It seems from past events, the First Kids’ birthdays are celebrated at Camp David – read that it allows their friends a chance to come over without much snooping from the press.
I think PBO will be the one returning early – like he did last year (can’t remember WHY)
I’m so glad that Air Force One is a comfortable plane….good beds, good food….fortunately, they don’t travel economy class like we do on long flights. I read that the President finds Air Force One relaxing, as he can get away from others and be by himself. He enjoys his flights and recharges on them.
Imani ABL @AngryBlackLady 13m
RT @ClinicEscort: North Carolina #feministarmy is needed in the gallery tomorrow at 9 AM against extreme antichoice #h695 sneak attack.
Retweeted by Jeff Gauvin
Expand Reply Retweet Favorite More
The mindset needed to do something so obviously wrong has to be an internal tangled mess. Snowden’s absolute belief in his righteousness has to come from a troubled mind. He blames Obama for being stateless and accepts no responsibility for the consequences of his actions. He may be brilliant academically but dysfunctional socially and morally.
Thank the Lord for a wonderful trip to different areas of Africa, and for a safe journey back! Thanks too for the inner beauty of the Obamas, who though travel weary can take the time to pause and smile. AND huge thanks for those who traveled with them and served, helped, or worked, doing whatever was required of them. Lord, am I overjoyed that everyone is safely back! Thanks! 😀 😀
Hi GCL. Sometimes I forget the ‘smaller parts’ of the entire operation who work diligently and without mention because that’s the way things are. However I’m buoyed by the certain knowledge that the Obamas treat those who ‘serve’ respectfully. They too do do us proud. 😀
I found it funny that bbc was also looking for hits with its wall to wall coverage (with both positive and negative thrown in) while their own pm’s visit to afghanistan and pakistan were just scrolling one-liners.
I’m thinking that this trip to Africa will have long term effects, both in America and in Africa. This has already helped Africa’s position in the world community, and has brought the attention of Americans to Africa. Americans are really woefully ignorant about the continent (or country as Palin thinks). I believe this will spur interest in learning about the continent. President Obama is always talking “partnership” not the patriarchal approach used in the past.
The President has planted seeds of interest and education on both continents…..ours and Africa. They will germinate and bloom down the months and years. Always the long game.
I agree. I think his plan to partner with different countries to increase self reliance is brilliant. His speech was epic in the scope of what he hopes to achieve working together.
I agree, I learned much from this trip to Africa by PBO and family. I now have a strong interest in learning more about Africa. Thanks to TOD and all who brought pictures and information about the trip. Would know little to nothing about PBO’s trip if Chips and all fellow contributors had not made it possible. A huge thank you to all of you.
Anniebelle, I agree with you. I am so proud of Our POTUS AND FLOTUS. I daily pray for them and thief family.
My prayers are with President Mandela and the people of Africa. What a powerful video. I am so glad Mrs. Obinson and the girls’ cousin were with them on this trip. I am sure they will never forget this and they are mature enough to comprehend.
Thank you so much LP for sharing this powerful clip of FLOTUS’ narration of her experience visiting the Prison where Nelson Mandela spent 18years. I am so proud of the Obamas. Both POTUS and FLOTUS speak words of wisdom wherever they go. Their mission is to break down barriers and promote human respect and human brotherhood. I wish more people in the United States, and especially those who passionately hate President Obama, would learn a lesson from South Africa.
I was watching Lawrence O’Donnell last night and he was talking about how some on the right, starting with that racists,fat head, pain killer addict Limbaugh were upset with Michelle Obama being at that event of Laura Bush yesterday.
I’m on this iPad and I don’t know how to post a link (copy paste isn’t working) but Ashley Judd has just endorse Alison Grimes and the The Party told McConnell to step down because he can’t beat her.
Do they not know the Washington’s, Jeffersons, Adams, etc knew they would loose their land and lives if they didn’t win? Nathan Hale gave his life as a spy. Twits.
Hany Ghoraba @Hanyghoraba 21m
We Egyptians are fighting a two fronts war First against Islamists and Muslim Brotherhood&the second is the clueless US Media outlets #Egypt
Retweeted by Jeff Gauvin
Expand Reply Retweet Favorite More
He will never admit to anything. Takes no responsibility whatsoever for his own actions and how they affect people. Not the way to grab “ratings” for his awful show, either, by telling a viewer to “lighten up.”
i would like to thank julia pierson, director of the secret service, and everyone who works there for doing such a fantastic job as usual. these last couple of weeks must have been extra challenging for them, and they still knocked it outta the park! director pierson is one of the most important people on the planet right now…the entire world needs the obamas.
#FORWARD together indeed, 4more! Teamwork is great! You often make such cogent points that I encourage you to try twitter yourself. Sign up is quick, not difficult at all. Come join us and share your great point of view more widely. (In truth I consider twitter **my** own simple contribution to the ‘war’ effort as there is not much else I can do.)
Looking at this picture makes me happy that they are going to Camp David this weekend. It’s nice to see them but they need a break. Apparently the blogs are hating on Sasha over some shorts she wore in Soho last weekend. It makes me sad, she’s 12 and so heavily scrutinized. I feel like the press will pounce once Sasha is 13.
Stuck my head back in because I finally finished and emailed my overdue tax return just now (phew!) and wanted to see who was running around the village before I actually went TO bed.
I’m genuinely going to try to sleep, after I read a chapter of my book. That’s guaranteed to make me sleepier.
That was the plan, but then I figured I might as well finish the last sections of my income tax so that I could send it off – and I did. 😀 Now I’m off for sure.
Have a good night if you are working or go to bed soon if you’re not. 😉 Caio!
Good Nite Chips and my TOD family. Just wanted to check in because I have been trying to do some needed paper work all day.
I send loving comforting hugs to tnmtngirl ((((Love you tnmtngirl)))) HZ
Lots of healing hugs for our Gobrooklyn. ((((Love you, inspirational sweet spirit.))))
Thank you Almighty God for delivering our beautiful President and First Family back home safely. Thanks for all of the beautiful service our SS and team did to make this a safe trip for our POTUS, First Family and the entire traveling team. Bless the SS families who make the sacrifice along with our SS team as they do their jobs. Bless the entire team on AF1 and Marine One.
May others see the beautiful gift that we have been blessed with in our brilliant, humble, caring, compassionate, and hardworking president. This was a beautiful and historic trip. Thanks to Chips, and all of the brilliant contributors here. You all are so amazing.
We thank you, Mr. President and First Lady Michelle Obama for always sharing the love from our arms to the world’s arms. Get some Rest and Relaxation, Mr. President and First Family. Bless the preparations for Malia’s birthday coming up, and bless us as a nation during our celebration on the 4th.
Grant loving comfort for the families of the firefighter in AZ who gave their lives in a horrendous way. Comfort, Comfort, Comfort the families. This is so hard to even try to wrap my mind around this precious loss.
Protect continuously our service men and women all across this nation. We must pray for the winding down of the war and a peaceful return home very soon.
Everyone, please be gentle and kind with your spirits and keep loving deeds in your heart and hands as you journey on through these times in our nation during this presidency. I love you all very much.HZ
So, idiot France wants to suspend EU-US trade talks because of Snowdirt’s big mouth…… Um, France? Don’t push your luck. Bunch of ideological nincompoops. 🙄 you don’t hear Russia and Germany trying to cut off their noses to spite their faces. Get over it. We spy, you spy. This is the world you live in, fool.
I would take this report with a grain of salt. No country is that invested in Snowjob. This is a fairly “old” report by the way – about 4 days now, and questionably sourced. I’ve had issues with even BBC news’ reporting on this lately.
Assuming that this story is even true. My distrust of media reports on this particular issue is so strong (and justifiably so) that I don’t believe a single report about Hollande or France – REGARDLESS of the media source – unless I see video footage, or I hear direct spoken words from PBO or a trusted representative like Jay Carney.
Good morning everyone.
Thank you Ms. Chips for the trip to Africa and back. Nobody does it like my TOD family here. I am worn out catching up with all the posts, videos, tweets and comments. What a trip! Our POTUS and FLOTUS were loved and they gave love. I will never ever be able to express how much I appreciate all of your hard work, dedication, commitment and sacrifice that goes into making all of this possible for us to share here.
Thank you.
I really would like to hear opinions/facts about the apparent takeover of states by Right Wing Christian groups…..When did this happen? How did it happen? As you all know, I am from NC….when I was younger, back in the late 50/60s the only extremist Christian groups anyone had heard of were snake handler groups way back in the mountains….basically, the only difference between Methodist, Episcopal, Baptist, Presbyterian etc; was the way the services were conducted and who had the best youth groups with the most fun activities…never can I remember any religious group shoving their beliefs down someone’s throat……..Living in NC now, I am beginning to feel as if I am living in the beginning of how it might have been in natzi Germany…”I will force you to believe and OBEY my moral beliefs”………if you think, because you live in an urban progressive area, that your state is immune from this kind of takeover, think again…it’s insidious…never in a million years would I have ever thought it could happen in NC………Women are being forced to live like we did in the 50’s…..Illegal abortions, no birth control pills, education unaffordable, barefooted women in the kitchen, and the only difference for men, VIAGRA….which I notice no one seems to question……and the sad thing is…. Right Wing Christian women seem to be just fine with the way things are going, sometimes leading the cause….such as “Nipplegate”…..
KK, I have had the same question as you as to what has happened to right wing religion which crosses all denominations. The only partial answer I have is that it helps them recruit the ignorant and the haters to their dwindling congregations. However on the positive side, many progressive religious groups seem to be involved in Moral Monday.
But Bill, how did we get so many ignorant and haters in NC?….My age group would be the parents of these adults doing this….and I can assure you, my adult children don’t think like that……I know this began more than 25 yrs ago b/c I have a stepson who is involved and know he began turning rwnj at least 20/25 yrs ago…Jesse Helms????…because of Civil Rights ?????….but if you look at the Moral Monday pictures…the crowd is very diverse.
I think the ignorant and haters are the people who feel life has passed them by and their horrid form of religion is all they have to make themselves feel they have some sort of worth. $90 million is being cut from public education in NC and it will only keep more people down. We have gone in the wrong direction since the days of Terry Sanford. It is sad.
This is the right wing/GOP plan, Kathryn, and we have to fight with everything in our power to reverse it. We have an election coming in 2014 when much of the NC state legislature is up for re-election. Fight against them with everything in your power and work to get large coalitions to fight with you. Register voters, and call them out in massive numbers to vote. This American Taliban must be reversed or the US won’t have an immigration problem any longer. We will all be emigrating.
😯 Is this you, Chips Chica? Clocked in at 8am? When was the last time you’ve dropped in regularly before noon ….I mean before nine? Boy, AM I IMPRESSED with that new organizational regime you are experimenting with!
No way I can believe that Italy/Germany are considering – I don’t know enough about Bolivia to hazard a guess. I’m wondering how he decided who to ask? Countries with direct flights to Russia?
I take any report about a particular country “considering” with a grain of salt. Snowjob is not worth the hassle for ANY of these countries, whether or not they are “friends” or “enemies” of the SU.
Look at the giant “chia” heads which have taken up residency along the Mag Mile in Chicago. It’s a project by Plant Green Ideas, a nonprofit. I like them!
Rep. James Clyburn urges national standards in revised Voting Rights Act
by Perry Bacon Jr. | July 2, 2013 at 4:14 PM
Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C,), the man House Democrats have tapped to lead their push for revising the Voting Rights Act after last week’s Supreme Court decision gutted the law’s Section 4, urged the creation of national voting standards that would likely replace the special restrictions for a bloc of Southern states under the current law.
While not ruling out a new kind of “pre-clearance” system, which had required parts or all of 15 states to get federal approval for changing their voting provisions, Clyburn said Democrats were mostly debating a new provision that would mandate every state abide by certain “minimum standards.” Clyburn said such a law, for example, might require every state have at least nine days of early voting. States could chose to have many more days, but could not have fewer than nine, he said.
Yes, I saw your conversation with Bill….funny how they have to sneek this stuff in. If they really thought the people of NC would agree, they wouldn’t need to do this on the sly. They know it’s wrong, and they do it anyway
Yep, just what we need in NC…..A Sharia law for all those pesky Muslims trying to take over NC and an anti Women Healthcare law combined to take care of another pesky group of sub prime human real estate….wouldn’t be surprised if on the night of July 4th during the fireworks that they didn’t pass the anti voting law to complete their annihilation of the pesky AA and Hispanic groups…..Bless their hearts, they know not what they are unleashing…….
Good Morning, everyone! Is it really Wednesday already? I guess I’ll have to go do the lab tests I shirked yesterday, plus pay my overdue insurance – no slacktivism for me today, Maryl…. later! 😀
Sadly, it’s the same thing here, vc. The fun of throwing things out is over, now I have to clean the carpet and ::gasp!:: ORGANIZE stuff and then work out plans for the summer school class I will be teaching next week, and then Dr. appt. I’m afraid I’ll really have to accomplish something before the day is over.
My heart feels for you, M! 😀 You have summer school on the horizon – you crazy woman! Is it remedial ss or academic advancement ss? I hope it’s the latter. And does it go until school restarts or do you get another couple weeks in between? Ah, Maryl!
Yes, crazy, but also needing to replace a little of the many salary cuts we have taken over the past couple of years. It is for 6 weeks, half days, Monday through Thursday, so not so bad. It’s supposed to be remedial but with a class size of 20 or so it is more just a try-to-keep-the-skills-fresh kind of thing. I have incoming first and second graders, so really kindergarteners and first graders. So it will be lively 🙂 I do have a high school helper so that will be good. I just have to figure out what I’m going to do!
Figuring what to do? I’d vote lots of fun, as in learning through ‘fun’ activities; after all it’s their summer too. Are they too young to do math with marbles, pizza slices, bird feathers, fallen leaves, whatever? (kidding) They might even have brilliant suggestions of their own of what they’d like to do, we know great learning can occur within a context of minimum structure. High school helper = +++ IF s/he has initiative and is not one of those who has to be TOLD when to move and when to sit. Good luck!
The war on voting in a post-VRA world
By Steve Benen
Tue Jul 2, 2013 4:18 PM EDT
In North Carolina, thanks to Republican gains in the 2010 state elections, the congressional district lines already drawn in such a comically gerrymandered way, the state’s delegation bears little resemblance to the actual wishes of voters. In 2012, for example, a majority of North Carolinians voted for Democratic congressional candidates, and yet, only 4 of the state’s 13 members of the U.S. House are Democrats.
But as the Los Angeles Times reports today, that’s apparently not quite good enough for GOP state policymakers. In a story Rachel has covered on the show, now that the district lines have been gerrymandered to ensure a Republican advantage regardless of voters’ wishes, the next step is to restrict voters’ access to their own democracy.
Moooooooooorning Rikyrah! I edited that post, only include extracts from posts from other sites, if you paste them all here there’s no need for anyone to visit the other site, which isn’t fair! Thanks Rikyrah.
Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet states are colluding in an illegal rendition programme, a new report from Amnesty International has claimed.
The report says Russia and Ukraine have “stepped up” efforts to return people to Central Asian countries over the past two years.
That is despite there being European Court of Human Rights rulings blocking the extraditions, according to Amnesty.
The report says many people have been sent back to torture and unfair trials.
People from former Soviet countries have been abducted by foreign security forces and forcibly returned to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, according to Amnesty.
Obama White House.gov
The Obama Diary 
Welcome back!
Indeed…welcome home world ambassadors.
I hope they get to enjoy their long weekend at Camp David….. I’m afraid the tragedy in AZ, and the powderkeg in Egypt will interfene.
It seems from past events, the First Kids’ birthdays are celebrated at Camp David – read that it allows their friends a chance to come over without much snooping from the press.
I think PBO will be the one returning early – like he did last year (can’t remember WHY)
He never gets to relax…..EVER. I can’t think of a presidency that had so many domestic/international tragedies/incidents one after another.
I’m so glad that Air Force One is a comfortable plane….good beds, good food….fortunately, they don’t travel economy class like we do on long flights. I read that the President finds Air Force One relaxing, as he can get away from others and be by himself. He enjoys his flights and recharges on them.
Well, we do know they all disembark looking fresh as a daisy. So, yes, their comfort on AF1 does seem secured!
I wonder how much fuel it takes to fill Air Force One up.
I don’t know how PBO does it – never gets a chance to breath normally before duty calls.
It is amazing how hard he works and how seriously he takes ALL challenges (domestic and international) that constantly come his way
I’m posting this here again…it’s delicious!
HA! For your consideration:) Jovie…are you here?? Rest easy, my friend. He’s got this:)
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/07/02/obamas-brilliant-move-deals-blow-gops-2014-hopes.html
Reply
182desertflower
July 2, 2013 at 10:13 pm
” Obama is playing chess, while Republicans are stuck on Go Fish.”
Grim news for the western USA.
If you have the time, a wonderful tribute to the brave souls that lost their lives protecting others….
No surprise to me. Tinderbox.
Thank you for this link.
welcome home First Family
Imani ABL @AngryBlackLady 13m
RT @ClinicEscort: North Carolina #feministarmy is needed in the gallery tomorrow at 9 AM against extreme antichoice #h695 sneak attack.
Retweeted by Jeff Gauvin
Expand Reply Retweet Favorite More
OMG, I so wish I could be there but can not on such short notice….AH’s
They look so bright eyed and bushy tailed for that long flight:) Welcome home family!!
Here’s yesterday’s NYT article that Bob Cesca referenced in that “Snowden is a hacker article.”
And here’s Josh Marshall’s latest question re: Snowden.
Kurt Eichenwald speculated that Snowden may be bi-polar.
The mindset needed to do something so obviously wrong has to be an internal tangled mess. Snowden’s absolute belief in his righteousness has to come from a troubled mind. He blames Obama for being stateless and accepts no responsibility for the consequences of his actions. He may be brilliant academically but dysfunctional socially and morally.
Thank the Lord for a wonderful trip to different areas of Africa, and for a safe journey back! Thanks too for the inner beauty of the Obamas, who though travel weary can take the time to pause and smile. AND huge thanks for those who traveled with them and served, helped, or worked, doing whatever was required of them. Lord, am I overjoyed that everyone is safely back! Thanks! 😀 😀
I totally agree with ALL you said!! Thanks to all – you do us proud!
Hi GCL. Sometimes I forget the ‘smaller parts’ of the entire operation who work diligently and without mention because that’s the way things are. However I’m buoyed by the certain knowledge that the Obamas treat those who ‘serve’ respectfully. They too do do us proud. 😀
what happened to First Grandma (Mrs. Robinson) and First Niece? Did they stay in TZ? They are not in the photos
They probably exited the plane by another door. Protocol ? Or a decision by the communications team…
You would get laughed out of Hollywood if you brought a script 1/2 as nuts as this…….I don’t even know what to call it anymore?
I used to be a NFL scout a few years ago……If the background checks used for drafting player were used for guns we would be a safer USA.
I found it funny that bbc was also looking for hits with its wall to wall coverage (with both positive and negative thrown in) while their own pm’s visit to afghanistan and pakistan were just scrolling one-liners.
LOL! BBC is just as obsessed with this President as anyone else.
I didn’t realize Cameron was traveling in that general area too.
Malia looks like a female version of her dad in this photo.
They must all be tired, but they are still able to greet people with smiles and grace.
I’m thinking that this trip to Africa will have long term effects, both in America and in Africa. This has already helped Africa’s position in the world community, and has brought the attention of Americans to Africa. Americans are really woefully ignorant about the continent (or country as Palin thinks). I believe this will spur interest in learning about the continent. President Obama is always talking “partnership” not the patriarchal approach used in the past.
The President has planted seeds of interest and education on both continents…..ours and Africa. They will germinate and bloom down the months and years. Always the long game.
You are right. Always the long game. It’s so very impressive!
I agree. I think his plan to partner with different countries to increase self reliance is brilliant. His speech was epic in the scope of what he hopes to achieve working together.
Agreed.
I agree, I learned much from this trip to Africa by PBO and family. I now have a strong interest in learning more about Africa. Thanks to TOD and all who brought pictures and information about the trip. Would know little to nothing about PBO’s trip if Chips and all fellow contributors had not made it possible. A huge thank you to all of you.
I thank God for their safe return. Love them deeply.
Me too!
If you can, please support venusvs :
I pity the little guy on the left for the comparison!
Why? At least he has a shell. 😆
🙂
Oh, I forgot. A hat too! 😀
Oh, okay, it’s all good, then, Sailor! 🙂
Nakamura hasn’t written any offensive tweets since this one (give him time), but I figured I’d give it another go.
Did you notice mine? That twit set me on fire with that remark.
He’s a low-class (fill in the blank)!
MF?
That would be my choice!
Powerful, that was Powerful.
Anniebelle, I agree with you. I am so proud of Our POTUS AND FLOTUS. I daily pray for them and thief family.
My prayers are with President Mandela and the people of Africa. What a powerful video. I am so glad Mrs. Obinson and the girls’ cousin were with them on this trip. I am sure they will never forget this and they are mature enough to comprehend.
Thank you so much LP for sharing this powerful clip of FLOTUS’ narration of her experience visiting the Prison where Nelson Mandela spent 18years. I am so proud of the Obamas. Both POTUS and FLOTUS speak words of wisdom wherever they go. Their mission is to break down barriers and promote human respect and human brotherhood. I wish more people in the United States, and especially those who passionately hate President Obama, would learn a lesson from South Africa.
nathkatun7, their hatred of that black man won’t allow them to learn any lesson from Mandela. Ghandi, Martin L. King Jr.
I was watching Lawrence O’Donnell last night and he was talking about how some on the right, starting with that racists,fat head, pain killer addict Limbaugh were upset with Michelle Obama being at that event of Laura Bush yesterday.
I’m on this iPad and I don’t know how to post a link (copy paste isn’t working) but Ashley Judd has just endorse Alison Grimes and the The Party told McConnell to step down because he can’t beat her.
You need an app Mary. I think bought one for like 99 cents. It’s called tweetbot.
Thanks CarolMae, I will look into it.
BWHAHAHAAHHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHH
John Paul II ‘set for sainthood’ with second miracle
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23149489
smh
so morales is stuck in austria and trying to get a new flight path. Shooting off your mouth gets you in trouble.
I’m sooooooooooooo confused now! He really IS in Austria?
Sorry. Wrong guy:) Told you I was so confused now…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23156360
so good to see them home
Do they not know the Washington’s, Jeffersons, Adams, etc knew they would loose their land and lives if they didn’t win? Nathan Hale gave his life as a spy. Twits.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/heres-what-we-have-say-about-westboro-baptist-church?utm_source=wethepeople&utm_medium=email&utm_content=westboro-response I had signed the petition and just received this reply
I got this reply as well….These horrid people are wanting to protest AZ firefighters funerals. Scum
The entire THINKING world knows US media is crap.
Hany Ghoraba @Hanyghoraba 21m
We Egyptians are fighting a two fronts war First against Islamists and Muslim Brotherhood&the second is the clueless US Media outlets #Egypt
Retweeted by Jeff Gauvin
Expand Reply Retweet Favorite More
IE Peters@iefap1940
@chucktodd opens his segment by complaining abt a 20 hr flight home-He has no idea how many more competent pple would love his job-what a JA – 02 Jul
Chuck Todd @chucktodd
Follow Follow
@iefap1940 I was not complaining… Simply responding to a Q… Lighten up
well chucky cheese not too tired to reply!!!
He will never admit to anything. Takes no responsibility whatsoever for his own actions and how they affect people. Not the way to grab “ratings” for his awful show, either, by telling a viewer to “lighten up.”
i would like to thank julia pierson, director of the secret service, and everyone who works there for doing such a fantastic job as usual. these last couple of weeks must have been extra challenging for them, and they still knocked it outta the park! director pierson is one of the most important people on the planet right now…the entire world needs the obamas.
4more, had I been a bit less wordy I might have been able to give you credit, but I hope you won’t mind too much.
oh vc, that is perfect. i’m always amazed by you all who can work the twitter machine to such great effect. forward together!!
#FORWARD together indeed, 4more! Teamwork is great! You often make such cogent points that I encourage you to try twitter yourself. Sign up is quick, not difficult at all. Come join us and share your great point of view more widely. (In truth I consider twitter **my** own simple contribution to the ‘war’ effort as there is not much else I can do.)
thank you very much for this sentiment
But…
meanwhile, the grown ups in the Obama administration are doing their jobs.
Awww, And poor widdle Chuckie Todd is feeling cranky and tired because of that very very long plane ride. He must have misplaced his baby binky.
Did you believe that display of whiny b.s.? Even from Todd, this hit a new low.
Looking at this picture makes me happy that they are going to Camp David this weekend. It’s nice to see them but they need a break. Apparently the blogs are hating on Sasha over some shorts she wore in Soho last weekend. It makes me sad, she’s 12 and so heavily scrutinized. I feel like the press will pounce once Sasha is 13.
Any blogs that are focused on the clothing of a 12 year old girl need to be reported to the authorities… they must be sickies.
Jessica which blogs are you referring to? Thanks.
Quite a few. Google Sasha Obama Soho. Sandra Rose stands out cause she has been hating on the Obama girls since 2007.
I’d rather not. These people need to be ignored, because they are beyond all help and far removed from decency.
You know what Jessica, haters will be haters! As my grandmother taught me, ” sometimes you have to pay them no mind.”
I don’t give a dam what those haters blogs are saying about any of the Obamas. When and if I come across crap like that I refuse to read it.
And that won’t change. No thank you Jessica concerning those haters blogs. I’ll pass.
Sandra Rose is nothing but a hater personified.
Everything he does has a dual or triple purpose. This is the only way he can get round the GOP to keep stimulating the economy..
I love this response, “Did you reply?”
Perfect come back
night all…been awake since 4:15am when my power went out. Getting tired now:) See everyone tomorrow.
G’Night! Rest well! Sweet dreams!
Without power? In AZ? Try to get some sleep…….
Off to bed I go! Good night everyone who’s still awake. Sweet Dreams!
good night VC
Stuck my head back in because I finally finished and emailed my overdue tax return just now (phew!) and wanted to see who was running around the village before I actually went TO bed.
I’m genuinely going to try to sleep, after I read a chapter of my book. That’s guaranteed to make me sleepier.
Chips & TOD Team~ Thank you for the outstanding & wonderful diaries about President Obama’s African Trip.
Nice, haven’t heard a John Denver song for so long. Very fitting.
This one is dedicated to POTUS and FLOTUS
Goodnight, all!
I love this tweet by sfpelosi. Republicans stay the hell out of my womb unless I invite you there.
Now to set this joint on fire. (WARNING: Language)
FIRST …after the 1st person after #100! 😀
VC I thought you went to bed
That was the plan, but then I figured I might as well finish the last sections of my income tax so that I could send it off – and I did. 😀 Now I’m off for sure.
Have a good night if you are working or go to bed soon if you’re not. 😉 Caio!
I was about to say the same!
This explains a lot:
Funny…
😀 😀
Good Nite Chips and my TOD family. Just wanted to check in because I have been trying to do some needed paper work all day.
I send loving comforting hugs to tnmtngirl ((((Love you tnmtngirl)))) HZ
Lots of healing hugs for our Gobrooklyn. ((((Love you, inspirational sweet spirit.))))
Thank you Almighty God for delivering our beautiful President and First Family back home safely. Thanks for all of the beautiful service our SS and team did to make this a safe trip for our POTUS, First Family and the entire traveling team. Bless the SS families who make the sacrifice along with our SS team as they do their jobs. Bless the entire team on AF1 and Marine One.
May others see the beautiful gift that we have been blessed with in our brilliant, humble, caring, compassionate, and hardworking president. This was a beautiful and historic trip. Thanks to Chips, and all of the brilliant contributors here. You all are so amazing.
We thank you, Mr. President and First Lady Michelle Obama for always sharing the love from our arms to the world’s arms. Get some Rest and Relaxation, Mr. President and First Family. Bless the preparations for Malia’s birthday coming up, and bless us as a nation during our celebration on the 4th.
Grant loving comfort for the families of the firefighter in AZ who gave their lives in a horrendous way. Comfort, Comfort, Comfort the families. This is so hard to even try to wrap my mind around this precious loss.
Protect continuously our service men and women all across this nation. We must pray for the winding down of the war and a peaceful return home very soon.
Everyone, please be gentle and kind with your spirits and keep loving deeds in your heart and hands as you journey on through these times in our nation during this presidency. I love you all very much.HZ
Beautifully said, HZ.
Thank you.
https://twitter.com/Our4thEstate/status/352319236183556097
Yes We Can
Revised ….
Now, off to some rest ….
Yes We Can
Just a little PSA ….
… time for some rest ….
#LandslideDEMS2014 (that’s not a speculation, that’s a GOAL worthy of all our efforts)
Yes We Can
Early good morning to any early birds.
So, idiot France wants to suspend EU-US trade talks because of Snowdirt’s big mouth…… Um, France? Don’t push your luck. Bunch of ideological nincompoops. 🙄 you don’t hear Russia and Germany trying to cut off their noses to spite their faces. Get over it. We spy, you spy. This is the world you live in, fool.
I would take this report with a grain of salt. No country is that invested in Snowjob. This is a fairly “old” report by the way – about 4 days now, and questionably sourced. I’ve had issues with even BBC news’ reporting on this lately.
I think Hollande is doing this for the temporary benefit of the home crowd – issue will disappear from headlines soon.
In the meantime, each country spies in order to get the leg up one friends and foes – we know it, they know it but we have “don’t ask don’t tell”
Assuming that this story is even true. My distrust of media reports on this particular issue is so strong (and justifiably so) that I don’t believe a single report about Hollande or France – REGARDLESS of the media source – unless I see video footage, or I hear direct spoken words from PBO or a trusted representative like Jay Carney.
Good morning everyone.
Thank you Ms. Chips for the trip to Africa and back. Nobody does it like my TOD family here. I am worn out catching up with all the posts, videos, tweets and comments. What a trip! Our POTUS and FLOTUS were loved and they gave love. I will never ever be able to express how much I appreciate all of your hard work, dedication, commitment and sacrifice that goes into making all of this possible for us to share here.
Thank you.
I really would like to hear opinions/facts about the apparent takeover of states by Right Wing Christian groups…..When did this happen? How did it happen? As you all know, I am from NC….when I was younger, back in the late 50/60s the only extremist Christian groups anyone had heard of were snake handler groups way back in the mountains….basically, the only difference between Methodist, Episcopal, Baptist, Presbyterian etc; was the way the services were conducted and who had the best youth groups with the most fun activities…never can I remember any religious group shoving their beliefs down someone’s throat……..Living in NC now, I am beginning to feel as if I am living in the beginning of how it might have been in natzi Germany…”I will force you to believe and OBEY my moral beliefs”………if you think, because you live in an urban progressive area, that your state is immune from this kind of takeover, think again…it’s insidious…never in a million years would I have ever thought it could happen in NC………Women are being forced to live like we did in the 50’s…..Illegal abortions, no birth control pills, education unaffordable, barefooted women in the kitchen, and the only difference for men, VIAGRA….which I notice no one seems to question……and the sad thing is…. Right Wing Christian women seem to be just fine with the way things are going, sometimes leading the cause….such as “Nipplegate”…..
KK, I have had the same question as you as to what has happened to right wing religion which crosses all denominations. The only partial answer I have is that it helps them recruit the ignorant and the haters to their dwindling congregations. However on the positive side, many progressive religious groups seem to be involved in Moral Monday.
But Bill, how did we get so many ignorant and haters in NC?….My age group would be the parents of these adults doing this….and I can assure you, my adult children don’t think like that……I know this began more than 25 yrs ago b/c I have a stepson who is involved and know he began turning rwnj at least 20/25 yrs ago…Jesse Helms????…because of Civil Rights ?????….but if you look at the Moral Monday pictures…the crowd is very diverse.
I think the ignorant and haters are the people who feel life has passed them by and their horrid form of religion is all they have to make themselves feel they have some sort of worth. $90 million is being cut from public education in NC and it will only keep more people down. We have gone in the wrong direction since the days of Terry Sanford. It is sad.
This is the right wing/GOP plan, Kathryn, and we have to fight with everything in our power to reverse it. We have an election coming in 2014 when much of the NC state legislature is up for re-election. Fight against them with everything in your power and work to get large coalitions to fight with you. Register voters, and call them out in massive numbers to vote. This American Taliban must be reversed or the US won’t have an immigration problem any longer. We will all be emigrating.
snowden saga of around the world in 18 days
Asylum requests
Rejected: India, Poland, Brazil
Considering: Bolivia, Germany, Italy
Has to be in the country for request to be considered: Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Spain, Ireland, Switzerland, Ecuador
Unconfirmed: China, France, Venezuela
Withdrawn: Russia
Pending: Nicaragua, Cuba
Why isn’t Green(wald)land on that list? It should be – best place for him!
after gigi’s snowjob on him ?
Boooooooooom!!! 😆
😯 Is this you, Chips Chica? Clocked in at 8am? When was the last time you’ve dropped in regularly before noon ….I mean before nine? Boy, AM I IMPRESSED with that new organizational regime you are experimenting with!
::cough:: ::cough:: FRESH START ::cough:: ::clears throat::
Morning Ms Chips! So good to see you up and about! Sent you a (time sensitive) email and DM in the middle of the night. Please check them out. Thanks.
Morning VC! I replied to your DM, but waaaaaaay behind on emails, will probably get around to it in October 2027 😕
Alrighty, then! It helps having a specific timeline. 😀
No way I can believe that Italy/Germany are considering – I don’t know enough about Bolivia to hazard a guess. I’m wondering how he decided who to ask? Countries with direct flights to Russia?
President Morales of Bolivia is a socialist and populist who loves to stick his finger in the eye of the US when he has the opportunity.
I take any report about a particular country “considering” with a grain of salt. Snowjob is not worth the hassle for ANY of these countries, whether or not they are “friends” or “enemies” of the SU.
I meant *US*
Morales has expressed support of Snowden and for some reason his flight path was diverted. I was simply responding to 99ts.
You are basing this on MSM reports – I don’t believe this MSM report. If Bolivia wanted him, he would be in Bolivia, period.
I have no idea if Bolivia wants him and did not say they did.
Guess that was why it was on the list – thanks Bill
Two patients have been taken off their HIV drugs after a bone marrow transplant seems to have cleared the virus from their bodies, doctors report.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23132561
Look at the giant “chia” heads which have taken up residency along the Mag Mile in Chicago. It’s a project by Plant Green Ideas, a nonprofit. I like them!
http://galleries.apps.chicagotribune.com/chi-130702-planter-heads-magnificent-mile-pictures/
15 striking moments caught on camera.
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-photos-15-striking-moments-caught-on-camera/20130703.htm
Cuba removes senior Communists.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23157254
It’s probably all the people who fell off the roll in NC as of July 1st….
Rep. James Clyburn urges national standards in revised Voting Rights Act
by Perry Bacon Jr. | July 2, 2013 at 4:14 PM
Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C,), the man House Democrats have tapped to lead their push for revising the Voting Rights Act after last week’s Supreme Court decision gutted the law’s Section 4, urged the creation of national voting standards that would likely replace the special restrictions for a bloc of Southern states under the current law.
While not ruling out a new kind of “pre-clearance” system, which had required parts or all of 15 states to get federal approval for changing their voting provisions, Clyburn said Democrats were mostly debating a new provision that would mandate every state abide by certain “minimum standards.” Clyburn said such a law, for example, might require every state have at least nine days of early voting. States could chose to have many more days, but could not have fewer than nine, he said.
More here:
http://thegrio.com/2013/07/02/rep-james-clyburn-urges-national-standards-in-revised-voting-rights-act/
Morning! GREAT read from Bob Cesca this morning 🙂 Putting things in perspective…..in a reality based world.
http://thedailybanter.com/2013/07/eight-corporate-privacy-violators-that-know-more-about-you-than-the-nsa/
Al Jazerra English is currently offline ….their chat room says the military has taken over Egypt ‘s State TV.
http://www.aljazeera.com/watch_now/
What NC Republicans did when you weren’t watching!!
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/07/03/19265900-north-carolina-trying-to-pull-a-texas-on-reproductive-rights?lite
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/07/02/19257205-nc-senator-nesbitt-busts-gop-for-sneak-attack-in-war-on-women?lite
REPUBLICAN SHARIA LAW
see above, DF
Yes, I saw your conversation with Bill….funny how they have to sneek this stuff in. If they really thought the people of NC would agree, they wouldn’t need to do this on the sly. They know it’s wrong, and they do it anyway
Yep, just what we need in NC…..A Sharia law for all those pesky Muslims trying to take over NC and an anti Women Healthcare law combined to take care of another pesky group of sub prime human real estate….wouldn’t be surprised if on the night of July 4th during the fireworks that they didn’t pass the anti voting law to complete their annihilation of the pesky AA and Hispanic groups…..Bless their hearts, they know not what they are unleashing…….
Good Morning, everyone! Is it really Wednesday already? I guess I’ll have to go do the lab tests I shirked yesterday, plus pay my overdue insurance – no slacktivism for me today, Maryl…. later! 😀
Sadly, it’s the same thing here, vc. The fun of throwing things out is over, now I have to clean the carpet and ::gasp!:: ORGANIZE stuff and then work out plans for the summer school class I will be teaching next week, and then Dr. appt. I’m afraid I’ll really have to accomplish something before the day is over.
My heart feels for you, M! 😀 You have summer school on the horizon – you crazy woman! Is it remedial ss or academic advancement ss? I hope it’s the latter. And does it go until school restarts or do you get another couple weeks in between? Ah, Maryl!
Yes, crazy, but also needing to replace a little of the many salary cuts we have taken over the past couple of years. It is for 6 weeks, half days, Monday through Thursday, so not so bad. It’s supposed to be remedial but with a class size of 20 or so it is more just a try-to-keep-the-skills-fresh kind of thing. I have incoming first and second graders, so really kindergarteners and first graders. So it will be lively 🙂 I do have a high school helper so that will be good. I just have to figure out what I’m going to do!
Figuring what to do? I’d vote lots of fun, as in learning through ‘fun’ activities; after all it’s their summer too. Are they too young to do math with marbles, pizza slices, bird feathers, fallen leaves, whatever? (kidding) They might even have brilliant suggestions of their own of what they’d like to do, we know great learning can occur within a context of minimum structure. High school helper = +++ IF s/he has initiative and is not one of those who has to be TOLD when to move and when to sit. Good luck!
bbc
Egyptian army asks all but essential staff to leave state TV building, ahead of deadline for president to respond to ultimatum.
The war on voting in a post-VRA world
By Steve Benen
Tue Jul 2, 2013 4:18 PM EDT
In North Carolina, thanks to Republican gains in the 2010 state elections, the congressional district lines already drawn in such a comically gerrymandered way, the state’s delegation bears little resemblance to the actual wishes of voters. In 2012, for example, a majority of North Carolinians voted for Democratic congressional candidates, and yet, only 4 of the state’s 13 members of the U.S. House are Democrats.
But as the Los Angeles Times reports today, that’s apparently not quite good enough for GOP state policymakers. In a story Rachel has covered on the show, now that the district lines have been gerrymandered to ensure a Republican advantage regardless of voters’ wishes, the next step is to restrict voters’ access to their own democracy.
More here:
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/07/02/19254258-the-war-on-voting-in-a-post-vra-world?lite
Moooooooooorning Rikyrah! I edited that post, only include extracts from posts from other sites, if you paste them all here there’s no need for anyone to visit the other site, which isn’t fair! Thanks Rikyrah.
Rise and Shine!
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/07/03/rise-and-shine-544/
Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet states are colluding in an illegal rendition programme, a new report from Amnesty International has claimed.
The report says Russia and Ukraine have “stepped up” efforts to return people to Central Asian countries over the past two years.
That is despite there being European Court of Human Rights rulings blocking the extraditions, according to Amnesty.
The report says many people have been sent back to torture and unfair trials.
People from former Soviet countries have been abducted by foreign security forces and forcibly returned to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, according to Amnesty.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23157257
Great judgment snowden, wikileaks and assange.