Archive for March 18th, 2015

18
Mar
15

A Tweet Or Two

By Nerdy Wonka 131 Comments
Categories: All Photos
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

****

Turns out Martese Johnson didn’t have the supposed fake ID. Welcome to America where cops are determined to kill every Black man they encounter

****

****

****

Martese Johnson’s post just before the cops decided to show him they also considered his life worthless

****

****

He went on a shooting spree. Killed people. Yet somehow, he was captured alive. USA! USA!

****

****

****

****

Sigh

****

****

****

But…but…Starbucks said it wanted to talk about race

****

****

#Nukeghazi – The GOP has lost its mind

Continue reading ‘A Tweet Or Two’

18
Mar
15

Chat Away

By Chipsticks 138 Comments
Categories: All Photos

@dougmillsnyt: Women’s History Month Honoring the Women Justices of the Supreme Court – Justice Kagan, Sotomayor & Bader Ginsburg

18
Mar
15

President Speaks on the Importance of Middle Class Economics

By Chipsticks 126 Comments
Categories: All Photos

2:55 EDT: President Obama Speaks on the Importance of Middle Class Economics, Cleveland

18
Mar
15

The First Lady Travels To Japan And Cambodia

By Chipsticks 76 Comments
Categories: All Photos, All Videos and Michelle Obama
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Instagram

****

First Lady Michelle Obama Visits Japan And Cambodia

U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama has arrived in Japan for a three-day visit designed to highlight her global women’s education initiative.

The First Lady landed late Wednesday in the capital, Tokyo.

On Thursday, she will hold separate meetings with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, Akie. She also plans to meet with the Emperor and Empress of Japan before heading to Kyoto, on Friday.

A White House statement said the First Lady will announce a partnership between the U.S. and Japan on the Let Girls Learn initiative, which aims to help educate the 62 million girls globally who do not attend school.

On Friday, she will head to Cambodia, which is one of 11 countries initially included in the initiative. It is the first time that a sitting U.S. first lady has visited the Southeast Asian country.

In Cambodia, Michelle Obama will meet Bun Rany, the Cambodian first lady. She will also meet meet volunteers with the U.S. Peace Corps program, which will play a key role in helping expand access for schooling for girls.

****

****

****

Instagram: A stunning view flying over Alaska’s Chugach Mountains

****

The First Lady:

This week, I will be traveling to Japan and Cambodia — and I want young people like you across America to join me!

This trip technically starts today when I leave the White House and get on a plane for a long flight to Asia. But really, this visit is part of a journey that began decades ago, back when I was a little girl.

Like many of you, I came from a pretty modest background. My family didn’t have much money, and my parents raised me and my brother, Craig, in a tiny apartment in Chicago, Illinois. While my mom and dad never had the chance to attend college, they were determined to see me and Craig get the best education possible.

School was the center of our lives, and I worked as hard as I could to learn as much as possible. I often woke up at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning to study, because that was the only time our little apartment was ever really quiet.

With my parents’ encouragement and a lot of hard work, I was able to get into college and get the financial aid I needed to pay for it — and my college education opened doors of opportunity I never could have dreamed of back in that tiny apartment. I studied subjects I was passionate about — like English literature, African American history and sociology. I met classmates and professors from all over the world who opened my mind to all kinds of new ideas. And because I got my college degree, I was able to attend law school, become a lawyer, work in city government and as a hospital executive, and even run a non-profit organization that trained young people in Chicago to serve their communities.

Unfortunately, so many girls just like me and like many of you — girls who are so curious and hungry to learn, and so willing to work hard — never have the chance to get an education. Right now, 62 million girls worldwide are not in school at all. Many of them simply can’t afford the school fees (unlike in America, where every student can go to school for free, in many countries, parents have to pay to send their children to school). Sometimes, even if their parents can afford it, the nearest school might be miles away, and it’s simply not safe for girls to walk there and back each day. Sometimes, a school will be located nearby, but it might not have bathrooms for girls, so they simply can’t attend. And in some countries, girls are forced to get married and have children at a young age — sometimes before they’re even teenagers — instead of getting an education.

This is such a heartbreaking loss, not just for those girls, but for their families, communities and countries. Studies show that girls who attend school have healthier families, earn higher salaries and even help boost their entire countries’ economies.

That’s why, earlier this month, the United States Government launched a new initiative called Let Girls Learn that will help girls worldwide go to school and stay in school. Through Let Girls Learn, we’ll be supporting education projects across the globe — leadership programs and mentorship programs, and so much more.

But the United States can’t address the global girls’ education crisis all by ourselves — it’s just too big. We need countries around the world to step up and help. That’s why I’m starting my trip in Japan — because this week, the United States and Japan will be announcing a new partnership to educate girls worldwide, and we’ll be calling on other countries to join us in this effort.

After spending a few days in Japan, I will be heading to Cambodia, which is one of the very first countries where Let Girls Learn programs will operate. I will visit a school and meet with girls whose lives are being transformed by the power of education.

But while the focus of Let Girls Learn is international, this effort is also very much about inspiring young people like you here at home to truly commit to your own education.

Through Let Girls Learn, I hope that more girls — and boys — here in America will learn about the sacrifices that girls around the world are making just to go to school each day: working multiple jobs to pay their school fees, enduring threats and harassment from people in their communities who think girls shouldn’t attend school, walking for hours each way to school, and more.

I want all of you to be inspired and motivated by these girls. I want you to realize that while your own school might be far from perfect — and my husband is working as hard as he can to fix that — you still need to show up to your classroom every day and learn as much as you can.

And finally, I want young people like you to be citizens of the world — I want you to connect with other young people of every background and nationality and learn about what’s happening in countries across the globe.

That’s why, as I travel, I will be using all kinds of social media to share my trip with you — and I’ll be taking questions from kids across America as I go.

****

First Lady Michelle Obama waves upon her arrival at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo Wednesday, March 18. The First Lady is visiting Japan and Cambodia, who are among Asia’s richest and poorest nations, to highlight cooperation on helping girls finish their educations

****

****

18
Mar
15

GOP Screams Lame Duck! President Obama Moves America Forward

By Nerdy Wonka 129 Comments
Categories: All Photos and Articles
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

CAUd7CCVEAAH1t3

****

Stephen Collinson: Obama Redefines The Lame Duck Presidency

At the time in his tenure when most presidents fret over their waning clout, Barack Obama is redefining the concept of the lame duck. His administration has been energized by his aggressive use of executive power. Some of the most hard-won achievements of his early years in office are beginning to pay off. And his political luck seems to be turning. With a term and a half behind him, Obama’s prospects are brighter than they have been for years. Though Republicans paint Obama’s glass as half full, and argued that the administration is overstating its record, that hasn’t rattled the man in the Oval Office.

Obama JayZ

The new sense of serenity in the White House solidified this week with figures showing that more than 16 million people have now signed up for health plans under Obamacare, the president’s top domestic achievement. That news came on the heels of booming jobs growth numbers and a tangible feeling that after years of slow recovery, things are looking up economically. The unemployment rate, at 5.5%, is at its lowest point since May 2008, before the Great Recession. And the U.S. economy is in much better shape than most of its rivals in the developed world. The White House believes that its initiatives on community college funding, the president’s moves to regulate the Internet and actions to reshape the immigration system are delivering a political dividend,

potus-chair

reasoning that many Americans are happy to see gridlock broken and the president taking action, a factor that might be partly reflected in Obama’s better poll numbers. Obama, meanwhile, more relaxed than ever. He’s speaking about race more freely than any time since he became president, notably in his speech on the 50th anniversary of the Selma civil rights marches earlier this month. And the White House counts a climate accord with China and a visit to India earlier this year as big wins for its strategy of rebalancing foreign policy towards Asia. The GOP, for its part, is learning what the White House found out years ago — that winning the Senate last year, and with it control of both chambers of Congress, brings its own problems.

More here

****

18
Mar
15

Early Bird Rise and Shine

By Chipsticks 119 Comments
Categories: All Photos

On This Day: President Barack Obama and Senior Advisor David Axelrod depart an event at the Costa Mesa Town Hall at OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, Calif., March 18, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

****

Today (all times Eastern)

11:25: The President departs the White House

1:0: Arrives Cleveland, Ohio

1:30: Tours a MAGNET (Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network); Cleveland State University

2:55: Delivers remarks on the “middle class economics;” City Club of Cleveland

4:45: Departs Cleveland

6:10: Arrives White House

****

On This Day

President Obama laughs while walking with Senior Advisor David Axelrod following an event at the Costa Mesa Town Hall at OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, Calif., March 18, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)

****

President Obama arrives at the Women’s History Month Reception in the East Room of the White House with First Lady Michelle Obama, March 18, 2013

****

MoooOOOooorning!

@POTUS

@BarackObama

@WhiteHouse

@FLOTUS

@MichelleObama

@PeteSouza

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email.

@TheObamaDiary

@NerdyWonka

RSS Obama White House.gov

  • An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.

RSS WH Tumblr

  • An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.

RSS Steve Benen

  • Trump immediately begins fundraising off his indictment
  • Bob Woodward: This will take months to a year to resolve
  • Michael Beschloss: Are we going to live in a system of mob rule?
  • Law enforcement in New York prepares for possible protests
  • Why Trump may surrender and not fight extradition

Categories

Archives

Blog Stats

  • 43,347,073 hits

WH Flickr

P011317LJ-0002P122416PS-0077P112416PS-0059P112416PS-0022P111016CK-0009P100816PS-0011P071516PS-0802P061516PS-0016P061216PS-0013P050416PS-0731
More Photos