raise your hopeful voice ….and give the day a chance to start

night everyone

President Barack Obama talks with Vice President Joe Biden on the Colonnade of the White House outside the Oval Office, June 20. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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THE FIRST LADY IN SOUTH AFRICA – TUESDAY:

Mrs. Obama will start her day by traveling to Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, where she will meet with President Zuma’s wife, Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma, at the official residence of the President.

Mrs. Obama will then remain in Pretoria where she will attend a reception with South African leaders organized by the U.S. Embassy

Mrs. Obama and her family will visit the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, meeting with Graca Machel, Former First Lady of Mozambique, and wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, who will give them a tour of the Foundation and provide a private viewing of former President Mandela’s archives.

Finally, Mrs. Obama and her family will tour the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg

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For LisaLovesObama 😉

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Sorry I wasn’t able to be around much today, hopefully tomorrow will be better 😉

when a prediction isn’t a prediction

Greg Sargent (Washington Post): Under heavy pressure from Democrats and some reporters, McKinsey and Company has finally released the methdology of its study finding that many businesses are likely to drop insurance for employees as a result of the Affordable Care Act.

…..what’s immediately of interest is that in its statement, McKinsey repeatedly concedes that the study should not be seen as a predictor of future behavior. While McKinsey says it stands by the study’s methodology, the statement repeatedly stresses its lack of predictive value. This seems like a way of dealing with the fact that many other studies – unlike McKinsey – found that there would be minimal impact on employer-sponsored insurance.

….people might have thought the study was intended to be predictive because its initial headline was:

‘How US health care reform will affect employee benefits’

….I wonder how many of the news orgs that covered this study as a prediction will now cover the concession that it wasn’t intended to be a prediction.

More here

More from the White House and Steve Benen

a week in africa (video added)

First lady Michelle Obama holds a bouquet of flowers, and daughters Malia and Sasha are draped in blankets given to them upon landing in Pretoria, as they begin their week long trip to Africa

FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA’S VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA AND BOTSWANA

MONDAY, JUNE 20 – JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

 First Lady Michelle Obama and her family will arrive at Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria, South Africa.

TUESDAY, JUNE 21 – PRETORIA & JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

Mrs. Obama will start her day by traveling to Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, where she will meet with President Zuma’s wife, Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma, at the official residence of the President.

Mrs. Obama will then remain in Pretoria where she will attend a reception with South African leaders organized by the U.S. Embassy

Mrs. Obama and her family will visit the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, meeting with Graca Machel, Former First Lady of Mozambique, and wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, who will give them a tour of the Foundation and provide a private viewing of former President Mandela’s archives.

Finally, Mrs. Obama and her family will tour the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22 – JOHANNESBURG & CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

In the morning, Mrs. Obama will travel to the Regina Mundi Church in Soweto, where she will deliver the keynote address to a U.S.-sponsored Young African Women Leaders Forum.

 Mrs. Obama will then visit the Hector Pieterson Memorial, honoring the twelve year-old boy who protested apartheid and was shot and killed by apartheid government police

In the afternoon, the Young African Women Leaders will be divided into three breakout sessions where they will discuss ideas and build connections with each other. Mrs. Obama will visit two of these sessions.

Mrs. Obama will complete her visit to Johannesburg by leading the final group of forum participants in a community service project at a community center.

In the evening, Mrs. Obama and her family will depart Johannesburg for Cape Town at Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria.

Mrs. Obama and her family will arrive in Cape Town at Cape Town International Airport that evening.

THURSDAY, JUNE 23 – CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

Mrs. Obama will begin her day in Cape Town by thanking United States Consulate employees and their families.

Then Mrs. Obama and her family will visit Robben Island – where former President Nelson Mandela was held for 18 of the 27 years he was imprisoned.

Mrs. Obama will invite students from area schools in historically disadvantaged communities for a day-long university “immersion experience” at the University of Cape Town. The University of Cape Town will provide the students with campus tours, discussions with University students and exposure to studying on campus. The students will attend a full day of activities at the University of Cape Town, concluding the day with a visit by Mrs. Obama, who will deliver brief remarks and answer their questions.

Mrs. Obama will complete her day with a visit to the Cape Town Soccer Stadium, site of the 2010 FIFA World Cup matches. There she will meet with Archbishop Desmond Tutu for a visit that will be covered by a pre-established press pool. Mrs. Obama will then meet with organizations dedicated to combating HIV/AIDS in South Africa, including using soccer as a means to convene and educate South African children about HIV/AIDS.

Finally, at the Cape Town Soccer Stadium, Mrs. Obama will join girls and boys from the Cape Town area, including its townships, on the soccer field for activities and drills.

FRIDAY, JUNE 24 – CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA & GABORONE, BOTSWANA

In the morning, Mrs. Obama and her family will depart Cape Town, South Africa for Gaborone, Botswana at Cape Town International Airport.

Mrs. Obama and her family will arrive in Gaborone, Botswana at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport.

Mrs. Obama will visit the Botswana Baylor Children’s Clinic Center of Excellence’s Teen Club that was assembled to teach leadership among teens and encourage young people to teach others about HIV/AIDS. Mrs. Obama will join Teen Club members in a service project at the site for the planned Botswana Baylor Adolescent Center.

Mrs. Obama will travel to the Presidency where she will meet with President Ian Khama.

SATURDAY, JUNE 25 – GABORONE, BOTSWANA

Mrs. Obama will begin her day by thanking U.S. Embassy employees and their families. Following this event, Mrs. Obama and her family will depart for private family safari events.

SUNDAY, JUNE 26 – GABORONE, BOTSWANA

Mrs. Obama and her family will depart Gaborone, Botswana at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport.

First lady Michelle Obama and her mother Marian Robinson look on as daughters Malia and Sasha are given blankets as they land in Pretoria

a perfect fit

Washington Post: CNN’s senior White House correspondent Ed Henry has jumped ship and is now chief White House correspondent for Fox News Channel.

Henry’s hiring is part of additional changes in FNC’s Washington bureau, the cable news network announced Monday. Wendell Goler and Mike Emanuel, who had shared White House responsibilities, have received new assignments.

…Henry’s move is the latest defection of on-air talent from CNN to FNC since January; that’s when John Roberts, who was at the time the latest in a revolving door of CNN “American Morning” co-anchors to be removed from the gig, joined FNC as a national correspondent.

More here

Steve Benen: Ed Henry leaves CNN for Fox News. The guy has always struck me as more of a show horse than a work horse.

‘digital pamphleteer’

I posted this video a few months back, so in case any of you who missed it would like to see it … here it is again.

As you might possibly have guessed (!) from the number of times I post his stuff here, there are few political writers I admire more than Steve Benen (Washington Monthly). What I love most about him is that, unlike most self-described ‘progressives’, when he disagrees with President Obama on an issue there’s no hysteria or personal abuse, he just calmly, rationally and factually argues his point – and there are few people more persuasive than him.

This is a short film from 2008 about his work as a blogger, entitled ‘Digital Pamphleteer’. It includes footage of Mario Cuomo’s wonderful ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ speech.

Read Steve Benen here every day

a merry monday to you all

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Catch up with you all asap 😉