First 100 days
k2o4, Apr 28 2009
Nice article from Arianna Huffington, an ex Republican who overall supports Obama but doesn't hold back when she sees him fucking up. I overall agree with her analysis here. The only thing I'm not sure about is the bank bailout situation, mainly because I don't know enough about the details of what's going on and I don't have a strong understanding of economics. I don't like forming opinions on things where I'm not informed. I think she's right that Obama failed on staffing the treasury department, but Obama's speech on his economic plan made sense to me. But while his plan to unfreeze credit and avoid extreme pain by giving money to the banks makes sense, I don't know how realistic it is. I'm very torn between letting the bad businesses / banks fail and trying to find a way to save them but change them. So basically I'm not happy with what he's done in regards to the bank bailouts, and but I'm not angry about it either. Kind of in a middle ground.
Anyway, here's her article. If you don't want to read it all then just skip to the bottom where she makes her points about the good and the bad.
| |
Has it been only 100 days since Barack Obama took the oath of office? Actually, it's only been 98, but sometimes 100 days feels like more than 100 days. This is one of those times. Obama's first 100 days have been among the most eventful in history.
So how's it going?
According to the American people, pretty damn good. Not only does 69 percent of the public approve of the job Obama is doing, but last week, for the first time since January 2004, more Americans felt the country is headed in the right direction than in the wrong direction (48 percent to 44 percent). Remarkably, this "right direction" number has been steadily rising even as the economy has been steadily falling.
In his Grant Park acceptance speech on election night, the newly elected president warned that "the road ahead will be long," and "our climb will be steep." But his poll numbers are a vindication of the idea that, with the right leadership, Americans are mature enough to heed those words and not expect immediate results.
So any list of the most impressive achievements of Obama's first 100 days should start with the intangible qualities of transformational leadership --- from the president's personal equanimity (which Robert Reich described as "the serene center of the cyclone -- exuding calm when most Americans are petrified") to his masterful use of the bully pulpit.
In just his first 100 days, Obama has had almost as many prime time press conferences as George Bush did in his entire first term. And it's not just press conferences. Obama's willingness to speak directly to the American people -- in town halls around the country, on YouTube, on Leno, on ESPN, etc -- and to engage with them by answering questions online and reading ten letters a day from the public, is a powerful reminder that the White House isn't a privatized bubble or underground bunker off limits to the people.
He's also offered tone setters that are a useful reminder that the president is more than just the country's chief executive -- that he and the First Lady are also potentially the country's chief teachers. They've already taught the country a lot of lessons -- about what we eat and how we eat by planting an organic vegetable garden at the White House, and about commitment to family through their relationship with their daughters and by having the First Granny move into the White House to help Sasha and Malia settle into their new lives.
Now to the more tangible aspects of his presidency. Let's start with the pluses:
* The stimulus package. It wasn't big or bold enough, and it suffered from the malodorous scent of Eau de Congressional Business as Usual, but the speed and focus with which it was passed showed how serious Obama was about pulling America out of its economic free-fall. And how competent his team was at hitting the ground running. Plus, it taught the new president an important lesson about the limits of bipartisanship for the sake of bipartisanship.
* Passing and signing the national service bill. Not so long ago, a call for sacrifice meant asking people to go shopping or take a trip to Disney World. Creating a system in which more people can feel as if they're true stakeholders in their communities will not only produce physical benefits -- it will help repair America's moral infrastructure as well. And their answering of the call will be additional proof that Americans have been waiting for a leader to ask more of them.
* Reversing course on stem cells. It was a clear statement about the return of the reality-based world. As Obama put it when he signed the order "It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda, and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology."
* A progressive budget. Healthcare, provisions to tackle rising economic inequality, a more rational defense budget, tax cuts for all but the very wealthy -- as David Leonhardt of the New York Times wrote, Obama's budget is "nothing less than an attempt to end a three-decade era of economic policy dominated by the ideas of Ronald Reagan and his supporters."
* Foreign Relations. From granting his first presidential interview to Al-Arabiya TV to loosening the embargo on Cuba to hanging an open sign on the State Department, Obama has signaled that the bellicose days of antagonism as our default foreign policy position are over. And his decision to close Guantanamo also sent the right message to the world.
* The rescue of Captain Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama. Blowing away fears of a sea-faring Black Hawk Down, Obama's restrained behind-the-scenes handling of the volatile hostage situation demonstrated that the new commander-in-chief is not afraid to pull the trigger when an American life is on the line. Bonus points for causing the Limbaugh-Hannity worldview about Democrats being nothing but bleeding hearts to shift on its axis.
A solid run of pluses. Now for the minuses:
* The bank bailout. In his appointments at almost every agency, Obama has demonstrated a desire to receive a wide range of opinion. But the exception is a doozy: at Treasury, the range of opinion goes all the way from Goldman to Sachs. Several hundred billion dollars later, the banks still aren't lending, the zombies are still on their feet, preferred shareholders are still being catered to, the knowledge of where our money has gone is spotty at best, and oversight and transparency remain unfulfilled promises. The Obama White House's vision for the rescue remains startlingly myopic. The result is the continued funneling of hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to the very people who got us into the mess we are in -- with very little accountability demanded in return. The biggest black mark on Obama's first 100 days is his head-scratching reliance on the bank-centric beliefs of Larry Summers and Tim Geithner.
* Afghanistan. Obama has committed 21,000 more troops to Afghanistan but as many, including Obama himself, have noted, there is no exclusively military solution to Afghanistan. What's more, unlike with Guantanamo, Obama has adopted Bush's policies regarding the enemy prisoners being held at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan.
* Torture accountability. Obama has said he wants to look forward and not back, and it's reasonable for him to not want his agenda sidetracked by torture commissions and investigations. But the way we respond to the revelations about the Bush administration's use of torture isn't merely a question of policy; it a question of morality. The minute the president starts framing the issue as a matter of right vs wrong, his choices will be clear. Because if there is one thing Obama cannot afford to abandon it's the moral high ground. And he can trust the American public to walk and chew gum at the same time -- to be able to support a national health care plan, a new energy plan, the reforming of our education system, and at the same time support accountability for those who undercut our fundamental values.
* Sensible gun control. Despite a recent run of deadly gun rampages and an appeal from the president of Mexico, whose country is paying a heavy price for bought-in-America guns, Obama has chosen the path of political expediency and turned his back on his campaign promise to reinstate a ban on assault weapons.
For the last eight years, we suffered from the soft bigotry of low presidential expectations. Taken as a whole, Obama's first 100 days have been an inspiring change from a White House that expected as little from us as it did from itself.
The road ahead is indeed going to be long and steep. But at least we're on the right road. |
SuperFlu IRL?
k2o4, Apr 26 2009
For those of you who have read The Stand by Steven King, you know what I'm talking about. Seems like we have a potential superflu on the loose - shit. This shit scares me a million times more than terrorists or natural disasters.
| | No wonder health officials are so concerned about the new strain of swine flu that has infected Americans in four states, killed at least 80 people in Mexico, and has already traveled to the other side of the world in New Zealand. Understandably, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns of a "public health emergency."
"This virus has, clearly, a pandemic potential," says Margaret Chan, director general of WHO. Why? The new strain spreads quickly and efficiently from human to human. It's "a completely novel virus," says the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). This latest variant is a brand new mixture of human virus, bird virus, and pig viruses from all over the world. Experts say it's particularly worrisome because people are getting sick without any encounters with pigs. Even worse, young, healthy people (ages 20-40) are dying at a striking rate, a telltale sign of the worst flu epidemics. |
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-she...wine-flu-survival-three_b_191459.html
I'm betting things will be contained and all that shit, but it's still scary when you think about the potential of what could happen.
A while back someone posted a thread with a quiz to determine whether you would survive a zombie apocalypse. I failed horribly, mostly cause I lost all my weapons in moving from place to place over the last few years, but also cause I didn't have a bunch of food stored up and so on. Now I feel like maybe I should go stock up properly in case we have to go through a real life version of The Stand. At least I live like 20 minutes from Boulder, CO, so it will be an easy journey!
Drink once a week?
k2o4, Apr 25 2009
Curious, what do you guys think - what is a good range for drinking? I mean, what crosses the line as too much and what is still considered casual? And I'm assuming that drinking means anytime you have 1 drink or take 1 hit of weed, but not getting bombed. Personally I feel like getting totally wasted is like a 1 time a month deal. But anything from 1 drink to enough to be tipsy is what I'm after.
Poll: What is a reasonable drinking/smoking range?
(Vote): Once a month
(Vote): Twice a month
(Vote): Thrice a month
(Vote): Once a week
(Vote): Twice a week
(Vote): Fri/Sat every weekend + 1 weekday
(Vote): Other
Downloading youtube videos?
k2o4, Apr 23 2009
Anybody know of a safe / easy way to do this? seem to be a lot of sites that come up in google but they're filled with ads and am not sure which ones can be trusted.
10 Letters a Day
k2o4, Apr 20 2009
I liked this article about the guy who chooses 10 letters/emails a day from the public for Obama to personally read in his daily briefing packet. I wonder if this is a new thing or if all presidents do this? Anyone know?
| | WASHINGTON — The task of keeping a president in touch with his public is daunting, as Mike Kelleher well knows.
Tens of thousands of letters, e-mail messages and faxes arrive at the White House every day. A few hundred are culled and end up each weekday afternoon on a round wooden table in the officeof Mr. Kelleher, the director of the White House Office of Correspondence.
He chooses 10 letters, which are slipped into a purple folder and put in the daily briefing book that is delivered to President Obama at the White House residence. Designed to offer a sampling of what Americans are thinking, the letters are read by the president, and he sometimes answers them by hand, in black ink on azure paper.
“We pick messages that are compelling, things people say that, when you read it, you get a chill,” said Mr. Kelleher, 47. “I send him letters that are uncomfortable messages.” |
Full story here.
Cloning Scarlett Johansen?
k2o4, Apr 19 2009
Just got this in my email:
| | From: Serge G.
Date: Sun, Apr 19, 2009 at 8:53 AM
Subject: Financial Post Story
To: penpa@peacejam.org
IT IS NOT A SPAM, but if you received that message second and plus time JUST CLICK ?DELETE? button and have a nice day. Don't feel bad, please understand original Scarlett's family very desperate to shut down that humiliating antichristian "actress" clones line career development. Hello dear Ladies and Gentlemen! I would like inform you that Scarlett Johansson ?actress? actually is a clone from original person Scarlett Galabekian last name, who has nothing with acting career, surname Galabekian, because of adoption happened in 1992. Clones was created illegally by using stolen biological material. Original person is very nice (not d**n sexy),most important - CHRISTIAN young lady! I'll tell you more,those clones (it's not only one) made in GERMANY - world leader manufacturer of humans clones, it is in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Mr. Helmut Kohl home town. You can not even imaging the scale of the cloning activity. But warning! Helmut Kohl clone staff strictly controlling all their clones (at least they trying) spreading around the world, they are very accurate with that, some of them are still NAZI type disciplined and mind controlled clones, so be careful get close with clones you will be controlled as well. Original person is not happy with those movies, images, video, rumors and etc. spreading on media in that way it would be really nice if we all will try slow down that ''actress'' career development, original Scarlett will really appreciated that. Please remember that original Scarlett Galabekian family did not authorize any activity with stolen biological materials, no matter what form it was created in it was and it is stolen. It all need to be delivered to authorize personals control in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Original Scarlett never was engaged, by the way! Her close friend Serge G. P.S. CONTROLLING ACTIVITY OF ANY CLONES IS US MILITARY OPERATION. Check also here: http://www.flickfilosopher.com/blog/2008/10/warning_stolen_biological_mate.html H.R. 534, the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2003, was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives on February 5, 2003. After discussion, it was passed on February 27 by a vote of 241-155. It now moves on to the Senate for consideration. This bill makes it unlawful for any person or entity to perform or participate in human cloning, or to ship or receive embryos produced by human cloning. The penalties are imprisonment of up to 10 years and fines of $1 million or more. These now join other nations as diverse as Norway, Australia, and many other countries, which had already added cloning for any purpose to their criminal code. And in Germany where it carries a penalty of five years imprisonment they know a thing or two about unethical science.
|
And my first thought is, duh, I've known about these clones ever since I first learned about this guy:
I'm pretty sure he was made in Germany too.
Advertising Fail
k2o4, Apr 18 2009
Several months back they started advertising for a new movie called "The Spirit" which was another graphic novel thing in the vein of Sin City and 300. The ads fucking blew. Just some guy running on super cartoony rooftops talking about his city bleeding or screaming or some shit. The movie looked stupid as hell and I had no desire to go see it. I don't know for sure, but I think it bombed at the theaters. I never heard a single person talk about seeing it and I don't remember it being in the theaters for very long.
But now they're doing new advertisements for the DVD release and they are pretty sweet. You've got some good catchylines, nice visuals, sexy shots of sexy girls like eva mendes, and cool music. It actually looks like it could be an entertaining movie. Probably won't be a sin city but overall it has potential to be a fun action flick. So I've put it on my netflix list.
I can't get over how big of a failure their original advertising campaign was. If they'd done the commercials they have now then I'm betting that movie would have done at least decently. I bet whoever advised that original advertising campaign got fired and shunned, and he deserves it. That decision basically set the movie up to fail.
This gets me thinking to how important advertising is. There are so many bad movies that do well cause they have the power of big money behind them pushing commercials and product tie ins all over the place, and there's good movies who either have stupid advertising like "The Spirit" or can't afford to advertise and then do mediocre or fail. Yeah, it's kind of a "duh" moment so everyone with a smartass reply can save it, but it's also a kind of "whoa" moment to realize that you are going to miss so many great things cause they weren't properly advertised. It's all about marketing.
Daily Show Teabaggin
k2o4, Apr 18 2009
Good for a few LOLZ and ROFLZ
Caught up on Heroes
k2o4, Apr 17 2009
So like most people I've talked to on this forum, I loved season 1 of heroes. Totally awesome. Season 2 was ok, but not great. It was starting to get a bit annoying with the quickly expanding cast and lack of consistency in the characters actions - one episode they were good, the next they were evil. Then season 3 premiered and I made sure to watch but after 3 episodes I gave up because things had just gotten ridiculous.
That's the point I was at for the last few months. Earlier this week I got really bored so I decided to suffer through some more heroes episodes and see if it got any better. At first it really didn't and was still bad, but at least I could watch back to back episodes instead of waiting a week so the few strands of interesting story could be pursued immediately. They eventually straightened sylar out and got him back to evil, got rid of peters dad who was way too damn powerful, and gave peter some power back, and with that my interest in the show started rebuilding.
I went online to read up on the show a bit cause I was having trouble keeping all the characters straight (they added way too many during season 2-3). I found some info about how the ratings had crashed in season 3 and they'd fired some writers and brought in a guy who'd worked on season 1, and that starting with episode 20 he would be writing again and trying to refocus on a character driven show rather than a "how many twists and new abilities can we pack into 1 episode?" driven one. So I was pretty excited to see whether the new writer would make a difference, and so far it seems like he has. Episodes 20-23 have definitely been the best of this season and it's starting to feel like heroes of season 1 again.
Sadly I am now all caught up so I'm back to waiting week to week. Odam. Guess that means it's time to watch season 4 of rescue me which I missed.
Tea Party FAIL (pics)
k2o4, Apr 16 2009
This is too funny:
| | As many of you know, the centerpiece of yesterday's Teabag LARPing Performance Art Fair was to be the unveiling of one million teabags, which were to symbolize one million symbolic teabags, fighting socialism. These teabags could not be dumped in the muddy waters of the Potomac, to the delight of kayakers, because that's illegal. So the teabaggers were going to take their act to Lafayette Park, and dump all of them on a tarp -- by which we mean an actual tarp, not a Troubled Asset Relief Program. That would have been far too clever a joke for these people.
But! The State got up to straight up TRAMPLING of the RIGHTS, and put the kibosh on the teabag display. Which left the bags back in the inside of a truck, borne back ceaselessly into the past or something.
And so, that left people with one unresolved question: What happened to the teabags? Did they end up on a cross country jaunt? Did they get sent to the Dharma Initiative? Did anyone come to the realization: "Hey! I bet we could make tea with these things?" As it happens, the press stayed on the case.
From today's Washington Post:
Finally, the truck's driver, who had been wandering around town for hours after an overnight drive from Georgia, found a place to unload the cargo: 12 floors up in a downtown advocacy group.
That's right. One million teabags finally found a home in a conference room at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, JUST AS NOSTRADAMUS SAID THEY WOULD. The Post got a picture of the greatest political demonstration to ever take place in a downtown conference room.
Gaze on that image, and tell me if your patriotic heart doesn't swell with, "Seriously, guys, you need to move these things by three so we can go over the new HR policies." |
Glenn Beck also got really patriotic and started supporting the Texas secessionists... wait, seceding from the USA isn't patriotic!
Republicans, why do you hate America? If you don't like it then you can leave, just use the tax cut Obama gave ya and buy a plane ticket. And if you make over 250k and didn't get a tax cut, then you obviously have enough money to buy a ticket outta here, and if you leave and renounce your citizenship then you won't have to pay!
(For those who missed it, the last paragraph was supposed to be ironic).
I must close with a sign showing the strong level of intellect at these tea parties:
And who does this look like?:
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