by Arapaho
My favorite moments of 2014 were those which showcased PBO in foreign settings, and how he sincerely understands the importance of youth in this world and in this country.
All favorite moments are underscored by President Obama’s undying faith and belief in that which unites us and makes us human.
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2014 Themes
1) Youth Leaders
2) Foreign Relations
3) Connection to Humanity
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Youth Leaders
#1 (a) This 6-minute MTV video…
Meet the indigenous youth who made such a difference in their communities that it brought them to the @WhiteHouse: on.mtv.com/1yy6acG
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(@MTV) December 06, 2014…. shows the powerful results of young leaders inspiring other youth of their community. What could be more important to those under 18 than suicide prevention and education?
The white elite take for granted the experiences they carry with them from their days at summer camp — it doesn’t occur to them that less privileged youth don’t have the opportunity to meet other young people outside of their high school or church. Beginning next year, the annual Tribal Youth Leaders Conference will make such a difference in the lives of Native American communities and their children.
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Could not be prouder or more impressed by Dahkota “Kicking Bear” Brown of Jackson CA for creating the peer-to-peer tutoring and mentoring N.E.R.D.S (Native Education Raising Dedicated Students) program when he was in the 8th grade (!)
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Here’s the ONLY MSM article that I found that provided coverage of the historic outreach to this country’s First Americans:
Washington Post: How the stories of Native American youths made Obama cry in the Oval Office
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#1 (b) The first sitting US President to set foot in Native American tribal land, Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, Jun 13, 2014
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#2 Princeton, Indiana Town Hall – Oct 3, 2014
Another 8th grader (!) asks President Obama “what are some actions we can take to put people in rural America to work?” and PBO replies that we need to attract International investment to rural America by investing in education (especially community colleges) and infrastructure (singling out broadband access).
Oct 3, 2014
At 31:40, #LexingtonKY 8th-grader asks Pres Obama what can help rural US economy?
c-span.org/video/?321884-… http://t.co/6pIV2XXaNX
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Arapaho415 (@arapaho415) December 22, 2014****
#3 DC Young African Leaders Conference, Jul 28, 2014
@petesouza: A Kenyan woman listens to Pres Obama at today’s Young African Leaders Initiative town hall in Washington
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Foreign Relations
#4 Pete Souza’s genius – President Obama in Toyko (cannot get over that both PBO and the horse and rider are in focus)
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#5 The actual relationship between President Obama and Vlad Putin, Nov 11, 2014
Putin tries back rub, gets no love in return from Obama: on.mash.to/1xIeAeQ http://t.co/ohcmtOMLAA
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Mashable (@mashable) November 11, 2014****
President Obama’s Instinctive Connection to Humanity
#6 Bowe Bergdahl released in Afghanistan, May 31, 2014
President Obama with the parents of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, Bob and Jani
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#7 Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller released by North Korea, Nov 8, 2014
North Korea Releases 2 American Detainees, Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller nyti.ms/1yiyAVh
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The New York Times (@nytimes) November 08, 2014****
#8 President Obama connects to a powerful sacred site, a reminder of man’s relationship with nature, Sep 5, 2014
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#9 President Obama never stops caring, Jul 24, 2014
POTUS gave @Cantersdeli cashier an extra $20 to pay for the meal of a homeless woman who comes in daily, co-owner Jacqueline Canter told me
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Eddie Gehman Kohan (@ObamaFoodorama) July 24, 2014****
#10 Americans’ reaction to #SoSueMe (aka children LOVE President Obama)
Cuz even little babies love me and kiss the tv when they see my face. #SoSueMe http://t.co/okWlDLQuGA
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(@3ChicsPolitico) June 29, 2014****
Thank you Arapaho for your wonderful contribution!
Lots more ‘Memorable Moments’ to come before the end of the year, thanks a trabillion to everyone who has sent theirs already, to the rest of you: get moving!
The Obama Diary 
This is WONDERFUL! TY Arapaho and Chips! 🙂
Absolutely adore this Arapaho, especially the reminder about the visit to Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, which was so magical.
Endless, endless, endless thanks for all you put in to this, it’s wonderful!
Happy birthday to my triplets.
Mommy loves you
Aw, Happy Birthday to the Trips! Hope it’s a special one for all of you! Hugs and kisses all around!
nospin – happy birthday to the triplets! How old are they?
Good morning TOD. Today is a great day.
Congrats Dudette.
Good Morning Nospin. Thanks!
If you just landed on our planet and wanted to get a sense of what kind of human being this Barack Obama is, this roundup would cover him beautifully. We are so lucky to have this man leading us out of the darkness.
Lovely! Good morning TOD folks!
Perspective is everything. It is wonderful to see the same story told through another’s eyes. It adds meaningful layers. Thanks Arapaho and chips for creating this unique opportunity.
vetivera24, I’m as slow as usual replying to people’s emails, but thank you for your outstanding Memorable Moments list, will be posting soon. Thanks again!!
Thanks Chips. Keeping up a blog like this is a full time job. I don’t know how you do it all but we are grateful that you do! I💖 u
THIS to infinity!
Great post! Thanks so much.
Good Morning TODVille!
Congrats on your gold, Dudette! ⭐
Morning NCLB. Thank you!
Feels extra special, because it’s on this magnificent post, which I expect to read re-read many times over.
Bravo to Arapaho!
Just wow – what a showcase of the the depth of the President and what he brings the world – thank you Arapaha – it is so nice to see the happiness of Mr & Mrs Bergdahl.
Seeing the picture of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s parents with POTUS, I wonder how Sgt. Berghadl is doing? I also hope things are going well with him and his parents.
Arapaho, I absolutely LOVE all your selections and the comments you add to each. You’ve tapped into a great reservoir of compassion that we all cherish. THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
Awesome 2014 pics Arapaho. I especially liked the ones in the SD Indian Nation. I watched that whole meetings with the Tribes. God, I love this President & First Family.
On another note, good morning Chips, Danny’O & everyone of you special people on TOD
Good West Coast morning Chipsticks & TOD family.
Arapho – Wonderful! Thank you!!!
I love seeing these memorable moments.
Goooooooooooood moooooooooorning GGail!!!!
Oh You!!!!! (shaking fit at you) 😀 😀
Oh lord….shaking *fist*
Simply wonderful, arapaho! Thank so much, Chips for posting this…. yet another reason we love our President.
Beautiful images. My favorite is the little girl kissing the TV because she sees POTUS. aawwwhhhh!!!!
I could never pick a favorite President Obama moment, they are all favorites for me… but these, especially his visit to Standing Rock moved me, well done Arapaho, wonderful choices.
g’nite everyone – having been piously good – I have finished shopping and wrapped the gifts – my only failing was to have a massive war of words with the fake Christmas Tree because every year it comes out of that box and refuses to go together to even look like a tree. It is consigned to the trash after Christmas (If the grandbabe was not visiting it would be in the trash now) & next year we shall find the proverbial Australian black stump to use instead.
“I have finished shopping and wrapped the gifts”
Yeah but Australia is eight days ahead of me, so.
PS Do you often argue with trees, 99ts? 😕
Arapaho, this is a true tour de force. Such a clear outline of what was important this year and such absolutely gorgeous photos of our president. I’m so impressed with your insight, your talent for summary and your amazing technical skills. I’m absolutely flummoxed by how you did this. Congratulations to you. I stand in awe!!!!!!
THIS.
Grimm should have resign when he threaten to throw that reporter over the balcony.
Grimm should have been expelled from Congress that very day!
THIS!
GM Dudette & congrats on being First this morning 🙂
Ahhh NOW I remember this guy. It’s surprising that the asshole got reelected to begin with. What a douche bag.
One of my most favorite 2014 moments was the Nov 5 speech by POTUS done less than 15 hours after the GOP won both the house and senate in mid term election. POTUS walked into the GOP party while it was in full swing, popped all the GOP balloons and peed on the cake.
Thank you Mr. President!
Thank you Mr. President!
I want people to see the difference between the way Eric Garner’s family have carried themselves and the way the NYPD Union and some of the police have carried themselves. Garner’s Mother,wife, and daughter have condone the officers killing, they have offer their sympathy to the officers families, Garner’s daughter have visit the memorial site and lay a flower or candle. But were was any compassion from the police for the Garner family? Did we see any sympathy for that family? The media kept telling us what Officer Ramos 13 year old son wrote on facebook, and I have compassion for the young kid. I am sorry he lost his Dad. But Eric Garner left 4 children fatherless. If only we can get some people to see that Eric Garner life matters too.
Thank you Mr. President!
Good Morning Chips & TOD!! Happy Tuesday everyone, and great economic news to rise & shine to.
Thanks arapaho for sharing your top 10 memorable moments! A fabulous selection for sure. 🙂
Yeh Baby! Grow 401K, GROW! 🙂
Perhaps a sure fire sign of implosion?
My comment got eaten:)
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/us-economic-growth-soars-reaches-11-year-high
The economy would have to be one of my Memorable Moments for 2014….things that were put in place earlier are kicking into high gear now and the American and world economies are much better for it. This is what happens when you GROW and economy and don’t rely on things like trickle down that are PROVEN not to work! Austerity, doesn’t work….I would argue that we’re not only rebounding, but that we’re actually prosperous and that is something to be thankful for and certainly a most memorable moment for me.
Might I add that THIS is what being FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE looks like!!
Arapaho, what a wonderful series of favorite moments. Your choices were very meaningful. I know I’m going to enjoy everyone’s favorite moments, and I know that they will include all of mine. I will probably say to every single one, THAT was one of my favorite ones too…..so, there is no way I could collect ALL my favorites. I plan to enjoy those presented.
I’m looking forward to two days of Christmas: Thursday we go to our daughter’s for waffles in the morning with our son-in-law’s family, then Friday our son and wife and the grandkids come from Dallas for two days.
I just need to say a personal word of thanks this Christmas that my husband is alive and well. There were times this fall when I wondered if that would be so. His recovery is gaining speed and he is becoming much healthier and much more himself. A couple of days ago he said: “I’m looking forward to being with Paula and Jeff on Thursday, and I’m really looking forward to Steve and family coming Friday.” This may not seem big in the abstract, but this is a HUGE step. When they came for my birthday in November, he almost dreaded it. This is a wonderful, positive turnaround. I woke up this morning just expressing gratitude.
{{{{{carolyn}}}} Best wishes for your husbands’ continued good health and Merry Christmas to you all.
Best President Ever.
❤ 🐻 🙂
Help!!!!!!!! The world is coming to the end. The sky has turned a weird color in CHicago, I think some call it blue. And there is the big orange ball in the sky. Somebody please tell me what this is all about.
And Thanks Arapaho. If the world is ending today, I can go out with a big smile having read this. Twas indeed a magical year.
LOL! Take cover Japa! It’ll all be over soon! 😀
Good Morning TOD
Arapaho I love your Most Memorable Moments.
TOD family I want you to know that I have officially joined the “ring of honor”. This morning I went to twitter and was checking some of the jackals timelines and low and behold Chuckie Todd has blocked me. I’m not sure what I did or when I did it but I am honored to join so many of my fellow TOD brothers and sistas.
Have a wonderful day everyone!!!
🙂 🙂 Your “sin” was that you have a brain and can think for yourself…and that those pesky facts really DO matter. Toad is a fraud. Congratulations for coming into the Ring of Honor!
This is so wonderful, Arapaho. Thanks for the wonderful memories.
Thanks Chips for putting it together.
Good morning TOD .
Arapaho, I love your selections. The photos of PBO at Standing Rock Sious reservation are totally mesmerizing. The one with the little girl and her fringes flying in the breeze. So gorgeous. What a treat.
In line with yesterday’s favorable news coverage in the NY Times, toaday the theme was continued.
The top editorial praises mayor Bill de Blasio and calls out By Name the Poison rhetoric of Patrick Lynch, Rudy Giuliani, George Pataki and Ray Kelly.
The Times, and I believe most New Yorkers, have had enough of those right wing racist fools!
spelling. gosh I better pay better attention. Sorry, TOD.
A reminder that bodycams are not the cure-all. There is no cure-all. Abolish the grand jury system. Enforce transparency and accountability.
The US economy grows at an annual rate of 5% in the third quarter, its fastest pace for 11 years.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30585541
another kenyan usurper mind trick. Don’t’ fall for it, folks.
Please watch the video. The article doesn’t cover everything you need to hear.
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A Baltimore Fox affiliate apologized Monday night for a report it ran over the weekend that deceptively edited protestors to look like they were chanting “kill a cop.”
Gawker originally caught WBFF chopping up footage of a protest chant to sound like incitement to murder police on Monday.
The chant went “we won’t stop, we can’t stop, ’til killer cops, are in cell blocks,” according to C-SPAN footage.
But WBFF cut the audio short and told viewers that the words were in fact “we won’t stop, we can’t stop, so kill a cop.”
The station apologized both on its Facebook page and in an interview with one of the protestors leading the chant, Tawanda Jones.
“Although last night’s report reflected an honest misunderstanding of what the protesters were saying, we apologize for the error,” the post read.
“We have deleted the story on our webpage and we offered to have Ms. Jones on Fox45 News at 5:00 tonight for a live interview,” it continued.
In that interview, Jones called out the station several times for misrepresenting her words.
“The interesting part that really gets to me is, where you guys edited it and stopped — like, how could that be a mistake?” she said.
“Once you play that whole thing, you would know that’s not something that’s being said,” she added.
The interviewer apologized several times, and though Jones told the station she was grateful to come on, she also said she now fears for her reputation and her safety. Near the end of the interview she began to cry.
“At the end of the day, people’s lives are on the line,” she said. “Now, even though we’re doing this, I still don’t feel safe because I still feel like the message is out there.”
It’s disgusting dudette. I have tried with all my might to not become discouraged by the outright propaganda being perpetrated by our news media and it’s not just Fox. All of them are doing this at some level and to some degree.This was no oops. It was intentional just like she said. This country is going to hell in a hand basket and people sit at home ignorant of the importance of their vote giving the racist more power each and every year. I’m sickened by all of this.
Yep. Thank goodness more people are beginning to see the light. Just wish they’d done it BEFORE Nov 4th. Damn!
… especially ‘cuz with the Repugs controlling so much, things will get much worse before it gets better.
Hope we can all hold on until 2016, cuz it’s gonna be a mighty bumpy ride. Ink for the veto pens better be stored in the WH basement by the gallon.
she should seriously sue these jackasses.
Seriously. Take 10 mins and watch it.
Thank you so much Arapaho for these wonderful memories.
If you curl up under the duvet with an e-book for a bedtime read then you are damaging your sleep and maybe your health, US doctors have warned.
A team from Harvard Medical School compared reading paper books and light-emitting e-readers before sleep.
They found it took longer to nod off with a back-lit e-reader, which led to poorer quality sleep and being more tired the next morning.
Original Kindle readers do not emit light so should be fine, say experts.
Experts said people should minimise light-exposure in the evening.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30574260
I am an original kindle reader, so I am good
(furiously scraps plans for buying kindle white)
Sent this to Rachel’s show, Joy Ann Reid and Rev Al
Both of them put together don’t even come close to either of the corrupt fuckers.
Yep.
Who’s complaining? What criticism? I hope POTUS, FLOTUS, Malia, Sasha, Grandma, Bo and Sunny are enjoying their time in Hawaii. Merry Christmas….Happy New Year to the Obama family.
Hey blog tyrants, I’m in moderation. Was it something I said?
You think? 😀 😀
But, I didn’t cuss or nuttin’
Not even off the record! 😀
Not me. Thinking can lead to complications which are too horrible to contemplate.
Morning VC.
That last comment was supposed to be in response to VC. The site is acting squirrely right now.
🙂 It’s okay. You must’ve have written it when the weird alien blue sky with the orange ball was in full view. Glad things are back to normal in Chi-town now.
Morning, Japa! I think I blinked too many times already today, because the morning is over and I haven’t much to show as accomplishments. I can’t even say I’ve read all of today’s posts.
Arapaho’s “memorable moment” selection which focuses on PBO’s relationship with the youth of various really resonates and draws a contrast as to how forward-looking this President & WH has been, vs. the backward looking pols (on both sides) who seem to be pining for the the good ol’ days, and wanting to regress. PBO knows that the youth are the adults of the future, and the foundations laid down with them now will determine what kind of America and world we will live in over the next several decades. So yes there is a significant contrast with the Clintons/DLC wanting to take us back to the ’90s, and the GOP wanting to take us back to the ’40s, and PBO wanting to prepare us for beyond the 21st century…
Thinking of those for whom this time of year is not so joyous!
BOOM!
Now that’s a SWEET TWEET!
There’s a whole feast of interesting charts in this link. Check it out:
http://echeloninsights.tumblr.com/post/105911206078/theyearinnews-2014
Seems th GOP’s only answer is to change the measurements (CBO) just like changing the rules on who gets to vote. Reminds me of Fox News just making up whatever they want to say.
Nope, I don’t believe it. I think this is Prince’s nightlight.
Dudette, you are such a geek, and I LOVE IT!!! I just burned like 45 minutes looking at the rest of the pictures from this link.
#GIRLGEEKSUNITE
HEH! 🙂
Squeeeee!
Maybe the world isn’t coming to an end afterall. The sky in Chicago is back to it’s normal gray tones. I think we avoided a bullet.
See? Told ya! You can relax now. 😀
A video obtained by TMZ showed a party last week in Glendale, Calif. reportedly attended by retired police officers watching a singer perform a racist song mocking and celebrating the death of Michael Brown.
The video, published early Tuesday morning, showed a singer ridiculing Brown, the unarmed black teenager who was killed by white Ferguson, Mo. police officer Darren Wilson in August.
The man sang following lyrics, to the tune of “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” as a room full of people at a charity dinner, held at an Elks Lodge, looked on:
Michael Brown learned a lesson about a messin’
With a badass policeman
And he’s bad, bad Michael Brown
Baddest thug in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
Two men took to fightin’
And Michael punched in through the door
And Michael looked like some old Swiss cheese
His brain was splattered on the floor
And he’s dead, dead Michael Brown
Deadest man in the whole damn town
His whole life’s long gone
Deader than a roadkill dog
The singer was reportedly Gary Fishell, a former private investigator. He performed the song to an audience of cops because he thought they “would get a kick out of it,” his lawyer told TMZ.
“He’s a goofball who writes funny songs,” the lawyer told the site. He also stated that his client now understands the song was “off color and in poor taste.”
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/elks-lodge-retired-cops-michael-brown-song
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/12/ismaaiyl_brinsley_murdered_two_police_officers_in_brooklyn_police_departments.2.html
Despite what these police organizations and their allies allege, there isn’t an anti-police movement in this country, or at least, none of any significance. The people demonstrating for Eric Garner and Michael Brown aren’t against police, they are for better policing. They want departments to treat their communities with respect, and they want accountability for officers who kill their neighbors without justification. When criminals kill law-abiding citizens, they’re punished. When criminals kill cops, they’re punished. But when cops kill citizens, the system breaks down and no one is held accountable. That is what people are protesting.
Unfortunately, there is a small group of people who are anti-police. These folks tend to be anti-authority of any kind and show up and mouth off at a lot of different kinds of protests. The reason I say unfortunately is that these are also the people the media tend to focus on, specially on any of those who might be of skin color darker than the white skin most of the media bosses have.
By doing so they can sensationalize the whole story and create the division the DeBlasio was talking about yesterday. The last thing the media want to see if peace and harmony, and they will go out of their way to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Office Holiday Party…It’s time to get our DRINK on.
Later everyone!!!
Enjoy, Donna!!
Don’t end up on Youtube Donna
Oh wow! Oh, wow. A-rp-pa-ho! 🙂 🙂 This is terrific – not only the pictures, but the areas you highlighted! (In fact the first two are exactly how I had started to structure mine….. without the pictures to date, of course.) THANK YOU for revisiting these memories and sharing them so beautifully with us. These are truly, truly awesome and well worth a second go-round!]
Chips and TODobots, I think for my 2014 memories, I’ll point to Arapaho’s post, brush my hand together, and say “THIS!” 😀
[ps – Arapaho, wish I had had your picture ‘link’ when trying to compile the pictures of the month!]
Change ‘summer’ to any recent holiday?
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2014/12/the_world_is_not_falling_apart_the_trend_lines_reveal_an_increasingly_peaceful.single.html
And this happens with too much frequency to count:
Too much of our impression of the world comes from a misleading formula of journalistic narration. Reporters give lavish coverage to gun bursts, explosions, and viral videos, oblivious to how representative they are and apparently innocent of the fact that many were contrived as journalist bait. Then come sound bites from “experts” with vested interests in maximizing the impression of mayhem: generals, politicians, security officials, moral activists. The talking heads on cable news filibuster about the event, desperately hoping to avoid dead air. Newspaper columnists instruct their readers on what emotions to feel.
There is $$ in angst and fear and uncertainty…..which is why it is more important that ever to be an informed and participating citizen…..
See my comment above. Same type of thinking. Journalism thrives on the bad. The media bosses might say that good news doesn’t sell, but then again, not sure they have ever tried.
The presidents approval ratings are going back up! FINALLY! Of course I think it goes without saying that they are higher than the polls are reporting.
Wow! Gorgeous, powerful voices. 🙂
http://obamaverb.com/
pictures… 3 pages of pictures
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/blue-lives-matter-nypd-shooting/383977/
“On Saturday, Officers Liu and Ramos were almost certainly joined in death by some tragic number of black people who were shot down by their neighbors in the street. The killings of Officers Liu and Ramos prompt national comment. The killings of black civilians do not.”
Chat on!
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/12/23/chat-away-483/
This is so beautiful. Thanks Arapaho. Chips, you all are the Best Ever! Thanks for this great post. Lots of loving hugs for these holidays.HZ
Oh, Arapaho! I am so glad I found this. What a beautiful presentation, straight from your heart. You do yourself proud with this contribution, and it’s a pleasure to “hang” with you on TOD! Thank you ~ and more to come in 2015 and 2016!
Thank you Arapaho… I have submitted my most memorable moments, but not as eloquently as you!
This was awesome… makes me want to erase mine! LOL…