Happy Labor Day

 

“It was working men and women who made the 20th century the American century. It was the labor movement that helped secure so much of what we take for granted today.” — Barack Obama

 “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” — Dale Carnegie 

 “Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” — Gail Devers

In C-SPAN Survey Of Presidential Historians: Obama Ranks 12th Best

From C-Span:
Press Release


(Washington, DC, February 17, 2017) – As the nation marks Presidents Day 2017, C-SPAN is releasing the results of its third Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership, in which a cross-section of 91 presidential historians ranked the 43 former occupants of the White House on ten attributes of
leadership.

As in C-SPAN's first two surveys, released in 2000 and 2009, Abraham Lincoln receives top billing among the historians. George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt retain their top five status, while Dwight Eisenhower moves into the top five for the first time.

Former President Barack Obama enters the ranks for the first time in the #12 position. Notably, his
leadership category ratings range from #3 for "Pursued Equal Justice for All," to #39 for "Relations withCongress." His predecessor, George W. Bush, has benefitted somewhat from the passing of years: His ranking at #33, is up three places from our 2009 survey. Dwight Eisenhower also advanced three spots since 2009, moving to the #5 position from #8 overall. Bill Clinton remains unchanged at #15.

The biggest presidential loser from our 2009 survey is Andrew Jackson, who was #13 in 2009, and who now stands at #18 overall.

Three presidents continue to hold the same bottom rankings as they did in 2000 and 2009: James
Buchanan remains in last place at #43, preceded by Andrew Johnson (#42), and Franklin Pierce (#41).Note that they rank even lower than William Henry Harrison, who served for only one month.
The most-average U.S. president, as rated by our historian participants is Ulysses S. Grant, who ranks 22 out of 43 presidents.

A team of academic advisors has guided C-SPAN for each of its three surveys: Dr. Douglas Brinkley,
Professor of History at Rice University; Dr. Edna Greene Medford, Professor of History, Howard
University; and Richard Norton Smith, presidential historian and biographer. The team approved the tencriteria, the same used in C-SPAN's 2000 and 2009 Surveys, consulted on the list of invited participants, and supervised the reporting of the results.

Full rankings for each of the 43 presidents as well as shareable/social media graphics are available at
www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2017 .

Our Advisory Teams' Observations:

 Douglas Brinkley:
"Once again the Big Three are Lincoln, Washington and FDR - as it should be. That Obama came
in at number 12 his first time out is quite impressive. And the survey is surprisingly good news
for George W. Bush, who shot up a few notches."

 Edna Greene Medford:
"Although 12th is a respectable overall ranking, one would have thought that former President
Obama’s favorable rating when he left office would have translated into a higher ranking in this
presidential survey. I am especially surprised that he was ranked at 7th in moral authority
(despite heading a scandal-free administration); 19th in administrative skills; and 8th in
economic management (despite having helped to save the auto industry and significantly
reducing unemployment). But, of course, historians prefer to view the past from a distance, and
only time will reveal his legacy."

 Richard Norton Smith:
"The golden age of the American presidency, according to this survey, is 1933-1969. Five
presidents from this era each rank in the top ten which tells you something about the criteria
that historians tend to use. It reinforces Franklin Roosevelt's claim to be not only the first
modern president but the man who, in reinventing the office, also established the criteria by
which we judge our leaders."

Methodology

C-SPAN's academic advisors devised a survey in which participants used a one ("not effective") to ten ("very effective") scale to rate each president on ten qualities of presidential leadership: "Public
Persuasion," "Crisis Leadership," "Economic Management," "Moral Authority," "International Relations," "Administrative Skills," "Relations with Congress," "Vision/Setting An Agenda," "Pursued Equal Justice for All," and "Performance Within the Context of His Times." Surveys were distributed to historians, biographers, and other professional observers of the presidency, drawn from a database of C-SPAN's programming, augmented by suggestions from the academic advisors. Participants were guaranteed that individual survey results would remain confidential. Survey responses were tabulated by averaging all responses in a given category for each president. Each of the ten categories was given equal weighting in the total scores. Overseeing tabulations, as they did for the past two surveys, were C-SPAN co-CEO/CFO Robert Kennedy and Dr. Robert Browning, a political scientist who serves as Executive Director of the C-SPAN Archives.

Paddy Power pays out £400,000 on Obama victory in U.S. Presidential election

If you're a bookie, you don't pay out unless you're absolutely convinced of the outcome of a bet the Irish odds-maker Paddy Power evidently is convinced that President Obama will win re-elction on Tuesday.

From the Paddy Power blog 

Paddy Power is paying out to punters who backed Barack Obama to win theUS Presidential election 2012.

There’s still two days to go before America votes and national polls show voters remain largely undecided with nothing more than a sheet of ballot paper between Democrat Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney.

But Paddy Power believes it’s a done deal and Obama is a nailed-on certainty to win a second term.

The gutsy call sees Europe’s largest bookmaker put its neck on the line for more than £400,000 (over $650,000). Prior to the decision to pay out, Obama’s odds fell to a low 2/9 and over the past months Paddy Power has seen 75 per cent of money staked go Obama’s way.

A Paddy Power spokesperson said:

Romney gave it a good shot and is doing well in the popular vote, but we suspect he’s had his moment in the sun and is likely to be remembered more for hislegendary gaffes than Presidential potential.  The overall betting trend has shown one-way traffic for Obama and punters seemed to have called it 100 per cent correct.  Despite Romney appealing to the large evangelical and senior vote, America’s sticking with black and cool.

Paddy Power continues to offer betting right up to and including Election Day.  One of the most popular bets on offer is predicting the winning margin of the successful nominee on November 6.

To see Paddy Power’s full range of betting on the American Presidential election click here.

It Will Be a Nail Biter But Poll Shows Obama Solid in the Battleground States

From Political Wire


The latest Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll finds President Obama moving slightly ahead of Mitt Romney, 47% to 46%.

However, Obama "maintains a larger advantage in the state-by-state battle that will determine the outcome of the election. Ipsos projects that Obama holds an edge in the most hotly contested states, including Florida, Virginia and Ohio, and is likely to win by a relatively comfortable margin of 322 electoral votes to 206 electoral votes."

Other tracking polls: IBD/TIPP shows Obama up 47% to 45%, Rasmussen shows Romney leading 50% to 46%, Gallup has Romney ahead 51% to 46% and UPI/CVoter has the race tied at 48% to 48%.

Tonight Debate: Some HealthCare Info

by Joshua Henne

Hello....with tonight's presidential debate upon us and the focus being on domestic issues....i just wanted to flag 3 essential points on the healthcare portion of things (and share some research):

1) It's been written about ad nauseum, but it's a fact: Mitt Romney laid the foundation for ObamaCare with RomneyCare in Massachusetts. Romney created the individual mandate & predicted we'd see a nation that would take a mandate approach.

2) If Mitt Romney has his way and repeals ObamaCare seniors will be thrown back into the Rx drug donut hole, insurance companies will again deny people because of pre-existing conditions, millions of women would lose coverage for contraception & young adults up to 26 would be thrown off their parents' health insurance.

3) The Romney/Ryan plan will end Medicare. There is no debate here. Romney/Ryan takes Medicare as it's existed since creation, ends it...and turns it into a privatized voucher program.

Mitt Romney: The Father of ObamaCare & the Individual Mandate

Mitt Romney authored Massachusetts’s health care reform law, signed into law in 2006, which included health insurance exchange as well as an individual and employer mandate. Romney’s relationship with the individual mandate has been a source of contention, earning accusations that he flip-flopped on the issue. During much of his career, Romney fully supported the concept of an individual mandate; in 2007, he called it a “terrific idea.” But Romney has assailed the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act, pledging to effectively kill the law on his first day in office while defending the mandate in his own law as the “ultimate conservative plan.”

The distinction, Romney argues, is that his plan was right for Massachusetts and that the federal law enforces a single model on all the states. Romney says he opposes any form of “national” plan, calling the Affordable Care Act a “one-size-fits-all” government takeover of health care. He has vociferously rejected accusations that his plan is the basis of the Affordable Care Act and has proposed a new, five-point plan to replace the law if elected President. Romney’s plan, which he compares favorably to Representative Paul Ryan’s budget plan, focuses on tort reform and state-level flexibility to determine health care solutions. But it would also result in Americans once again being denied coverage for preexisting conditions.

Romney Strongly Supported An Individual Mandate As Recently As 2007 – And Still Found Ways To Praise It As 2012 Candidate

Romney Supported Individual Insurance Mandate During 1994 U.S. Senate Campaign
1994: Romney Supported A National Individual Mandate. During his 1994 bid for the U.S. Senate, Romney supported legislation that would have included a national individual health insurance mandate. “It turns out that [Romney]gave interviews during his 1994 Senate campaign in which he said that he supported the Health Equity and Access Reform Today Act, which included a national individual mandate.” [The Washington Post, 5/12/11]

Romney’s 2002 Health Care Bill Included An Individual Mandate

Romney’s Healthcare Reform In Massachusetts Included An Insurance Individual Mandate. The Healthcare reform that Romney is credited with in Massachusetts included an individual mandate. According to the Los Angeles Times, at a campaign event where he was speaking “Romney did not bring up his own greatest vulnerability –his Massachusetts healthcare plan that included a mandate to purchase insurance.” [Los Angeles Times, 6/4/11]

Romney In 2007: I Think An Individual Mandate Is “A Terrific Idea"

Romney Said He Thought It Would Be “A Terrific Idea” For States To Adopt An Individual Insurance Mandate. Asked by then-moderator of Meet the Press, Tim Russert, ‘So if a state chose a mandate, it wouldn’t bother you?’, Romney said, ‘I think it’s a terrific idea,’ Romney said. ‘I think you’re going to find when it’s all said and done, after all these states that are the laboratories of democracy, get their chance to try their own plans, but those who follow the path that we pursued will find it’s the best path, and we’ll end up with a nation that’s taken a mandate approach.’”

Romney Said His Individual Mandate Was The “Ultimate Conservative Plan” But Attacked President Obama For Including It In Federal Plan

Romney Defended The Individual Mandate In The Massachusetts Healthcare Reform. Romney not only included an individual insurance mandate in the Massachusetts healthcare reform, he defended it. “We have Mitt Romney defending the individual mandate to buy insurance that was part of the health plan he championed in Massachusetts.” [Sacramento Bee (California), 5/16/11]

Sacramento Bee: Romney Criticized President Barack Obama For Including An Individual Mandate In The Affordable Health Care Act. Romney criticized President Obama for the inclusion of an individual insurance mandate in the Affordable Health Care Act. According to the Sacramento Bee, “We have Mitt Romney defending the individual mandate to buy insurance that was part of the health plan he championed in Massachusetts, but then denouncing President Barack Obama for imposing a similar mandate at the national level.” [Editorial, Sacramento Bee (California), 5/16/11]

Romney Described His Health Care As The “Ultimate Conservative Plan” By Including An Individual Mandate. In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Romney defended the individual mandate in his health care reform plan as the “ultimate conservative plan.” Romney said, “What we did, I think, is the ultimate conservative plan: we said, people have to take responsibility for getting insurance, if they can afford it, or paying their own way. No more free riders. And we solved this at the state level -- not a federal plan, but a state plan.” [Fox News Sunday, 3/7/10]

Romney Argued His Massachusetts Individual Mandate “Found A Way To Get Everybody Insured” Without Raising Taxes

Romney Touted His State As The First To Find “A Way To Get Everybody Insured Without Having To Raise Taxes.” In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Romney said, “And again, I like the idea of letting states solve their problems one by one, and find the best alternative. I think we’re the first state in the nation that found a way to get everybody insured without having to raise taxes. We do insist that people buy insurance or pay their own way, and if they don’t buy insurance, they’ll find that their taxes are higher.” [Fox News Sunday, 3/7/10]

RomneyCare was the basis for ObamaCare

Romney’s Health Care Reforms In Massachusetts Said To Have Served As The Basis For The Affordable Care Act. Romney faces scrutiny from the Republican Party because of the resemblance between health care reforms in Massachusetts, and the Affordable Care Act. Romney’s health care reform is described as “Massachusetts health-care reform—a model for President Obama’s reform.” [The Christian Science Monitor, 6/14/11]

Rival Tim Pawlenty And Conservatives Attacked Romney For Providing The Example For The Affordable Care Act

Gov. Tim Pawlenty Said President Barack Obama Based The Affordable Care Act On Romney’s Health Care Bill - And Dubbed It “Obamneycare.” In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Tim Pawlenty, Republican Presidential hopeful said “‘President Obama said that he designed Obamacare after Romneycare and basically made it Obamneycare.’ ” [ Chicago Tribune, 6/13/11]

Glenn Beck Said That Romney’s Health Care Is Bankrupting Massachusetts. Conservative pundit Glenn Beck said that Romney’s health care reforms in Massachusetts are bankrupting the state. The St. Petersberg Times reports that Glenn Beck said in a webcast that “‘Mitt Romney…gave you government health care that is now bankrupting the state’ of Massachusetts.” [St. Petersburg Times (Florida), 11/10/09]

Romney Once Wanted His Health Care Reform Law To Be A “Model” For The Nation – But Now Claims There Is No One National Model

2007: Romney Said Massachusetts Health Care Reform “Will Be A Model For The Nation”

Romney Said That If Massachusetts Succeeded In Implementing Health Care Reform They Would Be A Model For The Nation. In 2007, after Massachusetts Healthcare reform had been passed by the Massachusetts state legislature and signed into law, Romney said “I’m proud of what we’ve done. If Massachusetts succeeds in implementing it, then that will be a model for the nation.” [USA TODAY, 5/13/11]

Romney Willingly Compared His Own Proposal For Health Care Reform To The Ryan Plan To Turn Medicare Into A Voucher System

Romney Described His National Health Care Plan As ”Sharing The Objectives” Of Representative Paul Ryan’s Budget Proposal. According to USA Today, Romney described his goal for the federal government reform of health care as being similar to the Paul Ryan plan. Romney said “my plan…is not going to be identical to the Ryan plan, but it’s going to share (his) objectives” of keeping both Medicare and the country “fiscally solvent.” [USA TODAY, 5/13/11]

Bill Clinton Addresses the Democratic National Convention And Hits A Homerun Nominating Obama

If you missed President Bill Clinton's nominating speech last night at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte last night, you missed a hella'va speech! It was simply brilliant and laid out the case for Barack Obama to be reelected as President of the United States come November 6th.


From C-Span:

Former President Bill Clinton told delegates at the Democratic National Convention that he didn't think the Republicans had a strong argument for election, and that President Obama was on the right track towards economic recovery and prosperity.

"I like the argument for President Obama's re-election a lot better," Clinton told the delegates assembled at the Time Warner Cable Arena. "Here it is: He inherited a deeply damaged economy, he put a floor under the crash, he began the long hard road to recovery, and laid the foundation for a more modern, more well-balanced economy that will produce millions of good new jobs, vibrant new businesses, and lots of new wealth for innovators."

President Clinton addressed the question circulating through the press this week: "Are we where we want to be? No. Is the President satisfied? No. Are we better off than we were when he took office? Yes." He went on to highlight the recovery in jobs and housing, but noted that many people are not feeling it yet.

Clinton, speaking at his seventh Democratic convention, sought to draw contrasts between Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney's view for the future of the country, and that of President Obama.

"If you want a you're-on-your-own, winner-take-all society, you should support the Republican ticket. But if you want a country of shared prosperity and shared responsibility - a we're-all-in-this-together society - you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.‬ "

First Lady Michelle Obama's Remarks at the 2012 Democratic National Convention

First Lady Michelle Obama's remarks at the 2012 Democratic National Convention

JibJab: Its a bird! Its a plane! No, he's Barack Obama and he's come to save the day!

"Its a bird! Its a plane! No, he's Barack Obama and he's come to save the day!"

At Friday night's Radio & Television Correspondents Dinner, JibJab debuted it's new, over-the-top satire in front of President Obama, and from all indications he enjoyed it very much.

Take a look at it for yourself, it's a light-hearted, humorous poke at the President and his policies to date.

Olbermann Interviews Water Boarded Radio Host, "Mancow" Muller

Right-wing radio host Eric "Mancow" Muller, who had once called Barack Obama "a secret Muslim" had been saying waterboarding isn't torture. But unlike Sean Hannity and others, he put his money where his mouth was, and went through with being waterboarded to prove it.

He lasted a 6 seconds saying its worse than anything he ever imagined, equating it as being worse than drowning. He said that it is definitely torture and he would have said anything in the world to make them stop.

Keith Olbermann congratulated him on his efforts and has donated $10,000 to the Veteran of Valour charity founded by Sgt. Klay South, who administered the waterboarding.

Watch the interview and then you can decide if waterboarding is torture or not:

McGovern Warns Obama of LBJ Legacy

In 1964, President Johnson said of Vietnam that "I don't think it's worth fighting for, and I don't think that we can get out. Its just the biggest damn mess I ever saw.'' Yet Johnson escalated the conflict and America became bogged down in Southeast Asia for more than a decade. Former Senator George McGovern recently sat down with ANP and said that President Obama runs the risk, like Johnsons Great Society, of hobbling his ambitious domestic goals if he continues to send troops into Afghanistan.

President's Day 2009 - Washington to Obama

In honor of Presidents Day, Presidents of the United States morphed in sequence from George Washington to Barack Obama. The music is 'Hooked on America' performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Transition

Why An A**Hole is Always in Charge.

Greg Palast, one of my favorite writers, is the co-author of Steal Back Your Vote, a comic book co-authored with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Palast is also an investigative reports on BBC Television's Newsnight and in Rolling Stone Magazine.

Palast wrote the following article for SuicideGirls.com in which he expressed his outrage and dismay over former Merril Lynch head honcho John Thain, who was able to sell a worthless Merril Lynch to Bank of America for $50 Billion and then when Bank of America realized that Merril was in worst trouble than what they thought, Thain was able to wrestle another $20 Billion from the U.S Treasury to cover that loss.

As outrageous as that may sound it was nothing in comparison to Thain's audacity in spending $1 million refurbishing his office, which included spending $35,000 on a toilet and then demanding a $30 million bonus from Merril Lynch for his efforts.

Here is some of what Greg Palast had to say:

John Thain is the guy that looks like a Clark Kent doll you saw grinning from page one of your paper Friday morning. Thain was just fired by Bank of America because the square-jawed executive demanded a $30 million bonus after losing $5 billion in just three months at the bank's Merrill Lynch unit. In addition, Thain spent over a million dollars redecorating his office while, at the same time, the U.S. Treasury was bailing out his company with billions in aid. Thain's office re-do included the installation of a $35,000 toilet bowl.

Thain was robbed. He shouldn't have been fired; he should have gotten a $60 million bonus -- and Obama should immediately hire him as Secretary of the Treasury in place of that tax-dodging lightweight that's been nominated, Timothy Geithner.

Here's the facts, ma'am.

Thain was CEO of Merrill Lynch, the big brokerage firm. On a good day, Merrill is worth zero. A week before it was about to go out of business, Thain sold this busted bag of financial feces to Bank of America for $50 BILLION.

I'd say that's worth a bonus.

But it gets better. When the bag broke and another $5 billion in losses were discovered at Merrill, Thain went to the U.S. Treasury and got ANOTHER $20 BILLION to cover Bank of America's bad financial bet -- from us, the taxpayers.

Now that certainly deserves a bonus. And let's face it, a butthole that big needs a $35,000 toilet....

Finish reading what Greg had to say >>>Here

 

How Could We Forget 100th Anniversary of the Jersey Devil?

With all of the excitement surrounding the Obama inauguration today, it's no wonder that we have forgotten a very important piece of New Jersey news and folklore. I have to give the heads up to the radio program coast to coast am for reminding us of this very import event in our State's history.

This week marks the 100th anniversary of the notorious rampage of the Jersey Devil, which took place in the Delaware Valley from January 16-23, 1909. Strange tracks were found in the snow and across the rooftops of houses, with witnesses claiming to see something like a large flying kangaroo.

"...Legend has it that in 1735, a Pines resident known as Mother Leeds found herself pregnant for the thirteenth time. (Leeds is the name of one of New Jersey’s earliest settlers, and many descendants of the Leeds family can still be found throughout NJ to this day.) Mother Leeds was not living a wealthy lifestyle by any means. Her husband was a drunkard who made few efforts to provide for his wife and twelve children. Reaching the point of absolute exasperation upon learning of her thirteenth child’s forthcoming, she raised her hands to the heavens and proclaimed “Let this one be a devil!”

She went into labor a few months later, on a tumultuously stormy night, no longer mindful of the curse she had utter previously regarding her unborn child. Her children and husband huddled together in one room of their Leeds’ Point home while local midwives gathered to deliver the baby in another. By all accounts the birth went routinely, and the thirteenth Leeds child was a seemingly normal baby boy.

Within minutes however, Mother Leeds’ unholy wish of months before began to come to fruition. The baby started to change, and metamorphosed right before her very eyes. Within moments it transformed from a beautiful newborn baby into a hideous creature unlike anything the world had ever seen..."

 More at >>> WeirdNJ.com.

Weird NJ Hunts the Jersey Devil:

Inauguration Day

Here's the official schedule of events:

President-elect Barack Obama, Mrs. Obama, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden for church services tomorrow morning at St. John's Episcopal Church. The President-elect will not speak during the services.

Following the services, President-elect Obama, Mrs. Obama, Vice President-elect Biden and Dr. Jill Biden will have coffee with President Bush, Mrs. Bush, Vice President Cheney, Mrs. Cheney and members of the House and Senate leadership at the White House. The coffee is closed to the press.

President-elect Obama, Mrs. Obama, Vice President-elect Biden and Mrs. Biden will travel with President Bush and Mrs. Bush, Vice-President Cheney and Mrs. Cheney to the Capitol. Vice President-elect Biden will be sworn in by Associate Justice John Paul Stevens. President-elect Obama will be sworn in by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. at 11:30 AM ET. Mrs. Obama will carry the Lincoln Bible to the platform and hold it while the oath of office is administered. President Obama will deliver his Inaugural Address at approximately 12 PM ET.

The new President will then proceed to the Capitol where he will sign cabinet secretary nomination certificates. A pool from the Joint Committee on Congressional Ceremonies will be present for the signing ceremony and for the remarks at the Inaugural Lunch that will follow. The Senate Press Gallery is determining the pool. The President and First Lady, Vice President and Second Lady will then proceed to the East Front of the Capitol for the Review of the Troops, before the beginning of the Inaugural Parade.

The President and First Lady will travel with the Presidential Escort to the Presidential Reviewing Stand where they will meet up with their daughters and the Biden family to watch the rest of the parade.

The President and First Lady will attend all ten official Inaugural balls. The President will speak briefly at all ten balls.

- Political Wire

Barack Obama: Inaugural Celebration Address at the Lincoln Memorial

Due to the NFL championship games being played yesterday and the fact that HBO paid over $2 million for exclusive rights to cover the inaugural celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, most people did not a see Barack Obama address the crowd.

So here it is:

Youths head to inauguration by the bus load

As masses of people migrate towards Washington DC this weekend to be witness to the inauguration of Barack Obama, Star-Ledger's own Jennifer Weiss rode a public bus to our nation's capital and noticed that almost everyone on her bus is under the age of thirty.

Ride on the Whistle Stop Train Tour

Inaugural Weekend is kicked-off with President-elect Obama's whistle stop train tour from Philadelphia to Washington, DC.

Hop on board and join the fun!!

1/17/09: Your Weekly Address From the President-elect

In his final weekly address before assuming office, President-elect Barack Obama speaks about the upcoming Inauguration activities, a tradition at the heart of our democracy.

Obama's Peace Train Arrives on Tuesday - Hop on Board!

The "Peace Train" arrives in Washington on Tuesday come on everyone hop on board!!