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I got this crap in an email...anyone else get this? If so, any sources to disprove are welcome!

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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:11 AM
Original message
I got this crap in an email...anyone else get this? If so, any sources to disprove are welcome!
Barack Obama's 32 Month Report Card
by Rich Carroll

Copy this article. You will need researched material to mail your liberal friends and/or relatives. See below.


Mr. Hope and Change wants to create a nation humbled; humiliated, casting-aside capitalism and individual freedoms for one where “we the people” are government controlled. This would be a system that genuflects mediocrity, steals personal aspiration and opportunity, and punishes those who strive to succeed.



A gallon of regular gasoline the day Obama was inaugurated was $1.79 on average in the U.S. Today that price is $3.59, a 100.6% increase. The number of food stamp recipients has risen since Obama took office from 31,983,716 to 43,200,878, a 35.1% jump. Long term unemployment soared 146.2% during the same 32 month period from 2,600,000 to 6,400,000. Staggering “hope and change” isn't it?



American citizens living in poverty have risen9.5% from 39,800,000 to 43,600,000, and the number of unemployed has jumped almost 25% from 11,616,000 to 14,485,000 as of August 31, 2011. The number of unemployed blacks has risen from 12.6% at the end of George Bush's term to 15.8% today, a 25.4% increase, and finally, our national debt is up 34.4% from 10.627 trillion to 14,278 trillion *



Keep these figures in mind as we recount the number of “firsts” for

this presidency:



First President to refuse to show a valid birth certificate.




First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner.




First President to have a social security number from a state he has never lived in.




First President to preside over a cut to the credit rating of the United States .




First President to violate the War Powers Act.




First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico .




First President to defy a Federal Judges court order to cease implementing the Health Care Reform Law.




First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party.




First President to spend a trillion dollars on shovel-ready jobs and later LAUGHINGLY admit ...... there was no such thing as shovel-ready jobs.




First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies to his union supporters.




First President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act through executive fiat.




First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the deportation of illegal immigrants across the U.S. , including those with criminal convictions.




First President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one of his political appointees.




First President to terminate Americas ability to put a man in space.




First President to encourage racial discrImination and intimidation at polling places.




First President to have a law signed by an auto-pen without being present.




First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.




First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly speak-out on the reasons for their rate increases.




First President to tell a major manufacturing company in which state they are allowed to locate a factory.




First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore an oath to protect (Az, WI, OH, IN)




First President to withdraw an existing coal permit that had been properly issued years ago.




First President to fire an inspector general of Ameri-corps for catching one of his friends in a corruption case.




First President to appoint 45 Czars to replace elected officials in his office.




First President to golf 73 separate times in his first two and a half years in office.




First President to hide his medical, educational and travel records.




First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing NOTHING to earn it.




First President to coddle American enemies while alienating Americas allies.




First President to publicly bow to Americas enemies while refusing to salute the U.S. Flag.




First President to go on multiple global apology tours.




First President to go on 17 lavish vacations, including date nights and Wednesday evening White

House parties for his friends, paid for by the taxpayer.




First President to refuse to wear the U.S. Flag lapel pin.




First President to have 22 personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his wife.




First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000.00 a year at taxpayer expense.




First President to repeat “the Holy Qur'an tells us,” and openly admit “the early morning call of the Azan (Islamic call to worship) is the most beautiful sound on earth.” While at the same time degrading and making fun of verses in the Holy Bible. Is he really a fox in the hen-house?




The first President to not be indicted or tried for corruption with his ties to Union bullies, and billions given to corrupt institutions like ACORN, Planned Parenthood, new so-called green jobs Corporations, which have gone bankrupt and which he had a vested interest.


Remember that 32 months of Obama White House we the people have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our nation's entire history, as the Obama's plan their next extravagant vacation to the Indonesian Island nation of Bali.

Hope and change anyone? YES WE HOPE WE CAN CHANGE THE LEADERSHIP IN OUR NATION TO REFLECT OUR TRUE VALUES,

AND HAVE THE TRUE TRANSPARENCY, THAT WAS PROMISED BY OBAMA AND NEVER MATERIALIZED.

* sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Wall Street Journal, Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dept of Labor, Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller, Federal Reserve, US Treasury, Heritage Foundation.



ONLY YOU AS AN AMERICAN VOTER CAN CORRECT THIS PROBLEM.

NMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMN



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Shagbark Hickory Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:12 AM
Response to Original message
1. Do you know how to set up a spam filter?
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:14 AM
Response to Reply #1
4. A friend asked me about it and then sent it with my permission
I had not seen this one.
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madokie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:17 AM
Response to Reply #1
7. They sure need to learn thats for sure
That kind of shit won't see the light of day around my place.

Neighbor used to send me that kind of shit until we had a little talk.
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Shagbark Hickory Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:18 AM
Response to Reply #7
12. Ever since I learned how, I've been hooked on bouncing people's emails with creative "reasons" LOL
Edited on Mon Oct-17-11 09:19 AM by Shagbark Hickory
You can set it up to bounce emails that contain a certain word like "Obama". So now when some RWer sends you an O-bummer email you can have it automatically delete or bounce with a customized message.
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RKP5637 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:13 AM
Response to Reply #12
43. Yep, I do the same, and the emails including spam go away. I just set it to
Edited on Mon Oct-17-11 10:14 AM by RKP5637
bounce with no address on server. Now, a lot of people don't agree with this as it increases net traffic, but in the big picture it reduces spam. Some I just set for auto-delete, right off the mail server.

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Shagbark Hickory Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 11:03 AM
Response to Reply #43
59. Because why?
It creates a bounce-a-rama if you do that?

The best is blocking those frggin LinkedIn spams! It's glorious not getting those anymore!
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RKP5637 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 11:32 AM
Response to Reply #59
61. I've never had much of a bounce-a-rama occur, it could be the type of spam I receive,
but generally the server will detect unknown address. True, there could certainly be a case of bounce-a-rama.

LinkedIn LOL, I was on LinkedIn for about a day when it first started and then got myself off it pronto.
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Shagbark Hickory Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 11:39 AM
Response to Reply #61
62. I'm not 100% sure those linkedin spams were really coming from linkedin.
Looked like an invitation to download malware by clicking on the 'unsubscribe' link.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:20 AM
Response to Reply #7
18. I asked for it because this RW friend is questioning what he...
...used to automatically accept.

He sent it to me because I wanted to see ~~ and he asked me about it first and asked permission to sent it.
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Ian David Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:13 AM
Response to Original message
2. The Occidental Tourist
Claim: Recently released records document that Barack Obama received college financial aid in the U.S. as a "foreign student from Indonesia."
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthers/occidental.asp

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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:15 AM
Response to Reply #2
6. thanks...n/t
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Richardo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:13 AM
Response to Original message
3. Why not just ask them if it hurts their heads to be that stupid?
Edited on Mon Oct-17-11 09:14 AM by Richardo
Delete it and move on.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:17 AM
Response to Reply #3
8. Because someone who wants to learn the truth asked me about what he received
I agreed to receive it to see how much I could disprove since my friend is interested in the truth. He used to be a Reagan Republican and, so far, he has changed a lot of views, but was troubled by these claims.

I need legit help on this.
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Richardo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:20 AM
Response to Reply #8
17. They've loaded it down with so much that's just flat-out lying that it can;t be taken seriously.
I'd ask the sender to back up each statement, and no using Hannity, O'Reilly, Limbaugh or Savage.

But don't underestimate the power of a mocking dismissal.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:21 AM
Response to Reply #17
19. He got it from someone else and is asking me for help.
I will email back and tell him what you said ~~~ good suggestion.
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dipsydoodle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:14 AM
Response to Original message
5. I just delete
unmitigated shit.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:18 AM
Response to Reply #5
11. I would do the same if I had received it directly,...
but as said above, I have someone who is about to totally give up RW bullshit and he is in his 70s.

Help if you can! :hi:
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sufrommich Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:17 AM
Response to Original message
9. Ask them to site their sources. I know others think that
ignoring these right wing emails is the right thing to do, but I think they have to be exposed and ridiculed whenever possible.Too many people accept them as gospel. "It's on the internet o t must be true" is a real mindset out there.
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MineralMan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:18 AM
Response to Original message
10. Why not just delete obvious crap like that?
Edited on Mon Oct-17-11 09:19 AM by MineralMan
You know it's incorrect, so why bother posting it here? Right wing email spam has no place on DU, as far as I'm concerned. Posting it here just keeps it circulating on the Internet.

As for your friend, tell him or her you don't have time to run down stuff to refute right wing bullshit.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:19 AM
Response to Reply #10
13. See above...
...I need help because sonmeone is turning away fron this shit and wants the truth.

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Uben Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:19 AM
Response to Original message
14. Do what I do....
...I simply reply, "You ignorant bastard, why don't you spend your time getting educated rather than spending it spreading malicious lies? Grow the fuck up and do something productive." I don't get anymore messages after that!
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:25 AM
Response to Reply #14
23. Hello....
...I asked to receive this because and RW friend is looking for the truth. I have turned him around on a ton of RW "beliefs." All I want is help and not to turn him off.

Any links?
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Uben Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:27 AM
Response to Reply #23
50. No. I don't try to fix stupid.
My time is much too valuable to waste on any RWers. ME and my wife are the only dems in our respective families...the rest are hopeless idiots when it comes to politics. They don't open their mouths around us, which suits me just fine.
I spent years admin/moderating a political forum and I burned out on arguing with republicans. They don't listen, they don't care, they just repeat what they want to hear. Facts are just an inconvenience to them, brushed aside like so much dust.

Good luck on your conversion attempt, and I hope it is worth your effort. These emails are sent non-stop everyday to anyone who will accept them. My advice is to enlighten him to Snopes or some similar site that fact checks....honestly. If he/she is really concerned about the truth, he/she can seek it out on their own time.
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JoePhilly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:19 AM
Response to Original message
15. My response would be ... "First President to kill Osama Bin Laden".
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meegbear Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:20 AM
Response to Original message
16. It's an RNC "research briefing", just like Fox's 1,000-Day Obama "Report Card"
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:22 AM
Response to Reply #16
21. thank you for the help...
...and for understanding what I am trying to do.

This is an educational project because a former total RW is now questioning what used to be total truth! :hi:
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LaydeeBug Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:21 AM
Response to Original message
20. I know how upsetting these can be, but an oft repeated lie does not become the truth just because a
a freeper says so

HE DID RELEASE HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE. Ask them if McCain did.

First to apply for financial aid as a foreign student? PROVE IT OR STFU.

First to hand over fed money to companies? Can you spell HALLIBURTON? If I typed it slowly, do you think you'd do any better?

This entire thing is just bullshit.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:23 AM
Response to Reply #20
22. I agree it's bullshit...
...but I am trying to help an RW who wants to see the truth about shit he receives in emails. He asked it he could send it to me and asked for help researching it.

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sarge43 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:25 AM
Response to Original message
24. Why do we have to disapprove this cart load?
Let whoever prove it and don't hold your breath waiting.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:29 AM
Response to Reply #24
25. See above...
...I need help because a RW friend is making a turn around and sincerely asked me for help on this. Do you have links? I agree it's shit...but this guy is a former Reagan Republican who has started to refuse to vote for Republicans and is at this point considering re-registering.

Help me...OK? :hi:
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sarge43 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:16 AM
Response to Reply #25
44. OK
The president throwing private parties at the tax payers expensive:

Except for state dinners, presidents pay for their own food and drink. Several google articles from Wiki to People mag confirming this.

The president refusing to wear label flag pin: Google images has many pictures, including the official photo, showing otherwise and they all can't be photo shopped.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:25 AM
Response to Reply #44
47. thanks, sarge! n/t
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RKP5637 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:23 AM
Response to Reply #25
45. I don't have the links for you, but wanted to say I think what you are
doing is excellent. There are probably a lot of people on the fence in this country that are trying to figure out all of the BS. If all they hear is RW stuff without a known person refuting it they will believe it all more and more. Certainty this wouldn't help hard core RW'ers that bask in lies and distortions, but it could certainly help your RW friend and others like him needing some guidance in figuring out the facts.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:27 AM
Response to Reply #45
49. thank you!
He really has come around from where he started!

Yep, he is logical and will listen and he is smart. Just too much RW (mega RW) exposure in what he does. Now he is questioning and I cannot ignore this.
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leftyohiolib Donating Member (413 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:35 AM
Response to Reply #24
29. yea really, there's no point disproving anything to the person who sent it
someone llike that wont even listen.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:39 AM
Response to Reply #29
31. See above...
...this one is not only listening, but asking for help. He is a former Reagan Republican that is rethinking most of what he would have accepted a few years ago without question.

If you have links, please send.
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leftyohiolib Donating Member (413 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:27 AM
Response to Reply #31
48. then he should do his own research if he really cares
Edited on Mon Oct-17-11 10:28 AM by leftyohiolib
and is really having second thoughts. if he feels maybe he's being lied to then you'd think he'd try to find out, listen to lib radio yakers, goto dem blogs where alot of what he hears will be disproven.all of that is pretty easy to figure out but instead of doing that for himself he tells you to prove it to him . tell him to prove these things to you.

good luck
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Jackpine Radical Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:30 AM
Response to Original message
26. A lot of what they're blaming Obama for is the natural outgrowth
of Republican policies. TARP was initiated under Bush. The economy had collapsed under Bush, and then the Republicans blocked Obama's efforts to dig us out of the hole. Same thing with the credit rating.

And a lot of that nonsense--flag lapel pin, bowing, etc. are meaningless symbolic stuff or taken out of context. (E.g. conforming to a cultural tradition in which people bow to each other as a sign of respect. Hell, when I was in Vietnam, I bowed to my elders among the local citizenry; it just seemed like the right thing to do.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:34 AM
Response to Reply #26
27. I agree and am going to send your comments along...
...if that is OK...with any other links I find or get.

I cannot believe how stupid this email is, but I do have sonmeone who is looking for the truth and while I have some of the links, I figured DU would have other info for me.

:hi:
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Ineeda Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:34 AM
Response to Original message
28. Refer them to Snopes.com
If they really want truth, let them do their own research on this load of crap. Or, if you have a boatload of time, you can do it for them, item by item, lie by lie.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:38 AM
Response to Reply #28
30. The guy is my bestest male friend....
...and I do not mind doing this. He has made an amazing turn around in the last several years. This guy is a financial manager...and is coming over to our side more and more each day. He still has RW clients that are off the chart and he does ask my permission to send this stuff to me.

If you have any links, please send. :hi:
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Ineeda Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:47 AM
Response to Reply #30
56. I took a little time for you, so here:
the First Lady's staff http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/firstlady.asp
Vacations http://www.factcheck.org/2010/01/president-obamas-vacation-days/
College financial aid http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthers/occidental.asp
Social Security number http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthers/ssn.asp
Czars http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._executive_branch_czars
Medical records http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/05/obama_releases_health_informat.html
Education records Obama's student records from Occidental College, Columbia University and Harvard Law School are "not released." But the truth is that it would be illegal under federal law (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) for those institutions to give those records to reporters or members of the public without Obama's specific, written permission. Obama hasn't given that permission, but other presidents and presidential candidates generally don't either. George W. Bush didn't give permission to either Andover or Yale to release his grades when he was running for president. (They were leaked.) In other words. President Obama is certainly not the 'first.'

Factcheck.org and googling reputable sources can dispute more of this stuff. And bear in mind, some have already been soundly debunked (I mean, really! The birth certificate debacle?) and some is so ridiculous (like the claim that taxpayers are paying for Bo's training/care) are silly and insulting. ALL personal expenses, including Bo, vacations, wardrobe, even their family meals, are NOT paid by taxpayers. I would tell your friend that using just the several examples I've given you, he should take everything he gets from RW sources with a grain of salt.

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Iggo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:42 AM
Response to Original message
32. Help your friend by telling them to delete this bullshit.
:hi:
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:50 AM
Response to Reply #32
33. Why would I do that? He wants help learning the truth.
I think I would turn him off on his search and journey from being a conservative Republican who accepted anything if I merely said to ignore it. He, so far, refused to vote for McCain and Palin. He had voted straight Repuke in the prior national election. He also has turned around on the DP ~~ does not favor it now.

If you have links, please send. Thanks...:hi:
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Iggo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:36 AM
Response to Reply #33
52. Obvious smear job is obvious.
If he can't see that, he's got bigger problems.

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dionysus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:51 AM
Response to Original message
34. why bring this bullshit over here?
:puke:
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:59 AM
Response to Reply #34
39. Because if you had read above....
...you would see what I am doing. Thanks for your help..NOT.

We could win someone over to our side ~~ HE is asking questions and he was a Reagan Repuke for years.

If you have a link to disprove the shit he got...send it.

Help me, DU..OK?

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dionysus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:06 AM
Response to Reply #39
42. sorry for the snark, but i have a tea bagging stepbrother who sends stuff like this. 99% of the time
they cannot be persuaded by facts. even if you displayed the truth in foothigh block letter in red crayon, they will not listen to a word you say. i wish you luck.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:24 AM
Response to Reply #42
46. No prob on the snark...
...:hi:

I met my pal in 2000...and he was sooooooooooo pukey Repuke, I could not even talk to him. He has done an amazing turn around in the past few years and is considering re-registering.

So...someone sent him this bullshit and he asked me to see what I could find. Hey, anyone who is turned off now by the RW, I am gonna help out. He is very bright, but is a financial manager ~~ so he has a ton of rich RW clients that hate Obama and send him shit like is in my OP.

He did ask permission to send it to me and for help finding out the truth about the statements. He is questioning...and I cannot say "NO" to anyone who is questioning shit like this!

:hi:

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Another Bill C. Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:54 AM
Response to Original message
35. Ignoring these e-mails
pretty much plays into the hands of those who originate them. Over time, these e-mails are distributed to millions of voters and become gospel truth to many of them.

I take the time to research and refute the major points (with references) and send them to everyone on the sender's distribution list -- or at least to the sender if the list is Bcc. I save the research because someone else I know will be forwarding the same crap.

In the case of this particular e-mail, you might get by with pointing out that there's no documentation for any of the charges -- but do the research anyway.

Logging on to DU and stroking each other's tender parts is not going to pull in the votes we need. The other side knows that a campaign of lies works really well and we've got to play defense against that campaign.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:01 AM
Response to Reply #35
40. thanks, Bill....
...am doing this.

My pal was a total RW who is making a change and he sent me this email after telling me about it and asking my permission to send it to me. He is looking for the truth on these issues.
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classof56 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:33 AM
Response to Reply #35
51. My problem has been--those who send these ignore any responses to the contrary
I have tried, honest, but I've concluded they don't want to know the facts, their ignorant little minds are incapable of critical thinking or documenting sources. I long ago concluded they hate Obama because he's black, plain and simple, but since the advent of Herman Cain, I've been confused. My daughter just told me it's their way of saying see, it's not because Obama's black 'cause so's Cain and we love him. No one can sound the depths of their stupidity but as you say, it's important we play defense. The stakes are too high not to at least try.

Like your website, BTW!
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saras Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:54 AM
Response to Original message
36. Really good example of why we're not winning.
Easily half of the responses were useless, hostile snark, that in addition, indicated the snarker had NOT READ THE POST IN QUESTION.

I would suggest as a first step sorting them into 'factual' statements, whether true or false, political opinions, and smears disguised as opinions. Have a good talk with the guy about the third, but start collecting solid, nonpartisan answers to the factual ones. The first category can be disproved, the second debated, but the third is useless abuse that doesn't deserve to be taken seriously.

A lot of the "firsts" are simply meaningless historical coincidences. Since our money has inflated pretty much constantly since the Fed was founded (except the Depression, of course), EVERY president is the "first" to have certain costs go beyond a certain level. There's lots of examples to pick from.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:58 AM
Response to Reply #36
37. Thanks....
...glad you understood where I am going with this! :hi:
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seaglass Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 09:58 AM
Response to Original message
38. You have to be kidding. The only items on this list worthy of being researched
are the change in price of gas and the poverty/unemployment numbers.

Don't know why anyone would waste their time researching the rest of this crap.

You should ask your friend why he would believe this stuff with no evidence. Yet you need to provide evidence to dispute it. Tell your friend to put on his thinking cap and ponder it a bit.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:02 AM
Response to Reply #38
41. He is a tax preparer...
...and he is a bit busy the last week and especially today.

So...when he finishes today and rests tomorrow, he plans to hit these "firsts" also. I am getting a head start on it.
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Vogon_Glory Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 11:22 AM
Response to Reply #38
60. Still More Talking Points
First president to coddle America’s enemies while alienating America’s allies.
When it comes to coddling America's enemies, right-wingers turn strangely silent when it comes to the Saudis. There was a recent article in Vanity Fair describing the frustration of 9-11 investigators trying to drag out info from the Dubya Bush administration about powerful Saudis' ties to al Qaeda and even their direct funding of the organization itself. If THAT isn't coddling America's enemies, I don't know what is.

Moreover, if Dubya Bush wasn't the first US President to launch a war on the basis of falsified information (Republican William McKinley comes to mind), he was certainly one of the first to launch the war without arranging for someone to pay for it. Unlike previous Presidents, who usually raised taxes to pay for those wars, or like George HW Bush, who got the Saudis to pay for much of Desert Storm, Dubya not only didn't raise taxes, but he initiated a tax cut, creating trillions of dollars of government debt owed by the federal government and US taxpayers.

At no time did the Republican-controlled Congress resist or insist on oversight.

George W. Bush’s Iraq adventure alienated a LOT of US allies. Dubya’s and Dick’s Big Sandy Adventure alienated a LOT of US allies (particularly in NATO) and generated a lot of hatred in the Arab world towards the US.

George W. Bush took his eye off the Afghanistan ball in 2002 and allowed al Qaeda to re-organize and regroup.

George W. Bush was the first US president to cut taxes during wartime, creating trillions of dollars of debt owed by the US government and US taxpayers to its creditors.

Neither the Dubya Bush administration nor the Republican-controlled Congress (1995-2006) were interested in creating financial oversight or enforced controls for the billions of US taxpayer dollars squandered in Iraq for projects that benefitted Halliburton and other GOP connected firms.

Wise Republicans would want to shy away from anything to do with the Gulf oil spill. The officials in the Mineral s Management Service who gave BP the go-ahead to drill were Dubya Bush appointees, just as the regulatory culture that allowed BP to operate and drill so carelessly in the Gulf. Had better safety procedures been in place and had tougher regulatory enforcement been in effect while BP was drilling in the Gulf, millions of taxpayer dollars would have been saved, thousands of Gulf fisherman and Gulf Coast hoteliers and tourist industry employees would not have had their livelihoods jeopardized, and Gulf Coast beaches and Gulf sea catch would have been cleaner and safer. President Obama’s big mistake was to trust that the actions of Republican office-holders were more for the public interest and not for the private greed of connected corporations.

As for the price of gas when President Obama assumed office, please note that the average price of gasoline back in April, 2000 was $1.46 per gallon. Bill Clinton was President then. Ask your friend if he remembers $4.00 a gallon gas prices while George Bush was in the White House. Unlike his predecessor, President Obama chose to act to drive down gas prices as opposed to letting speculators accelerate them to even higher levels.

The so-called flag-pin, “apology tours”, and the bowing blather is typical right-wing clap-trap. Great Powers often step on the toes of other countries in the course of their affairs. I can’t think of one that hasn’t managed not to do it over the course of millennia. The US has done less than most, but the US is not a nation of saints acting in a holy and righteous fashion 24 hours a day, seven days a week, twelve months a year non-stop from 1776.

I find the chain letter’s claims about Planned Parenthood to be lying and deceitful. I am fifty six years old; I am old enough to remember when supporting Planned Parenthood was a non-partisan issue. I am also aware that anti-abortion fanatics’ hostility didn’t just concern abortion, many, if not all of them, were equally hostile because Planned Parenthood made contraceptives widely available to women of low and moderate incomes. The Radical Right’s holy war against Planned Parenthood concerning abortion is a badly-frayed screen for the anti-abortion fanatics’ REAL objectives, drastically reducing access to birth control for poor people and using venereal disease as a tool for forcing people to stop having sex.

Considering that right-wing hostility to food safety regulation and regulatory enforcement, coupled with right-wing hostility to efforts to provide cleaner air and drinking water, coupled to right-wing hostility even to non-profit private health clinics that provide health services to the poor and struggling proves that voting Republican is hazardous to public health.


A final, personal, note. Some of us folks out here used to be Republican voters. We not only stopped voting Republican but started supporting Democrats when we realized that the GOP's actions were not only detrimental to the weak and less powerful, but were detrimental to the interests both of the US government and the US (people AND government) as a whole.
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hfojvt Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 11:48 AM
Response to Reply #38
64. if this is a consistent talking point
then I dug up my previous research and put it in my journal http://journals.democraticunderground.com/hfojvt/170
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:38 AM
Response to Original message
53. Tell him not to forward dumb e-mails without fact-checking them
Who has time to refute two dozen bullshit assertions?
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denverbill Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:39 AM
Response to Original message
54. The first three 'firsts' are built on the same lie.
Obama has shown both copies of his birth certificate. AFAIK he is the ONLY President EVER to show his birth certificate. Ask your pal why Obama is the only President ever to have to show his birth certificate.

The cut in credit rating was blamed, by S&P, on the Republican Congress.

The judge who overturned the ban on drilling in the Gulf is a big stockholder in the oil companies.
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-06-23/news/27067986_1_drilling-ban-transocean-deepwater-drilling

There are hundreds of pictures of Obama wearing a flag pin and these can be found easily by anyone smart enough to use google. If they refuse to look for themselves, they are too incurious to bother with.

'The first President to not be indicted or tried for corruption with his ties to Union bullies'. Seriously? Every other President has been indicted for this? Wow. The things you learn from dumbshit chain emails.

Eisenhower averaged 2 rounds per week during his Presidency, which would be 130 in 2 1/2 years, double the number Obama has played.
http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/stories/Ike-Golf.htm

'First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000.00 a year at taxpayer expense.' The only 'proof' I can find for this is the hundreds of copies of this email floating around. Ask him to provide documentation.

Seriously every single one of these things is half-truth, opinion, or flat-out lie.

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sinkingfeeling Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:42 AM
Response to Original message
55. There's a 'delete' key. Hit it.
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ieoeja Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:51 AM
Response to Original message
57. Before Newt changed the rules, lots of presidents did not wear the flag lapel pin.

Originally, the flag lapel pin indicated that you were a military veteran. As Obama is not a military veteran, he really should *not* wear the flag lapel pin.

The problem Newt had with the tradition was that a vast majority of Democrats in congress when he first arrived were military veterans. But very few Republicans were. He decided to wear the lapel pin despite not being a veteran. I do not doubt many voters at the time assumed he was a veteran, and he probably knew it. Which means Newt was essentially pretending to be a military veteran.

I know it really pissed off my dad.


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soupkitchen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 10:51 AM
Response to Original message
58. I think his gripes boil down to First Black President
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GOTV Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 11:46 AM
Response to Original message
63. I would ask your friend to first,
find the 3 or 4 things he/she finds most disturbing and research those. Once you find the truth present it to your friend. Knocking down the biggest lies will probably get your friend to assume the rest of the many points are equally misleading or incorrect.

No one has the time to research all those claims.
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deutsey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 11:51 AM
Response to Original message
65. I have my criticisms of the President, but this email is total bullshit
Who ever shit this garbage out of their ass is not connected to what most of us generally consider reality.

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Hell Hath No Fury Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 12:12 PM
Response to Original message
66. I checked Snopes -- not there yet.
Will do a little reseach and see what I can come up with.
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uppityperson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 12:38 PM
Response to Original message
67. reading through replies, I understand what you are trying to do. Let's see if I can help with any.
A gallon of regular gasoline the day Obama was inaugurated was $1.79 on average in the U.S. Today that price is $3.59, a 100.6% increase. The number of food stamp recipients has risen since Obama took office from 31,983,716 to 43,200,878, a 35.1% jump. Long term unemployment soared 146.2% during the same 32 month period from 2,600,000 to 6,400,000. Staggering “hope and change” isn't it?



American citizens living in poverty have risen9.5% from 39,800,000 to 43,600,000, and the number of unemployed has jumped almost 25% from 11,616,000 to 14,485,000 as of August 31, 2011. The number of unemployed blacks has risen from 12.6% at the end of George Bush's term to 15.8% today, a 25.4% increase, and finally, our national debt is up 34.4% from 10.627 trillion to 14,278 trillion *



Keep these figures in mind as we recount the number of “firsts” for

this presidency:



First President to refuse to show a valid birth certificate.
he has. snopes shows otherwise. Here is the Obama page link http://snopes.com/politics/obama/obama.asp



First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner.
snopes http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthers/occidental.asp



First President to have a social security number from a state he has never lived in.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/11/obama-social-security-num_n_609299.html http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthers/ssn.asp



First President to preside over a cut to the credit rating of the United States .
I've called it a depression, whereas others refer to it as a recession, but I am a cynic. Yes, the credit rating was cut for the first time. Now, whether or not to blame it on Obama is another story.



First President to violate the War Powers Act.
quick search shows me this http://internetscofflaw.com/2011/05/20/obama-violates-the-war-powers-act/ Then there is Bush
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110522223353AAex8A3
President Bush did not invoke the War Powers Act. It was superseded by a Joint Resolution from Congress that permitted the President to use armed force in Iraq. It was seen as a compromise that permitted the action (sought by Bush and his Republican supporters in Congress) without mandating that action being taken (which the Democrats wanted). Had Congress invoked the War Powers Act, it would be interesting to see what would legally occur. It is worthy to note that in the Gulf War, President Bush senior stated that he would to go to war in Iraq whether Congress approved it or not.

No Congressional authority of any sort was sought or forthcoming in the Afghanistan War. In that conflict, the United States, in conjunction with a number of other nations, operated under the auspices of a United Nations Security Resolution.

In fact, the War Powers Act of 1973 has been invoked by Congress only a couple of times, and never by a sitting President of either party. There have been questions about the Act's constitutionality, mostly from conservatives.

http://internetscofflaw.com/2011/05/20/obama-violates-the-war-powers-act/
http://www.impeachbush.tv/args/noiraqauthority.html http://www.themoderntribune.com/no_imminent_threat_-_bush_violating_the_war_powers_act.htm




First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico .
dunno. try snopes, again



First President to defy a Federal Judges court order to cease implementing the Health Care Reform Law.
Well, since it was passed during his administration, it'd be difficult for any other pres to have done much with it. By the way "Judges" should be "Judge's". Again, quick search shows http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/31/obama-admin-vows-to-continue-implementing-health-care-law-despite-ruling/



First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party.
car insurance has been mandatory for a long time. I know, unless you don't have a car. Probably more out there but I'm tired of searching. google.com



First President to spend a trillion dollars on shovel-ready jobs and later LAUGHINGLY admit ...... there was no such thing as shovel-ready jobs.




First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies to his union supporters.
what?



First President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act through executive fiat.
Wiki page on committees in congress http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_committee



First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the deportation of illegal immigrants across the U.S. , including those with criminal convictions.
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Feds-moving-to-dismiss-some-deportation-cases-1706119.php



First President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one of his political appointees.
maybe you should just send this whole list to snopes. seriously. Not sure what this is talking about



First President to terminate Americas ability to put a man in space.
OMG, we'll never get into space again? No, we still have the ability to put a man into space, just not through the shuttles as they are. Time to move on, figure out another way. Oh, and I'd rather have the money put into jobs creation right now.



First President to encourage racial discrImination and intimidation at polling places.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. sorry, what?



First President to have a law signed by an auto-pen without being present.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/05/27/136724009/obamas-autopen-signing-of-patriot-act-raises-eyebrows-has-unlikely-ally
(clip)The memo acknowledges that it has never been done and that White House's have gone to great lengths in the past to get legislation in the hands of presidents who were traveling abroad, just to avoid these questions.

There was no time for that to be done in the case of the Patriot Act extension because it was passed by the Senate just before the midnight expiration of the law it was meant to replace.

But it concluded that just because it hasn't been done doesn't mean it can't be done.

It's just another of Washington's ironies that a memo by Bush administration lawyers comes to Obama's rescue.




First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.
huh? bush, anyone? What is he talking about?



First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly speak-out on the reasons for their rate increases.
quick search shows only links to this list of crap. What are they talking about? I'd like to see an insurance co say "because our ceo wants to make more money". Do they seriously believe Obama would say don't say this?



First President to tell a major manufacturing company in which state they are allowed to locate a factory.
again, have no idea what they are talking about



First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore an oath to protect (Az, WI, OH, IN)
Here's link of AZ and good for him.
The Obama administration has decided to file a lawsuit to strike down a new Arizona law aimed at deporting illegal immigrants, thrusting itself into the fierce national debate over how the United States should enforce immigration policies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/19/us/politics/19arizona.html

WI http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1303232&mesg_id=1303232
OH don't find anything.
IN (again yay) http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/obama-justice-department-sues-to-save-planned-parenthood-funding-in-indiana/
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 17, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – President Obama’s Justice Department is joining Planned Parenthood in a federal lawsuit to stop a law that bars taxpayer dollars from funding health centers for low-income women that also perform abortions.


First President to withdraw an existing coal permit that had been properly issued years ago.
?



First President to fire an inspector general of Ameri-corps for catching one of his friends in a corruption case.
Some links on the subject, read them through and see what you take of it. Search shows the most upset from fox, since was a bush appointee.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/12/gerald-walpin-obama-remov_n_214715.html
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/12/obama-fires-americorps-inspector-general-scandal/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:THF/Gerald_Walpin
http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/0610/Former_IG_Walpin_loses_suit_over_firing.html




First President to appoint 45 Czars to replace elected officials in his office.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._executive_branch_czars
Looks like all appointed, some confirmed by senate or another group, not "elected"




First President to golf 73 separate times in his first two and a half years in office.
Nope, even critical sites don't show that. Like this....
http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2010/07/16/obama-played-41-rounds-golf-president/
Then there is this http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110526231630AApbJC8
Why are people giving obama crap for playing golf?
He hasn't missed any more time than other presidents, he just likes to play golf in his time off, and people like to film that.




First President to hide his medical, educational and travel records.
AND his birth certificate. Nope, nothing on this. Aside from Birtherismness, the rest is just like every other president.



First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing NOTHING to earn it.
Everyone has an opinion on this. However, the Nobel Peace Prize committee decided he deserved it. They are the only ones who matter in the choice. They get to chose. Sucks, doesn't it?



First President to coddle American enemies while alienating Americas allies.
Seriously? The very First, the only one? Sounds like a bumper sticker thing. Highly emotional words with nothing to back it up. Combined with a have you quit beating your wife yet assumption. Ask for proof or wtf this even means.



First President to publicly bow to Americas enemies while refusing to salute the U.S. Flag.
snopes
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/stance.asp
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/anthem.asp




First President to go on multiple global apology tours.
Damn straight! He should simply invade anyone who is offended for anything! Again, ask wtf this means. Yes, Obama is more likely to work with other countries in the world than be a dictator of the world. And?



First President to go on 17 lavish vacations, including date nights and Wednesday evening White
House parties for his friends, paid for by the taxpayer.
already addressed elsewhere in the thread



First President to refuse to wear the U.S. Flag lapel pin.
snopes



First President to have 22 personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his wife.
About the same number as Laura Bush
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/michelle-obamas-staff/
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/firstlady.asp
LBush 24-26, LBJ & Kennedy had more, Ford about the same.




First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000.00 a year at taxpayer expense.
Proof of that is needed as I find nothing beyond links to urban legend sites.
Fun snopes link to Bo rumor http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/bo.asp


First President to repeat “the Holy Qur'an tells us,” and openly admit “the early morning call of the Azan (Islamic call to worship) is the most beautiful sound on earth.” While at the same time degrading and making fun of verses in the Holy Bible. Is he really a fox in the hen-house?
I don't think religion should be involved with secular politics. However, he may quote the Quran and the Bible and other such things during speeches to make his point. So? Sounds like bigotry to me. I'd like to see where he "degrading and making fun of verses in the Holy Bible". Another highly emotional unbiased statement with no bearing in reality beyond the inside of scared bigots heads. IMHO

Ask if he knows what "separation between church and state" means.




The first President to not be indicted or tried for corruption with his ties to Union bullies, and billions given to corrupt institutions like ACORN, Planned Parenthood, new so-called green jobs Corporations, which have gone bankrupt and which he had a vested interest.
Where to start? Has every other president been indicted for this? That is the only way it'd make him the first not to.
Poor logic there.
He supports unions, Planned Parenthood, green jobs. And this is....bad? Why?


Remember that 32 months of Obama White House we the people have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our nation's entire history, as the Obama's plan their next extravagant vacation to the Indonesian Island nation of Bali.
GOOGLE IT! look for a graph or chart, like here, start at wiki, look at the list of pres's, % debt, $ debt as well as the graphs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_by_U.S._presidential_terms


Hope and change anyone? YES WE HOPE WE CAN CHANGE THE LEADERSHIP IN OUR NATION TO REFLECT OUR TRUE VALUES,

AND HAVE THE TRUE TRANSPARENCY, THAT WAS PROMISED BY OBAMA AND NEVER MATERIALIZED.

* sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Wall Street Journal, Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dept of Labor, Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller, Federal Reserve, US Treasury, Heritage Foundation.
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City Lights Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 01:25 PM
Response to Original message
68. My advice is to turn it on him and ask him to prove this email is true. Where are the citations?
Edited on Mon Oct-17-11 01:31 PM by City Lights
I'd nicely ask him why he believes everything that arrives in his in-box is the truth without any proof to back up the claims. I'd politely explain that anyone can type anything into an email and send it out claiming it's the truth. Liberals/progressives/Democrats are always on the defensive with these emails. Rather than wasting our time and energy proving they are lies, why not ask your friend to ask whomever sent it to him to prove it's true.

I can't help but wonder how many of these shitty emails originated in James O'Keefe's basement.

On edit...my aunt is always sending me crap like this and I am usually able to send her a Snopes link to debunk it. I finally told her that my rule of thumb with forwarding emails like this is that if there is no link to back up the claims, I delete it. I tried to drop a hint without being rude.
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CRK7376 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 01:49 PM
Response to Original message
69. Hey they left out
First President to kill Osama bin Laden
First President to overthrow Mr Kadafi
First President to not sign Eagle Scout Letters of Congratualtions (although my eldest son has one signed by GWBush and my younger son's letter of congratulations was signed by Barack H Obama!) to name a few things....
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JHB Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 02:04 PM
Response to Original message
70. To help out the friend you mentioned:
Edited on Mon Oct-17-11 02:06 PM by JHB
Mr. Hope and Change wants to create a nation humbled; humiliated, casting-aside capitalism and individual freedoms for one where “we the people” are government controlled. This would be a system that genuflects mediocrity, steals personal aspiration and opportunity, and punishes those who strive to succeed.

Let's remember that most if not everything Obama has proposed or promoted is less restrictive to business than the policies that were in effect in this country throughout the Cold War. The difference is, back then there were actual Stalinist police states around to make it crystal-clear how much this sort of talk is overblown hyperbole bordering on hysteria.

A gallon of regular gasoline the day Obama was inaugurated was $1.79 on average in the U.S. Today that price is $3.59, a 100.6% increase.

Funny, I remember it being in the $3 ballpark under Bush. Yup:


So the guy is starting his measure at a dip, and ignoring the higher proces which preceded it. Shorter version: the guy is lying. He's cherry-picking which numbers he's usung to promote one view, and disregarding the information that undermines his dog-pile.

The number of food stamp recipients has risen since Obama took office from 31,983,716 to 43,200,878, a 35.1% jump. Long term unemployment soared 146.2% during the same 32 month period from 2,600,000 to 6,400,000. Staggering “hope and change” isn't it?

Remind me: who was in charge when the economy tanked? Who vigorously promoted the deregulation and other policies that led to it? That would be Bush. So when the fallout from that tanking shakes out just as he left office, who got to deal with it? Whoever came after him, that's who. If McCain had won, he'd have those numbers too. Or worse.

American citizens living in poverty have risen9.5% from 39,800,000 to 43,600,000, and the number of unemployed has jumped almost 25% from 11,616,000 to 14,485,000 as of August 31, 2011. The number of unemployed blacks has risen from 12.6% at the end of George Bush's term to 15.8% today, a 25.4% increase, and finally, our national debt is up 34.4% from 10.627 trillion to 14,278 trillion *

But our big corporations are still showing record profits! Think that might be part of the reason for the increase in poverty? tough economic times for everyone else, and a lack of "trickle down"?

And Bush doubled a debt which had already been more than tripled under Reagan and GHW Bush. (There was a 37% increase under Clinton, far less than any Republican since 1980, and by the end he'd had surpluses to start reducing it. That progress was entirely wiped out by GW Bush's tax cuts.) Obama's a piker compared to that, and most of the deficit under him is due to lost revenues thanks to the tanked economy which, to reiterate, is due to policies actively pushed under the Bush administration.


Keep these figures in mind as we recount the number of “firsts” for this presidency:

First President to refuse to show a valid birth certificate.

He did, not that I recall anyone else even having to. Anyone making this argument now is just full of it. There is nothing on earth that they would accept as "valid" (or off the earth: they wouldn't belive God Himself if He told them).


First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner.
First President to have a social security number from a state he has never lived in.

Don't have information about these particular claims. Judging by the rest of the claims here, you're on safe ground to call them crap.


First President to preside over a cut to the credit rating of the United States .

True, but why? Because of the House Republicans' actively causing a crisis by refusing every agreement. Symbolism was more important to them than the downgrade, and they got it. It's theirs, they own it, so don't put that on Obama.


First President to violate the War Powers Act.

Now this one is a complete crock. It's easy to argue the WPA has been violated by every president since it's enactment, it just that no party has seen it in their interests to properly enforce it.
Whike it may not count some of these matters as violations, a 2004 Congressional Research Service report on the WPA after 30 years includes a number of incidents and actions where WPA was at issue. It can be found at:
http://www.fas.org/man/crs/RL32267.html

Most of the actions named far exceed anything which have been taken by President Obama.

First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

First President to defy a Federal Judges court order to cease implementing the Health Care Reform Law.

Ask the writer to provide a list of court orders and contmpt violations by administrations, and for what. The cases involved appear to be procedural pushing and shoving regarding what the administration can or cannot do. Without information as to whether or not this is a common occurance, singling them out is misleading.

First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party.

...as opposed to States, which routinely require you to buy car insurance. And please note that Republicans decry eliminating the 3rd party middle-man as "socialism".

First President to spend a trillion dollars on shovel-ready jobs and later LAUGHINGLY admit ...... there was no such thing as shovel-ready jobs.

Except he didn't. The Stimulus package was $819 billion. 22% of that was tax breaks, leaving $637 in spending, and much of that went to states to help prop up their own budgets at a time when recession was cutting their revenues, so it didn't go to new spending, just preserving existing programs and contracts.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/02/01/GR2009020100154.html
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/stimulus-arithmetic-wonkish-but-important/
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/14/the-great-abdication/

First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies to his union supporters.

And when did that happen? I don't think the UAW is in control of the auto companies. Do you?

First President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act through executive fiat.

1) Horseshit.
2) Did the writer send your friend a stream of e-mails about the "Unitary Executive" theory that the Bush White House operated under? About how many programs and policies bush pushed through by executive order? If not, then you know he's lying to you.



Y'know, Screw it, I don't have time to keep going right now. Every point in that e-mail is a lie, either by outright falsehood or lie of omission (i.e., leaving out information that would undermine the speaker's argument and would favor a more nuanced view). The vast majority of the problems mentioned are directly attributable to Republican actions or policies they have pushed for some 30 years now.
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JHB Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-17-11 02:24 PM
Response to Reply #70
71. BTW, Hepburn, I get what you are trying to do....
Edited on Mon Oct-17-11 02:25 PM by JHB
In college I'd occasionally argue with knuckleheads like the guy who wrote this. The thing to always keep in mind is that it wasn't the other guy you were trying to convince -- he was too far gone, or deliberatly pushing his party line -- it was the bystanders who were the real audience. the people who don't know much about it themselves, and even if they were inclined to agree with the other guy they were open to persuasion if there was an argument that made sense to them.

Your friend is one of the persuadable. Best of luck in prying him away from the e-mail zombie. It's a tough slog.

It's like wrestling with a bear: it's hard, dirty, thankless, and bruising, but if you give up the bear eats you. So giving up can't be an option.
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