Beth Humphrey, 30, and Terence McKay 32, were denied a license by Bardwell because Bardwell believes the children of such unions suffer and that it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.
And if you aren’t already gasping with disbelief and shaking your head in disgust then this bit of information should do it..Bardwell has the audacity, to declare that his actions are justified and that’s he’s not racist at all since he has piles and piles of black friends AND..he even lets them use his bathroom! So that proves it right there! He’s not a raging racist at all because HE LETS BLACK PEOPLE USE HIS BATHROOM if he didn’t then and only then would we know that he’s a racist and a lunatic.
OMG!! WTF!!
You wanna know the real reason Bardwell refuses to marry interracial couples? It’s because he knows that sooner or later one of these interracial marriages, maybe even mine, is bound to spawn the devil’s offspring if we haven’t already with President Barack Obama!
You would never believe that 2010 is just a few weeks away.
Being candid doesn’t just apply to talk show hosts and average citizens.
The beloved characteristic can also apply to Presidents as well. And yes, I’ll agree it is a bit surprising when politicians are frank with us but I have to admit that some of them are actually capable of telling the truth-at times.
President Obama’s comment about West’s behavior was off the record but when you act like a jackass (include Serena Williams here too) you should be called out swiftly and without regard to race, sex, age, national origin, religion or culture and if a president wants to express his/her outrage with a person’s behavior he/she should be able too as well.
Thankfully President Obama had the guts to say what we’ve all been collectively expressing for the past few days and although it’s not the politest term in the world describing Kanye West as a ’jackass’, is the one word he can get away with calling him out loud!
I could think of quite a few other words to describe the big mouth, artist can’t you?
There is so much that has been said, can be said and will be said about Senator Kennedy over the next few days that I wouldn’t even attempt to discuss his legacy in this small, almost insignificant blog post. But I do hope that those who will be asked to speak about his legacy and his political efforts on behalf of all Americans will remember regardless of what side of the aisle they come from that “Great men stand like solitary towers in the city of God,” and though the ‘Lion of the Senate’ roars no more, his voice will echo throughout the halls and chambers of the American Senate forever.
“A little group of willful men, representing no opinion but their own, have rendered the great Government of the United States helpless and contemptible. ” –Woodrow Wilson, 1917
This quote accurately describes what is taking place in the United States as average Americans respond to lies and ambushes set up by those that are only interested in protecting their own pockets, their jobs (politicians of both parties) and the bottom lines of their share holders.
I don’t understand why some liberals and Democrats are upset about Republican groups organizing and shouting at national health care reform town hall meetings?
I say, let them SHOUT!
There is nothing wrong with these men and women shouting or voicing their passion in an aggressive manner. Shouting at an individual may be considered rude and uncouth, yes, but a rational argument can still be had during and after these meetings. And in most cases the individuals shouting slogans will not change the mind or opinion of those present at the meeting with their behaviour.
What changes an individual mind or heart is information. Simple and clear information. And to be honest, a town hall meeting, isn’t the venue to provide information about a specific plan or subject as complex and detailed as health care. It’s a place to interact with your representative in a positive or negative manner. And that interaction can be productive or worthless but in the end if DEMS want to convince voters and the public at large to support their health care bill-direct mail and the internet is the way to go or even door to door meetings.
Republicans and those oppose to health care reform will show up to these town halls ready for a fight and to say NO and nothing we do or say will stop them from shouting or being disruptive. But liberal groups have now started to organizetheir own shouting groups too counteract this opposition. So what will we achieve in the end? A shouting match between two very passionate groups.
While I do agree that shouting at these meetings is not very progressive or polite IT IS very democratic.
Bill Clinton showed the world today that he’s still got it!
Former President Bill Clinton may have lost a bit of his mojo over the years but today he proved that he’s still got some of that orginal Clinton magic left in the tank.
Speaking on MSNBC earlier today, Senior Obama advisor and political truth teller David Axelrod said that Clintons’ trip was a ’private humanitarian mission’. And while the White House is publicly tip-toeing around the trip releasing few significant details you know that Clinton has the full blessing of the White House.
What an awesome and high profile way to use the former president?
While Clinton may not always say and do the right things at home, abroad Bill Clinton exemplifies all that is great about America. And while his reputation may have dimmed just a bit due to some negative campaigning on behalf of his wife during the 2008 Democratic primary, the ex-president is still a widely respected and adored global leader. And you better believe when you’re negotiating with a ‘personality’ reportedly as big as Kim Jong-il’sthose two characteristics will go a long way in ultimately securing the release/pardon for these two women and who knows what else could emerge from this trip?
***UPDATE***..MSNBC is reporting that North Korean media is reporting that the two women have been granted a special pardon.
It would appear that President Obama wants to stay in the White House for eight years. He sent his main man, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs out today to let us know that he WOULDN’T BE raising taxes on middle class folks after all.
He probably didn’t get any sleep this weekend with all the problems Geithner and Summers caused him. No wonder the president looked so tired today his head must be throbbing.
My Monday morning just started and already I’m wishing I had just stayed in bed because these Monday morning blues are stressing me to hell out!
From the moment I turned on my television set, headlines and anchors across the cable news networks have been asking the question, “Will Obama raise taxes on the middle class?”.
OMG!! that can’t be right? I need more coffee! Taxing the middle class, with the economy as horrible as it is, would be Obama’sWaterloo. It was the first George Bush’s and Obama is smarter than him right? So he wouldn’t make that mistake…right?
I don’t know what Larry Summers and Tim Geithner were thinking when they appeared on the Sunday morning chat shows talking about the ways and means that could be used to pay for health care and to reduce our deficit.
Do Democrats want Obama to be a one-term president? Or more importantly does President Obama want to be president again? Or is he satisfied with the fact that he was able to beat all the odds and become America’s first black president? I don’t know anymore because if you analyze Obama’s actions and words lately you might think he wants the GOP to kick him out the White House in 2012! He just keeps giving them more and more ammunition. God, even John McCain thinks it’s safe to come out of hiding.
One way or another Democrats and liberals find a way to f#$% things up!
Honestly, can the Democrats get at least one thing right this session?
Why didn’t Democrats expect the public would take advantage of theCash for Clunkers program and fund it accordingly? It was so simple. So, very, very simple.
Congress came up with the money for the banks and they didn’t seem to run out of money to fund them (banks got $700 billion, Cash for Clunkers was a measly $1 billion) yet one of the programs that could really help the average man or woman and the ailing auto industry, runs out of money after just four days!!!
And they wonder why people hate Congress and politicians?
I have refrained from commenting on the Crowley-Gates-Obama affair until today.
Why? Because I didn’t know how I really viewed the incident and if I considered race the main motivating factor behind the officer’s actions. And when I’m suffering an intellectual dilemma or an internal conflict I keep my mouth shut and blogging about the incident wouldn’t have allowed me to reach a resolution.
I think I’m now seeing things a bit more clearly.
You see, while I do believe that Gates should never have been arrested and if the situation had been reversed, I would have supported a White or Latino man in this circumstance as well, I don’t know if Professor Gates really was a victim of racial profiling.
On one hand I believe Gates was arrested because he was being mouthy to Sergeant Crowley and while I agree that’s not a justifiable reason to be arrested, the cop exercised his discretion to the fullest by conducting the arrest when he should have walked away. BUT cops arrest mouthy people all the time-in some instances it’s to prove they can. However, these arrests don’t typically occur in the person’s own home! But I don’t know if he wanted to arrest a mouthy, black man or if he just wanted to arrest a man that was giving him lip.
Look, I’ve never been mouthy with a cop and the times I have been caught breaking the law, i.e speeding I have been polite and courteous and most often or not the cop gave me a ticket for another minor traffic offense instead of the speeding ticket. Once, I even dared to tell the truth when asked the dreaded question, “Do you know why I stopped you?” I replied, “Yes. I was speeding and I know I shouldn’t be.” The cop smiled, looked at me, said something which I can’t remember right now, talked with me for a few more minutes, checked my ID and registration and then he let me go with a warning. And this was in a small town, in Upstate New York where you can count the number of black people on one hand! LOL
But I can also tell you that I believe my husband and I have been victims of racial profiling in Arizona. And that we’ve been pulled over more times in that state than in any other state we’ve lived or travelled too in the United States.
So I can see both sides of the issue.
Anyway,President Obama, James Crowley and Louis Gateshave all decided to have a beer together at the White House. What a great photo op! The three peace makers should break into song-Kumbaya would be perfect..LOL. Until the next incident involving race confronts and divides us. But I believe the Crowley-Gates incident had more to do with class than it did about race and that is something we have not even begin to honestly confront in America.
President Obama and the Democrats in the US Congress are in the process of hacking out a health care bill.
Some say we can’t afford to cover all Americans-it would cost too much. Others, we can’t afford NOT too cover all Americans.
With one in six Americans uninsured and with the highest health care costs in the developed world what looked like a sure thing a few months ago, has now become a huge dilemma for President Obama and the Democratic Leadership.
If Democrats don’t pass health care reform, and remember Democrats are the overwhelming majority in the House and the Senate, one of Obama’s major campaign promises will not be achieved and probably wouldn’t even be achieved in his first term. And in the end you can bet that he and fellow Democrats will pay for it come election day in 2010 and 2012. But if they do listen to theopposition,within their own party, the bill may be derailed anyway because most of these Democrats oppose a public option- a‘government health insurance programakin to Medicare which would be open to anyone’and would move with the individual from job to job and even state to state.
So Democrats are left with only one option. Pass a watered down version of a health care bill and tout it as reform and hype the hell out of it so that the public may actually believe that they accomplished something truly significant and monumental this session.
We all knew that comprehensive health care reform wasn’t going to be easy and that there would be significant opposition to the president’s efforts, however as Democrats appear to be lugging a bill through Congress and more and more officials talk about thespiralling costs of the proposed reforms, at a time when the economy is in perail and a lot of people don’t know where the next pay check is going to come from, its unlikely that we’re going to see any significant reforms.
An unscientific observation has led me to believe that during these hard times, mop soda and all that while many people may understand the importance and support health care reform they are unwilling to abandon an imperfect but tried system and put their faith, once again, in an untested and somewhat dubious process, in the end Democrats will have to balance today’s hardships against tomorrow’s benefits and do what’s in the best interest of the American people and not themselves.
No doubt, things are bad out there. Obama is trying his best but to be honest it doesn’t seem to be working.
But I don’t care how bad things are with me, I would have to be so damn desperate (dying of thirst and my legs shot off) and without any hope of reaching a lake or fresh water river before I drank MOP SODA.
I’m sure you’ve seen the smart mop ad. It’s the one where this guy, pitchman Anthony Sullivan, squeezes spilled soda from a mop into a glass as he explains how awesome this ’smart mop’ is and tries to convince you that times are so tough we can’t afford to waste even one glass of spilt soda.
I don’t know where the marketing and advertising people came up with that concept but it sucks because most people I know, even the ones hurting for money, are not going to drink soda squeezed from a mop!
What were the ad people thinking? Using that as a reason to buy the smart mop is not smart-it’s simply disgusting.
Dr.Benjamin gave up lucrative career opportunities only to watch the practice she helped to build with her own hands be destroyed twice by hurricanes-Hurricane Georges in 1998 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
She has used her own money, gone without pay, accepts what ever her patients can afford, makes house calls all in in an effort to deliver quality, preventative medical care to the residents of this small rural town.
Nothing stops Dr. Benjamin. Not rain. Not fire. Not money. With a dedicated staff firmly by her side, including 78 year old nurse Nell Stoddard, Benjamin continues to receive numerous accolades and awards for her valiant attempts and successes at providing affordable health care at her family practice clinic, helping others establish rural clinics across the nation when interviewed Benjamin has said that her goal in establishing the clinic was, ” To find a way to provide the best possible medical care to patients who often can’t afford health insurance and the only way to do that was to learn how to run a business efficiently.”
Should Benjamin become the next US Surgeon General and she still maintains the goal of finding ‘a way to provide the best possible medical care to patients who can’t afford health insurance’ you better believe she will have just as big an impact on the nations’ health care system as she’s had on La Batre, Alabama.
I disagree with those who assert that Sotomayor’s journey has been remarkable.
Like most who succeed Sotomayor went to the best schools, worked extremely hard, put in her time on the job and became known to all the right people. The only thing that differentiates Sotomayor from other nominees is her race. And what is truly remarkable, to me, is that it has taken us this long as a society to recognize the contributions and abilities of those, like Sotomayor, that weren’t born white and male and that firsts like Sotomayor’s and Obama’s are still occurring.
However, in a few hours we’ll watch numerous Senators applaud and celebrate Sotomayor’s nomination. They will tell us how impressed they are with her life story and recite what a uniquely American story hers is and that will fill most of our hearts with pride and joy.
However, as we watch the hearings I will also be hoping that the next time a Hispanic man or woman is being considered for the Supreme Court, his or her life story wouldn’t garner as much attention and that hopefully in the future when my generation are controlling the reigns of power we can honestly say to the public that the only aspect of any nominee’s life that will be considered will be their opinions and rulings on the bench and we hopefully would’ve climbed another rung on the ladder of equality.
I love politics and I could listen to policy discussions on most topics but listening to President Obama’s health care town hall on CNN bored me to tears today. Even MSNBC refused to air it and they cover ever little thing he does. LOL
Yes, I know we have to fix health care.
Yes, we have to get people covered.
And the personal stories we often hear at these town halls should provide us with even more incentives to fix our health care system.
But couldn’t Obama put some interesting graphics up there? Seriously. Where are the power point presentations on how reducing health care costs could actually help Rush Limbaugh or help most of the members of the Senate live even longer? I don’t know but these health care town halls need something.
But I guess there are some things even President Barack Obama can’t do.
For the past week, I, like so many of you, have been riveted to my seat as I’ve watched the infancy of yet another Iranian revolution play out right before my very eyes.
Americans have devoured and disected every image, parsed ever morsel of information and formulated their own opinions on what is taking place in that Middle East country. And as Iranians have turned to Twitter and Facebook we’ve publicly followed and encouraged them while simultaneously praising their bravery in disobeying their governments’ bans.
Iranians have inspired us and made us extremely hopeful that for the first time since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the majority in the country were finally prepared to take the first steps towards establishing a true democratic state.
However, as the week wore on and protesters’ calls fell on deaf ears many of us suspected that their demands would be rebuffed, at Friday prayers Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei confirmed a crackdown was immenient.
This past Saturday millions of us watched as grainy videos uploaded to Youtube made their way into our living rooms via national news channels showing demonstrators being beaten and attacked in the streets as they defied their Supreme leader and rallied in support of Mousavi.
But after all of this I am still unsure of how far these supporters are willing to go in support of Mousavi and if the movement I’m watching on tv and the internet has really morphed into a pro democracy crusade similar to the one that occurred in Lebanon?
I sense this is no longer about an election.
I believe this is no longer about deposing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and appointing Mir Hussein Moussavi.
And I know that the majority of protesters do not want the Islamic Republic to fall.
But what do they really want and are they willing to continue to spill their blood and sacrifice their lives in pursuit of a democratic state if that is truly their demand?
So far the death toll, as reported by the Associated Press, stands at 19.
However like most movements that oppose oppressive regimes expect that total to increase. And undoubtedly a critical point will be reached when leaders and protesters, enforcers and supporters start to play a dangerous game of chicken.
In Iran this game has been occurring at various levels for the past 30 years. The battle between democracy and despotism, modernity and tradition may finally have come to a head this past week but in the past these drives have been crushed and the reformers have always backed down.
But this time the elites and intellectuals, leading the movenment appear to have significant support among the mases and that could lead to significant societal change.
And if we are currently witnessing a regime change in Iran unfortunately and inevitably that means there will be hundreds moreNeda Soltans. I don’t know if the protesters or the ruling elites and clerics are really prepared to accept that reality.
Am I the only one that believes that the banks are onlyrepayingus because they want us (the government) out of their business?
Because I really don’t believe they would be repaying these TARP fundsif we hadn’t got on their cases and called them out as quickly as we did or if the media hadn’t been keeping a watchful eye on their behaviour and what they were doing with our money.
But it’s all good.
Hopefully, we’ve all learned something from this government bailout debacle.
This time we were able to stop the collapse of our economy, save the banks’ and CEO hides and STILL get our money back. The next time and believe me there will be we may not be as lucky.
We’ll soon find out how willing the Iranian people are to take those first crucial steps towards normalizing their relationship with the West and the United States.
The last time I got this excited, for the middle east, was way back in 2005 during Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution.
And now that same excitement coupled with anticipation is killing me.
Last year, young people in the US finally stepped up and put their votes where their mouths and hearts have been for a very long time. Young people all across the United States worked their butts off, convinced their friends, families and in some cases coworkers to vote for and support a candidate that many pundits had declared as having a snow ball chance in hell of winning the American presidency.
But most importantly millions of those young people showed up at the polls on voting day showing that with unparalleled determination, hard-work and just a bit of luck change is indeed possible even at the highest levels of power.
And for the past few weeks we’ve been watching a replay of that same process in Iran.
Iran’s young people have catapulted their version of Barack and Michelle Obama unto the world stage by openly displaying their support for underdog presidential candidateMir Hossein Mousaviand his wife Dr. Zahara Rahnavard.
Obama won the election because he was able to harness and direct the energies and passion of millions of young people. Mousavi is hoping that their efforts coupled with the current economic conditions in Iran and the desire for positive changes amongst the Iranian people will be enough to topple the country’s current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Can Mousavi accomplish the same thing? Maybe. It’s certainly looking like he has a real shot at winning but it is a long shot. Nevertheless I’m willing to argue that his chances are much better than Obama’s were that’s for sure..lol
And what happens if he does? Would a Mousavi win have any influence on Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hoseyni Khamenei the ’real’ leader of Iran? Maybe. According to some reports it appears Ayatollah Khamenei is willing to work with Mousavi although the two men were once fierce rivals for the affections and adulations from the previous and first Supreme Leader Ayotallah Khomeini.
However it appears Khamenei is willing to put the past behind him and Mousavi appears to be a realist and if elected he intends to pursue a pragmatic approach on the international stage andhe’s even said it!
So should Mousavi win we could finally see direct talks, (remember what Obama said during the election?) or we could see multi-lateral talks but chances for constructive and significant diplomacy undoubtedly increase with a Mousavi presidency.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you should start planning a trip to Iran or that President Obama will be visiting Iran anytime soon but should Mousavi win we can definitely expect a thaw in US-Iranian relations.
How significant a thaw? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see…
Have you seen this public service announcement (PSA) asking Americans to support economic sanctions against Iran?
The 35 second PSA was created by the non-partisan, coalitionUnited Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) has been running on CNN for the past few days.
According to UANI’s website their primary objective is ’ to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.’
UANI hopes to initiate grassroots opposition against a nuclear armed Iran and the danger that poses to the region and the world by inviting average citizens to create UANI chapters in their communities and to send messages to their leaders and elected officials, the press and Iranian companies.
It seems that every group in the world is looking to duplicate Obama’s success in rallying and coalescing grassroots support for their particular agenda, policy or candidate. Unfortunately Obama’s success wouldn’t be easily duplicated.
In just a few hours President Obama will deliver arguably one of the most important speeches of his presidency in Cairo, Egypt.
But I believe that in order for Obama to get the Arab world actively engaged in the issues that are important to us and our allies he must do three things.
One reiterate that the US is NOT at war with Islam. Reinforce our support for Palestinian statehood. And three show respect for the view held by many people across the Arab world (and arguably the entire world) that the American way is not the ONLY way.
These are the three main points Obama has to hammer home in order for his words to resonate with the average muslim man and woman in the Middle East.
Every rational American can accept that the US is not at war with Islam however amajority of muslims believe that we are actively seeking to destroy Islam. This perception has arisen primarily due to conflicting political interests and it will disolve into thin air after his speech. But what Obama and diplomats can do is to highlight our common interests-the establishment of a free and secure Palestinian state and the mutually desired withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.
If we can actively work to align these two key interests and maybe even achieve one of them in coming years we can then begin to work on our differences. However, in order to achieve a desirable outcome on those two issues I believe that we must be willing to accept and adjust our way of thinking.
Now I’m not suggesting that the adjustments have to made solely on our end, not at all. Arab states and muslim men and women everywhere must be willing to do more than simply pay lip service to the idea of rejecting radical elements within their communities. Instead they must wholeheartedly renounce and squash those elements within their midst before members of their citizenry have become radicalized and a threat to America and its allies. We can’t do that for them they must do that on their own.
As ahyperpowerthe United States could tell any state or nation ’to shove off’ but we tried that route look how far it got us? Our influence and dominance on the world stage can be increased tenfold if we admit to a few mistakes.
And this is one of those occasions.
To admit a mistake as a nation doesn’t make usapologists as some have suggested instead when a world leader is willing to admit his or her mistake what it says to the rest of the world is that the country is big enough to admit its shortcomings, accept that it doesn’t have all the answers and is wise enough to seek counsel and assistance from others in an effort to never repeat that mistake in essence it is a state deserving of the mantle of leadership.
However the idea of our President acknowledging past mistakes bothers millions of Americans.
And I can understand that.
Forgive me for using my own character as an example but like most people I hate admitting mistakes but what I hate even more is act of admitting to others that I was WRONG that gets under my skin. And I don’t know a single individual as strong willed and stubborn as I am that likes to admit that she/he could’ve been wrong on anything…LOL!.
But there are times in our lives when a simple acknowledgment of a past mistake is enough to garner us respect and admiration from our loved ones and even our enemies and I believe this principle can be applied to a state as well.
How we go about rectifying those mistakes will say more about us as a country than any wrong we have committed in the last past years. Let’s hope that those men and women in the Arab world are also ready for a fresh start because I know that we are.
Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak was on Hardball with Chris Matthews a few minutes ago discussing his potential Senate run against the newest Democrat in the US Senate Arlen Specter.
He still hasn’t decided according to him he’s still consulting with his family. I don’t buy his reason at all but it does sound nice and keeps the press back a bit. But what I think he’s really doing is weighing the costs to his political future if he runs against Specter because he knows he wouldn’t be running against Specter alone he’ll be running against Obama, Biden and the current Democratic leadership.
And that’s a tough call for a politician.
But I hope he does run.
We’re Democrats damn it! We don’t want people telling us who to vote for even if that order comes from a well liked President. Leave the anointing of leaders to the Republicans..lol.
Sestak might be a long shot and he might suffer severe blowback for running against Specter BUT this is America if you believe in something you go for it and fight for it every inch of the way and I think if Sestak really believes that he’s the better candidate he shouldn’t let anything deter him from running.
Who knows he just might win and all he has to do is look at the current occupants at the White House to know that anything is possible in this great country!
So it’s Friday and we don’t really want to read anything heavy right?
Well here are some very cool and not so cool (I’ll let you decide which ones aren’t) facts about the guys and gals that have sat in those seats.
1.Robert H Jacksonwas US Attorney General and a Supreme Court Justice and he didn’t graduate from law school.
2. Justice Byron ‘Whizzer’ White was once the leading rusher in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Steelers and the Lions.
3. Justice Thurgood Marshall was a big fan of soap operas (so was my dad..lol) and he loved to play poker. I wonder if he was any good?
4. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first female jurist on the Supreme Court we all knew that but did you know that she learned to drive by age seven, had a bob cat as a pet and learned to shoot a gun before she was eight? She’s also a fan of the Olive Garden.
5. Before Frank T Murphy became an Associate Justice his professional career included: First Assistant U.S. District Attorney, Eastern Michigan District (1920-23), Recorder’s Court Judge, Detroit (1923-30), Mayor of Detroit (1930–33), Governor-General of the Philippines (1933-35), U.S. High Commissioner of the Philippines (1935–36), Governor of Michigan (1937-39) and United States Attorney General (1939–40). My goodness what did this guy do in his spare time?
7. Associate Justice Charles Evans Whittaker got admitted to law school without a high school diploma. He dropped out in the ninth grade to go hunting, trapping and farming! Hmm how does one go farming? lol
8. The second US Supreme Court Justice John Rutledge was the only Justice in American history to be forced out of office against his will.
9. Celebrated Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis belonged to a polo club but never played polo but he loved canoeing. And apparently he preferred to reorder his suits rather than go shopping for a new one. I think he’ll get the support of most men on that one.
10. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg took her love for opera to the next level when she appeared as an extra in two Washington Opera productions once in full costume and once as herself.
Without the Constitution America and it could be argued the world would be a significantly different place.
So here are six facts you should know about one of the world’s most important‘living’ documents.
1. Over one hundred nations have used the American Constitution as a model to create their own constitution.
2. You will never find the word ‘democracy’ in the Constitution. Interesting…
3. Treason is the only crime defined in the Constitution.
4. The 10 amendments known today as The Bill of Rights (whenever I read the Bill of Rights I get goose bumps..lol) were added three years after the ratification of the Constitution.
5. Bucking convention Vermont ratified the Constitution on January 10, 1791, even though it hadn’t officially become a state.You gotta love Vermont.
6. During World War II the constitution was moved to Fort Knox.
Sotomayor is the first Hispanic to be nominated for the highest court in America.
I can’t wait for the confirmation hearings..’cause you know the Republicans are just itching for a fight? We’re already hearing claims that while Judge Sotomayor’s personal story is inspiring, she’s really not that smart and of course the Republican cliché is being tossed around repeatedly..she’s an activist judge amazing!
I wonder what other types of mud will be slung at Judge Sotomayor?
Republicans have to be extremely careful in resorting to their traditional tactics as the confirmation hearings progress.
Republicans have already alienated a significant portion of the Hispanic community with their immigration policies which are widely seen in the Hispanic communityas anti-Hispanic and if their questioning of Sotomayor is viewed as unfair or discriminatory Republicans run the risk of losing the Hispanic vote completely.
Well that didn’t take long Rush Limbaugh is now calling Sotomayor a racist!!!
Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s rebuttal speech on national security at theAmerican Enterprise Institutein one word-stupefying!!!
This man is defiant!
He refuses to accept the world has changed and that his world view is no longer acceptable orrational.
And he refuses to lay down his arms and he still has the energy to fight the old battlesagainst the New York Times, the peace loving liberals and those sissy Europeans man..he just wouldn’t let go will he?
Unfortunately, I must say that Dick Cheney is the real leader of the GOP!
Is this what Michael Steele meant when he said the GOP had ‘turned the corner’ and that they were done‘ looking in the rearview mirror’?
I don’t think they can do that with Dick Cheney clinging to their bumper..
Honestly, I don’t care what the comedian Jay Mohr has to say. It’s his job to be offensive. He knows that the more offensive he is the more airplay he gets and by extension the bigger his salary becomes.
But the no great beauty comment by Iman, well, that kinda hit home.
And before you say, “She’s just voicing her opinion,” her observation of Michelle Obama goes a lot deeper than just a casual comment by a public figure about a major public official as one blogger asked does Michelle Obama make dark skin stylish?
Obviously Iman doesn’t think so and to a wide section of the public we dark skinned black woman still have a long way to go before we’re considered as beautiful as our lighter skinned sisters black or white and that’s with or without the First Lady’s help.
Iman does go on to say that Ms. Obama is, “So bright and interesting looking and in the end that will always take you farther.” However, I don’t understand what Iman means by interesting looking?
Interesting looking?
Anaxolotl is interesting looking but they aren’t too many people out there want to look like that. And I’m pretty sure Michelle Obama like most women, myself included, like to be complimented on our beauty as well as our intellect.
But I’m sure Iman’s comments wouldn’t be the first time Michelle Obama has heard or been told ’she’s no great beauty’ or ‘that she’s not pretty’ by asista.
I can relate to that.
Like most dark skinned black women I too, grew up being told over and over again by my peers and in some cases by adults that I was ugly and when I wasn’t told that it was often decided that I would be really pretty if I weren’t so black.
Great! I would be really pretty if I didn’t look like me! LOL
Anyway, for some girls that would’ve been enough to inflict lasting emotional damage but what hurt the most weren’t the jokes about my dark skin, I got used to those, it was the barage of comments I would always undoubtedly face from a schoolmate if my mom picked me up or visited me at school.
The next day I would be asked one or all of these questions, ”Are you sure that’s your mom?” or “Are you adopted?” and the best of them all, ”Your mom is so pretty..how come you look like that?”
And for the rest of the day I would be left thinking that the words pretty and beautiful were reserved for those with lighter skin (my mom is birracial and my sister has lighter skin) than mine and that I would never be called beautiful by anyone outside my immediate family.
Inevitably those thoughts would pass until the next time my mom visited the school and then the process of self doubt and self-pity would start all over again.
Those comments have help to shape my world view but they also prepared me to face the cruelty and pain in the world with grace and dignity. And although I no longer face ridicule, I have never allowed myself to forget what it feels like to be on the opposite end of hateful comments and I credit those bullies and ignoramuses for heightening my ability to empathize not just with those of my race or in my community but with my fellow human being regardless of gender, race or complexion.
But they were days that I was afraid to go to school because I knew that most of my day would be spent in emotional turmoil. A teenager has more than enough to deal with and managing emotional conflict with her peers shouldn’t be one of them.
Luckily my parents didn’t allow those comments to destroy my self esteem or my self worth and I thank them every day for molding me into the woman that I am. But many black women aren’t as lucky as I was and millions of them continue to be at war with their dark skin and seek to change their complexion by any means necessary.
A simple Google search,dark skinned black women, provides valuable insight into this psychological dilemma that continues to plague the black community and the world in general when it comes to seeing beauty in the black race.
Even the term classic beauty when Googledproduces not one black woman in fact none of the top 20 women in that search have dark skin!
While our concept of beauty continues to evolvebe it very, very slowly sadly we have not reached the point where a tall, dark skinned black woman can be considered a classic or great beauty by the majority on this planet.
But in his speech yesterday all he did was look back.
From his comments about Reagan to the fact that he failed to offer no new policy positions on any current issue all Steele did was remind millions of Americans why they aren’t Republican anymore.
Steele tried his very best to convince us that there is a new GOP we just haven’t seen it yet, ” Our comeback is well underway out in the states, I can assure you of that..the folks inside the beltway don’t know it yet but those of you who toil in the vineyards, spending time in communities, in diners, barber shops, and coffee shops where real every day people can be found…you know it is real.”
Steele obviously sees things that we don’t.
It has become quite obvious that the only reason Michael Steele got the RNC Chair is because he’s a black guy. And unfortunately, many GOP leaders wrongly believe the only way to effectively criticize President Obama is to have another black guy do it. That’s the only conclusion I can come too because Michael Steele has nothing else going for him.
The GOP seems to be perpetually stuck in the past on everything and instead of moving forward Republican leaders are constantly looking over their shoulders as if they are hoping President Regan will ride in on his white horse and save them from themselves and those bad Democrats!
The GOP must STOP LIVING in the past and STOP DIRECTING their message to those who want to return TO THE PAST because if they aren’t careful they will become a PARTY OF THE PAST!
But who am I to offer any advice? I’m just a no good liberal right? LOL
Ok..so if Obama does provide the plan, which is only fair, he’ll get Democratic support to shut down Gitmo right?
Wrong!!!
Even if President Obama provides Congress with a plan there’s no guarantee that Guantanamo Bay will be closed because our leaders don’t want the responsiblity of housingconvicted terrorists in their backyards.
And it isn’t just the Republicans who are saying no Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid has joined them as well. He states emphatically, ” We don’t want them them around,” and if Reid can’t be convinced to shut dowm Gitmo how can he be expected to rally other Senators behind Obama’s plans?
Greaaaaaaaaaaaat..Obama just celebrated his first 100 days a few weeks ago and already Democrats are stabbing him in the back.
Let’s see how long we keep that Democratic majority if Obama is handed significant defeats like this over and over again? You can bet it wouldn’t be too long..
Pittsburgh Steelers and MVPJames Harrison will not be going to the White House on Thursday to meet President Obama because he believes that Obama wouldn’t have invited them if they hadn’t one the Super Bowl!!!!
This isn’t the first time he’s told the President to shove his invitation and honestly I would suggest that meeting the last President wasn’t that high on the list of many people either but come on dude, if there was a year of the black man last year was it and you happen to be in the top three and you’re going to miss out on it because, ” This is how I feel, if you want to see thePittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don’t win the Super Bowl. As far as I’m concerned, he would’ve invited Arizona if they had won.”
Dude are you fuh real?
You are giving up the opportunity to meet the most powerful man in the world, who just happens to be the first black president of the United States because you wouldn’t have been there if you hadn’t one a major American sporting event?
Harrison has definitely suffered too many blows to his head!
After admitting that she knew the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was torturing detainees from as early as 2003 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosihas effectively said that for three years (Democrats retook Congress in 2006) she stood quietly and allowed others to break our laws and international treaties.
I didn’t believe Bush and Cheney then, I don’t believe Speaker Pelosi and the CIA now.
They were all telling lies.
And I think one of the reasons those briefings are as vague as they are, in part, is to protect the politicians.
These agencies expect politicians to protect their interests first and a combination of fuzzy memories and ambiguous documents give them the cover to do that.
We’ve seen it play out before a member of congress is being pressured for information on a controversial topic or issue she/he fingers or blames some governmental agency, opposition members pressure the agency, in this case it’s CIA, in order to clear their name the CIA waves their records (the intelligence briefings) around asserting, “Of course the member knew what we were doing. Look it says so right here!”
In effect it forces the issue to a stalemate and who are we to believe in a situation like that?
A member of congress trying to cover her assets or a political agency seeking support for its past illegal actions? Hmm..it’s a tough one isn’t it?
I do think the Speaker of the House has given the Republicans the opening they were looking for. Her rambling press conference yesterday, the constant changing of her stories and her tacit support for their actions by her inaction, will allow Republicans to exploit the situation and damage her reputation.
Pelosi should’ve known and expected that the use of these enhanced interrogation techniqueswas going to comeback to haunt her and if she truly believed that what the Bush administration was doing was wrong and illegal she should have been more vigorous in her disapproval and more importantly have a record of her actions. And if she really wanted to make a stand against them she should’ve resigned and then speak out.
She wasn’t powerless and to suggest that she was Pelosi does herself and the United States Congress the biggest disservice.
ASU and Arizona officials are expecting 71, 000 people to attend ASU’s five hour long graduation ceremony some in the Arizona press have even begun to call the event ’a spectacle’. Hmm if John Mccain was president and he was giving the commencement address would the event still be called a spectacle?
Alice Cooper and the President of the United States on the same stage..I wonder if Obama will be able to resist the temptation to holdCooper’s snake? I just couldn’t resist sorry..lol
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.
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.
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.
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.
Obama is a funny guy. That’s one of the reasons so many of us like him.
On the campaign trail we saw brief glimpses of his humorous side but he never really loosend up always wary of the fact that one overblown joke could cause him the presidency Obama kept his self-deprecating, dry sense of humor in check.
But over the past few months as Obama has become increasingly comfortable with the presidency and his role as president and unfortunately as the situation has become more and more dire he’s started to lighten up and it’snot uncommon for him to crack a joke during a national press conference or address and admitedly most of the time his jokes or observations are witty and funny.
But on Thursday during his appearance of “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno a characteristically self-deprecating joke about his bowling skills left a lot of families and people hurt. Then during an interview with “60 Minutes”, which aired yesterday, Obama joked about some aspects of the American economylikening his humor to ‘gallows humor’.
After he said, ” The only thing less popular than putting money into banks is putting money into the auto industry,” noting that, ” There’s got to be a little gallows humor to get you through the day.” Obama’s first statement was dead on but it’s no laughing matter. Detroit one of the US’s largest cities and the capital of the world’s auto industry is on the brink of collapse and Obama is joking about it?
Call me bias if you want (I lived in Detroit for over two years and I have a special fondness for Ferndale and Royal Oak MI) but I don’t get the joke.
Obama is the person charged with fixing all our problems and if he doesn’t make substantial headway in achieving many of them he’s going to be a one term president. And with everything he’s dealing with he’s probably suffering from a ‘contact high’ brought on from being so close to all these disasters but frankly with the most powerful country currently on its knees and our collective suffering becoming a bit too overwhelming for even the strongest and the brightest among us I’m in no mood to laugh.
I admit I’ve never been one to laugh in the face of adversity, (I’d probably jump kick it..lol) so forgive me if I can’t laugh it off. And maybe if I lighten up I’d be able to see the humor in all of this like President Obama.
Last night President Barack Obama appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
What we witnessed was vintage Obama. Eloquent, confident and in control.
He told us went wrong in the American economy, what he and others are doing to fix it and reassured us that brighter days are ahead and he did it all with a smile on his face and in language we can comprehend.
His interviewer, Jay Leno, is no Mike Wallace but The Tonight Show host covered all the bases. From AIG, to clean energy, to the Obama’s search for a family dog. Leno got the mix of questions just rightand he did it smoothly, respectfully and with the perfect amount of humor. We could ask for nothing more fromthe big hearted comedian. He gets top marks all the way around!
In the future sitting presidents probably wouldn’t make it a habit of appearing onThe Tonight Show but I do think President Obama has started a trend and he wouldn’t be the last sitting president to appear on the late-night talk show circuit.
*** BTW I love the 99 cent segment. Jay, we all know that most of the products sold at these stores are crap and not worth more than the few pennies it takes to produce them but I dare you to find another store other than a dollar store or 99 cent store where you can buy all your junk food, cleaning supplies, a cutesy ornament or plaque for your wife and a cool toy for your niece or nephew for a combined total of less than $20 ? I DARE YOU JAY! I DARE YOU! lol***
First we take responsiblity and then we try correct it. If we are successful we never repeat that mistake. Sometimes we fail and we end up repeating that mistake regardless of how hard we’ve tried. But most of us usually try really, really hard not to do that.
Politicians, however, are a different species of human. They never take responsibility for anything bad and they are always blaming others for their shortcomings.
First, Senator Dodd points the finger at the treasury. Treasury officials point the finger at Obama officials and then congressmen and congresswomen (who obviously don’t read the bills they pass) point the fingers at greedy AIG execs!
Everybody agrees that a mistake has been made yet nobody is willing to take responsiblity for it and for the first time President Obama’s words are ringing hollow with me. I don’t believe a word he says when it comes to AIG.
And I’m pretty sure that if we weren’t mad as hell none of these politicians would be speaking out against these bonuses. Why would they?AIG has given them millions of dollars over the years.Tell me, are you really going to bite the hand that feeds you? I doubt it.
However, we want our money back and we intend to get it with our without them and if the men and women in Congress want to get reelected they will find a way to quell our anger.
Today Edward Liddy, Chairman and CEO of AIG, told a Congressional House Panel that the US Federal Reserve has been aware of the retention bonuses for months.
Now, before Tim Geithner became Treasury Secretary he was chairman of the New York Federal Reserve and Ben Bernanke, the current Federal Reserve chairman were both instrumental in crafting AIG’s bailout.
If Liddy is to be believed both men were well aware that these bonuses were to be distributed on Friday March 13th months in advance.
I know it’s hard to be fair right now but Geithner isn’t the only one to be blamed for the situation we now find ourselves in. Bernanke was there too and so was previous Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson .What was his contribution to these million dollar bonuses? What did all these men know? And why didn’t they do something about this bs then?
And now we find out thatthere was a provision to cap these bonuses but it was removed from the final stimulus bill!
ARE THESE PEOPLE MAD?
I want answers!
Drag all of them up to Capitol Hill. Not just Liddy and Geithner! Supboena Paulson too!
It’s easy to dislike Tim Geithner. From his tax avoidance problems during his confirmation hearings, to his very first press conference where he was described by one writer as ‘looking like a terrified spaniel’ . Geithner doesn’t seem to be doing anything right. And the more he tries, the worse it gets. He hasn’t inspired confidence in the markets or the American people. And during bad economic times confidence is what most people seek and eagerly look for from their leaders. And he’s failed miserably.
However, if Geithner is forced to submit his resgination Bernanke should submit his as well since they are both equally responsible for this debacle. And one man shouldn’t be left holding the bag for the international mess known as AIG.
Today at Obama’s Health Care Summit at the White House Senator Ted Kennedy who doesn’t appear to be ailing, declared that this time ’we will not fail’ at achieving health care reform/universal health care for all Americans.
It seems Sir Ted is ready for a fight. Brain tumor be damned!
You go Sir Ted!
We got cha your back!
On another note, I love these White House/Obama summits. In January there was the Fiscal Responsibility Summit today it’s the Health Care Reform summit. It’s so healthy and democratic to see the President and our political leaders, Republican and Democrats, working together on a issue if only for one day.
I know it’s just one big photo op nevertheless it’s extremely refreshing and it makes for riveting day time television.
When was the last time you sent or received a hand-written letter? And cards don’t count.
A LETTER , written by hand on paper preferably go on think about it? Hmmm..I bet you can’t remember the last time you got one? I can’t remember when I last got one either so don’t feel too bad.
Don’t get me wrong I love email and twitter but there are only a few things more pleasurable than going to my mailbox and finding a letter from a relative or friend tucked between a mountain of bills and if you really think about it a warm letter is one of life’s simplest pleasures.
I can still remember rushing home from school to get the latest juicy details on Canadian high school life from my Canadian pen pal and when my best friend moved to Boston we stayed in touch via letters and to this day she still tells me about those letters and how much they meant to her. And on my first day of college I received a letter from my mother telling me how proud she was of me. I honestly don’t think an email from her would have made me cry as hard as I did that day.
So I’ve resolved to start writing more letters and no I’m not giving up email I’m just picking back up the pen and you should too and maybe we’ll all start looking forward to going to the mailbox a little bit more and God knows we need a little more joy in our lives these days.
His sadistic behaviour, her naive acceptance of it and her resulting forgiveness of him leaves me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and a sour taste in my mouth BUT I’m not surprised . Many victims forgive their partners and tolerate intimate partner abuse for years and should they find the strength of will to leave they are at a high risk of being killed by their former partners and Rihanna with all her wealth and beauty is no different.
But their case is different for obvious reason the entire world is watching. And her ’forgiveness’ of him will have serious and lasting consequencesfor domestic violence agencies and law enforcement across the US. Domestic violence advocates better brace themselves for the onslaught of victims who will undoubtedly say, ” If Rihanna can go back to Chris Brown after all that shit why can’t I go back to him/her?” and victims who are already unwilling to prosecute will now site their reconciliation as proof of why charges aren’t necessary ‘because we’re working things out’, because of these two people the entire DV world has just got a whole lot harder-as if it needed to be.
He just can’t do it. The ideological differences, analysts are saying, might have been too great for Gregg and the stimulus bill played a big part in him withdrawing his name.
But I don’t know if I buy that, this could have all been an elaborate ploy by the Republicans to make Obama look bad and let’s face it this looks really, really bad. Judd tells him we’re going to play ball and then punches him in the face so he can’t see the ball coming at him! Oh, you Republicans!
Anyway, this is now the second nominee to withdraw his name for Commerce Secretary and the fourth individual to withdraw from a nomination and Obama has only been in office for three weeks!
I wouldn’t like to be the next nominee for Commerce Secretary I would know that I was the president’s third choice and everyone else would know that too!
Also does this mean that Obama wouldn’t be able to work with the Republicans over the next four years?
After watching her for two years and now watching her embark on her listening tours of the national agencies as first lady I’m wondering does Michelle Obama have her own political aspirations?
Couldn’t you just see her as Senator of Illinois or even President of the United States? remember that glass ceiling nowhas 18 million cracks in it and who knows by the time Michelle Obama runs it could be shattered completely.
Barack Obama is doing his ’presidential thing’ today.
He’s out there selling himself, his party and his recovery and reinvestment plan. Remember it’s no longer the economic stimulus package. They’ve dropped that loser name for a more uplifting one-recovery and reinvestment sounds so much better and it kinda makes you feel good about the whole economy thing doesn’t it? ‘ Cause who doesn’t feel good a rescuing things? Go ahead roll your eyes and laugh out loud..
Will this work? Can our celebrity presidentpersuade a skeptical and depressed public to endorse and support a plan that offers little or no guarantees?
If the numbers edge up slightly I will be surprised. Because, right now, it doesn’t appear as if anything can get the economy and markets moving again. And the events of the past six months have forced many of us to become even more pessimistic and fearful and this will probably continue until the average person can see tangible improvements in his/her daily life. People need to have more money in their pockets and they also need to see others spending money, at the mall, at the dealerships, at their local high end grocery store etc, etc in order to boost their confidence.
However, that leads us to this inevitable conundrum how do we improve the economy if attitudes about the economy remain uncertain and despondent? The market is a creature of the people and vice versa so if people are depressed and scared they don’t spend and we need to spend in order for businesses to invest in jobs, products and services.
President Obama is trying to convince us that government spending is our only option, i’m already convinced, but for a country built on choices and alternatives that is going to be a very bitter pill to swallow.
Rod Blagojevich is probably a criminal. He’s narcissistic and a bit crazy BUT I’m starting to think that the media is really, to use a British expression, ‘taking the mickey’ out of him.
And I know that this is probably what he wants but I can’t help it.
I know he’s the one that put himself out there nobody forced him to do these media tours. But there’s a part of me that is starting to cringe at ‘the abuse’ he’s taking.
You know he’s started to remind me of that stray street puppy, maybe it’s the hair, that keeps going up to people looking for love and instead of getting a few scraps of meat or a comforting pat on the head he just gets yelled at or kicked. And instead of running away from humans, the damn dog just keeps going back for more abuse day, after day, after day. He just wants you to like him.
That’s Blago in a sentence. He just wants America to like him. And America just wants him to go away and he wouldn’t. So it just keeps kicking him down hoping that eventually he’ll get the point. And the fact that he hasn’t and that he keeps showing up at the doorsteps of the media begging for a few scraps from their table is just plain pitiful.
If he did indeed withdraw his nomination willingly, he did the honorable thing. Good. And though this is a clear failure for the Obama administration and for Senator Daschle, remember it’s better ‘to fail with honor than succeed by fraud.’
Nancy Killeferwas nominated by Obama back on January 7, for the post of Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). According to the White House Killefer has withdrawn but no other details have been reported.
MSNBC is reporting it’s due to tax issues. First there wasGeithner, thenDaschlenow Killefer.
Killefer knew that she wouldn’t have been confirmed since she would’ve been the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. This is quite unfortunate since she would have been only the sixth woman in Obama’s cabinet.
But I have to ask again. What is it with these people and taxes?
Nobody likes to pay high taxes but as Holmes said, ” Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society.”
However, likeNorah O’Donald of MSNBC I am left wondering ” Why isn’t the Obama administration fighting for her the same way they fought for the others? “
On the surface it just doesn’t seem fair and if she was forced to withdraw her nomination for a $1 000 tax problem than I think Daschle should do the same.
Are Obama nominees trying to take Walter Anderson’s title away from him? I know, I know, I’m exaggerating just a bit here but come on people what the hell is going on?
I know we all make mistakes and many of us will probably make some type of tax error in our lives so I can understand and expect a few errors here and there. I’m sure the toughest Obama critic could overlook a sizeable, if it were indeed honest, mistake. But tax errors of this magnitude and this protracted scream FRAUD.
I mean how do you not pay $128,000in taxes over three years? I’m sorry but this misake is neither innocent or honest. And it cannot be explained away by differences in tax codes etc, etc. Instead, it appears, that this was an attempt to game the system. The same system that we, the public, have been asked to repair with our tax dollars. The same systerm that is now broke and teetering on the edge of collapse because guys like Geithner and his pals on Wall Street manipulated and abused it to their advantage.
I have little patience or tolerance for these individuals. And their nomination to these high profile posts is really a slap in the face to individuals who follow the rules, pay their taxes and expect those that lead to do the same.
Unlike Stuart Whatley over at Huffington Post I do believe that Obama should not be nominating individuals that have violated the law or the rules and guidelines he has established for himself and his closest advisers. It is not as Whatley argues ‘hypocrisy as the means to a practical end’ it’s just plain hypocrisy regardless of the outcome or the party in power its stench doesn’t change.
Daschle will probably be confirmed but if I were on Obama’s vetting committee I’d make damn sure that the next nominee to go up to Capitol Hill is as transparent as glass and that he/she is able to recite the tax code by heart since the next nominee with tax problems may not be as lucky.
This bill extends the statue of limitations for workers and makes it easier for employees who have been discriminated against based on race, gender, national origin or religion to sue their past employer (notice they don’t mention sexual orientation). Currently, the Federal Government prevents discrimination in their government offices and hiring practices butthe House of Represenatives is working on anational law.
Lilly Ledbetter stood up and fought for all of us and for that she deserves our respect and admiration and don’t you just love that name, Ledbetter, the name says it all.
Could Boehner be emerging as the new Republican leader? But that’s another story..
Anyway, Republicans have somewhat successfully articulated the difference between opposing the very popular President Obama whose approval rating stands at 70% and House Democrats. Who they have assigned blame for the package and the current lack of bi-partisanship. With an approval rating of just fourteen percent (14%) they can afford to diss them. I guess that means they don’t hate Obama they just hate the other Democrats and all their ideas..lol!
And opposing this stimulus package was a gift to the GOP party it allowed them to finally express themselves in a populist manner. But what I haven’t seen or heard is a credible alternative to the stimulus package. And I’m looking believe me because our national deficit cannot be sustained at its current level and consequencesloom directly over my life.
So Republicans what is your alternative?
If the government does nothing, we fall deeper in the hole but we have a shot of at least minimizing and containing the damage. If it doesn’t we fall deeper in the hole and everyone except the top 1% of the population edges closer to the brink of economic collapse and millions more will fall over the edge and the resulting impact on our society is frankly, unfathomable.
So, I ask again what is the alternative? More, tax cuts? You’re kidding right? While I agree that tax cuts, in the long term are more beneficial our economy needs to be jump started, people need some extra money just to acquire basic necessities, Americans need a jump and the stimulus package will provide those jumps- in effect it’s our jumper cables or our AAA.
Republicans have failed to show us their jumper cables and I know they don’t have AAA!
What are their proposals and solutions to help working families, the college student and the small business person today, tomorrow or next week?
You see, this is the problem with the GOP. During the election John McCain, et al, would always say they aren’t Bush but yet they could never clearly articulate the differences between themselves and George Bush and the Bush administration. And once again the House Republicans are imitating the McCain campaign by having a counter proposalbut hazy or little details on its benefits to the average citizen.
In effect Republicans are asking us to accept that their proposal is better than Democrats’ and just sign a blank check over to them? Correct? Isn’t this what got us into the mess in the first place? ?” Trust me, I know what i’m doing..” may have worked a couple of years ago but it sure as hell isn’t going to work now! And don’t Republicans accuse Democrats of signing too many blank checks?
Hypocrisy is never flattering.
Inevitably, many of us are prepared to accept that the economic stimulation package will not solve all our economic woes but we’re also prepared to challenge the assumption that we should just do nothing and let the economy work itself out. Regardless of the outcome positive or negative Republicans will have explosive political ammunition for the 2010/2012 election.
Republicans may have found their voice this month but they are yet to find a genuine battle cry!
Obama is reaching out directly to Muslims. His first outreach was during his inaugural address last week and later in his first week on the job he dispatched proven diplomatic top dog, Former Senator George Mitchell to the Middle East. This week he sat down with popular Arab journalist Hisham Melhem to discuss US policy.
Obama is sending a message directly to the people of the Muslim world that the US is NOT at war with Muslims or Islam, a message that was seemingly abandoned during the Bush administration, and that we’re ready to sit and talk with all moderate Muslims who are seeking to improve their lives and the lives of the country men and women.
We shouldn’t read too much into this interview, many muslims will undoutedly remain suspicious of this direct approach by Obama for a while but Obama is seeking to actively improve Muslim-US relations and this shows he is not just paying lip service to the notion and this is a start-a GREAT START. Positive signals like these will aid in the marginalization and isolation Al Qaeda. And combined with systemic policy directives and positive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks Al-Qaeda and their allies will be pushed closer and closer to the fringes of mainstream Muslim societies.
And this is exactly what needs to occur in order to defeat Al Qaeda and advance middle east peace.
Obama in his first week took on the economy. His second week the Middle East. What will week three bring? He’s a multi-tasker after my own heart. Young politicians watch and learn..watch and learn..lol
You know, I think Barack Obama has achieved more in the last seven days (admittedly he hasn’t even got a bill passed yet) than George Bush did in seven years!
Observation.. I wonder which conservative pundit or politician will be the first to say that this interview confirms Obama’s muslim sympathies? Wanna bet it will occur on or will be an anchor of FOX News? Any takers? Anyone?
According to the British paper the Telegraph, an entire Al Qaeda cell in Algeria was killed by the plague. If this is true this is scary as hell and this comes on the heels of us closing Guantanamo Bay (which I favor) and the discussions we’re having about the inmates there.
Just this past weekend I was talking to my husband about terrorism (as I’ve said before I have no life..lol) and I told him that I thought the next large scale attack (on Europe or the US) will be launched with biological weapons.
I know that funding has been increased in order to help agencies prepare for such an attack but what about at the individual level what should we do to prepare ourselves for such attack? I found this site helpful in a general way but most of this stuff I already knew..I guess at the individual level you can never be fully prepared for an attack but we should insist and demand that all agencies at the local, state and federal level are beyond ready.
If Captain Chesley Sullenberger, pilot of 1549 has taught us anything is that we should always be prepared for the unexpected and to be honest can we say that another attack is not expected?
But the fact that a terror cell could be this close and that such a large number of potential terrorists had tried even after the tightening of restrictions to gain access to British universities in order to work in their labs is frightening.
Obama and his staff are hitting the ground running they aren’t playing no more secrecy, no more lobbyists and a pay freeze for his white house staff passivity be gone!
Doesn’t Obama’s first official day at the White House kinda remind you of your first day of school?
Well, it reminds me of my first day in Kindergarten ok he’s not going to be playing with crayons or learning the words to the wheels on the bus at least I don’t think so but you never know. Anyway, according to my parents the first day of school I jumped out of their arms and ran to the first bunch of kids I saw I didn’t even wave goodbye or look back at them and when they came to pick me up I asked ”Can I come again tomorrow?”
At least Obama doesn’t have to ask to come back tomorrow, I hope he and his staff have an awesome first day maybe one day I’ll know what it feels like to have a first day at the White House..maybe..
That’s the line that has stuck with me from Barack Obama’s inaugural speech because it not only applies to the developing world but the developed world, large or big societies, community and the individual as well…
Chris Matthews in MSNBC’s Obama inauguration coverage just said that he Richard Nixon was a tragic but interesting figure and George Bush is an ‘uninteresting yet consequential’ President..
Well allright then..
I’ve heard him say some stuff over the few years but in the last few days he hasn’t hid his disdain for our former president..
Today the world welcomes the 44th President of the United States Barack Hussein Obama.
For two years we have followed and commented on every detail of his life and his family’s life. We have scrutinized and demanded his positions on every issue. We have even witnessed him ’brushing his shoulders’ off after a few missteps on the campaign trail. Along the way he captivated and inspired us with his soaring oratory and solid belief that WE can change the world.
To all of you who called, walked and knocked on doors for Obama and Obama/Biden because you wanted to change Washington D.C, the country and the world today is YOUR day!
To all of you that have suffered, due to the arrogrance, bumbling incompetence and divisive policies of the previous adminsitration today is YOUR day!
To all American troops across the world, today is YOUR day!
To all Iraqis who long for peace and sovereignty. today is YOUR day!
To people across the world who believed in America even when we had lost our way today is YOUR day!
To Michelle, Malia and Natasha today is YOUR day!
Finally to all Americans STAND UP AND RAISE YOUR GLASS IN CELEBRATION OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA FOR TODAY is OUR day!
Now, let’s get to work rebuilding this country we don’t have a moment to lose.
On the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration people across the world are celebrating the significant (albeit partial )realization of Martin Luther King’s dream for America.
For years to come millions will speak of that moment tomorrow, when Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Billions more will tell and re-tell his story for generations to come. And as fact becomes myth and his name becomes legend Obama will be the newest member, of that highly exclusive club, of earthly inhabitants to have earned a spot on the walls of human immortality.
So for the next 48 hours regardless of where you are, your race, religion, national origin, gender or sexuality lift your head and raise your voice in celebration of our founding fathers’ wisdom, Lincoln’s bravery, King’s dream and Obama’s promise and all those whose stories and greatness have gone untold.
Realize in ALL of them the embodiment of humanity’s collective hopes and aspirations- for a better tomorrow.
Do you know that feeling you get after eating a big thanksgiving meal, when you know you should’ve stopped after the third helping of mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce? Well, i’m starting to feel like that when it comes to the Obama converage.
Don’t get me wrong I love it but it’s just too much for a black liberal to take….I’ve never been high in my life but I imagine this is what it must feel like sensory overload..Obama is on everywhere..lol
I’m going to watch the PBS documentary on George Bush Snr for a minute just to calm down.
Douglas Schulz plans to announce his candidacy on January 20th because we have nothing better to do that day..lol.
So until the breaking news announcement comes our way YouTube will have to do.
Working for and against Wall Street [sic] and writing a few papers seems to have equipped Schulz to be our next president. Yup!
He also seems to be a big fan of creepy figurines (check out the elf riding a tiger on the bookshelf) but that will definitely help him win .000001 percent of the popular vote (that guy in his basement with a million figurines..lol) thankfully, like every Republican he knows his enemies- the liberal media CNN, NBC, ABC and CBS.
God damn that liberal, vindictive, media they’ll get you every time.
Why couldn’t this be Obama’s only competition for 2012?
I don’t know if I should laugh or cheer hmmm…GO SCHULZ GO! GO SCHULZ GO! GO SCHULZ GO!
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And the award for jackass of the year goes too..Kanye West
In Barack Obama, Politics, Pop culture, The next four years.., business, current news analysis, democrats, just because, liberals, messed up stuff, music, popular people, the press, you gotta be kidding me.. on September 16, 2009 at 2:17 amBeing candid doesn’t just apply to talk show hosts and average citizens.
The beloved characteristic can also apply to Presidents as well. And yes, I’ll agree it is a bit surprising when politicians are frank with us but I have to admit that some of them are actually capable of telling the truth-at times.
President Obama’s comment about West’s behavior was off the record but when you act like a jackass (include Serena Williams here too) you should be called out swiftly and without regard to race, sex, age, national origin, religion or culture and if a president wants to express his/her outrage with a person’s behavior he/she should be able too as well.
Thankfully President Obama had the guts to say what we’ve all been collectively expressing for the past few days and although it’s not the politest term in the world describing Kanye West as a ’jackass’, is the one word he can get away with calling him out loud!
I could think of quite a few other words to describe the big mouth, artist can’t you?