On This Day: First Lady Michelle Obama reacts while talking with people along a ropeline with President Obama at Love Field Airport in Dallas, Texas, April 24, 2013 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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Today
2:50 EDT: The President delivers remarks to mark ODNI’s 10th anniversary; Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Washington
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On This Day
President Obama and Vice President Biden practice their putting on the White House putting green April 24, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Malia and Sasha attend Easter church service at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., Sunday, April 24, 2011 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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President Obama waits with 2012 National Teacher of the Year, Rebecca Mieliwocki, 7th-grade English teacher at Luther Burbank High School, Burbank, Calif., and Education Secretary Arne Duncan in the Green Room of the White House before the start of a ceremony to honor the 2012 National and State Teachers of the Year in the East Room, April 24, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
First Lady Michelle Obama hugs a woman during a Girls Inc. luncheon at Century Link Center, in Omaha, Neb., April 24, 2012 (Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)
President Obama and Jimmy Fallon laugh while being briefed on the “Slow Jam the News” segment backstage before taping “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” at the University of North Carolina Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill, N.C., April 24, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama waits to be announced during a taping of “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” at the University of North Carolina Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill, N.C., April 24, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama talks with Jimmy Fallon during a taping of “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon”, April 24, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama greets patrons at the Sink Restaurant & Bar in Boulder, Colo., April 24, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama acknowledges applause following his remarks on student loan interest rates, at the University of Colorado Coors Event Center in Boulder, Colo., April 24, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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President Obama holds up a Bo golf club cover, a gift given to him by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Mrs. Akie Abe at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, Japan, April 24, 2014 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama applauds participants following an archery demonstration at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, April 24, 2014 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama watches archers on horseback demonstrate their skills at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, April 24, 2104. Seated to the President’s left are: Chief Priest Seitaro Nakajima, Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, and her husband Dr. Edwin Schlossberg (Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
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MoooOOOooorning!
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The Obama Diary 
1st!
Congratssssssssssssssssssss……
Don!!!!!!!!
⭐
Congratulations Don and good morning to you and all TODers!
Congrats Don.
Good Friday, Chipsticks…TOD Family!
Congrats on first, Don! 🙂
Haaaaaaaaaaappy Friday swbluega!
Good morning, Chips! The post is magnificent and you, my dear, are magnificent! I’m surrounded by magnificence and can barely put two sentences together yet, since I haven’t even had a second cup of coffee. #GottaGetMoving #WishMeLuck
P.S. Only 3 more days before my granddaughter and 4-y/o great grandson head to Florida … we’ll be missing them, for sure! One funny thing about him is that he hangs onto language and if some catchword or phrase … well, catches him … he’ll use it later in a conversation, crass or not. Like yesterday, when he very sincerely and sweetly told me:
“When I get to Florida, I will butt-call you every day.”
Ok now, JO’B, do we want to know what a ‘butt-call’ is, and where young and innocent may have caught that phrase?? Just askin’
Ha. It’s well into the vernacular (of course, I don’t talk like that!) and originally meant when your phone is in your pocket and you sit on it and accidentally call somebody!
Ah, yes, of course. Like pocket texting, and no one thinks you’ve gone off your crumpet!! 🙂
🙂
So many, many excellent photos, over so many years. POTUS and FLOTUS never disappoint, do they? Chipsticks, dear one, YOU never disappoint, either, yanno. ❤
Ha, except when I melt down, Mighty P!!! Good morning to ya!!
So, what? You are not human, just like PBO? Here’s a thought: I imagine if he really melted down, and allowed us to see it, the skies would turn purple, and the magnetic field of the Earth would shift at least 23 degrees!! That would fix any of the problems the gop and the fritterers on the left think they have.
I’m chuckling away at my prediction the dear little hedgehog would last about 20 minutes (I may have been too enthusiastic), but I have a hedgehog short version of the story: Hedgehog ~ now you see it, now you don’t! Dear DannyO’, just having fun with his toys!
i think those questions of PBO are very much rhetorical…he is well aware of the why they do what they do….he is not surprised by their rancor..and he knows that they do not have loyalty and that their solidarity is only when it is convenient…
Which is no doubt why he keeps his own core of friends to hang with, who have little or no ties to “them” … and keeps his sanity! Another smart lesson for everybody.
Everyone needs a moment….some of us need longer moments than others [raising both my hands!!!!]. It’s all good, Chipsticks. For al the times you’ve allowed us to vent and fret, you are more than entitled. ❤ ❤ ❤
Time to take the Hedgehog-destroyer for a walk, see ya in a bit.
Thanks for the wonderful photos, Ms. Chips. My sister attends Shiloh in DC and has more many years.
I keep thinking about PBO’s remarks at the OFA Conference…especially his expressed bewilderment as to why — after all that he has worked for and accomplished on behalf of middle income (and those aspiring to move into middle income status), working Americans, given all the obstruction and abuse he’s had to deal with along the way — why would he sign a treaty that would undo 6-1/2 years of hard work!?!?!?!
Besides the politics that’s coming into play, it also emphasizes what many of us felt during the 2014 mid-terms….that PBO is not being given credit for his accomplishments.
Thankfully, PBO is able to let the negativity slide off of him and is still willing to put himself out there to continue working on our behalf.
Good morning everyone! Chips, thank you for articulating what I have been feeling on and off for the last 61/2 years about the treatment of PBO. I cry when I think about it and it is part of the reason I don’t post links or comment like I used to — of course there is also my work that has become all consuming. I want to thank you and all the TODers for keeping this place such aa beautiful sane place to come. I intend to give these so called Democrats hell every way that I can
Good Morning Good People!
Everyday is a blessing when PBO is President. He has endured the worse of the worse from both Parties. I am totally disgusted with my Senator Ben Cardin and Martin O’Malley is treading on thin ice. I am going to be working to elect Anthony Brown my new Representative in Congress so to heck with the rest of them.
I.Love.My.President and I sent him a note of confidence and appreciation this morning.
Please join me in letting him know how much he is appreciated.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments
Thank you Donna Dem, I sent President Obama a note of appreciation. I should do this once a month from now on.
I’m right there with you donna. I emailed Cardin when Netanyahu spoke to Congress. Cardin told me he was going to attend because he “respected Netanyahu.” Never mind Netanyahu disrespected President Obama.
I told O’Malley that it appears he’s jumped on the Warren bandwagon about TPP. I further said that if he continues down this path, don’t expect my vote if he enters the primary. However, as far as he’s concerned the damage is already done with me.
Thanks Donna. I just sent a note, also.
Thanks for the link, Donna. I wrote and sent my love. We need to keep telling our President that there are millions out here who do understand and appreciate all he does.
Thank you for this important reminder.
I ended my note to him with this paragraph:
Thank you for your strength and your humanity. I keep your grace and your beautiful family in my thoughts every day. I look forward to supporting all your projects now and long into the future.
yep. wrote him. just wanted him to know he’s doing a great job and gave him a virtual hug. 🙂
When we ask whether we’ve gone “too far” in creating spaces for people of color to explore and articulate nuanced, intricate life experiences, we are reinforcing the idea that only one narrative — that people of color represent a threat to white people — can or should endure. Left unchecked, this belief is the bedrock for the justification of everything from forced deportations to police killings. We cannot do the hard work of reshaping both the limits of our own empathy and the structures of our institutions if we continue to buy into the logic of the zero-sum game.
The sustained assault on people of color in the U.S. demands, at the very least, the dignity of better questions. Rather than wonder what white people might lose if people of color win, we should start by asking why we continue to tolerate, even condone, a world where the cost of protecting whiteness is measured in real, valuable lives lost.
Right, Pretty foot! When a question is asked we should be automatically reframing the question from a neutral standing. Then repeat the question reframed and answer the new question. It will take practice, but will be worth the work.
Good morning Chips and TOD! Heavy rain here again today but we need it so guess it’s OK. Just hoping we don’t get more of the crazy storms although I do enjoy them when they don’t do any damage.
Chips, have you tried the “no stuffing” toys with Danny? My dogs love them with their squeakers in both ends, and it makes for a lot mess for me to clean up:-)
Hope everyone has a great day!
Good morning TODville. I have been so busy I am not able to keep up with all that is going on. Just reading about all those coming out against this President makes me sick. I just don’t understand, except I do know it all has to do with power. Chips, you have been here for all of us and this President. We all have meltdowns.
Off to work and back to lurking. Thank you all who keep this great community going.
Heads up all TOD crafts people, and kind-hearted beings: found this link to an urgent need on my FB page. If anyone is inspired (and more talented than MP) this would be an awesome group to support with time and materials. Those babies are too adorable!!
Click to access Making_joey_pouches_opt.pdf
I posted this last night after NW had started a new thread. But Theo and I discussed. Not sure term limits are the answer, but the one thing that is clear, as Theo so aptly stated: They have learned NOTHING from PBO, absolutely nothing. And that’s what we’re left with in terms of a “party”.
The Dem party has truly lost its way, and what we see happening with the TPP is the best argument for term limits. Watching these elected officials, I am not convinced that any of this has anything to do with PBO, but with their own hides. The entire lot of them has been running scared since 2010, first when many of the them lost their seats due to Obamacare and the Tea Party, and then the elections last fall. Once they are elected, that is exactly where they want to stay (who can blame them after all, wouldn’t we all love to make what they do for the few days/year they work) and the only thing on their minds is getting re-elected. In so many of these states, the workers have been badly hurt by outsourcing and their constituents blame it on trade deals, although it truly is more part of globalization overall than trade deals. But it is far easier to take up the rallying cry than educate so that’s what they do. The thing that is humorous, of course, is the hypocrisy. They seem to understand that neither they nor the Rs should be allowed any amendments to the Iran deal because of the other countries involved, but fail to understand the same argument applies to trade deals only more so. How the hell are the ELEVEN other countries to the TPP ever going to work with the US if the President doesn’t have the authority to negotiate?
Our politics is so dysfunctional at this point, it is amazing to me that anyone who truly cares and wants to accomplish anything would run for national office.
When I get those begging letters I plan to write my displeasure with the Democratic Party and let them know NOT ONE FUCKING RED CENT FROM ME UNTIL YOU RESPECT PRESIDENT OBAMA AND STOP RUNNING FROM HIS AWESOME RECORD. Maybe then they will get the point or stop sending me mail begging for money.
Jojo, one of my brothers sends back color copies of money, and writes exactly what you plan to write – then he tells them they had better get quick with alternative energy sources, or there will be nothing left to politicize over anyway!
I wish I could RT and FAV this a MILLION times. Best rant ever.
Ditto!!!!!!!
This is fantastic. I have been upset with democrats since the November election and refuse to donate any more. I think the established party has always been upset with President Obama since he ran outside of the usual chain of command so to speak and formed OFA. I remember going to an OFA meeting after the 2008 election and establishment dems were there and they kept saying ‘we do things this way” not wanting to change. Some democrats betrayed the public unions in NJ by siding with Christie in 2011 during discussions about pension reform. Many Democrats have no loyalty to anything but themselves. President Obama is an exception and a true public servant. After he leaves office I am done with politics. I’ve already signed on to the Obama Foundation and will stick to issues and of course will vote.
I love this.
thank you, NW
I sooooooo agree RanMan!!!
Inspired by Chips.
Basically what I said when I unsubscribed to Democracy for Action this morning
I don’t expect agreement with everything PBO says or does. However, for those who feel the need to public criticize and express their disagreement, I would ask:
1) Are you in a *better* position to even take an opposing stance by being informed based on facts and not opinion/emotion?
2) Are you able to articulate the reasons for your opposition/criticism based on specific, factual details?
3) Do you have an alternative, viable solution with details as to how it will be implemented and not just high level thoughts of what you think should be done?
This is too much brain labor for the clowns.
Eight years is only the beginning.
Barack Obama’s commitment to public service preceded his presidency, and will continue long after he and the First Lady leave the White House. The Foundation will carry forward the Obamas’ efforts to inspire active citizenship, expand economic opportunity, and promote peace and justice throughout the world.
Another MAJOR reason for satisfaction with ACA: health care denied due to pre-existing conditions.
We have been in the individual insurance market for 30 years. ALL of our (few) claims were denied because they would trump up some reason why the condition was “pre-existing”. Or not “life-threatening” enough.
What has not filtered into the consciousness of Americans is that the law does more than provide health insurance: it provides common sense regulations on the insurance industry to provide basic health care, and not use pre-existing conditions as a means of denying services.
Only because of ACA was I able at 63 1/2 to even get affordable insurance, much less comprehensive.
BFD, indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like many others here, I also wrote the President this morning, using the link provided, telling him of our support, love and respect. I thanked him vociferously for all he has done. I like the idea of writing once a week. Will try to do that also. Am not sending any money to these traitors, and I used to give fairly big.
Jeb Jeb Jeb……you are pitiful
…………………..
Jeb Bush Distances Himself A Bit More From Adviser James Baker
ByDaniel Strauss
Published April 24, 2015, 10:57 AM EDT
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) further distanced himself from foreign policy adviser James Baker on Thursday during a closed-door meeting hosted by the Manhattan Republican Party.
Bush had previously said it was a mistake for Baker, an adviser and former secretary of state, to speak at the left-leaning Israel policy group J Street. In that appearance, Baker criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over seeming to change his position on a two-state solution.
On Thursday, according to CNN citing two sources in the room, Bush light-heartedly noted Baker and former secretary of state George Shultz are over 85 years old. Bush then said he planned to bring in more foreign policy advisers who from hail from a different generation than Shultz or Baker.
Bush did add that he considers Baker a friend and he didn’t think the former secretary of state’s remarks at J Street were anti-Israel, according to CNN.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jeb-bush-james-baker-foreign-policy-team
And Jeb continues his lurch to the RWNJ’s.
NO Republicans! None!
The GOP, and Bushes in particular, don’t seem to learn from history, so it’s not surprising that they want to ignore any “wisdom” from those who made the same mistakes in the past. Didn’t George Bush say he’s not about introspection? Seems Jeb is of the same ilk…
This is a must-retweet!
I never get tired of this one:
speak truth JOBoomr
good one! 😀
One of the complaints about the treaty is that they can’t even discuss it with their staffers. I think part of the problem with Congress is that many of them rely so much on their staffers to read through proposed legislation; so much so that often the individual elected Congressperson really has no clue what is contained in the bills that come up for vote. That *they* have to actually read through they information *themselves* to derive the facts and details of what is included apparently is beyond their capability.
You mean the briefings can’t be discussed or the future treaty negotiations themselves because that makes no sense.
If I remember correctly, that was one of the statements EW made regarding lack open discussion. I may be wrong, but I’m sure that’s what I heard her say.
‘often the individual elected Congressperson really has no clue what is contained in the bills that come up for vote.’
This has been a conviction of mine for a long time now, SW.
It’s all about a power struggle between the Legislative branch and the Executive branch.
The secrecy and the fast track have been at the root of the controversy. If I’m not mistaken, it’s all about not derailing very delicate negotiations.
However, there’s no denying that it creates tensions with Congress. It is inevitable. That they can’t amend the deal makes them furious and I can empathize, even if I see that you can’t permit amendments. It’s a multinational deal and since it’s already complicated to put many countries together, you just have to keep the legislatures out of it. I mean… if you put too many chefs in the kitchen, it becomes impossible to achieve anything. (Same with deals in foreign policy, like the Iran deal). The only practical thing is to give the negotiating power to the executive branch ( or a selected group) in each country. Legislatures still have the power to say yes or no, but that’s it.
In the USA, it seems to me that President Obama has tried his best to reassure people in Congress and take their “pulse”, even their input, with all the briefings that have been offered. But as he said yesterday, when he asks people for rational critics and suggestions, he doesn’t receive anything more than emotional, fear-based and not fact-based arguments.
It means that those people in Congress are not equipped or willing to look at the facts. You’re right that many people in Congress are lost without their staffers. It’s indeed true that many of those Congress officials are either not educated enough or not hard-working enough to form an informed opinion of what they read. To be fair though, these trade deals are very complicated.
Just wondering… could it be logically, and politically possible to extend the delay for approval? Maybe to 90 days ? Sixty days SHOULD be enough but a biggest delay could appease the fury a bit and give the “divas” a way to save face.
General comment:
I’m under the impression that President Obama has been put in a very difficult position in the last few years. He wants to save his country, and he has to act quickly in many instances. The political landscape is so poisoned by partisanship, stupidity, corruption and self-aggrandizement; Congress is so dysfunctional that it’s not able to 1) solve problems quickly and 2) work in a long-term perspective. So President Obama is in a bind and has to bypass them when he can. To keep them from doing too much damage, short and long term. Not an ideal situation when the Executive branch has to compensate for a sick Legislative branch.
“Congress officials are either not educated enough or not hard-working enough to form an informed opinion of what they read.”
I think for many it’s the latter….they don’t want to put forth the effort; even if there is need for supplemental information from their staffers, I think there is room for more effort on their part.
“The political landscape is so poisoned by partisanship, stupidity, corruption and self-aggrandizement; Congress is so dysfunctional that it’s not able to 1) solve problems quickly…has to bypass them when he can. To keep them from doing too much damage, short and long term.”
I agree.
Gaaaawwddd help me, I’m still fuming!
wish I could tweet this a bunch of times… wait maybe we can:
On Early Bird Chat Chips said that Elizabeth Warren is turning into Jane Hampsher(Hamster) of Firedog Lake. A loud, whining PUMA, nobody haas listened to or heard from for years.
OMG, it is true. Such a sad waste of what I mistakenly believed was liberal talent.
She just does a lot of yapping. In my best Bidenese: She forgot who brung her to the dance.
Forgot where I read it, but someone raised the issue that, despite her efforts to appear above the political fray, she is starting to believe her own fawning press, instead of building her career. Has she proposed much legislation? What has she done to garner true support? Is she doing her job as Senator?
Driving a wedge in the party is a red flag to me. I would have assumed that someone of Elizabeth’s Warren’s obvious intelligence and good intentions, would try to build the party, not tear it down. She can disagree with PBO but must she do it in the emoprog way?
Imagine if she had turned her obvious talents and rhetorical skills to building a better and stronger party. Isn’t it obvious that including the millions who elected PBO twice would be a group she would want to include?
You may have read it from Spandan’s The People’s View, 57F. I have a vague memory of him writing something about her being puffed up by her own hype…. I think. {I never keep anything in my head. 😀 )
It would be something he would write, that’s for sure.
TOD is Great!
Hello TOD.
Cloudy, Dull and Rainy in MN
Congrats to Gold ⭐ winners, starting with this R&S post and 3 posts back.
The beauty about today is that News travels fast and the Dems idiocy against Pres Obama on TPP is read, noticed and responded instantaneously.
Loved the Tweets from Chips, the heartwarming piece by NW and the activism by out TOD Twitter Brigades. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
LIVE at the WH, already in progress, Josh “The Voice” Earnest
https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/press-briefing-press-secretary-josh-earnest-90
No wonder both men could take homeNorthward of $99M each
She’ll be working for him on and after 20 Jan 2017 ….
#TrustJoe
#TrustBarack
I am with you on that one Bobfr. There is too much work left to do to get stuck with folks who do not believe in moving #FORWARD.
Surprised? Heck No.
Another White Male for a Sunday Talk-A-Ton who is a rightie.
Yep, Liberal Media my 4-eyes.
“Clinton Nightmare” Nice touch.
I can’t help slamming their hypocrisy.
BOOM! Meta. Thank you for putting it in perspective and reminding folks that Clinton is NAFTA’s baby daddy.
LL’s new post:
http://theobamadiary.com/2015/04/24/after-all-this-has-he-earned-nothing/