I do the exact same thing Chips. He was at 48 last Friday and then by Monday or Tuesday this week they had him down to 43. Not a doggone thing had happened in this country to drive his numbers down. In fact the only controversy was Rush and everyone agreed that PBO was an absolute class act in how he handled it. I give them until Saturday and they will have him back down in the lowwww 40’s again. They must think we are stooopid!! 🙄
To me, polls are like the weather in the Pacific NW, they can chagne hour to hour. At this time of year, we can have all 4 seasons in a day! Dress for it.
‘dress for it’
love it! we’re weathering this campaign, with a golden day today and a shit storm tomorrow, and on and on. the best strategy is, dress for it, in our pbo shirts and pbo hats and pbo doggy bandanas and jewelry and damn where do we get those sneakers.
Donna, I remember us confessing to each other before that we were obsessive Gallup watchers, our hearts used to sink at 1:0 ET every day when they had PBO’s figures down. And then, finally, I realized that even frigging Rasmussen had him higher!!! So, honestly, I just chuckle now. And exactly as you say, they always have PBO plummeting when (a) nothing negative is happening and (b) other polls are showing him rising ….. it’s like they, eh, feel they have to change the positive narrative. It says it all that they’re now the favorite polling company of RW commentators, eg the vile Toby Harnden of the UK Daily Mail. I asked him on Twitter recently why he only quoted Gallup in a bile-filled pile of steaming shit he wrote for the Mail:
Donna, I’ll bet they keep a bunch of statistics on hand from one of the president’s worst months and then, when the actually polling comes in too high, they “insert” the older data to they can bring down the total. Pollster’s can also pull subtle tricks like calling on weekends when older more Republican voters are home, or bunching calls at certain times of days to get a higher portion of elderly. They don’t give ages or times or day, so you don’t know who they’re calling. It’s sad to see Gallup go the way of Rasmussen, but I guess they had their price and the GOP was willing to pay it.
RATS! I just switched browsers a few minutes ago and there was nothing ‘new’ here so I flipped back to continue reading ‘Rise & Shine’! Arrgh! I CAN”T TAKE IT ANYMORE! IT”S NOT FAIR!!!
It appears this vessel fell victim to a storm that picked it up and beached it. It’s not that big was probably bobbing about like a cork in the bathtub.
Ouch! That hurts. True, but it hurts. Sniff! Sniff!
For your information, CC, my earlier comment wasn’t an excuse, it was my winning strategy! Mmmn, or was it my winning tactic? I always get those two confused. Mmmm. One of the two, anyway. I’ll call McCain later when he has finished absorbing the good news from his endorsee’s super Tuesday campaign and have him sort out tactic vs. strategy for me. VC
I’m absolutely fine, S! No complaints. 😆 Well, except for Chips Chica playing with my mind by not first calling me personally to signal an upcoming new post. I thought she and I had an unwritten/undiscussed deal but it seems she has mislaid the terms.
Symmetry, again???? First! 🙂 Saw the post about Bob Corker trying to send bill back to committee. I did not know that when I called his and Alexander’s office about 30 minutes ago. I was FURIOUS! My message was: “My taxes help pay your high salaries and you are supposed to represent ME, not the Republican Party. I am sick and tired of making these calls and saying the same thing–stop paying the silly games of gotcha politics and do the right thing for our country…….just stop it.” Yes, I raised my voice somewhat, but I was overall very emotional and firm.
Lala…I get tired of making the calls as well. The person who answers the phones is never interested in what you are saying. They usually don’t even pretend to care, but we must press on. Try switching it up a bit. Instead of calling next time, send them a fax (that’s what I do) or an email.
WASHINGTON — Thursday, March 8 is International Women’s Day, and Republicans in Congress are celebrating by debating a new bill that would restrict abortion rights.
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on Thursday to discuss the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA), which is sponsored by two Florida Republicans, Marco Rubio in the Senate and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in the House. The bill would make it illegal for anyone but a parent to accompany a young woman across state lines to seek an abortion — even if her parents are absent or abusive.
Perhaps more significantly, the bill is the latest in a long series of attempts by Republican lawmakers to criminalize physicians who perform abortions, to chip away at women’s constitutionally protected right to decide when and if they will have a child and to otherwise politicize women’s health.
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), a member of both the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus and the subcommittee that heard the bill Thursday morning, said he would like to send a message to his male Republican colleagues that continue to legislate issues like abortion and birth control: Stay out of issues you don’t fully understand.
“As a father, I’ll be honest — my daughter’s not going to come to me with questions about why you would use the pill for medical reasons. She’d talk to my wife,” he told HuffPost. “My question is, how the hell will [men in Congress] know of all the intricacies of such a personal decision, an aspect of health care that’s so complicated? The absurdity of men in D.C. involving themselves with such a complicated, critical, emotional, basic right is what’s mind boggling to me.”
By all accounts, 2011 was a watershed year for challenges to women’s reproductive rights. State legislators introduced more than 1,100 anti-abortion provisions and had enacted 135 of them by year’s end. Seven states either fully defunded or made moves toward defunding Planned Parenthood, which provides basic health care, contraception, breast cancer and STD screenings to millions of low-income women each year.
Shucks! Now I understand why you didn’t include it before. Thanks a lot, but since I really don’t share Huffy, I’ll stick to appreciating what you shared.
yeah, and if they could just separate it from our brains and our strong arms and our voices, then they could just keep it on a handy shelf! they’d be soooo happy!
Shit. Most of ’em can barely handle it when it’s attached let alone it if was by itself. They’d let it spoil if their coolers were kept full of beer. 😦
The video very poignantly fits right in with the Selma to Montgomery march that Rev spearheaded this week to protest the right’s voter suppression campaign.
I can’t watch the video again or I’ll start crying again here at work. Trust me, that ain’t a pretty sight.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) on Thursday attempted to send the highway bill back to committee, arguing it does not pay for itself and does not conform to the summer’s Budget Control Act.
Here we go again!
No new spending unless massive cuts! Gross!
See my comment down thread. I didn’t know this when I called his office (and Alexander’s) about 30 minutes ago. I was furious…..stop the silly games and pass the Transportation bill.
Photo of the day: Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs makes campaign stop in Madison for #Obama2012http://t.co/gYgz8SoJ— The Badger Herald (@BadgerHerald) March 08, 2012
An Unholy Mess
by BooMan
Thu Mar 8th, 2012 at 08:56:15 AM EST
Let’s start the day off with this:
Romney has won 56% of the delegates awarded so far, and needs to garner 47% of the remaining delegates to reach the magic number, according to a USA TODAY analysis of delegate counts provided by the Associated Press.
His challengers have a higher bar: Rick Santorum would need 63% of the remaining delegates. Newt Gingrich needs 67%. And Ron Paul needs 71%.
What does that tell you? It should tell you that Mitt Romney is the only candidate with a realistic chance of winning the majority of the delegates. It should also tell you that he is far from assured of being able to do so. The other candidates know these two facts. They know that they are no longer fighting to win the majority of the delegates but, rather, to create a brokered convention in Tampa.
It’s too early to tell if they will succeed, but I want to remind you that I was one of the first people (3/14/11) to point out that a brokered convention was a strong possibility and to tell you exactly how it might come about.
Signs mounted Thursday that House Republican leaders, under pressure from their conservative members, will submit a budget that calls for cutting federal programs beneath the levels they agreed to in the bipartisan August debt limit. Democrats warned that violating the agreement could spark a government shutdown fight later this year.
HEADLINE: Gilt Groupe and others join the White House to offer opportunities to low-income job seekers.
// When a proposed bill that would have allocated $1.5 billion to summer and year-round jobs for low-income and underprivileged youths failed in Congress earlier this year, President Obama urged the private sector to create around 250,000 positions for students and youths by this summer. Thirty-five companies pledged commitment to the initiative on Jan. 5, when President Obama announced the White House’s Summer Jobs+ program, and more companies are following suit — including many in the technology industry.
Tech companies GroupMe, Gilt Groupe, Onswipe and others have joined forces with rock musician Jon Bon Jovi and the White House to create SummerQAmp, an initiative to provide an outlet into the booming world of tech jobs for 16- to 24-year-olds, a group whose employment level has dropped by almost 15 percent in the last decade, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. //
The Bucket List: Why Older Whites Are Dominating the GOP Primaries
By Ronald Brownstein
March 7, 2012 | 11:37 AM
White and gray.
That’s the clear pattern for turnout in the Republican presidential race over its first two months.
After Super Tuesday, exit polls have now been conducted in 14 states from all regions of the country. In all 14 of those states, white voters, and voters over 50, both comprised a significantly larger share of the electorate in this year’s GOP primary than they did in the 2008 general election. In many cases, the gap on each front has been enormous.
These patterns underscore the extent to which the modern GOP coalition revolves around white voters-and increasingly, as the graying baby boom moves right, older white voters.
That coalition powered the Republican Party’s historic gains in 2010. That was an election in which seniors comprised an unusually large share of the overall electorate; the minority share of the vote declined more than usual between a presidential race and the succeeding midterm; and the GOP won the highest share of white voters it has ever captured in a Congressional election, according to polling dating back to 1948. In 2010, Republicans ran especially well with older whites, capturing fully 63 percent of them, exit polls found.
This November, though, the electorate almost certainly will be considerably younger and more tilted toward minorities than it was in 2010. Against that backdrop, the dominance of the GOP primary race by older whites could signal challenges for the party in reaching that broader universe of voters. It also increases the likelihood that the 2012 election will generate a titanic collision between a Democratic coalition that revolves around minorities, younger voters and college-educated whites generally more comfortable with the demographic changes diversifying America; and an older, preponderantly white and heavily working-class Republican coalition heavily reliant on the voters most uneasy with those changes.
So far, according to exit polls posted on CNN.com, whites have cast at least 90 percent of the votes in every Republican primary except Florida (83 percent) and Arizona (89 percent). In every other state except Michigan (92 percent) and Nevada (90 percent) whites have comprised at least 94 percent of the GOP vote this year. That includes Georgia (94), Virginia (94), Ohio (96), Oklahoma (96), Tennessee (97), South Carolina (98), Massachusetts (98), Iowa (99), New Hampshire (99), and Vermont (99).
Rikyrah, as a white (slightly pre) baby boomer, I think Brownstein is making a lot of assumptions about the older “white” vote. In my opinion 2010 was an aberration that was partly the result of a tired Democratic Party and partly the bigoted zeal and outrage directed at a non-white president. Going into November, we now have a GOP determined to alienate women of all ages and parties and in an outright war with America’s workers, and people of color. This is so far above and beyond even GW Bush’s excesses that I think we’ll see a new dynamic at work this year.
Somewhat disagree. The assumption being made is not that older white voters (of which I am one) are more likely to vote Republican, but that Republicans are more likely to be older white voters.
I do agree with you that the percentage of older white voters that will actually vote Republican is shrinking, but as a percentage of Republican votes, it might be increasing, particularly as they continue to alienate all non-whites along with women, LGTBs, etc.
Future president Barack Hussein “Barry” Obama allowed himself to be photographed several times to be featured in multiple volumes of mysterious “year” books. What kind of radical messages do these books contain? #VetThePrez
Hey TOD. My local news radio program indicates though a slight up tick in u.e. numbers, still good, and jobs on the rise. Says things are definitely getting better. This all before tomorrow’s job numbers official announcement, saying the markets reflect this expectation. I’m sure you all have discussed this; thought I’d let you know what folks in the Philly area are hearing.
We have so many jobs in my city. There are atleast 2 Job Fairs planned in the next few months, we also have several businesses relocating here. I think the unemployment rate might be lower than 8.3.
I just wanna know when did gallop (no typo this time, Chips) because the authority on polling, unemployment anything significant that has to do with our lives?
Yet another setback for Speaker Boehner
By Steve Benen – Thu Mar 8, 2012 2:10 PM EST.
Following up on a report from last month, the House Republicans’ transportation bill, generally considered one of Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) top priorities, has turned into something of a fiasco.
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman, called it “the worst transportation bill I’ve ever seen during 35 years of public service.” A New York Times editorial called the bill “uniquely terrible.” The legislation was reviled by nearly everyone, including House Republicans themselves, though various contingents hated it for different reasons.
Today, Boehner’s bill died an unceremonious death.
Thanks for the laugh Chips, re Gallup poll. I needed that. Now if they could only
combine that revised poll with the 1991 video of PBO being a ‘thug’ then we would
be all set. 🙂
Republicans for signing ceremonies
By Steve Benen – Thu Mar 8, 2012 1:35 PM EST.
More good bills would mean more signing ceremonies.
President Obama’s first two years in office were marked not only be a series of high-profile legislative successes, but also the custom that comes with them: signing ceremonies. The White House was only too pleased to invite the media and large crowds to see the president sign all kinds of bills into law: health care reform, Wall Street reform, DADT repeal, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, etc.
Since the start of the 112th Congress, these signing ceremonies have dwindled dramatically. Roll Call reported this week that Republicans apparently aren’t happy about it.
Senate Republicans are bristling that the president has cut down on one of his ceremonial duties: signing bills in public.
Most Republicans suspect the dearth of signing ceremonies is an election-year strategy in the mold of President Harry Truman’s method of running against a “do-nothing” Congress. To trumpet legislative successes would run counter to the narrative of a hamstrung president, Senate Republicans say.
They just can’t handle it when the President makes them look bad using media tricks. They have no problem with it when it benefits them, however. Good on you, Mr. President.
That “The Road We’ve Traveled” trailer is a great stress-reducer. Feeling anxious? Watch the trailer. Bored? Watch the trailer. Miffed? Watch the trailer. Frustrated? Watch the trailer. Instant calm.
So much for ‘repeal and replace’
By Steve Benen – Thu Mar 8, 2012 10:45 AM EST.
Two years later, this has been neither repealed nor replaced.
Shortly after the Affordable Care Act became law two years ago, congressional Republicans adopted a simple, three-word, poll-tested phrase: “repeal and replace.” The GOP would repeal the moderate reform law, which is based on a model Republicans used to support, and replace it with something new.
Whatever happened to that? It’s a funny story, actually.
The “replace” part of the slogan is clearly in trouble. Fourteen months after Republicans took over the House, GOP legislation to reform the nation’s health care system is nowhere to be found. There have been no plans circulated, no hearings scheduled, nothing. It’s almost as if Republicans weren’t sincere about following through on their promises to reform the old, dysfunctional health care system.
What about the “repeal” part of the phrase? That’s not going well, either. Just last week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told his caucus “that he does not want to vote again on repealing President Obama’s healthcare reform law until after the November elections.”
That’s because they don’t want a debate on the cost and consequences of repealing the ACA. Too bad. The President will bring it up, and ask their hero, Romney, how he’s planning to pay for repeal and what he’ll offer the millions of people who have already benefited and are slated to benefit from the ACA. The GOP are the ones who opened the door to this mess of “repeal and replace”, and now they’re going to have to deal with the consequences. I can’t wait!
Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if it does go up a little tomorrow, although not to 9%. Remember, the unemployment rate is based on people who are willing to weork and looking for work. With the improvement of the economy, the number of people who are trying to reenter the workforce has probably increased significantly. And if more people have entered the workforce than the number of nw jobs, the rate could inch up.
However, though the GOP would never say this, that would, at this point, actually be a positive sign, as people who had given up on even looking for jobs are now more optimiti about the future and looking for work.
The attitude of people toward th economy actually does make a difference, and if even long term unemployed are feeling better about it, those that have stayed employed are feeling better as well and spending more money which eventually translates to more jobs.
But unfortunately that will not be the way our lazy, sloppy media will present that if it does indeed increase. It will be reported as doom and gloom for the Obama Administration because our media loves controversy. Bri Wi will then bring Chuck Todd on his evening news show to tell his 4 or 5 million viewers in 30 seconds (without any detail) about how this is a tremendous set back for the President.
I pray there were enough jobs added to at a minimum keep the employment rate the same. Things have been going well for us over the last couple of months. The Repubs are chomping at the bit to jump on anything they perceive as a negative because they know our media will be complicit in their bashfest.
Oh, I agree with you that there would not be a realistic interpretation given to the numbers. I thibnk there are two ways of looking at empoloyment figures. The first is the standard percent of people who want to and arelooking for work, which is, rather simplistically, what the UE is all about. The other is the actual percentage of adults who are working. The latter can go up, which is very important, but if the base number of those willing and trying to work increases substantially, the UE can increase anyway. As Jovie points out below, in a normal ecionomy which features what is normally considered full employment (usually wuith a UE rate of 4-4.5%) we need 150,000 new jobs to stay even. But if a lot of formerly discouraged workers comes flooding back looking for work, that number can increase.
I hate polls. The only ones that really count are the votes made at the real polls. GOTV!!! for OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 & DEMS!!! That’s what really COUNTS!!!
I hear that the GOP are prepping their first legitimate, but tiny, jobs bill since the economic crisis began in 2007 – which was caused by their policies. They haven’t lifted a finger to help heal this economy, and in fact, they’ve actively worked against recovery and rooted for the President & country’s failure. It’s stunning that people voted for them in 2010, will vote for them in 2012, and are actively working to make one of them the POTUS. I hope someone asks them how many jobs their jobs bill is estimated to create and then compares that to the 1.9 million jobs that the American Jobs Act is estimated to create.
In one of my daily emails from the OFA press secretary for my state, it sounds like they are organizing watch parties for the premiers of PBO’s documentary next Thursday. You may want to check to see if there are any in your local area.
Y’all want to hear something hilarious? I’m here at work, happened to tune in to a “religious” station on radio. The current program is Catholic. After giving thoughts of the goodness of God, and then a lovely-sounding hymn, the announcer is currently praying. This after stating that folks need to ” pray that Newt give up because Rick is the only one who will beat Romney, to replace the “dictator” in the White House. We need a pro-life prez to turn this ship around. Maybe the bishops can do a pow-wow with Rick, and God forbid, if PBO gets back into the White House, the destiny of this country will be shattered.” Then he proceeds to pray the rosary. He is still at this moment talking what I call S-H-I-T. Not the faith, but his bullshit. Then, he says, pray for our priests. These loons are certifiably hateful, so much so that they forget that the country is changing, against their wills, against what they so long have delusioned themselves with. We are not turning back, no matter how they try to stop the surge. I cannot wait to see them fall off of that proverbial cliff, should the “dictator” get re-elected. 😀 😀 Oh now we get “Obama’s Death Panels. That’s why we need to pray for Rick Santorum. It’s hurtful to see the strain in the race (rethug). We see God raising up a man like Rick Santorum. That’s why we know he must prevail”. Okay, I’m done with this fool. Back to Randi Rhodes, but it was fun. The jackass!!
I thought the catholic church was FOR the healthcare reform? I wish someone would have mentioned that the Public Catholic schools, universities, hospitals, etc., ALREADY was providing BC to their employees in 23 states. If they were so concerned about it, what took them so long to complain? How come they do nothing regarding BC, abortion, etc., until Democrats are in office? They had eight years to overturn abortion when the GOP was in control during Bush/Cheney, GOP house & senate.
edp, every now and then I’ll tune into one of our local religious stations and I am entertained by the fact that it’s basically politics all day and night. They’ve given up on Bible teaching, prayers, songs, testimonies, etc. It’s all about culture wars. It’s easy to see how the major religions have been shaped by power-grabbing, politics, and violence when I listen to all these religious talking heads. They’ve given up on the Jesus of the Bible. Their Jesus is a gun-toting, pickup driving, tobacco-chewing, war-mongering, sex-obsessed, republican ‘Murikan, dontcha know. Totally bogus. And entertaining 😆 .
time for the church to start paying taxes. they don’t get to affect elections tax-free. They have made a sham of their tax-exempt status. They feed at the public trough and try to remake this country into a theocracy.
Yes, and virtually all are guilty- even the ones who support PBO. Some would definitely equivocate in that matter. However, I will stand with the ones who do support PBO because the Black church in America has always been the figurative sanctuary for African Americans, and has mainly come from a place of supporting its causes, but praying for the opposition, without malice.
blackwaterdog, that “trailer” is mesmerizing. I’m beyond psyched which is what it will take to win against Citizens United and their Mad Max,, Cage match nihilism.
When it comes to Gallup, it really does appear that it’s been subsumed by the right, a la Susan G. Komen foundation. We just need 1 investigative reporter to “follow the money”. Heh.
Amazing at the depths the conservatives will sink to attack Pres. Obama. It isn’t a surprise that, after all his cage-rattling, in the end, Andrew Breitbart had nothing on the President and his college years. So, for all the talks about unleashing a story that would devastate his reelection chances, we’re left with a video that shows Obama fighting for racial diversity. How ghastly!
Yet people will continue to buy their line. They’ll believe the most vile, hate-filled attacks on our President without even rationally thinking them out. It’s a sad narrative on those who oppose Pres. Obama and an even worse rebuke of our media for giving them the time of the day to spew their lies.
It is important to remember that they (the RWNJ segment of society) will constantly look for something to base there hate on tht is directly smacking of out and out racism. This comes close, but they can still deny it being based on race, but rather base on radical (their term) activity. Of course, there ar those that have no problem being openly racist, but the majority either truly believ they are not racist (“Some of my best friends are…”) or know they can’t openly express their racism, so they will look for any tiny little thing to abse their hatred on.
And as we all know, rationality and racism cannot co-exist.
The people who will buy this line will buy anything negative about PBO, The never did support him and never will. People with two brain cells will see through this and recognize the absurdity.
I would like for you to take a look at two piece on Balloon Juice that point out the GOP’s WAR ON WOMEN.
Article one:
The So-Called Pro-Life Party
by John Cole
They stop caring about you the moment you are born:
Leticia Parra, a mother of five scraping by on income from her husband’s sporadic construction jobs, relied on the Planned Parenthood clinic in San Carlos, an impoverished town in South Texas, for breast cancer screenings, free birth control pills and pap smears for cervical cancer.
But the clinic closed in October, along with more than a dozen others in the state, after financing for women’s health was slashed by two-thirds by the Republican-controlled Legislature.
The cuts, which left many low-income women with inconvenient or costly options, grew out of the effort to eliminate state support for Planned Parenthood. Although the cuts also forced clinics that were not affiliated with the agency to close — and none of them, even the ones run by Planned Parenthood, performed abortions — supporters of the cutbacks said they were motivated by the fight against abortion.
Now, the same sentiment is likely to lead to a shutdown next week of another significant source of reproductive health care: the Medicaid Women’s Health Program, which serves 130,000 women with grants to many clinics, including those run by Planned Parenthood. Gov. Rick Perry and Republican lawmakers have said they would forgo the $35 million in federal money that finances the women’s health program in order to keep Planned Parenthood from getting any of it.
Arizona Senate Passes Bill Permitting Doctors to Withhold Prenatal Information From Women
by ABL 2.0
The Arizona Senate passed a bill this week that allows doctors to withhold from pregnant women information regarding prenatal problems because disclosing that information might lead to an abortion.
Seriously.
From Addicting Info:
It’s called a “wrongful birth” bill and it’s all about preventing women from having an abortion, even if it kills them. The Arizona Senate passed a bill this week that gives doctors a free pass to not inform pregnant women of prenatal problems because such information could lead to an abortion.
In other words, doctors can intentionally keep critical health information from pregnant women and can’t be sued for it. According to the Arizona Capitol Times, “the bill’s sponsor is Republican Nancy Barto of Phoenix. She says allowing the medical malpractice lawsuits endorses the idea that if a child is born with a disability, someone is to blame.” So Republicans are banning lawsuits against doctors who keep information from pregnant women so as to prevent them from choosing to have an abortion.
Where is the AMA? This is ridiculous and crazy, one State claims that the vaginal ultrasound is important so that women can have more information before they have an abortion, now Arizona says women should not have all the information about their pregnancy before deciding on an abortion. They are turning women into second class citizens with no say about their health and their bodies. So disgusting and hatefu. America wake up and vote these wackos out.
This Arizona law will cause abortions to go up, if a doctor cannot tell a pregnant woman that her fetus is ok and that the fetus is viable and be truthfull about it or if he is hesitant, this will make some women decide on an abortion more readily, the fathers would also be more adamant about aborting the fetus.
Isonprize, if a child who needs in utero care dies because of this, it is the equivalent of murder. That’s why I think this bill won’t stand a court test. Once again, a bill this outrageous needs to be fought every day. Women of Arizona–don’t accept this. Fight back in every way possible–fair or foul. There are many ways to destroy a doctor’s reputation without “suing.”
This will not pass the smell test if taken to a higher court, which it should be if it ever passes. Also this should be a big signal to pregnant women to drop any doctor that will not tell them the truth. Say you want your medical records and find another OB/GYN. You do not have to put up with this nonsense. Meanwhile, as the court cases are being heard, every woman who runs into a lying doctor, needs to nail the horse’s ass in any way possible by publicizing their deceit and warning other women not to go to them. Women are being pushed around too much and they need to fight back with all the revenge skills at their disposal. The biggest revenge skill–vote these Neanderthal bums our of office. The GOP is showing their ugly side big time and we have to make sure it comes back to bite them in a very tender place.
I vetted the Docs who delivered my 4 babies down to the gnat’s a** (I didn’t ask for their birth certificates but)…if any had lied even once to me even if I was then in labor, I would have kicked them to the curb so fast they would still be picking up teeth!
Keystone XL Pipeline fails in the Senate. The thing that amazes me is that Dems actually had our President’s back on this one. The other issue was the vote before the XL approval. Senator Wyden was afraid the pipeline bill would have passed. He proposed an Amendment that all oil from the pipeline would go to the USA only. The amendment was also to mandate that all materials that were used be made in the USA. That portion failed. My Senator Rubio voted for XL without making sure all the oil would stay here.
I made calls all day!!! WE have some great dems in the Senate this time.
The new Civil Rights data released this week by the U. S. Department of Education are still preliminary, but the overarching story they tell is one of deep and pervasive inequities in America’s schools. Time and again, and on a variety of fronts, students of color are getting less than a fair chance to succeed in school. These patterns and trends not only undercut the most deeply held of our values, but they also portend a dimmer future for this nation than any of us would hope…..
The combination of weaker academics and harsher discipline, which means less time in the classroom, is academically fatal to too many young African-American and Latino students, especially boys.
The good news is that none of these patterns is immutable…….
Day 4, Selma to Montgomery: ‘The Fight Is Far from Over’
Mrs. Gardner still has a firm grip when she shakes your hand. She stood at the edge of the property she and her husband, Robert, had opened up to participants in the Selma to Montgomery, Ala., marches back in 1965, as a new generation recognized her contributions while drawing attention to new injustices.
The ongoing five-day re-enactment of the Selma to Montgomery marches also turned out to be a nice birthday gift for her. “I was looking forward to it,” she said.
Each day of the march, which began Monday, focuses on a specific issue, and Wednesday’s focus was workers’ rights…..
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, who joined marchers Wednesday, pointed out that the right to vote:
is the right that gives meaning to all other rights. Without the right to vote, we can’t hold politicians accountable…and we can’t elect leaders who care about working people and the other 99 percent.
Solis told those gathered at the Jackson-Steele Community Center in White Hall, Ala., it is “a time of challenge and uncertainty here in the state of Alabama.”
The challeges include both the state’s attempt to restrict voting rights and its recently passed anti-immigrant law that brutally targets immigrant workers.
Obama White House.gov
The Obama Diary 
Good afternoon Chips
Symmetry, you’ve regained your title!
Lawd…I am having a hot flash. Thanks, Chips!
Oh crikey. Symmetry, just close your eyes and transport yourself to here:
Works for me every time.
Wow!
Hahahahah… good one.
Good west coast morning Chipsticks!
Good west coast morning TOD family
Hey! Congrats symmetry11
This thread is in honor of Jovie 🙂
😆 Hiya GGail 😉
Hiya my lovely dictator 😀
dam wasn’t fast enuf
That corrected Gallup poll is fabo, Chips!! 🙂
We laugh but unfortunately our Chips isn’t too far off from the reality at Gallup. Their polling sucks! 🙄
They’re a joke, Donna. Honestly, whenever they have a big bump for PBO like this they, eh, ‘correct’ it in the next few days. I just laugh now.
I do the exact same thing Chips. He was at 48 last Friday and then by Monday or Tuesday this week they had him down to 43. Not a doggone thing had happened in this country to drive his numbers down. In fact the only controversy was Rush and everyone agreed that PBO was an absolute class act in how he handled it. I give them until Saturday and they will have him back down in the lowwww 40’s again. They must think we are stooopid!! 🙄
“F” Gallup
To me, polls are like the weather in the Pacific NW, they can chagne hour to hour. At this time of year, we can have all 4 seasons in a day! Dress for it.
‘dress for it’
love it! we’re weathering this campaign, with a golden day today and a shit storm tomorrow, and on and on. the best strategy is, dress for it, in our pbo shirts and pbo hats and pbo doggy bandanas and jewelry and damn where do we get those sneakers.
SNEAKERS? Have I missed SNEAKERS!
Here they are Pamela!
Sorry to everyone who was asking about them, I only saw your questions on the old thread now.
I found the photo here: http://unsaneproject.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/design-more-sneakers-by-brass-monki/
The link to the designer’s store and blog no longer exists at the link above, but here s/he is now:
http://brassmonki.wazala.com/ (Type in Obama in the search box)
They’re not cheap 😦
Donna, I remember us confessing to each other before that we were obsessive Gallup watchers, our hearts used to sink at 1:0 ET every day when they had PBO’s figures down. And then, finally, I realized that even frigging Rasmussen had him higher!!! So, honestly, I just chuckle now. And exactly as you say, they always have PBO plummeting when (a) nothing negative is happening and (b) other polls are showing him rising ….. it’s like they, eh, feel they have to change the positive narrative. It says it all that they’re now the favorite polling company of RW commentators, eg the vile Toby Harnden of the UK Daily Mail. I asked him on Twitter recently why he only quoted Gallup in a bile-filled pile of steaming shit he wrote for the Mail:
https://twitter.com/#!/___Chips___/status/175320347250401280
https://twitter.com/#!/___Chips___/status/175350066914148352
See? These creatures adore Gallup. Say no more!
LAAAAZZZYYYYY freaks.
Geesh!! 🙄
Donna, I’ll bet they keep a bunch of statistics on hand from one of the president’s worst months and then, when the actually polling comes in too high, they “insert” the older data to they can bring down the total. Pollster’s can also pull subtle tricks like calling on weekends when older more Republican voters are home, or bunching calls at certain times of days to get a higher portion of elderly. They don’t give ages or times or day, so you don’t know who they’re calling. It’s sad to see Gallup go the way of Rasmussen, but I guess they had their price and the GOP was willing to pay it.
And much, much more accurate, Dudette!
Good afterlunch, Chips!
And a very good afterlunch to you Lisa!
Heading to lunch NOW!
RATS! I just switched browsers a few minutes ago and there was nothing ‘new’ here so I flipped back to continue reading ‘Rise & Shine’! Arrgh! I CAN”T TAKE IT ANYMORE! IT”S NOT FAIR!!!
Oh! Hi Symmetry. Congrats on getting in first!
Huh, excuses, excuses VC. Remind me, when did you last have a first? 1986? 🙄
😆
Avast there Admiral. Seems you’re a wee bit feisty today, eh? 🙂
That’s because you weren’t here to keep me serene, my (not always) trusty shipmate. Now that you’ve reported for duty I will behave. Promise. Ish.
Make it so. I’m on the bridge with me long glass, watching! 😀
😆 Feeling safe and sound now!!!! Thank you shpimate!
Arrrgh.
Thanks for you CALMing influence Yardarm. Hopefully Chips will now cease from running me aground.
Aye. We’ve shifted the rudder and heading for calmer waters. 🙂
I feel seasick all of a sudden.
First ones off the boat in this order….Chips, Yardarm, Chips, Yardarm, Chips….oh did I say Chips & Yardarm 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
GOP portrait! 😉
It appears this vessel fell victim to a storm that picked it up and beached it. It’s not that big was probably bobbing about like a cork in the bathtub.
whoa! overloaded with naughty mats, was it?
Exactly Susanne, we need a bigger ship!
Ouch! That hurts. True, but it hurts. Sniff! Sniff!
For your information, CC, my earlier comment wasn’t an excuse, it was my winning strategy! Mmmn, or was it my winning tactic? I always get those two confused. Mmmm. One of the two, anyway. I’ll call McCain later when he has finished absorbing the good news from his endorsee’s super Tuesday campaign and have him sort out tactic vs. strategy for me. VC
lol…thanks, VC! I hope that all is well with you.
I’m absolutely fine, S! No complaints. 😆 Well, except for Chips Chica playing with my mind by not first calling me personally to signal an upcoming new post. I thought she and I had an unwritten/undiscussed deal but it seems she has mislaid the terms.
Wishing you a lovely artistic day! 😆
lol…thanks!
Hey symmetry, I smiled when I saw that you were First.
Coming in as Second ain’t so bad when you’re the First 🙂
Thanks, GGail! 🙂
Symmetry, again???? First! 🙂 Saw the post about Bob Corker trying to send bill back to committee. I did not know that when I called his and Alexander’s office about 30 minutes ago. I was FURIOUS! My message was: “My taxes help pay your high salaries and you are supposed to represent ME, not the Republican Party. I am sick and tired of making these calls and saying the same thing–stop paying the silly games of gotcha politics and do the right thing for our country…….just stop it.” Yes, I raised my voice somewhat, but I was overall very emotional and firm.
Lala…I get tired of making the calls as well. The person who answers the phones is never interested in what you are saying. They usually don’t even pretend to care, but we must press on. Try switching it up a bit. Instead of calling next time, send them a fax (that’s what I do) or an email.
Our Fax machine doesn’t work so I’ll send an email. Problem with email is it’s days or weeks before it is read.
You are right about the emails not being read right away. I also send my fax to their offices in Nashville, Knoxville & DC.
WASHINGTON — Thursday, March 8 is International Women’s Day, and Republicans in Congress are celebrating by debating a new bill that would restrict abortion rights.
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on Thursday to discuss the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA), which is sponsored by two Florida Republicans, Marco Rubio in the Senate and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in the House. The bill would make it illegal for anyone but a parent to accompany a young woman across state lines to seek an abortion — even if her parents are absent or abusive.
Perhaps more significantly, the bill is the latest in a long series of attempts by Republican lawmakers to criminalize physicians who perform abortions, to chip away at women’s constitutionally protected right to decide when and if they will have a child and to otherwise politicize women’s health.
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), a member of both the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus and the subcommittee that heard the bill Thursday morning, said he would like to send a message to his male Republican colleagues that continue to legislate issues like abortion and birth control: Stay out of issues you don’t fully understand.
“As a father, I’ll be honest — my daughter’s not going to come to me with questions about why you would use the pill for medical reasons. She’d talk to my wife,” he told HuffPost. “My question is, how the hell will [men in Congress] know of all the intricacies of such a personal decision, an aspect of health care that’s so complicated? The absurdity of men in D.C. involving themselves with such a complicated, critical, emotional, basic right is what’s mind boggling to me.”
By all accounts, 2011 was a watershed year for challenges to women’s reproductive rights. State legislators introduced more than 1,100 anti-abortion provisions and had enacted 135 of them by year’s end. Seven states either fully defunded or made moves toward defunding Planned Parenthood, which provides basic health care, contraception, breast cancer and STD screenings to millions of low-income women each year.
Linda, can you share the source for this? I find it easier to share the link. Thanks
It is the main story on Huffington Post …..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
They have some amazing threads their today…….
Shucks! Now I understand why you didn’t include it before. Thanks a lot, but since I really don’t share Huffy, I’ll stick to appreciating what you shared.
It has gotten much better recently…Although the comments are much worse.
They sure do Linda. Excuse the following expression ladies of TOD, but it seems the rethugs are pre-occupied with your pussy’s.
yeah, and if they could just separate it from our brains and our strong arms and our voices, then they could just keep it on a handy shelf! they’d be soooo happy!
Shit. Most of ’em can barely handle it when it’s attached let alone it if was by itself. They’d let it spoil if their coolers were kept full of beer. 😦
Gulping Gallup- hehehehe. Hell even Chucky Todd said there polling was suspicious.
Hey, could somebody tweet this article (or just the video) to Rev Al Sharpton please? I’m not part of the Twitterati otherwise, I’d do it myself.
http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2012/03/thursday-open-thread-189/
The video very poignantly fits right in with the Selma to Montgomery march that Rev spearheaded this week to protest the right’s voter suppression campaign.
I can’t watch the video again or I’ll start crying again here at work. Trust me, that ain’t a pretty sight.
Great post 😉
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) on Thursday attempted to send the highway bill back to committee, arguing it does not pay for itself and does not conform to the summer’s Budget Control Act.
Here we go again!
No new spending unless massive cuts! Gross!
His point of order failed, they are now voting on amendments.
See my comment down thread. I didn’t know this when I called his office (and Alexander’s) about 30 minutes ago. I was furious…..stop the silly games and pass the Transportation bill.
Awwh it’s Gibby Gibs. Haven’t seen him in awhile.
It’s so good to see him out there. I will never forget him shutting Hannity down after one of the debates, it was classic.
https://explore.data.gov/catalog/ethics
New transparency website launched by WH!
This thread is Gallup! Right up my alley.
Question- which is worse- Gallup or Rasmussen?
Yes.
Lately, it’s been Gallup that is the worse of the two. But neither is great. They are both right-leaning outfits.
If Gallup is showing numbers then the odds are it’s a lot higher.
An Unholy Mess
by BooMan
Thu Mar 8th, 2012 at 08:56:15 AM EST
Let’s start the day off with this:
Romney has won 56% of the delegates awarded so far, and needs to garner 47% of the remaining delegates to reach the magic number, according to a USA TODAY analysis of delegate counts provided by the Associated Press.
His challengers have a higher bar: Rick Santorum would need 63% of the remaining delegates. Newt Gingrich needs 67%. And Ron Paul needs 71%.
What does that tell you? It should tell you that Mitt Romney is the only candidate with a realistic chance of winning the majority of the delegates. It should also tell you that he is far from assured of being able to do so. The other candidates know these two facts. They know that they are no longer fighting to win the majority of the delegates but, rather, to create a brokered convention in Tampa.
It’s too early to tell if they will succeed, but I want to remind you that I was one of the first people (3/14/11) to point out that a brokered convention was a strong possibility and to tell you exactly how it might come about.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/3/8/85615/64722
Government shutdown again-
Signs mounted Thursday that House Republican leaders, under pressure from their conservative members, will submit a budget that calls for cutting federal programs beneath the levels they agreed to in the bipartisan August debt limit. Democrats warned that violating the agreement could spark a government shutdown fight later this year.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/03/dems-irate-as-house-gop-prepares-to-violate-budget-deal.php?m=1
That is a huge mistake on the part of the GOP. Boner is the weakest speaker ever!
To them it’s all one big game that never ends…
HEADLINE: Gilt Groupe and others join the White House to offer opportunities to low-income job seekers.
// When a proposed bill that would have allocated $1.5 billion to summer and year-round jobs for low-income and underprivileged youths failed in Congress earlier this year, President Obama urged the private sector to create around 250,000 positions for students and youths by this summer. Thirty-five companies pledged commitment to the initiative on Jan. 5, when President Obama announced the White House’s Summer Jobs+ program, and more companies are following suit — including many in the technology industry.
Tech companies GroupMe, Gilt Groupe, Onswipe and others have joined forces with rock musician Jon Bon Jovi and the White House to create SummerQAmp, an initiative to provide an outlet into the booming world of tech jobs for 16- to 24-year-olds, a group whose employment level has dropped by almost 15 percent in the last decade, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. //
http://www.theroot.com/views/obama-calls-youth-jobs-tech-firms-listen
Chips,
I think this is a good article for you.
………………….
The Bucket List: Why Older Whites Are Dominating the GOP Primaries
By Ronald Brownstein
March 7, 2012 | 11:37 AM
White and gray.
That’s the clear pattern for turnout in the Republican presidential race over its first two months.
After Super Tuesday, exit polls have now been conducted in 14 states from all regions of the country. In all 14 of those states, white voters, and voters over 50, both comprised a significantly larger share of the electorate in this year’s GOP primary than they did in the 2008 general election. In many cases, the gap on each front has been enormous.
These patterns underscore the extent to which the modern GOP coalition revolves around white voters-and increasingly, as the graying baby boom moves right, older white voters.
That coalition powered the Republican Party’s historic gains in 2010. That was an election in which seniors comprised an unusually large share of the overall electorate; the minority share of the vote declined more than usual between a presidential race and the succeeding midterm; and the GOP won the highest share of white voters it has ever captured in a Congressional election, according to polling dating back to 1948. In 2010, Republicans ran especially well with older whites, capturing fully 63 percent of them, exit polls found.
This November, though, the electorate almost certainly will be considerably younger and more tilted toward minorities than it was in 2010. Against that backdrop, the dominance of the GOP primary race by older whites could signal challenges for the party in reaching that broader universe of voters. It also increases the likelihood that the 2012 election will generate a titanic collision between a Democratic coalition that revolves around minorities, younger voters and college-educated whites generally more comfortable with the demographic changes diversifying America; and an older, preponderantly white and heavily working-class Republican coalition heavily reliant on the voters most uneasy with those changes.
So far, according to exit polls posted on CNN.com, whites have cast at least 90 percent of the votes in every Republican primary except Florida (83 percent) and Arizona (89 percent). In every other state except Michigan (92 percent) and Nevada (90 percent) whites have comprised at least 94 percent of the GOP vote this year. That includes Georgia (94), Virginia (94), Ohio (96), Oklahoma (96), Tennessee (97), South Carolina (98), Massachusetts (98), Iowa (99), New Hampshire (99), and Vermont (99).
http://decoded.nationaljournal.com/2012/03/the-bucket-list-why-older-whit.php
Rikyrah, as a white (slightly pre) baby boomer, I think Brownstein is making a lot of assumptions about the older “white” vote. In my opinion 2010 was an aberration that was partly the result of a tired Democratic Party and partly the bigoted zeal and outrage directed at a non-white president. Going into November, we now have a GOP determined to alienate women of all ages and parties and in an outright war with America’s workers, and people of color. This is so far above and beyond even GW Bush’s excesses that I think we’ll see a new dynamic at work this year.
Somewhat disagree. The assumption being made is not that older white voters (of which I am one) are more likely to vote Republican, but that Republicans are more likely to be older white voters.
I do agree with you that the percentage of older white voters that will actually vote Republican is shrinking, but as a percentage of Republican votes, it might be increasing, particularly as they continue to alienate all non-whites along with women, LGTBs, etc.
Wow!!! An honest Republican. WHO IS THIS WOMAN? What is her name. It just says “New York Republican”
Seriously, she had better watch her back. Rush may come after her….
New York Assemblyman Teresa Sayward (R), who is retiring after serving a decade in Albany,
New York Assemblyman Teresa Sayward ~ She is getting ready to retire. Makes me wonder if that is her reason for speaking up??
We’ll take her, come on over and become a Democrat, come over to the Inclusive Tent party and leave the Big Tent Circus party.
Oooops! There it is.
Future president Barack Hussein “Barry” Obama allowed himself to be photographed several times to be featured in multiple volumes of mysterious “year” books. What kind of radical messages do these books contain? #VetThePrez
Heh. Used my Disqus handle in above comment.
Thank you QO :lol:,
I especially like this one I found from your previous link.
PBO is so relaxed and funny
”My fellow Obamas”
oops
Lawddddddd….
she is selling her yearbooks….mercy
Hey TOD. My local news radio program indicates though a slight up tick in u.e. numbers, still good, and jobs on the rise. Says things are definitely getting better. This all before tomorrow’s job numbers official announcement, saying the markets reflect this expectation. I’m sure you all have discussed this; thought I’d let you know what folks in the Philly area are hearing.
We have so many jobs in my city. There are atleast 2 Job Fairs planned in the next few months, we also have several businesses relocating here. I think the unemployment rate might be lower than 8.3.
Where are you, Lorraine, if you don’t mind giving it?
The jobs are in Memphis, I saw the information on the news and in the paper.
I just wanna know when did gallop (no typo this time, Chips) because the authority on polling, unemployment anything significant that has to do with our lives?
I don’t know how many ways this can be said…
Orange Julius SUCKS at his job.
……………………………………..
Yet another setback for Speaker Boehner
By Steve Benen – Thu Mar 8, 2012 2:10 PM EST.
Following up on a report from last month, the House Republicans’ transportation bill, generally considered one of Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) top priorities, has turned into something of a fiasco.
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman, called it “the worst transportation bill I’ve ever seen during 35 years of public service.” A New York Times editorial called the bill “uniquely terrible.” The legislation was reviled by nearly everyone, including House Republicans themselves, though various contingents hated it for different reasons.
Today, Boehner’s bill died an unceremonious death.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/08/10612483-yet-another-setback-for-speaker-boehner
Has he cried yet ?
Geez, I don’t think history will be kind to Boehner when rating his job performance.
Thanks for the laugh Chips, re Gallup poll. I needed that. Now if they could only
combine that revised poll with the 1991 video of PBO being a ‘thug’ then we would
be all set. 🙂
Republicans for signing ceremonies
By Steve Benen – Thu Mar 8, 2012 1:35 PM EST.
More good bills would mean more signing ceremonies.
President Obama’s first two years in office were marked not only be a series of high-profile legislative successes, but also the custom that comes with them: signing ceremonies. The White House was only too pleased to invite the media and large crowds to see the president sign all kinds of bills into law: health care reform, Wall Street reform, DADT repeal, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, etc.
Since the start of the 112th Congress, these signing ceremonies have dwindled dramatically. Roll Call reported this week that Republicans apparently aren’t happy about it.
Senate Republicans are bristling that the president has cut down on one of his ceremonial duties: signing bills in public.
Most Republicans suspect the dearth of signing ceremonies is an election-year strategy in the mold of President Harry Truman’s method of running against a “do-nothing” Congress. To trumpet legislative successes would run counter to the narrative of a hamstrung president, Senate Republicans say.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/08/10611863-republicans-for-signing-ceremonies
Well, boo-hoo, cry me a river. They want a signing ceremony? Give him something to sign. Gees, it’s not rocket science.
THISSSSSSSSSSS
They just can’t handle it when the President makes them look bad using media tricks. They have no problem with it when it benefits them, however. Good on you, Mr. President.
Well, I like this poll right here:
Oh my…. 🙂
Yep, let those RWNJ’s keep right on talking. The more they speak the higher PBO goes.
The magic number — 270!
http://www.270towin.com/
That “The Road We’ve Traveled” trailer is a great stress-reducer. Feeling anxious? Watch the trailer. Bored? Watch the trailer. Miffed? Watch the trailer. Frustrated? Watch the trailer. Instant calm.
🙂
So much for ‘repeal and replace’
By Steve Benen – Thu Mar 8, 2012 10:45 AM EST.
Two years later, this has been neither repealed nor replaced.
Shortly after the Affordable Care Act became law two years ago, congressional Republicans adopted a simple, three-word, poll-tested phrase: “repeal and replace.” The GOP would repeal the moderate reform law, which is based on a model Republicans used to support, and replace it with something new.
Whatever happened to that? It’s a funny story, actually.
The “replace” part of the slogan is clearly in trouble. Fourteen months after Republicans took over the House, GOP legislation to reform the nation’s health care system is nowhere to be found. There have been no plans circulated, no hearings scheduled, nothing. It’s almost as if Republicans weren’t sincere about following through on their promises to reform the old, dysfunctional health care system.
What about the “repeal” part of the phrase? That’s not going well, either. Just last week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told his caucus “that he does not want to vote again on repealing President Obama’s healthcare reform law until after the November elections.”
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/08/10610790-so-much-for-repeal-and-replace
That’s because they don’t want a debate on the cost and consequences of repealing the ACA. Too bad. The President will bring it up, and ask their hero, Romney, how he’s planning to pay for repeal and what he’ll offer the millions of people who have already benefited and are slated to benefit from the ACA. The GOP are the ones who opened the door to this mess of “repeal and replace”, and now they’re going to have to deal with the consequences. I can’t wait!
Very nice, defytheodds.
That was beautiful. Thank for sharing that defytheodds. Paca and I would be fast friends, so would Debbie and I. 🙂
Didn’t Gallup predict that unemployment would tick up to 9 % tomorrow ?
hahahaaa
I thought it was going up to 9-9-9.
Why Bill, you aren’t missing good ol’ Herman Cain, are ya? 🙂
Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if it does go up a little tomorrow, although not to 9%. Remember, the unemployment rate is based on people who are willing to weork and looking for work. With the improvement of the economy, the number of people who are trying to reenter the workforce has probably increased significantly. And if more people have entered the workforce than the number of nw jobs, the rate could inch up.
However, though the GOP would never say this, that would, at this point, actually be a positive sign, as people who had given up on even looking for jobs are now more optimiti about the future and looking for work.
The attitude of people toward th economy actually does make a difference, and if even long term unemployed are feeling better about it, those that have stayed employed are feeling better as well and spending more money which eventually translates to more jobs.
But unfortunately that will not be the way our lazy, sloppy media will present that if it does indeed increase. It will be reported as doom and gloom for the Obama Administration because our media loves controversy. Bri Wi will then bring Chuck Todd on his evening news show to tell his 4 or 5 million viewers in 30 seconds (without any detail) about how this is a tremendous set back for the President.
I pray there were enough jobs added to at a minimum keep the employment rate the same. Things have been going well for us over the last couple of months. The Repubs are chomping at the bit to jump on anything they perceive as a negative because they know our media will be complicit in their bashfest.
Oh, I agree with you that there would not be a realistic interpretation given to the numbers. I thibnk there are two ways of looking at empoloyment figures. The first is the standard percent of people who want to and arelooking for work, which is, rather simplistically, what the UE is all about. The other is the actual percentage of adults who are working. The latter can go up, which is very important, but if the base number of those willing and trying to work increases substantially, the UE can increase anyway. As Jovie points out below, in a normal ecionomy which features what is normally considered full employment (usually wuith a UE rate of 4-4.5%) we need 150,000 new jobs to stay even. But if a lot of formerly discouraged workers comes flooding back looking for work, that number can increase.
Just my 2 pesos…..
I hate polls. The only ones that really count are the votes made at the real polls. GOTV!!! for OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 & DEMS!!! That’s what really COUNTS!!!
agreed aquagranny911
THIS .THIS. THIS !!!!!!
I hear that the GOP are prepping their first legitimate, but tiny, jobs bill since the economic crisis began in 2007 – which was caused by their policies. They haven’t lifted a finger to help heal this economy, and in fact, they’ve actively worked against recovery and rooted for the President & country’s failure. It’s stunning that people voted for them in 2010, will vote for them in 2012, and are actively working to make one of them the POTUS. I hope someone asks them how many jobs their jobs bill is estimated to create and then compares that to the 1.9 million jobs that the American Jobs Act is estimated to create.
In one of my daily emails from the OFA press secretary for my state, it sounds like they are organizing watch parties for the premiers of PBO’s documentary next Thursday. You may want to check to see if there are any in your local area.
Y’all want to hear something hilarious? I’m here at work, happened to tune in to a “religious” station on radio. The current program is Catholic. After giving thoughts of the goodness of God, and then a lovely-sounding hymn, the announcer is currently praying. This after stating that folks need to ” pray that Newt give up because Rick is the only one who will beat Romney, to replace the “dictator” in the White House. We need a pro-life prez to turn this ship around. Maybe the bishops can do a pow-wow with Rick, and God forbid, if PBO gets back into the White House, the destiny of this country will be shattered.” Then he proceeds to pray the rosary. He is still at this moment talking what I call S-H-I-T. Not the faith, but his bullshit. Then, he says, pray for our priests. These loons are certifiably hateful, so much so that they forget that the country is changing, against their wills, against what they so long have delusioned themselves with. We are not turning back, no matter how they try to stop the surge. I cannot wait to see them fall off of that proverbial cliff, should the “dictator” get re-elected. 😀 😀 Oh now we get “Obama’s Death Panels. That’s why we need to pray for Rick Santorum. It’s hurtful to see the strain in the race (rethug). We see God raising up a man like Rick Santorum. That’s why we know he must prevail”. Okay, I’m done with this fool. Back to Randi Rhodes, but it was fun. The jackass!!
I thought the catholic church was FOR the healthcare reform? I wish someone would have mentioned that the Public Catholic schools, universities, hospitals, etc., ALREADY was providing BC to their employees in 23 states. If they were so concerned about it, what took them so long to complain? How come they do nothing regarding BC, abortion, etc., until Democrats are in office? They had eight years to overturn abortion when the GOP was in control during Bush/Cheney, GOP house & senate.
Exactly !
Heh.
edp, every now and then I’ll tune into one of our local religious stations and I am entertained by the fact that it’s basically politics all day and night. They’ve given up on Bible teaching, prayers, songs, testimonies, etc. It’s all about culture wars. It’s easy to see how the major religions have been shaped by power-grabbing, politics, and violence when I listen to all these religious talking heads. They’ve given up on the Jesus of the Bible. Their Jesus is a gun-toting, pickup driving, tobacco-chewing, war-mongering, sex-obsessed, republican ‘Murikan, dontcha know. Totally bogus. And entertaining 😆 .
THIS!
Fools, the whole lot of them. I am so tempted to call in but place and time never allow.
time for the church to start paying taxes. they don’t get to affect elections tax-free. They have made a sham of their tax-exempt status. They feed at the public trough and try to remake this country into a theocracy.
And THIS!!!
Yes, and virtually all are guilty- even the ones who support PBO. Some would definitely equivocate in that matter. However, I will stand with the ones who do support PBO because the Black church in America has always been the figurative sanctuary for African Americans, and has mainly come from a place of supporting its causes, but praying for the opposition, without malice.
Yea, still watching that trailer. Just thought you’s like to know.
😉
Yep. Me, too, also.
You are not alone, I think I’m on my 15th viewing.
blackwaterdog, that “trailer” is mesmerizing. I’m beyond psyched which is what it will take to win against Citizens United and their Mad Max,, Cage match nihilism.
When it comes to Gallup, it really does appear that it’s been subsumed by the right, a la Susan G. Komen foundation. We just need 1 investigative reporter to “follow the money”. Heh.
I love that trailer…cannot wait to see the 17 minute video
Good to see PBS finally published my post on the whole Obama Tapes affair.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections-politics/the-story-behind-the-obama-law-school-speech-video/#comment-459453535
What I said:
Amazing at the depths the conservatives will sink to attack Pres. Obama. It isn’t a surprise that, after all his cage-rattling, in the end, Andrew Breitbart had nothing on the President and his college years. So, for all the talks about unleashing a story that would devastate his reelection chances, we’re left with a video that shows Obama fighting for racial diversity. How ghastly!
Yet people will continue to buy their line. They’ll believe the most vile, hate-filled attacks on our President without even rationally thinking them out. It’s a sad narrative on those who oppose Pres. Obama and an even worse rebuke of our media for giving them the time of the day to spew their lies.
It is important to remember that they (the RWNJ segment of society) will constantly look for something to base there hate on tht is directly smacking of out and out racism. This comes close, but they can still deny it being based on race, but rather base on radical (their term) activity. Of course, there ar those that have no problem being openly racist, but the majority either truly believ they are not racist (“Some of my best friends are…”) or know they can’t openly express their racism, so they will look for any tiny little thing to abse their hatred on.
And as we all know, rationality and racism cannot co-exist.
The people who will buy this line will buy anything negative about PBO, The never did support him and never will. People with two brain cells will see through this and recognize the absurdity.
CHIPS.
I would like for you to take a look at two piece on Balloon Juice that point out the GOP’s WAR ON WOMEN.
Article one:
The So-Called Pro-Life Party
by John Cole
They stop caring about you the moment you are born:
Leticia Parra, a mother of five scraping by on income from her husband’s sporadic construction jobs, relied on the Planned Parenthood clinic in San Carlos, an impoverished town in South Texas, for breast cancer screenings, free birth control pills and pap smears for cervical cancer.
But the clinic closed in October, along with more than a dozen others in the state, after financing for women’s health was slashed by two-thirds by the Republican-controlled Legislature.
The cuts, which left many low-income women with inconvenient or costly options, grew out of the effort to eliminate state support for Planned Parenthood. Although the cuts also forced clinics that were not affiliated with the agency to close — and none of them, even the ones run by Planned Parenthood, performed abortions — supporters of the cutbacks said they were motivated by the fight against abortion.
Now, the same sentiment is likely to lead to a shutdown next week of another significant source of reproductive health care: the Medicaid Women’s Health Program, which serves 130,000 women with grants to many clinics, including those run by Planned Parenthood. Gov. Rick Perry and Republican lawmakers have said they would forgo the $35 million in federal money that finances the women’s health program in order to keep Planned Parenthood from getting any of it.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2012/03/08/the-so-called-pro-life-party/
Article two:
Arizona Senate Passes Bill Permitting Doctors to Withhold Prenatal Information From Women
by ABL 2.0
The Arizona Senate passed a bill this week that allows doctors to withhold from pregnant women information regarding prenatal problems because disclosing that information might lead to an abortion.
Seriously.
From Addicting Info:
It’s called a “wrongful birth” bill and it’s all about preventing women from having an abortion, even if it kills them. The Arizona Senate passed a bill this week that gives doctors a free pass to not inform pregnant women of prenatal problems because such information could lead to an abortion.
In other words, doctors can intentionally keep critical health information from pregnant women and can’t be sued for it. According to the Arizona Capitol Times, “the bill’s sponsor is Republican Nancy Barto of Phoenix. She says allowing the medical malpractice lawsuits endorses the idea that if a child is born with a disability, someone is to blame.” So Republicans are banning lawsuits against doctors who keep information from pregnant women so as to prevent them from choosing to have an abortion.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2012/03/08/arizona-senate-passes-bill-permitting-doctors-to-withhold-prenatal-information-from-women/
Wow. WOW!!!! How about that there are also special needs that can be surgically corrected in utero?
Or,
how about that families need all the time that they can get to prepare for the possibility of raising a child with special needs.
OR,
IT’S HAPPENING IN MY BODY AND I HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW ABOUT IT.
Where is the AMA? This is ridiculous and crazy, one State claims that the vaginal ultrasound is important so that women can have more information before they have an abortion, now Arizona says women should not have all the information about their pregnancy before deciding on an abortion. They are turning women into second class citizens with no say about their health and their bodies. So disgusting and hatefu. America wake up and vote these wackos out.
This Arizona law will cause abortions to go up, if a doctor cannot tell a pregnant woman that her fetus is ok and that the fetus is viable and be truthfull about it or if he is hesitant, this will make some women decide on an abortion more readily, the fathers would also be more adamant about aborting the fetus.
This will be so shot down!!! So, if a woman has an ectopic pregnancy, a Doc will just send her home to die?
Why oh why does it always have to be Arizona?!?
Isonprize, if a child who needs in utero care dies because of this, it is the equivalent of murder. That’s why I think this bill won’t stand a court test. Once again, a bill this outrageous needs to be fought every day. Women of Arizona–don’t accept this. Fight back in every way possible–fair or foul. There are many ways to destroy a doctor’s reputation without “suing.”
This will not pass the smell test if taken to a higher court, which it should be if it ever passes. Also this should be a big signal to pregnant women to drop any doctor that will not tell them the truth. Say you want your medical records and find another OB/GYN. You do not have to put up with this nonsense. Meanwhile, as the court cases are being heard, every woman who runs into a lying doctor, needs to nail the horse’s ass in any way possible by publicizing their deceit and warning other women not to go to them. Women are being pushed around too much and they need to fight back with all the revenge skills at their disposal. The biggest revenge skill–vote these Neanderthal bums our of office. The GOP is showing their ugly side big time and we have to make sure it comes back to bite them in a very tender place.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/08/kansas-abortion-bill-sales-tax_n_1327301.html This just showed up on my FB page. Notice it is huff, but I get everything from TPPP. The longer I read, the madder I got. These people are CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ABSOLUTELY!!!
I vetted the Docs who delivered my 4 babies down to the gnat’s a** (I didn’t ask for their birth certificates but)…if any had lied even once to me even if I was then in labor, I would have kicked them to the curb so fast they would still be picking up teeth!
It essentially nullifies malpractice. Why isn’t the AMA responding to this idiocy?
That law goes against the ethics of the medical profession….it cannot stand…..
The AMA….and of course women should not let stand….
Keystone XL Pipeline fails in the Senate. The thing that amazes me is that Dems actually had our President’s back on this one. The other issue was the vote before the XL approval. Senator Wyden was afraid the pipeline bill would have passed. He proposed an Amendment that all oil from the pipeline would go to the USA only. The amendment was also to mandate that all materials that were used be made in the USA. That portion failed. My Senator Rubio voted for XL without making sure all the oil would stay here.
I made calls all day!!! WE have some great dems in the Senate this time.
Well wonders never cease. Thank you, God. Now they need to do it all the time.
On the UE number, you need 150k jobs created to stay at the same level.
“New York Republican lawmaker who now supports President Obama says: gop candidates would take women back decades”
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/03/08/440746/ny-gop-lawmaker-women-back-decades/
That’s what I’m talkin’ about!
I loved this! Thanks so much for sharing here.
CRDC Data Show Persistent Inequities
The new Civil Rights data released this week by the U. S. Department of Education are still preliminary, but the overarching story they tell is one of deep and pervasive inequities in America’s schools. Time and again, and on a variety of fronts, students of color are getting less than a fair chance to succeed in school. These patterns and trends not only undercut the most deeply held of our values, but they also portend a dimmer future for this nation than any of us would hope…..
The combination of weaker academics and harsher discipline, which means less time in the classroom, is academically fatal to too many young African-American and Latino students, especially boys.
The good news is that none of these patterns is immutable…….
http://www.edtrust.org/dc/press-room/news/crdc-data-show-persistent-inequities
I’m seriously upset that for some reason I can’t play that trailer. It’s all the same source so it doesn’t matter from where I try to see it.
New post everyone:
http://theobamadiary.com/2012/03/08/afternoon-all-43/
Day 4, Selma to Montgomery: ‘The Fight Is Far from Over’
Mrs. Gardner still has a firm grip when she shakes your hand. She stood at the edge of the property she and her husband, Robert, had opened up to participants in the Selma to Montgomery, Ala., marches back in 1965, as a new generation recognized her contributions while drawing attention to new injustices.
The ongoing five-day re-enactment of the Selma to Montgomery marches also turned out to be a nice birthday gift for her. “I was looking forward to it,” she said.
Each day of the march, which began Monday, focuses on a specific issue, and Wednesday’s focus was workers’ rights…..
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, who joined marchers Wednesday, pointed out that the right to vote:
is the right that gives meaning to all other rights. Without the right to vote, we can’t hold politicians accountable…and we can’t elect leaders who care about working people and the other 99 percent.
Solis told those gathered at the Jackson-Steele Community Center in White Hall, Ala., it is “a time of challenge and uncertainty here in the state of Alabama.”
The challeges include both the state’s attempt to restrict voting rights and its recently passed anti-immigrant law that brutally targets immigrant workers.
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/In-The-States/Day-4-Selma-to-Montgomery-The-Fight-Is-Far-from-Over