Tag Archives: Breaking News

Obama Rated One of Best Presidents Ever – Better Than Reagan

A survey of 238 “presidential scholars” released Thursday ranked Barack Obama as one of the nations’s best presidents ever. According to the Siena College Research Institute, Obama ranks 15th three spots AHEAD of Ronald Reagan.  Imagine that: a man that has been in the White House for less than eighteen months and hasn’t accomplished anything is considered better than the president that reinvigorated America after the dreadful Jimmy Carter years while also ending the Cold War. Speaking of Carter, these geniuses actually ranked him higher than George W. Bush. The New York Daily News reported Thursday: George W. Bush was no FDR, but Barack Obama could be. That’s the verdict of 238 of the nation’s leading presidential scholars, who – for a fifth time – rated Franklin Delano Roosevelt the best president ever in the latest Siena College Research Institute poll. In office for barely two years, Obama entered the survey in the 15th position – two spots behind Bill Clinton and three spots ahead of Ronald Reagan. Yep. Clinton ranked higher than Reagan as well. Actually, the details of the full rankings are even funnier. For instance, although presiding over arguably the worst economic period in American history, FDR is ranked first in handling of the economy. First! But to REALLY give you an idea of how biased and absurd these so-called presidential scholars are, they rated Obama ahead of Reagan in handling of the economy. I kid you not. Obama was ranked 17th in this category, while Reagan, who started the nation’s longest peacetime expansion in history, was ranked 21st. Maybe even better, Obama was ranked 10th in ability to compromise. Wouldn’t you love to ask this geniuses to name some things Obama has compromised on since Inauguration Day?  For the record, Carter was ranked 32nd while George W. Bush came in close to the bottom at 39. It really makes you wonder what color the sky is in the world these folks live. 

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Obama Rated One of Best Presidents Ever – Better Than Reagan

Pro-Life Activists Disrupt Jimmy Kimmel Show Taping

Read backstory Huffington Post and Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust staging a protest in front of comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s home yesterday morning. They followed that with a protest at Kimmel’s studio on Hollywood Blvd in LA yesterday afternoon. I should mention the Survivors have been holding their annual

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Pro-Life Activists Disrupt Jimmy Kimmel Show Taping

USA Today Touts Atheist Summer Camp

USA Today recently gave free advertising in the form of a 900-word profile to a summer camp, Camp Quest. But unlike other summer camps, however, Camp Quest is for children of atheists and agnostics. In “ Summer camp caters to kids of atheists, agnostics ,” Meredith Heagney touted Camp Quest as being just like any other summer camp, but she admitted that, while there is an “emphasis on open-mindedness, poking fun at faith isn’t forbidden.” One teenage camper stated that they “do talk sometimes about how silly … different religions are and what they to do.” Even though it’s okay to make “poke fun” at different faiths at Camp Quest, Heagney presented no critics to poke fun at Camp Quest. Instead Heagney attempted to paint the weeklong camp positivity and explained that the first rule of the camp was to “respect all people, whatever their beliefs, which you encounter while you are here.” Katie Hladky, a volunteer, teaches campers about different religions. She reassured that she “won’t bad-mouth faith or tell the kids what to think.” Hladky also stated that she doesn’t want children to be “indoctrinated.” After class, Hladkey’s scrupulously unindoctrinated pupils head off to play games as part of teams derisively named for the religions and religious practices the counselors scorn. Heagney also touted activities that campers partake in. In one activity campers are told that there are two invisible unicorns and “anyone who can prove that isn’t true will win a prize.” The point of the game is to show that “the burden of proof should be on those who say [a unicorn or God] does.” During mealtimes, presentations are made by cabins on “famous freethinkers.”

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USA Today Touts Atheist Summer Camp

Pro-Life Activists vs. Jimmy Kimmel Thugs

The youth pro-life activist group

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Pro-Life Activists vs. Jimmy Kimmel Thugs

Eclipse box office result 2010

“Eclipse,” about a romance between a teen and a vampire, will open in more than 4,400 U.S. and Canada theaters, a record number of venues and one that almost guarantees a blockbuster. Hollywood hopes the sleepy summer box office gets jolted awake by vampire film “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” when it debuts on Wednesday, ahead of what some experts believe will be a $175 million-plus opening over five days. Overall U.S. and Canadian ticket sales are down 8 percent for the summer season to $1.88 b

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Eclipse box office result 2010

9-11 Ring A Bell? Donny Doesn’t Remember Why We Went Into Afghanistan

How clueless can a guy who lives in Manhattan possibly be?   Discussing the Afghanistan war on Morning Joe, Donny Deutsch claimed “people weren’t clear why we were there in the first place.” Uh, Donny . . . Fortunately, the ever-affable Willie Geist was there to diplomatically offer Deutsch a brief history lesson. WILLIE GEIST: Well, it was clear in the first months after 9-11. Remember, Donny?  That little piece of the Manhattan skyline puzzle that’s missing?  The Taliban regime in Afghanistan that harbored al Qaeda members who plotted it?  Hello?

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9-11 Ring A Bell? Donny Doesn’t Remember Why We Went Into Afghanistan

Jay DeMarcus wife Allison pregnant

“I’m most looking forward to making wonderful memories — the first days of school, summertime with them, taking them to Disney World. I’m ready to be a father!” Come January, Rascal Flatts bassist Jay DeMarcus’s house will get little louder — and he can’t wait. “I’m looking forward to hearing the pitter-patter of little feet around the house and all of that wonderful stuff,” DeMarcus tells us after sharing the news that he and wife Allison — a presenter on CMT and a former Miss Tennessee — are

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Jay DeMarcus wife Allison pregnant

White House Takes Media Blackouts to New Level, Bars Reporter from Kagan Brother’s High School Class

The White House has gone to extraordinary lengths to prevent the press corps from having meaningful access to Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. Such measures are hardly unprecedented, though they stand in stark contrast to then-candidate Barack Obama’s message of openness and press transparency. But now the White House has outdone itself in media opacity. It apparently blocked a New York Times reporter from sitting in on Kagan’s brother Irving’s constitutional law class at Hunter College High School. Yes, that’s right. The White House is now trying to determine who can or cannot sit in a school class for teenagers. According to watchdog group Judicial Watch, White Hosue Deputy Press Secretary Joshua Earnest intervened after hearing of Times reporter Sharon Otterman’s intention to sit in on one class. “I’m definitely not comfortable with this at this point,” Earnest told Kagan, according to documents it obtained from the school. This reporter says she has permission from you and from the school to sit in on your class. I’ve articulated my concerns to the [Hunter College public relations representative] Meredith [Halpern] – who now says she agrees with me. I’ve articulated my concerns to the reporter, who’s feeling misled that we’re telling her no and she says she was told yes. In the future, it’s important to direct all reporter inquiries to the White House. It’ll be easier for you to stay out of the middle of these conversations if you send them directly to us without responding. Is there anything inherently wrong with the White House’s intense efforts to shield Kagan from media scrutiny? Not necessarily. Spiro Agnew would probably approve. But America was promised transparency and accountability . It’s still waiting. As Ed Morrissey writes , It doesn’t seem like a big problem for a reporter from the New York Times to audit a constitutional law class taught by Kagan’s brother.  Nor, of course, is it an issue if the White House wants to request that Irving Kagan allow them to handle media requests.  But the patronizing tone, as well as Earnest’s quick intercession to block the Times from Kagan’s classroom, look like a White House determined to quash legitimate media review of high-profile appointees, especially to a lifetime appointment for the highest court in the nation. Is this a scandal?  It certainly doesn’t meet the standards Barack Obama himself promised of delivering the most transparent administration in history, but there are far more scandalous examples than this.  This does make the White House look defensive and petty, especially considering Otterman’s education beat; it seems rather clear that Otterman was looking for human-interest background relating Kagan’s nomination to education. As Glenn Reynolds might say : they told me if I voted for McCain the press would be prevented from checking the executive. And they were right!

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White House Takes Media Blackouts to New Level, Bars Reporter from Kagan Brother’s High School Class

Jim Cramer Admits the Obvious: Obama’s Policies Not Working

CNBC’s Jim Cramer appeared on Wednesday’s Today show and pretty much admitted the obvious to Meredith Vieira, that all of Barack Obama’s policies geared to help hiring are “not working.” On to talk about the Dow dropping on Tuesday, Cramer pointed out “there’s too much fear” about what the Obama administration will do about taxes, which led to Today co-anchor Vieira to question “Do you believe the President’s policies are creating the conditions necessary for businesses to hire?” To which Cramer bluntly stated “they’re not working.” The following segment was aired on the June 30 Today show: MEREDITH VIEIRA: And now to the economy and new jitters on Wall Street. The Dow opens today below the 10,000 mark for the first time in nearly three weeks after plunging 268 points on Tuesday. So what is driving the latest fear among investors? Jim Cramer is the host of CNBC’s Mad Money. Jim, good morning to you. JIM CRAMER: Good morning, Meredith. VIEIRA: Here’s how one writer put it. He said the markets were spooked by the slowing economies in China and in Europe. Do investors have good reason to be spooked? CRAMER: I think that they do if we don’t start creating some jobs here. Those economies do matter, but what’s most important is job creation. If it we get a number on Friday, which is our national labor number, that shows no new jobs created, then we have reason to worry. VIEIRA: And, and that is the rumor, that, that’s exactly what we’re gonna see on Friday. CRAMER: And I think that’s what really drove our market down. The other economies? Europe’s been bad for some time. I think China’s okay. We are the worry. There’s too much fear and there’s way too much anxiety about what Washington will or will not do in terms of taxes. VIEIRA: Well do you believe the President’s policies are creating the conditions necessary for businesses to hire? There’s a lot of controversy about them. CRAMER: Well I think we have to just look at the broad numbers and say that they’re not working. I would, look, it would be terrific to say that there’s tons of jobs being created and people aren’t applying for them but we know that’s not the case. VIEIRA: You also have the Consumer Confidence Index came out on Tuesday down 10 points from May to June, makes it harder for the President to sell his economic policy. How significant is that number? CRAMER: I think that, that was also a huge part of what happened yesterday. We started realizing that May was bad. Now maybe June is bad. We don’t know what’s causing it. We know that there’s just a total lack of confidence and a belief that there will be no new jobs created. I think, by the way, that, that’s too gloomy. I think we should be more confident and I think that the gloom is way overdone and that the market was way overdone yesterday. VIEIRA: Yeah but, but there are economists that are saying we’re headed toward a depression or a double digit recession. You don’t buy that? CRAMER: We just had one of those. You don’t go right back into it. Look, in 1938 our country did and if you want to go back in history, it was because we decided to go to a balanced budget. I read all those negative columnists and I was surprised that they all, in unison, decided that everything is awful right now. It’s not. It’s not great, Meredith, but it’s not that bad. It’s nothing like what they say it is. VIEIRA: So you’re advising people stay in the market. CRAMER: Definitely! Don’t make a move. It’s just not worth it. VIEIRA: Alright Jim Cramer, thank you so much.

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Jim Cramer Admits the Obvious: Obama’s Policies Not Working

Larry King Explains Decision to End CNN Show — Says It Wasn’t Pressure from the Media

First it was long-time anchor Lou Dobbs, who retired last fall from CNN . Now another fixture of the network will soon be playing another role in the cable news universe. On CNN’s June 29 “Larry King Live,” host Larry King, who had never been terribly friendly with conservative guests , announced his decision he would be giving up his show this fall. “Before I start the show tonight, I want to share some personal news with you,” King said. “Twenty-five years ago, I sat across this table from New York Gov. Mario Cuomo for the first broadcast ever of ‘Larry King Live.’ And now, decades later, I talked to the guys here at CNN and I told them I’d like to end ‘Larry King Live,’ the nightly show that — this fall and CNN has graciously accepted to agree to, giving me more time for my wife and I to get to the kids’ little league games.” King explained he would still contribute CNN and would stay on board until a replacement is found to fill the 9 p.m. ET slot on the network. “I still be a part of the CNN family, be hosting several Larry King specials on major national and international subjects and we’ll be here until a replacement is found, will be here into the fall,” he continued. “Tomorrow night, in fact, Elizabeth Edwards will be our special guest. I’m incredibly proud that we with recently made the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ for having the longest-running show with the same host in the same time slot on the same network. With that chapter closing, I’m looking forward to the future, what my next chapter will bring. But for now, for here, it’s time to hang up the nightly suspenders. Until then, we’ve got more shows to do and who knows what the future’s going to bring.” King’s guest for this special announcement was no other than liberal bomb-thrower Bill Maher and he said to him it was a decision that involved spending more time with his family. “Well, this was tough, Bill. I mean, it was — it was time. I was ready to do it. CNN folks agreed to it. We sat down. We’re going to do specials and more time with the family,” King said. “And I want to expand. I want to do other things that I haven’t been able to do.” Maher compared the CNN host to Mickey Mantle because of his longevity and told King he thought he was retiring too soon: MAHER: I am — I am reminded of what my father, who was a broadcaster said the day Mickey Mantle retired, say isn’t so, he began the broadcast. KING: You put me in that class? MAHER: Mickey Mantle? You are the Mickey Mantle of broadcasters. Mickey Mantle played 18 seasons. You played more than that. So, I know some people out there will say it is maybe inappropriate to say too soon for a man who is in his 70s, but it is too soon. But Maher raised the possibility that other media may have caused King to decide the time was right to hang it up, which King denied. Maher specifically named The New York Times, which has speculated on the departure on King over the past few years : MAHER: I hope you’re — I hope you’re doing this of your own volition and not because of what the media says. KING: It has nothing to do with it. There was no pressure from CNN. I don’t pay attention to that, I love what I do. But it was time, Bill. It was time. It was just time. I will tell you — MAHER: As long as it is coming from, and not dictated by The New York Times or anybody else. KING: Not at all. MAHER: OK. Over past two years, King has struggled in the ratings behind his cable competition, Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” and MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.”

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Larry King Explains Decision to End CNN Show — Says It Wasn’t Pressure from the Media