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President Obama's Weekly Address - February 9, 2013

Averting the Sequester and Finding a Balanced Approach to Deficit Reduction

DesertCroneNM Pushes Back on UniteBlue

For those of you who follow me on twitter, you may have noticed I'm concerned about this onslaught of new followers I'm getting through something called Unite Blue. But I first  need to set the stage for this little drama.

When someone follows me, it's generally after we've chatted or one of us has RTed the other's tweet. Before Unite Blue I had about 1750 followers, but in about a week, that number has jumped to 1960 without my having interaction with the the new followers.  I can't keep up with them. When I get a new follow, I check her/his followers list to see if we have any common ones. Then I begin reading tweets. So this process takes some time, but if new followers pass my background check, I'll follow back.

I've just had a bad feeling about Unite Blue, which I've discussed with @jhw2212 (Jennifer on the this blog) during numerous phone calls. Today she called & told me to check if I was following Unite Blue. Well, I didn't need to check because I knew I wasn't. After much explanation, Jen finally convinced me that I was probably following Unite Blue and told me how to check. I'll be damned if I wasn't following Unite Blue.

I was completely astounded and began tweeting about my experience to warn others. I'm not casting aspersions  on UB.  Maybe it is what it claims to be. However, I like to choose who I follow, not have someone else choose for me.

Here's my theory. I think that somehow UB has taken over Connect the Left's twitter account, maybe by hacking into it or by some other less nefarious scheme. So when  the name on the Connect the Left account was changed  to Unite Blue, everyone following CTL became a follower of Unite Blue.

I don't like the way this was done. I think it was dishonest. And if this kind of deception becomes commonplace on Twitter, then I have no use for it.

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President Obama's Weekly Address - February 2, 2013

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President Obama's Weekly Address - January 26, 2013

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Phil Mickelson Shanks One

Possibly the worst shot of his career.

Mickelson instantly became the perfect example of the rich, out of touch, privileged white man when he complained about the amount of taxes he pays for the backbreaking work of playing a game dominated by rich, out of touch, privileged white men.

“Well, it’s been an interesting offseason, and I’m going to have to make some drastic changes,” said Mickelson, who lives with his wife and three children in Rancho Santa Fe, just north of San Diego. “And I’m not going to jump the gun and do it right away, but I will be making some drastic changes." 

... “If you add up all the federal and you look at the disability and the unemployment and the Social Security and the state, my tax rate is 62, 63 percent,” Mickelson said. “I’ve got to make some decisions on what I am going to do.”

Now if you're a golf enthusiast I'll stop here before you think I'm maligning the game. I'm not. I play golf. I wouldn't call myself a "golfer" for the same reason I wouldn't call myself a basketball player, because I suck at it, but being the masochist I am, I love the game and even enjoy watching professionals on the television apparatus. But I don't delude myself into thinking that this game is for Everyman. It's expensive, time consuming and needs constant practice to even begin to get better at the game, let alone excel. The average person who has the opportunity to play once a week will most normally be a below average golfer. The person who plays once a month or less will suck. The person who can't play but 3 or 4 times a season because he's too busy WORKING will really suck. That's me.

And that's where Mickelson comes in. There's no doubt that the man is a great talent. He's a multiple Major winner, has a beautiful wife who has survived breast cancer and three gorgeous kids. He's paid millions to play a game. He's living the American dream, right? But he clearly has no clue of what goes on outside his little, wealthy bubble.

According to Forbes, Phil Mickelson's net worth is $180 million. He made $48 million last year. Over $40 million of that came in endorsements. FORTY. MILLION. DOLLARS. Just to plaster his face on some product. The other $8 million I assume from actually doing his "job."

Let's put this in perspective. The average person in America making $60,000 a year would have to work 800 years to make what Michelson made last year. But wait, that includes endorsements, something the average person doesn't do - the average person in America making $60,000 a year would have to work 133 years -  52 weeks a year - to earn what Mickelson made actually doing his "job" working about 30 weeks a year.

Phil Mickelson needs to have a 3-wood shoved up his ass to even begin to understand the pain that people who live paycheck to paycheck go through every single day of their lives, while he travels all over the world on private jets week to week to play a game. And he doesn't even have to carry his clubs.

He's had the luxury of living in California and voting with others for tax cut referendum after tax cut referendum, putting the state in a huge financial hole in the process. And now that the people of the state voted to temporarily raise taxes to alleviate their budget woes, Phil cries foul. Poor, poor millionaire.

Phil has quickly realized what a douchebag he sounded like and issued an apology. Sort of.

"Finances and taxes are a personal matter, and I should not have made my opinions on them public,” Mickelson said in a statement released Monday night. “I apologize to those I have upset or insulted, and assure you I intend not to let it happen again.” 

 So he's not apologizing for what he said, he's just sorry he said it in public.

Here's my advice to Mickelson:

1 - When Joe Average is paying their hard earned money to see you play golf, complaining that you can't be part owner of the fucking San Diego Padres comes off as more than a little elitist. You obviously watched Mitt Romney too much during his campaign and didn't learn anything from it.

2 - If you don't want to pay taxes in a certain state, then fine. Move. You have that luxury and aren't bound to one location because of your "job." But keep your fucking mouth shut. Lots of other golfers live in Florida and Texas with low or no state taxes. But they didn't sit under a neon sign that said, "Millionaires Taxes Too Much! Now I  can't buy a Major League baseball team! Whaaaaa!!!"

3 - Get a new financial planner because if you're paying 62-63% in taxes you are either A) getting ripped off by your money men or B) a lair.

President Obama's Second Inaugural Address

January 21, 2013



Arguably the best part of the address:

"It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began, for our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal, as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity, until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm."

The distant popping sounds you heard during the address were thousands upon thousands of wingnuts' heads exploding all across the country.

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President Obama's Weekly Address - January 19, 2013

Now Is The Time to Take Action Against Gun Violence

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President Obama's Weekly Address - January 12, 2013

Ending the War in Afghanistan and Rebuilding America

Too Stupid To Be On Television

No. A trillion dollar platinum coin does not mean it's made of a trillion dollars worth of platinum.

How these people don't get randomly hit by traffic when crossing the street is amazing to me because obviously, they have brains the size of walnuts. FUCKING. MORONS. ALL.

(H/T Bob Cesca)

Another Bullsh*t Smear: Obama Hates Women

Whiteys, Whiteys everywhere, another meme that stinks.

Oh, look! It's President Obama in a room full of men! How will I ever get over it?! Pass the smelling salts! I think I'm getting the vapors!!!

How dare he! How dare President Obama nominate a man, A MAN!, to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. The gall of President Obama to nominate Jack Lew to replace Timothy Geitner as Treasury Secretary. Chuck Hagel at Denfense? Wait, doesn't he have testicles? THE NERVE!

A splashy front page story in the New York Times wondering why there is no diversity in Obama's new Cabinet picks and history is immediately forgotten. NO DIVERSITY! cries Annie Lowrey. Where are the binders full of women, asks The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus, conveniently playing on and misinterpreting Mitt Romney's gaffe as something Romney initiated, and as we later found out, revealed to be yet another lie.

Yes, a war on women. President Obama hates women so much, his most trusted advisor is Valerie Jarrett. He hates them so much Kathleen Sibelius is the head of Health and Human Services, Janet Napolitano runs the Department of Homeland Security, Hillary is still his Secretary of State, and both Elena Kagen and Sonia Sotomayor have been appointed to the Supreme Court. I haven't checked under their robes but I think they still have vaginas. The latter is also a Latina, a two-for! Damn that diversity.

Eric Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, is of Japanese descent and Attorney General Eric Holder is black. Up until announcing her retirement, no one was mentioning Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. She's a woman too, right? I hope so with a name like Hilda.

Here's what pisses me off about this ridiculous non-story: had the right wingers not banged the Susan-Rice-Benghazi-Faux-Outrage drum so incessantly, we very well may have seen Rice replace Clinton, and we wouldn't be talking about how President Obama hates women so much. Oh, and Susan Rice is still the UN Ambassador, isn't she? Another Obama appointment.

So knock it off with this, ridiculous, eye-roll worthy bullshit. Had he picked a person of color or a woman, I'm sure we'd be hearing about how it was an Affirmative Action pick and the whiners would beat their chests wondering why someone (maybe even a white male) more qualified wasn't chosen exactly like the Rice/John Kerry fiasco. Must we at every turn, try to pin something on the President that has no real basis in reality? Do you think perhaps he's attempting to choose the best qualified person for the job with whom he's also comfortable? There's enough to criticize without making shit up.

Jon Stewart is Back and Brilliant!

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Lindsey Graham Plays the Race Card... The Jewish Race

What in the hell is going on with the ever disintegrating Republican Party? On CNN's State of the Union with Candy Crowley this Sunday, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham bristled at the thought of another possible Cabinet appointment by President Obama to have former Senator Chuck Hagel be the next Defense Secretary.




So, former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel from Nebraska, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, who in 1982 resigned as deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration amid his superior's inclination to cut VA benefits and his calling VA groups "greedy," isn't the right choice for Lindsey Graham as a possible nominee as the next Secretary of Defense. Why? Because according to Graham, Chuck Hagel is not a supporter of Israel.

"Chuck Hagel, if confirmed to be the secretary of defense, would be the most antagonistic secretary of defense toward the state of Israel in our nation’s history... 

...he said you should directly negotiate with Iran, sanctions won’t work, that Israel should directly negotiate with the Hamas organization, a terrorist group that lobs thousands of rockets into Israel... 

...This is an in-your-face nomination by the president," Graham said. "And it looks like the second term of Barack Obama is going to be an in-your-face term."

Seriously? Lindsey Graham played the Jew card?! You know, because our foreign policy must solely rely on Israel and make sure that whatever we do, we have to get Israel's approval first. And enough with challenging EVERY possible Obama nominee. It's unbecoming of the Republicans in the Senate to play The Boy Who Cried Wolf every time the White House suggests a cabinet appointment. Do your fucking job and have your say in a Senate Nominating Committee and vote the way you want to vote. Otherwise, fuck off.

And please remind me how former President Bush ran his possible Cabinet nominees by every Democratic member of Congress to make sure it was okay with them, because I don't recall that. Please remind me how the party that just got trounced in November should have more say about who the winner should choose to be part of his staff.

Guess what, douchebag: elections have consequences, and President Obama won re-election pretty handily over that sorry excuse for a candidate your side put up. So now it's time to shut your goddamn cakehole and since you're a fucking SENATOR, have the wherewithal to understand that your opinion matters just as much as 99 other Senators, be a little more deferential and diplomatic, and try to come to the realization that the United States does not and should not revolve around Israel.

An "in-your-face" term? Fuck, yeah.

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President Obama's Weekly Address - January 5, 2013

Working Together in the New Year to Grow Our Economy and Shrink Our Deficits

Meet the New House...

... same as the old House.

So as expected, despite his attempts at self sabotage by walking away from negotiation after negotiation,  pouting during a meeting with leaders after his failed Plan B stunt, telling Sen. Harry Reid to go fuck himself and blowing off the Sandy Relief Aid bill incurring the wrath of some of his own congressional "allies," including one particular large Republican Governor, John Boehner was re-elected as Speaker of the House with 220 votes.

The first filed bill came from Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota, what the fuck are you thinking?!) to... wait for it... repeal Obamacare. You know, because the first 33 votes worked so well.

The sound you hear is that of my forehead repeatedly banging into my keyboard.