Hurricane Christie and President Obama

Chris Christie is plain spoken to the point of boorishness and often ruffles a lot of New Jersey feathers (including mine). Not this time.  I was delighted with his support for President Obama's response to Hurricane Sandy.  It made sitting here in the dark with no heat, hot water or internet access easier to bear.  It really did.

 I don't know if Governor Christie's praise for President Obama was motivated by political expediency or genuine appreciation or both.   It really doesn't matter, because at the eleventh hour of this down to the wire Presidential campaign, Christie, the darling of the  Republican party and possible contender in 2016, threw a monkey wrench into the works by praising President Obama's handling of hurricane Sandy and hanging out with him in a helicopter as the two surveyed the wreckage of the Jersey Shore

They are really scrambling down at Romney headquarters. The Super PACs are stepping up with last minute lavish spending on some pretty whackadoodle TV ads and I think I noticed that Romney's nose was growing. Hurricane Sandy may have given New Jersey a hard time, but Hurricane Christie just delivered a sucker punch to the Romney campaign

Thoughts on the Eleventh Anniversary of September 11th

photo source

For every American who was on the planet eleven years ago today, September 11,2001, is one of those days like the day when President Kennedy was assasinated, where you remember graphically and explicitly where you were.  Every American has a personal story about the day and the event.  Some of those stories involve the pain of personal loss and others involve moments of unexpected heroism.  None of us can forget the days and weeks afterwards as our national consciousness changed and together we mourned our losses.

 photo source

Who could have known at the time, as people from all over the country arrived to help dig through the rubble for bodies, and messages of condolence poured in from around the world,  that eleven years later we would be a divided, squabbling nation screaming at each other like children on a playground not only about how to steer the ship of state, but also about what our communal responsibility to each other as fellow citizens and fellow human beings is about.

 Congress and Wall Street, both mired in corruption, serve up alternative visions of the future and scramble for votes and power.  Billions are spent on a political campaign that is the modern equivalent of ancient Rome's " bread and circuses" while  children go to bed hungry and families sleep in their cars.  1% of the population controls 90% of the country's assets and the 99% are occupying Wall Street and the Internet.

So I am happy to hear that both President Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney have decided to honor this eleventh anniversary of September 11th, a day that altered our national consciousness forever, by putting aside the bitter campaign rhetoric and stepping away from the drama just for a day.   Both campaigns will pause today, for a day of remembrance for the victims of 9/11.

The pause in the political hostilities should give us all pause and help us remember that eleven years ago, for just a few weeks and months we really were one people, sharing grief, courage and hope but never fear and despair.  On this eleventh anniversary of 9/11, in the middle of the most divisive political campaign in our history, let's try and remember what that was like, shall we?

Mitt Romney's Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day in London

 Yo, Mitt-- how do you screw up a trip to LONDON? Jon Stewart wants to know and so does all of America.   I mean, familiar culture, no foreign language, special relationship and all that... special buddy bonding during WWII included.  How did you go up against all that to insult and alienate the Brits on a trip designed to show off your foreign affairs expertise to potential voters in America?

Way to go, buddy.  This Obama mama  is enjoying the gift.  Take a look at what Jon Stewart had to say on The Daily Show-- hilarious.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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cartoon source:ghnewsroom.com

This Is The Face of Obamacare

26 year old Erica would not be here today were it not for one part of President Obama's Affordable Care Act that has already gone into effect-- that is the part about insurance companies not being able to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions.  

You never think, when you are 26 years old and healthy, that you are going to get a brain tumor, but that is what happened to Erika.  Watch the video.  It will help you understand that the un-insured are not faceless, syncophants looking to leech off of those who have insurance.  They are ordinary people, just like YOU. And if they could be denied medical care in our system because of lack of money, so could you.

Obamacare is better than a system that lets insurance companies make life and death decisions for people on the basis of what is best for corporations......and permits people to go without medical care so shareholders will get dividends.  Something is very wrong when an insured 94 year old can get a pacemaker and chemotherapy for terminal cancer, while an uninsured 26 year old cannot get  brain surgery for a curable brain tumer...... not in MY America.

Four more years for President Obama.  Please.... it's a matter of life and death.

Thanks to BarackObama.com on YouTube for the video.