Refreshing. Jolie 'hates' Obama. She thinks he's a fraud...Hey Angelina, Christmas gift idea - our poster!!!! As seen in equality marches!!! That are on TV!!! Buy it here!!!
More proof the Nobel peace prize committee turned the prize into a joke this year. In agreement with President G W Bush's policy (and disagreement with President Clinton's) Obama is refusing to sign the landmine ban treaty.
Bono, lead singer of U2, and all around world citizen wrote a piece for the New York Times in which he states: The world wants to believe in America again...
It goes without saying at this point that this is a statement that cannot stand without Bono's assumptions about Mr. Obama as the foundation. He is not saying: the world wants to believe in America again regardless who is President. He is saying: The world wants to believe in Obama. Which is the particular pathology Obama is masterful at exploiting. The want to believe in him - a desire so deep and driven that not only is evidence ignored - it's not part of the equation whatsoever. What Obama does has no affect on this desire. It is all about what Obama says.
Bono quotes one of Obama's speeches to make the point that Obama is a good and worthy man: We will support the Millennium Development Goals, and approach next year's summit with a global plan to make them a reality. And we will set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time.
Bono again:...these 36 words are why I believe Mr. Obama could well be a force for peace and prosperity-if the words signal action. Notice that he tacks on the last 5 words to let us know he is not a complete dupe. Bono has standards. He tells us - Americans - as if we did not "get it" - that it's our President who is saying such noble things. Isn't that miraculous? You people who foisted Bush on us - now have done something right!
Alas,Bono fails prey to Axlerod's political skills. Speeches matter more than actions. Speeches are worthy of veneration and prizes. Actions come later...or we hope they do. But hope - the want, the desire, is all that matters. In the desire rest good feelings - and feeling good is the goal. This, as any first year psych student will inform you, is the definition of immaturity.
Like so many Europeans, Bono fundamentally misunderstands America's greatness. America's greatness DOES NOT spring from our Enlightenment ideals of republican democracy. Yes, you read that right. If greatness on the world stage came from lofty intentions and high ideals ancient Greece would still be a world power.
America's greatness springs from our republican values AND the people who were willing to embody them. Jefferson not only refined Enlightenment ideals for us- he became a traitor to his king. Susan B. Anthony did not merely make speeches. She got arrested. We owe as much to every black child who was water cannoned, arrested and killed in protest as we do to Dr. King. Bono does not understand this. The continued embodiment of American ideals by Americans is our strength. Thus far, there is no evidence that Obama is willing to sacrifice for an ideal. Any ideal.
Bono is, finally, a victim of a pervasive decadence that currently poisons the West. From this decadence comes the belief that intentions matter more than actions. The day Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize he snubbed the Dalai Lama - a perfect microcosm of the difference between judging someone on their intentions rather than their actions.
In Bono's world, Obama's speeches and alleged intentions alone are worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. Obama makes Bono feel better. Do not be fooled: This belief is poison. It is the devil none of us fully know. Good feelings are not facts. Mistaking them for facts always has unfortunate consequences. Good feelings generated by good speeches won't stop Iran from getting the bomb, or bring peace to the Middle East, or stop Israel from attacking Iran, or convince the Chinese to keep buying our debt, or feed one hungry child. Not one. Yet, Bono, a man to be admired for his tireless good work, believes that Obama should be awarded for his intentions.
Finally, Bono's veneration of Obama in the New York Times can and should be dismissed for the simple reason that it's a campaign endorsement, not an assessment of President Obama's time in office. He's still riding hope. It's as if the last 10 months haven't yet occurred. The botching of the gitmo closure has not happened. The drone attacks on Pakistani civilians have not happened. The strengthening of FISA has not happened. The attacks on gay service men and women have stopped...
We, the realists, cannot allow our view to be clouded by the constant re-upping of "Hope" from the immature among us. Obama's goalposts cannot be moved every time the hope addicted need a fix. We must see the man and judge him on his actions. THAT IS THE JOB OF CITIZENS IN A DEMOCRACY.
With the era of lower standards and/or no standards in full swing - kicked off by Barack "drone attack" Obama's surprise Nobel for "peace" - I do hereby introduce yet another periodic feature on Liberal Rapture: The Alternate Reality Awards! The "Surrealies" for short.Nominees are the least deserving or most bizarre and insulting choice in any given category...all selected by you! The first round is a good one. Nominations for future Surrealies are always open.
Who deserves the first Surrealie? Vote as many times as you want! Yes you can!
Latest scoop from our intrepid reporter, Tamerlane.
The Vatican: Pope Benedict XVI today announced the beatification of Barack Obama, paving the way for the US President's canonization as early as next week. The beatification was widely hailed as fitting and inspirational, although some questioned the pontiff's decision. The official Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, was quick to point out that Obama was neither a Roman Catholic, nor had he met any of the grounds for beatification, such as divine intercession or martyrdom: "...facultatem facimus ut Venerabilis Servus Dei N. N. Beati nomine in posterum appelletur, eiusque festum...in locis ac modis iure statutis quotannis celebrari possit". But the paper saw the beatification as "encouragement" for the American leader: "Go out now and earn this honor, Mr. Obama, by curing some lepers or something!"
Obama's Many Miracles
Justin Rubin of MoveOn lists several of Obama's "saintly qualities" that already justify beatification. In an email entitled "Change We Can Worship", Rubin writes "President Obama has long been the subject of a cult of veneration-a Cultus Missa et Officium, was a virtual martyr to Bill Clinton's thinly-veiled racism, and during the primaries, performed the transubstantiation of his defeat in Indiana into a victory." Rubin also noted that Obama's 2007 speech calling for unilateral disarmament "will one day save the lives of millions who otherwise would perish in a nuclear holocaust, which is the same as raising the dead." Long-time Democratic insider James Carville concurred, saying "I find it somewhat miraculous that nobody properly vetted this jackass before nominating him." He's Not Bush
Obama's beatification is the latest in a string of awards and accolades richly deserved by the President. In a move seen as reflecting his predecessor's unpopularity abroad, last week Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize for "never having accomplished a single mission ever." The extremely modest Obama admitted he did not deserve the Nobel, but vowed that he's "gonna wear the damn thing all the time. In the shower, even."
President Trumps Yankee Star
The Nobel came on the heels of Obama's MLB Gold Glove award for shortstop, for which the president just edged perennial winner Derek Jeter. Asked if he felt he deserved the Gold Glove, considering he was not a major league shortstop, Obama conceded he did not, but added, "neither does Jeter. Dude's got a rubber arm and no range!"
This was the second award which Obama has snatched in recent days from the Yankees star. Obama was also named by the Dissatisfied Wives of America as "mocha hunk I most often fantasize about while having bad sex with my husband." Jeter had won 13 of the last 14 DWA awards, losing only to Terrence Howard in 2005. Animal Rights Activists Break Ranks
One of Obama's accolades has drawn sharp criticism-his 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASPCA for his adoption of Bo, the First Family's purebred Portuguese Water Dog. Although the award was clearly earned by Obama, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) expressed anger that "a fly-murderer could receive an award from a humane society." In protest, PETA members across America threw their naked bodies in front of Mormon churches and Whole Foods stores.
More Laurels Coming
Future awards already won by Obama include the 2010 Grammy for Best Crossover Song (for the "O-Ba-Ma" chant), the Democratic presidential nominations of 2012, 2016 and 2020, and the 2011 Oscar for Best Picture (for a comment by Stephen Spielberg that "Terrence Howard would make a good Obama.")
A Selected Timeline of Obama Awards
1961 Conferred by Barack Obama Sr. with honorific tribal title "M'gembwe foto dujuri ahat" (transl.: "Little bastard (who) looks just like me")
1977 Recipient of Honolulu H.S.'s Mile High Club's "Golden Roach Clip"
1981-83 Seven-time winner of ACORN's "Employee of the Month" award
1985 Appointed one of nine editors of Harvard Law Review, based on his outstanding pigmentation
1993 Named "laziest g**-d*** n**** I've ever met" by Illinois state senator Emil Jones, Jr.
2004 Won Pulitzer prize for William Ayres' "Dreams of My Father"
2007 Appeared on Time Magazine's "Man of the Century" cover
2008 Named "Greatest President Ever" by American History Magazine
2009 Recipient of Golden Globe award for telecast of his inauguration
There is a growing meme with the Obama Pod People that criticism of the President's absurd Nobel Peace Prize is emanating from rage blinded, far right Obama haters. Rachel Maddow kicked this nonsense off with a clip making the rounds.
Know this: THE LARGE MAJORITY OF CRITICISMS AND CONDEMNATION OF THE NOBEL COMMITTEE IS COMING - AND HAS COME - FROM THE LEFT AND THE MIDDLE.
It's a good thing ours were closed yesterday: World stocks fall over 3% over Dubai debt crisis. 
