President Obama and ''Tonight Show'' host Jay Leno bantered last night in what may be the first such visit by a sitting president. (Larry Downing/reuters)
Gee, I wonder what they are laughing at (see below)?
"Obama intensifies stump-style strategy; Pushes agenda, counters critics in blitz of events" by Charles Babington, Associated Press | March 20, 2009
LOS ANGELES - Buoyed by adoring crowds far from Washington's political wars, President Obama asked Americans yesterday to back his far-reaching economic and health policies, but warned them not to expect too much from him.
But the banks get trillions, no strings. I'm sick of this guy already.
With many Republicans and even some Democrats in Congress resisting his budget plans, Obama went into full campaign mode in California, sometimes mocking his GOP critics, sometimes asking people to forgive his shortcomings, and using new and old presidential tools to rally support.
I love the partisanship from the guy who wants to bring us together.
Last night, he appeared on Jay Leno's late-night talk show, by some accounts the first time an incumbent president has gone on such a program. The president ended up having to again address the uproar over the AIG bonuses, which he said stunned him. Obama said that while it was necessary to rescue the insurance giant....
So what's the probing Leno ask Obama about?
Leno asked when Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia, will get their pet dog. "This is Washington. That was a campaign promise," Obama replied to audience laughter....
Yeah, it's SO FUNNY that ALL POLITICIANS -- including Mr. "Change" here -- are UNABASHED LIARS, isn't it?
Earlier yesterday, Obama held the second of two town hall meetings in California that resembled campaign rallies, mixing cockiness with humility. Without naming names, he mocked Republican officials who call his plans too costly, saying they presided over huge deficits while they controlled Congress and the White House.
That's not helping to win me over, the liar! Worry about your own house.
"Facing discomfort and some dissension in his own ranks, President Obama defended his sweeping $3.6 trillion spending plan"
"Where have you been?" he asked them rhetorically, before about 1,000 people at a Los Angeles learning center.
Reading Ron Paul's book.
He also told his audience not to expect "something for nothing" from their government.
Are YOU KIDDING ME? How is THAT for an ARROGANT INSULT, huh, Americ?!!!! TELL IT to the BANKS, 'bamer!!!!!
Improvements to the economy and healthcare will take time and require unusually large deficits for a while, he said.... The important questions, he said, are "are we moving in the right direction" and is he keeping his main campaign promises.
I can't, I... sigh:
Slow Saturday Special: Obama's Shield
Obama's Fast-Track F*** of the American People
Obama Breaks Wind Over Environmentalists
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Obama's strategy underscores his faith in his campaign skills, and the high stakes of his ambitious budget and stimulus agenda, the failure of which would deliver a severe blow to his young administration. He seemed to particularly relish his escape from Washington this week.
His administration is being hammered by congressional Republicans, who say his appointees blundered badly by allowing executives of the mostly nationalized AIG insurance firm to receive big bonuses. The controversy has emboldened their opposition to his budget and stimulus plans.
"The AIG situation underscores the fact that Washington isn't doing anything to help our economy," House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio said yesterday. "The president's budget spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much from our children and grandchildren."Of course, Obama is right on this sleaze: he and he other Nazi Repuglicans didn't giove a damn when it was war-loot and Bush tyanny. That's my Repug representation in the AmeriKan MSM, huh? Why even bother being on?
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And why was that man laughing up above (and why a day behind, Globe)?
"Obama apologizes for Special Olympics joke on TV; Press aide: Comment was 'thoughtless'" by Globe Staff And Associated Press | March 21, 2009
Going on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" was always a risk for President Obama, whose calm, but usually serious demeanor is one of his biggest assets as he tries to steer the country through the economic crisis.
And then one of his attempts at humor Thursday night ended up causing offense - and necessitating an immediate apology. Leno asked whether the White House bowling alley had been closed down to be replaced by a basketball court.
"No, no. I have been practicing," Obama replied as the audience laughed. "I bowled a 129."
"That's very good, Mr. President," Leno said.
Obama joked, "It was like Special Olympics, or something."
On his way back to Washington on Air Force One, Obama called the chairman of the Special Olympics, Tim Shriver, to say he was sorry.
"He expressed his disappointment and he apologized in a way that was very moving. He expressed that he did not intend to humiliate this population," Shriver said yesterday on ABC's "Good Morning America."
But the president's remarks have caused "enormous pain" among families who take part in Special Olympics, Shriver said later yesterday on MSNBC. "Many people are just heartbroken," Shriver said. He said the comment shows that much more education needs to be done, noting that Leno and the studio audience laughed, and said he hopes it will be a "teachable moment."
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday that Obama believes that the Special Olympics are "a triumph of the human spirit" and described the remark as "a thoughtless joke."
Isn't the selectivity of the agenda-pushing MSM awesome? Yup, PREJUDICE is just a "thoughtless joke" when it comes to sanctioned whipping posts and populations, as well as covering for the globalist puppet.
Now imagine for a moment if the comment was about Jews; the MSM outrage would be broadcast for miles!!! Put the shoe on the other foot, and apply the same to Muslims. I hear silence, don't you?
In the phone call, the president invited some Special Olympic athletes to visit the White House to bowl or play basketball, and in a statement, Shriver also urged Obama to consider hiring a Special Olympics athlete to work in the White House to "help end misperceptions about the talents and abilities of people with intellectual disabilities, and demonstrate their dignity and value to the world."
Shriver is the son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who founded the group in 1968. His sister, Maria Shriver, a longtime Obama supporter, said laughing at the president's comments "hurts millions of people throughout the world."
The Arc of Massachusetts, the state's largest advocacy group for people with developmental disabilities, also expressed its disappointment for what it called Obama's "unfortunate and insensitive comments."
"This is proof, as President Obama has said himself, that words do matter," the group said in a statement. "While President Obama can't take his comments back, what he can do is help ensure that people with disabilities get the assistance they need."
Yes, words do matter, and SO DO LIES!!!!
The gaffe was another sign that basketball, not bowling, is Obama's sport. During the run-up to the Pennsylvania primary last April, he tried to show his blue-collar bona fides by going to a bowling alley in Altoona. But he rolled only an embarrassing 37 in seven frames and looked rather out of place doing it in his business attire.
That's not going to win me over.
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Of course, the insult is so severe it even receives on op today (wow, that was fast, Globe; obviously, there is nothing more important in this world to opine on, huh?)!!!
PRESIDENT OBAMA made an off-the-teleprompter remark on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Thursday that wasn't the least bit funny. Joking that his bowling skills were "like the Special Olympics" was one of those knife-in-the-heart moments that parents of mentally challenged children live with every day.
Obama's presidency was hailed for breaking stereotypes. We have had a disabled president - Franklin Delano Roosevelt - but the fact that he used a wheelchair was kept hidden. Now we have a "cool" president, and racial slurs are supposed to be banished forever, but it's still OK to make fun of "retards." After all, our president does it. On national television.
All over the progressive blogosphere, the Obama supporters who retired to the fainting couch over racial slights are quick to tell the disabled community to "get over it."
How is THAT for LIBERAL COMPASSION, huh? Kinda goes in line with the state budget cuts for the blind, mentally ill, kids, and cripples here in 'liberal" Massachusetts.
Also see: Governor Guts State Services
A Slow Saturday Special: Statehouse Slush Fund
A poll on the Huffington Post has 28 percent agreeing it was "just a light-hearted, self-deprecating comment. Get over it, people." Twenty-six percent agreed that it was "Maybe a dumb thing to say, but he didn't mean it in a mean-spirited way, and it is pretty funny." And 23 percent wondered, "Why are we even talking about this?"
Yeah, we got WAR CRIMES, LOOTINGS, and TORTURE to talk about, don't we?
We're talking about this because words have power, and because Obama promised change, and to be a leader, not a comedian.
Wheel yourselves to the back of the growing ever-longer disappointment line, guys.
There is little doubt that we'll be seeing lots of wheelchairs in photo ops at the White House in the coming weeks and Michelle Obama will have her arms around a lot of children with Down syndrome. But no stereotypes will have been broken by this new president in the area of public perception of children with disabilities. Not when they are used as a punch line on national television in a "joke."
Obama apologized to the chairman of the Special Olympics, Tim Shriver, who regards this gaffe as a "teachable moment." But here's what Obama should learn from this: Stop your cringe-inducing attempts at humor, and try to bring about the change you promised when I voted for you. And don't go off the teleprompter again anytime soon. It makes you sound. . . not so smart.
I didn't vote for him; I voted Nader, but I still want the change the public does! END the EMPIRE and CARE for US, 'bamer!!!! Quit supporting globalist goals and Israel!!
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Maybe you guys ought to quit your whining; you got your money!
"State to get $280m for special education
Massachusetts school districts will receive $280 million from the federal stimulus package during the next two years to help them pay the cost of special education. Governor Deval Patrick announced yesterday at Brockton High School that half the money will be distributed by the end of the month and the rest of it will be allocated this fall (AP)."
That's BETTER than the REST of US!!!!
It was pitched as a much-needed balm to help financially ailing cities and towns to avoid painful cuts in the schools. Instead, the $168 million in federal stimulus funds the Patrick administration announced yesterday sparked an angry backlash from local leaders who learned that, despite their budget problems, they will not receive anything.
"I hate to pit city against city, but this is the fourth or fifth time we've been shafted, and there's no rhyme and reason for it," said Mayor John Barrett III of North Adams, which is not getting any money. He said his city, the third poorest in the state, is closing a school because of budget problems.
Just wondering why he isn't getting any help from his rep, the Big Boss Bosley.
Must be to busy servicing Israel and the banks, huh, mayor?
The state published a list yesterday showing that 166 communities - including the relatively wealthy towns of Belmont, Wellesley, and Hingham - will share in funding, while more than 100 others - including Boston, Weymouth, and Hull - would have to do without.
Related: Rich Kid, Poor Kid
Patrick administration officials say they were required by federal law to give the money to cities and towns in accordance with a funding formula set by the Legislature that takes into account factors such as changes in student enrollment and demographics. Any community whose education budget has not met the minimum funding requirements established by the formula was given a portion of the $168 million to make up the difference.
"Ideally, we'd like to be able to do more for every community in the Commonwealth," said S. Paul Reville, the state education secretary. "But the reality is, revenue is in a tailspin, and we're doing the best we can to apply this money judiciously and fairly."
That did not appease leaders of cities and towns left off the list, who said that any formula that sends more money to wealthy towns does not make sense. "It's ridiculous," said Phil Lemnios, Hull's town manager. "If there's a formula that says the students in Wellesley are in greater need than the students in Hull, then there's something wrong with the formula. There's something fundamentally wrong."
No, it is like all AmeriKan government formulas: it transfers middle-class tax money to the already wealthy.
Many local officials have long urged the Legislature to overhaul the formula, saying it is too complex and unpredictable. "I don't begrudge the other communities," Barrett said, "but who in God's name came up with this formula?"
Mayor Robert J. Dolan of Melrose, president of the Massachusetts Mayors Association, said his city made deep cuts in other parts of its budget to bring education funding up to state-mandated levels. But rather than being rewarded, he said, Melrose is not receiving money.
"I feel at this point we're being penalized for doing the right thing and making hard decisions, and I have got a problem with that," he said. "It seems like you do the right thing and they don't recognize it."
Yeah, that's government!
To be sure, many poor communities are receiving funds. Springfield is receiving $13 million, Brockton, $5.6 million, and Lawrence, $6.7 million. But wealthier communities also made the list. Wellesley is receiving $1.2 million, Belmont $1.4 million, and Hingham $955,000.
"Those are communities that have experienced some changes in enrollment over the past year, so you find a place like Wellesley getting more money," Reville said. "We have the most progressive education finance formula in the nation. Is it a perfect formula? No. But most of the problems that come up with respect to the formula are a function of inadequate funding."
As we SEND TA MONEY out the door to CORPORATIONS and HOLLYWOOD in this state!
Mayor Michael J. McGlynn of Medford said the state's distribution contradicted the purpose of the federal stimulus package. "What Congress said is, let's take this money and spread it through every city and town in the country and reboot the economy," McGlynn said. "Cities and towns are the economic engine that drive this country. But half of us, more than half of us, are not even allowed to start the car."
Dot Joyce, a spokeswoman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino, did not express displeasure that Boston was passed over, and said she expects the city will receive $17 million for schools in later rounds of stimulus funding.
??????? Why are they HOLDING BACK?
Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, said schools in the state can expect an additional $800 million in stimulus funding the next two years. "We need to make sure the communities that got zeros get much more than that," he said.
WHY must THEY (and you) WAIT?
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