Campaigning Saturday morning in swing state New Hampshire, President Barack Obama again criticized Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan over their proposals to change Medicare. Obama says that his GOP challengers want seniors to pay more for their health care so the wealthy can get a tax break.

** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … AN INSULAR ROMNEY, FAILED ON THE GLOBAL STAGE, STRUGGLES WITH HIS SURPRISINGLY HEARTFELT VEEP PICK.

** OBAMA THIS WEEKEND. President Barack Obama is in Washington and New Hampshire.

Obama received the daily intelligence and economic briefings in the Oval Office.

He then flew up to Manchester, New Hampshire on Air Force One, then proceeded to Windham, New Hampshire, where he delivered remarks at a campaign event at Windham High School.

At 1:35 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at a campaign event at Rochester Commons in Rochester, New Hampshire.

At 3:05 PM Pacific, Obama departs Manchester, New Hampshire on Air Force One en route Joint Base Andrews.

At 4:30 PM Pacific, Obama arrives Joint Base Andrews, where he boards Marine One.

At 4:45 PM Pacific, Obama lands on the South Lawn of the White House.

Here’s what the week ahead looks like for Obama.

He has even more flexibility than usual built into his schedule, both to work on managing geopolitical crises and to react to events.

The political side of it sees him campaigning in swing states Ohio and Nevada and fundraising in Manhattan.

On Monday, Obama will attend meetings at the White House.

On Tuesday, Obama will travel to Columbus, Ohio and Reno, Nevada for campaign events. The President will remain overnight in Henderson, Nevada.

On Wednesday, Obama will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada and New York City for campaign events. Obama will return to the White House in the evening.

The new Romney/Ryan ticket is scrambling to get the campaign back on track after a well-orchestrated if not well-conceived announcement and roll-out of the young congressman as would-be vice president.

A campaign which was supposed to be about the shortcomings of Obama, and the rocky and very uneven economic recovery, is instead about Ryan’s very controversial budget plan and his Ayn Rand-inspired views of the role for government, as well as about Romney’s still very murky wealth.

Meanwhile, in more serious matters …

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, not stepping lightly through the ongoing Gulf crisis with Israel and the US, declared that the existence of Israel is “an insult to humankind.” He was speaking Friday at the annual Quds Day holiday, on which Iran urges the return of Jerusalem from Israeli control.

Ahmadinejad’s comments came as Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak seem to have become more defiant in their advocacy of a potential attack on Iran even as opposition mounts internally, especially among former and current leaders of Israel’s armed forces and intelligence services.


With families preparing to send their kids back to school, President Barack Obama, in his weekend video/radio address, says that Congress should support his plan to hire teachers.

Obama is monitoring several geopolitical crises involving the Arab Awakening, Iran and Israel, Syria, Iraq, AfPak, and the South China Sea.

Military Crisis Zone Times: The Arabian Gulf is ten hours ahead of Pacific time and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time. The time in Manila, on the South China Sea, is fifteen hours ahead of Pacific time.

** FROM THE JERRY FILES. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.

He has no scheduled public events on the weekend.

Brown will campaign in San Diego on Monday for his Proposition 30 revenue initiative.

Brown has called a special legislative session for the end of the year so that California can move to next steps in implementing the Obama national health care plan.

Clearly, he’s not anticipating an immediate Romney rollback.

The California state PTA, the only major endorser for heiress Molly Munger’s sort of rival but really zombie income tax hike for nearly all initiative, reacted somewhat defensively Friday to a brush-back pitch letter from Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer decrying some still rather mild Munger criticism of Brown’s initiative. They did so in a methinks protests too much response letter. Which means they heard the message, whether Munger and her well-paid consultants did or not.

Brown got some good news at the end of the week with the new report on job growth in California.

For the 12th straight month, the state’s economy added a significant number of new jobs.

The number of new jobs in June was also upgraded.

As a result, California has now added over 365,000 jobs over the past year, which is the most since 2000.

California’s job growth rate of 2.6% over the past 12 months is double the national average of 1.3%.

I wonder what the denialists, as Brown calls them, or the professional grumps, as I think of them, will try to say now. I’m sure it will be especially clever, as always.

Click here for my compendium of articles laying out the re-emergence of Jerry Brown as governor of California.

** RECALLING TOTAL RECALL: INTRIGUE, ULTRA-VIOLENCE, HUMOR AND WHAT ELSE THAT IS MISSING FROM THE SCHWARZENEGGER REMAKES.From my August 17th essay.

** LONDON’S GRAND OLYMPICS, ON AND OFF THE TRACK.From my August 13th essay.

** GORE VIDAL: REMEMBERING A BRILLIANT, CONTROVERSIAL LEGEND OF THE SORT WE DON’T FOSTER ANY MORE.From my August 3rd essay.

** ROMNEY’S DANGEROUS BUFFOONERY.From my August 1st essay.

** SUNRISE IN CALIFORNIA?From my July 26th feature.

** CHINA MOVES SWIFTLY ON NEW “CITY” ENCOMPASSING SOUTH CHINA SEA, GULF CRISIS SIMMERS.From my July 24th feature.

** THE DARK KNIGHT SHOOTINGS: “ALL IT TAKES IS A LITTLE PUSH.”From my July 21st column.

** MITT WHITMAN = MEG ROMNEY.From my July 19th column.

** CRISES CHAOTIC AND BUBBLING: THE GULF AND THE SOUTH CHINA SEA.From my July 17th essay.

** FROM GOVERNATOR TO MOONBEAM. From my January 3rd, 2011 feature.

** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th, 2009 Huffington Post column.


Tensions ratcheted upward in the movie-going world of the US this weekend as the Carmike Cinema chain received bomb threats against several of its theaters, especially those showing The Expendables 2.

** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in major military operations in the region, and the Arab awakening underway, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.

** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer from the Russia Today channel. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the state-run channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.

** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil closed on Friday at $96.01 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

This is up about $62 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity, and down about $18 per barrel from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.

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25 Responses to “Weekend Edition and The Week Ahead”

  1. Jonas says:

    Good video of President Obama on the Ryan Romney destroy Medicare plan.

  2. Jonas says:

    Good weekend address by President Obama on public education.

  3. Jonas says:

    Bomb threats in movie theaters, terrible.

  4. Capitol Boy says:

    That is a winning message for barack…

  5. Capitol Boy says:

    Why would the Reeps want to hire teachers??

    Jonas says:
    August 18, 2012 at 12:20 pm
    Good weekend address by President Obama on public education.

  6. Capitol Boy says:

    Terrible we have to take crazy people seriously with threats like this…

    :(

    Jonas says:
    August 18, 2012 at 12:31 pm
    Bomb threats in movie theaters, terrible.

  7. Capitol Boy says:

    O, too too bad for poor Mittens, his life is so unfair…

    :)

    BB:The new Romney/Ryan ticket is scrambling to get the campaign back on track after a well-orchestrated if not well-conceived announcement and roll-out of the young congressman as would-be vice president.

    A campaign which was supposed to be about the shortcomings of Obama, and the rocky and very uneven economic recovery, is instead about Ryan’s very controversial budget plan and his Ayn Rand-inspired views of the role for government, as well as about Romney’s still very murky wealth.

  8. Capitol Boy says:

    Good that JB is getting out there on this.

    BB: Brown will campaign in San Diego on Monday for his Proposition 30 revenue initiative.

  9. Jack Aubrey says:

    Hey, great article on Total Recall and Schwarzenegger and violence, and all that stuff…

    I’m jacked to see the original now.

  10. Jack Aubrey says:

    Heh.

    Capitol Boy says:
    August 18, 2012 at 2:27 pm
    O, too too bad for poor Mittens, his life is so unfair…

    BB:The new Romney/Ryan ticket is scrambling to get the campaign back on track after a well-orchestrated if not well-conceived announcement and roll-out of the young congressman as would-be vice president.

    A campaign which was supposed to be about the shortcomings of Obama, and the rocky and very uneven economic recovery, is instead about Ryan’s very controversial budget plan and his Ayn Rand-inspired views of the role for government, as well as about Romney’s still very murky wealth.

  11. Jack Aubrey says:

    How is that movie with action codgers doing any ways?

    Capitol Boy says:
    August 18, 2012 at 2:27 pm
    Terrible we have to take crazy people seriously with threats like this…

    Jonas says:
    August 18, 2012 at 12:31 pm
    Bomb threats in movie theaters, terrible.

  12. Dana says:

    Tony Scott jumped from the Vincent Thomas bridge to his death over the weekend. Very stylish and successful director, younger brother of Ridley.

    http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2012/08/director_tony_scott_jumps.php

    Condolences to his family.

  13. Jonas says:

    That is sad.

  14. Jonas says:

    Israel and Iran crisis video this week?

  15. Jack Aubrey says:

    It do look like time for that…

  16. Jack Aubrey says:

    Wonder what that does to “Top Gun II”…

  17. Bill Bradley says:

    Sad to say, I am sure they will get another director.

    Maverick is a flight instructor, struggling with the fact that his lady love is a lesbian, and then …

  18. Bill Bradley says:

    Yes, but, there has to be good video.

    >
    Jonas says:
    August 20, 2012 at 9:48 am (Edit)

    Israel and Iran crisis video this week?
    Jack Aubrey says:
    August 21, 2012 at 11:30 am (Edit)

    It do look like time for that…

  19. Bill Bradley says:

    Yes, that is sad, and still a bit inexplicable, I think.

    Loved Crimson Tide, behind which I have a story.

    > Dana says:
    August 20, 2012 at 9:46 am (Edit)

    Tony Scott jumped from the Vincent Thomas bridge to his death over the weekend. Very stylish and successful director, younger brother of Ridley.

    http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2012/08/director_tony_scott_jumps.php

    Condolences to his family.

  20. Bill Bradley says:

    Not bad.

    > Jack Aubrey says:
    August 18, 2012 at 4:37 pm (Edit)

    How is that movie with action codgers doing any ways?

    Capitol Boy says:
    August 18, 2012 at 2:27 pm
    Terrible we have to take crazy people seriously with threats like this…

    Jonas says:
    August 18, 2012 at 12:31 pm
    Bomb threats in movie theaters, terrible.

  21. Bill Bradley says:

    Indeed.

    > Jack Aubrey says:
    August 18, 2012 at 4:36 pm (Edit)

    Heh.

    Capitol Boy says:
    August 18, 2012 at 2:27 pm
    O, too too bad for poor Mittens, his life is so unfair…

    BB:The new Romney/Ryan ticket is scrambling to get the campaign back on track after a well-orchestrated if not well-conceived announcement and roll-out of the young congressman as would-be vice president.

    A campaign which was supposed to be about the shortcomings of Obama, and the rocky and very uneven economic recovery, is instead about Ryan’s very controversial budget plan and his Ayn Rand-inspired views of the role for government, as well as about Romney’s still very murky wealth.

  22. Bill Bradley says:

    Thanks.

    Then get your ass to Mars!

    > Jack Aubrey says:
    August 18, 2012 at 4:20 pm (Edit)

    Hey, great article on Total Recall and Schwarzenegger and violence, and all that stuff…

    I’m jacked to see the original now.

  23. Bill Bradley says:

    Substance can be so unfair.

    > Capitol Boy says:
    August 18, 2012 at 2:27 pm (Edit)

    O, too too bad for poor Mittens, his life is so unfair…

    :)

    BB:The new Romney/Ryan ticket is scrambling to get the campaign back on track after a well-orchestrated if not well-conceived announcement and roll-out of the young congressman as would-be vice president.

    A campaign which was supposed to be about the shortcomings of Obama, and the rocky and very uneven economic recovery, is instead about Ryan’s very controversial budget plan and his Ayn Rand-inspired views of the role for government, as well as about Romney’s still very murky wealth.

  24. Bill Bradley says:

    All it takes is one massacre to get people freaked out.

    > Capitol Boy says:
    August 18, 2012 at 2:27 pm (Edit)

    Terrible we have to take crazy people seriously with threats like this…

    :(

    Jonas says:
    August 18, 2012 at 12:31 pm
    Bomb threats in movie theaters, terrible.

  25. Bill Bradley says:

    I assume that you are referring to something else, Cap … :)

    >
    Jonas says:
    August 18, 2012 at 12:31 pm (Edit)

    Bomb threats in movie theaters, terrible.
    Capitol Boy says:
    August 18, 2012 at 2:20 pm (Edit)

    That is a winning message for barack…

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