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Tonight at 8PM EST /7PM CST on ABC

Michelle Obama to present Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the @ESPYS Wednesday night at 8 p.m. LIVE on Channel 2… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…

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WSB-TV (@wsbtv) July 10, 2017

The President’s Day

President Barack Obama is presented a plaque by philanthropist Lois Pope and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, during the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial dedication ceremony in Washington. President Obama paid tribute to disabled U.S. veterans on Sunday, pointing to the dedication of a new memorial honoring those severely injured in war as a symbol of the nation’s perseverance and character.

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Text of the President’s remarks here

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"Each of you endured a moment that shaped the arc of your lives & that speaks to our debt as a nation" —Obama to disabled vets at the @AVDLM

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The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 05, 2014

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"In the United States of America, those who have fought for our freedom should never be shunned and should never be forgotten." —Obama

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The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 05, 2014

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Military veterans stand as they are recognized by President Barack Obama and are applauded during the dedication of the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial

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"Let us stand united as Americans and welcome our veterans home with the thanks and respect they deserve." —President Obama #HonoringVets

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The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 05, 2014

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"To every wounded warrior, to every disabled veteran—thank you." —President Obama at the @AVDLM #HonoringVets

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The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 05, 2014

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Veterans and invited guests listen to President Barack Obama speak

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"Let’s never rush into war—because it is America’s sons & daughters who bear the scars of war for the rest of their lives." —President Obama

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The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 05, 2014

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President Barack Obama shakes hands with actor, musician and military advocate and National Spokesman for the American Veterans Disabled for Life (AVDL) Foundation Gary Sinise

President Barack Obama stands with Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Vietnam war veteran and Disabled Veterans’ Life Memorial Foundation co-founder and President Arthur H. Wilson

Game, Set and Match

@FLOTUS: A behind-the-scenes look just before the First Lady & @SerenaWilliams kick off Kids’ Day at the #USOpen. #LetsMove

From left, Denis Kudla, Sloane Stephens, Serena Williams, Jack Sock, first lady Michelle Obama, center, Melanie Oudin, Donald Young, Christina McHale, Ryan Harrison, and Madison Keys

First Lady Michelle Obama speaks during Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, August 24

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More in a bit, off for a Cheesy Puff sandwich 😎

wrap-up

E.J. Dionne: “The tide of war is receding,” President Obama said today. He’s right to withdraw our troops from Iraq by the end of the year.

I am sure some longtime supporters of the war will criticize him for pulling out too quickly. But as Obama pointed out, we have been at war in Iraq for nine years. The situation there will never present a perfect time for withdrawal…

… It was appropriate that Obama made this announcement immediately in the wake of Moammar Gaddafi’s death. It’s worth noting that our intervention in Libya, which did not place U.S. forces on the ground, was not only successful but also left the United States far more popular among the Libyan people. Gaddafi would not have fallen without outside intervention, but he was ultimately brought down by the Libyans themselves. Is this not a far better model for democratization?

…. “The United States is moving forward from a position of strength,” Obama said today. The truth is we will be stronger for ending an intervention in Iraq that has cost us so much in lives, injuries and money. On this matter, at least, we really have “turned the page” that Obama spoke about so often in his campaign.

Full article here

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People with weak stomachs, don’t click the next two videos, they both feature Piers Morgan.

So, Morgan, talking about Cain’s 999 plan, tells Juan Williams that “I read a Wall St Journal Op-ed piece yesterday, very praiseworthy, by a big financial expert”.

Williams kindly points out the piece was written by the Reagan administration guy Arthur Laffer, one of the architects of, yes, the ….. 999 plan 🙄

So, “big financial expert” Laffer was praising his own plan in the “very praiseworthy” Wall St Journal Op-ed piece that so impressed Morgan.

How much is CNN paying this guy?

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Be warned, it’s Bill Maher being, well, Bill Maher:

Mediaite (Thanks Loriah)

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Andrew Sullivan: ….. if you’d told me in January 2009 that the banks would pay us back the entire bailout and then some, that the auto companies would actually turn around with government help and be a major engine of recovery, that there would be continuous job growth since 2009, however insufficient, after the worst demand collapse since the 1930s, that bin Laden would be dead, Egypt transitioning to democracy, al Qaeda all but decimated as a global threat, and civil rights for gays expanding more rapidly than at any time in history … well I would be expecting a triumphant re-election campaign.

But we are where we are – and the economic pain is real and the president must take his lumps. The good news for those of us who still back Obama and hope for his re-election is that even with all this positive record essentially dismissed and little of it capitalized on politically, Obama is still neck and neck with any likely opponent. And he is his own best messager.

At some point, he needs to shuck off the restraint, and tell the actual story of the last three years – against the fantastic and self-serving lies and delusions we keep hearing in Republican debates and Beltway chatter. If he does it with panache, he won’t need a jumpsuit onto an aircraft carrier. And many of his missions may even be accomplished.

Full post here

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See you tomorrow 😉

embrace

President Barack Obama hugs Bertha Petry, the grandmother of Sergeant First Class Leroy Arthur Petry, U.S. Army, in the Blue Room of the White House, July 12, 2011. The President later awarded SFC Petry, left, the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions during combat operations against an armed enemy in Paktya, Afghanistan, in May 2008. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

medal of honor

President Barack Obama awards US Army Sgt. First Class Leroy Arthur Petry, from Santa Fe, N.M., the Medal of Honor during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

ABC: At a White House ceremony today, Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry, an Army Ranger, will become only the second living recipient of the Medal of Honor for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Petry lost his right hand while throwing a live grenade away from his fellow soldiers.

… on May 26, 2008, Petry and his fellow Rangers were conducting a rare daylight raid on a Taliban compound in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktia Province … after securing a building in the compound, Petry and Pfc. Lucas Robinson entered a courtyard to take on three enemy fighters readying to fire on soldiers at the other end of the courtyard.

They immediately came under fire and Petry was shot by a round that went through both of his legs. Although wounded, Petry led Robinson to take cover behind a chicken coop … but a short time later another grenade landed in their midst … It was at that moment that Petry, already wounded in the legs, lunged for the live grenade to throw it away from his fellow Rangers.

…. But just as he did so, the grenade exploded in his right hand… Remarkably, Petry placed a tourniquet on his right arm then reported by radio that he and the other two Rangers had been wounded and were still under enemy fire.

… Petry now wears a high-tech robotic artificial hand … He continues to serve on active duty as a liaison officer with wounded warriors and plans to remain a soldier. The married father of four recently re-enlisted for another eight years of Army service.

More here