A year ago: A child reaches out to First Lady Michelle Obama prior to a Faith and Community Groups Leading the Way event at Northland, A Church Distributed, in Longwood, Fla., Feb. 11, 2012 (Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
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Today:
12:30: VP Biden holds a roundtable discussion on gun safety with law enforcement officials in Philadelphia
1:45: President Obama will present Clint Romesha with the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony
2:0: Senate lawmakers will debate and vote on re-authorizing the Violence Against Women Act
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On Thursday at 4:30 ET: “Fireside Hangout” with President Obama
See more here
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23 years ago today, Nelson Mandela was released from prison having been locked up for 27 years by a racist state
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NYT: President Obama will use his State of the Union speech to reinvigorate one of his signature national security objectives – drastically reducing nuclear arsenals around the world – after securing agreement in recent months with the United States military that the American nuclear force can be cut in size by roughly a third.
…… White House officials are looking at a cut that would take the arsenal of deployed weapons to just above 1,000. Currently there are about 1,700, and the new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia that passed the Senate at the end of 2009 calls for a limit of roughly 1,550 by 2018.
But Mr. Obama, according to an official who was involved in the deliberations, “believes that we can make pretty radical reductions – and save a lot of money – without compromising American security in the second term. And the Joint Chiefs have signed off on that concept.”
More here
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Washington Post: President Obama is considering a series of new executive actions aimed at working around a recalcitrant Congress, including policies that could allow struggling homeowners to refinance their mortgages, provide new protections for gays and lesbians, make buildings more energy-efficient and toughen regulations for coal-fired power plants, according to people outside the White House involved in discussions on the issues.
More here
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TPM: The Senate is poised to pass the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization early this week, with a final vote expected Monday afternoon or Tuesday.
…. Despite the unusually large Senate consensus, there has been no perceptible movement among House Republican leaders since they passed a scaled-back version of VAWA on a party-line vote last year, rejecting the Senate legislation.
In an exchange on the floor Wednesday, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) needled Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) on VAWA….. Cantor responded that it’s a “priority” for Republicans to “move and act on this bill”….
…. By the end of the week, House Republican leaders had no progress to speak of. “Silence,” said a senior House Democratic aide.
More here
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NYT Editorial: If you’d like to know why Republicans are trying to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, take a look at three things the agency has already accomplished in its first 18 months:
* It called a halt to predatory practices by mortgage lenders, ensuring that borrowers are not saddled with loans they can’t afford and preventing brokers from earning higher commissions for higher interest rates.
* It won an $85 million settlement from American Express, which it accused of deceptive and discriminatory marketing and billing practices.
* It opened an investigation into questionable marketing practices by banks and credit card companies on college campuses, which often take place after undisclosed financial arrangements are made with universities….
More here
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Paul Krugman: Last week Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, gave what his office told us would be a major policy speech. And we should be grateful for the heads-up about the speech’s majorness. Otherwise, a read of the speech might have suggested that he was offering nothing more than a meager, warmed-over selection of stale ideas.
To be sure, Mr. Cantor tried to sound interested in serious policy discussion. But he didn’t succeed – and that was no accident. For these days his party dislikes the whole idea of applying critical thinking and evidence to policy questions. And no, that’s not a caricature: Last year the Texas G.O.P. explicitly condemned efforts to teach “critical thinking skills,” because, it said, such efforts “have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.”
More here
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NYT: (Missoula, Mont) This funky college town …. has long been a liberal pocket, an isolated speck of blue in a deeply red state. Now Montana is electing more politicians who lean that way, thanks to a different-minded generation of young voters animated by the recession and social issues.
…. these students, and dozens of other young people interviewed here last week, give voice to a trend that is surprising pollsters and jangling the nerves of Republicans. On a central philosophical question of the day – the size and scope of the federal government – a clear majority of young people embraces President Obama’s notion that it can be a constructive force….
…. Here in Montana, a state that backed John McCain in 2008 and Mr. Romney last year, voters under 30 have helped elect two Democratic senators and a new Democratic governor. Nationally, young voters have since 2004 been casting their ballots for Democrats by far wider margins than previous young generations – a shift that could reshape American politics for decades.
More here
Later in the article, the GOP response to young voters in Montanta helping elect Gov Steve Bullock and re-elect Sen Jon Tester (“Both times, polls stayed open hours past their official closing time to accommodate huge lines of students. Both times, Forward Montana ran huge voter registration drives”)?
They are “now trying to undo a Montana law that permits voters to register on Election Day”.
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ThinkProgress: Cleopatra Pendleton, mother of slain Chicago teen Hadiya Pendleton, will be Michelle Obama’s guest at the State of the Union on Tuesday.
More here
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Share the ad through Americans for Responsible Solutions
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NYT: Gabrielle Giffords looked slightly stricken as she considered the question: Would she feel bad about starring in a political advertisement against her former House colleagues who declined to stand with her on guns? “Yes,” she said, it would be painful.
“Sometimes you have to do things that are hard,” said Mark E. Kelly, Ms. Giffords’s husband, as she tucked herself close to him on their couch. Ms. Giffords nodded, as she often does when Mr. Kelly — as he often does — intuits the many thoughts she is still unable to express fully. “Really hard,” she added.
Ms. Giffords, a former Democratic congresswoman from Arizona, a gun owner, an astronaut’s wife, a shooting survivor and an incipient gun-control advocate, is settling into the third act of her public life.
More here
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ThinkProgress: The NRA is a big spender when it comes to lobbying and campaigns. ThinkProgress investigated the NRA’s contributions to Members of Congress and — lo and behold — the most heavily NRA-backed congressman are leading the charge against new gun violence prevention measures.
See here
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De naaaaaaaaa:
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MoooOOOooOOOoorning!
The Obama Diary 
Good morning everyone.
Congrats on first Mariele!
G’morning, Chips, TOD, lurkers, everyone, and congratulations Mariele on #1! 🙂
Morning Mariele, morning everyone!
Good Rainy Monday Miss Chips and TODers!
Looking forward to the SOTU tomorrow evening.
The amount of Pope jokes on my timeline are cracking me up.
Twitter is the best place for football games, award shows, and breaking news. The jokes are just winging by like lightning.
These are great! 😀 Thanks for sharing with those of us who don’t have Twitter accounts.
Excellent tweets! My favorite of yours, ut: “The Pope gave up his job for Lent. Which means whatever you were planning to give up is now meaningless.” Thanks for bringing them over. As a Catholic, I recall this Pope was trying to resign when JPII brought him into the Vatican way back. He finally made it! And guess I don’t have to give up chocolate candy for Lent, now. That would be, as you say, meaningless. Ha! I win. 🙂
LMAO!! And you better keep yo’ hands off his Obamacare! 🙂
Michelle Obama is now and always will be a class act.
https://twitter.com/Dudette9t9/status/300963985413517312
Thanks for posting this, Dudette! Jan Ian was the voice of my adolescent angst. You need to put the J in @therealjanisian so I can retweet your tweet.
Janis
Fixed it! Thanks Judith! 🙂
Good Morning everyone congrats Mariele and Miss Janis Ian of course our 1st lady did she is a classy woman, just simple the best
Good Morning Everyone! Top of the Morning to you, Chips! Fabulous post (as always)!
Lots of wonderful goodies to chew on this morning. You are such a blessing!
Apologies for my hijacking the last thread with Grammy stuff! 🙂
Thank you for all the vids!!
My pleasure meta! Glad you enjoyed them. It was a fantastic show! 🙂
Off to work, family! Have a great day everybody!
Have a perfect day Dudette!
Thanks Dear! You too! {{{{{Chips}}}}}
Good morning, TODville. Another great mash-up, Chips! Thank you.
Looking forward to the Medal of Honor ceremony today. And tomorrow is the big day for SOTU.
Did any of you catch the segment on Lincoln on 60 Minutes? DDL is THE AWESOME. If you haven’t seen the film, DO!
How far is too far?
” Feud over sign could force Fairfax’s Olde Belhaven to sell square”
The feud that consumed Fairfax County’s Olde Belhaven would span four years and cost the community as much as $400,000, and it was ignited by one of the smallest of sparks: a 2008 Obama for President sign that the HOA said was four inches taller than allowed.
The battle lines in Olde Belhaven were starkly drawn. On one side, the Farrans said they were standing up to an HOA run amok. On the other, HOA supporters saw a couple that inflicted financial ruin on the association — and their neighbors — to make a point.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fairfax-homeowners-group-humbled-by-court-battle-with-residents/2013/02/09/d46f9bec-6652-11e2-93e1-475791032daf_story.html
In 2010, a county judge sided with the Farrans on the fining issue. The roof and deck issues, which had been spun off into a separate lawsuit, were decided in 2011 also in favor of the Farrans. As a result, HOA fees increased from $650 to $3,500 a year and the HOA has filed for bankruptcy.
Did it have to go this far?
Couldn’t find the story……..link not there. Would like to read this story. We lived in Fairfax County for 17 years.
BTW friends, I will not be around as much/as often as before. I need to spend less time on TOD and ot
Try this link tnmtngirl:
http://tinyurl.com/brhlgwv
We’ll miss ya!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fairfax-homeowners-group-humbled-by-court-battle-with-residents/2013/02/09/d46f9bec-6652-11e2-93e1-475791032daf_story.html
This link works for me. Is it not showing up in the post?
Link not found. Would like to read since we lived there for 17 years and still many friends there.
O/T but need to share: I will still be lurking around and may occasionally comment, but not nearly as much time will be spent on TOD. It is harming my husband’s and mine relationship so I need to prioritize. I will find opportunities to be here and occasionally comment. It just won’t be as often. Love you all SO much and appreciate Chips and everyone else for the information and friendship shared on this site.
The door is always open:) tend to your relationship…far more important 🙂 You’ll find the balance that you need…. hugs to you, tnmtngirl.
Tnmtngirl, I fixed that link, there was a gap where there shouldn’t have been – try again!
Take good care of yourself, tnmtngirl, and best wishes to your family.
Thank you all. I know I have your support and understanding. It means the world to me.
Here’s another link to an abbreviated version of the story. Forgot that WP sometimes requires registration to access articles.
http://news.yahoo.com/one-obama-lawn-sign-tore-community-apart-234121157.html
Be well friend. Come back anytime. {{{tnmtngirl}}}
i know my hours here have caused my husband some frustration! it seems like we’re not the only family that has been doing some re-adjusting after the election. that was priority number one for so long–and of course, getting the president’s agenda through the rethug mess of resistance is still crucial. and electing more dems in 2014. and another dem pres in 2016. and on and on. so we all need to take a breather from time to time, and care for this life we know our president is working to secure. best to you, tnmtngirl, and enjoy lurking!
The Montana news is very encouraging. Young people see through the right wing bull and reject it and they are, thankfully, free of the hatred of anyone different from themselves. Our big challenge is to make sure young people are consistent voters and that everyone who turns 18 is registered to vote. This is particularly true in Latino communities where the habit of voting has to start early. I hope that the Democrats that young people turn to rise to the challenge and meet the expectations of the people who helped elect them. There are still a lot of old time Dems, Blue dogs and scaredy cats who could let these young people, not to mention the rest of us, down.
On another note, I love the way Gabby Gifford’s dog looks at her with such devotion. That is obviously Gabby’s dog whose mission in life is to help her. I also admire the way Mark understands what Gabby’s thinking, even though she can’t say it. That, folks, is true love–an appropriate thought on Valentin’s Day week.
Dudette posted this on the last thread. This is Rihanna performing “Stay” at the Grammys with Mikky Ekko. He wrote the song and is a brilliant songwriter and artist. Glad many people got to witness that yesterday. I was surprised she sang the song especially in light of her relationship with Chris Brown but her vocals have never sounded better. Good performance. The best performance of the night was by Jack White. I’ll post that when its uploaded on Youtube.
This is the same song Stay. The recorded version so you can have a different take on it. Powerful lyrics.
This is the Grammy version.
Beautiful, poignant song. Loved that performance! Thanks UT!
btw, hawt outfit. go katy.
If you ask me, and no one have If the crazy ass Republicans are counting on Rubio as their savior, they are still in bad shape.
Good Morning, Everyone 🙂
I’m sure the pope’s notice of resignation had nothing to do with HBO’s airing of the new documentary, “Mea Maxima Culpa”, which makes clear, with proof, of the culpability of the pope of the decades of cover-up of sexual abuse by priests of thousands of young children, mostly boys. The charge is that the pope aided and abetted criminal behavior, before and after becoming pope, meaning he is also guilty of criminal behavior. ahem.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/04/alex-gibney-s-mea-maxima-culpa-sex-lies-and-the-catholic-church.html
Well, dotster, I also don’t buy the “I’m too old” excuse. And the weirdest thing of all is the speed. He could have let it be known that he was thinking of retiring and given a date further in the future. Two weeks notice for a pope? A lot of working stiffs give more notice than that if there’s going to be a problem replacing them.
The whole thing sounds very strange to me.
Gawd, thought I was the only one who’s mind went that way when I heard it on the early a.m. news! It was a pulpable feeling that something stranger this way comes! 😉
I just love this President!
Ditto!
Any word on when the Hagel confirmation vote will take place? Are there enough votes for Hagel to avoid IT ( not “Miss” 😉 ) Lindsey’s threatened filibuster?
It’s turned into a circus but the latest word is that the Committee will vote Tuesday and the full Senate could vote as early as Thursday.
Thanks for the update Meta.
KEEPING POLICIES THAT HAVE BEEN LAWFULLY ENACTED FROM BEING DEPLOYED
New Year, Same Awful Congress
BY NORMAN ORNSTEIN | DECEMBER 26, 2012
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What is going on here? A good part of the problem is the tribal politics Thomas Mann and I catalogued in It’s Even Worse Than It Looks. This is particularly true with posts like the head of CMS, the official responsible for implementing the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare), and the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a critical part of the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform act. When it came to both of these posts, Senate Republicans made it clear that the qualifications of nominees did not matter; they would block any and all appointees to keep these key Obama accomplishments from being implemented effectively. Mann and I called this strategy “The New Nullification,” an unprecedented effort to keep policies that have been lawfully enacted from being deployed.
But the problem runs deeper than these and other high-profile posts. Ever since the Obama presidency began, Senate Republicans under Mitch McConnell have pursued an aggressive approach of gumming up the Senate’s operations by filibustering, threatening to filibuster, and “holding” bills and nominations from top to bottom, including ones that the chamber ultimately passed unanimously or near unanimously. Bills can and have been filibustered multiple times — on the motion to proceed to consider the bill, on the bill itself, and again at times on the conference report when a bill has passed both houses and differences must be reconciled. Each filibuster consumers hours and hours of the most precious Senate commodity: floor time to get things done.
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http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/12/26/new_year_same_awful_congress?page=0,0
This is sabotage. Americans voted for this President and his agenda. For the GOP to obstruct even after the reinforcing 2012 election means that they are giving the finger to Americans in general. They don’t care.
This makes Harry Reid’s actions on the filibuster even more incomprehensible. I have read the different takes on his reasoning, but my gut reaction to this debacle of Congress, especially the filibuster, is that Senator Reid missed a golden opportunity and held out for being “reasonable” in the face of blatant unreasonable GOP tactics, thinking this time will be a different outcome. 😦
It’s too damn early but i’m up! Misery loves company. Ahoy mates!
Morning Early Bird!!!!!
Top of the morning to you to Admiral. I’ve been in the background lately. Try to support youngest daughter who is running for a public office in IL.
OOOOoooooooo, exciting.
Glad it’s her instead of me. I don’t have the stomach for it.
However, it shows you are a good father giving her the values to pursue public service.
Thanks but she really wants to be a judge and I’ll be damned if I knew where that came from.
Oh wow really Yardarm, she’s running for office?? Hugely impressive – please let us know how it all goes? And best of luck!
Yeah. She’s a prosecuting attorney for the county and has decided to run for City Clerk in a little township. Fortunately she doesn’t have my disposition. 🙂
Wow, yes, she must have a strong stomach for politics.
My thoughts also meta.
“Fortunately she doesn’t have my disposition.”
🙂 Well, you must have passed on other useful qualities!
Yeah. Life and some $$$! 😀
😆 Two very useful contributions!!!!
AMEN! I’m done with all of that now.
On the very late freight, but it’s awesome that your daughter is running for office! You must be so proud. Please wish her all the best!
It’s a done deal and better late than never.
Moooorninggggg, yardarm!! Up and at ’em!!
Back atcha meta. How’s things with you? Hope you’re not in any severe weather.
It’s been really beautiful here lately and the warm weather is expected to continue on through the week, so I’m feeling very lucky while so many are snowed under.
Hope all is well in your region!
Yeah. It went right over us, at the south end of Lake Michigan and dumped on the East coast.Unfortunately those folks got more coming their way.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/02/11/1567931/nra-connecticut-effect/
NRA Dismisses ‘Connecticut Effect,’ Suggests Grief Over Newtown Tragedy Will Be Short-Lived
By Scott Keyes on Feb 11, 2013 at 9:01 am
WAUSAU, Wisconsin—The National Rifle Association will wait until the “Connecticut effect” has subsided to resume its push to weaken the nation’s gun laws, according to a top NRA lobbyist speaking at the NRA’s Wisconsin State Convention this weekend.
Though the NRA had been tight-lipped about how the Newtown tragedy would affect their efforts, lobbyist Bob Welch, who represents the Wisconsin NRA group, was anything but during their yearly meeting.
WE WON’T FORGET! WE WON’T STOP! These guys need to be permanently put out of business…
They may have a problem now that gun violence is at the forefront. While they may not be at the level of CT, gun violence is a daily occurence and there is more effort to keep people aware and take note.
(Hope this link works.) http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50698918
The place where raw conflict of interest comes into play is that the Affordable Care Act is a fairly massive income redistribution scheme. The tax base to finance Medicaid expansion and exchange subsidies is extremely progressive, not flat like Social Security. The richest Americans will overwhelmingly be the ones paying the tab, and the benefits accrue overwhelmingly to the bottom half of the income distribution.
I see there’s been shootings at the Wilmington, Delaware courthouse, 3 reportedly shot, shooter dead.
Short-term memory loss grips Washington
By Steve Benen
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In 2011, Democrats and Republicans agreed to between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, depending on how one tallies the numbers. The cuts included no new revenue.
In 2012, Democrats and Republicans agreed to a deal that raised revenue by about $650 billion. The new revenue included no new cuts.
In 2013, Republicans are saying they remember what happened in 2012, but the 2011 policy has been blocked from memory.
This is crazy. Folks like Cole and McCain keep saying the 2012 deal didn’t include spending cuts, so the sequester has to be 100% in the GOP’s favor now, without exception. Why? Because Republicans haven’t gotten spending cuts.
Except they already did get spending cuts. Indeed, the cuts from 2011 were twice as big as the revenue from 2012. [Update: Greg Sargent has some very helpful charts that help drive the point home.]
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http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/02/11/16925764-short-term-memory-loss-grips-washington
I’m late now anyway, so I might as well come back and post this…
“I’m late now anyway, so I might as well come back and post this…”
😆
Let’s support Gabby:
Good morning, Mariele! Good Morning, EVERYONE! 😆 😆 It is still morning, isn’t it? It’s very cloudy and overcast where I am so it’s hard to tell. Wishing you all a productive day!
Mooooooooorning VC!
So it IS still morning? Phew! A very, very GOOD MORNING to you, Ms Chips! Nice to see you in a calm mood (Of course I haven’t read the thread yet so don’t really know if you’ve been trying to stir up the villagers. I’m hoping not, I guess.) 😉 😉
GM Chipsticks, TOD. Gotta write two papers so maybe see you in the evening. Keep everyone in check. I havent seen an AMK sighting, so you are off to a good start!
(He turned up alright LP). Best of luck with your papers, see you later.
You lose.
😆 Moooorning Amk!!
morning chips.
I see that the WALITSEMO’s(WhineyAssLineInTheSandEmo,s) have been and are in their liter box. Stephanie Miller is the only relief this early in the morning.
🙂
Do it!!!!!
Ex—cellent! Freakout time!
Squuueeeeeee!!
BOOM! Any questions? 🙂 🙂
Admiral, I believe NutBaggers have now raised the threat level to DefCon4. Code Orange Alert! Repeat Code Orange Alert!!! 😀
There will be more RWNJ crazy this week:
National Security Brief: GOP Promises More Hagel Obstruction
Republicans are now resorting to their often-used kitchen-sink strategy, this time in an effort to prevent Chuck Hagel from becoming Secretary of Defense. There’s no real substantive reason Hagel shouldn’t lead the Pentagon but that isn’t stoping the GOP from playing politics with national security (again). Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Sunday that he’d block Hagel and CIA Director nominee John Brennan unless he gets more information on what President Obama was doing during the Benghazi terror attack last September (Graham made the same promise if Hillary Clinton and Leon Panetta didn’t testify on Benghazi. They did. But Graham’s still moving the goal posts.)
Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member James Inhofe (R-OK) also said on Sunday that he’d force a 60-vote threshold to confirm Hagel and Politico reported that all the committee’s Republicans are threatening to walk out in protest if committee chair Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), who is reportedly “fed up” with the Republicans endless substance-free questions on Hagel, schedules a committee vote for the Nebraska Republican this week.
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2013/02/11/1568341/national-security-brief-gop-promises-more-hagel-obstruction/
fuck levin who lacked the balls to reform the filibuster just last month. He was the backstabbing dem who started the ball rolling with hagel bashing.
Levin will certainly have a mess on his hands this week, that is for sure. With prima donna Graham and now Inhofe running for the cameras, a 3-ring circus.
Hay America, this is the B.S. President Obama has had to deal with from the first day he walk into that Oval Office. So a email goes to Harry Reid, what good did his so call filibuster deal do?
The thing that really piss me off is we elected President Obama, re-elected him, and he deserve to have the cabinet he choose, not who the Republicans choose or like.
I tried to tweet this for you, Annieb. I think I squeezed in your intent, if not all your words. 😉
Looks like you covered AnnieB’s intent perfectly, Vick.
TY, Lynn.
I know people are upset with Harry Reid but he is not the enemy here. I wish we would exert all our energies in bombarding the Republicans on the committee with phone calls, e-mails, faxes, tweets, etc. strongly urging them them to stop their BS. I strongly feel that the only effective way to help the President’s agenda is to focus our attacks on Republicans or those Democrats who blatantly vote against the President.
Our President should tell them that the current Cabinet members are leaving on a specific day. If they don’t confirm…then they put the country at risk…Period
Are there any Californians around? What do you all think of your lieutenant governor, Gavin Newson? Is he someone that is considered a future of the democratic party? I just saw him on CBS news morning show promoting his new book, and he sounded like a used car salesman. It’s my first time hearing him speak, and I didn’t have a good feeling about him. He looked and sounded like a republican. I hope Kamala Harris challenges him for the CA gubernatorial post after Jerry Brown completes his term in office. I hope my perceptions of him are not too off base. So, please feel free to correct my assessments if you disagree.
Jewelz, trust your instincts. He was my mayor for a few years and he’s a jerk. Squandered his tenure, had an affair with a friend’s wife, went into rehab, left the City with a big deficit. He comes from a wealthy family and I think he believes higher office is owed to him. He was strong on gay and environmental issues but he’s not a hard worker by any means. His job now is appearing on tee vee to promote his book. And he was a PUMA for the longest time. In short, UGH.
Also, his first wife was RWNJ Kimberly Guilfoyle, Fox News employee and professional POTUS hater.
Thank you meta for replying to my post. I guess my first instincts were right afterall. My gosh, how did someone with that lackluster background got elected to lieutenant governor of the great state of California? I hope California kick him to the curb if he decides to run for governor.
He spent a lot of years in self-serving posture to the press, so he has a high-profile name. One of my closest friends works in the State Capitol as a legislative analyst and she says he has done absolutely nothing in his current job. I’m sure he sees it as his stepping stone to the governorship……vice presidency…..presidency.
I don’t live in California, but I have friends who loved him. He was twice elected as mayor of San Francisco. The second election, he had an approval rating in the 70 percentile. He first gained national attention when he ordered the county to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of the law. When I’ve seen him, he has impressed me as being able to see the big picture but not being afraid to think outside the box. He seems big on infrastructure and development.
I am not from CA but have the same impression. Off topic: his first wife is one of the nasty airheaded women on FOX’s “The Five”.
Hi Jewelz – I live south of SF and cannot resist putting my 2 cents in. Newsom puts my teeth on edge. He had an affair with the wife of his top political aide! (Can anybody say John Edwards!) I did not want to vote for this guy for Lt.Gov., but there he was on the ballot. I feel the same way about Newsom as I did about Gray Davis – a weak and ineffectual politician who will be a disaster as a governor. California got Gov. Davis because it was his “turn.” Let’s hope CA Dems are over that system.
I’m from Oakland and agree pretty much with what everyone has said about him. On a purely superficial level however, I think he’s very attractive…
BREAKING: Shooting this morning at 8:20 in New Castle County Delaware Court House lobby. Three dead. Suspect dead. Number of people injured.
Good grief, thanks JER.
Live stream – Court House shooting: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/live-video/
Man shot and killed wife, 2 others (shot) injured, shooter killed by police. Another day in America.
Three reported dead.
Thanks NRA and weak minded House and Senate members who are in the NRA’s hip pocket.
I would advise folks to push back on tweets like these. These are the GOP’s attempts to smear our President and discredit his landmark achievement of Killing Bin Laden. I keep hearing reports about this Navy Seal – first I heard several reports at several different times that he was killed. Now is that he doesn’t have health insurance. And he’s mad at the US government about it.
Next year when the exchanges kick in, he will be good!
I find it incredibly hard to believe that this guy currently lacks health insurance even now. And the way the article was slanted with all kinds of other grievances about the US government, tells me that this is some BS right there.
It’s because he did not stay the requisite 20 years; As someone said in the comments on Yahoo, “rules are rules” in the military. There are no exceptions because you kill Bin Laden. He should have known that if he did not stay in the military, he would lose his health care and pension. We all have to put in our time to get that.
The WaPo and Esquire reports conveniently left out this important piece of info. In fact they used a false headline to frame the story as though his benefits were cut immediately after he killed Bin Laden.
HEADLINE: Navy SEAL lost health insurance after killing Osama bin Laden
They then issued a correction and modification after (I’m guessing some push back on Twitter & elsewhere) but still kept the same misleading headline:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/11/the-navy-seal-who-killed-osama-bin-laden-is-now-uninsured/?wprss=rss_ezra-klein
Then Ezra quickly tried to do a damage control article to make it seem as though their overarching concern was about the 1.3 million vets who don’t have health insurance.
But all this perhaps does is emphasize the importance of ObamaCare. We’re in dire straits when our military cannot afford coverage after they leave the military. I don’t mean to be catty, but millions of people continue jobs in order to remain insured…perhaps he should reenlist.
I think there’s a lot more to this story than the Esquire report and WAPO are telling us. Something about this guy doesn’t strike me as kosher – either he retired completely from the military so he could go write/sell books and personally profit from it – thereby forfeiting his continued benefits as a US Veteran, or something of that nature.
I smell a large stinking rat in this story….
I agree. I read the first page of the Bronstein Esquire story and didn’t feel compelled to continue reading. There’s something that isn’t quite right.
Yup. That article is chuck full of innuendos about the current US government, and that SEAL certainly seems to have his share of grievances, many of which are unrelated to the insurance issue.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House and outside supporters of President Barack Obama are launching simultaneous social media, public outreach and fundraising campaigns tied to Tuesday’s State of the Union address.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_STATE_OF_UNION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-02-11-06-07-06
Van Jones of all people should not be spreading this garbage.
I’ve never been convinced by Van Jones, to be honest, there’s been too much of this stuff from him before. And I reckon he has an ego the size of Everest.
He’s a fraud. And a bitter one at that.
And what’s always struck me about his Rebuild The Dream YouTube videos, they’re all about him, hardly ever really about the issue, all designed to promote him and his ego. Strange.
HP, that’s exactly the way I feel about Van Jones.
I called him out on twitter and he blocked me, like all other Elmo’s he is quite sensitive. Lol
What madness is this fucking guy spreading now?
Isn’t the guy a Vet? So how did he lose his medical coverage? Didn’t this guy help write a book? Did he not make money or was he not paid? How about his wife? Does she not work?
This story has HUGE holes all over it.
HEH…didn’t take long for little Ezra to jump on the bandwagon. Another MSM manufactured crap to smear our President. I guess the drone issue is fizzling out, so why not join with the Right Wing to make our President look bad.
Him and all the other ambulance chasers who take their cues from the RWNJs slander-of-the-week.
I think when one signs up for military duty, continued benefits after the active combat is over are contingent on the person agreeing to be part of the reserve, etc. They know that BEFORE they sign up and AGREE to it. So why is this guy acting all surprised that his benefits didn’t continue because he wanted out of the military to give “tell-all” interviews, writing/selling books smearing the US government, etc. And why are the left and right media simply running with his story, just because it gives them an opportunity to take cheap shots at our President.
You’re right, hf. When you leave any job, you can lose your health insurance. It happens to people all of the time. I know people that this has happened to. When they get a new job, they have to buy health insurance. This guy is looking for attention. If he wanted his health insurance to continue, he should have stayed in the military. The only way his benefits would have continued after leaving would have been if he became disabled while in the military or he had enough years to retire.
Both dweebs were elected by the teabaggers. His Latino heritage helped Marco Rubio to be accepted by DC GOP apparatus? Hmm? Rand Paul, another teabagger is still looked at with suspicious minds by the DC TBGOPer apparatus? Hmm? Yet there is NOT one iota of difference in their ideology and demagoguery. Hmm?
A spectacular clash of likes minds – and egos, Nena! I think this is hilarious!
I love it when they call me Big Papa.., put your hands in the air like you don’t care.
Rubio, Paul to deliver competing SOTU responses
By Steve Benen
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But for Republicans, this isn’t good news at all. What GOP officials want tomorrow night is two competing messages: the president’s vision vs. the Republican vision. Rubio’s speech, to be delivered in English and Spanish, will be carefully crafted with poll-tested ideas and phrases, intended to help get the party back on track after its 2012 electoral failures.
But there won’t be two competing messages; Rand Paul guarantees there will be three. The public won’t get a tale of two visions; Americans will hear the president, then a Republican response, then another Republican response. That the two GOP messages will be delivered by two conservative senators who are both likely to seek national office in a few years only complicates matters further.
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http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/02/11/16926112-rubio-paul-to-deliver-competing-sotu-responses?lite
yes, and after the two official rethug responses, everyone will get to hear the rethug press’s evaluations and punditry for days and days. it will be one clear ringing bell of truth (pbo) then the cacaphony of noise from the right.
Good morning y’all! Have checked out the excellent reporting, linked many, am up and at ’em out here in Seattle. Working today, still trying to build up my business clientele again, I prefer it didn’t take longer than I had hoped/anticipated… Trying not to worry. Not so much time to hang with all o’ y’all as I would wish. Be well, hugs all around. {{{{{Chipsticks}}}}} {{{{{PBO}}}}} {{{{{TOD}}}}} 🙂
Go Ben. I like when they push back effectively on these MSM hacks.
LOVED that! Ben = Legend!
Damn…..BURN. Team Obama is not to be messed with.
Heres my knowledge of continued medical coverage via the military, va benefits, mind you I enlisted 35 years ago.. but I am not buying this Navy Seal story, based on my own experiences: I never applied for my medical va benefits until 6 years ago when I became disabled due to doctor malpractice, I had been out of the army for 30 years. However when I needed a very expensive monthly prescription that was totally unaffordable to me on social security disability- I then had to apply for my va med benefits… it took only a few short months and thus I’ve had va medical ever since. My understanding about benefits are that they are given to you when you enlist… meaning whatever va coverage is at the time of your enlistment- is what you receive upon leaving the military.. but you do have to appply I believe. And if this Navy Seal is an officer- then he no doubt has even better VA bennys. Just my take.
to clarify, a soldier knows what his benefits will be before he signs on the dotted line… long before he/she completes their enlistment period.. even if Congress changes VA benefits in the meantime, those benefits agreed upon at enlistment are what the soldier receives at the end of their enlistment. Of course I believe that all changes if they stay long enough for retirement.
It has been reported he only served 16 years and not the full 20 years in order to receive full retirement benefits. This should have no reflection on PBO.
absolutely has nothing to do with POTUS, but it does have to do with whatever benefits the military offered him at time of signup 16 years ago. This whole story is BS, and political. If this guy’s been in for 16 years you can believe he knew exactly what his benefits would be upon exiting the military.
Now watch Little Ezra slowly walk back with corrections – as this guy’s agenda is revealed and the MSM is exposed….
Ha! theres a shocker.. the guy is a liar and the media more than happy to help.. lie. At least Ezra corrected. Its important to remember that Congress determines our benefits.
Ezra is now moving the goalposts – now that there seem to be holes in the SEAL’s story…Ezra is now trying to turn it into a general “well 1.3 mil vets are uninsured” concern trolling story.
Hey slick lil’ Ezra – we see what you did there….
And we KNOW that vets were treated like SHYTE in decades past when neither you, Esquire, nor your MSM & RW media friends had any thing to say about it.
Exactly right HF, when I enlisted in ’76 the benefits were excellent- college paid for, med coverage after enlistement ended, etc… however several years later is when Congress changed the benefits- where vets then had to put part of their own $ into college, etc. 16 years ago when this Seal enlisted, his benefits had already been determined by Congress prior to ”97 when he apparently enlisted. Ezra should be completely ashamed for playing into this BS. And this Seal is a pos, imo.
This is good info sherijr. Ezra should be ashamed – indeed.
I did not think Seals, especially one who might have killled Bin Laden, could reveal his identity. Wouldn’t this put his life and the life of his family in danger?
I replied to Ezra that the Seal is damn lucky that Obamacare now exists 🙂
Before Ezra Klein got on tweeter tweeting he should have check the story, something real journalists used to do. But he thought he had another chance to attack POTUS.
Are you kidding? Ezra Klein ashame of his self. Not our two bit jackass Ezra Klein. This was his chance to jump on the Right Wing Lefty band wagon to make POTUS look bad.
Do you know if there are different requirements/qualifications to continue insurance coverage if you retire vs if you don’t re-enlist? Was this person a retiree? I agree sherijr that it probably doesn’t automatically kick in. There’s probably some application process that needs to completed during the outprocessing. I know that even when moving from one assignment to another, the proper paperwork has to be completed to continue benefits for dependents. I would assume the same would apply with retirement/separation from the military.
please see my response below, for some reason I couldn’t post it to your comment 🙂
Scandal Fans: Guillermo Diaz aka Huck is on The View today. Can’t wait for Thursday’s roller coaster episode.
LOVE this guy. He’s a phenomenal actor and a sweet tweeter.
I love Huck too!!! Scandal! Yes!!!
LINDSEY GRAHAM HOLDS HIS BREATH AND THROWS HIMSELF ON THE FLOOR, AGAIN.
Graham’s Continuing Hissy Fit
By Ed Kilgore
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The standard conservative line about Chuck Hagel’s confirmation process is that his hearings in the Senate Armed Services Committee were a disaster for the administration, revealing the nominee’s fecklessness and “extremist” views. But in a revealing indication of the GOP’s real priorities, it looks like the Big Partisan Confrontation over the nomination won’t be over Israel or Iran or Hagel’s competence under hostile questioning, but—yes, you’ve guessed it—Benghazi!
.
.
A Republican “walkout” during a Hagel vote, could, of course, represent just another kind of theater. The ranking Republican senator on the committee, John McCain, might go along with it to give his little friend from the Palmetto State another opportunity to posture for the right-wing activists back home who are mulling a primary challenge to him, without taking the more consequential action of an unprecedented filibuster of a Cabinet nominee.
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http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2013_02/grahams_continuing_hissy_fit042921.php
As part of his state’s new budget, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) and his administration are trying to force potentially tens of thousands of public sector employees in the state to work fewer hours so that the government can avoid providing them health care.
Under Obamacare, employers are required to offer health insurance options for any employee working 30 hours or more per week. So McDonnell and his team have slipped language into the state’s budget bill requiring that any hourly waged workers employed by the state put in no more than 29 hours a week.
The rule applies to a range of state employees, including adjunct college professors:
The 29-hour limit is on its way to becoming state law, thanks to language inserted into the state budget at the request of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration. The language appears in both versions of the budget adopted Thursday by the Senate and House of Delegates.[…]
Anticipating legislative approval of the policy, the state Department of Human Resource Management has advised all state agencies to implement it now.
The state has more than 37,000 wage employees. More than 7,000 of them have been working at least 30 hours a week, according to a recent survey taken by the department.
http://thinkprogress.org/?mobile=nc
Time for some of the state unions to become actively and vocally involved, again, on behalf of all of the workers covered by unions! These Republican governors have absolutely no compassion or empathy for “workers,” and I am absolutely sick of it! Vote ’em all out.
Hadiya’s mother has incredible courage. God bless her!
There used to be an unwritten truth that one party would be very careful how they obstructed the other party in the majority, because they knew one fine day, it would come back to haunt them. All I can figure (and what I “cling to”) is that Republicans KNOW they are not going to get back the White House or have the majority in both the House and Senate for decades, and that is why they aren’t playing the same game. We need to make sure their inclinations come true, gain back Speaker for Life Pelosi, keep the White House and Senate, and refuse to play ball with any of ’em, in the upcoming election cycles. Two can play at their game, even though Democrats always try to take the high road. (I still hope we can take the high road, but it’s a dwindling hope, I’m sorry to say.)
For SWBluega- for some reason I can’t post a reply.. so am replying here: agree with you, as my experience was that I had to apply for my benefits, I had honestly forgotten over the years that my enlistment allowed for me to have med benefits after getting out.. thus I never asked for them. As to more benefits after retirement, when I was in so many years ago- the only way to get ‘full benefits’ – med, dental, dependent benefits, px, commissary, etc.. was to stay in 20 years. I don’t know how it works now, but I’m guessing full benefits still apply.
Thanks for the response. Not surprised about you not being able to reply. For some reason, I had a hard time getting the comment to post.
My husband will be retiring in a little over a year. Need to make sure he follows through with all the paperwork to make sure there isnt a break in our insurance.
yep, it used to be during your exit interview.. they went over all the coverage, etc.. and what you’d need to do to keep things going during retirement- but he can still ask all the questions now- so he’s ready. Good luck to both of you- and thank him for me 🙂 and thank you also!
🙂
Perfect for Black History Month ?
Very nice, and very good. Time to show congress that we mean business – these are REAL victims.
That’s nice. It’s even better that they have two suspects in custody.
I’m likely in the minority, but my first reaction was “oh no”. This doesn’t feel right to me, for a bunch of reasons. That is the same first reaction I had when I read that a Newtown child would be a guest—-then I read it was someone who was not a Sandy Hook student but a student at a different school there who had written a letter to PBO about gun control.
I’ll have to think about it. If it was me, I can’t imagine going anywhere right after a child of mine had been killed.
dotster3, did you see Hadiya’s Mom speaking at the funeral? She was smiling, cracking jokes, laughing as she talk about her beautiful daughter. One comment she made that stuck with me, she said that some people want her to be walking around with along face, all sad and stuff, but she’s not worry because she knows where her daughter’s soul is. I feel like anyone who is sick and tired of this senseless gun violence is going to have to join the fight, who better to join the fight and speak out then someone who have suffer from that gun violence. Now everyone might not be able to deal with doing that, but if there is others out there who want to say look at me, I’m fighting so that we can try to prevent another Mother or family from going through what I’m going through. Will we prevent all, no, but if we prevent one or two,then we have to do something. Remember the Mothers against Drunk driving campaign, this has to be the same kind of campaign. I want to see more people who know the effects of gun violence. I would love to see two or three parents from Newtown Conn. sitting with the First Lady. One thing we know we are fighting a low down dirty disgusting enemy here ( the NRA ) and we need all the soldiers we can get.
We have to keep it fresh in people’s mind why we are fighting this fight.
Major Garrett is not having a good day. He apparently was angry texting or DM’ing his dry cleaner or whoever and the tweet posted on his public feed. Everyone, including other reporters are now making fun of him.
This is the tweet. I’m thinking autocorrect changed it from “shitty” to “shirty.”
“The fuck I am. That is shirty business what you did. Fix it. I’m not fucking kidding.”
LOL! Oh my….
DM or no DM, who uses twitter to deal with their dry cleaning?
Wooooohoooooo!
THE REPUBLICAN SAVIOR AND HIS UNUSUAL GIFTS – (He knows who Tupac is.)
Setting the bar too low
By Steve Benen
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The D.C. establishment wants a fresh Republican star and it has obviously made its choice.
I have a hunch I’m tilting at windmills, but I’d like to point three simple truths that the Beltway crowd may want to at least consider before joining the Rubio fan club.
First, if the senator has “unusual gifts,” they haven’t translated into meaningful policy successes. As Rubio begins his third year on Capitol Hill, his most notable legislative accomplishment has been sponsoring “a resolution designating September 2011 as National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month.”
Second, though Rubio hasn’t demonstrated any real depth of thought on any area of public policy, the Floridian appears to have taken an interest in one issue: immigration. On this issue, Rubio has already flip-flopped, fumbled his initial foray, and ended up adopting President Obama’s immigration policy has his own.
And third, Rubio is unbelievably far to the right.
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http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/02/11/16926870-setting-the-bar-too-low?lite
So Rubio knows who Tupac is, that should seal the black vote for Rubio right ther.
Yup. I see Black folks in herds and droves now switching their registrations from DEM to Repub. They can’t wait for 2016 – to have a President who KNOWS TUPAC?!?!? WOW…what more could you ask for…..
New post:
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/02/11/coming-up-57/