On the day that the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, was deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States, I felt exhilarated to look back at will.i.am’s 2008 “Yes, We Can” production that brought together millions of Americans seeking political change. In fact, I felt so inspired by
Continue readingTag: Barack Obama
From Orangutan: Yes We Can…à la Québécoise
On the day that the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, was deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States, I felt exhilarated to look back at will.i.am’s 2008 “Yes, We Can” production that brought together millions of Americans seeki…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: TransCanada’s Latest Extreme Energy Export Pipelines in the U.S. and Canada
shutterstock_48011347.jpg TransCanada was once in the limelight and targeted for its Keystone XL pipeline project. Now, with few eyes watching, it is pushing along two key pipeline projects that would bring two respective forms of what energy geopolitics scholar Michael Klare calls "extreme energy" to lucrative export markets. Pipeline one: the southern
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Obama’s Mortal Sin – Normalizing Extremism
Guantanamo remains open. Drones strike far afield. American citizens are being liquidated by their own government without trial or even charge. Is this the legacy of Barack Obama, the normalization of the radical extremism of Bush-Cheney?
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: The Obama Question [book review]
Gary Dorrien’s book, The Obama Question, makes, as its central thesis, the following point: From a progressive perspective, much of Obama’s presidency has been a failure for which he has received ample criticism for his centrism, for his capitulations, and for his lack of leadership. Despite this, he argues, Obama’s
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Obama Backs Marriage Equality
Barack Obama announced his personal support of marriage equality yesterday, making him the first U.S. president to do so. Political analysts are already speculating on how this will affect November’s elections, although I don’t really expect that rabidly anti-gay voters would have supported Obama anyway. Still, in the off chance
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: President Obama and Marriage Equality
First thing’s first. Barack Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage yesterday should be celebrated. On the heels of similar pronouncements by Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, this marks the first time that a sitting US President has taken such a bold stance in favour of marriage
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: Right-wing talk radio on the US is going to be frothier then usual from now until November.
You might have heard that President Obama came out publicly and announced his support for same-sex marriage: “It is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.” As expected, that set off a right-wing talk-radio torrent. The funniest rebuttal
Continue readingImpolitical: Obama endorses same-sex marriage
There you go, Mr. Obama, how hard was that? “I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Obama comes out in support of same sex marriage
Years back, when Barack Obama first told us that his views on gay marriage were “evolving”, I predicted that he would support gay marriage before the next election. That day has now come, and Obama has evolved to join his supposedly progressive base by supporting gay marriage. Good. For the
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: B.C. Protest This Saturday to Stop Warren Buffett’s BNSF Coal Trains
shutterstock_14976709.jpg Warren Buffett, the third wealthiest man on the planet (net worth: $44 billion), often referred to as the "Oracle of Omaha," is the target of a May 5 action called for by Stop Coal B.C. Well, not Buffett directly, but a rail company he owns through his massive holding company, Berkshire
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: ALEC Wasn’t First Industry Trojan Horse Behind Fracking Disclosure Bill – Enter Council of State Governments
shutterstock_95581429.jpg 19th Century German statesman Otto von Bismarck once said, "If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made." The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), put on the map by the Center for Media and Democracy in its "ALEC Exposed" project, is the archetype of von Bismarck's truism. So too are the fracking chemical
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: Nerd Prom 2012 Speeches
Keynote speeches from this year’s White House Correspondents’ dinner by Jimmy Kimmel and President Obama:
Continue readingLeDaro: Correspondents Dinner 2012: Obama sparkles again
He did even better than 2011.
Continue readingbastard.logic: Deja Vu All Over Again (And Again, And Again, And…)
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, Canuckistan: Stephen Harper is leaving the door open once again to extending Canada’s military participation in the costly Afghanistan war. When the Official Opposition NDP pressed the Prime Minister on Wednesday about reports the United States has asked Canada to stay in
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: 2008 Shell Nigeria Oil Spill 60 Times Larger Than Originally Claimed
shutterstock_88735852.jpg Amnesty International and the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) dropped a bombshell early this week, unveiling documents pertaining to the Royal Dutch Shell Oil 2008 Bodo oil pipeline spill. The documents indicate that the Shell spill released 60 times the amount of oil Shell had originally reported in
Continue readingLeDaro: Barack Obama on prostitution scandal in Columbia
Obama appeared on Jimmy Fallon show. One of the questions Fallon asked him was about his security staff and prostitution fiasco in Columbia. He called security staff involved knuckleheads. Interesting exchange.
Continue readingFive of Five: ABVOTE: Play the Obama Card.
Donna Kennedy-Glans, election flyer 2012 This was in my mailbox on Friday. Donna Kennedy-Glans is running as the PC candidate in my riding of Calgary Varsity. It’s quite impressive, the production values are great. It looks like it cost a lot. Not surprising from a governing party that spares no penny on self-promotion.
Continue readingLeDaro: Rosa Parks, Bus, Barack Obama and Civil Rights Movement
Ed Shultz of MSNBC had a nice coverage of Barack Obama sitting on the seat of the bus where Rosa Parks sat and refused to vacate the seat for a white woman. Ms. Parks’ actions provided a great momentum to the civil rights movement. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world
Continue readingLeDaro: Barack Obama: A moving picture
Barack Obama sits on the seat in the bus where Rosa Parks sat, and refused to move, during the height of Civil Rights movement under Martin Luther King Jr.. The bus is currently located at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
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