Saturday, January 17, 2009
The Colbert Report On Obama Collectibles
Consider this an evening distraction/overnight thread hybrid. My computer is acting ornery, so we'll see ya in the am.
Michelle Obama Enjoys Birthday Dance
A little stalkerish, but it's nice to know she had time to enjoy herself on such a busy day.
Poll-itics: Obama receives highest levels of optimism of any modern president
By GottaLaff
As if we didn't know:
A new CBS News/New York Times poll finds that President-elect Barack Obama is the recipient of the highest levels of optimism and expectations of any modern president.
Seventy-nine percent of Americans say they are optimistic about the next four years, according to the poll. Only 16 percent say they are pessimistic.
As a comparison, between 64 and 70 percent of Americans said they were optimistic before the presidencies of Mr. Obama's five predecessors.
Expectations for Mr. Obama are exceptionally high overall. Sixty-eight percent think he will be a very good or a good president - higher than past expectations for both President Bush in 2001 (by 25 points), and for his father, President George H.W. Bush in 1989 (by 30 points).
Mr. Obama also enters the White House with the highest favorability ratings of any president in the last 30 years. Sixty percent view him favorably and only nine hold a negative opinion of him.
By comparison, 44 percent had a favorable view of Mr. Bush in 2001, and 30 percent had a not favorable view.
VIDEO: "Tanks in My Memory" (bleeped version), a "tribute" to Bush
By GottaLaff
I heard this on Stephanie Miller's show the other day. An apt, and hilarious, tribute:
THANKS FOR THE MEMORY
THE HELL YOU PUT US THROUGH
DESERVES A BIG F**K YOU
FROM BUSH V GORE
TO ENDLESS WAR
IT REALLY WAS A COUP
SO F**K YOU, GEORGE BUSH
THANKS FOR THE MEMORY
YOU FAILED AND SO MUCH MORE
APPROVALS THROUGH THE FLOOR
YOU ARE THE FIRST AT BEING WORSE
THAN ALL WHO'VE COME BEFORE
HOW INEPT YOU ARE
YES IT WAS HELL WHILE IT LASTED
TO SEE OUR COUNTRY SO DETESTED
AND HOW IS IT YOURE NOT ARRESTED
IT WAS NOT FUN
SO MUCH HARM DONE
AND TANKS IN MY MEMORY
THEY RUMBLE THROUGH MY DREAMS
LIKE ABU GHRAIB SCREAMS
THE COUNTLESS LIES
AS GOOD MEN DIE
AMERICA GOT REAMED
HOW AWFUL IT WAS
THINK YOURE THE MINISTRY
GET ON YOUR KNEES AND PRAY
MAKE TERRI SCHIAVO STAY
THE WORD OF GOD
YOU CHRISTIAN FRAUD
ISNT YOURS TO SAY
HOW GHOULISH IT WAS
GOODBYE LETS MAKE IT FOREVER
WITH YOUR PLACE IN HISTORY RESERVED
WITH SUCH FAILURE ITS REALLY DESERVED
JUST MAKE MY DAY
GO FAR AWAY
SANK THE ECONOMY
DEREGULATION SPREES
SEND FACTORIES OVERSEAS
EXPORT THE JOBS OF WORKING SLOBS
DRIVE THEM TO THEIR KNEES
HOW BANKRUPT YOU ARE
EMPTIED THE TREASURY
CUT TAXES FOR THE RICH
FINANCIAL BAIT N SWITCH
A COSTLY WAR
AS BAILOUTS SOAR
YOU REALLY FOUND YOUR NICHE
YOU F****D US GEORGE BUSH
I WAS AN AVERAGE WORKER
THEN MY JOB, HOUSE AND WIFE WENT AWAY
BUT MY CREDIT CARD DEBT'S HERE TO STAY
NO BANKRUPTCY
TO SET ME FREE
HOMELAND SECURITY
THE TOWERS THAT FELL DOWN
NEW ORLEANS LEFT TO DROWN
READ MY PET GOAT
WATCHED BODIES FLOAT
YOU REALLY ARE A CLOWN
HOW CLUELESS YOU ARE
HOW'S THIS FOR VICTORY
FROM SHOCK AND AWE T.V.
TO LEASHED DEPRAVITY
THE DEAD ARE HID
NO CONTRACTS BID
BIN LADEN STILL RUNS FREE
YOU PUNK A** GEORGE BUSH
YOUR PREEMPTIVE WAR WAS FOLLY
WORLD SYMPATHY SOURED TO FURY
THE WORLD COURT SHOULD NEXT BE YOUR JURY
SO MANY DIED
YOU SATISFIED?
RIGHT-WING PHILOSOPHY
THE GARBAGE THAT THEY SPEW
TO BENEFIT THE FEW
ERADICATE
THIS CULT OF HATE
WE'RE GIVING YOU THE SHOE
ALL TOGETHER ONCE MORE
U.S. BUSHECTOMY
ITS TIME FOR US TO CUT
THIS BOIL FROM OUR BUTT
HIS PUBLIC LIFE
UNDER THE KNIFE
BYE GEORGE THERE GOES ONE NUT
SO F**K YOU
F**K YOU
GEORGE BUSH.
VIDEOS: Bush inauguration 2001 vs. Obama's Baltimore pre-inauguration speech
By GottaLaff
Compare and contrast:
Almost eight years ago, President Bush took the oath of office and solemnly swore to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” [...]Entire speech here, for those with strong stomachs.
After taking the oath, Bush delivered an inaugural address that contained this pledge: “I will live and lead by these principles: to advance my convictions with civility, to pursue the public interest with courage, to speak for greater justice and compassion, to call for responsibility and try to live it as well.
Now here's what a real president sounds like, one that was actually, you know, elected. This is today's speech in Baltimore:
H/t: Eve
PhotObama: Mr. Obama Goes to Washington
By GottaLaff
Howard Fineman on MSNBC just now:
"[Obama has] a down home folksiness, a familiarity..."
(click on image to enlarge)
Malia and Michelle went by too fast for me to grab a shot. I barely got Malia (center). But that's not important now.
What is important is that, finally, our new president has officially arrived in Washington D.C.
What is important is that, finally, our new president has officially arrived in Washington D.C.
Sasha, Malia Obama beat Jonas brother at ping pong
By GottaLaff
Pop singer Nick Jonas says he lost a ping-pong game to the young daughters of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama.Yeah, yeah, Joe, blame it on the Secret Service.The 16-year-old member of the boy band, the Jonas Brothers, said the ping-pong game occurred as he was waiting backstage at "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" with Obama daughters Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, People.com reported Friday.
But Jonas's brother, Joe, hinted the daughters of the next U.S. president had a bit of an advantage on Nick.
"(There was) a little pressure with the 25 Secret Service agents there," Joe Jonas said.
Quote-O'-The-Day: Obama toots his own horn edition
By GottaLaff
"You're never too old to toot the horn," Obama told the group. "You pull it and CHOO CHOO!"I am behaving. Even after the second sentence, I am behaving.
50,000
By GottaLaff
AT THE STOP OFF IN BALTIMORE, Md. -- It's a safe estimate that about 50,000 or nearly 50,000 people came out at events or along the Obama-Biden train route, according to police and the Obama transition team.You ain't seen nothin' yet. Wait 'til Tuesday.The greatest number comes from the massive event in Baltimore going on currently, with an estimated crowd of 40,000.
-- There were about 250 invited guests in Philadelphia.
-- 7,875 in Wilmington, Del.
-- The first slow roll saw an estimated, but not confirmed because we didn't stop, 1,000 people.
-- And on the second slow roll, also not confirmed, were about 2,000 to 3,000.
VIDEO: Obama train rolling through Maryland
By GottaLaff
You've seen the still pictures, now we have a short video:
Edgewood, Maryland:
PhotObama: 35,000 in Baltimore
By GottaLaff
MSNBC:
"It was like a rock star's presence on that stage. I was struck by the tone... rallying the troops to support his cause. Enlisting the citizens to stay with him through the very tough times that lay ahead."
(click on images to enlarge)
Laffy Note: I put together collages since there were way too many photos to post separately. Just click on each collage to see closer views.
Check out each caption, each an excerpt from President Obama's speech. If we tried, we couldn't find so much as one snippet of one Bush speech to crop and paste onto, well, anything.
RedState's Big Silly Putty campaign against Kent Williams
By GottaLaff
RedState.com to [Joeyess]I'm pretty sure RedStaters already have enough Silly Putty on hand, since kneading flesh-toned goop is most likely one of their more common and challenging pasttimes... that and Sit 'n' Spin for their more advanced members.
show details Jan 14 (2 days ago)
Alerts@redstate.com
joe:
We've had several missions for the RedState Army of Activists. You probably haven't noticed as we've primarily directed them to individual states.
This should be one for an individual state, but we need to take this nationwide and make it a national rebuke.
Meet Kent Williams. He is allegedly a Republican in Tennessee. The GOP took the State House in Tennessee and rallied to one of their own to be Speaker.
Williams had other plans. He made a deal with the Democrats, betrayed the Republicans, and got himself elected Speaker. He then put a Democrat in the number two spot.
On opening day of the legislature the outgoing Democrat Speaker of the House stood behind Williams whispering directions in his ears.
It's clear he's a weak mind and will be putty in the hands of the Democrats.
Here's the assignment:
Kent Williams' address is 126 S. Main Street, Elizabethton, TN 37643.
Go here and send Kent Williams some silly putty. Let's put in his hands a pretty accurate representation of what he is.
http://astore.amazon.com/reds0b-20?%5Fencoding=UTF8& node=9
Sincerely yours,
Erick Erickson
Editor, RedState.com
What an effective ploy, sending along eggs and eggs-worth of putty, especially the silly kind (how apt) to the Tennessee Speaker, a "bad" Republican (original post here). Apparently, he's not a silly enough Republican.
How could this brilliant idea fail? It's inspired! I'm sure minds will be changed, Williams will see the light, and once again, all will be well in RedStateLand.
This is typical of how Bush followers problem solve.
Maybe we should deluge them with Crazy Glue. It might help seal their mouths, since they've already sealed their fates. And hey, they can relate easily to the product name.
H/t: Joeyess for sharing this e-mail in Comments.
PhotObama: Rolling through Edgewood, Maryland
By GottaLaff
On the right, um, track. The Obama Choo-Choo rolls through Edgewood, MD:
(click on images to enlarge)
Baltimore crowds are waiting
North Korea Says It Has ‘Weaponized’ Plutonium
By GottaLaff
Bush's foreign policies sure have made America safer. He's been such an effective president, always willing to compromise, someone every world leader wants to please. Now President Obama has this to contend with on top of everything else:
The North Korean military declared an “all-out confrontational posture” against South Korea on Saturday as an American scholar said he had been told by North Korean officials that the North had “weaponized” 30.8 kilograms of plutonium, enough for four to six nuclear bombs.Feeling safer yet, everybody?That claim would confirm American intelligence estimates, which suggest that the North has harvested the fuel for six or more bombs.
South Korea ordered its military to heighten vigilance along the heavily fortified border with North Korea, said a spokesman of the South Korean military joint chiefs of staff.
With President-elect Barack Obama about to take office in the United States and negotiations over the North’s nuclear program expected to resume, it is possible that the North is merely setting up its negotiating position. But analysts said it could also be an indication that North Korea was intending to hold on to its arms despite an agreement it signed with five countries, including the United States, in 2005, in which it committed to eventually giving up those weapons. The exact conditions under which it would do so were unclear.L'il Kim is such a pain in the 아귀찜.
Just what already-over-burdened-President Obama needs.Mr. Harrison acknowledged that North Korea could be bluffing in order to use the claim of having nuclear weapons as a negotiating tactic.
He added that all the officials he met with seemed eager to open discussions with the incoming Obama administration. “All the statements about Obama were very helpful, very respectful,” he said. [...]
Earlier Saturday, North Korea also toughened its stance toward Washington, saying that reopening diplomatic ties would not be enough to persuade it to give up its nuclear weapons. It said it would maintain its “status as a nuclear weapons state” as long as there was a nuclear threat from the United States. [...]Its stance posed the hard question to the new Obama administration of what it would take to remove North Korea’s nuclear weapons assets.
In its Tuesday statement, North Korea indicated that the removal of an American nuclear threat meant the removal of South Korea from the American nuclear umbrella, the introduction of a verification mechanism to ensure that no American atomic weapons are deployed in or pass through South Korea, and even simultaneous nuclear disarmament talks among “all nuclear states,” including itself.
Six-nation talks on ending North Korea’s nuclear programs, which include the United States, stalled in the last months of the Bush administration as the United States and North Korea bickered over how much nuclear inspection the North should accept.
Bailed-out financial firms using offshore tax havens
By GottaLaff
Teeth-gnashing time:
Washington Post: a GAO report shows that bailed-out financial firms are using offshore tax havens to avoid paying U.S. taxes. The all-take-no-give companies include some of the biggest bailout recipients -- A.I.G., Citigroup, Bank of America & Morgan Stanley.However:
It is all legal, but it could come to an end, given the dire condition of the U.S. economy and President-elect Barack Obama's campaign pledge to close this popular business tax loophole. The Treasury estimates that it loses $100 billion a year in tax revenue as a result of companies shipping their income off shore, and congressional leaders are vowing to introduce legislation forcing big companies to pay full freight.Thank you, BushCo and Friends. One more example of how you've helped drive this country into the ground.
PhotObama: Hope, huge crowds, and cold toes in Delaware
By GottaLaff
I'm trying my best to capture the profound emotions and exhilaration of the crowds as I watch the Tee Vee Machine:
PhotObama: It's happening... in Wilmington, Delaware
By GottaLaff
Click on images to enlarge:
Happy Birthday, Michelle!
More photos coming... but the feeling behind them is more important than the images themselves. It's a feeling of hope and unity, and of trust. Those are things that have been sorely missing for years. The country is coming together after a CPR-like breath of fresh air from our new president, his family, and the vice president and his family.
The Tee Vee Machine mantra has been: We've never seen anything like this before. There have never been crowds like this before. Braving the cold is worth it. The feeling is indescribable. Those are the words I've been hearing as I grab these shots as they happen.
History.
Tears blur my vision as I try to convey what is happening, as it's happening.
But it is finally happening.
The Tee Vee Machine mantra has been: We've never seen anything like this before. There have never been crowds like this before. Braving the cold is worth it. The feeling is indescribable. Those are the words I've been hearing as I grab these shots as they happen.
History.
Tears blur my vision as I try to convey what is happening, as it's happening.
But it is finally happening.
GOP-ers may block Solis confirmation
By GottaLaff
The GOP will do anything it takes to destroy the working class, unions, the backbone of the Democratic party. Now they're making a lot of noise, but Solis should be confirmed despite their threats:
Senate Republicans, frustrated over the answers they say they're not getting from Rep. Hilda L. Solis, may try to block her confirmation as Barack Obama's secretary of labor. [...]
During the California Democrat's Jan. 9 confirmation hearing, Solis repeatedly told senators that she could not speak for the incoming Obama administration on the card check bill, and she told Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) that she was "not qualified" to speak about maintaining right-to-work laws that prohibit workers from paying union dues as a condition of employment. [...]
Enzi said it's "too early" to say whether he will place a procedural hold to slow down her nomination, saying he was still reviewing her written responses to additional questions from committee members. [...]
Senate GOP aides have made clear that placing a hold, which would require 60 votes in the Senate to overcome, is an option on the table — particularly if she does not fully explain her views before her nomination comes forward to a vote in the Senate.
Democrats dispute the GOP criticism, saying Solis has been forthcoming and that nominees typically have certain limitations on what they can discuss since they work at the behest of the president. [...]
With several Republicans having indicated that they'll vote for her, and Democrats holding at least 58 seats in the Senate this year, there is little doubt that Solis will get confirmed eventually.
But a hold on her nomination would signal that Solis can expect a contentious relationship with the GOP and would foreshadow the fight ahead over the card-check bill, a top priority for organized labor that would largely abolish secret ballots during votes on whether employees want a union, potentially leading to millions of new union members. [...]
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said that if Democrats try to force through the card-check legislation, it would squander the good will in the Senate. And the business community is launching an all-out campaign to quash its momentum. [...]
Similarly, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said he was "impressed" with Solis and would vote for her since she was honest and qualified - despite his concerns over the card-check bill.
He did have a warning for her, however: "You can't just become a rubberstamp for either business or organized labor."
PhotObama: It's happening
By GottaLaff
From time to time, I'll be posting screen shots of the exciting, foolish-smile-inducing countdown to President Obama's inauguration, as I see them. Here are the first of many:
(click on images to enlarge)
AUDIO: "For the past 8 years, this White House has mainly given the 4th estate and the 1st amendment the finger"
By GottaLaff
A must-listen:
President Bush bid his final farewell to the White House press corps on Tuesday. “Through it all,” he told reporters gathered in the briefing room, “I have respected you.” Really? Let’s look at the record.
A snarky recap by NPR of Georgie's relationship with the press. Thank you, Georgie, thank you (that will make sense after you listen to the audio).
Rick Warren Allies Distribute Anti-Jewish Comic To School Kids
By GottaLaff
In late March 2008, as announced by Rick Warren's publicist A. Larry Ross, Uganda became the second official "Purpose Driven" nation on Earth, following Rwanda. Sometime during the year Uganda also gained the dubious distinction as a nation that distributes state-sanctioned anti-Jewish propaganda to school children. Up to one million copies of Manga Messiah, which features a basic mis-representation of Biblical scripture giving readers the impression that the Jewish Pharisees were in league with Beelzebub, will be distributed in Uganda with the apparent blessings of the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Uganda's First Lady Janet Museveni, who has participated in Rick and Kay Warren's HIV/AIDS conferences.Go here for much, much more, where you'll also be able to view the graphics more clearly.Following a March 2008 meeting with Janet Museveni, Rick Warren announced his plan to make Uganda the world's 2nd "Purpose Driven" nation and enthused, to an audience at Uganda's elite Makerere University, "The future of Christianity is not Europe or North America, but Africa, Asia and Latin America." Warren's declaration was followed up by Uganda's Archbishop, Henry Orombi, under whose aegis the Church of Uganda intends to distribute ten million anti-Jewish comic books; "Someday we will have a purpose driven continent!" [...]
According to Political Research Associates' senior analyst Chip Berlet, Manga Messiah is "[a] colorful comic training manual for motivating young leaders of the next pogrom against Jews. Not just offensive -- ghastly and horrific in content with a clear enemy scapegoat identified for venting apocalyptic religious bigotry."
Chip Berlet is not alone in his assessment that Manga Messiah betrays an ugly anti-Jewish slant. As a story by journalist Tom Baker, published June 28, 2008 in central California's Modesto Bee, quoted Japanese popular culture scholar Prof. Deborah Shamoon of Notre Dame University, "I think the representation of Jews is appalling."
A Hawaiian Chant for Obama
This belongs in the category of almost too cool. I've heard a few chants for Bush in the past....
Manu Ikaika, leader of Halau Ho'omau I ka Wai Ola O Hawai'i in Alexandria, Va., wrote the chant "Hiki Maila Ke Ali'i Ho'oulu" to celebrate the presidential inauguration of the Hawai'i-born Obama.
The most famous chants were composed for Hawaiian kings and have been passed down for generations, said Ikaika, who was born in Honolulu and raised in Wai'anae but is now living in Manassas, Va.
"It (the chant) speaks of a child coming from Hawai'i," Ikaika said. "And coming from Hawai'i, he brings the righteousness, the power, the spiritual feeling that I believe Hawai'i possesses to help our economy and the people of America."
Late Show - Farewell to "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches"
One comedy bit I won't miss. Glad to see you go, George.
Saturday Linkage
Decisions, decisions. Stay in here with hands of ice, or go in the heater packed living room and watch Obama's Whistle Stop speech.
Bomb Kills U.S. Service Member, 4 Afghans
Are You Paranoid? Quiz Yourself
Vatican to get own YouTube channel
'Largest ever' hoard of prehistoric gold coins unearthed by a treasure hunter using a metal detector
Sex sting to keep Wisconsin mayor from inauguration
Outsourced Chores Come Back Home
Recession Revives Britain's Squatter Movement
Syria's Assad Makes Overtures to Obama
Happy Birthday Michelle Obama!!
PEBO is going to be giving a speech at the beginning of the train trip that you can stream live here.
Born January 17
Relationships are stimulating and changeful this year. You are eager to take on a challenge and happily engage in friendly competition. Realism and perspective are your main strengths this year. Getting organized figures strongly, as you are more conscious of preparing for the future. Nevertheless, indecision is something you may struggle with.
Beyonce to sing 'At Last' for the Obamas
She's got a nice voice, but Etta was betta.
NEW YORK---- Beyonce has revealed the song she plans to serenade the Obamas with in their first dance as America's first couple -- and no, she won't be telling the president to "put a ring on it."
She will sing the Etta James classic "At Last."
Beyonce portrayed the blues great in the recent film "Cadillac Records" and sings the song in that movie.
Beyonce will sing to the Obamas at the Neighborhood Ball Tuesday night.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Poll-itics-- Bush's Final Approval Rating: 22 Percent
By GottaLaff
(CBS) President Bush will leave office as one of the most unpopular departing presidents in history, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll showing Mr. Bush's final approval rating at 22 percent.Poll-i-Tick...tick...ticks...
Seventy-three percent say they disapprove of the way Mr. Bush has handled his job as president over the last eight years.
Mr. Bush's final approval rating is the lowest final rating for an outgoing president since Gallup began asking about presidential approval more than 70 years ago.
Obama, Sullenberger speak by phone
By GottaLaff
No surprise here. Sully earned this call:
"The President-elect told Capt. Sullenberger how proud everyone was for the heroic and graceful job he had done in landing the damaged aircraft yesterday.
"The President-elect also thanked his crew and the many people on the scene in New York for ensuring the safety of everyone on board the plane."
Heroes like Sully deserve calls from heroes like Obama.
RNC Chair Candidate Blackwell: GOP Must Defeat Job-Creating Stimulus Because It Will Ruin GOP’s Election Chances
By GottaLaff
In an article published on Townhall today, RNC Chairman candidate and former Ohio governor Ken Blackwell urges congressional conservatives to oppose the reinvestment and recovery stimulus plan promoted by President-elect Obama. Though he offers standard conservative arguments against the plan — including a screed against the growth of “big government” — Blackwell seemed most concerned about the political benefit Democrats might see from successfully boosting the economy. [...]While only a few details are known, one overlooked issue is that it could create a major electoral advantage for Democrats at taxpayer expense. That would be unacceptable for what is being touted as a nonpartisan measure, and gives Republicans yet another reason to oppose it if not restructured. […]
But most federal employees, that are not political appointees, vote Democrat. Since Washington, DC is the seat of government, whenever new federal bureaucrats are created many live in Maryland and Virginia. In 2008, Virginia went Democrat for the first time since 1964, and Mr. Obama won it by 130,000 votes. Creating 600,000 new jobs might help cement Virginia in the Democrat column, making it harder for Republicans to retake the White House.
It's good to know that Republicans care more about themselves than they do about repairing the nearly irreparable damage that their abysmal failure of a president has done to America.
The bottom line is that, in an economy that lost 1.2 million jobs last year, Blackwell’s biggest concern is to block the creation of new jobs because those newly-employed Americans might vote Democratic.How Rovian of him... meaning about as self-servingly corrosive to what's left of this country as one would expect of someone aiming for RNC chair.
VIDEO: “Having sex before you are married is just like juggling machetes!”
By GottaLaff
Holy mother of whomever it is people refer to, check this out:
Derek Dye, [is] a “comedic juggler” who uses his skills to teach middle school children abstinence-only policies. Dye tells children lines such as, “Having sex before you are married is just like juggling machetes!” and “Sex before marriage will destroy all of your life’s dreams!” As Amplify Your Voice explains:All my life's dreams, up in smoke. Had I only known! I hadn't realized that my fulfilling and successful careers weren't what I thought they were, and the money I've earned didn't exist.Thanks to George W. Bush and a complicit Congress, we currently spend $1.5 billion a year to fund abstinence-only until marriage sex education in our public schools. And yes, that money goes to people like Derek Dye, as he is employed by the Elizabeth New Life Center that received a $800,000 CBAE grant in 2007 to promote abstinence until marriage. His qualifications? A “Bachelor of Fun Arts” from Barnum Bailey Clown College, and an abstinence educator certification that can be purchased for $50.
(via TAPPED)
I wish I'd had my eyes opened by the juggler to what I've always thought was a really good marriage. What a revelation to realize that Mr. Laffy and I have had a miserable life together with our amazing kids in a house located in a swell neighborhood.
Had I only had a clown to advise me about premarital sex being the equivalent of tossing around very sharp objects that could kill or maim me, I would have avoided all those intimate moments of love and affection!
My dreams and aspirations have hereby been retroactively shattered.
Write Bush A Farewell Letter
By GottaLaff
Yesterday [on Twitter, Karl Rove] wrote:Send a farewell letter to President Bush—Email gwbfarewell@gmail.com [no attachments] and I’ll give him your note
He later followed up and said that all messages are due by 6:00 p.m. ET on Jan. 19, and he will deliver them to Bush on Jan. 20.
Go ahead, pour your hearts out.
VIDEO: Keith Olbermann's "Bush Presidency: 8 Years in 8 Minutes"
By GottaLaff
Eight minutes is all his legacy is worth... and about as high as Georgie can count. Keith "cherry-picks" the best of the worst of BushCo. Every ugly Bush stain, every atrocity, every embarrassment is present and accounted for:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
When you condense the Chimpenfuhrer's crime spree and failures down to an intensely disturbing few minutes, it's even more chilling. But it's over. O. V. E. R. Over.
H/t: Ady, Jonas
R.I.P. Andrew Wyeth
By GottaLaff
Christina's World
Artist Andrew Wyeth, who portrayed the hidden melancholy of the people and landscapes of Pennsylvania's Brandywine Valley and coastal Maine in works such as "Christina's World," died early Friday. He was 91.Wyeth died in his sleep at his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Chadds Ford, according to Jim Duff, director of the Brandywine River Museum.
The son of famed painter and book illustrator N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth gained wealth, acclaim and tremendous popularity on his own. But he chafed under criticism from some experts who regarded him as a facile realist, not an artist but merely an illustrator. [...]
Wyeth even made "Peanuts," in a November 1966 comic strip: After a fire in his dog house destroys his van Gogh, Snoopy replaces it with an Andrew Wyeth.
It was in Maine that Wyeth found the subject for "Christina's World," his best-known painting. And it was in Pennsylvania that he met Helga Testorf, a neighbor in his native Chadds Ford who became the subject of the intimate portraits that brought him millions of dollars and a wave of public attention in 1986.
The "Helga" paintings, many of them full-figure nudes, came with a whiff of scandal: Wyeth said he had not even told his wife, Betsy, about the more than 200 paintings and sketches until he had completed them in 1985.
Wyeth's world was as limited in scale, and as rich in associations, as "Christina's World," which shows a disabled woman looking up a grassy rise toward her farm home, her face tantalizingly unseen.
"Really, I think one's art goes only as far and as deep as your love goes," Wyeth said in a Life magazine interview in 1965.
VIDEO: And the winner of the "Ode to Obama" contest is...
By GottaLaff
Ted Newman, a retired teacher and self-described "cowboy poet," musician, and former Army pilot, won an Associated Press contest for writing a poem about Barack Obama's inauguration:
[He] is one of 10 people the AP selected nationally - and the only Westerner - from a contest the news organization was running for poems [...]IMHO, he already has.Unlike some of the other winning poems, Newman admits his is a bit irreverent and sardonic - an approach he says he takes in his poems and songs that involve politics and political correctness.
"I call it an 'accusatory poem,' " said Newman, a retired middle school social studies and science who has written more than 500 poems and songs that he calls "no hitters because they don't get any attention."
But his inauguration poem, entitled "Plea to the Pres" did get AP's attention from hundreds of entries in its "Ode to Obama" competition. [...]
The AP calls the 10 winners "an eclectic assortment of American wordsmiths" that includes a former poet laureate and a Pulitzer Prize winner."
Their entries are equally varied in tone and subject matter, and Newman's may be the most acerbic.
A National Guard helicopter pilot for 20 years, Newman's poem asks Obama to "be the president our country needs" and levels his accusatory pen against some of the nation's ills.
He ends by saying, "Let's really rearrange the political hypocrisy; keep your word and bring change."
White supremacists watched in lead up to Obama administration
By GottaLaff
I wasn't going to post this (it's such a downer, and it's time to be upbeat about the Big Upcoming Obamaramapalooza), but I'll tell you why I did after this:
Hate crimes experts and law enforcement officials are closely watching white supremacists across the country as Barack Obama prepares next week to be sworn in as the first black president of the United States.I realize I've posted similar pieces before, but it's important to stay aware of this horrid trend. I've personally become more aware of it in the last six days, since I posted the video of P.E. Obama visiting Ben's Chili Bowl on my YouTube page.So far, there is no known organized effort to express opposition to Obama's rise to the presidency other than a call by the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan for its members to wear black armbands as well as fly the U.S. flag upside down on Inauguration Day and Obama's first full day in office.
As Tuesday approaches, when Obama stands outside the Capitol to take the oath of office, experts expect anger about the new president to spike. But they don't expect it to go away.
"The level of vitriol, I expect, will go up a bit more around inauguration time," said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University-San Bernardino.
There "is concern" about white supremacist groups during the inauguration, said Joe Persichini, the assistant FBI director who is helping to oversee security during the inauguration. [...]And interest in racist ideology was so high right after the election that computer servers for two White supremacist Web sites crashed, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups.
But the violence and interest soon subsided. Leaders within the white supremacist movement are now seeking to capitalize on Obama's presidency by using his election to help grow their organizations. [...]
Levin noted that it is common knowledge the U.S. Secret Service is taking great measures to protect Obama (who began receiving coverage in May 2007, the earliest point ever for a candidate in a presidential campaign), and emphasized it is a great challenge.
"President-elect Obama is so used to a public presence, and being among people poses some real difficulties for his protection," Levin said.
There have been, to date, 155,000 views and over 850 comments. I have never been kept so busy monitoring comments. At first, it was all positive, joyous, celebratory, even giddy feedback. But as the days have gone on, I've had to delete and block commenter after commenter who were so utterly and sickeningly racist that I was actually taken aback.
One spammer spent two days posting 25 comments at a time, varying his screen name by one letter/number so that blocking was impossible (I'd have to block each one separately). He finally stopped, because I made it a priority to stop that kind of hate speech in its tracks, even interrupting my writing here at TPC while I popped over to block and delete. I tried contacting YouTube, but their frustrating system makes that impossible.
I'm still monitoring diligently today. It's disheartening, and scary as hell, to read the very ignorant, extremely stupid, infantile, racist, hate-filled rants of these cretins. It makes it real and way too in my face.
All we can do is keep trying to communicate (which, by the way, I attempted to do once or twice, which you can see if you go wade through the comments), support P.E. Obama's efforts to reach out, and wish with everything we've got that he stays safe and protected.
How sad that such a feel-good 3 minutes and 37 seconds could evoke such noxious, hostile bigotry.
President-elect Obama's cabinet nominees: The chart
By GottaLaff
CQ Politics has a chart of P.E. Obama's cabinet nominees and a description and status of each. Here's a partial screen shot, but to see it properly and completely, go here:
(click on image to enlarge)
Dear Sir Obama...
By GottaLaff
Some very important and heartfelt letters are making their way to P.E. Obama:
Jory John, program director at 826 Valencia, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center, is the editor of the forthcoming "Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: A Collection of Kids' Letters to President Obama," from which some of these letters are drawn.Here is some of the finest writing I've seen in a long time:
Dear Sir Obama,
These are the first 10 things you should do as president:
1. Make everyone read books.2. Don't let teachers give kids hard homework.
3. Make a law where kids only get one page of homework per week.
4. Kids can go visit you whenever they want.
5. Make volunteer tutors get paid.
6. Let the tutors do all the thinking.
7. Make universities free.
8. Make students get extra credit for everything.
9. Give teachers raises.
10. If No. 4 is approved, let kids visit the Oval Office, but don't make it boring.
- Mireya Perez, age 8, San Francisco
...
Dear Obama,
I like you because you won. We saw you on TV. I hope I am your friend.
- Edwin Martinez, age 6, Los Angeles
...
Dear Obama,
If I were president I would have fun, because I could run fast.
- Kenja Zelaya, age 6, Los Angeles
...
Dear President/Mr. Obama,
The best thing about living in the White House would be running around like a maniac. The thing I would like least is the work.
- Holly Wong, age 9, San Francisco
...
Dear President Obama,
I am small, quiet, smart. I love to swim and play basketball. My mom and dad are from the Dominican Republic. I am going to the Dominican Republic next year. I think you should try to change the world by building shelters for the people who live in the streets. It's the beginning of January, and it's cold. Good luck being the president.
- Pamela Mejia, age 11, Boston
...
Dear President Obama,
Here is a list of the first 10 things you should do as president:
1. Fly to the White House in a helicopter.
2. Walk in.
3. Wipe feet.
4. Walk to the Oval Office.
5. Sit down in a chair.
6. Put hand-sanitizer on hands.
7. Enjoy moment.
8. Get up.
9. Get in car.
10. Go to the dog pound.
- Chandler Browne, age 12, Chicago
...
Dear President Obama,
If I were president, I would tell people to not talk too much. It wastes time. I'd also say to war: no more, no more, no more!
- Catherine Galvan, age 6, Chicago
...
Dear Obama,
I have grown up with a very liberal mom and a very conservative dad. Thank you for bringing my parents somewhat closer together. :) You are my idol Mr. Barack - I am partly African-American and I am very happy to see an African-American leading this country.
- Olivia Roper-Caldbeck, age 12, Seattle
...
No child left behind. For real this time.Dear President Obama,
Could you help my family to get housecleaning jobs? I hope you will be a great president. If I were president, I would help all nations, even Hawaii. President Obama, I think you could help the world.
- Chad Timsing, age 9, Los Angeles
Obama's Open (White) House
By GottaLaff
Barack Obama plans to open his White House doors to the public on his first full day of his presidency, Jan. 21.Team Obama has bent over backwards to be inclusive. Bush is gone. Bush. Is. Gone.
Obama aides on Friday announced plans to have an open house at his new home at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The idea is to keep Obama's administration the "most open and accessible" in history by inviting hundreds of supporters inside and encouraging them to stay involved. [...]
Tickets this year are limited and interested residents can sign up on Obama's inauguration Web site, PIC2009.org.
We finally have a human being in the White House... an extremely intelligent, tuned-in human being with a heart and a whole lot of know-how.
H/t: Ellen
(No) Dancing with Cindy McCain
By GottaLaff
, there was a very confused, very desperate, very hypocritical candidate for president. His name was John McCain, but all the villagers knew him as Gramm-pa, due to his association with a man of very little brain named Phil Gramm. Grammps, whose mental stability and judgment were often in question, flaunted his wife in front of a throng of bikers in August of 2008, offering her up as a contestant for "the next Miss Buffalo Chip"... and all the, er, titillating perks that the title toplessly encompassed.
As time went on, Grammpa John grumbled and mumbled and mumbled and grumbled to himself, "That was one embarrassing mistake I'll never make again." Grammpa John was a very wise (as well as wizened) old man for having seen the error of his ways. He learned his lesson, and he learned it well:
SEN. John McCain might regret choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate, but an even worse decision will deprive his fellow Americans of what would have been the best season of "Dancing With the Stars" ever. Our impeccably placed source says, "Just before Thanksgiving, Cindy McCain started talks with producers to appear as a dancer on the show. She wanted to do it very badly." But this week, Sen. McCain "put the kibosh on it." Reps for the show and McCain didn't return calls.The moral of this tale: One must only pimp one's wife out when one is running for the highest office in the land.
Two years ago today Obama announced he would form a presidential exploratory committee
Can't believe it was that long ago. Via Jake.
Legoland unveils Obama 'inauguration'
There's a joke in here somewhere... More info here.
CARLSBAD, Calif., Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Legoland California unveiled its latest mammoth Lego block sculpture Friday -- a "pre-enactment" of President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration.
Among the more than one thousand people represented in the display are the Obama family, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden, outgoing President George W. Bush and Oprah Winfrey, XETV, San Diego, reported.
Tiger Woods to attend, speak at Obama Inaugural
Actually, I empathizes with the man. He must have gotten so many questions since there are some real similarities.
Tiger Woods, who has tried to stay out of politics during his ascent to one of the world's most famous athletes, has accepted an invitation to speak at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday as part of President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration festivities.
Woods posted a short statement on his website to say he would speak at “We Are One,” a concert and celebration that will be broadcast live on HBO and feature entertainers such as Beyonce, U2, Stevie Wonder and Garth Brooks, along with appearances by Denzel Washington and Martin Luther King III.
(snip)
Woods rarely gets involved in political discussions and festivities. He was criticized in 1997 after his watershed victory in the Masters when he turned down an invitation from former President Bill Clinton to travel to Shea Stadium in New York to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's colour barrier.
Obama: 'Dramatic Action' Needed to Fix Economy
BEDFORD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- President-elect Obama returned to this battleground state Friday, but this time he was not campaigning for the nation's highest office, but for a massive stimulus package he says is necessary to battle a recession that has already cost millions of Americans their jobs and that has hit Buckeye State workers particularly hard.
As he has done since his Election Day victory, he stressed the need to act immediately to deal with the sagging economy, saying the situation had "never been more urgent."
D.C. Reporters Planning Bureau 'Sleepovers' for Inaugural
Am I a horrid person for immediately thinking evil things?
NEW YORK With the strictest security ever for a presidential inauguration, the largest one-day crowd of visitors likely in Washington history, and 24-hour Internet coverage leading the way, numerous D.C. reporters are planning to camp out in their offices the night before Barack Obama is sworn in on Jan. 20.
"I am 57 years old and this is my first slumber party," said Jack Torry of the Columbus Dispatch, who said at least a dozen others in the Cox Bureau, where he leases space, are planning to stay. "We've got popcorn, sleeping bags and people will be bringing beer Monday night. It will be a real slumber party."
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