Happy Father’s Day also, to the men of TOD – be you biological, adopted, step, father figure. Thank you for having our backs, thank you for the smiles, thank you for the encouragement, thank you for your bad dad jokes, thank you for the embarrassment, thank you for the hi-5’s, thank you for letting us know that as long as we give it our best shot, we are more than good enough; thank you for the foundation that allows us to lift our heads high as we venture out into the world. Thanks for being great dads!
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#HappyFathersDay, Barack! Our girls are lucky to have such a great Dad. -mo http://t.co/mZjefIHaWz
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The First Lady (@FLOTUS) June 15, 2014****
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Hugs for Dad: Happy Father's Day. http://t.co/sfN0c39tHv
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Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 15, 2014****
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Happy Father's Day! http://t.co/kUsXpDDL8U
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Vice President Biden (@VP) June 15, 2014*****
The Obama Diary 
Good afternoon!
Congrats on 1st MomSense!
HAPPY BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY TO YOU!
Enjoy your day!
Thank you and same to you! I’m working in my yard in honor of my Dad.
Ahhhh…..how beautiful.
I hope it’s peaceful and joyous as you remember your dad….. {{{{{{{MomSense}}}}}}
Congrats on First, MomSense!
Happy Sunday! Have a wonderful Father’s Day!
I always wanted one of those! My dad used to build me really cool snow forts and lean-tos.
Aww! “My dad used to build me really cool snow forts and lean-tos.” <– Love that! 🙂
Awww, how SWEET! (sorry for the pun, Dudette.)
Always wanted one too, but alas, not meant to be. Wanted that plastic toy that was like a small shelf with a car’s steering wheel and dashboard with function windshield wipers too, but didn’t get that either, LOL.
But I had a great childhood without those material goodies, no regrets.
Happy Father’s Day to all the men at TODville, whether fathers or not. Hope you get some golf (or other serene pursuit) in today, in addition to be being showered with love and affection.
“I had a great childhood without those material goodies, no regrets” — That says it all Arapaho. 🙂
Have a wonderful day!
Happy BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY TO YOU Dudette!
Now this is just too cute…..Good to know that Dad came through the tasting ok : )
Amazing he survived my concoctions back then, Cindy! The man’s stomach must’ve been made of steel. 🙂
: )
Good ol dad never complained of that tummy ache…..now that’s an AWESOME dad : )
😀
What a completely lovely post for Father’s Day, Nerdy, thank yooooooou – you are a TOD Treasure!!!!
Thanks, Chips.
Ditto what Chips said, NW!
Thank you for all you do!
Beautiful Post…I love it .
Happy BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY Nerdy Wonka!!!
THANK YOU FOR THE BEAUTIFUL PICTURES OF OUR FIRST FAMILY!!!
Absolutely AWESOME!!!
Have a SPLENDID and BLESSED DAY!!
Thanks, Cindy.
Wishing you the same.
Happy Father’s Day!
Beautiful.
The Tribute to TOD Dads is for keeps.
🍸 🍸 🍸 To NW.
Happy Father’s Day to ALL our TODable Papas 😉
Thanks, Nena.
Lindsey Graham said the President is Delusional, Detached and stubborn headed.
Ok then!
I stopped at ‘Lyndsey Graham said’
#BAM!!! 😀
LOL.
Come on jovie, seriously?
Yes, reprehensible.
See previous thread for more thoughts on this.
Ha! Wish the media would stop at “Lindsey Graham said” too. Who cares what he has to say about anything?
Miss Lindsey?
And Lindsey Graham is what?????????
A freaking dam racists idiot just to name afew. To hell with that Jim Crow Senator from South Carolina.
Just because the black President doesn’t do what he and that senile old bitter Arizona Senator think he should do. They can’t handle that. We elected Obama, not McCain and Lindsey.
That’s what’s called a serious case of projection.
Ty soooo much NW! If I had had a daughter I would have wanted her to be just like you, feisty, brilliant, compassionate and an all around wonderful person!
Thanks NW. I wish our official Papa 🐻 a wonderful Father’s Day!!!
Good, maybe FLOTUS gave him some new golf clubs for Father’s Day..
Good afternoon, TOD. NW, this is such a lovely thread; THANKS! I’d also like to add my best wishes to all of the Men of TOD; Happy Father’s Day to you.
Thanks, Alycee.
Danke ut.
Just talked with the daughter unit. She has been selected for yet another national medicos conference for presenting yet another research paper in Mumbai in coupla weeks. One of only nine girls chosen all over from India.
Awesome! Congratulations!
Fantastic news Amk!!! Congratulations.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO YOU amk for obama!
CONGRATULATIONS! AWESOME news about daughter unit : )
She’s doing GREAT THINGS!!! Proud daddy……..
Absolutely wonderful news Amk, congratulations to Daughter Unit!!!
Congrats to your daughter. Happy Father’s Day, Amk.
Such wonderful and exciting news!! Congratulations to your daughter. You and the missus must be bursting with pride:) Contrary to your ornery self…you do good work!
Thanks guyz. What a perfect father’s day present.
You are obviously a great dad. Congrats to your impressive daughter! What is her research area?
Chest medicine related to HIV.
Wonderful. I’m proud FOR you!
Thanks meta. Also. Too. Me.
Ah yes, a chip off the ‘wifey unit’!
Wow, congrats, proud Papa!
Your daughter is continuing the legacy of amazing women set by her Grandmother, such an amazing woman with an enduring legacy.
Heartfelt thanks for raising such great contributions to your country and the world.
Happy Father’s Day, AMK.
What a wonderful news on this special day.
Congrats to your daughter. She makes you and all of us proud.
Congrats!
Congratulations to her, amk!!!
Wonderful news amk! You & your wife must be very proud & rightfully so.
Thanks toddys. I sleep a happy man tonight.
Daughter Unit, Congratulations on all your wonderful $ucce$$e$. That is your Papa’s jovial and personable influence here at TOD. Take a bow, proud Pops, Amk 😉
Here’s to your sweet brilliant daughter 🍸
LOL. Thx Nena.
What better Father’s Day gift than to have your child accomplish something so outstanding?!?!?
Congrats Proud Papa amk!!! Wishing her the best at her research presentation! 🙂
Thanks hf. Time for some zzz’s.
Congratulations to your daughter, amk! And to you and your wife!
Extraordinaryyyyyyy…she does you proud…AMK…smilin
this is fabulous news!!
congrats!
HAPPY BEAUTIFUL FATHER’S DAY TO OUR FABULOUS 3!
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY;
PRESIDENT BARACK H. OBAMA,
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN and ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER.
May you forever be “Blessed Indeed.”
Thank you for the hard work that you do to make this world a better and safer place for “all.”
Squeeeeee!
Worthwhile reading …
Jihadistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran
Regional chaos may bring two longstanding rivals together
by Immanuel Wallerstein @iwallerstein
“A jihadist movement, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has just scored a stunning and sweeping victory by capturing Mosul, Iraq’s third city located in the north of the country. Their forces are proceeding southward towards Baghdad and have seized Tikrit, hometown of Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi army seems to have fallen apart, having also ceded Kirkuk to the Kurds. ISIS has also taken prisoner Turkish diplomats and truckers. It now controls effectively a large chunk of the north and west of Iraq as well as a contiguous zone in the northeast corner of Syria. Commentators have labeled this trans-border zone Jihadistan. ISIS seeks to reestablish a caliphate in as large an area as possible, one based on a particularly strict version of sharia law.
The shock and fear that the successes of this movement have inspired may lead to major geopolitical realignments in the Middle East. Geopolitics is an arena of frequent surprises, in which known antagonists suddenly reconcile themselves and transform their relation into one of what the French call frères ennemis (friendly enemies). The most famous instance in the last half-century was the trip of Richard Nixon to China to meet with Mao Zedong, a trip that fundamentally revised the alignments within the modern world-system and has underlain the China-United States relationship ever since.
The world media have long emphasized the deep hostility between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Any reconciliation would therefore appear unlikely. But since there seem to have been secret meetings between the two countries in recent months, one must wonder if such a surprise geopolitical reversal is not in the offing.
Whenever such turnarounds occur, the question to ask is what the two sides get out of it. There must be certain common interests that outweigh the known bases of hostility. Let us start by putting aside one claim of analysts to explain the antagonism. This is the fact that Iran’s government is controlled by Shi’ite imams and that of Saudi Arabia is controlled by a Sunni monarchy. This is of course true. But we should remember that up to 1979, Iran (under the Shah) and Saudi Arabia (under the same Sunni monarchy) were close geopolitical allies, and worked together within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on all issues related to the price of oil — a central economic concern for both countries. After 1979, Iran changed its politics and the public antagonism between the two commenced, but only then.”
More at the link: http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/6/iraq-islamic-statesyriairansaudiarabia.html
Thanks Bobfr, such a relief to (finally) have time to see you and others here at TODville.
Grateful that TODville provides thought-provoking perspectives that the GOP propaganda machine aka MSM ignore.
ICYMI, my comment to you at tailend of previous thread:
Bobfr, have missed most of your recent posts the past couple of weeks (and everyone else’s too), but it’s shameful that the warmongering MSM is chomping at the bit for intervention in Iraq.
As part of the Vietnam generation, I have always been antiwar, but September 11th changed the equation for many patriotic Americans.
It’s beyond infuriating that Bush-Cheney manipulated the heartfelt shock and anger at that attack against our country into a disastrous invasion against a country and its people who had nothing to do with that horrific attack.
And today’s treasonous MSM wants to rinse and repeat.
@knx1070 (CBS news radio) aired interviews with an Iraqi war veteran (Navy corpsman) who lost a leg and two buddies in Iraq during 2006 who said that the current chaos was predictable and not worth the loss to him and this country.
This is the type of reporting that should counterbalance the loathsome soundbites from BFF’s Lindsey Graham and McCain.
Reply
TY Arapaho. I did see your comment at the previous thread and responded.
Thanks!
Throwback Daddy’s Day! 🙂
Good West Coast morning NW, Chipsticks & TOD family.
NW, I echo your wonderful words on this post!!
HAPPY Father`s Day to our fathers here on TOD & men everywhere who fill those important shoes! ❤
Bonne Fête des Pères
Quel bonheur de fêter quelqu’un
dont la valeur est incontestable
et dont l’amour est inestimable.
Un papa remarquable!
Happy Father’s Day
How happy it is to celebrate someone
whose value remains incontestable
et whose love is priceless.
A remarkable father!
Enjoy your special day, Fathers of TODVille!
Looks like captain Nemo!
Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone! 🙂
from Robert Reich:
“I’m here in Florida visiting my father, Ed Reich, who, at the young age of 100 and a half, just came up with one of the most incisive assessments I’ve heard of what’s happened in Iraq: “George W. Bush and the crooks he hired are responsible for this. If they hadn’t lied to the American people about weapons of mass destruction we wouldn’t have lost nearly 5,000 American lives and god knows how many Iraqi lives, and stirred up this hornet’s nest. Obama has spent his entire administration cleaning up Bush’s shit, like someone with a giant pooper scooper.” Dad has lived during the administrations of 17 presidents. “Bush was the worst,” he says. “Reagan the second worst.””
Replied to you below (meant to post as a response to you, didn’t intend to post as a standalone thought). 😦
100 plus with a Sharp mind and spoke the God’s honest truth.
Happy Father’s Day to Ed Reich. ❤ him for his no bull pucky TRUTH !
..and they are dying off. A new generation is coming!!!!!!
What a great collection of photos, NW. POTUS is such a loving Dad. The love he sends out and all of you in appreciation uplifts me.
Agree that Bush-Cheney Adm. was the worst POTUS/Veep for a least 100 years, though Nixon-Agnew is a close contender.
Speaking as a blue-dog Dem who is not inclined to bash those Dems who represent positions I disagree with — doesn’t a good part of the blame rest with Dem Senators (e.g., Clinton, Feinstein, Kerry) who authorized this war?
I know they were bamboozled, but who really believed those “yellow-cake” and “mushroom cloud” exaggerations?
At the very least these Dems did not weigh the consequences of such action, and did not discuss with their constituents the cost/benefit to the US of invading another country not involved with September 11th.
With Iraq once again in the news, I am reminded of reading news accounts during the aughts of those lost in that war. Truly some of the best and brightest local (and national) youth were lost way too early.
The most important person was not bamboozled, and that’s PBO!!!! He had the interest of the country and the American people in mind. We need to move forward now.
I spent a significant amount of time writing letters to Senators Kerry, Clinton, Levin, Biden and others – prior to GWB launching his illegal war on the sovereign nation of Iraq insisting that we did not have adequate justification and that it would lead precisely the over arching outcome that emerged – Americans dying in the midst of sectarian slaughter.
In several of those letters I insisted that they remember why GHWBush did not destroy and occupy Baghdad and reflect on what Dick Cheney had to say at the time of the liberation of Kuwait.
“If you’re going to go in and try to topple Saddam Hussein, you have to go to Baghdad. Once you’ve got Baghdad, it’s not clear what you do with it. It’s not clear what kind of government you would put in place of the one that’s currently there now. Is it going to be a Shia regime, a Sunni regime or a Kurdish regime? Or one that tilts toward the Baathists, or one that tilts toward the Islamic fundamentalists? How much credibility is that government going to have if it’s set up by the United States military when it’s there? How long does the United States military have to stay to protect the people that sign on for that government, and what happens to it once we leave?”
More here: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/chatterbox/2002/10/dick_cheney_dove.html
SCOTUS coup d’etat on 12 December 2000 will, in time, be seen as one of the most damaging acts against America in its history.
….”I find the brouhaha over them no longer scoring the ACA to be puzzling,” said Peter Orszag, who served as CBO director from 2007 through 2008 and then as Obama’s budget director from 2009-2010. “As a general practice, they don’t do ex-post scoring; they score beforehand. What’s unusual in this case is not that they stopped scoring — but that they did a bunch ex-post scoring in the first place.”
Loren Adler, Research Director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, agrees. “We talked through the question here at CRFB, and none of us can even think of a law that interacts with different parts of the budget that has ever been re-scored in its entirety after implementation,” he said….
Lol. Cnn wants us to reengage. They’ve always loved the Iraq wars.
But this is all bc of big oil, they’re behind the scenes pushing buttons, bc they don’t feel secure in Iraq. This much I know.
The trick is to stop watching CNN
And msnbc, cbs, abc, Fox, nbc, ny times, wa post, wsj, ny post, boston herald, Tampa bay times, Miami herald, Reuters, AP, bloomberg, CNBC….
And every other news rag you can find. If you think Obama is gonna act on what these pundtwits say and demand, then you have not been listening to him. Especially, on the issues he campaigned on and won, his attitude towards media is FU.
THIS!!!!! And congratulations proud Papa!
Danke.
And the republican house members and Neo con old senators that have been there since 1692 and…
Yup. There you go. Ignore the noise lest you get sucked into it. Do you even remember what was the last week’s Obama “fail” was?
There you go Jovie! If we all do that then our sanity will be saved! Follow PBO, ‘let them talk’ and most importantly pay no attention to them Let’s not seek aggravation!
Beware of big oil, they have unseen power in media and congress. That’s all I was saying. 🙂
I disagree…we SEE it
Jov.ie!!
^10
^5
Happy Father’s Day to all TOD fathers, caregivers, and mentors. You rock!!! Cheers!!!!!
Nato?
No, Jovie. #ATO is Ukrainian Anti-Terrorist Operation 🙂
Ty
Happy Father’s Day to all dads and honorary dads! Enjoy the day!
I would welcome a “Danny post” right about now…but he is probably busy training Chips
Just ran across an informative piece by Juan Cole explaining Reagan’s role in Iran/Iraq war and tying it into Iran helping Iraq now. Cole pulled it together in a way that helped me understand. It’s complicated, but here’s an excerpt about the difference with Reagan and now with President Obama. I couldn’t BEGIN to tell you how relieved I am that Pres Obama is at the helm. He’s been setting up policies of global cooperation and partnership that are bearing fruit now. And I know he understands the powers in play in Iraq and Iran as well as the relationship he wants the US to have with those countries. Via Bobfr: #TrustBarack
….The Reagan administration in the United States largely backed Iraq from 1983, when Reagan dispatched then Searle CEO Donald Rumsfeld to shake Saddam’s hand. This, despite Iraq being the clear aggressor and despite Reagan’s full knowledge of Iraqi use of chemical weapons, about which George Schultz at the State Department loudly complained until he was shushed…..
….Just because the Reagan administration was so Machiavellian, it also gave some minor support to Iran in the war. Reagan stole anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry from the Pentagon storehouses and illegally sold them to Khomeini despite Iran being on the US terrorism watch list. He then had Iran pressure the Shiite militiamen in Lebanon to release American hostages. Reagan sent the money received from Iran to death squads in Nicaragua fighting the people’s revolution there against a brutal American-installed dictatorship. This money was sent to Nicaragua in defiance of the Boland Amendment passed by Congress forbidding US monies to go there. Ollie North, whom you see prevaricating on Fox News these days, was a bag man for the operation…..
….It is possible that a US-Iran alliance against al-Qaeda-like groups in Iraq and Syria could clarify their budding new relationship and lead to a tectonic shift in US policy in the Middle East. Indeed, Reuters says Iranian officials are offering the possibility of security cooperation with the US…..
..as Bob predicted
I feel like a con man on father’s day. My wife and kids have made my life a winning proposition and a happy one at that. Today we celebrate what an awesome guy I am for being so lucky.
Sweet man!
Well said!!!
Happy Father’s Day Lockewasright and all the wonderful TOD fathers who not only love, take care, of your own children (young or old) but love and care about the children of this country and on this planet by electing and promoting candidates who will make this country and planet a better place.
Happy Father’s Day to VP Biden -he is sooooooo handsome at any age! 🙂
That.Is.All…..
Good Afternoon TOD Family!
Happy Father’s Day to all of our wonderful TOD fathers. Much Love and thank you for all that you do.
A special shout-out to amk. Congratulations to your daughter who continues to make you proud. Good job Dad!
Some were asking about Jim, I think it was yesterday. Well, he just kindly replied to this tweet …
Our awesome bobfr, brilliant minds in communication with YOU, Sir!
I agree and I suspect that US is probably doing it already…..why? here’s a clue from HP on Sen Lindsey Graham today:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/15/lindsey-graham-iran-iraq_n_5496545.html#comments
“We should have discussions with Iran to make sure they don’t use this as an opportunity to seize control of parts of Iraq,” the hawkish senator said. “They’re in this. They’re already on the ground. We need to put a red line with Iran.”
Asked how the U.S. should do that, Graham replied, “You just sit down and talk with them.”
Graham has long been a hardliner on Iran, and his comments came as a surprise to interviewers Gloria Borger and Dana Bash. The pair asked Graham to repeat himself. “I’m sorry, it’s sort of hard for me to believe that I’m hearing a Republican say, ‘Sit down and talk with Iran,'” Bash said.
“Do you realize what’s happening?” Graham replied. “If Baghdad falls and the central government collapses in Iraq, the Iranians are the biggest winner. We’re the biggest loser.”
////
Congress gets briefed and some like Graham would wordsmith…..due to GAG on security briefings and go on TV spouting what were told to them as if he is having some SMART revelations.
““If Baghdad falls and the central government collapses in Iraq, the Iranians are the biggest winner. We’re the biggest loser.”
Could someone explain this part to me. If the Iranians win because Baghdad collapses why are they sending troops in to make sure Baghdad doesn’t collapse?
Exactly. It doesn’t make sense. Maybe Graham phrased it badly.
A good read:
Beautiful Father’s Day to all of the fathers here in the TOD Village. (Sorry that I am late, but I wanted to comment here)
Amk, Congratulations to your lovely and brilliant Daughter Unit. Beautiful fruit does not fall far from the two beautiful units who gave life to your beautiful daughter. {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ Congratulations to Father and Mother Units.}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} HZ
Nerdy W., thank you for this moving and lovely Post. Love to you and Chips for All that makes this the best place of any paradise. HZ
Thanks, HZ.
New post:
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/06/15/obamacare-14-million-and-counting/
thank you for all the pics of POTUS and the girls.
You’re welcome, Rikryah. 🙂
Happy Fathers Day Big Guy!
Wanted to wish the President, Vice President and all the fathers here on TOD a Happy Fathers Day.
Just the mere thought of President Obama’s last day in the White House brings me to tears. I will never come to terms with it. :`(