Harvard and the 4th of July

4th of July. Birth of United States of America. (Well...traditionally. Actually I think the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 2. But, still!)

From the US News & World Report, Harvard University says that July 4th parades are just a bunch of right-wing movements and Democrats don't even bother showing up. "Democratic political candidates can skip this weekend's July 4th parades. A new Harvard University study finds that July 4th parades energize only Republicans, turn kids into Republicans, and help to boost the GOP turnout of adults on Election Day. 'Fourth of July celebrations in the United States shape the nation's political landscape by forming beliefs and increasing participation, primarily in favor of the Republican Party,' said the report from Harvard."

Finally they admit it, the Democrats don't care about the nation's founding. They admit it! They admit that celebrating the founding of this nation is a Republican event. It's a conservative event that liberals are not welcome, that liberals don't care, and that they don't show up.

"The three key findings of those attending July 4th celebrations: When done before the age of 18, it increases the likelihood of a youth identifying as a Republican by at least 2 percent. It raises the likelihood that parade watchers will vote for a Republican candidate by 4 percent. It boosts the likelihood a reveler will vote by about 1 percent and increases the chances they'll make a political contribution by 3 percent. What's more, the impact isn't fleeting. 'Surprisingly, the estimates show that the impact on political preferences is permanent, with no evidence of the effects depreciating as individuals become older,' said the Harvard report."

Is that not stunning? Or is it stunning? What does this say about the patriotism of liberals? What does this say? Fourth of July parades make people vote Republican. Fourth of July parades turn kids into Republicans. Fourth of July parades do all of this permanently.

"'The political right has been more successful in appropriating American patriotism and its symbols during the 20th century. Survey evidence also confirms that Republicans consider themselves more patriotic than Democrats. According to this interpretation, there is a political congruence between the patriotism promoted on Fourth of July and the values associated with the Republican party. Fourth of July celebrations in Republican dominated counties may thus be more politically biased events that socialize children into Republicans,' write Harvard Kennedy School Assistant Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott and Bocconi University Assistant Professor Andreas Madestam. Their findings also suggest that Democrats gain nothing from July 4th parades, likely a shocking result for all the Democratic politicians who march in them. 'There is no evidence of an increased likelihood of identifying as a Democrat, indicating that Fourth of July shifts preferences to the right rather than increasing political polarization,' the two wrote."

Democrats gather to protest their handouts being cut. That's their celebration. That's their parade. The Democrats and the unions, they get together when they think their benefits are being cut, when their handouts are being cut, when their food stamps are about to be shut off, that's when they get patriotic, that's when they show up. When they fear the freebies are about to run out, that's when they parade, except theirs are not celebrations. Theirs are instances of rage.

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My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

US Recognizes Muslim Brotherhood

Rush said it all today:

RUSH: I must tell you folks that the United States has decided to formally resume contact with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood group, which does not recognize Israel. This is a move that could further alienate some Jewish voters from Obama. So Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, al-Assad, Obama sees reformers. And he's right, just like Obama said he would remake America. The Muslim Brotherhood, we are going to recognize the Muslim Brotherhood. We did! It's inexplicable.

Here's the article Rush is referencing, from Commentary Magazine:
U.S. Recognizes Muslim Brotherhood. Will Hamas Be Next?

In a reversal of a five-year-old U.S. policy banning contact with the Muslim Brotherhood organization in Egypt, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has ordered American diplomats to resume contact with the Islamist group. Clinton made the following statement at a news conference in Budapest:

We believe, given the changing political landscape in Egypt, that it is in the interests of the United States to engage with all parties that are peaceful, and committed to non-violence, that intend to compete for the parliament and the presidency.

The resumption of formal contacts is a symbolic victory for the Brotherhood. It is also a signal to the Egyptian military the United States has no problem with the Brotherhood’s bid for more influence in the country, paving the way for a condominium between the army and the influential Islamist party.

While it can be argued the United States needs to be informed about the positions of all the major players in a key country such as Egypt, that could have been taken care of by private talks. Instead, the Obama administration has taken a critical step towards the acceptance of a militant anti-Western group as part of a future government of the most populous Arab nation.

The United States hopes democracy will change Egypt for the better and dealing with the Islamist party is just part of the price America must pay for this development. But the idea an ideology-driven group like the Brotherhood will allow itself to be transformed into a democratic partner for non-Islamist Egyptians as well as the United States is absurd. Rather than the Arab Spring and democracy changing the Muslim Brotherhood, it will be the Brotherhood that seeks to exploit Egyptian democracy and make it impossible for non-Islamists to thwart their rise to power, especially as a new round of protests against military rule seem to have begun. It also presages increasing tension with Israel.

The recognition of the Brotherhood also calls into question the administration’s continued adherence to a policy of no recognition for the group’s Palestinian ally: Hamas. Though Clinton sought to downplay the significance of the move, it isn’t much of a leap from talks with the Muslim Brotherhood to recognition of a Fatah-Hamas Palestinian coalition. It is no harder to justify recognition of Hamas as merely bowing to the realities of Palestinian politics than it is for her to make the same argument for dealing with the Brotherhood. All it takes is a mindset that no longer thinks of Islamist extremists as enemies of the West and Israel.

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*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

No, Obama didn't say that

While I agree with Rush on many things - American exceptionalism, capitalism, etc, there are many things on which I do disagree with him.

Take for example his claim that Obama called people who make $250,000 a year "jet owners."

No, Obama didn't say that. What he said was that people who could afford to fly in a private jet could afford to pay a bit more in taxes.

Then Rush got really disingenuous. He pointed out that if the private jet owner's ability to depreciate his/her jet over 6 years was removed, that would only generate an income of 3 billion over ten years.

And since that was a drop in the bucket, why bother? Because, gee, we spend $40 billion a year on helping students.

It's disingenuous because by Rush's argument, any program that won't generate 3 billion in income over ten years (by removing the tax break, or stopping the spending) shouldn't be implemented because, hey, it's just a drop in the bucket!

But those drops in the bucket add up! I'd very much like to see us stop funding overseas studies on whether prostitutes drink too much, or whether men can be trained to wash their genitalia so as not to get AIDS, and so on. What's the excuse for cutting them, in Rush's mind? If they only cost $1 billion, and the deficit is in the trillions, there's no need to cut it! That is the gist of Rush's remarks if you think about it!

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My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
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*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

30 June 2011, Thu, Rush Headlines

--MSNBC Suspends Mark Halperin for Saying What Everyone Thinks
If he said it about George W. Bush, he'd be a media hero.

--How You Respond to a Serial Liar
Propose specific spending reductions; defend tax cuts.

--Making Complex Understandable: Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations"
The world's wealthiest countries are socialist? Really?

--With the Obama Myth Shattered, What's Left is a Failing Narcissist
Bam's press conference performance in perspective.

--We CAN Cut Our Way to Prosperity
Conservative GOP governors are doing it right now.

--ESPN Columnist Blames Rush for Obama's Same-Sex Marriage Lies
When did marriage become so important to the left?

Stack of Stuff Quick Hits Page
» The Beta Version of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is Fabulous
» WSJ: Prez Calls People Earning $250K "Jet Owners"
» Jet Tax Break Only Raises $3B Over Ten Years
» Poll: 39% Think America in Permanent Decline
» Brilliant Daniel Henninger Piece: A Debt-Limit Election
» Steve Rattner Rips Ethanol Subsidies in NY Times
» CBO Projects: We're Europe for the Next 63 Years
» Newt Refines His "Food Stamp President" Riff
» Inexplicable: US Recognizes Muslim Brotherhood

--Harvard Libs Admit Fourth of July Celebrations are for Conservatives
Study proves that libs don't dig the nation's founding.

--The Forehead Down with Sabotage
Begala spouts hackery he's too smart to really believe.

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My Schedule of Regular Posts:
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*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Since when is "dick" a slur?

Edited:
I see most places reporting this don't say Halperin slurred Obama, just that he insulted him.

Only Yahoo news, in their initial headline, and Hollywood Reporter.com termed it a slur.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/obama-slur-mark-halperin-keep-207298

Just what is a "slur"? Well, the n-word is a slur, that's why anyone who isn't black can't say it.

The online news article that said that Mark Halperin of MSNBC had referred to Obama as a "dick" because of his behavior during yesterday's press conference did not say Halperin said the "d-word". No, they spelled out "dick."

"Dick" isn't a slur, it's an insult.

I can see Halperin being suspended for a week over this, but he was suspended "indefinitely." Obviously MSNBC is waiting on public opinion. If enough people email in and say "dick" is not a slur, he'll be reinstated. If too many people email in and say that Halperin is a racist, he will lose his job.

The worst thing about this whole situation is that instead of Halperin standing up for himself, he's apologizing. Halperin - you didn't "slur" Obama, you pointed out that he was a "dick," an insult or descripton of behavior which 90% of American males and probably 70% of American females under a certain age use every day to descrbe someone who has behaved in some way that they don't like.

To call it a slur (which is how the headline read, "Halperin Suspended Indefinitely Over Slur" is ridiculous.

Next thing you know if someone calls Obama "effete" he'll be suspended. (No, effete does not mean effemininate.)
Effete means (for those folks in Rio Linda):
1. lacking in wholesome vigor; degenerate; decadent: an effete, overrefined society.
2. exhausted of vigor or energy; worn out: an effete political force.
3. unable to produce; sterile.


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My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

30 June 2011, Thu, SoS and Staff Schedules

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2011/06/167353.htm

SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON:
Secretary Clinton is on foreign travel in Budapest, Hungary and Vilnius, Lithuania. She is accompanied by Assistant Secretary Posner and Director Sullivan. Ambassador Verveer joins Secretary Clinton in Vilnius. Click here for more information.

UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS BILL BURNS:
Under Secretary Burns is on foreign travel in Cairo, Egypt.

US FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS ROBERT HORMATS:
Under Secretary Hormats participates in the 2011 Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado through June 30.

US FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS JUDITH MCHALE:
10:00 a.m. Under Secretary McHale meets with Ambassador-designate to Bangladesh Dan Mozena, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Under Secretary McHale meets with Marc Lynch of the Center for a New American Security, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS MARIA OTERO:
11:00 a.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with Ambassador Jim Moriarty, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero meets Samantha Power of the NSC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero participates in a panel discussion on “Sexual Violence and the Political and Security Implications in the Congo,” hosted by the International Crisis Group and the Woodrow Wilson Center, at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
(MEDIA DETERMINTED BY HOSTS)

US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS ELLEN TAUSCHER:
Under Secretary Tauscher is on foreign travel to Paris, France to lead the U.S. delegation to the second P-5 Conference on Confidence Building Measures towards Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. Click here for more information.

COUNSELOR AND CHIEF OF STAFF CHERYL MILLS:
Counselor Mills is in Haiti for meetings with U.S. and Haitian government officials.

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM BROWNFIELD:
Assistant Secretary Brownfield is on foreign travel to the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Russia through July 2 to preview the Central Asia Counternarcotics Initiative (CACI). Click here for more information.

AS FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL:
Assistant Secretary Campbell is on foreign travel to the Pacific Islands through July 1. Click here for more information.

AS FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS JOHNNIE CARSON:
Assistant Secretary Carson participates in the African Union Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea through July 1. Click here for more information.

AS FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ:
1:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

7:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez attends a dinner hosted by Algerian Ambassador Abdallah Baali, at the Algerian Embassy.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR ARMS CONTROL, VERIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE ROSE GOTTEMOELLER:
Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller attends the second P-5 Conference on Confidence Building Measures towards Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in Paris, France. Click here for more information.

AS FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER:
Assistant Secretary Posner accompanies Secretary Clinton on foreign travel in Budapest, Hungary and Vilnius, Lithuania. Click here for more information.

AS FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS ANDREW SHAPIRO:
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Shapiro meets with Sri Lankan Deputy Chief of Mission, Esala Weerakoon at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Shapiro attends a meeting at the White House.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Shapiro meets with Army Brigadier General Matthew L. Brand, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ARTURO VALENZUELA:
5:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Valenzuela attends the Inter-American Development Bank reception to celebrate American Independence and Diversity, at the Inter-American Development Bank.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)
Click here for more information

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN:
Ambassador Benjamin is on foreign travel in London, England to meet with senior British government officials through July 1.

AMBASSADOR AT LARGE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS LUIS CDEBACA:
9:00 a.m. Ambassador CdeBaca hosts an online discussion with international non-governmental organizations on the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)
Watch live here.

2:00 p.m. Ambassador CdeBaca meets with U.S.-Ukraine Foundation President Nadia McConnell, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Ambassador CdeBaca meets with South African Charge de Affairs Johnny Moloto, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR AMBASSADOR ERIC GOOSBY:
9:15 a.m. Ambassador Goosby delivers remarks on PEPFAR research priorities at the National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Maryland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER:
Ambassador Verveer is on foreign travel in Vilnius, Lithuania to participate in the Community of Democracies Ministerial and the Women Enhancing Democracy (WED) Conference.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS KRIS BALDERSTON:
Special Representative Balderston is on foreign travel in Brazil through June 30 to discuss the 20ii – Investing with Impact initiative with government officials, Brazilian corporations and investors.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS:
Special Representative Lewis supports Assistant Secretary Carson’s participation in the African Unit Summit through July 1, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

COORDINATOR FOR CYBER ISSUES CHRISTOPHER PAINTER:
Coordinator Painter is on foreign travel in Brussels, Belgium through July 2 to participate in a joint seminar on cloud computing with the European Commission.

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE:
12:30 p.m. Daily Press Briefing with Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner

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My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

30 June 2011, Thu, Pres and VP Schedules

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/president
11:00 am The President and The Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

11:30 am The President meets with senior advisors
Oval Office
Closed Press

12:30 pm The President and The Vice President meet for lunch
Private Dining Room
Closed Press

3:15 pm The President departs the South Lawn en route Joint Base Andrews
South Lawn
Open Press

3:30 pm The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Joint Base Andrews
Travel Pool Coverage

4:15 pm The President arrives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia International Airport
Open Press

5:35 pm The President delivers remarks at a DNC event
The Hyatt at the Bellevue
Pooled TV, Open to Correspondents

8:30 pm The President delivers remarks at a DNC event
Private Residence
Print Pool

9:50 pm The President departs Philadelphia, Pennsylvania en route Joint Base Andrews
Philadelphia International Airport
Travel Pool Coverage

10:35 pm The President arrives at Joint Base Andrews
Joint Base Andrews
Travel Pool Coverage

10:50 pm The President arrives at the White House
South Lawn
Open Press

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
9:50 am The President delivers remarks at the Armed Forces Farewell Tribute in honor of Secretary Gates; The Vice President attends
The Pentagon
Pooled TV, Open to Correspondents

11:00 am The President and The Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

12:30 pm The President and The Vice President meet for lunch
Private Dining Room
Closed Press

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My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Newsweek Plumbs the Depths of Bad Taste and Shoddy Journalism

Not quite as stupid as OJ Simpson writing a book called, If I'd Done It, Here's How I Would Have Done It (or whatever that abomination was called) and not quite as in poor taste as those fools who were actually going to publish that OJ book, but right up there.

Diana returns from grave in shocking Newsweek cover
Princess Diana has returned from the grave on the front cover of Newsweek in a picture that imagines her, and her life, as it might have been had she lived to mark her 50th birthday on Friday.

But the picture and story - which speculates that Diana would have twice remarried, used Botox, and been slightly jealous of new daughter-in-law Kate Middleton -- provoked mostly howls of disgust as they arrived on U.S. newsstands the same week that Prince William and his new bride begin an official visit to North America.

"Shocking, brilliant or just plain cheap?" asked the Los Angeles Times. News blog Mediaite.com called it "disrespectful on so many levels", while The Atlantic Wire ran the headline "How Creepy is Princess Diana's Ghost?".

Newsweek editor-in-chief Tina Brown, a Briton who wrote a gossipy 2007 biography about the late princess, imagines that if Diana had not died in a 1997 Paris car crash, she would have moved to New York, remained "great-looking," been friends with her ex-husband Prince Charles and his new wife (and Diana's old nemesis) Camilla, and have 10 million followers on Twitter.

But it's the digitally-enhanced front page photo of Diana -- imagining her as still slim and chic, if a little wrinkled -- that has caused the biggest outrage. Diana is shown walking alongside a smiling, and admiring, Kate Middleton.

"This is beyond tacky", commented one writer on the New York Magazine website.

"Ugh this is SO tasteless . . . let the poor woman RIP . . . if i were any of her family members i'd be so offended and upset by this," wrote a woman on the Newsweek comments page. Some others said they were canceling their subscriptions to the U.S. weekly news magazine.

The Newsweek feature also fantasizes about Diana's Facebook page, imagining her "liking" the movie "The King's Speech" and TV series "The Real Housewives of New York", hanging out with David and Victoria Beckham, and sending supportive messages to spiritual physician Deepak Chopra and Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei.

But it is her supposed relationship with the new bride of her eldest son, Prince William, where Brown is perhaps most controversial.

"The rising public adoration of Kate would have afforded Diana some tricky moments. Pleased, yes. But . . . .Diana would have had to adjust to a broadening of the limelight," Brown writes.

She also speculates that Diana would have been a defender against royal snobbery of Middleton's non-aristocratic upbringing "and ostentatiously made Carole Middleton, Kate's dynamic mother, her new BFF."

Prince William and Kate Middleton, now formally known as the Duchess of Cambridge, arrive in Canada on Thursday for their first official visit overseas as a married couple.

They will also visit southern California from July 8-10.


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My Schedule of Regular Posts:
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*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
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*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

*Congress* Spends too much time away from Washington?

According to Yahoo News:
The president says his daughters are better at completing their work ahead of time.

Well, gee, what a way to talk down to and condescend to grown men and women, whom I can't imagine will appreciate his tone. Especially considering how much time he, Barack Obama, spends galivanting around the country.

(Not that it isn't true about Congress, mark you, but what a way to cut off at the knees (i.e. humiliate in pubilc) people who are supposed to have the respect of their voter base.

Not a very smart move.

Amid ongoing frustration over a failure to reach a compromise on the debt limit, President Obama on Wednesday sharply scolded Congress, suggesting his daughters do a better job of getting things done ahead of time.

"Malia and Sasha generally finish their homework a day ahead of time," Obama said during a press conference--his first major solo conference since March. "Malia's 13, Sasha's 10 … They don't wait until the night before. They're not pulling all nighters. Congress can do the same thing."

Who knew his daughters were dealing with something as important as the debt limit of the United States of America?

The president has been overseeing the negotiation of a compromise between the White House and lawmakers that would pave the way for Congress to agree to increase the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by the current ceiling's Aug. 2 deadline--the time when economists, the president and others say the government will no longer have tools at its disposal to pay its bills.

They've got until August 2? I thought they had only one more day to get it done? They've got a whole nother month!)

Obama said he's "very amused" to hear critics in Congress say he needs to show "more leadership" on this issue. Obama noted that he's met with congressional leaders, all the party caucuses and said "at a certain point, they need to do their job."

The president threatened to effectively "ground" Congress this week ahead of the July 4 recess if a deal is not reached.

"We're going to start having to cancel things and stay here until we get it done" Obama said, intimating that recess would be called off.

"They're in [session] one week. They're out one week. And then they're saying 'Obama's got to step in,'" the president said of Congress. "You need to be here. I've been here," he said to some laughter in the East Room. "I've been doing Afghanistan and [Osama] bin Laden and the Greek crisis."

Obama has tasked Vice Presiden Joe Biden with overseeing debt limit talks among one group of key congressional leaders. Last week, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) announced his decision to pull out of those talks over Democratic demands for an increase in tax revenue which Cantor and other critics say amount simply to tax hikes.

"Regardless of the progress that has been made, the tax issue must be resolved before discussions can continue," Cantor said in a statement.

Republicans say a deal to increase the debt limit must include offsets via spending cuts.

The president on Wednesday claimed that everyone has been willing to take on "their sacred cows" except Republicans--noting that Democrats are willing to examine "painful" spending cuts including to entitlements. Obama cast Republican demands as support for tax breaks for oil and gas companies, corporate jet owners, hedge fund managers and others who he believes don't deserve breaks during a time of national economic crisis.

"If you are a wealthy CEO or a hedge fund manager in America right now, your taxes are lower than they have ever been. They're lower than they've been since the 1950s," Obama said. "And you can afford it. You'll still be able to ride on your corporate jet. You're just going to have to pay a little more."

The president argued that the GOP position of defending tax breaks such as those is "unsustainable" in the face of pressure from the American people to reduce the deficit, repair the economy and boost employment.

Obama and Biden are scheduled to meet with Senate Democrats Wednesday to continue discussions on the debt ceiling. But the parties have yet to say just when that scheduled meeting is supposed to occur in the wake of Cantor's walk-out.

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My Schedule of Regular Posts:
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*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
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*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Poll Numbers For Barack Obama (1.003 people have their say)

Rush quoted the poll numbers form a website called Commentary Magazine. I'll share the numbers also.

(Rush shared teh numbers - but did not give all the news. Right after those numbers the article goes on to say, "Not all the news was bleak for the president.")

As Alana wrote earlier today, according to the latest McClatchy-Marist poll:

Only 37 percent of registered voters approve of President Obama’s handling of the economy, his lowest rating ever.
By nearly 2-1 (61 percent v. 32 percent) voters disapprove of how he’s handling the federal budget deficit.
Fifty-eight percent of voters disapprove of Obama’s handling of the economy, comprising 60 percent of independents, 31 percent of Democrats and 91 percent of Republicans.
Not all the news was bleak for the president.

Fifty percent of voters said they had favorable impressions of him versus 44 percent who didn’t. By 2-1, Americans said today’s economic conditions mostly were something the president inherited rather than the result of his own policies. And overall, 45 percent said they approved of the job the president is doing, while 47 percent disapproved.

Overall, though, these numbers continue an alarming trend for the president.

“It’s a real caution sign … the four-year lease on the White House is very much dependent on how people end up looking at the economy,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which performed the survey.

If Miringoff is right, then Obama’s lease on the White House may very well end on the first Tuesday in November 2012.

But of course what these articles reporting poll numbers never say (they just give a link to another page - how many people follow that link, I wonder) is that they are making these predictions based on talking to:

The poll of 1,003 adults, including 801 registered voters, was conducted June 15-23. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.0 percentage points for the entire sample and plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for registered voters.

I'm sorry, but polling a measly 1,000 people is not enough to make these kinds of assumptions! Not when there's bloodly 100 gazillion people in the US! Did these pollsters talk to blacks? Hispanics? People in poor towns who get their income from welfare?

It's time pollsters started talking to at least 10,000 people before even attempting to analyze what poll results mean, and it's time that articles reporting on these poll results actually put the number of people talked to in the first paragraph of the article. Space might be limited in paper-newspapers, but online newspapers have plenty of room to include this information.


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My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Republicans Treat "Raising Taxes" Like Democrats Treat "Immigrants"

Both leave out an essential word.

For Dems, the word they of course leave out is "Illegal," for Republicans, the phrase they leave out is "on the wealthy."
Rush shared this from Mitch O'Connell:

Story #2: McConnell: Obama is Hellbent on Raising Taxes

RUSH: "Senate Republican leaders on Tuesday reiterated their opposition to tax increases in a deal to raise the debt ceiling. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), in his first public comments since his meeting with President Obama at the White House on Monday, said the Democrats’ insistence on raising taxes was holding up progress on a deal. 'The path forward… seems to be blocked by an insistence on raising taxes in the middle of an economic slowdown,' McConnell told reporters, pointing out that Democrats, including Obama, has argued against raising taxes during the lame-duck session in December. 'Most of us believe the economy is not any better today than it was in December,' he added. 'We think it’s a job-killing step that shouldn’t be taken and Republicans are not interested in going that way.'"

That's exactly right. If the economy was such that we couldn't raise taxes last December, certainly isn't any better right now. So it appears that, Snerdley, you may be right. Republicans sound like they're gonna hang tough in there. Now, Dingy Harry "said Republicans were living in a 'fantasy world' and accused them of wanting to force the country to default in order to fulfill their long-held dream of denying Social Security checks to seniors." That's all they've got. Republicans want to keep Social Security checks away from senior citizens now. That's all they've got, it's pathetic. Republicans are sabotaging the economy, and now they don't want Social Security recipients to get their checks. "Republicans don't seem to care about the consequences for middle class Americans," said Dingy Harry. Dingy Harry, you know, there hardly is a middle class left because of you.

Yes, Obama wants to raise taxes on the top 1% in this country who could - really they could - afford to pay 1% more of their income into the US coffers.

Don't get me wrong - I think our tax money is wasted on entitlement programs and stupid studies and programs in foreign countries (millions of dollars spent to teach Chinese prostitutes to not drink on the job. Can you believe that???? Or to teach Africans (in Africa) to wash their genitalia after sex in order to prevent AIDS).

The Republicans feel that there wouldn't be any need to raise taxes at all if all this wasteful spending was stopped, and that may well be true.

But let's just be honest. Especially since that's what the majority of voters in the US think as well - that Republicans don't want taxes raised on the rich.

(It would be interesting to see if the Kennedy family would voluntarily pay more in taxes, and then exhort their fellow millionaires to do likewise. But the super rich - especially those in the political arena always have ways of getting around such things.)

__________
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

29 June 2011, Wed, RUsh Limbaugh headlines

--Obama's Absurd Press Conference
He sets himself up as the hero against evil Republicans.

--Lib Parasites Destroy the Economy
It's criminal: Democrat policies suck the life out of us.

--We Must Replace Barack Obama with a Conservative Republican
29 months of socialism has wrecked the national mood.

--GOP Governors Lead the Way
Conservatism is on the ascendancy in the states.

--Huntsman, Romney, Bachmann (And Keep a Sharp Eye on Perry)
El Rushbo's roundup of the GOP primary goings on.

Stack of Stuff Quick Hits Page
» Trying Out a New Show on TNT: Memphis Beat
» McConnell: Obama is Hellbent on Raising Taxes
» NR Intern Advises Obama to Ignore Debt Limit
» Wehner: Poll Numbers Alarming Trend for Bam
» UK Study: Radio Makes You Happier Than TV, Web
» Big Gov't Banners Put Tanners in the Crosshairs
» Old Man Huntsman Invented Big Mac Clamshell
» Shocker: Obama Blew Off Generals on Afghanistan

--Enjoy Your Two If By Tea -- and Don't Fear a Third Obama Term
Caller tells tea story and asks if BHO will pull an FDR.

____________
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

29 June 2011, Wed, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2011/06/167255.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON:
AM Secretary Clinton departs for foreign travel. Click here for more information.

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH:
11:00 a.m. Administrator Shah attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

1:00 p.m. Administrator Shah meets with Rear Admiral Susan Blumenthal, at USAID.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:45 p.m. Administrator Shah meets with Quartet Representative Tony Blair, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS BILL BURNS:
Under Secretary Burns is on foreign travel in Cairo, Egypt.

US FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS ROBERT HORMATS:
Under Secretary Hormats participates in the 2011 Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado through June 30.

US FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS JUDITH MCHALE:
9:30 a.m. Under Secretary McHale participates in a global Twitter Q & A, at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

6:00 p.m. Under Secretary McHale attends a Women’s Foreign Policy Event for Pakistani Ambassador Husain Haqqani, in Washington DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS MARIA OTERO:
8:45 a.m. Under Secretary Otero hosts the weekly Global Affairs Principals meeting at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:00 a.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with the Assistant Chief of Mission in Iraq Michelle Sison, at the Department of State
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley, at the Department of State
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with the USAID Deputy Administrator Don Steinberg, at USAID.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS ELLEN TAUSCHER:
Under Secretary Tauscher is on foreign travel to Paris, France to lead the U.S. delegation to the second P-5 Conference on Confidence Building Measures towards Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.

COUNSELOR AND CHIEF OF STAFF CHERYL MILLS:
Counselor Mills meets with the leadership of the Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA), at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AFFAIRS ESTHER BRIMMER:
11:15 a.m. Assistant Secretary Brimmer meets with UN Under Secretary General Angela Kane, to discuss UN reform and transparency.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Brimmer meets with EU Deputy Secretary General Maciej Popowski and EU Crisis Management Planning Director Walter Stevens.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM BROWNFIELD:
Assistant Secretary Brownfield is on foreign travel to the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Russia through July 2 to preview the Central Asia Counternarcotics Initiative (CACI). Click here for more information.

AS FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL:
Assistant Secretary Campbell is on foreign travel to the Pacific Islands through July 1. Click here for more information.

AS OF STATE FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS JOHNNIE CARSON:
Assistant Secretary Carson participates in the African Union Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea through July 1. Click here for more information.

AS FOR NEAR EASTERN AFFAIRS JEFFREY FELTMAN:
2:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Feltman meets with Saudi Ambassador Adel al Jubeir.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ:
9:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez meets with OPIC Managing Director John Moran, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE).

10:45 a.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez participates in an Interagency Meeting on Investment in Turkey at the Washington Convention Center.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE).

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER:
Assistant Secretary Posner is on foreign travel in Budapest, Hungary.

1:00 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Posner meets with Miklós Haraszti, former OSCE Representative, in Budapest.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:30 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Posner attends the unveiling of a statute of Ronald Reagan, at Freedom Square in Budapest.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

4:00 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Posner meets with Andras Schiffer, LMP Party President, in Budapest.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:45 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Posner meets with Hungarian State Secretary Zsolt Nemeth, in Budapest.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:00 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Posner meets with Attila Mesterhazy, Hungarian Socialist Party President, in Budapest.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

7:00 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Posner delivers remarks at the Freedom Dinner in honor of the newly established Lantos Institute, at the Museum of Fine Arts, in Budapest.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS ANDREW SHAPIRO:
9:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Shapiro hosts the Israeli delegation led by Director General Udi Shani of Israel’s Defense Ministry at the 41st meeting of the Joint Political-Military Group, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ARTURO VALENZUELA:
7:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Valenzuela attends a “Colombia Celebration” event hosted by Colombian Ambassador Gabriel Silva Lujan, at the Smithsonian Institution.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN:
Ambassador Benjamin is on foreign travel in Cairo, Egypt to meet with senior Egyptian government officials to discuss counterterrorism initiatives through June 29.

GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR AMBASSADOR ERIC GOOSBY:
11:00 a.m. Ambassador Goosby hosts a roundtable discussion with representatives of faith-based organizations that implement PEPFAR programs, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER:
Ambassador Verveer is on foreign travel in Vilnius, Lithuania to participate in the Community of Democracies Ministerial and the Women Enhancing Democracy (WED) Conference.

SR FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS KRIS BALDERSTON:
Special Representative Balderston is on foreign travel in Brazil through June 30 to discuss the 20ii – Investing with Impact initiative with government officials, Brazilian corporations and investors.

SR FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS:
Special Representative Lewis supports Assistant Secretary Carson’s participation in the African Unit Summit through July 1, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

COORDINATOR FOR CYBER ISSUES CHRIS PAINTER:
Coordinator Painter participates in the OECD High Level Meeting on “Internet Economy - Generating Innovation and Growth,” in Paris, France.


_______
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

29 June 2011, Wed, Pres and VP Schedules

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/complete
9:30 am The President and The Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

11:30 am The President holds a news conference
East Room
Open Press

1:50 pm The President welcomes the WNBA Champion Seattle Storm to the White House
Rose Garden
Open Press

3:00 pm The President and The Vice President meet with Senate Democratic Leadership
Oval Office
Closed Press

4:30 pm The President and The Vice President meet with Secretary of the Treasury Geithner
Oval Office
Closed Press

5:45 pm The President delivers remarks at an event observing LGBT Pride month
East Room
Pooled Press

7:09 pm The President and The First Lady host a farewell dinner for Secretary of Defense Gates; The Vice President and Dr. Biden will also attend
The White House
Closed Press

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
9:30 am The President and The Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

12:30 pm The Vice President attends an event for the Democratic National Committe
St. Regis Hotel

3:00 pm The President and The Vice President meet with Senate Democratic Leadership
Oval Office
Closed Press

4:30 pm The President and The Vice President meet with Secretary of the Treasury Geithner
Oval Office
Closed Press

7:09 pm The President and The First Lady host a farewell dinner for Secretary of Defense Gates; The Vice President and Dr. Biden will also attend
The White House
Closed Press

_________
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Michele Obama vs Laura Bush

I was reading the message boards at Hannity.com yesterday, and someone started a thread about Michele Obama, and her daughters', trip to Africa, and how much it was costing, and calling her "Moochelle" Obama - Rush's term for her as well.

Of course someoen else immediately countered with the fact that Laura Bush had made 5 solo trips to Africa when her husband was in office, and brought her daughters a couple of times.

Most of the "Moochelle" folk ignored this counter, but one finally explained that when Laura Bush was going on her travels (apparently she vacationed in all 50 states of the Union), the country wasn't teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, which it is now, and there wasn't 10% unemployment, etc. etc.

And that is the point. Politicians, and politicians wives, could "afford" to go travelling back in the good old days, when our precarious financial position wasn't as well known as it is now, but now that it is known, should Michele Obama be visiting Africa? Is the good will engendered by her visit going to repay us - the country - in any way that will end up getting some of those travel funds back?

Always remembering that those travel funds are a drop in the bucket considering what most stay-at-home politicians spend....

____________
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Obama's Gaffe's VS Palin and Bachman's Gaffes

Obama has made plenty of gaffes in his 2 years as President, and when he was campaigning (57 states, anyone), which no one makes fun of except Republicans.

Palin and Bachman have also made gaffes, and no one is making fun of them except Democrats. Problem is, the mainstream press is Democrat, and so they're gaffes make it into the headlines of newspapers, whereas Obama's gaffes are mentioned on the back page, if they're mentioned at all.

Apparently Bachman confused John Wayne and John Wayne Gacy. Is that better or worse than telling hundreds of troops that you'd given a Medal of Honor to a man who'd survived to recieve it...then give the name of a man who'd been killed in earning that medal?

The difference is Bachman never met either John Wayne, whereas Obama met the one soldier, and the family of the other, when presenting the Medals, and its not like he hands out a Medal of Honor every day.


_______
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Rush on vacation again today

I don't know that I'll be listening to his guest-host. Not sure if it'll be Mark Davis or Mark Steyn or who...

But really, I listen to the Rush Limbaugh program to hear Rush!


_______
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

28 June 2011, Tues, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2011/06/167200.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON:
7:45 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Vice President Biden, at the Vice President’s residence.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

10:00 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with President Obama, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

12:30 p.m. Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:45 p.m. Secretary Clinton briefs members of the Senate, on Capitol Hill.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:15 p.m. Secretary Clinton attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH:
Administrator Shah participates in the 2011 International Food Aid and Development (IFAD) Conference, at the Westin Crown Center Hotel, in Kansas City, Missouri.

10:00 a.m. LOCAL Administrator Shah attends a roundtable with representatives from non-governmental organizations, at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:45 a.m. LOCAL Administrator Shah attends a roundtable with partners from the private sector at the 2011 International Food Aid and Development (IFAD) Conference, at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:40 p.m. LOCAL Administrator Shah meets with Mozambique Ambassador Amelia Narciso Matos Sumbana, at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:00 p.m. LOCAL Administrator Shah meets with Ken Hackett, President of Catholic Relief Services, at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:15 p.m. LOCAL Administrator Shah delivers keynote remarks for the 2011 International Food Aid and Development (IFAD) Conference, at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS BILL BURNS:
Under Secretary Burns is on foreign travel in Cairo, Egypt.

US FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS ROBERT HORMATS:
Under Secretary Hormats participates in the 2011 Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado through June 30.

US FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS JUDITH MCHALE:
10:00 a.m. Under Secretary McHale meets with Ambassador to Bangladesh James Moriarty, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Under Secretary McHale speaks with Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS MARIA OTERO:
11:00 a.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with Ambassador Carlos Pascual, the Special Envoy for International Energy Affairs, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero delivers remarks to the Ambassadorial Seminar at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS ELLEN TAUSCHER:
9:00 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher meets with Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui, at the Ambassador’s residence.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Under Secretary Tauscher attends a farewell reception for CIA Director Leon Panetta, in McLean, Virginia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY CIA)

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL:
2:00 p.m. Ambassador Marshall hosts a farewell reception in honor of German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth, at Blair House.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM BROWNFIELD:
Assistant Secretary Brownfield is on foreign travel to the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Russia through July 2 to preview the Central Asia Counternarcotics Initiative (CACI). Click here for more information.

AS FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL:
Assistant Secretary Campbell is on foreign travel to the Pacific Islands through July 1. Click here for more information.

AS OF STATE FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS JOHNNIE CARSON:
Assistant Secretary Carson participates in the African Union Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea through July 1. Click here for more information.

AS FOR NEAR EASTERN AFFAIRS JEFFREY FELTMAN:
11:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Feltman meets with Egyptian Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Americas Ambassador El Husseini Abdelwahab.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ:
2:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez meets with the Bahraini Ministers of Labor and Commerce, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS ANDREW SHAPIRO:
2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Shapiro attends a farewell reception for CIA Director Leon Panetta, in McLean, Virginia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY CIA)

AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ARTURO VALENZUELA:
9:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Valenzuela delivers welcoming remarks at the Workshop on Preventing Youth Crime in the Americas: Successful Models and Approaches, at the Organization of American States Headquarters.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN:
Ambassador Benjamin is on foreign travel in Cairo, Egypt to meet with senior Egyptian government officials to discuss counterterrorism initiatives through June 30.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS LUIS CDEBACA:
1:15 p.m. Ambassador CdeBaca discusses the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report at an event sponsored by the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, at the United Nations Plaza in New York.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR AMBASSADOR ERIC GOOSBY:
10:30 a.m. Ambassador Goosby delivers remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on America’s response to the global AIDS epidemic and the outcomes of the recent UN High-Level Meeting on AIDS, in Washington DC.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER:
Ambassador Verveer is on foreign travel in Rome, Italy to participate in the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (UN FAO) biennial conference entitled the Vital Role of Women in Agriculture and Rural Development. In Rome, she also holds meetings with Italian and Vatican officials.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS KRIS BALDERSTON:
Special Representative Balderston is on foreign travel in Brazil through June 30 to discuss the 20ii – Investing with Impact initiative with government officials, Brazilian corporations and investors.

SR FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS:
Special Representative Lewis supports Assistant Secretary Carson’s participation in the African Unit Summit through July 1, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

SR TO MUSLIM COMMUNITIES FARAH PANDITH:
Special Representative Pandith travels to Dublin and Navan, Ireland to engage with Muslim communities and youth, as well as attend the S.A.V.E. Conference through June 28.

SPECIAL ENVOY TO MONITOR AND COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM HANNAH ROSENTHAL:
11:00 a.m. Special Envoy Rosenthal addresses the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, advocates on behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia (NCSJ) Board of Governors meeting, at NCSJ headquarters.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE:
12:30 p.m. Daily Press Briefing with Spokesperson Victoria Nuland

___________
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

28 June 2011, Tues, Pres and VP Schedules

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/president
10:00 am The President and the Vice President meet with Secretary of State Clinton
Oval Office
Closed Press

10:35 am The President departs the South Lawn en route Joint Base Andrews
South Lawn
Open Press

10:50 am The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route Moline, Illinois
Travel Pool Coverage
Out-of-Town Travel Pool Coverage (Call Time 9:30AM – Virginia Gate, Joint Base Andrews)

12:55 pm The President arrives Moline, Illinois
Local Event Time: 11:55 AM CDT
Illinois, Moline, Quad City International Airport
Open Press

1:45 pm The President tours Alcoa Davenport Works
Local Event Time: 12:45 PM CDT
Alcoa Davenport Works, Bettendorf, Iowa
Travel Pool Coverage

2:05 pm The President delivers remarks on the critical role the manufacturing sector plays in the American economy
Local Event Time: 1:05 PM CDT
Alcoa Davenport Works, Bettendorf, Iowa
Open Press

3:45 pm The President departs Moline, Illinois
Local Event Time: 2:45 PM CDT
Illinois, Moline, Quad City International Airport
Open Press

5:40 pm The President arrives at Joint Base Andrews
Travel Pool Coverage
5:55 pm The President arrives at the White House
South Lawn
Open Press


http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
10:00 am The President and the Vice President meet with Secretary of State Clinton
Oval Office
Closed Press

10:45 am The Vice President meets with His Royal Highness Prince Philippe of Belgium
Roosevelt Room
Pool Spray

___________
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

How is our produce going to get picked now?

A blogger wrote a couple of days ago about how illegals have fled South Carolina thanks to the new anti-illegal immigration law, and so farmers are having to employ convicts from local prisons to pick the produce, because Americans won't work for the low wages they offer.

This is puzzling in a few aspects. First, of course, each of these farms must be near some city that is just teeming with unemployed people on welfare. Why not have them do the work - for the same amount of welfare they're getting from the state - only if they don't work, they dont' get their money. Yeah, the government will still be subsidizing them, but at least they'll be working for their money.

Also, surely there are legal migrants who will pick this stuff. Indeed, if the illegals have fled, the legals will - again - get the respect they deserve for being legal.

Then, of course, maybe the farmers could pay better wages, and just pass that extra cost on to the consumer! What a concept that would be!
__________
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Mark Davis subbed for Rush today

And I have to admit I didn't listen to him.

Rush will be back tomorrow.

Meantime, there's a whole host of stuff to talk about - gay marriage bill passed in New York (which I applaud), parts of George's illegal immigration law struck down (and sadly but typically, the headline says "Immigration law", it's only when you read the article that they clarify that - of ocurse - it's illegal immigration they're trying to defeat!!!!

Federal judge blocks parts of Georgia's new immigration law, Alabama's similar
MONTGOMERY -- A federal judge in Atlanta has blocked parts of Georgia's new illegal immigration law that is similar to Alabama's new law.

Southern Poverty Law Center attorney Sam Brooke said he received notification of the judge's ruling on the Georgia law about 1:30 p.m. today. He called the Georgia decision "a landmark ruling."

Attorneys were still reading details this afternoon, but Brooke said Alabama and Georgia laws contain the same sections enabling law officers to ask people for papers proving they are in the country legally. [Well, gee, what's wrong with that. If you're driving a car you have to show a license, if you want to buy liquor you have to buy a license. There's so many illegals in the country, it's only common sense to ask people of Hispanic or Latino appearance (and for that matter Asian appearance - since Asiam illegal immigration is also a big problem which we never hear about - they are brought in for the sex trade) to prove they are in the country legal.

If our Hispanic and Latino citizens and legal immigrants don't like it - they should be aware if there weren't so many illegals in the country, they would get the respect they deserve!]

Alabama's law includes a requirement that schools check the birth country of new students and the birth country of the student's parents, something no other state requires. Brooke said requiring the information on students "is clearly a federal law."

Brooke said the SPLC, American Civil Liberties Union, Federation for Immigration Law Reform, the Asian Justice Coalition and other groups will sue to block Alabama's law as well.

House Majority Leader Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, the primary sponsor of Alabama's law, said he expected groups like SPLC and ACLU to sue to block Alabama's law.

"They sue everybody," he said.

When the Legislature debated Hammon's bill, he said he felt confident Alabama's law would stand up to court challenge. The same consultant who helped draft Alabama's law also wrote illegal immigration laws for Arizona, Georgia, Utah, all of which have had parts struck down by federal courts. South Carolina will soon join the group.

That state's governor is expected to sign an immigration bill into law today.



________
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

27 June, 2011, Mon, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2011/06/167128.htm

SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON:
9:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with the Assistant Secretaries, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:25 a.m. Secretary Clinton delivers remarks at an event co-hosted by the Department of State and Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA) in celebration of LGBT Pride Month, in the Dean Acheson Auditorium at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Secretary Clinton releases the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report, in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

5:00 p.m. Secretary Clinton hosts a reception in honor of departing Under Secretary McHale, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY THOMAS NIDES:
1:15 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Defense Under Secretary Michele Flournoy, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Administrator Shah, Ambassador Goosby and Global Health Initiative Executive Director Lois Quam, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJIV SHAH:
12:30 p.m. Administrator Shah delivers remarks at the About Partnering for Global Health Forum, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Administrator Shah meets with Deputy Secretary Nides, Ambassador Goosby and Global Health Initiative Executive Director Lois Quam, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS ROBERT HORMATS:
Under Secretary Hormats participates in the 2011 Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado through June 30.

US FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS JUDITH MCHALE:
5:00 p.m. Under Secretary McHale attends a reception in her honor hosted by Secretary Clinton, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS MARIA OTERO:
9:30 a.m. Under Secretary Otero moderates a panel discussion at an event co-hosted by the Department of State and Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA) in celebration of LGBT Pride Month, in the Dean Acheson Auditorium at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero delivers remarks at the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report, in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

3:15 p.m. Under Secretary Otero delivers remarks at the Diplomacy Conference on U.S. Policy in the Caribbean, in the Loy Henderson Auditorium at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS ELLEN TAUSCHER:
3:00 pm. Under Secretary Tauscher meets with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kisylak, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL:
Ambassador Marshall hosts a farewell reception in honor of Croatian Ambassador Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, at Blair House.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM BROWNFIELD:
Assistant Secretary Brownfield is on foreign travel to the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Russia through July 2 to preview the Central Asia Counternarcotics Initiative (CACI).

AS FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL:
Assistant Secretary Campbell is on foreign travel to the Pacific Islands through July 1.

AS OF STATE FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS JOHNNIE CARSON:
Assistant Secretary Carson is on foreign travel to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea through June 30.

AS FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ:
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez moderates a panel at the “Egypt Forward Forum” at the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AS SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS MICHAEL HAMMER:
1:00 p.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Hammer opens the Diplomacy Conference on U.S. Policy in the Caribbean, in the Loy Henderson Auditorium at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS KERRI-ANN JONES:
11:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Jones meets with NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, at the Department of Commerce.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

LEGAL ADVISER HAROLD KOH
9:30 a.m. Legal Advisor Koh participates in a panel discussion at an event co-hosted by the Department of State and Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA) in celebration of LGBT Pride Month, in the Dean Acheson Auditorium at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER
9:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Posner participates in a panel discussion at an event co-hosted by the Department of State and Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA) in celebration of LGBT Pride Month, in the Dean Acheson Auditorium at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS ANN STOCK:
Assistant Secretary Stock participates in the Presidential Delegation led by Dr. Jill Biden to the Special Olympics in Athens, Greece.

AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ARTURO VALENZUELA:
1:15 p.m. Assistant Secretary Valenzuela delivers remarks at the Diplomacy Conference on U.S. Policy in the Caribbean, in the Loy Henderson Auditorium at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN:
Ambassador Benjamin is on foreign travel in Cairo, Egypt to meet with senior Egyptian government officials to discuss counterterrorism initiatives through June 30.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS LUIS CDEBACA:
2:00 p.m. Ambassador CdeBaca delivers remarks at the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report, in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR AMBASSADOR ERIC GOOSBY
4:00 p.m. Ambassador Goosby meets with Deputy Secretary Nides, Administrator Shah and Global Health Initiative Executive Director Lois Quam, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER
Ambassador Verveer is on foreign travel in Rome, Italy to participate in the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (UN FAO) biennial conference entitled the Vital Role of Women in Agriculture and Rural Development. On June 27, she speaks at a side event co-hosted by the United States and Kenya titled “Dialogue on Women in Agriculture: Where to after the State of Food and Agriculture report.” She also participates in bilateral meetings with the Government of Italy and Vatican City.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS KRIS BALDERSTON:Special Representative Balderston is on foreign travel in Brazil through June 30 to discuss the 20ii – Investing with Impact initiative with government officials, Brazilian corporations and investors.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE TO MUSLIM COMMUNITIES FARAH PANDITH:
Special Representative Pandith travels to Dublin and Navan, Ireland to engage with Muslim communities and youth, as well as attend the S.A.V.E. Conference through June 28.

SPECIAL ENVOY TO MONITOR AND COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM HANNAH ROSENTHAL
Special Envoy Rosenthal addresses the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, advocates on behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia (NCSJ) Board of Governors meeting,
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

DIRECTOR OF POLICY PLANNING JACOB SULLIVAN:
3:45 p.m. Director Sullivan meets with representatives from the Learning Law and Democracy Foundation, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE
12:30 p.m. Daily Press Briefing.


__________
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

27 June 2011, Mon, Pres and VP Schedules

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/president
9:50 am The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

10:30 am The President and the Vice President meet with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Oval Office
Closed Press

1:35 pm The President welcomes the MLS champion Colorado Rapids to the White House
Rose Garden
Open Press

5:00 pm The President and the Vice President meet with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
Oval Office
Closed Press

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
10:30 am The President and the Vice President meet with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Oval Office
Closed Press

5:00 pm The President and the Vice President meet with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
Oval Office
Closed Press
__________
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Obama Makes Another Gaffe

President Obama made another gaffe today. He was talking to the 10th Mountain Division, congratulating them on their service, and gave the name of the wrong Medal of Honor winner.

Now, some might say that that's an easy mistake to make, but is it? If you pay attention to what you're doing, it really shouldn't be. One of 'em died, the other didn't, and was the first MoH in Afghanistan who was still living. when awarded the medal. How can you get those names wrong?

RUSH: "What's Up With All the Presidential Gaffes, Anyway?" writes Michael Ledeen. "Big Media doesn't pay much attention to them, even though Obama makes an amazing number of errors in his public statements. And I think it's easy enough to understand why the BM largely ignores them: to report them all would totally undermine the image of the president to which a surprising number of 'reporters' and pundits are wedded: that of an unusually intelligent and well educated man. Yet someone who tells a crowd in Vienna that his 'Austrian' isn't very good, who tells Marines that he's pleased to speak to the 'Marine Corpse,' and who, just [yesterday], said he'd given the Medal of Honor to a survivor from the 10th Mountain Division, when in fact the award was given posthumously, doesn't fit my definition of a brilliant and cultured man."

I don't know if you are aware of this, but this is a mistake that is pretty bad. This is bad. Obama did visit the 10th Mountain Division, and he congratulated them on their service, and he told the soldiers that were all gathered there that he had given the Medal of Honor to Jared Monti. President said: I've given this Medal of Honor to Jared Monti, who came back from Iraq alive. But he didn't. Jared Monti died in Afghansitan. He was killed in 2006. It's reminiscent of Vice President Bite Me in St. Louis. "Stand up, Chuck! Let 'em see you, Chuck!" He's in a wheelchair. Bite Me notices in a wheelchair and Bite Me says, "Oh, God bless you. Oh, gee! What I did I say? Everybody, let's stand up for Chuck! Let's stand up for Chuck." But this? Here, we have audio. Here is the president making a mistake about a soldier killed in action in Afghanistan yesterday afternoon, Fort Drum in New York.

OBAMA: I had the great honor of seeing some of you because, uh, a comrade of yours -- uh, Jared Monti -- was the first person who I was able to award, uh, the Medal of Honor to, uh, who actually came back and wasn't, uhhh, receiving it posthumously.

RUSH: He did receive it posthumously. He did not come back. Obama had no clue what he was talking about. Whoever put that on his teleprompter had no clue what he was talking about. Nobody in this regime knows what they're talking about. Now, some people think they do this on purpose, just to insult members of the military. "Yes, there was a Medal of Honor winner who lived to receive it, but it was a different man. The living honoree is named Giunta; the deceased hero from the 10th Mountain Division was named Monti. Both are Italian names. Did a White House speechwriter confuse the two Italians? And if so, what does that tell us about the ship under the command of President Obama? That's worth pondering for a moment.

"When you add up all the mistakes [Obama has] made -- not slips of the tongue, but real errors in statements and speeches he could read from the ubiquitous teleprompter -- they make quite a number. So what? you may ask. The answer is that hundreds of people traditionally read the drafts of presidential speeches and statements. That happens for two good reasons. First, presidential utterances are instant policy. It's hard to walk away from a public statement. Second, the myriad political appointees want their leader to look good, and they strain to ensure the accuracy of his statements," that they write for him and end up on the teleprompter.

"Or at least they" used to. Ledeen says, "I don't think that is happening in this administration. A friend said to me earlier today that he was really amazed at the discipline of Obama's team, specifically in the small number of leaks compared with previous administrations," and that's because so few people are in the loop and know anything going on, because nobody trusts anybody in there. But he goes on to point out we're not dealing with a profound intellect here. Fifty-seven states? We can recount all the faux pas here, and they just laugh and look the other way. "Oh, yeah, it's just Obama." But this is major: Announcing somebody as alive who isn't, at an awards ceremony!

_______
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Herman Cain Going Through the Fire Now

Democratic media, such as Jon Stewart, et al, are in full mocking mode for Herman Cain now. (I actually heard the Jon Stewart bit on the Glenn Beck program today. They accused him of using an Amos & Andy voice to mock Cain, but really, that's stretching. Stewart's voice was no more racist than the one Rush uses to mock Obama.)

However, the mock machine is certainly out in full force.

Here's what Rush had to say about it.

RUSH: Folks, I don't want to mention any names out there 'cause I frankly don't particularly like the names I would have to mention. They're already making fun of Herman Cain and the way he talks on television. They're already doing that. Now, they never did that with the Bamster, as you know. It was just the exact opposite. Obama, oh, my God, look at the crease of his slacks. Oh, my God, what a smart guy. David Brooks said he was destined not just to be president, he was gonna be a great one because of the crease in his slacks. And we're supposed to rely on that, conservative columnist for the New York Times. That's the criteria which we are supposed to accept Obama being qualified. "Smart guy, very serious candidate, Rush, very, very serious, a man of incredible depth, you can hear it. He's incredibly nuanced. He's elegant in the way he speaks, very, very eloquent and elegant."

I remember the commentators were marveling at the way Obama spoke and put syllables together. I can just tell you they're out there making fun of the way Herman Cain talks, just like they make fun of everything else about Palin. They make fun of everything about Palin. They make fun of Romney about being a Mormon and being a cookie cutter Ken doll. I don't know what they're making fun of Pawlenty for but they're making fun of Pawlenty, but they're not making fun of Obama. Herman Cain, if I had to say, Herman probably represents everything the news media says does not exist. Herman Cain is articulate; he is very highly successful; he is a conservative Republican who is black; and that is what they tell you doesn't exist, and that is a primary problem that Herman Cain has.

You identify yourself as a black conservative and you may as well be admitting that you're a whore or a prostitute, an Uncle Tom, you've been bought off, whatever, you aren't real. It's not possible for a black person to be conservative. The way the media and the left look at this country, a black person who is conservative is a black person who would agree with the whole notion of slavery and would wanna be a slave owner. That's how bad it is that is how devoid and distanced from reality that they are. But I mean the media will not even admit that somebody like Herman Cain can exist. Look what they do to black Americans who identify themselves as conservatives.

Now, if you want to talk genuine intelligence, if you want to talk real depth of education, Shelby Steele, writer, professor, economics, stuff appears in the Wall Street Journal. Thomas Sowell, a brilliant economist, philosopher, an incredibly deep individual. Our sometimes guest host, Walter Williams, ditto. These people don't exist. They are black conservatives. They are traitors. They don't deserve any legitimacy at all as far as the media is concerned, as far as the left is concerned. They don't even deserve respect. Legitimacy of any kind. And, of course, it's the height of unfairness. That's what it is. And that's one of the hard, cold realities of politics. It is what it is, and you have to deal with what it is day in and day out.

Politics is the epitome, just like meritocracy in sports, it's the epitome of there's no such thing as fair. And a lot of people think that life is not fair and that the attempt to make it fair, thus the attempt to legislate outcomes, is destructive and devoid of any reality, because it cannot be done. Genuine fairness has been defined by these people as everybody is the same, everybody finishes the same. Everybody gets up, if they survive the abortion. They go to work. They get a job, and they all earn the same amount of money. They all live in the same kind of house. They all pollute just as little or as much as their neighbors. They all have the same kinds of cars. They all have the same kind of kids, who all go to the same kind of college.

That's the utopia. Everybody's the same. And to make that happen we're gonna take away money from people who don't conform, people who have too much, whose car is too big, whose houses are too big, "Don't worry about it. We'll take what they've got and we'll give it to you and we'll make everybody the same." Flies in the face of what everybody left, right, independent, Libertarian, everybody in politics knows there is no such thing as fairness. Not only is there no fairness in politics, there really isn't any fairness in life, when you get down to brass tacks.

________________
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

24 June, 2011, Fri, Rush Limbaugh Headlines

--New York Times on Board with Schumer/Durbin Sabotage Charge
Democrats' audacious lie gains traction in the Times.

--Classic Parody Illustrates Dem Technique:
Larry King Alive with James Carville and Ken Starr

--Caller Says Obama and Democrats are Killing the Natural Gas Industry
Her husband who worked under Bush is jobless now.

--We Need a Slick Candidate to Beat Barack Obama the Gaffe Machine?
The perception of his intelligence is simply false.
Ledeen: What's Up With All the Obama Gaffes?

--Yes, We Can Nominate One of Us
Don't legitimize liberal claims about conservatives.

--Why the Left Hates Herman Cain
The American left lives to destroy black conservatives.

--Drill, Baby, Drill! (It's That Simple)
Releasing oil from the strategic reserve won't do much.

Stack of Stuff Quick Hits Page
» WH Spokesman Carney Has It Wrong on Debt Ceiling
» Green Jobs? Another Electric Car Drives into the Ditch
» WSJ: Why Americans are Unhappy with the Recovery

--Two If By Tea: The Verdict is In
You all agree: It's the best tea you've ever tasted.
• Buy It Now at the Website: TwoIfByTea.com




__________
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

24 June 2011, Fri, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2011/06/166901.htm

SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON:
9:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with a delegation of Iraqi women leaders working with the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues on creating a community and legal framework to combat gender-based violence in Iraq, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:00 a.m. Secretary Clinton attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

1:15 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Osama al-Nujaifi, Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, at the Department of State.
(CAMERA SPRAY PRECEDING MEETING)
Access time for all media: 12:50 p.m. from the 23rd Street entrance lobby.

1:45 p.m. Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan, at the Department of State.
(JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY AND SIGNING CEREMONY FOLLOWING BILATERAL MEETING AT APPROXIMATELY 2:35 P.M.)

DEPUTY SECRETARY JIM STEINBERG:
4:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY TOM NIDES:
8:15 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides delivers remarks at the Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights conference hosted by Under Secretary Otero, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

9:45 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides speaks with Representative Kay Granger.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides officiates the Swearing-In Ceremony for the 121st Foreign Service Specialist Orientation Class, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides holds a conference call with U.S. Chiefs of Mission in the European and Eurasian region.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:15 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Osama al-Nujaifi, Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

USAID ADMINSTRATOR RAJ SHAH:
8:30 a.m. Administrator Shah administers the ceremonial swearing in for the members of the 2011 Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) Board, at the National Press Club.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

1:00 p.m. Administrator Shah attends the BIFAD Executive Board Luncheon, at the National Press Club.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:45 p.m. Administrator Shah joins Secretary Clinton’s bilateral meeting with Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan, at the Department of State.
(JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY AND SIGNING CEREMONY FOLLOWING BILATERAL MEETING AT APPROXIMATELY 2:35 P.M.)

4:00 p.m. Administrator Shah meets with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, at USAID.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS ROBERT HORMATS:
2:00 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets Siraj Chaudhry, Chairman of Cargill India, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with Fred Hochberg of the Export-Import Bank, OPIC President Elizabeth Littlefield, and Leocadia Zak of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS MARIA OTERO:
8:00 a.m. Under Secretary Otero hosts a Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights conference, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ELLEN TAUSCHER:
8:30 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher participates in a P-3 video teleconference, at the British Embassy.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:30 p.m. Under Secretary Tauscher attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

3:00 p.m. Under Secretary Tauscher attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL:
Ambassador Marshall leads an Experience America trip to Alaska with members of the Diplomatic Corps and their spouses from June 21 -25. Click here for more information.

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AFFAIRS BRIMMER:
Assistant Secretary Brimmer delivers the keynote speech at the Salzburg Global Seminar Board Weekend in Salzburg, Austria.
(OPEN TO THE PRESS)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS BROWNFIELD:
8:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Brownfield attends the Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights conference hosted by Under Secretary Otero, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Brownfield attends an Interagency meeting on the West Africa Citizen Security Initiative (WACSI), in Arlington, Virginia.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL:
12:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Campbell gives a special press briefing on his upcoming trip to the Pacific Islands, in the Press Briefing Room at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)
Click here for more information.

AS FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER:
11:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Posner attends the Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights conference hosted by Under Secretary Otero, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:45 a.m. Assistant Secretary Posner and Dr. Tomicah Tillemann, Senior Advisor for Civil Society and Emerging Democracies, give a special press briefing on the upcoming Community of Democracies meeting taking place in Vilnius, Lithuania, in the Press Briefing Room at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS ANDREW SHAPIRO:
Assistant Secretary Shapiro is on foreign travel to France, Germany and Azerbaijan through June 24. Click here for more information.

AS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS ANN STOCK:
Assistant Secretary Stock travels with the Presidential Delegation led by Dr. Jill Biden to the Special Olympics in Athens, Greece. Click here for more information.

AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ARTURO VALENZUELA:
12:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Valenzuela meets with Representative David Dreier, on Capitol Hill.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN:
9:00 a.m. Ambassador Benjamin appears before a joint hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on Capitol Hill.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOUSE)
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1:00 p.m. Ambassador Benjamin attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

2:00 p.m. Ambassador Benjamin attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

AMBASSADOR AT LARGE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS LUIS CDEBACA:
2:30 p.m. Ambassador CdeBaca meets with Microsoft Director of Global Business Development Karen Olcott, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

SR TO MUSLIM COMMUNITIES FARAH PANDITH:
Special Representative Pandith is on foreign travel to Dublin and Navan, Ireland to engage with Muslim communities and youth, as well as attend the S.A.V.E. Conference through June 28.

DIRECTOR OF POLICY PLANNING JAKE SULLIVAN:
Director Sullivan meets with Ambassador Cameron Munter, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE:
11:45 a.m. Assistant Secretary Posner and Dr. Tomicah Tillemann, Senior Advisor for Civil Society and Emerging Democracies, give a special press briefing, on camera, on-the-record, on the upcoming Community of Democracies meeting taking place in Vilnius, Lithuania, in the Press Briefing Room at the Department of State.

12:15 p.m. Assistant Secretary Campbell gives a special press briefing, on camera, on-the-record, on his upcoming trip to the Pacific Islands, in the Press Briefing Room at the Department of State.

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My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.