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Obameter: Keeping Track of Our New President's Promises
The folks at the St. Petersburg Times' PolitiFact.com have created the "Obameter" -- a handy list of President-elect (one more day) Barack Obama's 510 campaign promises. PolitiFact.com will
... rate their status as No Action, In the Works or Stalled. Once we find action is completed, we rate them Promise Kept, Compromise or Promise Broken.
Promises include:
1: Increase the capital gains and dividends taxes for higher-income taxpayers
No. 2: Eliminate all oil and gas tax loopholes
No. 8: Include environmental and labor standards in trade agreements
No. 43: Sign the Employee Free Choice Act, making it easier for workers to unionize
No. 59: Invest in electronic health information systems
No. 80: Mandate insurance coverage of autism treatment
No. 126: Begin removing combat brigades from Iraq
No. 177: Close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center
No. 234: Allow five days of public comment before signing bills
No. 280: Increase funding for progams that conserve lands and habitat for select species such as the Osceola turkey
No. 288: Provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
No. 300: Reform mandatory minimum sentences
No. 502: Get his daughters a puppy
PolitiFact notes that promise No. 502 is still "in the works."
Go here for the whole list.
TallDave|1.19.09 @ 12:10PM|#
What about his promise to make the oceans recede? (actually, we might be seeing progress on that front)
sage|1.19.09 @ 12:14PM|#
I thought #1 was a magical flying pony for everyone. Even undocumented immigrants.
TallDave|1.19.09 @ 12:16PM|#
Pantsfan,
Sadly, that's pretty much what the daughter would have been taught
at school, too.
Warty|1.19.09 @ 12:21PM|#
No. 503: To teach the nation a valuable lesson about
sharing.
No. 504: To eat that 64 oz. steak in under an hour so the taxpayers
don't have to pay.
||1.19.09 @ 12:22PM|#
I wonder how many Obamabots have stopped paying their mortgage thinking Dear Leader has taken care of that now.
|1.19.09 @ 12:25PM|#
No. 504: To eat that 64 oz. steak in under an hour so the
taxpayers don't have to pay.
If that sucker is any more done than "bloody" he'll never get it
down. Just throw it on the grill for 30 seconds, waiter, and then
bring it to me.
|1.19.09 @ 12:31PM|#
No. 59: Invest in electronic health information
systems.
Correction. This should read "Subsidize the electronic health
information systems of private health care providers."
No. 126: Begin removing combat brigades from Iraq.
Unless I'm mistaken, the drawdown has already begun. So they can
check this one off tomorrow.
Should Obama get credit for this in any event, since the SOFA
calling for US withdrawal was signed and approved last year?
No. 177: Close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center.
Gaping Loophole Alert: Gitmo can be closed without any detainees
having been tried, sentenced, released, etc.
For this to be meaningful, rather than purely symbolic, shouldn't
it read "Provide for a final disposition consistent with due
process and human rights of all Gitmo detainees"?
502. Staffordshire terrier?
That would be a truly awesome choice. A well-raised Staffie is
about the most placid dog in the world, and would do great in the
White House.
Plus, the sight of a 100 lb Staffie lolling in the Oval Office,
grinning at visiting dignitaries, or striding out to the chopper
would be truly wonderful. I'd probably vote for the man if he had
the stones to do this.
|1.19.09 @ 12:37PM|#
I wonder how many Obamabots have stopped paying their
mortgage thinking Dear Leader has taken care of that
now.
I wonder why you keep writing this, without being able to find a
single example of someone who's done so.
Warty|1.19.09 @ 12:38PM|#
Holy shit, it's actually 72 ounces. I should
have done my research.
America, fuck yeah.
||1.19.09 @ 12:38PM|#
"I wonder why you keep writing this, without being able to find
a single example of someone who's done so."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P36x8rTb3jI
robc|1.19.09 @ 12:40PM|#
Does anyone even know Obama's daughters' names?
How are we supposed to make fun of them like we did with Amy,
Barbara, Jenna, and Chelsea?
|1.19.09 @ 12:41PM|#
"I won't have to worry about..." = "Obama is going to pay
for..."
Mmmmmmm-kay.
I'm now going to return to my 72 hour-long continuous performance
of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah."
Yes, it's true!
It's actual!
robc|1.19.09 @ 12:42PM|#
Anyone seen that Man vs Food tv show?
The 5 lb burger (10 .5 lb patties, 10 slices of cheese and 20
strips of bacon) plus 5 lbs of fries challenge was, um,
interesting.
|1.19.09 @ 12:47PM|#
Well-raised is the obvious distinction. If Obama is the miracle worker he promises to be, I think Sasha and Malia should each take on at least one of Michael Vick's Staffies.
Paul L.|1.19.09 @ 12:54PM|#
I don't trust PolitiFact.com to not go the
extra mile to excuse as many promises they can.
They cite this where Obama repeats his opponents arguments and then
pivots as supporting Gun rights.
I think it's important for us to recognize that we've got a
tradition of handgun ownership and gun ownership generally. And a
lot of people - law-abiding citizens use it for hunting, for
sportsmanship, and for protecting their families. We
also have a violence on the streets that is the result of illegal
handgun usage…We can have reasonable, thoughtful gun control
measures "that I think respect the Second Amendment
and people's traditions.
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 1:02PM|#
Paul L.
Are you saying that this statement is logically impossible?
Serious question.
Do you see it as impossible because you believe that the 2nd
provides for the right to carry any and all arms making the
category "illegal handguns" impossible?
Or, do you see any regulation/registration requirement as
disrespectful of the 2nd and people's traditions?
FWIW, I think this is mostly a state issue and I believe that Obama
will stay away from it, for the most part. He just won't take
federal action to limit state level regulations.
imho
|1.19.09 @ 1:02PM|#
If Obama is the miracle worker he promises to be, I think
Sasha and Malia should each take on at least one of Michael Vick's
Staffies.
I just saw one of those very dogs on Animal Planet this weekend.
Fully rehabbed, lolling and grinning as only a pit bull* can. The
host, a vet, mentioned that pits make excellent therapy dogs, which
I can confirm.
*For the uninitiated, the American Staffordshire Terrier is a
sub-class of pit bulls. The AKC won't recognize pits, so they
created the Staffie "breed." They do tend to run a little bigger
than many pits, but other than that, there's no difference.
|1.19.09 @ 1:03PM|#
Amid all the celebrations and promises of new hope and a new
America, there is only one thing that we can actually expect from
this administration:
A cluster-fuck of entitlements and a whole new generation
of pierced, lazy fucks who think they deserve everything at
everyone else's expense.
The fact that people can't see this is absolutely fucking amazing
to me.
Most people are absolutely mesmerized by this fucking loon, just
because he's well-spoken and black.
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 1:05PM|#
Jamie,
How does body piercing relate to sense of entitlement and
laziness?
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 1:08PM|#
Jamie,
Is the whole "well spoken and black" thing your way of saying you
think Obama is using jungle voodoo to control people?
robc|1.19.09 @ 1:12PM|#
Does Biden have to resign his Senate seat before noon tomorrow or is it just taken away when he oaths up?
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 1:13PM|#
Regarding traditions and voodoo.
Obama's family does not come from the region in Africa where voodoo
comes from...Vodoun would be a product of Dahomey culture (now
called Benin) rather than Kenyan culture.
|1.19.09 @ 1:14PM|#
How does body piercing relate to sense of entitlement and
laziness?
It's one of the great mysteries of our time.
Is the whole "well spoken and black" thing your way of saying
you think Obama is using jungle voodoo to control
people?
No. Though I suspect he might install a chicken coop in the West
Wing to have a steady supply of bones.
BDB|1.19.09 @ 1:15PM|#
"robc | January 19, 2009, 1:12pm | #
Does Biden have to resign his Senate seat before noon tomorrow or
is it just taken away when he oaths up?"
He resigned on the 15th.
</a>|1.19.09 @ 1:17PM|#
jungle voodoo?
ZOMBIES!!!
*hair straightens and stands on end, eyes get big, flash of white
teeth*
"Feets, Do yo' stuff!"
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 1:20PM|#
Jamies,
So then why did you pair "well spoken" AND "black?"
Is there something magical about words when they come out of a
black man's mouth that allows them to become mesmerizing?
Gilbert Martin|1.19.09 @ 1:22PM|#
I know one promise that he broke even before he was elected: the
promise to stick to public campaign financing.
Obama flat out lied about that.
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 1:24PM|#
Gilbert,
Did he 1)lie, or 2) change his mind based on new
circumstances.
If 1, then that bodes poorly for his adminstration if 2, then, it
seems, he has demonstrated one of the qualities that an effective
manager needs.
Gilbert Martin|1.19.09 @ 1:27PM|#
"A cluster-fuck of entitlements and a whole new generation of
pierced, lazy fucks who think they deserve everything at everyone
else's expense"
Yeah - all the while yapping a bunch of nonsense about everybody's
going to have to "step up" and "take responsibility" , etc.
etc.
A concept that apparantly doesn't include any of his natural
constituency of the parasite class of actually pulling their own
weight and taking care of themselves.
In Obamaspeak, such talk only means steal more money from the
people who actually earned it to hand it out to people who didn't
to buy their political support.
|1.19.09 @ 1:33PM|#
RC, that's great. Did the show give any info about any of the
other dogs? When the Vick case first broke there were all sorts of
people saying the dogs would be put down, and then I know PETA and
some sane groups recommended rehab.
Do Staffies eat sea kittens?
symbiosis|1.19.09 @ 1:36PM|#
the parasite class
We're all in this together, each playing our role in the great
organism of life.
Phagocytosis|1.19.09 @ 1:41PM|#
the parasite class
http://courses.washington.edu/conj/bloodcells/phagocytosis.htm
Seer|1.19.09 @ 1:48PM|#
Mejican, that was a change in circumstance, but it was a "I can make a lot more ****ing money" change, and since liberals have a hard-on for public financing, he picked money over principle.
|1.19.09 @ 1:53PM|#
No. 43 forgot to include ...by making it easier for union leaders to harass, threaten, and intimidate employees who don't want to unionize.
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 1:53PM|#
Seer,
How enlightening.
Thanks.
For the record, what Obama promised:
"Senator John McCain has already pledged to accept this
fundraising pledge. If I am the Democratic nominee, I will
aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to
preserve a publicly financed general election."
I believe there were aggressive negotiations on the topic that came
to naught.
nit picked
|1.19.09 @ 1:58PM|#
Jamie Kelly,
I call bullshit. I'm 24, and all I hear from people is how my
generation is the worst one who thinks they are entitled to
everything and are so selfish and blah blah blah. You know what I
can promise you is going to come out of this administration?
A cluster-fuck of entitlements and a whole same old
generation of fat, lazy fucks who think they deserve everything at
everyone else's expense.
|1.19.09 @ 2:09PM|#
Is there something magical about words when they come out of
a black man's mouth that allows them to become
mesmerizing?
Oh, come on, NM. The dude can give a hell of a speech. It's not
like Jamie is Bill O'Reilly, surprised that Barack Obama doesn't
talk like Mushmouth and say "Give me some motherfuckin iced tea,
ho."
Gilbert Martin|1.19.09 @ 2:11PM|#
"Fleas and leeches and tape worms unite!"
They already have.
They call themselves liberal Democrats.
|1.19.09 @ 2:15PM|#
Is there something magical about words when they come out of
a black man's mouth that allows them to become
mesmerizing?
Ask your friendly neighborhood guilty white liberal.
|1.19.09 @ 2:17PM|#
Jacob,
I'm from a youngish generation -- Gen X -- and I couldn't agree
more. I was just pickin' on you youngins for a change.
cunnivore|1.19.09 @ 2:18PM|#
No. 234: Allow five days of public comment before signing
bills
...unless there's an exception for "emergencies", I see this
promise being broken as soon as the economic sledgehammer to
the head stimulus is passed (if not before).
short, fat bastard|1.19.09 @ 2:18PM|#
Breaking news, President-Elect panders to his constituents. Opposing party stands horrified.
|1.19.09 @ 2:19PM|#
For the record, most overpierced and/or overtattooed people I
know are actually quite active and entrepreneurial.
And Joe, it's "motherfuckin sweet tea, ho." Or, in the
alternative, I would also accept grape pop. I suspect you need to
brush up on your stereotypes.
EJM|1.19.09 @ 2:21PM|#
Jamie,
How does body piercing relate to sense of entitlement and
laziness?
I guess I now know of one book that JK will
never want to read.
|1.19.09 @ 2:22PM|#
ClubMedSux,
No, Bill O'Reilly specifically singled out "iced tea" when
expressing his shock that people in Harlem restaurants order their
meals just like everybody else.
|1.19.09 @ 2:24PM|#
If there's one thing somebody in a small town in Montana (but I
repeat myself) knows, it's liberals.
And if there are two things somebody in a small town in Montana can
speak about with authority, it's liberals and black people.
Some Guy|1.19.09 @ 2:24PM|#
I wonder how many Obamabots have stopped paying their
mortgage thinking Dear Leader has taken care of that
now.
About the same as the number of anti-Obama people who will do so
(and have been for 2 years now.) It's probably a pretty good
bet.
I call bullshit. I'm 24, and all I hear from people is how my
generation is the worst one who thinks they are entitled to
everything and are so selfish and blah blah blah. You know what I
can promise you is going to come out of this
administration?
I'm 28 and I forsee ours becoming the most fucked over generation
in history. We'll be lucky to erase half of the debt the Boomers
have given us by the time the last of us has died.
Boomer|1.19.09 @ 2:27PM|#
I'm 28 and I forsee ours becoming the most fucked over
generation in history.
Bend over baby
|1.19.09 @ 2:29PM|#
Did the show give any info about any of the other
dogs?
All or nearly all where taken in by what must be an extraordinary
animal rescue group, and had been/would be placed in new
homes.
Did he 1)lie, or 2) change his mind based on new
circumstances.
If 1, then that bodes poorly for his adminstration if 2, then, it
seems, he has demonstrated one of the qualities that an effective
manager needs.
True, perhaps, but if the "changed circumstances" are no more than
"doing something different now benefits my ambitions", then count
me out.
If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an
agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly
financed general election.
/sniff, wipes tear/ Really, it makes me proud of the old alma
mater. Obama consistently demonstrates a mastery of the weasel
word, the exception that consumes the rule, the trapdoor, that can
only come from a first-class legal education.
Of course, leading people to believe you will do one thing while
giving yourself an out to do whatever you want isn't really Change
I Can Believe In. More like, Meet the New Boss, etc.
|1.19.09 @ 2:33PM|#
If there's one thing somebody in a small town in Montana
(but I repeat myself) knows, it's liberals.
And if there are two things somebody in a small town in Montana can
speak about with authority, it's liberals and black
people.
Oh, go slide a puppy on your greasy pole, joe, you disingenuous
brown stain.
Missoula, MT, is not exactly a tiny town, you colon lining. It's
120,000 people, and well-known as the liberal center of the Inland
Northwest, you dick turd.
And why do I have to be surrounded by "black people" to understand
"black people"? Are you saying that "black people" are
fundamentally different than white people? Fuckin' racist.
|1.19.09 @ 2:33PM|#
Why is it that the only people I ever hear saying how disappointed Obama's supporters should be are his opponents?
|1.19.09 @ 2:35PM|#
And why do I have to be surrounded by "black people" to
understand "black people"?
It's a cosmopolitan thing. You wouldn't understand.
Are you saying that "black people" are fundamentally different
than white people? Fuckin' racist. Oh, look, Jamie's going to
tell us who THE REAL RACISTS are. Thank goodness.
|1.19.09 @ 2:35PM|#
I would pay good money to hear Barry say "Give me some motherfuckin' iced tea, ho."
|1.19.09 @ 2:38PM|#
joe gets all teary-eyed with guilty white shame to think that a
man his great great grandfather would have owned is now about to
become president.
joe thinks that's just peachy and quaint, because black people are
inferior to white people.
That's what drives joe.
|1.19.09 @ 2:43PM|#
I call bullshit. I'm 24, and all I hear from people is how
my generation is the worst one who thinks they are entitled to
everything and are so selfish and blah blah blah.
Jacob, I think you misunderstood them. They were talking about
boomers.
Your generation is pretty kick-ass, and second only to mine...
BakedPenguin|1.19.09 @ 2:45PM|#
It's not like Jamie is Bill O'Reilly, surprised that Barack
Obama doesn't talk like Mushmouth and say "Give me some
motherfuckin iced tea, ho."
If it was Mushmouth, wouldn't it be "Gi-bah me-bah somb
mubberfubkin i-bised teabah, h-bo?"
|1.19.09 @ 2:52PM|#
Jamie,
Your tears are so yummy and sweet.
Remember, it's only people who are happy to see color barriers
broken who are racists.
If you aren't a racist, people who are made happy by signs of
racial progress drive you to profanity-laden tirades.
Nigel Watt|1.19.09 @ 2:53PM|#
"I won't have to worry about..." = "Obama is going to pay for..."
What the bajesus else do you take that for?
|1.19.09 @ 2:55PM|#
What the bajesus else do you take that for?
A statement of optimism, that her circumstances are going to
improve. I think you'd really have to bend over backwards to see
what you want to see in order to think that the woman in that video
expects Barack Obama to stroke a check for her utility bills.
PC|1.19.09 @ 2:58PM|#
"joe | January 19, 2009, 2:33pm | #
Why is it that the only people I ever hear saying how disappointed
Obama's supporters should be are his opponents?"
Because they fail to see that the Obama supporters are no different
than the Bush supporters, total blinders on when they see their
guy, but amazing clarity when they look at the other guy. That and
both sides pretend to have a shred of principles but we all know
that's a whole lot of bunk too.
I could care less about the Obama supporters lack of principles,
they voted in a shiny object and that is exactly what they got, I'm
a little more worried about all the propaganda thrusting this shiny
object on the masses. I think the only thing that I will end up
missing about Bush is that he was not fawned over by the other
parts of the establishment, media and pop culture. I really hope
this old school "unity" propaganda doesn't work like it used to,
but that is just a hope, and hope as we have and will continue to
learn doesn't amouont to much.
|1.19.09 @ 3:05PM|#
Personally, I love the shot of Sarah Palin vamping above the words "How Obama Got Elected."
|1.19.09 @ 4:20PM|#
Why is it that the only people I ever hear saying how
disappointed Obama's supporters should be are his
opponents?
In that case, he has a whole lot of opponents on the left, who were
banging the drums for him (can I still say that?) before the
election.
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 4:25PM|#
joe,
"There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'M-Fer,
I want more iced tea.' You know, I mean, everybody was -- it was
like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the
sense of people were sitting there, and they were ordering and
having fun. And there wasn't any kind of craziness at
all."
Hadn't seen that.
Wow.
Oh, come on, NM. The dude can give a hell of a
speech.
But, apparently, it isn't the speech that mesmerizes people, it is
the fact that he is "well spoken and black" that results in the
mesmerizing.
Jamie,
me: Is there something magical about words when they come out
of a black man's mouth that allows them to become
mesmerizing?
Jamie: Ask your friendly neighborhood guilty white
liberal.
Are you saying that *"most people" are guilty white liberals?
*original quote above
The fact that people can't see this is absolutely fucking amazing to me.
Most people are absolutely mesmerized by this fucking loon, just because he's well-spoken and black.
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 4:33PM|#
RC Dean,
/sniff, wipes tear/ Really, it makes me proud of the old alma
mater. Obama consistently demonstrates a mastery of the weasel
word, the exception that consumes the rule, the trapdoor, that can
only come from a first-class legal education.
=/;^)
The average pedant upset with the change in position needs Obama to
be consistent with the promise, but, somehow, doesn't care about
the details of the promise. They see a dishonesty or an abandonment
of principle when Obama doesn't conform to the promise he didn't
make, rather than putting that pedantic energy towards the details
of what he actually promised.
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 4:39PM|#
And if there are two things somebody in a small town in
Montana can speak about with authority, it's liberals and black
people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missoula,_Montana
The racial makeup of the city was 93.57% White, 2.35% Native American, 1.23% Asian, 0.36% African American, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.76% of the population....Missoula is known as a more liberal area than the rest of the state, having 14 Democrats and one Republican in its state legislative delegation.
|1.19.09 @ 4:45PM|#
NM,
A lot of us grew up in lily-white places. A lot of us had that
"wow, all these black people are acting just like everybody else"
moment Bill-O describes.
But most of us had it at, I don't know, age 7. Or 12. Or, in an
extreme case, 17.
Bill-O is a sixty-something year old man, who has a years-long
record opining about racial issues in the media.
Crazy.
|1.19.09 @ 4:56PM|#
They see a dishonesty or an abandonment of principle when
Obama doesn't conform to the promise he didn't make, rather than
putting that pedantic energy towards the details of what he
actually promised.
But that's the genius of the man, joe. He doesn't actually promise
anything concrete. Any apparent promise is rife with loopholes and
trapdoors. There are no details of what he actually promised to
evaluate.
You gotta admire the way he fools people into thinking he's
promising what they want, when actually, as you note and apparently
admire, he actually says no such thing.
The fun is in watching him do it, and (especially) in watching
people react to it, generally by blithely ignoring that they've
just been scammed, and coming back for more, or, for the more
cynical partisans, admiring his skill at manipulating The
Masses.
The Bearded Hobbit|1.19.09 @ 5:01PM|#
I, for one, hope that the 19th Century concept of "race"
disappears from mankind forever, preferably in my lifetime.
.. Hobbit
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 5:22PM|#
RC Dean,
You gotta admire the way he fools people into thinking he's
promising what they want, when actually, as you note and apparently
admire, he actually says no such thing.
Noting that Obama is successful as a politician for exactly the
same reason all previously successful politicians have been
successful is not the same as saying I admire that particular trait
in successful politicians.
I was making fun of partisan pseudo-pedants that pretend they have
a "gotcha" moment.
Campaign promises, if we are honest, are not specific terms in a
contract, but general vague statement indicating goals that the
politician hopes the majority of voters will share.
Voters, I think, know that, for the most part.
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 5:40PM|#
I'm 24,...
Well, it is not your generation that they are talking about...it is
your age group...you'll think the same thing in 10 or 15
years.
8^)
|1.19.09 @ 6:04PM|#
I was making fun of partisan pseudo-pedants that pretend
they have a "gotcha" moment.
I, sir, am neither perticularly partisan (many harsh words for both
Obama and Bush, some positive observations on both), nor a
pseudo-pedant. I pride myself on actual pedantry.
Nor was I pretending to have a a gotcha moment. As I noted above, I
was marvelling at his skill at not committing to anything, while
convincing millions of the gullible (those voters you have such
faith in) that he was.
I have very little doubt, based on observation, that a great many
of his supporters thought he was going to reverse the course set by
Bush overseas (he won't) and that he would bring real change to
Washington (he won't). The vast majority of his supporters believed
this, and were suckered. They aren't the discerning political
cynics that you and I both wish they were, no, indeed.
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 6:16PM|#
RC Dean,
I was referring to one Gilbert Martin, who brought up the topic up
thread.
To the tape:
I know one promise that he broke even before he was elected: the promise to stick to public campaign financing.
Obama flat out lied about that.
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 6:21PM|#
RC Dean,
thought he was going to reverse the course set by Bush overseas
(he won't)
In what way will he continue this course?
I don't even buy that Bush would continue it if he had another 4
years.
that he would bring real change to Washington (he
won't)
Agreed, unless moving us back towards the mean is real change. The
last 8 years have been clear outliers in a lot of ways.
|1.19.09 @ 6:56PM|#
Neu Mejican,
As a survival mechanism, RC Dean has convinced himself that George
Bush always intended to withdraw American combat forces from Iraq
on a timeline with a date certain, to leave behind no permanent
bases full of troops from which to project force in the region, and
to ramp up activity in Afghanistan.
Barack Obama changed his positions - apparently, he was always
against the above actions - late in the Summer of 2008, to bring
them into line with Bush's long-established withdrawal plans.
No, I am not making this up.
|1.19.09 @ 6:58PM|#
Forgot to add, because Bush agreed to this timeline-based withdrawal regardless of conditions on the ground AFTER the Iraqis insisted on it, the withdrawal isn't unilateral, and therefore...uh...Progressives Must Be Very Disappointed.
Notorious|1.19.09 @ 8:24PM|#
Is there something magical about words when they come out of
a black man's mouth that allows them to become
mesmerizing?
Yes. There's a movie coming out about it.
You Knew It Would Happen|1.19.09 @ 8:24PM|#
Inevitably, every criticism of Obama ends with the criticizer being called racist.
Employee Free Choice Act Now .|1.19.09 @ 8:36PM|#
Employee Free Choice Act - Union Civil Rights Activists Vow to
Keep King's Dream Alive.
by James Parks, Jan 19, 2009
Union civil rights activists this weekend celebrated the legacy of
Martin Luther King Jr., by committing to hold the new
administration and Congress accountable and carry on the work they
did in the 2008 election to mobilize workers in support of a strong
progressive agenda.
More than 800 participants in the annual AFL-CIO King Day
celebration in New Orleans, which ends today, also responded to
President-elect Obama's call to honor King with community service.
They joined with hundreds of area union members to roll up their
sleeves in more than 20 different community service projects in a
city that continues to suffer three years later from the effects of
Hurricane Katrina. Over two days, the activists helped repair an
African American museum, churches and homes in hard-hit St. Bernard
Parish.
Transport Workers President James Little told the participants that
Obama's election opens the door for more progressive economic and
social policies, but workers must be vigilant in keeping the Obama
White House and the new Congress focused on workers' issues.
One way Obama can make a big difference in the lives of working
families is to ensure every worker has the freedom to choose a
union and that labor laws are enforced, says Kim Bobo, executive
director of Interfaith Worker Justice. Bobo, the author of Wage
Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting
Paid-And What We Can Do About It, says Obama can help fulfill
King's vision of a society where workers are treated fairly by
bolstering and stepping up enforcement of wage laws.
Another top priority, she says, should be passing the Employee Free
Choice Act.
Wage theft is a national crisis. As many as 2 or 3 million workers
are not being paid minimum wage, millions are denied overtime
pay.
As Dr. King preached, wage theft was wrong in biblical times. It
was wrong during slavery. It was wrong in Memphis for the
sanitation workers he was fighting for when he died, and it is
wrong today.
Nat LaCour, former secretary-treasurer of AFT and a resident of New
Orleans, says the city still is feeling the effects of Katrina, but
some progress has been made in rebuilding. LaCour, who moderated a
panel on the current conditions in New Orleans for the conference,
says the Obama administration should make sure that its economic
stimulus package includes plans to strengthen New Orleans' levees
and rebuild housing.
The conference theme, "Civil Rights, Labor Rights-Turning America
Around," says it all, according to Richard Womack, former assistant
to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney:
We're all about change, but change of a positive nature. We can
celebrate our victories, but we can't forget that the battle goes
on. Dr. King died to make this a better world for all of us and we
can't let that dream die.
For More Information on EFCA please visit our website and
blog
http://www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org
http://efcanow.blogspot.com/
http://www.LaborUnionResources.Org
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 8:39PM|#
You Knew It Would Happen | January 19, 2009, 8:24pm |
#
Inevitably, every criticism of Obama ends with the criticizer being
called racist.
Let's see.
On this thread, RC Dean, TallDave, Pantsfan, Sage, Warty, Paul L.,
Gilbert Martin et al. have managed to criticize Obama without being
called racist.
Only Jamie Kelly seems to have been (indirectly) hung with that
label and that after he said introduced the idea that Obama's
message only resonated because he was "well spoken and
black."
So, I guess maybe you are incorrect in your analysis, based on this
thread.
Neu Mejican|1.19.09 @ 8:40PM|#
Oh, wait.
joe got called racist for claiming that people in Montana may not
understand liberals and black people.
But not, I think, for criticizing Obama.
Assholio|1.19.09 @ 10:59PM|#
"Is there something magical about words when they come out of a
black man's mouth that allows them to become mesmerizing?"
In terms of political speech? yes. When political notions that
aren't completely retarded come out of a black man's mouth on the
national stage, the mesmerizing bit is the situations novelty.
Given a steady diet of "Fancy Al" someone you can actually
understand, let alone agree with, is a pretty fucking mesmerizing
experience.
Gilbert Martin|1.19.09 @ 11:22PM|#
"I was referring to one Gilbert Martin, who brought up the topic
up thread."
I did bring it up and I was absolutely correct about Obama lying
about it.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/06/obama_reneges_on_public_financ.html
"There is some dispute over whether Obama ever formally pledged to
participate in the public financing system if his Republican
opponent agreed to do the same. As I have reported in a previous
post, the closest he came was in response to a September 2007
questionnaire from the Midwest Democracy Network, which included
the question, "If you are nominated for President in 2008 and your
major opponents agree to forgo private funding in the general
election campaign, will you participate in the presidential public
financing system?"
Obama highlighted the answer "Yes," and elaborated as
follows:
I have been a long-time advocate for public financing of campaigns
combined with free television and radio time as a way to reduce the
influence of moneyed special interests.... My plan requires both
major party candidates to agree on a fundraising truce, return
excess money from donors, and stay within the public financing
system for the general election....If I am the Democratic nominee,
I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee
to preserve a publicly financed general election.
While the "Yes" seemed unequivocal, the Obama camp could (and did)
argue that the fine print of the deal remained to be worked out
with the eventual Republican nominee."
In point of fact, answering "yes" in indeed unequivocal and no
amount of weaseling about any negotiations negates that fact.
Obama is a flat out liar on the matter - end of story.
|1.19.09 @ 11:28PM|#
He in no way negotiated in good faith to take public financing. Of course the reason is that it would have put him at a disadvantage. very practical, and hardly a sentiment that I can be angry about. public financing is for losers!
|1.20.09 @ 3:59AM|#
I'm now going to return to my 72 hour-long continuous
performance of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah."
Gee, I wonder if reduced racial tensions mean that Disney will
finally release Song of the South on DVD?
-jcr
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