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27
Dec
15
116 Responses to “Early Bird Chat”
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‘appy new year.
You’re being a bit previous Mister.
early bird gets to crow and all that.
Are you going to wish us a Happy Easter on New Year’s Eve?
look, I am in a different time zone. eod.
That’s five days ahead?
five days, hours, years ….. who keeps track of time?
That’s where I am, amk. That’s where I am.
Ha!
Good morning everyone. Happy Holidays and Early New Year.
Obama’s team says the GOP earned Donald Trump
Loyalists say that after two terms of obstruction, Republicans are getting the anger candidate their rhetoric created.
Inside the White House, poetic justice looks a lot like Donald Trump.
Past and present aides to President Barack Obama are gloating that a Republican leadership they say defined themselves by blustery opposition—and used it to win the House, then the Senate, and stand in the White House’s way at every turn—is getting devoured by a candidate personifying the anger agenda.
Obama insiders would rather have immigration reform signed than lament knowingly on Sunday talk shows that the Republicans will keep losing elections until they deal with the issue. They’d rather have a longer-term approach to government spending, or more of the entitlement and tax reform deals Obama said he was eager to cut.
But on everything from guns to reproductive health to opening up Cuba, Obama’s team says it has been battling for years the very politics that paved the way for Trump’s ascendance this election cycle.
Still, Obama’s team refuses to see Trump’s political success as some kind of backlash against the president.
“In the long sweep of history, this chapter is all pretty simple: the country actually switched from one dominant culture that was in charge for 240 years to one that’s multicultural,” said one Obama campaign veteran. “And that wasn’t going to go easy. But now we’re in the middle of it, so it seems chaotic and complicated.”
They also won’t concede that Trump might win. The billionaire real estate developer’s six months atop the GOP primary race have coincided with arguably the most successful year of Obama’s presidency – scoring deals with Iran and Cuba and on climate change and trade, and seeing previous efforts on Obamacare and gay marriage secured by the Court. That this all happened simultaneously with Trump’s rise demonstrates how little support Trump politics has in the country, Obama’s aides say.
“It’s not that the country has changed, it’s that a narrow band of mostly white, low- and middle-income Americans are supporting a candidate who is speaking to their anxiety about being left behind in this economy,” said Bill Burton, a former deputy White House press secretary. “Under no circumstances could Trump get a majority of Americans to support the nonsense and intolerance that he espouses.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/obama-trump-republicans-217144#ixzz3vWlpNt1s
According to people in the White House, Obama doesn’t talk about Trump much. When he does, it’s with a combination of amusement and disgust at the rhetoric, occasionally mentioning his amazement at GOP leaders’ inability to understand Trump’s supporters and the long-term damage the president thinks Trump is doing to the party with the groups of voters who will decide future elections.
“Coming out of 2008 and the demographic changes in the country, Republicans needed energy, and instead of reaching for new ideas and new leadership, they reached for the political equivalent of Four Loko,” said Hari Sevugan, a senior spokesman for Obama’s 2008 campaign. “Sure it gives a shot of energy, but it eventually rots your brain and kills you.”
amk,the Republicans are responsible for Donald Trump and they are responsible for those racists supporters of his being release. It all started with this racists tea party rallies, it started when the leadership remain silent with the racists attacks on President Obama and his family. It started with GOP politicians, local, state, and on Capital Hill being disrespectful, making racists comments, questioning if POTUS is an American, if he loved this country, if he was a Christian, calling him a liar. When Trump was running around with that birther B.S., I can not think of one Republican leader who stood up and said that Trump needs to stop that
greetings amk. Perhaps this is the reason why the media is all trump all the time. To foster the image that Trump has more support than he does.
This would be a good time for the dnc to grassroot organize. But they are too vested in protecting Hillary as they were in 2008.
this is the candidate they created….along with the coddling him as Birther-In-Chief
Good morning Ms. Chips, Danny and TOD family, I hope all is well with everyone this lovely Sunday morning. Congrats amk, on being FURST this morning.
To all, I hope you have a spirit of humbleness and thanksgiving today. <3 <3 <3
Thank God that President Obama is still the President of The United States of America. ⭐🏆 ⭐🏆 ⭐🏆
GM RanMan. Yes it is
Good Morning TOD Happy Sunday*
GM prettyfoot58, Happy Sunday to you too. :-)
GM Roberta, Happy Sunday
Good Morning Chips, Danny, congrats on Furst amk, GM Mariele and RanMan. Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday and ready for return to work Monday. :-(
Good Morning, Everyone :)
GM Rikyrah
President Barack Obama has an admirer in British diplomat, Sir Peter Westmacott.
Westmacott, who will retire soon after also serving in Iran, Turkey, and France, praised Obama’s presidency in an interview published Saturday. He currently serves as the British ambassador to the U.S.
“I think the legacy, the balance sheet, doesn’t look bad,” he told the Guardian. “It certainly doesn’t feel to me like this is a lame-duck presidency which has given up. He’s motoring along and he’s doing through executive action what he needs to.
The comments come as Westmacott readies to leave his post and Obama heads into the final year of his presidency.
Westmacott also said that Obama shows “great charm” and exhibits a fondness for the United Kingdom.
“President Obama seems to me to be somebody who’s pretty fond of the UK and never misses an opportunity to tell us how enthusiastic he is and the affection he feels toward the royal family, for example,” he said.
The diplomat also mused about the 2016 race, pushing back against candidates — like Republican frontrunner Donald Trump — who say the country is in decline.
“I don’t think this is a country which is in decline at all,” Westmacott said. “This is still the most prosperous and successful country in the world, the biggest economy. It is still the leader of the free world; I don’t see that changing any time soon.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/british-diplomat-praises-obamas-presidency-217140#ixzz3vWv2YnDo
Good Morning TOD!
GM Don
GM Prettyfoot58, pardon my manners, I was raised better than that.
Test from hand held thingy
In my continuing series “Good News in the News” todays’ entry concerns the years long NYC Media battle against Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The NY Times this morning writes that crime has been down pretty dramatically this year, despite what disgruntled, jealous, out-of-office previous Police Commisioner Ray Kelly says. The City has never been safer!!
Last week Michael Bloomberg’s pick to replace The Mayor, the Charter for-profit schools Witch, Eva Moskowitz, announced she was not going to run against de Blasio!!
de Blasio has been sensational at raising the wages and benefits and well being of our lower and middle working class and poorest citizens. Naturally, the Wealthy and Powerful have united to smear and bash him just as they have been doing to POTUS. Their rants are petty unfounded and childish. As of now, I think it is safe to say they have failed.
Now, de Blasio isn’t perfect. I was very unhappy that he said there was no room for Joe Biden in the 2016 race.
Still, on balance, he has been a wonderful guardian and administrator of our largest City and I for one hope to see him re-elected.
Thank you, amk for posting this.
Also, those Wuerker toons are fabulous!!!
GM TODville, GE amk.
Another fact that is ignored by MSM desperate to tap into the fears of their #WhitePrivilege audience.
It’s not safe for AA’s.
i really do not know if there has been an increase in violence against men and women of color…what has changed is that there has been a movement that has been able to showcase the questionable use of deadly force against of blk folks…men and women of color who have died in police custody is not a new occurrence…what is new is that we have forced the media…& fellow citizens to not only pay attention to it…but we have used twitter and our cell phones to document…and right on cue..the forces on the right have tried to not only demonize the victims of police terror but the movement that has sprung up to protest against it….that is not new either…
but we shall prevail
That’s always.
Good Sunday, Chipsticks…TOD Family!
Everyone, enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend and safe journey to those who are traveling.
G’morning Chips, TOD, lurkers, etc, and congrats Mr. amk on #1! Happy Sunday everyone :)
To prettyfoot and others concerned with topic of getting rid of Trump:
The Republican Primary voters and caucus goers are the ones to do that. They can vote him out.
This is not on the DNC.
The DNC should be showcasing Our candidates. You know. The ones with knowledge and some vision. Comparitively speaking.
Agreed, dnc and hillz better start new voter registration, check voter id requirements, gotv, canvassing etc. in the swing states for since the rw’ers are going to turn out in yuuuge numbers regardless of whichever thug they nominate.
Nothing should be taken for granted when it comes to the Democratic voter; I hope the DNC has offices in every city. Every door should get knocked on, every neighborhood must be walked.
greetings Vicki…i am more concerned about the enthusiasm of DEMS than the haters who follow trump…the DNC is more concerned about protecting Hillary then grass root organizing..altho they have the President’s people and his data base……i do not know what they are doing with it….
Is any of the DEM candidates concerned about registering new voters….is the DNC..
Will the OFA remain a non profit or will it become a more political organizing tool?
my prayer is that after who ever becomes the DEM nominee…that the President can gather DEM and Dem leaning voters to vote…because it is going to take a massive turnout for the DEMS to win this election…
i do not see folks standing in line for hours to vote for Hillary, Sanders or O’Malley…
jus sayin
Sad to say, pretty foot, but I agree with your remarks.
It seems to me that the DNC is Hiding Hillary, not protecting her.
At the same time, the DNC and Media are united in hiding Bernie.
All Trump, all the time.
why are they hiding Bernie Sanders…
Actually I do see them standing in lines to vote for Hillary. Sanders there is a possibility. O’Malley no.
I don’t…but we shall see what happens after the nomination occurs…i pray that whoever the nominee is…they do not shun the President as they did in 2010/2014
Good morning, Good people.
Some progress on this wretched front:
This is wonderful news, meta.
Good morning TOD!
Congrats on FURST amk :)
BEAUTY BREAK!!
What a bundle of happiness x 2!!!! Thank you meta :)
And, …..
more updates in the sidebar as I have time …. bbl ….
O.M.G. TOO CUTE FOR WORDS! Adorable!! Thanks, meta:) Morning everyone:)
Meta, those precious babies made me smile, thanks!
Greetings from my corner of the north, TODobots, where it’s rainy and dark AND there’s been no need for my winter coat! :)
Good W/E coast morning. At 8:30am, the sun is shining, but it’s only 45 degrees F.
Brrrrrrr!
You know what I’m willing to trade. I’ll take the sunlight AND the degrees. That’s a nice winter combination. You can have my drizzle, my 28°F, AND my winter coat. Deal? :D :D
Nope!
Our temps will rise to the mid 60s and the sun will continue to shine :-)
Geez, last time
I try to help you west coasters by offering my drizzle!
We’re typical humans - now that we’re getting rain and lots of snow, we don’t “need” your generosity :-)
Humpfff!
:D
Interesting……You can click on the links to all the stories.
the cognitive dissonance is at insane levels.
I’ve actually had conversations with people that can barely pay their rent or put food on the table but yet will fight tooth and nail about the tax code being anti-rich. I have yet to meet a man or a woman that can talk me into voting against my own best interest.
#23 in a series of very informative #JCPOA tweets …
Good West Coast morning Chipsticks & TOD family.
Good Morning Everybody.
when cong critters and judges aren’t term limited/age limited, it was stupid to restrict only the presidency.
“At the beginning of the year, we seemed to have an embarrassment of riches and I thought it was a sign of strength of the party. And then Trump gets in and all of the sudden that strength has worked itself into something of a weakness,” said Drew Cline, the former editorial page editor of the New Hampshire Union-Leader, the state’s biggest newspaper. “He has left all of the candidates in his shadow for months. And it’s trickier for a Trump alternative to emerge when the field is just so crowded.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/new-hampshire-2016-primary-217145#ixzz3vXUaItrt
embarrassment of riches. literally clueless assholes.
Iran’s Rouhani urges Muslims to fix Islam’s global image.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Muslims should strive towards improving the world’s opinion of Islam, which he says has been tarnished by violence.
“We must remove Islam’s negative image from today’s cyber and real space,” he told a conference in Tehran.
Mr Rouhani, a religious moderate, said Islamic principles opposed violence.
In a veiled reference to Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies, he also criticised nations which had bought US weapons and fired them at fellow Muslims.
Iran is staunchly opposed to the Saudi-led aerial bombardment campaign targeting Shia Houthi rebels who seized control of large parts of Yemen earlier this year.
“How many bombs and missiles have you purchased from America this year?” Mr Rouhani asked. “If you had distributed the money for those bombs and missiles among poor Muslims, nobody would be going to bed hungry.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35185554
<3 + <3 = Love the randomness! <3
LOL.
effing gun toting bobby effing jindal.
AMEN TO THAT!
BREAKING: I feel more human today.
GM JER, all of these are GOOOOOOD!
Thanks :-)
Hello GGail. My pleasure.
So, JER, did your grandchildren get everything they wanted for Christmas? I would love to see a picture or two :-)
They did great. I am waiting for the pictures.
Oooooh, goodie. Looking forward to seeing them :-)
Go ahead and speak TRUTH, JER!
// ……………………………..
But the question is: does that help? This kind of thing stems from a myth that has developed in our culture that airing negative feelings makes them magically go away. It’s not true. And it is especially not true in large groups where people feed off of each other.
What actually helps people get over these kinds of feelings is to identify the real source of their anger/fear - something that Trump’s style of fear-mongering is designed to misdirect - and then empower themselves to do something about it.
So the question becomes, how do people actually get beyond their racism? I think that if there was an easy answer to that one we would have solved this problem a long time ago.
Obviously President Obama is struggling with that question. In interviews with Marc Maron, Marilynne Robinson and Steve Inskeep, he kept returning to a similar theme. Instead of a focus on airing our grievances, the President talks about calling out our better natures. He continually stresses the idea that we are better people than our politics suggests. In other words, the way to deal with darkness is not to simply dwell on it - but to shine more light.
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.ca/2015/12/getting-beyond-racism-that-divides-us.html
it is not on blk folks to bear the burden for the racism and hatred of white folks…sorry…this is not on the President….where are those white people of good will…let them heal the soul of racist white folks
^5 WORD!
We just had a 4.3 earthquake out near Barstow, CA.
Our large 6.7 earthquake in Northridge, CA was on January 17, 1994.
We’re inching close to our earthquake season
We didn’t feel anything down here near San Pedro; too far away.
I didn’t feel it either Betsy, just heard it on ABC7 news and then went to CALTECH for confirmation. Northridge was my welcome to Calif earthquake and I’ll never forget the feeling, nor the date. I always get nervous in the month of January. :-)
It was soooooo nice to see you last night and to meet your wonderful husband. <3
I don’t blame you! Just saw the picture in the email you sent. Thanks!!! It was such a fun evening last night and thanks for the wonderful experience tasting Dom!
Here is another Obama rainbow.
I love this one, JER - one of these days we can do a ‘Rainbow’ post! :D :D :D
Is there any positive topic for which we don’t have enough visuals to do a post? :) :)
Like yesterday, I’m still thinking “This is my beloved son in whom I am well-pleased. Hear ye him!”
Yesterday…
In January…
Beeeeeeautiful! Thank you BFF!!
My pleasure, BFF.
HEALTH ADVISORY
Do not have any food or beverage in your mouth when you listen to this fantastic NPR WW …. DTM George Clinton interview ….
And, warming up for New Year’s Eve, how about a little funk :)
bb much later ….
#Hope4ALL
Before departing for the afternoon … nothing like ‘rubbing the salt in’ because he knows he can do so thanks to @POTUS …
Chat away
http://theobamadiary.com/2015/12/27/chat-away-742/
DAMN THOSE LITTLE PEOPLE! What “freedumb” looks like?
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/12/27/3735129/alabama-mansion-bp/
As storms once again battered the state of Alabama over Christmas, Republican Gov. Robert Bentley moved to divert funding from the 2010 BP oil spill recovery effort to finance the renovation of a second Governor’s mansion on the Gulf Coast.
Yet that beachside mansion, which Alabama governors beginning with famed segregationist George Wallace have enjoyed, was not damaged by the BP oil spill. It was damaged more than two decades earlier by Hurricane Danny, and has sat empty ever since.
While Alabama’s oyster industry and coastal communities continue to suffer from the effects of the massive Deepwater Horizon oil well blowout, the repairs to the governors’ mansion are estimated to cost between $1.5 million and $1.8 million. Though Bentley says he will stay there only “on occasion,” the administration said the property would be “primarily” used to wine and dine corporate executives considering the state for investment.
While the funding comes from a grant, not taxpayer money, the state plans to divert other BP settlement dollars to cover the state’s General Fund shortfalls. Bentley has been widely criticized for prioritizing the far-flung beachfront property at a time when the state is struggling to provide basic services to its residents.