Unavoidable Consequences

Last week the government reported economic growth in the first quarter came in at 2.2%, a dismal number. Also contained in that report was this little nugget: nonresidential fixed investment fell at an annual rate of 2.1 percent. Why should we care? Because private investment is what drives the economy, and a falling investment number presages further contraction in economic growth going forward.

Before wealth can be consumed -- and redistributed by the left -- it must first be created. So it's rather perplexing to observe how an ideology hell bent on redistributing wealth actually supports policies that impede the creation of that wealth in the first place. Private investors investing their own money generally seek to maximize after-tax profits balanced against a chosen degree of acceptable risk. Investment decisions – the decisions that drive economic growth --are sensitive to policies that affect this equation.

So when the left shows its typical indifference to the risks posed by regulatory uncertainty and when they push their interminable calls for higher taxes on productive investments, why should anyone be surprised that private investment is slowed and our economic growth is sub-par? As we speak, mature companies are sitting on a mountain of cash they are reluctant to invest because our government has altered the risk-reward equation in ways that make risk taking less attractive. Thus we see stifled job growth and lingering high rates of unemployment, with no end in sight.

This is the direct result of left wing policies that demonize the very actors in our economy who are most capable of creating the wealth that would benefit all of us. Because in order to amass great wealth, businesses and entrepreneurs need to offer products that most of us want to buy – and hire enough folks to bring those products to market. But when businesses and entrepreneurs are confronted by stifling regulatory and taxation policies, their tolerance for risk becomes skewed to our collective disadvantage as they sit on their cash instead of putting it to work. And that won't change until we change presidents because Obama is the most virulently anti-investment president we've seen in generations.

In the halcyon days of the past, we were taught that failure is not an option. But under this president, failure is the unavoidable consequence of his economic policies.

FR: Asked whether she [Warren] considers herself to be a minority,” the Boston Globe writes Warren said, “Native American is part of my family. It’s an important part of my heritage.’”

It appears Lizzy Warren can't shut up about her Native American lie:

Speaking to a reporter on a local news station in Boston, Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts cited her ancestor's "high cheekbones" (quoting an aunt) as evidence of her Native American heritage.

Source: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/warren-my-grandfather-had-high-cheekbones-all-indians-do_643103.html

High cheekbones. Lizzy somehow thinks a prejudice like that makes you a Native American.

When asked to show their commitment to diversity and minorities, Harvard rolled out the blonde blue-eyed Lizzy Warren and proudly exclaimed, "Here's our Indian!!".

Real Good News FOX is not looking good.

May 01, 2012

Washington, D.C. – Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski asking the FCC to revoke the 27 Fox broadcast licenses News Corp. holds in the United States. Under U.S. law, broadcast frequencies may be used only by people of good "character," who will serve "the public interest," and speak with "candor." Significant character deficiencies may warrant disqualification from holding a license

http://www.citizensforethics.org/legal-filings/entry/fcc-revoke-murdoch-broadcast-licenses-news-corp-fox

Media Matters is correct. What will Darrel Issa do?

Issa declines investigation into News Corp. phone hacking

Posted on 09.14.11

Issa’s decision to "not pick on the media" contrasts with his to

demand a retraction from the New York Times reporting on his conflict of interests in late August. And when interviewed last year by Think Progress, Issa stated that he trusts News. Corp because he "personally knows Rupert Murdoch

http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/09/issa-declines-investigation-into-news-corp-phone-hacking/

==========================================================

Those scary wingnut propagandist sure do know how to run & hide furiously.

Nobody but Obama/Biden 2012

Yesterday Alan wrote this:

Hmmm..I must have went to one of those dumb schools because I always thought tides were caused by the Moon, not the Sun, and that hydroelectric power utilized gravity (potential energy not solar energy).

If there is a more perfect example of how the Right tends to view things/events in isolation (i.e., forever missing the forest for the trees), I don't know what it is.

Yes, Alan, you did indeed go to the Dumb School.

Wow, Feisty, that is quite a stretch even for you.

I fully expected the "swooning" libs to come out in force, but you really are twisted.

Hmmm, a composite character, Obama must have gone to the Mitch Albom School of journalism (My Detroit friends will understand that reference).

Am I the only one who finds it odd that up until yesterday, we have heard nary a word from or about any of the multiple girlfriends that Obama supposedly had?

Seems to me there would be a lot of money in a book about a love affair with the President.

Wonder if he is lying about all those girlfriends too.

Really? THIS is your "non-troversy" of the day? THIS???

FR: *** Speaking of the gender gap: The Obama campaign up with an online tool, targeting women, using a made-up person named Julia, comparing Obama and what it’s dubbing the Romney-Ryan plan.

Obama is good at making up things. He made up a "composite" girlfriend in his autobiography.

One of the more mysterious characters from President Obama's 1995 autobiography Dreams From My Father is the so-called 'New York girlfriend.' Obama never referred to her by name, or even by psuedonym, but he describes her appearance, her voice, and her mannerisms in specific detail.

But Obama has now told biographer David Maraniss that the 'New York girlfriend' was actually a composite character, based off of multiple girlfriends he had both in New York City and in Chicago.

Source: http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/05/obama-ny-girlfriend-was-composite-character-122272.html

That's what frauds do, they make things up, try to deceive people into believing for their cause, try to further their careers with untruths. See Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren for further details.

A 'composite character' isn't really "making things up". It helps maintain continuity of a book. Dammit, I probably shouldn't waste time trying to explain this to you, as you won't get it anyway.

I suppose that you authors of this story don't live in the Philly suburbs. I do, and the women there are not excited at all about the antics of the republican candidates and the way they tout how they are going to teach women how to behave when it comes to contraception and vaginal probes. Their is a very large Catholic population here, but the Catholic women I have spoken to tend to declare their independence when it comes to Church teachings on these issues. They also remember that the president feels women deserve equal pay for equal work. My feeling is the president will indeed carry the Philly suburbs again.

Republicans need Jeb Bush to be VP on the ticket. Why …

Republicans have not won the Whitehouse without a Bush or a Nixon on the ticket since 1928.

Ruken: A 'composite character' isn't really "making things up".

com·pos·ite/kəmˈpäzit/

Noun: A thing made up of several parts or elements.

Adjective: Made up of various parts or elements.

A composite is indeed "making things up."

Bevvie-pooh: Then you can go to the circus and say how proud you are of your hertiage

I'll probably be seen riding on an ass like you.

JAS1:

There's a difference between making things up and combining real facets of real people into a composite character for continuity. It isn't 'making things up' as the people combined were real. It's a strategy for writing that helps continuity.

Like I said, you don't get it.

Well, here's Jack, using the liberal fallback position- when the facts prove you wrong, call names.

Last weeks Initial Claims for Unemployment were adjusted up to 392,000. This week shows a drop of 27,000. Good news, right? The answer to that is "maybe".

We'll wait for the adjustment. By the way, Challenger, Gray and Christmas released their jobs report- mass layoffs up 7%.

Not really good numbers. I'm betting another couple hundred thousand people just -Poof!- leave the labor force. Lots of winning lottery numbers, rich, unknown relatives leaving fortunes to heirs they never met, or other, non-wage based forms of income being realized by masses of people.

Or maybe it's the fruition of what Austin Goolsby told folks at a European conference last year- that the plan with the 99 weeks of unemployment would pay off in lower rates, as those collecting would not be counted as unemployed.

That was met with appalled silence.

Obama cannot win mainstream U.S.A. based upon his lousy record.

He told Hispanics with his last campaign that he would bring about "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" in his first year in office. He lied ! He was more concerned about ramming through this gargantuan governmental takeover of the health care industry ..... this POS legislation known as Obamacare !

Now, Obama is desperately trying to pull together all the little voting segments using whatever he means he can. Hispanics cross the border looking for jobs, but Obama never had his "laser-like vision" on jobs.

From the start, Obama has been focused on one thing .... maintaining and expanding HIS power. The Hispanics are but a "tool" to his re-election attempt.

David Walker

It is now time to get down to the business of asking serious questions. It is time we started DEMANDING serious and honest answers. Mitt Romney will not, and apparently, cannot tell the truth. He seems more like the punch line to some terrible joke

Great Post, I agree Willard id the punch line. I do believe he will be knocked out in 2012 because he is a disgusting FAKE and a joke.

Obama/ Biden 2012

I almost never participate directly in this forum. I am one of the many, I guess so, who prefer to read and entertain myself with the back and forth among the participants. But looking at WCA 1.1 and Ms Smith 1.3, two words come to my mind: petty and desperation.

"VIVA OBAMA". I'm loving it. Romney and his Republican Party have destroyed any "good" relations with the Hispanic Community. I have now, and have over the years, had many Hispanic and Latin friends. Those who I talk with about Romney "make the sign of the cross" and tell me what an evil and cruel man he is. Romney's NOT going to get any votes out of the Hispanic community, and without those votes he has no chance of winning the election. It's mathematically impossible. I love it.

Obama in 2012.

Ruken: Like I said, you don't get it.

So do composite characters exist in real life (reality) or not (fiction)?

And are autobiographies truth, or fiction?

@nojo

We'll wait for the adjustment. By the way, Challenger, Gray and Christmas released their jobs report- mass layoffs up 7%.

And GM posted over a $1B 1Q profit, beating expectations.

What's your point? That the entire economy must be based off of a mere tiny sampling?

So do composite characters exist in real life (reality) or not (fiction)?

And are autobiographies truth, or fiction?

Combining facets from 'minor' characters in someone's life for their autobiography is nothing new. I have send it once, and I'll say it again: it's a method of giving more continuity to the reader.

Maybe you could actually try reading once in awhile. Might improve the quality of your posts significantly.

Only complete idiots would vote for a ditz like Lizzy Warren, so in Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy and Barney Frank territory, she has a chance.

First Read wrote: What’s also noteworthy from the poll is that two-thirds of people say we’re still in recession, but a majority also we’re starting to recover. It’s why the economy can be a more nuanced argument.

I doubt this very much. So much about the economy isn't being reported by the main stream media. Funny how very little mention of the fact that durable goods are down and a recession is looming... in fact the consumer price index is up meaning inflation is on the rise, factory orders are down and slowing. So much the general public doesn't even pay attention to unless it becomes a news item. The main stream media will NOT mention these things unless it absolutely has to.

Our robust economy is fizzling... and it hasn't really been robust since before the crash caused by the democrats 15 months after they took over Congress in 2007.

People have a false perception of the economy because a lot of them are hopeful... hopeful over what? $15 trillion in national debt... how many individual states are in debt up to their eyeballs? How many cities?

The liberal media can paint a picture, but like all good artists, the canvass is not reality.

jim-1455434

Obama cannot win mainstream U.S.A. based upon his lousy record.

He told Hispanics with his last campaign that he would bring about "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" in his first year in office. He lied ! He was more concerned about ramming through this gargantuan governmental takeover of the health care industry ..... this POS legislation known as Obamacare !

Let me stop you before you even get stated. You have no idea what you are talking about. Try a right wing hate site where you'll be inthe company of like minded F0X NOISE idiotS.

If Ohio and Flordia are now toss-ups, they won't be come election time. President Obama will win both states.

Ruken said: And GM posted over a $1B 1Q profit, beating expectations.

What's your point? That the entire economy must be based off of a mere tiny sampling?

Take a look at the government charts Ruken. Read my post 1.25 above. It's not just a tiny sampling. GM may have posted a $1B 1Q profit but how much have they paid back to the government for bailing them out? Gee, I guess anyone with a $50B government loan can turn the company around... unless of course you are Solyndra.

David,

What you are experiencing is called "waking up" You are looking at things objectively enough to smell the rat. The truth is we will be in Afghanistan for over 10 more years, the deal has been sealed by the President. We are now up to 1 out of 5 killed or injured are at the hands of Afghan police or military ...our supposed "Allies" They will not tell us the true "mission" because if they did we would not support it.

I see you understand the implications of the Patriot act (which Obama promised to get rid of in his campaign then signed it twice) The NDAA, you need to study up on HR347 which robbs us of our right to peaceful protest as well. Also, There is another much worse than NDAA:

President Obama's National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order of March 16 does to the country as a whole what the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act did to the Constitution in particular -- completely eviscerates any due process or judicial oversight for any action by the Government deemed in the interest of "national security." Like the NDAA, the new Executive Order puts the government completely above the law, which, in a democracy, is never supposed to happen. The United States is essentially now under martial law without the exigencies of a national emergency.

This passed. Stay awake and read more here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-garrison/martial-law-under-another_b_1370819.html

Why not vote Librarian? It is not a wasted vote to let the establishment you are unhappy with the 2 vials of the same poison you are given to choose from. The wasted vote is the one that enables them to continue their agenda. You know, the vote for the "lesser of two evils" Both are puppets. Time to stop voting for Evil all together.

David Walker -

First, Romney is not a capitalist. He is a capital extractor. Taking more money from the American economy to further enrich the wealthy, as he proposes, will not create jobs.

How does Romney propose to take money from the economy to enrich the wealthy .... take $110 billion of tax payers stimulus money and give it to billionaire bundler buddies for their soon-to-be-bankrupt green projects like Obama does?

And where is the memo that states individuals' wealth is automatically the property of the federal government - that the money people earn is the state's - for the state to decide how much of the money they earned should be "given" back to them?

Create jobs? The private sector creates self-sustainable jobs - not the federal government. How does taking money for investment and job creation out of the private sector to give to the federal government create jobs?

It doesn't David .... and Obama has proved it the past 3 1/2 years not creating ONE NEW NET JOB.

Take a look at the government charts Ruken. Read my post 1.25 above. It's not just a tiny sampling. GM may have posted a $1B 1Q profit but how much have they paid back to the government for bailing them out? Gee, I guess anyone with a $50B government loan can turn the company around... unless of course you are Solyndra.

GM already paid back the federal government, ahead of schedule if I recall correctly.

It doesn't David .... and Obama has proved it the past 3 1/2 years not creating ONE NEW NET JOB.

Actually, the private sector is creating jobs at the moment. The reason the growth overall is so slow is that we are hemorrhaging government jobs.

David, how is Romney a wealth extractor? He took money invested in Bain from union pension funds and invested the money in distressed companies hoping to turn them around. In some cases they did and others they didnt but whenever they made money it was for union pension funds and such wealth was "extracted" and put into union pensions in order to fund future retirements. How is that extraction? When the unions made money, so did the employees of Bain including Romney. Money that was extracted from these investments went to pay off banks who lent them the money and their investors, ie the unions. Romney made money and lots of it when Bain was successful in making lots of money for their investors the unions. At least try and stay within some shouting distance of reality and the facts.

If there is a more perfect example of how the Right tends to view things/events in isolation (i.e., forever missing the forest for the trees), I don't know what it is.

Yes, Alan, you did indeed go to the Dumb School.

Yes it was very sad my school concentrated on getting the facts straight. Much better to go to school that taught utopia was possible if we all could just get along.

I mean what exactly is your point? That I am against striving in science? Can I ask in your expertise did you support the use of ethanol over the last decade? Did you believe it would answer the need for cheap, transportable energy? What do you think now? The current scientific evidence is that it causes more pollution than gasoline and is more expensive. What great use of finite government resources.

So, Jack, please enlighten us troglodytes with your big picture because we are too close to the dirty little facts. IMO you are just another example of how pompous the left is, the poster child being Lizzie Warren up in Massachusetts.

And you want more pompous elitists, the whole line up of hosts and guests of MSNBC on Saturday are examples. A bunch of college kids arguing about how the world would be perfect if only they were in charge.

Ruken, you are not that obtuse.

You are the one looking at a tiny segment, not I. And by the way, if GM is doing so nicely, how about they make some real repayment of the debt they owe the taxpayers- not the kind that takes from one government account and gives to another?

By the way, since you seem to be having trouble with the concept- ask a journalist at your local newspaper what role composite characters should play in works of non-fiction. You'll be surprised to learn that the answer is "none". As I recall, some years ago a Pulitzer Proze was reclaimed from a Washington Post reporter for having composite characters in her series on drug abuse.

It's a no-no-because it's a lie. But this is Obama, and, as usual, you will defend the indefensible, because, well, I guess, he's so dreamy. Personally, I could not possibly care less who he dated in high school college, or whatever- and the idea of reading any of his paeans to himself makes me ill. Still, it's revealing that he lied in them- and even more revealing that you defend it.

how about they make some real repayment of the debt they owe the taxpayers- not the kind that takes from one government account and gives to another?

Because GM paid off their government loans.

More blanketed statements from nojoe with little substance. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Beverly said: Let me stop you before you even get stated. You have no idea what you are talking about. Try a right wing hate site where you'll be inthe company of like minded F0X NOISE idiotS.

As if Bev knows what she's talking about. Leave it to her to try to usher someone to the door because she doesn't agree with a poster who is getting information from a non-liberal source. And Bev... are all right wing sites, hate sites? What do you call left wing sites? Love sites? ROFLMAO!!!!!

So Bev, nothing of value from you on the article itself, only a personal attack from you ! I expect nothing better from libtards. Apparently, you have not been doing your reading...... it has been "out there" in various sources of the media, including MSDNC, that Hispanics are disappointed Obama did not keep his word.

Of course, Obama would rather just open the border, let them all come across to vote for them and send them back with guns courtesy of Eric Holder and his refusal to comply with Congressional subpoenas.

I am curious, however, just how do you get by with EVERYDAY VIOLATIONS of the CODE OF HONOR for this website with ongoing personal attacks ????

Oh, that's right ..... I forgot that you are a paid troll ! Did you get your talking points from the "early edition" of media matters today ?

Beverly,

CREW is a biased group and is funded by George Soros.

Everyone of you want to get Fox of the air. You can not stand that the truth is being told and they lead in all the ratings.

Ruken said: Because GM paid off their government loans.

More blanketed statements from nojoe with little substance. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Well Ruken you don't tell the whole story. While it's true GM did pay their loan portion off by reimbursing the government monies they didn't use, a little fact checking helps to clarify the story:

Q: Did General Motors repay its TARP loan from the Treasury with other TARP money?

A: Yes. GM repaid the loan portion of the automaker bailout ahead of schedule, with interest. It used TARP money it had already received but hadn’t spent. And taxpayers are still stuck with GM stock that isn’t worth what was paid for it.

So Ruken, stop making GM sound like hero's when they have bilked stockholders out of Billions of dollars of undervalued stock.

So Ruken, stop making GM sound like hero's when they have bilked stockholders out of Billions of dollars of undervalued stock.

As opposed to Mitt Romney's plan, where we let GM go under and the shareholders lose all their money in GM stock?

@Ruken

And it's like the way government manages money. Yes GM paid off their loan, but it was paid using TARP escrow money they didn't need, not from earnings. In other words they used one government account to pay off their government loans.

When GM emerged from bankruptcy as a new company in July, the Treasury converted most of those loans into a 60.8 percent stake in the new company's common stock, $2.1 billion in preferred stock and $7.1 billion in loans. About $400 million in loans was repaid almost immediately, leaving GM with about $6.7 billion in government debt. The balance of the loan was originally due July 2015, but the date was later accelerated to June 30, 2010.

GM had already repaid $2 billion in loans. Last week, it announced it had repaid the remaining $4.7 billion.

The automaker, however, didn't repay any of the loans from its earnings. Repayments came from "other TARP funds currently held in an escrow account," according to a report by the special inspector general overseeing TARP funds.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/26/BUS91D55HR.DTL#ixzz1tobWjiid

It does not include $25B that is now part of GM's equity. This is why the stock has to reach the price of about $51 for the taxpayer to recoup their money.

Ruken--the original shareholders did lose all of their money in GM stock in the bankruptcy. The government's reorg plan gave the new equity to the Unions, the creditors and the government and then traded on the public markets.

Ron in Indiana said: If Ohio and Flordia are now toss-ups, they won't be come election time. President Obama will win both states.

Little do you know about Florida Ron. If our unemployment doesn't fall below 11% Obama doesn't stand a chance here. You can wishful hope all you like but wishful hoping doesn't equal reality.

Ruken: As opposed to Mitt Romney's plan, where we let GM go under and the shareholders lose all their money in GM stock.

GM did go under (bankrupt) and the stockholders did lose all their money.

It was a continuity kind of a thing. I'd explain it, but you probably wouldn't understand it.

Ruken said: As opposed to Mitt Romney's plan, where we let GM go under and the shareholders lose all their money in GM stock?

We're not talking about Mitt Romney's plan Ruken... Stop with the obfuscation. Turn your head towards reality for once. GM bilked stockholders out of billions of dollars... They survived on the backs of the stockholders and haven't done anything about their losses. Stop making GM out to be heros... because they aren't heros. They used government money and never took care of the people that believed in them enough to invest their money with them. How blind can you be?

White Collar Auto

So we find out yesterday that Obama lied about his girlfriend in his book:

Politico:

Obama has now told biographer David Maraniss that the 'New York girlfriend' was actually a composite character, based off of multiple girlfriends he had both in New York City and in Chicago.

Hmmm, a composite character, Obama must have gone to the Mitch Albom School of journalism (My Detroit friends will understand that reference).

It seems that the boys at Politico, always eager to dig up dirt on Obama, made a big booboo. Obama stated at the very beginning of his book that some characters in it were "composites." Politico retracted their story. You'd think that "serious journalists" would be wary by now of stuff they dredge up from Drudge and other sources in the wingnut-o-sphere, but they never seem to learn.

It was a continuity kind of a thing. I'd explain it, but you probably wouldn't understand it.

Indulge me JAS1. I'd love to hear what you have to say.

They used government money and never took care of the people that believed in them enough to invest their money with them. How blind can you be?

Not as blind as that Chinese guy. But close.

More David Walker blather -

The remaining choice is President Obama, and he has some serious questions to answer. It is beyond question that he faces an obstructionist Congress. However, if we can give him a Democratic Senate majority, will he make it clear the ridiculous filibuster rule MUST be changed.

Obama is such an inept, incompetent leader he cannot get anything done without filibuster proof majorities?

How pathetic is that?

Libs constantly acclaim the wonderful economic accomplishments of Clinton .. kinda funny he had a repub House and Senate, huh David?

And really David, Obama couldn't lead with 2 years of fillibuster-proof control with out pay-offs, Louisiana Purchases, Cornhusker Deals, etc. ... couldn't lead the dem Senate to do even ONE BUDGET in three years, ignores federal judges, ignores laws he doesn't like, goes to war with the Supreme Court ....

Why don't you just admit this guy is nothing but an out of depth community organizer that cannot function in a representative type of government?

If you want to give dictatorial powers to Obama because he is such a failure in this system - be a man and say so.

Obama is such an inept, incompetent leader he cannot get anything done without filibuster proof majorities?'

Because the filibuster isn't being used at like record rates or anything.

Nope.

Ruken,

Logic and you are apparently strangers.

First, GM still owes the federal government $35.5 billion in loans. The U.S. government still owns GM stock which is now worth substantially less than what they (U.S. Govt) paid for it. This and Solyndra are proof the government should not be investing taxpayer dollars.

Second, you do realize that GM did file for bankruptcy reorganization don't you ? The government bailout did two things: 1) it bailed out the woefully underfunded union pensions, and 2) screwed GM bondholders who should have been paid in accordance with normal liquidation preferences under bankruptcy law.

Along the way, the plan also forced various GM dealers out of business.

David walker, for the most part an interesting post to point out what few understand. Politicians on both sides refuse to stand up and tell us what is needed to change the course of the economy.

I know that romneys rhetoric on tax cuts is just that, vote getting rhetoric. Much like obamas has been since 2009.

Bill of fairfax pointed out as well (post 1.2) what it takes for economic growth to advance.

I watched obama's actions for over a year before being compelled to start questioning his actions on newsvine. His actions suggested that he was just another politician wanting to kick the can down the road to avoid confrontation. However, after the midterms he decided to take on an even more disastrous path... one of blame, denigration and divisiveness. He hasn't realized that this path may be expected of a member of congress, but I, as well as many others, think that a POTUS needs to be a unifier as well as a statesman.

I know what obama's actions have been, he now has a record. A record which leaves him vulnerable to a new face and new possibilities to defeat him.

Can I have one last word on the subject of "composite characters" being some sort of startling "new" revelation about "Dreams From My Father"?

From page xvii of the introduction in the book itself, originally published in 1995 and re-printed in 2004:

"Although much of this book is based on contemporaneous journals or the oral histories of my family, the dialogue is necessarily an approximation of what was actually said or relayed to me. For the sake of compression, some of the characters that appear are composites of people I've known, and some events appear out of precise chronology. With the exception of my family and a handful of public figures, the names of most characters have been changed for the sake of their privacy".

Last week's "new" revelation about the dog-eating story only proved that no one citing it had actually managed to read all the way through page 37 of this book in the 17 years since it was first published. Now it appears they never even made it to page 1.

Can we throw this latest nontroversy out with the rest of the garbage now?

Ruken said: Actually, the private sector is creating jobs at the moment. The reason the growth overall is so slow is that we are hemorrhaging government jobs.

I'm going to call Bullsh!t on this one Ruken. The government is expanding. Show one credible link that says the government is hemorrhaging jobs. Recent and credible! Just ONE!

njnbnj: As I recall, some years ago a Pulitzer Proze was reclaimed from a Washington Post reporter for having composite characters in her series on drug abuse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Cooke

A made up, or "composite" character brought Ms. Cooke down. "Fraud" and "fake" seem to be words that describe Ms. Cooke's writing style. Kind of like what Obama did.

You're really taking a beating today Ruken. You might want to take the rest of the day off.

Logic and you are apparently strangers.

Perhaps you could introduce me, after all you and logic are undoubtedly acquainted.

You're really taking a beating today Ruken. You might want to take the rest of the day off.

Yea. This must be similar to your life every day.

Of course, taking "beatings" from uneducated, unemployed, and outright delusional failings of the public education system really isn't anything to get worked up over.

american-2051576

However, after the midterms he decided to take on an even more disastrous path... one of blame, denigration and divisiveness.

You must be talking about Mitt Romney, blaming the president for high gas prices over which he has no control, and for the economic catastrophe that Bush's lax regulatory policies enabled.

Bill of fairfax pointed out as well (post 1.2) what it takes for economic growth to advance.

According to him, what it takes is more redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy. We've already seen how that worked out during the Bush years. Einstein once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The Republican Party fits Einstein's definition of insanity perfectly.

When will you liberals quit treating all Hispanics as some sort of

monolithic voting block? You do the same with every other group of people.

You should be recognizing them as individuals, not just some cattle that you

can herd to the the polls.

Bob said: Why don't you just admit this guy is nothing but an out of depth community organizer that cannot function in a representative type of government?

If you want to give dictatorial powers to Obama because he is such a failure in this system - be a man and say so.

I like this Bob! Unfortunately the left does want to give Obama dictatorial powers. I can't fathom why though. It's as if they simply can't see his actions. All they see is his face and everything past that stops any sort of reasoning power. I guess they are completely unaware that if Obama does do his nasty work, like he wants, it will effect them and their freedom's as well. I do believe the liberals feel they are exempt from losing their freedom, and that makes zero sense!

General Motors Co. said Thursday it earned $1 billion or 60 cents a share in the first quarter, down more than 68 percent from the same three months a year ago

Analysts were expecting earnings per share of about 85 cents.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120503/AUTO0103/205030417#ixzz1tokCGaum

Ruken:And GM posted over a $1B 1Q profit, beating expectations.

Hey Ruken, just where do you get your info?

BTW GM has paid the government back.

Kind of.

They paid in stock that yesterday closed around $23/share.

GM's stock, which is still about 30 percent owned by the government following the bailout of the automaker, closed down 38 cents Wednesday to close at $22.93 a share. -Detroit News

As soon as it gets to $52/share the taxpayers will break even.

Any of you Auto Industry illiterates want to take a stab on when the government will actually sell their shares?

Ruken: Of course, taking "beatings" from uneducated, unemployed, and outright delusional failings of the public education system really isn't anything to get worked up over.

We love it when you get angry! It brings continuity to your prose.

Yes, you are smarter than all the rest Ruken, you yourself say so. Who can argue with that? Some might even call you pompous. You might even call yourself elite. This board is blessed to have a person of your intellect. Don't let the fact that you're wrong 90% of the time bother you, because in your mind, you're always right, and that's what really counts.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this blog post stated that Obama had acknowledged using composite characters in the reissue. In fact, Obama acknowledged the use of composite characters in the first edition of the book.

Hmmmm....

Looks like a whole bunch of nimrods jumped the 'sharky' this morning! lmao!

Yes, I am l@@king at you WCA & Snuffy!

You might want to take the rest of the day off.

You might consider taking your own advice sweetie!

@ Ruken obviously you aren't acquainted with real journalists. Composite characters are frowned upon when writing non-fiction. LOL

@JAS1

We love it when you get angry! It brings continuity to your prose.

Yes, you are smarter than all the rest Ruken, you yourself say so. Who can argue with that? Some might even call you pompous. You might even call yourself elite. The board is blessed to have a person of your intellect. Don't let the fact that you're wrong 90% of the time bother you, because in your mind, you're always right.

I'm angry? That's news to me. Apparently your grasping of psychoanalysis is about as tenuous as your grasp on literature.

I am definitely not the smartest, but it's obvious I'm smarter than you.

@ Ruken obviously you aren't acquainted with real journalists. Composite characters are frowned upon when writing non-fiction. LOL

Sure, whatever you say. I'm sure you're a 'real journalist' and all.

You might consider taking your own advice sweetie!

She takes every day off, if you catch my drift.

David - Yours are always posts I enjoy reading - for your honest search for truth and your concern for our country.

I have heard interviews by Rachael Maddow on her new book,"Drift", where she states we have gradually drifted to a point where Americans are comfortable with a state of continual war. And while she contends there were honest reasons each President has taken steps to achieve what needed to get done -in the process,they have all lessened our rights and made it easier to get into conflicts. The freedoms they take away from you are rarely all given back.I too,have been very disappointed with Obama in this regard.

But I disagree with you about the partnership agreement with Afghanistan.

Al Qaeda and any other terrorist faction now knows that we will continue to actively oppose them in that region. They kept saying all they had to do was out wait us and they would return in force,as they did after 2003. As we start to bring more pressure on these groups in Yemen and Somalia, they will be denied Afghanistan as a backup. Every country al Qaeda goes to they bring destruction and upheaval to - I doubt the newly forming governments in the Middle East will want to invite that element to disrupt their own power building process. It's not just about Afghanistan - it's about denying the world terrorist syndicate a ready made refugee anywhere in the Middle East.

And while we are not abandoning the Afghanistan people - as critics say we have done before,not only with Afghanistan,but in Vietnam - we are also telling them their own people must be willing to stand up and fight for their own country.And the government can no longer offer the excuse for their corruption was that they had to appease rival factions because we were leaving them in the lurch and they have to survive politically. The amount and appropriation for aid to support the security forces will be decided yearly. If there is no sign of improvement by the Afghan government toward democracy and honesty,then the agreement will be reconsidered.

We are done with the U.S. role of combat in Afghanistan in 2 years,but we are still willing to support them in their efforts -if they make the effort too.

I wish 9/11 had never happened, I wish Afghanistan had never happened - but we have to deal with the reality of the situation. I think it would be irresponsible to just cut out and leave.

Feisty,

WTF does President Obama's college sex life have to do with anything?

I am disappointed in you asking this question. Out of all people here, you should be the one to know that mostly what the Republicans care about is vaginas and other people's sex lives. The other topics of interests for the Repubs are: Obama's birth certificate, making him a 1 term prez., and the 1%-ers (aka the people who rule this nation with their checkbooks).

Did I forget anything?

Brianb stops playing video games for a minute to state what he 'knows' about Florida:

Little do you know about Florida Ron. If our unemployment doesn't fall below 11% Obama doesn't stand a chance here. You can wishful hope all you like but wishful hoping doesn't equal reality.

Au contraire, mon ami! According to the Tampa Bay Times, April 21:

"With Florida's unemployment rate dropping sharply to 9 percent in March, the state has significantly narrowed the gap with the U.S. unemployment rate of 8.2 percent."

However little you think Ron knows, you apparently 'know' quite a bit less.

Have an informed day

welcome to the real world and American politics David Walker. u sound like a crybaby in your little rant above

2008 was the only election in my life that I felt like I didn't have to vote for the lesser of two evils

2012 may be back to that same feeling but it's still a no-brainer. Put your big boy pants on and do the right thing and keep our President in office for another term!

GO Obaaaahhhhhma 2012!

Well, it is obvious the right has truely fallen on hard times this election season. They must now resort to discussing the number of "girlfriends" a young, college student named Barack Obama had; they must now resort to whining about how a "composite" girlfriend in NY is some kind of secret plot. When they aren't talking about "girlfriends", it's Elizabeth Warren's native American heritage. I've read some pretty goofy stuff on FR but WCA and friends have topped the leader board for irrelevant nonsense today.

Having had a number of "boyfriends" in my life while in college and after and also having a native American heritage although to see me one would question that heritage, it is obvious that while Scott Brown and the right deflect to talk about American Indian heritage and cheek bones he/they aren't talking about what he hasn't done for Massachusetts and all the obstruction he participated in the past couple years. The GOP deflects to discuss Obama's "girlfriends" while in college and once again go after his book and in the process, they aren't talking about Mitt Romney's plans for the country, which remain a carefully guarded secret.

Ruken - As opposed to Mitt Romney's plan, where we let GM go under and the shareholders lose all their money in GM stock?

Ruken, Ruken, Ruken.

Stop digging this hole. The common shareholders did lose everything. Take a look at the current stock chart and just for fun go back 2 years. Notice that there is nothing there?

That is because GM WENT BANKRUPT!

Good God some of you folks are just dense.

Good God some of you folks are just dense.

Sorry, God only works at Frothy's behest.

Ruken: I am definitely not the smartest, but it's obvious I'm smarter than you.

Oh, don't be so modest. You're smarter than everyone here Ruken. Just look as you proclaim your "truths" and how the lesser intelligent prove you wrong (over and over again), and you come back with your personal attacks or some kind of a perplexed stare. That's golden Ruken, truly a sign of a superior being.

We bow to your presence.

And don't ever reflect on your many mistakes Ruken, it would just be a waste of time. Doing so might make you humble and more open minded. We can't have that though Ruken, that just wouldn't be you. And we'd hate to lose our Ruken.

Ruken said: Of course, taking "beatings" from uneducated, unemployed, and outright delusional failings of the public education system really isn't anything to get worked up over.

So, you feel we on the right are uneducated - seems not to be the case Ruken... we do know what we are talking about whereas you are on the losing end of the argument.

unemployed - So you are mocking those of us who are struggling to find a job in this economy... where so many single jobs have hundreds of applicants and we are lucky to even have an employer look at our resume... somehow this is my fault?

delusional failings of the public education system - Thank GOD I didn't go to public schools then. I simply couldn't imagine how twisted my thinking would have ended up being.

No need to get worked up over anything Ruken - just admit you are wrong and all is right with the world.

Hey Ruken -

Who or what is "Frothy"?

Oh, don't be so modest. You're smarter than everyone here Ruken.

Damn. I didn't know you represented everyone.

Who or what is "Frothy"?

Exactly. It must have just been a bad dream.

unemployed - So you are mocking those of us who are struggling to find a job in this economy... where so many single jobs have hundreds of applicants and we are lucky to even have an employer look at our resume... somehow this is my fault?

Indeed. I'm sure you love b*tching about 'handouts' but don't hesitate to collect your unemployment benefits.

Guess what? Chipotle is hiring here in downtown. It's a job rather fitting for someone of your....qualifications.

Considering the GOP/TP has spent the better part of the last year talking about a triple layer, electrified fence, with moats full of fire ants and porcupines running between, and arial drones flying over head, can anyone really claim the Hispanic vote in their name???

I keep thinking about those poor hispanic women, who would have to contend with all that, while deaing with a probe shoved up their hoo-haw.

I mean, seriously, GOP/TP, you don't get it both ways. You can't demonize all things not WASP, and then come back and ask them to vote for you. We do have the capability of remembering that sh** you know.

Feisty, what is your point?

So Obama admitted up front that he was going to make up a character in an autobiography?

Guess all the bookstores will have to move it to the Fiction area now, eh?

Dude is a liar. First and always and you folks buy into it hook, line and sinker.

This is just more proof.

Poor Ruken.

Now you can't even back up your own words.

Come on Ruken, show me how smart and "High Brow" you are.

Who or what is "Frothy"?

JAS1 is right. You probably ought to call it a day.

I don't give a flying damn about Obama's birth certificate, but I would like to see his college transcripts ! I would like to see if he ever had courses in basic accounting or economics. I would like to know if he chose "electives" that would expose his left-wing ideology.

If he is as brilliant as the lefties want to believe, what is there to hide ?

Jody, Iowa: Well, it is obvious the right has truely fallen on hard times this election season. They must now resort to discussing the number of "girlfriends" a young, college student named Barack Obama had;

Apparently Obama "Frankensteined" them all together, you know, for continuity. Or a work of fiction. You choose.

And you're right Jody. We need to get back to the Seamus the dog on top of the car stories.

David,

GREAT opener for the day!

Gyortillicus used this quote:

Au contraire, mon ami! According to the Tampa Bay Times, April 21:

"With Florida's unemployment rate dropping sharply to 9 percent in March, the state has significantly narrowed the gap with the U.S. unemployment rate of 8.2 percent."

Well gee whiz and golly gee.... I don't happen to live in Tampa and I don't follow what they report as news. Last month and before, the rate was 11%. Thank you ever so much for the updated correction. I'll revise my words:

If the unemployment rate doesn't fall below 9%, Obama doesn't have a chance in Florida.

Feel better now?

Careful, rightwingers, if you insist on creating distractions out of Barack's pre-Michelle love life and Elizabeth Warren's interest in geneology (insert plug for Ancestry.com), than I may have to rail about that hideous $900.00 silk screened shirt Ann Romney wore on the CBS morning show, and you don't want to hear me talk about how Ann has more money than taste, now do you? Meow!

PS Talk about a distraction, I couldn't take my eyes off the creature diving into Ann's arm pit. Was it a fish, a bird or a snake?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7407116n&tag=mncol;lst;1

| JAS1:Oh, don't be so modest. You're smarter than everyone here Ruken.

Ruken: Damn. I didn't know you represented everyone

But it's so clear Ruken. How can everyone not recognize you as an Appreciably Smart Soul (ASS)?

Oh no Amy! Are you really going to start talking baout the cost of Ann Romney's clothes?

I couldn't believe it when I saw it here yesterday.

With Michelle Obama's penchant for expensive outfits, I would think this is one area you folks would stay away from?

For the Christmas Day church service at the Kaneohe Bay Marine Base, Mrs. Obama was photographed in a seemingly simple white sundress with red and yellow stripes. The dress, however, was by French-born, U.S.-based designer Sophie Theallet, and would have cost the first lady almost $2,000 when she bought it in 2009. More recent designs by Theallet sell for even more.

For the meet-and-greet with service members and their families in a nearby mess hall later in the day, Mrs. Obama dressed down — in a printed green $950 Comme des Garcons skirt with bag waist.

Some see the first lady's penchant for expensive labels at odds with her reputation as a bargain shopper who frequents J. Crew and Target.

ABC NEWS 12/9/2011

Poor Ruken.

Now you can't even back up your own words.

Come on Ruken, show me how smart and "High Brow" you are.

Who or what is "Frothy"?

JAS1 is right. You probably ought to call it a day.

Man, and you call others dense.

It must be contagious, probably from the company you keep.

Brianb-999431,

If the unemployment rate doesn't fall below 9%, Obama doesn't have a chance in Florida.

Wouldn't the State's CEO, Gov. Rick "I-Defrauded-Medicare" Scott be responsible for the unemployment rate that is higher than the national average?

Amy,

How could Obama have a pre-Michelle love life? Wasn't he too busy living in a mountain cave, somewhere in Tora-Bora, with Saul Alinsky, plotting to take over the world, with his Radical Muslim-Yet Still Managed to be A Leftist-Yet Still Managed to be in the Pocket of Wall St, agenda?

Jody said: I've read some pretty goofy stuff on FR but WCA and friends have topped the leader board for irrelevant nonsense today.

Well all I can say to this, is, for the past 5 or 6 months the liberals have posted some really pitiful goofy stuff. All of it ended up being irrelevant. How many times did we hear the left raging on Cain, Bachman, Perry, Huntsman, Santorum, and Newt? For what purpose? To make the liberals feel better about themselves.

So Jody, for a pittance of irrelevance coming across your screen, you sure complain a lot about nothing.

Come on Ruken.

Why won't you answer the question?

Don't like it when someone calls you out?

Come on sweetie, answer the question.

David -- Well reasoned post.

Go Ruken!

LOL, Amy!

DCIA - Go Ruken!

I agree DCIA, Ruken needs to go.

Aw Amy if you are going to get petty let us not forget the First Lady's $540 pair of sneakers worn to serve at a food bank. See everyone can sink to that level of childishness

.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/29/michelle-obama-wears-silv_n_193138.html

Frothy??? Isn't that a discription of Santorum?

(I have no problem being low-brow. You don't have to be smart to find a fart funny, but you have to be stupid not to. That's my philosophy.)

And really, does ANYONE ACTUALLY give a damn about what Anne or Michelle wear???

Sarah said: Considering the GOP/TP has spent the better part of the last year talking about a triple layer, electrified fence, with moats full of fire ants and porcupines running between, and arial drones flying over head, can anyone really claim the Hispanic vote in their name???

What does this have to do with the legal Hispanic vote Sarah? Don't tell me you are trying to homogenize the illegals with the legals. Who can vote Sarah? Are illegal immigrants allowed to cast their ballot in our elections? Do you also believe that any Hispanic that has earned their citizenship supports illegals from crossing the border? I sure would like to know your reasoning on this.

How so Sarah? I don't get it.

And why won't Mr. Intellectual, Ruken answer my question?

Ruken is certainly rocking boats today, WCA. Pretty amusing he has all the RWNJ's barking up trees. Hilarious actually. Woof, woof WCA.

DCIA - Go Ruken!

I agree DCIA, Ruken needs to go.

Oh noes! WCA thinks I need to go. My soul is crushed!

Ruken is certainly rocking boats today, WCA. Pretty amusing he has all the RWNJ's barking up trees. Hilarious actually. Woof, woof.

I take my dog medium-rare, like Obama of course. However, first it needs to be properly seasoned by long drives strapped to a car roof. That really locks in the flavor.

How is Santorum frothy? Well, I'm assuming, since it's ass juice, maybe it's under some pressure prior to leaking out? I dunno, I'm not a physics person, or a biologist.

Don't know about Ruken, by why are you so obsessed with "frothiness" and side tracking the actual discussion?

There's your answer, move along.

Brian,

Nope, not at all. I've never had an abortion, yet I'm empathetic to the plight of women who've had to have one, or may need to have one in the future. Same goes with Hispanics.

If a political party is willing to trample the rights of one sect of a minority, it won't be long until they start trampling the rights of the ENTIRE minority.

First they came for the... I'm sure you know the poem.

Honestly, electing very few candidates has had any impact on my life.

I did get charged an extra $800 on my taxes because the break expired.

I could have also easily made up that $800 if Congress had Republicans that bothered to negotiate instead of throw a giant hissy fit.

Regardless, $800 isn't going to change my life, as much as I would prefer more money.

What would change my life and lifestyle isn't really promised by either party, or any candidate, despite the constant rhetoric that it will. You know, healthcare reform will, tax breaks for oil companies will, having religion in schools will, stopping people from smoking cigarettes will.

BUT, I will say, First Read talking about all those topics in such ludicrous faction HAS managed to get me to compare Republicans to Muslims and Democrats to Communists. And type all sorts of posts about it. And watch a bunch of people who won't change their minds get on here every day, mock, and yell at each other.

What the hell were we talking about again? Does it matter in the slightest? I'm going to say no, so vote for the Koran in 2012. You know you want to.

Oh I don't know DCIA.

Not so much barking as asking him to back up statements.

He won't tell me what frothy means and he still hasn't addressed the "Beating Expectations" comments.

I suppose you rock a lot of boats when your rocks are just a bunch of lies.

I do notice he has gone into either deflection mode or run away. Either way, he has lost today.

Come on Ruken, what does Frothy mean or are you just a pathetic little troll?

Sarah, where do you get that Santorum is ass juice? You couldn't be talking about the Google scam now could you?

Please don't tell me that you and Ruken are both simple minded enough to fall for that.

Cuz that would put everything you post here into context for us.

Bayllie asks reasonably:

Wouldn't the State's CEO, Gov. Rick "I-Defrauded-Medicare" Scott be responsible for the unemployment rate that is higher than the national average?

Ol' Gov Skeletor promised to 'create' 750,000 new jobs (beyond normal job creation) as he bought his way to Tallahassee's big chair. I don't care for the guy, but I hope for the sake of Floridians that he fulfills this pledge. Unfortunately for his next run/buy at being guv, he is not meeting this goal, and is now trying to backtrack on it, even though we have all these ads he paid for where he says it. Much like Willard and his personal integrity when it comes to saying something and sticking to it.

And Brianb, thanks for asking...correcting the presumptuous yet fact challenged always makes me feel great.

Have a factual day

Bill in Fairfax, VA...I'm always very impressed with your commentary on our economy...you're like a breath of fresh air on these postings...thanks for your continued contributions to getting me educated on the subject.

How is Santorum frothy? Well, I'm assuming, since it's ass juice, maybe it's under some pressure prior to leaking out? I dunno, I'm not a physics person, or a biologist.

Don't know about Ruken, by why are you so obsessed with "frothiness" and side tracking the actual discussion?

Sarah, this topic could lead into very disgusting posts.

Back in the primary days people used "Frothy" left and right, I am surprised at how quick that term has been forgotten.

I suppose you rock a lot of boats when your rocks are just a bunch of lies.

I do notice he has gone into either deflection mode or run away. Either way, he has lost today.

Speaking from experience eh, WCA? It must feel awkward to have your own repertoire used against you.

Bayliee said: Wouldn't the State's CEO, Gov. Rick "I-Defrauded-Medicare" Scott be responsible for the unemployment rate that is higher than the national average?

Not when you consider that the number one job loss involved new construction Bayliee. Tourism is down because people just don't have the expendable cash they used to. There is such a glut of new homes here that have never been occupied, it's sickening. All that has to do with the federal government...

BUT... I would love to see the dirtbag Rick Scott lose his job too. I can't stand the guy and I didn't vote for him to be in office...

Come on Ruken, show me how smart and "High Brow" you are.

By chance Ruken, are you 1/32nd Cherokee? Or does just driving one make you so?

Sarah, werent you talking the other day about all those taxes that illegal immigrants were paying into the government? I assume you saw the expose by Indianapolis news station that shows that illegal immigrants are actually receiving billions of illegal tax refunds because of the new refundable child tax credit of $1,000 per child. They are filing taxes under the IRS's identity number system and claiming 20 kids costing the country billions. Of course the IRS is doing nothing about it even though they are fully aware that they are refunding money for kids that live in another country or dont exist. For you class warfare Buffett rule fans, this loophole is costing the taxpayers more money annually than taxing the wealthy. Priceless.

www.wthr.com/story/17798210/tax-loophole-costs-billions

Brian,

Not to mention, all those crazy anti-immigrant laws, do you REALLY think ONLY undocumented workers are going to be caught up in those? That they aren't intimidating, biased, and harrassing towards LEGAL immigrants???

Kirk,

So close that loophole. What makes THAT loophole so much worse then the corporate ones that extract BILLIONS per corporation? You seem to be okay with those loopholes being raped, why get your panties in a bunch over this one?

Personally, I have no problem collecting a legal return on what they paid in, afterall they did pay in. If they're exploiting that, then close that loophole, but you can't b**ch about JUST that hole in the tax code.

Citizen's cheat on taxes, corporations exploit loopholes, why is this any worse then that? They paid in too.

By chance Ruken, are you 1/32nd Cherokee? Or does just driving one make you so?

I wish I was, then I could go down and claim my share of the 'l33t casino profitz'.

Come on Ruken, what does Frothy mean or are you just a pathetic little troll?

I wouldn't dare think about trying to claim that title. I gladly defer that honor to JAS1 and / or yourself.

@Sarah:

Not to mention, all those crazy anti-immigrant laws, do you REALLY think ONLY undocumented workers are going to be caught up in those? That they aren't intimidating, biased, and harrassing towards LEGAL immigrants???

Because legal immigrants and even Hispanic citizens suffer. Look at Alabama and the loss of all their farmhands. The workers (mostly Hispanic and legal btw) moved away due to harassment. Now the jobs sit empty because "normal Americans" don't want to fill them.

Still won't answer the question, eh Ruken.

Nice to see you got Sarah to stick up for you.

You really ought to stop hiding behind a girls skirt.

You really ought to stop hiding behind a girls skirt.

Indeed. I should vote GOP and be more concerned on what is inside the "girl's skirt".

Nice to see your mind in the gutter.

I'm sure that Mr. Obama is telling hispanic voters...again...that he is focused on "comprehensive immigration reform" and telling them that even though he has done nothing to spur any such 'reform' in the past three and a half years, he'll surely focus "like a laser beam" on it if they help him get elected to another term.

Panderer extraorinaire !

Sarah said:

Brian,

Nope, not at all. I've never had an abortion, yet I'm empathetic to the plight of women who've had to have one, or may need to have one in the future. Same goes with Hispanics.

If a political party is willing to trample the rights of one sect of a minority, it won't be long until they start trampling the rights of the ENTIRE minority.

First they came for the... I'm sure you know the poem.

I guess this means that you feel only the republicans trample on Hispanics, correct? This is my guess since you seem to be alluding to the assumption that because republicans want to secure our borders and Obama doesn't, that some how tramples on Hispanic rights... this is what I am gleening from your observations... How in God's green earth is securing our borders trampling on the rights of those that desire to be here illegally? This is exactly what doesn't make sense about the argument. You then allude to the crazy theory that because Hispanic rights have been trampled on, because of securing the borders, other minorities will also be hurt along the way...

Sarah please don't tell me this is what you actually believe.

Brianb-999431

All that has to do with the federal government...

all states have their strengths and weaknesses and all states have governors who make decisions that result in their state's health. But if we use your theory that the only influence on each state's unemployment is the fed. gov, all states would be pretty much in the same boat.

Governors make decisions on how to spend the money; for example: passing a law to drug test 85,000 state employees so that a company you are vested in will be one of the clinics performing the drug test is not a good way to improve your state's health...

Now, Rick Scott could have ecided to spent the money on fixing roads/bridges, etc thus creating jobs. The governors ARE responsible for their state's unemployment rate.

Sarah said:

Brian,

Not to mention, all those crazy anti-immigrant laws, do you REALLY think ONLY undocumented workers are going to be caught up in those? That they aren't intimidating, biased, and harrassing towards LEGAL immigrants???

What are you talking about Sarah? If a person of Hispanic nature is here legally, all they have to do is show proof. Everytime I'm stopped by law enforcement they want to see my drivers license. Should I feel harassed? I am as white as the day is long but they insist on proof of who I am... wow!!! Maybe I should elicit the help of the ACLU to stop all this harassment!

What you are saying makes no sense what so ever!

White Collar Auto

So Obama admitted up front that he was going to make up a character in an autobiography?

OK, everyone gets your point. You hate Obama so much that you'll seize on any reason for your hatred, no matter how ridiculous it is and no matter how stupid it makes you seem. We're all very impressed by your devotion to your hatred. I'll bet you also buy nojonobo's "golf story" and that the situation room photo during the Bin Laden raid was doctored, don't you?

Sarah, the difference is that they didnt pay in, they are getting refundable tax credits (or welfare is a better term) and doing it illegally. This isnt the same as taking advantage of the mortgage tax deduction. By the way, I am all fine with eliminating all deductions and social engineering in the tax code so we have an equal and fair tax policy that applies to everyone. There is no reason that tax policy provides a benefit for someone who has kids as that is a choice or a house etc. We could dramatically reduce tax rates and still raise more revenue. Same thing with corporate tax although I would reduce it completely to give companies a better ability to compete around the world and increase jobs in the US.

Brian,

First, slow down on the drama, we're not two tween girls texting here.

This is my guess since you seem to be alluding to the assumption that because republicans want to secure our borders and Obama doesn't, that some how tramples on Hispanic rights...

I'll start by clearing up your misconception about Obama. He's actually cracked down harder, and deported more people then Bush did in both of his terms. Second, "securing the border" is a term politicians use to pander and fear monger. I've got knews, build all the walls and fences you want, do you really think some drug runner is gonna look at that and say, "Oh shucks, there goes my billion dollar empire. Those clever gringos!" No, they won't. And the rest of the people coming here, the ones coming for work and opportunity are NOT a threat. Streamlining the work VISA renewals and guest passes, those would do more to secure our borders. Then we COULD focus on the actual bad guys.

How in God's green earth is securing our borders trampling on the rights of those that desire to be here illegally? This is exactly what doesn't make sense about the argument. You then allude to the crazy theory that because Hispanic rights have been trampled on, because of securing the borders, other minorities will also be hurt along the way...

When you're passing laws that shift the burden of proof and allow for racial profiling, um yeah, anyone who fits the profile is going to be intimidated and harrassed.

Everytime I'm stopped by law enforcement they want to see my drivers license. Should I feel harassed? I am as white as the day is long but they insist on proof of who I am... wow!!! Maybe I should elicit the help of the ACLU to stop all this harassment!

I really love when people use this argument. Okay, when you're stopped while driving and you're asked for your lisense and registration that's okay, because... YOUR LISENCE AND REGISTRATION HAVE TO DO WITH YOUR DRIVING. Your immigration status does not, and when they're asked to provide proof of being here LEGALLY??? Well, they don't have to provide proof of that, the state has to prove they AREN'T here legally.

Remember innocent until proven guilty???

Bayliee said: all states have their strengths and weaknesses and all states have governors who make decisions that result in their state's health. But if we use your theory that the only influence on each state's unemployment is the fed. gov, all states would be pretty much in the same boat.

I didn't say it was my theory... it's a reality. For over 20 years, Florida's number one job sector growth was in new construction. Billions upon billions were spent in growing this state. When the housing bubble hit, millions of jobs were lost and we haven't recovered from it yet. Many have moved away and I've spent the past 4 years on the road because there is very little work and I can't sell my house because I've lost about 50% of it's value. I'm not complaining about it, I am just reporting to you the reality of what's happened here. How can Scott be blamed for what the feds did to the housing market? Scott can be blamed for many things... but not that. As I stated before I don't like Scott and he will never get my vote.

Kirk,

Sarah, the difference is that they didnt pay in, they are getting refundable tax credits (or welfare is a better term) and doing it illegally

But yes they did. They paid in through the ITIN numbers. From your article...

The Internal Revenue Service says everyone who is employed in the United States – even those who are working here illegally – must report income and pay taxes. Of course, undocumented workers are not supposed to have a social security number. So for them to pay taxes, the IRS created what's called an ITIN, an individual taxpayer identification number. A 9-digit ITIN number issued by the IRS provides both resident and nonresident aliens with a unique identification number that allows them to file tax returns.

So, there it's talking about how they paid in.

The loophole is called the Additional Child Tax Credit. It's a fully-refundable credit of up to $1000 per child, and it's meant to help working families who have children living at home.

And that's the deduction they're filing. Now it goes on to talk about how they're filing for children who AREN'T living at home. Neices and nephews and such, who may still be in Mexico.

I say, first, if those kids are dependant on them, and the undocumented worker is paying taxes, why SHOULDN'T they get the same deductions?

Second, do you really think it's only undocumented workers doing this?

Third, this is like the kid with the finger in the dyke. All the loopholes we have, all the multi-billion dollar ways out, and THIS is the one that freaks you out???

Sarah,

YOUR LISENCE AND REGISTRATION HAVE TO DO WITH YOUR DRIVING.

To add to your argument: when brianb is stopped by the police that means he have them a reason like speading, going through a stop sign. etc.

brianb,

you are comparing apples to a rotten fish. As Sarah pointed out, being pulled over and asked for a license and registration and proof of insurance (in some states) is not the same as being targeted to show your legal status.

Sarah said: Your immigration status does not, and when they're asked to provide proof of being here LEGALLY??? Well, they don't have to provide proof of that, the state has to prove they AREN'T here legally.

What is the big deal about pulling out an additional card from your wallet Sarah? You know, the green card, or your social security card... That is not harassment. If you are here legally, you should always carry proof of who you are. I do and I was born in this country. It only makes good sense to be able to prove who you are at all times to any enforcement agency. If someone has been through the immigration process and are here legitimately, they should be proud to prove it. I know I would. Only to someone who carries guilt would not be proud of it... and that includes those who seem to have a lot of guilt about the nature of this country.

As far as Obama deporting more people... That's what the news tells us... you know, the liberal media, the Obama support team. I don't believe it for a minute since Obama has sued Arizona for wanting to protect their borders from illegals. Imagine, a president suing a state for wanting to protect their border from a foreign country. He's going to go down in flames over this one and he is losing credibility by the minute over it. Watch and see what the SC rules on it... when they do, Obama will look like a total fool.

What is the big deal about pulling out an additional card from your wallet Sarah? You know, the green card, or your social security card... That is not harassment. If you are here legally, you should always carry proof of who you are.

That is the biggest crock I've read today: the whole "it's not an invasion of privacy of you have nothing to hide" bullsh*t.

Sarah, I dont think you are getting it or just being obtuse. Its not a deduction, its a tax credit in which you can get a refund greater than the amount you paid in. So these tax filers are paying in $100 dollars and getting $20,000 in refunds. No illegals are not the only ones doing it but definitely the primary ones because they have very little risk of getting caught. Its not like they are citizens with social security numbers who can get audited.

No this doesnt freak me out, I just found it humorous after you tried to suggest that illegals somehow contribute more in federal income taxes than they get back. Second, I find it interesting that this one illegal activity by illegal immigrants costs the government more annually than raising the taxes on the wealthy.

Brian,

What is the big deal about pulling out an additional card from your wallet Sarah?

Because they have a Constitutionally protected right, to not have to Brian. Not to mention, how do you think they're going to judge who needs to prove it and who doesn't? Hmmmm, it couldn't be profiling, now could it? Because the GOP/TP screams about limited government, and here they are invoking, actually invoking this time, Nazi Germany. Who's a citizen and who isn't? Who gets rights and who doesn't? Prove to the state that you're deserving of rights? So, do you think we should pick and choose which of the first 10 Amendments apply to whom? Or should we just apply it equally?

If someone has been through the immigration process and are here legitimately, they should be proud to prove it. I know I would. Only to someone who carries guilt would not be proud of it...

Wow, that's condescending. I'm guessing they'd be more happy to be afforded equal rights.

That's what the news tells us... you know, the liberal media, the Obama support team.

What you call the liberal media, the rest of the world calls, facts.

Kirk,

I'm not going to continue to talk in circles. They pay, they can have deductions or credits, or whatever in my book. THEY PAY, your own link says so. And they are STILL contributing more. 4.2 Billion or so is the number they get back from those credits. 50 Billion or so is the amount they pay in. That's according to the CBO and DOL, also, considerably more reliable then a local Indiana news affiliate.

There's bigger fish to fry for me.

brianb,

If you are here legally, you should always carry proof of who you are. I do and I was born in this country.

so you carry your passport in your wallet and whip it out every time you are pulled over?

Scott can be blamed for many things... but not that.

yes he is but you keep telling yourself that a CEO of a state has no influence!

By the way, if Scott has nothing to do with the unemplyment rate, why is he claiming that the UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HAS BEEN DECLINING SINCE HE TOOK OFFICE?????

this is what Scott said as of 4/18

"When you look around the state, tourism is up, the home market’s up, home sales are up, home prices are up. … So good things are happening, but we still have 900,000 people out of work," he said.

kinda debunks YOUR theory!

Bayliee said: you are comparing apples to a rotten fish. As Sarah pointed out, being pulled over and asked for a license and registration and proof of insurance (in some states) is not the same as being targeted to show your legal status.

Bayliee - Your identification and legal documents are one in the same. Unless you are here on a visa, or are a legal immigrant... The argument is moot.

David Walker,

However, if we can give him a Democratic Senate majority, will he make it clear the ridiculous filibuster rule MUST be changed. The Senate has one single day to do that. Do Democrats - if they hold the majority - have the guts to do that, knowing that some day, Republicans might take over the Senate?

That is funny! That is exactly what Obama had for the first two years he was in office. He had both the House and the Senate. Now you want us to believe given another opportunity he would do something for the American people, WHY didn't he do something for the American people the first time.

You are so very funny; Obama is a big flip flopper too. You Libs always cherry pick examples that appeal to the poor and illegals. Obama said he was against the personal mandate that said all individuals will be required to buy health insurance , Hilary was trying to push this idea in the 2008 primary’s and Obama was against it but now it is part of his the health care reform bill. This bill will still leave millions uninsured and the tax payers to still foot the bill for the rest. Look at my post above there are all kind of FACTS to back up my claims, unlike you.

Romney understand how things like economics work, he has run successful businesses and Obama has not; Obama thinks he can just spend, spend, spend. He is not worried about it at all, you cannot just spend money that you don't have and think it will work out. Obama got our triple A rating reduced to a double A rating for our Nation. He said Bush was unpatriotic in the $4.5 trillion he spent in 8 years but now Obama has spent $5.3 trillion in 3 years and he is trying to spend another $1.6 trillion on this year’s budget. He picks and chooses which of Bush’s achievement to try and take credit for, like the end of the Iraq war that were Bush's withdrawal date Obama did nothing, Like will Bin Laden again collected under Bush the seals confirmed this so again Obama did nothing. Or like when Obama had our military kill an American suspected of terrorism, Americans have a right to do process and Obama has taken that from us.

How do you Libs think 47% of Americans can pay to support 53% of Americans, eventually the other people’s money runs out, than what? Obama instead of trying to turn America around, as he said he would on the campaign trail, has only created a bigger divide within Congress, he rush's to judgment on issues trying to make them into racial one's, NO GOOD LEADER DOES THIS. Obama said and I quote "If I can’t get the economy turned around in three years that I don't think I would deserve another term". I am here to tell you the economy has not turned around. Unemployment is still at 8.2%, that is not progress especially since Obama said if we passed the stimulus unemployment would not go above 8% but in fact it has been above 8% since Feb 2009 and it was up over 9% since May 2009 and didn't come back to under 9% until Oct 2011 so as you can see the economy was the furthest thing for Obama's mind. Two years of unemployment above 9% under Bush the unemployment was at around 5.3%, right now if you include the unemployment for 2009 to Bush's unemployment totals it is 5.8%, Obama's is 9.2% this for 2010 to present.

.http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57358484/tax-dollars-backing-some-risky-energy-projects/

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_public_debt

.http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/obamas-magic-number-150000-jobs-per-month/

http://spectator.org/archives/2009/02/06/the-true-origins-of-this-finan

http://realetybytes.com/?tag=unemployment

We need to suspend US spending to help foreign countries until America is fully recovered. The money the government gives away is actually supposed to be used for the good of America (roads, bridges, help for the disabled and the elderly) it is not to be handed out to other countries. On this issue I am aware that Obama is not the only one that does this, but especially in these times we need to help America and NO ONE ELSE.8.2% unemployment is NOT good by any stretch of the imagination.

In a December 2005 brief by the Social Security Advisory Board on immigration, the section examining the impact of immigration effects on social security finances stated that “[a]mong illegal immigrants, SSA actuaries currently assume that about half actually pay social security taxes although they are very unlikely to collect benefits.

And further:

In a November 2008 piece summarizing a report on immigration by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, senior fellow Paul N. Van de Water wrote that, according to Stephen Goss, Social Security’s chief actuary, “unauthorized immigrants paid as much as $13 billion in Social Security payroll taxes in 2007. About $1 billion in benefit payments were made based on unauthorized work.”

From Van de Water’s November 20, 2008, post:

The presence of unauthorized (undocumented) workers in the United States also has a positive effect on the financial status of Social Security. The earnings of unauthorized workers are less likely to be reported for tax purposes than the earnings of the rest of the population and even less likely to result in future benefits, according to Social Security’s chief actuary. Although the magnitudes cannot be precisely determined, the actuary has estimated that unauthorized immigrants paid as much as $13 billion in Social Security payroll taxes in 2007. About $1 billion in benefit payments were made based on unauthorized work (for example, survivor benefits paid to U.S. citizens who were dependents of deceased individuals who had made payments into the Social Security system while performing unauthorized work). Thus, undocumented immigrants improved Social Security’s cash flow by an estimated $12 billion in 2007. (Italics added.)

Now, do these reports assert that each and every undocumented worker pays the full gamut of taxes? No. But they do indicate undocumented workers in fact make sizable contributions to our tax revenues. The claim that this isn’t so is either due to ignorance or to deliberate lying.

Note, too, that these reports do not take into account the value added to the economy by the labor of undocumented workers.

Bayliee said: so you carry your passport in your wallet and whip it out every time you are pulled over?

You don't need a passport. The last time I renewed my drivers license I was required to bring my birth certificate with me. They checked it, e-verified me and then issued my license. That documentation is all that's needed. Many states are doing this to avoid the legality status of the citizens.

Sarah copied and pasted this from... somewhere:

The presence of unauthorized (undocumented) workers in the United States also has a positive effect on the financial status of Social Security. The earnings of unauthorized workers are less likely to be reported for tax purposes than the earnings of the rest of the population and even less likely to result in future benefits, according to Social Security’s chief actuary. Although the magnitudes cannot be precisely determined, the actuary has estimated that unauthorized immigrants paid as much as $13 billion in Social Security payroll taxes in 2007. About $1 billion in benefit payments were made based on unauthorized work

Very interesting reasoning why the government doesn't want the undocumented/illegal immigration problem to end. They are using these people's money for their benefit. The government is actually profiting on illegal immigrants... who would have guessed?

What does that make our government out to be Sarah? Pretty shady if you ask me.

#1.1:

So we find out yesterday that Obama lied about his girlfriend in his book:

It's more like you found out he "lied" about his girlfriends in his book.

The book contains a disclaimer that “some of the characters that appear are composites of people I´ve known.”

Chris, Dorr, MI:

You wrote:

"Put your big boy pants on and do the right thing and keep our President in office for another term!"

Back in the day, when I wore young man's pants - I was 18 then - we didn't have a vote. We sure as hell were old enough to be drafted.

Maybe for you the right thing is voting for someone without asking questions. I see things a bit differently. I'll ask questions, and I damned sure want answers. A lot of those kids I grew up with who didn't have the vote came home in boxes.

Don't tell me to vote blindly twerp. On that score, drop those big boy pants you're wearing, grab that keyboard you use to type your worthless and uninformed drivel, and shove it where the sun doesn't shine.

Bill 1488:

The BS about the Senate super majority has been debunked repeatedly. However, so you won't repeat your nonsense here's the entire truth.

January 3, 2009 - 111th Congress sworn in. 55 Democrats, 41 Republicans, 2 Independents, 2 vacant.

January 15, 2009 - Roland Burris sworn in to Barack Obama's seat. 56 Democrats, 41 Republicans, 2 Independents, 2 vacant.

April 30, 2009 – Arlen Specter changes parties. 57 Democrats, 40 Republicans, 2 Independents, 1 vacant.

July 7, 2009 – Al Franken seated. 58 Democrats, 40 Republicans, 2 Independents.

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THE DEMOCRATS HAD A SHOT AT A
60-VOTE MAJORITY.

August 25, 2009 – Teddy Kennedy dies. Kennedy had missed 97% of the votes in 2009 and over 90% in the last half of 2008. 57 Democrats, 40 Republicans, 2 Independents, 1 vacant.

September 25, 2009 – Paul Kirk appointed to Teddy Kennedy's seat. 58 Democrats, 40 Republicans, 2 Independents.

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THE DEMOCRATS HAD A SHOT AT A 60-VOTE MAJORITY.

February 4, 2010 – Scott Brown sworn in to replace Paul Kirk. 57 Democrats, 41 Republicans, 2 Independents.

June 28, 2010 – Robert Byrd dies. Byrd had missed over 90% of the votes in 2010 and almost 50% in 2009 due to illness. 56 Democrats, 41 Republicans, 2 Independents, 1 vacant.

November 29, 2010 - Mark Kirk sworn in to replace Roland Burris. 56 Democrats, 42 Republicans, 2 Independents.

Super-majority? It existed only for a total of 6 months AND only during
two periods when Teddy Kennedy and/or Robert Byrd were unable to vote AND
required them to get the votes of every Democrat plus BOTH independents.

FACT: The "Democrat supermajority" is a G.O.P. lie.

FACT: The GOP used every roadblock, filibuster, and secret hold they could think of so that EVERY bill had to have a 60-vote margin to pass.

brianb,

You don't need a passport. The last time I renewed my drivers license I was required to bring my birth certificate with me

and what state would that be?

bayllie...

The state I live in (Connecticut) is going down the financial drain and a large reason is the cost of retired union employee pensions and medical insurance coverage for life. If my state was thinking of instituting a drug testing program for government employees with an open and honest eye on those long term costs...so much the better.

Of course this state's Democrat governor and overwhelmingly Democrat legislature would not touch with a ten foot pole, even a simple discussion on anything that their government union bosses frown upon...such as asking anything that might financially help the rest of the people in this deteriorating little state.

brianb,

Very interesting reasoning why the government doesn't want the undocumented/illegal immigration problem to end. They are using these people's money for their benefit. The government is actually profiting on illegal immigrants... who would have guessed?

sorry to be picking on you but you make it too easy.

How is the government profiting from illegals when it would actually get the same $ if the jobs were performed by "legals"?

The only ones that benefit from illegals are the corporations that employ the illegals: no overtime, no health benefits, no vacation pay, no nothing...

Houston, interesting that you don't follow obamas rhetoric regarding policy and the effectiveness of negative rhetoric. As for...

You must be talking about Mitt Romney, blaming the president for high gas prices over which he has no control, and for the economic catastrophe that Bush's lax regulatory policies enabled.

You mean like obama and pelosi did for bush2 in 2008? No control? Really? Didn't he talk about investigating controlling it last year and this year?

Lax regulatory policies? sure seems that the democrats liked them as well, even clinton saw to it that glass-stegall (sp) was repealed.

Interesting on how obama lost the focus on the economy after the 2009 stimulas act, ignored his own debt commission advice and rahm emmanuels advice on healthcare (ref Mclauhlin groups 2010 year end summary), S&P's downgrade warning, etc.

Yep, making excuses for what happened under bush2's watch as to his inability to create unity and moving forward shows leadership?.

As for your take on bill's observations on economic growth, it is obvious that you have little understanding of economics or the ability to connect dots.

According to him, what it takes is more redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy.

What part of his post said this or even implied it? If business didn't create the products that the middle class wants how does this redistribution work?

Interesting on how growth always occurs when government provides a measure of certainty to business and individuals as to what policy they will pursue. Obama has pursued an environment of thousands of page of legislation that will result in 10's of thousands of pages of regulations that both business and the populace will have to conform to. Let's see, financial and healthcare reform was passed in 2010 yet the regs are still being written, and the individual mandate is being reviewed by SCOTUS. Lots of certainty there! Right houston?

Kind of like if one wants to travel from houston to seattle by auto in the shortest time but someone removed all the road signs and their is no access to maps.

Yepper, you keep on saying the same generalizations over and over, must make you the one insane. BTW - buy many pigs in a poke thinking you were going to generate income other than throwing a BBQ?

and what state would that be?

In MN I didn't need a passport to get my DL. Just needed birth certificate and / or SS card iirc.

tony-268769,

If my state was thinking of instituting a drug testing program for government employees with an open and honest eye on those long term costs...so much the better.

so you want your BROKE state to dish out millions on drug testing state employees like FL? Guess, what in FL only about 1% of eployees will test positive - and I'm assuming CT will be about that.

By the way, a judge in FL decided that drug testing is UNCONSTUTIONAL - thank God we still live in the United States of America where we can enjoy rights.

David walker - nice try on trying to argue the 60% vote margin or lack thereof. It does point out the fact that obama and company didn't seek what would be agreeable to the right.

The left made a point of saying that some of what they included in the legislation was supported by the right in the past. If obama and company had a sitdown with the right on what they objected to and addressed those concerns we probably would have had more than a 60% acceptance.

I found it also interesting that obama didnt have any sitdowns with the congressional minority leadership at the WH until mid 2010. Not exactly a policy that promotes unity. To think that obama still goes out of the way to poke the right in the eye.

Ruken

and what state would that be?

In MN I didn't need a passport to get my DL. Just needed birth certificate and / or SS card iirc.

brian b claims that DL=proof of legal status. It does not.

brianb,

To get a new license is totally different than renewing the one you've had. Most states allow you do it online.

Houston, I am proud of you.

You are the only one here on the left who got it.

Yes, who the President dated is silly to worry about.

Kind of like putting a dog in a crate on the roof of a car or the plethora of stupid things that are harped on here daily.

It's the economy, and it sucks.

BTW, RUken why won't you answer my question?

Feisty Redhead Roselle, IL Comment collapsed by the community

Wonder if he is lying about all those girlfriends too.

Ahhh... yet another homophobe rears it's ugly head...

What exactly are you insinuating?

Seems to me there would be a lot of money in a book about a love affair with the President.

Typical!

Right wing parasites love to make money off the expense of others!

It is NO wonder Willard is your candidate!

WTF does President Obama's college sex life have to do with anything?

You just don't get it do you, dumba$$!

His post had nothing to do with Pres. Yomama's college 'sex-life'.... Couldn't give a damn about that...

His question DOES bring into question Yomama's credibility since he (Yomama) admitted to lying about the 'New York Girlfriend'.

I find it interesting that YOU (Fisty) jumped to the conclusion that it was about a homosexual relationship! HAHAAHH! And instantly you lash out tooth, fang and claw to dub the poster a HOMOPHOBE!

You are just TOO DAMN FUNNY!

(so... show me the clown nose, fisty!)

Yes, who the President dated is silly to worry about.

WCA,

That's weird!

Only a couple hours ago you were falling all over yourself trying to be the first with your scoop!

You even tossed in a touch of homophobia to boot! ;o)

See YOUR comment #1.1

Remember...??

We do... lol

Ruken

JAS1:

There's a difference between making things up and combining real facets of real people into a composite character for continuity. It isn't 'making things up' as the people combined were real. It's a strategy for writing that helps continuity.

Like I said, you don't get it.

Ruken,

If the book was fictional I would agree with you... but it wasn't. It was a BIOGRAPHY! It was supposed to be a factual representation of Pres. Yomama's life. That's how he sold it.

I guess in retrospect, it REALLY WAS a factual representation of his life... if nothing else in the fact that it was full of lies.

(show me the clown nose, fisty!)

hey people! what do you expect?......obama is a liar, a distorter, and a divider.....he is a disgrace and an international embarrassment.....ROMNEY IN NOVEMBER!

American lotsanumbers:

There are no errors in that history. The fact is only under ideal circumstances could Democrats have attained a super majority. That means both Independents had to come over. The fact remains, there never was a guaranteed super majority at any time.

Moreover, McConnell had made clear his opposition to ANYTHING. By any standard that was disgusting. Further, we have now learned of the inauguration day meeting, where Obama's demise was plotted by 15 despicable Republicans , even before one shred of legislation had ever been introduced. What kind of crap is that?

As far as what was agreeable to the right, you are being disingenuous. The single-payer health/individual mandate health insurance reform was in fact proposed at one time or another by Republicans. McConnell was NEVER going to allow anything to happen. We have also seen the sorry spectacle of "secret holds" and other vile tactics that should be anathema to any and all Americans, regardless of party affiliation.

You know as well as I do that Republicans would not have accommodated anything suggested by the President. You might want to watch the Bill Moyer's program where he had both Simpson and Bowles on. Both men flatly state they knew that the President was not going to be able to deal with Republican leadership.

I don't know how many times I have to write this, but the Republicans have pursued an agenda designed only to stop any progress. Democrats have pursued an agenda that paints themselves as standing for the best interests of the American people. Both positions are pure garbage. The difference is the motivation.

Republicans are motivated by hatred. They have no answers, no solutions. They'll just have their tantrum and hold their breath until they turn blue. That just pisses me off.

Sarah-3043284

Remember innocent until proven guilty???

Tell that to Mr. Zimmerman!

Sarah,

What the study doesn't say is how to the illegals pay into Social Security. Only through fraudulent methods of using another person's social security number would they "pay" into a system. You are rewarding criminals.

To your earlier reference about ITIN..."ITINs are issued regardless of immigration status because both resident and
nonresident aliens may have a U.S. filing or reporting requirement under the
Internal Revenue Code." While ITIN's are issued regardless of immigration status, the intent is for ITIN's to issued to LEGAL immigrants, regardless of their status, and not ILLEGAL immigrants.

cry me a river David Walker....you rant like you're the only one who ever served or had to deal with the draft or had a friend or relative come home from service in a box. You're obviously old enough to know the political system we're stuck with is never going to be the utopia you so desperately whine for. Time to participate in the real world David. Let us know when you get the answers you're "demanding"...and who you get them from. I'm sick and tired of your crybaby ranting that things aren't going your way or our President isn't performing to your standards. I'm not telling you to vote blindly; just asking you to stop denigrating our President like you're a rwnj....btw....I don't think the keyboard will fit, twerp? really....twerp..lmao@u

just a wee bit demanding aren't we David?????

SickOfTheBickering

Sarah-3043284

Remember innocent until proven guilty???

Tell that to Mr. Zimmerman!

Tell that to Trayvon Martin who got shot becuase he looked "suspicious." You don't hold the same standards for Zimmerman who decided to play the police, the judge, the jury, and the execution squad?

Zimmerman will get his day in court - Martin, not so lucky.

Its amazing people can even rationalize not taking steps to protect our jobs , border and sovereign rights to be a country with boarders.

Having a state issued ID or Drivers lic should be the norm.

Its called an illegal alien for a reason. Certain things transcend politics and someone jumping the boarders illegally and breaking a law in this country should have to prove their citizenship.

If driving is a privledge then so is living in this country.

@JK1963

To your earlier reference about ITIN..."ITINs are issued regardless of immigration status because both resident and nonresident aliens may have a U.S. filing or reporting requirement under the Internal Revenue Code." While ITIN's are issued regardless of immigration status, the intent is for ITIN's to issued to LEGAL immigrants, regardless of their status, and not ILLEGAL immigrants

IRS Publication 1915 clearly states "If you are an undocumented alien and cannot get a SSN, you must get an ITIN for tax purposes."

Also, to to the many who have commented on driver's licences and proving citizenship, I'm opposed to the illegals, but I'm also against requiring people to carry documents to prove their citizenship. Police will ask for your drivers licence if it involves your vehicle, and as most people drive, it has become the de facto method of identification. But there is no legal basis to require people to carry identification if they're walking down a public sidewalk or riding in a taxi.

Randy-840072

Its amazing people can even rationalize not taking steps to protect our jobs , border and sovereign rights to be a country with boarders.

yeah, then pick on the corporations like Wal-Mart that make millions of dollars in profit by hiring undocumented workers.

There is a reason why illegals come here: JOBS. If greedy corporations stop raking profits from exploiting illegals, fewer will come if there are no opportunities.

Lots of right wing craniums blown to kingdom come with non-troversies today from Elizabeth Warren to Julia to if the President had one, two or 12 girlfriends before he got married. It was probably smart from a marital perspective to not single out any girlfriends in his book, as wife's don't like to feel they have to compete with the past. Elizabeth Warren is on the rise in Massachusetts, so Scott Brown has to find some kind of mud to sling, and wouldn't you know, it's racially divisive mud (racially divisive mud trademarked by the Republican party 1992). And, of course, with Julia, it brings up the Ryan budget plan , which is like kryptonite, cyanide and poison ivy had a kinky three way baby for the Republicans, so distract, divert and denounce.

As for why we're staying in Afghanistan for a lot longer, well, here is the ugly truth. There are trillions of dollars of resources in that country, a country very close to China and since we're there, we would be ill advised to not take every opportunity to try and exploit those resources for our industries, rather than letting China siphon off the lion's share. Further, the President realizes it takes a generation to bring change to any social milieu, and since we've been there half a generation, we may as well stay for the whole thing and try to shape it to our favor.

Speaking of China, this is shaping up to be the singular, and perhaps seminal test of Mrs Clinton's negotiating skill and the President's political savvy.(Come back, John Huntsman, please.) China will say or do anything to keep their horrendous human rights violations away from public scrutiny. It's a shame that many of the criticizer's are lapping up the goods at Wal-Mart and thereby subsidizing China's on-going exploitation of it's people. Now that I think about it, the President should ask Huntsman to come back as a special envoy to help work this crisis out and stab the Republicans in the eye at the same time. That would be brilliant.

Why aren't Hispanics supporting the Republicans? Perhaps it is the insulting Rubio "Dream Act", which says if you serve our country, you can be a non-voting citizen. Non-voting citizen; isn't that how Florida treats it released felons? Yes, yes it is. I don't see anyone tripping over themselves to take that deal. Or perhaps it is Rombot's laughable self-deportation concept. Because yeah, a person treks over hundreds of miles of hostile terrain from a place with no jobs and no hope to a place with a job and some hope and they're going to work long enough to afford a bus ticket to send themselves back. Why, so they can do it over again? There's stupid and then there's that idea. That's what turns ethnic groups into monolithic voting blocks.

As to the "veepstakes", there's no winner there, it's just who's loyal enough to go down with the ship and/or bring some delegates with them. The President has multiple paths to 270 electoral votes and he's an eight to one favorite. The economy is chugging along, regardless of what the haters and the agitators try to say. Oh well, whatcha' whatcha' whatcha' gonna' do? Cry, often and early would be my guess.

bayllie...

Then it stands that you will sit in quiet acceptance should the US Supreme Court find the president's healthcare reform law "UNCONSTITUTIONAL" also.

American with numbers:

Interesting on how growth always occurs when government provides a measure of certainty to business and individuals as to what policy they will pursue.

Interesting that you didn't notice that the Dow nearly doubled since Obama took over from his incompetent predecessor, so there was enough "certainty" for investors to do well under Obama.

And it's interesting that you haven't noticed that Obama is in positive territory for net private sector jobs added since he took office and overall net jobs are negative only because the teabag governors that took over some states have been firing public sector workers at a furious rate.

The inability to recognize anything good that's happened during Obama's presidency and the belief that all disasters caused by Republicans are Obama's fault are two symptoms of Obama Derangement Syndrome that should be given immediate attention by a licensed psychiatrist.

The divider and chief has now targeted the Hispanics, no big shock there. Who will Odumbo pander to next? Native Americans, farmers, you're on deck. I wonder if he boasts of is record on deportation in these ads?

Weird and creepy when the decider great uniter divider Dubya starts lookin' good - Hahaha.

Sarah - I have to admire you. You fight the good fight and actually do remain somewhat calm. I read some of these crazy people and want to bite my keyboard. Good on you, girl!

OBAMA 2012!!!!

I seriously can only laugh at the ridiculousness of the Republican party and thier supporters on this forum. You make a big deal about a "composite character" that he disclosed right in the book? Silly, it happens all the time so authors don't have to bore people with a parade of names and details that add nothing to the book. This is clearly a distraction just like most of their agenda.

What I'm looking forward to is the next 6 months watching Romney, Gov Walker, Gov Christie, Paul Ryan, and other Republicans bumble and fumble their way as at the same time Obama runs a political clinic for them.

I think before too long this will be so embarrassing for Republicans they will start to turn on Romney, even more than now. He is manifestly a horrible candidate without a singe redeeming quality and that's going to be a huge problem for him. Add to that the fact he has absolutely no detailed plans for anything, except the radical and unpopular Ryan budget plan, and things don't look good for the right-wing. Keep up the war on women, war on the poor, war on non-Christians, war on contraception, war on Obama, and all your other wars... they only help Obama and the Democrats.

This is like a dream election for the good guys!

Obama/Biden 2012 - there is no other choice

Reading these bickering posts is sort of amusing, rather like little kids sniping at one another.

the book is supposed to be a biography...duh....composite girl friend...= FICTION in any one's mind...geeshhhhh another lie by Obama but at this stage one expects them everytime he speaks.

Sigh...when a person writes about themselves they are writing an autobiography. Obama has written two books about his favorite subject...himself. Now, if he states that a female is a 'composite' of different women he has essentially created a chimera. Generally, a person writing about someone specific in their life, will either mention that person by name, or, if they wish to preserve the anonymity of the individual in question, they will use an assumed name and tell the reader that the name is not the actual person's name.

Authors, when writing fiction, will often create composite characters, however, when writing what is purported to be historical or personal fact, reputable authors do not resort to such creations.

And it's interesting that you haven't noticed that Obama is in positive territory for net private sector jobs added since he took office

When he took office there were 11.6 million unemployed at 7.4% today its approx 12.6 million unemployed at 8.2%

He is still 1 million short of your statment and we are 5.1 trillion more in debt too.

If he would stop trying to cut the throats of the 1%ers to buy votes and pay for gov't waste and do more to stablize the work force and wallstreet plus cut spending...he would be a much more popular president.

Citizens United also opened the floodgates for unions to spend $400M in the 2012 election. Does ThinkProgress believe the Court should correct this "error" also? Or would it be sufficient in their view to just stifle corporate spending?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/outside-groups-plan-to-focus-on-air-war-ground-game-in-2012-election-fight/2012/04/20/gIQAw6beWT_story.html?hpid=z2

Citizens United was easily the worst decision in recent memory.

No, Obama's election as President will go down in history as the worst decision by the American people who bought into the vagueness of "Hope and Change".

Bankrupt the U.S.A. ???? Yes, we can !!!!!!!!!!!

To those who just take rumors or not bother to check the facts the following is from Politico's site, where they posted a correction to their original assertion that the President lied about girlfriends and his story included composites. Make sure you read the correction and the end of the piece. Some are so eager and desperate to find anything negative to fling at the President, they post and write without checking any facts......that speaks to desperation.

Obama: 'New York girlfriend' was composite

By DYLAN BYERS |

5/2/12 12:08 PM EDT

One of the more mysterious characters from President Obama's 1995 autobiography Dreams From My Father is the so-called 'New York girlfriend.' Obama never referred to her by name, or even by psuedonym, but he describes her appearance, her voice, and her mannerisms in specific detail.

But Obama has now told biographer David Maraniss that the 'New York girlfriend' was actually a composite character, based off of multiple girlfriends he had both in New York City and in Chicago.

"During an interview in the Oval Office, Obama acknowledged that, while Genevieve was his New York girlfriend, the description in his memoir was a “compression” of girlfriends, including one who followed Genevieve [Cook] when he lived in Chicago," Maraniss writes in his new biography, an excerpt of which was published online today by Vanity Fair.

(PHOTOS: Obama over the years)

"In Dreams from My Father, Obama chose to emphasize a racial chasm that unavoidably separated him from the woman he described as his New York girlfriend," Maraniss writes, offering a passage from the book in which they go to see a play by a black playwright:

One night I took her to see a new play by a black playwright. It was a very angry play, but very funny. Typical black American humor. The audience was mostly black, and everybody was laughing and clapping and hollering like they were in church. After the play was over, my friend started talking about why black people were so angry all the time. I said it was a matter of remembering—nobody asks why Jews remember the Holocaust, I think I said—and she said that’s different, and I said it wasn’t, and she said that anger was just a dead end. We had a big fight, right in front of the theater. When we got back to the car she started crying. She couldn’t be black, she said. She would if she could, but she couldn’t. She could only be herself, and wasn’t that enough.

"None of this happened with Genevieve," Maraniss writes. "She remembered going to the theater only once with Barack, and it was not to see a work by a black playwright. When asked about this decades later, during a White House interview, Obama acknowledged that the scene did not happen with Genevieve. “It is an incident that happened,” he said. But not with her. He would not be more specific, but the likelihood is that it happened later, when he lived in Chicago. “That was not her,” he said. “That was an example of compression I was very sensitive in my book not to write about my girlfriends, partly out of respect for them. So that was a consideration. I thought that [the anecdote involving the reaction of a white girlfriend to the angry black play] was a useful theme to make about sort of the interactions that I had in the relationships with white girlfriends. And so, that occupies, what, two paragraphs in the book? My attitude was it would be dishonest for me not to touch on that at all … so that was an example of sort of editorially how do I figure that out?”"

Broadway Books, a division of Random House's Crown Publishing Group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

UPDATE: In the reissue of "Dreams from My Father," Obama writes in the introduction that "some of the characters that appear are composites of people I’ve known."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this blog post stated that Obama had acknowledged using composite characters in the reissue. In fact, Obama acknowledged the use of composite characters in the first edition of the book.

Dennis -- Great post. Speaking of the Supreme's the NYT's has an opinion piece on the fact that whomever gets into Office in 2012, they will determine the the direction of the Court. I hope people are paying attention.

Not only has Mitt Romney chosen Robert Bork, a rejected Supreme Court nominee, as one of the chairmen of his Justice Advisory Committee, he has made it clear that he will choose extremely conservative justices:

http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/things-that-really-matter/?hp

Citizens United is boss.
Just let it alone.

Bill, good point.

When will you liberals quit treating all Hispanics as some sort of

monolithic voting block? You do the same with every other group of people.

You should be recognizing them as individuals, not just some cattle that you

can herd to the the polls.

Feisty, My pleasure! Desperation is the name of their game, some on the right have taken to reading the President's memoirs, you know those ones written over 10 yrs agao, in the hopes of finding anything they can make a story out of....that's where the dog nonsense came from.

They are so pathetic, they will find little to write about from his life story that they haven't tried to use already, and that's because his story is authentic and as we know him to be.

As for using the British tabloids sleazy pieces, all we have to do is look at the enormous smack down ol' Rupert Murdoch received from the British government regarding how he runs his newspaper empire. They too are desperate. We are known by the company we keep....birds of a feather.

They are so pathetic

GBM -- Can I add downright inane.

Great posts.

When Obama is accused of being soft on illegal immigration, the liberals and Obama groupies here often claim that, under the Obama admin, more illegals have been deported than in ALL the years of the Bush admin. Of course, when the Bush admin was deporting them, the liberals only referred to them as "Hispanics" (a liberal Identity Politics form of identification). Anyway, does anybody here think Obama will be touting his record of deporting "ilegals" in the campaign? Notice they go back to being illegals" in that case....lol

When will you liberals quit treating all Hispanics as some sort of monolithic voting block?

What a bunch of tripe. Nobody panders to voting blocs like Republicans. Why, just read this little mission statement by the Republican National Hispanic Assembly and then explain, who is pandering.

The mission of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly is to build a membership organization to foster the principles of the Republican Party in the Hispanic community; provide Hispanic Americans with a forum to play an influential role in local, state, and national Party activities; increase the number of Hispanic Republican elected officials; and create and maintain a network of Hispanic Republican leaders. http://www.rnha.org/

RedDevPOS - Nobody does it better than the republicans??? How droll, you must not listen to what obama says or what his campaign team does.

Gingerbread Mamma

To those who just take rumors or not bother to check the facts the following is from Politico's site, where they posted a correction to their original assertion that the President lied about girlfriends and his story included composites. Make sure you read the correction and the end of the piece.

So, Obama used a composite character to protect the privacy of women he once dated while still being able to recount events in his own life. Oh, the scandal!!!

And you can bet that if Obama had used their real names, the nutcakes would be screaming about how terrible it was that Obama did a "kiss-and-tell" book that violated his ex-girlfriends' privacy.

@Anti-American aka .. white robed, pointy hooded, right-wing freak. Republicans are the party of exclusionary practices. They are the party that embodies the "War on ...." theme. Liberals lean towards inclusion, conservatives are always exclusionary as proven by their vicious attacks against any group that is outside their ethnocentric view point. Some examples:

NC GOP Refuses to Back Away from Exclusionary Attacks http://www.georgialogcabin.org/news/North-Carolina-Republican-Judge-Gay/98121001.shtml

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/11/02/palins-gop-brand-exclusionary-and-short-sighted-but-who-will/

http://www.rightonscv.com/blog/Exclusionary-Politics/

http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/brent-budowsky/68007-the-gops-hate-problem

Paciencia....las personas no son estupidas...

Nice insults, who are you trying to impress, your boyfriend?

Inclusionary you say? Only within the realm of political expediency to garner votes, but not to effectively establish workable policy. Interesting on how you can't see the basis for obamas rhetoric on the wealthy and businesses to the exclusion of the 98%.

Elimination of the obama (bush) tax cuts across the board would provide an estimated revenue stream of $3.5 to $4 trillion over ten years vs just $800 billion over 10 years by just eliminating the top 2%. The numbers are hardly an endorsement of having the wealthy and businesses being the sole effective source of bringing about recovery and debt reduction. Eliminate the cuts across the board over 1 - 3 years, reduce spending and be smarter about allocating taxpayer $$$ and reform tax legislation.

Yep the wealthy probably have a higher discretionary income than us common folk, but that doesn't mean that they should be the sole source of more revenue.

jim-1455434, et al, do you have any idea how much we make fun of Teapublicans behind their backs? Just watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Is it embarrassing?

This was a good one, comparing Bush/Cheney and spiking the football by flying in on the USS Lincoln in military garb with the banner "Mission Accomplished" -- and that was before the war was over... If they had brought bin Laden to justice, they would have carved their image in Mount Rushmore (some Republicans were actually saying this should be done!).

Hahahaha (snort) hahaha. Now what were you saying?

Obama didn't even know bin Laden was dead until after the fact. Panetta made the big call.

When will you liberals quit treating all Hispanics as some sort of

monolithic voting block? You do the same with every other group of people.

You should be recognizing them as individuals, not just some cattle that you

can herd to the the polls.

JoAnne -- Well said. The special was fascinating. When they talked about the people outside shouting U S A, it brought back that special moment when we first heard the news that OBL was no longer a threat. A time in history most of us will not forget.

Amen JoAnne. I'm wondering does the GOP folks seem to get crazier by the day?

Mike Fillmore -

I'm well aware of the fact that that's the story as websites like The Blaze and Breitbart.com choose to put it out. However, the actual memo obtained by Time magazine in Panetta's own writing reads as follows:

"MEMO FOR THE RECORD Apr. 29, 2011, 10:35 a.m.Received phone call from Tom Donilon who stated that the President made a decision with regard to AC1 [Abbottabad Compound 1]. The decision is to proceed with the assault. The timing, operational decision making and control are in Admiral McRaven’s hands. The approval is provided on the risk profile presented to the President. Any additional risks are to be brought back to the President for his consideration. The direction is to go in and get bin Laden and if he is not there, to get out. Those instructions were conveyed to Admiral McRaven at approximately 10:45 am."

http://swampland.time.com/2012/04/26/the-last-days-of-osama-bin-laden/?iid=sl-main-lede

All that aside, you missed my point entirely. I said at least twice that it was a TEAM effort, and both Panetta and McRaven were parts of that TEAM. It's only people like you and the "journalists" at Breitbart and The Blaze who are trying to perpetuate the myth that the President ever in any way took sole credit for this amazing accomplishment.

Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2012/04/26/the-last-days-of-osama-bin-laden/?iid=sl-main-lede#ixzz1tom211Nd

Great piece JoAnne.....I unfortunately missed it but I understand it is on MSNBC tonight at 8pm. Thanks for the reminder.

The new history books reflect that bin Laden was taken down under the leadership of President Obama in charge and there is not one darn thing these right wing crazies can do about it, except cry like babies.

Joanne, don't you find it disconcerting that in this election year obama and company are "spiking the ball" in celebration of this minor event?

How about obama acknowledging (immediately following the assassination of bin laden) that the CIA under the bush administration found and tracked the courier that led to bin ladens location. Yet now he minimizes the role of previously admnistrations by just talking about continuity?

BTW - your reference to obamas "...he was still struggling for words..." is only indicative of a consumate politician deciding on a "politically correct" responce. No one ever said that obama wasn't a fast thinker or spin master.

Job1 - yep, obama will go down in history as the one who kills first and screw the rules of law.

As Obama said himself, killing UBL was the single most important day of his presidency. Not that Obama revived the economy. Not that Obama gave the nation a great new healthcare entitlement. Not that Obama brought jobs back to the US. Not that Obama set the nation on a course of energy independence.

Nope, even Obama knows only one thing has gone right under his presidency, and other then the killing of UBL his hope for re-election will rely on more hollow promises and a ton of the blame game. Solutions? Obama has none.

Well that is just CRAZY! Obama didn't know?

JoAnne in PA

The Longest 40 Minutes

i watched that Tuesday night and i must say, it took nerves of steel to make that call based upon a 50% chance he would still be there.

Sec of defense Gates, and 2 other top National sec guys did not want him to do it, he (obama) took the chance and it paid off, but the chance he took could have been a disaster.

Going in to pasktstin with out there permission (big one) because they could have shot out aircraft down and not know it was the US.

If the economy was going good, and Bin laden were alive the GOP would have played that hand.

What an interesting program, JoAnne. It isn't often we get such in-depth coverage of an important historical event. I was impressed by the teamwork and the dedication of all the people involved. I was also impressed by Hillary Clinton's comments--she has been such a great Secretary of State and was obviously a valued member of this team. I really hope she runs in 2016.

Courage in the White House:

FDR balanced the opposition of a strong America First movement against his certain knowledge that Hitler had to be stopped. He used lend lease and eventually the might of America to support Britain and the Allies against the Thrird Reich: A gutsy call by the President that paid off.

Harry Truman made a call that saved the lives of countless American servicemen when he sent the Enola Gay to Japan. He knew the ramifications and that his gutsy call could be perceived by some as genocide but the call paid off.

Jimmy Carter committed political suicide when his gutsy call regarding the hostages did not pay off.

Last year, Barack Obama showed similar courage in giving the green light to Navy Seals Team 6.

Presidents through time are called upon to make gutsy decisions on behalf of our country. Get it wrong and there are plenty of Monday morning pundits to ask for your head. Get it right - you deserve the credit and lots of it.

Nobody - for one second - is trying to diminish the bravery and skills shown by the Seals or the crew of the Enola Gay. But the call is made by the White House.

God Bless America.

JoAnne...

Try to consider that it isn't "hatred" for this president for every single person you wish to accuse of that..."disappointment" in the way he has done his job may be a better reason. He simply hasn't turned out to be what he cracked himself up to be.

Some expect "truth in advertising" and did not receive it.

The call was not made by the White House. The call was made by an Admiral. If the mission succeeded, the Admiral steps to the back of the room and Obama gets the credit. If the mission failed, it is the Admirals fault. Pretty good set up really. No one says Obama is dumb.

Holy cow, if you rightwingers are reading and comprehension impaired, just watch the NBC Nightly News report on bin Laden by Brian Williams. It has pictures and explains things and stuff.

So, Matt, I'm curious- when President Carter's attempted rescue of the Iran hostages failed, was that also some Admiral's fault? Or has Carter had to live with that every day of his life since then? If the mission had failed, would YOU be blaming the Admiral, or would you blaming President Obama? Think before you answer - and be honest.

You don't get to have it both ways.

Obama covered his a$$. Carter did not. Whether the mission succeeds or fails is of no personal consequence to me one way or the other. I don't live in the illusory world of the dem/repub paradigm. You and True Patriot have to. You are locked in. Pretty scary to have no way out. The moniker true patriot says it all.

Do I think that we need to keep a presence there to keep some Geo-Political balance of power or to feed the vast Military Industrial complex?

Contrary to popular belief around here, no one likes war. I sure don't -- even as a card carrying RWNJ.

But I think this sentence I from your post really misses the point about the issue of maintaining a presence in Afghanistan. I don't see this in some vague theoretical terms of a "geoplitical balance of power" and certainly not in the crass terms of enriching a military industrial complex. The issue in my view is very practical and very serious: do we want to allow the Taliban and other bad guys to reestablish their safe haven in Afghanistan?

Complete withdrawal of our troops and support would inevitably lead to that undesirable outcome, while maintaining some presence (e.g. the ability to conduct drone attacks) could at least mitigate that outcome. So I beleive it continues to be in our national security interests to maintain some presence there as a countervailing force against the bad guys who would see our complete withdrawal as opportunity to reconstitute themselves.

If we don't do that, then all the blood and treasure we've sacrificed over the years will have gone for naught.

Bill

Didn’t miss my point at all.

Your still all over projecting power at the point of a gun.

I say there’s better ways to do it. Diplomacy for instance. Humanitarian aid is another.

We in this day and age can Project Power anywhere in the World in one short day.

Time to give the Troops a Break and find a better way.

" the one place opponents aren’t even COMPETING is on Hispanic media outlets"

Because nobody else is as desperate as Obama... It's like wrestling pigs in a carnival sideshow while your opposition is center-stage at the Olympics.

Dang IR - I posted at 1.65 before I got to your post. You said it beautifully. By the way - I have always heard great things about the "Yards - they must have been a great people to meet in person.

That said,it will be up to the Afghan people to stand up and fight for their country and their own freedoms.No one can give you freedom,you have to be willing to persevere -it is a slow and ongoing process. I am not sure if they have the fortitude of the Yards. Only time will tell.

But for the Future! - let us look to diplomacy, to economic and political sanctions,to negotiations, and compromise - even with the opposition. We may (and probably will) have to go to war again- but let's think long and hard about it -because once you're in - you can't walk away when it ceases to be fun.

Independent...

Your still all over projecting power at the point of a gun

Diplomacy is nice, but still negates its effectiveness when the other side has no qualms about using the gun to get what they want.

Obama may have a point in providing training and support of afghans security forces, but there will come a time to just let go and let the afghans determine their own path and with their own blood.

Humanitarian aid is a misnomer as it relies on the government in power to distribute that aid to the intended populace.

I will agree that viet nam was more based on geopolitical agendas and perhaps even towards a small support of a military-industrial complex. After all, an expanding worldwide government communism agenda was the boogieman of that era and small group terrorism is todays boogeyman.

Katheryn

Yes they are. As an aside I used to live In Greensboro where Most of them started their new lives. The Green Berets managed to save about 2000 families.

American

We always have the Best and Brightest for a deterrent. Let’s just pledge to make them the court of last resort instead of the first.

The Afghan People need to stand up no doubt. American forces need to do what they are the very best at (even gunnery) which is projecting a standard and an ideal to aspire to not For Control.

As always thanks for adding a little something today. I’m always interested even if I don’t agree.

thanks IR...

pjam09 -- Sounds like you know a lot about wrestling pigs, and carnival sideshows (heheh).

american-2051576

Diplomacy is nice, but still negates its effectiveness when the other side has no qualms about using the gun to get what they want.

I thought you were talking about the President working with Teapublicans.

Seriously, like IR said, thoughtful posts are preferred over "swoop and poop" posts, so it's good to see.

IR -

One of your finest. War is never as simple as we tend to argue it here. Go in or stay out. Now or later. National security or political expedience. Leave tomorrow, leave next year, stay another 10 years or even 20. Hell, half the time we can't even agree on who exactly the enemy even is and why we need to kill them other than it's before they kill us.

You raise a number of important questions. I'm tired of war and the discussion of it too. But until the day when the rest of the world is as wise as you, I can think of no one I'd rather discuss it with. Save me a seat on the porch, okay?

It'scalled "Bootlicking 101", KingK ..... this morning George Stephanopolous was doing another "puff piece" on Obama's former girl friends. Somehow, this is deemed newsworthy ?????????????????????????????

I guess who spent what on buying advertising is more important than the lives of our troops and our national security.

While predicting the future is often a dicey affair, I think it is a very safe bet that once our troops are out of Afghanistan the Taliban will reassert itself and things will, essentially, return to the way they were pre 9/11. Hence, any money that is committed by US over there will be wasted on propping up the Taliban and/or promoting the poppy trade.

BTW, notice how the Obama campaign is saying that he is taking our troops out of Afghanistan, but that is not what the "security pact" calls for. Which is it, are troops going to stay or are they all coming home. And isn't that the very same strategy Obama berated Bush about employing.?

Somehow, this is deemed newsworthy ?????????????????????????????

Ummm... Jimmy,

You might want to check with your RWNJ buddiess above, they seem to think so!

Yes Jim, the editors of Pravda couldn't do it any better.

Fiesty

While you are here, can you answer a few questions?

What is the Obama plan to stop deficit spending and stop debt building (both of which are on record setting pace under Obama)? When will Mr. Obama be revealing the details of his plan?

While you are here, can you answer a few questions?

Right after you point me to Willard's...

I've been asking those very questions about him for weeks & no one can manage to answer them.

Care to take a shot?

Feasty,

I am not sure how you rationalize the RWNJ "buddiess" preparing Stephanopolous program for the day ...... oh,that' right you are a LWNJ so you could rationalize anything that fits your contrived agenda.

I am not sure how you rationalize the RWNJ "buddiess" preparing Stephanopolous program for the day

Strange, I could of sworn WCA & Snuffy were card carrying members of Team Red...

Don't let them find out you threw them under the bus!

Fiesty

Obama is in office, Mitt is not. Seems to me Obama is the one that should have laid out his plan long ago. So I guess what you are saying is that we should vote for Obama because he will continue the status quo or make it worse. What an endorsement!!! No hope, No change

Mitt is not.

Why can't YOU or anyone else tell me what his plans are?

Perhaps because from what I see, he will return to the same failed policies of Bush that brought this country to the brink of collapse in the first place?

So I guess what you are saying is that we should vote for Obama because he will continue the status quo or make it worse.

So I guess due to your hatred of the current occupent of the WH - you're willing to vote for someone who refuses to tell us what he would do differently!

And you all call us sheep! lol

It's okay King - I didn't expect you to be able to meet my challenge! So far no one else can either!

Faetsy just wants to deflect from Hussein's track record and attack "Willard".

That's all she's got !

Mitt laid out a plan at the beginning of the primary. Go to his website and read it. What you are unable to defend is Obama's plan, which he has also presented and was rejected(see his proposed budget), by both parties. Obama's plan calls for continued deficit spending and debt building for many years to come. Which would include at least four more years if he is reelected. That is what you can't deal with and that is why you and the other Obama sycophants don't want to answer those simple questions about your candidate. Best to deflect when you can't face the facts, right Feisty?

Mitt laid out a plan at the beginning of the primary. Go to his website and read it.

You mean the one that would increase taxes on the lower 50% of income earners and decrease taxes on the upper 50%?

Feisty

In case you can't bring yourself to start actually looking at what Romney has proposed, here is a Summary

Summary

Governor Romney approaches the deficit and debt crisis from a spending standpoint. He does not belief that the government needs to take in more money, but that it needs to simplify it's tax system and reform entitlement spending.

During a 2010 speech, Governor Romney stated that baby boomers ran the risk of being labeled the "worst generation" after granting themselves large entitlements and then passing the cost of those entitlements onto the next generation. In 2011, Governor Romney wrote an op-ed in the Orlando Sentinel applauding the TEA party movement to reduce the size of government. He cited the 2009 Stimulus, Obamacare, and obligations to social security and medicaid as items that need to be fundamentally reformed to bring spending under control.

The focus on entitlement spending control was continued as Governor Romney reacted to a speech by President Obama on the deficit by stating that even the President's own deficit commission cited entitlement reform as the primary item to be addressed when reducing spending. He was critical of President Obama's "tax the rich" tactic. In a Manchester, New Hampshire town hall, governor Romney noted that 20% of spending is discretionary, 20% is military, and 60% is entitlement. He noted that without controlling the growth of these programs, the deficit and the debt cannot be controlled.

Governor Romney's campaign website statements from 2012 mirror this stated need to address entitlement reform to fix the debt. He notes the repeal of Obamacare and the reform of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security as fundamental to fixing the debt crisis. Governor Romney also states that he will place a hard cap on federal spending. However, he does not pledge to balance the budget but rather to place the country on a path to a balanced budget.

The Believe in America plan that Governor Romney proposed as part of the 2012 presidential campain devoted a large portion to fiscal policy and addressing budgetary shortfalls. Governor Romney's plan consists of capping spending at 20% of GDP and cutting non-security discretionary spending by 5 percent. He expressed support for returning to spending levels of previous years. He also states that entitlement reform will reduce spending, but does not give specifics on that reform. He states that he will reduce the government workforce by 10% by hiring one person for every two that retire. He also calls for a balanced budget amendment.

In the 2012 primary, Governor Romney began to run ads that stated that the US government had a moral obligation not to spend more than it takes in.

Just as I suspected...

A whole bunch of rhetoric as in; "he says" without any substance on what HE would DO to accomplish it..

Willard will wants to take us back to what caused the mess to begin with, while adding a little 'dash' of the marvelous Ryan budget!

Thanks... but no thanks!

1. Kudos to IR and his expression of respect to our "mountain people" of SE Asia.

The mountain people of Laos, the Hmong, have a large settling of families in the central valley of California.

2. QUEEN rANT Redhead - (#5.4) with your head up your "donkey" it was too difficult to understand Jim's sarcastic post, AS IF he was posting "left handed?"

Facts Fiesty, otherwise you are just spouting off your normal forum drivel.

Fiesty.

Your key board is taking a pounding, but nothing of any substance is coming out of it. You still haven't answered the questions. Because you can't defend Obama on his record or his plans. What a joke you have become trying to prop up a failing Obama. Ridiculous. See post #19 below for what your candidate says versus what he does.

BTW, if you can ever answer those questions it will be a miracle, because you and I both know Obama has no intention of ever stopping record setting deficit spending and debt building while he is in office. In fact, if he had his way he would accelerate both

Fiesty,

I really enjoy reading the post here and I see many different perspectives. But I have to be honest about yours.

You really are one of the most arrogant and pom pass posters I have every seen. You sit so far up on your high horse. You truly worship obama and will only serve disavow any other view. That is single minded and selfish. You are the poster child of the progressive left and I am glad to see you show the true colors of the left.

You sit so far up on your high horse.

If asking tough questions, expected an honest answer & being informed is now considered 'being on a high horse"... well then, I guess I'm guilty as charged!

You are the poster child of the progressive left and I am glad to see you show the true colors of the left.

Thank you for pointing that out!

HIYO SILVER!

Fiesty,

Thank you for your self glorifying response. But you could care less about what your are asking. You just want the chance to pounce on someone. Mitt Romney has posted his tax plan and his plans to take on the deficit. You have no intention of knowing or wanting to really know. You could care less.

I love your spunk and honesty, but you unload for the sake of unloading like its a trophy for your mantel. You are above no one and the self righteous attitude makes your post mute and less creditable.

Well, Fiesty.... let's see how "informed" you are and whether you can give a direct, honest answer to a simple question or two:

How much does GM still owe to the federal government ?

How much is GM stock worth today (per share) compared to what the federal government invested in it (per share) ??

We will see if you are informed, and honest or whether you completely dodge the question, deflecting to something else.

White Collar 10 - Puken 0

good one Owebama: go against the Catholic Church, ya dont think Hispanics are Catholic?

KingK - The economist paul krugman (an obama supporter) on a recent charlie rose interview this past week says that increasing our debt is far from being a problem and sees an inflation rate of 4% being more desirable than the FED's goal of 2%.

Seems that both he and obama are proponents of "deficits don't matter". The problem with obamas deficit plans are that they target the wrong people. His 2009 stimulas mainly targeted state and local government and government employees, not the private sector.

A challenge was put to Feisty at #5.23. Her reply ? LOL !!! I am still looking for it.

There is no argument more pitiful than to defend someone you support by comparing them to someone else. It just furthers the belief that the one you support has no merits of their own to stand on.

Total bs. You think all of us hispanics look like the illegals? Even a 5 year old can tell the difference. I've been carrying a photo ID since I got a learner's permit at age 15.

The left has shown its bigotry by suggesting that hispanics are too stupid to get an ID card to vote. I don't appreciate being insulted so that a party can use my ethnicity to promote voter fraud.

And the right is hoping that the left is correct on this ~ and also extending that hope to Blacks and the poor and any other group that is not already sold out Republican.

N Loves I think your bias is showing. The voter ID is for everyone not just hispanics and it has nothing to do with intelligence but rather access to the required documents to gain the ID and access to the locations to show the documents. Everyone has to have specific ID to vote under the new GOP plans.

I have never met a US citizen without a photo ID. Have you? If so, please do them a favor and help them get one. Its a lot more productive than complaining about imaginary people.

The issue isn't having the ID, the issue is having the right ID, and paying for it in order to be able to exercise your constitutional right to vote.

As anyone, one would hope, already knows.

N loves what is the purpose now of requiring more ID to vote why now. Is it to stop the wide spread theory of voter fraud that runs rampant in our country or does it serve another purpose. As for who you meet is it your habit to ask everyone you meet to show Photo ID. Have you traveled to every state in this country asking to see everyones Photo ID. If you have consider yourself lucky to be alive. There are places in this country I doubt you would walk out in one piece wanting to look at their ID but that does not stop those individuals from having the right to vote

Again, do you know anyone without a photo ID? I do not. You cannot drive a vehicle or cash a check without it.

To the people old enough here to remember:

Did you ever think you would see the day come in America when there was NOT a consensus among ALL Americans that people who ignore our sovereignty and break our laws are CRIMINALS and should be sent home? Sad, isn't it?

Ever think you would see the day when one political party would be seen as the party that's IN FAVOR of illegal aliens breaking our laws and seen as the party to help them do it?

If Democrats are asking all of America to blow off and ignore our border laws and our sovereignty, why should anybody take any other law the Dems support seriously?

And why is it that the Democrats, in their quest to turn illegal immigrants into voting Dems, ASSUME that ALL Hispanics in the USA support lawbreaking? Isn't that a litle condescending and insulting?

Damage - Couldn't agree more...but then again, when one's entire political belief has no real fiscal or social responsibility, what do you expect? When Dems have control debt, taxes and spending go up. No surprise there. They treat human beings like cattle as long as they get their votes. No surprise there. The painful part is that they actually think they are more intelligent than everyone else - Yes everyone it's the Democrat Party! - Home of Welfare, Unions, Fraud and Corruption! Welcome!

Sure is entertaining on this board reading Fisty, Puken and the other jackwagon Dems trying to defend a complete and total failure as a president though.

N Love, here is a simple answer for you. Under the new Voter ID registration requirement by the GOP a drivers license is not valid ID. You have to have either a special Voter ID badge or your Passport. You really need to get out more, talk with people and most important listen to them you do not have to agree but listen.

Tis, I live in Texas. I am very familiar with our new requirement. We need a TX driver's license (or photo ID issued by TX DPS) or a TX concealed handgun license. If you don't drive, the ID card is $6.

Tis - got the links to support what is considered a proper ID for voting? Op ed pieces or blog comments are not valid, but written state legislation would do for a variety of states.

Here in Iowa (a pink state) a drivers license with photo is acceptable. Nor have I read any reports that our legislative reps want to change it.

So, Iowa and Texas can be taken off of your assertions.

Probably nothing, but we'll never know, because our media doesn't look into things like that where Obama is concerned.

Head over to Fox. I'm sure they're interested in finding the women he threw into the weeds.

@Mike, very well said! What happened to, "I dream of a day when a person is judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character!" I have never seen a politician divide the country more than this fool.

52 months of economic growth, then the Dems got control of the house and senate in 2007.

Who signs all bills?

So Job1 what you are saying is that because Bush signed onto reckless spending plans of the Dems in Congress we should vote for Obama to continue doing the same, except at an even more accelerated pace.

52 months of economic growth,

Yep, and we then learned that it was the result of the most gigantic scam ever devised. Once the truth came to light (as it always will), the bottom fell out (as it always will) and we are left with the ashes caused by corporate deceit. It would have happened even if Republicans had won the White House and congress.

Jim in texas - I have yet to read about any one culprit responsable for the 2008 recession. However, easing credit starting in the nineties and the encouragement of the government since WWll as home ownership being part and parcel of the "American Dream" has been a driving force behind the housing bubble and its major impact on our economy.

Who is more guilty, the populace for buying more than they could afford or the facilitators that made it possible? I am just glad that I didn't buy into the idea of using my homes equity to borrow against for unneeded toys.

Personally, I think they were spot-on. I think the Rmoney campaign got chumped and over-reacted ensuring that their getting chumped would be a news cycle.

Looks like they sure decided to have their candidate STFU about it in a big hurry.

Try to keep in mind that this is political writing, not documentary. There is no way for anyone to know for sure, just to assess the situation as best they are able.

Funny

The polls show Romney gaining momentum in swing states like OH and Fla. and Obama losing ground in rural areas.

as long as Owebama thinks all Hispanics are pro illegal immigration, he will continue to lose support.

JoAnne---sad to say but in 187 days there are a lot of voters who could be swayed by a slick marketing campaign which undoubtedly Mitt's Super PAC is planning. It worked in 2010, when the GOP ran on a platform of jobs-jobs-jobs and then got elected in the House and in the states and started attacking unions, women's reproductive rights and limitation of voting rights.

So, can President Obama count on your support?

NO!!!!

Way Cool said the response should be

"Helll No!!!"

delusional.

Why are people so easily distracted?

Texas with love is that a rhetorical question.

Its in The Teabaggs.

Gingerbread Mamma

Houston....everyday on the Daily Rundown, Chuck Todd does his level best to push the Republican agenda.Same thing can be said about David Gregory, who has ruined "Meet the Press".

I don't watch Todd much, but I concluded that he was out to get Obama four years ago after Todd tried to start his very own nontroversy about how Obama was guilty of flip-flopping on troop withdrawal from Iraq just because Obama said he would take the military's advice into consideration. When Obama's campaign denied it was a flip flop, Todd's classy retort was "don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining." (Yes, those were his exact words). And now, four years later, Obama has fulfilled his promise on Iraq withdrawal, but Todd's animosity towards Obama is unabated.

I remember that Houston and so does the campaign, did you see the Pres....yank Todd's chain at the WH Corres. Dinner?

He has gotten so pathetic, on the Rundown he has a little segment called the 'Soup of the Day', where he criticizes the soup served in the WH mess hall. Really? He should stick to crunching the numbers, which he is very good at.

agreed. I am an American first. My grandparent's didn't come to this country for their decendents to be exploited by leftists.

One of my college Spanish professors in college almost 40 years ago when I was majoring in it told me that I would have a hard time competing for a job using the skills I'd just spent almost eight years developing, because even then most Europeans were fluent in more than one language from a very early age and that many of them spoke better English than many of us. Over the last 40 years, while they've continued to do so, we stubbornly cling to the mistaken belief that our arrogance and willing ignorance of other cultures is all we need to prosper. And we continue to cut things like language programs in our schools and then wonder why other countries continue to outscore us in so many educational standards.

If nothing else, there's a ton of money to be made in the "Hispanic media". Don't be too surprised when it increases instead of decreases. If you spoke fluent Spanish, you could even have a chance at working for them some day.

So if one speaks anything other than English, they are leftists? My, my ~ what a revelation. I'll carry your message to my friends in Texas where native born residents often speak Czech, Polish, German, Spanish, and Hebrew.

Jim, I never said anything like that about people who speak languages other than English. When I was a kid, a lot of hispanics didn't teach their kids to speak English. They expected the school system to do that. It really hurt their kids in school. Now its even worse. You can send your kid to kindergarten not knowing a word of English and they will teach them in Spanish only. That's a very nice, liberal thing to do, but it doesn't help the kid to function in the USA. However, it will probably hold him/her down which will ensure that any vote cast will be for a Democrat.

N love....And My parents didn't teach Me Spanish, or Any other world language.I Wish they had. Your closed small mind is stunning!

Knowing more than one language is wonderful. Growing up in the USA only speaking Spanish is not. Do you have any idea how that limits a person? This is what the left has given to hispanics in public schools. We have kids in our school district from all over the world. The kids from other countries cannot learn in their native language. They learn english quickly. They are bilingual and successful in life. The kids who are stuck in the spanish only classes are very limited in job choices and in their social life.

I wonder what the Hispanic media has to say about the vilification of one of their own by the liberal media and democratic politicians in how they treated Zimmerman. "white hispanic" you liberal fools make normal people want to vomit daily.

N loves, I think you are over generalizing the teaching in spanish in schools as being a liberal idea. That practice depends on the school district and community. I also believe they do receive english lessions as well. You are correct when you say growing up in this country only knowing your native language can and most likely hold you back but again that can depend on the area in which you live. I doubt that Montana has the same language issues that Arizona has do you.

STM are you saying that only the left disliked Zimmerman, did you read any of the post on this site, it seems most of the wait until the system judges comments came from the left and the right just wanted to string him up. So you need to stretch your mind and little and get that right kink out.

More of us are going to get sick of being told who we are voting for. "Be a good hispanic and vote for the leftist." Where did that ever get us?

N Loves what is the GOP standing on immigration legal or otherwise.

There isn't a uniform opinion on illegal immigration among the GOP leaders. Its varied among the GOP presidential candidates (prior to each one dropping out). What does your question have to do with what I previously typed?

There was a story on NPR's All Things Considered program yesterday, with the title of, "Presidential Race Looks Different In Electorial College." They discussed the pros and cons of many of the states, and seemed to give an accurate assessment of the potential for both candidates, including the assertion that "it's too close to call" in about a dozen states, but concluded that right now it looks a little better for Obama than for Romney.

If you go to NPR's website and select "programs" from the top menu you can find All Things Considered, then select May 2nd and scroll down and look for the segment. Of course, if you're one who believes that NPR is a biased liberal outlet trying to campaign for Obama, you'd probably not be interested.