Positive Obama thread

Kept the telly off for the Thanksgiving weekend! Just wanted to celebrate with family all that we are thankful for instead of the usual political "discussion" that happens at our table! Worked like a charm. Of course, it helps to have a rambunctuous 18 month old grandbaby to entertain us. We were all ready for naps by 5 pm just watching her go non-stop. The turkey and gravy turned out the best ever. We bought the turkey at Trader Joe's--the brined one for $1.79 a lb. My only splurge on the meal. Had mimosas before dinner and pie (of course) after dinner. Yummy.

Have to say, we are still having turkey!! Will have the last of turkey (in a sandwich) today. Put a pot of chili con carne on the stove this am--for dinner tonight!

My daughter and sil announced that they are expecting child #2 sometime in August. So excited. Lexi will have quite an adjustment to make--with all the undivided attention she receives now. Granddad and I have promised ourselves that we will give her as much of the attention as we can while the new baby is tiny--and always spend special time with each of them.

The Obama birth certificate seems to be the story of the day; as well as the idea that he is "like Hitler," with socialism and our rotten economy. WTH?? There are some very, very ignorant people out there; as well as racist! Guess any attack will do at this point--there are always some who want to keep the "divide" among the citizens--divided we fall; united we conquer, I believe this is true. Time for us to unite if we are going to return the US of A to the people--all of the people--equitably!! Seems there are Americans out there who did not get a very good education. So sad.

Obama's swearing in can't come soon enough. Bush has all but disappeared--hopefully so he can't make any more bad decisions and ruin our economy even more!

As far as the automakers' CEOs go--reduce their salaries to $1. for the next year--and have them spend it reconfiguring their assembly lines to build public transportation that can cross state lines; and take the dinosaurs they have built this year, and are trying to sell below cost, and have them put in hybrid engine and whatever is needed to run cars, SUVs like the Japanese automakers--why are they trying to sell off their current stock at bargain basement prices; instead they should have been and should be innovative--and rebuild their vehicles to make them energy efficient. That should keep the workers working, and get these CEOs and managers to earn the salaries they have for the last three years. Don't know why we should "bail" them out, when they will only take care of the guys at the top!

My rant for the day! 

Grace, I'm with you about the American automakers.  They got in bed with the oil companies and chose to produce gas-guzzlers instead of biodiesels, electrics and hybrids.  Some foreign carmakers with plants in the U.S. are unionized, and somehow they managed to make good cars and show a profit.  It burns me up when I hear people blaming the union workers--the people who actually do the hard work--and giving the execs who decided what cars to produce a pass.  These execs were getting millions and millions in bonuses even when the companies were tanking.  What were they being rewarded for?  If the unions are expected to make concessions, these outrageous executive contracts have to end as well.

Cheer!!  Yes!  What is so hard to understand?  These kinds of news articles, news reports and letters to congressmen should be printed, mailed and aired!!

I am honored that those who bitch and complain about my posting on these boards are the same people who assert that Obama can be compared to Hitler.  And they think they ARE NOT ignorant.  Holy Cow.

So true, LAphoenix! In fact, had quite a discussion with my neighbor--she humbly stated that although she didn't know all that much about building autos or how to make a hybrid; she thought that 30 years ago the American auto manufacturers were given a "soft" mandate that we needed to get rid of our dependency on foreign oil. For heaven's sake--if my neighbor and I got that message 30 years ago--what have these CEOs been doing all that time? It's utterly ridiculous that these guys never got the message--and in the past few years they've been told blatantly and still didn't work on it. If I did my job that way, when I was working--I'd have been fired by now!! And what bean counter decided that it was a good idea to give tax breaks to American manufacturing companies so they could take away all the manufacturing jobs in the USA??? Huh? Oh, if only women ran the world!! What a difference there would be!! As my neighbor laughed and remarked, "Well, I'm sure it made a lot of sense to somebody at the time!"

I'm so happy we are going to have a President who surrounds himself with intelligent people who (as he puts it) have very strong opinions!! He is going to get the creme de la creme and make this country so much better.

Recession, is it, now that 2 quarters of losses have passed us by!! DUH!!!!!!!!! We all knew that long before the last 2 quarters.

Really, the 1% upper class people in this country need to step on down to the middle and lower incomes and see how we really live day-to-day in this country. They need a severe wake up call. They haven't a clue! Someone also needs to let them know if they wait to long, they may not be able to find us! LOL 

Donna, I think these people honing in on fake birth certificate and/or comparing Obama to Hitler are the ones drinking the koolaid!! Beginning to believe that they will never consider putting the election behind us and unifying to bring about change that improves all of our lives. So sad to see such negativity and nastiness. I really feel sorry for them because they just don't get it. And probably won't even if it was explained to them many times over. Must be the only way they can live--to believe that they are better than others by attacking what they fear. Such a waste of energy.

So glad to have this thread; and able to come here and cheer about our new leader and the changes that will happen. 

And??  It's true, I have to give my info  so why doesn't he?????

And why is "respectful" in quotes ... we aren't over there blasting each other ... it meant that for you guys if you want to come over, come over but like this thread which is Dem ... our thread is Rep and for people who want to post there, to remember that.... which is the same you guys want.

I come over here from time to time, not to debate but like my last comment ... was in agreement. 

------Anyway Grace, really, can you explain reasonably, the answers to the questions?  And WTH, WHY would you say its racist to ask this?   It seems if anyone challenges him .. well its a race issue.  What is it with Bush?  If you challenge him and you are black? is it racism then????

Little-g: Thirty people!  Wow.  

With everything that's happening--add the India crisis to the mess--why would Obama waste time on something as ridiculous as a birth certificate, especially as Hawaii state officials stated some time ago that they personally inspected the original and declared it legit.  He produced the official reproduction--the one we all get for passport and job purposes--and posted it on his website months ago.  (And if he didn't have a US passport how could he have traveled all over the world?)  Hawaii state law prohibits releasing the original.  So what are they claiming is going on?  Some "OJ"-type conspiracy?  What would satisfy them?  And why should anyone take their "concerns" seriously?  Their lawsuits have already been tossed out of multiple courts.  If he had been born in Kansas would this even be an issue?  If his father weren't foreign-born would this be an issue?  Why is it an issue?  I think that's the question that needs to be answered. 

Has anyone read the infamous Team of Rivals or Meachum's book on Jackson?  Or any of the new Obama books?  I'm trying to select some books for Christmas presents.        

hilarious! this b.s. birth certificate story that first came out in july has become the koolaid story today.

haha, obama produced a birth certificate then, too bad, the tin foil hat crowd didn't like it, called it a forgery.

the bottom line is this:

obama is a citizen. bush drove us into a ditch.

winger/neocon alert: get ready to moooove over, cause we are driving  the bus now; come january 20....

 woooooooooooooooooooooohoooooooooooooooo....

happy holidays, obama ladies!

Here's a nightcap for all my Obama cyber-sisters:

RM, the issues revolve around the requirements that if only one parent is a citizen, they must have lived in the US for a specific length of time after the age of 16 in order to automatically confer citizenship on their children born outside of the US.  Barak's mother had lived in Hawaii and she was only 18 at the time, not old enough to have spent the 5 years needed to convey that automatic citizenship, so it makes a huge difference if he were born in Kenya as opposed to Hawaii, which had become a state by the time he was born. 

The stories of his birth in Kenya are all anectdotal from extended family members, and could be related to issues of translation with words of similar meanings like baby, infant, newborn and born from their native language into English since it is clear that his family visited Kenya while he was still an infant.

Actually, Amy, I have an acquaintance, not a friend, who actually said that ... she refused to vote because 1) she would never vote for a black man and 2) didn't like McCain.

I thought, well people like that should never vote ... I didn't vote for him either but race was not the issue ... if you cannot see past the color of skin in an election, then you shouldn't be voting. Has anybody ever read the book, "The Color of the Law" ....???  great book, fiction, but great book.

Hawaii became a state in 1959, before BO was born, so being born in Hawaii, which before that was a US territory, would have qualified ... besides, she was a NATURAL born citizen. He could have been born anywhere and still be a citizen? 

Obama's original Hawaii birth certificate was verified as genuine by state officials in early October.  Courts around the country have thrown out lawsuits contesting his citizenship.  So even if the question had any legitimacy at the start, his mother's status and anecdotes are moot points now, and have been moot for some time.          

Amy, I think you're right that most Americans are, if not behind Obama, then are doing a wait-and-see.  Given how centrist his cabinet picks have been so far, I don't see how anyone could legitimately accuse him of extremism.  I'm a little concerned about Jones as NSA myself, as he's on a Chevron-sponsored board that has questioned global warming.  He won't be directly involved in environmental issues, but energy resources come into play when considering national interests. 

Glad to see the Ford CEO has accepted a $1 a year salary.  I wonder how much that will save the company right there.

Excellent ideas for saving $$, Rock.  Those bits and pieces add up.  I've become even more obsessed with turning lights out than before.  And not using the drying cycle on the dishwasher, which is a big energy user.  I use a space heater instead of turning on the central heat, although until recently, it was so hot in LA we didn't need any heat.  I heard people are using their credit cards less too, paying instead with cash or bank cards. 

LA .. we live in Riverside County, so its been hot here, as you know!!  At night and early in the morning, we've had some chill.  But last year we managed to keep the heater off ... I think a few mornings last year I turned the heat on for an hour so my dd didn't feel the chill ... 1st graders can be cranky about getting out of bed.  This year though, I named her Light Monitor after she got her b-day present (the Wii) and increased allowance to $5 a week on the condition that:  a) she buys all her own games unless it's a birthday/holiday gift, that she cannot ask me to buy any toys/games  b) she folds her laundry and puts it away (I usually fold most of it) and c) she helps clean the kitchen, makes her bed and keeps her room clean ...  She is 7 now so I think she can handle that.

The budget is hard on me but it has been good for her ... I am spending more time teaching her how to clean and be responsible for ourselves instead of paying to get it done. She loves to mop. She loves to garden and trim in the backyard (not the clean up part but she is loving jumping in the green debris can to compact our clippings).  It's a good lesson for her to shop and save at Goodwill and clip coupons.  She got all ticked at my dad when he wanted to buy Halloween candy!!! She told him that he could buy bread, milk and eggs for the same price and last all week instead of one night!

Little g ... almost half of the popular vote went to McCain ... Over 40% maybe 46-48%??? The overwhelming win was in the electoral votes.  If you win the state by even 1 vote, you win 100% of their electoral votes so the electoral vote is not representative of the actual votes. Thats why we are called a republic not a true democracy.

I didn't say he has to prove himself to the other 1/2 but he even said he has to gain the trust of the ones that didn't vote for him if he is going to unite the country.  I think that he is doing a lot more to unite the country by his choices in gov't than some of his supporters are.  He reaches out where some supporters don't ... they just want the republicans to "shut up and get over it"