Very cool, Bob! I like the little *poke* at the end, although I think she’s waiting, like President Obama, for the eventual nominee so she will be able to campaign effectively without having to walk back an endorsement. Still, it’s good to give a hint where WE think her endorsement must go! 😉
I have a friend that is on Facebook. She posted a list of a few of PBO’s accomplishments a couple of days ago and a post today of what Elizabeth Warren’s statement was about the dangers of Donald Trump being President. I started to read some of the the millions of comments about each and although there were many positive ones there were an unbelievable number of hateful ones. I had to quick reading them as it scares me to think there are that many people believing the talking point lies and point blank discrediting facts.
The Republicans talk tough now (finally) about not wanting Trump, but when he is the nominee they will all fall in behind him like good little toy soldiers. Party unity is one thing – I sometimes wish the Dems had more of it – but taking the whole country down the road to ruin because you have to save face is unconscionable, immoral, unethical, and every other un- word I can think of. Oh, and despicable.
What we are watching is history in the making, words can’t do justice to describe how I feel about President Obama and all the things he has accomplished. The President of the United States of America is literally holding court in Cuba and he is winning hearts and minds the right way, not with bombs and big talk, but with handshakes and sincerity.
question for the TOD baseball lovers: Does anyone know if we can watch the baseball game in Cuba tomorrow online anywhere? I tried to see, but it looks like MLB has their talons in this one so I might be SOL with no cable…
Thanks guys, i’ll check ESPN.com and the cuba tv feed tomorrow and hope I can watch a game with our president. I may or may not pretend in my head I’m sitting in the presidential box talking baseball with PBO…
ESPN is anchoring Sportscenter in the mornings with Hannah Storm from Havana, Bob Ley is also anchoring throughout the day w/ Eduardo Perez (his father is a MLB Hall of Famer) with his Outside the Lines program
One note from their coverage is the Tampa Bay Rays got permission from the Cuban Govt. for one of their players who defected 3 years ago to return with the team (he is not on their current starting roster) but got permission and will actually be the lead-off batter for the Rays tomorrow:
Emotional moment last night in Cuba as TB minor leaguer Dayron Varona is reunited w/ family he hasn't seen in 3 yrs. pic.twitter.com/FtJIBo2U0N
Interestingly the Cuban T.V. aired the Rays/Red Sox game the other day w/o censoring [normally if a Cuban batter comes to bat & hits a Home Run they will blackout him rounding the bases] so that Cuban citizens could *scout get to know who plays on the Rays.
Watched the wreath-laying ceremony at the Jose Marti Memorial this morning, and was it my imagination that PBO requested the impromptu photo op to take place with the Che mural in the background? That’s how it seemed to me, that he was basically trolling all the RWNJs losing their lunch that @POTUS is in Communist Cuba.
Mission Truly Accomplished by the Obamas! I ❤ ❤ ❤ this response from a youngster. [Anderson = interviewer and the quote comes from the Atlantic link Meta shared above.]
// …………………………………….
Anderson: There was a social-media campaign last month called “Obama and Kids” where people shared pictures of President Obama with children around the country, to illustrate how kids seem to connect to him. Do you feel connected to this president at all?
………………….
Ramirez: We feel more connected to him because we’ve grown up with him. It's like having a family member that you don't really meet. I found it funny that kids go to the White House for trick-or-treating. Michelle Obama has had sleepovers [with Girl Scouts]. Because normally when you think of the White House you think of a big mansion or something, but what I actually think of is a regular house where you'd be lucky to meet one of your unknown family members, and you get the feeling that they’re actually going to welcome you.
Mission accomplished. Barack and Michelle said from day one that the White House is the people’s house and they have done hundreds more than any other First Couple to make this a reality. It is a place for all Americans, of all ages, of all backgrounds, genders, ethnicities, religion, and any other way that we are described. They have done this joyfully with purpose and authenticity.
O Meta, this is good reading. The kids’ answers are so similar to what most of us think and feel.
Some of their answers about going forward :
/…………………………..
Frost: I don’t know what to expect with a white president or a woman president. He’s the only president we remember. The biggest impact that he had wasn’t any laws he passed or anything like that. It was just being president. He brought a new race to [the nation’s highest office.]
Kedia: On a more personal level, I wonder what he’s going to do … what about his kids … what about his wife. I think about that every single day for some reason. It’s kind of weird. He’s all we know. What if the next president isn’t like that? It’s going to be really odd if [the new president] is in the office the entire day and never outside playing basketball or with kids. That would mostly be a negative in my mind.
Ramirez: Yes, we do need someone that we would feel comfortable with. We know there’s a different president coming, so we want someone that’s similar to what we already have. And we also want to solve the problems that we’re trying to solve now. Whenever I hear Donald Trump, I hear him talking about Barack Obama and his mistakes, per se. Solving our problems and still having a comfort with the new president would be great.
…………………………………….. //
[Miss Obama´s Let Girls Learn] This campaign seeks to provide education to girls that cannot otherwise have access to education due to cultural, religious or race barriers. That initiative is something Cuba already implemented years ago, where all girls go to school free of charge without any regard to race, place of living, handicap or even if they are hospitalized.
Yea for Cuba! I remember hearing rumours years ago that Cuba has a great medical training program.
Well the US can’t tell Cuba how to run their country. Cuba can’t tell America how to run this country. America don’t tell China, Russia, how to run their country.
Andrea Mitchell: ‘ President Castro, for many of us it’s amazing to hear you speak…’ I know I’m too sensitive – especially when certain people open their mouths – but that sounded a bit rude or condescending to *me*.
Yes he did and he was right in pointing out universal rights that Cubans have and we do not. Disagreements in this area have not stopped us from doing business and having presidents (as PBO pointed out) visit those countries.
Jim Acosta actually asked Castro if he preferred Hilary or Trump (what a damn fool!) and Castro laughed and said that he could not vote in American elections.
When Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012, drug policy advocates and pot consumers believed racial drug arrests would drop dramatically. That logic inspired voters in Washington, D.C., Oregon, and Alaska to hit the polls two years later in favor of less restrictive pot laws.
But it turns out that advocates and consumers were only half right. Drug arrests have plummeted overall, yet black people are still disproportionately arrested.
Between 2008 and 2014, marijuana arrests decreased by 60 percent in Colorado and 90 percent in Washington. However, a study of FBI Uniform Crime Reports conducted by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice’s Mike Males concluded that black people in 2008 and 2014 were twice as likely to be arrested for marijuana — in both states.
“I am surprised and disappointed by this,” Males told the Washington Post. “The forces that contribute to racial disparities under prohibition are clearly still in place after legalization.”
Didn’t Hillary skewer Bern on this point exactly a few weeks ago? she said along the lines that even if Bern got all his wishes on Wall street reform, there are still other factors at play as to inequality, etc. Seems she was exactly right.
Shared by Meta above, this is definitely an article you want to bookmark so that on your next bad day you can perk yourself up with some thinking teen voices.
Kedia: Before Obama, it’s like there was some sort of barrier, and everybody was stuck under it. Only certain people could get through that barrier. When Obama became president, suddenly people thought, “Oh, the barrier is gone. Now we can climb.” That’s what his presidency meant to me. It’s like I have a chance now.
Obama White House.gov
The Obama Diary 
Posting early ‘cos I gotta go out, see ya in a bit!
See you.
And congrats for being furst!
See you later Chips. Thanks for the new beginnings. LOL
First?????
This is an excellent article. I tried to post it earlier and it got eaten by WP
Great minds, or something like that…..
Thank you Chips!!
Very cool, Bob! I like the little *poke* at the end, although I think she’s waiting, like President Obama, for the eventual nominee so she will be able to campaign effectively without having to walk back an endorsement. Still, it’s good to give a hint where WE think her endorsement must go! 😉
I have a friend that is on Facebook. She posted a list of a few of PBO’s accomplishments a couple of days ago and a post today of what Elizabeth Warren’s statement was about the dangers of Donald Trump being President. I started to read some of the the millions of comments about each and although there were many positive ones there were an unbelievable number of hateful ones. I had to quick reading them as it scares me to think there are that many people believing the talking point lies and point blank discrediting facts.
back to work ….
Pass this on to the Bernie supporters who say they will not vote for Hillary if Bernie lose.
Yep, if you can’t beat them, then fuck it up for everyone else.
That seems to be the motto, Don.
So…. The Newt is at the Trump meeting in DC.
hahahahahahaaaa…….. He was also at the 1-20-2009 meeting , how did that work out for you Newt????? Loser
You can tell who all the former, irrelevant Republicans are, attending that Trump meeting: They don’t try to sneak in via a side door.
The Republicans talk tough now (finally) about not wanting Trump, but when he is the nominee they will all fall in behind him like good little toy soldiers. Party unity is one thing – I sometimes wish the Dems had more of it – but taking the whole country down the road to ruin because you have to save face is unconscionable, immoral, unethical, and every other un- word I can think of. Oh, and despicable.
I can add another couple of words: “so Republican.” Ugh.
What we are watching is history in the making, words can’t do justice to describe how I feel about President Obama and all the things he has accomplished. The President of the United States of America is literally holding court in Cuba and he is winning hearts and minds the right way, not with bombs and big talk, but with handshakes and sincerity.
“handshakes and SINCERITY” – preach!
He is a robot.
Of course, he’s covering all his bases just in case god has a sense of humor and actually puts one of these clowns in the White House.
Next, he’ll be doing robocalls for Bernie and Hillary.
Right, so goes Utah so goes nobody.
With every passing day, big, strong, screaming Bernie Sanders reveals himself to be a coward and a fraud:
question for the TOD baseball lovers: Does anyone know if we can watch the baseball game in Cuba tomorrow online anywhere? I tried to see, but it looks like MLB has their talons in this one so I might be SOL with no cable…
ESPN will be broadcasting live as well as streaming it.
I believe the livestream still requires you to have cable to sign in. UGH.
I’m hoping the state Cuba TV feed we’ve been using will stream it.
Thanks guys, i’ll check ESPN.com and the cuba tv feed tomorrow and hope I can watch a game with our president. I may or may not pretend in my head I’m sitting in the presidential box talking baseball with PBO…
Maybe try this one, too?
http://www.fidelista-por-siempre.org/CubaVision-en-Vivo.aspx
ESPN is anchoring Sportscenter in the mornings with Hannah Storm from Havana, Bob Ley is also anchoring throughout the day w/ Eduardo Perez (his father is a MLB Hall of Famer) with his Outside the Lines program
One note from their coverage is the Tampa Bay Rays got permission from the Cuban Govt. for one of their players who defected 3 years ago to return with the team (he is not on their current starting roster) but got permission and will actually be the lead-off batter for the Rays tomorrow:
Interestingly the Cuban T.V. aired the Rays/Red Sox game the other day w/o censoring [normally if a Cuban batter comes to bat & hits a Home Run they will blackout him rounding the bases] so that Cuban citizens could *scout get to know who plays on the Rays.
ESPN starts coverage at 12:00 EST on ESPN & ESPN deportes http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/ the game begins airing at 1:30 EST
GM/GA TODville.
Watched the wreath-laying ceremony at the Jose Marti Memorial this morning, and was it my imagination that PBO requested the impromptu photo op to take place with the Che mural in the background? That’s how it seemed to me, that he was basically trolling all the RWNJs losing their lunch that @POTUS is in Communist Cuba.
BTW, it’s hard to believe that one of the worse #BlameObama GOPoliticos has a bearable Twitter timeline from Cuba.
I saw that interaction about the mural, and I agree with you that it appeared the President set up the photo!
Mission Truly Accomplished by the Obamas! I ❤ ❤ ❤ this response from a youngster. [Anderson = interviewer and the quote comes from the Atlantic link Meta shared above.]
// …………………………………….
Anderson: There was a social-media campaign last month called “Obama and Kids” where people shared pictures of President Obama with children around the country, to illustrate how kids seem to connect to him. Do you feel connected to this president at all?
………………….
Ramirez: We feel more connected to him because we’ve grown up with him. It's like having a family member that you don't really meet. I found it funny that kids go to the White House for trick-or-treating. Michelle Obama has had sleepovers [with Girl Scouts]. Because normally when you think of the White House you think of a big mansion or something, but what I actually think of is a regular house where you'd be lucky to meet one of your unknown family members, and you get the feeling that they’re actually going to welcome you.
…………………………… //
Mission accomplished. Barack and Michelle said from day one that the White House is the people’s house and they have done hundreds more than any other First Couple to make this a reality. It is a place for all Americans, of all ages, of all backgrounds, genders, ethnicities, religion, and any other way that we are described. They have done this joyfully with purpose and authenticity.
🙂 POTUS and FLOTUS have, and these teens awareness of this is a wonderful affirmation!
O Meta, this is good reading. The kids’ answers are so similar to what most of us think and feel.
Some of their answers about going forward :
/…………………………..
Frost: I don’t know what to expect with a white president or a woman president. He’s the only president we remember. The biggest impact that he had wasn’t any laws he passed or anything like that. It was just being president. He brought a new race to [the nation’s highest office.]
Kedia: On a more personal level, I wonder what he’s going to do … what about his kids … what about his wife. I think about that every single day for some reason. It’s kind of weird. He’s all we know. What if the next president isn’t like that? It’s going to be really odd if [the new president] is in the office the entire day and never outside playing basketball or with kids. That would mostly be a negative in my mind.
Ramirez: Yes, we do need someone that we would feel comfortable with. We know there’s a different president coming, so we want someone that’s similar to what we already have. And we also want to solve the problems that we’re trying to solve now. Whenever I hear Donald Trump, I hear him talking about Barack Obama and his mistakes, per se. Solving our problems and still having a comfort with the new president would be great.
…………………………………….. //
President Castro is speaking now
Where’s the translator?
“Mr. President Barack Obama … ” Yes, he is, President Castro! Our President and we wish him – and the Cuban people – well, going forward.
I cannot wait to read a transcript of Castro’s statement. Not to mention President Obama’s!
[Miss Obama´s Let Girls Learn] This campaign seeks to provide education to girls that cannot otherwise have access to education due to cultural, religious or race barriers. That initiative is something Cuba already implemented years ago, where all girls go to school free of charge without any regard to race, place of living, handicap or even if they are hospitalized.
Yea for Cuba! I remember hearing rumours years ago that Cuba has a great medical training program.
Can someone please tell Mr. Blow that our President knows perfectly well who he is dealing with? Our President is not some silly naive reactionary.
What is Charles M. Blow talking about? What did Castro say that has Blow piss?
He said they want Guantanamo back. He also said that the US cannot tell Cuba how to run their own country.
Well the US can’t tell Cuba how to run their country. Cuba can’t tell America how to run this country. America don’t tell China, Russia, how to run their country.
And he’s going to make these face saving gestures, but that’s all they are really, I think. President Obama will handle it beautifully as always.
This is precisely why PBO is President and Charles Blow isn’t. He should stick to writing and let PO do his job.
any bets on what the WHPC asks…will it relate to Cuba
Anyone who thinks they need to tell PBO how to handle people have not been paying attention all these many years.
Pump your brakes Charlie Blow
😀 “Pump your brakes!” Love it! I’ll have to remember that one.
😀
Andrea Mitchell is senile.
smh It did seem like it at certain points.
Andrea Mitchell: ‘ President Castro, for many of us it’s amazing to hear you speak…’ I know I’m too sensitive – especially when certain people open their mouths – but that sounded a bit rude or condescending to *me*.
Andrea is making me ashamed that they allowed her to travel with them.
Phew! So I’m not the only one who felt parts(generously speaking) of her questioning were *off*!
He kinda schooled Andrea.
Yes he did and he was right in pointing out universal rights that Cubans have and we do not. Disagreements in this area have not stopped us from doing business and having presidents (as PBO pointed out) visit those countries.
Jim Acosta actually asked Castro if he preferred Hilary or Trump (what a damn fool!) and Castro laughed and said that he could not vote in American elections.
😀 😀 I didn’t know what Castro was saying, but it felt like Andrea was being chastised and I thought that was fitting.
And she deserved every syllable too!
😀 😀 *chuckle-chuckle*
huh
HUH?
Black People Twice As Likely To Be Arrested For Pot In Colorado And Washington — Where It’s Legal
BY CARIMAH TOWNES
MAR 21, 2016 11:58 AM
When Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012, drug policy advocates and pot consumers believed racial drug arrests would drop dramatically. That logic inspired voters in Washington, D.C., Oregon, and Alaska to hit the polls two years later in favor of less restrictive pot laws.
But it turns out that advocates and consumers were only half right. Drug arrests have plummeted overall, yet black people are still disproportionately arrested.
Between 2008 and 2014, marijuana arrests decreased by 60 percent in Colorado and 90 percent in Washington. However, a study of FBI Uniform Crime Reports conducted by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice’s Mike Males concluded that black people in 2008 and 2014 were twice as likely to be arrested for marijuana — in both states.
“I am surprised and disappointed by this,” Males told the Washington Post. “The forces that contribute to racial disparities under prohibition are clearly still in place after legalization.”
Didn’t Hillary skewer Bern on this point exactly a few weeks ago? she said along the lines that even if Bern got all his wishes on Wall street reform, there are still other factors at play as to inequality, etc. Seems she was exactly right.
Cuba has a 99.7 % literacy rate.
Wow, i hope that the US does not influence them negatively. We can surely learn from Cuba.
Senator Warren doing a TwitterBURN on #BullyTrump ….
…. got a little attention, evidently 🙂
back to work …
Shared by Meta above, this is definitely an article you want to bookmark so that on your next bad day you can perk yourself up with some thinking teen voices.
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/03/obama-and-the-kids/474462/
//…………………………….
Kedia: Before Obama, it’s like there was some sort of barrier, and everybody was stuck under it. Only certain people could get through that barrier. When Obama became president, suddenly people thought, “Oh, the barrier is gone. Now we can climb.” That’s what his presidency meant to me. It’s like I have a chance now.
Heads up
http://theobamadiary.com/2016/03/21/president-participates-in-event-focused-on-opportunity-for-the-cuban-people/