President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet the family of Specialist Leslie H. Sabo, Jr., U.S. Army, outside the Oval Office prior to a Medal of Honor ceremony honoring Specialist Sabo, May 16, 2012. Pictured, from left, are: Kathleen Starkey, sister-in-law; Rose Sabo-Brown, widow; Frances Buccelli, mother-in-law. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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Washington Post/AP: When Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney decried the “prairie fire” of U.S. debt Tuesday, he ignored some of the sparks that set it ablaze.
One was the Great Recession that took hold before Barack Obama became president. That landmark event went unmentioned in Romney’s speech. Another was a series of Bush-era tax cuts that Romney wants to follow with even lower rates.
Instead he laid the blame on Obama, a president who has certainly increased the nation’s eye-popping debt — but not, as Romney claimed, by nearly as much as all other presidents combined.
A look at some of Romney’s assertions and how they compare with the facts:
ROMNEY: “America counted on President Obama to rescue the economy, tame the deficit and help create jobs. Instead, he bailed out the public sector, gave billions of your dollars to the companies of his friends, and added almost as much debt as all the prior presidents combined.”
THE FACTS. Hardly. Presidents from George Washington through George W. Bush ran the national debt up to $10.62 trillion, the amount it was on the day Obama took office. Today, it is $15.67 trillion, according to the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Public Debt. So it has gone up by $5.05 trillion under Obama. That’s roughly half of the amount amassed by all the other presidents combined.
In short, the debt has gone up by about half under Obama. Under Ronald Reagan, it tripled.
More here
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‘Renewing GOP vows’:
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Miami Herald: Welcome to FL, Mitt. Now why did Bain Capital lay off so many people in Miami?
As Mitt Romney returns to Florida on Wednesday for two days of campaigning and money-raising, Democrats are trying to ensure Floridians keep two words in mind: Dade Behring.
It’s the name of a former medical equipment manufacturer in Miami that Romney’s venture capital firm bought and then closed in the late 1990s, walking away with $242 million in profits.
“Obviously you need to make a profit to be successful,” Cindy Hewitt, Dade Behring’s former human resources officer, said Tuesday, at a Miami news conference organized by President Barack Obama’s campaign. “My concern is when businesses are used to generate wealth for a small number of people and businesses are run to the ground and the lifeblood is sucked out of it and all of their employees lose their jobs.”
The case of Dade Behring in Miami, where some 850 jobs were lost while Romney led Bain has been well-documented. But there’s a new wrinkle: The company under Bain’s leadership sought and received millions of dollars in tax breaks for creating jobs in Puerto Rico — shortly before closing its facilities, costing nearly 300 jobs.
More here
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In case anyone missed this today … it’s unmissable:
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Thursday: The President will attend meetings at the White House.
Friday: PBO will deliver the opening keynote to the Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC. Later on Friday, the President will travel to Camp David for the G-8 Summit, which will address a broad range of economic, political and security issues. The President will remain overnight at Camp David.
Saturday: PBO will remain at Camp David for the G-8 Summit. Later on Saturday, the President will travel to Chicago, Illinois, where he will welcome NATO allies and partners to his hometown for the NATO Summit on May 20-21. The First Lady will travel to Chicago with the President.
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Chat away 😉
The Obama Diary 
Me
I do not believe it!
Now I believe it!
Pamela?!?! PAMELA?!? 😆
I KNOW! I Know! I was leaving a reply for to say the picture is for both of us! Can you believe it, I was actually reading japa’s words, agreeing all the way. Figured I had better open the thread, and BOOM! Leave a comment was the enticing greeting, so how could I resist?
It’s spooky Pamela, just as you were first I looked out my window and saw this:
Strange things happening today.
Ys, ma’am, that was me alright! I have a classic flying pig to send you, soon, in an email! Thank you very much, Chipsticks, for this wonderful photo of POTUS & FLOTUS, and thanks to VC for letting me be first!
Geez, not ‘for to say’ for SWEETBAY! to share this hug! Hey, and a hug for everyone who voted for my daughter, it’s looking good for her to get the spot on the team! Will keep you posted….
I love this picture of POTUS and FLOTUS.
POTUS and FLOTUS concern for these people are real.
I see it’s you, but I don’t believe it either! Congrats! 😉 It’s all Theo’s fault for responding to my comment on the previous thread….That’s it, I’m no longer holding civil conversation near the end of a thread when I can feel in my bones that a new post is due.
Hey! I wasn’t even here and I’m getting blamed for this?!? I reject the blame… 🙂
Alright Pamela!! Woohooo! Congratulations!!
Just coming in to try to catch up on all the days events. So much good stuff here! Chips does it again!!
I am totally loving the video of Will Smith talking about Jaden’s question to PBO — priceless! I bet the President gets asked that by most kids that come the the White House though. So cute!!!
…and Big Ups to my boy Dave, who’s always been a huge Obama fan! LOVE HIM!!!
Congrats, Pamela. I’m hanging around to see what picture you get. I love those pictures.
Hey, where’s my avatar?
Grump! Humffp!
VC, do I dare to tell you that not only was I reading japa, but still had to enter my email and name, and with all that, I somehow was first! I feel so special! 😆 oh yes, and please all pat yourselves on the back, as Denea’s vote count is still rising! The link: http://www.the-french-job.com/videos.php?show=4fb253e3f01c9
3rd attempt to answer. Laptop keeps cutting me out. No idea why.
Voted last night. Was happy to see that you can only vote once (Hit the button twice cause I wasn’t sure the 1st had registered, but was set straight).
I had some problem earlier with safari telling me I had lost my connection, the only way to get out is to close the thread, lose the comment, and start over. If it’s a long-winded reply, I usually give up! So much for long winded replies, eh?
I’ve been experiencing an excessive amount of cut offs in the last couple of weeks and I have no idea why. Plus my laptop seems to be freezing up often too. Generally I just restart things except when I have to bite my tongue because I was in the middle of a long-winded response and then loose it all. This is the message I get with each cut off:-
—————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Whoops! The page could not be found. Try giving it another chance below.
Search the Web -[I get a search window called ‘Top 10’ at this point
Search
—————————————————————————————————————————————————
It’s puzzling because I am usually ON the page before I am knocked off for them to tell me the page is lost.
Hmmm, this is similar to what I have been seeing, except the post comment field goes grey, and a window pops up sayng safari, yadda yadda…… But the reply does not go away even when I hit cancel reply: it re-appears later when I go to make another comment! I actually have to backspace it all the way out, still have to refresh before I can reply again. I guess I agree it has been about a month, maybe since that first revamp WP made, when I never did get my fancy little box, but I still have my name!
Since you are my running for first BFF you can dare to tell me anything, Pamela! 😉 Just hold on to the trophy until I manage to get my finger movements coordinated then you can hand off. Between my coalition with you and with my special friend, Amk I should be back in the first place limelight soon (Please, oh Spirit of self-esteem and self-pride).
YES. YOU. WILL! 😆
Thanks for posting link again. Forgot to vote yesterday. Just voted and tweeted.
Thank you very much, Alycee! I think I will post it until it closes…. (am so pleased with myself for learning to cut and paste from a website to the reply field, on the iPad! Astonishing! and fun!)
I just put in my vote for her. I love her vid and the excitement in her voice. Like some others, I tried it a 2nd time to make sure and was told my vote was already counted.
Thank you, thank you, please share, this hug would feel pretty good if I was in the middle of it, I would never be sad again!
Congrats!
I would melt if i got that hug! Wow!
O/T: Me Loves Joe. 😆 ——–“they don’t get us!”
Good heavens, what kind of party are we going to have when TOD turns 10,000,000 hits? Roll up the carpets, WE SHALL DANCE! I might even have a glass of wine! (what?)
MARTINS FERRY – Commuters on Thursday will likely see some traffic delays and high levels of congestion when Vice President Joe Biden’s motorcade arrives in the city for an invitation-only event at the Staffilino Car Dealership.
For the first time in Martins Ferry history, a sitting vice president is coming to the city and Sgt. Charles Ghent is serving as liaison between the Martins Ferry Police Department and the Secret Service for the upcoming event.
For security reasons, officials have released few details about the vice president’s first visit to Martins Ferry. Ghent did state that the police and security requirements of protecting the vice commander-in-chief typically lead to traffic issues.
http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/570004/Martins-Ferry-Readies-for-Biden—-.html
In front of Car Dealership? Brilliant!
This article, not that one-
http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/569872/Biden-Time-in-Ferry–V-P–to-Visit-Valley.html?nav=515
What is the deal w/ PBO’s budget ? Why are Democrats voting against it? I’m confused.
It’s a parliamentary tactic. Other than that, I’m not sure.
It’s very bizarre.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/16/senate-budget-jeff-sessions_n_1522643.html
Since when does Jeff Sessions propose anything Obama suggests…
LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!! Retweeted!
Our busy, busy First Couple. Please, please, please take a mini vacation.I want you rip-roaring ready to go for your re-election. You have time cause once you get the momentum going you two won’t have any time to break till sometime in maybe February of 2013. I love you President and First Lady Obama and want you firing on all cylinders.
P.S. I know that you both are work-a-holics and like being busy as am I but you are the best things to happen for this country in a long, long time and I really want you to continue on but you must take it easy for a day or two. I’m just sayin’.
Vitaminlover, I totally agree with you, I have been praying for a break for them for quite a while now, it seems only fair. Bless you for your care and concern. 🙂
I thought so too. could hardly keep up with them these past few days and so much more to come in an election year.
I read a wonderful piece this week on TOD shredding willard’s disgusting shrug-off of his cruel and sickening attack on another student in prep school as a “prank’. I’d like a copy of it. Can anyone direct me to that post? Thanks!
Is this the one magapie?
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/mitt-romney-bullying-8835667
That’s it! — THANKS CHIPS!
Welcome 😉
Thank you for the link, Chips..I read Charles Pierce’s ariticle on romeny’s Bullying, too.
Okay, Peggysticks, have sent the flying pig photo you may use when seeing me out your window next time! 😆
Thursday May 17, 2012
Previous
Next
Obama has no public events scheduled.
10:15 AM
Biden delivers remarks at a campaign event in Martins Ferry, Ohio.
2:00 PM
Jay Carney and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon brief the press.
Good! No public events scheduled. A little down time at least. Maybe a late snooze and snuggle.
Hello Everyone!
Just for you.
Awww…. a tribute for me? I love it! 🙂
Ohhh… a John Travolta fan, are we? 🙂
I did grow up watching that show.
me too….
thanks for the link. I am absolutely crazy about old TV themes especially my fave, MacGyver
Gobrooklyn, I honestly don’t mean to be unkind, but the lateness of your arrival on this thread makes VC look like Usain Bolt:
And sheesh, that’s saying something.
{{GoBrooklyn}} Nice to see you!
Honey, I admire your PBO-like restraint in not allowing yourself to be provoked (by she who shall be nameless) into a rash response. You can be a part of the silent group of us participants who are taking the long view, ..who have a north star that we are working purposely towards…who will not be distracted…who…..whatever, you get the picture 😆 😆
If GB wanted to be harsh, she could post a Youtube of the Manchester City fight song. But that might make Chips faint, and then who’d post new threads??
No, no LL!
/said with great piety/ We have no wish to hurt our dear Leaderess. We are from the ‘turn-the-other-cheek’ cult; AT LEAST, WE ARE UNTIL WE ARRIVE AT THE NORTH STAR, then we’ll borrow a bullhorn!
What would be hot is the pic of the I-have-a-squirrel-on-my-head guy’s reaction when he learnt that his team lost the league title in the lastest possible moment. I hear his loser manager has spent a lot in buying all kindsa restraints just for that guy.
Yeah, he was quite crushed.
vc. By the power granted by al gore, the guy who invented teh interntez, vc/amk team has already appropriated all the first posts in every frigging blog out there. These poor people just do not know that yet.
Oh, you woke up did you?
Yup. With the first coffee for the day. While you losers have to wait for another 12 hours.
😆 Is it tomorrow with you already? What’s the future look like, also too?
Hot and muggy. Hate Indian summers. I don’t know wtf the poets were on when they pine for indian summers.
There are days which occur in this climate, at almost any season of the year, wherein the world reaches its perfection, when the air, the heavenly bodies, and the earth, make a harmony, as if nature would indulge her offspring; when, in these bleak upper sides of the planet, nothing is to desire that we have heard of the happiest latitudes, and we bask in the shining hours of Florida and Cuba; when everything that has life gives signs of satisfaction, and the cattle that lie on the ground seem to have great and tranquil moments. These halcyons may be looked for with a little more assurance in that pure October weather, which we distinguish by the name of Indian Summer.
I’m exhausted after composing that.
zzzzzzzz.
Chipsticks, you are a poet. Now we know.
I just knew that your first name was really “Emerson”!! 🙂
Losers????? 🙂 were going to bed while you get to work while we sleep….WINNING 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hey! I got here eventually didn’t I?
(Psst GB! If you and I are going to be on the same team against she who shall not be named, you really shouldn’t make fun of the way I walk. Hurt feelings and all that, you know.)
😆
Hmmm….I don’t know VC. Ms. X is quite powerful around here. Have to watch it or she’ll unleash a string of her famously photoshopped pics on me. 🙂
Oh! Makes sense.
VC makes that fella look like:
Turtle & the hare. Turtle & the hare, Ms Chips.
That sloth is one ugly creature.
Ms Chips! Thanks so much for the wonderful posts these past few days! I have had house guests, and had no time… but am catching up today! So much love the medal of honor presentation, and the way our president honors the Viet Nam vets. My father flew fighter jets in ‘Nam, and the only time I ever saw him weep was when we found him cleaning up the mess made by some local clowns who egged our car and driveway the night he came back after serving there for a year. Loved the Letterman clip too, brilliant!
It breaks my heart every time I hear stories of how the Vietnam vets were treated – many of whom were only very young men. Thanks to your father for his service.
So many still feel the sting of coming home to an ungrateful country that blamed them for following orders of elected officials that the people of this country voted into office. My friend volunteered right out of high school and was sent to vietnam at 18yrs old and thank God he came back whole but his spirit was changed. People like Limpballs, Robme, Cheney, were too much of a coward to go to war yet they want to send other kids to war and if Robme and the Republican get back into office, we will have more war.
Yes, it surprises me that while people are claiming to be tired of war, they would vote for Romney – who promises unending wars, and is trying to destroy opportunities for kids so the military is their only option. An unending supply of bodies to feed to the war machine – and no budget to properly equip them or take care of them if they return from battle. Astounding.
Thank you theo and jojo, for your very kind and wise words.
Can I just say that watching my loan getting funded on lendingclub.com is both cool and frustrating at the same time?
Loan for what? Repairs?
Debt consolidation.
What is up with that? Why do All Senate Democrats vote against the Presidents Budget?
Those are major talking points for the right!
Meh.
As I said above, there IS a method behind the madness, I just don’t recollect what it is.
They are afraid of the vote in an election year.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/16/senate-budget-jeff-sessions_n_1522643.html
Or simply put. They use his numbers but the priorities are all out of whack. Hence it is not his budget.
I have NO idea how “this man” does all that he does – he never stops “doing” things for the American people. I get tired reading his schedule.
And this seems to be the only site on the internet that shows all that he does – it’s a joy to spend a little time here – and see how much the Obama family do for their country.
This makes 4 Obama nominees on the Fed Board-
At 10:30 the chamber on Thursday will begin consideration of Jeremy C. Stein and Jerome H. Powell for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Their nominations had previously been held up by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.). The Senate will vote to confirm the nominees at noon. Both votes have a 60-vote threshold but that shouldn’t be an obstacle since Senate leadership has voiced optimism that the nominations have strong bipartisan support.
The Hill-
Hee!
Any pictures of this encounter?
So, Robney People stalking Biden too?
Pathetically childish isn’t it ?
Yup!
That’s what bullys do…
Apparently they have nothing better to do. Robney bores them to tears so they relieve their ennui by stalking the Obama team/campaign.
I’m not sure the Romney campaign has even progressed to 8th grade level…..did they think this was clever idea…a smooth move? Truly pathetic!
So, Rove just gave an interview to the WSJ, saying Obama Camp off to Rocky start.
Huh? I don’t get it? What is Rove talking about?
Just practising his strategy of trying to turn a strength into a weakness.
What this really means is that PBO’s roll-out has hit home and Rove feels he has to attck on behalf of Willard.
Good point.
Willard can’t stand up for himself, he doesn’t know how, so he sends out the slimy Rove to do the talking…..Rove, Bush’s “brain”….we need to connect those two for everyone…..don’t let people forget.
What Obama (camp) is he talking about? Duh. Does he not see/hear the crowds? Oh, wait, this is bully (scaredy cat) Rove we are talking about.
Rove can’t see or hear over the raucus rowdy Robme crowds…..all 200 of them.
jovie141,Oh no! That isn’t true is it? I mean Karl Rove said so, so it got to be true. I can not believe that the Obama camp is off to a rocky start. Seriously, Karl Rove is another one of those bold face liars and he fit right in with Mitt Romney, that other liar.
Rove is a big sack of lying crap that is not even fit to have his name in the same sentence with our president. I dislike Rove with a passion, and I truly do not believe anything this piece of crap will ever say about our president. Rove can kiss my behind.
Let us move FORWARD. Good night every one. Thank you for all that you do Chips. Lord knows we are going to all need to stick together as we move FORWARD. (((((((((((((((((( Love My TOD Family.))))))))))))))))))))) HZ
The Alien conversation between Will Smith’s son and President Obama is just too funny.
Just announced by OFA
We are 2 Million!
It’s official: 2 million people (and counting) have given to Obama 2012. Thanks to all the grassroots fundraisers, the donors who give a little each month, and the new supporters who now own a piece of this campaign.
What was that number in 2008 ?
The 2008 campaign didn’t reach 2M donors until late July!
But Chuck Todd said there were empty seats….
Thanks kay. Just needed to know the trendline, which looks very good so far.
Yup we’re doing well w/ the grassroots game! 🙂
What Messina should do is a month-by-month comparison of donors/amount for 2008/2012. That would fire up more people to get involved. Every one wants to be in the winning team after all.
Good idea! maybe Tweet it to him?
Softening, Merkel Says She Is Open to Stimulus for Greece
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BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said Wednesday that she was ready to discuss stimulus programs to get the Greek economy growing again and that she was committed to keeping Greece in the euro zone, signaling a softer approach toward the struggling country.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/world/europe/greek-stimulus-is-an-option-merkel-says.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Phew! Let’s hope it works out.
A balanced approach. Where have I heard that before. His initials are President Barack Obama. The world is playing catchup with our guy. Love him to pieces. He’s ahead of the curve. Austerity and draconian cuts alone has been proven to be the wrong way to go.
It’s the shellacking her party received in Germany’s largest state this weekend.
Yup. She can finally read the tea-leaves.
The funny thing is this: Nord-Rhein Westfalen has more inhabitants than the Netherlands, but their gross domestic product is only 5/8th of ours.
No joke, LL, I live in NRW, and Merkel was well and truly smeared through the ballot box. Hopefully she will start to realize that austerity does not work, and that stimulus does.
OFA Volunteers in Ohio are FIRED UP!!
Love the diversity of our gatherings!
On April 13 the Environmental Protection Agency proposed the first-ever rules to limit carbon dioxide pollution from new power plants. Carbon dioxide is a major greenhouse gas that significantly contributes to climate change and threatens the health and safety of Americans. Existing power plants are responsible for adding more than 2 billion tons of carbon and other toxic pollutants into the air each year—nearly 13,000 pounds for every man, woman, and child in the United States. The new rules will reduce the pollution added by new power plants by 123 billion pounds annually.
This piece explains the carbon pollution standard’s benefits and why it’s important. Besides cutting pollution the standard provides regulatory certainty for utilities planning to build new power plants. Still, big utilities and the coal companies, along with their congressional allies, are mobilizing to block the standard. But they’re out of touch with public opinion. Speak up on this issue by submitting a public comment to the EPA supporting the rule.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/05/16/485004/proposed-carbon-limits-for-new-power-plants-would-avoid-123-billion-pounds-of-pollution-annually/?mobile=wp
G’Night TODville, can’t fight my eyelids anymore. Sweet dreams, everyone!
Sweet dreams, l’il gal!
Michigan elections officials had proof Emergency Manager repeal petitions were legal but kept it secret
By Eclectablog
http://eclectablog.com/2012/05/michigan-elections-officials-had-proof-emergency-manager-repeal-petitions-were-legal-but-kept-it-secret.html
That is so disgusting, I went to eclectablog’s site and read the whole story. They knew all along the font size was not wrong yet they lied and the judge would not allow the testamony…….everybody is getting their hands greased to steal and cheat.
Watching excerpts of Joey’s speech today on LOD. Damn, he’s good! Nobody can connect with these people like Joey can. Senator Obama knew what he was doing in 2008 when he chose our Joey! I forgot how much I enjoyed his barnburners on the campaign trail 4 years ago. he is truly the “Happy Warrior.”
Maya Angelou Center for Women’s Health and Wellness
God bless that young man in the story on how PBS journalism project is helping him and his classmates stay focused in school. This is a good video to watch folks. Thank you Alycee for posting it.
You’re very welcome.
Watching the Devils-Rangers game, and they showed Dennis Miller in the stands. As I assume he’s a Ranger’s fan, I say GO DEVILS!!!!
Miller is one of those right wing nuts.
Hope you get this, LL. Thanks for the explanation. It was very clear, and now I get it. I had to leave TOD for quite a while, that’s why I am just responding.
Question to all. I just got the results for donations of my neighbors. My name is also on there. It was sent to me from Harvard University as a result of donations that are of public record, Did anyone else get one of these? First I want to say…I am shocked that all but two of my neighbors are dems. Shocked I say, Shocked. These are your fisherman here in Florida with boats. I will say the two R’s are men and the dems are a mix but mostly women.
Wow. Never heard of such a thing. Kind of a privacy invasion on a grand scale, even if it is “public record”; public records are usually available to solicit, but they aren’t usually sent out to whole neighborhoods, in a mass mailing, giving up details on individual political contributions. Are they? This doesn’t sound right.
I thought the same thing as in privacy invasion. My next thought was to stop giving.
Don’t stop giving. But – this is very curious and a little disturbing.
Did you request this or was it sent unsolicited? The info is available on several sites like http://www.opensecrets.org/ ; http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/advindsea.shtml ; etc.
I did not solicit it. I am glad it only gives my first name and last name initial. There are no addresses but I do know some of these people,
Interesting. On the FEC site, it gives full name, address, profession, amount and donation date. OpenSecrets site gives full name, profession, amt and date.
I curious as to whether your doc was actually sent by Harvard University or was it sent by a political operative who either contracted Harvard Univ to prepare the report or who prepared the report themselves and made it appear to be from HarvardU.
BTW, was the envelope’s return addr Harvard U?
Okay, I see that Karl Rove has paid Twitter some coin to keep the hashtag about Obama’s budget trending. It’s been trending for HOURS now.
RIP Chuck Brown.
RIP Indeed. I’m a huge fan of his music!
Yeah, I do too. Lived in DC when GO-GO was really popping. When ever I want to get a laugh out of the younger set, I put on Bustin Loose and start dancing 🙂
Everyday I wake and say what great will he do today. I still believe.
WOW! Thanks! Here’s the embed
That’s awesome.
Thanks so much Alycee.
Just helping out a fellow TOD fam mbr… You’re welcome!
Ed said that 39% of union households are backing Scott Walker and Ed says it is President Obama’s fault.
wtf ? How ? Not to mention the fact that the union supported candidate didn’t even make it past the primary.
Fucking professional left/poutrage crowd. They only know how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
The Democratic Party, and this administration, are very likely to lose Wisconsin in November — because they’ve ignored the plight of the people fighhting fascism in this state. And I do not use that word lightly. That is what we are dealing with. Fascism. And Citizen’s United is winning. The proopaganda has never stopped. It has been very profession, very slick, very effective. Democrats in this state have fought so very hard. With so little support. And if the national Dems ignore us now, when we are so close to breaking, it’s going to be extremely difficult to get Dems to come out and vote in the fall. Do not underestimate, do not discount, how very, very difficult this has been. Our hearts are nearly broken.
And I would appreciate it if TOD’s would stop pissing on us, beating on us. With friends like these……
But I have a simple question for you: If Dems in Wisconsin refuse to vote in the fall, then who will that hurt? This seems very short-sighted. To stay home or vote for the people who are actively hurting you doesn’t make any sense. I’m sorry, but the people of Wisconsin voted Scott Walker INTO office. He didn’t steal the election – he won fair and square. Why is it now the President and the Democratic Party’s responsibility to get the state out of the bed they created? This is a situation that the people of Wisconsin made of their own volition. People decided to vote for Walker instead of the Democrat. You really can’t blame anyone else. And your ultimatum doesn’t make sense, when it’s the people of Wisconsin who will suffer the most, plus unleash a GOP tirade of terror across this country if you let Walker win. Nobody else can vote in this recall election except for the people of Wisconsin.
If people in Wisconsin refuse to vote for Democrats, then it will be a generation (or more) of suffering, and a reversal of gains fought with actual lives over a century of effort and trying. Hold yourself accountable for the situation you’re in, instead of accusing people on this blog or in other states of creating this mess or not fixing it for you. There is a huge amount of support for the people of Wisconsin on this blog and other sites, but the only people who can vote are the people of Wisconsin – who voted Scott Walker into office in the first place.
+1.
But……
I’m trying to explain. Unless you understand what is happening in Wisconsin, you cannot understand what is happening in Michigan, in Florida, etc., etc. Selfl-righteousness not win converts.
Yes, self-righteousness doesn’t win converts, but neither does blaming others. My point is that I’ve seen plenty of support for the people of Wisconsin since BEFORE Scott Walker was elected, and it has only increased. I even donated pizza myself during the Capitol invasion. Everyone is rooting for the people of Wisconsin. And OFA is on the ground there, too.
But – all that means zero if the people of Wisconsin have not yet seen the light, and refuse to kick Scott Walker out of office. If he wins, it will mean disaster for all of us – yet, we are still seeing that a large percentage of the people support him. The dire consequences of Walker winning the recall battle cannot be understated. It angers me when I hear people from Wisconsin blaming people outside of Wisconsin for Walker’s fate – when it’s the people of Wisconsin who selected him over the Democrat, even after 2 years of GOP obstruction, and who are still supporting him in significant numbers.
Focus on educating your neighbors, family and friends. They are the ones who everyone is relying on to send a message to Walker and the Koch Brothers and the GOP.
OFA is starting to coordinate, which is badly needed. But people simply do not have any understanding of how dire the situation is.
We need support (metaphorically) as a geographical area would need after it has experienced a natural disaster. And, in this case, it is exacerbated by a civil war.
P.S. Thank you for the pizza. I drove 400+ miles round-trip on week-ends to eat that pizza. Grandkids got a kick out of grandma protesting even though the kids themselves were a bit embarrassed….. But Grandma is still working to help support the two oldest grandkids who are already in college.
I’m sorry if I was harsh. Fingers crossed for the recall. And good on you for driving 400 miles to support the protest. You’re very welcome for the pizza! 🙂
I was so proud that the people in WI and Michigan pounded the sidewalks and got the signatures to overturn the disasterous 2010 election. No one likes to hear I told you so and a lot of those that are fighting to overturn this mess probably did not vote for Walker but I know for a fact that money and ads do not always cause the candidate to win. Meg Whitman outspent Jerry Brown but the OFA and the Democratic Party had boots on the ground and we went door to door to defeat Meg Whitman and the Republicans. Wisconsin can do the same thing. Join OFA, get your neighbors involved, if you need people calling from outside the state, but you can’t give up and you can blame National Democratic party or the President. The President is in a fight to get re-elected and he asked you guys not to give back the keys. Either a bunch of Democrats stayed home or they voted Republican to “teach the president a lesson”. Wisconsin you have got to stop listening to Ed Shultz, he’s the one who was telling people to stay home and look where that got you.
That’s Can’t blame the National Democratic party or the President.
Abused people need support, not lectures.
You posted here and told us what is going on in WI and it’s all the Democratic party and the President fault. You say you don’t need a lecture but we don’t one either, we want to help, we do support you but you have to hear some truths about your state and the people who elect people that want to bankrupt your state and destroy public workers. When your fellow union employees are voting for Walker when they should know better because they are next……”His Divide and Conquer” quote should be worn like a tire around his neck.
We want to support you and will. We know that ALL these GOP Republicans are bad for states because once you get a Democratic Govenor or President in office, they have to spend a lot of time cleaning up the mess. All I am saying please don’t turn on the National Democratic party and the Democratic President if you lose. Just don’t stop fighting to elect Democrats in your state houses, next governor, Senators, and THIS President. You had a great Senator in Feingold and either Democrats sat home or voted him out because from what I read in your newspapers, so many people wanted a change.
Take heart from what California did, we worked our asses off to get ALL Democrats in all the major positions in 2010 and we had a two millionaires outspending all the democrates, why didn’t Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan and Indiania vote in democrates. We had good candidates whiched helped. I am sorry that Feingold would not run for Governor because he would not be losing. You need to fire up your base to let people know what WI has to lose if they don’t get this Governor out and out now.
You still don’t get it. I have never said “it is the president’s fault” — I have noted that the state needs the administration’s support. You made the extrapolation.
Truths — how sweet, but naive. Liberals deparatedly need to understand how people vote. Again, it is a common error. Many assume people vote rationally. The vast majority, including many on this site, do not. That is truth, supported by very excellent research. People vote emotionally. It’s the old brain that goes into the voting booth. And we’ve had the propaganda of a modern day Goebbels machine battering us for two years.
It is dangerous to be naive about what is happening. I sincerely didn’t think fascism could happen here. I was sadly mistaken.The last two years in Wisconsin have quite a wake-up call.
With friends like these ?
Really. You project your failures on the president, dnc and others who question your failures ? Even after the walker disaster, If the dems in WI need constant prodding to vote, then they can own the mess that results.
Anyway, your post indicates preemptive blame gaming.
What I’m saying is that there is a lot of blame here. This is common among liberals. Academically it is called “the mean green meme” (green because of the level of development it represents in integral ltheory). There is a mean-ness among liberals toward others that are perceived as not as enlighteded as they are, that are perceived as beneath them (developmentally). And, yes, this level, similar to the “cultural creatives” of Paul Ray’s worldview levels, is a developmental “edge” in many ways (I hesitate to use the terms “higher” or “deeper” because they are so often misunderstood). Just peruse down the threads and this nastiness toward others if evident. That’s not who Obama is. That’s not what Obama represents.. Because, for one thing, he is beyond the majority of us in a developmental sense.
If Dems lose in June, which is very likely, yes, we will have failed, in one sense. But it’s us against Goliath. What many don’t seem to understand is what we are up against. We the people are getting squashed – over and over again.
Your post indicates you don’t grasp what’s happening. These are not fair fights. The people of Wisconsin, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Michigan, etc., etc. are NOT stupid. We cannot change the dynamics of what is happening in so many places in the U.S. if we continue to denigrate those who are experiences the effects of a growing fascism. And, yes, we do need support. We need it from the Dems nationally and we need it from the administration.
I am not into a lot of theorizing on where the left goes/went wrong. My simpleton view – If you want change, then move your ass and vote. Repeatedly until you win that change, regardless of the setbacks you will inevitably face in political fights. All this the left needs to be led, guided and supported, frankly coddled, by higher beings meme bore me.
Please, please, please — at least TRY to understand what is happening. Without awareness we cannot fight the enemy we are up against.
I hope Dems in WI come out and vote out gov walker. we really need to beat him at the polls because the whole country will be watching.
I do not know how much you yourself are involved in the recall campaign on the ground but here is one piece of advice that could help out. I have heard a few people complain that the unions in WI are not doing all they can to mobilize African American voters especially in Milwaukee and other areas. I do not know if this is true but if this group and other minorities have been ignored thenthere is still a few weeks left to rectify this
Milwaukee has greater extreme/concentrated poverty (defined as below half of the poverty rate) than most other cities per proportion of the population. Milwaukee has greater extreme poverty than New Orleans, for example. Milwaukee is usually from 3rd to 7th in the nation in terms of extreme poverty. That is the voter base volunteers are attempting to get to the polls. These are people attempting to survive.
Before Barrett, the administrator of Milwaukee was Walker!!! He left the city in shambles, economically. Like Romney is trying to blame PBO for current economic problems, Koch and Alec are blaming Barrett. And they have been for months. Very, very effectively.
The b.s. about unions is a common misperception. And it’s too long a story to get into here. The unions are fully backing Barrett and union members are working their behinds off.
At the same time, Walker’s divide-and-conquer methodology (well, Koch’s and ALEC’s) has been very effective. Blaming the parties below us in dominator hierarchies is very common, it is built-into-our-brains, in a sense. For more than two years, Wisconsinites have been programmed to blame the poor, to blame the uninformed, to blame the minorities, to blame the constantly-denigrated public employees. Think of the constant refrain of the Swift-Boaters against Kerry. That constant repetition has an effect, even if unconsciously.l
That’s it for me. My head is falling off now… Goodnight, sweet dreams and Yes We Will! See you tomorrow.
Sharing the reality of the #KOCHSTER plot against our President with a wide range of folk ….
All of whom need to take it to a much higher level in the months ahead to ensure the Promise of America is NOT DESTROYED …
#AmericaThisIsNotATest
#PRESSON
Given the ceremony today at the WH, this tweet really touched me deeply ….
#PRESSON
The MEGA-FAIL of the #NEWSTAINERS …
#AmericaThisIsNotATest
#PRESSON
Sharing the message ….
#PRESSON
You are our Twitter General, Bob! Press On, Brother!!
You are too kind! I’m just one of the TOD troops trying to contribute.
#PRESSON
Woot!
What the GOP fears the most- more minority babies being born now than white: http://t.co/dWprRLCY
Ponder this ….
“The Book On Mitt Romney: Here Is John McCain’s Entire Opposition Research File
A document found online by BuzzFeed appears to be John McCain’s entire, 200-page opposition research file — or “book” — on Mitt Romney from 2008, the year they were bitter rivals. Segments of the book have been posted on RedState.com, but this the first time the document has been shared for public consumption in its entirety.”
Long knives are out … #BullyMitt is no match for the dudes who truly hate him and you can be sure Senator McCain is one of them … his mom certainly is ….
#AmericaThisIsNotATest
#PRESSON
#PRESSON
that made the rounds a while ago too. i was skeptical then and now, especially if buzzfeed is involved. they’d never do anything to really expose rmoney. notice how the document doesn’t have anything about his personal taxes, offshore accounts, seamus the dog and all the various other things we’ve been discovering, and will continue to discover? i had been thinking that document was a false flag and getting people to think mittbot doesn’t seem all that bad after all, now move along…who knows…..
Yeah – seems suspicious.
Rightly so.
The little bit I have heard so far, man how I wish I could have heard VP Biden speech yesterday in Ohio.
Here’s something the media or Mitt Romney doesn’t talk about, his time as Governor of Massachusetts, has he just erased that period of his time. He can’t brag about jobs creation, when Massachusetts rank 47th out of 50 states in jobs. If I ever met anyone who think that Romney can do a better job with the economy, I would ask them what is it he will do?Also I would tell them to look at Romney’s record, as Governor, and at Bain Capital , his job was not to create jobs, but make money for his rich buddies.
As a real journalists, why don’t Tapper, Henry, Todd, Knoller, fine out why Mitt Romney refuse to release his tax returns.
A journalist is a person who has mistaken their calling.
– Otto von Bismarck
one guess: the MSM will not say a word about this but rather will continue pushing the negative numbers in the NYT poll
I have been watching the Leveson hearing on Rupert Murdoch and phone hacking. Today’s witness was Daily Telegraph columnist, Peter Oborne. Although it is something we already know, his choice of words describing the relationship bertween the government and the press made more of an impact on me, and I paraphrase a bit:
That “Government” has become a “private conversation” between the elite [read the 1%]. [In fact, I noted to myself, a private conversation between the politician 1% and the Media 1%]
Oborne asserts there is a conspiracy between the politicians and the news media to mislead the “readers” [or public] for their own benefit [usually financial].
He also says they [the pols and media] are willing and do persue vulnerable minorities in a vicious way to accomplish their goals.
I have to go back and watch again.
Karma…
Wow, OFA has all the social media bases covered. Here’s a little somehing for the Obot pinterest fans:
Guten Morgan. I think?
‘morning, Jovie!! 🙂
gopolitico – 4.7 million viewers tuned in to watch President Obama on ABC’s ‘The View’ Tuesday.
OMAHA, Neb. — Late last Thursday, hours after Mitt Romney had wrapped up a large rally and one of the most successful fundraisers in Nebraska history, Gary Wilwerding was camped out with about a dozen others inside a small office in a strip mall here that was buzzing with activity.
(Mandel Ngan – AFP/Getty Images)
As he has done for six to eight hours most weeks, Wilwerding, a 64-year-old retiree, was working to train other volunteers and help piece together data gathered from neighborhood canvassing and phonebanking.
His objective: To defend the dot.
The “dot” would be the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District, an area that then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) narrowly won four years ago despite losing Nebraska’s statewide vote to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) by a 15-percentage-point margin.
That win wasn’t for naught: Nebraska, along with Maine, is one of only two states in the country that award a portion of their electoral college votes by congressional district, meaning that Obama came away from deep-red Nebraska with one of the state’s five electoral college votes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/romney-in-omaha-doesnt-comment-on-gay-marriage-high-school-pranks–sticks-to-energy-moms/2012/05/10/gIQAfWiKGU_blog.html
1 electoral vote, better than none!
Robney and RNC got 40 million in April. That is a whole lot of cash for them. I don’t get it? Must be a whole lot of cash, from wall street just pouring in???
Sigh!
The point is not how much money he raised – it’s how many individual donors? 10 Wall street tycoons giving 4million each does not translate to the same number of votes as 500K+ donors giving an average of $50 each.
And so far, all Robney’s cash and superpacs ads aren’t really helping him against PBO.
But I thought they said they wanted to talk about the economy and how Romney was a job creator?!?!?
Morning everyone:
http://theobamadiary.com/2012/05/17/the-depths-to-which-theyll-sink/