fayfreethinkers.com

DAR
Welcome to the Obama love thread. This thread should be especially enjoyable to republicans. Oh wait, reverse that.

As the good news rolls, this would be a good place to put it.

To get things off to a good sweet lovey start, and set the right mood, best to groove to this Obama Song official Video.

Obama to world: We will lead on climate change

by Stephen Collinson – Mon Jan 26

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama Monday vowed to lead the world on climate change as he set about shredding Bush administration policies with new domestic measures to force the development of fuel-efficient cars.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meanwhile picked a veteran of the Kyoto Protocol talks as her envoy for climate change, as world leaders target a historic global warming pact this year.

"We will make it clear to the world that America is ready to lead," Obama said,...

"To protect our climate and our collective security, we must call together a truly global coalition," the president said at a White House ceremony.

Obama signed memoranda aimed to prod the struggling US auto industry to design new fuel-efficient vehicles to lessen US dependence on energy sources which he said bankroll dictators, and to spur the US economy.

"The days of Washington dragging its heels are over," Obama said.

"My administration will not deny facts -- we will be guided by them," Obama said, in an apparent dig at Bush aides accused of subverting science for ideological reasons....

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reacted with delight.

"With this announcement from President Obama less than a week into his administration, it is clear that California and the environment now have a strong ally in the White House," he said in a statement.

Link

DAR
I would appreciate it if a GOP'er could explain to me the "conservative" position on this. I know McCain openly supported the SCOTUS decision on this but he never explained it and it makes no sense to me. Why support such a short statute of limitations which facilitates this discrimination?

***
Washington Post:

The bill is a response to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that said a person must file a claim of discrimination within 180 days of a company's initial decision to pay a worker less than it pays another worker doing the same job. Under the bill, every new discriminatory paycheck would extend the statute of limitations for another 180 days.

The plaintiff in the case, Lilly Ledbetter, argued that she did not become aware of the pay discrepancy until near the end of her 19-year career at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Gadsden, Ala.

The Bush White House and Senate Republicans blocked the legislation in the last session of Congress, but Obama strongly supports it and the Democratic-controlled Congress moved it to the top of the agenda for the new session that opened this month.

Link

Darrel wrote:Why support such a short statute of limitations which facilitates this discrimination?

DOUG

Answer: It allows businesses to save money by paying some people less than others. The GOP is the party of the rich and the businesses, so they support it at the expense of the worker.

It's that simple.

Obama v. Limbaugh

This article points out how cool and smart Obama is in handling these right wing buffoons.


This week's media feud between Barack Obama and Rush Limbaugh has far more significance than you might suspect. When Limbaugh came out with his reaction to the possibility of a successful left-leaning Obama administration with a heartfelt and purposefully incendiary "I hope he fails", it was the first shot in an inevitable war...

article here

DAR
When I passed a news bit about Limbaugh's comments on to my right wing friend Bill he responded:

***
Darrel,
I heard the original broadcast. What he said previous to this makes it clear that what he meant was, "I hope his policies fail." But aside from that, why did he create such a "firestorm?" Because he is an influential radio voice, and because Obama has made him even more so with his (Obama's) comments concerning him. With all the things that Obama needs to concern himself with, is it significant that he comments on Rush Limbaugh, a talk show host?

How many people wanted Bush to "fail?"
***

My response:

***
BILL said:
I heard the original broadcast.

DAR
I heard a recording and read the transcript.

BILL
What he said previous to this makes it clear that what he meant was, "I hope his policies fail."

DAR
Even if that's what he mean't (as opposed to what he said), it is a distinction without a difference. Obama's policies are being put in place to help America get out of a near depression. If his policies fail, America fails and people suffer greatly. Clearly Rush loves his ideology more than America or the suffering of others. I knew that 15 years ago.

BILL
But aside from that, why did he create such a "firestorm?"

DAR
If any commentator came out and openly said they wanted the president, or his policies, to fail (and thus the country's situation to worse and "fail") it would create a firestore. Rush does this on purpose because he only desires attention at this point.

BILL
Because he is an influential radio voice,...

DAR
Much less so now, only certifiable loons would still be listening. But I certainly hope you're right. The more republicans listen to him and are influenced by him the more unelectable and ineffectual the republican party will be. The future looks very bleak for your party and I see this as a very positive thing for humanity on the entire planet. Keep listening to Rush. It's worked so well in the past hasn't it?

BILL
and because Obama has made him even more so with his (Obama's) comments concerning him.

DAR
I didn't hear those. We haven't had power or internet since Tuesday. I'm in a restaurant right now.

BILL
With all the things that Obama needs to concern himself with, is it significant that he comments on Rush Limbaugh, a talk show host?

DAR
I am glad that he is fighting back against such an obviously traitorous attitude. Imagine if a liberal had said this about Bush. Dishonest rightwingers pretended they did and constantly made the accusation calling those who simply didn't support Bush, "America haters" etc. Find me a liberal saying this.

BILL
How many people wanted Bush to "fail?"

DAR
I don't know any. I didn't. Find me one. I would have liked for my stocks to have gone up instead of losing 73% of their value in the last six months. My republican neighbor is down $90,000. I would have liked to see America have been a force for good during the last eight years. When Bush won (he didn't but let's pretend) I said "okay, lets give this guy and his policies a shot. They've got all the power, lets see how this conservativism works."

And we did.

Try to think outside of the rightwing cult. Imagine if Bush had inherited from Clinton a disaster like we are having now. Imagine Bush was stepping up and working hard to make the best of the situation and reduce the hardship to the American people. And imagine a popular leftwing host saying he wished Bush, and/or his policies, would fail.

What could be more unamerican, counterproductive and just downright vile?

D.

Here's a clip of the Daily Show where Jon Stewart shows how full of nonsense FOX "news" is, ending with Bill O'Reilly saying it is unAmerican to criticize the President ("Like it or not, he's our elected leader") followed by Rush Limbaugh saying he hopes the president fails.

watch here

.

OBAMA MORE POPULAR THAN REAGAN ?

Obama: More Political Capital Than Reagan?

Although Barack Obama defied our prediction of starting his term with a higher initial approval rating than John F. Kennedy, his 68 percent approval score (versus 12 percent disapproval) is nevertheless noteworthy in comparison with his recent predecessors:




This chart tracks the initial Gallup approval and disapproval ratings following the inaugurations of newly-elected presidents since Eisenhower; Truman, Johnson, and Ford, who took over following the death or resignation of their predecessors, are excluded.

The green and red lines represent the time trends established prior to this year (that is, they don't include the Obama data point). While newly-elected presidents tend always to begin their terms with fairly high approval metrics, this has been decreasingly true in recent years, perhaps a reflection of increased partisanship. Obama's initial approval rating, indeed, is the highest of any president since Kennedy. His initial disapproval rating, meanwhile, is about half that of his two most recent predecessors, although higher than that of Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Carter, and G.H.W. Bush, all of whom began with disapproval in the single digits.

rest of story here

.

DAR
Passed along from Doug:

2009 Inauguration Photo - SUPER HI-DEF

Zoom in ('double-click' an area) ....and watch it focus. Then zoom some more... and wait for focus. Hold your left mouse button down and move the cursor around to see more faces.

This picture was allegedly taken with a robotic camera and weighs in at 1,474 megapixel. (295 times the standard 5 megapixel camera), a Canon that pulled together over 200 individual shots.

Each zoom-in takes a second to focus ...and then you can see some lots of interesting people.

LINK

.

Zoom in ('double-click' an area) ....and watch it focus. Then zoom some more..

I saw Newt Gringrich's wife or girlfriend blowing her nose. They are sitting to the left of the red archway.

DAR
In the future our cell phones will take pictures like this.

Rachel Maddow lists Obama's presidential accomplishments for his first month:

Announced strict new rules for lobbyists
Paycaps for WH staff
Hillary Clinton confirmed Secretary of State
Signed an Executive Order closing Gitmo and secret CIA prisons overseas
Named George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke Special Envoys to Middle East
Made first agency visit to the State Dept, symbolically reviving diplomacy
Appeared on Arab TV network,
Signed Lily Ledbetter Act,
Eric Holder confirmed;
Signed S-ChIP legislation;
Canceled 77 land leases around Arches National Park;
Signed the Stimulus Bill;
Announced his home foreclosure prevention plan;
Took first foreign trip to Canada;
Banned budget gimmicks, like emergency funding for Iraq;
Met with mayors;
Signed Executive Order for Office of Gulf Coast Recovery.

Crooksandliars

Who are Republicans listening to now? --30 sec video clip

And:

10 things you should know about Obama's plan:

1 Makes a $634 billion down payment on fixing health care that will go a long way toward paying for a more efficient, more affordable health care system that covers every single American.

2 Reduces taxes for 95% of working Americans. And if your family makes less than $250,000, your taxes won't go up one dime.

3 Invests more than $100 billion in clean energy technology, creating millions of green jobs that can never be outsourced.

4 Brings our troops home from Iraq on a firm timetable, finally bringing the war to a close—and freeing up almost ten billion dollars a month for domestic priorities.

5 Reverses growing income inequality. The plan lets the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire and focuses on strengthening the middle class.

6 Closes multi-billion-dollar tax loopholes for big oil companies.

7 Increases grants to help families pay for college—the largest increase ever.

8 Halves the deficit by 2013. President Obama inherited a legacy of huge deficits and an economy in shambles, but his plan brings the deficit under control as soon as the economy begins to recover.

9 Dramatically increases funding for the SEC and the CFTC—the agencies that police Wall Street.

10 Tells it straight. For years, budgets have used accounting tricks to hide the real costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush tax cuts, and too many other programs. Obama's budget gets rid of the smokescreens and lays out what America's priorities are, what they cost, and how we're going to pay for them.