Americans to some degree and particularly those on the Right are now beset by a true conundrum. Is Barack Obama a Christian or a Muslim? According to the latest Pew Research polling: "nearly one-in-five Americans (18%) now say Obama is a Muslim, up from 11% in March 2009. Only about one-third of adults (34%) say Obama is a Christian, down sharply from 48% in 2009. Fully 43% say they do not know what Obama's religion is." Well, it's no wonder people are so confused, especially when two of the most prominent talking heads on the far right differ as to what is the actual religion of the President. If Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh aren't on the same page on this, how can we expect the lowliest schlep to know what's the truth?
In a recent anti-Obama rant, Mr. Limbaugh intoned: "Imam Hussein Obama is probably the best anti-American president we've ever had." Limbaugh has been at center stage in railing against the proposed "Ground Zero Mosque' while trying to somehow insinuate that Obama's defense of the constitutional right to religious freedom somehow proves that the President is an Islamic. Meanwhile just this past Sunday, in a follow up to his Lincoln Memorial Rally, Mr. Beck appeared with Chris Wallace of Fox News to proclaim that Obama is in fact not a racist after all, but a practicing Christian who just happens to be enamored with Liberation Theology. This brand of Christian thought is defined: "as a movement in Christian theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions." According to Beck himself: "he misunderstood Obama's philosophy and his theology...which is liberation theology... he didn't understand, really, his theology his viewpoints come from liberation theology. That's what I think as in -- at the gut level I was sensing. And I miscast it as racism. And really, what it is liberation theology." Thus, its now official, according to Glenn Beck, Barak Obama is legitimately some sort of Christian. Well fancy that, one of the most prominent forces in the American right has reaffirmed that the President is in fact a Christian while the other is still working overtime to convince Americans otherwise.
So what is really going on here? Is there a genuine question as to Barack Obama's faith or are we in fact looking at a garden variety witch hunt perpetrated from two different angles in a crass and unvarnished attempt to undermine a legitimately elected president through the propagation of falsehoods? Do Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh really believe what they are publicly saying or are they and their followers just unable to face up to the fact that their idea of what America should be just does not comport with what people voted for in 2008. Is that truth just too much to bear? And where is the leadership that we should be seeing from responsible and respectable Republicans in opposition to this political falderal and farce? Perhaps the leaders of the G.O.P. are just too cowed by the far right to stand up for political decency or perhaps they just don't have the requisite courage. In a recent op-ed on this very topic, Paul Krugman opined: "What we learned from the Clinton years is that a significant number of Americans just don't consider government by liberals - even very moderate liberals - legitimate. Obama's election would have enraged those people even if he were white. Of course, the fact that he isn't, and has an alien-sounding name, adds to the rage. And powerful forces are promoting and exploiting this rage...Meanwhile, the right-wing media are replaying their greatest hits. In the 1990s, Limbaugh used innuendo to feed anti-Clinton mythology, notably the insinuation that Hillary Clinton was complicit in the death of Vince Foster. Now, as we've just seen, he's doing his best to insinuate Obama is a Muslim. And where, in all of this, are the responsible Republicans, leaders who will stand up and say that some partisans are going too far? Nowhere to be found." That said, it's more than evident that the time for the truly patriotic to stand up for political decency and honest debate is now and that's especially true for the leadership of the G.O.P. How can they legitimately ask for our votes when they allow this type of anti-democratic demagoguery to take place right under their noses and in plain view? Perhaps this is what you get from a political party that may be on its way out of business in the long run. Then again, maybe it's what you get when there is just a lack of courage in a party that has for so long prided itself as the repository of "real American values." At any rate every American voter has to ask himself this question: If the leaders of the Republican Party lack the courage to take on Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, where will they find the courage and stamina required to get us out of the Great Recession or face down Al Qaida or any other threat that will surely emerge in the brave new world of this new century? Failing that courage, do they really deserve our votes?
Here's what President Obama said about the controversy about plans for a mosque near Ground Zero in New York:
"Let me be clear: as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable."
And of course, the headline from your liberal media:
This was in response to the president himself clearly making this distinction. He's not getting into the identity of the builders or whether he agrees the exact placement. They have the right to build on private property. We're Americans. We'd don't discriminate on the basis of religion.
What stands out here is that there is nothing surprising about Obama's stance since I believe this is the stance of most people who take a 1st Amendment stance on this. Who the people behind the project are is beside the point. Getting drawn into the design of the building is irrelevant. We don't discriminate on the basis of religion. Call it the American values position.
Yesterday, President Obama met with Senators at the White House and pushed them to pass comprehensive, clean energy and climate legislation. Still, the skeptics are spinning a monotonous web of negativity regarding what is achievable on this front. And, not surprisingly, the "mainstream media" once again has been asleep at the wheel in setting the record straight. Fortunately, we know that when this President rolls up his sleeves, he gets stuff done and delivers on his promises. One thing’s for sure; President Obama is anything but an underachiever!
Along these lines, President Obama held a press conference following the G-20 summit in Toronto. In response to a reporter’s question regarding how he would achieve his deficit reduction goals, the president responded:
For some reason people keep being surprised when I do what I said I was going to do. So, I say I’m going to reform our [health care system], and people say well gosh that’s not smart politics maybe we should hold off. Or I say we’re going to move forward on [Don’t Ask Don’t Tell] and somehow people say well why are you doing that, I’m not sure that’s good politics. I’m doing it because I said I was going to do it, and I think it’s the right thing to do. And people should learn that lesson about me, because next year when I start presenting some very difficult choices to the country I hope some of these folks who are hollering about deficit and debt step up cause I’m calling their bluff.
To that list of accomplishments, we could also add:
**Creating or saving 2.2-2.8 million jobs, well on the way to Obama’s February 2009 pledge that he would "create or save 3-and-a-half million jobs over the next two years."
**Reforming Wall Street (likely to pass Congress any day now)
**Overhauling the student loan market
**Reaching a nuclear arms treaty with Russia
We could go on and on, but you get the point: anyone who continues, at this point, to be "surprised" when President Obama gets things done when he puts his mind to it is deep in denial. Or, as a previous president might have put it, they are wildly "misunderestimating" our 44th president.
Clearly, as we’ve seen over the past two years, underachieving is not a problem Barack Obama suffers from. Of course, even a superachiever like Barack Obama has an awful lot on his plate to deal with. And right now, one of the most important things on Obama’s plate is figuring out how to push comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation through the U.S. Senate. Along those lines, yesterday, Obama met with a group of Senators on this issue, reportedly holding firm in his call for putting a price on carbon emissions.
The question at this point is, will President Obama roll up his sleeves and deliver on another of his major campaign promise (as well as a major challenge facing our nation)? Given the long list of accomplishments mentioned above, it certainly wouldn’t be smart to bet against him. The fact is, Barack Obama usually succeeds in whatever he puts his mind to.
Given the nation’s increased focus on energy and climate issues – and the increased support by the American people for taking strong action as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster – now is clearly the time for boldness and for bluff calling by our nation’s leaders. Today, President Obama has the opportunity to demonstrate once more that, when he rolls up his sleeves, he accomplishes what he says he’s going to do. In sum, today is clearly the moment for President Obama to prove the doubters and naysayers wrong – to call their bluff - yet again!
As President Obama prepares for his meeting tomorrow with Senators at the White House to discuss clean energy and climate change legislation, he might want to check with the White House staff on an important matter first. No, not the details of the legislation, although that's important of course. Instead, what President Obama might want to make absolutely sure about is the non-trivial matter of whether the White House air conditioning is in tip-top shape. I say "non-trivial," but these days it's more like "life or death." How hot is it in the Washington, DC area? As NBC Washington puts it, "We're Talking Spontaneous Combustion." (UPDATE: it's more likely this is apocryphal than literally true, but it sure feels like plants could catch on fire these days in Washington, DC!)
How hot is it? It's so hot that dead plants are spontaneously combusting in Frederick, Md. Don't believe it? Just ask Frederick County Fire Marshal Marc McNeal, who told the Frederick News-Post that excessive heat caused a dead plant to catch fire Sunday afternoon in a hanging planter on the rear deck of a townhouse.
The hanging basket fell to the deck and burned some vinyl siding, causing about $3,000 in damages.
It has definitely been hot in the Washington region. Monday will be the 10th day in a row that we've reached 90 degrees or higher, and this will be the 17th day of the month that the thermometer has reached 90.
NBC4 meteorologist Tom Kierein said that when it's all said and done, June 2010 likely will be the hottest June on record in the District.
Dead plants catching on fire in the hottest June on record in the Washington, DC area? Sadly, this may not be an aberration, but a frightening sign of things to come in a global warming world. True, we shouldn't draw broad conclusions about the earth's climate from one heat wave in one specific geographic area, as certain climate change deniers dishonestly did during last winter's "snowpocalypse" blizzards. However, when we see month after month, decade after decade of record-setting heat globally, it starts to get a bit hard to ignore.
In fact, climate scientists are not ignoring these heat waves and other phenomena. Earlier today, for instance, The Project on Climate Science reported that the "record-breaking heat wave" we are currently experiencing in the eastern United States "is consistent with climate change." According to Tom Peterson, Chief Scientist for NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, "We're getting a dramatic taste of the kind of weather we are on course to bequeath to our grandchildren." Of course, as The Project on Climate Science points out, "individual heat waves can be driven by a number of factors." However, they conclude, "more frequent heat waves are one of the more visible impacts of climate change already underway in the United States" and "will occur more frequently in the future."
In sum, if you enjoy record-setting warmth - not to mention the stronger storms, mass extinctions and "record sea ice shrinkage" in the Arctic that go along with that warmth - you have a lot to look forward to! If not, then you should contact your Senator and let him or her know you want climate action now.
Come to think of it, perhaps we should all hope for the White House air conditioning to be broken tomorrow - or turned off on purpose - so that the Senators meeting there get a taste of what the planet will feel like everywhere if they don't do something about it now. When you think about it, a bit of Senatorial sweat and a few stained shirts is not too high a price to pay if it results in long-overdue, comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation on the President's desk sometime this sweltering summer. Is it?
Since Barack Obama's inauguration in January 2009, we've seen some pretty major initiatives succeed:
Economic Stimulus to stave off a depression
Lifting of Bush administration restrictions on stem cell research
Expansion of children's health care programs across the country
Passage of the Lily Ledbetter pay discrimination law
Comprehensive health insurance reform
Wall Street Reform (just agreed to this morning, and yes, this is a huge deal)
And there's a very decent chance we'll see a seriously big batch of energy policy reforms on his desk by the year's end.
Are any of these initiatives perfect? Probably not. Health care reform and Wall Street reform definitely have holes in them. But as Taegan Goddard noted this morning, "[n]ot since FDR has a president done so much to transform the country."
Seems that Hopey, Changey Thing is working out just fine. Some pretty sizeable bumps along the way, but anyone who says that's any different from any other era in history is selling something.
When Republicans are in power they run up deficits and never pay them back. When Democrats are in power they talk of fiscal responsibility and reducing the deficit (that they created). But the gulf oil spill has brought a new level of fiscal responsibility hypocrisy.
Republicans like Rep. Michele Bachmann are perturbed that President Obama isn't doing enough to clean up the oil spill like commandeering private boats. Yet she has accused Obama of running a "gangsta government" that is taking over our economy.
She and other Republicans began complaining about the size of the deficit as soon as Obama took office. But now that Obama is forcing BP to pay $20B into an escrow fund, the Republicans are concerned about BP profits when this fund means that taxpayers won't be on the hook as much.
If BP is the responsible party under the law, they're to pay for everything. I do worry that this idea of making them make a huge escrow fund is going to make it less likely that they'll pay for everything. They need their capital to drill wells. They need their capital to produce income.
They [BP] shouldn't have to be fleeced and make chumps [sic] to have to pay for perpetual unemployment ...
Bachmann is more concerned about BP's profits, redistribution of wealth and "gateway for more government control, more money to government" than fiscal responsibility and the fact that millions of people's lives and livelihoods are affected by this spill.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) was at her rhetorical best last Friday on Fox News. She criticized President Obama for doing something her hearthrob and loverboy, George W. Bush, did: promise humanitarian aid to Gaza that would be administered through the UN and distributed by NGOs. Just like her BFF George did.
And we all know what siding with Iran and Hamas means ... supporting "terrists!" [sic]
In an interview Friday with Fox Business' David Asman - who asked in a recent blog post, "Is the president funding terrorism?" - Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) claimed that the aid "rewarded" Hamas, and that it showed Obama was siding with Iran and Hamas over Israel:
BACHMANN: I also don't think it was a a good signal for the president to give $400 million in aid to Gaza. He had a choice to make last week. The president had a choice between standing with Benjamin Netanyahu, or standing with Ahmadinejad and Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization. This should not have been a difficult choice, but the President chose to stand with Hamas and then they were rewarded this week with $400 million in aid. Gee, you don't think that will embolden them to take future aggressive actions against Israel, do you? [...]
ASMAN: Are you going to start up some sort of congressional investigation to look into this, because it would literally be against the law to contribute money to an organization that funnels money to terrorists. [...]
BACHMANN: And again, I'm against sending this $400 million to Hamas. I think it's a very foolish thing to do to reward them for these aggressive actions that were taken last week.
Watch it:
Do I really need to debunk this insanity for you? If you are interested in the facts, Think Progress can provide you with all you'll need.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) appeared on right wing radio again, this time on 810AM in Orlando, FL. On the show she agreed with the show's host that President Obama is the worst President in the history of the United States. Bachmann and the host obviously lives in an alternate reality in which the damage and failures of her hearthrob and loverboy, George W. Bush, never get mentioned.
At 6:55
SHAPIRO: Is President Obama better or worse than Jimmy Carter?
BACHMANN: Worse. Easily worse.
SHAPIRO: I agree. So far, you'd have to say he's the worst president in United States history ...
BACHMANN: No question. No question.
SHAPIRO: ... with the possible exception of James Buchanan.
BACHMANN: And the thing is, here we are, people can't wait until November. They're practically lining up for polls now, they can't wait to go out and vote. The only thing is people wish Barack Obama was up for re-election right now, because they'd honestly love to have a chance to throw him out of office. Everywhere I go, people ask me, "Michele, can we impeach the president?" They want a referendum on him. I also had someone today say, "There's no way he'll run for a second term. No way. No one would vote for him." I don't know if the White House understands how the floor has dropped out under support for this president.
[my emphasis]
While this is a MN-specific blog, I occasionally comment on national issues. Torture, it's cover-up by the Obama Administration and the prosecution of the whistleblowers by the Obama Administration is one of those issues. This topic is one that really is a real pain in where my hope meets my change.
As progressives we cannot ignore these facts even though we think Obama is awesome and only want the best for him. It's our job to hold him to a higher standard.
Physicians for Human Rights yesterday released a report documenting (while relying on heavily redacted material) that "medical professionals who were involved in the Central Intelligence Agency's interrogations of terrorism suspects engaged in forms of human research and experimentation in violation of medical ethics and domestic and international law." To those paying close attention, the evidence suggesting that this occurred has long been clear. Today, The New York Times Editorial Page said this:
The report from the physicians' group does not prove its case beyond doubt -- how could it when so much is still hidden? -- but it rightly calls on the White House and Congress to investigate the potentially illegal human experimentation and whether those who authorized or conducted it should be punished. Those are just two of the many unresolved issues from the Bush administration that President Obama and Congressional leaders have swept under the carpet.
When the history of the Bush era is written, the obvious question will be: what was done about the systematic war crimes, torture regime, chronic lawbreaking, and even human experimentation which that administration perpetrated on the world? And the answer is now just as obvious: nothing, because the subsequent President -- Barack Obama -- decreed that We Must Look Forward, Not Backward, and then engaged in extreme measures to carry out that imperial, Orwellian dictate by shielding those crimes from investigation, review, adjudication and accountability.
(Glenn Greenwald)
What I don't get is why the Obama Administration is covering up for Republican war crimes to lessen the political rancor when the Republicans jump at the slightest chance to increase the political rancor. If he would hold Republicans accountable for their crimes, would future Republicans then think twice about doing the same? If Obama holds them accountable, what's the worst that could happen? Impeachment? The Republicans will try it at the first opportunity regardless.
Last Wednesday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) went on a right wing radio show and officially joined the rooting against America crowd. This is particularly nuts because her district, MN-06, is suffering particularly badly from failed Bush Administration economic policies and could use a boost.
HENNEN: I'm proudly accepting that label of rooting for failure for his policies, not for any one personal individual or anything else, but, I mean, should we, is that what Republicans are doing? Are we rooting for failure? Is David Axelrod right?
BACHMANN: We're, we're, we're hoping that President Obama's policies don't succeed, exactly as you said. And of course, David Axelrod unfortunately seems to be wanting to smear people who disagree with the president. We've seen that over and over at Tea Party events, at gatherings where people say, "look, I don't like this idea of out of control spending and accumulating deficits that our kids have no possibility of paying back." And to think that those of us, we who disagree with that very ill-thought out idea are being smeared, I think that's really wrong.
There's a very good likelihood that Rep. Michele Bachmann will be unseated this November (she did only win by 3% last time and less than 50% of the vote with a lackluster challenger) and she can join Sarah Palin on the Tea Party Express all the way to Fox News. I know it seems strange now, but they are increasingly becoming politically marginalized, given their divisiveness among their own party and campaigning on unrealistic goals and flashy rhetoric ("repeal", "reload", etc.).
Gusty moves at first-glance, but a big giant misstep overall. President Obama and the Democratic Party actually accomplished the all-elusive health care reform that will make a real difference for millions of Americans and was long over-due, if you ask anyone who pays a premium or who has gotten sick. And it happened in a toxic political environment that made Republicans seem foolish, petty, and overly political.
Up next: reigning in predatory credit card, bank and Wall Street practices. Here's another bread-and-butter issue that anyone with a bank account knows that reform is much needed. Our financial institutions have been screwing the people since Reaganomics, and the Republicans are going to dust off the same old arguments of the past 30 years of free markets and competition and too much government and blah, blah, blah - all to their political detriment.
After Republicans lose ground on that, it will be election time and Immigration Reform, where the real bigotry of the far right will be on full display. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration and the Democratic Party will move forward with Climate Change legislation that includes renewable energy and green jobs, education reform, keeping people in their homes, middle-class and small-business tax cuts/job creation and other economic issues, and a foreign policy team that just keeps getting results dealing with difficult international challenges.
And where will the Bachmann's and the Palin's and the Tea Partiers of the world be? Complaining about the change America has been clamoring for year after year after year. They'll be back where they started: offering no new alternatives and a just say "NO!" attitude for the cameras and the latest "death panel" sound byte for the 24 hour cable news cycle. The world is changing, people, and we need to be on the forefront. Lead, follow, or get out the way. Sadly, the Republicans of today will do none of the above, which is why they'll be run over and left in the political rubble of history.
As regular MPP readers know, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) loves herself some conspiracy theories. She reliably has a new one each month. This time, President Obama is giving out judgeships to bribe Democrats and she wants an investigation. Here's what she had to say on Larry King Live last night:
BACHMANN: Because today, the president offered a judgeship to the brother of a member of Congress. Tonight, the president has that same member of Congress at the White House, pressuring him to change his vote on health care. We need to have an - an independent investigation into this matter, because we've seen the Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase the union loophole. And now, the big question is, is the White House trading health care votes for judgeships? This is a pretty serious issue, Larry. ...If you offer a judgeship to a brother of a member of Congress and the same night you have that member at the White House, where the president's twisting his arm to ask that member of Congress to switch his vote on health care?
(Think Progress)
I know you'll be shocked, but this is a lie. Let's examine how Bachmann came to believe in this latest conspiracy theory.
I always enjoy posting here at Minnesota Progressive Project. Please see my following response to President Barack Obama. I'd love to hear what you think. Imagine having a governor who fights to put in single-payer healthcare! Imagine the example that Minnesota could provide for the other 49 states?
And that's funny, because ever since the Dems got it through, the GOP and Fox News (is there a difference?) have been telling Americans that it wasn't gonna work.
Fastest quarter of growth since 2003. Thank you, President Obama and the Dem majority, it took courage to spend to stave off a depression and bring back economic growth. From USA Today:
Obama gets good economic news
08:43 AM
By Mark Wilson, Getty Images
President Obama has some good economic news to bring with him to Baltimore later this morning -- the economy grew by 5.7% from October through December of 2009.
It's the fastest quarter of growth since 2003; it's also the second straight quarter of growth, signaling the end of the recent recession.
Jeez, I am so glad to be breaking some good news this week. If next week's unemployment figures reflect the growth this quarter, we'll be able to turn Reagan's old joke against the Republicans:
If you get invited to a costume party, just put a little egg on your face and go as a conservative.
There's a very good likelihood that Rep. Michele Bachmann will be unseated this November (she did only win by 3% last time and less than 50% of the vote with a lackluster challenger) and she can join Sarah Palin on the Tea Party Express all the way to Fox News. I know it seems strange now, but they are increasingly becoming politically marginalized, given their divisiveness among their own party and campaigning on unrealistic goals and flashy rhetoric ("repeal", "reload", etc.).
