BBC: Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

"Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule."

24 November 2009 @ 06:55 am

How sadly ironic that at least one thing GLBTQI people and people of faith (which, of course, also includes GLBTQI people) share in common is that we're both hated equally?

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chessdev

18 November 2009 @ 04:08 pm

(no subject)

A friend made me aware of this....
==============================================================================

Conservative Prayers for God to kill Obama?

Posters to various message boards tell stories of seeing bumper stickers with the message "Pray for Obama—Psalm 109:8" on the highway, only to look up the verse and find, "Let his days be few; and let another take his office."

People — like the commenter "Panama" on INGunOwners.com, to pick one guy completely at random — think this is "too funny." The next verse in Psalms is, "Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow."

Anyway, now it's a real thing: CafePress is selling T-shirts and bumper stickers, the Christian Science Monitor is wondering whether it's "funny or sinister" to pray for Obama's death, and Rachel Maddow referenced it last night on her show.

...

You can see the whole verse here
but some excerpts:

8. Let his days be few;
and let another take his office. [Acts 1.20 ]

9 Let his children be fatherless,
and his wife a widow.

10 Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg:
let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.

Some people see this as humor -- I agree with the speaker on Rachael Maddow clip that this type of "humor" in this
political atmosphere is appealing to the crazies and potentially dangerous.

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Priceless: Gay Rights Activists Take Over Christian Right Hate-Fest in DC

18 November 2009 @ 07:29 am

I am known to frequent called a website called Alternet.org.

Alternet was established in 1998 in part (to quote their website) to confront the failures of corporate media, as well as the vitriol and disinformation of right wing media, especially "hate talk" media. AlterNet is a two-time winner of the "Webby Award" for Best Web Magazine, among others, and it pulls no punches as regards their raison d'être. Again, quoting their website, Alternet believes that media must have a higher purpose beyond the essential goal of keeping people informed. We insist on playing an active role in helping our community funnel its energy into change; an important & necessary mission when you consider that people like Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh & Glen Beck are blaring out their fear-mongering, Us-vs-Them hate talk nearly 24 hours a day.

Anyway, apparently a senior write for Alternet, Joshua Holland, writes in
this recent Alternet article about a group of conservative Christian ministers who came to Washington DC recently to protest the expansion of the federal Hate Crimes law recently passed in Congress & signed by President Obama to include sexual orientation & gender identity. In his article, Holland references a Washington Post column by Dana Milbank about the happenings at this protest. Believe it or not, not only were they there to protest the law, they wanted to stand their & spew their lies & hate to prove the point that just by speaking the ugly things they believe they could be arrested. These people have always contended that allowing people like me to be protected from hate crimes meant that people like them could no longer freely speak their minds about the "threat" people like me represent to decent upstanding Americans, and to society in general.

So sure of their belief that they would now be legally muzzled if they dare speak out against the homosexual threat that they came to the nation's capital in hopes of being arrested, so as to claim that--as a representative of the "Christian Anti-Defamation Commission"--"we'd have standing to challenge the law."

But sadly (for them), not one person was arrested. They stood there on their Godly soap box speaking their alleged minds, and the few police officers that were there let them practice their freedom of speech unencumbered, of course. As Holland wrote, To run afoul of the new law, you need to "plan or prepare for an act of physical violence" or "incite an imminent act of physical violence." The same stipulations apply if you're speaking about people of color, disabled persons, or virtually any other group of Americans...including people of faith.

For me, the best part of this story is that the man the conservative Christian ministers hired to set up audio equipment for their little get-together had taken the money they paid him for his work at the event & donated to gay rights activists. The AV guy also waited until after the ministers were done & then--before taking it all down--he allowed the gay activists to use the same podium & the same sound system to practice their right to free speech, too!

After one of the ministers asked the AV guy if they were paying for the time "the homosexuals" were using (which they weren't, of course), he turned to one of the gay activists & asked "You guys gonna help us pay for the microphones?"

Holland writes that The gay activist smiled. "God," he said, "works in mysterious ways."

Amen, brother! :-)

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Politicus - Why Europe Feels Rejected by Obama

16 November 2009 @ 09:08 pm

Why would an American president not come to a celebration marking the fall of the Berlin Wall, and with it, the triumphant end of the Cold War — one of the high points of the United States’ and Europe’s common 20th-century history?

Whatever the exact answer — and it could be that a fatigued Barack Obama didn’t want the physical strain of a trans-Atlantic trip days before a weeklong tour of Asia — his absence from the Nov. 9 ceremonies in Germany has reinforced Europe’s fear that it has become an increasingly insignificant part of the president’s worldview.

This week offers a telling juxtaposition:

Mr. Obama, after giving Berlin a conspicuous miss, is concentrating by his presence America’s attention and future hopes on China and Asia. Virtually at the same moment, the European Union, in what’s plainly an effort to assert its relevance, will choose (with considerable difficulty and potential irrelevance) a common president and foreign minister for the first time.

Together, that’s hardly a guarantee of a warmer trans-Atlantic clasp of hands. Instead, it’s a remarkable contrast to Secretary of State James Baker’s proposal, a month after the wall fell, of a new, organic economic and political relationship between Europeans and Americans.

rest

All I can say is...dude, if this is even remotely true, it makes Europeans sound needy and pathetic. They should be able to stand up on their own...and buck up to that fact that all eyes are turning to Asia now. This makes Europe sound like that one clingy, self-conscious friend in high school you sympathized with but also found slightly irritating.

Ugh.

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Outrage in Washington over Obama's Japan bow

16 November 2009 @ 11:05 am

WASHINGTON (AFP) – News photos of President Barack Obama bowing to Japan's emperor have incensed critics here, who said the US leader should stand tall when representing America overseas.

Obama on Monday was in China, having wrapped up the Japan leg of his Asia trip two days earlier. But Washington's punditocracy was still weighing whether or not the US president had disgraced his country two days earlier by having taken a deep bow at the waist while meeting Japan's Emperor Akihito.

Political talk shows have played and replayed the moment from the second day of Obama's week-long Asia tour, which set the blogosphere on fire and chat show tongues wagging.

"I don't know why President Obama thought that was appropriate. Maybe he thought it would play well in Japan. But it's not appropriate for an American president to bow to a foreign one," said conservative pundit William Kristol speaking on the Fox News Sunday program, adding that the gesture bespoke a United States that has become weak and overly-deferential under Obama.

Another conservative voice, Bill Bennett, said on CNN's "State of the Union" program: "It's ugly. I don't want to see it."

rest

OMG...I can't believe this has become an issue again. What is wrong with these conservatives? People in Japan bow...it's just a cultural thing...and who cares if Obama bows to anyone? It's not like that simple gesture automatically forfeits our Superpower status. I mean, come on, if it was that easy...we would have lost it AGES ago. I'm just sayin'.

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idyllictorture

14 November 2009 @ 03:04 am

A GQ Article about Obama as a writer.

I'm guessing since we're all on Live Journal, a lot of us are passionate readers and writers. Here's an article I found very interesting in GQ (the issue with January Jones on the cover). It's an in depth look at President Obama as a writer, and compares him to Teddy Roosevelt.

Over the past few years, we’ve gotten to know our president as a lot of different things: campaigner, lawyer, father, basketballer. But what if Obama’s first and truest calling—his desire to write—explains more about him than anything else? Robert Draper recounts the untold story of the first man since Teddy Roosevelt to serve as author in chief.

Current Location: My bed

Current Mood:

curious

Current Music: Borderline - Madonna

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Guardian: Allegiancy worries as Obama heads to Japan on East Asia visit

12 November 2009 @ 09:37 pm

The message from the White House is upbeat: the US is a Pacific nation determined to strengthen its ties with Asia. But Barack Obama will face tough challenges over the economy, trade and Japan's alliance with Washington from the moment he arrives in Tokyo tomorrow at the start of his first presidential visit to the region.

Until recently, the US could depend on Japan – its closest Asian ally for 50 years – to smooth its path into trickier diplomatic territory nearby. But the recent election of a centre-left government in Tokyo intent on ending Japan's subservience to Washington is threatening to weaken what a former US ambassador to the country described as the most important bilateral partnership in the world.

South Korea, another old ally, will push hard for progress on a stalled trade agreement, though administration officials have played down hope of a breakthrough.

Relations between Washington and Beijing are at their most amicable for years. But some observers question whether closer ties will bring measurable results, and the friendship is not without its problems: today it emerged that Obama may ditch his sole meeting with the Chinese public unless Washington and Beijing can resolve disagreements over its format.

In an interview with Reuters this week, Obama described China as a "vital partner", but warned of "enormous strains" if economic imbalances between the country and the US were not corrected.

Trade tensions have already been felt, with China attacking US tariffs on its tyres and steel pipes. But Beijing hinted today that it might allow appreciation of the yuan. American manufacturers complain the Chinese currency is kept artificially low.

Obama's nine-day, four-country tour will also see him putting the case for the release of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to Burma's prime minister, Thein Sein, and other south-east Asian leaders in Singapore.

But Obama's priority will be addressing the rift with Tokyo – caused by a 2006 agreement to reduce the American presence on the southern island of Okinawa, home to more than half the 47,000 US troops in Japan.

rest

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NYT:Obama Becomes Japan's English Teacher

12 November 2009 @ 09:28 pm

In anticipation of Obama's visit in Japan tomorrow, I thought this was an interesting read

TOKYO — When Utako Sakai was changing the background music in her beauty parlor recently, she did not opt for the classical piano pieces she usually chose.

Instead, she picked her favorite CD: “President Obama’s Inaugural Address,” released by Asahi Press, a Japanese publisher of language books. She says the speech lifts her spirits and helps her to learn English all at once.

“All our customers love it,” said Ms. Sakai, who is based in Ayase City, in Kanagawa Prefecture, outside Tokyo.

The speech CD and its accompanying book have been a resounding success, selling 200,000 copies since its release in January. A compilation of President Barack Obama’s speeches has done even better, selling half a million copies since November, solidifying his role as Japan’s English teacher.

Publishers have since flooded the market with over a dozen language-learning titles, including “Speech Training: Learning to Deliver English Speech, Obama Style”; “Learn English Grammar From Obama”; and “Yes, I Can With Obama: 40 Magical English Phrases From Presidential E-mails.”

Asahi Press followed up its inauguration book and CD with a recording of Mr. Obama’s “World Without Nuclear Weapons” speech, also in book and CD form, given in Prague in April.

The publishers are trying to tap into a foreign-language teaching industry that the Yano Search Institute said was valued at ¥767 billion, or $8.7 billion, in 2008. The figure includes the cost of books, CDs, dictionaries, e-learning programs, standardized English tests, and the cost of private language lessons. The institute, in Tokyo, says the majority of the spending is aimed at learning English.

Most Japanese people, including those studying English, would have difficulty comprehending a speech given by a native English speaker. But “Mr. Obama’s English is easy to understand because he pronounces words clearly and speaks at a relatively slow clip,” said Professor Tadaharu Nikaido, a communication specialist here. “Movies tend to be the most difficult for Japanese, especially when actors mumble their words.”

Mr. Obama sets his range of vocabulary wide enough to accommodate the highly educated and the less educated, Professor Nikaido added, and at the lower end, it sometimes comes within the range of non-native speakers’ comprehension.

rest

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*ARTICLE* : My solemn meeting on Veterans Day with President Obama...in Arlington Cemetery

12 November 2009 @ 06:03 pm

ARLINGTON, Va. - He didn't introduce himself. He didn't have to.

President Obama simply stuck out his hand and asked for my name as he stepped toward me amid a bone-chilling drizzle in the Gardens of Stone.

This was Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery. I wasn't there as a reporter, but to visit some friends and family buried there when Obama made an unscheduled stop - a rare presidential walk among what Lincoln called America's "honored dead" - after laying a Veterans Day wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

What I got was an unexpected look into the eyes of a man who intertwined his roles as commander in chief and consoler in chief on a solemn day filled with remembrance and respect for sacrifices made - and sacrifices yet to be made.

I'm sure the cynics will assume this wasjust anotherObama photoop.

If they'd been standing in my boots looking him in the eye, they would have surely choked on their bile.

His presence in Section 60 convinced me that he now carries the heavy burden of command.

I had stopped at Arlington to see the resting place of Ken Taylor, Ed Lenard and Dave Sharrett. Ken and Ed survived their service, in World War II and Korea, and died as old men. Dave did not leave Iraq alive. He was 27.

Obama arrived just before noon at the serene Section 60, where many of the dead from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried together - and where many more heroes will undoubtedly be laid to rest before this President leaves office.

It's a section typically bustling with those visiting loved ones. Every time I go there, more and more graves have been dug into the earth.

The President and First Lady Michelle Obama emerged from their armored limousine hatless in the frigid downpour and took a slow stroll into the soggy rows of white marble headstones.

They stopped first at the grave of Medal of Honor recipient Ross McGinnis, an Army private who threw himself on a grenade in Iraq three years ago to save four buddies.

A sad-faced woman reached for Obama's hand and pointed him to a nearby plot.

The face of another woman - who had grimly sat in a folding chair for hours next to a headstone she'd arranged flowers around - suddenly broadened into a smile as she stood to embrace Obama and thank him for paying his respects.

She was so overcome with emotion that a soldier from the Army's Old Guard had to console her afterward.

The President patted backs of adozen other Gold Star relativesand troops visiting buddiesnow in the ground.

He gave hugs. He shook wet, chilly hands. He wanted to know something about each fallen warrior.

Continue reading...
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/11/12/2009-11-12_my_solemn_surprise_meeting_with_the_president_at_my_friends_resting_place.html?page=1

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Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

12 November 2009 @ 07:03 am

The D.C. Catholic Archdiocese has threatened to stop helping thousands of the needy in the nation's capital if the District's City Council approves a pending bill which states that marriage between 2 people in the District of Columbia shall not be denied or limited on the basis of gender, and which also ensure[s] that no minister of any religious society who is authorized to celebrate marriages shall be required to celebrate any marriage...or solemnization of a same-sex marriage.

Though the Catholic Church in general is not usually known as a great supporter of GLBTQI equality, apparently this Archdiocese on this issue, has chosen to demonstrate their obvious displeasure with this bill by revealing a predilection toward being particularly punitive: castigating not just same-sex-loving people & our "enablers", but anyone & everyone in need under their religious purview.

( There goes the baby... )

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11 November 2009 @ 07:14 am

Michelle on Sesame Street

Though I am nearly as old as our President, I have loved Sesame Street since I was a little kid (I don't think I know ANYONE who didn't watch Sesame Street growing up), and--of course--I think that Michelle Obama is the most impressive, awesome First Lady certainly in my lifetime.

So, if you put Michelle on Sesame Street talking about eating healthy & planting your own garden, you get very close to awesomeness overload...but it's well worth it!

As you'll see, Michelle not only loves vegetables, but they love her, too! :-)

The only thing I think that would have made this clip any better is if she & Big Bird did the fist bump! ;-)

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uglybracelets

07 November 2009 @ 11:42 pm

HR 3962

Just to share the great news. The house passed HR 3962 just after 11pm Est 220 - 215. I am so happy for this to move forward and hopefully we can see the same progress from the Senate.

And just for a little math 1.2 trillion is the cost over the next 10 years. Let's figure only 20 million are covered (I know this is an underestimate). That is just 6,000$ per year per person. I think we should be able to sacrifice that for the health and well being of our fellow Americans. Sorry, my initial math was incorrect.

Tags: via ljapp

Current Location: US, Pennsylvania, Dauphin, I- 81

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cieldumort

07 November 2009 @ 02:05 pm

Jon Stewart

A little O/T, but a little weekend levity doesn't hurt in this nutty environment we have been witnessing. So please forgive the acornery, and just enjoy...

Link: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-november-5-2009/the-11-3-project

Tags: right-wing propaganda

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04 November 2009 @ 07:17 pm

Don't Tell Me Who To Love

If you haven't seen it, you really need to see the video of Ray Boltz's song "Don't Tell Me Who To Love" under the cut.

Today, it feels especially appropriate to keep Ray's beautifully-sung words, and the undying hope they represent always in our minds & in our hearts:

Now there always will be hatred and voices that condemn.
Oh, but I believe that true love is gonna make it in the end.

( As California goes, so goes...Maine )

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03 November 2009 @ 12:53 pm

I Still Love Love

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Steve Ross: The Writer-in-Chief

02 November 2009 @ 11:14 am

"I have an amazing story to tell you," she said, stepping into my office.

"She" was the editorial director whose balanced perspective and judgment made her essential to me as Publisher and to the editorial staff.

"Okay, let's hear it."

One of the editors, she told me, had read a profile written by Scott Turow in Salon.com of a forty-something community organizer and published author in Chicago who had thrown his hat into the Illinois Senate race. Turow, who was also in the Chicago area and had known this man for years, hailed him as "the new face of the Democratic party." The editor had done some further research and discovered that his book--a memoir that Turow called "a beautifully crafted book, moving and candid"--was published nine years earlier, in 1995. The book had received a few impressive blurbs and favorable reviews, but had sold only a few thousand copies, so had been out of print for years. The editor couldn't find a copy through any of the used or out-of-print book sellers on the web, but was able to patch together enough selections through disparate sources to get a sense of the book's quality. The writing is fantastic, she said. "And you're not going to believe who published it."

"Who?"

We had, it turned out. Crown, the division or Random House at which I was working, still owned the rights. The book deserved to be republished in paperback, she said--it was richly textured and elegant and quintessentially American.

"Does the author have a media platform now?"

Not that she could tell.

"Any national platform at all?"

Beyond the senate race, there was no national platform to speak of--but she could see where the conversation was going. So she pressed the case on the editor's behalf: we owned the rights, we wouldn't have to earn back a large advance, we could go out with modest expectations and then, well--it was the caliber of writing that's like a lightning rod, and maybe lightning would strike. And if this man fulfilled the potential Turow saw in him, he just might triumph in his Senate race.

"Can I read what you have of it?"

Getting a whole book in hand had proven elusive, but yes, there was some material she'd bring over.

"What's his name?"

"Barack Obama."

"Sorry. What is his name?"

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-ross/the-writer-in-chief_b_342242.html

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chelsearoad

01 November 2009 @ 09:33 am

My Response to Peggy Noonan

On a political forum I frequently post on, someone posted this article by Peggy Noonan, with the words, "Hits the nail on the head again."

My response:

I am left a little unmoved by this Re-Ron from Re-Peg. Ain't we seen this re-Ron before?

Now that Peggy is no longer writing for Re-Ron, she is trying to rewrite history...To quote Gil Scott Heron (again):

The idea concerns the fact that this country wants nostalgia. They want to go back as far as they can, even if it's only as far as last week. Not to face now or tomorrow, but to face backwards. And yesterday was the day of our cinema heroes riding to the rescue at the last possible moment. The day of the man in the white hat or the man on the white horse - or the man who always came to save America at the last moment. Someone always came to save America at the last moment . . . especially in B Movies. And when America found itself having a hard time facing the future, they looked for people like John Wayne. But since John Wayne was no longer available, they settled for Ronald Reagan and it has placed us in a situation that we can only look at . . . like a B movie.

One thing Ronald Reagan never had to contend with was a press and punditry that questioned his legitimacy. Daily. Minutely and by the minute.

And now we wonder why people aren't all hopped up with excitement for the future, despite the good numbers Obama is eking out of the mess that was left to him by GWB...which leads me to another GSH quote:

Cliches abound like kangaroos courtesy of some spaced out Marlin Perkins, a Reagan contemporary. Cliches like "itchy trigger finger" and "tall in the saddle" and riding off or on into the sunset. Cliches like, "Get off of my planet by sundown!" Moreso than cliches like, "he died with his boots on." Marine tough, the man is. Bogart tough, the man is. Cagney tough, the man is. Hollywood tough, the man is. Cheap steak tough. And Bonzo substantial. The ultimate in synthetic selling: A Madison Avenue masterpiece, a miracle, a cotton-candy politician. Presto! Macho!"

Cut to the image of brush clearing. Don't y'all feel better just imagining it? Before the Afghanistan quagmire. Before the Iraq quagmire. Before the economy quagmire.

Reagan's feel-good presidency left us broke. Clinton, for all his faults, made some hard governing decisions when he found out just how bad our economy was...and with the help of the Internet/personal computer boom, brought our economy back. Then GWB, whom Peggy worshipped before she finally woke up and realized that the brand of coffee she had been pushing as leadership was chock full of nuts, took us into the Reagan toilet AGAIN.

We need to look at reality, as opposed to the phony nostalgia Peggy's peddling.

If we need uplift, I know where we can't go for a facelift and that's FOX News. That lack of leadership you're imagining is the vision resulting from the viciousness and partisanship we're seeing from the conservative pundits and yes, many conservative pols.

It would be funny if it weren't so sad. That blame-pointing fickle finger of flagrant foul behavior is extended in the wrong direction...but it's shaken with such fervor and indignation that people are fooled. Again.

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MY FAVORITE HEALTH CARE VIDEO

31 October 2009 @ 12:22 am

HBO: By the People

Nearly a year before Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency on Feb. 10, 2007, filmmakers Amy Rice and Alicia Sams began to roll cameras on the young senator. Over the next 19 months, they found themselves travelling all across the country, chronicling the daily ups and downs of the campaign trail as experienced by Obama, his family, his staff and volunteers. While Obama's meteoric rise to the White House has been well documented in the press, few have witnessed the behind-the- scenes story of the passionate campaigners who helped a young African-American freshman senator attain the nation's highest office.

Rice conceived the idea of making a documentary about Obama long before the Illinois Senator announced his decision to run for president. Inspired by his oratorical skills and star appeal at the 2004 Democratic Convention, she set out to film his political career in 2006. Rice approached documentary producer Sams, who joined to co-direct and actor Edward Norton's production company, Class 5, agreed to produce the project. After Norton approached Obama's team with the idea, the senator agreed to grant the filmmakers what turned out to be unprecedented and exclusive access.

"Initially, it wasn't even about a presidential campaign; the idea was simply to examine the political experience of a promising young politician of our generation," says Norton, a two-time Oscar® nominee.

For Rice, the project had an even more personal dimension. She lost her older brother in the Sept. 11 attacks on the Twin Towers - an event that galvanized her political awakening. Then she saw Obama's 2004 convention speech on TV. Rice recalls, "That's when the idea of making a political documentary came into my mind."

Notes Sams, "It was clear that Obama was inspiring people to think differently about politics. We wanted to explore his impact and see where it would take both him and the country."

From this unique vantage point, BY THE PEOPLE captures the boundless fervor of the campaign's volunteers, as well as the extraordinary skill and technical sophistication of its organizers. "I think people will look back on this campaign as one that was conducted with a real understanding of communication and organizing tools that were singular to that moment," says Norton. "It was an historic new read on how you could do an end run around conventional political methodology and strategies."

Website for the HBO documentary, BY THE PEOPLE

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exhpfan

27 October 2009 @ 05:26 pm

The top 20 health care videos are now ready to be voted on at http://my.barackobama.com/page/m/55c103fe/6c7f6367/d0049f6c/11886343/3271352483/VEsF/

I voted on this one as my favorite:

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capthek

26 October 2009 @ 11:51 am

Fascinating article, so the question becomes "what do dems have to do to get voters out in 2010?".

The Democracy Corps pollsters and strategists don't approach this as objective observers, but that doesn't mean their research is tainted. Their project seems designed to help Democratic candidates and operatives better understand voters who are intensely critical of the president. The crux of their findings is that those in the conservative GOP base -- who the Democrats estimate make up a fifth of voters overall and two of three self-described Republicans -- believe that Obama "is ruthlessly advancing a 'secret agenda' to bankrupt the United States and dramatically expand government control to an extent nothing short of socialism."

The Democracy Corps report noted "a profound sense of collective identity" on individual aspects of that argument and the seriousness of its adherents. "In our conversations, it was striking how these voters constantly characterized themselves as part of a group of individuals who share a set of beliefs, a unique knowledge, and a commitment of opposition to Obama that sets them apart from the majority of the country," the report said. "They readily identify themselves as a minority in this country -- a minority whose values are mocked and attacked by a liberal media and class of elites. They also believe they possess a level of knowledge and understanding when it comes to politics and current events, one gained from a rejection of the mainstream media and an embrace of conservative media and pundits such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh."
( Read more... )

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hockeyvaughnfan

23 October 2009 @ 07:36 pm

Official Portrait

The White House has today released the First Family's official portrait...

Source: White House Press Office

Here's a link to the picture in larger size on the White House Flickr account (this is the large version, though you can get it even bigger in the original size):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/4035513827/sizes/l/

Tags: first family, photographs, president obama

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masterific

22 October 2009 @ 05:19 pm

Gibbs hits back at Cheney

From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs fired back Thursday at the latest criticism from Dick Cheney.

(CNN) - White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs fired back Thursday at the latest criticisms from Dick Cheney, and suggested the Bush administration did not send U.S. troops into foreign conflicts responsibly.

"What Vice President Cheney calls 'dithering,' President Obama calls his solemn responsibility to the men and women in uniform and to the American public," Gibbs said. "I think we've all seen what happens when someone doesn't take that responsibility seriously."

Gibbs' comments come a day after the former vice president issued a blistering a wide-ranging critique of the Obama administration's foreign policy, saying Obama appears "afraid to make a decision" when it comes to troop levels in Afghanistan, and the president's indecision is "hurt[ing] our allies and emboldening our adversaries."

In his comments Thursday, Gibbs said the delay over a troop decision in Afghanistan is largely due to the fact the Bush administration did not adequately assess the conditions in the country ahead of sending troops there.

"I think it is a curious comment," Gibbs also said, "I think it is pretty safe to say that the vice president was for seven years not focused on Afghanistan. Even more curious given the fact that an increase in troops sat on desks in this White House including the vice president's for more than eight months - a resource request filled by President Obama in March."

"I find it interesting that he's blaming us for something that he didn't see fit to do over, best I can tell, seven years of a war in Afghanistan," he added.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/22/gibbs-hits-back-at-cheney/

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cieldumort

22 October 2009 @ 03:32 pm

End of Freefall Directly Attributable To Obama Stimulus

Council of Economic Advisers:

JEC HEARING: THE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

In a report issued on September 10, the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) provided estimates of the impact of the ARRA on GDP and employment. ...

These estimates suggest that the ARRA added two to three percentage points to real GDP growth in the second quarter and three to four percentage points to growth in the third quarter. This implies that much of the moderation of the decline in GDP growth in the second quarter and the anticipated rise in the third quarter is directly attributable to the ARRA.

Fiscal stimulus has its greatest impact on growth around the quarters when it is increasing most strongly. When spending and tax cuts reach their maximum and level off, the contribution to growth returns to roughly zero. This does not mean that stimulus is no longer having an effect. Rather, it means that the effect is to keep GDP above the level it would be at in the absence of stimulus, not to raise growth further. Most analysts predict that the fiscal stimulus will have its greatest impact on growth in the second and third quarters of 2009. By mid-2010, fiscal stimulus will likely be contributing little to growth...

Tags: economic issues, stimulus bill

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What Do You Think I Fought For On Omaha Beach?

22 October 2009 @ 06:49 am

Meet 86-year-old Philip Spooner. He lives in Maine & is a veteran of World War II, and has 4 children. He gave testimony earlier this year at a hearing regarding marriage equality for same-sex couples in his home state. His words are sometimes difficult to hear & understand, but still, he speaks so clearly & eloquently on why it's wrong to deny to equality to all citizens. As Mr. Spooner explains, equality for ALL of his children & ALL Americans is why he put his life on the line for this great country all those years ago. Please give Mr. Spooner a listen...

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Awesome: New commercial supporting the Public Option (With Heather Graham)

21 October 2009 @ 11:43 am

"Called "Track Meet," the ad will air on national cable channels, including MSNBC, CNN and Bravo in addition to a major push on the web. An official with the group says that they are putting "six figures" behind the purchase.

"The public option is our best shot at affordable health care for all, and I was honored to portray the public option," Graham said in a statement accompanying the ad's release."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/20/heather-graham-becomes-pu_n_328037.html

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masterific

19 October 2009 @ 04:39 pm

Obama's books

Embedded video from CNN Video

Current Mood:

amused

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New Pot Policy: Obama Admin. will not seek arrests for people following State Law

19 October 2009 @ 02:04 pm

"WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.

Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws.
The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes.
Fourteen states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

California is unique among those for the widespread presence of dispensaries – businesses that sell marijuana and even advertise their services. Colorado also has several dispensaries, and Rhode Island and New Mexico are in the process of licensing providers, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that promotes the decriminalization of marijuana use.
Attorney General Eric Holder said in March that he wanted federal law enforcement officials to pursue those who violate both federal and state law, but it has not been clear how that goal would be put into practice.

A three-page memo spelling out the policy is expected to be sent Monday to federal prosecutors in the 14 states, and also to top officials at the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The memo, the officials said, emphasizes that prosecutors have wide discretion in choosing which cases to pursue, and says it is not a good use of federal manpower to prosecute those who are without a doubt in compliance with state law."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/new-medical-marijuana-pol_n_325426.html

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More is Less: "This American Life" discusses the American Health Care System

17 October 2009 @ 05:04 pm

http://podcast.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/391.mp3

"An hour explaining the American health care system, specifically, why it is that costs keep rising. One story looks at the doctors, one at the patients and one at the insurance industry.

Prologue.
Former Bush Administration official David Frum explains a very surprising fact about Bush's economic failure, as it relates to health care. Frum is a regular contributor to the radio show Marketplace. (5 minutes)

Act One. Dartmouth Atlas Shrugged.

Are doctors to blame for the rising costs? NPR Science Correspondent Alix Spiegel reports on the shocking results of studies about varied health care spending. Hear more health care stories this week from Alix at npr.org. (18 minutes)

Act Two. Every CAT Scan has Nine Lives.

Or is the problem the patients? Producer Lisa Pollak reports. (12 1/2 minutes)

Act Three. Who Would Win in a Fight Between a Polar Bear and an Insurance Company?

Or maybe the insurance companies are to blame? Producer Sarah Koenig reports. (12 1/2 minutes )

Act Four. Now What?

Host Ira Glass talks with Susan Dentzer, editor of the journal Health Affairs, about what current health reform proposals do to fix the rising costs of healthcare...And points at a surprising, kind of heartening phenomenon happening within the current debate. (6 minutes)

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STIMULUS WATCH: Construction drives up new jobs

15 October 2009 @ 08:23 pm

WASHINGTON – Businesses reported creating or saving more than 30,000 jobs in the first months of President Barack Obama's stimulus program, according to initial data released Thursday by a government oversight board. Military construction led the way, and states in the South and Southwest saw the biggest boost.

The new job numbers — in line with expectations for such an early accounting — offer the first hard data on effects of the $787 billion stimulus program.

The figures are based on jobs linked to less than $16 billion in federal contracts and represent just a sliver of the total stimulus package. But they also represent a milestone of sorts for an administration that promised unprecedented real-time data on whether the program was working.

Until now, the White House has relied on economic models to argue that the program created jobs and eased the recession. The numbers help shift the discussion from whether the program is creating jobs to whether it is creating enough to justify its enormous price tag.

"These are the most thankful employees you'll ever want to see," said Robert Del Riego, majority owner of Frederick, Md.-based Re-Engineered Business Solutions, who said he hired 33 new employees, mostly skilled laborers looking for work in the dismal construction market.

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U.S. most admired country globally: survey

13 October 2009 @ 11:12 pm

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - The United States is the most admired country globally thanks largely to the star power of President Barack Obama and his administration, according to a new poll.

It climbed from seventh place last year, ahead of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan which completed the top five nations in the Nation Brand Index (NBI).

"What's really remarkable is that in all my years studying national reputation, I have never seen any country experience such a dramatic change in its standing as we see for the United States for 2009," said Simon Anholt, the founder of NBI, which measured the global image of 50 countries each year.

He believes that during the previous administration of George W. Bush the United States suffered in the world ranking with its unpopular foreign policies but since Obama was elected, and despite the recent economic turmoil, the country's status has risen globally.

"There is no other explanation," Anholt said in an interview, referring to the impact of Obama.

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curethedolphins

13 October 2009 @ 07:27 pm

Please Vote!

My local newspaper is doing an online poll to see if people think Obama deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. Please click the link below and vote in the poll... your chance to vote for Obama again!
Thanks! Click here and see poll on bottom right: http://www.mohavedailynews.com/

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I think Jon Stewart should do this every night...

13 October 2009 @ 10:26 am

Goodness knows there's enough material.

Jon Stewart bashes CNN for fact-checking SNL Obama spoof and not their own guests:

CNN Leaves It There

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Weiner: AHIP Report Makes Stongest Case in Weeks for Public Option

12 October 2009 @ 02:00 pm

One of the most high-profile progressives in the House of Representatives argued on Monday that a new insurance lobby report disparaging the Senate's main reform effort gives an unexpected and strong boost to hopes for passing a public option.

Appearing on MSNBC, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) was asked about the hot news of the day on the health care front: a new report commissioned by America's Health Insurance Plans, which concluded that, under the Senate Finance Committee's legislation, family premiums would rise more than $4,000.

While dismissing the report's findings as typical of an industry that seeks to protect its profits, the New York Democrat also made a fairly salient point. The analysis basically assumes that insurers will raise their rates because the finance committee won't make the pool of consumers more desirable for them. All of which lays out the logical case for providing consumers with a cheap and available alternative, set up and administered by the federal government.

"I think in a strange way and obviously they didn't mean this, the health insurance lobby fired the most important salvo in weeks for the option," said Weiner. "Because they have said clear as day... they'll raise rates 111%."

"Here is a tell," Weiner offered earlier. "If you have the health care industry complaining that we're going to raise costs because of these changes, it is then putting us on notice that we haven't put enough cost containment in the bill. You know if the health care industry themselves is putting out a whole report saying that, that should be a tell to the Baucus team that, you know what, maybe it is time to go back and revisit the public option.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/12/weiner-ahip-report-makes_n_317561.html

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tensegritydan

11 October 2009 @ 02:59 pm

White House star party

No, not movie stars!

Astronomy is one of my hobbies, so I was very jazzed to hear about the White House hosting a star party (that is when astronomy nerds get together and set up a bunch of telescopes for people to look through).

We actually have a president who is encouraging science education. Imagine that!

White House aims middle schoolers eyes to stars

Photos from the White House Star Party

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11 October 2009 @ 12:40 am

All Over Coffee 11-9-08

source

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