Obamas take a beach lunch on second vacation day

EDGARTOWN, Mass. – President Barack Obama enjoyed a picnic lunch with the first family while on vacation Saturday.

The president, first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha took about a 10-minute ride from their Martha's Vineyard vacation home to a private beach where aides said they planned to picnic.

The family was not seen by the White House press corps, but clusters of well-wishers waved to them as they passed a bustling farmer's market and several crowded intersections en route.

They stopped in the Oyster Watcha area, just down the road from where former President Bill Clinton used to vacation. That property, owned by real estate developer Richard Friedman, is the site of a scheduled Saturday evening fundraiser for Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a friend of the president's and fellow Chicagoan.

The fundraiser is being hosted by White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, but both Patrick and Obama aides said there were no plans for the president to attend. The governor said he encouraged the White House to keep Obama away so he could enjoy his vacation. Nonetheless, the guest list was screened by the Secret Service.

On Friday, his first full day of vacation, the president golfed and went shopping at a bookstore with his daughters. Michelle Obama visited Oak Bluffs, stopping at Mad Martha's for an ice cream cone.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100821/ap_on_re_us/us_obama

The weather was perfect for the beach and all outdoor activities: warm, sunny, with little humidity.

Since it's that time of year when Republicans throw their annual hissy fit about Obama taking a vacation
it's never too early to remind them of these inconvenient facts....

Quote :

But Mark Knoller of CBS, the unofficial keeper of presidential work schedules, reported that President George W. Bush had taken more time off than Obama at this point in his first term.

Obama’s upcoming vacation is his ninth vacation since taking office. Obama has spent all or part of 38 days on vacation away from the White House. He has also made 14 visits to Camp David spanning all or part of 32 days, for a total of 70 days, Knoller said.

Bush, at this point in his first term, had made 14 visits to his Texas ranch spanning all or part of 102 days, Knoller said. He also made 40 visits to Camp David spanning all or part of 123 days. His vacation total at this point in his presidency was all or part of 225 days away.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/18/1008312/-Only-Republican-presidents-can-goonvacation?via=blog_1

Amazing that Moby hasn't posted this on the other board, what with his crush on Michelle and fascination with her diet.

KarenT wrote:

Amazing that Moby hasn't posted this on the other board, what with his crush on Michelle and fascination with her diet.

When Bush was in office he cried like a baby about all the negative articles I would post and complain constantly about how many topics I would start. Now look at him. He is the one of the biggest hypocrites I've ever seen.

Artie60438 wrote:

Since it's that time of year when Republicans throw their annual hissy fit about Obama taking a vacation

Time of YEAR? Don't you mean time of the MONTH? Maybe he's resting so that he can deliver the Grand Jobs Speech, you know, the speech and plan that , if he even has one, that should be delivered what, like a year ago? Is this another buyout/stimulus bullshit plan, like the last "shovel ready" plan? Stock market in the shitter...and this clown lays on the beach with that cow of a wife? Rest up now one termer, you'll need the rest just to read the want ads.

Wow. Calling the First Lady of the United States a "cow?" That's real classy.

It speaks volumes about your irrational hatred of the President and his family. You may disagree with his policies, but that's not an excuse to take cheap shots at his family.

Admin wrote:

Scorpion wrote:

Wow. Calling the First Lady of the United States a "cow?" That's real classy.

It speaks volumes about your irrational hatred of the President and his family. You may disagree with his policies, but that's not an excuse to take cheap shots at his family.

I am not so sure that the person posting in this topic is "BigWhiteGuy". And this isn't the first time I have wondered whether someone else is, on occasion, using that account.

Then exactly who am I supposed to be? And isn't one of your "things" supposed to be avoiding arguments and confrontations? So, just because I post an opinion of the leader of the free world and the first lady, and you take offense, calling it a cheap shot, I am now someone else posting on my own account? What about the cheap shots on this board directed at Michelle Bachman, or Sarah Palin, or her daughters? Seems rather hypocritical to me.

Yeah. Well speaking for myself, I have always objected to attacks on the families of politicians, so there is nothing hypocritical about it at all.

As to whether it's you or someone else posting to you account, I really couldn't care less.

The accusation has been made, and by the Admin.

BigWhiteGuy wrote:

Artie60438 wrote:

Since it's that time of year when Republicans throw their annual hissy fit about Obama taking a vacation

Time of YEAR? Don't you mean time of the MONTH?
Maybe he's resting so that he can deliver the Grand Jobs Speech, you know, the speech and plan that , if he even has one, that should be delivered what, like a year ago? Is this another buyout/stimulus bullshit plan, like the last "shovel ready" plan?

That plan saved a million jobs at least.

Quote :

Stock market in the shitter...

Yeah,well you can thank the Repubs and their 3 ring circus debt ceiling fiasco for that.

happy jack wrote:

Artie60438 wrote:

Quote :

Stock market in the shitter...

Yeah,well you can thank the Repubs and their 3 ring circus debt ceiling fiasco for that.

Democrats in control of both houses of Congress for the past 4 years.

Really genius? Was the 2010 election where the Repubs took back the house just a bad dream? Since the Republicans took over the House the stock market has gone down.

Quote :

Democrats in control of the White House for the last 2 1/2 years.
Hence, Democrats in complete control of 2 branches of government for an entire 2 years.

True

Quote :

Republicans in control of 1/2 of 1 branch of government for 6 months, and everything that is wrong with the economy is their fault.
That would be a logical conclusion to draw, if one had shit for brains.

Whose idea was it to take a routine legislative procedure and turn it into a 3 ring circus. It wasn't the Dems! That little stunt was the major reason we got our credit rating lowered and helped cause weakness on Wall St. Oh,and how many times have the Republicans used filibusters and other procedures to block legislation and appointments?
Republican Obstruction at Work: Record Number of Filibusters

Artie60438 wrote:

Oh,and how many times have the Republicans used filibusters and other procedures to block legislation and appointments?

Below is a list of the bills wherein cloture was invoked. Please explain, in detail and on a case-by-case basis, how and why which, if any, of these cloture invocations contributed to the current state of the economy.
Again, no generalizations or talking points - just strict, detailed economic analysis on a case-by-case basis.
Thanks.

Dec 19 Treaty Doc. 111-5 START Treaty Reid Dec 21 67 - 28 No. 292 I
Dec 19 H.R.3082 Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011
motion to concur to the House amendment to the Senate amendment with S.Amdt.4885
Reid
Dec 21
82 - 14 No. 288
I
Dec 16 H.R.2965 Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal
motion to agree to the House amendment to the Senate amendment
Reid
Dec 18
63 - 33 No. 279
I
Dec 16 H.R.5281 DREAM Act of 2010
motion to agree to House amendment to the Senate amendment numbered 3
Reid
Dec 18
55 - 41 No. 278
F
Dec 9 H.R.4853 Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010
motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment
Reid
Dec 13
83 - 15 No. 272
I
Dec 6 S.3991 Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2010
motion to proceed
Reid
Dec 8
55 - 43 No. 266
F
Dec 6 H.R.847 James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010
motion to proceed
Reid
Dec 9
57 - 42 No. 269
F
Dec 6 S.3992 Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2010
motion to proceed
Reid
Dec 9
no vote
N
Dec 6 S.3985 Emergency Senior Citizens Relief Act of 2010
motion to proceed
Reid
Dec 8
53 - 45 No. 267
F
Dec 2 H.R.4853 Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2010, Part III
S.Amdt.4728
Reid
Dec 4
53 - 37 No. 259
F
Dec 2 H.R.4853 Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2010, Part III
motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment with S.Amdt.4727
Reid
Dec 4
53 - 36 No. 258
F
Nov 18 S.510 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Reid Nov 30 UC W
Nov 18 S.510 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
S.Amdt.4715
Reid
Nov 29
69 - 26 No. 252
I
Sep 29 S.510 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Reid Nov 17 74 - 25 No. 250 I
Sep 29 S.3772 Paycheck Fairness Act Reid Nov 17 58 - 41 No. 249 F
Sep 29 S.3815 Promoting Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles Act of 2010 Reid Nov 17 UC W
Sep 24 H.R.3081 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2010 Reid Sep 28 84 - 14 No. 243 I
Sep 24 S.3816 Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act Reid Sep 28 53 - 45 No. 242 F
Sep 16 S.3454 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011
Vote No. 238 reconsidered Reid Sep 21
Dec 9 56 - 43 No. 238
57 - 40 No. 270 F
F
Aug 5 H.R.5297 Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 Reid Sep 16 61 - 38 No. 236 I
Aug 5 H.R.5297 Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010
S.Amdt.4594
Reid
Sep 14
61 - 37 No. 233
I
Aug 5 H.R.5297 Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010
S.Amdt.4595
Reid
Sep 14
56 - 42 No. 232
F
Aug 5 H.R.5297 Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010
S.Amdt.4596
Reid
Sep 14
46 - 52 No. 231
F
Aug 2 H.R.1586 FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement
motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment with S.Amdt.4575
Reid
Aug 4
61 - 38 No. 224
I
Jul 29 H.R.1586 FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement
motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment with S.Amdt.4567
Reid
Aug 2
UC
W
Jul 27 H.R.5297 Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010 Reid Jul 29 UC W
Jul 27 H.R.5297 Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010
S.Amdt.4519
Reid
Jul 29
58 - 42 No. 221
F
Jul 22 S.3628 Federal Election Campaign Act amendments
motion to proceed
Vote No. 220 reconsidered
Reid
Jul 27
Sep 23
57 - 41 No. 220
59 - 39 No. 240
F
F
Jul 22 H.R.4899 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010
motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment
Reid
Jul 22
46 - 51 No. 219
F
Jul 21 H.R.5297 Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010 Reid Jul 27 UC W
Jul 21 H.R.5297 Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010
S.Amdt.4499
Reid
Jul 27
UC
W
Jul 21 H.R.5297 Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010
S.Amdt.4500
Reid
Jul 22
60 - 37 No. 218
I
Jul 13 H.R.4173 Restoring American Financial Stability
conference report
Reid
Jul 15
60 - 38 No. 206
I
Jun 29 H.R.4213 American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010
motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment
Vote No. 204 reconsidered
Reid
Jun 30
Jul 20
58 - 38 No. 204
60 - 40 No. 209
F
I
Jun 24 H.R.5297 Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010
motion to proceed
Reid
Jun 29
66 - 33 No. 202
I
Jun 23 H.R.4213 American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010
motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment
Reid
Jun 24
57 - 41 No. 200
F
Jun 16 H.R.4213 American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010
motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment
Reid
Jun 17
56 - 40 No. 194
F
Jun 14 H.R.4213 American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010
S.Amdt.4301
Reid
Jun 15
UC
W
May 25 H.R.4899 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010 Reid May 27 UC W
May 25 H.R.4899 Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010
committee substitute
Reid
May 27
69 - 29 No. 171
I
May 19 S.3217 Restoring American Financial Stability
S.Amdt.3739
Dodd
May 20
no vote
N
May 19 S.3217 Restoring American Financial Stability Dodd May 20 no vote N
May 17 S.3217 Restoring American Financial Stability Reid May 19 UC W
May 17 S.3217 Restoring American Financial Stability
S.Amdt.3739
Vote No. 158 reconsidered
Reid
May 19
May 20
57 - 42 No. 158
60 - 40 No. 160
F
I
Apr 27 S.3217 Restoring American Financial Stability
motion to proceed
Reid
Apr 28
no vote
N
Apr 26 S.3217 Restoring American Financial Stability
motion to proceed
Reid
Apr 28
56 - 42 No. 127
F
Apr 22 S.3217 Restoring American Financial Stability
motion to proceed
Vote No. 124 reconsidered
Reid
Apr 26
Apr 27
57 - 41 No. 124
57 - 41 No. 126
F
F
Apr 15 PN1060 Nominee Denny Chin Reid Apr 20 UC W
Apr 15 PN909 Nominee Thomas I. Vanaskie Reid Apr 20 UC W
Apr 15 PN1379 Nominee Christopher H. Schroeder Reid Apr 20 UC W
Apr 15 PN228 Nominee Marisa J. Demeo Reid Apr 19 UC W
Apr 15 PN224 Nominee Lael Brainard Reid Apr 19 84 - 10 No. 118 I
Apr 14 H.R.4851 Continuing Extension Act of 2010 Reid Apr 15 UC W
Apr 14 H.R.4851 Continuing Extension Act of 2010
S.Amdt.3721
Reid
Apr 15
60 - 38 No. 116
I
Mar 25 H.R.4851 Continuing Extension Act of 2010
motion to proceed
Reid
Apr 12
60 - 34 No. 109
I
Mar 25 S.3153 Continuing Extension Act of 2010
motion to proceed
McConnell
Mar 25
no vote
N
Mar 11 H.R.2847 Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act
motion to concur in the House amendments to the Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment
Durbin
Mar 15
61 - 30 No. 49
I
Mar 5 H.R.4213 Tax Extenders Act of 2009 Reid Mar 10 66 - 33 No. 47 I
Mar 5 H.R.4213 Tax Extenders Act of 2009
S.Amdt.3336
Reid
Mar 9
66 - 34 No. 46
I
Feb 26 PN937 Nominee Barbara Milano Keenan Reid Mar 2 99 - 0 No. 29 I
Feb 24 H.R.1299 United States Capitol Police Administrative Technical Corrections Act of 2009
motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment
Reid
Feb 25
76 - 20 No. 26
I
Feb 11 H.R.2847 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010
motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment
Reid
Feb 22
62 - 30 No. 23
I
Feb 4 PN1351 Nominee Craig Becker Reid Feb 9 52 - 33 No. 22 F
Jan 28 PN393 Nominee Martha N. Johnson Reid Feb 4 82 - 16 No. 19 I
Jan 28 PN319 Nominee M. Patricia Smith Reid Feb 1 60 - 32 No. 17 I
Jan 26 PN959 Nominee Ben S. Bernanke Durbin Jan 28 77 - 23 No. 15 I
Jan 25 H.J.Res.45 Increasing the statutory limit on the public debt Reid Jan 26 UC W
Jan 25 H.J.Res.45 Increasing the statutory limit on the public debt
S.Amdt.3299
Reid
Jan 26
UC
W
Jan 25 H.J.Res.45 Increasing the statutory limit on the public debt
S.Amdt.3305
Reid
Jan 26
UC
W

Motions Filed in 2009 Action and Result
Date Measure Subject Filed By Date Vote Result
Dec 19 H.R.3590 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Reid Dec 23 60 - 39 No. 395 I
Dec 19 H.R.3590 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
S.Amdt.2786
Reid
Dec 22
60 - 39 No. 388
I
Dec 19 H.R.3590 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
S.Amdt.3276
Reid
Dec 21
60 - 40 No. 385
I
Dec 17 H.R.3590 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
motion to proceed
Reid
Dec 19
no vote
N
Dec 16 H.R.3326 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010
motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment
Reid
Dec 18
63 - 33 No. 381
I
Dec 13 H.R.3590 Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act
motion to commit
McConnell
Dec 14
UC
W
Dec 10 H.R.3288 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010
conference report
Reid
Dec 12
60 - 34 No. 373
I
Nov 19 H.R.3590 Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act
motion to proceed
Reid
Nov 21
60 - 39 No. 353
I
Nov 10 PN187 Nominee David F. Hamilton Reid Nov 17 70 - 29 No. 349 I
Oct 29 H.R.3548 Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009 Reid Nov 4 97 - 1 No. 333 I
Oct 29 H.R.3548 Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009
S.Amdt.2712
Reid
Nov 2
85 - 2 No. 332
I
Oct 21 H.R.3548 Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009
motion to proceed
Reid
Oct 27
87 - 13 No. 329
I
Oct 20 PN281 Nominee William K. Sessions Reid Oct 21 UC W
Oct 20 H.R.2647 National Defense Authorization Act, FY 2010
conference report
Reid
Oct 22
64 - 35 No. 326
I
Oct 15 S.1776 Medicare Physicians Fairness Act of 2009
motion to proceed
Reid
Oct 21
47 - 53 No. 325
F
Oct 8 H.R.3183 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010
conference report
Reid
Oct 14
79 - 17 No. 321
I
Oct 8 H.R.2847 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 Reid Nov 5 UC W
Oct 8 H.R.2847 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010
committee substitute amendment
Vote No. 320 reconsidered
Reid
Oct 13
Nov 5
56 - 38 No. 320
60 - 39 No. 335
F
I
Sep 30 H.R.3326 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 Reid Oct 1 UC W
Sep 30 H.R.3326 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010
committee substitute amendment
Reid
Oct 1
UC
W
Sep 22 H.R.2996 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 Reid Sep 24 UC W
Sep 22 H.R.2996 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010
committee substitute amendment
Reid
Sep 24
UC
W
Sep 15 H.R.3288 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 Reid Sep 16 UC W
Sep 15 H.R.3288 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010
committee substitute amendment
Reid
Sep 16
UC
W
Aug 7 PN323 Nominee Cass R. Sunstein Reid Sep 9 63 - 35 No. 273 I
Jul 31 H.R.2997 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Reid Aug 4 no vote N
Jul 31 H.R.2997 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations
S.Amdt.1908
Reid
Aug 3
83 - 11 No. 255
I
Jul 28 H.R.3183 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 Reid Jul 29 no vote N
Jul 28 H.R.3183 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010
S.Amdt.1813
Reid
Jul 29
no vote
N
Jul 22 S.1390 National Defense Authorization Act, FY 2010 Reid Jul 23 no vote N
Jul 15 S.1390 National Defense Authorization Act, FY 2010
S.Amdt.1511
Reid
Jul 16
63 - 28 No. 233
I
Jul 10 PN387 Nominee Robert M. Groves Reid Jul 13 76 - 15 No. 230 I
Jul 8 H.R.2892 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Reid Jul 9 UC W
Jul 8 H.R.2892 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations
S.Amdt.1373
Reid
Jul 9
UC
W
Jun 22 PN225 Nominee Harold Hongju Koh Reid Jun 24 65 - 31 No. 212 I
Jun 19 S.1023 Travel Promotion Act of 2009 Reid Jun 22 UC W
Jun 19 S.1023 Travel Promotion Act of 2009
S.Amdt.1347
Vote No. 211 reconsidered
Reid
Jun 22
Sep 8
53 - 34 No. 211
80 - 19 No. 271
F
I
Jun 17 H.R.2346 Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009
conference report
Reid
Jun 18
no vote
N
Jun 11 S.1023 Travel Promotion Act of 2009
motion to proceed
Reid
Jun 16
90 - 3 No. 208
I
Jun 4 H.R.1256 Tobacco Regulation bill Reid Jun 10 67 - 30 No. 206 I
Jun 4 H.R.1256 Tobacco Regulation bill
S.Amdt.1247
Reid
Jun 8
61 - 30 No. 204
I
May 21 H.R.1256 Tobacco Regulation bill
motion to proceed
Reid
Jun 2
84 - 11 No. 203
I
May 21 S.146 Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2009
motion to proceed
Reid
Jun 1
UC
W
May 19 H.R.2346 Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009 Reid May 21 94 - 1 No. 200 I
May 13 H.R.627 Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act Reid May 14 UC W
May 13 H.R.627 Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act
S.Amdt.1058
Reid
May 19
92 - 2 No. 193
I
May 11 PN139 Nominee David J. Hayes Reid May 13 57 - 39 No. 189 F
May 6 H.R.627 Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act
motion to proceed
Reid
May 7
UC
W
Apr 23 S.386 Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act
committee substitute amendment
Reid
Apr 27
84 - 4 No. 170
I
Apr 2 S.386 Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act
motion to proceed
Reid
Apr 21
UC
W
Apr 2 PN171 Nominee Christopher R. Hill Reid Apr 20 73 - 17 No. 158 I
Mar 25 H.R.1388 National Service Reauthorization Act Reid Mar 26 UC W
Mar 25 H.R.1388 National Service Reauthorization Act
S.Amdt.687
Reid
Mar 26
UC
W
Mar 19 H.R.1388 National Service Reauthorization Act
motion to proceed
Reid
Mar 23
74 - 14 No. 108
I
Mar 12 H.R.146 Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Protection Act Reid Mar 16 73 - 21 No. 99 I
Mar 9 PN65-13 Nominee Cecilia Elena Rouse Reid Mar 10 UC W
Mar 9 PN65-05 Nominee Austan Dean Goolsbee Reid Mar 10 UC W
Mar 9 PN68 Nominee David W. Ogden Reid Mar 10 UC W
Mar 6 H.R.1105 Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 Reid Mar 10 62 - 35 No. 96 I
Mar 4 H.R.1105 Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 Reid Mar 5 UC W
Feb 25 S.160 District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009 Reid Feb 26 UC W
Feb 13 PN64-18 Nominee Hilda L. Solis Reid Feb 24 UC V
Feb 13 S.160 District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009
motion to proceed
Reid
Feb 24
62 - 34 No. 65
I
Feb 7 H.R.1 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
S.Amdt 570
Reid
Feb 9
61 - 36 No. 59
I
Jan 13 S.181 Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 Reid Jan 15 72 - 23 No. 4 I
Jan 12 S.22 Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 Reid Jan 14 68 - 24 No. 2 I
Jan 9 S.22 Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009
motion to proceed
Reid
Jan 11
66 - 12 No. 1
I
Vote Key: 61-32 No. 2 (for example) - tally and Roll Call Vote number; UC - Unanimous Consent.
Result Key: F - Failed; I - Invoked; N - No action; V - Vitiated; W - Withdrawn.

happy jack wrote:

Artie60438 wrote:

Whose idea was it to take a routine legislative procedure and turn it into a 3 ring circus. It wasn't the Dems!

Sure it was.
They ended up capitulating anyway, so they could have eliminated a lot of hoo-hah if they had just cooperated from the beginning.

Really? Is that really what you think happened? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, based on your cluelessness during the entire debt crisis.

Tell me... what color is the sky in your world?

happy jack wrote:

Scorpion wrote:

Tell me... what color is the sky in your world?

Is that a trick question?

Ah, it's a bit cloudy right now.

I blame both parties for being idiots. All of them. Every damn one of them in Congress. The U.S. will never recover or recoup for years to come. If you haven't noticed we are already in a deep recession.

It's only going to get worse. Instead of focusing on cutting medicare, social security, etc. They are so ignorant and stupid, there is one porky pig "welfare" "project" that would save billions a year:

Farmers getting paid to not farm. Yep! My uncle gets $40,000 a year to not farm. YET, reading up on farm subsidies, did you know it's a cash cow for even Paris Hilton, among a bunch of rich politicians...yep! They bought up land and get regular checks from the gov't "not to plant". I didn't or could not believe it when I looked it up. Now, I dare Congress to take that "welfare subsidy" that they, too, engage in and cut the so-called "spending".

While my uncle gets paid not to farm, he runs a nursery - a very successful nursery...and boy, those barrels in his barn come in handy hiding his dough.

So, both Republicans and Democrats, the freshmen "Tea-Party" leaning idiots are well informed where to cut out the expenditures, but hidden from those not in the "know" is, we are subsidizing their already wealthy lifestyle, while they bought and gobbled up vacant land, and get paid for not farming. Celebrities, millionaires, rich politicians are raping America.

We will never regain what we once had: REAL JOBS. Those days are long gone unless they do some serious changes with importing/exporting. Knock out paying farmers to sit on their grasses. ha. Quit sending billions to other countries. There is a reason behind those decisions, and now I know why. The politicians get the kick-backs and also feed off that "Farm Subsidy". Now I know why my aunt bought acres and acres of useless land and has about 1.5 million in the bank. Lives like she only has a few pennies to her name. Now I know.

Just for the fun of it, I so far don't like any of those running for POTUS, but I'll bet you Obama will not win another term. Nothing against him personally; I'm sure I would like him if I met him in person, but I don't feel safe with him being POTUS. He belongs in Hollywood.


I don't like what the Republicans are offering - so far, so I'm just going to wait it out.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/city-dwelling-landowners-paid-millions-farm-secondary-estates/story?id=13916915

http://www.ewg.org/agmag/2011/06/city-slickers-continue-to-rake-in-farm-payments/

The fact is, you can be a city slicker in Miami Beach or Beverly Hills and collect farm subsidy payments. All you have to do is have an ownership interest in some Iowa farmland. While 60 percent of American farmers must get along without a dime in federal subsidies, the so-called farm “safety net” benefits a narrow band of the wealthiest agri-businesses and absentee land owners and the lobbyists who ensure that the subsidies keep flowing.

The last farm bill, passed in 2008, was supposed to prevent people who weren’t actively engaged in farming from getting farm payments. It is clear those reforms didn’t work.

According to the Environmental Working Group’s updated 2011 Farm Subsidy Database, the government sent $394 million in farm subsidy payments in 2010 to residents of U.S. cities with populations of 100,000 or more: Cities with populations of 100,000 or more.

In bucolic Chicago, 734 farm subsidy recipients pulled in a total of $2,173,344.

_______________________________

The following was back in 2006 by the Washington Post - Just FIVE years ago, and this has been going on since 1930.

One article posts lobbyists collecting farm subsidies, and accuses Obama not being transparent about it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/01/AR2006070100962.html

"I don't agree with the government's policy," said Matthews, who wanted to give the money back but was told it would just go to other landowners. "They give all of this money to landowners who don't even farm, while real farmers can't afford to get started. It's wrong."

The checks to Matthews and other landowners were intended 10 years ago as a first step toward eventually eliminating costly, decades-old farm subsidies. Instead, the payments have grown into an even larger subsidy that benefits millionaire landowners, foreign speculators and absentee landlords, as well as farmers.

Most of the money goes to real farmers who grow crops on their land, but they are under no obligation to grow the crop being subsidized. They can switch to a different crop or raise cattle or even grow a stand of timber -- and still get the government payments. The cash comes with so few restrictions that subdivision developers who buy farmland advertise that homeowners can collect farm subsidies on their new back yards.

The payments now account for nearly half of the nation's expanding agricultural subsidy system, a complex web that has little basis in fairness or efficiency. What began in the 1930s as a limited safety net for working farmers has swollen into a far-flung infrastructure of entitlements that has cost $172 billion over the past decade. In 2005 alone, when pretax farm profits were at a near-record $72 billion, the federal government handed out more than $25 billion in aid, almost 50 percent more than the amount it pays to families receiving welfare.

The Post's nine-month investigation found farm subsidy programs that have become so all-encompassing and generous that they have taken much of the risk out of farming for the increasingly wealthy individuals who dominate it.

The farm payments have also altered the landscape and culture of the Farm Belt, pushing up land prices and favoring large, wealthy operators.

The system pays farmers a subsidy to protect against low prices even when they sell their crops at higher prices. It makes "emergency disaster payments" for crops that fail even as it provides subsidized insurance to protect against those failures.

And it pays people such as Matthews for merely owning land that was once farmed.

So, now you know why I don't trust politicians in general.

So, how do the American people feel about POTUS taking a vacation right now?

He should eat his own words, telling Conngress to go out and use the time to talk to "their people".

So, why isn't he doing that as a "vacation"? Oh, they are having a fundraiser tonight, I think, but he "won't" be there, though the secret service is going to be checking it out.

Here's what I googled: How do Americans feel about President Obama taking a vacation?

The president's critics are seizing upon these events to argue that this is no time for a vacation. While campaigning in early primary states this week, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney used Obama's vacation to suggest that maybe he's just giving up.

"I wish the president were in Washington calling back Congress and dealing with the challenges we have," Romney said at an event in Litchfield, New Hampshire, on Monday. "I don't know that he has a strategy now or whether he's basically throwing up his hands and is just hoping things'll get better."

The president directly addressed this line of attack at a town hall meeting in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, on Monday.

"I don't think it's going to make people feel real encouraged if we have Congress come back and all they're doing is arguing again," Obama said at the first stop on his Midwest bus tour. "They need to go back to their districts, talk to ordinary folks, find out how frustrated they are and, hopefully, when they get back in September, they're going to have a new attitude."


(SO, why doesn't he practice his own advice? That's what bugs me. I don't care if he is on vacation...but they count him going on vacation 70 times, but exclude the parties!!!!! The golf outings!!!! The basketball court and the ICE CREAM CONE PIT STOPS!)

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus picked a somewhat different line of attack on CNN's "American Morning" on Friday.

"There isn't anything wrong with going on vacation," Priebus said. "But the problem with this president is that he is tone deaf to the American people and what people expect out of a president in tough times, and I think everyone can admit we are in an extremely, extraordinarily difficult time in this country, and we have a president who just doesn't seem to connect the dots."

Sarah Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor, called Obama "tone deaf" on Fox News on Thursday. She predicted that he "will hear from enough Americans that he will come back early."

[quote="happy jack"]Artie:
Have you managed to make any progress on this?

happy jack wrote:

Sep 24 S.3816 Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act Reid Sep 28 53 - 45 No. 242 F

Quote :

A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to create American jobs and to prevent the offshoring of such jobs overseas.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=s2010-242

Not one Republican voted for it.

[quote="Artie60438"]

happy jack wrote:

Artie:
Have you managed to make any progress on this?

happy jack wrote:

Sep 24 S.3816 Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act Reid Sep 28 53 - 45 No. 242 F

Quote :

A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to create American jobs and to prevent the offshoring of such jobs overseas.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=s2010-242

Not one Republican voted for it.

How did this contribute to the current state of the economy?
Again, specifics, please - no generalizations, assumptions, or talking points.
For instance, how many jobs would have been created had this bill passed?
In what field or fields would these jobs have appeared?
And who was responsible for creating these jobs?
And who was to be responsible for paying the workers who took these jobs, if indeed this bill would have caused jobs to actually be created?

[quote="happy jack"]

Artie60438 wrote:

happy jack wrote:

Artie:
Have you managed to make any progress on this?



Not one Republican voted for it.

How did this contribute to the current state of the economy?
Again, specifics, please - no generalizations, assumptions, or talking points.
For instance, how many jobs would have been created had this bill passed?
In what field or fields would these jobs have appeared?
And who was responsible for creating these jobs?
And who was to be responsible for paying the workers who took these jobs, if indeed this bill would have caused jobs to actually be created?

(1) exempt from employment taxes for a 24-month period employers who hire a employee who replaces another employee who is not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and who performs similar duties overseas; (2) deny any tax deduction, deduction for loss, or tax credit for the cost of an American jobs offshoring transaction (defined as any transaction in which a taxpayer reduces or eliminates the operation of a trade or business in connection with the start-up or expansion of such trade or business outside the United States); and (3) eliminate the deferral of tax on income of a controlled foreign corporation attributable to property imported into the United States by such corporation or a related person, except for property exported before substantial use in the United States and for agricultural commodities not grown in the United States in commercially marketable quantities.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-3816&tab=summary

Now it's your turn. Show me what the Republicans have put forward to create jobs. After all,that's what they ran on in 2010

[quote="Artie60438"]

happy jack wrote:

Artie60438 wrote:

How did this contribute to the current state of the economy?
Again, specifics, please - no generalizations, assumptions, or talking points.
For instance, how many jobs would have been created had this bill passed?
In what field or fields would these jobs have appeared?
And who was responsible for creating these jobs?
And who was to be responsible for paying the workers who took these jobs, if indeed this bill would have caused jobs to actually be created?

(1) exempt from employment taxes for a 24-month period employers who hire a employee who replaces another employee who is not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and who performs similar duties overseas; (2) deny any tax deduction, deduction for loss, or tax credit for the cost of an American jobs offshoring transaction (defined as any transaction in which a taxpayer reduces or eliminates the operation of a trade or business in connection with the start-up or expansion of such trade or business outside the United States); and (3) eliminate the deferral of tax on income of a controlled foreign corporation attributable to property imported into the United States by such corporation or a related person, except for property exported before substantial use in the United States and for agricultural commodities not grown in the United States in commercially marketable quantities.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-3816&tab=summary

Now it's your turn. Show me what the Republicans have put forward to create jobs. After all,that's what they ran on in 2010

I will repeat myself, if I must:

How did this contribute to the current state of the economy?
Again, specifics, please - no generalizations, assumptions, or talking points.
For instance, how many jobs would have been created had this bill passed?
In what field or fields would these jobs have appeared?
And who was responsible for creating these jobs?
And who was to be responsible for paying the workers who took these jobs, if indeed this bill would have caused jobs to actually be created?