The "Obama-Bonus" headlines remind me of

[FrenchieCat]

The "Cling to their guns" and the "Reagan was a transformational figure" outrage of the recent past. It doesn't matter what this President says and how he says it or what it meant, because the media doesn't care, and whatever they can "use" to bring down the individual that said it, they will use. It is true that the White House must couch their every word with another word, and this President must not be candid, nor allow one sentence to have anything in it that might be used to imply anything that the media can use against him. I can see why a lot of what he says is done in "Prepared text" format as he must "Watch what he says" at all time.

The fact that the Huffington-Post is the same publication that brought us the "Obama is an elitist" comments of the primary past doesn't surprise me one bit.

The fact that some are anal in wanting to construe that Obama is stating support for Banker's bonuses is telling.

This "incident" reminds me of how the media put an end to Kerry's Presidential aspiration in 2008, by widely reporting on a "joke" that he made in reference to the Military and their education. In reality, the statement was benign, but because the media decided to run with it with their own interpretation, it became deadly to him as a politician. This is just more of that, and the fact that some Liberals are hopping onto to the notion that Obama doesn't see anything wrong with the bonuses is just plain wrong. What the President is reported as having said, he did not really say, unless one cuts out words from sentences, and strings the ones left to other sentences further down.

The media has done this to Democrats for years.
They do not do this to Republicans....as Republicans can say just about anything outrageous,
and you won't hear "Boo" from the media...Which is why Tancredo was able to say the outlandish racists things that he did say, and no one gives a fuck, and in fact, instead they concentrate on Palin's words on her hand, and allow a racist ass piece of shit of a statement to actually go more or less unchallenged (mainstream media isn't publicizing it), while it is being reported that the American Public "Sympathize" with the anger of Teabaggers......a Media-made group who the media believes potent enough to ask every Democrat about how they "feel" about them.

We are setting up our own selves when we believe headlines more than the actual words that are there for us to read. We've done it before, and we are doing it again.

We have never gotten anything we wanted by joining the media and the opposition against one of our own, and we never will.

I may not like a lot of what is going on with our Government right now, including some of our President's actions in reference to quite a few issues.....

but, I'll be damned if I start believing that distorting the words that he spoke to mean something quite different will provide me with solutions. I will not play this word game, and I am writing the media letting them know that this is the case.

[tridim]

1. A kick & rec to counter your obviously Repuke unreccers.

[FrenchieCat]

3. The fact that the media never discusses the fact that much of the TARP money

has been paid back, and dropped any reporting on the Fees that the President wants to impose on them is more telling than anything. Couple that with raging conclusions that what the finance committee is doing with the job's bill is added as a pile-on to this President tally is more distortion being reported because it's easy. Again, some jump on this for the ride.....but they may not really enjoy much where this train could end up taking them. We are supposed to be smarter and more deliberate than this....I thought.

[tridim]

5. Pretty much all I'm hearing now in the media is how the Repukes are "making a comeback"

With cherry picked "polls" cited to prove it. If they can't find a cherry picked poll, they just ignore the polls that disprove their point. It's like fucking magic.

Obama is the first president that is routinely punished for spun RW headlines and lies told about him.

It drives me nuts too.

[FrenchieCat]

13. And if there is anyone out there who believes that we will benefit

in any way in playing that same game, they are mightily mistaken.

[Kahuna]

6. Aw come on, Frenchie. Unless Obama toes the commie/socialist line...

he's a sellout. I thought everybody knew that. :shrug:

[FrenchieCat]

9. He said "free markets".......

Sacre Bleu! :hide:

[Kahuna]

10. I know. The noirve of that guy.

:wow:

[AllentownJake]

37. You do understand that they have gotten more money than just

"TARP" right.

AIG, Federal Reserve MBS buyback, the changing of the mark to market accounting rules, Geithner's tax code rule changes, and now the Freddie buy back that the Fed is stopping (Federal Reserve stops, Freddie picks up)

The items that never went before congress, and were done by this administration add up to more $ than TARP.

Of course $30 billion in LOANS to banks to loan to small businesses is HUGE!#!@$!

[Andy823]

2. K&R

I agree with you!

[RoyGBiv]

4. K&R

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/what-obama-said-about-those-bonuses/

[FrenchieCat]

8. My reading of the statements is in red......

QUESTION: Let’s talk bonuses for a minute: Lloyd Blankfein, $9 million; Jamie Dimon, $17 million. Now, granted, those were in stock and less than what some had expected. But are those numbers okay?


THE PRESIDENT: Well, look, first of all, I know both those guys. They’re very savvy businessmen. And I, like most of the American people, don’t begrudge people success or wealth.] (this is what he said that he shouldn't have said, because although many in America would agree that the statement is technically accurate, and that Savvy doesn't necessarily mean a person is nice or good, if he said it, then it's wrong, because accuracy, if the media rejects it, doesn't truly matter).

That’s part of the free market system. (we hate, hate, hate the free market system, so pointing out that in reality that is how it has been working is, I'm guessing, the ultimate faux pas)

I do think that the compensation packages that we’ve seen over the last decade at least have not matched up always to performance. I think that shareholders oftentimes have not had any significant say in the pay structures for CEOs. (simply pointing out why there is a disconnect)


QUESTION: Seventeen million dollars is a lot for Main Street to stomach.

THE PRESIDENT: Listen, $17 million is an extraordinary amount of money. (no matter who makes it)

Of course, there are some baseball players who are making more than that who don’t get to the World Series either. So I’m shocked by that as well. (he believes that there are many who make outrageous sums of money not justified by performance, which is what he believes these bonuses represent.)

I guess the main principle we want to promote is a simple principle of “say on pay,” that shareholders have a chance to actually scrutinize what CEOs are getting paid. And I think that serves as a restraint and helps align performance with pay. (that's what he wants to do about these bonuses and high salaries)

The other thing we do think is the more that pay comes in the form of stock that requires proven performance over a certain period of time as opposed to quarterly earnings is a fairer way of measuring CEOs’ success (that's what the President thinks is the solution to totally reducing this bonus bullshit in a long run) and ultimately will make the performance of American businesses better.


http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/what-obama-said-about-those-bonuses/

[budkin]

7. So true... the corporate media overlords are still pissed that a black man won the election

Yes, I said it.

[TheKentuckian]

11. It reminds me of every other time Sachs or Chase come up

The proud populist becomes guardian angel every time.

I've never heard change defined as protect the status quo at all costs before. No wonder he talked about ole St Ronnie admirably, he has the same goals of rolling back the Great Society and the New Deal while coddling the moneychangers by selling a bunch of bullshit to the American people.

[FrenchieCat]

12. Your reading is flawed......

But you know that, and you don't care.

[TheKentuckian]

16. What are these flaws?

Pointing out "flaws" without bothering to point them out is usually either being dishonest or lazy.

I read the entire article in question, what is it that I'm not processing correctly or have missed?

All I see is the misdirection of comparing the situation to high paid athletes who by the way are the reason the leagues bring in revenue well above the piece they get to take. They as the performers they add value rather than being rewarded for actions that suck value out of the system plus with these corporate commie vampires they went way above robbing value from the system and almost destroyed it and would have save for some pretty extreme actions from the Federal Government and the Fed both ca$h and guarantees up to about 24 trillion dollars. Or almost two full years of every bauble, idea, art, and burger bought and sold.

We did get a little of his "shame...shame" shtick but bottom line is they will keep the rewards of their criminal type activities, Obama and Congress won't do shit, and these same greedy fucks will take us down again which will devastate an already suffering people. In this case he allows their actions to be hidden by his own coddling misdirection.

How you refuse to see how this financial situation isn't deadly and must be dealt with aggressively is beyond my understanding. This is not one bit less dangerous than an invasion fleet and we have several such systemic threats that our "leaders" think they can "address" with spit and scotch tape.

Good job on changing the point, too. I know even you can't miss that Sachs and Chase have been given the keys to the treasury almost to the point of being assimilated into the government apparatus except they remain unanswerable to the public, don't have to worry about budget crunches, and of course very much for profit.

[Kahuna]

14. Blah blah blah. It happens that we are in a recession with high un

employment. It happens that the money-changers are in control of the capital AND the jobs...such as they are. How would you have him to punish the very folks who, while it's true they're responsible for the collapse, are also responsible for the recovery? In truth, they still have our government by the nads. That's why they can get away with giving us all the finger.

In your little world everything may be black or white. But in the real world there are always considerations and concessions to be made. Also, Obama is not Superman. Neither is he God. He has a mountain of issues to deal with to right the ship of state. Some things are more important than others. As, president it's HIS job, not yours, not mine, to determine what is a priority, and what is just political posturing that won't solve any REAL problems.

[TheKentuckian]

15. No, he is a citizen like the rest of us, no better.

He works for us and we have every right and duty to evaluate his priorities and support or oppose them as it fits with our convictions. If the employee does not perform then his ass gets fired.

Further, your argument is empty since they are not re-investing into the economy. Chase and Sachs are not creating jobs and have been a big, big piece of the cause of losing millions they won't soon replace. They also wouldn't control the capital if they weren't handed it, or have you forgotten that these criminals were going down and needed trillions in ca$h and guarantees to stay afloat.

You can save your lectures about "the real world" as your "realism" won't do a goddamned thing to help the American people. This wiping and dangling of the moneychangers has not brought jobs, financial security, or economic justice for our country only generational debt, increased poverty and hardship, and likely a permanent reduction in standard of living.

[Kahuna]

18. So you think it's possible for Obama to meet the priorities of 300 million Americans????

Is THAT what you think????? :crazy: Or do you think he should meet the priorities of YOU alone? :rofl:

[TheKentuckian]

19. Nope, I'm thinking he needs to look to the needs of the lower 98%

the top 2% have enough chairs at the table.

Blowing Wall Street isn't creating jobs or making the economy more secure and sustainable. They aren't loaning and are doing way more speculating than investing, what the hell is their purpose then other than to steal from those who create value in the economic system?

Whose priorities do you think are being served? Certainly not the average American's.

[FrenchieCat]

21. He didn't blow Wall Street, and in fact they don't like him anymore than you do....

but you knew that!

[Kahuna]

22. Really? Were you against the bank bailout? nt

[TheKentuckian]

82. I was for the TARP section. The rest was done without much public knowledge

and then conflated with TARP.

I don't see what possible difference it makes in what I'm talking about. I certainly wasn't cheerleading a blank check with no strings attached in any event. A 700 billion dollar loan is whole lot different than guaranteeing 24 trillion and doing absolutely nothing to prevent another collapse and bailout. Nor does supporting the loan described indicate acceptance of coddling and excusing the behaviors that reward and generate systemic risk on such a massive scale.

I don't get what the point of your query is.

[FrenchieCat]

20. He was elected by us, and it is a mutual arrangement in where he

works to make this country better, and is accountable to us in the methods that he used to have done so (or note) in the next election. We don't get to fire or rehire him for three years, and his job goes on in the meantime......so no, it is not a standard Employee-boss relationship....more like a contractual situation, where we decide whether we will hire him again comes his next renewal.

Chase and Sachs, and the banking industry as a whole do in fact hold cards, that I guess you are not aware of, but which those who run small businesses (such as myself) painfully are. I had a client who is a small business (we provide accounting services), and out of the blue upon renewal of his very small credit line (with no reason as to why stated), the bank who held the note called the credit line in, meaning my client has to pay back the amount outstanding or/and go to another bank in search of a credit line that he desperately needs to stay afloat (he employes about 150 employees total). Small businesses account for a large percentage of who hires, and hiring or not directly affects employment numbers, and therefore affects the economy. So it is you who are empty in speaking about exactly how the Banking world affects our economy directly or indirectly.

As for lectures, what you are spewing isn't helping anyone anywhere, and calling institutions criminal may feel good, but in the long run won't put a dime in your pocket or anyone elses. It may be fashionable to hold "Bankster" out as the ultimate vilains (and that it is politically unacceptable to say anything about them without shaking one's fist with a pitchfork in the other), but the truth is that it is way more complicated than that, considering that the fact they were allowed to go unregulated for years and years is the real problem, and although you obviously believe that the answer to all of the problems is simply by dumping on Barack Obama; well, yours ain't a fucking solution; not even close.

[TheKentuckian]

23. Wrong. I do not hold Obama accountable at all for the years of lack of regulation

just for footdragging and coddling since he took over.

I know all about lines of credit and the hardships of small business. I've grown one from a two man with cell phones and day planers operation to a million plus a year with nearly 80 drivers and an office staff of 15. I went from junked equipment and pen and paper to utilizing the same software as Dallas-Ft Worth mass transit and a fleet of vehicles capable of supporting Medicaid brokerage for a metro area. All that sacrifice and many 20 hour days was evaporated in the wake of the 1st Bush recession.

You talk to people like children that know as much or more than you do, twisting yourself in knots to defend the indefensible. If you cared about the plight of small business then you'd be screaming for these crooks to use OUR MONEY to keep these folks afloat and growing instead of pretending they are performing the duty that allows them the privileges that put them in the position to be too big to fail. Your own example is an indicator of the practices our President and Congress have failed to reign in at all not evidence they need to be coddled.

Think of someone or something other than Obama and trying to make him look good and you'd see a lot of points more clearly, including those you make your own self.

I also know that the banks aren't lending, particularly the two in question. So, while you attempt to conflate the need for credit with a couple of institutions that steal more value than they create, my point remains the same.

I'm not all about dumping on Obama but he demands it by putting the interests and whims of elite moneychangers over the general welfare of the American people. He is giving a wink and a nod toward this risk taking that is a prime threat to pull us all under and that can't be cool.

[bertman]

42. TheKentuckian, you nailed it in post #23. Thank you.

[Wardoc]

32. So far, he has not earned a vote from many of us for 2012. And while his hiring...

...is not for three years, members of Congress which also have a say in prioritizing are in fact up for hiring this year, and they too have not earned a vote from many of us either.

And all elected offices are to SERVE the public, not command it. It is, in fact, an employee-boss relationship.

[FrenchieCat]

41. Well, all of our fate lies in those votes of which you speak of.......

So it ain't quite the same, i.e., employee-boss relationship....

[Cha]

33. Bullshit..you don't even bother thinking anymore.

[Jim Sagle]

36. Fuckin' A.

:thumbsup:

[jasmeel]

17. I've stopped going to Huff Post- the stories seemed horribly

anti-Obama from a supposedly left leaning site. I haven't heard much about the controversy since I haven't been on the site or watched any of the useless NEW media. What a crapfest!

[iceman66]

24. I am reminded of the Dean "scream"

Similar instance of the media blowing something way out of proportion with the obvious intent of making one of our guys look bad.

[Kahuna]

26. A lot of DUers bought into it. They obviously did not pay attention

to Obama's priorities when he was campaigning. Obama is not one to hold grudges or to "go after" people. That's just not him. Obama is methodical. He will not let the minutia get in the way of what he considers the priorities for fixing our most immediate problems.

[TheKentuckian]

83. If you cannot see that a casino of a financial sector fully backed up by

the US Treasury is of primary threat to the general welfare of the people of the United States of America then I'd like to know what is.

You wanna try and argue that Al Qeada is a more pressing threat, that has immediate potential to do more damage than another round of collapse and generational theft?

THIS IS NOT MINUTIA BY ANY POSSIBLE STANDARDS.

You tell us all about the laundry list of greater threats to our security, standard of living, or future be they foreign or domestic than the financial pirates.

The damage is in the trillions there partner, only a fool or a crook would even try to blow it off as "minutia". That's fucking insulting both personally and as an American citizen.

[These Eyes]

25. Excellent post. Thanks!

[Clio the Leo]

27. And he was right all three times.

Maybe in his next lifetime, Barack Obama will be blessed to have an electorate that is capable of complex, nonlinear thought.

[CBR]

28. We wanted a President who spoke to us like an adult and didn't

see the world as black and white... we got one and we run around acting like Drudge -- simple headlines, out of context attacks. Sigh, I guess the 24-hour idiot media is better.

[Clio the Leo]

30. I feel sorry for him sometimes....

..... because we live in a world of sound bites and he thinks and speaks in paragraph form.

(But then I realize he's still Barack Obama and his life is pretty awesome and I realize that not only can he HANDLE it, but he can give it as well as he can take it.)

[boppers]

29. The professional screaming continues.

It's in the best interest of media to attract attention, first and foremost.... and the internet has vastly expanded the media landscape, offering more venues and outlets for attention-mongers.

So, anything which gives people attention, without taking attention away from them, is the metric being used. Not accuracy, integrity, honesty, decency... but attention.

Obama's statements, policies, etc. are merely secondary ways to this attention, thus blatant mis-characterization is often considered acceptable, not only at the very top of the attention chain, but all the way down to the blogger, blog commenter, tweeter, and everybody issuing forth an opinion on a topic...

...including (as I'm quite self aware of the irony) *this* post on the topic.

[FrenchieCat]

31. It's the politics of "Gotcha", and part of the "change" Obama was talking about

was changing that "good for nothing but misery" shit that the media spews just because it can.

If we are going to react exactly as the media determines, then even the media is not
so much to blame as those of us who on the one hand demand to be treated like adults,
yet we most oftentime react like we're in the 8th grade. We've got to do better!

[Cha]

34. Pres Obama wouldn't do this but

he could come out with a presser and tell all the assholes, who can't read, exactly what he did say.

[FrenchieCat]

48. Yep......Pull out the damn ass teleprompter......called UpChuckToadie up to the lectern,

and have him read it!

That would be a hoot!

[butterfly77]

35. Its the way they phrase an issue..

"Can Obama handle it" "Is Obama up to the job" "Obama is in trouble" "Is Obama tough enough" what in the fuck does that mean.. Liberal media my ass!

Even the so called liberals seem to be conservative and none of these so called Dems seem to have Obama's back never I haven't seen it since the beginning and when they try to pretend you can tell their heart isn't in it..

[AllentownJake]

38. His actions on this issue speak louder than his words

Prior to Scott Brown winning he was talking about light silly reforms that were rearranging deck chairs on the USS To Big To Fail. After Scott Brown he talked about mediocre reforms that he knows will never make it through the Senate with Scott Brown there but will score him some political points.

The entire financial world blew up 3 months before he took his office, and fixing what went wrong has not been a pressing concern of the administration.

None of the parties that have caused this have faced tough questions, no one of any significance has gone to jail, and no reforms have been passed.

So when he says he doesn't begrudge them, I believe that was a gaffe in the Biden sense, accidentally telling the truth.

[Bluesbreaker]

45. Sad but true

The truth hurts, especially if you worked your ass off and contributed to his campaign, but Obama has dropped the ball completely on financial reform. Even worse, the financial reforms he proposed would do next to nothing to end "to big to fail", end the shadow banking system and the credit default swaps market, stop the use of leveraging on institutional gambling, or separate the speculative casinos (investment banks) from commercial banking. This administration for all its talk has proposed nothing to address the most dangerous issues. But it has consistently sided with Wall Street when push came to shove, and continues to let the taxpayer pick up the tab for the banksters, AIG and Fannie/Freddie when their fraudulent schemes fall apart.

It sucks to be punked by someone you helped elect.

[FrenchieCat]

46. You're right, he's not perfect.......

But he's ours!

So I'm gonna go for it!

Fuck naw, Rome wasn't built yesterday....
why would you have expected for it to be? :shrug:

But nothing is over, and nothing is too late,
in fact, you're judging way too early,
simply because it takes nothing to do so.....

One step after another step means movement,
and yeah, I worked my ass off too, so you ain't the only one!

It's a shame really that folks talk as if they might just be willing to
hand back this government to the Repubs, since they are the ones
that fucked it up to begin with!

Could he do things faster? Perhaps, but perhaps not.

I'm gonna stick with it, and say the sucker punch you feel
will be exactly when the ones who got us into this mess are back
at the helm! Now that will be a big ass body blow!

After one year, I've been somewhat disappointed with the take that many have adopted;
that President Obama's "scant" accomplishments have lacked substance after 12 months,
as was ridiculed on SNL Saturday night.

Perhaps it is because I can't share the belief that there is even an underlying truth in the "humorous" SNL depiction,
and in fact, I find it rather dangerous as many are adopting that line in the real world;
a meme pushed at every opportunity by those who initially said he was "doing too much"
to now saying "He's done very little, if anything at all".

The danger in us allowing this intellectually dishonest meme to become the Conventional Wisdom in accessing our Democratic President's first year is how it implies that we have a do-nothing President, when that isn't true at all.

The "lazy/lack of accomplishment/he's all talk and no action" labels that this President has been handed are in fact re-enforcing insidious stereotypes that are odorous and unfair and that play right into the unfortunate racialized psyche of this country. It is not what the people should be hearing, or buying, and we certainly should not be what we are perpetuating; blatant myths just because we can. It really won't help us to distort the reality that is the present, it can only hurt us.

Pres. Obama had one overarching priority to accomplish in his first 12 months, and it was to insure that we would not be falling into an economic abyss that would be impossible to ever get out of.

That's why he was elected above all else, and why after September 15th his poll numbers went up, and basically never came down to election day.

Well, he has been effective on this to a great degree, even if he didn't perform instant miracles.....and with all of our debates, discussions and arguments on the best way out of this mess, He has led us out without becoming the socialist that the Right prematurely accused him of day in, day out.....and although it will take patience, the wheels are moving on our agenda, slowly, but surely.





Economy in U.S. Grew at 5.7% Pace, Most in Six Years
Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- The economy in the U.S. expanded in the fourth quarter at the fastest pace in six years as factories cranked up assembly lines and companies increased investment in equipment and software.

The 5.7 percent increase in gross domestic product, which exceeded the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, marked the best performance since the third quarter of 2003, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Efforts to rebuild depleted inventories contributed 3.4 percentage points to GDP, the most in two decades.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=acQASpga4OhM&pos=1

Blue-Collar Jobs in Demand for 2010

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-blue_collar_jobs_in_demand_for_2010-1099




Volcker Op-Ed: Look out, big banks. Change is coming
Paul Volcker, chairman of the president’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, contributes an important op-ed to today's NY Times. And the message to big banks is clear: Your "too-big-to-fail" ass has been saved for the last time: ......
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/opinion/31volcker.html?pagewanted=1

"...Love him or hate him, or anything in between, recognition of the overall effect of the broad points of Obama's emergency economic policies --- quickly passed at an historic moment of looming disaster --- is due. At least along with any honest appraisal of those policies."
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7679

and well, the Barack Obama Admin and Dems in Congress did some other Hopey-Changey things as well.


One down, two more to come

.....because even with the wrench thrown in by Republican Scott Brown's election in Massachusetts, this Democratic Congress is on a path to become one of the most productive since the Great Society 89th Congress in 1965-66, and Obama already has the most legislative success of any modern president -- and that includes Ronald Reagan and Lyndon Johnson. The deep dysfunction of our politics may have produced public disdain, but it has also delivered record accomplishment.

There were also massive investments in green technologies, clean water and a smart grid for electricity, while the $70 billion or more in energy and environmental programs was perhaps the most ambitious advancement in these areas in modern times. As a bonus, more than $7 billion was allotted to expand broadband and wireless Internet access, a step toward the goal of universal access.

Any Congress that passed all these items separately would be considered enormously productive. Instead, this Congress did it in one bill.

Lawmakers then added to their record by expanding children's health insurance and providing stiff oversight of the TARP funds allocated by the previous Congress.

Other accomplishments included a law to allow the FDA to regulate tobacco, the largest land conservation law in nearly two decades, a credit card holders' bill of rights and defense procurement reform.

The House, of course, did much more, including approving a historic cap-and-trade bill and sweeping financial regulatory changes. And both chambers passed their versions of a health-care overhaul. Financial regulation is working its way through the Senate, and even in this political environment it is on track for enactment in the first half of this year. It is likely that the package of job-creation programs the president showcased on Wednesday, most of which got through the House last year, will be signed into law early on as well.

Most of this has been accomplished without any support from Republicans in either the House or the Senate -- an especially striking fact, since many of the initiatives of the New Deal and the Great Society, including Social Security and Medicare, attracted significant backing from the minority Republicans.
snip
Democratic ideologies stretch from the left-wing views of Bernie Sanders in the Senate and Maxine Waters in the House to the conservative approach of Ben Nelson in the Senate and Bobby Bright in the House, with every variation in between. Finding 219 votes for climate-change legislation in the House was nothing short of astonishing; getting all 60 Senate Democrats to support any version of major health-care reform, an equal feat.
snip
specific new policies -- such as energy conservation and protection for public lands -- enjoy solid and broad public support. But many voters discount them simply because they were passed or proposed by unpopular lawmakers. In Massachusetts, people who enthusiastically support their state's health-care system were hostile to the very similar plan passed by Congress. Why? Because it was a product of Congress.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012902516.html

Obama proposes federal climate change agency
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration proposed a new climate change agency yesterday to provide Americans with predictions on how global warming will affect everything from drought to sea levels.

The initiative, modeled loosely on the 140-year-old National Weather Service, would provide forecasts to farmers, regional water managers, and business operators affected by changing climate conditions. It is being proposed as skeptics have become increasingly effective in attacking the credibility of global warming forecasts.

The agency would be part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which monitors climate and conducts research. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration also directs similar operations.

“We currently respond to millions of annual requests for climate information, and we expect those requests to grow exponentially,’’ said Jane Lubchenco, NOAA administrator, adding that with recent scientific advances, “the models will continue to improve, and we will be able to provide more and more information.’’
(snip)
The agency launched a web portal yesterday at www.climate.gov to provide a single entry point for access to climate information, products, and services.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/02/09/obama_proposes_federal_climate_change_agency/



here is one extremely consequential area where Obama has done just about everything a liberal could ask for -- but done it so quietly that almost no one, including most liberals, has noticed. Obama's three Republican predecessors were all committed to weakening or even destroying the country's regulatory apparatus: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the other agencies that are supposed to protect workers and consumers by regulating business practices.

Now Obama is seeking to rebuild these battered institutions. In doing so, he isn't simply improving the effectiveness of various government offices or making scattered progress on a few issues; he is resuscitating an entire philosophy of government with roots in the Progressive era of the early twentieth century. Taken as a whole, Obama's revival of these agencies is arguably the most significant accomplishment of his first year in office. <...>
<more>
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com /


Presented two Budgets that, considering the state of our economy are more Progressive than any budget in 2 decades!

Specifically addressing FDR’s mistake in reducing spending in 1937, Orszag indicated the Administration will not make drastic cuts that will threaten the fragile recovery. The path to deficit reduction is based on reversing the fiscal policies of the last 8 years including allowing the Bush tax cuts for those earning over $250,000 to expire, ending the fossil fuel subsidies, ending the Iraq & Afghanistan wars, implementing the Fiscal Commision, and instituting the 3 year freeze. In addition, Orszag said strict adherence to PayGo will prevent irresponsible spending as it did in the 90s. This is also the thinking behind the freeze in that departments will have the ability to raise spending provided they find reductions to pay for it. These tactics are expected to reduce the deficit to 3.9% of GDP by 2015, just above the accepted target of 3% of GDP. Even so, in order to set the country on solid ground for the long term, Orszag acknowledged the need to reform health care in order to reduce the costs of Medicaid and Medicare. Health care has the potential of consuming over 10% of GDP by 2050, which is not sustainable.
http://obama-mamas.com/blog/?p=1162

Report Card on Civil Liberties

Obama pledged to reject the Bush administration's fast-and-loose adherence to constitutional rights. How is he doing?


During his inauguration speech, President Barack Obama declared, "As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." These were words many Americans who voted for Obama longed to hear -- an acknowledgement that American security could not be purchased by shredding the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.

Interrogation
On Jan. 22, 2009, two days after having taken office, Obama issued an executive order instructing all agents of the U.S. government to follow interrogation procedures outlined in the Army Field Manual, which bans the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques." The executive order states plainly that individuals in U.S. custody shall "in all circumstances be treated humanely and shall not be subjected to violence to life and person (including murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment, and torture), nor to outrages upon personal dignity (including humiliating and degrading treatment)."

This is a marked change from the Bush administration's guidelines, which held that the "executive branch's constitutional authority to protect the nation from attack" trumped all legal and treaty obligations governing how detainees should be treated. The Bush administration's definition of torture "was so narrow as to allow almost anything," according to Ken Gude, an expert on human rights and international law at the Center for American Progress.

"This is the one area where I think we've seen the most change. There will be no gray areas; we've got a pretty clear standard," Gude says. By instructing adherence to the Field Manual, the administration has signaled "there will be no attempt to redefine language to allow things that people would generally consider torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment."

Verdict: Change we can believe in.

Rendition
The same executive order that banned "enhanced interrogation" techniques also ordered the CIA to close the infamous "black sites" where detainees were interrogated and held without trial. It also prohibited the transfer of individuals to other countries to face torture, or transfers with the "purpose or effect" of undermining the United States' obligation to "ensure the humane treatment of individuals in its custody or control."

On April 9, CIA Director Leon Panetta issued a memo to Congress confirming that the black sites had in fact been closed but that the CIA retains the authority to detain individuals solely "on a short-term transitory basis." Gude explains that there is a difference between "extraordinary rendition," the process by which detainees were rendered to CIA "black sites" or to other third countries where they would likely be tortured, and "rendition," which is the transfer of detainees outside the normal extradition process. The purpose of extraordinary rendition, Gude says, is to keep suspects outside of the justice system, while the purpose of rendition is to transfer them into a country where they can be tried for their alleged crimes.

"The Obama administration has ceased the process of extraordinary rendition, but rendition exists as an option," Gude says, adding that it is not necessarily a bad thing. "There are times when it's not feasible for governments to follow the traditional extradition process, simply because cooperation between the United States and another government is not always possible."

On the other hand, the American Civil Liberties Union's Jonathan Hafetz who has acted as counsel in several cases involving terrorism detainees, cautions that even the CIA's limited detention authority may still lead to problems. "The suggestion that the CIA has authority to conduct extrajudicial handovers to foreign governments is ambiguous and troubling, as is the statement that the CIA can still conduct 'transitory' detentions."


Verdict: Change for the better, but questions remain.

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=report_card_on_civil_liberties


And the fact that this government has been more transparent than any others,
Obama administration wins high marks for ‘transparency’
According to the report authored by Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters and U.S. PIRG, "The cumulative effect of the administration's actions has been to adopt the strongest and most comprehensive lobbying, ethics and transparency rules and policies ever established by an administration to govern its own activities."
http://www.peoplesworld.org/obama-administration-wins-high-marks-for-transparency/


and has reformed procurement policies via the defense Department,

Obama backs defense procurement overhaul
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/04/obama_backs_def.html

Military procurement reform sweeps through Senate
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/07/military.procurement/index.html

Obama signs weapons procurement reform
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/05/22/Obama-signs-weapons-procurement-reform/UPI-75731243011243/


while raising the salaries of our Armed Forces,

Congress approves 3.4 percent pay raise for military
http://blog.al.com/live/2009/10/congress_approves_34_percent_p.html

and passing a GI bill of Rights:
New GI Bill sending veterans to school this fall
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-07-31-gi-bill_N.htm?obref=obinsite


while giving 95% of Americans a tax cut, the biggest tax cut for middle class Americans
ever passed......
BIGGEST. TAX CUT. EVER.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_02/016948.php

Leaving Iraq

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2010/01/05/Leaving-Iraq-Logistics-move-staggering/UPI-25521262732688/


"DADT....
"This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are," Obama said. "It's the right thing to do." When the president made the remark, cameras showed Defense Secretary Robert Gates standing and applauding, along with many Democratic lawmakers.

Marc Ambinder reports today that the president's directive wasn't just rhetoric -- the administration is already moving forward with a plan to implement the new policy.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

The Senate Armed Services Committee, for the first time in 17 years, convened a hearing today on whether the U.S. military should allow Americans to wear a uniform, regardless of their sexual orientation. It went pretty well, though there are some lingering concerns about implementing a change in policy.

The nation's top two Defense officials called on Tuesday for an end to the 16-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" law, a major step toward allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the United States military for the first time in its history.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

Gay military rights advocate Lt. Dan Choi Back on Active Duty

"Gay military rights advocate Lt. Dan Choi has been reportedly called back into active duty. Photographer Jeff Sheng, who recently turned his lens on active gay and lesbian service members, confirmed the news in a blog posting on Bilerico.com.



Choi was to appear at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Creating Change conference but could not attend due to his being called to serve."
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/02/09/Dan_Choi_Back_in_Active_Duty/

Lt. Choi: Other Openly Gay Soldiers Are Being Called Back To Service During Time Of War
Lt. Dan Choi — the DADT advocate who was discharged from the military after he came out as gay on The Rachel Maddow Show — appeared on CNN’s The Situation Room yesterday to discuss his recent call back to training with the National Guard. “Essentially, my commander says, we’re going to war and we need all of the capable soldiers that we could get to train with us,” Choi explained.

Choi said he knew other gay soldiers who were in the process of being discharged but “had been told by their commanders” to come back for the time being. “I know of some of them that are out there. And there’s a lot of people that are in their units that I — I think they realize, look, we’re in a time of war, we’ve got to have everybody that we can.”
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=178920&mesg_id=178920

---------------



If the midterm elections in November turn out to be more like 1994, when Democrats got hammered, than 1982, when Republicans suffered a less costly blow, the GOP will probably be emboldened to double down on its opposition to everything, trying to bring the Obama presidency to its knees on the way to 2012. That would mean real gridlock in the face of a serious crisis. Given the precarious coalitions in our otherwise dysfunctional politics, we could go quickly from one of the most productive Congresses in our lifetimes to the most obstructionist.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012902516.html

[AllentownJake]

47. What the hell does that have to do with finance industry reform?

Which is why the comment has drawn ire. If the President had just put a bunch of people for the fraud that has caused 20% of the wealth in this country to evaporate, in jail, to quote Alan Grayson or had been fighting for tough regulations all of 2009, I doubt that the comment would have caused anyone to raise an eyebrow.

Like I stated, his actions speak louder than his words on this issue, and the rhetoric in that interview perfectly match his policy and his administrations actions on this issue.

[FrenchieCat]

49. Don't get mad, get active!

You can march in teabag rallies, or you can start writing to the media and tell them that as a citizen, you are demanding some financial regulation reforms, AND YOU WANT THEM NOW!

Call it citizen action.

We can't always look for a daddy to fix everything, if we aren't willing to take any actions ourselves....and I'm not just talking about typing on the Internet, either. You see,
all of it relates. The more victories we win, the more we get to move forward. If all we do is criticize and point fingers, then in the end, we'll be standing still, and we won't get shit....not financial reforms, not health care reform, not good solid progressive justices, not shit. The point is that we can't allow the fucked media to distort shit this President says! You hear me? Not a damn thing. If we can't do that, then of what use are we to ourselves? I've got his back so that he can get things through. What about you?

sorry about this, but for whatever reason, all of the sudden, I'm fired up and really, really ready to go! He can't do it on his own. He can't do it with knives in his back. He can't do it if we ain't there. So what are you gonna do? Are you gonna come along and have somebody's back or are you just gonna be standing still being mad?

[AllentownJake]

50. I think I'm probably one of the most "active" on the board

The President has to lead on this issue. That is his job, I've more than done my job for him in helping him get to the White House. His policies have sucked on this issue.

Citizen action happens every 2 years federally, and the failure to lead on what should have been the defining point of his first two years (It's rare that there is a crisis and the administration focuses on something entirely different than the crisis and the causes of it). People are given two choices every 2-4 years.

I'm just not that into him. Nor will I ever be that into him after his first year and ignoring the situation that caused our great recession/depression or whatever you want to call 20% of the population going from full employment to under employment, unemployment, and losing hope in the job market. Something we will not recover from, even with the White Houses rosy predictions till 2016.

Focusing on the state of PA for a while, and the statewide candidates in 2010 so that the cuts that will be made as a result of the financial terrorist are sensible and hurt people the least.

I'm pragmatic as well.

[FrenchieCat]

51. Citizen Action isn't just about voting.....

and you, of all people, based on what you constantly say about being one of the most active on this board, should then well know.

You say....."I'm just not that into him. Nor will I ever be that into him"

But it ain't about him....and I guess that's the part you fail to see.

But you know what, I'm not gonna get frustrated, or any of that.....so Peace to you....as there are others who do understand that complaining adnauseum just ain't gonna hit the spot.
Either you really want change, even if it ain't the exact change you want,
or perhaps you just want to complaint non stop on how you don't see any.

We will have financial reform after all is said and done, despite you.

[AllentownJake]

52. Funny

There is a guy advocating for Finance Reform, every single day on TV, at 4:00 EST on MSNBC and you had the audacity to call him a Tea Bagger because he wasn't mean enough to a guy wearing a silly costume talking in a silly accent for your taste and has had some not so nice things to say about the administration policy on this issue, and when I try to educate people on this issue on this board, you and a few others will come running in making all sorts of accusations to my motives.

Now when the President makes a gaffe, and tells the truth about how he really feels, and that he really isn't that concerned, it's all my fault and we are going to get something despite me because the guy leading isn't that concerned.

Citizen action means taking on the White House on this issue, however when anyone wants to take on the White House, you attack them in a reflexive matter that is almost comical.

Afghanistan, Health Care Reform, Economic Issues, LGBT. Anyone who isn't towing the company line gets the enemy treatment from you if they want to actually do action, and it doesn't coincide with Barack's stated goal that week.

P.S. Moveon.org fired off a shot at the White House today on this issue. You can tell the Rahm Fan Club, Message Discipline is Fucking DEAD.

You can't have it both ways here, you can't call for loyalty and citizen action on Finance Reform in the same series of posts.

[FrenchieCat]

53. I'm not a one issue individual......

While your friend straight from CNBC is.
He didn't expose the teabaggers when he well could have for a reason.
He talks a good game as long as it is consistently against the Obama administration,
and that is what he shares in common with the teabaggers.

et tu Ratigan? (just kidding!)

Citizen Action doesn't mean being Anti government. Citizen Action means doing what you can
to get your goal, or as close to it achieved.

As for this attacking; I am not attacking you or anyone else for that matter,
so stop making things up. Just as assertive as you are, then so am I.

as for message discipline; there was never any....so who are you kidding? :rofl:


Now, I will bid you goodnight, dear AllentownJake. Hope things are doing OK over at the
Citizen Action central nerve center; the Old Elm Tree. :hi:

[AllentownJake]

54. You are one issue

Barack Obama. Anything outside of that matters nothing to you and I know I'm right, when one of you mentions the Tree.

[FrenchieCat]

55. Delete.....

Not worth it.

[AllentownJake]

56. BTW

Dylan is having a public fight with Glenn Beck over climate change complete with mocking Beck's chalk board.

Still a Tea Bagger?

:rofl:

[FrenchieCat]

57. Self delete

Don't need this!

[AllentownJake]

59. I apologize

I'll only call your reasoning stupid and articulate to you why you are wrong on here in your OPS from now on which is what I have always done.

No secret, I think you are wrong.

You call for citizen action, than get mad at it, when it is against the administration on an issue.

[FrenchieCat]

60. Self Delete

Wasting time on issues that don't matter won't help a soul!

[AllentownJake]

61. Put yourself on ignore than

because you have the most condescending post of anyone on DU.

If you tried to drum up support for the President in real life like you do on DU, yes I would have you shredding paper in the corner of the office. You don't win friends, by constantly attacking anyone's concerns or dismissing them. You also don't sell policy well and take political criticisms of the administration as a personal attack on the President.

If that is how you would behave at a door or on a phone, you couldn't be on it.

[FrenchieCat]

63. Self delete

Why bother? :shrug:

[AllentownJake]

64. I claimed no credit

I laughed at the bullshit hate mail I was getting saying I did, when I hardly respond to her post.

I was getting hate mail on a regular basis which is why I left. I'm out there on a regular basis doing volunteer work for democratic candidates, and I get hate mail from people on DU because they don't like an opinion accusing me of all kinds of bullshit like driving Nance off the board when I hardly say anything in her posts, because, I don't generally read them.

[FrenchieCat]

67. You didn't get any hate mail from me, that's for sure.

Tell those folks I'm gonna act like they don't exist,
so they can go at it, and spend their Citizen action time on more 4 page threads
talking about me, and polls about me.

Can't think of any reason that they would need to do what they do
other than hate and/or jealousy. They should try growing up instead,
cause hate is painful to live with, especially if the one you hate hasn't
really done anything to you, and I can't believe I'm that effective,
so I won't even pretend to know their motives.
Frustration perhaps? :shrug:

[AllentownJake]

71. You and I are lightning rods for two different sets of opinion on DU

and in the party as a whole and there is about to be a very big debate in the party, that is going to be very nasty, if the trends continue from 2009 into 2010.

[JTFrog]

73. ...

[FrenchieCat]

74. I'm no lighting rod......

I don't want Republicans to win in 2010....
and you obviously don't really give a shit if it will teach somebody a lesson.

I believe that fighting in the party ain't gonna bring us shit.
You obviously don't care what it brings cause it is all the same to you.

[AllentownJake]

76. The chicken and the egg debate

Is bad policy going to bring republicans or people thinking policy isn't so great.

Here is the deal, people are suffering, they are getting little relief, and they are seeing Washington crazily concerned about special interest and not them.

I'll give you a very small example, a million people will lose their unemployment at the end of February, they will get letters saying they are going to be cut-off and there are no job prospects for them, The Senate has waited to the last minute every single time to do an extension.

These people want to work, they would rather do that, however there are few openings and a lot of applicants. They go through this process every 3 months after getting rejection every day as they apply for work.

When the banks were in trouble, the Senate couldn't vote fast enough.

Despite what I say or do, people notice these things, and it doesn't bode well for our party, because the little people, are the ones who vote for us.

If I wanted Republicans, why am I collecting signatures for democratic candidates next week? You can't blame me in 2010 if things don't go our way.

[FrenchieCat]

77. The chicken came first....

pacing crazily around looking in the air screaming the sky is falling.

I'm done. Bye!

[AllentownJake]

78. Can't blame me in 2010

I'm out there working, with what little the leaders have given me to work with.

I'm having a lot more trouble getting people to volunteer and people who have your opinion are as well about criticism, and I doubt, that strangers from list are reading my DU rants.

[JTFrog]

66. ...

[JTFrog]

65. Wow, that's fucked up.

Seriously fucked up.

But then I'm not surprised in the least he would do that.

[FrenchieCat]

68. It's ok......

What can you say?
Sometimes folks just don't have much else to do. :shrug:

[JTFrog]

70. Well if I could, I would buy you a 100 hearts.

You're one of the only reasons I still come to this place.

Thank you for all that you do here.

[FrenchieCat]

72. Thanks......

you're a sweetheart! :pals:

[tbyg52]

86. Darn, you deleted the advert for OET? nt

[SemiCharmedQuark]

58. He also said Al Gore was "fear mongering"

I don't think he's a teabagger, but I don't think he's a liberal either.

[FrenchieCat]

62. He also said that Teabaggers were non partisan, and not attached to any one party.

They are Republicans through and through, and he knows this. Ratigan may be hoping to convert some, which is one of the reasons that he doesn't trash teabaggers for what they are.

[JTFrog]

69. He didn't fight with him over climate change.....

He specifically said that he didn't believe there was proof of nor proof against climate change.

He argued over a basic science principle.

[The Wizard]

75. Real financial reform

will come when one of these major crooks is dragged out into the street, tied to a pole and horse whipped.
With pain comes awareness.

[saracat]

85. Wow, always the same argument , Always. He's not perfect but he's "ours"?

Do you feel that way about Traffecant and Blagosevich as well? Somehow, I doubt it, but they are "ours" too! Are ALL Democrats immune from criticism? And the baby steps, too early to criticize meme is getting really old. It is said "as you begin, so you shall go on" and nowhere is it indicated that the president will ever lessen up on the faux bipartisanship stuff in order to get things really done. if not for that effort we might have had real health reform! And what about that extending the patriot Act within the confines of the jobs Bill? Nice work there!

:sarcasm: It is going to get to the point where some will congratulate the president for even going to work! Hey, he worked during the snow storm! Yay!

Despite what some thing I voted for this man and I "hoped" for better. The major problem is we live in extraordinary times and we need an extraordinary leader. We got an ordinary one who is doing business as usual and not making the supreme effort necessary to pull us out of this very deep hole.Instead he is extending the hand of friendship to those who put us there to begin with.And about that hole, the GOP alone didn't put us there. They did it with lots of Democratic help.That was the result of a true "bipartisan effort" !

[ladym55]

39. Thanks for calling out the spin

Yep. Republicans can spew lies and talking points nonstop without question or comment. The President must parse every word, every breath, every look ... and he gets it from all angles. The media control the conventional wisdom.

I agree ... the Kerry "joke" (especially given the open-mouth-speak-gaffe of then pretzeldent Bush) ... the Dean scream. All were things that were blown way out of proportion to take out the Dem.

The folks in power want the Republicans to do their dirty work. Dems might just cramp that, and we can't have that.

[FrenchieCat]

40. Amen!

[jillan]

43. Go get 'em Frenchie!!

[rpannier]

44. Very well put

Too many people don't read the article or everything that is said
They read the headline or a blurb and it becomes 'gospel.'

Example
"Person-X said "I like fascism!"

Actual quote "I like fascism less than I would like open heart surgery with no anesthesia."

edit for spelling

[srf Rantz]

79. finally someone points out the truth

I have lost all faith in just about all media now. left and right. MSM and netroots. even supposedly trusted sources.

at least on the left most of the time they included the actual quote after the false headline report of Obama approving of "bonuses".

welcome to the "tabloid" media. thank you Rupert Murdoch!

[wolfgirl]

80. whenever one of these gotcha headlines appear, I

try to find the entire article/video to determine he context of whatever quote is used. I am stunned at how often the headline & cited quote will be in direct contrast with what was actually being said. The misrepresentation (lie?) or misinterpretation (stupid lie?)stuns me.

People (especially those of us supporting this President) need to take a breath and get the FACTS before we jump out there and accept without question that our President has "sold out" or he's "crumbled" or whatever catchphrase is the talking point of the day.


(I'm off my soapbox)! Happy Olympics Opening Day!

[dionysus]

81. does it even surprise you that people here will lie their asses off to propagate

their bitter hatred?

[Name removed]

84. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Number23]

87. Didn't see this before! Too late to rec but I can kick

[firedupdem]

88. Well said Frenchie.... n/t