President Obama meets a 16-year-old refugee girl from Myanmar who was subjected to human trafficking and will now be moving to the United States, following a tour of the Dignity for Children Foundation in Kuala Lumpur.
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The President:
This young lady here is 16 years old, fled Myanmar on her own when she was eight, and was subject to human trafficking until the United Nations was able to help her resettle. She’s now 16, and intends to be an advocate on behalf of fellow refugees in the future after she gets an education in the United States.
This is who we want to help. This is the face of people all around the world who still look to the United States as a beacon of hope. When we talk about American leadership, American leadership is us caring about people who have been forgotten, or who have been discriminated against, or who have been tortured, or who have been subject to unspeakable violence, or have been separated from families at very young ages. That’s American leadership. That’s when we’re the shining light on the hill. Not when we respond on the basis of fear.
Full remarks here
* The White House declined to name the girl out of concern for the safety of her parents still in Myanmar.
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The Obama Diary 
1st!
🙂
Woot! Go Don!
Don, you are a wizard at claiming the top spot – congratulations! Chips, thank you for this moving, beautiful post. XOXO
With great power comes great responsibility.
🙂
POTUS looks at that girl and he sees Malia and Sasha. He wants all kids to have the chance and opportunities that his daughters have. He and FLOTUS says that all the time. How often do you hear that from the GOP?
Maybe that young girl can make it to the White House and she can meet POTUS, FLOTUS, Malia and Sasha, Bo and Sunny too.
Bella, you speak the truth. It is at the heart of all the world’s great religions to treat others as you would want to be treated yourself and to care for the poor and the abused. We never see faithful behavior from the fake Christians in the GOP.
Well to be truthful, bella, I hear the GOP say the same things about their kids. They want their kids to have the same tax breaks and the ability to privatize any government entity, and a smaller government than they’ve had.
Good West Coast morning Chipsticks & TOD family. What a wonderful pictorial to view first in the morning. Thank you Chips💕
Um this is no good…..why are there not one, but two soccer games on my tv this morning?
Good morning Don, congrats on First. Now read my comment directly below 🙂
Whoooo Hoooooo, ManU 2 – Watford 1
I wish I was able to post the dancing man. So you all just use your imagination when you read the score 😀
Way cool!
Beautiful post
My mother used to say “your bladder is too near your eyes) and those pictures definitely brought on the tears. To think that after all she has been through she now be affirmed and respected and loved by the President of the United States. What an incredible child – leaving home at 8? She will be another Malala, bringing hope and change to the world. This is what I don’t understand. some folks so quick to throw away other people; to discard anyone on the basis of skin color, poverty level, nationality. Why are we content to let so many lives be wasted? Several years ago I remember a video of a school board meeting open to the community, where severe budget cuts were being pushed and a millage was on the ballot. The superintendent had ten children (they looked like high-schoolers) up on the stage. He turned to the audience and explained what the cuts would mean to the schools. Then he pointed to the kids and said the budget cuts would mean a 10% reduction in the needed student services. ” Which one of these children do you want to throw away? Which one? You choose.” I thought it was pretty powerful.
Why do we look at children – anybody – and think “You’re worthless”? How do we justify the waste of human potential?? How can people not see the potential for change, the benefit to our society, and simple, basic human dignity we all claim for ourselves when they look at a girl like this, or a black woman knocking on your door for help, or a black man doing – well anything, really – and see only The Other. I try see things from other people’s perspectives, if only to find some sort of common basis from which to reason with them. But the mindset that thinks we can afford to throw away thousands, millions, of humans and still consider ourselves human just utterly defeats me.
You have eloquently stated what I have often thought. Sometimes I feel so helpless and hopeless about how low we can be as a culture, caring only for ourselves and those who we think are most like us. Then I remember that the only thing that we see in our media is the selfish, hateful voices of a few and like our president, I try to remember that most of us are kind, decent people who would not hurt anyone and we only need to know how to help, how to make a positive difference. It is really true that either we all fail or we all succeed.
Deep down I truly believe that too. I just wonder how we trigger that response in people when confronted by the refugee crisis, or Ferguson, and on and on.
Mary, they can’t see because they refuse to see. For decades the right wing has pumped up the fear and paranoia to the point where people literally can’t think straight. They’ve been told that the cause of all their problems is “the other,” not the billionaires who actually engineered the decline of the working class. They see change all around them and don’t have the coping skills to embrace it and so they fight it and blame everyone but themselves for a world they can’t control. That beautiful, courageous girl in the yellow dress is an “other”–an other religion, an other nationality, a symbol of world that is changing the foundation of their lives. The only thing they know to do is lash out in anger and hatred. The Republican candidates speak horrible, hateful, bigoted things and they feel redeemed because a big, famous person is saying out loud what they’ve always thought. That’s why you hear people say, “he tells it like it is.” Trump and the unholy group of others vying for R nomination have read their id and articulated it. The worst of themselves is affirmed by them and that makes them great “guys” in their estimation.
That last part about people feeling affirmed and validated is key. We all want to believe we are good people and when we have doubts about our actions we want people to remind us that really, we are good people. In fact, it extends to thinking “I am a good person and would not do a bad thing, so therefore what I did cannot be bad”. I guess its like the parent who wants her child to get good grades, regardless of whether the child has actually learned anything. Acting like a good person is hard, challenging, and we mess up all the time. Whether you example your discomfort when you “mess up” or try your hardest to believe it wasn’t really a ‘mess up’ makes the difference. Of course they’ve been fed the garbage for 30 or more years. We all have, but some believe it and some don’t. I think that ability to be brave enough to examine your own motives and say “I was wrong” makes the difference.
Happy Saturday everyone. I am so disgusted with this whole refugee thing. When did we become so hateful. So thankful for this space.
I have a question. I have a cousin who wants to get on twitter, but she has no idea how to do it. I have looked for the tutorial that we use to have. Can someone help me find it? Thanks
http://www.steamfeed.com/how-to-twitter-guide-for-twitter/
Hi, mtmarilyn:) How’s things in your neck of the woods? Beautiful here…what we look forward to all year:)
It is cold here now. High of 34 today, the sun is shining, beautiful day. I love it. Been very busy but now it’s just normal for holidays. Just going to be family for Thanksgiving, so happy. What about you?
Thanks for the Twitter info. Have a great weekend.
This seriously just brought tears to my eyes.
If any of you are so inclined..
Earlier this week, “the main arm” of the Koch Brothers’ political network, Freedom Partners, disclosed it’s political giving for 2014 in their annual tax filing. We thought you’d find this interesting:
They granted $12.7m to Concerned Veterans for America for “General Support.” It was Freedom Partners’ largest gift of the year.
So what are the Koch Brothers’ looking for with their gift to Concerned Veterans of America? It’s simple: The privatization of the veterans’ health care and military retirement plans, organizing for the repeal Obamacare, and dismantling the unions that work within the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In 2016, only VoteVets can offer a counterweight to this massive, and growing, astroturf organization.
Make a $3 contribution to VoteVets, and help us elevate the voices of progressive veterans during the 2016 campaign.
Concerned Veterans for America are already hitting Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. They’ve run ads attacking Democrats up for election in 2016 and 2018, and they’ve thrown their weight behind incumbent Tea Party leaders in the fight to privatize VA care.
Your contribution to VoteVets will go directly towards countering their work in the year ahead.
All our best,
The Team at VoteVets
Wow, thanks for this info. I will donate.
❤ Meant to say Hi, and was so profoundly moved by this man and his work, I took it over to Facebook and got a bit stuck there. Day by day, moment by moment, he takes every opportunity to shape the future, save the children, and in doing so, changes the world. How loved is he, and how humbly he accepts the love returned to him, never losing pace with his vision.
I love looking at this brave young lady.
http://branchtoon.com/
Hello TOD.
Only 20F with Sunny Blue Skies in my neck of the woods.
Congrats to Don on his yet again, 🙂 many Gold ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Yup, It’s hard being a Winner ❗
Thanks Chops and NW for keeping it 100, here at TOD. The US News Media is the pits. Nothing, but Lies and the lying SOBs who tell the Lies.
Good Morning, TODVille.
Hope everyone has a great and safe Saturday.
I’m catching up with POTUS’s latest visits and am so proud of him. His meetings with university students will bear fruits. I may not live to see it but these future world leaders and diplomats will make interaction and collaboration easier with the West and with the USA.
This Tweet was in response to the Tweet above.
VP Biden
Weekly Address
11/21/15
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/opinion/sunday/who-turned-my-blue-state-red.html?ref=opinion&_r=1
IT is one of the central political puzzles of our time: Parts of the country that depend on the safety-net programs supported by Democrats are increasingly voting for Republicans who favor shredding that net
In his successful bid for the Senate in 2010, the libertarian Rand Paul railed against “intergenerational welfare” and said that “the culture of dependency on government destroys people’s spirits,” yet racked up winning margins in eastern Kentucky, a former Democratic stronghold that is heavily dependent on public benefits. Last year, Paul R. LePage, the fiercely anti-welfare Republican governor of Maine, was re-elected despite a highly erratic first term — with strong support in struggling towns where many rely on public assistance. And earlier this month, Kentucky elected as governor a conservative Republican who had vowed to largely undo the Medicaid expansion that had given the state the country’s largest decrease in the uninsured under Obamacare, with roughly one in 10 residents gaining coverage.
It’s enough to give Democrats the willies as they contemplate a map where the red keeps seeping outward, confining them to ever narrower redoubts of blue. The temptation for coastal liberals is to shake their heads over those godforsaken white-working-class provincials who are voting against their own interests.
Voters’ apathy, especially as it pertains to Dems exclusively.
There were 3 events at play in 2014.
1. Children Migrants, unaccompanied by adults from 3 Central American Nations.
It 1st was reported as……the Obama Administration was detaining children in jails, cells, etc. Then it morphed to what later became a Fear-mongering enterprise.
2. The ISIL/Daesh Beheadings. The Media hyped than to the highest volume when a handful of their colleagues were murdered. The Right, Fox and the Rightie Talk Hate took the Fear to the next level
3. Ebola. Once TX Hospital allowed the mistake and a Liberian Man died. The Hysteria went over-drive.
2014 election morphed into Obama Failed. Dems ran. An election that was about to deliver many GOPer Govs defeat, resurrected all GOPers running and depressed Dems enthusiasm for Dems are always 1st to recoil and buy the BS. Hence, the lowest Voter Turn out in a Mid-term in over 50 yrs.
A lot of this would not have happened were it not for a part-time DNC Chairperson! 😦
I will continue to say this…
The Black working class gets it….
The Latino working class gets it..
The Asian working class gets it…
The Native American working class gets it…
I refuse to coddle the White working class that continues to vote against their own economic self-interest.
phuck ’em.
I agree with you.
rikyrah, I agree with you. The sad part is that the white working class votes – however backward or stupid their choices, they vote, while the black working class does not, thereby making the white working class votes carry the day.
Wondering if Louisiana will choose sanity today?
That depends on your definition of sanity.
Not Diaper David
we will see.
But, even if the Dem loses, he will be able to say to himself that he brought it. That he brought a gun to a gun fight. He was not playing with Vitter, and did not pretend that he was playing with him. He should have no regrets, cause he beat DAT AZZ continuously throughout this campaign.
True dat.
Such a heart warming post, Chips. Thank you!!!!
Urge everyone to listen to ….
#Hope4ALL
bbl ….
This is what happens when LIES, Blatant Lies are left unchallenged…….when there is No Truth as the US News Media insist on remaining Mute….by abdicating their Constitutional Job.
Can’t remember if I posted this before……G’day.
What was #1 on the day you were born?
This one’s a fun keeper.
It plays the song that was Number One on the day you were born.
And, if there is a video available with the artist, it will play it for you.
This is really a fun site. Enjoy the show.
http://playback.fm/birthday-song
That was fun, Yardarm, although I shudder to tell you how that a Guy Lombardo song was actually number one when I was born. However, the wonderful, “Cover Girl,” one of my favorites, was the number one movie.
Mitch Miller’s “Yellow Rose of Texas” for me. I remember watching his show with my Grandmother, we used to follow the bouncing ball to sing along… BTW, I started reading at age three…
Following links; #1 reason I don’t get s#!+ done…
Thanks!
Anal me scrolled through every year since I’ve been born so that I could find #1 each birthday.
I’m sorry. 😉
No, you’re NOT! LOL!
Besides….like you reeeaaally wanted to do sumpin anyway! 😀
Actually, today is a GOOD day! Was up early; made a Costco run — delayed from yesterday; took my Mom on an errand; spoke with a friend from TX; electrician is working in the basement; and I just got finished washing dishes in prep for a Decemer 26th party… Taking a break before I polish some silver… Like I said — I’m having a very “good” day!
So glad you are having a good and productive day. ☺️ That sad fun. Smoke, Smoke, Smoke that Cigarette was No. 1 for me.
Well that was fun! 🙂 Thanks, yardarm:)
The number one song on my birthday was 16 Tons and the number one movie was Guys and Dolls.
I forgot to say Thank you. That was fun.
That was fun, thank you. My birthday is Monday. The number one song was Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland, and the number one movie was Another Thin Man. It’s nice to know the #1 song is a classic.
An early Happy Birthday to you, Carolyn. It’s my daughter’s birthday on the 28th and mine is on the 30th. I will be 60.
MIne was “Reach Out” by the Four Tops, I almost started crying.
How cute. Thanks. Mine was some song by the McGuire Sisters. No wonder I cried. 😀
couldn’t happen to a better bunch of no-good, rotten muthaphuckas
………………………………
The G.O.P. Establishment Has a Big New Hampshire Problem
NOV. 19, 2015
The last two Republican presidential primary contests have followed the same script: A conservative candidate wins in Iowa, a relative moderate wins in New Hampshire, and the latter — with broader appeal and all of the establishment’s resources — outlasts the former in a protracted fight for the nomination.
But so far this cycle, New Hampshire’s voters aren’t playing along. Donald Trump has led every poll in New Hampshire since June. Candidates like Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush have struggled to get out of the single digits.
The weakness of mainstream candidates in New Hampshire poses a big challenge for the party’s beleaguered establishment. If a candidate acceptable to the party can’t win New Hampshire or Iowa, the G.O.P. will face a bleak choice: undertake the daunting and expensive task of mounting a come-from-behind effort, or grudgingly acquiesce to a candidate it really doesn’t want, like Ted Cruz, but who may be better than someone it can never accept, like Mr. Trump.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/19/upshot/the-gop-establishment-has-a-big-new-hampshire-problem.html
I AM SO THRILLED FOR THIS YOUNG LADY…THIS UPLIFTS ME SO…AND LORD KNOWS…I NEEDED THIS……………..
This is how you show compassion…
wrong tweet; however, since it is here — add Mali to the list of “EVERYWHERE.” Have you noticed scant mention of Mali? Saw a brief blurb yesterday morning, then heard no more until last night when an American aid worker was id’d as a casualty. Nothing since…
Now for the correct tweet…
This is how you show compassion…
Now had this happened at any Dem Rally…….the US National News Networks would have all reported this on a loop by now.
Grab some tissue before you watch the video in this Facebook post. You’re gonna need it.
Please let it be so
Donald Trump is a racists just like his supporters. If people sit back and not vote and allow that racists bastard to win, Americans deserve what they get.
First he has to win the GOP nomination.
This can’t be ok…
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-troopers-ask-drivers-their-race-after-investigation-n467011
I love Wendell Pierce – he’s always involved.
Ben Carson is blinded by self-delusion and self-hatred. Poor guy, he is so deluded that he really believes that he has a good chance of being the GOP nominee for president. I am absolutely certain that there is no way white supremacists, who make up a sizable faction of the Republican party, would accept a black nominee.
Such a good House Negro, is Ben Carson…
THIS!
New post.
http://theobamadiary.com/2015/11/21/this-is-what-it-means-to-be-a-refugee/
An underwater sculpture located in the Caribbean Sea along the coast of Grenada. Honouring those African slave’s who were thrown overboard from a slave ship during the middle passage of the holocaust.
They have called Edwards for Governor of Louisiana.