Did I miss the 20 million moment? Well, yes-ish 😳
For the fun of it, our visitors in the last year – with apologies to Greenland who I slandered the other day for not visiting at all: two Greenlanders dropped by in the last 12 months 😎
But….. what is that Arctic-y country to the right of Greenland that has never come near here? Geography experts? Name and shame, please.
Love ya all, especially the awesome blog tyrants, back later with the cheesy puffs. Chat on!
Love this, lots of visitors to TOD from Africa in the last week.
Still not a single visitor from, most notably, Greenland, though. 😦
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Okay, some time in the next 24 hours – quite possibly when I’m asleep (and if anyone mentions again that I also slept through the death of bin Laden I’ll email you Newt in his mankini) – we’re gonna get to the 14 million hits mark. Unless the internet breaks down and never, ever comes back. 😥
Again, like on all these happy days, I’m going to spare you any mushiness, except to say: thank you so much for coming here, for everything you bring to the place – not least all the brilliant information – for all your kindness, and for your undying support of President Obama and your efforts to re-elect him and VP Biden.
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Absolutely no worries if you don’t, but if you have $14 dollars to spare, to mark this, um, historic landmark …… subtle hint:
TOD fundraisers:
a4alice * Alycee * BWD * CollegeKay * Cookemom * DonnaDem4Obama
Hgerhard * HZ * Judith Fardig * Mae Who Love Our CIC
Marlz * Meta * Pamela *prettyfoot58 * proudmemberofglobalzero * Rita * Theo67 * The Obama Diary
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Thanks everyone – you’re spectacularly lovely 😉
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Michael Tomasky: Mitt Tells Voters in Video to Drop Dead …. Sure it was a dumb move for Romney to denounce half of America. But he was just channeling today’s GOP.
…. Can he really believe this? It’s incomprehensible. And yet it’s not. This is the story conservatives have been telling themselves over and over in the Tea Party age … An inevitable consequence, I suppose, of campaigning among these people for all these years. You marinate a cherry in cheap whiskey long enough, the stink attaches.
…. It’s hard to judge the impact of this comment just yet ….. I would expect we’ll see “Obama voter — and I’m not a victim” and “I pay a higher tax rate than you, Governor!” signs at rallies by tomorrow. Indeed, the average person pays more in mere payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare (15.3 percent) than Romney paid in total taxes for the year he released his returns (13.9 percent).
I suspect an impact that’s fairly big. People on the right will blame the media. But the real culprit is the words themselves. They slander millions of hard-working Americans ….. When Romney is licking his wounds on Nov. 7, that party and movement will fire all its arrows at him. He’ll deserve a lot of them. But they will have buried him with the ignorance and rage they demanded he adopt. His chief crime will have been his weakness in failing to confront them.
More here
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Paul Krugman: The Real Romney
Oh, my. Mother Jones has what it says is a video of Mitt Romney talking to donors; it sure looks and sounds real. And it reveals a candidate who despises half the country….
….. Actually, if you look at the facts, you learn that the great bulk of those who pay no income tax pay other taxes; also, many of the people in the no-income-tax category are (a) elderly (b) students or (c) having a bad year, having lost a job — that is, they’re people who have paid income taxes in the past and/or will pay income taxes in the future. The idea that half of Americans are just grifters is grotesque.
If this is real, it’s very, very ugly.
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Jonathan Capehart: Back in February, Mitt Romney stuck his ample silver foot in his mouth when he told CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, “I’m not concerned about the very poor.” He went on to say, “We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling, and I’ll continue to take that message across the nation.”
….. That one-minute-seven-second clip lays waste to Romney’s concern “about the very heart of America, the 90, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling.” Worse, it reveals it to be a lie. He couldn’t care less about them, it seems. That condescending clip shows a contempt for half the country that demands an explanation from Romney.
More here
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NYT: …. Mr. Romney is absolutely correct that about half of American households do not pay federal income tax. (He is also tapping into a now long-running vein of conservative anger at those households.) But he is missing some crucial context on why they do not pay federal income tax.
The nonpartisan and highly respected Tax Policy Center derived the 47 percent number and published an excellent analysis of it last summer.
It found that about half of the households that do not pay federal income tax do not pay it because they are simply too poor…. The other half consists of households taking advantage of tax credits and other provisions, mostly support for senior citizens and low-income working families.
Put bluntly, these are not households shirking their tax liabilities. The pool consists mostly of the poor, of relatively low-income working families and of old people.
More here
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Mediaite: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney held a surprise late-night press availability to address the maelstrom surrounding hidden camera video that surfaced …
Romney offered no apology, other than to concede that his point was “not elegantly stated,” and drew a distinction between a “political process” and what he says in front of people he knows can hear him.
Nothing Romney said at the ultra-brief presser was nearly as newsworthy as the very fact that he held it, a sign of the seismic panic this clip has caused. The campaign was already reeling from a Politico story about campaign disarray that had already dominated much of today’s news cycle. The hidden camera video, taken at a May 17 fundraiser at the home of hedge fund manager Marc Leder, is only the tip of the iceberg. Mother Jones’ David Corn has over an hour of footage from the event, which he says he will begin rolling out “soon.”
….. The decision to hold a surprise press conference at 10 pm eastern time (Romney was speaking from California) underscores the type of damage the Romney campaign fears from this tape, but it would have helped if Romney had said something that… helped….
More here
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Today: The President will welcome WNBA Champion Minnesota Lynx to the White House to honor the team and their 2011 WNBA Finals victory. In the afternoon, the President will travel to New York City for campaign events. While in New York City, the President will tape an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. The President will return to the White House in the evening:
11:15: Jay Carney briefs reporters at the White House.
11:30: VP Biden delivers remarks at a campaign event at the Bridge View Center in Ottumwa, IA.
1:10: President welcomes the WNBA Champion Minnesota Lynx to the White House.
3:00: VP Biden delivers remarks at a campaign event at Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA.
4:40: President Obama tapes an interview for the “Late Show with David Letterman” at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, NY.
7:40: President Obama delivers remarks at a campaign event at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, NY.
9:45: President Obama delivers remarks at a campaign event at the 40/40 Club in New York, NY.
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Morning everyone 😉
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13 is an unlucky number? Huh! It’s magical: Some of us were born on the 13th 😕
Okay, I’m not going to be sloppy about this ….. promise ….. well ….. ish …. except to say: thank you everyone for taking the blog to another very lovely landmark, 13 million hits, this journey with you all has been pretty damn delightful and amazing. Genuine and endless thanks to you all for keeping me company along the way, and for being forgiving about the occasional meltdown. 😳
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I think – hope – you know by now I hate mentioning the money word ….. but if you have a spare $13, it would be completely sweet if you could donate to any of these TOD fundraisers, just to mark the, ah, historic occasion:
a4alice * Alycee * BWD * CollegeKay * Cookemom * DonnaDem4Obama
Hgerhard * HZ * Judith Fardig * Mae Who Love Our CIC
Marlz * Meta * Pamela *prettyfoot58 * proudmemberofglobalzero * Rita * Theo67 * The Obama Diary
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And if you have anything left over, you could donate to some of the Democratic candidates trying to win back Congress …. which would make PBO’s second term even more perfect:
Like Elizabeth Warren
If there are any other candidates you’d like to promote, please link them in the comments. Thanks.
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Golden, Colorado, Sept 13
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Thanks again everyone.
Forward 😉
Crikey Mikey, we’re nearly at the 10 million mark.
Okay, you know what annoying thing happens when the blog reaches a certain number of hits …. I pester you about donating to TOD’s Obama/Biden 2012 fundraiser.
So, here we go again:
If you could spare $10 and if you’re an exceptionally magnificent person, you could click that link below and donate.
Anyone who donates more than $10 will get 10,000 of these buttons in the post:
(I got them for free, for some reason they were no longer selling)
Thank you everyone SO much for your support – and your company (although it should be clarified: most of those 10 million hits were me checking in to clear the spam folder of links to sites offering to enlarge every body bit you could possibly imagine – even ear lobes).
Time for a tune, methinks:
Love ya 😉
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And here’s the fella we’re fighting for:
President Barack Obama walks to welcome guests at the G8 summit in Camp David, May 18
… with French President Francois Hollande
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President Barack Obama hosts a working dinner in Laurel Cabin during the G8 Summit at Camp David, Md., May 18, 2012. Seated clockwise from the President are: Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan, Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy, Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada, and President François Hollande of France. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama talks with José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy, during a G8 Summit welcome reception in Laurel Cabin at Camp David, Md., May 18, 2012. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of Russia and President François Hollande of France talk together at left. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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You unfortunate people must dread when the blog hits the next million because it usually means you being pinned against a wall and threatened, in a particularly menacing kind of way, unless you mark the occasion by donating $$s to Obama/Biden 2012…. when $$s are in short enough supply and you donate already.
But …… and it’s a HUGE but ….. if you can – and if you’d like – maybe you could donate $9 today, just to kick-start our all-night celebrations? (UTAustinLiberal will bring the champagne later, and amk has promised tasty treats. VC will sing, but don’t let that put you off).
Anyone who donates more than $9 will get a photo of Newt in his mankini sent to them by email.
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This is the link
Again, if I show up as a lady called Barb, or as an employee of a chap in Alabama, that’s not me (I’ve never even been to Alabama) …. the gremlins are still playing with my OFA account, they’re probably Willard supporters.
Absolutely no worries if you can’t donate right now, or if you already donate to another fundraiser – the $$s are all going to the same place.
Nine million thanks everyone 😉
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PS I am actually being a bit presumptuous – we’re only on 8,995,887 hits as we speak, and it could be that we won’t hit 9 million until Malia is being sworn in as President. But just in case we hit the mark in the next hour or three…..
Hate asking ….. but ….. if you’d like to, eh, celebrate by donating $7 to TOD’s Obama Biden 2012 fundraiser at OFA (link) that would be very lovely 😉
If I show up at OFA as Barb from Florida or a guy from Alabama, I’m, well, neither …. their gremlins give me a new name most weeks 😕
Thanks for all your support everyone, you’re gems!
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Chat away (sorry for the lack of news updates today, will get back to normal tomorrow)
Obama White House.gov WH Tumblr The People’s View Smartypants Steve Benen
The Obama Diary 
A Very Quick Housekeeping Note
Tags: blog, commenting, comments, hits, tod
2013 on TOD – note (‘Even’) Amk has 18,656 TOD friends in India
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Updated, didn’t want flippin’ Ireland last on the mini-list:
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It’s been a gobsmacking journey so far, we’re now closing in on a ridiculous 22 million hits – all of them down to me, needless to say, the mindboggling increase in traffic absolutely nothing to do with UT, LL, LP, Zizi and the rest of the gang.
(True, the post stats suggest otherwise, but: hush now).
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Any way, with this very lovely traffic has come a whole bunch of new visitors, several in the last few days, which is fantastic – but please understand that in an attempt to keep out the trolls – and they are many – your comments won’t appear here automatically if you’re a first time visitor.
Have a look here to see how you can comment.
Best advice: sign in with your Twitter account – but if you don’t have one, check that link.
If your account is @BarackObama, you’re good.
Now, chat away – and thank you all, you human cheesy puffs.