Thanks Dudette – more videos here
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President Obama: “…. the fact that this problem is complex can no longer be an excuse for doing nothing. The fact that we can’t prevent every act of violence doesn’t mean we can’t steadily reduce the violence, and prevent the very worst violence.
…. I will use all the powers of this office to help advance efforts aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. We won’t prevent them all – but that can’t be an excuse not to try. It won’t be easy – but that can’t be an excuse not to try.”
Full transcript of the President’s remarks today (video in post below)
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Charles Pierce: Following the announcement by Cerberus, the capital management firm that said yesterday that it was getting out of the firearms business, it appears that the notion of divestment is starting to catch on around the country:
The $150.1 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund is reviewing its investments in firearm manufacturers, a spokesman for New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said on Tuesday. New York City’s pension funds are also reviewing investments and may sell nearly $18 million worth of stock in four companies that manufacture guns and ammunition, a spokesman said on Tuesday….
…. If you’re wondering why the NRA is extending what Joe Scarborough called “the olive branch” this time, there’s your reason … These clowns didn’t grow a conscience over the weekend. Their sugar daddies are losing money, and that’s all that ever has mattered.
Full post here
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Greg Sargent: The White House press corps didn’t seem to think President Obama’s press conference on guns today was that newsworthy — reporters were more interested in asking him about the imminent fiscal cliff deadline. But I believe Obama’s pledge today to pursue sustained action to combat gun violence was a very important moment, and demonstrates what presidential leadership on this issue is supposed to look like.
…. No question, it’s easy to remain skeptical about the prospects for real reform and about whether lawmakers, Obama included, will remain engaged once the Newtown headlines fade. But Obama did demonstrate today what presidential engagement on this issue looks like. And in so doing, he invited us to insist that he sustain it for the foreseeable future.
Full post here
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ThinkProgress: The National Rifle Association finally broke its silence and announced they would hold a press conference a week after the massacre of 27 people, most of them children around 6 years old, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. In the official statement, gun advocates’ most prominent lobby suggested they would make “meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again”.
While the nature of these “meaningful contributions” will be revealed at Friday’s conference, the NRA’s response to other mass shootings is historically to offer condolences to victims’ families and continue to push a radical agenda to make it easier to get guns and carry them in more places. In fact, some of their most extreme legislation has been passed in the wake of a mass shooting….
Full post here
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Donkeylicious: …. the government of Australia banned the manufacture and possession of semiautomatic long guns (rifles and shotguns) and high capacity magazines in 1996. They then spent about $500 million buying back existing guns, compensating gun dealers and for loss of business, etc. In total, roughly 650,000 guns were reclaimed and destroyed.
…. Australia hasn’t had a mass shooting since…
…. The practical effect of such a buyback in the United States would be much more muted. The best estimates suggest there are between 2.5 and 4 million semiautomatic long guns in the US. That’s roughly 1% of the total gun inventory, rather than the 30% that such guns made up in Australia. Still, semiautomatic guns are used in a number of spree shootings, and high capacity magazines are almost always used. Buying back those magazines would almost certainly be worth it.
Full post here
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President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden talk in a West Wing hallway of the White House, following the President’s statement to the press, Dec. 19, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
!
Wow, I haven’t tops been on a new thread since before we had the good sense to re-elect the BEST PRESIDENT THIS COUNTRY HAS EVER HAD!!!!
You smooth mover you!!
Hellooooooo Isonprize!
SIGH…..
oooh, Thanks Chica, And a DANCE photo too! That’s my hobby, partner dancing!
Now, if I was instructing this couple, I would have to let the gentleman that he is holding the lady’s hand incorrectly. But since they, OBVIOUSLY, didn’t ask me, I’ll just keep my mouth shut and enjoy imagining that he is dancing with me.
Partner dancer, only a month to go to the inaugural balls, email the White House right now
Oh, how I wish there was actually dancing at those things… Most of them are not what folks may imagine. For one thing, people are crammed in to the gills, not much room to move, let alone, dance. Another, as most social event in DC, everybody is trying to find out who is connected to who, so they can change jobs, or get a promotion, etc., etc. Oh well, a girl can dream, can’t she??
Dear Chips, this is for you ….
And, UT, left a congrats in the previous thread for you but to repeat – COOL tweet and so proud of you that the NYT broadcasted it
#TrustBarack (and, clearly, we still have many emoticon ‘liberals/progressives’ who need potty training on that skill)
Thanks for the congrats Bob!
Hello? …… Hey, the party’s over here! And yes, WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS!! I love this series.
Top 10 again. Congrats isonprize.
Looks like just me and you, Yardarm. I wish you a wonderful Christmas and a Happy, Prosperous New Year.
Here I am finally.
A cool yule and frantic first to you too!
Merry Christmas TOD family of friends. may you all be blessed. Congrats on 1st isonprize.
at last, I can take a look around for a bit.
Hi isonprize! congratulations on first! As you can see, it’s lonely at the top.
Congratulations izonprize on #1!
LOVE those hallway tete-a-tete photos. Something’s going down!!
yeah, wouldn’t you just love to be that plant?
Yes. Yes, I would!!
The President looks mighty annoyed, or am I projecting?
O/T but I must share this thought. Imho guns are abit of a phallic symbol to some. Those who can, do;those who can’t shot guns! :-[
Yardarm, you ain’t the first to make THAT connection!!
Here ya go, ya
hmmmm….when I was young, it was said that one of the the first things you ask a new male acquaintance was, “Are you into guns, hunting, or target practice?”..while batting eyelashes and smiling….depending on the answer was how you would proceed b/c there are times in one’s life when size really does matter….; ^ )….just sayin!
The size of a ship is irrelevant, it’s the motion of the ocean!
Oh please……the motion of the ocean. That’s the excuse made by everyone who isn’t packing.
Please don’t get me started ut. We don’t want to go there. It could get ugly real fast.
From a woman’s perspective, too: DEFINITELY, methinks.
Crickets!
Congrats izonprize!
I heard this read on Stephanie’s show this morning and had to find it and share. There’s over 400 comments. I read through some but not all. Almost all positive and supportive. Would like feedback from the family here.
http://educatefortexas.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/an-open-letter-from-a-pta-mom-to-mike-huckabee-a-message-for-those-who-long-for-gods-presence-in-schools/
And Huckabee calls himself a minister. Where is his moral compass?
Huckabee is a money changer and whore. He’s the guy Jesus threw out of the temple.
k. I thought of you when I got this. enjoy.
An elderly man was stopped by the police around 2 a.m and was asked where he was going at that time of night.
The man replied, “I’m on my way to a lecture about alcohol abuse and the effects it has on the human body, as well as smoking and staying out late.”
The officer then asked, “Really? Who’s giving that lecture at this time of night?”
The man replied, “That would be my wife.”
smh……smdh…..
Pat loves to drink at the local bar, but his wife disapproves of this. One night, he’s at the bar and he gets extremely drunk. He tries to stand up, but immediately falls to the floor. He tries this a few more times, but each time he falls to the floor. People offered to help him, but he said no each time. He finally ended up dragging himself home and sneaking into bed, thinking his wife would never catch him.
The next morning, Pat’s wife says, “Pat, you son of a bitch! You were at the bar last night drinking again!”
Pat was confused. “How did you find out?”
“The bar called. You left your wheelchair there.”
snort! bah ha ha
It takes a coupla drinks to know me and then a couple more to like me.
A couple? Hmm. I needed this lot before I confessed to almost liking you:
Looks like John Boehner’s mudroom.
Snorf, You got me with that one!
Who said anything about a coupla shots ? I always take my measure in bottles.
Ah, okay. Bottles like this?
So you buying this for me ? I’ll let you have a sip….
LOL! Good one!
Who was the genius at the cess pool who asked PBO what he has been doing for the last 4 yrs?
Idiotic. Too bad they don’t have any shame or conscious….
That would be Jake “The Snake” Tapper. If you are on Twitter, check out #TapperQuestions Some of them are deliciously sarcastic!!!
LOOOOOOOOOVE that!!!!
Demon is right. Thx I’ll have to check it out.
Wow, Lawrence is discussing this on his show. He did not like the way Tapper phrased that question, and Crystal Ball says it was obnoxious.
‘Dear Liberals, Chained CPI is NOT a “Cut” to Social Security. Get Over It.’
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2012/12/dear-liberals-chained-cpi-is-not-cut-to.html
AH! Deaniac is back in all his glory! Great, insightful piece. Thanks, Chips:)
Hallelujah. Voices of reason. Thanks, Chips!
Exactly.
hmmm..that sounds like semantic obfuscation. it is not a ‘cut’–it’s just not giving the cost of living increases that correspond with the actual increase in cost of living.
I thnk part of the point is that the way it’s figured now, overestimates the cost of living.
well, that’s the story they’re telling. ask any senior living on social security if the cost of living increase in their earned benefit keeps pace with the actual costs of living in their real life situation. see if anyone, anyone at all, tells you it’s plenty. they factor in the increase in the price of a gallon of milk. they do not factor in the fact that seniors’ lives are expensive.
we have to pay someone to help with the windows. we have to pay for someone to clean the roof gutters. we have to pay (god forbid) for depends–just check the costco website on that item and i promise you will gasp. over $50 for a pack of 72. say you need to change 6 times a day. that means that $50 takes care of you for less than 2 weeks. and no, that is not covered by medicare or anything else.
i’m not dumping on the president here. i’m just saying the cost of living for seniors is not a trivial matter. and younger people with more income see these amounts from a very different perspective. it does burn me up for folks to say ‘get over it’–this is bread and butter for us, and it’s being traded for millionaires luxuries.
I’m not saying get over it. I will be retiring myself in a few years and since I am on my own I too have to pay for a lot of services.
sorry–didn’t mean you, mary. the above link was inflammatory to me: dear liberals, get over it. like we’re being whiny. also, i am suspicious of any concept i see promoted by ezra klein!
I don’t like Ezra Klein much either, but I do like deaniac who wrote the post. I don’t think he meant to be dismissive of real concerns. He was annoyed with the firebaggers who will take any excuse to go after the president. I know you are a staunch supporter and I hope that things will turn out for the best. My income has been severely curtailed over the past couple of years because of cuts to education so I feel like I am living on the edge too.
Not in my experience. The cost of food has gone crazy. Having a spouse doesn’t mean you don’t have to hire others to do stuff. He’s just as old as I am!
I just meant that I understood having to hire people to do things that others don’t necessarily have to hire people to do.
Thank you. Now the emos can get some rest.
Fantastic read.
I think PBO has got to be our most eloquent, yet genuine President yet. Every time he speaks about things that are emotional and difficult, it’s not hard to sense his own pain, and his own passion intermingled in the words. I can’t for the life of me figure out why so many people refuse to listen.
Jealousy, bigotry, lack of understanding, lack of imagination, greed, they want to be him and can’t. I am not able to figure it out, either, but could be pieces of all this.
Yep, I must agree. Just today my husband came home and said the topic of PBO’s gun control pledge came up at his job, and the first words out of the mouth of one of his coworkers was a racial slur. It’s pathetic.
Totally pathetic. Neanderthals are all around us.
The passion he has shown in the last few days has highlighted the office of the president and its strength. I am seriously listening to him but he makes my heart beat a little faster.
Good Evening TOD Family!
I think I’m finally through all the computer issues of the last few days. I’m thrilled that my President is the Time Person of the Year (but of course!) I’m with all of you regarding bombarding ABC on Tapper despicable behavior. He needs to be put in check immediately. Enough is enough! Sorry for the violence, but I’d like to slap the taste right out of his mouth! His comments about Lewinsky need to go viral also. Love reminiscing about the favorite moments of the year…so many to choose from!
I guess the reform of the Hatch Act got By the House and to The Presidents desk for signature.
I wonder what this is about?
Don’t think this has been posted yet…today must be the day for bottom-feeders.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/12/19/newtown-shooting-tragedy-scam-artists/?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D248013
Oh, look, the bully’s (Tapper) friend (Henry, whom I always picture with a wedgie, crying into his pillow at night; can’t stand him) is stepping up to defend the bully. My grandmother would have called them “pansies.” I’m not that gentle.
I hope this fool and his book both fail. He will have genuinely earned it.
Hurray for Senator Mikulski! She is terrific and I know she will do a great job.
Heh, blog tyrant. Did ya know that your site ranked 236,058 in the world (among the 30 million domains) and is worth $7,664?
http://www.webstatsdomain.com/domains/theobamadiary.com/
Wow!!! Good for Chips
Chips! YOU BUILT THAT….with alittle help from 16 million are so friends.
hey blog empress! did you know that your site is ranked #1 with all who visit here, and is priceless?!
THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Perfect comment, Susanne.
Co-sign.
Now THAT’S more like it!
Concur!
Wow! She could sell this place and move to the Cayman Islands.
There are a LOT of people paid good money in DC, New York, elsewhere named economists. So why is Deaniac the only that can figure this stuff out? He was one of the few (along with Benen) who really understood the Health Care bill and the budget fight that POTUS won. Lemmings…
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2012/12/dear-liberals-chained-cpi-is-not-cut-to.html
Evening all! I have to say I haven’t been in a Christmas mood, with all kinds of terrible news & sadness with the horrific deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary.
I’ve been catching up on all the past blog posts, and was so sad to hear the Sue had passed away. I definitely remembered all the great comments she made on this blog.
Right now I’m shuffling between angry and sad. Angry at idiot emoprogs who can’t seem to get their act together. I’m sick of the President Obama “caving” and how “he’s thrown us under the bus” type comments. I’m really fed up, they learn nothing. It’s like the Single Payer option all over again!! And really they’re to blame, as they sat on their asses in 2010 election, giving us GOP Controlled State legislatures and Congress! Needless to say I am blocking people left & right on twitter – and I mean this literally!
I’m sad with all the suffering that’s going on, and looking at the burdens that the President has to shoulder for an ungrateful bunch of people, I really wonder in amazement at his continued strength & character to put up with all this nonsense! It’s Christmas, yet we have soldiers away from their families, we’ve got people struggling to make ends meet, and a GOP congress who could care less, even though it is Christmas!
I’m just so sick and tired of the hate & negativity from the crazy right. It was especially depressing tonight to see tweet from 16 yo professed Christian calling our President the “n” word. That’s how some kids are being raised today?!? Then I’m seriously freaked about the future.
Anyway, sorry to be a debbie downer!
I wish EVERONE here Happy Holidays, and that no matter where you are, that you are blessed with health, family, and friends.
Big Hugs!!
I know where you’re coming from, PB. I’ve been less than in a cheery mood since Friday. And then I see a cute little four year old girl beaming as she holds a Winnie the Pooh book in my library and it makes things a bit better.
You are not alone. I have unfollowed and blocked so many people I lost count. The hair-on-fire crowd gives me angina
Lawry showed the clip of That Uckwit’s disgusting question to PBO and said it was an ‘odd’ phrasing and that he would phrase it better. Krystal Ball being the awesome goddess she is said it was an ‘obnoxious self-righteous question’ not designed to Elliot an answer. Thank god someone was willing to call bullshyte what it is.
of course Lawrence was quick to say that he wouldn’t go that far and label it. Krystal doubled down. Good for her. Now that’s courage.
Elicit, not Elliot!!!
F-ing auto correct!! 
Lemme guess, some apple crap, amirite ?
Sure…blame it on auto correct.
I missed it, but will watch the replay just to hear Krystal say that.
Thanks for highlighting the Brady Campaign videos, Chips. They’re doing vital work.
Quiet night for me tonight. I have a few good books to read. Here’s a taste of my upcoming essay on TPV: “While emos shriek, Obama gives Boehner the shiv”:
BTW, someone on Twitter is calling JeffersonObama a racist, because he retweeted a racist tweet so as to notify authorities. God, the world is upside down some days.
LL, I am buying some books as Christmas gifts tomorrow and I’m sorry but I forgot the name of that book you recommended on climate change. It was one that isn’t all gloom and doom in that it is still something that we can do something about. Would you mind sharing the name of it again? Thank you!
Sure! “An Optimist’s Tour of the Future” by Mark Stevenson.
OK writing it down now! Thanks!
ack. gotta go to bed. sleep well TOD. thanks for finding that article chips.
zzzz
Virginia bill would order all Teachers to be armed(and dangerous?)-
http://m.washingtonpost.com/local/va-politics/va-bill-would-order-schools-to-arm-teachers/2012/12/19/d06ec7ae-49d1-11e2-b6f0-e851e741d196_story.html
WTF?
What does that big face two bit weasel like Ed Henry know about fair? You know these creeps will stick up for another.
Van Jones just sent me an email about SS cuts and slashing Veterans Benefits. He puts Boner and the President equally to Blame for this alleged atrocity.
Everytime I get one of these Rebuild the Dream emails, I read it more like a Rebuild a Nightmare.
Just whose Dream is he Rebuilding?
I get similar emails from Moveon.org saying that PBO is going to allow “painful cuts to SS” just to placate the Repubs. I think Moveon needs to move right off a cliff, and Van Jones needs to wake up to reality and stop dreaming.
I unsubscribed from Moveon again yesterday and sent them a note to tell them why…
I hadn’t been on their list in forever but somehow got emails from them during the elections and kept them on because they seemed to be supporting the President’s re-election…
But now that they are back to their crap, it’s goodbye once again…can’t take it…
Ed Henry blocks as I well. I’ve been blocked by him for about a year now.
Twitter seems to have managed to wreck the ability to RT … weird …
Have zero trouble RT’ing and adding a ‘favorite’ to a tweet using Tweetdeck but trying to do either via the Twitter application itself – nada. Those folk should just stop trying to ‘enhance’ and revert to an earlier version of their sw that worked and take a vacation, a long one.
Finally, a rational solution:
The high school concert is over and I can now catch up here …at least until my eyes get tired; something they seem to be doing earlier these days.
This ‘We are better than this’ series looks real promising. Who is behind it?
ABC’s reaction to the emails etc. about Tapper is to puff up his reputation on Nightline. “tough questions from our own” said Georgy Porgy. Click.
ABC is B.S. just like Jake Tapper.
True.
I knew that folks contacting the higher ups at ABC would only help and not hurt him. It’s better to mock him on Twitter than to call or email his bosses. I bet he’ll get a raise after his shenanigans today.
Mayor Rahm and other Chgo area mayors to hold press conf. tomorrow to push Il. lawmakers to enact stricter gun laws
http://www.illinoisobserver.net/2012/12/19/rahm-emanuel-to-take-on-the-nra/
Would seem fitting on Friday that a major twitter effort be made to keep #WeAreBetterThanThis trending throughout the day, to wit:
Yes We Can
Bob i’m ready, making my list..I always retweet what u say. + my own as I get bolder! I still think everyone sld learn to tweet. at 73ish if I can do it all can do it. lol. perhaps a list of whom we want to hit?
an do I understand we on WC start at 9PM 20th? Thank you so much for all you do. Respect you so much.
“at 73ish if I can do it all can do it. lol.”
Inga, you are an inspiration!!
“perhaps a list of whom we want to hit?”
Urge @bradybuzz @Messina2012 @davidaxelrod @stefcutter @piersmorgan (would never had thought I’d make that suggestion!) @TheRevAl @MartinBashir @KrystalBall1 @Lawrence @finneyk @DWSTweets @JayZ @EvaLongoria @MichelleObama to lend their support
And, yes if your no the US West Coast it’s ‘rock on time’ at 2100 PT 20 Dec 2012
Thank you!!!
Thanks Bob have a good day today
Because this week sucks, and I needed a laugh – I am sharing –
batman snuggie! just what i wanted!
Runny nose shower gel dispenser! Zoinks!
I am so happy that your President is taking on gun control issues and announced it today. This is very important! And as you know I felt this should have been brought up in the election, but I’m not dumb enough to know that it would have been a very difficult thing for PBO to bring up in his re-election. Some will say, and you all know who they are, that this has become political on the president, too which we all know politics don’t belong when it comes down to lives, mostly innocent young children and the craziness of americans able to own semi-automatic weapons without a care in the world as to what they can do to the most innocent.
I pasted a few websites that show just the amount of deaths due to guns in the U.S. vs. the rest of the world. The U.S stands, 4th or 5th in the world, and in my mind, they actually stand #1 against the countries that are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The top three or 4 are either drug cartel nations, such as Columbia, or South Africa who have been at war FOREVER! Tailand is totally drugs and Mafia with a huge amount of gangs and drugs where they are killing each other, along with prostitutio, also Slave trade.
The U.S is suppose to be a democratic free country for equal citizens. How does the U.S. compare to civilized countries?
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_wit_fir-crime-murders-with-firearms
I’m a Canadian, and this is what I can tell you as a neighbour across the border…We and most democratic countries do not have killing fields, gun deaths per population. We have gun laws here. For instance…we cannot carry hand-guns, or own assault weapons. But we like to hunt in Canada, and own hunting rifles, right across the country. We are not perfect, but we don’t have assault weapons killing young children in schools. In Canada, you need to have a gun permit for your gun, and it has to be hunting season, period! You can’t just drive around with your guns all year around here, unless you have a permit to go target shooting at a gun range.
Hartford Courant reporting on investigation of Ct. shooter—–cell phone records reveal few, if any, calls made or received, no text messages. No evidence of any social media interaction of any kind. No contact in recent years with father and brother, no job, no current school enrollment, no friends, seemingly only person in the world with whom he had contact was his mother, and he shot and killed her. Had 2 bdrms. in home, one in basement with his computer and thousands of dollars in vid games, altho appeared he preferred to play online with other anonymous gamers. The assumption was that he spent all his time alone in the basement playing these games. Hard drive smashed, difficult to impossible to ever retrieve any info from that—-if he was engaged or posting any warning signs anywhere. Mothers gun collection, all acquired since her divorce in 2009, was also in basement, said to have been in a locked encasement of some sort—-at one point anyway. He had all the guns with him last Fri. except one, the one he used to shoot his mother. Investigation as to motive—or much of anything about this shooter—proving to be difficult.
You guys need as strong a campaign, as you did with re-electing PBO, He needs voices on this issue to push it. He needs you folks to back him up and send a strong, very strong message about weapons and banning these automatic weapons.
no purple tunnel of doom: inauguration planners make crowd movement a priority
‘ Congressional planners of President Obama’s inauguration announced a crowd management plan on Wednesday in an attempt to avoid the problems many ticket-holders faced four years ago.
Inauguration staff will monitor social media sites for signs of slow-moving lines, more personnel will be on the scene to direct people to their appropriate seating areas and more magnetometers will be in place to try and help speed the screening process along, according to planners.
~
A lack of security personnel, a broken magnetometer and a dearth of signs and directions contributed to what became known as the “purple tunnel of doom,” so called because many of those stuck in the tunnel had tickets for the “purple” seating area.
“At our very first meeting, the members of the Joint Congressional Committee and I decided that we had to make crowd management a top priority for the upcoming ceremonies,” Schumer said in a statement. ‘
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/273767-inauguration-planners-seek-to-avoid-repeat-of-purple-tunnel-of-doom
people magazine interview highlights in the hill:
‘ When asked by People magazine what it felt like to win reelection on Nov. 6., Obama replies, “It’s like a wedding. You’re hoping everybody is having fun at the reception, that Aunt Mabel is getting a ride home, the crazy cousin didn’t drink too much.”
The commander-in-chief and Michelle Obama also give rare details about daughters Sasha and Malia in the wide-ranging magazine interview. The first lady reveals that 14-year-old Malia “has expressed some interest in filmmaking,” while with Sasha, 11, “what she likes today will change in an hour.” ;
http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/273741-obama-likes-gangnam-kids-dont-
I’ve read the books but I’d like to have them on audio too…my hubby was just asking what to get me for Christmas, I think I just figured it out.
#WeAreBetterThanThis
Yes We Can
Bob, I swear, your tweets are so very very important. keep it up, don’t ever stop!
Thank you so much, Joy. Just do what little I can and appreciate that anyone finds it helpful.
#FORWARD
That was HELLAGOOD!
beautiful vision, bob!
A man after my own heart! I definitely agree with Bob, it’s the beginning of times. From an astrology fetish viewpoint:
Precession is the gradual change in rotation of an object. To keep things simple, precession causes fixed stars to move approximately 1° every 72 years. The Zodiac are 12 constellations on the ecliptic (the path the Sun follows) divided by 30°. Thus — (72×30)×12 — it takes approximately 26,000 years to complete a cycle. The four Persian Royal stars are Regulus, Fomalhaut, Aldebaran and Antares. Each star is part of a constellation that never changes in Sidereal astrology. However, in Tropical astrology, which (you can say) tracks precession (the seasons), these stars “move” 1° every 72 years and move through the Zodiac signs. The last time they moved was during WWII during the reign of George VI. They are currently moving during the reign of his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. During FDR’s second term Fomalhaut and Regulus moved; during his third term Aldebaran moved; Antares changed during FDR’s fourth term / Truman’s first term in office.
Recently, Fomalhaut moved to Pisces 4° during Iran’s Green Revolution on June 19, 2009; Regulus moved to Virgo 0° on November 26, 2011 at 14:01 UT (NASA’s rover Curiosity launched for Mars on the same day at 15:02 UT). Aldebaran changes degree on October 3, 2014 (coincides with midterm elections), and Aldebaran changes degree on March 1, 2017 (maiden flight of NASA’s Space Launch System, which replaces Shuttle program, scheduled for 2017; first total solar eclipse of the 21st century for the United States).
The big change, however, was Regulus moving from Leo to Virgo in 2011. Regulus has been in Leo for the entire Common Era of Human history. Leo is a Fire & Masculine sign (Self-Expression), Virgo is an Earth & Feminine sign (Perfection). Traditionally, Leo is the House of Children, Virgo is the House of Servants (modern: Employees/Service). [Another astrologer indicates that Regulus moved in September on the day Occupy Wall Street started; in November, OWS was being evicted from Zuccotti Park. I think the most significant development is the OWS Rolling Jubilee.]
pbo plays the long game every time. obamacare has up-front benefits, but also this little tidbit:
‘ One of the least-noticed elements of Obamacare is a federal rule requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus starting in 2013. Similar laws have been enacted already on a state or local basis in several jurisdictions, but it’s only now that the policy is going national that it really makes sense for companies to start building strategic decisions around it.
~
Historically, a big difference between home cooking and dining out is the opacity of the production process. That means a major competitive advantage in the food game is finding ways to pack more cheap, unhealthful fats into foods than people would be comfortable deliberately serving themselves.
~
If the worst of fast food is replaced by anything, it will be better fast food. Companies are out there trying to make it happen, and so far they’re succeeding in niche markets. Policies forcing more and more obvious disclosure of nutritional information should help the process along by at least creating a situation where firms that succeed in designing more healthful options have a way to credibly turn that into a business advantage. ‘
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2012/12/calorie_menu_labeling_the_little_noticed_obamacare_provision_that_s_changing.html
I wouldn’t get too excited about this. McDonalds just lies about the calorie count. They claim an egg mcmuffin is 300 calories!! Ha. If you take off the Canadian bacon, then yeah, sure.
Oooops! Boehner’s bold gambit, “Plan B”, is DOA. Bwahahahahha…. I can see him crying in his drink right now.
The money quote
In theory, Plan B was a clever ploy by Boehner. The idea was to probe the weakest point in the Democratic strategy, which is the willingness of Democrats in the Senate to hold together. It was that inability that got Democrats into this mess in the first place. In 2010, when Democrats still controlled both houses of Congress, Obama wanted to extend the Bush tax cuts on incomes under $250,000, only to see his proposal fall apart as panicked Democrats in both houses fell to pieces over the prospect of raising taxes on the rich, with some proposing a higher income threshold and others insisting they wouldn’t allow taxes to rise on anybody. Senate Democrats, in a word, suck.
night todville~
THE CARTOON W/ THE NRA…HAH…LOOKS LIKE THE PEOPLE THAT INHABIT HERE IN MOORESVILLE, INDIANA! WHEN YOU FAIL TO TRUST IN GOD AND HIS POWERS OF PROTECTION, YOU ALWAYS CARRY FEAR AND EXTRA WEAPONS IN YOUR POCKET! I THANK THE LORD THAT I AM NOT LIKE THAT. SOME WON’T EVEN TOUCH MY HOMELESS LOVED ONES BECAUSE THEY HAVE SO MUCH FEAR. ME…I WALK SKID ROW ALONE…BECAUSE ACTUALLY…I AM NOT ALONE. KEEP TI GOING PBO…YOU ARE LOVED…:)