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| Via Occupy Democrats |
“Failing”
HRC To President Obama: Call Out Gambian President Over LGBT Crimes
“We will fight these vermins called homosexuals or gays the same way we are fighting malaria-causing mosquitoes, if not more aggressively.” — Gambian President Yahya Jammeh
In response to Gambia’s hideous treatment of gays and lesbians, the Human Rights Campaign calls on President Obama to restrict Gambian President Jammeh’s access to the United States and freeze his assets:
We know that President Jammeh has close connections to the United States. In fact, he owns a $3.5 million dollar home in Potomac, Maryland, and visits the US regularly. We also know that he cares about his international image and being part of the international community. So we believe that calling him out for his actions, and making it difficult for him to move around the world freely, might have an impact.
Therefore, HRC is calling on the U.S. government urgently to restrict entry to the U.S. for him and his associates, and to freeze any assets he may be holding here. It is essential that the U.S. deliver a strong message that human rights violators will not be welcome in the US, and that they must be held accountable for their crimes. Please join us in this action, and help protect LGBT Gambians. You can read and sign the petition here.
Read more at Human Rights Campaign.
President Obama Takes A Shot At Stephen Colbert’s Job
President Obama dropped by The Colbert Report last night telling Stephen Colbert, “You’ve been taking a lot of shots at my job, I’ve decided to take a shot at yours.”
He then took over the next segment – The Word – and “read” Colbert’s comments on Obamacare. The bit was a cute way to encourage young viewers to sign up at Healthcare.gov, and along the way took a few funny hits from Colbert in the form of witty phrases that appeared next to him on screen. Via Raw Story:
“There are things that people from both parties like about Obamacare,” the president said, as the screen told viewers, “Everything but the ‘Obama.’”
The program, Obama said, had enrolled more than 1 million people within the past few weeks (“So, half as popular as [a] Grumpy Cat video”). But, though, Republicans could still pass bills to repeal it once they take control of the Senate on top of the House.
“If I know that guy, he is willing to use it,” Obama-as-Colbert said. “And let’s face it, even if Republicans managed to repeal it, they’d have to replace it with their own health-care plan. And once they touch it, they own it. Then, if anything goes wrong, suddenly everybody will be complaining about Mitch McConnellcare.”
Cute.
The video may get yanked, so watch while you can.
US Economy Adds 321,000 Jobs In November
The private sector has added 10.9 million jobs over 57 straight months of job growth, extending the longest streak on record.
In the month of November, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 321,000 in November, mainly reflecting a 314,000 increase in private employment—the third strongest month for private payrolls over the past 57 months. This puts the US on pace to be the strongest year for hiring since 1999.
Also, private-sector job growth was revised up for September and October by a combined 32,000, so that over the past three months, private-sector job growth has averaged 266,000 per month.
Private employment has risen by at least 200,000 for ten consecutive months, the first time that has happened since the 1990s.
In addition, the average workweek in the private sector rose to 34.6 hours in November, the highest since 2008.
Remember all this when Obama haters tell you “He made everything worse.”
THE LONGEST STREAK OF POSITIVE JOB GROWTH IN THE US ON RECORD.
President Obama Issues Presidential Proclamation For World AIDS Day 2014
“Guided by our National HIV/AIDS Strategy, we are working to build a society where every person has access to life-extending care, regardless of who they are or whom they love. The Affordable Care Act prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage due to a pre-existing condition, such as HIV/AIDS, and requires that most health plans cover HIV screenings without copays for everyone ages 15 to 65 and others at increased risk. We have expanded opportunities for groundbreaking research, and we continue to invest in innovation to develop a vaccine and find a cure. And this summer, my Administration held a series of listening sessions across the country to better understand the successes and challenges of those fighting HIV at the local and State level.
“In the face of a disease that extends far beyond our borders, the United States remains committed to leading the world in the fight against HIV/AIDS and ensuring no one is left behind. Hundreds of thousands of adolescent girls and young women are infected with HIV every year, and we are working to reach and assist them and every community in need. As part of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, over 7 million people with HIV around the globe are receiving antiretroviral treatment, a four-fold increase since the start of my Administration. In countries throughout the world, our initiatives are improving the lives of women and girls, accelerating life-saving treatment for children, and supporting healthy, robust communities.
“As a Nation, we have made an unwavering commitment to bend the curve of the HIV epidemic, and the progress we have seen is the result of countless people who have shared their stories, lent their strength, and led the fight to spare others the anguish of this disease. Today, we remember all those who lost their battle with HIV/AIDS, and we recognize those who agitated and organized in their memory. On this day, let us rededicate ourselves to continuing our work until we reach the day we know is possible — when no child has to know the pain of HIV/AIDS and no life is limited by this virus. Now, therefore, I, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States do hereby proclaim December 1, 2014, as World AIDS Day.”
– via press release
What A Successful Presidency Looks Like
When folks talk about how President Obama has “made everything worse,” forward this to them.
Everything on this list is a fact – not an opinion.
Don’t forget the fact that he made the call that got bin Laden; he supports marriage equality; he helped end DADT; and he helped end two wars bringing our men and women in uniform home.
AND, just out today – Gross domestic product rose at a 3.9 annualized rate during the third quarter of the year, marking the strongest six-month stretch for the U.S. economy in a decade.
GDP also showed the largest back-to-back quarterly growth since 2003.
Right Wing Blog Ridicules President Obama For Urging Peace Over Ferguson Decision
Last night as President Obama addressed the nation in an effort to stem anger and violence over the lack of indictment in the shooting of Ferguson teenager Michael Brown, conservative blogging site Breitbart chose to ridicule the president by juxtaposing his comments with graphics of the violence happening in Ferguson.
The president was trying to offer leadership and express that while America has made progress in race relations, there’s clearly more work to do.
And this is what he gets.
He’s damned if he does; damned if he doesn’t.
#TypicalRightWingCrap
Newest #Benghazi Investigation By GOP-led House Shows No Wrongdoing By Obama Administration
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is acting like a child who was just told there is no Santa Claus over the new GOP-led House Benghazi report which cleared the Obama administration of any wrongdoing in its response to the Benghazi attack.
“I think the report is full of crap,” Graham said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Even though this is the sixth government report on Benghazi which essentially clears members of the administration, Graham holds fast to the idea that officials in the White House altered the Benghazi talking points after the attack.
During his Sunday appearance on CNN, host Gloria Borger told Graham that the House report concludes that the administration received bad information at first and did not lie.
“That’s a bunch of garbage,” Graham shot back. “That’s a complete bunch of garbage.”
While Republicans desperately want to use the Benghazi tragedy against Hillary Clinton in the upcoming 2016 presidential campaign, the latest investigation by the GOP-led House again shows there’s no “there” there:
Similar to five other government reports, the one released by the House Intelligence Committee on Friday said that the administration had not intentionally misled the public about what occurred during the attacks in talking points it created for officials to use in television appearances that turned out to be inaccurate.
It also said that no order was given by the military to “stand down” in responding to try to save the four Americans killed in the attacks, a claim that Republicans have made based on the account of a member of the security team in Benghazi that day.
[snip]
“The effort to turn the Benghazi tragedy into a political scandal never had a factual basis,” said David Brock, founder of Correct the Record, a group that defends Mrs. Clinton in the news media, and author of the e-book “The Benghazi Hoax.”
“The Republican committee report should close the case,” he added. “If the scandal persists into 2016, it will only be for partisan reasons.”
You can watch Miss Graham’s hissy fit below:
Is President Obama’s Executive Action On Immigration Unprecedented?
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National Journal explains the history of immigration reform and shows that President Obama’s executive action is nothing out of the ordinary for presidents of both parties for decades:
Advocates say the president isn’t doing as much as he is legally capable of to help unauthorized immigrants, but they acknowledge that even though his executive order isn’t everything they want, it is carefully crafted to stay consistent with past White House practices. 
That won’t stop critics from blasting Obama’s actions, but it gives him a solid rebuttal.;
More at National Journal
Republicans Bash President Obama For Doing What Reagan Did
Even before his primetime speech tonight where he will share his plans to address immigration reform, the GOP is hitting President Obama on the “lawlessness” of using executive orders to address immigration challenges in this country.
What’s laughable is how the right wing nuts are working overtime to draw a distinction between President Reagan and Bush’s executive actions on immigration and President Obama’s proposed order, saying that Obama’s authority for deferring deportation — unlike that of his predecessors — is illegitimate.
Plus, it’s been over 500 days since the US Senate passed a bipartisan immigration reform bill but the GOP-led House refuses to bring the legislation up for a vote.
Had Speaker of the House John Boehner daned to bring the bill to a vote, the country would have moved forward on this issue already.
America has made it clear we are tired of obstructionism and “do nothing” Congresses. I completely support President Obama in taking whatever lawful actions he can that make sense to help cope with the country’s immigration issues.
Check the second video below where Boehner laughably talks on “working together to fix our broken immigration system.” And yet – he has personally kept the issue from a vote in the House.
Hypocrisy at it’s worst.