Happy Birther Day, President Obama – Obama’s Birth Certificate(s)

Poor guy. It’s not enough to have another birthday (when you get older, you kind of stop counting the years). But as a special birthday celebration, the conspiracy-laden nuts of the Republican Right continue to generate unwarranted controversy over President Obama’s status as a citizen of the United States. We’ve resisted going into it on our show because the claim is so ludicrous, but we thought their latest attempt — creating a fake birth certificate — speaks volumes about their desperation. Fact: the Republic of Kenya didn’t exist at the time this birth certificate was supposedly created. Fact: the Registrar on the forged birth certificate is not a real person. Fact: President Obama’s birth announcement was placed in two local papers in 1961 — something that cannot be forged in 2009 — and his birth certificate was certified as real, to the extent that any of ours can be, by the registrar in Hawaii, a U.S. State. To call President Obama illegitimate is to levy that charge against us all, and it is an affront to our sensibilities and to human decency. Have you not enough issues with the President’s public agenda that you have to resort to baseless personal attacks against him that call on the worst of humanity?  Take a look at the documents and make your own decision.

Episode 41 – Now What? Iran, The Economy & Health Care

Glenn captures the essence of this week’s show by asking the ultimate question in response to the many issues we face this week: now what? What happens next in Iran? What are the political ramifications of the attacks on President Obama? Where does the insurgency go? With the economy still in shambles, what next? There’s talk of a second stimulus bill, but is the first one working? Is President Obama taking on too much and losing his focus on the economy? When it comes to health care “reform,” Jeff asks what’s next? Now that most of what calls for reform has been abandoned, is it time to pull the plug on this hugely important effort? They close with seasonal cooking tips, and as always, invite your response and participation. Always informative and entertaining, it’s PoliTalk: your weekly political podcast.

Listen to the current installment of PoliTalk and get yourself informed, inspired, entertained and ready for the day… spread the word… tell two friends, and so on and so on…

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast from Podcast.com and iTunes.

The National Debt Road Trip

How does the Obama deficit compare with past presidents? And how did the national debt get so big anyway. This video tries to answer those questions by looking at the debt as a road trip and seeing how fast different administrations have been traveling… Be concerned… Be very concerned.

President Obama’s Response to Iranian Election Unrest

Transcript in English:

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  Good afternoon, everybody.  Today, I want to start by addressing three issues, and then I’ll take your questions.

First, I’d like to say a few words about the situation in Iran.  The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, the beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days.  I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost.

I’ve made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not interfering with Iran’s affairs.  But we must also bear witness to the courage and the dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society.  And we deplore the violence against innocent civilians anywhere that it takes place.

The Iranian people are trying to have a debate about their future.  Some in Iran — some in the Iranian government, in particular, are trying to avoid that debate by accusing the United States and others in the West of instigating protests over the election.  These accusations are patently false.  They’re an obvious attempt to distract people from what is truly taking place within Iran’s borders.  This tired strategy of using old tensions to scapegoat other countries won’t work anymore in Iran.  This is not about the United States or the West; this is about the people of Iran, and the future that they — and only they — will choose.

The Iranian people can speak for themselves.  That’s precisely what’s happened in the last few days.  In 2009, no iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to peaceful protests [sic] of justice.  Despite the Iranian government’s efforts to expel journalists and isolate itself, powerful images and poignant words have made their way to us through cell phones and computers, and so we’ve watched what the Iranian people are doing.

This is what we’ve witnessed.  We’ve seen the timeless dignity of tens of thousands of Iranians marching in silence.  We’ve seen people of all ages risk everything to insist that their votes are counted and that their voices are heard.  Above all, we’ve seen courageous women stand up to the brutality and threats, and we’ve experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets.  While this loss is raw and extraordinarily painful, we also know this:  Those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history.

As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away.  The Iranian people have a universal right to assembly and free speech.  If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect those rights and heed the will of its own people.  It must govern through consent and not coercion.  That’s what Iran’s own people are calling for, and the Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government.

Obama Speech in Cairo Addressing the Muslim World

As part of a coordinated effort to change the dialogue in the Muslim world, President Obama’s speech in Cairo is being translated and distributed in languages will include Arabic, Chinese, Dari, French, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, and Urdu.

Here is part of the transcript:

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you very much.  Good afternoon.  I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions.  For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning; and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt’s advancement.  And together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress.  I’m grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt.  And I’m also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country:  Assalaamu alaykum. (Applause.)

We meet at a time of great tension between the United States and Muslims around the world — tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate.  The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars.  More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations.  Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.

Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims.  The attacks of September 11, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights.  All this has bred more fear and more mistrust.

So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity.  And this cycle of suspicion and discord must end.

I’ve come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition.  Instead, they overlap, and share common principles — principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight.  I know there’s been a lot of publicity about this speech, but no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have this afternoon all the complex questions that brought us to this point.  But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly to each other the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said only behind closed doors.  There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground.  As the Holy Koran tells us, “Be conscious of God and speak always the truth.”  (Applause.)  That is what I will try to do today — to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.

Now part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I’m a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims.  As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and at the fall of dusk.  As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.

As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam.  It was Islam — at places like Al-Azhar — that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe’s Renaissance and Enlightenment.  It was innovation in Muslim communities — (applause) — it was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed.  Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation.  And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.  (Applause.)

To see the full transcript, visit here.

Episode 38 – It’s the Economy, Stupid!

Can two political podcasters do the work of an entire nation? Reviving one of the most famous political catch phrases of the last 50 years, Jeff and Glenn do their best to re-focus the political discourse of the entire country. With all the talk of torture, closing or not closing Gitmo, Colin Powell taking on Cheney taking on Obama taking on Cheney (which we talk about in this show), we have completely lost focus on the single most important thing the President and his team SHOULD be doing right now: dealing with once-in-a-lifetime systemic changes needed in our economy. Yes, we passed the stimulus. Now weâre in the weeds on a budget, and it looks like health care reform may be on the horizon. All well and good, but it’s time to take a step back:

• What got us into this problem in the first place?
• How are we going to systemically fix it?
• Was the repeal of Glass Stegal, which allowed financial institutions to get into any financial business, a mistake?
• Good old boring banks went from being banks to insurance companies and hedge funds.
• Should we put some regulations on the derivatives industry, which grew from a $1 trillion market in 1999 to $33 trillion today?
• Most important, we as a country have been living beyond our means since, ironically, the days of Ronald Reagan.

We are now an over leveraged society that consumes more than it produces and borrows more than it has the ability to repay and spend. We want a more effective, responsive, efficient, smaller (and Jeff would like a more liberal) government. With the economy rebounding and President Obama focused on other things, we’re losing our chance to make the changes needed to fix the economy going forward. While the rest of the media in this country has fallen asleep, or been sidetracked by entertainers like Rush Limbaugh or issues like closing Gitmo, we’re here to tell you that your moment awaits, President Obama. But that moment won’t last forever, and it will never be found if you continue to argue with Dick Cheney, or if we’re mired in discussion about torture photographs and wiretaps.  James Carville’s words echo across time, like ripples that crest into rhythmic waves, repeating the mantra again, and again and again: it’s the economy stupid…

Listen to the current installment of PoliTalk and get yourself informed, inspired, entertained and ready for the day… spread the word… tell two friends, and so on and so on…

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast from Podcast.com and iTunes.

President Obama Notre Dame Commencement Speech Video

President Obama gave the Notre Dame Commencement Speech on Sunday, March 17, 2009. His speech tackled the abortion debate by calling for civility in debate. Referring specifically to the divisiveness that has come from both sides, he said,

Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction, but surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.

Later in the speech he asked,

As citizens of a vibrant and varied democracy, how do we engage in vigorous debate? How does each of us remain firm in our principles, and fight for what we consider right, without demonizing those with just as strongly held convictions on the other side?

The speech ran about 30 minutes. It is worth the investment to watch.

Episode 32 – PoliTalk Fist-bumps the Queen

Glenn and Jeff take on the absurdity of the celebrity culture that has us obsessing more over whether or not a gift is appropriate for the queen or that she can be touched instead of how we can rescue the world from its economic crisis. They also take on the absurdity of the budget process, and wonder how any good policy can actually come out of something so arcane and confusing? Finally, they talk about the politics of the Former Senator Ted Stevens case and why Senators Dodd and Bunning are in danger waters for their re-election campaigns (it’s not what you think). Always entertaining and informative, it’s PoliTalk: where you get the inside scoop on what’s really happening in Washington from two guys outside the beltway.

Listen to the current installment of PoliTalk and get yourself informed, inspired, entertained and ready for the day… spread the word… tell two friends, and so on and so on…

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast from Podcast.com and iTunes.

President Obama’s First Prime Time Press Conference

Video of President Obama’s first prime time press conference. In it, he urges passing of the Stimuls plan that is currently in the Congress.