Barack Obama

Blowfly, the Original Dirty Rapper Brings Something Long and Hard to the Firebird Tonight

Before South Florida achieved its cocaine cowboy status and notoriety, Miami was known for a vibrant musical community that nurtured nascent Latin fusion sounds, old school soul, funk, R&B and jazz. Miami's historical Overtown district is a shell of its former self but at one point in time, before t ... More >>

Making a Killing: Killing Them Softly argues crime is just business

Missourians File Petition With White House to Secede From Union

Missouri has joined a growing list of states petitioning the federal government for secession in the wake of President Obama's reelection. Residents in at least 20 states have posted petitions on the White House's "We the People" website. "We the People" allows anyone to suggest a policy initiativ ... More >>

Election Night Comedy Debates: Spend One Last Night With Seven Of the Mouthbreathers You Blocked On Facebook Months Ago

Weather permitting, the end to the 2012 election season will arrive tomorrow night when the votes are tallied up and America prepares for the next four years. Not only does this mean we might be able to turn our TV's on without being lambasted with political rhetoric, this should also mean those ann ... More >>

No MO Money For a Former Bellwether

Once upon a time, Missouri was the bellwether of the Presidential elections. You could always count on us to pick the winner. Remember 2008 when Barack Obama rallied beneath the Arch and even John McCain paid a few visits here? Oh, those glorious days. But then, by just .1 percent of the popular vot ... More >>

Update: Fitz's Presidential Election Root Beer Battle Wages On

The presidential debates might be over but with the election just weeks away, a final heated two weeks loom large on the political landscape. Will Governor Mitt Romney beat President Barack Obama? We're not soothsayers or Nate Silver, so we don't have answers about which candidate will triumph. Ins ... More >>

Top Five Pieces of Furniture Barack Obama May Address on Thursday Night

In case you ain't heard, the ultimate visual prop for any would-be national political convention these days is a piece of furniture. But not just any piece of furniture. You can't walk out there and address a dog-hair covered Barcalounger. C'mon, this is the big leagues. If you want to win over the ... More >>

Gut Check's Ten Snacks to Pair With Democratic Convention Coverage

Last week, Gut Check offered up a list of ten snacks to pair with Republican National Convention coverage. Of course, the fun doesn't stop there. On Tuesday, September 4, the Democratic National Convention kicked off in Charlotte, North Carolina, prompting Gut Check to brainstorm another set of them ... More >>

"Abortion Survivor" Ad Debuts in Missouri, Makes Confusing Claims About Obama's Record

Obama voted to kill babies, according to a vaguely creepy pro-life ad that hit Missouri televisions this week. Well... not quite...

Is St. Louis Better Off with Obama or Romney? There's an App For That

If Romney takes the White House this November, you'll want to be a Maplewood resident. According to an app developed by two students from the University of California, Berkeley, the benefits of another term for Obama vs a new start with Romney will be felt very differently, zip code by zip code ... More >>

Freedom Under Fire: A Village Voice Media Special Report

Is Civil Disobedience the Answer to Immigration Debate?

Straight Shootin': The firepower at the NRA convention is incredible, just like the rhetoric

Birther Bill Gains Initial Approval in Missouri House -- Are You Shitting Me?

​Representative Lyle Rowland (R-Cedarcreek) successfully moved his "birther" bill through its initial reading in the Missouri House of Representatives yesterday. The bill (HB1046, read it here)  would require any presidential or vice presidential candidate to prove via birth certificate and a ... More >>

Senate to Vote on Roy Blunt's Opt-Out Bill for Contraception Coverage

It's nearly March, just six months before the G.O.P. convention, which sounds like a perfect time to celebrate our quadrennial political tradition: culture wars. In Michigan, Republican presidential nominee Rick Santorum is telling folks there shouldn't necessarily be a complete separation of churc ... More >>

As Obama Attacks Congress, McCaskill Becomes Vulnerable

An interesting political article in today's New York Times pinpoints incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill as a potential casualty this November if President Obama continues to campaign on an anti-Congress platform. Experts say the oft-deadlocked Congress of last year is a fair target for President Obama ... More >>

Obama's War on Weed

In a strange about-face, the president tries to hack medical marijuana off at the knees

Wentzville Students Outraged Over Condiment Limits

​Wentzville Holt High School got national exposure this week when Fox & Friends highlighted a student boycott over the district's school lunches. As student Hannah Lucas explained to the show's host Gretchen Carlson (video below), the school got rid of ketchup and mustard dispensers this year ... More >>

Obama "Stop the Pipeline" Protesters: Here's What They Want

The Keystone XL Pipeline is not the kind of "new energy" that President Obama's former fans at Wash. U. were looking for.​As the P-D's Jake Wagman reports this morning, a protester interrupted President Barack Obama's fundraiser in downtown St. Louis last night to interject "Stop the Pipeline!"Wri ... More >>

President Obama's Jobs Plan -- Voices from Barrister's

Albert Samaha"Stimulus has become a bad word," says Lasky (left).​Last Monday in his jobs speech, President Barack Obama made a serious effort to wrest control of the Narrative away from the Republicans.For months Democrats have complained about how they kept ending up negotiating on Republicans' ... More >>

The Downgrade -- Voices from The Royale

Somebody clearly messed up. But who will take the blame?​After S.& P. downgraded America's credit rating from AAA to AA , the political strategy on both sides of the aisle was clear: Blame the other guys.The irony of the situation, of course, is that Monday's stock market dip, partially sparke ... More >>

Video: McCaskill says McConnell "Has Lost His Mind"

​Remember that scene in "Almost Famous" when the plane seems like it's about to crash, so everybody starts making all these outrageous confessions? I once hit a man in Dearborn, Michigan... If I took an extra dollar or two it's 'cause I knew I'd earned it... I slept with Marta... I'm Gay! Pe ... More >>

Obama Won't Release Death Photo of Osama bin Laden

President Barack Obama says "we don't need to spike the football" in explaining why his administration won't release photos of Osama bin Laden showing the al-Qaida leader after he was fatally shot in the head. Conspiracy theorists, start your engines...

Wanna Be on the Presidential Ballot in Missouri? We Need to See Your Birth Certificate, Please

Can we just lay the rumors to rest that Barack Obama is not an American citizen? He was born in Hawaii in 1961 -- two years after it became a state. Not Kenya. Hawaii. Even Glenn Beck has shut up about this, maybe because the claims are so ridiculous the Supreme Court doesn't want to waste its time. ... More >>

Video: Obama Impersonator Crushed by Giant Fish Sandwich

What else is there to say about this KFC ad from China except that it features a (pretty good) Obama impersonator being crushed by a giant fish sandwich? Enjoy it for the surreal humor or for the political commentary, implied or projected.Honestly, this sort of thing is what I missed most while I wa ... More >>

Slay Joins Chorus of DNC-Hopeful Mayors Praising Obama's Tax Deal

​Readers of Mayor Francis Slay's blog may have wondered last week why St. Louis' top elected official was so quick to praise President Barack Obama over the contentious tax bill he's working out with Republicans. On Sunday, the New York Times provided an explanation. Slay had to keep up with the m ... More >>

Missouri Likely To Favor Any Republican Candidate Except Palin in 2012

​A Public Policy Poll released yesterday indicates that all but one of a handful of Republican presidential candidates would win Missouri in 2012. That exception is Sarah Palin.The poll found that former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee would be the strongest candidate for Missouri's 11 electoral v ... More >>

Even Obama Loves Jonathan Franzen

image viaDon't look so grumpy, Jon.​We already know that everyone loves St. Louis local-boy-made-hella-famous-author Jonathan Franzen, but we didn't know that "everybody" extended even to el presidente, Barack Obama. Obama is currently on a ten-day vacation in Martha's Vineyard with the First ... More >>

Newsflash: Gay People on Government Payroll

image viaKathleen's little black book.​In a daring act of citizen-journalism, Kathleen Branson of Pacific has published a letter to the editor of the Washington Missourian purporting to out all the gays who work in President Obama's administration. "The following names are people who now have ... More >>

Tasteless Marketing Tweet of the Day, Courtesy of Barnes-Jewish Hospital

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Obama Signs House Bill, Now Health Care Reform Heads to Senate for Debate

cnn.comObama signs health care reform today in the presence of, Gary Coleman???​President Obama moments ago signed the House version of health care reform. At a signing ceremony this afternoon Obama stated: "It's been easy at times to doubt our ability to do such a big thing, such a complicated th ... More >>

Ass Clown of the Week: Radical Right-Wing Edition!

Which ass gets the hat?​Perhaps it was the presence in the Show-Me State this week of that good-fer-nothin', socialist Barack Obama, or maybe it was just that their haldol injections were wearing off. Whatever the case, Missouri's right-wing extremists were tripping over themselves this week for r ... More >>

Obama Visits St. Louis, Wishes it Were 2008 All Over Again

Claiming a burning need to get out of politics-obsessed Washington, President Obama visited St. Louis yesterday for a nice, relaxing chat about health care. After delivering his speech at St. Charles High School, the president dropped in at the Renaissance Grand Hotel downtown for a benefit for his ... More >>

At $50,000 for Seat to Obama's St. Louis Visit, Maybe There is a Way to Pay for Health Care

Will there be surf at fancy dinner? Will there be turf?​Barack Obama is headed to town next week for a March 10 fundraiser for Senator Claire McCaskill and ticket prices are all over the map to see the president.According to the AP, less affluent supporters can get a standing-room only ticket to a ... More >>

The Dive Bomber Cops Out at Area IV Station

I know nothing about cop culture. When I saw the name Area IV on the awning, my first thought was sci-fi dive. With enough alcohol the badges covering the wall above the bar might pass for something space-age.Really, they're just police badges from around the country, protected by little plastic sl ... More >>

The Ten Most Important St. Louis Restaurant Openings of the Aughts #10: Pi (2008)

​Pi (2008)Forget for a moment that then-Senator Obama declared Pi's pizza the best he'd ever eaten. Forget too that President Obama invited Pi owner Chris Sommers and staff to cook at the White House. Consider that in only two years, Pi's cornmeal crust recipe, though imported from San Francisco, ... More >>

About Those Terrorists Moving In Next Door

So you may have heard that Missouri will soon be getting some new neighbors. Yesterday, Illinois governor Pat Quinn received a letter from President Obama informing him that the terrorism suspects currently detained in Guantanamo Bay will be moved to a largely unused prison in Thomson Illinois, a fe ... More >>

Obama's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech (Graphic)

President Barack Obama was briefly in Oslo, Norway today to accept his Nobel Peace Prize. He gave a speech (transcript here). Below is an infographic that gives prominence to the words he used the most during his remarks.​After the jump is the same graphic, only comprised of the president's Decemb ... More >>

David Plouffe on the Audacious Presidential Campaign of 2008

​ ​During a flight leg in April, [campaign press secretary Robert] Gibbs tried to have a heart-to-heart with Obama. "Are you having any fun at all?" he asked him. "None," Obama flatly replied. "Do you see any way we can make it more fun?" Gibbs replied. "No." So writes President Obama' ... More >>

No Justice: We've bailed out the banks. When do we go after the crooks behind our financial collapse?

Lawsuit Brought by Missouri "Birthers" Hinges on Kenyan Newspaper Article

A lawsuit brought on by Missouri state representatives Cynthia Davis (R-O'Fallon), Tim Jones (R-Eureka) and other "birthers" who believe President Barrack Obama was born overseas, hinges on an obscure Kenyan news report from 2004. As Fired Up! Missouri recounts today, the article appeared online in ... More >>

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

​Socialist. Nazi. Fascist. President Barack Obama has another title to add to his resume: Nobel Peace Prize winner. Yes, this morning the Nobel Committee in Oslo, Norway, announced the selection of Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between p ... More >>

WTF? Obama Wins NHL's Lady Byng Trophy, Too?

flickr.com/photos/brj_bringin_the_shit_up_in_here_bitchesThe Lady Byng Memorial Trophy would look swell on Unreal's desk, n'est-ce pas?​Unreal thinks we are just as worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize as President Obama. We have just as frequently expressed our support for world peace, though it's tru ... More >>

Pi Fight!

​RFT scribe Kristen Hinman has an interesting article on our food blog Gut Check about an ownership squabble at the popular Pi Restaurant -- a.k.a. Barack Obama's favorite pizzeria.Check out the details of the "Pi fight" here. 

The Morning Brew: Thursday, 9.10

​ President Obama endorses higher taxes on soda to help fund food stamps. (Kansas City Star)New FDA rule and reporting systems aims for contaminated food to be reported faster. (The Boston Globe)September 21 issue of The Nation focuses on food, with writings by Alice Waters and Michael Pollan ... More >>

Measured Thoughts on Obama's Health Care Speech

cnn.com​Did you watch President Barack Obama's speech last night to Congress? If not, you can view the entire 48-minute address here. Overall, I thought the president's plan seemed to make sense as well as address some of the sticking points conservatives have with the bill. But then, what do I kn ... More >>

Whoops! Four of the President's Men Burned by the Internet

Following a speech yesterday billed as an effort to brainwash the youth of this nation, but turned out to be nothing more than a harmless pep talk (how shocking!), President Barack Obama took time to answer questions from high school students in Arlington, Virginia. One of those questions came from ... More >>

Laura Bush Defends Obama's Right to Speak to School Children

Former First Lady Laura Bush sat down yesterday with CNN to discuss her husband's presidency and to comment on the first nine months of the Obama administration. Asked about all the fuss over the President Barack Obama's televised speech today to school children, Bush told CNN: "I think there i ... More >>

St. Louisan Looking for Cheap Health Care Ends Up In Mexico

toddalbert.comChina may be cheaper, but Mexico is closer...​Ahh, it's a beautiful sunny day and all is well and good in the anti-health-care heartland that is St. Louis. It seems like just yesterday that a few ass clowns were inciting a near-riot at a town hall meeting on health care and today com ... More >>

It's Official: Obama to Drink Bud Light at Today's Beer Summit

​Earlier this week we speculated on which brew President Barack Obama would enjoy at today's "Beer Summit" called to diffuse the tiff between Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge police officer James Crowley.Gates is said to be partial to the Jamaican beer Red Stripe. While Crowley prefers microbre ... More >>