Rachel Maddow: Why Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
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I agree with Maddow. Obama won the Nobel Peach Prize, by all reasonable measures, all americans should be proud.
Because of John Howard? And he is just staying for a day there. Blair House has 119 rooms with 35 bathrooms and just because Howard is there for one night, Obama and his family cannot move in there. This is just horrible arrangement at the Bush administration’s part. It goes to show how childish politicians can get. Obama requests to move in a week earlier into White House’s guest house so his daughters could start school. Obama is not the first president to request that and I think this could have been in consideration before the request was made.
In December, President-elect Obama asked the White House if he and his family could move into Blair House — the White House’s guest house — a week early, so that his daughters Malia and Sasha could start school. The White House rebuffed them, saying the house was already booked for another guest. A White House source added that “Blair House was appalled†by the request.
After weeks of speculation, the mystery guest that trumps the President-elect and his family has finally been revealed. The White House offered the house to John Howard, the former Prime Minister of Australia who is set to receive a Medal of Freedom. Instead of arranging other accommodations for Howard’s one-night stay, the Bush administration told the Obama family to stay in a hotel for two weeks. (Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Colombian President Ãlvaro Uribe, who are also receiving the Medal of Freedom, opted to find other accommodations.)
Last night on MSNBC’s “Countdown,†Bloomberg journalist Margaret Carlson revealed that when the White House turned down Obama’s request in early December, it had not yet even invited Howard to stay at the Blair House:
I reported…on December 11 and 12 that there were no foreign dignitaries booked into Blair House during that period of time. … I have the feeling they asked him [Howard] to come and stay so that there might be some plausible reason for not letting the Obamas stay there.
She also pointed out that Blair House has “119 rooms with 35 bathrooms. Howard wouldn’t even have to share a sink with the Obamas.” (Source: ThinkProgress)
I got this joke several times, thought it’s time to post it:
One sunny day in January 2009
One sunny day in January, 2009 an old man approached the White House from Across Pennsylvania Avenue , where he’d been sitting on a park bench. He spoke to the U.S. Marine standing guard and said, ‘I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.’
The Marine looked at the man and said, ‘Sir, Mr. Bush is no longer president and no longer resides here.’
The old man said, ‘Okay’, and walked away.
The following day, the same man approached the White House and said to the same Marine, ‘I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.’
The Marine again told the man, ‘Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr. Bush is no longer presid
ent and no longer resides here.’The man thanked him and, again, just walked away.
The third day, the same man approached the White House and spoke to the very same U.S. Marine, saying ‘I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.’
The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man and said, ‘Sir, this is the third day in row you have been here asking to speak to Mr. Bush. I’ve told you already that Mr. Bush is no longer the president and no longer resides here. Don’t you understand?’
The old man looked at the Marine and said, ‘Oh, I understand. I just love hearing it.’
The Marine snapped to attention, saluted, and said, ‘See you tomorrow, Sir.’
It’s okay! Get rid of it. I think if anything, daylight saving time brings more trouble than good. Adjusting the clock twice a year is annoying and does not save you time! Join the rest of the world, we lived without daylight savings and are happy.
Obama Looks to Axe Daylight Time — NYT Explains Why
In order to conserve energy, President-elect Barack Obama wants to eliminate daylight saving time.
Twice a year, a bunch of countries, including most of the United States, practice daylight saving time or DST, shifting one hour ahead in the spring and one hour back in the fall. While I go through the whole twice-a-year ritual of looking for clocks, I only vaguely understood the reason behind it. I knew it had to do with more sunlight during waking hours and I assumed it was to save energy.
Turns out, according to two academics on the NYT Op-Ed page, there is little scientific proof that this reduces energy consumption. It also turns out that this practice could be wasteful, a bit annoying, and a lot of people, including Obama, want to get rid of it.
A study in Indiana, a state that recently started DST, showed an overall increase of 1 percent in residential electricity use with occasional increases of 2 to 4 percent in late spring and early fall. So much for conserving energy. (Source: Green Daily)
Here’s a more detailed explanation from New York Times.
What’s the Point of Daylight Time?
Daylight time costs Indiana households an average of $3.29 a year in higher electricity bills, or about $9 million for the whole state. We also calculated the health and other social costs of increased pollution emissions at $1.7 million to $5.5 million per year.
What explains this unexpected result? While daylight time reduces demand for household lighting, it increases demand for heating in the early spring and late fall (in the mornings) and, even more important, for cooling on summer evenings. Benjamin Franklin was right about candles, in other words, but he did not consider air-conditioners. (Source: New York Times)
Clinton accepts Obama’s offer for secretary of state. I guess it’s a good compromise.
Hillary Clinton to accept Obama’s offer of secretary of state job
Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration, the Guardian has learned.
Obama’s advisers have begun looking into Bill Clinton’s foundation, which distributes millions of dollars to Africa to help with development, to ensure that there is no conflict of interest. But Democrats do not believe that the vetting is likely to be a problem.
Clinton would be well placed to become the country’s dominant voice in foreign affairs, replacing Condoleezza Rice. Since being elected senator for New York, she has specialised in foreign affairs and defence. Although she supported the war in Iraq, she and Obama basically agree on a withdrawal of American troops. (Source: Guardian)
I wonder if it’s a good decision to place Clinton as Secretary of State.
This is just wrong:
Westboro Baptist Church will be picketing the funeral of Obama’s grandmother
WBC to picket the funeral of Madelyn Payne Dunham, – pursuant to the picketing laws of Hawaii or Kansas or, etc., wherever burial occurs, – in religious protest and warning to the living; to wit: “Prepare to meet thy God.”
Amos 4:11.Yes. Dying time is truth time, and reflection time, and time for meditating on the weighty issues of life: getting right with God, life, death, Heaven, Hell, sin, righteousness, judgment to come, etc. Obama says his grandmother Dunham raised him, and, her “influence on his manner and the way he viewed the world was substantial.” If so, then she has much to answer for as she stands before the Lord. Obama says he will use the White House as a Bully Pulpit to advance the cause of murdering more babies and same-sex marriage. “God hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by Christ.” Acts 17:31.
“And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry to him day and night?”
Luke 18 .“For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompence, saith the Lord. It is afearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God…”
Reb. 10:30,31.(Source: Democratic Underground)
I don’t think anyone deserves this.
Condolences. Unfortunately, Obama’s grandmother cannot see her grandson be the president.
Obama’s grandmother dies 2 days before election
HONOLULU: Barack Obama’s grandmother, whose personality and bearing shaped much of the life of the Democratic presidential contender, has died, Obama announced Monday, one day before the election. Madelyn Payne Dunham was 86.
Obama announced the news from the campaign trail in Charlotte, N.C. The joint statement with his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng said Dunham died peacefully late Sunday night after a battle with cancer.
They said: “She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances.”
Obama learned of her death Monday morning while he was campaigning in Jacksonville, Fla. He planned to go ahead with campaign appearances. The family said a private ceremony would be held later.
(Source: International Herald Tribune)
