President Obama, Bookworm

Interesting. I wonder if he’s even heard of John Adams. I mean, I think his idea of a founding father is Bill Ayers.

“750 pages for the Adams bio alone.”
The Adam bio is actually an easy read in the way the narrative is set forth.
I enjoyed it.
Also there were quite a few footnote pages, index etc.
I doubt the text is 750 pages.

Who reads five hefty books during a one-week vacation already filled with golf, tennis, sightseeing, ice cream eating and enjoying all the other things the taxpayers have provided?
****************************************
Well I do not know about you, but sometimes I have 3-4 books going at one time. Not that I’ll get them all read in a week. Even in school I studied Math, History, Science, Government, geography, etc.. Not all minds are inflexible.

He might want to look at The Forgotten Man, by Amity Shlaes. Especially with Academics like Krugman attempting to whisper in his ear.

-I know what Bush didn’t read… the PDB doc that said:
Bin Laden will attack US..
guess he was too busy clearing brush-
Always comes back to Bush, doesn’t it? Rivals the Palin obsession…

know what Bush didn’t read… the PDB doc that said:
Bin Laden will attack US..
Why didn’t Clinton let the Sudanese hand him over?

Bookworm = bo work mo
Why not read the number one book in the country? Culture of Corruption.

“The Booklet has NOT been in use since Bush told the VA not to use it in 2007,”
ROFLMAO!
The Bush admin changed the book in 2003 and in 2007.
From 2007
“1. REASON FOR ISSUE. This Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Handbook establishes procedures for enabling health care staff to fulfill their obligation to support advance care planning for veterans.
2. SUMMARY OF CONTENTS. This VHA Handbook defines the obligations of health care staff to help veterans consider the types of health care decisions that might need to be made in the future and presents VHA’s requirements for the management of advance directives. This Handbook defines Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national policy to address new developments, the revision of VA Form 10-0137, “VA Advance Directive,” and implementation of iMedConsent™ throughout VHA. It encompasses advance care planning for the full range of health care decisions that may be relevant for patients who have lost decision-making capacity.”
In 2009, Obama’s “big” change to the policy was to change the definition of close friend to authorized surrogate and to create a national ethics board to resolve disputes that a local ethic board cannot under the old directive
“a. In the previous version of this Handbook, “close friend” was inadvertently omitted from
the list of authorized surrogates established in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulation
(Title 38Code of Federal Regulations 17.32) and VHA Handbook 1004.1. This version:”
b. The previously established procedure for handling disputes has not always resulted in
effective resolution at the local facility level. This Handbook changes the procedure for
resolving conflicts between a surrogate and the treatment team by requiring consultation with the
National Center for Ethics in Health Care on conflicts that the local ethics consultation service is
unable to resolve. It also ascribes specific responsibilities to the National Center for Ethics in Health Care.
The lesson as always? Right wingers lie

-It seems Obama prefers non fiction.-
And tax cheats.

“…though it does bear watching and seems indicative of the relationship between the political apparatus and the governing apparatus.”
No kidding. And Bush ain’t Prez anymore. Things were supposed to be different, remember? This doesn’t look different. It would help if Obama tells Axelrod to use a different firm, tells Rahm to send his brother packing and fire TurboTax Geithner. Otherwise, he looks weak and corrupt.

“No kidding. And Bush ain’t Prez anymore.”
True. And considering the right’s behavior during the Bush admin, I think they have pretty much forfeited any complaints dealing with ethics. Especially spurious ones that are about making political hay.
“Things were supposed to be different, remember?”
I happen to think they are quite different.
“This doesn’t look different. It would help if Obama tells Axelrod to use a different firm,”
He no longer works for the firm and was no involved in the decision to select the firm. Not exactly sure what you would have him do there.

I’ve read two of the books, John Adams and Plainsong–I always take at least 2 or 3 books with on vacation. I’m happy we have a President who likes to read. Don’t badmouth Krugman–I wish Obama would pay more attention to him–read his books instead of the self-important Friedman (yuck!).

“It certainly is the way you pursue it.”
You pay taxes too, don’t you?

-You pay taxes too, don’t you?-
I have no idea why anyone would get angry over Obama give away vast billions to a financial company that went and paid record bonuses in 2009.

“You pay taxes too, don’t you?
Posted by: Same Old | Aug 24, 2009 5:50:22 PM”
Sure.
Not sure what paying taxes has to do with your sincerity or lack thereof when it comes to political corruption.

I would ignore this thread, but when folks start that tired old “right wingers can’t read anyway” garbage, well… I’m not a right winger, don’t even play one on tv, but I know plenty of them and they are as well-read as the liberals I know. That is, some read a lot, some read very little. I have found reading for pleasure a lost art in America, mostly. I’m glad to see people reading, including the president.
And jhw is right, if you think reading 5 books on vacation is a lot, you don’t know a lot of academics. During the summer, I read at least 5 books every week. It’s heaven.
And as Ryan C says, the Adams bio is a quick read. As is Friedman, because it is his usual tedious shtick, but, hey, you need to read widely, not just those who agree with you, so I read the man.

Pelecanos is a good choice, though, frankly I like his earlier stuff better. But it is still a good read. I only wish Obama, our erstwhile leader, would read The Constitution, The Federalist Papers, The Anti-Federalist Papers, The Declaration of Independence, and Washington’s Farewell Address.

Ryan: try to go 24 hrs without saying “right-wingers”…betcha can’t !

“Ryan: try to go 24 hrs without saying “right-wingers”…betcha can’t !”
The phrase is “Right wingers lie”
And right wingers could go 24 hours….or even 5 minutes without lying your “bet” would be taken.

How about “How to Always be Wrong” by Tom Friedman. Its his most lucrative work to date.

Almost forgot to mention:
Total spending on health care, per person:
United States: $7290 (2007) – incl uninsured
Japan: $2581 (2006)

FactCheck.org: House Bill Authorizes Coverage of “All Abortions” Under Obamacare!
President Obama said on Saturday:
“Some are also saying that coverage for abortions would be mandated under reform. Also false. When it comes to the current ban on using tax dollars for abortions, nothing will change under reform.”
FactCheck.org reported on Friday:
“As for the House bill as it stands now, it’s a matter of fact that it would allow both a “public plan” and newly subsidized private plans to cover all abortions.”
The House bill would mandate the establishment of at least one insurance plan that covers elective abortions in every regional health-care “exchange” for federally-subsidized plans. Who’s “bearing false witness” about the health-care bill again?

How about this book, paperback edition, for Mr. Obama:
Save Me from Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story (Paperback)
by Brian Welch

Obama is a Wormy Little Liar! | Aug 24, 2009 9:30:31 PM — The charge he was speaking against was the insane idea that there would be “forced” “mandated” abortions! You see, the government does not disallow a legal medical procedure! What is amusing is how you all scream you don’t want the Govt. to have control over your body (they wouldn’t under the plan) but have no issue wanting control over a woman’s body!

How many times can he read Mao’s Little Red Book anyway?
Posted by: ConservativeWoman
have you ever read it? do even know what is talked about in the book, I mean for real, not by what you’ve heard from whomever……
that’s the difference between an educated mind and folks like you… you read not only for enjoyment but also for knowledge and differing perspectives….to find out what other people think, that way you don’t become a ‘birther’ or a ‘deather’ or other republican nut job.
that of course, assumes you can read…..

as I have an advanced degree in medicine.
Posted by: mjishernameo
an advanced degree in ‘medicine’…….. lol
hmmmmmmm….

MayBee,
You’re right that isn’t all of it, but the Japanese did recently have an upswing in malpractice suits, similar to the way we did in the 70′s.
Back then, we passed alot of reforms that protected people better, and since have less malpractice suits.
The Japanese took our experience, and instituted some needed reforms, but also went hardcore on the malpractice problem, and made it criminal.
See, if you want to make malpractice insurance cheaper, you have to deal with the malpractice problem, not the meager remedies that are available to people in the courts.

-It may be hard for you to imagine, but academics and university professors can and do actually read such stuff.-
Unlike John Conyers or out POTUS. This vacation would be a perfect time. But gotta work on those putts..

And, speaking of Edwards, the contingent fee system makes it very unlikely that lawyers are going to go around filing frivilous lawsuits.
Good to know. I’m sure Edwards will be for tort reform. We need to keep costs down.

Tort Reform is simply a euphemism for eliminating victims’ rights.
You’re like the battered spouse who has been convinced that the battering is your own fault.
Wake up and smell the coffee, our system has been taken over by corporate interests!

yes, I am an NP in Adult medicine. I practice in NJ and PA.

+or-,why doesn’t he just release the long-form certificate and be done with it?I don’t care if Franks is a nut or not-There is no rational reason not to release the long-form certificate.The State of Hawaii says it exists,so let’s see it.

I’m glad Obama is reading ‘Hot, Flat and Crowded’, it is a real eye-opener.
As Fareed Zakaria wrote in a recent Newsweek, our country is usually good at dealing with crisis situations, but terrible at looking down the road to head them off. The topics in ‘Hot, Flat and Crowded’ need to be addressed now to avoid the extreme situation the book describes in our near future.

An NP requires a master degree in advanced practice nursing with an additional year of study in a medical specialty, ie Adult Medicine for me. An NP can practice independent of a physician in the clinical setting, can write Rx, perform simple surgeries and manage an independant case load of patients in or out of the hospital/clinic setting.
Why all the questions? What is your problem?
I was answering the snarky remark that perhaps I didn’t understand “academics”. I spent 4 years post graduate at a medical school (UMDNJ) and in research.
Now lets attend to the topic at hand, I really think this is ridiculous how you grill people over any comment (if they are a “right winger”)…
Carry on.

I also find it reassuring that Obama is a ‘reading’ president. There is just so much information needed to know before you can make an intelligent decision, to understand how a change can affect many other areas, negatively or positively.
There is too much that can be missed by only relying on others to read and then summarize for you, as Bush did. There is too much that will be over your head if you don’t have a really strong understanding of every system the presidency touches: the financial system, the economy, the health care system, currency value, the energy structure, etc. and how they inter-relate. The presidency is really a job that requires a scholarly mind today as the world is so much more complicated than when our country started.

Nephron SAID with a straight face, “why doesn’t he just release the long-form certificate and be done with it?I don’t care if Franks is a nut or not-There is no rational reason not to release the long-form certificate.The State of Hawaii says it exists,so let’s see it.”
————————————–
And what, pray tell, is the “long form”? Please post your “long form” birth certificate so we will see what a real one looks like. You, Nephron, and others like you are an example of the single, simple minded thinking that makes it soooo difficult to get anything done in Washington. All the needless, hours spent on answering this senseless nonsense is astonishing. Post your “long form” birth certificate or find another “real issue” to complain about.

Nephron SAID “….I’m a firm believer in Occam’s Razor: the simple answer is usually the correct answer.——————-
Well, that statement explains your thinking. And in agreement, I always knew babies were found in cabbage patches. Like you said, it is the simplest theory out there and, therefore, must be correct. Maybe a rabbit in the cabbage patch ate the “long form birth certificate” – now there is a “simple explanation” – does that make it true?

Wow, the birthers are still asking the same silly questions.
Obama can’t ‘release’ the long-form birth certificate because the state of Hawaii’s regulations don’t allow it on their request forms, for anyone. The long form is the one filled out with birth weight, etc. It is not more legal than the short form.
Go to factcheck and read and see Obama’s short-form certificate, authenticated by experts. The short-form certificate is what every person I know has as their birth certificate. I just requested a copy for my son and that’s all we got.
The bigger question is how much longer can the ‘birthers’ doubt the facts before they accept that we indeed have a legal, black President. I haven’t talked to a ‘birther’ yet that didn’t show strong signs of racism.
As a Christian I find racism a real insult to God. God made us different colors for a wise reason, or for those who believe in evolution, we evolved to have different color skin, simply because of the connection between sunlight and Vitamin D and the weakness of sunlight when far from the equator.
Yep, it is that simple. As man originally developed in Africa, a land with lots of sun, darker skin protected from sun damage. But that same dark skin in the northern latitudes will not absorb enough sun to make adequate amounts of vitamin D. So as humans moved north, those with lighter skin were healthier because they had enough Vitamin D.
As a health note, if you live in the northern latitudes, like me in New England, a vitamin D supplement is recommended in the 6 cold months (maybe longer if you have very dark skin and live far from the equator) when the sunshine is weak and our skin is bundled up in warm clothes. Vitamin D is essential for strong bones and heart health. Ask your doctor about it at your next check-up or read about it on a good health website. Eskimos survive way up north by eating fish rich in D.

Lydia,you are not correct. Hawaii state law clearly states that an individual can request a copy of their long-form certificate.I am not a birther;I think that most if not all of the citizenship issues are nonsense. What bothers me is that he simply will not release the long-form certificate. Why? Again,we see obfuscation-I ask a question,therefore I am a racist.What in heaven’s name does vitamin D have to do with any of this?

Nephron, sorry, but I trust factcheck.org over your opinion on how easily Obama can get his long-form birth certificate from Hawaii. They state Hawaii doesn’t have an option on the birth certificate request form to get one. For the very good reason, it isn’t needed legally anywhere.
You conveniently don’t say where your information comes from.
Blue Skies, Bush was quoted in many articles as not reading much, not watching the news but depending on those around him to fill him in. I’m sorry you missed all that.

Nephron, I read the USA today article you quoted and didn’t find what you said was there. But I did find this quote:
“I, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawaii State Department of Health, have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen. I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago….”
Those who continue this silly argument have some other issues, whether racial, or just plain diversionary from the important issues of today, in my opinion.

Back to the topic of this article, I’m repeating what I said earlier:
I’m glad Obama is reading ‘Hot, Flat and Crowded’, it is a real eye-opener.
As Fareed Zakaria wrote in a recent Newsweek, our country is usually good at dealing with crisis situations, but terrible at looking down the road to head them off. The topics in ‘Hot, Flat and Crowded’ need to be addressed now to avoid the extreme situation the book describes in our near future.

Nephron, I’ve answered the question. Obama and Hawaii officials have answered the question, as factcheck and other credible sources have attested to.
Why do you keep asking it?
What are you afraid of?
The topic of the article you are supposed to be commenting on, is about Obama’s reading material. The topic isn’t Obama’s very real birth certificate.

Well,let’s look at how Obamacare will help:that traumatic brain injury is serious and disabiling.Why don’t you do us all a favor and look into these end-of-life issues outlined in this here VA book.You don’t want to be a burden,do you?

Blue Skies, Bush was quoted in many articles as not reading much, not watching the news but depending on those around him to fill him in. I’m sorry you missed all that.”
Lydia,
That was true until Karl Rove decided to that truth had to be muddied.
So he claimed he and Bush engaged in book reading contests in which Bush kicked his butt.
Of course that begged the question of when he was reading those books since he goes to bed so early.

Barry ain’t reading jack crap!
OOOOOoooooo…..he carried in 5 books. He is an excellent and profound speaker unless the teleprompter is off. Then is a current run of er’s and um’s and uh’s…….yup, a.. um.. thinking er ..um..man!!
2012 can’t come quick …um….enough!!

“Bush,Gore Kerry and McCain released their medical records.”
McCain allowed a few reporters two hours to review his huge medical dossier.
While Bush has released info related to his health after the pretzel fainting incident, I could not find such a release during the 2000 campaign.
Same with Gore.
Kerry’s medical records were tied up in his military records, some of which came out in 2004, the rest in 2005.
Personally I think a statement by their personal physician regarding their health is sufficient.
“Bush,Gore, McCain and Kerry released educational info including transcripts”
Bush, Gore and Kerry had their college records released via media request.
They did not release them.
Privacy laws have changed.
McCain didn’t release any transcripts.
“Medical information on candidates has been standard political information since Nixon”
Medical information. Yes.
Not college transcripts, college financial records, passports records etc.
Its not his paperwork, its his skin color that disturbs birthers.

It is being reported that Obama was reading the Friedman book a year ago.

At what point will a simple request for information not be labeled racist? Ryan C, don’t you have the simple curiosity to wonder what is the intellectual underpinning for the repeated claims for the brilliance of Barack Obama?Don’t you have any curiosity about his backround,education or health?Truly, what is your education level?Have you ever experienced during your education meeting people similar to Mr. Obama who apparently have no academic history before entering Harvard Law?

“Have you ever experienced during your education meeting people similar to Mr. Obama who apparently have no academic history before entering Harvard Law?”
Except Obama does have a academic history prior to Harvard Law at Occidental University and then Columbia.
But it is a weird question
If in conversation someone mentions where they went to school, do you then ask them for their GPA and transcripts?
Do you accuse them of lying unless they supply you with a diploma?

Ryan C, have you ever been to Graduate School? Do you know whether his grades had anything to do with his Law Review position or his magna cum laude graduation?

“Do you know whether his grades had anything to do with his Law Review position or his magna cum laude graduation?”
Editor of the Harvard Law Review is an elected position meaning your fellow students at the Review choose you.
Magna cum laude means with high honors in Latin.
It means he was in the top 10 or 15% of his class.

PS Ryan: Do you know what color MY SKIN IS?

Interesting….had Obama filled out the bar form, he’d have to admit to hundreds of dollars of ignored parking tickets he received in Cambridge. It’s a little thing, I know…but really it’s not a little thing…it says alot about his respect for the law of the land.

“He apparently does not know basic requirements for employment for many businesses”
ROFLMAO!
Because when hiring someone businesses always demand college transcripts. And college financial records. And passport records.
You obviously have never hired anyone.
“Yes,there is a racial aspect to this-the belief that his skin color makes him immune to the simplest questions related to experience, competence and honesty.”
Birthers hate to get called out on their true motivation.
Hatred of a black man running the country.
“If not,how do you know what the criteria for magna cum laude are?”
Because Harvard law publishes that info.

“Ryan C,you still have not answered the education question.”
My education is not your business.
“I have hired many people,some with advanced degrees.You have to do that when you run a business;”
Yes one does have to hire all sorts of levels of education when running a business.
Not once have a I heard of a job demanding college transcripts.
In fact unless you are hiring right out of school, one’s job experiences are given much more weight than one’s level of education even when stipulating that one must have a degree of a certain level.
“t Harvard Law a GPA above 7.2 gets you summa cum laude, the next lower 10% get magna cum laude,the next lower 30% get cum laude.So, at a minimum 40% of each Harvard Law class graduates with honorsWith the curve magna cum laude becomes less than meets the eye.”
ROFLMAO!
Summa cum laude is the top 1%. Harvard usually has 1 or 2 students achieiving that honor.
So according to right wing math, 1 + 10 + 30 = 50.
“What do you think about the Bar application issue,namely question #51- the parking ticket issue? ”
I think its a desperate attempt by birthers.
Since their other lies have been laughed at, they just move on to new ones.

“Summa cum laude at Harvard Law School is granted to a graduate with a GPA of 7.2 or greater on the Law School grading scale.It is not based on percentage.Period.Ergo, a particularly bright class could have many summa graduates,not one or two”
Check out the graduating classes.
Find me a single class with more than 2 summa cum laude graduates.
“Perhaps if you had attended a prominent university you would know these things”
*chuckle*

The majority of undergraduate honors programs base awards on GPA,not class ranking.As such,the percentage of graduates with certain levels of honors is not constant.I don’t see why you don’t understand that.Harvard Law’s honors guidelines are on their website.A GPA of 7.2 for summa is clearly stated.As such,any graduate with this GPA is eligible for summa cum laude,whether it is one,ten,fifty or even none.I don’t make the rules, the Law School does.The next 40% of the class will get honors.This is a large percentage by any standard. I know of a professional school that graduated 205. There were no summa, only 2 magna and 8 cum laude graduates- less than 5% honors awards.I believe that rate is more typical for non- law professional schools.What Rocks!

We do know that Obama tanked in HS because he was using drugs and booze, by his accounts…
I often wonder how any kid who messes up in HS can get into an IVY..That just doesn’t happen unless AA is at work.
Level playing field? I think not.

He did not graduate with honors from Columbia, he was not Phi Beta Kappa, there is no evidence of undergraduate academic distinction.How did he get into Harvard Law School?