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When Ron Paul seems like the most sensible candidate in a debate of 4 generic Republicans speak volume of the state of the party. Sadly, their election would make our country a leader and success of the past.

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My daughter submitted an iReport for the “I Am America” series at CNN. She Skyped me up from Austin and said “Daaaad, guess what. CNN just emailed me and said they wanted to interview me for the iReport submission I made. What should I do?” I said “Duh, do the interview!”

She was a bit nervous. She had some problems scheduling time between her classes but ran back to her apartment a few minutes before the call. She Skyped me just before the call and ask me if she needed to wear anything special. Asking me a question like that is like a model asking a hobo how to dress. I told her I don’t know, just wear clothes, like whatever you have on.

After the interview she skyped back and said she was a little nervous but it went well. She said they asked her to submit some picture and videos. I think she did a wonderful job. And  that is an unbiased opinion.

The HLN Piece Aired This Morning

Her Submission to iReport

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Our President did it again. President Obama now sings the blues. The man is just too damn cool. So let’s see, he keeps the country safe by killing the icon of terrorism (Bin Laden), he saves the automobile industry, he saves the country from a Depression, he passes a healthcare bill that thwarted the last several presidents even as the Republicans tried to block his every move.

America, given the clowns running on the other side. Is there any doubt that President Obama must be re-elected? I think not.

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Poor Mitt Romney can’t get a break. We always knew he was fairly smart (well not a complete imbecile). He finally admitted that spending cuts as every intelligent economist has said will hurt the economy. It will kill economic growth.

In fact it is time for the President & liberal activist to segway into the following statement. “Mitt Romney’s own words stating that spending cuts hurt the economy and as such the middle class implies a Republican intent to collapse the economy since they are calling solely for spending cuts. They believe a collapsed economy will gain them the White House. They are willing to sacrifice Americans for power. It won’t work.”

Mitt Romney Says Spending Cuts Hurt Economic Growth

Mitt Romney stepped on his message a bit Tuesday, and on attempts to draw attention to a forthcoming tax reform plan, by saying that spending cuts can damage the economy.

"If you just cut — if all you’re thinking about is just cutting spending — why as you cut spending you’ll slow down the economy, so you have to at the same time create pro-growth tax policies," Romney said during a town hall meeting in Michigan.

His comment drew attention from several news outlets and liberal blogs. MSNBC’s "First Read" pointed out that Romney’s remark represented "a rhetorical departure from the rest of the Republican Party, which has done battle with the Obama administration over the past year about the best course for economic growth."

"First Read" also quoted Andy Roth, vice president of the conservative Club for Growth, calling Romney’s comment "hogwash."

"It confirms yet again that Romney is not a limited-government conservative," Roth said. "The idea that balancing the budget would not help the economy is crazy. If we balanced the budget tomorrow on spending cuts alone, it would be fantastic for the economy."

Romney spokesman Ryan Williams tried to clarify the remark in a statement:

"The governor’s point was that simply slashing the budget, with no affirmative pro-growth policies, is insufficient to get the economy turned around. However, he believes that budget cuts –- especially in the context of President Obama’s unprecedented spending explosion –- are a step in the right direction. As he made clear in his economic plan, he believes that spending cuts that reduce the size of government and balance the budget are crucial to economic growth and job creation."

House Republicans have dubbed themselves shepherds of the "Cut-and-Grow Congress," a phrase they’ve repeated to hammer home the argument that cutting spending will boost the economy. "Our Congress will be a cut-and-grow Congress. We believe we have to cut spending," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said. "When the president talks about competitiveness, sure, we want America to be competitive, but then when he talks about investing, I think even someone from the White House this week had said that this is going to be a cut and invest White House. We want to cut and grow. When we hear invest from anyone in Washington, to me that means more spending."

Mitt Romney Says Spending Cuts Hurt Economic Growth

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I was happy to have David Levitt, California Senate Candidate among other candidates running across the country for both Congress and Senate on my Coffee Party USA show Politics Done Right. These candidate are all making a pledge to be completely transparent with their political financing.

Many are using the services of the free service http://BeYourGovernment.org platform that allows them to use videos and social media to get their message out.

Levitt 2012 for US Senate California Tour Gains Supporters, Donations

San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, CA

(PRWEB) February 21, 2012

S US Senate candidate David Levitt has begun his first campaign trip, funded by new supporters on the heels of his February 14th campaign launch.

Levitt is campaigning as a Democrat in California’s new ‘top two’ Senate primary this June, where under the new rules he and 20 year incumbent Democrat Dianne Feinstein may become the only Senate candidates on the November ballot.

"We’re delighted with the response. We’re getting plenty of ballot signatures from California voters, and donations between 5 and 250 dollars from all over the country," says campaign manager Sheila Harden.

"The contributions and enthusiasm aren’t just from California," adds Levitt, a media scientist and software engineer who is helping lead a movement of citizen candidates who refuse corporate money. "People in places like North Carolina and New York recognize that Senator Feinstein’s disastrous financial, Middle East, civil liberties and failed drug war policies don’t just affect California. They want the nation’s largest state to represent their interests, not our past budget-busting policies and war machine."

Law and media columnist Glenn Greenwald of Salon echoed the relief felt by some of those supporters in a widely forwarded Tweet the morning of the Levitt campaign announcement:
"The wretched, war-loving, surveillance-enabling, drug-warrior incumbent Dianne Feinstein gets a progressive challenger"

The Levitt campaign launched on Tuesday, February 14th. Highlights of the week’s campaign tour include:

• on Wednesday the 15th Levitt attended the "Which Way Forward?" Public Forum held by The San Francisco 99% Coalition at the city’s Unitarian Universalist Church, with about 350 attending. During the discussion period Levitt outlined the citizen candidate movement and his own Senate candidacy. Audience applause was followed by signatures on Levitt for Senate ballot nomination forms, signed by voters from San Francisco and several neighboring counties.
• on Friday at UC Berkeley, Levitt attended the opening of the Whistleblowers Conference where Pentagon Papers’ Daniel Ellsberg, Colonel Ann Wright and other whistleblowers honored WikiLeaks and its accused source Bradley Manning, who has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Levitt believes strongly in protecting whistleblowers such as WikiLeaks and other journalists who expose corruption — especially when, as even Defense Secretary Gates has confessed, the harm they are accused of causing is "overblown".
• on Saturday morning, Dr. Levitt and citizen candidates joined Coffee Party Radio / Politics Done Right host Egberto Willies on a special episode "Can We the People ‘Be Our Own Government’?" The guests were:
• Jonathan Greenberg, Executive Director of BeYourGovernment.org
• Jeanne van den Hurk, candidate for U.S. House in South Carolina
• David Levitt, candidate for the U.S. Senate in California
• Eric Reyes, candidate for U.S. House in Illinois
• David Esrati, candidate for U.S. House in Ohio

CONTINUED

Levitt 2012 for US Senate California Tour Gains Supporters, Donations – Press Release – Digital Journal

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So says Russ Feingold in an interview with Huffington Post. Many liberals and “progressives” already know this. He details the naivety and simpleton-ness of the crop of what can only be considered imbeciles running to be the GOP nominee for president.

If President Obama runs a fact based and issue based campaign while many Americans will fall for the Republican shenanigans, misinformation, and fallacies, most will ultimately look out for what is best for themselves, their communities and their country. Americans did this in 2008 but stayed out of the game in 2010. We must learn our lesson. Allowing the Right Wing and Tea Party to usurp our politics has severely delayed our recovery. This must not happen in 2012.

Russ Feingold: ‘It’s A Threat To Our Country’ To Elect One Of The GOP Presidential Candidates

Amanda Terkel Senior Political Reporter, The Huffington Post

WASHINGTON — America has largely turned its focus away from foreign policy and civil liberties since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, according to a new book by former Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold. This shift inward, he argues, can be seen everywhere: in the Tea Party, among progressive activists and in elected officials. But the problem — and its potentially dire consequences — can perhaps be seen most clearly in the 2012 presidential campaign.

In an interview about the book, "While America Sleeps," Feingold lamented the GOP presidential candidates’ lack of discussion and knowledge of foreign policy.

"To me, the gap between President Obama and these people [the GOP candidates] is so enormous that it’s a threat to our country to elect people who take such a silly view of the rest of the world," he told The Huffington Post.

Feingold pointed to former presidential candidate Herman Cain’s pronouncement that he didn’t know the president of Uzbekistan — which he called "Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan" — and that he considered the country "small and insignificant."

"He made fun of a nation that is actually a critical nation," said Feingold. "It is the nation to the north of Afghanistan and Pakistan. When we’re having trouble with Pakistan, we want to go through Uzbekistan to get our things to our troops in Afghanistan. But the trouble is, Uzbekistan is basically run by a guy who is a Stalinist dictator."

"I actually analyzed the two Republican debates on foreign policy and just counted up how many times they mentioned various countries," he added. "Well, they never mentioned Somalia once. This is a place where al Shabaab is operating. It was an Al Qaeda chapter. It was a place where Al Qaeda has had a place for some time, and it’s a critical location. They mentioned Yemen once."

"They are dumbing down foreign policy to slogans," Feingold said. "Of course, the slogans they use are, ‘The president is always apologizing for America,’ or, ‘Do you or do you not believe in American exceptionalism?’ That’s what they’re offering the country in place of real policy."

Feingold goes hard after the concept of American exceptionalism in the book. The term is popular among the GOP presidential candidates, with everything from God to the U.S. space program being touted as an example of this exceptionalism.

"The notion of American exceptionalism is effective in part because there is little on the face of it that is offensive," writes Feingold, adding, "The conservative version of American exceptionalism has become a password of sorts for candidates who want to prove their credentials to a right-wing America."

Russ Feingold: ‘It’s A Threat To Our Country’ To Elect One Of The GOP Presidential Candidates

I simply had to blog this note from John Robert Behrman that was sent for distribution by Carl Whitmarsh, THE LIST KEEPER. Pass this around as we must be in gear now.

Critical reviews on the Obama administration are in:

Jim Fallows in the Atlantic Monthly is the most complete and fair:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/obama-explained/8874/

Naom Scheiber in The New Republic finds this Administration’s weak point in his portrait of perilous dealings by the Treasury Department and “Friends of Bill” with Wall Street:

http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/100595/obama-escape-artist-excerpt

Still, this President has done better on all accounts than right-wing governments in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Israel that came to power alongside Dick Cheney and George W. Bush largely in order to support the Iraq War and, indeed, to create a new sort of religious war focusing on Muslims around the world and right here in Houston.

On The War, …

I won’t state the obvious:

• Barack Obama hunted down killed Osama bin Ladin exactly the way he laid out in his campaign.
• He his inspired those seeking peace and prosperity in the Muslim world.
• And, his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has done the sort of heavy lifting it takes to … make it so.

Well, there, I stated it.

On the Constitution, …

This President has started — with little support from Democrats in Congress and, of course, none from Republicans on the Supreme Court — to dismantle a “deep state” and ineffective “security theater” in order to provide, in fact, better international security for traditional American interests and commerce.

On the Economy, …

We are, technically, out of the Great Recession but not, yet, in another “bubble”. Still, our economic, industrial, and financial institutions have been severely degraded by nearly a century of Great, World, and Cold War. Duh!

This President, Congress, Supreme Court, and Federal Reserve Bank, have not dealt definitively in one term with over thirty years of growing income inequality and widespread financial disorder. Neither did Franklin D. Roosevelt.

This President has done more than “Band-Aid” but not much more than morphine, field dressings, and tourniquets when it comes to full employment and financial stability.

So, we have to evacuate the patient to a well-equipped second term Level IV care facility where reconstructive surgery and serious rehabilitation needs to be done. Actually, we do that here in Houston. Now, we need to …

“Build Better Lives for All – Not Just a Privileged Few”

Economic inequality and financial disorder are institutional problems that cry out for an entire party and a mobilized electorate to deal with. Most of our party’s own bundlers, consultants, perpetual incumbents, and legislative camp-followers are utterly complicit in the mess we have.

That is why we need a new County Chair, …

And, we have one!

But, entrenched interests have neutered the Democratic Party at every echelon. They have turned it into a hiring hall for purveyors of professional and racial patronage.

So, the new Chair needs our help.

But, some on the “whine and cheese” left with something of an End Times view of what passes for “capitalism” or “democracy” today are mortified that this administration has not lived up to right-wing characterization of this President as a left-wing, “socialist” radical or “community organizer” or, … whatever.

Like the whiners, I, too, am against “cringing liberals” or “centrist” Democrats like Martin Frost, but I do not think that is the correct term to use for this President:

He is President of the United States, not the Democratic Senate or House Majority Leader and is supposed to work with the GOP to the extent they let him. That has not been very much, so as a candidate – not as President – I think Barack Obama is going to slaughter the GOP this fall for their gross Congressional intransigence and legislative folly, not least in Texas.

We have, and I want, a diverse majority party. And, that is not going to be one as conspicuous for posturing on a suite of 60’s-vintage, even 50’s-vintage, “social issues” or “identity politics” as the GOP is for their “white-homeowner” or “reactionary” posturing on a worn-out issue-set.

No. I do not think the GOP should be allowed to choose the ground or impose the terms we fight on. That is why as a statutory member of the SDEC I voted last November not to put a bunch of “litmus tests” on the Democratic Primary Ballot.

The GOP is setting out “red meat” bait on “God, Guns, and Gays” again. Yes, they are that bankrupt!

I do not think Democrats should take that smelly, old bait. In 2008, we supported what Barack Obama had to say on The Constitution, The War, and the Economy in a highly disciplined campaign.

I think we can look forward to another disciplined campaign …

Well organized, …

Moderate in tone, and …

Devastatingly effective at all levels.

Trust the people!

We will punish the GOP for its right-wing extremism without being distracted by the GOP from three issues that Barack Obama ran on in a disciplined 2008 campaign sweeping Harris County!

Ignore the smoke and chaff.

The GOP is in full retreat and trying to salvage their self-destructive primaries.

That is why I am still for Obama, just as I was four years ago.

Thanks to all of those as helped me serve for those years as the State Democratic Executive Committeeman for SD-13. And, good luck, to us all as we are “cracked and packed” into SD-13, SD-15, and SD-17.

Yeah, the GOP expects to divide and defeat Democrats. They are desperate.

D-Day is coming for them.

And, they know it!

John Robert BEHRMAN

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President Obama’s budget is out. Do not allow the demonization of the President’s budget. Inasmuch as it is unlikely to get traction in Congress, it will be used as the attack piece by the GOP. It is not perfect but in the climate of a confused America it is simple to understand and is the best option out there for the middle class. It at least will not put the totality of the suffering on the middle class while leaving those that have pilfered the country’s wealth untouched.

What is sad is that as a rich country we really neither have a “real” spending problem as most of the spending sans corporate giveaways is spending the different constituencies actually want, or a shortage to pay for these outlays. We are short sighted in that inasmuch as all data indicate that the hoarding of capital by the few reduces economic growth, we still refuse to acknowledge that a robust taxing system is necessary to control the ill effects of capitalism that cannot be mitigated equitably in any other form.

Until we tax all income equally (capital gains and worker income) and until we tax social security on all said income, we should never be talking about structural changes in our social programs intended to reduce coverage, benefits, or retirements.

Until those that benefit the most from our armed forces expenditures to protect their overseas assets and interests; until those that benefit the most from an infrastructure that allows for the movement of goods and services; and until those that benefit the most from “we the people”, our government’s investment in the education of us all are made to pay their fair share in taxes consummate to their marginal gain we should never be talking about any raise in middle class taxes.

Ten Facts About The Obama Budget

By Travis Waldron on Feb 13, 2012 at 3:38 pm

President Obama unveiled his budget for fiscal year 2013 this morning in Virginia, touting it as a budget that took a balanced approach toward investing in American economic growth now while reducing the nation’s deficit over the long-term. The budget is a step in the right direction, using both tax increases and spending cuts to cut the deficit and investing in infrastructure and other job creation measures to continue the economic recovery.

Like any budget, Obama’s is complicated, containing investments and cuts to various programs. With that in mind, ThinkProgress compiled 10 facts about the Obama budget based on the White House fact sheet and other reports:

1. The budget includes $350 billion in short-term measures to encourage job growth, including $50 billion in immediate infrastructure investment, $30 billion to rebuild schools, and year-long extensions of the payroll tax holiday and unemployment insurance.

2. The implementation of the Buffett Rule and the repeal of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy helps reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years.

3. For every $1 in new revenue from those making more than $250,000 per year and from closing corporate loopholes, the budget has $2.50 in spending cuts including the deficit reduction enacted over the last year.

4. The total budget reduces the deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade.

5. Obama preserves the maximum Pell Grant award, a key difference from the GOP budget, and makes permanent then Americans Opportunity Tax Credit, which helps 9 million families afford the costs of college.

6. Unlike the last two GOP budgets, Obama’s budget protects Medicare and Medicaid from structural changes, and through small tweaks, saves $360 billion from those programs.

7. States will receive $30 billion in aid to prevent further layoffs of firefighters, teachers, and police officers, some of the hardest-hit workforces in the nation.

8. The budget eliminates 12 tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal companies, saving $41 billion over 10 years.

9. Obama preserves planned cuts to the Defense Department negotiated in the debt limit deal last August.

10. The budget maintains goals of putting one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015; doubling share of electricity from clean energy sources by 2035; and reducing buildings’ energy use by 20 percent by 2020.

As the Center for American Progress’ Michael Linden notes, Obama’s budget is far from perfect. It’s spending caps are too low, it’s defense cuts are too small, and it contains less new revenue than bipartisan plans like Simpson-Bowles and Rivlin-Domenici. But it prioritizes job creation and economic development and keeps America on the path to recovery, something Republican plans, unfortunately, fail to do.

Ten Facts About The Obama Budget | ThinkProgress

I must confess I was concerned when I heard the funeral was going to be covered live using a pool feed. I was concerned that the media would make a spectacle of this.

I was concerned that the media would make a caricature of her church, one that is similar to the one my wife attends. I think the service was done in good taste.

Both the pool and the CNN after-coverage seem to cover the entire event  as opposed to drive coverage or sensationalize coverage. They covered her demons fairly and her successes even more so.

Now if we could simply get the media to cover politics, something that affects us all as fairly and accurately as they covered Whitney Houston’s death and funeral. Let’s make sure they do.

At Houston funeral, stories of faith, courage and love

By Phil Gast and Jason Carroll, CNN

updated 7:48 PM EST, Sat February 18, 2012

Whitney Huston funeral: Heartfelt moments

Newark, New Jersey (CNN) — Whitney Houston went to church one last time Saturday.

She was welcomed by family, friends and a virtual audience of millions who watched as the pop superstar was remembered as a child of God with the voice of an angel.

A voice that never forgot its roots.

"Jesus Loves Me" was the last song Houston sang in public before her death February 11 in Beverly Hills, California, at the age of 48.So it was fitting that the mourners — comforted and encouraged by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and R. Kelly — heard the simple, but powerful, "Jesus Loves Me," this time performed by CeCe Winans.

Saturday’s homegoing service was held at New Hope Baptist Church, where Houston, nicknamed "Nippy," was soloing in the junior choir by age 11.

Even with her ensuing fame, which brought six Grammy Awards, glamorous living and parties on the West Coast, and seven consecutive No. 1 singles, Houston never forgot her Newark, New Jersey, hometown.

Actor Kevin Costner, who starred with Houston in her first movie, "The Bodyguard," recounted how both of them grew up in the Baptist faith and had family members who sang in the choir.

"Church was our bond," Costner said.

Houston, the actor said, overcame her doubts about having what it took to earn the role in "The Bodyguard." She alone, Costner said, was the right choice.

"Now you are gone, too soon, leaving us with memories of a little girl who stepped bravely in front of this church, in front of the ones that loved you first," Costner said. "In front of the ones who loved you the best and loved you the longest. And boldly you stepped into the white hot light of the world’s stage."

During the three-and-a-half-hour service, Houston’s casket, covered with a large spray of flowers, rested in front of the altar.

While many of her fans lamented the fact that Houston’s service was invitation-only, Pastor Marvin Winans, who delivered the eulogy, thanked Cissy Houston, Whitney’s mother, for having the service at New Hope.

"That took a lot of courage. And because of that you brought the world to church today," Winans said during his eulogy.

The six-page funeral program contained color family photos and a letter from Cissy Houston.

CONTINUED

At Houston funeral, stories of faith, courage and love – CNN.com

We are now at Occupy Kingwood week 9. It stormed all night and morning in Kingwood but we still had a dedicated contingent representing Kingwood and surrounding areas.

This time I was the first one in the parking lot. Dr. Theis drove up next to me and said, “You thought I wasn’t coming". I replied, “I had no doubt”. We had donuts and then folks just started showing up.

Art & Jeremy came together, then Stephanie and Professor Davis. Many of our regulars were absent as they were setting up at the Mardi Gras festival in Town Center while several of the college students were at a conference in the northeast.

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