georgia

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle are saluted by soldiers as they arrive at the Fort Stewart Army post, April 27

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Ann Jackson of Hinesville, Ga., holds a fan with the image of President Barack Obama as she waits for his arrival at the Fort Stewart Army post

…. visiting Warriors Walk at Fort Stewart

President Obama signs an executive order protecting the GI Bill

Sgt. Donald Tift laughs with Sgt. Terry Smith and Staff Sgt. Alex Modicue as they replay how they shook the hand of President Barack Obama after he spoke to soldiers at the Fort Stewart Army post

President Obama walks first Lady Michelle Obama to her plane at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., before he boarded Air Force One en route to Washington

President Obama walks to board Air Force One at Hunter Army Airfield

game time

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President Obama on his way to Marine One to attend the Army-Navy football game in Maryland

President lands at Cora L. Rice Elementary School to attend the Army vs. Navy football game at Fedex Field in Landover

President Obama makes the coin toss prior to the 112th Army-Navy football game in Landover, Maryland

President Obama is escorted across the field from the Navy side to the Army during the second half of the game

President Obama sits on the bleacher with Army cadets during the second half of the game

family

Mansura Shajahan wipes away tears as she and her son Yusuf Shajahan were acknowledged by President Barack Obama at the Iftar dinner in the White House, Aug. 10. Mansura’s husband Mohammed Shajahan died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

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October 2008

Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan (1987 – 2007): A U.S. Army Specialist who died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his service. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Kareem was a Muslim.

More here

visiting vermont

First Lady Michelle Obama poses for a picture with Senior Airman Takara Matthews and her daughter Nami Cook, 6, both of Georgia, Vt., after speaking to military families at the Vermont Army National Guard’s Aviation Support Facility in South Burlington

purple heart

President Barack Obama awards a Purple Heart to a wounded warrior during a visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., June 17. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

funniest. comment. ever.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his wife Elaine Chao arrive for a State Dinner honoring German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House

yardarm756: “Oh LORD, Mitch “The Turtle” McConnell just walked in the dinner with an Oriental lady. Is that legal in Kentucky?”

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and his wife Carole Geithner

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi with her husband Paul

Singer James Taylor with his wife Caroline

U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Martin Dempsey and his wife Deanie Dempsey

Chief Justice John Roberts with his wife Jane

Austan Goolsbee, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, and his wife Robin

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz and her husband Steven Schultz

ABC News host Diane Sawyer

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks with US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his wife, former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao

professional left embarrasses itself ….. again

President Obama signs the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010, Dec. 22, 2010

There was mass ‘Obama-bashing’ hysteria on a number of professional left-infested sites today after the news that the secretary of the Air Force had approved a discharge under the military’s ”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on April 29 of this year. “The discharge, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman, is the only such discharge since the Pentagon last October directed that DADT discharges would require the approval of the service branch secretary.”

So, we got ‘Obama is a homophobe!’ all over again.

But?

Stripes.com: “….service officials emphasized the move came at the request of the airman, who requested to be released from military service despite the imminent repeal of the law banning openly gay troops … the individual was informed of the current status of the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ and he reaffirmed that he desired his separation action be expeditiously processed.”

….In a statement, Alexander Nicholson, executive director of the gay rights group Servicemembers United, said the incident “appears to be a classic case of someone simply trying to use ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ … to get out of his service obligation.”

…Pentagon officials confirmed that since those rules went into effect on Oct. 21, this airman is the only person dismissed from the military because of sexual orientation.

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Steve Benen: By all appearances, this airman, for whatever reason, simply wanted out of the military. He was offered a chance to keep serving, and asked to be removed anyway. Indeed, since October, this one individual is literally the only person to have been dismissed from the military because of sexual orientation.

Clearly, the sooner the DADT policy is brought to an official end, the better. But to characterize this incident as a betrayal from the administration appears to be an unfair criticism.

ABC: Under the repeal law signed into law last December, DADT won’t be repealed until 60 days after Defense Secretary Gates, Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen and President Obama certify that the readiness of the force has not been affected. To that end, all of the services are in the midst of training their forces for what will change when repeal occurs. Top Pentagon officials have said they expect certification to occur in mid- summer; that will begin the 60 day clock to repeal.

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Did the Professional Left apologize for getting it so embarrassingly wrong? What do you think? 🙄

This was the Choi creature’s last tweet, 10 hours ago …. no correction since. Surprised? Me neither.

walter reed

NYT: On Memorial Day, Michelle Obama made an unannounced trip to visit the wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Joao Silva of The New York Times was among those on whom she paid a call. “She came across as a kind and attentive person,” Mr. Silva said. She asked about the progress of his recovery and gave yo-yos, Frisbees and White House candies to his children, Isabel, 6, and Gabriel, 5.

Perhaps the most telling moment occurred before Mrs. Obama arrived. On learning of her pending visit, Mr. Silva made a point of putting on his prosthetic legs. “I wanted to be able to greet her standing up,” he said.

Thank you Brandi

“we need a big hurray and lots of applause (of course)”

Justin Elliott (Salon): If the release of President Obama’s birth certificate last month was the denouement of the birther saga, the release of Terrence Lakin from prison will be its bizarre coda. Lakin is the veteran Army doctor who refused orders to redeploy to Afghanistan because he believed Obama was born abroad, not a legitimate president, and therefore that military orders were invalid.

Last December, Lakin … was dismissed from the Army and sentenced to six months in prison … In what promises to be one of the stranger political spectacles of the year, a homecoming event is planned Saturday at the Southwest Airlines baggage claim area of Baltimore Washington International Airport. The website set up to support Lakin … suggests:

All we ask you to do is bring a home-made poster that says, “Welcome Home Terry.” or “Thank You Terry” or any appropriate messages about the issue. Bring a small US flag if you have one. We will text the coordinators when we deplane so you can all get ready to greet Terry as he descends on the escalator to baggage claim. We need a big hurray and lots of applause (of course). He may say a few words…

Unlike the folks over at WorldNetDaily, who have been enriched by years of pumping up birtherism, Lakin’s commitment to the conspiracy both torpedoed his career and put his family in financial peril. His website notes: “Please consider making a special gift at this critical time. We have been able to provide for the family’s monthly expenses, but contributions have dropped off since the release of the proposed birth document by the Obama administration.”

Can anyone imagine a more tragic story emerging from the birther carnival?

Full article here

wounded warriors (video added)

President Barack Obama applauds as he takes part in a ceremony welcoming the Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride at the White House, May 4