Putin and Obama's "slouch, bored kid" remarks

Asked during an August 9 press conference whether he can get 'big stuff done without having a good personal relationship with Russian Preident Vladimir Putin,' President Obama replied: "I don't have a bad personal relationship with Putin... I know the press likes to focus on body language and he's got that kind of slouch, looking like the bored kid in the back of the classroom. But the truth is, is that when we're in conversations together, oftentimes it's very productive."

The UK-Daily Mail, at the time, referred to Obama's comments as "a stunning dismissal of a head of state..."

Mr. Putin, apparently, isn't too happy with Obama's remarks: According to the New York Times, a Russian official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name, said that Mr. Putin was infuriated by Obama's comments.

Perhaps, if the aforementioned slight came from a different U.S President, someone who is not so hell-bent on a reckless policy of appeasement, it would not be that surprising. [Although Rush Limbaugh believes that: "If Bush had said something like this it would be the news of the week and we'd be worried about whether or not nuclear war was about to break out and why in the world is Bush so stupid and insulting a leader like this, why in the world is it happening? Obama says it, and ho-hum."] However, the remarks emanated from Obama, the so-called "diplomat" par excellence, who, at the time, didn't appear to be trying to agitate Putin. "I don't have a bad personal relationship with Putin," Obama said. "When we have conversations, they're candid, they're blunt; oftentimes, they're constructive... The truth is, is that when we're in conversations together, oftentimes it's very productive."

The "diplomat par excellence" appears to be lacking in sensitivity, as he often insults people with his snide remarks and crude speech, like the time he callously took a swipe at Boston Celtic's point guard Rajon Rondo. Or, like the time he called a female reporter "sweetie".

Or, like the innumerable times he has belittled his political adversaries and heaped scorn on various segments of American society. However, when it comes to his political adversaries and various segments of American society, I would not ascribe Obama's crude language to "insensitivity", but rather, to demagogy and being deliberately mean.

Taliban wreaking havoc in Afghanistan as Obama facilitates his Afghan strategy

At least 18 people, including a U.S. soldier, were killed Wednesday when Taliban insurgents attacked a  joint NATO-Afghan military base in Afghanistan. More than 60 people were injured in the attack, including 24 women and schoolchildren and 10 Polish soldiers.

Taliban insurgents also ambushed an Afghan police convoy on Wednesday. Fifteen police officers were killed in the attack and ten were injured.

Additionally, in Helmand province, four Afghan civilians were killed and fifteen were injured Wednesday when a suicide car bomber attacked a coalition convoy. 

In a seperate attack in Hemland Province, a suicide bomber rammed a car into an Afghan army base, killing three soldiers and wounding four.

Additionally, six Afghan truck drivers were killed and 10 others were wounded overnight in a Taliban rocket attack that targeted trucks supplying fuel to NATO forces. Roughly 40 trucks were destroyed in the attack. Coalition forces rely heavily on these civilian truck drivers to transport the fuel. 

Taliban attacks in Afghanistan continue to increase as U.S. and coalition forces continue to withdraw from the country, thereby facilitating the Obama Afghan exit strategy. U.S. and coalition forces have already transferred security for the country to the Afghan forces.

Obama: My butlers are extremely proud of just how far "We've Come!"

President Obama said in an interview on Monday that the butlers currently working in the White House are extremely proud of just how far "We've Come!"

Mr. Obama was discussing the new movie, The Butler. The President said that, while he was watching the movie, he "teared up just thinking about not just the butlers who have worked here in the White House, but an entire generation of people who were talented and skilled, but because of Jim Crow, because of discrimination, there was only so far they could go."

The President went on to say: "The butlers who are now here in the White House, when we first arrived, when Michelle and the girls just first arrived, they could not have been kinder to us and warmer to us. And part of it, I suspect, is they look at Malia and Sasha and they say, well, this looks like my grandbaby, or this looks like my daughter. And I think for them to have a sense that we’ve come that far was a powerful moment for them, and certainly a powerful moment for us. We love them to death. They look after us just wonderfully."

Wife of American Pastor persecuted in Iran "disappointed that President Obama has chosen to remain silent"

“I am disappointed that as a country that was founded on religious freedom, our government has been awkwardly silent as an American citizen is wasting away in an Iranian prison because he chose to practice his religion. My husband is serving 8 years in the notorious Evin prison and facing daily threats and abuse. And yet, my President, President Obama, has not spoken a word about him. As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic speech defending freedom by Dr. Martin Luther King, a brave American who gave his life to fight for the freedom that is so fundamental to our way of life, I am extremely disappointed that President Obama has chosen to remain silent on this critical human and religious rights case of an American imprisoned in Iran.”
Naghmeh Abedini, the wife of Saeed Abedini, an Iranian American Christian pastor, who has been held in Iran in the notroriously brutal Evin Prison since September 2012. Saeed Abedini traveled to Iran to visit his family and continue his work to build an orphanage in the city of Rasht. He has been tortured and beaten while in prison in Tehran. Sadly, the Obama administration has remained notably lethargic and strangely silent while a host of innocent American citizens languished, and continue to languish, in foreign prisons under the directives of evil, corrupt and brutal officials. Meanwhile - because the Obama administration - with the collaboration of its sycophantic allies in the mainstream media - continues its policy of silence - the plight, and identities, of many of these detainees remain largely unknown to the American public.

Obama administration: Activity at Syria chemical weapons sites did not seem unusual. Huh?

U.S. officials detected activity at known Syrian chemical weapons sites in the days prior to Wednesday's chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb. But Obama administration officials claim this activity did not seem out of the ordinary, because, um, well, uh, because the assumption then was that the Syrians were moving things around for security reasons, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reported on Friday.

 Huh? Moving things around for security reasons? Heh. Yeah right, tell it to the marines.........

Obama: Wear my face on your shirt, I'll call on you - Binghamton University, town-hall

During a town-hall event at SUNY Binghamton University [in New York State] on Thursday, President Obama took a question from an audience member who was wearing an Obama t-shirt.

The President explained his decision to call on that individual: "Here's a general rule in a Presidential town-hall, if you want to get called on, wear the President's face on your shirt."

Incomes in U.S. Dropped Twice as Much During the 'Recovery' as During the Recession

The median annual household income in the U.S. has dropped more than twice as much during the so-called economic 'recovery' as it did during the recession.

New estimates derived from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey by Sentier Research indicate that the real (inflation-adjusted) median annual household income in America has fallen by 4.4 percent during the "recovery," after having fallen by 1.8 during the recession. During the recession, the median American household income fell by $1,002 (from $55,480 to $54,478). During the recovery—that is, from the officially defined end of the recession (in June 2009) to the most recent month for which figures are available (June 2013)—the median American household income has fallen by $2,380 (from $54,478 to $52,098). So the typical American household is making almost $2,400 less per year (in constant 2013 dollars) than it was four years ago, when the Obama "recovery" began.

Importantly, these income tallies include government payouts such as unemployment compensation and cash welfare. So Obama's method of funneling ever-more money and power to Washington, and then selectively divvying some of it back out, clearly isn't working for the typical American family.

U.S Home sales plummet to 9-month low, biggest decline in 3 years

Sales of new U.S. homes plummeted 13.4% in July to an annual rate of 394,000, their lowest level in nine months, the Commerce Department said Friday. It was the biggest decline in new home sales since May of 2010, more than three years ago. The government also revised sharply lower its estimate for new home sales in the months of May and June.

Obama gaffes, stumbles while speaking at University at Buffalo, blames it on his age

President Obama delivered a speech at the New York state university in Buffalo on Thursday. During his remarks, Obama called the mayor of Buffalo, Brian Higgins. However, Mr. Higgins is a NY congressman, and not a Mayor. The Mayor of Buffalo is actually Byron Brown. The crowd quickly corrected the President. Mr. Obama acknowledged his confusion, but blamed it on his age. 

"This is what happens when you get to be 52 years old," he said. "When I was 51 everything was smooth."