President Obama's University of Michigan Commencement Speech

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President Barack Obama: Michigan Graduation Speech

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Arizona Has Gone Nuts

Arizona "...schools will lose state funding if they offer any courses that "promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, promote resentment of a particular race or class of people, are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals."

...Meanwhile, in a move that was more covert until the Wall Street Journal uncovered it, the Arizona Department of Education has told schools that teachers with "heavy" or "ungrammatical" accents are no longer allowed to teach English classes."

Okay y'all, we gotta git these Mexicans to stop book learnin' our red-blooded, God fearin' Amurkin kids and git us some proper English teachers to edumacate our young'n's likes my mammy learnt me.

But it's not about race, right Arizona?

President Obama's Weekly Address - May 1, 2010

Giving Government Back to the American People

Make Them Vote NO - UPDATED

Yesterday, the Senate brought the financial reform cloture vote to the floor again, and for the second straight day, Republicans voted against moving forward on financial reform debate. For the second straight day, Republicans voted to protect Wall Street while claiming to be looking out for Main Street.

We didn't hear about that vote because the mainstream media was too engrossed in the Goldman Sachs Senate hearing. You know, the one where Senators were saying naughty words. We didn't hear about the second vote because the MSM likes drama and the GOP blocking the financial bill a second time was "old" news. Twenty four hours old.

However, I am beginning to enjoy the Democratic strategy of making the GOP vote against cloture over and over and over again. Someone is going to notice and say, "Hey, what's with the Republicans opposing financial reform?" Maybe they'll be saying that today on the news with a story of the impending block for a third straight day. Just like the Goldman Sachs executives claiming they did nothing wrong, Republicans will eventually be exposed for their bullshit excuses on why they're on their knees for the fat cats soon enough.

UPDATE (2:55pm): Republicans vote 'No' for a third straight day. But the fun is just beginning.

TPM: Frustrated by an ongoing campaign by the GOP to block debate on financial reform legislation, Democrats plan to hold the Senate floor open all night, potentially holding repeated votes to break the filibuster, or forcing Republicans to publicly object to debating their bill. But the move comes just as Republicans appear closer than ever to throwing in the towel.

Could it be that staying on the floor all night put a crimp in Sen. Mitch McConnell's beach plans to lay his eggs and bury them?

Quote of the Day

Eugene Robinson: Isn't the whole premise of the Tea Party movement that overreaching government poses a grave threat to individual freedom? It seems to me that a law allowing individuals to be detained and interrogated on a whim -- and requiring legal residents to carry identification documents, as in a police state -- would send the Tea Partyers into apoplexy. Or is there some kind of exception if the people whose freedoms are being taken away happen to have brown skin and might speak Spanish?

Liar

Why did Nebraska Democratic Senator Ben Nelson vote with Republicans to block the financial reform bill?

...Nelson said he was worried the "legislation will adversely impact Main Street when the focus needs to be on Wall Street. ... I don't think everyone is aware of the unintended consequences."

Oh really?

The removal of a provision that would have dramatically benefited financial tycoon and Nebraska native Warren Buffett, it was said, played a role in the Senator's flip.

"He was on board until today and the only thing that changed was the removal of that provision," said one Democratic aide, who definitively said Nelson changed his vote because the Buffett carveout was removed.

Ben Nelson sold out the American people for a short while for $8 billion, the money Warren Buffett's company would have to set aside to cover potential losses on derivatives contracts.

Ben Nelson sold out the country for Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest men if not the wealthiest, in the world.

Republicans Protect Wall Street As Expected

Senate Republicans followed through on their threat today to block debate on a financial regulatory reform bill authored by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)...

The move ratchets up a political food fight between Democrats and Republicans, with Dems on the offense, charging that the GOP's decision to block progress on the legislation puts them on the side of Wall Street.

...Speaking on the Senate floor hours before the vote, Majority Leader Harry Reid said the vote "reveal[s] who believes we need to strengthen oversight of Wall Street, and who does not [and] force[s] each Senator to publicly proclaim whether party unity is more important than economic security."

So how do you think Tea Party members are feeling about their hero, populist Scott Brown, right about now siding with the big banks? And what is Olympia Snowe's excuse? She insisted that Reid include Senator Blanche Lincoln's amendment into the bill - which he did - and then voted against it anyway. And there's Ben Nelson being all dickish again.  Maybe the weight of his Fred Flintstone haircut is affecting his brain.  Or perhaps he wants his "Cornhusker Kickback" returned. The one that he says he never asked for.

Now let's see if all this Tea Party mania and rhetoric is actually about what they say it's about. Or if it's about a black man in the White House. I mean, hey, when you have David Duke on your side...

UPDATE (8pm): Why did Nelson vote with the GOP? Maybe this is the answer.

A Decent Man in Oklahoma

And guess what? He's a Democrat.

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry said he vetoed a bill that would require women to go through ultrasound examinations before abortions to avoid a court fight.

Henry Friday also vetoed a measure that would have banned wrongful birth lawsuits, The Oklahoman reported Saturday. Such suits are brought by parents of children born with Down’s syndrome and other congenital problems that were not diagnosed during pregnancy.

Henry, a Democrat, said the first bill was likely to involve the state in expensive litigation. He also described the bill as too sweeping because there are no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.

"State policymakers should never mandate that a citizen be forced to undergo any medical procedure against his or her will, especially when such a procedure could cause physical or mental trauma," Henry said.

Sounds to me to be a basic human right. And why are small government proponents, as most conservatives are, always the first to author legislation to get into your personal medical business? Hypocrites.

Hey Arizona: How About Having An Illegal EMPLOYER Law?

More than half of the Arizona businesses that had their workforces audited by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents since last July have been found to have illegal workers on their payrolls.

If there were stiff penalties for hiring illegal workers, maybe we wouldn't be seeing unconstitutional laws signed by governors for political advantage. Theoretically, I could be on vacation in Arizona and be stopped and arrested by law enforcement officials because I'm not carrying my birth certificate. Show of hands: how many people carry their birth certificates with them?

Stop hiring them and they'll stop coming.

Aren't You Glad He's Not Our President?

Say whatever's convenient at the time.

Crooks and Liars: "...CNN noted on Friday, John McCain was for comprehensive immigration reform before he was against it before he was for it and, ultimately, against it again.

Hard-pressed on his right flank by J.D. Hayworth, John McCain on Monday broke his silence on the new law. He endorsed the measure as a "good tool" because, among other things, "drivers of cars with illegals in them that are intentionally causing accidents on the freeways."

For their part, Suzanne Malveaux and Dana Bash of CNN went to the videotape to show McCain's pathetic back-and-forth-and-back-and-forth on immigration."

MAVERICK!!!

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President Obama's Weekly Address - April 24, 2010

Good News from the Auto Industry

Quote of the Day

"What we have here - and my Republican friends, they found death panels where they weren't in the health bill, they're ignoring death panels where they are in the financial bill - none of the money involved here is either going to be taxpayer money, nor can even the privately raised money, privately funded money, be spent except at funeral expenses to put an institution out of business."

~ Rep. Barney Frank on the GOP "Bailout Bill" talking point and explaining what is actually in the financial reform bill.

Is This Sexist?

"Let's take [Ohio Democratic Rep.] Betty Sutton out of the House and put her back in the kitchen."

Medina County GOP chairman Bill Heck doesn't think so.

...Sigh...

For Once Dick Cheney Is RIght

Huffington Post: While the current vice president is showing contrition over dropping an F-bomb, the last one seems proud of his own famous off-color moment [in telling Senator Patrick Leahy to "go fuck himself" on the Senate floor].

...Cheney, who has never regretted the incident, appeared on Thursday's "Dennis Miller Show" and took a compliment about it from the host.

"I love that move," Miller said while thanking Cheney for going after Leahy. "One of my favorite stories -- muttering that."

Cheney responded that a lot of people liked the comment. "That's sort of the best thing I ever did."

And he's right. Can you think of anything else Dick Cheney did in his eight years as Vice President that was less damaging? I can't. Therefore, he's right when he says it's "the best thing I ever did" because anything he did before (Halliburton, Liz Cheney) or after (not having the decency to die after multiple heart attacks) was infinitely worse.

No Help For Ensign

Perhaps Senator Ensign should have saved that mistress hush money for his re-election campaign.

As lawmakers rollout their campaign fundraising totals for the first quarter of 2010, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) has little to boast about: the embattled senator's re-election campaign took in just $50 in contributions -- all of which came from a single donor.

Fifty. Dollars.

...D'OH!

Unemployed Gecko

If I were able to hire, I'd give him a job just on principle.

Huffington Post: Lance Baxter, better known as D.C. Douglas but perhaps best known as the voice of Geico commercials ("15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on your car insurance") has been fired by the insurance company after leaving a voicemail for Tea Party group FreedomWorks.

Douglas asked FreedomWorks in his voicemail what "the percentage of people that are mentally retarded who are working for FreedomWorks and who are following it," or as he has since put it, he "inquired as to their intelligence level."

Stewart Responds to Bernie Goldberg

One of his best bits ever.

Cartoon of the Day