First Lady Michelle Obama participates in a pre-Easter celebration with military families and children at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, April 4
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President Obama signs the STOCK Act into law at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, April 4. The STOCK Act is a bipartisan bill that prevents members of Congress from trading stocks based on nonpublic information they gleaned on Capitol Hill
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Liberal Librarian: Can we call it “fascism” now?
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The First Lady and Dr. Biden’s Joining Forces tour schedule:
Wednesday, April 11:
White House, 11:00 AM ET – Anniversary Celebration
First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden will honor the 20 finalists of the Joining Forces Community Challenge at the White House. The finalists will be joined by the Challenge’s notable judges, Tom Brokaw, who will deliver opening remarks, J.R. Martinez, San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, USO President Sloan Gibson and Deanie Dempsey, wife of General Martin Dempsey.
University of Pennsylvania, 2:15 PM ET – Nurses Nationwide Join Forces to Support Veterans and Military Families
First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden will announce a major initiative by more than 150 of America’s leading nursing organizations and more than 450 nursing schools in 50 states and territories to ensure our nation’s nurses are prepared to help meet the unique health needs of service members, veterans, and their families.
New York City – The Colbert Report
First Lady Michelle Obama will appear on The Colbert Report to discuss her Joining Forces initiative.
Thursday, April 12:
Shreveport, Louisiana, 1:15 PM CT / 2:15 PM ET – Announcing Joining Forces’ 50,000th Hire
Last August, President Obama announced a series of policies to increase veterans’ employment and asked the First Lady and Dr. Biden to lead an effort through Joining Forces to challenge the private sector to hire or train 100,000 veterans and military spouses by the end of 2013. Well on track to exceed this goal, First Lady Michelle Obama will travel to Shreveport, Louisiana, to announce the 50,000th veteran or military spouse to have been hired by a company through the Joining Forces initiative. Mrs. Obama will visit the Kansas City Southern Railway Company, which has aggressively hired veterans in the last year because of the unique skill set that they bring to the job
Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, 6:00 PM ET – Honoring Young Women from Military Families
First Lady Michelle Obama will invite young women from military families to a celebration honoring their service to our nation as members of a military family. Mrs. Obama will deliver remarks to the high school junior and senior girls and their parents and reveal surprise guests who she invited for this special occasion.
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More here
The Obama Diary 
hi people
Congrats on first!
Winner!!!!!!
just got in and this is the first thing I see. All I can think is lucky for him that precious little baby didn’t decide it was a good time to hurl.
Okay back to regularly scheduled programming…… Evening all.
Those babies know they can’t hurl on greatness…:)
What I noticed was the mother’s relaxed stance as compared to those parents who often have a hand or two extended in anticipation when Willard is holding their child.
Hello
Here dreaming…. that young boy looks like me!!!
lol
Look at our beautiful FLOTUS!
Is it me or does it look like FLOTUS colored her hair brown? I colored my hair that exact color once and I really like it but it started breaking so I went back to black.
Love the First Lady and Jill Biden and their work. Beauty inside and out.
I am so proud of Dr. Biden and First Lady Obama for their work with military families. We need to give them a honor.
Ditto…I love both Dr. Biden and FLOTUS, two genuinely wonderful, kind, sincere people who have the similar spouses who are also wonderful, kind, and sincere…they both found a perfect match in spouses.
Hey, is there a prize for consistency?
😆 😆 😆 Thanks…. I think.
My son (supposedly studying for exams) heard me laughing and came to see why. He found it particularly funny too.
Booby prize???……Oh the dirty jokes I could come up with.
Behave!! 😆
Aw, c’mon Chips. Why stifle UT’s creative expression? 😉
Yes, behave UTAL! The thoughts you put in my mind! Between you/TOD and Chips all my little innocence is being slowly eroded, and once gone it cannot be recaptured. 😯 😉 Once I saw the take you guys had on Ann’s zipper comment it has become my default mental reaction to Willard and zip in the same sentence, totally overshadowing my own initial take. Ugh!
Thanks for the plug, Chips!
And where’s my girl UT? CHELSEA! CHELSEA! CHELSEA!
(Of course they play Barcelona next, so, you know, it was nice while it lasted.)
I’ll confess, I 😥 when your lot got the second …. con…choke…gratulations
Your girl is right here LL. Screaming CHELSEA! CHELSEA! CHELSEA! Goooooooooooooooooooooo BLUES!
Guess my naked rain dance worked again. I’m going to need you to do your own naked rain dance to see if we just might – long shot I know- kick Barcelona’s ass.
“Guess my naked rain dance worked again”
😯
So you’ve been full clothed and sitting down for most of the season?
/Runs for hills
You’d better hope that hill is on Newt Gingrich’s moon colony.
😆
Ooooo. I wanna see the nekkid rain dance.
Drop $10,000 like Romney. 😉
Put it on my account, eh? 😀
Maybe Messi will get sick with explosive diahrrhea?
Oh, who am I kidding? He’s a magical little elf whom no one can stop. We can only hope that Ashley Cole scissors him a couple of times.
Bo’s thoughts on Easter bunny ears = “This is some bullshit!”
That’s exactly what he’s thinking! 🙂
LOL!
No, no, Jessica, Bo isn’t thinking that. I imagine him thinking yes the rabbit ears is a royal pain, but I’ll do it for Mom Obama because she treats me like a king, a real member of the Obama family. I am bless to be with them and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for that woman.
PBO and FLOTUS’s pictures aren’t air brushed and this is what amazes me: They both have such flawless skins. My goodness. BAM! It hits you right in the kisser! Wow. Just wow. Love it.
Pretty First Lady! Love the flip. And look at Bo looking all adorable! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
I feel like Chips set this post up just for me. I am rather self-centered that way.
I thought of you as I clicked ‘publish’, Japa!
Here’s Rep. Paul Ryan stumping for Mitt Romney:
“Anybody fill up gas lately?” Ryan asked. “I mean, I filled up my truck last night and I couldn’t even get it to full because it cut me off at $100 — the credit card wouldn’t even let me buy any more gas. It’s ridiculous.”
$100 at $4 a gallon is certainly a mighty big tank to fill up. What vehicle is Paul Ryan talking about? Because Forbes magazine recently did a profile of the Most Expensive Fill-Ups, and the only trucks on this list got at best 11 MPG. In other words, if he’s putting up $100 to not even fill his tank all the way up, Ryan is driving one of the biggest gas hogs available out there — even the H3 Hummers get better mileage.
Maybe he borrowed one of Anne Romney’s couple of Cadillac Escalades, with a 31-gallon tank (and remember, the bigger the tank, the worse the mileage, because a pint’s a pound the world around and heavier = less efficient); the model Mr. and Mrs. Romney drive gets 12 MPG combined highway and city driving.
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I wonder what kind of vehicle he is driving ????
I don’t know, Linda, but I do know that I looooove my little Toyota Corolla! As much money as he makes, Ryan should be ashamed of himself for complaining about what it costs to fill his gas tank. The socioeconomic status of many of the people he’s hoping will vote for Romney and himself in November are in no way comparable. The more stunts he and Romney use to try to paint themselves as “Averages Joes,” the more awkward and out of touch they look. PBO and VP Biden and their families do actual community service, but Romney ridicules anyone who would “lower” him/herself to do anything to help their communities. They’re so stupid that they can’t see how offensive it is to malign community organizers.
And using premium if he’s paying $4.00 a gallon in Wisconsin.
You remember that pic of him having lunch with a lobbyist and on the table were two bottles of $350 wine? Fuck him.
Obama Biden 2012!!
OMG I despise Romney. What a fucking liar.
collegekay, I feel the exact same way about Mitt ‘the flip flopper liar” Romney.
You and me both. I can’t wait to slap the taste out his fucking mouth.
I’m glad to see such quick responses to Romney’s lies.
As an outside observer, this is the greatest video contrast between a real president and a suck up.
So, according to my math, that’s 50K more jobs than John Boehner has created.
WOW! That first photo of our FLOTUS stopped me dead in my tracks. GORGEOUS!!
What is so special is FLOTUS is lovely on the outside and inside. You see it when she is with kids and adults, specially kids.
New OFA video, fresh from the cam. Should be titled, Romney, you shapeshifting lil bastard.
Damn, Chips got me on that. Well, I got one from Bill Burton’s group.
Excellent anotherslyfox, thank you!
Michelle is such a “Mom” the Kiddos love her & crawl right into her lap. I love Bo with the rabbit ears. He’s such a sweet patient dog & Dang! I want a BO dog for my own self!
And I bet he eats neither cat poop nor rocks! (Yeah, Stewie, I’m looking at you.)
I just realized that your puppy’s name is Stewie. I mean I knew his name was Stewie but I just realized it was that Stewie. Ahhh…..Family Guy memories.
I’m surprised you didn’t name him Rusty Venture, or Hank Venture, or Dean Venture, or The Monarch.
As much as I love Venture Bros., I love Family Guy more. And, really, Stewie looks like a Stewie. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, but a sweet dog.
LOL! I bet Bo would eat cat poop if he got the chance. For some reason most dogs seem to love cat poop. About rocks, some will & some won’t when they are pups & Stewie is still a baby. Be grateful if he is not also eating your shoes, through pillows, maybe your couch or the upholstery in your car, lol.
Make sure Tom Brokaw gets a Special Engraved Announcement!
…don’t forget Matt Lousy and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce…
Bo should wear bunny ears year round. They make him look even more adorable.
#PRESSON
Oh man, look at Michelle. Stunning.
Ann Romney my butt.
It’s the media and Republicans who are trying to convince us about how great Ann Romney is. I’m not buying it. She is just like her lying husband.
The same media and Republicans who tried to convince us how great Sarah Palin was.
You are right on hopefruit2 about that.
agreed.
Yet she’s not POTUS or in any position of power and has created more jobs than the GOP.
There’s something wonderful and sad about that.
HEADLINE: Why Jeffrey Toobin Is Wrong About the Supreme Court and Obamacare
// Instant punditry insisted that health reform was doomed. But Justices Roberts and Kennedy’s questions actually suggest the opposite. “This was a train wreck for the Obama administration. This law looks like it’s going to be struck down.” And with that hyperbolic instant reaction, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin prejudiced media coverage of the Supreme Court arguments on the constitutionality of Obamacare. But reading the entire transcript carefully, I wondered if I was reading the same thing Toobin witnessed inside the court. To be sure, the conservative justices posed a few hypotheticals, the gist of which were: What makes health care different? Why can the government make you buy health insurance, but not broccoli or cars? But that was to be expected. Judges often play devil’s advocate to test the strength of competing positions. What would have been truly shocking is if the justices had not probed for a limiting principle, since it’s become a standard line of questioning. //
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/04/why-jeffrey-toobin-is-wrong-about-the-supreme-court-and-obamacare/255441/
Funny that the MSM missed all of that and instead focused on Toobin’s shiny object.
Bueno! Saw on TPM the other day that “Toobin is sticking by his grim prediction”. I hope when he’s proved wrong that he will eat grim crow.
I know no one has a crystal ball so I should say if he’s proved wrong..we shall see.
..that’s what I am saying..JT has been wrong on just about everything.
Just got this from the National Women’s Law Center fighting to protect women’s health care. I will NOT be denied
Just a headsup for everyone here… marabout/Haichico(sp) left a tweet that she is now homeless.. I’ve tweeted her offering help.. I just want all of you to know as she is a member of this TOD family.. who came w/ us from dkos.. to BWD’s site to here.
She just tweeted back that she needs a home for her dog right away- I believe she’s in NY.
OMG. Who’s in NY and can help her???? Any more info???? She is in my thoughts. Truly in my thoughts.
nothing more DF.. she said her phone was going out.. she had snapped a pic of her bit of stuff on the street.. there were several folks trying to help her find a place for Tucker her dog (on twitter).. apparently there is a place that opens in the morning that she can call for pets. Her idea was to then take the train to a shelter for herself.. but no where to go for tonight that she could stay w/her do. It just now dawns on me we could have paid for a hotel for her for the night, thats something I could do over the phone. I will tweet her this, so when she’s able to get back on she’ll know she doesn’t have to sleep on the street tonight. slow thinker me.
sherijr…..you are so kind to do that for her…and lunarsea offering a home. I had no idea that this was a possibility for her. My thoughts and prayers go out to her…I hope that you can get a message to her about a hotel before her phone dies. Tucker needs to be with her…he’s probably scared and confused:( Hugs to you,sherijr…..this is a family that cares for each other, and I just could not contain the tears.That could be me.
I would do it if I knew how, can someone setup a Paypal acct for her? I am willing to help, I am in California, willing to send money.
Chipsticks have my email. She can come stay with me. Tell her to email me and I will go pick her up tonight.r
Oh Pat, that’s just fantastic. I tweeted Hachikō to let her know about these offers, just praying she’ll get in touch soon. Thank you so much.
How sad. I am too far away to help with my shelter but will send prayers for her safety and that of her pet.
Thanks for the pictures of FLOTUS, you guys know how I feel about FLOTUS. I think the world of her. And POTUS too.
Ann Romney and the Republican women are running around saying we women don’t care about birth control. Next thing you know they will be saying we don’t care about health insurance. So we women don’t care about men folks telling us what we can do with our bodies, we don’t care that these men can pass laws saying if we want a abortion we have to allow men to go in our vagina, we have to answer private question about our sex lives, we have to have ultra sounds. Yes we want jobs, but we also want our rights we fought years ago. We want Republicans to get the hell out of our bedroom, unless we invited them there.
this really made me laugh, suspicious white guy accessories
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/04/1080341/-Suspicious-white-guy-accessories
Marabout, you and your dog can stay in my large house on 30 acres in Maine. It’s a good place to refresh, reflect and restart. If you would like to, get in touch via TOD
LunarSea, you are so beautiful.. I will tweet her immediately 🙂
Very commendable Lunarsea. Hope that it all works out for Marabout . thanks for making TOD so practical.
She said her phone is about to die right now, so can’t get on here.. she’s literally on the street right now w/ Tucker her dog, trying to find something that will allow her & her dog to stay for the night.
I gave her your exact mssage.. and offered to help her pay for a moving truck (if she was able to get her stuff.. and depends on cost too)
I feel so helpless right now. I want to do something to help her & Tucker.
Please ask Chips to email me. I do not comment much but I remember her from her drive to NY. I know she is Jamaican and so am I. Where in NY is she? I have a sister who lives in NY. Please ask Chips to email me as I do not remember her email address. I will see if my sister can help her.
Chips email…. theobamadiary@gmail.com
Astoria, NY
So sorry Joy, only just dropped in and saw your message in pending. I had no idea what was happening with Hachikō (marabout40 on Twitter), just read her tweets now. Please let her be able to recharge her phone so she can keep in touch. Will email you now Joy, is it the address you used to sign in here tonight?
Yes it is Chips.
Thanks Joy, just emailed you.
Thanks. Responded
You’re awesome Joy.. thank you all. I just got a twitter message from another person willing to help pay for her trip- if necessary and if she chosses to go to Maine.. or wherever.
Thank you too Chips, so glad you folks are on this too, I’m very concerned for her. Thanks too symmetry 🙂
I’ve also left a msg w/ one of my sons in MD.. that if it comes to it and she decides on Maine, or wherever could he take a little time off and help her get there.
Hey Sherijr, I am willing to help get her there also. Keep me posted & I will do what I can.
I’m crying here, guys. What a wonderful family we have. Literally…tears are streaming down my face
I will symmetry, thank you so much… and please Chips et al if you hear from her first, let all of us know~ thank you all – I was so worried for her.
I sent her a message asking her to call or text me so that I know that she & Tucker are ok. I will let you all know if I here from her. I may send her a FB message also.
Symmetry, do you know if she has any family in New York? Is her son far away? I’m just clinging to the hope there’s someone nearby who can help her tonight.
thank you symmetry. I too tweeted her again to let her know I could pay for a hotel for the night for her and Tucker. She’s still off line it seems.
OH NO…..I talk to her on twitter all the time. She is the best. Oh my goodness. I hate to hear this. Chips, I would love to send some funds her way. Oh, no….I had no idea. This really makes me sad.
Chiosticks If you hear from her tell her to e mail all me. She can take a cab to my house or I can go get her. Wish she had said something before.
If you can reach her tell her Pat says she can come stay with her. She knows me. We were in touch for a bit. She has my e-mail. I live in Manhattan so I know she is not far away.
like the boss say, “we take care of our own”
Exactly, we ARE our Sister’s keeper.
I am sure she is not far away from where I am. Tell her to e-mail me if she still has my e-mail.
Thanks guys. ChipsChica should have my email. In any event there is the immediate need of the moment. I hope she is alright tonite.
Chips has my email. I would be happy to send some money to help. Love hachiko
So sweet. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Ahh LunarSea, you are an Angel, you make me proud of people like you. May God Bless you Real good 🙂 🙂 God bless you
Bless you, LunarSea! Free days in the heaven of your choice.
Great news for Stephen Colbert! I saw this coming — his work on this was so spot on, enlightening, and whip smart!
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Stephen Colbert wins Peabody Award for SuperPAC satire
http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/04/11020422-stephen-colbert-wins-peabody-award-for-superpac-satire?lite
Comedy show “The Colbert Report” won a prestigious Peabody Award on Wednesday for its segments on SuperPACs, in which host Stephen Colbert launched his own SuperPAC as a satirical protest against political spending.
The Peabodys, the oldest in broadcasting, recognize excellence in television and radio broadcasting, as well as by webcasters, producing organizations and individuals.
It was the second Peabody for “The Colbert Report,” Comedy Central’s satirical look at current events and the news.
“Launching his own SuperPAC as a satirical protest against megabucks politics, Colbert mixed cerebral comedy with inspired sight gags, interviews and preposterously funny monologues,” the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, which administers the awards, said in a statement.
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Extremely well-deserved in my opinion!
Oh boy, we’ll never hear the end of this. LOL…
He should have way more awards than The Daily Show.
MEDIA MATTERS CARTOON: “PLAYING THE RACE CARD”
Playing The Race Card
http://mediamatters.org/blog/201204040011
It’s a GREAT DAY in America!!
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BREAKING: Progressive Movement Compels Coca-Cola To Pull Support From ALEC Over Voter Suppression Efforts
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/04/04/458591/progressive-movement-compels-coca-cola-to-pull-support-from-alec-over-voter-suppression-efforts/
Prompted by a petition campaign by the progressive advocacy group Color of Change, Coca-Cola has pulled its support from ALEC, a right-wing corporate-funded front group which has been pushing voter restriction efforts around the country. The company released this statement moments ago:
The Coca-Cola Company has elected to discontinue its membership with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Our involvement with ALEC was focused on efforts to oppose discriminatory food and beverage taxes, not on issues that have no direct bearing on our business. We have a long-standing policy of only taking positions on issues that impact our Company and industry.
Impressively, Coke’s retreat came just five hours after Color of Change announced its petition, which read: “ALEC has pushed voter ID laws which disenfranchise large numbers of Black voters. Along with the NRA, ALEC also pushed a bill based on Florida’s ‘shoot first’ law – which has shielded Trayvon Martin’s killer from justice – into two dozen states across the country.”
Just this morning, the Center for American Progress released a report highlighting ALEC’s role in voter suppression… [more in the article]
wow that’s huge!
BEAUTIFUL! I have so much respect for Color of Change!
I was just thinking the other day that these horrible laws would have to be attacked not only legally, but financially as well. It’s a shame it has to be that way, but the only thing these asses respond to is the dollar.
ALEC needs to be taken down — imagine people’s hard earned dollars being funneled through corporations to groups that are directly working against the people. Pure evil. It’s really about time that common people recognize their own strength.
What about Kraft Foods, UPS, Bell South, Coors, & American Express, et al. We need to start going after them also.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ALEC_Boards_and_Task_Forces
Enough Said!
https://www.youtube.com/v/b6f44HxdF_o?version=3&hl=en_US
Let me try:
Thank you Liberal Librarian.
Does anyone know Chips’ email? I would like to send her my phone number so Marabout can take me up on the offer. Thanks
Hi LunarSea, my email is theobamadiary@gmail.com
I’ll keep checking Twitter to see if Hachikō gets her phone recharged.
Thanks to you and everyone trying to help, you’re great.
Let me know. im in lol i dont know whats wrong but im here
Thanks so much Redbird. Sherijr let us know earlier that Hachikō (https://twitter.com/#!/marabout40) has been made homeless in New York, with her dog, so all these good people are trying to help. The battery on her phone died so she hasn’t tweeted in a while. Just hoping she’ll get it going again so we can pass on these messages. Thanks Redbird.
got it above and sent an email w/ my phone numbers
is there a way for us to chip in or something? how would we go about doing that?
Yes, Chips, let us know how/where we can help. Please.
What a generous and beautiful offer it is, LunarSea. Many hugs.
Memo To Fox: Bush Criticized “Unelected” Judges
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Right-wing media have been on the attack against President Obama since he responded to a question about the Supreme Court’s consideration of the Affordable Care Act by pointing out that conservatives criticize “unelected” judges who engage in “judicial activism” to “overturn a duly constituted and passed law.” As we pointed out yesterday, Obama is correct: conservatives have for years railed against “unelected” judges who rule in ways they dislike.
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And here are remarks Bush gave to the Federalist Society’s 25th annual gala, in 2007:
For the judiciary, resisting this temptation is particularly important, because it’s the only branch that is unelected and whose officers serve for life. Unfortunately, some judges give in to temptation and make law instead of interpreting. Such judicial lawlessness is a threat to our democracy — and it needs to stop.
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http://mediamatters.org/blog/201204040018
I heard a snippet on Randi today talking about the same thing….she even played FDR…which I thought was very interesting
Gingrich said he would haul the justices in to explain decisions he didn’t like. Said he’d send the sergeant at arms after them if need be. No outrage from the right about that.
GOP Pollster Frank Luntz Rolls Out New Attack Line On Hannity’s Radio Show: “Who’s Going To Pay For This?”
WhoWhos
Whoa. Keyboard with a mind of its own. That’s the best Luntz can do?
Who is going to pay for Ryans tax cuts? Who is going to employ all of the unemployed from his drastic cuts?
Who asked this question when Bush’s wars were unpaid for?
Who’s going to pay for what? Paul Ryan’s tax cuts to the millionaires and billionaires.
Wait…., Mika is Moderating a Womans Forum, for the WH on Friday?
Mika???
Are you talking about Mika from Morning Joke?
Just got a chance to view the “Fired Up, Ready to Go!” video — LOVED it.
Hi everyone, I started a new thread about Hachikō, just so we can gather any thoughts on how to help:
http://theobamadiary.com/2012/04/04/hachiko/
You can carry on chatting about news and stuff in this thread, thanks everyone.
The law that passed in a lame duck GOP congress in 2006 to fund the post office for all current and future employees which is bankrupting the post office, why didn’t the Democrats overturn that law when they got into office? Poor PBO has to carry this party on this back as well as the rest of the world…the Dems as a group need to put things in high gear and keep up with PBO come 2013.
Hi All,
I ‘ve been a lurker for sometime and i’ve fallen in love with the TOD family, there isn’t a day i am not online checking you guys out. You guys make me feel so proud with the caring and love you have for each other and especially for for the First Family. Ms Chip i am in awe of you, keep up the great work. I jump in to say I am NY and I am willing to help hachiko if she is still in need of place tro stay tonight. Both she and her baby (her dog), both are welcome.
Please Ms Chip you can email me and let me know and i can email you my BB#, so she can call me.
Wow, that “Mitt vs. Reality” video is the cat’s meow. Does anyone else notice just how shrill, whiny, and just kind of annoying Mitt sounds when played back to back to President Obama? There’s just something grating about Mitt’s public speaking style, and placing it next to Obama’s smooth, confident sonorous, baritone just makes it that much more stark. I think the campaign may be onto something with this tactic. Mitt sounds like he wants to nag the country, not lead it.