A spokesman says Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a retired Marine Corps officer who became an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, has died. He was 77.
He had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery.
In 1974, Murtha became the first combat veteran of the Vietnam War elected to Congress. He wielded considerable clout for two decades as a leader of the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending. But frustration over the Iraq war led him to call for an immediate pullout of U.S. troops in 2005.
Murtha’s congressional career was clouded by questions about his ethics – from the Abscam corruption probe in 1980 to more recent investigations into the special-interest spending known as earmarks and the raising of cash for election campaigns.
The thoughts and prayers of The Political Fish go out to his family.
Some of you may have heard, there was a football game last night. If you hadn’t yet heard, you need to come out from underneath your rock.
Since America cannot seem to get away from our narcissist-in-chief, I suppose it was to be expected that he would definetely have to be interviewed for his take on the Super Bowl. Katie Couric got the “honor”.
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Sunday that the Indianapolis Colts “have to be favored” in the Super Bowl, even though he has a “soft spot” for the New Orleans Saints.
Obama’s Super Bowl prediction was based on his opinion that the Colts have “perhaps the best quarterback in history.”
“Peyton Manning is unbelievable,” the president told CBS’ Katie Couric during a live pregame interview.
Still, Obama said he has a soft spot for New Orleans, “mainly because of what the city has gone through over these last several years” since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005.
Obama said he might be biased against the Colts since they beat his hometown Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.
There has been no confirmation thus far of any statements coming out of the White House blaming Bush for the inaccurate pick by the President, but we will stay vigilant. It shouldn’t take long.
Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard (and one of the most powerful businesswomen in the country) is running for Senate in California. She directed this ad against her Republican opponent. The result? Either the greatest political ad of all-time, or the worst. I can’t decide. Maybe you can.
Here’s the thing: California is in a bankrupt. If she can get her point across in a low-budget manner, doesn’t that mean she’s the right person for the job?
On second thought… after seeing those “demon sheep”. The answer is… probably not.
At what point does MSNBC (shameless as they are) get embarrassed by continuing to trot out Chris “Tingles up my leg” Matthews to offer up political analysis…and believe me, I use the term analysis very loosely in this sense. What makes it worse, is they continue to trot him out live…and in front of a camera. The only thing MSNBC has working in their favor is the fact that nobody really watches their channel, because well…they are all nuts. But I digress.
In the aftermath of the State of the Union address, Matthews apparently “forgot he was black” speaking of President Obama, and continued on with that theme for entirely too long. Apparently the rest of the country has become color blind, except for the leftists that can’t seem to stop bringing it up. Just watch the video…it actually will do the soul some good to see Tingles Matthews embarrass himself…AGAIN.
Politico’s Micheal Calderone put together a list of some of the reactions that came flying out of the blogosphere and internet. Quite comical really.
Still, that single line quickly bounced around Twitter and the blogosphere, along with widespread criticism of Matthews on the left, on the right and in between.
The Matthews comment was met immediately on Twitter with both confusion and contempt, and later “Chris Matthews” became a top trending topic.
The New Republic’s Michael Crowley wrote: “Huh?” with The Huffington Post’s Jason Linkins asking, “W to the F?”
Meanwhile, The American Prospect’s Adam Serwer offered a terse response to the Matthews line: “F— You.” The Washington Independent’s Spencer Ackerman wrote that the MSNBC host should “get off the air.” And from the The Joshua Blog: “He needs to be gone from @MSNBC for good. Enough already
I guess the left isn’t quite as color blind as they purport themselves to be. Tingles was only able to forget he was black for an hour. Must not have been using that negro dialect right Harry Reid?
Michelle Malkin gives us a great line.
Who says such a thing? And they call Tea Party folks RAAAAAACISTS? Is there a more race-obsessed motor-mouth on TV than Chris Matthews?
Nope.
What does America’s Most Trusted Newsman have to say about all of this?? Jon Stewart, go ahead and weigh in sir!
Planet Iran and the Azarmehr blog today reported more sad news coming out of the increasingly hostile and tyrannical Iranian regime. Arash Rahmanipour was a 19 year old student arrested during the uprising in Iran following the fraudulent elections this summer. He was later lumped into a group of pro-democracy demonstrators who stood in front of the Iranian kangaroo courts and were convicted.
Thursday, Rahmanipour was hanged by the despotic regime for his role in the Ashoura protests just a few months ago. Mind you, he was in jail at the time so the prosecutor concluded that he must have played a role in the massive Ashura protests from his cell.
Rahmanipour and the other man Mohammed Reza Ali Zamani said back in August that they were officially convicted of trying to “topple the Islamic establishment” and for belonging to armed opposition groups that were the enemies of Allah.
Arash Rahmanipours father told the Al-Jazeera news network that he was not informed of his sons hanging until after it had taken place.
He also stated he would not accept condolence, only congratulations for his son being martyred for the cause of freedom. Beautiful strength.
CNN also reported on the hangings and the inconsistency of the Iranian regime. It seems like an arbitrary process of executing its political prisoners is the rule of the day for the despots in Tehran.
UPDATE:
During the Friday prayers, Iranian hardline cleric Ayatollah Ahmadd Jannati declared that more of the opposition protesters should be executed, to show the strength of the Islamic regime.
Speaking in a Friday prayer sermon, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said the wave of street demonstrations sparked by the disputed June presidential election would not have lasted until now if protesters had been executed early on.
“Whatever we suffered was because of our weakness. How many did the judiciary execute on July 9?” he said, referring to one of the particularly large protest days.
“We showed weakness, so then we had Ashoura,” he said, referring to a major protest on Dec. 27. “If you show weakness now, the future will be worse … There is no room for Islamic mercy.”
Iran’s judiciary is stepping up death sentences as the leadership intensifies its campaign to eliminate the challenge from the pro-reform opposition movement. Authorities announced Thursday that nine people accused of involvement in protests have been sentenced to death — including five who allegedly had a role in the Dec. 27 protests, which saw a particularly violent clampdown.
Iran’s top prosecutor said a new group of protesters and others would soon be brought to trial.
The two men executed Thursday were arrested before the June 12 election on charges of belonging to an armed group aiming to topple the government. But authorities lumped them in with opposition activists arrested during the postelection crackdown.
In his sermon, aired live on state radio, Jannati thanked Iran’s judiciary chief, Sadeq Larijani, for Thursday’s executions and urged more, saying: “Stand up courageously for the sake of God, the same way you executed these two persons very quickly.”
ACORN antagonist James O’keefe III was arrested this week at the office of Louisiana Senator Mary Landieu’s office for what was initially reported as his attempt to bug the phone lines. O’keefe and three other men, two of whom were posed as phone system repairmen were arrested by the U.S Marshall service. The media of course have gone into a feeding frenzy (one will remember the cautious silence after Okeefe exposed ACORN this past summer) at the idea that O’keefe a conservative activist and overnight star had crossed the line. The story came out hot from the Associated Press, check out the details on Big Government.com
A conservative activist who posed as a pimp to target the community-organizing group ACORN and the son of a federal prosecutor were among four people arrested by the FBI and accused of trying to interfere with phones at Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office.
Activist James O’Keefe, 25, was already in Landrieu’s New Orleans office Monday when Robert Flanagan and Joseph Basel, both 24, showed up claiming to be telephone repairmen, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s office said Tuesday. Letten says O’Keefe recorded the two with his cell phone.
Flanagan, the son of acting U.S. Attorney Bill Flanagan in Shreveport, and Basel asked for access to a phone at the reception desk. Then they asked for access to a phone closet so they could work on the phone system. The men were directed to another office in the building, where they again said they were telephone repairmen.
They were arrested later by the U.S. Marshal’s Service. Details of the arrest were not available. A fourth man, Stan Dai, 24, was also arrested, but Letten’s office said only that he assisted the others in planning, coordinating and preparing the operation.
Federal officials did not say why the men wanted to interfere with Landrieu’s phones or whether they were successful. Landrieu, a moderate Democrat, declined comment Tuesday. She has been in the news recently because she negotiated an increase in Medicaid funds for her state before announcing her support for Senate health care legislation.
Of course, the media got it wrong. MSNBC and its counterparts in the leftist media had O’keefe tried, convicted and sentenced in the first day. Of course we all know that is not how things work here. Andrew Breitbart, who became inextricably linked with O’keefe and Hannah Giles this summer, issued this statement in the immediate aftermath.
“We have no knowledge about or connection to any alleged acts and events involving James O’Keefe at Senator Mary Landrieu’s office. We only just learned about the alleged incident this afternoon. We have no information other than what has been reported publicly by the press. Accordingly, we simply are not in a position to make any further comment.”
Just because the media says so, doesn’t mean its true. They understand that the majority of people out there will not look into the matter deeper, therefore they can say what they want, and not have to worry about it. This is what happened here. The FBI affadavit says nothing of tapping, or bugging the Senators phone lines, however that is the story that was thrown out as if it was the truth.
O’keefe released this statement yesterday, after federal agents concurred that there was NO evidence of the 4 young men tapping the phone lines. They were originally arrested and charged with entering a federal facility under false pretenses, which of course they did and admitted to.
The government has now confirmed what has always been clear: No one tried to wiretap or bug Senator Landrieu’s office. Nor did we try to cut or shut down her phone lines. Reports to this effect over the past 48 hours are inaccurate and false.
As an investigative journalist, my goal is to expose corruption and lack of concern for citizens by government and other institutions, as I did last year when our investigations revealed the massive corruption and fraud perpetrated by ACORN. For decades, investigative journalists have used a variety of tactics to try to dig out and reveal the truth.
I learned from a number of sources that many of Senator Landrieu’s constituents were having trouble getting through to her office to tell her that they didn’t want her taking millions of federal dollars in exchange for her vote on the healthcare bill. When asked about this, Senator Landrieu’s explanation was that, “Our lines have been jammed for weeks.” I decided to investigate why a representative of the people would be out of touch with her constituents for “weeks” because her phones were broken. In investigating this matter, we decided to visit Senator Landrieu’s district office – the people’s office – to ask the staff if their phones were working.
Go here to read the remainder of his statement, where he decries the treatment he has received from the media. Big Journalism.com, which was launched by Andrew Breitbart this month with the intention of exposing the media for what it has become, has begun demanding retractions from all the major media and new media outlets that unfairly smeared O’keefe this week.
It should be noted that the Washington Post already issued their retraction of the story, nothing from the NY Times who completely missed the ACORN story, and likely missed this one too. The Old Gray Lady is on her last legs I guess, can’t seem to do any real journalism.
Kyle-Ann Shriver wrote an excellent commentary on the MSM drowning in its ideology and foregoing real journalism. Check it out. Here is an excerpt.
As two former top-echelon radicals, David Horowitz and Peter Collier, documented in their book, The Destructive Generation, the radical communist revolutionaries of the 1960s never went away. They simply left the streets and poured into American institutions, working their ideology into every university. Their primary targets were the law and journalism schools, the colleges of education and the machinery of the Democratic Party. In all of these endeavors, they have been amazingly successful.
Horowitz and Collier summarized the ultimate aim, as elucidated by the movement’ chief philosopher, John Jacobs, thusly:
The idea was not to create a perfect state operating by the clockwork principles of Marxist law but to promote a chaos that would cripple America and ultimately cast it into receivership that would be administered by the morally superior third world.
The American mainstream media, after several decades of this leftist ideology permeating journalism schools, now works on a predictable paradigm.
Ahhh, the State of the Union address. The time in the political calendar in which we witness politicians falling in love with themselves all over again, year after year. There is so much to take away from last nights speech, but lets start with what has been sticking in my craw, and actually pulled me up out of my chair when it happened.
It was amazingly childish. It was awash in the hyper-partisan aura that dominated the entire evening. Frankly, it discarded the decorum of the evening, and was an act beneath the dignity of the United States President addressing the state of our union. In my time following politics, I have not yet seen something as brazen, but then again for a man who cannot seem to recognize the gravity and the duty and dignity of the office he holds, it came as no real surprise.
It was the blatant calling out of the Supreme Court in the middle of the speech, launching a political bomb at the Court as they sat stony faced in the front row. Politicization of the Court is beneath a President who has been lecturing throughout the evening on the need to discard the politicization of issues in Washington, and work on behalf of the American people. The reaction of the Democrat caucus was even more comical disgraceful, as clearly can be seen in the video. Chuck Schumer exhibits a particular lack of decency as he is almost giving an in your face to the Justices sitting nearest to him, clapping like a seal on the rocks.
POLITICO’s Kasie Hunt, who’s in the House chamber, reports that Justice Samuel Alito mouthed the words “not true” when President Barack Obama criticized the Supreme Court’s campaign finance decision.
“Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections,” Obama said. “Well I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that’s why I’m urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong.”
The shot of the black-robed Supreme Court justices, stone-faced, was priceless.
Oh but wait. We have come to this address to the nation’s version of the Joe Wilson “YOU LIE” moment. Justice Alito, who clearly was not particularly impressed with the Presidents hutzpah, gave a reaction that has set the political world on fire today. Check out the video here.
Again, we see the President lying to the American people, using scare tactics to bully his point across, blatantly telling falsehoods to the elation of his parties caucus. As a constitutional attorney, it is almost comical that he did not seem to research out the decision as it was given, neither reading the majority opinion or the dissenting opinion. It was obvious. Even the most novice of us who follow the Washington game can recognize his failure to educate himself on an issue explicitly put in his speech to attempt to discredit the Court and score cheap political points. For a more detailed analysis, Bradley Smith, who is a distinguished professor of law at the Capital University Law School weighed in on the subject in the Corner, the blog for the National Review. Emphasis mine.
Tonight the president engaged in demogoguery of the worst kind, when he claimed that last week’s Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC, “open[ed] the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections. Well I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities.”
The president’s statement is false.
The Court held that 2 U.S.C. Section 441a, which prohibits all corporate political spending, is unconstitutional. Foreign nationals, specifically defined to include foreign corporations, are prohibiting from making “a contribution or donation of money or ather thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State or local election” under 2 U.S.C. Section 441e, which was not at issue in the case. Foreign corporations are also prohibited, under 2 U.S.C. 441e, from making any contribution or donation to any committee of any political party, and they prohibited from making any “expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication.”
This is either blithering ignorance of the law or demagoguery of the worst kind
Of course, the Democrat caucus loved it. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) commented afterward to Politico.
“He [Alito] deserved to be criticized, if he didn’t like it he can mouth whatever they want,” Weiner said. “These Supreme Court justices sometimes forget that we live in the real world. They got a real world reminder tonight, if you make a boneheaded decision, someone’s going to call you out on it.”
This actually goes to show the irony of the last name of the honorable representative from New York. The President never mentioned Alito, who in fact did not even write the majority opinion in the case. However, it is good to see that the Democrats have decided to wage war on the Supreme Court. Justice Alito would eat the lunch of any and all on the issue at hand, as he heard the case, researched the case, and adjudicated on the matter. This is not a debate that the Dem’s should try to engage in, it is one they cannot win and one that would make them look silly. But, Weiner apparently wants to make a showcase of the Alito reaction. It won’t play well Congressman.
Randy Barnett from the Georgetown University School of law weighs in.
In the history of the State of the Union has any President ever called out the Supreme Court by name, and egged on the Congress to jeer a Supreme Court decision, while the Justices were seated politely before him surrounded by hundreds Congressmen? To call upon the Congress to countermand (somehow) by statute a constitutional decision, indeed a decision applying the First Amendment? What can this possibly accomplish besides alienating Justice Kennedy who wrote the opinion being attacked. Contrary to what we heard during the last administration, the Court may certainly be the object of presidential criticism without posing any threat to its independence. But this was a truly shocking lack of decorum and disrespect towards the Supreme Court for which an apology is in order. A new tone indeed.
I haven’t been able to find much in favor of Obama’s decision to throw a political grenade at the court. Even the hyper liberal WH mouthpiece NY Times offered up analysis in its blog condemning the decision and the statement, deriding the Presidents clear lack of knowledge on the subject that he wanted to make a point on.
I will have more on the State of the Union address throughout the day, but I felt like I needed to get this one off my chest first. For a general roundup, go here.
The attacks focus on an advertisement from Focus on the Family that is scheduled to air during the Super Bowl, which tells the story of Tim Tebow and his mother.
For those that do not know, Tebow is the graduating Florida Gator quarterback and former Heisman Trophy winner who during his college career made no secret of his faith in Jesus Christ and the pedigree from which he was raised.
Tim Tebow was born on August 14, 1987 in the Philippines to Bob and Pam Tebow, who were serving as Christian missionaries at the time. While pregnant Pam suffered a life-threatening infection with a pathogenic amoeba. Because of the drugs used to rouse her from a coma and to treat her dysentery, the fetus experienced a severe placental abruption. Doctors expected a stillbirth and recommended an abortion to protect her life. She carried Timothy to term, and both survived.
It’s a story that celebrates life. That is the crux of the entire ad. At this time, nobody has ACTUALLY SEEN the ad, but womens “rights” groups are furious at what they think will be contained within it. It’s purely ludicrous. Everyone is well aware of the ideological leanings of Focus on the Family, and they have asserted that the ad will simply celebrate the life of Tebow, not preach on one of the most divisive issues in our country today. Progressive pro-abortion zealots of course do not want you to see the ad, because it may *gasp* dissuade women from aborting their babies. How dare a soon-to-be professional athlete tell the story of how he was born, and a remarkable story it is. Here is Tim Tebow reacting to all of the criticism today. I continue to stand in awe of this young man, and the potential he has, and is already doing in promoting his faith and values.
Sarah Palin also rode in to the rescue and absolutely clobbered the so-called womens “rights” groups like NOW, NARAL, and their anti-women anti-life criticism. I guess its only a womans right to abort, not to share the story of how she didn’t. From former governor Palin’s Facebook page via the Gateway Pundit.
Women’s Rights groups, like NOW, commendably call out advertisers and networks for airing sexist and demeaning portrayals of women that lead to young women’s diminished self-esteem and acceptance of roles as mere sexed-up objects.
What a ridiculous situation they’re getting themselves into now with their protest of CBS airing a pro-life ad during the upcoming Super Bowl game. The ad will feature Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mom, and they’ll speak to the sanctity of life and the beautiful potential within every innocent child as Mrs. Tebow acknowledges her choice to give Tim life, despite less than ideal circumstances. Messages like this empower women! This speaks to the strength and commitment and nurturing spirit within women. The message says everything positive and nothing negative about the power of women – and life. Evidently, some women’s rights groups like NOW do not like that message.
NOW is looking at the pro-life issue backwards. Women should be reminded that they are strong enough and smart enough to make decisions that allow for career and educational opportunities while still giving their babies a chance at life. In my own home, my daughter Bristol has also been challenged by pro-abortion “women’s rights” groups who don’t agree with her decision to have her baby, nor do they like the abstinence message which she articulated as her personal commitment. NOW could gain ground and credibility with everyday Americans, thus allowing their pro-women message to be heard by more than just their ardent supporters, if they made wiser decisions regarding which battles to pick.
Penny Nance of the pro-life womens group Concerned Women of America had this take, via LifeNews.com.
“NOW’s outcry over Tebow’s pro-life ad is nothing less than hypocritical. Where were they when CBS has aired programs like Dexter, in which the protagonist is a serial killer?” she asked.
“I find it laughable that NOW has a problem with Tim Tebow sharing his own story. If NOW really cared about women they would stop flacking for the abortion industry and start working on behalf of women and resolving our concerns about real problems such as sexually exploitative and violent content on television,” she told LifeNews.com.
CBS is standing by the ad, and at this point WILL air it during the Super Bowl. Show your support for them to get this message out, that there really can be choice when it comes to reproductive rights…that choice is life.
ACTION: Support the Focus on the Family ad by contacting Sean J. McManus, President CBS News and Sports, at sjmcmanus@cbs.com or call (212) 975-4321
Sarah Palin is at it again. This evening she posted yet another of her now infamous facebook notes for the world to see (she has more fans on her page than the President I might add). She informs the President that it’s time for him to listen to the American people, instead of forcing the American people to constantly listen to him. The former governor is once again right on the money, even though the leftist who are suffering from Palin Derangement Syndrome will of course not see it that way and will surely attack her from all sides. She actually understands what the American people at large are all about (campaigning for John McCain aside….we will leave that one for another day!)
So, without further delay….the infamous Palin Facebook note!
We’ve now seen three landslide Republican victories in three states that President Obama carried in 2008. From the tea parties to the town halls to the Massachusetts Miracle, Americans have tried to make their opposition to Washington’s big government agenda loud and clear. But the President has decided that this current discontent isn’t his fault, it’s ours. He seems to think we just don’t understand what’s going on because he hasn’t had the chance – in his 411 speeches and 158 interviews last year – to adequately explain his policies to us.
Instead of sensibly telling the American people, “I’m listening,” the president is saying, “Listen up, people!” This approach is precisely the reason people are upset with Washington. Americans understand the president’s policies. We just don’t agree with them. But the president has refused to shift focus and come around to the center from the far left. Instead he and his old campaign advisers are regrouping to put a new spin on the same old agenda for 2010.
Americans aren’t looking for more political strategists. We’re looking for real leadership that listens and delivers results. The president’s former campaign adviser is now calling on supporters to “get on the same page,” but what’s on that page? He claims that the president is “resolved” to “keep fighting for” his agenda, but we’ve already seen what that government-growth agenda involves, and frankly the hype doesn’t give us much hope. Real health care reform requires a free market approach; real job creation involves incentivizing, not punishing, the job-creators; reining in the “big banks” means ending bailouts; and stopping “the undue influence of lobbyists” means not cutting deals with them behind closed doors.
Instead of real leadership, though, we’ve had broken promises and backroom deals. One of the worst: candidate Obama promised to go through the federal budget “with a scalpel,” but President Obama spent four times more than his predecessor. Want more? Candidate Obama promised that lobbyists “won’t find a job in my White House,” but President Obama gave at least a dozen former lobbyists top administration jobs. Candidate Obama promised us that we could view his health care deliberations openly and honestly on C-SPAN, but President Obama cut deals behind closed doors with industry lobbyists. Candidate Obama promised us that we would have at least five days to read all major legislation, but President Obama rushed through bills before members of Congress could even read them.
Candidate Obama promised us that his economic stimulus package would be targeted and pork-free, but President Obama signed a stimulus bill loaded with pork and goodies for corporate cronies. Candidate Obama railed against Wall Street greed, but President Obama cozied up to bankers as he extended and expanded their bailouts. Candidate Obama promised us that for “Every dollar that I’ve proposed [in spending], I’ve proposed an additional cut so that it matches.” We’re still waiting to see how President Obama will cut spending to match the trillion he’s spent.
More than anything, Americans were promised jobs, but the president’s stimulus package has failed to stem our rising unemployment rate. Maybe it was unfair to expect that an administration with so little private sector experience would understand something about job creation. How many Obama Administration officials have ever had to make a payroll or craft a business plan in the private sector? How many have had to worry about not having the resources to invest and expand? The president’s big government policies have made hiring a new employee a difficult commitment for employers to make. Ask yourself if the Obama Administration has done anything to make it easier for employers to hire. Have they given us any reassurance that the president will keep taxes low and not impose expensive new regulations?
Candidate Obama over-promised; President Obama has under-delivered. We understand you, Mr. President. We’ve listened to you again and again. We ask that you now listen to the American people.
I’m getting tired of all this Obama-bashing coming from the right. Let’s give the guy a break. Obama inherited two wars [which he then escalated, before starting a new one in Yemen], a crushing debt [which he's tripled], and a recession [which he's exacerbated]. But despite it all, he’s managed to bring a new kind of [Chicago-style] politics to Washington, he’s extended unemployment benefits [and can't figure out why so many people remain unemployed], and he’s giving terrorists all [the constitutional rights] they can handle. Can’t you see what he’s doing for the poor [by selling out to the unions and opposing school choice, thereby keeping minority] children [trapped] in our [failing] public schools? Can’t you see what he’s doing for the inner-city communities [by supporting lighter sentences for crack dealers, so they can spend less time in jail, and more time terrorizing poor, predominately black neighborhoods]? Can’t you see all he’s done for [the predatory abortion industry that exploits] women? You mark my words, he will turn this country into a [formerly] proud [third world] nation. Unlike his predecessor, this man is an intellectual [unfortunately], and confronts real problems with [im]practical solutions. He [says he] has studied the mistakes of the past [yet seems destined to repeat them]. Just look at how much the rest of the world loves us now [that he is weakening America, and trying to give our money away to other countries]! He even succeeded in bringing two bitter enemies together at an unprecedented White House [beer] summit. Look, he’s not perfect [like he thinks he is], but he’s doing his best [to take money from the people who earn it]. So let’s all just back off [and let him continue to destroy the Democrat party]. In the end, that’s what’s best for America.
Apparently the teleprompters were used for the media and not for the kids, according to the Weekly Standard.
And the beginning of the video posted on the White House website shows that there are no kids between Obama and the news media during the remarks he makes using the teleprompters.The White House confirmed to TWS that the teleprompters were used for his remarks to the press, not with students.
From the AP:
ACORN antagonist James O’keefe III 
The attacks focus on an advertisement from 
We’ve now seen three landslide Republican victories in three states that President Obama carried in 2008. From the tea parties to the town halls to the Massachusetts Miracle, Americans have tried to make their opposition to Washington’s big government agenda loud and clear. But the President has decided that this current discontent isn’t his fault, it’s ours. He seems to think we just don’t understand what’s going on because he hasn’t had the chance – in his 
