Jack & Jill Politics

"Kyl: When We Say 'Bipartisan,' We Mean Dems Need to Agree With Us"

A lot of attention has been paid lately to the idea of a "bipartisan" economic recovery bill. Clearly the House GOPers are happy to blame Dems while voting against the stimulus, but what about the Senate? Well, Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) just distilled his side's notion of cooperation during a press conference on the recovery legislation:

"How about the Senate? Well, there have been two committee meetings, the Appropriations Committee and the Finance Committee, in which I sit. Not a single one of our [Republican] amendments was voted up. Every one was rejected."

"So essentially no changes as a result of those two markups on the bill that will come to the Senate floor next week. And if [the Ledbetter and SCHIP bills] are any indication, we'll get votes on amendments, they'll all lose, and the bill will then pass, and we end up with a totally partisan package. I don't think that's what the president had in mind when he talked about putting legislation together in a bipartisan way."

Okay ... so "bipartisanship" means not an exchange of ideas from both parties, or a chance to vote on proposals from both parties, but Democratic agreement on approving the GOP agenda? Good luck with that.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/kyl-...

rikyrah: AT DAY'S END: :>)

January 28, 2009: The Day in 100 Seconds

ENJOY!! :>)

PRESIDENT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!! :>) :>)

rikyrah: Ohhhh! I'm just tryin' ta see IFFF we can get to "THE END" of this DRAMA:

Complaint over Michelle Obama's choice of dress designers spurs backlash

The New York woman who criticized Michelle Obama for not wearing the work of a black designer on inauguration day is drawing some fire of her own from several black fashion industry veterans.

"The comment is inappropriate," said Bethann Hardison, a former model who now is an agent representing Tyson Beckford and an advocate for diversity on the runway. "You don't wear a designer because they are just black; you wear them because they are great."

Amnau Eele, co-founder of a little-known group called the Black Artists Assn., claimed she received death threats after Women's Wear Daily published comments she made in an email last week. "If you are going to have Isabel Toledo do the inauguration dress, and Jason Wu [born in Taiwan] do the evening gown, why not have Kevan Hall, B Michael, Stephen Burrows or any of the other black designers do something too?" she wrote.

On Tuesday, African-American designer B Michael distanced himself from Eele's comments, telling Women's Wear that they do not reflect his opinion. "I personally believe it is an unfair expectation to place on the First Lady," he said. "Fashion is subjective and a matter of personal choice."

Video

"We all think it's ridiculous," said Hardison. "We just look at it with shrugged shoulders. Isabel Toledo is representative of people who are non-white. And Mrs. Obama is making creative selections."

Eele, identified by Women's Wear as a former runway model, said in the follow-up story that her comments were not made on behalf of the designers.

"B. Michael has a right to issue a statement," she said. "It doesn't change the fact that he's an excellent designer and he deserves to be considered to dress the First Lady, whether he stands with BAA or not. We don't represent designers, we represent painters. We spoke up for black designers because we felt it was the right thing to do."

The story got play everywhere from The Australian to The Huffington Post to New York magazine's Web site, with most reaction critical of Eele's charges. "I think we start getting into some dangerous territory when we start expecting someone to look, act, speak, etc. a certain way just because they're black," wrote Karyn D. Collins of the Asbury Park (NJ) Press.

Beyond that, wrote Collins, "I think it does a disservice to the designers in question for suggesting that their work should have been selected because they're black. I'm sure B Michael, Kevan Hall, Mychael Knight, Tracy Reese, Stephen Burrows and any other black designer would be the first to say they would want their design to be worn because the First Lady liked the design, period."

Anne Bratskeir and Tania Padgett contributed to this story.

THE END!!!?????? :>) :>)


****shakin' my head****

rikyrah: Ima go to sleep during #1 - 43!! :>)

The Presidents
slideshow info

BUT on #44 - - - IT'S ON!! YAAAAAAAAA!

ENJOY!! :>) :>) #44! :>) ::>)

rikyrah: Yesterday I used the word "CONFUSED" - - quite a bit- to refer to the person involved in the "hate crimes!"

Welllllll, I gotta use it again 2-day:

Blagojevich to give own closing argument

Gov. Rod Blagojevich will come to Springfield to make the closing argument in his own impeachment trial Thursday.

Lucio Guerrrero, Blagojevich's spokesman, said the governor wants to defend himself and also is responding to comments made by Senate President John Cullerton, who has urged Blagojevich to appear.

"Sen. Cullerton asked him to come down," Guerrero said. "So he's taking him up on that and wants to give his closing arguments... That's something he wanted to do."

Word of the governor's request to appear was delivered by a top aide to one of Cullerton's top staffers only moments before Cullerton announced the governor's plans on the Senate floor.

"I've been informed that the governor would like to come here tomorrow and (ask) leave of us to file an appearance," Cullerton told the Senate. "We would have to give him permission to do that, I would urge us all to give him that leave so he can argue as his own attorney.

"The rules would allow him an hour and a half to do that from 11 to 12:30. My suggestion is we would then take a break and the House prosecutor then would have 30 minutes for rebuttal, and at that point in time, we would then start our deliberations."

Immediately upon Cullerton's announcement, senators broke into wide grins and started leaned over to talk quietly to their seatmates

Blagojevich, who has boycotted the impeachment trial up to this point, will not take questions from senators, Cullerton said.

The Senate had been expecting final witnesses today and a single closing argument Thursday morning from House prosecutor David Ellis.

Now, Blagojevich also will speak. Under the trial rules, the governor first has to ask for permission. It's a motion the Senate is expected to approve.

To read more on the impeachment trial, go to the Tribune's Clout Street blog.

This man is PLAYING MORE than his "mp3 playa"! :>)

CONSISTENTLY CONFUSED annnnnnnd CONFUSING!!


LAWD HA'MERCY!! :>) ***shakin' my head***

I don't know if I should post this. I probably shouldn't. But I shouldn't be the only one who has to suffer. I thought I had seen it all, from the Obama Chia-Pet to the Obama dildo. But this is just a pure hot mess! It's just sooooooo wrong! SMH!

Serena Williams has advanced to the Australian Open final. Her third Grand Slam final in a row.

UPDATE* on Stimulus Package Passes With Zero Republican Support

But in an interview to air tomorrow, Pelosi stood by the package and said Americans will hold Democrats responsible.

"Well, we are definitely stepping up to the plate to say we'll be accountable. We have the well being of the American [people] at stake and we're going to do what is best for them....We will be accountable for it," the Speaker told CBS News.

"That's why the choices we made had to be very carefully made because we had to deliver on meeting the needs of the American people and I'm very proud that," she said. "One week and one day after President Obama gave the nation hope, took us in a new direction, suggested some initiatives for change, that we in this House of Representatives have echoed his call to action for swift and bold action to help the American people. That's what I'm very proud of. Republicans have had their chance. They decided to oppose -- that's their choice."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/28/obama-...

This has to be one of the most disgusting things I've read in recent weeks. If these allegations prove true, that man and his wife should be put under the jail.

Stress can drive a sane person crazy. I sincerely hope we are able to slow this financial crisis.

"UPDATE"

Awash in debt, behind on his mortgage and recently fired from his job at a hospital, Ervin Lupoe was planning on leaving California. The 40-year-old father of five pulled his children out of school, packed his SUV with snow chains and winter clothing for him and his family and appeared ready for the trip to his brother-in-law's home in Garden City, Kan.


"Something happened in the last 48 hours that made him snap," said Detective David Cortez of the Los Angeles police department, the lead investigator in the case. "(He saw) no other way, no other direction."

Investigators found evidence of spiraling financial woes, including a bounced check to the Internal Revenue Service. Lupoe owed at least $15,000, as well as thousands of dollars on a home equity line of credit.

Lupoe had faxed a bitter, two-page letter to a local TV news station the morning he killed himself, saying a hospital administrator told him he "should not even have bothered to come to work" and "should have blown (his) brains out."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BODIES_F...

This story just broke my heart. Now to see the pics of the children...
Just brings it more home.

I am afraid there will be more situations like this. It is really scary. Every day, every hour, there seems to be an announcement of a major company citing layoffs.
Hell, I just found out my department is walking the financial tight rope.

The most telling line is the last sentence.

WASHINGTON (AP) - In a swift victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House approved a historically huge $819 billion stimulus bill Wednesday night with spending increases and tax cuts at the heart of the young administration's plan to revive a badly ailing economy. The vote was 244-188, with Republicans unanimous in opposition despite Obama's frequent pleas for bipartisan support. "This recovery plan will save or create more than three million new jobs over the next few years," the president said in a written statement released moments after the House voted. Still later, he welcomed congressional leaders of both parties to the White House for drinks as he continued to lobby for the legislation.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBAMA_EC...

$1 billion dollars for Census jobs. That oughta pay the mortgage for at least 6 months. But I am sure that the Census jobs will be included in the 3 million Obama count of newly created jobs at the end of the day.

I'd rather people be able to pay their mortgage for 6 months as the job market gets better in order to find another job, versus not working at all and being homeless.

Carolina, here is the Obama/Beyonce spuff on "the hand"

http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2009/01...

Okay, now I understand what you're saying about "the hand." That video is a bit long. I waited over 7 minutes for that clip. It was just... meh. Now on to the other part, who else was begging other than Beyawah.

wow...President Obama is such a.....a.......................what's the word.......a........a....oh yeah.....an adult.

And the 44th POTUS to boot!

Postmaster General: Mail days may need to be cut

WASHINGTON (AP) - Massive deficits could force the post office to cut out one day of mail delivery, the postmaster general told Congress on Wednesday, in asking lawmakers to lift the requirement that the agency deliver mail six days a week. If the change happens, that doesn't necessarily mean an end to Saturday mail delivery. Previous post office studies have looked at the possibility of skipping some other day when mail flow is light, such as Tuesday. Faced with dwindling mail volume and rising costs, the post office was $2.8 billion in the red last year. "If current trends continue, we could experience a net loss of $6 billion or more this fiscal year," Postmaster General John E. Potter said in testimony for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MELTDOWN...

The USPS really needs to revamp. With the internet and the cost efficiency of mobile phones, the post office's main purpose is becoming obsolete.

The Fabric of History

javascript:pop_me_up2('http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/01/24/fashion/20090125-street-feature/index.html', '680_583', 'width=680,height=583,location=no,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')

Eric Cantor just got named Worst Person in the World by Keith Olbermann. Today was a pretty good day after all!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

rikyrah: In - and back out: This is NOT my best day: :>)

Thompson top choice for commerce secretary: source (January 28, 2009 )

John Thompson, chairman and CEO of software company Symantec, is President Barack Obama’s top choice for commerce secretary, a senior Democrat said on Tuesday.

“He (Thompson) is the leading candidate,” the Democratic source said. “He is still being vetted.”

Thompson is chairman and chief executive office of Symantec Corp, the No. 1 software security company best known to consumers for its Norton product line.

Symantec announced late last year that Thompson, who was among the first Silicon Valley executives to throw his support behind Obama’s bid for the presidency, would step down in early April.

A spokesperson for the company had previously said that the executive had recently made a trip to Washington and noted Thompson’s work on Obama’s behalf.

Annnnnnd, John W. Thompson (From Wikipedia,)

"Bouncin' - - AGAIN :>)

GreenLady, love it when you bring it, bounce in bounce out and in again.

Love ya lots Thanks for all you do and all you are!

spirit: Thank you. :>) :>) Jes tryin' ta do my part!! :>) :>)

Back - atchoo!! :>) :>)

Maybe his agenda won't be as narrow or the same as Richardsons -- to create more Hispanic Congressional seats thru the 2010 Census at the expense of an undercount in the AA community.

Myth: I took a little "Field Trip" to wiki in order to retrieve some DATA on this topic.

Members of the 111th United States Congress (From Wikipedia,)

SPECIFICALLY:

SENATE: There are 13 Jews, two Hispanics (Mel Martinez, R-FL and Bob Menendez, D-NJ) two Asian Americans (Daniel Akaka, D-HI and Daniel Inouye, D-HI), and one African American, Roland Burris (D-IL). The average age of senators in 2007 is 62 years.[citation needed] The oldest senator is President pro tempore Robert Byrd (D-WV), born in 1917; the youngest is Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), born in 1966.

HOUSE: The 111th Congress includes the most religiously-diverse House in history, including two Muslims (Keith Ellison, D-MN and André Carson, D-IN), two Buddhists (Mazie Hirono, D-HI and Hank Johnson, D-GA), 30 Jews, one Quaker (Rush D. Holt, Jr., D-NJ) and one atheist (Pete Stark, D-CA). There are 42 African Americans (including two non-voting delegates) and 75 female representatives. There are also 27 Hispanics, five Asian Americans (Joseph Cao, R-LA; Mazie Hirono, D-HI; Michael Honda, D-CA; Doris Matsui, D-CA; and David Wu, D-OR), and one Native American (Tom Cole, R-OK). There are three openly gay members (Tammy Baldwin, D-WI; Barney Frank, D-MA Jared Polis, D-CO).

I'm not sure that any one person has enough control over the Census machinery to create seats for any given group.

Annnnnnd, I don't have any information on Mr. Richardson's agenda in that regard.

What I do know is that PRESIDENT OBAMA has stated that HIS CABINET works for him; annnnnnd that HE has the VISION. Their JOB - - - CARRY OUT HIS PLANS!! :>) :>) THEY KNOW!! :>)

Thanks for the stats; very enlightening. In Texas, where I live, we border Mexico annnnnnnd the issues are more blatant and pervasive as it relates to power grabs. Leadership here is at odds with our Census Bureau Hispanic Regional Director and his total Hispanic administration. Its understandable that Hispanic want more representation in Congress and deservedly so, but not at the expense of undercounting the African American community. By the time Obama's pick for Commerce Secretary is confirmed the major hires in regions of the Census Bureau will be in place and without community/congressional/presidential intervention Dallas will be Census-jacked and AAs will be undercounted.

Myth: Thank you for your information. Sounds like California - another border state. I can see your point of view.
I'm just not willing to categorize Mr. Richardson without EVIDENCE. That's all.

To your knowledge, what, if any, AA groups are attempting to mitigate against any "undercounting?"

Again, thank you for sharing your situation. :>) :>)

What makes you believe this is Gov Rihardson's agenda. he is usually associated w/ foreign policy and nuclear energy

Living in a city where the top administrative jobs in the Census Bureau are 3-1 held by Hispanics, I would believe that Richardson, had he gotten the Cabinet position would have some vested interest in what I understand the Hispanic community is seeking - more Congressional seats. I could be wrong in that regard as it relates to Richardson though.

Because Gov. Richardson is Judas, remember?

That is what James Carville labeled Bill Richardson

v=6pPOTx_Mp2Mhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pPOTx_Mp2M

The Republicans put together their own stimulus package; they say that, using Christina Romer's methodology--she will be the Chairman of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers--their program will create 6.2 million jobs.

Whether that's right or not, the Republicans' plan, unlike the Democrats', was actually geared to job creation. Here are a few highlights. The Republican proposal would:

* Reduce the lowest individual tax rates from 15 percent to 10 percent and from 10 percent to five percent.
* Allow small businesses a tax deduction up to 20 percent of income.
* Finance a $7,500 credit for home-buyers who put down at least 5 percent.
* Expand Net Operating Loss carryback rules to give companies that have been profitable in the past but are now losing money prompt infusions of cash.
* Provide an above-the-line tax deduction for private health insurance to equalize tax treatment between those who have employer-sponsored health plans and those who don't.

Let's see if any of this makes it into the final version of the bill.

the need for tax cuts is phony. all you need to do is go into a CPA's office and look at the tax code. Unless you're Kareem if you stack them from the floor up they will be taller than you. The purpose of it is to exempt corporations from paying taxes.
if you want to help tax wise rewrite the tax code to lower rates w/ no exemptions.

That's all republicans know tax cuts,usually its tax cuts for the rich now they are the champion of the middle class.(Yawn) After 8 years of repubs. nonsense, please just sit down and STFU.

AGREE. TX CUTS MY ASS.

Point #1 --The government needs taxes to survive and operate. Tax cuts they are proposing only benefit the rich. They want to bankrupt the Obama Administration.

Point #2 --Most small businesses are not run by AAs. This only benefits there voting constituents. In this economy, will small businesses replace jobs they have had to eliminate? Will they create enough jobs to trickle down to AAs?

Point #3 - Home-buyers? Who is buying homes now with no jobs? Duh? Where is the mortgage bailout provision? Jobs created how?

Point #4 -Carryback rules translates into rebates for small white businesses that are no longer needed or viable. How is that creating jobs?

Point #5 - Tax deduction for private health insurance for people who no longer have jobs, give me a break. Who is the beneficiary? Nobody will have any jobs. How does this create jobs.

Will 6.2 million jobs be created in small businesses for white people who have lost there jobs? What will they be doing that a tanking economy can support?

The Republicans need to go the Hell and stay.

"Will they create enough jobs to trickle down to AAs?"

I don't understand this statement. Could you explain why you feel the 6.2 million jobs will only be created for white people?

The Republican plan as outlined above only caters to tax cuts for the rich and money to support small businesses. There are AA who have small businesses but disporportionately so are small businesses that are held by white. Lets just take one area propsed: solar energy panels. I don't know of any/many AAs doing that. Lets look at construction of bridges/schools. I am not convinced that as many young, robust, strong AA men are sold on working in the heat/cold even if the jobs pay well. I did not say all AA men, but I have reservations about a lot. The Republican Plan outlined above doesnt show me many jobs that are needed in this tanking economy. Come on People!

I am sorry, but much of what you said sounds well, non-sensical.

In my area there are thousands of beauty salons and barber shops that are "small businesses".

And construction! Did you just friggin say Black men would not be willing to construction! Funny thing is, I know plenty of Black men (and women) who are fighting for these well paid jobs.

Pet peeve. I hate when people criticize a plan but offer up no suggestions of their own. Much like the current Rethug leadership.

"I am not convinced that as many young, robust, strong AA men are sold on working in the heat/cold even if the jobs pay well."

wow....just.....wow.

So what jobs are AAs suited for? What area should the growth plans be focused to reach more AAs?

Obama has people paid to design that. I just hope someone on the Council is thinking about AAs.

So I guess my question is, how do you know that a plan is wrong for AAs if
you don't know what is right?
I don't know the percentage of AAs employed by small businesses but I would
assume there are some. I'll see what google comes up with. I do know that
most AA men and women I know would gladly do construction on schools/bridges
if they had lost there job and need to make money to pay the bills
regardless of the heat/cold. Most of them wouldn't be good at it, but they
wouldn't be good at starving and sleeping on the streets either if they
turned there noses up at an opportunity.

And what did Google tell you?

That 25% of AAs are employed in the hospitality industry and many those jobs are small businesses. The next biggest category is construction at 14%. Following that is education and professional services at about 10% each. Most law firms, medical and accounting offices are considered small businesses. Finacial services, 8%. I also read that 5% of small businesses are own by AAs with the largest historical growth happening in 2003. No data so far on how many AAs are employed by small businesses.

5% of small businesses are owned by AAs.

what did google tell you?

Tax cuts are extremely inefficient. By the way that is not what Romer said.

Karl Rove on Fox (a station that I don't really watch) making good sense tonight; setting Prez O up for the fall.

Are you saying Carl Rove is making sense tonight because he is setting P. Obama for a fall? In what way is this good? Why would you want a President to fail?

Karl Rove is definitely not my point. He is a conduit used crticize the Obama Stimulus Plan at a time when he should be prosecuted himself. For Fox viewers, which include ultra conservatives and likeminded individuals, he reinforces the point that the plan will not succeed. Rove insinuated failure. Let me clarify your inference about President Obama and how much I want him to succeed. To get up at 2am in the morning on Tues Jan 20, stand in 18 degree weather with a 25 mile per hour wind. Frozen feet and hands but delighted to be there to stand 10 hours in bitter cold to witness a historical moment in my lifetime is only an experience that crytalizes for you how important and significant this presidency and sucess means to me.So, I will sound an alarm as loud as I can if I truly feel he is headed down a dangerous path to see the Pelosi Congress put earmarks into a bill that won't receive any appreciation not only from Republicans but by people who elected him. Americans want an economic stimulus bill, this is not the time for an economic/social bill. He may not get the benefit of a do-over if the economy continues to tank. Then what will happen to Yes We Can! The 2 million for the people, of the people, by the people won't be standing on that Mall in 2012. I read JJP most days but I rarely chime in unless I see something of import. I do believe the Economic Bill at present is not what the people want and the sooner we all recognize it the better. So, don't try and spin my words to provoke and argument - you are certain to get one.

Maybe you should reword you original post because it did not expand on why you thought Rove was on point. It says Rove is is making sense; setting up O for a fall. Thanks for expanding and explaining.

Myth? Are you feeling okay? You are citing Karl Rove. . . .

hmmm yea ok whatever.

Because he is doing damage to the Prez...media is focusing more on the economy tanking and jobs disappearing than Rove's trek to the courts. Rove is helping to fuel the fire.

nah when people see karl rove they dont see him the way he was in 2003.

Oh puleeezzzee.

R.A.O.T.F.L.M.A.O.

okay. Now I know the deal.

How is Rove on FoxNews doing damage to the Prez when that's the only channel he's on? CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Headline News, CSpan, CSpan2, CSpan3, PBA.....he's not on those channels....how is he doing all this damage? That's the same ONE channel his fathead was on during the campaign while he blubbered away on bashing President Obama, so why do you think all of a sudden he gained some credibility?

Miranda - even if Rove were on ALL the National networks . . . who gives a rats ass what that lunatic says?

You are a smart woman. Read between the lines of Myth's posts. I have moved on and recommend you think about doing the same.

Thank you....I should have known I was being pulled into that vortex which leads to a parallel dimension...don't know what was wrong with me...I watch Stargate, I know the drill! LOL

lol. I was sucked in for a second too. Had to slap myself. lol

Rove was. . . .typo

Neither of your comments show much diplomatic support for opinions other than your own. ROVE TRULY IS NOT THE POINT HERE. But he surely has become a tangent for an unecessary discussion.

If Rove isn't the point, why did you point him out?

I don't want to keep wasting words on this tangent. Sorry I even introduced him into the dialogue. Most importantly are jobs. Let's talk about people losing thousands of jobs on a daily basis and whether or not Obama bill as passed today will meet the need. Will he be in really political trouble shortly? Will he have to go back to Congress and ask for more money if the economy doesnt respond? Will there response then be "No we Can't. Next president.
I am sorry Rove's name ever came up because he is truly not the real issue of the day. Accept my apology for bringing him into this discussion.

you couldn't resist could you Miranda? lol

Go girl.

Val, I do hope that in all of your getting, you get an understanding of what my points are. I am not a daily regular on JJP like many likeminded people here are. I do chime in when I feel strongly about what I see occuring. I am not going to wear blinders and only discuss the good in the Obama people. I really would like just a little respect for adding just one diverse opinion here.

Yeah, it's obvious you are not a regular reader of JJP or else you wouldn't have insinuated that we have blinders on or are only interested in talking about the good in Obama. It's that type of condescending attitude that will get you ignored or clowned.

Never said I wasn't a regular READER.

Myth -- no it is toooo easy.

carry on

Respect for others or SELF-Respect. Which one is most critical for you.

so tempting. Alas, I must resist.

Blessings to you Myth :-)

Just offering you food for thought.

LMAO! But its right there! Dang....ok...fine...it IS too easy.

Hey, you can't dangle a Hershey Bar right in front of my face and not expect me to grab it.

I should have kept reading downward to see what everyone else thought of these comments. I just kind of got stuck in a wtf moment?

It is hilarious to me folks put a brown face in their avatar and then make thinly veiled racists comments or just say some insane crap.

Or will say some crap by first prefacing their statements with some type of disclaimer "I am Black/Hispanic just like you" !

ROTFLMBAO!!!!

yep. you got it Honey.

pffft, karl rove needs to go ahead and testify to congress before i think he makes any sense

I agree...still doing damage to Prez O.

Only if you believe what you hear on FixedNews. Their business model isn't based on truth.

Unca Clarence needs to go on to the house, stretch out on the sofa or get under the covers...permanently, on a daily basis. Maybe he has sleep apnea or more likely explanation --- He doesn't get it either, doesn't really care about the American people.

LOL! That is one scary mug shot. Kinda what the SCJ have been doing the last 8 years, huh?

Yea, sure is. Especially since it was sooooooo cold out. Who could sleep in that kind of weather.

Don't worry about the Republicans. Worry about whether the damn bill is going to backfire on Prez O as thousands of people continue to loose jobs daily. Hope that the Senate can fix the bill and quick.

Myth. Bottom line. . . . .we have to do something. President Obama is trying to do something with direct input of people who genuinely wants to put the country first. We won't approve with everything but we can come to a consensus, make a decision and do something. Not everything we try will work but doing nothing is not an option.

This nit picking, childish dramatic nonsense is ridiculous. President Obama should stay focused and get down to business. Opinions are like as*holes. Everyone has one. He should ignore all the extra "noise" and the strong push to do nothing.

Very simple...not enough jobs.

lol yea ok

Define "jobs"...new jobs, saving current jobs, what?

Money in peoples pocket that support their bills, homes childrens shoes, milk, bread, cars,livelihood. Whatever one has to do to survive in a world that depends on exchange of money. I mean...what's your point?

My point was to ask a question - "define jobs....new jobs, saving current jobs, what?" I really don't know how to translate that for you. Sorry. However, if your definition of jobs is "money in peoples pocket that support their bills, homes, etc." then ...........godspeed.

Excellent question, Miranda.

Media alert on IFC How to cut a motha
Foxy Brown 8PM Coffy 9:30PM

Juan you better watch you a@@ to night, tommorrow and for the foreseeable future

Dynamite!

OBAMA POKES FUN AT DC'S REACTION TO SNOW

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1585670
WASHINGTON -- After his daughters got a snow day Wednesday, President Barack Obama wants to see a little bit of "flinty, Chicago toughness" applied locally.
"When it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don't seem to be able to handle things," a joking Obama told reporters Wednesday morning.

"My children's school was canceled today because of what? Some ice."

Obama said his daughters -- Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7 -- pointed out that school in Chicago is never canceled.

"In fact, my 7-year-old pointed out that you'd go out for recess. You wouldn't even stay indoors," Obama says.

"We're going to have to try some flinty, Chicago toughness to this town."

Malia and Sasha Obama attend Sidwell Friends School, a private school in D.C.

Most public school systems in the Washington area closed Wednesday. D.C's public school system was the exception, opening two hours late.

Side streets and sidewalks throughout the region were icy. Some major roadways, including the Dulles Toll Road, were described as a sheet of ice.

A winter storm warning for the D.C. metro area expired at noon.

As is typical with snowy or icy weather, transportation agencies asked people not to venture out.

"If you don't have to go out, let us do our job" said Maryland State Highway spokesman Chuck Gischlar Wednesday morning.

"Take it easy and go slow," says D.C. Department of Transportation spokeswoman Karyn LeBlanc.

cute story.

Obama is going to have to revisit the Stimulus bill and forget about the snow. He has to come up with more jobs...or Billary is waiting in the wings. Not a good bill, maybe the Senate will do some rebranding.

Obama should resign RIGHT NOW! He's a failure as a president and should have been impeached back in December! Let Hillary take over, they know what they're doing!

Yeah, yeah. That's it. Obama should just fold up his tent and go home. Forget all this "saving America" crap. Forget that 56 million people voted for him. Forget that he's been in office less than two weeks.
Yeah. It's not too late. Just move back to Chicago and let the political veterans (who did such a great job over the last twenty years) -- LET THEM HANDLE THINGS!

Yeah, yeah. THAT'S the ticket.

LMBAO!

These chicken little folks are a trip! So eager to say, "See? I told you so!"

knew it wasn't just me. lol

co-signing Sepia

RAOTFL

LOL!

The Oscar Grant Murder (Update)

Dear Friends,

It wasn't just one cop attacking Oscar Grant on New Year's Eve. A new video shows that before Grant was killed, officer Tony Pirone punched him in the face without cause. Experts have called it criminal. So why has the District Attorney said he's not pursuing charges?

It took two weeks and thousands of people speaking out before the DA charged Oscar Grant's killer with murder. It's going to take continued public pressure to see that justice is served throughout this case.

I've joined ColorofChange in publicly confronting the Alameda County DA and calling on California's Attorney General to keep a close watch on the case. Please join me--you can see the new video and add your voice by clicking here:

Local news reported on the video showing Pirone assaulting Oscar Grant last week,(1,2) but it has been on the Internet for weeks.(3) As with the shooting, the video doesn't leave a lot of room for explaining away Pirone's actions. It makes it clear that with no physical provocation, he punched Oscar Grant so hard that Grant immediately went down. This is assault, and it is a crime.

Unfortunately, it appears that Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff is once again falling asleep at the wheel. First, he took two long weeks to make the decision to file charges against Oscar Grant's murderer. Then he declared that he was "not actively pursuing"(4) charges against other officers, even though he had access to all the video we've seen, BART's internal investigative report, and the evidence collected under his own investigation.

Law professor Peter Keane from UC Hastings College of the Law, couldn't have said it any clearer: "If the district attorney is saying he's not going to charge any officer except Mehserle, in my opinion he's not doing his job."(5)

Orloff's inaction further calls into question his commitment to justice for Oscar Grant. Given Alameda County's terrible record of prosecuting police abuses, we can't simply trust that Orloff's office has the will to pursue justice wherever it leads.

That's why the California Attorney General needs to once again place an observer in the Alameda County District Attorney's office for the duration of any prosecutions related to Oscar Grant's murder. And Orloff needs to tell the public how not seeking charges against Pirone could possibly be in the interest of justice.

Please join me in demanding justice, and ask your friends and family to do the same. It only takes a minute:

Thanks,

References (please copy/paste on your browser)

1. http://tinyurl.com/c8dxov
2. http://tinyurl.com/ar53bc
3. http://tinyurl.com/a5favy
4. http://tinyurl.com/b7mteh
5. See reference 1. Thanks.

First, you all of you who have been hatin' on Beyonce, Prez O let you know today that he has been watching "the hand". So, she wasn't the only one begging to perform at the inauguration.

NOW, this is what I want to get a serious discussion going about.
What if, just what if, Prez O's Stimulus Pack is not what it should be coming out of the gate? Will he be granted a second chance to go back for more money or will Congress say "no you can't"? I am very concerned that there are not enough jobs being created (particularly ones that AA's can get). Prez O himself admitted that much of it would be bid on by small businesses and we all know what kind of jobs that will created for AAs (yes, bottom of the rung once again). He got funded those social programs that needed a boost, I am just afraid that putting another billion dollars into census jobs is going to sustain people over the long run. I stood for 10 hours in 18 degree weather and 25 mile per hour wind for him to SUCCEED. I am awfully scuuurred right about now. I need all of the Rachel's/Rafael's out there to "talk me down"!

What's "the hand"? Is that a TV show or something or a nickname for some pop star? I'm confused. Who else was begging other than Beyawah?

Robert Rubin telling lies to President Obama
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087...

In discussing the nationalization of the banks one of the issues for the public and private owners of financial instituitions is how to move the toxic assets out of the banks and into the "nationalized" one. In moving them you have to set a value. In years past because of fraud financial institutions lost the opportunity to set the prices of their assets resulting in "mark to market"-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark-to-market_accounting. Every financial asset is subject to the same treatment.

The problem now is that many of these assets cannot be priced for two reasons. One these assets were created by computer models that are now totally discredited because the model said what is occuring couldn't happen. Two, any institution that holds them is questioned as to the assets real worth because there was never a public(NYSE,CBOE or CME)market to price them w/ transperancy in lieu of a model.

This pricing is of importance to the banks because these assets determine what is called "Tier capital'. There are several tiers and each tier has greater value in determining aggregate Tier capital. Credit default swaps and mortgage bond-especially those consisiting of different qualities of mortgages within the bond-are now of the lowest quality regardless of what tier they are in. This depletes the bank's capital effecting its ability to loan.

Robert Rubin(formally head goniff(thief) of Citibanks board, putz(penis) -for allowing Citigroup to put itself in its current situtation, shill for Enronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron) after being Treasury Secretary now is decrying M2M because of the problems it is causing. The other reason is he hopes to have these assets moved to the bad bank so as to provide the biggest capital infusion the financial institutions and then using a reverse process buy them from the bad bank at the biggest advantage to the institutions buying them to sell them later for a greater profit.

Taxpayers should not have to subsidize these institutions in this manner. The correct way to nationalize them is tfor the government to sell off any viable assets(for Citigroup this would be SmithBarney brokerage house, Travelers insurance co,et al), keep the proceeds, move the depositors funds and normal loans-a whole other discussion -to a solvent bank(s) and takeover the toxic assets. the value of the toxic assets would be determined by a reverse auction and the proceeds distributed as capital to the banks taking the deposits and loans. As normalacy returns the asssets will increase in value. At that time they can be sold to anyone whom wants to buy them without government guarantee of help.

The House passes Stimilus Bill

Do you have a link to a laymen's breakdown of exactly what's in the bill? Not enough jobs, Not a good bill...needs rebranding by the Senate.

How do you define jobs?

What?

Well you are very vague. You keep repeating that we need jobs but without providing specifics. When you are talking about job creation do you mean something along the lines of WPA? Or investment in infrastructure such as roads, bridges, transportation, parks and the like. Or investing in education? Or expanding broadband into rural areas and modernizing broadband (our broadband is crap compare to Europe and Japan).

You are kidding, right?

No I am not. I know I am not too happy with the package because too little of money was allocated for transportation and such. I just want to know what would you like to see in the bill.

Miranda, the American people who elected Obama did so because of the economy and because they were losing jobs, homes, cars, savings at such rapid rates. He has to address very quickly in my opinion, peoples need to work and take care of their families. I believe he will be widely criticized not only by Republicans but also by his supporters if those items stay in the bill that don't directly help to get the economy going again. I think that the bill will get another scrubbing before its passed by the Senate which will be Obama's saving grace. My personal preference is for more diverse jobs that a wider variety of people can truly benefit from.

Obama can't just create "jobs". Jobs are created because of demand for products and services. Obama can create directives such as improving infrastructure which creates jobs. Or creating an integrated database for medical records which creates jobs. Or increasing taxes on domestic companies who manufacture overseas. That brings jobs home. But he can't waive a magical wand in week two of a four year post and say "abracadabra jobs!"

Well now lets see. If Obama breaks his campaign promise of creating jobs, John McCain will then be entitled to a recount of the votes. The main reason McCain lost or that Obama won was his promise to create jobs, help people keep their savings, homes and turn the economy around. Sarah Palin is gearing up to run in 2012, betting her hunting gun that Prez O can't pull it off.

McCain will not be entitled to a recount of the vote. Palin is not a factor
since she is not a factor in her own party. And with that I now know you
are a troll.

(que Final Jeopardy music)

What is............??

music on Jeopardy

Look I was just curious as to what she was saying?

Trust me, we all are.

totally. LOL. I cain't hep myself.

you know Spirit.

dah dah dah dah dah dah daaaaah
dah dah dah dah da-dah dah dah dah dah
dah dah dah dah dah dah daaaaah
da da da dah dahhh dahhh dahhhhhh

Oh, I'm so down with the jeopardy sound track
Thus the What is.....? Aren't the questions the answers?

Hey U'ALL:

Did U REQUEST
THIS!!?

ENJOY!!! :>) :>)

How.do.you.define.jobs?

I saw that Miranda. I guess they did get the right interpretation of President Obama's "silence" yesterday.

LOL

House Passes $819 Billion Economic Stimulus
Republicans Wary of Package's Price Tag, Spending Priorities

By Paul Kane and Michael Shear
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, January 28, 2009; 6:23 PM

With no Republican support, the House approved an $819 billion stimulus plan that will serve as the cornerstone of President Obama's efforts to resuscitate the economy, an early victory for the new president but still a disappointment because of the lack of Republican votes.

The measure passed 244 to 188, with 11 Democrats and 177 Republicans voting against it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

That's hood, for real. The GOP just returned the finger.

It's gonna be a real interesting four years. Hope the bill works out......

The gop do not want the stimulus to work, because when not if it starts to turn the economy around that republicans screwed up the gop will never win another national election again.

If; the jury's still out.

Guess we'll see.

I feel that many voters have the same reservations that you, Myth and myself have.

Its about JOBS. Not pork. If House Dems had shown a little fiscal restraint (especially on the heels of the TARP bailout) and simply put forth a bill that was pure stimulus, there would not be the current skepiticism.

Perhaps the Senate will drive this fact home to House Dems. Moderates and Independents by a wide margin favor less government and lower taxes.

The way forward should be simple. If the average American can see that a particular spending proposal will create jobs NOW, it will garner popular support, if not, table it for consideration at a later date.

I am really worried that "Iowa" might turn the tide on him. Had it been a pure stimulus bill, all would be honkey-dorey, but people will have doubts now especially if the economy keeps tanking. Maybe he will come up with some more jobs with the other $350B he was granted last week.Sure hope so. The Republicans have nothing to do with how this bill is really going to play out. Just gotta trust that Obama is as intelligent as he appears and knows what he is doing.

how is that returning the finger D? Half of the Repubs voted for it. President Obama did not need their votes but it was good to get it becaus it shows solidarity to work together and put the country first. Now we need to get to work taking care of the people's business vs. whining over partisan garbage before we have more people killing their families, stealing etc. because of job loss, losing their homes, losing their business etc.

Wait . . . NO Repub support? RAOTFLMAO. I assumed I misread the numbers of the vote.

Okay I take back my comment. I thought we had grown folks running the country .

Dems should go ahead and take care of turning this country back on track with the support of the people while the Repubs go home and change their diapers.

No, none of them voted for it.

I expected some sort of backlash after Saturday, but NOT this.

What happened on Saturday?

D, this vote didn't surpirse me at all.

I won't lie, it surprised me. I expected a couple might break.

It's funny, in an odd sense. I didn't think they'd go THAT far.

Ball's in your court.

D, my daughter got laid off today. She had major surgery on Monday, discharged today, and a little over an hour, she receives a call from her boss telling her she's LAID OFF!

That's pretty fucked up timing don't you think. They couldn't wait one lousy day or maybe 6 weeks when she was due to return..

The Ball's in all our courts, and we'd bette come with GAME, or a few more folks are going to commit SIDEWAYS.

spirit: I am soooo sorry about your daughter's employment situation.

Now I'm praying for THAT and her recovery.

AGAIN, sooooo sorry.

God Bless.

Thank you, GreenLady. We know who takes the greatest hit druing these times.

spirit: PAINFULLY, YES!!

Completely fucked up.

"After the vote, Republican Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said that he hoped the zero-vote showing would persuade Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to make changes to the bill during negotiations between the House and Senate."

D - you need another Party. These people are childish.

Obviously, they feel there's principles to oppose the bill on.

I can't fault them for that.

There's an inherent risk; if the stimulus works, we all go home.

The Dems wanted the ball...well, it's all yours.

"Obviously, they feel there's principles to oppose the bill on."

-What principles, in your opinion?

The fact that there doesn't seem to be anything in the bill that will truly stimulate the economy, though there's an awful lot of spending.

How exactly were they opposing it on principled grounds D, when Boehner was already on reacord saying that the House GOP would all vote NO to the stimulus before Obama even had his meeting with them.

And so what, they made a stand, to what end. The stimulus still passed. Now that Obama has been seen as bending over backwards to hear their views and even to "compromise" on a couple of things. Who looks worse in that scenario, Obama or the Republicans?

The principle being that government spending can't stimulate the economy.
What will happen now is that the "upper house" will inject some civility into this discussion (course, after tonight, they may all vote against it too). Good thing is the final bill has to come back through, and the dems will blink, because you all don't REALLY want to hold this bag if/when it breaks.

Apparently, he didn't compromise enough that the GOP could support him. And I wonder how much his "I won" statement has to do with this...

Okay then,

Well Obama at least did reach out and actually had actual meetings with the Repubs. How different would this conversation be if Obama did it the Bush way? No talking, no compromises, just "my way or the high way"?

But hey, it worked. for Bush, so here's hoping President Obama does it the Bush way now. Don't even take any suggestions from Republicans at all.

But I'm betting ya'll won't like that much either. In other words the lesson Republican have learned from the Bush years is not compromise, it "my way or the high way", and now Obama knows it and can act accordingly

Truth be told, it wouldn't read much differently.

Here's what I don't get: who's REALLY upset at the GOP, and who is just upset because the dems don't have the political cover they wanted? It's been said here that the people have Obama's back and that you don't need the GOP.

Your wish has been granted.

Honestly,

I'm of the school that as a public servant you need to work to inact the laws and govern in a way that is Representative of your constituents.

I don't even think that you truly believe that every last Repulican House member voted sole based on principle. There had to have been a few of them from states where there constitutents were overwhelmingly for the stimulus bill, for example Cao from my home district, New Orleans LA. Yes he is a Repubican, but he represents an overwhelmingly Dem district, who support the stimulus. He voted based on politics, not on what his constituents wanted, and believe me, he will be out at the next cycle.

Voting on principle I can understand if it corresponds with the needs and wants of your constituents. Voting because the leadership (or Rush Limbaugh) told you to, is not principled, its politic.

And there is the heart of the problem: Rush has NOTHING to do with this. You're looking for an object to project and polarize. It's one of the Rules for Radicals (taking a break from military manuals). You'd've been better off invoking Rep. Boehner or Rep. Cantor; at least they're the leadership.

Cao wasn't going to survive anyway, and the GOP knows that. He's an aberration.

You represent your constituents by acting in their best interest. The GOP decided that this wasn't it.

Yes but were all them acting in the best interest of their state/district constituents first, or for the benefit of the national party first. I'm pretty sure that some of the Rep were from some contested districts, not all of them are from completely Republican districts.

I'll start asking in VA, and you can start where you are. Meet you in the middle.

the ball is all ours bill.

If this doesn't work . . .we ALL lose. To include you, your lovely wife and beautiful kids.

Unemployment knows no political party.

Exactly, Vl. and D, you and your lovely family will be driving along in your new mini van singing:

"800 billion dollars stimulus package on the hill, if the package should happen to fail............

lolol

and if we turn this ship around . . . what does this say to you D?

If it works, great.

If it doesn't...well, I'm sure the talking points are already written.

Well, we can agree on this that the Republicans want the latter.

Yes, an that is why they can put their heads between their legs and kiss their sorry asses goodbye. in 2010.

Insane, following that fat prick Rush Limpballs. unfreakingbelievable!

I'm not ready to agree with that yet.

Because if it doesn't work, I know good and well the dems will place the blame on "failed Bush policies" next year.

This is the self preservation gene kicking in. If you recall, the GOP wasn't enthused about the first bailout.

So, the dems own this one. You did win.

Well a lot of Dems weren't happy about the bailout.

Well, seems like the GOP wasn't feeling this package at ALL.

If it works, great.

If it doesn't...well, I'm sure the talking points are already written.

If the GOP wants to restore its credibility on fiscal responsibility it has to demonstrate fiscal responsibility.

The Dems own this bill. They have been aching for this opportunity and now they have it.

The Republicans want to create jobs and help families they just do not feel that much of the spending in this bill does that.

If the bill changes enough in the Senate and the voters are able to see how the money being spent will create jobs, you will see bipartisan support.

The GOP Congressmen and the Blue Dog Dems were voting the way their constituencies urged them to do.

That cocktail party Obama is hosting tonight just got a whole lot more interesting!

I'm sure someone's either cussing or getting cussed the hell out!!

Without a single Republican vote.

Ain't that a blip!! I mean they have NO excuse!! None whatsoever after all the bad legislation they've rubber-stamped the past 8 years. I'd be gearing up for a primary challenge if I were some of these fools. And we need to contact the 11 (I thought it was 12) Democrats {probably the Blue Dogs = Repub Lite} because they need to go! Including the latest PUMA dream girl from NY.

Just like 1993.

I knew this was going to happen. Since everyone knows that the unemployment rate will get worse the Republicans are hoping that the American people will blame the Democrats for the economy. In 2010, they will use the stimulus to bash Obama and the Democrats.

My daughter was discharged from the hospital today.

One hour later she receives a call from her boss. She got laid off her job.

The paperwork came in the mail today too. Now that's what I call perfect timing. She and her husband have been saving and are prepared. What are folks gong to do who are not prepared?

Hey Spirit - what type of work does your daughter do?

Is she in Consulting?

Sorry to hear that.

Wow, that's ashamed. I hope there is some recourse for her.

That's terrible!

I know. It's unfreakingbelievable in the timing of how they broke the news. They knew she was out; but she's prepared. She's pretty aware and had been watching for the signs.

But will it work? The Republicans have come across as wanting to block the plan by any means necessary, using reasons that have been debunked. The only thing they have offered is tax cuts which don't work.

I agree. What they are offering won't work. But the stimulus package is not guranteed to work either. That may be even more so because the Democrats weren't ambitious enough.

I must agree with you. I hope it doesn't backfire on Prez O. Billary is waiting in the wings.

Exactly, Sepia. SSDD. Same Shit, Different Day!

Nope. On to the Senate next week.

I must say that there was a lot about the bill that I did not like. I may have opposed it myself - and I support Obama. Pelosi and the Dems were throwing too many things that are unrelated to ECONOMICS into the bill.

That said, I hope it works

I am afraid that there were not enough jobs in the bill and it will backfire on Prez O. I am scaaaarred for him. I think the Senate will do some more chopping and recrafting. An extra billion dollars for Census jobs is not the answer for the long term career minded person.

I thought a couple did vote for it.....then again the AJC is none for correcting at least 50% of their stories on a daily.

Nope. Not A Single One!

bunch of kids who care nothing about anyone except themselves.

Kudos to Bob Herbert for calling out DICK Army for his sexist behavior towards Joan Walsh on Hardball. Walsh gets on my nerves sometimes, but that DICK Army was totally out of line.

Tweety gets the Gas Face for only saying something AFTER Mr. Herbert spoke out. If Tweets thought what DICK Army did was so wrong, he should've said something when it happened.

That's nice of him esp considering he's supposed to be part of the big bad Black men oppressing white women sexism crew. But I have NO SYMPATHY for Walsh. If she can dish it she deserves no consideration.

What was said? I missed it.

They were debating about the stimulus, and Walsh was getting the best of him, so he said, "I'm so glad that you're not my wife....".

I see it on HuffingtonPost now..............no he didn't..........wow.......

I saw Hardball. I can't stand Joan Whiney Walsh. She's a BOOTLICKING TOADY for Hillpatine.

Herbert would've served Michelle Obama well by defending her when JokerJuan WildWilliams made his ignorant comments.

Juan Wiliams owes the First Lady an apology for that crap he spewed.

I wish Walsh had defended herself by saying...I'm glad you are not my husband..

I'll catch it in 5 minutes.

Michelle Obama in wax

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/28/michel...

THe New DON OF THE GOP: THE LINE REPUBLICANS CAN'T CROSS....

Funny, how Republicans are trying to say that Rush is not their "fearless leader", that the Dems need to stop obsessing 'bout it. Well I'm sorry, but it looks to me like the Repubs should be paying closer attention to what going on in their house. While the Hill Repubs and the elected officials of the party are busy playing politics in the front of the house, Here come the far right fringe in the back getting ready to take over, (some might say they already have, i.e. who wants to bet K Dawson or K Blackwell wins RNC chair).

Bow down to your new master, GOP! Don't cross him, or you too will have to grovel at his feet and kiss the ring like Rep Gingrey

Money quote:

"On Monday, Rush Limbaugh took a few shots at Republican leaders in Congress, saying they're not doing enough to "frighten" President Obama. Yesterday, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R) defended the party leadership, and dismissed the right-wing talk-show host for finding it "easy" to "throw bricks" from the outside.

Gingrey added that Limbaugh and others like him "don't have to try to do what's best for your people and your party. You know you're just on these talk shows and you're living well and plus you stir up a bit of controversy and gin the base and that sort of that thing. But when it comes to true leadership, not that these people couldn't be or wouldn't be good leaders, they're not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell."

And just how long did it take before Gingrey was forced to back down and grovel for forgiveness after saying something sensible? About a half-day."

LOL.....kiss the pinky ring indeed! LOL

At the risk of alienating my favorite bloggers (well, my husband alienating them as this is from his blog), I offer this for our discussion:

http://www.posro.com/blog/entry?id=39

Obama And The Media

by Roland Laird

Jan 28, 2009

I think how President Obama interacts with traditional media during his 4 year term bears serious watching. I read somewhere that the President is using a "google" model when it comes to transparencey. By this the author meant that the Obama administration plans to put all White House information online and make it just a keystroke away from the public. Some of this is great, but part of it can be seen as an endrun around traditional journalism. In other words, by saying "the information is online" they give themselves an opportunity to dodge tough questions, and put only their spin on things.

Worse yet, his own team has already referred to their momentous campaign, as "the Obama Network". No diss to Mr. President, but if I'm looking for objective information about what's going on at the White House, I'm not sure that "the Obama Network" is the first place I want to check.

I do know that we live in dynamic times, and media and journalism is going through a major transformation. Because of this, journalists need to take the initiative and work with the Obama Administration to reconfigure the model. By the same token, the Obama Administration must also recognize that relegating serious journalists to glorified bloggers, is not the move either. I'd hate for the "Obama Network" to be coopted and turned into a "John Doe Club'.

The MSM CANNOT be trusted to tell the truth. They are going to tell the truth the people with the money want them to tell. They are going to tell the truth the people they want access to tell them to tell. The only way Obama will get to have his side of the story put out there is to go around the press and put it out there themselves.

I think a good portion of the press corps are unethical, immoral hacks more interested in their corporations' bottom line and the ratings than in the truth, and more interested in controversy than substance.

I'd much rather read and hear what Obama is saying directly from the source than to have to listen to David Effing Gregory tell me "what Obama means is". I'm all for endruns around traditional journalists.

Co-sign. And I'd much rather hear what JJP bloggers bring to the table.

...or Chuck Todd telling us what the President is thinking.

Chuck Todd is an idiot.

He transformed into an idiot. I guess becoming NBC's White House correspondent just sucked the brain cells out of his mind.

Map Boy #2 has no cred, absolutely no cred. And neither does Map Boy #1 John King. They're both jokes.

Funny that he's been given his own Sunday morning show now isn't it?

Yes, State of the Union or some such name. They've given this clown 4 hours of air time on CNN. 4 hours.

You know MSM is going to continue pushing these white males out front to assuage white males

"Map Boy"..........LMAO

I love 'Map Boy' too. Won't look at them the same again.

OMG, Miranda. John King and Chuckie T. get all orgasmic during the election cycles they get to pull those GREAT BIG MAPS and finger them. What fun!

Co-sign.

I think that we should be addressing the lack of diversity in the press corps and that's a good enough reason for me not to do endruns. Again, I point to the Racialicious post as an example of how the media needs to address that it clearly has a problem in that area. That all said, I applaud President Obama for his desire of openness and transparency and for creating a banging official web site for his administration at WhiteHouse.gov.

That serious journalists are about as diverse as a church in Provo, I don't have any sympathy for them. Did these serious journalists have similar concerns that Black and Brown media were virtually shunned by the Bush White House and Congress ?

Serious journalists made Jeremiah Wright a household word. So let them reap what they sew.

RonnieB, I feel you. And agree with you as well. Did you see Racialicious today? Check it out: http://www.racialicious.com/2009/01/28/the-bost...

(post n run)

Our new president's name is BARACK.

I think race-obvious names like "DeK'wan" might be troublesome but not because the kid's name is DeK'wan, but because DeK'wan is more likely to be black and suffer from racial and class discrimination from other people. Obviously unusual names like Barack didn't stop him.

rikyrah: I meant ta post this earlier. He's going to SPEAK about this meeting TODAY.

Obama And Iraq: Getting Withdrawal Plan From Service Chiefs

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama often has said he will issue orders to swiftly close down the Iraq war. Now military leaders are getting a chance to tell the new commander in chief how they could comply, and why he might want to wait.

Obama was to hear the opinions of the four U.S. military service chiefs on Wednesday in a meeting the White House called one more step toward fulfilling his promise of withdrawing all combat troops from Iraq. The Joint Chiefs of Staff will be ready with a rough sketch of what would be required to fulfill the president's timetable for a 16-month withdrawal.

Defense officials have said they can meet Obama's campaign pledge, but several officials have signaled that a fast withdrawal could upset the fragile security that currently holds in Iraq.

"We are developing other options as well," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday. "We are laying out, with each of the options we will present to him, our view _ each of the commander's _ of the risks associated with that timeline."

In preparing those, Obama has asked for more information behind assumptions and for additional analysis, Gates said. "I think that the president will listen to the commanders," he said.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Tuesday that all the scenarios will meet the president's "desire for a responsible drawdown that preserves the security gains we have made in Iraq and protects our forces."

Mullen said he hopes to give Obama that menu "in the very near future," but Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said there will be no decisions made at Wednesday's meeting.

The Joint Chiefs are among those in the Pentagon hierarchy who have expressed concerns about the impact that long, repeated war tours in Iraq have had on the U.S. military.
Story continues below

[NOTE: HE said that he would LISTEN to various opinions. That's WHAT he is DOING. :>)]

Gotta "bounce." :>(

Repeat post:

The Ball

Photos and reflection

Boys With Unpopular Names More Likely to Break Law
By LiveScience Staff


Boys in the United States with common names like Michael and David are less likely to commit crimes than those named Ernest or Ivan.

David E. Kalist and Daniel Y. Lee of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania compared the first names of male juvenile delinquents to the first names of male juveniles in the population. The researchers constructed a popularity-name index (PNI) for each name. For example, the PNI for Michael is 100, the most frequently given name during the period. The PNI for David is 50, a name given half as frequently as Michael. The PNI is approximately 1 for names such as Alec, Ernest, Ivan, Kareem, and Malcolm.

Results show that, regardless of race, juveniles with unpopular names are more likely to engage in criminal activity. The least popular names were associated with juvenile delinquency among both blacks and whites.

The findings, announced today, are detailed in the journal Social Science Quarterly.

While the names are likely not the cause of crime, the researchers argue that "they are connected to factors that increase the tendency to commit crime, such as a disadvantaged home environment, residence in a county with low socioeconomic status, and households run by one parent."

"Also, adolescents with unpopular names may be more prone to crime because they are treated differently by their peers, making it more difficult for them to form relationships," according to a statement released by the journal's publisher. "Juveniles with unpopular names may also act out because they consciously or unconsciously dislike their names."

The findings could help officials " identify individuals at high risk of committing or recommitting crime, leading to more effective and targeted intervention programs," the authors conclude.

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This article reminds me of the chapter in Freakonomics. It also reminded me of a very interesting episode of the Tyra Banks show. And yes, I am very ashamed for occasionally watching the TBS.
I have a very race-obvious name. I gave my kids race-neutral names.
Where do you stand in the Black name debate?
Do you have a race-obvious name?
What about your child/ren?

My name is not race-obvious, but most who have it are black. Oddly enough, it's a Hungarian last name, so go figure. I'm also surprised at the number of women who have it. I've only met one person with it, and that was random, because she was wearing a name tag.

I cringe when I hear some names. At my full-time job, I come into (non-physical, non-visual) contact with juveniles in the justice system. While I'm trying figure out how to pronounce some of these names, all I can think is, "This kid never had a chance" and I know that's wrong. I don't believe that these kids are in trouble because they have jacked up names, but I believe that the names are an indication of another problem. These names have multiple punctuation marks, random letters, syllables are missing (but still pronounced), the phonetics don't match. Are the parents being kr8tiv, or can they just not spell? Are they trying to make their kid unique by naming her Uneek, even though there will probably be at least one more in her grade?

My favorite names for potential children were always race-neutral, but after we had our genealogy done, I discovered that they were actually multigenerational family names.

Well one very popular female British name is Jemima (for white women) but you won't find that too often here in the US for anyone!

I would like to know if this theory holds in any other country, or just the USA.

Some countries actually have naming laws.

There was a case in New Zealand where parents named a child Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii. Her parents were getting divorced, and I believe she petitioned the judge to change her name, so he made her a ward of the court and did it.

And here's Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing.
http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/in...

A link to the forums. They even have a thread on this article.
http://bigbadbabynames.net/forum/index.php

Ok, so my name is Taneshia. Yes, I am black. But sometime when the Maury Povich Show was still on there was a White woman on their with her (White, not biracial) daughter that she named Taneshia as well. That fascinated me. I theorized that perhaps the mother knew a Taneshia and liked the name.

Since that time I've periodically used Google Images to view all different spellings of the name and discovered not only Latinas, but a famous East India (spelled Tanisha) and more White girls with the name. But I guess the fact that I've been mistaken for White over the phone, even with my name being TANESHIA!!! Is that some names will just become part of the mainstream... One day we might see a blond blue eyed DeK'wan