I was so moved by the time I spent with Memory Banda in Malawi and South Africa last year. I hope you’ll read more about her story and the remarkable work she is doing to help end child marriage: https://t.co/qtaeGwFAce
Meet Diana. Every day, she would wake up before sunrise and walk for two hours to go to her school in Malawi. To get there, she had to cross a river and often faced harassment along the way. By the time she got to school, her uniform was often soaked—and if she was late, her school would send her home.
Earlier this week, I was in Chicago to check on the progress being made at the Obama Presidential Center.
To everyone who’s been a part of making the Center a reality, thank you for your dedication, professionalism, and hard work. Michelle and I could not be more grateful. pic.twitter.com/tREjHBJPvH
Hi, Gail:) Can you copy and paste it? I think that I have shared things from there that way… Hope all is well with you. It’s been awhile, but I still poke my head in here to see what’s what. Love and hugs
Twelve years ago today, my administration announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, giving undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as children a pathway to citizenship.
Today, most of the original Dreamers are grown. They’re serving…
Biden campaign to hold star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles after G7 visit
President Joe Biden will head to Los Angeles on Saturday for a multimillion-dollar event that aims to shore up support for the Democratic ticket with a star-studded show of celebrity campaign surrogates.
The event will include headliners Julia Roberts and George Clooney, along with former President Barack Obama. Audience members will also see appearances from actors Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Jack Black, Sheryl Lee Ralph and a surprise musical guest to end the show.
Similar to the format of the campaign’s New York fundraiser, host Jimmy Kimmel will moderate a conversation between Obama and Biden to talk about the stakes of this election.
Heading into the event, the campaign raised $28 million according to the campaign, the largest Democratic fundraiser in history.
I had a meaningful meeting with U.S. VP @KamalaHarris and thanked her for attending the summit.
We discussed the delivery of weapons from the announced U.S. military aid packages, the implementation of our agreements reached with President Biden in Italy regarding additional… pic.twitter.com/FJ0GTwISPI
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 15, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris Announces Over $1.5 Billion to Bolster Ukraine’s Energy Sector, Address Humanitarian Needs, and Strengthen Civilian Security
More and more VP Kamala Harris impresses me. VP Harris is a strong steady worker for the people of the USA. She doesn’t require frequent praise and attention. Frustrates me that there are so many ignorant citizens who don’t have a clue and couldn’t be bothered to know the facts. Thank you VP Kamala Harris for all you do for us and our country.
President Biden arrives in LA ahead of star-studded, high-dollar fundraiser in downtown
LOS ANGELES — After flying through the night across nine time zones, from southern Italy to Southern California, President Joe Biden is shifting his focus from Russia’s challenge of Western unity to raking in big money for his reelection campaign at a Hollywood fundraiser featuring George Clooney and Julia Roberts.
Biden went straight from the Group of Seven summit of wealthy democracies, where Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine took center stage, to Los Angeles and the glitzy gathering unfolding Saturday night at the Peacock Theater. The journey was only broken up by a layover to refuel outside Washington.
Former President Barack Obama is joining headliners Clooney and Roberts, and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel will interview all of them onstage. In a text message to donors beforehand, Roberts called it “a crucial time in the election.” Kimmel wrote in his own text that presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump “will hate this, so let’s do it.”
Luminaries from the entertainment world have increasingly lined up to help Biden’s campaign, hoping to provide a fundraising jolt and to energize would-be supporters to turn out ahead of Election Day against Trump.
But hobnobbing with stars this time means Biden is skipping a summit in Switzerland about ways to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Vice President Kamala Harris is representing.
When asked if America has amnesia about trump the presumptive Republican nominee. President Biden: “All we gotta do is remember what it was like” when Trump was in the White House.
Ahead of appearing at the parade on Friday, June 14, Kate confirmed that she would be attending as she shared an update on her cancer treatment in a post on Instagram.
Kate also said she has been “blown away” by the support she has received since revealing her diagnosis.
“It really has made the world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times,” she said.
Prince William has appeared in a touching new family photo to celebrate Father’s Day.
On Sunday, June 16, a photograph posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media featured a heartfelt Father’s Day message to William, 41, along with a photo of him with his children, which had been shot by his wife Kate Middleton.
“We love you, Papa. Happy Father’s Day 💕 G, C & L,” the caption of the post read, including a sign-off with the initials of Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, and a credit for the Princess of Wales, 42, as the image’s photographer.
The Obamas’ production company, Higher Ground, is bolstering its partnership with Netflix, inking a multi-year, first-look deal with the media giant for its film and TV projects.
“From the beginning, Netflix has championed our projects, helping them flourish and reach millions across the world,” said Vinnie Malhotra, president of Higher Ground, in a Friday statement to ITK.
“We’re thrilled to build on our stellar creative partnership and to deliver more ambitious films and series. From gripping thrillers to heartfelt comedies and profound documentaries, we have so much that we look forward to sharing,” Malhotra said.
…“If there’s one thing that’s defined President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s creative ambitions since we started our partnership with Higher Ground, it is their pursuit of an exceptional story that brings the human experience to light,” Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria said in a statement announcing the expanded collaboration.
“We are delighted to continue our relationship with Higher Ground as they continue to develop and produce more ambitious, compelling and entertaining stories,” Bajaria said.
Some of the forthcoming projects that Higher Ground has on tap include a film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom,” by David Blight, poised to be directed by Regina King, and “Fling,” a romantic comedy starring Lupita Nyong’o. Michelle Obama is said to be “working closely” alongside Nyong’o on the project.
How Originalism Captured the Court with Guest Sherrilyn Ifill
Slate’s Amicus podcast is a show about the law and the nine Supreme Court justices who interpret it for the rest of America. At this live taping, Dahlia Lithwick, Mark Joseph Stern, and special guests civil rights lawyer and scholar Sherrilyn Ifill discuss how the court is using originalism—a controversial approach to interpreting the Constitution—to radically reshape the law. Just in time for yet another consequential term!
Dahlia and Mark are joined by legal analysts and leading critics of originalism, including a sitting state Supreme Court Judge, to explore the consequences of this theory when conservative justices apply it to overturn centuries of precedent, including the right to abortion and states’ ability to combat gun violence. They’ll also explore the possible pathways out of the current situation.
The Real Scandal at the Supreme Court Is Not Clarence Thomas’ Ethics Form
The liberal legal and political commentariat justifiably has its collective hair on fire about the flagrant ethics violations of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, both of whom hold such malleable conceptions of what constitutes an “appearance of impropriety” that it could reasonably be found in a founding-era dictionary definition of hypocrisy. The amount of ink spilled and tape taped since the excellent ProPublica reporting on Thomas’ undisclosed financial benefits and lavish entertainment and the New York Times stories on Martha-Ann Alito’s incorrigible vexillological predilections has far exceeded the public discussion of the actual cases that stand to be decided in the next three weeks.
The problem with this endless and ever-worsening media SCOTUS umbrage cycle (this week! Martha-Ann Alito!) is that it stalls out in learned helplessness and furious paralysis every time. Here’s Alito’s wife to Lauren Windsor: “Look at me, look at me. I’m German, from Germany. My heritage is German,” the justice’s wife told Windsor. “You come after me, I’m going to give it back to you. And there will be a way—it doesn’t have to be now—but there will be a way they will know.”
Mousey media failed by not making Donald Trump’s unhinged shark story major news
Opinion: It is a real problem for the media – and the country – when the fear of appearing biased prevents us from being honest.
I do not understand what people in my business are so afraid of.
The mainstream media failed to adequately report the most important Donald Trump story of the weekend.
Again.
Trump’s ability to sic his MAGA followers on anyone who crosses him makes it understandable (if not honorable) to see why every single Republican politician in America is afraid of being honestly critical of him.
But the mainstream media is also afraid of Trump. That, I do not get.
‘Georgia Is Our Laboratory’: Inside Trump’s Plan to Rig 2024
Team Trump sees Georgia as ‘a road map’ for putting Trump’s heads-I-win-tails-you-lose philosophy of elections into practice
It is an alarmingly anti-democratic experiment that Trumpland and much of the GOP hope to take national. “Georgia is our laboratory,” a source close to the former president tells Rolling Stone. “If you can get this up and running in Georgia, you get a road map for other states, maybe the country as a whole.”
Georgia election board proposes an ‘inquiry’ before certifying results
Republicans on local election boards have voted against certifying recent results
…The State Election Board started writing a new rule Wednesday that would require a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying Georgia elections, granting a request from a Republican county election board member who refused to sign off on this year’s presidential primary
How Republicans are using one state as a testing ground for hijacking an election for Trump
Rachel Maddow looks at the ways in which Republicans in Georgia are using their total control over the levers of power to shape the state’s elections processes to ensure victory for Donald Trump. Adam Rawnsley, reporter for Rolling Stone, joins to discuss his reporting on Republicans treating Georgia as a “laboratory.”
Harbinger for 2024? Shocking European elections eyed for U.S. election foreshadowing
Rachel Maddow looks at whether surprisingly good election results for far-right candidates in Europe in 2016 proved prophetic about the election of Trump in the U.S. Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security advisor under President Obama, joins to discuss how to understand the message of this year’s elections in Europe in the context of the 2024 election in the U.S.
"We need their ideas about how to fight these things. We need to see what worked and what didn't when Americans faced threats like this before." Rachel Maddow explains her interest in the activities of the ultra-right in U.S. history. pic.twitter.com/DwQC0BShBj
Obama visits presidential center as signature tower reaches full height
Former President Barack Obama briefly spoke and shook hands with dozens to celebrate the latest milestone — the museum building hitting its full height of 225 feet.
Former President Barack Obama on Monday visited the sweeping construction site of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park to thank workers at a “topping out” ceremony.
The construction of th(e presidential center and museum is “about 56%” complete, according to workers at the site, and Obama briefly spoke and shook hands with dozens to celebrate the latest milestone — the museum building hitting its full height of 225 feet.
“I just want everybody to know that I see you. And hopefully for decades to come, every time people come by here, they’re going to be seeing a little bit of your work,” Obama said. “You’ve got young people, programs here, learning and opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have. That’s not just because of me, that’s because of you. That’s a pretty cool legacy to have.”
Statement from President Biden on Record Decrease in Crime in First Quarter of 2024
Violent crime is dropping at record levels in America. It’s good news for our families and our communities. Today, the FBI released preliminary data collected from over 11,000 law enforcement agencies around the country showing that, in the first quarter of this year, murders decreased by 26%, robberies by almost 18%, and violent crime overall by 15%. These large decreases follow major reductions in crime in nearly every category in 2023 – including one of the lowest rates for all violent crime in 50 years and significant declines in murder.
This progress we’re seeing is no accident. My Administration is putting more cops on the beat, holding violent criminals accountable, and getting illegal guns off the street – and we are doing it in partnership with communities. As a result, Americans are safer today than when I took office.
After we saw the largest increase in murders ever recorded during the previous Administration, my Administration got to work protecting the American people. My America Rescue Plan – which every Republican voted against – delivered $15 billion to cities to hire and retain more cops and keep communities safe. I took on the gun lobby and signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law, the most significant gun violence legislation in nearly 30 years. But there is more to do. I will continue fighting for funding for 100,000 additional police officers, and crime prevention and community violence intervention programs. Every American deserves to feel safe in their community – which is why I will continue to invest in public safety.
.@SIfill_ on SCOTUS' ethical issues: "These Justices have to grow up. Stop being stubborn teenagers and take responsibility for their own actions… Congress does have the power to be able to issue a code of ethics for the United States Supreme Court and they should do so." pic.twitter.com/CuEF9oIsDj
— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) June 11, 2024
—SCOTUS has the lowest or no ethics code in America
.@GovernorShapiro on secret audio recording of Justice Alito: "Remember, this is the court that Donald Trump packed in order to take away a woman's right to choose." pic.twitter.com/HUxlAuVCXs
— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) June 11, 2024
Gov. Shapiro
.@kgreenberg_ on Trump probation meeting: "I think the probation officer needs to look closer, because there are victims, actually. We the American people were victims by not getting information that he was paying off a porn star… that could have affected the election outcome." pic.twitter.com/ZxQpjupxtX
— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) June 11, 2024
—Kristy Greenberg.
"While he's given us every reason to expect this from him, that doesn't mean it's something we should accept." @jrpsaki on secret tape revealing Justice Alito's candid views on politics pic.twitter.com/ah8UZiguwN
— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) June 11, 2024
Latest great jobs report leaves GOP leaders at a loss for words
It appears that the American job market is so good, Republican leaders have found themselves literally speechless — again.
For those rooting for the U.S. economy, there was a lot to like about the latest jobs report, which was released on Friday morning. The data showed the economy adding 272,000 jobs in May — far more than expected — as well as wage growth that continues to outpace inflation.
All of this comes on the heels of 2023, which was arguably the best year for job creation in the United States since the late 1990s.
In fact, the closer one looks, the better the figures appear. Over 1.2 million jobs have been created so far this year, and if this pace keeps up, the United States will see roughly 3 million new jobs this year, which is extraordinary. Based on the latest data, American job growth across the first five months of 2024 is better than the first five months of any year of Trump’s presidency.
At a campaign rally in Nevada yesterday, the presumptive Republican nominee insisted, with apparent sincerity, “A hundred percent of the new jobs have gone to illegal aliens.”
—-imo Ben Rhodes said recently that Democrats have to tap into dissatisfaction,
and say how we’ll change things. Says important to realize not enough to run on status quo.
“They were running for their lives and they seem to forget how fearful they were running for their lives on that day,” says former Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell on Donald Trump’s return to the Capitol and reception from House and Senate Republicans. pic.twitter.com/aa9HHBq1fT
— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) June 15, 2024
“The Supreme Court got it wrong – plain and simple.” Sen. Chris Murphy reacts to Supreme Court overturning ban on gun bump stocks https://t.co/frnwcs9ak0
— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) June 15, 2024
—Jason Johnson w/Sen. Murphy
Sen. Chris Murphy reacts to Supreme Court overturning ban on gun bump stocks
“The Supreme Court got it wrong – plain and simple.” Sen. Chris Murphy joins to discuss the Supreme Court rejecting the Trump-era ban on rapid-fire gun bump stocks.
The Group Helping the Supreme Court Rewrite America’s Gun Laws Is Worse Than the NRA
The Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on bump stocks on Friday, legalizing a device that can effectively transform semiautomatic rifles into machine guns. Predictably, the court split 6–3, with the Republican-appointed justices carving a massive loophole in federal law at the behest of the firearms industry. Justice Clarence Thomas’ majority opinion is rooted in historical misrepresentations and utterly implausible manipulations of the statutory text. It enables future mass shooters to equip their AR-15s with an attachment that increases the rate of fire exponentially, to up to 800 rounds per minute.
Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern discussed the decision on Saturday’s episode of Amicus. They were joined by David Pucino, an expert in firearms law and legal director of the Giffords Law Center. Their conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Senator Warren and Representative Raskin Re-Introduce NCUIH-Endorsed CARE ACT, Invests $1 Billion a Year to Address Substance Use Crisis in Native Communities
On May 9, 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) as well as Representatives Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ann Kuster (D-NH), David Trone (D-MD) and Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) re-introduced the Comprehensive Addiction Resources Emergency (CARE) Act (S.4286 / H.R. 8323) to provide resources that combat the substance use epidemic, including in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. It is currently co-sponsored by 16 other Democratic senators and 73 Democratic representatives and supported by over 100 organizations. The bill is modeled after the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, that supports federal research and programming that prevents substance use disorder and expands access to evidence-based treatments and recovery support services.
Last night, my mother passed away unexpectedly. It was a very hard evening for me – I loved her so very much, and thought I had so much more time with her.
Thank you all for your beautiful words of support. I’ve cried so much the last two days. I spent a little time out yesterday to walk with Zooey at Pride and that was nice, but I’m just really feeling my mom’s absence.
It’ll heal in time. For now, just holding onto the memories.
Healthy nail Salon bill potentially blocked for the third year
For the third year in a row a bill designed to improve working conditions and protect the health of nail salon workers, could potentially be blocked by the New York State Senate.
Coalition partners and workers recently organized a “nail salon caravan,” where over 50 workers from all over New York City traveled to State Sen. Stewart-Cousins’ office in Yonkers and Heastie’s office in Gun Hill to advocate for the bill to be voted on.
–my daughter and best friend talked us into having nails done before her FL wedding. Seeing the young employees, waifs huddled together on the back step of the shop, wakes me up at night. If there’s ever a next time i will take a wad of money. (tears emoji)
Supreme Court Justice Alito talks polarization, his wife talks revenge in secret recordings
Liberal Activist Lauren Windsor recorded the Alitos and Chief Justice John Roberts at a June 3 gala that was closed to the press. She released the recordings at a fraught moment for the high court.
….The recordings were made at a June 3 gala for the Supreme Court Historical Society by liberal activist Lauren Windsor and released Monday night.
“One side or the other is going to win,” Justice Alito said in one recording after Windsor, posing as a Catholic conservative, asked him leading questions about political polarization in America. “There can be a way of working, a way of living together peacefully, but it’s difficult, you know, because there are differences on fundamental things that really can’t be compromised.”
Got my hands on an early copy of @RaminSetoodeh's forthcoming book about The Apprentice, and it is… quite something. My piece about some of the book's revelations—and how Trump was shaped by the tawdry celebrity culture of the aughts:https://t.co/7877F6Fz7o
‘Disappointing’: Sgt. Gonell reacts to Republicans welcoming Donald Trump back to the Capitol
They were running for their lives, and they seem to forget how fearful they were running for their lives on that day,” says former Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell on Donald Trump’s return to the Capitol and reception from House and Senate Republicans.
‘This is a person who doesn’t love America’: Sen. Booker on Trump Capitol return, Milwaukee remarks
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) joins for a wide-ranging interview on Republicans voting down his recent IVF legislation, Donald Trump’s return to Capitol Hill, and the need for SCOTUS ethics reform.
MSNBC: Project 2025 is the game plan Trump's team plans to follow if he is reelected. They want to expand the power of the president and put all federal agencies under its control, dismantle the Department of Education, fire federal employees and replace them with Trump… pic.twitter.com/3YCV9a6a3e
Rep. Huffman: Every part of Project 2025 is a wrecking ball toward our government, our democratic institutions, and our fundamental rights. They want to repopulate the federal workforce with Trump loyalists, eliminate the Department of Education, and roll the military into blue… pic.twitter.com/yttvFitpSP
So e.g.trump on the mic misremembering the name of his doctor while bragging how ‘well’ he did on cognitive tests…
Fernand Amandi to Ayman: “Donald Trump on the stump is in deep decline.”
“Not the Donald Trump of 2016….further and further off the rails.”
“In deep mental cognitive decline, someone you wouldn’t trust to take your children to school, let alone the nuclear codes.”
On this day in 1963, Vivian Malone Jones and James Hood became the first African American students to attend the University of Alabama despite Gov. Wallace's attempt to block them.
Their bravery paved the way for countless Black students to follow in their foot steps. pic.twitter.com/wN7UW4UmiD
— Rep. Terri A. Sewell (@RepTerriSewell) June 11, 2024
Update…heavy rains have me wunnering if the new design for the internet wire
(now nailed three quarters way up a post on the school property opposite + attached to same in our yard) will hold up…fingers crossed, we get high winds! 👿
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution | Official Trailer | Netflix
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution is the first feature-length documentary to showcase how the history of queer stand-up comedy helped change the world, one joke at a time. Premiering June 18, only on Netflix.
The Obama Diary 
Like heya NW, thx.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0wuN3VrFGL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Meet Diana. Every day, she would wake up before sunrise and walk for two hours to go to her school in Malawi. To get there, she had to cross a river and often faced harassment along the way. By the time she got to school, her uniform was often soaked—and if she was late, her school would send her home.
(https://www.obama.org/stories/dianas-story/)
Obama Foundation
President Obama
—-Congrats !
what’s the trick now to post something from twitter on TOD?
Hi, Gail:) Can you copy and paste it? I think that I have shared things from there that way… Hope all is well with you. It’s been awhile, but I still poke my head in here to see what’s what. Love and hugs
Let’s see if this works:)
https://x.com/BarackObama/status/1802359120047050825
ggail hi, yes it keeps morphing.
Lately have to write in full the word ‘twitter’ = replacing the X, before pasting onto the twitter embed.
one more step…let me know if I can say more, brp.
https://twitter.com/JoJoFromJerz/status/1802095727033630797
https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1802338251723739236
Anyway the internet wire hung across the road broke, so been whistlin’ for 5 days up to now.
–will catch up a bit soon 🐠
The Obama Foundation
Barack Obama
—12 years ago.
Statement from President Joe Biden on the Anniversary of DACA
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/06/15/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-anniversary-of-daca-2/)
Biden campaign to hold star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles after G7 visit
President Joe Biden will head to Los Angeles on Saturday for a multimillion-dollar event that aims to shore up support for the Democratic ticket with a star-studded show of celebrity campaign surrogates.
The event will include headliners Julia Roberts and George Clooney, along with former President Barack Obama. Audience members will also see appearances from actors Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Jack Black, Sheryl Lee Ralph and a surprise musical guest to end the show.
Similar to the format of the campaign’s New York fundraiser, host Jimmy Kimmel will moderate a conversation between Obama and Biden to talk about the stakes of this election.
Heading into the event, the campaign raised $28 million according to the campaign, the largest Democratic fundraiser in history.
Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow, and Will McDuffie:(https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-campaign-hold-star-studded-fundraiser-los-angeles/story?id=111138130
⭐️⭐️⭐️TONIGHT !!
Remarks by President Biden and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine in Joint Press Conference | Fasano, Italy
Hotel Masseria San Domenico
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/06/13/remarks-by-president-biden-and-president-volodymyr-zelenskyy-of-ukraine-in-joint-press-conference-fasano-italy/)
President Zelenskyy
Vice President Kamala Harris Announces Over $1.5 Billion to Bolster Ukraine’s Energy Sector, Address Humanitarian Needs, and Strengthen Civilian Security
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/06/15/vice-president-kamala-harris-announces-over-1-5-billion-to-bolster-ukraines-energy-sector-address-humanitarian-needs-and-strengthen-civilian-security/)
More and more VP Kamala Harris impresses me. VP Harris is a strong steady worker for the people of the USA. She doesn’t require frequent praise and attention. Frustrates me that there are so many ignorant citizens who don’t have a clue and couldn’t be bothered to know the facts. Thank you VP Kamala Harris for all you do for us and our country.
OFF to cheer on the Pride Rally in our beautiful town…and the Sun is coming out !
🌈🎈🌎🦋⚡️😎
Good West Coast morning Nerdy TOD family.
https://x.com/BarackObama/status/1802008518242849209
https://x.com/Victorshi2020/status/1801599068009074757
President Biden arrives in LA ahead of star-studded, high-dollar fundraiser in downtown
LOS ANGELES — After flying through the night across nine time zones, from southern Italy to Southern California, President Joe Biden is shifting his focus from Russia’s challenge of Western unity to raking in big money for his reelection campaign at a Hollywood fundraiser featuring George Clooney and Julia Roberts.
Biden went straight from the Group of Seven summit of wealthy democracies, where Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine took center stage, to Los Angeles and the glitzy gathering unfolding Saturday night at the Peacock Theater. The journey was only broken up by a layover to refuel outside Washington.
Former President Barack Obama is joining headliners Clooney and Roberts, and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel will interview all of them onstage. In a text message to donors beforehand, Roberts called it “a crucial time in the election.” Kimmel wrote in his own text that presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump “will hate this, so let’s do it.”
Luminaries from the entertainment world have increasingly lined up to help Biden’s campaign, hoping to provide a fundraising jolt and to energize would-be supporters to turn out ahead of Election Day against Trump.
But hobnobbing with stars this time means Biden is skipping a summit in Switzerland about ways to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Vice President Kamala Harris is representing.
(https://abc7.com/post/president-joe-biden-arrives-la-ahead-star-studded/14954220/)
with Kimmel, 2022
Interview (above) with Jimmy Kimmel:
When asked if America has amnesia about trump the presumptive Republican nominee. President Biden: “All we gotta do is remember what it was like” when Trump was in the White House.
From the fundraiser last night.
—Congrats !!
Biden raises $28m at LA fundraiser featuring Obama, Clooney and Roberts
President speaks with ex-president Barack Obama during campaign event at Peacock Theater on Saturday night
(https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/16/biden-fundraiser-george-clooney-julia-roberts-obama)
The White House
Happy Father’s Day
Princess Kate
Ahead of appearing at the parade on Friday, June 14, Kate confirmed that she would be attending as she shared an update on her cancer treatment in a post on Instagram.
Kate also said she has been “blown away” by the support she has received since revealing her diagnosis.
“It really has made the world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times,” she said.
—wonderful congrats to Princess Kate on her recovery progress. ♥️❤️💚🌹
Prince William has appeared in a touching new family photo to celebrate Father’s Day.
On Sunday, June 16, a photograph posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media featured a heartfelt Father’s Day message to William, 41, along with a photo of him with his children, which had been shot by his wife Kate Middleton.
“We love you, Papa. Happy Father’s Day 💕 G, C & L,” the caption of the post read, including a sign-off with the initials of Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, and a credit for the Princess of Wales, 42, as the image’s photographer.
(https://people.com/kate-middleton-takes-new-photo-of-prince-william-and-kids-for-fathers-day-we-love-you-papa-8664067)
And Happy Birthday to King Charles III !!! 🦋🎈🌎
….Trooping the Color is held in June regardless of the monarch’s birthday. King Charles’ birthday is on November 14th.
Obamas expand Netflix partnership
The Obamas’ production company, Higher Ground, is bolstering its partnership with Netflix, inking a multi-year, first-look deal with the media giant for its film and TV projects.
“From the beginning, Netflix has championed our projects, helping them flourish and reach millions across the world,” said Vinnie Malhotra, president of Higher Ground, in a Friday statement to ITK.
“We’re thrilled to build on our stellar creative partnership and to deliver more ambitious films and series. From gripping thrillers to heartfelt comedies and profound documentaries, we have so much that we look forward to sharing,” Malhotra said.
…“If there’s one thing that’s defined President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s creative ambitions since we started our partnership with Higher Ground, it is their pursuit of an exceptional story that brings the human experience to light,” Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria said in a statement announcing the expanded collaboration.
“We are delighted to continue our relationship with Higher Ground as they continue to develop and produce more ambitious, compelling and entertaining stories,” Bajaria said.
Some of the forthcoming projects that Higher Ground has on tap include a film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom,” by David Blight, poised to be directed by Regina King, and “Fling,” a romantic comedy starring Lupita Nyong’o. Michelle Obama is said to be “working closely” alongside Nyong’o on the project.
Judy Kurtz: (https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/4722188-obamas-expand-netflix-partnership/)
Amicus Live With Dahlia Lithwick
How Originalism Captured the Court with Guest Sherrilyn Ifill
Slate’s Amicus podcast is a show about the law and the nine Supreme Court justices who interpret it for the rest of America. At this live taping, Dahlia Lithwick, Mark Joseph Stern, and special guests civil rights lawyer and scholar Sherrilyn Ifill discuss how the court is using originalism—a controversial approach to interpreting the Constitution—to radically reshape the law. Just in time for yet another consequential term!
Dahlia and Mark are joined by legal analysts and leading critics of originalism, including a sitting state Supreme Court Judge, to explore the consequences of this theory when conservative justices apply it to overturn centuries of precedent, including the right to abortion and states’ ability to combat gun violence. They’ll also explore the possible pathways out of the current situation.
The Real Scandal at the Supreme Court Is Not Clarence Thomas’ Ethics Form
The liberal legal and political commentariat justifiably has its collective hair on fire about the flagrant ethics violations of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, both of whom hold such malleable conceptions of what constitutes an “appearance of impropriety” that it could reasonably be found in a founding-era dictionary definition of hypocrisy. The amount of ink spilled and tape taped since the excellent ProPublica reporting on Thomas’ undisclosed financial benefits and lavish entertainment and the New York Times stories on Martha-Ann Alito’s incorrigible vexillological predilections has far exceeded the public discussion of the actual cases that stand to be decided in the next three weeks.
The problem with this endless and ever-worsening media SCOTUS umbrage cycle (this week! Martha-Ann Alito!) is that it stalls out in learned helplessness and furious paralysis every time. Here’s Alito’s wife to Lauren Windsor: “Look at me, look at me. I’m German, from Germany. My heritage is German,” the justice’s wife told Windsor. “You come after me, I’m going to give it back to you. And there will be a way—it doesn’t have to be now—but there will be a way they will know.”
Jeremy Brest and Dahlia Lithwick:
(https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/06/supreme-court-scandal-clarence-thomas-ethics-form.html)
Biden-Harris HQ
—how many people did trump bump off with his fake remedies?
Ayman: Trump’s campaign trail gibberish is reminiscent of the ‘buffoonery’ of dictators
Ayman Mohyeldin analyzes the relationship between dictators and buffoonery, and what The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols calls “Trump’s gibberish.”
Mousey media failed by not making Donald Trump’s unhinged shark story major news
Opinion: It is a real problem for the media – and the country – when the fear of appearing biased prevents us from being honest.
I do not understand what people in my business are so afraid of.
The mainstream media failed to adequately report the most important Donald Trump story of the weekend.
Again.
Trump’s ability to sic his MAGA followers on anyone who crosses him makes it understandable (if not honorable) to see why every single Republican politician in America is afraid of being honestly critical of him.
But the mainstream media is also afraid of Trump. That, I do not get.
Media should highlight incoherent rants
EJ Montini: (https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2024/06/10/trump-shark-las-vegas-story/74048688007/
The shark video:
—biggest con man, head the ball, rapist and mysogynist, devastating danger to our national security and the future of the planet.
= RED ALERT.
‘Georgia Is Our Laboratory’: Inside Trump’s Plan to Rig 2024
Team Trump sees Georgia as ‘a road map’ for putting Trump’s heads-I-win-tails-you-lose philosophy of elections into practice
It is an alarmingly anti-democratic experiment that Trumpland and much of the GOP hope to take national. “Georgia is our laboratory,” a source close to the former president tells Rolling Stone. “If you can get this up and running in Georgia, you get a road map for other states, maybe the country as a whole.”
Adam Rawnsley, Aswan Suebsaeng: (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-georgia-laboratory-rig-2024-1235034510/)
Georgia election board proposes an ‘inquiry’ before certifying results
Republicans on local election boards have voted against certifying recent results
…The State Election Board started writing a new rule Wednesday that would require a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying Georgia elections, granting a request from a Republican county election board member who refused to sign off on this year’s presidential primary
Mark Niesse: (https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-election-board-proposes-a-new-rule-before-certifying-results/TW3BLX7EQFAQ7I4OD43IF6SSZ4/#)
How Republicans are using one state as a testing ground for hijacking an election for Trump
Rachel Maddow looks at the ways in which Republicans in Georgia are using their total control over the levers of power to shape the state’s elections processes to ensure victory for Donald Trump. Adam Rawnsley, reporter for Rolling Stone, joins to discuss his reporting on Republicans treating Georgia as a “laboratory.”
Harbinger for 2024? Shocking European elections eyed for U.S. election foreshadowing
Rachel Maddow looks at whether surprisingly good election results for far-right candidates in Europe in 2016 proved prophetic about the election of Trump in the U.S. Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security advisor under President Obama, joins to discuss how to understand the message of this year’s elections in Europe in the context of the 2024 election in the U.S.
Maddow Blog
–ULTRA Season 2.
–supercongrats to Ms. Maddow and thank you for this timely critical research!! 🎈🎈
Obama visits presidential center as signature tower reaches full height
Former President Barack Obama briefly spoke and shook hands with dozens to celebrate the latest milestone — the museum building hitting its full height of 225 feet.
Former President Barack Obama on Monday visited the sweeping construction site of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park to thank workers at a “topping out” ceremony.
The construction of th(e presidential center and museum is “about 56%” complete, according to workers at the site, and Obama briefly spoke and shook hands with dozens to celebrate the latest milestone — the museum building hitting its full height of 225 feet.
“I just want everybody to know that I see you. And hopefully for decades to come, every time people come by here, they’re going to be seeing a little bit of your work,” Obama said. “You’ve got young people, programs here, learning and opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have. That’s not just because of me, that’s because of you. That’s a pretty cool legacy to have.”
Tina Sfondeles: (https://www.wbez.org/politics/2024/06/11/barack-obama-presidential-center-tower-jackson-park-south-side)
PBO visits Chicago construction site of presidential library.
—Giant congrats to everyone involved !!
Statement from President Biden on Record Decrease in Crime in First Quarter of 2024
Violent crime is dropping at record levels in America. It’s good news for our families and our communities. Today, the FBI released preliminary data collected from over 11,000 law enforcement agencies around the country showing that, in the first quarter of this year, murders decreased by 26%, robberies by almost 18%, and violent crime overall by 15%. These large decreases follow major reductions in crime in nearly every category in 2023 – including one of the lowest rates for all violent crime in 50 years and significant declines in murder.
This progress we’re seeing is no accident. My Administration is putting more cops on the beat, holding violent criminals accountable, and getting illegal guns off the street – and we are doing it in partnership with communities. As a result, Americans are safer today than when I took office.
After we saw the largest increase in murders ever recorded during the previous Administration, my Administration got to work protecting the American people. My America Rescue Plan – which every Republican voted against – delivered $15 billion to cities to hire and retain more cops and keep communities safe. I took on the gun lobby and signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law, the most significant gun violence legislation in nearly 30 years. But there is more to do. I will continue fighting for funding for 100,000 additional police officers, and crime prevention and community violence intervention programs. Every American deserves to feel safe in their community – which is why I will continue to invest in public safety.
###
(wh.gov)
imo think I’m remembering this correctly:
Um the beautiful city of Milwaukee that trump badmouthed this week is 49% down on homicide.
–Donald, Bannon, Putin and Speaker Johnson seem committed to creating and exporting an s-hole country fit for their mafia state.
‘Stop s— talking America’: Gov. Shapiro sounds off on Trump
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro breaks down the dangers of a Trump second term.
https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1802359120047050825
ggail hi…remove the underline. Then paste it to the twitter embed.
—found by pressing the plus sign on the right. brp.
how do you remove the underline?
copy this same link and repost on here, as if you are about to post.
copy and save ….and repost on the embed as described.
https://twitter.com/1zzyzyx1/status/1801815099616989259
https://x.com/BarackObama/status/1802359120047050825
https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1802076650802446568
I no longer have the touch to post. oh well 😦
no no let’s try again…it’s ok…tell me how you were posting twitter before.
—maybe go on old previous thread and try some stuff out. Just ding things and mess about with the WordPress paraphanalia.
Inside with Jen Psaki
w/Sherrilyn Ifill
—SCOTUS has the lowest or no ethics code in America
Gov. Shapiro
—Kristy Greenberg.
–secret tape of Alito’s views.
Latest great jobs report leaves GOP leaders at a loss for words
It appears that the American job market is so good, Republican leaders have found themselves literally speechless — again.
For those rooting for the U.S. economy, there was a lot to like about the latest jobs report, which was released on Friday morning. The data showed the economy adding 272,000 jobs in May — far more than expected — as well as wage growth that continues to outpace inflation.
All of this comes on the heels of 2023, which was arguably the best year for job creation in the United States since the late 1990s.
In fact, the closer one looks, the better the figures appear. Over 1.2 million jobs have been created so far this year, and if this pace keeps up, the United States will see roughly 3 million new jobs this year, which is extraordinary. Based on the latest data, American job growth across the first five months of 2024 is better than the first five months of any year of Trump’s presidency.
At a campaign rally in Nevada yesterday, the presumptive Republican nominee insisted, with apparent sincerity, “A hundred percent of the new jobs have gone to illegal aliens.”
Steve Benen: (https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/latest-great-jobs-report-leaves-gop-leaders-loss-words-rcna156404
POD SAVE THE WORLD
BEN RHODES:
A no-bullshit conversation about foreign policy.
Listen now: (https://www.benrhodes.info/podcasts/pod-save-the-world)
—-imo Ben Rhodes said recently that Democrats have to tap into dissatisfaction,
and say how we’ll change things. Says important to realize not enough to run on status quo.
Jason Johnson
—gop running for their lives.
—Jason Johnson w/Sen. Murphy
Sen. Chris Murphy reacts to Supreme Court overturning ban on gun bump stocks
“The Supreme Court got it wrong – plain and simple.” Sen. Chris Murphy joins to discuss the Supreme Court rejecting the Trump-era ban on rapid-fire gun bump stocks.
imo they’re lying and endangering our lives.
In Las Vegas 500 human beings were killed in eleven minutes using a bump stock.
Right wing U.S. Supreme Court Justices are flat-out LYING
and endangering Americans
on behalf of the NRA.
Correction:
58 people were killed and nearly 500 injured.
The Group Helping the Supreme Court Rewrite America’s Gun Laws Is Worse Than the NRA
The Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on bump stocks on Friday, legalizing a device that can effectively transform semiautomatic rifles into machine guns. Predictably, the court split 6–3, with the Republican-appointed justices carving a massive loophole in federal law at the behest of the firearms industry. Justice Clarence Thomas’ majority opinion is rooted in historical misrepresentations and utterly implausible manipulations of the statutory text. It enables future mass shooters to equip their AR-15s with an attachment that increases the rate of fire exponentially, to up to 800 rounds per minute.
Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern discussed the decision on Saturday’s episode of Amicus. They were joined by David Pucino, an expert in firearms law and legal director of the Giffords Law Center. Their conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Dahlia LIthwick and Mark Joseph Stern:
TRANSCRIPT: (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/06/supreme-court-nra-gun-laws-bump-stocks.html)
Senator Warren and Representative Raskin Re-Introduce NCUIH-Endorsed CARE ACT, Invests $1 Billion a Year to Address Substance Use Crisis in Native Communities
On May 9, 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) as well as Representatives Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ann Kuster (D-NH), David Trone (D-MD) and Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) re-introduced the Comprehensive Addiction Resources Emergency (CARE) Act (S.4286 / H.R. 8323) to provide resources that combat the substance use epidemic, including in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. It is currently co-sponsored by 16 other Democratic senators and 73 Democratic representatives and supported by over 100 organizations. The bill is modeled after the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, that supports federal research and programming that prevents substance use disorder and expands access to evidence-based treatments and recovery support services.
Carrie Kowalyk: (https://ncuih.org/2024/06/14/senator-warren-and-representative-raskin-re-introduce-ncuih-endorsed-care-act-invests-1-billion-a-year-to-address-substance-use-crisis-in-native-communities/)
Erin Reed
@ErininTheMorn
Dear Erin,
thank you for all. the stunning work you do
and for being in this world.
❤️💚🦋🌸
Healthy nail Salon bill potentially blocked for the third year
For the third year in a row a bill designed to improve working conditions and protect the health of nail salon workers, could potentially be blocked by the New York State Senate.
Coalition partners and workers recently organized a “nail salon caravan,” where over 50 workers from all over New York City traveled to State Sen. Stewart-Cousins’ office in Yonkers and Heastie’s office in Gun Hill to advocate for the bill to be voted on.
Rachel Lu: (https://asamnews.com/2024/06/05/vietnamese-american-nail-salon-workers-protection-bill-stalled-again/)
–my daughter and best friend talked us into having nails done before her FL wedding. Seeing the young employees, waifs huddled together on the back step of the shop, wakes me up at night. If there’s ever a next time i will take a wad of money. (tears emoji)
‘One side is going to win’: Justice Alito secret audio reveals shocking legal bias
(https://youtu.be/OC3DXcEUaJY)
Jen Psaki breaks down why – while we may expect this behavior from Justice Alito – that doesn’t mean it’s something we should accept.
Supreme Court Justice Alito talks polarization, his wife talks revenge in secret recordings
Liberal Activist Lauren Windsor recorded the Alitos and Chief Justice John Roberts at a June 3 gala that was closed to the press. She released the recordings at a fraught moment for the high court.
….The recordings were made at a June 3 gala for the Supreme Court Historical Society by liberal activist Lauren Windsor and released Monday night.
“One side or the other is going to win,” Justice Alito said in one recording after Windsor, posing as a Catholic conservative, asked him leading questions about political polarization in America. “There can be a way of working, a way of living together peacefully, but it’s difficult, you know, because there are differences on fundamental things that really can’t be compromised.”
Dan Morrison: (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/06/11/supreme-court-justice-samuel-alito-wife-martha-ann-secret-audio-tape/74055030007/)
McKay Coppins
—-the Apprentice consequential.
‘Disappointing’: Sgt. Gonell reacts to Republicans welcoming Donald Trump back to the Capitol
They were running for their lives, and they seem to forget how fearful they were running for their lives on that day,” says former Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell on Donald Trump’s return to the Capitol and reception from House and Senate Republicans.
Aquilino Gonell.
Author: American Shield
‘This is a person who doesn’t love America’: Sen. Booker on Trump Capitol return, Milwaukee remarks
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) joins for a wide-ranging interview on Republicans voting down his recent IVF legislation, Donald Trump’s return to Capitol Hill, and the need for SCOTUS ethics reform.
Biden-Harris HQ
—Charles Coleman.
—Rep. Huffman
Um,
Project 2025
is already underway
and we must go on the thousand ton
counter-offense
without a moment to spare.
So e.g.trump on the mic misremembering the name of his doctor while bragging how ‘well’ he did on cognitive tests…
Fernand Amandi to Ayman: “Donald Trump on the stump is in deep decline.”
“Not the Donald Trump of 2016….further and further off the rails.”
“In deep mental cognitive decline, someone you wouldn’t trust to take your children to school, let alone the nuclear codes.”
The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES
—now out in paperback.
Update…heavy rains have me wunnering if the new design for the internet wire
(now nailed three quarters way up a post on the school property opposite + attached to same in our yard) will hold up…fingers crossed, we get high winds! 👿
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution | Official Trailer | Netflix
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution is the first feature-length documentary to showcase how the history of queer stand-up comedy helped change the world, one joke at a time. Premiering June 18, only on Netflix.
New post.