Pete Souza – Photo of POTUS today w members of 1963 Loyola Ramblers, NCAA men’s basketball champs, who helped integrate the sport
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Elise Viebeck: Senate Democrats on Thursday defeated a series of Appropriations panel amendments designed to foil the implementation of ObamaCare. The victory for Dems came as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) threatened to reject any bill to fund the government unless it defunds the healthcare law.
With the congressional budget process at a stalemate, the remarks from Rubio signal what could become another showdown over funding for the Affordable Care Act. The health appropriations bill that advanced in committee Thursday provides more than $5 billion to the agency charged with overseeing healthcare reform. Amendments offered by the GOP would have delayed the employer and individual mandates, rescinded funds for the insurance exchanges and the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), and stopped the exchanges if technical glitches or other problems came up before Oct. 1.
More here
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Russell Berman: Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday said “a vast majority” of House Republicans want to deal with immigration reform but, it wasn’t clear if legislation that includes a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants could pass the House. Boehner spoke at a press conference a day after he convened a special conference meeting to discuss the party’s approach to President Obama’s top domestic priority.
The pivotal question for the conservative House GOP is whether a majority of its members could back eventual citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants — a central demand of Obama and congressional Democrats. “Well, we’re going to find out,” Boehner said. “But it’s clear from the conversation yesterday that members do believe, that a vast majority of our members, do believe that we need to wrestle with this problem.
More here
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Alexander Bolton: Democrats moved closer Thursday to triggering the nuclear option to change the Senate’s rules after holding a lengthy meeting to discuss President Obama’s stalled nominees. Democratic leaders on Thursday afternoon spoke out in favor of changing the rules and urged their colleagues to support them, according to senators who attended the meeting. The decision on whether to proceed with the controversial tactic depends on how votes on stalled nominees play out next week. Only Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and his deputies know the whip count, and they have kept it secret.
More here
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216 House Republicans vote yes on a bill that includes no food stamps, keeping the "A" rating with the firm of Scrooge and Marley.
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(@LOLGOP) July 11, 2013****
Washington Post: House Republicans successfully passed a Farm Bill Thursday by splitting apart funding for food stamps from federal agricultural policy, a move that infuriated the White House and congressional Democrats who spent most of the day trying to delay a final vote.
Lawmakers voted 216 to 208 make changes to federal agricultural policy and conservation programs and end direct subsidy payments to farmers. But the measure says nothing about funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, which historically constitutes about 80 percent of the funding in a Farm Bill.
More here
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Tara Culp-Ressler: Not satisfied with their efforts to force through stringent abortion restrictions by attaching them to an anti-Sharia bill, Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are trying again. This time, without providing any public notice, they have quietly inserted anti-abortion amendments into a measure about motorcycle safety. House Republicans have tweaked SB 353 — a transportation measure that was approved by the Senate in April — to include most of the same abortion restrictions they attached to the anti-Sharia bill last week. Now, in addition to changing safety standards for motorcycle riders, the legislation would also place burdensome regulations on abortion clinics that could force many of them to close their doors.
More here
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Welcome To Hell. This Is What The GOP Wants For Women
Joseph Diebold: While media coverage of the ongoing debate on a bill to restrict the ability of women in Texas to get abortions has centered around a provision banning abortions after 20 weeks, parts of the bill that would likely reduce the number of clinics in the state from 47 to five by imposing unnecessary new regulations have gone underreported. Very few abortions actually occur after 20 weeks. But the closing of clinics would affect the ability of all Texas women to get safe, affordable abortions at any stage in their pregnancies
Texas women have turned to Cytotec, a pill used to prevent stomach ulcers, to induce abortions for much cheaper than they can be obtained at a clinic. But they are also significantly more dangerous: Bloomberg’s story centers on Erlinda Dasquez, who took a second pill after her first attempt failed, and then bled for a month.
More here
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President Obama’s America
BREAKING: U.S. posts widest monthly budget surplus since April 2008
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Bloomberg News (@BloombergNews) July 11, 2013***
Reuters: The U.S. government posted a budget surplus in June, the latest sign of rapidly improving public finances that could reduce the urgency in Congress to strike a deal to raise the nation’s limit on borrowing. Rising tax revenues, public spending cuts and big payments to the Treasury from state-backed mortgage firms helped the government take in $117 billion more last month than it paid out, the U.S. Treasury said on Thursday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a smaller surplus of $39.5 billion. June’s surplus was the largest for that month on record. An improving economy and tax hikes enacted earlier in the year led government receipts to rise to $287 billion, up 10 percent from a year earlier.
More here
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It's weird how raising the taxes on income over $400,000 a little bit helps reduce the deficit dramatically. Can someone explain why?
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(@LOLGOP) July 11, 2013****
Barack and Michelle. #ThrowbackThursday #TBT http://t.co/c64XhRVBUd
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(@FLOTUS) July 11, 2013****
Old school. #ThrowbackThursday http://t.co/tBuLOOtxCX
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Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 11, 2013****
The Obama Diary 
Alright I will. Hi.
Congratulations, derbringle.
Hello debringle! Congrats on 1rst….
The only thing that the GOP have done consistently is be insane.
I’ve never seen anything like it. Jobs, infrastructure, health care, long term economic growth? No. Imaginary problems that require a high level of stupid? Go with it.
They’ve lost their minds, plain and simple.
I have to say though that I believe one big factor is the total failure of the media to INFORM the population. How many americans have a REAL idea about the level of obstructionism by Senate republicans on presidential nominations ? How many americans are aware that the CBO has said that Obamacare would REDUCE the costs of health care in the long term ? How many americans are aware of the CBO’s analysis of the costs of immigration reform ? How many americans know that the IRS “scandal” was in fact not a scandal at all ? How many know that Darrel Issa asked for an inquiry CENTERED on the targeting of conservative groups, and wasn’t interested in knowing if the IRS had targeted liberal groups ? How many americans know that senate republicans have made almost impossible for President Obama to put judges on federal benches, and that there are now many vacancies that cause lots of delays ?
Was the health care law EXPLAINED on prime time tv ? One of the most important laws passed in the last decades ?
And on, and on, and on, and on.
I’ve watched things unfold DAILY in the last five years, and there’s one thing I’m sure of: republicans are more cynical, dishonest, selfish, crazy that they’ve ever been AND THE MEDIA LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT. If the media was doing its job and debunked all the falsehoods, propaganda that republicans are peddling EVERY SINGLE DAY, on EVERY SINGLE POLICY DEBATE, maybe republicans would see their numbers go down so badly they would be forced to stop the madness.
That being said, the Tea-Party faction of Congress is nuts, plain and simple. And ignorant. On economy, science, foreign policy. You name it. What’s sad is that they have completely highjacked the GOP.
Replying to myself: a free, strong, well functioning press is essential to democracy. When the press fails, it empowers the manipulators, the bullies, the peddlers of lies and propaganda.
What enrages me the most is that the press is concentrating its efforts against President Obama and his team, while the executive branch is BY FAR theone “Branch” that is the most competent, sane, respectful of the law, institutions, and traditions. Congress is a mess and republicans in it are making a mockery of the original intent of the founding fathers; as for the Supreme Court, its conservative faction is a joke, playing loose with law and precedent, in order to fit their ideology.
CBO Data from earlier in the week
Good to be with you today!
Right back atcha!
Senator Merkley (D-OR) is giving an excellent speech on the floor why the nuclear option should be adopted.
Well, Merkley better be careful. It was senior Dem senators who thought he was too uppity in January and decided we didn’t need no stinkin’ filibuster reform from that upstart. I hope he got the memo on what he is allowed to say.
Sometimes I confuse Merkley and Wyden. I believe Wyden is the drama queen Oregon Senator who went off the rails about the NSA.
Yes, about Wyden. Merkley was just elected and he stepped on some toes when there were some hesitant Dem’s on filibuster reform and he named them publicly so the, you know, public could put some pressure on them. Well, that wasn’t ‘respectful’ or some damn thing. And ultimately they couldn’t get the votes. barbara Boxer was one of them. I love her to pieces, but sometimes she jumps on a bandwagon and I want to throttle her. She did the same thing with ACORN, falling to RW b.s.
I still think Reid as Leader should have pulled it together; but from his statements at the time we was pretty much just blowing smoke anyway. He never wanted the robust reform that the rest of us wanted. It’s heartening to hear Merkley say what I’ve been screaming since Harry blew it two years earlier: ‘respect’ for the Senate? If we do it to them they’ll do it to us?’ THEY ARE GOING TO DO IT TO US if they ever get power back, God forbid. They will shred the filibuster. Merkley tweeted this today.
It should have been adopted way back when the Repubs started acting crazy. Hope Reid toughens up and gets it done.
From what I understand the entire Senate is going to have a closed meeting Monday in the Old Senate Chamber to discuss it. If today is an example the Republicans will be doing a lot of crying.
Reid was whining that Monday was a bad day because many in his caucus travel on Monday and might have trouble making the meeting. The Turtle says the nuclear option will destroy the Senate but his people cannot change their travel plans to discuss it.
Here’s a trip down memory lane for me with the First Family when they visited Ghana on this day in 2009.
Pleasant memories. I was in Ghana when the First Family visited. I snagged a ticket to go listen to PBO’s brilliant speech to parliament.
I wrote 2 diaries on DAilykos (when the site was still sane). Here are the links if you want to check them out:
Part 1: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/07/08/751233/-From-Ghana-Pres-Obama-s-Upcoming-visit-Part-1
Part 2: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/07/13/752781/-From-Ghana-Analysis-of-Obama-Visit-Part-2
This is the speech I was fortunate to be present for. Shook his hand after the speech. Everyone was thrilled
Ut–You are busting it out on all levels today. So much news, so many good sources–it’s like a never ending basket of goodies. Thank you for all of this work. You are truly phenomenal.
Thank you so much Jackie and thank you for the feedback. Glad you’re enjoying my contributions to TOD. 😀
Pres. Obama’s America.
GOP maggots……… glad you passed a bill that wont see the light of day.
If only the media would get it right:
If we didn’t learn our lesson in 2010, we will just repeat it again in 2014. If we give a dam about the people in this country, we better come out and vote in 2014, we can’t let these sick ass racists Republicans gather more power.
Exactly. Totally agree!
Wow. Without a single Dem vote. That says it all.
It says we to win some more seats in the House, so this mess will cease!
So cute.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/in-rural-tennessee-a-new-way-to-help-hungry-children-a-bus-turned-bread-truck/2013/07/06/c93c5eec-e292-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html
Must Read
Comment from this article:
kilroy238
7/6/2013 6:17 PM MST
To bad a large segment of our population only cares about kids before they are born. After they are born the are just parasites stealing from people by accepting tax dollars and come from parents who “shouldn’t have kids if they can’t afford them.”
That kind of logic could be laughable if the situation wasn’t so dire. Banks get bailouts they laugh about, big oil gets tax breaks and the people go hungry. What happened to America? Have our priorities always been this screwed up or was I just blinded growing up by the main stream media always talking about the land of the free and home of the brave.
Desperation had become their permanent state, defining each of their lives in different ways. For Courtney, it meant she had stayed rail thin, with hand-me-down jeans that fell low on her hips. For Taylor, 14, it meant stockpiling calories whenever food was available, ingesting enough processed sugar and salt to bring on a doctor’s lecture about obesity and early-onset diabetes, the most common risks of a food-stamp diet. For Anthony, 9, it meant moving out of the trailer and usually living at his grandparents’ farm. For Hannah, 7, it meant her report card had been sent home with a handwritten note of the teacher’s concerns, one of which read: “Easily distracted by other people eating.” For Sarah, the 9-month-old baby, it meant sometimes being fed Mountain Dew out of the can after she finished her formula, a dose of caffeine that kept her up at night.
And for Jennifer, their mother, 32, desperation time meant the most stressful part of her day began when she arrived home at 6 p.m., after another 12-hour shift as a cook at a nursing home.
“I’m back,” she said now, dropping her keys onto the floor of the trailer, collapsing onto the couch.
I shared this on FB couple days ago. That area is not far from Knoxville. It’s in-between Knoxville and where I grew up in the mountains of northeast TN. Believe me, in the area where I grew up there’s the exact same poverty.
There really are callous people in this world. Some in the beltway press don’t seem to understand that millions will suffer without SNAP aid. This is not a joke. The callous indifference towards a fellow human being is the sickness of a so called civilized society.
UT, they just..don’t..care because they are well fed themselves and thinking about anyone else is completely foreign to them. I hope this farm bill gets stopped COLD in the Senate and vetoed by the White House.
Sigh! Can we hurry up and get to 2014 already? I’m so sick of these bastards!!
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/gohmert-repeatedly-shouts-objection-silence-
Gohmert Repeatedly Shouts ‘Objection!’ to Silence Claims Food Stamp Cuts Hurt Hungry Families
Every Dem in the House should have shouted him down. That’s why I couldn’t be a politician.
Me neither pk. I couldn’t do it. I try to keep violent thoughts out of my head, but good golly they TEST me and I don’t even work with ’em day in and day out. Ugh!
Senator Hatch while giving a speech against the nuclear option switched in midstream to bashing the ACA. He is in McCain territory.
I’m beginning to wonder if President Obama will be forced to address the nation on the political gridlock. The “fever” hasn’t broken, it has gotten worse.
That Horsey cartoon from the LA Times is hilarious! I was absolutely sure that the Repubs would be smart enough to pass immigration reform given the fact that they need more of the Latino vote to get one of their idiots into the White House. But, oh no. They’re letting T’Baggers run the asylum. Good luck to them in 2016. There aren’t enough White voters to put Santorum/Gingrich, etc., in the White House.
https://twitter.com/Dudette9t9/status/355441177815838720
Quite the track record, these conservatives have, eh?
Quite. Should be on everyone of THEIR tombstones….. just sayin’
Fixed it
If The Republicans like the CBO score so much, they should have loved obamacare and the Senate immigration bill?
This is just an excuse to not pass anything!
Awesome Sauce!!!!
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2013/07/11/the-richmonder-sources-confirm-va-gov-bob-ultrasound-mcdonnell-negotiating-resignation/
More here: http://www.the-richmonder.com/2013/07/sources-confirm-mcdonnell-negotiating.html?spref=tw
The irony is palpable–accused of influence peddling, the McDonnells are attempting to barter their way to freedom with the very office they are accused of having used to solicit gifts from Jonnie Williams and Star Scientific.
Confirmation of this story also explains the sudden shift in position of Virginia’s Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Last week, Ken Cuccinelli claimed he was unaware of the investigation of Bob McDonnell. This past Monday he claimed the investigation was “not related to me.” Today, Wednesday July 10, 2013, Ken Cuccinelli attempted to take credit for the investigation.*
If this turns out, it would be “one down” and many, many more to go.
Hey Ms. O’Boomer. Rachel has been relentless with this story the last two nights. she even brought Kuchinella in it last night. 🙂 I detest both of these hypocrites.
Hope that turns out to be true. He’s put Palin to shame in the grifting department, in addition to his creepy insistence on trans vaginal probes. Bye bye, stupid guy.
Well that’ll just shift another one into the seat until the next election.
Only recent news I recall about Lt. Gov Bill Bolling is he’s not running for re-election.
Then check out who’s waiting in the wings as their nominee. [sigh!]
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/bill-bolling-gop-picks-remarks-indefensible-91640.html
And as someone noticed, Blago is serving a 13 year sentence for just talking about the quid pro quo —-not one penny ever changed hands–that McDonnell has actually done. Blago’s sentence still sickens me. A railroad job by Fitzgerald.
Can’t wait for the crooked Republican governors to all go down! Prison time is too good for them.
The article sad if McDonnell resigned he would not be charged. I am not a lawyer, but I do not see how that is legal. I do not remember Blago having that choice.
Yes….he was asked to resign. He didn’t.
McDonnell attended Pat Robertson’s law school when he was in his 30’s. He wrote a paper saying a woman’s place was at home and they should not work. That might have been a factor why he was not chosen.
Whadduya mean? That would’ve fit right in with their platform.
I tend to think it something more basic like they just didn’t like each other all that well. Ryan was the brash young upstart who you can tell is Grade A brown-noser – probably threw out that “I have some much to learn from you Mitt” vibe. McDonnell wears the slick con man persona too well.
…so much to learn
Loyola guys look really nice, don’t they? And I don’t mean their attire, which is also nice. I mean nice, as in, nice. I love that some of these great historic moments and those who helped to bring about change are getting special recognition now——at this WH.
Folks I fear we are on the brink of a Egyptian style revolution in this country. One that will somehow be blamed on PBO. Hunger, homelessness, and hopelessness will causes a lot of folks to go Postal with a wtf attitude. People with nothing left to lose are very dangerous.
Certainly of worry yardarm! especially with the atrocious number of guns out there!
You know it. It’s gonna get real heavy when flash mob’s start rushing gated communities just to get food. It’s gonna be something like a scene from ‘Soylant Green’ or ‘1984’.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/07/11/2289611/democrats-can-thank-five-republican-judges-for-making-filibuster-reform-possible/
Ironic
Ok, McKay Coppins’ tweet did one good thing: it got me writing an essay. So to all blog tyrants: I have a post ready to go for when this one becomes full.
Go get ’em LL! 🙂
Gauntlet received.
New post: http://theobamadiary.com/2013/07/11/and-herein-lieth-the-problem/
Good Evening TODbots.
07-11-13 Jay “Clark Kent” Carney’s WH Press Briefings.
I have just pulled it up from the WH.govYoutube Channel. I have Not listened to it. It is currently playing in the background.