The hair on the back of my neck goes up every time no good politicians get on TV and presume to talk for the American people…without substantiation. How do our politicians and TV talking heads really know facts about the American people? Polls, you say? Well, if they form their statements from poll data, they should quote the relevant polls…like genius, Ezra Klein, does. Speaker John Boehner is forever making statements: “The American people” this and “The American people” that. Someone should tell Rep. Boehner (R-OH) that his speaker title does not give him license to “speak” for the American people. Perhaps he should read Wikipedia. I remember the days when reporters talked to average Americans [like the "man on the street"] and broadcasted the interviews on the evening news. For all we know our politicians have a secret agenda withtalking points and the media might have their own. Somehow, yesterday, President Obama heard or sensed the call of the American people for him to get out front on the current scandals(?) and show that he is angry and the he is in charge and swiftly taking action. He bound to the podium yesterday and delivered his reassuring message. I was so proud of him! —GoodOleWoody
Official portrait of United States House Speaker (R-Ohio). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
President Obama announced Wednesday that Steve T. Miller, the acting commissioner of the IRS, had resigned in the wake of the controversy over the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups. In an angry statement in the White House, Obama said the IRS’s actions were “inexcusable and Americans are right to be angry about it and I’m angry about it.” He added, “I will not tolerate this type of behavior in any agency but especially the IRS given the power it has and the reach it has.”
“If in fact IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that have been reported on and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that’s outrageous. And there’s no place for it,” Obama told reporters.
“And they have to be held fully accountable. Because the IRS as an independent agency requires absolute integrity, and people have to have confidence that they’re … applying the laws in a nonpartisan way.”
Documents set to be released this week by the IRS watchdog show that the agency targeted tea party organizations and other groups focused on government spending and the federal debt that were seeking tax-exempt status.
The IRS also applied extra scrutiny to applicants with statements that “criticize how the country is run” or that sought to educate the public on how to “make America a better place to live,” designations that would have included conservative political groups looking to apply for 501(c)(4) status. Those disclosures are included in the appendix of an inspector general’s report, obtained by CNN, that has caused widespread anger among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as well as conservative groups.
That ship has sailed! CNN used to just report the news and did it very well, then Fox came along and created an alternate universe where bullshit is reality and the majority of America now believe such horse shit as Obama is a Kenyan Muslum and even still believe that WMD was found in Iraq. So what’s wrong with a progressive counterbalance, and one that actually names it’s evidence. So if you don’t want to watch it don’t, I happen to really dig MSNBC‘s breath of fresh air!
Video: TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie sits down with President Obama to talk about some of the major stories making headlines recently, including whether Congress will pass new gun legislation, our tense relations with North Korea, and compromising with Republicans over the budget.
North Korea probably lacks the ability to deliver nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles but the United States must be prepared for “every contingency out there,” President Obama said in an exclusive TODAY interview recorded just before the Boston Marathon explosions.
“Based on our current intelligence assessments we do not think that they have that capacity,” Obama told Savannah Guthrie. However, North Korea’s history of consistently erratic behavior has forced the Pentagon to take all necessary precautions.
“We have to make sure that we are dealing with every contingency out there. And that’s why I’ve repositioned missile defense systems to guard against any miscalculation on their part,” he said in a wide-ranging interview. The first part of the discussion aired Tuesday.
A senior administration official confirms President Obama’s budget, to be delivered to Congress on April 10, will include a formal request to reduce cost-of-living increases to Social Security recipients if congressional Republicans agree to raise additional tax revenue.
Mr. Obama’s proposal is part of a broader strategy to alleviate some of the pain linked to sequestration spending cuts as well as tackle some difficult politics on entitlement cuts. The linchpin, as it has been throughout budget talks in the Obama era of divided government, is whether Republicans will acquiesce to higher taxes. The prospects for this, based on recent GOP rhetoric, appear bleak.
Have you noticed how in our country, and elsewhere, some men get rich, achieve success and, then, they want power. Power over the “little people.” [Success is Mitt Romney's platform. Newt Gingrich thinks he is the rightful arbiter of right and wrong and based on that should win! Santorum, not rich, yearns for power, too.] Why do rich people want to control our lives, make the poor accede to their agenda and let them define for us, right from wrong? Rick Santorum, would impose his personal, religious agenda on us and that of his Roman Catholic Church
Our Souls Are Worth More Than Any Amount of Success or Money!
Romney is only concerned for those who have achieved success. These candidates are the minions of the elite TOP 1% of theAmericanpopulation. One of the true statements in The Bible is, “Money is the root of all evil.” Mitt Romney, do y’all believe that in the Mormon Church? I recall that you are/were a high official in your religion. Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, how about your Roman Catholic Church? Newt Gingrich, as president, would put us in jeopardy of being controlled by the infamous “leader whose name we dare not speak.” Each of us must have a personal relationship with God which keeps us in sync with His plan for us.
Lincoln, Roosevelt and King
Lord, send us another Abraham Lincoln or a Franklin Delano Roosevelt or a Martin Luther King! America has become a dismal place. Those who seek public office don’t fear punishment for lying to us. The make passionate statements one day and “walk them back” the next day. All without blinking their eyes! They admit that meet in “quiet rooms” to discuss and plan our fate.They meet in their convention and spend a lot of time making a platform: A list of all the policies their political party stands for…until the next convention. Sadly, there is no one to police these platforms and make sure they are enacted in governance…if they win the election. What do the political parties do in the non-election years? Just plan for the next election? Why aren’t they actively growing their party down to the grassroot’s level?
Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum
Republicans are not happy with their choice of candidates for president. These men have the kind of baggage which says that these men are less than ideal for President of the United States. But, GOP Voters they must “hold their nose(s)” and chose a nominee.
Way before he started the campaign, President Obama promised us he would be our “Warrior for the middle-class.” He would restore us who seen the TOP 1% bring home a paycheck grown by 300% and ours by approximately one-third of that.
Responding to claims his “Buffett rule” is class warfare, President Obama on Thursday said asking a billionaire to pay same tax rate as a teacher makes him “warrior for the middle class.”
After showing the American public just how out of touch and ugly their motivations, values and goals are, we, the public have not connected to their campaigns. Mitt Romney said, “I don’t care about the very poor,” and Rick, there’s no taking that back. Must I “go to the video tape? Newt, has championed and employed the residuum of racial hatred of days gone by in the South. Rick Santorum, unlike our great President, John F. Kennedy, has not said that as a catholic president, he would not be influenced or guided by the Catholic church. Some republican voters wish there were more time for others to throw their hat in the ring. So, what have the GOP decided to do? They now are concerned about the middle-class and the poor. Their words are hollow. There is no passion. They have chosen the wrong path, because, “we have seen them without their clothes off!”
The Affordable Care Act has been law of the land for three years now — President Obama signed the legislation on March 23, 2010 — but it remains a source of controversy and mystery for many Americans. Meanwhile, some of the most significant parts of the law have yet to take effect.
Three years after the enactment of Obamacare, here’s a look at some key figures that shed light on the status of the law’s implementation, its impact on the nation and public opinion. FULL ARTICLE
Last week, Obama told ABC’s George Stephanopolous that “we don’t have an immediate crisis in terms of debt,” and, “in fact, for the next 10 years, it’s gonna be in a sustainable place.” The president’s remarks provoked an outcry from those who thought a blasé treatment of the country’s deficit would harm the chances of a grand bargain.
A major Republican contention is that growing debts pose a threat to economic growth. In exchange for modest reform on entitlements–the key drivers of the debt–Republicans would concede (in theory) on what Democrats want: new revenues. But if Obama doesn’t see danger in the deficit, the thinking went, what’s either party’s incentive to make a deal?
Now Boehner and Ryan are conceding that point as well, that there is no immediate debt crisis–but with a qualifier: a crisis is on the way.
“We do not have a debt crisis right now,” Ryan toldCBS’s Face The Nation Sunday. “But we see it coming. We know it’s irrefutably happening. And the point we’re trying to make with our budget is, let’s get ahead of this problem.”
Lincoln, Roosevelt and King
