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?

Eyes on Obama

* President Obama will be taking his first overseas trip as President for the G20 conference. People and nations will be watching his every move. According to the Telegraph, security will be tight. The President and First Lady Michelle Obama will also meet with the Queen.

* Those of us who care about environmental issues are happy about President Obama recent decisions. Washington Post:

President Obama signed a sweeping land conservation package into law Monday, protecting more than 2 million acres as wilderness and creating a national system to conserve land held by the Bureau of Land Management.

The measure, a collection of 170 bills that represents the most significant wilderness effort in at least 15 years, would provide the highest level of federal protection to areas such as Oregon's Mount Hood and part of Virginia's Jefferson National Forest, along with sites in California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, Utah and West Virginia. It also authorizes the first coordinated federal research program to investigate ocean acidification and allows additional funding to protect ecologically valuable coastal areas and estuaries....

....The law also establishes the 26-million-acre National Landscape Conservation System, which aims to protect the most environmentally and historically significant lands controlled by the BLM. The new system, which encompasses 850 sites, including the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado, Agua Fria National Monument in Arizona and Nevada's Black Rock Desert National Conservation Area, requires the agency to make conservation a priority when managing these areas.....

Isn't it amazing how the Obama differs from Bush on the environment and protecting our natural resources? We should all offer a collective 'thank you' to the President for his positive leadership on these environmental issues.

Beck

While watching Countdown with Keith Olbermann, I thought I'd check out a few comments made by right wing wacko, Glenn Beck. Olbermann noted that Beck had made some disparaging comments about the 9/11 families. Here is what I found through the Google archives:

Media Matters, September 9, 2005:
(from the September 9, 2005 broadcast of the Glenn Beck radio program)
...you know it took me about a year to start hating the 9-11 victims' families? Took me about a year. And I had such compassion for them, and I really wanted to help them, and I was behind, you know, "Let's give them money, let's get this started." All of this stuff. And I really didn't -- of the 3,000 victims' families, I don't hate all of them. Probably about 10 of them. And when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, "Oh shut up!" I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining. And we did our best for them. And, again, it's only about 10.....

Then Beck goes on to talk about the people who survived Hurricane Katrina:
....New Orleans is 181 square miles. A hundred and -- 0.2 percent of the disaster area is New Orleans! And that's all we're hearing about, are the people in New Orleans. Those are the only ones we're seeing on television are the scumbags -- and again, it's not all the people in New Orleans. Most of the people in New Orleans got out! It's just a small percentage of those who were left in New Orleans, or who decided to stay in New Orleans, and they're getting all the attention. It's exactly like the 9-11 victims' families. There's about 10 of them that are spoiling it for everybody....

I don't know how anyone can listen to Beck.

Still More...

With each new day, you learn something new. Today I learned even more about the Republican budget plan and their other proposal, as posted at The Gavel:
.....President Obama and Congress have presented America with a budget that is a detailed blueprint for economic recovery that will cut the deficit we inherited, cut taxes for middle-income Americans, and create jobs by building a new, clean energy economy, investing in education to prepare workers for the jobs of today and tomorrow, and making health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans.

In contrast, House Republican leaders today offered a document with little detail that would lead us back to the failed Bush economic policies that the American people have soundly rejected. House Republicans even propose to repeal the critical investments of the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will create 3.5 million jobs and is already helping to put people back to work.....

The Republicans want to repeal part of the stimulus package??? How would they do that? Isn't that like punishing people? Since the Republicans had no numbers in their budget, what would they do? Can anyone trust the GOP with anything?

Zero Numbers in the Republican Budget

It is hard to believe it, folks. The Republicans have hit the skids, the bottom, and have gone down the tubes. The Republican budget has "0" (zero) numbers in it.

Here is an ad from the DNC:



The Republican Party is nothing but a joke. Is this their offer of an alternative to the Obama budget???? Shame on Boehner, Cantor, and the rest of the Republican do-nothing but whine party.

Things I've Learned Today

>>>> Rush Limbaugh has won a contest as the 2009 Unsexiest Man of the Year, according to the Boston Phoenix. If you don't believe me, you need to read their description of his unsexiness. It is hilarious!!!!

>>>>>>> If you ever visit St. Augustine, Florida,
............ you must eat at Amici Restaurant. The food is wonderful and a local favorite. It has authentic Italian food, which is extremely important!!!!

............ stop in at the Pepper Palace. Located at the City Gates and across the street from the fort, Pepper Palace is just the stop for hot sauce and salsa fans. You can even order your hot stuff online.

The President

* I'm am very surprised about the uproar from some Catholics about the planned commencement speech by President Barack Obama at Notre Dame. While I'd bet you that he won't mention the word abortion even once, some Notre Dame supporters think it is inappropriate for President Obama to speak at the Catholic school because of his support for a woman's right to control her own body. Personally, if the President were going to speak at my commencement, I'd be thrilled. He is an excellent speaker and very inspirational. For more on this, check out USA Today.

* The Republicans are hoping that former Vice President Dick Cheney keeps a lower profile. Every single time he speaks, people are reminded of the failures of the last administration.

* The President has offered to hear any suggestions about the budget. Unfortunately, the Republicans haven't provided any suggestions other than to bash the President's plan. The Republicans are like the empty tin can--- making noise, with an absence of content.

Again

>>> There she goes again!!!

Republican Rep. Michelle Bachmann was showing her loony side again today at the Financial Services Committee. Some of her questions were very combative. She has been her usual goofy self. Recent comments from Bachmann have raised eyebrows-----

Minnesota Public Radio:

GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann calls herself a foreign correspondent behind foreign lines and is calling for a revolution. Her spokesman tells that Star Tribune that she was speaking metaphorically.

Wow. To think that voters in Minnesota had a chance to elect her Democratic opponent and passed up the chance. Do they think they have voters remorse?

Doing the Right Thing

It appears that some money involved in the AIG bonuses will be repaid, according to an article in the New York Times. Here is more:

The New York State attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, said on Monday that he had persuaded nine of the top 10 bonus recipients at the American International Group to give the money back, as the Senate retreated on plans to tax such bonuses.

Mr. Cuomo said he was working his way down a list of A.I.G. employees, ranked by the size of their bonuses, and had already won commitments to pay back $50 million out of the total $165 million awarded this month. But in a reversal of the stand he took last week, he said he did not intend to release any names....

...Mr. Cuomo said that he hoped eventually to recover $80 million in bonuses paid in March to A.I.G. employees in the United States. But he said an additional $85 million had gone to people outside the United States, and he did not believe his office had the legal standing to pursue them....

What made some of the AIG executives decide to return their bonuses, while others refused? Was the public pressure and the threat of humiliation just too much for some to handle? No matter what their reasoning, it is good that they've decided to repay the bonuses.

Lies and Gross Inaccuracies

If you only listened to Republicans and Fox News, you probably are unaware of the falsehoods and downright fabrications that they generate. Here is an example from Rep. John Boehner (Republican leader) as captured by CNN and commented by someone at Gather.com:

BLITZER: He seemed to be saying, all those Republicans who want a free market, who want to deregulate, who want the government off the back of these huge corporations, look
what they're -- look what we got as a result of all of that.

BOEHNER: Wolf, you have to understand, there was no deregulation of anything
in the financial services industries. As a matter of fact, there was an increase in regulation.

Huh???????? Boehner is just spitting out his right wing propaganda. Here is a little something from the U.S. Senate about the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

Boehner will do all he can to make the Republicans look blameless for the banking problems we have today. In reality, the Bush administration and the GOP looked the other way while all the free-wheeling, high-living, bonus-giving, Enron-loving insanity was going on with their permission and encouragement. Soon, Boehner and the lying Republicans will be telling us that Barack Obama created the recession! We know the truth and that is that President Obama inherited the mess left by George W. Bush and the GOP.