Jack & Jill Politics

These type cases just keep popping up....just a shame

Cornerstone Ministries betrayed them by straying from mission, investors say

Andy Watkins of Flowery Branch thought the $150,000 in retirement money he sank into Cornerstone Ministries Investment’s bonds was “building old folks homes and churches and helping churches out.”
Instead, his money was going to fund risky second mortgages, investments in low-income housing, retirement homes and housing developments.
Watkins, 70, who had invested for 20 years, found out about the company’s change in strategy in an examiner’s report released in March as part of Cornerstone’s bankruptcy proceedings.
Cornerstone filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2008 and is beginning to liquidate assets. Meanwhile, the state has launched an investigation into the company.
Watkins, a faithful Presbyterian, feels betrayed by a company that started in his denomination but changed into something he didn’t recognize.
An attorney for one of the ministers who started and ran Cornerstone said the firm was just another victim of the worldwide real estate and credit meltdown.

Full Story: http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/2...

EVENING OPEN THREAD IS UP!!

The news threads are showing the picture of the African American woman who was driving the DC train that crashed yesterday. Before I jump to a conclusion that may not be there, would someone remind me of whether we ever saw a picture of the guy in the train wreck who was sexting?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_dc_metro_train_de...

Also Matt Lauer made a comment this morning that there was speculation that she ONLY had several years experience and Mayor Fenty defended her by saying that she had as much experience as many of conductors.

Matt Lauer is an asshole, don't let him get to you.

Wait, I haven't been keeping up with this story, one of the drivers was sexting?

Sexting/Texting what's the difference?
LOL! I do give way to a little hyperbole every now and then Muzik.

Sexting is phone sex through text messaging. One of the dumber things to come about with the advent of the cell phone and text messaging. I think you have to be pretty damn stupid to sex message someone.

Let me be clear Muzikal203, he was not sexting. I just thru that in for emphasis. There was never any mention other than the fact that the driver was TEXTING.

I think Myth is talking about that wreck in L.A. where the driver was texting and some passengers died.

A day after the train wreck and we see a full photo of this woman. I don't recall this happening before.

That looks like a pic the family may have released. The article wasn't lambasting her.

Well, ya know, of COURSE Sheniqua crashed the Metro train. We all know them...um...black people are incompetent. She probably was promoted to Metro Train Conductor over a more qualified white man. No, it wasn't the fact the Metro train was older than John McCain, it was the fact that Sheniqua was operating it. Yeah, that's it.

Will someone please, please provide me the link of a picture of the Columbine killer's PARENTS. Has anyone ever seen either set? What's up with that? And this woman's full profile and photo and on the news threads the next day?

It first caught me off guard this morning when Matt Lauer said, "Rumor has it that the train conductor did not have but #years of experience. Fenty came right to her defense. This evening when I saw the picture, I connected the dots. How bout DC is going to shell out more cash for this crash than any other city to date. The Sheniqua Factor!

I dont remember about the operator that was sexting either. I read this on the Washington Post and was floored:

"The Metro train car that slammed into another on the Red Line yesterday evening was two months past due for scheduled maintenance on its brakes, and the car was an older model that federal officials had recommended be replaced because of concerns about its safety in a crash, officials said today."

Lord have mercy.

I cringed when I first learned the conductor was a Black woman. Honestly, I was more concerned with idiots saying, "see there, women can't drive after all." So far, though, most of the coverage has emphasized that the train was on "autopilot" (which was appropriate) and that the emergency brake failed. There was also a nice story written about the conductor in today's Post.

Putting Teeth in Health-Care Reform
Advocates Press to Have Dental Issues Addressed: 'We're Always Left Out'

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

By Mary Otto
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The 2007 death of a Prince George's County boy because of an untreated dental abscess was a tragic reminder of the connection between oral health and overall health.

Yet dental care remains the most common unmet health-care need of children in the United States. Tooth decay is five times as likely to be found in children as is asthma, which, like most common illnesses, is covered by health insurance. But at least 26 million children lack dental coverage, more than twice as many as lack medical insurance, according to federal health statistics.

Among adults, oral cancer kills more Americans than cervical cancer, and research suggests that oral infections can affect pregnancy outcomes and complicate chronic diseases such as diabetes. Still, 82 million adults have no dental insurance.

As the Obama administration rolls out its massive health-care reform effort, many dental-health experts worry that a golden opportunity is being missed. "Is oral health care getting enough attention in the current health-care reform discussion? The fast answer is no, and the door is closing," said Yolanda Bonta, a New Jersey dentist who is active in the national Hispanic Dental Association.

"We're always left out a little," said Michael Battle, a Charlotte dentist and president of the National Dental Association, which represents 6,000 black dentists.

Oral-health professionals fear that dental issues have a tenuous place at best in the national debate. "If we could be at the table instead of on the menu it would be great," said Kathleen T. O'Loughlin, a Massachusetts dentist, educator and executive director of the American Dental Association, which has more than 157,000 members. Dental care, said O'Loughlin, "is an essential part of overall health, and it shouldn't be overlooked."

Burton Edelstein, a professor of dentistry and health policy management at Columbia University, says it has been "very challenging" to try to join the debate: "The mouth," he said, "is the only body part or essential organ that is excluded from policymakers' routine consideration of health and health care."
No Easy Task

Closing the gap between the worlds of dental care and medical care, with their separate histories and cultures, and their separate finance and delivery systems would be a formidable task. Edelstein, who is the founding chairman of the nonprofit Children's Dental Health Project, sees a glimmer of hope in the inclusion of several dental provisions in the 615-page first draft of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee's health-care reform bill.

The draft includes dental care in a list of benefits that children should receive and cites the importance of disease prevention and surveillance, safety net programs, and changes in the dental workforce and public-health infrastructure.

Advocates aren't focusing solely on the Senate bill, as there are other, competing bills still to come. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who has emerged as a leading congressional proponent of oral health, is working to keep the issue visible as the House of Representatives crafts its own version.

"It is important that the health reform plan includes full integration of oral health into our nation's health-care system," said Cummings. He called himself "cautiously optimistic" that such principles as incentives for dentists to treat more poor patients, oral-health literacy education for parents, preventive care programs for children and innovations to increase the dental workforce will be included in the House health-care reform bill.

The death of 12-year-old Deamonte Driver a few miles from the Capitol reminded lawmakers of the disparities that dental-care advocates had been warning about for years. One of these was David Satcher, who as U.S. surgeon general in 2000 called oral disease a "silent epidemic" afflicting millions of minority and low-income Americans.

A Lethal Infection

Deamonte, who had been living in a homeless shelter before moving into his grandparents' mobile home in Clinton, died from a dental infection that spread to his brain. A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved his life. As is the case with many poor families, transience as well as problems with transportation, phone service and mail delivery complicated the Drivers' search for care. The death spurred congressional hearings and gave lawmakers and the public new insights into failings within the Medicaid system charged with providing dental care to millions of poor children. The revelations led to reforms of the system in Maryland. Often invoking Deamonte's name, Cummings went on to help lead a successful fight for the inclusion of a dental entitlement for the children of the working poor under the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or S-CHIP. The bill, vetoed twice by then-President George W. Bush, was signed into law this year by President Obama.

If there has been progress in getting dental care into the current debate, it has been built upon the events of the past two years, said Edelstein.

"The attention that oral health is getting is, I believe, a direct result of concerted, ongoing and persistent efforts by oral-health advocates and their technical advisers to keep the lessons learned by Deamonte Driver's death and in the [S-CHIP] reauthorization before policymakers during health-reform development," Edelstein said.

But the fact that dental care was not included as an entitlement for the first decade of the S-CHIP program is a reminder of the chasm between dental care and general health care.

Allen Finkelstein, chief dental officer for AmeriChoice, a UnitedHealth Group company, acknowledges that gap and said it must be closed to ensure better care.

"Care of the teeth needs to be integrated with care of the rest of the body," said Finkelstein, who advocates putting the delivery of both medical and dental services under a system of "health homes" and requiring children to visit a dentist annually before returning to school.

"Fundamentally, our health-care system and the laws and regulations that govern it must put dental prevention and care on par with the rest of our health," said Finkelstein.

And any reform must include a changed approach toward delivering dental care -- a move away from the old model of treating decay and disease and toward disease prevention and oral-health promotion, Finkelstein said.

For reform to be most effective, dentists and public-health experts must be active participants in the discussion, said Dushanka Kleinman, a dentist and associate dean for research and academic affairs at the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

"There is still time for this inclusion," Kleinman said, adding: "We must especially address the design of new programs to meet the needs of low-income and under-served populations."

The Americans who have the most at stake in dental health reform are the poor, agreed ADA president O'Loughlin. While most middle- and upper-class Americans have access to good dental care, national reform efforts should focus on bolstering the Medicaid and public-health systems, she said.

Ultimately, providing a system of preventive care to the poor could save money and head off more preventable deaths, she said. "If Deamonte Driver never had caries [dental cavities,] he never would have died," she says. "It was a preventable disease."

Support for reform came last week from the front lines of everyday oral-health care: dental hygienists. They foresee a bigger role for themselves in preventive care to the poor and under-served, said Karen Sealander, Washington counsel for the 150,000-member American Dental Hygienists' Association.

As she spoke last Wednesday, her army of lobbyists was converging on Capitol Hill. Hundreds of hygienists, nearly all women, armed with talking points and dazzling smiles, spent the day meeting with lawmakers and their staffs, asking about their own dental histories, discussing dental workforce development and emphasizing the urgency of preventive care.

They came from 39 states but they rallied under one slogan: "Put Teeth in Health Reform."

I am SO happy the are doing this...I was wondering about dental care in the healthcare reform fight.

Dental and optical are always the red-headed stepchildren of healthcare, as if keeping your teeth from falling out and being able to see are luxuries.

You ain't lying...it has always bothered me why both of those are always separated from basic medical insurance.

Why are these cable stations parading these GOPers on air giving SAGE advice to President Obama on how he should address the uprising in Iran?

Please, Kay Bailey Hutchins go find your upper lip.

*dead*

Barney Frank Introduces Legislation To Decriminalize Marijuana
By Nicole Belle Tuesday Jun 23, 2009

Massachusetts Congressman Barney) Frank has filed a bill that would eliminate federal penalties for personal possession of less than 100 grams of marijuana.

It would also make the penalty for using marijuana in public just $100.

"I think John Stuart Mill had it right in the 1850s," said Congressman Frank, "when he argued that individuals should have the right to do what they want in private, so long as they don't hurt anyone else. It's a matter of personal liberty. Moreover, our courts are already stressed and our prisons are over-crowded. We don't need to spend our scarce resources prosecuting people who are doing no harm to others."

Frank filed a similar bill last year, but it failed.

The law passed in Massachusetts last November.

Given the general timidity of the majority party and the hay that most certainly would be made by the minority party, I don't have much hope that this sensible and long-due bill will succeed, but more power to Barney Frank.

http://crooksandliars.com/

Love it! Thanks for Tosh.

Oh damn...I'm just looking at the full press conference....damn...y'all didn't tell me he slapped Chuck Todd like THAT....good grief......I am shame for him, that's the truth, I am totally embarrassed FOR him.

Every once in a while Obama comes out to remind the people who's the HNIC. LOL. I ALMOST felt bad when I read the transcript afterwards and saw the video

MR. OBAMA: Chuck Todd?

QUESTION: Mr. President, I want to follow up on Iran. You have avoided, twice, spelling out consequences. You've hinted that there would be from the international community, if they continue to violate -- and you said "violate these norms." You seemed to hint that there -- there are human rights violations taking place.

MR. OBAMA: I'm not hinting. I think that when a young woman gets shot on the street when she gets out of her car, that's a problem.

QUESTION: Then why won't you spell out the consequences that the Iranian people...

MR. OBAMA: Because I think that we don't know yet how this thing is going to play out. I know everybody here is on a 24-hour news cycle. I'm not. OK?

QUESTION: Shouldn't -- I mean, shouldn't the world...

(CROSSTALK)

MR. OBAMA: I answered -- I answered...

QUESTION: ... present regime know that there are consequences?

MR. OBAMA: I answered your question, which is that we don't yet know how this is going to play out. OK?

Doesn't reading that almost make you feel some sympathy for Chucky T? LOL!

Nah. As the old saying goes, punks jump up to get beat down.

"Doesn't reading that almost make you feel some sympathy for Chucky T?LOL!"

Hell NO! None, Nada, Zilch!

Translated into JJPnese:

PRES. OBAMA: Chuck Todd?

CHUCK TODD: I want to follow up on Iran. You've avoided answering my other GOTCHA! questions at other pressers, well damnabbit I'm gonna GITCHA this time! You seem to be hinting there are human rights violations but you won't right out like Bush and name Iran as the top of the axis of evil. Why?

PRES. OBAMA: How the hell am I "hinting" when I said at the top of the presser people were getting killed in the streets? What the hell you want me to say?

CHUCK TODD: Then why won't you come out like Bush and condemn Iran?

PRES. OBAMA: Because I ain't Bush, bitch!

CHUCK TODD: (gasping, gurgling) Shouldn't --I mean, shouldn't the world...

(People going aw damn, Obama flashed on Chuck Todd AGAIN --snickers all around)

PRES. OBAMA: I already answered the damn question.

CHUCK TODD: I'm gonna ask it again, how come you won't come out like Bush and have some tough talk on Iran?

PRES. OBAMA: I answered your silly ass question, and the answer is "I ain't Bush, BITCH." (channels Malik Shabazz) Get me somebody else, Chuck Todd is dismissed.

BWA HA HA!!!!! Send Chuckie T. out for recess.

Town,

PRES. OBAMA: How the hell am I "hinting" when I said at the top of the presser people were getting killed in the streets? What the hell you want me to say?


ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!



Lord Have Mercy.....I swear to Gawd.....Crawling....Crying.....dying!

________________________________*tears streaming*____OMG

LMAO@ "Chuck Todd is dismissed"

Nah Nah Nah....

He begged for that. Give it to him!

LMAO!

When the Prez said "I know everybody here is on a 24-hour news cycle. I'm not"..........I think that's when my heartbeat started getting faster. The look in his eyes....I swear....its the look that says "alright now, dont let yo mouth write a check that yo ass cant cash"...Chucky T had no money in the bank y'all.

Chucky T's problem is he's too busy trying to make NEWS (he does this crap in Gibbsy's pressers too) that he doesn't act relevant/thoughtful/GOOD questions. The press needs to respect that fact that old man mccain't lost.

He's breaking one of the most important rules of journalism don't make yourself the story.

Rignt. "The press needs to respect that fact that old man mccain't lost."

Channel surfing and saw that old buzzard on Larry King. Ever the warmonger, and of course, he knows what's best on how to deal with Iranian uprising.

McSame lives visions of being strapped down in that POW camp. Angry old coot, who'll NEVER become POTUS.

So, was the press ALWAYS this bad, or did I not care enough to notice before?? Seriously, some of the questions make me think all of these folks are either faking their degrees or the journalism programs at all of these colleges and universities really really SUCK.

Well hell, even Sarah Palin has a journalism degree.

Hey now, don't lump all us J-school grads with the brainless wonder (LOL). Back when I was a student they taught us crazy concepts like checking facts, and getting several corroborating sources before reporting something.

I left the industry right around the time it all started getting backwards. I figured if I was going to have to BS stuff I might as well jump to the public relations side, at least I could get mad paid for doing the same thing (most reporters have obscenely small salaries).

Now that settles it. Palin,the barometer by which all journalist are measured.

Oh dayum................touche

I think if they were HALF as critical of the previous administration a lot of bs could have been avoided.

That brother ate his Wheaties this morning. O came out swinging on nukkas! LOL

BWA HAHAHAHAHA!!

Chuck Todd likes a back-hand bitch slap! He cannot stop himself!

And Obama had PLENTY of baby powder today for everyone. LOL

LOL! "I answred the fucking question, Chuckie T. NEXT!!

He bitch-slapped him real good.

He said that shyt so stern...I SAT UP STRAIGHT..dayum PBO..I was sitting there like Chuck Todd was my brother who didn't know to stop talking back to our Daddy before it was much much much too late :(

LOL, your brother was me. Whenever I got into trouble with my Mom, 99% of the time it was because of my mouth. My sisters would just look at me like quit while you're ahead, but I would keep on being a smartass. It never ended well for me.

ROFLMAO

Girl, what you talkin bout. My brother would talk and talk and when he finally learned to stop talking he stuck his tongue out at pop while his back was turned.

Well, pop's quick and one day he turned aorund just as my brother stuck out that tongue....needless to say, it wasn't pretty. My father got a hold of his tongue... Brother became a volunteer mute for a week after that lil episode.

ROFLMAO! Sounds like a story my college roommate shared - only it was HER and she thought she had rounded the corner and mom couldn't see - alas.......her mom COULD.

Oh-oh.....I'm going to hafta wait until I get home. It's my work late night and it'll be a bit yet.

I'm not real fond of Chuck Todd and less so of his facial hair, but holy begeezus, if it's like he's your brother and ...... keeps going.... and you know your Daddy gonna knock the shit out of him when he stops talking, maybe I won't look.

The President shot him a look and said "I answered the question" in a tone that made my heart start beating much faster...Chucky T started talking again and I was sitting here mumbling under my breath like he was sitting beside me......"sshhhh....shut up.....will you PLEASE just shut it up!"

Personally, I liked how President Obama slapped around Jake (Dickhead) Tapper.

Jake looked like he was about to cry. And PBO was laughing at him like, "I bet you won't try that shit again, will ya?".

It was like watching Magic run over Danny Ainge in the playoffs....priceless.

I just saw a repeat on Olbermann.

WTF is Chuck trying to prove each time? He's his own worse enemy!

I was egging Chuckie T. on. Please, please, keep asking the same fucking question. especially when the president told your ass he'd answered it.

Chuckie T. and his frat buddies remind me of lil boys learning how to ride a bike. These pressers are like training wheels.

School these ignorant mofos, school'em PBO!

ROFLMAO.....Okay - well I'll be sure to LOOK for it.

I have the video in my diary on Kos. Here's a link: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/6/23/745916/...) I almost feel bad for him

"almost"...LMAO

rotflmao!

lol. His irritation has greater impact because he's always so jovial. I don't think I'd ever want to see the President really angry. It wouldn't be pretty.

Agree. These idiots or their parents wasted money on their college tuition. President Obama's got to school these fools. I give him credit for his patience.

I think the smoking helped him curb some of his irritation.

“There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white,” he told an aide, before adding: “Or a rape.”


I know he's dead but for self satisfaction...

Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa>>>>>lap

Ah how classy of him.

I hate to dwell on the previous blog post about "Our Kind of People" but the ridiculousness of that blogger compels me to do so.

It is comments like this which is why I--who am very young--am extremely proud of seeing the Obamas in the White House and take quite a bit of exception when Michelle, her educational achievements, her "factory worker father" are attacked by delusional bloggers. One doesn't have to have lived in Jim Crow to be proud of who is in the WH after having an EFFING PRESIDENT SAY THAT IT IS ACCEPTABLE FOR THE ABORTION OF BIRACIAL BABIES JUST 'CAUSE THEY ARE BIRACIAL. One doesn't have to be an Obama lover to recognize the significance of the Obamas in the WH after folks like NIxon occupied the same bedroom.

I'm too tired to keep on ranting as I could go on and on but I wil say this--Trumpet lady--you are entitled to your opinion now please go to hell.

Did the actual article give any inkling to who this woman is?

Ouch!

TELL IT ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

SC Governor Mark Sanford has been spotted at the Atlanta Airport, which is 80 miles away from the Appalachian Trail that he was hiking nekkid.

http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-gall...

Did he make any prolonged stops in the men's restroom?

I mean, I hope he's okay, but if he IS, oh the jokes we will have. . .

I just bet there is more to come on this story. Something just is not right about the whole disappearance.

So basically Mark Sanford been over in Midtown for the last 4 or 5 days huh?

What's the hubbub, bub?
Mark Sanford was missing in his first term, and he's missing in his second term.
He gets nothing done; he's just a whiney-ass biatch.

Most likely at Bullfeathers.

LOL...yep...something tells me he was somewhere between North Avenue and 17th street for the better part of his 5 day sojourn.

According to the latest videos, it seems the Guv has contacted his staff...

But not his wife.

I small a ...

Bimbo eruption?

I keep on telling you:

a) it's an underaged illegal named PEDRO

or

b) her name is Shaniqua (she could be 65 and it would still be a problem)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxCRfGtBaZ0

(The Birdcage is one of my all-time favorites LMAO)

I'm going with PEDRO or some semblance of a three-legged human.

I'm going with It's "Shaniqua"!

LMAO!

...her name is Rosey Palm...

lol

DAMN!

or a Jimbo....either way, he is so busted...its just a matter of days.

For once, Washington Post columnist Robin Givhan has managed to write about the First Lady without guzzling haterade. A good read...

http://tinyurl.com/Michelle-Obama-Reflects-an-Ima

Michelle Obama reflects an image rarely seen on TV
By Robin Givhan • The Washington Post • June 23, 2009


WASHINGTON — So far, the first lady has chosen to be a food bank volunteer with an outsize entourage and an education activist with the largest soapbox imaginable. But Michelle Obama also fills a role that is not of her choosing but that may, in fact, be the most influential: She serves as a symbol of middle-class progress, feminist achievement, affirmative-action success and individual style.

And she has done all this on the world stage ‚ while being black...

affirmative-action success?

Dave Chappelle Said it best 'haters wanna hate, lovers wanna love" ~lol~

Good catch, Texas Girl.

You're right, she sipped on the haterade. But at least there was no outright taking it to the head.

LOL - ok, she didn't take a shot...we'll give her that.

Get outta my head Texas Girl......I know I'm right there with you on this.

HELP SAVE OHIO PUBLIC LIBRARIES... As you may know Gov. Strickland (Oh) has announced he will cut much needed funds from our Ohio Public Libraries which may force them to actually close beginning next week ! THIS MUST BE STOPPED ! Our libraries are the only source for much needed resources particularly in bLACK and poorer communities. We know that President Obama gave Gov. Strickland sizable funds through the stimulus plan. Why can't some of those funds be used to keep our libraries open. Could you PLEASE help shed light on this EXTREMELY important issue.

To Read More/Contact Gov. Strickland visit Ohio Library Council at
http://www.olc.org/SaveOhioLibraries.asp

Greg Jones

You need to find community organizations to act as sponsors. Mayor knucklehead tried that in Philadlephia. The people jumped on him, found funding and forced them open for the rest of the year after a short court battle. I don't know what will happen next year but I do know neighborhood organizations are trying to find money by moving into the libraries to provide other service to cut down on rent and operation costs.

Thanks RobM. Hadn't heard about the situation in Philly. Appreciate your input.

The Rude Pundit
Barack Obama Is Not Afraid of You and He Will Kick Your Ass:
Disagree how you will with Barack Obama on some pretty serious issues (are we really debating whether or not to release a Gitmo detainee held because we mistook the video of him being tortured by al-Qaeda for him being trained as a suicide bomber?). Wonder who the fuck he's pleasing when it comes to some other issues (dude made some pretty explicit damn promises on the campaign trail when it came to Don't Ask, Don't Tell, among other shit). Accuse him of whatever you like, yell at him about whatever you like, call him a dirty smoker. But the man is trying to be a goddamned alchemist in transforming a vat of shit into a gold bathtub.
Read More
http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/

BWA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!! Damn, I love you Rude Pundit!!

The Rude Pundit is a FOOL!!!! LMAO!!! HE IS STRAIGHT NO CHASER WITH IT EVERY TIME!

Seriously, this is by far my favoirte post by Pundit. Just in case folks
need the visuals.

The conjoined twins was a hoot!!! LMAO!

A thought on the attack on President Obama in regards to Iran.
I think the Republicans and certain Democrats are making a big deal of this on behalf of Israel. Iran's nuclear intentions are foremost on Israel's mind. This concern while legitimate has become another smokescreen for Israels actions on the West Bank and Jerusalem to expand the illegal settlements. By calling on President Obama for a hardline response the Republicans, certain Democrats and Israel hope to keep in play the idea of Imadinnahjacket hardline extinction of Israel in play and the issue of settlements and a real peace of the table.
As to the settlements being necessary for defense it is a crock. Modern artillery and certain ground to air missles can cross Israel both East/West and North/South. so it is conceivable w/ a large enough standing army and a good air defense you could pound Israel to dust w missles and artillery alone.
I regret he chose not to reemphasize that the struggle internally will benefit both the US and peace in the area ONLY if it is allowed to play out on Iranian terms.

Can't disagree with you!

"The View" Co-Host Accused of Plagiarism


Boston (AP)-- "The View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck has been accused of plagiarism.

A lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts alleges that Hasselbeck lifted "word for word" content from a book on celiac disease written by a self-published author on Cape Cod.

Hasselbeck's book, "The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide" has appeared over the last month in several best-selling lists.

The lawsuit was filed by author Susan Hassett, who says she sent Hasselbeck a copy of her "Living With Celiac Disease" book as a courtesy after the TV celebrity disclosed she had the illness last year.

A lawyer for Hassett declined to comment Tuesday.

A phone message left with Hasselbeck's agent, Andy Cohen, was not immediately returned.


http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=753...

Well, The View should be interesting tomorrow if they address it. Wasn't she one of the loudest ones when Obama allegedly plagiarized Deval Patrick? And didn't she bring up Biden's mistake from a few years ago? And this wasn't just a speech, that heffa put the stuff in a book.

LOL...ummmm...yeah, she did do both those things....I think Whoopi just called Sherri and said "guess what this heifer did....."

Well, well, well. Maybe Hasselbeck will need to reach back and access some of those SURVIVOR skills she used on the show....... She didn't win as sole survivor.....

Well she doesn't have any original thoughts so of course she would lift somebody else's work.

Couldn't happen to a more deserving person.

Yes!

Reposting this from last night's thread so i can get some more ideas. Thanks zacboston, rikyrah, and APeach for you're input.


I going to DC this Thursday thru Sunday, and we are finalizing our plans. On Thursday, we will visit some sites, and then go to B Smith's restaurant at Union Station. Friday, we will see some more sites, then tour Congress courtesy of Congressman Anh Cao's office, and some nightly activities. Saturday, we will be touring the White House courtesy of Sen Mary Landrieu's office, some more site seeing, and some nightly activities. On Sunday, we will do some more sight seeing iin the morning, and head home later that evening.

What's missing from that itenarary is some good eating places! A while back, I asked for some suggestions on places to see, now I need some suggestions of places to eat.

Help a sista out JJP!

I know you're not coming to DC without making a pilgrimage to the Mecca of Black higher education. HU!!! You have to make a trip to Florida Avenue Grill. It's a rite of passage. I think B. Smith's and Georgia Brown's are over-rated, but most Black folks love both, mainly for the status I say. I prefer Vidalia's at 19th & M Streets, N.W. If you're going to the White House, no reason not to stop by Old Ebbitt Grill, a historic landmark. It's Saturday, so it's not likely you'll see any potentates, but who knows. My personal favorites are the Blue Duck Tavern on 24th and M in the Park Hyatt, Corduroy on 9th near the Convention Center, and Kinkead's on Pennsylvania Avenue close to GW University. Hook in Georgetown is pretty good as well. It serves only MSC certified seafood, so guaranteed organic and fresh. There's a bistro on the ground floor of the Ritz Carlton Residences at 21st & M that's pretty good (name escapes me). If nothing else, you're likely to spot a local celebrity or visiting celebrity going into the upstairs LA Club for a work out. Whenever I get free passes from my mom's law firm, I always spot someone. DC Coast on K street is popular for Black folks with money or pretending to have money. Food's ok, but it's more about being seen--with folks on the seen. It used to be MJ's favorite spot when he was living in DC, so you know I was camped out there. Never saw him though. :-(. Really, it's hard to go wrong in DC at any price range. If I had to pick one, I would say Clyde's in the new China Town (next to the MCI Center) is always a good bet on any budget.

NMP: Kinkeads' is my all-time favorite, as well, with Zaytinya running a close second. The bistro at the RCR is the Eric Ripert place--West End, I believe...haven't eaten there, but it's ERIC!

damn NMP you broke it down. Thxs. The main purpose of our trip to DC is some Caribbean carinival or something, and I think it is supposed to be at or near Howard U, so we will definitely be checking out HU!

BTW, on Friday, we are gonna eat at Bokum's Cafe. Have you heard of it?
Is it any good?

Hope you enjoy your trip here lamh32, Caribbean Carnival is indeed starting on Saturday, spanning most of Georgia Avenue, and it goes directly past Howard, ending at the Banneker High field across the street. Bokum Caf`e is located in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, and it really hasn't received the greatest reviews in the last few years. It used to be excellent! However, just 2 blocks over past 16th street heading east, you have the Historic U Street corridor, chock full of restaurants, boutiques and nightlife, representing all kinds of cuisine (Ben's Chili Bowl--a landmark). What's available is too much to list, but if you identify the type of cuisine you're looking for, I can pretty much make a recommendation for you. Interestingly, no one mentioned what's good up on the Hill, either, even though you said you would be stopping by Congress. Pennsylvania Avenue SE approaching 8th Street, then Barracks Row which is the stretch of 8th Street SE between Penn Ave and the Navy Yard. Again, lots of food, pick your cuisine and I can make a recommendation. NMP is correct about B Smith's...but Georgia Brown's serves up a decent Sunday brunch if a classic southern brunch is your thing. Let a sista know about your preferences, and I'll shoot you back a list of dining hotspots!!

My friend is into more exotic fare. I'm a soul food type of girl myself, but I don't mind the whole line of Asian culture cuisine (indian, chinese). Being from New Orleas though, we both are seafood girls.

I think Perez Hilton should just shut-up and let people with a clear a vision on pop culture to speak-out not him. Who does he think he is? To have the authority to judge the Black eye Peas.

Not sure if that last sentence of yours was snark, but Perez shouldn't do video rants. It makes him look like a bigger moron than he is. "Violence is not the answer. Eh-verrrr!...I feared for my life, so I took to Twitter..."

And what about the racial code, Perez? Calling Will.i.am and his posse "thugs" and saying you didn't know if the thugs had a gun.

rikyrah
you had hoped to have a discussion on AfrcanAmerican class issues by posting Snob post on Oak Bluff and the Obama's. (Another take: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnvWH85gaMk)
Well snob followed up w/ another good one. i don't know that Bebe's kids weren't on her mind but it should provide a good forum to start.
http://blacksnob.com/snob_blog/2009/6/23/how-to...

I love that scene from T"he President's Analyst." It's a KILLER classic

ROTFLMBAO@ "For the love of Turnip greens and Bobby Rush, may I never reach step 10."

I WHOLEHEARTELDY AGREE, SNOB.

thanks for the hat tip

That was a sympathetic post in more than one sense of the word, but I couldn't help noticing that even there, it was still about the poor, put-upon "black nerd", and not at all about how a "black nerd" regarded "regular" black kids. That never seems to be mentioned.

Rob.M I just wanted you to specify your position with PBO's actions so far vis a vis gay marriage. I understood your reply and some of my questions were answered.

If you ask the other ones I will answer.

Been gone all day, missed the press conference. How'd it go?

it's at Ta-Nehisi Coates

http://ta-nehisicoates.theatlantic.com/

Probably shouldn't have said the Governor went Hiking on the Appalachian Trails...well...probably shouldn't have said he was there for the last 5 days.....especially since it was Naked Hiking Day this past Sunday:

http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/06/...

This is gonna be one helluva SNL skit.

Now reports are saying people saw him boarding a plane in Atlanta. This is just a strange story. His people said he was supposed to be going back to work tomorrow, so we'll see.

There you go again!

ROTFLMAO!

ROTFLMBAO

bucket nekkid Mark Sanford beating his emotion drum and crying? oh to be bear a bear shitting in the woods and coming across that!

lolol!

The Republican Party -- The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Yep, straight from this movie scene (**Caution- Missing Teeth)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gLN3QoN-q8

Spirit, you are so not right. Now I'm gonna have nightmares.

So I was going to ignore this Perez HIlton nonsense until I found out he called Will.i.am. a faggot. This from the guy who wanted Isaiah Washington's head on a platter?!!!!

Today's Conversation If These Gay Rights Groups Don't Come Down On Perez Hilton They're Done! http://tinyurl.com/nzg9w4

I read that GLAAD did seak out agaisnt Perez Hilton.

LGBTs have self-hating people just like blacks, whites, etc.

Of course but Perez is just a loudmouth jerk!

That he is.

Try reading Pam's House Blend. She is an AfricanAmerican homosexual blogger and she cover's issues well. She is primarily responsbile for creating the threads and has others whom have the right to set up articles for threads. This is from Autumn Sandeen a male to female transsexual in regard to perez's actions.
http://pamshouseblend.com/diary/11638/perez-hil...

I know who Pam is. Thanks. I want the orgs to police him

Did you read the letter from GLADD on the post I cited?

Of course I did I wrote a blog post on their tepid response. The NAACP needs to hold GLAAD accountable for censuring Perez like they are dictated to holding Blacks over every other gay issue!

Well...Perez is not exactly a role model.

He most certainly isn't; not by any stretch.

None at all!

Internet Law
‘Spam King’ Pleads Guilty to Fraud
By Molly McDonough

A Michigan man who a federal prosecutor described as "the world's most notorious illegal spammer" has pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering.
Alan M. Ralsky, 64, is known as the "Spam King" for the years he acted as an e-mailer for hire, the Detroit News reports.
Ralsky's plea could cost him $1 million and leave him imprisoned for seven years. But according to the Detroit News, Ralsky has agreed to assist the government with future investigations in return for a lighter sentence.
Ralsky's e-mail activity has included unsolicited promotions for mortgages and male enhancement pills.

But what tripped him up was a successful scheme that boosted the value of "pink sheet" Chinese penny stocks, the Detroit New reports. After he sent millions of messages and the prices on the stocks rose, Ralsky and his co-defendants sold at a profit. The government maintains Ralsky made $3 million from illegal spamming in one summer in 2005.
Law enforcement was able to follow the money to help identify Ralsky and his accomplices.

The Washington Post reports that Ralsky and his accomplices employed botnets, using tens of thousands of hijacked PCs to relay junk messages.
Co-defendants who also pleaded Monday were: Ralsky's son-in-law, Scott K. Bradley, 48, of West Bloomfield; and co-conspirators James E. Fite, 36, of Culver City, Calif.; John S. Bown, 45, of Fresno, Calif.; and William C. Neil, 46, also of Fresno.

http://www.abajournal.com/news/spam_king_pleads...

Judiciary
Nevada Supreme Court Justice Slams Car Into Store
By Molly McDonough

A Mercedes sedan driven by Nevada Supreme Court Justice Kristina Pickering slammed into the front of a UPS Store in Las Vegas Monday.
Pickering told the store's owner that she was pulling into a parking space when her acelerator stuck, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
The paper reports that the car narrowly missed striking the owner. There were no injuries.
The Associated Press reports that Pickering was not cited.

Hat tip: How Appealing

http://www.abajournal.com/news/nevada_supreme_c...

Some bloggers out here just don't get it! And it makes me feel like throwing-up. Some of the posts I've read from my right-leaning friends at the dailybeast.com make little sense and lack ingredients. Some others are in serious need to go back to school and take a few courses in WH 101 and Politics 201. As for you Rob.M, I respect your ideas but they lack specifics. It's unacceptable and pathetic to see how misleading some of them really are. It appears to me that, you are sympathizing with the GOP. I suggest you read the LATimes often,then you will be able to overcome some ignorance. Yes! PBO is surrounded by a bunch of competent folks but you should know that none of them is PBO. PBO is the only person in the WH that has the sole authority to make executive decisions. The problem with America is that, no one wants to listen. Everyone assumes they are right, not knowing they are foolishly wrong.

Please tell me how they lack specifics and what is I don't get. I suggest holding on to your china doll is you're going to throw up. She's cold and white and doesn't talk back.
That said if big issues are the only thing President Obama handles it means he issues orders to have his agenda carried out. If they are not doing their jobs or are handling his instructions it is safe to say he is a homphobe for using the same arguments as President Bush to uphold DOMA. It is safe to say he doesn't care about AfricanAmerican farmers becasue the orginal action was not merely to put off the money but to cut it back as well.
Now as to listening what is that you do not think I am not listening to? His press conferences, his speeches, what? I do read them in the paper or online.

Do Monkeys Pay for Sex?
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009...

I agree with you that the WH operation could run a lot smoother, but Mr Obama is developing into a Teflon president. People like him no matter how much his flunkies screw up.

Neither the president or his staff are FAIL PROOF. If folks would only get that through their thick strips of bacon brain. Aren't folks allowed a grace period, to learn and grow?

I know the issues are big and urgent, but you've got folks who signed on to serve a country in crisis, folks who I feel genuinely think they can help the president. If anyone has read PBO's books, they'd know he doesn't point the finger of blame. He recogninzes his and his staff's mistakes, asks that they all learn from them, and KEEP MOVING AHEAD!!!!

There's a higher level of expectation being placed on the Obama administration.

Everybody's yelling, whinning, and complaining about their ills and their own personal agendas. He didn't do it this way, they didn't say this to the reporter, he didn't move when I said jump. It's easy to play quarterback from the sidelines.

I'm sure President Obama and his staff don't wake up every day thinking... "Ummm, I wonder How badly I can FUCK UP today?"

________(as I tip up to the pulpit to put the ice water pitcher down for Rev. Spirit)

Amen Sista!

LOL! Thanks sister, Miranda. And I sure do miss GreenLady. She'd pass that church fan lickety split!

It's easy to like him when you assume that it's his flunkies that are doing the screwing up...

Now, if his "flunkies" are allowed to screw up..what does that say about the boss of the flunkies?

Go on with your bad self, Charlie Pride!

My dad loves himself some Charlie P.

It is very clear that the white house political operation is an ass hat operation. You can't read posts about how Rahmbo is smoozing the press then end up w/ the ass hattery of them asking about his smoking when presenting health issues or taking the sides of Republicans in asking questions about Iran. Legisaltive priorities are clearly being run by the Senate and House w/ no press forward from the WH.Lastly two signature issues for the Presidential campaign have been handle insensitivly at best and toally fucked up if unkind, black farmers and homosexual issues.
Pam's House Blend gave a poster an opportunity to explain ho asshat they been w/ homosexual issues. I think that it is a primer for other issues as well.

An example:
Lesson #4: Get the messaging right. This episode was wrought with confusing and complicating points. First, the issuance of a Presidential Memorandum instead of an Executive order began a distracting side conversation that immediately began to undermine the announcement.

On further investigation, I found that the Office of Personnel Management is actually changing Federal regulations and has drafted and published them to the Federal Register. That is an accurate portrayal of what happened and would have avoided many of the confusing perceptions in the discussion about it.


http://pamshouseblend.com/diary/11632/the-white...

Rob,
Has it ever occurred to you that some of the questions are really stupid? I don't see the relevance in asking him whether or not he still smokes. I don't think that Obama's ability to stop smoking is going to change the world. This is a collective issue. As for the memorandum, yes they could have explained the difference that and an executive order but honestly I really don't think it would have made a difference because so many on the left purposely look for treachery when there isn't any.

The press has always been stupid and it's worse now. As everyone notices when the President calls on a blog reporter they all go that's not real and want to take their ball home and cry. They are crying because they did their jobs as though they were policy makers not reporters or investigators. Now that blogs do so much of the investigative work because the corporations that own media do not want exposure the White House press are trying even harder to be relevant. You only need look at the reporting out of iran to see how far and little relevance they have.

I think you are being short sighted on the political issue because you are framing it in terms of the left and the homosexual agenda by example. You can't tell me you are pleased how the President handled the black farmers, a government health insurance policy or financial instituions regulatory reform. The latter, which is one of my bete noirs, has been mishandled in the same way since President Obama announced Fredo was going to give the policy speech and he didn't want to steal his thunder. Lo and behold Fredo appears and he had no clothes.

The political operation shouldn't be based on Twains definition of the Democratic party but the recognization it is a coalition. A coalition means not only giving up positions to responsibile people representing interests but outreach to avoid ruffling feathers and controlling the agenda. The responsibile people end up being like HRC, whom I have to admit is holding it down at State-damn that hurt, doing their jobs and not advocating for their interest group(s). The political people hold hands and introduce interest group representatives to the actors on Capitol Hill. You do this to control the agenda and keep contact w/ the direction of your legisative agenda on Capital Hill. When you fail at this your coalition snipes. Can you tell me what/where you think he has been doing a good job of this?

The efforts of the WH to deal w/ arts, entertainment, gardening and healthy food don't count. The speech to the Islamic world doesn't either because it isn't a legislative issue. The handling of the GM and Chyrsler bankruptcies were because he kept Congress out. Healthcare isn't either despite the agreement w/ the drug companies because one, they didn't give him any cover on the cost issue from the CBO and two, those containment measures have to be legislatively entered into the existing legisaltion to be effective.

Now I admit Obama has not handled gay rights well but I also think some gay rights activists look for anything to bitch about.

As for legislative issues that's congress' problem not Obama's. Obama is no longer part of the legislative branch.

Many people forget that in our country, the executive and the legislatice Branch are seperate branches. they are forget that they are equal and power, but only the legislature can pass laws.

If we had a parlimentary government like the UK where the executive and legislative branches are fused, then Obama could pretty much push through anything he wanted, but again we don't have that. The problem with a parlimentar government is that it has a unitary executive, which is legal in parlimentary governments.

The days of Sam Rayburn as Speaker of the House dictating to the President what the legisaltive agenda is has long been over. FDR is the modern template. He issued orders through Presidential orders and sent legislation down through his contemporaries on the Hill.
We have seen what happens when legislation is sent down w/o a shepard from the Political office in the Stimulus bill. You see the attacks from his own party in the legislation President Obama has sent down on financial institution regulatory reform. Worse going back to Homosexual issues you have Sen Harry Reid runnng away from the issue as fast as possibe by saying the WH hasn't sent him legislation.
AS to bitching, every last interest group does it. I think what upsets people most is the manner in which they do it(see anything I've had to say about Holder and the responses).

Sam Rayburn came after FDR. You also know that FDR threw blacks under the bus to pass social security.

My mistake I should have cited Henry Clay.

Didn't he also imprison innocent Japanese people?

You are right, he did. FDR was a great President, but even he had faults.

Well...the purpose of the smoking question was to make him squirm..which he does so well.

Didn't look like he was squirming to me.

Well he should be testy.

I agree that was a stupid question. I think some people like truth seeker expect Obama to be a robot.