On This Day: Sen. Barack Obama talks with the news media after visiting with workers at the Rite Aid Distribution Center June 2, 2008 in Waterford, Michigan
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Today (All Times Eastern)
12:45: Jay Carney briefs the press
2:0: President Obama speaks on a conference call with public health groups about reducing carbon pollution from power plants
7:30: Departs White House for Warsaw, Poland
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The Week Ahead – See Here
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NYT: The Vanishing Cry Of ‘Repeal It’
It was supposed to be so easy this election year for Republican congressional candidates. All they would have to do was shout “repeal Obamacare!” and make a crack about government doctors and broken websites, and they could coast into office on a wave of public fury. The failure of the Affordable Care Act was simply assumed. But it has not quite worked out that way. The government website was fixed, and 8.1 million people managed to sign up for insurance through the exchanges. An additional 4.8 million people received coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Three million people under the age of 26 were covered by their parents’ plans. Though the law itself has never been widely popular, most people say they like its component parts, and a large majority now says it wants the law improved rather than repealed.
That sentiment conflicts with the Republican playbook, which party leaders are suddenly trying to rewrite. The result has been an incoherent mishmash of positions, as candidates try to straddle a widening gap between blind hatred of health reform and the public’s growing recognition that much of it is working. Sometimes the dissonance reaches nearly comic levels. The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, recently won his party’s primary for his Kentucky Senate seat in part by saying he wanted to repeal the health law “root and branch.” Last week, though, he was asked what repeal would mean for the 413,000 people who had signed up for insurance under Kynect, Kentucky’s state-run exchange. “I think that’s unconnected to my comments about the overall question,” he said. The good news is that some Democratic candidates, sensing the same change in the weather, are beginning to campaign on the law’s benefits. Improving access to health care was the right thing for the country, and supporting it may turn out to be good politics, too.
More here
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Dan Murphy (CS Monitor): Five Taliban Released For Sgt. Bergdahl? This Is How Wars End.
A prisoner swap with sworn enemies is never pleasant. But sometimes, it’s necessary. The prisoner swap that saw Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held by the Taliban for five years, released in exchange for five Taliban leaders who had been held for over a decade at Guantanamo, has touched off a predictable array of complaints. Congress wasn’t consulted, President Obama had negotiated with terrorists, that US soldiers will be at greater risk in future because of the precedent.
Among the most strident of the critics has been Senator Ted Cruz, who said in response to the deal: “What does this tell terrorists, that if you capture a US soldier, you can trade that soldier for five terrorists we’ve gone after?… The reason why the US has had the policy for decades of not negotiating with terrorists is because once you start doing it, every other terrorist has an incentive to capture more soldiers.” But dealing with people you find odious – your enemies – is how most wars end. And with the US set for full withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of 2016, the prospect of a crushing defeat for the Taliban is pretty much nil. Getting POWs back, whatever the circumstances of their capture, a crucial goal.
More here
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Matt Furber: Planned Celebration For Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Just Got A Whole Lot Bigger
“It’s really, really amazing and incredible, fantastic news,” said Molly Goodyear, who was getting lunches at Atkinson’s Market for children playing soccer with Sawtooth United under-13 girls’ team on Saturday when she got a text with the news. “You can’t go anywhere in Hailey without thinking about it,” she said. “There was a sticker for Bowe at the deli counter. I remember thinking about how long it has been. Even in 2011, it seemed so long. It’s going to be a long, hard reintegration for him, I think. But this is such a great community for him to return to. People will do so much for him.”
“I encourage you to keep praying for Bowe and their family,” Mark Clementz, pastor of the Wood River Assembly of God, told congregants on Sunday morning. “Not too many of us have been kind of held captive for five years, we probably don’t know what that’s like, do we? I believe it’s going to take him some time and effort to assimilate back into, ‘O.K., what do I do now?’ So let’s keep praying for their family and keep lifting them up in prayer.”
Speculation about how and why Sergeant Bergdahl became a captive is largely absent for now. “Until Bowe is home and able to tell his own story, nobody knows what happened that day,” Debbie ONeill said. “However he got from A to B isn’t what’s important. He’s an American that needs to come home. I could not be happier that Jani is going to be able to hold her son in her arms again.”
More here
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Washington Post: EPA To Propose Cutting Carbon Dioxide Emissions From Coal Plants 30% By 2030
The Environmental Protection Agency will propose a regulation Monday that would cut carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal plants by up to 30 percent by 2030 compared with 2005 levels, according to individuals who have been briefed on the plan. Under the draft rule, the EPA would analyze four options that states and utilities would have to meet the new standard, with different approaches to energy efficiency, shifting from coal to natural gas, investing in renewable energy and making power plant upgrades, according to those who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it has not been formally announced. Other compliance methods could include offering discounts to encourage consumers to shift electricity use to off-peak hours.
The rule represents one of the most significant steps the federal government has ever taken to curb the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, which are linked to climate change, and the draft is sure to spark a major political and legal battle. Conscious of that, President Obama called a group of Senate and House Democrats on Sunday afternoon to thank them for their support in advance of the proposed rule. The proposal, which would cut 500 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2030, ranks as one of Obama’s most far-reaching climate policies. His previous measures to limit carbon emissions in cars and light trucks produced between fleet years 2012 and 2025 will cut 6 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetime of those vehicles.
More here
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NYT: Administration Defends Swap With Taliban To Free U.S. Soldier
Susan E. Rice, the president’s national security adviser, spoke a day after years of fitful negotiations had finally yielded the release in Afghanistan of the prisoner, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. The deal, brokered with Qatari help, also freed five high-level Taliban members from the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The release of the Taliban officials was sharply assailed by Republicans, including Representative Mike Rogers of Michigan, chairman of the intelligence committee, as a dangerous transgression of longstanding policy against negotiating with terror groups. The release of the Taliban officials was sharply assailed by Republicans, including Representative Mike Rogers of Michigan, chairman of the intelligence committee, as a dangerous transgression of longstanding policy against negotiating with terror groups.
But Ms. Rice said: “Sergeant Bergdahl wasn’t simply a hostage; he was an American prisoner of war captured on the battlefield. We have a sacred obligation that we have upheld since the founding of our republic to do our utmost to bring back our men and women who are taken in battle, and we did that in this instance.” She was speaking on the ABC program “This Week.” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said while visiting troops in Afghanistan on Sunday said that he would not have agreed to the detainees’ release unless suitable security arrangements were in place. Asked whether the sergeant, who by some reports was captured after leaving his base without authorization, might be subject to military discipline, Mr. Hagel replied, “This is a guy who probably went through hell for the last five years, and let’s focus on getting him well,” according to NBC News.
More here
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Evan McMorris-Santoro: Obama Administration Opens The Door To Medicare-Funded Sex Reassignment Surgery
The Obama administration struck a major blow for transgender rights by quietly ending a decades-long blanket ban that prevented Medicare from covering sex reassignment surgery. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Departmental Appeals Board, an internal review structure within the byzantine federal agency, issued a ruling that ended a ban on Medicare even considering covering sex reassignment surgery and related care because a fear of “serious complications” resulting from the “experimental” surgery. That language was issued in 1981, and most medical professional organizations now consider sex reassignment surgery a safe and accepted procedure. The DAB ruling noted the change in how sex reassignment surgery is understood 33 years after the Medicare ban was issued.
“Even assuming the [National Coverage Determination]’s exclusion of coverage at the time the NCO was adopted was reasonable, that coverage exclusion is no longer reasonable,” reads the ruling. “This record includes expert medical testimony and studies published in the years after publication of the NCO.” “Denying Medicare coverage of all transsexual surgery as a treatment for transsexualism is not valid under the “reasonableness standard” the Board applies,” the HHS board ruling continues. Experts say the change to Medicare could have far-reaching implications for American medicine, helping to drive more private insurers to offer coverage for sex reassignment surgery and related care.
More here
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AP: Hagel: Captive’s Life Was In Danger
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sunday the military operation to free Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from the Taliban in exchange for the release of five Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainees was not relayed to Congress because officials believed the soldier’s life was in danger. In his first extensive public comments about Saturday’s operation, Hagel said intelligence the U.S. had gathered suggested that Bergdahl’s “safety and health were both in jeopardy, and in particular his health was deteriorating.” Taliban members handed Bergdahl over to special operations forces in eastern Afghanistan, and later in the day the detainees were flown from the Guantanamo detention center to Qatar. The Pentagon did not give Congress the required 30-day notice for the release of detainees.
Hagel said it was the administration’s judgment the military had to move quickly to get Bergdahl out, “essentially to save his life.” He said it was the unanimous consensus of the National Security Council, and the president has the authority to order such a release under Article 2 of the Constitution. Only a handful of people knew about the operation and Hagel said “we couldn’t afford any leaks anywhere, for obvious reasons.” “No shots were fired. There was no violence,” said Hagel. “It went as well as we not only expected and planned, but I think as well as it could have …The timing was right. The pieces came together.”
More here
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Ian Millhiser: Pentagon Will Allow Some Undocumented Immigrants To Join The Armed Forces
The Pentagon approved a policy that will allow a small group of undocumented immigrants to join the military, potentially creating a path to citizenship for them. The new policy will affect immigrants currently enabled to remain in the country by the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a program that benefits certain law-abiding young undocumented immigrants who came to the United States before the age of sixteen. The new military policy, however, only extends to immigrants with certain specialized skills.
As a general rule, federal law provides that “no person shall be naturalized unless he has been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence,” a rule that excludes DACA beneficiaries. A program known as Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI), however, permits non-citizen members of the armed forces to “naturalize without first obtaining a Green Card.” On Saturday, the White House asked Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to hold off on the policy until August in order to give Congress more time to work on permanent immigration legislation.
More here
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Abigail Bessler: Indianapolis Will Give All Students Free Breakfast And Lunch
Starting this fall, all students in Indianapolis public schools will get a free breakfast, lunch, and snack every school day under a federal program set up four years ago. “Hunger and having a healthy lunch and breakfast should not be a barrier to teaching and learning,” Indianapolis Public Schools superintendent Lewis Ferebee told the Indianapolis Star earlier this week. “We want to make sure our students are healthy and well fed so they can learn.” The federal program, which was set up by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, funds free meals for students in “Community Eligible” districts where 40 percent of kids at one or more schools already qualify for free lunches. In Indianapolis, 77 percent of students qualified for free meals and just 18 percent, 5,500 students out of over 30,000, were required to pay.
Indianapolis wasn’t the first to decide to join the program. Schools in Dallas, Boston, and Chicago already participate, and New York City may join. The free meal program cuts down child hunger in low-income areas. By eliminating the application process for free or reduced lunches, the free lunch program also lifts the hurdle of paperwork for low-income families, especially for parents whose native language is not English. And despite some concerns about the cost of making school lunches free for all students, making meals free can actually cut down on other costs. The bureaucracy associated with determining whether a child qualifies for free or reduced-price lunches can be complex and therefore expensive.
More here
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Zachary Goldfarb: Magic Johnson To Help Lead Effort For Black And Hispanic Young Men
President Obama …. has tasked former basketball star and entrepreneur Earvin “Magic” Johnson with co-leading a private effort focused on supporting boys and young men of color. Johnson will join Joe Echevarria, chief executive of Deloitte, in captaining the effort, known as “My Brother’s Keeper.” A 90-day evaluation of the effort has generated a series of recommendations, including improving mentor programs, eliminating harsh disciplinary actions in preschool,
and making sure more boys of color can read at grade level by third grade. It also calls for increasing high school graduation rates, summer employment and apprenticeship programs for men to gain entry-level jobs. Finally, the group is working toward reducing racial and ethnic bias in the racial and criminal justice systems. Obama has already received commitments of $200 million to help fund the project from a range of philanthropies.
More here
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Kenneth T. Walsh: Obama Still A Fundraising Champion
he still has the ability to raise millions of dollars for Democratic candidates in this fall’s midterm elections. He has held 23 fundraisers for his party’s four major campaign committees so far this year, and is expected to increase the number to 30 by the end of June. Obama also has authorized his former campaign team from 2012 to share lists and contact information about Obama supporters with Democratic congressional and gubernatorial committees.
This could be worth additional millions on the fundraising circuit and boost efforts to get out the vote. Public disclosure of the amounts raised aren’t due until later in the year, but the sums certainly run into the tens of millions of dollars. Last Thursday, Obama headlined two fundraisers in Chicago. At the home of Michael and Tanya Polsky, guests paid $1,000 to $35,000 to meet Obama and hear him speak, according to The Washington Post.
More here
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https://twitter.com/Marmel/status/473190510375358465
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On This Day
President Obama listens to a question from a reporter as he walks out of the White House toward Marine One in Washington on June 2, 2009. President Obama was traveling to Saudi Arabia.
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First Lady Michelle Obama speaks as she unveils a new food icon during an event June 2, 2011 at the Agriculture Department in Washington, DC
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the Pritzker Architecture Prize Event in Washington, DC, June 2, 2011
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The Obama Diary 
Just sayin
That soldier in that picture with Nixon has become a disgrace, a old bitter disgrace.
Sad to say, a Naval Officer.
Well every major news station and cable show has already defined this to the public as a possible “controversial” move on the part of the Administration. It’s hard to let the facts speak for themselves when you have the Republicans dictating the narrative and the media going right along with them as is the case in this story.
There should be no question about the fact that this man’s release is a good thing for him, his family and our country but the Republicans will be damned if they let President Obama get any positive credit for it.
Remember when PBO gave the order to take out OBL…According to the Republicans (and the media reported this to the public) Bush should get credit because when he water-boarded someone years earlier that info was needed to find OBL. The ridiculousness abounds and our media is useless!
Good Morning TOD and Thank You NW for another excellent Rise & Shine
You’re welcome, Donna.
I find it so sad that families cannot afford to provide for their children – something is truly wrong in a society that lets this happen
I find it even sadder that Republicans want to play politics with providing healthy meals to kids.
Couldn’t agree more anniebella – but killing off things like UE is why these children need school meals.
True.
Pierce is real good on this Bergdahl/McCain thing.
I posted the link while talking to myself on the last thread 🙂 – as I do
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/john-mccain-obama-prisoner-release-060214
Pierce is schooling the MSM.
Any educated person has to hang their head in shame about our media, which is getting worse by the day.
See the last sentence of this quote from Pierce:
“As with so many things, the unfinished business of the Iran-Contra scandal, and the yet-unplumbed depths of the foreign-policy crimes of the Reagan Administration, are the Rosetta Stone to understanding so much about what has gone wrong with America’s relationship with the world over the past 30 years. It remains a monument to the addiction on the part of the country’s political elites to secret deals and the dark magic of intelligence work.”
Absoluuuuuuutely wonderful Nerdy, you’re a monumental treasure – thank you Chelsea Girl!
Thank yoooooooooooou, Mrs. van Chiparoooooooooo!
🙂 —> 😎
Good Morning, Everyone 🙂
TOD rocks!
Let them die on this hill of whining about an American POW has come home.
Okay I’m just gonna say it….
President Obama has the sexist hands of any man I have ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
{{{{ahem}}}}
Donna – we think alike. See my comment below about his hands – HA!
MAT, PLEASE!! 🙂 Lots of mats! Extra good morning to you, dd…..Exemplary R/S, Nerdy:) I was deeply immersing myself…
And hands and eyes can be so, so sexy. Donna dem, daisydem agrees with you, well, except for my hubby … I love his hands.
Good West Coast morning NW, Chipsticks & TOD family.
Great R&S NW – thanks!
I bet in a million years, “Barry” never imagined that people around the world would be studying his hands so closely.
🙂 A Handy Good Moooooorning to ya GGail!
Chips! I see what you did….you are soooo clever! 🙂
I know GGail, you have to hand it to me 😎
Hands down, you are the smartest blog mistress – evah!
(I had to stop and think this one up)
So, any of the boneless dems stood up for and with their president yet?
Chris van Hollen is trying his best to gather some steam. Can’t believe I’m even saying that. When I was growing up, part of the reason I become such a strong Dem is because they fought so hard for all of these values that are today only half-heartedly mentioned. And I believe that’s not because our country has moved vastly to the right but I believe it’s because of the overwhelming toxic nature of our media, thanks to Bill Clinton’s Title 3 of the Telecommunications Act.
One without bones has stood up for the coal industry
To be truthful with you, they’d just get in the way.
Former gov from NM
bill richardson? he is still around?
Why should they dial it back? Fuck you NRA! We talkin’ second amendment rights baby!
June 01, 2014 3:00 PM
The $6 trillion dollar mistake
By David Atkins
A new study says the Iraq War has cost the United States $2 trillion. By the time all the veterans’ bills are paid, it will likely cost us up to $6 trillion.
Let that sink in for a moment. Per National Priorities, here’s an estimate of how much money is allocated for various programs in President Obama’s 2015 federal fiscal year budget:
Education: ~ $70 billion
Health: ~ $58 billion
Unemployment and labor: ~ $58 billion
Energy and Environment: ~ $35 billion
International Affairs: ~ $35 billion
Science: ~ $35 billion
Transportation: ~ $23 billion
Food and Agriculture: ~$11 billion
Think about what we could have done with $6 trillion. With a “t”. As in, one thousand billions.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_06/the_6_trillion_dollar_mistake050576.php
The TOTAL expenditure in the latest govt budget for my country is $AU376 billion – around $US350 billion – so we operate for 6 years on what the US spent on the Iraq war.
The war was not “on the books” yet it wasn’t until after PBO won the election that the GOP in congress suddenly worried about financial deficits. Many reasons were given for the financial collapse of 2008 yet do we ever hear that putting a war on the credit card was a major cause?
It is nothing short of amazing, what PBO has done for the US people and the US economy – but do the media ever mention it? Sometimes I scream at the video screen because – RW hacks.
Just heard that profits for Fortune 500 companies were up 30% last year, to ONE TRILLION DOLLARS.
MSM/GOP, how’s that trickle down theory of Saint Reagan working out?
One trillion dollars into the pockets of people without need, who gleefully let needy Americans starve or scrape by without the necessities that the elite scream about when these “necessities” are unavailable, i.e., high-speed internet, smartphones, Starbucks, their favorite cocktail, etc.
This is what the MSM should be reporting on.
The reason We The People are not repairing Roads, Airports, Sewage System, Education……free pre-K, etc.
Of course President Obama traded Gitmo detainees for an American POW, of course President Obama is about to change the game so to speak when it comes to Climate Change. Of course Boko Haram is on the run, and will probably spend the last days of his miserable life jumping at any little sound he hears. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again; President Obama is ruthless and cold and smart. You don’t order the death of your enemy and sit back and act as though nothing happened. If you are a terrorist or a tyrant, chances are President Obama has at some point discussed your death.
“If you are a terrorist or a tyrant, chances are President Obama has at some point discussed your death.”
Ya know Don, I believe you are spot on there fella. HA!
This!
The shortest video you’ve ever seen…… A woman goes back to work after thirty years. Watch carefully, the video is only 5 seconds long.
If you’re younger than 40 years old, you probably won’t understand it.
White right pointing backhand indexWhite right pointing backhand indexWhite right pointing backhand index http://www.youtube.com/embed/qteu4ld_SCE?rel=0“
Laughed out loud at this! My mom was a secretary her entire working life. This would be her if she decided to return to work now. Kind of makes me want to buy a typewriter though… I miss the rustic look of the letters on the typewritten page and the immediacy of not having to “print” but printing as you go 🙂
Some young’uns won’t even know what’s funny in this vid.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday refused to get involved in the case of a reporter who has been ordered to testify at the trial of a former CIA officer accused of disclosing classified information.
The justices did not comment in rejecting an appeal from New York Times reporter James Risen, who detailed a botched CIA effort during the Clinton administration to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Risen’s reporting is at the center of criminal charges against former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling. Federal prosecutors want to force Risen to testify about his sources at Sterling’s trial.
Risen argued that he has a right to protect his sources’ identity, either under the Constitution or rules governing criminal trials. The federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, rejected Risen’s bid to avoid being forced to testify.
The Associated Press and many other leading news organizations supported Risen’s appeal.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/scotus-rejects-reporters-bid-to-protect-source
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider a challenge from Alabama Democrats who say a Republican-drawn legislative map intentionally packs black Democrats into a few voting districts, giving them too little influence in the Legislature.
The justices agreed to hear a pair of appeals from the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus and other Democratic lawmakers who contend the new map created in 2012 illegally limits black voting strength and makes it harder to elect Democrats outside the majority-black districts.
A panel of three federal judges had ruled 2-1 last year that the new districts were not discriminatory and did not violate the Voting Rights Act or the Constitution.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/scotus-to-hear-redistricting-challenge
Is it possible SCOTUS is having second thoughts about their ” No racism in voting in America ” decision ?
This is encouraging news, Linda. Thanks for finding and posting it.
[NW, thanks for the CS link above. Very interesting article.]
[…..] Objections to their release appear based less on practical considerations, than on political ones, especially fears in the White House of being accused of dealing with the enemy during an election year
It seems important, therefore, to be honest about the allegations made about the five. All or some of the five have been labelled in press reports as war criminals, but without giving details of where, when and against whom the crimes supposedly took place. There is only real evidence against Mullah Fazl Mazlum and the allegations against him were known about at the time – that he had command responsibility when civilians were massacred and civilian property willfully destroyed. Many figures in government today have similar records. As will be looked at in depth in a second blog, claims made in the Guantanamo Bay tribunals and in press reports sourced to unnamed US officials, frequently do not stand up to close inspection.
There’s also the concern that the arrest of some of these men actually contributed to the raging insurgency in Afghanistan. Clark writes: “At least one of the five, the former deputy intelligence chief, Abdul Haq Wasiq, was arrested in 2001 by the US army in a sting operation after he had handed himself in to the new Afghan government in good faith. This was one of many such detentions of major Taleban figures involving deception or duplicity in the early months of the US intervention… It was a tactic which helped sow the seeds of insurgency, in that it showed that Taleban would not be allowed to live in peace after the fall of their regime.” […..]
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http://www.csmonitor.com/World/ecurity-Watch/Backchannels/2014/0601/Five-Taliban-released-for-Sgt.-Bergdahl-This-is-how-wars-end.-video
I don’t intend to take this pow poutrage seriously any more. Like everything else that the corrupt #msm tries to peddle, this too will have short shelf-life. Let’s focus on PBO’s upcoming European visit.
Exactly! As PBO says ‘let them talk’
EXACTLY. I’m so sick of handing them the microphone.
Not surprising, but it makes no sense.
I know next to nothing about the military or war, but weren’t POW swaps standard procedure during past American wars?
And it drives me crazy that the MSM parrot GOP talking points (especially that war-monger McCain) about how dangerous the Taliban is, when it was Al-Qaeda who attacked the US on Sept. 11.
Why does the MSM allow the GOP to conflate an important point (the Taliban vs. Al-Qaeda) about national security?
Bush/Cheney’s War on Terror was NEVER against the Taliban, it was against the global Al-Qaeda network.
Not asking for a Tim Russert caliber of push back, just a teensy one that any US consumer of news would ask.
Nailed it.
Congrats on 1st Donna.
Another superb R&S by NW – Thank you!!!!!
Thank you, Mr. Bob!
Will Mrs Greenspan show her face today ?
[Unscripted conversation! LOL! I’m trying real hard not to make up some of that script! 🙂 ]
“Mr. Obama and Mr. Putin will both be at Normandy on Friday for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. No meetings are scheduled, but aides did not rule out an unscripted conversation.”
.
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/carbon-combat-obama-begins-battle-over-environmental-regulation-n120171
Good morning, TOD. Just getting my day started (sleep pattern is still waaaaaaaaaaay off); looking forward to reading R&S later. Regarding the rethug reaction to Sgt Bergdahl’s release — I sincerely hope that the average poor/middle class/everyday white republican will now understand, that if it means tarnishing President Obama, rethugs are willing to throw everyday white folks under the bus. bbl
Hello TOD.
Read the excellent R&S. Thanks.
Congrats to all the Au winners starting with this post and 3 posts back.
Agree with AMK that this week will be historic for PBO — all global eyes will follow his every movement on foreign soil.
Deep appreciation for the true heroes of D-Day from the French (makes me tear up just thinking about what went into that attack) and on pins and needles for anything related to NATO, Russia and Ukraine.
Just heard on the radio that the CalState (state college) system is on a hiring spree — they’ve got over 700 new faculty job openings now, after severe cut-backs (as did all state and local governments) after the Sept 2008 financial meltdown.
Yay! Good news.
As for the GOP fear-mongering of the day (YOUR ELECTRICITY BILL WILL GO UP HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS!!!), the fact that Dollar Tree is selling “solar stakes” (path lighting) for $1 each tells me the price of solar is plummeting — more good news for the Obama Administration.
Please proceed, GOP…
http://nomoremister.blogspot.com/2014/06/funny-jake-tapper-used-to-want-bergdahl.html
When not getting Bergdahl’s home was an Obama-era failure, Tapper downplayed the questions surrounding Bergdahl’s actions. Now that the administration has freed Bergdahl, suddenly Tapper’s emphasis has changed. Funny how that works.
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The wicked conundrum that is in the TBGOPers and the MSM of Today.
Some call it envy, hatred, partisan………I call it a severe case of the ODS. ODS can be infectious, but strictly in a Bubble Zone, though not deadly. It can be easily treated at it’s early stages with Facts, Data and Acquired Education Syndrome. All covered under Obamacare.
Republicans (ESPECIALLY John McCain!) talk out their asses. Remember THIS???
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-soltz/mccain-poses-with-terrori_b_3360762.html
And this?
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-30/218852-mccain-crosses-paths-with-rebel-kidnapper.ashx#axzz2UkHCfHj6
I think that the MSM needs a little “reminder” as do all the others that think getting an American POW back to his country and his family was a bad idea!
I am one of those who have chided the Dems and the Obama Team about their PR tactics.
I am not doing that for the last few days. The TBGOPers’ heads and their brethren, the Media, have had their implosion for 10 Days pr so now. That in itself is a BFD.
Today, EPA announcement to cut Air Pollution Emission by 30% by 2030. KaBoom!
one of those who Has…. oops
The movie just became a million times cooler.
YES!!!!
That Is great News and this Lady, Lupita, is just stunning. Great photo.
Great news!
The Sci-Fi genre begs for the most diverse cast possible, since there are so many alien (i.e., other worldly) characters.
And by “diverse,” I’m referring to Lupita’s other-worldly beauty, LOL.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-207
Jay’s WH presser on 6-2-14
http://www.c-span.org/video/?319690-1/epas-climate-action-plan
This AM from the EPA
Without a doubt the clearest explanation of the whole prisoner exchange issue I have seen, from a Marine who served in Afghanistan. He does say that in the post, but have followed him for years.
Key lines:
We’re getting out of Afghanistan, and the treaties two which this nation has repeatedly pledged itself require that we release Prisoners of War and repatriate them home. Taliban are distinct from Al Qaeda in this respect because Taliban could be considered the government forces of Afghanistan (legitimate, loved, respected, or not) while AQ isn’t anything but a bunch of thugs under international law. So this idea that we gave up valuable prisoners for one guy and that makes it a bad deal is bullshit on its face. We were going to release them. We were REQUIRED to release them under international law that we largely wrote.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2014/06/02/on-bergdahl/#comment-5004554
japa – thanks! This is so needed for many to read and understand first & foremost, the difference between Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Oh, you said it Meta, brilliant!
http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/06/02/3443719/the-case-for-negotiating-for-bergdahls-release/
Less than forty-eight hours after securing the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo, Republicans in Congress and conservatives in media began attacking the deal. In doing so, they are refusing to accept the reality of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan and the way wars end.
The United States is engaged in an armed conflict in Afghanistan against al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces authorized by Congress under the 2001 Authorizations to Use Military Force. It is remains controversial whether this armed conflict extends beyond Afghanistan and the border regions of Pakistan, but what is not in doubt is that of the enemy forces party to this conflict, the Taliban is confined to Afghanistan and Pakistan. President Obama recently announced that the combat role for the United States in the armed conflict in Afghanistan will end this year and all participation will completely cease by 2016.
When wars end, prisoners taken custody must be released. These five Guantanamo detainees were almost all members of the Taliban, according to the biographies of the five detainees that the Afghan Analysts Network compiled in 2012.
gunnite folks.
CNN just read Sgt Bergdahl final e-mail and is pushing the meme he was a deserter.
I don’t think he will safe in America………
He will be just fine in America. Six months from now this will be a non story. You DO realize that all this flailing and nontroversy are the GOP & MSM’s attempts to boost the GOP’s dwindling chances of winning the Senate in Nov, right?
The press and the GOP are having a difficult time coming to terms with an administration that operates within international law, and honors treaties. The GWB admin broke treaties, and operated OUTSIDE international law for eight years, so much, that the press and politicians need a re-education program on treaty keeping and law. This was part of the dumbing down by the GWB administration;;;;;dumbed down first so he could pretend to understand it, then dumbed down so the American people could be fooled. This flouting of international law and treaties goes back to Reagan, and I’m so glad Charles Pierce dealt with that in his piece today.
Some day the total illegality of the Reagan admin’s operations will be known. Sad that there are statutes of limitations on these crimes, I assume. However, on murder there is no limitation, and frankly, many in his admin and GWB’s should be brought up on murder charges. PBO knew he could not be the one to do this. He had to choose his battles, but it would be good if the next president would have the Justice Dep’t bring charges. I wonder what information Holder’s attorneys have right now that when the time comes will be exploded and used for trials.
The super duper awesomeness of her addition is that people who aren’t huge devotees of Star Wars are saying that they’re now going to watch the new movie because of her.
I hope they cast her in a badass role that she can reprise in a sequel.
Jay is doing a marvelous job schooling the Journos at the WH presser.
WTG Jay 😉
All question thus far is about Sgt Bergdahl.
Should the questions of his Missing Not be directed at the DoD? These people are a Joke.
EPA and electricity Bill, this idiot is making it about Him….so egotistical. Jay’s is using stats and facts to school the vagabond.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/06/02/a-huge-majority-of-americans-support-regulating-carbon-from-power-plants-and-theyre-even-willing-to-pay-for-it/
Fully 70 percent say the federal government should require limits to greenhouse gases from existing power plants, the focus of a new rule announced Monday by the Environmental Protection Agency. An identical 70 percent supports requiring states to limit the amount of greenhouse gas emissions within their borders. (Read everything you need to know about the EPA’s proposed rules).
Democrats and Republicans are in rare agreement on the issue. Fifty-seven percent of Republicans, 76 percent among independents and 79 percent of Democrats support state-level limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Strong tea party supporters are most resistant to limits on emissions by states and power plants; 50 percent say the federal government should impose caps, while 45 percent say they should not.
I am being gaslighted: first, after I refreshed this morning, took me back to messages ‘335 hours ago’. Closed it out, reopened and everything was fine.
But I just now clicked on Steve Benen through TOD Blog roll, and I got posts from October 2013!
What the hell……?
Back to Sgt Bergdahl.
Go Jay, Go Go!
Your morning funny, before I go to my doctor’s appointment:
https://twitter.com/BlackCanseco/status/473514644414681088
Fox is asking why the parents were Invited to the WH…..? His concern is that the father was writing letters to the Taliban? Excuse me? Are the Bergdahls Not American Citizens? Are they not allowed to try and ease the suffering of their son? Sheesh.
Send FOX the pic of their God Ronnie Reagan sitting in the WH with members of the Taliban!
Markie Mark Knoller is asking about negotiating with the terrorists…….Jay is telling Von Count that We don’t select our enemies either way. They are who they are and we fight them.
Past practices and consistent with our History when it came to getting Sgt Bergdahl back.
Good Afternoon TODVille,
The toddlers at the WHPC are particularly ADD this morning. Rather than getting schooled obediently by Jay, they prefer to act in their usual hyperactive manner. Chief among them is a grown man with a beard that you would think would keep quiet today.
Their questions are stupid, childish, puerile, and silly.
Jay has left the building. He dropped the Mic …..my editorial 😉
CAPTAIN PLANET is the headline front page Post with a President Obama’s photo at HP.
They got right for a change 😉
🙂
Thanks for posting this, Chips. I wish Huffy would have a similarly creative name for the GOP camp.
Thank you lady Chips.
❤ it 😉
New post.
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/06/02/act-on-climate/