Proof that you do not have to be particularly bright to be a United States Senator from Alabama:
“Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven’t seen any birth certificate. You have to be born in America to be president.” — Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Has he seen George W. Bush’s birth certificate? Or Ronald Reagan’s? And who is “they?” (As in “they said.”)
Posted by Len on Saturday, February 21st, 2009 at 10:45 am CT in Politics
Two important takeaways from the President’s Weekly Address this morning.
#1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will start having an impact as soon as a few weeks from now, in the form of the quickest and broadest tax cut in history:
“Because of what we did, 95% of all working families will get a tax cut — in keeping with a promise I made on the campaign. And I’m pleased to announce that this morning, the Treasury Department began directing employers to reduce the amount of taxes withheld from paychecks — meaning that by April 1st, a typical family will begin taking home at least $65 more every month. Never before in our history has a tax cut taken effect faster or gone to so many hardworking Americans.”
#2, once the economy has recovered and we’ve laid the groundwork for a sustainable future, the President is committed to taking on the massive deficits we inherited:
“That work begins on Monday, when I will convene a fiscal summit of independent experts and unions, advocacy groups and members of Congress to discuss how we can cut the trillion-dollar deficit that we’ve inherited. On Tuesday, I will speak to the nation about our urgent national priorities, and on Thursday, I’ll release a budget that’s sober in its assessments, honest in its accounting, and that lays out in detail my strategy for investing in what we need, cutting what we don’t, and restoring fiscal discipline.”
Posted by Len on Friday, February 20th, 2009 at 7:44 pm CT in Politics,Republicans
Wow. I now know where some of my right wing friends (you know who you are) get some of their loony ideas. You have to watch this. It truly is amazing.
Ladies and gentlemen, right wing Republican Alan Keyes:
At the risk of repeating myself… Wow.
(How can “We’re going to have to stop him” not be interpreted as a threat against the President of the United States? I hope the Secret Service is keeping a close eye on this man and his followers.)
An interesting discussion between Keith Olbermann and Howard Dean on the stimulus bill, Republican governors and Republicans in general:
Worth the time to watch, whichever side of the fence you happen to fall on. I realize a lot of you folks on the right will skip over it or dismiss it simply because you do not much care much for either Mr. Olbermann or Dr. Dean, but I truly believe that it would be to your detriment to do so. There are some ideas (and some realities) presented here to which you need to be exposed.
(P.S. Governor Dean: I don’t much care for the haircut, though I can relate. Just saying.)
CHICAGO. Feb. 20 — Gov. Pat Quinn (D) said Friday that the time has come for Sen. Roland W. Burris (D-Ill.) to resign and allow a special election to be held for the seat once held by President Obama.
Quinn said Burris never should have accepted the appointment from then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich and erred when he failed to disclose fully his contacts with some of Blagojevich’s closest advisers, including the governor’s brother.
He praised Burris as a “wonderful human being” and a “dear friend.” He called him “inspirational” and “God-fearing.” But he said a decision to resign would be seen as “an act of fortitude and doing what’s right for the common good.”
“To step aside would be a heroic act,” Quinn told reporters in Chicago, “and I ask Roland to do it.”
It will be interesting to see who will be the first Republican to actually refuse money from the stimulus bill they so vehemently opposed. It won’t be Texas’ Governor Goodhair Rick Perry…
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry formally accepted the state’s $17 billion share of the federal stimulus package Wednesday while pointedly voicing his opposition to the concept.
“I believe there are better ways to reinvigorate our economy and believe [the stimulus bill] will burden future generations with unprecedented levels of debt,” Perry wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama certifying Texas’ request for the money. All states must pledge that their share of the $787 billion package will be used to promote economic growth and create jobs.
It’s amazing how many of your so-called principles will go flying out the window when you’re staring a check for $17 billion in the face.
Should Republicans really be talking about burdening future generations with unprecedented levels of debt? Where the hell have these people for the past eight years?
The reference, of course, is to President Obama, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that was signed into law yesterday, and this story.
Right wingers appear to believe this cartoon is absolutely hilarious. They fail to understand why anyone would be offended by the bigotry, vitriol and racism implied (not even implied — blatantly presented) in it.
How can you not be offended by something like this?
UPDATE: An “apology” from The Post… “…to those who were offended by the image, we apologize.” The apology continues… “Sometimes a cartoon is just a cartoon – even as the opportunists seek to make it something else.” Wow. That’s some apology. Consider the source.
MESA, Ariz. — President Obama pledged on Wednesday to help as many as 9 million American homeowners refinance their mortgages or avert foreclosure, an initiative he said would shore up distressed housing prices, stabilize neighborhoods and slow a downward spiral that he said was “unraveling homeownership, the middle class, and the American Dream itself.”
The plan, more ambitious than many housing analysts had expected, was unveiled by Mr. Obama in a high school gymnasium here, in a community that is among the nation’s hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.
“This plan will not save every home, but it will give millions of families resigned to financial ruin a chance to rebuild,” the president told the crowd. “It will prevent the worst consequences of this crisis from wreaking even greater havoc on the economy. And by bringing down the foreclosure rate, it will help to shore up housing prices for everyone.”
The plan has three basic components. One would help homeowners who continue to make loan payments on time, but are paying high interest rates and would otherwise not be able to refinance because they do not have enough equity or their houses are worth less than they borrowed. A second would assist people who are at risk of foreclosure by providing incentives to lenders to alter the terms of loans to make them substantially more affordable to struggling homeowners. The third would try to assure there is plenty of credit available for mortgages by giving $200 billion of additional financial backing to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-controlled mortgage finance companies.
The text of the president’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, may be read below the fold.
“Today does not mark the end of our economic troubles. Nor does it constitute all of what we must do to turn our economy around. But it does mark the beginning of the end – the beginning of what we need to do to create jobs for Americans scrambling in the wake of layoffs; to provide relief for families worried they won’t be able to pay next month’s bills; and to set our economy on a firmer foundation, paving the way to long-term growth and prosperity.”
The transcript of the president’s remarks may be read below the fold.
