From Day-by-Day by Chris Muir
White House mocks Sarah Palin from podium
Even the White House’s top spokesman is getting in on the act of mocking former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin for looking to talking points written on her palm during a speech to “tea party” activists.
Robert Gibbs showed the words “hope” and “change” on his hand as he started his daily briefing with reporters on Tuesday.
Many in the room, where President Barack Obama had spoken just moments before about the need for bipartisanship, groaned at the political shot.
(Aren’t you glad the grown-ups are in charge?)
Iran begins enriching higher-grade uranium, says state TV
Iran began enrichment of higher grade uranium today, state TV said, ignoring the threat of further UN sanctions by the US and its allies.
Inside Toyota’s epic safety breakdown
Auto giant failed to heed warnings in December, U.S. regulators charge
(I drive a Camry)
.
Honda airbag recall grows to 822,000 vehicles
Safety device could overinflate and possibly injure or kill the driver
(“Buy American” suddenly sounds better than it did last week”)
Obama Says He’ll Meet GOP ‘Halfway’ on Health
The president tries to change the dynamic, indicating he could settle for less in order to move ahead.
(I love the smell of desperation in the morning)
.
Boehner to White House: “Why Are We Going to Talk About a Bill That Can’t Pass?”
Representative John BoehnerTop congressional Republicans, emerging from a 90-minute meeting with President Obama that side-stepped health care reform, said they may boycott Feb. 25 talks on health care reform.
(Whatever happened to that post-partisan Unity Pony?)
New Wind Farms in the U.S. Do Not Bring Jobs
Millions Have Been Invested in Wind Farms, but That Hasn’t Brought Jobs
(Are wind farms where bloviating gasbags come from?)
Coroner releases new details about Michael Jackson’s death
With Dr. Conrad Murray officially charged in Michael Jackson’s death, the Los Angeles coroner has released the autopsy report that said it was a homicide.The 51-page report gives vivid detail supporting last August’s conclusion that Jackson died from “acute propofol intoxication.”
Murray told investigators he gave Jackson propofol, a powerful anesthetic, to help him sleep.
[...]
Jackson weighed 136 pounds and was 69 inches tall, according to measurements taken during the autopsy the morning after his death.
Carville: Saints win, Landrieu election bringing NOLA together
Underdogs and comebacks are hailed in American culture; perhaps this is why there will be so much said and written about our New Orleans Saints’ 31-17 victory in Super Bowl XLIV and what it means to a once-water-logged city and its tenacious residents.[...]
For as challenging a decade as the 2000s were for New Orleans, the 2010s may prove to be the brightest time in the city’s nearly 300-year history. The confluence of the Saints’ win and the historic mayoral election, which Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu won in a landside across racial lines, line up for the city’s best two days since the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.
Climb to top of Half Dome will require a permit
Climbers who want to make the final spine-tingling scramble 400 feet up the summit cables to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park will have to get permits before they make the climb this summer.Four deaths in the past four years convinced Yosemite officials that something had to be done about the weekend gridlock on the final ascent to the top of the world-famous peak.
(Anyone who falls off will receive a refund of their permit fee)
NASA Launches David Bowie Concept Mission
NASA officials announced today the successful launch of the new shuttle Moonage Daydream, marking the beginning of a long-anticipated two-week conceptual mission inspired by British rock star David Bowie.
(Would The Onion lie to you?)
I wrote this before going to bed. Feel free to add more stories and updates in the comments.
Filed under: General
Robert Gibbs showed the words “hope” and “change” on his hand as he started his daily briefing with reporters on Tuesday.
Blecch. If he couldn’t keep himself from going there, why not 2-dim the gambit with a “Hi, Mrs. Heath!”
The Bowie/Space news made me not want to crawl back in bed after cleaning up my fax barf from HQ.
It’s funny how the slightest thing from Palin throws Obamanation into paroxysms of juvenility. Oh wait, that’s how they react to everything.
Honda is the largest employer in Ohio….
Yes I remember the Dublin plant, a big deal up there. Am sad to hear how hard it’s been for the rest of Columbus and the state.
From myiq’s link:
Our stupid.
Thanks so much for posting this article; it outraged me when I read it this morning.
We’ve discussed several times that these “green jobs” —with GE getting lots of $$ perks from the Obama administration—-are actually going overseas, in their factories in China.
I don’t buy that Schumer didn’t know that was happening, either. It’s b.s.
I saw that article last night, and it made me furious. It’s bad enough that more jobs are going overseas, just by itself, but WE PAID FOR IT. OUR fucking tax dollars funded more jobs for China.
And people wonder why the Tea Party movement grows? Yeah, yeah, they are wrong on so much. But can anyone really blame them for saying that’s it, I don’t trust these fools with another dime?
It’s a tough argument to make that you need the car keys and $100 to go get groceries for the family, when the last few times we gave that to you, you went joyriding down on the avenue and bought crack. It gets a lot more difficult to argue that refusal means you don’t care if the family eats.
By this time in Bill’s administration, he’d successfully bought a modest couple of gallons of milk and some bread. People were confident in handing him the keys for more.
Gibbs should have wrote the word “jobs” on his hand and put a line through it, that would have been hilarious.
soupcity, that would make a good cartoon.
how can democrats get infuriated by something they did? Didn’t Schmucky Chucky think it might be a good idea to put in the stimulus bill something about hiring American workers?
What drives me nuts is this is the same guy who insists the reason Americans are against the Health Care proposal solely because we’re a bunch of simpletons incapable of understanding the nuances involved with dealing with health care. In my opinin the average American has a better grasp of what needs to be done and weighs the outcomes far better then these folks if what he is saying is true.
I’m of the opinion that average Americans spend more time dissecting and reading what is actually in the freaking bills than our legislators do.
yup… it is amazing, they can pretend that we are stupid and do not understand even in the face of the exit polls in MA that said the HCR bill was TOO FAR TO THE RIGHT. People want HCR, they WANT a public option and they do not want give-aways to blue dog states as payment for the senator’s vote.
This morning I saw Mrs Obama saying we had no choice on HCR, we have to pass it. The Obama’s and the democratic majority are trying to force/guilt us in to crappy reform that is nothing but a giveaway to insurance companies.
Anyone feel the earthquake in Chicago..
yes! some stuff on my dresser actually fell off – crazy. The epicenter was only 50 miles west of Chicago – around the De Kalb area.
The press secretary represents the White House and the President of the United States. In his zeal to be the coolest kid on the block, Robert Gibbs has demeaned the position to a point where even the most ardent supporters of the President among the media must be shaking their heads, albeit in the privacy of their own homes. I often think of Tony Snow when watching Gibbs. Snow did a difficult job with grace and dignity, and he had the respect of the entire White House Press Corps. They now laugh when Gibbs pulls his snark, but while he thinks they’re laughing with him, I think that more and more of them are laughing at him.
Looks like the DSCC is also in Junior High School. This is not my Democratic Party.
I thought it was immensely telling that when Gibbs pulled this there was almost a unanimous groan from the wh press corps. Perhaps that means that this press corps is waking up. BTW Gibbs and Obama seem to be intent on giving Palin’s Tea Party appearance more and more legs. Thanks to Gibbs and remarks from the FLOTUS this whole thing is getting more and more debate. The blogs are on fire with it and Sarah just comes off as real and gutsy—a finger in the eye to power. Amazing.
Mike McCurry (Clinton) and Jody Powell (Carter) were two of the best, in my biased opinion.
Gibbsy’s smug little act isn’t so funny anymore:
PRESS ROOM LAUGHTER DIES DOWN
The White House press room was a jovial place to be in the early days of President Barack Obama’s presidency. But times have changed.
“There definitely aren’t a lot of laughs around the briefing room these days,” says Washington Examiner White House correspondent Julie Mason. “Robert’s little digs and evasions have lost their power to amuse — particularly since we haven’t had a presser since July.”
http://www.politico.com/click/stories/1002/press_room_laughter_dies_down.html
He makes Ari Fleischer look professional. What a sad state of affairs.
djmm
Obama Doesn’t ‘Begrudge’ Bonuses for ‘Savvy’ Blankfein, Dimon. Great message Mr. President.
President Bush didn’t begrudge Ken Lay his bonuses either and also believed Kenny Boy to be a savvy businessman. Enron too used the same Senate created commodity’s tool’s to enriched Ken and Republican’s while he had his spin as top CEO, top donor with access to the President. Until of course, Mr. Lay was convicted on six counts, including conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud faceing 165 years in prison before he died.
White House leaning on Tapper. Love Jake’s disclaimer. Haha.
From “Gordon” in the comments section of Tapper’s article:
Give the guy a break – he’s busy thinking about closing prisons where torture is allowed while creating a country club in Illinois to protect those poor innocent victims. He’s busy thinking about ending two wars, he’s busy thinking about not raising taxes, he’s busy thinking about how to present health care reform so the idiots who elected him can understand, he’s busy thinking about how to get Democrats re-elected, he’s busy collecting money for a nobel price, he’s busy thinking about how to do cap and trade. He’s a very busy man when it comes to thinking and there’s only so much that can be thought about at one time. Wages paid in one year that amount to multiple lifetime earnings of the average taxpayer just aren’t important in the thinking order. Just remeber he did sign a bill about obesity – how much can we expect from one person?
I love the smell of snark in the morning.
Krugman trying to rediscover his outrage at the administration.
I saw Gibbs and I couldn’t believe it. It really irritated me to think these guys are in charge. They are so juvenile. We have a crisis in this country with so many people unemployed, under employed and holding onto their jobs by the seat of their pants and this is what the White House is up to. Give me a break. We’re in trouble, if this is the “best” we’ve got!
If Gibbs is a fourth of Obama’s “inner circle,” our country is in much more trouble than even we thought it was.
My 27-year-old son is more mature than Gibbs.
Jaysus.
My ten-month old cat is more mature than Gibbs. She knows her audience.
Great list! Thanks
myiq2xu – is it save to go in and add the social links?
I think myiq is sleeping now, KB.
Simon Johnson: Obama STill Doesn’t Get It
I just spotted the first snowflakes!!
SnOMG!
Hi bb! I’ve just finished my second round of shoveling. We’re getting 9 – 14″ on top of the 21″ we got over the weekend. Will the ski resort and snow plowing businesses help employment figures?
Good luck – I follow your “no more than 1/2 hour at a time rule.” Hope we don’t get the high winds they were forecasting.
Hi Purplefinn!
I’m hoping to get someone else to do it for me! But I’ll probably go out and play in it a few times. I usually can’t resist.
I’m not sure how much we are going to get. The predictions are all over the place–which makes me nervous. It sounds like we’ll get around a foot or more though.
We are supposed to get a few ice pellets here today, but no snow.
Bollywood star claims Heathrow Airport employees distributed naked body scanner shots of him. Airport denies it.
I love the part of the story where he AUTOGRAPHED the scans… WTF?
The Obama circus is really unsettling. In the SOTU speech we heard JOBS was where it was all going to be. Now today we see a shift back to HCR. The news crawl last night was that the House is moving forward with a bill that fails to include several of the incentives put forth by the president—-so we will see more political drift and flailing on this subject.
And 0 assures us that the CEOs he’s talking to are about to hire more people. Maybe he should talk to some workers and quit talking to CEOs.
I think the guy has ADHD.
I know some adults who have it, and you’d never know unless they told you because they’re so conscientious and responsible. Obama is neither, and the things he can’t keep his mind on unfortunately have consequences for millions of people.
BTW… Obama ALREADY met republicans 3/4 of the way on health care reform. What more can he possibly do without resorting to total fascism?
Heckuva job Bambi:
2010 Elections: Republicans are in the Hunt
Ahead of Midterms, Doubts About Obama, Economic Discontent Lead to GOP Rise
Among registered voters in this ABC News/Washington Post poll, 48 percent say they’d support the Republican candidate in their congressional district if the midterm elections were today, 45 percent the Democrat. That’s a rare level of GOP support in nearly three decades of polls.
http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/abc-news-poll-economy-doubts-obama-republican-rise/story?id=9785572
Loved the coverage on Morning Joe this am as they covered the Rolling Stone article which told us that “Obama’s Army” has disappeared. You know, the army he was supposed to be able to rally at a moment’s notice to support his initiatives and vote the way he told them. The title? “No we can’t”. haha
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/31961846/no_we_cant
Maybe, “no, we won’t, because you haven’t, Mr. President” is more like it.
djmm
Hmm. New benchmark rate from the Fed. Fed Weighs Interest on Reserves as New Policy Rate
There are only 500,000 energy sector jobs in the US. When you hear numbers like 5m new jobs or even 2m new jobs being created in order to have the same level of productivity you would need to produce X times the amount of energy. Since the only potential customer of exportable energy would be Mexico how are we going tosupport the production increase? Or are we just going to be less productive? There are definitely benefits to converting to renewable energy but net job creation is not one of them.