George W. The Artist

Poor Dubya, can somebody please help him? I mean, I guess after being President 8 years and having delegated everything to Karl Rove, art is his only escape.  I mean George W, The Artist isn't so bad - I'm just curious about his state of mind.

Mind you, I have a few other things I wish to say, but I'll keep those to myself - out of respect for some of my dear friends. :-)

Get a perspective from Greg Allen after the jump...

WTF Has Obama Done? - Issue No. 020 - Space Exploration & Space Station

We all know that President Obama is to blame for everything; According to the REDs anyway.  But unfortunately for them, they are wrong, and most of the country knows they are.  I can't name the number of times I've heard these fools at work or family say that its Obama's fault the Space Shuttle program ended, and that the Soviet Union (they forget there's no more Soviet Union) will regain their dominance in space and blow us to bits.  Lord help them.  I think they forgot China is on the rise, not RUSSIA.

The beginning of the end of the Space Shuttle program came with the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia in February, 2003 (6 years before Obama took office).  "Immediately after the accident, NASA administrator Sean O’Keefe activated the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, or CAIB. Very early in the investigation one common topic of discussion among CAIB members and staff was whether the shuttle was too dangerous to continue flying, and whether the CAIB should recommend its immediate retirement."  Those are not my words, those are from the Space Review.  The date for its 2010 retirement was set way, way before our current President took office, and until the REDs pull their heads out of their ass and read some articles from time to time, they will never learn the truth. Ugh. They frustrate me so.

Let's get started with today's achievements...

WTF-58

Worked with international allies on International Space Station

With the release of his fiscal year 2011 budget, President Barack Obama advanced his promise to continue working with the United States' international partners on the International Space Station.

Continuing to use the ISS over the longer term is not a foregone conclusion, since its expected retirement date is officially January 2016. But in seeking to continue utilizing the station until at least 2020, Obama followed the recommendation of the U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, a blue-ribbon panel more commonly known as the Augustine Committee, after its chairman, Norman Augustine, the former CEO of Lockheed Martin.

That committee advised that "the return on investment of (the International Space Station) to both the United States and the international partners would be significantly enhanced by an extension of ISS life to 2020," according to a summary released last September. "It seems unwise to de-orbit the station after 25 years of assembly and only five years of operational life. Not to extend its operation would significantly impair U.S. ability to develop and lead future international space flight partnerships. Further, the ISS should be funded to enable it to achieve its full potential: as the nation's newest national laboratory, as an enhanced test bed for technologies and operational techniques that support exploration, and as a framework that can support expanded international collaboration."  [Read More]

WTF-59

Increased spending to prepare for longer space missions

Because Republicans in congress would rather spend money on causing wars, than spending it on space, this has yet to pass, but it is still considered an achievement and promise kept for the President.

During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama said his administration would "support increased investment in research, data analysis and technology development across the full suite of exploration missions including the Mars Sample Return mission and future missions to the moon, asteroids, Lagrange points, the outer solar system and other destinations."

Obama's budget proposes canceling Constellation, the successor system for the space shuttle, and jettisoning the idea of returning astronauts to the moon by 2020. Instead, NASA would allocate billions of dollars to "commercial crew" programs and the development of new technologies, as well as $3 billion over five years to pursue robotic missions "to scout locations and demonstrate technologies to increase the safety and capability of future human missions and provide scientific dividends."

As with all elements of the president's budget, nothing is final until Congress passes the relevant appropriations bills and the president signs them. In the case of exploration missions, securing the degree of investment the president wants depends in part on his administration's ability to wring savings from its proposed cancellation of Constellation, whose defenders in Congress could pose an obstacle to the president's broader space agenda. (Some of the money would come from a less controversial source, the end of the space shuttle program.)

That said, the president has not only stated a commitment to further space exploration but has proposed funding levels that outpace inflation. In our view, he has lived up to his promise to "support" such a course. Even though Congress has not yet acted to implement it, we are moving this promise from Stalled to Promise Kept. [Read More]

WTF-60

Added another Space Shuttle flight

Obama "supports congressional efforts to add at least one additional Space Shuttle flight to fly a valuable mission and to keep the workforce engaged. He will work to ensure there is adequate funding to support that additional flight so that it does not interfere with developing the Shuttle's successor."

As the clock ticks on the soon-to-be-retired space shuttle, the president has kept alive the hopes of scientists who want to install a device that would be used for one more experiment on the International Space Station.

First, an update on the space shuttle. The shuttle, which first orbited the Earth in 1981, is slated for retirement in 2010. The Bush administration in 2004 decided to wind down the program so that funding allocated to the shuttle could be redirected to building its successor. As a result, NASA had to cut the number of shuttle flights assigned to assembling and supporting the International Space Station. Originally, the shuttle had been expected to operate throughout the lifetime of the ISS. Under the new Bush policy, all flights were to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2010, specifically Sept. 30, 2010. 

Once in office, Obama did two things. First, with passage of the fiscal 2010 budget resolution on April 29, 2009, he presided over the removal of the Sept. 30, 2010, cutoff date for the shuttle program, giving NASA the scheduling flexibility to complete the remaining flights without excessive time pressure. Second, on May 7, 2009, Obama requested funds for the AMS mission in his fiscal year 2010 NASA budget. The mission is scheduled to launch in mid to late 2010, although it is widely expected that some shuttle launches will slip into the first half of fiscal year 2011.  [Read More]

I promise to come back to this topic in another issue, until then, please feel free to read my previous issues by clicking here.

Make sure to read the next issue
Issue No. 021 - Transparency & Accountability

WTF Has Obama Done is an ongoing series posted daily or weekly on BLADE 7184 until Election Day, 2012!

Super Pac Attack

What is a Super Pac?  A Super Pac (Political Action Committee) is an organization in the United States that campaigns for or against political candidates, ballot initiatives or legislation.  At the federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives more than $1,000 according to the Federal Election Campaign Act. At the state level, an organization becomes a PAC according to the state's election laws. [Ref]

Personally, I think it's a hot mess, because Super Pacs can alter an election, especially when huge corporations are the ones making the most contributions.  And we all know they don't want to pay taxes, while the rest of us have a 31% tax rate.  Corporations can donate and unlimited amount of money and have proven to be instrumental in bringing down or hurting Democratic candidates.  This was the case when George W. Bush won the governorship in the state of Texas and when John Kerry was swift-boated with the horrendous lies provided by these organizations.  Don't get me wrong some of them are legitimate, but you're not going to sit there and tell me that Karl Rove's Super Pac and the Koch brother's Super Pac are.

Attack of the Super PACs

Presidential Campaign Costs Since President Abraham Lincoln

Barack Obama spent $730 million getting to the White House in 2008—twice as much as George W. Bush spent 4 years earlier and more than 260 times what Abraham Lincoln spent in his first election (as measured in 2011 dollars). Looking at the total costs of presidential elections over the past 150 years, it would seem that the White House is the ultimate recession-proof commodity. Full Story here

WTF Has Obama Done? - Issue No. 013 - Employment: Jobs

I hope everyone had a good weekend, minus the unfortunate news about Whitney Houston.  May God bless her and her family during this time of grief.  Just another quick reminder of how important it is to tell the people in your life how much you love them.   Start today, because death knows neither time or day, we can be gone in a matter of minutes, hours or days.

click to enlarge

As promised, Issue No. 13 will be about Jobs, because according to Fox News and a particular party President Obama hasn't done a damn thing, which is simply not the case.  As a matter of fact, job losses exploded under former President George W. Bush, and has been recovering ever since. [Reference]

President Barack Obama has not only  managed to achieve 3 broad policies, 6 sources of funding and 6 targeted areas when it comes to job creation, he's also managed to produce 9 results.  Today I will cover 1 from each area.

WTF-36

Jobs for Main Street Act (2010).

In a close vote of 217-212, the House passed a $154 billion jobs bill (HR 2847) on December 16, 2009.  The “Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010” includes $36.7 billion for highways and transit, and extends several other programs aimed at creating jobs and helping those hit hardest by the recession.  The Senate is not expected to consider the bill this year, and may craft its own version after reconvening in 2010.  H.R. 2847 also incorporates the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2009, which extends the core highway, highway safety, and transit programs through September 30, 2010, at $53.3 billion, the level assumed in the FY 2010 budget resolution.  In addition, the bill repeals the provision that prohibits Highway Trust Fund balances from earning interest and restores $20 billion to the Highway Trust Fund.

Highways:                   $27.5 billion
Transit:                       $8.4 billion
Amtrak:                       $800 million
[Reference-1, Reference-2]

WTF-37

$33 billion-dollar jobs package (March 2010).

US President Barack Obama unveiled a 33-billion-dollar package of tax cuts Friday to encourage small businesses to hire new workers, as he takes aim at 10 percent unemployment.

Obama, who has made job creation the top priority of his administration, spoke as the White House got a rare economic boost when GDP data showed growth for the fourth quarter at a higher than expected 5.7 percent.

"It is time to put America back to work. We have had two very tough years," Obama said, as he toured a small factory in Baltimore, Maryland.
 
The proposal, which must be passed by Congress, would allow small businesses to claim a 5,000-dollar tax credit for every new employee they hire and to be reimbursed for Social Security retirement taxes on increased payrolls. [Reference-1, Reference-2, Reference-3]

WTF-38

Job training programs in clean technologies for displaced workers.

Obama comes through on both parts of this promise.

Creating jobs that are also good for the environment was a big part of Barack Obama's campaign platform.

It was also a big part of the stimulus package he signed in early 2009. All told, the bill included $500 million to support job creation in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sector. The administration has been busy doling out this grant money to train displaced workers in the areas of home weatherization, hybrid and electric car maintenance and solar panel installation.

On Jan. 6, 2010, for instance, the Labor Department announced that $100 million will go to 25 projects around the country.

When Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in April 2009, he also created the Clean Energy Service Corps. The program will train young people to install solar panels, weatherize homes and conduct energy audits, among other things. [Reference-1]

WTF-39

CBO found 3.7 Million jobs created by stimulus (May 2010).

A report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office shows the Recovery Act has increased the number of workers by between 1.2 million and 2.8 million. The CBO also projects that 3.7 million jobs could be attributed to the stimulus by the end of September, 2010.

The $787 billion measure included several tax cuts, including one for $400 ($800 per working couple) that showed up in workers' paychecks. It also created Build America Bonds, expanded unemployment insurance and funded several domestic spending programs.

Several of these provisions are now being expanded in legislation extending expiring measures that the House could vote on later Wednesday.[Reference-1, Reference-2]

As promised, I will come back to this topic in another issue.  Please make sure to read the next issue, Issue No. 014 - Military and National Security as I continue with
WTF-40
Posted daily or weekly on BLADE 7184 until Election Day!

WTF Has Obama Done? - Issue No. 007 - Foreign Affairs and International Affairs

Regardless of what Republicans will have you believe, President Barack Obama has re-established our nation's standing in the world.  It's shocking to say, but after 911 the whole world was united with us, they supported us and they admired us for standing up to these horrible terrorists who had invaded our land.  We have never encountered such a catastrophe since Japan invaded Pearl Harbor in WWII.  But despite all of this, George Bush managed to turn us into the most hated and despised country in the world.  But you don't need me to prove that to you, you can actually "Google " it.

In other news... Can you believe it?  I have completed 7 days (7 issues) of "WTF Has Obama Done?" and I've had fun doing it.  It is time consuming, but I'm also learning so much!

In today's issue, I will cover some of the broad policies in foreign affairs, because despite what the right is telling you, Obama has achieved so much in this area. I will post 3 WTFs and come back at a later time to discuss this topic again.

WTF-17

Re-established the United States standing in the world.

The image of the United States has improved markedly in most parts of the world, reflecting global confidence in Barack Obama. In many countries opinions of the United States are now about as positive as they were at the beginning of the decade before George W. Bush took office. Improvements in the U.S. image have been most pronounced in Western Europe, where favorable ratings for both the nation and the American people have soared. But opinions of America have also become more positive in key countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, as well. [Reference-1]

Global views of the United States have improved markedly over the last year while views of many countries have become more negative, according to the latest BBC World Service poll across 28 countries.

For the first time since the BBC started tracking in 2005, views of the United States' influence in the world are now more positive than negative on average. [Reference-2]

Significant improvements in sentiment toward U.S. leadership are evident in all four major global regions, with the largest year-over-year increase in approval measured in Europe. Median approval of U.S. leadership increased by 28 percentage points between 2008 and 2009 in this region. A median of 47% approves and a median of 20% disapproves -- the first time disapproval has dropped below 50% in Europe since Gallup first asked the question. [Reference-3]

WTF-18

Poll: World’s opinion of U.S. has “improved sharply” under Obama.

Since Barack Obama entered office, the world's view of the United States has 'improved sharply,' according to a poll carried out by the BBC World Service.

Nearly 30,000 people in 28 countries were asked to rate countries on their positive impact upon the world. This year 46% of the respondents rated the US's influence as positive - the first time since 2005 that the survey returned more positive votes than negative for America. [Reference]

WTF-19

47 nations rise to Obama’s challenge at US nuke summit and agree to four years of non-proliferation efforts.

The Nuclear Security Summit convened by President Barack Obama attracted 47 high-level participants – over 30 of them heads of state or government – who collectively agreed on several small but important steps on the path towards global safety from a “rogue” nuclear attack. This could be mounted by “non-state” sources or by a state that does not observe the rules.

"The agreement of 47 nations to specific steps to safeguard nuclear materials and technology has to be welcomed especially in averting the dangers of nuclear weapon proliferation and non-state actors acquiring them,” says Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala, who presided over the 1995 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review and Extension Conference. Formerly the UN Under-Secretary General for Disarmament (1998-2003), he is President of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, and Jennings Randolph Senior Visiting Scholar, U.S. Institute of Peace. [Reference]

As promised, I will come back to Foreign policy in another issue.  Please make sure to read Issue No. 008 tomorrow as I continue with WTF-20
Everyday on BLADE 7184

In His Own Words: Throwing a Ball Was The Most Nerve-Wracking Moment of George Bush's Presidency

"The adrenaline was coursing through my veins, and the ball felt like a shotput. And Todd Greene, the catcher, looked really small. Sixty feet and six inches seemed like a half-mile. And anyway, I took a deep breath and threw it, and thankfully it went over the plate. The response was overwhelming. It was the most nervous I had ever been. It was the most nervous moment of my entire presidency, it turns out."

Yes, supposedly the most-nervous moment in all of President George W. Bush's life was throwing the first pitch during the 2001 World Series.  I know, you think I'm making it up, because you Republicans believe Georgie was God, correction, is God.  In either case, here the former President stating his case on the documentary, Beyond 9/11: Portraits of Resilience. which aired last weekend on HBO and CNN.

 

And you thought the following issues would have been George Bush's Most Nerve-wracking moment...

• Challenged his father—at the time the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations—to a fight, mano a mano.
• Was arrested for drunk driving.
• Quit drinking.
• Achieved narrowest presidential victory in history after a month-long recount battle.
• Nearly choked to death on a pretzel.
• Received warning in August 2001 that Osama bin Laden was "determined to strike" in the United States.
• Flew around the nation in Air Force One on September 11, 2001, looking for a safe place to land as nation beneath him shuddered under worst attack in modern memory.
• Ordered the invasion of Afghanistan.
• Ordered the invasion of Iraq.
• Survived grenade attack in Tblisi, Georgia.
• Presided over federal response to the destruction of the nation's 31st largest city by a storm.
• Initiated and authorized most wide-ranging extrajudicial surveillance of American citizens in a generation.
• Authorized the torture of detainees in U.S. custody.

List and video courtesy of Gawker

The Second Coming...

Seriously folks.  Is this what you really want?  Really????  Better think long and hard, because things are about to get ugly...

Another Republican Outed... And This Time on Grndr!

No, this is not Arango, you horny bastards!

I'm sure you've heard the story, or read about it online... 

Another Republican who supported and campaigned for President George W. Bush, and was an opponent of gay rights was caught with his pants down.  

And it wasn't something to brag about either, "You know I've been losing weight. As I shed that weight, I've been taking pictures." Roberto Arango explains.
  
Mr. Senator was caught showing himself on the popular gay iPhone app Grndr, bending over, with his ass cheeks spread apart.

You remember the iPhone application that I mentioned in a post back on July 2nd?  Well, Mr. Arango likes to either a) hook-up with dudes or b) show his butthole to dudes; either way you look at it, he's been outed!

All he has to do now is make like Republican Senator Larry Craig, and say, "let me be clear, I-am-not-gay, I never have been gay... I am not gay."

You gotta love hypocrites, they only prove what we've said all along...  YOU WERE BORN THAT WAY!!!

Three Charts to Email to Your Right-Wing Family Member

What a great thing to show all your right-wing nuts in your family.  Yes, everyone has them.  They rely on Fox news to give them all the information, and in turn fall for the lies and deception those idiots report.

Dave Johnson of Campaign for America's Future, wrote the following Op-Ed piece, and I couldn't have stated it any better myself. The facts are here folks... what more do you want?

Problem: Your right-wing family member is plugged into the FOX-Limbaugh lie machine, and keeps sending you emails about "Obama spending" and "Obama deficits" and how the "Stimulus" just made things worse.

Solution: Here are three "reality-based" charts to send to him. These charts show what actually happened.

Spending

Government spending increased dramatically under Bush. It has not increased much under Obama. Note that this chart does not reflect any spending cuts resulting from deficit-cutting deals.

Deficits

Notes, this chart includes Clinton's last budget year for comparison.

The numbers in these two charts come from Budget of the United States Government: Historical Tables Fiscal Year 2012. They are just the amounts that the government spent and borrowed, period, Anyone can go look then up. Peoplewho claim that Obama "tripled the deficit" are either misled or are trying to mislead.

The Stimulus and Jobs

In this chart, the RED lines on the left side -- the ones that keep doing DOWN -- show what happened to jobs under the policies of Bush and the Republicans. We were losing lots and lots of jobs every month, and it was getting worse and worse. The BLUE lines -- the ones that just go UP -- show what happened to jobs when the stimulus was in effect. We stopped losing jobs and started gaining jobs, and it was getting better and better. The leveling off on the right side of the chart shows what happened as the stimulus started to wind down: job creation leveled off at too low a level.

It looks a lot like the stimulus reversed what was going on before the stimulus.

Conclusion: THE STIMULUS WORKED BUT WAS NOT ENOUGH!

More False Things

These are just three of the false things that everyone "knows." Some others are (click through): Obama bailed out the banks, businesses will hire if they get tax cuts, health care reform cost $1 trillion, Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme or is "going broke", government spending "takes money out of the economy."

Why This Matters

These things really matter. We all want to fix the terrible problems the country has. But it is so important to know just what the problems are before you decide how to fix them. Otherwise the things you do to try to solve those problems might just make them worse. If you get tricked into thinking that Obama has made things worse and that we should go back to what we were doing before Obama -- tax cuts for the rich, giving giant corporations and Wall Street everything they want -- when those are the things that caused the problems in the first place, then we will be in real trouble.

 

Policy Changes Under Two Presidents

I'm posting this because the blaming is still going on.  Really?  Do we still have to play this stupid game?  Really?

As in the article from The New Republic states, 

Critics of President Obama never tire of blaming him for today's high deficits.  But if blame belongs with one President, it belongs with Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush.

Just take a look at the chart below; this was created based on the figures from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 

What more do you people want?  Obama is trying to fix it, give him the chance to do it. 

Geezus, you've heard time and time again, Senator Mitch McConnell say, "I want this President to fail," and he has also stated that he will do whatever it takes to get that done, even if it takes destroying this country to do so.

Proclamation of Pride from Our President

As you may already know, June is Gay Pride Month in the United States. The start of gay pride month began with a proclamation from President Bill Clinton in 2000, the summer before President George W. Bush took office, and we've been celebrating it in June ever since. Whereas prior to 2000, pride parades, and festivities occurred throughout the year, with no set date in particular.

For the past three years, President Obama has issued a pride proclamation for the LGBT community.  Let this month also remind you of the achievements he's made for our friends, family, co-workers, and citizens of this great nation who are gay.

Not once, did George W. Bush lift his hand to help us during the 8 years he held office, and I highly doubt any of the 2012 GOP presidential candidates are about to mention it either.  Well.... maybe just one, Fred Karger, but the Republicans have disowned him (as is the norm), because he's GAY.

"Take pride in knowing you have a Democratic President in office, otherwise you could be sitting in prison, experiencing torture, and possibly death at the hands of a Republican one. Remember this when you're rights get taken away." 

- Peter aka Blade7184

You can read the proclamation in it's entirety here.