Barack Obama: Warm Up
Posts Tagged ‘let’s. move
03
Apr
14
Rise and Shine
On This Day: April 3, 2013: “The President hugs Sue Connors and Jane Dougherty, right, following his remarks at the Denver Police Academy in Denver, Colo. The women lost their sister, Mary Sherlach, in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn.” (Photo by Pete Souza)
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Today (All Times Eastern):
3:20: President Obama welcomes the 2014 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams to the White House; East Room
4:0: Signs the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act
6:0: Meets with the bipartisan Congressional leadership
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E.J. Dionne: The GOP Must Admit It Was Wrong On Obamacare
Is there any accountability in American politics for being completely wrong? Is there any cost to those who say things that turn out not to be true and then, when their fabrications or false predictions are exposed, calmly move on to concocting new claims as if they had never made the old ones? The fact that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) hit its original goal this week of signing up more than 7 million people through its insurance exchanges ought to be a moment of truth — literally as well as figuratively. It ought to give everyone, particularly members of the news media, pause over how reckless the opponents of change have been in making instant judgments and outlandish charges.
When the health-care Web site went haywire last fall, conservatives were absolutely certain this technological failure meant that the entire reform effort was doomed. If you doubt this, try a Google search keyed to that period relating the word “doomed” to the health-care law. It should be said that the general public was much wiser. A CNN poll in November that Post blogger Greg Sargent highlighted at the time found a majority (54 percent to 45 percent) saying that the problems facing the law “will eventually be solved.” Political moderates took this view by 55 percent to 43 percent, independents by 50 percent to 48 percent. Only Republicans — by a whopping 72 percent to 27 percent — and conservatives (by 66 percent to 33 percent) thought the law could never be fixed.
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Chan Lowe: Obamacare Beats Its Goal
You have to respect the tenacity of Republicans, especially those who’ve been catering to their benighted primary voters back home by beating the hell out of the ACA. They’ve adhered to a long obstructionist tradition that includes opposition to FDR’s Social Security and LBJ’s Great Society initiatives. They know full well that these “giveaway” programs, as they like to call them, develop faithful constituencies. Once the programs are entrenched, any attempt to destroy them has a way of backfiring on the perpetrator. The Affordable Care Act now boasts over seven million individual advocates, many of whom will be benefiting from preventive health care for the first time in their lives.
As their cancers and other diseases are caught and treated in their incipient stages — before they become fatal — the newly anointed are likely to go out among the multitudes and preach the gospel. The ACA is going to grow, and with each new adherent it will become ever more stable and viable.Meanwhile, the greatest compliment this nation can ever pay to the 44th President of the United States and his legacy will be that, decades from now — when Sasha and Malia are great-grandmothers —America’s national health care plan will continue to thrive and be known by its vernacular title: “Obamacare.”
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Harold Meyerson: How Capitalism Enriches The Few Rather Than The Many
Michael Lewis’s “Flash Boys,” his takedown of high-speed stock trading, may be making headlines this week, but it’s just one of two books on our economic dysfunctions that are flying off the shelves. While “Flash Boys” explains how the fastest-growing form of trading enriches the few at the expense of the many, the other book, Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” provides a more fundamental and disquieting explanation: how capitalism itself enriches the few at the expense of the many. Since 1980, however, their fortunes have swelled again — at the expense of everyone else. Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher slashed taxes on wealth, workers lost the ability to bargain for wages and, crucially, the population growth of many nations ground nearly to a halt. Capital, again, was accumulating faster than the overall economies were growing.
In the United States, Piketty shows, the incomes of the top 1 percent have grown so high — chiefly due to the linkage of top executive pay to share value, a form of capital — that they soon will create the greatest level of income inequality in the recorded history of any nation. Indeed, Piketty’s book provides a valuable explanatory context for America’s economic woes. Wages constitute the lowest share of U.S. GDP, and profits the highest, since the end of World War II. And with heightened accumulations of wealth come heightened accumulations of political power — a shift toward plutocracy to which Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision, permitting the wealthy to contribute to as many electoral campaigns as they wish, adds a helpful push.
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L.A. Times: High Deportation Figures Are Misleading
Immigration activists have sharply criticized President Obama for a rising volume of deportations, labeling him the “deporter in chief” and staging large protests that have harmed his standing with some Latinos, a key group of voters for Democrats.
But the portrait of a steadily increasing number of deportations rests on statistics that conceal almost as much as they disclose. A closer examination shows that immigrants living illegally in most of the continental U.S. are less likely to be deported today than before Obama came to office, according to immigration data. Expulsions of people who are settled and working in the United States have fallen steadily since his first year in office, and are down more than 40% since 2009. On the other side of the ledger, the number of people deported at or near the border has gone up — primarily as a result of changing who gets counted in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s deportation statistics.
Rubio haz a very big sad because Spanish language networks are helping Latinos gain access to affordable healthcare talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rubio…
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meta (@metaquest) April 03, 2014The vast majority of those border crossers would not have been treated as formal deportations under most previous administrations. If all removals were tallied, the total sent back to Mexico each year would have been far higher under those previous administrations than it is now. Until recent years, most people caught illegally crossing the southern border were simply bused back into Mexico in what officials called “voluntary returns,” but which critics derisively termed “catch and release.” Those removals, which during the 1990s reached more 1 million a year, were not counted in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation statistics. Now, the vast majority of border crossers who are apprehended get fingerprinted and formally deported. The change began during the George W. Bush administration and accelerated under Obama. The policy stemmed in part from a desire to ensure that people who had crossed into the country illegally would have formal charges on their records. In the Obama years, all of the increase in deportations has involved people picked up within 100 miles of the border, most of whom have just recently crossed over. In 2013, almost two-thirds of deportations were in that category.
Left my waitress some excellent speech as a tip this morning. She was thrilled as it's virtually the same thing as money to John Roberts.
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(@LOLGOP) April 03, 2014At the same time, the administration largely ended immigration roundups at workplaces and shifted investigators into targeting business owners who illegally hired foreign workers. “If you are a run-of-the-mill immigrant here illegally, your odds of getting deported are close to zero — it’s just highly unlikely to happen,” John Sandweg, until recently the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in an interview. Even when immigration officials want to deport someone who already has settled in the country, doing so is “virtually impossible” because of a lengthy backlog in the immigration courts, Sandweg said. Once people who have no prior removals or convictions are placed in deportation proceedings, actually removing them from the country can take six years or more in some jurisdictions, Sandweg said.
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Rebecca Berg: With Obamacare Enrollment Milestone Met, Democrats Feel Cautious Enthusiasm
Democrats who have been expecting a tough slog to defend the implementation of Obamacare in this important midterm election year weren’t just pleased this week with news that 7.1 million people had enrolled in health insurance through federal or state exchanges. They were jubilant, and more than a little relieved. “The Affordable Care Act CRUSHED its first major enrollment deadline!” a fundraising email on behalf of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee declared Wednesday.
Such caps-lock, exclamatory enthusiasm is reflective of a brightening mood this week among Democrats, who understand that many of their candidates could win or lose this year on the merits of the health care law and its first-year implementation. And for a party that has suffered a long political winter, the creep of cautious optimism is a welcome warming trend.”This is a new political environment where implementation of law is going well. That’s a much better political environment for us,” said Matt Canter, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee deputy executive director.
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Andy Kroll: The Supreme Court Just Gutted Another Campaign Finance Law. Here’s What Happened
The Supreme Court on Wednesday released its decision in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, the blockbuster money-in-politics case of the current term. The court’s five conservative justices all agreed that the so-called aggregate limit on the amount of money a donor can give to candidates, political action committees, and political parties is unconstitutional. In a separate opinion, conservative justice Clarence Thomas went even further, calling on the court to overrule Buckley v. Valeo, the 1976 decision that concluded it was constitutional to limit contributions to candidates. In their dissent, the court’s four liberal justices called their colleagues’ logic “faulty” and said it “misconstrues the nature of the competing constitutional interests at stake.” The dissent continues, “Taken together with Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, today’s decision eviscerates our Nation’s campaign finance laws, leaving a remnant incapable of dealing with the grave problems of democratic legitimacy that those laws were intended to resolve.”
The Supreme Court protects the right of rich people to donate but not the right of poor people to vote #McCutcheon
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Harold Itzkowitz (@HaroldItz) April 03, 2014How’d this happen? In the 2012 election cycle, a wealthy Alabama businessman named Shaun McCutcheon tried to make donations in the amount of $1,776 to 27 right-leaning congressional candidates. Not so fast, replied the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the nation’s campaign finance watchdog.After this decision, how much can Shaun McCutcheon give? Hypothetically, a single donor can now contribute as much as $3.5 million, to be divvied up between candidates, PACs, and political parties. No single entity could receive any more than the legal limits, and when you add up all the contributions a donor could potentially make without the aggregate limits, you get $3.5 million. (The overall aggregate limit was raised to $123,200 for the 2014 cycle.)University of California-Irvine law professor Rick Hasen, who did not support McCutcheon’s cause, nonetheless has argued that the decision could reinvigorate the parties and maybe scale back the gridlock crippling Congress. What comes next? Although the court’s majority opinion in McCutcheon, written by Roberts, blew up the FEC’s aggregate limits, it did not take a broader swipe at campaign finance restrictions in general. Court watchers feared a decision in McCutcheon that would open the door to future legal assaults on the bedrock of campaign finance law: direct contribution limits, such as the $2,600 limit to candidates, the $5,000 limit to PACs and party committees, and so on.
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Dylan Scott: How The White House Is Always Outflanking The GOP On Obamacare
House Republicans will vote on Thursday to repeal yet another piece of Obamacare: the provision that sets 30 hours as the threshold for defining full-time employees, raising it to 40 hours. A company’s compliance with the law’s employer mandate depends on its number of full-time employees, so fewer full-time workers would presumably lighten the mandate’s load on businesses. If that seems like small potatoes for the party after its leaders continued to advocate for full repeal this week, here’s why: The Obama administration has outmaneuvered Republicans on Obamacare, and the opposition party doesn’t have many options left in its quest to roll back any part of the law. The administration already made unilateral alterations to unpopular pieces of the law, drawing bewildered reactions even from supporters.
But by making changes itself, the White House hasn’t let the GOP get in on the game, despite the party’s unending stream of anti-Obamacare bills — therefore denying Republicans the opportunity to extract the high-profile pound of flesh from the law that they’ve been seeking for years. On its face, it’s tough to see the policy rationale for this latest attack on the law. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor explained the GOP’s thinking on the chamber floor Wednesday, arguing that Obamacare’s 30-hour rule had encouraged businesses to cut their workers’ hours and that raising the threshold would restore hours and therefore wages. The Congressional Budget Office projected, however, that the proposal would lead to 500,000 more uninsured Americans and raise the federal deficit by nearly $74 billion over the next 10 years.
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Putin's ex wife Liudmila subtly trolling her former husband by wearing colours of #Ukraine flag http://t.co/sRbP3J8v4q
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Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) April 02, 2014****
Maidan Translations: Widespread Disappointment Grows In Crimea
Earlier this week, two thirds of the peninsula were left without electricity. Who is to blame is still unclear, but the supply of electricity from the mainland has been substantially reduced. Officials warn that soon the separatists will receive significantly higher electricity bills. The promises to pensioners also turned out to be a myth. Their pensions were never doubled, but simply converted into rubles, reports TSN. Pricing chaos. Empty banks and ATMs. Lines for several days at a time. These are the first results of “improvement,” Crimean-style. All the joys of civilization, which were obvious before, do not work. The lights can be turned off at any time. In one’s passport, an address that doesn’t exist. Salary cards are a bare piece of plastic. Lines for pay, are just like in old Soviet films. For Crimeans, these old films have become a reality.
Olga Kunina does not hesitate to call Yevpatoria her home town, even though she had been living in the Ukrainian capital [Kyiv] for ten years now. She also insists that she will speak Ukrainian on camera. “I want to keep my Ukrainian passport, I want to be proud of being a Ukrainian, I don’t want to be forced to become a Russian because of the situation they are trying to put me in,” she says. Olga’s compatriots – ethnic Russians – dreamed of getting rich immediately after the so-called referendum. They wanted to sell out their citizenship for increased pensions. But the only increase has been in their disappointment. “We got exactly the same [pensions – Ed.], only in Russian rubles,” – explain the retirees. And in coins Russia is withdrawing from circulation. The rubles started causing chaos on the markets and in prices.
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Jonathan Weisman: Health Enrollment Numbers Lift Democratic Hopes
After months of pummeling by Republicans and with a grim election season approaching, Democrats on Tuesday had a rare bright day. President Obama’s announcement that the new health care plan had enrolled 7.1 million Americans coincided with the release by Representative Paul D. Ryan of a new Republican budget that proposes changes in Medicare and deep cuts in spending. It’s far too early to say a political turnaround is at hand, but for the first time this election year, Democrats are evincing some confidence that they have at least stanched the bleeding. “It’s changing. If you’ve been around awhile, and I’ve been around awhile, you can sense it,” said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate. “You’re not going to turn away seven or 10 million people from insurance coverage — doesn’t work anymore. And then comes Ryan. Thank you, thank you Congressman Paul Ryan, for reminding us what Republicans would do if they had control.”
On the plus side, the president’s announcement that 7.1 million Americans had signed up for private health policies through the law’s exchange is likely to prove understated. Once totals are tabulated to include new Medicaid enrollees, people who signed up for new federally protected policies through private insurance brokers, and young adults who have stayed on their parents’ policies because of the law, the figure is likely to be at least double that. Moreover, the Ryan budget, which was approved by the House Budget Committee on Wednesday night along party lines, will present the Democrats a chance to expand the political conversation. It cuts Medicaid by $1.5 trillion over 10 years, food stamps by $125 billion, education programs by $145 billion — including Pell grants — and makes university students begin paying interest on student loans while still in college.
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This Koch piece on political attacks is like if Henry Ford wrote an op-ed about how cars are the worst thing ever. online.wsj.com/articles/SB100…
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Chris Harris (@chris_p_harris) April 03, 2014****
Jonathan Chait: Charles Koch Explains Why He Is So Crazy
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page owns the deluded self-pitying billionaire screed genre, and today, it brings us Charles Koch. From the outside, Koch would appear to have it pretty good. He owns a vast fortune inherited in substantial part from his father. He commands enormous political influence, with hundreds of politicians and other political elites at his beck and call. But Koch’s view of himself is as a kind of ragtag freedom fighter hunted nearly to extinction. Here is Koch attempting to explain the major source of his grievance: Instead of encouraging free and open debate, collectivists strive to discredit and intimidate opponents. They engage in character assassination. (I should know, as the almost daily target of their attacks.)
This is the approach that Arthur Schopenhauer described in the 19th century, that Saul Alinky famously advocated in the 20th, and that so many despots have infamously practiced. Such tactics are the antithesis of what is required for a free society—and a telltale sign that the collectivists do not have good answers. So the trouble is that his critics attempt to “discredit” and “intimidate” him and employ “character assassination.” All these terms appear to be Koch synonyms for “saying things about Charles Koch that Charles Koch does not agree with.” In the kind of “free and open” debate he imagines, Koch would continue to use his fortune to wield massive political influence, and nobody would ever say anything about him that makes him unhappy.
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NYT: To Ponder: More Food Is Sourced At Home By Gardeners
The number of American households in which residents are growing their own food — either in home or community gardens — has increased 17 percent over the last five years, to 43 million, or one in three households according to a report to be released Wednesday from the National Gardening Association. While gardening was not so long ago associated with retirees in silly pants, the trend is now driven by Americans from ages 18 to 34 who are tending gardens of all sizes.
The association, which has published annual statistics on food gardening in America since 1978, cited a home gardening campaign by Michelle Obama as one of the factors in the rise. “Six years ago, we planted the White House Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn to inspire a national conversation about food and nutrition,” Mrs. Obama said by email, “and as healthy habits are becoming the new norm in America, I hope that interest in gardening and healthy eating continues to grow.”
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President Obama applauds @NYGovCuomo and @BillDeBlasio for expanding access to preschool in New York. #PreKForAll http://t.co/GhWCIlxOQ1
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The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 02, 2014Blue Cross Blue Shield Association says that their state plans are hovering around 80 to 85 percent of premiums paid.
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Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff) April 02, 2014****
But its fair, because both rich and poor alike are free to donate $6,000,000 to federal candidates each cycle.
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Daylin Leach (@daylinleach) April 02, 2014Conservatives aren't worried about about money in politics. Politicians aren't as corruptible as, say, a single mom on food stamps.
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(@LOLGOP) April 02, 2014****
On This Day:
President Obama meets with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton aboard Air Force One during flight from Stansted Airport in Essex, England to France, April 3, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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06
Mar
14
Rise and Shine
On This Day: President Obama signs the prosthetic arm of Sgt. Carlos Evans, USMC, after greeting wounded warriors in the East Room during their tour of the White House, March 6, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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Today (All Times Eastern):
11:0 The First Lady hosts a workshop for students – “I’m Every Woman: The History of Women in Soul”
11:35: President Obama participates in a town hall, Newseum, Washington
Tune in: Townhall with the President and @Univision, @TelemundoNews @LaOpinionLA, @CalEndow today at 11:30am ET: http://t.co/QGVSyoIo7v
— La Casa Blanca (@lacasablanca) March 6, 2014
7:0: Hosts “In Performance at the White House: Women of Soul”
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#GetCovered because moms know kids aren’t invincible → http://t.co/I3bqMOVMzN, pic.twitter.com/xRVgP4oNgP
— FLOTUS (@FLOTUS) March 6, 2014
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Elijah Wolfson: How Obamacare May Lower The Prison Population More Than Any Reform In A Generation
While many have focused on the individual mandate, and the online (and glitchy) insurance exchanges, one of the most potentially impactful elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has flown more or less under the radar. It may be the biggest piece of prison reform the U.S. will see in this generation. In 1980, the number of Americans incarcerated for drug-related offenses was around 41,000. Then, in 1982, the country’s “War on Drugs” officially commenced, and by 2011, that number had shot up to 500,000. In conjunction with funding the front on drug users, President Ronald Reagan defunded federal mental health programs, dropping total mental health spending by over 30 percent. As a result, many of the nation’s mentally ill lost what was essentially their home and place of work, and many ended up on the street.
Today, a good portion of those make their beds in prisons and jails. The last major study on mental health in prisons, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, found that 64 percent of inmates in state and federal prisons met the criteria for mental illness at the time of their booking or during the twelve months leading up to their arrest. Many hope and believe that change is on its way. The Justice Department estimates suggest that with the expansion of Medicaid, 5.4 million ex-offenders currently on parole or probation could get the health care they need. (It’s important to note that 25 states plus Washington, D.C. have implemented the Medicaid expansion as of 2014. However, many policy experts expect the remaining states to fall in line, citing the historical example of how CHIP was initially rejected by many states when it rolled out in 1997, but is now utilized in every state in the country.)
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Obama has personally warned Democratic donors to get more involved in the 2014 midterms two nights in a row now.
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Gabriel Debenedetti (@GDebenedetti) March 06, 2014****
Carol E. Lee: Obama To Donors: Don’t Let Democrats Get ‘Walloped’
President Barack Obama pleaded with Democratic donors not sit on the sidelines in the midterm elections, warning them the party could get “walloped” if their voters don’t turn out this November. Mr. Obama indicated at a fundraiser Wednesday that he’s concerned Democrats could suffer losses this fall because they are already so focused on the 2016 presidential campaign. No one will work harder than he will to make sure a Democrat succeeds him in office, he said, because he wants to “consolidate and solidify” the gains he’s made over two terms. But right now, he said, the party needs to focus on 2014.
“I’m going to need you,” Mr. Obama told about 70 donors at a dinner held at the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter. “The progress we’ve made is on the ballot.” Mr. Obama said Democrats will stand for policies designed to boost the middle class. He pointed to polls showing broad support among Americans for his proposed increase in the federal minimum wage as evidence of what he described as a political system in Washington that’s not reflecting the views of the country. “This counts,” the president said, imploring the well-heeled crowd to “step up.”
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Deeply grateful to the @whitehouse & @VP for dedicating groundbreaking funds to #endthebacklog of untested rape kits: ow.ly/uhml
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Mariska Hargitay (@Mariska) March 05, 2014****
Catherine Thompson: Pope Signals Church Could Support Civil Unions In Some Cases
Pope Francis signaled that the Catholic Church could support some civil unions, particularly in order to guarantee property rights or medical care for nonmarried couples. The pontiff made the comment in a wide-ranging interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera published Wednesday. While the pope’s remark opens the door to support for same-sex civil unions, he did not endorse them outright. The Catholic News Service noted “until now, no pope has indicated even tentative acceptance of civil unions.”
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Honored to meet Ruslana Lyzhychko — a courageous advocate for peace, national unity & the rights of all in #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/NCva93tdz8
— Office of VP Biden (@VP) March 5, 2014
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#Ukraine Prime Minister @Yatsenyuk_AP tells @AP Crimea situation resembles a 'coup' youtu.be/90nEOm3Q6AQ
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Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) March 05, 2014****
Isaac Chotiner: Meet Vladmir Putin’s American Apologist
Given that I don’t watch much Russian state television, I naively assumed it would be possible (and even desirable) to go through an entire day without hearing a solid defense of Vladimir Putin’s warmongering. But when confronted with the figure of NYU Professor Stephen F. Cohen, this becomes impossible. In a piece for The Nationand an appearance on Fareed Zakaria’s CNN show, Cohen gave his best defense of Putin’s Ukraine policy, and inadvertantly showed why making excuses for an autocratic regime makes the apologist look worst of all.
Cohen’s discussion with Fareed Zakaria was brief but telling. After first denying that Putin was a “rank dictator” and saying that he is not “a thug” or “anti-American” (would Putin even deny this last bit anymore?), Cohen got to the main point of his argument: Notice that Cohen initially argues that some sort of control over Ukraine is a requirement of Russian greatness. And then, after explaining this, he says the whole crisis was “imposed” on Putin! This is apologetics done well: first you explain why bad behavior is actually sensisble, and then you say that the bad behavior wasn’t really under the control of the bad actor.
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HOLDER: Debo Adegbile vote sets "very dangerous precedent." #DOJ http://t.co/p3UAVvZm2D
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Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) March 05, 2014****
Greg Sargent: Culture War Paranoia Lives On As Dems Sink An Obama Nominee
In a setback for President Obama, the Senate today sank his nomination to head the Justice Department’s civil rights division, at a time when the war over voting is increasingly central to our politics, after seven Senate Dems joined Republicans to vote No. They were apparently spooked by Republican attacks on Debo Adegbile for his role in representing Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose case became an international story after he was convicted of killing a cop in Philadelphia in 1981. The New York Times adds: “As the head of the N.A.A.C.P. legal fund, Mr. Adegbile was not directly involved in Mr. Abu-Jamal’s defense, and the group stepped into the case 25 years after the murder.” Dems who supported Adegbile argued he should not be blamed for the conduct of the man he represented, and that so doing undercuts the foundations of the legal system.
Democrats just made sure Debo Adegbile's nom to lead @TheJusticeDept's civil rights division failed. One reason why: on.msnbc.com/1gGF4ZX
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Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) March 05, 2014One possible explanation for what happened: Culture war paranoia is alive and well among Democrats. At a time when Dems are increasingly emboldened to take stands on gay rights, gun control, immigration and even abortion that once would have given them far more trepidation, echoes of a battle that feels culturally and politically out of a bygone era were enough to sink a nominee that would have been central to the battle over voting access, which is increasingly important to Dems and their core constituencies in the present. This, even though the once-feared label “soft on crime” seemed to have lost much of its potency against Dems long, long ago.
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National Journal: Americans Cared More About Obamacare Than The Olympics
Nearly six in 10 Americans (58 percent) reported following the health law’s implementation “very” or “fairly” closely in February, according to a new poll, while only 47 percent said they followed the Winter Olympics coverage as intently. Among the most popular health care stories was the decision by CVS to stop selling tobacco products in its stores, as well as news that some employers would have an extra year to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s requirement to provide workers with coverage. More Americans–nearly 70 percent–also paid more attention to the U.S. economy than the Olympics.
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Americans face jail when they can’t pay steep fines for nonviolent crimes, like $1,000 for stealing a $2 beer. theguardian.com/money/2014/mar…
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Michelle (@Michelle9647) March 02, 2014****
Alabama House Passes Extreme ‘Heartbeat’ #Abortion Ban, Three Other Anti-Choice Bills. rhrc.us/1hMp5Hb #news
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RH Reality Check (@rhrealitycheck) March 05, 2014****
Imani Gandy: Black Women Are An Electoral Voting Force. Recognize
The 2014 midterm elections are fast approaching, and Planned Parenthood Action Fund has just rolled out its campaign to help educate voters about candidates’ positions on women’s health. “We know that women’s health is a winning issue and that no candidate will be able to win without a plurality of women,” the group’s president, Cecile Richards, said in a statement announcing the launch of the effort, dubbed the “Women are Watching” campaign, which is expected to spend more than $18 million in at least 14 states. A week later, the most prominent and well-funded reproductive rights advocacy organization in the nation has demonstrated that it will be relying on the same old campaign formulas designed to educate “key voters” about candidates’ position on abortion and birth control. The problem with this approach is that it is blind to the fact that most women in this country are concerned about more than just birth control and abortion. It’s that broader group of women—Black and Latina women, specifically—who will be delivering electoral victories for Democrats, which, essentially, also means we will be delivering reproductive rights victories in 2014, just as they have in elections dating back to 1980.
#BlackWomen Are an Electoral Voting Force. Recognize. rhrc.us/1c5kArY #WOC
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RH Reality Check (@rhrealitycheck) March 04, 2014Consider the recent election of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. In each of those races, Black women propelled the candidates to victory. Left in the hands of white women, Republican candidate Ken Cucinelli, who would have been a disaster for reproductive rights, would be in the Virginia governor’s mansion right now. Let’s also not forget that if it wasn’t for Black women, we would be face-palming our way through a Mitt Romney presidency right now. For example, one of the most important issues facing Black women in the 2014 election cycle—as in the 2012 election cycle—is voter suppression. Republican voter suppression efforts target us because they know that we make up the “gender gap” that has, since 1980, helped Democrats win in election after election. Considering that the upcoming midterm elections will be the first major election since theSupreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in Shelby v. Holder, and considering the intensity with which lawmakers in states like Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Georgia have pushed barriers to voting, it seems to me that reproductive rights organizations must place voter suppression at the top of their priorities list.
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Josh Marshall: Obama’s Critics Should Put Up Or Shut Up
Do you remember when President Bush’s political adversaries starting ragging on him during the first days after 9/11? Or during the first days of the invasion of Iraq? Me neither. Whatever you think of the holder of the presidential office, if you are actually concerned about the nation’s welfare you don’t go on TV mocking him and saying he’s weak. The President’s critics talk about “resolve” and “leadership” and “toughness” because there are not any actual actions they can point to that they think he should do but isn’t. These phrases are plastic, can mean anything and can be puffed up with all manner of wish-projection and foreign policy fantasy untethered to any concrete and specifics actions.
It recalls the glory days of #RomneyStrength. It’s really that clear. Vague and ambiguous phrases are used to conceal this. What President Obama could do is give Putin an ultimatum to leave Crimea or be forcibly expelled. Then we’d have a real test of strength and Putin would see deep potential costs to his actions. But even the President’s toughest critics recognize this would be insane. It’s really not a good idea to get into a land war with the world’s other major nuclear power on their own terrain. (And whatever we think of the relationship between Russia and Ukraine now they were part of a single country for centuries and in terms of experience, tactics and knowledge it’s home ground for the Russian Army.)
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Jesse Wegman: The Senate’s Hierarchy Of Victimhood
Debo Adegbile did his job, and for that he was deemed unfit by the Senate to become the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. His misstep, specifically, was helping represent a death-row inmate while he was director of litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. With this excuse in hand, Senate Republicans and seven cowardly Democrats, three of whom are up for re-election in November, managed to shut down Mr. Adegbile’s nomination. The final, shameful vote was effectively 51-48 (Senator Harry Reid supported Mr. Adegbile but voted no for procedural reasons). But wait: didn’t the Senate vote to confirm John Roberts to the Supreme Court, even after learning that he, too, had assisted in the defense of a death-row inmate? That man, John Errol Ferguson, killed eight people. (Despite the help of one of the nation’s top lawyers, Ferguson was executed in Florida last year.)
Scorching statement from Obama in response to Senate's failure to confirm Debo Adegbile http://t.co/aDHQwEvukf
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Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) March 05, 2014So why does John Roberts get a pass but not Debo Adegbile? Because Mr. Adegbile represented Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted and sentenced to death in 1982 for killing a Philadelphia police officer named Daniel Faulkner. For three decades the case has reverberated across the region, which now apparently includes the constituency of Delaware Senator Chris Coons, the last and least expected Democratic vote against the nomination. Some have called Mr. Adegbile a “cop-killer advocate.” Another word for that might be “lawyer.” In representing people like John Ferguson and Mumia Abu-Jamal, Chief Justice Roberts and Mr. Adegbile were doing what lawyers everywhere are trained to do. Particularly in death-penalty cases, it is critical to ensure that a defendant has adequate representation and that his trial, conviction and sentence do not violate the Constitution.
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Can't we just tell Russia that Crimea is full of gays?
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Josh Barro (@jbarro) March 04, 2014****
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Sulia: Russia Today Anchor Resigns Live On Air Over ‘Whitewashing’ Of Putin’s Actions Against Crimea
RT news called it a ‘self promotional’ stunt, but I call it brave: “Russia Today America anchor Liz Wahl resigned Wednesday live on air, saying she could no longer work at the Kremlin-funded network after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Wahl said she feels “many ethical and moral challenges” especially since her grandparents fled Hungary during the Soviet era, “ironically to escape the Soviet Union.”
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This pic taken in #Donetsk today proves that #Ukraine is united. A crowd of people held the biggest flag of #Ukraine http://t.co/2zU4a94Ho8
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Euromaidan PR (@EuromaidanPR) March 06, 2014****
EJ Dionne: Blaming Obama First
…. Moreover, Republicans were utterly unrestrained in casting opposition to Bush’s policies as disloyalty to the nation. When Nancy Pelosi accused Bush in 2004 of being “incompetent,” Tom DeLay, then the House majority leader, denounced the top House Democrat for being “so caught up in the partisan hatred for President Bush that her words are putting American lives at risk.”
…. There’s also this. A remarkably broad cross-party consensus has quickly coalesced around two propositions: (1) we will not commit American military forces in this crisis, but (2) we should use every realistic form of pressure at our disposal to contain and then reverse Putin’s assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty. Must we pretend to disagree even when we agree?
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President Putin's Fiction: 10 False Claims about #Ukraine: go.usa.gov/K4r9
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Department of State (@StateDept) March 06, 2014****
Persona Non Grata: The First Victim
It is often said, “In war, the first victim is truth.” It applies just as much today and perhaps even more so given the many means technology now provides us to seek and find information. The information is then problematic because it is increasingly difficult to sort truth from lies, distortion from disinformation, half-truths from wholly fabricated falsehoods. Perhaps no better example of this is the recently leaked audio recording of a conversation between Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for the European Union.
Complete press point after the #NATO-#Russia Council meeting on #Ukraine ow.ly/uh62N @AndersFoghR |PR #Ukraine
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Euromaidan PR (@EuromaidanPR) March 06, 2014The recording is being claimed as proof that Kyiv’s new “Euromaidan” government itself hired the snipers who killed dozens in Ukraine in February. If true, this would be a world-shaking revelation. But is it? What does the audio recording reveal to us, actually? Here are some observations: 1. Even diplomatic meetings are today subject to unauthorized interception & retransmission. This not only threatens the freedom of diplomats to freely exchange views and information, it also makes it easy for third parties to use the released information and present it out of context.
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John Harper: Afghanistan Veteran William Kyle Carpenter To Receive Medal Of Honor
President Barack Obama will award medically retired Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter the Medal of Honor later this year in recognition of Carpenter’s heroic actions during a November 2010 grenade attack in Afghanistan. Carpenter, 24, would be the 10th U.S. servicemember — and the second Marine — to receive the Medal of Honor from the war in Afghanistan. Carpenter was nominated for the nation’s highest award for valor following reports that he covered a grenade to save the life of his friend,
Lance Cpl. Nicholas Eufrazio, during an insurgent attack in the Marjah district of Helmand province as the two Marines were standing guard on a rooftop on Nov. 21, 2010. Carpenter and Eufrazio survived the blast, but suffered severe wounds. Carpenter lost an eye and most of his teeth and shattered his jaw; his arm was also broken in several places. Damage from shrapnel to the frontal lobe of Eufrazio’s brain left him unable to speak for two years.
More here
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The House has officially taken 50 pointless votes to repeal #ACA. None of America’s priorities are getting done. None http://t.co/tRabiOWUeL
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Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) March 05, 2014****
TPM: 41 GOP Senators Try To Filibuster Judge, Then Confirm Him Unanimously
Forty-one Republican senators voted Wednesday to filibuster Pedro A. Delgado Hernandez of Puerto Rico, a nominee to be a U.S. district court judge. Their attempt failed because under new rules established by Democrats, “cloture” on most presidential nominees requires a simple majority, rather than 60 votes. So the nominee moved forward, 57-41. Then the Senate proceeded to a final vote on the nomination, which passed 98-0, capturing the Republican senators who had just attempted to filibuster Delgado.
More here
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Caitlin MacNeal: 5 Year-Old Boy Accidentally Shoots And Kills Himself In California
A 5-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed himself with a gun he found inside his Riverside County, Calif. home on Tuesday, police told NBC Los Angeles. A neighbor called 911 to report the incident, and police pronounced the boy dead when they arrived at the scene, according to NBC.
More here
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Enough is enough with the Russian spin. Important we focus on the facts. #Ukraine 1.usa.gov/1eYdDZb
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Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) March 05, 2014****
One more place Russian policy isn't going down well. Turkish FM reminds us of rights of Crimean Tatars.
globalpost.com/dispatch/news/…
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Stephen Sestanovich (@SSestanovich) March 04, 2014****
Washington Post: U.S., Allies Slowly Put Squeeze On Russia
The United States and its European allies incrementally tightened the noose of their disapproval around Russia on Wednesday, agreeing to send more money to Ukraine, dispatching international observers and more U.S. aircraft to the region, and edging closer to direct sanctions against Moscow. With little movement reported on the ground in Crimea, the autonomous Ukrainian region where Russian troops have taken control, attention focused on a chaotic day of diplomatic meetings in Europe. Secretary of State John F. Kerry held his first direct meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, since street protests in the Ukrainian capital turned deadly last month and led to the ouster of Kiev’s pro-Russia government. No progress was reported after the session, held at the home of Russia’s ambassador to France, but Kerry and Lavrov agreed to keep talking.
Very interesting comments from Chinese foreign secretary: #China not impressed with #Russia's behaviour in #Ukraine fmprc.gov.cn/eng/xwfw/s2510…
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Julia Macfarlane (@juliamacfarlane) March 04, 2014No similar quips emerged from a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels. A NATO diplomat, describing the session as “tense,” said alliance members one by one confronted Alexander V. Grushko, Russia’s representative to NATO, with charges that Moscow was violating international law in Crimea and concocting threats against ethnic Russians there to justify its actions. “It was quite an uncomfortable meeting,” said the diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity about the closed-door session. When it was over, NATO announced that it was suspending collaboration with Russian armed forces on several fronts, including planning for Russia to provide a maritime escort for the U.S. ship that is to destroy Syrian chemical weapons at sea in the spring. E.U. representatives gave preliminary approval to a $15 billion aid package of loans and grants to Ukraine over the next several years, on top of a U.S. announcement Tuesday of $1 billion in energy loan guarantees.
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Reuters: Iran Cutting Sensitive Nuclear Stocks, Much Work Remains: IAEA
Iran is reducing its most proliferation-prone nuclear stockpile as required by its landmark deal with world powers but much work remains to be done to resolve all concerns about Tehran’s activities, the U.N. atomic watchdog chief said. Among measures Iran is taking since the interim agreement took effect on January 20 is the dilution of its stock of higher-enriched uranium to a fissile concentration less suitable for any attempt to fuel an atomic bomb. Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), indicated that Iran had made sufficient progress in this regard to receive a scheduled March 1 installment of $450 million out of a total of $4.2 billion in previously blocked overseas funds. The IAEA has a pivotal role in checking that Iran is living up to its part of the six-month accord in curbing its disputed nuclear program in exchange for some easing of sanctions that have impaired its oil-dependent economy.
GOP Scoreboard....#uniteblue #tlot #p2 #ctl #toprog #libcrib #gop http://t.co/8DT2wFCIKV
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Sly Dude (@SlyDude3677) March 06, 2014“As of today, measures agreed under the Joint Plan of Action are being implemented as planned,” Amano said, referring to the November 24 agreement struck in Geneva between Iran and the United States, Germany, France, Russia, China and Britain. These included “the dilution of a proportion of Iran’s inventory” of 20 percent uranium gas to a lower enrichment level, which “has reached the halfway mark”, he told the IAEA’s 35-nation board, according to a copy of his speech. Under the accord, Iran suspended enrichment of uranium to 20 percent fissile concentration – a relatively short technical step away from the level required for nuclear bombs – and is taking action to neutralize its holding of the material. In return, Iran is gradually winning access to $4.2 billion of its oil revenues frozen abroad and some other sanctions relief. The funds will be paid out in eight transfers on a schedule that started with a $550 million payment by Japan on February 1. Last month, banking sources said South Korea was set to make two payments in March totaling $1 billion.
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LA Times: Weekly Jobless Claims Drop Sharply To 323,000 As Layoffs Ease
Initial jobless claims fell sharply last week to their lowest level in three months, the Labor Department said Thursday, as a private report showed layoffs eased in February. About 323,000 people filed for first-time unemployment benefits in the week ending Saturday, down from 349,000, the previous week, the Labor Department said. The falloff was steeper than that expected by analysts, who had forecast 338,000 first-time claims. Last week’s figure was the lowest since the end of November.
Weekly jobless claims below 350,000 indicate moderate labor market growth. The four-week moving average dropped by 2,000 last week, to 336,500. Planned layoffs last month were down 24% from a year ago and marked the lowest February total since 2000, Challenger said. Announced job cuts in the first two months of the year were 9.2% less than for the same period in 2013. Banks and other financial firms had the most announced job cuts in February, with 9,791, about double the amount in January.
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Trevor LaFauci: Deafening Silence: Why Conservatives Fear Obama’s Foreign Policy
What’s ironic about the Republican arguments against President Obama’s current course of action is the fact that they clearly aren’t based in reality and only serve to further embarrass the party. For a political party that used to pride itself on foreign policy victories, today’s Republican Party has officially become paranoid after a string of victories by the Obama administration. The problem focuses on the fact that diplomacy is now seen as a viable solution to solving major international conflicts. This undermines the entire Republican foreign policy of flexing our military muscle first and asking questions later.
It also hurts the Republican Party where it matters most: its wallet. You see, if there are no boots on the ground or no planes overhead then our friends at Boeing and Haliburton can’t make a few million bucks producing products with that profit then trickling down to their shareholders who just happen to be Republican government officials. If American diplomacy not only is implemented, but also works, then maybe, just maybe, people might begin to suggest that this tactic always be used first when an international incident occurs. If that happens, if we actually have dialogue between major world leaders, if we actually have economic pressures and sanctions placed against countries that violate law, if we freeze a nation’s assets, then this could lead to a world where American diplomacy, rather than American destroyers, ends up solving international conflicts. And that, for Republicans, is a very scary world.
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FLOTUS just met with @RobinRoberts on the importance of eating healthy and staying active → instagram.com/michelleobama http://t.co/Kdk7byAhHI
(@FLOTUS) March 05, 2014
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Two Years Ago Today:
President Obama on GOP hawks lusting after war with Iran:
“…. those folks don’t have a lot of responsibilities. They’re not Commander-in-Chief. And when I see the casualness with which some of these folks talk about war, I’m reminded of the costs involved in war. I’m reminded that the decision that I have to make in terms of sending our young men and women into battle, and the impacts that has on their lives, the impact it has on our national security, the impact it has on our economy.
This is not a game. There’s nothing casual about it. And when I see some of these folks who have a lot of bluster and a lot of big talk, but when you actually ask them specifically what they would do, it turns out they repeat the things that we’ve been doing over the last three years, it indicates to me that that’s more about politics than actually trying to solve a difficult problem.
Now, the one thing that we have not done is we haven’t launched a war. If some of these folks think that it’s time to launch a war, they should say so. And they should explain to the American people exactly why they would do that and what the consequences would be. Everything else is just talk.”
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On This Day:
President Obama shoots hoops on the White House South Lawn basketball court, March 6, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama walks towards the White House with friend Eric Whitaker, right and Personal Assistant Reggie Love after shooting hoops at the South Lawn basketball court, March 6, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama arrives at Port Columbus International Airport. Columbus, Ohio with Sen. Sherrod Brown, Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, and Secret Service, March 6, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama ride in the presidential limousine on the way to attending a parent teacher meeting, March 6, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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President Obama shoots baskets on the White House basketball court with Justin Friedlander and his family, July 6, 2010. Friedlander, who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in March, 2009, has launched an initiative called “Justin’s Quest,” in which he will shoot 63,000 basketball shots, one for every person diagnosed with a primary brain tumor each year in the United States (Photo by Pete Souza)
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President Obama at a news conference in the White House press briefing room, March 6, 2012
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First Lady Michelle Obama drops by a Partnership for a Healthier America board meeting in the Map Room of the White House, March 6, 2013 (Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly visit the site of a shooting in Tucson, Ariz., that left her critically wounded, March 6, 2013
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28
Feb
14
Rise and Shine
On This Day: President Obama and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick listen as students from Orchard Gardens K-8 School in Roxbury, Mass., perform Dr. Marin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Feb. 28, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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Today (all times EST):
1:0: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney
2:40: The White House Student Film Festival
3:45: President Obama delivers remarks at the White House Student Film Festival; East Room
4:50: Delivers remarks at a DNC meeting, Washington (Open to media)
5:20: Attends a DNC event, Washington (Closed press)
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Gotta smile at #MyBrothersKeeper critics - they just talk the talk, Barack Obama's been walking the walk all his life http://t.co/sNpVALA6SS
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TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) February 27, 2014****
Eugene Robinson: My Brother’s Keeper: A Helping Hand For Young Men Of Color
“My Brother’s Keeper” has a much nicer ring than “stop and frisk.” It also promises to be a more effective, less self-defeating way to address the interlocking social and economic crises afflicting young men of color. I’ll go out on a limb and predict that President Obama gets some heat for launching a program whose benefits are aimed solely at African American and Hispanic men and boys.
The nation’s first black president gets slammed by critics who accuse him of “playing the race card” every time he acknowledges that race and racism still play a role in determining opportunities and outcomes. But obviously they do. My Brother’s Keeper, which Obama announced Thursday, is the kind of targeted public-private initiative that might actually do some good, even without tons of new federal money thrown in.
More here
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Correcting typo: Pres Obama talks to grp of boys & young men who later appeared w him at "My Brother's Keeper" event http://t.co/Pk47CkI0ok
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(@petesouza) February 28, 2014Pres Obama and Christian Campagne walk into East Room for "My Brother's Keeper" event http://t.co/ax0h1oRH7F
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(@petesouza) February 28, 2014****
LA Times: Obamacare Draws Younger Consumers Online As Deadline Looms, Report Says
The average premium paid for Obamacare coverage on a leading insurance website has dropped by nearly $100 a month since October as more young people sign up, a new industry report shows. The average age of people buying coverage at online broker EHealthInsurance.com dropped from 44 mid-October to 36 in late February, according to the company.
The average premium for 2014 health plans sold through EHealth tumbled from $370 a month to $273 over that period, which the company said reflects a higher proportion of younger applicants. Attracting enough younger and healthier customers is crucial to help offset the higher medical costs of older, sicker policyholders in the overall insurance pool. EHealth said last week when it announced fourth-quarter results that 40% of its applicants in the fall were between the ages 18 to 34.
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AP: Obama Seeks More Federal Spending To Train Doctors
President Barack Obama will ask Congress to approve spending more than $5 billion on medical training to turn out some 13,000 primary care providers over the next 10 years. Obama will include the proposal in the budget he sends to Congress next week. The new funding is aimed at training more doctors who can work in underserved areas, including rural communities.
The president’s budget also will seek to expand the National Health Service Corps, a federal program that connects primary care physicians with communities in need. Obama wants to expand the corps from 8,900 providers to 15,000 over the next six years.
More here
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Bernard-Henri Levy: Ukraine’s Revolutionaries Are Not Fascists thebea.st/1frl3FE #Euromaidan #Євромайдан #революція via @thedailybeast
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Siri Bjoner (@sbjoner) February 27, 2014****
Molly Redden: This Program Is Helping Crush Childhood Obesity. Guess What Republicans Want To Do To It
Researchers are still exploring what factors caused the early childhood obesity rate to plummet43 percent over the last decade. But a group of health experts at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill think that they have found at least part of the answer: changes to the federally funded Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children that gave poor mothers the means to purchase more fresh produce for their children.
This program, which is better known as WIC, provides billions of dollars per year in nutritious food vouchers for low-income pregnant women, breast-feeding women, and children younger than five. WIC was created in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until 2009 that it provided mothers with vouchers for fruits and vegetables. That’s the change that the North Carolina researchers think may have contributed to the stunning decline in obesity rates. Republicans looking to slash federal spending have targeted WIC in recent years. In March 2012, for example, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives tried to cut $243 million from WIC.
More here
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At last! "@suprochkaa Switzerland freezes #Yanukovych's accounts #euromaidan @reuters reuters.com/article/2014/0…"
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Jelena Eckstädt (@athletespw) February 27, 2014****
ThinkProgress: Federal Government Expands Access To Healthy Food For Low-Income Moms And Babies
A government program that gives federal food assistance to an estimated 9 million women and children is getting revamped for the first time in more than three decades. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children — more commonly known as WIC — will now provide low-income Americans with more options for culturally specific food, as well as increase funding for some healthy options.
WIC is a nutritional assistance program intended to help women and their babies afford healthy food. It diverges from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, because it’s specifically targeted at improving healthy pregnancies and birth outcomes. This year, the program marked its 40th anniversary.
More here
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Hanging out at the White House today and look who I ran into, the First Family’s dogs Sunny & Bo! pic.twitter.com/waL4TOAor0
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) February 27, 2014
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Raw Story: US, NATO Warn Russia To Avoid ‘Miscalculation’ In Ukraine
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday joined NATO in warning Russia not to take any action that could lead to “miscalculation” amid rising tensions on Ukraine’s majority-Russian Crimea peninsula. Speaking after pro-Kremlin gunmen seized regional administration buildings in Crimea and Moscow ordered snap combat readiness drills near the border, Hagel warned: “I am closely watching the Russian military exercise.
“I expect them to be transparent about these activities,” he told a press conference at the close of a two-day NATO defence ministers meeting. “I urge them not to take steps that could be misinterpreted or lead to miscalculation.” The crisis in Ukraine dominated the gathering, with an emergency meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission added to the agenda at the last moment. Hagel said Washington was concerned about the latest developments, especially in Crimea, and was continuing “to talk to our Russian counterparts” about their intentions.
More here
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‘George W Bush Paintings To Be Exhibited This Spring’ pic.twitter.com/8X60b9vgJj
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) February 28, 2014
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Read about the White House Film Festival here
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possibly the single greatest picture on the internet pic.twitter.com/Uy2V8gdABe
— Alluring❤️ (@AIIuring) February 28, 2014
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What the……
TPM: Newspaper Says Mysterious Phone Call With Dem Candidate Was Actually Wrong Number
A local Michigan paper on Thursday said a mysterious January interview with a Democratic congressional candidate was actually a misdial.
In January National Review highlighted a peculiar report from The Daily Mining Gazette about Democratic congressional candidate Jerry Cannon, who is running against Rep. Dan Benishek (R-MI).
The original Daily Mining Gazette report quoted Cannon as criticizing Obamacare. The paper later backtracked on the story and National Review suggested that someone else had perhaps answered the phone and been impersonating Cannon.
Now, in a story titled “Gazette Looks To Set The Record Straight,” the Daily Mining Gazette said the call for the complete interview was to a wrong number….
More here
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Only the soulless wouldn’t be touched by this ad | New Bell’s South Africa TV Ad — The Reader: http://t.co/5igTzSrAQd
— Liberal Librarian (@Lib_Librarian) February 28, 2014
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TPM: Jason Collins Visits Matthew Shepard’s Parents, Brings Gifts
Jason Collins had plenty of gifts for Matthew Shepard’s parents: a basket, a blowout, an autographed No. 98 jersey that he wears in honor of their son. They also shared some laughs.
Collins played the final eight minutes of the Brooklyn Nets’ 112-89 romp over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, and although his three points and four fouls weren’t much to look at in the boxscore, rarely has the 35-year-old center been this proud of a performance.
“I got them a bucket,” the center said.
After his cameo in Brooklyn’s recovery from a 44-point loss against the Trail Blazers 24 hours earlier, Collins, the first openly gay athlete in America’s four major sports, met with the parents of the slain Wyoming college student who was tortured and murdered in 1998 because he was gay.
More here
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On This Day:
President Obama plays basketball with Education Secretary Arne Duncan at the U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2009 (Photo Pete Souza)
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First Lady Michelle Obama, flanked by enlargements of a proposed nutrition label and a proposed alternate label, speaks about helping parents and other consumers make healthier choices as part of her Let’s Move program. The Obama administration is proposing new food labels that would make it easier to know about calories and added sugars, a reflection of the shifting science behind nutrition.
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First Lady Michelle Obama talks about heathy snacks with children at a La Petite Academy child care center in Bowie, Maryland
Continue reading ‘First Lady Michelle Obama Announces Updates To Nutrition Fact Labels’
First Lady Michelle Obama announces proposed guidelines for local school wellness policies during an event in the East Room at the White House
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Thank you First Lady Michelle Obama: Obesity rate among 2-to-5 year old children dropped a stunning 43%. #LetsMove nytimes.com/2014/02/26/hea…
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Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) February 25, 2014****
NYT: Obesity Rate For Young Children Plummets 43% In A Decade
Federal health authorities on Tuesday reported a stunning 43 percent drop in the obesity rate among 2- to 5-year-old children over the past decade, the first broad decline in an epidemic that often leads to lifelong struggles with weight and higher risks for cancer, heart disease and stroke. The drop emerged from a major federal health survey that experts say is the gold standard for evidence on what Americans weigh. The trend came as a welcome surprise to researchers. New evidence has shown that obesity takes hold young: Children who are overweight or obese between age 3 and 5 are five times as likely to be overweight or obese as adults.
“This is the first time we’ve seen any indication of any significant decrease in any group,” said Cynthia Ogden, a researcher for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the author of the report, which will be published in JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association, on Wednesday. “It was exciting.” Another explanation is that some combination of state, local and federal policies aimed at reducing obesity is starting to have an effect. Michelle Obama has led a push to change young children’s eating and exercise habits and 10,000 child care centers across the country have signed on. The news announcement from the C.D.C. included a remark from Mrs. Obama: “I am thrilled at the progress we’ve made over the last few years in obesity rates among our youngest Americans.”
More here
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Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, introduces JoAnne Hammermaster, from Vienna, Va., who is co-founder and president of Real Food For Kids, and her son Sam Hammermaster, before First Lady Michelle Obama announced proposed guidelines for local school wellness policies
First Lady Michelle Obama recites a “wrap” song written by students from George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church, Va., about healthy eating
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First Lady Michelle Obama helps Naeem Khan make history!
This handout photo provided by the Smithsonian shows a dress designed by Indian-American designer Naeem Khan for First Lady Michelle Obama. It was worn to the 2012 Governors Dinner and is now on display at the Smithsonian’s first major exhibit: “Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation” on Indian-American influences in U.S. history. Khan has designed several dresses for Mrs. Obama. The exhibit opens Thursday.
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*Ahem* Ladies? You’re welcome
Sam Kass, Executive Director of Let’s Move! and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy speaks to guests before First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announce proposed guidelines for local school wellness policies
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Great workout & interview with @FLOTUS ! Fun time bustin a move with the First Lady… #LetsMove pic.twitter.com/aOoYbE285b
— Mario Lopez (@MarioLopezExtra) February 25, 2014
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Who’s got the best moves: The First Lady, @MarioLopezExtra, or Alonzo Mourning? http://t.co/6R4zznRjDu #LetsMove
— FLOTUS (@FLOTUS) February 25, 2014
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First lady Michelle Obama gives a hug at a Miami parks and recreation center during a visit to promote her “Let’s Move” campaign
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Michelle Obama to Host Lifetime's 'Trip to Bountiful' Screening j.mp/1gm7O5u
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Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 20, 2014****
The Hollywood Reporter: Michelle Obama To Host Lifetime’s ‘Trip To Bountiful’ Screening
Officials announced Thursday that the First Lady Michelle Obama will host the special event on Monday, Feb. 24, at 4 p.m. ET, in the Eisenhower Office Building’s South Court Auditorium. The Eisenhower Office Building houses adjoins the White House’s West Wing and provides office space for most of the executive mansion’s staff. Obama will deliver personal remarks at the screening for the TV adaptation of the Broadway revival of Horton Foote‘s play. The Trip to Bountiful, which premieres Saturday, March 8, on the cabler, is set during the final years of the Jim Crow South. The Broadway production was nominated for four Tony Awards, winning best actress in a play for Cicely Tyson.
More here
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First Lady Michelle Obama is escorted by Rose Cameron, CEO and founder of WAT-AAH!, a line of bottled water targeted to kids and teens, as they view the “Taking Back the Streets” art exhibit at the New Museum, in New York
First Lady Michelle Obama talks with Sophia Rose Stewart-Chapman, of New York’s Little Red School House, in front of a color-by-numbers mural featuring the slogan for WAT-AAH!
Artist Trey Speegle, photographs First Lady Michelle Obama as she prepares to autograph his color-by-numbers mural featuring the slogan for WAT-AAH!, a line of bottled water targeted to kids and teens, at the New Museum, in New York
First Lady Michelle Obama meets Lola Picayo, of New York’s Little Red School House, before she autographed a color-by-numbers mural featuring the slogan for WAT-AAH!
First Lady Michelle Obama hugs teacher Sara Barlow of Little Red Schoolhouse and Elisabeth Irwin High School
First Lady Michelle Obama stands with artist Trey Speegle the 8th grade children of Little Red Schoolhouse and Elisabeth Irwin High School when she visits the New Museum’s “Taking Back the Streets” exhibit, sponsored by Let Water Be Water LLC’s youth bottled water brand WAT-AAH! to support the Partnership for a Healthier America’s “Drink Up” initiative in New York City
Use #LetsMove to show off those fabulous moves.
09
Feb
14
Happy Anniversary Let’s Move!
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Let’s Move: Four Years Of Showing How We’re Moving Towards A Healthier Nation
Four years ago, First Lady, Michelle Obama launched a national movement, Let’s Move!, to create a healthier future for kids and families. Four years later, Let’s Move! has moved a nation in a healthier direction, and this nation is on the move. This healthier movement is the new norm, and it is happening all over the country. From child care centers through high school and after school, from sun up to sun down, the country is moving faster every day towards a healthier future. Over the last four years, Let’s Move! has worked to create more opportunities for physical activity and to improve the overall quality of school meals. Across the nation, communities have gained access to healthy and affordable food, and families have gained the information needed to make more nutritional choices.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found obesity rates among low-income preschoolers declined, from 2008 through 2011, in 19 of 43 states and territories studied. The First Lady – in collaboration with the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) – launched the Drink Up campaign, an unprecedented collaboration of companies coming together to encourage Americans across the country to drink more water. It’s a simple message that everyone can do to stay energized, focused, and refreshed.
#LetsMove is celebrating four years of moving towards a healthier nation → go.wh.gov/3nhZfR #HappyAnniversary, http://t.co/E53M9xYTeg
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Let's Move! (@letsmove) February 09, 2014In 2010, the Partnership for a Healthier America and First Lady Michelle Obama announced a commitment with 16 companies in the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF) pledging to take action to reduce 1 trillion product calories by 2012 and 1.5 trillion product calories by 2015. Last month, it was announced that these food and beverage companies sold 6.4 trillion fewer calories in the United States in 2012 than they did in 2007, thus exceeding the HWCF’s 2015 goal by more than 400 percent, and this translates into a reduction of 78 calories per person in the United States per day. USDA implemented new school lunch and breakfast standards starting in the 2012-2013 academic year and implementation of the new Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards will start in the 2014-2015 school year. These standards mean the quality of food sold in school vending machines and a la carte lines will change significantly.
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Sierra Marquina: First Lady Michelle Obama Talks Let’s Move!, Signing Up For The Affordable Care Act, And Valentine’s Day
Mrs. Obama’s initiative to help stop the problem of childhood obesity, Let’s Move!, was launched four years ago and has made a significant impact on children’s health today, not only in their homes, but in their schools as well. The goal with the initiative is to solve obesity within a generation and set up children to be able to lead healthier lives, a movement she starts by doing at home in the White House. When it comes to her two daughters, 15-year-old Malia and 12-year-old Sasha, the first lady shares: “Barack and I try to lead by example. I mean, we eat dinner together every night and we rarely miss that, even with his schedule, and we spend a lot of time talking about the issues of the day, but we talk about what we’re eating and why we’re eating it. We have a lot of, ‘Finish your vegetables’ conversations.”
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The Affordable Care Act allows every single American to have access to quality affordable health care, which is so important because there are millions of people out there who are worried about losing their home or going bankrupt because someone gets sick … What Barack believes is that here in America … poor health should not be the thing that causes someone to lose their home. But before the Affordable Care Act … that’s actually what was happening to people around the country.” “Here’s the thing, young people lead risky lives. I always joke about this, but the young people are the ones out at the club at three o’clock in the morning and more likely to slip on the ice … I mean, life throws you some curveballs and young people in particular need to have insurance. If you think about it, you insure your car, but you’re not going to insure your life?”
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So what does Mrs. Obama expect from her husband this Valentine’s Day? Not much! Mrs. Obama explains: “This year, again, I’ve had this big birthday celebration—my husband really celebrated me so well—He did a great job. I had a great couple of weeks, so I think we’re going to low-key it for Valentine’s Day.” Albeit, she’s not concerned he’ll be too low-key. ”We have been married for 21 years and he never forgets a Valentine’s Day, an anniversary, a birthday. He’s really good at that kind of stuff.”
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after turning 50 on January 17, she insists everything gets better with age. “You’re more confident, you know yourself more, you’re not concerned about what other people think. And if you’ve taken care of your health, many times you can be in the best shape you’ve been in … you watch your kids grow up and I know, my girls, they’re starting to become real people with opinions and it’s just so much fun to talk to them now,” she shares. And speaking of her two girls, what’s it like to grow up in the White House as a 15 or 12-year-old? “Barack and I strive to make sure Malia and Sasha can lead as normal a life as possible and even though we are in this crazy bubble, they do things that normal kids do,” Mrs. Obama admits. “They go to sleepovers, they go to concerts, they go to dances.”
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Bonus: The best moment of Kevin Hart’s life? Meeting President Obama and getting a nickname from him!
The Obama Diary 
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