Hannity Disturbed Clinton Helped Free Journalists

Sean Hannity is not a happy camper. He goes out of his way to criticize Clinton. His poor challenged teeny tiny mind.

Justin Barrett Too Ignorant to Quit While He Was Ahead

First he writes a racist email, now he says he's a victim and he's suing. This guy obviously thinks at a lower level and he is an example of the problem we have with SOME cops. I'm not sure he ought to be fired though. If we fired every racist, there wouldn't be many people left in the workforce. He should undergo some sort of training because he is in a people job. Too bad he got suckered in by an attorney. He could've just been decent about the whole incident. He could've sincerely apologized. On second thought, maybe he should be fired for being a dim bulb.

Obama Confirms He's Not a Vampire

Obama Debunks Birther Conspiracy - watch more funny videos

Angry birther:

Angry Obama Birther - watch more funny videos

Journalists Leave North Korea With Bill Clinton Video

I bet they screamed when the doors to the plane shut.

Tango at the White House

The Obamas hosted an ambassadors reception at the White House:

Gibbs Press Briefing Aug. 4

First cupcakes, then Gibbs.

Sebelius Says Town Hall Disruptions Nationally Driven

Right wingers always call Obama supporters "drones" and "Obamabots." Get a look at the fools (the teabag party) disrupting the town halls. They don't even know what they're talking about.
Thanks to the republicans for the gift that keeps on giving. They are so good at being the troll under the bridge. How about a real debate with facts instead of distortion. The republicans don't consider Americans smart enough for that, which is why Obama won.

This is just rude and obnoxious behavior. More foolery cooked up by the republican trolls:

More at Think Progress.

Gun Store Sign Complains About Obama

More stupid Americans. What else to call them? In California, there are posters of Obama as the Joker. This Kentucky gun store owner chose to put up a racist sign. What a liar pants. You'll have to watch the video below. I'm sick and tired of these people. This is the "white culture" that Beck talks of.
I know that Bush was demonized by the left. That was wrong too.
But this is more insidious because it's racist and harmful to our entire society.
The opposition to Bush was based in policy. Opposition to the war, opposition to his lack of diplomacy, opposition to torture.
The opposition to Obama is based on race.
Not one of these idiots has made a rational complaint about Obama. It's Obama is a socialist and Obama is a secret terrorist Muslim and Obama was born in Kenya and Obama is unAmerican and Obama is trying to tear down American society. Absolute nonsense. The fringe is feeling freer and many of them are sorely misinformed and they're not interested in being informed either. They appear to be solely driven by hate.

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Obama Speaks at Monaco RV in Wakarusa Aug. 5

Update Aug. 5: Obama's speech here.
This is likely to be live streamed at cnn.com and msnbc.com. Obama will speak at 11:55 eastern.

The excitement was building Tuesday in Wakarusa, a day before President Barack Obama drops by to announce manufacturing grants for the economically hard-hit Elkhart County region.
The president was scheduled to announce the grants and give an outline of his economic recovery plans during an appearance Wednesday morning at Monaco RV in Wakarusa. The company is one of many that has been slammed by the recession in the region, whose economy is based significantly on the manufacture and sale of recreational vehicles.
A White House official told The Elkhart Truth on Monday night that Obama would announce some advanced battery and electric vehicle manufacturing grants. Vice President Joe Biden was expected to make a similar announcement in Detroit.
Monaco RV is a highly symbolic location for Obama’s announcement, representing the ups and downs of the recessionary cycle. The plant has been to bankruptcy and back, and people are once again working there. But after 1,400 workers were laid off, the workforce is much smaller than it was before Navistar International Corp., an Illinois-based transportation company, bought the plant from Monaco Coach Corp. and rescued it from plans to close. MSNBC

From the Elkhart Truth:

The news had just come in to Cook's Pizza: On Wednesday, President Barack Obama will visit the Monaco RV Plant in Wakarusa. But already the air in the small corner shop diner was rife with conversations among the regulars.

"There's been a buzz around here since last week," said an owner of the diner, Steve Cook. "It's been what everyone's been talking about."

Discussion and debate about Obama's visit resonated throughout Wakarusa Monday and Cook's Pizza served as just one forum in a town of about 1,700 people.

"I wish him all the luck in a world, even though a lot of others don't," said Larry Crow between sips of his coffee at the diner. "He's coming into a total mess."

Like many in Wakarusa, Crow's been directly affected by the economic downturn. In February, he went into retirement after being laid off from Monaco. That was shortly before the company went into bankruptcy and was bought by Navistar International. Read more here.

Geithner Directs Obscenities at Financial Regulators

Timothy Geithner puts his foot down:

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner blasted top U.S. regulators in an expletive-laden tirade amid frustration over President Barack Obama's faltering plan to overhaul financial regulation, the Wall Street Journal said on Monday, citing people familiar with the meeting.

Geithner told regulators that "enough is enough," the newspaper said, citing one person familiar with the meeting last Friday with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila Bair. Reuters

Reid Speaks on Obama's Pep Talk With Democrats

Sen. Harry Reid sounds upbeat and inspired. Now get to it!

Obama also apparently remarked about MoveOn's ads against the Blue Dogs, saying democrats shouldn't be attacking democrats.

Obama Brings Out Birthday Cupcakes for Helen Thomas

It's Helen Thomas' 89th.

Can you believe Obama is being criticized for bringing out cupcakes? They're cupcakes (respect) for a woman who's been covering the White House for a long time. It's a kind gesture:

Clinton Succeeds! Kim Jong Il Issues Pardons For Journalists

Update: Bill Clinton has left North Korea. But are the journalists with him? See the families' statement here.

I just heard the news on NPR--Kim Jong Il issues a special pardon. More to come.
Yay for Bill Clinton! Nice job Hillary. Good job Obama administration. Kudos the whole way around.

There had been some question as to whether Obama signed off on Bill Clinton's travel to North Korea. But of course. David Axelrod confirmed that the White House had signed off on the trip. Reports say that the journalists' release was prearranged.
The White House was trying to keep the humanitarian aspect--bringing Euna Lee and Laura Ling back home--separate from the diplomatic efforts of resuming six party negotiations on North Korea's nuclear programs (wapo).

The former president and his party were greeted early Tuesday at an airport in Pyongyang, the capital, by Yang Hyong Sop, vice president of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, and by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, North Korea's official news agency said. Kim Kye Gwan is the chief nuclear negotiator for North Korea, raising questions about whether Pyongyang hoped to use the visit to make progress on the impasse over its nuclear weapons.

Photos and televised footage showed Clinton, who is deeply respected in North Korea, smiling and chatting with a young girl who presented him with a large bouquet of flowers.
....
Clinton was accompanied on the trip by John Podesta, who was his White House chief of staff, served as Obama's transition chief and is president of the Center for American Progress. Also seen in photos released by the Korean media were David Straub, former head of the Korea desk at the State Department, who is now at Stanford University; longtime Clinton aide Douglas J. Band; and Justin Cooper, who has worked with the William J. Clinton Foundation. In a sign of the significance attached to the visit in North Korea, the English-language version of the Korean Central News Agency Web site declared, "BILL CLINTON ARRIVES HERE," in extra-large type.

A spokeswoman for the Center for American Progress referred questions about who funded the trip to the State Department. News of Podesta's role came as a surprise to staffers at the center. He was believed to be on vacation in Truckee, Calif.
WaPo

Former U.S ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton argued against Clinton's trip, saying it gives North Korea an upper hand.

Obama Edges Back Up in Poll

How fickle are polls? Or shall I ask: how fickle are Americans? Obama's approval ratings are up again:

"President Barack Obama's job approval rating, after hitting his administration low point of 52% in the middle of last week, has edged back up, and is 56% for the latest three-day period, July 31-Aug. 2." (Gallup)

I will always be an unabashed supporter of Obama's (obviously, right?). I may not agree with everything that he does but I don't see the point in tearing him down.

Obama Meets with American Legion's David Rehbein

Obama is set to meet with the American Legion's David Rehbein today. Rehbein is one of the folks who had a cow over the Homeland Security report on rightwing extremism. He said veterans were targeted.
They are expected to talk about the GI bill and veterans health care, according to Politico. I'll post video if it comes available.
He also wrote this article: Will Obama go AWOL on VA Health Benefits?

White House Beats Back Internet Rumors

Douglass explains health care won't be rationed:

Happy Birthday President Obama Aug. 4

Obama celebrates with White House staffers, Michelle Obama and the girls and lots of desserts, according to Politico. Georgetown's Baked & Wired sent pecan pie.


Wax birthday party.

Bill Clinton Meets Kim Jong Il

Update: Bill succeeds!
Bill Clinton is trying to secure the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling, Lisa Ling's sister, captured earlier this year.

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il met with former President Bill Clinton on Tuesday after he arrived in the communist nation to seek the release of two jailed U.S. journalists, state media reported.

The Korean Central News Agency reported that Clinton and Kim met in Pyongyang and that Clinton "courteously" conveyed a verbal message from President Barack Obama.

According to the report, Kim expressed his thanks and the two shared a "wide-ranging exchange of views" during their talk.

They greeted him warmly:

North Korea welcomed him with flowers and hearty handshakes Tuesday as he arrived in an unmarked jet.

Footage from television news agency APTN showed Clinton bowing and smiling as a young girl presented him with flowers.

The unusually warm exchange between officials from communist North Korea and the ex-leader of a wartime foe comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Pyongyang over the regime's nuclear program. In recent months, North Korea has abandoned a disarmament pact, launched a long-range rocket, conducted a nuclear test and test-fired a barrage of ballistic missiles in defiance of the U.N. Security Council. MSNBC

A thought--Can you imagine George Bush on a diplomatic mission like this?
Robert Gibbs statement:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says in an e-mailed statement about President Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea: "While this solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans is on the ground, we will have no comment. We do not want to jeopardize the success of former President Clinton's mission."

UBS to Turn Over U.S. Tax Cheats With Swiss Accounts

The rich and famous who hide their money offshore so they don't have to pay taxes are about to be turned over to the government by the Swiss bank USB. Perhaps the pooled back taxes could help pay for health care.

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Obama Meets With Emir of Kuwait Video

The Emir wishes Obama a happy birthday (tomorrow).

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah told US President Barack Obama on Monday that Arab states will act on their peace initiative only once Israel "implements and fulfills its obligations."
"I affirmed to President Obama that we are interested in bringing about peace in the Middle East. It is in our interest that peace be brought about," the emir said through a translator as he met with Obama at the White House.
The visiting leader noted pan-Arab support for the initiative presented by Saudi Arabia in 2002 and stressed: "We will implement this peace initiative when Israel implements and fulfills its obligations."
The Arab peace initiative offers Israel full normalization of ties in return for its withdrawal from occupied Arab land and the creation of a Palestinian state. AFP

The Obama administration is launching a Middle East public relations campaign to push for peace:

“One of the public misimpressions is that it’s all been about settlements,” Mr. Mitchell, the administration’s special envoy to the Middle East, said in a rare interview Friday after six months on the job. “It is completely inaccurate to portray this as, ‘We’re only asking the Israelis to do things.’ We are asking everybody to do things.”

Another misperception, he said, was that Arab countries had rebuffed Mr. Obama’s request to make moves toward a more normal relationship with Israel — a perception fueled by a Saudi official’s blunt public rejection of such incremental steps in Washington on Friday.

“We’ve gotten, over all, a very good response, a desire to act, some public statements to that effect from the crown prince of Bahrain, the president of Egypt,” said Mr. Mitchell, who returned last week from his fifth trip to the region, including stops in Israel, Egypt and Syria. Saudi Arabia’s negative public comments, other officials said, bear little relation to what it is saying in private.

In coming weeks, senior administration officials said, the White House will begin a public-relations campaign in Israel and Arab countries to better explain Mr. Obama’s plans for a comprehensive peace agreement involving Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab world. Read more at the NYT