Dec. 14, 2011: “During one of the Christmas Holiday receptions at the White House, I noticed the First Lady’s hands resting on the podium as the President made brief remarks.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Sept. 21, 2011: “The First Lady reacts to something the President whispered to her at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in between events related to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New York City.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
June 11, 2011: “The top photograph shows the President having a water gun fight with his daughter Sasha on her birthday weekend at Camp David. Unbeknownst to me, David Lienemann captured a similar photo of the Vice President on the very same day.” (Official White House Photos by Pete Souza and David Lienemann)
Feb. 5, 2011: “The two coaches for Sasha Obama’s basketball couldn’t make it to one of her games, so the President and his then personal aide, Reggie Love, filled in as coaches for this game one Saturday. Here they along with Sasha’s teammates react during the game.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
June 15, 2011: “Call him the baby soother. At the Congressional picnic on the South Lawn, the First Lady held a young baby who began crying (top photo). The President then came over to hold the same baby and was able to quiet her down as the First Lady reacted in astonishment in the background of the bottom photo.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
May 1, 2011: “The President was ready to announce the news about the mission against Osama bin Laden and was putting the finishing touches on his statement in the Outer Oval Office. As he did so, the networks broke in with bulletins confirming that bid Laden had been killed and a photograph of him appeared on the television screen in the background near the Vice President and Press Secretary Jay Carney.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Oct. 14, 2011: “The Obama family made an unannounced visit to tour the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C. the night before the President made remarks at the official dedication of the memorial.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
“The President reacts jokingly after the First Lady in her remarks called Jill Biden, ‘my favorite person here,’ despite the fact that her husband was standing next to her. All in good fun, the President then spoke at the signing ceremony for the Veterans Opportunity to Work to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Dec. 1, 2011: “The President with Malia and the First Lady with Sasha wait backstage before the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Dec. 21, 2011: “The President and Bo, the Obama family dog, ride in the presidential motorcade en route to PetSmart in Alexandria, Va. The President bought Bo some Christmas gifts at the pet store then walked nearby to Best Buy to purchase gifts for his daughters. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
More photos at Flickr – thank you Collegekay
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Hoos Left – full post here
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Morning everyone 😉
The Obama Diary 
WOW Chips you came back with a bang. Welcome back, we missed you, but hope you had a wonderful restful time.
Missed you too mtmarilyn! I had a lovely break, but need to spend the next six months on the exercise bike I bought a year ago (once I take it out of the box). 😳
I think that is all of us during these holidays. I am now getting ready for our annual open house tonight. Just taking time to check in. Good luck with the exercise bike. I hear it can be a great clothes catcher.
Good morning, Chipsticks and TOD family. I really need an exercise program for 2012 – getting the old bones moving again. I’ll start riight after New Year’s Day canvassing in New Hampshire. I am so looking forward to talking to NH folks again. I can still bore people to death with my tales of 2008.
On another note, I am upbeat and confident about 2012. As you may remember, I hate polls. I don’t think they are an accurate reflection of what people really think, but they sure are a tool to create doubt. Polls, in my opinion, are no longer a means to report the level of confidence, they are a means of manipulating it. So my New Years “diet and exercise” resolution is: no MSM and PL to sour my mood and make me reach for that chocolate bar, and plenty of canvassing and voter registration to make me fit again. To all – Happy New Year, it will be a big one.
Happy new year hgerhard, and everyone. I love your diet and exercise plan for 2012, sounds good to me!
hehe..First..!! 😀
Ha!
Hey, I am first!
I meant 1st to congradulate @mtmailyn ..lol
*congratulate* as well… 😆
Morning Rock!!!!!! 😉
Thanks Rock, you are the king of twitter. Thanks for all you do there!!!
Yes, I want to thank you also, Rock.HZ
That cartoon is hilarious. Have a great day all.
I read Hoos article from someone’s tweet early this morning. It is right on. We must make sure it get passed on. I do love the cartoon about Newt. I sure don’t understand those who love Ron Paul so much. He has lived off the government he hates for many years!
Good Morning Chips. Missed you very much. However, it is wonderful to know that you got some R&R. We love you so much around here. I tried to keep everyone off of the mat, but it was difficult. No, we were nice. Have a great day, our beloved Chips. Thanks for all that you do for us.HZ
HZ, I left a comment on the last thread under your wonderful post. I so appreciated it, and it was nice reading a kindred spirit. Thanks! ♥ ♥ ♥
Thank you PJ. I will go back and read it. Thank you so much.HZ
Love this:
LOL. Well said, axe.
There are some new pics on the flickr page- and it has Pete’s take on some of them. Morning all. HEY CHIP—-Friday’s Good 🙂
Haha! The end of WWW was hilarious. Looks like the video guys and gals are getting pretty adventurous!
I laughed out loud when I saw that…great ending. Democrats have REAL senses of humor.
Goog Morning All. I have still not recovered from Christmas in NYC. Must get back into swing of things by January 2nd for sure.
Should Chris Hayes own the hate speech?
He was all about Old Ronnie, on Rachels show.
He is an isolationist, America sucks blah blah blah!
Oh, and don’t forget- the secret drones that will kill us all someday!
And if a secret drone doesn’t get us, Jovie, the President’s super-duper secret squirty-water-gun will:
Oh dear, another great photo of our wet POTUS……..
Uh oh! 😆
Right! Scary!
Camp David looks exactly like I have pictured it—–rustic beauty. I also saw a photo in Sousa’s collection of the Obama living quarters in the WH, which I thought was interesting too—-very stylish and comfy looking, very Ralph Lauren looking to me.
And I always do a double take when I see the Obama baby whisperer photo—–in addition to all the “awwwwww” quality—–the girl in the black top with glasses on her head looks exactly like my sister. I mean, exactly. They could be twins. Spooky. Wonder if her mom knew my dad. Just kidding! Parents happily married for 55 years, or at least I always assumed so. 🙂
“Wonder if her mom knew my dad …. Parents happily married for 55 years, or at least I always assumed so.”
😆 Dotster, we need to investigate this further, highly suspicious!!!
Well that woman is Senator Coons’ wife, so now we’ll certainly have to form a team to look into this.
😯
Hmmmmmm. My mind is whirling—– I wonder if Sen. Coon’s wife’s mom was at that high school reunion he went to without my mom in Titonka, Iowa, which turned out to be 4 for lunch at Chicken Delight—-it’s been a big joke in our family for years, but Sen. Coon’s wife’s mom could have been one of the 4!!!! Maybe it wasn’t so funny. He said it was pitiful, but maybe it wasn’t pitiful at all, if you catch my drift…….Hmmmmmm—-more investigation needed. And google is zero help. Nothing comes up for Titonka, Ia. H.S. reunion 1970.
Wonderful story – sounds as though you have a fun family!
I’ve always wondered what Camp David looked like. The pool looks nice and huge!
I think I remember somewhere that they decorated it with stuff from Pottery Barn…very nice, but not stuffy and old. Cozy…with kids!
Jovie
Chris Hayes apart from his daily rants what President Obama is NOT doing certainly does have some very effeminate mannerisms.
Good morning everyone. Chips, there are new pics of the Pres on the white house flickr account.
My Favorite 😀
Love them Collegekay, thank yooooooooooou! Just adding a few to the post, you’re a star 😉
OMG Chips! I saw the link to Pete’s gallery on an earlier post and saved some of my faves to my computer. Stepped a way for a bit, came back and POOF!, you’ve posted the exact favorites that I saved. You are amazing!!! [[[[big bear hug]]]]
Ditto. These are my faces as well; glad Chips tranferred them here.
Oops! Meant “faves” not “faces.”. iPod insists on making its so-called corrections.
I know the feeling Ceb, I tried to send Christmas greetings to someone last week and it ended up reading something like: “Gap Christian.” I never heard back. 😳
Thanks for the pictures Chips. They’re gorgeous. Camp David is beautiful.
P091111PS-0160
Great photos, some of which I had seen before and this one P091111PS-0160 bothers me. Now maybe I am reading what I want to see into the picture, but everyone has a slight smile on their face except George W; the President and First Lady are greeting family members and dignitaries at the WTC event and they are gently smiling. George W has his head bowed and he looks what? Shameful? Guilty? Just uncomfortable? This is what I see. Again, maybe it is what I want to see because it is what I believe. I would appreciate others’ perceptions.
Always on the lookout for good economic news. Here’s some—-Ford sales top 2M for the first time in 4 years:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-ford-sales-top-2m-for-first-time-in-4-years-20111230,0,4969827.story
Welcome back, Chips; hope you had a good time.
We behaved ourselves until you gave us that yummy picture of PBO giving that killer smile and wave from the car as he left his work out session.
Yep Ceb. I’ve been alternating between that one and the Wet POTUS pic since yesterday. Wooooo-weee!! Hubba, hubba!!
Yo, ya’ll gotta ready that article on Cenk, very revealing. Lots of things about him I didn’t know.
I want to hear what these supporters of Ron Paul has to say, what these cable pundits like Chris Hayes have to say about those newsletters. Are they ignoring the newsletters? I believe Ron Paul knew exactly what was on those newsletters, he probably wrote them, and I am willing to bet that alot of his supporters love what those newsletters were saying, because they are racists just like Ron Paul is. That’s my opinion.
Senate pro forma session at 11.
Hope for no objection!
I was going to say “Caption It!” …. but maybe I shouldn’t!
I’m thinking:
PBO: “When this is over meet me at our secret spot upstairs…”
FLOTUS: “BARACK!!!”
BWWAAAHHHAAAaaaaaaaa!!!!
😀 😀 😀
Thanks. That put a smile of delight on my face. 😀 I really miss them when they’re away. Such a dynamic couple. All we’re left with is hateration from rethugs and their suitors. So not looking forward to next year, that is, until after the election. Politics is certainly not my favorite sport, but I do love a good fight, if necessary.
cocoa butter…..
…does a body good.
Isonprize and Ceb, I have mine all stocked up. I just love our POTUS and FLOTUS. Oh, Chips, I dare you. No, just teasing. Love you Chips for keeping us happy and loving.HZ
I love all the pictures, but the ones with POTUS and his family I really like, like this one. Chipsticks I agree, I think you better not say “Caption It”, because when I first saw it the dirty side of my brain was already at work. But I just love it and I”m just wondering what our POTUS is whispering in FLOTUS ear.
I”ll just kept a smile on my face and I will not say anything.
Phew!!! 😆
I think President Obama is introducing the First Lady to the naughty mat section. That’s all I’ll say.
LOL…I’M NOT GOING THERE…IT’S FAMILY HOUR!
♥ ♥ ♥ Good Day Chips! Good Day TOD Family! ♥ ♥ ♥
Barack Obama Quote O’ The Day
Have a great day, everyone! 😛
jim Messina listens to Jay Z 🙂
Dec. 14, 2011: “During one of the Christmas Holiday receptions at the White House, I noticed the First Lady’s hands resting on the podium as the President made brief remarks.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Mrs. O has perfect hands. I’ve got stumpy little fingers, so I’m pretty jealous.
OUR FIRST COUPLE…FOREVER IN LOVE…NICE TO SEE SUCH HAPPINESS!
I just love how POTUS & FLOTUS find ways to add a touch of “intimacy” to almost any public occasion. 🙂
I have a total ‘thing’ for hands and both of them have beautiful hands. I also love that pic shown long ago at BWD of their hands together. People who love each other need to touch often. This is so true of our Obamas. They so love and respect each other that they just have to touch each other. It is BEAUTIFUL!
those are some great pics. thanks so much CHIPS!!! 🙂
you are so right rikyrah, they are great pictures.
Sigh…Teh Douchey seems to run in the family.
https://twitter.com/#!/LOLGOP/status/152784332958875651
Somebody needs to make a donation to PBO and get the mug with the birth certificate on it and send it to him! What an ass.
A little misleading as son was quoting some other knucklehead supporter. But I notice the son had no qualms about repeating it, dredging up the ol’ birth certificate nonsense again—–‘Obama’s BLACK and FOREIGN!’ —-and also asking him to release his grades again—–‘Affirmative Action Alert, everyone!!!’ Read that while Willard tries to stay above the fray somewhat, if you call telling lies above the fray, his camp plays dirty. It’s going to be so fun!!????!!! Love the comments about this subject here:
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/mitt-romneys-son-obama-should-release-birth-certificate-grades.php
I swear, that man and his sons are like a full “Adam and Eve sex toy bag” outside of Stormy Daniels house. Just a bag full of used dicks.
Ouch.
Here’s the story of a man named Huntsman,
Who was bringing up three very lovely girls.
All of them had hair of gold, like their mother,
The youngest one in curls.
Here’s the story, of a man named Romney,
Who was busy with three boys of his own.
They were four men, living all together,
Yet they were all alone.
Till the one day when Huntsman lost the Iowa Caucus,
And they knew that it was much more than a crunch,
That this group would somehow form a cult.
That’s the way we all became the Romney Bunch.
The Romney Bunch, The Romney Bunch.
That’s the way we became the Romney Bunch.
LOL! Love it!
So many awesome Sousa photos, history in the making, beautiful, meaningful. And the PBO and BO pic in the limo is priceless.
Good Morning Chips and TODville. Chips I’m glad you’ve got so much needed rest. Chris Matthews is in Iowa. He talked to a Lady who said she voted for our President; but is voting for Mitt. The reason is beyond crazy. The Lady said in order to get rid of the hate that is here in America since our President was voted in she has to vote for Mitt (paraphrasing).
Chris supposedly told her you don’t get rid of the hate by getting rid of the object. Tell me these TepubliCons have not achieved their own brand of a new found definition for hatred and racism. Unfortunately, Ron Paul who is now being backed by former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is poisoning the minds of our future; our youth. Oh what a rat race.
Happy New Year everyone.
Ok…….There is hate in the nation…….I wan’t it to go away…..so I will acquiesce to the hatemongers and vote a white guy back in to sedate the hate?? I’m sorry, but only a white person could come up with that explanation and get away with it.
This is what they’re hoping for, that enough white voters feel that if they just got rid of Barack Obama, then all the nastiness will go away ahd the Republicans will revert to being the reasonable creatures they always were. Sorry to say, I feel like there are a significant portion of white voters who will blindly follow this reasoning. And to go there, most black folks have known for years just how bad Republicans are, regardless of any disappointments with Democratic politicians, and I can only shake my head that so many white voters are still stupid enough to fall for Republican or Libertarian BS.
As annoying as it sounds it’s something we should be prepared to deal with when we are doing phone-banking or canvassing. And, I would not be surprised if we get this from minority voters as well.
Hell, I’ve felt frustration at his treatment enough to wonder how things would be if he wasn’t President, but not enough to not vote for him. I think what we have to argue is that President Obama will be fine after her serves, but what about the rest of us. We can’t let the Republicans get away with their attacks on minorities, women, middle-class, the youth and the list goes on and on.
Should ask these people if giving in to their kids when they’re exhibiting really bad behavior makes them better behaved next time, or worse? Rewarding the GOP for their vitriol and hate by giving them control of the country, even while they’re fighting battles all over the country right now to deprive citizens of their rights, is the worst thing that can happen in this world.
I really don’t agree. I think first off that this lady was a shill hired by MSNBC. Mathews isn’t a journalist so I find it hard to believe that he was just interviewing some random person that happened to think exactly like him.
You’re right jeff. I don’t buy the false propaganda that MSNBC is selling. MSNBC is pushing Mitt Romney, and they are going to interview ONLY people who reinforce their desired narrative that Mitt Romney should be president. It’s interesting that Matthews didn’t bother to ask her how she feels about Romney relative to the other GOP candidates, the ones he currently is competing against. For every so-called individual who switched from Obama to Romney, there are 10 or so who voted GOP last time and will vote for Obama in 2012. But you will NEVER hear about those in the media…not now anyway.
Good morning TOD!~
Why The Policy Battles Of 2011 Won’t Be Settled Until After The 2012 Elections
Brian Beutler| December 29, 2011, 2:25 PM
On January 1, 2013, the country’s scheduled to undergo enormous policy shifts automatically. At the stroke of midnight — and in the absence of Congressional action — all of the Bush tax cuts are set to expire; large, automatic cuts to the defense budget, Medicare providers, and other domestic programs are set to kick in; and (most likely) the payroll tax cut will end. Around the same time, the country will once again run out of borrowing authority.
This is an outcome both parties want to avoid. But they disagree profoundly about what ought to happen instead. And so rather than collaborating, Democrats and Republicans will spend 2012 appealing to voters with two fundamentally different approaches to the governing, the economy, the social safety net. And the winner of the presidential election will have a strong claim on which approach we actually take.
~snip~
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/why-the-policy-battles-of-2011-wont-be-settled-until-after-the-2012-elections.php?ref=fpb
Campaign in 100 Seconds: “What Has Obama Ever Done For Us?”
h/t TPMTV
Have I mentioned how much Iove, love, LOVE David Axelrod??? I JUST LOVE THAT MAN!!!!!
Extending Obama’s tax cuts should be new year’s resolution for Republicans
Posted by Heather Stewart| Wednesday 28 December 2011 08.14 EST
Research from the non-partisan Council on Foreign Relations reveals that extending the tax cuts is not just a political debating point, but one of the few factors preventing the US sliding into a double-dip downturn in the new year. Personal consumption – spending, in other words – accounted for 91% of the 1.2% GDP growth the US economy achieved in the year to September, as Washington cut back and exports were weak.
Using official figures, the CFR shows that less than half of that crucial increase in consumption resulted from rising incomes, with the rest coming from what they call “unsustainable items”. More than a third – 36% – came from reduced savings, as Americans dipped into their rainy-day funds to cope with unemployment and lacklustre wage growth. And another 20% came from the payroll tax.
~snip~
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics-blog/2011/dec/28/obama-tax-cuts-new-year-resolution
Good Morning, Chips and all TOD lovely people! Photos and vids make a great start to a work day! Thank you, have a good one!
Good morning everyone! Welcome back Miss Chips, glad you got needed rest! Glad you’re back! TOD family, we better get ready for the New Year, and the big battle ahead. Like the wonderful Chuck Todd /snark/ said the other day: negativity.sells. And Willard is the king of negativity, he’s gonna throw everything he has at our President. But frankly I’m looking forward to the fight, just like I know you all are, TOD fam!
New York City Muslims boycott breakfast with Mayor Bloomberg
Lillian Rizzo| December 29, 2011 18:46
Muslim leaders invited to a breakfast with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have decided to opt out, in protest of the surveillance program targeting Islamic neighborhoods, the Associated Press reported. Every year the mayor hosts an interfaith breakfast, which is traditionally held at the New York City Public Library on 42nd Street. The breakfast is set to showcase the diversity of New York City during the winter holidays.
“We felt uncomfortable going to have coffee and doughnuts with the mayor knowing that this civil liberties crisis that’s affecting all New Yorkers is not going to be addressed,” said Imam Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid, president of the Islamic Leadership Council of New York, a group of 35 clerics and their congregations, the AP reported.
~snip~
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/111229/new-york-city-muslims-boycott-breakfast-mayor-bl
So glad they decided not to go.
Hello Chipstick, I have been a lurker since you started this blog. I wanted to thank you and the rest of TOD family for staying the course.
Hello and welcome!
Hiya Kadijo, thanks a million for visiting and for the comment – happy new year to you!
Welcome! Glad that you came out of hiding 🙂 That’s a LONG time to lurk!!
Welcome Kadijo. Please join us. Chips makes this a beautiful place for all of us to converse, share and support and respect POB. We are a dear family. Welcome and join in. Have a great day.HZ
Good Morning Kadijo
I hope 2012 will be a time when we hear from you often. Thanks for hanging with us.
The Year In Review: What 2011 Meant For The 99%
December 22, 2011| Tamara Draut, David Callahan
It’s been a politically and socially tumultuous year, with far too many setbacks and too few victories on the key challenges facing Americans today. Our Year in Review captures some of those ups and downs, with a focus on the events that defined the boundaries of our political debate and the actions that most impacted the lives of the 99%.
~snip~
http://www.demos.org/publication/year-review-what-2011-meant-99
Okay I decided that this picture is that all important December evening. This is exactly how I invisioned him talking to me 🙂
Hi Donna. I think you mean the picture with PBO at his desk, right? The first one is of him aiming a water gun at someone. I’m sure you didn’t imagine him shooting you 😀
Fixed it for Donna, edp4bho – in case anyone is confused!
No, no Donna: this was the moment:
{{{{fainting spell}}}}
😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
OMG don’t do this to me!!!
Lawd Have Mercy!!!!!!!
**** Chuckle **** As if that phone call wasn’t special enough 😆
Chips, how did Donna post that pic? Did you change the setting so that we can now post pics?
Okay. Never mind…….I went back and reread, got the context and the change. You added the pic….sorry. 😳
Sorry Lisa, just saw your comment!
I still can’t figure out any easier way than this for everyone to post photos:
It’s weird, because WordPress allows you to copy and paste YouTube urls in to the comments and the video shows up. Why not pics?
Chips, I don’t know why, but most blogging platforms don’t allow it in the comment section. You must have special privileges as the blog owner.
Np! Thanks Chips! 🙂
That’s how I envisioned it too,donna 🙂 Just like this.
Donna, I think I totally missed that. 😦 But I am sure you posted about it 🙂 Will you be nice and point me to it? I was without internet for half of December and feeling super TOD deprived 😦
I just remembered Chips has a search function! Here you go:
http://theobamadiary.com/2011/12/15/tod-paces-up-and-down-no-hurry-donna/
Aww, thanks 🙂
*goes to read*
Donna, how did u post this pic? What’s the code?
Oh, Donna, I am sure that was the day he called me to say Hey!
China’s factory activity shrinks further
Friday 30 December 2011 04.20 EST
China’s factory activity shrank again in December as demand at home and abroad slackened, a purchasing managers’ survey showed on Friday, reinforcing the case for pro-growth policies to underpin the world’s second-largest economy. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is widely expected to lower its requirement for the amount of cash banks must hold as reserves to let lenders inject more credit into the economy to fight headwinds from Europe’s debt crisis and sluggish US demand.
China’s once turbo-charged economy is on track to slow for a fourth successive quarter, easing further from the first quarter’s 9.7% annual growth rate with economists expecting the final three months of the year to have slipped below 95%. The official PMI, due to be published on Sunday, is expected to paint a similar picture, suggesting China is finishing 2011 on a weak note.
~snip~
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/dec/30/china-factory-activity-shrinks-further
Pete’s and gang’s pictures always leave me speechless. These are truly beautiful moments captured of the First Family and the Administration.
RON PAUL IS A DISGUSTING SOUL..HE’LL PROBABLY END UP IN HELL WITH EVERY RACE BUT HIS OWN! YEEEEEHAAAAAAH!
That would be fitting.
The GOP’s Year Of Living Dangerously: What Did Its Hardline Strategy Produce?
Brian Beutler| December 28, 2011, 5:33 AM
When the House GOP’s enormous freshman class arrived on Capitol Hill in January, it wasn’t uncommon to hear them sound off on the mistakes their predecessors made in 1995. Despite having shut down the government — twice! — House Republicans under Newt Gingrich had caved too easily, didn’t push hard enough, didn’t embody the true spirit of conservatism.
The 2011 version of the House GOP, in not always easy coordination with Senate Republicans, would approve must-pass bills, but only after dragging negotiations down to the wire and extracting as many concessions as possible from Senate Dems and the White House each time. We saw that strategy play out over and over again this year, with mixed results for both parties and largely poor results for the country at large.
Here’s a quick lookback at a year of living dangerously — and the series of recurring crises that it produced.
~snip~
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/a-year-of-living-dangerously—-a-look-back-at-the-gops-2011-strategy-and-its-consequences.php?ref=fpblg
That MLK memorial pic is beautiful.
American union UAW takes on German giants in battle to organise
Friday 30 December 2011 10.21 EST
The United Auto Workers union is staking its future on the kind of struggle it hasn’t waged since the 1930s: a massive drive to organise hostile factories. This time, the target is foreign carmakers, whose workers have rebuffed the union repeatedly. Specifically, Reuters has learned, the union is going after US plants owned by German manufacturers Volkswagen and Daimler, seen as easier nuts to crack than the Japanese and South Koreans.
It’s a battle the UAW cannot afford to lose. By failing to organise factories run by foreign automakers, the union has been a spectator to the only growth in the US auto industry in the last 30 years. That failure to win new members has compounded a crunch on the UAW’s finances, forcing it to sell assets and dip into its strike fund to pay for its activities.
Central to this effort is the belief that if car companies refrain from actively opposing a UAW organising push, workers at German-American factories will gladly join the union. But that belief may be off-base.Workers know that almost every job lost at US car factories in the past 30 years has occurred at a unionised company, while almost every job gained has come at a non-union company. And most of the factories the UAW is targeting are in the south, which is historically hostile to unions.
~snip~
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/30/uaw-car-union-german-giants
Ron Paul: Newsletters Don’t Hurt Me Politically
In a radio interview in Iowa Thursday, Ron Paul dismissed the idea that his newsletters — which contained racist, homophobic, and anti-Israel comments — are a political liability: “It never hurt me politically, and right now I think it is the same case, but people are desperate to find something,” reports the Des Moines Register.
Old fool
They don’t hurt him because he appeals to the racists among the American electorate. Didn’t they white supremacists say they thought he was one of them?
Caucuses Will Still Lack Absentee Voting
Ben Adler on December 18, 2011 – 10:58pm ET
Amid all the concern over Republican efforts to impose onerous requirements on voting such as photo identification laws, it’s worth remembering that the biggest impediment to voting in primaries has existed for decades, without any signs of correction: caucuses. Caucuses are anti-democratic and one of the worst infringements of voting rights in our current electoral system.
Unlike in a normal election or primary, where you can stop by any time during the day and vote by absentee ballot, caucuses require that you arrive within a very narrow window of time, typically in the early evening, and stay for the duration, which can last several hours. Anyone unable to do so is disenfranchised. If you have to stay to take care of children or an elderly parent, or if you’re the babysitter or home health aide hired to do so, you cannot vote. If you are disabled or a night shift worker, you cannot vote. Anyone, including active-duty military personnel, who is out of town for any reason cannot vote. That’s why caucuses have much lower turnout than primaries.
~snip~
http://www.thenation.com/blog/165218/caucuses-will-still-lack-absentee-voting
Ha, just back from a bit of lurking at a Teabagger site, they’re all deeply depressed by realization that Romney seems unstoppable …. loved this:
“Wait until Mittens get the Axelrod treatment. Then he’ll wish he never ran!”
And that’s from a Teabagger 😉
Delicious! They hate him 🙂 You are SOOOOOOOOOOOO brave to go there!
It’s actually good fun at the moment desertflower because they are so hopelessly depressed – I, needless to say, feel terribly sorry for them. 😕 Most of them genuinely seem to hate Romney even more than PBO, which is saying something.
Good news of the day!!
So, basically, they’ll be cheering for President Obama in 2012? Could it be? hee hee…
OMG, this is positively DELICIOUS.
Oh my, they really hate Romney, don’t they.. I admire you for checking out those sites. I can’t handle all that hate. They do know what is coming this next year.
Teehee. Although PLs drive me crazy, and I try to limit my exposure to them, for some reason, I don’t get worked up by teabaggers. Just very recently I have started peeking in on the teabags occasionally. You’re exactly right, Chips. THEY HATE WILLARD! 😆 They only other candidate the comes close to bringing out such anger is Ron Paul — they don’t have kind words for him or his followers either. Ha!
It’s really too bad so many of these people are so ideological because some of them actually have some of the same concerns that democrats, progressives and moderates have. They just can’t deal with a black President (especially a Democratic one) — they’ll do all kinds of mental gymnastics and contortions to convince others and themselves otherwise, but really that’s what it boils down to.
Sucks to be them 😆 !
And with their puny imaginations, they really have NO IDEA, do they, how prophetic that statement will be!
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2011/12/30/video-chris-christie-vote-for-romney-or-i-will-be-back-jersey-style/ WTH does that mean? With a ball bat?
What it means is Christie is most likely going to be his VP pick and if folks don’t vote for Romney he will be back in Jersey to torcher his citizens.
Oooooooooooooops, forgot – AGAIN!
YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s Friday 🙂
And it only took me a few hours to remember!!!
No matter…the point is YOU DID REMEMBER! Thank you 🙂
Ah, true, better late than never!
I love this video. It shows how human PBO is, and why he would not wish to waste his time with Washington insider stiffs as the NYTimes suggests he should.
Yes – the look on the staffer’s face when he says that shows that she’s shocked he loves Fridays, too. He’s human, like the rest of us!
Memo To America: Ron Paul’s Ideology Is As Dangerous As The Tea Party
By Rmuse| December 30, 2011
Every election year brings out one or two quirky candidates that appear to have little chance of winning more than a seat on a local city council or if they are fortunate, a seat in the House of Representatives. This year, quirky candidates are extremist, main-stream Republicans seeking the presidency and although they may not reach the White House, they are gaining traction among Christian conservatives and anti-government groups that gave rise to the tea party in 2010 and resulted in Republicans taking control of the House.
The 2010 elections gave Americans a glimpse of what electing extremists to positions of power means for the nation and although the tea party’s popularity is in decline, another quirky candidate is rising in popularity among conservatives and some mainstream Republicans. Ron Paul is no longer a fringe candidate, but his Libertarian ideology, if implemented, is as extreme as any tea party candidate and ultimately just as dangerous for America and its people. It is unfortunate that more Americans lack an understanding of Libertarianism because even Paul’s supporters would rail against some of his remedies for the country if he were elected president.
~snip~
http://www.politicususa.com/en/ron-paul-dangerous
So Mitt’s family is dog-whistling birtherism? You don’t say! Yeah that ought to net them more batshit racist crazy street cred in Teabaggerstan. Dumb asses. PBO will squash this flip flipping numbskull like the bedbugs that he is.
I don’t think that is accurate….he was just repeating what Trump said from what I can tell.
Why repeat what someone else said if you are not expecting it to have the effect you desire without your own fingerprints all over it? Why was that even relevant in the context of Willard releasing his tax returns? There is no equivalence. PBO has released his tax returns. Willard should release his. That is the matter at hand. Period.
oh… I totally agree that he should…Maybe he is hiding how much he has invested in his son’s businesses ?
There nothing but entitled sons of bitches. Thats all we really need to say about this.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/30/paul-once-criticized-equal-pay-aids-patients-sexual-harassment-victims/
On the same page, Paul takes issue with laws protecting employees from sexual harassment, suggesting that requiring a measure of respect in the workplace also violates the nation’s core principles.
“Employee rights are said to be valid when employers pressure employees into sexual activity,” Paul wrote. “Why don’t they quit once the so-called harassment starts? Obviously the morals of the harasser cannot be defended, but how can the harassee escape some responsibility for the problem?”
IS HE KIDDING ME??????????????
Why don’t they quit once the harassment starts? Wow, this guy really is that hateful.
Yeah. He really is.
The “SO CALLED” harassment! don’t want to have to BELIEVE the woman, do you? The guy’s a bigger ass than I thought…and he was already knocking it out of the park!
That article about Cenk was very informative. I didn’t know about the rat*******. I doubt that he really rises to that level since he’s rarely taken seriously and the world is so utterly different now than it was during the hippie days. And to think I was sad when Gary Hart self-destructed. Did not know he was so disastrous to the Party. Thank you for linking to that enlightening post.
It’s a great article Tien Le, that’s such a terrific blog. This just summed the fraud up:
“Cenk Uygur ….. a failed corporate lawyer and neocon with an enhanced opinion of himself and an ego as fat as his broad ass.”
I know people can genuinely change their politics, even from one extreme to the other, but from day one this guy has struck me as a complete fake. I mean, seriously:
While in college, he wrote a column in the Daily Pennsylvanian criticizing affirmative action recruiting at the university and suggesting that all students should be “judged on their merits rather than their physical characteristics.”[9] He supported the pro-life position on the abortion issue, criticized the radical aspects of the feminist movement, and felt Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was treated unjustly during his Senate confirmation hearings.[14] He also criticized organized religion as based on mythology and as a divisive force between peoples.[15]
He has stated that he worked for a time for Republican former New York Congressman Joe DioGuardi.[16] and voted for George H. W. Bush in the 1992 presidential election and for Bob Dole in 1996.
Uygur supported the Gulf War of 1990–1991, and supported the War in Afghanistan from its beginning in 2001 until 2009—though he has strongly opposed the Iraq War.[5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cenk_Uygur
N Korea tells ‘foolish politicians’ to expect no change under Kim Jong Un
Amanda Morrow| December 30, 2011 05:38
A day after ending an official period of mourning for Kim Jong Il, North Korea today warned “foolish politicians around the world” not to expect any policy changes under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, the Associated Press reported. A statement by the powerful National Defense Commission, broadcast on state media, for the first time referred to the younger Kim as North Korea’s “Great Leader” – a title previously used for his father.
~snip~
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/111230/north-korea-foolish%20politicians-no-change-great-leader-kim-jong-un
Why would anyone expect this new leadership to be anything but potentially *worse* than the previous leadership? I’m not at all sanguine about North Korea changing any time soon and am very glad we have a calm, deliberative and cautious Foreign Affairs apparatus at the helm during this time of transition around the world.
No need to wonder why Morning Joke and Mika, Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell, Alex Wagner, Tweety and to a lesser degree Rachel and Ed this so-called “lean forward” station (MSNBC) are so critical of President Obama. This about sums it us:
{Snip}
Given Bain’s ownership stake in the Weather Channel, we thought it was appropriate to disclose this as the voting is about to begin in the GOP primary.
Gaines doesn’t explain why Bain’s co-ownership of the Weather Channel with NBC Universal is pertinent information now, but wasn’t during earlier stages of MSNBC’s election coverage.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/ben-smith/2011/12/msnbc-explains-bain-capital-disclosure-109126.html
Yep…good ole Mitt is still getting paid by Bain.
Thank you jovie for bringing this my attention. I plan to spread this everywhere.
p.s. sorry to link to politico but they seem to be the only ones covering this.
I posted this earlier, but it is worth repeating. Willard was seen kissing Mrs. Greenspan at his Iowa rally this morning on CSPAN. I am serious.
This is simply ridiculous Bill. They are absolutely blantant is their bias.
Morgan Stanley to layoff 580 employees
illian Rizzo| December 28, 2011 13:01
Morgan Stanley, the major financial services firm, will cut 580 jobs in New York in 2012 as a part of a broader wave of layoffs, The New York Times reported. The bank filed a notice with the New York State Department of Labor, citing “economic” woes as the cause of the layoffs, which began on Dec. 15 on a rolling basis. Earlier in December, Morgan Stanley said it would cut 1,600 jobs, or 2.6 percent of its 62,648 employees, by the first quarter of 2012.
~snip~
Morgan Stanley isn’t the only financial firm to be hit by the dismal economy. Citigroup, whose headquarters are just down the street from Morgan Stanley in Manhattan, said they would cut 4,500 jobs, or 1.5 percent of its global workforce of 267,000, in the next few quarters, the Guardian reported. Bank of America said it would cut 30,000 jobs in September in the next few years and Swiss lender UBS said it would lay off 2,000 employees from its investment bank to reduce risk. In June, Goldman Sachs said they would cut 230 jobs by March 2012.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/111228/morgan-stanley-layoff-580-employees
Thanks so much, Chips for posting these beautiful photos and the videos. And can i say, I love Axelrod!!!
TOD Family, I was watching C-SPAN2 with the Edward Kennedy Institute Groundbreaking Ceremony this morning(Aired on April 8,2011), and Gov. Deval Patrick(whom I love dearly) spoke briefly.
He said in his opening comments: ” The current Conservative Movement is sapping the optimism out of our country.” Deval Patrick. He spoke with so much passion and truth. We will remember those words as we move forward.HZ
Americans Elect, Part III: Who’s Behind The Astroturf Organization?
By Scott Moore
As we’ve written in previous posts, Americans Elect is gathering signatures in Oregon in an attempt to qualify as a minor party. Their goal is to hold an internet-only primary election to nominate a candidate for President of the United States.
The group describes itself in grassroots terms, but in reality, they’re anything but grassroots. Their “Leadership” team and Board of Directors is largely composed of hedge fund operators and wealth managers, and there’s strong evidence that most of their funding has come from leaders in the financial industry.
We’ve previously explored their funding and their alarmingly undemocratic bylaws. Today, we’ll look more closely at some of the people who are behind this effort.
~snip~
http://www.ouroregon.org/sockeye/blog/americans-elect-part-iii-astroturf-organization
h/t Jim Cook @ Irregular Times
Hmmmm….here’s an interesting tidbit from the Americans Elect post:
“Daniel Winslow is described as a senior leader of Americans Elect. He’s a former senior political aid for Mitt Romney and Scott Brown. He’s also a Republican state legislator in Massachusetts who earlier this year introduced a bill that would strip collective bargaining rights from public employees.”
The plan will be to run a progressive with the spot to peel off enough Obama voters to give Romney the win.
Not sure how successful this will be in Oregon or other states, but it will not fly in California. Also, they better be careful or they may pull votes from the GOP candidate.
Debz,. I love Axelrod’s sense of humor. 😆 Hello dear Chips. I’m glad you had a nice R&R. So nice to have you back. You are the cream that rises to the top. opppppppppppps more calories, but you are.
New Word Proposal.
This was inspired by a post by Bobfr…it is a slight modification of a word he used. Here’s mine (hope the html works): GemOProg
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/26/michael-tomasky-why-mitt-romney-s-opportunity-tack-won-t-work.html
His chosen words are pretty good. But this isn’t the mid-1980s. Majorities of average Americans no longer think the Democratic Party is in essence stealing from them. And majorities of average Americans pretty much like Obama personally. If they didn’t, his approval rating would have dipped down into the 30s when unemployment was north of 10 percent. It never did. Most Americans are pulling for the guy. Another fact that drives wingers nuts, and that I chuckle about at least four or five times a week.
Romney has been drinking tea-infused water for months now, trying to appease those to his right. I’m sure he thinks that at the same time, he’s talking sense to the rest of America. But the rest of America isn’t as intoxicated by those hairy-chested nostrums about self-reliance as conservatives think they are.
>>>>Most Americans are pulling for the guy. Another fact that drives wingers nuts, and that I chuckle about at least four or five times a week.<<<<
——this has always been a source of my confidence in PBO's re-election. Like the author, I chuckle at wingnut consternation over this fact. All it will take is for POTUS to hit the trail again and to stand on a stage next to the very unlikable Willard, and that's all she wrote!
The differences will be stark!
Rev. Al Radio program live (1-4pm, est)
http://v3.player.abacast.com/player/player.php?pid=futurevision_wvon
Hey Chips – (completely OT – so sorry) – but looks like the $$$$$$$ Qatary Overlords’ PR campaign to strong arm Baby Jesus into going to Paris, might be blowing up in their faces. (And I couldn’t be happier if it does.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/16367775.stm
Oh, and look at what SANTA BROUGHT ME: (It apparently “won the internet.”)
Aloha everyone!
Good, we can pencil in another MLS Cup for next season!
YES PLEASE! 😀 😀 😀
You have to BE THERE if that happens! You know they’ve changed it so whomever is the top seed will HOST *THE CUP* – so here’s to it’s being in CARSON, CA in 2012!!!
Romney going on and on to Andrea Mitchell accusing Obama of criticizing the U.S. on the world stage, about his “U.S. Apology Tour”. He still says he won’t release his tax returns, heh heh heh (fake chuckle)—–and wouldn’t even commit to it even if he became president, god forbid. Then he “heh heh heh’ed” fake chuckled some more. He is icky.
Yeah, but did she bother calling him out on his BS about PBO apologizing????? Why is he allowed to lie so blatantly and no one calls him out??
She’s not an Obama fan – it’s becoming more and more evident to me each year. Second, NBC recently has issued a disclaimer that NBC and Bain Capital each own a piece of The Weather Channel. I’m thinking the NBC executives have gotten to all of their opinionators (except, hopefully, Rev. Al and Martin Bashir) at the request of Bain Capital executives to tell them to be kind to Romney. Now, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but that’s my take, since I no longer trust Andrea not to be on the take, herself.
I know she has never liked the President, but you do have to wonder about this Bain Capital stuff. It seems almost everyone at MSNBC have been shilling for Mittens the last few days.
Josh Marshall indicated Mitchell was being a tough interviewer on Mitt – Would you say that was the case?
Bain probably owns Josh Marshall too.
Chip- if Bain calls you, dont sell the Obama diary. Please!
😆 They just offered me $2 Jovie – I’m seriously considering taking it!
You will have to let Mittens kiss you if you want that money!!!!!!
I heard Willard will offer you $10,000 which he has in his pocket.
He will raise it to $100,000 if you put him in a mankini 😀
And that’s just one of his many, many, many (Bain Capital) pockets Bill!
THIS!
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/30/ron-paul-got-a-free-pass-from-the-press-until-his-polls-soared.html
We all know the media can’t walk, chew gum, and cover more than two presidential candidates at a time. All too often, journalists are like lemmings, marching in lockstep after whoever has gotten a bump in the polls. That’s why the news business has lurched from Trump to Bachmann to Perry to Cain to Newt to Paul (and perhaps now Santorum, who’s blipped up to third in Iowa in a CNN/Time survey).
But it’s not as though Paul had some hidden past that could be excavated only through dusty court records. He says stuff every day—eliminate aid to Israel, abolish the Fed, get rid of the income tax, bring American soldiers home from around the world—that would create a firestorm around any other candidate.
And yet he skated, because the press, in its infinite wisdom, decreed that the Texas congressman was a fringe figure, not a serious Republican contender, so the normal rules of coverage need not apply. He was relegated to sideshow status, treated as an eccentric uncle.
Hmmmmm….
When you. posted that they were going to be in session for a few minutes today I thought they would this.
This delayed request made me say hmmmmm too. Here’s what I was able to find:
“The White House had been ready to ask for the increase Friday because the government is within $100 billion of exhausting its current borrowing authority. Congress has 15 days to reject the request, though Obama would veto their objection.
If Obama had requested the increase on Friday, Congress would have still been on vacation during that 15 day window. A senior White House official says congressional leaders asked the White House to delay the request so members would have time to voice their opinions.”
http://www.ydr.com/politics/ci_19646657
My first reaction to the fact Congress would still be on vacation was, “and, so what?”
Apparently, this is why I am not President because I am sick of these people. Presidents have to deal with these people as if they were adults.
So I guess they are going to hold the debt ceiling hostage again, because it worked out so well last time. I am sick of these people.
Don’t worry, they can’t. This is all for show – they don’t vote to raise it, but instead vote against it’s automatic raise – the difference might seem trivial, but it’s huge. Because in the former it needs to pass the House and 60 in the Senate to be raised, but to vote against the automatic raise it needs 2/3rds otherwise the Admin got the extension until 2013, but will have a couple of these “gotcha votes” where the GOP can vote against raising the ceiling, showing how fiscally responsible they are, and the Pres veto’s it and they try and paint him as spending more.
OK, thanks. We’ll see how all this unfolds. There are a lot of balls in the air: SOTU, launch of campaign season, bad poll numbers for Congress, improving economy.
Thanks saintroscoe, it’s silly just the same 🙂
Hey Meta and TOD friends. I was hoping that this debt ceiling thingy would be done quietly. Here we go again with this “do nothing teabagger congress”.
It’s all for show. An agreement from the original deal extended the debt ceiling through 2013 unless Congress passed a bill blocking it’s automatic raising (as per agreement it goes up unless blocked). Why this matters is because even if GOP House blocks raising it and the GOP senate gets 4 votes to switch, the President can veto their block and it’s raised. Only way it could be blocked is if Congress got 2/3rds of their body to override the Presidential veto – which they certainly cannot.
This is all political theater for the GOP, so they can vote against it while knowing it will be raised no matter what they do.
They would maybe need to be prepared to give something in return for this kindness on the part of our Commander-In-Chief.
Good Morning TOD family
Let’s start off with a heartwarming story of a holiday reunion
This Santa fulfills a girl’s difficult wish
http://www.whatisworking.com/2011/12/this-santa-fulfills-girls-difficult.html
1.4 Million Workers To Benefit From Minimum Wage Increase In 2012
http://www.whatisworking.com/2011/12/14-million-workers-to-benefit-from.html
Obama and Congress Already Raised Taxes On the Rich.
http://www.whatisworking.com/2011/12/obama-and-congress-already-raised-taxes.html
WINNING. 😀
The state of the GOP: What a horrible, horrible caricature of Ron Paul and yet so strikingly realistic.
The state of TOD supporters: Chips, I just loved all the photos of the Obama and Biden families and other key players! Keep ’em coming, and thanks so much!
Gingrich Would ‘Look At’ Sarah Palin For Vice President Or Cabinet Job | GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, who takes every opportunity possible to assure voters that he is the most serious candidate in the race, said he would be open to appointing Sarah Palin to a high level job in his administration. As Right Wing Watch reports, during a Wednesday night tele-town hall hosted by Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition, a caller asked the former Speaker if he would consider Palin as a running mate. Gingrich responded that Palin “is certainly one of the people you would look at” and told the caller that he is “a great admirer of hers.” He also floated the idea of appointing her Secretary of Energy because, he said, “I can’t imagine anybody who would do a better job of driving us to an energy solution than Gov. Palin.” “Tell her that she would certainly be on the list of one of the people we would consider,” he added.
Encouraging update
Some of you may have read a story about a wonderful woman in Arkansas who helped children in need. I just saw an update on MSNBC
In an update, viewers sent $200,000 for the TOPPS program as a result of the broadcast.
As a result, Ms. Dove was able to provide holiday gifts and meals for 167 families beyond her normal clients, ensuring a happy Christmas for many more in the rural Arkansas town.
for anyone who missed the story it is found here, with updated video.
http://www.whatisworking.com/2011/12/chelsea-clinton-reports-on-miracle.html
David Duke likes RP
http://www.frumforum.com/ron-pauls-base?utm_source=FrumForum+Twitter&utm_medium=twitter
Thanks for the story desertflower.
For anyone who was as clueless as I was – David Duke is the former KKK Grand Wizard, ick……
You’re welcome, WiW….yes, that David Duke!
Oh desertflower, it just gets better and better ….. first Stormfront, now Duke. I wonder what it is they so admire in Ron Paul?? 😉
I think they admire the fact that everything that is Constitutional is UNCONSTITUTIONAL in Ron Paul’s pea sized brain. They would all just be free to hate on anyone and everyone! What fun they could have! Luckily, this assent will be a fall to Earth soon enough….the Republican Establishment will see to that.Their love of a perpetual war machine/contractors will not stand for his foreign policy positions..( as well as his position on Israel).. so the very thing that endears these myopic lunatics to RP (war stance) will be the very thing that makes him crash and burn. Ironic, wouldn’t you say? Just hard for me to wrap my head around the stupid in this country….SO MANY of them!
My encouraging OFA story for the day.
May it inspire us to give to Chips and Donna.
OFA :: Why Mike Gives
http://www.whatisworking.com/2011/12/ofa-why-mike-gives.html
Remember I mentioned the other day that I was learning how to use my new toy (Kindle Fire). Well I LOVE IT!
I worship technology. I was just marveling that I can retweet directly from the tweets that are posted here. It’s truly astonishing. It’s changed our lives in so many ways, most of it for the better.
Meta it’s all so amazing. I was “forced’ from a desktop to a laptop because of my job. I quickly feel in love with my lappie. Then last year my kids said, “mom you have to get a smart phone” it does everything. So I hemmed and hawed for weeks because it just seemed too much and then I jumped in and got it and stayed up all night the first night I had it to learn how to use it and it has become my lifeline. Now for Christmas they gave me a tablet and this thing does everything except take pictures. How on earth did we survive before we had all this stuff is beyond me 🙂
I gave myself a Nook Color last Xmas. My wife gave herself a Nook Tablet this Xmas, and a few months ago we both upgraded our phones. I have a data plan on my phone for the first time, and I pretty much just listen to radio on the Internet through the Bluetooth in my car stereo. Technology rocks!
Laptops are the BEST. I was looking at the Air last week – so light. Now I can’t imagine having a phone that isn’t also an iPod with the ability to surf the net. Exciting times we live in.
Oh meta, stop ….. I cuddled up to an Air a couple of days ago in an Apple store, when I left it behind I felt I was abandonning a puppy that was destined to be mine. 😦
I don’t think I’ve ever been a store that makes me feel so happy as the Apple HQ in SF. The energy in that place is wild!!
I have the small air: it’s so fast, light touch on keyboard, instant on, fast loading of TOD and blog pages. Best ever!
Had an iPad 1, got the iPad 2 as soon as it came out, plus an iPhone, and that iPad 2, Donna, with the cameras and download the free Kindle Alp, like having a space station in your pocket! Even the MacBook feels old and slow compared!
SMDH
Kelly Clarkson Endorses Ron Paul.
God, it’s way too early in the morning to be confronted by such utter stupidity. “I support gay rights, so I’m gonna vote for a guy who’s endorsed by a pastor who wants to execute gays.”
I hope my puppy turns out to be smarter once we go through dog training.
😀 😀 😀
PUPPY!!!!
Sighs, yes, a puppy. Not what I was expecting for Xmas. He’s a pit/pointer mix, and was in front of our house last Monday, cold, whining, lost. How we decided to keep him rather than finding him another home is a bit of a blur, but when you have both a puppy and a wife looking at you with the same eyes… So, we have a dog trainer coming to our house this afternoon to start classes. She’s supposed to be quite good, and the price is reasonable for private lessons. Wish us luck!
I feel your pain. If I didn’t live in a townhouse I would be overrun with rescue dogs. Instead I just keep donating to local Humane Society and ASPCA.
There’s a lady in Fresno who runs a cat rescue house, and we sponsor one of the cats for $15 a month.
What a good “dad” you are! My husband knows those eyes well…every animal in my house is rescued…though I must admit…I had to “hide” the Great Dane at a friend’s house for a couple days so I could “talk him into it!” It didn’t take long….he knows how I am 🙂 Good luck with the new puppy! Such joy they bring 🙂
The cats would take issue with that; however, they’re not as bad as I thought they would be. We were expecting cat poop and pee all over the house, but pretty much they ignore him unless he tries to “play” with them, hoping he’ll just not be there. My cats are firm believers in quantum mechanics.
LL, Your puppy is ALREADY smarter…WITH NO TRAINING YET! do you have a puppy photo you want to share with us??? We LOVE puppies!!
We DO have pictures, but on our phones and Facebook, so not accessible. I might create a Flicker account so that I can share the joy of Stewie. (Yes, he’s named after Stewie Griffin from “Family Guy”.)
Stewie! If you decide to create that Flicker acct…I’m sure that we’d ALL share in celebrating the newest member of the TOD family!
WTH does she mean? SO sick of all these idiots who spout “less government.” None of them know what they’re talking about, being impressed by slogans rather than doing any reading or thinking on the subject.
Well, all you have to remember is that Ms. Clarkson is a fully fledged member of the 1%. “Less government” means she can keep more of her loot from producing crappy pop songs.
(whining) It’s Too HARDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD! (reading and thinking) Soundbite heaven. Instant gratification society. Want what I want, when I want it. She won a contest for crying out loud! Instant gratification…Poof! Now she’s a rock star!
For real LL. Clarkson just exposed how not BRIGHT she is. Ron Paul has a David Duke endorsement. The ex KKK Grand Wizzard himself. Boy PBO must, I tell you MUST be re-elected. 😯
Now she claims she didn’t know Paul had written those racist newsletters. Well excuse me…
Can you imagine how he’s going to stamp his foot and cry, when he isn’t President?
Hey everybody. Welcome back Chips. Happy Holidays and all that good stuff. Myself and some OFA’ers I work with here in Ohio are keeping an close eye on how the Rovian/GOP talking points continue to build in Romney’s stump speech. They also have him cloning PBO in his maneurisms and casual dress like his apparell and kissing babies and VIP’s in public. YUK!! In otherwords turn him into a White version of President Obama while using the Rovian swift boat tactics of lies to bludgeon PBO and his andminstration at the same time. Meanwhile the MSM is in their hip pocket and not to mention the the Liar’s financial conflict of intetests roaming around for exposure on the net.
What me and my buddies have summized is that the Obama campaign will be more confrontational taking direct hits at their opponent (obviously Romney) in the general election this time around. OFA will have to be a big part of not only getting PBO’s accomplishment and message out to our neighbors, but also make voters aware of Romney’s tremendous character flaws and what he plans on doing to a lot of the social safety nets our nation enjoys today. Not to mention his Bush era foreign policy staff who wish to start a war with Iran.
We get this PBO’s message and accomplishments exposed to the American public via anyway we can the lights will be turned out for mittens before that first Tuesday in Nov. inspite the media and superpac advatage they will have. OFA and internet sites like TOD are PBO’s secret weapon. 😉 The new year is approaching and it will definately be time to put it in full gear family. I’m feelin it. Obama/Biden 2012
Thanks for the OFA update Kieth. I’ve noticed for a while Mittens trying to dress like POTUS and lately the baby thing. Well, he’s got the white thing going for him. Nothing about this souless, lying POS is anything like our President. This is truly lipstick on a pig.
I want to see Willard dance on Ellen’s teevee show.
Here’s a sneak preview:
😕
LMAO! That guy reminds of the guy in the disco that you avoid…like the plaque!
LMAO!!! CHIPS!!
OMFG
I mean mannerisms. A few other missed spelled words in my post as well. We need spell check. LOL!
James bond 007 endorses Ron Paul!
Well, if you consider honor, duty, and respect for others a “liberal agenda”, then I guess they’re right. I certainly don’t see those values very often on the Right.
Right-Wing, Fox & Friends Warn Girl Scouts Promote ‘Liberal Agenda’.
I’ll make sure to buy an extra couple of boxes of “liberal” cookies this year!
Chips thanks for all the great pic. I really like the one with PBO & Bo riding in the presidential motorcade going Christmas shopping.
Hiya defytheodds, they’re gorgeous, aren’t they? Pete Souza is just something else.
Yes they and Pete Souza is a gift to all of us…
I think it’s safe to say this country is a tad bit too litigious.
Dead man to be sued over flying body parts.
His estate = his parents, who, besides being heartbroken over their son’s death, now have to deal with this obtuse, greedy person. Some people are just despicable.
December 30, 2011 9:53 AM
Voted-For Rights
By Ed Kilgore
There’s been a lot of richly-earned laughter this week at the expense of Republican presidential candidates (mainly Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry) who are whining about not being able to get on the March 6 primary ballot in Virginia. These worthies certainly haven’t expressed any sympathy for voters struggling to exercise their right to vote for candidates, which their party has been aggressively fighting to restrict in state after state.
But the irony and hypocrisy are worse than what immediately meets the eye. As Ezra Klein notes, presidential candidates have a lot more resources for gaining access to the ballot than individual voters:
Perry is an experienced politician who has hired a professional staff for the express purpose of navigating the logistical hurdle of ballot access. And he still failed to make the Virginia ballot, despite the fact that the rules were well-known and unchanged since the last election.
In Texas, however, Perry has sharply changed the rules, changed them on people who do not have a staff dedicated to helping them vote, and in fact made it harder for outside groups to send professionals into the state to help potential voters navigate the new law.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/votedfor_rights034409.php
Hi everyone, new post here:
http://theobamadiary.com/2011/12/30/afternoon-all-16/
The Straits of Hormuz crisis isn’t over yet.
Iran-US brinkmanship over oil strait worsens.
The last time that the Iranian Navy tussled with the USN in the 80s it quickly ceased to exist.
So, how do we fight back against Cenk, Arianna, Bill Maher, Michael Moore, et. al? They are poison, rabid…awful.
And to think I used to be a fan of Moore, I feel so stupid and so taken.
As an African-American I have been gobsmacked by the responses of people who I really liked…people who have let me know that they don’t really like me: Pat Boone, Dean Koontz, Arianna, Bill Maher, Michael Moore…
None of these will pay the price that the rest of us will if the republicans take office. I am terrified of the republican party and what they are promoting.
I knew that racism still existed, but now I see how really vicious it is. It was only hiding, held back by laws. Now we are back to fighting for voting rights, if the republicans have their way we may be back to fighting to stay in hotels and eat in restaurants; poor kids will have to clean toilets to get educated; jobs will continue to go overseas; we might be at war with Iran; healthcare will be repealed; we’ll get perhaps two more right-wing Supreme Court judges, and this time not just blacks and browns will be affected. There will be a whole lot of hurting people out here.
So how do we fight back, somebody tell me? It is going to be bloody awful this year. I’m ready for the fight, but I do not want to be just shouting in the wind.
I feel you Georgia!! God help us all.
Newt Gingrich choked up while discussing his mother’s struggle with mental illness during a town-hall meeting in Des Moines.
Gingrich was asked to speak about a time his mother affected him at the event sponsored by CafeMom, a social networking website for mothers.
http://thehill.com/video/campaign/201787-gingrich-tears-up-while-discussing-mother-at-iowa-town-hall
DEMOCRACY vs AN AMERICANIZED THEOCRACY
A fascinating and scary read from Frank Schaeffer.
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Newt Gingrich the Republicans and the Loony Religious Fringe
Every single one of the sops Newt Gingrich and the other Republican candidates are throwing the far right have been scripted for them by generations of so-called Reconstructionist “thinkers”, Roman Catholic ideologues and Christian Zionists that have been pushing the religious community — and America — steadily in the direction of overthrowing democracy and replacing it with some version of an Americanized theocracy.
http://frank-schaeffer.blogspot.com/2011/12/newt-gingrich-republicans-and-loony.html
Lovely photos of our lovely first family. The behind the scenes photos and videos always make me smile. Heck, any photo this family makes me smile.
Obama/Biden2012
The picture of the President whispering something in his wife’s ear is rather intriguing, particularly her reaction. Her face seems to say: “Mm, mm, you want to do what? When? Where? Tsk, tsk, tsk, you naughty, naughty thing you!” (But then again, this could also be where my head is. Actually, it is just that. Lol!)