Roger Ebert' twitter last week:
"Q. How come Bush got people to believe lies but Obama can't get them to believe truth?"
"A. Those are the same people."
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Hello
This and that under the cut.
A new Newsweek poll released this weekend, contain some interesting and a in parts frustrating results - Like the difference in the support for HCR at the beginning of the poll (40-49) and AFTER being asked about the specifics of the plan (48-43), but the most interesting part is a match-up between president Obama and congressional GOP on 9 issues:
a. The economy:
Obama 46 GOP 30
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b. Creating jobs:
Obama 49 GOP 26
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c. Tax policy:
Obama 44 GOP 34
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d. Dealing with government debt and the federal budget deficit:
Obama 42 GOP 33
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e. The war in Iraq:
Obama 45 GOP 30
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f. The war in Afghanistan:
Obama 46 GOP 27
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g. Dealing with Iran:
Obama 40 GOP 30
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h. The use of military courts versus civilian trials for terrorism suspects:
Obama 34 GOP 38
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i. Climate change legislation:
Obama 38 GOP 26
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So he beats them on their precious deficit and national security issues, not to mention the economy, and the only place they beat him is those damn trials. Oh well, it will not change the media narrative.
President Barack Obama and House Republican Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) gesture while Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) look on during a meeting of bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate to discuss working together on issues surrounding the economy and jobs in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Feb. 10, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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Schwarzenegger Rips Romney, GOP For Stimulus Hypocrisy
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) accused his Republican colleagues in Washington on Sunday of blatant hypocrisy on the stimulus package -- railing against the jobs bill in public while poising for stimulus-related projects and ceremonies in their home districts.
Appearing on ABC's This Week, the moderate Republican frequent GOP scourge pointed to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in particular for arguing this past week that the stimulus bill hadn't produced a single "net" job gain.
"I find it interesting that you have a lot of the Republicans running around, and pushing back on the stimulus money and saying, 'This doesn't create any new job,'" said Schwarzenegger. "And then they go out and do the photo ops, posing with the big check and they say: 'Isn't this great, look at the kind of money I've provided for the state and this is money to create jobs, and this has created 10,000 new jobs, this has created 20,000 news jobs, and all those kinds of things.' It doesn't match up."
It's hypocrisy, said host Terry Moran. "Exactly," Schwarzenegger replied.
"I don't want to beat up on my Republican colleagues but I think it is kind of politics rather than thinking about one thing, and this is: 'How do we support the president? How do we support him and everything we can in order to go and stimulate the economy back and think about the people and not the politics?'
"Anyone that says this hasn't created a job, they should talk to the 150,000 people getting jobs in California," he added, "from the private sector and also from the public sector."
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Petraeus kick Cheney's butt on torture, Gitmo
Appearing on Meet the Press, the general made a compelling case against torturing terrorist detainees, saying he found it far more pragmatic and beneficial to stick to methods authorized by the army field manual.
"I have always been on the record, in fact, since 2003, with the concept of living our values. And I think that whenever we've perhaps taken expedient measures, they've turned around and bitten us in the backside. We decided early on, in the 101st airborne division, we just said, we decided to obey the Geneva Conventions...
"In the cases where that is not true [where torture takes place or international human rights groups aren't granted access to detention sites] we end up paying a price for it, ultimately," he added. "Abu Ghraib and other situations like that are non biodegradable. They don't go away. The enemy continues to beat you with them like a stick.... Beyond that, frankly, we have found that the use of interrogation methods in the army field manual that was given the force of law by Congress, that that works."
....Petraeus wasn't done there. In another contrast with former Vice President Cheney -- as well as the vast majority of congressional Republicans -- he reiterated his support for closing Gitmo, albeit without a date-specific time frame.
"I've been on the record on that for well over a year, saying it should be closed," he said. "But it should be done in a responsible matter. So I'm not seized with the issue that it won't be done by a certain date. In fact, I think it is prudent to insure that as we move forward with that, the remaining detainees are relocated and so forth... is really thought through and done in a very pragmatic and sensible manner."
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And something different:
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The Obama administration will invest more than $2.2 billion in rescuing the Great Lakes:
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The Obama administration has developed a five-year blueprint for rescuing the Great Lakes, a sprawling ecosystem plagued by toxic contamination, shrinking wildlife habitat and invasive species.
The plan envisions spending more than $2.2 billion for long-awaited repairs after a century of damage to the lakes, which hold 20% of the world's fresh water. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the document, which Lisa Jackson, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, was releasing at a news conference Sunday in Washington.
"We're committed to creating a new standard of care that will leave the Great Lakes better for the next generation," Jackson said in a statement.
Among the goals is a "zero tolerance policy" toward future invasions by foreign species, including the Asian carp, a huge, ravenous fish that has overrun portions of the Mississippi River system and is threatening to enter Lake Michigan.
Others include cleanup of the region's most heavily polluted sites, restoring wetlands and other crucial habitat, and improving water quality in shallow areas, where runoff from cities and farms has led to unsightly algae blooms and beach closings...
...During his 2008 campaign, Obama pledged $5 billion over a decade toward fulfilling a Great Lakes cleanup wish list developed by a coalition of agencies, scientists and activists.
Congress last year approved his request for a first installment of $475 million. The newly released plan assumes yearly appropriations of the same amount through 2014, except for the $300 million President Obama requested this month in his 2011 budget...
...Among the goals it seeks by 2014: finishing work at five toxic hot spots that have languished on cleanup lists for two decades; a 40% reduction in the rate at which invasive species are discovered in the lakes; measurable decreases in phosphorus runoff; and protection of nearly 100,000 wetland acres.
It also will help save species such as the lake sturgeon, a prehistoric fish that can reach 8 feet long and 200 pounds but is endangered because of overharvesting and habitat degradation. The plan promises to provide 25,000 young sturgeon for stocking programs.
Combined with enforcement of environmental rules and new ones where needed, officials said the plan would help make Great Lakes fish safe to eat, their waters suitable for drinking and swimming, and their native plants and animals thriving.
The lakes provide drinking water to more than 30 million people and are the backbone of a regional economy dependent on tourism, outdoor recreation, shipping and manufacturing.
"We now have a golden opportunity, even a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to make huge progress," Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, co-chairman of the Council of Great Lakes Governors, said in a telephone interview Saturday. "We've been talking about this for a long time. Now the federal government is putting some real resources behind it."....
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Sunday Photo Dish. All together now: PLEASE DON'T HOT-LINK!
Enjoy.
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Bob Dylan shakes President Barack Obama's hand following his performance at the "In Performance At The White House: A Celebration Of Music From The Civil Rights Movement" concert in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 9, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama, the First Family, Vice President Joe Biden and others in the audience applaud Joan Baez after her singing "We Shall Overcome" at the "In Performance At The White House: A Celebration Of Music From The Civil Rights Movement" concert in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 9, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama and the First Family join the performers on stage in the East Room of the White House as they sing "Lift Every Voice and Sing" at the conclusion of "In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement, " Feb. 9, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama speaks during a town hall meeting at Green Valley High School as U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and North Las Vegas firefighter/paramedic Gregory Koehler listen February 19, 2010 in Henderson, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) *
President Barack Obama speaks during a town hall meeting at Green Valley High School February 19, 2010 in Henderson, Nevada. Obama announced USD 1.5 billion in funding for housing finance agencies to help the five hardest-hit states: Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
President Barack Obama exits the stage after delivering a speech to Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas, Friday, Feb. 19, 2010. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
President Barack Obama arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Friday, Feb. 19, 2010. The President had spent the day in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)
After delivering remarks at the daily press briefing, President Barack Obama smiles as he walks past Press Assistant Priya Singh through the Lower Press Office of the White House en route to the Oval Office, Feb. 9, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama leans backward as Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel speaks during a National Economic Council and Domestic Policy Council planning meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Feb. 11, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama looks out over the snow covered south grounds of the White House from the Oval Office, Feb. 10, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama looks out the window of the Oval Office, Feb. 12, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama taping his weekly address. Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton.
President Barack Obama goes over papers while on the phone in the Oval Office, Feb. 12, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)