Obama Family Photo By Annie Leibovitz Released

What a lovely photo. Annie Leibovitz always does beautiful portraits. The other thing that you notice is that the older daughter is definitely Michelle's girl; while the younger daughter is Barack's little girl. Very sweet.



As a First Family portrait this is powerful and beautiful because it says: Here is a young, educated, intelligent, and loving family who worked hard to get where they are, and are enjoying a great life in the United States. Oh, and they just happen to be persons of color. What a great message to send to the country and to the rest of the world!
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Retro-Mac: Which Clunky Apple Computer Was The Worst? (PHOTOS, POLL)

I can't recall the model of Mac that I had that was a lemon, but I can recall many models that were great. The CS and CX were both good. The FX was good. The 8500 and 9500 models were good. And the G5's were very good. But my sentimental favorite was the Quadra 650. It was one of the first models to have the PowerPC chip. It wasn't the fastest or biggest of it's day, but it was like a Chevy pickup truck: it just kept running. Always. I kept it clean of games and custom fonts, which always caused problems then, and it ran like a pro. I also have to say that the newer iMac models are also very good computers. They are stable, easy to use, all-in-one, with clear screens and up to 4 GB of RAM. They make very good computers for designers.
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Liz Cheney needs to shut the hell up!

Liz Cheney needs to shut the hell up!

She is the eldest daughter of the former Vice President Dick Cheney. She was handed several jobs within the Bush administration and also helped her father get reelected as Vice President in 2004.

Lately though, she has emerged along with her father as chief apologist for the crimes of the Bush administration. She has also launched several attacks on the Obama administration, the latest of which she criticizes the Nobel Prize Jury for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama. She called the prize a "farce", claimed that it is not a legitimate award if given to the current President, and that the only way to legitimize it would be if the family of a US military member accepted it.

That is a pretty big rock for Ms. Cheney to be throwing when she lives in such a large glass house. If you recall her father, military hawk Dick Cheney received multiple military deferments to avoid service in Viet Nam. Furthermore, Ms. Cheney herself has avoided serving her country by enlisting in the armed services or the National Guard despite having no age, gender, or physical barriers preventing her from doing so.

Her father, while virtually devoid of human emotion, at least has the credentials to speak about this subject with credibility. Liz Cheney on the other hand has had no such experience as Chief of Staff to the President, or Secretary of Defense. So why does anyone pay attention to her? Obviously for her famous family lineage. But that lineage is one in which her father revealed the identity of a covert CIA agent, authorized torture upon human beings, created an illegal domestic campaign to spy upon the American people, pushed hard for the failed war in Iraq, tried to push for the bombing of Iran, let Osama bin Laden escape in Tora Bora, Afghanistan, and fell asleep at the helm in September of 2001 and ignored FBI and CIA warnings suggesting that an attack by Osama bin Laden was imminent.

That is NOT a lineage that I would be proud of. If it were mine, I would not have the gaul to criticize a visionary leader such as President Obama. But then the Cheney family have never been big believers in humility or honesty. They have proven that they will say anything; do anything that furthers their selfish quest for power. And that above all else is why Liz Cheney needs to shut the hell up.

'Daily Show' Destroys CNN For Fact-Checking 'SNL' Instead Of Their Guests (VIDEO)

Jon Stewart destroys CNN for fact-checking a skit from Saturday Night Live but neglecting to check many of the outrageous statements made by their interviewees such as AZ Senator John Kyl, UT Senator Orrin Hatch and others. Stewart targets CNN but obviously his message is a broad comment on the current state of news gathering. It has become less about providing the public service of keeping the government in check by researching & fact-checking; and more about sensationalism and appearing to provide "balanced" coverage. Usually the "balance" that they strive for comes at the expense of watering-down valid points & issues because even one person disagrees. These days I put much more faith in organizations such as Media Matters, Politifact, and HuffPost.
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GOP Rep. Trent Franks Calls Obama "An Enemy Of Humanity"

Actually President Obama is not just an enemy of humanity. No, he has set his scope of treachery much higher. He is the enemy of all living matter in the universe! From the highest sentient life forms to the simplest single-celled organisms he has made it his mission to be their enemy. Thank goodness Trent Franks, Eric Cantor, John Boehner, Michelle Bachman, Michael Steele, Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, and last but not least Glenn Beck have discovered his secret plot. No wonder they don't have time to tackle important issues such as climate destruction or health care. There are species of the universe to save!
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Ayman al-Zawahri, Al Qaida No. 2, Calls Obama A "Fraud"

Al-Qaida's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri has come out with a new video taunting President Obama and calling him a "fraud". The first thing that comes to mind seeing him is the old John Candy movie "Uncle Buck" where he tells the old hag of a school teacher with a giant wart on her face to "take this quarter, go down to the bus station, and have a rat gnaw that thing off your face." I'd like to tell him to have a rat gnaw that giant bump off of his forehead! Then I'd punch him so hard that I'd send him straight to Allah.
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Property In Landmark Eminent Domain Supreme Court Case Never Used

I completely agree with you. This is one of the worst Supreme Court decisions of my lifetime. It goes against everything that I was taught America stands for: that you work hard, and buy a home (ie. the "American dream"). Taking away the homes from these people to build a private development was just plain wrong. Period. The fact that the developers went bust and the site now sits vacant is pure justice. I hope they never make a penny from this site and it sits as a reminder to an incredibly wrong decision by the highest court in the U.S.
About Supreme Court
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Blackwashing: Colbert Unveils New Strategy For Racists Who Want To Bash Obama (VIDEO)

What a fantastic idea Stephen Colbert has. For those folks on the right who want to criticize President Obama for anything & everything he does, but who need to shield themselves behind a disguise so as NOT to appear to be racist, this is perfect! Get out the shoe polish and make yourself darker just like Rush Limbagh and Glenn Beck. Now they can criticize the President as if they were real black men and that way they won't look like the racists that they really are.
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Condoleezza Rice: "If You Want Another Terrorist Attack In The U.S., Abandon Afghanistan"

Condi Rice is the LAST person in the world who has ANY right to talk about ways to prevent another terrorist attack! Excuse me Ms. Rice, but were you not the National Security Adviser on September 11, 2001? Was it not YOUR job to advise then President Bush on National Security? And wasn't President Bush overlooking al-Qaida not THE biggest national security mistake of the last half-century?!



With all due respect, I believe we've heard quite enough from Ms. Rice, Mr. Cheney, and all the other neo-cons who were so very wrong about national defense under their watch!
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Michael Jordan Hall Of Fame Speech (VIDEO)

I find it interesting that here in Chicago there was no mention of any feathers being ruffled over MJ's speech. None. Maybe because everyone in Chicago has known for years that Michael, Scottie, Phil, Dennis, etc. wanted to remain together and try for a 7th Championship. And they probably would have had a very good chance to compete for it except for one factor: General Manager, Jerry Krause.



I guess I'd be a bit bitter about that too if I were MJ. But as far as I'm concerned he could say damn near anything he wanted to and I'd still appreciate all that he did for Chicago!
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The FWDing of the Conservative Revolution

When fascism COMES to America? Surely I'm not the only person here who has no doubt that fascism IS here and made it's face well known during the Bush administration in the person of Dick Cheney! I'm not sure how much more fascist you can get than threatening to torture prisoners with power drills running next to their heads!
About Barack Obama
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The Funniest Signs From Town Hall Protests (PICS)

Awesome! This really shows the humor of some when confronted by the utter ignorance of others!
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Robert Novak Dead At 78

Good riddance. I hope he rots in Hell. He disclosed the secret identity of a covert CIA agent for political gain. He should have been prosecuted for treason!
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Nissan's Leaf Claims 367 MPG - Is It Better Than The Chevy Volt? (VIDEO)

Perhaps not with conventional photovoltaic cells, but there are new cells that use a broader spectrum of light that even allow power generation in cloudy climates such as Wales, UK. Furthermore, it doesn't have to be JUST solar. It can be a combination of solar, wind, geothermal, gravitational, hydroelectric, biomass, and other non-polluting sources that do not pose nearly the terrorist threat that nuclear energy will always pose.
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Contador: I Will Never Admire Lance Armstrong

"You don't tug on Superman's cape". Jim Croce sang it. It applies in this situation. Lance Armstrong is in the same place that Michael Jordan was when he came back from his first retirement to basketball. He was in shape -- but not basketball shape. And when he tried to turn it on, it wasn't there. Sure, there were flashes of brilliance, but not dominance. And that's where Lance Armstrong is. There were flashes of brilliance in the mountains, especially when he blew away from the breakaway group. But there was no dominance like before. Well just wait until next year. Lance said himself that he wasn't in his best shape. But he's already committed to build a new, American-supported team and ride in next years tour. And just like Michael Jordan, Lance has the heart of a ruthless warrior. When he tastes blood: he goes for the kill. And like Michael Jordan, he loves nothing more than to have EXTRA motivation. So Contador can keep talking and mouthing off but he'd better be looking over his shoulder next year because Lance is gonna be bringing it! Welcome back Lance!
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Catherine Crabill, VA GOP Candidate: We May Have To "Resort To The Bullet Box" (VIDEO)

I think the people who take the 2nd amendment literally, don't take it literally enough. That law was written at a time of powder-loaded muskets! Not at a time when 8 year old children, sitting innocently in their own bedrooms, are struck down by bullets from drive-by shootings, which JUST happened again today in Chicago!



It's obscene to claim that one group of peoples rights should trump the rights of innocent children, just because they are fearful of some invisible enemy lurking in dark allies. You simply cannot defend something that is costing thousands of lives of children in America every year. Period.
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Catherine Crabill, VA GOP Candidate: We May Have To "Resort To The Bullet Box" (VIDEO)

It's called denial. They cannot comprehend that the rest of the country has moved on to the future, while they are still trying to cling desperately to their outdated philosophies. Sad but true. America is filled with them!
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Cheney Told CIA To Hide Program From Congress

Thanks in part to current CIA chief Leon Panetta, we've now come to learn that former Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to not -- NOT -- brief Congress on certain covert intelligence gathering activities. This certainly puts the controversial former VP in still more questionable legal territory. It's not unprecedented for a Chief Executive to give such orders on counterterrorism programs, but given Cheney's long history of paranoid secrecy, and his seeming exuberance for challenging the Constitution it isn't difficult to fear the worst. According to those familar with the program it was a highly classified, worldwide effort, extremely broad in it's scope. It's concealment by Cheney most likely violated provisions of the national security act. Hopefully Attorney General Eric Holder will investigate this new information and aggressively move forward with investigations into all of the secret activities of the former administration. Unfortunately I fear that we've only just begun to discover all of the dastardly deeds of the Bush/Cheney years.
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Cop Anthony Abbate Gets Probation, No Jail, For Beating Female Bartender (WATCH SURVEILLANCE VIDEO)

I hate to say it but as a life-long Chicagoan, somethings in this city just do not change.



There are of course the old cliches about gangsters and vote rigging that have for the most part fallen by the wayside. But one thing that has not changed is crooked cops. There are many, many really good, hard working cops in the city. But there are also some really bad ones. This huge guy beat the crap out of a small woman, who was on the floor, trying as best she could to defend herself. This guy deserved to go to jail with the regular population and see what it feels like to become someones bitch.



There have been quite a number of recent stories about corrupt Chicago cops shaking down motorists, stealing drugs or cash from dealers, and even of other fights. But this was particularly bad and justice was NOT served by him getting probation. It's a disgrace and makes all hard working honest cops look bad.
About Video
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The New York Times Finally Corrects Botched Front-Pager on Gitmo Prisoners Returning to Jihad

Keith Olbermann of Countdown on MSNBC interviewed a professor several times who had done an in-depth study of every single figure the Pentagon had released over the years for supposed recidivist terrorists who had left Gitmo and allegedly returned to the battlefield. It was almost ridiculous how many different numbers they gave and the wild, almost non-sensical swings they supposedly showed. For instance, the Pentagon would list the number as 3 one month, 18 the next month, 33 the next month, and then 5 the following month. There never seemed to be any pattern or logic to the numbers given. The only logical conclusion that one could reach was that they were either lying or they just didn't know. Why is this important? Because Dick Cheney and others STILL try to use these numbers as evidence to justify their illegal torture.
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