tagged w/ Obama Administration
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White House Communications Director Anita Dunn will step down by the end of November and be replaced by her deputy Dan Pfeiffer, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Dunn's departure had been expected as she took the position on an interim basis earlier in the year.
Before joining the White House, Pfeiffer worked on Barack Obama's presidential campaign and also for several Democratic senators.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/10/dunn-reportedly-step-white-house-communications-chief/White House Communications Director Anita Dunn will step down by the end of November... more
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- White House National Security Adviser Retired Gen. Jim Jones issued a rare public statement Monday vehemently denying media reports that suggest U.S. President Barack Obama has privately decided to send close to 40,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.
"Reports that President Obama has made a decision about Afghanistan are absolutely false," Jones, who has a low public profile, said in a statement. "He has not received final options for his consideration, he has not reviewed those options with his national security team, and he has not made any decisions about resources. Any reports to the contrary are completely untrue and come from uninformed sources."
The statement was issued shortly after CBS News' veteran Pentagon correspondent David Martin reported that Obama has "tentatively decided" to send four more combat brigades to Afghanistan and thousands more support troops starting early next year. That would bring the total number of new troops to close to the 40,000 more troops originally requested by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan.
Two other senior administration officials told CNN that the CBS report and other similar speculation is false.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/09/afghanistan.obama/WASHINGTON (CNN) -- White House National Security Adviser Retired Gen. Jim Jones... more
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Amid all the news out there this Monday morning (health care bills, awakened Ft. Hood shooters, menacing Gulf hurricanes, over-bonused bankers) this little gem caught my eye.
From the AP: Chavez to troops: Prepare for war with Colombia
"President Hugo Chavez ordered Venezuela's military on Sunday to prepare for a possible armed conflict with Colombia, saying the country's soldiers should be ready if the United States attempts to provoke a war between the South American neighbors. "The best way to avoid war is preparing for it," Chavez told military officers standing at attention during his weekly television and radio program."
Chavez is worried about the influence the US exerts over Colombia, their military cooperation, and argues that the Obama Administration could try to stir up a conflict between the two South American nations (because they're not busy enough?). From the Venezuelan perspective a new military pact between the US and Colombia threatens the region's stability.
"According to Francisco Javier Arias, deputy Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Colombia signed a pact with the U.S. allowing the Americans to freely use Colombian military bases and airports to secure the "continuity of the empire." "President Uribe is putting the region at risk to secure his re-election, dragging an elephant like the United States into a china shop, with the idea of solve problems that this northern country is not interested in," the official told Colombian Caracol Radio.
Chavez ordered 15,000 additional Venezuelan troops to the border. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe plans to appeal to the UN Security Council.
From the News Blog: http://blogs.current.com/news/2009/11/09/chavez-prepare-for-war/
Sources: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hlP2MozD95CjZl6e_B6X-kVCZqCwD9BRHBOG1
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/6780-uribe-uses-venezuela-to-secure-re-election.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5A80B020091109
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/70745
(h/t FP Passport)Amid all the news out there this Monday morning (health care bills, awakened Ft. Hood... more
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The Election Day 2009 was not good for Obama. His party lost Virginia and New Jersey. His electorate, made by young people and Afro-Americans, didn't go to vote.
Is it an alarm bell?
http://www.inaltreparole.net/en/world/elezioni2009usa041109.htmlThe Election Day 2009 was not good for Obama. His party lost Virginia and New Jersey.... more
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Republican Chris Christie has defeated Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine in New Jersey.
With 71 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Christie had 50 percent of the vote to Corzine's 44 percent.
Christie, a 47-year-old former federal prosecutor, became the first member of his party in a dozen years to win a statewide contest in heavily Democratic New Jersey.
The Republican victory deals a blow to President Barack Obama as he readies for next year's midterm elections. Obama campaigned heavily for Corzine.
Christie accepted public financing in the race against the wealthy incumbent and was outspent by more than $12 million.
He ran on a platform of smaller government and criticized Corzine for what he called poor economic stewardship. State unemployment was nearly 10 percent in October and property taxes are the nation's highest.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5geS6Dr5kG_fMu5jwUX7qla3PvkyQD9BOEVTO1Republican Chris Christie has defeated Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine in New Jersey.... more
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/02/arab-anger-clinton-backs-israel
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Lately to the smallish conservative crowd, notably once led by anti-prohibitionist William F. Buckley, is Jessica Corry of Colorado, a married, pro-life Republican mom, soon to be "freedom fighter of the month" in High Times magazine.
Recent partakers undoubtedly will have to rub their eyes for a double take when they spot Corry, who spoke last month at a NORML conference (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) in San Francisco, wearing an American flag lapel pin, a triple strand of pearls and a gold marijuana leaf pin.
Another day, another stereotype in the dust bin.
In addition to writing and speaking to end marijuana prohibition, Corry, who does not smoke pot, is trying to organize Republican women around the cause.
So far, she has commitments from 20 fellow Coloradoans, most of them lawyers, like Corry. Her husband, also an attorney, represents medical marijuana users.
Corry's arguments focus not only on the inhumanity of further punishing sick people who seek relief through pot, but also on protecting her own children should they decide to try marijuana someday. There's nothing like imagining one's own children as "criminals" to put irrational laws in perspective.
States' rights and conservatism are old friends — except when they're not. While many Republicans nurse a libertarian streak, the party has been selective in its support of federalist principles.
The George W. Bush administration refused to honor states authorizing medical uses of cannabis, for instance, but aimed to return abortion and marriage issues to state jurisdictions.
In a column for the Colorado Daily, Corry argued that conservative principles of smaller government are in direct conflict with laws that try to control what we put into our bodies. Alcohol and cigarettes — not to mention 700-calorie cheeseburgers — are inarguably more harmful than a little reefer, she wrote.
The decision not to raid dispensaries or punish people who benefit from marijuana use, though commendable, falls short of what's needed. At the very least, when jobs and cash are in short supply, legalizing marijuana would seem both prudent and profitable.
In 1929, the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform led the movement to end alcohol prohibition. Might women lead the next revolution in personal autonomy?
Keep those flutes and snifters (and bongs?) handy.
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20091022/COLUMNISTS28/910220329Lately to the smallish conservative crowd, notably once led by anti-prohibitionist... more
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http://www.news.mobixone.com/world-news/obamas-afghan-decision-not-likely-before-nov-11/
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The Obama Administration on Friday began releasing their visitor list to the public. The list, which can be accessed on the administration website, features among it's 100,000 names a month, celebrities like Oprah and George Clooney. It's part of President Obama's campaign pledge to provide greater transparency in his administration.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/30/white-house-releases-visi_n_340578.htmlThe Obama Administration on Friday began releasing their visitor list to the public.... more
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3QQ09Rj2tY
Vice President Joe Biden is joined by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maryland Governor Martin OMalley as he reports on the success of the Recovery Act in creating or saving over a million jobs so far. October 30, 2009.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3QQ09Rj2tY
Vice President Joe Biden is joined by... more
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Lifting the 22-year ban leaves a dozen countries in the world that still continue the practice. President Obama made the announcement as he signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009, which provides help to more than half a million Americans.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/10/620000743/1Lifting the 22-year ban leaves a dozen countries in the world that still continue the... more
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Just hours after Iranian President Ahmadinejad agreed to accept an IAEA deal to enrich uranium out of the country, they suddenly backed out. The plan had been to take Iran's nuclear stockpile and send it to Russia to be enriched. It's disappointing for those concerned about Iran's plans for its enriching uranium - though I don't think it's particularly surprising.
I was thinking about how long Iran has been playing this game, and it brought to mind this Supernews gem: Iran: Deal or No Deal?
That piece was produced in 2006. Over three years ago. It's kind of disheartening to see what looks like the same game playing out, but with a few different players. No more Bush or Condoleeza Rice, and Putin is now the Prime Minister of Russia, not the President. But it's hard not to watch this and see Iran doing the same things today. Is there another card up the Obama Administration's negotiating sleeve? Let's hope so.
From the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/world/middleeast/30nuke.htmlJust hours after Iranian President Ahmadinejad agreed to accept an IAEA deal to enrich... more
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on behalf of the Obama administration, issued a strong rejection of UN efforts to impose an international anti-defamation of religion policy. The policy is being pushed by Muslim nations intent on muzzling any criticism of religious belief.
Clinton made her rejection of the proposed policy as she unveiled the State Department’s Annual Report on International Religious Freedom.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on behalf of the Obama administration, issued a... more
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You don't label a person confined to a wheel chair as "lazy", hence you don't label some one who smokes marijuana for medical reasons as a "stoner". For a while the Federal Government did not see it that way during the Bush Administration. but thankfully it has all ended.You don't label a person confined to a wheel chair as "lazy", hence you don't label... more
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The same media whining over criticisms of Fox was happy to be bullied and controlled by the Bush administration.
Hypocrisy is far too common a feature of our political culture to comprehensively chronicle, particularly when there is a change of party control and each side starts doing exactly that to which they spent the last several years vociferously objecting; see here for a vivid example of that dynamic, from a new Pew poll released today:
"The belief that the press should keep political leaders from doing things that should not be done often depends on who those political leaders are, or more specifically, which party controls the White House. Currently, in the midst of the Obama administration, two-thirds of Republicans (65%) support the so-called "watchdog role" for the press, compared with 55% of Democrats. But last year, while Bush was still in office, only 44% of Republicans felt it was good that press criticism keeps political leaders honest, and Democrats were much more pro watchdog (71% supported press criticism). This partisan pattern has existed since the question was first asked by Pew Research in 1985."
More @ linkThe same media whining over criticisms of Fox was happy to be bullied and controlled... more
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Pajamas MediaWHITTLE: Who Will Destroy The Earth? ZO: The LIberal Slave Ship Meet Andrew Breitbart, Merry Prankster HomeAbout UsPJTVPajamasXpress Blogs
Roger L. SimonVictor Davis HansonRoger KimballRon RadoshAndrew KlavanClaudia RosettMichael LedeenRichard FernandezBill WhittlePhyllis CheslerStephen GreenRon RosenbaumEdgelingsEd DriscollPressAdvertisingStoreNews Tips for PJMSearch World News| US News| Money| Science & Technology| Lifestyle| Conservatism 2.0What If Ayers’ ‘Joke’ About Writing Dreams Is On the Press?
The case is still open on Ayers and Dreams From My Father. Any responsible news organization should press on.
October 19, 2009 - by Thomas Lipscomb
Page 1 of 4 Next ->Given all the blogosphere speculation about Bill Ayers ghostwriting for Obama, one major development at the end of September threatened to break the story wide open. Veteran journalist and bestselling author of 33 books Christopher Andersen has just published a fascinating new book: Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage. It is largely a sympathetic look at the dynamics within America’s first family.
But sorting through the more than 200 interviews Andersen says it took to create this book, he came to a startling conclusion: After Obama had to give up on a $150,000 Simon & Schuster contract because he couldn’t complete the manuscript, his sources were telling him Obama finally had to bring in a ghostwriter to put together his highly praised Dreams From My Father for Times Books. He had a million pieces of tape, pictures, memos, notes, and no manuscript.
And he was running out of time to deliver the book.
Nothing wrong so far. Few politicians can string a paragraph together without a ghostwriter.
Unfortunately for Obama, he was caught at a July 10, 2008, meeting in Fairfax, Virginia proudly saying the following:
I’ve written two books. I actually wrote them myself.
Also unfortunately for Obama, Andersen’s sources — all of whom were sympathetic and appear to be at least neighbors to Obama — came to other conclusions. Andersen wrote:
These oral histories, along with a partial manuscript and a truckload of notes, were given to Ayers. “Everyone knew they were friends and that they worked on various projects together,” another Hyde Park neighbor pointed out. “It was no secret. Why would it be? People liked them both.” In the end, Ayers’ contribution to Barack’s Dreams From My Father would be significant — so much so that the book’s language, oddly specific references, literary devices, and themes would bear a jarring similarity to Ayers’ own writing. Even the caveat at the beginning of Dreams, in which Barack points out that he uses invented dialogue, embellished facts, composite characters, inaccurate chronology, and pseudonyms to create an “approximation” of reality, resembles Ayers’ defense of the inaccuracies in his memoir Fugitive Days. In the foreword to his book, Ayers states that the book is merely a collection of his personal memories and “impressions.” … Thanks to help from the veteran writer Ayers, Barack would be able to submit a manuscript to his editors at Times Books.
On Sean Hannity’s show, Andersen explained why:
During that campaign I think he was doing some backpedaling, I’ll be honest. And I think that Michelle probably recommended that he not emphasize their relationship with Ayers.
Andersen is a celebrity journalist who has worked at Time and People. He knows what kind of lawsuits are occasioned by careless reporting and so far, after many years, he has never had a source or one of his notoriously touchy celebrity subjects complain about the accuracy of his reporting. And the last thing Andersen wanted was to follow this line of questioning as one can see watching him slide out of it on the Hannity clip.
Repeatedly grilled on numerous occasions about how close he was with the notorious 1960s Weatherman radical Bill Ayers, Obama stated Ayers was just “a guy who lives iPajamas MediaWHITTLE: Who Will Destroy The Earth? ZO: The LIberal Slave Ship... more
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settin loose top White House officials to undermine conservative media, business, lobbyistssettin loose top White House officials to undermine conservative media, business,... more
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The commercials made by the health insurance industry focus on the emotions of the viewers rather than actual facts. This commercial does this as well, only in the name of the American people. I don't think it's possible that MoveOn.org could make a better commercial or spread a clearer message.
By the way, to those who don't think this commercial represents the majority of Americans: the majority of Americans SUPPORT the Public option.
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October 21, 2009, 5:37 pm
Heather Graham Sprints for the Public Option
By Maria Newman
MoveOn.org has created a new ad in support of the public option that features a fit Heather Graham in running clothes, sprinting against overindulgent insurance company representatives.
The ad will appear on national cable television and on the Internet, although the organization says it does not know yet in what markets.
MoveOn says the ad is part of a week-long campaign to counter messages from insurance companies and its lobbying group, AHIP, against the public option. “It reinforces the message that the public option is the best way to lower costs for American families and keep private insurance companies honest,” MoveOn said in a statement.
In the Heather Graham ad, several insurance representatives are standing at a running track, one of them stuffing his face with a huge sandwich, and another one pouring champagne from a bottle into his mouth. Ms. Graham, the only one in running clothes, stretches at the starting line before twisting her body into what appear to be some serious yoga poses, and then she takes off running down the track, with the startled looking insurance people soon taking off after her.
A voiceover says about the public option:
"Some in Washington say this is unfair competition. But competition is as American as apple pie."
MoveOn joins a list of other organizations taking to the airwaves on cable and the Internet to encourage more public support for the public option.
As Congress starts to pare down what will be in the final health bill, several groups have been creating ads that feature well-known people. One, by Brave New Films, features Robert Reich, secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, who says the public option plan is “not very scary or complicated.”The commercials made by the health insurance industry focus on the emotions of the... more
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8. Jim Anderson:
I believe that the only person Ayers is ‘jerking around’ is Obama. My reasoning:
From ‘69 to ‘73 I was in college. I knew, at a quite personal level, some very radical people. One went – like Jane Fonda – to Hanoi during the war, and spoke over the radio to our troops, urging rebellion against American officers. Another is still in prison for bombings, including those of courthouses and police stations. I later wrote a thesis on some of these folks and interviewed them a few years after their time in the ‘movement.’
Let me tell you something I learned about such fellows – and then let me show you some quotes from Bill Ayers web site – posted after Obama’s election – that have been ignored by the mainstream press.
Then, perhaps, we’ll have a clearer view of what Ayers’s recent statements about authoring ‘Dreams’ really mean.
The toughest thing for these guys was to grow up and mature intellectually. They were ideologues and malignant narcissists. Compromise was a word they could not spell. You either were totally with the ‘program,’ or you needed some ‘educating.’ If you couldn’t be educated, you needed to be crushed.
Unfortunately, during these formative years, they got mentally locked into a state of arrested development. Their adult identities and their pride and sense of achievement, were based on these narcissistic acts of their college years. Inconsistency bothered them. They could not look back and say, ‘I was wrong.’
This was especially so because to admit they were wrong about anything, was to admit to their own intellectual and moral limitations and to the narcissistic evil inherent in themselves and their violent and evil actions. They could not bear to entertain thoughts that they, themselves had been evil.
Ayers has written of the terrible ‘knowledge’ that burdened him as have others of his ilk. That ‘knowledge,’ was a narcissistic belief that they were the only ones to view clearly the ‘evils’ in the society around them. They were the ‘enlightened ones.’ This is what made them so dangerous. They – like Marx – believed that a higher knowledge had revealed itself to them.
This ‘higher knowledge’ revealed to them that the system was so corrupt that any concepts of honesty, honor, integrity, etc., espoused by good men were, in fact not truly concepts of honesty and honor at all. Rather, these concepts – which bar normal and good men from acts of duplicity and criminal violence – were actually evil fruits from the poisonous tree of capitalism that were masquerading as good character traits.
Thus, guys like Ayers found it unnecessary to be constricted by such character traits. They could act with what others considered dishonor and duplicity because they were possessed of a higher, purer, big picture knowledge. That knowledge, combined with their narcissism, made them gods who could toy with the lives of the unenlightened.
They decided that the ‘higher knowledge’ revealed to them that any version of ‘goodness’ that came out of a corrupt society was a product of that corrupt society and, therefore, corrupt in itself. That’s why honest debate with these fellows was impossible. It’s also why they adopted the idea of pursuing revolution by ‘any means necessary.’ And they meant it.
They saw and see the American culture as so inherently evil, it could not redeem itself. Therefore, fair play was not and is not on the table. The system must be wrecked.
Understanding these viewpoints as held by the unreformed radicals of that era are essential to understanding what motivates a guy like Ayers in these recent weeks.
I believe that Ayers is now disgusted with Obama. On Ayers’s own website’s homepage, he has not posted any musings since the time between the election and inauguration. Before that, his postings were prolific.
Guys like Ayers do not – as I said – entertain compromise. They are not the type to put lipstick on a comrade’s pig. If the comrade strays – their lo8. Jim Anderson:
I believe that the only person Ayers is ‘jerking around’ is... more
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There are three categories of news media:
1. Opinion Outlets
•Keith Olbermann
•Bill O'Reilly
•The Young Turks
•Wall Street Journal Editorial Side
2. Partisan Press (Ideologically Driven Press)
•The Nation
•Fox News Channel
•National Review
•Mother Jones
•Drudge Report
3. Straight News
•CNN
•ABC News
•MSNBC News Programs
•New York Times
•Wall Street Journal (Non-Editorial)
There's absolutely nothing wrong with being in any of these categories. As you can see, I put our show in the "Opinion Outlet" category. I have no problem with that. We tell you our take on the news of the day. All of the categories are based on the news; but they do range based on how much original news reporting or editorializing they do. And that is an important distinction.
The Obama White House has taken on Fox News channel in an effort to point out they are not a legitimate news network. This is very important because out of all the outlets mentioned above, they are the only ones being dishonest about what category they are in. This is where the confusion lies.
Fox News admits that their talk shows are opinion based, which is obvious and indisputable. It's not straight news and it's not meant to be. No problem. The problem lies in their "news" side. They don't have a straight news division like CNN, MSNBC, ABC, etc. They have propaganda disguised as news. That's a serious issue that must be addressed.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/why-the-white-house-is-10_b_325986.htmlThere are three categories of news media:
1. Opinion Outlets
•Keith Olbermann... more
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