President Obama signs the proclamation marking the National Day of Prayer in the Oval Office in May 2009 while Joshua DuBois, director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, looks on.
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There is such a disconnect between the views of some Black elites on POTUS & race — and the reality of his words & work.
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
“You don’t speak about race enough” is the new “you’re not black enough.” It’s an indefensible claim; there will never “enough.”
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
Over & over again, POTUS connects w/everyday black folk.Twitterati claim to have read these speeches or been there. Honestly hard to believe
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
I was in Selma. Obama masterfully connected his legacy to triumphs of the civil rights movement. I saw the tears in CT Vivian’s eyes.
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
Watch the video. Read the speech.
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
I was intimately involved in Philly speech on race. The one that few wanted him to give.
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
The speech that had grandmothers around the country writing him, “thank you for saying what no one before has said.”
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
2012. Leader of the free world said, “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.” Think about that for a second. Seriously, let that sit.
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
2013, unprompted, POTUS starts walking to briefing room. Speaks from heart, no notes. Read it y’all. Again. For real. http://t.co/H0Esu3e1Mg
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
Reaction from Black pundits to POTUS & race is so chronic, so reflexive at this point – must wonder what it says about them rather than him.
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
Folks latch on to every word said or unsaid on race – or every speech by given someone else – desperate to prove, “See! He doesn’t care!”
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
An odd obsession. Sometimes grounded in community concern, but with too heavy a tinge of PR, too much of an edge of personality conflict.
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
Bottom line is, POTUS can’t get out here & tweet. Or post a think piece to Salon, Root or Griot. He has to–imperfectly–work race out.
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
I just have to think there are better targets for Black punditry’s critique than the man who said this. http://t.co/4IHjllIsAD I have to.
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
B/c every barb aimed at potus on race is one less shot @ private prisons, wage & wealth gap, unequal justice etc. But I’m sipping tea :-).
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
As a thought experiment, wondering what would happen if the brilliance of Black intellectual twitter got behind POTUS for a solid year.
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
Like, we’d pass the Voting Rights Act Reauthorization #IfYouHadHisBack
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
We’d probably get a billion more for summer jobs. #IfYouHadHisBack
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
I mean we could even expand Medicaid more quickly #IfYouHadHisBack
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
Shoot we may even permanently protect SNAP & universal pre-K #IfYouHadHisBack
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
Whew, we could move this Clemency 2014 project forward (more here — https://t.co/fifaO6bu3F) #IfYouHadHisBack
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
But — and I could be wrong — a poll of the barber shop on POTUS’ performance will be wildly different than a poll of a PhD program.
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
Anyway, God bless y’all. New followers: I usually tweet about Jesus, justice, and my insane dog, apologies for this little sidebar. TTYL.
— Joshua DuBois (@joshuadubois) August 29, 2014
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The Obama Diary 
1?
Yes you are Vicki!!!!!! 🙂
Soooooooo gald you posted all his tweets! MAGNIFIQUE!!!
GLAD!!!! ffs.
started happy hour lovely Tally? 🙂
Yes you are, Vicki 🙂
Chips, you’ve done a very fine thing (one of millions, btw) by featuring Joshua DuBois, I’ll say ‘historic,’ Twitter TL of 29 August 2014. Thank you!!
For you, Chips!
My Dad once told me. “It’s easier to criticize than it is to do the work”.
Your father could not have been more correct, sailor.
Worthy and powerful words. Thank you, Yardarm756.
2?
Chips, what a studendous blog essay. I confess. I don’t know who this man is. I sure am going to find out.
#ifYouHadHisBack—-brilliant.
Ah Vicki, sorry, I should have added some info about him – just added caption to that photo with a link to Joshua DuBois’ Wiki page.
He’s very close to POTUS, sent him devotionals every day for years. He turned those into a book he put out end of last year.
Here, I just found this interesting piece he wrote talking about his relationship with PBO:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/13/the-president-s-devotionals.html
Late to the party as I am, I’m not sure this was shared earlier (I did a quick run-through and didn’t spot it) but I remember seeing it here in the village one along ago day, and being very moved by the picture Dubois created. The reverend described how impacted Pres O was by the Sandy Hook killings and how he gave of himself totally to each family while clearly himself suffering deeply from the insanity of their murders.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/26/the-presidents-devotional_n_4158485.html
Vc, thank you for remembering that and sharing this. I almost wrote about that moving comment by Dubois and my spirit moved on. I stopped and cried because I remember reading it over and over in his book. But after reflecting on it again tonight, I knew that I was not suppose to speak his words out, but allow others to choose to do so in their own timing. Thanks for placing the link. It is so moving, and I know people personally who know PBO who can and will tell all of us of the wonderful and compassionately serious and moving soul he carries with him daily. An amazing human being he is for sure. HZ
these are such important tweets. Thank you:)
Thanks for posting the wonderful truth telling tweets by Joshua Dubois Chips. I concur.
We need more voices like this to speak out for our President against the insane cacophony of trash that passes for “journalism.”
Thank you, Chips.
I almost hugged my laptop reading his tweets, Meta, too many gems to choose from, but this, this, this:
“You don’t speak about race enough” is the new “you’re not black enough.”
That was the one that seared through my chest, too. A moving response to the displaced anger and fear projected onto PBO.
And it takes us back to the very beginning when he announced his candidacy and got into the race. Oh, how he showed them!
In 2007 and 2008, the MSM, who were supposedly in the tank for Senator Obama, constantly referred to WJC as the “First Black President” and they also actively promoted the concept that Barack Obama was not “Black enough” for the African American community.
This was pre-TOD, but it made my blood boil when they attacked or used snide innuendo against “my” candidate, who, like them, did not choose his parents. It was so irrelevant to the issue of who was the best person to get America out of all the disasters caused by Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld, the worst Presidency of modern history.
Yes, and it totally missed the fact that he IDENTIFIES as a Black man. It doesn’t get any plainer than that.
Outstanding….Outstanding
Is it just simply that the so -called black intellectuals are jealous…is that all there is to this taking a swipe at PBO every chance they can
ALL OF THIS!! SO TRUE!!
Darn it, the phone rang or I would have been first! 🙂 Congratulations Vicki on winning the gold first place prize.
Wonderful post Chipsticks…..I LOVE THIS GUY!
“Darn it, the phone rang or I would have been first!”
JoJo, has VC hacked your TOD account??
😀
Hi, Jojo! Thank you for reminding CC about me. 😉
😦 Sorry vc but your reputation proceeds itself… 🙂 You guys crack me up!
😉 😉 We are very happy to add to your pleasure.
What is this about? Ct. state police and Secret Service looking for a car connected to a threat against President Obama
http://www.courant.com/news/breaking/hc-president-threat-0830-20140829,0,7715943.story
This kind of stuff makes me sick. Too many crazy nuts among us.
Lord Have Mercy.
We need to do a prayer vigil to push back satin folks…….I we be on my knees tonight praying for the safety of PBO and family against evil. Please join me tonight and the rest of his time as President. These evil people will not stop.
Chips,
I loved this morning’s Early Bird thread photo so much that I just tweeted it to @JoshuaDubois:
It is not like they don’t know that if PBO was walking down AnyTown, USA without his Secret Service detail…he would be subject to the harassment that any other blk man in America is subjected to…
it is not like they have not seen the racist jive that Leader of the Free world has had to deal with…including having his wife subjected to all kind of disrespect….
its not like they do not know that to knockdown the pillars of structural and institutional racism does not come easy….
I often wonder why PBO they do not give credit for his grit & determination that was needed to get the ACA passed…which gave an overwhelming number of black folks health care…
I have always wondered why these so-called black academics see things so much more differently then the blk folks on the ground
I like that notion that Dubois had…
…As a thought experiment, wondering what would happen if the brilliance of Black intellectual twitter got behind POTUS for a solid year.
Concisely eloquently expressed, Prettyfoot58.
Seconded!
Damn!
I see the question that this may be the reason there was a change of plans for PBO tonight, returning to the WH instead of staying in NY. NY police notified also.
hmmm…good point….I often think of the safety of our President and his family….
My the Creator keep him safe and unharmed…
and Secret Service and the police.
Nope…..It was announced at the WH presser that POTUS was coming back this evening and will be heading out again on Saturday. When asked why, JEarnest said that POTUS wanted to sleep in his own bed……and he has planned to get some things done.
Molly Ivins birthday is tomorrow…man, she would have had SO MUCH to say now! About Texas and the sorry state of affairs that politics has become. Happy Birthday, Molly…missed everyday.
I loved her truthtelling so much!
Miss her voice so much. And beloved Mike Royko, if you’re from Chicagoland.
‘ Lt. Paul Vance explained he was given information by the U.S. Secret Service to be on alert for a person coming through the state who may have threatened Obama. ‘
http://t.co/nwnXm8rdXc
Japa, you tutored the fool. These are the same folks today at the WH presser screaming Language. They speak the words, but they fail to hear and understand the language.
Since when should a President ever have to defend his wardrobe choice?
I really hope Nina wins.
Ditto!
What is deep to me is this conversation between @AntonioFrench and @Patricialicious (Patricia Bynes Democratic Committeewoman of Ferguson Township in St Louis County in MO. A delegate for MO’s 1st Congressional District)
May I inquire as to why a Dem in MO will have Hannity as part of her Monika?
Thought I’d inquire, Nena ….
Not sure, but I think she had “words” with Sean Hannity and wanted to remind people?
I assumed as much, Jacqueline, but it does her ZERO good to have that scum in her icon.
Tell me about it. I don’t want to even acknowledge he exists. Anyway, the fact she was on his show in the first place makes me question her judgment, but each to their own.
Doc Bobfr…..you are a Gem. Wow. Thanks.
These Tweets by JDubois are incredible. They not only spoke the truth, but they are backed with information.
thank you for the tweets!
I saw this AF1 and thought…..boy, that looks a tad small. Then I went on Knoller’s TL and confirmed it.
Okay, I’m just an old white guy, but I’m going to stick my nose into this anyway.
For every group, whether it be ethnic, racial, religious (or non), special interest group, whatever, there is always a group who consider themselves the intelligentsia and spokespeople for that group.
The intelligentsia does not mean the highly educated. Rather it is composed of those that think their education and or experience makes them superior to all others, including other highly educated people.
Because they are so special, they rarely actually get their hands dirty dealing with problems, but rather opine from their ivory towers. And the first thing they do is attack those who they actually see as threats to their superiority.
The folks that duBois is talking about fit that mold. So do the Rowan Farrows and Chris Hayes of the world. So do the Bill O’Reillys and Joe Scarbouroughs.
Sometimes, it is just hot air and of little consequence, but in terms of the racial situation in this country, this aloofness and smugness is actually dangerous.
well said…they pontificate.
“Sometimes, it is just hot air and of little consequence, but in terms of the racial situation in this country, this aloofness and smugness is actually dangerous.”
Another ‘old white guy’ couldn’t agree with you more, John.
An old white girl says “Bravo” japa.
I loved Du Bois’s tweets, and appreciate the comfort and encouragement he’s been to the president. I especially liked his list of what could be accomplished if people would get behind the president instead of carping.
Another “old white girl” also says Bravo, japa!
And another “old white girl” saying Bravo!
Hate to hear about this viable threat to our President. But, have confidence when the Conn. State Police are working with Secret Service. My respect for that state’s police corps goes WAY back. When in college, I lived in D.C. and went to college in Boston. We would drive the eight hours through Maryland, New Jersey, a corner of New York, then BAM we hit the Merritt Parkway in Ct. We never edged over the speed limit in Ct. The State Troopers had a well earned fearsome reputation. I doubt that they have changed.
However, they were also helpful when help was needed. Five of us drove home to D.C. at the end of the semester, leaving at night, with a uhaul trailer on the back. I was asleep in the back seat when I heard and felt a horrible thump. The car stopped, the trailer fell over, and a deer went running into the woods. Well, there we were about 2 a.m…..of course no phones available…..we all got out, checked it out….hardly knowing what to do. Shortly a couple of CT troopers came, and took care of us. We had to empty the trailer, then they helped us right it, took us to the station so we could make calls, made sure we were ready to go and got us on our way. We had planned our time so we would go through NYC about 5 a.m. With this accident, we went through right at high commuter time…….with this uhaul trailing behind us on the GW bridge. A trip I’ve never forgotten. Funny how news items can trigger long buried memories.
🙂 You brought back memories for ME, talking about things I know about! LOVE driving on the Merritt Pkwy….just a relaxing ride….and scenic. Always liked to see the very professional CT state troopers…
I tried to post just SoS Kerry’s piece…..but could not. 😦
Double Damn!
why isn’t Christie paying his own legal bills? He’s a tough conservative after all.
Knoller goes on and on about trivial non important things.
I guess cons wish that David Cameron was president instead. Typical of the idiotic right.
Is it Cameron or Putin, Jeff? I guess it’s anyone but the black man.
I think they’ve thrown Putin under the bus lately and think Cameron or Netanyahu as a better candidate.
Well they can have every single one of them.
Totally enjoyed these tweets. I’d just make one change, because so many are so quick to criticize OUR POTUS: #IfWEHadHisBack
I feel for the Russian people being deluded by Vladey-Mae Poutin’. EGOTIST doesn’t EVEN begin to describe the problem. THANK GOD we have PBO. He’s immune to the pathetic goading by ole On-a-Horse-With-B*tch-T*ts.
They are very much victims of their own making, not at all dissimilar to the ‘whites’ in America who live in 97 of the 100 poorest Congressional Districts in the country and continue to vote for the #KOCHSTERS (aka Republicans) who, cycle after cycle, control those CDs, magapie. I assure you, RU propaganda experts and RU #NEWSTAINERS take daily lessons from US Fox, CNN, NBC, MSNBC, …., the White House Press ‘Corpse,’ etc.
But, as it’s always been in history, the fooled eventually awaken, and when that’s happen at various times in the past ~ 900 years in the real estate currently called the Russian Federation, it’s not been particularly comfortable for the “Tzars” of the time. Grandmothers, Mothers, and Wives of their loved ones who went to Ukraine and are now either dead or unaccounted are going to become a force Putin will not be able to suppress.
Not #1! Congrats, Vicki!
Hi everyone! Just sticking my nose in to see if I can get a sense of what all happened today. This post looks very interesting, so I’ve been reading the DuBoisn tweets, and even retweeting one or two. I assume from the tweets that some ‘coloured’ dodo heads were trying to puff themselves up again? The never learn!
LIVE NOW: President Obama departing Rhode Island – http://www.cbsnews.com/liveFeed/widget.shtml
“ATO’s top official accused Russia Friday of following a “dangerous pattern” of intervention in Ukraine intended to destabilize that country.
NATO convened an emergency meeting a day after Ukrainian and NATO officials said Russian troops and equipment had crossed into Ukraine.
“Despite Moscow’s hollow denials, it is now clear that Russian troops and equipment have illegally crossed the border into eastern and southeastern Ukraine,” NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at his headquarters in Brussels. “This is not an isolated action, but part of a dangerous pattern over many months to destabilize Ukraine as a sovereign nation.””
Now that NATO has publicly recognized what Russia is doing, what is the next step? I wonder what power NATO has to shape events.
Two can play at this “suit” game.
All right everyone, it’s been one hell of an annoying day. But I’m home, fish is marinating, and my cocktail glass is chilling.
ISIS is a threat to everyone, and it’s not just America’s problem.
I like how he used “immediate departure” and “an hour behind schedule” in the same sentence. Ha.
Why Obama doesn’t have a strategy yet for Syria? why are the press acting so dam stupid? There is no easy solution for what’s going on in Syria. Anyone with any dam sense know that.
Well, you know what would come next…
The first “Pimp” POTUS. And they’d go there.
Hello TOD family and my Chips. Thank you for this post. Joshua Dubois is a very dear friend to PBO. They have traveled through this journey hands together in humble respect for their work together. I admire Joshua’s determination to tell the truth about his president and the man he so faithfully served during his time at the WH. They have a true bond that cannot be broken. I am so grateful that he still speaks out for truth and goodness about and for PBO.
Joshua is the young man who sent POB devotional via email every day while he was serving this great president. He was there through thick and thin and never or will he flinch when it comes to the total commitment of speaking his truths to anyone. I love his tweets, and thanks Chips for this post. A calming in the waters. So grateful to you, Chips for sharing this with our TOD family.
Joshua’s book is a wonderful read and an uplifting connection to an insightful solid rock for respecting this president and seeing up close what he goes through daily. They will be very close always.
I cherish the format of his book and have it in my personal library. I often reach for it to see how the devotional may have lifted the president up and may have had some gems in it on that particular day that Joshua emailed it to POB, I just go back and try to meditate on what were some of the things that came knocking on the president’s door that date and then go back and read the devotional that Joshua had sent to PBO. It really revealed to me how much Joshua and PBO knew each other. I gain a sense of humbleness, gratefulness, and truthfulness and come away knowing that these three attributes can still walk alongside of power, if in the hands of a decent, brilliant, and humble man, Our President. HZ
Joshua’s book is a beautiful and so is Mr. Joshua Dubois. Thanks for all that you did and will continue to do as you have entered the next chapter in your life, Joshua.HZ
Thank you for this tribute, and wise perspective, HZ. This is certainly a book that many of us should seek out. It is ironic that that those who hate, dishonor and dismiss our president also choose to be willfully blind to his deep spirituality. Those of us who’ve followed him over the years and actually see and hear him, have long since known this side of his nature.
So very true, Jackie!
I will buy his book this weekend and start praying daily on my knees to GOD for the safety and long life of PBO to grow old with FLOTUS and see his two beautiful daughters grow up and give him many grandsons and granddaughters.
You are always so gentle and insightful, HZ. I hope Chips or NW post your comments as a “Word from HZ” sometime tomorrow. Everyone needs to read what you have to say about Joshua and our President. Thank you.
“Lev Shlozberg – regional assembly council member from Pskov, Russia – heavily injured with skull-brain-leisure [lesion] after a brutal attack tonight – after having reported about the dead Russian soldiers of the Pskov airborne bataillon killed in action in Ukraine.”
This kind of brutal suppression will not end well for Putin. Sooner or later, even the Russian people will reach their limit of tolerance.
New post:
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/08/29/night-owl-chat-11/
Great post Chips…
Love Joshua’s tweets.
Thanks for highlighting.
A pleasure Marlz, adored his tweets!