747btrfly

From the page: "The president has only been in office for nine months, but at this point, the shifts in global attitudes are encouraging. (via Zaid Jilani)

The United States is the most admired country globally thanks largely to the star power of President Barack Obama and his administration, according to a new poll.

It climbed from seventh place last year, ahead of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan which completed the top five nations in the Nation Brand Index (NBI).

"What's really remarkable is that in all my years studying national reputation, I have never seen any country experience such a dramatic change in its standing as we see for the United States for 2009," said Simon Anholt, the founder of NBI, which measured the global image of 50 countries each year.

He believes that during the previous administration of George W. Bush the United States suffered in the world ranking with its unpopular foreign policies but since Obama was elected, and despite the recent economic turmoil, the country's status has risen globally.

"There is no other explanation," Anholt said in an interview, referring to the impact of Obama.

In candor, I'm not especially familiar with the Nation Brand Index survey, which has apparently been around since 2005, so I can't speak to its methodology or reliability. According to the Reuters report, the survey was conducted with GFK Roper Public Affairs & Media, which frequently works with the Associated Press, and polled "20,000 people in 20 rich and developing countries around the globe" who were asked to "rate 50 nations in categories such as culture, governance, people, exports, tourism, landscape and education.""

~~~~~~~~Oh yes, and I believe I can state for sure that if McCain and Palin and won the election, we would surely not be the respected country that we are now. Why the hell can't the Republicans, the 'good ol' boys, and the racists face that and be proud. I realize that it's still in the early days of his administration, but look at the crap he had on his plate when he walked into the Oval Office. He's doing a great job as far as I am concerned.

From the page: ""Jesus was obviously misquoted all over the place," blogger P.Z. Myers writes sarcastically. "So what to do? When your claim of godly authority rests on your interpretation of God's holy word, but God's holy words contradict your desired ends, you're in a bit of a pickle. There is a solution, though: rewrite the Bible and change the liberal bits!""...."The insane hubris of this really staggers the mind," writes Rod Dreher at Beliefnet. "These right-wing ideologues know better than the early church councils that canonized Scripture? They really think it's wise to force the word of God to conform to a 21st-century American idea of what constitutes conservatism? These jokers don't worship God. They worship ideology.""
~~~~~~~~~~~Exactly why I'm starting to read more and more of the gnostic/orthodox studies

From the page: "WASHINGTON â€" President Obama is exploring alternatives to a major troop increase in Afghanistan, including a plan advocated by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to scale back American forces and focus more on rooting out Al Quaida there and in Afghanistan.




~~~~~~~~~~~Might I just add that Vice President is playing a much larger role than I thought he would when he was nominated. Good ol' Uncle Joe!

I really like this humor and like Dean Koontz's late golden retriver says in her latest book "Bliss to You" laughter is the best tranquilizer.

From the page: "The 2008 Republican presidential candidate suggested during his radio show, "The Huckabee Report," on Thursday that, under President Obama's health care plan, Kennedy would have been told to "go home to take pain pills and die" during his last year of life." ~~~~~~~~~

Typical Republican Establishment propaganda - morons.

"I will promise you, they count on that COLA," said Barbara Kennelly, a former Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut who now heads the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. "To some people, it might not be a big deal. But to seniors, especially with their health care costs, it is a big deal."
Cost of living adjustments are pegged to inflation, which has been negative this year, largely because energy prices are below 2008 levels.
Advocates say older people still face higher prices because they spend a disproportionate amount of their income on health care, where costs rise faster than inflation. Many also have suffered from declining home values and shrinking stock portfolios just as they are relying on those assets for income.
"For many elderly, they don't feel that inflation is low because their expenses are still going up," said David Certner, legislative policy director for AARP. "Anyone who has savings and investments has seen some serious losses."
About 50 million retired and disabled Americans receive Social Security benefits. The average monthly benefit for retirees is $1,153 this year. All beneficiaries received a 5.8 percent increase in January, the largest since 1982.
More than 32 million people are in the Medicare prescription drug program. Average monthly premiums are set to go from $28 this year to $30 next year, though they vary by plan. About 6 million people in the program have premiums deducted from their monthly Social Security payments, according to the Social Security Administration.


~~~~~~~~~~~~Let's hear it for AARP. Ok, they would be a "special interest" group, but they are the only advocates for the elderly and disabled they have, and they should not be considered as such. You see, as this economy wanes, the seniors and disabled find it hard to save, so they spend and spend on things they need and not necessarily want. We really do a lot to help the economy. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Even as the White House concedes that its options for recruiting Republican support on health care have dwindled, if not passed altogether, administration officials say they have one last weapon in an effort to curry elusive bipartisan support.

Vice President Joseph Biden has, to this point, been noticeably silent in the health care debate, his time consumed primarily with overseeing the stimulus and consulting on foreign policy matters. Now, however, the assets he brings to the debate are of increasing importance and White House aides say he will be deployed by the president in a more strategic matter -- primarily as a bridge between the administration and those recalcitrant Senate Democrats and moderate Republicans critical to reform's passage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~My oh my, now this is sweet music to my BidenBacker ears! I knew all along he was actually playing more of a part in Obama's presidency than he would really like us to know. ;)

From the page: "Is There Any Point in Fighting to Stave off Industrial Apocalypse?

By George Monbiot and Paul Kingsnorth, The Guardian. Posted August 19, 2009.

The collapse of civilization will bring us a saner world, argues Paul Kingsnorth. No, writes George Monbiot -- we can't let billions perish.
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Editor's note: The following is an exchange between two environmentaists, Paul Kingsworth and George Monbiot over the question of how to approach the enormous threat posed by climate change and resource depletion. The collapse of civilization will bring us a saner world, argues Paul Kingsnorth. No, writes George Monbiot -- we can't let billions perish.

___"