Five years ago: “Words matter” (Wisconsin, Feb 2008)
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MooooooOOOOOooooorning everyone. Another busy-ish Sunday, but, as usual, I’ll be dropping in and out and will update a bit later.
17
Feb
13
292 Responses to “Rise and Shine”
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The Obama Diary 
1st!
Moooooooooorning early bird!!!! Morning everyone!
Thanks for posting this speech. I hadn’t heard it before.
Congrats Don. Good Morning everyone. Great words to wake up too. Happy Presidents Day. Mr. President. You inspire me. Happy Presidents’ Day to all our living Presidents.
Oops. I’m a day ahead of myself. Hope I remember tomorrow is Presidents Day. Guess ill by a mattress today. How did that tradition start?
If Jimmy Fallon can sing about Presidents Day, why can’t I?
Morning Don and TOD.
Good Morning TOD family!
God frosty morning everyone
Oops good morning Don.
Chelsea 4- 0 Brentford!!!!!!! Wooooooooooooohoooooooooooooo. Everyday is Chelsea FC day because we kick ass.
Congratulations UT, and because it’s Sunday I’m going to be nice and not mention that Brentford are 7th in the third division.
And I’m not going to mention that Manchester United couldn’t even beat Real Madrid and got their asses handed to them. Remember when Chelsea trashed Bayern Munich? Yes….I do. That’s a kick ass team.
“….couldn’t even beat Real Madrid and got their asses handed to them”
1-1 away to one of the favorites to win the Champions League? 🙂
Still didn’t beat them. Drew 1-1 with them despite claiming Wayne “Squirrel Head” Rooney as the best thing since sliced bread.
G’day! You know, I really just love that I have no idea whatsoever what Chips and UT are going on about…. 😆
Pamela, Soccer fans are the most passionate in all the sports. The fierce rivalry between UT and Chips, over their favorite teams, is quite normal for soccer fans.
And the search continues.
Dr.Ben Carson appeared on Hannity after being the keynote speaker at the rwnj National Prayer Breakfast in order for Hannity to congratulate him for confronting the POTUS in person at the breakfast. Serious people do not appear on Hannity, but the GOP loves him now.
The embarrassing thing, Bill, is that I didn’t get that he was a RWNJ when he started that speech, I actually thought he was a decent human being. It was only when he started talking about tax and healthcare …. good grief.
Me too – I was mistaken about him when he first came out. But thank goodness Chips, we learn quickly! 🙂
It was the loudest “HUH?!?!” I ever uttered when he started about tax, Hopefruit – true, we live and learn!
THIS!!!!! What a disappointment.
Funny but I thought the same thing. He started with the usual agreable stuff but then he went off about health care, taxes, religion and he lost me
I was shocked. Carson disappoint me he should know there is a time and a place I would have thrown my shoe at him and tell him to STFU. He will NEVER be Barack Obama. That mother Fu@@@r
Dr. Ben Carson is a wealthy doctor and like many wealthy people ho doesn’t want to pay taxes. I don’t care how good a doctor he is, but his views on healthcare tell me that he values making tons of money more than he values healing.
And the harder he will fall.
Another no-name to become a non-entity, compliments of the GOP. They will never understand there is only one Barack Obama. Too bad for them. Pathetic. They are simply pathetic.
They need to stop looking for another Barack Obama. What they need is a presentable candidate who doesn’t inspire projectile vomiting. No luck so far.
Disclaimer: I didn’t hear Dr. Carson at the prayer breakfast, but from what I’ve heard here it sounded like he was inappropriate in his comments, given the occasion.
However, I wouldn’t say he’s a non-entity or a no-name, because in fact I knew of him, as an outstanding doctor, before ever I heard of PBO. I didn’t know his political leanings, I don’t like what I’m hearing of the way he is trying to make his entrance, but I confess that I’m inclined to listen to how he says what he has to say, which is more than I’ve been willing to do for any other republican. I guess what I’m saying is though I know he’s no threat to President Obama, maybe we shouldn’t discount him before listening to his spiel AND getting a sense of his character. Know your enemy, kind of thing. Dr. Carson to my knowledge has more going for him in terms of intelligence and ‘service’ than Romney, Ryan, Cain, Steele or Cantor.
Having said what I have, I’m going upstream to read to maybe hear what Carson’s been up to. I’d also like to add that I find it interesting that he wasn’t apparently interested in politics in all the years he’s been serving, until PBO successfully ‘broke the barrier’ to the highest office. So many didn’t have the will previously to challenge the status quo, but suddenly (in the last 5 years) they have found will to challenge this President. Bunch of opportunists, IMO.
The way that this Dr. Carson disrespected President Obama – who has done nothing to him, as far as we know – tells me everything I needed to know about this character. And to do it at a prayer breakfast, for that matter! And he wasn’t even making sense. He can’t put himself in the shoes of another person, and he has a simplistic view of some very complex problems. He’s the kind of idealistic idiot who ignores the reality that the President has limited power, and that it is Congress’ job to pass legislation. He ignores the fact that there is a limited amount of money, and that some people are in circumstances that are not of their making, and that some people have the chips lined up solidly against them and they need help getting out of those bad circumstances.
Most people just want a fair playing field, so that the hard work they put in is appropriately rewarded with a lifestyle that has some security and stability. They don’t necessarily want to be rich, but they want the rewards to be fair. And they take great pride in their middle class status and their ability to care for themselves and their families and just live at their fullest potential. President Obama gets this. Ben Carson does not. Ben Carson seems to buy into the right wing characterization that there are “givers” and “takers”. And he conveniently ignores the fact that the people in the GOP who make these distinctions draw salaries from taxes paid by the people they seem to despise. Ben Carson is the exact type of person that thinking Americans should work hard to keep him from getting into office.
Good morning everyone, and congrats on first Don! Wishing all of the TOD family a relaxing, happy Sunday.
Good Morning 🙂
Hey Liberal Librarian, wherever you are wake up…wake up…..WAKE UP! Chelsea’s kicking Brentford’s ass 4-0 and YES FRANK LAMPARD CAN!
this guy is a real ‘dick’ in my opinion.. actually has made me rethink Johns Hopkins choice of doctors..
Another one in a long line GOP hoping to be an equal to PBO. I think he is selling a book, too.
Yep, just another repub.. getting attention because as per usual all the media/gop sees is a dark skin male- which is all they think they need to have in order to beat Barack Obama. They’ll never learn, they’ll never get it.
And soon enough, Carson himself will find out.
yes he will… because right now his head is bursting with the attention, wait till he takes a gulp of water.. and they abandon him as their new ‘savior’ 😉 but hey theres always Fox ‘news’ !
No, they don’t Sherijr. They never understood PBO’s magic and they never will It’s really laughable.
The goopers do know that PBO is done running, rite?
obviously they don’t amk, since they’re sure he’s pre-programming our nation’s pre-schoolers to vote for him in the future 😉
PBO is the stuff of the GOPers nightmares. They imagine him everywhere and for all time.
His next ‘Executive Order’ = Permanent President !
They and their friends in the media want to destroy his 2nd-term agenda and gain an advantage for GOP in 2014. That’s what this is all about. Barack Obama still remains their biggest threat – even when he’s not running.
yes! They also believe in their heart of hearts, imo, that all they need to do to capture the black vote is to offer up someone black… it is the epitomy of their racism, their ignorance and their cynicism.
It’s just like their thinking that Rubio will get the Latino vote even though he is a Cuban. Cubans get easy admission to US unlike thse from other countries. They can’t grasp the fact that their ideology leaves most people out in the cold while attacking the rights of women, LGBT, people of color.
Yep, this is the GOPs modus operandi… bring out someone black, brown, female; etc.. and Voila! They never change, never have.. yes they’re extremely extreme right now- but as far as my recollection goes.. the republicans have always been extreme. They will never change their methods, in this case they do see the future, they do know that President Obama has laid a true foundation for future President’s of color- that door is open wide now.. but what they will never ever get is that we demand Quality- he has set the bar higher than any President before him.. and the republicans will ALWAYS fall short, always.
Yes!
Well said, Sheri. People voted for and trust Barack Obama, and they re-elected Barack Obama because he’s earned it. He is a man of character, intelligence, compassion and vision. He also happens to be black. I don’t deny that some people may have been drawn to President Obama because of his race – there’s also no denying that he has proven himself to be a hard worker and to love this country and it’s people. Republicans haven’t yet figured out that people might care about the judgement and character of the man or woman who will make and execute policies that will affect their lives for a long time – that’s why they present these candidates with shallow allure, thinking they can continue to hoodwink families who are already struggling to get by, buy a home, send their kids to college and look forward to a dignified retirement. Republicans just don’t get it.
And this guy is their net savior ? Guess time mag’s next cover is ready.
No doubt. What they really want to do is deny him a legacy. They know that his first term is chock full of wins. But as they found out in the first term, despite massive obstruction, he out-SMARTED them. They will find out again.
My other half, who is unfortunetaly a rwnj, commented on this Dr. Carson by saying, “Now that is MY black hero”. Believe me they are still looking for their version of PBO. Black skin and all! They sooooo don’t get it. So I said to him something to the effect that PBO is not my hero because he is black. He is a second term Democratic President who is working his ass off to save the middle class and the working poor from your party and the corporate puppet masters who own them! It is like arguing with a lump of sludge! Grrrrrrr!
I wonder how your other half would articulate not selecting President Obama as his black hero? He was raised in a single home, got himself through school and elected to be President of Harvard Law Review. Won his way into government and ultimately to the top of his career. He bypassed many lucrative career options in order to help the underprivileged. He’s conducted himself with integrity and treated everyone who’s come into his path with respect – even those who don’t reciprocate (like this Dr. Carson). Why would your other half choose as his hero someone who oversimplifies complex issues and not choose as his hero someone who tackles the tough problems and has a demonstrated record of success (saving the world from a global depression, rescuing the US auto industry, passing health care, defeating Republicans, ending a misguided war, dealing with Bin Ladin)?
This Dr. Carson might be a millionaire and surgeon – excellent accomplishments, to be sure. But, he’s not a role model of how to treat other people – and you only have to see how he treated the President to know that. President Obama is a two time Grammy winner, a Nobel Laureate, self-made millionaire who exemplifies the “American Dream” – and he happens to be President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the world’s largest military force. And he’s a humble servant who treats everyone with respect. I can’t think of a better hero – black or otherwise.
Sarah Palin had God opening doors – and she wrote a book too – doesn’t help
Ben Carson has had several best-selling books already. That is how I first became aware of him well over a decade ago. He has long ago made a name for himself in the annals of science. I don’t want to sound like a champion of his – politically I AM NOT – but I don’t want my TOD family to bury its head in the sand either, only because he’s sidling onto the political landscape in the same manner as the other potential GOP contenders. Since I’m basically ‘landing’ in the middle of this conversation I don’t know if others have already pointed this out, but I sure don’t want us to close our eyes to the full picture. It certainly seems opportunistic, inappropriate (and rude) to me for him to be trying to launch a political career at a prayer breakfast, but maybe we shouldn’t assume that he has no substance because of it (poor political judgement, maybe?)
Ann Coulter has several “best-selling books”, and so do Palin, Hannity and a whole host of other undesirable characters. My only exposure to this Ben Carson is his completely distasteful display at the prayer breakfast. the fact that he can’t recognize President Obama’s efforts, and oversimplifies some very complex problems with solutions that just don’t pan out on examination. Maybe he just needs to keep doing whatever he’s doing in his chosen career, and live the running of the world to those who can do it.
He is another Allan Keys, in my opinion. I am so sick of people who are always invoking God to support their ideological agendas.
Well Mr. Carson in case you are foolish enough to run, you won’t get this Black American my vote.
It’s funny because we always see Dr Carson being recognized during Black History month for his accomplishments. In schools posters of him are put up during the month celebrating him and other great African Americans. When folks recite lists for Black History month…his name is usually on it. So its disturbing and a bit of a shocker to realize that he is just another black conservative that would rather get rid of a law that helps so many of our people. Shocking and sad that it has come to this….
Yep, he’s really rather frightening, all the more so because he is this reputible doctor… whats not left my mind about his ‘speech’ was his thinking on taxes… 10% across the board, even used an example as I recall that a person earning $10,000 a year could pay $1000.. which goes to show how little he realizes $10000 is and what a HUGE chunk $1000 would be for someone living on those earnings. Yet he spoke profoundly about growing up poor.. but there was a lack of recognition I believe in that not everyone can get out of poverty.. simply by not ‘liking it’. His speech left me very cold toward him.. empathy did not appear to be his strong-suit.
‘he spoke profoundly about growing up poor.. but there was a lack of recognition I believe in that not everyone can get out of poverty’
This to me is one of the drawbacks of ‘conservative’ thinking coming from the conservatives we see who have made it – they are narrow-minded enough to believe that because they made it to the top by following certain steps, everyone else could too. IMO they are generally cookie-cutter ‘thinkers’, bent on following a specific formula – they seem to be the same way with their religion. If you do x, y, z, the end result will be a,,b or c. Case closed.
yep, very excellent way of putting it VC.. their thinking often seems to be: if it worked for me.. but doesn’t work for you- well then you are lazy, not trying hard enough.. etc. There are so many issues/ instances of people who try try try.. and success may not come for generations.. because frequently it took generations for poverty; etc to get hold.
IMO, Sheri, another piece of this ‘if it doesn’t work for you, you are…whatever’ theory is that I don’t get the sense that they truly WANT the theory to work for others, because then they themselves will no longer be ‘special’. ‘outstanding’ or whatever. Plus, as you imply, there are so many issues that can impact a person’s success. I am liking dogmatic people less and less as I’ve aged…oops!…matured.
smart point VC- about folks who’ve ‘made it’ not feeling quite so ‘special’ if others become successful. I think there may well be something to that. One has to wonder WHY a man of Dr. Carson’s supposed caliber needed so badly to ‘one up’ President Obama on national tv at a “Prayer Breakfast”. In my opinion he diminished himself.. yet it is obvious that his goal/ hope was to somehow diminish POTUS- and get attention for doing so. He got attention
From what I hear, I think he diminished himself too. The fact that he introduced division into a prayer breakfast, an event that I would think is meant to unify, is distasteful to me. Some people don’t seem willing to consider that there is good attention as well as bad. Of course, what you and I consider ‘bad’ attention may be what he calculated would turn on his prospective ‘base’. Oh well, I do not consider him a threat to PBO and I can see the end in his beginning.
no he is definitely no threat to :POTUS.. I worry though about someone of his stature BSing folks into believing his ideas. I learned long ago, that just because someone is a doctor, professional, celebrity- does not mean they are smart, or fair or even honest.. thus he’s just another republican. 😉
I like Carson but he’s kidding himself if he thinks his little stunt is going to vault him to the top of the Republican ticket. He’s headed for Herman Cain land. This is about getting paid imo because nothing says cha-ching like going on TV criticizing the President.
I had forgotten about this awesome speech…. “I Have A Dream”… Don’t tell me words don’t matter”. Great choice this morning Chips ~ an outstanding reminder that our POTUS knows whats what.. not an ounce of naivety within him. His ablity to hope, to perservere but to recognize how we got where we are, particularly regarding poverty.. and racism, showcases his brilliance and his true leadership qualities. His ability to use WORDS to remind us all of who we are, where we came from- how we proceed in the future- is all right here in this inspired & inspiring speech.
I loved this speech! Also, at the time wasn’t there some controversy because Deval Patrick had used similar phrasing in an earlier speech? But despite how critics tried to tear him down for it, it didn’t work. Words do matter…powerful speech.
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot!!!!!!!!! Onwards to Middlesborough for the fifth round on Feb. 27th.
LOVE the look on this dog’s face, amk!! Thanks for sharing!
Brilliant!!! That look is magnificent!
Classy team! Onwards to the next match.
Aaaaaaaaaand Lindsey Graham brings me back to the reality of what Pres. Obama’s dealing with. I will be cracking up if Lindsey gets primaried.
deleted at Nena’s request
Nena – Just a friendly word here… Whether or not Lindsey Graham is gay doesn’t factor into it. His comments are rude and short-sighted and politically motivated, and do a lot of damage. And if he is gay, it doesn’t then mean that he wants to be an “imaginary woman”. There’s plenty to criticize regarding Lindsey Graham’s conduct of late without resorting to innuendo and insults relating to his much-speculated sexual preference. It borders on homophobia – and that may not be what you intended, but there are people on this blog (gay and straight) who may be understandably offended by connecting Lindsey Graham’s despicable behavior with whether or not he is gay. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other. Just as Christie’s offensiveness can stand separate and apart from his obesity problems.
Thank you. I have friends who are LGBTQ. I have had this discussion of Lindsey with some. I will never hurt any group. That is not how I am. I apologize. I would ask Chips to please delete my comments for I will never, ever say anything to be seem as prejudicial.
I am sorry TOD family.
Nena – thanks for taking my words in the right spirit. Sometimes words have unintended consequences. 🙂
McDonough’s such a delightful and humble human being.
Latest on Obama’s weekend—golf group keeps shifting somewhat. I see a columnist in this newspaper asks, “What is wrong with this country?”, saying there was a time when a population would take great pride that a POTUS had chosen their corner of the world for a getaway. And now everyone finds (fake) reasons to gripe. And he asks, “Does it get any more petty than complaining about a president’s weekend getaway?”
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2013/feb/16/crane-asked-if-president-could-use-the-floridian/
It’s not the country (US population) that has the problem per se – it’s the MEDIA and their Republican followers who are allowed to drive the predominant narratives about this President.
It’s not “everyone” who is griping. I think these columnists need to at least honest about their colleagues’ relentless hostility towards this President. For the last couple days I can say with full confidence that the majority of the “griping” has come from MEDIA reporters – e.g., Mark Knoller, Howard Kurtz, et al., who have been tweeting nonstop and feeding their troll Republican followers fake fodder to complain.
Howard Kurtz wants to prove to Bill Oreily that he is not an Obam Person.
You should have seen Bill O the clown interview Kurtz last week?
Kurtz was practically crying asking for his forgiveness. I never seen anything like it…
When has Kurtz ever been an “Obama person?” And I have difficulty believing that an experienced media guy like Howard Kurtz thinks he ought to go out of his way to attack the President just to reassure the likes of O’reilly that he’s “not an Obama person” whatever the hell that means.
It is the UGLIEST thing to witness middle-aged/senior-aged men stuck in 7th grade!!
Hopefruit, I think you are unfair to 7th graders by comparing their behavior with that of the many media personalities claiming to be journalists.
I stand corrected nath! Kurtz is just a 1st-class jerk.
Howard Kurtz, to my mind has never been one for PBO. He had an ugly tweet yesterday, I guess quoting a story asking if PBO was abandoning Flotus to play golf with his buddies. He’s also very thin skinned. I have traded e-mails with him in the past. He is a FAKE.
These so-called reporters have a streak of TPartism running in their veins. They have a problem with PBO, but they hide behind their pseudo-intellectual platforms. These same people never complained about PBO’s predecessors. They can kiss my RABA! I am so sick of their nonsense.
We need to start pointing fingers at the media for driving this hate towards the President. If you notice, the bulk of fake/dishonest narratives surrounding this President in the last 5 years have been driven primarily by the media. Just the last 2-3 months for e.g., the skeetshooting issue was media-initiated and meda-driven; The issue of PBO hating women and not hiring them in his cabinet was media-initiated and media-driven; The issue of PBO being secretive about drones was media-initiated and media-driven.
I could go on and on and on…..And both the left and the right media engage EQUALLY in this crap.
That’s why for days on end I tweeted the names of t he folks, Erin Burnett, Jessica Yellin, etc., pointing out that they were no different than the people they tend to criticize on the right. All of these people collude with this nonsense.
And it seems even more bitter when it comes to Michelle——checked the aspen times for any news of her weekend—–and that paper posts a bunch of tweets highly cynical and critical of her weekend there. Media needs to start ignoring and highlighting the hateful negativity, stop giving these people attention. The news media have the power to change the perspective, “accentuate the positive”——if they were the least bit intersted in doing something good for the country. All the hate rhetoric spread from hate radio.
“Media needs to start ignoring and highlighting the hateful negativity,”
Why would they do that when it’s they themselves who are soliciting and driving this? I would wager that much of the cynical/hateful comments and tweets are from media folks (and their close associates and acquaintances).
I agree with you 100%. But I just wrote an article suggesting Democrats need to figure out how to batshit crazy too. Ever see the reaction of a toddler throwing a tantrum when you start throwing one too. I’m jus’ sayin’.
I don’t see what they would gain from that except a media already hard wired into GOP talking points making them look extremely foolish.
Where can I find your article Payfax? Thanks.
http://www.thepragmaticpundit.com/2013/02/a-call-for-some-batsht-crazy-democrats.html
Thank you. I’ve seen it, didn’t realize it was you.
Thank you. I’ve seen it, didn’t realize it was you.
I am sorry to say, Media is parts and parcel of the ugly. They only hide behind their jobs. They push this bunk. At least Tea Party and others show their true faces. Many in the media have a double standard for this family. They hide their ugly hands.
My point exactly africa. The BULK of this hate towards our President is driven by the American media – that includes the left, right, Internet, print radio, cable and broadcast networks.
Totally agreed.
Exactly! Well said, AfricaT.
There are haters out there who will fine fault regardless what this President and First Lady does. Alot of them didn’t have a word to say when Laura and GW ran any where they wanted to go. I for one hope Michelle, Malia, Sasha, and Barack enjoy themselves.
I think the WH Press whinge all the time because PBO makes them earn their money. George W only flew between Washington and Texas – Press had that covered & plenty of time to eat drink & be merry. With President Obama taking his policy to the people the press have to wake up & keep up – they don’t like that.
Couldn’t help myself, had to share!
http://youtu.be/L9R-Wrpd8w8 😀
I just hope the administration will not give up on Hagel, conceding control of nominees to the Republicans. There’s a reason the President selected this particular team and he should stick with it. Even though I have no expectation the Republicans will allow a vote when they return.
There is no indication that PBO plans to give up on Hagel. He will be confirmed, and the WH knows it. They’re just upping the pressure for now.
My all time favorite speech. This is a man who not only sees the obstacles but sees beyond them and strategizes to beat through them, over them, around them, and under them while simultaneously destroying them.
Have any of you heard the story about the black nurse who discover that a white father of a newborn baby who the nurse was looking after, told the hospital he didn’t want any blacks looking after his baby, and the hospital took the black nurse off the case without telling her why and sign her some where else. It was put in the record that no blacks are to look after that baby. Some how the black nurse discover this and now she is suing the hospital. To that I say GOOD. The hospital ought to have told that racists father that if you don’t want any black nurses taking care of your baby, then go fine a all white hospital. But as long as the child is here she will get the best of care, regardless what color the nurses or doctors are.
Yup – I read this story on Twitter a couple days ago. Racism is alive and well in 2013. I agree with you 100% about the Hospital and their enabling of this kind of racism.
I saw that yesterday. Disgusting. You are exactly right. They should have told him that if this was not hospital policy. Shame on the hospital. Shame on all who allowed this to happen.
Oh dear Dr. Ben Carson, some people think that you can throw any old black Republican out there to run and suddenly black people will come out in droves to vote for him or her. Memo to GOP, T-baggers and T-hadist, it is not the messenger that will bring black folk to the polls, but the message.
Don, I don’t think the Republicans give a tinker’s damn if Blacks vote for them. Their purpose is to show that they are not the problem…”see, we embrace everyone…how can you possibly suggest we are racists.” They also hope to impart the idea that their staunch resistance to the President has nothing to do with his race.
I am reminded of Ann Coulter’s statement: “Our blacks are better than their blacks.” Stupid all around.
I understand your point FayPax, but if the Republicans really didn’t care they wouldn’t try so hard to find thier next negro of the month, which is sadly what Dr. Carson seems to be.
That isn’t because they care about the Black vote, it’s to appease Independents and fair-minded Whites who are turned off by racism. Look at the Blacks they choose to elevate, or I should say showcase. They are not stupid, they are aware enough to know they cannot malign, undermine, insult and disrespect the President and expect to win favor in the community. They don’t give a flyin’.
see I think they do.. care about the black vote, but not for idealogical reasons.. but for the numbers, for the win.. on the one hand they are trying to find, as Don put it perfectly “their negro of the month” and on the other hand they are working hard to prevent the black / brown vote from occuring at all.. by supressing the vote. What they know, what they care about.. is either getting or eliminating the vote from people of color, which I think is why they continue to work both ends… that is their path to ‘success’. Which again goes to show how truly effed up the gop is.
They may want to ask Alan Keyes about that.
GM Don…
Dr Carson is a distraction aka…Herman Caine…if he wants to run in 2016..but all means…Plz Proceed Dr Carson…
Blk folks …just as Latino Folks can spot jive.(Marco Rubio)…..a mile away…it is in our DNA…lololol
now the GOP need a ~Woman~ to promote…wonder who that will be…
And like always they will be stunned at the number of votes he doesn’t get from the Black Community. So will he if he continues to believe the hype.
right on the money. gop thinks people can’t smell a fake from a mile away
Tweety just brought up PBO’s golf outing on Meet the Press. Very disappointing.
You gotta wonder why no one ever asks…”wonder what the Congressmen will be doing for ten days.” They make me SICK!!
Tweedy trying to impress his Republucan friends on MTP.
I am telling you, the Beltway is a Hot mess.
He wants to be accepted. They are all the same. Only perhaps Lawrence and the Rev Al go on other shows and say what they would say on their own shows.
I believe he truly does have issues with Barack Obama living a certain lifestyle once reserved for wealthy white men. Actually, that’s what’s really bothering the media about this trip.
The same media is dead silent about congress taking 10 days off without doing a damn thing.
GM HF…
there was a segment on the Last Word last week…i think it was Wed or Thurs…in which Odonell.Joy Reid and Chris Hayes were talking about that all the delays and recesses on the part of the Congress was a way dealying action…and how there was a finite amount of time to get things done…and that every delay has a major cost…if you get a chance take a look….
Tweety thinks serving in Southern Africa during the late 1960s gives him the expertise to dissect what pres Obama can and can’t do. He had issues with pres Obama in 2009…Aug….vacationing in Nancutter(sp), MA. He had issues in 2010 too. He had issues that pres Obama goes to HI. His questioning and comments, his TONE have always given him away. The other day he made comments about Arugala…..again….Tweety….deciding what pres Obama should be allowed to do, eat or think….he was down on the SOTU speech….he had issues that night. Dr. Maddow, Ed, LOD, Rev Al all were against his Tone, and dismissive verbiages.
Yes…..I have always written about subtle racial envy with the 98% covering this president. Gwen Iffil was savaged during the VP debate. Many accused her of bias. Yet Not one Journo who is White is ever asked about their biases in covering the FIRST African American POTUS. Then they go around questioning everything he does in those terms. This POTUS is assumed Guilty, Lying…..the skeet…..Birthright…etc.
Pres Obama is the FIRST president that is questioned about every thing….his past words examined and re-examined, his speeches. I have No problems with any of that……if the opposition is treated the same and if that was how the 43rd POTUS’ before him were treated as such.
The delaying tactic of Hagel and Brennan is a proxy for keeping Benghazi in the news.
Hoping and praying that something comes up that allows them to call the President to the Stand.
It’s all they are after, a Hearing to go after The President.
And this would also bring Government and his agenda to a screeching halt.
That’s their plan!
And the media loves it!! 😦 😦
You got it, Jovie. This Congress is a deeply hostile enemy intending to undermine the government at any cost. We must make sure they fail.
“And this would also bring Government and his agenda to a screeching halt.”
The United States government is composed of three branches. What is amazing is people, including idiotic members of Congress, think the government only means the Executive branch. They forget that Congress is also the government. They forget that the Judicially is the government. In my opinion, any one who is opposed to the government has no business trying to be elected to be part of the government.
You could be right, but I think they also simply want to undermine the President’s foreign policy bonafides. It’s about burning time. They put together a scant calendar, now all they have to do is slow-walk every initiative and nothing will be accomplished. Prediction: they claim they are 95% done with gun legislation. Just watch, at the last minute, a republican will have an issue that stops everything in its tracks.
Well FayPax, that might be their plan, but as we’ve observed over the last 4 years, when it comes to Barack Obama, the GOP and their media-enabled plans almost NEVER succeed in the way that they want.
And thank goodness, Hopefruit, but it’s painful to think of where we’d be were they not so small.
Hence, the so called leak on the Immigration Reform outline by the pres.
Agree with you, Jovie. Burn up the clock.
Stop The President.
Or die trying.
Yuck.
good morning TOD congrats on first Don! oh yay my coffee timer went off thank goodness. coffee all around!
The way I see it the GOP is destroying itself not hurting POTUS when they offer up their “analysis” of various things.
For example, Paul Ryan is their budget “expert.” Paul Ryan doesn’t appear to have the slightest undertanding of our economy, referring to a third-rate novel for his beliefs. !!?!?
Similarly, Marco Rubio is their “immigration” expert. As we listen we find out that he is actually opposed to the commonsense proposals senators from both parties put forward. !!?!?
Icing on the cake is the stunningly awful Ted Cruz who puts himself forward as their scolding father Cheney-type voice as if they needed more of those.
All I can figure is that these losers are all they’ve got. Oy vey.
The details of Jesse Jackson Jr.’s long hard fall are indeed shocking. If there was anyone who had every advantage, sent to the best schools, groomed from birth to become someone who could be in position to make a difference, it was him. And I know he’s not the first politician to use his position for personal gain, but you really wonder what he and his wife could have been thinking. Instead of using his time and political power to try to improve situations in his needy district, it looks like he spent all his campaign money and time acquiring personal treasures, an outrageous list of expensive watches and furs and Hollywood memorabilia. Writer notes he has almost nothing positive to note for his time served, only noticed when he would be on the aisle for the photo op as the president passed by on the way to deliver his SOTU speech. (which is the reason those aisle hogs always annoy me—–it’s so self-indulgent and has nothing to do with serving the public well)
A sad, personal and public tragedy—–the kind of politician that gives politics a bad name and keeps many good people from being willing to serve.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-jesse-jackson-promises-0217-20130217,0,7554981.story
I’m surprised nobody noticed the forty-thousand dollar rolex watch he supposedly bought with campaign funds.
MHP, you know goddamn well President Obama wasn’t trying to make men marry the women that they got pregnant, President Obama was saying what ‘he’ would have wanted in “his” life.
Don…
i did not watch this segment…when i heard her coin the phrase daddy politics i knew it was not complimentary…i suppose i will have see the segment before i can comment more….but suffice to say…PBO calling on men to be dads to their children…has been a long standing call in the Blk Community.by both church and community leaders…..as a member of the community..i am proud that PBO echos that call…
MHP, you received criticism because you said some stupid shit.
Do you think the WH leaked the Immigration bill, knowing the GOP would scuttle it?
So, maybe the can use it in 2014?
I don’t think so. I believe he very much wishes to pass immigration reform.
PBO is determined to push the immigration bill foward. what may be happening is that some Dems want to show that pretending that both parties support actual comprehensive reform is not true because the gop just want credit but send foward a hollow bill.
By putting foward the details it proposes, the Dems need to separate themselves from the fake gop ideas. As u can see, these rightwingers do not really support pathway to citizenship – they just want credit for “trying”.
In a way details are forcing the gop to stand up and get counted for what they really believe in.
Doesn’t this remind you of the health care reform fight – gop pretended to support reform until details came up then they opposed it.
Except back then we had 60 senators and the house. Ah the good old days.
But, it’s coming back, the country is getting sick of the GOP.
Based on the discussion of the rightwingers always trying to push someone to be the next President Obama, I think Chips and all of us on TOD should have one ready phrase for it and this is my suggestion:
President Obama, Always Imitated, Never Duplicated
That is for certain.
NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!!! http://boingboing.net/2013/02/16/open-states-search-legislativ.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29
h/t to PoliticalCarnival
After more than four years of work from volunteers and a full-time team at the Sunlight Foundation we’re immensely proud to launch the full Open States site with searchable legislative data for all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Open States is the only comprehensive database of activities from all state capitols that makes it easy to find your state lawmaker, review their votes, search for legislation, track bills and much more.
If you’re interested in your state lawmaker, you’ll be able to get notifications for their actions, a map of their district, voting records, committee assignments, campaign finance records from Influence Explorer, local news articles and contact information. If you’re curious about a particular piece of legislation, Open States allows you to check on its status, find the sponsors, break down votes, view bill text and all supporting documents. Our powerful search capabilities allow you to find similar topics across states and view overview pages for each state, chamber and committee.
Just in time for OFA issues 🙂 Just sayin’….. WiW, maybe you could add this to the tools somewhere??? 🙂
Morning, TOD! Happy Sunday.
Here’s the actual site: THIS IS IMPORTANT STUFF!!!
http://openstates.org/
oh WOW this is AWESOME DF. What a find. The Sunlight Foundation has done a splendid job!
They surely have, alice:) This should be a MUST in everyone’s toolkit..and favorites:)
Morning to you desertflower. You always have some wonderful information your TOD Family, and I so appreciate you so much. Thanks my dear one. Hope all is well with you. ((((Love to my DF))))HZ
Thank you so much, HZ 🙂 You’ll never know how much all of US appreciate you and your goodness here….you are good for our collective souls. Love you back! Going to make sure that WiW knows about this Open States site, so she can add it on her site for all of us to know about.
Good Morning Chips and TOD Family. Do not worry, we will be just fine. POB is a brilliant man and he will also do a great job in this second term. Just remember who we are, where we came from, who we encountered on our journey, where are they now? And please do not forget, when we get to each destination, please make sure we are all there to keep his back.
Though they may try to set every evil stone in his path, they will Not be successful. Something is Greater in the plan for our beloved President Barack Obama. Do Not Ever Forget that. Now have a great Sun., and pray for a great one for our POTUS, FLOTUS, and our First Daughters.
The heck with all of the other drama. Enjoy your Sun. We have won this term, and we will continue to enjoy it, and be in full force to support our president. Now be good to yourselves and enjoy your president. I hope he knock those damn golf balls all the way back to DC with a message on each one for those haters. Now I better move on before I say what I am really thinking in words now. I do believe, “Words Do Matter.” Someone very brilliant said that, right? Love you all so much. HZ
It’s a speech for the ages. Needs to be played often and to everyone. Best answer to his critics.
Morning all you O’s!!!! How goes it on this great getting up day in TODdytown!?!?! There is a much broader issue about PBO pointing out single parenting in the AA community and MHP’s reaction to it. She has a very astute panel on her show this morning looking at it from this very much larger issue. Her observation is worthy of the broader discussion and while she admits her twitter feed blew up, she insists on having that discussion. I agree, the discussion needs to take place and it can be done without folks thinking that it becomes a detriment to PBO or feel the need to defend him. I’m sure that the panel who is discussing this issue on a much deeper level, can shed even more light on this subject, including the fact that single moms would even be part of a gun control or poverty.
Unfortunately, Melissa Harris Perry is NOT acting as an honest broker or mediator in this discussion. She is pushing her own agenda – which began as a misrepresentation of what PBO said during his speech on Friday. This is why the discussion has devolved into a series of attacks on both sides.
I don’t agree that she has an agenda, at least not an identifiable one that I can see. I do think that it is a good thing that this issue is discussed in a broader sense that could never be conveyed in 140 characters. Her panel today brought in varied opinions and different ways of dissecting what PBO said and the impact it may have. There were legitimate comparisons to how his mention of single moms may have implied reference that may lead to an unfair conclusion.about AA single moms. One, that is not laid at the feet of single moms, or even two parent homes in other communities, whose sons grow up to commit unimaginable crimes, including mass murders.
IMO, PBO invited this much needed discussion and MHP sent in the RSVP to have it. She is doing so with more depth and comprehension than she could do on Twitter. So I say, listen to her or anyone else who is willing to have these discussions. We can’t deny that there is a need to look further into this. There is a problem with implying that somehow urban AA single moms are not holding up their end of the bargain. Even if that was the case, then it’s not the President of all America, who should make that implication during a speech on poverty and gun violence and not go further to note that problem in all communities. He did not mention single moms during any reference to the Newtown shootings. Hence, the concern about it being mentioned in Chicago.
PBO is not infallible and if he says something that other folks don’t agree with, it is OK for them to call him on it. They don’t need to be tto feel that they are attacking him just for grins and tickles. MHP is very invested in her community and she feels the issue is bigger than the person who speaks to it, whoever that may be. She supports him politically, but she does point out where they differ. BTW, she screamed to high heavens when Romney implied the same thing, and so did many of us.
Thanks Cookemom, you expressed my sentiments exactly. I’m not a regular, so I didn’t want to seem too imposing and kept trying to figure out how to say it without being critical. You did so perfectly.
Hi there FayPax, welcome. You would not be imposing at all to join in this most lively discussion. Also, believe it or not, you can be critical. When it’s constructive, we should all learn from it and gain perhaps a different perspective. However, be warned, this is a tough bunch when it comes to PBO. There’s a few who have his back, front, head, toe, underarms, finger tips, and are all up in his head. That’s OK, we all support him. We’re family, so jump right on in.
“There is a problem with implying that somehow urban AA single moms are not holding up their end of the bargain.”
Where in God’s name did the President EVER imply any of this?
And it’s rather disingenuous to pretend that Romney’s words were equivalent to PBO’s. You and I (as well as MHP) fully know that two people can use the same words, yet convey completely different messages because of the different contexts in which they arose.
Barack Obama is a black male who experienced first hand having an absent father (who was also black male). Barack Obama is currently married to a black woman and is raising two black daughters. Romney has not had any of these experiences, therefore his words about single moms was decidedly uninformed, and was designed for the sole purpose of pandering to his right-wing conservative base.
PBO is President to ALL single moms in America. If he has something to say to them, then say it in all forums relative to single moms. The Newtown shooter came from a single mom household. BTW, to me, this has nothing to do with PBO’s race, nor his experience, when it comes to him speaking to the whole nation and the world. Now in the room with the young men? Yes, absolutely he should share his own experiences as it relates to how to overcome adversity as he did. By even mentioning single moms implies that somehow single moms bare the burden of the issue. Tell me, why else would it be mentioned? I’m not saying he intended to convey that message, but in some folks minds, it could very well come across that way. Why did it even come up in this particular speech?
Words are words and they have consequences. Romney said it and meant it in a way we all know was as a dog whistle that was not aimed at the AA constituency. PBO said it and I know it was not with the same meaning as Romney, but I’m still trying to get what exactly he did mean. So you tell me, what and why would single mom even be mentioned in front of AA children who have no input in their household dynamic, in an urban setting, during a speech about gun violence. Please help me connect the dots. I sincerely would like to know. However, I am glad it came up, so the broader issue can be discussed. It’s not about PBO, it’s about what it means.
It is about PBO….this is all about PBO…and how he is not to talk about the elephant in the room…
and for many of us who have traced PBO’s career…the status of the Blk Family is not a new issue for him…
i have gone to countless community forums in my time as a community organizer…and we have talked countless times about the BLK family and the impact of having one parent households…
the reason why this is different from Romney is because of the POLICYs that PBO has advocated and laws to back that policy…
i think we have to see the larger picture…
i for one am glad that he dared to raise the issue….
What I mean is that if we concentrate on the fact that MHP questioned the fact that PBO said it, we lose sight of the fact that the issue does need to be discussed. This issue is bigger than the person who said it. It shouldn’t have taken PBO to say it, but I’m glad he did as well. What I don’t understand is why MHP somehow gets dumped on because she dared question it being brought up in the forum it was brought up in. If PBO wants that discussion, then yes, let’s have it. Let’s have it as it relates to the plight of single moms period, not as a seemingly backdrop to a speech about gun violence. MHP had a deeper discussion about it today on her show and folks are still trying to make it about her questioning it. So should she just put her head in the sand? I don’t get it.
Let’s have it as it relates to the plight of single moms period, not as a seemingly backdrop to a speech about gun violence.
**********************************
Because as PBO does with most things…he places things in context…the whole picture…attacking gun violence in the context of family and the community…
What does that have to do with being a single mom? Are you saying that he is implying that “violence in the context of family and the community” is a result of single moms? Hmmm, maybe that’s what MHP heard.
sigh,,,,
that is not what i meant…i meant that there has to be a comprehensive approach to gun violence in the cities…they include lifting familes out of poverty…by using education…better wages…access to health care…improvement of infrastructure….and housing to name a few…creating alternatives and hope to offset this culture of violence…
Chronically absent fathers in urban communities negatively impact children’s psychological development. These households have higher rates of poverty, greater economic and emotional stress on the single parent (most usually the mother), which in turn is passed on to the children. Boys in particular look for outlets to express their frustration and anger and need for validation in gangs, and other such activities. There is no ambiguity about this. This phenomenon has been empirically demonstrated for decades now. Melissa Harris Perry who is a social science scholar should be quite familiar with the literature.
I’m not sure how PBO’s words about black fathers needing to step up could be remotely interpreted as an attack on single moms – if anything, it’s a reassurance to single moms that they have an advocate in the President – someone who experienced first-hand growing up with an absentee father. I would wager that the majority of single black mothers out there who heard PBO’s speech on Friday did not come away with the same message that MHP claimed to have gotten from the speech.
I also believe that AA children should not be patronized – they are not passive, unthinking puppets/victims, they are intelligent, creative and dynamic human beings – and the President spoke to them in that way. By enlisting them as allies in their own communities, black children and teenagers can be a small but important part of the process of change to break the cycle of revolving poverty, premature and single parenthood, etc. By telling these young men that he also wished his father were present, while acknowledging the difference between his environment and theirs, he has validated some of their frustration about not having their fathers present in a hostile urban environment. Do you know what it means to these boys having a highly-respected world leader affirm your experiences in that way?
You got all of that from a tweet?
Pls listen to PBO’s speech again and do not imply things he did not say!
Are you talking to me? I listened to it and I listened to the panel on MHP show this morning. I am not implying anything. I ask the question if this was the forum for the mention and if so, why wasn’t any other forum appropriate.
I agree with you hopefruit2, and I agree with what President Obama said Friday in his speech in Chicago..
So do I. This isn’t about PBO. This is about how single moms are portrayed in urban America. If we get hung up on the fact that someone had issue with what PBO said, just because it was PBO who said it, then we don’t get to talk about the implications of what he said.
“This isn’t about PBO. This is about how single moms are portrayed in urban America.”
If that is the case, why then did the Professor in her tweet suggest that the President was blaming gun violence on single mothers? President Obama explicitly praised the “heroic”(to use his words) role of single mothers raising children against incredible odds. I did not see MHP’s show, and nor do I care to, but I read her tweet, which was a pure distortion of what the President said.
And it’s rather disingenuous to pretend that Romney’s words were equivalent to PBO’s. You and I (as well as MHP) fully know that two people can use the same words, yet convey completely different messages because of the different contexts in which they arose….
********************************************************
TOTALLY AGREE!!
see my response to this elsewhere on the thread. Romney said it to his dog whistle crowd and I’m still trying to figure out why PBO said it in that setting (in front of AA kids in an urban setting). However, the words themselves were pretty much the same. I am not comparing them in meaning, but it is what it is. Implying to many that somehow single moms is tied into the reason he was there giving the speech. I can understand someone feeling being made a scapegoat when my own President singles me out to the world in that forum.
The problem is she misrepresented what the President said. It’s hard to have a discussion no matter how deep if we start off misrepresenting what somebody actually stated. You lose all credibility. The President is not infallible and neither is she.
Amen derbingle.
What’s odd about all this ranting on what she tweeted, is that, unless I missed it, I never saw her actual tweet on the threads here. When this all hit the fan, it was just people passing on what they read on Twitter, or postings of other peoples tweets about what she said. It’s hard to make any conclusion about what she tweeted, if one doesn’t see the actual tweet.
I can’t speak to whether she misrepresented what he said, or if she formed an opinion of what he said. I made the point that he isn’t infallible. I agree she isn’t either, but she is not President of the US. There is a different set of standards in that case.
You don’t get to misrepresent somebody else’s opinion I don’t care what your job title. And it speaks volumes that somebody who’s job it is to inform the public got it flat out wrong then attempted to double down.
Did you see the actual tweet? I didn’t. I don’t know if it was misrepresented or not. A 140 character blurb can’t speak volumes, no matter what. Also, she is a commentator on a cable channel. Her job is to express her opinion about stuff, not to spread the news. I’m not defending anything on this other than a person has a right to question the President and still support him. He can and has said stuff that may concern even his most ardent followers. I do happen to believe that the whole single mom thing could and should have been brought up in a much different setting if we want to have a real conversation about it. This has turned into the personalities involved, rather than the issue itself.
I saw the tweet. I follow her. I listened to what PBO said (all of it – three times so far).
MHP was wrong about what PBO said. He did not say what she tweeted.
Please stop defending her even as you admit that you did not see the tweet. Just what are you defending?
No one has said that MHP (or any other person) has no right to criticize PBO’s speeches.
What most of us object to is criticizing PBO for stuff he did not say. MHP set up this straw man about what PBO said and then she tweted fuming about it. This is wrong when any one in MSM does it.
We spent the last election cycle objecting to this (behavior of putting words into PBO’s mouth, setting up a strawman, creating an alternative universe) when rightwingers did it.
so should MHP be any different & when she does it & if so WHY?
Please don’t tell me what I can, should, or should not comment on or about. I call this a lively discussion. Nothing more, nor less. If you have a probelm with my rebuttals, there’s this thing called, ‘scroll and roll’. I do find it odd that we will see every poot-butt tweet of Mark Knoeller, but somehow the MHP tweet never made it here for anyone to see. I am not defending anything but the right of MHP and anyone else to question what they BELIEVE they understood PBO to say. She went on to discuss it further on her show, which in my mind shed more light on what and why she said it.
Cookemom, MHP’s original tweet has in fact been posted on this thread since Friday when the discussion first started. I’m providing a link to the thread, with the posted tweet, as well as the chain of comments/discussion that ensued.
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/02/15/president-obama-in-chicago/#comment-649299
I have not told you (or anyone here) about what you should or should not comment on.
I just politely requested that if you are going to defend someone for her/his comments or tweets, at least listen or read the content that you are defending – thats all.
Otherwise if you continue to say that others should not criticize stuff that they heard (and/or read) then you are not doing the person you are supporting justice. Furthermore, you are by default impuning those who listened (and read) and are now objecting to the misrepresentation.
MHP knows what she and her panel said (it was also highlighted here). She also knows what she tweeted (which was also highlighted here).
By the way, I admire MHP’s scholarship and that is WHY I expect her to do better than the rightwingers. To whom much is given much is expected.
Furthermore, most of us know that when a person of influence (like MHP) criticizes PBO using things that are not true, then those who are already determined to destroy PBO use these to quote back this unfair criticism. Many are ready to hold up these criticisms to their malicious end.
The issue fo gun violence is a topic where many have deep feelings. If a scholar of MHP’s caliber claims that PBO implied that single mum cause gun violence, this can be used in a devastating way against the community, against PBO and against the push to reduce gun violence.This is the reason I personally feel that she should correct her misrepresentation instead of going on defending words that are not true.
Yes and the subsequent one afterwards. You can go and look at her timeline. This is not about her questioning the President and people are upset. This is about misrepresenting what the man actually said. She can’t blame twitter when she went back again and again to double down on her original point.
And yes this is the exact setting to bring up the single parent issue because places like where PBO spoke on Friday are ground zero. Those young people know better than most sociologists the ramifications of only having one parent. PBO like he does with whatever audience he is in front of treated them with intelligence. The President has been on this subject regardless of who he is speaking in front of from day 1.
Sorry, tell me in what forum, other than in front of AA audience has he talked about single moms, or fathers stepping up to the plate. Don’t get me wrong, the discussion should be had. There’s no better person to lead it than PBO. However, I happen to think it comes up at a different time and not in front of kids who have no input into their family dynamics. This discussion is for the adults who perpetrate the issue.
I didn’t say anything about the color of the audience I just said when he speaks on this subject he treats the audience with intelligence. You can check out wh.gov to see who and where he’s discussed this topic over the last four years. And bringing this up in front of young people is a perfect place for two reasons. One he wasn’t telling them anything they didn’t know and two plant that seed. When I was coming up you could see the single parent household go into overdrive. Now I have seen more young men taking care of their kids than I can rightly remember. Plant that seed.
Was the audience in Chicago composed of only AA? Was the audience in Chicago entirely made up of just kids? Besides, if you are really dedicated to improving the lives of AA what’s wrong with discussing specific impediments that they face? The young men who took away the life of Hadiya were black. In any case, you quickly changed the subject which was all about MHP flatly misrepresenting what the President said. I repeat at no time did the President blame gun violence on single mothers! In fact he called them “heroic” for what they do. If you haven’t listened to the Chicago speech, I am sure it’s still available at TOD.
As someone who saw her actual tweet, I can say that I thought it was a misinterpretation of what he said. She was implying that he was bashing single mothers and she had her tweet out there even before he finished his sentence when he explicitly praised single mothers for their tough job in the next breath. Oh I saw that tweet alright because I was wondering why any comments from her were being retweeted into my timeline since I don’t follow her. If anything, his comment was a knock on fathers who fail to step up and fulfill their obligation to their children.
And it seems to me that much of the analysis of the speech is wrongheaded because people can’t even correctly identity the purpose of the speech. It was not a speech about gun violence. The White House did not even bill it as such and that can be verified for oneself. The overall them was about strengthening the communities and all those factors that help our children thrive. The safety of our communities was one mere facet that he addressed.
Right On derbingle.
“The President is not infallible and neither is she.” Totally nailed it.
the Issue of gun violence is multi-faceted as you know….the gun violence in Newtown is different from the gun violence of Chi town and other “urban cities”..although the results are the same….. dead children and adults…..
….i find it interesting that PBO gets alot of criticism from so-called black leaders about how he does not address the issue of race and poverty in the black communituy but when he does…he gets criticism as well…
PBO has done more than make speechs & give lip service about poverty and families…he has created historic policies around the rights of LGBT citizens…policies and laws as it relates to women/..we here at TOD…may know this better than most…
the legacy of slavery and JIM CROW and its impact on blk families is not a new topic…we all know…or at least many of us know that it is better to raise a child with two parents whether they are same sex or heterosexual…i raised my children alone …there was NOTHING heroic or glamourous about it……when i got divorced..my household income dropped dramatically…and that is just the financial end of it…there are other issues in the family as well…will spare you the gory details…suffice to say it was not easy….
When PBO talks about single moms and their struggles he always balances it with the success stories…of which he is one…but to compare PBO to Romney is dishonest because PBOs policies if not obstructed ….ACA, fair paycheck law. lily ledbettter, minimum wage..pre-school…home owners policies…etc…would go far to improve the life of single women headed families….
i can’t attest to whether MHP has an agenda or not…but i do know that those youth who had a chance to be part of a workshop with PBO gained as much as he did by his being there….
#Trust Barack…because he has earned it…………
See I agree with everything you say here in this comment. If PBO wants to have that discussion, then by all means let’s do that. I think MHP questions whether that forum, that speech about gun violence and poverty was the place to bring it up. There have been many speeches by PBO on violence and he did not mention single moms in any of them. He just gave the SOTU address which covered all kind of initiatives and reference to gun violence and poverty. He didn’t feel the need to mention single moms then, so why in Chicago. That doesn’t mean the subject shouldn’t come up, but how about in a different setting with some ideas about the solution to the problem of single parent households. Again, I’m glad the spotlight is shone on the issue, I just wish we could talk about that, rather than MHP.
Why can’t it come in Chi-town….this is his home…his community..
however it would not matter where he brought it up…there would have been criticism….because that is how it is with PBO….
Not in front of the kids who was the audience. I see it better served in front of an adult audience with the emphasis on how parents, whether single or married, or other can better serve their children and their community, wherever that community exists.
do we know if some of those of those kids are single moms or have seen videos where being a single mom is glorified as the ideal?
The audience was not entirely made up of kids. Besides kids, in this particular instance teenagers, do grow up to be parents! But again, the President’s speech was not about single mothers. To Claim otherwise is another gross distortion.
I wish people would listen to WHAT PBO said and NOT try to imply things he did not say.
PBO did not say urban single moms are not holding up their part of the bargain.
Infact he went out of his way to praise them and giving himself as an example of what their role is.
CSPAN and TOD have his WHOLE speech up.
I know single moms and single dads but I have never heard anyone say they are very glad that they have the responsibility of raising their children alone. May be I know the wrong single parents who long for help
Hi Cokemom and TODers — Just thought I’d add my 2 cents. In a two minute excerpt of the PBO’s comments posted on this site, the President sites his own up bringing by a single mom and calls the job single moms are doing raising their children heroic. So there was no implied criticism of single moms. In fact he specifically praised single mothers. So, if MHP implied that PBO criticized single moms that was indeed a misrepresentation. MHP is an academic and tends to be through, so I will have to watch this later and decided. But as far as what PBO said, it was that single moms are heroic, but he still wishes he had a father in his life. Is there something wrong with that?
These weekly navel gazers aren’t elevating anything. Wanna bet they will move on to the next bright object next week ? Consistency is not their virtue. Remember all the ‘worthy discussions’ on drones ? yeah, me neither. Just as I predicted, that poutrage died its weekly death.
About an hour ago, I watched an interesting piece of AlJazeera on wapo circling the drain. bernstein and woddward stuck with watergate for two years and their editor let them continue for such a long time. Today’s news director’s mandate is all about this week’s ratings.
So I don’t really care for these ‘intellectual’ debates which ultimately achieve jacksqaut for lack of consistency.
MHP has been vary consistent in her discussion on issues that she in invested in, the AA community. She has in-depth discussions every week to that end. She has yet to move on to the next shiny object, because for her, it’s all about pointing out injustices, uplifting a depressed community, and digging deeper than a sound bite on subjects that impact her community. I don’t know of any debate that would be worthwhile having, if there weren’t some modicum of ‘intellectualism’ present.
I am sorry. I am not a fan of bloviators however super brilliant and intellectual they are. I firmly believe that it’s the doers who get things done than the talkers. Obama is the rare exception that combines both of these qualities. I have more respect for doers like Gandhi, MLK and Mandela because of what they did than all the intellectuals of all centuries & countries combined.
I don’t think MHP even remotely puts herself among those you named. I don’t know what she does, other than teach at the university level and host a cable show on the TV. I know she is very active in her home of New Orleans and has been very vocal politically against Jindal. That’s all I know of her so I can’t say if in addition to that, if she is any more active in her pursuit on justice for her community. I think bliovating is in the ear of the beholder.
And yet jindal won…. twice. As I said, bloviators=pretty much politically useless. Case closed.
one person’s blioviator=another person’s educator. So is she to be held responsible because her efforts didn’t pay off and Jindal won? Should she just not continue to encourage the change agents that are needed to make the difference. Wow, Just wow. Each person gets to choose for themselves who they decide is an educator or blioviator for themselves.
“one person’s blioviator=another person’s educator. ”
And vice versa.
BOOM!
So Melissa Harris Perry is back at it again with her segment on “Daddy Issues” Of course, she still can’t get over the criticism she received on Friday from the Twitter brigade, and has now devoted her segment to attacking them.
Soon, we will see her on a poverty tour with Cornell West.
This is just job security, comcast bought NBC whole last week. And every Anchor is scared that they may lose their posh job, so they attack POTUS. Check!
Yup. In a nutshell. It’s all about munny in the end.
maybe MHP is upset because she had personal problems with her first marriage and was a single parent for a while
so by the same logic, another person can attack her as she attacked PBO with “Daddy Issues” by stating that MHP has “more-than-one-marriage-issues”
That would be the same Romney she devoted many segments to trying to figure out how he could win the election.
All of this could have been avoided if she had not lied about what the President actually said.
Well said derbingle, “All of this could have been avoided if she had not lied about what the President actually said.” and now she’s tied herself all up in knots trying to explain what she said.
“All of this could have been avoided if she had not lied about what the President actually said.”
Yes, derbingle! You’ve exactly zeroed on the heart of the issue. Criticizing the President on the basis of a lie was despicable.
OK, why not post the link to the segment she had with the panel on the subject? All this 140 character discussion is mind boggling. There are very LEGITIMATE issues around what PBO implied. Just because she reacted to it, doesn’t make it about “daddy issues’. She never backed down from the criticism, but rather brought in a penal of folks who could address it in a meaningful and insightful manner. The twitter brigade has the potential to destroy full discourse on important issues. It’s like the telephone game, where folks just pass something on to the next person in a few abbreviated words that is opinion, but in a manner that is to be taken as truth. Then timelines get all a twitter and a twatter and a shorthand dust storm prevails all over the universe. The topic itself never gets analyzed. The personality becomes the focal point. There is nothing wrong with having discussions on issues that are important to an entire community. Whether one agrees with the messenger or not, it’s not necessary to twill the messenger, rather how about discussing the message.
I listened to Obama’s speech on Friday, and I saw MHP’s tweet. This was not the telephone game being played. Her tweet completely misrepresented what he said. I also read her subsequent tweets which reinforced her first tweet. She was upset because the President identified absentee Black fathers as a problem in these communities, and a contributing factor to the violence issue.
The topic itself was in fact being analyzed on Twitter – many people provided cited published studies showing the stress of single parenting and the negative impacts on children. Even some Black men on Twitter disagreed with MHP and provided examples of young black males who themselves identified their absent fathers as being a contributing factor to the instability in their households.
It appears that MHP was the one who is bent on being “right” and stacked a one-sided panel. Did you see anyone on the panel disagree with her point of view? And equating Romney’s right-wing pandering speech with PBO’s honest from-the-heart speech on Friday was totally unnecessary, inflammatory and disingenuous.
Unless I missed your answer, I still don’t know whether you actually listened to the President’s speech and then came to the conclusion that MHP twitter criticism was legitimate because it was based on telling the TRUTH about what the President said. The segment on her show is, in my opinion, self-serving and irrelevant.
When I heard MHP tweeting about this Friday, I knew she was going to fine some way to bring that subject up and try to imply that President Obama was blaming single Mothers.
Allright! John McCain and Mrs Graham are on the Sunday shows again. Yay!
Hopefully, one of these days we can see them both get married in a Sunday show.
I can only imagine how long Mrs Graham Train will be, rivals only that of Princess Diana.
🙂
Ouch. You are so bad. Accurate but bad nonetheless.
Jovie – there’s enough to criticize about John McCain and Lindsey Graham without having to resort to these levels. Lindsey Graham’s sexual orientation is his own business. His motivation for following John McCain down this very harmful garden path seems to be purely political, and we should avoid using homosexual slurs as a tool to insult people. It takes away from the very real harm that these people (McCain, Graham, GOP generally) are doing, and it’s offensive.
I love this site. I don’t comment often but forget the critics of President Obama. A lot of them are extremely jealous. Some of them can’t stand having a black President. Some of them could run for dog catcher and lose. Some of them think they are so brilliant they just know everything and they just have give the President their so called words of wisdom. (a lot of so called news anchors and others) You know who is doing the tough job and not running off at the mouth, President Obama.
exactly right!
Just saw Dr. Ben Carson on “This Week” and boy I hope he runs, of course he went straight to the “both sides do it” card.
George Will is wearing his bow tie today. He must really be extra serious about this morning’s subject matter.
Good Morning Tod’s………Happy Sunday:-):-)
LOL!!! I don’t know about this Carson guy….But I do know is This!!!
that is right
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/02/17/1604991/abc-news-calls-out-paul-ryan-on-hypocrisy-over-looming-budget-cuts/
Not to be outdone….Lindsey Graham thinks it’s a FINE IDEA to deny 30 million people healthcare to save the military cuts in the sequester…
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/02/17/1604781/gop-senator-would-take-away-health-coverage-from-30-million-americans-to-avoid-military-cuts/
Why not cut the money from the thieving contractors and avoid cutting the military and healthcare?
Because their souls are so corrupt and rotten to the core, they are all flying around on the fumes from the back part of their souless behinds. Plain and simple for these heartless people.HZ
PBO has always said that his single mom & grand parents did a very goo job raising him & putting everything they had into him – and he said as much on Friday.
Many single parents do a great job – this is undeniable.
I don’t know how children who have not had two parents in the home feel because I am one of the lucky one whose parents have been married for 54 years. Because I do not know their feelings, I would never, ever, try to tell them HOW to feel (as MHP seems to be doing).
A thought came into my mind re MHP: if she trully believes that children (young and also grown) should not say they need a father in their lives, WHY did she feel the need to get married or is her situation special. Hypocrisy maybe
Yes he did, GCL! In fact he called single moms “heroic.” This is what’s so puzzling about MHP’s tweet claiming otherwise.
For LL this morning…just tripping around the internet and came upon this quote from Walter Cronkite….
“Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.” Amen.
About the need for universal background checks, federal gun laws. Almost all the guns used in the gun violence by gangs in Chicago, which has strict gun laws, are coming from over the border in Indiana, which has no gun laws to speak of. This is quite the expose’/investigation:
” (Gun trafficker) would travel to Indiana to these gun shows where he would load up a duffel bag, go from table to table paying in cash…..before returning into the worst neighborhoods of Chicago. He would then sell in the back alleys and side streets.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-guns-gangs-20130217,0,980710.story
Good push back on claims that ‘gun laws are no good because Chicago has very strict gun laws’. I kept seeing that argument for so long and was wondering if it was true. Now I know.
as I predicted yesterday—-I am an all seeing seer. 🙂
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2013/feb/17/president-wakes-blue-skies-cool-temps/
hey you guys so OFA is organizing a gun violence event on Friday. (it’s happening in my state too – they’re doing it at the capitol) There is a Nation-wide online stream meeting. Just in case you didn’t sign up for stuff from OFA yet here’s how you can get back in the groove:
Sara El-Amine wrote thusly:
This Monday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time we’ll be continuing our weekly neighborhood team leader calls — and I hope you can make it!
We’re trying something a little new this week — a livestream where you can join in online.
Click here to join the livestream before the call begins.
Here are just a few of the things we’ll be talking about on this week’s call:
– This Friday’s Day of Action on reducing gun violence
– An update on earned media best practices and issue organizing
– An organizational update, including a sneak peek into the pilot chapters
Thanks for your help as we continue to get Organizing for Action off the ground.
Talk to you on Monday,
Sara
Sara El-Amine
National Organizing Director
Organizing for Action
I was on the call last week and will be on this call as well…going to have to tape that Maddow special on Iraq….
GM All TODville Villagers.
Congratulations to Don on being 1st 😎
Good Morning, one and all! It’s Sunday where I am. Have I made it before noon? I think so.
Yes you did, indeedy! Congrats vc 🙂
Thanks, Hopef! 😆 😆 I’m happy.
Interesting—-descendants of former presidents are meeting in Key West to discuss life after the fish bowl.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/ap/ap/florida/descendants-of-former-presidents-meet-in-key-west/nWQ7P/
Morning TOD, Chipsticks! Hope everyone is have a wonderful weekend.
My last word on MHOP for today.
I listened to MHP ‘s segment that she had LAST weekend and today;
I listened to ALL of PBO’s speech in Hyde Park where he seemed to make the same arguments that MHP herself & her panel (last weekend) had said she wanted him to say about single mums and all other kinds of parents;
I also received MHP’s tweet on Frid (I follow her) where she stated that PBO had implied that single mums cause gun violence. PBO did not say or imply that. He indicated that among other things, families had a role to play. He just added in his discussion that he wishes he had a father growing up. That is how PBO feels and no one should demand that he feels otherwise. It if PBO’s life and feelings not MHP.
I responded to MHP’s tweet telling her that she did not REALLY listen to what PBO said and that she should be honest and compare PBO’s speech to what MHP and her panel agreed on LAST weekend.
The impression I get is that often people listen for what they want to hear and then run quickly and tweet without giving due thought to the whole context. PBO does not often use sound-bites as a speaker and often listening to ALL that he is saying gives clarity. PBO wants us to think.
One thing MHP overlooked is that a group of young men who the Chicago Suntimes interviewed about gun violence mentioned that they miss having a father in their lives and that this causes them and their friends to act up. some said that they look up to gangs as a way to belong because they feel no one else cares.
Frankly, I get the feeling that MHP just wants PBO to stop talking about the need for black men to step up more and help out – just like people attacked Mr Bill Cosby years ago. PBO was attacked for this before but I believe this is one of those issues he will not stop talking about because it is personal. He has given this speech on fatherhood multiple times and that is what his Fatherhood Initiative is about. Likewise I expect him to praise single mothers and grand parents because his life is a testament to their devotion and hard work
Do we really do our community justice if we do not address ALL the core issues that are important for our community to thrive?
CLAP…….CLAP……..CLAP.
Bravo, Bravo, globalcitizenlinda, for this thoughtful comment! By the way some of us still remember the “Million Man March” which was called to emphasize the importance Black men taking responsibilities for their families.
If televised the round with PBO and Tiger would be the highest rated golf round in the history of golf on teevee.
Pres. Obama spoke in a comprehensive manner about education, jobs, economy, poverty, gun violence, and rebuilding all communities; Melissa Harris Perry insultingly reduced it to “Daddy Issues.” She used her admitted bias as a former single mom to present a false narrative of Pres. Obama’s speech. She used her admitted bias to misrepresent his speech because hey, it’s more fun to mislead an audience than tell them the truth. Pres. Obama spoke about the fact that what makes one a father is the courage it takes to raise a child not make one. Pres. Obama praised single mothers and called them heroic. What Melissa heard was “PRES. OBAMA HATES SINGLE MOTHERS AND HE’S TRYING TO CONTROL THEIR LIVES!!!”
Pres. Obama spoke about including LGBT, adoptive, single, and two parent families in his policy proposals. What Melissa heard was “PRES. OBAMA THINKS SINGLE MOTHERS ARE TO BLAME FOR GUN VIOLENCE!!!” Melissa did not once tell her audience about Pres. Obama’s plan to improve the lives of 20 communities (the program will expand as it goes on) through healthcare, education, jobs, reducing poverty, reducing gun violence, giving all families support , helping fathers get jobs so they can help alongside mothers in providing for their families. Melissa took his very important speech and warped it in a disgusting manner.
Melissa has a father for her child yet she seems to begrudge Pres. Obama wanting that for all children whenever possible. When one begins to sound like Cornel West and Tavis Smiley, one should take a step back.
What Melissa Harris Perry did today is called “Projection.” She didn’t full listen to Pres. Obama’s speech. Instead she heard what she wanted to hear and went off half cocked. Ignorance at its worst.
Agreed. MHP can’t argue that PBO shouldn’t say that he wished he had a father in his life when by her (MPH) own life and by her actions she is is re-affirming by that she thinks fathers have a role to play (otherwise why not stay single).
Otherwise MHP actions demonstrate that it would appear as though it is okay for low income black people to struggle as single parents but not for her. I repeat, many single parents excel at raising children but often they wish they had some help along the way.
Just FYI, both Cornell West and Smiley have accused the “Blacks” on MSNBC for being apologists to pres Obama.
West on Mediaite.com is now accusing pres Obama of being in the same level with Nixon and GW Bush for War Criminals. He actually called POTUS, Mr. Obama a war criminal.
MHP, knew the Obamas in Chicago. She has personal issues for having being a single mother. When pres Obama speaks…..people personalize his speeches…..that is a pro and a con for those who do that.
My observations….on this topic. I want debates based on facts, Civility and for the greater good.
I too respect MHP and that is the reason I expect better from her (to whom much is given….).
But she did not tell the truth on what PBO said and people called her on it immediately on friday.
After all the push back she received, an objective scholar of ear calliber would go back and review why people where so mad at her and pushed back so hard.
she has had two days to do that and she did not – instead she just doubled-down citing “daddy issues”. I would have appreciated if after this she indicated on her show that she feels this because of the circumstance of her life (just like PBO feels this because of the circumstances of his life0
well, if she feels that, children longing for a second parent is wrong, then her own life should reflect that; otherwise it is pure “one set of conditions for me and another set for those others”.
you can imagine if her words (that PBO implied single mums cause gun violence) are picked up by those who really hate PBO and are used in the current arguments on gun violence. Kind of reminds of Mayor Cory Booker – not knowing when to leave something alone
Your 3rd from the bottom is right on point. MHP is a professor. Looking at all sides of every issue analytically is part of how she grades her students. It is how she does research. I am always surprised how those who should know better would willfully excuse somethings when they are personally projecting.
She is entitled to personalize her life experiences. So does pres Obama. Pres Obama also had a life. That shaped his views on things. He also is president.
As a Roman Catholic, I was not happy with MHP on her show yesterday about the Pope. Her husband is a Roman Catholic also. She had a Mormon Mother and at a time was at the same Church in Chicago with the Obamas in the Jeremiah Wright’s Ministry. But on her show, I suppose she gets to show what she wanted. It our right to challenge her thoughts.
As an academia, MHP should and must expect people to vigorously challenge her presentation, on Twitter, Cable or at her University.
Yes, that you get where I am coming from about expectation of rigor from the few people who have a mege phone to represent an entire community.
By the way, I am catholic too but I did not see the segment on the Pope. I will watch it
Thank you so much, UT for this excellent report on what the President said. I was really saddened by the fact that a professor, who I assume teaches her students the importance of listening, totally failed the art of listening. It’s as if professor MHP was emulating right wing Republicans who distort what President Obama says and does in order to justify their attacks on him.
He’s going to hear from me. SERIOUSLY.HERE.FROM.ME.
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2013/02/17/1605121/mccain-goes-after-nbc-host-for-questioning-gops-benghazi-conspiracy-theories/
That’s McCain. When caught in the headlights shout whoever down with false indignation. The next question from Gregory should have been why didn’t the good Senator attend those intelligence briefings like the rest of his colleagues if he was so worried about a coverup? Grandstanding and nothing else.
OK. house is a mess. must clean. later peeps.
Wait. So he’s playing with Tiger Woods today? I don’t know anything about golf but I imagine all these guys are having a really wonderful time together doing what they love!!
Cant get much better than that, especially if you play!
By this week…..it will be that pres Obama is now endorsing TWoods past behavior. The 1300 rightwing talk hate will be on it and TeaNN, Fox and Tweety will be all over it…..in 5,4,3,2,1,0….Starting Monday morning.
Have a Blast Mr. POTUS on the Golf Course in FL. Go, go go… 🙂
You know congress is out of town, what else do they have to do except manufacture a story…..Maybe another manhunt/cruise ship will come along?
OK gang, It’s been a slice. I’d hope to reply to all of you on this most interesting sharing of ideas. However, I have to go. I’m off to see a play “From Doo-Wop to Hip-Hop” at the Black Ensemble Theater in the city. Gee, see what happens when I take a week off? I appreciate your comments, but forgive me if I feel the need to question PBO. Also forgive me if I don’t see some people in the media as the enemy when they have issues with PBO. And guess what? I appreciate Mark Knoeller’s tweets. He’s the only one out there that gives us just the palin old everyday comings and goings of PBO. I happen to find that what PBO ate for lunch interesting, that he is on the golf course gain refreshing, that he took time to scratch his ass……um well maybe not that, but you get my drift.
You’re conflating what Pres. Obama said with Melissa’s ignorant and warped misrepresentation of his speech. It is one thing to smartly critique Pres. Obama on his policies. It is another to take his words, misrepresent him and not fully inform one’s audience about everything Pres. Obama spoke on.
I find it ridiculous that you trivialize the issue by thinking we should praise pundits, yes, Melissa Harris Perry for dumb commentary. I am not going to praise anyone for willfully misinforming an audience as to the true nature of what Pres. Obama said. It is not smart. It just plays into the nonsense that passes for journalism these days.
As for Mark Knoller, yes he can tweet about Pres. Obama eating a burger (whatever); what I find repugnant is when he tweets over and over lies about the debt, the economy, healthcare, jobs stats, etc. and attributes what clearly occurred under the GWB administration to Pres. Obama. That’s not happy go lucky tweeting; that’s misleading a segment of the American population and it is wrong.
Pres. Obama spoke in a comprehensive manner about education, jobs, economy, poverty, gun violence, and rebuilding all communities; Melissa Harris Perry insultingly reduced it to “Daddy Issues.” She used her admitted bias as a former single mom to present a false narrative of Pres. Obama’s speech. She used her admitted bias to misrepresent his speech because hey, it’s more fun to mislead an audience than tell them the truth. Pres. Obama spoke about the fact that what makes one a father is the courage it takes to raise a child not make one. Pres. Obama praised single mothers and called them heroic. What Melissa heard was “PRES. OBAMA HATES SINGLE MOTHERS AND HE’S TRYING TO CONTROL THEIR LIVES!!!”
Pres. Obama spoke about including LGBT, adoptive, single, and two parent families in his policy proposals. What Melissa heard was “PRES. OBAMA THINKS SINGLE MOTHERS ARE TO BLAME FOR GUN VIOLENCE!!!” Melissa did not once tell her audience about Pres. Obama’s plan to improve the lives of 20 communities (the program will expand as it goes on) through healthcare, education, jobs, reducing poverty, reducing gun violence, giving all families support , helping fathers get jobs so they can help alongside mothers in providing for their families. Melissa took his very important speech and warped it in a disgusting manner.
Melissa has a father for her child yet she seems to begrudge Pres. Obama wanting that for all children whenever possible. When one begins to sound like Cornel West and Tavis Smiley, one should take a step back.
What Melissa Harris Perry did today is called “Projection.” She didn’t full listen to Pres. Obama’s speech. Instead she heard what she wanted to hear and went off half cocked. Ignorance at its worst.
Media always looks for and emphasizes the words of black people of high standing who criticize PBO.
Our request to MHP and others who have the few megaphones that the AA community has have a special obligation to tell the truth – espcially on the issue of gun violence that has devastated our community and which evokes deep emotions in the country.
Criticize PBO all you want but do on stuff he actually said not made up stuff.
Leave the job of putting false words into PBO’s mouth to the clowns on fox, wayne la pierre, trump etc…
This for me is not about the need to question PBO or criticize him. I’m not a fan of Chuck Todd or Sean Hannity or whoever but I’ll defend their right to hammer the President whenever they wish. Where I draw the line is when they misrepresent what he said and or did. That’s a bridge too far and it goes for them and MHP.
I hope you have a wonderful time at the show. Love doo wop.
R,D,or I…. this is heartbreaking. This is what Sandy looks like if you still reside in it’s path. Bob Turner is the man who won the Special for A.Wiener’s seat and thats his house!
just a photo-op for this punk.
Of course, but was trying to point out that those that are not members of congress, imagine what kind of situation they are in?
Dear GOP: We overwhelmingly chose President Barack Obama twice not because of the color of his skin but because of the content of his character. So keep trying and failing with your woefully inadequate and amateurish wannabes.
You are never going to come anywhere close to a reality as compelling as President Barack Hussein Obama and the Closer, his Rock and the love of his life, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama.
It’s just not going to happen.
The Golf Channel is reporting the PBO – Tiger golf round, calling it historic. PBO is using tees closer to the greens than Tiger which is to be expected. The temperature is in the 50’s and it is windy. Not great conditions.
Chat away:
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/02/17/chat-away-102/
All right. I’m out for real this time. Thanks HF for the link to the MHP tweet. I couldn’t reply to you up-thread. I guess there are only so many indentations that Word Press allow for replies. Again, I wish this discussion could be about communities and what is needed to move them forward as productive entities in this country. I wish it could have been brought up in a way that did not center around the personalities involved, rather the issue itself. I still would like to know why any mention of single moms, in any context, was necessary in a speech about gun violence.
Anyway, sorry I can’t reply to all of you who engaged with me in this most interesting debate. I welcome the exchange and the ability to agree to disagree, hopefully without curling any toes around here.
For those interested, here’s a link to the panel discussion on MHP’s show this morning. I felt it to be informative. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/49263362#50839743
“I still would like to know why any mention of single moms, in any context, was necessary in a speech about gun violence.”
He was speaking directly to a community that knows all too well what he was talking about. He was talking about broken homes, broken communities and what they lead to. He was praising single moms for doing everything possible to not only raise the family but keep neighborhoods from sliding into extinction. He was talking about absentee fathers who more often than not create a culture detrimental to young black males because it doesn’t just stop with them not being at home. One or two absentee fathers is bad enough. Entire neighborhoods and communities is an epidemic which leads to worst epidemics like gun violence.
On Monday, the President will be heading to Augusta Georgia to be playing in this years Masters Golf Tournament.
🙂