Daily Archives: January 30, 2013

January 30, 2013 · 11:22 PM

An Emotional Call to Action on Gun Violence (TFC Evening Wrap-up)

What Gabby Said

Former Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot in the head two years ago this month in a shooting that also left six of her constituents dead, including a nine year-old girl. In the wake of the Newtown gun massacre, Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, founded Americans for Responsible Solutions, a group that “will encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership.”

Today the Senate Senate Judiciary Committee, which is expected to begin formal work on a gun violence prevention bill in the next month, held a hearing that opened with a statement from Giffords. Giffords told the senators that “the time is now,” they “must act,” and must “be bold.”

Watch Giffords challenge senators to deal with America’s gun violence epidemic:

Giffords’ handwritten testimony:

BOTTOM LINE: Gabby Giffords is right. Americans are counting on our political leaders to summon the courage to take commonsense steps to address the gun violence epidemic that results in 33 Americans being murdered each and every day.

The Progress Report

The study the NRA’s top Washington lobbyist hopes you won’t actually look up.

Teenager who performed at the Inauguration last week was gunned down yesterday in Chicago.

Senator catches the NRA’s top Washington lobbyist in an epic flip-flop on background checks.

GOP senator: people need to arm themselves because GOP-forced budget cuts will mean fewer cops.

Missouri bill would force all first-graders to take NRA-sponsored gun class.

Communism, polygamy, and human cloning are more popular than NRA lobbyists’ position on gun violence.

Republican witness claims mothers need an AR-15 assault rifle to defend their children.

Meet the nine year-old girl who would likely still be alive today if high-capacity magazines were illegal.

Another shooting happened as the Senate held its hearing on gun violence.

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· 5:30 PM

Obama’s Favorability Highest Since First Year In Office – ABC/Washington Post Poll

obama smile

Good news for the POTUS, bad news for Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and their ilk…

Addicting Info

Seems despite every kind of slime, slam, side-swipe, and sucker-punch, Republicans are hitting dry ground in their continued attempts to demonize and marginalize the President. In fact, according to that latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, the President has now garnered the highest favorability ratings he’s had since his first year in office in 2009.

A full sixty percent of Americans polled gave a thumbs-up to Obama, 10 points higher than similar numbers polled in summer, 2012, during the height of the presidential campaign. “Favorability” is differentiated from “job approval,” offering a more emotional response to the President as a person, rather than an assessment of how he’s doing his job. According to ABC, Obama’s favorability numbers trump Bush’s at the start of his second term by 5 points, while trailing Clinton’s by 5 and Reagan’s by 12.

There is also the nuance of how much sentiment is felt and in this poll, Obama did well: more have a “strongly” favorable opinion than a “strongly unfavorable” one, which is the first time the numbers have skewed in that direction since 2010.

As for who likes the President, the groups were broken down as follows:

GROUPS – The president continues to be highly popular within his own party, with 92 percent favorability. Notably, 60 percent of independents see him favorably vs. 36 percent unfavorably, his best since his first year in office. He remains unpopular, however, with 80 percent of Republicans.

Similarly, 87 percent of liberals and 68 percent of moderates view the president positively, dropping to 34 percent of conservatives overall and just a quarter of strong conservatives.

In other groups, Obama’s more popular among women than men by 9 points. And he’s rated favorably by 87 percent of nonwhites, two-thirds of young adults and two-thirds of those in the lower- to middle-income brackets. By contrast, his favorability drops to 45 percent among whites – a group he lost to Mitt Romney by 20 points – and 47 percent of those with household incomes more than $100,000 a year.

Additionally, when asked about their opinion of Obama’s Inaugural address, “broad majorities” of his key constituents – liberals, nonwhites, and, of course, Democrats, highly approved.

In a nutshell, the poll summed it up in a sentence:

President Obama “has advanced to his highest personal popularity since his first year in office, and Americans who’ve formed an opinion of his second inaugural address last week broadly approve of it.”

For full PDF of poll results, click here.

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· 3:54 PM

N.R.A. DEFENDS RIGHT TO OWN POLITICIANS (Andy Borowitz)

lapierre-nra-boro.jpg

The New Yorker

In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, National Rifle Association C.E.O. Wayne LaPierre warned that the N.R.A. would vigorously oppose any legislation that “limits the sale, purchase, or ownership of politicians.”

“Politicians pose no danger to the public if used correctly,” said Mr. LaPierre, who claims to have over two hundred politicians in his personal collection. “Everyone hears about the bad guys in Congress. Well, the only thing that stops a bad guy with a vote is a good guy with a vote. I’m proud to be the owner of many of those guys.”

Mr. LaPierre’s comments drew a sharp rebuke from Carol Foyler, a politician-control advocate who has spent the past twelve years lobbying for stricter limits on the sale of politicians.

“Right now, a man like Wayne LaPierre can walk right into Congress and buy any politician he wants,” she said. “There’s no background check, no waiting period. And so hundreds of politicians are falling into the hands of people who are unstable and, quite frankly, dangerous.”

In addition to limiting the sale of politicians, Ms. Foyler said, it is time for society to take a look at the “sheer number” of politicians in the U.S.: “There’s no doubt that we would be safer if there were fewer of them.”

For his part, the N.R.A. leader ended his testimony by serving notice that he would “resist any attempt” to take away the hundreds of elected officials he says are legally his.

As if to illustrate that point, he clutched Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) close to his chest and bellowed, “From my cold, dead hands.”

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· 1:07 PM

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Opening Statement (C-SPAN)

Gabby Gifford’s compelling statement in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on gun violence, today:

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· 11:28 AM

Teenager Who Performed At Obama’s Inauguration Ceremony Is The Latest Victim Of Chicago Gun Violence

Hadiya Pendleton, 15 years old, was killed in Chicago on Tuesday.

Another young life taken over useless gun violence in Chicago…

Think Progress

Less than two weeks ago, Hadiya Pendleton was leading her classmates in the King College Prep School Marching Band down Pennsylvania Avenue on the afternoon of President Obama’s second inauguration. It would be an opportunity of a lifetime for any 15 year old, but for Pendleton, it was her last. On Tuesday, she was gunned down in a park a few blocks from school on the South Side of Chicago, less than a mile from the first family’s home.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Pendleton and another classmate, a 16 year old boy, were both caught in the middle of a gang war. The boy was still in serious condition on Tuesday evening, but Pendleton did not survive:

Friends of the slain girl said King was dismissed early today because of exams, and students went to the park on Oakenwald–something they don’t usually do.

Friends said the girl was a majorette and a volleyball player, a friendly and sweet presence at King, one of the top 10 CPS selective enrollment schools. Pendleton performed with other King College students at President Barack Obama’s inaugural events.

In the last year, Chicago has endured a surge of gun-related murders, more than quadruple the number of homicides in New York City and 58 percent more than the number of U.S. soldiers shot and killed in Afghanistan. During the recent debate over gun control, Mayor Rahm Emmanuel has sought to place his city at the front of the push for reform, instructing the city’s pension funds to divest from any gun manufacturer and supporting more gun buyback programs.

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· 11:20 AM

Colin Powell asks O’Reilly: Why do you only see me as an African-American?

Colin Powell screenshot

I can see the General’s point.  Bill O’Reilly, in my opinion, is a bigot to the nth degree.

The Raw Story

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell chided Fox News host Bill O’Reilly on Tuesday night for focusing on his ethnicity when discussing his support of President Barack Obama.

At the beginning of a lengthy interview, O’Reilly questioned why Powell, a Republican, had supported Obama in 2008 and again in 2012.

Powell said he was troubled that the Republican Party had moved so far to the right and that Obama was the best choice. But O’Reilly questioned why Powell voted for Obama when the President’s policies didn’t seem to help African-Americans. O’Reilly rattled off a list of statistics to prove life for the average African-American had not improved under Obama.

“Why are you only seeing me as an African-American, Bill?” Powell responded. “That troubles me. I’m an American.”

O’Reilly defended his question, noting that Powell had condemned Republicans for looking down on minorities. Powell, apparently trying to change the subject, said the economy had improved but not enough.

“Not for African-Americans, not for minorities” O’Reilly interrupted.

Powell explained that the economic situation of minorities would improve once the economy recovered from the recession and financial crisis.

The two Republicans also clashed over voter ID laws. Powell alleged the laws were a cynical attempt to disenfranchise minority voters, a claim that O’Reilly dismissed.

See video here…

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· 7:00 AM

Wednesday Blog Round Up 1-30-2013

Big Shakeup At CNN

Shake Up at CNN
Carville and Erickson out at CNN .

Death Star Woulda Been a Bargain
GOP Rep. says ‘path to citizenship’ will cost country $2.7 trillion.

This week in Serious Republicanism
All right, let’s unpack this. In his opinion-having today, opinion-haver David Brook..

Clinton: ‘I am out of politics right now’
In her “exit interview” with CNN, outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked ..

Video: For Republicans on immigration, first stop digging
Steve Schmidt, Republican political strategist, talks with Rachel Maddow about wheth..

2nd secret GOP “how to talk immigration” memo uncovered
A 2nd GOP sensitivity-training memo on how to talk about immigration without insultin..

Google Releases Detailed Map of North Korea, Gulags and All
Until Tuesday, North Korea appeared on Google Maps as a near-total white space &m..

Gabrielle Giffords to testify at Senate hearing on gun violence
Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) is expected to testify Wednesday a..

Kerry wins 94-3 Senate vote to become Obama’s 2nd-term secretar..
With only three ?no? votes, the Senate on Tuesday confirmed veteran lawmaker and for..

Transcript: Hillary Clinton’s Final Television Interview as Secretary ..
The following is a transcript of “Nightline” anchor Cynthia McFadden’s interview with..

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