Obama Finds His Voice, MSM Still Lost

Thursday Open Thread
Below the fold, I have news on the edict that Roger Ailes issued to all the employees of Fox News. It’s quite a story and reveals that Ailes is as astute as ever and has an uncanny ability to sense the nation’s shifting moods. His edict was evident in last night’s exceptional and respectful coverage of Obama’s Speech by Fox News’s Bret Baier, Brit Hume, Charles Krauthammer, et al. (But do check out my side note on Obama’s Speech — it’s at the end ...

Obama's call for civility seen as striking right tone
WASHINGTON — President Obama's warmly received plea for tolerance and temperance in the wake of last weekend's massacre in Tucson has created an opportunity for him to change the tone of political debate in Washington — and possibly advance his overall agenda. Former White House officials and experts in government and communications said Obama's healing words at Wednesday night's memorial service conveyed a message the country needed to hear. By not pointing fingers or seeking to scor...

Youngest victim of US shooting buried
People hold a sign as they line the street leading to the St. Elizabeth Ann... The Funeral hearse leads a procession to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church for... The youngest Victim of the Tucson shootings was laid to rest Thursday, a day after President Barack Obama hailed the 9-year-old girl as an inspiration to US politicians to heal their poisonous divisions. Christina Taylor Green, who was among six people killed by a misfit gunman last Saturday, has become the heart-breaking public face of th...

From Palin to Pawlenty, GOP Presidential Prospects Grapple With Arizona Massacre
President Obama isn't the only leader being put to the test by last weekend's shooting rampage in Arizona. The tragedy is also serving as a proving ground for Republicans considering 2012 presidential runs. At least eight have weighed in, and the results are revealing. What does a hurting nation look for in a president? "Americans expect their presidents to be more than just the head of a political party or a political leader," says GOP Strategist Todd Harris, the spokesman for John McCain's 200...

Cheap Unity
In 1937, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer published a book called "The Cost of Discipleship." In that book, Bonhoeffer wrote about the dangers of what he called 'cheap grace,' which he defined as "the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession..." Bonhoeffer's point was that while forgiveness, baptism and Communion are a wonderful part of church life, they cannot be truly experienced without paying a cost. Bonhoeff...

Palin's 10 Red Herrings (Politico)
Sarah Palin has continued and intensified the rhetorical strategy introduced by her supporters and surrogates in the wake of the Tucson tragedy. She’s offering a series of red herrings — distracting with concepts that are truthful, but irrelevant, to deflect from other issues or vulnerabilities. (The term originates with the practice of using cured fish to put Hunting Dogs off the track. 1) Free Speech: “Congresswoman Giffords and her constituents were exercising their right to...

Video: Krauthammer vs. Limbaugh on Obamas speech
I joked last night on Twitter that liking The One’s Speech could be the new RINO litmus test. (Chris Christie flunked!) From this afternoon’s Rush: “Fox Loved it,” he said. “The Fox All Stars, when this was done, were slobbering over the speech. It was predictable. They were slobbering for the predictable reasons - it as smart, it was articulate…It was everything the educated, ruling class wants their leaders to be and sound like.” Limbaugh parsed the speech

Obama in Arizona
A little girl was buried Thursday in Tucson, Ariz. Christina Taylor Green was 9. She was an A Student, a member of her student council, born on Sept. 11, 2001, and, as a result, interested in American politics. "She saw public service as something exciting and hopeful," President Barack Obama said at a memorial service Wednesday night. "She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted." The ...

He spoke like a President: Obama addresses a grieving Nation
On January 12, 2011 at a memorial service that was held at the University of Arizona’s McKale memorial center, President Barack Obama addressed a crowd of over 15,000 that came to pay tribute to 19 Americans whose lives were tragically altered by an apparent mad man.  Of the 19 that were shot that fateful Saturday morning, 6 were killed. The senseless violence that occurred in front of a Safeway Supermarket in Tucson, Arizona at the hands of a deranged gunman has since sparked a bitte...

Youngest victim of US shooting buried
The youngest Victim of the Tucson shootings was laid to rest Thursday, a day after President Barack Obama hailed the 9-year-old girl as an inspiration to US politicians to heal their poisonous divisions. Christina Taylor Green, who was among six people killed by a misfit gunman last Saturday, has become the heart-breaking public face of the attacks which unleashed a wave of soul-searching about America's political culture. Hundreds of people lined the streets as her small coffin was borne into t...

Former Classmate Of Rep. Giffords Shares Personal Memories
Since last weekend’s deadly shooting in Arizona that claimed six lives, and left 14 wounded - including a vibrant, young Congresswoman - people have been trying to understand how something so heinous, so senseless could happen. It appeared that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was specifically targeted by the gunman, prompting some to surmise the attack was politically motivated. That touched off a national debate about the tenor of Rhetoric in this country and whether it has ...

Funeral mass held for Christina Green
TUCSON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Hundreds of people lined the route to the church where a Funeral mass was held Thursday for the youngest Victim of the Tucson shooting that killed six. The service for Christina Taylor Green, 9, at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church was private, the Los Angeles Times reported. But hundreds were drawn to the church, standing on the roadside as the hearse carrying her body drove by. The Funeral was the first for victims of the shooting. The largest flag to survive th...

Michelle Obama sees lessons after Arizona shooting
Mrs. Obama joined her husband, President Barack Obama, at a memorial service in Tucson on Wednesday for the Victims of Saturday's attack outside a Supermarket, where a gunman killed six people and critically wounded Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Obama said Children would struggle with questions about what such an event says about the world. "The questions my daughters have asked are the same ones that many of your Children will have - and they don't lend themselves to easy answers," the fi...

Caller Slams Al Sharpton Over Palin Blame Game (video)
Carol's Blog! Illegal Aliens Now Get Free Heart Surgery and Cancer Treatment - Free heart surgery for illegals is insane unless it is an emergency. Providing emergence medical services wasn't good enough for the Obama administratio... Funny video: Cop mistakes penis for a weapon - If you have ever been "felt up" by a cop, you may find this funny video off color. Where did The Moon get water? - [image: Moon: A Brief History] New research indicates the moon's water came from comets. Sci...

Sarah Palin Is No Longer Reloading: Die Zeit, Germany
It may be the greatest challenge in Sarah Palin’s Political Career: how to respond to accusations that her words contributed to the Tucson massacre? According to columnist Christoph von Marschall of Germany’s Die Zeit, while most agree she bears no direct responsibility for the attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Palin’s entire future hangs in the balance. For Die Zeit, Christoph von Marschall writes in part: Only a very small number of people still believe that Sarah...

More on Violence And Right Wing Rhetoric
Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Conservatives who fail to understand the arguments from liberals about Right Wing Hate Speech act as if Jared Loughner lived in a vacuum and acted with absolutely no external influences. This is despite multiple reports indicating Loughner’s interest in fringe politics. NewsOne reports on yet another connection, alleging that Loughner is a fan of right winger Alex Jones. I find it curious that Conservatives have been attacking liberals this week ...

People Falsely Accused of Wishing for Sarah Palins Death
In that video of disgusting death threats against Sarah Palin (Aaron posted Screenshots of them here), there were a couple that I think were included by mistake. To me, this is clearly a repudiation of those who blamed Palin. If there were any doubt, the author of the message explains: Anybody who knows me, has read my books, has read my blog, has read my Tweets, has breathed the same Internet air I breathe knows I’m a Reagan-conservative-moving-swiftly-to-libertarian Mormon with a side of...

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Mecca): Palin Should Have Said Sorry For Overblown Rhetoric
You heard Farrakhan’s Jew-hating buddy, you’re all done, Sarah. (Huff Po) - Sarah Palin took a lot of heat on Wednesday for her seven-minute-long statement on the shootings in Arizona, in which she mourned the tragedy and accused her critics of “blood Libel.” And it appears that the president’s Speech last night — in which he adopted a far more civil, reconciliatory, and emotional tone — has made matters only worse. “I think that the presiden...

Cafferty: Palin Can't Be President Due to 'Inflammatory' Reply to Critics
Jack Cafferty's Palin Derangement Syndrome reached a new level on Thursday's Situation Room on CNN, as he attacked the Republican for her reply to those who tried to tie her to the Arizona shootings: "It was just awful, defiant, [and] inflammatory." Cafferty also ripped Palin for using the "blood Libel" phrase and stated that the reply would "effectively end her chance of ever being elected president." The commentator devoted his 5 pm Eastern hour Cafferty F...

Giffords opens eyes, but conservatives accuse Obama of lying
By Michael J.W. Stickings Media Matters: In one of the most cynical displays in recent memory, following the lead of Gateway Pundit Jim Hoft, several conservative websites -- including Fox Nation and MRC arm CNS News -- suggested that President Obama lied last night when he said that Rep. Giffords had opened her eyes for the first time shortly after his Wednesday night visit to the Hospital. In a recently-completed pres...

A 9-year-old's death hits home for Obama
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is not known for showing a surplus of emotion in public, but toward the end of his Speech at the University of Arizona on Wednesday night, he paused for 50 seconds and appeared to gather himself. The audience was on its feet. Obama had just laid down a stark and powerful gauntlet, challenging the country to live up to the expectations of 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, whose death Saturday was an emotional punch to the gut for so many people across the co...

Youngest US shooting victim laid to rest
The youngest Victim of the Arizona shootings has been laid to rest, a day after President Barack Obama hailed the nine-year-old girl as an inspiration to US politicians to heal their poisonous divisions. Christina Taylor Green, who was among six people killed by a lone gunman in Tucson last Saturday, has become the heart-breaking public face of the attacks which unleashed a wave of soul-searching about America's political culture. Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, 40, was left fightin...

More Love for the Modest Heros of Tucson
Daniel Hernandez continues to charm his way into the national spotlight. Nearly a week after he helped save Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ life during the deadly shooting rampage in Tucson, he earned the praise of President Obama during a memorial service Thursday night at the University of Arizona. In front of thousands of mourners, the president commended Hernandez for his Bravery. “Daniel, I’m sorry and you may deny it but we’ve decided that you are a hero because you ran th...

New Word For Progs To Recite: CIVILITY
Inspiration comes in various forms and ways, but when it comes, you know it. During Dear Leader's memorial pep rally and Reelection primer Speech, I felt an incoming message from Laika through the interstices of my tinfoil hat. In no uncertain terms, Dear Leader—who always knows how to put the 'ME' in "memorial, and whose seignorial Trademark narcissism is as refreshing as a tall glass of Kool-Aid®—was actually speaking a secret message to us pr...

The Hatin' Palin Chorus
Image via Wikipedia Rush Limbaugh: So there's Obama being praised to the heavens, Obama being exalted and held up as only Obama can be, The Messiah, the one, being praised for this wonderful healing Speech last night by the same people who are exhibiting and announcing and proclaiming a vicious hate against Sarah Palin, who gave a perfectly fine Speech that morning. In fact, they're even trying to say that Palin tried to mislead her viewers at Facebook because she was using a Teleprompter and ...