Rise and Shine – and Chat On

On This Day: Senator Barack Obama shares a moment with his wife Michelle on stage at a campaign rally outside the Detroit Public Library, September 28, 2008

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MoooOOOooorning – Happy Sunday!

Sigh….

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive on stage for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Phoenix Awards dinner tonight

Chat on!

Rise and Shine

The First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, visits St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, September 17,2014

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Today (all times Eastern)

10:45: The President participates in an Ambassador Credentialing Ceremony

12:30: White House press briefing

2:0: The President meets with President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine

3:55: Attends a DNC fundraiser, Washington DC

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President Obama runs up the steps of the First Lady’s plane before she took off for a flight at JAFB, Md. pic.twitter.com/V4YatFDLqg

— Doug Mills (@dougmillsnyt) September 17, 2014

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 The First Lady at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis yesterday:

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More video here

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President Obama arrives for the White House Congressional picnic in a ‘let’s get this over with’ kind of way. #Wise pic.twitter.com/zMlySCShBV

— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) September 17, 2014

PBO was happier with Bella there back in the day … haha 🙂 @TheObamaDiary pic.twitter.com/WjYNFkxxNo

— sfpelosi (@sfpelosi) September 18, 2014

Holy smokes @sfpelosi, that was the Baby Whisperer day! http://t.co/LVgPG58VHH

— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) September 18, 2014

John Boehner and Rand Paul having a swell time at the White House Congressional Picnic pic.twitter.com/4s9z1JAL4g

— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) September 17, 2014

Mark Sanford chatting with his friends at the White House Congressional Picnic. pic.twitter.com/Ynp64TukDo

— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) September 17, 2014

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MoooOOOooorning again! I’m frankly overwhelmed by the excited reaction to my stick people – fear not, there will be more later.

The President and First Lady at the CBC Awards

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The Congressional Black Caucus Phoenix Awards, Part 2

Live streaming: CBS

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9:0 PM EDT: President Obama Speaks at the CBC Foundation Annual Phoenix Awards

Also at White House Live

The Congressional Black Caucus Phoenix Awards

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Phoenix Awards dinner on September 24, 2011

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Live streaming has started at CBS

9:0 PM EDT: President Obama Speaks at the CBC Foundation Annual Phoenix Awards

Also at White House Live

The Day in Images

President Obama congratulates Alexis Marisa Werner with open arms during the US Naval Academy commencement ceremony in Annapolis

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Text of the President’s remarks here

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First Lady Michelle Obama visits Savoy School, one of eight schools selected last year for The Turnaround Arts Initiative at the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, May 24

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Text of the First Lady’s remarks at Savoy Elementary School here

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President Obama signs a bill in the Oval Office designating the Congressional Gold Medal to commemorate the four young girls killed during the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, as (L-R) Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, Birmingham Mayor William Bell, Dr Sharon Malone Holder, Attorney General Eric Holder, Rep Terri Sewell (D-AL), Thelma Pippen McNair, mother of Denise McNair, Lisa McNair, sister of Denise McNair, Dianne Braddock, sister of Carole Robertson, Rev Arthur Price, Jr, pastor 16th Street Baptist Church, and former U.S. Attorney Gordon Douglas Jones look on. The medal, the highest Congressional civilian honor, was given posthumously to Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Denise McNair who died September 15, 1963 when a bomb planted by white supremacists exploded exploded at the church

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Catching Up

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Later Today:

1:10: President Obama returns from the United States Naval Academy to the White House

2:15: Signs a bill designating the Congressional Gold Medal commemorating the lives of the four young girls killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing of 1963

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The Hill: President Obama will sign a bill Friday awarding the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to the four girls killed in the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, the White House said Thursday.

The bombing at the church, which civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ralph David Abernathy used as a meeting place, by members of the Ku Klux Klan proved a pivotal turning point in the push for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The dynamite blast killed four girls — Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Denise McNair — and injured an additional 22 others.

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award bestowed by the legislative branch…

More here

“These children, unoffending, innocent, and beautiful were the victims of one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity,” said the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a eulogy for the four children–Addie Mae Collins, 14, Denise McNair, 11, Carole Robertson, 14, and Cynthia Wesley, 14. “They died nobly. They are the martyred heroines of a holy crusade for freedom and human dignity.”

More here

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Paul Krugman: Obamacare Will Be A Debacle — For Republicans

… the biggest test case was always going to be California …. well, the preliminary numbers are in – and they’re looking very good, with costs coming in below expectations. At this point, it looks as if this thing is indeed going to work.

….. the whole political calculus was supposed to be that Republicans in red states could point to the horrors of Obamacare and ride them to political victory. Instead, it looks as if we’re going to see blue-state residents reaping the benefits of a functional health care system, while red-state residents are denied many of those benefits, for what looks like no better reason than mean-spirited spite – because what’s going on is, indeed, mean-spirited spite.

Predictions that Obamacare will be a big political issue are probably right – but not in the way gleeful conservatives imagined.

Full post here

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CNN Money: Health insurers in California will charge an average of $304 a month for the cheapest silver-level plan in state-based exchanges next year, according to rates released Thursday by Covered California, which is implementing the Affordable Care Act there. But many residents will pay a lot less than that for coverage.

Rates will vary by region, age and level of coverage, and many lower-income Californias will qualify for federal subsidies that will greatly lower the premiums…..

…. Oregon and Washington recently posted their rates, as well. They were also lower than some had expected.

“Many people will see rates similar to what they’re paying now, or in some cases, lower – and with substantially better benefits,” the Washington Insurance Department wrote in a blog post. “We’re definitely not seeing the huge rate increases that some insurers had predicted.”

More here

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Rise and Shine

Milwaukee, Sept 22

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The lines:

‘Are we there yet?’

More lines:

KaavyaWriting: “See that Discovery World building in the background? The line starts half a mile away from that building, snakes in a triple bend, then wraps around the building to come out the other side and snake onward. And people are still arriving. So huge, and I’m so PROUD Obama has such strong support. Long line, continue on!”

The message:

The ‘Wow, this is like 2008 all over again’ face:

The greeting:

The smile:

The crowd:

Milwaukee

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You can see President Obama’s speech at C-SPAN

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18,000 were there – 18,000!!!

And then there was the overflow….

@markknoller haz a sad

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Yup, a rainbow appeared 😎

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