He’s in and out of a relationship, so he might be lookin’ soon. Really, he’s a Renaissance Man, including being a self-taught gourmet chef, so I’ll keep your name on file (top o’ the list). Wouldn’t want to suggest it now; he’ll think I’m selecting women for him!
Speaking of nuts, did you all get the quip from Leon Panetta? He mentioned that he was happy to return to his family and his walnut farm and then he added that he would be dealing with a different set of nuts. The President laughed and I am surprised that the remark didn’t show up on Twitter.
We LOVE them. We make them all the time. My beloved Pilgrim, a yorkie-poo who died several years ago, would go CRAZY for Brussels sprouts when we made them. I worked with our regular vet and a holistic vet when he had insulinoma. I know in my heart that we would have lost him a lot earlier than we did, for the fact that he ate his brussels sprouts and artichokes and beets.
He was at least 17 years old but may have been older. We adopted him as an adult. Diet was the best way to control his disease, as surgery was dangerous for so little and so old a dog. He surpassed all of our expectations.
To which I credit brussels sprouts!
Now I’m all teary-eyed. God, I miss that little dog. He was the Love of my Life……
hmmm–too bad pundits made the ‘better’ list. i’d put them down there with ebola and cockroaches. however, i actually like brussels sprouts, so there’s that.
Count me in a s brussel sprouts fan! Sadly, no one in my family liked them, so I hardly ever made them. Now I’m on my own, I really don’t cook anymore. My family would say this is not much of a change…;)
Brussels sprouts with bacon and chestnuts YUMMMMMMMMMMY! I’ve loved them since I was a kindergartener and came home for lunch asking mom for a plate of sprouts! All my friends thought I was crazy.
No, they have a slightly nutty taste. Just good. If you have even a tiny piece of good dirt, you can plant a few seeds. They’re great for colder areas of country, because they’re sweeter when picked after a light frost. I eat half my garden in the garden. Not just brussels spouts, but string beans, asparagus, broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, new onions and on and on! Maybe I should rename myself rabbit. 😉
Lol, thanks Carolmae!! I might try them one day, but I need to make sure I get the right person to cook them for me.
BTW, welcome to the TOD family!! I know you’ve been here for a while now, but I never came out of lurkdom to welcome you. You and your ipad are a hoot, lady!!!
Hmm…I’ll have to try that. Is there anything that tastes bad when you add pancetta? I don’t think so. I never truly liked brussel sprouts until I sauteed them but then one day I sliced them in half and roasted them. Now they’re a staple.
Brussel sprouts top my list of favorite veggies and shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as this congress. Try getting the sprouts still clustered on the stalk in the fall and roast them over the grill with a brushing of olive oil. Delicious. Pundits go right down there on the list with eating raw worms. .
I have a problem with lumping all of Congress together… both Reid & Pelosi have strived against the mess that is the republican Congress and I hate seeing them lumped in with this mess along w/ most dems. It is republicans in Congress that have screwed us.. and the media who carries their water. Anyhoo I think cockroaches & repub Congresscritters are on a par with each other… much like that rat that continues to creep into my garage.
Jonathan Frieman, a 56-year-old San Rafael resident and self-described social entrepreneur, failed to convince a Marin County Superior Court jurist Monday after he argued that he was not alone when a California Highway Patrol officer pulled him over in October while driving in the carpool lane.
Instead, Frieman admitted that he had reached onto the passenger’s seat and handed the officer papers of incorporation connected to his family’s charity foundation.
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By Frieman’s estimation, if corporations are indeed persons as was first established in the 1886 Supreme Court case Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad Co. and he offered evidence that a corporation was traveling inside his vehicle – riding shotgun, of course – then two people were in his car.
Just heard him tell the tale on the radio when I was out and about. He lost his case, judge said his papers weren’t a passenger—-hmmmmm—- is going to appeal, prepared to go all the way to the Sup. Ct., considers this the first crack in the “corporations are people, my friends” ruling.
Repost of rhetorical ? proposed yesterday by ForUS50 ” I’m confused. Do we elect United States Senators or Israeli Senators? ”
“I have always argued against some of the dumb things they do because I don’t think it’s in the interest of Israel. I just don’t think it’s smart for Israel,” he said……..“I’m not an Israeli senator. I’m a United States senator,”…….. he told Miller for his book “The Much Too Promised Land,” released in 2008……….. “I support Israel, but my first interest is I take an oath of office to the Constitution of the United States, not to a president, not to a party, not to Israel. If I go run for Senate in Israel, I’ll do that,” the ex-senator said. http://www.amazon.com/Much-Too-Promised-Land-Arab-Israeli/dp/0553384147 …… To ad on to” Good luck with that. Here’s what the confirmation folks are looking at.”
oooohhh… This clip also gives a flavor of why “Gramps” McCain doesn’t like Chuck Hagel. Hagel is an enlisted ‘grunt’ who is smarter than the “Admiral” ever hoped to be. Hagel called ‘bs” on more than a few of his colleagues.
“Beginning in 2008, the federal government poured billions of dollars into AIG to save it from bankruptcy. AIG’s reckless bets nearly crashed our entire economy. Taxpayers across this country saved AIG from ruin, and it would be outrageous for this company to turn around and sue the federal government because they think the deal wasn’t generous enough. Even today, the government provides an ongoing, stealth bailout, propping up AIG with special tax breaks — tax breaks that Congress should stop. AIG should thank American taxpayers for their help, not bite the hand that fed them for helping them out in a crisis.“
22 candidates files to fill ex-Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s seat in Congress:
The flood gates that opened after U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned from his seat last November closed on Monday with 22 people filing to represent the 2nd Congressional District.
With the crowded field of 17 Democrats and five Republicans, some candidates were baring their fund-raising credentials to set themselves apart from the pack.
By not thinning themselves out, they make it more likely in a special election where a GOPer could sneak in as Joe Walsh did. 17 Dems? Come on people weed yourselves down to 2 or 3.
Highly unlikely that a Repub would get elected in that heavily Dem district. But so far, no one stands out in that list—–and there are some real doozies. It seems to me there should have some kind of foresight here with a highly qualified candidate, or two, ready to roll.
Well done John Boehner and his ilk. Well done. With ratings like this, do they think they’ll win the public opinion battle when it comes to raising the debt ceiling? Hahahahahahahaha…..I laugh in their faces.
They don’t care! They are being paid to get rid of the federal government and everytine they raise the debt limit, they want the same amount of cuts.
That’s why we have to start running surpluses on the deficit, to bring down the debt. Making the debt limit irrelevant. And if a Republhcan ever gets into office and demands tax cuts and spending foolishly on the Military, the Democrats need to strongly oppose unless Its paid for!
WAS READING ABOUT GRAHAM WANTING TO BLOCK BRENNAN UNLESS HE GETS ALL THE ANSWERS ON LIBYA…GRAHAM IS THE KIND OF GUY WHO MAKES A RIDE IN HELL LOOK LIKE THE SENIOR PROM! HE’S WORSE THAN DISGUSTING!
I think that Lindsey is just seeking for some attention from pres Obama. That is what it is appearing to look like. Lindsey just can’t get Enough…..so he is Not stopping with his attention seeking ways.
Lindsey needs attention from somebody. 😜 He’s been on my naughty list since his time on the House judiciary committee that recommended impeaching Pres. Clinton. Think he is the last person of the group still in Congress. He makes my skin crawl. He was the MSM rising star in those days. Waiting for the old geezer to die. (Strom Thurman). Remember how all the R’s in the House fell one by one because of their own piccadilos? Was it Livingston who lasted a day? KARMA!
Graham should be forced to ask his questions in public, with no time limit, and only go home when his irrational curiousity (which is putting American secrets and national security in jeopardy) has been fully satisfied. they’ve had how many secret briefings, and he still hasn’t managed to ask the questions that would satisfy him? Then he’s a fool, and I’d like to know just how much time has been wasted, and how many other tasks the various members of the Obama administration have had to curtail in order to be available to this loser.
This is all about doing political damage to the Obama administration. They’ve received all the information they needed. ANd the internal investigation has lead to the resignation of some people in the State Department. The continuing questioning is just political bulls***.
What they want is as many news cycles as possible on Benghazi. They’ll use Brennan’s and Kerry’s confirmation hearings. Add to that Hillary Clinton possibly appearing in front of a Senate committee ( they have to be sure to damage her politically, just in case she would accept to run in 2016).
Let’s not forget that Republicans have been humiliated with the Bush Presidency and all its scandals: Abu Graib, the torture memos, the lies about WMD, the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plamme, the Justice department as a political arm of the Bush administration ( remember Alberto Gonzalez ?), the orgies at the Department of Interior, the mishandling of Katrina, and on and on…
Republicans have been enraged for four years and want to get revenge. But the Obama administration has been the opposite of the Bush administration: competent, effective, with no real scandal. President Obama’s cabinet is exemplary in terms of competence and integrity. So what the republicans are reduced to? Make the most noise possible about the rare problems that occur. Republicans have so little “to work with”, they go over the top each time. They tried to fabricate a scandal with Solyndra, and another one with “Fast and Furious”. It didn’t really work. Now they have Benghazi. A responsible party would already be satisfied with the internal investigation, the resignation of people at the State Department, the transparency of the reports, the numerous briefings given by the administration. But republicans, authoritarians as they are, will continue to talk about Benghazi as long as it benefits them politically. And they’ll receive a lot of help from the media, who thrives on “controversy”.
I bought a plate four years ago. Then I heard Pres. Obama isn’t a plate guy. I know how to pick a great President, but I mess up on other things! 😉 But then I found this sight!
I had to dash out from work to take my 16 year old son to his job and made the mistake of listening to the POTUS station on my car satellite radio. That imbecile Julie Mason show was on and she did a segment with Grover Norquist. Can I just tell you that I practically wrecked my car listening to that bastard bloviate his hate and am now horse from screaming at my dashboard!. Julie Mason told Maggie Haberman during the following segment that her Twitter was going bonkers with people complaining about ol’ Grover. I do not Tweet so if you all wish to pushback to Julie Mason, please do. I think her twitter is @juliemason. She has an afternoon show on “Politics of the United States” (POTUS) on Sirius XM. Ughhh!
Juilie Mason is a Karl Rove protege’, she used to do the Politico 44 blog and trash PBO all day, unfortunately she is a board member of the WHCA, which is why you will see her at the head table w/ PBO at the WCDinner everyear.
I believe Bill Press still lets her spew her bile on his show. I stopped listening/watching his show when I saw how much time he gave to these PBO-trashing imbeciles. That’s not ‘balance’ — that’s giving yet more air time to lies.
The single bottle of White House Honey Ale that President Obama presented to Minnesota resident Brad Magerkurth last August has fetched $1,200 at auction, a price usually reserved for rare wines. The President gifted Magerkurth with the bottle during an off-the-record stop at the Coffee Connection in Knoxville, Iowa while on a campaign bus tour through the crucial swing state.
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After weeks of debate–with plenty of pals urging him to flat-out sell the beer–Magerkurth finally decided to use his gift to raise money for a charity that’s close to his heart, he told Obama Foodorama. That way, Magerkurth said, his gift could be shared with fellow beer enthusiasts as well as be put to good use. Known to friends and business associates alike as “The Beer Guy,” Magerkurth firmly believes that “beer unites people.” His bottle of Presidentiale was auctioned off during Taste!, a food and drink festival at University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis during the weekend of Sept. 28.
Ten people paid a total of $1,200 to share the 12-ounce bottle, with the proceeds going to the University’s Amplatz Children’s Hospital. The moment was ripe with ceremony, with a big crowd gathered around a stage in the stadium to watch as the plain brown long neck–unlabeled, because it was from the President’s own private supply–was opened.
“The University of Minnesota marching band played Hail to the Chief, and then we cracked open the beer,” Magerkurth said. “We all shared it on the stage.”
“I was pretty ecstatic,” Magerkurth said. “For someone in the beer industry, it’s about the coolest thing in the world.”
O/T but: Hey, my new mail handler looks just like Matthew McConaughey. I’m too old for him, but I figured all good news must travel … so, I told my 20-y/o granddaughter in Florida when she called, after I saw him, and she’s thinking of coming for a visit. Talk about wanting to “go postal.”
[Jeebus! Sorry if this has been posted already, but JEEBUS!]:
Arizona’s 3TV reports that Arpaio’s volunteer force is comprised of around 3,000 members, some of which have criminal pasts.
According to CBS5, Arpaio’s office has provided a list of more than 50 schools in unincorporated Maricopa County that will be patrolled by the posses, which are in charge of providing all of their own weapons and equipment. The volunteers will not actually be posted on school campuses, but will instead monitor the areas around the facilities.[…]
The program is getting started as Arpaio prepares to be sworn in for his sixth term on Monday. The volunteer patrols will kick into full gear on Wednesday, and will be rolled out with a press conference.
number one: I can’t believe Arpaio was voted in for another term. Number two: How will normal, sane citizens know when they’re dealing with a criminal posse member (I thought convicted criminals weren’t allowed to own guns?), versus just a regular crazy with a gun – and what will the police do when they’re called in to investigate a stranger with a gun in the vicinity? This should get interesting. And dangerous.
they love him there. you should hear my batshit crazy brother-in-law about this loon. Of course, my brother-in-law is truly insane. He makes Rush Limbaugh look moderate. And he’s my husband’s twin!
Luckily, we don’t have to see him very often. The last time he visited he got out of his car in my middle class bungalow Chicago neighborhood and started screaming that his son, the Chicago cop, should take his gun and shoot all of these ‘illegals’ on sight. In my United Nations-type neighborhood with Hispanic homeowners, middle class working people just like us.
This is the guy who moves to Arizona with no skills, no education and he’s the one who’s pissed that the Latinos charge less to paint a house than he does. It breaks my husband’s heart — it’s his twin after all. Although they don’t look alike at all and I got the ‘good twin’.
Unfortunately, I think that we’ll see many more “experiments” like this in some “gun states”. And, inevitably, we’ll see some tragedies, demonstrating the absurdity of responding to gun violence by more guns in the streets. The only hope I have is that some delusional gun lovers will finally wake up when they see for real what the “civil police state” they dream of looks like. Some people have to go down the rabbit hole before finally waking up.
This seems like a huge mistake. I understand the wife’s desperation, but releasing the photos and information to the media is the last thing she probably should have done. She has no idea what plans she’s disrupting, even though it might appear that nothing is happening on the surface.
This is a common problem with a lot of people regarding the Obama administration. The O-team tends to do things very quietly and discretely. Peeps should have gotten this after four years.
Please, can the Left stop waxing poetic about this RWNJ just because he said a few nice things about PBO, the way a governor SHOULD speak about a POTUS who is stepping in to help his country?
THIS!!!!!!! Christie is still a bully and I still despise him. He has not changed. I hope people do not get carried away and caught up in this Christie moment to much. He is not presidential material.
The way his press office presented its release, making the statement of support of Hagel in Israel, seems like he is using Bibi as cover for the Jewish community in FL. Either way its pathetic, however its received.
Good News for Dems in Va (although I am not a big McAuliffe fan he would be far better than anything the Repubs have to offer).
PPP’s first Virginia poll of 2013 finds Terry McAuliffe leading Ken Cuccinelli 46-41. When Bill Bolling is thrown into the mix as an independent candidate he gets 15%, with McAuliffe’s lead expanding to 8 points at 40/32.
The story of the race at this point is really how unpopular Cuccinelli is. Only 29% of voters have a favorable opinion of him to 45% with a negative one. Even among Republicans there are significant doubts about him- only 48% see him favorably with a much higher than normal 23% of voters within his own party seeing him negatively.
Cuccinelli, the teabutts wonder boy. Good, I hope these crazies keep putting up their poster kids of the foil brigade. Then we can run a Dem against them. Probably the only way to overcome the gerrymandering that will assure GOP strongholds for years to come. In most cases a Dem has to win by 7% in gerrymandered districts to turn it over.
Q And a quick follow-up on Major’s question about the process towards sequestration. For those who think that the President maybe learned from the process he just went through on the fiscal cliff that he will not be dealing with Speaker Boehner, does the President — can you just clarify, does he fully intend to have continuing conversations directly with the Speaker, to negotiate with him directly?
MR. CARNEY: Well, the President believes that as part of our system of government the executive branch engages with and negotiates with the legislative branch, and that will continue — on a range of issues, not just economic and fiscal matters. And the President, as he said, is very open to compromise on a range of issues when it comes to addressing our fiscal challenges and putting in place policies that help our economy grow and continue to create jobs. He will not negotiate over Congress’s responsibility to pay the bills that Congress has incurred.
As you know as a veteran reporter here in Washington, a President cannot by himself or herself spend a single dollar. Congress passes the laws. Congress appropriates the funds. Congress racks up the bills and Congress must pay the bills. And it is simply inappropriate and extremely dangerous to suggest that in the name of a political agenda we would default, for example, on our obligations to pay our bills. That is Congress’s responsibility and the President will not negotiate with Congress over Congress’s responsibility to pay its bills.
I love that Carney said this, ” a President cannot by himself or herself spend a single dollar” – they definitely see a woman President in this country’s future. I hope other female candidates aren’t scared off by the furor around Hillary Clinton, who has repeatedly said she’s not running. I hope good Democratic candidates aren’t scared off – male or female.
Q Is he committed to pressing that with Speaker Boehner? Will he try to talk to Boehner even if Boehner —
MR. CARNEY: Well, I think the distinction I’m trying to make here, in answer to Alexis’s question, is that he is, as he said from here, eager to and willing to compromise in order to achieve policies that advance our economic growth and help the economy create jobs, and bring down our deficit in a responsible and balanced way. He will continue to do that. And we have, as a result of the fiscal cliff, two more months to deal with the so-called sequester, and that’s something that the President will obviously be addressing.
What he will not do, as he has made clear, is negotiate with Congress over Congress’s sole responsibility to pay the bills that Congress has already incurred. Nobody forced Congress to rack up the bills that it incurred. And it is an abdication of responsibility to say that we’re going to let the country default and cause global economic calamity simply because we’re not getting what we want in terms of our ideological agenda. The President is not going to participate in that.
And I would remind you of the damage caused to our economy by the approach that House Republicans took on this matter just in the summer of 2011. As a result of their flirtation with default, the stock market plummeted. The DOW fell 7 percent, or almost 900 points, in late July and early August of 2011. The United States was downgraded and the DOW fell another 10 percent, or 1100 points after the S&P downgraded the United States. Consumer confidence plummeted to its lowest point since the financial crisis in 2008. Uncertainty for businesses froze hiring. Widespread uncertainty for middle-class families was created and caused. And job figures, job growth in August of 2011 was the lowest of any month in our economic recovery.
And that is what you get when you play games with the full faith and credit of the United States. We don’t expect, and certainly don’t hope — or certainly hope that the Congress does not engage in that kind of activity.
PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY MAKING IT PLAIN AND RELENTLESSLY ON MESSAGE:
================================================
Q You keep saying the President won’t negotiate on the debt ceiling. At the risk of sounding naïve, how does that work practically? If the leaders of Congress tell him they don’t have the votes to raise the ceiling, does he just say, no, I’m not going to talk about that?
MR. CARNEY: Well, the President believes that members of Congress were elected to serve their constituents. And as one of their essential responsibilities, to ensure that they do no harm in Congress to this economy and to the livelihoods of average Americans, flirting with default or, even worse, allowing default, would be a violation of those primary responsibilities.
And again, George, I can’t be more clear: These are bills that Congress racked up. If Congress felt that they should not be paying these bills or that there should be less spending and less borrowing, then they should have passed different legislation that appropriated funds. It is not the President’s responsibility to pass legislation to raise the debt ceiling; it is Congress’s responsibility. And he will not engage in a negotiation with Congress that as some advocates of this themselves have described as a hostage situation — a hostage situation that would result, as it did in the summer of 2011, in great harm to this economy and great harm to American businesses and great harm to average Americans.
So it’s just not the right thing to do. I think that there will be a — if we were to travel down that road for any time, a great deal of unanimity behind the idea that it’s a terrible proposition to flirt with default or to allow default. And let me remind you that if the position of Republicans in Congress will be that your choice, America, is between default and therefore economic chaos on the one hand, or voucherizing Medicare or slashing benefits for seniors, the American people are going to say no in both instances.
This is not the right way to do things in this country. You have to heed to your responsibilities here, and that includes paying for the bills that you racked up. This has nothing to do with future spending. This has to do with spending that has already been incurred. And it is Congress’s responsibility to pay its bills.
George, when you get a credit card bill, you pay it, and if you don’t, you get penalized. And in the case of not paying your bills when you’re the United States of America, when you’re the United States Congress, the penalty is both real in financial terms and severe for the economy and for the American people. The President won’t negotiate with Congress over Congress’s responsibility to pay its own bills.
LH, thank you for these very enjoyable episodes of Mr Carney schooling the dim bulbs (aka WHPC) …. just waiting for the day that either he or the President just go ahead and cite Section IV of the 14th 😉
Dear @PressSec the ever dull & dim #WHPC need to realize that Section IV, 14th Amendment is not ambiguous. Congress must pay it's bills.
Excellent tweet, Bob! It is not just Section 4 of the 14th Amendment but also Article I, section 8, which states:
“The Congress shall have the power to lay and correct taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to PAY THE DEBTS and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States…..”
Paying the debts of United States is one of the responsibilities of Congress under the U.S. Constitution. Congress will be violating the Constitution by refusing to pay the debts.
That’s because when they hear “food stamp president” from the likes of Gingrich, they don’t relate that term to themselves… Voting against their own interests.
Seemed worth reminding everyone of the facts in this WaPo article … especially as we ponder the 50 yr Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement. 21 Jan 2013 is momentous for sooooooooo many reasons.
Okay, how weird, I have brussel sprouts in my fridge that I need to cook tonight before they go bad. Found a recipe with prusuitto which I also, have, so it’s on!
bacon….mmm, mmmm, mmmm. it’s even good in ice cream, but brocolli? to die for. broccoli sauteed in the bacon drippings then cooked down in a little cider vinegar and spices with the bacon crumbled on top at serving time and you’ll want to slap yourself silly, it tastes so good. yoru pursutto sounds good. Isn’t that a form of bacon?
Yes, it’s thinner. Wow my mouth is drooling from the brocoli though. I’m going to eat more vegetables this year, unfortunately they are all going to be dripping in fat! 🙂
Since the start of fiscal year 2011, President Barack Obama has signed into law approximately $2.4 trillion of deficit reduction for the years 2013 through 2022. Nearly three-quarters of that deficit reduction is in the form of spending cuts, while the remaining one-quarter comes from revenue increases. As a result of that deficit reduction, the projected rise in debt levels from today through 2022 has decreased by nearly 10 full percentage points of gross domestic product. In fact, under today’s policies, debt levels in 2022—as a share of GDP—will be only slightly higher than they are expected to be by the end of next year.
Yesterday I posted that I had emailed my Sen. Barrasso for Inauguration tickets. I got a reply that said they wouldn’t know until next year when the Jan. 21, 2013 tickets would be available. Sorry, I can’t tell you my best responses i thought, but I did write back telling them it 13 days away. I did get a response that tickets would be available next week. I need to give names of people who will be going. Also need to tell them if I have requested them from anyone else in our delegation. We can’t go, I just wanted to see how it works. Is it allowed to request them for people who live close in Dem states that might not have enough tickets?
I saw the Righteous Brothers in person once, in a music-circus-in-the-round type place, and they walked by our table as they were singing. Seems like yesterday! Be still, my heart. Love this song.
TX Supreme Court is GW Bush and Perry. Remember the late Ann Richards was the last Dem in Jan 1995. Since 1998, No Dem has held a statewide elected office.
Hi Chipsticks,
Just checking in at end of work day. This post, after seeing so many with beautiful First Family, etc. is rather jarring, to say the least! 🙂 I think I will wait until I see a new one so I don’t ruin my appetite.
Jon Lovett along w/ Neal Brennan(SNL) are the guys who write most of PBO’s jokes at the WHCA dinner. Josh Gad of South Park creators “Book of Mormon” is the main character of the show, produced by creator of Glee, if anyone was interested?
My fave too. I passed it along to my little granddaughter who plays the viola in her orchestra, and she surprised me with my own private concert of Ode to Joy when we visited. I love musicians —because they absolutely love what they do—-and they make people happy.
Hey xtine, I watched it last night and I must say it was not that good. Maybe I should say, it was kinda slow. Hopefully it will get better. Megan Goode is the actress you’re referring to and I’m trying to give her a chance, so I probaly will watch the next two episodes, but if it doesn’t get better, It’s a wrap!!!! It’s definitely no Scandal, but that’s a hard act to follow!!! LOL, as you can see I can’t wait for Thursday!!
Factions within the Obama administration are pushing to keep no more than a few thousand troops in Afghanistan after the military coalition folds at the end of 2014, a footprint that would make it hard to deliver on promises the United States has made to Afghans, according to U.S. officials.
As the debate over the size and scope of the post-2014 mission nears its end, some in the administration are pressing for a residual force that could be as small as 2,500, arguing that a light touch would be the most constructive way to cap the costly, unpopular war.
Those troop levels are significantly lower than the force some senior military officials have advocated, arguing that a sudden disengagement could lead to the collapse of a frail state and the onset of a new civil war. The low number also is a far cry from figures in the 10,000-to-30,000 range discussed among NATO allies and some U.S. officials as recently as a year ago.
I took my mother to see Elvis once – one of the highlights of her life! When he was on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, my mother was sitting on the floor in front of the TV just like her 3 daughters. My younger sister used to actually take off from work every year on Elvis’ birthday, until she retired. I’m crazy but not that crazy! Happy birthday, Elvis!
Posses with criminal records….yikes. The only way the posse will stop someone crazy like the killer in CO and CT is if they are people of color. They would NEVER profile a white guy on his way to school to kill a bunch of kids. What is their REASON for stopping anyone driving to the school? Are they going to search all cars heading to a school? This makes no sense.
A strong starting point is a measure first proposed four years ago by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, which she is about to reintroduce in the new Congress.
The Gun Trafficking Prevention Act would create, for the first time, a separate criminal offense for gun trafficking. It would also toughen penalties at every point in the trafficking chain — from straw buyers who purchase a gun for someone else to evade required record-keeping and background checks, to corrupt gun dealers who supply illegal weapons to the kingpins running the trafficking rings. Study after study has shown that a tiny minority of bad gun dealers are responsible for selling a huge number of the guns traced to crimes.
The measure would give the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives new authority to impose civil penalties and special restrictions, like increased inspections and inventory checks, on “high-risk” gun dealers suspected of assisting traffickers. Finally, it would authorize the addition of hundreds of new agents and other personnel for the underfinanced bureau to allow for more frequent inspections of all gun stores.
Excellent! I am definitely for stiff penalties for those who purchase guns for people who can’t legally buy one themselves. The Chrismas Eve shooting of firefighters involved a woman who had purchased the guns for the shooter because he could not get them. She has been arrested and could be facing 10 years in prison.
That’s stupid hot! I’ve been here when it’s been 118 degrees in the summer. It feels like the low setting on the oven…it feels like the skin is burning off your body. It’s a dry heat, my dying ass! It’s flipping ridiculous hot! I feel for them. I know what that feels like, and it’s not good!
Report: Obama likely to tap Lew for Treasury as soon as this week
Jonathan Easley
01/09/13 07:38 AM ET
Lew’s likely nomination would come as Washington gears up for a new round of budget fights.…
Obama White House.gov
The Obama Diary 
Hello?
Hey Carol! Your fingers were faster than mine! Congrats!
Thanks. They’ve been resting!
Congrats Carol! 🙂
Thanks. 🙂
ooooh!
I don’t believe it! ! !
Ya’ll are really quick this afternoon.
At least I hit the top 10. Congrats carolmaewy.
Thank you.
Hey, my family loves Brussels Sprouts. It’s a great cold weather vegetable! The ones you grow yourself are delicious! 🙂
My son has a superb recipe for Brussel sprouts (don’t ask me – cookery skipped a generation).
Jacqueline, is your son partnered/married? If not, I want to be his wife. Right now.
He’s in and out of a relationship, so he might be lookin’ soon. Really, he’s a Renaissance Man, including being a self-taught gourmet chef, so I’ll keep your name on file (top o’ the list). Wouldn’t want to suggest it now; he’ll think I’m selecting women for him!
I like them with butter and a few shelled pistachios. But I’m nuts!
I got that! 🙂
Does that mean I fit in?
I really meant I got your pun, but if you’re asking if you fit in with the rest of us nuts here in TODville, uh, yeah, you do. 🙂
🙂
Speaking of nuts, did you all get the quip from Leon Panetta? He mentioned that he was happy to return to his family and his walnut farm and then he added that he would be dealing with a different set of nuts. The President laughed and I am surprised that the remark didn’t show up on Twitter.
Yes, I loved it. Great timing.
That was so funny, but incredibly sad for the truth of it…
I’d love the recipe.
We LOVE them. We make them all the time. My beloved Pilgrim, a yorkie-poo who died several years ago, would go CRAZY for Brussels sprouts when we made them. I worked with our regular vet and a holistic vet when he had insulinoma. I know in my heart that we would have lost him a lot earlier than we did, for the fact that he ate his brussels sprouts and artichokes and beets.
He was at least 17 years old but may have been older. We adopted him as an adult. Diet was the best way to control his disease, as surgery was dangerous for so little and so old a dog. He surpassed all of our expectations.
To which I credit brussels sprouts!
Now I’m all teary-eyed. God, I miss that little dog. He was the Love of my Life……
{{{{57&Pilgrim}}}}
The coolest little dog EVER.
Sweet story. I’ll remember that. Bless you for taking in an older dog.
hmmm–too bad pundits made the ‘better’ list. i’d put them down there with ebola and cockroaches. however, i actually like brussels sprouts, so there’s that.
Susanne, I ADORE Brussels sprouts, so relieved I’m not alone!
Count me in a s brussel sprouts fan! Sadly, no one in my family liked them, so I hardly ever made them. Now I’m on my own, I really don’t cook anymore. My family would say this is not much of a change…;)
Mary and jackiegrumbacher: group Brussel Sprouts hug!
brussels sprouts with garlic! exclusive club!! 🙂
Brussels sprouts with bacon and chestnuts YUMMMMMMMMMMY! I’ve loved them since I was a kindergartener and came home for lunch asking mom for a plate of sprouts! All my friends thought I was crazy.
With Pamela in there for an extra squeeze! 😆
I’ve never eaten brussel sprouts before in my life!! What do they taste like? They look like baby cabbages or something, do they taste like cabbage?
No, they have a slightly nutty taste. Just good. If you have even a tiny piece of good dirt, you can plant a few seeds. They’re great for colder areas of country, because they’re sweeter when picked after a light frost. I eat half my garden in the garden. Not just brussels spouts, but string beans, asparagus, broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, new onions and on and on! Maybe I should rename myself rabbit. 😉
Lol, thanks Carolmae!! I might try them one day, but I need to make sure I get the right person to cook them for me.
BTW, welcome to the TOD family!! I know you’ve been here for a while now, but I never came out of lurkdom to welcome you. You and your ipad are a hoot, lady!!!
Just eat them raw! My Mom let me eat raw potatoes when I was little because I liked them better raw than cooked. 🙂
*I eat half my garden in the garden*
Too funny!
Saves cooking and cleen-up!
And keeps the real rabbits away. #NothingLeftForThem
I’m late to the party but I come bearing a big pan full of brussel sprouts sauteed with pancetta and a splash of balsamic!!
Hmm…I’ll have to try that. Is there anything that tastes bad when you add pancetta? I don’t think so. I never truly liked brussel sprouts until I sauteed them but then one day I sliced them in half and roasted them. Now they’re a staple.
They absolutely have to be sliced in half!!
Brussel sprouts top my list of favorite veggies and shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as this congress. Try getting the sprouts still clustered on the stalk in the fall and roast them over the grill with a brushing of olive oil. Delicious. Pundits go right down there on the list with eating raw worms. .
Ooh, ooh, now you’ve done it, jg! What’s for dinner?
Slugs!
I just learned a few good ways to cook/roast brussels sprouts last year, and have been a huge fan ever since!
And Congress has built that disdain itself!!!
Yep, one of the few instances where saying “we built this” is actually true.
At least a colonoscopy has some value.
As do Brussels sprouts, Tien Le!
THIS, to both comments.
Yes. I had my first and last one in ’09.
I have a problem with lumping all of Congress together… both Reid & Pelosi have strived against the mess that is the republican Congress and I hate seeing them lumped in with this mess along w/ most dems. It is republicans in Congress that have screwed us.. and the media who carries their water. Anyhoo I think cockroaches & repub Congresscritters are on a par with each other… much like that rat that continues to creep into my garage.
*CLAP…CLAP….CLAP*
😉
Absolutely spot on…
There’s got to be a clear distinction between the hardworking, well-intentioned Dem members of Congress and the obstructionist, unpatriotic GOP bums…
congrats carolmaewy, good morning/after Chipsticks TOD.
[LOL! Sometimes I miss the Bay Area!]:
Jonathan Frieman, a 56-year-old San Rafael resident and self-described social entrepreneur, failed to convince a Marin County Superior Court jurist Monday after he argued that he was not alone when a California Highway Patrol officer pulled him over in October while driving in the carpool lane.
Instead, Frieman admitted that he had reached onto the passenger’s seat and handed the officer papers of incorporation connected to his family’s charity foundation.
//////
By Frieman’s estimation, if corporations are indeed persons as was first established in the 1886 Supreme Court case Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad Co. and he offered evidence that a corporation was traveling inside his vehicle – riding shotgun, of course – then two people were in his car.
.
More here: http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/01/08/16413910-corporation-carpool-2-or-more-or-less-persons
don’t you wish he’d been pulled over by fake-cop myth robmey? that would tie the threads of this story together nicely!
BAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA……The Mitt Romney defense.
Just heard him tell the tale on the radio when I was out and about. He lost his case, judge said his papers weren’t a passenger—-hmmmmm—- is going to appeal, prepared to go all the way to the Sup. Ct., considers this the first crack in the “corporations are people, my friends” ruling.
This was so funny and spot on…
My Marin County neighbor had exactly the right idea…
I’m sure the judge had a good chuckle and will share this at dinner for years…
ouch and oops.
Some people will believe that’s true and not The Onion.
Like the Chinese government 2x! http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/27/world/asia/north-korea-china-onion/index.html
Oh, yes! Unreal.
Good luck with that. Here’s what the confirmation folks are looking at.
Repost of rhetorical ? proposed yesterday by ForUS50 ” I’m confused. Do we elect United States Senators or Israeli Senators? ”
“I have always argued against some of the dumb things they do because I don’t think it’s in the interest of Israel. I just don’t think it’s smart for Israel,” he said……..“I’m not an Israeli senator. I’m a United States senator,”…….. he told Miller for his book “The Much Too Promised Land,” released in 2008……….. “I support Israel, but my first interest is I take an oath of office to the Constitution of the United States, not to a president, not to a party, not to Israel. If I go run for Senate in Israel, I’ll do that,” the ex-senator said. http://www.amazon.com/Much-Too-Promised-Land-Arab-Israeli/dp/0553384147 …… To ad on to” Good luck with that. Here’s what the confirmation folks are looking at.”
oooohhh… This clip also gives a flavor of why “Gramps” McCain doesn’t like Chuck Hagel. Hagel is an enlisted ‘grunt’ who is smarter than the “Admiral” ever hoped to be. Hagel called ‘bs” on more than a few of his colleagues.
For sure and he did it in a civil way, I think.
[Senator Warren gives it to AIG! Woot!]:
“Beginning in 2008, the federal government poured billions of dollars into AIG to save it from bankruptcy. AIG’s reckless bets nearly crashed our entire economy. Taxpayers across this country saved AIG from ruin, and it would be outrageous for this company to turn around and sue the federal government because they think the deal wasn’t generous enough. Even today, the government provides an ongoing, stealth bailout, propping up AIG with special tax breaks — tax breaks that Congress should stop. AIG should thank American taxpayers for their help, not bite the hand that fed them for helping them out in a crisis.“
.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/01/08/elizabeth-warren-gears-up/
P.S. I’m imagining that statement filled w/ acronyms! LOL!
God, I love Elizabeth Warren.
Add Goldman Sachs to your list of utter contempt
https://twitter.com/JoshuaGreen/status/288725579698683904
There’s a parody Twitter account (I follow – but can’t remember the exact nomenclature) about GS Elevator gossip or something.
[Wow, Chi-Town, seriously, 17 Dems, 5 Repugs?!]:
22 candidates files to fill ex-Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s seat in Congress:
The flood gates that opened after U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned from his seat last November closed on Monday with 22 people filing to represent the 2nd Congressional District.
With the crowded field of 17 Democrats and five Republicans, some candidates were baring their fund-raising credentials to set themselves apart from the pack.
.
More here: http://www.suntimes.com/news/17445347-418/22-candidates-files-to-fill-ex-rep-jesse-jackson-jrs-seat-in-congress.html
By not thinning themselves out, they make it more likely in a special election where a GOPer could sneak in as Joe Walsh did. 17 Dems? Come on people weed yourselves down to 2 or 3.
Highly unlikely that a Repub would get elected in that heavily Dem district. But so far, no one stands out in that list—–and there are some real doozies. It seems to me there should have some kind of foresight here with a highly qualified candidate, or two, ready to roll.
Ahhh … 1998. A good year.
“My Heart Will Go On” by Céline Dion, from Titanic was #1 song, maybe be some apropos irony/analogy in there?
🙂
Well done John Boehner and his ilk. Well done. With ratings like this, do they think they’ll win the public opinion battle when it comes to raising the debt ceiling? Hahahahahahahaha…..I laugh in their faces.
They have the Media, the right wing media and they have gullible population that not pay attention when they should.
The biggest culprit is our National Media where most voters still get their information.
They don’t care! They are being paid to get rid of the federal government and everytine they raise the debt limit, they want the same amount of cuts.
That’s why we have to start running surpluses on the deficit, to bring down the debt. Making the debt limit irrelevant. And if a Republhcan ever gets into office and demands tax cuts and spending foolishly on the Military, the Democrats need to strongly oppose unless Its paid for!
WAS READING ABOUT GRAHAM WANTING TO BLOCK BRENNAN UNLESS HE GETS ALL THE ANSWERS ON LIBYA…GRAHAM IS THE KIND OF GUY WHO MAKES A RIDE IN HELL LOOK LIKE THE SENIOR PROM! HE’S WORSE THAN DISGUSTING!
Brennan? But Petraeus was in charge, was he Not?
I think that Lindsey is just seeking for some attention from pres Obama. That is what it is appearing to look like. Lindsey just can’t get Enough…..so he is Not stopping with his attention seeking ways.
Graham just wants to embarrass the President. Everything always goes back to the President, they hate him.
MAYBE PBO SHOULD SEND LINDSEY AN ENGRAVED PACIFIER,BIB AND HIGHCHAIR JUST TO MAKE HIM FEEL REALLY SPECIALLLLLLL!
Lindsey needs attention from somebody. 😜 He’s been on my naughty list since his time on the House judiciary committee that recommended impeaching Pres. Clinton. Think he is the last person of the group still in Congress. He makes my skin crawl. He was the MSM rising star in those days. Waiting for the old geezer to die. (Strom Thurman). Remember how all the R’s in the House fell one by one because of their own piccadilos? Was it Livingston who lasted a day? KARMA!
Well, the talking points are out there. I heard two other Repub names with the same comment.
Lockstep much, you jackasses?
Graham should be forced to ask his questions in public, with no time limit, and only go home when his irrational curiousity (which is putting American secrets and national security in jeopardy) has been fully satisfied. they’ve had how many secret briefings, and he still hasn’t managed to ask the questions that would satisfy him? Then he’s a fool, and I’d like to know just how much time has been wasted, and how many other tasks the various members of the Obama administration have had to curtail in order to be available to this loser.
This is all about doing political damage to the Obama administration. They’ve received all the information they needed. ANd the internal investigation has lead to the resignation of some people in the State Department. The continuing questioning is just political bulls***.
What they want is as many news cycles as possible on Benghazi. They’ll use Brennan’s and Kerry’s confirmation hearings. Add to that Hillary Clinton possibly appearing in front of a Senate committee ( they have to be sure to damage her politically, just in case she would accept to run in 2016).
Let’s not forget that Republicans have been humiliated with the Bush Presidency and all its scandals: Abu Graib, the torture memos, the lies about WMD, the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plamme, the Justice department as a political arm of the Bush administration ( remember Alberto Gonzalez ?), the orgies at the Department of Interior, the mishandling of Katrina, and on and on…
Republicans have been enraged for four years and want to get revenge. But the Obama administration has been the opposite of the Bush administration: competent, effective, with no real scandal. President Obama’s cabinet is exemplary in terms of competence and integrity. So what the republicans are reduced to? Make the most noise possible about the rare problems that occur. Republicans have so little “to work with”, they go over the top each time. They tried to fabricate a scandal with Solyndra, and another one with “Fast and Furious”. It didn’t really work. Now they have Benghazi. A responsible party would already be satisfied with the internal investigation, the resignation of people at the State Department, the transparency of the reports, the numerous briefings given by the administration. But republicans, authoritarians as they are, will continue to talk about Benghazi as long as it benefits them politically. And they’ll receive a lot of help from the media, who thrives on “controversy”.
Preach!
But I doubt the Rethugs are going to get much traction out of Benghazi. We’ve learned as much as there is to learn. Graham is just being obnoxious.
Good rant!
WTG carolmaewy! Brussel sprouts are fabulous, but only when grilled! https://store.2013pic.org/?source=pic13_20130108_pic_v1s1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=obama&utm_campaign=pic13_20130108_pic_v1s1
I bought a plate four years ago. Then I heard Pres. Obama isn’t a plate guy. I know how to pick a great President, but I mess up on other things! 😉 But then I found this sight!
Link to tell AIG what you think of them:
https://www.aig.com/email-us_3171_453577.html
Hi all!
I had to dash out from work to take my 16 year old son to his job and made the mistake of listening to the POTUS station on my car satellite radio. That imbecile Julie Mason show was on and she did a segment with Grover Norquist. Can I just tell you that I practically wrecked my car listening to that bastard bloviate his hate and am now horse from screaming at my dashboard!. Julie Mason told Maggie Haberman during the following segment that her Twitter was going bonkers with people complaining about ol’ Grover. I do not Tweet so if you all wish to pushback to Julie Mason, please do. I think her twitter is @juliemason. She has an afternoon show on “Politics of the United States” (POTUS) on Sirius XM. Ughhh!
Juilie Mason is a Karl Rove protege’, she used to do the Politico 44 blog and trash PBO all day, unfortunately she is a board member of the WHCA, which is why you will see her at the head table w/ PBO at the WCDinner everyear.
I believe Bill Press still lets her spew her bile on his show. I stopped listening/watching his show when I saw how much time he gave to these PBO-trashing imbeciles. That’s not ‘balance’ — that’s giving yet more air time to lies.
Oh my God, that’s one of the reasons I find myself so pissed at Bill Press…
I sent him a strongly worded e-mail the first time they had Julie Mason on as a “friend of Bill”…
He delights in picking his guests and “friends” from the dregs of the cesspool…Politico, Buzzfeed, Huffpo…awful…
I no longer watch or listen to him…
[Awwww, sips!]:
The single bottle of White House Honey Ale that President Obama presented to Minnesota resident Brad Magerkurth last August has fetched $1,200 at auction, a price usually reserved for rare wines. The President gifted Magerkurth with the bottle during an off-the-record stop at the Coffee Connection in Knoxville, Iowa while on a campaign bus tour through the crucial swing state.
//////
After weeks of debate–with plenty of pals urging him to flat-out sell the beer–Magerkurth finally decided to use his gift to raise money for a charity that’s close to his heart, he told Obama Foodorama. That way, Magerkurth said, his gift could be shared with fellow beer enthusiasts as well as be put to good use. Known to friends and business associates alike as “The Beer Guy,” Magerkurth firmly believes that “beer unites people.” His bottle of Presidentiale was auctioned off during Taste!, a food and drink festival at University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis during the weekend of Sept. 28.
Ten people paid a total of $1,200 to share the 12-ounce bottle, with the proceeds going to the University’s Amplatz Children’s Hospital. The moment was ripe with ceremony, with a big crowd gathered around a stage in the stadium to watch as the plain brown long neck–unlabeled, because it was from the President’s own private supply–was opened.
“The University of Minnesota marching band played Hail to the Chief, and then we cracked open the beer,” Magerkurth said. “We all shared it on the stage.”
“I was pretty ecstatic,” Magerkurth said. “For someone in the beer industry, it’s about the coolest thing in the world.”
.
More here: http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-bottle-of-president-obamas-homebrewed.html#more
That’s cute – as long as the money actually did go to a charity.
It is cute…
But ten people sharing a 12 ounce…
I wish we could get the white house to send them a case…
O/T but: Hey, my new mail handler looks just like Matthew McConaughey. I’m too old for him, but I figured all good news must travel … so, I told my 20-y/o granddaughter in Florida when she called, after I saw him, and she’s thinking of coming for a visit. Talk about wanting to “go postal.”
That’s pretty funny, Jacq – I might need to travel down for a visit myself… 😉
Ha! I’ll try to keep him talking, next time he stops by! You may not want to be “competing” with my granddaughter, though (just sayin’).
You haven’t seen me in action. She may need to beware… LOL
Love it!
Ladies!!!!!
🙂 Desperate times call for desperate measures!
hahahahahahaha
OMG, Jackie….I love Matthew! I may have to visit Peoria soon!
I worked with a guy who is the spiting image of Ben Affleck.
You made my day!
[Jeebus! Sorry if this has been posted already, but JEEBUS!]:
Arizona’s 3TV reports that Arpaio’s volunteer force is comprised of around 3,000 members, some of which have criminal pasts.
According to CBS5, Arpaio’s office has provided a list of more than 50 schools in unincorporated Maricopa County that will be patrolled by the posses, which are in charge of providing all of their own weapons and equipment. The volunteers will not actually be posted on school campuses, but will instead monitor the areas around the facilities.[…]
The program is getting started as Arpaio prepares to be sworn in for his sixth term on Monday. The volunteer patrols will kick into full gear on Wednesday, and will be rolled out with a press conference.
.
http://www.bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2013/01/sheriff-joe-arpaios-posse-includes-convicted-criminals.html
number one: I can’t believe Arpaio was voted in for another term. Number two: How will normal, sane citizens know when they’re dealing with a criminal posse member (I thought convicted criminals weren’t allowed to own guns?), versus just a regular crazy with a gun – and what will the police do when they’re called in to investigate a stranger with a gun in the vicinity? This should get interesting. And dangerous.
they love him there. you should hear my batshit crazy brother-in-law about this loon. Of course, my brother-in-law is truly insane. He makes Rush Limbaugh look moderate. And he’s my husband’s twin!
Goodness gracious! My sympathies… 😉
Luckily, we don’t have to see him very often. The last time he visited he got out of his car in my middle class bungalow Chicago neighborhood and started screaming that his son, the Chicago cop, should take his gun and shoot all of these ‘illegals’ on sight. In my United Nations-type neighborhood with Hispanic homeowners, middle class working people just like us.
This is the guy who moves to Arizona with no skills, no education and he’s the one who’s pissed that the Latinos charge less to paint a house than he does. It breaks my husband’s heart — it’s his twin after all. Although they don’t look alike at all and I got the ‘good twin’.
Sounds like you definitely got the “good twin”. Yikes – your brother-in-law sounds like a real character!
Whew, another {{{{{57}}}}} hug for you, very pleased you picked the good twin, but then, you are brilliant, so it is what we would expect! 🙂
blush…..blush…….
Now if the ‘good twin’ could do a load of laundry, life would be perfect.
This actually breaks my heart for your hubby…
It’s always sad when friends or family fall so short of goodness…
This is sickening, I hope the DOJ can make a dent in this imbeciles “enthusiasm”, before the landscape is littered with the dead.
Unfortunately, I think that we’ll see many more “experiments” like this in some “gun states”. And, inevitably, we’ll see some tragedies, demonstrating the absurdity of responding to gun violence by more guns in the streets. The only hope I have is that some delusional gun lovers will finally wake up when they see for real what the “civil police state” they dream of looks like. Some people have to go down the rabbit hole before finally waking up.
This seems like a huge mistake. I understand the wife’s desperation, but releasing the photos and information to the media is the last thing she probably should have done. She has no idea what plans she’s disrupting, even though it might appear that nothing is happening on the surface.
Desperation is the key word here, after 5 years hard to know what any sane person would be going through internally in this situation.
True. I really shouldn’t criticize anyone in that position…
This is a common problem with a lot of people regarding the Obama administration. The O-team tends to do things very quietly and discretely. Peeps should have gotten this after four years.
Indeed…
Please, can the Left stop waxing poetic about this RWNJ just because he said a few nice things about PBO, the way a governor SHOULD speak about a POTUS who is stepping in to help his country?
THIS!!!!!!! Christie is still a bully and I still despise him. He has not changed. I hope people do not get carried away and caught up in this Christie moment to much. He is not presidential material.
I’m so darn weary of the left throwing out all common sense when some RWNJ gives us a crumb or two. It skews the truth as much as the RWNJ stuff does.
He’s another Robme only a worst bully. I hope Bruce Springsteen unfriends him. 🙂
For alllllllll those folks in LOVE with Christie
https://twitter.com/DaRiverZkind/status/288748513620267009
So Bill Nelson believes he needs Bibi’s permission? Am I misreading this?
The way his press office presented its release, making the statement of support of Hagel in Israel, seems like he is using Bibi as cover for the Jewish community in FL. Either way its pathetic, however its received.
It is frightening how much power Netanyahu wields with both Dem and GOP legislators…
Good News for Dems in Va (although I am not a big McAuliffe fan he would be far better than anything the Repubs have to offer).
PPP’s first Virginia poll of 2013 finds Terry McAuliffe leading Ken Cuccinelli 46-41. When Bill Bolling is thrown into the mix as an independent candidate he gets 15%, with McAuliffe’s lead expanding to 8 points at 40/32.
The story of the race at this point is really how unpopular Cuccinelli is. Only 29% of voters have a favorable opinion of him to 45% with a negative one. Even among Republicans there are significant doubts about him- only 48% see him favorably with a much higher than normal 23% of voters within his own party seeing him negatively.
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/01/mcauliffe-has-early-lead-in-va-gov.html
I agree that he’d be better. But I really don’t want to have to endure Terry McAuliffe all over the TV.
Cuccinelli, the teabutts wonder boy. Good, I hope these crazies keep putting up their poster kids of the foil brigade. Then we can run a Dem against them. Probably the only way to overcome the gerrymandering that will assure GOP strongholds for years to come. In most cases a Dem has to win by 7% in gerrymandered districts to turn it over.
Chips….LOVE your post title!
LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL…A COLONOSCOPY IS ABOUT THE ONLY MEDICAL WAY THAT YOU CAN FIND OUT WHERE THE REPUBLICANS’ BRAINS ARE LOCATED!
ROFL Sue…good point!
🙂
WHOA!!
Oh my God! I just sprayed coffee all over my keyboard!
PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY – PRESS BRIEFING JANUARY 7, 2013
CONGRESS PASSES LAWS, APPROPRIATES FUNDS, RACKS UP BILLS, and MUST PAY BILLS INCURRED
Press Briefing on Monday, January 7, 2013
==================================================
Q And a quick follow-up on Major’s question about the process towards sequestration. For those who think that the President maybe learned from the process he just went through on the fiscal cliff that he will not be dealing with Speaker Boehner, does the President — can you just clarify, does he fully intend to have continuing conversations directly with the Speaker, to negotiate with him directly?
MR. CARNEY: Well, the President believes that as part of our system of government the executive branch engages with and negotiates with the legislative branch, and that will continue — on a range of issues, not just economic and fiscal matters. And the President, as he said, is very open to compromise on a range of issues when it comes to addressing our fiscal challenges and putting in place policies that help our economy grow and continue to create jobs. He will not negotiate over Congress’s responsibility to pay the bills that Congress has incurred.
As you know as a veteran reporter here in Washington, a President cannot by himself or herself spend a single dollar. Congress passes the laws. Congress appropriates the funds. Congress racks up the bills and Congress must pay the bills. And it is simply inappropriate and extremely dangerous to suggest that in the name of a political agenda we would default, for example, on our obligations to pay our bills. That is Congress’s responsibility and the President will not negotiate with Congress over Congress’s responsibility to pay its bills.
=====================================================
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/01/07/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-172013
I love that Carney said this, ” a President cannot by himself or herself spend a single dollar” – they definitely see a woman President in this country’s future. I hope other female candidates aren’t scared off by the furor around Hillary Clinton, who has repeatedly said she’s not running. I hope good Democratic candidates aren’t scared off – male or female.
MORE GOODNESS FROM PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY
=================================================
Q Is he committed to pressing that with Speaker Boehner? Will he try to talk to Boehner even if Boehner —
MR. CARNEY: Well, I think the distinction I’m trying to make here, in answer to Alexis’s question, is that he is, as he said from here, eager to and willing to compromise in order to achieve policies that advance our economic growth and help the economy create jobs, and bring down our deficit in a responsible and balanced way. He will continue to do that. And we have, as a result of the fiscal cliff, two more months to deal with the so-called sequester, and that’s something that the President will obviously be addressing.
What he will not do, as he has made clear, is negotiate with Congress over Congress’s sole responsibility to pay the bills that Congress has already incurred. Nobody forced Congress to rack up the bills that it incurred. And it is an abdication of responsibility to say that we’re going to let the country default and cause global economic calamity simply because we’re not getting what we want in terms of our ideological agenda. The President is not going to participate in that.
And I would remind you of the damage caused to our economy by the approach that House Republicans took on this matter just in the summer of 2011. As a result of their flirtation with default, the stock market plummeted. The DOW fell 7 percent, or almost 900 points, in late July and early August of 2011. The United States was downgraded and the DOW fell another 10 percent, or 1100 points after the S&P downgraded the United States. Consumer confidence plummeted to its lowest point since the financial crisis in 2008. Uncertainty for businesses froze hiring. Widespread uncertainty for middle-class families was created and caused. And job figures, job growth in August of 2011 was the lowest of any month in our economic recovery.
And that is what you get when you play games with the full faith and credit of the United States. We don’t expect, and certainly don’t hope — or certainly hope that the Congress does not engage in that kind of activity.
===========================================================
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/01/07/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-172013
Nice pictures and there’s also a Tumblr.
http://barackobamalaughingwithjoebiden.tumblr.com
Lovely – could anyone ever find an equivalent site with the previous occupants of the White House?
LOVE these links. Those two are such good buddies and obviously enjoy a good laugh as often as possible. LOVE.
These are great pics – thanks UT for sharing.
OK, LAST ONE…..
PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY MAKING IT PLAIN AND RELENTLESSLY ON MESSAGE:
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Q You keep saying the President won’t negotiate on the debt ceiling. At the risk of sounding naïve, how does that work practically? If the leaders of Congress tell him they don’t have the votes to raise the ceiling, does he just say, no, I’m not going to talk about that?
MR. CARNEY: Well, the President believes that members of Congress were elected to serve their constituents. And as one of their essential responsibilities, to ensure that they do no harm in Congress to this economy and to the livelihoods of average Americans, flirting with default or, even worse, allowing default, would be a violation of those primary responsibilities.
And again, George, I can’t be more clear: These are bills that Congress racked up. If Congress felt that they should not be paying these bills or that there should be less spending and less borrowing, then they should have passed different legislation that appropriated funds. It is not the President’s responsibility to pass legislation to raise the debt ceiling; it is Congress’s responsibility. And he will not engage in a negotiation with Congress that as some advocates of this themselves have described as a hostage situation — a hostage situation that would result, as it did in the summer of 2011, in great harm to this economy and great harm to American businesses and great harm to average Americans.
So it’s just not the right thing to do. I think that there will be a — if we were to travel down that road for any time, a great deal of unanimity behind the idea that it’s a terrible proposition to flirt with default or to allow default. And let me remind you that if the position of Republicans in Congress will be that your choice, America, is between default and therefore economic chaos on the one hand, or voucherizing Medicare or slashing benefits for seniors, the American people are going to say no in both instances.
This is not the right way to do things in this country. You have to heed to your responsibilities here, and that includes paying for the bills that you racked up. This has nothing to do with future spending. This has to do with spending that has already been incurred. And it is Congress’s responsibility to pay its bills.
George, when you get a credit card bill, you pay it, and if you don’t, you get penalized. And in the case of not paying your bills when you’re the United States of America, when you’re the United States Congress, the penalty is both real in financial terms and severe for the economy and for the American people. The President won’t negotiate with Congress over Congress’s responsibility to pay its own bills.
Thank you, all.
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http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/01/07/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-172013
LH, thank you for these very enjoyable episodes of Mr Carney schooling the dim bulbs (aka WHPC) …. just waiting for the day that either he or the President just go ahead and cite Section IV of the 14th 😉
#FORWARD
Excellent tweet, Bob! It is not just Section 4 of the 14th Amendment but also Article I, section 8, which states:
“The Congress shall have the power to lay and correct taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to PAY THE DEBTS and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States…..”
Paying the debts of United States is one of the responsibilities of Congress under the U.S. Constitution. Congress will be violating the Constitution by refusing to pay the debts.
Brilliant!
Holy shit, it doesn’t get any better than Jay Carney. He may be the best WH press secretary since C. J. Craig.
LOL!! I always love it when life imitates art and we “get it”!
Thank you so very much for these exerps …LH….
love love Mr Carney……yeahhhhhhhh…..
Just lovely. That little boy is Gibbs. Just lovely.
That’s because when they hear “food stamp president” from the likes of Gingrich, they don’t relate that term to themselves… Voting against their own interests.
Bonjour everyone!
Regarding fixing the filibuster – go FOLLOW this:
https://twitter.com/fixthesenate
Bonjour. Hope you are feeling better!
Slowly. This thing really kicked my ass. 😛
Seemed worth reminding everyone of the facts in this WaPo article … especially as we ponder the 50 yr Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement. 21 Jan 2013 is momentous for sooooooooo many reasons.
Yes We Can
Even higher than the “President of the World”, Bill Clinton? Wow! And Clinton’s from Arkansas…
I was quite impressed with our final numbers in South Carolina and Georgia…
Send this to effing Chris Matthews. Who seems to believe all of our issues with the white working class vote starting with Barack Obama.
The Media Gives the Republican Party a Free Pass to Obstruct
By: Becky Sarwate
http://www.politicususa.com/media-republican-party-free-pass-obstruct.html
Obama spending binge never happened
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obama-spending-binge-never-happened-2012-05-22
Would be nice if the MSM ever reported this fact.
Biden and the NRA to meet…
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-34222_162-57562795-10391739/biden-to-meet-with-nra/
I’m extra proud of my President and I’m glad you are too!
Okay, how weird, I have brussel sprouts in my fridge that I need to cook tonight before they go bad. Found a recipe with prusuitto which I also, have, so it’s on!
bacon….mmm, mmmm, mmmm. it’s even good in ice cream, but brocolli? to die for. broccoli sauteed in the bacon drippings then cooked down in a little cider vinegar and spices with the bacon crumbled on top at serving time and you’ll want to slap yourself silly, it tastes so good. yoru pursutto sounds good. Isn’t that a form of bacon?
Yes, it’s thinner. Wow my mouth is drooling from the brocoli though. I’m going to eat more vegetables this year, unfortunately they are all going to be dripping in fat! 🙂
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/01/08/1416101/deficit-reduction-charts-spending/
Since the start of fiscal year 2011, President Barack Obama has signed into law approximately $2.4 trillion of deficit reduction for the years 2013 through 2022. Nearly three-quarters of that deficit reduction is in the form of spending cuts, while the remaining one-quarter comes from revenue increases. As a result of that deficit reduction, the projected rise in debt levels from today through 2022 has decreased by nearly 10 full percentage points of gross domestic product. In fact, under today’s policies, debt levels in 2022—as a share of GDP—will be only slightly higher than they are expected to be by the end of next year.
Yesterday I posted that I had emailed my Sen. Barrasso for Inauguration tickets. I got a reply that said they wouldn’t know until next year when the Jan. 21, 2013 tickets would be available. Sorry, I can’t tell you my best responses i thought, but I did write back telling them it 13 days away. I did get a response that tickets would be available next week. I need to give names of people who will be going. Also need to tell them if I have requested them from anyone else in our delegation. We can’t go, I just wanted to see how it works. Is it allowed to request them for people who live close in Dem states that might not have enough tickets?
Boehner’s new theme song to the rethugs(at least the music is good):
Perfect!
Thank you.
I saw the Righteous Brothers in person once, in a music-circus-in-the-round type place, and they walked by our table as they were singing. Seems like yesterday! Be still, my heart. Love this song.
Incurable romantic.
Yes, incurable.
Forgive me if I don’t respond any further on this subject. 😆 😆
Wow!
TX Supreme Court is GW Bush and Perry. Remember the late Ann Richards was the last Dem in Jan 1995. Since 1998, No Dem has held a statewide elected office.
Hi Chipsticks,
Just checking in at end of work day. This post, after seeing so many with beautiful First Family, etc. is rather jarring, to say the least! 🙂 I think I will wait until I see a new one so I don’t ruin my appetite.
Governor Scott increases cost of Medicaid so he will not have to implement obamacare. By 2600%!!!
2600%!!
This is the same person who the people elected governor who was indited for medicaid fraud.
Jon Lovett along w/ Neal Brennan(SNL) are the guys who write most of PBO’s jokes at the WHCA dinner. Josh Gad of South Park creators “Book of Mormon” is the main character of the show, produced by creator of Glee, if anyone was interested?
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=GBaHPND2QJg&feature=youtu.be
Flash Mob Italian Style
One of my most favorite flash mobs, Bill. Som Sabadell is a city in Vallès Occidental in Catalonia, Spain 😉
My fave too. I passed it along to my little granddaughter who plays the viola in her orchestra, and she surprised me with my own private concert of Ode to Joy when we visited. I love musicians —because they absolutely love what they do—-and they make people happy.
OT. Anyone catching NBC’s Deception? Has actor from Eve’s Bayou.
Hey xtine, I watched it last night and I must say it was not that good. Maybe I should say, it was kinda slow. Hopefully it will get better. Megan Goode is the actress you’re referring to and I’m trying to give her a chance, so I probaly will watch the next two episodes, but if it doesn’t get better, It’s a wrap!!!! It’s definitely no Scandal, but that’s a hard act to follow!!! LOL, as you can see I can’t wait for Thursday!!
Jay Carney’s WH presser today for those who would like to listen:
http://WWW.c-span.org/Events/Jay-Carney-Holds-Briefing-at-White-House/1073743752-1/
Factions within the Obama administration are pushing to keep no more than a few thousand troops in Afghanistan after the military coalition folds at the end of 2014, a footprint that would make it hard to deliver on promises the United States has made to Afghans, according to U.S. officials.
As the debate over the size and scope of the post-2014 mission nears its end, some in the administration are pressing for a residual force that could be as small as 2,500, arguing that a light touch would be the most constructive way to cap the costly, unpopular war.
Those troop levels are significantly lower than the force some senior military officials have advocated, arguing that a sudden disengagement could lead to the collapse of a frail state and the onset of a new civil war. The low number also is a far cry from figures in the 10,000-to-30,000 range discussed among NATO allies and some U.S. officials as recently as a year ago.
http://m.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/some-in-obama-administration-push-for-only-a-few-thousand-us-troops-in-afghanistan-after-2014/2013/01/08/847597a4-59d2-11e2-9fa9-5fbdc9530eb9_story.html
Wow!
Happy birthday Elvis.
My favorite ever Elvis song…my Mom loved him so his music was always on when I was a kid.
I took my mother to see Elvis once – one of the highlights of her life! When he was on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, my mother was sitting on the floor in front of the TV just like her 3 daughters. My younger sister used to actually take off from work every year on Elvis’ birthday, until she retired. I’m crazy but not that crazy! Happy birthday, Elvis!
Fact certain ….
That’s Utah and AZ….teachers will need to wear bullet proof vests.
No, that’s Utah, Texas and Ohio….http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1312041–u-s-teachers-get-free-gun-training
AZ gets THIS! http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2013/01/joe_arpaios_posse_the_cops_epi.php
Posses with criminal records….yikes. The only way the posse will stop someone crazy like the killer in CO and CT is if they are people of color. They would NEVER profile a white guy on his way to school to kill a bunch of kids. What is their REASON for stopping anyone driving to the school? Are they going to search all cars heading to a school? This makes no sense.
i would not want my childs teacher to carry a weapon…lawdddd
Bullet proof vests don’t protect the head…
This whole twisted thing with using more guns to fight gun violence is getting completely out of hand…
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/opinion/the-bid-to-stop-gun-trafficking.html?_r=0
A strong starting point is a measure first proposed four years ago by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, which she is about to reintroduce in the new Congress.
The Gun Trafficking Prevention Act would create, for the first time, a separate criminal offense for gun trafficking. It would also toughen penalties at every point in the trafficking chain — from straw buyers who purchase a gun for someone else to evade required record-keeping and background checks, to corrupt gun dealers who supply illegal weapons to the kingpins running the trafficking rings. Study after study has shown that a tiny minority of bad gun dealers are responsible for selling a huge number of the guns traced to crimes.
The measure would give the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives new authority to impose civil penalties and special restrictions, like increased inspections and inventory checks, on “high-risk” gun dealers suspected of assisting traffickers. Finally, it would authorize the addition of hundreds of new agents and other personnel for the underfinanced bureau to allow for more frequent inspections of all gun stores.
Excellent! I am definitely for stiff penalties for those who purchase guns for people who can’t legally buy one themselves. The Chrismas Eve shooting of firefighters involved a woman who had purchased the guns for the shooter because he could not get them. She has been arrested and could be facing 10 years in prison.
Dick Armey is crazy…..all the GOP’ers and Teapartyer’s are crazie.
jojo, I second that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really like Jay Carney.
Darwin Australia is 122 degrees today, a sick heat wave!
That’s stupid hot! I’ve been here when it’s been 118 degrees in the summer. It feels like the low setting on the oven…it feels like the skin is burning off your body. It’s a dry heat, my dying ass! It’s flipping ridiculous hot! I feel for them. I know what that feels like, and it’s not good!
And, yes Piers, it’s ‘pretty scary’ …
http://mediamatters.org/video/2013/01/08/cnns-wolf-blitzer-to-piers-morgan-were-you-comf/192109
Chat away:
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/01/08/chat-away-98/
Report: Obama likely to tap Lew for Treasury as soon as this week
Jonathan Easley
01/09/13 07:38 AM ET
Lew’s likely nomination would come as Washington gears up for a new round of budget fights.…