Rand Paul:
Call me cynical, but I didn’t think his [Obama's] views on marriage could get any gayer.
We won't call Rand cynical. Ignorant, bigoted asshole is more fitting. An adult using ...
Happy Friday.
The best from Political Humor‘s collection of the week’s late night political humor.
"President Obama came out with approval of same-sex marriage. He said that over the years, he has ...
I've never understood Log Cabin Republicans - gay conservatives who give their support to a homophobic political party that derides their sexuality and refuses to grant them equal rights under ...
Finally.
“I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own ...
Election roundup:
Indiana.
As polls forecast, the Tea Party's efforts to cleanse the GOP of any impure conservatives has Dick Lugar out and teabagger Richard Mourdock in. Mourdock is the new Republican ...
There are lies...and then there are lies.
My own view, by the way, was that the auto companies needed to go through bankruptcy before government help. And frankly, that’s finally what ...
From the papers captured last year at Osama bin Laden's Pakistani hideout comes this.
Like any public figures, bin Laden and his advisers were mindful of the media. Adam Gadahn, one ...
The best from Political Humor‘s collection of the week’s late night political humor. Happy Friday.
"Today Mitt Romney visited a firehouse here in New York City. Of course, he was disappointed ...
It happened to Kerry. Can it happen to Obama? Nope says Margaret Carlson.
Obama’s belief system -- in that hopey-changey business and the post-partisanship thing -- has been altered by reality. ...
Sullivan:
What do Republicans call a gay man with neoconservative passion, a committed relationship and personal courage?
A faggot.
Exactly right, but then could one expect anything different from a political party that ...
And they claim that atheists are immoral?
The ugly side of religion shows its face once again. The words below were spoken at a Sunday sermon by Sean Harris, a pastor ...
It's been fun watching conservatives and Romney twist themselves into pretzels trying to undo Mitt's past words on GM and bin Laden.
Romney, April 2007:
It’s not worth moving heaven and earth ...
In an op-ed piece in the Washington Post, a couple of scholars from liberal and conservative think tanks, discuss the state of American politics.
We have been studying Washington politics and ...
Romney's VP-in-waiting, Marco Rubio, is perfecting the conservative sleaze play.
He has proposed his version of the Dream Act in which people who entered the country illegally as children will be ...
Beyond the rhetoric, the political BS, the lies - that is, the concerted effort by the right-wing noise machine to distort and misinform at every opportunity - is the very ...
It was never a matter of 'if'...only of 'when'.
Two constituencies that President Obama is holding onto about as strongly now as he did four years ago are voters under 30 ...
I'm not sure what one does with information of this sort but I thought it important you know. From Alex Pareene's new ebook, The Rude Guide To Mitt.
Every good Romney ...
Guess whose illustration made the May cover of a national magazine? Mine!
I'm quite sure there isn't much Stephen Moore/Newsmax and I share in common as far as politics goes but ...
Jesus (c. 30 CE):
Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.
Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of the Catholic diocese of Peoria, Illinois (2012 ...
President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision designed to encourage his nascent initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and replace unilateral American action with international diplomacy and cooperation.
Nobel observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline.
“Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future,” said Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Nobel Committee.
There is so much to absorb here so early in the morning. I don’t think anyone saw this coming. We could only imagine how the President’s standing and respect in the world will jump dramatically, making his foreign policy initiatives even that more effective.
Domestically, this is going to give him a major boost in popularity at a time when his approval ratings had already been on the upswing.
More later. Need to pour a cup of coffee and take this in.
Nine months in office and he wins the Nobel Peace Prize. Amazing.
___
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anteater, about as much fun as watching you guys pee your pants because he got it! Whether deserved of not.
For the record, I’m for it. I’m for anything that casts the US in a positive light. I was for getting the Olympics in Chicago.
I just have to wonder about the reasoning. Nominated less than two weeks into his term? (Which by the way would dictate that he was being considered BEFORE he took over as President. BEFORE he had proposed or accomplished one single thing.) Does that in any manner tarnish the glow of accomplishment?
Maybe when that tingle reaches your brain, you’ll wonder also.
There is no doubt in my mind that Obama is and will be recognized in history as the most influential person of our time. I am sure there are a lot of deserving candidates, but none that can and have spread the message of peace like he can. He has the the entire world as his platform, everywhere he goes people millions gather to hear him speak and he speaks to the people so eloquently yet it touches all types of people, not just the Harvard grads, but the plumbers, truck drivers and the legal secretaries too. Since his candidacy he has inspired millions of people around the world and has unified those who seek justice both here and abroad.
First, yes. I’m proud an American and our President was awarded the Nobel Prize.
Now, do I have questions? Why would one not? I mean, if the Nobel Award is given only for wishes, every child that has said a Nighttime prayer, asking for World Peace should be nominated.
So, to paraphrase a course contributor, when you get through “peeing yourself” over Obama receiving this award, begin to ask some questions.
Here is a counter view point from Dick Morris. I would have cherry picked just some thoughts I agree with but I didn’t think that would be fair. So here is the whole statement:
THE NOBEL PRIZE TO OBAMA: EUROPE’S BID TO RE-COLONIZE AMERICA
By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN
Published on DickMorris.com on October 9, 2009
Whether it was rewarding Jimmy Carter for criticizing the Iraq War or supporting Al Gore in his crusade against global warming, the Norwegian Parliament – which chooses the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize – has sought to use the award as a political tool to influence American politic s. Its prestige and moral power make the prize a potent weapon with which to help steer the direction of the colossus beyond the seas that controls a quarter of the world’s economy and most of its military power.
Now, the Norwegians have weighed in to support Barack Obama in his bid to reshape America so it looks more like, well, Norway, or at least like Europe.
European socialism cannot succeed without conquering the United States. If the European Union has high taxes and the US keeps its levies low, business and brains will flow to America. If the EU’s labor standards require long vacations, high benefits, and proscribe layoffs and ours’ do not, employers will migrate across the ocean to do their business in the States. If the Old World curbs ambition by taxation, regulation, and social opprobrium, the ambitious will flock to the New World as they have done for four hundred years.
So, Lenin was right. Socialism cannot exist in just one country – or one continent. It must dominate worldwide or wealth and power will flow to those who remain committed to the free market. Europe realizes this reality and it makes Obama’s election as president of the United States all the more welcome.
The Nobel Prize is really Obama’s payback for disciplining the unruly United States and taming it to be a member of the European family of nations. Europe wants to reverse the American Revolution and re-colonize us and it sees in Obama a kindred spirit willing to do its bidding.
Does the United States let its entrepreneurs run wild, coming up with fanciful new ideas and making billions from them? Obama will regulate and subdue business just like they do in Europe. Do U.S. businesses compete by slashing prices, aggressively pursuing markets, and jockeying for market share? Obama will make them behave themselves and stay in line just like European companies do. Do Americans work hard and push aggressively to make as much money as they can? Obama will raise taxes, emphasize community values, and narcotize their ambition by offering government largesse.
And does the United States still believe in a sloppy, contrarian democracy in which ordinary people can directly affect their government, states have powers, and courts can reel in executive authority? Obama will use his rubber stamp majority in Congress to pass new laws regardless of public opinion and make us obey.
In foreign policy, is the United States still willing to stand up, alone if necessary, to protect human rights in Bosnia, in Iraq, and in Afghanistan? Obama will curb this unruly independence and mold it within the fabric of appeasement that has dominated Europe for the past half a century.
All this heavy lifting, this conversion of America into a European state, deserves a reward. And what is a more fitting one than to give Obama than the Nobel Peace Prize? He obviously doesn’t deserve the award for economics or, given his health care ideas, for medicine. But the Peace Prize expresses Europe’s longing: to take back the nation its overly ambitious and uppity children founded.
I have been preaching for a while that this country needs to open to the world and not isolate ourselves from the outside. Since Obama has been out there,he raised the bar for peace across the world. By talking to Muslems,Europeans,Palestinians,Israelites and lately the Olympics for Chicago,he is up front with actions that can only awaken the world that Obama aka America is going in another direction and we will not gain our way to popularity by bombs but by mere bylateral talks.
Tommy,
The world have socialist programs because they care about their people and we will show the world that America will take care of their own also. Through their past experiences we will build our own program and this indirectly will influence the world and they will be sympathetic to our democratic cause.What better peaceful effort than giving access to medical care to everyone.
Obama has shown patience,bipartisanship,consensus seeker and embraced the world with his vision and his actions. America is considered as the only country that can bring peace to the world and the world recognized the first steps taken since he became president as potential for peace. To continue and succeed would be marvelous.
Socialism is not a democratic ideology. Equality is enforced under it’s vision of society. Independant thoughts are discouraged. What good is a vote if the state will not allow a new idea to be considered or vote on. Socialism limits freedom. Only free market capitalism encourages freedom of choice by letting individuals select with their wallets the options they prefer.
People that believe “people need to be taken care of”, do no justice to those they purportt to help. They only feed their own self-absorbed egos. Each of us becomes better and stronger via our own personal journey. We can learn compassion, but we cannot be forced to be compassionate. We can demonstrate morality, but we cannot regulate morality.
Innovations come from individuals seeking (mostly) material gains. The Nobel Committee seeks to honor individuals who innovate for altruistic gains. Unfortunately, the promise of material gains far out wieghs altruism as a motivation, and probably always will. Discouaging material gain via socialism will only serve to discourage innovation.
What you are taking about is Communism.Social democrats aim to reform capitalism democratically through state regulation and the creation of programs that work to counteract or remove the social injustice and inefficiencies they see as inherent in capitalism. This significantly differs from traditional socialism, which aims to replace the capitalist system entirely with a new economic system characterized by either state or direct worker ownership of the means of production. Modern Socialism is not to control economies but to share capital within the framework of an independent market economy. It is called social democracy. In a certain respect,we have socialism in education where school commissions and government dictate policy on what our kids should learn.
We do agree to disagree on compassion and morality but capitalism has shown that it cannot on its own look after its people. Greed gets in the way and it doesn’t help the lowly people that made the entrepreneurs more fortunate than others.
I applaud President Obama for the courage of doing what he said he would do. I know that in the scheme of things it may be considered a social democratic bent but after it is done,you may say differently.
Social democrats aim to reform capitalism democratically through state regulation and the creation of programs that work to counteract or remove the social injustice and inefficiencies they see as inherent in capitalism. This significantly differs from traditional socialism, which aims to replace the capitalist system entirely with a new economic system characterized by either state or direct worker ownership of the means of production.
You may have been talking aout Communism which is a far cry of what we are taliking about
@Dahl – In my mind, we strayed too far toward the S word 100 years ago. Politicians use class envy to villianize capitalism because they want more control via the alternative system. A capitalist system is the only one that’s been proven to encourage individual prosperity. If someone feels incapble of achiveing prosperty on their own, they’ll attempt to use the state to help them achieve it.
Watching repugs pee in their pants over this is going to be such fun!
Republican heads are exploding everywhere.
What a beautiful illustration! What a meritorious award! So proud of him! It is like winning the election all over again! For me it is a WOW moment.
anteater, about as much fun as watching you guys pee your pants because he got it! Whether deserved of not.
For the record, I’m for it. I’m for anything that casts the US in a positive light. I was for getting the Olympics in Chicago.
I just have to wonder about the reasoning. Nominated less than two weeks into his term? (Which by the way would dictate that he was being considered BEFORE he took over as President. BEFORE he had proposed or accomplished one single thing.) Does that in any manner tarnish the glow of accomplishment?
Maybe when that tingle reaches your brain, you’ll wonder also.
There is no doubt in my mind that Obama is and will be recognized in history as the most influential person of our time. I am sure there are a lot of deserving candidates, but none that can and have spread the message of peace like he can. He has the the entire world as his platform, everywhere he goes people millions gather to hear him speak and he speaks to the people so eloquently yet it touches all types of people, not just the Harvard grads, but the plumbers, truck drivers and the legal secretaries too. Since his candidacy he has inspired millions of people around the world and has unified those who seek justice both here and abroad.
BTW – The illustration is beautiful!
Fabulous artwork there!
WOW, wonderful recognition for Obama and, by extension, this country.
It is a wee bit ironic the rest of the world has a favourable view of our President while some here at home do not recognize his positive attributes
Well that was a bit of good news to awake to. And totally agree the art work is also a wow!
But oh dear the RNC is already trashing Obama’s winning saying he hasn’t DONE anything, all he has done is Talk!
Well yes, that is what you win the Nobel Peace Prize for – Talking instead of bombing and trashing
He’s in good company; Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Jimmy Carter. Socialists all. Says alot about the agenda of the Nobel Committee.
Also add Yasser Arafat he was also a talker not a bomber. Really
First, yes. I’m proud an American and our President was awarded the Nobel Prize.
Now, do I have questions? Why would one not? I mean, if the Nobel Award is given only for wishes, every child that has said a Nighttime prayer, asking for World Peace should be nominated.
So, to paraphrase a course contributor, when you get through “peeing yourself” over Obama receiving this award, begin to ask some questions.
Here is a counter view point from Dick Morris. I would have cherry picked just some thoughts I agree with but I didn’t think that would be fair. So here is the whole statement:
THE NOBEL PRIZE TO OBAMA: EUROPE’S BID TO RE-COLONIZE AMERICA
By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN
Published on DickMorris.com on October 9, 2009
Whether it was rewarding Jimmy Carter for criticizing the Iraq War or supporting Al Gore in his crusade against global warming, the Norwegian Parliament – which chooses the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize – has sought to use the award as a political tool to influence American politic s. Its prestige and moral power make the prize a potent weapon with which to help steer the direction of the colossus beyond the seas that controls a quarter of the world’s economy and most of its military power.
Now, the Norwegians have weighed in to support Barack Obama in his bid to reshape America so it looks more like, well, Norway, or at least like Europe.
European socialism cannot succeed without conquering the United States. If the European Union has high taxes and the US keeps its levies low, business and brains will flow to America. If the EU’s labor standards require long vacations, high benefits, and proscribe layoffs and ours’ do not, employers will migrate across the ocean to do their business in the States. If the Old World curbs ambition by taxation, regulation, and social opprobrium, the ambitious will flock to the New World as they have done for four hundred years.
So, Lenin was right. Socialism cannot exist in just one country – or one continent. It must dominate worldwide or wealth and power will flow to those who remain committed to the free market. Europe realizes this reality and it makes Obama’s election as president of the United States all the more welcome.
The Nobel Prize is really Obama’s payback for disciplining the unruly United States and taming it to be a member of the European family of nations. Europe wants to reverse the American Revolution and re-colonize us and it sees in Obama a kindred spirit willing to do its bidding.
Does the United States let its entrepreneurs run wild, coming up with fanciful new ideas and making billions from them? Obama will regulate and subdue business just like they do in Europe. Do U.S. businesses compete by slashing prices, aggressively pursuing markets, and jockeying for market share? Obama will make them behave themselves and stay in line just like European companies do. Do Americans work hard and push aggressively to make as much money as they can? Obama will raise taxes, emphasize community values, and narcotize their ambition by offering government largesse.
And does the United States still believe in a sloppy, contrarian democracy in which ordinary people can directly affect their government, states have powers, and courts can reel in executive authority? Obama will use his rubber stamp majority in Congress to pass new laws regardless of public opinion and make us obey.
In foreign policy, is the United States still willing to stand up, alone if necessary, to protect human rights in Bosnia, in Iraq, and in Afghanistan? Obama will curb this unruly independence and mold it within the fabric of appeasement that has dominated Europe for the past half a century.
All this heavy lifting, this conversion of America into a European state, deserves a reward. And what is a more fitting one than to give Obama than the Nobel Peace Prize? He obviously doesn’t deserve the award for economics or, given his health care ideas, for medicine. But the Peace Prize expresses Europe’s longing: to take back the nation its overly ambitious and uppity children founded.
I have been preaching for a while that this country needs to open to the world and not isolate ourselves from the outside. Since Obama has been out there,he raised the bar for peace across the world. By talking to Muslems,Europeans,Palestinians,Israelites and lately the Olympics for Chicago,he is up front with actions that can only awaken the world that Obama aka America is going in another direction and we will not gain our way to popularity by bombs but by mere bylateral talks.
Tommy,
The world have socialist programs because they care about their people and we will show the world that America will take care of their own also. Through their past experiences we will build our own program and this indirectly will influence the world and they will be sympathetic to our democratic cause.What better peaceful effort than giving access to medical care to everyone.
Obama has shown patience,bipartisanship,consensus seeker and embraced the world with his vision and his actions. America is considered as the only country that can bring peace to the world and the world recognized the first steps taken since he became president as potential for peace. To continue and succeed would be marvelous.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091009/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nobel_peace_citation
Socialism is not a democratic ideology. Equality is enforced under it’s vision of society. Independant thoughts are discouraged. What good is a vote if the state will not allow a new idea to be considered or vote on. Socialism limits freedom. Only free market capitalism encourages freedom of choice by letting individuals select with their wallets the options they prefer.
People that believe “people need to be taken care of”, do no justice to those they purportt to help. They only feed their own self-absorbed egos. Each of us becomes better and stronger via our own personal journey. We can learn compassion, but we cannot be forced to be compassionate. We can demonstrate morality, but we cannot regulate morality.
Innovations come from individuals seeking (mostly) material gains. The Nobel Committee seeks to honor individuals who innovate for altruistic gains. Unfortunately, the promise of material gains far out wieghs altruism as a motivation, and probably always will. Discouaging material gain via socialism will only serve to discourage innovation.
@Tommy Pane
Isn’t that the old definition of Socialism from the 1700’s?
How do you define Capitalism today without any socialism? Do you think the two philosophies’ can exist within one government?
Tommy,
What you are taking about is Communism.Social democrats aim to reform capitalism democratically through state regulation and the creation of programs that work to counteract or remove the social injustice and inefficiencies they see as inherent in capitalism. This significantly differs from traditional socialism, which aims to replace the capitalist system entirely with a new economic system characterized by either state or direct worker ownership of the means of production. Modern Socialism is not to control economies but to share capital within the framework of an independent market economy. It is called social democracy. In a certain respect,we have socialism in education where school commissions and government dictate policy on what our kids should learn.
We do agree to disagree on compassion and morality but capitalism has shown that it cannot on its own look after its people. Greed gets in the way and it doesn’t help the lowly people that made the entrepreneurs more fortunate than others.
I applaud President Obama for the courage of doing what he said he would do. I know that in the scheme of things it may be considered a social democratic bent but after it is done,you may say differently.
Hoorah to President Obama !
Tommy,
Social democrats aim to reform capitalism democratically through state regulation and the creation of programs that work to counteract or remove the social injustice and inefficiencies they see as inherent in capitalism. This significantly differs from traditional socialism, which aims to replace the capitalist system entirely with a new economic system characterized by either state or direct worker ownership of the means of production.
You may have been talking aout Communism which is a far cry of what we are taliking about
@Dahl – In my mind, we strayed too far toward the S word 100 years ago. Politicians use class envy to villianize capitalism because they want more control via the alternative system. A capitalist system is the only one that’s been proven to encourage individual prosperity. If someone feels incapble of achiveing prosperty on their own, they’ll attempt to use the state to help them achieve it.
He has brought NO peace to this country,only TROUBLE&MISERY.
Since capitalism refers strictly to economics, what role does socialism and governments play in our lives?