“White Christmas“ is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the version sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.[1][2][3][4]
Accounts vary as to when and where Berlin wrote the song.[4] One story is that he wrote it in 1940, in warm La Quinta, California, while staying at the La Quinta Hotel, a frequent Hollywood retreat also favored by writer-producer Frank Capra. He often stayed up all night writing — he told his secretary, “Grab your pen and take down this song. I just wrote the best song I’ve ever written — heck, I just wrote the best song that anybody’s ever written!”[5]
So…
General Patraeus was playing footsie with the neo-cons.
Surprise…surprise.
seems as if Tapper was disrespectful towards POTUS at the press conference.
LB4Obama
December 19, 2012 at 12:58 pm
I just got off the phone with the assistant to Ms. Sprouls who is the political director for ABC news and Tapper’s boss. I told her he should be fired for what he just pulled at the presser. I urge everyone to do the same. Her phone number is 202-222-7200 or email her at meredith.nettles@abc.com. I am so pissed right now I can’t even see straight! We need to get this prick removed from covering this POTUS for the next 4 years. Take action NOW!
See thread
http://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/281400058199539712/photo/1
here’s your punch in the gut for today.
Jack Pinto’s (one of the Newton victims) best friend wrote him a note.
https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/281051007172112384/photo/1
no words…
Sweet Jesus!
A shift in posture, a sense of ‘weakness’
By Steve Benen
Wed Dec 19, 2012 9:57 AM EST.
Soon after the elections, still riding high from an electoral mandate and improved poll numbers, President Obama entered fiscal talks with congressional Republicans with the appropriate posture. He starting drawing lines in the sand, making unambiguous demands, and presented an offer that Democrats actually liked — without preemptive concessions.
But as talks progressed, the president felt the need to change his posture and show some flexibility. House Speaker John Boehner made a concession over the weekend, and so Obama responded with some compromises of his own.
The fact that Republicans found Obama’s concessions inadequate is not surprising. But Ezra Klein highlights a more important takeaway from yesterday’s machinations.
There are also some who think that Boehner — and, more to the point, Boehner’s House members — increasingly see weakness in the White House’s negotiating position.
A few weeks ago, the Obama administration was firm that they wouldn’t budge on tax rates for income above $250,000 and that they wouldn’t budge on the debt ceiling. They’ve since budged on both. Republicans increasingly think the White House will concede more now, and that if they don’t concede more now they’ll definitely give Republicans a better deal if threatened with debt default. Whether or not that’s true, it pulls Republicans — and Boehner — to the right, as it makes it harder for Boehner to argue for a compromise now.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/12/19/16018263-a-shift-in-posture-a-sense-of-weakness?lite
Why the next four years might be more of the same
Posted by Jamelle Bouie on December 19, 2012 at 11:03 am
Rather than come to some agreement with the administration, House Republicans have switched to a unilateral plan to deal with the fiscal cliff: Bush-era tax rates would remain for all income under $1 million.
The White House has now announced that Obama would veto any such measure, and the House GOP’s “plan B” isn’t going anywhere. But it signifies something larger about what to expect in Obama’s second term: That none of the incentives have changed for Republicans, meaning they still have no reason to cooperate with the President. In other words: The next four years may be largely the same as the last four.
The GOP’s current behavior is out of sync with the public’s priorities, as expressed in the election, where solid majorities reelected President Obama and sent more Democrats to the Senate. But that likely won’t matter to Republicans, because the odds are good that in the end they won’t incur public discontent for failing to cooperate. As the latest ABC News/Washington Post survey shows, there’s a strong disconnect between how Americans view the president, and how they view the question of whether he has a mandate to carry out his agenda.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2012/12/19/why-the-next-four-years-might-be-more-of-the-same/
Such gloom and doom here. So does that mean PBO will receive Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” in 2013? Just asking…
Conservatives target Hagel before nomination
By Steve Benen
Wed Dec 19, 2012 10:55 AM EST
It’s not yet official, but former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) is believed to be President Obama’s top choice to become the Secretary of Defense in a second term. One might expect most of the pushback to come from the left — Democratic presidents, the argument goes, shouldn’t keep nominating Republicans to head the Pentagon.
And yet, the loudest complaints about Obama possibly nominating a conservative Republican are coming from the right. Republican Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Susan Collins, emboldened after smearing Susan Rice for no reason, have said he’s been occasionally critical of Israel and insufficiently aggressive in his posture towards Iran. The Weekly Standard and the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal have taken related shots.
The Washington Post editorial board, which tends to be consistently conservative on foreign policy, also criticized Hagel today, in part because he supports cutting the Pentagon’s budget, which he sees as “bloated.”
In terms of substantive responses to the criticisms, I’d recommend recent pieces from John Judis and James Fallows, both of whom offer compelling defenses of Hagel’s record. But the fact that these two prominent center-left voices have offered spirited arguments against Hagel’s detractors reinforce a larger point: conservatives, whether they realize it or not, are rallying support for Obama’s likely pick.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/12/19/16019184-conservatives-target-hagel-before-nomination?lite
Self-Destructive Attitude
by BooMan
Wed Dec 19th, 2012 at 10:12:13 AM EST
I want to thank Dana Milbank for writing his column in defense of Chuck Hagel. I don’t want Chuck Hagel to be our next Secretary of Defense, but that’s not the point. We need people, and particularly Jewish-Americans, to come to the defense of those who support Israel but are sometimes very critical of their policies. I think it is a big mistake for AIPAC or the ADL or neo-conservatives to throw the anti-Semitism label at people who have never shown any anti-Jewish animus. I’ve had right-wing blogs accuse me of anti-Semitism because of criticisms I’ve made of Israel’s policies, and it doesn’t make me more of a supporter of Israel. I shrug that stuff off, but not without a certain degree of irritation and impatience.
Let’s be frank for a moment. It isn’t easy to be a supporter of Israel. It may be easy for those who seek high office in the United States, but that’s about where the comfort zone ends. Israel has been losing legitimacy in the eyes of the world for decades now. It simply isn’t possible to defend their expansion of the settlements, and that makes it harder to defend everything else they do.
In my opinion, as Israel pursues its own self-defense they too often do damage to their own self-interest. I have opposed their policies as much for the harm they do to Israelis as the Palestinians. When people make this argument, they should not be called anti-Semitic. It’s misguided both because it is wrong and unfair, and because it pushes allies away.
If Chuck Hagel isn’t pro-Israel enough to be Secretary of Defense, then a lot of people are going to feel like maybe they don’t feel like being pro-Israel anymore.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/12/19/101213/92
TV One’s “Unsung” updates January, 2013 schedule with Johnny Gill, Disco special
(December 17, 2012) Great news for SoulTrackers and other lovers of the greatest show on television, TV One’s “Unsung.” TV One gave more information today on the sixth season of the show that will begin on January 21, 2013. It promises to be another great season.
This time around, artists who will be Unsung’ed will include Eddie Kendricks, The Whispers, EPMD, Lou Rawls, Midnight Star, Johnny Gill and Isaac Hayes. In addition, TV One just announced that there will be an Unsung two hour special on Disco, telling the definitive tale of an American phenomenon, featuring two dozen musical performances and commentary by legendary Disco survivors Gloria Gaynor, Nile Rodgers, Thelma Houston, The Village People, KC of the Sunshine Band. As always the shows will be narrated by actor Gary Anthony Williams.
http://www.soultracks.com/unsung-6th-season
Thanks for this. I’m looking forward to it.
Melissa Harris-Perry compares Tavis Smiley to Tuskegee syphilis study’s black nurse Posted on 12/16/2012
[….] The problem Dr. Harris-Perry has with Tavis Smiley involves his contracting with Wells Fargo — for a reported $4 million — to organize and orchestrate putative “wealth building” seminars in black neighborhoods nationwide starting in 2005. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan demurred and called these seminars nothing more than sales pitches for high-rate subprime loans through Wells Fargo.
Since the settlement, however, Richard Prince has reported in his “Journal-isms” column that Smiley has promised to sever all ties with Wells Fargo. Interestingly, until recently Wells Fargo sponsored Smiley’s radio show on Public Radio International (now canceled), and underwrote the annual C-SPAN-televised “State of the Black Union” conference that Smiley organizes (now defunct). Smiley’s foundation also distributed Wells Fargo materials to young people at foundation events.[….]
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/13622125-melissa-harrisperry-compares-tavis-smiley-to-tuskegee-syphilis-studys-black-nurse
OUCH! This smackdown’s bound to leave lasting marks on Tavis. It had to be said, and MHP NAILED IT.
CNN Anchor Blasts Florida Governor For Ducking Gun Control, Demands Action Before ‘I Cover Another Tragedy’
By Igor Volsky on Dec 19, 2012 at 9:00 am
Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), who has an A rating from the National Rifle Association, refused to say if he would support stronger gun safety measures in the aftermath of the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
Appearing on CNN’s Starting Point on Wednesday, Scott repeatedly dodged host Soledad O’Brien’s specific questions about which reforms, if any, he would support, at one point responding to a query about limiting assault rifles with a trite, “I support the Second Amendment.” O’Brien repeatedly pressed Scott for a more detailed reply, but the Florida governor claimed that the nation must “respect the families, mourn their losses” but avoid a detailed conversation about what can be done to prevent such tragedies in the future
http://youtu.be/icy7_Xg3rSQ
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/12/19/1358001/cnn-anchor-blasts-florida-governor-for-ducking-gun-control-demands-action-before-i-cover-another-tragedy/
LMBAO This is hillarious! Maru, I think I love you.
OMG *hollering*
LOL
Florida Sought To Disenfranchise College Students In 2012 Election, Lawmaker Admits
By Aviva Shen on Dec 18, 2012 at 9:43 am
Election Day in Florida became a nightmare due to several changes to election law, resulting in marathon lines and more provisional ballots. Now that the election is over, Florida Republicans are beginning to admit the mess was intended to suppress votes.
State Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-FL) and GOP chair of Alachua County, Stafford Jones, cooked up one of Florida’s many new laws specifically to keep college students from voting in the 2012 election. The vote-suppressing measures were inspired by the 2010 victory of Gainesville’s first openly gay mayor, Craig Lowe, which Republicans claim was stolen by Florida college students.
Baxley’s law prevented people from voting if they did not change their address a month before Election Day. Many of the people affected were college students or young people who were moving for a new job. Jones explained this vote suppression was intentional and accused liberals of bringing in students to swing the election:
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/12/18/1350331/florida-sought-to-disenfranchise-college-students-in-2012-election-lawmaker-admits/?mobile=nc
Don’t Be Fooled: Walmart Hasn’t Changed Anything
George Zornick on December 18, 2012 – 5:18 PM ET
In this week’s issue, we describe how Walmart has expanded gun sales—including military-style assault weapons—to half of its stores nationwide, and is the country’s biggest retailer of guns and ammunition in the country.
As our story was about to be published, Walmart removed a Bushmaster AR-15 style assault rifle, the same gun Adam Lanza used to carry out his attack on the Sandy Hook Elementary School, from its website. All of the other assault weapons remain. (See other examples here).
This is one of the most transparent public relations moves in relation to a dangerous product that I can recall—it was literally the least Walmart could do. To be clear, the store never actually sold the guns online. Rather, you can peruse Walmart’s gun inventory on its website, read customer reviews and product specifications, and then find a Walmart near you that carries the item.
All Walmart did was remove that one gun, the one most likely to create a public relations problem, from a website where you couldn’t buy it anyway. But the Bushmaster remains on Walmart shelves—something the retail giant confirmed to MSNBC this afternoon, saying there is “no change” to its firearm sales.
Other retail chains, however, are making changes—though only slightly more substantial than Walmart’s URL adjustment. Dick’s Sporting Goods is “suspending” sales of some rifles in stores nationwide during “this time of national mourning,” and taking all guns out of stores located near Newtown, Connecticut. Cabela’s will stop selling AR-15s in Connecticut only.
http://www.thenation.com/blog/171834/dont-be-fooled-walmart-hasnt-changed-anything#
Walmart, like the NRA aren’t fooling the smart folks.
From Pompadours to Fades, New Art Celebrates Black Women’s Hair
by Julianne Hing-
Wednesday, December 19 2012, 9:10 AM EST
It does not take much to get folks worked up about black women’s hair. For some, their personal choices about their hair become public cultural events. (See: Oprah Winfrey. Gabby Douglas. Viola Davis.) But while black women’s hair is obsessively discussed and debated, it’s rarely celebrated.
Enter Andrea Pippins. Last week the Baltimore-based graphic designer and artist released “Crowns of Color,” a four-poster series of prints which does exactly that.
Only, Pippins didn’t set out to respond directly to the neverending handwringing over black women’s hair. Pippins, who is an assistant professor of art at Stevenson University, really just wanted some good art on her walls. Newly arrived in Baltimore and with too many bare walls in her home on her hands, she decided to make the kind of art she wanted to see. Art that was inspired by her love of textiles, woodblock prints, old barbershop signs and beautiful images of black princesses like those in the classic children’s book “Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters.” Art that celebrated black women’s hair in a “lighthearted” and knowing way. And thus, “Crowns of Color” was born.
http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/12/andrea_pippins_art_to_celebrate_black_womens_fly_crowns.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+racewireblog+%28ColorLines%29
BREAKING: Official: State Dept security chief, 2 others resign after report on Benghazi attack.
Pelosi announces gun control task force
http://tpm.ly/T7M5W9
Democrats announced on Wedesday that they would be creating a new task force focused on preventing gun violence, to be lead by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA).
“These tragedies must end, and to end them we must change,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters at a press conference.
_________________
It’s on now. Go, Nancy! Get it done!
Obama To Deliver Gun Control Statement At 11:45 AM ET
President Obama will make a statement on the administration’s path forward on gun control at 11:45 a.m. ET in the White House briefing room. Vice President Joe Biden will also attend, according to the White House. Obama is expected to tap Biden to oversee the administration’s gun-control efforts in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. shooting.
http://livewire.talkingpointsm…
Live video: Sen. Barbara Boxer discusses new legislation to strengthen security at schools
http://bit.ly/UNPgyr
Top 25 healthiest states in America
Minnesota’s #5
http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-204_162-10014839-26.html
BREAKING: White House issues veto threat on House Speaker John Boehner’s `Plan B’ fiscal cliff proposal:
Robert H. Bork, Conservative Jurist, Dies at 85 via http://www.nytimes.com/?smid=tw-bna&bna=2822
The OLD GUARDS DO DIE
Robert Bork, conservative icon and judge, dies at 85
Robert H. Bork, the conservative jurist who fired Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox during the “Saturday Night Massacre” in 1973 and whose failed nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987 sparked an enduring political schism over judicial nominations, died early Wednesday at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington of complications from heart disease. He was 85.
Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/judge-robert-h-bork-conservative-icon/2012/12/19/49453de4-c5da-11df-94e1-c5afa35a9e59_story.html
It’s a new era, ushering out the old, and in with the new, vibrant, and younger leaders.
Biden to Push for Gun Control
http://thebea.st/T6RATy
Breaking News@BreakingNews
South Korea elects 1st female president, Park Gyun-hye, as opposition candidate concedes defeat – @BBCBreaking
The White House@whitehouse
At 11:45ET, the President speaks on the policy process the Admin will pursue in the wake of the Newtown tragedy. Watch: http://wh.gov/live
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama embrace after watching CNN project the outcome of the election, at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park, Nov. 6, 2012
—-Pete Souza
Did a thread about MAN OF THE YEAR
Thanks! Heading over right now. :-)
Published on Dec 19, 2012
Sandy Hook Massacre: A Crisis in ‘White Masculinity,’ Social Deviancy and Crime:
READ IT
http://www.politicalarticles.net/blog/2012/12/19/sandy-hook-
he was brutal last night….and good for Larry O
Yes, LO was. He smacked down LaPierre’s false house of cards. BLOOD on your hands, dude.
Beat his ass, Lawrence! Beat that mofo ass!
Guess who is TIME’S PERSON OF THE YEAR!
Twenty-seven years after driving from New York City to Chicago in a $2,000 Honda Civic for a job that probably wouldn’t amount to much, Barack Obama, in better shape but with grayer hair, stood in the presidential suite on the top floor of the Fairmont Millennium Park hotel as flat screens announced his re-election as President of the United States. The networks called Ohio earlier than predicted, so his aides had to hightail it down the hall to join his family and friends. They encountered a room of high fives and fist pumps, hugs and relief.
Read more: http://poy.time.com/2012/12/19/person-of-the-year-barack-obama/#ixzz2FVOBwDPa
So to all you whiney, titty babies, haters, baggers, SUCK IT. PBO won re-election, despite the GOP’s OBSTRUCTION, the Koch brothers, ALEC, VOTER SUPPRESSION, HATE RADIO & TV, He kept on PRESIDING.
Congratulation, Mr. President. You and the First Family do us PROUD. Thank you!
Congratulations, Mr. President!
Yes, he is.
Good Morning, Everyone. Happy HUMP day! :-)
Good Morning, Ametia, SG2 and EVERYONE AT 3CHICS!!
Morning, all