Photo Of The Year: July & August

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Your May Joint Winners:

(1) President Obama greets 95-year-old Lewis Coffield, a retired U.S. Army Corporal and “buffalo soldier,” at Stewart Air National Guard Base prior to departure from Newburgh, N.Y., May 28, 2014. With them is fellow “buffalo soldier” Sanders H. Matthews, Sr., 93, a retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant (Photo by Pete Souza)

(2) First Lady Michelle Obama tours the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kan., May 16, 2014. Stephanie Kyriazis, Chief of Interpretation and Education, leads the tour (Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

(These two photos were neck and neck all the way, so I took the easy option and named them joint winners – so they’ll both be included in your final choice for 2014 Photo of the Year)

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Your June Winner:

(3) WWII veterans greet President Obama following the 70th French-American Commemoration D-Day Ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, June 6, 2014 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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July

(1) President Obama gets a hug from Special Olympics athlete Tim Harris, from Albuquerque, N.M

(2) President Obama greets the crowd outside Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque after having dinner with individuals who had written letters to him, in Kansas City, Mo. (Photo by Pete Souza)

(3) President Obama holds the baby daughter of former staff members Darienne Page Rakestraw and London Rakestraw in the Ground Floor Corridor of the White House (Photo by Pete Souza)

(4) President Obama greets audience members after he delivers remarks on the economy at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas (Photo by Pete Souza)

(5) President Obama greets patrons at Canter’s Delicatessen in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Pete Souza)

(6) First Lady Michelle Obama and Jennifer Lopez pose for a selfie before the 85th Annual League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) National Convention and Exposition in New York, N.Y. (Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

(7) President Obama talks with a little girl at the Charcoal Pit restaurant in Wilmington, Del. (Photo by Pete Souza)

(8) President Obama greets Emmitt and Pat Smith and family, and Team 22 on the Rose Garden steps of the White House (Photo by Pete Souza)

(9) President Obama talks with a young girl as he and the First Lady greeted military personnel and their families during the Fourth of July celebration on the South Lawn of the White House (Photo by Pete Souza)

(10) President Obama greets the family of departing staff member Archana Snyder, Council of Economic Advisers, in the Outer Oval Office (Photo by Pete Souza)

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August

(1) President Obama during a statement on the situation in Ferguson, Missouri and Iraq (Photo by Doug Mills)

A Good Sport (August 2013 Edition)

Extreme-Super-Spying:

Ultra-Data-mining:

Left-leaning (a popular sport in Communistic Europe):

High-stepping:

Cheek-puffing:

Rodeo:

Head-patting

 

Synchronized-putting:

NASCAR:

Cover Star

On whether she thinks having an African-American family in the White House has moved the needle.

Absolutely. Children born in the last eight years will only know an African-American man being president of the United States. That changes the bar for all of our children, regardless of their race, their sexual orientation, their gender. It expands the scope of opportunity in their minds. And that’s where change happens.

More here: Parade

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Chat away!

Rise and Shine

President Barack Obama on the White House colonnade passing by members of the military, who were about to visit the Oval Office, July 22,2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Presidential Daily Schedule (All Times Eastern)

10:45AM: Pres. Obama meets with members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

11:45AM: Press Secretary Jay Carney briefs the press

12:30PM: First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks about the problem of childhood obesity at the 2013 NCLR  Annual Conference in New Orleans

2:10PM: Pres. Obama honors the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions, the Louisville Cardinals

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President Obama’s OFA remarks last night:

OFA

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President Barack Obama talks on the phone with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France in the Oval Office, Saturday, July 23, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Nedra Pickler: President Barack Obama is enrolling some star power to promote health care. Obama stopped by a private White House meeting Monday with celebrities including singer Jennifer Hudson and actors Amy Poehler, Michael Cera and Kal Penn. The White House says the artists expressed interest in helping spread the word about the health insurance marketplaces opening Oct. 1.

The White House says Obama told the artists they could help reach young uninsured Americans who will be vital to his signature law’s success. Insurers need healthy young customers to help offset the costs of older, sicker consumers. The group also included representatives for Oprah Winfrey, Alicia Keys and Bon Jovi. Also in attendance were officials with internet video makers YouTube and Funny or Die, which are teaming up on promotions featuring comedians.

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News! Oprah, Amy Poehler, Funny or Die, the Grammys and others in talks with the White House to promote Obamacare. http://t.co/hLybPmkvym

— Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff) July 22, 2013

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Washington Post: Oprah, Funny or Die and the Grammys want to promote Obamacare

What do Oprah, Funny or Die and the Grammys have in common? All three, it turns out, have volunteered to promote Obamacare.

Senior advisor Valerie Jarrett hosted a meeting Monday with a star-studded group of actors, musicians, writers and producers who have “expressed a personal interest in educating young people about the Affordable Care Act,” according to a White House official.

Young people are crucial to the Affordable Care Act’s success, and the White House estimates it needs 2.7 million of them to sign up for health coverage in 2014. With typically low health costs, it’s this demographic that Obama administration is relying on to keep premiums low on the new marketplaces.

More here

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2012: An image or two …. August

Um, new deadline for 2012 video completion: Inauguration Day. 2017. Kidding. Ish. 😕

January * February * March * April * May * June * July

“Understand Your Power: Don’t Give It Away”

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Thursday:

3:30 ET: President Obama delivers remarks at a campaign event in Charlottesville, Virgina

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I watched some of the GOP convention today …. mainly with the sound switched off. Seriously. I have zero interest in hearing what those execrable race-baiting bigots have to say.

But what struck me – and it’s hardly a surprise – was the sea of mean, hate-filled faces, the ugliest sample of humanity I’ve had the misfortune to witness in a very long time.

They’re not even there to support Romney, they’re just there to oppose the black guy, and are emboldened in Tampa to spew their bile because they’re surrounded by their fellow bigots. A communal spirit.

We joke sometimes about the GOP’s lack of diversity, but today’s scene really was something else, if the aliens landed and assumed this audience was representative of America in 2012, they’d have assumed the country was populated by nothing but angry, bitter whites. And I’m white, so I know an angry, bitter one when I see one.

And they might have wondered about the crusty old guys yee-hawing in delight at declarations that a woman should have absolutely no rights over her own body, even when she’s raped or the victim of incest.

It was stunning.

As Greg Sargent said today, Romney will, most probably, get a boost in the polls from this obnoxious charade …. but then there’ll be the Democratic convention. And, soon enough, there’ll be the debates.

That’s why we should grit our teeth and let this week go, painful as it is to see these pitiful excuses for human beings dominate the news cycle and the MSM giving them a pass each and every time they spit their hate.

Our time will come.

Stay strong.

Register. Volunteer. Donate. Vote.

PS I just watched Ann Romney. I’m going to be polite, for once, even if I now feel physically ill. But I give you this:

I rest my case.

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Rochester

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President Obama arrives at The White House with a bag of apples and peaches he purchased in New Hampshire

One More Time

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If you have a spare dollar or two …… official OFA/TOD fundraisers:

a4alice * Alycee * BWD * CollegeKay * Cookemom * DonnaDem4Obama

Hgerhard * HZ * Judith Fardig * Mae Who Love Our CIC

Marlz * Meta * Pamela *prettyfoot58 * proudmemberofglobalzero * Rita * Theo67 * The Obama Diary

Thank you!

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And thanks, too, for all the brilliant links and news in the comments today – crikey, you people are severely fired up 😉

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If you have any spare time at all, please consider volunteering for Obama/Biden 2012 – lots of people here have done so already, despite doubting their ability to contribute …. and they’ve loved every single minute of it. No regrets in November, hey? Sign up here

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I’m only about a week behind on emails, so I’m very proud of myself 😕 Will catch up soon … ish.

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President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon in the Oval Office, Aug. 16, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

“The Rock of our Family”

Iowa, August 15

american legion

American Legion National Commander Jimmie Foster greets President Obama at the 2011 American Legion National Convention at the Minneapolis Convention Center