You do know that the movie(s) made of this Presidency (the accurate ones) are going to have theatre crowds cheering for 2 hours straight. Our President is my hero, and I am unashamed to say so.. I’ve had few folks I looked up to and truly admired, he will always be number one on my very short list.
I agree with you.. she is a magnificent role model for anyone, especially our young females.. I would be honored to have a daughter or granddaughter who modeled themselves after FLOTUS Michelle Obama . I absolutely cannot stand any criticism of her, it really bothers me as I have seen nothing of her that isn’t graceful, caring, thoughtful & intelligent.
sherijr…I couldn’t agree more. I have never had a personal hero until Barack Hussein Obama….and am grateful and proud to state that I do now. He is an unbelievably exceptional human being….one we all can learn from. May God always be his strength and his shield.
I THOUGHT THE GOP SAID THAT THE ACA INDIVIDUAL MANDATES WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL …….
Mitt Romney does a flip flop flip, and a triple axle on the issue of “MANDATES”. Doesn’t Mittens realize that it is the REPUBLICAN PARTY that has been filing all of those lawsuits against the Affordable Care Act because of the mandates?
Sure, we Democrats know that the idea of mandates originated with the Republican Party. But Mittens just went off script big time and is saying what we all know to be true OUT LOUD. Now if we could just get the feckless media to focus on this hypocrisy it would be great. Maybe Mittens will come to his senses and walk this back before it gets legs. But I would love to see DemRapidResponse jump on this with a new ad asap.
ROMNEY SAYS INDIVIDUAL MANDATE IS A ‘CONSERVATIVE IDEA,’ THANKS GINGRICH
After 3 years of the Republican Party slamming President Obama’s health care plan, calling him everything from a socialist, communist and everything in between, it seems like Mitt Romney is trying to reverse the course. On Sean Hannity’s radio show, Mitt Romney claimed that the individual mandate for health care was actually a conservative idea, a far cry from what we have heard from the radial right.
Romney- “The idea for a health care plan was not mine alone, The Heritage Foundation — a great conservative think tank — helped on that. I’m told Newt Gingrich, one of the very first people who came up with the idea of an individual mandate, did that years and years ago”
Mittens is DISGUSTING. I dislike him more than Perry. At least Perry has a few more beleifs he hangs on to without flip/flopping. Having Romeny in the Whitehouse flipping on every issue is UNTHINKABLE!!! 😯
Mitt is a hoot. He really doesn’t think what he said before is a matter of public record. Can’t wait till he starts denying he was Governor of Massachusetts.
Hahaha. Good one debringle. Mitt doesn’t seem to realize that we’re in a digital age and all this flip flopping has been recorded for posterity. He makes it so easy for Democrats to wipe the floor with him.
derbingle….that was LOL stuff u just said. Listening to his speeches on any one issue,you’d feel dizzy because of the changing positions! The ads are gonna cut like a knife.
He kinda did that already : “I am not a politician” or words to that effect he said recently at a campaign event. With all of these Republicans truth does not matter .
So, does that mean that Mitt Romney is now for “Obama cares” health care reform, which included the conservative “idea of an individual mandate?” Besides, if the conservative Heritage Foundation, and Newt Gingrich, supported “individual mandates” were teabaggers lying when they claimed that President Obama was a Nazi, socialist, communist, dictator because he enacted the ACA? I am just so fed up with our so called mainstream media. Why are the so called reporters not asking these Republicans to explain their lie that the government has taken over healthcare? If the government has taken over health care, how come I am still paying my senior supplemental health insurance, and my dental and vision insurance, to private companies? What is the use of the media if they are allowing politicians to tell lies without any a challenge? If we really had an honest and independent media they would have been the ones pointing out, not Romney, that a great many conservative were for, and vigorously promoted, the idea of individual mandates as the key to making health care accessible and affordable, to most Americans. The idea of individual mandates for health insurance is quite similar to the individual mandated liability insurance, which is required by states like California.
THIS. PBO has already told us BEFORE he was PBO that he gave people the benefit of the doubt, he tries to find common ground but if you F@#k with him he’ll CRUSH you! Here’s to you Mr. President and we vow to #PRESS ON!
And in total CONTRAST Crowley on CNN had those two craven, inveterate LIARS and theDick and Liz Cheney siting there in turbo-spin-mode, lying and lying and given complete free rein with no opposing voice of truth. And Crowley tippy-toeing around the two sickeing gas-bags, “But don’t you think in the last two and a half years….” And then they would just retort wih their droning, fantastical nonsense. Hopefully with such low ratings for CNN not very many people were subjected to the blatant misinformation from these bacteria. Just once I’d like to see either one of them go on with LawrenceO…..
CNN just needs to change its name to “Totally in the Bag for the GOTP.” Who did they have on right after showing a clip of the HRC piece? Aravosis. I guguess there are no gay leaders {*cough*] who aren’t ex-GOP staffers. Nope none available. I guess Choi and Aravosis flipped to see who’d get the honors of damning with feint praise.
And I just read that Erin Burnett, whose new show debuts tomorrow on CNN, is engaged to a Citigroup exec who is a big Chris Christie fan, donated the max to his last campaign. Does not bode well for truth-seekers, will fit in with CNN’s All GOP All The Time agenda.
It was disgusting to watch. The little that I could stand mde me want to projectile vomit. She pretty much gave free reign to Dick and his freak of a daughter to spin lie after lie after lie. Cheney had the gall to demand an apology for PBO for the killing of Al-Awlaki because he was an American citizen. This from a guy who practically relishes the idea of terrorists – be they American citizens or not – getting waterboarded. Give me a freaking break! CNN really has earned the nickname TeaNN.
Ut, I truly admire you and others who still watch cable news so that you may keep us informed. You are doing a heroic job. For me it had come to the point that I would be so enraged watching these people. So, I decided that for the sake of my mental health I would avoid them altogether. I, of course, understand that a great many Americans watch them and so we too have to watch/monitor them so that we may push back against their BS. That’s why I am grateful that you have the courage to continuously monitor them so that you can push back against their lies and manipulations.
For your virtual Sunday dinner we go back to the traditional.
I invite you all to sit down with us for some stuffed roasted chickens, mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh Kale and homemade dinner rolls. For dessert hubby is baking chocolate brownies that will be topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Thank you all for a wonderful week and my family will join me in praying for our dear blog friend africa on the loss of her mother.
Wow, dinner sounds wondeful. Hope you have a wonderful sunday with hubby, you deserve it! You worked so hard. Can’t wait to hear about you call from the President.
I will be praying for our dear friend africa and her family.
My heart and prayers go out to Africa and her family for the loss of her Mother. May she know solace in God’s promise of eternal life, and may she carry always close in her heart her loving memories of her Mother.
That’s my President! I’ll stand with him and support him proudly. He has become, more than anyone else I can think of at this time,
the conscience of America. E pluribus unum – not just a union of States, but the vast, inclusive, supportive community of all Americans.
Bravo, Mr. President!
I loved this part of the speech last night. As far as I am concerned, this is “just a taste” of what the eventual GOP nominee will have to face with President Obama as an opponent. These remarks come with so much conviction because of President Obama’s record on his support for the military. He talks about them all the time. He talks about giving them the support they need on the battlefield, he talks about the fact that there should be no homeless vets, he talks about the importance of health care for the vets, he talks about the importance of jobs for the vets, he alke about dadt, and of course every time your turn around FLOTUS and Jill Biden are doing some event that focuses on the military and their families.
That was a pathetic display at the last debate when the gay soldier was booed. It was just awful. I am so glad that President Obama made it a point to call out the GOP presidential candidates. Saying something about the booing was a no brainer. But they were all paralyzed because they wanted to curry favor with the rabid crowd. You can’t un-ring the bell. it was a missed opportunity to show some real leadership.
I am also glad PBO called out the GOP Presidential candidates too. I did hear on NPR this morning that Herman Cain said he should have spoken up and made a mistake for not doing it. I say too little too late.
I think back of how impressed I was with how then Senator Obama ran his 2008 campaign when I was watching one of the early Primary rallies and saw Barack quiet a crowd with grace that was booing a group of interrupting antiabortion protestors. He then explained why they had their right to have a different point of view and the complexity of the issue as the protestors were quietly and respectfully escorted out of the arena. I remember it was around the same time that a protestor riled Bill Clinton up and he pointed at him while red faced and dressed him down loudly. At the time I thought what a contrast. Later there were more contrasts with Sarah Palin letting people yell kill him at her rallies without any effort to qwell the actions.
I don’t remember that but I do remember that after every loss or win in the primary PBO would tell the crowd to stop if they started booing after the mention of Hillary Clinton’s name. I was very very impressed with that.
IMO, Cain should have been the FIRST one to defend the soldier. He and I are in the same age group, and if I lived under segregation, so did he. He knows what it is like to be thought of as “the other” and ridiculed only because you exist, but since he’s attained a measure of success, he thinks it’s no longer necessary to stand up for what is right. Well, I’ve got news for him. When the republicans are successful in taking away the rights of one group, they move on to the next, then the next, etc. We are all in danger of losing our constitutional rights if even one of us is having his/hers taken away. IIRC, except for Huntsman, all of the 2012 GOP would re-instate DADT, and Boehner is using taxpayer money to defend DOMA, even though he knows it’s unconstitutional. Ron Paul wants to repeal the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, and unless Cain is totally clueless, it’s hard for me to understand how he doesn’t know that some members of his own party would return him and millions of Americans to the 19th Century, before the Civil War, and keep them there.
You know majii, Cain reminds me of a black conservative, Isaiah T. Montgomery, the only black delegate that participated in the 1890 Mississippi Convention that wrote a new State constitution, amending the Reconstruction Constitution, that included provisions, such as poll tax and literacy tests, aimed at denying Black people the right to vote. Mr. Montgomery knew fully well that the new provisions were intended to deny black people the right to vote. Yet, he he still voted for the constitution. He just didn’t want to lose the approval of his conservative white supporters. I honestly believe that people like Herman Cain, Clarence Thomas and Alan Keys know exactly what’s going on but they just want to carry favor with their conservative supporters. But then again you may be right that they are “totally clueless.”
That “small” part of of his speech where he put the repubs on notice spoke volumes. Which is why I think there’s the flaw in this push for Christie. They erroneously believe that this blowhard is their “red meat” answer. As if our president can’t withstand bullies.
Hi my name is Kim and I’m an Obamacrat. Chipsticks you are the bombdotcom. I lurk here each and every day, no less than 10 times a day- to take in the sense of community and at oneness of my fellow brother and sister’s keeper – each one of you beacons of brilliant light for PBO. I do not comment because I do not have political cleverness or more to add than what you all say. After viewing this video however, I just had to post my sheer joy of being able to come here (one stop shop) and listen to that roar and see that man hit the podium until I get my fill, I haven’t yet. My hair is standing up on top of my head and I am still screaming. I so admire his magnificent valor. If I never post again, just know that you guys wear me out, stun, put me in awe and always amaze me.
Cosimfree (love the name:) Thanks for coming here…our refuge, our oasis from the loons…for smart, intelligent conversation and “real” when the world has gone nuts and lost its collective mind…I hope you stay, and post…no more lurking for you:) We all add something of importance here…your voice is important. Glad you’re here!
Cozimfree, as a fellow admirer of our amazing President Obama, I find your comment eloquent and immensely satisfying. I hope you will consider posting more often. Political cleverness is not required. Your first from the heart comment will enrich us all. More please…..
welcome Cozimfree and we are very happy to hear from you – eloquent writting. please keep in touch because we need the positive voices to reinforce each other and this is one very good quorum so thanks Chipsticks for all your decation and creativity in this spot
It’s wonderful to see so many lurkers come forward these past few weeks. Welcome Cozimfree (great name)! I was scared the first time I posted, but everyone is so great and welcoming that I felt comfortable very quickly. Hope to see more posts from you.
Kim, thank you so much for your message, you have the kindest of hearts! I’m thrilled you visit here, and am genuinely delighted that you enjoy the blog and the comments of the amazing regulars. Please don’t be a stranger, we’d all love for you to comment more, you have a completely beautiful way with words. Thank you again Kim.
I’m glad that you decided to de-lurk, Kim. Everyone’s voice can be heard here at TOD, and I love how you describe TOD as a one stop shop, because it certainly is. Chipsticks is a brilliant and gracious host. Please post again, Kim.
Cozimfree, I love your screen name! It says it all for me. More importantly, thanks for this inspiring comment which really captures the essence of what Chipsticks, and her family of supporters, has created on this space. It’s really a joy to read comments from passionate people like you who truly appreciate this goodman we elected President. I hope we hear more from you in the future.
That was the best part of the whole speech, I hope when he knows who his opponent will be, that he continues to bash that person for not standing up for the troops. The priority of being CIC is to stand up for the troops no matter what. Did I say I love my President!!!!
For those of us here who’ve been having mixed feelings about the Wall Street Protests and what exactly the agenda is, you have your answer right here. I found this video of a blogger (George Mapp) who was being interviewed and his words basically “outed” these protesters and I’m very sorry if anyone gets offended but honestly, this OWS protest should be exposed for what it really is.
Mr. Mapp basically blames the President for the behavior of the NYPD, gleefully (around 2:00) suggests that these protests will “help the Republicans” and will damage Obama in the upcoming elections. Mapp further continues to air his grievance about the killing of that terrorist Anwar Al-Awlaki, and blames the President for just about everything. Not once in his entire 5-minute rant does he call out or mention ANY Republican.
You don’t have to take my word for it: Please watch this video and come to your own conclusions:
Why would Corney West be there? It’s not the jobless, hungry black community, he and Tavis claim to be fighting for. Do Moore have a film coming out, or book to sell? To “H” with both of them.
Exactly, and the fact that this movement is wholly endorsed by the likes of West and Moore who are known charlatans and have recently come out against the President, I am very suspicious. Furthermore, I haven’t seen any activity that suggests that there are any goals for getting people to actually accomplishing something concrete that would help the working and middle class. For instance no voter registrations, no fundraising for liberal politicians, no rallying of congress, no petitions for support of the AJB, etc..Just random anger, and focusing on the NYPD arrests and President Obama, etc..
Hope, I hear your worries about the protests….and I agree–up to a point.
I do support them if, if they are going to focus attention on the abuses of Wall Street and the politicians that enabled those abuses (the GOP). Which was why I was concerned about the fact that there was not a coherent list of demands (but there now seems to be, which is a good thing).
But I do understand your worries. In the video, Mapp said nothing about the GOP’s role in enabling Wall Street. He spent all the time blasting the President, who has actually pushed for stronger, tougher regulation of Wall Street (despite what Matt Taibbi claims). If these protests are going to turn into an anti-Obama action, and not focus on the GOP, that would be a terrible mistake.
The fact is that President Obama has done more for the progressive cause than most progressives realize. If they–and by “they” I mean Mr. Mapp, West, Moore, Hamsher, Lindorff and others–feel that a GOP takeover of Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court in 2012 will somehow be good for the country…they are crazy. No question.
I hope that the Wall Street protests of 2011 will lead to political action in 2012–the defeat of the Tea Party and the election of more progressive politicians and the re-election of President Obama. But if it leads to the opposite, then….I’d rather not think about it.
Thanks Marc – this is spot on. Like you, I totally support the idea of holding Wall Street accountable and shining a spotlight on their abuses and that of the GOP in congress and in the media. And I hope this will lead to all that you mentioned in your last paragraph. I’m just concerned that this is not what seems to be happening, but as Me4Obama said, I will wait and see.
Absolutely disgusting! This so called journalist blogger makes very little sense. You know what. if these people are intent on undermining the President in order to elect teabag-Republicans then I am absolutely obligated to do everything in my power to fight against them. I still I am not clear what exactly they wish to accomplish? Why not take the fight to capital hill if they want to challenge corporate power that influences law makers? Why not confront Republicans who vow to go back to status quo ante when it comes to Wall Street Reforms? Why attack a president who is on their side?
Wow, Hope I will not bring myself to watch it, and STILL I will wait for them if they support the AJB I will support them. Thank you for the video but your words already told me what I already feared.
Me4Obama, these people are not going to support the AJB. That’s not on their agenda. Their goal is to have a Republican in the WH by 2012. If you watch the video that will become unequivocally clear to you. These people need to be exposed. PERIOD.
This whole thing is about the jealousy the Far Left harbors for the Tea Party’s influence over Congress. They want that kind of power from the Left to influence Congress and the President. So they’re trotting out these hackneyed tactics of demonstrating thinking they can somehow mimic the success of the Tea Party. It won’t work because they don’t have an entire media machine behind them promoting their talking points the way Fox News did for the Tea Party. Plus Progressives don’t have anything remotely like the Religious Right to use as ground troops to further their cause. They also don’t have the truly righteous anger that fueled what happened in Wisconsin and the most assuredly do NOT have the social injustice factor that made the Arab Spring.
Tien Le I would actually be relieved if I thought that it was just wanting influence over congress. Unfortunately, based on what the blogger in the video says, it’s specifically related to getting people mad at the current WH occupant. There is no mention of congress (as such) or any of the Republicans, except to say that they will be helped by this protests in 2012. I would wager that many of those in that movement are Ron Paul supporters and not so much liberal Democrats.
I think you’re right about the Ron Paul supporters. They do this kind of thing all the time. They’re very good at making huge signs and co-opting protests. I don’t agree with the blogger that these protests will in any way help the GOP. People just aren’t paying attention, and unless these people are prepared to occupy whateverville for the next YEAR, it’s an empty threat.
I will wait and see how it plays out…maybe this particular blogger is simply ranting and doesn’t represent the initial organizers.
But there are many signs that to me are red flags – the timing of this movement (just as the President announced his jobs bill yet no explicit support for the bill by the protesters), a blurring of the lines between Dems and Repubs to make the “all government is bad” meme. The fact that Moore, West, Huffington and certain others have jumped on the wagon. And if the media realizes that this movement will hurt President Obama more than the Repubs, you can bet the media will become “interested.”
This reminds me of Dan Choi and the Log Cabin Repubs all over again….
I just don’t see anything significant in the way of change or helping actual people coming from this. Sure, rile people up–yawn. I like Angry Black Lady’s idea: go register these protesters to vote.
“But there are many signs that to me are red flags – the timing of this movement (just as the President announced his jobs bill yet no explicit support for the bill by the protesters), a blurring of the lines between Dems and Repubs to make the “all government is bad” meme.”
That is curious–the President proposes a major piece of legislation (the Jobs Bill), calls for tax increases on the wealthy, and calls out the CBC and tells us to get up off our butts and push for change–encouraging people to get involved…
…and this happens.
Perhaps it is just coincidence. And there is the possibility that folks like West, Moore, Huffington et. al. are just going where the cameras will be. But still….I do understand your worries, especially if bloggers like Mapp are hurling more invectives at the President–and none at the Congress or the GOP. That indicates a lack of knowledge about how politics works, or just a hatred or dislike of the President and not bothering to look at the GOP that is the real source of the trouble (and has been for over forty years).
I totally agree with you, hopefruit! This is the leftist version of the teabagger summer 0f 2009. I am through with these people. I hope we all re-double our efforts to expose them. These people are simply taking advantage of the angst in the country about high unemployment. What is very curious to me, is why are they, all of a sudden, doing this just when the president is campaigning for a jobs bill that will put people to work? I am sorry but I don’t buy their so called concern for the people. Why didn’t they occupy Wall Street at the time that George W. Bush was bailing out banks? After viewing that video I simply can’t contain amy anger and disgust. These people are all about doing everything to defeat this President. Besides Ron Paul supporters, we have the PL people who could not make any headway convincing Democrats to abandon the President. They have instead chosen the politics of anarchy.
This person is vile. And has completely diluted their muddled message even further. Are they against the NYPD? Against drones? Against killing terrorists? Against the President? What an absolute loser – and entirely irresponsible. The Occupy Wall Street people need to get a message and quickly – otherwise, every crackpot out there is going to hijack their mission – whatever that mission might be.
I find it interesting that he says the protest may eventually end up at Capitol Hill – really? Duh? That’s where they should have started or at least the second stop after Wall Street.
I am very suspicious of “Occupy Wall Street.” I keep wondering who are they and where are they going. Movements like this without real direction can get out of hand and can be easily corrupted.
Look, the teapublicans just betta wave the white flag now. None of them will be able to last on a stage with our guy. None of them is even fit to tie my Prez’s shoes. They stood there like the cowardly, non-principled jackasses they are because there is nothing to them. They have no cores, no centers, no foundations. They’re just blowing in the wind.
I love the fact that PBO has never hesitated to wear the full mantle of Commander in Chief. He has confident that he could handle the task even way before he was President — all the way back to when he was an Illinois state senator and one of the very few voices clearly against the foolhardy Iraq War.
How dare ANY of those non-candidates on that stage ever question the steel and the judgment of this man? They couldn’t even stand up for a soldier.
Someone on my twitter timeline posted a link to the wallstreet complaints.. I wasn’t going to go on the site, because Norton Security gave me a warning… anyhoo I did and it is a long list of complaints about America basically, about government & wallstreet basically being one entity.. its about bad water, bad laws, unfairness economically.. very much a catchall. There are things I can agree with and things I disagree with, however my issue is with the apparent lack of clarity- otherj than I’m mad and I’m not gonna take it anymore.. what is the end result?? President Obama has been working diligently to bring some fairness and equality to this country that has been sorely lacking for decades and yet now folks are erupting… again to what end? I really wish they were working/protesting/marching FOR something. And personally I stopped ‘following’ @occupywallstreet when they Retweeted an Arianna Huffington post- about how if one didn’t want to join the tea party in protests, they could always join ‘occupy wallstreet’. Sorry but that just ain’t a ringing endorsement in my ears 😉 If she’s for it, I’m prolly not.
sherijr I agree with you. I just posted this video of this blogger who apparently is following the protests (probably a participant as well), and he had absolutely NOTHING to say about the Repubs except that this protest will probably help them for the 2012 elections. He goes on to give a laundry list of his grievances with the current President. What does that tell you? I smell a rat here. And like you said, Arianna Huffington’s endorsement is a dead giveaway as to the underlying agenda of this so-called movement. It is an attempt to just get people angry for unspecific reasons, to diminish enthusiasm among Democratic voters, to depress and demoralize folks (while making sure that the President bears the brunt of this anger and demoralization).
Anyone who can’t see this for what it is needs to take off the blinders.
I have to agree with you hopefruit, at this point without support for the American Jobs Act in their agenda, then I’m in neutral mode.. and if their ultimate goal is to undermine POTUS then I’m against them. period.
By the way Hope and Sherijir, Michael Moore said on Larry that many of those protesters where Ron Paul Supporters. Small Government people, I am smelling a rotten Rat hear, but still I will preserve my judgement until I dig up more information, am NOT retweeting anything that has #occupywallsttreet on it. Sorry for now.
Yep thats been pretty much my mindset to- not tweeting their agenda, until I have a firm grasp of their goals… and frankly I can say this with all my heart: if they are Ron Paul supporters than I absolutely do not support them, not one whit. I believe Ron Paul & his followers to be racists with a racist agenda.. I’ve seen and heard nothing that has changed my perspective on him or his ‘libertarians’. thanks for that info Me4obama.
Rootless over at the People’s View has written a commentary about the Occupy Wallstreet protests.. and is on the same page as we seem to be here, although he & Angry Black Lady offer some suggestions.. heres the link: http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2011/10/occupy-wall-street.html
Sarah Palin calls him “Herb Cain, the Flavor of the Week.” Other people know him as the pizza man or the winner of the Florida Republican Straw Poll. No matter what you call him, Herman Cain has made a name for himself. What is particularly interesting with Cain, is that so many bigwigs in the Republican party have thrown money at him when he is unelectable in the party. Herman Cain isn’t unelectable because of his hatred for Muslims and homosexuals, or even his disastrous economic plan knows as “9-9-9.” Herman Cain is unelectable in the Republican primary because of the one reason that shouldn’t matter at all, the color of skin.
That’s what made him relevant to the,”Grim O’reaper Party” in the first place!If they could hasten the second coming,or the end times,’just to win’,”They Would!” Follow the “O”,help re-elect him in 2012
Well…then-candidate George W. Bush said the same thing back in 1999-2000.
No one really listened back then (Nader included).
Will we listen now? Or will we instead run off into the “they’re all the same, it doesn’t matter” territory and ignore what Perry says at our own–and the nation’s–peril?
Why the Kochs Want to Make Chris Christie President
Neither Romney nor Perry has done the one thing that truly excites the Koch brothers and their fellow deep-pocketed Christie fans: take on the public sector unions in a big way.
Dear Chipsticks…Thank you so very much for this clip. When PBO said those words it had me
jumping out of my chair and hollering ‘you nailed it Sir’. I know that we are all Pressing On,
but we all deep down have our frustrations when we see the garbage littered by the Repubs…Soooo,when
our Prez in his brilliance, voices some of our deepest annoyances like he did so eloquently here in this clip,
I daresay it’s a Hallelujah Moment. He lifts us up and carries us to new heights where we are tucked away,
if even briefly, on a mountain of joy that cannot be scaled by the low -bar ignorance of the other side.
Let’s carry on . He did say it was not going to be easy.
I listened to the speech live and did virtual cartwheels when he went there!. That silence of the lambs was despicable behaviour for people who want to be C-in-C…..and PBO is damn right in calling them out on it.
These republicans (yes lower case ‘r’ ) always claim right of ownership on all things military and VA, but their actions – and atimes inaction – never bear out those sentiments. Remember during the ’08 elections when it transpired that then Senator Obama had an A+ voting record on military/VA issues while Senator McCain had something like a C…..for me at that time this revelation was very telling (not that Mcsame has done better than a C in anything he does anyway) being that this was his so called ‘constituency’.
With his work and record concerning the military,their families and our vets (and also FLOTUS and Dr Biden’s work) , I dare say any person in uniform who votes R is voting against his self-interest.
With his record on LGBT issues, any American in that group who votes R should have his/her head examined.
With his record and advocacy for the middle class and poor, if these people vote against him,they should have their heads examined.
In fact, anyone who has lived in the 2011 Tea/GOP era, voting R should have their heads examined…PERIOD!!.
Thank you Mr President. We have your back. PRESS ON !!.
Restless House GOP members pointing fingers at one another
By Molly K. Hooper – 10/02/11 01:02 PM ET
House Republicans return to Washington this week a restless bunch in the wake of an embarrassing legislative defeat and months before they face primary voters in the 2012 election.
Hiya Tien, I’ve just changed the settings for that video so there’s a ‘share’ menu in the top left that allows you download it.
The only reason I don’t do that all the time is that a VideoPress glitch sometimes mucks up the videos when you add the share menu – hopefully it won’t do it this time.
This is the original video from YouTube:
I ‘converted’ it for the blog because I wasn’t sure non-UK visitors would be able to view it.
It is the togetherness of Black men and men along side of Latino men and women who are the courage and strength of our communities and the nation as a whole. It is our togetherness who has held this nation accountable for the terrible acts committed by the majority race against all minorities in America. I won’t forget the support and courage of the FEW white men and women who have been our compatriots who helped and who are helping us in our struggles to survive and to prosper.
We are fortunate at this time to have President Obama, the FIRST African American President of the United States of America. He is a very courageous and admirable man. We are fortunate to have him and his family occupy the White House at this time,
We are fortunate to have an outlet, The Obama Diary, to come to declare and share our love for President Obama and the First Family. I just recently discovered this forum of expression.
Let us continue to support President Obama and other leaders who support our causes.
Thanks William for those wonderful words, as our PBO said, there is not a Black, white, Latino, Asian America, there is the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. True words. Welcome to our family.
I found this in the comments: “For this opportunity of a lifetime, I too will not let anyone take away, or tarnish, my joy in this president!”.
I have felt this from the beginning. All those who say they’re “disappointed” don’t seem to realize that President Obama is a human being, who has managed to bring about enormous change in this country and the world, and restore faith in humanity among so many billions of people. I am not disappointed – I am in awe.
I never thought a human being could have this much capacity for good in the face of so much evil, and be so consistent and righteous in their battle – and yet conduct themselves with so much grace and compassion and empathy. I’ve learned a lot from President Obama and Michelle Obama about persistence, tolerance, devotion and character. I am grateful to live now and be able to witness history in person – and I have tremendous pride in both President and Michelle Obama – and those who steadfastly keep the faith through these incredibly trying times.
I look at his growing list of accomplishments, and the way he’s broadened the imagination for billions of people of what is possible in this world. I am stunned at his courage and humility and confidence. I’m grateful that he still wakes up every day and works to make life better for everyone, even in the face of so much opposition from the left and the right. And I find myself smiling every time I see a picture of him or Michelle.
I won’t let anyone take my joy away – I feel incredibly privileged and inspired to witness this Presidency first hand, with open eyes and an open heart.
This Theo. I feel exactly the same way. I’m so grateful that I am witnessing this time with President Obama. I had no idea he would do this great a job in the face of so much opposition. What stuns me is the opposition from the left. I just don’t get it. I am also disturbed by the “lack of enthusiasm” among the Dems and am worried this is 2010 all over again, because this is what was being reported in 2009, and we all know what happened in 2010.
I will do everything within my power, I will push to re-elect Obama/Biden.
“I won’t let anyone take my joy away – I feel incredibly privileged and inspired to witness this Presidency first hand, with open eyes and an open heart.”
Thanks Theo for these magnificent words. To be honest, I never imagined that I would “witness this presidency” in my life time. That’s why I am so passionate and determined to never let any one, and especially envious people, dampen my enthusiasm about supporting President Obama and his incredible family.
I was so fired up by President Obama’s speech last that I wanted to see how it was received around the internets this morning. You would think that certain websites would be out front cheering President Obama on his speech in which he called out every single republican running for President that didn’t stand up for those soldiers that got booed. And what do you know, dailykos, crooks and liars, salon, and fire bag lake didn’t have a single mention about President Obama’s speech. Though daily kos did have a post about the speech, but one or two comments in, it turned into a what has Obama done lately hate fest.
You may want to drop one of these links and exit when you encounter them lamenting about what the President has or hasn’t done. They’re clearly uninformed, and arguing with an uninformed person is a losing proposition.
The goal posts are being moved. The faux interest in LGBT rights no longer exists because they cannot blame PBO anymore. Soon it will be “why isn’t he in NYC giving support to the demonstrators?”
Good point. Even someone as trustworthy as Juan Cole has uttered the “Obama failed, and is in Wall Street’s pocket” meme (while doing a solid job covering the protests)….
Now, I’ll repeat this–if President Obama is such a right-winger, such a closet Republican/GOP thug who sucks up to and coddles Wall Street….then why has the GOP spent so much time and energy trying to sabotage his Presidency? Why has Wall Street been so angry towards him? And why has his Administration supported tougher Wall Street regulations?
If President Obama was really a Republican–wouldn’t the GOP be bending over backwards to give him everything he wants?
We complain–rightly so–about the MSM not covering or just ignoring what the President says or does. And yet, some websites that tout their “progressive” status do the same thing.
Seriously…when was the last time Glenn Greenwald wrote ANYTHING that was not a slam-bash of the President?
I think its possible to become disheartened when we go to these places/blogs and see such behavior, either the lack of recognizing his achievements when they occur and/or the disrespect they show him. I think we have to conclude at some point that those sites are not supporters of this administration and I’m personally hard put to believe they actually ever were.. I think we have got to learn to believe our own eyes and ears over the pundits, over the ‘blogs’ over all the nonsense- and then we have to spread the facts as far and wide as we’re able, whether it’s in our neighborhood/community, or via the phone, or registering voters.
Because if we allow ourselves to believe the tv or the blogs- which are dependable only in that they equally refuse to acknowledge this Presidency as one of success on multiple fronts.. well then it’s very easy to feel as if we really are powerless.. and as if we really are all the support there is for President Obama. And that simply is not the case. Keep in mind that OFA was able to stop/ halt the proposed legislation in Ohio just last week by collecting sufficient signatures required.. there are real people out in our streets working, committing themselves to the reelection with their hard work, their $$ and their time, we are not alone.. President Barack Obama is not alone, there are just many many forces at work who are loud, noisy and dishonest.. and we will defeat them in 2012 just as we did in 2008, I believe this.
Don, now we know who are “crooks and liars” when it comes to President Obama. I am sorry to say but I no longer voluntarily click on those sites because they are completely toxic. The irrational hatred of President Obama on those sites makes some of the right wing sites seem tame by comparison. For the sake of both my mental and physical health, I decided that it’s best for me if I avoided the sites you mentioned. I only read their posts when people on this site, and other pragmatic sites, link to them.
I am so proud of this President. It was inexcusable for a stage full of Presidentail candidates to allow a soldier of the United States to be booed by any audience. I couldn’t believe they all stood there while one of your young soldiers in harms way was harassed but the debate audience.
Mitt Romney confuses Keynes and Churchill in defense of flip-flopping
Speaking to a New Hampshire Town Hall audience of more than 250 yesterday, Mitt Romney addressed perceptions that he is a flip-flopper by quoting from a political leader he often cites on the trail, Winston Churchill.
“In the private sector, if you don’t change your view when the facts change, well you’ll get fired for being stubborn and stupid.” Romney said. “Winston Chuchill said, ‘When the facts change, I change too, Madam'”
The problem? That quote was not uttered by Britain’s great wartime leader, but instead is credited to John Maynard Keynes, the British economist whose economic studies gave rise to so-called Keynesian economic theory, which calls for government intervention in economies to balance market forces, and who is loathed by many conservatives.
Thanks for all the links, Fred, and especially for the summaries of the links (I don’t like to click on links blindly). Appreciate it! Hope you’re feeling well today.
Indeed! I wish people, in these town hall meetings, would press Willard to cite changes that have taken place that led him to change his views about Health Care reform, Wall Street Reforms, , etcd.
Rick Perry delivers a policy speech, but forgets to talk about policy
Rick Perry delivered a speech to the Georgia Public Policy Foundation this morning ( http://www.nationalreview.com/primary-event/278844/perry-jabs-romney-policy-speech-katrina-trinko ), a speech that had been billed as a major public policy address … but somehow he forgot to deliver the policy. After saluting President Obama and the military for killing Anwar al-Awlaki, these were the first words out of his mouth:
I’m pleased to be with you for a few minutes this morning. Over the next several weeks, I will be laying out important public policy initiatives to get America working again.
As far as policy goes, that was it. The rest of his speech was devoted to attacking Mitt Romney, defending his record as governor of Texas, and delivering vague Palinesque-platitudes about his political philosophy. Afterwards, the host of the speech was nonplussed:
The head of the group, Kelly McCutchen, said afterward he was concerned that Perry veered heavily into presidential politics, which could endanger the group’s tax-exempt status.
“He’d been told to stick to policy” McCutchen said. “I don’t think he did that.”
That’s an understatement, but still, I have no sympathy for McCutchen. If you invite a presidential candidate to deliver a speech, you’re going to get presidential politics. Sure, Perry was a hack about it, but if that’s not what McCutchen expected, than he hasn’t been watching the campaign.
For a speech billed as a policy address, it was incredibly short: just 1,303 words, about half as long as a random speech to the VFW given last month by Romney. To the extent Perry’s speech had a theme, this captures it:
As Republican voters decide who is best suited to lead this country in a new direction by stopping the spending spree and scrapping Obamacare, I am confident they will choose a nominee who has governed on conservative principles, not one whose healthcare policies paved the way for Obamacare, a path blazed with higher premium costs and thousands of lost jobs.
I have a lengthy record, and it has sometimes ruffled feathers. But sometimes you have to shake up the system.
At least to me, that seems like pretty weak stuff — it comes off as unpleasant mix of childishness, anger, and defensiveness. Perry simply asserts conclusions without explaining why he thinks that they are correct, which seems either arrogant or dimwitted or both. Reading it, I can only think that Rick Perry is either playing a rope-a-dope by holding back a more coherent rationale for his candidacy and line of attack against Romney … or he just doesn’t understand what it takes to successfully run for president.
Mitt Romney continued his efforts to position himself as the anti-union guy in the GOP 2012 field (or maybe the others just don’t think they need to prove it, I don’t know), saying, at the Sept. 5 American Principles Project Palmetto Freedom Forum:
“And the right course politically at this stage is to have states carry out their own right-to-work legislation. And as you know, right-to-work states, those 22, have created 3 million jobs over the last 10 years. The union states have lost about half a million jobs. So right to work is the way to go if you want good jobs.”
The Washington Post fact checks this, ultimately giving it a two Pinocchio rating:
Romney’s remarks appeared rooted in actual Labor Department data, even though he spouted some numbers that didn’t match his own analysis. Regardless, the former governor exaggerates the importance of these statistics, and he fails to acknowledge that factors other than labor laws play a role in determining job growth.
The fact check is solid as far as it goes, offering a couple of good rebuttals to Romney’s claims about job creation, countering not that RtW states have worse job creation, but that labor law is neither the only nor the decisive factor in job creation. For instance, it cites the Oklahoma example—manufacturing jobs in that state peaked the year before it passed RtW—and the fact that Alaska and Texas, both with oil, one heavily unionized and one RtW, have had roughly the same employment increase over the past 10 years.
But how far it goes pretty much stops with Romney’s claims about job creation. There are some passing references to the lower-quality jobs found in RtW states, but it doesn’t actually include Romney’s claim that RtW leads to “good jobs” in the fact check. But that’s worth taking a look at, because the idea that there are jobs and then there are good jobs is an important one.
An EPI study ( http://epi.3cdn.net/a39019fdac5ee92a28_s8m6b9f8x.pdf ) actually linked in the fact check found that, controlling for worker race and education levels as well as state-level factors like cost of living and unemployment:
Wages are 3.2 percent lower in RtW states.
“The rate of employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) is 2.6 percentage points lower in RTW states compared with non-RTW…If workers in non-RTW states were to receive ESI at this lower rate, 2 million fewer workers nationally would be covered.”
“The rate of employer-sponsored pensions is 4.8 percentage points lower in RTW states.”
People who are “unemployed” in the way Mitt Romney is ( http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/16/985805/-Romney-to-out-of-work-Floridians:-Im-also-unemployed ) —who started out wealthy and are now so wealthy they will never have to work again—may not have to worry about things like lower wages or lower chance of having health care or a pension. But that doesn’t mean they can’t care. It’s just that Mitt Romney doesn’t, at least not if caring might get between him and the Republican presidential nomination.
This really isn’t that big of a deal, but with Republicans claiming that Warren Buffett opposes the Buffett Rule, I just can’t help myself from pointing out this hilarious pronouncement from none other than Rick Perry:
Perry said on CNBC that Buffett doesn’t understand what’s going on in the private sector.
“I think Mr. Buffett is a really intelligent individual, but I can promise you he doesn’t know what’s going on in places where the job creation is at a zero because of over-taxation and over-regulation,” Perry said.
When asked if he thinks taxing millionaires will kill jobs, Perry said, ”I think taxing millionaires is such a fake way to talk about what’s going on in this country.”
“In the private sector,” he said, “if you don’t change your view when the facts change, well you’ll get fired for being stubborn and stupid. Winston Churchill said, ‘When the facts change I change too, Madam.” What do you do?”
That’d be an even more compelling answer if he hadn’t said the exact opposite a week earlier:
That’s different from what he said a week ago, when he said he doesn’t change positions.
The American people “can tell when people are being phony and are pandering to an audience,” he said, “and you’ll see that in politics. You’re not going to see that in my campaign.”
And as sensible as it may be to change your mind when the facts change, exactly what “facts” changed between 1994 and 2011 when Mitt Romney went from a committed pro-choicer (see the above video) to a committed anti-choicer? Other than the fact that he’s now seeking the GOP presidential nomination, nothing changed.
To be fair to Romney, it would be stupid to seek the GOP presidential nomination as a pro-choicer. I guess that means he thinks it’s better to be a liar than to be stupid. The only question I have is which Mitt Romney was lying?
Republican gridlock holds consumers hostage (do NOT read comments)
Star-Ledger Editorial Board
Republicans aggressively fought the appointment of Elizabeth Warren to head the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and came away with a big scalp: Warren herself, the architect of the new agency, stepped down as nominee and returned to Massachusetts to run for the U.S. Senate. With any luck, voters there will send her back to Washington to continue challenging those who would shield banks and big business at the expense of the American consumer.
You’d think, having ousted Warren, the Republicans would get down to the people’s business. Think again. Now, the Party of No is refusing to confirm President Obama’s new nominee, Richard Cordray, unless the agency is restructured — that is, essentially gutted of its powers to protect consumers. This has nothing to do with Cordray’s credentials — he’s the highly regarded former state attorney general of Ohio — and everything to do with the political gridlock that has enraged voters and engendered cynicism with government. And it lays waste to the lessons that were supposedly learned after the collapse of the mortgage industry and housing market in 2008, when consumer ignorance combined with banking’s predatory practices to create a disaster.[…] Without 60 votes, Democrats are stuck, ground down by gridlock from protecting consumers and the economy. In the end, it’s the American consumer who pays.
Obama White House.gov
The Obama Diary 
“even when its not politically convenient” That’s it in a nutshell. We need to stand up for each other!
You do know that the movie(s) made of this Presidency (the accurate ones) are going to have theatre crowds cheering for 2 hours straight. Our President is my hero, and I am unashamed to say so.. I’ve had few folks I looked up to and truly admired, he will always be number one on my very short list.
We have this in common!As well as Michelle,She’s my role model,this woman is a success story in her own right!
I agree with you.. she is a magnificent role model for anyone, especially our young females.. I would be honored to have a daughter or granddaughter who modeled themselves after FLOTUS Michelle Obama . I absolutely cannot stand any criticism of her, it really bothers me as I have seen nothing of her that isn’t graceful, caring, thoughtful & intelligent.
Yes to these comments!!!
sherijr…I couldn’t agree more. I have never had a personal hero until Barack Hussein Obama….and am grateful and proud to state that I do now. He is an unbelievably exceptional human being….one we all can learn from. May God always be his strength and his shield.
They played that clip this morning on NPR, and the sound of the crowd ROARING was even more impressive than it was watching it live last night.
I love the way our President looks out for our military and their families.
I THOUGHT THE GOP SAID THAT THE ACA INDIVIDUAL MANDATES WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL …….
Mitt Romney does a flip flop flip, and a triple axle on the issue of “MANDATES”. Doesn’t Mittens realize that it is the REPUBLICAN PARTY that has been filing all of those lawsuits against the Affordable Care Act because of the mandates?
Sure, we Democrats know that the idea of mandates originated with the Republican Party. But Mittens just went off script big time and is saying what we all know to be true OUT LOUD. Now if we could just get the feckless media to focus on this hypocrisy it would be great. Maybe Mittens will come to his senses and walk this back before it gets legs. But I would love to see DemRapidResponse jump on this with a new ad asap.
ROMNEY SAYS INDIVIDUAL MANDATE IS A ‘CONSERVATIVE IDEA,’ THANKS GINGRICH
==================================================================
After 3 years of the Republican Party slamming President Obama’s health care plan, calling him everything from a socialist, communist and everything in between, it seems like Mitt Romney is trying to reverse the course. On Sean Hannity’s radio show, Mitt Romney claimed that the individual mandate for health care was actually a conservative idea, a far cry from what we have heard from the radial right.
Romney- “The idea for a health care plan was not mine alone, The Heritage Foundation — a great conservative think tank — helped on that. I’m told Newt Gingrich, one of the very first people who came up with the idea of an individual mandate, did that years and years ago”
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/10/01/romney-says-individual-mandate-is-a-conservative-idea-thanks-gingrich/
Mittens is DISGUSTING. I dislike him more than Perry. At least Perry has a few more beleifs he hangs on to without flip/flopping. Having Romeny in the Whitehouse flipping on every issue is UNTHINKABLE!!! 😯
Mitt is a hoot. He really doesn’t think what he said before is a matter of public record. Can’t wait till he starts denying he was Governor of Massachusetts.
derbingle, that’s hilarious. Poor Mittens, what’s a chameleon to do. He just can’t keep up with his changing views on everything.
“Poor Mittens, what’s a chameleon to do. He just can’t keep up with his changing views on everything.”
LOL!!!!!
Hahaha. Good one debringle. Mitt doesn’t seem to realize that we’re in a digital age and all this flip flopping has been recorded for posterity. He makes it so easy for Democrats to wipe the floor with him.
derbingle….that was LOL stuff u just said. Listening to his speeches on any one issue,you’d feel dizzy because of the changing positions! The ads are gonna cut like a knife.
He kinda did that already : “I am not a politician” or words to that effect he said recently at a campaign event. With all of these Republicans truth does not matter .
The electorate needs to make sure it matters.
So, does that mean that Mitt Romney is now for “Obama cares” health care reform, which included the conservative “idea of an individual mandate?” Besides, if the conservative Heritage Foundation, and Newt Gingrich, supported “individual mandates” were teabaggers lying when they claimed that President Obama was a Nazi, socialist, communist, dictator because he enacted the ACA? I am just so fed up with our so called mainstream media. Why are the so called reporters not asking these Republicans to explain their lie that the government has taken over healthcare? If the government has taken over health care, how come I am still paying my senior supplemental health insurance, and my dental and vision insurance, to private companies? What is the use of the media if they are allowing politicians to tell lies without any a challenge? If we really had an honest and independent media they would have been the ones pointing out, not Romney, that a great many conservative were for, and vigorously promoted, the idea of individual mandates as the key to making health care accessible and affordable, to most Americans. The idea of individual mandates for health insurance is quite similar to the individual mandated liability insurance, which is required by states like California.
When I heard him say this last night I stood up and cheered. Our President cares!
that was the best!
THIS. PBO has already told us BEFORE he was PBO that he gave people the benefit of the doubt, he tries to find common ground but if you F@#k with him he’ll CRUSH you! Here’s to you Mr. President and we vow to #PRESS ON!
Thank God PBO is our Commander In Chief!! 😎
And in total CONTRAST Crowley on CNN had those two craven, inveterate LIARS and theDick and Liz Cheney siting there in turbo-spin-mode, lying and lying and given complete free rein with no opposing voice of truth. And Crowley tippy-toeing around the two sickeing gas-bags, “But don’t you think in the last two and a half years….” And then they would just retort wih their droning, fantastical nonsense. Hopefully with such low ratings for CNN not very many people were subjected to the blatant misinformation from these bacteria. Just once I’d like to see either one of them go on with LawrenceO…..
CNN just needs to change its name to “Totally in the Bag for the GOTP.” Who did they have on right after showing a clip of the HRC piece? Aravosis. I guguess there are no gay leaders {*cough*] who aren’t ex-GOP staffers. Nope none available. I guess Choi and Aravosis flipped to see who’d get the honors of damning with feint praise.
And I just read that Erin Burnett, whose new show debuts tomorrow on CNN, is engaged to a Citigroup exec who is a big Chris Christie fan, donated the max to his last campaign. Does not bode well for truth-seekers, will fit in with CNN’s All GOP All The Time agenda.
TeaNN just hired Ari Fleischer as a pundit…..
I’m so copping that phrase. TeaNN
It was disgusting to watch. The little that I could stand mde me want to projectile vomit. She pretty much gave free reign to Dick and his freak of a daughter to spin lie after lie after lie. Cheney had the gall to demand an apology for PBO for the killing of Al-Awlaki because he was an American citizen. This from a guy who practically relishes the idea of terrorists – be they American citizens or not – getting waterboarded. Give me a freaking break! CNN really has earned the nickname TeaNN.
Ut, I truly admire you and others who still watch cable news so that you may keep us informed. You are doing a heroic job. For me it had come to the point that I would be so enraged watching these people. So, I decided that for the sake of my mental health I would avoid them altogether. I, of course, understand that a great many Americans watch them and so we too have to watch/monitor them so that we may push back against their BS. That’s why I am grateful that you have the courage to continuously monitor them so that you can push back against their lies and manipulations.
It’s like he went down the row and smacked (figuratively, of course) each and every one of them. Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop . . . .
He’s an example for us all.
Obama/Biden 2012
I love the mental picture that conjures up.
For your virtual Sunday dinner we go back to the traditional.
I invite you all to sit down with us for some stuffed roasted chickens, mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh Kale and homemade dinner rolls. For dessert hubby is baking chocolate brownies that will be topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Thank you all for a wonderful week and my family will join me in praying for our dear blog friend africa on the loss of her mother.
Have a fantastic Sunday Everyone!
Does your hubby have a single brother that cooks?
Excellent question…something tells me that if Donna’s hubby has a brother who cooks – he’s NOT single!!!!
What time is dinner:) africa is in my thoughts.
Enjoy your bounty, Donna!!
Wow, dinner sounds wondeful. Hope you have a wonderful sunday with hubby, you deserve it! You worked so hard. Can’t wait to hear about you call from the President.
I will be praying for our dear friend africa and her family.
Yum Yum, I’m on my way – praying for Africa
My heart and prayers go out to Africa and her family for the loss of her Mother. May she know solace in God’s promise of eternal life, and may she carry always close in her heart her loving memories of her Mother.
That’s my President! I’ll stand with him and support him proudly. He has become, more than anyone else I can think of at this time,
the conscience of America. E pluribus unum – not just a union of States, but the vast, inclusive, supportive community of all Americans.
Bravo, Mr. President!
This.
I loved this part of the speech last night. As far as I am concerned, this is “just a taste” of what the eventual GOP nominee will have to face with President Obama as an opponent. These remarks come with so much conviction because of President Obama’s record on his support for the military. He talks about them all the time. He talks about giving them the support they need on the battlefield, he talks about the fact that there should be no homeless vets, he talks about the importance of health care for the vets, he talks about the importance of jobs for the vets, he alke about dadt, and of course every time your turn around FLOTUS and Jill Biden are doing some event that focuses on the military and their families.
That was a pathetic display at the last debate when the gay soldier was booed. It was just awful. I am so glad that President Obama made it a point to call out the GOP presidential candidates. Saying something about the booing was a no brainer. But they were all paralyzed because they wanted to curry favor with the rabid crowd. You can’t un-ring the bell. it was a missed opportunity to show some real leadership.
I am also glad PBO called out the GOP Presidential candidates too. I did hear on NPR this morning that Herman Cain said he should have spoken up and made a mistake for not doing it. I say too little too late.
I think back of how impressed I was with how then Senator Obama ran his 2008 campaign when I was watching one of the early Primary rallies and saw Barack quiet a crowd with grace that was booing a group of interrupting antiabortion protestors. He then explained why they had their right to have a different point of view and the complexity of the issue as the protestors were quietly and respectfully escorted out of the arena. I remember it was around the same time that a protestor riled Bill Clinton up and he pointed at him while red faced and dressed him down loudly. At the time I thought what a contrast. Later there were more contrasts with Sarah Palin letting people yell kill him at her rallies without any effort to qwell the actions.
I don’t remember that but I do remember that after every loss or win in the primary PBO would tell the crowd to stop if they started booing after the mention of Hillary Clinton’s name. I was very very impressed with that.
IMO, Cain should have been the FIRST one to defend the soldier. He and I are in the same age group, and if I lived under segregation, so did he. He knows what it is like to be thought of as “the other” and ridiculed only because you exist, but since he’s attained a measure of success, he thinks it’s no longer necessary to stand up for what is right. Well, I’ve got news for him. When the republicans are successful in taking away the rights of one group, they move on to the next, then the next, etc. We are all in danger of losing our constitutional rights if even one of us is having his/hers taken away. IIRC, except for Huntsman, all of the 2012 GOP would re-instate DADT, and Boehner is using taxpayer money to defend DOMA, even though he knows it’s unconstitutional. Ron Paul wants to repeal the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, and unless Cain is totally clueless, it’s hard for me to understand how he doesn’t know that some members of his own party would return him and millions of Americans to the 19th Century, before the Civil War, and keep them there.
You know majii, Cain reminds me of a black conservative, Isaiah T. Montgomery, the only black delegate that participated in the 1890 Mississippi Convention that wrote a new State constitution, amending the Reconstruction Constitution, that included provisions, such as poll tax and literacy tests, aimed at denying Black people the right to vote. Mr. Montgomery knew fully well that the new provisions were intended to deny black people the right to vote. Yet, he he still voted for the constitution. He just didn’t want to lose the approval of his conservative white supporters. I honestly believe that people like Herman Cain, Clarence Thomas and Alan Keys know exactly what’s going on but they just want to carry favor with their conservative supporters. But then again you may be right that they are “totally clueless.”
My generation calls them “Uncle Toms”.
That “small” part of of his speech where he put the repubs on notice spoke volumes. Which is why I think there’s the flaw in this push for Christie. They erroneously believe that this blowhard is their “red meat” answer. As if our president can’t withstand bullies.
Hi my name is Kim and I’m an Obamacrat. Chipsticks you are the bombdotcom. I lurk here each and every day, no less than 10 times a day- to take in the sense of community and at oneness of my fellow brother and sister’s keeper – each one of you beacons of brilliant light for PBO. I do not comment because I do not have political cleverness or more to add than what you all say. After viewing this video however, I just had to post my sheer joy of being able to come here (one stop shop) and listen to that roar and see that man hit the podium until I get my fill, I haven’t yet. My hair is standing up on top of my head and I am still screaming. I so admire his magnificent valor. If I never post again, just know that you guys wear me out, stun, put me in awe and always amaze me.
What a wonderful and inspiring first comment Cozimfree.. thank you so much for adding your voice, glad to know you’re here with us ~ 🙂
I think all here would agree with me that you have plenty of “political cleverness”. I like the way you write. I want to hear lots more from you.
YES! Agree…….do more. Awesome writing. Thanks and welcome.
Cosimfree (love the name:) Thanks for coming here…our refuge, our oasis from the loons…for smart, intelligent conversation and “real” when the world has gone nuts and lost its collective mind…I hope you stay, and post…no more lurking for you:) We all add something of importance here…your voice is important. Glad you’re here!
welcome Kim and keep on posting;you’ll like it 😀
Cozimfree, as a fellow admirer of our amazing President Obama, I find your comment eloquent and immensely satisfying. I hope you will consider posting more often. Political cleverness is not required. Your first from the heart comment will enrich us all. More please…..
Wish you would post more often because you’re amazing!!
Great first post, Kim/Coz! Welcome and tell all your friends, lol.
Welcome. Keep posting, you write beautifully.
welcome Cozimfree and we are very happy to hear from you – eloquent writting. please keep in touch because we need the positive voices to reinforce each other and this is one very good quorum so thanks Chipsticks for all your decation and creativity in this spot
Welcome Cozimfree – your comments were spot on – we get that feeling too! Speak from your heart and you’ll fit right in! 🙂
It’s wonderful to see so many lurkers come forward these past few weeks. Welcome Cozimfree (great name)! I was scared the first time I posted, but everyone is so great and welcoming that I felt comfortable very quickly. Hope to see more posts from you.
Kim, thank you so much for your message, you have the kindest of hearts! I’m thrilled you visit here, and am genuinely delighted that you enjoy the blog and the comments of the amazing regulars. Please don’t be a stranger, we’d all love for you to comment more, you have a completely beautiful way with words. Thank you again Kim.
Thank you all for the warm welcomes.
I’m glad that you decided to de-lurk, Kim. Everyone’s voice can be heard here at TOD, and I love how you describe TOD as a one stop shop, because it certainly is. Chipsticks is a brilliant and gracious host. Please post again, Kim.
Cozimfree, I love your screen name! It says it all for me. More importantly, thanks for this inspiring comment which really captures the essence of what Chipsticks, and her family of supporters, has created on this space. It’s really a joy to read comments from passionate people like you who truly appreciate this goodman we elected President. I hope we hear more from you in the future.
And this is why I support Obama. Despite “progressives” lying for years about how “anti-gay” he is.
That was the best part of the whole speech, I hope when he knows who his opponent will be, that he continues to bash that person for not standing up for the troops. The priority of being CIC is to stand up for the troops no matter what. Did I say I love my President!!!!
For those of us here who’ve been having mixed feelings about the Wall Street Protests and what exactly the agenda is, you have your answer right here. I found this video of a blogger (George Mapp) who was being interviewed and his words basically “outed” these protesters and I’m very sorry if anyone gets offended but honestly, this OWS protest should be exposed for what it really is.
Mr. Mapp basically blames the President for the behavior of the NYPD, gleefully (around 2:00) suggests that these protests will “help the Republicans” and will damage Obama in the upcoming elections. Mapp further continues to air his grievance about the killing of that terrorist Anwar Al-Awlaki, and blames the President for just about everything. Not once in his entire 5-minute rant does he call out or mention ANY Republican.
You don’t have to take my word for it: Please watch this video and come to your own conclusions:
I knew that they were not the president’s base when Micheal Moore and Cornel West show up. I still said that they should protest in front of congress.
Simply disgusting. And you’re so right about Michael Moore and West. Wherever those two are, there’s hatred and hypocrisy.
Why would Corney West be there? It’s not the jobless, hungry black community, he and Tavis claim to be fighting for. Do Moore have a film coming out, or book to sell? To “H” with both of them.
Exactly, and the fact that this movement is wholly endorsed by the likes of West and Moore who are known charlatans and have recently come out against the President, I am very suspicious. Furthermore, I haven’t seen any activity that suggests that there are any goals for getting people to actually accomplishing something concrete that would help the working and middle class. For instance no voter registrations, no fundraising for liberal politicians, no rallying of congress, no petitions for support of the AJB, etc..Just random anger, and focusing on the NYPD arrests and President Obama, etc..
Hope, I hear your worries about the protests….and I agree–up to a point.
I do support them if, if they are going to focus attention on the abuses of Wall Street and the politicians that enabled those abuses (the GOP). Which was why I was concerned about the fact that there was not a coherent list of demands (but there now seems to be, which is a good thing).
But I do understand your worries. In the video, Mapp said nothing about the GOP’s role in enabling Wall Street. He spent all the time blasting the President, who has actually pushed for stronger, tougher regulation of Wall Street (despite what Matt Taibbi claims). If these protests are going to turn into an anti-Obama action, and not focus on the GOP, that would be a terrible mistake.
The fact is that President Obama has done more for the progressive cause than most progressives realize. If they–and by “they” I mean Mr. Mapp, West, Moore, Hamsher, Lindorff and others–feel that a GOP takeover of Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court in 2012 will somehow be good for the country…they are crazy. No question.
I hope that the Wall Street protests of 2011 will lead to political action in 2012–the defeat of the Tea Party and the election of more progressive politicians and the re-election of President Obama. But if it leads to the opposite, then….I’d rather not think about it.
Thanks Marc – this is spot on. Like you, I totally support the idea of holding Wall Street accountable and shining a spotlight on their abuses and that of the GOP in congress and in the media. And I hope this will lead to all that you mentioned in your last paragraph. I’m just concerned that this is not what seems to be happening, but as Me4Obama said, I will wait and see.
Absolutely disgusting! This so called journalist blogger makes very little sense. You know what. if these people are intent on undermining the President in order to elect teabag-Republicans then I am absolutely obligated to do everything in my power to fight against them. I still I am not clear what exactly they wish to accomplish? Why not take the fight to capital hill if they want to challenge corporate power that influences law makers? Why not confront Republicans who vow to go back to status quo ante when it comes to Wall Street Reforms? Why attack a president who is on their side?
The RT guy is such a disgusting flamer…
Could there be drones targeting the protesters in NYC…
Are you kidding…?
Wow, Hope I will not bring myself to watch it, and STILL I will wait for them if they support the AJB I will support them. Thank you for the video but your words already told me what I already feared.
Me4Obama, these people are not going to support the AJB. That’s not on their agenda. Their goal is to have a Republican in the WH by 2012. If you watch the video that will become unequivocally clear to you. These people need to be exposed. PERIOD.
This whole thing is about the jealousy the Far Left harbors for the Tea Party’s influence over Congress. They want that kind of power from the Left to influence Congress and the President. So they’re trotting out these hackneyed tactics of demonstrating thinking they can somehow mimic the success of the Tea Party. It won’t work because they don’t have an entire media machine behind them promoting their talking points the way Fox News did for the Tea Party. Plus Progressives don’t have anything remotely like the Religious Right to use as ground troops to further their cause. They also don’t have the truly righteous anger that fueled what happened in Wisconsin and the most assuredly do NOT have the social injustice factor that made the Arab Spring.
Tien Le I would actually be relieved if I thought that it was just wanting influence over congress. Unfortunately, based on what the blogger in the video says, it’s specifically related to getting people mad at the current WH occupant. There is no mention of congress (as such) or any of the Republicans, except to say that they will be helped by this protests in 2012. I would wager that many of those in that movement are Ron Paul supporters and not so much liberal Democrats.
I think you’re right about the Ron Paul supporters. They do this kind of thing all the time. They’re very good at making huge signs and co-opting protests. I don’t agree with the blogger that these protests will in any way help the GOP. People just aren’t paying attention, and unless these people are prepared to occupy whateverville for the next YEAR, it’s an empty threat.
I will wait and see how it plays out…maybe this particular blogger is simply ranting and doesn’t represent the initial organizers.
But there are many signs that to me are red flags – the timing of this movement (just as the President announced his jobs bill yet no explicit support for the bill by the protesters), a blurring of the lines between Dems and Repubs to make the “all government is bad” meme. The fact that Moore, West, Huffington and certain others have jumped on the wagon. And if the media realizes that this movement will hurt President Obama more than the Repubs, you can bet the media will become “interested.”
This reminds me of Dan Choi and the Log Cabin Repubs all over again….
I just don’t see anything significant in the way of change or helping actual people coming from this. Sure, rile people up–yawn. I like Angry Black Lady’s idea: go register these protesters to vote.
“But there are many signs that to me are red flags – the timing of this movement (just as the President announced his jobs bill yet no explicit support for the bill by the protesters), a blurring of the lines between Dems and Repubs to make the “all government is bad” meme.”
That is curious–the President proposes a major piece of legislation (the Jobs Bill), calls for tax increases on the wealthy, and calls out the CBC and tells us to get up off our butts and push for change–encouraging people to get involved…
…and this happens.
Perhaps it is just coincidence. And there is the possibility that folks like West, Moore, Huffington et. al. are just going where the cameras will be. But still….I do understand your worries, especially if bloggers like Mapp are hurling more invectives at the President–and none at the Congress or the GOP. That indicates a lack of knowledge about how politics works, or just a hatred or dislike of the President and not bothering to look at the GOP that is the real source of the trouble (and has been for over forty years).
I totally agree with you, hopefruit! This is the leftist version of the teabagger summer 0f 2009. I am through with these people. I hope we all re-double our efforts to expose them. These people are simply taking advantage of the angst in the country about high unemployment. What is very curious to me, is why are they, all of a sudden, doing this just when the president is campaigning for a jobs bill that will put people to work? I am sorry but I don’t buy their so called concern for the people. Why didn’t they occupy Wall Street at the time that George W. Bush was bailing out banks? After viewing that video I simply can’t contain amy anger and disgust. These people are all about doing everything to defeat this President. Besides Ron Paul supporters, we have the PL people who could not make any headway convincing Democrats to abandon the President. They have instead chosen the politics of anarchy.
This person is vile. And has completely diluted their muddled message even further. Are they against the NYPD? Against drones? Against killing terrorists? Against the President? What an absolute loser – and entirely irresponsible. The Occupy Wall Street people need to get a message and quickly – otherwise, every crackpot out there is going to hijack their mission – whatever that mission might be.
I find it interesting that he says the protest may eventually end up at Capitol Hill – really? Duh? That’s where they should have started or at least the second stop after Wall Street.
I am very suspicious of “Occupy Wall Street.” I keep wondering who are they and where are they going. Movements like this without real direction can get out of hand and can be easily corrupted.
I just tweeted this video and said, OWS needs to get a coherent message out to the world, or else this.
C’mon drones on Wall Street, that’s a conspiracist dream.
Look, the teapublicans just betta wave the white flag now. None of them will be able to last on a stage with our guy. None of them is even fit to tie my Prez’s shoes. They stood there like the cowardly, non-principled jackasses they are because there is nothing to them. They have no cores, no centers, no foundations. They’re just blowing in the wind.
I love the fact that PBO has never hesitated to wear the full mantle of Commander in Chief. He has confident that he could handle the task even way before he was President — all the way back to when he was an Illinois state senator and one of the very few voices clearly against the foolhardy Iraq War.
How dare ANY of those non-candidates on that stage ever question the steel and the judgment of this man? They couldn’t even stand up for a soldier.
THEY’RE NOT FIT FOR THE OFFICE.
Truer words were never spoken. None of them are fit to polish the president’s shoes, let alone be president.
Someone on my twitter timeline posted a link to the wallstreet complaints.. I wasn’t going to go on the site, because Norton Security gave me a warning… anyhoo I did and it is a long list of complaints about America basically, about government & wallstreet basically being one entity.. its about bad water, bad laws, unfairness economically.. very much a catchall. There are things I can agree with and things I disagree with, however my issue is with the apparent lack of clarity- otherj than I’m mad and I’m not gonna take it anymore.. what is the end result?? President Obama has been working diligently to bring some fairness and equality to this country that has been sorely lacking for decades and yet now folks are erupting… again to what end? I really wish they were working/protesting/marching FOR something. And personally I stopped ‘following’ @occupywallstreet when they Retweeted an Arianna Huffington post- about how if one didn’t want to join the tea party in protests, they could always join ‘occupy wallstreet’. Sorry but that just ain’t a ringing endorsement in my ears 😉 If she’s for it, I’m prolly not.
sherijr I agree with you. I just posted this video of this blogger who apparently is following the protests (probably a participant as well), and he had absolutely NOTHING to say about the Repubs except that this protest will probably help them for the 2012 elections. He goes on to give a laundry list of his grievances with the current President. What does that tell you? I smell a rat here. And like you said, Arianna Huffington’s endorsement is a dead giveaway as to the underlying agenda of this so-called movement. It is an attempt to just get people angry for unspecific reasons, to diminish enthusiasm among Democratic voters, to depress and demoralize folks (while making sure that the President bears the brunt of this anger and demoralization).
Anyone who can’t see this for what it is needs to take off the blinders.
I have to agree with you hopefruit, at this point without support for the American Jobs Act in their agenda, then I’m in neutral mode.. and if their ultimate goal is to undermine POTUS then I’m against them. period.
By the way Hope and Sherijir, Michael Moore said on Larry that many of those protesters where Ron Paul Supporters. Small Government people, I am smelling a rotten Rat hear, but still I will preserve my judgement until I dig up more information, am NOT retweeting anything that has #occupywallsttreet on it. Sorry for now.
Yep thats been pretty much my mindset to- not tweeting their agenda, until I have a firm grasp of their goals… and frankly I can say this with all my heart: if they are Ron Paul supporters than I absolutely do not support them, not one whit. I believe Ron Paul & his followers to be racists with a racist agenda.. I’ve seen and heard nothing that has changed my perspective on him or his ‘libertarians’. thanks for that info Me4obama.
That, indeed, is the best approach to take. Let the protests bear some fruit. However, I have compassion for those who have been pepper-sprayed.
I agree William- about the pepper spray.. I do not understand that sort of treatment when protests are peaceful, and I’m against it.
Thanks Me4obama.
I do recall seeing a twitpic where one of the protesters was holding up a sign that said “End The Fed”
Most of them are Ron Paul supporters, and they want to place all the blame for everything on President Obama, I’m not buying. I don’t support them.
I’m agree with you sherijr.
Rootless over at the People’s View has written a commentary about the Occupy Wallstreet protests.. and is on the same page as we seem to be here, although he & Angry Black Lady offer some suggestions.. heres the link: http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2011/10/occupy-wall-street.html
Republicans Use Herman Cain To Hide Their Racism
========================================
Sarah Palin calls him “Herb Cain, the Flavor of the Week.” Other people know him as the pizza man or the winner of the Florida Republican Straw Poll. No matter what you call him, Herman Cain has made a name for himself. What is particularly interesting with Cain, is that so many bigwigs in the Republican party have thrown money at him when he is unelectable in the party. Herman Cain isn’t unelectable because of his hatred for Muslims and homosexuals, or even his disastrous economic plan knows as “9-9-9.” Herman Cain is unelectable in the Republican primary because of the one reason that shouldn’t matter at all, the color of skin.
========================================
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/10/01/republicans-use-herman-cain-to-hide-their-racism/
That’s what made him relevant to the,”Grim O’reaper Party” in the first place!If they could hasten the second coming,or the end times,’just to win’,”They Would!” Follow the “O”,help re-elect him in 2012
Grim O’reaper party…
That was funny and so spot on Leiza…
Rick Perry Threatens to Run U.S. Like He Runs Texas
http://www.politicususa.com/en/rick-perry-threatens-to-run-u-s-like-he-runs-texas
Well…then-candidate George W. Bush said the same thing back in 1999-2000.
No one really listened back then (Nader included).
Will we listen now? Or will we instead run off into the “they’re all the same, it doesn’t matter” territory and ignore what Perry says at our own–and the nation’s–peril?
Why the Kochs Want to Make Chris Christie President
Neither Romney nor Perry has done the one thing that truly excites the Koch brothers and their fellow deep-pocketed Christie fans: take on the public sector unions in a big way.
http://www.alternet.org/story/152553/why_the_kochs_want_to_make_chris_christie_president
Gonna be interesting to see where this goes.
Dear Chipsticks…Thank you so very much for this clip. When PBO said those words it had me
jumping out of my chair and hollering ‘you nailed it Sir’. I know that we are all Pressing On,
but we all deep down have our frustrations when we see the garbage littered by the Repubs…Soooo,when
our Prez in his brilliance, voices some of our deepest annoyances like he did so eloquently here in this clip,
I daresay it’s a Hallelujah Moment. He lifts us up and carries us to new heights where we are tucked away,
if even briefly, on a mountain of joy that cannot be scaled by the low -bar ignorance of the other side.
Let’s carry on . He did say it was not going to be easy.
I listened to the speech live and did virtual cartwheels when he went there!. That silence of the lambs was despicable behaviour for people who want to be C-in-C…..and PBO is damn right in calling them out on it.
These republicans (yes lower case ‘r’ ) always claim right of ownership on all things military and VA, but their actions – and atimes inaction – never bear out those sentiments. Remember during the ’08 elections when it transpired that then Senator Obama had an A+ voting record on military/VA issues while Senator McCain had something like a C…..for me at that time this revelation was very telling (not that Mcsame has done better than a C in anything he does anyway) being that this was his so called ‘constituency’.
With his work and record concerning the military,their families and our vets (and also FLOTUS and Dr Biden’s work) , I dare say any person in uniform who votes R is voting against his self-interest.
With his record on LGBT issues, any American in that group who votes R should have his/her head examined.
With his record and advocacy for the middle class and poor, if these people vote against him,they should have their heads examined.
In fact, anyone who has lived in the 2011 Tea/GOP era, voting R should have their heads examined…PERIOD!!.
Thank you Mr President. We have your back. PRESS ON !!.
Couldn’t have said it any better Uche. Spot on!
Silence of the lambs. I like that. a lot.
I have lots of popcorn folks.
Restless House GOP members pointing fingers at one another
By Molly K. Hooper – 10/02/11 01:02 PM ET
House Republicans return to Washington this week a restless bunch in the wake of an embarrassing legislative defeat and months before they face primary voters in the 2012 election.
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/184977-restless-house-gop-members-pointing-fingers-at-one-another
I will go put some popcorn in the microwave. It’s about damn time.
Chipsticks, is it possible you could post the link to the C in C clip so I can download it to my computer, pretty please?
Hiya Tien, I’ve just changed the settings for that video so there’s a ‘share’ menu in the top left that allows you download it.
The only reason I don’t do that all the time is that a VideoPress glitch sometimes mucks up the videos when you add the share menu – hopefully it won’t do it this time.
This is the original video from YouTube:
I ‘converted’ it for the blog because I wasn’t sure non-UK visitors would be able to view it.
Thanks Tien 😉
You are the BEST! Thank you!
does this help Tien Le?
Thanks, GGail…that’s the whole speech…The Magnificent Chipsticks hooked me up with the clip! Now it be on my hard drive. Yay! I love my President.
I agree Tien Le – Chipsticks is magnificent!
Let ‘er rip!
It is the togetherness of Black men and men along side of Latino men and women who are the courage and strength of our communities and the nation as a whole. It is our togetherness who has held this nation accountable for the terrible acts committed by the majority race against all minorities in America. I won’t forget the support and courage of the FEW white men and women who have been our compatriots who helped and who are helping us in our struggles to survive and to prosper.
We are fortunate at this time to have President Obama, the FIRST African American President of the United States of America. He is a very courageous and admirable man. We are fortunate to have him and his family occupy the White House at this time,
We are fortunate to have an outlet, The Obama Diary, to come to declare and share our love for President Obama and the First Family. I just recently discovered this forum of expression.
Let us continue to support President Obama and other leaders who support our causes.
Welcome!
My first sentence should have been “It is the togetherness of Black men and women …”. My sincere apologies!!!
Apology accepted (excited fingers have a tendency to go wild) and we welcome you to our TOD family. 🙂
Welcome to the blog, William Jackson. A strong endorsement for the President straight out of the gate – I love it!
welcome William
Thanks William and welcome to TOD community!
Thanks William for those wonderful words, as our PBO said, there is not a Black, white, Latino, Asian America, there is the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. True words. Welcome to our family.
How change happens
President Obama laid it out last night in his remarks to the Human Rights Campaign.
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-change-happens.html?spref=tw
I found this in the comments: “For this opportunity of a lifetime, I too will not let anyone take away, or tarnish, my joy in this president!”.
I have felt this from the beginning. All those who say they’re “disappointed” don’t seem to realize that President Obama is a human being, who has managed to bring about enormous change in this country and the world, and restore faith in humanity among so many billions of people. I am not disappointed – I am in awe.
I never thought a human being could have this much capacity for good in the face of so much evil, and be so consistent and righteous in their battle – and yet conduct themselves with so much grace and compassion and empathy. I’ve learned a lot from President Obama and Michelle Obama about persistence, tolerance, devotion and character. I am grateful to live now and be able to witness history in person – and I have tremendous pride in both President and Michelle Obama – and those who steadfastly keep the faith through these incredibly trying times.
I look at his growing list of accomplishments, and the way he’s broadened the imagination for billions of people of what is possible in this world. I am stunned at his courage and humility and confidence. I’m grateful that he still wakes up every day and works to make life better for everyone, even in the face of so much opposition from the left and the right. And I find myself smiling every time I see a picture of him or Michelle.
I won’t let anyone take my joy away – I feel incredibly privileged and inspired to witness this Presidency first hand, with open eyes and an open heart.
Ah… Theo you’ve done it again. I wholeheartedly agree with every word you wrote and every feeling you espoused.
So beautifully and perfectly stated. We speak from one heart.
Theo, I must echo both ut & Sue and express my thanks to your beautiful description.. you have eloquently stated my feelings too.
Thank you for that Theo67, you are on the money as usual.
This Theo. I feel exactly the same way. I’m so grateful that I am witnessing this time with President Obama. I had no idea he would do this great a job in the face of so much opposition. What stuns me is the opposition from the left. I just don’t get it. I am also disturbed by the “lack of enthusiasm” among the Dems and am worried this is 2010 all over again, because this is what was being reported in 2009, and we all know what happened in 2010.
I will do everything within my power, I will push to re-elect Obama/Biden.
I’ll sail with you on that. My anchor’s up!
‘I feel incredibly privileged and inspired to witness this Presidency first hand’
Me too, Theo! Me too.
V C
“I won’t let anyone take my joy away – I feel incredibly privileged and inspired to witness this Presidency first hand, with open eyes and an open heart.”
Thanks Theo for these magnificent words. To be honest, I never imagined that I would “witness this presidency” in my life time. That’s why I am so passionate and determined to never let any one, and especially envious people, dampen my enthusiasm about supporting President Obama and his incredible family.
I was so fired up by President Obama’s speech last that I wanted to see how it was received around the internets this morning. You would think that certain websites would be out front cheering President Obama on his speech in which he called out every single republican running for President that didn’t stand up for those soldiers that got booed. And what do you know, dailykos, crooks and liars, salon, and fire bag lake didn’t have a single mention about President Obama’s speech. Though daily kos did have a post about the speech, but one or two comments in, it turned into a what has Obama done lately hate fest.
You may want to drop one of these links and exit when you encounter them lamenting about what the President has or hasn’t done. They’re clearly uninformed, and arguing with an uninformed person is a losing proposition.
http://www.obamaachievements.com
http://whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com/
http://www.hopeandchange.net/2009/11/90-accomplishments-of-obama.html
The goal posts are being moved. The faux interest in LGBT rights no longer exists because they cannot blame PBO anymore. Soon it will be “why isn’t he in NYC giving support to the demonstrators?”
hopefruit2 you are so right, I can almost see the headlines. “Obama refuses to get pepper sprayed.”
Good point. Even someone as trustworthy as Juan Cole has uttered the “Obama failed, and is in Wall Street’s pocket” meme (while doing a solid job covering the protests)….
http://www.juancole.com/2011/09/visiting-liberty-square-occupy-wall-street.html
Now, I’ll repeat this–if President Obama is such a right-winger, such a closet Republican/GOP thug who sucks up to and coddles Wall Street….then why has the GOP spent so much time and energy trying to sabotage his Presidency? Why has Wall Street been so angry towards him? And why has his Administration supported tougher Wall Street regulations?
If President Obama was really a Republican–wouldn’t the GOP be bending over backwards to give him everything he wants?
Just asking….
Sad, isn’t?
We complain–rightly so–about the MSM not covering or just ignoring what the President says or does. And yet, some websites that tout their “progressive” status do the same thing.
Seriously…when was the last time Glenn Greenwald wrote ANYTHING that was not a slam-bash of the President?
I think its possible to become disheartened when we go to these places/blogs and see such behavior, either the lack of recognizing his achievements when they occur and/or the disrespect they show him. I think we have to conclude at some point that those sites are not supporters of this administration and I’m personally hard put to believe they actually ever were.. I think we have got to learn to believe our own eyes and ears over the pundits, over the ‘blogs’ over all the nonsense- and then we have to spread the facts as far and wide as we’re able, whether it’s in our neighborhood/community, or via the phone, or registering voters.
Because if we allow ourselves to believe the tv or the blogs- which are dependable only in that they equally refuse to acknowledge this Presidency as one of success on multiple fronts.. well then it’s very easy to feel as if we really are powerless.. and as if we really are all the support there is for President Obama. And that simply is not the case. Keep in mind that OFA was able to stop/ halt the proposed legislation in Ohio just last week by collecting sufficient signatures required.. there are real people out in our streets working, committing themselves to the reelection with their hard work, their $$ and their time, we are not alone.. President Barack Obama is not alone, there are just many many forces at work who are loud, noisy and dishonest.. and we will defeat them in 2012 just as we did in 2008, I believe this.
Don, now we know who are “crooks and liars” when it comes to President Obama. I am sorry to say but I no longer voluntarily click on those sites because they are completely toxic. The irrational hatred of President Obama on those sites makes some of the right wing sites seem tame by comparison. For the sake of both my mental and physical health, I decided that it’s best for me if I avoided the sites you mentioned. I only read their posts when people on this site, and other pragmatic sites, link to them.
Out on campaign trail, Rep. Bachmann MISSED EVERY House VOTE in September 😉
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/184937-bachmann-missed-every-house-vote-in-september
I am so proud of this President. It was inexcusable for a stage full of Presidentail candidates to allow a soldier of the United States to be booed by any audience. I couldn’t believe they all stood there while one of your young soldiers in harms way was harassed but the debate audience.
Mitt Romney confuses Keynes and Churchill in defense of flip-flopping
Speaking to a New Hampshire Town Hall audience of more than 250 yesterday, Mitt Romney addressed perceptions that he is a flip-flopper by quoting from a political leader he often cites on the trail, Winston Churchill.
“In the private sector, if you don’t change your view when the facts change, well you’ll get fired for being stubborn and stupid.” Romney said. “Winston Chuchill said, ‘When the facts change, I change too, Madam'”
The problem? That quote was not uttered by Britain’s great wartime leader, but instead is credited to John Maynard Keynes, the British economist whose economic studies gave rise to so-called Keynesian economic theory, which calls for government intervention in economies to balance market forces, and who is loathed by many conservatives.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/29/8040219-irony-alert-romney-cites-wrong-brit-in-defense-of-flip-flops
I forgot to add my usual
lawd hammercy 😆 😆 😆 😆
Thanks for all the links, Fred, and especially for the summaries of the links (I don’t like to click on links blindly). Appreciate it! Hope you’re feeling well today.
BWAHAHAHAHA…… 😆 😆 😆 Thanks for a hearty laugh Fred. This is just too good. Twitter is calling my name————->WHOOSH!
you are very welcome PJ and UT 😀
PJ.Every link I post on THIS is safe or I wouldn’t have posted them 😉
Indeed! I wish people, in these town hall meetings, would press Willard to cite changes that have taken place that led him to change his views about Health Care reform, Wall Street Reforms, , etcd.
Rick Perry delivers a policy speech, but forgets to talk about policy
Rick Perry delivered a speech to the Georgia Public Policy Foundation this morning ( http://www.nationalreview.com/primary-event/278844/perry-jabs-romney-policy-speech-katrina-trinko ), a speech that had been billed as a major public policy address … but somehow he forgot to deliver the policy. After saluting President Obama and the military for killing Anwar al-Awlaki, these were the first words out of his mouth:
I’m pleased to be with you for a few minutes this morning. Over the next several weeks, I will be laying out important public policy initiatives to get America working again.
As far as policy goes, that was it. The rest of his speech was devoted to attacking Mitt Romney, defending his record as governor of Texas, and delivering vague Palinesque-platitudes about his political philosophy. Afterwards, the host of the speech was nonplussed:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/64846.html
The head of the group, Kelly McCutchen, said afterward he was concerned that Perry veered heavily into presidential politics, which could endanger the group’s tax-exempt status.
“He’d been told to stick to policy” McCutchen said. “I don’t think he did that.”
That’s an understatement, but still, I have no sympathy for McCutchen. If you invite a presidential candidate to deliver a speech, you’re going to get presidential politics. Sure, Perry was a hack about it, but if that’s not what McCutchen expected, than he hasn’t been watching the campaign.
For a speech billed as a policy address, it was incredibly short: just 1,303 words, about half as long as a random speech to the VFW given last month by Romney. To the extent Perry’s speech had a theme, this captures it:
As Republican voters decide who is best suited to lead this country in a new direction by stopping the spending spree and scrapping Obamacare, I am confident they will choose a nominee who has governed on conservative principles, not one whose healthcare policies paved the way for Obamacare, a path blazed with higher premium costs and thousands of lost jobs.
I have a lengthy record, and it has sometimes ruffled feathers. But sometimes you have to shake up the system.
At least to me, that seems like pretty weak stuff — it comes off as unpleasant mix of childishness, anger, and defensiveness. Perry simply asserts conclusions without explaining why he thinks that they are correct, which seems either arrogant or dimwitted or both. Reading it, I can only think that Rick Perry is either playing a rope-a-dope by holding back a more coherent rationale for his candidacy and line of attack against Romney … or he just doesn’t understand what it takes to successfully run for president.
http://www.nationalreview.com/primary-event/278844/perry-jabs-romney-policy-speech-katrina-trinko
Romney misleads with anti-union claims
Mitt Romney continued his efforts to position himself as the anti-union guy in the GOP 2012 field (or maybe the others just don’t think they need to prove it, I don’t know), saying, at the Sept. 5 American Principles Project Palmetto Freedom Forum:
“And the right course politically at this stage is to have states carry out their own right-to-work legislation. And as you know, right-to-work states, those 22, have created 3 million jobs over the last 10 years. The union states have lost about half a million jobs. So right to work is the way to go if you want good jobs.”
The Washington Post fact checks this, ultimately giving it a two Pinocchio rating:
Romney’s remarks appeared rooted in actual Labor Department data, even though he spouted some numbers that didn’t match his own analysis. Regardless, the former governor exaggerates the importance of these statistics, and he fails to acknowledge that factors other than labor laws play a role in determining job growth.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/romneys-claim-that-right-to-work-states-get-more-good-jobs/2011/09/29/gIQAGsP17K_blog.html
The fact check is solid as far as it goes, offering a couple of good rebuttals to Romney’s claims about job creation, countering not that RtW states have worse job creation, but that labor law is neither the only nor the decisive factor in job creation. For instance, it cites the Oklahoma example—manufacturing jobs in that state peaked the year before it passed RtW—and the fact that Alaska and Texas, both with oil, one heavily unionized and one RtW, have had roughly the same employment increase over the past 10 years.
But how far it goes pretty much stops with Romney’s claims about job creation. There are some passing references to the lower-quality jobs found in RtW states, but it doesn’t actually include Romney’s claim that RtW leads to “good jobs” in the fact check. But that’s worth taking a look at, because the idea that there are jobs and then there are good jobs is an important one.
An EPI study ( http://epi.3cdn.net/a39019fdac5ee92a28_s8m6b9f8x.pdf ) actually linked in the fact check found that, controlling for worker race and education levels as well as state-level factors like cost of living and unemployment:
Wages are 3.2 percent lower in RtW states.
“The rate of employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) is 2.6 percentage points lower in RTW states compared with non-RTW…If workers in non-RTW states were to receive ESI at this lower rate, 2 million fewer workers nationally would be covered.”
“The rate of employer-sponsored pensions is 4.8 percentage points lower in RTW states.”
People who are “unemployed” in the way Mitt Romney is ( http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/16/985805/-Romney-to-out-of-work-Floridians:-Im-also-unemployed ) —who started out wealthy and are now so wealthy they will never have to work again—may not have to worry about things like lower wages or lower chance of having health care or a pension. But that doesn’t mean they can’t care. It’s just that Mitt Romney doesn’t, at least not if caring might get between him and the Republican presidential nomination.
Stars turn out for Human rights campaign. Tickled to meet Obama.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/click/1011/Stars_turn_out_for_Human_Rights_Campaign_dinner.html
VIDEO :Rick Perry: Warren Buffett hasn’t got a clue about the private sector
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/09/30/1021594/-Rick-Perry:-Warren-Buffett-hasnt-got-a-clue-about-the-private-sector?via=blog_1
This really isn’t that big of a deal, but with Republicans claiming that Warren Buffett opposes the Buffett Rule, I just can’t help myself from pointing out this hilarious pronouncement from none other than Rick Perry:
Perry said on CNBC that Buffett doesn’t understand what’s going on in the private sector.
“I think Mr. Buffett is a really intelligent individual, but I can promise you he doesn’t know what’s going on in places where the job creation is at a zero because of over-taxation and over-regulation,” Perry said.
When asked if he thinks taxing millionaires will kill jobs, Perry said, ”I think taxing millionaires is such a fake way to talk about what’s going on in this country.”
http://blog.chron.com/rickperry/2011/09/perry-says-warren-buffett-doesnt-know-whats-going-on-in-private-sector/
I’m willing to bet that Buffett is a whole lot smarter than Perry
Questions raised over legality of Perry’s stem cell treatments (do NOT read the comments PLEASE )
http://blog.chron.com/rickperry/2011/10/perry-touts-stem-cell-therapy/
VIDEO :Romney defends flip-flopping, says it’s a habit he formed ‘in the private sector’
Mitt Romney on why he flip-flops:
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/28/8018689-romney-says-it-will-be-fun-if-christie-gets-in-defends-flip-flopping
“In the private sector,” he said, “if you don’t change your view when the facts change, well you’ll get fired for being stubborn and stupid. Winston Churchill said, ‘When the facts change I change too, Madam.” What do you do?”
That’d be an even more compelling answer if he hadn’t said the exact opposite a week earlier:
That’s different from what he said a week ago, when he said he doesn’t change positions.
The American people “can tell when people are being phony and are pandering to an audience,” he said, “and you’ll see that in politics. You’re not going to see that in my campaign.”
And as sensible as it may be to change your mind when the facts change, exactly what “facts” changed between 1994 and 2011 when Mitt Romney went from a committed pro-choicer (see the above video) to a committed anti-choicer? Other than the fact that he’s now seeking the GOP presidential nomination, nothing changed.
To be fair to Romney, it would be stupid to seek the GOP presidential nomination as a pro-choicer. I guess that means he thinks it’s better to be a liar than to be stupid. The only question I have is which Mitt Romney was lying?
Republican gridlock holds consumers hostage (do NOT read comments)
Star-Ledger Editorial Board
Republicans aggressively fought the appointment of Elizabeth Warren to head the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and came away with a big scalp: Warren herself, the architect of the new agency, stepped down as nominee and returned to Massachusetts to run for the U.S. Senate. With any luck, voters there will send her back to Washington to continue challenging those who would shield banks and big business at the expense of the American consumer.
You’d think, having ousted Warren, the Republicans would get down to the people’s business. Think again. Now, the Party of No is refusing to confirm President Obama’s new nominee, Richard Cordray, unless the agency is restructured — that is, essentially gutted of its powers to protect consumers. This has nothing to do with Cordray’s credentials — he’s the highly regarded former state attorney general of Ohio — and everything to do with the political gridlock that has enraged voters and engendered cynicism with government. And it lays waste to the lessons that were supposedly learned after the collapse of the mortgage industry and housing market in 2008, when consumer ignorance combined with banking’s predatory practices to create a disaster.[…] Without 60 votes, Democrats are stuck, ground down by gridlock from protecting consumers and the economy. In the end, it’s the American consumer who pays.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2011/09/republican_gridlock_holds_cons.html
VIDEO : Wall Street executives watch protests while drinking champagne from balconies (literally)
Our4thEstate Bobfr
“you want to be commander in chief…..?” bit.ly/rkE1BB #PresidentObama defending ALL our troops against #GOPFAIL #TEABAGGERHATE
#PRESSON
#YesWECanDOMoreTogether