why am i surprised?

Politico’s Click page is basically a bunch of junk, their attempt at a light and frothy collection of stories…. but always reported with a typical Politico slant: ie sneering at anything to do with Democrats or the President, all the time fainting with swooniness at all things Palin.

Any way, because I’m a light and frothy person I look at it sometimes … and began noticing the simply-beyond-belief racist comments Politico allowed to be posted under any story to do with the Obamas.

So, starting a few weeks ago, I began emailing the authors of these stories to ask them why Politico wasn’t ‘moderating’ this hate and racism.

Replies so far? None.

I know, I  know: Why am I surprised? This is Politico after all. A right-wing rag.

But that they allow racist hate to be posted on their site, and make absolutely no effort to moderate it?

Well, yeah, even that surprised me.

**** them.

that’s the trouble with holidays … when you get back there’s soooo much to do

With pen in hand, President Barack Obama sits at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as Staff Secretary Lisa Brown organizes a stack of 35 bills for him to sign into law, Jan. 4, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Here’s the list of the 35 bills

ok dudes, back to work

White House staffers Ben Finkenbinder and Nick Shapiro carry surfboards as they walk away from Air Force One after arriving with President Barack Obama at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, January 4

it was a good day for this fella too

President Obama signed The Shark Conservation Act of 2010 – a bill passed by Congress that amends the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to improve the conservation of sharks. More here

In case you didn’t see it in the comments, here’s a great link from Tally: SharkWater

The President signed 35 bills today, including:

That’s what you call a day of variety!

back behind the desk

President Barack Obama signs H.R. 2751, the “FDA Food Safety Modernization Act,” in the Oval Office, Jan. 4, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

White House: ….This historic legislation directs the Food and Drug Administration, working with a wide range of public and private partners, to build a new system of food safety oversight – one focused on applying, more comprehensively than ever, the best available science and good common sense to prevent the problems that can make people sick.

Read more about the Act here

and the winner is….

The most viewed video on the White House YouTube channel in 2010:

See the Top 10 list here

‘if this is socialism, call me comrade’

Ritholtz.com: No politics or partisanship here, “just the facts ma’am”.  The stock market, as measured by the S&P500 (a capitalization-weighted index, published since 1957, of the prices of 500 large common stocks actively traded in the United States) is up just about 50 percent since President Obama’s inauguration …. only Eisenhower comes close, but not even in the same zip code. A 50 percent stock move does a lot “spreading the wealth around” and Joe the Plumber’s pension is in much better shape today than it was in November 2008.

Washington Monthly: For about the first two months after President Obama was inaugurated …. Wall Street indexes were dropping sharply … conservatives said the declines were evidence that the White House’s economic policies were a mess, if not an outright failure, and that the president didn’t know what he was doing.

…..The drop in the Dow, the Wall Street Journal insisted, was a direct result of investors evaluating “Mr Obama’s agenda and his approach to governance”. Karl Rove and Lou Dobbs made the same case. So did Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, John Boehner, Mitt Romney…..

That was nearly two years ago, and wouldn’t you know it, they’re not saying that anymore.

….a chart like this one (see above) comes with all kinds of caveats … the value of a stock market index is hardly the best metric for measuring the strength of the economy …. and it’s easier to generate major gains like these when one starts from a very low point – and after eight years of disastrous Republican policies, Bush bequeathed an economy in shambles.

That said, there are some relevant angles to results like these, too. For example, it’s hard not to notice that the right seems awfully selective about when Wall Street indexes count – when the markets are down, Obama deserves the blame; when the markets are up; Obama doesn’t deserve the credit. It’s funny how that works. It’s also tough for unhinged conservatives to continue to insist that the White House is comprised of radical socialists, intent on destroying private enterprise, when major indexes have soared under Obama’s watch.

Full article here

look sharp guys, the boss is back

President Barack Obama is saluted as he arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, Jan. 4

‘get ready for a g.o.p. rerun’

Bob Herbert (New York Times): You just can’t close the door on this crowd. The party that brought us the worst economy since the Great Depression, that led us into Iraq and the worst foreign policy disaster in American history, that would like to take a hammer to Social Security and a chisel to Medicare, is back in control of the House of Representatives with the expressed mission of undermining all things Obama.

….what’s really coming are patented G.O.P. efforts to spread misery beyond Mr. Obama and the Democrats to ordinary Americans struggling in what are still very difficult times.

It was ever thus. The fundamental mission of the G.O.P. is to shovel ever more money to those who are already rich ….. their underlying motivation is always the same. They are about making the rich richer. Thus it was not at all surprising to read that the new head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Fred Upton of Michigan, had hired a former big-time lobbyist for the hospital and pharmaceuticals industries to oversee health care issues.

….I remember President Bush going on television in September 2008, looking almost dazed as he said to the American people, “Our entire economy is in danger”.

Have we forgotten already who put us in such grave peril? …. the Republicans are back in control of the House, ready to run interference for the rich as recklessly and belligerently as ever.

Read the full article here

that auto bailout? a disaster! (well, for those who opposed it)

Bloomberg: General Motors, Ford and Chrysler reported sales gains in December that topped analysts’ estimates as demand for the automakers’ new models increased.

GM’s deliveries in the month rose 7.5 percent to 224,185 … the largest U.S. automaker was expected to post a 4.3 percent sales increase, the average of four analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Ford’s sales gained 3.5 percent, topping the 3.3 percent average estimate of five analysts.

“This is a market that’s coming back significantly,” said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with IHS Automotive. “And with really strong products coming from GM, Ford and Chrysler, there’s a lot of opportunity for change in the marketplace.”

….Rising consumer confidence and retail spending bode well for car sales and may help boost 2011 industrywide sales …. Banks are starting to lend more freely, giving buyers with weaker credit an opportunity to purchase new cars…

Full article here

From November – MSNBC: A GM success story? The biggest political story that few are talking about right now? GM’s initial public stock offering … looks like it’s going to be a big success and a case where the government may just make money on this deal. This has the potential of being a very good story for the Obama White House, as well as a success of government intervention. Where would the unemployment rate be in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio if GM not gotten major government assistance?

Meanwhile ….. Bloomberg: American factories unexpectedly received more orders in November, signaling that gains in consumer spending, business investment and exports will sustain the manufacturing recovery.

….Manufacturing has been resilient throughout the recovery as factories are seeing demand improve, pointing to further growth in 2011 … it expanded in December at the fastest pace in seven months…

….Bookings for capital goods, a measure of future business investment, rose 2.6 percent … demand for computers and electronics climbed 6.3 percent, the most since February 2009.

….Rising exports, which reached a two-year high in October, and improving consumer spending has prompted some companies to boost production to meet demand and also increase their own orders to replace aging equipment.

Full article here