President // Current

Presidential Doodles - Blog - Copy Cut Paste

Real drawing doodles of Obama and Palin. Quite surprising. Also, site pokes fun at some other politicians/celebrities would-be... more

plasterandpaste
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US forces will leave Iraq by 2011, Baghdad cabinet agrees

The US and Iraq will formally commit to a pact that withdraws all American forces from the country within three years, and pulls... more

bansheewail
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Abramoff had agreement with White House aide just a month after Bush took office

The email was obtained by RAW STORY from an individual close to the federal investigation that has netted Abramoff, several of his... more

bansheewail
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Obama warned to beware of a 'spectacular' assault from al-Qaeda

Security officials are warning that during the transition period and during the early part of Obama's presidency, al-Qaeda... more

abbym0308
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A President Obama with no blackberry? No email?

Ok - The article explains itself but since there are lots of Freedom of Info Acts and no way to track the blackberry apparently -... more

nwintroub
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Obama has more threats than any past president

The Secret Service would not comment or provide the number of cases they are investigating. But since the Nov. 4 election, law... more

TravG73
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Obama has more threats than other presidents-elect

WASHINGTON – Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than ever before. The Secret Service would not comment or provide the number of cases they are investigating. But since the Nov. 4 election, law enforcement officials have seen more potentially threatening writings, Internet postings and other activity directed at Obama than has been seen with any past president-elect, said officials aware of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue of a president's security is so sensitive.

Earlier this week, the Secret Service looked into the case of a sign posted on a tree in Vay, Idaho, with Obama's name and the offer of a "free public hanging." In North Carolina, civil rights officials complained of threatening racist graffiti targeting Obama found in a tunnel near the North Carolina State University campus.

And in a Maine convenience store, an Associated Press reporter saw a sign inviting customers to join a betting pool on when Obama might fall victim to an assassin. The sign solicited $1 entries into "The Osama Obama Shotgun Pool," saying the money would go to the person picking the date closest to when Obama was attacked. "Let's hope we have a winner," said the sign, since taken down.

In the security world, anything "new" can trigger hostility, said Joseph Funk, a former Secret Service agent-turned security consultant who oversaw a private protection detail for Obama before the Secret Service began guarding the candidate in early 2007.

Obama, of course, will be the country's first black president, and Funk said that new element, not just race itself, is probably responsible for a spike in anti-Obama postings and activity. "Anytime you're going to have something that's new, you're going to have increased chatter," he said.

The Secret Service also has cautioned the public not to assume that any threats against Obama are due to racism.

The service investigates threats in a wide range. There are "stated threats" and equally dangerous or lesser incidents considered of "unusual interest" — such as people motivated by obsessions or infatuations or lower-level gestures such as effigies of a candidate or an elected president. The service has said it does not have the luxury of discounting anything until agents have investigated the potential danger.

Racially tinged graffiti — not necessarily directed at Obama — also has emerged in numerous reports across the nation since Election Day, prompting at least one news conference by a local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Georgia.

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More at the link.

I don't understand how people think killing someone kills an idea. I get not agreeing but I don't get killing them because you don't like them or don't agree with them.

There is no doubt I will be sad if President (elect) Obama is harmed by idiots. He likes Star Trek. Of all things for someone to like why not be happy that he likes a show about a future where people work together to make for a better world?

Disagree with people's thoughts, not with humans. Meaning don't act like because they think differently they deserve to die.WASHINGTON – Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law... more

J_Jammer
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3 responses

4 days ago

The YouTube Presidency

Today, President-elect Obama will record the weekly Democratic address not just on radio but also on video -- a first. The address, typically four minutes long, will be turned into a YouTube video and posted on Obama's transition site, Change.gov, once the radio address is made public on Saturday morning.

The address will be taped at the transition office in Chicago today.

"This is just one of many ways that he will communicate directly with the American people and make the White House and the political process more transparent," spokeswoman Jen Psaki told us last night.

In addition to regularly videotaping the radio address, officials at the transition office say the Obama White House will also conduct online Q&As and video interviews. The goal, officials say, is to put a face on government. In the following weeks, for example, senior members of the transition team, various policy experts and choices for the Cabinet, among others, will record videos for Change.gov.

Yesterday, transition co-chairman Valerie Jarrett recorded a two-minute video that summarized the goings-on in the past week. "President-elect Obama adopted the most sweeping and strict ethics rules that have ever been in place in the course of a transition," said a bespectacled Jarrett, looking directly at the camera in a video that's yet to be posted.

President Bush, too, has updated WhiteHouse.gov, which offers RSS feeds, podcasts and videos of press briefings. The site's Ask the White House page has featured regular online chats dating back to 2003, and President Bush hosted one in January after a Middle Eastern trip.

But online political observers say President-elect Obama's innovative, online-fueled campaign will likely evolve into a new level of online communication between the public and the White House--the Internet-era version of President Franklin Roosevelt's famous "fireside chats" between 1933 and 1944,

"The Obama team has written the playbook on how to use YouTube for political campaigns. Not only have they achieved impressive mass -- uploading over 1800 videos that have been viewed over 110 million times total -- but they've also used video to cultivate a sense of community amongst supporters," said Steve Grove, head of news and politics at YouTube. "Obama told us in a YouTube interview last year that he plans to have 'fireside chats' on video, and we expect his administration will launch a White House YouTube channel very soon after taking office."

Added Ellen Miller of the Sunlight Foundation, a D.C.-based nonprofit that advocates for government transparency: "We're living, after all, in the Internet era. This is an individualized version of the 'fireside chats.' It's not delivered between 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. but whenever anyone wants to see it. I don't know if it necessarily creates transparency -- it's still a controlled, one-way message. But it creates the aura of a much more accessible presidency."

So what's next from the Obama White House?

A behind-the-scenes online video exclusive of the State of the Union Address? A text message reminding us to turn in our taxes? Who knows...Today, President-elect Obama will record the weekly Democratic address not just on radio but also on video -- a first. The... more

breakthepower
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1 response

4 days ago

Crowd of 1 million could attend Obama inauguration

I think I might drive there for this!! what do you think?!!

rebot
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5 days ago

Obama resigns, will miss key votes

Four years after winning election to the United States Senate, President-elect Barack Obama announced today that he is formally resigning his seat effective Sunday, which means he won't be on Capitol Hill for key upcoming votes.

Obama will miss the expected vote by Senate Democrats next week on whether Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who broke ranks and campaigned for Senator John McCain this year, should keep his post as chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Obama has urged Senate leaders to find a compromise solution and wants Lieberman to continue caucusing with the Democrats, The Washington Post reported this week.

Obama's resignation from the Senate also means that he will not be a voting member during its special session next week, when Democrats hope to pass a new economic stimulus package to recharge the ailing economy. Obama has made the passage of a new stimulus bill a high priority, but the measure has been held up by President Bush and Senate Republicans.

In a statement, Obama, who today continued meetings with his presidential transition team in Chicago, said that serving the people of Illinois had been "one of the highest honors and privileges of my life."

"In a state that represents the crossroads of a nation, I have met so many men and women who've taken different journeys, but hold common hopes for their children's future," Obama said. "It is these Illinois families and their stories that will stay with me as I leave the United States Senate and begin the hard task of fulfilling the simple hopes and common dreams of all Americans as our nation's next president."

Obama's election as president has set off furious jockeying among Illinois politicos looking to succeed him as the state's junior senator. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will choose Obama's successor, who would serve the remaining two years of Obama's term. US Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. is believed to be among the leading contenders for the job.Four years after winning election to the United States Senate, President-elect Barack Obama announced today that he is formally... more

breakthepower
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5 days ago

What Obama and Bush said without knowing it

When President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama met in front of the White House, they didn’t take questions... more

larock
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0 responses

5 days ago

JFK Assassination in New Light

Discovery-News.com: Using high-tech dummies unlike any others, Discovery Channel's "JFK: Inside the Target... more

DiscoveryNewsVideo
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1 response

5 days ago

Bush says faith sustained him

President George W. Bush said Thursday that faith changed his life long ago and has sustained him through the challenges of his... more

breakthepower
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12 responses

5 days ago

Americans are Overworked, Vacation-Starved

Americans put in more hours at work than any other nation, surpassing even the workaholic Japanese. We average nine more weeks of... more

breakthepower
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0 responses

5 days ago

3 Questions: Forensics and the JFK Assassination

Discovery-News.com: A forensics expert sheds some light on the JFK assassination and what it takes to be a forensic scientist.... more

DiscoveryNewsVideo
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0 responses

5 days ago

The Ten Best (And Ten Worst) US Secret Service Code Names

From the cool (Renegade, Rawhide), to the embarassing (Unicorn), to the downright random (Clam Chowder), a list of the top 10 best... more

captainjackie
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5 responses

6 days ago

Inspired by Obama, European minorities take action

An Obama effect is rippling across Europe... ...In France, a pro-Barack Obama grassroots group created months ago is morphing... more

thedismembermentplan
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0 responses

6 days ago

Obama's new ride- quite the bullet shield.

While I do not know what type of weapons such thick windows are designed to guard against, a half-inch of transparent armor is... more

Soap
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5 responses

6 days ago

Growing list of successful pot smokers

Journalist Radley Balko makes fun of the Office of National Drug Control Policy's new anti-pot disinformation campaign, which "suggest that drug users can look forward to a career as a 'burrito taster,' a 'couch security guard,' or 'remote control operator.'

Balko calls it "an incredibly lame campaign, [which] reeks of stodgy wonks making a desperate attempt to look hip."

Here’s my challenge to Agitator readers, bloggers, and others: In this comments thread, let’s compile a master list of admitted pot smokers—current or former—who not only haven’t ended up as heroin junkies or burnouts, but have gone on to lead successful lives. If the person is famous, include a link. But feel free to add yourselves and what you do now, too, if you fit the criteria. School teacher? Cop? Stay at home mom? Grad student? Count yourself in. You can leave out your name if you like. Or include it. Either way.

I’ll get it started:

Barack Obama, president-elect. Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the U.S. John Kerry, U.S. Senator and 2004 Democratic nominee for president. John Edwards, multi-millionaire, former U.S. Senator, and 2004 Democratic nominee for vice president. Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, 2008 Republican nominee for vice president. British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly, and and Chancellor Alistair Darling. Josh Howard, NBA all-star. New York Governor David Paterson. Former Vice President, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and Oscar winner Al Gore. Former Sen. Bill Bradley, who smoked while playing professional basketball. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and former New York Governor George Pataki. Billionaire and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Help Radley add to the list of successful potheads: Successful Pot Smokers: Let’s Make a List
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http://www.theagitator.com/2008/11/07/successful-pot-smokers-lets-make-a-list/
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Help the cause....add to the list.Journalist Radley Balko makes fun of the Office of National Drug Control Policy's new anti-pot disinformation campaign, which... more