Staggering Losses

* Republican leaders across the country are nervous. With staggering losses in recent elections, and the defection of a high profile U.S. Senator, the Republicans Party's "core beliefs" are not jiving with a large majority of the American people. Will other Republicans leave the party of "NO!" in the future? Only time will tell.

For a long time, Republican leaders have derided the RINOs (Republican In Name Only) in their party. They've isolated them and denied them access to political funds because they did not follow the strict, ultra-conservative line. America is multi-cultural, with many different religions, and traditions. We are a nation of immigrants, although Republicans have forgotten that. While the Democratic Party has welcomed all people of different backgrounds, beliefs, and lifestyles, the Republicans want only strong believers in their dogma.

Will the Republican Party go the way of the Studebaker and the Edsel? Only time will tell.

Sebelius In!

Good news for those of us who worry about things like health---- the U.S. Senate has confirmed the nomination of Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of HHS (Health and Human Services). The roll call vote was 65 to 31, according to Senate.gov. I know you are wondering which Senators voted against Sebelius!!! Here is the list of the NAYS (all Republicans):

Alexander (R-TN) Barrasso (R-WY) Bennett (R-UT) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID)

DeMint (R-SC) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Kyl (R-AZ)

Martinez (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ) McConnell (R-KY) Murkowski (R-AK) Risch (R-ID) Shelby (R-AL) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Wicker (R-MS)

Big, Big News!

* Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania has announced that he will switch to the Democratic Party. Although it has widely been rumored as a possibility, Specter had a news conference this afternoon. As noted on MSNBC, Specter has served as a Republican for 29 years. Specter has supported legislation for stem cell research, but has voiced opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act.

21?

Is it possible that Apple will bring the iPhone to Verizon? I hope so! Information Week as an update about negotiations:
Apple and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless are in "high-level" talks about breaking AT&T (NYSE: T)'s exclusivity regarding the popular iPhone, according to a report by USA Today.

Citing people familiar with the situation, the report said the iPhone could potentially find its way onto Verizon's networks as early as next year. The move would give Apple access to about 80 million new Verizon customers, and it would enable Verizon to stem the tide of subscribers defecting to AT&T to nab Apple's touch-screen smartphone....

As a longtime Verizon subscriber, I would definitely get an iPhone, if it became an option in the Verizon network.

*** It looks like the people at Fox would rather ignore the historic marker of President Obama's first 100 days in office, according to Raw Story.

****** Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post's The Fix, has a reaction to the latest WashingtonPost/ABCNews Poll:

The new Washington Post/ABC news poll has all sorts of intriguing numbers in it but when you are looking for clues as to where the two parties stand politically there is only one number to remember: 21.

That's the percent of people in the Post/ABC survey who identified themselves as Republicans, down from 25 percent in a late March poll and at the lowest ebb in this poll since the fall of 1983(!)....

...The number of people who see themselves as GOPers is on the decline even as those who remain within the party grow more and more conservative.....

Ouch! Looks to me like the party of "NO!" (AKA Republican, GOP) is disappearing.

Monday's Facts

> **** Update!!!!****

Did you know that funding for pandemic flu preparedness was removed from the stimulus package bill by Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins? This is a very interesting posting by Jason Linkins at the Huffington Post:

....as it turns out, volcano monitoring wasn't the only worthwhile public safety program that was deemed extravagant in the stimulus package, funding for pandemic preparation was axed as well. And playing a critical role was Susan Collins -- for whom the necessity of obtaining her vote is in inverse proportion to the intelligence she shows in policy making:

Famously, Maine Senator Collins, the supposedly moderate Republican who demanded cuts in health care spending in exchange for her support of a watered-down version of the stimulus, fumed about the pandemic funding: "Does it belong in this bill? Should we have $870 million in this bill No, we should not."

Even now, Collins continues to use her official website to highlight the fact that she led the fight to strip the pandemic preparedness money out of the Senate's version of the stimulus measure...

You might want to check her website while the link is still posted (Sen. Susan Collins):

...After meeting with Mr. Obama, Sen. Collins expressed concern about a number of spending provisions, including $780 million for pandemic-flu preparedness. "I have no doubt that the president is willing to negotiate in good faith, that he wants to have a bipartisan bill," Sen. Collins said....

I hope that the Republicans stop delaying the confirmation of Kathleen Sebelius for Sec. of Health and Human Services. The GOP has been stalling confirmation of a number of people in the CDC and the Department of Health at the risk of the American people.

> This is a big day in Iowa, according to the DesMoines Register:
Same-sex marriage becomes the law of the land in Iowa today, but out-of-state residents who are married here aren't likely to be afforded the same rights as heterosexual couples when they return home.

Iowa's lack of a residency law allows out-of-state gay and lesbian couples to join Iowans seeking marriage licenses at recorders offices across the state, starting this morning. State law calls for a three-day waiting period before the licenses can be used, although same-sex marriages will take place today if judges waive that provision....


>> The Ohio Republicans are playing a little game here in the state. Republican State Rep. Seth Morgan sued Governor Ted Strickland for some research papers related to improving school funding in the state. Morgan's case was taken to the Ohio Supreme Court and, according to the Dispatch:

...The Ohio Supreme Court prodded Gov. Ted Strickland yesterday to provide more records about his school-funding plan to a state representative, but the justices did not fault Strickland for not handing over all of the documents already.

The court's ruling was unanimous but mixed: It noted that Rep. Seth Morgan's requests for documents were broad but said the Dayton-area Republican has a right to the information.....

.....The governor has turned over more than 7,000 documents to Morgan, which he has posted online at ohioeducationevidence.com. But Morgan said he's still looking for more about how the governor's education plan was designed.....

Morgan and the Ohio Republicans are starting to resemble the National Republican Party in that they have no new ideas of their own, but they will attack, deride, and tear apart the Democrats for their proposals. While Republican Jim Hughes pontificated and wasted precious time to pass his legislation in the State Senate that relates to one person with a urine fetish (Dispatch 10/21/09), the school children in Ohio wait for equitable school funding in the state. Morgan, Hughes, and the rest of the Ohio GOP need to get something done instead of playing games with children's futures.

Minnesotans Want Coleman to Call It Quits

A very interesting little poll has been published in the Star Tribune:

Nearly two-thirds of Minnesotans surveyed think Norm Coleman should concede the U.S. Senate race to Al Franken, but just as many believe the voting system that gave the state its longest running election contest needs improvement.

A new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll has found that 64 percent of those responding believe Coleman, the Republican, should accept the recount trial court's April 13 verdict that Democrat Franken won the race by 312 votes.....

....Franken spokesman Andy Barr said the poll numbers speak for themselves.

Coleman and the Republicans are just penalizing the people of Minnesota and trying to obstruct the work that must be done to fix the country.

Give it up, Norm!!!!!
Give it up, Norm!!!!!
Give it up, Norm!!!!!

Get Moving

* I hope that the Republicans will not filibuster the vote for Kathleen Sebelius for Secretary of Health and Human Services. You'd think that with the possibility of a swine flu outbreak, the Republicans will think long and hard before going down that path.

* I'm not completely knowledgeable about the texting shorthand that younger people know and use. However, when I saw the following quote, I thought OMG ROFL (Reuters):

"We believe over the last three months we've offered a lot of better solutions than what has been proposed by the administration," said John Boehner, the top Republican in the House of Representatives.

Don't you wonder what is the basis for Boehner's reality???? The President is working to get this country working and moving again. The Republicans, are the other hand, have nothing to offer except scare tactics, fear, name calling, and tax cuts for the rich.

Shame and Disgust at the Use of Torture

Trust me, I'm no Peggy Noonan. I don't want these torture accusations to just go away. I'm positive that there are millions of Americans that share my view that we need to prosecute those that planned and allowed people to be tortured. Waterboarding and other forms of "enhanced interrogation" are torture. Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Dick Cheney's have trivialized torture in their interviews in the past few days. Limbaugh even slapped himself on his show to try to prove slapping wasn't that harmful. (I'd like to see him really get slapped by some interrogator. He'd cry like a baby.) Hannity volunteered to be waterboarded for charity.

I think we need to write, e-mail, fax, and call our Senators and Representatives and let them know how upset we are that someone tortured in our name, and then they justified it.

I'm Glad You Asked!

* Update: I heard about this on the Today Show. Check out a special Behind-the-Scenes-Photo Essay from Time Magazine on President Obama's 100 Days (photographer- Callie Shell):

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1893255,00.html

* We've become addicted to Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, and Ed Schultz on MSNBC. Knowing that watching these three programs just makes Bill O'Reilly furious, makes it all even sweeter!

* In these tough economic times, it is important that everyone do whatever they can to help each other. With so many people out of work, soup kitchens and food banks are seeing record numbers of requests for food and assistance. If you are able, check with your local groups on how you can help. Here in central Ohio, contact the Mid-Ohio Foodbank to see how you can assist their program.

* CNBC's Mad Money guy, Jim Cramer, made an appearance at the Ohio State University's Drake Union. According to the Dispatch, this was all part of Cramer's College Tour. In addition to taping his show, Cramer also provided his opinion on local stocks and banks (Dispatch):

...As for Huntington Bancshares, "they screwed up," Cramer said, referring to the bank's exposure to $1.5 billion in subprime mortgages through its acquisition of Sky Financial in 2007.

He's having a hard time getting behind Cardinal Health, a pharmaceutical distributor and the biggest locally based company.....

* I'm glad that the people at Time Warner have changed their minds regarding a billing method to charge by the hour/minute for their internet users. If Time Warner would set up such a meter billing method, we'd definitely change our internet provider.

* This whole torture thing just makes me sick! Why did the previous administration do this crap? They broke the law! It all just makes me hopeful that President Obama, the Justice Department and/or a Special Prosecutor will punish those who encouraged and allowed torture. Will someone tell Mr. Cheney to just go away???? How can he defend torture?

The Talking Points Memo has a link to the Washington Post that is reporting that----------

Condoleezza Rice, John D. Ashcroft and other top Bush administration officials approved as early as the summer of 2002 the CIA's use at secret prisons of harsh interrogation methods, including waterboarding, a technique that new Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has described as illegal torture, according to a chronology prepared by the Senate intelligence committee and declassified by Holder.....

We've got to investigate this horrible stuff to make sure that it is never, ever happens again.

Just asking....

* Has anyone told Dick Cheney that he is no longer the Vice President? I guess that Mr. Cheney's face in the news is a great reminder of the failures of the Bush administration.

* It seems hilarious that many Republicans are looking to Newt Gingrich for leadership. The thrice married, former Speaker of the House has had quite a few scandals in his background. Many of us remember Gingrich's house bank scandal that rocked the Republican Party in the 90's.

* The New York Times is reporting that the Yankees are having difficulty filling their expensive seats in the new stadium. Who would pay up to $2,625 per seat to go see a baseball game? I think that is excessive.

* As I've mentioned here before, Columbus radio is pathetic. We've got more religious and sports stations than necessary. It has become apparent that the loss of liberal talk radio (Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, Bill Press, etc.) has left a huge void on the radio dial. I'd rather stick a fork in my eye than listen to Limbaugh. Can't someone help bring back liberal talk radio to central Ohio?
Pleeeeeeaaaaasssssseeeeee!!!!!!!

News

* Looks like the FDIC has had to add a couple more banks to their failed bank list. Check out the FDIC Failed Bank List here.

* The Boston Globe is reporting that a man has been charged with the hotel murder. The accused is a twenty-two year old medical student.

* John Boehner, Republican leader and cigarette smoker (re: 1, 2, 3,) had this to say recently (NY Times):

Congressman John Boehner, the Ohio Republican who leads his party in the House, is no fan of the Environmental Protection Agency. Last week, the agency declared that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases posed a danger to public health, paving the way for regulation of their emission....
...The complete transcript of the show is available at the Web site of ABC News ....

...STEPHANOPOULOS: So what is the responsible way? That’s my question. What is the Republican plan to deal with carbon emissions, which every major scientific organization has said is contributing to climate change?

BOEHNER: George, the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know, when they do what they do, you’ve got more carbon dioxide. And so I think it’s clear…

Just because Mr. Boehner infuses his body with harmful chemicals found in cigarettes doesn't mean that the rest of us want to be exposed to similar chemicals found in our environment. Boehner's right wing, unscientific views are not shared by a majority of Americans. We want our environment clean and healthy for ourselves and future generations. The days of looking the other way while corporations endanger land, air, and water, are over.

The Neverending Election

* Six months after the November election, the Minnesota U.S. Senate race has yet to be finalized. DFLer Al Franken has garnered more votes than GOPer Norm Coleman. However, Coleman and his lawyers plan to prolong the actual swearing in of Franken for several more years (at least it seems that way). I feel sorry for the people of Minnesota. They are being represented by one U.S. Senator while Coleman plays games. The Star Tribune has more about Coleman's pathetic attempt to overturn the election results.

Communication

* Two Republicans, Newt Gingrich and Sen. John Ensign, are upset that President Obama shook hands with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Gingrich, who appeared on the Today Show this morning, said it was inappropriate for Obama to smile and shake hands with a brutal dictator like Chavez. In reality, President Obama could not turn away from Chavez. It was important that the President greet Chavez in order to open the lines of communication. As the saying goes, "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

Chavez and the Castro brothers have had their way without our input. By opening the door to diplomacy just slightly, change and communication could follow. We cannot allow the policies of the Bush administration dictate our conduct today. Cowboy diplomacy and arrogance ended in January, and we must not revisit those failed policies again.

* According to an article in the NY Times, President Obama reads some of the letters he receives, and even responds to them!

...Tens of thousands of letters, e-mail messages and faxes arrive at the White House every day. A few hundred are culled and end up each weekday afternoon on a round wooden table in the office of Mr. Kelleher, the director of the White House Office of Correspondence.

He chooses 10 letters, which are slipped into a purple folder and put in the daily briefing book that is delivered to President Obama at the White House residence. Designed to offer a sampling of what Americans are thinking, the letters are read by the president, and he sometimes answers them by hand, in black ink on azure paper....

I'm grateful that the President is taking time to read these letters.

Another Blue Jean Day in Columbus, Ohio

> The brand new baseball stadium has opened in Columbus, Ohio. Huntington Park is the home of the Columbus Clippers, Triple-A team of the Cleveland Indians.

> President Obama has made some very smart diplomatic moves in our country's relationships with our neighbors. The cowboy diplomacy of the Bush administration is over (thank goodness!!!). The Obama administration is moving carefully, but purposefully, toward conversations with Cuba and Venezuela. The New York Times has more on this important diplomacy.

> Trust me. I am not a regular reader of George Will's column. I consider Will a man that lives in a very conservative, backward-thinking, bubble. He appears to have little if any experience with real people. Will wrote a column suggesting that adult Americans stop wearing blue jeans. Seriously. Here are some excerpts from George Will's Washington Post column:

...Today it is silly for Americans whose closest approximation of physical labor consists of loading their bags of clubs into golf carts to go around in public dressed for driving steers up the Chisholm Trail to the railhead in Abilene.

This is not complicated. For men, sartorial good taste can be reduced to one rule: If Fred Astaire would not have worn it, don't wear it. For women, substitute Grace Kelly....

Fred Astaire????? Grace Kelly??????

George Will is completely out of touch. People cannot afford to shop in the stores he favors and live his lifestyle. I'm fifty-eight years old and I plan to wear jeans until my dying day. It is just too bad that Will only owns one pair of jeans. He is missing out on real life.

Gov. Perry

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been talking nonsense. Perry has said that Texas might want to secede from the Union. Perry has taken money from the federal government for disaster relief --- fires, hurricanes, and other national disasters. He even took stimulus money.

Perry is wrong to say that his state had a clause that they could leave the Union at a time in the future. He should be warned that this type of talk is treason and it only shows his lack of ability to deal with reality.


- If I needed a character reference, trust me, I would not seek it from Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh had to stand up for Rick Perry.
The Dallas Morning News:
"...This guy is not a fringe kook. This guy is nowhere near a kook in any way, shape, manner, or form."

Making Sense

Update on Al Franken: I saw this over at Raw Story---

Poll Says Minnesotans Want Franken Seated from UPI.com:

A poll released Wednesday reveals Minnesotans, by and large, want Republican Norm Coleman to concede the state's U.S. Senate race to Democrat Al Franken.
Public Policy Polling said its survey indicated 63 percent say Coleman should call it a day rather than continue to fight in court, USA Today reported.....

Will Coleman go against the will of the people?

Most people know that Al Franken won the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota. Unfortunately, Republican Norm Coleman and his legal team are trying to drag out a possible appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Reasonable people realize that Coleman is doing his best to slow down the process of getting Franken to the Senate. Even Gov. Tim Pawlenty is playing along with Coleman in hopes to further his own presidential ambitions. Coleman, Pawlenty, and their Republican cohorts look like a bunch of sore losers.

Here is another take on the Minnesota contest. There is an excellent column by Ann Woolner at Bloomberg.com:

Ha! Ha! Ha! You gotta read this. Republicans claim laws to protect against vote fraud aren’t fair. Or, more specifically, they’re trying to get around them.....
....Franken’s a hoot, but Coleman turns out to be the funny man in the race.

Get this: He wanted state judges to order officials to count absentee ballots cast by unregistered voters. Do you believe it? Oh, man. My sides hurt from laughing at that one....

The entire column is hilarious, but also helps set the record straight about Coleman's stupid antics.

>>> Fox News and their 'tea bagging' followers seemed to have an interesting day yesterday. Did anyone else notice that those people who were interviewed parroted the words and phrases said by the Fox News talking heads? Where were the millions of their supporters that were promised? Will Fox News ever stop using the phrase "tea baggers" and "to tea bag" so that the rest of us can stop laughing?

Huge Crowds- Not!

The tax day tea parties planned by Fox News, Dick Armey, and other rich Republicans appears to be nothing. A headline from WSYR in Syracuse claims that "Tax Day Tea Party Draws Big Crowd Downtown" only to later claim that the crowd numbered 100. Whoa! A quick search of news sources shows that these orchestrated right wing protests that Fox News touted are nothing more than poorly attended, meaningless strolls. Although some right wingers claimed that there would be millions of demonstrators, it appears that few responded to the call to protest by Fox, right wing billionaires, and Republican leaders.

Republicans look like a bunch of fools with their calls to participate in "tea bagging." Next time they should choose words that do not have obscene meanings. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

Demjanjuk: Time for Trial

> I have a very strong opinion about the continuing story of John Demjanjuk, accused Nazi war criminal. Demjanjuk has eluded deportation for years. Now he is an elderly man in a wheel chair. He is trying to avoid going to Germany to stand trial for war crimes.

Frankly, I don't care how old or how sick he is. If he supported, worked for, or participated in the arrest, imprisonment, torture, and execution of innocent men, women, and children, he needs to be on his way to Germany. Millions of people were denied life because of the Nazis. The young, the old, the sick, and the handicapped were rounded up and killed. They were denied life. Under no circumstances should Demjanjuk or any other suspected Nazi be denied a trial because of their own infirmities.

There is more on Demjanjuk and other accused war criminals at ABC News.

Losers

* Al Franken won the race for Senate, declared judges in Minnesota. However, now election loser, Norm Coleman, will try to delay Franken being sworn into office by appealing to every court in the land. Coleman, who was handpicked by former President George W. Bush, is wasting time, energy, and money. The Star Tribune has the details.

Give it up, Norm!!!!!

* Republican Spencer Bachus has still not produced his list of 17 socialists in Congress. The Huffington Post notes that Bachus was pushed to name them all, but he could name Bernie Sanders.

Watch out!

> After two and a half years in jail, former Republican member of Congress, Bob Ney is on the air. Ney, who was convicted because of his ties to the Abramoff scandal, is now the host of a talk radio program on WVLY in Wheeling, WV. Channel 10 (10tv.com) had a story on Ney this evening.

> I guess we are still waiting for Ohio Republican Jon Husted to prove his residency. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has asked Husted for utility bills and such to prove that he actually resides in Kettering (even though everyone knows he lives 99.9% of the time in Upper Arlington). Husted is an announced Republican candidate for Ohio Secretary of State.

> The New York Times is reporting that Phil Spector has been found guilty of second degree murder:

Phil Spector, the rock music impresario behind such hits such as “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling” and “Be My Baby,” was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of an actress at his mansion in 2003, after a night of drinking.
Mr. Spector, 69, faces a possible 18 years to life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for May 29....

Are prisoners allowed to wear hair pieces in prison?

Good News

* The rescue of the American ship captain was welcomed news on Sunday. It is an amazing story, especially when you realize that the entire rescue was made possible by the hard work of the Navy Seals. I don't really know how they did it, but we are grateful that their operation was a success. For more information on the captain, the pirates, and the rescue, see the story posted at MSNBC.

* President Obama's family finally got the puppy. As the proud owner of two dogs, I'm positive that the First Family will enjoy their new addition for years to come.

* The Miami Herald has information about how new jobs could be created if a new law is passed:

...3-D Service, in Massillon, Ohio, does repair work and maintenance on wind turbine power systems and components. It's one of hundreds of companies across Ohio, and thousands across America, that are part of the "new energy future" that President Obama and major business leaders keep talking about. These companies are poised for rapid growth - if America passes a federal law to cap global warming pollution, a move that will reinvent our energy supply and create new businesses to cater to it.

A carbon cap will spur development of renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, as well as new technology to clean or conserve the energy we have now. Manufacturing states in the Midwest and South will see some of the biggest benefits of a carbon cap, because the new businesses will all need newly built parts. A single wind turbine requires 8,000 different parts, for example. Those parts - from bolts, copper wiring and ball bearings to steel towers and blades - can most efficiently be manufactured by American factories that will only need minor renovations to handle the job.

LessCarbonMoreJobs.org is a new Web site that maps potential job growth from a carbon cap....

The LessCarbonMoreJobs.org map shows the location of the companies that could bring these jobs. The map of Ohio shows many companies ready for expansion, if the carbon cap law is passed. In central Ohio, according to the website, the following companies are set to grow:
Metamateria Partners
National Electric Coil
Rosati Windows
SCI Engineered Materials
Staber
Univenture, Inc.
Vanner Inc

We need to make sure that this legislation gets passed!!!!

Problems, Problems, Problems

* Did you know that your purse might be toxic? KTNV.com:
...A new study shows that some handbags, purses and wallets from some popular department stores can contain excessive amounts of lead....
....Researchers found that many of the bags tested 90 times higher than the federal lead paint standard.
And the bags rich in color, (i.e. green, yellow & orange) tested the highest.....

The list from the report can be viewed at-----
http://www.ceh.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=376&Itemid=166

You may want to check to see if your purse is listed.

** This second problem may not directly show results in the U.S. There is a very interesting article in the NY Times that explains a cultural preference that has created a population problem in China.
NYTimes.com:
A bias in favor of male offspring has left China with 32 million more boys under the age of 20 than girls, creating “an imminent generation of excess men,” a study released Friday said. For the next 20 years, China will have increasingly more men than women of reproductive age, according to the paper, which was published online by the British Medical Journal. “Nothing can be done now to prevent this,” the researchers said....
....The Chinese government is openly concerned “about the consequences of large numbers of excess men for social stability and security,” the researchers said....

This population imbalance could create some major problems within China.

Labels

The Republicans are desperate. During the campaign, they said that President Obama was the most liberal U.S. Senator. (I still don't understand why the Republicans think "liberal" is a dirty word.) Then the GOP called Barack Obama a 'socialist' even though half of them didn't even know what it meant. Now the Republican machine has a new name for Obama---'apologist.' Sean Hannity edited part of one of President Obama's speeches, and then declared that Obama was apologizing while the President was in Europe. (Of course, the President was not apologizing.) Today, because of Hannity and right wingers, this new buzz word is sweeping through the right wing blogs, e-mails, and being repeated on TV by right wing pundits.

The Republicans lost the White House, the U.S. House, and the U.S. Senate. However, they've also lost common sense, purpose, and a willingness to work together for the good of the American people---- all the American people, not just their right wing base. While John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Michelle Bachmann sit around trying to come up with possible labels/names for the President, and cockamamie lies/theories (mostly Bachmann), people remain out of work, facing foreclosure, and the loss of health care. The Republicans can't/won't work on solutions for the myriad of problems we're facing. They'd rather spend their valuable time attacking freshmen Democrats on the floor of the House and resort to calling President Obama names.

The Republicans have become just plain irrelevant in 2009.

Tackling the Issues

President Obama is systematically tackling the issues that the last administration ignored. Within the first one hundred days, which the media is using as some sort of measuring device, Obama will have accomplished quite a lot. The next thing on his agenda is immigration. USA Today tracks the President's agenda and daily meetings.
USA Today :

....President Obama this morning will host a round-table discussion at the White House about the benefits of lower mortgage interest rates. His guests, the White House says, will be a "handful of homeowners who have re-financed their homes" and benefited from the lower monthly payments. The event is supposed to get started at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Just before noon ET, the president is scheduled to make an announcement about plans to improve health care for veterans....

....The New York Times -- "Obama to push immigration bill": "While acknowledging that the recession makes the political battle more difficult, President Obama plans to begin addressing the country's immigration system this year, including looking for a path for illegal immigrants to become legal, a senior administration official said on Wednesday. Mr. Obama will frame the new effort -- likely to rouse passions on all sides of the highly divisive issue-- as 'policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system,' said the official, Cecilia Munoz, deputy assistant to the president and director of intergovernmental affairs in the White House...."

It seems like a very tough series of events and issues. The President's willingness to hear from people and get down to business has been a real inspiration to many people. Our country is hurting and the President is working hard to fix things. We should offer him our support.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle.......

Republican Rep. Eric Cantor has decided to use attack methods on freshmen Democratic members of the House. This is just another item that shows the complete idiocy of the do-nothing, know-nothing, bankrupt Republican Party.

Which person would you rather follow and make decisions for your future, Barack Obama or Eric Cantor?

Don't You Wonder?

- After watching a clip on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, it appears that several pundits on Faux News have really gone completely over the edge. Comments by Sean Hannity and Dick Morris show that they are now just making up fiction about the Obama administration. I heard somewhere that the average age of the Faux News viewer is 67. I'm not there yet, but the statistic shows that their viewers are much older than other cable news networks.

- Don't you wonder if Michelle Bachmann has just gone completely bonkers with her comments about "revolution" and other weird topics?

- Don't you wonder when Ohio Republicans will act like responsible human beings and sit down to discuss equitable school funding?

- Don't you wonder how Virginia Foxx, extreme right wing Republican member of the House, can sleep at night? Do you think she delights in being a heartless, unrealistic, rightie that is completely unaware of real people and their lives?
... ..... ... ..... ...Foxx (1) voted against an aid package for Hurricane Katrina victims (SourceWatch), (2) supported Bush's plan to invest retirement money into private accounts (like the stock market!!!), (3) voted against Head Start (JusticeBlind), (4) got earmark money for a Teapot Museum in her state (American Chronicle), (5) voted against raising the minimum wage (JusticeBlind), etc., etc., etc.......

The most interesting information about Foxx comes out in an ad that was put out in a campaign by her opponent (YouTube):

Go, Al, Go!

News from Minnesota, according to USA Today:

Democratic candidate Al Franken has expanded his lead in that state's months-old Senate race, USA TODAY's John Fritze reports. Franken's lead over Republican Norm Coleman has grown to 312 votes after a court counted 351 absentee ballots that had been incorrectly rejected....

....The counting of additional ballots is part of a Coleman lawsuit challenging the results of the November election. The outcome of the race has been closely watched by both parties because Democrats are currently two votes shy of the 60 needed to overcome Republican-led filibusters in the Senate.

The new totals: Franken, 1,212,629; Coleman, 1,212,317.....

Norm Coleman, a hand-picked George W. Bush candidate, needs to surrender to the will of the people. Give it up, Norm!

Make Some Calls

Last night on Rachel Maddow's program on MSNBC, she reminded us that two very important posts remain unfilled in the Obama administration. The real reason these positions are still empty is that two Republican lawmakers are holding up the vote.

* Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran and double amputee, would be a great asset in helping our veterans. President Obama nominated Duckworth in early February 2009. Apparently, Republican Senator Richard Burr doesn't believe that Duckworth is qualified.
Miami Herald:
Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina is delaying the nomination vote and swearing-in of injured Iraq veteran Tammy Duckworth for a top post in the Veterans Affairs administration.

His actions angered some veterans groups Friday....

You may contact Sen. Burr's office to register your displeasure:

.Asheville, NC: Phone: (828) 350-2437 Fax: (828) 350-2439
..Winston-Salem, NC: Phone: (800) 685-8916 Phone: (336) 631-5125 Fax: (336) 725-4493
...Rocky Mount, NC: Phone: (252) 977-9522 Fax: (252) 977-7902
....Washington, DC: Phone: (202) 224-3154 Fax: (202) 228-2981
.....Gastonia, NC: Phone: (704) 833-0854 Fax: (704) 833-1467
......Wilmington, NC: Phone: (888) 848-1833 Phone: (910) 251-1058 Fax: (910) 251-7975

We need to flood Burr's office with phone calls and faxes.

* The other nomination being stalled is the spot for the Ambassador to Iraq. Republican Sen. Sam Brownback is the roadblock on this.

CNN:

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, voiced his objection to the nomination and blocked its consideration Thursday. Under Senate rules, that objection requires 60 votes to overturn and possibly as many as 30 hours of debate, which could spread over several days. Democratic leaders in the Senate can quickly muster the required majority, but Hill's critics will get a new platform to voice their concerns....

Brownback is a jerk. Brownback needs some phone calls:

- DC: Phone: (202) 224-6521 Fax: (202) 228-1265
- Topeka, KS: Phone: (785) 233-2503 Fax: (785) 233-2616
- Wichita, KS: Phone: (316) 264-8066 Fax: (316) 264-9078
- Garden City, KS:

Phone: (620) 275-1124 Fax: (620) 275-1837

Change

---- With President Obama's recent trip to Europe, it seems as though he has changed the hearts and minds of world leaders and their opinions of our country. President Obama has used his listening skills and his intelligence to win the support of leaders at the G20 and NATO conferences. Obama's attitude was in stark contrast to his predecessor, George W. Bush. Bush went into similar meetings and dictated that "....you're either with us or against us..." Obama, on the other hand, presented solutions which called on cooperation and mutual benefits.

---- The media is now able to cover the return of our war dead, according to Huffington Post:

For the first time since an 18-year ban on news coverage of returning war dead was lifted, the media witnessed the arrival Sunday night of a soldier killed overseas.

After receiving permission from family members, the military opened Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to the press. An eight-member team wearing white gloves and camouflage battle fatigues carried the body of 30-year-old Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers of Hopewell, Va., off a military jet in a solemn ceremony on a cool, clear night.....

....The new Pentagon policy gives families a choice of whether to admit the press to ceremonies at Dover, home to the nation's largest military mortuary and the entry point to the U.S. for service personnel killed overseas.....

Witnessing the return of our war dead allows us a chance to take a moment to honor their sacrifice and acknowledge the true cost of war.

---- Very interesting: According to the Examiner, Newt Gingrich will become a Roman Catholic this week. Why is he converting? Is this his way of trying to get the Catholic vote when he runs for President?

What is it about Cincinnati?

The city that has the Reds, the Bengals, the birthplace of Republican John "NO!" Boehner, now has another special place in the hearts and minds of people. Totalbeauty.com has awarded Cincinnati with the distinction of being the 11th Worst Hair City in the Nation:

No. 11: Cincinnati, Ohio

It's the 7th most polluted city in the U.S., but here is the real kicker, Cincinnati has only eight hairstylists listed on yellowpages.com … No comment necessary.

Whoa! That is very brutal! Don't worry. No other Ohio city is included on the list. Thank goodness.

Big Changes?

- The Ohio State University will go from a quarter system to semesters for Autumn 2012.

- Nationwide Insurance has laid off a large number of people here in central Ohio. According to the Dispatch, 480 workers have lost their jobs with Nationwide, with approximately 150 people in central Ohio.

- Iowa may have lots of weddings taking place.
NY Times:
Iowa became the first state in the Midwest to approve same-sex marriage on Friday, after the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously decided that a 1998 law limiting marriage to a man and a woman was unconstitutional....
...The Supreme Court said same-sex marriages could begin in Iowa in as soon as 21 days, making Iowa only the third state in the nation, along with Massachusetts and Connecticut, to legalize gay marriage....

- The Columbus Clippers have a brand new stadium, Huntington Park. Opening day is April 18th.

Marley & Me: Kleenex Warning

When our neighbors got a new puppy in the mid 90's, our family fell in love with their little, white, puffy, fur ball. The girls started their campaign for a dog. My response had always been, "When pigs fly over our house, we'll get a dog." Of course, my husband and I caved.

Our first puppy was a white toy poodle that we named Max. Despite the fact that the girls had promised to walk him, feed him, and take care of him, Max became my dog. He was the President of my fan club and my protector. He warned me about the mail truck, the UPS man, and anyone who ventured near our street. To be honest, I had become attached to Max, despite my initial reluctance to own a dog.

After a several years, Max was diagnosed with diabetes. It is apparent that many owners have their animals euthanized rather than provide the additional cost and work that goes with this kind of diagnosis. I learned so much about the disease. In order to keep him alive, I had to give Max insulin shots twice per day. Whenever we went out of town, we had to board him at an animal hospital that would give him his shots. My husband and I limited our evenings so that I would be home to give Max his shot at 8pm. For nearly five years, I was the primary provider of the insulin shots. Because Max was not a willing patient, Max had to be bribed with a tiny piece of cheese or a liver treat. I still have a small scar on my hand reminding me of a time when Max saw me approaching him with the needle in my hand. Giving him the twice per day insulin shots became a clandestine operation.

Despite the twice per day insulin shots for nearly five years, Max became very ill. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and did not have long to live. After much deliberation and tears, our family said our final goodbyes to Max, and he was put to sleep. We were crying so much, we even had the vet crying.

Even though we lost Max a couple of years ago, the memories all came back when I watched the movie, Marley & Me. If you've ever had a dog or lost a dog to an illness or accident, make sure you watch the movie with a fresh box of kleenex by your side.

And...

* The good news about Ed Schultz getting a show on MSNBC has a lot of people very excited. Schultz, who hosts a local radio show in Fargo, as well as a national radio program, has not announced where he will host his new TV program. Will Stephanie Miller and the Mooks soon be on TV? {Here in Columbus, Ohio, our progressive radio station was yanked off the air. With sports radio, and Catholic radio, and several right wing stations, central Ohio radio leaves a lot to be desired.}

And.....
* More good news!!!!! The Buckeyes start spring practice!!!!! OH-IO! Go Buckeyes!!!!!

And....
* Wow. That Republican budget is really a joke!!! The Republicans are sooooooooooo pathetic with their proposal to give more tax cuts cuts for the rich. I think they've become irrelevant.

And....
* President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have definitely made Americans proud with their stellar meetings in Europe. In bringing back common sense, intelligence, and solid planning, America's reputation will be good again.

Yipeeeeeeeee!!!!

Ed Schultz will be joining MSNBC for his own show starting on Monday. "The Ed Show" will be one to watch. Ed is a champion of the average worker and a real straight talker.

A Modern Day Grapes of Wrath?

Homeless camps are slowly springing up around some American cities. California, which has seen a huge number of home foreclosures, seems to be the center of problems with the homeless. An article in today's Los Angeles Times, describes how Ontario, California, is trying to remove non-residents from a homeless tent city.

Los Angeles Times:

Dozens of Ontario police and code enforcement officers descended upon the homeless encampment known as Tent City early Monday, separating those who could stay from those to be evicted....
.....Many who had taken shelter at the camp -- which had grown from 20 to more than 400 residents in nine months -- lacked paperwork, bills or birth certificates proving they were once Ontario residents....
....Officials believe the local homeless number about 140, less than half of those currently in residence. Schultz wants to reduce Tent City to 170 people in a regulated, fenced-off area rather than the sprawling open-air campsite it has become....

What are people to do when they've lost their homes? Will other cities begin to eliminate non-residents from these homeless camps? Are there other communities across the country that are providing better solutions for helping people? What can we do, as individuals, to assist people who find themselves in these dire situations?