24
Apr
14

Chat Away

President Barack Obama talks with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko during a state call at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan, April 24, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)


170 Responses to “Chat Away”


  1. 20 Desertflower
    April 24, 2014 at 7:00 pm

    Hello people !!

  2. 22 MightyPamela
    April 24, 2014 at 7:13 pm

    Yo, y’all! Tally, lead the way!

  3. 23 yardarm756
    April 24, 2014 at 7:15 pm

  4. 25 Judith Fardig
    April 24, 2014 at 7:21 pm

    Hi Tally – are you breathing easier now that CA did such a great job enrolling people? We’re still slogging away here in OR. Congratulations on first!

    • 26 otter44
      April 24, 2014 at 7:42 pm

      Judith I saw that the Feds might take over the Oregon exchange. It was a little blurb and I dont remember where I saw it. Have you heard anything?

      • 27 desertflower
        April 24, 2014 at 7:48 pm

        I saw that too…

      • April 24, 2014 at 8:22 pm

        Bill R. would be another good Oregonian to ask.

        He’s very, very active in getting people signed up for medical insurance.

        He mentioned recently that the Oregon deadline was later than the April 15th deadline for everyone else. Not sure why this would be so.

      • 29 desertflower
        April 24, 2014 at 8:26 pm

        http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/oregon-obamacare-exchance-covered-oregon

        Oregon intends to surrender its dysfunctional Obamacare exchange to the Obama administration, which is making plans to take over the state’s insurance marketplace, sources familiar with the matter confirmed.

        The state-based exchange, Cover Oregon, was such a disaster that — despite spending millions of dollars trying to make it work — not a single resident was able to sign up online during the first open-enrollment period from Oct. 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014. Instead, thousands signed up by paper or phone.

        On Thursday, Oregon’s top information-technology official recommended to a 16-member advisory board that the state relinquish its broken insurance exchange, according to The Oregonian. The Obama administration expects the full exchange panel to approve the recommendation.

        • 30 Judith Fardig
          April 24, 2014 at 11:49 pm

          Yes – that’s pretty much it. It’s been tremendously frustrating, but we ARE getting people signed up. The navigators can use the buggy website without problems to walk people through the process. It was so bad, our enrollment deadline was extended to April 30th. We still have several enrollment fairs around the state which my team has been publicizing. The media and the GOP will try to take down Senator Merkley and Governor Kitzhaber, but I doubt they will succeed. We absolutely have to GOTV!

  5. April 24, 2014 at 7:22 pm

    As Sec Kerry noted, Putin’s propaganda machine is no match for the millions committed to spreading the truth ….

    “We would like to note the following in connection with the statement by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu about the start of military exercises by Russian troops near the state border with Ukraine:

    We have not observed a noticeable increase in the deployment of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border. According to our data, Russian battalion tactical groups of combined arms formations from the Southern and Western Military Districts, mentioned by the Russian Defense Minister, were already established a few days ago (as reported earlier by the IR group).

    There continue to be up to 50,000 Russian soldiers deployed in the 150 km [93 mile] zone from the state border in Russia.

    Therefore, it is difficult to talk about the current concentration of Russian troops at the border as Russia’s response to the ATO conducted in eastern Ukraine. This group of Russian troops was deployed at the border prior to these events.”

    http://maidantranslations.com/2014/04/24/dmitry-tymchuk-regarding-military-exercises-of-russian-troops-near-the-ukrainian-border/

    • 32 jackiegrumbacher
      April 24, 2014 at 9:57 pm

      I wonder if people like this Russian Defense minister actually believe they have any credibility left at all or if they’re nudging each other about the joke they think they’re pulling on the west.

  6. April 24, 2014 at 7:30 pm

    Economic warfare is not a joke ….

    “Russia scrapped bond sales for the seventh time in eight weeks as investors demanded higher yields after the U.S. said the country wasn’t taking steps to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine.

    The Finance Ministry canceled the sale of as much as 10 billion rubles ($280 million) of nine-year ruble securities and the same amount of five-year notes because there were no bids at acceptable prices, according to a statement on its website.”

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-23/russia-fails-to-sell-9-year-bonds-as-ukraine-tension-escalates.html

  7. 35 Dudette
    April 24, 2014 at 7:30 pm

    Hey Chips! Did ya know today is Enda Kenny’s birthday!

  8. April 24, 2014 at 7:34 pm

  9. 40 Nerdy Wonka
    April 24, 2014 at 7:40 pm

  10. 41 Nerdy Wonka
    April 24, 2014 at 7:42 pm

  11. 43 otter44
    April 24, 2014 at 7:43 pm

    Happy Birthday Library of Congress.

  12. April 24, 2014 at 7:45 pm

    Love when the President travels. He looks so elegant and gracious.

  13. 51 yardarm756
    April 24, 2014 at 7:46 pm

    The thoughts of a “loser”that’s from my state. What an odoriferous pos.

  14. 61 MightyPamela
    April 24, 2014 at 7:59 pm

    True Confession: I have a brother, (no names now), who seems to seriously want Jesse Ventura to run for the WH in 2016. I have to say, I really don’t know how to respond to this. Hope his meds aren’t slipping.

    • 62 jacquelineoboomer
      April 24, 2014 at 8:37 pm

      Ol’ Jesse had a big following, around the time he was a governor. Think he does a conspiracy/paranoia show now – or at least he did many years ago when I last thought of him.

      Sorry about your brother – maybe he’s trying to get a rise out of you, MP!

      • 63 MightyPamela
        April 24, 2014 at 8:44 pm

        Thanks – if so, it’s working! ;( I am finding conversation difficult… As in, I’m speechless! šŸ˜‰

    • 64 Nena20409
      April 24, 2014 at 9:51 pm

      I hope he knows that JV due to some heavy criticisms from the press, left his gubernatorial office early. It was a 4yr one term gig and he bolted when the criticism got to him.

  15. April 24, 2014 at 8:02 pm

    How Dmitry Tymchuk Broke the Russian Blogosphere

    clip

    “Dmitry Tymchuk is, in fact, a real person. His Facebook posts attract so many shares and so few comments because the ability to comment on his posts is restricted to his friends. (He has almost 80 thousand followers, but just 5 thousand friends.) Since Sannikov’s article was published, Tymchuk has appeared in person for several interviews and conferences. When he granted an interview to Ukraine’s premier Internet television station, Hromadske.TV, the host even poked Tymchuk in the arm, to confirm for viewers that he isn’t an Internet phantom invented by NATO.

    Tymchuk has been publishing pro-Ukrainian, anti-Russian memos and opinion pieces for nearly six years. In August 2008, when Russia was at war with Georgia, he wrote that Ukraine should study the conflict, in anticipation of facing future Russia aggression. In December 2008, when Ukraine finally withdrew the last of its armed contingent from the multinational force deployed to Iraq, Tymchuk wrote that Ukraine had gained military experience that would be valuable in future conflicts closer to home.

    In other words, Tymchuk is your standard patriotic blogger. Certainly more energetic and better informed than the average Internet user, Tymchuk has scribbled away on obscure websites for nearly six years, consistently thrashing what he perceives to be Ukraine’s aggressive neighbor to the east. After annexing roughly four percent of Ukraine’s population, and threatening to ā€œliberateā€ still more, Russia has made Tymchuk a star of Ukraine’s political scene.

    Rather than acknowledge Moscow’s role in promoting Tymchuk, some Russian bloggers prefer to blame NATO. Life, after all, is simpler with your head in the sand.”

    http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/04/23/how-dmitry-tymchuk-broke-the-russian-blogosphere/?gv_hidebutton_used=header-banner&gv_hidebutton_expiration=30

    • 66 jackiegrumbacher
      April 24, 2014 at 10:05 pm

      Well, I must say Tymchuk is an excellent writer, even in translation, and I enjoy reading his daily reports.

  16. 67 kathleenp444
    April 24, 2014 at 8:10 pm

    This Kansas and Bundy @%&# today has me *!^# & (prettyfoot I’m with you). I saw this comment (from a Jerry Rosen) over on Pierce’s’s blog, and couldn’t resist sharing it here. I’m all in…

    “Time to give these s***heads their own country. Past time, in effect. Give them the southern tier, take out the army bases, the federal facilities like the Space Center. Then build a real wall.

    Stop subsidizing them. We develop real alternative energy and let their f–ing oil stay in the ground (good side effect: put Putin back in the vodka bottle). Give them all the guns they want and let them proceed to kill each other. Forget vaccinating their kids or regulating nutrition in their schools, so they can grow up to be cholesterol- choked arthritics and early diabetics, and die miserable deaths from smoking. Let their “government” degenerate into Somalia or South Sudan; let them wave their (unread Bibles), pig out on FoxNews as they burn their crosses, drink coal ash with their water, and breath CO and sulfur dioxide to their mean and hateful heart’s content. Then the rest of the country can join the 21st century and they can go back to the 16th (or farther to the 14th if they want).”

  17. 70 dotster3
    April 24, 2014 at 8:10 pm

    Just saw the FL’s appearance on Parks and Rec—-cute.

  18. 71 Lynn
    April 24, 2014 at 8:10 pm

    Anybody get a chance to see Parks and Recreation with the First Lady? She looked fabulous!

  19. 74 anniebella
    April 24, 2014 at 8:11 pm

    I just saw FLOTUS on Parks and Recreation. I guess that was all we will see of her, but I will watch the entire show just to be sure.

  20. 75 desertflower
    April 24, 2014 at 8:28 pm

    Day after day. Post after insightful post. She just gets it done.

    http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2014/04/desperado.html

    • 76 mtmarilyn
      April 24, 2014 at 10:10 pm

      Great post, but did you read the one comment. I can’t believe what they said. I am not good at replying to someone who posts this kind of crap. Nancy has such great posts. I so appreciate you reminding us.

  21. April 24, 2014 at 8:30 pm

    re: South Korea:

    A couple of days ago I wondered why South Korea wasn’t pulling out all the stops for our President’s visit, and now have seen a couple of different answers.

    From Korean news:

    NYTimes:
    South Korean diplomats are characterizing it as a visit by an old friend — a pointed contrast to Mr. Obama’s more formal two-day stop in Japan, which includes an elaborate welcoming ceremony at the Imperial Palace, an audience with Emperor Akihito and a state dinner.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/world/asia/obama-asia.html

    Saw Dudette’s question on the previous thread which asked whether anyone else had seen a clip of President Obama with South Korean President Park Geun-hye (aired over television airwaves?).

    I searched on Google for President Obama in South Korea, and the top results were about how the ferry disaster may overshadow our President’s visit there.

    Our MSM jumps on the RWNJ bandwagon that “it’s all Obama’s fault.”

    Geez, he can’t win for losing.

  22. 78 kathleenp444
    April 24, 2014 at 8:30 pm

    šŸ™‚ I can’t resist sharing this either, from Andy Borowitz’s satirical news column at The New Yorker. Sure, it’s sarcasm, but it also happens to be the truth…

    REPUBLICANS BLAST NEVADA RANCHER FOR FAILING TO USE COMMONLY ACCEPTED RACIAL CODE WORDS

    WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) — Republican politicians blasted the Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy on Thursday for making flagrantly racist remarks instead of employing the subtler racial code words the G.O.P. has been using for decades.

    ā€œWe Republicans have worked long and hard to develop insidious racial code words like ā€˜entitlement society’ and ā€˜personal responsibility,ā€™ā€‰ā€ said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky). ā€œThere is no excuse for offensive racist comments like the ones Cliven Bundy made when there are so many subtler ways of making the exact same point.ā€

    Fox News also blasted the rancher, saying in a statement, ā€œCliven Bundy’s outrageous racist remarks undermine decades of progress in our effort to come up with cleverer ways of saying the same thing.ā€

  23. April 24, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    TODville knows I love maps.

    Here’s a couple more, published today.

    AFP – Russian border drills (including Moldova):

    @MichaelKelleyBI – ethnic Russians in Ukraine with a comparison to most recent Presidential election results.

    caveat: data is 13 years old. As a coastal Californian, a lot of demographic changes have happened here since 2001, but have no idea whether that is true in Ukraine as well.

  24. 81 yardarm756
    April 24, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    Evening funnies.

    BRITISH HUMOR IS DIFFERENT

    These are classified ads, which were actually placed in U.K. Newspapers:

    FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER..
    8 years old,
    Hateful little bastard.
    Bites!

    FREE PUPPIES
    1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbor’s dog.

    FREE PUPPIES.
    Mother is a Kennel Club registered German Shepherd.
    Father is a Super Dog, able to leap tall fences in a single bound.

    COWS, CALVES: NEVER BRED.
    Also 1 gay bull for sale….

    JOINING NUDIST COLONY!
    Must sell washer and dryer $100…

    WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE .
    Worn once by mistake.
    Call Stephanie.

    **** And the WINNER is…. ****

    FOR SALE BY OWNER.
    Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica, 45 volumes.
    Excellent condition, $200 or best offer. No longer needed, got married, wife knows everything.

    Statement of the Century
    Thought from the Greatest Living Scottish Thinker–Billy Connolly. “If women are so bloody perfect at multitasking, How come they can’t have a headache and sex at the same time?”

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    Children Are Quick___________

    TEACHER: Why are you late?
    STUDENT: Class started before I got here.
    ____________________________________
    TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
    JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables..
    __________________________________________
    TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell ‘crocodile?’
    GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L’
    TEACHER: No, that’s wrong
    GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.

    (I Love this child)
    ____________________________________________
    TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
    DONALD: H I J K L M N O..
    TEACHER: What are you talking about?
    DONALD: Yesterday you said it’s H to O.
    __________________________________
    TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn’t have ten years ago.
    WINNIE: Me!
    __________________________________________
    TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
    GLEN: Well, I’m a lot closer to the ground than you are.
    _______________________________________
    TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ‘ I. ‘
    MILLIE: I is..
    TEACHER: No, Millie…. Always say, ‘I am.’
    MILLIE: All right… ‘I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.’
    ________________________________
    TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father’s cherry tree, but also admitted it.
    Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn’t punish him?
    LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand…..
    ______________________________________
    TEACHER: Now, Simon , tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
    SIMON: No sir, I don’t have to, my Mum is a good cook.
    ______________________________
    TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on ‘My Dog’ is exactly the same as your brother’s.
    Did you copy his?
    CLYDE : No, sir. It’s the same dog.

    (I want to adopt this kid!!!)
    ___________________________________
    TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
    HAROLD: A teacher
    __________________________________
    PASS IT AROUND AND MAKE SOMEONE LAUGH.

    Due to current economic conditions the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.

  25. April 24, 2014 at 8:40 pm

  26. 87 Dudette
    April 24, 2014 at 8:40 pm

  27. 88 hopefruit2
    April 24, 2014 at 8:43 pm

  28. 94 Dudette
    April 24, 2014 at 8:45 pm

  29. 95 hopefruit2
    April 24, 2014 at 8:50 pm

    • April 24, 2014 at 9:28 pm

      WE LOVE Flotus…We are Proud of Her…and there is nothing that they can do about it~

      • 97 anniebella
        April 24, 2014 at 10:16 pm

        prettyfoot58, you are so right about that. I just loved how she dealt with that young girl this morning who told her about her unemployed father. We love and respect POTUS and FLOTUS

  30. April 24, 2014 at 8:56 pm

    Looks like Chips isn’t on this thread, but I’m hoping she stops by.

    I think she may have missed this encouraging news on Danny’s 8-month BD.

    From MomSense, on today’s Early Bird Chat thread (I’m not sure how old her puppy was when he ate everything in sight):

    http://theobamadiary.com/2014/04/24/early-bird-chat-189/#comment-1008654
    GM everyone! Been a crazy week for me and I’m just trying to get caught up. Wanted to stop by and say hello. Even when I don’t have time to comment, I always love reading the posts and seeing all the fantastic pictures. Thanks again and a very happy 8 month birthday to Danny. Don’t worry, he will settle down. My 14 year old sweetheart of a lab ate a palm pilot, camera, a coffee table, and my brand new beautiful boots (my one splurge purchase from a trip to Australia!) all because I forgot to latch his crate when I left the house for 3 hours to go to a pre-school sing along. He grew up and has been the best friend ever. So if you can slow him down for a second, please give him a skritch from me!

  31. 101 Dudette
    April 24, 2014 at 9:03 pm

  32. 102 Dudette
    April 24, 2014 at 9:05 pm

  33. 103 hopefruit2
    April 24, 2014 at 9:07 pm

    I wish the Japanese Robot Asimo would walk up to the US media (Jim Acosta CNN I’m looking at you) and slap everyone of them upside their thick heads.

  34. 107 jacquelineoboomer
    April 24, 2014 at 9:08 pm

  35. April 24, 2014 at 9:08 pm

  36. 110 hopefruit2
    April 24, 2014 at 9:13 pm

    Mark is drooling just thinking about this…

  37. April 24, 2014 at 9:18 pm

  38. April 24, 2014 at 9:26 pm

    • April 24, 2014 at 9:35 pm

    • 125 Ladyhawke
      April 24, 2014 at 9:38 pm

      Everyone needs to see this in-depth and revealing segment. Highly recommended. It should be required viewing for all reporters and media outlets.

      • April 24, 2014 at 9:51 pm

        Ladyhawke,

        Thank you so much for posting links to the good segments on MSNBC.

        Rachel’s in-depth investigation into the white supremacists who literally pal around with each other (e.g., Kansas shooter and Spokane bomb-planter) was amazing. The first segment lasted a full 30 minutes without interruption.

        This is why I commend Rachel’s staff. She’s got the best in the news business, and aside from 60 Minutes is about the only investigative journalism on television — and her staff does this on a daily basis, not on a 22-episode season (like 60 Minutes).

        Would appreciate your linking to today’s segment tomorrow, if you get the chance.

      • April 24, 2014 at 9:54 pm

        it was a great segment…esp bringing to light the historical references…..however Maddow gives Fox and company a pass…unless all that was tongue in cheek…but like I said,i believe,they Knew what was lurking behind the door

  39. April 24, 2014 at 9:28 pm

    Regarding Syria …

    https://twitter.com/Our4thEstate/status/459503077309943809

    “In counterpoint Assad’s opponents have launched a Twitter hashtag campaign, #AssadCampaignSlogans, offering alternative slogans that he might like to use.

    Classic offerings so far include: ā€œVote for the blood Ba’athā€ : ā€œDon’t Throw Assad out with the Ba’ath waterā€ : ā€œHarnessing chemicals to build a brighter futureā€ : ā€œMy family has megatons of experienceā€ : ā€œPutting laughter in Manslaughter since 2011″ : ā€œKeep the Homs Fires Burningā€ : I will rebuild Syria from the ashes (as soon as I finish burning it completely)ā€, and many more.”

    h/t http://www.petercliffordonline.com/syria-news-3 (an informative resource on the Syrian civil war though be warned that the human toll is often graphically displayed)

  40. 131 globalcitizenlinda
    April 24, 2014 at 9:30 pm

    please keep your thoughts, prayers and attention on the people of Southern Sudan – the world’s newest country formed after decades of war & thousands slaughtered;

    this is what happens when “leaders” with microphones & arms use tribal, racial/ethnic diversity to set one group of people against the other as a way to amass personal power;

    https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/459496233011515393 ;

    • April 24, 2014 at 9:36 pm

      The Greater UMC and especially our specific Holston Conference of the UMC does a lot of mission work and has much association with South Sudan. So very sad!

  41. 133 amk for obama
    April 24, 2014 at 9:34 pm

  42. 136 Dudette
    April 24, 2014 at 9:44 pm

    Damn Kansas

  43. 148 Dudette
    April 24, 2014 at 9:46 pm

  44. April 24, 2014 at 9:47 pm

  45. April 24, 2014 at 9:51 pm

  46. 153 Dudette
    April 24, 2014 at 9:56 pm

  47. 154 Dudette
    April 24, 2014 at 10:01 pm

  48. 155 Obama Grandmama
    April 24, 2014 at 10:10 pm

    I am hoping we will have this site continue after PBO ends his presidency. PLEASE, Chips.

  49. 157 amk for obama
    April 24, 2014 at 10:10 pm

  50. 158 amk for obama
    April 24, 2014 at 10:11 pm

  51. 161 amk for obama
    April 24, 2014 at 10:17 pm

  52. 162 JER
    April 24, 2014 at 10:23 pm

    • 163 Nena20409
      April 24, 2014 at 10:27 pm

      Safe Journey POTUS.

      G’Nite TOD ā¤ Always šŸ˜‰

    • 164 jacquelineoboomer
      April 24, 2014 at 10:28 pm

      “So is POTUS”? Uh, brilliant. It’s his plane! (Even their humor is trite.) šŸ™‚

      • 165 MightyPamela
        April 24, 2014 at 11:34 pm

        A real eye catcher, that clever line, eh? Another dunce who has no business being around this caliber of President. Is it supposed to be funny, or does he not know it’s only AF1 because of PBO?

    • 167 theo67
      April 25, 2014 at 4:42 am

      It’s only Air Force One when the President is on board… This tweet really reveals the media’s own inflated sense of self-importance… And ignorance.

  53. 168 hopefruit2
    April 24, 2014 at 10:30 pm

    LMAO!

  54. 170 JER
    April 24, 2014 at 10:36 pm


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