With Ron Reagan, Stephanie Miller, Dan Savage & Hal Sparks backstage at the Paramount in Seattle.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
SEATTLE SEXY LIBERALS BACKSTAGE AT THE PARAMOUNT (PHOTO)
John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang--photo):
Friday, September 28, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
"Table - Obama for America TV Ad" (video)
BarackObamadotcom, with video (02:03):
During the last weeks of this campaign there will be debates, speeches and more ads. But if I could sit down with you in your living room or around the kitchen table here's what I'd say: MORE...
Rebecca Solnit: "A Letter to My Liberal Allies"
Rebecca Solnit:
Dear Allies---Forgive me if I briefly take my eyes off the prize to brush away some flies, but the buzzing has gone on for some time. I have a grand goal, and that is to counter the Republican right with its deep desire to annihilate everything I love and to move toward far more radical goals than the Democrats ever truly support. In the course of pursuing that, however, I’ve come up against the habits of my presumed allies again and again. MORE...
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Joan Walsh; "'What's the Matter With White People?'" (audio)
Joan Walsh grew up in an Irish middle-class family in New York. But she says they went from "Kennedy Democrats to voting for Nixon." So why did so many working class families defect from the Democratic Party? And why does Walsh think their vision of the American dream has kept the country from becoming "a truly multiracial America"? Joan Walsh joins us to discuss her new book, "What's the Matter With White People: Why We Long for a Golden Age That Never Was," and how she thinks white middle class America will impact the elections.Host: Michael Krasny
Guests:
- Joan Walsh, author and editor-at-large for Salon.com
Sunday, September 23, 2012
ED Show: "Is Romney running out of time?" (video)
Saturday, September 22, 2012
David Neiwert: "I wonder how Clint Eastwood feels about having his piece of impromptu acting serve as grist for a lynch mob."
David Neiwert (Crooks and Liars:
You may recall that there were a couple of nooses displayed as protests of Barack Obama in right-wing precincts the night he was elected in 2008, and there have been effigy hangings of the president here and there since. They quickly were swept under the rug, everyone moved along, and that was that. But obviously, those sentiments among racist rednecks have, if anything, intensified in recent years.
And now that it's clear he is about to win re-election, it's coming back out -- with clear references to Clint Eastwood's speech at the GOP convention included. MORE...
Friday, September 21, 2012
"The 47 Percent: Seniors" (video)
BarackObamadotcom, video (02:11):
Romney thinks more than half of senior citizens don't "care for their lives." We talked with Americans who disagree.
"Likes Obama/Hates Obama" (video)
BuzzFeedVideo, (00:54):
Celebrities: Some of them really love Obama. And some of them really don't.Howie P.S.: Infotainment meets 'Electing The Leader of the Free World.' Going viral unless something bigger shows up.
Horsey: "Cowboys and millionaires are in Mitt Romney's income-tax-free 47%" (with cartoon)
(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)
David Horsey (LA Times):
In the imaginary universe of Mitt Romney, the 47% of Americans who pay no income tax are loafers, shiftless bums and welfare queens who will all vote for President Obama in November. In the real world, that 47% includes the working poor, the newly unemployed, handicapped people, the elderly, veterans, 4,000 millionaires and the nation's greatest icon, the American cowboy. MORE...
"Bill Clinton Daily Show Interview Includes Remarks On DNC Speech, Criticism Of Mitt Romney" (with video)
Bill Clinton looked back on his energizing speech from the 2012 Democratic National Convention on The Daily Show Thursday night.
“I was just determined to get the facts right and to simplify the argument without being simplistic,” Clinton told host Jon Stewart. “I didn’t want to talk down to people. I wanted to explain what I thought was going on.”
Clinton's speech was widely praised, even prompting President Barack Obama to joke about recruiting the former president to help with "explaining stuff."
“After he spoke, somebody sent out a tweet that said “you should appoint him 'secretary of explaining stuff.' I like that!" Obama said to supporters in Florida. MORE...
Josh Feit: "Jay Inslee’s Turnaround"
Jay Inslee defies initial dismissals that he didn’t have what it took to beat Rob McKenna in the 2012 Washington state governor’s race.---They hadn’t been planning on a primary election night party. But one broke out anyway. Standing by the life-size cutouts of Barack and Michelle Obama in the back corner of the bland phone bank room at Democratic campaign headquarters in early August, the spokeswoman for gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee high-fived a colleague, her feet momentarily leaving the ground as she reached to slap his hand. They had something to be psyched about: The latest returns had just put Inslee ahead. It was a surprising turnaround that mirrored the arc of the last 12 months. Inslee had been trailing his Republican opponent, Washington State attorney general Rob McKenna, by four points earlier that night and had defensively told reporters that his campaign was “going to count the numbers in November when they matter.” MORE...H/t to Sandeep.
"Why Obama Is Right About Change, Wrong About the Outside Game"
Ari Melber (The Nation):
My point here is not to rehash old debates about how healthcare—a policy achievement that eluded several other presidents—made it through Congress. But the president brought it up and, typically, the first attacks have mischaracterized the part he got right, that outside pressure is key, while missing the more interesting question, whether Obama really doesn't realize that healthcare was an inside job. MORE...
Thursday, September 20, 2012
"Obama: ‘You Can’t Change Washington From The Inside’" (with video)
Noah Rothman (MEDIAite with video (00:43) from Univision:
Asked at a Univision forum on Thursday what he has learned in the nearly four years since his inauguration as president, Barack Obama said that he has been surprised by how resistant the American political system has been to the change he ran on in 2008. “You can’t change Washington from the inside,” Obama said. “You can only change it from the outside.” MORE...
Jon Stewart: "Chaos on Bulls**t Mountain" (video)
| The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Chaos on Bulls**t Mountain | ||||
| ||||
The entitlement society enabled by President Obama allows welfare queens like ExxonMobil, AT&T and GE to live off the government dole. Fox News argues enough is enough.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
(Updated with video) "Barack Obama On Mitt Romney Video: 'Not A Lot Of People' Think They Are 'Victims' "
UPDATE: Here's the video (04:27)from NBC.
Matthew Daly (HuffPo):
Rebuking Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that Americans are not "victims" and that anyone seeking the presidency ought to be working for "everyone, not just some." Obama's remarks came after a secretly taped and newly released video of the Republican presidential nominee showed Romney describing "47 percent of the people" as Obama supporters who depend on government and believe they are victims. MORE...
Monday, September 17, 2012
Eli Sanders (SLOG): "The Exact Phrase Was: "Rob McKenna Still Doesn't Give a Shit About Women's Health" (with video)
Eli Sanders (SLOG) with video (03:46) from InsleeForWA:
Just a small clarification to this Jay Inslee campaign video that was shown at Saturday's fundraiser with Bill Clinton. The video ticks through some classic McKenna-related Slog headlines, including...
...and then it amusingly renders a January 30 Slog headline as "Rob McKenna Still Doesn't Give a $@&# About Women's Health." Cienna Madrid's actual headline was: "Day 19: Rob McKenna Still Doesn't Give a Shit About Women's Health."
Jay Inslee Supports Washington's Proposed Reproductive Parity Act. Does Rob McKenna?
Still: Where Is Rob McKenna on the Reproductive Parity Act?
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Michael Lewis (Vanity Fair): "Obama’s Way"
Michael Lewis (Vanity Fair):
To understand how air-force navigator Tyler Stark ended up in a thornbush in the Libyan desert in March 2011, one must understand what it’s like to be president of the United States—and this president in particular. Hanging around Barack Obama for six months, in the White House, aboard Air Force One, and on the basketball court, Michael Lewis learns the reality of the Nobel Peace Prize winner who sent Stark into combat. MORE...Howie P.S.: My favorite part of the article (Obama's words):
When I lived in Hawaii, I’d take a drive from Waikiki to where my grandmother lived—up along the coast heading east, and it takes you past Hanauma Bay. When my mother was pregnant with me she’d take a walk along the beach. . . . You park your car. If the waves are good you sit and watch and ponder it for a while. You grab your car keys in the towel. And you jump in the ocean. And you have to wait until there is a break in the waves. . . . And you put on a fin—and you only have one fin—and if you catch the right wave you cut left because left is west. . . . Then you cut down into the tube there. You might see the crest rolling and you might see the sun glittering. You might see a sea turtle in profile, sideways, like a hieroglyph in the water. . . . And you spend an hour out there. And if you’ve had a good day you’ve caught six or seven good waves and six or seven not so good waves. And you go back to your car. With a soda or a can of juice. And you sit. And you can watch the sun go down …
"The 2nd Great I-502 Debate - HIGH TIMES Medical Cannabis Cup Seattle 2012" (with videos)
Russ Belville, with video in two parts:
The discussion on whether to support a legalization initiative on the Washington ballot. For I-502 Alison Holcomb - ACLU of WA, New Approach Washington, Chief Petitioner Pete Holmes - Seattle City Attorney Against I-502 Douglas Hiatt - Seattle criminal defense attorney Jeff Steinborn - NORML Board of Directors, Seattle criminal defense attorney.Howie P.S.: Part One, video (12:00) is here and Part Two, video (59:27) is here.
"Bill Clinton: Brief, on time, and on Mitt Romney's case" (with photos)
Joel Connelly (seattlepi.com):
The Bill Clinton-Jay Inslee luncheon on Saturday was the mother of all Seattle fundraisers, drawing 3,000 people to hear the 42nd president return Mitt Romney's mockery about climate change and say Jay Inslee will lead Washington to "the next great frontier of economic opportunity." The luncheon, at the Seattle Convention Center, witnessed a pair of political miracles: The notoriously tardy Clinton was actually early. He walked on stage four minutes before the advertised 2 p.m. And the notoriously long-winded former president was brief and to the point. Romney, in his Republican convention speech, mocked President Obama's promise "to begin to slow the rise of the oceans" while saying his mission was to "help you and your family." Clinton took after Romney, displaying the killer instincts of a mongoose. MORE...
Friday, September 14, 2012
"Bernie Sanders on the Independent in Politics" (video)
billmoyers.com, with video (29:02):
Bill welcomes to his studio Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who’s been an independent in Congress for 21 years — longer than anyone in American history. Sanders talks about jobs, the state of our economy, health care, and the unprecedented impact of big money on the major political parties. “What you are looking at is a nation with a grotesquely unequal distribution of wealth and income, tremendous economic power on Wall Street, and now added to all of that is big money interests, the billionaires and corporations now buying elections,” Sanders tells Bill. “I fear very much that if we don’t turn this around, we’re heading toward an oligarchic form of society.”
Thursday, September 13, 2012
"133 VOTES"
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
"Romney tries to turn any situation into a political profit" (video)
Martin Bashir (MSNBC), video (04:36);
The Nation's Ari Melber and the Washington Post's Jonathan Capehart discuss why Mitt Romney feels it's necessary to profit from any delicate foreign policy issue- from the tragedy Tuesday at the Libyan embassy to the fate of a Chinese dissident.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Howard Dean: "The Case for Obama" (video)
videonation, video (04:35):
Howard Dean, former presidential candidate and chair of the Democratic Party from 2005-2008, met with The Nation's Ari Berman on Wednesday in Charlotte for a conversation about Obama's chances, Paul Ryan's lies, the impact of unlimited Super PAC money and new voting restrictions on American democracy, and the status of the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party."
Sunday, September 09, 2012
Joan Walsh tells us what happened when the Romneys went to "Meet David Gregory"
The GOP nominee immerses David Gregory in a lukewarm bath of platitudes, a couple of lies and a splash of news--With a “Juntos con Romney” placard placed strategically behind him, the presidential candidate currently attracting 26 percent support from Latinos told David Gregory he’s fighting for “the middle class that have been crushed under this president.” But he stumbled when asked if he ever spent time with the unemployed, telling Gregory “Well– actually– just– last night it was. I was with– a person who is facing some challenges.” He was then unable to describe those challenges.
In an interview widely derided for a shortage of follow-up questions, Gregory actually got Romney to make some news. MORE...
Saturday, September 08, 2012
"Former Fla. Gov. Crist says Romney, Ryan 'aren't up to the task'"
The biggest Florida speaker at the Democratic National Convention wasn’t a Democrat. Yet. After former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist’s speech Thursday night, it’s only a matter of time before he officially joins the party’s ranks in a slow march to running for governor in two years. Crist’s high-profile role disturbed many Florida delegates, but it furthered President Obama’s campaign message — that the Republican Party is too extreme. “As a former lifelong Republican, it pains me to tell you that today’s Republicans — and their standard-bearers, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan — just aren’t up to the task,” Crist said. “They’re beholden to ‘my way or the highway’ bullies, indebted to billionaires who bankroll ads and allergic to the very idea of compromise.” Crist’s speech was as much a condemnation of today’s Republican Party as it was an explanation of why he’s officially moving toward the Democratic Party and away from the conservative positions he once espoused. MORE...
Friday, September 07, 2012
Sam Seder: "The DNC is the New RNC?" (video)
SamSeder video (06:07):
Jeff Smith, our Occupy Wall Street correspondent, calls into the show to talk about the Democratic National Convention this past week and how the grandstanding looked an awful lot like the the old RNC.Howie P.S.: OK Sam, but don't tell me you're going to vote for the Green candidate.
"President Obama Lays Out His Agenda For A Second Term In DNC Speech" (with video)
President Barack Obama made the final speech of the week at the Democratic National Convention, in which he acknowledged the difficulties still facing the United States four years after he was elected to the presidency. Obama told the crowd that the choice in November is not between two parties, but a choice “between two fundamentally different visions for the future,” and delivered a personal rebuttal to the agenda Republicans laid out at their convention last week. MORE...Howie P.S.: Money quote: "Feel a cold coming on, try a tax cut!"
Joel Connelly: "Obama's convention leaves the right wing writhing"
With superlative staging and red-blooded themes, the Obama re-election campaign has left its right-wing opposition writhing and whimpering and seeing red: It has gone over the heads of SuperPACs, Fox News and talk radio, and engaged America.
Scenes in Charlotte were curiously reminiscent of successful Republican conventions past -- chants of "USA! USA!" and a refrain that dates back to Nixon: "Four more years!" Vice President Biden delivering a red meat answer to the are-you-better-off question: "Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive."
President Obama, a pickup basketball player, is a big-play politician. He showed it at the 2004 and 2008 Democratic conventions, and again on Thursday night.
The Charlotte convention was a masterful two-step. Three days of speeches -- with star turns by Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton -- were devoted to warming up a somewhat remote president, both to Democrats in the hall and TV viewers. He sweats the tribulations of ordinary Americans, the First Lady told us. MORE...
Thursday, September 06, 2012
"DNC 2012: President Obama Calls Supporters Shut Out Of Convention Speech" (with audio)
Amanda Terkel (HuffPo) with audio (12:43):
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tens of thousands of the most loyal Democratic activists won't get to watch President Barack Obama's big convention speech on Thursday, after organizers decided to move the stadium event indoors into a smaller venue due to predictions of severe thunderstorms. To make up for it, the president held a conference call with the shut-out convention-goers to apologize and encourage them to stay engaged. MORE...
"Bill Clinton’s math lesson for the DNC: Why Obama adds up to a good president" (with video)
CHARLOTTE -- Former President Bill Clinton, once a political foe of President Barack Obama, made a strong case that he's one of the nominee's best surrogates Wednesday, especially when it comes to bringing independents into the Democratic re-election effort. In a speech that was repeatedly interrupted by standing ovations and often veered from the prepared remarks on his Teleprompter, Clinton took on nearly every criticism that Republicans leveled at Obama last week at their party convention in Tampa. Clinton's wide-ranging speech defended several aspects of Obama's record, including his health care law, the controversial Recovery Act, the restructuring of cash-strapped American auto companies and even his choice of Joe Biden as vice president. "We believe 'we're all in this together' is a far better philosophy than 'you're on your own,'" Clinton said in a speech that went on for nearly an hour. "I want to nominate a man who's cool on the outside but burns for America on the inside." Clinton even took on the question that Republicans have used in their convention counter-programming this week, arguing that the country is better off than it was when Obama first took office. MORE...Howie P.S.: Clinton's secret for balancing the federal budget: "Arithmetic"! We can't double-down on trickle down!
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
"First Lady Michelle Obama Delivers Love Letter With Substance At Democratic National Convention" (with video)
Tommy Christopher (MEDIAite) with video (25:27):
First Lady Michelle Obama took the stage to thunderous applause at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, and delivered a speech that hit all the right personal notes, but was also surprisingly long on substance. While recounting the values that she and “Barack” grew to share, Mrs. Obama also made important connections between those values and President Obama‘s achievements. MORE...
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
"A tribute to Senator Kennedy" (video)
DemConvention2012, video (07:08):
"The work begins anew. The hope rises again, and the dream lives on." - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, 1932-2009."
"Democratic National Convention 2012" (with live streaming video)
HuffPo with live streaming video:
The Democratic National Convention is finally here after the Republican National Convention wrapped up in Tampa, Fla. last week. Michelle Obama's Tuesday night speech will command the spotlight, while President Barack Obama won't formally accept his party's nomination at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. until Thursday. Below a live blog of the latest developments to unfold at the Democratic convention.
"New site for Democratic Convention watch party in West Seattle"
Just after updating the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar with word that Skylark Café had tech troubles canceling Thursday night’s Democratic National Convention watch party, we got word of a new location – Howie Martin says the party’s been moved. New location: Heartland Café (4210 SW Admiral Way), 5-8:30 pm Thursday (September 6), with President Obama‘s acceptance speech expected between 6:30-7:30 pm. (As reported here over the weekend, our area has a sizable delegation at the convention.)
"First Lady Strives for Caring Image Above Partisan Fray"
Jodi Kantor (NY Times):
Joel Connelly: "Can Obama re-connect again? Thursday will help tell the story."
Joel Connelly (SeattlePI):
The speech Thursday in Charlotte must reignite enthusiasm among low-turnout groups that voted big for Obama in 2008 -- young people, working women, minority and low-income voters. The Obama campaign seems to get it: "Over and over, they made the point: 'You are Barack Obama. Obama can't win without you'," Andrew Villeneuve, a 25-year-old Democratic Convention delegate from Redmond, said Monday after a youth council meeting of the Democratic National Committee. MORE...
Monday, September 03, 2012
Laura Flanders: "You could choke on the irony in Charlotte this Labor Day." (with video)
Truthout with video from GRITtv:
You could choke on the irony in Charlotte this Labor Day. The United States' faux labor holiday falls on day one of the Democratic National Convention. While the Democrats will no doubt tip their hat to working people and imbibe a beer or two on labor's campaign tab, the ragged edge of organized labor's relationship with the Democratic Party will be on painful display. After all, it's supposed to be a holiday. Will Barack Obama win this November? Probably. In 2008, the unions spent at least $300 million to elect him president. As will be obvious in Charlotte, they're likely to spend even more this year. The Democrats are up against far bigger spenders - men like Sheldon Adelson and the brothers Koch - but it's hard to believe the GOP bankrollers will ultimately hoodwink enough of the American electorate to win, while Republican extremism, on everything from women to wages, gives moderate voters every reason to be rattled by Romney and Ryan. What's harder to see is how working Americans actually benefit from the situation that will likely squeak Obama back into the White House. MORE...
"Rep. John Lewis, Civil Rights Icon, on the Struggle to Win–and Now Protect–Voting Rights in U.S." (with video)
Democracy Now! with video (59:02):
We spend the hour looking at the bloody struggle to obtain — and protect — voting rights in the U.S. with the civil rights icon, now 13-term Georgia congressmember, John Lewis. During the 1960s, Rep. Lewis was arrested more than 40 times and beaten almost to death as he served as chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, marched side by side with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., helped organize the Freedom Rides, campaigned for Robert Kennedy’s presidential bid, and spoke at the 1963 March on Washington. He has just written a new memoir looking back on his more than 50 years of political involvement, "Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change." Having risked his life marching for the right of all Americans to vote, Lewis reflects on the ongoing struggle for voting rights today, when 16 states have passed restrictive voting laws that critics say target people of color. "It is so important for people to understand, to know that people suffered, struggled," Lewis says. "Some people bled, and some died, for the right to participate. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool that we have in a democratic society. It’s precious. It’s almost sacred. We have to use it. If not, we will lose it." [includes rush transcript]V
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