Chat Away

The President and First Lady arriving at “A Salute to the Troops” concert tonight

A Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the White House

7:15 EDT: President Obama and The First Lady Host “A Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the White House”

 

Not A Farewell

amk for obama

November 5, 2014 at 12:02 am

Thank you Chips for all your tireless efforts. For all the Obama supporters, this place has been an oasis amidst all the hate mongering racist desert that america has become. A million thanks again.

Thank you toddys for all your insights, volunteering on behalf of the cleanest, most committed and most honest President ever and for all the jovial comradery i here. A millions thanks to you all.

I have been with the President Obama camp since 2006 and my eight years are up. 🙂

I will always cherish my pleasant memories here and bid you all good bye.

Tuesday night didn’t just rob us of a functional Congress.

Tuesday night also robbed us of a cherished friend.

It wasn’t bad enough that our amk had to suffer through his country giving the untrammeled reins of power to a Hindu fundamentalist party which, aside from theology, would have much in common with the most revanchist parts of our Christian right wing.

He had to watch as a country turned its back on a man he loved and admired, giving power to his enemies, enemies who have done nothing but trail his name through the mud and carry out a political war against him not faced by any other modern US president.

The idjits came out to vote and gave power to the chief idjits. And the idjits stayed  home, and likewise gave away their power.

It was one wound too much.

The President And First Lady’s Day

President Barack Obama stands with Helen Loring Ensign, 85, from Palm Desert, Calif., after awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army First Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing for conspicuous gallantry during a ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House

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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive at a ceremony to present the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing for conspicuous gallantry in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. First Lieutenant Cushing received the Medal of Honor for his actions during combat operations in the vicinity of Cemetery Ridge, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 3, 1863

President Barack Obama stands with Helen Loring Ensign, 85, from Palm Desert, Calif., after awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army First Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing for conspicuous gallantry during a ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. With them, from left to right, are Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., Army Secretary John McHugh and Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald.

U.S. Army First Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing is pictured in a military academy graduation photograph dated 1861, obtained on October 28, 2014. President Barack Obama posthumously awarded the Civil War artillery officer the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. award for bravery, 151 years after Cushing was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg.

President Barack Obama stands with Helen Loring Ensign, as the citation for her relative, U.S. Army First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing is read

Margaret Zerwekh of Delafield, Wis. raises her hand as she is acknowledged by President Barack Obama during a ceremony awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army First Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing for conspicuous gallantry. President Obama acknowledged the work of Zerwekh, a 94-year-old amateur historian from Cushing’s hometown who painstakingly researched his story and lobbied Wisconsin’s congressional delegation for decades

First Lady Michelle Obama speaks during a special daytime workshop for high school students from military communities in the greater Washington area

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Willie Nelson, right, and fellow panelist, songwriter Ted Peterson, left, hip hop recording artist Common, second from right, listen as Army Sgt. Christiana Ball responds to a question

Coming Up

11:10 EDT: The First Lady hosts a daytime workshop for students entitled “The Stars and Stripes Forever: A History of Music and the Military”

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11:45 EDT: The President awards Army First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing the Medal of Honor, Roosevelt Room

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Later:

7:15 EDT: The President and First Lady host “A Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the White House,” South Lawn

Rise and Shine

On This Day – Two Terms: November 6, 2012 in Chicago

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Today (all times Eastern)

11:10 The First Lady hosts a daytime workshop for students entitled “The Stars and Stripes Forever: A History of Music and the Military”

11:45: The President awards Army First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing the Medal of Honor, Roosevelt Room

12:30: White House Press Briefing

7:15: The President and First Lady host “A Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the White House,” South Lawn

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Washington Post: Why a Civil War soldier will get the Medal of Honor — 151 years after his death

First Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing was bleeding profusely from wounds to his abdomen and shoulder as thousands of Confederate infantrymen advanced on his artillery battery in the Battle of Gettysburg. At least one of his soldiers begged him to seek medical treatment, but he refused. He stayed on the battlefield another 90 minutes while under attack, ordering his men to keep firing their three-inch cannons right up until the moment that he was killed with a gunshot to the head.

The Union Army’s ability to stop that assault by at least 13,000 soldiers — known as Pickett’s Charge, after a Confederate general who led rebel troops taking part in it — is a key part of the Civil War’s most iconic battle. But the heroism of Cushing, 22, on July 3, 1863, was not honored with the nation’s highest award for combat valor, even though 63 other Union soldiers received the prestigious decoration.

U.S. officials will rectify that Thursday.

President Obama is scheduled to award the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony to descendants of the Cushing family, more than 151 years after the battle. They’ve passed his story down for generations with pride, but had not considered it possible that Cushing would receive the award, they said.

More here

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WH.gov: “A Salute to the Troops: in Performance at the White House”

As part of the “In Performance at the White House” series and the Joining Forces initiative, the President and First Lady will invite music legends, members of the U.S. military, military veterans, and their families to the White House on Thursday, November 6 for a celebration of the men and women who serve the United States.

The program on the South Lawn will have a live audience that will include hundreds of military service members, veterans, and their families. The event will feature performances by Mary J. Blige, Common, John Fogerty, Willie Nelson, Romeo Santos, as well as active duty military members Army SGT. Christiana R. Ball, Marine Corps Capt. Matt Smith and Capt. John Ed Auer, with Don Was as music director. The rock band Daughtry will also perform via satellite from a USO concert at Yokota Air Base in Japan….

…. As with previous White House music events, the First Lady will host a special daytime workshop for students … The workshop, “The Stars and Stripes Forever: A History of Music and the Military,” will stream live on WhiteHouse.gov

More here

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On This Day

William Wright and India Johnson wait in line to vote at Larchmont Elementary School in Norfolk, Va., Nov 6, 2012. Wright and Johnson, both from Richmond, were casting their first votes in a Presidential election.

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President Obama is embraced by a volunteer as he visits a campaign office the morning of the 2012 election in Chicago, November 6, 2012

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President Obama talks on the phone with Mitt Romney in the Presidential Suite at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park in Chicago (Pete Souza)

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“Dad? Look behind you.”

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MoooOOOooorning!

Early Bird Chat

On This Day: President Obama, First Lady Michelle and their daughters Sasha and Malia appear on stage on election night November 6, 2012 in Chicago

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MoooOOOooorning – Happy Thursday!