What your President has accomplished just 6 months into his first term

[Political Tiger]

Signed executive orders to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year, ban torture and end the CIA’s secret overseas prisons and define treatment of Detainees.

Reversed restrictions on stem cell research.

Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Reducing discrimination based on gender, age, religion, or race.

Signed an executive order reversing the ban that prohibits funding to international family planning groups that provide abortions. Gag rule revoked (Mexico City policy).

Creates the White House Council on Women and Girls "to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families."

Signed a Presidental Memorandum extending federal benefits to same-sex partners of federal workers and announced support for the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009.

Reverses U.S. position on LGBT Issues at the UN: At the "Durban Review Conference," U.S. supports language condemning “all forms of discrimination and all other human rights violations based on sexual orientation.”

Signed executive order requiring federal contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change.

Reversed a Bush order requiring federal contractors to post notice that workers can limit financial support of unions serving as their exclusive bargaining representatives.

Signed executive order preventing federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenses meant to influence workers deciding whether to form a union and engage in collective bargaining.

Created a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners.

Expanded eligibility for the refinancing portion of the Making Home Affordable plan to help Americans struggling with distressed mortgages refinance at lower interest rates, even if they owe up to 25 percent more than their homes are now worth.

Established a credit card "bill of rights".

Expanded loan programs for small businesses.

Extended and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch.

Expanded eligibility for State Children's Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP).

Expanded funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners.

Created a new White House task force on the problems of middle-class Americans, and installed Vice President Joe Biden as its chairman.

Appoints Vice President Joe Biden to Oversee Stimulus Plan Payouts.

Granted a reprieve to Liberian immigrants facing imminent expulsion.

Directed military leaders to end war in Iraq.

Allowing Caskets to be photographed when the return from Iraq with family approval.

Released nine previously secret internal Justice Department memos and opinions defining the legal limits of government power in combating terrorism.

On Arab TV Network, Obama Urges Dialogue.

Gave a speech in Cairo engaging the Muslim and Arab world.

Bars independent contractors from conducting interrogations of terror suspects.

Granted Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send money to Cuba.

Ordered the release of nearly a quarter of a million pages of records from the Reagan White House that were kept from the public during a lengthy review by President George W. Bush.

Restored funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program.

Released presidential records.

Required new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions.

Pushed for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors.

Invites gay families to the Easter Egg Roll as part of the Obama administration's outreach to diverse communities.

Created a White House Office on Urban Policy.

Increased funding for the NEA.

Appointed an assistant to the president for science and technology policy.

Funded a major expansion of AmeriCorps.

Banned lobbyist gifts to executive employees.

Investment in all types of alternative energy.

Enacted tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars.

Support for high-speed rail.

Provided grants to encourage energy-efficient building codes.

Extended unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits.

Created the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers to help auto industry workers transition to new manufacturing opportunities, including jobs in alternative energy.

Stopped raids on medical marijuana dispensers.

Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States. If confirmed, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic to ever serve on the Supreme Court.

Appointed more than 60 openly LGBT persons to positions in the executive branch.

Issues Presidential Proclamation for Pride, proclaiming June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.

Signed a mercury reduction pact with 140 other nations.

Signed the Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act to curb wasteful spending by the Pentagon. Intended to price contracts and budgets lower; may potentially save billions of dollars in defense.

Signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009, which serves to protect two million acres of land and creates a new system of land conservation for the Bureau of Land Management.

Phase out government payments to crop producers making more than $500,000 a year and eliminates subsidies for cotton storage to help trim the U.S. budget deficit.

Cut funding for a proposed U.S. nuclear storage facility at Yucca Mountain.

Restored Endangered Species Act Provision requiring U.S. agencies consult with independent federal experts to determine if their actions might harm threatened and endangered species.

Orders The Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration "to protect and restore the health, heritage, natural resources, and social and economic value of the Nation's largest estuarine ecosystem and the natural sustainability of its watershed."

Signed the 2009 Omnibus Public Land Management Act designating two million additional acres of public wilderness areas the highest level of government protection from logging and other forms of commercial use and development.

Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act which will expedite the search for cures and treatments for millions of Americans living with paralysis caused by spinal cord injury, stroke, MS, Parkinson's and many other diseases and disorders.

Established The Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record, a new system for updating medical records of servicemen and women both during and after their military careers.

Established the White House Office of Health Reform

Created new and stronger safety standards to safeguard the country's food supply.

and

Got his daughters a new puppy!

[Qutzupalotl]

1. Now really... why would anyone unrec this?

It's just the facts, people.

[Usrename]

78. war is peace

How Orwellian that his first act as president, choosing to keep Gitmo open for another year, is a good thing.

[Qutzupalotl]

89. Unless it really takes that long to close it. nt

[moodforaday]

102. It may take that long to close, fine.

But there have been reports of continuing beatings and abuse. Stopping that would take exactly one phone call by Obama to the appropriate Gitmo commander. He is, after all, the commander of the armed forces. Just one phone call: no more beatings, no more interrogations, no more humiliation. Why wouldn't Obama make that call? It's not that he doesn't know.

And then, what about Bagram and other prisons?

[Cha]

157. You're confused..I'm

sorry you're such a bitter deadender.

[HopeOverFear]

2. You forgot that he decriminalized homosexuality

:)

awesome list! I shall keep this!

[ruggerson]

22. and here I thought that Lawrence v Texas did that

I'm so glad I learn new things on the internets every day.

[SunsetDreams]

58. That's just one state.

[ruggerson]

64. well then thank god Obama was able to decriminalize it in the other 49

[Prism]

86. The Supreme Court's ruling applies to all states

I am rather befuddled by this assertion the President decriminalized homosexuality. I'm pretty certain had he done something of such a profound nature, the LGBT community would have taken at least passing note.

I suspect this is some kind of baiting snark. Or rather, just another day on DU.

[readmoreoften]

124. What the heck are you talking about? The Lawrence case decriminalized homosexuality in 2003.

Obama just signed onto a UN statement condemning the execution of LGBT people worldwide. And he researched to make sure that the US wasn't obligated to change any US laws in favor of LGBT people before he signed--what a hero! The only nations refusing to sign were the US and a small group of hardcore Muslim nations. Obama didn't give LGBT any rights, he just corrected a foreign policy embarrassment.

I'm glad that Obama is more progressive than Tajikistan and the Iranian clerics on LGBT issues. Wowzers!

[HopeOverFear]

3. Oh and you also forgot he took Michelle to see a Broadway play

[pnorman]

4. THANKS, I was looking for such a concise summary! (" Got his daughters a new puppy!")

n/t

pnorman

[Phx_Dem]

5. He's really "dragging his feet" isn't he? I wonder when he's gonna buckle down

and get something done!

:sarcasm:

and

:fistbump:

[The Doctor.]

7. Well... he hasn't even TOUCHED the most important issue of all yet;

Every year, over a dozen Dachshunds dehydrate while playing in parks, backyards, and under Rush Limbaugh's hotel bedsheets in the Dominican Republic under circumstances too emotionally catastophic to describe.

We need to fund a solution to this petidemic immediately.

My proposal to create "Waterslides for Weinerdogs" all over this nation (and the Dominican Republic) MUST be the very next thing he addresses, or else!

[L. Coyote]

49. YES HE IS, on the DoJ reform front. Why all the Bush USAs?

Why not a list of the things he has not yet accomplished?
I think it would be far more revealing of his politics!

[jeff47]

99. Because Congress F'ed it up.

He's left with the Bush USAs because Congress botched investigating the Bush DoJ.

Since they didn't force Rove, et al. to testify until Obama was in office, there was no conclusion to the investigation. So now, if Obama does the normal thing and fire all the USAs, the Republicans will continuously scream that Obama's politicizing the DoJ.

If Pelosi and Reid had spines, they'd have finished the investigation long before the 2008 election, and Obama would have a freer hand to deal with the USAs. But since Pelosi and Reid had no spines, Obama is now hamstrung by the politics.

[L. Coyote]

150. Wow, you really don't have this issue straight at all!

Every President EXCEPT Obama fires almost every USA on day one!

[babylonsister]

6. Thanks for this, and bookmarked to shove in

the face of a naysayer when necessary. :hi:

[George II]

24. Excellent idea (the bookmark thing) - amazing how a post like this brings out the REAL positive Dems

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

8. The dog's still not paper trained....

Epic Fail.

[HopeOverFear]

10. LOL

[Peacetrain]

9. thank you

[Number23]

11. PT, don't forget about the expansion of health insurance for children under CHIP

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8536612

:hi:
Kicked and Rec'd

[Political Tiger]

16. He's done so much I knew I'd forget something!

Thanks for the reminder! :)

[Clio the Leo]

12. Thank you, I used this the other day.....

..... when a Freeper friend of mind challenged me about just what the President had done so far.

Then when I posted it, they said it was ........... "scaaarrrrryyyyy" eeeek! lol

Yeah, I bet it's scary.

[zbdent]

43. when I think about what scares a freeptard ... it makes me change my mind

about having them volunteer for the military ...

anybody burping within 50 feet of them would have them pee their pants ... the cleaning bill for their uniforms would be tremendous ...

[YOY]

60. They fear change.

They also fail to understand that the status quo is unsustainable...despite the fucking insurmountable proof of this in their faces.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

13. He's going too fast!

No wait, he's going too slow. I mean, no, he's going the wrong direction... I guess what I mean is...

He's f*cking kicking ass...

[Senator]

14. He did not "ban" torture.

You simply can't "ban" something that's been a war crime for generations. Worse, claiming the power to "ban" torture by definition claims the power to "unban" it at will.

Similarly with "closing" Gitmo. The problem is not the place. Shifting detainees to Bagram and proposing "preventative detention" makes things worse, not better.

I too wish he had chosen instead to abide by and enforce the laws and treaty obligations our greater generations fought and died to forge. But he didn't.

Torture remains his http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Senator/17">Steroids Problem.

==

[George II]

20. Leave it to someone to find something negative and critical of that EXCELLENT post! Damn!!!!

[Senator]

32. Find something?

It was first and foremost. And false.

--

[George II]

133. You missed this, only three days after taking office.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/us/politics/23GITMOCND.html

[Cali_Democrat]

23. How about......"Obama stopped the Bush Crime Family's torture program"

Better now? You do agree that Obama put a stop to Bush's torture policies, right?

[zipplewrath]

56. Except he didn't

The torture had stopped, years ago, because predominately the folks committing acts of torture began to get nervous that maybe they'd get prosecuted some day. Repeated assurances from above did not matter. Ultimately, the Bush administration stopped all "enhanced interrogations" and at the end of their term, they withdrew the memos authorizing torture. It was over before Obama ever showed up. Obama declared it should stay stopped, but reserved the authority to start it up again if he saw fit.

Gitmo isn't closed. Congress isn't willing to close it yet. The commissions he set up to formulate plans to close it have just asked for extension of 2 - 6 months to even write their reports. The odds are that by next January Gitmo will still be there. Furthermore, the only plans in place are to physically move them to the mainland. Indefinite detentions, without trial, are still planned.

As the above example demonstrates, it is the threat of being charged, convicted, and jailed that stops the torture. My going over to the CIA and saying he "had their backs" undermines the very mechanism that made them stop in the first place.

Obama has enough accomplishments that we shouldn't have to make any up.

[RaleighNCDUer]

90. Wrong.

When Bushco adopted the position that we CAN torture that could only be answered by taking a public position that we do NOT abide torture. That being stated, FROM THIS POINT ON ANYONE WHO TORTURES WILL FACE THE FULL WEIGHT OF THE US JUSTICE SYSTEM. Nothing he said rules out future prosecutions of those who did torture - despite the many who would spin it that way - and particularly those who created the torture policies.

As for closing Gitmo, it was created as an extra-national facility over which US courts have no jurisdiction. Closing it is a clear sign of a change in 1) putting the detainees under US courts jurisdiction, or 2) treating the prisoners as legitimate prisoners of war. Indefinite detention of prisoners of war is SOP with EVERY nation in the world. IOW, those who can be tried for specific acts of international terrorism will be charged in federal courts. Those who cannot be identified as terrorists will be considered enemy soldiers, and be dealt with accordingly. The biggest problem is determining who, after all this time, was falsely charged and handed over to us because of local feuds, who was an actual terrorist, and who was just a Taliban footsoldier.

[Senator]

138. Very wrong. And non-responsive.

So you agree that Obama has arrogated to himself the power to "unban" torture?

The torturers never "adopted the position that we CAN torture." In fact, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aszQBBg.XdzI&refer=us">the bushkid "banned" it too, while claiming it wasn't happening.

Obama "taking a public position," without prosecuting, is at best impotent rhetoric. Non-prosecution is de facto legalization which sends the very clear message that he does "abide torture." He's been "abiding" it http://talkingimpeachment.com/blog/Hall-of-Shame-Inductee----Barak-Obama.html">for literally years. And even his "banning" declaration (temporarily?) exempted the CIA (you know, the one's who do the torture).

That being said, VERY LARGE LETTERS do not transform his impotent words into "concrete actions," which have been limited to taking advantage of opportunities to release the obviously innocent. He has taken no action to enforce our laws and treaty obligations, in fact http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE53H1Y020090418">he may well have committed a crime himself.

As for transferring detainees to Bagram, which is "an extra-national facility over which US courts have no jurisdiction," in order to close Gitmo. That is the opposite of "putting the detainees under US courts jurisdiction."

There are no "legitimate prisoners of war" in an illegitimate, permanent "war on terror." No one is talking about "Taliban footsoldiers." Nearly all detainees were not detained during armed conflict on a battlefield. And simply doling out "Former Enemy Combatant" t-shirts does not change anyone's Geneva status.

The "indefinite detention of prisoners of war" wrongly states what is being proposed. "Paranoid detention" is being proposed for those "rendered" unprosecutable due to torture. For those "we know are dangerous," but can't demonstrate that claim in any court.

--

[Richd506]

15. Just think, he's done all this in half a year.

Another 3 and a half years and Glen Beck will end up like this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YersIyzsOpc

[firedupdem]

17. Thanks! Rec'd n/t

[onehandle]

18. Imagine what he would have gotten done if he was an American Citizen.

Staying one step ahead of the birthers takes up 90% of his time.

[George II]

19. Great post!!!!! Glad to see someone recognizes what GOOD things Obama has done! Thanks.

[McCamy Taylor]

21. Amen! I am so sick of the Karl Rove scripted "Obama breaks his promises" fairy tale

that many mainstream media types (and more than a few DUers) are pushing.

[bdamomma]

62. why is Karl Rove still walking around free?

[usregimechange]

25. kickable

[DUlover2909]

26. And the repukes say health care is his Waterloo. Hmmph.

Take that punks. Thanks for posting.

[Saynt]

27. It IS his Waterloo...

... but I'm pretty sure he's speaking english...

[HamdenRice]

45. That's a great comeback! welcome to DU

Sadly 90% of Americans wouldn't understand your reference.

[Cha]

158. Yes, I had to think

on that one! :fistbump:

[Occam Bandage]

29. So long as he's Blucher or Wellington, fine by me. nt

[Aviation Pro]

85. Agree, not a good day to be Marshal Ney....

....

[AllTooEasy]

104. But he didn't repeal "Don't ask, Don't Tell"

We are still in Irag, Bush hasn't been put the firing squad, I'm still not potty trained", whaaaa, whaaaaaaaa!

F'cking, impatient cry babies.

[Undercurrent]

28. Great list.

Thanks a bunch!

Take THAT you naysayers, complainers and malcontents!

[akbacchus_BC]

30. Thank you for this. K&R and bookmarking for reference when talking

with my Republican relatives who live in Florida.

[Hekate]

31. KnR and Bookmarked. Thank you. Btw, my unicorn pony is doing fine...

:fistbump:

Hekate

[mvd]

33. Thanks for the list; it's nice to keep track

:hi:

[wroberts189]

34. +86

[Mrs. Overall]

35. George W. Bush spent nearly 42% of his first six months on vacation.

[boppers]

36. WHERE"S MY PONY.

He's just another capitalist tool, shafting labor and the middle class, for the benefit of his corporate cronies.

:sarcasm:

[ruggerson]

139. He decriminalized it, apparently

[ProudDad]

37. Well....

# Signed executive orders to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year, ban torture and end the CIA’s secret overseas prisons and define treatment of Detainees.

Guantanamo's still open and not likely to close anytime soon. He still hasn't called for repeal of the Patriot act, the Military Commissions Act...still wants to hold on to the cheney/bush "powers". As for torture, the bushies stopped the overt stuff, the waterboarding, etc. years ago. The unofficial shit still goes on...and on...and on...in Guantanamo, foreign USAmerikan Prisons and every fucking prison and jail in this barbaric country.

# Reversed restrictions on stem cell research.
That is very refreshing...Way to Go, Barack!

# Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Reducing discrimination based on gender, age, religion, or race.
In the works before he got there -- he just gets to pretend he "did it". Hell, Bush might have signed that one.

# Signed an executive order reversing the ban that prohibits funding to international family planning groups that provide abortions. Gag rule revoked (Mexico City policy).
Good idea. Simple to do. Never said he wouldn't change the tone, just that he won't change the SUBSTANCE...

# Creates the White House Council on Women and Girls "to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families."
Way to go, Barack. Now that didn't cost you any political capital, did it?

# Signed a Presidental Memorandum extending federal benefits to same-sex partners of federal workers and announced support for the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009.
And order cessation of enforcement of "Don't Ask Don't Tell"? And push hard for Repeal of DOFA? <crickets>

# Reverses U.S. position on LGBT Issues at the UN: At the "Durban Review Conference," U.S. supports language condemning “all forms of discrimination and all other human rights violations based on sexual orientation.”
And withdrew the U.S. delegation FROM the Durban Review Conference!

# Signed executive order requiring federal contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change.
# Reversed a Bush order requiring federal contractors to post notice that workers can limit financial support of unions serving as their exclusive bargaining representatives.
# Signed executive order preventing federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenses meant to influence workers deciding whether to form a union and engage in collective bargaining.
How about cutting the war machine and its contractors. Oh, but that would be something substantive...never mind...

# Created a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners.
That can barely be accessed since he left it in the hands of the banks to implement...and most haven't. Instead of allowing the republican he appointed to Treasury shovel money at the banks he could have financed independent renegotiation of mortgages...

# Expanded eligibility for the refinancing portion of the Making Home Affordable plan to help Americans struggling with distressed mortgages refinance at lower interest rates, even if they owe up to 25 percent more than their homes are now worth.
See previous comment.

# Established a credit card "bill of rights".
You've got a link to that? That was Congress, right... Did he push for Judge's mark-down of mortgages in Bankruptcy...or just sign the bill without.

# Expanded loan programs for small businesses.
Ooooh.

# Extended and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch.
Congress again...

# Expanded eligibility for State Children's Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP).
Congress again...

# Expanded funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners.
Congress again...

# Created a new White House task force on the problems of middle-class Americans, and installed Vice President Joe Biden as its chairman.
Ooooh. That ought to fix it -- another commission...

# Appoints Vice President Joe Biden to Oversee Stimulus Plan Payouts.
Ooooh. Watch that foot in mouth, Joe.

# Granted a reprieve to Liberian immigrants facing imminent expulsion.
Aaaachooo.

# Directed military leaders to end war in Iraq.
We're fucking waiting! He could have ORDER them to put the troops on a bunch of ships and sail their tired asses back home. He could also be a little creative and stay out of another quagmire in Afghanistan. Afghanistan will be OBAMA'S WAR now...

# Allowing Caskets to be photographed when the return from Iraq with family approval.
How about the caskets that will be coming back from Afghanistan...

# Released nine previously secret internal Justice Department memos and opinions defining the legal limits of government power in combating terrorism.
And keeping the rest secret so he doesn't allow the precedent of a rogue, terrorist, fascist USAmerikan government being prosocuted -- keep his powder dry so to speak.

# On Arab TV Network, Obama Urges Dialogue.
Ooooh.

# Gave a speech in Cairo engaging the Muslim and Arab world.
A speech, a speech! My kingdom for a speech!

# Bars independent contractors from conducting interrogations of terror suspects.
No, he doesn't. He's arguing to allow CIA contractors to continue to interrogate right now! He's a goddamn corporate capitalist, he ain't gonna cut into the great god Private Commerce...

# Granted Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send money to Cuba.
What about the rest of us? I'm going to have to embellish to get to go to Cuba this year.

# Ordered the release of nearly a quarter of a million pages of records from the Reagan White House that were kept from the public during a lengthy review by President George W. Bush.
Big whoop! What about the bush I, clinton, bush II crimes?

# Restored funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program.
Big Whoop. Just what we need more fucking lawyers! And prosecutors at that!

# Released presidential records.
Whose? Was that Bush's LP of the greatest hits of Ronald Reagan? Or did "My Pet Goat" come out on an LP read by Robin Williams?

# Required new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions.
Oh, that'll end corruption... Meanwhile he fills his cabinet with hacks due to their political affiliations...

# Pushed for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors.
That's a good one. But as for DADT and DOMA...<crickets>

# Invites gay families to the Easter Egg Roll as part of the Obama administration's outreach to diverse communities.
??? You're really reaching now...

# Created a White House Office on Urban Policy.
Ooooh, another commisssion...

# Increased funding for the NEA.
Congress again.

# Appointed an assistant to the president for science and technology policy.
Bush had one of them... I seem to remember him appointing a republican Fox (Goldman Sachs) to guard the henhouse and a PUKE to run the war department. I wouldn't go into his (dis-)appointments if I were you...

# Funded a major expansion of AmeriCorps.
Ooooh.

# Banned lobbyist gifts to executive employees.
And then hired a lobbyist. From fucking Raytheon -- the evil war contractor that has my town by the balls!!!

# Investment in all types of alternative energy.
Congress again.

# Enacted tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars.
Congress again...while they are passing a give-away to the polluters and nukes that takes away the best weapon we have against King Coal.

# Support for high-speed rail.
Ooooh. I'm waiting.

# Provided grants to encourage energy-efficient building codes.
Ooooh.

# Extended unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits.
Uh, Congress again, remember.

# Created the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers to help auto industry workers transition to new manufacturing opportunities, including jobs in alternative energy.
He should have ordered Chrysler and GM to stop building killer cars and build mass transit instead. As long as we continue to fuck around with polluting privatized vehicles we're fucked!

# Stopped raids on medical marijuana dispensers.
A good thing.

# Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States. If confirmed, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic to ever serve on the Supreme Court.
Not sure that's a good thing yet. I want to see how she rules. I doubt that she'll rule against the real enemy, the corporations...since she was a prosocuter, corporate lawyer and judge -- never a defender.

# Appointed more than 60 openly LGBT persons to positions in the executive branch.
Ooooh.

# Issues Presidential Proclamation for Pride, proclaiming June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.
Ooooh. DOMA, DADT -- reminder...

# Signed a mercury reduction pact with 140 other nations.
Which Congress will ignore. Needs Senate ratification no doubt.

# Signed the Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act to curb wasteful spending by the Pentagon. Intended to price contracts and budgets lower; may potentially save billions of dollars in defense.
SHOULD CUT THE FUCKING WAR DEPT. BY 50% to pay for Universal Health Care! We don't need to spend no fucking Trillion Dollars a year for fucking war!

# Signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009, which serves to protect two million acres of land and creates a new system of land conservation for the Bureau of Land Management.
A good thing...Way to go, Barack. Glad someone voted for ya'.

# Phase out government payments to crop producers making more than $500,000 a year and eliminates subsidies for cotton storage to help trim the U.S. budget deficit.
Congress again...

# Cut funding for a proposed U.S. nuclear storage facility at Yucca Mountain.
Another good thing...Way to go, Barack.

# Restored Endangered Species Act Provision requiring U.S. agencies consult with independent federal experts to determine if their actions might harm threatened and endangered species.
And is prepared to sign away protections against coal polluters. I guess you'd call that a wash until the Earth becomes as habitable as Venus is now.

# Orders The Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration "to protect and restore the health, heritage, natural resources, and social and economic value of the Nation's largest estuarine ecosystem and the natural sustainability of its watershed."
Nice, nice.

# Signed the 2009 Omnibus Public Land Management Act designating two million additional acres of public wilderness areas the highest level of government protection from logging and other forms of commercial use and development.
Didn't you already trot this one out?

# Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act which will expedite the search for cures and treatments for millions of Americans living with paralysis caused by spinal cord injury, stroke, MS, Parkinson's and many other diseases and disorders.
A good thing. Thanks, Congress.

# Established The Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record, a new system for updating medical records of servicemen and women both during and after their military careers.
It would be better to abolish the activity that maims them -- the permanent war economy.
He should support HR676 -- do the same with ALL medical records.

# Established the White House Office of Health Reform
Doing what exactly?

# Created new and stronger safety standards to safeguard the country's food supply.
Link?

and

# Got his daughters a new puppy!
Oh, that's a big one. I'll have to reconsider and vote for him next time. A doggy...oh, wait, I'm a cat person...WHY NOT A CAT...DAMN...almost got me but....

---------------------------------

But he did say to ignore his first 100 days and look at his first 1000 days. Hmmm...that's convenient. We're waiting for something substantive...still waiting.

[bdamomma]

70. maybe has to do with Malia's allergies, no cat choosen

[hfojvt]

72. at least you did some work to analyze the list

instead of just cheering. But I don't agree with all of your assessments. Ledbetter, for example, I think had been killed in the Senate previously. Just read on Wiki that McCain opposed it, so I am not sure Bush wouldn't have vetoed it. He vetoed SCHIP twice.

and this one
"# Established a credit card "bill of rights".
You've got a link to that? That was Congress, right... Did he push for Judge's mark-down of mortgages in Bankruptcy...or just sign the bill without."

was considered to be too weak by much of DU. Because of the defeat of the interest rate cap, among others.

this one

"# Extended and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch.
Congress again..."

is not exactly the height of progressivity, being mostly a tax cut for rich people, especially the "extended" part. I certainly would not brag about it. "Thank goodness we elected Obama or those rich people wouldn't have gotten that tax cut."

But your standard refrain of 'Congress again' is weak, particularly against the insinuation that Obama is "just like Bush"

"# Expanded eligibility for State Children's Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP).
Congress again..."

Bush vetoed that twice. and McCain probably voted against it three times. Thus many of the "Congress again" things are things that are happening becaue Obama got elected instead of McCain.

[ProudDad]

114. I'm sure a couple slipped through

I was in a hurry...

I mentioned Congress to show that Obama would have to push on them (hammer on them) more than he has or knows how to do (he's no Lyndon Johnson in that regard)...

As for Congress, as usually happens the party in power becomes as bad as the one they replace in terms of pandering to the rich and powerful and ignoring the rest -- as you've ably chronicled in your post...interest rate cap removed, Alternative Minimum Tax ("whatever happened to the Guaranteed annual income", he asked rhetorically) and as for SCHIP -- with HR676, we wouldn't need it. (And if I hear Obama say, "If we were starting from scratch, we would do Single-Payer." I'll SHIT! NOBODY ELSE STARTED FROM SCRATCH, asshole! (except Taiwan))

Of course a few things, tinkering with the deck chairs, will pass and be signed into law due to Obama's election (over McCain's; damned with faint praise), but when it comes to important issues of corporate power and the war machine -- same old shit, different container.

I remain waiting for the Final Collapse and working locally with my brothers and sisters building a lifeboat. :hi:

www.transitionus.org

[bvar22]

81. Thanks for taking this Point by Point.

BTW: Obama got a lot of PR mileage out of saying he was going to get a "Shelter Dog" ("a mutt like me"), but wound up getting a very expensive Pure Bred. I only give him 1/2 points on that one.

The Cut and Paste list LOOKS long, but taken point by point, there are many caveats and qualifiers. Most of the significant claims are actually accomplishments of Congress.
The Cut & Paste list IS misleading at best.

[truedelphi]

94. + 1.

As we enter an era where the debt now owed for various bailout strategies rises to 24 trillion bucks, according to Neil Barofsky, it may be that not much else can happen. And much will be un-done when the looming spectre of inflation hits.

Even if the health care reform bill is decent reform, will we as a nation have money to implement it?

[vincenzoesq]

110. Are you the prince of darkness?

Shrub and company left a huge pile of merda. It is going to take awhile to clean it up. Our president hit the ground running, and yes, there is still much to do. Instead of griping, put on your big boy pants and grab a shovel.

[ProudDad]

117. Same old shit, different container

He's still a creature of war and corporate power...

I work locally...the Great Collapse is coming and Obama's not doing anything to forestall it...so I work with my brothers and sisters here building a lifeboat.

That's probably a good thing. Evolution's failed experiment with big-brained bipeds was bound to fail...let it fail before it takes the good Earth with it.

[vincenzoesq]

129. Back when I was a kid

the gloom and doom folks built bomb shelters. What is your lifeboat? A spaceship perhaps? Seriously, it
must be depressing to see everything in negatives. You don't have to be a Pollyanna to notice there are
decent folks trying to do the right thing. I happen to think our prez is one of them.

[Laurab]

134. Thanks for your post.

It really MUST be depressing - and to go to all that work to discredit the OP, as well. That seems both angry and depressing. It's no secret that the poster doesn't care for our President, but all that negativity depresses ME. I happen to agree with your last 2 sentences, and am also in touch enough with reality to know that some things will take more time than I want them to.

I'm happy with the direction we're going in - maybe above poster will finally be happy when his lifeboat is done....but somehow, I doubt it.

[ProudDad]

143. The OP did a FINE job of discrediting him/her self

by trying to pass of mostly fluff, a couple of good predictable items and NO SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE as all those wonderful things your little tin god has done...

You're happy with Iraq and Afghanistan and, hell, the whole fucking war budget (that Obama's republican War Secretary just increased) making nearly everything else impossible?

You're happy with Obama putting the same bastards who fucked up the "economy" in charge of fixing it? Hell, you were happy with that bullshit economy built on bubbles and the wealth created by workers going to the sociopaths at the top?

You're happy with the Corporations in charge and Obama their newest, shiniest tool?

I'm not.

But I know that in a bullshit capitalist dominator hierarchy, that's all you're gonna get.

====================================================

As for me personally, I have a happier life than you could even conceive of -- I control my own destiny, I don't wait for some little tin god to do it for me...

[Laurab]

154. No, I'm not happy with those things.

I AM in touch with reality, though. Your thinking is interesting, but I'm not sure I could say reality was your strongest point.

If you indeed have a "happier life than" I could even conceive of, why does it seem you spend most of your time on here posting countless negative posts? David Crosby had your same idea back in the early 70's (See "Wooden Ships"). He grew up. I was always a bigger fan of Jackson Browne who answered Crosby with the song "For Everyman".

As for me, I think most people would say I'm quite a happy person, despite living with awful chronic pain - I don't wait for any "little tin God" to do anything for me - I do what I can to fix what I can, and most of all, try to keep a positive attitude. It's surprising you have any energy at all (if you do), with all that negativity eating you up. And, well - if you're a happy person, it sure doesn't come across at ALL in the many, many posts I've seen by you. In fact they stand out with their constant negativity. If that's happiness, I don't want it.

[bos1]

146. you shouldn't take it seriously. Look at the Caps on the "Great Collapse". Sure sign of kook. nt

[Laurab]

155. Thanks - I really don't.

The "happiest life" thing kind of tickled me, though. :)

[ProudDad]

142. When you were a kid

if you were a kid in say, 1962...

The world WAS nearly blown to shit by JFK and Khrushchev. Luckily, Khrushchev came to his senses and talked Kennedy into stopping it with him.

So those bomb shelters damn near became needed...

Today, it's fossil fuel caused global warming and the collapse of a bullshit economic "system" that's going to finish the "world as we know it." (and about fucking time)...

So, instead of wasting our time with your infantile gibes and your slavish worship of yet another ubber-capitalist, my community of decent folks and I are working to build a different economic system, to relocalize our economy and resources and prepare a sustainable framework for our future.

Other than worshiping at the feet of your idol and waiting for him to save you, what are you doing?

And what makes you think I see "everything in negatives"? You don't know shit about me, especially through the beam in thine own eye...

[Cha]

159. Look who's talking about the same shit.

I feel sorry for all you bitter deadenders.

[Grinchie]

127. Thank you for that breakdown which parallel's my view of Obama

A lot of that is merely fluff to pad out a pretty superficial basket of token actions in order to puff up the so called Accomplishments of the Obama administration.

Your choice of the word "Substantive" is key in relating why so many of us are so terribly disappointed and digusted with the way this Administartion has thrown the Progressive left under the bus in order to court the DLC/Center/Repug-lite base.

Thank you for taking the time to rate each point, and I agree with your rating of each.

This continual shoveling of money into the Military black hole is unacceptable, and it goes to show that the American Economony is based on the creation of weapon systems for internal use and export purposes.

Our food is still poisoned, and we still don't have GMO Food that we eat identified on the label. We are nothing more than unwitting guinea pigs for the benefit of Monsanto if we survive, and Monsanto is immune if we don't. A nationion of malnourished, incrementally poisoned, overmedicated, mentally deficient guinea pigs that look at token gifts like they are mana from heaven, while the planet hurls toward ecological collapse and population overshoot.

People are fully committed to the belief that somehow Obama shapes our policy, and that is where the Corporation behind his affable personality, media representation, and the cleverly orchestrated dance between his allies and enemies prevail in shaping opinion and convincing the public and the world that things are in control.

They are not in control, and people need to wake up and honestly grade such "Accomplishments" in regards to the health of the Planet and not just themselves.

People need to realize that we are all made of the same stuff as an Earthworm, and forget about personal differences if we are to survive. The Earthworm creates valuable castings, the Human create Toxic Sewer Sludge.

[lexanman]

38. This is all awesome stuff

some of which I didn't know about. Awesome for Obama.


As for millions of people out of work and living in tent cities with no job prospects, not so good.

Neither for the war crimes and torture that continue to be unasnwered and continued aerial bombing in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Cheney and Bush and the cabal still walk freely thumbing their nose.

Summers and Paulson and Geithner still in positions of influence with the stimulus still completely misdirected to CEO frauds and financial criminals who are still in control at said companies.

Hundreds of Thousands of job still lost every month because of continued support of outsourcing, H1B, and money flowing into bankers hands who still refuse to lend at any type of reasonable rate
Credit card companies jacking up millions of cardholders rates to usuary levels and getting away with it.

Green jobs supposed to turn things around going nowhere.


These issues, in my opinion, are 20 times more important than an egg roll, with all due respect, support and congradulations to the LGBT community.

More important on appointments or committies, which all presidents do.

More important than expanding loans and subsidies, when states and companies are not hiring and cutting back benefits for millions of low income, elderly and disabled people anyway.

Contradictory to many others such as expanding stronger safety standards in the food industry, when Obama appoints lobbyists to important positions in the food industry. Same with financial reforms when the same damn people are in place.

Same with environmental reforms with he gives logging companies rights on designated protected land, and strip coal mining is still allowed and encouraged.

I guess Im one of those supporters that thought the direction of the country and policy was going to make a fundamental change back to fairness, getting rid of stooges and criminals, and most importantly with the economy. Instead of nudging a little to the left. We have a Democratic President. We have a House of Repesentatives that can put through most anything it wants with a solid Democratic majority. And Now a Senate that even with a few blue dogs we can and should be getting major legislation passed in a fairly rapid manner.

[lexanman]

39. Oh, and a big K and R for the good things Obama has done

so far. Here's hoping now for some fundamental and major reforms and policies in the right direction too.

[gtar100]

40. Thank you.

[JDPriestly]

41. Now if Congress will only get with the program on healthcare and AG Holder

will only investigate and if necessary indict, we'll have something to brag about.

[bdamomma]

63. exactly.

congress is one of our biggest problems.

[caseymoz]

42. Great list. Thanks for compiling it. k&r

It's good we have a president who actually shows up to work and does work.

[JNelson6563]

44. K&R for the whiners

:toast:

[Gman]

46. But people here think that's not good enough

I am so happy with Obama I can't stop smiling.

[vaberella]

50. Ain't that the truth. You have people here who think he's weak. n/t

[Zynx]

47. But all of this, especially the stimulus package that focuses on education, health care, public

housing, public transit, and infrastructure, are all things that the Republicans would have done. /sarcasm

[shadowknows69]

48. Don't forget he also pushed the moon in front of the sun

in order to rob Nuclear Man of his power source.
I think he also killed Voldemort, Megatron and Satan.

[vaberella]

51. See, that should be no.1 on the list. He took out Mumra too. n/t

[shadowknows69]

52. He once beat Godzilla in a game of hoops.

But "The Dude" did kick his ass in bowling.

[kjackson227]

53. And... some here at DU would have you believe he hasn't done...

a damned thing. Thanks for this post. K&R

[shadowknows69]

54. And absurd statements like that are why we call some of y'all cheerleaders.

I highly doubt that anyone who wasn't a troll in the first place on DU has suggested he hasn't done anything or hasn't done enough given the time. Why can't you get that it is the direction of some of his policies that some are critical of and not the man. But of course, if you don't praise the President always, you must be against him. I thought that stopping blind loyalty in our leaders, more than anything, was the change we voted for. Sorry, but until Bush/Cheney are behind bars President Obama can never quite be a "10" to me. He's hovering at about an 8.0 right now.

[redqueen]

61. No, when Turley said he was just Bush with the ability to speak coherently,

people here agreed with him, and defended that remark.

You may just write dozens of active, long-term DUers off as trolls... others don't.

[kjackson227]

66. thank you!

[shadowknows69]

96. Let's see

Bush= Not following the rule of law in his administration
Obama= Not enforcing the rule of law against the last criminal administration.

Not exactly the same, but Obama does still talk better. That I concede.

[kjackson227]

65. You can DOUBT all you want, but I still say otherwise...hmmm- must've hit a nerve...

but guess what, I don't mind being called Obama's cheerleader cause that's exactly what I am- no shame in my game. Also, it matters a damn to me whether you praise him or not, he gets plenty of that from his CHEERLEADERS, anyway.

[shadowknows69]

97. You're the one who decided to engage in sweeping hyperbole

So I thought I'd call you on it and actually join you in it in a post about two above this one.

[Name removed]

100. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[uponit7771]

55. DU response: He aint it his hair on fire so..../sarcasm

[jules1962]

57. AND, He made us proud to have an intelligent and smart

POTUS after 8 long years of having a dumbass that embarrassed us whenever he opened his mouth. We no longer need to hang our head in shame. This time Americans didn't vote for "Someone they would like to have a beer with", but rather "Someone that speaks in complete sentences".:applause:

[SunsetDreams]

59. K&R thank you :)

[Hutzpa]

67. Not according to this poster

these are the kind of troll that have inundated DU, I call them adaptive troll
check this pricks idea of Obama not dong anything;


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8539027&mesg_id=8539027



:banghead: :banghead:

[ProudDad]

120. Pricks are those who cannot properly use apostrophes...(n/t)

[Hekate]

68. Just sent this list & link to one of my far-lefty friends who just blasted Obama on our peace board

Oh,yeah, and I hit Reply All, too (our mutual board was not the only one in the header, needess to say).

Thank you again.

Hekate

[JohnWxy]

69. signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - did you mention that one?

colloquially referred to as the stimulus package.

Kind of a biggie.

[Political Tiger]

109. Sheesh! How could I have forgot to add that?

Thanks for the reminder, I will add it to the list.

[ProudDad]

121. Oh, that's a great one!

Here in my town the CC is using it to build more fucking roads we don't need for cars we don't need that just pollute the atmosphere so that their cronies in the asphalt-industrial complex can line their pockets.

Great stimulus...the money moves out of town...

[JohnWxy]

161. Yeah, much better to do nothing and have the Great Depression II

The Republican Dystopia

[bdamomma]

71. all these stupid right wingers saying he is doing too much

at least he is doing his job, and he can multi task!!!!!!!!!!!

[ProudDad]

123. all these stupid right wingers saying he is doing too much

damned with faint praise...

[Laurab]

135. I sure hope that lifeboat's done soon

and you find some happiness. So much negativity, all the time, can't be good for you.

[ProudDad]

144. You and your community could build one of your own

Check it out: www.transitionus.org

It's a much better idea than waiting for either of the two right-wings of the corporate big business party to come riding into town on their (of course) white horse to save you...

[invictus]

73. Obama's big accomplishment was to put an end to Bush Republicanism which was a creeping form of fasc

Obama's big accomplishments to date are putting an end to Bush Republicanism which was a creeping form of fascism and bringing US government policy back to something more normal and comparable to previous American presidents of the late 20th century. Obama's policies have by no means been progressive. They only seem progressive because American politics have shifted so far right since Reagan-Bush Sr., getting a major shift right during the Clinton administration, and then turned a radical fascist right during Bush jr. post 9/11. Hopefully Obama will be a transformative president who can tilt the direction of American politics back towards the left as it had been moving from FDR up to LBJ.

[ProudDad]

125. Wow, way to go Barack

Banishing the specter of Fascism by hiring the same fascists to run the war machine and the economy...

It's brilliant, I tells ya', brilliant...

:sarcasm: in case you need it...

[scheming daemons]

74. Post of the freaking year

[LiberalFighter]

75. Forgot appointing chair to the NLRB and nominating 2 labor reps to NLRB

[Political Tiger]

108. Thanks, I will add that to the list! n/t

[Peacetrain]

76. This is my own addition to you OP.. thanks

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Peacetrain/48

[Unca Jim]

77. Predicted reactions:

Haters: Nothing substantive here! Obama still sucks!

Lovers: I'm totally vindicated! Obama still rules!

Anyone who honestly looks over this list and the other stuff the President has been working on: Not bad for a start, but plenty more to go.

[frylock]

80. yep

[vaberella]

98. The Matthew Sheperd Act can be added to the list. n/t

[agentS]

79. Not a perfect list, but he is only 1 man, 6 months into the job.

He's been a busy President. While this list doesn't have all the things we on the Left would want to see (like HR 676, FISA pulled back, Bush in prison, etc) it does have a lot we wanted to see. Could he have done better? Certainly. Your criticism is justified. But, if McCain had been in office, would we have seen the same results? Most likely, nope.

BUT A LOT OF Y'ALL ARE MISSING THE IMPORTANT PART- WE NOW KNOW WHERE THE ROADBLOCKS TO CHANGE ARE.
WE KNOW WHO'S HOLDING UP THE AGENDA.
WE KNOW WHO'S THE OPPOSITION AND THE MEN BEHIND THE CURTAIN.

If you want real change, you have to remove the roadblocks. Sitting around complaining about the president not doing this or that isn't going to get the job done. The problem stems from the American mindset, among other things. Changing that will take a very long time, but in the meantime, your biggest enemies are Wall St, K St, and C St. Neutralize their ability to influence legislation and you'll have the change you want.

[Laurab]

136. Thanks for this post! n/t

[defendandprotect]

82. Congratulations on all of that -- and cheers!!! However . . .

We still have two wars raging and it looks like they're creating a framework for
an attack on Iran --

The wars are bankrupting our Treasury -- no less treason than when Bush was doing that

Took the trade agreements -- the reason for our high job loss and unemployment -- "off the table."

Increased funding for abstinence only sex education by $25 million.

Created a higher level coverup for wiretapping.

Failed to immediately overturn Bush's tax cuts on the rich

Continues to say that he will have the most transparent government ever, but continues to
side with those who want to cover up government corruption and government crimes --
especially re torture.

Increased government subsidies to religious organizations, begun by Bush -

Also continues to pretend that in health care we are reinventing the wheel --
simply remove age restrictions from MEDICARE --

Cutting $313 BILLION FROM MEDICARE/MEDICAID

Eloped with the corporate-DLC/Emmanuel and other DLCers into the White House -

And, I could go on, of course . . .


AND this is hilarious -- !!!

Required new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions.

If that meant anything, Obama wouldn't be in the White House!

END Campaign finance BRIBERY -- !!!!

************************************
************************************

[midnight]

83. I'm excited for these changes to be implemented, and even

more excited to read that President Obama will repeal the TARP bailouts! Provide housing for everyone who wants one.

[barbiegeek]

84. Copy this and email it to all your friends

I just did to defeat the Repugs lies

[and-justice-for-all]

87. K&R!!!

[Kweli4Real]

88. Yeah, but ...

He hasn't cured cancer!:sarcasm:

[uponit7771]

107. ...or leaped a tall building in a single bound...without that he jus like Bush /sarcasm :)

[Politicub]

91. Wow - what a list!

Great to see the list of all of the accomplishments -- especially since more are surely to come.

[Umbral]

92. So a Democrat won the election...

Now, imagine what could have been accomplished given commanding majorities in both houses of congress and an electoral mandate to institute change? What a list that could have been.

[Wetzelbill]

93. K and R and Bookmarked.

[Jester Messiah]

95. K&R, Great post! [nt]

[wicket]

101. rec'd & bookmarked!

[druidity33]

103. not to be a downer

but quite a few of those bulleted points have disturbing caveats... i'll rec the thread though because it's better to be edging forward in increments than it is to be standing still or moving backwards.

:shrug:

[zipplewrath]

111. Yup

I wrote a whole response that went into a bit more detail, including the disturbing parts, as well as added some things that he has actually done, but wouldn't be all that popular around here under Bush. But it got lost in a computer meltdown. I did respond to the silly "bought a puppy" item with 2 words. RICK WARREN.

[readmoreoften]

118. Shh. They want to note the "two steps forward" not the "two steps backward"

that come after or the poison pills deliberately written into many of these bills.

It's pretty damn sad.

[Stellar]

105. This is a list I'm going to keep...

and share. Thank You for posting!!!

[RBInMaine]

106. KPOW ! Damn straight ! GO OBAMA !! Great post. Support OUR president !!

[AllyCat]

112. Credit card bill of rights has largely been declared (even on DU) a joke

I know he's done a lot, but the things I consider most important are not happening. He's not made the government transparent (more transparent then Bush's was easy...anyone could make it MORE transparent). We will be adding 22K troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Don't Ask Don't Tell is still going strong. We'll be clearcutting parts of the Tongass.

Hope he gets somewhere with health care. He's on board, but this miserable Congress is not.

Sorry...not unrecing or recing, but I'm kind of fed up with how things are going right now.

[Political Tiger]

113. ** UPDATES ** (A few I forgot to add)

Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Signed the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2009 expanding health coverage for 250,000 children.

Rescinded a Bush administration directive that effectively made it impossible for states to raise their eligibility limits under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) above 250 percent of the poverty level.

Named Wilma Liebman as the next chairwoman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). As an NLRB member over the past eight years, Liebman challenged the Bush administration’s war on workers.

Nominated Mark Pearce, a member of the New York State United Teachers union, and Craig Becker, current associate general counsel for the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union, to the to the National Labor Relations Board.

-----

Thanks to the good DUer's who pointed out my omissions!

[readmoreoften]

115. You forgot preventative detention, expanding Bagram torture theatre, bombing Pakistan,

researching to make sure that the US wasn't bound to take action on LGBT discrimination before signing the anti-discrimination declaration (making sure it's just all talk!), strengthening DOMA, continuing DADT, the bank bailouts, and so much more.

Triangulators take two steps forward, two steps back. No one is denying that he takes steps forwards before he reverses himself.

[FrenchieCat]

116. Excellent Commentary!

Which in this case is all action, not opinion!

Thank you for this!

[Tommy_J]

119. + 210

[Grinchie]

122. A lot of this is just common sense,

But the truly important issues that we are all concerned about remain.

FISA Immunity
Corporate Sellout
DLC Infestation
Clear Cutting in Alaska
50 Billion to Nuclear, while at the same time Yucca Maountin is scaled back
1 trillion dollars for war machine
Monsanto Michael Taylor back in the USDA
Vilsack
Retained Secrecy for current Government
Failed to Prosecute BUSHCO
Abu Ghraib photo secrecy
Federal Reserve Cronyism
Goldman Sachs Cronyism
Mortgage assistance that isn't working
Tax Cuts for people with no jobs
No money for rail projects.
Same old Corruption in Politics.
Remote control killing of Pakistani's
Backpedalling on the legalization of Cannabis or Hemp
Clean Coal

But his daughters have a new puppy! Wheeee!

[readmoreoften]

126. Business as usual with a few poison-pill political maneuvers and a little showboating.

I'm sure the freepers ran a list of Bush's liberal achievements like "The Clean Air Act" and "No Child Left Behind". Sure Obama has done some tepid half-measures and signed onto some good legislation (like Lily Ledbetter) that other people fought for. But let's be serious people.

And I find it insulting and ridiculous to say that the man has done a goddamn thing for LGBT people. He simply hasn't.

[Grinchie]

128. I have a very simple philosophy on life -- Remove emotional tethers and face the facts.

If more people were able to discard the Socially enforced mentality of "Drama", and focused more on logical and analytical thinking coupled with the knowledge that there is a true spiritual world, then I think more people would be actually able to judge for themselves without distortion.

But there is a Mass Plague of comformity and the desire to be member of a group, despite the obvious signs that the Group may not always be right, that forces people to cling to unhealthy views, and go along like sheep.

I do a lot of research, and I find it remarkable how intelligent and instructive books written in the 1900's to 1930's are compared to today. It's written in languege unfettered with jargon and legal phrases designed to obfuscate and distract. Our forefathers had no qualms about reviewing basic theory in text, whereas now, we see footnotes directing us to some other document requiring a university degree, along with access to that Universities Library in order to digest it all.

The legal system has devolved into a complicated mess, where given enough motivation, any simple statement can be twisted to the benefit of an interested party. This applies to the Tax code as well.

The Constitution is still under attack, and getting more wages is nothing compared to that loss, especially considering the that entire U.S. Economy is a Fraud, being propped up artificially with Tax money that is based all our future labor.

[Boomerang Diddle]

130. "One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done."

-Marie Curie

Or in Obama haters translation: Where's MY pony?

[mullard12ax7]

131. Odd, I didn't see anywhere in the post you are responding to...

that the person is an "Obama hater". I did see the poster describe your post exactly, before you even posted it.

[Number23]

141. The poster he was responding to's hate of the President is so tangible Stevie Wonder could see it.

But I kind of get the feeling that you already know that. lol

[Cha]

160. Your "truly important issues" are

full of shit..more of the same whining from the same ol deadenders.

And, all you can say about the positive action that's been taken by Pres Obama is that his daughters have a new puppy..wheee?

You fucking exposed yourself.

[XanaDUer]

132. Thank you for this

Recommended, too.

[Laurab]

137. K&R'd just in time! n/t

[Number23]

140. Oh no, PT! The unrecommends got to you!!

Instead of 235 recs, you only wound up with 231!!!!!!! However will you live with the shame???!!
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[ProudDad]

145. To those shallow individuals who can't tell the difference

between criticism and "hate"...

You're fucking idiots!

I HATE fucking idiots... :grr:

:evilfrown: :mad: :argh: :nuke:



Seriously, your pResident is charming and articulate. It's almost a pleasure to hear him pull the same old shit with such eloquence.

I like the guy, that's why it's doubly disappointing to see him do much the same crap as the last dozen or so...

Not surprising...Hell I didn't vote for him, I voted for a Progressive...but still a little sad...













:sarcasm:

[bos1]

147. LOL "Great Collapse". Repent the End is Near!!! this ^ kooktroll goes on ignore.

[bos1]

148. Adding one more big one: Reversing USA's negative global image in one fell swoop

This should not be underestimated. Remember the crowds in Berlin for Obama? Germany is just one example of a place where people were totally anti-USA before this and with good reason.

I live abroad and I saw the USA go from maximum appreciation and support (especially after 9/11) to being pitied and reviled. Obama has turned all that upside down like maybe no other politician could, to an extent unimaginable just a couple years ago.

[Name removed]

149. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Political Tiger]

153. Very true! I'll add that! n/t

[Kind of Blue]

151. Ratz! Too late to Rec.

But I glad you've got plenty.

[WI_DEM]

152. too late for me to recommend but he has done a great deal and deserves credit.

[Cha]

156. Glad to see this Political Tiger..I was

offline for two whole days due to getting a new Windows XP installed and missed this when I was looking for interesting OPs when I got back on, yesterday!

You go, PT! :fistbump::patriot::party::bounce:

[TheBigotBasher]

162. Largest increase in veterans funding

more than the VA had actually asked for.

[Curtland1015]

163. Love it. Love the list! I was actually looking for something like this to email to a co-worker.

Thanks for writing it all up!

:thumbsup:

[Leo The Cleo]

164. The Puppy!

[Uzybone]

165. obviously he is a political incompetent.

[Politicub]

166. I read the list again

I love this list so much I had to read through it again. It's been an outstanding six months, and there is more to come. And one of the greatest acts of the Obama admin (healthcare reform) is right around the corner.

Not all has been perfect. For example, I would like to see more progress made to achieve equality for GLBT folk. But even still, we're moving forward as a body politic. So much of what Obama has done benefits everyone, which I appreciate.

I would rec this list a hundred times if I could.

:bounce: