Ironically President Barack Obama accepted his Nobel Peace Prize today, nine days after escalating America’s military presence in Afghanistan.
Obama became the first sitting United States’ president to receive the honor in 90 years and third overall. The wartime president said he would use the prestigious award to “reach for the world that ought to be,” all the while defending America’s wars.
How ridiculous is it for Obama to receive a peace prize while he’s sending 30,000 more troops to a region of the world dubbed the “Graveyard of Empires?” – so much for “Change” O-bomb-a.
Listen to a soundbite from the president’s acceptance speech underneath:
China is laying the law, as usual. This time the Chinese government is outlawing the selling of designer Liu Mingjie popular silk-screen “Oba Mao” shirts that feature President Barack Obama, who is in China on a state visit, dressed in a green jacket and cap resembling China’s late Communist leader Mao Zedong.
Liu has been successfully selling his Oba Mao design on t-shirts, purses and magnets since September but suddenly stopped last week pending the 44th President’s arrival in China. Neighboring shopkeepers reportedly said uniformed officials visited them last week and told them to cease-and-desist selling items with Obama’s image on them, especially Oba Mao items.
Seems like the Chinese government is either trying not to embarrass the leader of the “free” world or hating on his popularity among its citizens – I’ll take the latter.
As if Congress doesn’t waste enough of taxpayers money and time, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has implored President Barack Obama to launch a Justice Department investigation into college football’s Bowl Championship Series.
Hatch wrote in a 10-page that the current system, “artificially limits the number of nationally-relevant bowl games to five. The result is reduced access to revenues and visibility which creates disadvantages to schools in the non-privileged conferences.”
In the past, the president has addressed his opposition to the current college football system in favor of a playoff system. The White House and the Justice Department have not comment on the senator’s letter.
Sure, Hatch has a point but with more important issues like the economy and health care still on the table, launching a costly, time consuming investigation into an internal sports issue seems a bit trifling and should be low on the Senate’s list of priorities. Not surprising, we suppose.
Puff, puff, pass! While not exactly legalizing marijuana, the Department of Justice reversed field under President Obama and have advised federal prosecutors to follow state laws which do not seek criminal charges against individuals who use or harvest medical marijuana.
There are 14 states that have legalized Mary Jane for medical purposes including California and Oregon. The American College of Physicians has cited marijuana as a legitimate medication to treat chronic pain, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and nausea.
The change is in direct contrast to Dubya’s policy on marijuana. Under President Bush, medical marijuana user and pushers would be prosecuted in accordance with federal anti-pot laws in spite of state legislations.
While she hasn’t granted any interviews to the press since her resignation as Alaska’s governor, Sarah Palin is using social networking sites Facebook and Twitter to stay relevant in national discourse.
Palin has almost 900,000 friends on Facebook and approximately 140,000 friends on Twitter. The only politician to have more friends on both social networks is President Barack Obama. The former vice president nominee has managed to interject her opinion on several national issues such as healthcare, energy policy and tort reform.
In August, she flipped liberals’ wigs when she posted two threads on her Facebook profile insinuating that legislation penned by Democrats in the House proposed the creation of “death-panels,” which would decide end of life care.
According to former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, “Facebook is perfectly suited for someone as polarizing as Sarah Palin. It’s the ideal way for her to keep in touch, to rev up her base and go around the mainstream media.”
Looks like Sarah’s building viral grassroots supporters much like President Obama did during his campaign run – 2012 is going to be quite interesting.
The somewhat loquacious former President Jimmy Carter has said that Rep. Joe Wilson’s “You lie” outburst during President Barack Obama’s healthcare speech in Congress last week was racially motivated.
“I think it’s based on racism. There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president,” Carter said about Wilson’s incivility during a recent town hall at his presidential center in Atlanta.
The premise for Carter’s statement revolves around what the former president said was a alarming trend aimed at President Obama which have equated Obama to Nazi leaders. Carter described the South Carolina congressman’s comment as “dastardly” and suggested they embedded in racist views that have permeated American politics.
“The president is not only the head of government; he is the head of state. And no matter who he is or how much we disagree with his policies, the president should be treated with respect,” said Carter.
His comments drew the ire of the predictable Richard Steele, the first “African-American” chairman of the Republican National Committee.
“President Carter is flat out wrong. This isn’t about race. It is about policy,” he said in a statement. “This is a pathetic distraction by Democrats to shift attention away from the president’s wildly unpopular government-run healthcare plan that the American people simply oppose.”
South Carolina’s Republican Representative Joe Wilson showed his true feelings yesterday during President Barack Obama’s speech to Congress concerning healthcare. As the president affirmed Congress that his public option for Americans would not insure illegal immigrants, the congressman abruptly shouted “You lie!”
Wilson’s rude behavior was quickly denounced on both sides of the aisle. “I was embarrassed for the chamber and a Congress I love. It demeaned the institution,” Vice President Joe Biden said on ABC’s Good Morning America.
Wilson later apologized to President Obama in a statement, “This evening I let my emotions get the best of me. While I disagree with the president’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility.”
Wilson’s behavior gave credence to the president’s assessment that Republicans are more interested in killing any health care package instead of an amicable solution for all Americans.
