Wink

     See AP via Yahoo, Obama honors Lincoln’s vision of strong union,

     Summoning the pride of a nation, President Barack Obama paid fond tribute Thursday to Abraham Lincoln by challenging people to embrace his vision of a collective union and reject a “knee-jerk disdain for government.”
     “He recognized that while each of us must do our part, work as hard as we can and be as responsible as we can — in the end, there are certain things we cannot do on our own,” Obama said of Lincoln at a celebration of the revered president’s 200th birthday. …
     The stories of Obama and Lincoln have become entwined by history, geography and symbolism. Their paths are viewed as not just their own, but the country’s as well — a lineage from the man who freed the slaves to the first black president in U.S. history.
     Obama said Lincoln understood that self-reliance was at the core of American life. But Obama said individual liberty is “served, not negated, by a recognition of the common good.” …
     That Obama often operates in Lincoln’s shadow is largely a matter of choice. He admires the 16th president, reads his language, quotes his speeches and draws on him for inspiration.

     That Linc, uh, link to the past is the bomb. Enjoy Prezzies Day.

     Because love means not having to think about Obama/ism all the time.

     What if instead of “Jason” or “Freddy”, there was a monster called “Economic Collapse” or “Failed Bipartisanship” or “Judge Gregg”?

     “Help! Help!!!”

     See NY Times, Obama’s Battle on Stimulus Shows Threats to His Agenda,

     It is a quick, sweet victory for the new president, and potentially a historic one. The question now is whether the $789 billion economic stimulus plan agreed to by Congressional leaders on Wednesday is the opening act for a more ambitious domestic agenda from President Obama or a harbinger of reduced expectations. …
     In cobbling together a plan that could get through both the House and the Senate, Mr. Obama prevailed, but not in the way he had hoped. His inability to win over more than a handful of Republicans amounted to a loss of innocence, a reminder that his high-minded calls for change in the practice of governance had been ground up in a matter of weeks by entrenched forces of partisanship and deep, principled differences between left and right.
     In the end, Congress did not come together to address what Mr. Obama has regularly suggested is a crisis that could rival the Great Depression. What consensus has been forged so far is likely to be tested in the months to come as he faces scrutiny over the effectiveness of the stimulus package and the likelihood that he will have to ask Congress for substantially more money to heal the fractures in the financial system.
     So this was hardly a moment for cigars. …

     So much for the stim. As for the tortured young Presidency, see Valtin at Daily Kos, Obama Reneges on Justice for Torture Victims, Embraces Bush Secrecy Doctrine (Updated),

     …It really doesn’t matter who is president of the United States when it comes to torture policy. That has been in the hands of the CIA and certain folk in the Pentagon and Executive Branch for a long time now. Obama and Holder have demonstrated they have zero intention in challenging that institutional status quo, even if that means throwing entire civil suits brought by torture victims out of court, even when the information about the suit is almost totally part of the public record.
     This is not about keeping secrets safe. It’s about controlling what the public can hear and not hear, so the repressive apparatus of the state can be allowed to function without public scrutiny or public control.
     What will the followers of Obama do now? Will they sell out the most wretched and cruelly tortured for the feel-good vibes of the moment? Or will they hold their candidate to account? …

     Sounds like things are going haywire both economically and torturally!

     Before we talk about STIMULUS-type stuff, let’s riff off our last post on reproductive issues; see AOL News, Obama’s Nonbeliever Nod Unsettles Some, (link is finicky, so be patient, thanks),

     …By mentioning, for the first time in an inaugural address, the 16.1 percent of Americans who check “no”’ when asked about religion, Obama turned it into the most controversial line in his speech — praised by The New York Times editorial board and cited by some Christians as evidence that he is a heretic, and in his well-spoken way, a serious threat.
     With that one line, the president “seems to be trying to redefine American culture, which is distinctively Christian,” said’ Bishop E.W. Jackson of the Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, Va. “The overwhelming majority of Americans identify as Christians, and what disturbs me is that he seems to be trying to redefine who we are.’”
     Earlier this week, Jackson was a guest on the popular conservative Christian radio show ‘Janet Parshall’s America,’ where a succession of callers, many of whom identified themselves as African-American, said they shared the concern, and were perplexed and put off by the president’s shout-out to nonbelievers. …
     With all the focus on Obama as the first African-American president, the succession of black callers to Janet Parshall’s show was a reminder that the “community”’ is not a monolith, and that many socially conservative black Americans are at odds with Obama’s views, particularly on abortion and gay rights. Nor do they all define civil rights in the same way.
    The Rev. Cecil Blye, pastor of More Grace Ministries Church in Louisville, Ky., said the president’s reference to nonbelievers also set off major alarm bells for him. “It’s important to understand the heritage of our country, and it’s a Judeo-Christian tradition,”’ period.
     But his even bigger beef with the president, he said, is that a disproportionate number of “black kids are dying each day through abortion. President Obama is supportive of abortion, and that’s a genocide on black folks. Nobody wants to talk about that as a civil rights issue.”

     Interesting that members of a minority group themselves are so ready to attack other minority groups (both religious and anti-religious). The issue of aborting African Americans in the womb is one we have already noted, though, and is something to think about.

     This from little while back, but still noteworthy: see AP via Yahoo, Officials: Family planning money may be dropped,

     House Democrats are likely to jettison family planning funds for the low-income from an $825 billion economic stimulus bill, officials said late Monday, following a personal appeal from President Barack Obama at a time the administration is courting Republican critics of the legislation. …
     “How you can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives how does that stimulate the economy?” House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio said on Friday after congressional leaders met with Obama at the White House. “You can go through a whole host of issues that have nothing to do with growing jobs in America and helping people keep their jobs.”
     Several Democrats said Monday night that Obama had spoken personally with Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., about removing the provision. Waxman is chairman of the committee with jurisdiction over Medicaid and a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. …

     So GETTING RID OF (potential) PEOPLE is STIMULATING. Who knew.

     No more Lux. Sux.

     Requiescat in LUX aeterna. RIP LI.

     A post one never got to do from a few weeks ago, but here it is now; see, e.g., Socialite Life, Boy George Is Very Popular In Jail,

     When you’re a slovenly, makeup-wearing gay man jailed for torturing an escort in a highly public case, you may be shaking in your man-heels about going to prison.
     But if you’re a a slovenly, makeup-wearing gay man jailed for torturing an escort, who also happened to sing “Karma Chameleon” than you got nothing to worry about.
     Boy George had to be moved from Category B Pentonville jail because he was too popular.
     Inmates lined up for his autograph and guards were caught being “too kind” by bumming him cigarettes. Boy George had his own personal guard because his cell was a hotbed for starry-eyed murders and rapists wanting to hang with the former Culture Club singer.
     “It’s ironic that he was worried about getting beaten up in Pentonville but all that happened was people showered him with so much attention and kindness that they had to move him anyway,” a prison source said. …

     (”Drudge” also used the “…to hurt me” tag on a post about BG a while back, but I thought of it before I saw that, so…)

     See, e.g., CNN, Pressure on Daschle reaches tipping point,

     The White House insists that it was entirely former Sen. Tom Daschle’s decision to withdraw his nomination, but some observers say he didn’t have a choice.
     Despite the controversy over his tax records and his work in a field that some consider lobbying, Daschle was expected to be confirmed.
     His withdrawal shocked Capitol Hill, and Democratic colleagues expressed regret over his decision. …

     And this despite Obama’s support, see Fox News, “Politics”, Obama Stands By Daschle in Tax Flap: A ‘deeply embarrassed’ Tom Daschle still has the support of President Obama to be health and human services secretary despite late revelations that he failed to pay more than $128,000 in taxes on earnings between 2005-2007.,

     President Obama “absolutely” stands by Tom Daschle’s nomination to be secretary of health and human services even though the former Senate majority leader dodged paying more than $128,000 in taxes until he after he was nominated.
     The president gave the one-word answer Monday while in a meeting with Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas. …

     Oh oh O!! !