The Day in Images

First Lady Michelle Obama hugs Naomi Bouie, 5, during her visit to Sterling Farms Grocery Store in Marrero, La

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@BarackObama A Louisville salute for the 2013 NCAA men’s basketball champion @UofLCardinals

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Bunk!!!!!!!

First Lady Michelle Obama talks with Wendell Pierce at Sterling Farms grocery store in Marrero. She visited the grocery story to continue highlighting a theme of healthy food access after she addressed the 2013 National Council of La Raza Conference at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Pierce serves on the board of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, and opened the grocery store to expand the healthy, affordable options available in a neighborhood affected by Hurricane Katrina.

See video here

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….. a hug from Beasts of the Southern Wild actor Dwight Henry at Sterling Farms grocery store

…. Naomi Bouie, a 5-year-old Uptown resident wearing her blue Princess Jasmine costume modeled after the character from the animated movie Aladdin, gave Obama a prolonged hug as she continued greeting other shoppers.

Naomi’s mother and grandmother said afterward that they told her about Obama’s health and fitness campaign, which is called, Let’s Move!, and that the girl dutifully told the first lady that she loves broccoli….

More here

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….. embracing NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía

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Text of the First Lady’s remarks to the National Council of La Raza here

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….. greeting the crowd at the 2013 National Council of La Raza Conference

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VP & Dr. Biden in India, day 2

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Background conference call on the Biden’s 4-day trip to India

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Why India/US should develop a soft alliance

If high-level visits were a positive indicator of the state of bilateral ties, India-US relations would be in fine shape.

American Vice-President Joe Biden arrives in India on Monday, and it comes barely a month after Secretary of State John Kerry came for the India-US Strategic Dialogue. Last week Finance Minister P Chidambaram was in Washington, and in September Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will travel there.

Moreover, both sides have set an ambitious agenda for themselves, including untangling the nuclear commercial issues by the time the prime minister goes to Washington.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to undertake a six-day visit to the US from September 20, during which he will have a bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington besides attending the UN General Assembly in New York.

This emerged from a 75-minute meeting that Singh had here on Tuesday with visiting US Vice President Joseph Biden, sources said.

Singh and Biden discussed a whole range of issues, including implementation of the landmark civil nuclear deal and ways to enhance commerce, the sources said. The two leaders agreed to take these issues forward. In this context, the Prime Minister told Biden that he looks forward to meeting Obama in September, the sources said.

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US Second Lady Jill Biden Tuesday visited the Taj Mahal and a nearby slum cluster on the bank of the Yamuna.

She spent nearly an hour at the Kachchpura slum opposite the Taj along with representatives of a NGO, members of Anganwadis, children and office bearers of the Adarsh Mahila Arogya Samiti.

“She interacted with the kids and took keen interest in the work done by us,” Manish Kumar of NGO CURE told IANS.

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(Raw Video)

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President Obama: “Expanding Our Moral Imagination”

President Obama: “Expanding Our Moral Imagination”

by @zizii2

President Obama’s moving remarks last Friday July 19, 2013, that Trayvon Martin could have been him 35 years ago took me back to another high note in his presidency – the Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo, Dec 10, 2009.

Nobel Prize acceptance 12-10-2009

Oslo 12-10-2009

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Both the polite audience seated in the cavernous Norwegian auditorium, as well as a global audience of admirers and skeptics all listened with rapt attention. President Obama could have chosen to deliver saccharine pabulum about ideals of peace as gloss over his global superstardom. He didn’t. Instead he punched his audience in the gut with uncomfortable truths about:

Pres. Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize Speech 12-10-2009

1. Fundamental difference between his responsibilities as head of a state embroiled in 2 wars who must deploy military force when needed to protect his nation, and those of other Nobel Peace Prize recipients such as Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. who served as conscience leaders and advocated non-violence as means to achieve justice.

2. The Niebuhrian concept of Just War, which stipulates that  there IS evil in the world that does not disappear through diplomacy, prayer or concession. It must be fought with blood and treasure.

3. An active peace that requires that we all EXPAND OUR MORAL IMAGINATION, or else the assurance of human dignity and societal growth will be stunted

Pres Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize Speech 12-10-2009

From the 29:10 minute mark, Pres. Obama described the concept thus:
“Agreements among nations. Strong institutions. Support for human rights. Investments in development. All these are vital ingredients in bringing about the evolution that President Kennedy spoke about. And yet, I do not believe that we will have the will, the determination, the staying power, to complete this work without something more — and that’s the continued EXPANSION OF OUR MORAL IMAGINATION; an insistence that there’s something IRREDUCIBLE THAT WE ALL SHARE.

As the world grows smaller, you might think it would be easier for human beings to recognize how similar we are; to understand that we’re all basically seeking the same things; that we all hope for the chance to live out our lives with some measure of happiness and fulfillment for ourselves and our families.

And yet somehow, given the dizzying pace of globalization, the cultural leveling of modernity, it perhaps comes as no surprise that people fear the loss of what they cherish in their particular identities — their race, their tribe, and perhaps most powerfully their religion. In some places, this fear has led to conflict. At times, it even feels like we’re moving backwards….”

Chat Away

Dr. Jill Biden visits the Taj Mahal in Agra, India after touring a USAID site nearby

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2:10 EDT: President Obama Honors the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions the Louisville Cardinals

White House Live

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Next up: a post from Zizi

The First Lady at the NCLR Conference

12:30 EDT: First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at the 2013 NCLR Annual Conference in New Orleans

Any trouble with the live streaming video, click here – not sure if CBS will stream the speech, they’re very busy showing live coverage of the front door of the Royal baby hospital in London 😕

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Next up:

2:10 EDT: President Obama Honors the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions the Louisville Cardinals

White House Live

Rise and Shine

President Barack Obama on the White House colonnade passing by members of the military, who were about to visit the Oval Office, July 22,2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Presidential Daily Schedule (All Times Eastern)

10:45AM: Pres. Obama meets with members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

11:45AM: Press Secretary Jay Carney briefs the press

12:30PM: First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks about the problem of childhood obesity at the 2013 NCLR  Annual Conference in New Orleans

2:10PM: Pres. Obama honors the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions, the Louisville Cardinals

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President Obama’s OFA remarks last night:

OFA

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President Barack Obama talks on the phone with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France in the Oval Office, Saturday, July 23, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Nedra Pickler: President Barack Obama is enrolling some star power to promote health care. Obama stopped by a private White House meeting Monday with celebrities including singer Jennifer Hudson and actors Amy Poehler, Michael Cera and Kal Penn. The White House says the artists expressed interest in helping spread the word about the health insurance marketplaces opening Oct. 1.

The White House says Obama told the artists they could help reach young uninsured Americans who will be vital to his signature law’s success. Insurers need healthy young customers to help offset the costs of older, sicker consumers. The group also included representatives for Oprah Winfrey, Alicia Keys and Bon Jovi. Also in attendance were officials with internet video makers YouTube and Funny or Die, which are teaming up on promotions featuring comedians.

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News! Oprah, Amy Poehler, Funny or Die, the Grammys and others in talks with the White House to promote Obamacare. http://t.co/hLybPmkvym

— Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff) July 22, 2013

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Washington Post: Oprah, Funny or Die and the Grammys want to promote Obamacare

What do Oprah, Funny or Die and the Grammys have in common? All three, it turns out, have volunteered to promote Obamacare.

Senior advisor Valerie Jarrett hosted a meeting Monday with a star-studded group of actors, musicians, writers and producers who have “expressed a personal interest in educating young people about the Affordable Care Act,” according to a White House official.

Young people are crucial to the Affordable Care Act’s success, and the White House estimates it needs 2.7 million of them to sign up for health coverage in 2014. With typically low health costs, it’s this demographic that Obama administration is relying on to keep premiums low on the new marketplaces.

More here

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Chat Away Into The Night