Listening to the president’s speech Wednesday night was at times riveting, at times like listening to an insurance salesman. He gave a strong defense of the public option, but also indicated he would settle for whatever he could get.
Rep. Joe Wilson, Republican of South Carolina, is a real class act. To prove it, he heckled the president Wednesday, shouting “You lie!” after Obama promised that his plan would not cover illegal immigrants. Update
Some 100 passengers and several crew members made it safely off a hijacked AeroMexico 737 airliner upon landing in Mexico City on Wednesday. Meanwhile, at least five handcuffed men were escorted off the plane, which they had reportedly seized after takeoff from Cancun in an attempt to speak to Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
Sure, being POTUS is tough sometimes, and you’re bound to royally tick off a large percentage of your constituency no matter what you do. But in the case of health care reform, President Obama, you have one Lee Stranahan to help you break this one down.
Parents everywhere may feel as if they’re losing their kids to the Internet, or more specifically, to those mysterious “social networking” time-suck sites like Facebook and Twitter. However, take it from the chirpy hosts of “today NOW!”—The Onion’s eerily realistic spoof on morning-show blather—parents can also use these sites to their stalking advantage.
President Obama managed to deliver his contested speech at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday, offering such highly controversial and clearly socialist messages as, “You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job,” and, “Listen to your parents.” This is the stuff of brainwashing, people!
With some parents still reluctant to send their children to school Tuesday for fear that President Obama will indoctrinate them with his scary socialist ideals, the White House has attempted to ease the hysteria by releasing the full text of his speech a day early. Now doubters can do a close textual analysis for objectionable content.
Fishermen and activists joined forces—and boats—on Sunday to draw attention to the rising acidity of the oceans. More than 100 vessels took part in the demonstration near Homer, Alaska, said the Alaska Marine Conservation Council.
President Obama’s got a lot of work to do to convince “Left, Right & Center” regulars Arianna Huffington, Tony Blankley and Robert Scheer that he’s going to make good on his promise of “change” when it comes to bettering Americans’ health care options, the economy, the job market and that whole war thing he’s got going on in Afghanistan.
A new documentary by Oliver Stone called “South of the Border” follows his earlier trajectory of “Salvador” (1984), “Comandante” (2003), and “Looking for Fidel” (2004) as he talks to several Latin American leaders to understand what is happening on the continent and how U.S. perceptions of our own backyard are skewed.
The Scottish government may not be united with respect to Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill’s decision to release the so-called Lockerbie bomber, Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, last month, but for his part, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants to make it clear that any conspiracy theorists working on this case should hang it up already. Hmmm.
As American schoolkids clamber back onto buses and funnel into classrooms, the federal government is working on ways to squelch the swine flu virus, which may not be as ferocious as health officials first feared but is proving to be pretty tenacious. President Obama, as well as a familiar red fuzzy friend, are on the case in this clip from The Associated Press.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs fielded a question about former Vice President Dick Cheney’s ongoing Enhanced Interrogation Press Tour with restrained disdain Monday, calling Cheney’s comments “the same song and dance we’ve heard since literally the first day of our administration,” as well as “wrong.”
The Obama administration hopes to announce a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. But Israel’s ever-expanding network of settlements seems to stand in the way. Will a new push for “settlement freeze” succeed? Or will Netanyahu’s delay tactics prevail?
Not surprisingly, “Left, Right & Center” co-hosts Arianna Huffington, Robert Scheer and Tony Blankley harbor some differing viewpoints when it comes to Sen. Ted Kennedy’s legacy, as well as whether Congress should push through a health care reform plan to “win one for Ted.”
The pressure on South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford to resign hasn’t let up since his revelation earlier this summer of his extramarital escapades in Argentina, but for his part, Sanford says he’s staying put for the remainder of his term, thank y’all very much.
There’s a lot missing in this hastily constructed array of Ted Kennedy’s life. His run for the presidency, for instance, and the scandal that never quite left him. We also leave out his many legislative accomplishments to focus on his family and the extraordinary swan song that might have been.
Amy Goodman, Chris Hedges and Robert Scheer discuss the present and future of media with the global economic crisis, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the health care debate raging on.
Boy, Stephen Colbert got a lot accomplished on “The Colbert Report” this past week! He established whose God was best (duh) and why writing an Op-Ed in The New York Times is a clear sign of desperation and defeat (double duh), and he even managed to outdo Rep. Barney Frank in the table-talk department. But with what kind of cracker does Obamargarine go best? Hmmm.
President Obama released a video greeting Friday to Muslims in America and abroad to commemorate the start on Saturday of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and reflection for members of the Islamic faith.
Was Thursday’s election in Afghanistan a step forward for representative democracy in the South Asian nation? What exactly does President Obama aim to accomplish in Afghanistan anyhow? This week’s lineup of commentators explores the possible connections between the CIA and Blackwater and considers the current status of the health care debate.
With the folksy charm of a timeshare salesman, Austan Goolsbee of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers outlines some of the new credit card rules, which began taking effect Thursday.
In this clip from the Associated Press, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill of Scotland announces his country’s decision to release “Lockerbie bomber” Abdel Baset al-Megrahi on Thursday so the terminally ill Libyan can return to his homeland to die.
Ever wonder whether it gets a touch exasperating for politicians to face angry throngs of American citizens at those unruly gatherings everyone quaintly insists on calling “town hall meetings”? Well, witness Barney Frank, here, on the brink of a town hall snap (or two) in this bit from Wednesday’s “Daily Show.”
Like an embarrassing father using the word tight or a mother who think it’s OK to dance to Beyoncé while carpooling, CNN has found yet another way to make your skin crawl by desperately trying to act “hip” as it struggles to find a niche in the cable news wars. Jon Stewart chides the network in a piece that will probably elicit a grimace or two.
Obama’s Job Approval Slips Below 50 Percent
