****
10:50: PBO meets with the 2012 Intel Science Talent Search finalists.
11:10: PBO will deliver a statement in the Rose Garden about a new effort to enforce U.S. trade rights with China.
1:00: Jay Carney briefs the press.
4:15: Michelle Obama hosts a mini-Olympics competition in celebration of the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
4:20: PBO and Prime Minister Cameron leave the W.H. for Andrews Air Force Base.
4:35: PBO and Cameron depart for Dayton, Ohio.
5:55: PBO and Cameron attend an NCAA Tournament game (live on truTV)
9:00: PBO and Cameron depart Ohio for D.C.
10:35: PBO and Cameron arrive back at the White House.
****
Sign up here to get a link to the livestream of the film which will be shown on Thursday
****
Bloomberg: The U.S. public’s economic outlook is turning from fear to hope with the presidential election campaign under way. More than twice as many Americans view the economy’s prospects as brightening as see them darkening, a reversal from nine months ago, when more people expected deterioration ahead, according to a Bloomberg National Poll conducted March 8-11.
“It’s starting to get better,” says survey respondent Kelsey Simeon ….. “Strip malls that were empty are starting to fill up. Everyone’s going out to eat more. People are spending more money on non-necessities…. ”
More Americans now say they are personally better off since President Barack Obama took office than worse off, the first favorable reading for the president on that question since Bloomberg began asking in December 2010.
More here
****
****
Washington Post: How much does the president have to do with the price of gasoline?
A lot, say American voters. According to oil experts and economists, not so much – at least in the short term.
Today’s oil prices are the product of years and decades of exploration, automobile design and ingrained consumer habits combined with political events in places such as Sudan and Libya, anxiety about possible conflict with Iran, and the energy aftershocks of last year’s earthquake in Japan.
“This notion that a politician can wave a magic wand and impact the 90-million-barrel-a-day global oil market is preposterous,” said Paul Bledsoe, strategic adviser to the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former Clinton administration official.
More here
****
See the full infographic here
****
****
Link (Thanks Meta)
****
Steve Benen: Mitt Romney called in to a popular sports talk show in Alabama yesterday, a day ahead of the state’s Republican presidential primary. As interviews go, this seemed like a fairly easy one…. it’s not like Romney would go on the show, repeat his mistake from two weeks ago, and talk about being friends with millionaire team owners again, right? Wrong:
At one point, Mr. Finebaum asked Mr. Romney, as a New England Patriots fan, where he thought Peyton Manning should go as a free agent, and the candidate highlighted his friendship with football team owners – echoing comments in which he explained his affinity for Nascar by noting he knew the owners of Nascar teams.
“I’m surprised to hear that Denver’s thinking about him,” Mr. Romney said. “I don’t want him in our neck of the woods, let’s put it that way. I’ve got a lot of good friends, the owner of the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets, both owners are friends of mine,” he added. “But let’s keep him away from New England.”
Romney really is approaching self-parody here….
More here
****
****
Morning everyone 😉
The Obama Diary 
Good morning!
Look at YOU! well done collegekay!
Winner! Morning Collegekay, morning everyone 😉
Mornin’ Chips and TOD. Congrats Collegekay!
Thanks Chips! 😀
THIS IS TOO ADORABLE…HE’S GOT IT! GLAD HE IS GOING FOR THE GAME TODAY…WILL BE SO EXCITING FOR HIM!
Hi Sue! I remember this pic, I thought ‘fantastic’ then, I still think ‘fantastic’ now!
It is a great idea taking PM David Cameron to a March Madness game. How American! President Palin would take Queen Elizabeth II, the “head of the UK government”, hunting wolves from a helicopter.
🙂
Pretty certain Her Majesty would not find herself anywhere near said person. Regardless of circumstance!
I agree! Good morning, Pamela, Chips, and TODers!
Good Morning Todville
Bill , I think a hypothetical President Palin would rather take Queen Elizabeth II to a Tea Party. 😆 😆 😆
Everyone have a nice day.
I remember seeing that photo for the first time years ago and marveling at it: How did he get up there? Is he really doing pull-ups on that thing? Wow, this guy is strong!!
Seeing it again just makes me smile. He phenomenal. Thanks, Chips!
Love that pic too Meta, although it always makes my arms hurt!
FRANKLY…I CAN’T SEE MYSELF GETTING MY ‘BAGGAGE’ OFF THE GROUND..LOLLLLLLLLLLLL…TOO MUCH ‘CARRY ON!’..:))))))))))
Congrats on first Collegekay! Thanks for this picture Chips!!!! This was taken here at the University of Montana back in April of 2008. The partial word on the side if Griz. This is the one time I have seen our President in person. I wonder if he will come back this year. I don’t know if we can turn it to blue but we have 3 very important races this year, our governor, a senator and our long congressman.
Starting at the top today, are you Ck? Excellent strategy & congrats!
Good morning Ms Chips, congrats on first, collegekay!
BREAKING NEWS: Retail Sales in U.S. Climb the Most in Five Months as Recovery Takes Hold.
But Gas…
Thanks for the news. I firmly believe gas prices will come down. It’s just a matter of when. Plus we’re incredibly lucky we don’t have it as bad as Europe. Gas prices over there are insane.
If I’m not mistaken don’t gas prices increase during the spring and especially summer months? I was reading that prices were actually higher during the last quarter of GWB’s term – $4.00 per/gal.
sabreen60, It was higher during G.W.Bush term in 2008 and some people on FOX said that no President can control if gas prices go up.
I’ve been doing my part. Went on a shopping spree this weekend, got caught up in the spring sales.
G’day!
Good morning Chips and TOD family
Here is how the dishonest media interprets the gas prices question and here is what they publish. Please take note.
I hate to say this about fellow Americans, but if they are so dam stupid to think that Presidents can control gas prices, then why is President Obama allowing gas prices to go up when it could affect our recovery?
Ignorant is a better term than stupid. The fact is most people don’t have the time to dig out information on their own, so they are dependent upon whatever sources they use for news. And the media has totally failed to live up to its responsibilities in provided good and accurate information to the public.
The President will be slamming China at around 11, for Rare Earth minerals.
Basically, he is saying they are violating WTO trade compliance.
That is 11am…
THANK YOU JOVIE…WHILE YOU’RE AT IT…SEE IF YOU CAN MAKE HIM STAY AT THE PODIUM FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR…DROOL PICK-UP IN AISLE #3! EYECANDY THIS MORNIN!’
YEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAH…GET TO SEE THE PREZ. TODAY…BTW…I HIT THE MARK TO SIGN UP FOR THE MOVIE AND IT SAID ‘ERROR’??????
I CAN’T GO TO SEE THE MOVIE AT OUR OFA OFFICE BECAUSE AM NIGHTBLIND..SO HAVE TO WATCH AT HOME AND BE ON THE PHONE FOR OBAMA ORGANIZER HOUSE MEETING! SHUCKS! SUE GETS LOST IN THE DARK…I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S WORSE…THAT OR BEING BLONDE! LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!
Sue, I am developing this night blindness also, I can see well enough if walking, but driving is just getting scary!nits the glare from the lights coming in at all angles, and really bad in the rain, PLUS I live in SEATTLE! We do get a bit of rain here…..
I CAN’T EVEN SEE IN A PARKING GARAGE…DON’T GO ANYWHERE AT NIGHT…IS GOD KEEPING ME OFF THE STREETS! LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!
Hi Pam & fellow TOD’ers. Try putting on sunglasses when it is raining at night. I have tried it and it does help, amazingly!
Pamela, this is often a sign of cataracts. If you haven’t done so, please get this checked out with a doctor.
THANK YOU..MERCI AND GRACIAS…I AM NOW SIGNED UP FOR THE MOVIE! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! THIS IS EXCITING!…:)
Robneys interviews today-
Taped Television Interview with KTVI (St. Louis, Missouri)
Taped Television Interview with KMOV (St. Louis, Missouri)
Taped Television Interview with KSDK (St. Louis, Missouri)
4:05 PM CDT Radio Interview with WLS (Chicago – Rep. Peter Roskam hosting)
4:35 PM CDT Television Interview with Wolf Blitzer
Taped Television Interview with WDAF (Kansas City, Missouri)
Taped Television Interview with KMBC (Kansas City, Missouri)
Taped Television Interview with KSHB (Kansas City, Missouri)
Taped Television Interview with KCTV (Kansas City, Missouri)
Holy shit!
THANKS..I’LL PUT WILLARD’S LIST IN THE BOTTOM OF MY CAT LITTER BOX WHERE IT BELONGS!…:)))))) ONE LUMP OR TWO?
Three thanks, any less and I worry about kitty feeling well! 😉
Is there any news person more boring than “Blitz”?
BLITZ IS SUCH A TROUBLEMAKER…HE TWISTS ALL OF HIS QUESTIONS TO MAKE EVERYTHING LOOK LIKE IT’S PBO’S FAULT…PLAYS DIRTY HE DOES!
Wow. Someone’s desperate.
I was gonna say…
Great! That’s 9 times he can fuck up and tell America another lie that will be used against him…or let America know about another sports team he knows the owners of! Can hardly wait.
I want him to say he knows the “owner” of a college basketball team.
🙂 Give him time…..
Yes, give him time, he wants to be sure he really DOES know such a person, after all, wouldn’t want to be caught in a lie, now would he?
Yes, but, he can always walk back on something he said five minutes ago, you know, like “normal.” Yuck.
GoOD Morning, Chips.
please give consideration in posting Lawrence O’Donnell’s ‘rewrite’ segment from last night about Willard’s LIES about POTUS and Medicare. It would dovetail with either Steve Benen or Greg Sargent, who call the lie a LIE too.
Bloomberg poll—-only 23% blame Obama for gas prices, destroys media’s trumped up charge
Thank you! See what I mean? I’m bringing my post over from the last thread….
Here:
Thank you, amk! Like a smack across the face to SNAP OUT OF IT! I just got up and started reading the comments…..I thought they were “old” comments from yesterday…..checked the time stamp…..Nope! “New” ones from this morning……..same as it was yesterday…..
They LIE! Constantly. We already KNOW that..call them out and move on. They need to know we’re paying attention, but it’s going to be a L O N G few months for all of us if we panic at the sight of this slop that passes for “journalism” every time this happens.We have to focus, and work, and talk to neighbors and friends,…the freakouts only take eyes off the ball and cause doubt and worry to creep in and rear its ugly head. I’m not doing it. I refuse to be sucked in to negativity.
You have to take into effect all the accomplishments of PBO, against the nothing of the rest…..you have to take into account the fact that Americans are waking up to the obstruction, and who’s responsible. The fact that PBO has a POSITIVE message….and the others don’t.This is their party….wait until they CHOOSE a loon, and then it’ll be game on! All this talk is just that. Talk.Let them keep talking about my lady parts, talking away rights of voter’s and women and immigrants…..you think that’s going to win an election? They’ve already alienated 3/4 of America! I have no illusions that this will be easy. This time will be harder than the last (thank you idiot Supremes! for letting corp and big money. steal our democracy…WTF were they thinking!)
I’m going to have his back…as I know that you will…but the freakout over bogus polls needs to stop, so we can better focus on the job at hand.PBO knows this…we have to know this too. Waste of time right now. ..Our job is to spread the facts to others and engage them. Share what we know so that others may begin to connect the dots. That’s what I intend to do.
Df, guess which poll is going to get more traction in the media? I have not seen ANY media outlet report the Bloomberg numbers. Just like HCR, those numbers are going to remain buried for as long as possible if the MSM can help it – unless we actively spread it around.
As I told amk, no one is “freaking out” about the polls. We are making observations and are correcting the lies and making others AWARE of what the media is doing. It is our business and our priority as responsible citizens to combat media lies and manipulations where they occur. In the last decade, this country has suffered much damage precisely because the media was allowed to lie and distort at the Republicans’ behest. It was because of MSM lies and distortions that we got GWB TWICE. The same MSM hyped up Sarah Palin and she almost was elected in 2008. It was the same MSM lies and distortions that brought us the TeaParty in 2009/2010.
I notice that Mark Knoller has refrained from posting his usual series of tweets this morning given that the CBS poll was released yesterday evening – and it’s because there was so much pushback on Twitter last night. Today, Chuck Todd was trying to rationalize the sudden shift in polls with his own garbage explanation, and he too got a lot of prompt pushback and calling out. I think the pushback has been HIGHLY effective, in that it makes more people aware that they should always question what they see and hear on TV when President Obama’s approval rating and anti-Obama narratives are concerned, and it also gave these MSM folks pause as to what they can and cannot get away with. Informed voters and ethical media – both elements are essential for the integrity of our democracy.
hf…i said, and agree that there SHOULD be pushback and calling out of their lies and distortions…..I just don’t think that it’s at all constructive for us to dwell on them. It gives those polls legitimacy if we do…they are bogus, we know it…..blast them and let’s move on….that’s all I’m saying.
These polls only came out yesterday and are currently being discussed and spread in the media. So I don’t think we are “dwelling” on them. We are appropriately addressing them and bringing to light what’s happening. The media is making a huge deal out of this right now, and we know perfectly well there’s an agenda behind the polling as well as the media narrative of gas prices. So we need to be vigilant in this particular case.
I don’t agree that we give the polls legitimacy when we shine a spotlight on their inaccuracies and distortions. Quite the opposite. Many people who are not as politically aware as us use these polls and media narratives to guide their decision making as far as voting and political support is concerned. The people who run the media know that very well, and have succeeded in the past in affecting voter decisions by using polls and media narratives. The more people are aware of how the media works with various polling outfits to create narratives about various candidates/politicians, the less likely they are to base their decisions simply by reading a poll or watching some pundits spin on TV. And if they receive accurate information about how a particular poll was conducted, then they are more informed and can make better decisions.
THIS! THIS! THIS!
We know this, low info voters who are going to be key to this election, not so much!
But, we should all stop talking about current events, instead let’s talk about trivial nonsense, like, you know, how many sponsors have left Rush Limpballs.
Ugh!
I saw that Bloomberg poll as well……between Romney’s Medicare lie, Game Change showing repub stupidity, 2 week advertiser ban on Rush (hoping the pushback will die down), and the PBO’s documentary coming out on Thursday, the MSM has decided that they just can’t have low ratings this cycle. They got greedy in 2008. The corporate media knows that if they repeat a meme long enough, then the race will be close and not a landslide. They are lying big time today….nothing new, but they’re hoping folks won’t pushback or be smart enough to know what they are doing. Then they can have another HBO special in 2013 on how they covered for one another (i.e., they all knew about Sarah Palin—-they acted so appalled after Game Change.) We should not be surprised, but we should be alert and pushback hard to let them know now that we know they are misleading the public for ratings.
Send this to Ben Labolt twitter, he should know about this!
Church Puts Legal Pressure on Abuse Victims’ Group
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: March 12, 2012
Turning the tables on an advocacy group that has long supported victims of pedophile priests, lawyers for the Roman Catholic Church and priests accused of sexual abuse in two Missouri cases have gone to court to compel the group to disclose more than two decades of e-mails that could include correspondence with victims, lawyers, whistle-blowers, witnesses, the police, prosecutors and journalists.
The group, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, is neither a plaintiff nor a defendant in the litigation. But the group has been subpoenaed five times in recent months in Kansas City and St. Louis, and its national director, David Clohessy, was questioned by a battery of lawyers for more than six hours this year. A judge in Kansas City ruled that the network must comply because it “almost certainly” had information relevant to the case.
The network and its allies say the legal action is part of a campaign by the church to cripple an organization that has been the most visible defender of victims, and a relentless adversary, for more than two decades. “If there is one group that the higher-ups, the bishops, would like to see silenced,” said Marci A. Hamilton, a law professor at Yeshiva University and an advocate for victims of clergy sex crimes, “it definitely would be SNAP. And that’s what they’re going after. They’re trying to find a way to silence SNAP.”
Lawyers for the church and priests say they cannot comment because of a judge’s order. But William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, a church advocacy group in New York, said targeting the network was justified because “SNAP is a menace to the Catholic Church.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/us/catholic-church-pressures-victims-network-with-subpoenas.html?_r=1
Not only has the church condoned the abuses, they are now actively turning against the victims. There are no words to convey the level of outrage I feel about this. I was raised a Catholic and have a Catholic family so this is not a condemnation Catholicism itself. But he behavior of church leaders in this is inexcusable.
BBL…CHORES…BE BACK FOR PBO…BLESSINGS!..:)
TOD family, we need a major legal push against the draconian anti-voter law that is likely to be passed this week in Pennsylvania. So far, ACLU and Common Cause have agreed to file suit once the bill is passed. If anyone has contacts in the NAACP, any union, La Raza, the League of Women Voters or any other group concerned with civil liberties, could you please lend your voice to asking them to join the proposed PA suit in support of the ACLU/Common Cause filing? I started calling yesterday, but my personal contacts are limited and we need many people on the phones urging these organizations to take action. The GOP-led PA legislature is rejecting every common sense amendment brought forward by the Democratic minority in order to make sure that the big city votes are suppressed in time for the presidential election. They have written stringent requirements in the new law and made a timetable that is so abbreviated it will be virtually impossible for people to understand and meet the requirements. Pa is important state in the presidential election. We can’t let it be stolen by a Republican governor and state legislature bent on destroying the constitutionally guaranteed right to vote. So again…if you’re a member of any of these organization, or have a contact –national, state, or local– please call and urge them to join the fight in PA.
Wishing you success with your request, JG, though I have no contacts myself.
I think that it is ok to have legitimate outrage…and I think for the most part…many of us are political savy to know why the airwavews are clouded with this kind of stuff…
I think it is good to know what is being said so that we can counter the lies with truth…but we cannot become so overwhelmed and discouraged that we become defeated by it all…
I find that many folks are not even aware of what is happening…they do not tune into the political shows/and it is not covered by local TV….
Today…the local station that I tune into every morning mentioned the upcoming vote on voter id laws in PA….this has been ongoing for months yet this is the first time that it has been mentioned on the morning news…this tells me that unless you frequent other news sources you may not know what is happening on a local level let alone on a national scale….
I have had many recent conversations with my neighbors about the upcoming vote regarding the new voter ID laws…I have gotten a variety of responses…from really…I have ID to well we all should have ID….so I asked them if they had heard about the voter suppression laws that have been passed in other states….most haven’t….
I say this to say…that many of the American people are unengaged in the politics that controls their lives…in fact some think that it does not matter and that it is all noise…esp…so far from the actual election…
So we the foot soldiers can have an enormous influence as we do our community organizing to re-elect the President…
I have faith that we will be successful….
Presssssssssssssssssssssss ON!
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/former-news-international-exec-rebekah-brooks-arrested Rupert’s empire in serious trouble.
Important read…and graph!
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/03/how-politics-damaged-obamas-recovery-chart.php?ref=fpa
This goes to show that the Republicans are to blame….
Chips…you HAVE to post this info…..:) Clear as a bell…
Thanks a million Desertflower, just added it 😉
Thanks, Chips! Proof positive…they are despicable AND responsible for this!!
oh interesting DF thanks!
CBS/NYT pollsters decided to lower the Dem party ID from 34% to 30% which they never have since 1992.
Bloomberg Poll says only 23% of voters blame PBO for gas prices, yet CBS/NYTimes poll says 54% blame him. Both numbers can’t be true.
From what I can see on Twitter, a lot of people are still furious at the BS poll…..good!
I must confess to being a worry wart when it comes to polls; however, I know as we draw closer to the election day they will try to drive us nuts by manipulating the data to drive their narrative. I just don’t think it will work because we have a strong presence in the social network, so we can and will push back and push back hard. So I will try my best not to get worked up about these numbers.
I just think you can’t let some of these false narratives to take hold. A lie told often enough becomes the truth, sadly. And it affects peoples’ psyche and enthusiasm. I think it’s important for immediate pushback, to make all aware that we see what they’re doing. Nothing explains a one month 10 point drop, all indicators are positive for PBO. I just heard msnbc political director, Mark Murray, say “I don’t think you should believe any of the polls.” Probably good advice.
From ThinkProgress:
Obama administration officials are discussing reducing American forces in Afghanistan faster than previously planned in light of increasingly strained relations, believing that the mission has “reached the point of diminishing returns.” Obama warned against “a rush for the exits” yesterday, but the administration is nonetheless considering a reduction of “at least an additional 20,000 troops by 2013.”
It doesn’t surprise me that they would conduct analysis on the available options. They’ve always said that they will consider conditions on the ground in evaluating their progress and formulating next steps. Given that tensions are rising, they’ll want to know the impact of a speedier withdrawal. But I think we should take this information with a grain of caution. They may conclude that it’s not safe to withdraw any faster than they originally planned, since I believe the first transition plan was the fastest they thought they could move already. They may conclude that it will take longer, or require a different tactic.We should take the news, digest it, and then wait for an official announcement. Too many people are calling for action although they insufficiently can project the consequences of such action. I’m glad the Administration is doing this analysis, though. They must be worried about the increasing incidents.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46716336/ns/business-small_business/#.T19THcXlPeg
U.S. small business confidence rose to a one year high in February as more owners reported plans to rebuild stocks after 56 months of inventory liquidation, hinting at a pick-up in domestic demand.
The National Federation of Independent Business said on Tuesday its optimism index increased to 94.3 last month – the highest reading since February 2011 – from 93.9 in January. It was the sixth consecutive month of gains.
Last month, 14 percent of the NFIB’s 350,000 members reported an increase in inventories, up three points from January. The share of businesses still reducing stocks fell four points to 20 percent in February.
Business inventories rise, better than expected.
That, coupled with, better than expected retail sales!
Good economic data!
Vice President Joe Biden frames the mission to kill Osama bin Laden in stark terms at a fundraiser Monday night. From the pool report:
“This guy’s got a backbone like a ramrod,” he said, referring to Obama’s decision to kill Osama bin Laden. “He said, ‘Go,’ knowing his presidency was on the line. Had he failed in that audacious mission, he would’ve been a one-term president.”
This from First Read – please read the bottom line
On national polls and the Chewbacca Defense: Last night’s New York Times/CBS poll was the latest survey to show a job-approval drop for President Obama; in one month, his score declined nine points, from 50% to 41%. This raises the question: What major event occurred in the past month to account for this drop — or even in the past week, when our NBC/WSJ poll had Obama’s approval rating at 50%? There are two potential culprits here: gas prices and Iran. But did those two issues really account for a nine-point drop, bringing Obama to his lowest rating in that survey (lower than after the debt-ceiling debacle)? What’s more, is it possible for Obama to be at 41% approval but leading Romney by three points (47%-44%) in a head-to head? Invoking the Chewbacca Defense, it just doesn’t make sense. Then again, actions speak louder than words, and the Obama White House has been VERY defensive on gas prices.
Bottom line: It’s probably worth waiting for a few more national polls before reaching the conclusion that something has happened to Obama’s standing in the past month.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/13/10667419-first-thoughts-why-romney-could-lose-and-also-win
First of all, we already know what caused the drop – it was faulty sampling on the part of the two polling outfits. Skewing the sample towards white, male Republicans will almost always produce a more negative result where President Obama is concerned. Secondly, the timing of those polls was to manipulate the MSM news cylcle, shift the focus from Mitt Romney’s struggles to close the deal in the south, while focusing on PBO’s “problems” as much as possible (i.e., his race (muslim poll), his ineffectiveness on gas prices, etc).
There is a GOP primary going on the south and you hear hardly anything in the media about the current frontrunner’s difficulty there and how much he’s outspending everyone to buy votes. You don’t hear anything about his religion and how it’s perceived by southern voters. Instead we’re hearing about PBO’s religion, when PBO is not even on the ballot down there.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-13/americans-grow-more-confident-in-housing-recovery-survey-shows.html
Potential homebuyers and sellers are growing more confident that the U.S. real estate market will begin to recover as soon as next year, according to a Prudential Real Estate survey.
Sixty percent of people surveyed last month had positive views about the housing market and 70 percent expected property values to improve over the next two years, according to the survey released today. About 63 percent of respondents said they considered real estate a good investment, up from 52 percent last year, the Irvine, California-based broker reported.
This is the second consecutive year consumer confidence in housing has improved, signaling the property market may “finally be climbing out of its deep hole,” Stephen Van Anden, chief marketing officer for Prudential Real Estate, said in a telephone interview.
THOUSANDS of British and American troops would return from Afghanistan early next year under plans to be discussed by David Cameron and President Obama.
The leaders will lay the ground for a sharp drawdown of personnel as part of a strategy for the exit of combat forces by the end of 2014.
They are also expected to use a meeting at the Oval Office tomorrow to fix mid 2013 as the point when Afghan forces must take the lead in combat operations across the country.
The meeting, during Mr Cameron’s two-day visit to Washington, comes after the murderous rampage on Sunday in which a renegade US soldier killed 16 Afghan civilians, including nine children.
http://m.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/america-and-britain-look-to-speed-up-afghanistan-withdrawal/story-fnb64oi6-1226298164130
Somebody had to leak this, also same story in the Ny times!
I really don’t like when information gets leaked because it’s all hearsay and then if it doesn’t turn out the way people like it then the come up with a hundred different stupid memes.
The way they phrase it, one would think this was an emergency meeting scheduled to talk about Afghanistan after the tragedy, and not a meeting that was planned well in advance as part of a formal state visit, which would naturally include talking about a common war that is critical to both countries. I am getting ready to give up listening to, or reading, any news – including NPR. They have a negative, cynical and sarcastic spin to absolutely everything.
That is a very good idea, in my opinion. There’s nothing helpful or empowering about most news. It’s all talk. And we do
ourselves no service riding the roller coaster that comes out of the mouths of most broadcasters/newswriters. If it matters,
it’ll show up here . . . ONE of us will notice. We don’t need all of us absorbing the crap.
TRENTON, N.J. — Toilet paper is at the center of the latest battle of Trenton.
Paper products are running low as Mayor Tony Mack’s administration and the City Council quarrel over a contract to resupply city government in New Jersey’s capital.
The council has twice rejected a $42,000 contract for a year’s supply of paper products because members raised concerns about a high unit price for hot drink cups.
Mack’s administration removed the cups from the contract and sent it back to the council.
Mack has faced frequent criticism and scandal since he took office in 2010.
—-
I can’t stop laughing….
Thanks for this interview with Secretary Clinton, dto, very informative.
A very relaxed ‘Good Morning’ to Miss Chips and TODville! I am alive, the sun is shining in my corner of the world,and the sky is mostly blue! Yipee! This is going to be a terrific day! 😆
I am thanking everyone for their contributions today ‘up front’, as together we make today extra special! Enjoy the day, you all!
If all the mess going on with he CBS poll doesn’t finally make people realize just how a minor change in methodology can skew a poll the way that will fit certain narratives I don’t know what wlll
That’s why I ain’t trusting the polls from the village this far out. They have there own agenda. The only polling I would trust is the campaign polling which they are smart enough to keep to themselves and not try to use them to play into the MSM’s narratives.
Daily Kos caught Gallup doing that just before the 2010 elections. This is why most polling companies cannot be taken seriously.
Whether they can be taken seriously or not, polls drive the narrative.
They might drive some of the narrative, but they are only a reflection of what people are thinking at any given point in time. If done well, they are instructive, but ultimately it’s the word on the ground that matters. The Committee to Re-elect the President (OFA) has massive amounts of information about how voters really feel. What we really know more than anything is that the campaign doesn’t pay a lick of attention to what the polls say or what the punditry say. They have their ears to the ground and pay attention to their own metrics. It worked last time, it will work this time.
Extremely well said, Tien Le! I wish you would write a longer essay on this at TPV. Forgive me if you’ve already done so and I missed it.
Okay, I will. Thanks for the suggestion, Nathan.
WOW, people!! WE’RE ALMOST THERE!!
The White House We the People petition to remove Limbaugh from Armed Forces Network has 24,602 signatures.
We need 398 more before April 3:
https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/sec-panetta-get-rush-limbaugh-armed-forces-radio-now-no-tax-money-abusive-divisive-insulting/p439GWMm
THANKS to everyone who helped pull this off.
That’s brilliant Meta, wow – only 360 signatures to go! Just added it to the post, thanks again.
Wow, we’re moving fast now. Thank you!!
April 3 is still weeks away, they will reach and pass the required number… Keep the link afloat everywhere!
Definitely!
It’s down to 159 needed. I’ve tweeted this again today. 😉
Thanks, dd!!
It’s down to 88 as of 11:30am!!
this is great!
hey. they did it! w00t!
I have one observation to make about the polls. Yes, the party identities were messed with, more men, etc. But there’s one thing: when other Presidents were allowed to coast on good news, this President is never able to do so. The least little blip and his numbers change. It’s disturbing that with all he has done, he isn’t at 70% approval. Any other President in history would be much higher on any given day.
The electorate is susceptible to the noise that’s out there and without the cushion that any other American President has been able to enjoy, PBO’s fortunes are often at risk. We have to be diligent at all times. We still need more effective messaging, although it’s getting better. We have to continue to act as if PBO is the underdog.
a comment at Kos gets to the point:
“They simply altered the sample group weighting to give a narrative about gas prices.
CBS/NYT polled 569 Rs and 528 Ds. duh! WAPO added +7 to GOP sample. Gallup today- approval at 49%”
Does anyone have links for various people who have debunked these latest polls?
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/
As long as the American electorate remains apathetic, short-sighted, impatient and gullible, then the downward spiral will continue. This short attention span is a product of reality television and technology advances, and it’s dooming an entire generation to a bleak future if they don’t snap out of it. Instead o progressing with technology, it’s actually breeding intellectual laziness in a lot of people. There’s a commercial out there right now with a boy who takes advantage of every technology to end up living a very sedentary life, even calling his grandmother in the same house to ask her to bring him another soda. If people allow their brains to get as atrophied as their bodies, then the media will continue to lie to them unchallenged, and the GOP will continue to be rewarded for blatantly anti-American behavior.
These polls reflect the status of the electorate. They don’t reflect President Obama’s performance or any semblance of reality. Any thinking population of people would look at the filled up restaurants, the new cars on the roads, the improving economy, the blatant manipulations of the media and the GOP, and the world’s much improved opinion of America since President Obama took over – and they’d conclude that this President has been simply amazing. Anything else is dishonest.
As a follow-up from the last thread about “freaking out” over cooked polls and the reprehensible msm ginning up the obama sux/is doooomed meme, please post what steps that you have taken via twitter (like jovie pushed back against that tau kid of gopolitico), LTE’s, e-mails to their editors etc.
I see this the right way to push back these media punks and the pollsters. Rest, I consider as freaking out.
Of course, many of you may disagree and that’s fine.
Are you on Twitter on amk? If you are and are following me (@aspirational12), you can go through my timeline and see the numerous tweets on this issue I sent to Mark Knoller and Nate Silver yesterday. Today, I also tweeted Greg Sargeant. In addition, I also re-tweeted several posts from JeffersonObama (who did active research on the crosstabs) and others. I don’t want to take up space here by posting all my tweets, but if you are not on Twitter, I will post some of them for you to see.
That’s the way to fight and show people here on how to push back. I know many TOD’ers including chips do that fight on twitterdom and often end up pushing back successfully. That’s the type of action I like instead of wringing our hands.
We’re not wringing our hands Amk. We’re discussing the latest polls and figuring out what methodology they’re using to gin up flawed numbers. Have you been on twitter in the past 12 or so hours? People are fighting back and demanding explanations from the polling sources and holding the latest Boomberg polls as examples and are not accepting the warped explanations the pollers are giving. We’re not wringing our hands. That’s a mischaracterization.
I’m pretty busy at work but when I get a chance I retweet every bit of info I see on my TL about those bogus polls. You all have been pretty fierce in your pushback. JeffersonObama has been a warrior on this topic and I’ve tried to retweet everything he has posted.
I can’t do much right now but I do what I can when time allows.
thanks for your work HP2!
About the Bloomberg poll (conducted by the very accurate Seltzer group in Iowa) this quote really jumped out at me and is worth pondering. I am a white 47 year old who didn’t want to believe just how much racial animosity could effect PBO’S polling data, but this blew me away:
“In the Bloomberg poll, readings on the economy and country are divided along racial, as well as partisan, lines.
The racial gulf over economic progress during the Obama presidency is deep. More whites say their personal situation has deteriorated than improved, by 42 percent to 30 percent. Among non-whites, 55 percent say they are better off and only 23 percent say their situation is worse.
Even so, employment opportunities have rebounded more for whites than other groups. Unemployment for whites was 7.3 percent in February, down from a peak of 9.3 percent in October 2009 and 7.1 percent when Obama took office. Unemployment for blacks was 14.1 percent in February. The nation’s 8.3 percent unemployment rate in February compares with 10 percent in October 2009 and 7.8 percent at Obama’s inauguration.”
Did people expect that the country could experience a near-Depression and that there would be no impact? What these polls should be asking, if anything, is “do people think that they would have been better off or worse off if the GOP had won in 2010 and executed their plan to do nothing to recover the economy?” Ask these people if they believe they would have received a bonus this year, last year or for the next five years, if they were able to even keep their jobs with over 20% unemployment if the GOP had gotten their way. Ask them if they would be better off if there were austerity measures playing out in the US like there are in England, or Greece, or Spain, who are still deep in recession. People equate their current situation to the illusion they were living in back before the recession, when they were using their homes as an ATM, spending money they didn’t have, and believing that two wars can be fought and tax cuts given out without anyone ever having to pay for them.
http://www.tnr.com/node/101622
Romney Doesn’t Need Medicare? Lucky Him
Remember, Romney has called for transforming Medicare into a voucher system, effectively ending the guarantee of comprehensive benefits that the government now makes to seniors. Romney hasn’t been terribly specific about how big the voucher would be. But, given Romney’s promise of a tight cap on federal spending, the voucher’s value would likely decline relative to health care costs, so that large numbers of seniors would face significantly higher out-of-pocket medical costs. (Either that, or there’d be massive cuts to other programs, inevitably putting seniors at risk of other hardships.)
Romney has indicated he’d protect the lowest income Americans, by giving them larger subsidies. I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that’s what he really intends. But it’s not just the poor who need protection. Given the budget constraints he’s promised to impose, many near-poor people would end up in trouble. (And that’s assuming he really would protect the poor. Given that Romney also wants to cut Medicaid, which provides supplemental coverage to seniors who need extra help, I’m not sure that’s realistic.)
Why would Romney think that putting middle-class seniors at greater financial risk is even tolerable, let alone advisable? Who knows. But you have to wonder whether his affluence blinds him, or at least desensitizes him, to the threat medical expenses can pose — and the difficulty older Americans traditionally have in the private insurance market.
Let me tell you: we’re middle class and my husband and I (72 and 62, respectively) are still working with no end in sight. But at his age my husband has had to curtail how much he works (and therefore how much income he brings in) and my job is completely at the whim of a batshit crazy boss and could end tomorrow.
What keeps us stable? My husband’s guaranteed benefits through Medicare and his Social Security which goes directly to paying our mortgage. The little bit left over goes toward the various emergency expenditures that come up throughout the year.
We would very easily fall out of Romney’s ‘very poor’ category.
Let’s be clear: the standard of living and security of a vast majority of beneficiaries will plummet under Republican rule. Why is this message not getting through to seniors? Whose fault is that? because it is unconscionable that this obvious fact is not obvious to 80% of the American people.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/12/michael-tomasky-on-gop-plans-to-sink-the-economy.html
Every out-party does a little discreet cheering for the economy to be weak. But the GOP has put itself in a unique position. By opposing everything Obama wanted with such ferocity; by saying all those thousands of times that he had no clue about the economy; by sending out a parade of presidential candidates, from the semi-serious to the clown posse, all of whose central criticism of Obama is that he killed the economy—in all of these ways the party has more invested in economic failure than any out-party I can remember in my lifetime. Its best hope for now is gas prices, but even they eventually get lower, usually by late summer. Beyond that, all the GOP has to rely on is Mitt Romney’s unstoppable charisma.
“Beyond that, all the GOP has to rely on is Mitt Romney’s unstoppable charisma.” DF you are hilarious! I have to run some errands, and this thought is what I am taking with me–I will be snickering all day. Too funny!
That last sentence almost floored me. “Unstoppable charisma”? Have they actually seen President Obama’s charisma? Even Sarah Palin, with all her darkness, has more charisma than Mitt Romney! Newt Gingrich has more charisma than Mitt Romney. George W Bush has more charisma than Mitt Romney. The last thing I’d say about Mitt Romney is that he’s got charisma. From the way he walks, to the fast, nervous way he talks, to the endless stream of lies that he tells while blinking innocently like he’s telling the truth. Absolutely no charisma whatsoever. He’s repulsive – like the rest of the lying GOP candidates.
I’m pretty sure that was snark, guys:)
Magnificent! 😆
Hee! But this cartoon is stroking that idiot, as if he could get that many people to attend his ‘speeches’! Myth will see this cartoon and say, See, look at them all, they really do love me, just like Obama’!
LOL..that sign LIES..he’s a sociopathic pathological LIAR. Isn’t that CRAZY? Dog on roof of CAR Shite?
Howling:
Mittens’ campaign asked twitter to send him birthday wishes yesterday. He got 19 tweets!!!!!!!! BWWWAAHAHAAA!!!!!!!!!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/very-sad-no-one-came-came-to-mitt-romneys-twitte
Hell, I had more than that on my birthday! 😉
Time to consider a run for office!
Hahaha. Can you feel the Mittmentum?
i had read that – hilarious.
Lol!
Ms Janet Dewart Bell… what a classy lady.
She is indeed. The GOP can’t help but bring out the difference between their people of hate and the quality of those they would attack. Janet Dewart Bell is articulate, well knows her subject and she is assertive, but not aggressive in support of herself, her husband and their values.
Reporting from Washington —
President Obama’s reelection campaign is tapping into excitement over the start of March Madness with a challenge to supporters: Best the president in bracket predictions and the campaign will “publish” your name on its website.
Termed the “Obama Bracket Challenge,” the campaign asks participants to fill out and submit their bracket predictions on the campaign website.
“How’s this for bragging rights,” the website says, promising to “publish a list of everyone who does better than the president” after the tournament is over.
But the challenge doesn’t end there.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-obama-campaign-sees-opportunity-in-ncaa-tournament-bracket-20120312,0,7461997.story
Good Morning TOD and forgive me if this has already been posted:
Sandra Fluke pens an op-ed at CNN
“By now, many have heard the stories I wanted to share thanks to the congressional leaders and members of the media who have supported me and millions of women in speaking out.”
“Because we spoke so loudly, opponents of reproductive health access demonized and smeared me and others on the public airwaves. These smears are obvious attempts to distract from meaningful policy discussions and to silence women’s voices regarding their own health care.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/13/opinion/fluke-contraception/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
thanks Donna
She’s brave.
IT LOOKS LIKE PBO IS COVERED ON MSNBC…WILL WATCH AND BE BACK LATER…HAVE TO DO ERRANDS TODAY…BLESS YOU ALL!
The Problem? Women Having Sex
North Carolina county commission turns down state grant for family planning services. “If these young women are being responsible and didn’t have the sex to begin with, we wouldn’t have this problem to begin with,” commission chairman Tom Davis explained.
03.12.2012 — 06:50 PM — DAVID KURTZ
Oh boy!
I say CUT THESE GUYS OFF! Let then all go in the bathroom and do it by themselves…..oh,what will happen to THEM for dumping those potential BABIES in the crapper??!!! I’m sick to death of these yahoos.
For a flash, I thought you wrote “CUT THESE GUYS THINGS OFF”. 😀 Maybe I was projecting…..LOL.
that would work 🙂
didn’t have sex to begin with..that says it al.. women have sex all by their lonesome..no men involved.
A speech from a Georgia Republican state representative surfaced last week in which he compared women seeking abortions of stillborn fetuses to cows and pigs.
State Rep. Terry England was speaking in favor of HB 954, which makes it illegal to obtain an abortion after 20 weeks even if the woman is known to be carrying a stillborn fetus or the baby is otherwise not expected to live to term.
He then recalled his time working on a farm:
“Life gives us many experiences…I’ve had the experience of delivering calves, dead and alive. Delivering pigs, dead or alive. It breaks our hearts to see those animals not make it.”
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/03/12/442637/georgia-rep-compares-women-to-animals/?mobile=wp
so the woman is supposed to ‘push out’ the dead baby? These men are clueless.
I do not believe I have ever heard a Republican shill when saying PBO has “failed the country” asked by the interviewer “how has he failed the country”. So many of the MSM interviews are worthless with nothing but canned talking points. Our political discourse is often policy free.
Exactly, Bill! The question: “How has (President Obama) failed the country” is never asked of Republicans who routinely say it as if it is a given fact.
Sadly, I’m beginning to admit, reluctantly, that you can’t please Obamobots. 😦 We are always complaining that Willard is a professional liar, and a flipflopper. So, what do we do when the guy tries to be himself AND SPEAKS THE TRUTH? We ‘complain’. Check out the Steve Benen article linked above again. Those were all instances of Willard revealing himself, showing what is at his core, being honest with the American people. Really, we ought to, without calling Willard names, just present him to a wider public every time he reveals another little piece of himself. We ought to encourage him to be himself and express his ideas, comments, impressions freely (like Alaska Barbie did in her speeches). Just saying …………….with tongue in cheek. VC
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) on Tuesday morning called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to settle a new dispute over how to allow votes for 17 district judges, and said he was disappointed that Reid decided to file for cloture on these judges on Monday.
“I’m here today simply as one senator, to say respectfully to the majority leader, I hope he will reconsider and not do that,” Alexander said on the Senate floor.
–//
Reid filed cloture???
Isn’t there some rethug primaries in south ? Or is it next week ?
Alabama, MS, and Hawaii is today!
Th, jovie. Any predictions on who will win what?
Just a few hours after federal and Bay Area transit leaders raised champagne glasses Monday to celebrate clearing the final financial hurdle to extend BART to East San Jose, attention turned to downtown San Jose.
That is the next planned extension — but the far more expensive segment. Tunneling underneath San Jose and building an aboveground link to Santa Clara will cost around $4 billion, and only half of that money is guaranteed.
“We have a lot of other sources we are looking at,” said Michael Burns, the general manager of the Valley Transportation Authority. “I am optimistic that we will solve this. We’re going to get BART to downtown.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/bart/ci_20157845/next-target-extending-bart-under-downtown-san-jose
PBO live now:
http://theobamadiary.com/2012/03/13/heads-up-96/
Fuck it! Secret Service protection for everyone.
Let’s put it on the ballot!
Thank you for your remarks this morning on Afghanistan and China, Mr. President. I am with you 100 percent!
Hi everyone! Hope you all are having a great day. Good about the petition at wh.gov! thanks for all the articles. gotta get back to work 🙂
Chipsticks, thank you for posting Janet Bell”s interview on the Ed Shultz show. She was marvelous! It’s so disgraceful the way the right wingers have been defiling her husband. I am also deeply disappointed that many black scholars, especially those at Ivy leagues, have been silent and have not come out strongly to condemn Hannity, Palin and other right wingers who, in attacking Derrick Bell, who is not here to defend himself, are attacking Black intellect.