NObama

[BALZ]

Let me be clear: Obama's condescending phrase
By MAUREEN CALLAHAN
Last Updated: 12:18 PM, July 17, 2010
Posted: 12:17 PM, July 17, 2010

Among his favorite phrases -- “make no mistake,” “whole host,” “change isn’t easy” -- one is President Obama’s obvious favorite: “Let me be clear.” He uses it -- deliberately and extemporaneously -- when making what he obviously feels is his main point.

So too, annoyingly, does much of his administration. Senior adviser David Axelrod employs it -- or the variation “let’s be clear” -- constantly. So does Vice President Joe Biden, press secretary Robert Gibbs, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. During an interview on NPR last Wednesday, HUD secretary Shaun Donovan used the phrase at least eight times in 20 minutes.

The aggregate effect? Nothing so much as condescension: The subtext of this phrase, used over and over and over, is, “You, the masses, are quite likely misunderstanding everything I’ve heretofore been plainly discussing in our native tongue. Allow me to further simplify it for you.”

It’s equal parts amusing and frustrating to watch seasoned journalists on the Sunday shows or in the press room be on the receiving end of this insulting verbal tic and not once snap back. Making things clear, after all, is the essence of journalism.

All presidents have their verbal tics -- Bill Clinton had a version of “make no mistake,” which was similarly interpreted as intellectual hauteur. What’s unusual about Obama’s tic is its viral spread throughout the White House, and its unchallenged use by the very people meant to be challenged.

So, let us be clear: We’re over it.

[Rusty]

14 Weeks from Republican Governors Association on Vimeo.

[BALZ]

Squeeze back...

[Bomber]

If George W. Bush had been

the first President to need a
TelePrompter installed to be
able to get through a press
conference, would you have
laughed and said this is more
proof of how inept he is on
his own and is really controlled
by smarter men behind
the scenes?

If George W. Bush had spent
hundreds of thousands of
dollars to take Laura Bush to
a play in NYC,
would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had reduced
your retirement plan's holdings
of GM stock by 90% and given
the unions a majority stake
in GM, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had made a
joke at the expense of the
Special Olympics, would you
have approved?

If George W. Bush had given
Gordon Brown a set of
inexpensive and incorrectly
formatted DVDs, when
Gordon Brown had given him
a thoughtful and historically
significant gift,
would you have approved?


If George W. Bush had given

the Queen of England an
iPod containing videos of
his speeches, would you have
thought this embarrassingly
narcissistic and tacky?

If George W. Bush had bowed
to the King of Saudi Arabia,
would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had visited
Austria and made reference to
the nonexistent "Austrian
language," would you have
brushed it off as a minor slip?

If George W. Bush had filled
his cabinet and circle of
advisers with people who
cannot seem to keep
current in their income taxes,
would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had stated
that there were 57 states in
the United States, would
you have said that he is clueless.



If George W. Bush would have

flown all the way to Denmark
to make a five minute speech
about how the Olympics would
benefit him walking out his
front door in Texas, would
you have thought he was a
self important, conceited,
egotistical jerk.

If George W. Bush had been

so Spanish illiterate as to
refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in
front of the Mexican
ambassador when it was the
5th of May (Cinco de Mayo),
and continued to flub it
when he tried again,
would you have winced
in embarrassment?

If George W. Bush had
misspelled the word "advice"
would you have hammered
him for it for years like
Dan Quayle and potatoes as
proof of what a dunce he is?

If George W. Bush had
burned 9,000 gallons of jet
fuel to go plant a single tree
on Earth Day, would you have
concluded he's a hypocrite?

If George W. Bush's
administration had okayed
Air Force One flying low
over millions of people
followed by a jet fighter in
downtown Manhattan causing
widespread panic, would you
have wondered whether they
actually get what happened
on 9-11?

If George W. Bush had failed
to send relief aid to
flood victims throughout the
Midwest with more people
killed or made homeless than
in New Orleans, would you
want it made into a major
ongoing political issue with
claims of racism
and incompetence?

If George W. Bush had created
the position of 32 Czars who
report directly to him,
bypassing the House and
Senate on much of what
is happening in America,
would you have approved.

If George W. Bush had
ordered the firing of the
CEO of a major corporation,
even though he had no
constitutional authority to
do so, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had
pronounced corpsmen as
CORPSmen, would you
have held him up to redicule?

If George W. Bush had
proposed to double the national
debt, which had taken more
than two centuries to
accumulate, in one year,
would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had then
proposed to double the debt
again within 10 years,
would you have approved?

So, tell me again, what is it
about Obama that makes him
so brilliant and impressive?
Can't think of anything?
Don't worry. He's done all
this in 15 months -- so you'll
have two years and nine months
to come up with an answer.

[BALZ]

Illegal Immigrants Bear 8% of Children Born in the U.S.

As discussion over whether to end birthright citizenship intensifies, a new study of Census Bureau data reveals that 8 percent of children born in the United States in 2008 were parented by illegal immigrants.

The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of polling organization Pew Research Center, finds that, of the 4.3 million babies born in 2008, roughly 340,000 were born to undocumented aliens. This is double the percentage of illegal immigrants in the U.S., owing in part to the fact that the illegal immigrant population is largely comprised of men and women at birthing age.

In addition, high birthrates among undocumented aliens give that population a similar share of children in the U.S. The study finds that children born to illegal immigrants account for 7 percent of the total population of people under the age of 18, or 5.1 million children. Four million, or 79 percent, of those children were born in the United States, making them U.S. citizens.

This analysis comes amid calls from some GOP members to consider ending birthright citizenship, the right enshrined in the 14th Amendment, that persons born in the United States are citizens of the country and the state in which they reside. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said on NBC's "Meet The Press" this week that terminating the practice is an idea "worth considering."

Ending or revising the guarantee of birthright citizenship, Boehner said, may eliminate a major motivation for many immigrants to cross the border unlawfully. "There is a problem. To provide an incentive for illegal immigrants to come here so that their children can be U.S. citizens does, in fact, draw more people to our country," Boehner said. "I do think that it's time for us to secure our borders and enforce the law and allow this conversation about the 14th Amendment to continue."

Critics of the idea claim that the guarantee their children will be U.S. citizens is not great enough of an incentive for parents to immigrate illegally, since they would have to wait 21 years for their children to be old enough to sponsor their parents for citizenship. Additionally, such a change would require a Constitutional amendment, which two-thirds of Congress would have to approve before state legislatures consider the measure, and three-quarters of those must agree to the provision for it to become part of the Constitution. A bill that calls for such a change-the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009-has been stalled in the House since April 2009.

Meanwhile, nearly half of respondents in a new poll support a Constitutional amendment ending automatic birthright citizenship. In a CNN/Opinion Research poll released today, 49% of respondents said they would favor a Constitutional amendment to limit a guarantee of citizenship to children whose parents are citizens.

The Pew study analyzed data from a March 2009 Current Population Survey, conducted by the Census Bureau. View the complete report here.

[Rusty]

[Rusty]

Received this in an email today from Pags...

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This is just the beginning!!!


I checked this out on Truth or Fiction and it is true. The bill is HR-4646 introduced by US Rep Peter deFazio D-Oregon and US Senator Tom Harkin D-Iowa. It is now in committee and will probably not be brought out until after the Nov. elections.Suggest that you pass this along and also to your state senator and representative and US Congressman and Senators.

One percent transaction tax is proposed
President Obama's finance team is recommending a transaction tax. His plan is to sneak it in after the November election to keep it under the radar. This is a 1% tax on all transactions at any financial institution i. e. Banks, Credit Unions, etc.. Any deposit you make, or move around within your account, i. e. transfer to, will have a 1% tax charged. If your pay check or your social Security or whatever is direct deposit, 1% tax charged. If you hand carry a check in to deposit, 1% tax charged, If you take cash in to deposit, 1% tax charged.This is from the man who promised that if you make under $250,000 per year, you will not see one penny of new tax. Keep your eyes and ears open, you will be amazed at what you learn.
Some will say aw it's just 1%... remember once the tax is there they can raise it at will.
http://www.standard.net/node/44797

[Harbinger[TG]]

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-4646