This coverage is indicative the right’s desire for Obama to fail. From what I can tell, Obama took the ‘no drama’ approach to resolving the pirate issue. He apparently left the six-shooter and boot-spurs at home and exhausted all available options before resorting to the fail-safe Navy Seal sniper shot. I bet there were mixed emotions in the Fox News living room at the Rush Limbaugh house when this Captain was saved, for if they were wishing for Obama to fail, Captain Phillips would have been the one who suffered. But instead, as we have now seen, Captain Phillips was saved, and Obama succeeded in his leadership.
If you are a conservative reader of Daddy Hogwash, are you happy that Obama succeeded? Do you wish for Obama’s failure in other areas? If so, since the President’s failure likely means America’s failure in this 21st century global economy, and more unintended victims, (like Captain Philips) how does that make you feel?
I haven’t paid much attention to these Tea Parties; however, I was so embarrassed for these people, I had to post this. There once was a time when we actually wanted intelligent people running this country…I wonder what the Constitution Party guy has to say about African Americans being counted as 3/5’s of a person…
Where does Obama get off “talking” to people? What has talking to people ever accomplished for anyone? How dare he! Damn socialist and their talking!
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev admitted to President Obama during their summit meeting last week that American intelligence estimates about the pace of Iran’s progress toward nuclear weapons capability have been more accurate than Russia’s, a senior U.S. official told FOX News.
As a result, Moscow is now said to be open to "much more severe" punishment for Tehran if the regime there persists in enriching uranium into 2010.
The disclosures came as part of a wide-ranging discussion about the Obama administration’s now-completed policy review on Iran, which has already led to several high-profile overtures to Tehran by Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. These gestures have included Obama’s videotaped greeting marking the Iranian new year holiday of Nowruz, and Clinton’s invitation for Iran to attend an international conference on Afghanistan that was held in The Hague on March 31.
I usually take what Jack Cafferty says with a grain of salt, but this was truly inspired commentary…
NEW YORK (CNN) — What a welcome change to feel like someone is running the country instead of running it into the ground.
President Obama has done more in eight weeks than George W. Bush did in eight years — unless you include starting a couple of wars.
While the armchair quarterbacks second guess the new president, he gets up every day and does things, lots of things.
Whether it’s creating commissions for women and girls, ordering the investigation of President Bush’s use of signing statements, or jamming a huge stimulus package through Congress, the man is working his tail off. And he seems to be loving every minute of it. It’s almost as though our president was born to do exactly what he’s doing. He’s leading, and boy, is that refreshing.
As I continue to debate with my friends and family over the quality of Obama’s economic policies, I am always quick to let them know, that like this post from the Daily Galaxy, if Obama does nothing else during his President other than what he did this past week with stem cell research, I will still be ecstatic.
Obama has already lived up to his promise of change, signing stem-cell research funding into law and basically saying "Hey, how about we let the doctors and scientists run this medical research thing?" It’s terrifying that that’s actually a new sentiment on Capitol Hill, but at least it’s there now.
Previous Presidential proclamations have paralyzed this lifesaving science for almost two entire Olympics, seven-and-a-half years of being restricted to less than 5% of the available stem cell lines. Hundreds of ideal models for genetic diseases and organ replacement, ignored because people whose education in stem cells began with "no, they’re not part of a plant" said "Bad!"
There are hopes that this isn’t just throwing the shackles off stateside science, but could lead to a worldwide renaissance in regenerative medicine. The idea is that other repressive countries might ask themselves "Wait, we’re writing rules AGAINST curing disease? And do those people screaming against stem cells even know what they’re talking about?"
According to Nate Silver, number 10 on Daddy Hogwash’s 10 most fascinating people of 2008, Obama has until September 2010 before 50% of those surveyed start to blame him for whatever economic woes exist at the time. Right now 84% say the economy is a problem he inherited.
Buried in the latest NBC/WSJ survey (.pdf) is a question asking voters who they blame for the country’s economic problems. Currently, 8 percent of voters say that Obama’s policies are "mostly responsible" for the poor economy and another 6 percent blame him in part. But the longer the crisis lasts, the less patient voters will be:
This is an excerpt from a letter to the editor I wrote to a local newspaper called Call Newspapers after the inauguration of Barack Obama. Click here, or on the link below to read it in its entirety.
My 6-year old son Joey and I were at the inauguration of President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. Actually, that is only half true. The truth is we were on the D.C. Metro rail heading back to the parking lot about 20 miles south of D.C. when Obama was sworn in. As many have heard by now, various logistical failures on that 5-degree-wind-chill morning prevented many ticket-holders from witnessing the event firsthand. As I rode back with Joey in my arms, I was most disappointed about him not witnessing something he likely would have told stories about for the rest of his life. It made me sad.
I haven’t called in to a radio station since I was in to sports radio several years ago, but I did decide to call in to Neal Conan’s Talk of the Nation on NPR today. The question Mr. Conan was asking was, ‘Who’s coming to the inauguration? How are you getting there? Where are you staying.”
I just called in to let him know that I was driving in from St. Louis with my family of six after winning two tickets in an essay contest held by Congressman Russ Carhnahan, and that we were staying in Richmond; but, that we had to either drive in or take a train to D.C. and back on both the 19th and the 2oth since I had to pick up the tickets in person on the 19th.
Here is the link to the audio of the story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98647934. When you get there, just click “Listen Now.” I’m on about six minutes in, but go ahead and enjoy his guest that is cycling from Los Angeles to D.C. for the Inauguration.
Also, here is the link to the essay that won us two tickets to see Obama sworn in:
It was only a matter of time before drudgereport.com put up a Presidential Pectoral Comparison picture and take a poll. Actually, I can’t blame him. I was thinking about doing the same thing last night (without the poll,) but was too tired.
While Vladimir Putin is beating Obama on the poll, I still think Obama wins for best overall. 1. He is the American President, and 2., he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard.
Putin’s qualifications? He is a former member of the the U.S.S.R.’s KGB. (That’s a lot of letters. According to Answers.com, he “graduated from the International Law branch of the Law Department of the Leningrad State University in 1975. His final thesis was on international law[29]” I’m not sure if that is a good thing or not. Is Leningrad State University a good school? - Anyone?
Barack Obama continues to dedicate his administration to science and the quest for knowledge and understanding. I often compare George W. Bush’s administration to the Roman Catholic’s denial of factual evidence of a heliocentric solar system in the time of Copernicus, Giordano Bruno, and Galileo. It was not until 1993 that the Catholic church finally officially recognized the validity of Galileo’s work.
Obama’s organization of his science team is akin to freeing Galileo from the isolation forced upon him by the Roman Catholic Inquisition.
I think scientist Brian Greene best explained the relationship of science and religion when he said, “There is room for both. Science explains the how, but can never explain the why.”
(CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama named his science and technology team Saturday with a pledge to ensure that “facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology.”
“It’s time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore America’s place as the world leader in science and technology,” he said in his Saturday radio address, in an offhand swipe at President Bush.
“It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient – especially when it’s inconvenient,” Obama said, adding that government support had been essential for the greatest scientific breakthroughs of recent history, like the development of the Internet. “Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us.”
It would be funny if it was not so disgusting. The problem is that here is a channel called Fox News that people watch to get what they believe is fair and balanced information. Instead what they get is editorial misinformation passed off as “secret” news that everyone should know, but somehow, only the people who watch Hannity are privy too. Which reminds me, I forgot to say that I was thankful for Media Matters this Thanksgiving.
As Media Matters for America has demonstrated time and again, Fox News’ Sean Hannity has been a prolific and influential purveyor of conservative misinformation. But never has he so enthusiastically applied his talents for spreading misinformation as he did to the 2008 presidential race, focusing his energies primarily on President-elect Barack Obama. Day after day, Hannity devoted his two Fox News shows and his three-hour ABC Radio Networks program to “demonizing” the Democratic presidential candidates, starkly explaining in August: “That’s my job. … I led the ‘Stop Hillary Express.’ By the way, now it’s the ‘Stop Obama Express.’ ” Hannity’s “Stop Obama Express” promoted and embellished a vast array of misleading attacks and false claims about Obama. Along the way, he uncritically adopted and promoted countless Republican talking points and played host to numerous credibility-challenged smear artists who painted Obama as a dangerous radical. When he was not going after Obama, Hannity attacked members of Obama’s family, as well as Sen. Hillary Clinton and other progressives, and denied all the while that he had unfairly attacked anyone.
Earlier today, the city’s Streets Committee approved of the symbolic demarcation, paving the way for a vote Friday before the Board of Alderman, who are expected to give their blessing to what is a purely ceremonial designation.
“This is not about Barack Obama. This is about America,” proclaimed Street Committee chairman, Alderman Freeman Bosely Sr. Noting that the street itself has long served as a dividing line between the city’s black and white community, Bosely added, “When I was a kid, there wasn’t anyone that looked like me south of Delmar.”
First-term Alderman Kacie Starr Triplett introduced the measure to honor Obama earlier this month.
This is good stuff. It’s funny looking back at what these people say and then consider how much credibility our society gives them.
“If [Hillary Clinton] gets a race against John Edwards and Barack Obama, she’s going to be the nominee. Gore is the only threat to her, then. … Barack Obama is not going to beat Hillary Clinton in a single Democratic primary. I’ll predict that right now.” —William Kristol, Fox News Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006
I won two tickets to Barack Obama’s inauguration, and no, they are not for sale. I don’t think I could sell them even if I wanted to, which I don’t, because I have to be there (in D.C.) in person to pick them up on the 19th of January. So, since my lodging will be in Richmond, Va. during my stay, i will have to drive 12 hours to Virginia, and then 2.5 hours to D.C. on Monday, and 2.5 hours back to Virginia Monday evening, and then 2.5 hours back to D.C. on Tuesday, and then 12 hours back to St. Louis. Would you do it?
The essay contest was held by Missouri Congressman Russ Carnahan’s office. Here is the essay that won me my tickets: (Now all I have to do is figure out who I’m going to take with me.)
What the Election of Barack Obama Means to Me and America - By: Karl Frank, Jr.
Throughout American history, events like the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency have been a reminder to us all that the United States of America is the greatest country in the history of humankind. November 4, 2008, was evidence to all observers that while the founding fathers were well-aware that there were certain hypocrisies in the founding documents, they were confident that when the situation demanded it, the system was constructed in such a way that would allow for the government to mature alongside its people. The election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America is the latest in a long line of examples of that maturation process, and was imperative to the rebirth of the ideals first expressed by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence.
For me, Obama’s election resulted in a boost to my previously suffering faith in the American people. A faith that was restored to a level I had not felt since I was a child. While I respected and appreciated the traditions and sacrifices of my ancestors, our country, and the system that has worked for the American people for over two centuries, my hope for America’s ability to progress with the needs of the 21st century world was diminishing. This was especially disheartening when I pondered the prospects of my young family’s future.
What happened instead is that my three young sons were able to witness firsthand our unique form of democracy in action. For them, it was a perfectly devised civics lesson, a lesson about how our government is special because it is not separate from the American people, it is the American people. Most importantly, they learned that when change is needed in government, if the message is right, the average person in this country can make change happen. In addition, thanks to Barack Obama and his supporters, my daughter, all but six-months in age, will never know a day in her life that an African-American cannot be President of the United States of America. Not once will she ever open a history book that will say otherwise.
For all of us as Americans, being alive today is as revolutionary as being alive the day the shot was heard around the world at Lexington and Concord in 1775; or when Francis Scott Key looked through the smoke to see our flag still waving in 1814; or the day when Abraham Lincoln stood at Gettysburg in 1863 to address the nation over what was at once our greatest tragedy and greatest feat as a country; or the day that Martin Luther King Jr. took a bullet in 1968 in the hope that someday the sons and daughters of our fellow countrymen would “not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
These are the days that define the American spirit for all future generations.
January 20, 2009 will not be about the swearing in of Barack Obama, or even about Barack Obama himself, but rather the ideals that Barack Obama represents, the ideals that our founding fathers put forward for future generations to ponder and achieve. It is about bringing a decade’s old cynicism in our government to a screeching halt, and how our children for generations will learn about that day in their classrooms, studying what it means to be an American, and that success in our country is not just what you achieve, but what you overcome.
That day in January will be the day that this country will once again declare its independence, and remind the world that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Barack Obama is the epitome of the great American ideal that no matter what our story is, any one of us, from any walk of life, with the right drive and desire, can make it to the top. That is what the election of Barack Obama means to me and America, and I have never been more proud to be an American.
During the Presidential election this year, I got in a rather heated argument with one of my friends, and I said essentially what Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio said on Sunday. Essentially, the blog network, if you want to call it that, can work two ways. It can either be used as a tool to spread misinformation, or it can be used as a tool to debunk it.
One of the reasons that Rovian (Karl Rove) style politics did not work on Obama this year is because almost as soon as a false accusation was made, it was debunked. My point at the time was not that Rovian politics won’t work in the future, it was just that they are going to have to find a better way to control their misinformation. It has to be sophisticated and hard to debunk. You can’t just throw it at the wall and hope it sticks any more.
Part of that is because of blogs, but the other part is that people on the internet as a whole have gotten a little more sophisticated. Not that we do not have a long way to go, just that people in America weren’t as quick to accept something they read or saw just once, or in passing, as fact as they were in 2000 and 200.
Fancy words will only get you so far. If there isn’t a reason for people to believe there is some substance behind what you are saying, it is going to be awfully hard in the future to bring them to your cause.
Which, by the way, is why the “all talk, and no substance” argument didn’t stick to Obama. He had a verifiable history of good judgment and thinking critically.
The spread of information on the Internet has given the world a new tool to forestall conflicts, Nobel literature prize winner Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio said Sunday.
In his Nobel lecture to the Swedish Academy, the 68-year-old Frenchman said an earlier introduction of information technology could even have prevented World War II.
“Who knows, if the Internet had existed at the time, perhaps Hitler’s criminal plot would not have succeeded - ridicule might have prevented it from ever seeing the light of day,” he said.
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(CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama named his science and technology team Saturday with a pledge to ensure that “facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology.”![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=17fdac74-2eee-40a5-951d-5de69a442e0b)
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I won two tickets to Barack Obama’s inauguration, and no, they are not for sale. I don’t think I could sell them even if I wanted to, which I don’t, because I have to be there (in D.C.) in person to pick them up on the 19th of January. So, since my lodging will be in Richmond, Va. during my stay, i will have to drive 12 hours to Virginia, and then 2.5 hours to D.C. on Monday, and 2.5 hours back to Virginia Monday evening, and then 2.5 hours back to D.C. on Tuesday, and then 12 hours back to St. Louis. Would you do it?
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