By Jueseppi B.
Filed under: "BARACK" The Vote, 2014 Mid Term Elections, Art, Bad News, Cartoons, Causes, Comedy, Democrats/Democratic, Fun & Games, Good News, GOPukes/RepubliCANTS, Joy & Happiness, Lyin Mitt IS UnFitt, Photographs, Satire, Thoughts Opinions & Ideas | Tagged: Benghazi, Darrell Issa, Eric Cantor, John Boehner, New Yorker, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Republican, United States | 6 Comments »
By Jueseppi B.
Insiders with ties to the Obama administration tell The Cable that U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice has become the heir apparent to National Security Advisor Tom Donilon – a post at the epicenter of foreign-policy decision making and arguably more influential than secretary of state, a job for which she withdrew her candidacy last fall amid severe political pressure.
Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is likely to be tapped as the next National Security Advisor, according to a report in Foreign Policy.
The report quotes a pair of sources who said that Rice will inevitably succeed current National Security Advisor Tom Donilon whenever he leaves the post.
“It’s definitely happening,” one source said.
Rice was thought to be the favorite to succeed Hillary Clinton at the State Department, but her would-be nomination never got off the ground ostensibly due to Republican criticism over her appearances on Sunday talk shows following the attack in Benghazi, Libya.
Thank you TPMLIVEWIRE.
“It’s definitely happening,” a source who recently spoke with Rice told The Cable. “She is sure she is coming and so too her husband and closest friends.”
“Susan is a very likely candidate to replace him whenever he would choose to leave,” agreed Dennis Ross, a former special assistant to President Obama and counselor at the Washington Institute. “She is close to the president, has the credentials, and has a breadth of experience.”
Both sources said the timing of succession was uncertain. “I don’t believe Tom Donilon is about to leave but would be surprised if he were to remain for the whole second term,” Ross said. “But in answer to your question, [Rice's appointment] is very logical.”
Rice’s candidacy for secretary of state imploded in November after she recited talking points about the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi on five Sunday talk shows that turned out to be erroneous.
The question now is whether Benghazi’s return to the spotlight will affect her potential appointment at a time when the White House is reeling from revelations about the IRS’s scrutiny of conservative groups and the Justice Department’s subpoena of the calling records of AP journalists.
For now, prominent Republicans don’t seem inclined to make a fuss.
In November, Arizona Sen. John McCain pledged to “do everything in my power to block her from becoming secretary of state”; South Carolina Sen.Lindsey Graham said, “I don’t think she deserves to be promoted”; and Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker said she’d make a better DNC chair: “I think most of us want someone who is more independent minded.”
But now — even as Benghazi fever reaches a crescendo following last week’s dramatic “whistleblower” hearing and Wednesday’s release of 100 pages of Benghazi emails — the GOP’s desire to check her rise has seemingly evaporated, and Republicans have few tools to prevent her appointment, which would not require Senate confirmation.
When asked if he was concerned about a future National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Corker, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Cable he was sitting this one out.
“In the case of national security advisor,” he said, “whomever serves in that position serves at the pleasure of the president. So it’s totally his prerogative.” When The Cable asked Graham and McCain the same question, their spokesmen declined to comment.
In some ways, the deflated interest in Rice is only natural. Though the testimony of State Department witnesses last week served to highlight the inaccuracy of Rice’s talk-show appearances, new details of the editing process of her talking points show her nowhere near the drafting process — just as the administration has long maintained.
Meanwhile, a more tantalizing GOP target has emerged in the form of Hillary Clinton, the overwhelming favorite to assume the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. Democrats, Republicans and witnesses fixated on Clinton 32 times during discussions in last week’s hearing.
Rice spokeswoman Erin Pelton declined to comment for this article. White House National Security Council Spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said, “We don’t have any personnel announcements to make at this time, and Mr. Donilon has no plans to depart at this point.” She added that Donilon is “fully engaged in managing our national security agenda, from his recent trip to Moscow and major address on global energy, to planning for a trip to China in late May and more upcoming speaking events.”
The administration hasn’t shied away from heaping praise on Rice. Last week, at a gala for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Vice President Joe Biden told the audience that the U.N. ambassador has “the absolute, total, complete confidence of the president,” and that when she speaks on issues of foreign policy, nobody doubts she’s speaking for Obama.
Back in March, when colleague Colum Lynch first reported whispers of Rice’s comeback, Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, spoke glowingly of Rice’s relationship with the president. “Susan always maintains close relations with the president and his national security team, and that continues to be the case,” he said. “If anything, the way she handled the Benghazi situation — and then the withdrawal — only enhanced her relations here, because she did so with grace and good humor.”
The president himself has gone out of his way to wink at an expanded role for Rice within his administration. “I have every confidence that Susan has limitless capability to serve our country now and in the years to come, and know that I will continue to rely on her as an advisor and friend,” Obama said in a December statement.
Thank you John Hudson & Foreign Policy.
I make no excuses or apologies for these gratification photos…..Ambassador Rice is fabulous.
Filed under: "BARACK" The Vote, 2014 Mid Term Elections, Breaking News, Business, Campaign Ads, Causes, Celebrity, Court Room/Legal, Daily White House Schedule, Democrats/Democratic, Education, Event, Fun & Games, Good News, GOPukes/RepubliCANTS, Information & Links, Jobs, News, Photographs, Politics, POTUS Obama, Race, Racism, Stories, The White House, The White House Daily Snapshot, Women's Causes, World News | Tagged: Benghazi, Cable, John McCain, National Security Advisor, Rice, Susan Rice, Thomas E. Donilon, United States Ambassador to the United Nations | 1 Comment »
By Jueseppi B.
The past year has revealed to me that America has her collective heads buried in some wet, nasty, smelly sand.
As Samuel L. Jackson has said, “AMERICA…..Wake The Fuck Up!”
From electing a 113th Congress, that spends over 200 days on vacation and less than 125 days actually working, to following organizations, such as the NRA (NRAssholes), and believing these organization are standing up for our 2nd amendment rights…when in fact the NRAssholes are fighting for gun manufacturers profits…..America is making mistakes and wrong choices.
We believe what we are told on the news, from people we are led to believe are journalist. Our first mistake.
Todays “journalist” are bought & paid for corporate trolls.
You can trust very few news reporters today because they are not interested in reporting the news, only in being the news. It’s all about who gets the words on any issue to you the quickest. Accuracy, facts and truth matters not one bit. We CAN NOT depend on CNN, MSNBC, ABS, CBS, NBC, PBS Fox News…..these corporate owned companies fall way short of reporting the news.
Americans must research, investigate and get the real un-altered news from those news reporting agencies with nothing to gain from any political group. Remember, Facts & Truth over Lies & Misinformation.
We have seen several cases over the past few years where who we thought a person was, was not whom that person turned out to be, at all. There are killers who walk and live among us, whom we never thought were the monsters they were revealed.
We have to be more aware of our surroundings. We must pay attention. What happens to our neighbor is actually happening to us as well. We are ALL neighbors on this planet. A woman is raped in Dakar, and it effects us in St. Louis. A pirate in Africa kidnaps passengers in Somalia, it will hurt us in Jersey. We are ALL connected.
There is no reason Ariel Castro should have been able to go about his life for ten years, holding in his home, 3 young girls who became young women, while in his captive possession. That is unthinkable to me. There are people who knew/know Ariel Castro. Spent time with him over that ten year period. Know who your next door neighbors are. Get nosy. If you think or feel something, say something to someone.
They are more Ariel Castro’s out there. There are more Gina’s, Amanda’s & Michele’s out there as well.
Benghazi proves that racism and evil is living and working in our government. We have a Congress that has spent months attempting to prove that the Obama Administration is responsible for 4 deaths in Benghazi on 9/11/12.
The facts are simple: Congress refused to grant the Obama Administration funding for additional security for ALL Embassies. Let me repeat that fact…..The same Congressmen, every last one of them, you see on C-SPAN holding Congressional Hearings on Benghazi…..REFUSED….VOTED “NAY”….on funding for security that would have beefed up protection for that very Embassy in Benghazi.
This 113th Congress has blamed the U.N. Ambassador, Susan Elizabeth Rice, Secretary Of State, Hillary Rodham Cliton, and of course President Of The United States, Barack Hussein Obama…..for Benghazi.
Neither of those mentioned above controls Embassy security. Congress controls Embassy security through funding for security.
You can NOT trust Congress to be honest, truthful or do the right thing.
It’s time Americans start to think for themselves. Wake up. Use your brains for something other than reality TV programming.
Before it’s too late.
Instead of Americans being upset and vocally concerned about where Tamerlan Tsarnaev is buried…..be concerned and vocally upset that he, his brother, and any other person in America, can buy explosives, guns and ammunition with NO Background checks.
Wake The Fuck up America.
Filed under: "BARACK" The Vote, Bad News, Bullying, Cartoons, Causes, Congress, Court Room/Legal, Crime, Democrats/Democratic, Dumb Shit, Education, GOPukes/RepubliCANTS, Missing Children, Missing Person, News, NRA, Opinion, Photographs, Politics, POTUS Obama, Race, Racism, Satire, Speech, Stories, The White House, Thoughts Opinions & Ideas, Women's Causes, World News | Tagged: Ariel Castro, Barack Obama, Benghazi, Congress, Obama Administration, Samuel L Jackson, Susan Rice, The SoapBox, United States | Leave a Comment »
By Jueseppi B.
CUMMINGS RESPONDS TO RECENT BENGHAZI ALLEGATIONS:
Washington, D.C. (May, 6, 2013)—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued the following statement regarding recent allegations relating to Benghazi:
“I believe Congress should conduct investigations—particularly those involving our national security—in a bipartisan and responsible manner, and that whistleblowers must have the ability to come forward to Congress and be protected from retaliation when they report waste, fraud, or abuse. I also believe Members of Congress have an obligation to actually investigate claims before coming to conclusions and making public accusations.
Unfortunately, House Republicans have taken the opposite approach. They issued a partisan report with reckless and false accusations against the former Secretary of State, they have completely concealed Mr. Thompson from Democratic Committee Members, and they have failed to make even basic inquiries to the Intelligence Community, the Defense Department, or the State Department to vet specific allegations.
Instead, they have leaked snippets of interview transcripts to national media outlets in a selective and distorted manner to drum up publicity for their hearing. This is investigation by press release and does a disservice to our common goal of ensuring that our diplomatic corps serving overseas has the best protection possible to do its critical work.”
A partisan Republican staff report issued last month falsely suggested that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton personally signed a State Department cable reducing security in Libya—a claim that drew immediate and widespread condemnation and was awarded “four pinnochios” from the Washington Post Fact Checker. Rather than retract this false report, House Republicans continue to appear on national television defending its discredited claims.
With respect to the hearing on Wednesday, Committee Chairman Darrell Issa has withheld from Democratic Committee Members all information about Mark Thompson, Deputy Coordinator for Operations at the Bureau of Counterterrorism, and his potential testimony.
Democratic staff have been excluded from all discussions with Mr. Thompson and his attorney, Joseph diGenova. As a result, no information has been provided about Mr. Thompson’s potential claims and—importantly—no effort has been undertaken to evaluate the context or potential merit of those claims.
On April 11, 2013, Committee staff conducted a transcribed interview with Gregory Hicks, who served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Tripoli, Libya during the attacks in Benghazi. At the time of the interview, Mr. Hicks requested that his identity not be revealed, and the Committee honored that request.
This week, Chairman Issa announced that he invited Mr. Hicks to testify in public at the hearing on Wednesday. On Friday, Democratic Committee staff attempted to discuss the content of Mr. Hicks’s public testimony and any potential concerns that Mr. Hicks would have about the public release of his interview with Mr. Hicks’s attorney,VictoriaToensing, but she refused to do so.
Thank you Rep. Cummings.
This Benghazi fiasco is a waste of time. There are sequestration issues, the Jobs Bill sitting in Congress, hundreds of nominations sent to Congress by The President…sitting in limbo…..so tell me why are we wasting taxpayer money on Benghazi?
If you, the Houses of Congress, are interested in placing blame on why Benghazi was allowed to happen, why Benghazi was able to happen….look no further than your very own vote to reduce and refuse additional funding to provide security to ALL foreign embassies, worldwide.
Now get your lazy do nothing asses to work. Real work.
Filed under: "BARACK" The Vote, 2014 Mid Term Elections, Bad News, Barack's Blog, Black History, Bullying, Campaign Ads, Causes, Celebrity, Court Room/Legal, Crime, Democrats/Democratic, Disaster, DOJ, Education, Event, Foreign Polocy, GOPukes/RepubliCANTS, History, News, Opinion, Photographs, Politics, POTUS Obama, Race, Racism, Stories, The White House, The White House Daily Snapshot, War & the Military, White House Blog, World News | Tagged: Benghazi, Congress, Darrell Issa, Hicks, Libya, United States Department of State, United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Victoria Toensing | Leave a Comment »
White House Live
Audio Only, Richmond, Virginia
By Adam Garber January 24, 2013 The White House Blog
This week, Washington D.C. was transformed into an historic stage, with an estimated one million people on hand to witness the President and Vice President take the Oath of Office at the United States Capitol. Through it all, West Wing Week was there, from the terrace of the Capitol to backstage at the balls. America, take a moment to look back at where we’ve been this week for this special edition of West Wing Week, January 18th to the 24th, or “Behind the Scenes: Inauguration 2013.”
Saturday, January 19th
Sunday, January 20th
Monday, January 21st
Tuesday, January 22nd
Thursday, January 24th
From The Washington Post:
President Obama named deputy national security adviser Denis McDonough as his new White House chief of staff on Friday. McDonough, a longtime Obama advisor, will succeed Jack Lew, who has been nominated to take the helm at the Treasury Department.
President Obama announced a shake-up of his top White House personnel on Friday, naming deputy national security adviser Denis McDonough as new chief of staff and saying good-bye to longtime senior adviser David Plouffe, a key architect of his political strategy. President Obama promoted McDonough, one of his most trusted and loyal deputies, to oversee White House operations as the administration tackles its major second-term legislative initiatives, including gun control measures, immigration reform and tax and budget issues.
McDonough, 43, replaced Jack Lew, whom Obama has nominated to run the Treasury Department. White House officials said Tony Blinken, a national security adviser to Vice President Biden, would replace McDonough as the No. 2 official in the National Security Council. Obama also named deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco to replace John Brennan as counter-terrorism adviser. Brennan has been nominated to lead the CIA.
Announcing the moves in the East Room, Obama lavished warm praise on McDonough, calling him a “consummate public servant” and a “close friend” to everyone at the White House. The president recalled McDonough, a Capitol Hill veteran who worked for former senator Tom Daschle, helping set up his senate office in 2004, showing him where the bathrooms were and explaining how to pass a legislative proposal.
“Since then I’ve relied on his intellect and good judgement,” Obama said. “Denis has played a key role in every key national security decision in my presidency.”
Read more at The Washington Post.
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced the following individuals will serve in key White House posts:
• Denis McDonough – White House Chief of Staff
• Rob Nabors – Assistant to the President and Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Policy
• Antony Blinken – Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor
• Danielle Gray – Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary
• Katy Kale – Assistant to the President for Management and Administration
• Lisa Monaco – Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and Deputy National Security Advisor
• Jennifer Palmieri – Assistant to the President and Communications Director
• Dan Pfeiffer – Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor
• Miguel Rodriguez –Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs
• David Simas – Assistant to the President and Deputy Senior Advisor for Communications and Strategy
President Obama said, “The challenges we face as a country, from rebuilding middle class security to strengthening our national security are complicated, and require thoughtful, comprehensive solutions. That’s why I am proud to announce a team with the deep expertise necessary to move our country forward. From growing the economy and shrinking our deficits, to keeping our country safe and addressing the dangers of climate change, these are people who will not rest until we get the job done. Led by Denis, this team is an extraordinary group of talented individuals with whom I will be honored to work.”
SO Much For A Lack Of Diversity…..TeaTardedRepubliCANTS.
A Word From Joseph Robinette “Joey B.” Biden, Jr……
The President did something big last week.
He proposed a set of major reforms to help protect our children and our communities by curbing gun violence, and he’s already announced 23 executive actions that will go a long way in helping keep our kids safe.
This is an important start — but I have no illusions about what needs to be done and how difficult it will be.
Every step we intend to take will preserve the tradition of responsible gun ownership in our country and uphold the Second Amendment. And while we’ll never end gun violence entirely, if we can save the life of even one child, then we have a responsibility to act.
This action includes not only what we can do, but what Congress can do. To make a real and lasting difference, they must act soon.
The President has called on Congress to act on four specific legislative measures: closing background check loopholes, banning military-style assault weapons and limiting high-capacity ammunition magazines, making our schools safer, and increasing access to mental health services.
The President asked me to work with law enforcement, teachers, parents, sportsmen, Democrats, Republicans, faith leaders, mental health experts, and other organizations and individuals to come up with a set of concrete policy proposals. The plan he put forth is the product of those conversations and recommendations.
Right now, President Obama is counting on you.
Each one of us needs to speak up and demand action. It doesn’t matter whether you live in a big city or a small town like Newtown, Connecticut. When our fellow Americans are victims of senseless violence, we all pull together as one American family.
Let’s get this done, folks.
Whether the action we take saves one life or 1,000, it matters.
Thank you,
Joe
President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will give a joint interview at the White House on Friday afternoon to CBS News’ Steve Kroft, for broadcast Sunday on “60 Minutes.”
Senator Harry Reid Sold The President OUT!!
From The Maddow Blog & Steve Benen:
We don’t yet know exactly why Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) gave up on ambitious reforms of filibuster rules. After months of voicing support for sweeping changes, it’s possible Reid just didn’t have the votes from his own caucus to pursue bold reforms through the “constitutional option.”
Whatever the reasoning, however, it’s important that folks understand that when Reid says protecting the filibuster is necessary to keep the Senate from being like the House, he’s wrong.
“I’m not personally, at this stage, ready to get rid of the 60-vote threshold,” Reid (D-Nev.) told me this morning, referring to the number of votes needed to halt a filibuster. “With the history of the Senate, we have to understand the Senate isn’t and shouldn’t be like the House.”
I get the argument — the rambunctious House operates by majority rule, while the staid and serious Senate seeks consensus by requiring super-majorities for everything. Without the filibuster, the Senate is little more than a smaller version of House.
Except, this just isn’t true, and Reid’s explanation rings hollow. If his principal concern is with “the history of the Senate,” he should be moreinclined to pursue real filibuster reform, not less.
First, let’s note the basics. Historically, the Senate differed from the House, not because of mandatory super-majorities that didn’t exist up until very recently, but because members serve six-year terms (instead of two) and represent entire states (instead of districts). The whole point was to create a deliberative institution — longer terms were intended to give members longer and less reflexive perspectives, and representing states helped guarantee more diverse constituencies.
The Senate didn’t need filibusters to be distinct from the House; the differences were baked into the cake.
Reid says he’s concerned about “the history of the Senate,” but the Senate functioned quite well for 200 years while remaining a majority-rule institution. There were, to be sure, procedural hoops to jump through, but if a bill reached the floor, and a majority of the Senate’s members supported it, the bill passed. That’s no longer true, and today’s modest reforms won’t even try to fix that problem.
This is how the Senate was intended and designed to work — super-majorities for treaties, impeachment, expulsions, constitutional amendments, and veto overrides, but regular ol’ majorities for legislation and nominations.
The Founding Fathers considered making the Senate a super-majority chamber, but they decided against it. As we noted on the show last month: “They rejected that big time.”
“In a Federalist 22, Alexander Hamilton wrote that a super majority Congress would in practice serve to, quote, ‘embarrass the administration, destroy the energy of government, and substitute the pleasure, caprice or artifices of an insignificant, turbulent, or corrupt junta to the regular deliberations and decisions of a respectable majority.’”
Reid understands this. He knows this. He appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show on October 27, 2010, and viewers saw this exchange:
MADDOW: Why is it that everything takes 60 votes now? I mean, it used to be 60 votes was a headline. If somebody forced 60 votes, that meant they were filibustering and that meant that they were taking an unusually strong stand against something. Now it’s 60 votes even for routine–
REID: Rachel, this has to change. It’s wrong what they’re doing, because it’s never happened before…. The Republicans, just this time have abused the system, and it’s going to have to change. We’ll have to look at ways to change that, because there should not be 60 votes in the Senate.
He’s not “ready to get rid of the 60-vote threshold,” because he’s mindful of “the history of the Senate”? I know Reid knows better.
The rest of the story can be read at The Maddow Blog & Steve Benen.
Bottom line is Senate Majority “Leader”, Harry Reid, sold America’s progress forward down the pipes, and sabotaged President Barack Hussein Obama’s second term agenda, in the process.
Before I go……
Speaking Of Benghazi:
Under George Dubbya Bush There Were 11 Embassy Attacks, 57 People Killed in Those Attacks. The GOP Didn’t Say a Word. There were NO 11 Senate Committee hearings for those 57 lost American Lives. Can you explain to me why now….AND NOT THEN UNDER DUBBYA BUSH??
Filed under: Black History, Causes, Celebrity, Congress, Court Room/Legal, Crime, Democrats/Democratic, Education, GOPukes/RepubliCANTS, Gun Control, Gun Violence, Health, History, Inauguration, Michelle Obama, News, Photographs, Politics, POTUS Obama, Race, Racism, Speech, Stories, The White House, The White House Daily Snapshot, Vice President Joseph Biden, Videos, White House Blog, World News | Tagged: Barack Obama, Benghazi, Denis McDonough, Jill Biden, National Mall, United States Capitol, Washington DC, West Wing Week, White House | Leave a Comment »
Top Read Articles
Jueseppi B.
