I stand before you as someone who is not opposed to war in all circumstances. The Civil War was one of the bloodiest in history, and yet it was only through the crucible of the sword, the sacrifice of multitudes, that we could begin to perfect this union and drive the scourge of slavery from our soil.
I don’t oppose all wars. My grandfather signed up for a war the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, fought in Patton’s army. He fought in the name of a larger freedom, part of that arsenal of democracy that triumphed over evil.
I don’t oppose all wars.
After September 11, after witnessing the carnage and destruction, the dust and the tears, I supported this administration’s pledge to hunt down and root out those who would slaughter innocents in the name of intolerance, and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such tragedy from happening again.
I don’t oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.
What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income, to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.
That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.
–from Speech Against Going to War with Iraq, Illinois State Senator Barack Obama, October 2, 2002
So I want you to know that this nation’s support doesn’t end as this war ends. Not by a long shot. We’re going to keep on doing this. We have so much more work to do. We’re going to keep finding new ways to serve all of you as well as you have served us. And the man leading the way is standing right here.
He is fighting for you and your families every single day. He’s helped more than half a million veterans and military family members go to college through the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. He’s taken unprecedented steps to improve mental health care. He’s cut taxes for businesses that hire a veteran or a wounded warrior. And he has kept his promise to responsibly bring you home from Iraq.
So please join me in welcoming someone who’s your strongest advocate, someone who shows his support for our military not only in words, but in deeds, my husband, our President, and your Commander-in-Chief, Barack Obama.
–from Remarks by the First Lady on the End of the War in Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, December 14, 2011
OMG! It’s “snowing” on my birthday computer 🙂 Closest thing to snow in Phoenix I’m going to get ! And that cute little “President Obama Santa” is adorable…
I thought I was having computer issues. I was listening to a satellite station from London and then it died. I was getting specks of occassional snow for a while now. It was only when I came to the new post that I saw the “Prez Obama Santa” and a diluge of snow. Too freakin cute 😀
You’re welcome, everyone. It was surreal to really think about this past 9 years of war. I almost didn’t include the first quote because it was so sad to think of what followed, and the fact that it was foretold and could have been avoided. We just have to try to extract all the good we can from the bad, and that’s what I believe PBO’s mission is, as reflected in his and the First Lady’s comments at Fort Bragg this week.
Sigh.
Blessings on our troops, their families, and the Iraqi people.
Thanks so much for posting these PJ (if I may 🙂 ) – I look forward to them on each post. Since these early days, Barack Obama has been so consistent in all of his speeches. How different from most every other politician here in the US. And his message is always clear, thoughtful and meaningful. Thank you for bringing them home – I never doubted for a moment that you would.
I cannot express the relief and the appreciation for these men and women and for their commander in chief who responsibly ended the war in Iraq. Welcome home.
I don’t understand why the GOP is afraid of Newt winning their nomination. A few months ago the GOP couldn’t tolerate Mitt, now they want him to win the nomination.
The GOP establishment ALWAYS wanted Mitt to be the nominee. They pushed Newt only because they needed to knock off Mitt’s biggest competition at the time (Herman Cain). Now that Newt is Mitt’s biggest competition, they’re pushing Ron Paul to knock off Newt. Soon they will need santorum or Huntsman to knock off Paul. They want Romney to be the last one standing.
Because they know with Mitt & the performance of the current Rs in Congress, they’ll lose but perhaps not on the scale of 1936. With Newt and the horrible performance of Rs in the 112th, the Democratic Party victory on 6 Nov 2012 will set a new record.
I think that’s another reason why they want to change the “winner takes all” voting tally. They fear a landslide, so if the state winner can’t take all electoral votes, then it can’t possibly be a landslide victory. They’re thinking of how President Obama defeated McCain so soundly, and after four years of Republican obstruction, it might be pretty horrible when the people rise up.
The media may not be giving the end of the war the right amount of air time, but the word is certainly everywhere. Checkout clerks in the grocery store know it and random store shoppers that I chat with in various places know this is happening. Whenever I’ve said I’m glad the troops are finally home from Iraq, the immediate reaction is–So am I. And everyone has a big smile on their face about this. So let the R candidates run on about how we should be staying in Iraq. There’s no appetite for further war out in the real world.
I think we should let the House Republicans know next week that we intend to make clear to everyone we meet that who is responsible for taking away their tax cuts on the week before Christmas. If the Republicans are going to give millions of people a lump of coal for the holidays, I want them to swallow one first.
Chips, are you making little snowflakes fall on this site, or, are my eyes failing?
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@SpeakerPelosi @WhipHoyer Koch servant @SpeakerBoehner has enabled every House Dem to rebuke him. Declare 100% support for Senate Bill. DoIt
@WhipHoyer is actively tweeting … would be good if a bunch of TODers RT’d his tweets and sent messages directly to him. Boehner has given them pure political gold and 100 % of the House Dems should rebuke him by declaring their 100 % support of the ‘bipartisan’ Senate bill. Gifts like this don’t happen often 🙂
Dems really need to try and capitalize on the fact that the 2 mos extension got 89 votes in the Senate and Boehner won’t even put it to a vote in the House. 89% support in the House would be 387 votes – no way the Boehner bill with all the riders will get near that, will fall 150 short of that.
Pelosi and Dems should demand a floor vote given it’s overwhelming bi-partisan support in the Senate. Pelosi should also pledge 140 votes from her caucus for the Senate Bill. Meaning Boehner would need to deliver 79 of his 242 votes to pass it.
Unless we see a lot of trashtalking on Twitter from Pelosi and other House Dems today my guess is that they might be trying to work this out with Boehner to get the vote tomorrow and get out of DC for the holidays.
I wonder if senate GOP will try to pressure Boehner to take a damn vote on it. He had to be able to deliver 100 votes or he’s an incredible sad sack leader. Pelosi could deliver the other 119 and they’d have a deal.
I have a feeling that Boehner was desperate to be speaker, so sold out to the Tea Party caucus, promising to being nothing to the floor unless it had enough votes to pass by the GOP caucus alone.
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@SpeakerBoehner 160 million Americans will remember that you serve the Koch Bro & not them; that you put dirty oil & greed before Country.
MSM won’t cover the end of the Iraq war, but every town across America will have a man or woman coming home to them and that will garner local paper/news cast coverage.
We will see the effect of our troops coming home in the conscience of the American people in the coming weeks, months, and years. The American people, despite our poisonous politics, are virtually united in the desire to see these patriots home. Dishonorable hawks like McCain, Cheney, Rove, Romney, Bush, et al, cannot change the fact that bringing these brave soldiers home now and welcoming them with open arms is the right thing to do.
And to the people who claim Ron Paul is responsible for ending the Iraq war, I ask them, What took him so long? He had eight plus years to get it done and couldn’t budge a single soldier until that guy Obama came along and did it for him.
So many people in our country are just downright delusional. Paul being against the war does not end the war. If it did wouldn’t we be out of Afghanistan and every other country where we have troops because he thinks they should come home too.
It’s this crazy strain of people who make up their own “facts” that is really disturbing. It’s as though segments of this country have completely lost touch with reality. I am certain they’ve always existed but it appears as though extreme ODS is causing a break with reality for many of these people or maybe they’re just high.
Actually, I’ve seen in covered quite a bit on the cable shows with Richard Engel on NBC and MSNBC and Peter Jennings on his Rock show and this morning on CBS. It’s also the top headline on cnn.com and foxnews.com with several substories.
Apropos of nothing: when I was quitting smoking, and was aching to light up, I thought of Peter Jennings, who had started smoking again after 9/11, and was diagnosed with cancer soon after. That kept me on the straight and narrow, and I was able to kick the habit, in thanks in part to his memory.
I miss his cool, calm reporting and anchoring. What a dashing, intelligent figure he cut.
Your story is why I love “It’s a Wonderful Life” and plan my day around watching it every holiday. A person never truly knows know how many lives they touch. Very happy that he helped you, even after he left this world here.
I miss Peter Jennings. But the reporter, REAL REPORTER, that I truly, seriously, honestly miss is Ed Bradley. Oh how I would have loved to hear his take on Pres. Barack Obama. I am positive that he would have set a few folks straight on the nonsense that PBO has had to deal with. Ed would have reported the things that need to be reported instead of the foolishness that gets on MSM these days. On top of all that, he was the coolest reporter EVER!!!
PBO’s speech to the troops brought tears to my eyes. I only wish that they had ALL come home safe & sound, but there will many joyful holidays this year for many families. Thanks Chips.
Mitt Romney, in his first Sunday morning news show appearance in almost two years, sat down for a wide-ranging, but tame, interview on Fox News Sunday.
On the Iraq War — which officially came to an end Sunday morning — Romney expressed concern over the United States’ complete withdrawal.
“I think we’re going to find that this president, by not putting in place a status-of-forces agreement with the Iraqi leadership, has pulled our troops out in a precipitous way and we should have left 10-, 20-, 30-thousand personnel there to help transition to the Iraqi’s own military capabilities,” he said, adding, “I hope it works out.”
On President Obama, Romney repeated a familiar refrain: the president “does not understand how this economy works,” and has failed the country. Asked if Obama will paint him as a corrupt “Gordon Gecko” character, Romney said “of course he will.” Obama is “the great divider,” Romney said, adding that Obama himself has “done very, very well over the last several years.”
( I apologize in advance because I rarely use this word….. I HATE MITT ROMNEY… he is a nasty mean person )
I’m not worried about Mitt. He’s such a poor campaigner; couldn’t orate himself out of a paper bag, will fall on his face in a debate. The President won’t paint him as Gordon Gecko; he doesn’t resort to those kind of lame tactics. Willard is so out of his league.
Did you know you could make the snow move with your mouse? Cool.
and… the president reminds folks of this EVERY chance he gets while touting his goal to raise the taxes of the country’s top earners, including himself and usually whomever is interviewing him!
Pbo has done very well for the country and by using his magnificet brain, he was NOt was bornr
Rich as Miit. so the buttom line is that Mitt has a lot of $$$$$, but Obama has a ton a brains to be a great
president so Brain vs Money i will take brains!!!!!!!! ha, ha, ha, ha. ha.
At this week’s debate for Republican presidential candidates, Newt Gingrich emphasized one of his favorite subjects: his disgust for the federal judiciary. The disgraced former House Speaker warned of “an uprising” against the courts, adding that he’s “prepared to take on the judiciary” unless federal courts start issuing rulings he agrees with. He went on to say he understands these issues “better than lawyers,” because he’s “a historian.”
Yesterday, Gingrich hosted a conference call with reporters and went even further, sketching out his vision for policymakers literally ignoring federal court rulings. Referencing Supreme Court findings on the handling of suspected terrorist detainees, for example, Gingrich said, “A commander in chief could simply issue instructions to ignore it, and say it’s null and void and I do not accept it because it infringes on my duties as commander in chief to protect the country.”
Gingrich went on to describe “the rule of two of three” — a made-up rule with no foundation in American law — in which two branches of government could out-vote the other one.
He wasn’t kidding, by the way.
This led CBS’s Bob Schieffer to ask Gingrich a good question on “Face the Nation” this morning.
And McConnell looks like a fool given it passed in the Senate with 89 votes for it. There is no way Boehner should be able to not put it to a vote in the House – make him prove he can’t supply 50 votes for it.
Well, there shouldn’t be a way. But I expect that within the next few days the MSM will proclaim that it’s Obama’s fault for not being willing to negotiate on a bill already agreed upon but being reneged on by the Republicans. And the usual suspects on the so-called left will be happy to pile on as well. If the pattern holds the majority of the blame will be put on the Democratic party in general by the end of the week.
Good idea. I am keeping various jpegs, speeches, etc, of this presidency. There is an African store here in Alexandria, VA that has Obama calendars, etc during the holiday season and I purchase gifts to give to my family back in Texas. . White it isn’t terribly visible, my avatar has PBO in basketball uniform headed for a SLAM dunk. I found it at this African store in Alexandria.
One of the more striking calendars is “The Obama Years”. I t contains an excerpt from the 2009 Inaugural Address, some of President Obama’s Accomplishments (Health, Economy, Energy and Environment, Education, Civil Rights, Education, Labor, and Public Service. In addition, there are photos of President Obama and President Obama and our fabulous First Lady. This is the third year that I have made such purchases as Christmas gifts for my family.
I wish that I had such gifts for each of the TOD families.
Lucky you! A friend/former coworker visited the States Christmas 2008 and bought me a 2009 Obama calendar which I STILL have hanging in my bedroom. Don’t laugh, but I flip the pictures each month so that the appropriate month is showing even though the days don’t coincide. 😳
One of the more profound acts that the Commander-in-Chief does is to bring soldiers back from the battle field. One of the gracious acts that American citizens is to welcome the soldiers home.
We as Americans proudly welcome back the courageous men and women who valiantly and proudly fought in the middle east! They deserve our respect, appreciation and assistance as they assimilate back in to life at home.
Reading Ed Henry’s time line because he’s talking with Boehner’s aide and Pfeiffer (WH team).
Boehner’s aide is claiming that the 2-month deal was heinous. Ed Henry asked if so heinous why did 39 Repubs vote for it. Boehner’s aide said it was because PBO was demanding to start his vacation now. Henry asks what proof does he have of that. Henry pointed out to Boehner’s aide that Boehner declared victory in a conference call and the aide says he was only talking about the pipeline. Boehner’s aide is pretending that they care about “uncertainty” and not kicking the can down the road. Pfeiffer reminded them that Repubs didn’t mind kicking the can on the debt ceiling when they proposed raising it little by little. Henry asked Boehner aide about the pipeline language if they amend the bill. No answer yet.
In the tweet where Boehner’s aide is so concerned about “uncertainty” I replied that this whole thing is bullshit. The GOP knew this day was coming and that they should pass a clean bill and knock it off.
“Ed Henry asked if so heinous why did 39 Repubs vote for it. Boehner’s aide said it was because PBO was demanding to start his vacation now.”
Two things: 1) I am beyond shocked that Ed Henry actually did some reporting this year and 2) I am supposed to sit here and believe that President I’m-prepared-to-have-Xmas-in-D.C. Obama demanded he start his vacation now and that Speaker Boehner, the same man who played petty politics with the scheduling of the State of the Union, rushed to accommodate the President’s vacation plans. 🙄
Boehner has got a leadership problem:
“While it is frequently asserted the House GOP problem is between Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., a more insidious tug-of-war appears to be the culprit in this case. Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. – usually closely aligned, as in the case of the debt-ceiling debacle this summer – are apparently at odds over the end-of-year package. Boehner never signaled to McConnell in their private talks last week that he would accept the two-month deal being negotiated with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, aides said.”
I loved this dance and So You Think You Can Dance… is my favorite all time tv show. It has the best choreographers in the world on it and high quality capable dancers that want to become professionals. The prizes are not as big as in the singing competitions but the audience gets such wonderful performances. Thanks for posting!
How America And The Mainstream Media Got Breitbarted On NDAA
December 18, 2011By Jason Easley and Sarah Jones
“An edited video of Carl Levin claiming that Obama wanted the language in the NDAA caused outrage among many Americans, but the full Levin video reveals the opposite.
The YouTube video claimed to be proof that Obama is going to sign a citizen imprisonment law:
However, in the first 30 minutes of the debate Sen. Levin stated that the NDAA provisions do not apply to US citizens:
Hours prior to the YouTube proof video Sen. Levin stated on the Senate floor that the Obama administration requested that the provision be changed so that it does not apply to American citizens, but he explained the provision wasn’t changed because it already didn’t apply to American citizens, “The administration officials reviewed the draft language for this provision the day before our markup and recommended additional changes. We were able to accommodate those recommendations, except for the administration request that the provision apply only to detainees who are captured overseas. There is a good reason for that. But even here, the difference is relatively modest, because the provision already excludes all U.S. citizens. It also excludes all lawful residents of the United States, except to the extent permitted by the Constitution. The only covered persons left are those who are illegally in this country or who arrive as tourists or on some other short-term basis, and that is a small remaining category, but an important one, because it includes the terrorists who clandestinely arrive in the United States with the objective of attacking military or other targets here.”
People need to stop believing everything they read from certain pundits and every claim made in a two minute video.”
I will never understand why people have to lie so much and exaggerate when it comes to these issues. The truth is bad enough – that Republicans have been using spending bills to box in Democrats so they can tie the WH hands on GITMO. detainees and civil liberties. Instead it was ZOMG Imperialist Obama is going to lock up bloggers!!!!
Hopefully, Tim Tebow/Bronco’s big loss today to NE—-43-21—–will quiet some of the ridiculous religious/sports hysteria that has reached a fever pitch this week after the Broncos beat a bad Bears team last week, a team missing it’s starting QB and star player. I fell asleep before the end of SNL last night, but I read I missed the best bit of the night where Jesus appears and asks Tebow to take it down a notch. We sure have a lot of desperate, gullible people in this country. They’ll believe almost anything.
Obama White House.gov
The Obama Diary 
♥ ♥ ♥ Good Day Chips! Good Day TOD Family! ♥ ♥ ♥
Barack Obama Quote O’ The Day
Have a great afternoon, everyone.
BONUS: Michelle Obama Quote O’ The Day
Thanks for the quotes PJ. So appropo.
Thanks PJ. Our POTUS, FLOTUS, VPOTUS and SLOTUS don’t just talk nice words to military families – they have actions to back it up.
Yes, indeed. They walk the walk along with talking the talk.
Keep ’em comin’! 😉
And, nothin’ wrong w/my eyes, snowflakes are fallin’.
Right? 🙂
YES.WE.CAN…DO.(Much)More, Together!
YES.WE.CAN, Again…Obama/Biden 2012!
PRESS ON!
OMG! It’s “snowing” on my birthday computer 🙂 Closest thing to snow in Phoenix I’m going to get ! And that cute little “President Obama Santa” is adorable…
I thought I was having computer issues. I was listening to a satellite station from London and then it died. I was getting specks of occassional snow for a while now. It was only when I came to the new post that I saw the “Prez Obama Santa” and a diluge of snow. Too freakin cute 😀
You’re welcome, everyone. It was surreal to really think about this past 9 years of war. I almost didn’t include the first quote because it was so sad to think of what followed, and the fact that it was foretold and could have been avoided. We just have to try to extract all the good we can from the bad, and that’s what I believe PBO’s mission is, as reflected in his and the First Lady’s comments at Fort Bragg this week.
Sigh.
Blessings on our troops, their families, and the Iraqi people.
Thanks so much for posting these PJ (if I may 🙂 ) – I look forward to them on each post. Since these early days, Barack Obama has been so consistent in all of his speeches. How different from most every other politician here in the US. And his message is always clear, thoughtful and meaningful. Thank you for bringing them home – I never doubted for a moment that you would.
🙂
I cannot express the relief and the appreciation for these men and women and for their commander in chief who responsibly ended the war in Iraq. Welcome home.
LOL….love the snowflakes.Chips.
hahahaha…I have my browser override website colors, so the snow is black on my screen! It’s like it’s raining periods.
WELCOME HOME!
Our4thEstate Bobfr
Anti-Constitutionalist, Newt now relies on #Teabagger fringe & Koch Bro to beat Romney. blog.reidreport.com/2011/12/operat… Sweet irony. #ZEROGOP2012
Love the snow flakes, Chipsticks!
#PRESSON
I don’t understand why the GOP is afraid of Newt winning their nomination. A few months ago the GOP couldn’t tolerate Mitt, now they want him to win the nomination.
The GOP establishment ALWAYS wanted Mitt to be the nominee. They pushed Newt only because they needed to knock off Mitt’s biggest competition at the time (Herman Cain). Now that Newt is Mitt’s biggest competition, they’re pushing Ron Paul to knock off Newt. Soon they will need santorum or Huntsman to knock off Paul. They want Romney to be the last one standing.
Because they know with Mitt & the performance of the current Rs in Congress, they’ll lose but perhaps not on the scale of 1936. With Newt and the horrible performance of Rs in the 112th, the Democratic Party victory on 6 Nov 2012 will set a new record.
#PRESSON
I think that’s another reason why they want to change the “winner takes all” voting tally. They fear a landslide, so if the state winner can’t take all electoral votes, then it can’t possibly be a landslide victory. They’re thinking of how President Obama defeated McCain so soundly, and after four years of Republican obstruction, it might be pretty horrible when the people rise up.
In the meantime they have put in every type of voter suppression law they can think of to lower the number of votes PBO gets.
Do I see snow? 😛
Yes, it’s cool. I thought it was something wrong with my computer.
Me too.
One down; one to go. Peace is on the way.
Welcome home to our troops; our prayers for those still in harm’s way.
Thank you, Mr. President, for another promise kept.
Hey Chips is it my computer or do I see snowflakes? 🙂
I see the snow too! Love it.
love the snowflakes! 😀
Uhhhhh…….Chips? Please tell me you’re doing that. I really don’t feel like going to the hospital today.
The media may not be giving the end of the war the right amount of air time, but the word is certainly everywhere. Checkout clerks in the grocery store know it and random store shoppers that I chat with in various places know this is happening. Whenever I’ve said I’m glad the troops are finally home from Iraq, the immediate reaction is–So am I. And everyone has a big smile on their face about this. So let the R candidates run on about how we should be staying in Iraq. There’s no appetite for further war out in the real world.
I think we should let the House Republicans know next week that we intend to make clear to everyone we meet that who is responsible for taking away their tax cuts on the week before Christmas. If the Republicans are going to give millions of people a lump of coal for the holidays, I want them to swallow one first.
Chips, are you making little snowflakes fall on this site, or, are my eyes failing?
Although the ‘payroll tax-cut/UIE’ bill isn’t on PBHO’s desk for his signature, yet, … 😉
What the Democrats won… http://blog.reidreport.com/2011/12/what-the-democrats-won/ Via @thereidreport
YES.WE.CAN…DO.(Much)More, Together!
PRESS ON!
Thank you….that is a new one for me….I love it
Thanks for this reminder, Snoopy. 😆 😆
Yes. We. Can. Again, Together!
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@SpeakerPelosi @WhipHoyer Koch servant @SpeakerBoehner has enabled every House Dem to rebuke him. Declare 100% support for Senate Bill. DoIt
@WhipHoyer is actively tweeting … would be good if a bunch of TODers RT’d his tweets and sent messages directly to him. Boehner has given them pure political gold and 100 % of the House Dems should rebuke him by declaring their 100 % support of the ‘bipartisan’ Senate bill. Gifts like this don’t happen often 🙂
#PRESSON
Dems really need to try and capitalize on the fact that the 2 mos extension got 89 votes in the Senate and Boehner won’t even put it to a vote in the House. 89% support in the House would be 387 votes – no way the Boehner bill with all the riders will get near that, will fall 150 short of that.
Pelosi and Dems should demand a floor vote given it’s overwhelming bi-partisan support in the Senate. Pelosi should also pledge 140 votes from her caucus for the Senate Bill. Meaning Boehner would need to deliver 79 of his 242 votes to pass it.
Unless we see a lot of trashtalking on Twitter from Pelosi and other House Dems today my guess is that they might be trying to work this out with Boehner to get the vote tomorrow and get out of DC for the holidays.
I wonder if senate GOP will try to pressure Boehner to take a damn vote on it. He had to be able to deliver 100 votes or he’s an incredible sad sack leader. Pelosi could deliver the other 119 and they’d have a deal.
I have a feeling that Boehner was desperate to be speaker, so sold out to the Tea Party caucus, promising to being nothing to the floor unless it had enough votes to pass by the GOP caucus alone.
dude. on it.
Thank you Alice!
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@SpeakerBoehner 160 million Americans will remember that you serve the Koch Bro & not them; that you put dirty oil & greed before Country.
#PRESSON
Done. Thank you for the wording of the tweet. I didn’t have enough room to credit you.
MSM won’t cover the end of the Iraq war, but every town across America will have a man or woman coming home to them and that will garner local paper/news cast coverage.
You’re right, and as there have been “fallen” from every state in the union, the local papers will be remembering them also. Editorial from my local paper: http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/12/18/opinion/doc4eed669cd1978164426849.txt?viewmode=fullstory
WELCOME HOME BOYS & GIRLS of the US Military!
Ok, Chipsticks, the snow FREAKED me OUT for a minute….but it’s COOL now 🙂
You’re messing with my mind – AGAIN!!! hahahahaaha!
We will see the effect of our troops coming home in the conscience of the American people in the coming weeks, months, and years. The American people, despite our poisonous politics, are virtually united in the desire to see these patriots home. Dishonorable hawks like McCain, Cheney, Rove, Romney, Bush, et al, cannot change the fact that bringing these brave soldiers home now and welcoming them with open arms is the right thing to do.
And to the people who claim Ron Paul is responsible for ending the Iraq war, I ask them, What took him so long? He had eight plus years to get it done and couldn’t budge a single soldier until that guy Obama came along and did it for him.
So many people in our country are just downright delusional. Paul being against the war does not end the war. If it did wouldn’t we be out of Afghanistan and every other country where we have troops because he thinks they should come home too.
It’s this crazy strain of people who make up their own “facts” that is really disturbing. It’s as though segments of this country have completely lost touch with reality. I am certain they’ve always existed but it appears as though extreme ODS is causing a break with reality for many of these people or maybe they’re just high.
Also, with these folks PBO gets none of the credit and all of the blame for any and every thing that happens.
Actually, I’ve seen in covered quite a bit on the cable shows with Richard Engel on NBC and MSNBC and Peter Jennings on his Rock show and this morning on CBS. It’s also the top headline on cnn.com and foxnews.com with several substories.
Peter Jennings is dead. I think you mean Brian Williams.
My apologies. Yes, so sad Jennings died so young. I did mean Brian Williams.
Apropos of nothing: when I was quitting smoking, and was aching to light up, I thought of Peter Jennings, who had started smoking again after 9/11, and was diagnosed with cancer soon after. That kept me on the straight and narrow, and I was able to kick the habit, in thanks in part to his memory.
I miss his cool, calm reporting and anchoring. What a dashing, intelligent figure he cut.
Your story is why I love “It’s a Wonderful Life” and plan my day around watching it every holiday. A person never truly knows know how many lives they touch. Very happy that he helped you, even after he left this world here.
I wish he wasn’t.
Me, too.
I miss Peter Jennings. But the reporter, REAL REPORTER, that I truly, seriously, honestly miss is Ed Bradley. Oh how I would have loved to hear his take on Pres. Barack Obama. I am positive that he would have set a few folks straight on the nonsense that PBO has had to deal with. Ed would have reported the things that need to be reported instead of the foolishness that gets on MSM these days. On top of all that, he was the coolest reporter EVER!!!
Twitter seems broken for me all day today. I think it’s down more than it’s up anymore.
Thanks for posting this.
If this were a Republican president, the freak-out would be enormous. It’d be 24/7 coverage.
Sigh.
Um, about the snow-flakes? Nice. But a bit distracting, too.
PBO’s speech to the troops brought tears to my eyes. I only wish that they had ALL come home safe & sound, but there will many joyful holidays this year for many families. Thanks Chips.
LOL. I’m with everybody else, I thought something was wrong with my computer. It’s even snowing in the log-in section. Very Cute I Must Say!
Welcome Home Troops and God Bless!
God bless our President and First Lady. God bless our nation. God bless all the TOD family.
Have Life Group (small group) at our house tonight so will be away for awhile. Oh Chips, LOVE the snow…….calming. Thanks. 🙂
Oh, forgot VP and Mrs. Biden……God bless them too. 🙂
Thank you for your blessings. May you be blessed mightily, as well!
Mitt Romney, in his first Sunday morning news show appearance in almost two years, sat down for a wide-ranging, but tame, interview on Fox News Sunday.
On the Iraq War — which officially came to an end Sunday morning — Romney expressed concern over the United States’ complete withdrawal.
“I think we’re going to find that this president, by not putting in place a status-of-forces agreement with the Iraqi leadership, has pulled our troops out in a precipitous way and we should have left 10-, 20-, 30-thousand personnel there to help transition to the Iraqi’s own military capabilities,” he said, adding, “I hope it works out.”
On President Obama, Romney repeated a familiar refrain: the president “does not understand how this economy works,” and has failed the country. Asked if Obama will paint him as a corrupt “Gordon Gecko” character, Romney said “of course he will.” Obama is “the great divider,” Romney said, adding that Obama himself has “done very, very well over the last several years.”
( I apologize in advance because I rarely use this word….. I HATE MITT ROMNEY… he is a nasty mean person )
I’m not worried about Mitt. He’s such a poor campaigner; couldn’t orate himself out of a paper bag, will fall on his face in a debate. The President won’t paint him as Gordon Gecko; he doesn’t resort to those kind of lame tactics. Willard is so out of his league.
Did you know you could make the snow move with your mouse? Cool.
I see that now. The snow moved in the opposite direction.
Yes…I see that now…..
Thanks a lot, Tien! *snark* Now I’m sitting here trying to play dodgeball with the snowdrops, instead of continuing to read! 😉
and… the president reminds folks of this EVERY chance he gets while touting his goal to raise the taxes of the country’s top earners, including himself and usually whomever is interviewing him!
Pbo has done very well for the country and by using his magnificet brain, he was NOt was bornr
Rich as Miit. so the buttom line is that Mitt has a lot of $$$$$, but Obama has a ton a brains to be a great
president so Brain vs Money i will take brains!!!!!!!! ha, ha, ha, ha. ha.
December 18, 2011 12:45 PM
Quote of the Day
By Steve Benen
At this week’s debate for Republican presidential candidates, Newt Gingrich emphasized one of his favorite subjects: his disgust for the federal judiciary. The disgraced former House Speaker warned of “an uprising” against the courts, adding that he’s “prepared to take on the judiciary” unless federal courts start issuing rulings he agrees with. He went on to say he understands these issues “better than lawyers,” because he’s “a historian.”
Yesterday, Gingrich hosted a conference call with reporters and went even further, sketching out his vision for policymakers literally ignoring federal court rulings. Referencing Supreme Court findings on the handling of suspected terrorist detainees, for example, Gingrich said, “A commander in chief could simply issue instructions to ignore it, and say it’s null and void and I do not accept it because it infringes on my duties as commander in chief to protect the country.”
Gingrich went on to describe “the rule of two of three” — a made-up rule with no foundation in American law — in which two branches of government could out-vote the other one.
He wasn’t kidding, by the way.
This led CBS’s Bob Schieffer to ask Gingrich a good question on “Face the Nation” this morning.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/quote_of_the_day_28034177.php
The money quote? I hope it’s unnecessary to note that Gingrich’s vision is stark raving mad.
Look at the heading! HOHOHO! 😆 😆 😆
And now Pres.Obama as Santa Claus? Ha lol. I see you Chips.
Chips! Bah ha ha ! Very Merry Indeed !
This is so festive! Thanks, Chips. We can’t take ourselves too seriously; you help keep it light and fun.
That is a good thing. We all just have to be one BIG HAPPY Family!!!!
Now McConnell is backing Boehner and wants to re-negotiate .
Mitch McConnell joins John Boehner on payroll tax talk
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70611.html#ixzz1gvjBAZUg
Blah blah blah I can’t hear you you bulbous dorks.
Ah. I feel better now.
And McConnell looks like a fool given it passed in the Senate with 89 votes for it. There is no way Boehner should be able to not put it to a vote in the House – make him prove he can’t supply 50 votes for it.
Well, there shouldn’t be a way. But I expect that within the next few days the MSM will proclaim that it’s Obama’s fault for not being willing to negotiate on a bill already agreed upon but being reneged on by the Republicans. And the usual suspects on the so-called left will be happy to pile on as well. If the pattern holds the majority of the blame will be put on the Democratic party in general by the end of the week.
This is the crazy B.S. President Obama has to deal with. The President should be in Hawaii with his family.
Now, It’s really Christmas, Chips! Love PBO in the Santa hat!
For the self-absorbed among us (me, me, me), can you provide the .jpg? Any time between now and Christmas, since I know you’re busy! 🙂
Good idea. I am keeping various jpegs, speeches, etc, of this presidency. There is an African store here in Alexandria, VA that has Obama calendars, etc during the holiday season and I purchase gifts to give to my family back in Texas. . White it isn’t terribly visible, my avatar has PBO in basketball uniform headed for a SLAM dunk. I found it at this African store in Alexandria.
One of the more striking calendars is “The Obama Years”. I t contains an excerpt from the 2009 Inaugural Address, some of President Obama’s Accomplishments (Health, Economy, Energy and Environment, Education, Civil Rights, Education, Labor, and Public Service. In addition, there are photos of President Obama and President Obama and our fabulous First Lady. This is the third year that I have made such purchases as Christmas gifts for my family.
I wish that I had such gifts for each of the TOD families.
Lucky you! A friend/former coworker visited the States Christmas 2008 and bought me a 2009 Obama calendar which I STILL have hanging in my bedroom. Don’t laugh, but I flip the pictures each month so that the appropriate month is showing even though the days don’t coincide. 😳
One of the more profound acts that the Commander-in-Chief does is to bring soldiers back from the battle field. One of the gracious acts that American citizens is to welcome the soldiers home.
We as Americans proudly welcome back the courageous men and women who valiantly and proudly fought in the middle east! They deserve our respect, appreciation and assistance as they assimilate back in to life at home.
Okay, I’ve been weepin’ laughin’ at some of your snow comments – literally!
Now, time to vote in the most important poll – ever:
http://theobamadiary.com/2011/12/18/a-very-very-important-poll/
I’m going to miss Barney Frank….I know that some have heartburn from him sometimes, but in this, I think he called it right,
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/rep-barney-frank-makes-compelling-cas
Reading Ed Henry’s time line because he’s talking with Boehner’s aide and Pfeiffer (WH team).
Boehner’s aide is claiming that the 2-month deal was heinous. Ed Henry asked if so heinous why did 39 Repubs vote for it. Boehner’s aide said it was because PBO was demanding to start his vacation now. Henry asks what proof does he have of that. Henry pointed out to Boehner’s aide that Boehner declared victory in a conference call and the aide says he was only talking about the pipeline. Boehner’s aide is pretending that they care about “uncertainty” and not kicking the can down the road. Pfeiffer reminded them that Repubs didn’t mind kicking the can on the debt ceiling when they proposed raising it little by little. Henry asked Boehner aide about the pipeline language if they amend the bill. No answer yet.
In the tweet where Boehner’s aide is so concerned about “uncertainty” I replied that this whole thing is bullshit. The GOP knew this day was coming and that they should pass a clean bill and knock it off.
“Ed Henry asked if so heinous why did 39 Repubs vote for it. Boehner’s aide said it was because PBO was demanding to start his vacation now.”
Two things: 1) I am beyond shocked that Ed Henry actually did some reporting this year and 2) I am supposed to sit here and believe that President I’m-prepared-to-have-Xmas-in-D.C. Obama demanded he start his vacation now and that Speaker Boehner, the same man who played petty politics with the scheduling of the State of the Union, rushed to accommodate the President’s vacation plans. 🙄
Boehner has got a leadership problem:
“While it is frequently asserted the House GOP problem is between Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., a more insidious tug-of-war appears to be the culprit in this case. Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. – usually closely aligned, as in the case of the debt-ceiling debacle this summer – are apparently at odds over the end-of-year package. Boehner never signaled to McConnell in their private talks last week that he would accept the two-month deal being negotiated with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, aides said.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45715200/ns/politics-white_house/#.Tu6yVCNWpiY
I loved this dance and So You Think You Can Dance… is my favorite all time tv show. It has the best choreographers in the world on it and high quality capable dancers that want to become professionals. The prizes are not as big as in the singing competitions but the audience gets such wonderful performances. Thanks for posting!
How America And The Mainstream Media Got Breitbarted On NDAA
December 18, 2011By Jason Easley and Sarah Jones
“An edited video of Carl Levin claiming that Obama wanted the language in the NDAA caused outrage among many Americans, but the full Levin video reveals the opposite.
The YouTube video claimed to be proof that Obama is going to sign a citizen imprisonment law:
However, in the first 30 minutes of the debate Sen. Levin stated that the NDAA provisions do not apply to US citizens:
Hours prior to the YouTube proof video Sen. Levin stated on the Senate floor that the Obama administration requested that the provision be changed so that it does not apply to American citizens, but he explained the provision wasn’t changed because it already didn’t apply to American citizens, “The administration officials reviewed the draft language for this provision the day before our markup and recommended additional changes. We were able to accommodate those recommendations, except for the administration request that the provision apply only to detainees who are captured overseas. There is a good reason for that. But even here, the difference is relatively modest, because the provision already excludes all U.S. citizens. It also excludes all lawful residents of the United States, except to the extent permitted by the Constitution. The only covered persons left are those who are illegally in this country or who arrive as tourists or on some other short-term basis, and that is a small remaining category, but an important one, because it includes the terrorists who clandestinely arrive in the United States with the objective of attacking military or other targets here.”
People need to stop believing everything they read from certain pundits and every claim made in a two minute video.”
http://www.politicususa.com/en/ndaa-breitbarted
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I will never understand why people have to lie so much and exaggerate when it comes to these issues. The truth is bad enough – that Republicans have been using spending bills to box in Democrats so they can tie the WH hands on GITMO. detainees and civil liberties. Instead it was ZOMG Imperialist Obama is going to lock up bloggers!!!!
Hopefully, Tim Tebow/Bronco’s big loss today to NE—-43-21—–will quiet some of the ridiculous religious/sports hysteria that has reached a fever pitch this week after the Broncos beat a bad Bears team last week, a team missing it’s starting QB and star player. I fell asleep before the end of SNL last night, but I read I missed the best bit of the night where Jesus appears and asks Tebow to take it down a notch. We sure have a lot of desperate, gullible people in this country. They’ll believe almost anything.
Latest news
Kim Jong Il died at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 17-@YonhapNews
Kim Jong-il died of physical fatigue during train ride-@YonhapNews