Rise and Shine

Two years ago: President Obama greets people in Toledo, Ohio, June 3, 2011 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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Today:

9:40: President Obama delivers opening remarks to the White House Mental Health Conference

12:30: Jay Carney briefs the press

2:0: VP Biden delivers closing remarks at the National Conference on Mental Health at the White House

3:30: Sec. of State Kerry Addresses 2013 American Jewish Committee Forum (C-Span)

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Tuesday: The President will host President Sebastián Piñera of Chile at the White House.

Wednesday: The President will welcome the Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens to the White House.

Thursday: The President will travel to the Charlotte area as part of his middle-class jobs and opportunity tour.  From there, he’ll travel to San José, California to attend an event for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He will spend the night in San José.

Friday: The President will travel to Los Angeles to attend an event for the Democratic National Committee. He will then travel to Palm Springs, California to meet with President Xi Jinping of The People’s Republic of China at Sunnylands, the Walter and Leonore Annenberg estate.  He will remain overnight in Palm Springs.

Saturday: The President will wrap up his meetings with the Chinese President and then will return to Washington, D.C.

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White House Live

Washington Post: President Obama is scheduled to deliver remarks Monday on the issue of mental health, raising it in connection with the sweeping gun-control agenda he unveiled earlier this year.

The morning address will open what the White House has dubbed a National Conference on Mental Health, a gathering of advocates, elected officials, faith leaders and others aimed at increasing awareness of mental illness and highlighting ways that the mentally ill can seek help. Actress Glenn Close and Vice President Joe Biden are slated to speak at the event.

During his speech, Obama is expected to announce a series of “summits” coordinated by Veterans Affairs health centers aimed at bolstering mental health services for veterans.

More here

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Sweeeeeeeeeeet:

Strong words from Mr Grand Theft Auto and suspected arsonist/insurance swindler. And loose ethically today.thehill.com/video/house/30…

— David Plouffe (@davidplouffe) June 2, 2013

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Steve Benen: ….. Unlike Issa’s rhetorical jabs, Plouffe’s brush-back pitch at least has the benefit of accuracy …. Issa, the man Republicans have tasked with leading investigations into alleged administration misdeeds, really has spent a fair amount of his adult life as a suspected criminal. This Ryan Lizza piece in the New Yorker from a couple of years ago remains relevant.

“Many politicians have committed indiscretions in earlier years: maybe they had an affair or hired an illegal immigrant as a nanny. Issa, it turned out, had, among other things, been indicted for stealing a car, arrested for carrying a concealed weapon, and accused by former associates of burning down a building.”

…… It’s not a secret – Issa’s background is the subject of insider jokes and private chatter – but it’s considered impolite to broach the subject publicly.

Which makes Plouffe’s rhetorical shot all the more interesting.

More here

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Why I STILL have AG Holder’s back immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2013/06/why-i-…

— Smartypants (@Smartypants32) June 2, 2013

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(1) See from my TL, media still hating on Holder. Thought I’d post a few facts abt r AG for those who don’t know just how brilliant he is.

— LiberalPhenom (@LiberalPhenom) June 3, 2013

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ThinkProgress: The Medicare Trustees had great news for American seniors on Friday: the program’s solvency has been extended for two full years past what the trustees predicted in 2012.

In their annual report, the trustees wrote that Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund will be fully solvent through 2026. That’s over a decade longer than what the trustees projected back in 2009….

…. The upward projections are likely a consequence of several factors. First, the 10-year revision from 2009 is a direct result of Obamacare. The health law takes $700 billion of excessive and wasteful payments made to private providers that service the Medicare Advantage program and reallocates it to traditional Medicare. Conservatives have made the outlandish claim that this “robs Medicare,” when in fact it does the exact opposite, and Republicans have included the same savings in their own budgets.

More here

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Paul Krugman: Last month the Congressional Budget Office released its much-anticipated projections for debt and deficits, and there were cries of lamentation from the deficit scolds who have had so much influence on our policy discourse. The problem, you see, was that the budget office numbers looked, well, O.K.: deficits are falling fast, and the ratio of debt to gross domestic product is projected to remain roughly stable over the next decade. Obviously it would be nice, eventually, to actually reduce debt. But if you’ve built your career around proclamations of imminent fiscal doom, this definitely wasn’t the report you wanted to see.

Still, we can always count on the baby boomers to deliver disaster, can’t we? Doesn’t the rising tide of retirees mean that Social Security and Medicare are doomed unless we radically change those programs now now now?

Maybe not……

More here

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@TuxcedoCat

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Supreme Court will hand down decisions starting at 10:00 a.m.will be monitoring @scotusblog all day 4 Affirmative Action & VRA decisions.

— skeptical brotha (@skepticalbrotha) June 3, 2013

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Michael Tomasky: Who’s Mark Pryor Kidding? …. Arkansas Democratic Senator Mark Pryor has a new reelection ad up in which he says: “The mayor of New York City is running ADS again me, because I oppose President Obama’s gun-control legislation. … I’m Mark Pryor. And I approve this message because NO ONE from New York or Washington tells ME what to do. I listen to ARKANSAS.”

New poll: 60/31 support for background checks in Arkansas

…. So, Senator: bullfeathers. You’re not listening to Arkansas. You’re listening to the NRA…..

More here

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TPM: A lawmaker who helped negotiate a bipartisan bill to overhaul immigration predicted on Sunday that comprehensive legislation would overwhelmingly pass the Senate by July 4 while House Republicans cautioned that they would write their own version, one piece at a time.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he anticipates as many as 70 of the 100 senators will vote for the measure heading to the full Senate on June 10. Even if it passes there, the proposal faces tough prospects in the Republican-led House, where lawmakers are at work on their own piecemeal approach that could stall a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million immigrants living in this country illegally.

More here

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Star Tribune: We will miss Michele Bachmann

She hid in the bushes to protect us from the gays, launched an inquisition into the government to protect us from the Muslims and promised to break the law to save us from the ­census takers.

But now that Rep. Michele Bachmann is calling it quits, who is left to save our incandescent light bulbs?

No one, that’s who.

….. my favorite Bachmann sleight-of-mouth may have been when she said this: “After the debate that we had last week, PolitiFact came out and said that everything I said was true.”

PolitiFact rated that statement a “pants-on-fire” fib…..

More here

Thank you ‏@FORUS50!

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Woah, am I the last to know about the conditions George Preston Marshall left in his will??

Michael Tomasky: There’s a debate brewing – yet again – about whether the name of Washington’s football team is racist. Of course it is.

When George Preston Marshall died in 1969, he … directed that the bulk of his estate be used to set up a foundation in his name. He attached, however, one firm condition: that the foundation, operating out of Washington, D.C., should not direct a single dollar toward “any purpose which supports or employs the principle of racial integration in any form.” Think about that. This was not 1929 or 1949….

This is the man who gave the Washington Redskins their name. He was one of the most despicable racists in the American sporting arena of the entire 20th century. He thought Redskins was funny, just as he thought the war paint and feather headdress he made the head coach wear were funny. And this is the legacy that current Redskins owner Dan Snyder wants to uphold?

More here

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Oh hey there. twitter.com/whitehouse/sta…

— The White House (@whitehouse) June 2, 2013

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MoooOOOooorning!!!

Enoooooooooooormous thanks to UT and LovelyPlains for their posts yesterday,

I am so tempted to buy you both this costume to demonstrate your wonderfulness:

Yes, that’s what you are: human Cheesy Puffs.

Rise and Shine

@lacasablanca: Oval Office meeting: President Obama and @sr_simone of “Nuns on the Bus” discussed #ImmigrationReform

SOOOOexcited. Leaving White House & 1 on 1 meeting with POTUS in Oval Office. He wants #cir13 NOW! Is following #Nunsonthebus

— Sr. Simone Campbell (@sr_simone) May 30, 2013

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Today:

10:20: The President delivers remarks on student loans (White House Live)

10:50: Meets with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

12:30: Press Briefing by Jay Carney

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Not defending Holder OTR meetings, but in 2006, news orgs defended their off record meetings with Bush: washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content…

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) May 31, 2013

Yep, how things have changed…..

Washington Post (March 2006): Off the Record, Bush Makes Media Inroads …. As he defends his Iraq policy with a public campaign of speeches and a recent news conference, President Bush also has been waging a private campaign that has included off-the-record sessions with White House reporters….

One gathering, which took place Thursday in the White House residence, was an unusual gesture by Bush, who has agreed to comparatively few lengthy exchanges with reporters during his five years in office….

Last week’s session involved reporters from several prominent broadcast and print outlets, including ABC News and The Washington Post. Under the off-the-record ground rules, the journalists were barred from reporting what was discussed. White House officials said they also hoped the meetings’ mere existence would remain under wraps….

More here

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Joe Conason (National Memo): …. The notion that Barack Obama is “Nixonian” – or that his administration’s recent troubles bear any resemblance to “Watergate” – is the biggest media lie since the phony “Whitewater scandal” crested during the Clinton presidency.

…. Only in a country afflicted with chronic historical amnesia could they issue such accusations without shame or embarrassment. Only under those circumstances could the Republicans continue their fitful fabrication of a “Democratic Watergate” without fear of being laughed off the stage….

…. But certain liberals in the media have fretted loudly over Obama’s “scandals,” too …..  is it all just trumped-up hysteria? To answer those questions, it helps to remember what Nixon and his gang actually did to America – and why they were driven out of Washington and, in many cases, sent to prison….

More here

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That dreaded Obamacare. Cutting health costs. Now this. Health Law Is Fostering Competition, U.S. Says, via @nytimes nyti.ms/136FbUK

— David Plouffe (@davidplouffe) May 31, 2013

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Steve Benen: Student loans reclaim center stage ….. President Obama will deliver remarks, flanked by college students, on a subject that too often goes overlooked: student loans. With a looming interest rate hike, the president will reportedly “call on Congress to help keep college affordable for middle-class families and students by preventing student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1.”

…. House Republicans say they’ve already passed a bill on this, which is true. They also say their bill is worthwhile and consistent with White House demands, which is not true…..

More here

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SmartyPants

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Yep, austerity works so well:

Bloomberg: Euro-area unemployment increased to a record in April after the currency bloc’s recession deepened in the first quarter, increasing pressure on its leaders and the European Central Bank to spur economic growth.

The euro-area jobless rate rose to 12.2 percent from 12.1 percent in March…. to 19.38 million in April, up 95,000 from the previous month. Youth unemployment was at 24.4 percent …. Spain had the highest rate at 26.8 percent. No April data were available for Greece, which had a 27 percent rate in February.

More here

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@WhiteHouse

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This and That

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Media Matters: CNN Botches Key Facts In Holder Story

Reporting that House Republicans are investigating whether Attorney General Eric Holder lied to Congress during his recent testimony about Justice Department seizures of communications records in connection with a national security leak investigation, CNN’s Dana Bash misstated key facts of the controversy. In so doing, CNN helped bolster the hollow claims of Republicans – wildly hyped by Fox News – that Holder may have perjured himself….

More here

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OMG, POTATOE! “@theobamadiary: ..do you think Fox are struggling to find serious people to discuss Holder-gate™? twitter.com/TheObamaDiary/…”

— Lola Haag (@ojailola) May 30, 2013

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@theobamadiary But it’s EXCLUSIVE!!!

— BWD (@theonlyadult) May 30, 2013

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Greg Sargent: A new Quinnipiac poll finds that an overwhelming majority of Americans – 73-22 – thinks we should be placing a higher priority on the economy and unemployment than on the “scandals” gripping Washington. That includes 72 percent of independents, who are critical in midterm elections. At the same time, a variety of indicators, from rising home prices to buoyed consumer confidence to falling gas prices, suggest that the economy is improving at a stronger clip than previously anticipated.

If the recovery is strong next year, it could help Dems hold the Senate….

More here

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TPM: The White House has received more than 120 applications from health insurance plans looking to sell on the new federal health care exchange …. The success of the Affordable Care Act partially hinges on competition in order to keep premiums low, and, according to the memo, “the early signs are promising and demonstrate a significant increase in competition and an array of options for consumers everywhere.”

One out of four insurers that have applied to sell insurance in the marketplace is new to the individual insurance market and at least one new provider has been added in 75 percent of states with a federally run marketplace…..

More here

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Quote of the week? Century?

“What good is it to save the planet if humanity suffers?”

Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson at the oil giant’s annual meeting, Wednesday.

See Steve Benen

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“I don’t have much patience for people who deny climate change.” —President Obama

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 30, 2013

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Jonathan Chait: Pete Wehner, former Minister of Propaganda for the Bush administration, sees the excitement of the Obama scandals receding, and he knows just how to explain this. Not a lack of evidence to date that anybody in the administration has done anything wrong. It’s media bias ….. Yeah, that sounds right….

Full post here

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USA Today: The pro-Obama group Organizing for Action will hold 39 “founders events” across the country this weekend as part of an effort to build separate state chapters.

“OFA supporters, volunteers, campaign alumni and donors will come together to discuss what OFA has already accomplished as well as our goals and the path forward,” said an announcement from the group….

The Illinois State Founders Summit will be held Friday and Saturday in Obama’s hometown of Chicago, and will feature remarks by OFA Chairman Jim Messina and Executive Director Jon Carson.

They plan to discuss “how OFA plans how to continue to ensure the American people’s voices are heard by lawmakers as we fight to tip the scales of power back to the American people and away from the special interests to advance the issues the American people voted for in November,” said the statement.

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Oh dear:

Rise and Shine

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Today:

EST

12:45: Press Briefing by Jay Carney

3:55: The President departs the White House

CDT

5:0: Arrives Chicago

6:30: Attends a DCCC event, Chicago Hilton (Pool Coverage)

7:45: Attends a DCCC event (Private Residence)

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@PeteSouza

@PeteSouza

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Steve Benen: Obama is clearly the worst socialist ever

Wall Street’s major indexes soared after U.S. home prices saw their best annual rise in seven years, and consumer confidence got another boost. But even before today’s stock-market gains, President Obama is in rare company when it comes to Wall Street returns.

…. I don’t think a strong stock market is necessarily proof of a robust economy. On the contrary, I care far more about unemployment, median wages, and economic growth than Wall Street returns. But the right shouldn’t try to have it both ways – if a bear market in 2009 is, in the minds of conservatives, clear proof that Obama’s agenda is misguided and dangerous, then by the same reasoning, should we interpret soaring Wall Street indexes as proof of Obama’s genius?

Full post here

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#GOP: “#BENGHAZI!”#DEMS: “What about 60 killed in embassy attacks under Bush?”#GOP: “That was different!”#DEMS: “Why?”#GOP: “#BENGHAZI!”

— Eric Wolfson (@ericwolfson) May 28, 2013

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Ed Kilgore: ….. we’re having to come to grips with the fact that about half the states appear unlikely to participate fully in the Medicaid expansion provided for in the Affordable Care Act …. that leaves quite a few (including most of the South) just flat out refusing to do anything for people with incomes under the federal poverty line. And that creates a very large “coverage gap … I’d suggest the “wingnut hole.”

Full post here

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ThinkProgress: How Obamacare Is Encouraging Employers To Cut Wasteful Spending And Promote Workers’ Health

In an effort to cut wasteful U.S. medical spending, certain employers will be scaling back expensive health plans available to their employees and encouraging workers to pursue more preventative and ongoing primary care. The move is being prompted by Obamacare provisions that encourage a more cost-sensitive and efficient approach to Americans’ health care than the status quo.

More here

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“I am honored to have received the endorsement of President @barackobama for the United States Senate.” – EM #masen bit.ly/11n0UU4

— Ed Markey (@EdMarkey) May 28, 2013

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Bloomberg: The unofficial slogan for Massachusetts Democrats as they work toward a special U.S. Senate election next month is “Remember 2010.”

That was the year that political newcomer Scott Brown won the seat held for 46 years by the late Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy and became the first Republican to prevail in a Massachusetts Senate race since 1972.

…. To demonstrate the party isn’t resting on its 3-to-1 voter registration edge over Republicans, Democratic leaders are lining up behind nominee Representative Ed Markey, 66, including first lady Michelle Obama, who is set to host a fundraiser for him today in Boston. The president, who has a 67 percent approval rating in the state according to a recent poll by Suffolk University, endorsed him yesterday.

More here

But Dotster found this: First Lady Michelle Obama won’t be joining the president back home. She is scheduled to be in New York for Democratic National Committee fundraisers, including a gala for the lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities that features Jason Collins, the first openly gay active NBA player.” (Chicago Tribune) – so, not sure which is right. Both??

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@WhiteHouse

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Steve Benen: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who’s made quite a name for herself over the course of four terms in Congress, made a surprise announcement overnight: she won’t seek re-election…..

…. In recent elections, the right-wing Minnesotan eked out narrow victories — she very nearly lost last November — and recent polling suggested Bachmann would struggle to keep her seat in 2014. Quitting will save her the trouble of losing.

…. Bachmann will be missed, but mostly by the nation’s comedy writers.

Full post here

Rise and Shine

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Today:

8:0: The President delivers remarks at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner; The First Lady attends

Tomorrow: The President has no public events scheduled

Monday: The President will deliver remarks at the National Academy of Sciences 150th Anniversary

Tuesday: As part of the Joining Forces initiative, President Obama, Vice President Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden will make a significant employment announcement for veterans and military spouses. This event will take place at the White House

Wednesday: The President will attend meetings at the White House

Thursday: In the morning, the President will depart Washington, DC for his visit to Mexico and Costa Rica

Friday: In the afternoon, the President will depart Mexico for Costa Rica

Saturday: In the afternoon, the President will depart Costa Rica and return to Washington, DC

Sunday: The President will deliver the commencement address at Ohio State University. He will return to Washington, DC, later that day

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Please note: formal dress only for the WHCD, so any TODers who turn up here tonight in jeans will be thrown out.

Breaking: AMK wants to wear his pajamas, because of timezone issues – so, he has an exemption.

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ThinkProgress: 12 Programs Congress Refuses To Save From Automatic Spending Cuts

After thousands of flight delays across the country this week, the Senate voted Thursday night to give the Federal Aviation Administration the flexibility to keep the nation’s airports running smoothly … That means lawmakers will be able to fly home for recess this weekend without any delays ….. Unfortunately, though, Congress has shown no willingness to provide similar relief for the families that are being hammered by sequestration in other ways. Here are 12 programs that have experienced devastating cuts because Congress insists on cutting spending when it doesn’t need to — and that have been ignored by the same lawmakers who leaped to action as soon as their trips home were going to take a little longer:

1 Long-term unemployment, 2 Head Start, 3 Cancer treatment, 4 Health research, 5 Low-income housing, 6 Student aid, 7 Meals On Wheels, 8 Disaster relief,
9 Heating assistance, 10 Workplace safety, 11 Obamacare, 12 Child care….

See post for details

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Ask not what your country can do for you; ask when this f*cking plane will take off.

— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) April 26, 2013

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Business Insider: his week G.E. Capital Finance announced that it would no longer finance gun purchases, becoming the latest in a string of companies that have decided to leave a large amount of money on the table rather than risk their reputations on the gun business.

It’s one of the few places where the high-profile publicity campaign in support of increased gun control has led to a real world result….

More here

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A really powerful website: TheyDontWorkForYou.org

Thanks CarolMaeWY

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Rise and Shine

Stories Of Courage And Hope

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(Military Friends Foundation)

Tasneem Raja: At 5:20 a.m. on Monday, four hours before the Boston Marathon’s elite runners took off, a group of 15 active-duty soldiers from the Massachusetts National Guard gathered at the starting line in Hopkinton. Each soldier was in full combat uniform and carried a “ruck,” a military backpack weighing about 40 pounds. The rucks were filled with Camelbacks of water, extra uniforms, Gatorade, changes of socks—and first-aid and trauma kits. It was all just supposed to be symbolic. These soldiers, participating in “Tough Ruck 2013,” were doing the 26 miles of the Boston Marathon to honor comrades killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, or lost to suicide and PTSD-related accidents after coming home.

(Military Friends Foundation)

When the explosion went off, Fiola and his group immediately went into tactical mode. “I did a count and told the younger soldiers to stay put,” Fiola says. “Myself and two other soldiers, my top two guys in my normal unit, crossed the street about 100 yards to the metal scaffoldings holding up the row of flags. We just absolutely annihilated the fence and pulled it back so we could see the victims underneath. The doctors and nurses from the medical tent were on the scene in under a minute. We were pulling burning debris off of people so that the medical personnel could get to them and begin triage.”

Read more here

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CTV Atlantic: Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter announced today that the provincial government will donate $50,000 to the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children in response to the bombings at the Boston Marathon.

“When we were in need, Bostonians were there,” says Dexter. “There is a border and hundreds of miles between us, but Massachusetts is always close to the hearts of Nova Scotians. We will do everything we can to support our neighbours and friends in their time of need.”

Read more here 

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News Of The Day

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Washington Post: Months after their Jan. 28 announcement of a tentative compromise on immigration reform, the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” has finally unveiled its bill, or at least a summary of the proposal. It includes sweeping changes in treatment of both existing undocumented workers and aspiring immigrants. Here are the key points, culled from summaries in the Post and Politico as well as the actual bill summary, posted by Talking Points Memo here.

Read more on the Senate Immigration Bill

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Even more news on the Senate’s immigration bill, Gun control vote, Budget, Reinhart and Rogoff’s failed pro-austerity economic study, the IMF’s warning against excessive fiscal austerity, etc; in the Washington Post’s WonkBlog

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Steve Benen: For reasons that have never been clear, House Republican leaders gave Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) a seat on the House Intelligence Committee, affording the right-wing lawmaker access to some of the nation’s most sensitive national security information, and giving the congresswoman an opportunity to ask questions of the intelligence community.

Occasionally, that’s not a good idea. Late last week, Bachmann asked CIA Director John Brennan questions that left him visibly confused. As part of a line of inquiry that apparently related to Benghazi, the Minnesota Republican asked about armed drone strikes in Libya before last September.”Armed drone strikes in Libya?” Brennan replied, clearly baffled. “I’m unknowing of such.” There is a moral to the story. It’s unfortunate that ridiculous candidates will be elected to Congress, but to give these lawmakers seats on the intelligence committees is never a good idea.

Read more here

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Zack Beauchamp: Tuesday afternoon, Mike Konczal transformed the debate over austerity and growth by reporting new study finding that a paper by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff that served as one of the principal intellectual justification for austerity turns out to be have been fatally flawed. Its conclusions, for example, were based in part on an elementary Excel coding error (Reinhart and Rogoff, for their part, aren’t conceding the game)

But let’s be honest: most journalists had no real way of knowing whether or not Reinhart/Rogoff had actually provided *good* proof of the 90 percent theory. The reason economists tend to have PhDs is that economics is a difficult, technical profession; assessing the robustness of any individual finding requires a degree of econometric expertise, background knowledge, and free time that the vast majority of journalists simply don’t have. This a deeper problem for journalists than many will care to admit.

Read more here

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ThinkProgress: A bipartisan group of senators this morning introduced comprehensive immigration reform legislation that provides a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States, as well as reforms to other existing worker and visa programs. Still, temporary status gives those immigrants the ability to contribute directly to the American economy, and the benefits for the overall economy, including American workers, would be substantial over the next decade.

Legislation that included a faster path to citizenship, as CAP’s Patrick Oakford and Robert Lynch found in a recent study, would provide an even bigger boost to the economy. A five-year path to citizenship, they found, would add $1.1 trillion to the economy over the next decade while increasing Americans’ cumulative income by $618 billion and increasing job growth by 159,000 annually.

Read more here

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Presidential Daily Schedule (All Times Eastern)

10:00AM: Pres. Obama receives the presidential daily briefing

11:45AM: Press Sec. Jay Carney briefs the press

12:00PM: Pres. Obama and VP Biden meet with Treasury Sec. Jack Lew

2:00PM: First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at a bill signing for military families with Gov. O’Malley

2:45PM: VP Biden hosts a Google+ Hangout with Mayors to discuss reducing gun violence

4:05PM: Pres. Obama and VP Biden welcome the Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride to the White House

6:30PM: Pres. Obama meets with Democratic Senators for dinner

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Patton Oswalt: Boston. F*cking horrible.

I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, “Well, I’ve had it with humanity.”

But I was wrong. I don’t know what’s going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths.

But here’s what I DO know. If it’s one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. (Thanks FAKE Gallery founder and owner Paul Kozlowski for pointing this out to me). This is a giant planet and we’re lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they’re pointed towards darkness.

But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We’d have eaten ourselves alive long ago.

So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, “The good outnumber you, and we always will.”

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MooOOOOoooorning everyone. Wishing you all a safe and happy day. 😀

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afternoon all

Thanks Bobfr

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Greg Sargent (Washington Post): Conservatives are furious with GOP candidates like Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry for attacking Mitt Romney’s Bain tenure as capitalism run amok. Gingrich has claimed that Bain “looted” other companies, and Perry today slammed enterprises like Bain as “vultures” who “eat the carcass” of its victims, prompting a fresh round of outrage from the right.

Conservatives have good reason for being angry about this. In attacking Romney’s Bain years in these terms, his fellow Republicans are mainstreaming and giving bipartisan legitimacy to one of the chief arguments Obama and Dems will use against Romney in the general election. They are badly undermining Romney’s whole pushback against it – giving Dems an advantage in the coming war to define Romney’s Bain years, which will be as central to the general election narrative as the war over John Kerry’s Vietnam service was in 2004.

More here

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WH: …. Since Chrysler and GM emerged from bankruptcy in June of 2009, the auto industry has added 170,000 jobs – the best period of job growth for the industry in more than a decade.

When President Obama took office, the American auto industry was shedding jobs by the hundreds of thousands and GM and Chrysler faced the possibility of liquidation – which would have caused at least 1 million more jobs to be lost. The President made the tough choice to help provide the auto industry the temporary support it needed to grow and prosper.

Today, GM and Chrysler have repaid their government loans, and the “Big Three” automakers – GM, Ford, and Chrysler – are all adding jobs, generating profit, and investing in their U.S. facilities. Auto sales climbed in December for the seventh consecutive month and GM, Chrysler, and Ford saw their market share increase to over 47 percent in 2011, the second straight year that Detroit gained market share against their foreign competitors, something that had not previously happened since 1995….

More here and here

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TPM: In a positive sign for the economy, November saw the biggest growth in consumer credit for 10 years. It should have happened much earlier. What threw it off was the GOP taking the debt ceiling hostage.

More here

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Steve Benen: A few weeks ago, PolitiFact made a serious mistake in selecting its “Lie of the Year” … Democratic claims that House Republicans voted to “end” Medicare earned the ignoble designation, despite the fact that the Democratic argument is easily supportable.

It was easy to predict what would happen next. As part of the party’s 2012 campaign message, Democrats would run ads criticizing GOP lawmakers for their anti-Medicare vote … GOP leaders would go to every station in the country, telling them not to run campaign commercials that include claims proven to be untrue. That PolitiFact’s decision was ridiculous wouldn’t matter.

And sure enough, we’re already seeing this start to play out. Greg Sargent has the latest: Earlier this week, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee aired a TV ad, timed to the GOP presidential debate, attacking GOP incumbent Rep. Charlie Bass for voting to “end Medicare.” The Bass campaign sent letters to two New Hampshire stations – WMUR and WHDH – demanding the ads be yanked. Crucially, the Bass campaign repeatedly cited PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year designation to bolster its case.

Both stations refused.

More here

The ad:

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AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka lauds Cecilia Muñoz’s appointment to head the Domestic Policy Council: “Cecilia Muñoz is a dedicated advocate for civil and human rights and longtime friend to the Labor movement. The AFL-CIO congratulates Cecilia on her appointment to Director of the Domestic Policy Council and looks forward to working with her to develop and implement a policy agenda that improves the lives of working families.”

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President Barack Obama is introduced by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson before he speaks to employees of the EPA in Washington January 10

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afternoon all

Thanks defytheodds

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The Hill: Justice expands definition of rape – Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to President Obama, said the administration supported the update and worked with DOJ on the matter. The Department of Justice has broadened its definition of rape to lead to more comprehensive statistical reporting of the crime nationwide. Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday announced the changes to the Uniform Crime Report’s definition of rape, which the Justice Department said better reflect state criminal codes….

More here

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President Obama speaks with four campaign supporters during lunch at Scion restaurant in Washington

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Thanks Esmerelda!

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Mediaite

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CBS

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Steve Benen: GOP refuses to let House Dems speak….. When President Obama wants to raise the debt ceiling, congressional Republicans respond, “You can’t do that; we’re not in session.” When the White House wants to make recess appointments, congressional Republicans respond, “You can’t do that; we are in session.” And when James Clyburn wants to say a few words from the House floor, congressional Republicans respond, “You can’t do that; we’re not in session.”

Full post here

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The Week

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Buy it at the OFA store

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afternoon all

Iowa Democratic Party

Last week at Firebaggerlake:

😳

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USA Today: President Obama announced a new military strategy on Thursday that will cut the Pentagon budget by hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade.

Speaking from the Pentagon, Obama said the plan is “smart, strategic” and sets priorities.

…. The new military strategy includes $487 billion in cuts over the next decade. An additional $500 billion in cuts could be coming if Congress follows through on plans for deeper reductions. The announcement comes weeks after the U.S. officially ended the Iraq War and after a decade of increased defense spending in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

More here

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President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta after the president spoke on the Defense Strategic Review at the Pentagon

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Washington Post

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Dana Milbank: If this is Mitt Romney’s idea of a victory rally, one shudders to think what would have happened if he had lost the Iowa caucuses. The day after his impossibly thin eight-vote victory …. he flew here for a town hall meeting at Manchester Central High School, where he was to bask in the endorsement of his 2008 arch rival, John McCain.

But the senator grimaced when he was introduced, and as Romney delivered his own stump speech, an increasingly impatient McCain pulled up his sleeve and checked his watch. McCain gave his endorsement address without mentioning Romney’s Iowa win until the end. “By the way, we forgot to congratulate him on his landslide victory last night,” he said, laughing. Romney ignored him.

….. Romney continued to wrestle with words when he took the stage … “What a, uh, big night we had last night, or what a big morning we had, uh, last morning, this morning, in, uh, Iowa,” he began…..

Full article here

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Randall Enos

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Ah, the Firebaggers just keep on embarrassing themselves …. from Firebaggerlake:

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Raw Story

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Washington Monthly: What If Obama Loses? … there’s a widespread assumption that extreme positions taken in the (GOP) primaries will fade in the general election as candidates “move to the center,” and will disappear entirely once the serious business of governing begins. Surely President Newt Gingrich would not get rid of child labor laws. Surely President Perry would not seek to eliminate three cabinet departments.

We don’t think that this year, with this GOP, those assumptions are warranted. And so we asked a distinguished group of reporters and scholars to think through the hitherto unthinkable: What if one of these people actually wins?

Full post here

Thanks BWD

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Chart of the Century:

Steve Benen (thanks Meta)

afternoon all

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President Barack Obama’s motorcade drives on Marine Corps Base Hawaii after his early morning workout, Monday, Jan. 2, in Kaneohe, Hawaii

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There’s lots of the usual snark from Andrew Romano in his Daily Beast article about the President’s ‘re-election machine’, but it’s worth a read – it’s an awesome machine! (Link)

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Slate

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Steve Benen: That ought to be interesting: “President Obama will fly to Cleveland hours after the Iowa caucuses for an address on the economy, the White House announced Monday. Obama will travel to the Ohio city aboard Air Force One on Wednesday and will deliver remarks on the economy at Shaker Heights High School. His remarks will come shortly after Hawkeye State voters kick off the 2012 presidential nominating race.”

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Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and her husband Marcus sing and pray while attending services at the Jubilee Family Church on January 1, 2012 in Oskaloosa, Iowa

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Clean Technica: With two years of the Obama administration, almost four times as much clean energy has been put on the grid on public lands as in all the previous 40 years.

All the renewable energy ever permitted on public lands totaled 1,800 MW by the end of 2008. In the last two years, the Department of the Interior has approved 6,600 MW of new projects.

Full article here