Here are some National polls… but the storm could change this

Here are the latest national tracking polls of the presidential race:

Back to the White House

Washington Post: Romney 49%, Obama 48%

Politico/George Washington University: Obama 49%, Romney 48%

Public Policy Polling: Romney 49%, Obama 48%

Reuters/Ipsos: Obama 49%, Romney 46%

Obama, however, has pulled away from campaign speeches so he could get back to the White House to manage the storm response for the East coast. This is a real sign of his being presidential… after all, he has a full-time job working for us. Romney being unemployed right now will keep up campaigning, but it will be interesting to see how he responds to the President’s activities.

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• Hurricane Sandy blows US election off course – Reuters (reuters.com)
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We hear so much about truth when talking about candidates’ statements…

… but is Obama/Biden or Romney Ryan the more truthful team? The Dems are the losers on lying… but the Republicans cannot seem to achieve overall truthfulness. Politifact evaluates their percentages of truthful expression as follows:

So if having candidates you can believe is important, then there is no question of which team to support.

Related articles

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• Politico Truth Meters – Potus Obama & Mitt the Twit (bonjupatten.wordpress.com)

 

In case you missed it, here is last night’s debate…

The whole video is below:

Feel free to post your comments.

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• In debates, listening is as important as talking (newsvine.com)

 

The VP Debate may have changed things around a little… I think Biden really pulled it off.

I’ve heard critiques this morning that Vice President Joe Biden was all smirks, smiles, laughs, sharp elbows and impolite interruptions in his debate with Paul Ryan. It is always a risky tactic to let Joe be Joe, but it seems to have paid off.

After President Obama’s passive, lackluster response to Mitt Romney’s energetic assault during the first presidential debate, it was a relief that Biden came out swinging at Ryan. They got what they wanted and, as a result, Democrats should be reinvigorated as the closing days of the 2012 campaign tick away. I know I am.

And Biden made sure voters got to see Mitt Romney’s “47 percent” line put into action against the Republican presidential campaign. It was a fantasy moment for Democrats and Obama supporters, who thought the 47% quote from Romney was their major attack point.

CBS’s poll of undecided voters had Biden with a clear win, 50-31. Now we’ll see over the next few days how the VP debate effects overall polling for the presidential candidates.

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• Biden comes out swinging at debate, clashes with Ryan (reuters.com)
• Joe Biden Is Stronger Communicator in VP Debate (forbes.com)
• Biden walks line between aggressive, domineering (kansascity.com)

 

I’m watching the VP Debate…

If you listen to Ryan, if we are going to deal with Iran‘s coming nuclear capacity (the capacity of which both the candidates disagree on) we are going to have to insert troops. This means a new war – probably in partnership with Israel.

Biden brings up the fact that Iran has been weakened during the Obama administration – primarily in cutting back their oil sales by 20% or so. They don’t yet have a completed delivery mode, either.

Ryan is also going after Russia as an enemy… especially if we go to war in the middle east. In his opinion, Russia is the leasing supporter of the Arab countries. Biden, of course, gets back to the fact that Russia is currently our ally.

I’m curious as to how many of the current questions of the Romney / Ryan campaign get answered. I hand it to Biden that he has already put up the 47% as an issue related to taxes. Ryan seems to ignore it.

This is going to be an entertaining night.

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• 5 things to watch in VP debate (politico.com)
• Why the Biden-Ryan VP debate will be must-see TV for the healthcare industry (medcitynews.com)
• Iran In The US Campaign’s Crosshairs – OpEd (eurasiareview.com)
• War on Iran – Failing on Its Own Terms (antiwar.com)

 

So… do we all live in the same America? I don’t think so.

 

Cassy Zobel, a 34 year-old, white democrat who lives in Mckinney Texas, had a rude awakening Friday morning. Her neighbor rang her doorbell to alert her to the vandalism and blatant racism on her property.

Zobel found that someone had covered her Obama/Biden sign, displayed in her yard, with offensive graffiti on both front and back.

I find it interesting that our little suburban city was just named the 2nd best place to live in America. I suppose there should have been a caveat. “Best Place to Live If You’re A Bigoted White, Christian, Anti-Gay Person Who Doesn’t Support Our First African-American President And Hates Everyone Who Does”. That was probably too long a title, though.

- Cassy Zobel

One day we may become a country for everyone.

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Did Jill Biden make a penis joke on Friday?

 

An awful lot of folks on line think so. Take a listen:

So seeing Joe up close has an interesting interpretation. What do you think?

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Quote of the Day – from last night’s keynote speech…

 

“If you want a winner-take-all, you-are-on-your-own society, you should support the Republican ticket. If you want a country of shared opportunities and shared responsibility, a we-are-all-in-this-together society, you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.”

- Bill Clinton

 

Some of you may have missed Clinton’s speech due to football or the lateness of it’s presentation (if you are an early sleeper like me), so here it is in it’s entirety:

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Getting ready for the Democratic Convention…

 

Tomorrow will be the start of three days of Democrats firing up their base and showing support for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. They are in Charlotte, North Carolina, and we’ll be hearing some great speeches.

There’s been a lot of criticism of C lint Eastwood at the Republican Convention with his empty chair routine. A lot of people are suggesting that the Democrats come up with a parody attack. The leading suggestion is to have Betty White talking to Romney in an empty chair. It’s a very funny idea, but it is not going to happen.

Democrats are going to make the point that we are actually better off today than we were when George W. Bush left us in an economic mess.

Just look at how much job growth there has been in the private sector sing the Republicans (red bars) were replaced by Obama and the Democrats (blue bars.) Of course this is what the Republicans lied about last week when they said Obama had done nothing in the last 3 1/2 years.

So I hope everyone enjoys watching the convention and that independents and undecideds go for Obama/Biden and the Democratic congressional candidates.

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• Polls So Far: No Convention Bounce for Mitt Romney (themoderatevoice.com)

 

For all you GASLAND fans and activists…

New Video from Josh Fox and Bill McKibben:

JOSH FOX and BILL McKIBBEN’s Special Appeal to VP Biden: Save the Delaware!

WATCH THIS VIDEO JOSH FOX AND BILL McKIBBEN HAVE CREATED FOR JOE BIDEN AND THEN PLEASE TAKE THE STEP BY STEP ACTION BELOW:

EASY ACTION STEPS:

1) Send a FAX to the key targets listed below by clicking HERE.

2) Open a new email, copy the letter below, and paste the letter into the email.  Next, copy the emails listed below for Joe Biden and the others below (except President Obama) and insert those addresses into the address bar in the email.  Sign it and send it.

3) One last step:  Open a window to contact President Obama (link below) and paste the email into the window and send it.

VP JOE BIDEN:

Public@ovp.eop.gov

vice.president@whitehouse.gov

Phone: 202-456-1414 (ask to leave a message for both VP Biden AND Pres. Obama)

Fax:202 456 3455

COPY THE LETTER BELOW:

TO: Vice President Joe Biden

CC:

President Barack Obama (http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments)

Jo Ellen Darcy, Army Corps of Engineers for President Obama (ASACWPOC@conus.army.mil)

Governor Jack Markell (Mary.darby@state.de.us)

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden (Attorney.General@state.de.us)

Nancy Sutlley, Council on Environmental Quality (chair@ceq.eop.gov)

Dear Vice President Biden-

DON’T FRACK THE DELAWARE

We respect your integrity, your strength, your leadership and most of all your environmental record.

I am writing to urge you to unequivocally reject the Delaware River Basin Commission’s (DRBC) proposal to allow gas drilling within the Delaware River Basin.  The DRBC received 69,800 public comments on their proposed draft regulations which were overwhelmingly against fracking.  They have ignored them and in the process ignored the democratic process.  Commissioners who vote to allow fracking are on the wrong side of history and will be held accountable.

Hydraulic Fracturing – or Fracking – is a highly dangerous method of drilling for natural gas that risks the safety of our air, water, and food, and threatens the health of our families, communities, and environment and will undoubtedly put into jeopardy these critical considerations in the Delaware River Basin.  In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy Science Advisory Board’s own Subcommittee on Shale Gas Production recently recommended “[p]reservation of unique and/or sensitive areas as off limits to drilling. . .”

I urge you to say no to fracking in the Delaware River Basin. The charter of the DRBC calls for it to protect water quality in the basin, and clearly calls for nothing else to be considered above this mandate.  There has been more than sufficient evidence, through widely documented incidents of contamination, to overwhelmingly convince any individual willing to look at the facts that a practice as potentially catastrophic as hydraulic fracturing should not be considered in a such sensitive area, the drinking water supply for 15.6 million people.

Do not think that a yes vote on these regulations will go unnoticed or unchallenged in the media or in the public sphere.  The New York Times, Pro-Publica, and HBO’s GASLAND 2, to name a few media sources will report on fracking in the watershed and organizations with a very wide reach such as 350.org, Democracy for America, NRDC, Environmental Working Group, Catskill MountainKeeper, Delaware RiverKeeper and literally hundreds of others will be extremely vocal about any drilling allowed in the Delaware River Basin.  If the regulations pass and the river basin is industrialized beyond recognition and contaminated, it will be forever the legacy of those who voted yes.

This watershed provides drinking water for more than 15 million people, delivering 1,803 million gallons of water every day to public water supplies.  That’s about 5% of the nation’s population – including New York City and Philadelphia – who are depending on this relatively small watershed for safe drinking water every day.  From massive water withdrawals to leaks and spills of toxics-laden frack fluid to the generation of millions of gallons of wastewater – sometimes laced with radioactive substances – the  for gas drilling to pollute our water is grave.  Specifically, and documented in the New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s Hazen and Sawyer Report, slick water horizontal hydraulic fracturing uses around 350,000-400,000 pounds of chemicals per well, many of these extremely toxic and cancer causing. To allow such obviously carcinogenic and dangerous activity near the sole or primary drinking water source for millions of Americans is nothing short of an invitation to disaster.

Moreover, the Delaware River Basin is vital to our ecology and quality of life.  Its national park recreation areas are so treasured that 5.4 million visitors come each year to hike, camp, boat, or swim.  Drinking water for millions, habitat for wildlife, and recreation for millions:  one is hard-pressed to find meaning in the DOE subcommittee’s phrase “unique and or sensitive areas” if you do not apply it to the Delaware River Basin.  With this clear and defining policy statement, how could one actually move forward to drill and inject so much chemically laden water into such a sensitive and vital American Treasure?

Moreover, oil and gas industry claims that drilling will aid economic recovery are patently false.  In fact, drilling will damage the Basin’s existing economic value.  The value of its water supply alone has recently been calculated by a University of Delaware study at $3,767,000 in annual economic value.  Looking at the many aspects of economic value that the River provides, this study concludes that “[t]he Delaware Basin contributes close to $22 billion in annual market/non-market value to the regional economy…”  Much of that value derives from forests, water supply and high water quality.  These are the very assets at risk if natural gas development moves ahead in the Marcellus and Utica Shales, located in the Upper and Middle Delaware River Watershed.  More so, many families in Pennsylvania, are already finding that after contamination, the value of their homes has dropped precipitously to what it once was.  This is not the economic benefit that, during such a time of economic hardship, should be even be considered.

Surely you have noticed that the only contingents interested in pushing forward with fracking are ones that stand to benefit financially, who consistently dismiss the economic hardships and environmental degradation caused by the collateral damage incurred from this risky practice.  This sort of omission and faulty economic analysis leaves the greater public liable for the true costs of contamination in numerous, and painful ways.  Giving a yes vote to something that could potentially harm the general public in such a way would be nothing short of granting license to harm millions of Americans for the economic prosperity of a few.

There is an out, just as New York has urged no drilling in its watersheds which serve huge populations (the watersheds for New York City and Syracuse) the Obama Administration and the state of Delaware can vote to disallow fracking in the Delaware river basin which also serves a huge number of people with drinking water.

Currently New York Attorney General has filed suit against the commission for failing in its obligation to complete a cumulative impact study of hydrofracking on the river basin, which is required of the commission by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  This means that the DRBC would be violating the law in allowing gas drilling regulations. We urge you to reject all drilling in the river basin flat out, but, at very least, the DRBC is required to do a multi-year cumulative impact study, which would truly assess the impact on the river basin, by federal law.

I strongly urge you to reject the proposed regulations to drill and call on you to protect the Delaware River Basin from fracked gas drilling. Please stand with this National Wild and Scenic River, its communities and habitats, and the more than 15 million people who rely on the Delaware for their water.  To do otherwise could be catastrophic, and would surely cement your historic decision to reflect alignment with the polluting fossil fuel industry for generations to come.  We voted you into office to serve and protect all of the people, not just the few who wish to profit at all costs.

Please make sure the DRBC votes no on the proposed regulations and insist on a ban in this fragile, scenic, historic, and critical watershed that serves millions of Americans.

Thank you,

Sincerely,

THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO!

Josh

As you know, this blog came out against fracking months ago. We support Josh Fox and Bill McKibben.

So last week was Tea Party Week… maybe this will scare the rest of America enough to stop criticizing Obama and join ranks…

Take a look:

Let’s make this week Democratic Week…

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Chinese President Hu Jintao in China’s first state visit since 1997.

Obama kicked it off with a State Dinner at the White House kast night. All the important people were there…except of course for John Boehner. Mr. Speaker declined his invitation.

Here’s the guest list for the White House State Dinner:

THE PRESIDENT and MRS. OBAMA

HIS EXCELLENCY HU JINTAO

The Honorable Madeleine Albright, Washington, D.C.
Ms. Alice Albright

Ms. Christiane Amanpour, ABC News, New York, NY
Mr. James Rubin

The Honorable David Axelrod, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor
Mrs. Susan Axelrod

Mr. Jeffrey Bader, National Security Council
Ms. Rohini Talalla

The Honorable Elizabeth Bagley, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Kevin Frawley

Mr. Steven Ballmer, Microsoft, Redmond, WA
Mrs. Connie Ballmer

Ms. Bette Bao Lord, New York, NY
The Honorable Winston Lord

Mrs. Denise Bauer, Belvedere Tiburon, CA

The Honorable Howard Berman, Representative from California
Mrs. Janis Berman

Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Dr. Jill Biden

The Honorable Joseph Beau Biden, III, Attorney General of Delaware, Wilmington, DE
Mrs. Hallie Biden

His Excellency Zheng Bijian, Chairman, CIIDS

His Excellency Dai Bingguo, State Councilor

Mr. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs, New York, NY
Mrs. Laura Blankfein

The Honorable Antony Blinken, Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor, Office of the Vice President

The Honorable Stephen Breyer, United States Supreme Court
Dr. Johanna Breyer

Mr. Greg Brown, Motorola, Schaumburg, IL
Mrs. Anna-Louise Brown

The Honorable Dr. Zbigniew Brezezinski, McLean, VA
Mrs. Emilie A. Brzezinski

The Honorable Kurt M. Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
The Honorable Lael Brainard, Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs

The Honorable James E. Carter, former President of the United States
Mrs. Rosalynn Carter

Mr. Jackie Chan, Beverly Hills, CA
Mr. Phillip Button

The Honorable Elaine Chao, Washington, D.C.
Dr. James Chao

His Excellency Wang Chao, Vice Minister for Commerce

His Excellency Tung Chee Hwa, Vice Chairman, CPPCC, former Hong Kong Chief Executive

Mr. John A. Chen, Chairman, Committee of 100, New York, NY
Mrs. Sherrie Chen

The Honorable Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ
Mrs. Mary Pat Christie

The Honorable Judy Chu, Representative from California
Ms. Chiling Tong

The Honorable Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy
Mrs. Jean Chu

The Honorable Hillary R. Clinton, Secretary of State

The Honorable William J. Clinton, former President of the United States

The Honorable James E. Clyburn, Representative from South Carolina
Mr. John Clyburn

The Honorable Richard Daley, Mayor of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Mrs. Maggie Daley

The Honorable William Daley, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff
Ms. Bernadette Keller

His Excellency Chen Deming, Minister of Commerce

Mr. Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan Chase & Co., New York, NY
Mrs. Judith Dimon

The Honorable Thomas Donilon, Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor
Ms. Cathy Russell, Chief of Staff to Dr. Jill Biden

The Honorable Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education
Mrs. Karen Duncan

Mr. James Fallows, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Deborah Fallows

Mr. Xie Feng, Director General, MFA

Mr. Thomas Friedman, The New York Times, Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Ann Friedman

The Honorable Michael B. Froman, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs
Ms. Nancy Goodman

His Excellency Wan Gang, Minister of Science and Technology

The Honorable Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense
Mrs. Becky Gates

The Honorable Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury
Mrs. Carole Geithner

Mr. Mark Gilbert, Boca Raton, FL
Mrs. Nancy Gilbert

The Honorable Chris Gregoire, Governor of Washington, Olympia, WA
Ms. Courtney Gregoire

His Excellency Zhu Guangyao, Vice Minister for Finance

His Excellency Zhang Guobao, Vice Minister for NDRC

Mr. Herbie Hancock, Los Angeles, CA
Mrs. GiGi Hancock

The Honorable Dr. John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Science and Technology

The Honorable Robert Hormats, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs

The Honorable Steny Hoyer, Representative from Maryland, Democratic WHIP

His Excellency Wang Huning, Director of the Policy Research Office of CCCPC

The Honorable Jon Huntsman, U.S. Ambassador to China
Mrs. Mary Kaye Huntsman

Mr. Robert Iger, The Walt Disney Company, Burbank, CA
Ms. Willow Bay

Mr. David Ignatius, The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Eve Ignatius

Mr. Jeff Immelt, General Electric, Fairfield, CT
Mrs. Andrea Immelt

The Honorable Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement

His Excellency Li Jiaxiang, Vice Minister for Transportation

His Excellency Yang Jiechi, Minister of Foreign Affairs

His Excellency Ling Jihua, Director of the General Office of CCCPC

Mr. Robert Kagan, McLean, VA
Ms. Victoria Nuland

Mr. Michael Kempner, East Rutherford, NJ
Mrs. Jacqueline Kempner

Mr. Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola, Atlanta, GA

The Honorable John F. Kerry, Senator from Massachusetts
Mrs. Teresa Heinz Kerry

Mr. Robert King, UAW, Detroit, MI
Ms. Julie Kushner

The Honorable Ron Kirk, United States Trade Representative
Mrs. Matrice Ellis-Kirk

The Honorable Henry Kissinger, New York, NY
Mrs. Nancy Kissinger

Mr. Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times, Scarsdale, NY
Ms. Sheryl WuDunn

Ms. Ellen Kullman, DuPont, Wilmington, DE
Mr. Michael Kullman

Dr. Zhang Kunsheng, Director-General, Protocol Department

Ms. Michelle Kwan, Torrance, CA

Mr. Lang Lang, New York, NY
Mrs. Zhou Xiulan

The Honorable Jacob Lew, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources

Ms. Maya Lin, New York, NY
Mr. Daniel Wolf

Ms. Limin Liu, Reno, NV
Dr. Hugh Shapiro

Mr. Andrew N. Liveris, The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI
Mrs. Paula Liveris

The Honorable Gary Locke, Secretary of Commerce
Mrs. Mona Locke

The Honorable Christopher Lu, Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary
Ms. Kathryn Thomson

The Honorable Richard Lugar, Senator from Indiana
Mrs. Charlene Lugar

Mr. Yo Yo Ma, Burbank, CA
Ms. Jill Hornor

The Honorable Capricia Marshall, Chief of Protocol, Department of State

Mr. W. James McNerney, The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL
Mrs. Haity McNerney

Mr. Evan Medeiros, Director for Asian Affairs, NSS

His Excellency Jiang Mianheng, Vice Chairman, CAS

Mr. Mel Monzack, Wilmington, DE
Mrs. Ann Monzack

Admiral Michael G. Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Mrs. Wendi Deng Murdoch, New York, NY

Mr. James Murren, Las Vegas, NV
Mrs. Heather Murren

The Honorable Thomas Nides, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources
Ms. Virginia Moseley

Mr. Paul Otellini, Intel, Santa Clara, CA
Mrs. Sandy Otellini

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Representative from California, Democratic Leader
Mr. Paul Pelosi

His Excellency Zhang Ping, Minister of NDRC

The Honorable David Plouffe, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor
Ms. Olivia Morgan

Mr. Tom Pritzker, Pritzker Organization, Chicago, IL
Mrs. Margot Pritzker

His Excellency Wang Qishan, Vice Premier of the State Council

Ms. Jean Quan, Mayor of Oakland, CA
The Honorable Edwin M. Lee, Mayor of San Francisco, CA

Ms. Azita Raji, JP Morgan Securities, Inc., Belvedere, CA
Mr. Gary Syman

The Honorable Ben Rhodes, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting
Ms. Ann Norris

The Honorable Susan Rice, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, New York, NY
Mr. Ian Cameron

Mr. Robert Roche, Shanghai, CN

Mr. Kenneth Roth, The Human Rights Watch, Washington, D.C.
Ms. Annie Sparrow

The Honorable Pete Rouse, Counselor to the President
Ms. Courtney Chapin

Mr. David M. Rubenstein, The Carlyle Group, Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Alice Rubenstein

Mr. Kirk Rudy, Austin, TX
Mrs. Amy Rudy

The Honorable Brent Scowcroft, The Forum for International Policy, Washington, D.C.

The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services
The Honorable Gary Sebelius

The Honorable Susan Sher, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady
The Honorable Neil Cohen

Mr. Robert Sherman, Boston, MA
Ms. Kim S. Sawyer

His Excellency Chen Shiju, Chief of the President’s Office

The Honorable George Shultz, Stanford, CA
Mrs. Charlotte Shultz

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Culver City, CA
The Honorable Phil Gordon, Mayor of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ

The Honorable Gene Sperling, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy & Director of the National Economic Council
Ms. Allison Abner

The Honorable Jim Steinberg, Deputy Secretary of State
Ms. Sherburne B. Abbott

Ms. Barbra Streisand, Malibu, CA
Mr. James Brolin

The Honorable Tina Tchen, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement

Mr. John Thornton, The Brookings Institution, HSBC North America, Palm Beach, FL
Mrs. Margaret Thornton

His Excellency Cui Tiankai, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs

Dr. Stanley Toy, Jr., Pasadena, CA
Ms. Lana Toy

Mr. Luis Ubinas, The Ford Foundation, New York, NY
Dr. Deborah Tolman

Mr. Jose Villarreal, Commissioner General, Shanghai Expo, San Antonio, TX
Ms. Sara Villarreal

Ms. Vera Wang, New York, NY
Mr. Arthur Becker

Mr. Steve Westly, Menlo Park, CA
Ms. Anita Yu

Ms. Anna Wintour, Vogue Magazine, New York, NY
Mr. Shelby Bryan

Ms. Patricia A. Woertz, Archer Daniels Midland, Decatur, IL
Mr. Kelvin R. Westbrook

Mr. B.D. Wong, New York, NY
Mrs. Roberta Wong

Mr. Charles Woo, Mega Toys, Los Angeles, CA
Mrs. Ying Woo

The Honorable David Wu, Representative from Oregon
Ms. Anna Kopperud

His Excellency Xie Xuren, Minister of Finance

His Excellency Zhang Yesui, Chinese Ambassador to the United States
Madam Chen Naiqing

His Excellency Sun Yibiao, Vice Minister for Customs

Related Articles

• Photos: Obama’s State Dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao (usnews.com)
• Hu Jintao welcomed to White House with human rights rebuke (telegraph.co.uk)
• Chinese president to attend state dinner, hold talks with Obama – CNN International (news.google.com)
• The last White House state dinner for China was 13 years ago – CNN International (news.google.com)

Wednesday morning as we proceed down the drain…

Here it is, 30 years to the day, the anniversary of the death of John Lennon at the hands of a young loony. Thirty years! We still listen to Lennon’s music (iTunes has just released all the Beatles stuff for the first time – including the later Lennon stuff) and kids who weren’t even born when Lennon died are just discovering the Beatles and Lennon and buying it up.

From my point of view, it brings me back to a time when we were trying to Give Peace A Chance because All We Need(ed) Is Love. But it didn’t happen. We went into war after war… we blew our budgets and debt up like Macy’s Parade balloons… we put ourselves into a split society which is killing itself (and not slowly any more.) For example: this week we are working as hard as we can to sell our bodies and souls to China and Saudi Arabia by increasing our debt and getting little in return.

This morning I’m watching the comments of Representatives (mostly Democrats) who are pretty pissed off. I hear that Joe Biden is meeting with the House Dems today to tell them that “the deal’s not sealed.” Yeah, sure. This is how they are going to hold Nancy Pelosi off.

The Senate is going to spend a big part of their morning with the ongoing Impeachment Trial of Judge Thomas Porteous. This has been taking up their time all week and, of course, is not taking care of the things the people need to get down to. Only 8 days left, guys.

As to what the Senate is going to do with the Tax Cut Extension legislation, seeing they have to get 60 votes to do anything (thanks to the Republicans requiring the filibuster level vote for EVERYTHING), I’m not sure what’s going to happen. And there are a bunch of Democrats, and the Independent Bernie Sanders, who will do what they can to keep the Obama agreement from going through as well. If we get through December 31 without the Congress passing on this, then the Tax Cut is ended and the taxes go back into play across the board.

And what are we going to do. As the voters, the population as a whole, and 98% of us not rich enough to benefit from what’s going an and all of us split into groups that are designed to not get along with each other by the political controllers who the rich have put into place, what can we do? We write blogs, send letter, call offices and everything else we can do to get our two cents in, and it doesn’t seem to matter.

And as I write this, Judge Porteous seems to be being found GUILTY by a unanimous Senate (at least on article 1 for having a “corrupt financial relationship” with a law firm and failing to recuse himself from a case). Watching these concerned Senators stand up 1 by 1 to vote “guilty” is pretty impressive, considering how many of them, to me are just as guilty of covering up so many things and flat out lying to voters during their campaigns. It reminds me of the lyric from Fiorello, “the only crime is to be caught.”

Have a nice day, folks.

Related Articles

• Senate Begins Impeachment Trial of Federal District Judge Thomas Porteous (volokh.com)
• Taxes, What Taxes? Senate Starts Impeachment Trial (blogs.abcnews.com)
• The Caucus: And Over in the Senate, An Impeachment Trial for a Judge (thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Senate to hold rare impeachment trial for judge (politico.com)
• Imagine | 30 Years Later (onemann.blogspot.com)
• John Lennon Death Anniversary: John Lennon Quotes, Facts, Videos (nowpublic.com)
• “Socialist Bernie Sanders Threatens to Filibuster Obama Tax Deal With Republicans” and related posts (nalert.blogspot.com)
• Remembering John Lennon, by the numbers (cleveland.com)
• The Day John Lennon Died (mirror.co.uk)
• Millions mark John Lennon’s death (mirror.co.uk)
• You: Lennon: Forever young 30 years after death (france24.com)

A look at the impact on history that tomorrow will have…

I’m watching two historians, Douglas Brinkley and Richard Norton Smith, being interviewed on C-Span’s Q&A by Brian Lamb. They are doing a general overview on how our world has changed over the last six decades or so… from WWII through various Presidential Administrations up to and including Obama. Their discussion on how the country has gone from different parties and groups that could get along, all of whom put the country first ahead of party position, eventually turning into radically polluted politics and a malignant society of opposites that refuse to come together.

The election which will, more or less, conclude tomorrow, will emphasize the split between Tea Party supporters reestablishing white control of an increasingly mixed country and Obama Democrats, working to solve problems without bringing everyone together, from both the left and the right, to participate. Smith wonders what would happen if the whole country could be “redistricted”, not by politicians, but by a computer or judges, then everything could change for the better… and districts could compete or even work together to solve problems.  It’s one of several ideas both Smith and Brinkley keep proposing, but obviously they are both frustrated with the political world as it is today.

Brinkley expresses the idea that Obama could run in 2012 with Hillary Clinton as VP and Joe Biden as Secretary of State (the job he’s always wanted) and they could come up against Sarah Palin running for President after other Republicans destroy each other in primaries. And, in that situation, they would wipe out what things the Republicans achieve in the 2010 election. Smith, however, predicts that Palin will never run for President. Predictions are very easy to make, moderately easy to justify, and far enough away to be unimportant now.

Whatever happens at the election tomorrow, it will make a new point in our history and the historians here seem to know this and find it a “healthy” situation.

Why you didn’t see Christine O’Donnell on the Sunday Talking heads…

…and you are probably not likely to in the future.

This clip from Talking Points Memo:

clipped from tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com Christine O’Donnell, the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate from Delaware, had been set to appear on CBS‘ “Face the Nation” and “Fox News Sunday” tomorrow, but has scrapped both appearances to attend campaign events, including a picnic, the AP reported. O’Donnell’s planned appearance on the Sunday shows would have put her in the position of answering tough questions about her track record of attention-grabbing statements on pre-marital sex, Joe Biden allegedly tapping her phone and her own dabbling in witchcraft. The cancellations, just four days after her stunning win in the Delaware GOP primary, comes on the heels of O’Donnell’s positive reception at the Values Voters Summit on Friday. The “Fox News Sunday” website was still promoting O’Donnell’s appearance as of Saturday afternoon. Karl Rove — who had been critical of O’Donnell’s “nutty” views but later backed the candidate — was also scheduled to be on the program.

Related Articles

• Karl Rove Says Christine O’Donnell Needs to Explain Witchcraft ‘Dabbling’ to Voters (politicsdaily.com)
• Karl Rove: Christine O’Donnell Needs To Explain Her ‘Witchcraft’ Remarks (mediaite.com)
• Christine O’Donnell Was A Witch! (perezhilton.com)

New Rasmussen Report out on Delaware Senate Race…

O’Donnell has achieved what no one thought would happen a couple of weeks ago… a chance for a Democrat to hold onto the Senate seat once held by Joe Biden.

Here’s a clip:

clipped from www.rasmussenreports.com Election 2010: Delaware Senate Delaware Senate: Coons (D) 53%, O’Donnell (R) 42% Democrat Chris Coons holds a double-digit lead over Republican hopeful Christine O’Donnell in the first Rasmussen Reports post-primary survey of the U.S. Senate race in Delaware. Coons earns 53% of the vote to O’Donnell’s 42%, with leaners included. One percent (1%) prefer some other candidate, and four percent (4%) are undecided. The Delaware race is now viewed as Solid Democrat in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Senate Balance of Power rankings. This marks a remarkable turnaround in a race that at the beginning of the month was rated Solid Republican and was on track to be a GOP pickup. At that time, Congressman Mike Castle led Coons as he had been leading all year. O’Donnell trailed Coons at that time 47% to 36%. If leaners are not included, Coons, the elected executive of the state’s largest county, posts a 51% to 40% lead over O’Donnell. See toplines for other data from this survey.

Related Articles

• Delaware Senate: Coons 53% O’Donnell 42% (outsidethebeltway.com)
• The first post-primary poll in Delaware (redstate.com)
• Color It Blue? (talkingpointsmemo.com)

This is why I’d like to keep Religion out of Politics

The BBC reporting on Vice President Biden yesterday apparently are unaware of Ash Wednesday… It is too bad they have to be aware of it.

At the end of this video clip the unfortunate reporter realizes her mistake.