barack obama

Top 10 Most Remarkable 2010 Midterm Election Results

by on January 31, 2012

My, what a difference two years make

Namely, a 50% jump in the unemployment rate, a tripling of the federal budget, and a tenfold increase in the annual deficit. but who’s counting?

Behold the 10 most remarkable outcomes from yesterday’s historic midterm elections:

1. Illinois Senate:

This one says it all. amidst allegations of corrupt and incompetent business dealings and public program administration, Democrat Alexi Giannoulias couldn’t stave off the GOP tsunami and retain Senator Barack Obama’s former seat. Fiscally conservative, socially moderate Representative mark Kirk ran on his votes against the stimulus bill and ObamaCare and eked out the most important symbolic victory of the evening.

2. Florida Senate:

George Hamilton lookalike Charlie Crist disingenuously switched parties in May to become an Independent, rather than risk facing a primary loss, and after the primaries promised to caucus with Senate Democrats. Marco Rubio was an early Tea Party darling the mainstream media labeled unelectable; Rubio overcame a last-minute race-baiting dirty trick by bill Clinton and received nearly as many votes as his Independent and Democratic opponents combined.

3. Kentucky Senate:

Jack Conway stooped almost as low as Florida’s Alan Grayson by cutting last-minute ads implying his opponent wasn’t a true Christian because of a college prank 27 years ago. Rand Paul unapologetically espoused radically libertarian, small-government positions, wisely endorsed more aggressive and active foreign policy positions than his isolationist father Ron Paul, and was brave enough not to back down from saying government should not interfere with private hiring decisions.

4. Pennsylvania Senate:

Arlen Specter swayed back and forth with the political winds for two years until he was uprooted and blown into retirement. Democrat Joe Sestak not only didn’t hide from his embarrassing support for the lethal Big Three signature Obama policies-the stimulus bill, cap-and-trade, and ObamaCare-but argued all should have been bigger and more government-heavy. In contrast, Club for Growth President Pat Toomey was an unabashed fiscal conservative and Tea Party favorite who won despite an unfavorable blue-state climate.

5. Wisconsin Senate:

Russ Feingold was a long-term incumbent and influential, far-left scourge of conservatives in the Senate, due to his cosponsorship of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act and solitary losing vote in the Senate’s initial 98-1 vote on the PATRIOT Act. Businessman Ron Johnson was a Tea Party conservative, unapologetic global warming skeptic, and ardent offshore drilling supporter who fought long odds and an opponent with a massive campaign war chest to achieve another important symbolic victory.

6. Ohio Governor:

Six-term former Representative and incumbent two-term governor Ted Strickland couldn’t hold his seat due to his support for Obama policies and his role in Ohio’s miserable economic conditions. Former Representative and House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich ran on his conservative record in Congress and took over an office that will be crucial in managing campaign finance operations in the 2012 presidential election.

7. Arkansas Senate:

Blanche Lincoln paid for her support for ObamaCare and couldn’t extend her long-term incumbency despite her Blue Dog Democrat status. John Boozman hammered home his opponent’s ideological similarity to Obama, reiterated his opposition to ObamaCare and cap-and-trade legislation, and destroyed Lincoln by a whopping 20 points.

8. Florida House 22:

Ron Klein defeated Republican Colonel Allen West in 2008 and voted with Democrats 98% of the time in the 111th Congress. This year West got his revenge by defending himself against smears about his service in the Iraq War and fearlessly fighting back claims of Uncle Tomism to become the nation’s most prominent black Tea Party elected official.

9. South Carolina Governor:

State Senator Vincent Sheheen tried to hide his liberal record but couldn’t sway South Carolina voters, even after Governor mark Sanford’s sex scandal. Nikki Haley came back from last place in the Republican primary, fought disgusting allegations of extramarital affairs, and rode the Sarah Palin/Jim DeMint/Tea Party wave to become the nation’s second Indian American governor.

10. Colorado House 4:

Incumbent Representative Betsy Markey floundered after her support for ObamaCare, cap-and-trade, and the stimulus bill. Young Gun State Representative Cory Gardner defeated Markey due to his vocal support of Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan’s radical, fiscally austere Roadmap for America.

As for dear Christine O’Donnell, Sharron Angle, Linda McMahon, John Raese, Carly Fiorina, Carl Paladino, Meg Whitman, Charles Baker, and Sean Bielat: better luck next time

Top 10 Most Remarkable 2010 Midterm Election Results

Gabrielle Giffords attends speech in a bittersweet farewell

by on January 26, 2012

Yesterday at 1:10 AM The presence of the congresswoman injured by a would-be assassin provides an element that transcends politics.

The associated Press

WASHINGTON — in a bittersweet farewell, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords accepted bags of chocolates and a big presidential hug as she claimed her seat one last time in the House of Representatives Tuesday night.

Giffords, who has regained much of her ability to speak and walk after a gunshot wound to the head Jan. 8, 2011, will leave Congress this week to focus on her recovery. but first, she wanted to attend the State of the Union she was forced to miss last year in the uncertain days after the shooting.

Just before President Barack Obama was to speak at 9 p.m., Giffords quietly entered the chamber under her own power and made her way the few steps to a seat that had been reserved for her. Hug No. 1 came from friend Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida. Giffords’ colleagues stood and gently applauded her.

"Gabby! Gabby!" some of them chanted.

Limping a little, Giffords beamed around the chamber and raised her left hand to wave. Rep. Louis Gohmert, R-Texas, approached with two bags of chocolate, which Giffords took, grinning.

She looked to the gallery to wave at her husband, astronaut mark Kelly. When First Lady Michelle Obama took her seat next to him, she waved, too.

The president himself swooped in with a big bear hug around Giffords’ tiny frame, grinning widely before climbing to the rostrum for the speech.

She has inspired gestures of bipartisanship. Last year in the tender days after the shooting, members of both parties sat together across the chamber, rather than Democrats to the president’s right and Republicans to his left. many lawmakers did the same this year.

Throughout the speech, Republican Rep. Jeff Flake, sitting at Giffords’ side, repeatedly helped her stand as her fellow Democrats applauded Obama.

Giffords’ presence may be the only element about the event above politics.

Obama used the highest-profile pulpit in the land to reclaim the spotlight from Republicans battling for the right to face him in the general election. he was speaking to a Congress cranky after a year of the most bitter partisan fighting in recent memory and the public’s widespread disapproval.

He’s weaving a narrative about economic fairness and zeroed in on the richest Americans who pay a lower tax rate than those who bring home a regular paycheck. Obama didn’t say it, but Republican hopeful Mitt Romney, a multimillionaire who released his tax return for 2010 and an estimate for 2011, is one of the nation’s wealthiest in this category.

Billionaire Warren Buffett has said it’s unfair that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. Emphasizing the point, Buffett’s secretary, Debbie Bosanek, attended the address in Michelle Obama’s box.

Republican leaders pre-labeled Obama’s blueprint a "pathetic" rehash.

The political subtext seems trivial compared to the real and wrenching journey Giffords has traveled from the "Congress on your Corner" event a year ago in Tucson that turned violent and changed everything for her to the House chamber Tuesday night. the shootings left six dead, Giffords recovering from a bullet wound to the head and 12 others injured.

The prospect of the Arizona Democrat taking her seat Tuesday night is an emotional milestone for many on Capitol Hill. Last year, her colleagues left it empty in her honor, a visual symbol of the difference between real tragedy and Washington melodrama.

Much rehabilitation awaited Giffords.

She has since regained a halting ability to speak and walk on her own. she was so disgusted about the way Congress was handling the debate over whether to raise the nation’s debt ceiling in August that she made a surprise appearance in the House chamber to cast her vote.

The House gave her a standing ovation and sustained applause, one of the rare bipartisan moments in Congress last year.

Circling back to the beginning of her ordeal, Giffords was in Tucson Monday finishing the meeting she started on the morning she was shot, and bidding farewell to constituents who have supported her through her recovery.

She met in her office with other survivors of the shooting rampage, including Suzi Hileman, who was shot three times while trying to save her young friend and neighbor, 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green. the little girl died from a gunshot wound to the chest.

And in her last act in Tucson as a congresswoman, Giffords visited one of her favorite charities, the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.

The food bank established the Gabrielle Giffords Family Assistance Center with $215,000 it received in the wake of the shooting. the center has helped 900 families get on food stamps in the last year and offered guidance to needy families seeking assistance with housing, insurance, clothing and other basic needs.

Giffords and Kelly then jetted Monday night to Washington, her spokesman said, and spent a quiet day before the big speech and her farewell.

She is expected Wednesday to vote on one last bill, a measure she co-authored to impose tougher penalties on smugglers who use small, low-flying aircraft to avoid radar detection and bring drugs across the Mexican border.

The woman whose improbable recovery has captivated the nation hinted that her departure from public life might be temporary. she promised in a tweet: "I will return & we will work together for Arizona & this great country." 

Tweet

Is America Ready For Real Change In 2012?

by on January 25, 2012

The voters will decide who will govern them in the near future. the American electorate will be voting to determine who the next President and the Congress will be in 2013. the Democrats hold a slight margin in the Senate while the Republicans maintain a very slim lead in the House of Representatives. Both of the major political parties have a right to be excited about the 2012 elections. Nancy Pelosi is the current minority leader in the House of Representatives and she recently stated that she believes due to the shape of the overall economy that the Democrats have an excellent opportunity to retake the leadership role in the House. the Republicans can be excited about their chances to regain the Senate. the Democrats currently maintain a three seat lead in the Senate but about two-thirds of the seats that will be up for election in 2012 will be Democratic seats.

President Barack Obama will certainly represent the Democrats in the upcoming Presidential election race. the Republicans have several candidates that are in the mix to be their party’s nominee for President. Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney are two of the most well-known candidates. Some of the other candidates are Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, and Jon Huntsman.

Three of the candidates are really interesting prospects. Herman Cain is a Republican who has campaigned on the 999 tax-rate plan. he suggests a nine percent income tax for business, a nine percent tax-rate for individuals and a nine percent sales tax to replace the current federal income tax. Critics of the 999 tax plan suggest that the plan would help the upper classes while doing harm to the lower-income people. the most amazing thing that would occur should Herman Cain get the nomination would be having both of the major political party’s candidates running for the presidency being Afro-Americans. This would show the world how much America has changed over the last hundred years. Michele Bachmann, a favorite candidate of the Tea Party, would make history if she is the Republican candidate for the 2012 Presidential race. She would be the first woman to be the official representative by either of the two major parties for the top spot on ticket.

Ron Paul has run for President before. Ron appears to have a viable opportunity to being the nominee. he presents an intriguing option from the other major candidates. Paul suggests that the President should follow the Constitution rather than acting as a power merchant. the Constitution states that Congress shall make the laws and the President carries out the laws that Congress passed. American Presidents have unlawfully grabbed powers that were the rights of the Congress. Ron Paul states that as President he would dismiss many of the Cabinet officials and return to Congress the responsibilities that the Constitution granted the Congress. Paul would also restrict the use of the American military unless the Congress formally declared war against another nation. Ron Paul suggests that America should follow Switzerland’s example of remaining neutral when other nations go to war. No one refers to Switzerland as being an isolationist country. Some people call Paul an isolationist because of his neutrality stance. Ron Paul needs to ask his critics why they don’t also call Switzerland isolationist. What is the difference between Ron Paul’s views and Switzerland concerning nonintervention.

America will soon have to decide who will lead this nation in the coming years. President Obama would commit us to the same the course. most of the Republican candidates would suggest making small changes in America’s political path. Ron Paul is the only major political candidate that would create real change in America’s economic and foreign policies.

The leaders of our country have steadily held three disgusting views. First, it is better to deceive than to tell the truth. Second, it is better for the people to be ignorant than to know. Lastly, it is better to have the people be slaves to government policies than to have the people be free of government intervention. it will be interesting to see what direction the American voters choose for us in the 2012 elections. What do you think America?

It’s something for you to ponder over.

2012 blues

by on January 9, 2012

Sometime during the break I decided that I might want to purchase a gun. Some variety of pump action 12-gauge mangler, the kind that I would clean in the living room if I had a daughter and her boyfriend were coming to dinner for the first time.

I’m not certain where this sudden yen for a firearm came from. I don’t typically find myself in situations where a gun makes for a handy tool. Even calling a gun the same thing that we call a hammer or a Phillips head screwdriver is amusing, in a really macabre sort of way. as if having to brandish a Glock 9mm at someone is as commonplace an occurrence as having to hang a picture or put together a bookshelf from Ikea.

On New Year’s Day, I found myself in the foothills southwest of Payson with my girlfriend’s father Jay. Her brother Justin drove. Clanking around in the back of the Forerunner were enough guns to make Ted Nugent salivate.

Sweet Lord!  Barack Obama signed The 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. It’s effectively turned the military into a goon squad that can detain anyone they want indefinitely without trial. The Senate rejected an amendment to the NDAA that would have explicitly forbidden the indefinite detention of American citizens. The dream is writhing on its back like a freshly-gassed cockroach.

The shooting spot we picked was littered with broken bottles and mangled computer monitors. The last half hour of dying sunlight bounced off the spent casings. it looked like a cult of poorly assembled robots threw a Mardi Gras and then a mass suicide.

A cop zip tied a 5-year-old boy’s hands and feet together and tried to charge him with battery.  This April, we’ll witness the trial of the two troopers who shot and killed Jason Kemp in his own home after he asked them for a standard entry warrant! during protests at Occupy Oakland, Marine veteran Scott Olsen was shot in the head with a projectile gas canister. Footage shows Olsen standing peacefully, minding his own business seconds before getting his skull caved in. This is the thanks we give a guy for serving two tours of duty in Iraq. Semper fi.

Jay handed me a .44 caliber revolver. Just looking at it makes my bowels curdle a little bit.  “Be careful of the recoil,” he said.

Regular old civilians are getting cagey and stupid also. In Wisconsin this summer, mobs attacked State Fair attendees as they exited the fair grounds.  a man let a pack of exotic animals loose in Zanesville, Ohio before trying to swallow a bullet. An eighth grader in Texas was shot last Monday by police officers. He punched a fellow student and then brandished a pellet gun that, according to reports, looked very much like a real pistol. He was told multiple times to put the gun down and, for some reason he didn’t care that two cops had a bead on him. He’s dead now.

The revolver kicked like a mule. After six rounds, my hands started to sweat and ache.

It’s easy to insulate oneself from the outside world. John Donne tells us that no man is an island. But the Internet is a really good place to get completely buried beneath your own social networking solipsism and a long Netflix queue. On the rare occasion when we pull our heads out of own navels and take a look around, planet earth in the year 2012 can be a pretty terrifying place.

According to certain interpretations of the Mayan long-count calendar, we have a little less than 350 days before some kind of cataclysmic extinction-level-event. it is widely accepted that the Mayan people were real whiz kids when it came to numbers. But it should also be acknowledged that being good at math doesn’t make you an expert on the end of all existence. And yet there are some people that legitimately believe that the final curtain is nigh upon us. I personally know someone who broke up with his live-in girlfriend of more than three years. “I really believe that the Mayan prediction for 2012 is true,” he told her. “And between now and then, I just want to have sex with as many people as possible.” This is the brand of bad craziness we may have to deal with as the days count down.

My girlfriend’s brother pulled out a single barrel 12 gauge pump action shotgun. “We call it The Zombiekiller”, he said. It’s beautiful, in the same way that all dangerous things are. In the way the world is. But it also looked totally ridiculous in my hands.

Maybe I’m being optimistic, but haven’t we done this before? Don’t we know this routine already? I’m rounding second and heading into my dirty thirties and off-hand I can count probably six or seven raptures, apocalypses and doomsdays that were supposed to come and tear my world asunder and did not. We’ve lived through the end a thousand times and we’ll do it a thousand more. as a species, we’ve done genocides and droughts and wars and plagues and, collectively, we’ve come out each time bruised, but intact. That’s what humans do – they solider on.  At the dawn of this year, the world looks like one giant rotating riot. But the world is scary all the time. Some years are simply scarier than others.

I thanked Jay for the expo and quietly decided that shooting TVs in the desert is awesome, something I want to do again. I’ll probably end up getting some sort of gun. But I’m betting that I’ll never have to fire it, unless I find some more busted televisions.

My girlfriend’s father took the shotgun from me, reloaded it and loped up the hill, randomly firing it into an imaginary unruly mob. The sight should have made me wet my pants. His footing was steady and his aim sharp. He fired off 9 shells in a matter of seconds. But we all just had a laugh. it was a silly thing to watch him aggressively empty his gun into the hard dirt. Here’s hoping that it stays silly. Here’s hoping that the unruly mob stays imaginary. Cheers.

2012 blues

Rod Blagojevich Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison

by on December 8, 2011

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was just sentenced to 14 years in federal prison on corruption charges.Blago was convicted back in June after a jury found him guilty of 17 separate felonies — including bribery and extortion — for trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.Blago apologized today during his sentencing hearing — claiming, “I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on all that’s happened … I’m here convicted of crimes and I am accepting of it, acknowledge it.”Blago added, “I am of course unbelievably sorry.”He has 90 days to turn himself in.

Rod Blagojevich Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison

Reactions to Steve Jobs’ Death

by on October 6, 2011

The world is now reacting to the very sad news of Steve Jobs’ death. We are collecting the thoughts and condolences of people like Bill Gates, Larry Page, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin and President Barack Obama himself.

But perhaps the most important reaction—apart from his family—is Steve Wozniak’s. according to the LA Times, he was “overwhelmed and could not get in touch with his emotions”. his only words: “People sometimes have goals in life. Steve Jobs exceeded every goal he ever set for himself.”

Steve Jobs’ Family

Steve died peacefully today surrounded by his family.

In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he cherished his family. We are thankful to the many people who have shared their wishes and prayers during the last year of Steve’s illness; a website will be provided for those who wish to offer tributes and memories.

We are grateful for the support and kindness of those who share our feelings for Steve. We know many of you will mourn with us, and we ask that you respect our privacy during our time of grief.

Andy Hertzfeld, Macintosh Team

Steve Jobs was my friend and hero for over thirty years. The Apple II changed my life before I met him, and working closely with him to create the original Macintosh was the high point of my career, if not my entire life. Steve was more than the greatest business person of his generation, he was a passionate artist who poured his soul into his work. I will miss him terribly, even though he will live on in Apple products for many years to come.

former Apple Evangelist Guy Kawasaki, Macintosh Team

May Steve rest in peace. my deepest sympathy to his loved ones. no CEO has done more for his customers, employees, and shareholders than Steve.

He changed the world—my world, your world, the entire world. his words to live by: “There must be a better way.”

You changed our lives, Steve, and you showed us that there is a better way…we will miss you.

Ronald Wayne, co-founder Apple Computer Company

Steve was one of a kind, and will truly be missed.

President Barack Obama

Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators – brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.

The world has lost a visionary. and there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve’s wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates

I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work.

Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives. The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.

For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.

Apple CEO Tim Cook

I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today.

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve@apple.com.

No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer

I want to express my deepest condolences at the passing of Steve Jobs, one of the founders of our industry and a true visionary. my heart goes out to his family, everyone at Apple and everyone who has been touched by his work.

Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen

My condolences to Steve Jobs’ family and friends. We’ve lost a unique tech pioneer and auteur who knew how to make amazingly great products. Steve fought a long battle against tough odds in a very brave way. He kept doing amazing things in the face of all that adversity. as someone who has had his own medical challenges, I couldn’t help but be encouraged by how he persevered.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.

Google CEO Larry Page

I am very, very sad to hear the news about Steve. He was a great man with incredible achievements and amazing brilliance. He always seemed to be able to say in very few words what you actually should have been thinking before you thought it. his focus on the user experience above all else has always been an inspiration to me. He was very kind to reach out to me as I became CEO of Google and spend time offering his advice and knowledge even though he was not at all well. my thoughts and Google’s are with his family and the whole Apple family.

Google Co-founder Sergey Brin

From the earliest days of Google, whenever Larry and I sought inspiration for vision and leadership, we needed to look no farther than Cupertino. Steve, your passion for excellence is felt by anyone who has ever touched an Apple product (including the macbook I am writing this on right now). and I have witnessed it in person the few times we have met. on behalf of all of us at Google and more broadly in technology, you will be missed very much. my condolences to family, friends, and colleagues at Apple.

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt

Today is very sad for all of us. Steve defined a generation of style and technology that’s unlikely to be matched again. Steve was so charismatically brilliant that he inspired people to do the impossible, and he will be remembered as the greatest computer innovator in history.

Disney CEO Bob Iger

Steve Jobs was a great friend as well as a trusted advisor. his legacy will extend far beyond the products he created or the businesses he built. it will be the millions of people he inspired, the lives he changed and the culture he defined. Steve was such an ‘original,’ with a thoroughly creative, imaginative mind that defined an era. Despite all he accomplished, it feels like he was just getting started. with his passing the world has lost a rare original, Disney has lost a member of our family, and I have lost a great friend.

News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch

Today, we lost one of the most influential thinkers, creators and entrepreneurs of all time. Steve Jobs was simply the greatest CEO of his generation. While I am deeply saddened by his passing, I’m reminded of the stunning impact he had in revolutionizing the way people consume media and entertainment. my heart goes out to his family and to everyone who had the opportunity to work beside him in bringing his many visions to life.

Dell CEO Michael Dell

Today the world lost a visionary leader, the technology industry lost an iconic legend and I lost a friend and fellow founder. The legacy of Steve Jobs will be remembered for generations to come.”

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo

Once in a rare while, somebody comes along who doesnt just raise the bar, they create an entirely new standard of measurement.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev

People like Steve Jobs change our world. my sincere condolences to his loved ones and to everyone who admired his intellect and talent.

Stephen Fry

Woke to the news of Steve Jobs’s death. He changed the world. I knew him a little and admired him entirely. love to Apple and his family.

You can keep up with Jesus Diaz the author of this post, on Twitter or Facebook.

PLEASE ADD YOUR OWN MESSAGE TO STEVE IN THE COMMENTS

Will Obama’s “Country Before Party” Message Work?

by on September 6, 2011

In the summer of 2008, John McCain unveiled a new slogan to use against Barack Obama: “Country First.” The phrase was meant to convey the former P.O.W.s’ patriotism and heroism. but it also sought to cast Obama as interested in personal advancement at the expense of America’s interests, especially when it came to “support[ing] the troops” in Iraq. McCain and his surrogates specifically argued that the Arizonan had defied his own party when necessary to serve America’s greater interest, and that Obama had not.

Three years later, Obama is borrowing the same theme from his former rival. Obama’s Labor Day speech in Detroit contained this key passage:

So I’m going to propose ways to put America back to work that both parties can agree to, because I still believe both parties can work together to solve our problems. And given the urgency of this moment, given the hardship that many people are facing, folks have got to get together.

But we’re not going to wait for them. We’re going to see if we’ve got some straight shooters in Congress. We’re going to see if congressional Republicans will put country before party. We’ll give them a plan, and then we’ll say, do you want to create jobs? Then put our construction workers back to work rebuilding America. do you want to help our companies succeed? Open up new markets for them to sell their products. you want — you say you’re the party of tax cuts? well then, prove you’ll fight just as hard for tax cuts for middle-class families as you do for oil companies and the most affluent Americans. (Applause.) show us what you got.

Like McCain before him, Obama is appealing to the public’s disdain for knee-jerk partisanship. The intensity these days may be on the political margins, but most Americans don’t see compromise as a dirty word. They want results.

It sounds like we’re going to hear more about “country before party” in Obama’s jobs speech Thursday night, and possibly well into the 2012 campaign. we may hear less about “Winning the Future,” a gentler, less confrontational phrase at the heart of in Obama’s January State of the Union address, and which once seemed a likely pick for his re-election slogan. but Obama’s Winning the Future speech actually laid the groundwork for his new attacks on Republicans. “What comes of this moment is up to us,” Obama said in January. “What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow.” back then, Obama was appealing for bipartisanship and collegiality. Today, Obama is building the case that he extended his hand, and Republicans sank their fangs into it.

“Country First” wasn’t enough to sell the American people on John McCain, though there are plenty of reasons why he lost in 2008. more ominous, perhaps, is that this angle of attack isn’t so different from the case Obama has made against the GOP for more than a year now: That “[g]ridlock as a political strategy is destructive to the country.” His latest iteration of that theme is a little sharper and a little more memorable. but ultimately it’s not words that will save Obama. It’s jobs. And right now, there’s precious little sign of those on the dark American horizon.

Mitt Romney visits North Hollywood as Rick Perry hits Century City

by on August 6, 2011

Boarded-up shops and a nearly empty parking lot provided the backdrop for former Masschusetts' Gov. Mitt Romney’s visit today to a struggling shopping center near the intersection of Victory and Laurel Canyon boulevards.

Romney, presumed to be among the leading Republican contenders for the presidency in 2012, said President Barack Obama’s economic policies have contributed to the decline of this and many other malls across America.

“Proposing raising taxes did not put people back to work. Obamacare made it less likely for employers to want to hire people. the talk about cap-and-trade and higher energy costs made it less likely for people to want to invest here,” Romney said.

Dozens of reporters surrounded Romney, along with Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian, who represents the area.

“I’m disappointed he chose to use my neighborhood and one of my top economic priorities as essentially movie set for his production today,” Krevkorian said in response to a reporter’s question.

Krekorian, like just about everybody else on the L.A. City Council, is a Democrat. he said millions of federal stimulus dollars have helped his area maintain a medical clinic, law enforcement and other needs. he said it’s not fair of Romney to blame the president for a long-struggling mall.

“It’s in the state that it’s in today because of more than a decade of economic decline,” Krekorian said.

Several dozen Romney supporters showed up, too. Irene DeBlasio of Studio City said she likes the former Massachusetts governor because he was a businessman who “knows about the bottom line.” she also noted another reason.

“He’s got five sons, a beautiful wife, lots of grandchildren. He’s a typical American.” Unlike, DeBlasio said, Obama.

“Oh, I think he’s ghastly. I think he’s destroying the country. I think all his policies are anti-American, socialist, borderline communist manifesto,” she said.

Many Republicans seem to agree that Obama’s got to go, but they’re far from consensus on who ought to replace him.

Mike Schroeder, an Orange County resident who is the former chair of the state GOP, was Romney’s political director in California during the last election. he won’t be supporting him this time around, citing Romney’s “disorganized” 2008 campaign and the healthcare plan Romney enacted in Massachusetts, which had been cited frequently by the president during his bid for national healthcare reform.

Shawn Steele, a Republican National committeeman from L.A., noted that other prominent Orange County Republicans who once supported Romney last week hosted an event for Texas Gov. Rick Perry: “Now they’re co-hosting Rick Perry. that in itself is a story. when you have the Orange County machinery flipping from one candidate to another, that is something very significant,” Steele said.

Perry was also in Los Angeles today at a hotel in the Century City neighborhood for an event coordinated by influential fundraiser Renee Croce, who helped raise millions of dollars for former California Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pete Wilson. Perry has been traveling the nation to gauge his support among party loyalists, elected officials and donors, while fashioning the framework of what could become a national campaign.

Perry is attending more private meetings in California this week, and Steele thinks the Texan will announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president next month.

Among Republicans in the contest, Romney leads the money race and reported an $18.4 million haul in the second quarter.

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Israel cannot return to ‘indefensible’ 1967 borders: Benjamin Netanyahu

by on May 20, 2011

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today told US President Barack Obama that Tel Aviv cannot return to "indefensible" 1967 borders, demanding that Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas choose between unity with Hamas and peace with the Jewish state.

The meeting between Obama and Netanyahu came a day after US president said the borders of Israel and Palestineshould be based on the 1967 lines.

Netanyahu said for there to be peace, the Palestinians will have to accept some basic realities.

"Israel is prepared to make generous compromises for peace, but it cannot go back to the 1967 lines, because theselines are indefensible," he said in a joint media availability with Obama at the Oval Office.

"they do not take into account certain demographic changes on the ground that have taken place over the last 44 years."

"Remember that before 1967, Israel was all of 9 miles wide — half the width of the Washington Beltway. and these were not the boundaries of peace; they were the boundaries of repeated wars, because the attack on Israel was so attractive from them. So we can't go back to those indefensible lines," Netanyahu said.

"I think President Abbas has a simple choice. he has to decide if he negotiates or keeps his pact with Hamas, ormakes peace with Israel. and I can only express what I said to you just now: that I hope he makes the choice, the rightchoice, of choosing peace with Israel," he said.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the two leaders had long one-o-one meeting during which they discussedthe issues related to the peace process.

"We discussed in depth the principles that I laid out yesterday, the belief that our ultimate goal has to be a secure Israeli state, a Jewish state, living side by side in peace and security with a contiguous, functioning and effective Palestinian state," Obama told reporters.

"Obviously there are some differences between us in the precise formulations and language, and that's going to happen between friends," he said.

"but what we are in complete accord about is that a true peace can only occur if the ultimate resolution allows Israel to defend itself against threats and that Israel's security will remain paramount in US evaluations of anyprospective peace deal. I said that yesterday in the speech, and I continue to believe it," he said.

"I think that it is possible for us to shape a deal that allows Israel to secure itself, not to be vulnerable, but also allows it to resolve what has obviously been a wrenching issue for both peoples for decades now," Obama said.

"I also pointed out, as I said in the speech yesterday, that it is very difficult for Israel to be expected to negotiate in a serious way with a party that refuses acknowledge its right to exist. and so for that reason, I think the Palestinians are going to have to answer some very difficult questions about this agreement that's been made between Fatah and Hamas," he said.

Israel cannot return to ‘indefensible’ 1967 borders: Benjamin Netanyahu

Where is the Barack Obama News Flash with Julie Andrews sketch?

by on April 24, 2011

A while ago I saw a spoof (either on madtv or SNL) of Conservative stations doing news flashes about Barack Obama doing everyday things, spliced in between a fake program where celebrities get together and built IKEA furniture (the celebrities were Julie Andrews and the Dalai Llama). Does anyone have a link? I’ve been looking for it for weeks.

Where is the Barack Obama News Flash with Julie Andrews sketch?

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