Green Eagle

So...Grover Norquist.  He was never elected to anything, never served in any position of service to the people of this country.  He's a lobbyist.  And yet, the Republicans have made him probably the most powerful person in their party, and one of the most powerful in the country.  You can't name a Republican that dares stand up to this guy, and any Republican who says anything that angers him issues a grovelling apology within days.  So, what does this Grover Norquist have to say lately? "Obama can sit there and let all the tax [cuts] lapse, and then the Republicans will have enough votes in the Senate in 2014 to impeach. The last year, he’s gone into this huddle where he does everything by executive order. He’s made no effort to work with Congress." No effort to work with Congress.  No effort to work with a pack of Republican mad dogs who have openly stated that their fondest desire is not to serve the country but to destroy him.  Of course, he ha...

One more piece of news documenting the insane stupidity of the Obama administration: "Feds cracking down on California medical marijuana dispensaries ...Federal prosecutors in California are threatening to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state, sending letters to warn landlords to stop sales of the drug within 45 days or face the possibility that their property will be seized and they will be sent to prison." If this idiot spends one cent on marijuana, it is further proof that he doesn't have a clue about what his job is supposed to be.  And I don't care how you feel about marijuana- this is a colossal waste of money, a capitulation to the meaningless cant of the right, and one more abandonment of his campaign promises: "As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama said the federal government should not raid medical marijuana users and caregivers... The latest letters have baffled the state’s medical marijuana activists, who belie...

When we've got Barack?  From the New York Times this morning, in case you haven't heard: "On Friday, in a move that shocked enviros and public-health advocates, President Obama asked the Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw its proposal to tighten a key air-quality standard. The request, Obama said, is part of the administration's efforts to reduce "regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty." The EPA has been at work on new rules on ozone pollution, better known as smog, since September 2009. The agency rolled out new tougher draft standards in January 2010, only to have the release of the final rules repeatedly delayed. In a statement, Obama said he has asked the agency to wait until 2013—you know, after the next election—to improve the standard. ...environmental and public-health groups are, as you might guess, flabbergasted at Obama's announcement. "This is a huge win for corporate polluters and huge loss for public health...

Well, get ready for it.. .here it comes.   From the New York Times: "The president’s renewed efforts follow what knowledgeable officials said was an overture from Mr. Boehner, who met secretly with Mr. Obama last weekend, to consider as much as $1 trillion in unspecified new revenues as part of an overhaul of tax laws in exchange for an agreement that made substantial spending cuts, including in such social programs as Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security — programs that had been off the table." But now, thanks to Obama, they are on the table.  Let me repeat what we all know:  Social Security does not contribute one cent to the Federal budget deficit.  It is entirely self-funding, and has nothing to do with any other government program.  Barack Obama is perfectly aware of this, yet he is willing to go along with the vicious Republican attempt to gut Social Security.  In the process, he will give away for all time the greatest weapon Democrats have ...

I have spoken about a phenomenon lately, in which I believe that many Republican attacks on Obama in fact have nothing to do with Obama, but are rather attempts to whitewash the performance of the Bush administration, by (falsely, of course) accusing him of the same failures and dishonesty that were the mainstay of Bush and Cheney. Here are some excerpts from a classic example of this, an article from Renew America called "Who Commands Obama?" "Lots of people today have little or no confidence in the leadership abilities of Barack Obama. Everyone has been asking, who's running the show? — while Obama is out running around the country, still in campaign mode and making speeches. Who is giving orders to Obama while he is out playing front man? Whose policies are really being implemented in Washington? Who is setting the agenda? We have to look at who supported and funded the Obama campaign." Which is, of course, exactly what went on with George W. Bush, who was...

While the nation is absorbed with Mark Sanford and such like, the change Obama promised us continues. From the New York Times: "The Environmental Protection Agency has granted California’s long-sought request to tighten tailpipe emission regulations, a key step in the Obama administration’s plan to make cars across the nation more fuel-efficient. Since 2005, California has been seeking a waiver from the E.P.A. to impose stricter tailpipe emissions standards than those in effect nationally. The Bush administration denied the waiver request.... " This is the change we voted for. This kind of thing continues every day across a wide range of Federal agencies. Thank you, President Obama.

Here's a spectacular, and by that, I mean spectacularly stupid, article from Politico, today, via TPM, about how careful Obama had better be about being too good. It's a great parable of the trouble Republicans are having trying to find some phony narrative that they can use to attack him: "The Barack Obama brand is as much about being a personal example to the nation as it is about being a political figure. But the danger of that frothy mix of glamour and domesticity is that President Obama could become in the public mind something he never sought to be: the Martha Stewart of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. " Ah yes, the danger of being too good. People might start thinking you are a criminal. Obviously, the Republican solution is much better: just be a criminal, and count on your buddies to keep you out of jail when you get caught. "Says Republican media strategist Mark McKinnon, “President Obama and his team should be careful about trying to be perfect. Voters are...

"QUESTION: Were you influenced at all by John McCain and Lindsey Graham accusing you of being timid and weak? MR. OBAMA: What do you think? (LAUGHTER) Look, the — you know, I think John McCain has genuine passion about many of these international issues. And, you know, I think that all of us share a belief that we want justice to prevail. But only I’m the president of the United States." Watch it. The whole thing is great. Video from Daily Kos.