President Obama's Weekly Radio Address

When I grow up, I want to be a really cool old lady

...and the time is coming sooner than I think. These gals are awesome! Totally cool.

'Viaigra Scientist' dies at 92

Viagra has also been used as a tool (no pun intended) in Afghanistan, where tribal leaders have been offering up a 'bonanza of information' in exchange for the little blue miracle pill.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney's speech on national security

Video: President Obama explains why he isn't releasing additional detainee photographs

The Day in 100 Seconds

it's hump day, Mr. Right, listening tour, mocking a listening tour, not a listening tour, health care, false start, we gotta go back, alternative, stay off the stage, lowest rank, important committees, in due course, relax, make him happy, dog food, looks good, try a little bit, danger zone, all hands on deck, encourage the leaders, step up the fight, common cause, common threat, common task, common challenge, quintessential obama, obama doctrine, peace stability, all government effort, patience is bitter but it's fruit is sweet, complicated diplomatic dance, deliver, terrorism, democracy is the only cure, whatever it takes, the hope of sunshine, why be normal, keep hope goin'

President Obama's Weekly Radio Address from Air Force One

Saturday, April 4th, 2009 at 5:30 am

Weekly Address: The Challenges of Our Time

In this week’s address, filmed aboard Air Force One between vital diplomatic engagements abroad, the President discusses the breadth and depth of the global challenges we face. Recapping his trip, though, it is clear just how much opportunity lies in reshaping America’s relationships around the world. On everything from turning our economy around -- which shed hundreds of thousands more jobs last month -- to ending the threat of nuclear arms, "The only way forward is through shared and persistent efforts to combat fear and want wherever they exist." prepared remarks

source: WhiteHouse.gov

Face the Nation: Bob Schieffer interview President Barack Obama

From This Week With Barack Obama

Bob Schieffer spoke with President Barack Obama about ending the war in Afganistan; Mexico's drug violence and restoring the economy and the American dream.

Transcript

Video: President Obama announces comprehensive new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan

From WhiteHouse.gov

"Good morning," began the President today. "Today, I am announcing a comprehensive, new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. And this marks the conclusion of a careful policy review, led by Bruce [Reidel], that I ordered as soon as I took office."

• Read the White Paper on the new policy (pdf) >>
  

Dan Rather on Afghanistan: We have to go big or go home

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Video: President Obama on 60 Minutes - Wall Street, Afghanistan and Dick Cheney

Afghanistan makes me nervous...

Actually, it's not Afghanistan that makes me nervous. It is the United States presence in Afghanistan, Seven (7) years and counting. The Russians fought with and in it for ten years and that's a decade. In my world a decade is a lot.

Less time than having an occupying force in South Korea, but more than the course of U.S. involvement in World War II.

Plus, we have some pretty weighty and extremely challenging economic issues and domestic prioritization issues at home.

Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Adviser to President Carter, discusses the U.S., Afghanistan and the future.

I watched it. I still feel nervous. It is most definitely 'don't screw this thing up time'.

The last eight years have really wreaked havoc on the margin of error. President Obama barely has any margin to work with.

Here's a bit of that article that Rachel talks about with the last Russian General back across the border at the end of the Russian-Afghan ten year, no win situation war that it really feels like the United States is putting a great deal of effort into reliving.

In retired Gen. Boris Gromov's view, the valor was shown in an unwinnable battle.

"Afghanistan taught us an invaluable lesson ... It has been and always will be impossible to solve political problems using force," said Gromov, the last soldier to leave Afghanistan two days after the Kabul pullout.

He told reporters that U.S. plans to send thousands of new troops to Afghanistan would make no difference against a resurgent Taliban, who came to power in 1996 in the chaos after the Soviet withdrawal.

"One can increase the forces or not — it won't lead to anything but a negative result," Gromov said. source: Yahoo News/AP

I have been thinking about Afghanistan a lot lately. The thing that really keeps me from wanting my country to bail on it completely is the women and children, especially girls.

In Afghanistan, particularly in poor rural communities, child slavery and debt bondage practices are growing, but are often disguised as marriage, labour or family affairs not requiring state intervention.
...
“These practices - the selling of children and servitude - have the very characteristics of modern slavery which have been overlooked by the government and other actors,” said Ajmal Samadi, an analyst of the Afghanistan Rights Monitor (ARM), a local rights watchdog. source: RAWA - The Reality of Life in Afghanistan

For things to change, we must change.

C-Span ''Mr. Monkey Boy' Comment: Kudos to the caller on C-Span who joined the conversation after the bigoted one

The caller comes on to praise President Bush for protecting America from Bin Laden, while of course slamming President Clinton for doing nothing while Bin Laden continued to 'pop his head up all the time'. When Bin Laden knocked the towers down, President Bush went ahead and did something about it.

Then the caller goes on to refer to President-elect Obama 'Mr Monkey Boy'.

Outside of the racial epithet, if the towers had been knocked down under Clinton's watch, we would have gone to war. I have no question about that. Clinton would have done the same, so the argument the caller makes is weak as well as ignorant.

Almost anyone who had been President when the twin towers were knocked down would have gone to war, except for maybe Dennis Kucinich. I'm not trying to slam Kucinich when I say that either. I just try to avoid using all or nothing terms. Dennis Kucinich would have been an exception.

The Clinton Administration, President Clinton and Counter-Terrorism Czar Richard Clarke warned President Bush and his administration about Bin Laden. It is documented that Bin Laden was not their priority and that Iraq was from day one of the Bush Administration.

It saddens me that people like this C-Span caller still exist in our world. I'm actually glad that they have the opportunity to express themselves on C-Span.

It's always good to know who is out there and what they stand for, especially if it is outrageous, ignorant, cruel and wrong.

Source: Think Progress

Vice President-elect Joe Biden travels to Southeast Asia

According to this report, for security reasons, the aides are not disclosing the itinerary. I bet if we were good guessers, we could probably figure it out though.

I'm not going to. I'm just going to behave myself. I don't know how long it will last, and I'm not making any promises either.

A Biden spokeswoman says Biden and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham arrived in the Middle East emirate on Thursday. The senators met with Kuwait's prime minister and foreign minister to discuss Iraq, Iran and international relations.

Biden is traveling in his role as a U.S. senator from Delaware. He takes office as vice president on Jan. 20 but has not yet resigned his Senate seat. source: MSNBC

Kabul, Afghanistan: United States troops ring in The New Year

As they celebrate the start of 2009 in Afghanistan many U.S. troops say they're thinking about their families back home. As many as 32,000 American troops are currently serving in the country. (Dec. 31)

Afghanistan: All hail the pharmaceutical industry ---tribal leaders giving it up in exchange for getting it up

Wow. Intelligence for an erection. Free elections and free erections. There's so much comedy in this story.

Viagra has been a 'God Send' for men (and women too). It's probably a miracle to that Afghan chieftain. I can't blame him for giving up information in exchange for it. Not one bit.

The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift.

Four blue pills. Viagra.

"Take one of these. You'll love it," the officer said. Compliments of Uncle Sam.

The enticement worked. The officer, who described the encounter, returned four days later to an enthusiastic reception. The grinning chief offered up a bonanza of information about Taliban movements and supply routes -- followed by a request for more pills.

source: The Washington Post

The Crappage of The President: "I never said the Taliban was eliminated, I said they were removed from power."

The Raw Story made me remember something I forgot. Olbermann said that the President is full of crap.

I tend to agree with that, but it's always strange and giggle inducing to me when I hear it said out loud on television.

Oh and it's not unpatriotic to say that a President is full of crap. We no longer live under the rule of a King. It is incumbent upon as all to call crap out when crap is being crapped upon us.

Sorry for all the crappage.

Olbermann's prime example, however, was Bush's claim while visiting Afghanistan this week that "I never said the Taliban was eliminated, I said they were removed from power."

Olbermann refuted this a flurry of Bush quotes, including his statement in September 2004 that "the Taliban is no longer in existence." Bush has also repeatedly referred to the "defeat" of the Taliban and claimed in September 2002 that "the Taliban's ability to brutalize the Afghan people and to harbor and support terrorists has been virtually eliminated."

"See, here's the thing," Olbermann concluded, literally throwing up his hands. "The president is just full of crap." source: Raw

This video is from MSNBC's Countdown, broadcast Dec. 16, 2008.

Download video via RawReplay.com

60 Minutes: "Lara Logan speaks with Monica Brown, only the second woman to ever win the Silver Star since World War II."

As an American, no matter what I think of any war, the people who voluntarily sign up and do these jobs amaze me.

This particular young woman makes me feel especially proud.

November 30, 2008

(CBS) Private Monica Brown is only the second woman to be awarded the Silver Star since World War II. She's an Army medic who risked her own life to save two critically wounded paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan.

Under Army regulations, women cannot be assigned to frontline combat units. But, as correspondent Lara Logan reports, in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq today, that's exactly where they often end up.

Some male soldiers aren't so happy about that, including members of Pvt. Brown's own unit. But her superior officers say she is a hero - a hero who earned one of the military's highest awards for exceptional valor when she was only 18 years old.

---

Winning the Silver Star is a big deal for anybody, but considering Brown's age, it's an even bigger deal. "It's overwhelming," she tells Logan.

"I mean you've been treated like a superstar, really. And you're just a kid," Logan remarks.

"Yeah. I am just a child," she acknowledges. read more here

Change.gov: Special preview of the President-elect’s Thanksgiving address

Thursday, November 27, 2008 02:09am EST

Today, American families are gathered to give thanks for the many blessings in their lives.

In a preview of his weekly address, President-elect Barack Obama urges Americans to acknowledge the blessings we all share over this Thanksgiving holiday.

While our nation is faced with tough economic times, President-elect Obama recognizes the value of service in rebuilding struggling communities across the country.

This Thanksgiving, President-elect Obama has asked the nation to celebrate this distinctly American tradition while looking forward to the future we share with hope and promise.

Watch the President-elect's Address now -- then send us your stories about the ways you or others you know serve your community:

Also available on Yahoo.
High-resolution, Quicktime format (46 MB .mov file) available here.

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Remarks of President-elect Barack Obama
Thursday, November 27th, 2008

Good morning.

Nearly 150 years ago, in one of the darkest years of our nation's history, President Abraham Lincoln set aside the last Thursday in November as a day of Thanksgiving. America was split by Civil War. But Lincoln said in his first Thanksgiving decree that difficult times made it even more appropriate for our blessings to be -- and I quote -- "gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people."

This week, the American people came together with family and friends to carry on this distinctly American tradition. We gave thanks for loved ones and for our lasting pride in our communities and our country. We took comfort in good memories while looking forward to the promise of change.

But this Thanksgiving also takes place at a time of great trial for our people.

Across the country, there were empty seats at the table, as brave Americans continue to serve in harm’s way from the mountains of Afghanistan to the deserts of Iraq. We honor and give thanks for their sacrifice, and stand by the families who endure their absence with such dignity and resolve.

At home, we face an economic crisis of historic proportions. More and more Americans are worried about losing a job or making their mortgage payment. Workers are wondering if next month's paycheck will pay next month's bills. Retirees are watching their savings disappear, and students are struggling with the cost of tuition.

It's going to take bold and immediate action to confront this crisis. That's why I'm committed to forging a new beginning from the moment I take office as President of the United States. Earlier this week, I announced my economic team. This talented and dedicated group is already hard at work crafting an Economic Recovery Plan that will create or save 2.5 million new jobs, while making the investments we need to fuel long-term economic growth and stability.

But this Thanksgiving, we are reminded that the renewal of our economy won't come from policies and plans alone -- it will take the hard work, innovation, service, and strength of the American people.

I have seen this strength firsthand over many months -- in workers who are ready to power new industries, and farmers and scientists who can tap new sources of energy; in teachers who stay late after school, and parents who put in that extra hour reading to their kids; in young Americans enlisting in a time of war, seniors who volunteer their time, and service programs that bring hope to the hopeless.

It is a testament to our national character that so many Americans took time out this Thanksgiving to help feed the hungry and care for the needy. On Wednesday, I visited a food bank at Saint Columbanus Parish in Chicago. There -- as in so many communities across America -- folks pitched in time and resources to give a lift to their neighbors in need. It is this spirit that binds us together as one American family -- the belief that we rise and fall as one people; that we want that American Dream not just for ourselves, but for each other.

That's the spirit we must summon as we make a new beginning for our nation. Times are tough. There are difficult months ahead. But we can renew our nation the same way that we have in the many years since Lincoln's first Thanksgiving: by coming together to overcome adversity; by reaching for -- and working for -- new horizons of opportunity for all Americans.

So this weekend -- with one heart, and one voice, the American people can give thanks that a new and brighter day is yet to come.

A Family Video: Why It Matters