Tag: Barack Obama

Tea Baggers Exposed Gaming the Digg System

Trish

digg

Here’s a story we doubt you’ll see reported on FOX News. AlterNet recently completed a year-long investigation into so-called “gaming the system” at the content aggregator, Digg. A Yahoo group calling itself the Digg Patriots (whose site has since been taken down) figured out how to rig Digg’s voting. If you don’t know, at Digg and many similar sites, you can vote for the stories you want to see featured prominently, or in this case, those you want “buried.” As AlterNet reported:

It’s easier to tell you what the group is against than what it’s for: Obama, progressives, diplomacy, health care reform, immigrants, science, the separation of church and state, acknowledgment of human-induced climate change, the government, pro-choice protections, public schools, and higher education. They also claim to believe Obama is a Muslim and a socialist, and that he was born in Kenya.

Literally thousands of stories have already been artificially removed from Digg due to this group. When a story is buried, it is removed from the upcoming section (where it is usually at for ~24 hours) and cannot reach the front page, so by doing this, this one group is removing the ability of the community as a whole to judge the merits or interest of these stories on their own (in essence: censoring content).

The immensity of the impact is commensurate with the reach of Digg. Again, according to Alternet:

It is ranked 50th among US websites by Alexa (117th in the world), by far the most influential social media site…Digg generates around 25 million page views per month, over one third of the page views of the NY Times. Front page stories regularly overwhelm and temporarily shut down websites in a process called the “Digg Effect.”

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Obama Proves Hoover, GOP, Tea Party, and FOX Wrong

Trish

DepressionApplesScore one for the Obama administration; zero for Republicans, Tea Baggers, and FOX News. A newly released study by two esteemed economists (yes, I know that’s an oxymoron) shows that Obama’s fiscal policies did indeed pull the country back from the brink of a depression brought about by Bush-Cheney mismanagement.

…the economists argue that without the Wall Street bailout, the bank stress tests, the emergency lending and asset purchases by the Federal Reserve, and the Obama administration’s fiscal stimulus program, the nation’s gross domestic product would be about 6.5 percent lower this year.

In addition, there would be about 8.5 million fewer jobs, on top of the more than 8 million already lost; and the economy would be experiencing deflation, instead of low inflation.

We all know how Hoover’s policies worked out. This study show the GOP/Tea/FOX versions would work no better.

The authors of the work, reported in the New York Times, are former Federal Reserve vice chair Alan S. Blinder and Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi.

The study makes clear that Obama’s use of multiple strategies to bolster the economy was essential.

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Verbatim

Trish

I’ll have to look into it.

— Response by Florida governor candidate Rick Scott to a questioner on the campaign trail who asked what Scott would do about Pres. Obama’s birth certificate, and whether he feels that Obama’s name can legally be placed on the 2012 ballot. By indulging “birther” fantasies, Scott aligned himself with the most extreme rightwing elements. Scott was CEO of HCA/Columbia Healthcare until he was given a choice to resign or face criminal charges for his role in defrauding the government of millions of Medicare/Medicaid dollars. He now runs the Solantic chain of urgent care clinics, which serve mainly uninsured patients, and is one of the principle funding sources behind the anti-healthcare reform campaign.

Obama Breaks with Tradition to Honor Fallen Service Members

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Pres. Obama reflects on the sacrifice of service members after Marines present him with a wreath at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery
Pres. Obama reflects on the sacrifice of service members while Marines play Taps at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery
In addition to trying to visit military families at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery during a lightning storm this Memorial Day, Pres. Obama and the First Lady crashed a picnic at Fisher House outside of Chicago, which is sort of the Ronald McDonald House for the services.

Jay Agg, a spokesman for AMVETS, accused some people of using the day “as an opportunity to score cheap political points on the backs of our veterans and in doing so dishonor them and distract from the true meaning and purpose of Memorial Day.”

Because members of the military and their families are stationed worldwide and must often travel great distances for specialized medical care, Fisher House™ Foundation donates “comfort homes,” built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful times – during the hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury.

There is at least one Fisher House™ at every major military medical center to assist families in need and to ensure that they are provided with the comforts of home in a supportive environment.

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Will Republicans Take Impeaching Obama off the Table If They Win Control of Congress in November?

Jon Ponder

From left: Prospective House Speaker Boehner, House Oversight Chairman Issa, House Judiciary Chairman Smith, Senate Judiciary Chairman Sessions. Would they impeach Obama? You betcha.
From left: Prospective House Speaker Boehner, House Oversight Chairman Issa, House Judiciary Chairman Smith, Senate Judiciary Chairman Sessions. Would they impeach Obama? You betcha.
In May 2006, with the midterm elections just six months away, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi went out of her way to assure conservatives that if Democrats won control of Congress that November, any efforts to impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney would be “off the table.”

Now, four years later, with Republicans within range of winning control of the House and possibly the Senate, their tea bagger and neo-con base is sending an equally clear signal: They want Obama impeached, and they don’t much care how or why.

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Polls Show Effect of Passing Reform: Obama Up 5 Point, Dems Close Enthusiasm Gap with GOP

Jon Ponder

A new CNN poll finds Pres. Obama’s approval up 5 points, from 46 percent to 51 percent. The surge comes from a rise of 12 points among Democrats, to 86 percent, and six points, to 47 percent, among independents. Approval among Republicans remained unchanged at around 12 percent.

At the same time, a Washington Post/ABC News poll
shows the president with a 53-43 percent approval rating. The poll also appears to indicate that passage of the health-care reform bill has closed the enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans, with 74 percent now saying their enthusiastic about voting for a Democrat in November, compared with 76 percent who are enthusiastic about voting for the GOP.