AmericanVice President Joe Biden is known for speaking his mindbut sometimes he honestly shouldn’t and this morning on NBC’s Today show he should’ve thought just a little bit more before speaking about what precautions he would advise family members to take in order to avoid contracting swine flu.
I’m sure Obama wasn’t too happy when he heard what Biden had to say wonder if had that same look on his face?
Honestly if Biden hadn’tplayed such a pivotal rule in engineering the Specter coup the day before and Obama and most in the media didn’t know that his heart is in the right place even if his words aren’t Biden would be in for an extremely difficult time as VP.
It seems Biden likes making a splash a day after a big Obama event. The day after Obama’s inaugurationBiden made the John Roberts commentsand the day after Obama’s 100 days in office he makes a controversial swine flu commentthat has to be clarified by senior administration officials….hmm I wonder what comment he’ll make after Obama’s first year in office? I hope it’s a good one.
But that doesn’t change the fact that a man who has been a Republican for over 40 years was unwilling to stick around to help rebuild the party that you can arguably say helped to make him the politician he is today. That’s tough regardless of how you look at it.
What this means for the Democrats? It takes them to an almost 60 seat majority in the US Senate. It currently stands at 58, Specter’s seat ups the number to 59 and when Al Franken is declared the winner of the Minnesota senate race Democrats would have reached thatfilibuster proof majority.
Honestly with such major losses to the GOP over the past few years what will this party look like in two years?
How can Republicans expect to be a competent , competitive national party if they can’t hold on to moderate Republicans like Specter?
I really hope his departure will quicken the GOP’s metamorphosis into a 21st century American political party.
Look, Republicans can compete with the Democrats on many issues in almost every state in the US but until they realize that cutting taxes, support of guns and opposition to gays are NOT ENOUGH to win votes anymore they will continue to wander in the political wilderness.
1.Swine Influenza(swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses that cause regular outbreaks in pigs.
2.Swine flu is contagious. It is spread from human to human but you CANNOT get it by eating pork or pork products.
3.The symptoms of swine flu are similar to regular flu symptoms and include fever, body aches, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, or vomiting or diarrhea.
4. Cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Mexico, Canada and the United States. With suspected cases in Spain, New Zealand, France, Brazil and Israel.
5. There is no vaccine for swine flu but Mexican and World Health Organization officials have reported the effectiveness of regular flu medications Tamiflu and Relenza against the virus.
We had to deal withSARSand avian flu a few years ago and the world escaped from those relatively unscathed when compared to the deaths and economic losses suffered during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. That pandemic killed an estimated 5o million people!
Hopefully, we’re able to dodge the bullet one more time with the understanding we might not be as lucky the next time.
Tyson in discussing the Chris Brown/Rihanna debacle declared that Chris Brown is, ”Just a baby. He’s just a little baby that don’t know how to handle his emotions when it comes to a woman.”
A ‘little baby’ that doesn’t know how to handle his emotions? Sounds sooooooooo familiarto me you know?
In promoting his new documentary Tyson states that he’s a changed man. But surprise, surprise he hasn’t changed that much because he still can’t say that beating a woman is wrong instead he seems to sympathize with Brown. Yet we’re to believe that he’s ‘not weak’ anymore and that his recent sobriety is proof of his new found strength.
Mike might believe that the old ‘Iron Mike’ is dead and gone awaybut I don’t.
Tyson may have beat his addiction to cocaine and sex good for him, but if he’s unwilling to state publicly that domestic violence is wrong and that beating a woman is always wrong and is never ever justifed then in my eyes he will forever remain a weak and pitiful man.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Bush had gone golfing during this health emergency what the reaction from the media and the public would’ve been?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Obama shouldn’t have gone golfing I honestly don’t think it warrants him giving a press conference or national address YET to do so would probably cause a panic.
But I’m pretty sure if Bush had done the same thing we would’ve been up in arms right now and the media would’ve been in a tizzy.
TodayGlen Greenwald of Salonwrote a passionate post in support of leading a criminal investigation against those at the highest level of the American government who knew about the torture being conducted, in our name, across the world.
He stated quite eloquently that, ” The need for criminal investigations is motivated by one simple, consummately apolitical fact: serious and brutal crimes were committed at the highest levels of the government, ones that left a trail of many victims. A country that purports to live under the rule of law has no choice but to treat its most powerful members who commit serious crimes exactly the same as ordinary citizens who do so.”
Unlike many of my liberal friends I haven’t been as steadfast on the issue as I have been on many other political issues. I’ve waivered. Going back on forth on what constitutes torture and if prosecuting high level officials is actually possible.
And even if we can accept that waterboarding is torture how do you prosecute those at the top who I’m sure have protected themselves against prosecution? Don’t you think Cheney and Rice knew the laws?
Come on now.
And you don’t even have to look too far to see who pays the price for breaking laws and treaties.
Remember Abu Grahib who took the fall there? The foot soldiers. The women and men at the bottom of the ladder were the ones ridiculed and prosecuted when in most cases I believe they were only following orders.
I can honestly tell you that I was not entirely supportive of the idea of prosecuting those soldiers and I believed if anyone should have been prosecuted it shouldn’t have been their commanders but I wasn’t naive enough to believe that was going to happen.
And until yesterday I was in total support of Obama’s policy not to seek criminal charges against those in the Bush administration because selfishly it’s not in the best interests of the Democrats to do so and more importantly the cost the Obama administration would pay, I believed, would be waaaaaaay too high.
How could prosecuting ex Bush officials help us turn around the economy or fix what is going wrong in Afghanistan or bring our troops home from Iraq?
But the more I thought about it the stronger my conclusion became that to not investigate those at the top of the torture pyramid would be tantamount to saying that the law does not apply to them or to those who govern. And it’s my belief that if they are two groups of people within a society who shouldn’t break the law its those who lead and create the laws and those who enforce those laws.
We depend on these men are women to be our leaders and if they don’t follow the law at the times when it is most difficult to do so what does that say to the everyday man or woman who is forced to abide the law even if those laws are against their best interests or the interests of a loved one?
An average citixen is not allowed to break the law and claim moral grounds neither should a leader regardless of their good intentions.
Justifiable illegal acts DO NOT AND CANNOT make those acts legal.
After 911 we were scared. We were suddenly confronted by an enemy that was a lot stronger and more dangerous than we initially thought and many of us including our leaders responded in ways that we now question and many may even have concluded, incorrectly, that some of our laws needed to be broken/bent in order to keep us sage.
However in an effort to protect our nation from the bad guys we shouldn”t have abandoned our morality or disregarded the laws that have made us the nation that we are today.
So we must prosecute those who ordered or sought to legalize torture.
In the beginning these proceeding will be extremely uncomfortable but ultimately we’ll reclaim the moral authority and increase the goodwill we once had in the world and arguably that will reap far more rewards than any information gleaned from a tortured prisoner.
Chuck Todd is awesomeapparently not only do his coworkers like him but politicians actually seem to like and respect him too and that’s pretty cool and rare for a journalist-to be close but not too close.
Todd isn’t my favorite anchor/reporter of all time honestly I haven’t figured that one out yet..lol but he’s definitely up there withRick ’I rule the internets’ Sanchez- they are smart, exceptional, political, news characters/reporters/anchors and they make politics and the news interesting for the masses and I love that and I can’t wait to watch Todd’s new show.
Last night a very spirited game of Trvial Pursuit could’ve ended in murder!! Murder most foul!
Luckily my husband and I aren’t the murdering types but Trivial Pursuit’s 20th anniversary edition is filled with at least one error that could have been a contributing factor in at least one homicide yesterday..lol
Question: What nation is not amused that its FTSE stock exchange name is pronounced “footsie” in the US?
And in the very near future gay marriage will not be an issue that divides instead it will be viewed as a basic legal right for all men and women regardless of their sexual orientation-this is inevitable. Frankly because of the social changes that have occurred over the past 30 years and due to zealous efforts undertaken by lesbian and gay organizations and activists.
Anyway, an article I recently read is suggesting, in the future, the American government (us. the people) should considerpaying reparations to gay and lesbian peopledue to economic loss and the pain and suffering many have had to endure before the were granted full rights as citizens.
While I fully understand the premise Jacob Appel is asserting reparations do and can serve two distinct purposes-’monetary restitution and expression of moralopprobrium‘however I don’t believe that this is an issue the gay community should discuss or embrace with any fervency.
Currently gay people have not been allowed to exercise their full rights as American citizens and that is where the focus and energy should remain. The agenda should not be changed or amended to reflect possible future issues.
It’s all about priorities.
1.The granting of full citizenship rights and the ability to exercise those rights
2. An end to and consequences for those who discriminate against gay people
3. More social programs to assist and serve the members of the gay community
In the future the American government might consider paying monetary compensation and/or issuing an apology to gay Americans for their mistreatment but that’s an the issue for the future.
But I wouldn’t hold my breathe, if i were them, hell we black people are still waiting for our40 acres and a mule!
I can’t believe I’m saying this but I really like this Twitter thing. Go ahead, call me a fraud..I can take it..lol at least I’m honest.
Granted, I only have two followers and I really don’t expect the number to grow anytime soon but I’m already day dreaming about hitting that 100 mark..100 followers boy, I’m setting the bar really high aren’t I? LOL
Last night I hugged a woman I’d only met an hour before and you know I think she liked it. That simple gesture made her feel good and I wanted to show her how much I had appreciated her thoughts and help in solving a problem I was having and a hug was the simplest way to do that.
Friends will tell you that I hug and touch them a million times during a conversation and I probably started doing it from the moment I met them luckily they still became my friends and didn’t run away screaming that girl is crazy..lol.
Even when I’m in the heat of a debate I’m probably touching the person I’m vehemently disagreeing with. And I wouldn’t lie sometimes it makes individuals uncomfortable, I guess they feel i’m intruding upon their personal space and as a woman I have to be aware of this aspect of my personality when it comes to the opposite sex and some members of my gender as well because it could convey the wrong message. But for the most part people understand that that’s just how I am and when I lean in to give a hug they give one back even after they just accused me of being a tree hugging liberal it still feels good to get a hug.
And that’s the true benefit of hugs they are universal and under most circumstances it always feels good to give or to get one regardless of your station in life.
So protocol be damned Michelle Obama should keep on hugging (even half hugs like the one above are good..lol) I know I will and maybe just maybe these hugs will change the world.
I just heard this new song on the radio it’s about well you read the title of the blog..lol, Chris Brown should get his ass kicked!
The song is by Chicago group Smoke Jumpersand all I can say is well done people and don’t worry about Chris Brown, WE (the people) GOT YOU!! It’s about time we heard a song like this and you can dance to it too..wicked!!!
Chorus goes something like this:
Boy hits girl,
Boy should be taken down
No matter who’s around
The more I search the more I found..can’t really figure out the rest of the words, lol, regardless this song is tight you’ll be singing the chorus in minutes probably a lot better than me as well..lol!
You know it’s going on my iphone right? And will someone please do a cool video mashup for this song? PLEASE!!!
And Obama did all that, he even looked tired during the press conference. It was as if he was up all night trying to solve our problems and negotiate with his international counterparts. Imagine that! And as if that wasn’t good enough Obama even took questions from the international press corps. Gulp! People that he might never, ever see again he gave them the opportunity to ask him questions. Why did he do that? Didn’t he know that those journalists people don’t count..my guess is because he knows that he can answer their questions and he wants the world to be involved in fixing the world’s problems..that’s just my guess..the arrogance of that man thinking that the global economy is really GLOBAL.
I really don’t know if Obama should maintain such high standards we might start to expect our leaders to behave like that all the time..lol
And just in case you wanted to know British, Australian, Chinese and Indian journalists were the chosen ones.
As my page states, I am a black liberal. I was born into a family of unapologetic liberals and will undoubtedly remain one for the rest of my life. My blog title borrows from a book I once read called Conversations with an unrepentant liberal by Julius Bixler if you should get the ... Continue reading »
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Biden puts foot in his mouth & Obama officials are left to clean up
In Barack Obama, Environmental Issues.., Politics, Social issues, Technology, The next four years.., Travel, business, current news analysis, democrats, economics, health issues, international issues on April 30, 2009 at 9:38 pmSay it ain’t so Joe? You didn’t put your foot in your mouth again, did you?
You can bet Saturday Night Live will make fun of this one too
American Vice President Joe Biden is known for speaking his mind but sometimes he honestly shouldn’t and this morning on NBC’s Today show he should’ve thought just a little bit more before speaking about what precautions he would advise family members to take in order to avoid contracting swine flu.
I’m sure Obama wasn’t too happy when he heard what Biden had to say wonder if had that same look on his face?
Honestly if Biden hadn’t played such a pivotal rule in engineering the Specter coup the day before and Obama and most in the media didn’t know that his heart is in the right place even if his words aren’t Biden would be in for an extremely difficult time as VP.
It seems Biden likes making a splash a day after a big Obama event. The day after Obama’s inauguration Biden made the John Roberts commentsand the day after Obama’s 100 days in office he makes a controversial swine flu comment that has to be clarified by senior administration officials….hmm I wonder what comment he’ll make after Obama’s first year in office? I hope it’s a good one.