****
Dana Milbank: President Obama hasn’t even begun his second term, yet already he has been ensnared by scandal.
Republicans have uncovered a shocking level of wrongdoing in the Oval Office, and I’m afraid what they say is true: The president is brazenly trying to fill his Cabinet with … people he likes.
Alas, the perfidy doesn’t end there. Not only is Obama naming agreeable people to his Cabinet, he is also — audaciously, flagrantly — nominating people who … agree with his policies.
Hello, operator? In Waco, Tex., I’d like the number for a Starr, Kenneth W.
Full article here
****
****
Ooooh, what a brilliant toon:
****
WSJ: Good news for job seekers: There were 3.3 unemployed workers for every posted job opening in November, the lowest ratio in more than four years.
….. despite fears of the then-imminent “Fiscal Cliff,” both workers and employers showed signs of confidence in November. Employers laid off 17,000 fewer workers than in October, and posted 11,000 more job openings. Some 46,000 more workers quit their jobs — a sign they see the job market as improving.
More here
****
In case you missed…..
****
USA Today: President Obama will award a Medal of Honor to a staff sergeant who helped beat back one of the largest attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Clinton Romesha, 31, will the fourth living service member to receive the nation’s highest military award for valor in Afghanistan or Iraq; seven others who served in those wars have received the Medal of Honor posthumously.
The ceremony is Feb. 11.
More here
****
****
ThinkProgress: Former Senator Jim DeMint, the new president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, has decried Obamacare as “a cancer” that is “is fundamentally inconsistent with liberty.” During the Senate Obamacare fight, DeMint famously declared “If we’re able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.”
But a new report from DeMint’s own organization suggests that, far from being incompatible with freedom, countries with health care systems with as much or significantly more government control over healthcare are the freest countries in the world.
More here
****
Ooooh, what a party:
Chicago Sun Times: Mayor Rahm Emanuel will be hosting the late-night post-inagural party on Jan. 21 in one of Washington’s newest venues, the Hamilton, just down the block from the White House. How late? Runs from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. in an event billed as a “Chicago-Style after hours.” (More here)
****
TPM: Okay This Is Awesome
The White House has officially responded to the ‘We the People’ petition to commit the US to building a Death Star. Best line: “Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?” Next best: “The Administration does not support blowing up planets,” which may represent a slight shift from the position of the previous administration.
More here
****
MoooOOOooOOOoooorning!
Morning O’s!!! Wassup on this great getting up day in TOD universe? So I take it the new shiny object is the trillion dollar coin. I guess we’re done with the saga of womangate. Well, I wonder what’s next? It won’t be long and it’ll probably be equally as insignificant. Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to not get caught up in the crazy.
Steady as she goes, makes a whole lot of sense, imo
G’morning Chips, TOD, lurkers, everyone, and congrats cookiemom on #1! Happy Saturday
Mooooooooooorning Hopefruit, mooooooooooooorning everyone!
Hiya Chips! Hiya Hopefrruit!
Gooooood Morning cookemon! It’s a cloudy but still a beautiful day in America! Barack Obama is still the President!
Thank you, God. xoxox and the peoples who worked and the people who voted for him. brilliant, all of them.
yes siree indeedy!
Wise words from our #1 commenter of the day!
Gm
Moring CEB!
Jan 22 should be an optional holiday after all this partying… Rahm’s party doesn’t end until 3AM. That means you don’t get home until 4 or 5AM – which leaves with just 2 hrs of sleep before getting up to go to work. That makes no sense, so I have a better idea. Just make Jan 22nd a holiday so that people can parTAY all night long on the 21st.
Just bring work clothese to the party. Sleep in the lounge after the music stops.. Set an alarm on your cell phone. Change clothes in the bathroom and head straight to work when it’s time.
See? Simple. Make a plan, work the plan! It’s the key success in life.
LOL! Dudette you sure have a knack for making things seem way simpler than they are!
:) 
LOL! People tell me that ALL the time!
Then take a sick day about one hour after lunch…..
Perfect!! Clearly you and I are kindred spirits, jojo!
Sounds like someone who has experience, hmmm. I am considering taking the 22nd off.
You live, you learn, you adapt & conquer.
and repeat….
Don’t let a little thing like work get in the way of a PARTY, eh?
Just stay until quarter to three, hf2 !
GM folks. GM Chips.
She could be my pug, Jenny, the sofa/bed/teatable stealing monster. I blame my 78 year old mom for coddling & spoiling her.
Dogs love being coddled and spoiled by humans. For them it’s the ultimate sign of having arrived. Just ask First Dog Bo.
Nine things dogs don’t understand
1. It’s not a laugh to practice barking at 3a.m.
2. It’s wrong to back Grandma into a corner and guard her.
3. He shouldn’t jump on your bed when he’s sopping wet.
4. The cats have every right to be in the living room.
5. Barking at guests 10 minutes after they arrive is stupid
6. Getting up does NOT mean we are going for a walk
7. Just because I’m eating, doesn’t mean you can.
8. If you look at me with those big soppy eyes, I’m not going to give in and feed you. NOT NOT NOT. Oh, ok, just this once.
9. No, it’s my food….Oh alright then, just a small pie
Something tells me that #3 is your favorite…
Morning Amk! Did you see Stephanie Cutter and Eva Longoria will be at Rahm’s Inauguration party? Is the scramble I hear you looking for a ticket?
I will buy new friends who look JUST like stephanie & eva. Ha. (chanelling monica geller)
LOL! Dude, you are PRICELESS!
Hope this little guy doesn’t get pushed around by the cat! Good Morning! Chili’s cooking! Showtime at 2 pm.
Dana Milbank, haven’t we learn over the first four years that this black President or black First Lady can’t do what all the other Presidents and First Ladies have been allow to do without people from the left and right trying to make some big deal out of it. From going on vacations to playing golf. I have never had any problem with who the President select for his cabinet because I feel he should have the right to do what all the other Presidents before him did, select who he think is qualified to do the job. I also had no problem because I believe he is someone who cares about giving everyone a chance. This whole thing is a made up controversy by those who didn’t care for the replacements he had made. And like the stupid ass media always do they just took it and ran with it, didn’t give a darn if it was true or not. And the Democrats who want 15 minutes of attention like Rep. Rangel going on tv running his mouth really pissed me off. If Rangel were concern, please tell me what is wrong with going to the President or some of his people with that concern. Instead of going to the media just to stir things up even more.
I think during GWB the Dem blocked a lot of Bushes cabinets and he did a lot of recess appointments…one was John Bolton to the UN which was a disaster…..Bush was a disaster. I thnk this is just pay back by the GOP. PBO appointments are not scary to the country just scary to the GOP special interest.
I agree, anniebella. Isn’t he the head of the party? I would think they would take their own disagreements to him privately-for their own sakes if nothing else. They look like a bunch of whiny, disrespectful, know-it-alls. Especially when this president is so popular with the people. It’s a fact that’s easy to forget because the media and politicians act as though he scraped in by the skin of his teeth.
This list of chalkboard assignments may be used for your dog when he does not behave well. The below variations and choices will help you pick an assignment. A. Fill in the blanks
1. [xxx] is not food.
Spiders; bandaids; ivy and airplane plants; Xmas ornaments; the carved jack-o-lantern; plants from the aquarium; cat litter box contents; laundry detergent boxes (esp. not when full!); toothpaste (tube and all); remote controls; linoleum; eyeglasses; books; stockings; the tar shingles on my house; chicken wire; bizarre plants; disposable razors; rocks; Lego; dirty Kleenex; the baby’s used diaper; Christmas stockings; soda pop cans; fiberglass insulation stuffed up the chimney; the underwear in the clothes hamper; Mommy’s hair accessories; Mommy’s catnip teabags; unopened honey packets; staples; Christmas stockings; credit cards, CDs, and other thin plastic things.
2. I will not lift my leg to the [xxx].
Anything growing in the vegetable garden; house corner; new boyfriend; mailman; woodstove; subordinate pack members; Grandma’s plush chair; the conformation judge; good-looking neighbour man that Mommy is trying to impress; Daddy in the lawn chair.
3. I recognize that [xxx] has a right to exist.
The humans’ shoes; the human’s cats; the aquarium; 3rd grade art projects (even if they are made of macaroni shells); the other dog(s); the TV remote control; the human’s little humans; the bath mitt; Rolling Stone magazine; large patterns on wallpaper;
4. [xxx] is not a toy.
The humans’ shoes; the human’s cats; the humans’ pet cockatiel; newly planted iris bulbs; pillows and blankets from the bed; laundry (dirty OR clean); aquarium plants; stuffed animals from on top of the chest of drawers; pillows and blankets from the newly made bed; the hose that’s filling the kiddie pool; the humans’ Nerf footballs; human’s underwear; Mommy and Daddy’s ferrets.
5. I will not chew the [xxx].
Human’s homework; human’s papers s/he has to mark; remote control; cardboard around the laundry detergent; handles to the lawn tools; garage door; kitchen cabinets; food left within reach on the couch; the mini-human’s *full* bottle even though it conveniently fell in front of me from the crib; horse’s new saddle; wall; carpet; deck; couch; sofa cushions; expensive paperbacks.
6. I will not bark at [xxx].
Plastic bags on the ground; the new plow blade on my owner’s truck when it is parked; the wind; thunder; the road grader; Daddy’s new Santa bear toy (which was innocently sitting on a chair, and had been there for hours before Molly noticed it and took umbrage); tissue paper being blown along the floor by air from the furnace; the spring doorstop when I or the kid flips it and makes it go DOooiiiiinnnnnng; my mother’s clean laundry thrown on top of the bed, even if the room is dark and it looks like someone sleeping there; the ball I just pushed into an inaccessible crevice all by myself; the fox/skunk/cat/deer out in the yard at any time after midnight, especially on a work night; the fire hydrant on the corner when out for a walk at night; the car radio; the answering machine lady when she says the date/time; the ice cube that slid under the fridge; the rawhide chewbone that I’m making no headway on; absolutely nothing (especially after 11 PM).
7. I will not dig [xxx].
Under the stove (and through the linoleum); under the sidewalk until it collapses; the carpet; a hole under the porch and then get stuck under it; under my master’s pillow at 2 AM to retrieve the bone I hid there earlier; a swimming pool in the back yard;
Collective response from all dogs everywhere: Hyeh, right!
#6 you forgot ‘the toilet flushing’ and ‘any footstep anywhere in the house’ and ‘the cat peacefully sleeping on top of the piano because there is nothing else to bark at, startling the wits out of her’. Otherwise, all good.
Good morning TOD family!
The Wayne LaPierre cartoon has me wiping my morning caffiene of my laptop screen! I love it, and I really love the subtle hints that even the guns know the problem! If only they could talk…I wonder what they’d say? And WOW…how DARE PBO appoint intelligent, effective, like-minded people to his cabinet???
Great round up this morning, Chips. LL’s article is terrific–a healthy does of common sense in a toxic environment. Dana Milbank’s piece starts well and finishes on a downer. Anybody who ends up agreeing with Jenifer Rubin needs to take two aspirin and go to bed. And AAmom and Liberal Phenom, we all think PBO is awesome cause he is. There’s a dense, dense fog in our area this morning–a soupy, London style miasma. Very eerie.
Hello Jackie! That fog is Mother Nature’s way of saying that she’s pissed at the Saturday morning shows on MSNBC.
Milbank is always like that when he’s on tv, he says something good out of one side of his mouth then something different out of the other side. He is not one of my favorite, just like Ezra Klein.
These guys don’t understand this President, where are all these yes men that they are saying President Obama has line his cabinet with?
I like what Mrs. Obama (FLOTUS) said at the convention, “The Presidency should not change the “man”…the “man” changes the Presidency”….and Barack is the same man who came into office as the one who will leave office”. These people crack me up with their predictions and what the president should, shouldn’t, do. They can not predict this man and if they try it’s at their own peril.
Good Morning TOD; and why am I up early? Well, that moment when you’re woken up at 5AM ET to people screwing like bunnies for three hours straight in your living room. Now I know it’s Saturday.
Yes I saw on Twitter that you were rudely awakened from your beauty sleep.
But you’re usually up early UT – you do quite well with 3-4 hrs of sleep a night, so don’t blame the bunnies! I woulda slept right thru
I’m an early riser and night owl but nooooooo….you would not have slept through this kind of bunny activity.
/Running to Twitter to find out what on earth this is about. Bunny activity?
Update: Ah, just saw your earlier comment. Hmm, that was a lively living room last night
Hahahaha…..I swear Chips, college life is interesting to say the least.
I’m just relieved, to be honest, when I read your comment first I thought you had been invaded by loved-up bunny rabbits – which would have been too weird.
Woo, I swear I do not miss the horny roommate days! Or the crazy roommate and her crazy multiple boyfriend days either?
Oh gawd, it sounds like my neighbors upstairs. They wake me up every night. I am not happy.
Don’t fret meta! Some people wake up to the sound of gunfire or bombs or police siren. You and UT both wake up to the sound of love.
You are BLESSED!!!
Look on the bright side, eh hopefruit? Love that about you!!
Ummm, no. I’m glad that people are having fun but I would prefer they keep their sexual activity private. It’s just plain creepy once you’ve heard it hundreds of times and I’m really sick of her voice at 2 am. Trust me, it’s not a pleasure.
LOL! Just joking with you – I’ve had that experience so I know it’s no fun
I mean, I’ll take the police sirens!
HA!
I call my neighbors the Louds. Another interesting thing they do is they like to vacuum and move furniture around at 1am. And they have a habit of setting their alarm – which sounds line one of those beeping car alarms – at 5am and then hitting the snooze button every 5 minutes for 3 hours. Oh, and he’s an amateur bass player who plays the same riff amplified for a couple of hours. I really, really, really want them to move out. Really.
Oh dear. Sounds like your neighbors are just plain difficult and the loud sex is just a small part of the general problem!
Hope they move out soon.
Yes, sorry for venting. Waaaaah.
Wow, meta. I like to say as long as neighbors aren’t fighting, I’m okay with noise. But what you described? Uh, no, not okay.
And yet you seem so sane, here in TODville! Not sure I would be!
Silver jubilee of marriage coming up in exactly 12 days.
Two questions:
1. How in the hell did she put up with me all these years ?
2. Should I get her anything ? Hmmmmm.
Big tip from one approaching the golden in four years….propose all over again. You’ll get the answers to both questions.
Awww, how sweet! {{{almablanca}}}
Congratulations amk! How she put up w/ u all those yrs is a wonder to me too!
Then again, love is a wonderous thing.
Come to think of it, so is money.
1. Beats me.
2. Yes, if you wish to live to see #26.
Good Saturday Morning TOD!
Hey Chips thanks so much for the DC Date thread. DonnaDem is on the mend. I should be 100% by Monday. I just checked my email and we have at least 20 TOD’ers who want to meet-up during the Inauguration weekend. Now, I just have to find somewhere to accommodate all of us and is convenient to the metro subway so those using public transportation can attend. Good thing I’m on bed rest today. The Doc didn’t say anything about me not using my fingers.
Thank you to all who have contacted me. I will be in touch this weekend and I am so excited to meet all of YOU!!!
Hiya Donna, get better VERY soon!
Just emailed you about something, have a look when you have a chance. Thanks Donna.
Thanks Chips I got it!
Hey DonnaDem! FEEL BETTER!!! How can I help?
So, so exciting!! Take good care and heal soon, Donna.
Feeeel Better…Donnnnnnna DEM…
and i look forward to meeting everyone as well…
Hey GF make sure you take the doc’s advice and rest for real. No matter how small the medical issue, the body needs the rest to mend any trauma to it. Wouldn’t want you to miss out on that 1,000 mile run you got planned! I sure wish I could join you TODsters. Make sure you keep us posted on the festivities.
Hope you’re feeling better soon Donna! It’s so great of you to coordinate the meetup. I’ll be cheering you guys from home! Have fun!
So glad you’re on the mend! If you by any chance change the date for the DC meet-up from Sunday, please let me know. I’m honored to be in the Legacy Conference that day but disappointed I may not be able to meet up with TOD! You angels kept me sane during the campaign!
Donna, it’s so nice of you to help connect good people together! One of my OFA Neighborhood Team members is going and I forwarded your email to her so she can meet more like-minded people while in DC.
Glad to hear you are on the speedy road to recovery!
I have a feeling POTUS might make a surprise stop at the Rahm party. It seems to be THE party of all the unofficial parties.
All the more reason why Jan 22 should be a holiday. After all, if the President is tired and can’t get out of bed in the morning, what’s the point of having work on that day?
Actually, it_gurl, I was thinking just the opposite. It would take all kinds of security to get him in there. The REAL party is at the White House after the girls go to bed!!
Oh yes! You go Chicago!
Thanks for posting that Death Star petition response utaustinliberal! I am still dancing on a moonbeam after reading it several times!!
By the way, I went to the response page and clicked on the “Tell us what you think about this response” so I could send them a link to my tweet. Added: “This response was AWESOME! I think Paul Shawcross might be my soulmate!”
I just hope they don’t send the Secret Service to investigate me as a stalker. Wait, a minute… that might not be a bad idea. Hmmm!
wimmin/smh
Dudette, how funny is it that I thought of you IMMEDIATELY when I saw this yesterday!
Seriously, “Dudette will LOVE this!” is what I said.
Tee-hee! My TOD Family knows me so well.
I like how the white house is also more into The Force and Light Sabers than the Death Star. I freaking loooooove the Obama white house; funny and nerdy.
funny and nerdy. Don’t forget sexy. and Foody, don’t forget foody. and doggy (Who doesn’t love Bo?) and musical, and girly, and, oh forget it.
Just AWESOME!!
All true! Sooooo true!!!
I love it too Dudette! I’d love to have a poster of it, with that image of the Death Star and the reply along the side. I didn’t know you could respond to the response, that’s so cool!
I know, right?!!
Just not the SilverFox, he has a different assignment….. Ya’ know…
Yes, we know, Pamela, we know.
Any married man should forget his mistakes – there’s no use in two people remembering the same thing.
Nice try.. Dream on…
Thank you UT!
I see where FLOTUS and Dr. Biden will be hosting a Kid’s Inaugural concert January 19th for the Military families and the children. That should be fun, FLOTUS and Dr. Biden’s events are always nice and cool. No matter what it is they always manager to include the military families, to say hay we thank your spouses and loved ones for their service to keep our country safe, but we also thank you guys too.
Hay FLOTUS has a birthday coming up soon doesn’t she? January 17th I believe.
YES, she’ll be 49.
She does NOT look 49!
Maybe 39, amirite?!
Yes Meta, that’s more what I’d guess her age to be. She’s gorgeous either way. I hope I look half as good at 49!
FLOTUS! I’ve missed her. Long time no see!
itgurl_29, me agree, since the election ended we haven’t been seeing much of FLOTUS, but I guess she has been getting herself together, just taking a break, not traveling, being home with the girls, POTUS, and Mom . Having a little vacation. Plus it takes time and effort to get ready for the Inauguration, what she will wear and what the girls will wear. So I guess she deserve that quiet time for herself and the family. Plus we’ve got 4 more years of our dear FLOTUS.
Actually, we’ve seen quite a bit of FLOTUS since the election – she’s been in all the Holiday celebrations, National Christmas Tree lighting, Thanksgiving volunteer service, Christmas in Washington, visits to the Children’s Medical Center with First Dog Bo, taking kids’ phone calls to track Santa while she was in Hawaii. Just a couple days ago, she called in to a radio station to dedicate the song “unforgettable” to PBO!
So she’s been VERY active since the election!!
Okay hopefruit2 when I think about it, maybe you’re right on this one.
Good Morning All. Make this your best day ever.
Morning Sonjia, great advice!
I am baffled by these people who act like dam fools over guns.
Co-sign!!
You and me both Annie.
Sorry for the duplicate below Chips – didn’t see you had already posted!
Sheesh! In time I will forgive you Hopefruit!
I’ve already accepted your forgiveness! Muchas Gracias
MHP just did a great job on her Dear ____________ segment. Today she wrote a letter to Gov Christie and all the hoopla surrounding his new found popularity. It’s not up yet, but will be worth a gander when it’s available. She’s still talking about him. She’s not a fan.
Damn Melissa, what a kick to the nuts you just gave Gov. Chris Christie. I’m willing to bet anyone that Gov. Christie will magically end up on “Morning Joe” this week.
Interesting—-
Shocking! You mean that Lee Harvey Oswald who didn’t have a dime to his man but was able to travel the world to different “Hot Spots” and who occasionally hung out with C.I.A agents didn’t act alone.
oh to be a stethoscope….
So many things to say, but I won’t.
Where’s Yardarm with the naughty mats?
Hmmmm? Cookemom?
You are a bad, BAD girl!
Shame on you for thinking what I was thinking.
I pray all is well with POTUS health.
LOL Dudette…I shall keep my comments to myself but we’re all on the same page.
Yes. We. Are.
AP has changed their tune—-somewhat at least. From “no one wants to go to the inauguration” to now admitting that “recent developments show enthusiasm is high” for this inaugural event. They’re calling it smaller but still “grand”. I also thought this was funny—-writer did mention people wanting to be there because of their feelings for Obama, but also gave the expected “unseasonably warm weather” credit for increased crowd expectations. Just can’t manage to wholly admit that there are tons of people who are passionate about Obama’s re-election and want to be there for that reason, warm or cold or whatever weather.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130112/us-obama-inauguration/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage
“From “no one wants to go to the inauguration” to now admitting that “recent developments show enthusiasm is high” for this inaugural event”
Pesky facts and reality keep getting in their way, Dotster!
LMAO! Indeed.
By the way Chips is there a way you could add the inauguration store link to the side bar
If not, that’s okay. Just a gentle suggestion.
Aaaaaaaaaaah, a very, very, very, very good idea! Leave it with me HF!
WOW – that was quick – THANKS!
That damn dimension known as REALITY!
All of us TODers knew the media was lying when they said there was an enthusiasm gap. Like a lot of folks I have been trolling the Internet looking for anything and everything on the inauguration. By the way, does anyone have any news on what FLOTUS will be wearing for the swearing in? I’m so excited. I will be glued to the TV and Internet all day Sunday and Monday.
Heh! We could’ve predicted this gradual re-calibration of MSM narrative since last year!
First of all, people make plans for an event like this MONTHS and WEEKS before – so it’s not the weather that is the deciding factor. Everyone knows it’s winter season which means there’s a potential for sub-freezing temperatures. On the day itself, based on the current forecast, the high temperature in DC will not be greater than 40 deg F. So it’s not “unseasonably warm” as the AP is claiming.
Just like the 11-06-12 elections, facts are those stubborn pesky things that always find an audience, no matter how hard, AP or pollsters try.
A 14 yr. old and a 15 yr. old were shot and killed in Chgo last night. 6 teens have been shot since Fri. afternoon. And on and on it goes.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-boy-14-killed-on-west-side-20130112,0,570152.story
At this rate, 506 deaths on 2012 is going to beat 2013. Why can’t the IL national guard be deployed in the areas affected? This is now beyond madness.
Didn’t then state senator Obama helped get a law passed in Chicago that banned guns in the inner city and the SCOTUS struck it down shortly after he became President?
What would be the role of the National Guard in this situation? They are not trained to police the community. What should they do? Should there be a community-wide curfew that they enforce? Do they stop and search everybody who leaves their home? What is the real solution? I admit that I don’t know the answer, but there’s been shooting and killing of our young people in Chicago for a looooong time. I have never seen so much attention drawn to it before Newtown. I won’t get into the aesthetics of what that looks like. I agree something has to be done. I have not heard a peep from the honorable mayor of this fair city lately. I found it odd that the mayors and governors represented on the list I saw of VP Biden’s task force, did not include Chicago or Illinois. Why is the focus so on assault type weapon? While they do more damage at one time, the handguns that are just as deadly. They do more damage over a longer period of time. The history of assault weapons users is that they also end up dead by their own hand or authorities, ensuring at least they won’t kill again. The users of handguns, don’t kill themselves, they live to repeat the deadly deed.
The same kind of effect they had during Katrina. Something drastic is needed here. Obviously, not enough police is available in Chicago. No city in these USA would sit still with 506 deaths if the pigmentation of 74% and 19% were non-Black and Brown.
Meth became a problem, in rural areas and quickly action took place.
Minneapolis, MN was having issues with 50-60 plus deaths and within 2 years, they worked harder to change the trend.
Chicago held an international summit with the same police force. Chicago holds all kinds of festivities that attract millions of people to the city with that same police force. Chicago has neighborhoods where the slightest infraction is handled with the full force of the law. What Chicago doesn’t have is leadership from state and local levels in all areas of concern, interested enough to solve the problem. I understand your outrage. I have the same outrage about so many lives lost in a city that has the resources to stop it, without bringing in a National Guard. Isn’t that an easy way out for the Mayor? What happens when the National Guard leaves? My outrage goes even deeper. It seems to have taken a Newtown for any attention to be paid to this issue.
Don Lemon of TeaNN has done many stories on this, at least since 2009. He also has done stories about the many killings in Detroit. I think he was an anchor in Chicago for many years before he moved to work for CNN.
I should check those out. thanks.
That’s true, but I think right now the groundswell of opinion is assault weapons. Nothing will get done without a large public outcry. Perhaps once these regulations are in place, more regs on handguns will e slightly easier? I don’t know. Race is certainly a big factor and it also seems that people expect this kind of behavior from all teens. They aren’t as saddened or shocked as the are with young children. But children are children even teens who make stupid decisions.
The groundswell of opinion always come after a mass murder of the type we saw at Columbine, Aurora, Virginia Tech, Arizona, etc. This time, the unthinkable of young babies being victims is more than the country can bear. This time, the groundswell will not ebb. That is a good thing. My contention is that in a year of 506 deaths in Chicago, over a year’s time, the groundswell should have been thunderous. I don’t recall any task force being initiated to confront that issue. I don’t hear about anyone trying to assist in the mental health issues that confront a community whose children live under those circumstances. I know we have to start somewhere, but the somewhere seems to never be where it may be needed most. sigh….
You are absolutely right, cookemom. I think often about it. I teach in a mostly white suburb; mostly middle class and I struggle with the issues my children bring to the classrooom. When I think about teaching in some areas where the struggle is for survival and children probably suffer from PTSD, I don’t know how those teachers do it. And they are reviled because their kids do not perform up to some arbitrary standard. How about when just getting to school every day is a hero’s task? And also, please do this with no funds, no materials, and buildings that are falling down around you? How much stronger would our country be if these kids were treated with respect and given a vision for their future? I don’t know how so many people are okay with just throwing away so many in our society.
You are an insightful teacher and your students and their parents are fortunate to have you. Yes, I exalt the teachers who take on the task of trying to educate kids under circumstances they, nor their students should have to confront. Bless you all, teachers are as much heroes as anyone who is recognized as such. Thank you for your service.
You are too kind, cookemom. Thank you very much for your kind words.
Was it gang related?
Was the 14 and 15 year old death gang related?
If it happened in the ‘hood, then it’s always gang related. Doesn’t matter, all of our kids are in gangs doncha know. A gang related dead child is still a dead child.
All life is valuable. In no way was I trying to imply that because these kids may have been, and notice I said may have been in a gang that there lives didn’t matter. I hope and pray all our kids are not in gangs.Nothing gives me more proud than to see a young black kid going to college, or who is working to accomplish something. It saddens me to see the news and every time a crime is committed what you usually see is a young black face. I want to believe that there are young black kids who are out there trying to do something with their lives beside being member of some no good gang.
oh no anniebella, I didn’t mean to imply you meant that. I was making an editorial comment and may have taken literary license too much in this case. I’m with you. I get so furious that our successful kids are not highlighted. Those very same gang influenced or lack of direction kids don’t see other young people who look like them achieving anything. It’s like when they look in a mirror they see a monster, cause that’s who they’ve been portrayed as from a very early age. Our young kids, very young kids are disciplined 3 times as often for the same infraction as other children. Our kids are never youngsters committing harmless pranks. Our kids go from class cut-up to be defined as full blown thugs by the time they’re 12. Our kids who excel in everything from sports to science, without adequate resources, are still to be feared, lest they slit your throat in the middle of the night. Why else do folks want to arm themselves to the teeth? They aren’t afraid of a deer breaking in and raping their wimman folk. I should stop now. As you can probably tell, this whole thing makes me nuts.
PS: I do not condone bad behavior by children, neither do I condone inappropriate responses during a child’s formative, impressionable years, that may lead to even worse behavior later.
All I have to say, after G’day TOD, is ‘Suck it up, Jim DeMint’. How that mofo got to be the head of anything at all, except a loo, is beyond me. If this group wanted to preserve credibility (do they have any?), putting this loser into a leadership position will be their own undoing. Liars, cheats and thieves, all of them. I did write to Boner yesterday, said his letter was lame, and if he was hoping for leadership, perhaps he might learn to demonstrate some. Hey y’all, back later.
Good morning everyone. Good to be here. My DT tweets every morning “thank God for another day”. And today this: A tree falls the way it leans. So be careful which way you lean.
Dr. Seuss
Chili is smelling good. But my hubby and I are trying to out-cough each other. Not good.
That does it, Chilli on tomorrow’s menu. You and Mr. Carol be sure to take care of yourselves.
Good morning, TOD! Might as well be noon because I slept in so late! The dog conversation was apropos…the “little” darling got me up at 3am to go outside. well, she had to go SO badly, that as she walked through the dark living room, dropping “presents” all the way…of course I didn’t KNOW this until I came back in the house and turned the light on….dear lord….all those things that were said about dogs were true. Mine does nearly ALL of them, except for chewing on things that she shouldn’t…never done that, but trust me, I won’t mention that to her….
Great way to wake up this morning, Chips!! I’m so excited for all the family that’ll be meeting up in DC for the inauguration of the best President EVER! The rest of us poor souls better be seeing some pictures and hearing some tales of what happened! I want to know ALL THE DETAILS!!
Was absolutely FREEZING here last night, and every single one of the leaves on my mulberry tree finally came off (keep in mind that it IS January!) The new leaves will start coming out NEXT month…but today, I’ll be raking and bagging all those leaves….I wish they were $ 1 trillion coins
Death star response: Superb! I wouldn’t have expected anything less…
UT…you brought me back in time. That’s only ok if it’s YOU at 3am. Anyone else, is obnoxious. I suggest earplugs or new rules for roommates. Or music for 3am bunny stunts on your IPod.
Congrats, Cookemom! What’s shakin’ in your neck of the woods today?
And Carolmaewy….I made chili last night. Scrumptious!! Comfort food for cold winter nights….Love it:)
Hey df, good to hear from you on this great getting up day! I think we should designate one of those DC going TODsters as our webcam videographer. That person must capture every moment of the festivities and meet-up. No such thing as what happens in DC, stays in DC.
GREAT idea!!! Any hands raised for that one??? We live by osmosis here!
Thank you, yardarm!! I get goosebumps and it brings me back:) All those crisp white uniforms and those “shiny shoes”….until the husband wore the khakis…I was so taken with the whites and their significance….(the 13 buttons). Thank you, James..whoever you are! Thank you, yardarm, for your service to our country….I hope that in the fall, that my son will follow in my husband’s naval footsteps and do NROTC in college….that will mean that all the men in my family will have served in the military for some period of time…none of them retired like my husband did, but that’s ok. Funny that my husband even DID retire. He just joined because his friend did. His friend wanted to be a career sailor…it ended up being exactly the opposite. Life is funny sometimes:)
It certainly is. I had planned on being a “lifer” but toward the end of my 2nd hitch I got sent to the Gulf of Tonkin. It was a shock to my nervous system when being engaged in big gun battles. So I quit when the turn around time was less than 6 months. Plus there were 2 babies and an up tight Mrs.
I thoroughly understand! That was a very tense time. Though my husband is a Vietnam Era vet, he joined AFTER all of you had done the hard work…it was an age thing. He had to get his guardian to sign for him to be able to join because he was 17. Though I didn’t like Mr. desertflower being gone on those long deployments, I never felt like he was ever in harm’s way…I just missed him. I understand the Mrs. angst. Then, as you know…he was on submarines. Steely Eyed Killers of the Deep:)
I was a Destroyer sailor. Ours was up close and damn near personal.
TOO up close and personal! Hubby was on attack sub and carriers. No “chicken of the sea” for him!
Subs and carriers never got within 500 yds of the shore off North Viet Nam like I did. My ship took 15 direct hits from shore batteries on one engagement and there were more as the days and nights wore on. This was during Tet in ’67.
My cousin was on a nuclear aircraft from mid eighties the he was in D.C. in the 90′s, I think during Clinton, in The Color Guard. One of my brothers enlisted after high school and was on the U.S. Kitty Hawk for four years then later stationed in Seattle, WA.
My vessel was vintage WWII and had 5″ guns and only 40′ wide. We were true sailors.
My husband was on the Kitty Hawk:) Small world…North Island/SanDiego….wonderful life we had in Coronado:)
I’ve been thankful to the Navy since I graduated from college, because they paid for half of my college. We lived in D.C. and I worked at Main Navy in the summers. At that time, what I made during three months was sufficient to pay for an entire semester’s tuition, room and board, and my “collegiate” wardrobe, very necessary at that time. This was a private church college, not a state one.
My family have all been Air Force and Army, but the Navy holds a very soft spot in my heart.
Also, the LCDRS and CDRS I worked with were fine men. I was a clerk-typist, so typed many letters for both civilian and military. One day I asked my favorite CDR why I never had to edit the military letters, while the civilian letters frequently had to be completely rewritten. (I worked in the ship design division where military and civilian were paired) The CDR told me that all midshipmen had to take FOUR years of English at Annapolis, while the civilian engineers went through basically a technical training without that advantage. I have thought of that all the years that I’ve been teaching English, where we have to work to keep a minimum of six hours of writing in the curriculum.
So damn right. Keep on speaking truth Justice Sotomayor.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/white-house-responds-to-secession-petitions-our-states-remain-united/
Idiots. All those “patriotic Amerikkans” . Dumb fucks.
I hate Duke basketball, but Reggie Love and Grant Hill is okay. Number 1 Duke lost today to N.C. State.
Free market “Principles” at work. http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022179129 Access to water is not our right!
We DO have the RIGHT to stop buying THEIR WATER!!!
Arrowhead
Aqua Spring
Calistoga
Deer Park
Deep Spring
Ice Mountain
Glaciar
Klosterquelle
Nestle Wellness
Nestle Pure Life
Ozarka
Poland Spring
Perrier
S. Pellegrino
S. Barnardo
Water Line
Zephyrhills
No Nestle for me!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Pellegrino will be the one I’ll miss the most, but I won’t die from not buying it…maybe they’ll be the ones dying for profits if we DON’T!
Our fridge has a water filter. Hook up the water to it, and nice, cold, good tasting water.
I save the boiled water after making tea, keep in another pitcher on the counter for drinking. But, it’s not necessary, as here in the PNW, we have absolutely beautiful clean, cold water from the tap which is drinkable, indeed, very drinkable. No taste, no aftertaste, just cool and lovely.
FYI on the question of disabling Java on your computer:
If you’re on a Mac, Apple has already remotely disabled the vulnerable software. Users whose Macs run Mountain Lion, Lion, Snow Leopard or Leopard operating systems are safe.
Should I be concerned, really? I’m not that PC proficient, and I know just enough to be dangerous. Before I go and attempt to rectify this situation which could very well result in putting my laptop in a cyberknot, what are my odds that I’m affected? Is this a widespread enough problem that I should alert my equally PC challenged buddies?
hand raised! Idiot computer user here!
You still need to disable the Java plugin in whatever browser(s) you use, meta.
I just sent this information to a variety of folk:
Since Thursday evening the warnings have escalated:
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/01/12/experts-urge-pc-users-to-disable-java
Instructions for how to disable Java:
http://www.java.com/en/download/help/disable_browser.xml
How to test that Java is disabled in whatever browser(s) you use:
http://java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp
Well, that seems to answer my question. Is there anything to be gained from continuing to live in denial about this? You know, like wishing it away?
Sort of like my #2 when young, decided to hide from us behind a glass door and was surprised we found her, cause she had her eyes closed.
Hey Bob, what are these warnings to disable Java about? Are they coming from Twitter or something because I haven’t seen any warnings and I use a MacBook Pro.
http://www.skyvalleychronicle.com/BREAKING-NEWS/VIRUS-THREAT-br-I-Why-you-should-disable-JAVA-in-your-PC-now-I-1229488
Thanks.
I receive security alerts from a variety of sources, UT. And, irrespective of the steps Apple has taken, if you run Safari, Firefox, Chrome, etc on your Mac you still need to disable the java plugin and the link I’ve provided informs you how to do so.
Should also note that Apple has released a little update to its Java kernel that automatically disables Java for any browser running on a Mac on which the update is installed. In any case, the test link I provided above will enable you to confirm that Java in any browser on your computer has been disabled.
Hey Bob. Thanks for the information. One more question. If one disables Java on a Mac or a PC doesn’t that then affect whatever programs are on the computer? Is your Mac/PC still running effectively after disabling Java? Are pictures, sound, videos etc. all working 100%?
Most everything will run fine, UT. When you link to a site, via your browser or certain applications, if they require Java you will receive an alert. At that point you to decide if you trust the site. If it’s a site well known to you, your typically safe. But, what I always do is run a search on the site or application and include terms like ‘secure, hacked, …. etc.’ to try to determine if anyone has reported a security problem.
Thanks for the test link Bob4r, did not think to run that simulation on browsers.
Ok, Java isn’t in my Firefox, and on my PC I have java 6 installed. The problem seems to be with Java 7.
Any Java, LL – disable all of it until further notice.
Is there a difference in Java and Javascript and should I know which one is on my PC and are both equally potentially a problem, and is it the latest version of Java, and what’s Oracle gonna do about it….. oh the burn, the burn…..
Yes, they are different …
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/javascript/article.php/3470971/Java-vs-JavaScript.htm
And, all you need to do is follow the instructions regarding Java at this link ….
http://www.java.com/en/download/help/disable_browser.xml
… and you need do nothing about JavaScript at this time. Hope that helps.
yes, it does help, thanks. Now to try and do the actual deed is another story.
p.s. I just read the article and it looks like Apple has already taken care of it for Mac users. The article says:
“Java suffered another setback in October when Apple began removing old versions of the software from Internet browsers of Mac computers when its customers installed new versions of its OS X operating system. Apple did not provide a reason for the change and both companies declined to comment at the time.”
So it looks like if a Mac user did the required update that Apple regularly sends out then Apple already disabled Java from all internet browsers the Mac user uses/frequents.
Oracle says they’re working on doing something about it ‘shortly’ for PC users, but they didn’t say when or what. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/oracle-corp-fix-java-security-181404045.html
Uninstalled and trashed out of the re-cycle bin; easy peasy. Thanks.
I use Safari and Apple removed it last year.
I use Safari too and it seems like Apple removed the malicious Java in October 2012 if you responded to their update and installed the new version of Mac OS X the upgrade required of you.
You should be fine.
Hey Meta. What’s the difference if your Mac runs Mac OS X? When and why does one get Mountain Lion, Lion, Snow Leopard or Leopard and which is the most current version? I regularly receive messages from Apple to update and right now my version is Mac OS X Version 10.7.5. What’s the difference between that and Mountain Lion etc.?
OS X Version 10.7.xxx is the ‘Lion’ release of OS X and Mac OS X Version 10.7.5 is the most recent updated version, UT. OS X 10.6 was the ‘Snow Leopard’ release, etc …. they like big cats at Apple
Bob you are freaking fantastic! One more question. Since Mac OS X 10.7.xxx is the Lion release and is in fact an operating system update which one gets for free because Apple keeps sending messages to update to the latest version, then one never has to pay to update an operating system? And the only time one pays to update their system is because the Mac is running slow and might need more space?
If you stay within your version, i.e. Lion, then it doesn’t cost to upgrade to their new patches and fixes for the version. If you want to change to the newest version, i.e. Mountain Lion, then you pay the fee.
Thanks Meta. If a major upgrade of OS X is released i.e 10.8 then does Apple send you an email or something so you have the option of doing so? Because I get email updates from Apple and so would they include that in the email or would I just have to regularly visit the Apple store to find about updates? Thanks.
There’s usually a whole lot of buzz every time they do a major system release. I never get an email about it but it’s nearly impossible not to hear about it because the industry usually reviews it incessantly. Mountain Lion is the latest.
You’re absolutely right about there being huge buzz all over the news and internet when a major system release occurs. I just remembered that I knew when Mountain Lion came out due to all the buzz. I must have blocked it out due to everyday stress of the real world.
Thanks so much Meta.
Typically, you do not need to pay for updates to a particular release, e.g., going from 10.7.4 to 10.7.5, but when Apple releases a major upgrade then you have to pay, i.e., going from 10.7 to 10.8 is a $19.95 charge.
10.7.5 that you are running, as noted above, is the most recent update of OS X 10.7.xx Lion. I have not advanced to 10.8 because I typically wait until at least the 3rd or 4th update of any particular version of OS X to take the step.
Bob, thank you so much. You’ve been a wonderful fount of information. One more thing. If a major upgrade of OS X is released i.e 10.8 then does Apple send you an email to switch from 10.7 to 10.8 or does it send you an upgrade/update box like it normally does when one needs to upgrade from 10.7.4 to 10.7.5 so you have the option of doing so? Because I get email updates from Apple and so would they include that in the email or would I just have to regularly visit the Apple store to find about major upgrades? Thanks.
Depends on if you inform Apple you don’t want email from them, as I have
For sure, you will receive automatic alerts for upgrades to any Apple software you have on your system, set to whatever frequency you want to be alerted (in System Preferences, you select the Software Update icon, and make your schedule selections there).
As to upgrades, i.e., 10.7 to 10.8, I have so many folk talking about OS from various vendors in my line of work I don’t rely on Apple, MSFT, etc., to alert me
Cheers!
Sorry for the late response, ut!
Version 10.4: “Tiger”
Version 10.5: “Leopard”
Version 10.6: “Snow Leopard”
Version 10.7: “Lion”
Version 10.8: “Mountain Lion”
The different OS versions signify upgrades to the system. Mountain Lion is very different from the Lion, with lots of new features. They’re always upgrading everything all the time!
Seriously Meta, you freaking ROCK. You always come to my help regarding Apple and Macs. Thank you, thank you, thank you sooooo much.
Quick question. Are you still on Version 10.7 or did you already upgrade to Version 10.8? Thanks.
What happens when Apple runs out of big cat names to use? That’ll be interesting to witness
You’re seriously welcome!
I’m still on 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) but am about to upgrade to Mountain Lion because I’m publishing an ebook, using iBooks Author to format it and you have to have Mountain Lion. So I’ll be doing that in the next couple of weeks. The difference is stark so I’ll be a little disoriented for a bit.
Apple will keep exploring the animal kingdom, to be sure!
President Obama & First Lady Michelle Obama: LOVE, The Tie That Binds & WILL NOT Be BROKEN
// This nonsense about PBO & his diversity issue, the disrespect for our FLOTUS, the whining and constant outrage about what he should and shouldn’t be doing with and in his adminstration will continue and here’s why:
…Barack Obama who is so unapologetically madly in love with his wife and mother of his two gorgeous daughters who are an uncannily beautiful melding and capture of both him and his regally stunning and super sexy wife – and constant and present reminders of their love and all they’ve shared and been through to get to where they are now- Or the incredibly amazing and effortlessly spectacular Michelle Obama who simply by being, exudes such a rare embodiment of all that’s most attractive and best in womanhood.
…Anything at all to attack, diminish and entirely demolish them both. And once again try to force Barack Obama to cede his moral ground. The one thing the media can’t and never seem to be able to challenge him on – no matter how much they try to prove just how inferior a president he is compared to their new found hero and model president, Bill Clinton.
So as you hear these many coordinated shouts from the sidelines for President Obama to “socialize more” and to appoint “more women to his inner circle”, beware and don’t be fooled. This is not just to create idle, silly news or simply to nip away at Barack Obama’s heels. As with everything that has been thrown at this particular President and First Lady, this is not simply par for the course or mere “political needling or mischief”.
There is indeed a much more more sinister and insidious objective – not just designed to irritate, annoy or obstruct, but to completely decimate him, his legacy and anything remotely attached to him that complements, enriches and in anyway elevates or casts President and Mrs Obama in the best light… //
http://3chicspolitico.com/2013/01/12/president-obama-first-lady-michelle-obama-love-the-tie-that-binds-will-not-be-broken/#comments
So sad to say, but I agree 100% with this bleak assessment of the MSM/GOP/PL/Firebagger intentions. Their onslaught is relentless and although we agree on What they are doing, for the life of me I cannot see the point.
Degrade a President who will be in office 4 more years? How does that benefit anyone?
A snippet of Rush L. on Chris Mattews on Thursday sounded like the ugly gasbag was admitting total defeat. He said that the RWNJ hadn’t been able to stop POTUS in any way and was sort of asking what comes next for his constituency.
His ‘constituency’ can go Flush themselves, alongside Rush! Ass.
Review of Justice Sotomayor’s book, by the 60 minutes legal analyst:
“She is quite unlike any other justice who has ever served, which is a good thing, and she brings to her work a modern American perspective that can only enrich the law. In the end, it turns out that she’s a wise Latina not because she has a brilliant legal mind, but because she so quickly understood her many limitations, resolved thoroughly to overcome them, successfully did so, and now is able to appreciate what she’s accomplished. We should all be so wise.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/01/sonia-sotomayor-and-the-real-lessons-of-affirmative-action/266607/
Troops sending in their favorite pictures of SSG Clinton Romesha soon to be only the 4rth living Iraq/Afghanistan veteran awarded : http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.523702700997772.117308.405995976101779&type=1
Those Balls are something special.
Hahahaha. I find it one of those quirky factoids of life that Chuck Hagel is a Republican and his brother is a Democrat. Though, these days the republican party does not seem to represent Chuck Hagel’s values.
I replied to your ? about Java w/o updating the TOD page UT, either way if somebody else is wondering, maybe that helps.
These two brothers have saved each other’s life in ‘Nam. The brother is a lawyer, a Dem and was an Obamabot way back when.
SoS Clinton once said: If the president walked on water, the TBGOPers(mine verbiage) would accuse him of not knowing how to swim.
Being silly now…..You would think that since the TBGOPers and the righties hate president Obama, perhaps, they could at least work with his other half that……his mother’s side. But Hell no. From the day it looked like pres Obama was going to beat Sen Clinton in 2008. The right went bonkers.
That is so true what Hagel’s brother said about those redneck racists Republicans.
Senator Johnson on CNN saying they will not raise the debt limit, and force this President to live on the revenue we collect. Which is now about 2.5 trillion. We have a annual budget of 3.8 trillion.
So, we would not pay 1.3 trillion, by his Math. And they will not give specifics of what they want to cut, they said that is the Presidents job.
Jeeze, these Guys are nuts, they are really going to do it, because they are just mad and unreasonable.
But, somebody keeps electing these freaks, so they must like them? V
Oh, and guess what costs 1.2 trillion? Yup! Obamacare. They do not want that implemented because it stands on it’s own and is great grit the Nations debt. This is their last attempt to get rid of it… They just are so obsessed with Obamacare.
They are obsessed with Obama.
Huh? I don’t get the message the tee.
They did the T-Shirt for they believed that pres Obama was going to be defeated. Hence the reduced price. Had it not been a RWNJ creation, I would have gladly buy and wear such T-shirt right around my right wing area.
The T-shirt was like Ann Romney’s rush to purchase furniture, had her dresses for the inauguration all made, and Romney and his group spent $8M already for transition? They counted the chickens before the eggs were laid…..not even hatched…..LOL….silly mofos.
Unfortunately, as much as it bothers me to say this – it wasn’t just the RWNJ’s predicting Obama’s defeat. If you go back and read some of the crap that people like Nate Silver wrote about PBO back late in 2011 – you would be shaking your head.
Yes the GOP believe they was going to win by stealing this 2012 election.
Posted some weekend reads, hope it didnt feeling like I was trolling!! Anyway last two links: Free Issue of relaunch of TNR http://t.co/BT0x8utY
The grass is greener on the Mall’s lawn, just in time for the inaugural onslaught: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national//inauguration/brand-new-mall-turf-braces-for-the-onslaught-of-millions-of-inaugural-feet/2013/01/11/0ba2e676-5b6f-11e2-beee-6e38f5215402_story.html
More info on the Java stuff that has me in a kerfundle: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/11/1178341/-Computer-Virus-Threat-Important
I guess France is ready to go to War with Mali? One hostage dad in Rescue attempt in Somalia, French airstrikes have killed over 100.
Of course, the US Media is simply impervious, or is deliberately not reporting.
Heard on NPR that the French are fighting the al Quaeda affiliated Islamists who took over the northern area and instituted sharia law – with all the barbaric punishments we all abhor. So sad for people caught up in this.
Years ago I read a novel titled The Accidental Pope. The plot line was about the battle between Christians and Muslims for control of Africa. Very prescient.
But the WH is OK with their intervention. Italy is helping out too. Mali is being decimated for years by Al Qaeda affiliated groups.
148 dead in airstirkes http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/12/us-mali-rebels-idUSBRE90912Q20130112
Jovie, France (and numerous other Nations including Niger) are not ‘going to war with Mali.’ They are present at the request of the Mali Government in what is a very carefully orchestrated, fierce attack on AQ. This has been in the works for many, many months as northern Mali effectively became a ‘roach motel’ for a bunch of different terrorist groups who have been finding Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, etc., less and less ‘safe’ – thanks to a certain President.
Welp, I guess my computer will be glued to France 24 for the weekend.
France, warning that the control of northern Mali by militants poses a security threat to Europe, rasies terror level thret, after failed raid in Somalia to free hostage leaves 18 dead. http://t.co/M1de2hra
More trouble in Benghazi: Italian consulate attcacked http://t.co/4kNe9E3K via. @JomanaCNN Italian consul tells says the consulate is not fortified, its open to the public with 30-40 Libyans who come daily to apply for visas.
OT, but I am soooooo tied of coverage of the British royals. I am sure Wills and Kate are a nice young couple, but they are not really news or even interesting gossip. We threw the royals out over 200 years ago, what is this fascination that the media, especially ABC, has with them. I mute my TV in mild disgust so I do not have to see commentators gushing over them. We have our own fascinating and democratically elected First Couple; no need to be so interested in foreigners. Well, if Harry decides to strengthen the bloodline with an infusion of good ole USA DNA, I might pay a little attention.
I don’t find the British royals classy or interesting. I have my eyes on the Danish royals and Princess of Angela of Liechtenstein (the highest ranking black Princess in a European monarchy).
I’m right on board with CEB and Jessica! When the POTUS and FLOTUS were in England, they didn’t get nearly the exposure that Will and Kate’s wedding did. Those “news” people were nearly hysterical about that wedding. The President gave a policy shaping, shifting speech to both houses of Parliament, and they barely mentioned it, while going into raptures about that wedding. Yes, we shook off the king 200 years ago, and I for one am glad. They are really anachronistic in this modern world, but they are the biggest tourist draw England has. As someone once said, “England is Disneyland for some grownups.”
Good, you guys are still rising and shining so technically I’m not late at all!
*All* I have to do is try to catch up quickly. 
IDIOTS!
Dad poses as gunman to test school security, gets arrested
A Texas man is facing third-degree felony charges of making a terroristic threat after he allegedly told elementary school staffers he brought a gun to the building, NBCDFW.com reported.
Officials say Ronald Miller was unarmed Wednesday when he told a school greeter outside Celina Elementary School that he had a gun, according to NBCDFW.com. The town of Celina is just north of Dallas.
The greeter froze in panic when Miller said he was a gunman and his target was inside, Celina Independent School District Superintendent Donny O’Dell told NBCDFW.com. Miller was then able to walk into the school and entered the office.
“He told them that he is a shooter and ‘you’re dead, and you’re dead,’” O’Dell told NBCDFW.com. Never showing a weapon, Miller then reportedly revealed his stunt was a test of school safety and he wanted to talk to the principal.
School staffers knew Miller, who was a father of a student, and police were not called until he left the school, The Dallas Morning News reported. He was arrested Wednesday evening and is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail, the newspaper added.
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/11/16466705-dad-poses-as-gunman-to-test-school-security-gets-arrested
i think we should take them at their word: the problem is insanity, and the mental health system is not reining these idiots in. if we need a registry of crazies, i say we just use the nra membership list as a starting point, then cross off all the reasonable folks whose weapons are demonstrably for hunting food, or protecting the family against cougars.
and if anybody thinks it would explode the deficit to provide mental health services to all the crazies in the nra, we would just point out that, you know, freedom.
Hi Chips & TOD family: Jan 2009, I was standing under the 2nd jumbotron on Inauguration Day. It was freezing cold but people around us were so nice & friendly, chatting, laughing, doing exercises, singing, sharing stories about the Obamas, sharing hand warmers, etc. I felt the day was an intimate exclusive country club party of 2 million people. Everywhere I went from the tightly packed train at 4am to the sidewalks to the restaurants etc, you could easily strike up a conversation with anyone like meeting your long lost relative. I always write on my Facebook that President Obama “brings out the better angels in all of us.”
This Thursday I’m flying again to DC. Are any TOD family from the San Francisco area going too? I’d love to meet up with you.
I’m watching THAT episode of Scandal. The dress Liv is wearing for Fitz’s b-day party is awesome!!! I’d like to see Miche wearing one like that.
the VP is such a sanctimonious bitch! where did she come from? Horrible old woman!
Just seen on the France 24 scroll: “Lance Armstrong to admit doping on Oprah intrview”
Wow!!!!
Neeeeeeeeew post!
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/01/12/a-good-sport-january-2013-edition/