Forward!

****

****

****

one voice

by hgerhard

Good morning TOD family ….. I want to comment on the now familiar subject of the best way to help the President win re-election.

I believe that those who say that we must stay on top of all the developments and not bury our heads in the sand are perfectly right. However, I know from personal experience how much I get energized by a clear positive statement from a someone I don’t know and I meet by chance.

Just a few days ago I had the opportunity to attend an event with the First Lady. I arrived at the place well ahead of the opening and went to a nearby restaurant to kill some time. Since I didn’t want to order food, I sat at the bar and ordered a fruit juice.

There was a lively conversation taking place, obviously related to the visit of Michelle Obama. Some of it was toxic and I experienced the familiar dread of having to listen to the lies and distortions about the President and his administration.

But then the woman next to me spoke up and told the rest of the crowd that she disagreed and supported the President. What happened then really amazed me: several of the people who had sat and listened silently joined in and brought up their own issues in support of the President – everything from health care to Wall Street reform, from the rescue of the auto industry to bringing the troops home from Iraq. A quick count of the people talking made it clear that the pro Obama voices were in the majority.

And yet, I am convinced that I would have left that place with a dark cloud around me, if it had not been for that one woman making a simple statement.

It reminded me of the 2008 campaign and how one voice can change everything.

So, yes, I will continue to inform myself about all the issues that come up, I will continue to read and tweet Attack Watch and all the positive news I find. But the real lesson is to speak up whenever I hear people talk about the President and the issues at hand. We all must be that one voice that enlightens and encourages others.

That’s how we win.

evening all (updated, a whole bunch of times)

Yesterday in Ohio

President Barack Obama greets neighbors outside the home of William and Endia Eason in Cleveland, Ohio, Jan. 4, 2012

(Despite having the latest version, I can’t see these Videopress videos with Firefox any more, but I can with Safari. What’s up with Firefox?!)

****

****

NYT: For the first time in many years, manufacturing stands out as an area of strength in the American economy.

When the Labor Department reports December employment numbers on Friday, it is expected that manufacturing companies will have added jobs in two consecutive years. Until last year, there had not been a single year when manufacturing employment rose since 1997.

More here

****

Thanks John McCain!!

Thanks Loriah

****

****

David Rothkopf (Foreign Policy): …. the Obama track record on many fronts is much better than the administration gives itself credit for. They could be doing much, much more to tout what is an impressive litany of successes.

While the list of those successes is long and compelling-defeating Bin Laden, getting out of Iraq, helping to oust Qaddafi, restoring our reputation internationally, resetting our international priorities to better coincide with our long term interests (the “pivot” to a focus on Asia), producing meaningful healthcare reform, producing significant financial services reforms, stopping the downward spiral in the economy and laying the foundations of recovery, etc. – let me focus on three areas that deserve much more attention and appreciation ….. ** See article **

…. the president is actually doing remarkably well in the world’s toughest job right now, and he is and has been doing so under truly extraordinarily adverse circumstances. This is one of those circumstances in which the substance is better than the PR – and it’s time for the White House’s political and communications brain trust to get out a clean sheet of paper and begin to make new and better plans for claiming the credit the Obama team deserves.

Full article here

Thanks cat48

****

Friday:

11:40: PBO delivers brief remarks at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

12:15: PBO has lunch with winners of a campaign contest.

****

The Hill

Thanks Liberal Librarian

****

Thanks Meta

****

Jonathan Cohn: Should President Obama use the recess appointment power when Republicans in Congress refuse even to consider his nominees? You better believe it.

Not only are Republicans blocking Obama’s nominations at a record rate. They are doing so in order to impose their own ideological agenda and, in some cases, to undermine duly passed laws they don’t like but can’t repeal.

That’s a modern-day form of nullification … Obama would be derelict in his duties if he did not use every inch of executive branch authority to overcome it.

…. based on a series of conversations today, I think Obama was within his rights after all.

Full post here

****

****

TPM: Mitt Romney’s tax plan is more complex than those of his current and erstwhile primary competitors. But in broad effect it accomplishes the conservative goal of dramatically lowering taxes on the wealthy at the expense of the lower and middle classes.

Full post here

****

****

Thanks Hopefruit

****

Thanks nintendowii10

****

You can buy this screenprint at the OFA store – here

Thanks GoBrooklyn

****

Chicago HQ

hey! goodnight! see you good people tomorrow ;-)

****

Bonus track:

Now up to 1,397,793 views on YouTube 😆

***

Thank you for the reminder, Bobfr:

***

And …. my most loved:

night everyone

The leading Catholic on planet earth …. meets the Pope.

***

‘When we grow up we’re going to live in a big house with a dog’ – Happy Birthday Sasha Obama

***

***

You want comedy? No problem:

***

***

See you tomorrow 😉

‘ken’

Aimée Kligman (Examiner): … a march organized by various peace groups and political parties of Israel…delivered 25,000 people in the streets of Central Tel Aviv in support of the establishment of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders.

….The posters are worth a thousand words, especially the one showing President Barack Obama, and the words yes we ‘ken’ (ken means yes in Hebrew). Other posters in red show the year 1967 with either Hebrew or Arabic text under the year. Today, the pro-peace lobby group JStreet is jumping on the bandwagon, and offering a free Obama poster in the original English/Hebrew to all who support the US president’s vision of a two-state solution.

This show of support in Israel doesn’t come a moment too soon. Especially as critics and detractors of the President’s message distort the facts, in what they imagine to be unconditional support of Prime Minister’s Netanyahu and his position.

…An 80-year old woman, Professor Yenina Altman, came from Haifa to attend the rally. She said: ‘It’s important for me to express the desire to see the Palestinians independent. I came from Poland after my entire family perished. I had been in a ghetto and a concentration camp. I would like to have my country show respect for the Palestinians and recognize their right to an independent state just as we desired for ourselves.’

More here

Thank you hopefruit2

yes, we can. again

See BWD’s new post here at The Only Adult In The Room – get your thinking caps on!

another hey: happy valentine’s day!

For The Obama Diary’s video-finder supreme: Donna

The song, ‘God damn you’re beautiful’, is by Chester See – you can see his own video here – I posted this video on YouTube in early 2009 … one of the comments read: “I am Chester See and I approve this message.” Yep, it was the singer of the song. Love him 😉

Hey: a bonus tune!

go on, smile

(The song: Friday I’m In Love by The Cure)

(The song: After All by The Frank and Walters)

(The song: Can I Kick It by A Tribe Called Quest)

can he kick it?