****
Here’s the full text of President Obama’s essay:
In the evening, when Michelle and the girls have gone to bed, I sometimes walk down the hall to a room Abraham Lincoln used as his office. It contains an original copy of the Gettysburg address, written in Lincoln’s own hand.
I linger on these few words that have helped define our American experiment: “A new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
Through the lines of weariness etched in his face, we know Lincoln grasped, perhaps more than anyone, the burdens required to give these words meaning. He knew that even a self-evident truth was not self-executing; that blood drawn by the lash was an affront to our ideals; that blood drawn by the sword was in painful service to those same ideals.
He understood as well that our humble efforts, our individual ambitions, are ultimately not what matter; rather, it is through the accumulated toil and sacrifice of ordinary men and women – those like the soldiers who consecrated that battlefield – that this country is built, and freedom preserved. This quintessentially self-made man, fierce in his belief in honest work and the striving spirit at the heart of America, believed that it falls to each generation, collectively, to share in that toil and sacrifice.
Through cold war and world war, through industrial revolutions and technological transformations, through movements for civil rights and women’s rights and workers’ rights and gay rights, we have. At times, social and economic change have strained our union. But Lincoln’s words give us confidence that whatever trials await us, this nation and the freedom we cherish can, and shall, prevail.
****
The White House inspires some of its inhabitants: obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2013/11/1… https://t.co/JzVjdEZlo0
—
Cody Keenan (@codykeenan) August 01, 2017
The Obama Diary 
I have always loved this photo. It shows who he is. Naturally. I truly love and miss him
THAT’S RIGHT………CHARACTER..INTEGRITY…GRACE!
Unfortunately this country does not deserve PBO never did….but glad we had him for 8yrs. I think he might have stayed longer but Michelle and the girls deserved to move on.
HE TOOK ABUSE FOR 8 YEARS…HE DOESN’T NEED MORE..AND NO..THE SICK SOCIETY IN THIS COUNTRY NEVER DESERVED HIM..NOR WAS HE APPRECIATED…
Well said Pete and without naming names. The disrespect that is accepted by the Swamp creatures towards the Creature From the Orange Lagoon is just amazing.
He’s welcome to leave and never comeback. . .
Exactly, CarolMaeWY! The country, and the world, would be much better off if Trump resigned from the presidency and went back to his unscrupulous and shade business.
An horrific thing to say about such a beautiful and historic place. I remember when I visited Oxford in the UK and saw the colleges and the other places of learning and study – some 1800 years old – and my thoughts were – how amazing it would be to live and study in this place.
In a similar fashion one thinks of the White house – how amazing it would be to live and work in this place.
The ignoramus who has no idea of beauty, or history and loves only gold and silver should be tossed from this place as 2000 years ago the money changers were tossed from the temple.
drat — 800 years old, not even Oxford has colleges 1800 years old
GE TODville, and thank you NerdyW, for this inspiring post.
I checked out @codykeenan’s Twitter timeline too.
In response to this:
Cody tweeted:
And I responded to this tweet:
The Dixie Chicks careers were ruined for much less than what that orange-baboon has said about this country on foreign AND domestic soil.
” A dump” because it employs common people. Proud to work in the service of their country. Unlike the bullshit artist that Putin installed.
GE DF.
It is so insulting — I don’t wish bad things for most people, but the entire #TrumpCrimeFamily are sub-human in my opinion.
He deserves to be behind bars, along with all the rest of the greedy oligarchs, starting with the Koch brothers on down.
Believe nothing.
I don’t know WHO to believe. I read someone higher up wants something from the orange-swamp-monster so someone within the BS organization probably did say that. ALL the kids cheered so I wouldn’t be surprised. I still hope they get a lot of parents pulling their kids out of the BSOA for inviting him in the first place. By the way these same kids BOO’d PBO when he did a telecast because he could not be there in person. F’em all!
Believe anyone who says the opposite of trump – you will be on firm ground.
Reminder to those in Southern California, missile from Vandenberg is scheduled to launch between midnight and 6 am tonight (actually tomorrow morning before dawn).
If you get up early, and it’s not overcast, check out the sunrise to see if the missile launches closer to dawn than midnight.
Here’s an example of what Vandenberg rocket launches at sunset looks like (from 2009):
I mentioned before that these rocket launches affects the sky as far south as San Diego (and probably beyond).
Heard on the radio that Orange County is on a flash flood watch for thunderstorms now (moisture being drawn in from the Gulf of Mexico, so the storms are moving from east to west, unlike our usual storm pattern), but it’s clear in Ventura County, so weather shouldn’t be a factor for the missile launch.
Thanks. I get up early. It was cloudy and there’s chance of showers tomorrow morning again. It sprinkled a little this AM.
GM jojo.
FUBAR has completely disrupted my sleep cycle — I don’t have problems falling asleep because I’m waking at 3 am, and @cbsradionews said the missile had just launched from Vandenberg.
Here’s video of the launch (if you’ve got a television [which I don’t], you’ve no doubt already seen this, since our war-mongering MSM can’t get enough of rockets and bombs).
Thank you, Arapaho, for posting the video.
Many tweets and re-tweets referencing your thread on Twitter tonight Meta. So many were touched, comforted, and inspired while others were almost brought to tears of longing. Thank you for placing it here as well.
Thank you, CEB!
I think Trump really hit a nerve with his horrible disrespect of the WH, an affront to all Americans.
meta, thank you sooooooo much for this tribute to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, recognizing their appreciation of everyone and everything that make up the White House. Also, their expressions of love and their openness that made the White House truly be the People’s House.
Thank you very much, swbluega. We have SO many great memories of their time there.
Hi Meta, I hope you are well. I love these tweets of yours. They are fantastic. Thank you so much for posting them here, as I’m not on Twitter.
Thank you, Terri! Hope all is well with you and family.
Everything is great, other than seeing what Trump and his administration is doing to this country. My husband and I are getting ready to go to Rome and Greece for about three weeks, starting August 7th.
OOOooooo, fabulous!! I hope you have a grand time. And I feel the same about trying to stay sane while Trump is in the WH. UGH.
Thank you!
This whole set of tweets – TWEET PERFECTION! Brava, meta!
Thank you so much, luv. I just cannot let this degrading of the White House go by, ESPECIALLY after what we’ve witnessed the last 8 years.
The current occupant taking up space in the White House probably need a golf cart to do this.
For sure. Absolutely for sure.
That’s my favorite. I’m getting all choked up with emotion here. Thank you for these lovely tweets and images, meta. We were so lucky.
Every day was extraordinary in the WH during PBO’s and FLOTUS’ eight glorious years. There are hundreds, thousands of photographs to celebrate their time there, each one so special and truly evocative in so many ways. How incredibly honored we are to have traveled this time and space with them!!
You are so very right meta. It was a privilege and an honor I never expected in my lifetime. Thank you for your Tweets to bring this time and these wonderful people back into the public’s memory to, if only for a few minutes, cleanse their minds of the trash that inhabits that place now.
When they finally vacate I think we will need to call on every spiritual leader of every faith from around the country, and world, to come do a spiritual and energetic healing of the place, not to mention scrubbing it from top to bottom with a lot of elbow grease, and maybe even burning some of the things they have touched. We will need a truckload of white sage, a tanker truck of disinfectant, several prayer circles surrounding the place, and so much more. We had best start planning now for this task.
Thank you, cd4bigen. I agree 1000000% with your words. We will need an extraordinary deep deep cleanse with help from every corner of both the spiritual and material world. It may take a while.
Their memories are our memories ~ and their successes, our successes. Something no one who follows can ever take away from us.
PRICELESS! Thanks so much meta. These warmed my heart. Thanks Dudette for compiling them into one tweet!
Trump is the racists’ wet dream president. All of their worst impulses are being given the light of day, but that is okay. When the light is shone on the roaches we can see them to stamp them out. So tired of the whiny ass white folks who cannot stand competition so they rig the system.
THIS..IS TOOOOOOOOO FUNNY…ON THE FLOOR!
ON MY FB…..
It actually scares me to consider what djt and his family might do to the White House. They have no respect for it or its history, and I just hope that whatever they do can be reversed by the next occupant.
Yes Carolyn, everything he does scares me.
I can only pray for all of us. Jaysus!
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article164851802.html
BTW, good move NAACP! 😯
The right-wingers wanted the DOJ so bad because it was the federal agency that helped to bring denied justice and equality to POC. It is now the department of injustice and persecution out to destroy Black and brown people to the racists’ delight. And to think that with all of the systemic racism that we must deal with these assholes at HBO who intend to feed the monsters with this horrible show that depicts slavery as alive and well in modern day USA.
Yes, indeed.
Nice …
Goodnight TOD ….
Hi {{{{{{Dudette}}}}}}}, had to return to post these and thank you for bringing everyone’s attention to Lt Col McGrath ….
Hi Bob! Lt Col McGrath’s video is awesome! I’m looking forward to seeing her kick butt! Send her a few bucks too.
ON MY FB…………YOU GO GIRL…….SOAR!
Thank you Dudette! I gave $20 to her campaign.
They are trash from top to bottom.
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA IS OUR LAST PRESIDENT..PERIOD!
😆😄😂
twitler’s touch = turd
Yo Amk! Good to see ya!
Hi MM. How you doing?
Eh, a few creaky bones here & there, but otherwise fine. 😏
How are you, Sir?
same creaky and cranky bones here too. shakes fist at age.
[sigh] Yeh.
Did trump really call The WH a dump??
Mornin’ GGail. Hope you are well.
Yes, he did, but I think he was refering to its current inhabitants. 🙂
The current occupants (Trump crime family) in the White House should be in dumpsters.
Not even willing to send it back to congress – no morals and no backbone
GE, TODbots.
Congrats, DF for your Gold ⭐
Thanks, NW for the new post.
So now, the WH is a dump, per #Liar45*? Then, Chronic & habitual lair Trump, Leave. Resign. Adios, pathological lying Nyash.
Great video Nena!
Tweeted it!
At this point I am hoping that some of the moderate repubs would have an ephiphany and switch parties or band together with Dems to take down all of PP’s cabal right down to McTurtle and Lyin Ryan!
They would lose their next election but isn’t it time to stand up for good values? For something decent? Sacrifice for the greater good of mankind? Instead of giving in to hate and greed and ego etc etc etc.
I suppose I can dream.
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was beaten in the Republican by a Tea Party candidate, then won the general election as a write-in.
Does she own said company> Have shares in it?
Probably, and if she doesn’t you can bet the T family does, as well as most of his pack of scumbags. Any way they can find to suck the govt money into their pockets.
The Dump
The Dump Part Two
Love them all but I especially like the last one.
Here’s a link to another link on YouTube. . .
Oops, posted before leaving link. . .
ON MY FB…BUT I CAN’T WATCH IT..MAKES ME CRY!
If the White House is a dump then why don’t the Trump leave it.Most of the people don’t want him there anyway.
This!
WOW…such pomp and circumstance…such ritual….so much that i still do not know….thanks so much for posting this….
PBO’s WH posted several of these kind of videos to educate us! Each one is fascinating on its own but as a collection, they really give you a sense of the grandeur of the WH. Their creation and production are a brilliant service to us!
We always have to be twice as good or more, above approach in all ways to get half as much while being treated with disrespect and ingratitude. We did not deserve the Obamas, but I am so thankful that God blessed us with their service. What so many of us did deserve is the disaster that we have now and the just, unfortunately, is suffering with the unjust, but a better day is coming sooner than these bottom-feeders realize. We had to see how bad things really are before we can do the real work of making this country truly a place of life, liberty, equality, and happiness for all its citizens.
The Part 1 is Cuomo doing a Job of Journalism. I am still on Part 1. Hoping that Part 2 & 3 would be as good.
Dirty, dirty prevabricator. He’s so twisty! 😯
Jaysus! It was all about “shirts”, little bitty “laundry”! 😂 Their code words of corruption totally lack imagination. Duh! 😂
I’m always leery about someone who does a lengthy soliloquy to answer a yes or no question or one that should only require one or two sentences at most. A lot of fillers that I guess is supposed to make the lie more believable.
Moving speech plus Sing along with Mitch let ‘God Bless America’ after the speech.
twitler ‘warns’ maduro not to jail his political opponents.
irony hung itself.
Al Franken
HaPpY Belated Birthday to cd4Biden. We took a day trip to see Devils Tower, our First National Monument.
Thanks Dudette for the night music.
Thank you CarolMae.
❤️❤️❤️
LOLz!!!!
good morning everyone!
may each on of you have a great day
I have tried to ignore this but I just note it here:
I am sure I am not the only one who is rolling my eyes at the way 45-supporting men (starting with the cabinet) are now resorted to wearing “the red necktie);
it is becoming more like those famous red hats that others choose to wear ;
Good Morning Everybody.
Bo and Sunny!
https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2017-08-02/trump-is-said-to-add-concerns-in-signing-russia-sanctions-law
By the time Nov. 2018 comes around, I hope it’s 20 POINTS. Morning everyone.
This guy needs to go.
He won Putin’s highest honor so I guess he feels put upon by having to promote America….what has America ever done to honor him!
ON MY FB…’GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER?’….ROFL!..ENTER STAGE RIGHT..REPUGNANT RASH!
Gorgeous fun photo of the WH staff during the Obama years!!
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-idUSKBN1AI1ZU
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump and two Republican senators on Wednesday will unveil a plan at the White House to overhaul the rules for legal immigrants, a proposal that would slash numbers overall and focus on skilled immigrants, the White House said.
Trump will discuss his support for a bill developed by senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia that they had said would cut legal immigration by 50 percent over 10 years by reducing the kinds of relatives immigrants can bring into the country.
“Right now, only one in 15 immigrants come here because of their skills. And we don’t prioritize ultra-high-skilled immigrants,” a White House official said, speaking on background ahead of the announcement, which is slated for 1130 a.m. ET (1530 GMT).
The White House believes the changes proposed by the senators would raise wages and create jobs, the official said.
Elections have (severe) consequences.
I bet Twitler and all the other companies get to continue to bring in low wage immigrants like the H1B1.
LEGAL immigrants!?!?!?! Geez.
I agree with jojo that it won’t apply to companies bringing in low wage immigrants.
Thread
Remember when challenges were to be embraced?
https://www.wired.com/2016/10/president-obama-guest-edits-wired-essay/
Great new resource from our wonderful Joe Friday
meta, you keep astounding me with the resources you bring to TOD. Thank you. This one is pretty scary as it shows the amount of foreign data that is infiltrating our social networks on a daily basis. Don’t know whether I feel more informed or more terrified.
I feel both. It’s truly horrifying, especially because Trump and his cronies are aiding and abetting the entire enterprise. It sickens me.
So a department within the agency you oversee clears you of violating a department policy. Does anyone else think this stinks?
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of the Science Adviser has cleared administrator Scott Pruitt of charges from a green group that he violated the department’s Scientific Integrity Policy.
The Washington Examiner reported late Tuesday that the office has dismissed complaints against Pruitt from the Sierra Club over his March statement that carbon dioxide is not a “primary contributor to global warming,” a position out of step with the conclusions of most climate scientists.
The Sierra Club asked the Office of the Inspector General to determine in the statement violated the integrity policy because, they contended, policymakers should not “knowingly misrepresent, exaggerate, or downplay” scientific uncertainty or “suppress or alter scientific findings.”
But the agency’s Office of Science Adviser instead ruled that “The freedom to express one’s opinion about science is fundamental to EPA’s Scientific Integrity Policy even [and especially] when that point of view might be controversial,” according to reports.
I believe most – if not all – of 45’s cabinet have made false statements to congress at some point.
New post.
https://theobamadiary.com/2017/08/02/a-superior-mind/