On This Day - Pete Souza: “The First Lady reacts to something the President whispered to her at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in between events related to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.” Sept. 21, 2011
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Today
The President has no public events scheduled
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White House.gov
GM Everyone!! Fabulous pic of POTUS and FLOTUS!!
Morning Allison, morning everyone!
Congrats, Allison!
Congrats, Allison!
GM
Morning, Allison:)
furst. Go Man C.
You put the wrong letter - it should be Man U
U iz out.
You is loco
i iz.
đđđ
This is perfect!
Good morning, TOD! Wishing everyone a Blessed and peaceful day!
Great toons this morning, amk :)
Your selections are perfect today, AMK. Thanks.
Sad but true.
Gâmorning Chips, TOD, lurkers, even amk, and congrats Allison on #1! Happy Monday everyone :)
Good Morning, TOD!
Allison, itâs ironic that Russians want their leader to leave and we want ours to stay. We should be so blessed as to have 15 years of PBO. I hope all of those protesting Russians stay safe. Putin has a way of ‘disappearingâ people.
GM jackieg. Just imagine what PBO could accomplish if he was in office for 15 years
Good morning, Chips and TODville!
GM meta. I would love for your tweet to reach GOP & Clinton peeps đ
GM, GGail.
I see that Keith Boykin is on Twitter stanning hard for HRC. Pushing all kinds of polls, using false comparisons (Romney & McCain losing the general elections) and *trying* to convince us that the Dem race is over….HRC has won the nomination. If youâre so confident about your candidate, why the desperate need to convince people that sheâs the winner BEFORE a single debate or a primary election?
Joe Biden is not even in the race - thereâve only been rumors of his possible candidacy, and YET, he has shown the most upward growth in support in the last few months. Sanders and HRC have flatlined or decreased, and OâMalley, well, just never quite launched properly.
It must be some kind of psychosis that makes some black folk stunt hard for the Clintons.
This should be a very interesting week with the Pope coming to America, and the upcoming State Dinner.
Speaking of that, every little bit of this:)
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/09/21/republicans-fear-pope-bombshells-world-thursday.html
What sad, pathetic little creatures these Congressional Republicans. They can dish it out, but canât take. The pontiffâs very existence reveals all their over the top religiosity as the hypocrisy it really is-a cloak for hateful political philosophies.
Good West Coast morning Chipsticks & TOD family.
FLOTUS is wearing that dress!
Oh dear, its really the only thing the Clintons have to hang their hat on.
Ironic that the thing thatâs really killing us is lying, bigoted creatures like Trump and the enabling media that inflates his already bloated ego.
Good Morning, Everyone :)
For brother amk:)
amk, I work with people that actually walk around with pocket versions of the constitution. Their ignorance sometimes is a sight to behold.
kenyan twice has really brought out the ugly underbelly out in the open.
Yep, before Barry racist would hide their hands after they threw their rocks. Now they throw rocks in broad daylight.
Trumpâs polls have only gone in one direction - until now
09/21/15 08:00 AM
By Steve Benen
For much of the summer, the polls in the Republican presidential race have moved in one direction: Donald Trump building on his previous leads, gathering additional support from GOP voters.
But as every financial-firm commercial is required to tell you, past performance is not indicative of future results. MSNBCâs Benjy Sarlin reported yesterday on an interesting new CNN poll.
The first major national poll since the second GOP debate finds Carly Fiorina surging into a second place and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walkerâs campaign in total collapse.
The survey by CNN of 444 registered Republican voters put Donald Trump in first place with 24% support, a drop of 8 points since their last poll, and Fiorina in second place with 15%. Fiorina earned plaudits on the right for her debate performance, which included multiple clashes with Trump, although fact checkers pointed out that she vividly cited footage from a hidden camera video of Planned Parenthood that does not appear to exist.
Hereâs the latest rundown:
1. Donald Trump: 24% (down eight points from early September)
2. Carly Fiorina: 15% (up 12 points)
3. Ben Carson: 14% (down five points)
4. Marco Rubio: 11% (up eight points)
5. Jeb Bush: 9% (unchanged)
6. Ted Cruz: 6% (down one point)
6. Mike Huckabee: 6% (up one point)
8. Rand Paul: 4% (up one point)
9. Chris Christie: 3% (up one point)
10. John Kasich: 2% (unchanged)
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-polls-have-only-gone-one-direction-until-now
Jeb Bush is going to be the GOP nominee.
at this point, who knows.
All this crowding up of the field, with polls conveniently keeping him in the middle…so that he can rise when the time is opportune…
I doubt it.
It may not necessarily happen that way - BUT thatâs what TPTB/GOP establishment are thinking they would like to see happen.
Hopefruit, I agree with you.
Jeb! and HRC were chosen long ago. A rich white guy will beat an unlikeable woman—easily.
I hope we are able to disrupt what has been planned for us.
And Walker is not in the top ten. Hooray!
Yes, AMK, because people are always inspired by being depressed-a winning campaign theme sure to please the crowds.
How they fared in the general is irrelevant to the point that primary elections are not well predicted by polling done 8 months out.
Heâs also the id of the Republican Party.
As I keep saying Donald Trump is a racists sexists, loud mouth bully and the racists folks loves him and so do the media.
Now all of a sudden Trump says he knows some Muslims, he has some Muslims friends. Okay Trump then why didnât you tell that man that, why did you let him spew his racists crap about getting rid of Muslims. I know why, because Trump understand who his base is and he donât want them getting mad at him if he had shown alittle class and told that racists man that Obama is not a Muslim and all Muslims are not bad people.
Itâs like saying “I have some black friends so I am in way racist.”
“I have black friends so Iâm in no way racist.”
Ugg typing while laying down isnât easy.
Ha! Good Morning Everyone!
I know Randy Blazak! Havenât seen him in quite a while, but he is still doing his thing. Good for him.
Really?? !!! I never would have guessed!! LOL There is an even BIGGER, NATIONAL lesson here…pay attention:)
http://juanitajean.com/and-even-republicans-are-acting-surprised/
The big news in Texas right now is that George P Bush, son of a JebBush, got elected Land Commissioner in Texas and is violating the law, hiring his friends and family, not posting jobs, and has turned the Texas General Land office to a frat house / political payoff machine that even has his retired Republican predecessor aghast.
Heâs a damn Bush, people. What the hell did you expect?
If you didnât want someone acting like a damn Bush, why the fool tarnation did you elect a damn Bush?
Then it goes from bad to worse…..
that dumbya 3 is even a candie speaks volumes about the votersâ intelligence.
sure does!
The ‘under the tableâ money must be really big in Texas for people to cast a vote for a Bush. How much do they have to have rubbed in their faces before they wake up?
TEXAS POLITICS
George P. Bush ‘rebootâ of land office has campaign, family ties
Many of agencyâs top jobs werenât publicly posted
By Brian M. RosenthalSeptember 18, 2015 Updated: September 20, 2025 4:35pm
AUSTIN - Less than a year after being elected to lead the oldest state agency in Texas, Land Commissioner George P. Bush has dramatically remade the General Land Office by ousting a majority of its longtime leaders and replacing many of them with people with ties to his campaign and family.
Eleven of the top 18 officials on the agencyâs organizational chart a year ago have been fired, forced out or quit, and more could leave soon under an ongoing overhaul that Bush has described as a “reboot.”
In their place, Bush has given top jobs to two of his law school classmates, two relatives of members of two Bush presidential administrations and at least three others with ties to the family or other political leaders.
In all, Bush has hired at least 29 people who worked on his campaign or have political connections, according to a review of thousands of pages of personnel records. The agency did not advertise any of the openings publicly.
State law requires all agencies considering external candidates for a job to post the opening with the Texas Workforce Commission. Newly elected statewide officials often ignore the requirement for some core positions - Attorney General Ken Paxton and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller already have been publicly criticized for doing it a handful of times this year - but Bushâs hiring differs because of how far-reaching it has been, with the hires ranging from a temporary transition director to five campaign veterans hired permanently for the new position of “regional outreach coordinator.”
Bush made many so-called “appointment hires” before even taking office but has continued them well into this year.
……………………………………………. //
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Bush-reboot-of-land-office-has-campaign-family-6515179.php
Look at the salaries! Looks like it really pays to work on some of these guysâ campaigns! [TEXAS]
Who won jobs that were not publicly advertised?
The following General Land Office employees got a job that was not publicly advertised as open. Those marked with a star (*) worked for Land Commissioner George P. Bushâs campaign or have other ties to him, his family or other political leaders.
November 2014
Brittany Eck, Press secretary ($95,000)*
J.R. Hernandez, Chief of staff ($110,000)*
Anne Idsal, General counsel ($223,500)*
Xudong Li, Programmer ($75,000)
Joy McCauley, Energy division program specialist ($60,000)*
Anna Montoya, Government relations specialist ($60,000)*
Trey Newton, Deputy land commissioner ($210,000)*
Hector Valle, Special counsel ($120,000)*
December 2014
Kaleb Bennett, Policy analyst ($100,000)*
Brittany Cheatham, Alamo division specialist ($60,000)*
Demetrius Moreno, Regional outreach coordinator ($55,000)*
Aaron Pena, Attorney ($111,000)*
Bryan Preston, Web administrator ($100,000)*
Danielle Trevino, Information specialist ($72,000)*
Ash Wright, Government affairs executive ($120,000)*
Patty Wright, Administration division assistant ($48,000)*
Scott Zacheus, Regional outreach coordinator ($55,000)*
January 2015
Christopher Burnett, General counsel ($126,000)*
Don Forse, Legislative liaison ($115,000)*
Andrew Hart, Regional outreach coordinator ($55,000)*
Joey Longley, Program management director ($185,000)*
Billy McClure, Professional services division specialist ($96,000)
Esther Prado, Administration division specialist ($72,000)
Molly Quirk, Legislative liaison ($96,000)*
February 2015
Kurt Adams, Regional outreach coordinator ($55,000)*
Becky Dinnin, Alamo division director ($140,000)
March 2015
Brian Carter, Asset management division director ($138,500)*
Kathy Johanns, Veteran homes program administrator ($115,000)
Kelly McBridge, Attorney ($90,000)*
Martha Norris, Investment analyst ($52,000)
David Villafranca, Contract division specialist ($50,000)*
April 2015
Angie Martin, Ethics division program specialist ($90,000)*
Sara Rodriguez, Veteran homes division manager ($96,000)
Lance White, Ethics division specialist ($72,000)*
June 2015
Jeffrey Miller, Regional outreach coordinator ($55,000)*
July 2015
Kristen Hart, Attorney ($90,000)
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Bush-reboot-of-land-office-has-campaign-family-6515179.php
Uh, cronyism much. Hope they all get their butts busted big time. #wevehadenoughbushes
Hi! You know people with money donât usually have to worry about getting their butts busted. If nothing else, if/ when they get charged they have $$ and contacts enough to play the system.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2015/09/20/veep-transparent-win-big-at-emmys.html
Viola Davis Makes History at Emmys
I loved that speech of Viola Davis. Bravo to Ms. Davis, the audience ought to have stood up and given her a standing ovation.
Catching up on threads late :-)
They did stand up bella :-) Some jumped to their feet immediately (l remember seeing Louie CK get up right away) and others more slowly, but she got a standing O for sure!
This statement makes me so sad. Over the years, weâve had some awesome American actresses of color and in 2015, one finally received this recognition. Iâm proud of the body of work by Viola Davis and Regina King
But Hillaryâs going to “fix” Obamacare. I am reserving judgment to see if her “fixes” push things in the right direction or if sheâll pander to the Reagan voters she thinks she can attract. Weâll see.
Good morning, TOD.
Pope Francis is coming. UN General Assembly.
Summer is over.
Might be seeing a new candidate in the (D) Presidential race soon. Who knows?
Most NY Times editorials are like reading Swiss cheese. You have to catch on that there are holes—things deliberately omitted.
Then, sometimes, you can guess at what is not stated and learn something. Or wind up way off base.
Today the headline was “Use Medicareâs Muscle to Lower Drug prices.” Great. I am all for that.
The editorial goes on to say that HRC, Bernie and the Obama Administration “have voiced support for Fed. Govât. intervention in Medicare price negotiations, but they have been so vague that it is impossible to discern exactly what they would do.”
Here is where I see News. Remember back in 2009 the uproar, the outrage, when PBO made a deal with Big Pharma? The Right and The Left attacked the President viciously on this.
I, however, was applauding. POTUS needed Pharma behind him to overcome all the other resistance and put Obamacare in place.
Well, that was then and this is now.
I predict, in 2017, after his Inauguration, PJB will make a deal with the drug companies allowing Medicare to negotiate prices. Just as the VA does.
It is a winning issue for Joe to run on and that is why Iâm guessing The Times previewed it.
Anybody have some thoughts about this?
An important tutorial.
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-many-ways-government-shutdown-hurts.html
Iâm aware of the fact that Sen. Ted Cruz went to Harvard. Rumors continue to circulate that heâs actually smart. If thatâs true, then itâs hard to figure out why heâd continue to embrace dumb strategic moves like shutting down the federal government over funding for Planned Parenthood. Letâs list all the ways that a move like that is destined to not only fail, but hurt Republicans.
The easiest place to start is with the facts that fellow Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte included in a letter to her colleague.
Ayotte, who is not a supporter of Planned Parenthood, voted last month to defund the group. That bill received 53 votes in the Senate, short of the 60 votes it needed to pass.
âHow do we get 60 votes? And if for some reason there were 60 votes, how do we get 67 votes in the Senate to overcome a Presidential veto?â Ayotte asked in her letter.
There arenât enough votes in the Senate to defund Planned Parenthood - much less override a presidential veto. We already know that. But Cruz and House Republicans have enough votes to stop their party from passing a budget over their objections - thus leading to a government shutdown on October 1st.
Itâs interesting to note what happens to Planned Parenthood during a government shutdown. Most of their federal funding continues.
Cruz is a religious zealot. His father is batshit insane, and Cruz believes that stuff. These loons have been coddled by the GOP since Reagan opened the door (even George H.W. Bush back then knew that giving political power to the fundies would be a disaster. The last intelligent thing he said.)
I donât eat popcorn, so Iâm bringing cheezy poofs:)
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_09/a_perilous_week_ahead_for_our057705.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+washingtonmonthly%2Frss+%28Political+Animal+at+Washington+Monthly%29
Iâm coming with ya!!!!! :-)
Yea!! Iâm sure that weâll have LOTS of company! Drinks and cheezy poofs all around!
Howâs Danny, Chips?
WOOOHOOO!
Yet even more reasons why they hate him….thank you. President Obama!!!
this is what scares Trump and his stormfront followers.
among other things….EVERYTHING that doesnât look like a marshmallow scares them!
GM NW, TODville.
From the article:
“The impact of Obamaâs diversity efforts could reverberate for decades in people such as Michael Blake, a son of Jamaican immigrants who was homeless as a child but worked on Obamaâs two presidential campaigns and in the White House as associate director of public engagement. Last year, Blake won election to the New York State Assembly, with the help of a lot of other Obama alumni, including Marlon Marshall, who is now Hillary Rodham Clintonâs director of state campaigns and political engagement. Blakeâs campaign slogan was about his transformation: ‘No House to the White House.â
Obama, Blake said, has helped create a new network of people of color now climbing the ranks of government.
‘He did that,â Blake said. ‘He grew that.ââ
<3
Back
* back later this afternoon with data on Equinox- (my old phone dislikes this new google mail app immensely!) Sighs, gets ready to leave. Sighs again. Gorgeous light rising this morning, saw Venus and then an eagle lifting, think Iâll take it as a good omen! <3 Big hugs all around. :bear:
Lovely image, MP.
Made me laugh…dumber than a box of rocks, that one:)
GM DF and TOD
Did the nutcase actually say this?
Morning, dd:) Who knows! The fact that weâre questioning the possibility is all we need to know about that:)
Good grief! Time to page lobotomy!
Did Palin really say that? I am willing to bet that Ahmed is smarter then Sarah Palin. If she wanted to know where the hands are why not meet with Ahmed and I am sure he would explain things to her, she might not get it but he would try.
Good Morning Chips and TOD.
as it should be
The mixed signals from media are confusing but VP Joe sounds doubtful here. My heart breaks both for him and his family and for our nation.
camie boyâs rw govt is out to destroy junior doctorsâ lives and kill nhs in the process.
The government has decided to force through a new contact for junior doctors, resulting in unsafe working hours and a pay cut estimated to be around 30%
Sociable hours changed to 7am - 10pm Monday to Saturday resulting in an unacceptable loss of earnings, and replacement with higher paid, lower qualified ‘physician assistantsâ.
This following years of other cuts, with the ‘new dealâ, loss of accommodation and pensions decimated (twice).
Weâve been screwed for too long, itâs time to stand up for ourselves and call for the BMA to support industrial action.
http://www.itv.com/news/2015-09-19/petition-supporting-potential-junior-doctors-strike-action-reaches-40-000/
I advised my brilliant doctor niece to emigrate to australia or nz or get into pharma industry. Much better pay and work timings.
you too can sign the petition here. spread it around. they need 75k and are at 51k now.
https://www.change.org/p/british-medical-association-strike-action
I would like to see VP Biden run, but I also want him to do what is best for him and his family.
Not what I want to hear.
He deserves our patience.
Yes he does and he will get mine.
LIVE NOW: Waxahachie, TX House Explosion - http://www.cbsnews.com/liveFeed/widget.shtml
I would bet a gas leak. Hope no one was home
Today is Peace Day…
http://www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/
Chat away
http://theobamadiary.com/2015/09/21/chat-away-670/
Good morning TOD
Heads up - in ~ 45 min
I donât care, it will always be OBAMACARE to me.