Below is an exchange between White House Press Aide and Jake Tapper, a reporter.
TAPPER: The White House keeps praising these journalists who are, who've been killed–
CARNEY: I don't know about "keep." I think–
TAPPER: You've done it, Vice President Biden did it in a statement. How does that square with the fact that this administration has been so aggressively trying to stop aggressive journalism in the United States by using the Espionage Act to take whistleblowers to court? You're–currently I think that you've invoked it the sixth time, and before the Obama administration, it had only been used three times in history. You're–this is the sixth time you're suing a CIA officer for allegedly providing information in 2009 about CIA torture. Certainly that's something that's in the public interest of the United States. The administration is taking this person to court. There just seems to be disconnect here. You want aggressive journalism abroad; you just don't want it in the United States.
One of the nation's biggest oil lobbyists in January warned the President that he could make life very uncomfortable for his re-election chances if he didn't approve the Keystone XL pipeline.
The oil industry's top lobbyist warned the Obama administration Wednesday to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline or face "huge political consequences" in an election year.Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, said it would be a "huge mistake" for President Barack Obama to reject the 1,700-mile, Canada-to-Texas pipeline. Obama faces a Feb. 21 deadline to decide whether the $7 billion pipeline is in the national interest.
"Clearly, the Keystone XL pipeline is in the national interest," Gerard said at the trade association's annual "State of American Energy" event. "A determination to decide anything less than that I believe will have huge political consequences."
Jump to six weeks later:
Soaring gasoline prices are threatening to undercut President Barack Obama's re-election prospects and offering Republicans an easy target. With prices pushing $4 a gallon and threatening to go even higher, Obama sought Thursday to confront rising public anxiety and strike back at his GOP critics.Obama said dismissively that all the Republicans can talk about is more drilling — "a bumper sticker … a strategy to get politicians through an election" — when the nation's energy challenges demand much more. In a speech in Miami, he promoted the expansion of domestic oil and gas exploration but also the development of new forms of energy.
For all the political claims, economists say there's not much a president of either party can do about gasoline prices. Certainly not in the short term. But it's clear that people are concerned — a new Associated Press-GfK poll says seven in 10 find the issue deeply important — so it's sure to be a political issue through the summer.
You do the math. I'm thinking Big Oil already has, and they're liking the numbers they see. The Republicans and the Village certainly aren't above concern trolling President Obama, either. Remember, he's "bad for business" when he doesn't give corporations the "certainty" of a negative tax rate and all the steak fajita grandes they can eat on Tuesdays.
Presidents may not be able to do much about gasoline prices, but oil companies sure as hell can.
###
Irony alert! Jeb Bush accuses Republican presidential candidates of fear mongering
Jeb is very concerned that the four stooges' "Who Can Be The Craziest?" contest is turning off non-wingnut America.
"I used to be a conservative and I watch these debates and I'm wondering, I don't think I've changed, but it's a little troubling sometimes when people are appealing to people's fears and emotion rather than trying to get them to look over the horizon for a broader perspective and that's kind of where we are," said the former Florida Governor. "I think it changes when we get to the general election. I hope."
This from a guy whose brother yelled "terra terra terra" for eight years and whose father gave us the Willie Horton ad.
Remember this?
Hilarious.
###
Let me ask you this, Mrs. Santorum: Was your abortion God's will, too?
Rick Santorum's wife said Thursday that although she was initially opposed to her husband's presidential campaign, she came around to the idea after realizing that "God had big plans for Rick." ... Santorum believes her husband's recent rise in the polls is "God's will." Beck politely did not bring up the abortionist that used to fuck the shit out of Karen while they were shacked up. You know, the doctor that was 41 years old than Karen. That one that delivered her as a baby. That shit was SO not God's will.
Meanwhile, Arlen Specter works on new stand-up material:
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter said he would not support his former colleague Rick Santorum in his bid for the presidency, claiming that Santorum's view on gay people and women are too extreme to "represent America."
"Two fists work for me, d'Arlen."
###
Krugman was right (again), A leaked memo (Hi Peter Orzag!) from 2008 shows that the stimulus was truly under-funded, as Krugman always claimed. According to the 2008 memo it would have taken "combination of spending, taxes, and transfers to state and localities…costing about $1.8 trillion over two years." However, Clinton leftover economic advisor dim bulb Larry Summers never presented the estimated amount to President-elect Obama, saying that it was "nonplanetary." (ABC News)
Dave Albo is a Republican in the Virginia House of Delegates whose wife decided against sexing him — in flagrante delicto, apparently! — once she heard, on the teevee news accompanying their intercourse, about the creepy transvaginal ultrasound bill Dave's party was pushing last week. Thanks to Wonkette commenter "UnholyMoses," we can all enjoy Albo's first-person account of the unexpected interruptus of his coitus. READ MORE »
###
Shorter GOP: gas prices shoot up while president sings that Negro jungle music!!!
###
Obama = Communist Propaganda - A Bumper Sticker Designed by Victoria Jackson
###
Not only did the "anti-Catholic" owners of the Empire State Building rebuff demands to turn blue and white in honor of Mother Teresa, they've now refused a similar request to light the landmark red in honor of the elevation of Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Bill Donohue will be ever so pissed.
###
"Mulattos" Can't Be President
A lawsuit has been filed to keep Barack Obama off the Alaska 2012 ballot. Because the Constitution clearly forbids mixed race persons from being president. As stated above, for an Individual to be a candidate for the office of president of the United States, the candidate must meet the qualifications set forth in the United States Constitution and one of those qualifications is that the Candidate shall be a "natural born citizen" of the United States. As Barack Hussein Obama II is of the "mulatto" race, his status of citizenship is founded upon the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Before the [purported] ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, the race of "Negro" or "mulatto" had no standing to be citizens of the United States under the United States Constitution.
They aren't even pretending to hide their racism any more.
During a performance of his comedy special "CrazyStupidPolitics" Thursday night, Maher announced a gift of $1 million to Priorities USA Action, an Obama-supporting super PAC. While he mocked the group's clunky name, saying it was "named by Borat," his publicist said that Maher was deadly serious about the donation and believed a second term for Obama was "worth a million dollars."
I hope he's prepared for the onslaught of cranky absolutist progressives who will insist he just paid $1 million so President Obama could punch hippies and kill babies for another four years.
How out of touch is Mitt Romney?
"I actually love this state. This feels good being back in Michigan … I like the fact that most of the cars I see are Detroit-made automobiles. I drove a Mustang and a Chevy pickup truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs, actually."
Anything wrong with anyone owning two Cadillacs? Nope. If you have the money, why not?
The problem, of course, is in Romney actually speaking those words out loud at a time when unemployment is at 8 percent, middle class America has been devastated by an economic recession and millions are suffering…and at at time when Romney desperately needs to lose his well-deserved image as poster boy for the 1 percent.
Mitt Romney might be a successful businessman but he's still an idiot. Love the picture below of Romney speaking to a crowd of 1200 at Ford Field Stadium in Michigan. Beautiful because nothing inspires confidence like a man speaking to 65,000 empty seats. Did I mention he's an idiot? Contrast this with how Obama packs a stadium:
###
Dr. Zaius (Brent Bozell) for this:
Brent Bozell, founder of the Media Research Center, is providing a sneak preview to the kind of discrimination employees will experience if the amendment becomes law.
Upon hearing news of President Obama's regulation requiring all employers to offer contraception coverage without additional cost sharing, Bozell examined his own organization's insurance policy and was "horrified" to learn that MRC's plan has long provided contraception (and abortion) coverage. Bozell asked his employees to stop using "contraception/abortifacient/abortion services" and promised to eliminate the benefits at once.
This is the height of GOP opposite-day petulance. Damning his own workers to make an archaic political point.
###
No comments:
Post a Comment