A Pandemic Plan

As she often does, @SenWarren provides a cogent summary of how federal policymakers should be thinking about the pa… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 06, 2020

Hidden Heroes

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I’ve always been so inspired by the military caregivers who give so much to care for our nation’s wounded warriors.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) October 24, 2019

The gangs all here. Tonight, we’re thrilled to honor @MichelleObama with the Tom Hanks #HiddenHeroes Champion award… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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Elizabeth Dole Foundation (@DoleFoundation) October 23, 2019

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Former First Lady Michelle Obama became teary as she accepted the Tom Hanks Caregiver Champion award for service to military caregivers on Thursday night at the Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s Hidden Heroes gala.

Opening up during a speech at the Washington, D.C. event, the former first lady said she first became aware of the difficulties for spouses, parents, and children of wounded and ill vets while on the campaign trail when her husband was first running for president.

“You all changed me forever,” she said. “You have changed the way I see service, you’ve changed the way I see war, you’ve changed the way I see this entire country. Whether we simply talk about the values we like to pride ourselves on, values like duty and honor and patriotism, or if we actually live them out.”

More here

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.@savannahguthrie emceed the second annual Hidden Heroes Gala with the @DoleFoundation on Wednesday night, and some… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 24, 2019

Find @MichelleObama's powerful remarks here👇 business.facebook.com/ElizabethDoleF… https://t.co/SCzclzunX1

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Elizabeth Dole Foundation (@DoleFoundation) October 24, 2019

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Eight years ago First Lady @michelleobama started Joining Forces to activate support for service members, veterans,… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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Elizabeth Dole Foundation (@DoleFoundation) October 24, 2019

Early Bird Chat

The President And First Lady’s Day

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 President Barack Obama welcomes Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi before their meeting in the Oval Office at the White House

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 President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The two leaders spoke on a range of issues, including Ukraine, Libya and Islamic State militants

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"Our exports support more than 11 million good American jobs." —President Obama on #TPA: http://t.co/e7FCKcgYTn

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The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 16, 2015

"My top priority in any trade negotiation is expanding opportunity for hardworking Americans." —Obama #LeadOnTrade http://t.co/e7FCKcgYTn

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The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 17, 2015

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President Obama bids farewell to PM Renzi of Italy outside the West Wing lobby. http://t.co/ixkrKOmlMr

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  (@petesouza) April 18, 2015

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President Barack Obama greets poet laureate Elizabeth Alexander during an event in the State Dining Room at the White House. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the event in celebration of National Poetry Month

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First Lady Michelle Obama attends an event in celebration of National Poetry Month

Poet laureate Elizabeth Alexander gives a poetry reading in the State Dining Room of the White House

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"Every vet...should know that there are places like this that feel like home." —The First Lady on #Vet Centers: http://t.co/rwSacyUmb3

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The First Lady (@FLOTUS) April 17, 2015

Dr. Biden & @FLOTUS tour a Vet Center—great resource for vets, service members & mil families: vetcenter.va.gov http://t.co/yHZqxRGhYC

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Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden) April 17, 2015

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"A good poem can make hard times a little easier to survive & make good times a lot sweeter." youtu.be/0wb-RNn-kKY http://t.co/tpuSBwD3Mp

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The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 18, 2015

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Worth a read: The First Lady & @DrBiden visited a vet center to talk with #MilFam on working to #ChangeMentalHealth: go.wh.gov/dKzUCK

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The First Lady (@FLOTUS) April 18, 2015

Tune in May 4 to @NBCNightShift to see FLOTUS and @DrBiden in a PSA on working to #ChangeMentalHealth for #vets! http://t.co/QZwb5TDuZh

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The First Lady (@FLOTUS) April 17, 2015

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"We opened up this Vet Center so that veterans could come and share their stories." —Wayne Miller #ChangeMentalHealth http://t.co/JwmtlOICR5

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The First Lady (@FLOTUS) April 18, 2015

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Pete Souza: D-Day Photos

More photos and captions here

The Day in Normandy: Another Image or Two

@PeteSouza: WW2 Veteran gets ride on Marine One helicopter: Pres Obama talks w Kenneth “Rock” Merritt over Normandy

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Arriving at Sword Beach this morning

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Presidents Obama and Hollande smile next to World War II veteran Kenneth ‘Rock’ Merritt as they arrive for the official lunch at Benouville Castle

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Between President Obama and President Putin, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, French President Francois Hollande, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II

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Russian President Vladimir Putin stands at right as President Obama and New Zealand’s Governor-General Jerry Mateparae guide Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II to her position for a group photo

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With Queen Maxima of Holland

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With Charles and Camilla

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Because it can never be posted enough: A World War Two veteran greets President Obama

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Chat on!

Rise and Shine

First Lady Michelle Obama talks with children attending Camp Noah as they make trail mix at the McAlpine Park Recreation Center in Birmingham, Ala., July 18, 2012 (Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

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Presidential Daily Schedule (All Times Eastern)

11:25: The President delivers a statement on the Affordable Care Act

12:25: First Lady Michelle Obama, Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule visit Urban Alliance Chicago

3:0: The President participates in an Ambassador Credentialing Ceremony (closed press)

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Steve Benen: Jobless claims show sharp improvement, reach three-month low

Last week’s report on initial unemployment claims was unexpectedly discouraging, making the good news this morning that more reassuring.

The number of people who applied for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits dropped 24,000 to 334,000 in the week that ended July 13, hitting the lowest level of new claims since early May, signaling a slower pace of layoffs, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected initial claims to fall to 341,000 from an original estimate of 360,000 in the prior week. However, it’s difficult to precisely measure claims this month because of distortions from events such as annual auto plant shutdowns and the July 4 holiday, they said…. The four-week average of initial claims, a less volatile gauge, declined 5,250 to 346,000.

More here

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Philip Bump: Those of you who are old enough may remember a time when Barack Obama was plagued with scandal. “Scandal politics sweep Capitol Hill,” Politico yelped. The suffix “-gate” was added to various words. So what happened to the scandals? For the most part, they’ve been hollowed out. The scandal: Benghazi. What it was: The death of four Americans at a diplomatic (read: CIA) outpost in the Libyan city of Benghazi last September 11th bubbled for a while. The release of emails suggesting a cover-up kicked conspiracy theories into high gear.

How real it was in the first place: Not very. Current status: Last rites administered Those emails reported by ABC News were only part of the story. The White House released the full email chain, making it clear that the administration’s involvement in drafting a set of post-attack talking points wasn’t what opponents suggested. (We even declared the scandal dead the same week.)

More here

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President Barack Obama meets with senior advisors in the Oval Office before a phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, July 18, 2012. Pictured, from left, are: Chris Mizelle, Director for Russia and Central Asia, NSS; National Security Advisor Tom Donilon; Chief of Staff Jack Lew; and Denis McDonough, Deputy National Security Advisor. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Paul Krugman: Obamacare Is the Right’s Worst Nightmare

News from New York: it looks as if insurance premiums on the individual market are going to plunge thanks to Obamacare. This shouldn’t come as a surprise; in fact, the New York experience perfectly illustrates why Obamacare had to look the way it does. And it also illustrates why conservatives should be terrified about this legislation, as it takes effect. Americans may have had a lot of misgivings in advance, thanks to vast, deliberately spread misinformation. But I agree with Matt Yglesias — unless the GOP finds even more ways to sabotage the plan, this thing is going to work, it’s going to be extremely popular, and it’s going to wreak havoc with conservative ideology.

Conservatives are right to be hysterical about this: it’s an attack on everything they believe — and it’s going to make Americans’ lives better. What could be worse?

Full post here

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Abby Ohlheiser: House Republicans followed up on the Obama administration’s decision to delay the implementation of the employer mandate for one year by voting to make that decision a law, and to extend that delay to all individuals, too. It’s a more limited protest vote than what we’re used to seeing from the House GOP on Obamacare: There have been 38 legislative attempts to revoke either all or part of the health care reform law since 2011.

On Wednesday, both votes to delay passed easily: 264 – 161 for the employer mandate, and 251 – 174 for the individual mandate. They will not become law: President Obama would veto both bills if they made it to his desk.

More here

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GOP is ZERO for 38 on attempts to repeal #Obamacare. RT if you want Congress to stop wasting time & focus on jobs. http://t.co/6lsV5vsbLX

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Niki Tsongas (@nikiinthehouse) July 17, 2013

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren embraces Richard Cordray following a statement by President Barack Obama on Cordray’s confirmation as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, July 17

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Happy 95th Birthday Nelson Mandela!

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This and That

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My Family, Our Cancer, and the Murderous Cruelty of Conservatives http://t.co/sE09N3S7zb via @VanityFair

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) July 16, 2013

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NYT: Health Insurance Within Reach

Ever since Marci Lieber, a part-time social worker in Brooklyn, learned she was pregnant, she and her husband have been scrambling to find health insurance. But insurers consider pregnancy a pre-existing condition, and won’t sell anyone a new policy that covers it.

That changes on Jan. 1, 2014, when insurers will no longer be permitted to deny coverage of pre-existing conditions — and all Americans will be required to have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Ms. Lieber, 37, hopes to purchase a policy through New York State’s new health exchange as early as this October.

Just in time: the baby is due Jan. 25…..

More here

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The Daily Beast: Texas’s Unwanted-Baby Boom

Between the state’s anti-abortion bill, its move to defund contraception providers, and its war on sex education, experts predict tens of thousands of unplanned pregnancies next year.

The war on women is a nationwide phenomenon, but nowhere are women in more danger of having their reproductive health undermined at every turn than in Texas. Under the leadership of Gov. Rick Perry and a Republican Party completely in the thrall of the religious right, Christian fundamentalists have launched a three-pronged attack on the well-being of women of the state….

More here

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@daddylonglegs01

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A peek inside my inbox: Racism & the #GeorgeZimmerman trial. http://t.co/5FH7X934p3 #TrayvonMartin

— Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) July 16, 2013

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I wrote more than 60 posts seeking justice for #TrayvonMartin as if my life depended on it – because one day it might http://t.co/2Ed3MGO9Pi

— Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) July 16, 2013

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ThinkProgress: In a piece that contains the telling (even in context) line “I am a racist,” longtime Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen employed a mishmash of poorly explained statistics and bafflingly ignorant mathematical reasoning to argue that Trayvon Martin was “understandably suspected because he was black” — that is, Americans should assume any young black men they meet are criminals.

More here

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Trayvon Martin and My Old Doctor http://t.co/VHZPuGWLuC

— The People’s View (@thepeoplesview) July 16, 2013

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Richard Cohen flashback Oct. 1986: “Post Offers Apology to Blacks” http://t.co/XPXedVJ1nO

— Michael Calderone (@mlcalderone) July 16, 2013

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The inadequacy of a “good heart” http://t.co/3zcAFFfr05

— Smartypants (@Smartypants32) July 16, 2013

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Rise and Shine

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Michael Tomasky: The GOP Plan to Steal Elections. Republicans are proposing a radical rule change in swing states – one that would have handed Romney the election. Michael Tomasky on this jaw-dropping outrage.

….. We could toss all this information onto the ever-growing “Oh, those crazy Republicans” slag heap, have a laugh, and let it go. But this is concerted and serious. Rules, laws, customs, and norms that we have all abided by for centuries (the Electoral College and the primacy of federal law) or decades (recess appointments) have simply been producing too many outcomes conservatives don’t like. Most people, and movements, would try to change themselves so that they could maybe win under the long-agreed-upon rules. But conservatives have a cleverer way. Just make new rules. You better believe things can get worse.

Full post here

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NYT: For most of President Obama’s first term, Republicans used legislative trickery to try to prevent the functioning of two federal agencies they hate, the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. First they would filibuster the president’s nominees ….. Then they would create fake legislative sessions for the Senate during its recess, intended solely to prevent Mr. Obama from making recess appointments as an end run.

Astonishingly, a federal appeals court upheld this strategy on Friday …. The court even broke with the presidential practice of 150 years by ruling that only vacancies arising during a narrow recess period qualify for recess appointments.

…. The situation demonstrates how dysfunctional Washington has become because of these Republican abuses….With no sign that Republicans are willing to let up on their machinations, Mr. Obama was entirely justified in using his executive power to keep federal agencies operating.

Full editorial here

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ThinkProgress: Conservatives are outraged over Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s decision to lift the ban on women in combat … CNN’s Soledad O’Brien caught one such critic [Professor Kingsley Browne] off guard …..

O’BRIEN: I’m going to read a little bit from this colonel who said this: ‘The army is not a sociological laboratory; to be effective it must be organized and trained according to the principles which will ensure success…Experiments are a danger to efficiency, discipline and morale and would result in ultimate defeat.’

BROWNE: I think that that’s true….

O’BRIEN: That was from a guy in 1941. And that argument was about not allowing black people in the military….

See video at link

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President Obama will on Friday, February 1, bestow the National Medal of Science upon 12 researchers and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation upon eleven inventors, in a ceremony at the White House. The awards are the nation’s highest in science and technology. See the list of award winners here

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Love this:

A clean-up crew wave to President Obama at the end of the parade (Stephen Crowley, New York Times)

You’ll note Crowley – a professional – failed, unlike some Inauguration photographers I could mention, to capture any actual horse manure in his image. Just saying:

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MoooOOOooOOOooorning!

Rise and Shine

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Time: U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs in December, a steady gain that shows hiring held up during tense fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington …. The solid job growth wasn’t enough to push down the unemployment rate, which stayed 7.8 percent last month….

…. Robust hiring in manufacturing and construction fueled the December gains. Construction firms added 30,000 jobs, the most in 15 months… Layoffs are declining, and the number of people who sought unemployment aid in the past month is near a four-year low.

The once-battered housing market is recovering. Companies ordered more long-lasting manufactured goods in November, a sign they are investing more in equipment and software. And Americans spent more in November. Consumer spending drives nearly 70 percent of economic growth.

Manufacturing is getting a boost from the best auto sales in five years. Car sales jumped 13 percent in 2012 to 14.5 million. And Americans spent more at the tail end of the holiday shopping season, boosting overall sales that had slumped earlier in the crucial two-month period.

Full post here

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Hilarious:

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President Obama at Island Snow, a shaved ice shop, on January 3 in Kailua, Hawaii

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Forgot to post this a couple of days ago:

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NY Mag: Newtown, Conn. has had its share of somber visits from dignitaries in the weeks since the tragedy there, but a planned Friday visit by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords is especially significant …. She’ll attend an event with no press access in a private house, and meet with families of the victims…

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MooooOOOoooOOOooooorning everyone