"Obama seeks the seeds of solutions" by Brian MacQuarrie | Globe Staff, November 08, 2012
CHICAGO — America’s longest war, in Afghanistan, has not ended. The nuclear ambitions of Iran remain a threat. The economy is still struggling, the federal debt has not evaporated — and the bitter divisions that continue to hobble the country need to be bridged....
One day after the election, the business world showed its unease. The Standard & Poor’s index and Dow Jones industrial average each closed 2.4 percent lower on Wednesday....
Related: Why Is Big Business Unhappy With Obama?
Greed.
Beyond economic issues, the president will face a persistent, global threat from militant Islam and the complications of safely removing US troops from Afghanistan in 2014.
We know who is pushing that one.
Amid these concerns, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has been Obama’s point-person in volatile parts of the Muslim world, will not return for the second term. Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, the Foreign Relations Committee chairman, is considered a possible replacement.
Related: Obama's Cabinet Chaos
Also see: Obama taps John Kerry as secretary of state
I really don't care to read about the shuffling of deck chairs anymore, thanks.
Back home, Obama will be pressed to reform the immigration system, which emerged as a key issue, particularly in the Republican primaries, because of presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s suggestion that illegal immigrants should “self-deport.”
Obama, who already is allowing children of illegal immigrants to remain in the United States if they meet certain conditions, will be expected to move toward comprehensive changes by Hispanics who supported him overwhelmingly at the ballot box....
Related: Post-Election Aftermath: The Changing Face of the GOP
Another key area where Obama could make a profound mark is in appointments to the Supreme Court, which has four justices at least 74 years old. Any changes in the high court, which has been split starkly along ideological lines, could affect the direction of US law for generations....
See: Obama win creates new chance to mold court
Obama also could face a few vacancies in his Cabinet. In addition to replacing Clinton, the president is likely to need a replacement for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who helped Obama navigate the perils of the banking crisis in the first days of the administration....
Oh, is that what Geithner did?
How about Ron Paul as a replacement? He's not doing anything right now, and it sure would be a show of bipartisanship.
the next chapter of the Obama presidency....
That's when I put the paper down.
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"World leaders react to Obama’s reelection" by Alan Cowell | New York Times, November 08, 2012
LONDON — World leaders sought comfort from the familiar Wednesday after President Obama’s reelection, but with the global political landscape substantially unchanged and crises on hold while the vote unfolded, many vied with new vigor for his attention and favor as he embarks on a second term.
In marked contrast to a euphoric surge four years ago when many hailed Obama’s victory as a herald of renewal, the mood was subdued, reflecting not only the shadings of opinion between the US leader’s friends and foes but also a generally lowered expectation of America’s power overseas.
Obama, one French analyst said, is ‘‘very far from the hopes that inflamed his country four years ago.’’
Even in Kenya, where Obama’s father was raised, the energy surrounding this election was just a shadow of what it had been in 2008, when it seemed like the entire African continent was cheering him on.
Related: Granny Obama, Kenya celebrate White House win
Many Kenyans have been disappointed that Obama has yet to visit as president, part of a broader feeling on the continent that Africa has not been a priority, certainly not compared with the unfolding nuclear debate in Iran and the civil war in Syria....
Well, you certainly can see who is driving U.S. foreign policy, no? Election wasn't over less than a week and Israel went into Gaza.
Danny Danon, deputy speaker of the Israeli parliament, who is regarded as a staunch ally of US Republicans, evoked ‘‘the existential threat posed to Israel and the West by the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran.’’
‘’Now is the time for President Obama to return to the wise and time-honored policy of ‘zero daylight’ between our respective nations,’’ Danon said.
Danon is a member of the conservative Likud Party led by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has tense relations with Obama and who was widely perceived in Israel and the United States as having supported the Republican challenger, Mitt Romney.
The paper made my point for me.
Before the outcome was known, Chinese analysts had summed up what seemed to be a widespread calculation that the Chinese leadership, itself scheduled to change in two days’ time, favored Obama ‘‘because he’s familiar,’’ said Wu Xinbo, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. A victory for Romney would have made China ‘‘a little nervous because he might bring new policies.’’
President Hu Jintao of China praised the ‘‘hard work of the Chinese and American sides’’ over Obama’s first term in creating ‘‘positive developments’’ in their relationship.
‘‘With an eye toward the future, China is willing, together with the United States, to continue to make efforts to promote the cooperative partnership between China and the United States so as to achieve new and even greater development, bringing better benefits to the people of the two countries and the people of the world.’’
Some of the favorable responses to Obama reflected campaign blunders by Romney, who drew barbs from both Britons and Spaniards for remarks about their countries.
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And as I have said since before the election, once all the politically fooleys fall away it's back to the agenda:
"Britain calls for stronger action on Syria" by David Stringer and Elizabeth A. Kennedy | Associated Press, November 08, 2012
BEIRUT — Britain called on the United States and other allies Wednesday to do more to shape the Syrian opposition into a coherent force, saying the reelection of President Obama is an opportunity for the world to take stronger action to end the deadlocked civil war.
Also Wednesday, Turkey said NATO members, including the United States, have discussed using Patriot missiles along the Syrian border. It was unclear whether the purpose was to protect a safe zone inside Syria or to protect Turkey from Syrian regime attacks.
The announcements come as US allies appear to be anticipating a new, bolder approach from Obama now that he has won a second term....
In Washington, the State Department said the Obama administration was open to considering Patriot missiles along the Turkish border, as was done during the 1990 Gulf War and at the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003.
‘‘There is an opportunity....’’
Btw, that word always gives me chills because Condi Rice once described 9/11 as an opportunity. Beware when the agenda-pushers and their mouthpieces use words like urgent and opportunity.
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"Bipartisan steps urged on climate change policy" by Beth Daley | Globe Staff, November 19, 2012
First, Hurricane Sandy hit. Then, President Obama mentioned global warming in his acceptance speech. Now, 2012 looks likely to be the hottest year on record.
That's if you believe lying, agenda-pushing mouthpieces. I've reached the point now where I'm not even listening to that hot air as my head steams from anger as I shovel out snow.
In the last three weeks, public interest in global warming has undergone a remarkable revival. Already, environmentalists are renewing calls on Obama to reject a controversial Canadian oil pipeline and to put strict greenhouse gas emission standards in place.
Yes, I've noticed numerous articles appearing in my paper day after day after day.
But energy and environmental analysts warn that idealistic calls to action may end up hurting climate change policy efforts: With Republicans controlling the House and Democrats the Senate, and the nation facing a hard economic path, they argue any gains need to be made through consensus from both sides of the aisle.
I'm sure they will at some point. It is remarkable how those bickering bastards can come together for Israel and the globali$t agenda.
“Sandy has helped put climate change back on the map . . . but it’s not like the bulk of the American people now say that climate change matters more than anything else,’’ said Michael A. Levi, director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change for the Council on Foreign Relations, a bipartisan think tank. Levi recently wrote blog posts calling for environmentalists and oil and gas interests to compromise to get past the stalled climate status quo....
I'm sick of the same selected sources being quoted in my sliver of a parameters paper, folks.
Another subject ripe for compromise that is making headlines — although few expressed confidence it would advance — is a carbon tax.
I must be polluting like crazy because every time I see that term I start huffing and puffing.
What's next, a fart meter up your ass and a scale for your shits?
As Congress debates how to raise revenue to avoid massive spending cuts, the “fiscal cliff,” some economists and environmentalists are calling for a fee on carbon pollution. One research group, Resources for the Future, estimates that a tax of $25 per ton of carbon dioxide would raise $125 billion a year.
Related: Fed Chief Coined Term Fiscal Cliff
With a pot of gold at the bottom of it!
While any taxes are unpopular, there could be compromise embedded in such a tax, says Joseph Aldy, assistant professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School who is affiliated with Resources for the Future. A carbon tax could help avoid less palatable alternatives such as eliminating mortgage interest deductions, but it also may mean Democrats would have to give up EPA's regulatory authority over greenhouse gases, he said.
“If a meaningful, economy-wide carbon tax can be established, then that reduces the need for greenhouse gas emission regulation,” Aldy said. “Both sides get an important component of a tax and fiscal reform package . . . the Republicans get regulatory streamlining, and the Democrats get a price on carbon.”
You might want to start holding your breath, 'eh?
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Related: Snowstorm wreaks havoc on Midwest
That's like the third one already -- and it wasn't even winter yet!
Season’s first major snow hits California
Was when?
And now they are getting socked again, although you Globe web readers wouldn't have a clue.
You know, maybe if the exempt from environmental regulations empire was shut down (along with NASCAR) it might have more of an impact than my putt-putt shitbox and involuntary breathing bit.
Btw, have you seen WHO is going to overseeing the carbon credit market? I'm sure they will look after your money just fine.
Oh, yeah, Obama abandoned all us working stiffs just like I said he would:
"Obama’s willingness to reduce future cost-of-living increases in Social Security, government retirement and numerous other programs marked another clear concession.... On other points, Obama’s latest offer dropped his earlier proposal to extend a payroll tax cut due to expire at year’s end."
Meaning POOR WORKING STIFFS like ME will be seeing a LOT LESS TAKE-HOME PAY in a check that doesn't make ends meet now.
Related(?):
"Health care, telecommunications and defense industry workers bankrolling President Obama’s campaign" September 18, 2012
WASHINGTON — Health care, telecommunications, and defense industry workers are fueling President Obama’s reelection campaign.
Those industries were with Obama in 2008 after helping to bankroll George W. Bush’s reelection campaign in 2004, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group that tracks campaign donations.
‘‘It’s a sign that incumbents really attract a lot of money,’’ said Bill Allison, editorial director of the Sunlight Foundation, a Washington-based watchdog group that tracks money in politics. ‘‘Obama’s in the White House right now. The way you try to influence the administration is by giving to his campaign.’’
**************************
As for health care, the administration worked with drug companies and hospitals in developing his plan and ‘‘they’re comfortable with Obama’s policies,’’ Democratic consultant Peter Fenn said.
I feel better already!
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"Military personnel give more to President Obama; An incumbent’s job clout cited" by Laura Litvan | Bloomberg News, October 17, 2012
WASHINGTON — President Obama has received almost twice as much in campaign contributions from military and Defense Department personnel as Republican challenger Mitt Romney, despite Romney’s promises to boost defense spending and his criticism of military cuts set to take place in January....
Obama’s advantage probably comes in part because some of the personnel are political appointees of his administration, said Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University in Durham, N.C., who has studied military personnel and their impact on elections.
‘‘One party owns the executive branch right now, so the impact could be potentially quite large,’’ he said. Obama may also be winning a broader battle for support in an election that has seen both candidates ‘‘assiduously’’ court the military, he said.
‘‘It appears that he does have a small but energetic supporter base in the military,’’ Feaver said.
The pro-Obama tilt comes even though Romney promises to boost defense spending to 4 percent of gross domestic product and to build 15 Navy ships per year. He also is attacking Obama over $500 billion in across-the-board cuts to military programs over 10 years, which begin Jan. 2 unless a budget impasse with Congress is resolved.
Yeah, but somehow he never got any votes.
In the 2008 election cycle, the center found that Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential nominee, took in slightly more in donations from military and Defense Department personnel, collecting $461,350 to Obama’s $450,950 through August of that year.
Defense issues have taken on added importance in the presidential election this year....
When haven't they?
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Related: For inaugural, Obama will accept corporate donations
Just about says it all, doesn't it?
And now we see gun control at the top of the list due the the disturbing events in Connecticut:
The Strategy of Tension
Questions About the Connecticut School Shootings
Calling bullshit on the Sandy Hook hoax!
"If every dead child had been shot in the face 3-11 times with high-powered rifles and the boy left his rifle in the trunk, then he didn’t kill all of those people. Perhaps the two men in camouflage, seen (one captured) in the woods outside, were the real shooters. This staged massacre will be covered-up like all the rest, if the American people willingly accept such gaping holes in the official version of this terrorist attack, allowing our Fascist government to blame this military operation on a kid, another lone-gunman “patsy.” If we allow them to finish erecting the Fourth Reich around us, then we will all deserve the prison camps which will surely await us." -- Medical Examiner: “All Autopsied Killed By Long Guns,” Yet the Boy Accused Had Only Pistols In the School
What Everyman is thinking.
