On This Day: President Obama is greeted by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer look on) before giving his State of the Union address, February 12, 2013
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MoooOOOooorning!
12
Feb
15
126 Responses to “Early Bird Chat”
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The Obama Diary 
GM Chips
Moooooooooooorning Roberta, moooooooooorning everyone!!
Ha:
http://twitter.com/TheObamaDiary/status/565849087908798464
No kidding… morning, Chips. Morning everyone:)
Moooooooooorning DF!!
The Jackie Robinson team will always be champions, no matter what some snitch did.
Morning Jackie!! What a delicious irony, though, that the snitch’s team was doing the same thing.
Someone should send this card to them.
Oh, it’s ironic all right and also typical of people who are jealous of someone else’s success. Always easier to see the mote in the other person’s eye and miss the log on your own shoulder. Hmmm..where have I heard that before.
GM Jackie,
It’s more than ironic, IMO.
I know nothing of the Little League organization, but isn’t this the first time a team had its title revoked?
Haven’t read the articles, but from what I’ve heard, this witchhunt was based on nothing except the premise that suburban teams are more “worthy/qualified” than urban teams. Seems like the Little League’s premise is that the Jackie Robinson team proved to be the best team solely because it allegedly recruited suburban players?
I know that my childhood hero, Sandy Koufax, doesn’t speak out much, but I wish he would call up a reputable sports journalist and say something to the effect that “My days of stickball in non-suburban Brooklyn made me the player I became.”
Forgive me if my logic is faulty, but it’s before dawn on the west coast, but this witchhunt reeks of racism and bigotry to me.
I thought I’d heard that it had happened three times but don’t quote me.
I would think this particular brand of cheating is rampant throughout the organization. I think it is only fair to give the same scrutiny to all of the teams. The snitch went to great lengths to unearth any of the cheating. Such a microscope should now be universally applied.
They should be put on probation as well, if that’s the consequence JRW has received. Same “crime”; same punishment.
heh!
I love my new computer. It let’s me know when you are posting. What’s up for today? Will be busy all day so I will BBL. Love you all. Have a wonderful Day TOD family.
So sad about those young people. Jesus, sometimes the heart breaks and you wonder if it will ever heal. NW you have done an excellent job with the tweets and postings of the love for these young people. Thank you so very much.
Glad you’ve finally reconciled to your computer, Roberta. I remain wary of my own computer since I never know when it will turn on me and do something incomprehensible. Yesterday’s posts were magnificent–they enabled us to mourn together. Have a great day.
G’morning Chips & TOD! Happy Thursday everyone. 🙂
Goooooooood morning to ya, Hopefruit!!
Morning, Chips and Early Birds. Yesterday, I was so upset by the NC murders and the creepy killer that I started cleaning like a fiend. I scrubbed floors, polished furniture, cleared out clutter and got rid of accumulated junk on a bookcase. Next time something completely rotten happens in this world, I’m attacking my closets. I didn’t feel better, but I have a cleaner house.
I should have done that. Instead, I went to bed so sad and disgusted at what passes for human beings these days.
Df, going to bed with a cover over your head is always an option when you feel upset. It’s my coping mechanism of choice on many sad days.
That’s EXACTLY what I did last night. I couldn’t look at those beautiful, promising faces without the heaviness weighing me down….
It’s what I did on the night the Ferguson grand jury decision was announced. I got in bed and cut the television a minute before the 8 p.m. announcement. Just could not deal with what I knew in my heart was coming…
And when you are faced with ugliness and chaos in the world, you can look to the order you instituted in your home. Great call.
I need to get my house clean before the appraiser comes for our reverse mortgage. Mr. 57 slipped on the icy stairs and really did a number on his knee. I work for a Crazy Sociopath and then I come home and do as much as I can before my back and arthritic hip gives out.
I’d be happy to send you a plane ticket to Chicago to make use of your excellent skills. You must love dogs, however.
Happy Thursday TODers!!
Heeeeeeeya Chips!!
Heyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaa Africaaaaaaaaa!!!
He’s SUCH a great, individual thinker, that Rand Paul! (Nope, sitting with his owner is all!)
daveweigelVerified account
@daveweigel
At the American Spectator dinner, where Rand Paul is seated at the head table next to David Koch.
Somebody should have checked to see if David Koch was manipulating the puppet strings behind Rand Paul’s back. I’m sure he had to clear every remark with his master.
He’s the biggest flipping flim flam man! Oh, Koch was manipulating that stupid ass alright!!
The people are NOT being represented in Congress.
http://m.thenation.com/article/197561-these-hires-congress-becomes-even-more-corporation
Until a few weeks ago, Joel Leftwich was a senior lobbyist for the largest food and beverage company in the United States. During his tenure at PepsiCo—maker of Cheetos, Lay’s potato chips and, of course, Pepsi-Cola—the company had played a leading role in efforts to beat back local soda taxes and ensure that junk food remained available in schools. But PepsiCo also faced new challenges at the federal level. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, championed by Michelle Obama, had placed new nutrition standards on school lunches. PepsiCo sent teams of lobbyists to Capitol Hill, deluged political candidates with donations, and fired off letters to regulators asking them to weaken the new rules. One such PepsiCo letter requested the redefinition of a “school day” so the company could continue to sell its sugary sports drinks at “early morning sports practices.” Leftwich, a former congressional liaison for the Department of Agriculture, was well positioned to help PepsiCo shore up its allies in the House and Senate.
Last April, Leftwich paid a visit to one such friend, Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, then chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, to thank her for opposing nutrition guidelines for food stamp purchases.
Now Leftwich will have far more access to such friends. As the newly appointed staff director of the Senate Agriculture Committee, now under GOP control, Leftwich will have wide sway over the law that funds school lunches, which is up for reauthorization this year. PepsiCo can rest easier, confident that the guidelines already in place are unlikely to be strengthened—and may be weakened instead. Leftwich’s new boss, Republican Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, who took over the Agriculture Committee gavel in January, has set his sights on dialing back school lunch nutrition requirements, which he has called “Big Brother government that’s out of control.”
While all eyes were on the changing of the guard in Congress as Republicans seized control of the US Senate in January, there was an equally profound change taking place among Capitol Hill staff, as many GOP lawmakers handed over the keys to corporate lobbyists like Leftwich.
“We’ve seen a dramatic uptick in K Street moving into congressional staff positions since the Citizens United decision,” says Craig Holman, Public Citizen’s expert on lobbying and ethics. House Speaker John Boehner, he notes, has “encouraged new members to employ lobbyists on their personal and committee staff.”
Had to share this…
MORNING MUST READ. We’re all screwed.
This makes me sick. UGHHHHHH.
Lobbyists control Congress–there is no doubt about that. The richer the lobbying group, the more control they exert. Americans who believe that their congressional reps put their interests first are deluding themselves. It is and always has been about who offers the most money and the most clout. That any legislation favorable to people ever happens is attributable to luck, persistent, unrelenting pressure from constituents, a sympathetic billionaire campaign donor or organized consumer groups (with money and influence). I worked in DC for almost 30years and spent ten of them working for a major lobbying group. Their single purpose is influencing legislation and if they are very well funded, they usually win.
The more money, the more access and sway. CU unleashed the devil and suffocated what little bit of democracy we had left. It was the worst SC decision EVER!
And this is particularly disgusting:
“Last April, Leftwich paid a visit to one such friend, Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, then chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, to thank her for opposing nutrition guidelines for food stamp purchases.”
Meta, the corruption exists on both sides of the aisle. There are very few senators who don’t become millionaires in office. Joe Biden was one of them. IMO, there is very little difference between the way our Congress functions and the way that royal courts did in previous eras. It’s about money, influence and clout. We have made our representatives untouchable by pretty much guaranteeing that incumbents will be re-elected. I doubt our founders ever envisioned making a career in Congress. They saw the House of Representatives a citizen’s body that would change to reflect the needs of the electorate (white men with property). Now our reps grow rich and arrogant because all they have to do to win elections is please the money men. Why should a person who’s pretty much guaranteed re-election care what any of us think or want? They pay staffers to write us condescending responses to our concerns, make a pretense of caring about our opinions at election time, spend an obscene amount of money telling lies and get to line their pockets again for another two or six years.
This is so spot on, its scary. You’re thinking just like I do:) As an aside, why is the font changed on my computer after it updated itself?
Sorry to agree, every word rings true. I’m worried that it will only get worse without PBO mediating their worst instincts.
She was on Stephanie Miller this morning. She was actually great. She has a bill with bipartisan support to stop the currency manipulation of China and Japan that fosters sending our jobs overseas instead of sending our products overseas.
But she is far from perfect and apparently is easy to manipulate for some campaign cash.
CU and our political spending in general is the destruction of democracy and functioning government.
Good morning everyone. Despite all the sad news I wish that we can all remain hopeful. Happy Thursday.
If you’re stupid enough to let some politician talk you out of getting health insurance well then you deserve everything you get. There.
I like Jon Stewart, I like the way he imitated Senator Lindsey Graham on occasion. I just don’t get everyone’s sadness about the guy leaving, and I certainly don’t get him being somehow the champion of all things progressive. I remember plenty of times Stewart breaking President Obama’s balls. The guy was a talk show host that spewed the same populist bullshit that Senator Bernie Sanders spews. Everybody talks about Stewart being a fighter, fighter my ass, the guy sat behind a desk being propped up by a bunch of writers; get the fuck out of here with that bullshit. I’m sure Stewart is a good guy; he probably never stole a freight train, but spare me the bullshit about his departure signaling the end of something honest and pure.
Completely agree Don, I’ve ranted on about him before, a super smart and very funny guy, but I think he did way more damage than good with his sneering and cynicism – I thought Jamelle Bouie was excellent on that:
“…. For liberals in particular, the idea that government is only hypocrisy and dysfunction is self-defeating and nihilistic.
The natural response to all of this is a version of Stewart’s protest — He’s just a comedian — and a refrain from The Dark Knight: Why so serious? The answer is easy: He’s influential. And for a generation of young liberals, his chief influence has been to make outrage, cynicism, and condescension the language of the left. As a comedian and talk show host, Jon Stewart has been pretty funny. But as a pundit and player in our politics, he’s been a problem. And while I wish him luck in his next move, I’m glad he’s stepping from the stage.”
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/02/jon_stewart_stepping_down_from_the_daily_show_he_was_bad_for_liberals.html
And him not voting in last year’s midterms? That’s privilege for ya – his healthcare won’t be put at risk, his right to vote won’t be attacked, his reproduction rights won’t be jeopardized, etc etc.
Good riddance.
I think he was their “feedback loop” and made the emo crowd feel good about themselves. Jon always let them hear what they needed to hear to pump their fists in the air and feel validated again. Nice enough guy, for sure. But he was a COMEDIAN! HE was the ” go to” guy? WTF! Would have done more to advance their cause if they we’re constantly butt hurt about something and just voted every time!! Damn whiners. I hate whiners.
Weren’t constantly butt hurt.
I stopped watching him a while back DF, I couldn’t take him any more, what got me most was at a time when the GOP has gone so far right it’s almost falling over the edge, he was still pushing the ‘both sides are the same’ stuff. I never expected him to be drowning the Dems in love, but that he kept up with that dishonesty, just to be the sneering cool kid, made me puke. And encouraging people not to vote? As I said, only people of pure privilege can afford to talk like that.
All true
Totally agree. I stopped watching him years ago when he began with the PBO sneering. He also used a disgusting term to describe John Kerry when he was running in 2004, for which I never forgave him and he was a McCain sycophant for years. He’s an arrogant, self-righteous, know-it-all with an insufferable sense of his own importance, who just happened to have very good writers and made good hires like Colbert and Oliver.
“He’s an arrogant, self-righteous, know-it-all with an insufferable sense of his own importance”
Jackie, drop that mic RIGHT now!!
This —>
http://twitter.com/jbouie/status/565606194715574272
THIS THIS THIS
🙂 Mooooooooorning Ms Majestic!!
Goooodd moornninginigiinggg, Champion Chips Chica!!
“moornninginigiinggg”
Meta, is your keyboard okay?
🙂
NOPE. Yikes
The accolades pouring in from our myopic self-absorbed media is truly disgusting and underwhelming.
Jon Stewart is the epitome of the dudebro emoprog — he and @ChrisLHayes should get a room.
He has some talented writers (thinking of his “Baracknophobia” after PBO won in 2008, “Mess-O-Potamia,” etc.), but he’s pretty much out of touch with anyone outside of the northeast elite.
John Oliver and Stephen Colbert, OTOH are great, precisely because they expand the media gene pool outside the boundary of I-95 northeast corrider.
When he started 16 years ago, we had nothing like it on the progressive side. During the Bush years he was 100% progressive and became a vital conduit for engaging younger people in the political process. The writing was smart and entertaining. It was vitally important for framing the GOP and the Bush administration.
Then he got all cynical, and the “everyone does it and there’s no difference” mentality. I suppose we had no right to assume he wanted to further a progressive agenda, but when he started bashing PBO Mr. 57 and I stopped watching.
Progressives and Democrats did nothing to build a progressive media infrastructure, sitting by watching Fox and Rush build empires. Progressives just called them crazy and fringe, and thought that was enough. What we have now is at least a progressive presence in entertainment: Stewart, Colbert, John Oliver. It is the only progressive media presence we have. Whether we like it or not, that started with Jon Stewart and the Daily Show.
Yup.
http://m.forward.com/articles/214591/why-israel-lobby-is-biggest-casualty-of-feud-over/
Big mistake. Huge.
Are you telling me that it’s not a good idea to choose a foreign leader over the President of your own country?
Who da thunk?
http://twitter.com/TheObamaDiary/status/565871146177150976
I suppose this was a *bonus* in addition to the normal payout they receive.
Ha, probably – good grief, the corruption of it all!
As bad as all the money s̶p̶e̶n̶t̶ wasted in 2012 in an attempt to buy the election. I guess it’s not considered wasted money to buy a vote even though it was known that it would be vetoed [without enough votes to override].
Has President Obama vetoed this legislation yet?
I don’t know. Didn’t they just vote it through on yesterday?
I don’t know that either 😦 I have been so busy at work I’ve barely been able to read here at TOD. That’s why I asked. Thanks.
I know what you mean, Betsy. But, I’m confident that whenever PBO takes action, TOD is the place to come to get that information…more timely and more accurately than the biased MSM. And it won’t be a blip that you will miss if you blink.
And this is pocket change for these industries. Senators really come cheap. For a small outlay, the oil and gas industry reap billions. Our Congress prostitutes itself for what are really bargain basement rates.
Good Thursday, Chipsticks…TOD Family!!!
Gooooooood morning to ya swbluega!!
Well, apparently Putin agreed to a ceasefire beginning Sunday. We’ll see……
Cease fire in Putin’s language means that he gets to push forward, but the other side doesn’t get to push back.
Exactly right.
Morning TOD. Not such a good morning in politicalworld and it won’t be for me until a few things happen.
Such as Bibi stays home. And
The slaying of young muslims is unequivocally named an assasination by hate.
And somebody has the courage to note that yes, in NYC, at last a police officer is indicted for shooting an unarmed young black person , but the indicted officer is asian. Maybe i am the only one who wonders if a white PO would have been indicted or would a loophole have been constructed?
Not counting any of those concerns for starters good morning my buddies at TOD.
I agree with you jackiegrumbacher
Yep
furst.
🙄
Oh, dear. Here comes the marshmallow wars!!
BWWAHAHAHHAAAA!!
One of the best moments of PBO’s presidency!! He was genuinely and delightfully surprised!!
It was hilarious, he’s a big kid!!! 😆
war??? me??? peacefullest guy
on earthin the entire universe. #NobelMaterialevening doll.
16:15
Thursday, 12 February 2015
Time in South Africa
🙄
evening. case closed.
Tell me something, CC – why does Amk get specially and pictorially welcomed *every* day? Isn’t that favoritism, discrimination even? By any chance does he employ a lobbyist and what is his payment coin? I’m asking for a village friend.
MooOOOoorrnnning, TODobots…….
….and your easily lobbied Empress of TODsylvania!
yeah, I know, rite?
😯 Jealous? Me?
#dontbedelusional
Well VC, he doubted my ability to find a new flower for him every day, so it’s really not a like thing at all, just my campaign to prove him WRONG!1!1
🙂
Aaaah! Okay. That works for me. Good luck! 😀
Here’s one you can save in your arsenal to surprise him another day.
Good West Coast morning Chipsticks & TOD family.
Gooooooooooooooooal moooooooooooooorning GGail!!
Gooooooal morning Chips 😘
You know u wuv me
💞
Hello west coaster; east coast greetings to you!
A court in Egypt has ordered the release on bail of two Al Jazeera journalists being retried for allegedly aiding the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were imprisoned in June along with their Australian colleague, Peter Greste.
But their convictions for spreading false news to help a terrorist group were overturned on appeal last month.
Mr Greste was freed last week under a law allowing the deportation of foreign nationals to their home countries.
Mr Fahmy has given up his Egyptian citizenship to qualify for deportation to Canada, but Mr Mohamed has no foreign passport.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-31435436
wonder why none of the murkan emmessem fuckers aren’t there in ME.
ahem …
seems fitting
OMG This is huge news. Need time to process.
I am afraid this represents a move backwards allowing Ed Rendell and the old school Dems I did not like back in charge.
Precisely. That circle is not a group of people I want to see in charge of anything.
Weirdest story ever:
Last summer an 81-year-old Dublin man went out to put out his trash …. and hadn’t been seen since. Left his phone and wallet at home.
And now his body has been found in …… England!
How the flip did he get there???
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/missing-dubliner-thomas-kennedy-found-dead-in-blackpool-30986366.html
The answer – he probably swam to England – same as my Irish relatives who paddled a canoe to Australia (too far to swim)
😆 I just read a little more on it 99ts, apparently he’d had a row with his wife so sounds like he just upped and left. Which is kind of wacky when he was 81!
Definitely like my family – more divorces post age 70 than at any other time. Most of them did say they were going, however, and tended to stay in the same country.
Apple has banned the practice of bonded labour, where new recruits are charged a fee before they start working.
In its latest audit of factory conditions, the iPhone maker said that any recruitment fee must be paid by the supplier and not the employee.
Apple began the audits following criticism of the working conditions in some of its factories.
It comes as a report from labour rights group China Labor Watch questioned the low wages earned by some Apple workers.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31438699
obscene profit = obscene treatment of workers
Sweden’s central bank has cut its key interest rate from 0% to a record low of -0.1%.
It also launched a programme of quantitative easing, buying government bonds worth 10 billion kronor ($1.2bn) to inject cash into the economy.
The central bank, or Riksbank, said that there was a risk that inflation would not rise fast enough.
Prices have risen in only one of the last 12 months. The annual inflation rate in January stood at -0.3%.
The Swedish krona fell to its lowest level since 2010 after the announcement.
Riksbank chief Stefan Ingves said the bank was prepared to cut rates further: “Should this not be enough, we want to be very clear that we are ready to do more.
“If more is needed, we are ready to make monetary policy even more expansionary.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-31436657
Have to revert to my grandmother’s saving scheme – under the mattress and sometimes under the floorboards. She didn’t trust banks – smart lady.
or … you can let me keep it for ya.
I’ll pass on that one – but thanks for the offer
#yourloss
#doubtful 🙂
NBC news reporter, Ned Colt, has dies of massive stroke. 56 years old. Life is short and precious. Condolences to his family.
Philly chosen for the 2016 Dem Convention.
Moooooooooooorning!
http://theobamadiary.com/2015/02/12/rise-and-shine-1010/
😀 😀 I don’t really want all of this but the author’s wants made me smile so I decided to share it.