Here are some stories starting our week. What do you think will drive this week in politics?
- Obama challenges Romney on past comments on bin Laden
- Romney on bin Laden killing: "Even Jimmy Carter would have given that order"
- Obama campaign releases lengthy video touting Administration's achievements
- Occupy Wall Street plans global disruption of status quo tomorrow
- How changing tax brackets would impact our budget and debt
- Myth of decline: U.S. is stronger and faster than anywhere else
- President Obama and Bill Clinton campaign together on economy
- A House race progressives should watch
- Erskine Bowles: "We face the most predictable economic crisis in history"
- Tennessee passes bill to tamp down "gateway sexual activity"
- Toyota unveils "sofa on wheels"
- Paul Krugman: There’s also a war on the young
- White House publicly acknowledges drone strikes
Leave a Comment:
Just watched the video about Obama's achievements. One item is "Osama Bin Laden Dead". Totally disgusting that the murder of a human being is considered an achievement!
In the article about Obama challenging Romney it says "[...] Romney's 2007 comments to the Associated Press that 'it's not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person,' meaning bin Laden." I have to say that I like the old Romney more and more.
My favourite Jimmy Kimmel jokes from the WHCD:
"Mr. President, remember when the country rallied around you in hopes of a better tomorrow. That was hilarious."
"Uggie [the dog] is amazing. He can roll over on command. He's a Democrat."
"It doesn't matter if you're black, like President Obama, or white, like President Obama, or red, like President Obama's agenda."
The jokes are funny because they are true. Sadly.
So Obama claims the U.S. was "at war in Iraq for 9 years and he ended it"? That would come as news to the Iraqi democratically elected government, who together with the Bush Administration ended the 2nd Iraq War with the defeat of Saddam Hussein's gurreilla forces and captured, tried, and executed that military dictator that had so troubled his neighbors over three administrations, even causing Bill Clinton to send U.S. troops and carriers back to force him to stand down from his rearming and persecution of the Sheite majority of Iraqs population during his Clinton's 2nd Term in Office.
The George Bush Administration negotiated the terms of our planned withdrawal of troops from Iraq after we served the mutually agreed goal of training and equiping their armed forces and police to be able to defend their own nation from enemies both outside (Iran) and within, and the Obama Administration simply lived up to the terms of that agreement after he took office, no more and no less.
I find it strange too that Bill Clinton would be the one to trust on the issue of the killing of Osama bin Ladin, as he on three separate occasions refused to act on actionable requests by the military and CIA to approve missle strikes on bin Ladin in his compounds in Afghanistan during the late 90s, and it was left to George Bush after 9/11 (which occured in the 7th month of his assuming the office of President) to invade Afghanistan, chase Al Quida and bin Ladin into hiding, and negate his ability to do any further harm to us and our allies during the years he was hounded into obscurity and despondency. And it was under the Bush Administration that the CIA obtained thru tough interrogation tactics (many of which Obama felt the need to outlaw the use of and apoligize to the world about) the knowldege of the human links of bin Ladin contacts that eventually was instrumental in locating him hiding in Pakistan without telephone or internet access and the ability to communicate with the tattered remains of his terrorist organization.
Ousting, capturing. providing for the Iraqi democratically elected government to try, find guilty, and execute Saddam Hussien was a far greater accomplishment than the ralatively symbolic killing of bin Ladin that the Obama Administration is taking victory laps for a year later, in the face of his Administration's failures on the still growing menace of a belligerant and NUCLEAR ARMING Iran and North Korea, the other two dictatorships remaining as rogue nations of the original Axis of Evil threatening World Peace.
And as to the mythical accomplishments on the economic nonrecovery, 5,000,000 million jobs lost since Obama took office, 90% of which were lost by women, and its curious that a just a month ago they were claiming 2 million jobs added in the private sector during his administration, two weeks ago bumped that claim up to 3 million jobs added in the private sector, and now are claiming 4.1 million jobs added in the private sector.
Last Quarter we had an anemic 2.2% Gross Domestic growth rate, and it will take 3.5% to 4% to make a dent in the still extremely high unemployment rate and real numbers of unemployed, higher than when Obama was took office. And last month (March) we only added 120,000 jobs, mostly in low pay part time retail and service industry positions. And that is a far cry from the 160,000 full time, good paying jobs we need monthly just to keep even with the growth of population of employment age in this country. And April manufacuring statistics released just today are showing a dismal picture of a declining economic output, so we can expect another poor employment report come Friday for the previous month.
All definitely nothing to be taking victory laps about, and the major reasons why the free spending, borrowing and wants to be taxing President and the Democrat Party Congressional representatives are going to be turned out by the voters in November.
execute Saddam Hussien was a far greater accomplishment than the ralatively symbolic killing of bin Ladin that the Obama Administration is taking victory laps for a year later
The murder of a human being is NEVER an accomplishment, no matter who did it and no matter why he did it. Bush as well as Obama belong behind bars for the crime of having ordered murder. How can the US population want to have a murderer as president? And how can the self-proclaimed socialist Mr O'Donnell DEFEND this murderer on air? A true socialist would rather die of hunger than making money by being a campaign aide for a murderer! As much as I like Mr O'Donnell and also Ms Maddow, but when it comes to the military and the Bin Laden murder, they are both so ... (stereo)typical US Americans. And by that I mean disgustingly self-righteous human rights violators.
the still growing menace of a belligerant and NUCLEAR ARMING Iran and North Korea, the other two dictatorships remaining as rogue nations of the original Axis of Evil threatening World Peace.
The biggest threat to world peace are the USA and Israel. As Jimmy Kimmel said at the WHCD, "I have a question: Who are these people who think it would be a good idea to attack Iran? I hear people say, 'Bomb 'em, nuke 'em, just do it now.' They're a real bunch of yahoos, and Netanyahus."
But besides that, I wish everyone a happy May Day.
There's a great article (from last year) on Mondoweiss about the Bin Laden murder. It is titled "In Search of Meaning: Osama Bin Laden and the dancing Americans". The article reflects my feelings pretty accurately.
"A true socialist would rather die of hunger than making money by being a campaign aide for a murderer! "
Dorothea
I really like the sound of that........millions of socialists starving themselves to death for "the cause".
I'm getting goose bumps!!!
We could call it, let's see.............."The Final Solution"
Eugenie, I can't follow your right-wing "logic".
C'mon Dorothea........I was just making a funny!!!
The bin Laden hit was nothing more than an execution without due process. Only an idiot would order that he be killed. He should have been taken alive and tortured until he gave up every bit of information he had.
The bin Laden hit was nothing more than an execution without due process. Only an idiot would order that he be killed.
I agree.
He should have been [...] tortured
I disagree.
Let me rephrase that. bin Laden should have been fed ice cream and cookies in his new Miami Beach condo until he "gave it up".
You right-wingers have really weird thoughts.
Question: Would you have disapproved of the Bin Laden murder if a Republican had ordered it?
No I wouldn't have.
If George Bush ordered a hit on bin Laden, the libs would have gone nuts over it. That's the way n is here.
I have a political agenda just like the liberals have. The Republicans are trying to protect my interests so I'll support everything they do.
Bush is my hero. He protected my retirement stash from confiscation by millions of lazy liberal democrat bums.
In listing President Obama's traits that appeal to the public, "trust" is an iffy one. There has been fear all along, especially by those who voted for Obama, that he would "reform" Social Security the way Clinton "reformed" welfare, starting with disability benefits, then moving on to end retirement benefits. This would cost too many people their lives, so the fear is understandable. Hearing that the Obama White House is now welcoming Bill Clinton has caused another spike of anxiety as the seriously ill and disabled wonder if they will receive notice that SSI/SSDI are ended. Oddly enough, there isn't a great demand for seriously ill and disabled employees. This area of significant distrust is mainly toward the Democratic Party and its Blue Dogs.
DH Branski:
If Medicare and Social Security are not reformed to meet the needs of a society that has seen such progress in work conditions, longevity, and medical changes that maintain and improve health for all and adult vital life force far past the provisions of the original intent of these programs, we will see these program go bankrupt and fail everyone by 2023 for Medicare, and 2033 for Social Security. If we don't end the going on two years now of the reduction for goosing consumer spending concept of cutting payroll taxes that support Social Security in half, we will further hasten that programs demise.
As originally intended, Social Security was established in the 1930s with a death benefit for widows and suffering childrens benefits if the sole wage earner in a household died. It had an early retirement benefit age of 62 established which is certainly unrealistic in today's world of modern medical wonders and a movement away from the health straining employments of agriculture, foundry, construction, and mass production manufacturing without automation. And full retirement benefits were not to be received until a recepient reached the age of 65, the then average life span of males in our society of the 1930s.
Medicare was also established in the 1970s as a program of insurance, where individuals with earned income paid premiums in their working years for the medical coverage provided after they turned 55 or to begin 2 years after they became disabled for work purposes, whichever came first.
SSI and Medicaid were established to assistance to the termporarily disabled who had not accumulated significant credit of 10 years paying into Social Security (and Medicare), and for in the case of Medicaid, as a progam of medical insurance for the poor who could not afford their own insurance programs.
George H. W. Bush's administration passed the American Disabilities Act, Title I of which establishes the laws, regulations, and assistance programs to protect and assist disabled individuals to maintain and obtain employent. This occured in 1990.
Title 16 of the SSI program established incentives for individuals eligible for SSI to be employed to the best of their ability.
Federally partially financed programs are well funded at the idividual States level to assist individuals through their State Rehabilitation Agencies, with Physical and Medical Disabilities, Blind, Deaf, Metally Retarded, and with Mental Health challenges to train and attempt employments without a total loss of the security provisions of their Social Security or Supplemental Social Security incomes, Medicare and Medicaid coverage.
Noting in the reforms just begun to be discussed to save Social Security and SSI benefits programs, their financing, and upgrading to be line with the modern medical miracle society incorporates any threat to the disabled. Nor does reforming Medicare and Medicaid financing and benefit dispursing either. Your statement above is grounded in hysteria, and a refusal to realize the overall weakness of the financial underpinnings of these programs and save them for the society they are meant to serve, while being solely concerned with just one individual's fears of how those reforms may or may not impact his or her's own circumstances.
And the provisions of the Welfare Reform that were forced on President Clinton by Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats are very much providing the poor and especially poor single women with children with the stepping stones out of the depthless pools of poverty formerly existing by providing education and job training programs and assistance in obtaining employments while maintaing the basics of social welfare of income, housing assistance, food and clothing support programs, and medical coverage.
So fear not! If Social Security and SSI and Medicare and Medicaid reforms are all handled in a like manner to Welfare Reform, we will all be the better for it.
Keith
When SS first started the life expectancy of Americans was 65 years. The program was meant to appease the masses not to provide them with an income for decades. It made some people feel a little more secure if they somehow managed to live past 65.
Hummm?? It is safe to say that the war in Iraq was totally wrong, an act of mass murder ordered by Chancellor Bush. Bush and all his supporters are guilty of mass murder just as much as Hitler was, and they should be tried and punished just like the the Nazi's were at the end of WW2, israel is as guilty too, with the same treatment for their crimes against humanity. Iraq was not a threat to anyone, it was a secular government where women had more equal rights than in Saudi Arabia. And now what do we have there? It was trashed by Bushes storm troopers and ruined. It has become an Islamic state where women are treated worse than dogs. It has become the nightmare of all secular nations. Iran is more secular than any other nation including israel in the region, there are over a million Jewish folks that choose to live there verses israel. The don't want to go to israel, not even to visit. Doesn't that make you wonder why? Why the majority of Hebrew folks who live in all of the other Middle eastern countries don't want to go to israel. And now for the Social Security topic. It was set up as a retirement fund for the working class who don't get a retirement from their employer. It wasn't set up to be a slush fund for the millionaires in congress to use to pay off all their campaign promises to the billionaires who funded their elections. I would like to have the social security fund restored, all funds taken from it paid back, it made untouchable by congress, and not made a part of the the overall budget, or counted as part of it. If those things were done it would be solvent for the next 200 years I think all retirement funds should be reinvested in US savings bonds not in the stock market, so there will be something left for the ones who are to retire on those funds. As it is now all these corporate retirement funds are being invested in bad investments to pad the pockets of the CEO's and corporate board members to buy them another 6 houses and private islands and to fill their offshore bank accounts. I hope all of you corporate puppets loose all of your retirement funds and die in the streets along with the rest of the people you have ripped off and left to do so for all these years. The American dream has become a nightmare thanks to corporate greed and the blind stupidity of those who follow the corporate way. The corporate model is the model that Hitler used to set up his government. Nothing has changed except the labels and the uniforms, SSDD all over again. Dec 21st 2012 as predicted by the Mayans can't come soon enough, I really hope that life as they know it does end, and we can get back to a real human existence.
That's about he most rambling, disjointed, and invective filled evidence of a anti-semitic and probably communist philosophy I have ever seen on this blog, and I've seen a lot of that kind of crap.
If you don't like Western capatalist democracy, emigrate somewhere like Iran or Venezuala or Cuba and see how you like life in those nations. First thing you will give up will be your right to Free Speech.