Clinton Not Attending Because it’s Politicized?

Bill Clinton decided not to attend a health care event organized by MSNBC host Keith Olbermann because Olbermann had “politicized” the event.

He explained his decision to FireDogLake’s Eve Gittelso, who ran into Clinton in a gift shop of the Clinton Library in Arkansas:

“Clinton responded that Olbermann was politicizing the clinic, and that it wasn’t helpful for Olbermann to do that. He said he did not feel he could show up now, because the event had turned political….Olbermann, who has invited his viewers to contribute to the National Association of Free Clinics in advance of the event, has said on his show that ‘I want Sens. (Blanche) Lincoln and (Mark) Pryor to see what health care poverty is really like in Little Rock.’ Lincoln has met recently with Joe Biden and President Obama, but has yet to agree to vote for debate on health care to proceed in the Senate.”

I’m sorry but Keith Olberman has a right to politicize these events, they are meant to ‘tell a story’ to those unbelievers that Americans need health care.

They were created to not only help those without health care, they were meant to tell other Americans how much health care reform is needed.

Former President Bill Clinton is WRONG not to attend and support these events.

If anybody has made it necessary to make these health care events political it’s been the Republican Party and those so-called conservative Democrats that refuse to budge because they are afraid to lose their own jobs.  Their own job is more important then saving the lives of their constituents.

Yet Another GOP Flip Flopper

In April 2007, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that the war in Iraq was “lost” and that the surge was “not accomplishing anything.” He was called “reckless,” “disturbing” and “playing to the worst elements of the antiwar left.”

Former Senator and presidential nominee, Fred Thompson said the following about Reid’s comment back then:

“The problem is that every one of Reid’s comments I’ve noted here has also been reported gleefully by Al Jazeera and other anti-American media. Whether he means to or not, he’s encouraging our enemies to believe that they are winning the critical war of will.”

But now Thompson is flip flopping.  In a commentary on his radio show, Thompson declared that the Afghanistan war “has been lost”:

“It really doesn’t matter how President Obama divides the Afghan baby, how he splits the difference between McChrystal and Biden. Because the war has been lost,”

So, is Thompson now telling the enemy that they’ve won?

Isn’t it odd how we never heard a peep out of people like Thompson about the wars or the economy or the deficit until 10 months after the opposition Party takes control of it?

President Obama in Asia

This will be short and sweet.  Somebody has posted some photos of the President on his final day in Asia.  The photos are very well done.  For those interested — Visit Here!

A Poll of All Polls — On Media Personnel

I have a suggestion for a new poll.  Why not have one every month on how people feel about news reporters and commentators.  I don’t mean we should look at television ratings, I mean an actual running poll on how our major news reporters and outlets are doing their jobs when reporting or discussing the way our nation is run and who is running it.

We have polls taken daily giving us the approval ratings of the Executive branch, Congress and the individuals currently holding offices in them.  We have polls telling us who supports health care reform and who doesn’t.  We have polls telling us how many people support the wars and how many don’t.  We have polls telling us who supports abortion rights and who doesn’t.  We have polls telling us which states are happier and which are not.  We  have polls telling us what cars are more comfortable to ride in.  We even have polls telling us which city or town in the nation is the friendliest.

When will we have polls telling us (and them) who we as Americans trust more when it comes to giving the news or talking about it?  Who do we trust to give us the facts?  Which reporter or commentator gives us more of the facts and less opinion?  Who is more about opinion then fact?  Who seems most intent in supporting one Party then another?

I realize a poll can’t cover every reporter and every commentator but like in politics, it can zero in on a select few of well known (and maybe a couple of not so well known) personnel in the media.  For example, our primetime news reporters, Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Charles Gibson, our Sunday talk show hosts, David Gregory, Bob Scheiffer, George Stephanopoulos, Chris Wallace, our evening talk show hosts, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Keith Olberman, Rachel Maddow, Ed Shultz, Chris Matthews, Mike Huckabee, Glenn Beck, our radio shows like Rush Limbaugh, Mancow Muller, Randy Rhoades and Thom Hartmann.

Let’s hear what their favorable and unfavorable ratings are, just like we hear about the President’s ratings, the Speaker of the House and Majority Leader’s ratings.  Perhaps like most politicians, they’ll take notice of those ratings and we can finally get them back to the business they started in — NEWS and FACT TELLING.

“Keep America Safe” — Liz?

This is an interesting tidbit of news.  Remember President George W. Bush’s attorneys John Yoo and Jay Bybee from the Office of Legal Counsel, the ones that wrote the legal memo allowing for prisoners to be tortured back in 2001?  Well one of them has set a legal fund for possible legal proceedings.

The federal judge who helped draft Justice Department memos on torture has set up a legal defense fund to pay the costs of defending against possible disciplinary or impeachment proceedings. Jay Bybee, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge in Las Vegas, quietly set up the fund last July following widespread news reports that he and a former deputy, John Yoo, were the focus of a long-running investigation by the Justice Department’s internal ethics unit, the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), over their role in crafting the memos.

But there were no public references to the fund until this, week when Declassified noticed that a link to the fund had popped up on the Web site of Keep America Safe, an advocacy group set up last month by Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, that is highly critical of President Obama’s national-security policies. The fund is listed as one of Keep America Safe’s “causes we support.”

It appears that he may need the money soon;

Attorney General Eric Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that, after a nearly year-long delay and numerous internal reviews, the OPR report into the torture memos was finally slated to be released at the end of this month.

Did you notice who offered to let Mr. Bybee post his fund request on her website — Liz Cheney.  She’s the woman who is currently making the rounds on television and media sites to defend the Bush’s torture policies and her father.  Who is her father?  Former Vice President Dick Cheney, a major player in the torturing of prisoners.

First off, this is exciting news.  Finally, we just might see somebody face criminal charges for what I call war crimes; the torturing of prisoners.  In any other war these actions would have fallen under the Geneva Convention rules that the GOP’s hero himself signed, former President Ronald Reagan.  Imagine if some other nation were to treat our soldiers in this manner in the future – now that they’ve seen what we will do to their POWs.

Secondly, having this fund listed on Liz Cheney’s website tells me the Cheney’s and the Bush’s are covering their rears by kissing some butt ahead of time…..praying that Mr. Bybee or Mr. Yoo don’t cave under pressure of a jail sentence and give evidence against former VP Dick Cheney and Pres. George W. Bush for a lighter sentence.

That is what I’m PRAYING for. All it takes is one person to finally come forward and say — they made me do it!

As of Liz Cheney’s Keep America Safe website….is it really America she wants to keep safe or her Daddy?

Obama’s Administration 90 Accomplishments

I thought I’d repeat this listing I saw on Dkos by Robert P. Watson, Ph.D.Coordinator of American Studies Lynn University.  While some may not have been completed as of yet, at least they are attempting to make CHANGE happen:

1. Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut spending

1. Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify and cut wasteful spending and practices

1. Instituted enforcement for equal pay for women

1. Beginning the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq

1. Families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB

1. Ended media blackout on war casualties; reporting full information

1. Ended media blackout on covering the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB; the media is now permitted to do so pending adherence to respectful rules and approval of fallen soldier’s family

1. The White House and federal government are respecting the Freedom of Information Act (more…)

Colbert: “Pile of Sh*t”

Colbert Reviews ‘Going Rogue’:  A ‘Steaming Pile Of Sh*t’ | TPM LiveWire

As usual, the man hits it on the nail head.

Palin Makes It: Celebrity Status

Remember the famous memo written by Senator John McCain’s campaign manager  Rick Davis during the past presidential election on July 30, 2008?

Barack Obama is the biggest celebrity in the world, comparable to Tom Cruise, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. As he told Congressional Democrats yesterday, he has become the “symbol” for the world’s aspirations for America and that we are now at “the moment … that the world is waiting for.”

Only a celebrity of Barack Obama’s magnitude could attract 200,000 fans in Berlin who gathered for the mere opportunity to be in his presence…

Yet, despite all of the fans, paparazzi and media adoration, the American people still have questions: Is Barack Obama prepared to lead? Is being famous the same as being a credible commander in chief?..

On issues big and small, there is a gap between Barack Obama’s soaring rhetoric and celebrity and the facts behind them.  What he says and what he does are often two very different things, leaving the American people to wonder what he actually believes, or if he believes in anything beyond himself…

As the world’s biggest celebrity, Barack Obama has the entourage and all the trappings of fame. Today, his campaign is more about advancing Barack Obama and less about solving the challenges facing our country.

It appears that the former Governor of Alaska and Senator John McCain’s former Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, has finally reached that level of “celebrity” that Mr. Davis,  Senator McCain and Sarah Palin, accused Senator Barack Obama of being back in 2008. (more…)

FOX NEWS: Does it Again — LIES

Last week, Jon Stewart and The Daily Show caught Fox News’ Sean HannityFaiz Shakir at ThinkProgress thinks so, and he pulls a segment that seems to tout the crowds that greeted Sarah Palin on the stump during the 2008 campaign as throngs that are gathering to purchase Sarah Palin’s book, running old footage of September Tea Party crowds in an attempt to make Michele Bachmann’s smaller November Tea Party shindig appear to be more well-attended than it was. Is Fox up to the same tricks today? Going Rogue.

In the clip below, watch as Fox anchor Gregg Jarrett describes “pictures just coming into us” as “huge crowds” that have amassed while Palin is “promoting her new book.” The pictures that are supposedly “just coming in” are actually year-old video from the presidential campaign:

Jason Linkens implies there’s just a disconnect between Jarrett and the news producer, but I disagree.  These people know that just a few seconds of pictures or videos can influence viewers.  Those few seconds in their minds can always be ‘explained away’ such as Linken’s disconnect comment.

“Going Rogue” (Book) goes Nuts

Sarah Palin’s book “Going Rogue” was everywhere–every media outlet in the States has done at least a dozen pieces about it. Well now it’s nowhere to be found: “Going Rogue” has gone rogue. It picked up a gun, snuck off the set of “Late Night,” evaded FBI capture, shot Rachel Maddow and went to meet up with its lover.

This was all part of a sketch last night on Jimmy Fallon’s show that was equal parts crazypants and hilarious. They used every fugitive-on-the-run cliche to give the book a life of its own.

This is funny!