It just isn’t credible to believe that Obama’s new promises about these two issues. Not after he previously made them repeatedly, only to break his word when he had the chance to fulfill them.So Obama is giving us, once again, promises that he has already broken. Gee, I suppose there may be someone to whom Obama speaks truthfully, but it certainly isn't to the people of the U.S.
The President Is Missing, by Paul Krugman, Commentary, NY Times: What have they done with President Obama? What happened to the inspirational figure his supporters thought they elected? Who is this bland, timid guy who doesn’t seem to stand for anything in particular?
I realize that with hostile Republicans controlling the House, there’s not much Mr. Obama can get done in the way of concrete policy. Arguably, all he has left is the bully pulpit. But he isn’t even using that — or, rather, he’s using it to reinforce his enemies’ narrative.
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... it looks from here as if the president’s idea of how to bargain is to start by negotiating with himself, making pre-emptive concessions, then pursue a second round of negotiation with the G.O.P., leading to further concessions.
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What’s going on here? Despite the ferocious opposition he has faced since the day he took office, Mr. Obama is clearly still clinging to his vision of himself as a figure who can transcend America’s partisan differences. And his political strategists seem to believe that he can win re-election by positioning himself as being conciliatory and reasonable, by always being willing to compromise.
But if you ask me, I’d say that the nation wants — and more important, the nation needs — a president who believes in something, and is willing to take a stand. And that’s not what we’re seeing. [emphasis added]
Democrats Offer Strong Pushback to Ryan Budget… Except for MIA PresidentObama's done almost everything that Bush did. What makes him any better than any Republican? At least the Dems in the House and Senate would have pretended to moderate the actions of a GOP President. Instead we have then working with a traitorous pretend Dem in the White House. Really, how is that better than having them knuckle under to at ignorant, vicious and intellectually deficient President like George W. Bush?
foolish, silly, unintelligent, idiotic, scatterbrained, nonsensical, senseless, unthinking, ill-advised, ill-considered, unwise, injudicious; inane, absurd, ludicrous, ridiculous, laughable, risible, fatuous, asinine, mad, insane, lunatic; ... crazy, dopey, cracked, half-baked, dimwitted, cockeyed, harebrained, lamebrained, nutty, batty, cuckoo, loony, loopy ...At this point in the history of the ol' US of A it's unlikely that ridicule will influence the accumulation of sludge that remains in the party at all ... but at least I've tried to have my say before they work on killing me. I am 69 years old this month. I am reasonable healthy with no major health problems and it's entirely possible that I will live more than 10 years at which time the Thugs and malicious Dems hope to throw me into the jaws of the marvelous and cannibalistic US 'health' insurance mafia. I'm deeply sorry for those who come after me. You are inheriting an increasingly disturbed and malevelent society.
Deep Breath, Keep It Simple
Medicare is such a popular program and people are so against abolishing it that you have to really work hard to flub the debate and obscure what its enemies are trying to do to actually let it get abolished if you're trying to save it. But congressional Democrats and the White House do seem to be giving it the old college try.
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As our other good friends Saudi Arabia and Bahrain collaborate on attacking civilian protesters, there are no calls for U.S. intervention there -- even though that's arguably more serious than what's happening in Libya -- because those governments serve our interests.
link: Various matters: Afghanistan, Libya & Manning
State Department spokesman steps down amid flapOf course, if Hilary Clinton had any integrity she would resign also. But who would expect her to have any more integrity than Obama as she's still working for a man who has step by step established himself as the current Torturer-in-Chief of the United States of America.
With respect to Private Manning, I have actually asked the Pentagon whether or not the procedures that have been taken in terms of his confinement are appropriate and are meeting our basic standards. They assure me that they are. I can't go into details about some of their concerns, but some of this has to do with Private Manning's safety as well.Oh gee, Obama asked the Pentagon and they told him everything is just hunky-dory.
"The American Dream was the life that this guy led. He worked his way up to a decent life where he could own a house and raise his children and retire when he reached old age. Now people like him are being attacked as the enemy. In other words, Americans are turning on themselves. Hopefully they'll figure out that they're being played before it's too late."
I think I'll go vomit ...UPDATE II: Lt. Col. David Coombs, Manning's counsel, just posted the following:
Last night, PFC Manning was inexplicably stripped of all clothing by the Quantico Brig. He remained in his cell, naked, for the next seven hours. At 5:00 a.m., the Brig sounded the wake-up call for the detainees. At this point, PFC Manning was forced to stand naked at the front of his cell.
The Duty Brig Supervisor (DBS) arrived shortly after 5:00 a.m. When he arrived, PFC Manning was called to attention. The DBS walked through the facility to conduct his detainee count. Afterwards, PFC Manning was told to sit on his bed. About ten minutes later, a guard came to his cell to return his clothing.
This type of degrading treatment is inexcusable and without justification. It is an embarrassment to our military justice system and should not be tolerated. PFC Manning has been told that the same thing will happen to him again tonight. No other detainee at the Brig is forced to endure this type of isolation and humiliation.
I'm already disgusted anticipating the Obama loyalists and right-wing fanatics who will jointly defend this.
Stop apologizing, backing down and going all wishy-washy every time the right wing corporate bozos start their demented war dance.
... Many Americans may not perceive it, but much of the world, as a result of such actions, sees the U.S. not as "Leaders of the Free World" but one of the greatest threats to privacy and other core liberties. Watching people afraid to fly through the U.S. -- including its own citizens -- is just remarkable. And the spectacle of Homeland Security agents detaining whomever they want, and then unilaterally stealing their laptops and cellphones and keeping them and digging through them for as long as they want -- all without a warrant -- is a powerful sign of how far things have fallen.
