Breaking: Pres Obama's Press Sec, Josh Earnest, says he Will VETO any Legislation to Force Approval

[Cha]

Last edited Thu Nov 13, 2014, 07:54 PM - Edit history (1)

of Keystone.

350 dot org ✔ @350
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BREAKING: Pres. Obama's Press Secretary says he will veto any legislation to force approval of Keystone XL. http://bit.ly/1zmGfmM #NoKXL6:15 AM - 13 Nov 2014
285 Retweets 178 favorites 350 dot org ✔ @350

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/11/13/a-tweet-or-two-168/

November 13, 2014

KXL Veto a Strong Move

In response to news reports that President Obama will veto any Congressional legislation forcing approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, 350.org Executive Director May Boeve issued the following statement:

“It’s good to see the White House drawing a line in the sand on Keystone, and standing up for our climate. President Obama is right to veto politically-driven legislation that undermines the State Department’s independent review process, and increases our reliance on fossil fuels. We’ll continue to support President Obama to stand up to Big Oil and reject Keystone XL once and for all.”

http://350.org/press-release/kxl-veto-a-strong-move/



Obama Stands Up For Democratic Values By Threatening To Veto Keystone XL Bill

Julie, as it relates to the Keystone pipeline, as you know, this is a project that is continuing to be subjected to a review that’s conducted by the State Department. That’s consistent with past practice on projects like this.

The President, as you’ll recall in a speech that he delivered last summer, indicated that one of the factors in that review should be the degree to which a project like this would substantially contribute to the causes of climate change. So this is a project that is still under review by the State Department to determine whether or not it’s in the national interest.

But there have been previous proposals that I expect would be consistent with proposals that have been discussed overnight. And in evaluating those earlier proposals, we have indicated that the President’s senior advisors at the White House would recommend that he veto legislation like that. But we’ll — and that does continue to be our position.

Cali_Dem MOre..
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/11/13/obama-stands-democratic-values-threatening-veto-keystone-xl-approval-bill.html

Nobody I know needs fucking Republicons.

Contact the White House to Thank the President.. If you are so inclined. I know I am!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

[babylonsister]

1. wOOt!

[Cha]

6. Damn! Nice to come online to see this immediately, babylonsistah.. and then getting to DU and

and seeing.. "who needs republicons?" Not so much.. Nobody I know does. Maybe they do.

[kelliekat44]

178. Talk about an easy target for ISIL supporters to attack now that they hate Canada as much as they

hate the US. This cannot be in the national security interest of the US for more than one reason...for starters...it is an environmental hazard for citizens whose lands it will cross and can poison our water across the land; it is also expensive because you know damn well it will cost the Federal government a boatload of money for clean ups, health issues etc.; it will not create many jobs that funding national infrastructure problems would; and finally, our energy production has increased substantially under this President. This pipeline will cut efforts to invest in alternative energy sources that are now taking root. I hope the President does what he says and if the GOP passes over his veto, then let the outcome rest on them and those who helped them override.

[peacebird]

2. Good! Does the Senate have the votes to override the veto? (I hope not)

[Cali_Democrat]

5. It's close

Last article I read said the Senate had 60 votes for sure.

67 needed to override I believe.

[Cha]

7. I don't know yet, peacebird.

[yeoman6987]

37. Needs only two more votes to override the VETO

Harry Reid needs to stop this immediately. It is going to embarrass somebody but most likely not the Republicans.

[Spazito]

46. Could you provide a link where it states there are already 65 votes lined up...

to vote for Keystone as 67 are needed to override a veto.

[INdemo]

174. It's the House that needs 2/3 Majority to override

And after Jan 1 they will have that So this statement is to just pamper his base for now

[Spazito]

177. Both houses need a 2/3rds majority to override a veto...

"Congress can override the President’s decision if it musters the necessary two–thirds vote of each house."

http://history.house.gov/Institution/Presidential-Vetoes/Presidential-Vetoes/

[demwing]

184. yeah...not the way it works - Care to update your post?

A two-thirds supermajority in the Senate is 67 out of 100 senators, while a two-thirds super majority in the House is 290 out of 435 representatives.

Both are required to flip a veto

[Cha]

3. Kick for the President who went to China and got an historic Deal for Climate Change and now

this is happening.

[G_j]

4. Thank you! nt

[Cha]

8. Thank you, G_J

[global1]

9. I Didn't Know A Press Secretary Had Veto Power......

just trying to lighten the mood - I know what you mean.

[Cha]

15. Oh dear! Pres Obama gave Josh the Power since he(the Prez) was in China!

global

[freshwest]

10. After years of stalling, when push came to shove, I knew he'd veto. So did RFK, Jr.

Bobby Kennedy, Jr. says Obama will kill Keystone XL Pipeline:

'No KXL' Rally Interview with Robert Kennedy Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is President of the Riverkeepers group who work to protect our air, land and water. He came with others to protest the Koch brothers and the oil industry backed plan that Obama has been threatened with consequences for not backing it by the GOP all the time he has been in office and resisted no matter what.

Bobby knew he'd be arrested, explaining how civil disobedience is the way we can express ourselves peacefully as part of a democracy, and was among the first arrested.

Just as Secretary of State John Kerry was arrested in Washington, D. C. years ago. Bobby also explains the grave dangers to all future generations from climate change and pollution.

Between 2:06 and 2:22 Bobby speaks of the President's knowledge and moral compass and that he knows Obama will kill the Keystone XL pipeline.

This video brought tears to my eyes and I am proud of my President and the Kennedy family who loves our country so much that they continue to do what they are doing.

Our President will see us through the hard days ahead for many Americans with the Sequester forced on him by the GOP last year. Let's give him our support.



BOG post Feb 18, 2013:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11027827

[Cha]

18. Thank you, freshwest! I was just thinking I need to find that email to thank the President I posted

somewhere around here!

[freshwest]

60. I haven't seen that. Is it in your Journal files?

[Cha]

62. It may be.. it should be! but, I added this to the OP that I just google! Thanks!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

[mcar]

11. But but he's the same as Republicans

I read that just today here on DU and many have agreed with that OP.

[Cha]

19. Oh that.. disingenuous poppycock. I won't say what I was going to ..

I don't want to get kicked off my own thread, mcar.

[mcar]

39. I hear you cha

[Cha]

42. ..

[7962]

21. So's Hillary from what i read!

[Cha]

44. Well, she's not.. and I'm not a Hillary Supporter. But I do know the Difference between her and

a dirty climate denying recon

[7962]

115. I shouldve said "from what I read here". I'm sure you've seen enough posts. nt

[Cha]

117. Oh yeah.. sorry.. I knew you knew better! :)

[rhett o rick]

12. Now this is something I can get excited about. Very cool. nm

[HereSince1628]

13. Well that answers a question I just asked in another thread.

[Cha]

20. And, what was that, dear Here? :)

[HereSince1628]

24. Would Obama use the capital he's gaining supporting left positions to veto Keystone

[Cha]

29. Guess so!

[HereSince1628]

33. Yes, as I said this thread answered that question.

I think the Koch Bros own a huge physical share of Canadian Tar sands

This could be an interesting battle. Obama against the Oligarch owned Congress.

[Cha]

38. Hell yes! Live VS Death. Wish I were being dramatic.. but Noooo.. this shite is real.

[blkmusclmachine]

14. Meh.

[OilemFirchen]

27. Feh.

Aider me zogt arois s’vort, iz men a har; dernoch iz men a nar.

[woo me with science]

16. We'll see. A more accurate headline is likely to be:

"Corporatists are now certain they have the votes to override a veto."

We have lots of experience as to how this con game works. The president will not veto unless he is assured of the votes to override it and protect the corporate assault.

Yes, I'm cynical, with lots of good reasons rooted in the administration's own behavior over the past six years. I find the corporate PR about his desire to stop Keystone about as convincing as the story that he is trying valiantly to defend net neutrality against the "rogue" FCC chair HE HIMSELF appointed.

Yes, that's my prediction. The veto is overridden, and we get more brazen, insulting Kabuki about how the president did his best.

I hope I'm wrong, but I wouldn't bet on it...

[7962]

23. I dont think they'd have the 2/3s needed.

[Cali_Democrat]

26. So in other words...

Obama vetos and it's overridden.....still Obama's fault!!

LOL!!

You've become a parody of yourself.

[Number23]

91. "Become"??

[Andy823]

28. Doom and gloom.

I knew someone from that group would show up to put in their two cents worth negativity. Thanks for trying but this is a good thing.

[brer cat]

49. Please tell me, woo, from your "lots of experience"

and "the administration's own behavior over the past six years" exactly how many times has PBO vetoed when he was assured of a override?

[polichick]

63. You're right to be cynical after the last few decades.

[woo me with science]

77. If by some chance it is vetoed

and the veto sticks, it sure as hell won't be because of corporate politicians' discovering their inner liberals.

kpete just posted something interesting. If there's any truth to it, it could be an alternative explanation for all this sudden, ostentatious PR about a possible veto:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025813424

[polichick]

85. Thanks - I'll check it out.

[sheshe2]

128. A con game!?

We have lots of experience as to how this con game works. The president will not veto unless he is assured of the votes to override it and protect the corporate assault.

I suppose you have links to that.

Yes, I'm cynical, with lots of good reasons rooted in the administration's own behavior over the past six years. I find the corporate PR about his desire to stop Keystone about as convincing as the story that he is trying valiantly to defend net neutrality against the "rogue" FCC chair HE HIMSELF appointed.

Just admit it you despise this President, there is not one fricking thing that you will ever praise him for. Not one. Not ever! I feel so sorry for you, nothing will ever please you. Nothing at all, you just want to stew in a self made misery.

[Old and In the Way]

133. I thought "woome's" work was done here.

I guess he/she needs to find something to create a negative spin.

Here's what I think. Preisdent Obama is no. Longer constrained by partisan politics and he will use his instincts to make the right moves as POTUS. Let the House try to impeach him for doing his job. Or, better yet, let Boehner pass bills with his Republican Senate that will have the support of the American electorate....sorry, will not happen. The Republican majority are just as dysfunctional now as they werd prior to the election. There will be ZIPPO legislation coming from these morons.

Woo Me won't like this new Obama....

[1StrongBlackMan]

168. But it WILL give him/her plenty to continue to be speculatively wrong about. eom

[SidDithers]

193. ...

Sid

[flamingdem]

17. Rock n' Rolllllll

Our Pres headbangin' the Repubs

[Cha]

32. LOL "headbanging the repubs"..

quite the easy visual, flamingdem!

[flamingdem]

22. Caring for the climate

and for all lame ducks, wise owls and big birds!



?209

[Cha]

35. Brilliant, flamingdem! Here's to Lame Ducks who are

Wise Owls! One of my favorite creatures on our Beautiful Planet!



Contact # for White House to Thank the President..

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

I can tell you like birds, too!

[flamingdem]

41. I'll send a comment for sure

You guessed Cha, I used to have one of these, a very verbose fella :

[Cha]

51. Beautiful, brilliant bird! I'm not a pet person.. my favorite creatures are birds in the wild.. and

where I live on the 3rd floor is like an open wild aviary. The guy next door feeds the birds who come to land so we have birds flying in and out continuously!

Sweet Doves~

[flamingdem]

109. Pretty boidies! I agree Cha

best to let them fly free though I miss my Loro..

[freshwest]

25. I've kept track mentally, of the number of threats that the GOP issued over the KXL.

Since 2009, there were complaints, concluding in the Koch brothers creating the Tea Party in 2010 to stop Obama's agenda.

Some may not remember, but every budget bill Boehner offered had to be fought over as he put approval for the pipeline at the head of them.

From 2011:

Koch Brothers Positioned To Be Big Winners If Keystone XL Pipeline Is Approved

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/10/idUS292515702420110210

OVERNIGHT ENERGY: GOP seeks political price for Obama’s Keystone pipeline delay

By Ben Geman and Andrew Restuccia -11/30/11

State of play: Republicans on both sides of Capitol Hill are taking steps this week to impose a political price on the White House for delaying a final decision on the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline until after the 2012 election.

Senate GOP leadership on Wednesday promoted new legislation that would force a much faster decision on TransCanada Corp.’s proposed $7 billion Alberta-to-Texas pipeline.

They argue the bill (which E2 covered here and here) will help create jobs quickly, and alleged the recent administration delay was a political decision to appease green groups.

The pipeline puts the White House in a bind by splitting President Obama’s base — green groups loathe the project while a number of unions want it to proceed without further delay...

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/196347-overnight-energy

Obama Rejects GOP Bid to Tie Payroll Tax Cut to Keystone Pipeline Approval

Dec 7, 2011

President Obama warned congressional Republicans today that he will reject any attempt to tie a payroll tax cut extension to approval of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, which supporters say would create thousands of new jobs.

“Any effort to tie Keystone to the payroll tax cut, I will reject. So everybody can be on notice,” Obama said during a press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Last month, the administration postponed a decision on the pipeline to allow for an extended environmental review that’s expected to last until after the 2012 campaign.

“The payroll tax cut is something that House Republicans and Senate Republicans should want to do regardless of any other issues,” Obama added. “The question’s going to be, are they willing to vote against a proposal that ensures that Americans, at a time when the recovery is still fragile, don’t see their taxes go up by a thousand dollars? So it shouldn’t be held hostage for any other issues that they may be concerned about.”

But Republicans insist Obama is playing politics with a project that has strong bipartisan support, including from labor unions, and which would help boost the lagging economy. Harper has also publicly pressured the administration to approve the deal...

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/12/obama-rejects-gop-bid-to-tie-payroll-tax-cut-to-keystone-pipeline-approval/

From 2012:

Sizing Up Obama's Keystone Pipeline Denial

By Amy Harder - January 23, 2012

Was President Obama right or wrong to reject the Keystone XL pipeline?

Last week, President Obama denied approval of a permit to build the pipeline, which as proposed would have sent oil from Alberta, Canada's tar sands to Gulf Coast refineries. Obama said the "arbitrary" deadline set by congressional Republicans was not enough time to complete a review of the proposal for an alternate route that would not go through an ecologically sensitive area in Nebraska. TransCanada, the Canadian company seeking to build the pipeline, immediately said it would apply for another permit...

http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2012/01/sizing-up-obamas-keystone-pipe-1.php

XL Pipeline: Oil Chief Threatens Obama

The Guardian - 06 January 12

The head of the US's biggest oil and gas lobbying group said on Wednesday that the Obama administration will face serious political consequences if it rejects a Canada-to-Texas oil sands pipeline that has been opposed by environmental groups.

Jack Gerard, the president of the American Petroleum Institute, said TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline would definitely play a role in this year's national elections.

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/9308-xl-pipeline-oil-chief-threatens-obama

From 2013:

10 Lies Republicans Tell, over and over and over!

4. REPUBLICANS LIE about drilling and the Keystone XL Pipeline:

Much to the chagrin of the “drill baby drill” crowd, the President has kept the oil industry out of ANWAR, and recently disallowed the XL-Pipeline. To let Republicans tell it, the oil supply and employment in the industry have been stymied by this President. It is a lie.

From The Los Angeles Times:

Oil imports down, domestic production highest since 2003

“....the United States reduced net imports of crude oil last year by 10%, or 1 million barrels a day. The U.S. now imports 45% of its petroleum, down from 57% in 2008, and is on track to meet Obama’s long-term goal, the administration maintains.

Imports have fallen, in part, because the United States has increased domestic oil and gas production in recent years.... Current production, about 5.6 million barrels a day, is the highest since 2003.

The U.S. has been the world’s largest producer of natural gas since 2009, the report says. Use of renewable sources of energy, such as wind and solar, is still relatively small but has doubled since 2008.

The report credits administration policies for the improvements. It cites initiatives such as the higher fuel efficiency of passenger cars, the jump in renewable energy output, and improved weatherization of 1 million homes.

http://current.com/community/94053804_10-lies-republicans-tell-over-and-over-and-over.htm

A little more dirt from the above:

Boehner has significant investments in the Keystone XL Pipeline Project so he has actively promoted an agenda that will benefit him financially. If the Republicans were really interested in job creation, they would have passed the infrastructure bill. Construction workers could repair roads and bridges from now until eternity, but then again, I guess Boehner’s not invested in I-95.

And even the rightwingers know that Obama has been against the pipeline since the last three years, according to this undated blog here. Here's a lament penned by a Keystone supporter, extra emboldening and underlining is mine:

President Obama Denies Keystone Pipeline Permit

By LD Jackson

Let’s all be honest with ourselves. Did anyone really believe President Barack Obama would approve the permit for the Keystone Pipeline and allow it to go forward? Even though the preliminaries are finished, the environmental studies have been done, alternate routes through Nebraska have been proposed, etc., President Obama still thinks more time is needed. He originally wanted to put the decision off until 2013. You know, after the 2012 election is out-of-the-way. The Republicans in Congress nixed that plan and tied the permit to the payroll tax cut or holiday issue. From November 30, 2011, the President had 60 days to approve or disapprove the permit. He made his decision yesterday and as is usually the case, he blamed the Republicans for forcing his hand. His excuse? We need more time, at least another 18 months, to do yet another review. As far as I am concerned, that statement ranks right up at the top of the biggest lies the man has told since he took office.

Does anyone want to venture a guess how long the reviews for the pipeline have already been going on? Try three years. That’s right, this project has already been in the works for three years. More than that, if you count the time and effort Canada has expended on its end. Three years, yet our current President thinks that isn’t enough time. He wants another review, mainly about the environmental impact (isn’t that always his excuse), which will take about 18 months. Even though the environment studies have been finished and any concerns addressed, he needs more time.

The President is walking a fine line with this. On the one hand, he has the labor unions, who favor the project. That’s why they call them labor unions. They want the jobs, and I happen to agree. Turn the coin over and you have an issue that is near and dear to Obama’s heart, the environment and clean energy. If he approves the pipeline, he will be facing the wrath of multiple environmental groups, including some that have threatened to stop the flow of donations they are providing to his reelection campaign. As much as he says he wants to create jobs, the environment will always win this fight in the President’s heart. He will always side with the environment, even if their argument is bogus. Once again, this should surprise no one...

http://www.ldjackson.net/president-obama-denies-keystone-pipeline-permit/

Check out the Koch brothers comments here:

"I want my fair share--and that's ALL OF IT": The Kochs & the XL Pipeline

By Greg Palast

According to the transcript of the secretly recorded tape, Charles Koch was chuckling like a six-year old. Koch was having a hell of a laugh over pilfering a few hundred dollars' worth of oil from a couple of dirt-poor Indians on the Osage Reservation.

Why did Koch, worth about $3 billion at the time (now $20 billion) need to boost a few bucks from some Indian in a trailer home? Koch answered:

"I want my fair share -- and that's all of it."

Now "all of it" includes a pipeline, the Keystone XL, which would run the world's filthiest oil, crude made from tar sands, down from Canada to his family's refinery on the Gulf Coast of Texas...

http://www.opednews.com/articles/I-want-my-fair-share-and-by-Greg-Palast-130214-669.html

I even found a Yahoo story where the GOP is now trying to claim they stopped the pipeline. Bridge sales on the riiiiight...

Posted Feb 18, 2013:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11027827#post8

[ReRe]

104. You are a wizard, freshwest...

... thank you profusely for all of that info.

[Half-Century Man]

30. I pretty sure I can completely do without republicans

Irregardless if they are still spry enough to fuck.

[Cha]

120. Yeah!

[Andy823]

31. So Cha are you telling me

All those people who have already set their hair on fire over this vote, did so for no reason at all?

[G_j]

45. I would say there has been a lot to be worried about

that is, for people who are genuinely concerned about the environment.

[Andy823]

52. I agree

But I also think that people should actually wait till they have a reason before going setting their hair on fire over something that has not happened yet. To many times people on DU tend to rush to judgment long before they really need to, and in many cases for no reason at all.

[Cha]

66. Yes, there is.. and, I'm one of those people.. as are all my buddies. And, we're grateful for the

President getting China on board with the reality of Global Climate Change.. and now this. And, the EOs the President has issued regarding this Planetary Crisis.

[Cha]

55. Having too much fun wallowing in it.. to even know about this latest news?..

Too busy "getting things straight".. as it were.

Andy!

[myrna minx]

34. What a relief. it wouldn't make sense to forge a historical climate

negotiation with China only to support a deadly polluter and threat to the potable water in the USA. I just hope the GREEDIEST in Congress don't have the votes to over ride. This s promising.

[Cha]

56. Yes, it is "promising" myrna! It didn't make sense to me, either.

I know.. hope they can't override it!

[branford]

36. Say goodbye to Landrieu,

and, at the very least, expect another vote with the new far more Republican heavy Congress early next year that may have a veto proof majority for Keystone, particularly since it's approval is about 65%, with significant union support.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/07/keystone-xl-poll_n_4919025.html

It's also quite possible that this Congress will attach Keystone approval to a must pass spending resolution necessary to keep the government running. If such a spending law passes with likely large bipartisan support, any veto would make Obama responsible for a government shutdown around Christmas to prevent the nationally popular pipeline. Such a showdown would be politically disastrous for Obama and could even then provide a veto-proof majority during the lame duck session.

The cynic in me thinks the veto threat is little more than simple posturing for the environmentalist wing of the party and sop to part of the base after our election losses. He might also possibly try to get some sweeteners concerning other environmental legislation or promise to delay a funding battle with the new Congress over the EPA.

[Cha]

67. Whatever.

[branford]

82. Just don't act surprised if there's no veto or it's overridden by this Congress or the next.

If Obama truly wanted to stop Keystone, he could have simply denied it over the many months it has been an issue. The fact that he's still deciding without any real change of circumstances or new information for well over a year speaks volumes.

Also notice that the veto threat is against "forcing" Obama's approval, not that he will not approve of the pipeline. If there's some funding or other compromise between Congress and the White House, he can readily approve Keystone since he'll claim that he wasn't really forced, but that he was governing for the good of the country or some other such political-speak nonsense.

[Cha]

84. No worries.. this is a good sign for now. And, I'm contacting the WH and thanking the President.

[joeybee12]

40. I tend to think he's doing this to help Landrieu out...

Hear me out...this way, he picks a fight with her, she fights back, and since he's so unpopular in that bastion of liberalism known as Louisiana, they all like that she's against him, even if she doesn't get the pipeline.

No matter, any veto is a good veto

[Cha]

69. I think he's doing this for the right reasons that are stated in the OP.. and If it helps Mary

Landrieu out in Louisiana in some backassed way.. then so Be IT! All Good.

[BumRushDaShow]

43. K&R

[Cha]

70. Mahalo BRDS!

[BumRushDaShow]

165. Aloha Cha and morning kick!

An UPDATE for ya:

[font size="3"]Obama Doubles Down On Immigration, Keystone Pipeline[/font]
Myanmar — Nov 14, 2014, 3:48 AM ET
By JIM AVILA, CHRIS GOOD and MARY BRUCE
via Good Morning America

Asked about pending legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, the president said his position on the issue has not changed and that the ongoing evaluation should be allowed to continue.

In some of his strongest language yet, Obama pushed back against the Republican argument that the pipeline is a “massive jobs bill for the United States.”

“Understand what this project is: It is providing the ability of Canada to pump their oil, send it through our land, down to the Gulf, where it will be sold everywhere else. It doesn't have an impact on US gas prices,” he said, growing visibly frustrated.

“If my Republican friends really want to focus on what's good for the American people in terms of job creation and lower energy costs, we should be engaging in a conversation about what are we doing to produce even more homegrown energy? I'm happy to have that conversation,” he continued.

[spanone]

47. k&r...

[Cha]

78. Mahalo, spanone! Good Sign!

[NickB79]

48. The title is a string of weasel words

he Will VETO any Legislation to Force Approval

this is a project that is continuing to be subjected to a review that’s conducted by the State Department.

So, the veto threat is for RUSHING the pipeline review, not a veto threat of the pipeline itself.

But, you may ask, what about this quote?

The President, as you’ll recall in a speech that he delivered last summer, indicated that one of the factors in that review should be the degree to which a project like this would substantially contribute to the causes of climate change. So this is a project that is still under review by the State Department to determine whether or not it’s in the national interest.

To which I reply: http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304428004579354500301464382

WASHINGTON—An Obama administration analysis of the Keystone XL pipeline said it probably wouldn't alter the amount of oil ultimately removed from Canadian oil sands, boosting the pipeline's backers by suggesting it would have little impact on climate change.

We're being rope-a-doped here.

[Cha]

59. You're being rope a doped.. the rest of us are seeing this as a Good Sign.. Have fun.

[NickB79]

81. So the way they keep phrasing this issue doesn't concern you at all?

Just look at post 61 in this thread:

“I’m going to let that process play out,” Mr. Obama said last week, referring to the State Department review of Keystone. As a cross-border pipeline, authority to issue a permit is vested with the president. Mr. Obama has repeatedly delayed a decision, much to the frustration of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a Keystone booster.

Again, weasel words. He could have said flat-out that he was going to veto any bill to construct the XL pipeline, but he hasn't. He keeps implying there's still a debate to be had, when there shouldn't be at this point.

Until I hear Pres. Obama declare that the pipeline WILL NOT be built on his watch, I have doubts.

This latest statement doesn't dampen them.

[Cha]

83. The Senate wants to fasttrack Keystone.. the President will VETO that.. Good!

[NickB79]

93. Very good, except...

That you just stated what I stated in my first post: President Obama's veto threat is against the FAST-TRACKING of Keystone, not against Keystone itself.

Everyone on this thread is celebrating like he just promised to veto Keystone XL, when in fact he's made no such promises so far.

If he vetoes a fast-track bill 6 months from now, only to approve Keystone 12 months from now, that will not be a victory of any sort. Delaying Keystone a year won't save the climate: it MUST be killed.

[Number23]

94. what are you talking about????

President Obama will veto any Congressional legislation forcing approval of the Keystone XL pipeline

How can that be any clearer? And how do you get "President Obama's veto threat is against the FAST-TRACKING of Keystone, not against Keystone itself." out of that really clear, very simple sentence??

[1StrongBlackMan]

172. Random thought ... Completely unrelated to the post you responded to, above ...

Years ago, on one of my many Vegas excursions, I struck up a conversation with an old-time gambler. He told me, "You know how to walk out a winner in this town? Go to the Craps Table ... Look for the person with the most desperate look on their face; and bet against them!"

I don't know why reading these "Yeah, but ..." comments reminded me of that experience?

[Number23]

199. Desperation becomes them!

[NickB79]

214. It is very clear, if people were willing to read more than a headline

“I’m going to let that process play out,” Mr. Obama said last week, referring to the State Department review of Keystone. As a cross-border pipeline, authority to issue a permit is vested with the president. Mr. Obama has repeatedly delayed a decision, much to the frustration of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a Keystone booster.

Again, this isn't a veto threat against the pipeline itself, but rather against the FAST-TRACK VOTE for the pipeline.

Saying he's going to allow the process to play out, ie a full review of the pipeline approval process, is incompatible with a veto threat against the pipeline's construction at this moment.

In the future, he very well may veto the pipeline, but only after the review is complete (likely within the next year or so).

[Cha]

215. Hello! I know that.. one bloody thing at a time. And, this is what the Pres said in Myanmar

In some of his strongest language yet, Obama pushed back against the Republican argument that the pipeline is a “massive jobs bill for the United States.”

“Understand what this project is: It is providing the ability of Canada to pump their oil, send it through our land, down to the Gulf, where it will be sold everywhere else. It doesn't have an impact on US gas prices,” he said, growing visibly frustrated.

“If my Republican friends really want to focus on what's good for the American people in terms of job creation and lower energy costs, we should be engaging in a conversation about what are we doing to produce even more homegrown energy? I'm happy to have that conversation,” he continued.

MOre..
http://abcnews.go.com/US/obama-doubles-immigration-keystone-pipeline/story?id=26905484



http://theobamadiary.com/2014/11/16/another-tweet-or-two-5/

[Jack Rabbit]

50. Now, this is sounding more like the guy I voted for twice

[Cha]

64. I was super glad to see this good sign, JR

[randys1]

53. Like I said before, Obama is done taking shit from asshole rightwingers who will NEVER

approve of ANYTHING the man does including curing cancer, were he to do that

I think Obama will CONTINUE, not start, to do lots of shit that needs to be done to clean up the god damn mess made by privileged white president assholes like W...

and others

Does anybody need me to print the list again?


63 straight months of economic expansion.
A depression averted.
A deficit reduced by two thirds.
A healthcare law that's working and lowering costs.
Two women on the Supreme Court.
bin Laden's dead.
Stock market at record heights.
An unemployment rate that dropped from 10.2 to 5.9%. If you're a Fox News viewer trying to do the math, that's less. (audience laughter and applause)
Gas prices are down.






1. Passed Health Care Reform: After five presidents over a century failed to create universal health insurance, signed the Affordable Care Act (2010). It will cover 32 million uninsured Americans beginning in 2014 and mandates a suite of experimental measures to cut health care cost growth, the number one cause of America’s long-term fiscal problems.

2. Passed the Stimulus: Signed $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 to spur economic growth amid greatest recession since the Great Depression. Weeks after stimulus went into effect, unemployment claims began to subside. Twelve months later, the private sector began producing more jobs than it was losing, and it has continued to do so for twenty-three straight months, creating a total of nearly 3.7 million new private-sector jobs.

3. Passed Wall Street Reform: Signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010) to re-regulate the financial sector after its practices caused the Great Recession. The new law tightens capital requirements on large banks and other financial institutions, requires derivatives to be sold on clearinghouses and exchanges, mandates that large banks provide “living wills” to avoid chaotic bankruptcies, limits their ability to trade with customers’ money for their own profit, and creates the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (now headed by Richard Cordray) to crack down on abusive lending products and companies.

4. Ended the War in Iraq: Ordered all U.S. military forces out of the country. Last troops left on December 18, 2011.

5. Began Drawdown of War in Afghanistan: From a peak of 101,000 troops in June 2011, U.S. forces are now down to 91,000, with 23,000 slated to leave by the end of summer 2012. According to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, the combat mission there will be over by next year.

6. Eliminated Osama bin laden: In 2011, ordered special forces raid of secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in which the terrorist leader was killed and a trove of al-Qaeda documents was discovered.

7. Turned Around U.S. Auto Industry: In 2009, injected $62 billion in federal money (on top of $13.4 billion in loans from the Bush administration) into ailing GM and Chrysler in return for equity stakes and agreements for massive restructuring. Since bottoming out in 2009, the auto industry has added more than 100,000 jobs. In 2011, the Big Three automakers all gained market share for the first time in two decades. The government expects to lose $16 billion of its investment, less if the price of the GM stock it still owns increases.

8. Recapitalized Banks: In the midst of financial crisis, approved controversial Treasury Department plan to lure private capital into the country’s largest banks via “stress tests” of their balance sheets and a public-private fund to buy their “toxic” assets. Got banks back on their feet at essentially zero cost to the government.

9. Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: Ended 1990s-era restriction and formalized new policy allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military for the first time.

10. Toppled Moammar Gaddafi: In March 2011, joined a coalition of European and Arab governments in military action, including air power and naval blockade, against Gaddafi regime to defend Libyan civilians and support rebel troops. Gaddafi’s forty-two-year rule ended when the dictator was overthrown and killed by rebels on October 20, 2011. No American lives were lost.

11. Told Mubarak to Go: On February 1, 2011, publicly called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to accept reform or step down, thus weakening the dictator’s position and putting America on the right side of the Arab Spring. Mubarak ended thirty-year rule when overthrown on February 11.

12. Reversed Bush Torture Policies: Two days after taking office, nullified Bush-era rulings that had allowed detainees in U.S. custody to undergo certain “enhanced” interrogation techniques considered inhumane under the Geneva Conventions. Also released the secret Bush legal rulings supporting the use of these techniques.

13. Improved America’s Image Abroad: With new policies, diplomacy, and rhetoric, reversed a sharp decline in world opinion toward the U.S. (and the corresponding loss of “soft power”) during the Bush years. From 2008 to 2011, favorable opinion toward the United States rose in ten of fifteen countries surveyed by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, with an average increase of 26 percent.

14. Kicked Banks Out of Federal Student Loan Program, Expanded Pell Grant Spending: As part of the 2010 health care reform bill, signed measure ending the wasteful decades-old practice of subsidizing banks to provide college loans. Starting July 2010 all students began getting their federal student loans directly from the federal government. Treasury will save $67 billion over ten years, $36 billion of which will go to expanding Pell Grants to lower-income students.

15. Created Race to the Top: With funds from stimulus, started $4.35 billion program of competitive grants to encourage and reward states for education reform.

16. Boosted Fuel Efficiency Standards: Released new fuel efficiency standards in 2011 that will nearly double the fuel economy for cars and trucks by 2025.

17. Coordinated International Response to Financial Crisis: To keep world economy out of recession in 2009 and 2010, helped secure from G-20 nations more than $500 billion for the IMF to provide lines of credit and other support to emerging market countries, which kept them liquid and avoided crises with their currencies.

18. Passed Mini Stimuli: To help families hurt by the recession and spur the economy as stimulus spending declined, signed series of measures (July 22, 2010; December 17, 2010; December 23, 2011) to extend unemployment insurance and cut payroll taxes.

19. Began Asia “Pivot”: In 2011, reoriented American military and diplomatic priorities and focus from the Middle East and Europe to the Asian-Pacific region. Executed multipronged strategy of positively engaging China while reasserting U.S. leadership in the region by increasing American military presence and crafting new commercial, diplomatic, and military alliances with neighboring countries made uncomfortable by recent Chinese behavior.

20. Increased Support for Veterans: With so many soldiers coming home from Iraq and Iran with serious physical and mental health problems, yet facing long waits for services, increased 2010 Department of Veterans Affairs budget by 16 percent and 2011 budget by 10 percent. Also signed new GI bill offering $78 billion in tuition assistance over a decade, and provided multiple tax credits to encourage businesses to hire veterans.

21. Tightened Sanctions on Iran: In effort to deter Iran’s nuclear program, signed Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (2010) to punish firms and individuals who aid Iran’s petroleum sector. In late 2011 and early 2012, coordinated with other major Western powers to impose sanctions aimed at Iran’s banks and with Japan, South Korea, and China to shift their oil purchases away from Iran.

22. Created Conditions to Begin Closing Dirtiest Power Plants: New EPA restrictions on mercury and toxic pollution, issued in December 2011, likely to lead to the closing of between sixty-eight and 231 of the nation’s oldest and dirtiest coal-fired power plants. Estimated cost to utilities: at least $11 billion by 2016. Estimated health benefits: $59 billion to $140 billion. Will also significantly reduce carbon emissions and, with other regulations, comprises what’s been called Obama’s “stealth climate policy.”

23. Passed Credit Card Reforms: Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act (2009), which prohibits credit card companies from raising rates without advance notification, mandates a grace period on interest rate increases, and strictly limits overdraft and other fees.

24. Eliminated Catch-22 in Pay Equality Laws: Signed Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009, giving women who are paid less than men for the same work the right to sue their employers after they find out about the discrimination, even if that discrimination happened years ago. Under previous law, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the statute of limitations on such suits ran out 180 days after the alleged discrimination occurred, even if the victims never knew about it.

25. Protected Two Liberal Seats on the U.S. Supreme Court: Nominated and obtained confirmation for Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic and third woman to serve, in 2009; and Elena Kagan, the fourth woman to serve, in 2010. They replaced David Souter and John Paul Stevens, respectively.

26. Improved Food Safety System: In 2011, signed FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which boosts the Food and Drug Administration’s budget by $1.4 billion and expands its regulatory responsibilities to include increasing number of food inspections, issuing direct food recalls, and reviewing the current food safety practices of countries importing products into America.

27. Achieved New START Treaty: Signed with Russia (2010) and won ratification in Congress (2011) of treaty that limits each country to 1,550 strategic warheads (down from 2,200) and 700 launchers (down from more than 1,400), and reestablished and strengthened a monitoring and transparency program that had lapsed in 2009, through which each country can monitor the other.

28. Expanded National Service: Signed Serve America Act in 2009, which authorized a tripling of the size of AmeriCorps. Program grew 13 percent to 85,000 members across the country by 2012, when new House GOP majority refused to appropriate more funds for further expansion.

29. Expanded Wilderness and Watershed Protection: Signed Omnibus Public Lands Management Act (2009), which designated more than 2 million acres as wilderness, created thousands of miles of recreational and historic trails, and protected more than 1,000 miles of rivers.

30. Gave the FDA Power to Regulate Tobacco: Signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (2009). Nine years in the making and long resisted by the tobacco industry, the law mandates that tobacco manufacturers disclose all ingredients, obtain FDA approval for new tobacco products, and expand the size and prominence of cigarette warning labels, and bans the sale of misleadingly labeled “light” cigarette brands and tobacco sponsorship of entertainment events.

31. Pushed Federal Agencies to Be Green Leaders: Issued executive order in 2009 requiring all federal agencies to make plans to soften their environmental impacts by 2020. Goals include 30 percent reduction in fleet gasoline use, 26 percent boost in water efficiency, and sustainability requirements for 95 percent of all federal contracts. Because federal government is the country’s single biggest purchaser of goods and services, likely to have ripple effects throughout the economy for years to come.

32. Passed Fair Sentencing Act: Signed 2010 legislation that reduces sentencing disparity between crack versus powder cocaine possessionfrom100 to1 to 18 to1.

33. Trimmed and Reoriented Missile Defense: Cut the Reagan-era “Star Wars” missile defense budget, saving $1.4 billion in 2010, and canceled plans to station antiballistic missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic in favor of sea-based defense plan focused on Iran and North Korea.

34. Began Post-Post-9/11 Military Builddown: After winning agreement from congressional Republicans and Democrats in summer 2011 budget deal to reduce projected defense spending by $450 billion, proposed new DoD budget this year with cuts of that size and a new national defense strategy that would shrink ground forces from 570,000 to 490,000 over the next ten years while increasing programs in intelligence gathering and cyberwarfare.

35. Let Space Shuttle Die and Killed Planned Moon Mission: Allowed the expensive ($1 billion per launch), badly designed, dangerous shuttle program to make its final launch on July 8, 2011. Cut off funding for even more bloated and problem-plagued Bush-era Constellation program to build moon base in favor of support for private-sector low-earth orbit ventures, research on new rocket technologies for long-distance manned flight missions, and unmanned space exploration, including the largest interplanetary rover ever launched, which will investigate Mars’s potential to support life.

36. Invested Heavily in Renewable Technology: As part of the 2009 stimulus, invested $90 billion, more than any previous administration, in research on smart grids, energy efficiency, electric cars, renewable electricity generation, cleaner coal, and biofuels.

37. Crafting Next-Generation School Tests: Devoted $330 million in stimulus money to pay two consortia of states and universities to create competing versions of new K-12 student performance tests based on latest psychometric research. New tests could transform the learning environment in vast majority of public school classrooms beginning in 2014.

38. Cracked Down on Bad For-Profit Colleges: In effort to fight predatory practices of some for-profit colleges, Department of Education issued “gainful employment” regulations in 2011 cutting off commercially focused schools from federal student aid funding if more than 35 percent of former students aren’t paying off their loans and/or if the average former student spends more than 12 percent of his or her total earnings servicing student loans.

39. Improved School Nutrition: In coordination with Michelle Obama, signed Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010 mandating $4.5 billion spending boost and higher nutritional and health standards for school lunches. New rules based on the law, released in January, double the amount of fruits and vegetables and require only whole grains in food served to students.

40. Expanded Hate Crimes Protections: Signed Hate Crimes Prevention Act (2009), which expands existing hate crime protections to include crimes based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender, or disability, in addition to race, color, religion, or national origin.

41. Avoided Scandal: As of November 2011, served longer than any president in decades without a scandal, as measured by the appearance of the word “scandal” (or lack thereof) on the front page of the Washington Post.

42. Brokered Agreement for Speedy Compensation to Victims of Gulf Oil Spill: Though lacking statutory power to compel British Petroleum to act, used moral authority of his office to convince oil company to agree in 2010 to a $20 billion fund to compensate victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; $6.5 billion already paid out without lawsuits. By comparison, it took nearly two decades for plaintiffs in the Exxon Valdez Alaska oil spill case to receive $1.3 billion.

43. Created Recovery.gov: Web site run by independent board of inspectors general looking for fraud and abuse in stimulus spending, provides public with detailed information on every contract funded by $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Thanks partly to this transparency, board has uncovered very little fraud, and Web site has become national model: “The stimulus has done more to promote transparency at almost all levels of government than any piece of legislation in recent memory,” reports Governing magazine.

44. Pushed Broadband Coverage: Proposed and obtained in 2011 Federal Communications Commission approval for a shift of $8 billion in subsidies away from landlines and toward broadband Internet for lower-income rural families.

45. Expanded Health Coverage for Children: Signed 2009 Children’s Health Insurance Authorization Act, which allows the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover health care for 4 million more children, paid for by a tax increase on tobacco products.

46. Recognized the Dangers of Carbon Dioxide: In 2009, EPA declared carbon dioxide a pollutant, allowing the agency to regulate its production.

47. Expanded Stem Cell Research: In 2009, eliminated the Bush-era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, which shows promise in treating spinal injuries, among many other areas.

48. Provided Payment to Wronged Minority Farmers: In 2009, signed Claims Resolution Act, which provided $4.6 billion in funding for a legal settlement with black and Native American farmers who the government cheated out of loans and natural resource royalties in years past.

49. Helped South Sudan Declare Independence: Helped South Sudan Declare Independence: Appointed two envoys to Sudan and personally attended a special UN meeting on the area. Through U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, helped negotiate a peaceful split in 2011.

50. Killed the F-22: In 2009, ended further purchases of Lockheed Martin single-seat, twin-engine, fighter aircraft, which cost $358 million apiece. Though the military had 187 built, the plane has never flown a single combat mission. Eliminating it saved $4 billion

[mcar]

73. OMG! A list

Thank you randys1. Others may hate it but, especially now, the President's accomplishments bear repeating.

[Cha]

74. Wow, randy! Mahalo for all the Examples of "Continuing the Get Shite Done"!

Yes, it seems many do need to be constantly reminded of what has been Accomplished in the O Admin.

Is there a link for that?.. I know it's happened.. I just want to know where it was catalogued.

[randys1]

181. Link right here...

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/march_april_2012/features/obamas_top_50_accomplishments035755.php?page=all

The fist time I saw this was on Randi Rhodes message board or website.

[Cha]

195. Mahalo!

[randys1]

197. Love Hawaii, Love Maui, lOve love love

[1StrongBlackMan]

173. Yeah, but ...

{Begins quibbling to show what happened really didn't happen ...}

[randys1]

182. My newspaper was wet this morning, THANKS OBAMA!

this is why discussing the fair and necessary criticism of Obama is so difficult.

I could spend all day complaining about him being far too Wall Street friendly as is Eric Holder, but I cant do that if

a. the alternative is someone who is 23,786 times more friendly to Wall Street
b. knowing righty will use it as an excuse to attack him even though they actually support the friendliness

This applies to almost all issues a socialist like me would talk about...

So I dont want to hear any liberal complaining about Obama unless they precede it with why "fill in the blank any living republican" would be far far far worse, otherwise they are lying or stupid.

[1StrongBlackMan]

186. And that ...

is a politically/emotionally mature view of the world ... One can criticize what is; but without acknowledging the EXISTING alternative, makes that criticism non-plus.

[randys1]

189. I honestly believe that if enough of us got together and made it clear

the Democratic party would suffer tremendously if they didnt oppose TPP, Keystone, and work FOR all the things an adult with a brain wants like higher minimum wages, universal healthcare, higher taxes on the rich and corps, etc., that said Democratic Party and it's leader President Obama would respond.

They will do what we tell them to do if we make it clear they must do it or else we replace them.

But we dont do that, we argue with each other and we are all working ourselves either to death or into nervous breakdowns as wea re all overworked and underpaid, so it isnt like we dont have other shit to do.

But we have blue dogs who are wrong about most stuff, liberals who refuse to work with us or Obama because to them it is either Warren or Sanders or nobody (kind of like the teaparty who refuses to compromise)

How in the world could someone like Obama or Hillary all of a sudden decide to work for something like a higher tax rate for the one percent if they dont know we have their back, completely, and we wont run and whine and piss and moan the instant something doesnt go exactly the way we want it to.


Only white liberals do this, wanting instant gratification. Black liberals know better, they know how many DECADES it took just to get to the front of the god damn bus, for christ sake.

[1StrongBlackMan]

191. In all fairness ...

it's not just white liberals ... there are plenty of post-Civil Rights Era Black youth and post-Chavis era Hispanic youth that seek the same instant results ... doable, be damned. The "patience" Black folks have is born of the recognition that slow progress IS progress.

[sheshe2]

54. I knew he would veto it, Cha!!

Gee he is doing pretty damn well for a lame duck caver in Chief!

[Cha]

75. As flamingdem says.. the President is really just a

Wise ol Owl!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5813754

Doin' Pretty Good for our Firewall in Chief!



Keepin' the Marauders at Bay

[malaise]

57. K & R

Great news

[Cha]

76. I know.. it's a great sign!.. mahalo malaise

[napkinz]

58. K&R!

nt

[Cha]

80. Mahalo to you, napkinz!

[Spazito]

61. Canadian media are already reporting that a "veto is looming"

"Veto looms for U.S. Congress’s push to approve Keystone"

As Congress readied bills demanding passage of the long-delayed (and now far-more-expensive) $8-billion pipeline with the President away in Asia, a confrontation loomed.

But a standalone bill looks likely to be vetoed.

“I’m going to let that process play out,” Mr. Obama said last week, referring to the State Department review of Keystone. As a cross-border pipeline, authority to issue a permit is vested with the president. Mr. Obama has repeatedly delayed a decision, much to the frustration of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a Keystone booster.

The project is also mired in a legal challenge in Nebraska, where a state Supreme Court decision on the legality of the right-of-way is not expected until early next year.

Mr. Obama has said he won’t approve the project unless it is proven to be in the national interest of the United States. “Is this going to be good for the American people? Is it going to be good for their pocketbook? Is it going to actually create jobs? Is it actually going to reduce gas prices that have been coming down? And is it going to be, on net, something that doesn’t increase climate change that we’re going to have to grapple with?” he said at a news conference last week after Republican gains at midterm elections gave them a majority in the Senate and thus control of both Houses of Congress."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/veto-looms-for-us-congresss-push-to-approve-keystone/article21569991/

A veto will have republicans frothing at the mouth, the Harper cabal in Canada tearing out their hair and me and

[Cha]

86. Thank you for that great addition from Canada, Spazito! Lets hope they don't have enough

to override the President's VETO!

[Spazito]

95. From what I have read is, to date, there might be 58 votes for the bill...

they are still looking for 2 to stop a filibuster. They would need to find 7 more votes in the Senate and they would also need 2/3rds of the House as well. Overriding vetoes are rare relative to the number of vetoes signed over the history of the U.S.. There have been 2564 vetoes signed and only 110 have been overridden. Andrew Jackson had 15 overridden, Harry Truman 12, Gerald Ford 12, Ronald Reagan 9, the rest of the President had either none or lower single digit overrides.

I am not a big fan of Wikipedia but I found this list which seems credible, it was very interesting, imo:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_vetoes

[Cha]

97. Thank you for that, Spazito.. We're gonna see! In the mean time.. there's contact # in OP to Thank

the Prez!

[Spazito]

99. Thanks, Cha, I hope the WH is innundated with positive calls!

It certainly should be, imo!

[Cha]

100. No doubt! Those who Genuinely Care about our Planet Earth should

be Positively Re-enforcing this!

[Spazito]

103. For sure!

I love that photo of our beautiful planet, we need to do EVERYTHING we can to protect it.

[Cha]

105. Zeroing in.. here's another scene from Earth..

Snæfellsnes-og Hnappadalssýsla, Iceland

MOre..
http://learningfromdogs.com/2013/04/20/our-beautiful-planet/

Enjoy, Spazito!

[Spazito]

112. Aurora Borealis is one of nature's most beautiful shows, imo

As a child I lived in the Yukon and was lucky enough to see them often in winter. It helped make up for the frigid cold which often made it's appearance at the same time. I will always be in awe of the Northern Lights, always.

[Cha]

113. Oh, you Lucky dawg! I chose the right pic to highlight from Iceland, then! Brrrrr! But Beautiful!

[Cha]

111. P.S. Spazito.. have you seen this.."Keystone XL? What Keystone XL? Canada quietly approves alternate

proposed pipeline"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025813005

[Spazito]

116. Yes, the post is in error, Keystone is still very much alive in Canada as are protests...

against it. There are a number of pipeline proposals active in Canada, one west to east and one east to west with them starting in Alberta. They are being fought very hard, especially by First Nations whose land these pipelines need to go through, they are saying unequivocally NO. Their stance and protests have been wonderful and I do what I can to support them. They are not only fighting for their land, they are fighting for Mother Earth.

[Cha]

118. Thank you for the reality on this.. And, a Special Mahalo to First Nations in Canada!

First Nations prepare for fight against Energy East pipeline

http://beforeitsnews.com/politics/2014/05/first-nations-prepare-for-fight-against-energy-east-pipeline-2622904.html

This is back in May I like the passion in the pic!

[Spazito]

123. First Nations have been on the front lines in the many protests against the various...

pipelines, the passion you see in the photo can be found in every one of their protests, they will NOT give way.

[Cha]

134. I love them!

[Spazito]

130. An aside, Cha, but I thought you might like to see what Canadians think of President Obama...

compared to Prime Minister Harper, our Bush wannabe:

U.S. President Barack Obama

The most popular words picked by respondents to describe Mr. Obama were "influential" (46 per cent), "charismatic" (43 per cent), "compassionate" (33 per cent), "inspiring" (32 per cent), and "credible" (29 per cent).

"The love story with [Mr. Obama] continues," Shachi Kurl, vice-president of Angus Reid Global, said. "Canadians hold him in higher esteem than their own prime minister."

(And in higher esteem than Americans, who elected him -- the U.S. President frequently polls better in Canada than he does back home.)

versus

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Canadians polled by Angus Reid were more likely to use negative words to describe Mr. Harper, with"secretive" the choice of 39 per cent, followed most frequently by"arrogant" (37 per cent),"dishonest" (31 per cent),"strategic" (26 per cent) and"boring" (26 per cent).

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/what-canadians-really-think-about-harper-obama-and-putin/article20076917/

Kind of says it all.

[angrychair]

65. outside of the obvious

Pollution and misery, why do rethugs have such a hardon for this thing? As I have always understood it, not one drop of this oil will go to the US market but is already bought and paid for by China. Secondly, I thought the most recent assessment stated it was no longer cost effective to process the oil as the price point had fallen so low.

[Cha]

98. OIL! thanks angrychair

[Proud Liberal Dem]

68. Well

so much for all of the handwringing and premature worrying about PBO up and caving to Republicans on Keystone XL.

[Cha]

107. It's a great sign, PLD!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

71. Wait! I thought Obama BAD BAD BAD!! You mean he's not as bad or worse than Bush

Cha? Listening to DU and liberal pundits who refuse to acknowledge anything positive the man does, you would've thought differently.

[Cha]

114. Those profiteering pundits would rather make a buck off of

ODS then acknowledge the reality of what this President has accomplished.. in spite of unprecedented ugly obstruction, Liberal_Stalwart!

Love those who appreciate what we have right now!

[nc4bo]

72. Had to drop a note to WH.gov (for whatever it's worth) and say thank-you.

It's something I don't usually do........ this is an environmental biggie!

[Cha]

106. I think it will be worth a Lot, nc4bo! Thank you! I Encourage others to do the same! :))))

[muntrv]

79. Here's another good reason to veto Keystone.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025813005

[Cha]

110. Thank you for that, muntrv.. I guess so "quietly"!

[eridani]

87. This calls for a HUGE blast of email support. Go for it now! n/t

[Cha]

90. Thanks, eridani! That's what I was thinking when I edited in the Contact #!!!!!!!!

[grahamhgreen]

88. Hey now!

[WillyT]

89. K & R !!!

[Number23]

92. HAhaHAAAHA!! Oh Cha, you have just knocked a colossally stupid whine here clear off its pedestal

Oh my goodness gracious!!

This is freaking classic! If there is one incident that sums up how skewed this place and some of its more err... "prolific" posters here are, then THIS IS IT. I am crying.

[Cha]

96. They're too busy getting it straight to even notice current events..

November 13, 2014

Obama’s Unexpectedly Good Week

By John Cassidy

November 13, 2014
Obama’s Unexpectedly Good Week

By John Cassidy

Before departing on a trip to Asia and Australia, Obama followed up his nomination of Lynch by issuing a forceful statement in favor of net neutrality. In an earlier post, I said that the President could have accompanied this clarion call to preserve the open, non-discriminatory spirit of the Web with a commitment to protecting the interests of ordinary Internet users, many of whom are being ripped off by quasi-monopolistic Internet-service providers. On its own terms, though, Obama’s declaration was a powerful and welcome one. In addition to reaffirming a policy stance he campaigned on in 2008, the President showed that he is willing to stand up, where necessary, to the new Republican majority on Capitol Hill. In calling on the Federal Communications Commission to regulate I.S.P.s as public utilities, he surely knew that he would spark outrage among conservatives, as well as Congressional hearings, and, quite likely, a lengthy legal battle that will end up before the Supreme Court. But he went ahead anyway.

And then, after he arrived in Beijing for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, the President unveiled a much bigger surprise: an agreement with the Chinese government on confronting climate change, which garnered the praise of environmental organizations the world over. The Sierra Club called it “historic,” and Greenpeace, the National Resources Defense Council, and the Environmental Defense Fund also hailed the promise by the world’s two biggest CO2-emission scofflaws to reduce emissions and invest in sustainable energy. (It was left to Friends of the Earth to issue a cautionary note, warning that the measures agreed upon, even if they are fully enacted, would be insufficient to prevent global warming.)

MOre..
http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/obamas-good-week?utm_source=tny&utm_campaign=generalsocial&utm_medium=twitter&mbid=social_twitter

I read Kerry's been working behind the scenes with China for almost a year!

23

[Number23]

101. It won't matter much. The crew, or FOW has 1SBM calls them, will rush to rec and rec and rec

But no matter how high that ever so important rec count climbs on that thread, make NO mistake... you have clowned him something fierce and everyone here knows it.

EVERYONE.

[Cha]

102. There's Recs Guaranteed Bashing the President.. they don't have to make sense I won't mention by

name.. the thread that was so ugly it was later self-deleted.. perhaps because rwinger blogs were liking the ugliness so much they featured it on their stupid sites.

23

[Iliyah]

164. K & R

Pres O positive decisions and some DUers need negativity to counter. Sad. Anywho thanks!

[Kath1]

108. That is EXCELLENT, Cha!

"Nobody I know needs fucking Republicons." - Same here, sister!

[Cha]

119. Aloha, Kath! This is a really Good Sign! No Fast Tracking.. and Now if we all Write to the WH and

Thank the President.. letting him know.. we don't Ever want no Stinking Keystone, it can only help with Postive RE-Enforcement!

[Kath1]

121. I'll be calling AND writing!

No Keystone- No way!

And, yes, once again, THANK YOU, PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!!

[Cha]

124. Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 For those who don't know the numbers..

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

Who has the Mandate!?

:large
Tracy @taiping2
Follow
President received 65.9 million votes in 2012. In 2014 GOP candidates received 37.4 million votes. Who has mandate??
2:11 PM - 13 Nov 2014 Sunnyvale, CA, United States
95 Retweets 56 favorites

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/11/13/another-tweet-or-two-4/

[Kath1]

126. President Obama has the mandate!

Noticed GF of mine at work had a "NO XL" button on her handbag today! Synchronicity?

As depressed as I was after the midterms, I'm feeling much better now with the push-back I'm seeing!!!

[Cha]

127. As Depressed as we all were the night of the Midterm Disaster of 2014, Kath.. We had this

Giant.. "I'll hang tough if you will" gathering goin on!

And hang tough we did! So Cool your friend has a "NO XL" button her handbag today!!! I'm sure you'll be tellin' her about his latest development.

[Kath1]

129. Can't wait to see her with the good news!

SO GLAD President Obama is staying on point and moving forward.

And let's not forget, he's the strongest supporter of women's right we have EVER had in office....



PEACE. sister!!!!

[Cha]

131. Yes, the Strongest Supporter of Women's Rights, LGBT Rights, Civil Rights, and

the Environment!



Peace Out, Kath!

[Kath1]

132. Yes, Cha!

We could add much more to that list!

We all voted for REAL hope and change in 2008. President Obama delivers. He stands by his words! And this country will a transformed and much better place for it in spite of all the racist/sexist haters!

[Cha]

135. Obama Is Having a Really Good Week for a Lame Duck President

The failed Obamacare presidency continued not to fail this week. Twice.

The first time it happened was on Tuesday morning, when Craig Spencer left Bellevue Hospital in New York. Spencer is the Doctors Without Borders volunteer who famously rode the subway and went bowling a day before developing Ebola symptoms. The president and his advisers, including Centers for Disease Control Director Thomas Frieden, assured the public that everything would be fine. Spencer had not been symptomatic while traveling around the city and only symptomatic people can transmit the disease (and, even then, only through bodily fluids).

Obama’s critics said that the Administration was under-reacting—that it needed to ban travel to West Africa or at least quarantine returning health workers. Obama, worried that such actions would deter health care workers from going overseas, resisted the pressure. Twenty-one days later, Spencer has recovered from Ebola, nobody else in New York has gotten the disease, and workers remain free to help fight the epidemic in Africa—where it remains a potent threat not only to locals, but also to regional and eventually global stability. New cases might yet show up in the U.S., but the public health infrastructure seems prepared to handle it. You can read more about it here.

MOre..
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120259/ebola-free-nyc-china-climate-treaty-obama-not-failed-president

Jonathon Cohn should really put "The failed Obama Presidency" in quotes!

[Kath1]

137. Obama made them look like hysterical, reactionary idiots!

Which is what they are! He shows no signs of backing down.

I'm pretty confident he'll continue to move the agenda FORWARD in the next 2 years.....

And we will KICK THEIR REPUBLICAN ASSES in 2016!!!!!!

[Cha]

138. Are they sorry now.. those who disowned him? Damn they were cold!

[Kath1]

140. They should be sorry!

And ashamed!

This President has FAR exceeded my expectations, and I expected a lot.

He has moved forward in spite of the worst kind of lies, racism and hate thrown his way that anyone can imagine.

Still, he remains calm, cool and committed to doing what we elected him to do.

[Cha]

141. You're making that pretty clear.. LOL

Mahalo!

[Kath1]

145. LOL!

Can't help myself! Feeling much better now than I was on election night!

[Cha]

146. Please check this out, Kath.. our President getting busy on

Immigration Reform!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025815299

[Cha]

139. Oh, and this from the President in our emails..

Two years: That's all the time I have left as your president.

I know what I'm going to be fighting for until I leave this office.

And the work you do now with OFA -- whatever it is that you choose to fight for -- will define what we can achieve together in that time.

[Kath1]

143. That is excellent!

This President never fails to inspire me! I'll be sure to share that with all my friends from my Women For Obama group here in Maryland. They will love it!

[Kath1]

202. Told her all about it today, Cha!

She was thrilled with President Obama's stand on this issue.

And she gave me a NO XL button that I now have on my jacket lapel!

Very cool to have lefty/liberal coworkers!

[Cha]

203. Brilliant, Kath! Obama is Doubling Down on this today in Myanmar! Strong lanuage!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025818670#top

[Kath1]

204. Saw your other post, sister!

Acting like a "lame duck?" NOT SO MUCH!

I am enjoying this. Veeeeery sweet after the disappointing midterms.

[Cha]

205. I saw you posted rather fast.. like you had already seen it! YAY! Thank you!

A wise owl!

[Cha]

122. Environmental News.. who could have predicted the Gov would make $$$$$ of Solyndra Loan..

Michael Grunwald ✔ @MikeGrunwald
Follow
Who could have predicted the government would make $ off the Solyndra loan program? (Me!) http://mobile.businessweek.com/news/2014-11-12/u-dot-s-dot-expects-5-billion-from-program-that-funded-solyndra …
3:30 PM - 12 Nov 2014 96 Retweets 34 favorites

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/11/13/another-tweet-or-two-4/

[Cha]

125. Who's Got The Mandate?!

:large
Tracy @taiping2
Follow
President received 65.9 million votes in 2012. In 2014 GOP candidates received 37.4 million votes. Who has mandate??
2:11 PM - 13 Nov 2014 Sunnyvale, CA, United States
95 Retweets 56 favorites

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/11/13/another-tweet-or-two-4/

[Cha]

136. VETO PEN Fast Trackers!

[Cha]

142. I Support the President Efforts on the Environment and have Contacted the White House!

[Hekate]

144. 100th Rec! Great stuff.

[Cha]

147. Mahalo for the 100th!

[C Moon]

148. I think Obama is pissed off at the right wing right now...

he's going more left, and I love it!

[Cha]

149. Yeah, C Moon.. they thought they had him cornered and then

Nicholas ThompsonVerified account
‏@nxthompson It took Obama nine days to prove wrong everyone who dismissed him after the midterms. http://ow.ly/EdXux

Obama’s Unexpectedly Good Week

http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/obamas-good-week

[C Moon]

150. :) Even the L.A. Times ran an article saying the world was ditching him...

and then 2 days later China made an accord with him on climate change.
I think everyone is forgetting how brilliant he is.

[Cha]

151. "The World was Ditching him".. OMZ, LA Times! Really?

I think they might have had a lapse or two! Rofl

[C Moon]

152. I'll try to find it and edit this with the link...

to be honest, I didn't read the article because since the topple last week, I've been trying to save stomach lining.

[Cha]

153. Thanks! I hear ya on the saving your stomach..

[C Moon]

154. Here's the article (can't find it at L.A. Times, probably because you have to subcribe)...

http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx
I hope that works. I actually subscribe to the paper delivery, and we still had it on hand.

Here's a screen shot of the article:
https://www.dropbox.com/l/u75GAtr5VwANbF5ZsqvVcu

[Cha]

155. I can't see it but that's okay.. thank you! Wonder if that person who wrote it is shaking his head

at him/her self!?

[C Moon]

156. Damn. Well, here's some of the text...

Ballot results follow Obama abroad

10 Nov 2014
Los Angeles Times
By Paul Richter

Election setbacks for the president, already seen as a lame duck, may further embolden foreign adversaries.

WASHINGTON — Presidents from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton have turned to foreign policy in their final months in office when their domestic agendas have been stymied. For Barack Obama, that overseas pivot may offer little relief.

(text under photo: PRESIDENT OBAMA will face a GOP-dominated Congress whose leaders may take U.S. foreign policy in a more hawkish, more interventionist direction.).

As he landed in Beijing on Monday morning as part of a weeklong trip to China, Myanmar and Australia, the stinging repudiation Obama suffered in last week’s midterm election is likely to dishearten friends and embolden foreign adversaries, analysts say.

Come January, he will face a Republican-dominated Congress whose leaders appear determined to take foreign policy in a more hawkish, more interventionist direction.

“The pummeling he’s taking is creating the perception abroad that a president who was headed for lame-duck status is even less relevant,” said Aaron David Miller, a U.S. diplomat from 1978 to 2003, and author of “The End of Greatness,” a book about the limits of presidential power.

White House aides, in internal meetings, are mapping out plans to expand Obama’s efforts abroad in his final two years in office. They say his authority as chief executive allows him to act without a specific congressional mandate in several sensitive areas, such as easing some sanctions on Iran.

The White House has set challenging policy goals: sealing a nuclear deal with Iran, strengthening an unproven government in Afghanistan, mobilizing an international coalition against Islamic State militants, reaching regional trade deals in Asia and Europe, and turning Russia from adversary to ally.

Foreign leaders, always keenly sensitive to the political strength of U.S. presidents, took note of the White House losses last week.

Obama has evolved “from the president of hope to the president of disappointment,” Alexei Pushkov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the State Duma, or lower house of the parliament, told the Tass news agency.

Putin, angry that the United States and Europe have imposed sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, has shown no sign of backing down. In recent weeks, Moscow has sent a series of provocative military flights into European airspace.

The Kremlin also said last week that it won’t take part in the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit, which seeks to strengthen international controls to prevent terrorists from gaining access to nuclear materials. Obama initiated the summits in 2010.

Because Russia is one of the largest potential sources of such material, Moscow’s boycott is a blow to the nonproliferation effort Obama hoped would be an important part of his legacy.

The election setback also did not go unnoticed in Beijing, where Obama will meet this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The two leaders have sparred over cybersecurity, trade and China’s growing military assertiveness in the South China Sea, and China has criticized Obama’s efforts to boost America’s military presence in the western Pacific in a “rebalance” of U.S. forces.

The GOP success means “the lame-duck president will be further crippled,” wrote the pro-government Global Times newspaper in Beijing. “U.S. public opinion has downgraded Obama.”

The Republican sweep also could bolster Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has clashed with Obama over White House efforts to ease IsraeliPalestinian tension.

Robert Danin, a former U.S. diplomat in the Middle East, said that domestic American politics isn’t the crucial factor in Netanyahu’s calculations, but the shift in Washington’s political landscape “could embolden him.”

Republican control of the Senate also could complicate Obama’s efforts to complete a nuclear deal with Iran this month, a foreign policy goal his aides consider as important to his White House legacy as his 2010 healthcare initiative.

Obama has considerable leeway to work around Congress in implementing a nuclear deal, which would ease economic sanctions on Tehran in exchange for systems to ensure that Iran cannot build a nuclear bomb.

But if Congress believes the deal is a poor one, it could mobilize to block it.

Republican skeptics, including Sens. Mark Kirk of Illinois and Bob Corker of Tennessee, who is to take over the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, already are planning legislation that could threaten the negotiating effort by adding new sanctions on Iran or giving Congress more leverage.

Republican hawks also will be ascendant. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), who is expected to lead the Senate Armed Services Committee, is likely to push the White House to step up the military campaign against Islamic State, and to begin providing military aid to the Ukrainian government, among other issues.

Obama may still have the upper hand in those disputes.

But there’s likely to be an ugly fight over Obama’s request, which he announced at a news conference Wednesday, to seek congressional authorization for the bombing campaign against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

As a result, he may find it harder to persuade Turkey, Qatar and other members of the coalition battling the Sunni militants to provide money or military help.

And he doesn’t have some of the assets of previous presidents, such as strong personal relationships with world leaders, analysts say.

“The problem is with him [is] he’s just not strong on that,” said David Rothkopf, a former Clinton administration official who has written extensively on the National Security Council.

Still, Obama will have it easier in some areas.

One is the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership regional free trade agreement, another White House priority. The accord, which is still being negotiated, faces Democratic opposition in Congress. Republican leaders say they will give the deal a major push if negotiations succeed.

And analysts note that Obama’s fortunes could shift abruptly if he successfully manages a sudden terrorist danger, or manages to seal a good nuclear deal with Iran, thus neutralizing a major security threat.

That “would make a real difference for him,” said Miller, the former U.S. diplomat, who is a vice president with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a think tank in Washington.

[Cha]

157. So much for the "analysts", C Moon.. thank you!

"As he landed in Beijing on Monday morning as part of a weeklong trip to China, Myanmar and Australia, the stinging repudiation Obama suffered in last week’s midterm election is likely to dishearten friends and embolden foreign adversaries, analysts say."

This is priceless.. "repudiation".. I give you Howard Dean's take..

:large

[C Moon]

160. +1

[Rex]

158. I love this.

The GOP being arrogant asses thought he would roll over after such a disastrous election. Fucking idiots. I really, really do blame the media for keeping a lid on how completely fucked up the republican party truly is. They carry water for a bunch of disaster monkeys.

Awesome, I hope the POTUS keeping laughing in their faces and outmaneuvering them. He can do this with his eyes closed...I guess the GOP forgot 6 years of total bullshit by their fucking horrible politicians in Congress. Obama obviously had a plan.

[Cha]

159. Veto Keystone!

[Cha]

161. VETO VETO VETO!

Veto

[Cha]

162. To VETOS by Obama!

[Cha]

163. Veto Keystone

[IronLionZion]

166. See, there's no difference between the parties

they both tend to wear suits, work in offices, and give speeches! No difference at all!

[Cha]

167. K

[florida08]

169. Great!

Will be interesting to watch this. Mary corporate Landrieu is going to lose, but there are other things in play.
They are going to try to circumvent the President thanks to GWBush. It appears a fight is coming. We should watch this closely

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/11/13/pipeline-question-does-congress-have-power-to-approve-keystone/

[Orsino]

170. He's only saying to wait for the state Department to sign off.

He's not yet opposing the XL.

[Cha]

194. It's a start.. No fast tracking and if the State Dept does their job they'll know that it is bad for

the environment and not worth it.

And, many of us are thanking the President for this and letting him know.. NO KEYSTONE EVER.

[packman]

171. Well, that's nice to hear -

I knew there was a Democrat somewhere in this nation with a backbone. But, I'll bet a dollar that the Repukes will use his veto to test their new big balls in the Senate and House with a veto override vote. They're spoiling for a fight, you can smell it in the air.

[sammy750]

175. For law makers that vote YEA, there will be a full frontal

attack against your election when it comes up next time. This pipeline is being advertised as thousands of jobs, which is NOT true. The GOP is pushing this to make more profits for a few oil/gas companies. But the American voters will have the final voice on those in the Senate and House that vote for its approval. This pipeline is not necessary and will just add to more pollution, both land and air.
So law makers better be sure they want a job in the future.

[muntrv]

176. Here's one good reason to veto.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/10/14/keystone-xl-dead/

[humbled_opinion]

179. Breaking out the pen and paper

to write a personal thank you to our President. True leadership is on display.

[thesquanderer]

180. It's a lot easier to veto now that there isn't so much money to be made from it anyway

Call me cynical but...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025811329

If they're not even going to want to build it in the current economic climate, it doesn't take balls to veto it.

[Spazito]

192. They want to build it, make no mistake...

it is still top of the list. The price of oil fluctuates and they want the pipeline built even if they slow down extraction of the dirty oil for a short period of time.

[Recursion]

183. This is not new. He's been against forcing approval since the process started (nt)

[Dopers_Greed]

185. I guess it took this midterm beating for O to finally grow a pair

Finally, the guy we voted for is here.

[Tsiyu]

187. I hope this is true n/t

[staggerleem]

188. "It’s good to see the White House drawing a line ...

... in the (TAR) sand ..."

[Marr]

190. I don't understand the "told you so's". He's not promising to veto the pipeline.

At least as I understand it. He's promising to veto legislation that would force it's approval, which isn't new.

[Enrique]

196. he's not promising that either

turning the spokesman's comment into such a promise is a tactic by that particular activist group, to put pressure on him.

It's a little ironic that the biggest Obama supporters are helping them use this hardball tactic against their guy.

[woo me with science]

206. Good point. They make it sound like he has promised to stop the thing,

which he absolutely has not.

More meaningless, cynical spin and propaganda. Just like the absurd, offensive celebrations of austerity and deficit reduction, when the President is signing food stamp cuts *again* and 1.3 MILLION American schoolchildren are homeless.

[Boom Sound 416]

198. Guess they don't have the votes to override

[Number23]

200. Kick, dammit!

[Cha]

201. Now he's doubling down in Myanmar, 23..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025818670#top

Thank you!

[ucrdem]

207. He said as much in his post-election day press conference.

So I'm not the least surprised, except that it's out in the open. Though come to think it, it's been more or less obvious for the last few years that this thing was getting anywhere. But it's great to see it writing. Thanks for more good news Cha!

[Cha]

208. Oh yeah? I missed that.. there's some great quotes from his presser in Mynamar today..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025818670

Mahalo ucr!

[ucrdem]

209. He said it diplomatically of course but it was pretty clear.

I kept trying to explain that here but the stand-with-Rand crowd wasn't having any of it.

[Cha]

210. The "Obama glad the gop won it" crowd..

Worst conspiracy Ever!

[ucrdem]

211. Yep. The ODS carnival never ends does it?

more than that I'd better not say. . . .

[EEO]

212. He has nothing to lose. Break out all the liberal policies you want and obstruct the GOP.

Obama has earned it, and so have those fuckers.

No reelection means he can veto every bill that hits his desk if he likes.

[Cha]

213. Yeah, and the 2016 Dem candidate.. can run from him at their own peril, EEO!