In the National Geographic documentary “Six Degrees Could Change the World”, we come face to face with the future and the rising temperatures induced by humankind.
If you’ve ever wondered what it would mean for our world, for our children and grandchildren, if we do nothing to mitigate the manmade causes of rising global temperatures, you must watch this film. If you are a parent, probably not a good idea to watch it with very small children.
According to HuffPost, scientists no longer believe that we can limit the warming to a couple of degrees Celsius:
The amount of heat-trapping pollution the world spewed rose again last year by 3 percent. So scientists say it’s now unlikely that global warming can be limited to a couple of degrees, which is an international goal.
In case you were wondering, 1ºCelcius = 33.800ºFahrenheit. Adds.......just to clarify, a rise of 1ºCelcius = 1.8º Fahrenheit (in mean global temperatures.
And they tell us that it isn't really about the color of his skin. For years, we've heard that, and we’ve seen plenty of things to indicate otherwise. But boy, did they let loose after the re-election of President Obama. Via Jezebel, Denise Helms' post to Facebook:
Denise Helms’ comments are being looked at by the Secret Service. To watch the video of Helms’ explaining her Facebook post to a Fox 40 news crew, click here.
There was an abundance of hate speech on Twitter after Obama's reelection, with people hurling violent and racial epithets. Many of those tweeters were teenagers whose public Twitter accounts feature their real names and advertise their participation in the sports programs at their respective high schools.
F--king parents need to teach their children better than this. We are unbelievably fortunate to have a president who is not only a highly intelligent human being, but one who is a deeply caring individual, who is and sees himself as a man of the people, not of the ruling class. For anyone to attack this man, President Obama, not on the basis of his politics, but on the basis of the color of his skin, just makes me feel a deep sadness at the utter ignorance displayed.
President Obama’s victory speech was one of his best political speeches ever, inspiring and moving his supporters and the country--watch (full speech):
FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT: President Obama's Victory Speech in Chicago, November 6, 2012
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward. (APPLAUSE)
It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people. (APPLAUSE)
Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come. (APPLAUSE)
Last night in Des Moines, Iowa, the President and the First Lady talked to Iowa crowds on their own behalf one last time. President Obama’s speech was one of his best -- moving, rousing, and positive. Enjoy.
(Video via Bob Cesca)
Full Text Transcript: Remarks by the First Lady and the President at Final Campaign Rally -- Des Moines, IA
Stephanie Miller’s interview with Rick Ungar regarding Ungar’s article about the Romney Family ties to the voting machine company, Hart Intercivic:
You can read Rick Ungar’s original piece here (and you should because it’s fascinating, informative, and scary). The story boils down to the Romney family, via Tagg Romney, having an interest in a company which provides Ohio with voting machines that will be used in the presidential election, and in particular, they will be used in Hamilton County, the location of Cincinnati.
According to Nate Silver, Ohio has a 50 percent chance of determining the outcome of this election.
You have to ask yourself why anyone in the Romney family would put themselves in such a position, especially since we know, and they know that we know, that modern Republicans just love to steal them some elections.
This should certainly be illegal as hell.
UPDATE October 24:
Mainstream media is avoiding this story. Because they’re gutless. Huge big thing continues to brew however, and you can read an update to Rick Ungar’s article on page 3 of his original piece, an update which points to a situation that’s actually worse than he thought when he wrote the piece. however, it seems that Ungar is unwilling to assign any motivations or possible guilt to anyone, probably because he values his job. That is not to say that it did not take some huge cojones to write the article to begin with, because it did.
This is going to be a very interesting election, and you can bet that all eyes will be on Hamilton County, Ohio and the Hart Intercivic voting machines.
This was the final debate of the President’s political career, and it was a debate about foreign policy. President Obama won it by any means of measurement; he was masterful, and Mitt Romney came across as a neophyte. Watch:
You can read the full text transcript of the debate here.
Mr. Romney has a new ad out, an ad that attempts to hide his extremist positions.
It features a woman who clearly lies about Romney’s positions, and then claims that she voted for Obama in 2008. The problem is well, that while you can find sites which back her up, they do so either in error or in order to deceive. The truth is in what Mr. Romney himself has recently said.
On the issue of contraception, we can look to the Blunt Amendment to determine whether or not Mr. Romney supports the use of contraceptives.
The Blunt Amendment allows your boss to decide for you whether or not you will get access to contraceptives through your health insurance. That’s right. And Mitt Romney said himself that he supports the Blunt amendment (@14:46 on the Maddow video).
“Of course I support the Blunt Amendment.”
On the issue of a woman’s right to choose, abortion, Mitt Romney has said very recently (September 2012) that he would appoint Supreme Court justices who would strike down Roe v. Wade:
“But I am pro-life and will intend, if I’m president of the United States, to encourage pro-life policies. [...] And I hope to appoint justices to the Supreme Court that will follow the law and the constitution. And it would be my preference that they reverse Roe v. Wade and therefore they return to the people and their elected representatives the decisions with regards to this important issue.”
Romney also said that he would sign a bill which banned all abortions (@11:33 on the video):
“I’d be delighted to sign that bill.”
“Delighted.” Rachel Maddow on Romney’s severely conservative positions(the segment on these issues starts at approximately 09:04):
A Romney administration would end abortion, would take away our right to choose what we do with our own bodies.
No exceptions for anything. Not rape. Not incest. Not the life of the mother.
Factor this in with Romney's stance on the Blunt Amendment -- which would make it more difficult for you to obtain contraceptives since he will allow your boss to decide whether or not you could obtain contraceptives through your health insurance.
This is what Mitt Romney really supports. This is what the Republican War On Women is about. This is what it will mean to women if Mitt Romney is elected.
If you’re undecided at this point, you need to think hard about your options, and then go to the polls and vote for Barack Obama. Not to do so will affect you, your children, and your grandchildren in ways you can’t even begin to count.
Full Text Transcript of the First Presidential Debate October 3, 2012:
JIM LEHRER: Good evening from the Magness Arena at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado. I’m Jim Lehrer of the PBS NewsHour, and I welcome you to the first of the 2012 presidential debates between President Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee.
This debate and the next three -- two presidential, one vice- presidential -- are sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Tonight’s 90 minutes will be about domestic issues, and will follow a format designed by the commission. There will be six roughly 15-minute segments, with two-minute answers for the first question, then open discussion for the remainder of each segment.
That hag doesn't deserve any air time, but since they gave it to her, it was great to see all (except Elizabeth, natch) of the ladies of The View smack down Coulter as she babbled on and on about her latest piece of trash book. Watch:
Hey Elizabeth, you are an exceptionally ignorant human being.
In 2002 during his campaign for Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney told the people of that great state that he wouldn’t make cuts to public education:
“The services delivered to our children in schools….we’re not gonna cut that.”
In his very first budget after being elected, Gov. Romney cut $248.7 million from K-12 education.
Watch:
As you heard, in 2011 Romney had this to say about class size:
“All the talk about ‘we need smaller classroom size’…….look, that’s promoted by the teachers unions to hire more teachers.”
And in 2012, Romney said that in Massachusetts, they found that there’s no relationship between class size and how kids perform. A pumpkin head could tear that one apart.
So then, do you trust him with your precious kids? I wouldn’t.
Included in this latest ad from Obama-Biden, is a small portion of Mitt Romney’s interview with 60 Minutes’ Scott Pelley, focused on Romney’s idea of tax fairness (broadcast on Sunday, September 23, 2012). Watch:
For those of you who landed on this and found that the Letterman video was a cooking video, my apologies. CBS has a VERY wonky video deal, and I really did post the Letterman video, but at some point “it switched” itself to the food video.
Full Text transcript of Joe Biden’s Acceptance Speech at the Democratic National Convention 2012
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: My fellow Democrats, and my favorite Democrat.
Jilly, I want you to know that Beau, Hunt, Ashley, and I are so proud of you. We admire the way you treat every single student who walks into your classroom. You not only teach them. You give them confidence. And the passion you bring to easing the burden on the families of our warriors. They know you understand what they're going through. It makes a difference. And I'm grateful. So grateful that you said Yes on that fifth try.
Full Text transcript of President Obama’s Acceptance Speech at the Democratic National Convention 2012
Michelle, I love you. The other night, I think the entire country saw just how lucky I am. Malia and Sasha, you make me so proud...but don't get any ideas, you're still going to class tomorrow. And Joe Biden, thank you for being the best Vice President I could ever hope for.Madam Chairwoman, delegates, I accept your nomination for President of the United States.
I have my personal issues with Bill Maher, mostly relating to his treatment of President Obama. That said, Maher does a rare and masterful job of destroying the arguments of terrorist sympathizer, Indian-American conservative Dinesh D’Souza, who is the author of the anti-Obama book titled “The Roots of Obama's Rage”, and is also the producer of the anti-Obama right wing docu-movie based on the book. Watch:
On a personal level, when I first read about the book, I laughed. D’Souza really had to stretch to come up with his silly theory that Obama is an anti-colonialist and that his own dreams are derived from his Kenyan father’s dreams. Keep in mind that Pres. Obama did only meet his father once.
(Via Bob Cesca)
Adding…….sorry the vid is a little blurry, but it is the only video of that clip available to the blogs.
At the GOP’s convention last week, Paul Ryan told even more lies regarding his plans for Medicare; this one the most blatant and most likely to delude those who aren’t paying attention:
“Medicare is a promise, and we will honor it. A Romney-Ryan administration will protect and strengthen Medicare. ”
Watch as Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman and Rachel Maddow debunk the universe of Medicare lies from Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in five short minutes:
UPDATE: The transcript from the video clip follows:
Watch as economist and former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich explains the potentially devastating effects of the Romney-Ryan economic plan if it were to be enacted:
Share this video, tell your friends about it. It’s important.
No, President Obama is not trying to gut welfare reform.
This is yet another Big Fat Lie by Mitt Romney, spread by Romney and other Republicans who know better, but prefer to use made-up racist dogwhistles in their efforts to beat POTUS because they can’t win on the issues!
Rachel Maddow explains (segment begins at 10:25):
For the sake of reference, you can watch the Big Fat Lying Romney Ad itself:
Enormously despicable deadbeat Illinois dad, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) attacked his opponent, double amputee veteran Tammy Duckworth (D), by bashing her simply for talking about how her military service had informed her worldview:
“Understand something about John McCain. His political advisers, day after day, had to take him and almost throw him against a wall and hit him against the head and say, “Senator, you have to let people know you served! You have to talk about what you did!” He didn’t want to do it, wouldn’t do it. Day after day they had to convince him. Finally, he talked a little bit about it, but it was very uncomfortable for him. That’s what’s so noble about our heroes. Now I’m running against a woman who, my God, that’s all she talks about. Our true heroes, it’s the last thing in the world they talk about. That’s why we’re so indebted and in awe of what they’ve done.”
Watch:
Adding…..Vote Vets is now calling for Walsh’s resignation, full statement as follows:
Joe Walsh’s disgust for our veterans’ sacrifices knows no bounds. First, he falsely and maliciously claims that Tammy Duckworth, a veteran who lost her legs in Iraq didn’t have much of a record of service. Now, he denigrates that same American hero for talking about how her experience shaped her worldview and strengthened her resolve to serve even more – a conversation that isn’t just legitimate to have, but crucial as America charts its course domestically and internationally. This is a new low for this deadbeat dad. Telling a veteran to shut up on the 4th of July is beyond the pale. We are past the point of calling on Joe Walsh to apologize. He should step aside and and stop embarrassing his district and America.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi calls the Republican contempt move against Attorney General Eric Holder an attempt to “stop voter suppression in our country”:
“Contempt of Congress, contempt of Congress. To frivolously use that really important vehicle to undermine the person who is assigned to stop the voter suppression in our country. I'm telling you, this is connected. It is no accident. It is a decision, and it is as clear as can be. It's not only to monopolize his time, it's to undermine his name. To undermine his name, undermine his name as he goes forward to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Watch the full length video of President Obama’s economic speech in Cleveland Ohio on June 14, 2012:
Full Text Transcript President Barack Obama Economic Speech at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio on June 14, 2012
THE PRESIDENT:Thank you! (Applause.) Thank you, everybody. Good afternoon, everybody. (Applause.) It is great to be back in Cleveland. (Applause.) It is great to be back here at Cuyahoga Community College. (Applause.)
I want to, first of all, thank Angela for her introduction and sharing her story. I know her daughter is very proud of her -- I know her daughter is here today. So give her a big round of applause. (Applause.) I want to thank your president, Dr. Jerry-Sue Thornton. (Applause.) And I want to thank some members of Congress who made the trip today -- Representative Marcia Fudge, Representative Betty Sutton, and Representative Marcy Kaptur. (Applause.)
“Strengthen Social Security” is the best damn video I’ve seen regarding the actual facts about what’s really going on with Social Security, as opposed to the Republican lies, damn lies, and more damn lies!
Watch it, and then let’s do our part to send this baby viral!
Mitt Romney has taken extreme positions on issues women care about, including economic security, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, reproductive rights, Roe v. Wade, and on women’s health. Watch:
Watch the video or read the text transcript below the video:
Read the text transcript:
University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa Wednesday, April 25, 2012
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Hawkeyes! (Applause.) It is good to be back in Iowa! (Applause.) Can folks please give it up for Blake for that outstanding introduction? (Applause.) And I want to thank the University of Iowa Pep Band for firing everybody up. (Applause.)
There is some good hospitality here, and I should know. I spent a little time here in Iowa, spent a little time here in Iowa City. I’m glad that my hometown of Chicago will get to return the hospitality when your football team kicks off its season at Soldier Field. (Applause.)
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