The media is constantly beating the drum that Americans have ” short memories ” at the same time they drone on about every single scandal or misspeak in the past 100 years.
On a fine Sunday morning, I’d like to first say that I support President Obama and Vice President Biden – fully and lovingly! I’ll read this fine post, next.
Yuck. Just watched my recording of CBS Sunday Morning, where Bob “Judas” Gates talked about his book “Duty” – which should be called “Betrayal and Fall.”
Because CBS had interviewed him before the last few days of outrage, they did a second interview at the end of the piece. Gates was wearing a neck brace from “a fall” – his second fall, in my opinion. The first was a fall from grace, a falling reputation, and his representation of himself as a bitter, “seething,” jealous, too-emotional-for-the-job former government worker that I’m guessing people at the Pentagon were glad to see go.
Nobody will remember anything much Gates did that could be called good, at this point; they’ll just remember how – for what everybody’s calling “the first time ever” – he tried to belittle and besmirch a sitting President, all to make himself stand out. Our President, Barack Obama, and a sitting Vice President, Joe Biden, were his biggest targets.
One of the reasons Gates said he left the job was that every time he thought about or talked about our servicemen and women at the end, he’d get choked up. Well, I get choked up thinking about them, too, but if I couldn’t man up and strategize and work on military tactics with the men and women in uniform, and give my President strong, well-thought-out advice, I would have quit long before you did, Gates. Burnout, especially in that type of job, would be understandable. Apparently, you now seek to blame others for your burnout – not just the fact that you had reached your limit of competency and resilience.
The country has also grieved for what our military was sent – by Bush – to do, how it impacted each and every one of them, but – for God’s sake – if you can’t do the job of Defense Secretary without choking up, then you don’t have the intestinal fortitude to do it and you stayed too long at the parade.
Gates, I hope you cry yourself to sleep at night, now, knowing that when YOU were called to the test – and your only test was to give your best, seasoned, strong advice to our President, while measuring what was best for our country, our military, and the taxpayers, and then to keep your mouth shut about it – you fell down on the job. You’re a footnote, now, and you could have remained a player. I hope we don’t see the likes of you on TV or at a bookstore near us, any time soon.
Just mentioned in the last post while a new post was happening that the politicians and presidents have been following the military leaders advice for so long that it became custom. Eisenhower warned us about letting the military complex become too strong. JFK learned to distrust military advise after disastrous results. I am happy to learn that both PBO and our VP have been skeptical all along. I am disheartened to see that Clinton was undermining our President with the military leaders. Gates book may be gaged to bolster HRC support but she has lost mine. Wish Biden or Kerry could win.
I have never been a supporter of Hillary Clinton. As much as I would love to see a woman President in my lifetime, I hope it isn’t her. Martin O’Malley has my full support should he decide to run.
Ms. LeTourneau had a very interesting article about this. She’s not addressing the fact that Gates wrote this book, but the fact that one reason President Obama may have decided to keep him on is that their strategies in this area were very similar – that Gates had been promoting this strategy to Pres. Bush. So he started out, anyway, in PBO’s corner. The fact that Pres. Obama rethought the strategy only redounds to his credit in my book.
“Its true that President Obama has always wanted to emulate Lincoln’s “team of rivals.” And that likely influenced his decision to keep Gates on as Secretary of Defense. But its also clear that Gates was brought into the Bush administration to basically implement the same strategy Obama had embraced on these two wars. I’m sure that continuity of that strategy played a large role in his decision. That doesn’t do much to feed the partisan battles that dominate our discourse. But its history nonetheless.”
Very we’ll stated, Jacq! As the Sec Defence during America’s longest war, presiding over record suicides and burnout, plus record numbers of brain injuries, one would think Gates could have used better judgement with his actions. No point getting “choked up” thinking about troops in their 11th year of war, and then causing confusion by being disloyal to the sitting Commander in Chief – for money… His disloyalty stings. Typical Republican.
I felt that! Typical Republican. I’m just doing a slow burn because what if he choked up – as their leader – in front of the troops, the same BRAVE troops who are away from their families fighting unnecessary battles, some of them young and choking back their own tears? There’s a time for empathy, and a time for leadership. Sickening.
Well said, JOB. The truth is that all these very incidental players will be lucky if they even end up as footnotes. The towering figure of our time is our president–a visionary and charismatic leader who is also one of the most brilliant to ever hold that office. Gates’ book will be in remainder piles soon and then used as pulp in recycling. He’s a small man with a tiny vision who was unworthy of the office he was called to fill. The president must have realized he was dealing with an inferior player and “tolerated” him until he left. The only positive thing here is that Gates wasn’t smart enough or stupid enough to deliberately sabotage the president while serving as SOD, as I think other more Machiavellian SODs in our history would have been, so the damage he did was limited. His name is not well known outside of the beltway and his petty attacks won’t affect anything, but his own sad reputation.
I hear you. Those two or any of the 15 Dems have a different ulterior motives, yet sadly sinister than the TBGOPers. I am not excusing them. For if they succeed, the result is Hellish for Us All.
Linda, we not only can’t forget about them, we have to hound them to hell. Hit the phones, twitter, fax, and e-mail starting Monday. They have to know we’re watching and we are angry.
And now Please STFU, Sen. Booker. STFU Sen. Schumer. STFU Sen. Gillibrand. STFU Sen. Menendez. . Giant STFU to the rest of this war-mongering sorry bunch.
Also STFU to Sen Reid (D) Nev and Sen. Reed (D) RI. with your stated attempt to restore the cuts that will hurt 57,000 Head Start kids.
Dems, if you cannot help POTUS’ agenda, then you need to sit down and STFU.
Maybe someone might want to send this statement over to Senator Booker’s office so he can read it once he comes back from rescuing some cat that’s stuck in some tree somewhere in New Jersey.
Dotser, I want this man to run for president in 2016. I want him to speak truths and let everyone see that it’s possible to lead and get things done in this country at the state level without selling your soul or acting like a horse’s ass.
Senate Dems say they have enough votes to override a veto. How proud they must be to scuttle peace and diplomacy. What a great legacy for those bastards.
In a sense, he’s correct. When it comes to red states, the media’s coverage of disasters and crisis is appalling. People can snark all they want, it’s their right and yes, West Virginians might have been better served pushing for regulations, but 300,000 people are suffering and the TV coverage is abysmal.
This is the time to put issues like this front and center on TV news, talk about regulations, talk about the gross negligence of Freedom Industries, talk about the human cost, shame politicians who cower from coal industries and allow them to wreck peoples lives. Yet, there’s been nary a peep from national TV.
If hundreds of thousands of people in New Jersey didn't have clean drinking water, it would get a lot more coverage. #WVA
Information is POWER. Those who Control what the Masses get Control how the very same Folks behave politically. That is why there are stark differences on how certain regions behave in US.
Couldn’t figure out why Kristen Gillibrand was on that list of Dems willing to undermine Kerry’s diplomatic efforts (now seemingly successful) in Iran. Most were the usual suspects for the usual MIC/AIPAC reasons. I see Gillibrand’s father is a Republican lobbyist and she began her political career interning with Repub. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato. And I was hoping she had moved beyond her blue dog early days, but no— she has revealed herself. I know she has presidential ambitions, but no thanks.
So the endorsement retaliation is a red herring?? Another theory from Steve Kornacki.
Important new developments in New Jersey’s ‘bridgegate’ scandal
—————————————————
Steve Kornacki shares new information about why the “bridgegate” scandal in New Jersey is much bigger than a traffic jam. He explains how the political and economic ramifications of a massive redevelopment project in Fort Lee could have been related to the George Washington Bridge closures.
I think Kornacki is right on this. “Hudson Lights” is a multi billion dollar commercial and residential enterprise.
I guess Christie’s team wasn’t satisfied with their cut.
Yes, I think SK is on to something. The background that he provides for his theory makes sense and is very plausible. It never added up that the lane closures were retaliation for not getting an endorsement from the mayor. We shall see how this develops in the coming days.
Linda – there were many than one on Friday – mainly people involved with the Port Authority – I guess you are talking about people closer to Gov Christie – could have been mass deletions from some private email accounts
Excellent day to start too. The day our nation celebrates the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King would be proud of PBO’s attempts at peace and nuclear disarmament.
Max Blumenthal talks about the political shift in Israel since the collapse of the Oslo peace process in 2001. He argues that the government of Israel has moved increasingly to the right, making peace with the Palestinians an even more distant possibility than it was a decade ago.
He also talks about the ethnic cleansing that is going on.
My aunt was in her 90s, had her own home and enough to eat, and even a family nearby to help, but she insisted on living alone in her home (where she’d been since she got married in 1939) and her son was worried about her cooking without supervision. His wife got her hooked up with her town’s Meals On Wheels, so she wouldn’t have to go near the stove and possibly burn herself, etc. She felt like a queen having her meals cooked and delivered (too much food for her, actually), plus the volunteers were like company to her. She eventually had to go into assisted living (I remember her calling me saying, “Jackie, it’s like a five-star hotel here! They even pick up my laundry!” Ha!), but she never forgot the beauty of Meals On Wheels.
If every $1 spent on Meals on Wheels saves $50 in #Medicare costs, what kind of idiot would cut Meals on Wheels? On yeah. Paul Ryan.
I had the exact opposite experience with my mother in law…..she was more like Tony Soprano’s mother in the nursing home…..she fought with everyone…..they called me almost daily about her antics.
I’ve heard of women like that at the nursing homes! My friend experienced similar daily phone calls about her mom.
Me? I want to have enough money to live in an actual hotel instead of a nursing home, and just drive the concierge crazy! And meet my friends in the hotel bar every night. And my friends say they’ll go!
Aw, thanks. I was. My mother was 8 years younger and had to keep trying to bring her older sister into the current day, since my mother was out and about and raised three daughters, etc., and my aunt was stuck in the ’70s. Ha. She was still sending me cards that read “Happy Valentine’s Day to a Dear Goddaughter” when I was in my 20s, until my mother “spoke” to her about it. I miss both of them!
I’m glad to see President Obama saying he will veto legislation that ramps up sanctions. No mincing of words.
I emailed my 2 Maryland Senators about this: According to the website linked from dailykos, Cardin is with AIPAC and favors more sanctions, Mikulski is against them. I thanked her, asked him to change his position.
Elly, I emailed Ben Cardin, too. I told him not to count on my vote since he finds it necessary to stab PBO in the back. I will work to unseat him when he comes up for re-election. I am so disgusted with him. I tweeted DCCC, The Democrats and MoveOn (although I am by no means a fan of moveon), but we need to push back against Cory Booker, Ben Cardin and others who signed on to the Menendez bill.
this quotation is from a letter asking for folks to call mikulski and ask her to sign on for more sanctions:
‘ Mikulski has been one of the most contested votes still up for grabs in the fight over the Iran sanctions bill introduced by Senators Kirk and Menendez. She has the target of an email campaign from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which sent out an action alert on Friday asking members to call her office and ask her to vote for the bill. ‘
the online ‘maui news’ has a short piece about a jet waiting for the first lady at the kahului airport, dated yesterday. does anyone know if mrs obama has returned to d.c.?
When people say there would be no difference between a President Obama and a President Clinton, I bring up the following:
1. There would be NO ACA under President Clinton.
2. We would have gone into Libya under President Clinton.
3. We would have gone into Syria under President Clinton.
4. Osama Bin Laden would still be chilling in Pakistan.
5. We’d be on our way to war with Iran under President Clinton.
based on the events for the week ahead that UT highlighted in the R&S, it seems FLOTUS is getting (or is already) back in town in time for the education event with POTUS
Tea Party Seeks To Replace House Leader Eric Cantor With Even More Extreme Candidate
Author: Stephen D. Foster Jr. January 11, 2014 1:46 am
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is often seen as the real hand of power among House Republicans in Congress. If it’s a choice between Cantor and Speaker John Boehner, the Tea Party caucus would rather follow Cantor. That may be true in the House, but the Tea Party itself would love nothing more than to replace Eric Cantor in 2014.
The Tea Party intends to challenge Eric Cantor in a primary with their strongest candidate yet.
Apparently, Eric Cantor isn’t an insane enough of a conservative for the Tea Party. That why they intend to run a candidate against him in a primary this year in Virginia. David Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College, seeks to unseat the long-time Virginia congressman.
“I want to be Eric Cantor’s term-limit,” Brat told the National Review. Adding weight to his candidacy, Brat has been meeting with some “big as they get” right-wing groups about supporting his campaign financially. If he manages to get such funding, Brat could be the biggest threat to Cantor’s career yet. “I think it’s safe to say it will definitely rattle some cages when it comes out,” Brat says of the potential donors. But why do the Tea Party and David Brat want to kick Cantor out of the House?
Bureau of Prison’s Universal Children’s Day – December 06, 2013
This past weekend, the Bureau of Prisons held its first ever
Universal Children’s Day, a visiting event for inmates and their
families.[….] With more than 123,000 federal inmates who have children under the age of twenty-one, BOP is committed to giving inmates opportunities to enhance their relationship with their children and their role as parents. There is no substitute for looking your children in the eye and letting them know you care about them. I was pleased by the large number of children that were able to visit with their incarcerated parents.
Nearly 8,500 children visited more than 4,000 federal inmates during this special weekend. Our institutions across the country collaborated with their local communities to make the event a tremendous success and many featured activities such as storytelling, face painting, parenting workshops, family worship services and holiday-themed arts and crafts.[….] For some inmates this was the first time they read a book to their child or drew a picture together. My hope is that this is just the beginning, for many mothers and fathers, of a sustained journey back into the lives of their children and their roles as parents.[…]
What a great idea! Thank you, Rikyrah. When parents are put in prison at the rate they are in the US, it’s the children who suffer the most. It’ heartbreaking to be separated from a mom or dad you love when you’re little and need them the most. This is such a good step in the right direction.
These are the 15 Democratic saboteurs and chickenhawks attempting to undermine President Obama and Secretary Kerry’s diplomacy efforts regarding Iran. Email and call them. Over and over. Publish these names on other blogs. They are trying to push us to a war with Iran at the behest of Israeli conservatives. They are NOT working in the best interest of America.
Sen. Robert Menendez
Sen. Mark Begich
Sen. Richard Blumenthal
Sen. Cory Booker
Sen. Ben Cardin
Sen. Bob Casey
Sen. Chris Coons
Sen. Joe Donnelly
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
Sen. Kay Hagan
Sen. Mary Landrieu
Sen. Joe Manchin
Sen. Mark Pryor
Sen. Charles Schumer
Sen. Mark Warner
Sabreen, I hope this group is hauled to the WH and made to feel shame for their betrayal. Biden needs to take Chris Coons to the woodshed and anyone of us who has one of these turncoats for a senator has to get on his/her case. I’m sick of these war-mongering cowards. For the first time since he was elected I am today literally ashamed of Bob Casey.
oh my Africa, every time I see this picture I get just this wave of emotion that goes through me. How someone can do this to another human being just leaves me speechless. Mental suffering of being tortured aside, the physical scars had to have caused this man great pain all of his life.
Dems are crowing that the bill is veto proof. Dems choosing aipac over the most comprehensive diplomatic success in 40 years. I cannot fully express my outrage.
Important new developments in New Jersey’s ‘bridgegate’ scandal
Steve Kornacki shares new information about why the “bridgegate” scandal in New Jersey is much bigger than a traffic jam. He explains how the political and economic ramifications of a massive redevelopment project in Fort Lee could have been related to the George Washington Bridge closures.
Obama White House.gov
The Obama Diary 
It said “leave a comment” but I doubt I’m first.
ha! Look at you! first and everything! 😀
Woohoo! Don’t believe it! All those sprinters must be off having a Sunday afternoon doze!
😀 😀
😳 pushed enter too soon! 😉 ‘All those sprinters must be’ …….
…………… cleaning their running shoes, or checking out the competition.
Ha! Look waaaaay downthread for my reply, VC! How’s that for speedy?! 😉
Did you have a good nap, vc? 😉 I was surprised – I’m not usually moving that quickly on a Sunday!
I am as allergic to naps as I am to sleep, Maryl! 😉 However, as you all know, I’m not allergic to moving slowly while my battery is being recharged.
Congrats Mary!
Peace, Not War.
1001% in agreement with POTUS.
Maryl1 Gold suits you. Congrats.
My mother always said that!
The media is constantly beating the drum that Americans have ” short memories ” at the same time they drone on about every single scandal or misspeak in the past 100 years.
Not Only that Peace is Much More Possible with Iran…….. 😉
The Deficit is Going Down and our Economy is getting better and More people are getting Health Care.
I Like this Pres Obama.
Just what I needed to watch, after watching a political show this morning. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I so loveeeeeeeeeeeee this!!!!!!!!
On a fine Sunday morning, I’d like to first say that I support President Obama and Vice President Biden – fully and lovingly! I’ll read this fine post, next.
Yuck. Just watched my recording of CBS Sunday Morning, where Bob “Judas” Gates talked about his book “Duty” – which should be called “Betrayal and Fall.”
Because CBS had interviewed him before the last few days of outrage, they did a second interview at the end of the piece. Gates was wearing a neck brace from “a fall” – his second fall, in my opinion. The first was a fall from grace, a falling reputation, and his representation of himself as a bitter, “seething,” jealous, too-emotional-for-the-job former government worker that I’m guessing people at the Pentagon were glad to see go.
Nobody will remember anything much Gates did that could be called good, at this point; they’ll just remember how – for what everybody’s calling “the first time ever” – he tried to belittle and besmirch a sitting President, all to make himself stand out. Our President, Barack Obama, and a sitting Vice President, Joe Biden, were his biggest targets.
One of the reasons Gates said he left the job was that every time he thought about or talked about our servicemen and women at the end, he’d get choked up. Well, I get choked up thinking about them, too, but if I couldn’t man up and strategize and work on military tactics with the men and women in uniform, and give my President strong, well-thought-out advice, I would have quit long before you did, Gates. Burnout, especially in that type of job, would be understandable. Apparently, you now seek to blame others for your burnout – not just the fact that you had reached your limit of competency and resilience.
The country has also grieved for what our military was sent – by Bush – to do, how it impacted each and every one of them, but – for God’s sake – if you can’t do the job of Defense Secretary without choking up, then you don’t have the intestinal fortitude to do it and you stayed too long at the parade.
Gates, I hope you cry yourself to sleep at night, now, knowing that when YOU were called to the test – and your only test was to give your best, seasoned, strong advice to our President, while measuring what was best for our country, our military, and the taxpayers, and then to keep your mouth shut about it – you fell down on the job. You’re a footnote, now, and you could have remained a player. I hope we don’t see the likes of you on TV or at a bookstore near us, any time soon.
His criticism that POTUS didn’t trust the Military Brass the same group that was undermining him in the press?
CIC is Pres Obama’s Job. The Brass when asked do a presentation. CIC decides, period.
POTUS ran on stopping wars. So Gates can go on locking himself In or Out. Most Americans would Not care.
Just mentioned in the last post while a new post was happening that the politicians and presidents have been following the military leaders advice for so long that it became custom. Eisenhower warned us about letting the military complex become too strong. JFK learned to distrust military advise after disastrous results. I am happy to learn that both PBO and our VP have been skeptical all along. I am disheartened to see that Clinton was undermining our President with the military leaders. Gates book may be gaged to bolster HRC support but she has lost mine. Wish Biden or Kerry could win.
I have never been a supporter of Hillary Clinton. As much as I would love to see a woman President in my lifetime, I hope it isn’t her. Martin O’Malley has my full support should he decide to run.
I agree 100 %…..
Ms. LeTourneau had a very interesting article about this. She’s not addressing the fact that Gates wrote this book, but the fact that one reason President Obama may have decided to keep him on is that their strategies in this area were very similar – that Gates had been promoting this strategy to Pres. Bush. So he started out, anyway, in PBO’s corner. The fact that Pres. Obama rethought the strategy only redounds to his credit in my book.
“Its true that President Obama has always wanted to emulate Lincoln’s “team of rivals.” And that likely influenced his decision to keep Gates on as Secretary of Defense. But its also clear that Gates was brought into the Bush administration to basically implement the same strategy Obama had embraced on these two wars. I’m sure that continuity of that strategy played a large role in his decision. That doesn’t do much to feed the partisan battles that dominate our discourse. But its history nonetheless.”
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2014/01/history-is-much-more-nuanced-than.html
Very we’ll stated, Jacq! As the Sec Defence during America’s longest war, presiding over record suicides and burnout, plus record numbers of brain injuries, one would think Gates could have used better judgement with his actions. No point getting “choked up” thinking about troops in their 11th year of war, and then causing confusion by being disloyal to the sitting Commander in Chief – for money… His disloyalty stings. Typical Republican.
*His disloyalty stings*
I felt that! Typical Republican. I’m just doing a slow burn because what if he choked up – as their leader – in front of the troops, the same BRAVE troops who are away from their families fighting unnecessary battles, some of them young and choking back their own tears? There’s a time for empathy, and a time for leadership. Sickening.
Well said, JOB. The truth is that all these very incidental players will be lucky if they even end up as footnotes. The towering figure of our time is our president–a visionary and charismatic leader who is also one of the most brilliant to ever hold that office. Gates’ book will be in remainder piles soon and then used as pulp in recycling. He’s a small man with a tiny vision who was unworthy of the office he was called to fill. The president must have realized he was dealing with an inferior player and “tolerated” him until he left. The only positive thing here is that Gates wasn’t smart enough or stupid enough to deliberately sabotage the president while serving as SOD, as I think other more Machiavellian SODs in our history would have been, so the damage he did was limited. His name is not well known outside of the beltway and his petty attacks won’t affect anything, but his own sad reputation.
PBO: *The towering figure of our time*
Gates’ book: *and then used as pulp in recycling*
Gates: “a small man with a tiny vision*
I’d buy the book you would write about it, jackieG! Gates said he moved to the Seattle area to get as far away from D.C. as possible. I say good.
Pres. Obama: Iran to implement nuclear agreement beginning Jan. 20; warns he will veto any legislation enacting new sanctions on Iran.
Damn!!!!!
says the industrial military complex.
McCain, Lindsey and Fox are just weeping uncontrollable. I Love it.
Don’t forget about the turncoat Dems……especially Menendez and Schumer
I hear you. Those two or any of the 15 Dems have a different ulterior motives, yet sadly sinister than the TBGOPers. I am not excusing them. For if they succeed, the result is Hellish for Us All.
Linda, we not only can’t forget about them, we have to hound them to hell. Hit the phones, twitter, fax, and e-mail starting Monday. They have to know we’re watching and we are angry.
10 Democratic Committee Chairs Warn Menendez’s Iran Sanction Bill Could Blow Up Negotiations
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/19/iran-sanctions_n_4475204.html
And now Please STFU, Sen. Booker. STFU Sen. Schumer. STFU Sen. Gillibrand. STFU Sen. Menendez. . Giant STFU to the rest of this war-mongering sorry bunch.
Also STFU to Sen Reid (D) Nev and Sen. Reed (D) RI. with your stated attempt to restore the cuts that will hurt 57,000 Head Start kids.
Dems, if you cannot help POTUS’ agenda, then you need to sit down and STFU.
^^^THIS!
Maybe someone might want to send this statement over to Senator Booker’s office so he can read it once he comes back from rescuing some cat that’s stuck in some tree somewhere in New Jersey.
Yes, let’s hear more. I like this guy. Let’s get the ball rollin’. “Thoughtful and sensible”——-reminds me of someone else I greatly admire.
Dotser, I want this man to run for president in 2016. I want him to speak truths and let everyone see that it’s possible to lead and get things done in this country at the state level without selling your soul or acting like a horse’s ass.
Well put.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/obama-veto-threat-iran-sanctions
Obama said in a statement that he will veto any sanctions increase on Iran proposed by Congress while negotiations are underway.
The President said that if negotiations fail, he would be open to ramping up sanctions again.
Senate Dems say they have enough votes to override a veto. How proud they must be to scuttle peace and diplomacy. What a great legacy for those bastards.
Joe Cirincione @Cirincione 16m
——————————–
BREAKING: World powers agree to implement deal that freezes/rolls back most worrisome aspects of Iran’s
nuclear program. Very good news.
———————————————-
In a sense, he’s correct. When it comes to red states, the media’s coverage of disasters and crisis is appalling. People can snark all they want, it’s their right and yes, West Virginians might have been better served pushing for regulations, but 300,000 people are suffering and the TV coverage is abysmal.
This is the time to put issues like this front and center on TV news, talk about regulations, talk about the gross negligence of Freedom Industries, talk about the human cost, shame politicians who cower from coal industries and allow them to wreck peoples lives. Yet, there’s been nary a peep from national TV.
Information is POWER. Those who Control what the Masses get Control how the very same Folks behave politically. That is why there are stark differences on how certain regions behave in US.
Couldn’t figure out why Kristen Gillibrand was on that list of Dems willing to undermine Kerry’s diplomatic efforts (now seemingly successful) in Iran. Most were the usual suspects for the usual MIC/AIPAC reasons. I see Gillibrand’s father is a Republican lobbyist and she began her political career interning with Repub. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato. And I was hoping she had moved beyond her blue dog early days, but no— she has revealed herself. I know she has presidential ambitions, but no thanks.
Yup.
A delicate dance with Iran
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_24887920/delicate-dance-iran
Only ONE person involved in Christie-gate has released their documents so far…..
We need to see all the others too .
More subpoenas will be issued this week.
So the endorsement retaliation is a red herring?? Another theory from Steve Kornacki.
Important new developments in New Jersey’s ‘bridgegate’ scandal
—————————————————
Steve Kornacki shares new information about why the “bridgegate” scandal in New Jersey is much bigger than a traffic jam. He explains how the political and economic ramifications of a massive redevelopment project in Fort Lee could have been related to the George Washington Bridge closures.
——————————————————
http://on.msnbc.com/1m1e0BL
I think Kornacki is right on this. “Hudson Lights” is a multi billion dollar commercial and residential enterprise.
I guess Christie’s team wasn’t satisfied with their cut.
Yes, I think SK is on to something. The background that he provides for his theory makes sense and is very plausible. It never added up that the lane closures were retaliation for not getting an endorsement from the mayor. We shall see how this develops in the coming days.
Linda – there were many than one on Friday – mainly people involved with the Port Authority – I guess you are talking about people closer to Gov Christie – could have been mass deletions from some private email accounts
This is hilarious.
“Polar Wind Bag, Rush Limbaugh” – 😆
Excellent day to start too. The day our nation celebrates the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King would be proud of PBO’s attempts at peace and nuclear disarmament.
Excellent news, Bob!!
Indeed, africa!!
* … give diplomacy a chance to succeed”
Or, as my generation would put it:
Beautiful. Pope Francis (like President Obama) came along at just the right time.
Fear of Lobby Keeps Dems From Praising Obama’s Iran Deal — and the Best Book on Israel in 40 Years
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/fear-of-lobby-keeps-dems-_b_4404408.html
“Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel”
Max Blumenthal
About the Program
Max Blumenthal talks about the political shift in Israel since the collapse of the Oslo peace process in 2001. He argues that the government of Israel has moved increasingly to the right, making peace with the Palestinians an even more distant possibility than it was a decade ago.
He also talks about the ethnic cleansing that is going on.
http://www.booktv.org/Program/15223/Goliath+Life+and+Loathing+in+Greater+Israel.aspx
This will be on again today at 3:45 pm …
My aunt was in her 90s, had her own home and enough to eat, and even a family nearby to help, but she insisted on living alone in her home (where she’d been since she got married in 1939) and her son was worried about her cooking without supervision. His wife got her hooked up with her town’s Meals On Wheels, so she wouldn’t have to go near the stove and possibly burn herself, etc. She felt like a queen having her meals cooked and delivered (too much food for her, actually), plus the volunteers were like company to her. She eventually had to go into assisted living (I remember her calling me saying, “Jackie, it’s like a five-star hotel here! They even pick up my laundry!” Ha!), but she never forgot the beauty of Meals On Wheels.
The company and kindness is probably even more important than the food, for some seniors. Paul Ryan’s selfish heartlessness is frightening.
Your aunt sounds like a dear lady. 😊
Thanks so much – we lost her at age 95, but she gave it a good run!
That is wonderful.
I had the exact opposite experience with my mother in law…..she was more like Tony Soprano’s mother in the nursing home…..she fought with everyone…..they called me almost daily about her antics.
I’ve heard of women like that at the nursing homes! My friend experienced similar daily phone calls about her mom.
Me? I want to have enough money to live in an actual hotel instead of a nursing home, and just drive the concierge crazy! And meet my friends in the hotel bar every night. And my friends say they’ll go!
Just like I want my “regular table” at the restaurant – the one in the corner near the window We’ll have a drink at the bar – before dinner. 🙂
Ha!
JOB, I like your aunt. You were lucky to have her in your life.
Aw, thanks. I was. My mother was 8 years younger and had to keep trying to bring her older sister into the current day, since my mother was out and about and raised three daughters, etc., and my aunt was stuck in the ’70s. Ha. She was still sending me cards that read “Happy Valentine’s Day to a Dear Goddaughter” when I was in my 20s, until my mother “spoke” to her about it. I miss both of them!
Iran agreement is a BFD!
yes it is!
#TrustBarack
Yes We Can
Six month deal with Iran “starts” on January 20th 2014, this is so nice to hear.
January 20th 2014; Dr. Martin Luther King holiday, a man of peace.
Peace, not war, is what the world needs now.
I’m glad to see President Obama saying he will veto legislation that ramps up sanctions. No mincing of words.
I emailed my 2 Maryland Senators about this: According to the website linked from dailykos, Cardin is with AIPAC and favors more sanctions, Mikulski is against them. I thanked her, asked him to change his position.
Elly, this is the kind of pressure we have to keep up. Our senators do not work for the Israeli government. They work for us.
Elly, I emailed Ben Cardin, too. I told him not to count on my vote since he finds it necessary to stab PBO in the back. I will work to unseat him when he comes up for re-election. I am so disgusted with him. I tweeted DCCC, The Democrats and MoveOn (although I am by no means a fan of moveon), but we need to push back against Cory Booker, Ben Cardin and others who signed on to the Menendez bill.
Good for you, Sabreen. These Dems take our support for granted. We have to tell them that isn’t so.
this quotation is from a letter asking for folks to call mikulski and ask her to sign on for more sanctions:
‘ Mikulski has been one of the most contested votes still up for grabs in the fight over the Iran sanctions bill introduced by Senators Kirk and Menendez. She has the target of an email campaign from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which sent out an action alert on Friday asking members to call her office and ask her to vote for the bill. ‘
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/sen-mikulski-give-the-administration-time-on-iran-sanctions
How Dishonest is CNN ?
I just saw a clip ( pre-recorded for sure ) of Christine Romans about the unemployment numbers from Friday.
She used the NOVEMBER ADJUSTED jobs numbers to compare them with the low December numbers ( which will be adjusted next month )
Ha! No sprinting here! 🙂
Well, you made it into the village, anyways. Method of arrival doesn’t count. 😉
the online ‘maui news’ has a short piece about a jet waiting for the first lady at the kahului airport, dated yesterday. does anyone know if mrs obama has returned to d.c.?
When people say there would be no difference between a President Obama and a President Clinton, I bring up the following:
1. There would be NO ACA under President Clinton.
2. We would have gone into Libya under President Clinton.
3. We would have gone into Syria under President Clinton.
4. Osama Bin Laden would still be chilling in Pakistan.
5. We’d be on our way to war with Iran under President Clinton.
No difference my ass.
Thanks for the reminder, and I totally agree.
based on the events for the week ahead that UT highlighted in the R&S, it seems FLOTUS is getting (or is already) back in town in time for the education event with POTUS
i know she’s entitled to a private life, and i’m glad her vacation was mostly off the books. and…. i’m curious about it!
X 2
We are ‘pathetic’, aren’t we? 😉
Tea Party Seeks To Replace House Leader Eric Cantor With Even More Extreme Candidate
Author: Stephen D. Foster Jr. January 11, 2014 1:46 am
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is often seen as the real hand of power among House Republicans in Congress. If it’s a choice between Cantor and Speaker John Boehner, the Tea Party caucus would rather follow Cantor. That may be true in the House, but the Tea Party itself would love nothing more than to replace Eric Cantor in 2014.
The Tea Party intends to challenge Eric Cantor in a primary with their strongest candidate yet.
Apparently, Eric Cantor isn’t an insane enough of a conservative for the Tea Party. That why they intend to run a candidate against him in a primary this year in Virginia. David Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College, seeks to unseat the long-time Virginia congressman.
“I want to be Eric Cantor’s term-limit,” Brat told the National Review. Adding weight to his candidacy, Brat has been meeting with some “big as they get” right-wing groups about supporting his campaign financially. If he manages to get such funding, Brat could be the biggest threat to Cantor’s career yet. “I think it’s safe to say it will definitely rattle some cages when it comes out,” Brat says of the potential donors. But why do the Tea Party and David Brat want to kick Cantor out of the House?
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/01/11/tea-party-wants-help-democrats-win-challenging-eric-cantor-republican-primary/
Bureau of Prison’s Universal Children’s Day – December 06, 2013
This past weekend, the Bureau of Prisons held its first ever
Universal Children’s Day, a visiting event for inmates and their
families.[….] With more than 123,000 federal inmates who have children under the age of twenty-one, BOP is committed to giving inmates opportunities to enhance their relationship with their children and their role as parents. There is no substitute for looking your children in the eye and letting them know you care about them. I was pleased by the large number of children that were able to visit with their incarcerated parents.
Nearly 8,500 children visited more than 4,000 federal inmates during this special weekend. Our institutions across the country collaborated with their local communities to make the event a tremendous success and many featured activities such as storytelling, face painting, parenting workshops, family worship services and holiday-themed arts and crafts.[….] For some inmates this was the first time they read a book to their child or drew a picture together. My hope is that this is just the beginning, for many mothers and fathers, of a sustained journey back into the lives of their children and their roles as parents.[…]
http://blogs.justice.gov/main/archives/3480
What a great idea! Thank you, Rikyrah. When parents are put in prison at the rate they are in the US, it’s the children who suffer the most. It’ heartbreaking to be separated from a mom or dad you love when you’re little and need them the most. This is such a good step in the right direction.
These are the 15 Democratic saboteurs and chickenhawks attempting to undermine President Obama and Secretary Kerry’s diplomacy efforts regarding Iran. Email and call them. Over and over. Publish these names on other blogs. They are trying to push us to a war with Iran at the behest of Israeli conservatives. They are NOT working in the best interest of America.
Sen. Robert Menendez
Sen. Mark Begich
Sen. Richard Blumenthal
Sen. Cory Booker
Sen. Ben Cardin
Sen. Bob Casey
Sen. Chris Coons
Sen. Joe Donnelly
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
Sen. Kay Hagan
Sen. Mary Landrieu
Sen. Joe Manchin
Sen. Mark Pryor
Sen. Charles Schumer
Sen. Mark Warner
Sabreen, I hope this group is hauled to the WH and made to feel shame for their betrayal. Biden needs to take Chris Coons to the woodshed and anyone of us who has one of these turncoats for a senator has to get on his/her case. I’m sick of these war-mongering cowards. For the first time since he was elected I am today literally ashamed of Bob Casey.
spreading this list as many places as I can. thank you for it
oh my Africa, every time I see this picture I get just this wave of emotion that goes through me. How someone can do this to another human being just leaves me speechless. Mental suffering of being tortured aside, the physical scars had to have caused this man great pain all of his life.
Obama will Veto new Iran Sanctions, Israel War Mandate pushed by AIPAC Senators
http://www.juancole.com/2013/12/sanctions-mandate-senators.html
As it should be!
Dems are crowing that the bill is veto proof. Dems choosing aipac over the most comprehensive diplomatic success in 40 years. I cannot fully express my outrage.
Important new developments in New Jersey’s ‘bridgegate’ scandal
Steve Kornacki shares new information about why the “bridgegate” scandal in New Jersey is much bigger than a traffic jam. He explains how the political and economic ramifications of a massive redevelopment project in Fort Lee could have been related to the George Washington Bridge closures.
http://www.msnbc.com/up/watch/important-new-developments-in-bridgegate-114674243672
I watched his show this morning. That segment sure deserves some serious thought/looking at.
New post.
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/01/12/obamacare-a-more-equitable-america/