Rise and Shine

Four years ago – Pete Souza: “I was sitting in the reception area outside the Oval Office when Sasha walked by and headed to the Oval. I suspected something was up, so I followed her. Sasha then crawled into the office, hiding behind the sofa, and when she reached the far end, jumped up and yelled trying spook her dad.” Aug. 5, 2009

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Today (all times Eastern):

12:45: Press Briefing by Jay Carney

6:0: The President meets with former Negro League baseball players

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The Week Ahead:

Tuesday: The President will travel to the Phoenix, Arizona area to continue talking with Americans about his better bargain for the middle class

That afternoon, the President will travel to Burbank, California, to tape an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Wednesday: The President will travel to Camp Pendleton to visit with troops and their families

Thursday: The President will welcome Prime Minister Antonis Samaras of Greece to the White House

Friday: The President will attend meetings at the White House

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Happy birthday, Barack! Your hair’s a little grayer, but I love you more than ever. –mo pic.twitter.com/xxYTA9cMK7

— FLOTUS (@FLOTUS) August 4, 2013

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USA Today: President Obama has a string of meetings on his schedule Monday, one of them with a group of legends.

Early this evening, Obama meets with former Negro League baseball players at the White House.

The president will honor the players’ “contributions to our nation’s history, civil rights, and professional baseball,” says the White House schedule.

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WCHB: Minnie Forbes Owner of the 1956 Detroit Stars Honored by President Obama

The Michigan Chapter of Negro League Baseball Players celebrate one of their members, Minnie Forbes. She is the former owner of the 1956 Detroit Stars Baseball Team. Forbes is credited with being the third woman in the United States to own a team in the Negro Leagues. After 1958, Forbes went on to be the fourth woman to play baseball in the Negro Leagues. She was the third basemen for the Kansas City Monarchs.

Louis Manley, Jr is a well-known Detroit historian and the president of The Michigan Chapter of Negro League Baseball. He is excited to be recognized nationally as a leader in Negro League Baseball. As he prepares to meet and greet President Obama on Monday August 5, 2013 at 5:00 pm in the White House, he is delighted to accompany Minnie Forbes.

More here

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The Grio: Obama turns 52: 52 things that the president has accomplished so far

More here

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Dallas News: Obama order in wake of West blast a ‘game-changer’ in chemical safety, senator says

Barbara Boxer, chairwoman of the U.S. Senate’s environment and public works committee, sat visibly frustrated in a June congressional hearing. She finally told the Environmental Protection Agency official that “lives are being lost” while the agency failed to better safeguard the fertilizer chemical that blew up West.

Weeks later, Boxer wrote to the nation’s governors. She implored them to do what they could to improve the security of ammonium nitrate. Finally, the California Democrat turned to the White House. The results of her efforts became public last week when President Barack Obama issued an executive order directing the federal government to improve safety at chemical facilities.

“For me, it’s a game-changer,” Boxer said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. “I saw the intransigence of some of the agencies. I saw them arguing and not committing. … We asked the president to help make sure this [type of disaster] never happens again.”….

More here

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@BarackObama

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Greg Sargent: Be very afraid of a government shutdown

Eric Cantor’s lengthy interview yesterday on Fox News Sunday is really worth reading in full and pondering at some length. It perfectly captures why it’s looking more and more likely that we are genuinely headed for a government shutdown this fall.

In the interview, Fox host Chris Wallace practically begs Cantor to have a reality-based conversation about the coming shutdown fight, the sequester, and Obamacare. Again and again, Cantor steers the conversation back into pure fantasy….

More here

And see Steve Benen: The wrong way to play the shutdown blame game

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Paul Krugman: Republicans Against Reality

Last week House Republicans voted for the 40th time to repeal Obamacare. Like the previous 39 votes, this action will have no effect whatsoever. But it was a stand-in for what Republicans really want to do: repeal reality, and the laws of arithmetic in particular. The sad truth is that the modern G.O.P. is lost in fantasy, unable to participate in actual governing.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about policy substance. I may believe that Republicans have their priorities all wrong, but that’s not the issue here. Instead, I’m talking about their apparent inability to accept very basic reality constraints, like the fact that you can’t cut overall spending without cutting spending on particular programs, or the fact that voting to repeal legislation doesn’t change the law when the other party controls the Senate and the White House.

Am I exaggerating? Consider what went down in Congress last week….

More here

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Thanks to all those coming to my defense….for doing my job.

— petesouza (@petesouza) August 5, 2013

#FF everyone follow @petesouza — white house photographer critcized by RWNJs today

— Richard Hine (@richardhine) August 5, 2013

Funny how the media shills adored @PeteSouza's previous Presidential work…. pic.twitter.com/Auz10KUxWk

— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) August 5, 2013

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Time: Obama’s Photographer Joins Instagram

On July 24, Pete Souza, Chief Official White House Photographer, joined Instagram. However, his first photo was not of the President, but the instantly-recognizable Presidential Seal, along with the caption: “My maiden voyage on Instagram. Will bring you behind-the-scenes of the Presidency.” His second picture? Presidential grapes.

Since then, @petesouza has documented the inner workings of the White House and it’s staff, from Marine One’s shadow to the Presidential dog – Bo. Souza talked with TIME’s international picture editor, Patrick Witty, about Instagram and what we can expect to see on his feed (more Bo) and what we won’t see (selfies).

What made you take the plunge and open an Instagram account?

The digital folks here at the White House have been asking me to do this for some time and I thought the time was right to finally take the plunge.

More here

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Welcome to Twitter:

Honored to sit behind the sign that says “United States” and stand up for American values and interests at the UN.

— Samantha Power (@AmbassadorPower) August 5, 2013

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But, truly, Twitter is a cesspit:

This threat from @breakobama came in a few days ago. @Twitter did nothing. pic.twitter.com/FpQLAvuk1v

— Goldie Taylor (@goldietaylor) August 5, 2013

This account @breakobama has repeatedly threatened me and others. Yet @Twitter refuses to shut it down or even confirm complaints made.

— Goldie Taylor (@goldietaylor) August 5, 2013

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Steve Benen: ‘It’s a critical first step’

In recent weeks, progressive activists in Florida have pushed a very specific message: in the wake of the George Zimmerman trial, state policymakers need to revisit the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law. Their task hasn’t been easy — Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has refused to consider changes to the status quo.

Late last week, however, there was an unexpected breakthrough….

More here

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MooooOOOOoooorning everyone! I’m half way through my break but reckoned after all her stupendous posting UT deserved a Monday morning lie-in – endless thank yous to her for the brilliant posting the past week, she’s like Wayne Rooney and Cheesy Puffs rolled in to one.

Hope everyone’s doing great?

Rise and Shine

A year ago …… July 16, 2012: President Obama kisses First Lady Michelle Obama for the “Kiss Cam” while attending the U.S. Men’s Olympic basketball team’s game against Brazil at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

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Today (All times Eastern):

10:0 Vice President Biden will swear in Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) as the freshman Massachusetts senator at the U.S. Capitol

11:0: President Obama is interviewed by Spanish language news anchors

12:45: Press Briefing by Jay Carney

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On Thursday, the First Lady, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule, will visit Urban Alliance Chicago, a year-long career education and employment program for underserved high school seniors which enriches students’ lives through paid internships, formal training, and mentoring. The visit is part of the First Lady’s focus on youth empowerment and providing more opportunities for young people to achieve their full potential.

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George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush present President Obama with a pair of socks, July 15 (Photo by Pete Souza)

‏@ObamaFoodorama

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Steve Benen: For three-and-a-half hours last night, nearly every member of the Senate met behind closed doors in the Old Senate Chamber to discuss a political crisis of sorts: whether the minority would continue to block President Obama’s executive-branch nominees and what the majority intended to do about it.

The meeting itself was rather odd. Senators already have a forum in which they can hold a debate — it’s called the Senate. But their usual chamber has cameras and public seating, and last night, for whatever reason, members wanted to debate in private for a candid conversation.

By all accounts, it was a constructive conversation, but there was no resolution. As I type, there are some back-channel talks underway, but barring a breakthrough, the Senate Democratic leadership intended to move forward with its “nuclear option” plans.

More here

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OFA

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Nobody seems to care that Obama is hurting small businesses! pic.twitter.com/V7lvQMyN #WhiteRage

— Top Conservative Cat (@TeaPartyCat) July 15, 2013

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Eugene Robinson: Justice failed Trayvon Martin the night he was killed. We should be appalled and outraged, but perhaps not surprised, that it failed him again Saturday night, with a verdict setting his killer free. Our society considers young black men to be dangerous, interchangeable, expendable, guilty until proven innocent. This is the conversation about race that we desperately need to have — but probably, as in the past, will try our best to avoid. Jurors knew that Zimmerman was an overeager would-be cop, a self-appointed guardian of the neighborhood who carried a loaded gun. They were told that he profiled Martin — young, black, hooded sweatshirt — as a criminal. They heard that he stalked Martin despite the advice of a 911 operator; that the stalking led to a confrontation; and that, in the confrontation, Zimmerman fatally shot Martin in the chest.

If anyone wonders why African Americans feel so passionately about this case, it’s because we know that our 17-year-old sons are boys, not men. It’s because we know their adolescent bravura is just that — an imitation of manhood, not the real thing. We know how frightened our sons would be, walking home alone on a rainy night and realizing they were being followed. We know how torn they would be between a child’s fear and a child’s immature idea of manly behavior. We know how they would struggle to decide the right course of action, flight or fight. And we know that a skinny boy armed only with candy, no matter how big and bad he tries to seem, does not pose a mortal threat to a healthy adult man who outweighs him by 50 pounds and has had martial arts training (even if the lessons were mostly a waste of money). We know that the boy may well have threatened the man’s pride but likely not his life. How many murders-by-sidewalk have you heard of recently? Or ever?

More here

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What Kind Of Free Is This?

 On a day like today, the realities of this country’s past, who we are, and where we are headed must not be forgotten. This is a powerful piece. I encourage you take the time to read it, in its entirety.

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Goldie Taylor: Growing up in East St. Louis, the Fourth of July holidays hold some of my fondest memories.  My cousin Booky and I woke at daybreak to help my Uncle Ross clean the grill and get a first crack at the box of fireworks. When Aunt Gerry wasn’t looking, he’d sneak us a few boxes of sparklers and a book of matches he knew we weren’t supposed to have. Booky, a crafty Svengali, always managed to come up with a cache of forbidden bottle rockets.

Uncle Ross placed the large American flag into a metal bracket affixed to a freshly-painted white column on our front porch.  He was proud of that flag, proud of his Army, proud to have served his country in the Korean War. Back in 1976, we were brown, small and indifferent to the world swirling around us. Unbeknownst to us, we were living history too, the children of the Great Migration. Our grandparents had joined the movement of six million African-Americans out of the rural South, in search of good paying jobs, housing and a basic fairness they had never known.  My mother’s family had come north from Tunica, Mississippi, my father’s family from tiny Spadra, Arkansas. Some took jobs in factories, others as domestic workers. But that was everybody’s story. It wasn’t unusual for somebody’s cousin to be visiting from “down South.”

https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/352798528176795649

We were 134 years beyond the Declaration of Independence when the migration began around 1910. However, it had to be abundantly clear to my grandparents that despite the passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, rights on paper did not always equate to rights in practice. Today, East St. Louis is nearly 98 percent black, largely impoverished and mostly forgotten. It is no longer useful to measure how many students don’t graduate from high school.  Many do not reach the 9th grade.  The cycle of poverty begins and is perpetuated in the halls of a junior high school. That Fourth of July night in 1976, Grandma Alice and I sat at the windowsill in her upper room, listening to the Cardinal game on a transistor radio, then watching the fireworks over Busch Stadium. “What kind of free is this?” she said, stroking my head. “What kind of free is this, child?”

More of this emotionally riveting piece here

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“I leave you, hoping that the lamp of liberty will burn in your bosoms until there shall no longer be a doubt that all men are created free and equal.” – Abraham Lincoln, July 1858 in Chicago, IL

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Rise and Shine

President Obama waves to his family, standing on the Truman balcony of the White House, as he walks from Marine One on the South Lawn after returning to Washington from California, June 9

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Today:

11:30: The President delivers remarks on the Equal Pay Act

1:0: Press Briefing by Jay Carney

2:10 The President makes a personnel announcement (see below)

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News that actually, you know, impacts people’s lives:

USA Today: The auto industry is about to go on a hiring spree as car makers and parts suppliers race to find engineers, technicians and factory workers to build the next generation of vehicles.

The new employees will be part of a larger, busier workforce. From coast to coast, the industry is in top gear. Factories are operating at about 95% of capacity, and many are already running three shifts. As a result, some auto and parts companies are doing something they’ve been reluctant to consider since the recession: Adding floor space and spending millions of dollars on new equipment.

…. The auto industry’s stepped-up hiring will help sustain the nation’s job growth and help fuel consumer spending. On Friday, the government said U.S. employers added 175,000 jobs in May, roughly the monthly average for the past year and a sign of the economy’s resilience.

More here

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Steve Benen: Proponents of comprehensive immigration reform were in need of some good news. Whereas it looked like the “Gang of Eight” bill was on track for 70 votes in the Senate two weeks ago, the prospects deteriorated quickly last week — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) threatened to oppose his own legislation; bipartisan House talks crumbled; senators questioned whether the bill could overcome a GOP filibuster; and a House Republican vote on Dreamers offered a reminder of just how right-wing the caucus is on the issue.

So, are reform hopes slipping away? Not just yet. In fact, the effort got a bit of a boost over the weekend….

Full post here

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TPM: President Barack Obama will announce Monday that he intends to nominate Jason Furman as the new Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, a White House official said.

Obama will make the personnel announcement at 2:10 p.m. ET at the White House. Furman will succeed Alan Krueger, who is stepping down from the post to return to Princeton University in the fall.

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ThinkProgress: Rep. Elijah Cummings pledged to release transcripts of interviews with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officials that Republicans insist demonstrate that the agency’s targeting of conservative groups applying for 501(c)(4) status was directed by the Obama administration.

Cummings made the remarks on CNN’s State of the Union, a week after Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) appeared on the program and insinuated that the White House directed IRS agents to single out tea party and patriot groups for additional scrutiny. Issa has refused to provide evidence that substantiate that claim.

“I wrote Chairman Issa on Thursday and I wrote to him this morning. I want those transcripts to be released,” Cummings said. “I’m willing to come on your show next week with the chairman with the transcripts if he agrees to do that. If he doesn’t, I’ll release them by the end of the week.”

Cummings insisted that the interviews will prove that “the White House was not involved in this,” pointing out that the Cincinnati IRS manager of the screening group, a career veteran at the agency who identified himself as Republican, told investigators that Washington did not direct the targeting….

More here

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Kinda reckon this is all we need to know about Edward Snowden….

…. but soooo many questions, like the ones Goldie Taylor was asking this morning:

the last word

That was a seriously good discussion – with the Rev Al Sharpton, Melissa Harris-Perry and Goldie Taylor – on The Last Word about Lawrence O’Donnell’s interview with Herman Cain.