“Rhapsody in Blue”

The New Yorker: “Since no one knew which way the election was going to go, I was trying to come up with as many cover ideas as I could, which was also just a great way to distract me from worrying about the election,” says Mark Ulriksen, the artist of this week’s cover “Rhapsody in Blue.” “And as I was sketching … I heard that CNN was going to light up the Empire State building according to whether it was a blue or red victory. I thought it was wonderful…

…. If it had been lit up red, I would’ve been disappointed …. I’m grateful that, as my mom says, ‘my team won.’”

More here

Thanks BWD

out of a clear blue sky….

President Barack Obama boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Aug. 11, en route to Michigan.

President Obama walks toward Marine One while departing the White House, August 11

‘the professional left and the big sam president’

Blue Virginia: …. Keith Olbermann …. whose resurrected show Countdown is an echo chamber of one-sided thought with no room for debate and no tolerance for any divergence of opinion ….. ended his first program on the Current TV network with some singularly unsolicited instructions (not advice, but instructions, mind you) of what exactly the President should do regarding Afghanistan.

…I was born during Eisenhower’s first Administration. I barely remember Kennedy, and came of age during Nixon and Watergate. In all that time, I can never remember any President previously getting so much unsolicited advice from all quarters, nor can I ever remember any President receiving such hateful and spiteful gratuitous criticism and petulant behaviour from people who are supposed to be from his side of the political equation.

Before every major statement or speech, up pop various and sundry professionally Leftish talking heads, first, to tell us all what the President SHOULD say in his address; then after the speech, itself, they inhabit our screens, the very embodiment of moral and righteous consternation, to tell us why and how the President is wrong, what he should have said and, just basically, what a very bad, weak and naughty boy he has been. The boy bit is never openly stated, but it is just as much implied as if Joe Wilson, himself, had been issuing the criticism.

….From Olbermann and his crony, Michael Moore, on down, we’re presented with a series of armchair quarterbacks, who would always do a better job than this President…

… what’s so infuriating to Keith (and to Miss Jane and Marse Cenk and Miss Joan and all the rest) is the fact that, damn it, this President SHOULD be awfully sorry that he hasn’t done anything they reckon he’s said he’d do but carries on doing what he thinks is best and isn’t sorry at all. In fact, on occasion, he’s been damned uppity towards them …

Read the full post here

Thank you Tracy

poetry night (full video added)

President Obama speaks during a celebration of American poetry and prose at the White House, May 11

oh baby (updated: say hello to nate’s dad in the comments)

President Obama greets a young baby upon his arrival at San Francisco International Airport, April 20. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

dinner time

The Blue Room is seen in preparation for President Barack Obama’s State Dinner for President Hu Jintao of the People’s Republic of China, at the White House in Washington on January 19

Guest list here

‘this should be a happy day for you – no matter what your ideological beliefs’

Rick Ungar (Forbes): The first statistics are coming in and, to the surprise of a great many, Obamacare might just be working to bring health care to working Americans precisely as promised.

The major health insurance companies around the country are reporting a significant increase in small businesses offering health care benefits to their employees.

Why? Because the tax cut created in the new health care reform law providing small businesses with an incentive to give health benefits to employees is working.

….United Health Group, the nation’s largest health insurer, added 75,000 new customers working in businesses with fewer than 50 employees ….. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City reports an astounding 58% increase in the number of small businesses purchasing coverage in their area since April, 2010 – one month after the health care reform legislation became law.

“One of the biggest problems in the small-group market is affordability,” said Ron Rowe, who oversees small-group sales for the Kansas City operation for Blue Cross Blue Shied. “We looked at the tax credit and said, ‘this is perfect.” Rowe went on to say that 38% of the businesses it is signing up had not offered health benefits before.

Whatever your particular ideology, there is simply no denying that these statistics are incredibly heartening. However, for those of you who cannot get past your opposition, even for a moment of universal good news, let’s break it down.

The primary, most enduring complaint of the opponents of the ACA has been that the law is deathly bad for small business: Apparently, small businesses, and their employees, do not agree.

The next argument has been that the PPACA is a job killer: If these small businesses found the new law to be so onerous, why have so many of them voluntarily taken advantage of the benefits provided in the law to give their employees these benefits? They were not mandated to do so…

Of course, there is the nagging banter as to how Obamacare is leading us down the road to socialism: Let it go, folks.

Private market insurance companies are experiencing significant growth because of a tax break provided by the PPACA. I may have missed the day this was discussed in economics class, but I’m pretty sure this is not a socialistic result of federal legislation.

When data like this appears, we have the opportunity to really find out who is talking smack for political benefit and who actually cares about getting affordable and available health care to America’s workers …  if you cannot celebrate what appears to be an important early success, you really should give some thought as to where your true interests and intents lie.

If you’re all about beating up on President Obama, you can conveniently forget this bit of data as if it never really happened. However, if your interest is to make health care available to more Americans, this should be a happy day for you – no matter what your ideological beliefs.

This is seriously wonderful news: Full article here

taking the long view

President Barack Obama looks out the window in the Blue Room of the White House before holding a press conference, Nov. 3, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

(Taken from newly released batch of official photos – more here)

out of the blue

President Barack Obama waves as he leaves Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, after the flight from Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 14, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

out of the blue

First Lady Michelle Obama walks from a SUV July 23, 2010 upon returning with President Obama to the White House after attending a recital by one of their daughters