First Lady Michelle Obama hugs Roxanna Green as she enters the House Chamber prior the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 25, 2011. John and Roxanna Green are the parents of eleven-year-old Dallas and the late Christina Taylor, the nine-year-old girl killed when a gunman opened fire on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson (Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
Washington Post: First Lady Michelle Obama’s guest list for tonight’s State of the Union includes a teacher from Sandy Hook Elementary School, a police officer who responded to the massacre at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, and the parents of a girl killed by gunfire in Chicago earlier this month.
The assembled guests make clear that the White House will emphasize gun violence with tonight’s speech. But there are also nods to technological innovation — Apple CEO Tim Cook will sit with Obama, as will the winner of this year’s Intel Science Fair and a member of NASA’s Mars rover team.
The presence of Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) is a nod to Medicaid reform. An Affordable Care Act advocate will also be in the box, as will an undocumented student whose deportation was deferred by an Obama executive order last year.
The full list:
Sergeant Sheena Adams (Vista, CA), Team Advisor & Lead Instructor, Female Engagement Team
Alan Aleman (Las Vegas, NV), DREAM Student
Jack Andraka (Crownsville, MD), Winner of the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
Susan Bumgarner (Norman, OK), Early Childhood Educator
Deb Carey (New Glarus, WI), Small Business Owner, New Glarus Brewing Company
Sergeant Carlos Evans, USMC (Cameron, NC), Wounded Warrior
Tim Cook (Cupertino, CA), CEO of Apple
Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton and Nathaniel A. Pendleton Sr. (Chicago, IL)
Menchu de Luna Sanchez (Secaucus, NJ), Registered Nurse, NYU Langone Medical Center
Bobak Ferdowsi (Pasadena, CA), Flight Director, Mars Curiosity Rover
Bradley Henning (Louisville, KY), Machinist, Atlas Machine and Supply
Tracey Hepner (Arlington, VA), Co-Founder, Military Partners and Families Coalition
Peter Hudson (Evergreen, CO), Co-Founder and CEO, iTriage
Governor John Kitzhaber (D-OR)
Mayor Marie Lopez Rogers (Avondale, AZ)
Amanda E. McMillan (Jackson, MS), Pay Discrimination Victim
Lee Maxwell (Wilton, IA), Graduate, Kirkwood Community College Wind Technician Program
Lieutenant Brian Murphy (Oak Creek, WI), The first police officer to arrive at the scene of the tragic Sikh temple shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin last August.
Lisa Richards (Arlington, VA), #My2K Participant
Kaitlin Roig (Greenwich, CT), 1st Grade Teacher, Sandy Hook Elementary School
Abby Schanfield (Minneapolis, MN), ACA Beneficiary
Haile Thomas (Tucson, AZ), Let’s Move! Champion
See biographical information here
The Obama Diary 
Me invited?
No? 😦
Maybe next time? Looking forward to that. 😆
Wow 😯 VC, you came in 1st, 2nd and 3rd all by your awesome self? Hmm? Your typing skills must be Numero Uno 😯
Congratulations. 🙂
Everyone else was busy checking to see if their names were on the invitation list before commenting, Nena, so I had time to dot my i’s, etc. 😉 See, I was sure mine would be there so I didn’t bother to check right away. TY
You must have been overlooked vc. I thought you would be there. But you will be with TOD and Chips, right? Congrats. 😉
TY, Carolmae, I’ll certainly be around TODville IF my invitation doesn’t show up. In the meantime, I’m holding myself at the ready (my snail mail for today hasn’t yet been delivered after all).
Oh, so there is still a chance? Have fun! 😉
So, I guess the others of you have gone to check if YOU are on her guest list?
Did any of you get luckier than I?
Actually, I was invited but had to turn it down due to prior commitments.
Same here Japa, hopefully we’ll be able to make it next year – busy, busy, busy 🙂
Well, to be honest, I was afraid that I would embarrass PBO by FLOTUS’ obsession with me and her ignoring his speech. 😉
Are either of you sure it wasn’t *MY* invitation that you opened and so cavalierly put aside? TODville’s mail boxes are so numerous and scattered that anything is possible. CC could be excused for such an error because I can actually see how VC could seem like CC (if you had just gotten up from a fall and were still in shock), but I can’t imagine what Japa’s excuse could be – old or broken glasses maybe?
Well, the former definitely applies, but the glasses are fine. Oh, you meant old glasses.
I did. 😆 😆 😆 Never gave the other option a thought, Japa! 😆
Congrats vcprezofan2 for FIRST! Yes, I checked the list for my name too. Oh well. I just want to meet this fine man and his loveliest of wives someday.
Hi DaisyD! I actually haven’t checked the list carefully yet. I was only preparing myself mentally in case my name really wasn’t included. You know what I mean?
Submit a ? for the google hangout on Thursday link below.
The list looks good for a first read. Hmmmm. I wonder if this is the final list? I still have time to check out a flight to Washington, and from my Inauguration visit I know exactly where I could stay. Hmmm. I think I’m going to keep a closer than normal eye on my email account today.
Good afternoon Chipsticks, TOD. Congrats VC#! I think I got the bronze medal?
There are medals? Suh-weet! 😆 😆 Hi, LovelyP & TY.
Did I miss Desiline Victor the Haitian born 102 years old retired farm worker from Miami who waited 3 hours to vote? It is a beautiful story.
It’s a gem of story, Bill:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/state-of-the-union-guest-desiline-victor-102-will-be-the-face-of-voting-delays-at-address/2013/02/11/3b81604a-74a4-11e2-95e4-6148e45d7adb_story.html
She only speaks Haitian Creole, but she said she wanted to vote for “her son”.
Don’t make me cry, now! Just getting to the blog and I can’t read with tears in my eyes!
Oh what a night this is going to be!
The medal of Honor dude turned it down!
Do you know why? Unlike his son he seemed very shy.
“he has decided to spend the evening with friends from his former unit, Black Knight Troop, 3-61 CAV, his wife Tammy – with whom he celebrates a wedding anniversary Tuesday – and their families.” via CNN
I think yesterday was hard for him. It’s understandable he would want to spend time with friends and family.
yes, he did not enjoy hearing the story of that firefight. my heart goes out to him and his family.
Which I think is fine.
Totally fine. Good for him.
This is the article that started it all:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/02/joe-scarborough-doesnt-understand-economics.html
We couldn’t have gotten any luckier (or smarter) in our choice of First Ladies.. Michelle Obama- class, grace, courage, decency Brains & beauty.. and so much more. I would just like to chat and have a cup of coffee with her some day… I should be so graced.
No time to go through buzzfeed’s timeline but I read that one of the medal of honor recipients turned down FLOTUS’s invite to the SOTU. I don’t know why but buzzfeed provided this partial quote: “after some soul searching….”
I don’t know what that means. He could be a right wing Republican, libertarian, or liberal who feels POTUS betrayed him on an issue.
Would not surprise me if there is some politics involved 😦 but per CNN, It’s his wedding anniversary.
Awww…that’s too bad. Could have brought his wife/partner to DC and had a good time here.
Seriously though, “soul searching”? LOL!!
Hes the man that was awarded the Medal yesterday.. He barely looked at POTUS during the ceremony- perhaps just due to shyness.. or political differences.. I did note that he lives and works in ND -oil fields.. not a bastien of liberalness.
Okay. I didn’t watch the ceremony.
I noticed that also, but he could have been thinking about what his adorable son might be doing next.
No, and the oil fields are not great jobs. They may pay okay, but are dangerous work places. He looked very humble to me yesterday while Pres. Obama gave his speech and the circumstances of his part in service to his country. I think he did what was necessary to keep from crying. Looking into the Presidents eyes, he may have lost his struggle not to cry. He did grow up in California, but I don’t know where the little town is.
North Dakota …
That explains what that fake Democrat Heidi Heitkamp was doing at the ceremony yesterday… ( Ugh )
She does support VAWA. She is better than an R. She really is. Yes, I am disappointed with some of her views, but I don’t think she is a blocker to some of Pres. Obama ideas. She sounds just like my cousins. Let’s give her a chance, see if she does block something. My problem with her is environmental. I hear terrible things about the environment. It hurts.
It would be inappropriate for us to put any political motives on this. It is not uncommon for people who have done things like he has done to want to stay out of the limelight.
I agree 100%. He looked like he was reliving it to me. The rwnj will probably spin, so we must be prepared.
Understood, but he’s not speaking. The camera may scan the crowd, POTUS might mention your name but when the speech is done, that’s it.
When someone uses the term “soul searching” it usually means they had a serious issue/problem to contemplate.
He was going to do a press conference. That’s what I heard, but I don’t know the specifics. Sorry, my brain doesn’t hold details. I’m in a hurry to go. See you tonight.
Just to be clear, I meant Ted Nuggent was giving press conference. Now that I’m home I see it looks like I meant the Medal of Honor recipient. Sorry for confusion. 😦
Guys, we’ve got to stop ascribing negative connotations to peoples motives.
According to Lovely Plains, this is why he couldn’t attend. Which is perfectly reasonable.
“he has decided to spend the evening with friends from his former unit, Black Knight Troop, 3-61 CAV, his wife Tammy – with whom he celebrates a wedding anniversary Tuesday – and their families.” via CNN
Or, to use your arguments GB, ‘he’s not speaking. The camera may scan the crowd, POTUS might mention your name but when the speech is done, that’s it’ and he might just really prefer to spend his actual anniversary with his wife and friends where he’ll be far more comfortable because the camera won’t scan him at all. Who’s to say when they both will be back in Washington, or when he’ll be able to meet up again with those friends from his former unit? I intend to accept it at face value. I’d have much preferred if PBO had turned down the ‘invitation’ for the first debate that fell on his anniversary. Then again, as I’ve aged 😉 I’ve become a weirdo when it comes to birthdays and anniversaries – I feel strongly about celebrating them on the actual date and have been known to tell good friends ‘Today is actually not my birthday. It was yesterday, last week, etc.’
Oops! I see that UTAL and I took a similar approach, writing at about the same time. She’s a proven faster writer than moi 😉 😀
Nah, she just isn’t as wordy as you. Comes from all her twittering.
Sigh! Japa, did you know my grandmother? Same thing she used to say – ‘Child, you talk too much!’ My life has proven she was right on so many counts. 😉 😉
See, the difference is she thought you talked too much. I think you are just right and that UT does too little. Plus she roots for a rotten school and some stupid team in England.
Me, I’m just going to focus on the ‘you are just right’ part, ‘THANK YOU!’ and step carefully over the last sentence. Yep, Dudette was right when she called me coward. 😆 😆 😆 I do know my limitations.
I fgeel pretty confident UT is way downthread and won’t be checking up here. Otherwise, those words would never have been typed.
😆 😆 😆 A man of forethought and strategy!
You guys are funny.
I noticed the buzz feed writers who appear on Bill Press seem to be pretty negative on PBO. Also, one of them used t0 write for Politico.
buzzfeed is stacked with conservatives. Another writer for DC politics worked for Glen beck.
See here: http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/01/04/22-attacks-on-obama-and-the-left-from-buzzfeeds/192031
http://twitter.com/#!/SOTUTedNugent/status/301386728491589632
http://twitter.com/TheObamaDiary/status/301397238519832577
Ty Chips.
Another first that wasn’t on their list was Admiral Samuel Gravely. He was the first black to command a warship in combat(1967) and the first black Admiral in the USN.
http://twitter.com/#!/Wolfrum/status/301385171838595072
My 2 cents on Ted Nugent:
If we can’t stop him from coming and if the media insists on giving him attention, then we should make him the face of the Republican party instead of Rubio. Its not like Rubio is going to denounce Nugent.
the stupid party is just claiming their title.
I need a good laugh today!
Good Afternoon Chips and all of TOD!!
What a moving tribute this will be tonight at the SOTU address:
“Survivors Will Stand Up For Gun Laws At Tonight’s State Of The Union”
Twenty six victims of gun violence will attend the State of the Union on Tuesday night, each wearing a black and white ribbon to signify their commitment to sensible gun laws. They all plan to stand silently during the portion of the President’s speech about gun safety regulations.
The number of attendees is a reminder of the 26 victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school, which sparked a renewed debate about the role of government in limiting gun violence. Among the victims and relatives of victims who will be in attendance are:
Read more here: http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/02/12/1577591/victims-gun-state-of-the-union/?mobile=nc
Squeeeee! DD4O! {{{DD4O}}} I haven’t seen you in, like, ‘forever’ – oh okay, a slight exaggeration, but it sure seemed like it. 😆 😆 Are you joining us here tonight? I plan to, if my personal invitation to the SOTU doesn’t arrive in time.
You know what, JOB. I want those stupid R’s to sit on their hands when that happens and I want the cameras to show that.
What gets me is they are almost as young as Hadiya was. But they were on different paths. It’s tragic, all around.
Here’s the kicker. It seems the shooter was on probation for a gun beef and the way the law is set up, he was allowed to leave jail.
Hiya doin’ JC?
Unreal about the leaving jail part, but the “mixture” of laws around our country sometimes doesn’t work to the good, eh? People will still be people. Sometimes, with guns.
I’m fine, thanks, how are you, YA? Came here for a little handholding (Ha!) during the Hagel confirmation vote. Are you watchin’?
Some but got up late to an exploding pc. Msgs and tweets off the charts. Busy day ahead for sure.
Yikes! McCain is speaking now = MUTE. Ugly, ugly man.
What a tragic waste of so many lives, JOB. These young men stupidly let themselves be drawn in a gang war, senselessly killed a beautiful young woman and now have no future whatsoever to look forward to. Nothing. My only hope is that there is some young person somewhere who looks at these two and their dismal future and says, ” I don’t want to go there; that’s not for me.” Many times these kinds of killings are never solved and the perpetrators get the sense that they can get away with murder. Not this time.
This account is the most pitiful, tragic thing I have ever read. Reportedly, these guys were just driving around looking for rival gang members to shoot in retaliation from some past shooting. They saw the group at the park, thought someone standing near Hadiya Pendleton looked like a rival gang member, fired 6 shots indiscriminately into the crowd. “She was just there” they said about Hadiya’s shooting and death. I don’t know what you do about gangs, but there is a huge problem if young guys are just driving around looking for people to shoot, if that’s all they have, lives going nowhere fast, likely to a deadly end, with many innocent people caught in the insane warfare. Hadiya wasn’t the first. There have been many—-many younger victims in Chicago, 6 yr.olds, 11 yr. olds, etc. etc. caught in the crossfire. Yesterday on the Trib website alongside news of this arrest there was news of another shooting, a teen age girl said she saw someone in a black sweater shoot and critically injure another young person. She and her dad explained that she didn’t get a good look at his face because her father had taught her that when she hears gunshots to move away from the front of the house to go to the kitchen in the back of the house where it is safer—–sounding like they lived in a war zone—-which, in a way, they do. Big changes are needed. This is just insanity.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-hadiya-pendleton-20130212,0,3647135.story
dotster3 I too wonder what can be done. I heard a bit on talk radio that while scary, would probably be effective. Declare all these gang bangers as “domestic terrorist” then bring in the ATF folks and start tounding them up. Any caught with guns get shipped to Gitmo.
Interesting! Please allow me to go on record – I think Matt Bissonnette is a disrespectful jackass. That’s it!
(CNN) — On Monday Esquire magazine published a massive profile of the Navy SEAL who says he shot Osama bin Laden.
Weighing in at some 15,000 words, the story does not identify the killer of al Qaeda’s leader by his real name and refers to him only as “the Shooter.”
Clearly the Shooter wanted to maintain something of the code of silence that is pervasive among the covert warriors of SEAL Team 6, the unit that mounted the bin Laden operation.
What do we learn from the Shooter’s story? Most critically that the Shooter says he killed bin Laden with two shots at close range as he stood in his third floor bedroom in the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he had been hiding for more than five years.
This account differs in a crucial respect from the book “No Easy Day” by Mark Owen, a SEAL who also was on the bin Laden raid. (Mark Owen is a pseudonym; he was quickly revealed to be Matt Bissonnette.)
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/12/opinion/bergen-osama-bin-laden-shooter/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
Is this the same one who complained that he couldn’t get insurance?
I trust Peter Bergen reporting. Heard Peter Arnott and him in original interview with bin Laden. I’ve read his book and heard him over the years. I don’t think he embellishes his stories at all. Peter Arnott was a print reporter in Vietnam. I might have spelled his name wrong.
love this:
‘ One of the things I hate about days like today is everyone trying to pre-empt what President Obama will say in his State of the Union address. But what’s even worse is all the people who chose today to tell him what he ought to say. That really chaps my hide.
Take a minute to think about what these folks are doing with all the concern troll advice-giving. Do you really think they want to influence what the President says tonight? If they did, they would have written those columns a month or two ago when he began preparing his speech.
To say – today – what the President should include in his speech has zero to do with actually influencing it and everything to do with propping up the faltering ego of the writer. Afterwards they can either pat themselves on the back for being right or condemn the President for failing to follow their “advice.”
So no – I’m not going to waste my time reading any of it. I’ll wait for the real thing. ‘
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2013/02/im-going-to-wait-for-real.html
😈
Folks, gotta read this from Jonathan Chait. He’s only now finding out that Joe Scar is a twit but you should read it. Mika as usual is useless
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/02/joe-scarborough-doesnt-understand-economics.html
“A couple of weeks ago, Joe Scarborough invited Paul Krugman onto his MSNBC show. The meeting of the brilliant but prickly Krugman with the dopey but genial Scarborough held the promise of a cataclysmic matter-touches-antimatter collision of an unpredictable and frightening scale. Instead, they passed right through each other.”
this is a wonderful piece–well worth the read.
It is a shame so many people believe there is a serious discussion on Morning Joe.
Once heard Oprah say she watches it. I was like, “ugh, whyeeee?”
So did Whoopi.
Give him a cavity search with a vaginal probe. That seems fitting to me. Maybe he can hear his heart beat! 😦
a valentine’s day prayer http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2013/02/im-going-to-wait-for-real.html
This is beautiful. Thank God I married a man like this.
The Senate is voting on a Coburn Amendment to the FAWA that would FUND the testing for STD’s of the Sexual Assailant…not the victim ?
Isn’t this the same crowd that voted NO on the Franken Amendment ?
These men are lost…..
What?!!! That’s all I can say.
oh Good Grief….the same Senators that voted YES on the Amendment are now voting NO on passage of the bill.
Good. Enough of the crap.
Harry Reid shows he has some, once again. Very good, indeed.
Yes, Harry. YES. TY
Senate armed services committee is about to vote on the Hagel nomination. If he passes, it will go to the full senate.
p.s. It should pass since there are more Democrats than Republicans on the committee.
Yeah….pretty much.
https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/301414535275888640
They are voting on the VAWA right now
https://twitter.com/TheTweetOfGod/status/301416554178965504
Works for me. Ha! I love the God tweets. Almost as good as the God billboards of yore.
NO PASS, God.
hey pbo–fat tuesday malasada for you!
http://bit.ly/VQOMtl
oops wrong link. try this:
The “modern” face of the GOP.
Once again, proving that Marco Rubio is just a wicked teabagger. In 2016…..Marco would not be returning in the senate in 2017. This nation is forever moving FORWARD! Fatuously idiotic votes that Marco Rubio has been casting, would be outdated, problematic and so 2010.
Nena, we have to mark these guys with the stain of anti-women and shove it in their faces if they try to run for anything. How dumb do you have to be to turn off 51 percent of the electorate?
Shove it in their faces :), no Jackiegrumbacher. Where I would like it to be shoved :shock:…..yes, inside where it would HURT most 🙂
Bloombergnews.com and Marketwatch.com are both reporting a $2.88B surplus in the month of Jan 2013. First time of a Jan Surplus since 2008.
Palin asked how that Hopey Changey thing is working? I am shouting Marvelous.
Imagine where We The People would have been had we a TBGOPer congress that Put Country First?
C-Span3 TV is showing the live Senate Armed Services Committee vote on the Defense Secretary confirmation of Chuck Hagel. Thought I’d come here for a little handholding during this godawful show of our democracy, where I have to actually look into the faces of today’s Republicans. Eeek.
Trying to catch up to you. 😉
Carol – I had a good laugh when I saw your replies to my little ol’ posts! Just getting back here from earlier, today. Thanks!
I’m only about an hour behind. Had to wait until Hubby got home. 😉
🙂
😉
VAWA vote – 78-22.
Good!
woot! and the stupid party is on the record in favor of violence against women. how’s that rebranding working for ya?
Oh yeah, susanne. All 22 senators who voted in favor of violence against women need major exposure. Ads? billboards? FB? Let this never be forgotten.
Thanks UT. They have passed it again. The last time was in Aug or so of 2012.
Now would weeper John Boehner bring the bill to the floor?
Committe vote for Hagel live now.
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Senate-Committee-Debates-Hagel-Nomination/10737437995-1/
Can’t watch. Will wait to see the results. Seeing the GOP ranters will disturb my equilibrium.
Senate passes VAWA 78-22!
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/301419810615595008
He must think his vote is important for the Republican primary because it cannot possibly help him in the general. I don’t understand the thinking.
https://twitter.com/TeaPartyCat/status/301420732506853376
I’m not a fan of what Chris Brown did, but he isn’t the only man to beat on his woman. Plenty of other ones out there, tell Top Conservative Cat that. And the Senators who voted no for this bill are no better than Chris Brown.
Tcp is satirical. Very satirical.
https://twitter.com/LisaDCNN/status/301421039727042560
Rubio voted no on the VAWA and has the nerve to show hs rehearsel speech. A speech without policies for women means nothing.
Very well said, COS.
Jacqueline, I agree with what Richard Wolfe said last night. When PBO was in the senate,” he kept a low profile” and worked behind the scenes on substantive issues and formed alliances with some of the seasoned senators. . Unlike Marco Rubio who is in front of the camera everytime you turn on the tv. All of these interviews will come back to haunt him, if he decide to run for president. He is peaking very early.
Yes, peaking nice and early, and should be gone as a frontrunner, soon.
Don’t Rubio, the Republicans Savior know that their are women Latinos?
NO! Both WY SENATORS? They will be ridiculed by me somehow! Somewhere!
Will everyone please pray for me. I hate John McCain!
Yes, if you will pray for me, for the same reason. I just unmuted him, gripping the sides of my chair, but not sure I can make it through.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen just took ’em down.
His sidekick Kelly Ayotte is no damn better.
Hope the voters in her state are happy they voted for McCain’s mouthpiece. She’s a laughingstock. But it just ain’t funny to any of us.
I wanted to add her too, and Inhofe, and Graham and all those damned Republicans.
Also love how McCain spoke for Ayotte and Graham as to how they’d vote with him. He has three in his camp, and millions are in the other camp. Republican Politics 2013 = strange bedfellows personified.
Kelly Ayotte is a sen Toddler in training. She will soon find out that her nonsense would soon be old news. NH would not put up with her for much longer.
Oh, darlin’ you are NOT ALONE!
You rock, Sen. Tim Kaine!
I agree. But I had to turn to something else when that whore Graham started talking.
Don’t you like his manly voice?
Exactly.
Positive reinforcement, it’s a good thing! 🙂
Pres. Obama’s fault.
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/301431627698036736
Dow is over 14,000….govt ran a surplus last month…just sayin……
but but but… the deficit! i mean, um, benghazi! and, and uh drones! iran! uh… rubio, do a little tap dance for the crowd, wouldja?
Good for Sen. Joe Manchin and his remarks at the hearing. He even cast up Hagel’s military service to McCain’s face. I’ll leave it at that, because me no likey Manchin most of the time, but he did exceedingly good today.
I haven’t been watching. Are they voting for Hagel today Jacqueline? If so, is he there? A little OT, it appears that there will be a movie about Lily Ledbetter.
Ala.’s Lilly Ledbetter signs pact to make movie
http://www.wsfa.com/story/21133579/alas-lilly-ledbetter-signs-pact-to-make-movie
Hagel’s not there. The committee is expected to vote after the statements!
Glad to hear about the movie – that should be great.
Will she be compensated?
Levin is taking Cruz to school
https://twitter.com/DaRiverZkind/status/301438275900559360
I loooooooooooooooooove this white house. Technology is their best friend.
Its a Rave! Bring the glow sitcks…..
🙂
Candles. 🙂
[If true, this sounds more like a temper tantrum.]:
If you thought the amorphous hacker-activist collective known as Anonymous was done avenging the suicide of their own Aaron Swartz, think again. In an email blast sent to their community, as well as a message posted on their website, the group announced plans to disrupt President Obama’s State of the Union address and prevent it from live-streaming on the Internet. “[Tonight] we will face down the largest superpower on Earth. And we will win!” the message reads. “There will be no State of the Union Address on the web tonight.” The group cites a variety of motivations, including “freedom” and “Arran Swartz,” claiming that Obama’s failure to stop the “idiotic and destructive efforts to control the last free space on Earth,” is unconstitutional.
.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2013/02/12/anonymous-plans-to-hack-obama-s-sotu.html
That’s ok. We can watch it on tv.
Sen. Levin took down Ted Cruz, nicely. Levin said he wouldn’t suffer fools gladly today, and he’s keeping his promise. Sen. Bill Nelson of FL is now calling out Cruz, BIG TIME. << Everyone should hear what Nelson had to say.
Apologies to used car salespeople everywhere for impugning their integrity, but TX used car salesman Ted Cruz, I can only guess since I mostly muted him, was being told what to say by The Man (whoever's moving his arms and legs for him) and can go to hell.
Oh, and, Cruz has ugly hair.
Hi JOB
Can you give a few specifics for poor me, who is at work with no access to the hearing? Thanks!
JOB, I missed it. Can you say in a sentence or two what Levin and Nelson said. Thanks.
I’m so enraged, not sure I can do it justice. Levin had said before the hearing that he wasn’t going to have a postponement because the Rs were making up requirements, and that he’d proceed with a vote today, and is sticking to his guns, so far. He repeated that just now, and apparently the vote will take place within minutes (he said 5 p.m. ET).
Think the Rs said there would be a walkout, but not sure if there will. This is a sight to behold, because the Republicans on the committee all look like they’re having a meltdown right before our eyes. Redfaced and panting. McCain’s hate is evident. Sessions, too. It’s tense.
Hope it’s on Cspan video.
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/301439841445490688
http://twitter.com/#!/kombiz/status/301439655096774658
LIVE NOW: Coverage Of The California Manhunt – Some sort of shootout reported – http://www.cbsnews.com/liveFeed/widget.shtml
I’m watching most of the committee hearing to confirm Chuck Hagel today, although it’s ghastly, for a couple of reasons. First, to honor all the enlisted personnel of my generation who went to Vietnam and didn’t come back, or came back with wounds, seen and unseen. Second, to honor any U.S. Senator who dares to follow his principles and not speak only to the party line, as Chuck Hagel ALWAYS did in the Senate — I believe he will give Pres. Obama truthful, principled advice as SECDEF, on behalf of all members of the military, their families, and our country. I can’t wait until this is over and, hopefully, Hagel’s workin’ at the Pentagon.
Thank you JOB. I wish I’d remembered it was today.
http://twitter.com/#!/jbrownedianis/status/301437964230213632
CBS L.A. now streaming again: http://bit.ly/XyUeAQ KTLA is also streaming: http://bit.ly/XyUeAQ Totally chaotic coverage of Dorner, Fish and Game officers have had a shootout with him. They are closing in. Hope they get the SOB and stop terrorizing the commmunity.
Two people were kidnapped tied up and had their 4 wheeler stolen, they escaped and now see they may have Dorner cornered, gun fight w/ automatic gunfire ensuing. He has crashed the vehicle he stole and is on foot.
4 schools in area in lockdown, parents told do not go to pickup childern. 1 comfirmed officer down, possibly 2
[OT, but this sure smells like someone’s buying signatures. Do you know where your signature is? 🙂 This is Gabriel Gomez who’s the repub guy running for Kerry’s seat. Funny how he doesn’t proudly state that he’s a repub in his announcement! ]:
[….] Gomez is in the process of hiring a major firm to gather his signatures, SpoonWorks Inc., at a cost of more than $100,000, said a top GOP official who has been consulting with Gomez.
Harold Hubschman, owner of the company, would not comment, saying he does not discuss his clients’ business publicly.
There is concern among Republicans that the short time window for gathering signatures, amid rough weather, could jeopardize the party’s chances of fielding a candidate.
Hubschman, who has been paid more than $2.5 million over the last decade on petition drives for state races and referendums, according to state campaign finance records, said it can be done.
“We know we can do it,” Hubschman said. “It’s not impossible. It’s just very difficult.”
Winslow will also use a signature-gathering firm to supplement his volunteer workers, he said.
He has put $100,000 of his own money into the campaign, much of which will be spent on that effort to make sure he can get on the primary ballot. [….]
.
http://www.boston.com/politicalintelligence/2013/02/12/gabriel-gomez-introduces-his-senate-run-bilingual-video/1Twr2XdLsiOApCycfdSGUK/story.html
Two officers down. Gunfire continues. http://www.cbsnews.com/liveFeed/widget.shtml
Very heavy gunfire. http://www.cbsnews.com/liveFeed/widget.shtml
Thus completes the descent into crap news.
Well, there goes my productivity for the rest of the day.
Take care. Let us know how you are.
[An amazing FLOTUS guest at SOTU! Hey, DF, she’s from AZ! 🙂 Check out her last sentence! She could teach those pubtwits a lot!]:
At age 12, pint-sized chef Haile Thomas already has a resume jam-packed with child health initiatives and a high-profile professional endorsement for Hyatt Hotels, and she will be seated with First Lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday night at the US Capitol to watch President Obama deliver his State of the Union address. The young activist from Tucson, Arizona, is being honored as a champion of Mrs. Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign, and she last visited the White House in August for the Kids’ State Dinner luncheon, when one of her creations was selected as a winner of the First Lady’s Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, a Let’s Move! recipe contest. […..]
“For the First Lady to invite me is such an honor,” Haile told Obama Foodorama. “I’m really excited to hear President Obama’s speech and learn from what he’s saying.” […..]
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More here: http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2013/02/lets-move-in-state-of-union-spotlight.html#more
Good for her! Yes, our children are the hope for the future, to be sure. We just need to old, white bigots to STFU and cede to the youngsters…we’d all be better off 🙂
I wonder if the hate directed at Hagel is because he was an enlisted man Not an officer. Is it possible that the 1% doesn’t want him to advance?
I think it is because the hate filled Republicans view him as a turncoat and is now a supporter of PBO.
Your explanation makes sense on a rational level.
I think on another level it must be killing McCain that a mere sergeant will be Sec Def
oh, yeah.
That could be part of it, Vicki, especially to McCain (who had an Admiral for a daddy, which is how he thought it should be done). I think it’s mostly Hagel’s support for Pres. Obama, whom they have decided they hate.
Brava to Sen. McCaskill for taking down that hater Inhofe TO HIS FACE! One of her finest moments.
Also noticing that the Republicans who remain all seem to be redfaced with rage – their cheeks are all hot and pink. Even their ears are hot and pink. Ghastly.
It is very ugly. hate generally is.
Jacquelineoboomer our comments about McCain were simultaneous! GMTA
How many bites of the apple do these jerks get? Why not just vote already? Now they are just trying to “poo in the nest” of any effectiveness Hagel might have by besmirching him in every imaginable way. Good heavens… when is enough enough? I understand respect for letting everyone have his or her say, but no wonder it takes years to do anything in our governing system!!
Good Grief!!
Totally agree.
I also think McCain is bitter about never becoming an Admiral. Not only was his father an Admiral but his grandfather was also. He retired when he was told he would not be promoted to Admiral.
Spite Rank Class Jealousy
Voting, finally!
This was great – Sen. Udall just referred to Chuck as “Sgt. Hagel.”
Vote happening now. Party-line asshole vote. Vote left open for 10 minutes for Vitter to vote (he’s probably off with a prostitute). But since it was 14-11 in favor plus waiting for Vitter, which will not change the vote, Sen. Levin called it for committee confirmation of Chuck Hagel.
McCain will never let it go..He feels he should be in the WH..Just a bitter old man..
As a Senator, Hagel was extremely outspoken. He would call them hypocrites to their faces. One of the reasons they made such a big deal about Israel was because he told them they behaved as if their purpose was to work for Israel instead of the American people. He cussed them out (nicely) on a regular basis. Then he turned around and endorsed President Obama.
To use my Grandmother’s saying, “Senator” Hagel would have read McCain from Amazing Grace to A Floatin’ Opportunity.
It is probably McCains reason, Lyndsey just follows, I think. Cruz is out for publicity, others are just against PBO.
https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedAndrew/status/301445639882018817
And 5 seconds later…
https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedAndrew/status/301446099208654848
A round of applause for our media folks!
MSNBC reporting gun fight with Christopher Dorner
Bambo.
McConnell: Sequester will happen
Erik Wasson – 02/12/13 03:14 PM ET
“Read my lips: I am not interested in an eleventh-hour negotiation,” the Senate minority leader said. …
-/
And then they blame the President!
yep.. every time..
But Americans won’t fall for McConnell and the Republicans B.S. I don’t believe the American people will blame the President. These Republicans have not learn a dam thing.
Quite a deal going on—-reported sounds of automatic/semi-automatic gun fight—-2 Fish and Wildlife officers down. Pickup stolen, high speed chase, truck crashed or ran out of gas, chase on foot, firefight going on surrounding cabin in the woods.
[Juanita Jean’s having a righteous rant! 😉 ]:
Okay, Boehner, first I would like to thank you for reminding everybody that this President ordered a bullet to bin Laden’s head and that George Bush was scared of horses. Sometimes we forget that Bush didn’t think about bin Laden very much because it scared him.
Second off, you argue that the President does not have the courage to go against his party. That doesn’t take courage; that takes idiot. His party elected him. In a damn landslide.
America had a choice. Your ideas or Barack Obama’s ideas. You lost. You got beat so badly that your grandchildren will be born shaking. We knocked you cold enough to skate on. We nailed your hide to the barn wall and gave you a what-for lesson.
.
More here: http://juanitajean.com/2013/02/12/boehner-boosts-presidents-poll-numbers-thank-you-card-mailed/
🙂 🙂 🙂
You go?….
Now, Justice Scalia is also doing a Rebuttal to the Presidents SOTU.
Not kidding!
OMG….that is not appropriate at all…
‘ The famously bombastic Scalia is scheduled to speak at George Washington University at 7 p.m., two hours before President Obama is set to address the nation. ‘
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/news/282571-justice-scalia-delivering-own-speech-during-state-of-the-union#ixzz2Kj6INdHv
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook
OMG…no way..
The reporter got the “No Objection” wrong. It was “No Instruction.”
Vitter was not present, probably out with a hooker.
Nothing wrong with hookers. Vitter on the on the other hand…
Panel to vote Thursday on Brennan
Carlo Muñoz – 02/12/13 01:41 PM ET
President Obama’s CIA nominee is expected to be confirmed by the Senate despite the controversy over drone strikes.…
The drone controversy was mostly a shiny new media toy.
hagel committee vote 14-11 yea.
it now goes to the full Senate. Does anyone know when that will happen?
Wow, watching the KCBS live feed, and someone just prank called the station. Dumbass.
Chips and TODers:
I respectfully request that this space be a Ted Nugent free zone tonight.
Please keep his vile press conference remarks off our SOTU threads.
Just don’t want us to be distracted from our President’s success.
THANK YOU very much.
agree.
Thanks, susanne.
no, thank YOU. 🙂
honestly, why would any sane person ever pay attention to anything he says? much less want to look at him.
Nugent is getting just what he wanted. All of the pundits and talk radio are talking about him today. His goal is to overshadow the SOTU, and it shameful that he is succeeding already.
I hope they aren’t portraying this travesty in a positive light. He is beyond despicable.
Nugent over shadowing this President, no way, no how. Yes the MSM is giving Nugent attention, but the American people don’t give a dam about Nugent or the MSM.
Well what’s on everybody’s schedule tonight. Big college basketball game, Michigan-Michigan State. Plus the Chicago Blackhawks are looking to see if they can continue their season without a regulation loss (the only team in the NHL ). Anything else exciting happening?
japa21!!
possibly i’m the only one going to hula dance class…?
Westminster Dog Show! 😈
Wow~ impressive guest list..Looking forward to the SOTU address..
I followed this link to the Political Carnival and realized that the information shared, though not political, might be of value to someone you know.
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2013/02/12/why-gottalaffs-posts-are-mia/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
From MASS Senator Elizabeth Warren
Every senator is allowed to bring one guest to the gallery of the President’s State of the Union Address. My guest tonight will be Kim Odom.
I’ve known Kim for a year or so. She is the pastor of True Vine Assembly Church in Dorchester, along with her husband, Ron. They have five great children and two beautiful grandchildren.
On October 4, 2007, Kim’s 13-year-old son Steven was walking home with a group of friends after playing basketball. But Steven didn’t make it home that night. A gang member mistook one of Steven’s friends for a rival gang member. Just steps away from the Odom family’s front door, Steven was shot and killed.
Like so many mothers and fathers across the country, Kim and Ron Odom never thought that this kind of tragedy would happen to them. Kim asks why her innocent son was killed, and she also asks why gun violence is allowed to take so many of our children.
Kim has turned her grief into action. She is an advocate for violence intervention and prevention, and came to Washington, D.C. today as a supporter of Demand A Plan, a campaign of Boston Mayor Tom Menino’s organization Mayors Against Illegal Guns. She has told Steven’s story to bring attention to gang violence, mental health and easy access to firearms. Kim is determined to work for changes that will keep our children safer.
I’m grateful for Kim’s work, and I’m inspired by her courage. And I’m very honored that she has accepted my invitation to the State of the Union.
When you listen to the President tonight, I hope you’ll think about Kim and Ron and other mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. Gun violence isn’t an abstraction that happens to other people. It happens in our communities to our children, and we owe it to our children to do a better job of protecting them.
Thank you for being a part of this,
Elizabeth
Former Fort Hood police sergeant Kimberly Munley told ABC News that President Barack Obama broke promises he made to take care of victims of the November 5, 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
“Betrayed is a good word,” Munley said in an exclusive segment on “World News with Diane Sawyer.” “Not to the least bit have the victims been taken care of.”
Munley, who was shot three times as she and her partner confronted the shooter, sat next to Michelle Obama during the president’s State of the Union address in 2010, and told ABC News that she believes the White House used her seating arrangement for political gain.
In November, on the third anniversary of the Fort Hood army base shooting, 148 victims and family members sued the government, alleging that the Defense Department dodged legal ramifications by classifying the shootings as “workplace violence” rather than a terrorist attack, the Associated Press reported.
The shooting victims allege that the “workplace violence” classification limits them from receiving the benefits they would otherwise receive if they had been injured in combat, according to the Associated Press.
“We’ve asked for the incident to be reclassified from ‘workplace violence,’ of all things, to what it was, which was a terroristic attack,” Munley said in the ABC News interview .
—
shame on Diane Sawyer for doing this.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/kimberly-munley-obama_n_2670625.html
I’m guessing, of course, but I would think this is a matter of legal distinction. The shooter was not charged with an act of terrorism. He was charged with murder.
Nice to know that ABC searched far and wide to come up with a story one individual who felt exploited for political purposed by the SOTU seating arrangement. Nice to know that they timed this story to air the same day as the SOTU address to cynically throw shade on all the current SOTU guests of our First Lady
OK—-I loved the mayor of Big Bear Lake’s response to one of Tweety’s more stupid questions ever—–re. this big shootout/standoff w/Dorner. Tweety asked if there are any black people living in the area. The mayor obviously was taken aback by this idiotic question that has nothing to do with nothing—-hesitated, said “We have a few there, I guess, but we don’t really pay attention to anyone’s skin color around here.” Thank you, Mr Mayor. Tweety can often stun with his cluelessness and race obsession. It was a perfect response. And then Tweety, shamed, said “oh, good for you.” Shudder.
Good morning from my world. Heading out shortly – hope you all have a great evening – I’ll have to watch sotu on replay. I was reading the morning thread & just had to comment on the media comparing Marco Rubio to President Obama – EXACTLY as they compared Sarah Palin to Hillary Clinton. Rubio will speak tonight & that will shut down any comparison.
If there is one thing we have learn, the media search for someone they can anoint and I guess they have chosen Marco Rubio. Kind of like the media selected Mitt Romney as President.
New post:
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/02/12/fired-up-9/
Apparently the embargo on the SOTU text has been lifted. Seeing tweets with selected info.