President Barack Obama reacts as Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller insists on standing next to him after moving aside Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie at a meeting of the leaders of CARICOM, the Caribbean Community nations, at the University of the West Indies
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You are very loved by the Jamaican people, PM Simpson Miller tells Barack Obama."I can say very publicly I love you." http://t.co/axxQLrFNhc
— Dre1alliance Jamaica (@Dre1allianceEnt) April 09, 2015
President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel during the National Anthem at the start of an event to mark the 60th anniversary of the suspension of the 1950-1953 Korean War at the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C. July 27
President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Americans to take time from their âhurried livesâ to listen to the heroic stories of Korean War veterans who returned to a country weary of war and deserved a better homecoming.
âUnlike the Second World War, Korea did not galvanize our country. These veterans did not return to parades,â Obama said in a speech at the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall, making the 60th anniversary of the warâs end.
âUnlike Vietnam, Korea did not tear at our country. These veterans did not return to protests. For many Americans tired of war, there was it seemed a desire to forget, to move on,â Obama said.
They âdeserve better,â the president said, adding that on this anniversary, âperhaps the highest tribute we can offer our veterans of Korea is to do what should have been done the day you came home.â
ThinkProgress: Growing Number Of States Are Reporting Lower Than Expected Health Care Premiums
Health premiums in Marylandâs exchanges will be âamong the lowest of the 12 states that have available proposed or approved rates for comparison,â the stateâs exchange â Maryland Health Connection â announced Friday. The news comes just as New York,Oregon, Montana, California, and Louisiana are also reporting lower than expected premiums.
In Maryland, a 25-year-old will be able to purchase a plan that is more comprehensive than policies currently available on the individual market for $114 per month, while a middle aged adult will have to pay approximately $260 per month for insurance. A 21-year-old non-smoker can start as low as $93 a month. Officials say they used their authority to deny rate increases to reduce the proposed premiums by âmore than 50 percent.â Thirty other states have have similar authority.
ThinkProgress: Steve King: In Private, Republicans Actually Agree With My âCantaloupe-Sized Calvesâ
A growing number of Republicans are publicly distancing themselves from Rep. Steve Kingâs (R-IA) claim that many undocumented youths are drug mules with cantaloupe-sized calves, but the conservative congressman claims that GOP lawmakers are backing him in private.
During an appearance on Fox News on Saturday, King said that Republicans are in fact standing by him, but are afraid to publicly support him for fear of sparking outrage and losing their legislative leverageâŚ..
Always interesting how some hacks refuse to give “Obama” his ‘title’, but are happy to do so for his predecessors… pic.twitter.com/OefXPn97Xk
â TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) July 28, 2013
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Hunter Walker: John  Kerry: ‘This Is A Pivotal Moment For Egypt’
Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement Saturday after at least 65 people were killed and over 1,000 were injured in Egypt during clashes between security forces, armed men, and protesters demonstrating against the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi.
Kerry said he spoke with Egypt’s Interim Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei and Interim Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy Saturday morning to express “our deep concern about the bloodshed.” He also described the situation as a “pivotal moment for Egypt” and called for an “independent and impartial inquiry into the events of the last day.”
Asawin Suebsaeng: Obama Says Ho Chi Minh Was Inspired By Founding Fathers, Conservatives Freak Out
 After a meeting with Vietnam’s president Truong Tan Sang on Thursday, President Barack Obama said the following to reporters (emphasis mine): At the conclusion of the meeting, President Sang shared with me a copy of a letter sent by Ho Chi Minh to Harry Truman. And we discussed the fact that Ho Chi Minh was actually inspired by the US Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and the words of Thomas Jefferson. Ho Chi Minh talks about his interest in cooperation with the United States. And President Sang indicated that even if it’s 67 years later, it’s good that we’re still making progress. (Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese communist and nationalist revolutionary leader who died in 1969. He fought alongside Allied forces during World War II, but fought American forces during the Vietnam War.)
Several conservative media outlets blasted the president on similar terms. “Obama may have just been trying to flatter his guest who was obviously eager to show that Ho was not the monster history shows him to be,” Chris Stirewalt, digital politics editor for Fox News wrote. “But his connection between the American founders and Ho shows either a massive lack of historical knowledge on the part of the president or a remarkable degree of moral flexibility.”
Yes, it is true that the United States once waged a disastrous, pointless, and horrific waragainst Ho Chi Minh and the people of Vietnam. But Obama’s comment wasn’t a gaffe or insult to American war vets. What Obama said is literally a historical fact. In September 1945, Ho Chi Minh delivered the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in Hanoi to a crowd of nearly a million Vietnamese. Not only was the “The Star-Spangled Banner” played by a Vietnamese band during his address, but he opens his speech by quoting Thomas Jefferson.
First lady Michelle Obama watches the women’s singles tennis match between Serena Williams of the U.S. and Jelena Jankovic of Serbia at the All England Lawn Tennis Club during the London 2012 Olympics Games, July 28
.. with Venus Williams and former gymnast Dominique Dawes
Serena Williams gives a thumbs up gesture toward her sister Venus and first lady Michelle Obama after she defeated Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic
Stephanie Miller of Sandusky, Ohio cries on the shoulder of President Obama at a campaign event at Washington Park in Sandusky, Ohio. Miller’s sister died of cancer and said that Obama’s healthcare plan would have given her better treatment options
ThinkProgress: President Obama stopped shaking hands for a moment today so that he could embrace a sobbing woman whose uninsured sister recently died of colon cancer.
The sister of Stephanie Miller, from Sandusky, OH, would have been covered if Obamacare were fully implemented when she got sick. Instead, the woman was left without insurance and couldnât get the health care she needed.
âŚ. Ms. Miller said her sister, Kelly Hines, died from colon cancer four years ago because she could not afford proper health insurance …. âI thanked him for the getting the Affordable Health Act passed,â she said.
One hundred twenty nine million people have pre-existing conditions. The Affordable Care Act will prevent them from being denied care, either by an individual plan or by an employer. Should Republicans repeal the law, as they have promised, those people could once again find themselves in that situation. Republicansâ only solution is to put people like Millerâs sister into unsustainable, high-risk pools, or force them to go without care.
Remember the creature known as Joe Miller? The Teabagger was so certain he’d win Alaska’s Senate race last year he took to Twitter….
…and then he lost to Lisa Murkowski.
He had planned on running again …. err, good luck with that Tea Bag Joe:
GOPolitico: If Joe Miller is thinking about another political race in Alaska, he’s got considerable work to do repairing his image. That’s according to the state’s premier pollster, Dave Dittman, who is set to release numbers this week that show the former Senate candidate’s approval rating in the tank.
An AlaskaPoll taken in March found that 73 percent of Alaskans view Miller unfavorably, including 53 percent who put themselves in the “very unfavorable” category.
That leaves just 18 percent who view Miller in a favorable fashion. Nine percent are undecided.
On the other hand, residents appear to be content with their current delegation. All three members receive high “excellent or good” approval ratings – with Democratic Sen. Mark Begich at 57 percent, GOP Rep. Don Young at 63 percent and GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski at a sparkling 71 percent.
‘How did the University of Virginia come to publish a version of Lincoln’s inaugural speech that cut crucial words on slavery?’
Matt Seaton (The UK Guardian): âŚ.I was preparing for publication Eric Foner’s article on the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration speech ⌠I went searching for a transcript of the speech to link to. The results of a Google search took me to the site of the University of Virginia’s Miller Centre of Public Affairs; reckoning this a prestigious institution at a public university (founded by Thomas Jefferson, no less), I assumed this would be a reliable link to use âŚ
Then I reached the passage quoted by Eric’s piece, where Lincoln flatly states: “One section of our country believes slavery is right, and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong, and ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute.”
âŚI searched the transcript on the Miller Centre site for this sentence but could not find itâŚ. I sent off an email to the Miller Centre staff, alerting them to the fact that they were publishing a misleading, redacted version of Lincoln’s address; and outlining my interpretation that it looked as though the speech had been cut to remove references to slavery… I received an immediate reply; and within an hour, the webpage had been amended and the full text restored.
Since then, I’ve done a full comparison of the cached version of the page and the amended one; at the foot of this article run all the passages that had been omitted from the originalâŚ
…the sum of the redactions appeared to have two key effects: first, of toning down or removing entirely Lincoln’s strong assertions of the legitimate authority of the Union before and above the Constitution; and second, as said, of shifting the emphasis away from slavery as the key point of dispute between North and South and towards differences over the precedence and prerogative of individual states v the Union in law-making and enforcement. It is difficult not to see a neo-Confederate agenda in this editing.
It is possible that the erroneous version of Lincoln’s address was published by accident or carelessness. But the alacrity with which a correction was made suggests that Miller Centre executives realised the potential damage to the institution’s reputation of hosting what might appear to be a politically tendentious, “doctored” version of the address.
Having had a polite note from them, thanking me for pointing out the error and confirming the correction, I wrote back saying I was considering writing about it and seeking their comment on several questions (see the questions here)
In contrast to the almost instantaneous earlier response, as yet, I have received no reply to these questions. So the Miller Centre would seem to wish to make no further comment. But given that its online database of the Scripps Library purports to be a vital resource for scholars of public policy, US government and presidential history, I certainly hope they are running some checks.
For Sale: Unused Teabag Coaster – Bought for new Washington office, but due to unforeseen circumstances the move is now off. Contact me at AlaskaJoe@ArrogantFool.com
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