19
Feb
14

Rise and Shine

By Chipsticks 137 Comments
Categories: All Photos and Articles

On This Day: President Obama greets supporters of all ages after a town hall meeting at Green Valley High School in Henderson, Nev., Feb. 19, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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Today (all times Eastern):

8:15 EST: President Obama departs White House

1:10: Arrives Toluca, Mexico

1:35: Greets Mexican President Nieto and begins bilateral meetings

3:45: Attends a working lunch

5:20: Participates in a walk and talk with Prime Minister Harper of Canada

5:50: Delivers remarks with President Nieto and Prime Minister Harper

6:30: Participates in the Trilateral North American Leaders Summit Meeting

8:15: Holds a press conference with President Nieto and Prime Minister Harper

9:50: Departs Mexico

2:05 AM: Arrives White House

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On White House Live today (all times EST):

1:0: Vice President Biden Speaks on Investing in Infrastructure to Create Jobs and Grow Our Economy, Granite City, IIllinois (Audio Only)

5:50: President Obama Speaks with President Nieto and Prime Minister Harper, Toluca, Mexico

8:15: President Obama, President Nieto and Prime Minister Harper Hold a Press Conference, Toluca

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President Obama walks to Marine One at the White House this morning, en route Andrews Air Force Base for his trip to Mexico

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USA Today: Obama to sign order to cut red tape for exporters

While en route to Mexico today, President Obama plans to sign an executive order that the White House says will significantly reduce the wait time for businesses exporting goods and services outside the USA.

Obama, who heads to Toluca, Mexico, on Wednesday morning for the North American Leadership Summit, will sign what the administration is calling the executive order on “streamlining the export/import process” while he’s aboard Air Force One, according to the White House.

Currently, U.S. businesses have to submit information to dozens of government agencies to move goods across the border. The process can sometimes take days.

More here

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WH.gov: Congressional Budget Office Report Finds Minimum Wage Lifts Wages for 16.5 Million Workers

The new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report finds that 16.5 million workers would get a raise from increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour and this would help millions of hard-working families, reduce poverty, and increase the overall wages going to lower-income households.

On employment, CBO’s central estimate is that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would lead to a 0.3 percent decrease in employment and CBO acknowledges that the employment impact could be essentially zero. But even these estimates do not reflect the overall consensus view of economists which is that raising the minimum wage has little or no negative effect on employment.  For example, seven Nobel Prize winners and more than 600 other economists recently stated that: “In recent years there have been important developments in the academic literature on the effect of increases in the minimum wage on employment, with the weight of evidence now showing that increases in the minimum wage have had little or no negative effect on the employment of minimum-wage workers, even during times of weakness in the labor market.”

The following are six key points from the latest CBO report….

More here

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Steve Benen: A ‘thumb on the scale’ in minimum-wage fight

Before we get into what the Congressional Budget Office said about the minimum wage yesterday, let’s pause to appreciate a broader point about the selectivity with which congressional Republicans find value in CBO reports. It offers some important context.

When the CBO says the Affordable Care Act will lower unemployment, reduce the deficit, increase wages; and bring coverage to tens of millions, the right says it doesn’t matter. When the CBO says comprehensive immigration reform will boost the economy and lower the deficit, the right says it doesn’t matter. When the CBO says extended unemployment benefits will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, the right says it doesn’t matter. When the CBO says the Recovery Act rescued the economy and ended the Great Recession, the right says it doesn’t matter.

More here

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BBC: Why is Ukraine in turmoil?

Violence has erupted in the Ukrainian capital Kiev once again, with dozens of people being killed during clashes between anti-government protesters and police.

The stand-off, which has oscillated between calm and violence for months, escalated dramatically on 18 February, with policemen being shot, and riot police moving in to clear the peaceful protest camp on Independence Square.

The stakes for Ukraine and its 45 million people are enormous, with the country’s fate now part of a wider strategic battle between the West and Russia.

More here

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Steve Benen: Obama acts again on fuel efficiency

By all appearances, President Obama would love to work with Congress on energy issues and steps intended to combat the climate crisis. But so long as the legislative process has been brought to a halt, the White House has the ability to take some steps on its own.

In a speech in Maryland, Obama took just such a step:

President Obama took another step to curb greenhouse gas pollution on Tuesday without waiting for Congress as he directed his administration to develop new regulations to reduce carbon emissions from the heavy-duty trucks that transport the nation’s goods.…

… Remember, none of this is subjected to congressional approval – there can be no filibuster or obstructionism; the policy is simply going forward thanks to executive-branch regularity authority.

More here

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ThinkProgress: Why Obama’s New Fuel Standards For Big Trucks Matter

President Obama is announcing plans on Tuesday for improved fuel-efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, which comprise four percent of registered vehicles but are responsible for nearly a quarter of fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. In 2011, the transportation sector accounted for around 28 percent of the countries’ greenhouse gases (GHGs) — only the electricity sector produces more.

This is the latest move in Obama’s recent efforts to confront climate change, and is a key component of his Climate Action Plan to reduce carbon emissions. On Friday, Obama called for Congress’s help in the matter, asking for assistance setting up a $1 billion Climate Resilience Fund. Congress has neglected to act on even simple measures to reduced GHGs, and Obama will use his announcement to again urge Congress to repeal $4 billion in subsidies granted to the oil and gas industry each year via taxpayers — which he called for in his State of the Union.

More here

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Lawrence O’Donnell’s Rewrite from last night here

2014 already a fundraising battle: Republicans, with the help of the Koch brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity, are getting a big cash advantage over Democrats in the 2014 midterm races.

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Steve Benen: After background checks were scrapped in Missouri

In recent years, advocates of gun reforms have pushed for expanded background checks, arguing that such measures, including closing the gun-show loophole, would improve public safety and reduce gun violence.

On the other end of the policy spectrum is Missouri, which had a background-check system before it was repealed in 2007. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health took a closer look at the impact on public safety in the state after the policy change, and the Washington Post’s Niraj Chokshi helped summarize the results:

The law’s repeal was correlated with a 23 percent spike in firearm homicide rates, or an additional 55 to 63 murders annually from 2008 to 2012….

More here

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ThinkProgress: 10 Dangerous Anti-Abortion Bills That Are Already Gaining Traction This Year

Less than two months into 2014, state legislatures are already busy crafting new attacks on reproductive health. The last three years have brought a record-breaking number of state-level restrictions on abortion, and lawmakers show no signs of letting up. In fact, abortion opponents in some states are simply getting more creative, using new language to ban the procedure and coming up with new ways to punish doctors. Here are the most problematic bills currently up for consideration…..

More here

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USA Today: Biden to appear on ‘The View’ to talk Obamacare

Vice President Biden is headed back to the couch of ABC’s The View. The vice president will appear on the show on Tuesday to highlight the Obama administration’s push to get uninsured Americans signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act before the March 31 deadline, the vice president’s office announced on Twitter.

Biden is also scheduled to appear during the premier week of NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers on Monday.

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Hyperallergic: President Obama Pens Personal Apology to an Art Historian

Professor Ann Collins Johns at the University of Texas at Austin was just as peeved as many people were about President Barack Obama’s knock on art history majors. So she did what any self-assured art historian would do and wrote a letter to Obama on January 31, shortly after the President’s remarks, and sent it using the White House website. Then came the surprising part: Obama responded with a handwritten note on February 12.

…. Johns wanted to make it clear that she loves Obama. “What I did NOT expect is that THE MAN HIMSELF would write me an apology. So now I’m totally guilty about wasting his time,” she wrote on her Facebook profile page.

More here

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USA Today: Clooney, Damon visit White House to screen new movie

President Obama got a visit on Tuesday night from George Clooney, Matt Damon and Bill Murray.

The Hollywood stars were among the cast and crew on hand for a screening of The Monuments Men at the White House family theater. The film tells the story of a World War II platoon that was tasked by Franklin D. Roosevelt with going into Germany to rescue masterpieces stolen by Nazis.

The movie was written and produced by Clooney, a generous donor to Obama’s political campaigns, and Grant Heslov.

More here

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Five Years Ago Today – President Obama’s First Foreign Trip:

President Obama talks with Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean after arriving in Ottawa February 19, 2009

A man carries a cardboard cutout of President Obama in front of the Parliament in Ottawa

President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper wave following an arrival celebration on Parliament Hill in Ottawa (Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama shops at a market before departing Ottawa for Washington

President Obama is welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd in Ottawa

President Obama is given a pastry before departing Ottawa (Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama boards Air Force One for the flight home in Ottawa

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MoooOOOooorning!

137 Responses to “Rise and Shine”

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  1. 1 Roberta in Mn
    February 19, 2014 at 9:31 am

    GM Chips, Danny and TODer’s. Just in for a bit and out again until evening. Have a good one. Tests all came back OK.

  2. 6 vcprezofan2
    February 19, 2014 at 9:36 am

    Morning Ms Chips! A fine round-up on a fine morning – looking good though I haven’t taste-tested yet. Off I go to dig in!

  3. 8 collegekay
    February 19, 2014 at 9:36 am

    He looks handsome. Good morning Chips. Good morning TOD.

  4. 9 Allison
    February 19, 2014 at 9:36 am

    GM Chips and TOD Family! Chips, thanks for the R&S!!

    Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

  5. 10 99ts
    February 19, 2014 at 9:38 am

    Ms Chips is early – or I am late – usually in bed before R&S – enjoy the day everyone

  6. 16 vcprezofan2
    February 19, 2014 at 9:38 am

    *groooaan* CC, you know I can never figure out CT time! You did that on purpose so I would have difficulty planning my break-away-from-TOD time today.

  7. 31 collegekay
    February 19, 2014 at 9:40 am

    Chips, this may be a slightly random question but do you work from home? I ask because I really would love to rescue a puppy. But being a young professional, I am afraid I would not be home enough to give him//her the constant attention he/she needs during the early stages of development. :-/ I read that puppies need to have frequent potty breaks during the day.

    • 32 Chipsticks
      February 19, 2014 at 9:55 am

      Hiya Collegekay, I work from home 90% of the time, so I’m very lucky, it’s made it much easier to have a dog. And usually when I’m not home someone else is, so Danny’s rarely been left on his own for longer than an hour or two. I know lots of people who do leave their dogs at home while they go out to work, often they arrange for someone to drop by to let them out for a potty break, and then they take them for a long walk when they get home. I’m not sure how other dog owners feel about that? I know it’s not ideal, but I figure there are so many dogs in need of homes, it’s a way better life than they might otherwise have.

        • 34 Chipsticks
          February 19, 2014 at 10:03 am

          Best of luck deciding Collegekay, I was in two minds for years, but finally took the Danny plunge!

        • 35 vcprezofan2
          February 19, 2014 at 10:56 am

          As the ever cautious one (and while you are still contemplating), I’ll add that expense is an important consideration in caring for a live pet. I was shocked the first time, years ago, I learned how much it cost to board a pet when a colleague was going on vacation, not to mention the cost of shampooing her, etc. etc. Maybe my friend was teasing me, but I really didn’t get that impression. As a young professional starting out, I’d say the matter of the expense for the care of a pet is worth being factored into the decision making process. [My 2cents worth]

      • 45 amk for obama
        February 19, 2014 at 10:16 am

        so Danny’s rarely been left on his own for longer than an hour or two.

        Gee, whatcouldgowrong.

        • 46 vcprezofan2
          February 19, 2014 at 10:47 am

          Aw, come on. Not much. That’s barely enough time for Danny-O to find her socks stash if they’re freshly washed and carefully hidden; you know that’s Danny’s primary interest! She closes the door; he starts searching.

    • 47 Roberta in Mn
      February 19, 2014 at 10:19 am

      The best you can do for your dog if you aren’t going to be there is start training him/her to a kennel/carrying case. I had to use a playpen with puppy pads and her carrying case inside. If nobody could be there, she just didn’t eat until I got home and drank very little water. I have never had problems with her going in the house until I was in and out of the hospital in 2012. She wasn’t happy with me or the people taking care of her. She let me know with accidents all over the place. That lasted a week. She is now 16yrs old and still can hold it for 8 hrs. Not bad, she does better than me. 🙂

    • 49 57andfemale
      February 19, 2014 at 12:35 pm

      collegekay, adopt an adult dog. There are so many advantages: usually they are already housebroken, you are sure of the size of the dog (a shout out to Chips and the thoroughbred that is Danny), you can see the personality. And most important, it’s always the cute baby puppies that get adopted and the adults languish.

      Except for one of our dogs, all of our dogs have been adult rescues. They don’t have to be older dogs (although most of ours were but that’s just how things worked out). You can find a year, year and a half year old dog who would really appreciate a loving home. It’s a special bond and a special kind of love you forge with an adult dog. It’s quite remarkable.

  8. 53 donna dem 4 obama
    February 19, 2014 at 9:41 am

    Good Morning TOD

    #BlackHistoryMonth

    Did You Know That?

    1) When MLK was six years old, his father changed the name on his birth certificate to Martin Luther King, Jr., and his own name to Martin Luther King, Sr., to pay tribute to the seminal Protestant reformer.

    2) Martin Luther King Jr. was a Trekkie – King watched the show with his family and even convinced actress Nichelle “Lt. Uhura” Nichols to stay on the show. The gifted orator reportedly told her: “You are part of history, and it’s your responsibility, even though it wasn’t your career choice.”

    3) King’s booming voice wasn’t just for orating. In 1939, he sang with the Ebenezer Baptist Church choir at the film premiere of “Gone With The Wind.”

    4) MLK Jr. was an ambitious student from the start, skipping two grades in high school and entering college as a 15-year-old freshman.

    5) When MLK Jr. married Coretta Scott in 1953, the newlyweds were not allowed to spend their honeymoon in a white-owned hotel, so the couple spent their wedding night at a black funeral home.

    6) Although King was only 39 when he was assassinated, his autopsy revealed he had the heart of a 60 year old. The doctor believed this was a
    result of heavy stress.

  9. 56 donna dem 4 obama
    February 19, 2014 at 9:43 am

    Chips, can you rescue me please. My comment has gone to spam or moderation again.

  10. 60 vetivera24
    February 19, 2014 at 9:46 am

    Good morning all! Thank you Chips for the lovely pic of our former Governor General Jean and PBO. It was a proud moment for us. Both history making in their own way.

  11. 62 JER
    February 19, 2014 at 9:55 am

    /large

  12. 63 amk for obama
    February 19, 2014 at 10:12 am

    The nine-hour detention at Heathrow Airport of an ex-Guardian journalist’s partner has been ruled lawful.

    David Miranda lives with reporter Glenn Greenwald who has written articles about state surveillance based on leaked documents.

    At the High Court, Mr Miranda claimed his detention under anti-terrorism laws was unlawful and breached human rights.

    But judges said it was a “proportionate measure in the circumstances” and in the interests of national security.

    In his judgement, Lord Justice Laws, sitting with Mr Justice Ouseley and Mr Justice Openshaw, said: “Its objective was not only legitimate, but very pressing.”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26256544

    Cue gg vitriol against the brits calling them terrists.

  13. 65 99ts
    February 19, 2014 at 10:13 am

    Some interesting posts by Scott Raab about Christie and the Port Authority. If ever an organization needs to be dissolved or reformed it would have to be the PA of New York & New jersey. Seems to have become Christie’s babe – or as stated

    “Thanks to Chris Christie — and to Andrew Cuomo, who has silently allowed Christie to swallow the Port Authority whole — the safety of the World Trade Center rests in the hands of the same loyal troop willing to wage secret war on New Jersey commuters for the sake of their patron king.”

    http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/papd – Chris Christie’s private Army

  14. 66 amk for obama
    February 19, 2014 at 10:13 am

    A company building a supersonic jet says it plans to replace cabin windows with thin display screens embedded in the wall.

    Cameras recording outside the aircraft will display pictures on the screens.

    Spike Aerospace, which is designing the plane, says drag will be reduced by removing windows, which “cause significant challenges in designing and constructing an aircraft fuselage”.

    The S-512 supersonic jet is not expected to launch until 2018.

    In a blog on its website the company said windows required additional structural support and added weight to the aircraft but these problems could be eliminated by using micro-cameras and flat displays.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26258971

  15. 67 amk for obama
    February 19, 2014 at 10:19 am

    Saudi Arabia has signed an agreement with Indonesia aimed at protecting the rights of Indonesian maids in the country following allegations of abuse.

    The domestic workers will no longer be deprived of their passports nor prevented from communicating with the outside world.

    They will also be guaranteed the payment of a monthly wage and time off.

    Indonesia’s government will wait to see how the agreement is implemented before allowing recruitment to continue.

    It has been pushing for the guarantees for four years following of allegations of overwork, forced confinement, non-payment of wages, food deprivation, and psychological and sexual abuse.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-26259326

    The worst country for the lower level expat workers.

  16. 70 Vicki
    February 19, 2014 at 10:23 am

    Lawrence last night (posted above in R&S) said that if Dems don’t spend money to keep the Senate, Hillary in 2016 would “be a President in name only.”

    Wrong, Lawrence. Wrong wrong wrong.

    Hillary would be The President of the Corporate world and 1%. Socially liberal—yes equal rights for all—-but forget immigration reform minimum wage or any other Progressive improvement.

    VP Huntsmann, perhaps? You know that “bi-partisan” thing.
    ———————————————————————–

    In New York State the last 2 elections gave Democrats the majority in the state senate.
    Both times, 4 Democratic senators “broke away” to caucus with the GOP. That means the GOP holds the gavel and controls what gets done and what is held up.
    If US Senators do this, Mitch mcConnell would control the senate. Chilling thought, right?

    New York Governor 1% Cuomo loves this arrangement.

    Hillary can speak up about 2014. She can and should campaign vigorously for our candidates and I’d like to hear her question Priorties, USA on exactly what their priorities are.

    Or her silence can be interpreted as consent.

    • 71 vcprezofan2
      February 19, 2014 at 12:14 pm

      ‘Hillary in 2016 would “be a President in name only.”

      Wrong, Lawrence. Wrong wrong wrong.’

      I see it somewhat like you do, Vicki. Apart from the fact that Hillary is a 1%-er who IMO cares for the 99% only in a general (as you say, socially liberal) way, I strongly suspect that IF Hillary were to make it into WH, the GOP would be forced to allow her some victories, if only to bolster their manufactured argument that PBO wasn’t bi-partisan, yada, yada. I still remember the very tone of Hillary’s campaigning and of the people she surrounded herself with. She may be a nice person, but she’s not really a ‘nice’, unselfish politician IMO – those are very rare. However, because she approaches politics very much like they (all) do I think she would be allowed enough victories, if only to provide grist for the old ruling class to continue to denigrate this president. IOW, the game playing would continue and so would the attempt to try and throw dirt over PBO’s accomplishments.

  17. 72 dotster3
    February 19, 2014 at 10:37 am

    Excellent editorial in the great newspaper, Toledo Blade, re. Ohio’s Repub legislature’s voter suppression efforts. Repub controlled states across the country are real busy passing all kinds of new bills making it more difficult for certain people to vote—-before next election. Ugliness.

  18. 73 debz
    February 19, 2014 at 10:42 am

    Good morning. Finland knocked Russia out of the hockey finals, Putin is going to cry. This made my day.

  19. 75 JER
    February 19, 2014 at 10:46 am

  20. 76 prettyfoot58
    February 19, 2014 at 11:27 am

    “Ultimately, our faith compels us to be in solidarity with people who suffer at the margins of our economy. The Christian Scriptures say that we will be judged for what we have done for those in poverty.
    Using this moral standard, Obama’s executive order is more than justified; it is required”.

  21. 79 57andfemale
    February 19, 2014 at 11:49 am

    A silver lining I hope – I found Mr. 57’s scarf that I knitted for him last Christmas in my soggy sewing room. We couldn’t find it all season. I’m hoping that finding his warm, wooly scarf will mean the end of this effing winter in Chicago.

    Mr. 57 pushed all the (knee-deep) snow off the roof into the small space between our garage and the house. Nickelby has figured out that he can climb the snowy mountain and contemplate getting over the fence.

    This winter has to end. Soon.

    • 80 Chipsticks
      February 19, 2014 at 12:04 pm

      57, no one writes misery as funnily as you – I should not laugh at any of your misfortune, but Mr 57 and Nickelby’s snowy adventures are an absolute hoot!

      • 81 57andfemale
        February 19, 2014 at 2:06 pm

        Please laugh. I need to be good at something. Please. Laugh at me all you want.

        You should have seen the look on Nickelby’s face as he realized he could scale the mountain of snow and assess the Great Unknown that is our neighbor’s yard. I, of course, yelled at him and he looked at me as if to say, “Then come get me”. So I pretended to be stern instead of terrified (it helps to have theatre training) and he decided that pleasing me was in his best interests.

        I wish I wasn’t so attracted to these willful, feisty dogs.

        • 82 Chipsticks
          February 19, 2014 at 2:14 pm

          “…… he looked at me as if to say, “Then come get me”…..

          Oh heavens, that IS my life now!! Today’s “come get me” was when Danny carried my phone in to the garden – I seriously need to hire your services because he NEVER decides that pleasing me is in his best interests! So, we had five minutes of me trying to wrestle him to the ground and he, with glee, escaping my grasp every time. He needs to meet Nickelby, so he can see what a well-behaved dog looks like.

          Any way, he had a check-up with the vet today, I was a little worried about his occasionally bloodshot eyes, but everything is perfect, and thankfully his weight is spot on. He was a little too chubby on his last visit, but the vet weighed him and said he’s just right. That’s probably because he doesn’t eat my cooking.

          I sinceeeeeerely hope your weather improves 57, I’m chuckling at your tales, but I’m sure it’s not funny at all!

          • 83 57andfemale
            February 19, 2014 at 2:28 pm

            Nickelby really is well-behaved. He enjoys being the calm, good dog that everyone pets while Kasper bounces off the walls, getting ever more pissed that no one will pet him. It’s hysterical.

            Kasper is bored. Very bored because of this awful weather. He has taken to attacking Nickelby for no good reason. So I fully appreciate your latest altercation with Sir Danny – I pulled Kasper off of Nickelby and put him on his side and he WOULD NOT submit. But I wasn’t about to let him get away with it. I bet it was over 5 minutes of holding him down before he finally put his head down and gave in. How can I let myself be beat by a 14-pound ball of white fluff?

            My Rufus was like Danny – ANYTHING was worth it to him. He never cared about pleasing me – he knew I was going to love him anyway. When we got Calliope, she instinctively wanted to please and she couldn’t understand why Rufus would provoke us so. He thought she was a total dope, waiting for permission to pick some food off the floor. Then he learned the rhythm – he’d call her a dope and dive for the cheese before she knew what happened, therefore getting double cheese.

            He never, ever gave a damn if we were happy with him, but he was the greatest. dog. ever. He died a month shy of his 19th birthday, and that was in 1991.

            Did I ever tell you the story of how Mr. 57 and I got married? We were introduced by a mutual friend at a 4th of July party. Mr. 57 drove me home. Understand, Rufus was FAMOUS for hating every man I ever dated and making his displeasure plainly known. Mr. 57 walked into my house, sat down, and Rufus climbed up on his lap and put his head on his shoulder. Astounding.

            Two weeks later a group of us went to Ravinia and my brother called me the next morning and said, “Please don’t eff this one up.” My dog, my brother…… But it was Rufus who ultimately made the choice.

            We were married 6 weeks to the day after we met. It will be 34 years in August.

            • 84 Chipsticks
              February 19, 2014 at 2:35 pm

              57? You need to write a novel.

              “Did I ever tell you the story of how Mr. 57 and I got married? We were introduced by a mutual friend at a 4th of July party. Mr. 57 drove me home. Understand, Rufus was FAMOUS for hating every man I ever dated and making his displeasure plainly known. Mr. 57 walked into my house, sat down, and Rufus climbed up on his lap and put his head on his shoulder. Astounding.

              Two weeks later a group of us went to Ravinia and my brother called me the next morning and said, “Please don’t eff this one up.” My dog, my brother…… But it was Rufus who ultimately made the choice.

              We were married 6 weeks to the day after we met. It will be 34 years in August.”

              Too funny, sweet, lovely, gorgeous, beautiful for words!!!

              • 85 57andfemale
                February 19, 2014 at 2:55 pm

                Aw shucks. Thanks. Cindy wants me to write a children’s book from the point of view of our dogs. I do tend to ‘hear’ their conversations and thoughts.

                Heh. Mr. 57 pushed out the ice floes from the gutters that now lay on the side of Mt. Nickelby. He romped out there, thinking he was going to climb that mountain and plan his leap into the neighbor’s yard and…….

                He slid all the way down. I shouldn’t have laughed. But I did. A lot.

      • 89 57andfemale
        February 19, 2014 at 2:08 pm

        of course Mr. 57, while out on the roof, shot me the same “Then come and get me” look. He assumes (correctly) that I would have to weigh his well being over my beloved fabric and quilts. He’d win (probably), but I’d have to think about it……

  22. 92 Judith Fardig
    February 19, 2014 at 12:19 pm

    OFA is taking action today to pressure Congress to #RaiseTheWage. Look for this hashtag and RT at will. Thanks!!

  23. 93 JER
    February 19, 2014 at 12:51 pm

  24. 94 Bobfr (@Our4thEstate)
    February 19, 2014 at 1:07 pm

    Could not agree more with Lawrence O’Donnell, and will continue to press the Clintons to commit to a major push to #ELECTDems in 2014, including telling the folk at Priorities USA to catch a clue – Lawrence certainly made it easy for them in the ‘Rewrite’ linked by Chips in the R&S, above.

    Yes WE MUST

  25. 95 JER
    February 19, 2014 at 1:13 pm

    LIVE NOW: President Obama Arrives in Mexico – http://www.cbsnews.com/liveFeed/widget.shtml

  26. 96 JER
    February 19, 2014 at 1:15 pm

  27. 97 JER
    February 19, 2014 at 1:22 pm

  28. 98 JER
    February 19, 2014 at 1:26 pm

  29. 99 JER
    February 19, 2014 at 1:29 pm

    ON YOU TUBE…

  30. 108 JER
    February 19, 2014 at 1:49 pm

  32. 110 vcprezofan2
    February 19, 2014 at 2:07 pm

    (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s top labor representative threatened on Wednesday to try to block further investments by the German carmaker in the southern United States if its workers there are not unionized.

    Workers at VW’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, last Friday voted against representation by the United Auto Workers union (UAW), rejecting efforts by VW representatives to set up a German-style works council at the plant.

    German workers enjoy considerable influence over company decisions under the legally enshrined “co-determination” principle which is anathema to many politicians in the U.S. who see organized labor as a threat to profits and job growth.

    Chattanooga is VW’s only factory in the U.S. and one of the company’s few in the world without a works council.

    ………………………………//

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/19/us-vw-usplant-idUSBREA1I0S820140219

  33. 118 JER
    February 19, 2014 at 2:08 pm

    LIVE NOW: Vice President Biden Speaks on Investing in Infrastructure to Create Jobs and Grow Our Economy
    Audio Only – http://www.whitehouse.gov/live

  34. 119 Ladyhawke
    February 19, 2014 at 2:10 pm

    WHEN WILL THE GOP LIFT THEIR BOOT FROM THE THROAT OF THE ECONOMY?

    The Congressional Budget Office and the Bizarre, Partisan Jobs Debate

    By Jonathan Chait

    ————————————————

    And yet the Congressional Budget Office, now brimming with conservative credibility, has spent the last five years issuing report after report assailing the Republican position. Republicans weeping for the half-million or so jobs that would be destroyed by a higher minimum wage would be shocked to learn that, according to the CBO, they have destroyed 200,000 jobs by blocking the extension of emergency unemployment benefits (which lift the incomes of destitute workers, creating higher demand).
    .
    .
    The Republican Party has remained insulated from any political liability as a result of its position. The economics profession in general, and the CBO in particular, have spent five years practically screaming at Republicans to lift their boot from the throat of the economy.

    —————————————————-

    http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/cbo-and-the-bizarre-partisan-jobs-debate.html

  35. 120 vcprezofan2
    February 19, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    A brother blog getting a little well-deserved praise (go to his twitter feed or blog if you (are in Michigan and ) want to see how he has been highlighting an education issue)

  36. 126 JER
    February 19, 2014 at 2:14 pm

  37. 127 57andfemale
    February 19, 2014 at 2:17 pm

    Did I hear correctly that the KS Senate told their batshit crazy House that they would NOT support the “I don’t like gays and my bigotry- disguised- as- religion trumps your rights” law?

  38. 128 Bobfr (@Our4thEstate)
    February 19, 2014 at 2:18 pm

    • 129 purpleshoesla
      February 19, 2014 at 3:17 pm

      This! The power of the collective! Trying to bring back this #DollarADay idea to our OFA neighborhood chapter as a fundraising idea. Thanks for raising the consciousness of this idea again Bobfr!

  39. 131 Bobfr (@Our4thEstate)
    February 19, 2014 at 2:41 pm

    Wendy ain’t play’n …

  40. 133 vcprezofan2
    February 19, 2014 at 2:45 pm

    For those of you who read the Ta-Nehesi Coates article following the Davis verdict, the ‘dialogue’ continues….

    //………………………………..

    At this point I’m scratching my head trying to figure this one out. Nowhere does Coates address the issue of forgiveness. So I’m not sure how Kaminsky got there. But his analogy fails on a more important level. Conflating his ability to forgive individual Germans for the Holocaust to the African American experience of racism fails to take into consideration that most Americans don’t even know the history Coates is referring to (lets have a contest to see how many people know about Oney Judge or how blacks were excluded from the benefits of the G.I. Bill). We’ve simply whitewashed it all. I have to wonder how much forgiveness Kaminsky would feel when confronting a German Holocaust denier?

    But for Coates to simply try to remind us of a few episodes from that history, Kaminsky calls him “a race hustler of the first order” and “dangerous, bordering on evil.” In other words, its not slavery and Jim Crow that were evil, but Coates insistence that we face that part of our history.

    When Paula Deen wants to have a “plantation-themed” wedding reception, Republicans keep suggesting that African Americans were better off during slavery, a Duck Dynasty star says he never saw an “unhappy Negro” during the Jim Crow era and even a Supreme Court Justice suggests that things were better for black people prior to the Civil Rights Movement, its clear that too many Americans are clueless about our history. And so I’d suggest to Mr. Kaminsky that when we can finally face all that – perhaps THEN we can start talking about forgiveness. Until that happens, he’s just asking us to continue embracing the lie.

    http://immasmartypants.blogspot.ca/2014/02/white-privilege-embracing-lie.html

  41. 134 vcprezofan2
    February 19, 2014 at 2:51 pm

  42. 135 Linda
    February 19, 2014 at 3:09 pm

    Breaking on CNN:

    President Obama has condemned the violence in Ukraine and warned there would be consequences for stepping over the line.

    —-

    They say this comment is exactly the same as his ” red line ” comment on Syria. ” People are saying it ” . What will PBO do now ?


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