I am seriously glad to be here tonight at the annual Alfalfa dinner. I know that many you are aware that this dinner began almost one hundred years ago as a way to celebrate the birthday of General Robert E. Lee. If he were here with us tonight, the General would be 202 years old. And very confused.
Now, this hasn’t been reported yet, but it was actually Rahm’s idea to do the swearing-in ceremony again. Of course, for Rahm, every day is a swearing-in ceremony.
But don’t believe what you read. Rahm Emanuel is a real sweetheart.
No, it’s true. Every week the guy takes a little time away to give back to the community. Just last week he was at a local school, teaching profanity to poor children.
But these are the kind of negotiations you have to deal with as President. In just the first few weeks, I’ve had to engage in some of the toughest diplomacy of my life. And that was just to keep my Blackberry. I finally agreed to limit the number of people who could email me. It’s a very exclusive list. How exclusive?
Everyone look at the person sitting on your left. Now look at the person sitting on your right. None of you have my email address.
February 2009
January 2009
Smart move President Obama, very smart move:
Gregg’s announcement, while making the Obama administration more bipartisan, would likely have the opposite effect on the U.S. Senate. New Hampshire’s Democratic governor John Lynch could appoint a Democrat to replace Gregg, thus delivering to Democrats their elusive 60-vote majority, empowering them to stave off Republican filibusters.
The elections were managed and organized by the Iraqi government with vital assistance from the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq. Iraqi police and military forces helped secure the polling sites and protected voters as they cast their ballots. This important step forward should continue the process of Iraqis taking responsibility for their future.
The United States is proud to have provided technical assistance, along with the United Nations and other international organizations, to Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission – which performed professionally under difficult circumstances.” —Statement from President Obama on the Iraqi Elections
Implanting 8 embryos?! Somebody thought that was a smart idea? People wonder why their infertility is often not covered by their insurance. Well, this is the reason, irresponsibility from a few that ruins it for the masses.
The octuplets’ grandmother Angela Suleman told The Los Angeles Times that her daughter had a fertility treatment last year in which the eight embryos were implanted, touching off a firestorm over the extreme treatment and its implications both for the mother and the children
“Anyone who transfers eight embryos should be arrested for malpractice,” University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Arthur Caplan told ABC News.
“[Experts] would be astounded if a fertility specialist actually implanted eight eggs,” ABC News medical contributor Dr. Tim Johnson said. “Current guidelines, which are guidelines, not law, would suggest between one and four. … A vast majority of experts would say that [implanting eight] is bad practice.”
After eight years of largely being ignored by a homebody president, Washington restaurateurs are throwing open their doors to the new first family — dreaming of a presidential visit that would undoubtedly spark buzz at a time when some restaurants are struggling.
“I think the Obama family brings back this kind of Kennedy-era style of having a youthful family in the White House,” said Sheldon Scott, general manager of Marvin restaurant, in the trendy U-Street corridor. “People actually plan on living in the city, not just necessarily living at the city.”
They’re creating a huge buzz,” he said. “They’re out dining, They’re out supporting small family businesses, local-run businesses that in the end are the backbone of the American economy. And if that doesn’t give people hope, I don’t know what will.”
The city has already seen a benefit. DC Chamber of Commerce President Barbara Lang said preliminary reports show the inaugural celebrations brought in $700 million to $1 billion to Washington businesses. Lang is optimistic that trend will continue, and cited Obama’s visit earlier this month to Ben’s Chili Bowl, a landmark Washington restaurant, as an example.
“It doesn’t mean that all of our economic problems are over with — I think we still are gonna have some challenges,” she said. “[But] this past Saturday or Sunday, the line getting into Ben’s Chili Bowl was five blocks long. And so that’s the kind of impact that because Mr. Obama ate there, everybody wanted to go see Ben’s Chili Bowl. Well, we expect that same kind of impact around the city.”
This story continues to fascinate me.
The mother of octuplets is “obsessed with children” and wanted “just one more girl”, according to her mother. 33 year old Nadya Suleman’s goal in life was to be a mother, her friends and family said.
That is why, even with six young children, including 2-year-old twins, she decided to have more embryos transferred in hopes, her mother said Friday, of getting “just one more girl.”
“And look what happened. Octuplets. Dear God,” Angela Suleman said four days after her daughter became the second person in the U.S. ever to give birth to eight babies at once.
vruz:
vruz: the puritan media reports. you saw it first in puritan cable network.
The validity of a neighbor’s story is always questionable, but this is pretty eyebrow raising information regardless:
In an exclusive interview with momlogic, one neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, revealed that the very pregnant young mom was THE hot topic of conversation at the neighborhood Christmas party. He says, “From what I heard she likes kids, she wants a jillion kids. She even lied to the doctors who impregnated her.” The grandmother of the octuplets told the LA Times she never expected fertility treatments would lead her to conceive her eight babies. Neither doctors nor family members have commented on whether or not she used donor sperm.
When asked if he knew who the father of the baby is, the neighbor said, “She is single. She used a sperm donor, someone she knew, who donated sperm a long time ago. He donated the sperm for the first six kids and she used his frozen sperm for these one. I don’t think the sperm donor knows about these eight kids. He was not involved.”
According to the neighbor, the parents are very supportive of their daughter and even lost their own home in an effort to support her. “The parents lost their house supporting their daughter,” the neighbor went on. “They actually bought this house for her, but then they lost their house supporting her and her kids and they had to move in with her. And now her father has to go back to Iraq to earn more money to support her. Her father either works as a truck driver or an interpreter [in Iraq].”
As to whether the mother herself works, the neighbor says: “She’s a professional student and I want to know where the money’s coming from to do this. Maybe she’s using her student loans to do it.”
Kentucky’s governor is praising the Obama administration’s prompt reaction to the fierce wintry weather that slammed his state.
“They really hit the ground running,” said Steve Beshear, interviewed by CNN. “They’re working very hard to get all the equipment and supplies here that we need.”
Crews have been working to restore power and water service to hundreds of thousands of people. Beshear said that while he realizes “nothing moves fast enough,” he said the federal assistance “has been a great help to us so far.”
Beshear, a Democrat, explained that when the first wave of bad weather came through on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, officials realized that they needed additional help.
“I called the White House directly at that time. I had my other folks talking to FEMA, but I went straight to the top because we needed fast help,” he said.
He said he spoke to the director of intergovernment relations and said she walked Kentucky’s paperwork through. He said President Obama called him and told him he was announcing an emergency declaration for the state.
“I can’t tell you how appreciative we were,” the governor said. “He not only expressed his concern, but he obviously had the Kentuckians in his thoughts and prayers, and he communicated that to us.”
(via ohfortheloveofdog)
For real. I hate being cynical, and I know I’m probably lacking a lot of information about this women right now. BUT, am I the only one getting the this-lady-wants-a-reality-show-and-free-ride-that-comes-with-having-such-a-nutty-family-vibe from this situation?
Read it for the lols:
- 110-year-old endangered male tuatara dinosaur descendant produces offspring
- Henry and his near 80-year-old mate Mildred produced 11 eggs — all hatched
- Henry, disinterested in sex for four decades, lashed out at females
- But his reptile dysfunction changed when a cancerous lump was removed
My favorite part:
Henry’s newfound libido does have some limits, however. Hazley said Juliet, a youthful 22 year old, appears to be too hot to handle for the centenarian — who could live to be 200 years old if he stays healthy.
“I think he’s a bit shy to mate with such a young woman,” Hazley said. “After a bit of experience with Mildred and Lucy, maybe he’ll be interested in Juliet next year.”
Remember about a thousand years ago, right after Sarah Palin was chosen as the GOP’s vice presidential candidate, there was this blast of speculation as to whether she was a Pentecostal and what that would mean? Remember that? Me, either. But it’s still interesting that the Obama administration has apparently chosen an associate pastor of a Pentecostal church to head the Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Read the NYTimes story about Joshua DuBois here. And a WSJ profile from last year here.
I don’t know if they think of themselves in this way, but I really think that the high school class of 2008 changed the world in Iowa. I think Barack won in Iowa and then he won the election—it really came down to Iowa.
We realized that if we could get 20 kids from all 500 high schools, we would be putting ourselves potentially over the top in almost every caucus in the state.
” —Hans Riemer, Youth Vote Director, Obama for America
Obama’s High School Strategy in Iowa - Washington Whispers (usnews.com)
(via think4yourself)
Rod Blagojevich (via think4yourself)
At this point watching him talk just makes me uncomfortable. Yet, I can’t look away.
It was unanimous.
my new impression of Illinois Governor (for now) Rod Blagojevich (via forwhenifeellikesharing)
i sold flu vaccines to new mexico legally!
(via notthatkindagay)
And Bill Richardson! I worked with Bill Richardson! Cause you know…he doesn’t have his own ethics issues right now or anything.
Blago…you’re not being impeached for providing health care…you’re being impeached for being a sleazeball
He makes no sense.
… and they’re playing some of the wiretap tapes.
Meanwhile … A Cry for Help from Rural Alaska. Where Is Sarah Palin?
Sarah Palin no longer gives two shits about Alaska, except to say she’s from there.
