Chips, thanks for the video. I have to watch the Prayer service and VP Joe’s talk today. I need to rest my mind from politics to gear up for moving the presidents agenda forward. I get so down when I listen to the things Repugs are doing in Virginia. Looking forward to the weekend and staying away from everything but movies.
The West Wing Week video totally cracked me up. Watching Pres. Obama using tools made me lol. What was he doing? 😆 The end where FLOTUS told him to stop the wisecracks and put his gloves on was perfect. They’re so in sync. It’s a delight to watch them any time.
carolmaewy, the picture of POTUS and FLOTUS at the staff ball, I look at the way POTUS is looking at FLOTUS. He has that look of love for his wife. Do anyone remember this song call The Look of Love, I don’t know who made it.
Don’t know who did it .. but yes, I remember: “the look of love is in your eyes, a look ….. can’t disguise” something like that. Google it or go on YouTube
I believe Burt Bacharach wrote the song. The look of love, is in your eyes, a look your smile can’t disguise. The look of love, it’s saying so much more than words could every say and what my heart has heard, well it takes my breathe away.
Evening friends. Need your help with some good, fact-based info. Had a very good friend say earlier tonight, with great and total authority, I might Barack Obama was the MOST liberal senator in history….she repeated that btw. Then, went on to say, again with emphatic authority that he is THE most liberal president we’ve ever had blah, blah, blah. For a number of reasons, I let her go on while planning/hoping that my wonderful sources here would give me some factual info I can share with her when we talk next week. THANKS in advance. 🙂
Compared to whom? GWB? Then yes. Some things he’s done have been very liberal….mostly, I think he’s been very centrist and just doing the people’s business…not the bidding of corporations and special interests. If that’s liberal…. I’d like to know compared to whom….otherwise, her empathic statement is just the typical RW talking point bs.
tnmtngirl, I’m not even sure what’s the point of even engaging these people about anything where our President is concerned.
If PBO suddenly became “conservative,” your friend would suddenly have a problem with conservatism, whatever the hell that means. At 4+ years into PBO’s presidency, your friend doesn’t need “factual info;” she needs to get rid of her deep-seated racism.
Thanks for your thoughts….both of you and anyone else. She also said that some of the things he is doing scares her to death. ??????? Yet, she agreed that the extreme right is destroying the Republican Party.
“some of the things he is doing scares her to death. ”
What things? Was she specific? She’s lived through 4 years of his Presidency – by now she should be able to articulate clearly and without hesitation or equivocation what things he is doing or has done that scares her.
If she cannot be specific then she is paranoid and needs some mental health treatment. Nothing about her fear is grounded in reality and providing “facts” is not going to address the problem. This is much more serious than it appears.
This judgment came on the basis of his voting record while he was campaigning and missed a lot of votes, but always showed up for the important ones that skewed towards the liberal side. And even that did not make him even then the most liberal. The rightwingers- always try to pin that on the Democratic candidate. When the firebaggers went after him during the primaries for not being liberal enough, it took a lot of steam out of their propaganda campaign on this.
Specifics. She needs to spell out what makes him the most liberal president ( and what is wrong with that anyway??). Is it his health care law that almost every president since Theodore Roosevelt (first to call for this in 1912!) has done? The law that was essentially what the heritage foundation (a conservative think thank) came up with and Romney implemented. Is it going after terrorist and taking out Bin Laden? Is it stopping a second great depression by saving the auto industry and enacting a stimulus? If we had a second great depression by the way there would have been more government intervention in the economy, see FDR and his New Deal for recent examples.
What exactly makes him the most liberal (again if he was what would be the problem)? Besides, the country voted for him with over 51% of the vote, twice. If he is the most liberal then the country has moved toward liberalism and your friend is holding on to bye gone days that are not likely to return. Gays are not gonna be forcefully shoved into the closet now so some people can enjoy how life was during the 1960’s nor are women going to be removed from roles of power and all decide to stay at home baking pies. Times are changing and we should learn to adapt to it rather than resist it.
Have you read this article? It’s a very good explanation of the situation. It sounds like Harry Reid doesn’t want to walk us into a trap. He doesn’t trust the far left, and with good reason.
If it was President Obama who have cave, the far left would be ll over the place running there mouth, trashing him.. Okay Harry Reid cave to that lowlife Mitch McConnell.
Please read the article I posted above. I think Reid has good reason not to go “nuclear”. I can’t understand why Harry’s a hero one minute and a weak caver the next. Don’t we hate this when the far left does it?
sigh….gah. Prepare for loopholes the size of Texas. I’ve seen some bloggers write that we are supposed to be excited about Manchin going ahead with this but I do not trust Manchin. At All.
One of the funniest shows on TV is on right now. The incredibly stupid super agent Archer who manages to save the day in the end. Ahhh…..the wonders of TV.
Barack Obama’s second-term strategy
The long game
Jan 24th 2013, 12:55 by R.M. | WASHINGTON, DC
“When viewed as a tactic to advance the president’s agenda in Congress, the speech seemed unwise, as it likely hardened the resolve of the opposition. But are my colleagues ascribing to the president a goal he does not have? Perhaps Mr Obama’s uncompromising tone was not a fault of the speech, but a deliberate provocation. Perhaps it is part of a broader, longer-term strategy that, far from seeking reconciliation with Republicans, aims to increase their rigidity until the force of public opinion breaks the party.”
—–
“Perhaps he has concluded that, no matter his efforts, he will not win many legislative battles—his victories will be partial, at best—so he will instead focus on winning the argument…on taxes, entitlements, climate change, gun control, etc. And in the process he will push riled Republicans into stubborn positions that, if he is successful, will become increasingly unpopular. His agenda, in other words, is to slowly destroy the opposition by provoking the opposition to destroy itself. The idea of this should infuriate Republicans. That’s all part of the plan.”
Eh, sounds devious but its not like Pres.Obama is suddenly taking up far left positions he’s never had before. POTUS will continue to be himself. GOP going batshit crazy is just the icing on the cake. He can’t help how they react. GOP backed themselves into this corner. He even warned them about it a few years ago.
The question I have for all these people who are “concerned” about the “liberal” tone of the President’s speech is: what exactly did the President say that they don’t agree with? Do they not agree that the Constitution is for all the people, or that kids should grow up with all opportunities and every protection? Do they not agree that people should be treated equally, or that everyone should work together? I’m not sure what parts of the speech they think don’t relate to every single American? They sound pretty unpatriotic to me.
Yes, I have an optimistic view. Sometimes I’m chided for it. I can see a possible progressive future, where we continue to perfect our Union. But it won’t be done without work. It won’t come without setbacks. Our journey is not complete, and in a sense it never will be, as there will always be new battles to be fought. But we’re on the right path. The question is: will we keep on the road, or veer off course? That’s the work that has to be done.
“GOP backed themselves into this corner. He even warned them about it a few years ago.”
Yes, GB. And, he continues to warn them, but the reality is that they are so inextricably rooted in their racism they only become more brittle. Whatever opposition party ultimately emerges (if our democracy is to be sustained) it won’t be a collection of angry, mostly lower middle class or poorer white guys and their battered wives blindly serving the interest of a few plutocrats who have effectively enslaved them.
And, note that whenever I alert my followers to some scum I’m blocking I change the @ to a # thereby preventing the @ account holder from claiming I’m spaming them. Twitter rules apply to ‘abuse of the @reply’ and so I’m able to tell folk the identity of the crud with the # and not in any way send a message into the crud’s TL 😉
Thanks for sharing. I grew up in SD and they always had a basketball team in our State B tournament. I lived on a farm near Sioux Falls, and my folks took us to games as part of our entertainment. They were almost extinct about 10-15 years ago because of alcohol poisoning to their babies. They have been through a lot and I respect them.
Twitter changed the format a few days ago; if you see the hashtags and links are in blue now, also the tweet is wider and the bottom shows retweets and favorites now.
Instead, the reforms will speed up efforts by the majority leader to move to begin debates on new business and confirm sub-Cabinet executive-branch and district-court judicial nominees, which passed on a 78-16 vote. The reforms also make it easier to send legislation to conference with the House — that rule was changed on a 86-9 vote. It will also require senators to appear on the Senate floor in person to block a bill or nominee and actually debate if they want to prolong consideration of business after the Senate has voted to move on.
The centerpiece of the deal would empower the majority leader to prohibit filibusters on motions to proceed to new business if he allows the minority leader and the minority bill manager each an opportunity to vote on an amendment. Non-germane amendments would need to overcome a 60-vote threshold. The majority leader and majority bill manager would allow be allowed votes on amendments under this scenario.
I am glad I read this Jovie. Listening to Rachel and Ed, it appear that the entire bill was voted down just because the “talking” part was not in the bill. It would have been nice to do away the 60 vote threshold completely.
But just imagine what good could come during the next two years if the obstruction had been prevented. It is such a waste of time and this presidency, especially when in 2014, the media will turn to their obsession of the 2016 campaign. It’s such a waste.
“obstruction had been prevented” This does not make any sense. The republicans control the house. Filibuster reform was ideal there was a majority of democrats in the house. Now if a bill is passed in the senate without republican support, does anyone really see the house voting for it?
Well, since Boehner keeps advocating his leadership responsibility to the Senate, there could very well be some moderate Republicans in the House that could work with Dems to get stuff done, especially if things were able to flow more smoothly through the Senate. I agree that the filibuster reform wasn’t going to solve all the obstruction, but right now, the GOP must be feeling even more emboldened that they can still get Dems to work against the President’s agenda – how many times have you heard Dems complain about the President not closing Gitmo, ignoring the Dem Senators who voted nearly unanimously to prevent any action from the President or funding to close the thing?
I’m waiting to hear more details about the deal – but I just wish the Dems would be more visible about their support of the President, and that they wouldn’t keep enabling the GOP to squander this presidency.
Part of the article refers to the fact that a ‘talking filibuster’ wastes a lot of time and there is no reason to suppose that they will be any less obstructionist. I just think we should wait and see what happens before getting upset.
Hi there dotster3. I read the part in Dobson’s book where he beat the crap out of his little dog when it growled at him. That is a mindset of some of those far right “Christian” folks. Beating your kids with a belt is just A-OK with that sort.. Can you picture Jesus hitting kids or animals with a belt? Maybe President Obama didn’t let ol’ Shirley in the White House just to protect BO. If Mitt would have won, people like the Santorums and Dobson would have had the run of the place. I know those people so well, and was so afraid for America. But, we won!
Indeed! Nor does GOP count the Bush administration’s total incompetence in responding to hurricane Katrina that resulted in the loss of thousands of lives. Every time I run into right wing idiots who are talking about the “Benghazi catastrophe,” which they claim is all President Obama’s fault, I make sure to bring up Katrina as well as the August, 2011, PDB that warned Bush about the impending terrorist attacks on the U.S. Although Bush and his cronies had repeated warnings months before the 9/11 attacks they did absolutely nothing. Yet I never heard a peep from all these Republicans, who are ready to crucify Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice, and President Obama for Benghazi, blaming Bush and his cronies for their negligence that resulted in the loss of thousands of people.
Hello TOD our big snow is just about gone. Winter is really here and it is time for me to hibernate. I hope all returned home and can catch up on your sleep.
Dotster posted a TPM tweet on the previous post that a republicans wanted white votes to count more than minority votes. That was my impression watching LOD tonight. Virginia GOP intends to count black voters as only two-thirds worth white voters, Their scheme is inherently racist.
Thanks. I’m okay. But those years are still clear to me, although I didn’t know of John Kerry then. He would have been a great president. But he contributed to the Obama era as much as anyone. I think Kerry was Obama’s first choice of SOS. Nothing against Susan Rice, but I think Kerry is very, very qualified. And I like his wife Theresa. She is smart and beautiful and makes John happy. Bush never deserved the presidency. I hope the Senate starts holding hearings now, if it fits into Obama’s viewpoint. Night.
John Kerry was very impressive in that testimony, never herad it before and I am from that era. To think the Republicans ‘swift boated’ him when running for President against worthless Bush. I really wonder how things might be different if he would have won the election.
My era too. I was in college, hubby had joined the Navy in 1970, was a corpsman at Camp LeJuene Marine base. Could have gone with the Marines to Nam. I wasn’t aware of Kerry until much later in life. He was eloquent and sincere. And I like Theresa. She is also accomplished. I admire strong smart women and the men who love them.
Did you see where Senator Kerry put that little tea party Senator in his place, you know the one Hillary had to shut up too. His name is Johnson right. I’m not sure, but I think he is from Wisconsin. But Kerry ask the Senator if he attended the briefing. Where you there, Sen. Kerry ask that Sen. Johnson ? And he said no. Now that tells you all you need to know, these guys claim what happen is so important to them, but yet they can’t find the time to attend the briefing. John McCain was so busy he couldn’t fine the time, busy appearing on that lying make believe FOX News channel.
Evening all. Just about to call it a day and just had to say that I’m still riding high on the inauguration. My absolutely fav part of the inauguration that I’ve played at least ten times is the presidential walk/ride to the viewing platform.
Egads but I love the way the crowds went wild during the whole darn thing. I love the playfulness of the Obamas and Bidens as they walked the route soaking it all in and absolutely in the moment. Their little interactions with each other and with the crowds. The seriousness and alertness of the SS. The thousands of military and law enforcement that lined the streets (what they hey -was that over kill or what).
Yes the official acts and lofty words, the star performances and all paled for me in comparison to the lovefest of that walk. Anyway had to share before I play it one more time.
And one last, last word to tnmtngirl and anyone who find they have to make excuses or provide comebacks to the thought that this is a liberal president, I saw why? Why does that need defending. When someone tries to make being a liberal an epitaph I look at them and proudly tell them that it was liberals that gave us SS, women the right to vote, minorities the right to education, Medicare & medicaid, decent wages, universities, the push for clean air and water, 5 day work weeks, the race to the moon, the internet etc etc.
I wear that mantle like a badge of honor. Furthermore if you really want to be prepared just remind them that studies have shown that conservatives tend to be ever fearful, opposed to change or anything new, while liberals welcome new ideas and ways of seeing things. And don’t forget to remind them of the definition of the words:
Liberal – adjective:
1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
2. ( often initial capital letter ) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism, especially the freedom of the individual and governmental guarantees of individual rights and liberties.
4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, especially as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, especially with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
Conservative – adjective:
1. disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
2. cautiously moderate or purposefully low: a conservative estimate.
3. traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness
I’m proud to be a liberal and I so happy to have a POTUS & VPOTUS that represent me and the views of 2/3 of the country. I see no reason to have to apologize, explain or otherwise succumb to their narrow views of what liberalism means. I like it just fine.
That. Is. All. Night all and have a great day tomorrow. {{{{{hugs all around}}}}}
{{{{{HUGS TO YOU}}}}} I’m a liberal too and proud of it. I also loved the walk/ride of the parade route. The crowd loved them and they were deep crowds. It was a beautiful, a beautiful speech. The Lady’s looked great. Love all around. Thanks for adding your words.
Good morning. You may not see this, but THANKS!!! Am printing and keeping for our talk next week. 🙂 I do better if I have a good response in front of me to “guide” my thinking and keep me calm and sane.
One more thought before I turn off the lights, what did AMK give his Mrs. for his anniversary? We planted a beautiful tree for our twenty-fifth. Got rubies for 40! 🙂
I second that emotion. Where is the music tonight? I think we’re all tired from Inauguration coverage. I don’t think there has been love in the White House like this before. Abigail Adams may come the closest. But I have read about Lady Bird Johnson and she is a very impressive lady. Many loved their husbands in their times, but it is so evident in everything the Obama’s do. Nancy was an actress.
De-lurking to co-sign. Thank you for expressing a some of the same thoughts I have about them. I really admire them… and I’m an old geezer… no starry-eyed youngster here. Observing them has taught me much in the last 5+ years!
I firmly believe Harry did all he could, he just didn’t have 51 votes (which astonishes me at this point.) Do we know who the dems were who were blocking it, and why? If anyone has a link to that, I’d love to see that info. 😀
not naming names, but wapo says it’s ‘senior democrats’ :
‘ Senior Democrats emphasized making the chamber more efficient. Unlike their newly elected colleagues, these Democrats have served in the majority and the minority, and they consider the 60-vote threshold a bedrock principle of the Senate.
In his years in the minority, Reid used filibusters and other procedural hurdles to block construction of a nuclear waste facility outside Las Vegas. Levin and others used filibusters to protect wage laws for union members. Senior female Democrats used filibusters to preserve abortion rights when Republicans controlled every branch of the federal government. ‘
As has been stated in previous posts…Today’s GOP would have no trouble passing a Filibuster rule that would strip The DEMs of their power….
takes me back to the DEM convention in which Deval Patrick asked the DEMs to grow a pair…
PBO has re-nominated Corduay to head the Consumer board and White to head the SEC….wonder how that is going to work,,,We shall see how they make it thru the Senate
No one said get rid of the 60 vote threshold. I just want them to really filibuster instead of pretending. Stand and fucking TALK. Then debate. Then Vote.
Fuck these “senior dems” for being lazy. Nothing matters outside the 113th Congress. When the 114th Congress is sat two years from now, they can change the rules to whatever the fuck they want. They can make everyone come into the chamber naked.
Hey TOD family. I’m not sure if anyone has posted FLOTUS & POTUS speaking at the Staff Inaugural Ball, but they are too cute. They have such chemistry and Michelle is super giddy in the clip.
So, Howdie Doodie, AKA Bobby Jindal, wants to cut the Federal Government from 800k employees to 400k, and Halve the amount of buildings.
Also, he wants drastic cuts in entitlement programs.
This is Koch Brothers talking, not Bobby. Therein lies the problem, with the GOP, they listen to their money people to set out of touch policy.
So what is going to happen to the people who depend on those entitlement programs to live? I guess they will die. The Republicans don’t care.Everybody wasn’t born with a silver spoon in their mouth, or they don’t have the Koch Brothers taking care of them. Jindal and the Republicans are a bunch of heartless people.
And that’s what the President should explain to the American People, put that party in a box and out if the mainstream. Apparently, he will be doing just that.
While Jindal is saying that the repugs need to be careful in their tone in talking to the electorate, he is making policies to make folks run as fast as they can from the Republican Party.
I think it’s a good decision. Women have already been in combat roles for years but they never got the credit and formal recognition. Now, they can get formal recognition, they can rise up the ranks, they can earn their rightfully deserved benefits, they can boost up their resume and hopefully one day, we’ll have a female Secretary of Defense and they can have more choices in the military. If some want direct combat positions, they won’t be denied and if others don’t want that, they won’t be denied too, but now everyone has options.
Good Friday Morning, TODville! At least, I think it’s going to be good. Utal, you’re up early for your dose of excitement! Apart from tennis, what’s the anticipated excitement of the day?
Sat 26th January is Australia Day (I guess similar to your 4th July) although it is the day of the arrival of the first British settlers to Australia (mainly convicts). They have awards for various different people as part of the celebrations & one that I really liked this year was the senior Australian of the Year
Emeritus Professor Ian Maddocks is an eminent palliative care specialist and a passionate advocate for world peace. … Since 1982 he has worked with medical groups seeking to eliminate nuclear weapons. Ian was President of the Medical Association for Prevention of War when it received an Australian Peace Medal, and Vice-President of International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War when it received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1985. Since 1980 he has advocated improved care for the dying, and was first Chair of Palliative Care at Flinders University, first President of the Australian Association for Hospice and Palliative Care and first President of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Palliative Medicine.
Although the Peace and prevention of war sounds impressive – I think his greatest work has been in the area of palliative care – not a popular nor newsmaking area of medicine – but the help given to so many and their families deserves rewards that are often never seen.
Makes me wonder what I did with my life! I have only been involved with palliative care for family members – but the doctors, nurses and care workers involved have all been a delight.
Happy Australia Day, 99ts! Wishing you and your country continued ‘good stuff’ going forward! Is it usually beach/bikini weather for this celebration? (Never aware of Australia Day before. I’m always learning in TODville.)
It should be beach and bikini (the latter not for me) but yesterday it started rain rain rain – and 2 years ago at this time we had big floods – so fingers crossed – hopefully not again. It will spoil some of the celebrations.
You are most welcome to pull the rain – clear across the Pacific – thank you so much. Floods aren’t yet predicted. We are getting the end of a cyclone (hurricane) that was much north of us – but the rain depression is coming south.
An observation —–so I have been getting Pew Research news releases on twitter for a long time—–always seemed objective and fair to Obama in the run up to the election etc. And then all of a sudden I notice a change—–a new right slant on every release, harsh toward everything Obama. And so I check to see if there have been any changes and I find this—–‘as of Jan., 2013, the new chief honcho is somebody Murray, former managing editor of the WSJ.’ Aha—just what I thought. No more need for Pew on twitter.
If he can do for Texas what he and his team accomplished this past fall, putting him in Texas is a brilliant move. It will take work and a few years, but Texas is ready to move. I talked to my daughter-in-law who is a “rabid” Democrat, like me. She said not only is the demographic change going to make a big difference, but also many liberals from the north are moving to Texas, not just snowbirds in the winter, and they are also making a difference. More of Pres. Obama’s long range thinking. Everyone wondered why the President took a two day swing to Texas last fall…..well, I think now we know why. Nothing is done without a reason.
Ah nuts. Someone upthread posted this article from Milt Shook that I found really informative. I’m sorry~ reposting it but I’m at work and I can’t find it. Here it is:
Yesterday I rambled into TOD and learned from twitterers here that the Twitterverse was on fire with people all fraught with angst over Reid’s apparent “Cave”. So as I said yesterday I thought I’d just stay out of Twitter until cooler heads prevailed and could speak on the issue. This article spoke to the concerns of many in my opinion.
I too read Mitt’s article after I huffed and puffed. I wish I had read it sooner. I think we have win all elections going forth and then we can pick on whatever bluedog dems that are afraid to push the administrations agenda.
I am just glad that folks in the twitter world went after Reid like they would go after PBO. Although the usually complainer about everything PBO were noticeably absent. Hmmm..
Obama, Clinton to appear in joint ’60 Minutes’ interview
Justin Sink
01/25/13 07:45 AM ET
The president and outgoing secretary of State will tape the interview Friday at the White House.…
President Barack Obama will announce Denis McDonough as the new White House chief of staff on Friday afternoon, along with a mix of other staff promotions, according to a White House official.
Obama will make the announcement at 12:10 p.m. in the East Room. McDonough, who is currently Obama’s deputy national security adviser, will replace Jack Lew, who the president has tapped to be his Treasury secretary.
In a statement, the official described McDonough as one of Obama’s “closest and most trusted advisors for nearly a decade, dating back to when he helped set up then Senator Barack Obama’s Senator office.” The official also praised McDonough’s role on Obama’s national security team, and his experience in working with Congress:
Denis has played a key role in all of the major national security decisions–from ending the war in Iraq to winding down the war in Afghanistan; from our response to natural disasters in Haiti and Japan; to the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ As a veteran of Capitol Hill, Denis understands the importance of reaching across the aisle to make progress for the American people–whether it’s on jobs and economy, health care or education, reducing the deficit or addressing climate change.
Later Friday, the White House will also announce nine aides taking new positions at senior levels at the White House. Here is a breakdown of their new roles:
Rob Nabors – Assistant to the president and deputy white house chief of Staff for Policy
Dan Pfeiffer – Assistant to the president and senior adviser
Jennifer Palmieri – Assistant to the president and communications director
Tony Blinken – Assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser
Danielle Gray – Assistant to the president and cabinet secretary
Katy Kale – Assistant to the president for management and administration
Lisa Monaco – Assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism (upon confirmation of John Brennan as DCIA)
Miguel Rodriguez – Assistant to the president and director of legislative affairs
David Simas – Assistant to the president and deputy senior adviser for communications and strategy
Obama White House.gov
The Obama Diary 
Hello
Congrats Carol. I would have been first but I insisted on watching the full “West Wing Week” video.
Peace to all.
I was wondering where everybody was. Thanks for letting me go first!
FIRST! Congrats, Carol!
Thanks. 🙂
Just finished watching a movie. Can’t believe I’m first. I don’t know the latest in politics, but happy to be here.
Wow….
Congrats Carolmaewy on being First.
I have been waiting for this all day.
Where is everybody?
Come on over…..New Thread……Come on over.
Chips, thanks for the video. I have to watch the Prayer service and VP Joe’s talk today. I need to rest my mind from politics to gear up for moving the presidents agenda forward. I get so down when I listen to the things Repugs are doing in Virginia. Looking forward to the weekend and staying away from everything but movies.
The West Wing Week video totally cracked me up. Watching Pres. Obama using tools made me lol. What was he doing? 😆 The end where FLOTUS told him to stop the wisecracks and put his gloves on was perfect. They’re so in sync. It’s a delight to watch them any time.
I’ll have to watch it again. 😉 First time I saw what she wore to the staff ball. It was beautiful as usual.
carolmaewy, the picture of POTUS and FLOTUS at the staff ball, I look at the way POTUS is looking at FLOTUS. He has that look of love for his wife. Do anyone remember this song call The Look of Love, I don’t know who made it.
Don’t know who did it .. but yes, I remember: “the look of love is in your eyes, a look ….. can’t disguise” something like that. Google it or go on YouTube
Dusty Springfield 1967 The Look of Love
I believe Burt Bacharach wrote the song. The look of love, is in your eyes, a look your smile can’t disguise. The look of love, it’s saying so much more than words could every say and what my heart has heard, well it takes my breathe away.
Yes, he did have the Look of Love. I don’t remember the song.
I have already re-played that section. It was so funny and so typical of what guys would say and how women react. These two often crack me up as well.
Sneaky, sneaky. A guy can’t even go to the head!
Nina, proud, ut, where is everybody? I need to catch up on last post!
Love it
Evening friends. Need your help with some good, fact-based info. Had a very good friend say earlier tonight, with great and total authority, I might Barack Obama was the MOST liberal senator in history….she repeated that btw. Then, went on to say, again with emphatic authority that he is THE most liberal president we’ve ever had blah, blah, blah. For a number of reasons, I let her go on while planning/hoping that my wonderful sources here would give me some factual info I can share with her when we talk next week. THANKS in advance. 🙂
Gees……my computer is always messing up and jumping all over. ….I might add that Barack Obama was the most………
Compared to whom? GWB? Then yes. Some things he’s done have been very liberal….mostly, I think he’s been very centrist and just doing the people’s business…not the bidding of corporations and special interests. If that’s liberal…. I’d like to know compared to whom….otherwise, her empathic statement is just the typical RW talking point bs.
tnmtngirl, I’m not even sure what’s the point of even engaging these people about anything where our President is concerned.
If PBO suddenly became “conservative,” your friend would suddenly have a problem with conservatism, whatever the hell that means. At 4+ years into PBO’s presidency, your friend doesn’t need “factual info;” she needs to get rid of her deep-seated racism.
Thanks for your thoughts….both of you and anyone else. She also said that some of the things he is doing scares her to death. ??????? Yet, she agreed that the extreme right is destroying the Republican Party.
“some of the things he is doing scares her to death. ”
What things? Was she specific? She’s lived through 4 years of his Presidency – by now she should be able to articulate clearly and without hesitation or equivocation what things he is doing or has done that scares her.
If she cannot be specific then she is paranoid and needs some mental health treatment. Nothing about her fear is grounded in reality and providing “facts” is not going to address the problem. This is much more serious than it appears.
this
This judgment came on the basis of his voting record while he was campaigning and missed a lot of votes, but always showed up for the important ones that skewed towards the liberal side. And even that did not make him even then the most liberal. The rightwingers- always try to pin that on the Democratic candidate. When the firebaggers went after him during the primaries for not being liberal enough, it took a lot of steam out of their propaganda campaign on this.
Specifics. She needs to spell out what makes him the most liberal president ( and what is wrong with that anyway??). Is it his health care law that almost every president since Theodore Roosevelt (first to call for this in 1912!) has done? The law that was essentially what the heritage foundation (a conservative think thank) came up with and Romney implemented. Is it going after terrorist and taking out Bin Laden? Is it stopping a second great depression by saving the auto industry and enacting a stimulus? If we had a second great depression by the way there would have been more government intervention in the economy, see FDR and his New Deal for recent examples.
What exactly makes him the most liberal (again if he was what would be the problem)? Besides, the country voted for him with over 51% of the vote, twice. If he is the most liberal then the country has moved toward liberalism and your friend is holding on to bye gone days that are not likely to return. Gays are not gonna be forcefully shoved into the closet now so some people can enjoy how life was during the 1960’s nor are women going to be removed from roles of power and all decide to stay at home baking pies. Times are changing and we should learn to adapt to it rather than resist it.
So, we got a major watered down version of Filibuster reform-
http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/01/obama-hopeful-senate-deal-will-pave-way-for-meaningful-155192.html
Have you read this article? It’s a very good explanation of the situation. It sounds like Harry Reid doesn’t want to walk us into a trap. He doesn’t trust the far left, and with good reason.
http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/2013/01/dont-blame-harry-reid-for-filibuster-reform-thank-him.html
Where are you far left whiners now. Why aren’t you squawking about Harry Reid’s Little peas? There is your breal “dino”.
If it was President Obama who have cave, the far left would be ll over the place running there mouth, trashing him.. Okay Harry Reid cave to that lowlife Mitch McConnell.
Yup,yup, yup!
Please read the article I posted above. I think Reid has good reason not to go “nuclear”. I can’t understand why Harry’s a hero one minute and a weak caver the next. Don’t we hate this when the far left does it?
Harry,on several occasions has stated that the filibuster as it exists is terrible and that he should have done something about it in 2010.
Which really doesn’t contradict anything stated in the article.
Manchin says he’s working with NRA on universal background check bill
Justin Sink – 01/24/13 01:23 PM ET
Manchin, a member of the NRA, had not previously endorsed any specific measures to address gun violence.…
-/
Why is he working on a bill with the NRA?
sigh….gah. Prepare for loopholes the size of Texas. I’ve seen some bloggers write that we are supposed to be excited about Manchin going ahead with this but I do not trust Manchin. At All.
I don’t trust Manchin and you know darn well I don’t trust the NRA.
This is a really good read about the filibuster decision today.
http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/2013/01/dont-blame-harry-reid-for-filibuster-reform-thank-him.html
Cops I have posted twice, the same thing, but it isn’t showing. Is it because I included a link?
One of the funniest shows on TV is on right now. The incredibly stupid super agent Archer who manages to save the day in the end. Ahhh…..the wonders of TV.
I love Archer
From The Economist:
Barack Obama’s second-term strategy
The long game
Jan 24th 2013, 12:55 by R.M. | WASHINGTON, DC
“When viewed as a tactic to advance the president’s agenda in Congress, the speech seemed unwise, as it likely hardened the resolve of the opposition. But are my colleagues ascribing to the president a goal he does not have? Perhaps Mr Obama’s uncompromising tone was not a fault of the speech, but a deliberate provocation. Perhaps it is part of a broader, longer-term strategy that, far from seeking reconciliation with Republicans, aims to increase their rigidity until the force of public opinion breaks the party.”
—–
“Perhaps he has concluded that, no matter his efforts, he will not win many legislative battles—his victories will be partial, at best—so he will instead focus on winning the argument…on taxes, entitlements, climate change, gun control, etc. And in the process he will push riled Republicans into stubborn positions that, if he is successful, will become increasingly unpopular. His agenda, in other words, is to slowly destroy the opposition by provoking the opposition to destroy itself. The idea of this should infuriate Republicans. That’s all part of the plan.”
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/01/barack-obamas-second-term-strategy?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/thelonggame
Eh, sounds devious but its not like Pres.Obama is suddenly taking up far left positions he’s never had before. POTUS will continue to be himself. GOP going batshit crazy is just the icing on the cake. He can’t help how they react. GOP backed themselves into this corner. He even warned them about it a few years ago.
The question I have for all these people who are “concerned” about the “liberal” tone of the President’s speech is: what exactly did the President say that they don’t agree with? Do they not agree that the Constitution is for all the people, or that kids should grow up with all opportunities and every protection? Do they not agree that people should be treated equally, or that everyone should work together? I’m not sure what parts of the speech they think don’t relate to every single American? They sound pretty unpatriotic to me.
you are right! Exactly what I was thinking when I started to hear noise from the right.
Because, that’s why! (And it’s criminal that Defence gets more money than Silly Walks.)
Our journey is not complete ….LL
Yes, I have an optimistic view. Sometimes I’m chided for it. I can see a possible progressive future, where we continue to perfect our Union. But it won’t be done without work. It won’t come without setbacks. Our journey is not complete, and in a sense it never will be, as there will always be new battles to be fought. But we’re on the right path. The question is: will we keep on the road, or veer off course? That’s the work that has to be done.
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2013/01/our-journey-is-not-complete.html
“GOP backed themselves into this corner. He even warned them about it a few years ago.”
Yes, GB. And, he continues to warn them, but the reality is that they are so inextricably rooted in their racism they only become more brittle. Whatever opposition party ultimately emerges (if our democracy is to be sustained) it won’t be a collection of angry, mostly lower middle class or poorer white guys and their battered wives blindly serving the interest of a few plutocrats who have effectively enslaved them.
#FORWARD
Beware …
And, note that whenever I alert my followers to some scum I’m blocking I change the @ to a # thereby preventing the @ account holder from claiming I’m spaming them. Twitter rules apply to ‘abuse of the @reply’ and so I’m able to tell folk the identity of the crud with the # and not in any way send a message into the crud’s TL 😉
#FORWARD
thanks bob! RT’d
I was briefly stationed at Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City. Lots Of Indians.
PBO is a adopted member of the Crow Nation, his father passed away last year. Native Americans love the president. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2012/11/28/barack-obama-loses-adoptive-native-american-father/
Thanks for sharing. I grew up in SD and they always had a basketball team in our State B tournament. I lived on a farm near Sioux Falls, and my folks took us to games as part of our entertainment. They were almost extinct about 10-15 years ago because of alcohol poisoning to their babies. They have been through a lot and I respect them.
You saw this poll?-
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/279205-overnight-health-poll-finds-bipartisan-support-for-exchanges
Any questions?
Tweets seem to appear different in wordpress. They seem larger and crisper at the same time. Perhaps it’s just me.
Twitter changed the format a few days ago; if you see the hashtags and links are in blue now, also the tweet is wider and the bottom shows retweets and favorites now.
The filibuster reforms/
Instead, the reforms will speed up efforts by the majority leader to move to begin debates on new business and confirm sub-Cabinet executive-branch and district-court judicial nominees, which passed on a 78-16 vote. The reforms also make it easier to send legislation to conference with the House — that rule was changed on a 86-9 vote. It will also require senators to appear on the Senate floor in person to block a bill or nominee and actually debate if they want to prolong consideration of business after the Senate has voted to move on.
The centerpiece of the deal would empower the majority leader to prohibit filibusters on motions to proceed to new business if he allows the minority leader and the minority bill manager each an opportunity to vote on an amendment. Non-germane amendments would need to overcome a 60-vote threshold. The majority leader and majority bill manager would allow be allowed votes on amendments under this scenario.
The Hill-
I am glad I read this Jovie. Listening to Rachel and Ed, it appear that the entire bill was voted down just because the “talking” part was not in the bill. It would have been nice to do away the 60 vote threshold completely.
If we lose seats in 2014 because it is not a presidential year and we can’t depend on the left to vote, we might be glad of the filibuster ourselves.
But just imagine what good could come during the next two years if the obstruction had been prevented. It is such a waste of time and this presidency, especially when in 2014, the media will turn to their obsession of the 2016 campaign. It’s such a waste.
“obstruction had been prevented” This does not make any sense. The republicans control the house. Filibuster reform was ideal there was a majority of democrats in the house. Now if a bill is passed in the senate without republican support, does anyone really see the house voting for it?
Well, since Boehner keeps advocating his leadership responsibility to the Senate, there could very well be some moderate Republicans in the House that could work with Dems to get stuff done, especially if things were able to flow more smoothly through the Senate. I agree that the filibuster reform wasn’t going to solve all the obstruction, but right now, the GOP must be feeling even more emboldened that they can still get Dems to work against the President’s agenda – how many times have you heard Dems complain about the President not closing Gitmo, ignoring the Dem Senators who voted nearly unanimously to prevent any action from the President or funding to close the thing?
I’m waiting to hear more details about the deal – but I just wish the Dems would be more visible about their support of the President, and that they wouldn’t keep enabling the GOP to squander this presidency.
Part of the article refers to the fact that a ‘talking filibuster’ wastes a lot of time and there is no reason to suppose that they will be any less obstructionist. I just think we should wait and see what happens before getting upset.
Hi there dotster3. I read the part in Dobson’s book where he beat the crap out of his little dog when it growled at him. That is a mindset of some of those far right “Christian” folks. Beating your kids with a belt is just A-OK with that sort.. Can you picture Jesus hitting kids or animals with a belt? Maybe President Obama didn’t let ol’ Shirley in the White House just to protect BO. If Mitt would have won, people like the Santorums and Dobson would have had the run of the place. I know those people so well, and was so afraid for America. But, we won!
nor do they count 9/11 if that would mean they do a thorough investigation, and demand the administration responsible fire some people.
Yuup. You’re going too far. How dare you question the “Great White Father”.
No Senator Idiot from Kentucky, the worst tragedy since 9/11 was the Iraq war.
Indeed! Nor does GOP count the Bush administration’s total incompetence in responding to hurricane Katrina that resulted in the loss of thousands of lives. Every time I run into right wing idiots who are talking about the “Benghazi catastrophe,” which they claim is all President Obama’s fault, I make sure to bring up Katrina as well as the August, 2011, PDB that warned Bush about the impending terrorist attacks on the U.S. Although Bush and his cronies had repeated warnings months before the 9/11 attacks they did absolutely nothing. Yet I never heard a peep from all these Republicans, who are ready to crucify Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice, and President Obama for Benghazi, blaming Bush and his cronies for their negligence that resulted in the loss of thousands of people.
I agree nathkatun7
Love the West Wing Week on Inaugural. Damn, I love my PBO, FLOTUS, VeepJoe and Dr. Jill.
Hello TOD our big snow is just about gone. Winter is really here and it is time for me to hibernate. I hope all returned home and can catch up on your sleep.
Dotster posted a TPM tweet on the previous post that a republicans wanted white votes to count more than minority votes. That was my impression watching LOD tonight. Virginia GOP intends to count black voters as only two-thirds worth white voters, Their scheme is inherently racist.
LOD made me cry when he played all of John Kerry’s testimony before the Senate in 1971. May have saved my hubby’s life.
Wow. I missed that tonight, but will try to watch later. Hang in there.
Thanks. I’m okay. But those years are still clear to me, although I didn’t know of John Kerry then. He would have been a great president. But he contributed to the Obama era as much as anyone. I think Kerry was Obama’s first choice of SOS. Nothing against Susan Rice, but I think Kerry is very, very qualified. And I like his wife Theresa. She is smart and beautiful and makes John happy. Bush never deserved the presidency. I hope the Senate starts holding hearings now, if it fits into Obama’s viewpoint. Night.
John Kerry was very impressive in that testimony, never herad it before and I am from that era. To think the Republicans ‘swift boated’ him when running for President against worthless Bush. I really wonder how things might be different if he would have won the election.
My era too. I was in college, hubby had joined the Navy in 1970, was a corpsman at Camp LeJuene Marine base. Could have gone with the Marines to Nam. I wasn’t aware of Kerry until much later in life. He was eloquent and sincere. And I like Theresa. She is also accomplished. I admire strong smart women and the men who love them.
Did you see where Senator Kerry put that little tea party Senator in his place, you know the one Hillary had to shut up too. His name is Johnson right. I’m not sure, but I think he is from Wisconsin. But Kerry ask the Senator if he attended the briefing. Where you there, Sen. Kerry ask that Sen. Johnson ? And he said no. Now that tells you all you need to know, these guys claim what happen is so important to them, but yet they can’t find the time to attend the briefing. John McCain was so busy he couldn’t fine the time, busy appearing on that lying make believe FOX News channel.
Night everyone. Got lots to do tomorrow.
Evening all. Just about to call it a day and just had to say that I’m still riding high on the inauguration. My absolutely fav part of the inauguration that I’ve played at least ten times is the presidential walk/ride to the viewing platform.
Egads but I love the way the crowds went wild during the whole darn thing. I love the playfulness of the Obamas and Bidens as they walked the route soaking it all in and absolutely in the moment. Their little interactions with each other and with the crowds. The seriousness and alertness of the SS. The thousands of military and law enforcement that lined the streets (what they hey -was that over kill or what).
Yes the official acts and lofty words, the star performances and all paled for me in comparison to the lovefest of that walk. Anyway had to share before I play it one more time.
And one last, last word to tnmtngirl and anyone who find they have to make excuses or provide comebacks to the thought that this is a liberal president, I saw why? Why does that need defending. When someone tries to make being a liberal an epitaph I look at them and proudly tell them that it was liberals that gave us SS, women the right to vote, minorities the right to education, Medicare & medicaid, decent wages, universities, the push for clean air and water, 5 day work weeks, the race to the moon, the internet etc etc.
I wear that mantle like a badge of honor. Furthermore if you really want to be prepared just remind them that studies have shown that conservatives tend to be ever fearful, opposed to change or anything new, while liberals welcome new ideas and ways of seeing things. And don’t forget to remind them of the definition of the words:
Liberal – adjective:
1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
2. ( often initial capital letter ) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism, especially the freedom of the individual and governmental guarantees of individual rights and liberties.
4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, especially as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, especially with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
Conservative – adjective:
1. disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
2. cautiously moderate or purposefully low: a conservative estimate.
3. traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness
I’m proud to be a liberal and I so happy to have a POTUS & VPOTUS that represent me and the views of 2/3 of the country. I see no reason to have to apologize, explain or otherwise succumb to their narrow views of what liberalism means. I like it just fine.
That. Is. All. Night all and have a great day tomorrow. {{{{{hugs all around}}}}}
{{{{{HUGS TO YOU}}}}} I’m a liberal too and proud of it. I also loved the walk/ride of the parade route. The crowd loved them and they were deep crowds. It was a beautiful, a beautiful speech. The Lady’s looked great. Love all around. Thanks for adding your words.
Well said.
Good morning. You may not see this, but THANKS!!! Am printing and keeping for our talk next week. 🙂 I do better if I have a good response in front of me to “guide” my thinking and keep me calm and sane.
One more thought before I turn off the lights, what did AMK give his Mrs. for his anniversary? We planted a beautiful tree for our twenty-fifth. Got rubies for 40! 🙂
I love my President.
I love my Vice-President.
I love my First Lady.
I love my Second Lady.
I love all of the children-Malia, Sasha, Hunter, Ashley, Beau.
I love Bo.
I love Champ.
I thouroughly enjoye the Inauguration.
I will thoroughly enjoy these next fic 4 years.
I second that emotion. Where is the music tonight? I think we’re all tired from Inauguration coverage. I don’t think there has been love in the White House like this before. Abigail Adams may come the closest. But I have read about Lady Bird Johnson and she is a very impressive lady. Many loved their husbands in their times, but it is so evident in everything the Obama’s do. Nancy was an actress.
I’m with you vitamin – 100% agree. I’m looking forward to our President’s SOTU which will be in mid-February.
me too to all of this 🙂
I LOVE MY PRESIDENT!!!! Mrs. Obama, VPBiden and Dr. Jill – 3 attorneys and a doctorate of education! SMART, Good[looking!!
I know it may be trivial, but they are also the BEST DRESSED “First” and “Second” family this country has ever had.
I just love them all to pieces!!!
De-lurking to co-sign. Thank you for expressing a some of the same thoughts I have about them. I really admire them… and I’m an old geezer… no starry-eyed youngster here. Observing them has taught me much in the last 5+ years!
I firmly believe Harry did all he could, he just didn’t have 51 votes (which astonishes me at this point.) Do we know who the dems were who were blocking it, and why? If anyone has a link to that, I’d love to see that info. 😀
not naming names, but wapo says it’s ‘senior democrats’ :
‘ Senior Democrats emphasized making the chamber more efficient. Unlike their newly elected colleagues, these Democrats have served in the majority and the minority, and they consider the 60-vote threshold a bedrock principle of the Senate.
In his years in the minority, Reid used filibusters and other procedural hurdles to block construction of a nuclear waste facility outside Las Vegas. Levin and others used filibusters to protect wage laws for union members. Senior female Democrats used filibusters to preserve abortion rights when Republicans controlled every branch of the federal government. ‘
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-leaders-reach-deal-modifying-filibuster-procedures/2013/01/24/48a8ca16-6648-11e2-85f5-a8a9228e55e7_story.html
As has been stated in previous posts…Today’s GOP would have no trouble passing a Filibuster rule that would strip The DEMs of their power….
takes me back to the DEM convention in which Deval Patrick asked the DEMs to grow a pair…
PBO has re-nominated Corduay to head the Consumer board and White to head the SEC….wonder how that is going to work,,,We shall see how they make it thru the Senate
Indeed.
godsfuckingdammit.
No one said get rid of the 60 vote threshold. I just want them to really filibuster instead of pretending. Stand and fucking TALK. Then debate. Then Vote.
Fuck these “senior dems” for being lazy. Nothing matters outside the 113th Congress. When the 114th Congress is sat two years from now, they can change the rules to whatever the fuck they want. They can make everyone come into the chamber naked.
SEVEN FUCKING HELLS!
/rage
Hey TOD family. I’m not sure if anyone has posted FLOTUS & POTUS speaking at the Staff Inaugural Ball, but they are too cute. They have such chemistry and Michelle is super giddy in the clip.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iRZwa_Rs73U
yummy isonprize! This is the one inaugural event that I hadn’t seen much of. Thanks!! Hope Chips will add it to rise and shine for all to enjoy.
Thanks Ison, you rock! I had no idea how to post the video, so I just posted the link. How do I embed a video here?
Love it. First Lady teases her bangs like they did on Daily Show. Cute
Not this Jersey girl. Not at all.
Sorry, posted this in the wrong spot. I was responding to the Christie comment.
You don’t like the bangs or the daily show?
Good Morning…TODville….GM Chipss,,,
I hear that Zuckerman plans to host a fundraiser for Chris Christie,,,it seems as if Christie is fooling some of the people all of the time…
Seem that people are being fool by Christie.
Federer is getting his mojo back. WOOOOHOOOOO. Go Federer!
That teenager lost, She looks to be the future of USA Tennis. I was pulling for her.
So, Howdie Doodie, AKA Bobby Jindal, wants to cut the Federal Government from 800k employees to 400k, and Halve the amount of buildings.
Also, he wants drastic cuts in entitlement programs.
This is Koch Brothers talking, not Bobby. Therein lies the problem, with the GOP, they listen to their money people to set out of touch policy.
So what is going to happen to the people who depend on those entitlement programs to live? I guess they will die. The Republicans don’t care.Everybody wasn’t born with a silver spoon in their mouth, or they don’t have the Koch Brothers taking care of them. Jindal and the Republicans are a bunch of heartless people.
Are they human? Sometimes I wonder.
And that’s what the President should explain to the American People, put that party in a box and out if the mainstream. Apparently, he will be doing just that.
While Jindal is saying that the repugs need to be careful in their tone in talking to the electorate, he is making policies to make folks run as fast as they can from the Republican Party.
What do you guys think of the decision to allow women to fight in combat?
I think it’s a good decision. Women have already been in combat roles for years but they never got the credit and formal recognition. Now, they can get formal recognition, they can rise up the ranks, they can earn their rightfully deserved benefits, they can boost up their resume and hopefully one day, we’ll have a female Secretary of Defense and they can have more choices in the military. If some want direct combat positions, they won’t be denied and if others don’t want that, they won’t be denied too, but now everyone has options.
It’s too early for this kind of excitement. This game is tense to say the least. Gooooooooooooo Federer!
Just as well Federer can win tie breaks!
NEWS.
Something to look forward to, UTAL. THX
Good Friday Morning, TODville! At least, I think it’s going to be good. Utal, you’re up early for your dose of excitement! Apart from tennis, what’s the anticipated excitement of the day?
Holey BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP! We’re going to a fifth set. Gooooo Federer!
Sat 26th January is Australia Day (I guess similar to your 4th July) although it is the day of the arrival of the first British settlers to Australia (mainly convicts). They have awards for various different people as part of the celebrations & one that I really liked this year was the senior Australian of the Year
Emeritus Professor Ian Maddocks is an eminent palliative care specialist and a passionate advocate for world peace. … Since 1982 he has worked with medical groups seeking to eliminate nuclear weapons. Ian was President of the Medical Association for Prevention of War when it received an Australian Peace Medal, and Vice-President of International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War when it received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1985. Since 1980 he has advocated improved care for the dying, and was first Chair of Palliative Care at Flinders University, first President of the Australian Association for Hospice and Palliative Care and first President of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Palliative Medicine.
Although the Peace and prevention of war sounds impressive – I think his greatest work has been in the area of palliative care – not a popular nor newsmaking area of medicine – but the help given to so many and their families deserves rewards that are often never seen.
He sounds amazing 99ts. Having worked in a hospital system, I’ve seen how important palliative care is.
Makes me wonder what I did with my life! I have only been involved with palliative care for family members – but the doctors, nurses and care workers involved have all been a delight.
Happy Australia Day, 99ts! Wishing you and your country continued ‘good stuff’ going forward! Is it usually beach/bikini weather for this celebration? (Never aware of Australia Day before. I’m always learning in TODville.)
It should be beach and bikini (the latter not for me) but yesterday it started rain rain rain – and 2 years ago at this time we had big floods – so fingers crossed – hopefully not again. It will spoil some of the celebrations.
Okay. Crossed my fingers with you right this minute, which means we should have international pull. 😉
You are most welcome to pull the rain – clear across the Pacific – thank you so much. Floods aren’t yet predicted. We are getting the end of a cyclone (hurricane) that was much north of us – but the rain depression is coming south.
clear across the Pacific
Now this becomes a balancing act because I’m not sure we need rain right now. 😉 Enjoy your day, whatever comes your say!
Exciting match. We’ll get ’em next time Federer. Congratulations to Andy Murray. It was a fantastic match.
It was a fantastic match, but Murray certainly does not have the it factor that Federer and Nadal have.
Federer seemed well off his game the last 2 he played – I love watching him – he just plays the game – no histrionics – and no “grunts”
An observation —–so I have been getting Pew Research news releases on twitter for a long time—–always seemed objective and fair to Obama in the run up to the election etc. And then all of a sudden I notice a change—–a new right slant on every release, harsh toward everything Obama. And so I check to see if there have been any changes and I find this—–‘as of Jan., 2013, the new chief honcho is somebody Murray, former managing editor of the WSJ.’ Aha—just what I thought. No more need for Pew on twitter.
Sad when they advertise themselves as nonpartisan
“Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world”
Reminds me of what happened with Komen when Karen Handel joined the board
Maybe someone should draw ‘somebody Murray’s attention to the ‘nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public’ quote you shared, 99ts.
It’s from their own website – right near his name – sigh
Will check for it later and if he has a twitter presence I might send him a reminder.
Great choices all. I would love to see Jeremy Bird somewhere in the WH but, it seems he is going to be responsible for turning Texas Blue.
If he can do for Texas what he and his team accomplished this past fall, putting him in Texas is a brilliant move. It will take work and a few years, but Texas is ready to move. I talked to my daughter-in-law who is a “rabid” Democrat, like me. She said not only is the demographic change going to make a big difference, but also many liberals from the north are moving to Texas, not just snowbirds in the winter, and they are also making a difference. More of Pres. Obama’s long range thinking. Everyone wondered why the President took a two day swing to Texas last fall…..well, I think now we know why. Nothing is done without a reason.
Ah nuts. Someone upthread posted this article from Milt Shook that I found really informative. I’m sorry~ reposting it but I’m at work and I can’t find it. Here it is:
http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/2013/01/dont-blame-harry-reid-for-filibuster-reform-thank-him.html
Yesterday I rambled into TOD and learned from twitterers here that the Twitterverse was on fire with people all fraught with angst over Reid’s apparent “Cave”. So as I said yesterday I thought I’d just stay out of Twitter until cooler heads prevailed and could speak on the issue. This article spoke to the concerns of many in my opinion.
What does anyone else think on Milt’s article?
I posted that in the other thread but it didn’t show up. I agree with you that it is a great read. Thanks for reporting.
I too read Mitt’s article after I huffed and puffed. I wish I had read it sooner. I think we have win all elections going forth and then we can pick on whatever bluedog dems that are afraid to push the administrations agenda.
I am just glad that folks in the twitter world went after Reid like they would go after PBO. Although the usually complainer about everything PBO were noticeably absent. Hmmm..
Congrats to Jason Wu. I like that despite all the publicity, he’s remained humble and hardworking.
Good for him! He’s a gracious soul and I wish him continued success.
Morning:) Try and act surprised.
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/01/25/1494451/murray-coal-layoffs/
Coal Company Rehires Workers After Pinning Blame For Layoffs On Obama
I’m claiming 1st for the Rise & Shine thread – whenever it appears. 🙂
I was about to do that. I think I am going to start claiming at night before I retire. 🙂
Hmmm……now that’s an idea…
I’ll claim last for this thread – I’m always chatting to self when everyone else has moved to the next thread
Obama, Clinton to appear in joint ’60 Minutes’ interview
Justin Sink
01/25/13 07:45 AM ET
The president and outgoing secretary of State will tape the interview Friday at the White House.…
Good Morning TOD waiting for Rise and Shine.
President Barack Obama will announce Denis McDonough as the new White House chief of staff on Friday afternoon, along with a mix of other staff promotions, according to a White House official.
Obama will make the announcement at 12:10 p.m. in the East Room. McDonough, who is currently Obama’s deputy national security adviser, will replace Jack Lew, who the president has tapped to be his Treasury secretary.
In a statement, the official described McDonough as one of Obama’s “closest and most trusted advisors for nearly a decade, dating back to when he helped set up then Senator Barack Obama’s Senator office.” The official also praised McDonough’s role on Obama’s national security team, and his experience in working with Congress:
Denis has played a key role in all of the major national security decisions–from ending the war in Iraq to winding down the war in Afghanistan; from our response to natural disasters in Haiti and Japan; to the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ As a veteran of Capitol Hill, Denis understands the importance of reaching across the aisle to make progress for the American people–whether it’s on jobs and economy, health care or education, reducing the deficit or addressing climate change.
Later Friday, the White House will also announce nine aides taking new positions at senior levels at the White House. Here is a breakdown of their new roles:
Rob Nabors – Assistant to the president and deputy white house chief of Staff for Policy
Dan Pfeiffer – Assistant to the president and senior adviser
Jennifer Palmieri – Assistant to the president and communications director
Tony Blinken – Assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser
Danielle Gray – Assistant to the president and cabinet secretary
Katy Kale – Assistant to the president for management and administration
Lisa Monaco – Assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism (upon confirmation of John Brennan as DCIA)
Miguel Rodriguez – Assistant to the president and director of legislative affairs
David Simas – Assistant to the president and deputy senior adviser for communications and strategy
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/25/obama-announcement_n_2550289.html?1359124963
Morning!
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/01/25/rise-and-shine-410/