i come armed with an, eh, extreme marshmallow cannon

Okay, let’s try this again.

*** This is a blog for supporters of President Barack Obama ***

That’s pretty straightforward, right?

If you’re not a supporter of PBO, then this isn’t the place for you.

And even if you are a supporter of PBO, but your sole intention is, on a daily basis, to deflate the spirits of fellow PBO supporters by pissing on every piece of encouraging news, or treating us to brain-dead anti-PBO right wing talking point crap, or abusing fellow-blog visitors, then this isn’t the place for you either.

I’m not a fan of Markos Moulitsas, but …..

“As I tell my own disgruntled commenters, if they don’t like a site’s comment policies, they can always find greener pastures elsewhere. It’s a big Internet.”

It is too. It’s huge! So, play somewhere else if this place isn’t your thing.

And if the best you can bring here is “Catholics are soooooooooo anti-Obama” ….

…..ignoring the fact that 54% of them voted for him in 2008 (despite his pro-choice position), ignoring the fact that 98% of Catholic women have used contraception (against Vatican teaching), and ignoring the fact that, in the latest poll, 58% of Catholics believe that employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception….

… then, please, spare us your nonsense, go away. The notion that every Catholic on planet earth thinks the same is comically offensive …. if you think they do, that says a whole lot more about you than it does about Catholics.

I’ve blocked two of these bullshit-spreaders today, and I’ll block anyone else who brings their RW anti-PBO crap to this blog again. Seriously, if we want to read that stuff we’ll go to Drudge.

When you’re gone, you’re gone, no apologies – have a nice life.

This is one person’s very tiny slice of internet space, if you don’t like it, then cheerio.

And to one of the people I blocked today, signing in under a new name doesn’t work, it just confirms you’re a troll.

Arguments are always welcome here, but not when you descend to the level of, say, Sean Hannity … when you reach that depth, then it’s really time to say goodbye.

Onwards and upwards, press on 😉

afternoon all

****

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden take their seats as they hold a roundtable meeting on Insourcing American Jobs, Jan. 11, in the Old Executive Office Building on the White House campus

… with US Trade Representative Ron Kirk

****

CNN has the 6:50 speech in their live streaming schedule …. but it’s down for 4:50. Confused!

****

Just to repeat one of the, eh, ‘house rules’ I mentioned recently: I HUGELY appreciate you letting us know about posts at other blogs and various news sites in the comments here, it’s a completely invaluable service for us all.

But! Please only include very short extracts from the posts – the aim should always be to give a taster of the post that sends the reader to the author’s blog, otherwise we’re effectively stealing their work.

So, please don’t include any more than 2 or 3 paragraphs (2 if it’s a short post), and always include the link at the end. Thanks.

****

See the video here – thanks Tulips

****

Actress Angelina Jolie is seen in the Oval Office of the White House, Jan. 11, during a meeting with President Barack Obama

According to a White House aide, “President Obama spoke with Ms. Jolie about her work to raise the profile of preventing mass atrocities and combating sexual violence against women.” Brad Pitt also visited.

****

President Barack Obama waves as he leaves the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 11, for Chicago

****

Another of those ‘rules’ I mentioned last week:

99.9% of you are civil to each other, even if you don’t always agree, and that’s the way I want it here. By all means, battle away with anyone you disagree with, but no personal abuse, okay? Not welcome here. And no personal call-outs …. I’ve deleted more than a few in the last week or two.

Okay, I’ve already started a crackdown on this, any one who has, or continues to, ignore appeals to stop personal attacks on other visitors here is gone from the blog. Sorry, I don’t want that stuff here.

house rules!

Na, there aren’t many rules here at all – because usually when I read a rule my instinct is to figure out a way to break it.

It’s not that I’m a rebel – I’m way too lazy for that class of thing – it’s just that I have the mentality of a mutinous 5-year-old.

😕

But, just to clarify a few things after some requests for, well, clarity:

*Needless to say, Firebaggers, Teabaggers, racists, homophobes and bigots of any kind will never be welcome here, any one who fits in to one of those categories ends up on the blocked list. Permanently. As I always say, there are lots of internet places for you to play, this will never be one of them.

****

* On that subject, there are endless things to loathe about Mitt Romney …. his religion isn’t one of them.

****

* I know the Israel/Palestine issue is a sensitive one. If you’re particularly strong in your support for one side or the other, that’s fine – but I won’t ever allow bigoted comments here about the ‘other‘ side. I banned someone a few months ago for depressing comments about Palestinians, I would do the same to anyone posting similar bile about Israelis. That’s the house rule.

****

* Anonymous comments aren’t accepted here – please pick a name (any name at all) when you first try to comment and stick with it. I just want everyone to know who they’re talking to – and I’d like to keep out the trolls!

****

* You can use your Facebook or Twitter accounts to log in and comment, or, if you prefer, your email address – the address will never be visible to others, it’s just a way for the blog to identify you as a previous poster so your comment will go through automatically.

****

* This is very, very, very, very important:

I HUGELY appreciate you letting us know about posts at other blogs and various news sites in the comments here, it’s a completely invaluable service for us all.

But! Please only include very short extracts from the posts – the aim should always be to give a taster of the post that sends the reader to the author’s blog, otherwise we’re effectively stealing their work.

For example:

Steve Benen: This is a big, bold move by the president, and I couldn’t be more pleased …. It’s worth noting that I’m generally not a fan of these kinds of recess appointments …. But in this case, there’s only one sensible conclusion: Senate Republicans left Obama with no choice.

No one, not even the most unhinged Republicans, are questioning Cordray’s qualifications, and if the Senate were to vote on his nomination, it would be approved fairly easily. But Republicans won’t allow that because they disapprove of the existence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

…. The Republican tactics on this are nothing short of madness. I’m relieved President Obama has had enough.

Full post here

Steve Benen’s post above, in its original form, is about 12 paragraphs long, the extract here is two paragraphs plus a line. So, again, please only ever include short extracts from the posts/articles (2/3/4 paragraphs, depending on the length of the original post), just to give an idea of what they’re about. And always include the link at the end.

I know you all mean well, and I had a terrible habit when I started out of posting far too much from articles, to the point where there was really no need for the reader to visit the links. But it’s not fair on other bloggers if we can just read most or all of their posts in the comments here without having to visit their blogs and provide them with the hits they deserve.

****

* There are lots of sites I’d prefer never to see linked here, eg every right wing site (including GOPolitico) and places infested with Firebaggers, eg Salon, Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Democratic Undergound, etc. There will, of course, be the very occasional time when something not-deranged appears on those sites, so it’s okay to link then – but generally, please, no!

There is a complete ban here on Firebaggerlake, please don’t ever link to that poisonous site, it’s the fake ‘progressive’ version of Drudge: hate-filled. Let’s never forget, its owner teamed up with Grover ‘tax pledge’ Norquist in opposition to Rahm Emanuel …. say no more.

****

* 99.9% of you are civil to each other, even if you don’t always agree, and that’s the way I want it here. By all means, battle away with anyone you disagree with, but no personal abuse, okay? Not welcome here! And no personal call-outs …. I’ve deleted more than a few in the last week or two. Leave the moderating and troll-watching to me. (Although, if you think you spot a troll, let me know!)

****

* Some of you don’t like when a few of us get a little, well, silly – you know, the naughty mat business, and all that. I accept your objections, but to be honest, light relief is never a bad thing, it’s just a bit of harmless fun, and I’ll always welcome it here. Mainly because I start it most of the time:

****

* I, to be honest about it, have a mouth and a mind like a sewer, so I have no problem at all with, well, ‘fruity’ comments. But some way more mature than me do, so while I’ll always be good with fruitiness, let’s, um, not talk about Dick Halperin ‘hard-ons’ and the like. 😕

****

* Many of you have very kindly offered to donate to the site. It’s not that I don’t like money – jeez, I love it! – but I don’t accept personal donations, at all. If you like the blog and ever have a few dollars to spare I just ask that you donate to Obama/Biden 2012 – there’s a link to The Obama Diary’s OFA fundraiser at the top of the sidebar on the right.

I really don’t want to sound like a self-righteous dipstick when I say I don’t, or won’t ever, seek or accept personal donations – the point is that I am blessed to have a job, one that allows me pay my bills and work (mainly) from home, thereby giving me the time to keep up with the blog. I’m way beyond lucky.

Other bloggers, who have been around long, long before me, devote their entire time to their sites, so I would always encourage you to donate to the ones you enjoy, if you can. Without your support, those great bloggers (check the blogroll here) would disappear.

But this is purely something I love doing, between angry phone calls from my boss, just a ‘hobby’. Nothing in the world gives me more pleasure than seeing people here donate to Obama/Biden 2012.

Their re-election is this blog’s sole desire.

****

Sorry for all the rules, but just wanted to clear up a thing or eight. See you tomorrow 😉

catching up

TPM: While Republican leaders gathered in Speaker John Boehner’s Capitol office Wednesday morning for a photo op with reporters – hectoring Democrats and making the case that they’re on the right side of the payroll tax fight – an unusual scene played out on the House floor.

In an attempt to illustrate just who’s at fault for the payroll tax stalemate Minority Whip Steny Hoyer showed up to ask for a vote on the Senate’s compromise bill. Republicans could have simply objected and given Hoyer his talking point. Instead they gave him so much more.

Republicans just ignored Hoyer and refused to hear his unanimous consent request. The fill-in Speaker simply walked away.

More here

****

****

****

Greg Sargent: In a speech late yesterday, Mitt Romney accused President Obama of trying to use government to “create equal outcomes.” Romney argued that Obama wants to create an “entitlement society,” in which “everyone receives the same or similar rewards, regardless of education, effort, and willingness to take risk.” He made a concerted case that under Obama’s ideal vision, everyone will “get the same rewards.”

This is a Big Lie – it has nothing whatsoever to do with anything Obama has ever said, proposed or accomplished. And many liberal writers have noted today that this is Glenn Beck-level craziness, suggesting that Romney is willing to say and do anything to win.

Full post here

****

****

CNN: Most Americans agree with the decision to end the war in Iraq, according to a CNN/ORC International poll released Wednesday. Almost eight in ten said they support removal of combat troops from that country by the end of this year.

…. President Obama announced the full withdrawal of troops from Iraq by the year’s end in October. Now, two-thirds say they oppose the war and more think the U.S. made a mistake sending troops to Iraq in the first place 53% to 46% over those who do not think it was a mistake.

More here

****

Steve Benen: It’s not uncommon for the Obama administration to do something worthwhile. Once in a while, though, the administration does something very worthwhile that will have a major impact on society.

Dave Roberts (‘New EPA mercury rules are a bona fide Big Deal’) has a helpful piece today on the EPA’s new national standards for mercury pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants – the first of their kind – which he described as “a Big Deal” and an instance in which “history is being made.”

….. When we talk about separates a Democratic administration from a Republican one, there are no greater reminders about the differences than measures like these.

If recent history is any guide, this encouraging news won’t get quite as much attention as it deserves, and that’s a shame. Obama’s critics on the left expect developments like these, and don’t make a fuss to congratulate the administration for progress they’d like to be routine….

More here

****

Friend –

You may know me as the tall guy who followed Barack everywhere he went.

As the President’s body man for the last four years, it’s been my privilege to help him with whatever he needs: making sure he’s on time, finding some food when we’re on the road, or playing a quick game of basketball (he won, mostly).

Of course, this also means I’ve also eaten many, many meals with him.

So first of all, I just want to say thanks for supporting the Obamas and being part of this campaign. It means a lot, not only to the President, but to all of us who’ve worked by his side.

Two: I kind of love this “Dinner with Barack and Michelle” contest. You all have to do this.

Get on that here.

You should know this practically never happens.

While Barack wants to do these dinners throughout his campaign, I know that dinner with Barack and Michelle is something that usually only happens with the girls, and no one else.

The fact that this dinner is with the two of them should tell you how much it matters to them to know that you have their backs out there.

I wouldn’t let this one get away.

Donate $5 or whatever you can today to automatically be entered to win a spot at dinner for you and a guest.

Thanks,

Reggie Love

****

****

‘dirty air dems’

********** Sign the petition here **********

Here’s the list of “Dirty Air Dems,” who voted to block, delay or limit the Clean Air Act’s climate rules:

Sens. Baucus (D-MT), Begich (D-AK), Hagan (D-NC), Levin (D-MI), Brown (D-OH), Casey (D-PA), Conrad (D-ND), Johnson (D-SD), Klobuchar (D-MN), Pryor (D-AR), Stabenow (D-MI), Landrieu (D-LA), Manchin (D-WV), McCaskill (D-MO), Nelson (D-NE), Rockefeller (D-WV), Webb (D-VA)

********** Sign the petition here **********

“I am extremely disappointed that you sided with big polluters, and I will not forget this vote against the Clean Air Act and my health. I hope you will reverse this astonishing position, and oppose all future efforts to undermine clean air protections.”

*** Thank you for letting us know about the petition Dorothy ***

oval ball

The Australian Herald Sun: Prime Minster Julia Gillard brought new significance to the Oval Office when she embarked on a game of Aussie Rules kick-to-kick with US President Barack Obama.

Ms Gillard, the Western Bulldogs’ number one ticket holder, gave Mr Obama an introduction to the much-loved Aussie game after a meeting in Washington overnight.

In a show of mateship between the two nations, Mr Obama joked the Aussie leader almost smashed a “bust of (Abraham) Lincoln” as she booted around the red Sherrin.

Ms Gillard had presented the ball, summoned from the Australian embassy, in a box before Mr Obama asked for a demo.

The prime minister fired off a hand pass before it was the president’s turn. He followed up with a kick and pretended to throw the ball gridiron-style.

The PM’s team:

😎

President Obama practices passing a football with Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia in the Oval Office. Under Australian Football League rules, a player must hold the ball in front of them and punch it with a clenched fist in order to conduct a legal pass to another player. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)