Text of remarks here
President Obama arrives to make remarks to the House Democratic Issues Conference at the Lansdowne Resort in Virginia, February 7
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The Obama Diary 
Howdy
Is everyone listening to Brennan hearing? So was I.
Hot on yer heels cowgirl. 😀
Guess my horse won by a nose pardoner. 😉
Yeah. My quarter horse has a hitch in his git-a-long! 🙂
😉
You wouldn’t know it by the music you play!
Oh really? I’ve ridden a coupla those beauty’s in my younger day. As I recall there are quite a few in a little place called Sayre, OK. I was told it was the home of this hearty breed.
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Congrats caolaewy
Thanks.
Congrats on 1st carolmaew, watching our President on S-Span right now. Thanks for posting Chips.
Thanks.
What is S-Span?
C-Span
Oh, which one? 123
Good afternoon folks. Congrats on first carolmaewy.
Thanks.
By the way, is there any word on the Q&A after this? CSPAN did not cover this. Not sure if the cameras were allowed.
No, it was a private session.
Too bad. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that.
Hosts for the congressional summits (House & Senate, Dem & Rethug) have banned cameras during PBO’s Q&A’s ever since he eviscerated the rethugs in their house in 2010.
At least they learned one thing from the many smackdowns delivered by the President in their direction – don’t let it get caught on camera, if you can help it!
Top 10! Where’s my prize?
Here’s an Oreo and milk. 🙂
Ah, there’s Andrea Mitchell on Nightly News giving a real slanted, negative report on the Brennan hearings. Business as usual with her. She wrapped it up by saying Brennan is a good friend of President Obama and is likely to be approved, frustrating many who still have many questions about the use of drones and torture.
I saw a poll this morning that 83% of Americans approve of the use of torture, given that they protect the troops and make use of advanced technology. Plus, Diane Feinstein mentioned the lower incidences of civilian casualties. Plus, most people trust President Obama and his judgement, but want assurances that future unscrupulous presidents won’t abuse those rights (given that President Obama is a one-in-a-million kind of President…). Perfectly legitimate. The only people with their hair on fire with unreasonable questions are the extremists and the media.
I’m late catching up – I assume you meant drones – not torture?
Yes – drones, drones, drones. NOT torture – thanks for catching that. This is what I get for sneaking on to TOD when I’m supposed to be working…!
LOL about the sneaking in – I’m sure everyone read it as drones at the time – we usually see what we are looking for.
Thanks for being so kind… This is probably the fourth correction I got today! 🙂
Hmmmmm.
She was a target of mine this morning. If she sees it.
They are holding a running event too.
Great Speech
So glad we have it hear to listen to in it’s entirety, instead of the news clip shared by MSM
encouraging quote of the day
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
~Winston Churchill~
Video on gun violence, please view and share
other encouraging stories at http://whatisworking.com
He is a good spokesperson.
And I love the Churchill quote. Thank you!
Is the President even going to have a Cabinet??
Sessions warns Lew’s nomination to Treasury at risk over Medicare trigger
By Pete Kasperowicz
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on Thursday criticized the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for failing to answer questions about Treasury Secretary nominee Jack Lew’s failure to propose legislation to shore up Medicare, and said this failure could put Lew’s nomination at risk.
Sessions wrote to OMB over the weekend asking why it has not proposed a bill to deal with the shortfall in Medicare funding despite current law that requires the administration to propose a legislative fix when funding problems are identified.
Goodness – I wish we could put their positions at risk over things that were so inconsequential. Why does everything have to be a threat to the extreme? Why can’t they just ask for it? Everything is a tantrum.
These Republican senators are like wounded animals. They know they lost, they resent the president and the majority he has crafted, so they’re striking out in any way they can. They don’t realize and can’t see that the more they act this way, the more sympathy and respect they build for the president. Their smartest strategy would be to let the hearings go nicely, vote quickly without objections, then blame him and the cabinet for everything. The American people will blame them again and still for obstruction and gridlock. Their actions make the president look better and better. Once again they are shooting themselves.
QUESTIONS THAT HAUNT ME!
If one has sex with a prostitute against her will, is it considered rape or shoplifting?
Can you cry under water?
How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
Why do you have to ‘put your two cents in’… but it’s only a ‘penny for your thoughts’? Where’s that extra penny going to?
Once you’re in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?
What disease did cured ham actually have?
How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
Why is it that people say they ‘slept like a baby’ when babies wake up like every two hours?
If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
Why do doctors leave the room while you change?
They’re going to see you naked anyway…
Why is ‘bra’ singular and ‘panties’ plural?
If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?
If the professor on Gilligan’s Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can’t he fix a hole in a boat?
If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?
If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
Why did you just try singing the two songs above?
Why do they call it an asteroid when it’s outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it’s in your butt?
Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog’s face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?
Why, Why, Why
Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?
Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard?
Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?
Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
Whose idea was it to put an ‘S’ in the word ‘lisp’?
Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?
Is there ever a day that mattresses
are not on sale?
Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?
Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?
How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?
Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that’s falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?
How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?
And my FAVORITE………
The statistics on sanity say that one out of every four persons are suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends — if they’re okay, then it’s you. 😆 😆 😆
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA….I totally did one of the above. After reading about the Alphabet song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star song, I began singing them in my head and then read the next line and burst out laughing.
GOTCHA! 😆
GOTCHA! :lol;
Heh! I did the same too. 🙂
OMG – these are hilarious! I did the vacuum cleaner one just yesterday! Thanks for the laughs.
Truth is stranger than fiction, eh?
Oh, thanks so much, now they’re going to HAUNT all of the rest of us!
(There was once a yellow paint color – I forget the brand – called Jimmy Crack Corn. I called a paint store to see if they had it in stock. A real cheerful guy answered and asked me to hold on a minute, so he could check. You could hear him in the background singing that song until he came back and cheerfully told me they had it. The guy seemed to love his job. And the next day, it was up on me wall. No idea why I’m mentioning this, because I’m not sure anybody cares, even Jimmy, and, least of all, you. Moving along.)
It has a nice ring to it JC!
Ha!
Rev. Al is discussing obesity and Christie. Thank God our beloved President is so sexy-slim.
Yea, but they mention POTUS smoking
They shall get over that.
That comment was just by Dana Milbank, the one who cannot stop his snark. He’s the nasty kid in the class who thinks he makes himself look better by making someone else look worse. Did you see the expressions on Joe’s and Rev. Al’s faces? I hope Dana did. He had to say “Sneak a smoke” Does he live in the White House? I think not.
.I hear you, carolyn
Even if Chris Christie was to lose 200 lbs by 2016 election season, he’d still be running on the same policies. If they focus on his weight as a limiting factor, then when he beats that weight hurdle, will he be qualified to run the world? The President was qualified when he smoked, and just proved the point by quitting smoking during a period of extreme stress. People elected him because of his policies – not his smoking habits. Pundits need to stop being so shallow.
Spot on!
Christie is mean. His response to the doctor shows that. His policies are mean. I think his weight is covering what he is right now. His true self will come out if he decided to run. That campaign shows people up for what they are.
30″ of snow tonight in Boston.
Hunker down People!
While you bask in the gentle warm Floridian weather 🙂
Ha, I’ve been to Lansdowne for a weekend retreat before — not a bad site for corporate-type gatherings. *random*
Can we do immigration reform now??!!! http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/20130207arizona-border-apprehensions-statistics.html
Border Patrol apprehensions in Arizona lowest in 19 years
Admittedly, this is not the biggest issue of the day, but it’s cat-astrophic.
Any cat experts out there? Help!
Okay, a cat abandoned by the turds who used to live next door – and then moved and left her behind – has been living in my garden for, oh, about seven years now.
Even in the coldest of weather, she won’t come in to the house, I tried once and she freaked until I let her out again.
So, she has what I like to call a penthouse apartment in the garden – well, a small dog kennel type thingie.
And she’s happily slept in it for years.
But! A bruiser of a tom cat has turned up in the garden – at first he only seemed interested in her food, but now the despot is trying to throw her out of her penthouse. She’s so afraid of him she’s taken to sleeping in another garden the last couple of nights – in the open air and cold.
(She obviously had a job done on her by her owners, no kittens have ever appeared, so I assume this isn’t a love thing).
I just went out to investigate and the despot was sitting on top of her penthouse, and she was gone.
You know what he did? He turned around and wiggled his bottom at me.
I’m not kidding. He WIGGLED his bottom at me.
So, I went running after him, howling loudly, arms waving, he ran, but then reappeared behind me, in a ‘na, na, na, na’ kind of way.
This is war.
How do I make this despot go away so our cat can move back in to her penthouse, short of me sleeping in a tent outside so I can keep watch?
Help!
Grab the nasty despot, put him a cat carrier, and bring him to the closest no kill shelter you can find…and give them a donation of money or food. She may have had her litters out in the wild and they died or became feral themselves…if you can afford it, get her neutered….even if she doesn’t want to come in your house and be “officially” yours:)
Want me to ship my coyote to you:) ??
Ha, sounds like an idea! Unless he ate my cat!
No!
Excellent advice, df! Exactly what I’d do (btw, we’ve owned kitties for decades, but they’ve always been indoor residents given the places where we’ve lived).
Thank you DF!
The thing is, the despot looks really well looked after, so I’m guessing he belongs to someone, he doesn’t seem feral. I’ll see if I can find out who owns him … at which point, dunno.
I’m almost certain our cat has been neutered, she’s never, well, attracted the attention of local boy cats, and she’s hardly ever left the garden until now – so I doubt she’s ever had kittens. She’s wacky and lovely, really friendly and – yes – funny! This is driving me nuts!
It is even pissier when this intruder cat is a housecat, not even hungry. It is war, and I am right there with you, Chips, as I am always having to spray at my neighbors cats for coming in my garden to heckle my birdies. NO ONE messes with my birdies.
He looks VERY well fed Pamela, if he was scrawny and starving I’d feel sorry for him. I just have a feeling he’s a horrible bully – although, I might be humanizing the situation a little too much!
You could also spray a little water at him when you see him out there.. that could make the garden and the penthouse way less desirable to the ‘despot’. I love the way you write Chips 🙂
Ah Sherijr, I just looked out and he’s still there, no sign of my lady, I feel like using drones at this stage!
But water it will be tomorrow!!!!
loll.. no drones, no waterboarding… just a little spray everytime you see him 😉 hopefully he’s not lost, just hanging out… and he’ll move on and let your girl have her palace back.
Okay Sherijr, I’ll make the drones my Plan B – but if the spray doesn’t work then, well, it’s drone time.
a spray bottle of windex, set to the ‘stream’ function, will shoot an unpleasant smelling, wet reminder that he’s not wanted. a few days of vigilance and he should get the idea.
Oh, Susanne, that sounds like a mighty good idea – will definitely try it. I should probably film it for YouTube, it could be comedy gold. Thank you S!
it sure works on geckos! 🙂
See this, below!
Spray bottle with water, sometimes I add a little cedar stain remover. You spray and hiss at the same time, preferably when he shows you is hynie…. Aim right for it! He will not like being sprayed, eventually, if it goes on, you may be able to just do the hissing part, and leave off the water bottle. Anyway, he is doing what feral cats do, it’s pretty brutal for them.
Thank you Pamela, I’ll definitely try the spray thingie.
As I said to DF, I don’t think he’s feral at all, he looks like he comes from a good home – clean, well fed, not remotely afraid of human types, etc.
Thanks again.
I would add a bit of lemon to your spray bottle of water. Amazing results for poor behaviour. We uae it with houndbabies as well when they refuse to stop barking. After a couple times, they just see the bottle, no need to spray. The hissing mimics a snake and is what frightens them.
Many animal shelters have free traps to borrow. Please don’t hurt him or her. I can give you many places that might help if these tactics don’t work. Do you live in an urban setting? Email if you want.
10 solutions to your problem, How to Get Rid of a Stray Cat http://www.ehow.com/how_5331435_rid-stray-cat.html TIP:Place a lost-and-found ad in your local newspaper. Some stray cats aren’t really strays at all — they’re pets that have wandered too far from home to find their way back. An ad accompanied by a good photo can get the cat back to its owner and off of your property.
Oooh LP, I never thought he might be a stray – I never think of cats getting lost, only dogs 😕
I’m going to ask around to see if anyone knows where he comes from – if he is lost, yikes, I can see a second penthouse appearing in the garden.
Oh chips that is so sweet… I love cat-saviors.
But he’s not lost if he has been coming in for food for a while, he knows his way around, right? It’s always tricky, and always frustrating. IMO.
Thanks LP.
I would douse the despot with water hose when your cat is not around.
Just what I thought of JER when Susanne and Pamela mentioned spraying him ….. there’s a hose not far from the penthouse. I’ll probably end up more soaked than him, but I’ll give it a try tomorrow. Thank you JER!
You will indeed end up soaked, it’s part of the battle!
Okay, I’m ready Pamela – it might be quite a watery Rise and Shine in the morning, but you’ll understand.
just wear your wellies and a drizabone, you’ll be right! Kitty’ll be a goner, who knows, you might even frighten the daylights out of him before the Howe action starts! 😆
*hose
If it’s really really cold, and you douse him with water, he might get sick. Maybe ask around first? I would be worried about the water. I’m sorry for your lady cat 😦 I hope she finds a way to come back soon.
https://twitter.com/DaRiverZkind/status/299665497572638720
clearly hispanic folks have figured out how to avoid being shot to death. maybe we should ask them for ideas.
Heifer dust!
Ok, this is getting surreal. The ex-cop Dorner’s truck was found burned out in Big Bear, which is a mountain area outside of L.A. No sign of him. We have a real life Rambo on the loose.
Is this near your home? Stay safe. He sounds worse than Rambo. Rambo had values.
Oh, Big Bear is about 90 minutes outside of the city. But it’s very popular.
Do the authorities know about the fatigues and free pass week-end? Sounds like a huge area. Did they post his manifesto? The young woman he killed was so beautiful and accomplished from what I read. I always am full of questions. I’ll stop. People don’t like me because of it. Sorry. I’ll stop and lurk.
This is the extreme manifestation of our sick gun culture. A sick terrorist on the loose in the wilderness with a police force who do not know what’s next.
And, he was last seen dressed in military fatigues, which is a bad thing: the area ski resorts are offering discounted lift tickets this weekend to military members who show up in their fatigues.
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
ot:
‘ On Friday astronaut Chris Hadfield, who is currently aboard the International Space Station, will perform an original song titled I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing) via satellite with Ed Robertson, a member of the Grammy award-winning group, Barenaked Ladies.
Hadfield will perform from space while Robertson performs from earth with a youth choir.
In a blog for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., the national broadcaster of Canada, Robertson said the two had been planning the duet for quite some time.
“We’ve been pals for a long time and it just seemed like a fun thing to do,” Robertson said. “…The song we wrote together, I guess someone heard it and loved it, so before it was even finished we were asked to do this premier.” ‘
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/21018857/astronaut-to-sing-duet-from-space-with-pop-star-on-earth
🙂
He’s much cuter. Love the NASA program!
Is John Brennan the man who told the general to resign? He seems to have honor in his bones. He is a gentleman. Wish he could spread it around DC.
One more thing, Susan Collins bugs the four letter words + out of me. You’ve got the money, take voice lessons.
I’m obviously not a doctor but I think she must have a medical voice disorder.
Yes she does. Same one a Kennedy has. But what she says is sickening.
Welp, I am off to Zumba but I shall return!
Hope everyone in the TOD family who resides in the path the NE storm retains power and is warm, snug and well-fed this weekend.
Best wishes to all.
I never joined Facebook (was always suspicious of the entire premise, but I’m a private person), and what @BuzzfeedAndrew describes is what happens to me when I click on his link:
THIS HAD ME PISSED OFF FOR A FEW HOURS TODAY:
Someone tweeted an article from the Griot saying black people shouldn’t hold back dissent on drones because of black pride for President Obama. I replied to that person that they shouldn’t assume that all black people feel the same way about drones or war. I am so sick and tired of people treating African American’s as if we can’t think for ourselves. The GOP tells us all we do is look for handouts and then you got black/white bloggers/pundits on the left telling us we can’t think for ourselves. I had to let go one very loud FUCK ALL Y’ALL today. Seriously.
Chips, anyone – the President said he was going to take questions. Did that happen? Wonder if it was taped? Thanks
wasn’t taped. Just the speech.
Hi Bob, as Lisa said, we didn’t get to see the Q&A – sadly!
Chat away:
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/02/07/undivided-attention/
yo