Hi guys,
1. Today’s schedule:
8:30 AM PBO departs the White House en route Andrews Air Force Base.
8:50 AM PBO departs Andrews Air Force Base en route New London, Connecticut.
10:00 AM PBO arrives in New London, Connecticut.
11:30 AM PBO delivers the commencement address at the United States Coast Guard Academy.
4:00 PM VPB meets with Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham.
4:10 PM PBO departs New London, Connecticut en route Boston, Massachusetts.
4:45 PM PBO arrives in Boston, Massachusetts.
6:15 PM PBO delivers remarks at a DNC event.
8:25 PM PBO delivers remarks at a DNC event.
9:55 PM PBO departs Boston, Massachusetts en route Andrews Air Force Base.
11:15 PM PBO arrives at Andrews Air Force Base.
11:30 PM PBO arrives at the White House.
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I really didn’t want to touch the whole Cornell West mess, because at this point he is no different from any teabagger, and he’s clearly a racist, but I did find these three pieces that are worth reading:
A reader writes to Andrew Sullivan
Adam Serwer: To Be Black, And Also A “Mutt”
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Smartypants made me smile:
President Obama’s opponents should take note
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And this made me smile even more:
Whoa. Did a Democrat just win the Jacksonville mayor’s race?
And this just made me laugh:
The only adult in the room 
Great reading this morning! Thanks BWD.
Morning all.
The bracket is hilarious. It has to go viral.
LOL @ that crazies bracket.
PBO describes his temper and temperament perfectly on that video. I wish more people would listen to that and take heed.
THE THOUGHT OF OUR ‘ALLEGED GOVERNOR’ MITCH DANIELS EVEN CONSIDERING THAT LEVEL IN THE WHITE HOUSE DISGUSTS ME! HE HAS ROBBED INDIANA OF ITS MANUFACTURING JOBS AND COULD CARE LESS ABOUT MAIN ST. HE SPENT ALOT OF HIS TIME AT TEA PARTY HUDDLES WITH G.W….HAS NO PERSONAL CHARACTER AND COULDN’T BEGIN TO FILL ANY PRESIDENTIAL SHOES. ANOTHER ‘PIECE OF REPUBLICAN MUD’ MIKE PENCE NOW WANTS TO BE OUR GOVERNOR! WHAT A CLUSTER MUCK! I HAVE NEWS FOR THEM…WE DEMS. IN INDIANA ARE READY FOR THEM! IT WON’T BE A ‘PERDY’ SIGHT!
The bracket IS hilarious…what if they held an election and the other team had no one in the game? Wonder if that’s ever happened? Funny, and sad.
As someone that was born in CT, and spent 17 years of my life living in SE CT at the shore,I can tell you that the Coast Guard Academy is one beautiful school.Majestic and proud.Congradulations to all those who will graduate today…the President giving the commencement speech will be something very special.
Happy Wednesday everyone…going to be a L O N G day for me….been up since 2am with the dog.AAHHH!Ply myself with coffee all day and hope for the best.
Good Morning to all of you. Thanks BWD for this information. Your site is way more informative than the new OFA site, and I made that known through my comment to the moderator. They need to take notes and get things going in the right direction because what they are doing now looks amateurish.
Are the folks in IN waking up yet?? They seem to be going the way of all the crazy neighbors! What’s the word on the street?
Well, McSame and Graham are meeting with VEEP today. It is rumored they will be begging VEEP for US troop presence in IRaq, to be permanent. They want 10k troops to remain, b/c Exxon is nervous about their securtiy, when we leave. Hence…
But, Maliki, and the Iraqi Parliament has said, all troops out of Iraq by the end of this year, no deals.
Me thinks McSame just thinks the Liberal base would be pissed if this happened, thus are pushing for this outcome.
One thing is for sure, the War Hawk NEO-CONS are persistent.
I heard brainiac on tv say that now that Newt is having so many troubles, and Huck won’t run,that Michelle Bachmann looks like she caould be a “serious” contender:)HAHAHAHAHAHA
The CIA employed sophisticated new stealth drone aircraft to fly dozens of secret missions deep into Pakistani airspace and monitor the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed, current and former U.S. officials said.
Using unmanned planes designed to evade radar detection and operate at high altitudes, the agency conducted clandestine flights over the compound for months before the May 2 assault in an effort to capture high-resolution video that satellites could not provide.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-flew-stealth-drones-into-pakistan-to-monitor-bin-laden-house/2011/05/13/AF5dW55G_story.html?hpid=z1
That, and if all the troops were out of there by the end of the year…well,we can’t have the President look good in THAT regard, too!
British and US troops to leave Iraq by 2011
Iraq is likely to approve a military pact with a timetable for the withdrawal of all US troops by 2011 and British troops will leave by the end of next year, Iraq’s national security adviser said on Friday.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/3461368/British-and-US-troops-to-leave-Iraq-by-2011.html
The bracket is great, however I’d take out Roemer and put in Gov. Perry who is said to be doing some under-the-radar staffing up thinking he could make the big splash given the lackluster field. Then he’d come out of the South, facing off against Bachmann out of Crazies, with Romney vs Paul the other semi-final.
Romney vs Perry in the finals.
It looks more and more like she’s going to run. Will make her announcement (one way or the other) next week. Texas Gov. Perry is also said to be sending out feelers.
Loved that interview with the N.H. newspaper board, asking Obama about his even-temperament. Obama describes himself as initially giving others the benefit of the doubt, but if he senses they are trying to take advantage of his good nature, he said he “will crush them”. (which we’ve witnessed) Probably sensing that might have sounded a bit harsh, he added, “That’s a joke” but then added “sortof”. And that big smile. Classic.
SMYRNA — By the end of next year, Nissan is expected to make history here when it begins producing the world’s first affordable, mass-market, all-electric vehicle and the lithium-ion batteries that power it.
On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood stopped by the construction site of the automaker’s soon-to-be completed battery plant. He took a ride in a Nissan Leaf, met with Nissan executives and congratulated workers there for contributing to the revitalization of the economy.
Nissan broke ground on the battery plant, which is about 75 percent finished, about a year ago. Nissan officials expect it to be completed by the end of this summer. The all-electric Leaf and its batteries will begin being produced in Smyrna late next year. The construction of the battery plant and the retooling of the Nissan manufacturing facility were made possible by a $1.4 billion loan from the United States Department of Energy.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/D4/20110517/NEWS01/110517007/U-S-Secretary-Transportation-tours-Nissan-battery-plant?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|COUNTY0902|p
Exactly!
Texas governor Perry has been in for two terms now, done all the spending cuts and tax cuts that the tea baggers want him to do, and yet his state is still 23 billion in debt.
In fact, with california’s state revenue picking up, Texas is now the MOST in debt state in our Nation.
Thus, Governor Perry is not running…
On Friday, the Downtown Homeless Clinic will reopen its doors after undergoing a $500,000 renovation that provides additional treatment rooms, a counseling room and improved wait times for patients, who are often uninsured and without permanent addresses. The clinic has served more than 32,000 homeless patients over the past 25 years.
“It’s just a lovely facility now, compared to the old one, which was very worn down,” Friskics-Warren said. “We’ve gone from five exam rooms to eight, and we feel it will greatly enhance the wait times. It’s a dignified setting for these patients to receive health care.”
The renovation project began in October and was funded locally by $450,000 in Metropolitan Housing Development Agency funds and with $50,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Construction crews gutted the building and created a floor plan that would improve patient flow. The 6,500-square-foot building has two new rooms for counseling and meeting and space that could eventually be used for three dental examination rooms.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110518/DAVIDSON01/305180003/Homeless-clinic-reopens
TDS begins construction today on their first of many broadband stimulus funded projects. Chatham, Michigan is the first market where TDS will put broadband stimulus dollars to work, bringing broadband to some 900 unserved households.
“TDS used to be known only as a phone company. Today, we are a broadband company. More than 93 percent of our customers have Internet access. But the last 7 percent are the toughest to reach. Many live in sparsely populated areas, like Chatham. Rural geographies push the limits of technology and make it difficult, albeit nearly impossible to develop a solid business case for deploying broadband. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is giving us a window of opportunity to make broadband available to many more residents in the Chatham area,” said David Wittwer, president and CEO of TDS at a groundbreaking ceremony today.
TDS will use a combination of FTTH, DSL, and “other technologies” to bring broadband speeds of between 3 Mb/s and 10 Mb/s to these new broadband deprived homes. TDS spokeswoman Cindy Tomlinson tells Telecompetitor that the Chatham project represents the largest, cost wise at $8.6 million, of their 44 total stimulus projects and will create or retain 170 jobs.
http://www.telecompetitor.com/tds-breaks-ground-on-first-stimulus-project/?sms_ss=twitter&at_xt=4dd2c3a8f821fa31,0
Thanks for everything – I most enjoyed the takedowns of C. West. When I first read his interview on TPV all I could think was WATB – so glad there were others who heard/read the same thing and had the chops to take him on.
IMO people have so profoundly underestimated PBO it’ll be the end of his second term before they understand how completely and beautifully they were played. I blamed a lot of anti-Obama sentiment on racism, and it’s certainly there, but I’m starting to think it might be more about intellectual jealousy, just that itchy feeling that this guy can out-think, out-maneuver and out-smart me without breaking a sweat, and it takes days for me to see it. Dayumn.
Well THAT should be interesting!In a really crazy sort of way…
I am sorry, I just do not understand cornell West when he says, that the president does not like free black people. WTF? Does not make sense. Is Cornell suffering from organic brain injuries?
🙂
Not with texas 23 billion in debt!!!
they just did morning news, at least they are more involved in the community. Me thinks, they just opened their place at Prudential in Chicago. Might take them a while to get going. Here is OFA new post(I am in it, WOOT):
http://www.barackobama.com/news/link-roundupmay-18th-2011#disqus_thread
Thanks for all those delightful nuggets,jovie!
Even WITH tons of federal money given to that state and he STILL can’t manage!Scream to suceed because he didn’t want the feds messing with Texas, all the while with both hands out for $$$$$….he’s disgusting.
Guess someone has to play the useful idiots role and these seem to be perfect those roles.
sure.
LOL. I was literall floored when he said that. West is probably friends with rev wright! They sound the same. HMMM!
YUP! But liberals need to repeat that Texas talking point…
LOVE THE BRACKET! Rinos, wackos, nuts, and crazies…Oh My! That definitely needs to go viral.
I am keeping my fingers crossed for the mayoral race in Florida. What a surprising coup that would be and hopefully a nice harbinger of things to come in this election cycle — all the way through 2012.
Oh, and, Corny West can go fuck himself. He’s just a parody of himself at this point. Next.
Have a great day, everyone :-)!
Chuck Todd just said this morning that since the Obama’s have investments in T bills,that they want the debt ceiling raised for their personal gain! WTF is going on here???!!!I think an email blast to MSNBC would be in order!How slimy can he get?
No doubt an RNC talking point spewed out by Chucky T.
They are mad at POTUS b/c he has not had a press conference, with the WH press corpses, in over 2 months.
Spoiled rotten babies…
Oh, please don’t confuse West with Wright.
Wright flamed out at the end, but he actually is someone I respect, and he has a body of work to be admired. He actually did something great, and made a difference in his community. I have my problems with the black church (another story), but Rev. Wright had done a lot of good.
West is just a fake-ass intellectual who never built anything, never changed anything, never put his life on the line, and does nothing but run his mouth.
Two completely different men.
Perfect comment about Chuck….”his mouth writes checks his mind can’t pay.”
Happy HUMP day, Everyone! 🙂
Goodness gracious, BWD, do you know how long SG2 and I have been searching the nets for that video clip of PBO speaking on his opponents. Thanks for posting the link.
Good Morning everyone.
BWD thank you for the morning mishmash.
I see the hardest working person in politics has another full schedule today. I just don’t know how he does it.
yea,,,damn that President that invests his money in AMERICAN Tbills!!!
Good morning BWD and all. That GOP Madness Bracket is a gem. LMAO Thanks>>
Rep Dennis Ross of Utah just said, if we do not raise the debt ceiling and if the Treasury needs money, tell them to sell UTAH, as the federal govt owns 70% of UTAH.
Whhhhhaaaat? This is the tea baggers answer to the debt ceiling vote? Sell Utah! LOL!
Love the GOP March to the WH bracket. I want a copy of that so I can share far and wide. Hilarious.
just my opinion.
Thanks BWD. Those three articles about Prez Obama and idiotic West and Smiley were bang-on. They are just a fantastic read. The one published by Sullivan raised the hair on my neck! Thank you.
Thanks for all you do there, Jovie. I just find it sad and incredibly frustrating that they went with this mess before they were ready. When you can’t even get the donation pages working or the Obama 2012 store right, what’s the point? I don’t see David Plouffe putting his OK on this.
Good morning BWDville!! Thanks for that hilarious bracket.
They’re all off the deep end. Really.
Yeah, they wanna ask their hard-hitting journo questions. Like, you know, how does POTUS feel about Trump dropping out?
LOL!
He is such a tool, one of the worst journalists ever. I always look forward to exchanges btwn him and Jay, Jay always shuts his dumb ass down.
I love love the bracket.
Interior Deputy Secretary Hayes and Agriculture Deputy Secretary Merrigan Announce $9.1 million to Fund Collaborative Projects for Bay-Delta Water Use Efficiencies
WASHINGTON, May 18, 2011—Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes and Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced that by working together to leverage monies for water delivery agencies and agricultural producers in California’s Central Valley, agencies of the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture will provide $9.1 million in funding to five water/power delivery districts to save water, improve water management and create new supplies for agricultural irrigation.
“This cooperative effort is a concrete step forward in coordinating and leveraging federal actions to meet water supply needs while alleviating the ecological decline of the California Bay-Delta,” Deputy Secretary Hayes said.
“USDA and Interior are working in tandem with partners in the Central Valley to ensure that water management and conservation efforts enhance water supplies for both rural and urban users,” Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said. “This announcement today exemplifies President Obama’s call to find creative and innovative ways for government to work better together.”
Interior Deputy Secretary Hayes and Agriculture Deputy Secretary Merrigan Announce $9.1 million to Fund Collaborative Projects for Bay-Delta Water Use Efficiencies
WASHINGTON, May 18, 2011—Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes and Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced that by working together to leverage monies for water delivery agencies and agricultural producers in California’s Central Valley, agencies of the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture will provide $9.1 million in funding to five water/power delivery districts to save water, improve water management and create new supplies for agricultural irrigation.
“This cooperative effort is a concrete step forward in coordinating and leveraging federal actions to meet water supply needs while alleviating the ecological decline of the California Bay-Delta,” Deputy Secretary Hayes said.
“USDA and Interior are working in tandem with partners in the Central Valley to ensure that water management and conservation efforts enhance water supplies for both rural and urban users,” Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said. “This announcement today exemplifies President Obama’s call to find creative and innovative ways for government to work better together.”
Interior Deputy Secretary Hayes and Agriculture Deputy Secretary Merrigan Announce $9.1 million to Fund Collaborative Projects for Bay-Delta Water Use Efficiencies
WASHINGTON, May 18, 2011—Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes and Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced that by working together to leverage monies for water delivery agencies and agricultural producers in California’s Central Valley, agencies of the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture will provide $9.1 million in funding to five water/power delivery districts to save water, improve water management and create new supplies for agricultural irrigation.
“This cooperative effort is a concrete step forward in coordinating and leveraging federal actions to meet water supply needs while alleviating the ecological decline of the California Bay-Delta,” Deputy Secretary Hayes said.
“USDA and Interior are working in tandem with partners in the Central Valley to ensure that water management and conservation efforts enhance water supplies for both rural and urban users,” Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said. “This announcement today exemplifies President Obama’s call to find creative and innovative ways for government to work better together.”
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2011/05/0212.xml&contentidonly=true
Absolutely. I listened to West for 30 years and haven’t seen ONE thing he’s done to improve the lives of anyone, but his own (and maybe his family). Oh yeah, he and Tavis get money from corporations who have taken cold-blooded advantage of minorities and the poor.
OOPS, don’t know how that happened, with the triple cut and paste, YIKES!
BTW: Jay carney is a very good press secretary. Notice, he does not make healdines, he is cool and even sometimes vague. Good!
The WH press corpses are hostile!
Awesome!
or, does he feel the IMF chief should step down? LOL!
its early yet and they are in transition! When the money starts to flow in, it will get better.
They just transitioned from the DNC, to Obama for America.
It will get better!
They really should step up their game. This is not up to PBO’s standards, not at all.
But it’s not your fault. 🙂
Cool. And for the others reading/lurking….:-).
Exactly. House dudes.
LMAO!
(Reuters) – The United States is considering proposing White House adviser David Lipton to take over from John Lipsky as No. 2 at the International Monetary Fund, sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/18/us-strausskahn-deputy-idUSTRE74H0F020110518
Cornell West has lost his damn mind. That goes for his partner in slime, Tavis Smiley. Four words: crabs-in-a-barrel. I was following the controversy on Twitter and loved the take downs on these two haters. When has West ever rolled up his sleeves and lifted an Ivy League finger for the “brothers and sisters?” What has Tavis done for us lately besides sell us his books of platitudes, sub-prime mortgages and WalMart propaganda? I also read that West hates Larry Summers because Summers told West he needed to spend more time teaching his classes and less time making money on the speechifying circuit.
I love the bracket graphic – I’m sending that to all my friends! LOL
And finally, my daughter just graduated from a Jacksonville, FL college so I can confirm that Jax is super, duper, deep, deep red country. My daughter said she and her friends were afraid to celebrate President Obama’s election to loud because they were afraid the locals might attack. A democratic mayor in Jax is unbelievable!
LMAO @ the tweet @ChuckTodd in BWD’s Twitter Updates (right side of page)!!! 😀 😀 😀
I wonder if he reads them. He’s such a fool! LOL.
When I saw the VP was meeting with the Bobbsey Twins (McCain and Graham), and without knowing of a possible discussion on Iraq, which seems reasonable, I was thinking Joe was going to try to gain their assistance on some Gang of Two pursuit.
You’re probably right, but I like my plan better. LOL.
Not to seem too shallow (as if I cared), but Chuckie T’s new Friar Tuck hairdo says it all. Probably hopes his hair will keep his brain warm, so he can … duh … think of a question.
On the other hand, just read Andrew Sullivan’s reader’s comment. OMG. That’s a keeper.
meta – It’s almost surreal, isn’t it?
If the freakin’ oil companies want a military presence then they can freakin’ pay for it out of their own very deep pockets. That’s rich coming from the very same companies who want to keep their $4B a year subsidies. This isn’t their private security force. It’s OUR military.
Just as we’ve been saying for years, a bunch of President Obama’s most virulent critics have huge racial hangups and personal issues with him which they try to dress up in policy; they condemn President Obama while claiming that they’re merely critiquing policy.
Color me unsurprised at this development.
How is him saying something outrageous to garner some free press any different than Kucinich or any other whackjob looking for more attention and money?
Did you see that Brian Williams is getting his own news magazine? Barf.
I thought the same thing.
Chuck was all prepared for the “The Obamas invest in mutual funds. One of the investments is a company that supports dictators. Therefore Obama makes money by supporting dictators.”
All ready to spout it, and then Obama has to throw him a curve by investing in the U.S. of A.
Jackass.
OT: Kasper had a setback this morning. It will be a roller coaster for awhile but I admit to losing my resolve a little. Need to get it back though: Kasper needs me.
Hang in there, Faith. So sorry about your troubles – I know it’s hard.
Europe [read France and Germany] are digging their heels in and saying the replacement MUST be a European. Perhaps they want to give the job to the other buffoon, Berlusconi, since he seems to be heading towards losing his current day job?
But I thought the LDS church owned 70% of Utah…
/half-snark
I have many feelings about the horrendous spoutings of Cornell West:
Cornel West chooses to school Barack Obama on exactly how he should feel about exactly, well, everything. Interesting that from his exalted perch in the Ivy League he is so woefully ignorant of some important facts about the civil rights struggle.
It was white, Jewish kids who stood up and participated on college campuses in the ’60’s. It was white, Jewish kids who lost their lives in defense of that struggle.
It was the organization of Jewish groups who supported liberal causes and civil rights. They put their money, knowledge and passion behind this fight. They put a middle class face on this long-denied American ideal and made it respectable to support an end to centuries-old discrimination. The Jewish kid was still being discriminated against in the years he/she was fighting for Cornel West’s right to be the Sole Arbiter of Everything Everyone Should Believe. I know that for a fact. I was one of those kids. Everyone one of those scorned Jewish kids that I knew in those years marched and fought and worked in Harlem and South Side Chicago to bring education and expression to kids who did not enjoy what they should have been able to enjoy as Americans.
I know. I was one of them. In the late 60’s and early 70’s these were the issues that Jewish kids voted to support. Not self-interest.
Too bad Cornel West has such a poor education in contemporary American history.
In a very early debate, Barack Obama addressed the rift between the black and Jewish communities, and he alluded to this very history and his efforts to bridge a gap that should never have existed between two groups who share so much common experience. A rift that Jesse Jackson, Cornel West and Tavis Smiley enjoy broadening. The divisiveness is truly worthy of the tea party.
Hugs to you and Kasper. One day at a time.Have faith, Faith.
When GWB signed SOFA, the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government made it crystal clear that they want U.S. troops OUT of Iraq by a certain date. It is because of SOFA that our troops are restricted to certain areas of the country and to performing only specific duties. The Iraqi government has reiterated more than once that they want us out since the agreement was signed. If the teapublicans and Exxon think they have problems now, I’d guess that the problems would increase significantly if the terms of SOFA are not honored. I foresee an increase in insurgent/terrorist activity possibly funded by Iran. Let the oil companies pay for their own fracking security. They have enough money to hire any mercenary force on the planet! I think it’s insulting to our troops to prolong their time in Iraq to serve the interests of parties not essential to our foreign policy interests.
Thanks so much for your contribution to civil rights, Faith! You did what neither West nor Smiley would have been willing to do had they been around at the time. I’ve never understood some blacks’ negative feelings about Jewish people as I’ve always known that they stood up for our civil rights, and that it takes a whole lot of guts to put your neck on the line for someone else when you don’t have to do it. I guess it goes to what Andrew Sullivan’s reader wrote about PBO being a TCK. West, Jesse Jackson, Sr., and Smiley are provincial-minded people I grew up under segregation, but I have a cosmopolitan attitude toward others, mainly due to my parents’ insistence that their kids look at others as individuals and not hold an entire group responsible for the ugly words and behavior of one member of the group. Another factor that shaped my outlook of the world was having attended undergraduate school at the University of GA back in the early seventies and being exposed to, and able to interact with, students from many foreign countries and from different areas of the U.S. I guess this is one reason why I love PBO so much. He and I are not afraid of anyone, anywhere in the world and are willing to engage with them and value them for who/what they are. In my mind, there are no “inferior” persons. We’re all God’s children, and if we mistreat even one, we’re denying that God made all of us in His own image.
I’m continuing to pray for little Kaspar, Faith. I know how much you and your husband love him, and that he is an essential part of your family because I think of my little Winston the same way.
I hope they are not thinking that the taxpayers will be paying for that. If EXXON want the troops, they should stand the cost!!!