The New Improved More Positive Obama Presidency Thread

NoH8

I don't think they're even voting on the stimulus package until Tuesday now.

Laura- I agree with you about what needs to happen with the stimulus most of all.

Grace- What you said about food stamps is why the republicans need to get a course in Econ 101.  What's difficult is that it's hard to directly quantify the flow of money and the jobs that saves or creates, where some stimulus is easier to see in black and white. Company A hired 1000 workers to complete X bridge repair.  I've always said the majority of repubs have difficulty seeing the shades of gray and that they tend to see things in terms of right or wrong with little room for the nuances in between.

Did you hear  Larry Summers on THIS WEEK say we are already in a depression. Not THE great depression where unemployment was at 25%, but a depression. I'm not surprised to hear this. I'm sure other economists will say we're not in one, just like Bushg  repeated over and over that we weren't in a recession until it smacked him in the face.

I don't like that Michael Steele. He creates his own reality, but that doesn't come as a big surprise. I think his leadership for the RNC is great for democrats.  Apparently in his reality is a job isn't really a job unless a business create it.  He differentiates work from jobs, which is ridiculous. Temporary or short term jobs are still jobs. He fails to realize that people all over the country are employed in places that aren't businesses. He kept talking about wealth, which made me laugh because at this point the stimulus isn't to create wealth, it's to prevent poverty and the collapse of the economy. As Obama said, there will be times for bonuses and large salaries, that time is not now.   I think Steele's philosophies are great for the democratic party.

Anonymous

Anonymous

Amy - I  heard Michael Steele say on  Stephanopoulos that what President Obama is proposing will just put people back to work....he's not actually creating jobs. Rotflmao, he also said working for the government does not create wealth.  I called  my cousin that has worked for the NFS for thirty years and told him he doesn't have a real job and that an early retirement with incredible pension and benefits is not real wealth. Needless to say, we had a good laugh...

I am so happy PBO is going on the road to talk to the American people, he has a new vid out about the stimulus that was used at over 3,200 house meetings around the country this weekend.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/recoveryvid

the change is cooking.....

mahalo, president obama...

 

Anonymous

Randi Rhodes: "We tried courteous. We tried inviting. We tried group hug. What'd we get? The same pit bull Republican extremism that got us into this mess. Okay. Plan B. Time to take the gloves off and take these petulant corpses to task."

http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/

i love this woman...

Randi Rhodes (born Randi Buten on January 28, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American progressive talk radio personality, formerly featured on Air America Radio and currently featured on Nova M Radio. Her eponymous program, The Randi Rhodes Show, airs live Monday through Friday from 3 pm to 6 pm Eastern Time.

jader

Who needs wealth? We need jobs!  Why would Michael Steele even say this? I am at a loss -- people are concerned about making it day to day, month to month, not creating wealth!

NoH8

Exactly- Laura and jader. Was in Gore or Kerry who spoke of 2 Americas?  I think with some in the republican party, there are 2 realities, or perhaps 1 reality and one delusion.  Though this is highly anecdotal, from where I'm sitting, I've seen so many more middle and lower income democrats work hard during the week and spend nights and/or weekends volunteering and giving back to those less fortunate than they are. I was 12 when I started volunteering at a physical rehab hospital with a friend of mine. I also babysat to make money for myself. Nobody ever told me I should volunteer, I just wanted to give back. I've been volunteering ever since and the people I've encountered by a whole are middle and lower middle class democrats giving back. The wealthier "volunteers" I've encountered sit on boards, but never seem to do the day in and day out grunt work of volunteerism.

NoH8

This article is about Karma and put a huge smile on my face.I doubt she'd go to jail for this, unfortunately. She's such a mean person, bigotted person. I think fellow prisoners would enjoy having her among them and the experience might give her a whole new perspective on life and reality.

Ann Coulter is Under Investigation for Vote Fraud

One of the country's most outspoken conservative commentators, Ann Coulter, may have committed vote fraud. Records and lawsuits show that Coulter voted in Connecticut while living in New York.

Records that have been dug up by private investigator Josephy Culligan showed that Coulter was entangled in a lawsuit over rent in 2003 while she was supposedly living with her parents in New Canaan, Connecticut. Property records, however, also show her owning an apartment in Manhattan while she voted in Connecticut.

Last month officials acknowledged that such behavior would be wrong, but that they could not do anything unless someone filed a complaint. They only had to ask. Long time Coulter obsessive Daniel Borchers quickly filed one to get the ball rolling.

Officials are now investigating. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/8902

Anonymous

Amy -  It's amazing that this woman is once again caught up in yet ANOTHER voter fraud scandal. Shouldn't a graduate of Law School have figured out to vote in her proper precinct?

Wealth - It's a matter of semantics to define the meaning; a richer life with volunteerism, a good life filled with hard work at a job with the end result being comfort and stability in retirement.

I think that a bc dx gives us all a special insight as to what true wealth really is.

But for Steele to say that government jobs don't create wealth gives us an insight as to what his idea of wealth is. All in all, dumb remarks, out of touch. 

Indeed, Amy, Steele is proving to be a great asset to the Democratic Party. 

Anonymous

NoH8

Thanks for the articles, Laura.

Here's what frightens me about some republicans.  Delusions of grandeur aren't good qualities for politicians, IMHO

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/smartpolitics/2009/02/coleman_says_god_wants_me_to_s.php

Coleman Says 'God Wants Me to Serve'

While Al Franken remains fairly elusive, Norm Coleman is keeping a high profile these days as his court challenge of the Minnesota U.S. Senate recount plods along.

Coleman is adept, somewhat too adept, his critics might say, at skillfully tailoring his message to his audience, and that skill set was on full display Friday.

On Friday, Coleman made the media rounds with radio interviews that included conservative nationally syndicated radio talk show host Mike Gallagher. Gallagher, an unyielding fiscal and religious conservative, who hosts one of the Top 10 rated talk shows in the country, has been an outspoken critic of the Congressional stimulus legislation. When Gallagher asked Coleman what he thought of the stimulus bill, Coleman replied that he would not sign it. Coleman did not, however, offer any thoughts as to whether a stimulus bill of some kind would be a good thing for the country and the state of Minnesota (no doubt because Gallagher, and perhaps a large share of his 4 million weekly listeners, is opposed to any sort of government ‘bailout' - of industries or state governments).

When asked about the recount and how it is affecting him personally, Coleman said he starts every day with a prayer and that he knows "God wants me to serve." Coleman did later temper those rather immodest remarks by adding that he "is not indispensable" and that others can serve as well. Coleman closed the interview with an appeal to Gallagher's listeners for contributions to his campaign website.

Also on Friday, Coleman talked to Tom Crann at Minnesota Public Radio, and tweaked his message for a listening audience that is decidedly more liberal than that of Gallagher's. First, Coleman discussed his desire to serve without mention of God's will. With more humble prose he stated, "I've been blessed to serve. I want to continue to serve."

With regards to the bailout, Coleman reiterated his opposition to the current legislation: "I do not support the package in its present form." But when asked if he could vote for a stimulus package, Coleman admitted, "I agree there needs to be one."

Coleman also stated to MPR that the court in his recount challenge was being "very fair" and it that he has a "great deal of confidence" in the panel. He also acknowledged that if the absentee ballot and double-counting of ballots issues are addressed, and Franken has more votes at the end of the process, then Franken will be the Senator. On Gallagher's show, however, Coleman made no mention of the possibility that Franken could emerge as the ultimate victor and did not contradict Gallagher's characterization that the election process to date in Minnesota has been a 'joke.'

Posted by Eric Ostermeier on February 7, 2009 02:48 PM

NoH8

If this is why Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney need to be tried on war crimes.

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/09/mohamed-torture-uk-us/

Gitmo Detainee's ‘Genitals Were Sliced With A Scalpel,' Waterboarding ‘Far Down The List Of Things They Did'»

Last week, two British High Court judges ruled against releasing documents describing the treatment of Binyam Mohamed, a British resident who is currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. The judges said the Bush administration "had threatened to withhold intelligence cooperation with Britain if the information were made public."

But The Daily Telegraph reported over the weekend that the documents actually "contained details of how British intelligence officers supplied information to [Mohamed's] captors and contributed questions while he was brutally tortured." In fact, it was British officials, not the Americans, who pressured Foreign Secretary David Miliband "to do nothing that would leave serving MI6 officers open to prosecution." According to the Telegraph's sources, the documents describe particularly gruesome interrogation tactics:

The 25 lines edited out of the court papers contained details of how Mr Mohamed's genitals were sliced with a scalpel and other torture methods so extreme that waterboarding, the controversial technique of simulated drowning, "is very far down the list of things they did," the official said.

Another source familiar with the case said: "British intelligence officers knew about the torture and didn't do anything about it."

"It is very clear who stands to be embarrassed by this and who is being protected by this secrecy. It is not the Americans, it is Labour ministers," former shadow home secretary David Davis said. But one unnamed U.S. House Judiciary Committee member told the Telegraph that if President Obama "doesn't act we could hold a hearing or write to subpoena the documents. We need to know what's in those documents."

Mohamed remains at Guantanamo Bay and "is currently on hunger strike." "All terror charges against him were dropped last year," the Telegraph reported.

UpdateToday in San Francisco, "a little-publicised court case into the treatment of Mohamed will open" in federal court. Andrew Sullivan notes that "we'll find out if the Obama administration intends to keep the evidence as secret as the Bush administration did."

AnnaM

How would I feel if my son had been treated in this way?

How many people are growing up to hate our country because of what was done in our name?

This is just one story. There are so many individual stories out there.

sccruiser

The skullduggery of those 3 just gets worse and worse as the truth comes out. I don't know how they sleep at night given how evilly they have behaved since 9/11; although, they are so evil they probably could care less. I'm sure if asked about the treatment of Gitmo detainees, the reply would be the oft repeated, "So?" Like, what's the point, we have executive privilege, and na-na-na just try to do something about it. Despicable, disgusting and depraved. Now let's get them to Nuremburg for the trial--find them guilty--and what should the sentence be? Waterboarding for life? LOL

Anonymous

gitmo has definitely put a strain on uk/us relations the last couple of weeks with these events.

i hope that international pressure stays on and forces the hand of u.s. lawmakers.

fingers crossed.

looks like steele is going to be the gift that keeps on giving...

wth? bling bling???

from politico.com

Steele calls for "Bling, Bling"-free stimulus

Just ran into new RNC Chairman Michael Steele who watched President Obama's town hall in Indiana and wasn't impressed.

The Obama-backed stimulus, he said, "is just a wish list from a lot of people who have been on the sidelines for years.. to get a little bling, bling."

(For the record -- we Nexis-ed "Ed Gillespie" and "bling" and found nothing)

Steele, before ducking into an elevator on on the second floor of the Capitol: "I thought it was very, very interesting. It looks like he's trying to very hard to shore up support from Democrats" because "he's upside-down" in the polls.  

..................................

he's upside-down in the polls? i wonder what polls steele is reading? bling bling...mmm...wonder if that is a new term for school construction?

wooooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooo!

HopingforaCure

Thought these stats (from a CNN poll) were interesting and not surprising:

Three out of four poll respondents said that Obama is doing enough to cooperate with Republicans in Congress, but only 39 percent feel that congressional Republicans are cooperating enough with the president.

jader

Hoping -- it seems to me that none of them are cooperating ... I can't speak to what Obama says to others, I haven't followed that. But I don't see the Congressmen cooperating.  It's maddening.

I truly wish that the bill could be something line item instead of an all or nothing package.  

does the president still have the line item veto privilege or did that go away??????  And if he does, what happens then? Can't he just cross out what he disagrees with or does it have to go back?

NoH8

Anna-  The story of torture breaks my heard, even if it's done on guilty people. It's inhumane. Even if the person being tortured has perpetrated inhumane crimes, that's not a license to treat others that way. After 9/11 I was ok with going into Afghanistan to hunt down Bin Laden.  Before we invaded Iraq, I thought that we were going to create enemies and make our country more unsafe. Torturing  doesn't make countries fear us, it makes them hate us. Just because we haven't been attacked on our soil since then, doesn't mean Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld didn't create the desire and plans to do so.  For the life of me I don't understand how Obama can not pursue these 3 war criminals.

Remember waaaay back in the beginning of the stimulus bill when republicans were praising the tax cuts? Those behind the scenes emails urging them  not to support the stimulus package aren't helpful to anyone. McCain, who infamously almost bragged about not understanding the economy, missed the opportunity to show his "country first" campaign ads wasn't just aimed at those others changing to suit

I believe the line item veto was struck down by the supreme court because it gave the president power over congress, which is against the constitution having 3 coequal branches of government. I'm not 100% sure of that, so don't quote me.

Anonymous

On the subject of that accused terrorist...Is it true? 

Are you taking the word of a terrorist bent on destroying our country as the absolute truth with no substantiation, and on the basis of that, you are calling for the international community to prosecute our leaders as war criminals?

I thought that this thread was supposed to be all about the truth, and only the substantiated truth. Please play by the rules that you have set up. 

Anonymous

I think it's sort of funny that someone is telling us to abide by our own rules when there is a wealth of misinformation being posted everyday elsewhere.

Obama's speech was wonderful.  Senator Durbin mentioned this morning that the Democratic congress voted with Bush to cut taxes and we know that didn't work. So why in the world would we do that again? 

WHOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!  Change is here.

Achi 

Iza

PatMom,

You may have missed this sentence in the article: ""All terror charges against him were dropped last year," the Telegraph reported."

Besides, if I had been held under similar conditions for seven years, with someone slicing my genitals with a scalpel until I confessed, I would gladly confess to whatever they wanted me to confess. Never mind that I am innocent. That is how credible gitmo confessions are to me.

AnnNYC

PatMom, yes it's true.

I read on the Respectfully Republican thread that "this has been proven to be fake" -- but no links were provided to substantiate that statement.

I googled "Binyam Mohamed" and "hoax" -- the only "hits" I got were editorials expressing the opinion that "the war on terror is a hoax" because of ridiculous treatment of individuals like Mohamed.

The news story posted above does not say the genital torture was inflicted at Guantanamo.  It was done in a circumstance called "extraordinary rendition" -- the CIA and British intelligence agents (M16)  felt Mohamed was suspicious, had him taken from the U.K. to 3rd-world country where he was tortured and interrogated while U.S./U.K. intelligence agents stood by, watched, suggested questions to be asked, and listened.  The torture is an issue now because 2 British judges ruled it could be kept secret so as not to interfere with U.S./U.K. intelligence relations.

The other "hoax" mentioned in connection with Mohamed is this: He sought asylum in the U.K. after being imprisoned and tortured in Pakistan.  In the asylum interview, he was being asked about his activities.  He mentioned reading a HOAX ARTICLE on the internet called "How to Build an H-Bomb."  This was a satirical article.  Nevertheless, it was apparently the reason that M16/CIA took him into extraordinary rendition in the first place.  Here's a link to that story: http://newspirates.com/?p=2702  

The news story posted by OPWW states that this razor torture took place under "extraordinary rendition," before Mohamed was taken to Guantanamo.  But our government and the U.K. government were responsible for the extraordinary rendition, and IMHO culpable for the torture.

 P.S. Iza is completely right that any "confessions" obtained by torture are completely unreliable.  There is a great book compiling all the evidence of this, called The Body in Pain, by Elaine Scarry.  So there's no "end" that justifies the "means" to torture to obtain confessions.

Anonymous

 Iza - I think you hit the nail on the head about reliable information coming from torture. I can only imagine what I would cop to in a torture situation also.

Ann -  The case of Binyam Mohamed is not a hoax, any claims of such can not be substantiated.  I know you know that and thanks for posting the crux of the matter in current affairs:

" The torture is an issue now because 2 British judges ruled it could be kept secret so as not to interfere with U.S./U.K. intelligence relations."

His torture has been well documented for sometime now:

http://www.americantorture.com/2008/05/guantnamo-torture-victim-binyam-mohamed.html

The whole situation is sickening and I hope Leahy gets the go ahead:

Leahy Seeks Bush Admin. 'Truth Commission'

Judiciary Committee Chairman Wants Bush-Era DOJ Terror Policy Review

http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/LawPolitics/story?id=6840437&page=1

I was not to thrilled to see this yesterday:

Obama Backs Off a Reversal on Secrets

In a closely watched case involving rendition and torture, a lawyer for the Obama administration seemed to surprise a panel of federal appeals judges on Monday by pressing ahead with an argument for preserving state secrets originally developed by the Bush administration

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/us/10torture.html?hp

My hope is that international pressure will continue and the Obama Administration will have no choice but to begin an investigation or risk having it done in an international setting.

The problems of the Bush Administration's torture practices and their violation of torture laws are not going away, I hope President Obama gets this.....

Anonymous

achi - it is pretty funny isn't it?

i too was happy to see our president getting the word out to the people last night, yesterday and in a bit down in florida.

woooooooooooooooooooohoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

change is here! 

traceyz

Well it looks like the republicans are up to their same old tricks. They want to do the same things that we have been doing over the last 8 years that CLEARLY HAVE NOT worked. It's like they are saying, I dont like your idea President Obama, but I really dont have a better one!! Good GRIEF!! Lets get on with this package already and get this country going in the right direction. I would love to see people going back to work and the NON rich not being ignored. I guess we have to hold on to our old saying......yes we can!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO President Obama is in the house!

Tracey

AnnNYC

They're in some weird CYA (cover your a$$) mode -- their hold on power is more important to them than the well-being of the country -- and if they can spin-spin-spin so enough people associate the current economic disaster with the guy (Obama) who INHERITED it, instead of with the guy (Bush) who CREATED it, well...  that's what they're hoping anyway, I think...

Anonymous

 

i can sure see why they are in cya mode.....

AnnNYC

Laura, that picture oughta be worth 10,000 words...

I don't know how you can get much clearer a picture than that -- unless one is looking through a frosty mug of (red) Kool-Aid...

(The red Kool-Aid would mean people can't see the names of the Republican presidents who presided over insanely increasing debt... kinda like the little Password clue thing-y from the Password home game in the 1960s... )

crazy4carrots

Gee, now I can see how "trickle down" economics and de-regulation really work.......NOT!!!

Interesting, isn't it, how over the last 20 years, liberal-leaning governments in both the U.S. and Canada have been fiscally prudent.  "Tax-and-spend" is a shibboleth that the Repubs just won't let go of -- I guess because they don't have a viable mantra of their own......

NoH8

I think we should just ignore people who come here to spread negativity. Why waste the energy. I just stick them on my ignore list.

Did anyone see Obama's town Hall? I didn't catch all of it, but I was quite moved by the woman who was homeless who said she just wants a bathroom, a place to sleep for her family (I'm paraphrasing and not doing her justice). Democrat, Republican or Independent, people had to be moved by her words. Putting a face on the problems of this economy.

Here's more about Henrietta's story from ABC news:

At President Obama's town hall meeting in Ft. Myers, Fla., today, one questioner stood out. Henrietta Hughes took the microphone and in a wavering voice, asked the president for help.

I have an urgent need, unemployment and homelessness, a very small vehicle for my family and I to live in," she said. "The housing authority has two years' waiting lists, and we need something more than the vehicle and the parks to go to. We need our own kitchen and our own bathroom. Please help."

President Obama gave her a kiss on the cheek, telling her, "We're going to do everything we can to help you, but there are a lot of people like you." He said his staff would meet with her after the town hall.

Hughes says she and her adult son have been homeless for "a long time." She says her son lost his job in computer programming, and they in turn lost their house. She says she has been looking for a job, although she is on disability for cancer, but so far has not been able to find work.

Hughes was visibly moved by the president. "I'm just grateful to have him to acknowledge and for him to hear me," she said. She would not give specifics about the type of help White House has promised her, only saying she was "satisfied."

Hughes says she was not able to vote on election day because she does not have an address. She said without a vote, she prayed that Mr. Obama would win. "I said, 'Lord please have mercy on Mr. Obama." and the Lord did so.'"

After the president left, reporters crowded around Hughes, doing one interview after another. People in the crowd handed her business cards and cash. Florida Rep. Nick Thompson has offered her and her son a home in La Belle, a town about two hours from Ft. Myers.

I'm so glad people reached out to her. I had no idea she was dealing on disability for cancer. That usually means stage 4.  Nick Thompson is a republican, so that shows me the partisan politics are less important than helping Americans in need. Obama had all kinds of nice things to say about republican Gov. Crisp. What's great about Obama's speeches and town halls is that he doesn't screen out people who disagree with him, unlike the last  The republicans on Capitol Hill seem out of touch. I'd love to see a follow up on Henrietta's story. What's sad to me is that there are thousands of Henriettas in this country who didn't have the opportunity to speak to the president and get immediate help.

I'm guessing that the naysayers didn't watch the town hall, which is too bad, because they're the ones who need to see people like Henrietta Hughes the most. I just hope if they get their news from Faux or Rush her story is portrayed in as part of the problems with the economy and not insulted.

unique

Hi, Obamaniks ~

The Senate Stimulus Package passed with 61 votes, with Olympia Snow, Susan Collins and Arlen Specter (I'm in PA, puffing out chest with pride) voting with the Dems.

Now hope it does what it's supposed to.

It needs to relieve the foreclosure crisis, provide help and education for the jobless, and do infrastructure and new energy projects. I think it does some of these things - I wish I'd read it for myself.

But just the passage of it makes me hopeful.

And bravo to Obama for really getting out and working for it in ways we haven't seen before for a president.