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Tag: Obama

  • Obama Administration Still Supports Net Neutrality

    Obama Administration Still Supports Net Neutrality

    Open Internet advocates all over the nation today were saddened to learn that D.C. District Court of Appeals sided with Verizon in its fight with the FCC over the Commission’s net neutrality rules. While the FCC can still appeal to the Supreme Court, many are concerned that the Commission won’t even bother. The Obama administration is now strongly hinting that won’t be the case.

    The White House issued a statement today in regards to the appeals court ruling that struck down the net neutrality rules. While the administration would not comment on an appeal, it said that the President “remains committed to an open Internet.”

    Here’s the full statement:

    “President Obama remains committed to an open internet, where consumers are free to choose the websites they want to visit and the online services they want to use, and where online innovators are allowed to compete on a level playing field based on the quality of their products. As we continue to review the ruling, we remain committed to working with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Congress, and the private sector to preserve a free and open Internet.”

    Interestingly enough, the Obama administration may have found itself an ally in the most unlikely of companies – Time Warner Cable. It’s kind of ironic that the second most hated ISP in America is fully supportive of an open Internet, or at leas that’s what the company claims in a statement released today:

    “Since pioneering the development of high-speed broadband service in the late 1990s, Time Warner Cable has been committed to providing its customers the best service possible, including unfettered access to the web content and services of their choice. This commitment, which long precedes the FCC rules, will not be affected by today’s court decision.”

    While that may be true, a little bit of wordplay could lead us to a future where Time Warner Cable institutes something like AT&T’s sponsored data. It technically doesn’t run afoul of the FCC’s original net neutrality rules and it would allow them to claim to still support an open Internet. Unfortunately, it would also allow TWC or any other ISP to institute data caps while letting content providers pay to deliver data to consumers without contributing to the cap.

    In short, the open Internet might not be threatened by a lack of net neutrality rules. It’s just going to be exploited until there’s nothing left.

    [h/t: The Hill]
    Image via The White House/flickr

  • Obama To Outline NSA Reforms Next Week

    Shortly after Edward Snowden leaked details regarding the NSA’s surveillance practices, President Obama announced that he would put together a review panel that would recommend changes to how the agency conducts its surveillance operations. Now that that report is in the hands of the president, he’s ready to act upon those recommendations.

    The White House announced today that President Obama will announce a number of NSA reforms on January 17. These reforms will reportedly reign in collection efforts as well as provide additional oversight to the programs. There may be more changes made as the review panel handed a list of 46 recommendations to the president.

    While we may not know the specifics, The Hill says that early reports have indicated that Obama will call for an end of the NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone metadata. Instead, the government will have private companies or a third party store this information. From there, the NSA will have to receive a court order to obtain certain metadata.

    In other words, your phone metadata will still be collected. This is a small improvement, however, as the NSA will no longer have unfettered access to said data. Instead, they will have to submit a request to look at data. Even then, they will only be able to look at specific data instead of being able to look through all of it.

    The second reform will reportedly call for more oversight of the National Intelligence Priorities Framework. This particular framework sets the intelligence community’s priorities in regards to surveillance targets, including foreign heads of state. As you may recall, the U.S. found itself in a bit of hot water late last year after it was revealed the NSA spied on German Chancellor Angela Merkel for no apparent reason.

    Beyond the above two reforms, we have no idea what Obama will announce next Friday. Heck, the above two recommendations may not even come to fruition next week as the intelligence community may very well convince Obama to change his mind before then.

    If that happens, we at least have a number of bills floating around Congress that seek to end the NSA’s activities.

    Image via The White House/flickr

  • Fall of Fallujah Spawns Debate Over Who Is To Blame

    Fallujah is one of multiple cities in Iraq that proved to be bloody, cruel battlegrounds for US soldiers looking to secure the area from militants back in 2004. The fighting that took place in Fallujah was some of the most intense since Vietnam, but barely ten years after US Marines were able to secure the city from militants, an unfortunate tragedy has befallen the city in the form of Al Qaeda militants overtaking the city once more.

    Al Qaeda militants seized various key cities in Iraq over the weekend, and Fallujah was among them. The return of civil conflict in Iraq, which this takeover is only the latest example of, has spawned a debate in the US government about who is to blame for the resurgence, which comes in the face of the US withdrawal from combat in the area. Republican senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain (of South Carolina and Arizona, respectfully) were quick to blame president Barack Obama, saying in a statement, “When President Obama withdrew all US forces [from Iraq] … many of us predicted that the vacuum would be filled by America’s enemies and would emerge as a threat to US national security interests. Sadly, that reality is now clearer than ever.”

    What these two senators were reluctant to mention, however, was the fact that the Obama administration has been in full support of the continuous multi-billion-dollar arms packages being purchased by Iraq. The Iraqi government, headed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, justifies these purchases by saying that the weapons are used to fight against militants like those that overtook Fallujah, and many conservative US representatives have agreed with this train of thought. However, the reluctance present in other parts of congress stem from fears that Prime Minister al-Maliki might use those weapons to subdue the Sunni community that is abundant in the area.

    Regardless of who is to blame for the fall of Fallujah, the effects of the fall are beginning to take a clear hold, both in Iraq and abroad. Violence coming from the militants is an immediate concern to civilians in the area, and the fall of a key city that was so heavily fought for comes as a heavy blow to many US veterans.

    Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

  • Unemployment Extension Possible in 2014?

    The million or more people who will no longer be seeing unemployment checks – money that has kept food on the table – are unsure of how they will survive.

    However, the possible good news is that next week, as early as Monday, Senate Democrats will move to vote on a three month extension for unemployment benefits for the 1.3 million people who lost them just after Christmas.

    But presently, people are scrambling, trying to figure out how they are going to pay bills and feed their families. Many are talking about selling cars, moving, taking minimum wage work and pawning personal items in an effort to try to stay afloat.

    Greg and Barbara Chastain of Huntington Beach, Calif., put their two teenagers on the school lunch program and cut back on dining out after losing their T-shirt company in June following a dispute with an investor.

    They’ve exhausted their state unemployment benefits and now that the federal extensions are gone, unless they find jobs the couple plan to take their children out of their high school in January and relocate 50 miles east where a relative owns property so they can save on rent.

    “We could let one of our cars go, but then you can’t get to work — it’s a never-ending cycle,” 43-year-old Greg Chastain said while accompanying his wife to an Orange County employment center. He said they eventually might try their luck in a less expensive state like Arizona or Texas if he can land a manufacturing job there.

    The five-year program extension that provided for the longer-term unemployed (6 months or more) ended and is going to hurt hundreds of thousands who still have not found jobs. The federal government program provided an average monthly stipend of $1,166.

    Obama and the Democrats in Congress are not in favor of ending the program, but the extensions were dropped due to a budget deal struck with Republican lawmakers earlier this month who want the $26 million annual cost eliminated.

    Obama reprimanded congressional Republicans for abandoning Americans and allowing their lifeline – unemployment – to expire on December 28th, stating the restoration of those benefits should be lawmakers’ “first order of business” when they return from their holiday break.

    “Just a few days after Christmas, more than one million of our fellow Americans lost a vital economic lifeline – the temporary insurance that helps folks make ends meet while they look for a job,” he said in his weekly address. “And for many of their constituents who are unemployed through no fault of their own, that decision will leave them with no income at all.

    “And denying families that security is just plain cruel,” he added. “We’re a better country than that. We don’t abandon our fellow Americans when times get tough – we keep the faith with them until they start that new job.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Edward Snowden Clemency: What Do You Say, Obama?

    Edward Snowden is a whistle-blower who exposed the U.S. governmental spy agencies and what they did that infringed on U.S. citizens, as well as some of its allies. He deserves clemency — or even a full pardon from President Barack Obama.

    That’s the request put forth to President Obama by the New York Times and Britain’s Guardian newspaper, urging him to drop his insistence that Snowden come home to face trial.

    “When someone reveals that government officials have routinely and deliberately broken the law, that person should not face life in prison at the hands of the same government,” the Times argued. “President Obama should tell his aides to begin finding a way to end Mr. Snowden’s vilification and give him an incentive to return home.”

    Mr. Snowden is currently charged with two violations of the Espionage Act involving unauthorized communication of classified information, and a charge of theft of government property. Those three charges carry prison sentences of 10 years each, and when the case is presented to a grand jury for indictment, the government is virtually certain to add more charges, probably adding up to a life sentence that Mr. Snowden is understandably trying to avoid.

    The National Security Administration (NSA) and the U.S. government have pretty much banned Edward Snowden from the U.S., unless he wants to spend his life in prison. He did take information that did not belong to him, to the tune of 1.7, more or less, documents that were “highly classified”.

    Many American’s are grateful that he did, although the documents were classified, they revealed information about the U.S. government’s surveillance tactics, information that the public had a right to know.

    These files showed how the NSA was forcing American technology companies to hand over private customer information, without warrants to allow legal access to the information, and they also revealed how data from phone and Internet records were intercepted without the users knowledge.

    While the release of these documents forced Snowden to flee the U.S., no doubt in fear of the possible NSA and governmental ramifications that he would face, and move to Russia. Remember though, it also alerted the American public — and many U.S. allies — of the government’s intrusive, unethical and possibly unlawful spying efforts.

    Snowden’s actions have prompted the American Civil Liberties Union to sue the NSA. The suit aims to force the U.S. government to disclose details of its electronic surveillance program and describe what protections it provides to Americans whose communications are swept up during the search for terrorist suspects, Reuters reported.

    Snowden should be treated as a hero not a criminal and Obama should consider that when making his final decision.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Unemployment Benefits Expire For 1.3 Million

    This weekend, millions of Americans are suddenly going to stop receiving their unemployment benefits. The extended federal benefits plan expires this Saturday, the 28th, forcing 1.3 million to go without a source of income.

    These long-term federal benefits were created by President Bush in the recession of 2008, and since then have been extended 11 more times. The most recent extension allowed for a total of 73 weeks of government assistance. But last week, Congress failed to extend the benefits plan any further.

    Federal long-term benefits kick in after the state’s unemployment benefits have run out. On average, long-term unemployment runs from 14 to 47 weeks. The typical weekly benefit check is $300. Which is roughly the pay of a full-time job at minimum wage. The Obama administration says these weekly checks were enough to keep 11 million Americans above the poverty line and supported roughly 17 million children. And now, that source of reliable income is gone.

    So how long will these long-unemployed have to live without benefits? According to CNN, senators will bring it to vote as soon as they are back from recess. A majority of Democrats have pushed for another extension but are facing opposition from Republicans, forcing a stalemate.

    The benefit extension plan isn’t cheap: according to the Congressional Budget Office, the cost to extend the federal benefits by another year is around $26 billion. But many argue that the extra money helps stimulate the economy, as families use their checks for groceries, shopping, and paying the bills. President Obama supports extension of the plan, calling on Congress to make temporary extension their “first order of business” in 2014. Obama has said that he would sign a proposal “right away,” but with the stalemate between Republicans and Democrats, prospects for immediately passing the bill seem weak.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Hellfire Missiles Sent to Iraq, U.S. Plans to Send Drones Next Year

    By request, dozens of Hellfire missiles were sent from the United States to Iraq last week. The Iraqi government also requested the delivery of 10 Scan Eagles surveillance drones by March of next year; thus, the U.S. plans to also send along F-16s and helicopters.

    The war devices will be of assistance to governmental forces in combating the outburst of violence occurring in both western Iraq and Syria territory.

    The United Nations has reported that the Baghdad government has ran out of Hellfire missiles and is struggling to prevent the violence of an extremists group by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

    The Islamic fighters from Syria alone have already slaughtered nearly 8,000 civilians.

    According to The Seattle Times “…the group has intimidated towns, assassinated local officials and, in an episode last week, used suicide bombers and hidden explosives to kill the commander of the Iraqi army’s 7th Division” at a training camp.

    On Sunday, State Department official Jen Psaki issued a warning statement that the Islamic state, an al Qaeda affiliate, was in pursuit to gain “control of territory inside the borders of Iraq.”

    Just this past Wednesday on Christmas day, al-Qaeda committed three bombings in Christian areas of Baghdad killing dozens of people.

    The fiery conflict in Iraq has become contradictory to the Obama administration’s claims years ago that Iraq was on the right track.

    This present request mirrors a similar request from Iraq months ago.

    The U.S disbursed over 2.7 billion in Foreign Military Sales to Iraq last July, which comprised of infantry carriers, ground-to-air rockets and 681 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.

    The Pentagon’s reasoning THEN was to “…provide Iraq with the ability to contribute to regional air defenses and reduce its vulnerability to air attacks and also enhance interoperability between the government of Iraq, the US, and other allies.”

    Evidently, the motive behind this recent assistance is still the same.

     

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • White House Extends Health Care Enrollment Deadline by One Day

    White House Extends Health Care Enrollment Deadline by One Day

    Today was the deadline specified by the Affordable Care Act – infamously known as Obamacare – for Americans to enroll in the healthcare marketplaces in order to have insurance coverage by January 1, 2014.

    But in a move that doesn’t surprise many as the entire process has been fraught with not only controversy but several speed bumps along the way, the Obama administration announced on Monday that it will extend the enrollment deadline by one day.

    “Anticipating high demand and the fact that consumers may be enrolling from multiple time zones, we have taken steps to make sure that those who select a plan through tomorrow will get coverage for Jan 1,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services spokeswoman Julie Bataille said in a statement.

    HealthCare.gov has been tweeting updates from its official Twitter account:

    The extension brings to mind the policy on voting days: if you’re in line at the polling location before the cut-off time, you’ll get a chance to cast your vote.

    A White House official told NBC’s First Read: “The deadline is today, but if people are in line, we will make sure they get insurance.”

    White House Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri said in an interview on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports that consumers need to make sure they’re trying to get enrolled on Monday, otherwise the extension may not apply to them.

    Does the extension apply to consumers in states that are running their own healthcare exchanges?

    The Los Angeles Times reported on Monday that officials of California’s exchange – Covered California – were still “working on developing a position.”

    The same sort of confusion exists in Connecticut, another state that is running its own exchange:

    Rhode Island moved its deadline from December 23 to December 31.

    According to NPR’s Julie Rovner Maryland and Minnesota have also extended their enrollment deadlines.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Caitlin Cahow Pinned For Sochi Olympic Delegation

    Although President Barack Obama will not be attending the Sochi Olympics, he has picked several interesting candidates to send in his place as part of the presidential delegation. The delegation will be headed by former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and will include tennis player and LGBT activist Billie Jean King, and the openly gay hockey player Caitlin Cahow. This will mark the first time since 2000 that the United States has not sent the president, former president, first lady or vice president to the Games.

    It appears as though President Obama is sending a clear message to Russia, who currently has extremely strict anti-gay laws. Cahow doesn’t seem to mind that she is being sent to make a statement. She actually said that she was elated to be invited to attend. “It’s obviously a statement that’s being made, but I think it’s an incredibly respectful one,” Cahow said.

    “Basically, the White House is highlighting Americans who know what it means to have freedoms and liberties under the Constitution. That’s really what we’re representing in Sochi and it’s not at all different from what’s espoused in the spirit of Olympism,” Cahow continued. “So I think it’s just a great group of people. I can’t believe I’ve been named one of them because it’s a remarkable roster and I just think that we’re going to represent what the best America can be. Hopefully, it will unify all of Team USA and send a message of love and acceptance to the world.”

    King has also communicated her gratification for being named to the delegation. “I am equally proud to stand with the members of the LGBT community in support of all athletes who will be competing in Sochi and I hope these Olympic Games will indeed be a watershed moment for the universal acceptance of all people,” said King.

    Russia has been under extreme criticism for passing their “gay propaganda” laws, however President Vladimir has announced that gay athletes and spectators will not face discrimination if they choose to attend the Sochi Games in February.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • NSA Court Decision Gets The NMA Treatment

    Yesterday, a federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled that the NSA’s mass collection of phone records was unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment. The ruling was certainly welcome, but it doesn’t actually put an end to the NSA’s surveillance program. We’ll have to wait until the case goes to the Appeals Court.

    In the meantime, our favorite Taiwanese animators over at NMA have thrown together a little short about yesterday’s ruling. The short gives a brief history of the past year in leaks from Edward Snowden and Wired Magazine and how the Obama administration has tried to paint its programs as legal under precedents set during the 80s.

    While this ruling doesn’t really mean anything for now, it’s still a symbolic victory for the people who have been fighting against the NSA’s surveillance powers for years now. Those same people might have another victory on their hands later this week when Obama meets with tech giants to discuss the NSA and its spying powers. If the President can’t convince these companies over to his side, he and those who support the NSA will have some powerful opponents in the coming years.

    Image via Taiwanese Animators/YouTube

  • Newtown: Obama Addresses Shooting One Year Later, Calls for Stricter Gun Laws

    Today marks the first anniversary of the second deadliest school shooting by one person in history. On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza first killed his mother and then went to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut where he went on a five-minute shooting rampage. The lives of six staff members and 20 first-grade students were taken during the shooting.

    Many people are taking a moment today to remember the victims of the atrocity, including President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle. The couple remembered the victims of the shooting at the White House today. The Obamas lit a candle for each Sandy Hook victim in the Map Room at 9:29 a.m.

    After the Obamas lit the 26 candles, the president acknowledged the Newtown shooting during his weekly radio address and touched on gun control. Despite efforts to create stronger gun control laws over the past year, nothing has changed, something the president is begging Americans to work on. Check out excerpts from his address below.

    One year ago today, a quiet, peaceful town was shattered by unspeakable violence. Six dedicated school workers and 20 beautiful children were taken from our lives forever.

    As parents, as Americans, the news filled us with grief. Newtown is a town like so many of our hometowns. The victims were educators and kids that could have been any of our own. And our hearts were broken for the families that lost a piece of their heart; for the communities changed forever; for the survivors, so young, whose innocence was torn away far too soon.

    But beneath the sadness, we also felt a sense of resolve–that these tragedies must end, and that to end them, we must change.

    And on this anniversary of a day we will never forget, that’s the example we should continue to follow. Because we haven’t yet done enough to make our communities and our country safer. We have to do more to keep dangerous people from getting their hands on a gun so easily. We have to do more to heal troubled minds. We have to do everything we can to protect our children from harm and make them feel loved, and valued, and cared for.

    And as we do, we can’t lose sight of the fact that real change won’t come from Washington. It will come the way it’s always come from you. From the American people.

    While many people are remembering the Newtown shooting victims on Twitter, quite a few folks are irritated that the president used the shooting to bring up gun control.

    [Image via YouTube]

  • Hawaii Plane Crash Kills Woman Responsible for Obama Birth Certificate

    The woman, who gained notoriety after she presented Barack Obama’s birth certificate in 2011, has died.

    Loretta Fuddy was the director of the Hawaii Department of Health and was a passenger in a single-engine plane with nine other people on board. The plane went down approximately 300 yards off Molokai’s Kalaupapa peninsula on Wednesday during an inter-island flight.

    The others, including the pilot, survived the crash – one passenger even swam to shore to safety.

    A spokesman for the Hawaii Department of Health said Fuddy’s deputy, Keith Yamamoto, was among the passengers who survived the crash of the Cessna 208 Caravan.

    “Our hearts are broken. Loretta was deeply loved and respected. She was selfless, utterly dedicated, and committed to her colleagues in the Department of Health and to the people of Hawaii,” Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie, who appointed Fuddy in 2011, said in a statement.

    The Governor went on to say, “We send our best thoughts to her family and will do all in our power to reflect her professionalism, her love of Hawaii and the high standard she set for herself and all of us.”

    The flight operators, Makani Kai Air, fly between Oahu and Molokai on a regular basis.

    When the local news officials with KITV4 spoke with the airline owner, Richard Schuman, he revealed that the plane crashed due to engine failure and that the pilot tried to bring the plane down safely and keep the passengers together after they were in the ocean.

    According to the Coast Guard, Fuddy had a life jacket on, but she either let go or slipped through it – and drowned. Coast Guard Lt. Kevin Cooper, who helped coordinate the rescue effort from Oahu, said life jackets were key factors for surviving the crash.

    The National Transportation Safety Board, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration is going to investigate the crash further in an effort to report exactly what caused the plane to go down into the Pacific.

    Although, the National Transportation Safety Board stated they would issue a preliminary report within 10 to 14 days, the plane was probably not going to be recovered anytime soon. The location of the wreckage, combined with wind and wave conditions, likely means it won’t be recoverable, NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss added.

    “We handle lots of investigations in which the airplane is not recoverable,” he said. “The fact gathering on the ground continues.”

    Fuddy was the one who released the birth certificate of President Obama in an effort to satisfy the so called “birthers” who claimed that Obama wasn’t born in the United States. She said that “in recognition of your status as president of the United States,” she was making an exception to her department’s policy of only releasing a computer-generated certified copy. Fuddy also said that she had viewed the records that “further prove the fact that he was born in Hawaii.”

    Obama then released a longer version of his “proof of birth” in the U.S. that finally put a stop to the unsound allegations.

    Image via YouTube

  • Hawaii Plane Crash Leads To Obama Rumors

    A plane crash in Hawaii that took the life of just one person has the web buzzing this week as the so-called “birthers” take it as fuel to the Obama fire.

    65-year old State Public Health Director Loretta Fuddy was on the small Cessna craft that crashed into the ocean on Wednesday after takeoff from Kalaupapa Airport; eight others, including the pilot, were rescued alive, but Fuddy perished in the wreckage.

    “It’s always a difficult situation when you’re not able to get everybody out,” Honolulu Fire Capt. Terry Seelig told KHON-TV.

    The fact that Fuddy was the only victim in the crash has weighed heavily on the minds of those who believe President Obama was actually born in Kenya and is therefore ineligible to be president, as she was the person who validated Obama’s birth certificate when he presented it in 2011. Twitter has been buzzing with various theories and opinions on the incident, including one from Donald Trump.

    A preliminary report on the crash says it was caused by “catastrophic engine failure”, although a full investigation will take up to two weeks. Fuddy, who recently worked on the Affordable Care Act, was remembered in a statement by Hawaii’s governor, Neil Abercrombie.

    “Our hearts are broken. Loretta was deeply loved and respected. She was selfless, utterly dedicated, and committed to her colleagues in the Department of Health and to the people of Hawaii,” Abercrombie said in a statement. “Her knowledge was vast; her counsel and advice always given from her heart as much as from her storehouse of experience.”

    Image: Wikimedia Commons

  • Tragic Plane Crash Kills Loretta Fuddy

    State public health Director Loretta Fuddy, the woman who verified the authenticity of President Obama’s birth certificate has died in a plane crash off the coast of Hawaii.

    Some thought the tragic death was fixed, suggesting that Obama had something to do with the crash. While there’s been professors and people alike who believe in conspiracy theories, no one has been as upfront about their take on the crash until yesterday late-afternoon.

    Donald Trump angrily took to Twitter, blatantly broadcasting his opinion.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2R2Ra_gS3I

    While there is still much controversy spinning through the air, the important thing to remember is the life that was lost.

    65-year-old Fuddy was one of 9 people in the plane that crashed into the ocean. After leaving the Kalaupapa Airport at 3:15, the plane crashed shortly after.

    According to Honolulu Fire Capt. Terry Seelig, everyone else on the plane was rescued except for Fruddy was “remained in the fuselage of the plane.”

    Photo Credit: YouTube

  • Actress Pleads Guilty To Trying To Poison Obama

    A Texas woman who has appeared on “The Walking Dead” and “The Vampire Diaries” admitted today that she did indeed tried to poison President Obama by sending him letters laced with ricin, although she initially said her husband had done it.

    Shannon Guess Richardson pleaded guilty today to possessing a biological toxin, a felony. The mother of six allegedly ordered castor beans online in her ex-husband’s name and had them sent to a P.O. box which was also registered to him; she then mailed various letters containing the poison, including one to President Obama. Richardson was reportedly upset about Obama’s stance on gun control.

    “After he left the house, I printed the mailing labels for President Barack Obama, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Mark Glaze with The Raben Group,” Richardson said a statement.

    President Obama’s letter read, in part, “What’s in this letter is nothing compared to what ive got in store for you mr president. You will have to kill me and my family before you get my guns. Anyone wants to come to my house will get shot in the face.”

    Nathan Richardson, who had just filed for a divorce from his wife at the time, has been cooperative with police and maintains that he had nothing to do with the plots. He currently has custody of the couple’s children, including a baby boy Shannon gave birth to while in prison.

    “Breaking Bad” fans will know that ricin is a highly toxic poison derived from castor beans, which can cause respiratory failure if inhaled. However, the U.S. Postal Service announced after an investigation that none of the letters actually posed a health risk due to the ricin being poorly made and would likely have caused nothing more serious than diarrhea.

    Image: Thinkstock

  • Obama is Criticized for Taking a Selfie at Mandela’s Memorial Service

    Obama is Criticized for Taking a Selfie at Mandela’s Memorial Service

    After our story on people taking selfies at funerals and other inappropriate places, it probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise that someone took a selfie at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service. The person caught taking the selfie, on the other hand, will probably catch you off guard. None other than President Barack Obama was caught snapping a selfie of himself with two prime ministers today.

    Former South African president Nelson Mandela’s memorial service was held today in Johannesburg. Obama was just one of many national leaders in attendance. The president was also a speaker at the service and delivered a moving speech that reportedly received a standing ovation.

    “With honesty, regardless of our station or our circumstance, we must ask: How well have I applied [Nelson Mandela’s] lessons in my own life?” Obama said. “It is a question I ask myself, as a man and as a president. We know that like South Africa, the United States had to overcome centuries of racial subjugation. As was true here, it took sacrifice–the sacrifices of countless people, known and unknown–to see the dawn of a new day.”

    While many people enjoyed the speech, at some point someone snapped a picture of the president taking a selfie of himself with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Denmark Prime Minister Helle Thorning. As you can see, First Lady Michelle Obama is present and is not participating:

    The selfie craze, which many consider to be a form of narcissism, has become so popular that the word “selfie” even earned a place in the Oxford Dictionaries Online and was named Word of the Year. Now that the president was caught taking a selfie, at a memorial service no less, it’s not likely this craze will die down anytime soon.

    After the selfie was posted to Twitter, it took no time for folks to start criticizing the president. Did you find the picture inappropriate as well or are people making a big deal over nothing? Add your comments below.

    [Image via YouTube]

  • Obama Wants To Host ESPN’s “SportsCenter”

    Perhaps you want to get the latest coverage on your favorite sports team; you flip the channel over to ESPN, and bam! There he is, your former president. Because in the future, it’s very possible that Americans may get another four, five, even six or more years with Barack Obama. That’s because he wants to be the host for ESPN’s SportsCenter. Can you imagine that?

    On November 26th at Jeffrey Katzenberg’s DreamWorks Animation campus in Glendale, Barack Obama met with various entertainment moguls including Disney’s Alan Horn, Fox’s Jim Gianopulos, Sony’s Amy Pascal, and CBS’ Leslie Moonves. Before the president delivered his speech, he put in his request to Disney CEO Bob Iger about potentially hosting ESPN’s SportsCenter.

    Iger didn’t respond, he just giggled.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter:

    “At the end of the conversation — which touched on a myriad of topics, from piracy to Iran — Obama revealed what’s at the top of his bucket list post-White House: “At least I know what I want to do when I retire … host ESPN SportsCenter‘s Top 10 list,” Obama quipped as he turned to Disney’s Robert Iger, whose empire includes ESPN.

    The highlights countdown can feature everything from major sports to bull fighting to high school basketball. Other than having a good laugh, Iger apparently didn’t respond.

    “Everyone had a good giggle,” says one person who attended”

    In his speech to the entire DreamWorks Animation Staff and others in attendance, Obama held high regards to the entertainment industry, stating that it was an “engine” for America’s economy and “diplomacy.”

    Obama also said that DreamWorks Animation got their inspiration for Shrek due to the president’s ears.

    SportsCenter is a daily sports news television channel that first broadcasted on September 7, 1979. The show has more than 50,000 episodes and includes highlights featuring everything from major sports like the NFL, NBA, or MLB, to college football, to international football, to high school basketball, etc.

    Obama wrapped up his two-day trip in Southern California at DreamWorks Animation with two fundraising events, one which was held at the home of Magic Johnson and his wife Cookie.

    Would the president’s appearance as host on the ESPN’s SportCenter provide a niche to where more viewers would watch, or would the program decline in ratings?

    (Picture via WikiCommons)

  • Nelson Mandela: Sheriff’s Department in SC Refuses to Lower Flag

    Nelson Mandela’s death last week seemed to unify people around the world as leaders from many nations mourned the great man’s passing. Even on Facebook, there are still posts popping up in the asking people to take a moment to remember the former South African president. President Obama issued an executive order to fly flags at half-staff, something that doesn’t happen very often for non U.S. citizens. Most people were happy to comply, with the exception of a sheriff’s department in South Carolina. According to the sheriff there, if you aren’t a U.S. citizen, he won’t lower his flag for you.

    President Obama ordered flags to be flown at half-staff from December 6 until sunset on December 9. Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark announced that he wouldn’t lower the flag at his sheriff’s office on Facebook:

    I usually don’t post political items, but today is different. I received this notification today, “As a mark of respect for the memory of Nelson Mandela, the President orders that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff effective immediately until sunset, December 9, 2013”

    Nelson Mandela did great things for his country and was a brave man but he was not an AMERICAN!!! The flag should be lowered at our Embassy in S. Africa, but not here. Our flag is at half staff today for a Deputy in the low country who died going to help his fellow Deputy. He deserves the honor. I have ordered that the flag here at my office back up after tomorrow’s mourning of Pearl Harbor Day!

    Clark told The Greenville News that while he would lower the sheriff department’s flag to half-staff for Pearl Harbor Day, that he wouldn’t lower it for Nelson Mandela. He added to his Facebook post by saying “The flag at half-staff is for Americans’ ultimate sacrifice for our country. We should never stray away from that.”

    While many people are outraged with Clark for refusing to lower the flag to half-staff, the Federal Flag Code doesn’t “prescribe any penalties for non-compliance nor does it include enforcement provisions.”

    What do you think of the situation–is the South Carolina sheriff right to refuse to honor international leaders in this way? Add your comments below. As you can see from the Twitter posts below, many people are furious with Clark’s decision.

    [Image via WikiMedia Commons]

  • Top Gun Inspiration Rises to Highest Ranking Female

    “I don’t know anything about flying airplanes.”

    Christine Fox, Kelly McGillis’ inspiration for her character in “Top Gun,” has been named acting deputy defense secretary by President Obama, which makes her the highest ranking woman ever at the U.S. Defense Department, according to Yahoo News.

    She is “a brilliant defense thinker and proven manager,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said.

    Fox left the Pentagon earlier this year for a job as a senior adviser at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. While Hagel searches for her replacement, Fox will assume the acting deputy role.

    Fox is the former director of the Defense Department’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office. While in that position, she helped tackle the nearly $1 trillion in projected defense cuts aimed at the Pentagon.

    “There needs to be a serious national dialogue on what a sensible, sustainable and strategically sound defense budget looks like,” she wrote in September.

    Her bio on the Defence Department’s website also reveals that she “oversaw [the Center for Naval Analyses] analysis of real-world operations, including the operations in Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s, the operation in Afghanistan in response to the September 11 attacks, and the operation in Iraq in early 2003.”

    However, despite all of her accomplishments, her role as a civilian mathematician at the San Diego Naval base in the 1980’s is what inspired the producers of “Top Gun” (Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer) to create Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood, Tom Cruise’s love interest and astrophysicist in the popular 1986 movie.

    Despite what the movie portrays, Fox rarely interacted with pilots.

    “I don’t know anything about flying airplanes,” Fox said. “But I know a lot about the guy in the back seat — his mission, his radar and his missiles.”

    She also rarely felt any sparks with the men. “The fact that I know so much about what these guys are doing every day and they come in and talk to me about it — ‘Why is my radar doing this?’ — changes the relationship. It takes some of the romance out.”

    Fighter pilots, however, did have a nickname for Fox: “Legs.” It never seemed to bother her.

    “The reason it doesn’t bother me is that it doesn’t interfere with the work,” Fox said. “It’s just part of an attitude all aviators subscribe to, something they adopt as soon as they join the fighter community. If that prevented them from coming over and asking for help, then it would be a disaster. Anyway, I make fun of them for being macho creeps sometimes.”

    “She’s so professional that her looks don’t become a point of interest,” Commander Harry Hunter told People Magazine in a 1985 profile piece. “When she walks in you say ‘wow,’ but 30 seconds later you’re talking business.”

    Fox replaces Ashton Carter, who is stepping down Wednesday.

    image via: U.S. Department of Defense

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiKSAo6vKmk

  • Obama Letter Says He Did Not Ridicule “Tea Baggers”

    While responding to a concerned citizen about the Affordable Care Act, president Obama allegedly used a derogatory term “tea baggers.” The president gave a handwritten response to a note he received from one Thomas J. Ritter, a school teacher in Texas who had written to Obama to complain about Obamacare and political issues in general.

    “This bill has caused such a divisive, derisive and toxic environment,” wrote Thomas Ritter. “The reality is that any citizen that disagrees with your administration is targeted and ridiculed.”

    Ritter also said the he was afraid of “retribution” for writing a letter to the president. “I hesitated to write for fear of some kind of retribution . . . I watched you make fun of tea baggers and your press secretary make fun of Ms. [Sarah] Palin which was especially beneath the dignity of the White House . . . Do the right thing not the political thing. Suggest a bill that Americans can support.” wrote Ritter.

    In his reply, Obama said that he appreciated his “concern about the toxic political environment right now.” However, Obama addressed Ritter’s concerns by saying “I do have to challenge you, though, on the notion that any citizen that disagrees with me has been ‘targeted and ridiculed’ or that I have ‘made fun’ of tea baggers,” the president wrote, echoing Ritter’s use of the derogatory term. “[I] defend strongly the right of everyone to speak their mind-including those who call me a ‘Socialist’ or worse,” Obama continued.

    The term ‘tea baggers’ refers to a sexual act but it is commonly used to refer to the Tea Party movement which is a strong Obamacare critic. The leftist critics have been using the term to poke fun at the right-wing protestors. However, it is important to note that the president merely used the term as used in Ritter’s letter. Ritter used the term to refer to the tea party protesters.

    Letters To The President

    (image via whitehouse.gov)

  • Obama Interrupted By Heckler During Immigration Speech

    President Obama was heckled on Monday by a young man during his speech on immigration reform in San Fransisco. The young man was calling on the president to stop deportation.

    “Mr. Obama, my family has been separated for 19 months now!” yelled a young man who stood with others behind the president. Obama continued to speak but the young man did not relent.  “Please, use your executive order,” the young man said, “to halt deportations from all 11.5 million undocumented immigrants in this country right now.”

    “We agree that we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform,” the protestor continued, “but at the same time, you have a power to stop deportations for all.”

    “Actually, I don’t,” the President responded. “And that’s why we’re here.” Several people then joined and started chanting, “Stop the deportations!” along with the “yes we can” slogan.

    The president turned to address the heckler as his security detail tried to eject the young man out of the Betty Ann Ong Chinese Recreation Center. Obama signaled them to let the young man stay. “I respect the passion of these young people because they feel deeply about the concerns for their families,” he said. “The easy way out is to try to yell and pretend like I can do something by violating our laws. He continued, “If in fact I could solve all these problems without passing laws in Congress, I would do so.”

    Having said that, the young man as well as those who had started chanting became calmer. “It won’t be as easy as just shouting. It requires us lobbying and getting it done.” Argued Obama.

    “So for those of you who are committed to getting this done, I am gonna march with you and fight with you every step of the way to make sure that we are welcoming every striving, hardworking immigrant who sees America the same way we do,” he said.

    (main image via YouTube)