3:30 PM: First Lady Michelle Obama welcomes Caroline Kennedy and representatives of other first families and members of the White House Historical Association for a reception in honor of the organization’s 50th Anniversary.
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NYT: Obama Tries to Speed Response to Shortages in Vital Medicines
President Obama will issue an executive order on Monday that the administration hopes will help resolve a growing number of critical shortages of vital medicines used to treat life-threatening illnesses, among them several forms of cancer and bacterial infections.
The order offers drug manufacturers and wholesalers both a helping hand and a gloved fist in efforts to prevent or resolve shortages that have worsened greatly in recent years, endangering thousands of lives.
It instructs the F.D.A. to do three things: broaden reporting of potential shortages of certain prescription drugs; speed reviews of applications to begin or alter production of these drugs; and provide more information to the Justice Department about possible instances of collusion or price gouging.
Full article here
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Greg Sargent: ‘GOP tightening election laws across the country’
My pick for read of the morning is this very well reported Los Angeles Times piece detailing what is now an undeniable national trend: Republican legislatures and governors are making it harder for people to vote in multiple states across the country.
When you see these examples piled up in one place, as the L.A. Times has done, you get a clear sense of the national scope and potential impact of all these state-by-state initiatives.
As one expert puts it, the presidential race could hang in the balance: “These laws will have an effect on the margin on who votes. And in a state like Florida, a small difference matters. It could easily decide the outcome.”
See the LA Times report here
****
Read Steve Benen here
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USA Today: A Republican lawmaker who has criticized the Department of Energy’s $529 million loan guarantee to an electric car company that is manufacturing vehicles overseas has championed U.S.-backed loans to a company headquartered in his home district that does business around the globe.
Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., has called for the House Energy and Commerce’s oversight subcommittee to investigate the DOE decision to award the loan to Fisker Automotive, which is manufacturing its first line of vehicles in Finland.
…. Murphy, however, has backed financing for the Westinghouse Electric, which owns facilities in countries including Sweden, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Spain, Germany and the Ukraine and is headquartered in Murphy’s district. In May, Murphy introduced legislation that would provide loan guarantees up to $450 million to Westinghouse for the construction of two new nuclear power plants in the United States.
…. Murphy has received more than $40,000 in contributions from Westinghouse employees and the company’s political action committee, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Murphy did not respond to a request for comment…..
Full article here
****
Cain campaign up in smoke?
Steve Benen: …. So, what happens now? The Cain campaign is either lying about the candidate’s alleged misconduct or it’s not. And with the two accusers restricted by their settlement agreements from speaking, it’s possible Cain and his team feel like they can weather the storm without new details emerging. We’ll see.
But the larger political storm is just starting to brew. Cain’s reaction to direct questions yesterday – after being asked four times about the allegations, he sighed, glared at a reporter, stayed silent, and refused to respond – signaled to reporters everywhere that the Republican candidate has a real problem on his hands.
As for efforts to blame the “liberal” media, this may have some salience in GOP circles, but it’s not much of a strategy. For one thing, Politico hardly leans to the left. For another, the article was co-authored by a reporter who used to work for National Review. (Part of me wonders if it was members of the Republican establishment who leaked this, just to make Cain go away.)
What’s less clear is whether rank-and-file Republican voters will care. There’s reason to believe they won’t – the GOP has a track record of looking the other way when sexual misconduct allegations affect their own (Vitter, Clarence Thomas, et al).
Full post here
****
****
I went over to the dark side last night to see the reaction to the Cain story – I (literally) laughed out loud when the Teabaggers claimed it was the Obama administration that leaked the story to GOPolitico.
These people just aren’t very bright. I’d imagine there’s nothing the Obama administration would love more than for Cain to win the GOP nomination – because the President wouldn’t have to break in to a sweat to win four more years.
Karl Rove, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney ….. methinks we have our suspects.
PS The single funniest comment on the dark side last night: that the allegations against Cain were “racist” and were probably invented by the “Kenyan’s” thugs. Seriously.
****
Cain is even leading Perry in Texas! (See Texas Tribune)
****
Crikey, an awful lot of people on this planet were born after me 😳
****
President Obama will have at least three bilateral meetings while in Cannes, France, this week for the G-20, and he plans to end the week with a press conference.
On Thursday, he’ll meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and on Friday he will meet with Argentine President Cristina Kirchner.
The President’s press conference will be on Friday, before he returns to Washington.
****
There are strange goings-on in the comments, be afraid.
Hi chiP,
Take your time, we will hold down the fort til ya get back!
Thank you Jovie!
Morning, Chips and fellow Obamacrats!!
Since I haven’t watched any of the GOP debates, I decided to catch the last few minutes of Cain’s appearance at AEI, a conservative “think tank.” (HA!) His ignorance blows my mind. He was asked if he had any recommendations for Europe and their financial crisis and his response was, “No, I do not, honestly. We have our own problems.” He went on to say that we have to get our own house in order and let Europe sort out its own problems because they overspent. HermanCain has NO CLUE about the global economy and its implications for America. Does he ever read anything or pay attention? Isolationism doesn’t work in 2011. Just colossal stupidity.
He really is a know nothing. Any competent business man should be concerned about what’s happening in Europe.
It’s unbelievable that Cain had not noticed that any little twitch in Europe, any tidbit of news, sends the stock mkt. soaring or plunging. It is a global economy, “we’re all in this together” has never been more true. Cain has made so many clueless statements confirming he is not at all ready for prime time. His habit of answering questions by throwing the questions back at the reporter is not going to suffice. “Have YOU ever been charged with sexual harassment?’ is not a good answer. Awkward. I see that many are suspecting the Perry campaign of leaking the harassment details to GOPolitico because of Perry’s reputation of playing all his campaigns down and real dirty.
He is the new Sarah Palin.
Lord help us!
3rd Party: “OBAMACRATS” 😉
ANN COULTER HAS A HISSY FIT OVER HERMAN CAIN SCANDAL
====================================================
Ann Coulter Blames Liberals For Herman Cain Sexual Harassment Report
http://www.newshounds.us/2011/10/31/ann_coulter_blames_liberals_for_herman_cain_sexual_harassment_report.php
Few people irk me as much as her. Go back under your rock until you have another book to pimp, Ann.
BTW, aren’t we supposed to be in Halloween costumes today? 😉 :::adjusting my Anita Perry wig::::
Yeah, what time is the party? I can’t keep this fake sad Andrea Mitchell face about Obama being so “down in the mouth” all day!
Boohoohoo – As Steve Benen clearly points out Politico, a right-leaning site, broke the story. Ann is such a piece-of-work.
Good morning Chips and TODers!!! I’ve been enjoying watching Axelrod knock down Crowley’s GOP talking points and Plouffe knocking down Romney.
TOO FUNNY! Mitt has been touting his “business cred” as a qualification for the highest office in the land, yet “he’s not READY to be interviewed.” What’s the matter, “Sybil,” can’t decide which personality should dominate the conversation?!!
“Sybil” LOL 😀
Happy Halloweem, TOD people. Joe Scarborough here. This guy Barack Obama has taken more money from Wall Street than any other politician in Washington. This President’s hands are not clean. I tell you this guy has no credibility when it comes to Wall Street. And this guy, this president, Barack Obama just doesn’t connect to the average American. I’m going to have Chris Matthews on tomorrow who’s written a new book about Kennedy that proves what I’m saying.
Just saying.
You look very handsome today, Joe.
Love,
Anita P.
Thank you, Anita. Hey, what’s up with your hubby’s speech in New Hampshire? Just asking.
What do you have against the sanctity of marriage, Joe? And poor people should fund
their OWN health care. I’m shocked I even have to *answer* such questions!
Holier-than-thou-and-everybody-else-you-can-think-of,
Anita P.
Anita, honey. Calm down. You know I just don’t know my party anymore. Your husband will not beat Barack Obama if he keeps performing like he did in those debates. I mean say what you will about this president, this guy can debate. Anita, honey, you’re going to have to get your husband better prepared. And I really don’t understand that cut, crap and grow plan of his. He’s gonna have to do a better job of explaining that. Whipping out a post card ain’t gonna cut it.
Sorry, Anita, honey. Just telling you the truth.
Just saying.
You are persecuting us because of our religion. Just see if my Rick will show up at another of your lamestream media debates. Hah! That’ll show you all!
Weepily yours,
Anita P.
You know, because I wasn’t able to keep up too well with the comments over the weekend I’d forgotten about all your plans to be ghoulish GOP types today. So, when I checked on the comments and saw AJ had turned in to Anita Perry, UT in to Janie Hamsher, Desertflower in to Tweety, GBrooklyn in to Joe Scarborough, Dotster in to Andrea Mitchell, etc ………… I had the single largest WTF moment in my life. And then I:
Oh, you people 😆
Okay… Now *that* was funny.
=)
Chips…..you are TOO funny. It took me about 5 seconds to remember the “Halloween Party” today. I love it TODers….y’all totally rock with the scarborough and anita perry “chat”………. 🙂
Dry the tears and stand up like Mika does, Anita, honey. Just because you’re in my party, you don’t get a pass. Unless you say something nasty about that guy, Barack Obama. Then you get a kiss.
I’m sorry, Anita isn’t here right now, she’s…uhm…tied up, shall we say.
:::”mfff! rrmmmff!!”
“shut UP, Anita!!”::::
We’ll get back to you as soon as her sedative takes effect.
Sincerely,
Rays Sullivan
Perry Director of Communications
He is a libertarian…
This is the major flaw of the framers!
Jefferson fighting with Adams about big government and states rights!
It’s made our government dysfunctional!
Something has got to give…
Moreover, he has not regulated wall street, the healthcare industry, the environment, etc.
These donations are really having an effect on policy!
Oh wait!
One thing I would love to point out. I loved jack Kennedy, but he had his dad take care of things, a lit if money was spent protecting him!
Does Chris point that out in his new book?
Jovie, Joe S. here again. Happy Halloween. Like I said, this guy, this president is in the pockets of Wall Street. It’s true because I say it’s true. OK? Barack Obama has failed and been the best friend Wall Street ever had. Doesn’t matter that it was George Bush who signed the bank bailout. It’s Barack Obama, this president, (who I hate because I was supposed to be able to run for president myself but I had that little incident in my office. You know the one where my mistress.. eh staffer was found dead. I couldda been a contender!) who has failed this country.
Just saying.
Lol.
He is a hater, and so is Chris…
(Tweety) Hey! I’m not a hater. I just call it like I see it! Besides, Howard Fineman agrees with me! HE HAS SOURCES!
I am with you proudO! This is congressman Joe Wilson, from the Confederate state of South Carolina, speaking. I am proud of our State heritage as the leader of the Secessionist Movement. We sure showed uncle Abe our fierce determination to be free. Just like Obama who is trying to take away our guns, Lincoln was trying to take away our slaves. Even though we lost that war we have never lost our cause.
Yes, that Kenyan socialist, Nazi, communist, black nationalist, muslim is a LIAR! He lied about saving the auto industry when we know he is busy destroying it. How do we know that, well he sold Chrysler to the Italians. Can you imagine he sold it to Italians! You know the Italinas who a nothing but mafias. He lied about healthcare reform which is actually a plan to kill seniors like me. How do I know that? Well, a few months ago I went for a free check up under the ACA, and my doc said that everything was O.K. Except he said that I have to exercise more, loose some weight and try to lower my blood pressure without taking medicine. That right there told me Obama was conspiring with my doctor to deny me medicine. At my age I should be taking at least ten or more prescriptions. Instead the doctor tells me to exercise, loose weight and try to eat sensibly. I tell you, my namesake Joe, I finally have the proof of the much dreaded “death panels.” My doctors has been enlisted to deny medicine. Now I wonder if the end is not near. Then there is this business of Killing Osama and helping getting rid of Col. Qaddafi! That’s nothing but a lie. We know that Osama bin Laden is alive and well, he is hiding out at Obama’s muslim grandfather’s house in Kenya. As for Qaddafi, we know he was killed by muslim terrorists because he had become a friend of United States. At least that’s what my fellow South Carolina member of Congress, Sen Graham, told me. After all, didn’t Qaddafi warmly welcome Senator Graham, along with the war hero, Sen McCain, and the great Sen. Lieberman, the most beloved Democrat by Republicans? So, there you have it, Joe! Obama is a LIAR. I am not even sure he is an American; that’s why I don’t dare call him PRESIDENT. I could say more about Obama lies but I have to go because I am having dinner with the great Donald Trump.
Happy Halloween everyone!
The Other Joe Scarborough here – this guy Obama is regulating businesses out of business. He’s anti-business, anti-Wall Street, anti-rich and anti-success. He wants to take my, I mean, their money and redistribute the wealth.
OH! I posted my first Tweety impression over on the last thread:( Donna wanted to boycott his show…I had something to say about that! Happy Halloween….got to get ready for work. Check in later!
Hey chip,
I feel bad for Jon Corzine company MF, it filed for bankruptcy.
He is a big Obama supporter and a good democrat!
Oh well…
Morning TOD. Jane Hamsher here. Will you please donate to my fundraiser to make sure President Obama stops being a DINO? (Democrat In Name Only) and starts fighting for true liberal causes?
psssst: I’m actually working with Grover Norquist to undermine President Obama and sucker you people into paying for my cushy lifestyle.
Make you donations here. http://www.janehamsherisapsycho.com
Happy Halloween.
😆 I’ve just donated a bucket of cow poo, hope that helps Janie!
LOL, 🙂
Hi UT, I didn’t get to a new persona. Can I be Ed Schultz??
Shahidah…I was assigned Ed Schultz….you can have him. At this moment I’m not in any shape to join in the festivities. I think bloviating in the style of Ed would make my head explode……….he is all yours girl. Break a leg!
I’m sorry you’re not in shape. However, since I’m Ed I must tell you DO NOT VOTE. Whatever the problem just DON’T VOTE !
I can see you will do the role justice. Thanks for taking over, I hate to be the party poop…… 😦
Sue, I hope this isn’t anything serious for you. My prayers with you.
Hi Roberta in MN, how are things going? I haven’t seen you in a little while, and have wondered if your sister is doing better? It’s nice to see you here on this crazy Hallowe’en day.
Thank you Roberta. No, I’ve been advised to expect to have headaches for up to 3 months. I’ve been doing remarkably well, and improving day by day, most of the headaches I do get are managable. Todays is something a bit tougher. This too shall pass, and I trust your prayers will help, I appreciate your kindness.
Oh Sue, I can’t believe how you’re downplaying what you’re going through, you’re incredibly brave and spirited. Hoping things will improve very soon for you, thinking of you.
Whichever of you is Ed, I’m ready with my cellphone to text A for yes, B for no. I’m just waiting for the question!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Morning Sue. So sorry to hear that you are not up to it today, however, know that you are so loved, and I will keep good thoughts coming your way. Now promise to relax as much as possible and enjoy , ok? Love you Sue.HZ
Oh, I have my phone ready also.
Thanks HZ…..I’m going to get this headache under control….today’s to big a day to be sidelined! I love, love you back!
It you believe President Obama should put on his protest shoes and go to OccupyOakland – Press A for Yes . Press B for No.
Okay, I’m weepin’ here, you people are insanely funny!!!!!
Hello, Jane! Joe Wilson here, from the great state of South Carolina. Jane you are heroin in our neck of the woods for teaming up with our Grover to try to destroy Obama. Please don’t dare call him President because we, the sons of Confederate soldiers, don’t believe he is a president. We know you are on our side, Jane. But we hope you can continue to fool, and disorganize, those liberals by pretending to be progressive. You will get them fools to pay for your lifestyle while helping us to get rid of Obama. As much as I hate them liberals I am ready to chip into your fundraiser.
Happy Halloween.
Happy Halloween, it’s scary to see so many goblins this morning.
Did tweety mention the comparison of what jack Kennedy inherited from Ike?
Like, you know, the CIA led bay of pigs invasion of cuba?
That was bungled and is the line reason we lose the Cuban vote in south Florida.
Yes, jack saved our collective asses during the missle crisis, but I think so has this president by killing terrorists…
Chris is just trying to sell books to people who he thinks can afford it(Republicans)!
Well said, Jovie. You know people like Chris Matthews are not interested factual history. Rather, they are in the business of selling myths. Any one who wants to know real history needs to go to the professional historians who deal with both facts and context.
Good morning everyone. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to see another day. And the first thing that greets me is the “Elmer Gantry” of the republiCONS. Oh well, such is life. Sooner or later Cain you will have to respond……..Time for my mid-morning nap.
It is indeed a beautiful thing to see another day! I ‘m down for a mid morning nap as well…..my head has decided today is a good day to hurt like hell. Trying not to resort to narcotics, which I hate taking, so am going to try ibuprofen and sleep. I shall return. I read a good book yesterday, “Barack Obama and the Jim Crow Media, The Return of the Nigger Breakers” by Ishmael Reed. We are absolutely right in our assessment of the MSM. It is the author’s premise that the MSM is President Obama’s chief opponent. Sickening and infuriating, I think in part it set the tone for my enormous headache today. We must keep fighting their factless, baseless campaign of lies and division.
On a happier note HAPPY HALLOWEEN! To those of you already in character, I thought I was at a CPAC convention. You are that good!
I have a feeling it’s going to get real crazy around here…but then consider the characters we will be imitating. PSYCHO TALK!
Hello Ed, I have my cellphone ready – waiting to text A for yes, B for no…to any question you ask us!
Please rest Sue, so you will be ready for the ‘treating’ all day. Sue, I read that book a few months ago, and I came away with the same thoughts as well. I thought Mr. Reed did an excellent job on his premise of the media. HZ
Hi, Sue, Sorry to hear you are experiencing a great deal of pain. I hope you take time to rest and try to take it easy. Trying to deal with the current political climate is enough to give any thoughtful person a headache. But after what you’ve been through, I know it’s probably more stressful on you. I really treasure the wisdom you share in your comments. So, I hope you take more time to rest, if you must, so that you will be able to continue sharing your wisdom. By the way, Sue, thanks for sharing Ishmael Reed’s new book. I plan to order a copy because I heard, from a friend, that it really exposes the role of the media in undermining President Obama.
Happy Halloween!
Senior Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee on Monday requested a hearing on how changes to state voting laws — including those that require people to present photo identification before voting — might be making it tougher for people to vote.
“These changes in state voting laws raise serious constitutional concerns under both the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the 15th Amendment,” Judiciary Committee ranking member John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and Subcommittee on the Constitution ranking member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a letter to Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas).
(flirt)Hi Ladies.(/flirt) Anthony Weiner here. You’re all consenting adults, right? Yeah, yeah, I know you think the President is hot and all, but you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Lemme give you some eye candy? Oh wait, is Andrew Breitbart here? Never mind. Ahem. As I was saying, esteemed colleagues, SCREECH. Mic test.
LOL! Joe Scarborough here. The only person I hate more than that guy Barack Obama, and the fish giver Rahm Emanuel, is you, Weiner. So glad your seat went to a republican. That means that guy Barack Obama is in trouble.
Aw, gee, Joe. Does that mean I can’t come on your show? Even if I promise to bash the President for not giving me my glitter-farting unicorn? Seriously, Joe. Micah is hot.
God, Weiner, Don’t beg. Listen, I know you’re as jealous of that guy, this president, Barack Obama, as I am. We both coudda been contenders if we hadn’t got distracted by the ladies. If you promise to be loud in your bashing like you usually are and don’t squeal when I yell back at you — like I do Mika — then I’ll give you a few minutes.
Don’t worry abt the picture thing. I mean my scandal was worse and look where I am.
LOLOL!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
LOL! Joe “You Lie” Wilson here from the Great Confederate State of South Carolina. Anthony you know I hate you because of the way you used to expose Republican lies in Congress. But I have mixed feelings about your predicament. On the one had I was elated to see you kicked out of Congress and replaced by a GOP because of your immature sex escapades. On the other hand I miss you because you belonged to the PL that constantly railed against the evil, so called President, Obama. You see many of us in the Tea party love us some progressive bashers of Obama. Well, come to think of it loosing you wasn’t so bad; at least we now have Maxine Waters who has replaced you on T.V. as the leading progressive basher of the President.
Happy Halloween!
Here is the judge the full Senate is confirming today:
http://landrieu.senate.gov/mediacenter/pressreleases/06-08-2011-1.cfm
Thanks so much for this, Jovie. I hope that other Senators will get on with the process in the Senate and give a vote for these nominees which have cleared the Sen. Judicial Committee. I have written to Chairman Leahy, my two senators and Leader Reid.HZ
Morning folks- Ron Paul here….
I see that our big spender-in-chief is again planning to bring big government into the field of medicine…yet he refuses to legalize weed. Impeach NOW.
I like this Chips, lol
This is amazing chips!
But Ron Paul asks: Is this another artwork funded by big government?
😆 It’s a commie pumpkin! Or is it an orange? 😳
LOL! No Chips…it’s just The Great Pumpkin. That devious, tax-and-spend, big government President Barack Obama is “redistributing the wealth”…siphoning it from job creators such as: Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Peanuts, Woodstock, Schroeder, Pigpen, and Peppermint Patty! Has he NO shame?!! What… about… the…chillllldreeeen.~
LOL! Honestly Ron, I tried to get pot legalized. Let’s hang out on twitter #andrewsgoodies.
(whoops…#anthonysgoodies)
Now, now, Ron Paul, you don’t want to be promoting dope to a Christian Nation. Can’t we just Impeach the nazi, socialist, muslim, without giving in to hippie culture? As a son of the South, have you forgotten how hippies invaded my state in 1964 to try to impose integration on us by denying us the right to discriminate against the Negroes? I say impeach him because he is not a white Christian. Just so you know, I am Joe “You LIE” Wilson, from the great Confederate State of South Carolina. Ours is a Christian State; and we will not allow it to be taken over by weed smoking hippies and homosexuals. By the way Ron, did you know that it’s actually weed ( marijuana) and cocaine that turns normal people into homosexuals? Sorry but I strongly oppose legalizing weed.
Happy Halloween!
You people are a riot. I have spilt my drink twice already from laughter! Keep it going. Love the funny and lightheartedness in the posts.
Happy Halloween…Pumpkins,ghosts,goblins,witches and more,they all shout BOO when at your door.
UPDATED: The Herman Cain media background check begins (and it’s beginning to look a lot like Clarence)
http://blog.reidreport.com/2011/10/the-herman-cain-media-background-check-begins-and-it-looks-a-lot-like-clarence-thomas/
I’d suspect Rick Perry’ campaign leaked the harassment reports on Cain. Perry can’t gain in the polls as long as Cain is sucking up 30% of the vote. For any GOP thinking the Obama Camp is behind this is nuts. The Admin has nothing to gain from it – they’d love to face off against Perry. Actually the Obama campaign could benefit in that they need a viable strong candidate to take on Romney for the next 4-5 months.
On a side note – kidney stones suck. In emerg since late Friday night, couldn’t pass them so Doc went into get them around noon yesterday. Not a pleasant experience.
Oh saintroscoe, sorry to hear about your horrible weekend, how are you doing now?
Perry’s my number one suspect too, he’s hired a whole heap of new GOP operatives in the last couple of weeks so I reckon this might be their neat work.
Feeling 100 times better than I was Friday, but just all over sore as the stones were high up. Just walking gingerly and not looking forward to bathroom breaks.
Perry’s campaign plays for keeps. We have to hope he goes nuclear on Mitt soon. His Florida operatives are from the Rick Scott campaign, he recently hired George W. Bush’s 2000 Campaign manager (who destroyed McCain with whisper campaigns), and has the Swiftboater crew on his side as well. His problem is you never get a second chance to make a first impression – those easly debates might be too big a negative to overcome. He should be in Iowa exclusively for the next two months – he needs Iowa big time. If he wins there he becomes the anti-Romney and will pick up the votes of Bachmann and Cain supporters once they bow out after Iowa. Winning Iowa means Perry would win SC – with Romney taking NH and NV the major prize would be Florida.
Sorry to hear about the ER experience St. Roscoe -hope you are feeling better.
Definitely makes you appreciate the things you take for granted. And anybody that says budgets should be balanced by cutting wages of nurses will get a punch in the nose from me.
Well..err…Ron Paul here, and with all due respect Mr. Roscoe…my goal is to CUT CUT CUT the whole budget when I get elected President in 2012, and that includes the nursing budget. If you’re sick, go to your private doctor and get well even faster. Our current WH occupant is the world’s biggest spender and I’m willing to bet that if it weren’t for Michelle, he would not have a red cent in his savings account. All Paulites UNITE!
Have a speedy recovery, saintroscoe! (:
Thanks, I’m hoping so too. Have a follow up with Doc in a week.
Ouch! So sorry. I hope you are on the mend. I’ve never experienced them, but had an intestional blockage that brought pain that I have never known the likes of. I really am sorry, take it easy and get well soon.
I imagine our two experiences were very similar. I will say Nurses are angels on earth and anybody wanting to score political points by slashing their pay should either have work a day in their shoes, or better yet unable to pass a kidney stone and admitted for an overnight stay.
My medical team, from top to bottom were as you say, “angels here on earth.” And from the conversations I had with many of them, they are absolutely against the idea that health care should be a for profit industry. God bless them, I have nothing but gratitude and appreciation for the work that they do, and do so very well.
saintroscoe – Ouch! Mend quickly!
Saintroscoe, please take it easy and relax and rest as much as possible. Good thoughts coming your way. Be careful and rest much.HZ
Saintroscoe, as brilliant as you are you really haven’t caught up with the dominant theme of Obama bashers, both from the left and the right. They always find away of blaming anything negative on President Obama, including some of the most nonsensical things like this Cain story. On a more important note I hope you are doing better after the removal of kidney stones. Try to rest and take it easy.
Happy Halloween!
I just want you all to know that I, Charles Koch just got off the phone with brother Cain and I let him know that we can weather this storm. I pledged the full support of the Tea Party to discredit these bogus allegations. No God fearing millionaire who’s wife is never by his side at any event or campaign function would harass another woman. I just know this stuff was drummed up by the liberal media. I’m calling Rupert this morning to tell him to get the boys over at Fox to tear this story down. You can take that to the bank along with the millions that David and I plan to funnel into KochCain’s campaign. So I told him to just keep giving the media those long pauses when they ask him a question about this stuff then throw the question back at ’em. Everything is going to be just fine we’ve got this!
Charles, Charles, I need money from you to fight that Elizabeth Warren. Scott Brown here with a hand out!
I’ll tell my people to call your people and we’ll get your what you need Scott. We can’t have that socialist in the Senate. I’ve got your back.
😯
😆 😆 😆
Hey – Herman Cain here. Thanks for the support, Koch brothers! I couldn’t do any of this hoodwinking without you.
Joe “You Lie” Wilson here, from the great Confederate State of South Carolina. I am with you, Mr Koch, 100% because I am sure these women accusers of Herman Cain are liberal negro women, like Anita Hill, pretending to be right wing Republicans. So, I say this is another “high tech lynching” that liberals engage in because they are envious of the real lynching we practice against sassy and uppity negroes in our great southland. On the other hand, if it turns out that Herman Cain’s accusers are pure white women we may have a problem on our hands. We may not be able to save Herman like we did with the great Justice Clarence Thomas. I am praying that these women accusers of Cain turn out to be negro women. In that case, we can go after them with the full force of the Republican media machine of Fox, Limbaugh, and right wing talk radio, by destroying their characters; the same way we did to Anita Hill. Herman Cain, like Justice Thomas, is performing a great job for all of us who believe in the supremacy of the white race. He is shielding us from the charges of racism while endorsing everything that perpetuates and maintains white supremacy. I applaud you, and your brother David, for the investment you are putting in to maintain white supremacy by financing a black man to help you do it.
nathkatun7, you are frighteningly brilliant! Are you sure you’re not the real Joe? 😆
Chipsticks, honestly I am not “the real Joe.” It was all Utaustinliberal’s fault for assigning me Joe “You Lie” Wilson! So, what ever I said, trying to impersonate Joe’s character, blame it all on the brilliant UT! By the way, Chipsticks, thank you so much for the magnificent work you’ve done with your blog! You are always on time keeping us informed, especially for people like me who rarely turn on mainstream media t.v.. Even more importantly, you have assembled a community that is not only well informed but also has a great sense of humor. I don’t know who came up with this halloween stunt. All I can say is that it was brilliant. It allowed us to laugh at the idiocy of the President’s opponents.
I hope you had a wonderful halloween!
Morning TODville LMAO reading your Halloween comments,
OK, I am Newt In a Mankini, it’s Halloween at my House everyday because My Wife doesn’t BLINK unless I buy her expensive Bling Bling. Am out of donations for my campaign and it’s all because Obama’s tough regulations on my wife’s Blinking so am out of cash. Help please!!
People, you have a lot of work to do to find a scarier costume than M4O’s:
😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 Can I have a callista eyes open wide pic? 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
PLEASE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My eyes! My eyes!
Pass the brain bleach!
😆
Oh Chips, my head is exploding!!! This is laughter at the most expensive piece of jewelry from the world’s best stores!!! Sales are going up today. More jobs for this economy, if the Newt keeps this .., oh, I better leave that alone. Bad girl here. HZ
I’m not participating, cause I’m at work, but Chips, you just made me ill. Just for that, anyone else can take my Lintball personna. I could never even pretend to be that vile……it would bruise my spirit too much to recover from. I’ll listen to Rev instead. Have fun y’all 😀
🙂 OMG 🙂 BROUGHT TEARS TO THE EYES.CHIPS YOU ARE ONE CLASSY LADY. I can’t stop laughing.
Chipsticks, you are really, really bad!
Happy Halloween!
hey guys. watching History Channel’s It’s good to be president part 4. Richard Wolfe is talking about how he played basketball with PBO and how PBO has an edge to his game and that he can hold a grudge if you rough him up on the court and that he will retaliate and then he’ll start trash talking. hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe!!!!! Wish PBO could have a little one on one with Chuckie the Toad, That Tool from ABC and that other Tool from Fox: Ed Henry. hehehehehehehehehe, PBO would make mince meat outta them 😀
Hello Gov Christie! Are you taking your kids trick or treating today?
Who are you to ask me about my kids?! Do you know who I am?! I’m Chris Christie, baaaby! Nobody’s entitled to ask me nuthin’!!!!!
Those ‘newstools’ are all short, fat runts. Air balls! The thought of it makes me weep with laughter.
🙂 🙂 🙂 My thoughts exactly.
Good morning TOD family. Scott Brown reporting in. I am driving my red truck over to see the Koch Brothers to beg for money. I may have to go back to being a male model to fight that ole’ Elizabeth Warren. We don’t want her to take off her cloths. You know I am so good looking the people of Mass. want a good looking person in the Senate. Have a great day everyone! Off to see the Kochs!
Hiya, Scottie Boy! Elizabeth Warren reporting back! Go beg for that money boooooooooooy! You’re gonna need it cause your ass is grass, suckaaaaa! 😉
We’ll see about that. All that sucking up to that Obama President won’t help you. I’ve got all that Koch money, money, money, money, money. And besides, I am goodlooking!!!!!.
Forgot to add this is Scott Brown speaking!
Good morning Chipsticks and my beautiful and brilliant TOD family. What a beautiful day!!! Thanks to Chips and all of my family for your notes yesterday. I went through and read each and replied to each one. That is who I am, so I hope I was not a pest to any
of my beautiful family members. You All are so spectacle!!!!! Thank you my special and brillitant, Chipsticks. You are the Best and I love you.HZ
Then I opened up this morning and everyone is posting such beautiful comments on this Halloween morning that just sent me into ‘laughter heaven” You all are so brilliant. This is going to be an informative day through much brilliance. I am trying to arrange my day to make sure that I relax so I can enjoy and get ready to help keep our beautiful President in that Oval Office through 2016. “We Can’t Wait.” I hear the tweeters. Be back a little later. Love you all so much.HZ
Good morning HZ! Your posts always make me smile and happy. You are so special.
LOL! Youch~
On this Saturday’s Up With Chris Hayes, Eliot Spitzer found himself getting some push back (thankfully) from his fellow panelist, Demo’s Heather McGhee and Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky when he suggested that Democrats should consider raising the retirement age gradually for Social Security beneficiaries because Americans are living longer.
~snip~
SCHAKOWSKY: The very idea that we would raise the retirement age as Heather said for poor woman… that longevity has actually gone down. Maybe at some point we can do this. The other question is, so then where are the jobs? Are you going to go out at age sixty five and go find yourself a job? Where are those jobs? How are you going to have income? Ten percent of people rely on Social Security for one hundred percent of their income.
And the average Social Security benefit is $12,000; $10,000 for women. This is such a modest benefit. I think the idea right now of raising the age, which is a benefit reduction, is just ridiculous. At some point maybe we can consider it, when there are jobs for older people and when people are actually all living longer, not just rich white men.
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/jan-schakowsky-we-should-consider-raising-r
Andrea Mitchell here. Be sure to tune in today when my guests will be a series of Republican congressmen who will give their honest, nonpartisan views on how President Obama has failed the country and how he is bad, bad, bad. I will be nodding in agreement, as always. I will also have on David Gregory and Chuckie T. to agree with me that President Obama has been so “down in the mouth”. We all agree it is “stunning!” I will not be showing actual footage of Obama’s recent appearances because you might get the wrong idea when you see him bounding across the tarmac and up and down stairs, full of energy, joking with military personnel, greeting supporters with hugs and joyful handshakes, addressing cheering crowds with optimism and enthusiasm and with a huge beautiful smile on his face. Oh, and I also will feature another Clintonite, as I do daily, to talk about Hillary’s greatness, how she’s much better than Obama and to agree that Obama needs to listen to Bill Clinton’s advice. And I always wrap it up with a representative from GOPolitico, errrr I mean Politico, to give a warning that Obama’s losing support from another of his constituencies—-everyone who voted for him in ’08!
Hey Ms. Mitchell,
I Ron Paul, have won the IOWA straw poll, not once but TWICE. Yet you people in this lamestream media keep giving me the side eye. What’s your problem? You want to protect the corporate establishment with their war machine. When will you do an expose on the US dirty tricks that keep us at war, prevent us from legalizing weed, and rams big government down our throats?
It’s time for you people in the lamestream media to man up and declare Ron Paul the winner of the universe.
Joe “You Lie” Wilson here, from the great Confederate State of South Carolina. Ron, I love your talk about small government but I can’t stand your opposition to war which makes America great. As to your legalizing weed mantra, I think you are nuts, doc. This is a Christian nation. It’s o.k. for people to be high on Jesus but not on marijuana. Unless you can assure me the weed smokers will be high on Jesus, and be anti Mexican immigrants, anti-homosexuals, anti-abortion, anti liberals and, especially, anti muslims with their sharia laws, there is absolutely no way I would support your campaign to legalize weed.
Hey, at least you’re married to a rich, influential man, Andrea M. I’m stuck with guy who reminds everyone of the dimwitted FL gov James Brolin played in “The West Wing”.
Don’t tell Ray Sullivan I broke out of the basement, ‘kay?
– Anita P.
Hey is Rick Perry here, is Halloween before? Was it before, or is it before it was before? You know what I mean?
You’ve nailed him. 😀 Don’t over dose on the oxycontin!
Rick Perry hits the reset button on Fox News
Perry’s Sunday interview with Chris Wallace can be summarized as follows: “yeah, rich people will get more money under my tax plan, but I reject class warfare, and plus, they’re the job creators. Can we get to drillin’ now?”
http://blog.reidreport.com/2011/10/rick-perry-hits-the-reset-button-on-fox-news/
I don’t know how I got on this Liberal blog (I’m already feeling morally bankrupted, as I like to say), but allow me to introduce myself.
I’m Marco Rubio – junior U.S. senator from Florida. But, for Halloween, since I come from a family of Cuban exiles, I’ve decided to dress up like Fidel Castro … just to remind voters I come from a family of Cuban exiles. I’ve had my press person (who’s not from a family of Cuban exiles) snap a photo of me in my Castro costume at the link below. [I like the staging, don’t you? As Fidel, I’m smoking a cigar in the image, on the off chance that Herman Cain gets to be President and needs a smokin’ VP. And the Marlboro Hombre in the background on the horse was staged, just in case Rick Perry (who thinks he’s the real Marlboro Man) gets to be Prez and needs a macho Texan-type VP, even though I’m from Florida and come from a family of Cuban exiles, although I could be a Texan if you want. Smart, eh?] I’ll have more of my thoughts for you later!
Sincerely,
Cuban-exile-family-member Marco Rubio
Utterly magnificent 😆 😆 😆
You’re too kind! 🙂
Joe “You Lie” Wilson here, from the great Confederate State of South Carolina. Well Marco, I finally found a Hisapaniola, sorry I meant Hispanic, I could love! I used to have issues with the coloreds, although, Marco, you really don’t look colored to me. Lately, though, I am finding out that there are coloreds I could relate to. Marco, you are one of them. And so is Herman Cain and Allen West. Not to mention our great colored Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Right now I am not yet sure that I can support a colored person to be President; but you and Herman Cain are making me think twice because of your willingness to be figureheads while letting the great white business men like the Koch brothers run the real show. O.K., to be honest with you, I doubt that my constituency will go for a Negro Republican nominee for President and a Hispanic nominee for Vice-President on the same ticket. They may, however, accept, either one of you as a VP nominee, the same way they warmed to a female VP nominee, Sarah Palin, in the 2008 election. Damn Obama! Why did he have to win to force our white party to seriously consider colored people. We were just so comfortable with an Allan Keys
who, as smart and articulate as he appeared to be, was never taken seriously.
Pat Toomey wrote a letter to his mom today, because he loooooves Halloween (gets to wear his cape and lower his bicuspids and call it a costume). Dear Mom, I got a a BIG promotion now to a Super Duper committee because Mitchie McConnell says I’ve been saying my NAYS so well whenever that Socialist Satan tries to make us all communists. Mom, I get to cut, cut all the time and you know how much I like to do that. Remember those butterfly wings, and the feathers, and oh well, it was just Fred’s little finger. Well now I get to cut really cool things like all that money going to lazy old people who just want to sit around in their rockers all day. Deadbeats, all of them. And what’s with all the money going to the disabled? Disabled,hah! They need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Government’s making them lazy with all those wheel chairs and oxygen masks. Best of all, you’re gonna see me say the loudest Nays when those Commie Dems try to tax the rich. Charlie and Davey K are going to be so proud of me. Hope they show their gratitude, Heh, heh. Gotta run now, Mom. My assistant, Renfield, is sharpening my scissors. Wonder what his blood type is? Love, Pat
Dear Pat, I’m proud of you, son! Proud, I tell ya! You’re a real cut-up – not like those socialists! Invite Charlie and Davey K over for dinner sometimes (they’ll have to treat, but that should be a drop in the bucket for them, right?). Proud! Love, mommy
Thanks, Mom, I know I can always count on you. Too bad nobody else understands me, except Mitchie, of course. Can’t wait for dinner with Charlie and Davey.
(Mitch McConnell)
You are a fast learner, and I am quite proud of you, Toomey boy! Keep those ‘nays’ coming. Loyalty to the party is the first order of business around here – I should know as this is my 5th term of office. The 5th, and I’m untouchable until 2014!!! Listen to Uncle Mitch, Toomey boy, and give the diehards what they want and you need have no worries about being returned to the Senate.
Hi there Mitch!
(Mitch McConnell) )You forgot my glasses. How could you? I need my glasses to enhance my facial features.
Yikes, so sorry Mitch – here you go:
Mmm, handsome!
(Mitch McConnell) Thank you. Now I feel like myself again, ready to take on that upstart president who I guarantee you will be a one-term president.
Mitch lost his watle….I barely recognize him without it! Glad to see his coloring has improved. Pasty white looks so morbid, and dare I say ghoulish.
Sue, I think Mitch looks like he still has room in the stomach for some real sweet candy next Halloween. So lets begin to stock up on getting out the vote so Mitch can have some delicious winning votes from POB’s re-election night ,come Nov. 2012. So get ready Mitch, your Halloween will be extended over into the month of Nov. 2012.
Then you can eat as much candy called the “Obama got you Mitch” bars, we added another term for Obama. Sorry about that Mitch, you all never could count those vote in the Senate. Eat up Mitchy, you still have so much candy to eat. Oh, Mitchy, you have to eat the entire bags.
I tell you Mitchy, those voters just got pissed off hearing you standing on that Senate floor telling them how you were going to make Obama a “one term President.” Trick is on you this time Mitch. Eat up sir, we got loads of votes that just put Obama over the stop, Mitch.
Sick to your stomach yet, Mitchie? Oh well. Should have thought about that while you were spreading all of that hate.
You better tell your friends to think long and hard about repealing the Affordable Care Act because you will need some eleborate dental work after all of those cavities set in. Then next Halloween, you can go as the ‘Toothless No Term Minority Leader’. See you next year, Mitch.
Sue in M, hope you’ve gotten rid of the headache.
(Mitch McConnell) John B introduced me to his tanning salon, hence my improved colour, though I didn’t choose the ‘Boehner Plus’. Did you know he’s been such a loyal customer that they created a cream for him? We Republicans are awesome job creators. John has single-handedly boosted one of our job creators by his demand for ‘Boehner Plus’. I can recommend them if you’re interested.
October 31, 2011 11:25 AM
‘Taxing the Kindness of Strangers’
By Steve Benen
When we talk about the Republican austerity agenda, we tend to focus on the economic impact — how many jobs it will cost the nation; how much it will slow economic growth, etc.
But we shouldn’t forget the real-world impact on millions of families. In a new piece in the print edition of the Washington Monthly, Benjamin Dueholm explores, from a very personal perspective, the impact GOP budget cuts have on foster parents. The editors’ summary of the story helps set the stage for an interesting piece:
Of all the brutal cuts to government being pushed today in Washington, perhaps the most self-defeating are those likely to be felt by America’s foster parents — the volunteer army that steps up to care for children on behalf of the state. In a moving and incisive essay featured in the November/December issue of the Washington Monthly, Benjamin Dueholm chronicles his own experience becoming a new foster parent to an injured baby girl, while at the same time watching the age of austerity close in to threaten the institutions he is fast coming to rely on.
Social programs like Medicaid and the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program, whose budgets now sit on the chopping block, are well-known elements of the safety net for lower-income Americans. But those same programs also make modern foster parenting possible.
“The state insures the child, pays for daycare, investigates claims of abuse, and retains legal custody, but it cannot actually put a baby to bed at night,” Dueholm writes. “And so, on the other side of this most intimate public-private partnership are usually people like us, left alone with a stranger’s child and a garbage bag full of clothes and wondering what’s going to happen next. And what happens next depends, to a stomach-churning degree, on the state’s willingness and ability to keep up its half of the bargain.”
Read Benjamin Dueholm’s “Taxing the Kindness of Strangers.”
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_10/taxing_the_kindness_of_strange033185.php
Hey, I seem to remember Smartypants doing a post around this article last week.
Here it is – http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2011/10/hidden-victims-of-austerity.html
It is really amazing that these heartless teabag-Republicans claim to be real Christians! You can go scour the New Testament and you will never find any reference of Jesus giving any sermons about abortion or homo sexuality! Instead, there are many sermons dealing with the poor and the downtrodden. Teabag-Republicans have elected to side with the rich instead of the poor; completely ignoring the sermon about the odds of the rich going to heaven being equal to the odds of the carmel going through the eye of the needle.
Wow that’s a cool tool. Kind of scary actually. I was one of the 5,375,565,700th person born on Earth. Ha.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Republicans Gaming The Stimulus And The System
Posted by Zandar
Next time when you hear Republicans attack “Obama’s failed stimulus” or any federal aid to states in general, remember that whenever federal money is given to the states, it’s up to the states themselves to use the money as intended. Not all of them do, particularly states under GOP control. Take Kansas Republicans and the money they received for loans for home weatherization projects, for example.
The weatherization program, known as Efficiency Kansas, began with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the federal government’s stimulus package to get Americans back to work.
The state planned to use $32 million in federal energy efficiency funds to create the revolving loan fund. State officials promised to lend most of that to Kansans to repair their homes within three years.
The program was expected to create 1,150 jobs, such as weatherization auditors, and heating and cooling, roofing, insulation and window workers, according to the KCC.
But the KCC did not get the loan program moving quickly. In the first six months of Efficiency Kansas, only 13 people had taken out loans.
When concerns were raised last winter that all the money would not be lent by the March 2012 deadline, Brownback, a supporter of the biofuels industry, reallocated $20 million from the loan fund to grants and gave the money to two organizations in that industry.
Banks didn’t want to make the program loans in the first place, and when Republicans came into power halfway through the program’s lifespan, they stonewalled the program from ever really going anywhere, allowing Brownback to raid the fund to give to corporate biofuel producers instead. Due diligence on the part of Democrats to make sure the program wasn’t abused or defrauded turned into deliberate sandbagging by the Republicans who gleefully dismantled the program instead.
The same “set up to fail” scenario has already been put into motion by Gov. Brownback for the state’s health insurance exchanges. Brownback’s not the only GOP governor to reject funding grants for setting up health insurance exchanges either, as Republicans are counting on enough states refusing to implement health care reform so that the entire Affordable Care Act collapses regardless of whether the law is repealed by the GOP or not.
As I’ve said before, this is why wresting state control away from Republicans is as important or more so than at the federal level. It doesn’t matter what federal reforms you want Democrats to pass in Washington if blood red states simply ignore the laws or refuse to implement them.
You might also like:
http://zandarvts.blogspot.com/2011/10/republicans-gaming-stimulus-and-system.html
An alert for the GOP ghouls in this thread – Herb’s about to speak to the press:
http://edition.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=4
This site is blocked by my pop-up blocker, and since I don’t know how to turn it off as suggested by the instructions, I guess I’ll miss hearing his words of contrition. Yeah, I’m sooo sad 🙄
Black and white American voters live in 1 country, but 2 different worlds
The political outlook of blacks in America has undergone dramatic swings in the last ten years — from the depths of powerlessness during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, to the zenith with the election of the first black president, Barack Obama.
Now, with another presidential election looming, blacks are again confronting new issues as they judge and sometimes question the impact of Obama’s election, contends University of Chicago political scientist Michael Dawson, whose work finds sharp contrasts between how African Americans and whites feel about their country.
Those two recent events, the New Orleans hurricane in 2005 and the election of President Obama in 2008, put that difference in focus, he writes in Not in Our Lifetimes: The Future of Black Politics, published Tuesday.
“Shortly after the Katrina disaster, barely 20 percent of blacks believed that racial equality for blacks would be achieved either in their lifetimes or at all in the United States,” writes Dawson, the John D. MacArthur Distinguished Service Professor in Political Science and director of the University’s Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture.
When Obama was elected, three years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans, slightly more than half of blacks then said they believed they would soon enjoy equality, Dawson found in opinion surveys he conducted whie researching the book.
Whites were even more optimistic about the advent of racial harmony, with nearly 80 percent feeling that blacks would soon achieve equality, he found. Yet, in those three years, the euphoria has waned, Dawson said; Obama’s election did not lead to a resurgence of black political effectiveness or a reduction in racial conflict. Poverty among African Americans has continued to rise as the national economy has struggled.
Hurricane Katrina reflected a particularly bleak period for black political effectiveness, Dawson writes. Dawson and colleagues conducted polls at the time that showed the strong divide between blacks and whites, who had almost totally different takes on the meaning of the disaster.
When asked, for instance, in a survey that controlled for a number of variables—including age, income and education level—if the federal government should spend whatever money needed to restore people to their homes, 79 percent of blacks said yes, while only 33 percent of whites agreed.
Further, the team found that blacks were 64 percent more likely than whites to think that the government would have moved faster if the victims of the hurricane were white. They were also 50 percent more likely than whites to think that Katrina exposed the problems of racial inequality in the United States.
Dawson characterizes Katrina as “the nadir of black politics” because of the inability of blacks to mobilize as a response to the suffering. “The lack of mobilization was linked to a distinct lack of allies available to African Americans during the Katrina crisis. In the past, black politics was capable of not only mobilizing black communities, but also of generating and mobilizing other communities,” he said.
Many whites were uninterested in African American problems, he contends. When the 2000 presidential election raised questions about black disenfranchisement, for instance, nearly 60 percent of whites said they didn’t think it was a problem, a poll found at the time. Traditional allies on the left tended to overlook the racial aspects of Katrina, he said.
Obama’s election in 2008 led many whites to think that the nation had entered a post-racial phase. The cleavages remained, however, over issues such as foreign policy, with blacks much less likely to support the continued warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But blacks and other minorities have an opportunity to bring change as the proportion of whites in the electorate is steadily declining, Dawson said. The young people who gave so much support to Obama provide hope for a new civic awareness, he said. Social media provides an opportunity for young people to share their thoughts, organize and take control over their futures.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/uoc-baw102811.php
October 31, 2011 10:10 AM
Romney ducks the Sunday shows
By Steve Benen
When we talk about prominent national figures who duck the Sunday morning public-affairs shows, we tend to think of politicians who struggle with basic questions. Sarah Palin, for example, avoided all of the Sunday shows after being named to the 2008 ticket.
But this year, it’s the allegedly-competent Republican who’s avoiding the questions. Fox News’ Chris Wallace had this message to viewers yesterday morning:
For those who can’t watch clips online, the “Fox News Sunday” host explained after interviewing Rick Perry, “With Governor Perry’s appearance, we have now interviewed all the major Republican candidates in our 2012 one-on-one series — except Mitt Romney. He has not appeared on this program or any Sunday talk show since March of 2010. We invited Governor Romney again this week, but his campaign says he’s still not ready to sit down for an interview.”
At first blush, this is rather surprising. Romney is supposed to be the smart one in the GOP field, able to answer questions in complete sentences and with passable grammar. He should be the last Republican candidate to be afraid of the Sunday shows.
But therein lies the rub: Romney largely presents the appearance of intellectual chops, which are exaggerated by the limits of his GOP rivals. He thrives in debates because his answers must be brief and lacking in details and depth. Romney avoids lengthy press conferences, and prefers to interact with news organizations by publishing op-eds written by his staff.
Michael Calderone added that the Romney campaign hopes to restrict “unguarded moments” with reporters, in part because the candidate no longer finds it necessary — he’s already well known and is positioned as the likely Republican nominee.
But as Wallace demonstrated yesterday, media outlets can get testy when they feel like they’re being ignored.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_10/romney_ducks_the_sunday_shows033183.php
Yeaaaa Firefox is not freezing up.
Hi everyone, this is Chuck Todd,
I am extremely happy to report our latest poll. Obama’s approval rating has hit an all time low.
That’s the kind of numbers you have when the public give up on a president as a problem solver.
His approval rating was 43% in September and is now 42%, this is a sharp decline.
Despite his latest campaign-style speech, his message is not resonating with the public,
At the next presser, I’ll ask WHPS Jay Carney if the President’s love of basketball is the reason for such a sharp decline of his approval rating.
Hi, Chuck. Love the hair.
Hello ChristiMtl! I’m so sorry, I meant to email you again yesterday to ask you to try the site again. What I did was to reduce the number of posts appearing on the page – because I’d started making posts very long, rather than starting new posts each time, there was far too much on the page and the photos and videos were taking forever to load. While I’m still having some browser problems, the site is much quicker to load for me – I hope it is for everyone else too. Great to see you back ChristiMtl, and sorry again for all the techy problems.
Hey Chips, it’s ok 🙂 I didn’t give up!
It makes a big difference, no freezing up, nothing………just like before.
Yes!!
Excellent!!!!!! Thrilled to have you back ChristiMtl 😉 Let’s hope those gremlins stay away!
(Mitch McConnell) Chuckie, you and your team of fellow journalists are doing an excellent spin job! Between you and my senators, we’ll be able to keep the Kenyan in his place come 2012. Keep up the good work!
Oy vey – “It’s A Total Mess”
The other Cain scandal of the day
==========================
Allegations that Herman Cain sexually harassed two women in the 1990s is causing his campaign plenty of heartburn today. The Republican candidate ran to — where else? — Fox News this morning and conceded he’d been accused of harassment, but the allegations were “trumped up” and “totally false.” He wouldn’t, however, speak to the financial settlement the women received.
The basics of the Politico article, then, appear to be true — Cain was accused of misconduct and the women who made the accusations accepted settlements.
That’s the main Cain controversy of the day. There is, however, another one, and this other controversy points to possible campaign-finance irregularities
==========================
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_10/the_other_cain_scandal_of_the033192.php
Good Morning TOD family
Jon Huntsman here
I will be spending Halloween taking some rich kids in my neighborhood trick or treating in a Tea Party neighborhood. I will not wear a costume – just a sign around my neck letting folks know who I am. I hope this will help me get more votes in the primaries. This campaigning business is harder than I thought. Maybe by 2016 the Republican party will come to it’s senses and start to love me like the press seems to. If the Tea party is still running things by then I might decide to become a Democrat, working for Obama was easier than debating crazy folks. Try not to fall asleep from boredom as you read my post. Earnestly Yours John (oops) Jon.
Oh em gee, WiW, that was hysterical! I actually got the creepy-crawlies reading it. 🙂
HAHAHA! Hiya Jon…I almost fell asleep reading your account of trick or treat. Perhaps, trick or sleep would be a better description?
Linda here
Haunted by battle, wounded vets return to Iraq
http://www.whatisworking.com/2011/10/haunted-by-battle-wounded-vets-return.html
That is a revealing video that I would not have seen, but for you. Thanks, Linda. I also noticed the POSITIVE concluding comment – the soldier saw enough improvement to be able to say that his sergeant hadn’t died in vain. Despite all the GOP moaning and groaning IMO it seems clear the country is finding its way onto the right war track under PBO’s leadership.
Tesla – electric cars revenge
http://www.whatisworking.com/2011/10/tesla-electric-cars-revenge.html
Haha I just read that Kim Kardashian is filing for divorce after 72 days.
It was such a big fuss when the President said he didn’t like his girls to watch their show.
Smart man
Just saw this news. Really can anything be more ridiculous than this family? If so, please point it out to me.
I loathe the Kardashian Family. The only person who has any redeeming qualities is Bruce, and that’s because he made the youngest girls go to a homeless shelter to help out and see how the “other half lives.” The mom and the eldest 3 sisters are extravagant do-nothings who spend millions of dollars on over-priced luxury items. Kim owes everything she has to her looks and if it were not for her, no one would even know who her family was. The fact that she spent $10 million on her wedding while a large majority of the country is still enduring the adverse effects of a recession is just SINFUL. I can’t wait until their 15 minutes is up.
I’m in your camp……media driven hyper-celebrity……it’s so vacuous and IMO decadent. And yet Americans suck it up!
Hey – Herman Cain here. If you’re not “beautiful” and “rich” like the Kardashian women, it’s your own fault…
The Cain scoop of course came from either Perry or Romney. They are the only ones that have something to gain. However, it may not make a difference as the Cain cult seem pretty supportive.
By the way, my number was 3.6 billion. Not sure how that makes me feel to be almost in the middle.
My number was nearly 3.5 Billion – I’m also feeling very odd about that, since half the world’s population was born after me!
Damn…that just reminded me that I am an old fart. 2,777,338…scary how limited our resources are, 2030 is not that far off into the future.
Herman Cain at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Live on CSPAN at 1:00 p.m. ET
I don’t want to push my way into this liberal blog again too soon, but I’m a young rising star in the Tea Party and “We can’t wait” (who said that?).
Happy Halloween (or, as I like to say, at home: Feliz Dia de las Brujas) again from me, Marco Rubio, junior U.S. senator from Florida.
Those of you who are my constituents already know my thoughts on one of the most urgent issues ever to hit these shores: I believe that English should be the official language of the U.S. This will save us considerable dollars, maybe trillions, in constantly having to translate signs and stuff. [We don’t want to appear cosmopolitan in this country by knowing more than one language, as those socialists in Europe do. I mean – they even speak French in Canada, another socialist country.]
In fact, when I was interviewed recently for the HISPOLITICA website (see the video at the link), and to make my point, I expressed those thoughts … in English (which should be the official language of the U.S.).
Oh, and again at the end of the video, I expressed those thoughts … in Spanish (for my Hispanic Republican friends).
Because, after all, I’m a politician and I want to be on both sides of this most urgent issue. That’s not hypocritical, is it?
(Mitch McConnell) Have no fear, Marco, there’s nothing hypocritical in that. You have to play to the audience you’ve got. Ask our seasoned presidential campaigner, Mitt R. You want to show your empathy to the people to whom you are speaking, and knowing how to adjust to your audience shows your leadership skills. The problem with most Democrats is that they don’t realize that words are just words and can be easily changed. Heck, you had a recent experience of this with your online biography. How long did it take you to change the exile info? Nothing to it, young man, and the voters will soon forget. Keep it up and your name might yet be on the VP ticket.
🙂
Democrats Look To Inflict Political Pain On GOP For Blocking Obama’s Jobs Bill
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/07/obama-jobs-bill_n_1000686.html?1318021699
New thread here ghouls:
http://theobamadiary.com/2011/10/31/a-ghoulishly-good-afternoon/
Piers Morgan here….
been scouring the black neighborhoods trying to find black folks who will speak harshly of the President…yanno those black folks who have turned against the President…took me awhile….but i found Willy the Wino..who has a lot of complaints…esp since his local liquor store has stopped stocking “RIPPLE”…
Hey JoeS…can we get a spot on your show…
Happy Halloween TOD Family~
Hey everybody, look over here, Peggy Noonan here. I am here to tell you that Ronald Reagan is God. I mean the man walks on water. I still can’t believe all these people that thinks he’s dead.
And that Barack Obama, one a single person in his circle likes him.
I think you are doing Halloween tricks in comments today — this isn’t a trick. Just read an article on The Hill that Obama’s Jobs bill has gotten 90 sponsors in the House. My rep didn’t, but I’m picking some reps to thank esp. the two in competitive races and the three Blue Dogs who signed on. Pelosi and the DCCC are running a powerful campaign to win back the House and I think these five reps need confirmation that they made the right choice for their careers and for the American people.
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/190619-obama-jobs-bill-picks-more-than-90-house-cospronsors
[quote] More than 90 lower-chamber Democrats have officially endorsed the president’s jobs bill in the past week – a stark jump over a short span that came after Democratic leaders welcomed members to sign on at the party’s weekly caucus meeting last Tuesday.
….
Of the 14 House Democrats on the Cook Political Report’s list of most competitive races, for instance, only two – Reps. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) – have endorsed the president’s jobs bill.
Members of the conservative-leaning Blue Dog Coalition have also shied away so far, with only three – Reps. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Boswell – signing on as cosponsors…..[endquote]
I just called and that was fun! I love giving them kudos for good work. There are actually four Democratic representatives who stuck their necks out: Lois Capps (D-Calif.), Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa), Joe Baca (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
My rep is Republican Dan Burton who is Tea Party right so I adopt good Democratic representatives and donate during the campaign. These four will definitely go on my list to thank them for supporting AJA.
But governor brewer said…,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/us/officials-bust-drug-smuggling-ring-linked-to-mexican-cartel.html?_r=1&hp