Note - the first article by Frank Rich has been widely discussed yesterday and today on radio and in blogs, and I'm sure will be featured tonight on TV.......very, very interesting.....
1/ President Obama - hated passionately by 40% of the electorate on the right, and now the 40% on the left is deeply worried about his lack of conviction. Two stories....both excellent.....
A/ A fascinating and most insightful explanation of Obama's failure to do anything about the tax cuts or anything else that might require some balls.....he is a captive of the Republican hostility towards him. Frank Rich's theory is he has Stockholm Syndrome......used to describe people taken hostage by kidnappers or terrorists.....
THOSE desperate to decipher the baffling Obama presidency could do worse than consult an article titled “Understanding Stockholm Syndrome” in the online archive of The F.B.I. Law Enforcement Bulletin. It explains that hostage takers are most successful at winning a victim’s loyalty if they temper their brutality with a bogus show of kindness. Soon enough, the hostage will start concentrating on his captors’ “good side” and develop psychological characteristics to please them — “dependency; lack of initiative; and an inability to act, decide or think.”
This dynamic was acted out — yet again — in President Obama’s latest and perhaps most humiliating attempt to placate his Republican captors in Washington. No sooner did he invite the G.O.P.’s Congressional leaders to a post-election White House summit meeting than they countered his hospitality with a slap — postponing the date for two weeks because of “scheduling conflicts.” But they were kind enough to reschedule, and that was enough to get Obama to concentrate once more on his captors’ “good side.”
And so, as the big bipartisan event finally arrived last week, he handed them an unexpected gift, a freeze on federal salaries. Then he made a hostage video hailing the White House meeting as “a sincere effort on the part of everybody involved to actually commit to work together.” Hardly had this staged effusion of happy talk been disseminated than we learned of Mitch McConnell’s letter vowing to hold not just the president but the entire government hostage by blocking all legislation until the Bush-era tax cuts were extended for the top 2 percent of American households.
The captors will win this battle, if they haven’t already by the time you read this, because Obama has seemingly surrendered his once-considerable abilities to act, decide or think.
Read the rest of his column......then Republicans you can break open the champagne and keep Democrats away from any sharp implements.....
B/ How to save Obama from himself - challenge him from the left! A most interesting article from the Washington Post on what a desperate Democratic party that has made a disastrous mistake [Obama] can do to try to save the situation.....
With his base deeply disillusioned, many progressives are starting to believe that Obama has little chance of winning reelection unless he enthusiastically embraces a populist agenda and worldview - soon. Yet there is little chance that will happen without a massive public revolt by his constituency that goes beyond rallies, snide remarks from television personalities or indignant op-eds.
Those of us who worry that a full-scale Republican return to power in 2012 would be a disaster not just for those hurting from the Republican-policy-inspired economic meltdown but also for the environment, social justice and world peace believe it is critical to get Obama to become the candidate whom most Americans believed they elected in 2008. Despite the outcome of last month's election, it is unlikely that the level of his base's alienation will register with the president until late in the 2012 election cycle - far too late for society today and our future tomorrow.
Those of us who worry that a full-scale Republican return to power in 2012 would be a disaster not just for those hurting from the Republican-policy-inspired economic meltdown but also for the environment, social justice and world peace believe it is critical to get Obama to become the candidate whom most Americans believed they elected in 2008. Despite the outcome of last month's election, it is unlikely that the level of his base's alienation will register with the president until late in the 2012 election cycle - far too late for society today and our future tomorrow.
2/ Climate Change - Europe
Most of northern Europe has had bitterly cold weather and unseasonable snow last week. Gatwick airport was closed for two days because of snow....and they very rarely have snow in southern England, and never in late November/early December. Hmm...wonder if it's anything to do with climate change?
Fox News, what do you think? Naaa.....
LONDON — Northern Europe remained in the grip of arctic weather on Friday after a week of blinding snow, biting winds and plummeting temperatures. Airports have closed, trains have halted in midtrip, cars have been abandoned on highways and several dozen people from Poland to Britainhave died of exposure so far, the authorities say.
In the southeast, heavy rainfall in the Balkan countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro caused the worst flooding along the Drina River in more than 100 years, deluging villages and causing more than 1,000 people to be evacuated from their homes.
But in the north, all the misery involved the cold and the snow. In Britain, flights at Gatwick Airport were resuming on Friday, after two days in which the airport was closed entirely, with more than 1,200 flights canceled, as frantic efforts failed to clear the snow as it fell. But even on Friday, after workers removed 150,000 tons of snow from the runways in 36 hours, there was only limited service to and from the airport, and hundreds of stranded passengers remained camped out in the terminals.
Many flights from airports across the rest of northern Europe — includingCharles de Gaulle in Paris, Schiphol in Amsterdam, Tegel in Berlin, and the airports in Edinburgh and Vienna — were canceled or delayed
Climate Change - America
The incoming House Republicans have shut down a sub-committee studying climate change, saying it's not necessary......you go Boehner.....but the stupidity is the collective us....for letting these idiots get away with this......
Republicans will eliminate a House panel designed to explore issues related to climate change, incoming House Speaker John Boehner announced on Wednesday, arguing that the committee is unnecessary and that its eradication would cut government waste.
"The global warming committee doesn't need to be a separate committee," Boehner told reporters. "We believe the Science Committee is more than capable of handling this issue, and in the process we'll save several million dollars."
3/ You may have heard the Federal Reserve has released all of it's records to do with the financial meltdown, and it's not nice reading. Trillions went out to save the biggest banks and hedge funds, including massive loans to foreign banks as well.
So....untold blank checks to the banks, but if you are in trouble with your mortgage, out on the street you go. This is the way an oligarchy works, so get used to it.....
Still, it’s good to know who got what at the bailout banquet. This helps us understand how expensive it is to live in a nation where big, politically interconnected financial institutions are not allowed to fail — even after they mess up in the most catastrophic of ways.
The Fed data showed that the biggest recipient of taxpayer assistance was, naturally, Citigroup. It was followed closely by Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynchand Bank of America. Goldman Sachs was also a large beneficiary during the darkest moments of 2008.
Remember that the Wall Street firms were imperiled by their excessive use of borrowed money, which generated huge paydays when the cost of those funds was cheap and the values of the assets they were buying were rising at a steady clip. After the bubble burst and financing evaporated, the firms were able to tap into a lending program created by the Fed in mid-March 2008 after Bear Stearns collapsed. It was called the Primary Dealer Credit Facility.
4/ A Jack Russell terrier who is incredibly well trained....smart dog.....
5/ Sarah Palin Inc. - interesting analysis on where she get the most media attention and it's from the left! Charles Blow argues it would be best to ignore her and you never know she might go away, just another celeb who's lost her edge.....
Good common sense article....I like logic!
This is it. This is the last time I’m going to write the name Sarah Palin until she does something truly newsworthy, like declare herself a candidate for the presidency. Until then, I will no longer take part in the left’s obsessive-compulsive fascination with her, which is both unhealthy and counterproductive.
6/ With Social Security in the news, here's a scam being played on the elderly....convincing an older person they are dead, then stealing their Social Security....awful....from Onion News....2 minutes....
7/ Train wreck a'coming......
State tax revenues down due to the economy, expenses up because of aid programs for the poor and unemployed, and extraordinarily generous pension entitlements looming -many states are in deep trouble financially ....but don't know it yet.
While next year could be even worse, there are bigger, longer-term risks, financial analysts say. Their fear is that even when the economy recovers, the shortfalls will not disappear, because many state and local governments have so much debt — several trillion dollars’ worth, with much of it off the books and largely hidden from view — that it could overwhelm them in the next few years.
Some of the same people who warned of the looming subprime crisis two years ago are ringing alarm bells again. Their message: Not just small towns or dying Rust Belt cities, but also large states like Illinois and California are increasingly at risk.
Municipal bankruptcies or defaults have been extremely rare — no state has defaulted since the Great Depression, and only a handful of cities have declared bankruptcy or are considering doing so.
But the finances of some state and local governments are so distressed that some analysts say they are reminded of the run-up to the subprime mortgage meltdown or of the debt crisis hitting nations in Europe.
8/ And speaking of Fox News.....here's a cartoon that explains it all.....
9/ Arizona - don't know about you but after all of the shenanigans with stupid Sheriff Arpiao, Governor Brewer and the bigotry I have no desire whatever to visit this state......
But anyway they have decided to hack away at their Medicaid budget and stop doing transplants for poor people, which means a few will die.....I guess they look at the lower class as sxxt out of luck....
What distinguishes the reductions recently imposed in Arizona,where coverage was eliminated on Oct. 1 for certain transplants of the heart, liver, lung, pancreas and bone marrow, is the decision to stop paying for treatments urgently needed to ward off death.
The cuts in transplant coverage, which could deny organs to 100 adults currently on the transplant list, are testament to both the severity of fiscal pressures on the states and the particular bloodlessness of budget-cutting in Arizona.
“It’s a real sign of the times,” said Alan Weil, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy. “And I think this is a precursor to a much larger number of states having this discussion.
10/ BT and Andrew Bayer - "I love you".....decent video, looks like it was shot in South Florida, and an amazing song.....if you like gooey songs....which I occasionally do.....
11/ Florida Democrats - Rod Smith was re-elected as head of the [D] party for Florida and his election has probably doomed the party to continue it's path of miserable failure. Not one statewide office except Bill Nelson as Senator, and the Republicans are lining up to challenge "Ole Geritol". Someone wake him up......
Fl. Dems had a chance to select a young, energetic chap who could have invigorated the organisation....but they have an old dude back.....
And because Gillum would be such a breath of fresh air for the party, it’s a virtual certainty that he won’t be elected. The party people are more comfortable with the well known, northern Florida, NRA friendly Smith. They want an old Tallahassee hand on the tiller, even if that old hand has never managed to win a statewide election. And most importantly, they want someone they know — and they don’t know Andrew Gillum.
Todays video - 4 commercials.....
Todays guys jokes
Why Men Are Happier
Men can play with toys all their life.
Men can wear shorts no matter what their legs look like.
Men have one wallet and one pair of shoes which are good for every season.
Men can choose whether or not to grow a mustache.
Men can "do" their fingernails with a pocket knife.
Men's bellies usually hide their large hips.
Chocolate is just another snack.
The whole garage belongs to them.
Weddings take care of themselves.
Men's last name never changes.
Everything on a man's face stays its original color.
Men only have to shave their faces and necks.
Men can keep the same hairstyle for years, even decades.
Men can do their Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on Christmas Eve in 25 minutes.
For men, wrinkles add character.
Men can go on a week's vacation and pack only one suitcase.
Men's new shoes don't cause blisters, or cut or mangle their feet.
Men don't have to stop and think which way to turn a screw.
Men have one mood all the time.
A wedding dress cost $5000. A tuxedo rental - 100 bucks
Men can open all their own jars.
Todays engineer joke
A pastor, a doctor and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, "What's with these guys? We must have been waiting for 15 minutes!" The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such ineptitude! "The pastor said, "Hey, here comes the greens keeper. Let's have a word with him." [dramatic pause]
"Hi, George. Say, what's with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?"
The greens keeper replied, "Oh, yes, that's a group of blind firefighters. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime."
The group was silent for a moment.
The pastor said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight."
The doctor said, "Good idea. And I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist buddy and see if there's anything he can do for them."
The engineer said, "Why can't these guys play at night?"
"Hi, George. Say, what's with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?"
The greens keeper replied, "Oh, yes, that's a group of blind firefighters. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime."
The group was silent for a moment.
The pastor said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight."
The doctor said, "Good idea. And I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist buddy and see if there's anything he can do for them."
The engineer said, "Why can't these guys play at night?"
Todays church jokes
Hymns for People Over 50
Give Me the Old Timers Religion
Precious Lord, Take My Hand, And Help Me Up
Just a Slower Walk with Thee
Go Tell It on the Mountain, But Speak Up
Nobody Knows the Trouble I Have Seeing
Guide Me O Thou Great Lord God, I've Forgotten Where I've Parked The Car
Count Your Many Birthdays, Count Them One By One
Blessed Insurance
It Is Well With My Soul, But My Knees Hurt
No comments:
Post a Comment