Muse in the Morning

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 10 May 2012 06:00:00 AM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Muse in the MorningEntwined I know you have talent. What sometimes is forgotten is that being practical is a talent. I have a paucity for that sort of talent in many situations, though it turns out that I'm a pretty darn good cook. :-)Let your[...]

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I Heart Equality

post from DemConWatch on 10 May 2012 05:50:11 AM. © DemConWatch

Yesterday President Obama finally came out as a supporter of gay marriage. You can "blame" Joe Biden for pushing the president into this pronouncement, but as it turns out, his Sunday interview was taped on Friday, and the White House knew about it then. They could have asked for a do-over, but they chose not to. The back story is that Obama had planned to announce his support closer to the convention, but decided to move it up. He had said for a long time that his feelings were evolving, and the story is that he made this decision back in January.

Some say that this will not hurt him politically, as those people who would have voted him, still will, and those who never would, still won't. (Although that does beg the question of the Log Cabin Republicans: I just don't get how they can support people who support North Carolina's Amendment 1, but maybe Jon Stewart says it best in his piece on cognitive dissonance. Clip here. He's talking Romney, but you'll easily see the association.) There is an issue of whether fundamentalist blacks will still support him: some are rabid anti-gay, but it's likely that re-voting Obama will trump the single issue. The statistic you'll here is that 90% of blacks in California voted for Obama in 2008, but 58% voted for Prop 8. In my heart, I believe that a lot of those people will see Obama's evolution, and think that maybe they, too, need to evolve. Loving v Virginia all over again with different actors.

The most important thing, I believe, is contained in what Corey Booker said last night on TRMS. He perfectly encapsulated the idea that what Obama did today is not about gay rights, the suffragette movement was not about women's rights, and the Civil Rights movement was not about black rights -- they are ALL about ONE set of EQUAL rights for ALL Americans. He further made the point that teenagers in his city now feel that their president considers them equal, that it is a necessary form of validation. In addition, he pointed out that it isn't just "marriage" - it's the thousands of legal rights and protections that straight people have and gay people do not. If you click on the chart on the left, you'll be taken to an interactive graphic showing how far some states have come, and how far others have to go.

It's all so clear: when you vote this November, will you vote for ALL the people, or only the rich white guys? Will you, personally, say: my issue is X, but I understand that X is part of A,B,C through X,Y,Z, and we must all stand together. Stand up for all Americans. Stand up and lead the world. You can watch Corey Booker, superstar and super hero, below:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Better late than never

post from Firedoglake on 10 May 2012 04:30:14 AM. © Firedoglake

Sure President Obama would have been braver to express his support of gay marriage sooner, and certainly a stronger statement that marriage is a right could have been expressed. But it is not like he went out and announced awarded himself two Pulitzer[...]

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EUR/USD Continues to Tumble

post from Jutia Group on 10 May 2012 03:15:42 AM. © Jutia Group

Source: ForexYard EUR/USD Continues to Tumble

The euro continued to tumble vs. its main currency rivals yesterday, as traders remained cautious about investing in riskier assets due to political uncertainty in the euro-zone. The EUR/USD fell to a fresh three-month low during the afternoon session at 1.2929. Turning to today, traders should be prepared for market volatility, … [visit site to read . . . → Read More: EUR/USD Continues to Tumble

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Late Night Karaoke

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 10 May 2012 03:00:00 AM. © Docudharma - Front Page

[...]

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Republicans Already Lost Hispanics, Now Shoot for
Losing Next Generation

post from TaylorMarsh.com on 10 May 2012 02:00:35 AM. © TaylorMarsh.com

“While President Obama has played politics on this issue, the Republican Party and our presumptive nominee Mitt Romney have been clear. We support maintaining marriage between one man and one woman and would oppose any attempts to change that.” – Reince Priebus, RNC

Fox Nation headline, via Media Matters (It was changed within an hour.)

IT’S GOING TO BE A HOT TIME at George Clooney’s Hollywood fundraiser for Pres. Obama tonight.

May the gods bless V.P. Joe Biden, who laid down a solid roll out for Barack Obama by speaking out on “Meet the Press” that was followed by a statement from the President that made history.

Even Alex Castellanos on CNN, after Obama’s statement became breaking news, questioned the intelligence of Republicans being against love, which will leave the next generation out of reach. Yes, Alex Castellanos actually said that, though he also said Obama will lose “Reagan Democrats, the cultural blue-collar Reagan Democrats in states like Ohio and North Carolina and Pennsylvania — important swing states.” Evidently, Mr. Castellanos missed the jailbird vote in West Virginia from Tuesday, because the voters he cites are already long gone for Obama.

If you want to be cynical, the President’s statement on marriage equality will excite Obama’s Democratic base, if anything, which is really what he needs to do right now.

Obama’s statement of support for marriage equality also lands same sex couples in a position to put states rights on trial through their pocketbooks. Because if you’re gay or lesbian and in a committed partnership or want to be, there’s no reason to continue to live in a state that doesn’t respect your civil right to form a legal family, proving it doesn’t deserve your money. Jobs make it rough to bolt, but living openly and being legally protected in a loving family should become an economic issue for states, because that’s where the battles will now be fought.

A message from Pres. Obama is important, but it won’t change everything, because we all know Congress is worthless, with Pres. Obama making the decision his administration would no longer defend section 3 of DOMA over a year ago.

So, with all this to talk about, it makes perfect sense that an article from Politico, written by Glenn Thrush and Carrie Budoff Brown, surfaced casting “blame” on Biden. Because we all have to keep churning stuff out no matter how ridiculous and Politico couldn’t seem to think outside their insider bubble to cast a net toward Republicans and what it means for them. Instead, the high school version was assigned, with thesaurus at the ready, on how Biden “forced” Obama’s hand, “deeply annoyed Obama’s team,” followed by the weirdly written phrase “nor did it tickle anyone” that Joe had been caught on video being Joe. It was followed by “chafed,” to once again describe the Obama team’s reaction to V.P. Joe Biden’s remarks. All of this came after an initial piece from Politico reporting “Biden forced Obama’s hand”… blah, blah, blah.

Politico’s Thrush and Budoff Brown dumbed it all down to this: “But the damage control was anything but a joke.”

When does a statement of support delivered by the president of the United States to people who love one another, encouraging acceptance of them to be able to form a family with legal protections, including for children, require “damage control”?

Maggie Haberman reports what I believe is the strongest angle in the whole unwinding, which didn’t begin this week, whether we’re talking Biden or Arne Duncan, but was a cumulative evolution that was helped exponentially by the strong views of First Lady Michelle Obama, along with an assist from Valeria Jarrett. These two women have given Pres. Obama his best council, most of which surfaced in action well after Rahm Emanuel’s departure, in case anyone is keeping track.

Then there was Barack Obama’s two young daughters, Sasha and Malia, the next generation capable of teaching each of us where the future lies if we listen. Is it so hard to believe their dad did just that?

However, if any one thing was the trip wire for Obama speaking out now it was just as likely to have been the painful and obviously disastrous White House press briefing by Jay Carney. If that didn’t shock Pres. Obama into moving nothing would, because it unfolded in a manner that proved the subject was never going to be tamped down.

The most important story beyond Pres. Obama making history is where this leaves the Republican party and Mitt Romney.

In the dust of things undone from the 20th century and they’re evidently not going to budge. This is the story, because it’s a jolting moment for the GOP, as the Democratic party lays down yet another historic civil rights marker, this time for activists to follow in states across the country.

Mitt Romney’s comments were predictably small, because they’re moored in religious conservatism, well outside the fulcrum of civil rights.

Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, while challenging Obama on marriage equality, which has now been met by the President, easily wipes the floor with Romney on the issue, who’s becoming a less attractive presidential candidate every day.

“Well, when these issues were raised in my state of Massachusetts, I indicated my view, which is I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender, and I do not favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name,” Romney told KDVR. “My view is the domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights, and the like are appropriate but that the others are not.” – Yahoo! News

We can no longer accept or tolerate religious interference in the business of progress, because as a nation we can no longer afford the price we pay in productivity.

It’s like the entire world is moving to a place in the 21st century that encourages the expansion of civil rights and human rights, while Republicans hold fast to the notion that “Leave it to Beaver” can be recreated off a Hollywood set in a century that will leave the U.S. behind if we don’t empower every American to their best self, their best life, which includes bringing more and more families, as well as forgotten children, together, uniting loved ones in honor, dignity and protected status so that no person feels excluded from the pursuit of happiness and the American dream.

Fox Nation screencapture via Media Matters.

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Religious Freedom

post from jobsanger on 10 May 2012 01:07:00 AM. © jobsanger

Yellowdog Granny reminds us that President Obama understands the concept of religious freedom, while too many right-wing fundamentalists seem incapable of understanding this simple concept.

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Democrats Create More Private Sector Jobs Than
Republicans Do

Republicans like to do a lot of bragging about how their policies are better economically than the policies of Democrats. They claim to be frugal while calling Democrats "big spenders". They claim their policies create more opportunity and growth. And they claim their policies will create more private-sector jobs. There's only one problem with these claims -- they are all false.

Last March I posted about the increase in government spending of all the presidents since Richard Nixon. That post showed that the biggest spenders, the presidents who had increased spend the most were all Republicans, with the biggest spenders of all being Nixon, Reagan, and Bush II (showing more than a 2.5% increase in annual spending). Bush I and Carter were about equal (with about 2% growth in annual spending). And the most frugal presidents of all were Clinton and Obama (both of whom had less than 1.5% growth in spending annually).

Another of my posts showed that growth and opportunity were actually much better under Democratic administrations than under Republican administrations. Data from Bloomberg News showed that stock market investments under the 23 years of Democratic presidents showed an annual average return of 11%. Under the 28 years of Republican presidents, that annual average return fell to only 2.7%. Obviously, the Republicans were not only the biggest spenders but also initiated policies that stymied investment growth.

Now it is time to bust the third Republican myth (lie) -- that they create more private-sector jobs than Democrats do. Again we go to the Bloomberg News (a business-oriented publication) for the pertinent data. And their data shows that far more private-sector jobs have been created under Democratic administrations than under Republican administrations.

The results are not even close. In the 23 years that Democrats occupied the White House, there were 42 million jobs created. In the 28 years that Republicans occupied the White House, only about 24 million jobs were created. That means that since John Kennedy was sworn into office in 1961, about 63.6% of all the new jobs were created with Democrats in power (while only 36.4% of the new jobs were created under Republican presidents).

And when you break it down into monthly figures, the Democratic advantage is even more impressive. In their 23 years, the Democrats averaged a monthly job creation of 150,000 private-sector jobs. The average monthly figure for Republicans is only a pathetic 71,000 private-sector jobs.

The biggest problem facing this country is not the deficit or providing investment opportunity (both of which would fare better under Democrats) -- it is the need to replace millions of jobs lost due to Republican economic policies (which favor only the rich). Giving the rich more money (as the Republicans want to do) will not solve this problem. We must spur more demand to do that, and as we can see from the figures above, that has always been done best under Democrats.

There is a solution for our current economic woes -- and it starts with voting Republicans out of office. Their policies have failed, and they are left with nothing but lies.

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Shameful

Political Cartoon is by John Cole at caglecartoons.com.

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Afghan War Grows Even More Unpopular

President Obama is now saying that we'll be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014 -- sort of. He's signed an agreement with the government there that will allow some soldiers to stay -- to train the Afghan army and help them with controlling "insurgents". Republican candidate Mitt Romney won't even go that far, preferring an open-ended commitment to the war (which has already lasted more than 10 years). Both men are out-of-synch with what the American people want.

The American people are sick of this war. It has lasted too long, too many people (both soldiers and innocent civilians) have been killed, and nothing has really been accomplished. We have replaced a bad Taliban government with an equally misogynistic and much more corrupt government of our own choosing, but we would be deluding ourselves to think anything has been solved there -- and there is no end in sight to the killing.

And the longer it goes on, the more unpopular the war becomes. A new AP-Gfk Poll now shows that two-thirds of Americans now oppose the war. Here are the numbers:

DO YOU FAVOR OR OPPOSE THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN?

strongly favor...............8%
somewhat favor...............20%
TOTAL FAVOR...............28%

strongly oppose...............40%
somewhat oppose...............26%
TOTAL OPPOSE...............66%

DON'T KNOW...............6%

It is time to withdraw ALL of our troops from Afghanistan -- not in 2014 (or later), but immediately.

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