"Support for Obama's plan jumped 20 points, from 46% before the speech to 66% after. Importantly, Obama also achieved one of his principal goals of boosting the intensity of support. Prior to the speech, just 2% of these swing voters supported the plan strongly while 26% opposed it strongly; by the end of the evening those numbers were virtually reversed, with 28% supporting the plan strongly against just 8% strongly opposed."
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65 comments (Latest Comment: 09/11/2009 03:39:12 by Raine)

Good Morning.

We'll skip the statistics this morning; I've got a long story to tell.

On December 21, 1862, President Lincoln signed a measure into law that created America's highest military honor. According to the bill, the award was "to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and Marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities during the present war."

During the Civil War, over 1,500 of these medals were awarded for valor; but since then the numbers have continued to fall and the requirements and burden of proof have grown more stringent. Since the withdrawal of US forces from Vietnam in 1973, the award has been given just 7 times.

On September 17, Sergeant Jared C. Monti will become the 8th post-Vietnam recipient of the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony.

The Medal of Honor Citation is written in dry, militarese, but it's still worth reading.

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48 comments (Latest Comment: 09/09/2009 02:00:33 by BobR)

President Obama continues to play nice. I suppose that's his job and one of the things we admired about him when we elected him - but I tire of niceness. What good is being nice and considerate if angry and uneducated, uninformed Republicans are going to continue to play assholes. Yes, I said it. Van Jones understood it and after watching the town hall brawl/meetings this year, I think we can say that without feeling our usual Liberal guilt. Assholes. ASS-Holes!

I want to be the asshole this time: I DON'T WANT A WATERED DOWN HEALTH CARE REFORM BILL. I want a bill that will actually be reform. Is that too much to ask?
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4 comments (Latest Comment: 09/06/2009 20:50:23 by livingonli)

I've never claimed to be the hippest kid on the block. Infact, there's bout a 83% chance I'm whiter than Michael Steele. But even I know what it means not to care. Especially when it comes to presidencies, and crazy people. And for some reason it's evil to have a president speak to kids on TV but it's perfectly okay to read them "My Pet Goat" during a national crisis.

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29 comments (Latest Comment: 09/05/2009 16:39:11 by BobR)

Surely we deserve better. As a child, I remember learning about our political system, and how parties played into it. It used to be the Democrats pushed for change, and the Republicans tried to slow it down, and we would make slow assured progress. Both parties had the essentially the same goals but one varied only in the speed with which they wanted to get there. At least - that's how I remember it was supposed to work.
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65 comments (Latest Comment: 09/03/2009 02:32:29 by Random)