Tag: Pres. Obama
Obama Opens Iftar Dinner at the White House
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It’s just a shame that he had to spend so much time establishing the duty to protect religious freedom. That should be a given.
Tea Baggers Exposed Gaming the Digg System
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.”
Verbatim
While former half-term governor Palin is certainly an expert in not being vetted, we put our trust in the judgment of the American people who rejected not only the broken policies she and Republicans continue to call for, but also this very kind of childish politics she continues to engage in.
DNC Press Secretary Hari Sevugan, commenting on Sarah Palin’s statement that Pres. Obama is not up to the task of being president, despite 18 months of proof to the contrary. Even as Pres. Obama has pulled the country back from the brink of Republican-induced economic collapse, succeeded where the last eight presidents failed at starting genuine health care reform, reversed Bush policies on torture, murder, mutilation, and humiliation of individuals in the custody of officers or agents of the federal government, and signed a strategic arms treaty with Russia that reduces both of our nuclear arsenals by one-third (without even being able to see the Russian shore), Palin said, “Some of this though is a result of he not having much experience and then a complicit media and maybe some voters who chose to not to allow him to be vetted very closely.”
Obama Proves Hoover, GOP, Tea Party, and FOX Wrong
Score 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.
Verbatim
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.
Florida’s Dropping Unemployment Rate Should Benefit Democrats But It Won’t
An announcement that Florida’s jobless rate, among the highest in the nation, fell for the third straight month should be good news for Florida’s elected officials. But for those running for the next office, what’s good for the state can be bad for campaigns.
Speculation is whether the news benefits Democrats, who share party affiliation with Pres. Obama, or Republicans, who have done less than nothing to facilitate a recovery, unless you consider holding your breath and stomping your feet, “facilitating.” But Florida’s Gov. Charlie Crist is neither fish nor fowl thanks to a recent move to “No Party Affiliation,” making him the true beneficiary of the drop from the March high of 12.3 percent to June’s still high but better 11.4.
The awkwardness of their positions was evident in the reactions from Crist’s rivals for the Florida Senate seat. If things are going badly, it must be the governor’s fault. If they’re going well…hmmm.
The winner is… Gov. Charlie Crist, NPA
“There are clear signs that we’re moving from recession to recovery, but growth is fragile and much more work needs to be done,” Meek said on Friday.
Republican candidate Marco Rubio has harped on the loss of jobs in Florida while lambasting efforts by President Obama and Governor Charlie Crist, an independent candidate for the Senate, to stimulate the economy.
If the rate continues to drop, Crist looks better and better. All the heat he took from Republicans for accepting federal stimulus funding will seem more like what it was — blustering and posturing at the expense of residents who need work. If the rate even holds steady, Crist can still take credit for moving the needle. Rubio has less to criticize (although a lack of facts hasn’t stopped a Republican from being critical yet), and Meek will be stuck with his, “good but could be better” line.
Fox News: GOP in Congress Has Lowest Approval of D.C. Politicians – Even Among Republicans
I missed this Fox News poll from last month:
Democrats in Congress continue to garner better ratings than Republicans. Some 37 percent of voters approve of the job Democrats in Congress are doing, little changed from 36 percent about six months ago. For Congressional Republicans, 31 percent approve, up slightly from 29 percent.
Fully 70 percent of Democrats approve of the job their representatives are doing on Capitol Hill, compared to 52 percent of Republicans who approve of theirs. About twice as many Republicans (40 percent) disapprove of the job their party is doing in Congress as Democrats disapprove of their party (19 percent).
A majority of independents disapproves of Democrats (60 percent) and Republicans in Congress (66 percent).
The same poll found that Pres. Obama has a 53 percent favorable rating overall, including a 91 percent favorability among Democrats.
Mr. President, Please Appoint Sarah Q. Palin Gulf Disaster Czar
The problem with putting Sarah Q. Palin in charge of anything is that “Quitter” is her middle name.
From day one, the Republicans’ approach to the crisis has resembled a mob of howler monkeys tossing poo at firemen trying to put out a fire at the zoo. Last week, Sarah Q. Palin, the GOP’s putative 2012 presidential nominee, piled on by flinging her poo at the president in the guise of offering advice via her Facebook page:
Memorial Day 2009: After Laying Wreath, Pres. Obama Did What Bush Never Did – Visited Graves of Iraq, Afghanistan Heroes
Tea baggers are criticizing the president for missing the wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery this Memorial Day — even though pres. Reagan, Bush and Bush also missed ceremonies — but they have conveniently forgotten that last year he did something George W. Bush never did. He visited the graves of soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan, as well as those whose lives were wasted in George Bush’s unnecessary and immoral invasion of Iraq.
