Some of you may have watched BO's bit speech last night. I missed it but I hear he never mentioned the shattered lives and dead that we've left in our wake, and gave Shrub a pass for lying his way into the war (not to mention the war crimes done on his watch).
One word springs to mind... COWARD.
For those too disgusted to rip into the speech, Sen. Bernie Sanders says Hands Off Social Security and warns that Simpson and his commission are planning to rip this safety net to shreds...
It's been written before: The Obama team seems to think 2012 will take care of itself, as long as they burnish that shining Obama "brand," which requires reaching out to Republicans and independents and ignoring the pesky left, with its old culture-war grudges and its subversive demand for greater economic fairness. I've heard some smart folks speculate that the White House may even welcome a Republican takeover, the better to "let Obama be Obama," and continue to play out his fantasy of being a Democratic Ronald Reagan, creating a generation of what he used to call "Obamacans" and realigning politics for his lifetime.
Greenwald continues to drive the point home that Barack Obama's policy to assassinate US citizens he believes to be threats is the sort of distopian nonsense "liberals" used to, um, care about.
As always with this topic, it's worthwhile to recap the worldview of many Democrats (including Barack Obama) on such matters:
Asked if the stimulus bill was too small, [White House press secretary Robert] Gibbs says: "I think it makes sense to step back just for a second. ... Nobody had, in January of 2009, a sufficient grasp of ... what we were facing." He adds that any stimulus was "unlikely to fill" the hole the financial meltdown created.
"What the Recovery Act did was prevent us from sliding even into a deeper recession with greater economic contraction, with greater job loss than we have experienced because of it," he says.
Hillary released the following statement on hearing news of a mass rape in the eastern region of the Congo...
The United States is deeply concerned by reports of the mass rape of women and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) - an armed, illegal rebel group that has terrorized eastern Congo for over a decade - and elements of the Mai Mai, community-based militia groups in eastern Congo. This horrific attack is yet another example of how sexual violence undermines efforts to achieve and maintain stability in areas torn by conflict but striving for peace.
The United States has repeatedly condemned the epidemic of sexual violence in conflict zones around the world, and we will continue to speak out on this issue for those who cannot speak for themselves. Less than a year ago, I presided over the UN Security Council session where Resolution 1888 (2009) was unanimously adopted, underscoring the importance of preventing and responding to sexual violence as a tactic of war against civilians. Now the international community must build on this action with specific steps to protect local populations against sexual and gender-based violence and bring to justice those who commit such atrocities.
Sexual violence harms more than its immediate victims. It denies and destroys our common dignity, it shreds the fabric that weaves us together as humans, it endangers families and communities, it erodes social and political stability, and it undermines economic progress. These travesties, committed with impunity against innocent civilians who play no role in armed conflict, hold us all back.
When I visited the DRC last year, I learned an old proverb -- "No matter how long the night, the day is sure to come." In the depths of this dark night of suffering and pain, my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. The United States will do everything we can to work with the UN and the DRC government to hold the perpetrators of these acts accountable, and to create a safe environment for women, girls, and all civilians living in the eastern Congo.
While they're bickering over some mosque up in New York, we might want to keep in mind how very petty it all is compared to the horrific violence women are facing the world over - mass rape, human trafficking, honor killings - it goes on every second of every day and women and kids are dying RIGHT NOW.
Food for thought. So this is an open thread - what's on your mind?
I came across this moving story at beginnertriathlete.com, "So proud of my wife."
Poster "pga mike," whose profile says he's a professional triathlete, has a huge reason to be proud. Here's his wife Laura, comforting a triathlete from an earlier wave who is having a very hard time, has turned around, and is ready to quit her attempt to become an Iron Girl.
(The picture seems to be from this past weekend's AFLAC Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon in Columbia, MD.)
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Was this actually happening? Did a woman decide to quit the triathlon within minutes of her race? What happened to her? Did she somehow get injured during the swim? Had someone kicked her in the head and given her a concussion? I knew that could have been a real possibility. I had so many questions about what I was seeing and I was very curious about what was going on. Wait! There's my friend Laura and she is talking to her. Maybe they know each other. Maybe Laura will turn around and yell for a medic...but she's not. They are just talking. Okay, Laura must know her because now she is giving the woman a hug. Number 858 looks petrified! I really wish I could hear what was being said. Oh, wait, there she goes. She has started swimming again. WHAT JUST HAPPENED????
For the remainder of the race I was perplexed. I knew I had to find Laura as soon as she crossed the finish line to calm my curiosity, but unfortunately I never saw her.
That evening I sat down on my computer and typed a note to Laura asking her about the situation and the story she told me brought tears to my eyes. You see, Laura didn't know this woman at all. Number 858 had started her swim and then decided she couldn't do it and started heading back to the start line to quit the race. Laura stopped her and gently reminded her that she had trained hard for this race and today she was going to become an IRON GIRL! Laura then proceeded to give her a big hug and briefly talked about the different strokes she could do to get to the finish. She pointed out the closest kayak which was there for safety and she encouraged the girl to just go do it! Number 858 turned around and began swimming freestyle. Of course, everyone that heard this story was interested in whether she had completed the race or not and, sure enough, she completed the race that day (in pretty good time) and became an IRON GIRL!
The context is that the Columbia Tri is a "sprint," or short triathlon with a 0.62mi swim, 17.5mi bike leg, and a 3.4mi Run. It's the length new triathletes race, and the one where a lot of people face tougher challenges than they've ever faced in competition. An open water swim is mentally tough for most newbies, and even veterans will freak out if something goes wrong, like they have an inner ear problem and lose their balance.
Iron Girl (she's one now!!!) 858 overcame an tough, amazing challenge, and like a lot of regular people I've see overcome adversity in a triathlon, I can't find the words to say how impressed I am. I'm a lot more impressed with them, than I am with those of us who breeze through or even earn a spot on the podium.
Who is more heroic, Laura, "pga mike's" wife, for setting aside her own concerns and caring about athlete 858, or Iron Girl 858 for facing and overcoming an incredible challenge? I can't say. They both give us an example to aspire to.
I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of the references to Reagan. Forget a "Democratic version" of the guy - Obama's too damn close to the real thing for my liking. Either way, it looks like Politico is finally starting to hear what we've been saying for years...
Another DC insider - David Ignatious of the Washington Post - is adding to the buzz that BO should dump Biden and run for reelection with Hillary in 2012...
He says BO needs someone to light a political spark under him, and says Hillary is just the person for the job.
Frankly, I don't see her joining the ticket. Secretary of Defense maybe - if Gates retires. But then if it became clear that he was too weak to win reelection without her on the ticket, I could almost see her saying yes. She's that kind of a team player.
I have to wonder why we're suddenly hearing Wilder and Ignatious talking up an Obama / Clinton ticket in 2012... Could they be looking at BO's anemic numbers (now at 42%) and be worried that Hillary might decide to primary him in 2012? Could this be their way of trying to head off something I'm pretty sure she wouldn't ever do?
I'm sure you've seen this polling data by now. Seems BO's endorsement has a negative impact on a candidate. The really surprising bit is that this holds true for candidates in his home state of Illinois.
No wonder folks are turning more and more to Bill Clinton for help. Bill's still a rock star all over the country and he draws crowds like nobody else.
Maybe it has something to do with the way he reminds us to hold our head high if we're a Democrat and quit the belly-achin'.
Contrast that with the way Obama kisses up to the right and tosses his friends on the (professional) left under that bus of his.
BO could take more than a few lessons from the Clintons. But no... CDS still rules the day among his know-nothing White House, gate-keeper staff and I seriously doubt AxelRove would allow common sense to seep into their pea-brains after all this time.
I'm sure I'm not the only guy who looked in the dictionary and found that I'm a feminist (as are, nearly by definition, most Hillary people) because I believe in gender equality under the law. Maybe future nominee Palin doesn't own a dictionary, or have Internet access with whatever phone she uses to tweet.
(And yeah, yeah, our side isn't that much better. Palin seems to be in a race to the bottom with her competition).
I don't blame Dems for steering clear of him in this election season.
You have to wonder if he'd be in a stronger position - maybe even be of some use to Dems running for re-election - if he'd bothered to listen to the folks who helped him grab the nomination.
You know... the "Professional Left" that Gibbs attacked last week.
I guess it won't ever occur to BO and his team that these rotton numbers have even the slightest connection with the attacks on BO's base.
Ok so I had this grand notion of pointing out how BO has left the only Dem in the FL senate race out to dry. Looks like the White House is going to finally let Rep. Kendrick Meek up on stage with BO by giving him a speaking role at an upcoming event.
HOWEVER... I just made the switch from my (really REALLY) old smartphone to a blackberry, and I haven't quite figured out how to paste something into text boxes like this one.
Soooooo... Any advice - tips - tricks you all might have re this new-fangled gadget would be greatly appreciated!
This is an open thread... What's on YOUR mind this evening?
I think Gibbs - and more than a few of BO's backers - need a reminder or two about what real Democrats are all about...
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN
Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of coffee, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised.
All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance -- now Joe gets it, too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.
In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop industries & government from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.
Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker's compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.
Its noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.
Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.
Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home.
His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.
He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe
wouldn't have to.
Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day.
Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."
Like during the '08 Dem Primary, pro-Obama institutional bias is still absurd, so absurd that from the outside looking in, FauxNews finds itself reporting straight news. Crazy. When the GOP is directly invested in a story, Fox is a point-of-view outlet - otherwise, it can have a sort of bemused clinical detachment. When SNL was making fun of the NBC networks' crush on Obama, FoxNews seemed gleeful at being the only network to be able to report the straight story.
Fox and Friends anchor Alisyn Camerota grabbed the caucus story and did an truly impressive job with the arc, from Iowa to Denver to the Change Commission smokescreen.
Here's the final segment from this series, Will Bower talking about the Kabuki theater masking Dem Party corruption:
"Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. When you stumble, keep faith. When you?re knocked down, get right back up. And NEVER listen to anyone who says you can't or shouldn't go on."
Hillary Clinton - June 7, 2008
