a word …. or several

There’s a new (cranky) sheriff in town

Hi everyone,

Apologies for another cranky post. It’s triggered by a less-than-chirpy week on the blog when some went out of their way to put a miserably negative spin on any positive news. There were times I felt like I had dropped in to HuffyPost, or MittIsAwesome.com.

And then I got an email tonight from one of our friends here, pointing out some of the curious negativity in the comments the past few days, confirming what I’d already felt.

So, just a reminder:

– – – – > This is a place for those who support President Obama and who want him re-elected < – – – –

That’s simple enough to understand, right?

If you are not a supporter of the President, and would quite like to see Mr Bain occupy the Oval Office next year, then please, find somewhere else on the internet to play.

Even if you are a ‘supporter’ of the President, but are determined to demoralize everyone else with your endless GOP-talking-points-induced gloom, please find somewhere else on the internet to play.

GOP talking-point-crap, lies and smears about PBO, and links to sites that post that shit, are never welcome here. Ever.

**** Seriously, how many times do I have to say that? ***

So, I’m just going to block the people who post that stuff from here on in – and there’ll be no warnings or apologies. When your comments don’t appear, you’ll know you’re done here.

Again, “but, but, but…. PBO is doomed because [random wingnut name] say so” comments will go straight in to the trash.

As I’ve said time and time again, this is a place for supporters of the President to escape the bile they experience elsewhere. That doesn’t mean we can’t throw punches at each other and argue things out, it just means we have a common cause, and if you don’t share that cause then, please, go somewhere else.

I honestly don’t have the time – or desire – to argue it out, between now and November I only want people on the blog who are battling towards PBO’s re-election, anyone intent on trying to demoralize that effort ….. bye.

PS I asked someone recently to end their personal feud with someone else on the blog – they promised they would. And then they posted a miserably ugly personal attack on the same person, which I deleted as soon as I saw it. I won’t name the person, but they’re banned. I honestly try not to set many rules here, but the one rule that really matters to me is ‘no personal abuse’, we get enough of that on other sites we visit. Any one who can’t accept that rule …. sorry, this isn’t the place for you.

evening all

President Barack Obama is briefed by National Security Advisor Tom Donilon before a phone call with King Abdullah II of Jordan in the Oval Office, Jan. 6, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Chicago Tribune: Freddie Mac announced Friday that it was giving mortgage servicers the authority to offer up to 1 year of mortgage forbearance to unemployed homeowners who have Freddie Mac-backed mortgages.

The change, with takes effect Feb. 1, means loan servicers can offer six months of forbearance to jobless borrowers without Freddie’s approval and another six months with approval….

Fannie Mae is expected next week to announce guidelines that will align with the new ones at Freddie Mac. The expansions are the result of a directive from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

More here

Thanks forus50

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ThinkProgress: The Affordable Care Act has done very well in court so far; three of the four courts of appeals to consider it have upheld the law…..

….Today, DOJ filed its brief defending the Affordable Care Act’s insurance coverage requirement, and with one sentence the Justice Department takes the plaintiff’s silliest and most successful argument off the table ….

…. This statement, that federal efforts to directly regulate the family, general crimes or education stand on much weaker constitutional footing than the ACA, is a very big deal. It shows that DOJ recognizes the only thing that even vaguely resembles a hole in their previous legal arguments, and that they have now sewn that hole up. When one of the justices asks them “if Congress can do this, what can it not do?” they will now have a clear and well-articulated answer.

With just one sentence in its brief, DOJ took away the last few straws the ACA’s opponents were desperately grasping at.

Full post here

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ThinkProgress: 20-Year Ban On Uranium Mining Near The Grand Canyon | Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to announce a 20-year moratorium on uranium mining in the Grand Canyon region on Monday. The ban has been under consideration for two years, with evidence showing the mining contaminates drinking water. Last year, the most anti-environment House of Representatives attempted to permit uranium mining to overrun the Grand Canyon region, after a 2009 suspension from the Department of Interior.

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Washington Post: Chrysler will add 1,250 jobs at two Detroit factories next year – another sign that the once struggling automaker appears to be making a comeback.

The Jefferson North Assembly Plant will get 1,100 new workers and a third shift to help build a Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel model for North America. Another 150 workers will be added when Chrysler reopens the Conner Avenue factory to make a Street Racing Team version of the Dodge Viper muscle car.

More here

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The Week

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Robert Shrum: How about that Romney landslide? It turned out that in Iowa, the Mitt did fit — by two hands worth of votes, minus the thumbs. On paid media alone, Romney spent approximately $113 per vote and Rick Santorum spent just $1.65. The Romney campaign dared, and lost while winning. If Mitt had racked up a convincing margin, he would have been on a glide path to the GOP nomination. Instead, he won by a mere eight votes…..

Full article here

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Em…..

Democratic presidential candidate Vermin Supreme, who is one of more than 40 candidates who are on the New Hampshire primary ballot for U.S. president in 2012, stands outside a campaign event for Senator Rick Santorum in Manchester, New Hampshire, January 6. New Hampshire, where candidates are required to do nothing more than fill out a form and pay $1,000 to sign up, typically attracts a wide range of candidates.

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Philly.com: ….. In 2005, Santorum made headlines – not all positive – for visiting the deathbed of Terri Schiavo, the woman at the center of a national right-to-die controversy.What my Philadelphia Daily News colleague John Baer later exposed was that the real reason he was in the Tampa, Fla., area was to collect money at a $250,000 fundraiser organized by executives of Outback Steakhouses, a company that shared Santorum’s passion for a low minimum wage for waitresses and other rank-and-file workers. Santorum’s efforts were also aided by his unusual mode of travel: Wal-Mart’s corporate jet. And he canceled a public meeting on Social Security reform “out of respect for the Schiavo family”  even as the closed fundraisers went on.

Full article here

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OFA: President Obama broke bread today with Scott, Valarie, Kathie, and Bill, the four winners of #DinnerWithBarack