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Wednesday Obot Link Review | Afternoon Open Thread

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GOP Should Be Runnin’ Scared News: Democratic pollster Geoff Garin conducted a focus group during last night’s State of the Union address with voters in Columbus, Ohio (a key swing state). The group was evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans/Independents – and, according to a memo by Garin, the overall reaction to the speech was extremely positive. Read more here.

Bat Shit Crazy News: Democratic pollster Geoff Garin conducted a focus group during last night’s State of the Union address with voters in Columbus, Ohio (a key swing state). The group was evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans/Independents – and, according to a memo by Garin, the overall reaction to the speech was extremely positive. Read more here.

Asshole Of The Day Award Nominee News: Controversy surrounding Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr.’s “taco” comment Tuesday continues to grow, with Maturo making a formal apology and some now calling for his resignation. Maturo had given what many are calling a racially insensitive answer to a New York PIX 11 TV reporter when asked what he was doing for the Latino community that night, in light of four town police officers being arrested for allegedly harassing Latinos. Maturo responded on camera, “I might have tacos when I go home. I’m not sure yet.” Read more here.

Healthier Lunches For The Kiddies News: The first major nutritional overhaul of school meals in more than 15 years means most offerings, including popular pizza, will contain with less sodium and more whole grains, with a wider selection of fruits and vegetables on the side, first lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced during a visit Wednesday with elementary students. Pizza won’t disappear from lunch lines, but will be made with healthier ingredients. Read more here.

Throwback To 2009- PBO Takes Out Somali Pirates….Again News: American Navy Seals swooped into Somalia early on Wednesday and rescued two aid workers, an American woman and a Danish man, after a shootout with Somali gunmen who had been holding them captive in a sweltering desert hide-out for months. Read more here.

Happy Humpday POU family! Check out the links and come back to discuss. Here’s your Whining Wednesday track…..

Wednesday Obot Link Review | Afternoon Open Thread

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POTUS News: President Barack Obama challenged Republicans Wednesday to help put war heroes to work, as his wife Michelle unveiled corporate pledges to create 25,000 jobs for veterans and spouses. Obama, on the latest leg of his bus tour through key 2012 swing states Virginia and North Carolina, made a new pitch for a $447 billion jobs scheme which was blocked by the Senate, as he now seeks to pass the bill in pieces. Read more here.

Fabulous FLOTUS News: Ever since spending the afternoon with Michelle Obama at the White House, we began seeing the First Lady in a whole new light. Of course, in person she’s just as gorgeous, fit, intelligent, and hip as she looks on TV. But the truth is: She has “regular person” moments, too. Mrs. Obama hosted the White House round-table discussion to talk about her “Let’s Move” initiative to fight childhood obesity; but over the course of the conversation, she opened up about a variety of personal issues including motherhood and how she stays in shape. Read more here (It’s a fluff piece, but I don’t care. Team Michelle forever!).

GOP Debate Turns Into A WWE Match News: Mitt Romney came under withering attack from his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination at a debate Tuesday night, with Gov. Rick Perry leading an intense and sometimes personal barrage against him on conservative consistency, health care policy and even the immigration status of yard workers at his home. The most contentious of all of the debates so far, it made Romney a target for the six other Republicans on stage with him, and signaled the start of a tough new phase of the campaign little more than two months before the first votes are cast. Read more here.

Good News For SSI Recipients News: Fifty-five million Social Security beneficiaries will receive a 3.6 percent cost-of-living increase next year, the government announced today. The increase, the first since 2009, takes effect in January. Eight million Americans participating in the Supplemental Security Income program, which aids the blind and disabled, will receive the same 3.6 percent increase. Read more here.

When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong News: DeAndre Cortez Way, better known by his stage name Soulja Boy, proclaimed his innocence after being arrested for alleged possession of drug and weapons in Temple, Ga., according to CBS Atlanta. “I’m innocent, man. I love you all. I just want you’ll to know I’m innocent,” Soulja Boy said as bodyguards rushed him to a car, according to the news station. Read more here.

Happy Humpday Obot family! Check out the links and come back to discuss. Here’s your Whining Wednesday track…

Wednesday Obot Link Review | Afternoon Open Thread

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J-O-B-S Jobs, Bishes! News: Companies in July advertised the most jobs in three years, and layoffs declined – a bit of hope for a weak economy. Still, many employers are in no rush to fill openings. The Labor Department said Wednesday that employers increased their postings to 3.23 million from 3.17 million in June. That is the largest number of openings since August 2008. Typically, it takes anywhere from one to three months to fill an opening. Read more here.

Another Promise Kept News: Fox News broke the story yesterday that the Obama administration is planning to cut the US military presence in Iraq to about 3,000 at the start of next year, prompting predictable posturing and hand-wringing from politicians and pundits in the beltway. One thing much of the media commentary has neglected so far? The role of Iraq’s politicians and people in making this decision. Read more here.

Cut Spending, But Drill Baby Drill News: Lobbyists for oil producers Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Chevron Corp. (CVX) are pushing Congress to increase funding for the U.S. agency that reviews and issues drilling permits. Approving more drilling or mining on public land would help boost domestic oil and gas production by more than 75 percent in the next two decades, boosting U.S. employment and the Treasury receipts, according to a report released today by the American Petroleum Institute in Washington. Read more here.

Don’t Let These Doctor’s Dope Up Your Kids News: When Christie Haskell saw the classic symptoms of Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in her 7-year-old son, Rowan, she became concerned. “At home there was a lot of just hyperactivity,” she told ABC News. “Not being able to his hands to himself, talking when he’s not supposed to talk, lack of concentration or ability to concentrate when he needed to.” Read more here. (Check out the doctor in the video- seems like Big Pharma gave him a kickback. Why not list the side effects from Ritalin? I’m just sayin’…)

POU Book Club Material? News: November is shaping up to be a hot month in the publishing world. First, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s memoir, “No Higher Honour” will be published Nov. 1, and then on Nov. 15, a joint memoir by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, is coming out. Read more here.

Happy Humpday Obot family! Check out the links and come back to discuss. Here’s your Whining Wednesday track…..

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Wednesday Obot Link Review | Afternoon Open Thread

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J-O-B-S We Need More Jobs, Bishes! News: Private businesses added a modest number of jobs in August, according to a report released Wednesday. Separately, U.S. factory orders, driven by strong car and airplane demand, climbed in July more than expected, a promising sign as the manufacturing sector tries growing within a listless economy. Read more here.
Meanwhile….In Syria News: Syrian rights activists and residents say government tanks and troops have entered the central city of Hama, making arrests in a renewed crackdown on the hotbed of opposition to President Bashar al-Assad. The activists and residents say gunfire was heard in Hama on Wednesday, as tanks and military vehicles drove into the city. They say hundreds of Syrian security forces also emerged from buses parked on the city’s outskirts and entered on foot, searching for activists involved in a five-month pro-democracy uprising. Read more here.
Haters Gone Hate News: Leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus warned that African-American voters could stay home next year rather than vote for President Barack Obama’s re-election unless the administration does more to tackle the “near-depression levels” of unemployment in the black community. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D., Mo.) said he is frustrated by Mr. Obama’s unwillingness to address the black unemployment issue head-on. Nationally, black joblessness stands at 21%, rising to as high as 40% in major urban centers like Detroit, the lawmaker said. This is far higher than the overall high unemployment rate of 9.1%. Read more here.
US Open News: Serena Williams has come a long way since her blow-up with a line referee at the 2009 U.S. Open, as the American swiftly took care of Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski Tuesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Williams, who is searching for her fourth U.S. Open championship, sealed her first round victory 6-1, 6-1, in a match that took less than one hour to complete. “If anything, I thought, ‘Wow, I’m back. I haven’t played in a long time.’ I’m telling you: Out of sight, out of mind for me,” she said. “You guys should try it.” Read more here.
US Intervenes In ATT & T-Mobile Telecommunications Monopoly Merger News: The U.S. government sued to block AT&T; Inc. (T)’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA Inc., saying the deal would “substantially lessen competition” in the wireless market. AT&T; shares fell as much as 5 percent. In the complaint filed today in federal court in Washington, the U.S. is seeking a declaration that Dallas-based AT&T;’s takeover of T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE), would violate U.S. antitrust law. Read more here.
When Will Crap Like This Ever End? News: Two people were charged with felony assault and two police rangers were injured during a melee that broke out Tuesday at Playland Amusement Park when Muslim visitors became angry that the park was enforcing its ban on headgear by prohibiting the women from wearing their traditional head coverings on some rides. Read more here.
If Corporations Are People…Than These People Need To Start Paying Their Damn Taxes! News: Twenty-five of last year’s highest-paid corporate CEOs made more than their companies paid in taxes, says a new report from the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). According to IPS, the 25 highest-paid CEOs averaged 16.7 million in annual compensation, with 22 of them receiving net pay increases in 2010. In 13 of the companies, these pay increases coincided with either a decline in the corporation’s tax bill or an increase in their tax refund check. Read more here.

Happy Humpday Obot fam! Check out the links and come back to discuss. Here’s your Whining Wednesday Track….

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