On This Day: President Barack Obama greets neighbors after visiting a model home at the Nueva Villas at Beverly, a single-family housing development owned by local nonprofit organization Chicanos Por La Causa Inc. in Phoenix, Ariz., Jan. 8, 2014 (Photo by Pete Souza)
****
Today
2:05: The President participates in a conference call with grassroots supporters on guns
Yep. That’s our glorious FLOTUS. The White House will be a sadder place without her. We have to have a Democratic successor tin 201, but can you imagine Bill Clinton trying to fill her shoes?!!!???
I think he’s too much of an egotist for that. He wants the limelight in any way he can get it. I just hope he doesn’t insert himself into cabinet meetings or think he’s some kind of co-regent or something. Hilz is going to have her hands full just keeping him in his place.
PHX! I remember this photo because this happened after I had gone to see him in person. What a day that was for me! I can’t imagine what this woman felt when the President just strided up to her in her front yard:)
May I also mention that I signed up for the conference call…BEFORE I KNEW WHAT TIME IT WOULD BE HELD! Yikes…I’m at work then,,,I thought it would be AFTER work….someone here should go in my place…..
I’ve always loved the “realness” of the photo above because that’s exactly how a normal person would react meeting the president in such an unexpected way. But can you imagine how she must have kicked herself for not putting on something else when she woke up that morning?
Going through the archive looking at past State of the Union Addresses. Once a draft of the speech is written, it is circulated by the speech writers in these folders. This picture shows the folder containing the latest draft of the 2014 speech on the Resolute desk, on Jan. 27, 2014. Tech info: iPhone5 (can't remember if/what filter was used) #sotu
Meta, I can’t imagine a more stressful task than writing the SOTU drafts. I know President Obama writes a lot of it himself, but there has got to be monumental pressure on the speechwriters. Having done some speech writing myself in my time, I know there has to be a lot of nail biting going on about now.
Yup - Especially since this will be his last SOTU - I think that’s where most of the pressure will come from this year. But I have no doubt that our President will knock this one out of the park! It will be one for the history books - as are a significant number of his speeches. :)
I’ve been a writer for a high level admin and it is very stressful…..I can’t imagine what it’s like for POTUS. I think they do such an exceptional job because they have a wonderful mentor who is so eloquent and clear and they share the same values. His speeches are just the BEST.
The National Rifle Association has got this amazing thing going and they aren’t about to let President Obama mess it up.
It goes like this: Gun-related horror happens; Obama proposes policy the NRA once endorsed; the NRA pretends Obama is coming for your guns; gun sales skyrocket; no law-abiding citizen ever has any guns taken away. Repeat, as parents of first graders mourn.
It’s been the only predictable form of economic stimulus since 2009.
Obama tried something crazy Thursday evening — a town hall where he could confront the NRA’s talking points live on CNN.
The NRA wisely saw where this was headed.
Obama might ask trick questions like, “How many guns have I taken?” or “Why would I want your stinky gun?” or “Have you spoken to a doctor about your fantasy that a black man is coming for your phallic symbol?”
Anything he did that didn’t involve him backing an aircraft carrier up to Texas and starting to gun-grab wouldn’t help the NRA’s cause. So it didn’t show up.
What about the idea that only a good guy with a talking point can stop a bad guy with a talking point? Not when that talking point is the basis of the entire growth of your business.
The fear that someone is coming for your gun is a staple of candidates who are coming for your health insurance, reproductive rights, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, minimum wage, child labor laws, voting rights, grandma…
This is all true, DF, and politicians have tiptoed around the NRA for decades. But PBO is calling them out by name and exposing their hypocrisy. Last night he left no one in doubt of the NRA destructiveness. True gun nuts won’t care, but those with some common sense might realize that the NRA’s influence on US society is pernicious and can and should be challenged.
Good morning Ms. Chips, Danny and TOD family, I hope all is well with everyone this lovely Friday morning. TGIF>> Congrats NW, on being first this morning.
To all, I hope you have an enjoyable, good-natured, and jolly-good-time today. <3<3<3
Thank God that President Obama is still the President of The United States of America. ⭐🏆 ⭐🏆 ⭐🏆
Pf, I think that the hostility of both that Idiot Cooper and the pro gun crowd in the audience is EXACTLY what PBO was looking for. By keeping his cool and countering each extremist point with common sense and logic, he was showing us how to deal with the opposition when we do voter outreach. He told us at the announcement on Tuesday, that change won’t happen in his presidency, so he’s relying on US to keep pushing and he showed us how to do that as he answered every question, no matter how hostile or idiotic. Instead of ‘catching’ PBO, Anderson Cooper served as his stooge.
Jackie G…..you have nailed it…PBO knew what was coming….he was quite prepared for it….but Anderson and the staged folks weren’t prepared for the President….i wonder what the other folks thought who were in that room….
that explains why the pundits who came after the Town Hall meeting were very harsh…they tried to distort and trash what the President said…but as we know…PBOs light shines brightly…
Didn’t watch the pundits, PF, but are they ever NOT harsh to PBO. They can’t fathom him, so sensing their own inadequacy, they lash out. Also, they get their marching orders from their Republican bosses. They don’t get the fact that we all have their number.
I hope we have a decent jobs report ahead of PBO’s final SOTU address, but regardless - he’ll have a lot of great things to say about his accomplishments on the economy the last 6 yrs. :)
Assad should be condemned by every international body and become a global pariah and any country that continues to support him should feel the brunt of international opprobrium. It was one thing for countries to ‘claim’ they didn’t know what Hitler was doing, but that excuse doesn’t apply to Assad.
What would our economy look like if one political party had NOT decided to commit ECONOMIC TREASON against this country beginning January 20, 2009?
…………………………………
The U.S. created 292,000 new jobs in December, as hiring sped up toward the end of the year. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a gain of 215,000 nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate remained at 5%, largely because almost a half-million people joined the labor force.
Employment gains for November and October, meanwhile, were revised up by a combined 50,000, the Labor Department said Friday. The government said 252,000 new jobs were created in November instead of 211,000. October’s gain was raised to 307,000 from 298,000, marking the biggest increase of 2015.
In a surprise, average hourly wages paid to American workers fell a penny to $25.24. Still, hourly pay has risen 2.5% in the past 12 months, matching a six-and-a-half-year high. The amount of time people worked each week was unchanged at 34.5 hours. The labor-force participation rate rose a tick to 62.6%.
One answer to your question, Rikyrah, is that our infrastructure would be vastly improved if Congress had voted for an infrastructure bill; employment would be even higher if Congress passed the President’s jobs bill; more companies would be thriving today, if Congress had voted for a bigger stimulus bill; and wages would be higher if Congress had voted to increase the minimum wage. AND, not incidentally, we would have saved billions if spoiled brat Cruz hadn’t been allowed to shut down the government and we would be getting a bang for our tax payer buck if members of Congress actually worked the hours they were paid for and tried to do something productive each week.
He’s mad because the grift isn’t as strong for him as it used to be:
An angry Mike Huckabee lashed out at evangelical Christians who declined to back his struggling presidential campaign.
The former Arkansas governor and conservative commentator spoke with his erstwhile colleague Todd Starnes, of Fox News, about his disappointment with the Religious Right establishment, reported Right Wing Watch.
“As I’ve often said, ‘I don’t go to them, I come from them,’ but because of that I do understand them ,” Huckabee said.
Huckabee, who has been criticized for selling his mailing list to quack doctors and conspiracy-mongers, complained that conservative Christian leaders seemed more interested in raising money off anti-abortion hysteria and same-sex marriage fears than actually ending their legal acceptance.
“A lot of them, quite frankly, I think they’re scared to death that if a guy like me got elected, I would actually do what I said I would do, and that is I would focus on the personhood of every individual, we would abolish abortion based on the Fifth and 14th Amendment, we would ignore the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage decision,” Huckabee said.
Water donations run dry in Flint, no action from Governor Snyder
Stephainie Gosk, NBC News correspondent, talks with Rachel Maddow about how the people of Flint have been relying on scarce water donations to replace their toxic water supply as Governor Rick Snyder has increased the amount he’s talking about the crisis without taking any actual short-term action for the people of Flint who are without options.
Michigan is a prime example of why it’s important to VOTE in EVERY election. It’s actually dangerous to your health and life to say home when the governor’s office is at stake. I
After being interrupted by protesters chanting Bernie, Trump tried to play tough guy and have the protesters coats confiscated because it was “ten below outside” according to the Republican frontrunner.
Trump said, “Get them out. Take them out. Get them out there. Don’t give him his coat. Keep his coat. Confiscate his coat. It’s about ten below zero outside. You can keep his coat. Tell him we’ll send it to him in a couple of weeks.”
Trump is just aching for a Gastapo. First you confiscate their coats, then all their personal property and then their lives-all because they dared to challenge the Fuhrer, um Trump.
GOP Rep. Moves To Censure Obama Over Executive Action On Guns
By ALLEGRA KIRKLAND
Published JANUARY 7, 2016, 2:06 PM EST
Staunch gun rights advocate Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS) introduced a resolution on Wednesday to “censure and condemn” President Barack Obama over his newly announced executive actions on gun control.
“For seven years, the President has gradually expanded his powers through executive overreach,” the Mississippi lawmaker wrote in a statement published on his website. “His actions this week to take away the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens is just the latest, if not most egregious, violation of the separation of powers found in the United States Constitution.”
The executive actions announced Tuesday by the president include expanding background checks for gun purchases and investing $500 million in mental health treatment.
While gun reformers see the actions as small but necessary steps towards regulating firearms in the United States, Second Amendment advocates like Palazzo have dismissed the actions as unhelpful overreach by the executive branch.
As the National Constitution Center notes on its blog, censuring a government official amounts to little more than a “public shaming.” But as TPM previously reported, when Republicans in Congress were considering censuring Obama in late 2014 over his executive actions on immigration, censuring a President actually may run afoul of the Constitution.
HELLO!
Mooooooooooooooorning Nerdyaroo!
Hi Nerdy. Thanks for the terrific tweet summaries last night.
Thanks, Jackie! Glad they helped.
Good Morning…Nerdy….
just wanted to say GM and to let you know how much i appreciate you….thank you….((huggs))
Awwwww….thank you so much, PF. Right back at you! ((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))
Morning everyone!
Gawd, she is ridiculously beautiful:
Yep. That’s our glorious FLOTUS. The White House will be a sadder place without her. We have to have a Democratic successor tin 201, but can you imagine Bill Clinton trying to fill her shoes?!!!???
You know Jackie, I have a feeling that being First Gentleman is the stuff of Bill’s nightmares - betcha he’ll vote for Bernie :-)
I think he’s too much of an egotist for that. He wants the limelight in any way he can get it. I just hope he doesn’t insert himself into cabinet meetings or think he’s some kind of co-regent or something. Hilz is going to have her hands full just keeping him in his place.
‘Co-regent’ :-) - I suspect that’s exactly how he’ll see his role!
Well jackie, can you imagine Melanie Trump trying to fill our FLOTUS shoes?
PHX! I remember this photo because this happened after I had gone to see him in person. What a day that was for me! I can’t imagine what this woman felt when the President just strided up to her in her front yard:)
Morning everyone! Happy Friday!
May I also mention that I signed up for the conference call…BEFORE I KNEW WHAT TIME IT WOULD BE HELD! Yikes…I’m at work then,,,I thought it would be AFTER work….someone here should go in my place…..
I’ve always loved the “realness” of the photo above because that’s exactly how a normal person would react meeting the president in such an unexpected way. But can you imagine how she must have kicked herself for not putting on something else when she woke up that morning?
Good morning, TODers.
Has anyone received instructions for the conference call with POTUS today? I signed up but haven’t gotten the info.
Perfect. Morning, AMK.
Morning Miss jackie.
Meta, I can’t imagine a more stressful task than writing the SOTU drafts. I know President Obama writes a lot of it himself, but there has got to be monumental pressure on the speechwriters. Having done some speech writing myself in my time, I know there has to be a lot of nail biting going on about now.
Yup - Especially since this will be his last SOTU - I think that’s where most of the pressure will come from this year. But I have no doubt that our President will knock this one out of the park! It will be one for the history books - as are a significant number of his speeches. :)
I’ve been a writer for a high level admin and it is very stressful…..I can’t imagine what it’s like for POTUS. I think they do such an exceptional job because they have a wonderful mentor who is so eloquent and clear and they share the same values. His speeches are just the BEST.
HA!
http://www.cafe.com/nra-gun-town-hall-obama-wont-take-guns/
The National Rifle Association has got this amazing thing going and they aren’t about to let President Obama mess it up.
It goes like this: Gun-related horror happens; Obama proposes policy the NRA once endorsed; the NRA pretends Obama is coming for your guns; gun sales skyrocket; no law-abiding citizen ever has any guns taken away. Repeat, as parents of first graders mourn.
It’s been the only predictable form of economic stimulus since 2009.
Obama tried something crazy Thursday evening — a town hall where he could confront the NRA’s talking points live on CNN.
The NRA wisely saw where this was headed.
Obama might ask trick questions like, “How many guns have I taken?” or “Why would I want your stinky gun?” or “Have you spoken to a doctor about your fantasy that a black man is coming for your phallic symbol?”
Anything he did that didn’t involve him backing an aircraft carrier up to Texas and starting to gun-grab wouldn’t help the NRA’s cause. So it didn’t show up.
What about the idea that only a good guy with a talking point can stop a bad guy with a talking point? Not when that talking point is the basis of the entire growth of your business.
The fear that someone is coming for your gun is a staple of candidates who are coming for your health insurance, reproductive rights, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, minimum wage, child labor laws, voting rights, grandma…
This is all true, DF, and politicians have tiptoed around the NRA for decades. But PBO is calling them out by name and exposing their hypocrisy. Last night he left no one in doubt of the NRA destructiveness. True gun nuts won’t care, but those with some common sense might realize that the NRA’s influence on US society is pernicious and can and should be challenged.
corrupt/boneless dems are also part of the problem.
G’morning Chips & TOD! Congrats Nerdy on #1! Happy Friday everyone :)
worth a repost.
PLEASE POST THIS PLEASE
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017319525
did this in last thread.
100,000…
Thanks a bunch, amk! (PS/// I didn’t read the last thread…does it cost extra if you have to be redundant?)
double the work + a gigantic, ginormous, monstrous pool = 100,000
Ah……no. Did you actually SEE the pool? I bet 100,000 the answer is no….take the bet. Please.
I trust gg 100,000%.
Excellent, thanks DF!
Thank you, Chips. amk was mean to me.
what else is new?
Good morning Ms. Chips, Danny and TOD family, I hope all is well with everyone this lovely Friday morning. TGIF>> Congrats NW, on being first this morning.
To all, I hope you have an enjoyable, good-natured, and jolly-good-time today. <3 <3 <3
Thank God that President Obama is still the President of The United States of America. ⭐🏆 ⭐🏆 ⭐🏆
Thank you Nerdy for your outstanding showcasing of the fraud the the media has become…that clip between Anderson and President says it all….
You’re welcome, PF.
This is my take on that so-called TownHall meeting
Pf, I think that the hostility of both that Idiot Cooper and the pro gun crowd in the audience is EXACTLY what PBO was looking for. By keeping his cool and countering each extremist point with common sense and logic, he was showing us how to deal with the opposition when we do voter outreach. He told us at the announcement on Tuesday, that change won’t happen in his presidency, so he’s relying on US to keep pushing and he showed us how to do that as he answered every question, no matter how hostile or idiotic. Instead of ‘catching’ PBO, Anderson Cooper served as his stooge.
Jackie G…..you have nailed it…PBO knew what was coming….he was quite prepared for it….but Anderson and the staged folks weren’t prepared for the President….i wonder what the other folks thought who were in that room….
that explains why the pundits who came after the Town Hall meeting were very harsh…they tried to distort and trash what the President said…but as we know…PBOs light shines brightly…
Didn’t watch the pundits, PF, but are they ever NOT harsh to PBO. They can’t fathom him, so sensing their own inadequacy, they lash out. Also, they get their marching orders from their Republican bosses. They don’t get the fact that we all have their number.
GOOD!
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-tech-idUSKBN0UL2H320160107
White House, Silicon Valley to hold summit on militants’ social media use
cue gg (no, the other one) & snowden & aqua buddha poutrage
They all seem so irrelevant now…don’t they?
yup. we don’t even rant about gg anymore. what a pity.
Precisely. Their 15 minutes is way past up….and they are just pathetic, has-been fools.
I hope we have a decent jobs report ahead of PBO’s final SOTU address, but regardless - he’ll have a lot of great things to say about his accomplishments on the economy the last 6 yrs. :)
292K- 5%!
some one at bj was mentioning around 290 k and 5%.
They were right about right…
Good morning TOD and Happy Friday :)
Perspective ….
Assad should be condemned by every international body and become a global pariah and any country that continues to support him should feel the brunt of international opprobrium. It was one thing for countries to ‘claim’ they didn’t know what Hitler was doing, but that excuse doesn’t apply to Assad.
BOOM!
292,000 is a lot of jobs!
AND it was higher than projected….which makes it even better. :)
Romney promised 6% unemployment by Dec 2016….POTUS can strut into his final SOTU and say see here…..
there ya go.
Good day hf2 :)
Paging Bobswern of Old Orange…
Is that whiner still around? Or should I ask is that place of babel still around?
I have no clue where he is…haven’t been to Old Orange in quite some time.
He is a still doing what he does. Never, ever read his work though just get the headline on the sidebar.
BOOM! Any questions?
Obamacare is really a job-killer after all…we shoulda listened to the smart Republicans back in 2012!
thank you for the tweets hf…..i’m just sitting at my desk smiling..
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Oh that Obama….he’s ruining the economy….
LOL
I will continue to ask this question:
What would our economy look like if one political party had NOT decided to commit ECONOMIC TREASON against this country beginning January 20, 2009?
…………………………………
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-creates-292000-jobs-in-december-unemployment-5-2016-01-08?mod=BreakingNewsMain
One answer to your question, Rikyrah, is that our infrastructure would be vastly improved if Congress had voted for an infrastructure bill; employment would be even higher if Congress passed the President’s jobs bill; more companies would be thriving today, if Congress had voted for a bigger stimulus bill; and wages would be higher if Congress had voted to increase the minimum wage. AND, not incidentally, we would have saved billions if spoiled brat Cruz hadn’t been allowed to shut down the government and we would be getting a bang for our tax payer buck if members of Congress actually worked the hours they were paid for and tried to do something productive each week.
I would like to put your comment in lights over every bridge in America
He needs to go. It’s PAST time for him to go!
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/01/07/3737198/paul-lepage-dmoney-impregnate-white-girl/
He’s mad because the grift isn’t as strong for him as it used to be:
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/bitter-mike-huckabee-says-christian-groups-would-rather-rake-in-dough-than-see-president-huckabee-end-abortion/
I can see a sunset in Huckabee’s near future and a sagging old horse for him to ride into it.
They POISONED these people.
POISONED THEM.
………….
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 1/7/16
Water donations run dry in Flint, no action from Governor Snyder
Stephainie Gosk, NBC News correspondent, talks with Rachel Maddow about how the people of Flint have been relying on scarce water donations to replace their toxic water supply as Governor Rick Snyder has increased the amount he’s talking about the crisis without taking any actual short-term action for the people of Flint who are without options.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/flint-water-donations-run-dry-no-state-plan-598134339963
Michigan is a prime example of why it’s important to VOTE in EVERY election. It’s actually dangerous to your health and life to say home when the governor’s office is at stake. I
Please tweet that jg!
Low life creep. Not worthy of anything.
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/01/07/trump-bonkers-demands-bernie-sanders-protesters-coats-confiscated-rally.html
After being interrupted by protesters chanting Bernie, Trump tried to play tough guy and have the protesters coats confiscated because it was “ten below outside” according to the Republican frontrunner.
Trump said, “Get them out. Take them out. Get them out there. Don’t give him his coat. Keep his coat. Confiscate his coat. It’s about ten below zero outside. You can keep his coat. Tell him we’ll send it to him in a couple of weeks.”
Trump is just aching for a Gastapo. First you confiscate their coats, then all their personal property and then their lives-all because they dared to challenge the Fuhrer, um Trump.
Thank you, amk.
New post
http://theobamadiary.com/2016/01/08/the-way-washington-changes-is-when-people-vote/
Progress
This is a BFD.
Intriguing…..take a look, MightyP!!
UH HUH
UH HUH
…………….
GOP Rep. Moves To Censure Obama Over Executive Action On Guns
By ALLEGRA KIRKLAND
Published JANUARY 7, 2016, 2:06 PM EST
Staunch gun rights advocate Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS) introduced a resolution on Wednesday to “censure and condemn” President Barack Obama over his newly announced executive actions on gun control.
“For seven years, the President has gradually expanded his powers through executive overreach,” the Mississippi lawmaker wrote in a statement published on his website. “His actions this week to take away the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens is just the latest, if not most egregious, violation of the separation of powers found in the United States Constitution.”
The executive actions announced Tuesday by the president include expanding background checks for gun purchases and investing $500 million in mental health treatment.
While gun reformers see the actions as small but necessary steps towards regulating firearms in the United States, Second Amendment advocates like Palazzo have dismissed the actions as unhelpful overreach by the executive branch.
As the National Constitution Center notes on its blog, censuring a government official amounts to little more than a “public shaming.” But as TPM previously reported, when Republicans in Congress were considering censuring Obama in late 2014 over his executive actions on immigration, censuring a President actually may run afoul of the Constitution.