He’s wonderful… I thought his enthusiasm during the speech was awesome, there was no doubt he was living a thrill. I see another similarity.. generous ears~
Chipsticks do you think you might get any video of FLOTUS speaking this morning with Laura Bush? And how about the red tie guy met FLOTUS when she was in South Africa with Malia and SAsha and they met Mandela.
[I]t is being reported that after promising not to do so, the President ordered his Vice President to pressure the leaders of nations from which I have requested protection to deny my asylum petitions … leaving me a stateless person.
Thus complains Mr. Snowden in a Wikileaks statement, leaving me a bewildered person. Did he think the administration would send him mittens and flowers?
Now if only the administration would play commensurate hardball with Republicans.”
When, exactly did the President promise Snowden not to try to extradite him?
that’s almost word-for-word a talking point the republican robots were saying last week….that our president needs to send biden to do that dirty work. looks like snowjob revealed his true purpose a little too much.
the sainted French, who have made industrial espionage an art form. Germany claims they’ve lost as much worth to French industrial espionage as they have to China.
Another thing that doesn’t get mentioned: all of these countries rely on our intelligence gathering. Do they want it dismantled, so some idiot who’d rather watch American Idol gets to know every move the government makes?
WASHINGTON – U.S. home prices jumped 12.2 percent in May from a year ago, the most in seven years. The increase suggests the housing recovery is strengthening.
Real estate data provider CoreLogic said Tuesday that home prices rose from a year ago in 48 states. They fell only in Delaware and Alabama. And all but three of the 100 largest cities reported price gains.
Prices rose 26 percent in Nevada to lead all states. It was followed by California (20.2 percent), Arizona (16.9 percent), Hawaii (16.1 percent) and Oregon (15.5 percent).
CoreLogic also says prices rose 2.6 percent in May from April, the fifteenth straight month-over-month increase.
Steady hiring and low mortgage rates have encouraged more Americans to buy homes. Greater demand, a limited number of homes for sale and fewer foreclosures have pushed prices higher. Prices are still 20 percent below the peak reached in April 2006, according to CoreLogic.
Sales of previously occupied homes topped the 5 million mark in May for the first time in 3 1/2 years. And the proportion of those sales that were “distressed” was at the lowest level in more than four years for the second straight month. Distressed home sales include foreclosures and short sales. A short sale is when a home sells for less than what is owed on the mortgage.
Home sales are expected to increase in the coming months. That’s because the number of people who signed contracts to buy homes rose in June to the highest level since December 2006. There’s generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale.
A real life version of home prices jumping… I bought my house here in Baltimore last September- a similar house down the street sold last week for $50,000. more than what I paid. Hopefully this is a trend that will keep up.
DF, this is good news for everyone. Housing growth means growth for a whole host of other industries, from home repair to furniture to lawns to appliances. Think how many things you suddenly decide you need to buy when you move into a new home. Nothing spurs a buying spree more than the drive to fix up the new place.
who was shocked — SHOCKED I tell you — that hacking would be used to, I don’t know, fight other hackers.
I have an idea, GG & Snowden since you and the LWNJ’s are allergic to any solutions — let’s just be ‘free’ and open any and all information we have and then sit on our hands. Be hacked by every other country on the planet and anarchistic nut jobs like Snowden. Let’s be pure; and when there’s a cyber war we can say how pure we were. From our bunkers.
What a utopia they will have created. yippee.
Knowing the weaknesses in communications and communications and scenarios of cyber attacks are no different than reconnaissance over the terrain in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Or anywhere else.
How,pray tell, will an NSA-free US government perform any diligence to keep us safe?
Our press could learn from the South African people! Content filled, solid content, and the interviewee has the chance to speak…no “gotcha” questions…..what a revelation! Our people need to watch these others and do a 180 degree turn.
Did anyone hear Mrs Obama complaining about being in the White House. That Willam Geist had to drop some comment about not complaining to much. I never like him either, I remember him from Morning Joke.
I think she said something about it being like a prison, a nice prison. Just a joke she was making. In one interview she says that she told Malia to stop complaining about secret service because she can go to summer camp and other trips because she has them.
actually there was some context to her joking response as she was asked a question in reference to a previous First Lady who compared the WH to a prison. I read the article this morning and cannot find it again. I will keep looking.
Such a joy to see a young person so happy and excited. I couldn’t stop smiling watching HIM smile. This is what the world NEEDS…people who smile, because it’s infectious in a GOOD way.
I remember Mikhail Hendricks aka “Red Tie Guy.” Throughout Pres. Obama’s speech, his smile uplifted my heart. He was so focused on the speech, so awed by Pres. Obama’s presence and so chuffed to be there. It was wonderful to watch.
Also, throughout the speech, I kept wondering where I had seen his face before and then BAM! the video reminded me that he met FLOTUS when she visited South Africa and he had the same smile. That smile is unforgettable.
Loved the way he kept nodding too through the speech, he was taking in every single word.
That interview (the top video) was with Channel 4 in England, their news program is great, but their reports on PBO are usually pretty cynical – and, of course, they’re big Snowden fans (their main presenter, Jon Snow, tweeted a while ago that nobody would want to see him go to prison …. oh really?!).
So, I loved the way he pushed back on the interviewer when she described him as a “fan” (3:16), dismissively – he’s a gem of a young man.
i picked up on that too, how he stopped her immediately with that dismissive tone. he said our president is his “hero” instead. an inspiration to himself and the world. very impressive young man.
Heard Michelle Obama say something at the empowerment women forum which I have always thought so important——that she and family always try to provide a “soft place to land” for President Obama when he walks into their living quarters in the WH——-a place where he can be “just dad” and “just sweetheart”. With the unbelievable heavy load he has to carry at all times, so many national and international events he has to attend to every waking minute, I knew she would try to keep everything stress-free on the home front. I was just happy to hear her say that, I’ve thought of it often. A First Lady has different obligations than other wives/partners, who do not have the same considerations.
So “Twitter” has a sense of humor. I recently ‘followed’ Susan Rice and “Twitter” suggested I might like State Department (makes sense), Ezra Klein o.O, Joan Walsh o.O o.O, and Andrea Mitchell o.O o.O o.O What?
😆 I remember JO’B and I making some comment about his enthusiasm at the time, but I didn’t think for a moment that twitter would have been noticing too. I am impressed by the tone of his answers here and the way he handled each question. It’s young people like him who give me hope when the news is constantly filled with the negative performances of misguided or lost young people. Good luck to you, Mikhail; you have excellent taste in heroes!
Snowden’s father and his attorney, Bruce Fein, have written an open letter to Snowden praising him for “summoning the American people to confront the growing danger of tyranny”. Fein has worked for the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. It is no doubt the Snowden family are rwnj’s.
“Snowden’s father and his attorney, Bruce Fein, have written an open letter to Snowden praising him for “summoning the American people to confront the growing danger of tyranny”.
you have got to be kidding. his son ran away after stealing information from the government and somehow his cowardice represents summoning the American people to confront tyranny? GTFOOHWTDAEBS
And, no spin, where else would you summon the American people to such tyranny defying heights than in an airport lounge in Russia. My husband has always said that whoever orchestrated the whole Snowden debacle hung their drama on a very weak player–Snowden himself. Why would they choose someone so feckless and stupid?
Always my favorite!! I have not been doing recently but I will try to always keep the family in my prayers.
The whole family are doing a great job representing the nation, but alas the news media has no time for positive story lines only negative and anything that put’s the President and family in a negative light.
Yeah, JOB, because these people are the “takers,” and therefore unimportant and disposable. Who cares who dies if they can hold a gun in their hands and feel important.
I am only a few years younger than the commenter, but we share the same experiences. The current political behavior of the opposition party is unprecedented in my life time. What has also drastically changed from the 60s, and even the 70s and 80s, is the behavior of the mainstream media. The utter disrespect the WH press shows the president is equally unprecedented.
I think I may be being “followed” on Twitter by the Seven Dwarfs. Well, at least by Happy and Stormy. Not sure.
And now I must go down the street to my son’s house, to watch my 10-year-old granddaughter’s “play.” She told me I’m the only one who doesn’t “need a ticket … nobody else can get in without a ticket.” How cool is that! I recall fondly how she and her friend welcomed us to last summer’s play, by saying “everyone please turn off their electronic devices before we begin.” She’s pretty much dead serious about everything she does. Too funny.
Oops. Good thing I didn’t mention “the play” to my granddaughter, since it turned out to be “the concert.” The two girls did well, with one’s playing the backup singer and my granddaughter’s playing Taylor Swift or somebody somebody, dunno. What a voice she has, and I had forgotten! (She’s the only one of my granddaughters who can actually sing, but I don’t mention that part.)
Funniest moments were when the younger friend yawned in the middle of the song and dance routine, my g-daughter coughed, her older brother who played the heckler, apparently, was told several times to “Shhh!!!”, her dad was texting the whole time (even though there were clear instructions about turning off the electronic devices), and the funniest for me was that her musical accompaniment was so loud that she never noticed I had yelled out three times, while laughing, “Brava! But make it stop!”
Oh, and, we all had to line up outside of the bedroom where the performance was, and then my granddaughter opened the door and announced in an adult voice, “Jacqueline, you may enter first.” There’s gotta be a grandma gift for her somewhere in that last part!
Tell me about it. (Every now and then, I’m reminded that I can still remember what my grandmother used to say and do with me, and she passed away in 1970! I take the gift of being a grandmother very seriously, as I’m sure we all do.)
I just adored your story today – it reminded me of 1953!! when with my sister & friends we had a concert in our back garden – charged everyone (including the grandmother) – a silver coin to enter!
We put on plays back when I was growing up, too! So much fun. We’d invite all the moms in the neighborhood, and serve lemonade. We probably weren’t “allowed” to charge anything. (We weren’t allowed to do much!) But I do remember our mom would make costumes for my sisters and me – a treasured memory like yours!
The money would have been for a charity supported by our church – I have a vague memory of advertising the event in a breathless discussion with my sunday school class!
Since you are special maybe she will allow YOU, and you only, to record a bit for your old friends on line? As her/their agent maybe? You don’t think so? Have fun anyway 😀
Funny you should mention that, because after the fact the thought of recording it came up, and she was none too pleased that nobody thought of it during the concert. Ha! This could mean a rescheduling. 🙂
The US military has now blocked access to the entire Guardian website at installations around the world, the paper reported Monday night.
On Friday, reports surfaced that stories about the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs had been blocked at Army bases around the United States. The reason given was that the military did not want its employees to come across any classified information online, even if that information had been put into the public domain.
But a spokesman told the Guardian’s Spencer Ackerman Monday that the ban had been extended to all troops serving in Afghanistan, the Middle East and south Asia–and that the whole site had been blocked.
The Army does not treat all news sites the same, though: the Washington Post, which also published stories about NSA programs, has not been blocked.
Trayvon Martin Was One of the Few Guys Who Didn’t Tease Rachel Jeantel- ROD VEREEN
Jul 2, 2013
By Blackamericaweb.com
Tom Joyner Morning Show commentator Roland Martin talks with Rachel Jeantel’s attorney Rod Vereen about the 19-year-old’s crucial testimony in the George Zimmerman case, the misrepresentation of her character in the media and he reveals exclusive details about her friendship with Trayvon.
According to Vereen, Martin was one of the good guys who did not ridicule the teenager. Vereen recounted a prior interview with Jeantel where she explained their bond, “she said he was one of the few guys that never made fun of me, about the way I dressed, about the way I talked, about my hair, about my complexion… about my weight.”
This just confirms what I already thought of Trayvon. He seemed like a nice boy and sort of reminds me of my brother. He’s been arrested a few times for minor drug possession but he’s a good kid with lots of friends, a passion for skateboarding and cars, and going to school to be a mechanic. If someone shot him and then tried to make him out to be some criminal I’d be devastated. #stillstandingwithTrayvon
JOHANNESBURG — A family feud over the burial site of three of Nelson Mandela’s children intensified Tuesday when criminal charges were filed against one of his grandsons, as the ailing 94-year-old former president remained hospitalized in critical condition.
Sixteen relatives have taken grandson Mandla Mandela to court after he reburied the children’s remains in Mandela’s birthplace of Mvezo in 2011. The Mandela relatives claim Mandla Mandela had not sought permission or even informed family members when he did so.
The revered statesman has long said that he wants to be buried in Qunu, where his children were buried in the family plot. Mandla Mandela moved the children’s remains to Mvezo, where he plans to open a hotel.
Arguments were heard Tuesday over a court order calling for the bodies to be returned to Qunu; the case was adjourned until Wednesday.
Meanwhile, police said criminal charges of “tampering with a grave” have been pressed against Mandla Mandela over the exhumation of the three bodies.
“A case is opened at the police station and we will now investigate that case,” said police Lt. Col. Mzukisi Fatyela, who declined to reveal who pressed the charges
I do not remember the details but the burial sight of Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth, was a battle between her request and her horrid son Franklin. The son won.
I. AM. SO. MAD. I’m near explosion!!!! I spent the whole dang day “making a cake” on a free website (to surprise you guys), desperately trying to add the ‘icing’ for hours and hours now AND just when I thought the end was in sight I JUST LOST IT ALL cause I touched the wrong button!!!! SC–RR-EEEEAM!!!! Forget ‘a bad workman always blames his tools’ – I HATE, ABSOLUTELY HATE TECHNOLOGY! I’m going to bite my tongue and go read Chips’ beautiful and well-done work for the day. /with smoke coming out of both ears/
Well, Brazil said “não” to Snowman, so out of the 21 countries, that leaves: Bolivia, China, Cuba, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Switzerland or Venezuela. Hong Kong is part of China, so I’d say nix China as well.
[….] Of these, only Venezuela has made any kind of comment—and of these, only Venezuela’s head of state is currently in Russia.
“We think this young person has done something very important for humanity,” President Nicolas Maduro told reporters yesterday, saying that the country would consider Snowden’s asylum request, but refused to comment on whether he’d take Snowden back to Caracas with him in his presidential jet.
Of course, there’s one more possibly next destination for Snowden: The U.S. […..]
For all my Scandal-holics, here’s Scandal star Kerry Washington. About damned time outlets like Vanity Fair and Vogue recognize more African-American talent and put them on the cover.
Large, profitable U.S. corporations actually paid just a 12.6 percent effective tax rate in 2010. That’s barely a third of the 35 percent corporate rate on the books, and it’s actually lower than the median effective tax rate for middle-class Americans. The number comes from a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study intended to clarify the terms of debate as lawmakers weigh changes to the business tax code.
Most analyses of the gap between the tax rate on the books and the “effective rate” companies actually pay rely upon company financial statements, but the GAO’s work is based on actual corporate tax returns for 2010. The researchers found that large companies – those “with assets of $10 million or more” – that are profitable paid about 12.6 percent of their global income in U.S. taxes. The figure rises to 16.9 percent of global income if all foreign, state, and local taxes are factored in. Companies that took a loss for the year actually paid a higher rate than the profitable ones.
In the spring, Apple CEO Tim Cook defended his company’s entirely legal tax avoidance strategies before a Senate committee. Apple used Ireland-based subsidiaries to pay almost zero tax on tens of billions in income from international sales, and other massive firms like Google and Microsoft use similar corporate structures and accounting strategies to avoid billions in taxes.
I have No idea whatsoever that a Fish could live up to 200 yrs?
Insurance adjuster catches 200-year-old rockfish off Alaska
Henry Liebman knew the 39.08-pound, 40-inch fish he reeled in was abnormally big. What he didn’t realize was that the beast is older than the state of Alaska itself.
Wow! I can’t believe I’m being allowed to post from work today! Hey Everyone! Thanks to Lady Chips and everybody for the great pictures and articles on the 1st Family’s trip to Africa. Beyond the best ever!
Speaking of photos, hubby saw the one of the POTUS and FLOTUS catching a smooch before getting onto the plane. The first thing he noticed was where the POTUS’ hand was said “All right now Brother B!”
If I’m not allowed another post, have a great one y’all.
Watching the video and listening to Mr. Hendricks aka Red Tie Guy lifted me up after an awful stressful day….I can’t stop smiling for his unbridled enthusiasm like a kid on Xmas morning. This was just wonderful….
Mikhail is a high school student studying for his matric (final year of high school). His schooling is fully supported by SAILI http://www.givengain.com/cause/2780/, a NGO in Cape Town, that funds talented students. Mikhail wants to study Law, and needs to find sponsorship for his studies from next year. He is indeed a cool guy.
Obama White House.gov
The Obama Diary 
Good Afternoon TOD,
Thanks for all these beautiful posts.
Congrats nclb. It’s been a great morning.
If the Obamas had a son, that’s what he’d look like!
He’s wonderful… I thought his enthusiasm during the speech was awesome, there was no doubt he was living a thrill. I see another similarity.. generous ears~
Seem to be a nice young man, I wish him lots of luck in whatever he decides to do in the future.
Just added a second video to the post Anniebella
Maybe he will be the President of South Africa one day.
He does have the same face shape HOWEVER President Obama is handsomer. Just sayin’. But he does seem like a fine young man.
Chipsticks do you think you might get any video of FLOTUS speaking this morning with Laura Bush? And how about the red tie guy met FLOTUS when she was in South Africa with Malia and SAsha and they met Mandela.
I’d guess the full video should appear soon Anniebella, was only able to find a short clip so far, will keep looking:
Another short clip:
Willie needs to shut up about how they shouldn’t complain too much since they get nice benefits. Really? You know nothing.
http://pmcarpenter.blogs.com/
“Welcome to the majors, Edward:
[I]t is being reported that after promising not to do so, the President ordered his Vice President to pressure the leaders of nations from which I have requested protection to deny my asylum petitions … leaving me a stateless person.
Thus complains Mr. Snowden in a Wikileaks statement, leaving me a bewildered person. Did he think the administration would send him mittens and flowers?
Now if only the administration would play commensurate hardball with Republicans.”
When, exactly did the President promise Snowden not to try to extradite him?
He really is an effing paranoid loon.
that’s almost word-for-word a talking point the republican robots were saying last week….that our president needs to send biden to do that dirty work. looks like snowjob revealed his true purpose a little too much.
Yeah, but…. http://blogsofwar.com/2013/07/01/10-short-outrage-busting-reads-on-french-spying-for-president-hollande/
the sainted French, who have made industrial espionage an art form. Germany claims they’ve lost as much worth to French industrial espionage as they have to China.
Another thing that doesn’t get mentioned: all of these countries rely on our intelligence gathering. Do they want it dismantled, so some idiot who’d rather watch American Idol gets to know every move the government makes?
http://www.newsday.com/classifieds/real-estate/u-s-home-prices-rise-in-may-by-most-in-7-years-1.5609752
WASHINGTON – U.S. home prices jumped 12.2 percent in May from a year ago, the most in seven years. The increase suggests the housing recovery is strengthening.
Real estate data provider CoreLogic said Tuesday that home prices rose from a year ago in 48 states. They fell only in Delaware and Alabama. And all but three of the 100 largest cities reported price gains.
Prices rose 26 percent in Nevada to lead all states. It was followed by California (20.2 percent), Arizona (16.9 percent), Hawaii (16.1 percent) and Oregon (15.5 percent).
CoreLogic also says prices rose 2.6 percent in May from April, the fifteenth straight month-over-month increase.
Steady hiring and low mortgage rates have encouraged more Americans to buy homes. Greater demand, a limited number of homes for sale and fewer foreclosures have pushed prices higher. Prices are still 20 percent below the peak reached in April 2006, according to CoreLogic.
Sales of previously occupied homes topped the 5 million mark in May for the first time in 3 1/2 years. And the proportion of those sales that were “distressed” was at the lowest level in more than four years for the second straight month. Distressed home sales include foreclosures and short sales. A short sale is when a home sells for less than what is owed on the mortgage.
Home sales are expected to increase in the coming months. That’s because the number of people who signed contracts to buy homes rose in June to the highest level since December 2006. There’s generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale.
A real life version of home prices jumping… I bought my house here in Baltimore last September- a similar house down the street sold last week for $50,000. more than what I paid. Hopefully this is a trend that will keep up.
DF, this is good news for everyone. Housing growth means growth for a whole host of other industries, from home repair to furniture to lawns to appliances. Think how many things you suddenly decide you need to buy when you move into a new home. Nothing spurs a buying spree more than the drive to fix up the new place.
Oh look:) PBO DID call it right! He was a PAID HACKER
http://bobcesca.thedailybanter.com/blog-archives/2013/07/was-snowden-tasked-with-hacking-overseas-systems.html
looks like…..
who was shocked — SHOCKED I tell you — that hacking would be used to, I don’t know, fight other hackers.
I have an idea, GG & Snowden since you and the LWNJ’s are allergic to any solutions — let’s just be ‘free’ and open any and all information we have and then sit on our hands. Be hacked by every other country on the planet and anarchistic nut jobs like Snowden. Let’s be pure; and when there’s a cyber war we can say how pure we were. From our bunkers.
What a utopia they will have created. yippee.
Knowing the weaknesses in communications and communications and scenarios of cyber attacks are no different than reconnaissance over the terrain in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Or anywhere else.
How,pray tell, will an NSA-free US government perform any diligence to keep us safe?
Solutions, Snowdenwald? We’re waiting.
Effing crickets.
Our press could learn from the South African people! Content filled, solid content, and the interviewee has the chance to speak…no “gotcha” questions…..what a revelation! Our people need to watch these others and do a 180 degree turn.
i think everyone should be like red tie guy when they’re around the obamas, considering what they have meant for the world.
Did anyone hear Mrs Obama complaining about being in the White House. That Willam Geist had to drop some comment about not complaining to much. I never like him either, I remember him from Morning Joke.
I think she said something about it being like a prison, a nice prison. Just a joke she was making. In one interview she says that she told Malia to stop complaining about secret service because she can go to summer camp and other trips because she has them.
There hasn’t been on First Lady who hasn’t said something similar.
All our other First Ladies were white.
God forbid we should judge intelligent, educated women the same way. Sigh.
actually there was some context to her joking response as she was asked a question in reference to a previous First Lady who compared the WH to a prison. I read the article this morning and cannot find it again. I will keep looking.
AdamSerwer @AdamSerwer 10m
———————————————–
Someone explain to me how blocking Sunday voting is about “voter fraud” and not depressing black turnout.
Retweeted by Bob Cesca
————————————————————-
Well, because every vote cast by a black person is basically fraudulent, right?
Such a joy to see a young person so happy and excited. I couldn’t stop smiling watching HIM smile. This is what the world NEEDS…people who smile, because it’s infectious in a GOOD way.
Published on Jul 1, 2013
Actor LeVar Burton and author Tim Wise explain the differences in their interactions with police.
I used to jog a lot. Whenever I heard a siren I would stop running.
And they are SOOOOOOOOOOO different.
I remember Mikhail Hendricks aka “Red Tie Guy.” Throughout Pres. Obama’s speech, his smile uplifted my heart. He was so focused on the speech, so awed by Pres. Obama’s presence and so chuffed to be there. It was wonderful to watch.
Also, throughout the speech, I kept wondering where I had seen his face before and then BAM! the video reminded me that he met FLOTUS when she visited South Africa and he had the same smile. That smile is unforgettable.
Loved the way he kept nodding too through the speech, he was taking in every single word.
That interview (the top video) was with Channel 4 in England, their news program is great, but their reports on PBO are usually pretty cynical – and, of course, they’re big Snowden fans (their main presenter, Jon Snow, tweeted a while ago that nobody would want to see him go to prison …. oh really?!).
So, I loved the way he pushed back on the interviewer when she described him as a “fan” (3:16), dismissively – he’s a gem of a young man.
i picked up on that too, how he stopped her immediately with that dismissive tone. he said our president is his “hero” instead. an inspiration to himself and the world. very impressive young man.
Flagrant Foul: The GOP’s Latest Obamacare Attack
BY JONATHAN COHN
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113711/republicans-pro-sports-leagues-stay-away-obamacare#
This young man displays all that is good, precious, hopeful, decent, and life-giving in the young. So glad to see him have a voice.
@markknoller
On watching one’s words, Mrs Bush said she once told her husband his speech “wasn’t really very good and he drove into the garage wall.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/laura-bush-george-w-bush_n_3533414.html?utm_hp_ref=politics
It is an AOL video….so I could not copy and paste it over. Sorry.
Thank you Nena! My computer problems are driving me crazy!
Heard Michelle Obama say something at the empowerment women forum which I have always thought so important——that she and family always try to provide a “soft place to land” for President Obama when he walks into their living quarters in the WH——-a place where he can be “just dad” and “just sweetheart”. With the unbelievable heavy load he has to carry at all times, so many national and international events he has to attend to every waking minute, I knew she would try to keep everything stress-free on the home front. I was just happy to hear her say that, I’ve thought of it often. A First Lady has different obligations than other wives/partners, who do not have the same considerations.
So “Twitter” has a sense of humor. I recently ‘followed’ Susan Rice and “Twitter” suggested I might like State Department (makes sense), Ezra Klein o.O, Joan Walsh o.O o.O, and Andrea Mitchell o.O o.O o.O What?
I find its suggestions really bizarre MOST of the time, and I also hate how it rushes in to make suggestions as soon as I follow someone new. 🙄
GA TODers….Hello.
Just a quick in and then out……Later 😉
And now, for your viewing pleasure, a cutie or two!
😆 I remember JO’B and I making some comment about his enthusiasm at the time, but I didn’t think for a moment that twitter would have been noticing too. I am impressed by the tone of his answers here and the way he handled each question. It’s young people like him who give me hope when the news is constantly filled with the negative performances of misguided or lost young people. Good luck to you, Mikhail; you have excellent taste in heroes!
Snowden’s father and his attorney, Bruce Fein, have written an open letter to Snowden praising him for “summoning the American people to confront the growing danger of tyranny”. Fein has worked for the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. It is no doubt the Snowden family are rwnj’s.
“Snowden’s father and his attorney, Bruce Fein, have written an open letter to Snowden praising him for “summoning the American people to confront the growing danger of tyranny”.
you have got to be kidding. his son ran away after stealing information from the government and somehow his cowardice represents summoning the American people to confront tyranny? GTFOOHWTDAEBS
The Snowden supporters do not have a clue what to do next.
Bruce Fein, a champion of impeaching Clinton.
Then we was, in all fairness, really upset with Bush’s warrantless wiretaps and has remained ideologically pure, it appears.
So PBO says, let’s have the dialogue. Instead, Snowden makes shit up that PBO promised not to extradite him, and is out to kill him.
Some dialogue. From someone who has no clue what those documents really mean and has gotten his history lessons from Assange and GG.
God.
Remember the book, “The True Believer” by Eric Hoffer, that college kids read in the 60’s? Snowden is a case study from that book.
Yup.
And, no spin, where else would you summon the American people to such tyranny defying heights than in an airport lounge in Russia. My husband has always said that whoever orchestrated the whole Snowden debacle hung their drama on a very weak player–Snowden himself. Why would they choose someone so feckless and stupid?
Snowden is probably the only one Greenwald could find.
” where else would you summon the American people to such tyranny defying heights than in an airport lounge in Russia”.
say it again Jackiegrumbacher. Idiots all.
Blast! My keyboard does this all the time!!!! Sorry, here are the cuties!
Simply gorgeous!!!!! TY
ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Always my favorite!! I have not been doing recently but I will try to always keep the family in my prayers.
The whole family are doing a great job representing the nation, but alas the news media has no time for positive story lines only negative and anything that put’s the President and family in a negative light.
Too Sweet for words. Unbeatable.
Oh my, that picture of Sasha and Malia just melt my heart. Miss Malia will turn 15 Thursday July 4th.
Yeah, JOB, because these people are the “takers,” and therefore unimportant and disposable. Who cares who dies if they can hold a gun in their hands and feel important.
Not sure I’ll ever understand their reasoning powers. Well, I do understand they have none.
Little refresher for our friends with “selective memories”
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2013/07/02/then-and-now-special-comment-by-my-75-year-old-friend/
Thank you so much DF!!!!! some scary stuff indeed!
I am only a few years younger than the commenter, but we share the same experiences. The current political behavior of the opposition party is unprecedented in my life time. What has also drastically changed from the 60s, and even the 70s and 80s, is the behavior of the mainstream media. The utter disrespect the WH press shows the president is equally unprecedented.
Thank you DF for sharing the article.
I think I may be being “followed” on Twitter by the Seven Dwarfs. Well, at least by Happy and Stormy. Not sure.
And now I must go down the street to my son’s house, to watch my 10-year-old granddaughter’s “play.” She told me I’m the only one who doesn’t “need a ticket … nobody else can get in without a ticket.” How cool is that! I recall fondly how she and her friend welcomed us to last summer’s play, by saying “everyone please turn off their electronic devices before we begin.” She’s pretty much dead serious about everything she does. Too funny.
So adorable. Enjoy.
Oops. Good thing I didn’t mention “the play” to my granddaughter, since it turned out to be “the concert.” The two girls did well, with one’s playing the backup singer and my granddaughter’s playing Taylor Swift or somebody somebody, dunno. What a voice she has, and I had forgotten! (She’s the only one of my granddaughters who can actually sing, but I don’t mention that part.)
Funniest moments were when the younger friend yawned in the middle of the song and dance routine, my g-daughter coughed, her older brother who played the heckler, apparently, was told several times to “Shhh!!!”, her dad was texting the whole time (even though there were clear instructions about turning off the electronic devices), and the funniest for me was that her musical accompaniment was so loud that she never noticed I had yelled out three times, while laughing, “Brava! But make it stop!”
Oh, and, we all had to line up outside of the bedroom where the performance was, and then my granddaughter opened the door and announced in an adult voice, “Jacqueline, you may enter first.” There’s gotta be a grandma gift for her somewhere in that last part!
The end.
How old is she? This is an adorable story!
She’s 10 (older brother is 12) – and thanks!
Too damn cute for words. Wish I could have bought a ticket and watched the show.
Aww. You’re sweet! She would have loved to have had a larger audience, I’m sure. 🙂
Being a grandmother is the most wonderful thing – being so loved by the grandchildren is off the planet
Tell me about it. (Every now and then, I’m reminded that I can still remember what my grandmother used to say and do with me, and she passed away in 1970! I take the gift of being a grandmother very seriously, as I’m sure we all do.)
I just adored your story today – it reminded me of 1953!! when with my sister & friends we had a concert in our back garden – charged everyone (including the grandmother) – a silver coin to enter!
We put on plays back when I was growing up, too! So much fun. We’d invite all the moms in the neighborhood, and serve lemonade. We probably weren’t “allowed” to charge anything. (We weren’t allowed to do much!) But I do remember our mom would make costumes for my sisters and me – a treasured memory like yours!
The money would have been for a charity supported by our church – I have a vague memory of advertising the event in a breathless discussion with my sunday school class!
Sweet!
Jacqueline, she sounds like a take-charge person. Leaders of tomorrow.
Exactly! (And thanks.)
Since you are special maybe she will allow YOU, and you only, to record a bit for your old friends on line? As her/their agent maybe? You don’t think so? Have fun anyway 😀
Funny you should mention that, because after the fact the thought of recording it came up, and she was none too pleased that nobody thought of it during the concert. Ha! This could mean a rescheduling. 🙂
Oh, I thought her ‘turn off electronic devices’ meant she didn’t want anyone possibly recording and ‘stealing’ her work.
No, it was more the cell phones! Her Dad broke that “rule” (but he claims he waited 4 minutes before texting!).
I hope she ‘fines’ him for interrupting the performance. 😀
Wow! Big jump! 🙂
This is a test re computer problems…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/army-guardian-blocked-troops_n_3533036.html?utm_hp_ref=media
The US military has now blocked access to the entire Guardian website at installations around the world, the paper reported Monday night.
On Friday, reports surfaced that stories about the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs had been blocked at Army bases around the United States. The reason given was that the military did not want its employees to come across any classified information online, even if that information had been put into the public domain.
But a spokesman told the Guardian’s Spencer Ackerman Monday that the ban had been extended to all troops serving in Afghanistan, the Middle East and south Asia–and that the whole site had been blocked.
The Army does not treat all news sites the same, though: the Washington Post, which also published stories about NSA programs, has not been blocked.
Yeah!!!!!
Now they just need to block Fox News and Rush Limbaugh.
Trayvon Martin Was One of the Few Guys Who Didn’t Tease Rachel Jeantel- ROD VEREEN
Jul 2, 2013
By Blackamericaweb.com
Tom Joyner Morning Show commentator Roland Martin talks with Rachel Jeantel’s attorney Rod Vereen about the 19-year-old’s crucial testimony in the George Zimmerman case, the misrepresentation of her character in the media and he reveals exclusive details about her friendship with Trayvon.
According to Vereen, Martin was one of the good guys who did not ridicule the teenager. Vereen recounted a prior interview with Jeantel where she explained their bond, “she said he was one of the few guys that never made fun of me, about the way I dressed, about the way I talked, about my hair, about my complexion… about my weight.”
http://blackamericaweb.com/142401/trayvon-martin-was-one-of-the-few-guys-who-didnt-tease-rachel-jeantel-rod-vereen/
This just confirms what I already thought of Trayvon. He seemed like a nice boy and sort of reminds me of my brother. He’s been arrested a few times for minor drug possession but he’s a good kid with lots of friends, a passion for skateboarding and cars, and going to school to be a mechanic. If someone shot him and then tried to make him out to be some criminal I’d be devastated. #stillstandingwithTrayvon
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130702/af-south-africa-mandela/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage
JOHANNESBURG — A family feud over the burial site of three of Nelson Mandela’s children intensified Tuesday when criminal charges were filed against one of his grandsons, as the ailing 94-year-old former president remained hospitalized in critical condition.
Sixteen relatives have taken grandson Mandla Mandela to court after he reburied the children’s remains in Mandela’s birthplace of Mvezo in 2011. The Mandela relatives claim Mandla Mandela had not sought permission or even informed family members when he did so.
The revered statesman has long said that he wants to be buried in Qunu, where his children were buried in the family plot. Mandla Mandela moved the children’s remains to Mvezo, where he plans to open a hotel.
Arguments were heard Tuesday over a court order calling for the bodies to be returned to Qunu; the case was adjourned until Wednesday.
Meanwhile, police said criminal charges of “tampering with a grave” have been pressed against Mandla Mandela over the exhumation of the three bodies.
“A case is opened at the police station and we will now investigate that case,” said police Lt. Col. Mzukisi Fatyela, who declined to reveal who pressed the charges
I do not remember the details but the burial sight of Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth, was a battle between her request and her horrid son Franklin. The son won.
I. AM. SO. MAD. I’m near explosion!!!! I spent the whole dang day “making a cake” on a free website (to surprise you guys), desperately trying to add the ‘icing’ for hours and hours now AND just when I thought the end was in sight I JUST LOST IT ALL cause I touched the wrong button!!!! SC–RR-EEEEAM!!!! Forget ‘a bad workman always blames his tools’ – I HATE, ABSOLUTELY HATE TECHNOLOGY! I’m going to bite my tongue and go read Chips’ beautiful and well-done work for the day. /with smoke coming out of both ears/
Oh noz!!!!! does it look like this..
Well, Brazil said “não” to Snowman, so out of the 21 countries, that leaves: Bolivia, China, Cuba, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Switzerland or Venezuela. Hong Kong is part of China, so I’d say nix China as well.
[….] Of these, only Venezuela has made any kind of comment—and of these, only Venezuela’s head of state is currently in Russia.
“We think this young person has done something very important for humanity,” President Nicolas Maduro told reporters yesterday, saying that the country would consider Snowden’s asylum request, but refused to comment on whether he’d take Snowden back to Caracas with him in his presidential jet.
Of course, there’s one more possibly next destination for Snowden: The U.S. […..]
.
http://gawker.com/snowden-seeks-asylum-from-21-countries-gets-eight-no-644742157
I think Cuba is his last best hope. Good luck Snowden lolololololololololololol.
Shoot!!!! How many chins does this man have….
Enough to hold the b.s. he spews periodically.
Joy Reid sitting in for Bashir today. All the signs are pointing to an eventual Joy Reid show.
MSNBC was 4th in prime time per mediabisro.com/tvnewser for the 1st time since 2009 for the last quarter.
Joy Reid is too smart……MSNBC will not give her, her own show…….I wish they would…..but they will not.
I figure if she did sign on, they’d ruin her. There is an obvious corporate line that their hosts must toe – hurting PBO is the driving factor.
Believe it or not, Alex Wagner is a decent liberal, but you wouldn’t know it from her show.
However, their pattern is quite obvious – more and more fill-in hosting gigs leads to a show.
For all my Scandal-holics, here’s Scandal star Kerry Washington. About damned time outlets like Vanity Fair and Vogue recognize more African-American talent and put them on the cover.
Oh ut, you should have provided mats for our gentlemen friends on here!
Yea Ut, that’s right. How inconsiderate of you. 😀 😀
Try to act surprised!!!!
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/07/02/2248801/report-corporations-pay-lower-tax-rates-than-the-middle-class/
Large, profitable U.S. corporations actually paid just a 12.6 percent effective tax rate in 2010. That’s barely a third of the 35 percent corporate rate on the books, and it’s actually lower than the median effective tax rate for middle-class Americans. The number comes from a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study intended to clarify the terms of debate as lawmakers weigh changes to the business tax code.
Most analyses of the gap between the tax rate on the books and the “effective rate” companies actually pay rely upon company financial statements, but the GAO’s work is based on actual corporate tax returns for 2010. The researchers found that large companies – those “with assets of $10 million or more” – that are profitable paid about 12.6 percent of their global income in U.S. taxes. The figure rises to 16.9 percent of global income if all foreign, state, and local taxes are factored in. Companies that took a loss for the year actually paid a higher rate than the profitable ones.
In the spring, Apple CEO Tim Cook defended his company’s entirely legal tax avoidance strategies before a Senate committee. Apple used Ireland-based subsidiaries to pay almost zero tax on tens of billions in income from international sales, and other massive firms like Google and Microsoft use similar corporate structures and accounting strategies to avoid billions in taxes.
http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/270682/slide_270682_1898646_free.jpg?1355870056689
McConnell’s first ad against Allison Grimes. It is laughable
There people are amateurs.
Are you for real? Did McConnell really put out this ad?. He seem to be pissing in his depends, he is scared to death of that woman.
Chat away
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/07/02/coming-up-62/
I have No idea whatsoever that a Fish could live up to 200 yrs?
Insurance adjuster catches 200-year-old rockfish off Alaska
Henry Liebman knew the 39.08-pound, 40-inch fish he reeled in was abnormally big. What he didn’t realize was that the beast is older than the state of Alaska itself.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/man-catches-200-year-old-fish-alaska-article-1.1388041#ixzz2XvAwgzV0
“I have No idea whatsoever that a Fish could live up to 200 yrs?”
That has to be the most random comment – and link – ever at TOD. 😆
I hope he threw it back…… 😦
Wow! I can’t believe I’m being allowed to post from work today! Hey Everyone! Thanks to Lady Chips and everybody for the great pictures and articles on the 1st Family’s trip to Africa. Beyond the best ever!
Speaking of photos, hubby saw the one of the POTUS and FLOTUS catching a smooch before getting onto the plane. The first thing he noticed was where the POTUS’ hand was said “All right now Brother B!”
If I’m not allowed another post, have a great one y’all.
Watching the video and listening to Mr. Hendricks aka Red Tie Guy lifted me up after an awful stressful day….I can’t stop smiling for his unbridled enthusiasm like a kid on Xmas morning. This was just wonderful….
Mikhail is a high school student studying for his matric (final year of high school). His schooling is fully supported by SAILI http://www.givengain.com/cause/2780/, a NGO in Cape Town, that funds talented students. Mikhail wants to study Law, and needs to find sponsorship for his studies from next year. He is indeed a cool guy.