only two candidates qualified to be on ballot in Virginia for the Republican primary: Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. It’s rather inopportune for this news to come out a mere week before the first contest, in Iowa. It makes Newt Gingrich and the other non-qualifiers look extremely unelectable at the exact time that they’re trying to make the opposite case. If I’m opposed to Romney, I have to take a harder look at Ron Paul. As far as I am concerned, there are three things to look for as potential outcomes of the Virginia fiasco.
First, it could take more air out Gingrich’s tires, but also any momentum Rick Perry or Rick Santorum might be building in the Hawkeye State. Ron Paul could be the beneficiary of that, and he might post a stronger victory in Iowa than people are anticipating. There’s another subset of voters who are opposed to Ron Paul on foreign policy issues who may just throw up their hands and settle for Romney. We might see a result where the third-place finisher polls quite far behind the second-place finisher. In other words, we could see a strong Paul victory, followed by a relatively weak second-place finish for Romney, with the rest of the pack in single-digits.
Second, Gingrich is still polling well ahead in both South Carolina and Florida. His job is to do well enough in Iowa and New Hampshire that his polling lead in the South doesn’t evaporate. Failing to get on the ballot in Virginia is a major blunder that makes Newt’s job much harder.
Third, now that the Virginia race has become a one-on-one contest between Romney and Paul, we get to find out which candidate has the true ceiling. Ironically, Ron Paul has a lot of support from rank-and-file members of the military. Members of the U.S. Army and Navy are his two biggest financial contributors. Yet, Virginia is awash with active and retired military officers, who will tend to be opposed to Ron Paul’s positions on military policy and spending. And then there is the Intelligence Community. The Virginia primary will be a true Clash of the Titans, and we’ll learn something most of us want to know. Also, remember, Virginia law prohibits write-in votes in the primaries. This will be a true race for 50+1%. The assumption has always been that neither Romney nor Paul could actually win such a contest, but one of them will.
If Ron Paul wins in Virginia, it’s hard to see why he couldn’t win the nomination. But the Republican Establishment will do anything to prevent that from happening.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2011/12/27/91248/380
I can’t stand to look at, or listen to Ron Paul. I can’t stand it for any of the candidates, but Ron Paul brings out a special kind of response. I just don’t know why so many young people and military find him attractive, when even the slightest analysis of his theories shows that he has no clue what he’s talking about, and the consequences of his proposed actions would be disastrous and impractical. And I’m not even talking about his racist, bigoted, vile views. Why are people so blinded?
Because we live in an instant gratification society. End wars and do all the dope you want. To some that sounds just fine. They then find reasons to defend all of his outrageous beliefs just so they can get their quick fixes both literally and figuratively.
Bingo. He’s pandering to the lowest common denominator by selling fantasy politics which appeal to people who just aren’t paying that much attention. But I think that it really speaks to the weakness of the GOP’s presidential bench, that someone who is this fringe is considered a bona fide and legitimate front-runner. Ron Paul had a very similar devoted following in 2008 as well, but unlike President Obama, his candidacy was never taken seriously beyond the Internet. He’s doing so well now because the competition is so incredibly thin.
I am so glad to here from you, GN! I’ve been missing your incisive commentaries. I hope you are well and you and your family had a wonderful Christmas.
So, it’s not just me, theo. I have never heard him speak and don’t want to but everything else from his face on the net to his ugly racism and ayn rand bullshit..he reminds me of a vicious little cockroach.
Sorry S&P….
Obama Wins Most Demand for Debt Since 1995
“While Standard & Poor’s stripped the U.S. of its AAA credit rating on Aug. 5, Treasuries due in 10 years or more returned 25.6 percent this year.
The spreading sovereign debt crisis in Europe and slower global growth are driving investors to the safety of U.S. assets, helping to contain borrowing costs and making it cheaper as a percentage of gross domestic product to finance deficits than when the nation last had budget surpluses.
“If the last two weeks are any indication of how next year will start, there’s near-insatiable demand,” Ira Jersey, an interest-rate strategist at Credit Suisse Group AG in New York, one of 21 primary dealers that are required to bid at the auctions, said in a Dec. 21 telephone interview. “We have a significantly shrinking supply of risk-free assets in the world and U.S. Treasuries are one of the few left.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-26/obama-wins-most-demand-for-debt-of-u-s-presidents-since-before-first-bush.html
As you pointed out several threads back, I concur w/both:
For their role in knowingly inflating the value of dubious mortgage backed securities and for their downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, I hoped the S&P 500 is sued into bankruptcy:
(Reuters) – A federal judge has said credit ratings are not always protected opinion under the First Amendment, a defeat for credit rating agencies in a lawsuit brought by investors who lost money on mortgage-backed securities….
These agencies had argued that the Constitution protected them from claims they issued inflated ratings on more than $5 billion of securities issued in 2006 and 2007, and backed by loans from former Thornburg Mortgage Inc and other lenders….
S&P has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission not to file threatened civil charges over its ratings for a 2007 offering, Delphinus CDO 2007-1.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/25/us-thornburg-firstamendment-decision-idUSTRE7AO1L220111125?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=56943
And, it’s reinforced by this:
VIDEO: The House of Cards… http://www.cnbc.com/id/28892719
YES.WE.CAN…DO.(Much)More, Together!
PRESS ON!
Goodness I hope these lawsuits go forward. The only way to make these corps. think twice is to hit them where it hurts. And, that’s always the pocket-book.
December 27, 2025 9:20 AM
Disenfranchising young voters
By Steve Benen
Ruy Teixeira makes a strong case today that the youth vote will be critical to President Obama’s re-election chances, and if young adults don’t show up, Republican odds improve significantly.
This point is not lost on GOP officials. Indeed, as a New York Times editorial makes clear today, the importance of the youth vote has led Republicans to consider this as part of their war on voting.
Next fall, thousands of students on college campuses will attempt to register to vote and be turned away. Sorry, they will hear, you have an out-of-state driver’s license. Sorry, your college ID is not valid here. Sorry, we found out that you paid out-of-state tuition, so even though you do have a state driver’s license, you still can’t vote.
Political leaders should be encouraging young adults to participate in civic life, but many Republican state lawmakers are doing everything they can instead to prevent students from voting in the 2012 presidential election. Some have openly acknowledged doing so because students tend to be liberal.
Seven states have already passed strict laws requiring a government-issued ID (like a driver’s license or a passport) to vote, which many students don’t have, and 27 others are considering such measures. Many of those laws have been interpreted as prohibiting out-of-state driver’s licenses from being used for voting.
It’s all part of a widespread Republican effort to restrict the voting rights of demographic groups that tend to vote Democratic.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/disenfranchising_young_voters034339.php
Thanks for posting this, rikyrah. Must read, and something we all have known for some time. Shameful that if they can’t win fairly, they will try and disenfranchise voters to win. Not enough that they have that awful Citizen’s United, now they want to rig this too. We have lots of work to do. Love our Constitution, except when they don’t. Which lately,seems more and more like they DON’T!
Obama’s Approval Rating Surges A Net 12 Points In Less Than Two Weeks
According to the new Gallup daily tracking poll, President Obama has seen approval rating surge. Since December 15, Obama has gained a net 12 points in the poll.
In the poll taken from December 21- December 23, respondents narrowly approve of Obama 47%-45%. This is big swing from the poll taken December 13- 15, which found Obama at net (-10) approval rating, (41%-51%). The President has gained 6 points in approval and lost 6 points in disapproval since the first day of the previous polling cycle 13 days ago. This marks the first time since June 17-19 that Obama has been in positive territory in the Gallup daily tracking poll.
Daily tracking polls are particularly tricky, and at best only provide a momentary snapshot of how a respondent feels about an election or a president on a given day, but Gallup also gives us the ability to compare presidents at the same point in their terms.
Obama often gets compared to Jimmy Carter, but an analysis of the Gallup data for both Carter and Obama shows that the two presidents don’t have much in common. During the October of their third year of their administrations, both Carter and Obama suffered through woeful months.
Jimmy Carter had a 29% approval rating in early October 1979, but during same time period in his administration Obama’s approval rating was 40%. Towards the middle of the month, Obama’s approval rating was 10 points better than Carter’s 41%-31%. At the end of October/early November, Obama was 9 points stronger than Carter, 41%-32%. Carter got a rally around the flag bounce at the beginning of the Iran Hostage Crisis in November 1979, but as the crisis lingered on it took Carter down with it.
http://www.politicususa.com/en/obama-gallup-surge
But, But, But this morning on GMA sai tha 70% of the people think that the country is going in the
wrong direction is he fucking kidding me? and he went unchallange by Elizabeth Vargas woow
who are those asshole are polling??????? they are sooooo full of shit they are pathetic, The game will
be play on the ground just like in 2008 Obama had anexcellent gronud game, We need to foucus here
on the ground rather than to pay attention to the talking heads on the fucking TV so let’s move.
If the media weren’t so lazy, they’d ask the next question after that one: Why do people think the country is going in the wrong direction? I’m sure they’d find that people would point to the GOP actions to deprive people of collective bargaining, right to vote, women’s health services, food programs for hungry children, mass layoffs of teachers, firefighters, police. They’d see that people don’t like the toxic environment in Washington that has been introduced and perpetuated by the GOP for these past three years. They’d see that people don’t want talk of endless wars, and they don’t want their money going into the pockets of the very wealthy, while their own incomes continue to flat line. And they’d see that the majority of people don’t blame President Obama for the state of affairs, since they’ve seen him working hard towards bi-partisanship and to make progress on the economy.
That’s mickey mouse bullshite.
Good Morning Everybody! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas weekend! It was great having the family altogether and getting a chance to relax. I’m looking forward to the coming new year and the re-election of our most awesome President!
Fired up and ready to go! Obama-Biden 2012
Morning, everyone!!
Here. The perfect case for WHY NOT TO LISTEN TO PUNDITS! They’re usually WRONG! Weigal, by his own admission
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/predictions_gone_wrong034338.php
Wouldn’t it be great if there were a requirement for every pundit to perform a public audit at the end of each year?
I’d love to see smug face blowhard Chris Matthews do that.
December 27, 2025 10:00 AM
Kristol still pining for more options
By Steve Benen
Just a few weeks ago, Bill Kristol argued that it’s still not too late for “a late entry” in the Republican presidential race, and that he sees “a window of opportunity in February.” The Weekly Standard editor is apparently hoping for a ticket with Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio, in that order.
Today, Kristol is at it again, writing a message to “the Republicans of the states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida,” letting them know that their primary and caucus votes will, among other things, affect “whether others will feel impelled to enter the race.”
Though the column isn’t entirely about this fanciful dream, Kristol’s piece went on to say:
[I]t is a moment, as you prepare to cast your vote, for others to reflect on whether they don’t owe it to their country to step forward. As this is no time for voters to choose fecklessly, it is no time for leaders to duck responsibility. Those who have stood aside — and who now may have concluded, as they may not have when they announced their original decision, that the current field is lacking — will surely hear the words of Thomas Paine echoing down the centuries: “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
Now is not a time for leaders to engage in clever calculations of the odds of success, or to succumb to concerns about how they will look if they enter the fray and fall short. Now is a time to come to the aid of our country.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/kristol_still_pining_for_more034340.php
Sounds like he’s crying for Chris Christie. As President Obama said, it really doesn’t matter who the GOP nominee is - they’re all playing off the same playbook. Americans will have to decide what the country stands for.
If Shariah Law Makes its Way to America it Will Be Wrapped In Conservative $$$
There has been a drum beat in America that encourages fear of Shariah Law invading our shores. As ludicrous as this message is, there is a loud and angry minority who drive this beat and disseminate propaganda to a population who ironically turn to FOX News for their “news”. Why is this ironic? It is because one of the investors in FOX’s parent company, News Corp is a Saudi Prince named AlWaleed who actually is a Wahabbist.
Most of what is being spread is hyperbolic uber-conservative hate wrapped in concern that ignites and fuels hatred and discrimination against an entire group of people who are Muslim. Not only is this un-American, it is dangerous. We have witnessed this escalate from the anti-Park 51 protests and demands that construction of mosques be banned altogether in the United States, to the threat of burning the Qur’an, to congressional committee hearings led by Representative Peter King NY (R) rising as the new “McCarthy” in his hunt for perceived enemies in the American Muslim community. Most recently we saw it rear its ugly head in the campaign to dissuade advertisers such as Lowe’s home improvement from airing their ads during a new reality television show titled, ” American Muslims”.
Yet, while all of these, and so many more insidious attacks against the entire Muslim community have been marching a boisterous segment of our population into the land fear and paranoia we miss what is happening in the background.
On December 19th it was announced that billionaire Saudi Prince Tal-al AlWaleed bought 300 million persuasive dollars into Twitter. As this article from Reuters points out:
http://www.politicususa.com/en/if-shariah-law-makes-its-way-to-america-it-will-be-wrapped-in-conservative
The way msnbc is building up Mitt Romney and tearing down everybody else, is scary!
Morning Joe and Mika both told Willard recently that they “love” his family. The MSM relate to Willard and believe he will provide the closest contest for President Obama which they desire. They seem to overlook the fact Willard will bore everyone to death.
Willard Romney is a vicious, admitted Liar, sociopath. No wonder the mourning mediawhore$ slither up to him.
Morning Joke hates Newt…and like most half-way repubs, he knows Newt doesn’t stand a chance in the general…unfortunately for them Willard is not going to win the general either (especially if TOD has anything to say/do about the matter
)…it is what it is…we all know this is why they are trying to do whatever they can (voter id, etc) to change the foreseen outcome…bless their hearts!!!
Good morning, TOD! The saga continues…THIS…from the candidate who adamantly denies that he didn’t read, and was unaware of, the racist content in newsletters that were published his name. Yet, another video has appeared which shows that he was!~
h/t Evan McMorris-Santoro
Good BJ read on the paul, the nuttiest of them all. All his ‘endorsers’ including sully seem to have second thoughts now.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/12/27/all-about-the-paul-newsletters/#comment-2953907
Ha ha ha amk! You had me spewing my tea this morning!
When you said “Sully” I thought of hero pilot, Chelsey Sullenberger, NOT Daily Beast writer, Andrew Sullivan!
I said: “What? Sully’s been stumping for Ron Paul,? Get-the-frak-outta-here!” LOL!
It’s hard to write something negative with snow falling all around (ha!), but - like Andrew Sullivan - I’m going to re-think. But, for me, I’m rethinking what I think OF ANDREW SULLIVAN. His support of PBO in the past always thrilled me, since I think Sully is a great writer and thinker. But the fact Sully could still somewhat support Paul while halfheartedly giving him a pass on his racism, even though Sully claims to be a gay male who must have experienced discrimination himself, is ghastly.
I don’t know how Sully reconciles Ron Paul’s views on gay people. I don’t know how Maddow reconciles those views, either. Ron Paul is simply vile.
He changed his mind: http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/12/re-thinking-the-paul-endorsement.html. Evidently the avalanche of negative feedback led him to rethink things, which is one of the things I like about him. But he’s still saying he doesn’t think RP is a racist, and how you can come to that conclusion I have no idea.
In the article that Betsey posted a link to, this element of Sullivan’s “rethinking” his endorsement of Ron Paul disturbs me even more.
“And so, until Paul fully explains this incident, in the kind of way Michael Tomasky recommends, I have to say there is an alternative, as I described at length in the endorsement: Jon Huntsman. He’s what my super-ego tells me is the right choice. My id remains with Ron.”
What the hell?!!
Consumer confidence rises 10 points in December.
Every business channel is still doom and gloom.
They can’t stand the fact that their “anti-business” BS isn’t working.
Melody Barnes trades White House for family life
By Sophia A. Nelson
2:30 PM on 12/23/2011
Among the achievements Barnes said she is proudest of:
• Education reform, including $100 billion in American Recovery Act dollars; the Race to the Top Challenge which, for just 1 percent of our nation’s spending on education, inspired 40 states to reform their education laws to create rigorous college and career ready standards; and the Investing in Innovation fund and School Improvement Grants, designed to turn around the nation’s lowest-performing schools.
……………………………………………………..
I asked Barnes how she felt the Obama administration had performed on domestic policy and jobs relative to the Black community — a subject of some controversy this year. Her answer was revealing.
“When we came in we had to assess just where things were,” Barnes said. “The black community had been hard hit by the recession since 2007, and it wasn’t until December 2008, sitting in the presidential transition headquarters in Chicago, that we realized the full scope of how bad the economic situation was for all Americans. But for the black community the impact was even moreso. We had to get here to do the work, in order to talk about the work; not the other way around, which is often the case in Washington.”
“Despite what many of our critics say about our lack of attentiveness to the black community, we have a large basket of policy achievements that have directly impacted in a positive way the community,” Barnes said.
So, what’s next for Barnes?
“Be clear,” Barnes said, “the first thing I told the president when I informed him that I was going to leave my post, is that he can count on me for the re-election campaign.”
And yet, you could see in her eyes the toll the heavy workload at the White House has taken on this still young woman’s life over the past few years.
“Look, these jobs are an honor,” said Barnes. “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to work for this president as I have. But it’s a 24/7 commitment. That’s our job, but it does take a toll on your family and personal life.”
http://www.thegrio.com/specials/life-and-style/melody-barnes-trades-white-house-for-family-life.php?page=2
Barnes is a charming and smart lady. I wish her the best.
x2
Melody Barnes has served the President and this country brilliantly. I followed her worked while she was working in the WH, and she can be nothing but proud and honored to have served the President and the people. She is a person of quality first. The President requires that of all who work for and with him, and Ms. Barnes did it well.
I admire her for knowing when to take the time off to be with her family now. She is still a very close friend of the President, and we have not heard the last of Ms. Barnes, I am sure. Good friends do not leave you standing alone. She has been a great friend of the American people.
I love the thought that she brought out in the interview,”We had to get here to do the work in order to talk about the work; not the other way around, which is often the case in Washington.” This is one thing so many often forget: POB is a President who came in and had his team assess the many, many problems (left for him) and did and has been every minute since been constantly working on trying to solve as many of the crucial problems as he possiblly can. He and his team is to be commended for such brilliant work,,as our President.
I thank all of those like Ms. Melody Barnes who helped him accomplish so much in such a short time. That is why it is imperative that we all do what we can to help re-elect President Barack Obama. HZ
Well said HZ. This, this, and this!!
Good Morning Chips and TOD Family. Hoping that everyone is rested and enjoying the week from all celebrations this holiday. I hope that our President and First Family are enjoying their time together as well. So elated for all of them to be together in beautiful Hawaii. Have fun for all of us, Mr. President. Play the heck out of those golf balls. Laugh and enjoy your beautiful wife and lovely daughters. Yes, we know that you are still working on our behalf, but enjoy all of your time there. We love you, Mr. President.
Another good wish for our VP as well and Dr. Biden. May there time with family and friends be an enjoyable one as well. We love you, Mr. Vice President.
Chipticks, thanks for our beautiful site here. I hope that Fred is also doing fine as well. The very best to you and your Mom, Fred. Also a big prayer for Desertflower and family. DF, you are in my prayers and thoughts for the best for hubby.((((((((((((((((((( Love you)))))))))))))))))))HZ
OMG, I just now figured out I can control the direction of the “snow” with my mouse….!!
I feel omnipotent and dumb at the same time
AJ, don’t laugh, but I’ve been unsuccessfully trying to get a snowflake to turn in a circle ever since Chips started our snowfall! They just keep going left to right without paying any attention to my circular turning.
But I’m not giving up! 
Long read….but you should
http://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/gop-2012-1/
The GOP is even undergoing a cultural revolution to match its ideological reboot. A party that has spent much of the past three decades pandering to the religious right remains adamantly opposed to reproductive rights for women and equal rights for gays. But now it routinely rationalizes and even embraces the same licentious sexual culture it once opposed with incessant anti-indecency crusades. Extramarital behavior that Republicans decried as an apocalyptic stain on the national moral fabric in the Clinton era is the new normal on the right. Just look at Iowa, long an epicenter of the family-values brigade, and the plight of Rick Santorum, a hard-line proselytizer for every religious-right cause and an ostentatious promoter of his own religious orthodoxy and procreative prowess. He has not had one even near-winning week in state polls in 2011 despite campaigning in all 99 counties among what would seem to be his natural constituency. The thrice-married philanderer Newt Gingrich, despite little presence in Iowa and an even smaller campaign outlay than Santorum’s there, effortlessly surged to the top, however transitorily, beating his nearest competitor (Paul) by nearly a two-to-one margin among white Evangelical Christians in an early December Times–CBS News poll of likely Republican caucusgoers.
people like rich, krugman enabled the 2010 rethugs ‘surge’ by their constant whining about this admin.
CONSTANT WHINING! I know……
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/updates/3183
Consumer Confidence Surges
The Consumer Confidence Index has surged to 64.5 in December, the highest level since April, indicating rising optimism about the economy, the AP reports.
Oh dear!!!!! Bad news for Mittens,Grinch,Paul,The Dog man, and whatever other crazies are left!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45791407/ns/business-eye_on_the_economy/#.TvnoVTXlPeg
The economists surveyed Dec. 14-20 expect the country to create 177,000 jobs a month through Election Day 2012. That would be up from an average 132,000 jobs a month so far in 2011.
Biggest threat…Europe.
Happy Tuesday, Chips and TOD family. We have snow on the ground and more coming this week, but the temp is in the 30s so I am fine. Love the snow in Hawaii. Looks like the President is having fun. This whole week I am home. Time to really clean out stuff. I am of the age when I want to get rid of things and have less to deal with.
Thank you everyone for all the news you bring. Looking forward to next year with excitment and worry. I am looking for to the President being in campaign mode but not the ads all the pacs will be playing. Know we will get thru this together. Have a great day everyone.
Happy Tuesday to you as well MTmarilyn. Keep warm. It is a lovely bright day here. Enjoy you time at home. I am at that age where I also want to do the same.
Yes, we will be looking for strength from each other when we really get into the campaign mode. Our TOD Family strength will be needed most during this time. However, I do believe that we will make it with our concerted efforts. We have to. We need our President so much.
You enjoy your day, MTmarilyn. Love you back also.HZ
And that makes three of us! It is a good age!
MTmarilyn - *I am of the age when I want to get rid of things and have less to deal with* - I am, too! It’s actually fun not carrying so many things from place to place, as I’ve been giving away lots during the last couple of years. Whenever I think I have too much in one spot now, I turn on the show “Hoarders” and start tossing! I’m not a hoarder, but maybe those people didn’t think they were at one point either!
Hee!
Chips, my comments are not showing. Am I in trouble. Love you HZ
Sorry Chips. I am getting too old. Somehow, my computer had erased something that would allow me to show up. Love you.HZ
I see you, HZ!
Visible to me!
Thanks, AJ. and Pamela. Something is playing in my backyard at my home and on my my computer. Have to call my assigned protected team out again during this crazy time. They watch over me very nicely, thanks to a beautiful silbling.HZ
can someone explain this to me? I thought we already SAW this dog and pony show play out this summer!
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/27/us-usa-treasury-debt-idUSTRE7BQ0KU20111227?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FPoliticsNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Politics+News%29
Treasury official says the President will ask for debt limit hike this week.
I’m confused too. I thought we took care of that and won’t have that battle again until 2013.
We did. This was part of the agreement. Pres asks for it, Congress gets it’s vote to block it and Pres vetoes the block and it’s raised. Here is the key part from the link -
“Under the new budget, Congress can only vote to block the debt-ceiling extension with a disapproval resolution.”
Before Congress needed to vote to pass it and the GOP House could block it. However now it’s raised unless they pass a disapproval resolution - which they will, but Pres can veto it unless it gets 2/3rds in both House and Senate which it will not.
This was a bit of gotcha politics put in by the GOP to allow it’s members to vote against debt ceiling raise and force the President to look like he’s spending, and also force tough votes on the Dems in congress - especially the Senate Dems like Manchin, Tester, Nelson, McCaskill who are up for re-election in 2012. The GOP will attempt to recapture the debate and make it about debt and deficit with this, but with the discussion changed from debt/deficit to jobs and fairness in taxes this will not be the winner the GOP thought it would be when they made this part of the debt ceiling agreement. It could even bite them a bit if all GOP in the House vote in favor of disapproval resolution as they’re seen as voting not to pay America’s bills - they could further the idea that they are extremists and Pres Obama is the only adult in the room.
It will also be very interesting to see how the GOP Presidential candidates handle this issue - will they come out and say “look we need to raise it, it’s our debt we already spent and not new spending” or will they all try to out demagogue each other to the far right? What will Romney do when I suspect all the Not-Romneys say they wouldn’t raise it? I bet he waits to see what Gingrich says first, and I could see Gingrich laying a trap and saying “we need to raise it” if Romney does come out against it first.
Oh. Political games? I get it. Thanks for the explanation,saintroscoe. This is why the citizens are sick of Washington.
Thanks saintroscoe. The GOP should have realized by now that they are not dealing with a President who is sleeping at the wheels. Hopefully they will get it when we vote their behinds out of office and President Barack Obama will still be in the Oval Office.HZ
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2011/12/27/video-cnn-starts-to-question-romneys-job-creating-skills-wealth-from-layoffs/
You mean, they’ve decided to do their jobs?
Good Morning Desertflower. I wrote a comment last evening when I read your comment, but I did not get through.(My computer.)
However, you are in my prayers and thoughts for the Best to happen for you, May a Big Door open up for the JOB for your family. Keep your thoughts strong as you can, and know that we love you all and will lift you up with our thoughts,prayers and meditations of goodness(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( A Beautiful Job, we need Lord))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))).HZ
Thank you so much, HZ ! Hugs to you, love
I read “medications” instead of “meditations” and coffee just about came out of my nose! This year will be good…keep us in your thoughts!
You know that I will. I have my little book for my TOD Family. Love you back also,HZ
California city council candidate apologizes for threatening Obama
By theGrio
3:09 PM on 12/22/2011
The Carson City Councill candidate that threatened President Obama Monday has apologized after a visit from the Secret Service.
Jules Manson said federal agents paid him a visit at home to investigate a threat he posted to Facebook early this week. “Agents Corey, Andy, and Stephanie were very pleasant with me,” he wrote. “They must have had 30 questions. They listened to what I had to say.”
George Ogilvie, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service, said to the New York Daily News, “We’re aware of the situation and conducting appropriate follow-up.”
Manson posted, “Assassinate the f*****g n****r and his monkey children” to his public Facebook account Monday. He followed up that post with another stating, “I have something to admit to all you good people. I am very RACIST: an Insidious American Against Socialist Takeover. Now that I own up to my faults, please stop clutching at your pearls as you gasp for air while you get the vapors. Did your prissy virgin ears bleed at my original rant?”
Manson has since deleted and apologized for the first post saying that he is not a racist but used the “most hateful and vial words” to express his feelings over the president passing the National Defense Authorization Act
http://www.thegrio.com/local/los-angeles/california-city-council-candidate-apologizes-for-threatening-obama.php
God it really is a petpeeve of mine when they write “President passed… bill” I want to scream. Congress passes bills, President signs bills. Congress also can pass veto-proof bills like they did with NDAA.
Exactly Jessica. It’s really a case of ignorance. This is U.S. Government 101. The other egregious factoid is that he’s a city council candidate and he doesn’t know that Congress is the legislative branch and passes bills not the President? The pride in being dumb that’s prevalent in the GOP and perpetuated by them really is a disease.
Thank God for our SS getting on this. We keep our POTUS and Family in our prayers and thoughts daily for total protection. POB will be sustained by His grace, we pray.
We shall keep happy, loving, and patient prayers for our SS people and their families who give us each one of these beautiful servants who are trained to be the best. We will not allow anything to steal our joy. We are strong within our family with our prayers, thoughts, and meditations of goodness going out toward our POTUS, FLOTUS, and VPOTUS and Dr. Jill and the families. We have goodness in our heart for the best.HZ
He is a racist. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You think PBO wants his apology? Hell no because he’s always said you could say what you want about him, but leave his wife and especially his girls alone. This racist piece of Shit needs to go to jail or pay a fine because there are too many crazy people in this world who will try to do what he said. Thank you Lord for the SS!
This man apologized? And that’s supposed to settle this incident? He threatened the President of the United States and in addition
incited others to violence not just against the President, but against two minor children as well. This person needs to be prosecuted, convicted and punished. There have to be consequences to this type of behavior or it will get worse. In a democraqcy, we settle our poltical differences at the ballot box. Violence or the threat of violence is not a political expression, it is a crime and should be treated as such. No exceptions!
Adorable
President Obama may have been able to laugh off the mouthful of fingers given to him by an 8-month-baby while visiting U.S. troops in Hawaii, but the baby’s parents could not.
“I was mortified. I was so embarrassed,” Meredith Wagner, mother of the five-fingered culprit, Cooper Wagner, said today on “Good Morning America.”
Wagner, 27, and her husband, Capt. Greg Wagner, 25, were smiling for the cameras with their son and President Obama on Christmas Day at the Marine Corps Base at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, which the president visited while vacationing on the island with his family.
As the three adults struck a pose, Cooper reached up and stuck his tiny fingers in the president’s mouth.
Meredith Wagner saw it all happen and reached up to pull Cooper’s hand away from the mouth of the leader of the free world, while her husband smiled straight ahead at the roomful of photographers, ensuring the moment would be captured in perpetuity.
“I actually didn’t even see it until the president had already left,” Capt. Wagner told “GMA.”
“She had to tell me about it,” he said of his wife.
Meredith Wagner can be seen looking a bit red and embarrassed in the moment, while an amused Obama, a father of two daughters himself, laughs it off.
“He kind of laughed and said that Cooper looked up and saw his big nose and just wanted to get a hold of it,” Capt. Wagner said of the president’s reaction. “He played it off really well and got a good chuckle.”
Also not concerned, said the Wagners, were the roomful of Secret Service agents guarding the president and first lady Michelle Obama.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/12/parents-mortified-after-baby-gives-president-obama-a-mouthful/
I thought it was charming. Kids trust the President.
I agree, Tien! If a child puts their fingers all over your face you know they like you. If a child doesn’t like you, or is afraid of you, he/she will either cry, hold on to their mothers/fathers very tightly, or look at you with a fearful face. Cooper seemed comfortable with the President and wanted to play with his face. This is another example of how calming the President is in his interactions with children.
That clip was hilarioius. I watched it over and over, so cute.
An 8 month old us thinking about what kind of teeth to grow ….. Cooper saw a beautiful set of teeth in an intensely handsome face, and he just wanted to explore his options! He is a baby, that is what babies do! Smart boy… Bright future!
*IS thinking
Americans rank mixed race people ahead of blacks socially
By Jay Scott Smith
8:25 AM on 12/21/2011
It is one of the black community’s most pervasive issues, one that held on through slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights movement: dark skinned vs. light skinned. A recent study shows that people of mixed race are placed below whites socially, but ahead of blacks, adding more fuel to the fire.
A study by Pamela Bennett, an assistant professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University, found that multiracial people — such as black-white, Asian-white or Native American-white — fall between blacks and whites in the American social hierarchy.
Bennett also studied the connection between race, residence and socioeconomic status applies to people of multiple races rather than racial minorities.
“For patterns of segregation, taking socioeconomic status into account does not change that picture,” Bennett said. “So while some scholars and activists view official recognition of multiracial identities as a movement toward the deconstruction of race, I caution against such an optimistic narrative for now.”
Bennett also used residential segregation, studying Census numbers from 2000-2010, as an indicator of a social position. Bennett attempted to determine what the segregation of groups from both whites and minorities says about social position.
http://www.thegrio.com/news/americans-rank-mixed-race-people-ahead-of-blacks-socially.php
Well this isn’t new. This has been going on since slavery days; house vs. field slaves.
No, it is not new, but it needs to stop. How much longer do we need to keep going down this road with this? Are we not better in our souls than this, especially during this time in our lives. Surely, there are those of us who are moving on , will move on, and know that we have to move on for the sake of the bright, ever-present sensible good hearted young people who will have to live in this world long after we depart. It has to happen,and I will do everything in my power to encourage that it moves on to a more perfect and beautiful level.HZ
It is hard to move on…when the notions of racism continue to bombard us….just recently…a member of the state legislature made inflammatory remarks about the physique of the First Lady…and just in this thread…a candidate for City Council called the President the “N” word….
Not to mention…Ron Paul…..running for the highest office of the land….
and yes there are those who despite the ever present insistence of racism…..try to move forward….whenever i read or experience these things …i am ever reminded of something my nana would say when i was lil girl…..”never let racism be an excuse for failure”…
And as the President has said….
I do not have time to feel sorry for myself…i have to PRESSSSS ONNNN
stillllll…the impact of racism continues to wreak havic on the psyche of our nation and its people…
I hate that all of this remains an issue in 2011, but it always will due to the cavemen mentality of human beings (“somebody different who might hurt us is coming over the ridge”). At least I tell myself it’s somehow biological, because rational thought wouldn’t get anybody to this point in 2011, when we’re all supposed to be “smarter.” Unreal.
Seriously, this is nothing new! I also don’t agree that it’s such a “pervasive issue in the African American community.” Besides, this “colorism” is the direct result of the ideology of white superiority that go as far back as the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but was more perfected in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Both Judeo-Christianity and Science payed a major role in constructing the doctrine of race and the ideology of white superiority. If you advance a social theory that classifies humans on the basis of racial hierarchy, with whites at the top and blacks at the bottom, it does not take a genius to realize that people of mixed race will always be classified above Blacks. Although the United States never developed a legally recognized mixed race class, as for example happened in the French Caribbean colonies, or Apartheid South Africa; still, color continued to define social status, and especially when it came to dealing with question of what constitutes beauty. But, since the U.S never developed a specific legal class for people of mixed races, all African Americans, with any drop of African blood, were classified as one race. Consequently, they intermarried and produced a whole spectrum of colors, as is quite evident even within each family, who belonged in the same African American community.
This is why I don’t buy the notion that the issue of mixed race is currently a major issue in the Black community. I am afraid that exaggerating this issue is aimed at creating unnecessary divisions in the Black community. I also see it as an insidious effort to try to call into question the authenticity of President Obama’s blackness. Suffice it to say that looking at President Obama’s beautiful family only an idiot can question the authenticity President Obama’s blackness. Moreover, I think the majority of us in the Black community voted the President not just because he was Black but because he was a brilliant candidate who also happened to be Black. Naturally, the fact that he is the first Black president in over 200 years of American history gave us a sense of pride, just the Irish were proud to vote for the first brilliant Irish-American, John F. Kennedy. I seriously doubt that the Black community would have been enthusiastic voting for Black candidates like Alan Keys, Allen West and Herman Cain. I know I wouldn’t have voted for any of those people.
It’s also important to point out that some of the most fierce champions of race pride were not necessarily the most visibly “pure’ blacks. Likewise some of the most supposedly “pure” blacks are often preferred by conservatives who elevate them to high positions because of their willingness to betray the interests of the Black community as a whole. Moreover, some, like Justice Clarence Thomas, end up marrying white, while some of mixed race, like President Obama, end up marrying Black. I sincerely hope that the Black community will not fall for this nonsense aimed at divide and conquer. When Homer Plessy (of the infamous 1896 “Plessy v. Ferguson” Supreme Court decision that endorsed racial segregation) was denied a seat on the white only railroad car, the fact that he asserted that he was 7/8 white did not save him from being segregated. So longer as he had a trace of African blood he was classified as Negro/Colored.
Finally, although the concept of race is undoubtedly still a very powerful social construct, the truth of the matter is that science, which played an early role in the invention and promotion of the concept race, no longer subscribes to the notion of race as a biological construct. The fact that African and European; African and Asian; African and Native American; Asian and European; Asian and Native Americans; European and Native American; and any other human configuration you can come up with; can all produce off springs, without any genetic engineering, proves the absurdity of this concept of race as some fixed category. Science has clearly demonstrated that when it comes to biology it’s better to see all of us as part of one race-the human race. In fact, most Paleontologists now believe that we are all descendants of Africans. One of my heroes, Frederick Douglass (who I suppose would now be classified as bi-racial or multi-racial) used to question the intelligence of the advocates of racial classification based on racial hierarchy. Douglass always pointed out how advanced cattle were compared to human beings. He pointed out that, from his observation, the cattle who came in all colors and sizes, the long horns and the no horn, always peacefully grazed together and produced offsprings together without a fight. Yet, the so called intelligent humans incessantly obsessed about who was superior and inferior even as they were busy secretly commingling their so called different blood. How in the world do we end up with people we call mixed race if it weren’t for the fact the so called races are always mixing? How in the world, except for pure stupidity, do we end up classifying a child of black father and white mother, or black mother and Asian father, etc, etc to superior to a child of two blacks, mother and father, who may themselves have been offsprings of mixed races?
After the end of Apartheid in South Africa and the election of Nelson Mandela as the first Black President of South Africa; after the election of successive U.N Secretary Generals from Latin America, Arab-Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and now East Asia; and after the monumental and historical election of the first African American as President of the U.S., the most powerful country in the world; I was absolutely euphoric that finally, in the closing decades of the Twentieth century, and the early decades of the Twenty-First century, the world had finally began to solve what W.E.B. DuBois called the “Problem of the Color line.” Sadly what DuBois thought was the “Problem of the Twentieth Century,” appears to be once again raising its ugly head in the Twenty-First Century. It’s also a shame that some of the victims of the “color line” have become willing participants in perpetuating the problem people like W.E.B. Dubois worked so hard to eradicate. Some one please explain to me how the descendants of Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, James Weldon Johnson, Charles H. Houston, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers and, yes Elijah Mohammed and Malcolm X, and countless others, could now be so consumed with who is pure black, mixed race and multiracial. On this issue race and racism, I am with the great Frederick Douglass; some times humans are dumber than cattle and other beasts of the wild who rarely, unlike humans, dwell on fighting over their different colors and shapes!
Chipsticks and fellow Todders, I apologize for this long rant! Just some thoughts I had to get off my chest in order to embark on a positive struggle to re-elect this brilliant President, who, in my judgement, has worked so hard to transcend the pettiness of race/racism without surrendering his pride in his cultural identity and his unique historical experience.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Nathkatun7!!!! So beautifully spoken. HZ
Thank you HZ! I am grateful that my rant made sense to you. Your praise means so much to me. I truly value your wisdom, your compassion, your sense of humor, and, above all, your humanity that comes through in all your commentaries. I wish I had taken time to correct all the spelling, punctuation and structural errors. But, I just get so pissed with people who are so bent on blowing out of proportion the fact that there are some Black people, as well as people of other ethnicity, who have not completely shaken off the centuries of teaching which continuously promoted the ideology/doctrine of White Superiority. On the other hand, many of us in the Black community know fully well that race mixing has been going on for centuries. Not only in the United States, but throughout the world. We know that, and there is nothing we can do to change that reality. Unlike the White Supremacist segment of the white community, the African American community has never required 100% racial purity. Even the most Black nationalistic segment of the community could not pass the biological test of Black racial purity. So, despitethe obvious color differences that obvious, African Americans, of all hues, maintained a unified cultural unity and cultural sensibilities that merged the African and the American cultural practices.
This is why I question the agenda of all these studies that are, once again, aimed at dividing the African American community on the basis of some artificial non-cultural basis. Why is it that all of a sudden people are obsessed with this notion of mixed race? Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington were of mixed race, does that mean Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington were not regarded as Black? W.E.B. DuBois’ parents were both Black (the terms used during their time were Colored/Negro), yet, W.E.B. DuBois was lighter than Booker T. Washington who was, to use the terminology of the period, a pure mulatto. Both DuBois and Wahington regarded themselves as Black (Negro), and they never contemplated forming a new category of mixed race. I wish all these scholars would spend their time examining the debilitating impact of the ideology/doctrine of white supremacy on people all over the world, instead of trying to encourage and promote divisions in the African American community, which has historically suffered its share of mis-education. For all the people who want new classifications of: mixed race, bi-racial, and multi-racial, All I can say is: WELCOME TO THE REALITY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS! To begin with, many enslaved Africans ended up being ethnically mixed. That is to say that an enslaved African could end having the mixture of a Mandinka, the Igbo, the Yoruba, the Ashanti and the wolf! Which in, my judgement makes him a true African. But the same African American could end up having a mixture of Mandinka, Cherokee, Irish, Scotch, Ashanti, Yoruba, Spanish and French. But as along as he /she had visible trace of African blood he/she was still classified as Negro/Colored/Black and eventually African American.
In other words, my contention is that all these studies about bi-racial and multi-racial new groupings tell me absolutely nothing that I already didn’t know. To use VP Biden’s favorite term: “Folks” have been commingling, from time immemorial; notwithstanding the stupid Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson that railed against the commingling of the races. At the time when our focus should be on exposing the absurdity of the concept of race, which has no basis in science, I am just appalled that some people are interested in further creating more false racial categories. I don’t know for sure what is behind all this clamor for bi-racialism and multi-racialism. I believe that a great deal of this, especially for those who have any connection with African Americans, has to do with their poor knowledge of the history of the African Community. The other explanation, of course, is the continuing power of the doctrine/ideology of White Supremacy! This pre-occupation with creating so called new racial categories of bi-racial and multi-racial, really vindicates Kenneth Clarke’s White doll experiment. The pervasiveness of the ideology/doctrine of White Supremacy cannot be underestimated.
Tuesday, December 27, 2025
What Do They Call a President Who Happens to be Black? If You Are Fox News You Call Him a “Ghetto Crackhead”
Malcolm X famously asked, “what do you call an educated negro with a B.A. or an M.A., with a B.S., or a PhD?” The answer? “You call him a nigger, because that is what the white man calls him, a nigger.”
Decades later, his wisdom endures.
Malcolm’s observation captures the pain experienced by many African Americans, when during their coming of age moment (either before or after the talk about how not to get shot by the police during a routine traffic stop), they realize that being “young, gifted, and black” is not, all things being equal, sufficient for success in America. Malcolm’s words also capture the sentiments felt by any black person whose confidence has been described by their managers or peers as “threatening” or “arrogant.”
His wisdom also explains the moment when black professors walk into a room for the first time and their students look at each other in shock, wondering if this teacher is “qualified” to teach them; Malcolm’s wit also captures the frustration and insult felt by any black or brown person who has been presumptively assumed to be a janitor, maintenance worker, or mail clerk at their job, when in fact, their titles are actually “manager,” “director,” or “vice president.”
http://wearerespectablenegroes.blogspot.com/2011/12/what-do-they-call-president-who-happens_27.html
I find this so sad and angry at the same time but also it makes me look at myself. How do I treat my fellow human beings who happen to be black? Do I make those assumptions? Do I treat my African American students differently than my white students, and if so, how? It’s good to be reminded of this. We can also see it in how PBO is treated. He is seen as arrogant, when he is simply confident. This inspires so much hatred in people who see all blacks as janitors, criminals (Ron Paul anyone?), and can’t imagine that PBO is actually superior to them. I get scared of people like that and worry about what that hatred can inspire.
You are so right - everybody needs to self-examine and not pretend this doesn’t exist. I hate that it exists, but I try to do my tiny little part to help end it.
Hi Betsy and Jacquelineoboomer. You both are so correct in your thoughts on this matter. I think when the problem confronts you, it is best to take it head on, but in a manner that will not make you less of a decent person first. Some evils just parade around our life daily trying to uproot our ‘core of goodness.’ ” But be as ready as possible to fight with the good, decent, loving, but firm core of who and what we have tried to instill into each of you.” That was one important thing that my precious grandparents and mother taught me and my silblings. To this day, we both still carry those thought around deep within our being and we do not hesitate to act upon them..
I find when you look at success of education, especially, you take much pride in the fact that you have accomplished something that is worthwhile for your life and your soul. So be sweetly proud of that. You worked hard for that, and no one, but the Almighty can take it away from you. So keep that thought.
There is no need to be arrorgant. People will always(depending on their up-bringing) try to place (I do mean place) that label on you because it gives them a sense of the ugly person that they really are deep inside. Some people have made it a lifelong job to be ugly and just show off on people all the time. Rather than taking an examination of themselves first, they want to play doctor on your core. It does not work like that in a decent mind. And that is why we who do not practice that feel so sick to our stomach when we see it around us.
Secondly, look at people with much decent love, respect, proudness of what they have accomplished in an imperfect world. These are the worthwhile things that give good thinking peoples a reason to be proud and loving human beings. Because, really, when they accomplish, we accomplish in this world, and then we all can make it a better world to live in.
Next, try very, very, very, hard to erase as much of the crap that the world will try to lay at your feet daily. Erase it with good thoughts, good works, good books, good food that is shared with other ethnic groups in your homes, good music of all nations, good clothes from all around the world worn on your backs that have gently, beautifully made with the hands of someone in a far away country from yours, or one that you have travelled and now know a little more about.
And most of all get to know a few hundred people of all different cultures right where you live, if possible and mingle with them, talk with them, laugh with them, have them over for a meal, a cup of tea, cup of coffee and enjoy meeting them.
Speak love, kindness, enjoy great accomplishments like listening to a great composition at a great concert hall. Enjoy people like you would your favorite food, book, coffee, tea, and laughter, That is what a God is about. We can talk this ‘God stuff like we now see within the debates, but that is NOT the essence of God. God wants us to see, do, and be the best in and for people. HZ
HZ, Thanks you so much for your excellent comment! You totally captured everything I was taught. Now that I am older I feel I have the obligation to tell the Truth, the best way I can. By the way, rikyrah, I think that, despite their different approaches, both Dr. King and Malcolm X were dedicated to improving the lives of Black people as well as the lives of all of humanity. First, because Black people are human. Second, because they couldn’t take on the mantle of humanity without first solving the immediate human problem that personally confronted them. As Malcolm insisted, the racial oppression of African Americans was not simply a civil rights issue; It was ultimately a human rights issue. The same way Apartheid, Nazi genocide, etc, were human rights issues. They both tried heroically to educate the world that the oppression of African Americans was a human problem that demanded world wide human attention. One of my major disappointments with European thought is its insistence on framing everything that has to do with Europe as universal while relegating all other problems in which Europeans (read white Americans) are not the center of concern, as particular or unique issues that do not rise to universal concern. Thankfully, there are many Europeans (read whites) who have always been in the vanguard of universalizing problems that did not necessarily put Europeans (read whites) at the center. Many of these whites came to embrace Dr. King’s vision and its universal appeal. People in Eastern Europe had no problems singing “We Shall Over Come…!”
Nathkatun7, you are again so on point. Thanks for sharing so much depth on this with all of us.HZ
IAM GOING TO ASK…..AND THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME …THE “N” WORD NOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT BE USED……
IT IS VERY VERY VERY OFFENSIVE…
HZ it is so wonderful to see you up and sharing your wisdom with us. Love you. Speaking of Race, I have always worked in an internationally multiracial enviroment in the medical field. We party, laugh and work diligently for the good of all of our patients. I would feel as if something was terribly missing if we were limited to one race. All of us together make my world a better place.
Barb, I love your comments. Thanks for sharing. This is what I feel is a great attitude to take and actions to live by. Lots of love back to you, Barb.HZ
What is the gist of this post?
Mae, I know that you didn’t mean this directed at my post. Take care.
♪♪Good Morning to you.♪
♪Good Morning to you.♪
♪Good Morning , Dear TODville.♪
♪Good Morning to yooou. ♪♪♪
At a passing glance there are several of you already heavily involved in discussion, so I’m going back upstream to see what is the topic du jour. In the meantime, I hope you are having yourselves a Terrific Tuesday!
Lovely Vcprezofan2!!!
Hi HZ, it’s good to hear you are experiencing a lovely day!
May this be a sign for all your tomorrows. 
VC
That is so sweet of you, vcprezofan2. Hope so. Love you back also.HZ
Good Morning TOD family
Even though Christmas has passed - I wanted to share this story of a remarkable holiday hero.
Macomb Santa Claus Brings Christmas to Detroit Projects for 20th Year
http://www.whatisworking.com/2011/12/macomb-santa-claus-brings-christmas-to.html
Nine States Recieve 500 Million in ““Race to the Top” funding for pre-Kindergarten education
Just love the early childhood education is being funded - it is so crucial.
http://www.whatisworking.com/2011/12/nine-states-recieve-500-million-in-race.html
Great story of a “big busniess” helping “average folks. So glad Katrina victums are still being given help.
Project builds 101 homes for Katrina-displaced
http://www.whatisworking.com/2011/12/project-builds-101-homes-for-katrina.html
Thanks for this article, WIW. Tweeted it as well. Now that is a great gift. Also to see my favorite singer, Mr. Tony Bennett involved with this beautiful couple. Great people doing great things. That is what it is all about. Tapping into the resourceful people to help us with the many who need the help.
A (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( Thank You For Helping))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Season’s Greetings, WiW, and best wishes for 2012! I not only watched the 101 Homes’ video but also viewed a few of the others. Thank you again for your continued focus on that which uplifts the spirit.
Hi WiW,
You may want to add this ongoin’ Brad Pitts’ project, ‘Make It Right 9′ - Helping to Rebuild New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward, to your blog:
http://www.makeitrightnola.org/
And, it has a Twitter acct… @makeitright_9.
YES.WE.CAN…DO.(Much)More, Together!
PRESS ON!
A short story from CBS about income inequality and how to solve the jobs issue.
A Harlem pastor’s plan to create jobs
http://www.whatisworking.com/2011/12/harlem-pastors-plan-to-create-jobs.html
Good day everyone! Its nice here in Florida.
White House’s #40dollars campaign is a hit
http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2011/12/22/whouse-social-media-guns/
It’s a hit now, but it will bite Dems in the but down the line when taxes on all need to be raised. But I guess the plan now is not to raise taxes on middle class, working class and poor so they can pull this gimmick. I guess when the Bush Tax Cuts are due to expire the Dems will still be pushing to extend the middle tax cuts longer if not permanently - so the GOP could try the approach of “what does $40,000 buy” for it’s millionaires and billionaires who will see their taxes go up 4% when the Bush tax cuts expire for them.
Also what happens in a years time when the payroll tax needs to expire? It can’t be permanent unless Social Security is paid for by other means permanently as well. So in a years time if Dems want to end the payroll tax, GOP could flip the script.
I’m pretty sure they are going to try to extend it into 2013. PBO will definitely used the 600 billion defense cuts as leverage. My guess is the defense budget will not be cut so drastically.
I believe the thinking was that the economy needed time to get stronger and for unemployment to drop. When there is more solid growth and lower unemployment, the tax cuts can expire without devastating effect to the current fragile situation. Among all other considerations, we need the economy to go forward, not backward, in this critical election year.
I agree, Jackie. It wasn’t a gimmick - it was a way to relate the issue to the American people and back again to Congress critters against keeping the tax cut. We needed this tax relief to continue until the economy gets stronger via less unemployment and other means.
Thank you for your responses Jessica, Jackie & Jacque[
]. As someone who loves words, I sometimes get my back up at a word choice and then get sidetracked. This time the word ‘gimmick’ threw me, but you all stressing the point that this ‘solution’ is for the current economy and the current state of unemployment helped to stabilize me. Thanks.
*Gimmick* got me, too, because when I think of gimmicks, I think of the GOP (tricks to keep people away from their real agenda). This #40dollar idea may have been a catchy phrase, etc. (gimmick), per se, but it came from a good point and then pointed to a solution that benefited the American people. Hence, not a GOP-type gimmick!
Hope that was clear, since I could have written it better!
Oops, Jacque, I guess I wasn’t clear myself.
it wasn’t your use of ‘gimmick’ that rubbed me the wrong way; it was the ‘so they can pull this gimmick’ used by StR. I was thanking you for stressing that the $40 strategy was not a gimmick with the negative connotation that goes along with that word. Sometimes communicating this way without the verification of facial expressions and gestures creates more misunderstanding than clarification. Ah well, ‘virtual’ life goes on! 
The Republucans would be foolish to vote this down-
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE7BQ0KU20111227?irpc=932
But, ya never know!
They’ll vote it down(Ie vote for the dispproval reso), but Pres. Obama will veto the disapproval resolution and debt ceiling will be raised. Now it will be interesting to see if the GOP tries to play up this vote to try and make it ugly for the President or if they think that the political/economic discussion has changed to the point that they don’t want this to be seen as a big issue and they try to keep the vote off the front pages. This was supposed to be a gotcha politics when the debt ceiling deal was passed, to force the President to have to veto congress to raise the debt ceiling on his own - but with the House GOP stunt on the payroll tax/UEI extension they might be wary of playing the roll of extremist again and allowing Pres. Obama to be seen as the responsible actor who pays America’s already accrued debts.
GOP will also realize that Pres. Obama has the SOTU in the end of January where he gets to frame the debate to 25M viewers+ and it might not be a battle worth waging heading into full bore campaign season.
That’s of course, if they actually think with their heads, rather than go with their emotions of the moment. The Tea Party congressman doesn’t seem capable of strategic thinking, which is why I think PBO will be ten steps ahead of them on this.
Good insight.
Meant to say Tea Party Congressmen “don’t” seem capable…
Breaking News just reported from MSNBC on the celebrity endorsement front
Cindy Crawford, who supported President Obama for 2008, has flipped to Romney this time around. Let’s all let out a collective supermodel pout to show our profound sadness at this pivotal loss for PBO. [thus endeth the snark]
Well I hope she gets everything she wants from Romney
Why would a wealthy supermodel care whether Romney makes the Bush tax cuts permanent. That would only benefit her. She could care less about education because her kids go to private school. Romney is seen as the moderate even though he’s recently embraced ultra-conservative ideas.
Thanks to people who know better, like rendell, who espouses that Romney is a moderate and he ran a business and…
Jeesh. It’s getting deep!
And she endorsed him months ago.
Recycled.
It is all to give Romney a boost.
Msnbc is quickly turning into the Romney channel.
Just an observation!
Jovie, I agree.
hahhahaaa…..
See the date in this article
http://www.politico.com/click/stories/1105/crawford_flipflops_for_romney.html
May 17, 2011! That was 8 months ago!
HAHAHA! Recycling 8-month old news to give a struggling candidate a boost. And even if it were yesterday, who gives a shit about has-been Cindy Crawford? Desperate, aren’t we MSNBC?
See! Msnbc is in the tank for Romney!
It is evident that they put it in the wrong bin. It should have gone in the garabage bin , no recycling bin. That way it will not show up on us again. Who cares. Let her move on. See where Willard will take her with their millions.
Where one leaves many many more will enter to help us win this.
PRESSING ON. Thanks hopefruit2.HZ
that should be ‘garbage’ HZ
They are doing everything they can to make this a horse-race next year. And, recycling irrelevant celebrity news is the way to do it. Any celebrity (Crawford, Damon) who flips from PBO to Mitt Romney are full of B.S. because they are obviously not paying attention to all that’s been accomplished.
Cindy who? We will have some to leave the Obama nest, but I have a feeling most of them who supported him in 2008 will do so again. And to those who leave, so long we won’t shed one tear. So long Cindy Crawford, there’s the door, don’t let the door knob hit you were the good Lord split you. I have a feeling Crawford was never really a supported, maybe a Hillary supporter. The fact that Cindy Crawford can support something like Willard Mitt “the flip flopper liar” Romney says something about her, and it ain’t good.
So this big endorsement from Crawford was months ago. Did they carry the endorsement on tv, did they cut into the shows to make the announcement? Hopefruit2,I am right with you, who gives a shit about a has been supermodel? Why wouldn’t a 1% stick with a 1%? As for as MSNBC goes, they ain’t shit either.
Luv you anniebella. HZ
Se will probably flip back to PBO next year.
I mean she.
There you go, Desraye. That is a good one. Thank you.HZ
Wow, who knew there’d be such interest over this little tidbit?
Full disclosure, use of the term “Breaking News” was my attempt at snark. There was a video short discussing Ms. Crawford’s choice at the end of the Jansing & Co just before the opening into Alex Wagner’s show on Tuesday. The story did not mention that this was a rehash of a story from 8 months ago. I had hoped to find a link to the video, but no luck so far.
Anyway it looked like an almost word for word lift from this NY Daily News article from Christmas eve:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/celebrities-cindy-crawford-gary-busey-chuck-norris-presidential-picks-article-1.996290
The MSNBC piece did list Obama supporters Alec Baldwin, Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Steven Spielberg and Michael Douglas; mentioned Gary Busey’s switch from Gingrich to pick from the last two candidates left; it also mentioned Kelsey Grammar backing Michele Bachmann and oddly omitted the pivotal Chuck Norris nod to Ron Paul.
I agree with the comments that MSNBC appears to be in the tank for Romney — rehashing 8 month old “news” without citing it as such is pretty skeevy.
Omg. Like glen greenwald is on Alex Now show.
Yuck!
Change to the History international channel.
I guess msnbc knows it’s a slow news day.
Well, their is always the CNN express, in Iowa.
Not!
What? No Lockups on today? What a waste. So glad that I can relax now and know that Cindy Crawford supports Mitt….WHO THE HELL CARES! This is news?
Unreal! They must have had a staff meeting- boost Romney and you all get bonuses. Check!
So, Jovie…this is the guy that your brother thinks should have a shot at being POTUS? Even REPUBLICANS think he’s batshit crazy!
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/what-ron-paul-believes.php?ref=fpa Do you forward this stuff to him, or is he simply a lost cause?
A lost cause!
Too bad. Sorry.
Wow it looks so pretty out there man I wish I was there, the island looks so warm and inviting. Over here the weather is very gloomy.
Hi all,
I am enjoying Deaniac83′s wonderful analysis of the President’s outmaneuvering of the House GOP over the payroll tax cut:
http://bit.ly/solPcs
And Steve Benen’s look at the President’s accomplishments:
http://bit.ly/s5rd80
{{{Kat}}} Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!!!
A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Donna — and here’s to an especially meaningful Thanksgiving in 2012!!!
Kat4Obama, that’s a very nice piece written by Steve Benen. And what’s more, IMO, if you add President Obama’s extraordinary compassion and diplomacy to the equation, he surpasses even those three predecessors who POTUS himself names -Johnson, FDR, and Lincoln-when it comes to being an effective world leader.
No argument here, newcenturywoman! PBO deals with a world that is much more complex than it was in the 19th and 20th centuries.
If you liked that, you’ll LOVE THIS
MUST READ!
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2011/09/so-that-ignorance-wont-be-reason-why.html#comment-302015019
Great one, desertflower!
It is!
Thanks desertflower~ I bring out that link a lot! That should be tweeted up matt damon’s lying ying yang.
Thanks Kat! I especially think this is important to highlight..
“Steve M. noticed that most of the nonsense came from the right, but not all of it. Dylan Ratigan told viewers that Obama had claimed to be the “fourth best president ever,” even though Obama had said no such thing. Even some liberal netroots leaders, who criticize the president from the left, repeated the far-right attack.”
Just an another example of the mediawhore, ratigan’s, pretending to represent the “left” when he’s just another lying asshole like greenwald and hamsher. Profiteeriing off of suckers is quite lucrative.
INDEED…
EMAILED THIS TO MY FRIENDS AND RELATIONS ESP TO THOSE WHO THINK THAT THE PRESIDNENT IS WEAK!..HA!
Should be sent everywhere!
OMG! Tears are streaming down my face from laughing so hard!!!!!!!!!!! You gotta see this
http://bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2011/12/and-i-went-poopoo-in-the-egg-salad.html In fact, I think I’ll watch it again! Yeah, it’s that funny!
ROFL!!!
OMG !… I think that is the best one so far…….LMAO
I’d never watched any of the other “Bad Lip Reading” before…this one just got me laughing! Have to watch until the end…that’s the funniest part!
It was my first as well. It was hilarious.
Don’t look now! http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/12/27/395451/us-receives-record-demand-for-its-bonds-under-obama-helping-the-deficit/
Put Nebreska Senate seat in the GOP column.
Nebraska Democratic Senator Ben Nelson To Retire
Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) is set to announce on Tuesday that he will retire in 2012, a Democratic source has confirmed to TPM.
Nelson was already probably the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent going into 2012, and Republicans and GOP-aligned groups were already advertising against him.
Holding this seat could be difficult for Democrats, as the state voted 57%-42% for John McCain in 2008, and has not voted Democratic for president since the 1964 Lyndon Johnson landslide.
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/nebraska-democratic-senator-ben-nelson-to-retire.php?ref=fpa
Well Ben Nelson really wasn’t a Democrat anyway. Wonder what McConnell offer him to retire?
Between you and me and the gatepost, Nelson didn’t help the Dems that much.
Darn it. At least it was a Dem seat on most issues. Even if we win CT and MA this makes holding the Senate that much more difficult.
I have been expecting this. My hope is that we will indeed take back the seat in Massachusetts and that is looking good for us as of now. One other place that we may have a shot to pick up a seat is Nevada. Heller (Incumbent) and Berkley were tied in the last poll I saw. With a strong Hispanic turnout and President Obama at the top of the ticket (although Romney will do better than McCain since he will have the Mormon vote) I think we can win that seat in a close election. A longer shot but maybe doable is Arizona. With Kyl retiring and the Hispanic vote we have a small chance we could possibly pick up that seat. Although I admit this one is probably more of a wish than the reality.
DonnaD4Obana, you are on point IMO. We are reaching out in force to Nevada. There is a caucus in Jan. there. People are on the job working hard for Nevada.HZ
This is great to hear HZ. Meta has shared with us as well that California volunteers for the President will be working with Nevada quite a bit again this election cycle. Thank you for all that you do to inspire us to win that state again next year.
Name floated for this seat.
http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/jane-kleeb-emerges-as-a-figure-perhaps-a-force/article_be015464-737b-5ee0-b4a2-d68e603d377d.html
She would probably be my choice. I like the wildcard potential of running a woman in States that haven’t had women in leadership as I wonder if it could knock loose some votes from moderate republican woman voters who are free to vote as they desire in the privacy of the voting booth. Other names floated - Kerrey and even potentially Chuck Hagel under the Dem banner I don’t think would work. I guess Hagel would run as a foreign policy expert (which could be a big selling point with Lugar potentially losing, Graham likely toast in 2014 and McCain fading in relevance) and Reagan Democrat type who would claim the party left him.
That is why Liz Warren fliP is so important!
This is bad news for the Dems as Nelson was the only Dem who had any chance at holding it. And the DSCC has wasted nearly $1M in ads fluffing up Nelson in Nebraska, so that’s money down the toilet. Of course on the other hand, a lot of folks thought that wasted money all alongas Nelson was going to lose anyways but DSCC would keep pumping in bad money to support him and with Nelson retiring the DSCC will write off Ne and stop spending there.
2012 is looking tougher to hold for the Senate as Nebraska is lost, Tester will be in very tough and it’s lean Repub as a result and with Conrad retiring Dakota looks lost as well, though Dems did get their top recruit there in Heidi Heitkamp, who was elected there statewide as it’s AG, but left elected office when I believe she got cancer.
Massachusetts and Nevada will need to be picked up by Dems to give them any buffer to lose in Mo, Va, Wi and Fla and still hold the Senate.
They aunt losing Florida. Bill Nelson us way ahead and I would not count out mcccaskil!
I agree. I like our odds in Missouri, Virginia, Wisconsin as well if you twisted my arm for a prediction. But we have no room for error with Dakota, Nebraska and Montana all looking very tough. Tester has a fighting chance as well, but I think it being a Presidential year will doom him as I can’t see enough Montanans splitting their ticket. Your Nelson should benefit from the Presidential, as he’ll get the same voters who always have voted for him and Pres Obama should find more young voters who will vote the party line.
Just a few words as the New Year approaches…
We are on the brink of an election cycle unlike any we have ever seen before. PBO will be attacked with outrageous ads from both the Romney camp and out side agencies. We will have to put up our body armor to deflect the vicious distractions that the Repubs will constantly spin. Our wonderful blogger “What is Working” always reminds us that we cannot control what the media will do but we can control how we react to them. These are wise words. So with that said I would like to share some ideas I have been thinking of as “Election Year Resolutions” that we as a community might want to pursue.
1) We have talked about this but have never really formalized the ideas but it would be great to form a media team that pushes back on the negative spin (twitter, emails, phone calls) but it must be coordinated and in great numbers. We would have to have someone take the lead on this. I have been reading comments both here and on twitter over the last month to get a gauge on our viewers and there is a whole crew of supporters who watch every cable show that comes on throughout the day. I believe we can make that work to our benefit. Just as a FYI - President Obama has 11.6 Million twitter followers and 24 Million Facebook followers.
2) Each one teach one ongoing campaign. Every month until Election Day we each commit to engaging someone on the fence or on the other side politically to share successes of the Obama administration and share your story (good or bad) with the blog community as teachable moments for us all.
3) Step out side of your comfort zone. Try and do something for the campaign this election cycle that you have never done before. (Lurkers this is especially for you) One of the things that impressed me the most during my experience in my quest to win the fundraising challenge was the overwhelming number of “lurkers” who contacted me via email after I thanked them for their many donations. There is a huge ‘silent’ majority who support this President and follow this blog everyday. What you have to share is paramount to the success of this re-election campaign. Please don’t discount what contribution you can make to this blog. Share your stories and join us with our online efforts and conversations to ensure the Presidents re-election. We need ALL hands on deck this election cycle.
4) I believe that this blog community can raise a ton of money for this election. Your five dollar donations one donation at a time can help Chips and little ole me to raise tens of thousands of dollars by November 2012. It’s a tall order but as a wise articulate Senator once said: “nothing can stop the millions of voices calling for change”. Yes We Can
5) Believe it or not every one of us knows someone who is not registered to vote. It could be a recent high school graduate, a college student or an older relative or friend that just never registered. Help them register online to vote in their state. Its easy and so rewarding. Once you get them registered commit to be their “god-voter-parent” that ensures on Election Day that they actually get to the polls and vote for Obama/Biden.
6) Last but not least is to commit to volunteer in some way large or small (every effort is important) with OFA. I think that this is going to be the key to our success in 2012. It’s going unnoticed by the media (I’m actually quite pleased about that). The Republican Party has nothing to compare with our grassroots organization. They may have conservative talk radio and Fox news which is in effect their grassroots but a few million volunteers on the ground and online doing everything possible to get people to the polls for this President next year is our secret weapon.
Please think about participating in some of these Election Year Resolutions for 2012. We are a powerful force when we set our minds and actions to it.
THIS! Thank you, donna.
Thank you donna. Well spoken and taken in by this one.HZ
My comments below were in answer to Donna Dem 4 Obama’s comments
Love it. You can count me in and keep me posted on when we’re to get started.
tHISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Yep x6. Count me in.
Donna, this is a great idea and one we have to pursue. The biggest challenge is to focus on the issues that are most likely to be twisted by the media and misunderstood by people. We’ll have to make sure we get clear, concise talking points on the main issues so that we don’t end up unintentionally confusing people. I’ve had people tell me that in the heat of the moment, they forget the main points and then kick themselves that they didn’t make the most of their contact. So I think we need that central place that lays out each major issue in a way that’s understandable. And, in my dream world, all the talking points would also be translated into Spanish for those in states and cities with large Latino populations.
We have a big, big challenge when we register people to get the facts right about what will be required of them when they go to the polls to vote. That’s why I hope OFA or the DNC will lay out a chart of state by state requirements for voting. We’ll also have to develop a plan for helping people to get the ID’s they need. In our area, we have had good success getting permission to register going on 18- year-old voters during lunch hours in school cafeterias as long as we don’t push a specific party. We’ve also had good success at farmer’s markets, in front of movie theaters and in front of some malls.
I’ve talked to a number of fellow Democrats in my county and they are willing to throw in whatever extra dollars it takes to help individuals with low incomes to get their photo IDs.
Donna, I have been thinking about these issues too. Thanks you so much for sharing these resolutions.
I would love to help in any way I can.
All of your suggestions are spot on. I would especially encourage folks to join their local OFA. Whatever is stopping you from signing up, let us know and we can help you work through it. The folks in our OFA are soooo nice and are soooo in tune with my values. Of all the political groups I have worked with, this one is the most comfortable.
I would also encourage folks to share at the blog, when they carry out a resolution - post that you talked to neighbor, registered a voter, or sent a tweet. It encourages others to do the same, and gives everyone hope. One of the reasons I am posting stories about OFA volunteers is that it puts a face and a life experience onto the campaign. We can all relate to these OFA volunteers. We will all relate to your story when you switch from lurking to posting.
Finally one of the keys to success is strong messaging, I am collecting talking points for various issues, I have a list of elected officals and media contacts, and would be happy to make lists of whatever resources folks need.
One final suggestion, for some folks it can be easier to copy someone else’s message or slightly modify it, so we may want to have someone on the messaging team that formulates a few key phrases we can all use in making phone calls, sending faxes, or tweeting.
The payroll debate was a great example of Dems speaking with one voice, I am ready to do this every week until 2012.
Press On
Thank you, Donna, for the timely reminder. I so agree that our grassroots effort will be the key to the outcome next November. I have one very simple suggestion for everyone. Get a Twitter account if you don’t have one already. Believe me, if anyone as technologically challenged as I am can do this, so can you. Then go through all the pro Obama blogs as well as whitehouse.gov and the OFA blog and tweet every good article you find. In the beginning, if you are new to Twitter, you will have just a few followers. But you will be surprised how quickly others will start to follow you. I still don’t know all the things you can do with Twitter, but in less than 4 months I acquired 350+ followers, and between them, these followers have tens of thousands of followers of their own. I tweet and I get dozens of emails every day notifying me that someone re-tweeted one or more of my tweets. So therefore the good news spreads to thousands of people - and it takes me less than 15 minutes to do it every day. You can also use Twitter to send messages to Congress and the media. It is such a fabulous communication tool - it should be used by everyone.
Of course, this is just one example of what we all can do. Joining OFA is just as important. You will find many ways to support the President and will also have access to the most up-to-date information and talking points.
Donna, please count me in. I confess that I do not follow cable and rarely watch TV. I get all my news from the internet and usually rely on C-Span and printed media for the latest news. In addition, I listen to or read the WH press conferences.
DD4O, I’m so glad you are starting to pick up and pull the reins together for 2012!
Though I don’t have the skills/knowledge to lead it, I’m quite interested in participating on the media team. We could have a ‘day shift’ and a ‘night shift’ team for those whose jobs do not allow them to access twitter etc. As I’m on call and, I suspect/hope, will be mostly at work during the day I’m choosing the night shift. A part of me can’t wait for the 2012 battle to begin, because I can’t wait for the issue of #44 for 4 more to be settled.
WE CAN DO THIS! WE HAVE TO DO THIS!
Thanks DonnaD4O!
Lying sack of ****
Santorum: Obama Is Against Individual Freedom and Free Markets
At a town hall in Mason City, Iowa, Rick Santorum told the audience that President Obama is against both free markets and the founders’ idea of individual liberty. He cited his recent speech in Kansas as evidence that he doesn’t trust individuals or markets to be free.
Was there anyone at the Town Hall ?
desertflower, Santorum, is another bold face liar. Just like all the clowns on the GOP side.
You’re opening line says it all about Ricky S. He will say and do anything and could care less how much he lies. He obviously is either hearing impaired or has reading problems to get this interpretation from the Kansas speech. I hope he flames out soon because even the sound of his name, let alone a photo of him gives me the creeps. Ricky has exposed the ugliness of his soul and needs to go home and spend some time with his sick daughter.
I think I just heard on CNN that Bob Kerry is thinking of running for Ben Nelson’s seat.
Is he a top tier candidate?
That’s what I heard…better than Nelson, should he win.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Kerrey
Oops - forgot the second “e” in Kerrey. He’s a disabled Vietnam vet, colorful character, speaks up about what he thinks, was for Hillary but probably reconciled with PBO, and a real smart guy. He does march to the beat of a different drummer at times. If he runs and wins, I’m hoping he’ll line up with other Democrats instead of going where Ben Nelson went - Ben was the next best thing to a Republican.
He ran for president wasy back in ’92, but, of course, lost the primary to Bill Clinton. I suppose the Wikipedia article has al lthat infor in there, anyway. Still, I’m sure he’d be better than Nelson-and he’d be better than any Republican.
Interesting. I barely remember his name (had to go look him up on Wikipedia), but I’d love to see us keep the D- label on that seat even if he’s not 100% down the line. I suspect that would be the best we could expect from Nebraska. If he’s got a chance of winning, I’d send him a couple of bucks.
President Barack Obama will announce Tuesday that he plans to nominate a Harvard University finance professor and a former private-equity executive to fill the two vacancies on the seven-member Federal Reserve Board, a White House official said.
The nominees are Jeremy Stein, 51 yeas old, an economist who did a five-month stint in the Treasury and White House in the early months of the Obama administration, and Jerome Powell, 58, who was undersecretary of the Treasury for domestic finance in the early 1990s during the George H.W. Bush administration.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203479104577124580136961066.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
This is great. I do alot on Twitter, and I try to donate when I can, and I am encouraging my students to tell their non-voter parents to be voters, but I teach in a primarily Republican district, my House member is Dana Rohrabacher who I have written to several times, and will continue to email, but as a teacher of middle school children who lives in that same district, I can not be perceived as being political or I could lose my job. I would LOVE to volunteer, but I can’t take that risk. We have a lot of tea party people, some of whom are parents of the students I teach.
I meant to say we have a lot of tea party people here, some of whom are the parents of students I teach, so it makes it more challenging. I don’t believe in being partisan with them, but I do share all good economic news from this site, all technology advancements put forth by the Obama administration, and I give the president the credit. I do talk a lot about who passes the laws, what the president can and cannot do, so I am trying to teach them to think for themselves. I do what I can.
Just planting those seeds of wisdom will bear fruit.
Betsy, I understand the position that you are in now with your profession. The political scene has changed tremendously, since I was in the halls of the profession, but I will promise you one thing during this time. I will lift you up in prayer and meditations as we move into this surely challenging campaign season. Be you, and trust for your leading to go where it needs to go for your peace of mind.
Our profession,(mine for life) will give us opportunities outsides the halls of academia, so keep your eyes and ears open. Your heart seems to be in the right place on this issue. However, the political climate is vicious now, so follow you heart and mind as to where and what you should do. Ask for wisdom above all.
I will keep you in my prayers. Be of good courage and teach with all of your knowledge, love, and passion. We need great citizens open to the world that they will face for sure in this life. Thank you for your service to our society. HZ
Thanks HZ. I appreciate the prayers. Sometimes it’s hard to be cautious when everything is screaming in me to speak out, so I take a deep breath and speak out against the things that should concern us all: voting rights, women’s rights, racism, and a proper understanding of the constitution. I do need the prayer, constantly and daily. So thanks.
December 27, 2025 2:05 PM
Ben Nelson to retire
By Steve Benen
Democratic leaders from the White House and Capitol Hill pleaded with Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), asking him to run for re-election for one main reason: the party is desperate to keep its Senate majority and it has no one else to run in Nebraska.
As is often the case, Nelson is letting his party down.
Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska will announce today that he is retiring after two terms, a serious blow to Democratic efforts to hold onto their majority in the chamber next November.
Nelson is scheduled to hold a press conference back home in Nebraska as early as today to make his decision official, said several Democratic insiders close to the leadership.
The 70-year-old Nelson was considered one of the most endangered Democratic incumbents this cycle. GOP-affiliated outside groups have already dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into TV ads bashing Nelson, while the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spent over $1 million on their own ad blitz to bolster his image.
That last part is of particular interest. Remember, Nelson waited until after Democratic and allied groups had invested quite a bit of money to strengthen his standing in Nebraska, and then decided to retire.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/ben_nelson_to_retire034346.php
OMG!!! Cindy Crawford has just endorsed Mitt Romney seven months ago. That’s it! We’re going to defcon 4, the election hangs in the balance. If we lose the Carrot Top endorsement it’s all over.
Funny, I didn’t know she was so stupid. Sad. That means she’s endorses a vulgar, lying sociopath. WTF does that say about her?
You guys ought to read some of the gossip blind items on Cindy. She ain’t exactly wholesome. She fits right in with the repugs. Especially Newt, hint hint.
LOL!
Political AnimalBlog
December 27, 2025 1:25 PM
Tea Party governance gone horribly awry
By Steve Benen
Officials in Troy, Michigan, worked for years to build a local transportation center, and the Obama administration agreed to fully fund the project with federal stimulus money. In fact, the local community would have received an $8.5 million grant to cover all of the costs, with no strings attached.
But Troy’s elected leaders decided to turn down the money. Their Tea Party principles told them it was a bad idea.
The terminal, which would help Troy become a transportation node on an upgraded Detroit-to-Chicago Amtrak line, was hailed by supporters as a way to create jobs and to spur economic development. But federal money is federal money, so with the urging of the new mayor, who helped found the local Tea Party chapter, the City Council cast a 4-to-3 vote this week against granting a crucial contract, sending the project into limbo.
“There’s nothing free about government money,” Mayor Janice Daniels said in an interview. “It’s never free, and it’s crippling our way of life.” […]
The Troy transit center’s construction … required no local contribution, and its predicted annual maintenance cost of $31,000 was, in the context of the city’s $50 million budget, “de minimis,” said Mark Miller, the assistant city manager.
Troy’s ridiculous, right-wing mayor justifies the decision by saying it’s more important to pay down the federal debt than it is to create jobs in her community. This only helps underscore one of the problems with Tea Party governance: it’s often based on striking ignorance (the $8.5 million grant will now go to help create jobs in some other area, not go back to the Treasury to pay down the debt).
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/tea_party_governance_gone_horr034345.php
December 27, 2025 12:30 PM
Romney’s ‘carried interest’ problem
By Steve Benen
We talked last week about Mitt Romney’s decision to keep his tax returns hidden, despite the fact that every major-party nominee in the post-Watergate era has released their tax records. Romney’s position has already generated some pushback from Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, and if Romney wins the GOP nod, Democrats will likely keep this going.
It’s worth noting, however, that Romney isn’t just being secretive for the sake of secrecy — there’s a good reason he’s rejecting transparency. Alec MacGillis flagged this Boston Globe piece, which suggests Romney is, in fact, paying a lower tax rate than nearly everyone else, which probably has a lot to do with his campaign’s decision.
In case anyone needs a refresher, there’s a tax loophole on “carried interest” — sometimes called “the carry” — that taxes private equity and venture capital income at a lower, 15% rate, as compared to 35% on ordinary income. Hedge-fund managers and the Wall Street have fought tooth and nail to protect this loophole — even after the Obama White House tried to eliminate it — and so far, they’ve been successful.
Because Romney still collects seven-figure checks from his vulture-capitalist firm, he’s paying less in taxes than middle-class families nationwide. And with that in mind…
Romney also indicated that he would not shy away from a legal tax break that shelters partners at private equity firms, like Bain Capital, from high tax rates on the largest part of their take-home profits.
“I can tell you we follow the tax laws, and if there’s an opportunity to save taxes, we like anybody else in this country will follow that opportunity,” he said.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/romneys_carried_interest_probl034344.php
I think this is a trap. He’s been running for President basically his whole life, especially for the last 6 years, I can’t imagine he would play games with his taxes knowing that every Presidential candidate has released their filings for 40 years. I think he wants the Obama campaign or Dem third party outfit to make a huge deal out of it so he can release them and then say “See nothing there suckers”.
Donald trump does not want his taxes published either!
Disagree with you saintroscoe, Mitt ain’t that smart. he don’t want anyone to see where all that money of his is coming from. Mr. 1%
Yeah, the only way they are smart is that they don’t want the Heinz effect. He releases them and people see how realy RICH he is. He would be the face of the 1% running for President.
Seriously, they have spent the past year trying to take this away as a talking point and it’s only getting louder. There’s nothing wrong with being rich, but it’s doing it on the little guy’s back that has everyone so angry. I don’t think we can push this enough. Mittens is not playing “I Made you Look”. He doesn’t want anyone looking too closely and making the parallels they made against Kerry in 2004.
saintroscoe, The populist “1% vs 99%” meme was not the focus of the last few elections. And Romney was not the GOP nominee nor was he expected to be in past elections. However, things are different this time around. Very different.
27 Dec 2025 01:43 PM
The Backlash Against The Gingrich Backlash
Noam Scheiber explains why Newt isn’t finished yet:
Unfortunately for Mitt Romney and the anxious Republican establishment, [Gingrich] appears to have flamed out too soon-which is to say, soon enough to give him time to recover a bit. …. Newt has basically stabilized himself in New Hampshire and South Carolina. More impressively, given the barrage of incoming he took there, Newt appears to have bottomed out in Iowa early last week and is enjoying a slight uptick in the state. What accounts for Newt’s glimmer of life? My guess is that, while Republican voters don’t want him to be their nominee, they don’t want Romney to stroll to the nomination either.
The week-and-a-half or so Newt spent in freefall gave them a chance to imagine the primaries playing out as a Romney coronation, and they didn’t find the scenario especially heartening. So just like Newt needed to peak within a day or two of Iowa to have a shot of winning, Romney probably needed Newt to flame out within a few days of Iowa to have a shot of wrapping this race up very quickly. Otherwise there was going to be too much time for buyer’s remorse to set in toward Romney, as may be happening now.
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/12/the-backlash-against-the-gingrich-backlash.html
December 27, 2025
‘Obama and the Communists’
Politico:
According to the latest Gallup tracking poll, more Americans approve of the job that President Obama is doing than disapprove for the first time since this summer….
It’s too soon to draw sweeping conclusions, but it seems that the standoff with House Republicans over the payroll tax cut did no damage at all to the president.
No doubt. And since we’re all going to draw sweeping conclusions anyway, after judiciously noting it’s too soon, here’s mine; which, while related to the above, hauls the militant act of sweeping conclusions to a whole new theatre of speculative operations. To wit …
Over at the NY Times’ “Campaign Stops,” Harvard’s Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson, authors of The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism, relate this desperate gem, gathered up from a Virginia Tea Partier: “We have to get Obama out; Obama and the Communists he’s surrounded himself with.”
http://pmcarpenter.blogs.com/p_m_carpenters_commentary/2011/12/obama-and-the-communists.html
He lost 4 points on Gallup today. Basically, this poll is bunk!
Tea Party are a bunch of racists people. I have always believe that, and I still do.
Jovie, finally you see the light.
Gallup is B.S.
Indeed! Albeit, it is watched breathlessly by the msm, and is reported on without prejudice!
on’t look now, but while we were all preoccupied with the payroll tax cut, presented by our ridiculous, dysfunctional Congress in the form of a flailing machete-and-chainsaw interpretive dance, the next bill has come due. Don’t worry, this one won’t hurt a bit:
President Obama will ask this week for a $1.2 trillion raise in the federal borrowing limit, according to a Treasury Department official. [...]
Lest the words “debt ceiling” spark panic over the possibility of another showdown with Congress that could bring the nation to the brink of default, fear not. The August debt deal provides for a $1.2 trillion increase that can be blocked only if Congress passes a “resolution of disapproval.”
This is part of the same debt ceiling deal that brought us the SuperCongress; Republicans agreed to raise the debt limit only in installments, thereby giving themselves a chance to preen for the cameras several times, instead of just once. So Obama will request the debt ceiling be raised again; the House of Representatives will have what is termed, in legislative circles, a gigantic whining hissy fit, Obama will then veto the Resolution of Gigantic Whining Hissy Fit (if it even makes it out of the Senate, which almost assuredly won’t even bother with it); the debt ceiling automatically gets raised, and life goes on.
In a bold stroke of parenting, however, Obama may have even deprived the House of their opportunity for televised hissy fit:
If Obama announces his position this week, Congress would have to vote on a disapproval resolution by Jan. 12 at the earliest.
But the House isn’t scheduled to return to the Capitol until Jan. 17, and the Senate doesn’t return until Jan. 23.
The odds that John Boehner will summon the House back from vacation early just so they can vote on whether to have a hissy fit are probably low: I suspect Boehner is not feeling terribly enamored with his House or their hissy fits right now, after getting so thoroughly burned in the payroll tax cut debacle. So in all likelihood they won’t even schedule their hissy fit until a few days after it’s already turned pointless.
( Sorry for the long post, but I think our Ninja President just punked the GOP AGAIN.)
Damn he’s GOOD, isn’t he?!! Love my President! The man literally makes me smile everyday!!
I DON’T KNOW WHY ANYONE WORRIES ABOUT THESE FOOLISH GOP CANDIDATES..PBO CAN MAKE MINCEMEAT OUT OF ANY ONE OF THEM IN A DEBATE! IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO THE FINAL GOP NOMINATION GOES TO…NONE OF THEM WILL GET ANYWHERE. PBO IS WAY AHEAD OF THEM IN ALL CATEGORIES! THE GOP LEADS IN ONE CATEGORY…’STUPIDITY!’
I like that O lot!
New thread up TODers: Welcome Home http://theobamadiary.com/2011/12/27/welcome-home-5/#comments