Jack & Jill Politics

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If Gallup didn't float your, here more evidence. CNN Poll: Obama Still Popular, 76%

Story Highlights

76 percent of Americans in poll approve of job Barack Obama is doing as president
Just 54 percent support the economic stimulus plan Obama is pushing
Three fourths of Democrats support the bill, but just 32 percent of Republicans
Poll gives Obama better grade on cooperation than it gives GOP lawmakers

So if Obama goes out and sells this stimulus (as he is already doing) to the American people, what will the Obstructionist do then.

"So if Obama goes out and sells this stimulus (as he is already doing) to the American people, what will the Obstructionist do then."

-Obstructionists:
LALALALALALALALALA!
Can't hear you!
Limited government!
Limited government, limited government!
LALALALALALALALALA!

rikyrah: H-E-E-E-E-R-E COMES FIRST LADY!: :>)

Michelle Obama makes remarks at the Department of Interior, joined by Secretary Ken Salazar.

Oh! MORE than 90% of the JOBS created will B in the PRIVATE SECTOR!

AFTERNOON THREAD IS UP

rikyrah: With a "little help from his friend":

In a statement from the White House, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist explains his decision to join Obama at his Fort Myers rally tomorrow.

Crist: “Florida has taken prudent steps to cut taxes for our people and balance our budget in these increasingly difficult times. Any attempts at federal stimulus must prioritize job creation and targeted tax relief for small business owners. I am eager to welcome President Obama to the Sunshine State as he continues to work hard to reignite the US economy." (1:38 p.m.)

FROM: http://www.politico.com/politico44/

Annnnnnnnd,

Question time tonight - POTUS saves 45 minutes for Q&A

President Obama will take his message into primetime tonight with an 8 p.m. presser in the East Room. On the President’s flight...

...to Indiana Robert Gibbs said Obama will talk for about 8 to 10 minutes before the presser and take about 45 minutes of questions.

It’s clear that Gibbs and David Axelrod are watching the polls and they think they have political momentum on their side. The White House press secretary said the goal of the Indiana and Florida trips is to bring Americans’ views to Washington, a city Gibbs called “myopic.”

PRESIDENT OBAMA - - LEADERSHIP!! :>)

With a Little Help From My Friends

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJppWktumy8



I love you, Mr. President Obama. Standing with you!

Justice58: THANK YOU! :>)

I have ta admit that I set the post up in order to "post" that "youtube." BUT, , , I hit "send" and - - there ya go. :>) :>)

Sooooo, thanks 4 the "pick-up!" :>) :>)

U R right there! :>) :>) THANKS! :>)

Here's the question though... will the press corp actually ask the questions that Americans want to ask, or will the Chuck Todds, Jake Tappers, and FOX news of the world stick to stupid questions about policcal discourse are actual question about the stimulus package and how/if it will help everyday Americans

My money's on stupid questions.

lamh32: Welllll- Ima plunk down a $1000 'VIRTUAL DOLLAS on the STUPID QUESTIONS.

Howeva: I belie' that MR. PRESIDENT is gonna "CALL 'EM" on that kind of question annnnnnd, then proceed to ANSWER the REAL and MEANINGFUL QUESTIONS that HE WANTS to!!

I think that I can say - - - TRUST! :>) :>)

Camp David Question?
Why is it that we never see it? Is it not the people's house too? Is there a link to the information about Camp David?

Myth/rikyrah/jelana: MY GUESS - - - SECURITY! :>)

I know that there are ways to hide the "blueprint-like" show of the place, BUT. . .

Some people can be VERY CREATIVE in fillin' in the blanks, thereby gettin' to know the LAY of the land. This could/would B a "SECURITY BREACH!" IMHO :>)

I've wondered about that myself. I've never seen pictures of it.

Bush was always there and his family Christmas gathering was there. It's supposed to be a really nice retreat. But I am sure there are reasons why the security is so tight. With having the first AA POTUS, we are curious about most things Obama and want to take the whole journey with him. I am sure after seeing the place yesterday, he is deciding when to invite his "boys" up for a game of basketball. I can just imagine how much fun Michelle and her mother are having, probably saying, Pinch me! Pinch me! They are living the American dream that AAs never knew they could have.

Even if you google it you don't get to see very much

The Politics Of Stimulus:Barack Obama: Still Popular

"I think Republicans have acted (and prematurely popped open champagne) on two assumptions that aren’t true right now...

The first is that voters rejected them in 2006 and 2008 because they spent too much money; the subtext is that voters oppose big government spending, and reward the party that cuts it down. This seems like a tautological argument that’s not backed up by history — how much did former President Ronald Reagan cut spending, after all? The second false assumption is that Republicans are winning the spin war because their arguments are leading newspaper articles, columns and TV broadcasts. There’s a Republican senator or congressman making the anti-stimulus case on cable at basically any moment.

The problem: So what? If a tree falls down during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” does it make a sound? Americans don’t actually watch these shows, and they’re not coloring their opinions of the president."

Leahy: Investigate Bush Now

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/09/leahy-...

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy insisted on Monday in firm and passionate terms that a comprehensive investigation be launched into the conduct of the Bush administration, saying anything less would prevent the country from moving forward.

Speaking at a forum at Georgetown University, the Vermont Democrat suggested the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission to uncover the "misdeeds" of the past eight years.

"Many Americans feel we need to get to the bottom of what went wrong," said Leahy. "I agree. We need to be able to read the page before we turn the page."

The Senator also stated that Attorney General Eric Holder never gave assurances to Republican Senators that he would not prosecute Bush administration officials who may have been involved in illegalities such as authorizing torture or warrantless wiretapping.



Investigate the scumbags for what they did to this country!

rikyrah: Obama Pushing Stimulus Plan Through Grass-Roots Support



ELKHART, Ind. — Campaigning for action in the most dire terms, President Barack Obama said Monday that if Congress does not quickly pass an economic stimulus package, the nation will slip into a crisis so deep that "we may be unable to reverse" it.

"We can't afford to wait. We can't wait to see and hope for the best," Obama said in Elkhart, Ind., a community reeling in job losses during the recession that has defined Obama's young presidency. "We can't posture and bicker and resort to the same failed ideas that got us in into this mess in the first place."

Obama, taking the Washington debate to a Midwest setting of everyday Americans, sought to build support for a massive infusion of government spending.

He acknowledged that the bill currently circulating in Congress is not beyond criticism, even poking fun at its authors at one point. Said Obama: "It's coming out of Washington. It's going through Congress."

"You know, look, it's not perfect," the president conceded. "But it is the right size, it is the right scope. Broadly speaking, it has the right priorities to create jobs that will jump-start our economy and transform the economy for the 21st century."

The $827 billion Senate version of the plan was expected to pass the Senate on Tuesday. However, it remained to be seen how much GOP support it would draw. And it must be reconciled with the House version, which totaled $820 billion in spending and tax cuts. Senate and House negotiators were already preparing to deal, with the goal of a bill on Obama's desk by the end of this week or beginning of next.

Obama went so far as to say he could not assure that every item in the stimulus plan would work as hoped. But he said he has no doubts that "delay or paralysis" in Washington will deepen the country's crisis. He was speaking in northern Indiana, where the unemployment rate soared to 15.3 percent in one county in December, up a whopping 10.6 percentage points from December 2007. The region has been hammered by layoffs in the recreational vehicle industry.

"Doing nothing is not an option," Obama said. "We've had a good debate. Now it's time to act."

SPEAK!! MR. PRESIDENT! :>) :>) Yaaaaa!

O how they want to denigrate Obama by claiming he is campaigning instead of governing! Pshaw.

What Obama is doing is called democracy in action. He is exhorting the citizenry to be active. Active citizenry is the very heart of democracy and democracy fails whenever the citizens do not hold their representatives accountable.

Good government is an active democracy with citizens united for a purpose working to achieve the best for this nation.

The pundits have not seen it in so long that they want to call it campaigning..they want to continue to anesthesize the public's minds with hopelessness and fear so that the are lulled into complacency...uncertainty and just plain tired and worn out.

Obama knows that is the death knell for democracy.

Americans have to be awaken to the possibilities of their power not the limits that they have seen with all the gridlock in DC.

President Obama is doing the right thing. He is leading with confidence, encouraging all citizens to act, he cannot do it alone. The most powerful part of the US Constitution is WE THE PEOPLE...it is us who has to act. That is what OF the People, BY the People and FOR the PEOPLE means.

Those talking heads and GOP nayayers and corporate puppets on both sides of the aisle are witnessing CHANGE.

Change that they so disdainfully and dismissively blow off as just a word. CHANGE that they do not want. Change that they try and sell as just 'words', but President Obama knows better and he understands the nations plight he will fight for us but we also have to fight for ourself.

O how they try to paint a picture of doom and gloom to fill us with despair and prevent us from taking back our government. Don't believe them. We can change the way Washington works but we have to pull together and do it together.

I am proud of my President. I am proud to be an American. And I will stand up not just with my vote but with my voice and tell those a-holes in DC....MOVE! Get out the WAY!!

who sings that song?
MOVE..get out the WAY...we will push this stimulus through and we will take back our government.

whiterosebuddy: U JUST SPEAK! :>)

BUT. . .U R 2 young ta see the vid that you REQUESTED. :>)

Sooooo, Ima substitute THIS ONE> :>)

MOVE [Dream Girls]

ENJOY!! :>) :>)

Obama at Townhall.

this is what Repub are afraid of. If they are in a fight against Congressional Dems, then they can make this a partisan fight.

They can't win a fight against Obama himself. It's what happened during the election. The oppo tried to marginalize him, but when people see him in person, they invariably like him.

That's what Repub and Stimulus obstructionist need to be afraid of. As President he is kinda on a learning curve. He wants to really be the Prez for all Americans, but as a politician, he is GOLDEN. He tried to be inclusive and the Repub who really had nothing to lose, bit the hand that fed them. So now they are getting the politician, and they need to watch out.

You are so right Lamh....those obstructions need to be afraid...very afraid...cause Obama is educating the citizenry. He knows how to compell Americans to act and that is why they try at every turn to say he is nothing but hotairandnosubstance...they need to be afraid.

Change is coming and this IS change we can believe in.

They are witnessing CHANGE and calling it failure so we won't believe in it. But I ain't buying what they selling. They are bankrupt and they bankrupted this nation.

Change is here, President Obama and his machine is on the march. Trucking all over this country to take the message to the people just like Lincoln had to do in his day BEFORE the advent of TV, where they can co opt and spin the message into what the corporate masters want. Obama says NO. I will go to the people and tell them myself. Just like he did from sea to shining sea when he had massive crowds.

Move! Get out the WAY...Tell Blizter, and Campbell and Hume and O'Reilly yall days of reigning over this nation politically is done. MOVE! Get out the way, Limbaugh and Hannity, Scarborough, Gregory and Todd....MOVE! We have the ObamaBidenGibbs train it has left the station...

O Happy DAY!!

I realize that as soon as he signs the stimulus bill, the media will pretend that the President lost on this issue. The doublespeak will continue: up will be down, left will be right, black will be white, etc.

You are right about Obama's learning curve: the Repubs keep forgetting he's a quick study.

I see the snake has slithered back in. I was wondering were "s" went.

Now I know.

Nowhere.

Yes.

LOL

Ruh-Roh... Methinks Jake Tapper is waiting to ask Michael Steele about his connections to the Crack Cocaine game and Eugene Byrd.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02...

"The First Time I Heard About Michael Steele (and His Sister)

February 09, 2009 9:31 AM

…was back in 1998 while working on a story about Mike Tyson for Washington City Paper.

The scene took place right after Tyson had pleaded no-contest to charges that he committed two acts of second-degree assault after a Maryland fender bender."

Ruh-Roh!!!!!! I give Steele about a two weeks before he has to start talking about Eugene Byrd.

rikyrah: NOW THE QUESTIONS!

1. Banks NEED to B accountable!!!

2. On his cabinet appointments:
-This is a legitimate question. It's O.K.
-But IFFF you're going to appoint anyone who diddn't make mistakes in the past - - THEN you won't have anybody takin' those positions. Yaaaa!
-We/I have set up an ETHICS POLICY!
-RE: Hannity: POOF! I didn't know about his invitation. BUT, I am good for a beer. :>)

- PLAN: - Double the production of energy.
- Improve hybrid cars.
-Weatherize homes
-New energy programs
-New information technology in the heath care system

-FORECLOSURES:
-stabilize housing market
-I'm borrowing MY "HOUSE" in Washington! :>) :>)

-SOLAR POWER:
- We have re-newable energy bill.
-working with utilities to sell energy back as you acquire solar power

-ENTICING COMPANIES TO STAY HERE:
-The U.S> has the most productive workers, etc. so we CAN compete. BUT the problem is our INVESTMENT issues, broken HEALTH CARE system, TAX BREAKS should be given to companies who STAY HERE!
Part of the solution is improved EDUCATIONAL system - - TRAINING OUR WORKFORCE! esp. in MATH & SCIENCE; re-vamp COMMUNITY COLLEGES; The SENATE version - CUT some of these dollars. We're going to try to REVERSE this.

-WHAT R U going to do to help our school: Trpairs; RE-TRAIN Teachers; RE-WORK NCLB to make it MORE EFFECTIVE; PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TylvUGJIi_w&feature=relatedWARM APPLAUSE!!

GREAT JOB - - MR. PRESIDENT!! :>) :>)

I'm the biggest cheerleader for weatherizing and here's why.

I bought and moved into a 60 year old house 2 years ago. It had aluminum windows (some painted shut) with storm windows, gas heat and water, and 3 OLD AC window units. I'm from Michigan and still live in the Midwest, so I know cold. I like it so warm that I keep the AC set at 78 or 80 in the summer.

I put plastic on the windows and broke out the space heater and electric blanket, and kept it on 72. My budget bill amount for the gas was $114, based on the previous year's usage.

That winter/spring, I put in a programmable thermostat and had a heatpump installed. As long as it's + 40F outside,the heat pump heats warm air from outside and uses it to heat the house instead of the gas furnace. My budget bill dropped by $25 a month.

This past spring, I replaced 10 of the 14 windows with double paned insulated ones from Lowe's. My gas bill is now down to $54.

THIS is why weatherization is important.

Vulcan girl...you need to videotape and you tube your message for the OrganinzingAmerica Obama team!!

vulcan_girl: ONE QUESTION to U: "WHYCOME" U R NOT on the "ARR TRAIL" with our PRESIDENT!! :>) :>)

What a GREAT EXAMPLE U R/have to SUPPORT this PLAN!! :>) WOW!! :>)

THANK U for SHARING!! :>)

GOOD ON U!! :>) Woooo! Hoooo!

Madoff settles civil fraud case with SEC!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29101687/

WTF?!?!?!?!?!?

I'd love to see the details of the settlement. The criminal case is on-going. Hopefully he'll do a little time. I read about a man who will turn 91 in May. He's now a greeter at a grocery store -- working for $10/hr because "Made Off" took it all. Unbelievable!!

Is anybody else watching President Obama's townhall in Indiana.

It's pretty good and he's really explaining himself well to the people.

I watched him and thought - "I really love this man". Great President.

Thanks First Lady Obama and kids for loaning him to us.

lamh32: U BETCHA!! :>) :>)

Annnnnnd, IFFFpeople will STOP callin' me, I could DOCUMENT what he is saying.:>) :>)

OH annnnnd, I have a FUNERAL to attend and the aftermath -all day-, annnnd a church bui'ness meetin' 2-night soooo, I'll MISS the PRESS CONFERENCE!! DANG! :>)

Not too shabby Mr. President. I caught a bit and he's where he should be, in front of the people. Nice to see him in "campaign" mode again. I'm sure he'll be at it again the next time a bill needs to be passed.

It ain't campaigning...that is the media spin. What this is is old fashion governance, where the President has to take the message to the people. Campaigning is a term used to diminish the power of his message. Americans do not beleive what folks 'promise' on the campaign trail, that is why they are using that denigrating term, to imply skuldudgery and deceit, bait and switch.

Nope, Obama IS governing, he is calling on Americans to ACT. That is called democracy in ACTION...not campaigning.

He did his usual great job! I just LOVE our president!

rikyrah: WHAT HE IS SAYING!:

THE PLAN HAS THE FOLLOWING:

1. Extended unemployment benefits' extended health care

2. Creates JOBS!

3. Provides for $1000/family; college funds

4. CLEAN ENERGY provisions.

WE NEED TO STOP BICKERING and GET THE BILL PASSED!!

NOW to the QUESTIONS!! :>)

Be happy, worried liberals. Obama's bill is a triumph

"Instead of focusing on the compromises, we should rejoice in the great victory that the president's stimulus package really is"

"I'm nervous, too, about whether the bill will work. But meanwhile, its impending passage sets the country on a dramatically different course to the one it's pursued over the last eight years (the last 30, really). To me, that's hardly a stinker. In fact, it smells rather nice. I love the smell of stimulus spending in the morning. It smells like ... victory."

Too funny. Victory at the expense of prudence and competence.

In 1999, Republicans got the banking and insurance deregulation they wanted, signed into law, no less, by an allegedly liberal Democratic president. Savings and investment banks were allowed to mate with insurance companies, despite warnings that there was inherent risk in doing away with this time-tried, 60-year-old rule from barring such marriages. Later, the GOP and big business would enjoy years of the Bush tax cuts for individuals and for corporations, aided by a then-Republican controlled Congress. Insurance companies played the credit default swaps game, which was unregulated. Savings and investment banks played the collateral debt obligation game, also unregulated--which led to the big push for subprime mortgages. Mix it all together, bake it for about nine years, and you have the financial craptitude that the country is facing right now.

Conservatives can STFU about people on the left not knowing anything about economics--they've proven their own incompetence through 30 years of failed Reaganomic policies, and have perfected that failure within last few seasons.

YEP!!

We was Robbed!

ROTFLMAO?!!! After the last eight years very few Americans believe a Republican means prudence and competence.

Taking to liberals, are you a liberal.

BTW, have you seen the Gallup Numbers on confidence in Obama and his approach to the stimulus???

Sorry, but in your republican/conservative circles you and yours may be a the big dogs, but in the real world where there are repubs/dems/independent/centrist/moderates, etc, you guys are losing.

You may want to stop listening to the pundits, or posting from the pundits all the time, and get out in that real world.

rikyrah: He-e-e-e-re comes MR. PRESIDENT!!

1. "Make yourselves comfortable! We're gonna B here a while!" :>) :>)

YAAAAAAA!

I'm following this. There is MORE! :>)

Read it and weep conservs/repubs, most of Americans think you guys are full of s*&^, and Obama is Still the S*&^:

Obama Way Ahead Of GOP On Stimulus

Josh Marshall?! GMAB. And you call me out if I cite the WSJ and CBO?

LOL

You are such an ass-hat. If you read the article in the link, it would have lead you to this source:

Gallup poll

Is that good enough for you? Be gone troll.

You are such an ass-hat.


Double Co-Signing. Shazza was right about him!

I'm tired of the cut & paste useless arguments. Some people never learn.

carolinagirl: LOL! :>) :>)

U got your own "CAN!" Good on U!! :>) :>)

Let's SPRAY 2-gether!! :>) :>)

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/09/mohamed-tor...

GITMO detainee testicals cut with a scalpel.
Makes you think how very twisted and sick the bush administration really was. So much for compassionate conservatism

disgusting..this is the type of inhumane brutality that creates muslim hating on us and our twisted western debauched society.

CBO Predicts Recession Will End in 2009 Without Stimulus

The Congressional Budget Office predicted that the current economic recession will end in the second half of 2009 without the trillion dollar stimulus.
From The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2009 to 2019 (pdf):
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9958/01-08-O...

CBO anticipates that the current recession, which started in December 2007, will last until the second half of 2009, making it the longest recession since World War II. (The longest such recessions otherwise, the 1973–1974 and 1981–1982 recessions, both lasted 16 months. If the current recession were to continue beyond midyear, it would last at least 19 months.) It could also be the deepest recession during the postwar period: By CBO’s estimates, economic output over the next two years will average 6.8 percent below its potential—that is, the level of output that would be produced if the economy’s resources were fully employed (see Figure 1). This ecession, however, may not result in the highest unemployment rate. That rate, in CBO’s forecast, rises to 9.2 percent by early 2010 (up from a low of 4.4 percent at the end of 2006) but is still below the 10.8 percent rate seen near the end of the 1981–1982 recession.

The Congressional Budget Office even says the Obama Stimulus will actually hurt, not help, the economy.

where was the CBO prior to the recession? where was it say during the 2003 tax cuts or the 2007 tax cuts or the excessive spending, where was it then?

What is your point?

how is it that the cbo can predict how long it will last but not that it will occur? So essentially your saying that we should just deal with job loss for now and by the end of the year everything will be fine? lol are you abject of understanding that inbetween now and the end of the year millions of families will be out of homes jobs and money? so at the start of 2010 where do these people go to get jobs? you see the problem is that conservatives see this as an issue of numbers and not reality that 4 million people NO LONGER HAVE JOBS regardless of when the recession ends.

Jobs are created by businesses that grow and produce, Let's take the example of the RV manufacturer profiled in the USA today article cited here. If the recession ends, consumer confidence will be restored, folks who have been saving will feel better about the economy and say, "gee, I guess I no longer have to put my plans to buy that RV on hold. Orders go up as more than one buyer thinks the same thing, the RV manufacturer is able to hire back the employees he laid off, and he is able to invest in his company by buying new equipment or by expanding his facility. This expansion of his business, creates jobs for contractors and other manufacturers.

The government can only create temporary jobs, like census takers, public works projects contractors and workers, but when these tasks are completed, what will these folks do? They will have to go to the private sector to work.

Now, maybe the RV manufacturer wants to make his expanded plant more energy efficient and he decides to use solar panels. Now an alternative energy company will grow, producing new technologies and new jobs.

What would make it easier for consumers to have more confidence? How about letting them keep more of their pay check? Why not a payroll tax cut to help Americans buy new appliances, cars, homes. Why not that same tax cut to help that RV manufacturer expand more quickly?

A payroll tax cut will work. Sure, the federal government will have less money to spend, but I think that is a good thing, since most people do not depend on the government for their livelihood.

I understand how it works. I own a business, I see how this economy has lost me clients, and I in turn give less business to my suppliers and sub-contractors.

I recognize that the real engine of this economy is not the government but the private sector.

You should work harder at your business. It is losing money because you a Michael Steele's clone of ignorance.
One, many of the jobs offered by the government and permanent and fulfill functions the private sector has inhernet conflicts w/. FDA protects the food system and makes reasonably sure that a drug you purchase will not kill you on its own or in combination w/ others. Those people work as career employee's. Let's not forget the FBI and CIA that keep us safe.
Two, you did not say a word about those republican's burrowing into the career government when their political appointee job ended. So you must recognize there are permanent government jobs.
Three, if you were a true business man you must recognize that you will shed employees if you can't sell your product or service due to obsolescence or no one wants it. So the jobs you create are always temporary. Otherwise you will go out of business. Its called supply and demand.
Four, the economy is much closer to deflation than inflation. In deflation demand collapses because everyone is waiting for prices to drop. It is a deadly spiral because it kills demand. The lose of demand means no manufacturing or service jobs paying wages to buy whatever demand there is.
the stimulus bill is designed to increase demand period. Your argument is not about demand in its broadest sensebut what you are willing to spend government money on, i.e. what demand you find acceptable. That argument has a place but when you are losing jobs and demand for goods and services at the arate we are currently experincing you have no choice but to spend in all areas to kick start the economy. It is the equivalent of kick starting a motorcycle by opening the throttle to the max and pushing it downhill to start it. You use more gasoline than you would w/ an electronic ignition.
Five, you continue to lie and not address the issues of stimulating the economy by hiding behind propaganda and agnotolgy to push your political point of views. It is to the detriment of the Republican state governors(Crist, Arnold and others) whom operate where the rubber hits the road. they need money for schools, teachers, educational equipment, roads, bridges, police, fire, inspectors et al of a modern society. They have no interest in your Bleak House view of the world.

i am familiar with the logic behind trickel down economics and how it has proven to be a failure because times have changed. the economy that reagan set up in the 80's is not the economy that is going to be successful currently. tax cuts worked for reagan because they were at 70 percent, but he had to raise taxes because he cut them too low. bush 1 got in trouble because he too raised taxes, bush 2 had 3 straight tax cutting efforts and growth has not occured under any of them. can you explain that to me

I kept asking that to conservatives on another political site and I could never get any answers. Bush got his tax cuts. How many jobs did it create? How many are they creating NOW (they're still in effect, you know)?

That you need to STFU?

Seriously, he's like the visual version of the adult voices in the Charlie Brown cartoons. You hear them but it's all background noise.

Obama to visit job-starved Elkhart, Indiana

ELKHART, Ind. — Derald Bontrager's mom and dad started the RV company he now runs with his brother in 1968. For nearly four decades, the family could hardly make pop-up campers, travel trailers and motor homes fast enough for their eager customers. Today, the once-thriving company is in a free fall.
In the past eight months, as gas prices soared and credit dried up, "the market just went away," Bontrager says. He and his brother have had to lay off half their workforce, more than 1,000 employees, including 250 last week. And he knows the men and women he sees in church and at the store won't be able to find other work.

"Wilbur (his brother) and I personally know many of these people," Bontrager says. "That's what stings the most, having to take away their livelihood."
Layoffs are happening across the USA — but nowhere as fast as in this once-thriving area that used to be known as the "RV Capital of the World." One year ago, unemployment in Elkhart County was at 4.7%. Today, it's the highest in the nation at 15.3%, fueled largely by the rapid decline in the recreational vehicle business.
On Monday, President Obama will travel to this depressed northern Indiana city to highlight what's at stake as his $800-billion-plus economic stimulus bill is debated in Congress.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-02-0...

The big question is how will Obama's stimulus plan help this business owner?

Which aspect of the Dems plan will help this man, his family and his employees?

You are not dealing in reality as a business man. The products this guy offers are dependent on numerous things during the best of times. Vacation time, price of gasoline are among the biggest factors. Given we are in the sewer thanks to the nonfeasance and economic policies of the Bush administration the engine of creative destruction(market forces) will likely never help him or his employees return to the market place manufacturing RV's. If he is a good business man he will go into something else. Maybe he can procure a government contract manufacturing armored cars for use in Afghanistan.

Is this a question you need answered for each individual business owner in the country?

The question is how did Bush's trillion dollar "tax cuts" help get them into the situation they are in now.

In case you haven't heard, Republicans and their ideology have been at work the past 8 years.....and have failed miserably.

No. Stop blaming Bush and answer the question.

I know that the private sector and the free market are the engine that drive this economy. The government does not create sustainable jobs, the private sector does.

Tax cuts did not cause this to happen. This is what you have been told and what you choose to believe.

Deficit spending, regulation (Sarbannes-Oxley, for one) and greed (Fannie Mae CEOs , unscrupulous lenders exploiting relaxed lending standards and political corruption in the financial sector ) not tax cuts are more to blame.

First off, contrary to what you believe, no one has to just tell me anything.....I'm a grown 30+ year old woman who is very capable of researching and coming to my own conclusions.

And I have concluded that Republican ideology is a sham...a joke...and it does not benefit the working class citizens, especially not the past 8 years.


Besides I come from the school of thought..."Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining."
The GOP has been pissing on a whole lotta folk, and then want us to think that they hold the umbrella and shelter....PLEASE.

no one is saying that either of those dont drive the economy but our economy has to change to the times just like our economy was at one point was based on agriculture then on production then manufactoring then consumer driven our economy must adapt to the times. just buying shit is no longer going to work. The govt works with the private sector to create sustainable jobs.
your entire last paragraph conflicts with your first statement

The jobs problem you don't know about
The sharp jump in layoffs gets all the attention, but it's the lack of hiring and job openings that pose greater risks for the labor market and economy.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/05/news/economy/jo...

"Why has this recession generated such bad job opening rates? Isidore quotes Robert Brusca of FAO Economics as saying that “fear is running the show right now,” and small wonder. Instead of trying to calm the nation, Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi have transformed themselves into Chicken Littles, abandoning FDR’s “All we have to fear is fear itself” in favor of “We’re all going to DIE!” Why? Their stimulus package keeps losing support, and only fear can propel it to passage, but that same hysteria has employers locking their doors, which creates a self-fulfilling prophecy of economic doom.

The proper salve for a lack of job creation would be an infusion of capital into the markets. The failure of businesses normally creates openings for small start-ups to take their place, or for innovators to find new solutions to new problems and bring them to market. The Obama administration should encourage capital to come to market by lowering the risk cost through cuts in the capital-gains tax rates, or eliminating them entirely, for the next four years.

That will create jobs and expand opportunity, and would balance the layoffs of firms that had shaky business models even before the latest financial crisis. In fact, that’s why the 2000-1 recession managed to absorb the dot-com bubble collapse as well as the 9/11 attack collapse so well. The Bush administration lowered taxes and kept capital working to create jobs. Instead, the Obama administration wants to re-create the WPA, digging ditches just to refill them later, and paying for it by eventually seizing the capital that could have created real, long-term employment."

for real again? reality is running the show. reality is 3 million real people have lost their jobs, real people are going to claim unemployment benefits real people are losing their homes. the hysteria was caused by the lack of domestic policy outside of tac cuts from an administration that frankly didnt give a damn. if the sky if falling Barack is telling people how we can take shelter he didnt cause the sky to fall thatd be your buddy BushandComp

More Agnotology.
Go into your town and you will find that the major roads bridges and other infrastructure were built by the WPA and still used today.

Long-term investment in infrastructure should be done, but not as part of this stimulus package. I agree with Alice Rivlin, who recommends splitting the package into to parts. One, 'emergency stimulus' and Two, 'Long term investment."

Why are JJP commentors so eager to sign on to such a huge stimulus package that is short on stimulus? Why, when shoring up our failing financial system seems to be a far greater challenge, and when this challenge will cost us almost $1 trillion dollars more, do you want to see money spend on projects that will not help us get the economy producing and creating jobs?

Fuck shoring up the banks. The banks are robbing and hijacking the American people's money, you idiot.

Aahh....so you've decided to spam up JJP with nonsense and idiocy....is this your assignment?

This isn't spam, but the other side of the debate.

You're just copying and pasting lame articles from right wing sites, spamming up JJP because apparently its your assignment for today.

You did the same stupidness during the campaign. You people are so dumb. You never learn.

No. I find articles that challenge the effectiveness of Obama's stimulus plan. The WSJ, NYT, USA Today as well as conservative writers. I have no assignment but to challeneg you to make the case for spending all this money on something that I believe will not work.

I would like to see a bad bill made better, and to see my hard earned money, that is taken from me buy the federal government, put to use prundently and competently.

I do not seek to blindly defend Bush, or rubberstamp every Republican idea, but I also happen to strongly disagree with much of the Democratic political philosophy and agenda.

I thought you had a business to run. It's out of business thanks to Bush's economic policies isn't it?

I would like to see a bad bill made better, and to see my hard earned money, that is taken from me buy [sic] the federal government, put to use prundently and competently.

Your hard-earned money? I work and while I'm at work although I have access to the Internet, it's not often that I can traverse the Internet, let alone post at blogs or even write on my own. So, I'm wondering how hard-earned your money really is if you're here or elsewhere on the Internets '...buy the federal gov't' .... was that deliberate? 'buy' rather than 'by'.

If you so "strongly disagree with much of the Democratic political philosophy and agenda" then WHY are you here? I mean, really. I find it extremely difficult to believe when you make a statement like that that 'your mission' is to "find articles that challenge the effectiveness of Obama's stimulus plan" and present them to us so we'll be 'enlightened.'

LMAO!! Yep..you know its conserva-stupid's "challenge" by his leaders to spam up his assigned site...and unfortunately fo us its JJP. The rethugs believe if they just troll around as many sites as possible, that this will cause all of us to scream "we surrender!!" and it'll be 2001 all over again!! LOL

It's what trolls do.

Brown man, et al,

The statement that Republicans advocate that TAX CUTS ONLY are the cure for this economy is PATENTLY FALSE. Dems push this meme but the truth is that no Republican in Congress is pushing for no spending. Republicans are advocating for spending that is actually STIMULUS and NOT PORK. This targeted spending along with tax cuts are the real cure that Republicans are proposing.

Which Republicans are you talking about?

There is bipartisan support for stimulus spending, just not the pork projects and non-stimulus baseline spending being pushed into this bill instead of making it part of the normal appropriations process.

I am speaking specifically of Congressional Republicans. To my knowledge, only DeMint and one other Republican whose name escapes me are on the record for no spending.

No, there isn't bipartisan support for stimulus spending. If that was the case, the Republicans in the House would have voted for the first version of the bill, which was one-third tax cuts, or they would have at least offered a realistic alternative. You're trying to act as if those "pork" items made up a huge percentage of the thing- they didn't. Much more than the Democrats, the Republicans refuse to put aside partisan political concerns in favor of...stimulating the economy... SAVING the economy. They'd rather obstruct and nitpick.

You need to run back and tell the Republican Director of Blogger Hi-Jinks and Tomfoolery that the plan isn't working.

uh oh now your not paying attention because john mccain proposed a stimulus bill of 400 something billin dollars and all GOP senators voted in favor of it. and the 2007 stimulus bill was all tax cuts and the 2003 the bush tax cuts were passed unanimously by the house and senate. come on man at least be honest for the sake of the conversation

McCain has argued that anything not directly related to stimulating the economy needs to be removed from the bill and vetted through the traditional appropriations process. He does advocate a payroll tax cut and there is no doubt that allowing more American to keep more of their pay checks will stimulate the economy.

Some argue that American will simply save the money, not spend it, but saving money, but putting it in the bank or paying down debt, puts money into the financial system.

Obama and the Dems want to blame bush's policies on this current mess, but while yes, Bush cut taxes, he also INCREASED SPENDING. Now we want even more deficit spending? Just because the Dems are proposing it doesn't make it new, doesn't make it change.

Japan lengthened it's 'lost decade' in the 1990s by enacting the same measures Obama and the Dems are proposing.

From the NYT:

"In the end, say economists, it was not public works but an expensive cleanup of the debt-ridden banking system, combined with growing exports to China and the United States, that brought a close to Japan’s Lost Decade. This has led many to conclude that spending did little more than sink Japan deeply into debt, leaving an enormous tax burden for future generations."

Perhaps we should see what Geithner proposes for TARP II first, enact a pared down stimulus bill that provides help to families in financial need through and extension in unemployment, food stamps, mortagage assistance and payroll tax cuts.

Let's spend our money responsibly, putting it where it will do the most good, quickly.

lol right like mccain is the go to guy on economic recovery. The fundamentals of our economy are strong right? Bush did increase spending but on what? can you tell me what he spent money on? if you are going to run deficit spending have something to show for it. What did bush spend the money on? And please stop wth these faulty Japanese argument damn its like you just go to other sites and pull up what you think will work.

All yo do is deal in Agnotology.
The lost decade in Japan was a result of not marking down to real value the assets they held. This prevented the banks from using their banks to lend.

Rob, you know much, but not everything.

The Treasury has just overpaid $78 billion dollars in TARP funds:

"According to the testimony of Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren, who is chairing the Congressional Oversight Panel for TARP, Treasury doled out $254 billion for bank assets worth only $176 billion - an overpayment of $78 billion of taxpayer funds. She has also noted that Treasury has not cited any reason for the overpayment. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s independent estimate released a month ago, Treasury overpaid $64 billion.

These reports add another dimension to the American taxpayer’s woes. Until this time, we feared only misuse by Wall Street with the likes of John Thain (former head of Merrill Lynch) freely handing out billions of dollars in bonuses in 2008 despite registering massive losses. Now we have to be seriously concerned with the standards of the Treasury."

I care how our money is being spent. I pay tens of thousands of dollars each year to the federal government and I do not want to see it wasted, no matter which party is in control. I would hardly call that culturally induced ignorance.

Letme tell you more about your own case. The payment for the assets was done under republican Tresasury Secretary Paulson whom was appointed by President Bush. So the misapplication of funds was committed by the Republicans.
Nor have you spoken out about the fact that th FED has many programs wherby they take assets from the banks and loan them cash to stay solvent. this has expanded the FED's balance sheet but billions of dollars.

You were not on these pages screaming about your concern then so I know you are here to deal in Agnotology

Look Rob, I am not a financial expert, nor do I claim to be.

If Paulson is to blame, so be it.

Congress gave Paulson authority with little or no oversight.

Will Geithner be any better? I hope so.

Also, with the CBO now saying that we will come out of this current recession without a stimulus package, why not postpone it and deal with the new 1 trillion dollar proposal that Geithner will introduce tomorrow.

Why rush to push this wasteful stimulus bill through when all it will do is harm us in the future?

I thought you read the papers to find facts. So I'll ask you again was Paulson Treasury Secretary or not when the goods were purchased?
By the way you are not God so knock off with so be it statements?

Many conservatives are mad that Bush over-spent, and want to restore fiscal sanity, while Obama says that the Bush borrowing brought on this mess and must be addressed by more borrowing.

President Obama and the Dems blame Bush policies but they want to cure the ailing economy with more of the same?

You are not a conservative. You are a propagandist dealing in agnotology. Your ideas are as bankrupt those as Soviet Communism.

I see, so advocating for small government is not conservative?

You simply cannot respond to the arguments I present, so you resort to calling me names. This is not even a form of debate, but rather a way to demean others and deflect criticism.

I am not against a stimulus package. I am not against spending, but I also know that many Americans would benefit greatly from a payroll tax cut that would let them keep more of their own money. As the recent discovery of $78 Billion in TARP funds being wasted, I am skeptical of the government being too expansive and having too much control.

Small government is a propaganda term. It has nothing to do w/ conservatism. Conservatism in america has used ths propaganda tool to mask their religious zealotry and racial bigotry.
It is a start that you recognize that I am calling you out for what you are. The truth only hurts when you recognize they are accurate. Unfortunately you refuse to learn anything froom this recognization
Go cry elsewhere. Go practise agnotology elsewhere. go spread you propaganda elsewhere.

Sorry Rob. I do not but your definition of conservatism. I am not a racial bigot, nor a religious zealot, but a person who believes in individual freedom and responsiblity more than the power of the state.

I am not crying. I am engaging in debate with those who have different opinions from my own.

You have never defined your version of conservatism. So stop crying about being a bigot and zealot and define yourself in your own words.
You have had multiple opportunities and you always chicken out saying it will distract you from agnotology.

What you are is a contrarian. Whatever is thrown out, no matter how convincing the argument, you'll differ.

When have republicans practiced fiscal sanity?Ronnie Raygun expanded gov. spending more than any President up to that point..I know they don't teach you this at dittohead U. but in 82 Reagan raised taxes.$64,000 ? Which President actually produced a surplus?Times up it was Clinton a Democrat.Now we find ourselves in worse shape because of republicans stupidity and its going to take a Democrat to clean up this mess that bush, cheney and the rest of you so called conservatives made.Fiscal sanity, My ARSE!!!

ugh again for real. bush didnt just over spend he lost money, just lost it. and he cut taxes during war and borrowed money while continuing to cut taxes. you cant do both. personally i dont think there should be any tax cuts. unless we are going to let the bush cuts expire now then sure cut taxes

Oh, don't worry, taxes will be raised. And it will not just be on the 'wealthy' who make $250,000, or was it $200,000?

"Many conservatives are mad that Bush over-spent"............yeah....and they just got mad a couple of weeks ago...too bad they weren't mad while Bush was overspending.

Many were, but not enough and why do you think that so many Republicans were replaced by Blue Dog Dems? It was spending, more than opposition to the war, that allowed moderate Dems to win in red states.

Are Republicans not allowed to learn from their mistakes? Are they not allowed to try and recover their credibility? Who cares if they are late to the party...at least they showed up.

If they continue to demonstrate a commitment to fiscal responsibility, while the Dems continue to spend us into oblivion, it can only help the country.

Republicanism Explained
http://www.first-draft.com/2009/02/republicanis...

The NAZI's weren't allowed to recover from their mistakes. Why should the republicans whose policies are just as hostile and racist?

...too bad they weren't mad while Bush was overspending.


People like Conserv1 won't admit that sh%t. It would get in the way of their bootlicking.

Whenever Conserv1 posts, this is what I think of
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv3ripSM

Thanks for that it is so true w/ trolls

LOL

LMAO!!!!!!!

Shazza,

Too funny!

A view of President's Obama energy plan's goals. Fro anyone whom doesn't know what EROI is read here:
http://www.ask.com/bar?q=eroi&page=1&qsrc=0&zoo...

Article here:
http://netenergy.theoildrum.com/node/5073

How bad is it? "• Wages: US Wages have been punished by globailization, and have been stagnant over the past 10 years; Now, we are likely to see contractions in wages over the next 1-3 years;

Please read the whole thing. there are embeds for how he came to these conclusions:
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/02/downsizing...

I imagined that instead of Obama, we had President John McCain standing behind the White House press room podium, intoning, in the manner of Ronald Reagan that "the fundamentals of the economy were sound."

I pictured Vice President Sarah Palin on Meet The Press, stumbling over an incoherent explanation of exactly how a proposed trillion dollar tax cut package actually creates those jobs we need to boost our ailing economy.

They would be facing the same problem President Obama has - a Congress dominated by leaders on both sides of the aisle who have come to worship the rigid, severely restricted boundaries of their respective ideologies.

Tax cuts, which seem to be the only tune Republicans can all whistle together, don't mean a god damned thing to you if you have no job. Funding projects slated to start three years from now, which appears to be a constant theme running through the Democrats list of proposals, mean even less.


Dancing With The One Who Brung You

Yes.

Cotton Picking Day: In celebration of black history month a school attempted to hold a cotton picking day where students paid a fee to dress up as slaves. Yes you read that correctly.

HELL muthafuckin NO

lol I have to shake my head on that one.

for real?

Unfortunately for real. When we consider the education systems habit of treating historical events to a white lens, thus marginalizing people of colour, this is not at all surprising.

We need to get out of Afghanistan even faster than Iraq.

The problem is we are going about it the wrong way.As they say "Follow the money"Even though we are fighting the Taliban and Alqueada they get their funding from our so-called allies, Saudi Arabia who we send billions of dollars to for their oil.So in effect we are paying our enemies to commit terrorist acts against us.This is why it is in our national interest to wean ourselves from oil and fight our true enemy Saudi Arabian Wahabism.

As the republicans continue their march towards irrelevance:
Obama Has Upper Hand in Stimulus Fight
http://www.gallup.com/poll/114202/Obama-Upper-H...

shhh tax cuts and no spending thats what would help right? this is why you dont listen to pundits. its their job to maintain the status quo and tell you what you already know. they arent actually telling you whats important only whats the latest fight.

Hey, y'all....checking in. Working with (not officially "on," yet) the McDonnell campaign here on outreach, which is taking most of my time. Which, right now, involves dealing with miscellaneous special and lower-level elections.

Conserv1 seems to be holding down things pretty well here....LOL.

Took the first family trip in the minivan yesterday; kid hated it.

Be well, and I'll be around....watching, if not always commenting.

D: Heeeeeey! Miss U! :>) :>)

"WHYCOME" the children didn't like the mini-van?? No DVD player? :>) :>)

Best wishes on your NEW PROJECT. I think. . . . :>)

LOL...no, no DVD player yet. Have to get one put in.

D: Ooooo-kaaaaay! :>)

U just go right ahead and participate in YOUR PRESIDENT's ARR-PLAN!! SPEND and STIMULATE the ECONOMY!! :>) :>)

But he wants the government to.....

Oh, never mind. LOL

D: -Ummmmm. .

WE R the -"government of the people, by the people, and for the people"

BUT. . .we hafta HELP ourselves! :>) :>)

NOW - - BACK to OUR PRESIDENT!! :>) :>)

Of course your kid hated it. Child is strapped into an injection seat for safety. Do you have it put it so they can see. out the front window. It should be in the middle not next to a door for your ease(it's a pain but something flattens you car car it's the safest placef or them.)
mcdonnell is your local cong rep correct. Not Mitch McConnell of the Senate.

We've got it on the outside of the seat, behind the mrs.' seat. He'll probably move to the window (behind me) once our girl is born.

Bob McDonnell's the current Attorney General in VA, running for governor. I'll save the plugs for later....

In all seriousness it should be in the middle of the back seat if it is a bench seat. The seat comes w/ a special clip to keep the seat belt from moving.

The very back seat??

Isn't that kinda far?

It would funny if conserv1 wasn't on the Trifling Train. see he couldn't wait to ride in on your pants cuff. Don't you think he ought to at least man up on his own?

TARP II Price Tag: Another Trillion?

No wonder the Dems are so adamant about pushing the stimulus through...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-vie...

Hillary Clinton, warned on the campaign train in Knoxville, TN in November of 2007:

“There is one job we can’t afford: on-the-job training for our next president. That could be the costliest job training in history. Every day spent learning the ropes is another day of rising costs, mounting deficits and growing anxiety for our families… It’s easy to make up a program to address every economic problem. But it’s hard to figure out how to pay for it.”

Obama’s inexperience and and mixed-up priorities are sticking out like a sore thumb, and not without notice:

"Now, the words of his former rivals are returning to haunt President Obama. After a distinctly rocky start to his presidency, he has admitted he “screwed up” and is returning to one thing in his political career that he has perfected – campaigning. In Elkhart, Indiana, today and Fort Myers, Florida, tomorrow, Mr Obama will try to seize back control of the political agenda with question-and-answer sessions with voters in two of the swing states that gave him victory.

Already, however, he is struggling, and the product he is now selling is not himself but a near-trillion-dollar economic “stimulus” package loaded with pet Democratic spending projects that has awakened slumbering Republicans in Congress and is now supported by barely a third of Americans."

"In the early days of his presidency, Mr Obama has seemed passive and uncertain. Instead of drawing up his own economic stimulus bill, he sub-contracted the job to Democrats on Capitol Hill. They opted to spend money on projects for contraception and beautifying the National Mall – their doorstep – and gave Republicans an plenty of ammunition against the package.

Slipped into the small print was a “Buy America” provision that sent shock waves through capitals from Brussels to Beijing and triggered fears of trade wars and a new American protectionism. It was hard for the President to defend a bill he perhaps didn’t fully support himself. He neither championed the package as imperfect but essential, nor sought to make meaningful changes to it. Instead, he attempted to charm Republican centrists with his own personality and the trappings of the White House by inviting them over for cocktails and a Super Bowl party. It didn’t work. Of 219 Republicans on Capitol Hill, only three voted for the bill. Introducing a $500,000 pay cap for some Wall Street executives was empty – and possibly counter-productive – populism."

lol youll have to show me a president that was elected and did everything right from day one. i know bush 2 clinton bush 1 reagan and carter and ford and nixon and and johnson and on and on all had to deal with a learning curve. please stop giving us this same dribble, be original at least

He can't be orginal. It's the reason they run to Rush Limpballs for their bone. Sad.

Ha~Boo F-ing Hoo! Who gives a ##mn what Hillary warned. She didn't make President. She lost. She doesn't matter anymore & You don't either. Sore ass loser.

rikyrah: FROM - - The Grammy's:

1. GRAMMY PHOTOS: McCartney, Jay-Z, Bono, Mayer, MIA, Gwnyeth & More (SLIDESHOW)

Sunday night's Grammy Awards turned out boldfaced names from across the industry, from Paul McCartney to Lil Wayne to Neil Diamond to a heavily-pregnant M.I.A.

Other notables included some familiar faces from CBS (which aired the awards) like "Mentalist" Simon Baker.

A few supportive spouses also attended, like Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow. Below are just some of the photos from the evening.

Read about the evening's winners here.

PHOTOS:

2. In pictures: Grammy Awards 2009

3. Hudson wins first Grammy


February 8, 2009 (LOS ANGELES) -- A tearful Jennifer Hudson won her first Grammy tonight, thanking her family "in heaven and those who are with me today."

Hudson won best R&B album for her debut CD. The singer and Oscar-winning actress had released the album just weeks before her mother, brother and nephew were killed in Chicago in October.

She returned to the spotlight at this year's Super Bowl, singing the national anthem last week.

4. Hudson Wins First Grammy

A tearful Jennifer Hudson won her first Grammy, thanking her family "in heaven and those who are with me today" to kick off an evening already stoked with drama when police said they were investigating double nominee Chris Brown for an alleged assault on an unidentified woman.

Brown and long-time girlfriend Rihanna, each nominated and slated to perform, separately dropped out of the Grammys at the last minute and their whereabouts were not immediately known Sunday night. The victim of Brown's alleged assault wasn't identified, and it wasn't immediately clear whether Rihanna's absence was related to Brown's.

Hudson, 27, made no direct reference to the killings of her mother, brother and nephew that kept her in seclusion until just this month. But while fighting back tears, she made it clear that her family was foremost on her mind.

"I first would like to thank God who has brought me through," said Hudson, also an Oscar winner, as she accepted her award Whitney Houston. "I would like to thank my family in heaven and those who are with me today."

Hudson later performed "You Pulled Me Through," a typically strong vocal performance that ended in tears.

While Hudson's emotion was front and center, drama unfolded behind the scenes when police said just 90 minutes before the show began that they were investigating the 19-year old Brown. His performance was subsequently removed from the show, though it was unclear if he bowed out or was dropped.

THERE IS MORE.

CONGRATULATIONS - - - MS. JENNIFER!! GOD BLESS!! :>)

rikyrah: Good mornin' to U 2! :>)

Monday, FEBRUARY 9, 2009 -DAY 19- Of His FIRST 100 DAYS :>)

1. A REPEAT! Obama to push stimulus in rally, news conference (Mon Feb 9, 2009 1:18am EST)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chafing over congressional delays, an energized President Barack Obama on Monday rallies supporters in Indiana and addresses his first presidential news conference in a new drive for passage of an $800 billion economic recovery plan.

Focus on the stimulus package, which has been approved by the House of Representatives and is expected to clear the U.S. Senate this week, led the administration to postpone Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's much-awaited announcement of a bank rescue plan until Tuesday.

The House of Representatives has approved an $819 billion stimulus package, while the U.S. Senate is expected to pass an $827 billion measure this week, but fashioning a compromise could be difficult because the two versions differ on tax cuts and spending.

"We've got to work through the differences, find the best bill we possibly can, and get it in place as quickly as possible," Lawrence Summers, a top Obama economic adviser, told "Fox News Sunday," noting some 600,000 jobs were lost last month.

"If there was ever a moment to transcend politics, this is that moment," said Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council.

Obama's town hall meeting in Elkhart, Indiana, and his White House news conference come as the new president tries to regain momentum after several cabinet nominees ran into embarrassing tax problems and his push for a stimulus plan hit unexpected snags in the Democratic-controlled Congress.

The Indiana visit gives Obama the chance to make his case for an economic rescue package at a campaign-style event in a manufacturing city where the White House says the unemployment rate has soared to 15.3 percent from 4.7 percent in the course of the last year.

The prime-time news conference in the East Room of the White House lets him make his economic case to a national audience and allows him to try to clear the air after saying last week he "screwed up" with his handling of a key cabinet nomination.

Concerned that accusations of wasteful spending were bogging down the stimulus bill in Congress, Obama has adopted a sharper tone toward his Republican critics, warning them "the time for talk is over" and charging that tax cuts alone are a "losing formula" to stimulate the economy.

OBAMA SIGNALS IMPATIENCE

THERE IS MORE. :>)

2. HIS SCHEDULE: Monday Feb. 9, 2009

All Times Eastern

Joe Biden meets with President of the AFL-CIO John J. Sweeney.

Michelle Obama makes remarks at the Department of Interior, joined by Secretary Ken Salazar.
8:00 AM
9:00 AM
9:30 AM

President Barack Obama leaves the White House for Andrews Air Force Base.
9:45 AM

Obama's plane leaves for South Bend, Indiana.
10:00 AM
11:00 AM
11:15 AM

Obama arrives in South Bend.
12:00 PM
12:05 PM

Obama holds a Town Hall in Elkhart, Indiana.
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
2:30 PM

Obama leaves South Bend for Andrews Air Force Base.
3:00 PM
4:00 PM
4:30 PM

Obama arrives on the South Lawn.
5:00 PM
5:30 PM

Stimulus cloture vote is scheduled.

WOW! THIS IS REAL TAXING!!! WHEW! :>) God Bless!! :>)

3. Obama puts brake on Afghan surge

PRESIDENT Barack Obama has demanded that American defence chiefs review their strategy in Afghanistan before going ahead with a troop surge.

There is concern among senior Democrats that the military is preparing to send up to 30,000 extra troops without a coherent plan or exit strategy.

The Pentagon was set to announce the deployment of 17,000 extra soldiers and marines last week but Robert Gates, the defence secretary, postponed the decision after questions from Obama.

The president was concerned by a lack of strategy at his first meeting with Gates and the US joint chiefs of staff last month in “the tank”, the secure conference room in the Pentagon. He asked: “What’s the endgame?” and did not receive a convincing answer.

Larry Korb, a defence expert at the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank, said: “Obama is exactly right. Before he agrees to send 30,000 troops, he wants to know what the mission and the endgame is.”

Obama promised an extra 7,000-10,000 troops during the election campaign but the military has inflated its demands. Leading Democrats fear Afghanistan could become Obama’s “Vietnam quagmire”.

THERE IS MORE.

4. he Marine One helicopter with US President Barack Obama arrives at the White House as the back-up helicopter flies past the Washington monument in Washington February 8, 2009 upon Obama's return from Camp David.

HE's BACK!! :>) WELCOME "HOME" FIRST FAMILY!! :>)

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW! :>) HAVE A GOOD DAY! :>)

A job is not work, as shown by Steele using a shovel to dig himself into a deep deep hole.
Rather than doing a good job on the show, he did a lot of work digging.

ha what a buffoon.

Piepiepie: MAJOR CO-SIGN!! :>)

Look at Malia, rockin those cornrows!!! Beautiful!!!