Rise and Shine

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The Week Ahead:

Today: The President has no public events scheduled.

Monday: Will award Staff Sergeant Ty M. Carter, U.S. Army, the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry. Staff Sergeant Carter will receive the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions while serving as a cavalry scout with Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, during combat operations in Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan on October 3, 2009. Staff Sergeant Carter will be the fifth living recipient to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. He and his family will join the President at the White House to commemorate his example of selfless service.

Tuesday: The President will host a reception at the White House in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Wednesday: The President will deliver remarks at the Let Freedom Ring ceremony on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Thursday: Attends meetings at the White House.

Friday: The President will welcome President Toomas Hendrik Ilves of Estonia, President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania, and President Andris Berzins of Latvia to the White House.

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HERE is our Voter I.D., per @TheRevAl. pic.twitter.com/fbDY9WgS8T

— Malcolm Johnson (@admiralmpj) August 24, 2013

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The top of the Washington Monument and part of a U.S. flag are reflected in the sunglasses of Austin Clinton Brown, 9, of Gainesville, Fla., during the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963; and at right, Claudia Hanes, from Kentucky, takes part in a rally to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 march, at the Lincoln Memorial.

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AP: Marchers In Washington Across 50 Years

Some 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed America’s slaves, many Americans embraced the ideal of racial equality but were frustrated with the glacial pace of change. Organizers were making plans to bring people from across the country to the nation’s capital to express their exasperation in a peaceful, nonviolent manner.

On Aug. 28, 1963, men and women, blacks and whites, Latinos and native peoples, Jews and Christians — more than 250,000 in all — rallied at the Lincoln Memorial. The gathering stretched down the National Mall, past the reflecting pool toward the Capitol. The music and speeches they heard extolled the urgent need for social justice.

More here

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Large crowds gather near the Washington Monument to demonstrate for the civil rights movement in Washington on Aug. 28, 1963; and at bottom, people hold up banners as they attend the rally to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 march.

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Civil rights protestors march down Constitution Avenue carrying placards during the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963; and at bottom, people rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 march.

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USA Today: Women Play A Larger Role In 2nd March On Washington

In a departure from events a half-century ago, women played a larger role in Saturday’s commemoration of the March on Washington. “Fifty years ago, women were not up here speaking, but here we are today,” Terry O’Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, told a crowd that contained substantially more women than its predecessor in 1963.

Keynote speakers included Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., minority leader of the House of Representatives, and King’s daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, who offered a moving final prayer to close the event. Sybrina Fulton, mother of slain black teenager, Trayvon Martin, provided a tribute of her son, and Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of slain civil rights worker Medgar Evers, also addressed the crowd.

More here

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Doctors Work Overtime To Spread The Truth About ObamaCare

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ThinkProgress: New Obama Immigration Directive Eases Deportations Of Parents

Federal immigration authorities have been advised to consider familial connections when they detain undocumented immigrant parents, according to an Obama administration directive released on Friday. While the document does not prevent the deportation of undocumented parents or high-priority criminal immigrants, it does allow detained individuals to make caregiver decisions for their children.

The directive specifically advises immigration agents to exercise prosecutorial discretion as early as possible during an immigrant’s detention, including finding out whether detained individuals are primary caretakers. It allows for the creation of a “field point of contact” in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents receive and address inquiries from both detained parents and their families. Agents are also guided to place detained parents in facilities that are within the “area of responsibility,” or somewhere closer to their children.

More here

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Restrict minority and college voting, no path to citizenship, impeach Obama and deny women preventive care. Great GOP plan to expand appeal

— David Plouffe (@davidplouffe) August 23, 2013

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10 ideas Republicans loved until Barack Obama became President (by @alswrite) http://t.co/0Xd8z757Ws

— Chris Savage (@Eclectablog) August 23, 2013

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Cost to taxpayers 4 uninsured using emergency rooms: $$$. Cost to taxpayers for Obamacare subsidies: cents. Guess which ones GOPers prefer?

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) August 23, 2013

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twitter often reminds me of a great #MLK quote: “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity”

— sfpelosi (@sfpelosi) August 25, 2013

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Without Rosa Parks, Dorothy Height and millions of brave women, the Civil Rights movement doesn’t happen: http://t.co/smU82tPBiz

— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) August 23, 2013

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Sarah Jones: Dem Governor Sends Sens Paul And McConnell Reeling With A Powerful Defense Of ObamaCare

As Republicans preach hatred of Obamacare to a dwindling audience even among their own members, Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear chose to use the Kentucky Farm Bureau Country Ham Breakfast to make a powerful case for Obamacare to 1,600 diners. Republican Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, also attending, weren’t expecting the onslaught. Jill Lawrence reported, “It was not what anyone expected—least of all Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, who sat stone-faced onstage with Beshear as he unloaded on them without using names.”

Beshear finished with a stab to the heart of GOP’s NoCare, no alternative. “It’s amazing to me how people who are pouring time and money and energy into trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act sure haven’t put that kind of energy into trying to improve the health of Kentuckians,” according to the National Journal.

He said 640,000 Kentuckians—15 percent of the state—don’t have health insurance and “trust me, you know many of those 640,000 people. You’re friends with them. You’re probably related to them. Some may be your sons and daughters. You go to church with them. Shop with them. Help them harvest their fields. Sit in the stands with them as you watch your kids play football or basketball or ride a horse in competition. Heck, you may even be one of them.”

More here

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On This Day:

Aug. 25, 2009 – Pete Souza: “On vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, the President shared a moment with his young niece, Savita”

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Aug 25, 2010: President Obama greets people at Mink Meadows Golf Club in Vineyard Haven, Mass. (Photo by Pete Souza)

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Random Fun:

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A Historic Day In Images

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, addresses marchers during his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

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Rev. Al Sharpton links arms with Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), as they are joined by other civil rights activists and politicians to march during the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom at the Lincoln Memorial

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Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., speaks at a rally to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

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Sabrina Fulton, mother of slain teenager Trayvon Martin, speaks at the podium in front of the Lincoln Memorial

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Hamil Harris: William Allison, 92, came to today’s march with same sign he marched with in ’63

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The March on Washington: The Speeches

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Myrlie Evers-Williams on Politics Nation

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“Jim Crow is alive, and it’s dressed in a Brooks Brothers suit, my friend, instead of a white robe.”

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See more on Medgar Evers and Myrlie Evers-Williams in today’s Rise and Shine

Rise and Shine

Medgar Evers July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963 (by Sam Hundley)

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Today:

10:0: The President departs the White House

11:25: Arrives Boston

1:45: Delivers remarks at an event for Ed Markey, Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, Roxbury Crossing, MA

2:45: Departs Boston

5:40: Arrives Miami

7:05: Delivers remarks at a DNC event (Private Residence)

8:55: Delivers remarks at a DNC event (Private Residence)

9:55: Departs Miami

12:20: Arrives the White House

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AP: Myrlie Evers-Williams acknowledges it would be easy to remain mired in bitterness and anger, 50 years after a sniper’s bullet made her a widow.

Instead, she’s determined to celebrate the legacy of her first husband, Medgar Evers — a civil rights figure often overshadowed by peers such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

Events including a black-tie gala are being held this week to remember Evers, the first Mississippi field secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was 37 when he was assassinated on June 12, 1963.

“We are cursed as human beings with this element that’s called hatred, prejudice and racism,” said Evers-Williams, now 80. “But it is my belief that, as it was Medgar’s, that there is something good and decent in each and every one of us, and we have to call on that, and we have to find a way to work together.”

More here

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Here at Medgar Evers funeral in Jackson MS 50 years ago this week, MLK, amid fears for his life, is halted by police: twitter.com/BeschlossDC/st…

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) June 12, 2013

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In this June 15, 1963, file photo, mourners march to the Jackson, Miss., funeral home following services for slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers.

ABC: It has been 50 years since the shocking slaying of Medgar Evers. The civil rights activist and NAACP field secretary fought for equality on many levels, from organizing voter drives and protests against discrimination, to calling for legal investigations into school segregation and the lynching of Emmett Till.

Evers was returning from a meeting when he was gunned down by a white supremacist in the driveway of his Mississippi home. His death, coming just hours after a speech on civil rights by President John F. Kennedy, sparked a national outpouring of mourning and outrage.

More here

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Here after Medgar Evers murder, Jackie Robinson asks JFK to tighten security around MLK to avoid “bloody holocaust”: twitter.com/BeschlossDC/st…

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) June 12, 2013

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Shorter Libertarians: “They came for Black kids in NYC and Latino Kids in AZ & I stayed silent. They came for my Facebook & I said IMPEACH!”

— Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) June 11, 2013

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All this talk about privacy and yet we have elected officials writing legislation on what women can & can not do w/their bodies. #Maddow

— Stacey (@bruntofitall) June 12, 2013

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Francis Wilkinson (Bloomberg): The immigration crucible begins this week in the Senate, where conservatives opposed to legalizing undocumented immigrants will begin a summer siege.

The legislation will both expose and challenge the core pathology of the Republican Party – that recurring tic by which the least constructive faction on any particular issue calls the ideological tune. (A budget compromise to put the nation’s fiscal policy on track? Nah. Let’s hold the global economy hostage over the debt ceiling instead. Negotiate improvements to Obamacare? No way: Better to cast toy repeal votes by the dozens.)

Immigration is different from other issues in a powerful way.

After five decades of using race as a political wedge to win elections, a process that transferred Dixie from Democratic to Republican control, Republicans can draw upon little goodwill from racial minorities. The party’s undisguised efforts to destroy the first black president will cement black allegiance to the Democratic Party for decades to come…..

More here

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This and That

@PeteSouza: POTUS embraces Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of Medgar Evers, in Oval Office today

Thank you LovelyPlains

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BooMan: I told you Chris Christie had no good options. He called a press conference today to announce that he had set the general election for Frank Lautenberg’s Senate seat for October 16th, just two weeks before his own general election day. Why would he do that when he could have set it on the same day as his own and saved the state 25 million dollars? Because the likely Democratic nominee, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, is black, and Christie fears that Booker’s candidacy will drive higher than normal black turnout…..

More here – and read Steve Benen here

ThinkProgress: How Chris Christie’s Plan To Replace Senator Lautenberg Will Waste Millions In Taxpayer Dollars

See here

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VIDEO: “I don’t know what the cost is and quite frankly I don’t care.” — @govchristieyoutube.com/watch?feature=…

— Lis Smith (@Lis_Smith) June 4, 2013

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#assholeoftheday Chris Christie, for wasting $24M on an election to help his presidential bidassholeoftheday.us/post/521690699… twitter.com/assholeofday/s…

— Some Asshole (@assholeofday) June 4, 2013

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President Obama with his nominees for the US Court of Appeals for DC, Patricia Millett (R), Cornelia Pillard and Robert Wilkins

Text of remarks here

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Surprise! Americans are having less trouble paying medical bills. wapo.st/10VNLTh

— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) June 4, 2013

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New study finds states would save $1 billion and cover 3.6 million more people by expanding Medicaid programs: bit.ly/1aXzCJK

— Kathleen Sebelius (@Sebelius) June 4, 2013

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This is flippin’ hilarious – and scary too …. truly, Bill Nye’s patience knows no bounds:

Inauguration Day, Part 6

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11:20: President Obama’s Ceremonial Swearing-in

11:50: The President delivers remarks

1:05: Inaugural Luncheon at the National Statuary Hall, US Capitol

2:40: Inaugural Parade – Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues to the White House

3:45: Parade Review, White House

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Rise and Shine

President Obama at an interfaith vigil, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Dec 16 (Photo: Olivier Douliery)

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NYT: President Obama this week will embrace a comprehensive plan to reduce gun violence that will call for major legislation to expand background checks for gun purchases and lay out 19 separate actions the president could take by invoking the power of his office, lawmakers who were briefed on the plan said Monday.

Lawmakers and other officials said that the president could use a public event as soon as Wednesday to signal his intention to engage in the biggest Congressional fight over guns in nearly two decades, focusing on the heightened background checks and including efforts to ban assault weapons and their high-capacity clips. But given the difficulty of pushing new rules through a bitterly divided Congress, Mr. Obama will also promise to act on his own to reduce gun violence wherever possible.

More here

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NYT: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and lawmakers agreed on Monday to a broad package of changes to gun laws that would expand the state’s ban on assault weapons and would include new measures to keep guns away from the mentally ill.

The state Senate, controlled by a coalition of Republicans and a handful of Democrats, approved the legislative package just after 11 p.m. by a lopsided vote of 43 to 18. The Assembly, where Democrats who have been strongly supportive of gun control have an overwhelming majority, planned to vote on the measure Tuesday.

More here

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Steve Benen: The White House is set to release a series of recommendations from Vice President Biden’s task force on gun violence, which will no doubt face intense criticism from groups like the NRA and their allies. But two new polls suggest that a month after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, there’s a growing public appetite for meaningful gun reform.

More here

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Mediaite: On Monday night, CNN host Piers Morgan paid a visit to Stephen Colbert …. As the pair started chatting about how people in the UK just don’t have guns, Colbert asked whether Morgan hates America’s constitution (“Do you hate the United States constitution?… Do you speak English?”) — helpfully providing the CNN host with his own pocket-size copy of the document.

…. Morgan said he was simply pointing out that in his country, “where we have no guns,” there are few gun murders. “I think when 20 young children get blown to pieces, Americans should say something has to be done,” he added, prompting Colbert to call out his “cheap shot to bring up the subject that we’re talking about.”

Colbert offered a better approach: take some time, “reflect, and eventually forget.”

Video at link

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Salon

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LA Times: Obama appears to gain ground in spending battle – The president delivers a forceful defense of his position in a White House news conference, as Republicans increasingly appear divided over the debt ceiling.

With the government just weeks from running out of money to pay its bills, President Obama and prominent Republicans have started to act as if the White House has the upper hand in the current round of the battle over federal spending.

In recent days, Obama rebuffed suggestions that he consider ways to sidestep the need to raise the limit on the government’s debt, reinforcing his demand for a congressional vote. On Monday, he repeated that stand in a hastily announced news conference, criticizing Republicans for threatening to “blow up the economy” and insisting that “no simpler way” exists to deal with the debt ceiling.

Republicans for months have pointed to the moment the nation runs up against the debt ceiling as their point of maximum leverage to force spending cuts, but now seem increasingly divided. Some leaders appear to be looking for a way out of the confrontation, suggesting the party would be wiser to fight Obama over cuts when less is at stake for the economy. Influential GOP strategists are warning that a repeat of the fight they waged in summer 2011 could backfire.

More here

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Deaniac: Twilight of the Liberal Elite: Smearing Jack Lew and Barack Obama for Deregulation that Began with Jimmy Carter

….. I can understand the liberal elite’s problem with Jack Lew. You see, I don’t think it has much to do with policy. I think it has much more to do with him embarrassing them. When every liberal elite political rookie – including Paul Krugman – in the country was howling about the president’s “weak” negotiating performance during the 2011 debt limit deal, it turns out that the president and his team completely floored John Boehner, without Boehner even realizing it. A key member of that team that did it to them? Jack Lew. Not to mention how that deal shaped the complete Republican surrender in the recent fiscal cliff deal. If I didn’t know that the howling Left is incapable of feeling embarrassed, I would contend they are opposing Jack Lew because of that embarrassment.

Full post here

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USA Today: Q&A: Myrlie Evers-Williams on the inauguration

Q: Did you ever imagine as you worked with your husband Medgar Evers on civil rights that one day there would be a black president?

A: Of course, we all knew, we hoped, we worked, we prayed that one day there would be a man or a woman of African-American descent who would become the president of the United States of America. That has been a dream come true but if we look at the politics leading up to particularly his second term, there were blocks that came during this time of getting people to register and to vote that are reminiscent of some of those actions that took place 50 years ago to keep people of my race and others away from the polls.

More here

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Steve Benen: … Florida Gov Rick Scott has offered the political world a valuable lesson: if you need a campaign prop, don’t use a dog:

Shortly after winning the GOP nomination in 2010, Scott announced to the world through Facebook that his family had rescued a Labrador Retriever. And, with help from his Facebook friends, Scott gave it a name: Reagan.

It was just a few months before the gubernatorial election, and Scott seemed to think this was a smart idea. Adopting a dog – a rescue dog, at that – made the Republican look compassionate, and naming the dog “Reagan” helped him pander shamelessly to his base….

…. You can probably guess where this is headed…..

More here

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Mediaite: Jon Stewart took on the controversy surrounding President Obama‘s recent cabinet nominations in a segment he dubbed “Zero Dark Appointees,” and noted that the outrage might be somewhat misplaced because Obama is “somewhat diverse himself.”

Stewart examined why Obama may not have nominated Susan Rice for Secretary of State, which would have easily diversified his cabinet: “Lady and minority, triple word score!”

“Oh right,” he said. “McCain!”

…. He then aired the New York Times photo in which it was claimed Obama was standing with only white men and proceeded to point out a black man ….. “And there is another black guy who appears to be running the meeting.”

Video at link

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Link

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MooOOOOooOOOOoooOOoooorning!

Rise and Shine

Mike Thompson

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1:45: Jay Carney briefs the press

4:45: President Obama hosts cast and crew members of the television show 1600 Penn for a screening at the White House

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Must-read from Michael Grunwald:

I pledged awhile back, after a certain media mogul trashed President Obama for failing to solve global warming, that I would not spend all my time ridiculing the Obama-bashing disillusionment addicts of the left. (Pretty good week for that mogul, huh?)  I mostly kept my word for 18 months, until their whiny response to the fiscal cliff deal inspired me to launch a Twitter tirade about Ivory Soap liberals, Choose Your Own Adventure liberals, Heighten The Contradictions liberals, and progressive utopianism in general. Now that I’m back from vacation, I thought I’d try to explain in more than 140 characters what I meant….

See the full piece here: Time

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Norman Ornstein (The New Republic): One of the most stunning outcomes of the 2012 elections was the Democrats’ two-seat gain in the Senate. With 23 seats at risk to only ten for Republicans, Democrats were hoping simply to hold their own or keep their losses to a minimum. A gain of a single seat was almost wildly optimistic; picking up two seemingly unrealistic.

But just as important as the overall gain was the nature of the new class of Democrats sworn in to the Senate last week. With the addition of Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Baldwin, Tim Kaine and Chris Murphy, and the possibility of Barney Frank joining them for a few key months and being followed by Ed Markey, the Senate has seen an infusion of liberal talent. Thanks to an impressive class of 2006…. and the class of 2008, the Senate has a core of assertive, brainy liberals greater than we have seen in decades…..

Full post here

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USA Today: Vice President Biden, assigned to develop a plan to address gun violence, has a string of meetings lined up this week – including one with the National Rifle Association.

On Wednesday, Biden will meet with victims’ groups and gun safety organizations, said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

On Thursday, the vice president will sit down separately with advocates for sportsmen, women, and gun ownership groups — the latter including the NRA.

More here

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USA Today: Beyoncé, James Taylor and Kelly Clarkson will perform the patriotic songs at the second inauguration of President Obama on Jan. 21…

Beyoncé will sing the national anthem … Taylor will sing America the Beautiful … and Clarkson will sing My Country, ‘Tis of Thee…

More here

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Politico: The Presidential Inauguration Committee on Wednesday named the Inaugural poet, who will appear at President Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony on Inauguration Day. Richard Blanco will be the country’s youngest Inaugural poet and also the first Hispanic and first member of the LGBT community to serve in the position, according to a statement from the committee:

“I’m honored that Richard Blanco will join me and Vice President Biden at our second Inaugural,” Obama said in the statement. “His contributions to the fields of poetry and the arts have already paved a path forward for future generations of writers. Richard’s writing will be wonderfully fitting for an Inaugural that will celebrate the strength of the American people and our nation’s great diversity.”

More here

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Read the post here

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Charles Pierce: …… If you remember all the way back to 2008, you will recall that the president took some altogether justified heat for picking noted multimillionaire faith-based grifter Rick Warren to give the invocation. Now, I don’t think there even should be an invocation to any Deity as part of the ceremony by which we install the leader of one-third of our secular government … but if we are going to Pause For Prayer, we should do a lot better than Warren …. And, thanks be to Whoever, the president has managed to do so.

…. In too many other places, people choose to remember the [Civil Rights] Movement as a triumph for the American nation and not a victory for basic human rights that had to be wrenched out of the nation itself. And the struggle is ongoing. There is a substantial portion of the American people who will not accept the legitimacy of a black president 50 years after the March On Washington. It took Myrlie Evers-Williams 31 years to get simple justice for her husband’s murder. It will be nice to hear a prayer from someone with so very few illusions.

Full post here

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CNN: The Obama administration is considering the possibility of removing all U.S. troops in Afghanistan after the NATO combat mission officially finishes at the end of 2014, White House officials said Tuesday.

The comments by Ben Rhodes, the White House’s deputy national security adviser, come as the Pentagon and White House mull over the number of troops that could be left in Afghanistan after 2014 to fight insurgents and train Afghan security forces.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and President Obama are scheduled to meet on Friday in Washington.

More here

Washington Post: Groups within the Obama administration are pushing to keep no more than a few thousand troops in Afghanistan after 2014, U.S. officials said …. As the debate over the size and scope of the post-2014 coalition mission nears its end, some in the administration are pressing for a force that could be as small as 2,500, arguing that a light touch would be the most constructive way to cap the costly, unpopular war.

More here

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Really sad news from Twitter:

‏@weywerdSun

Thank you Patrece (@havewhatusay) for letting me know

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MoooOOOoooOOOoooorning!

Rise and Shine

Washington Post: President Obama has picked Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of slain civil rights icon Medgar Evers, to deliver the invocation at his public swearing-in later this month. It is believed to be the first time a woman, and a layperson rather than a clergy member, has been chosen to deliver what may be America’s most prominent public prayer.

The inaugural committee Tuesday plans to announce that the benediction will be given by conservative evangelical pastor Louie Giglio, founder of the student-focused Passion Conferences, which draw tens of thousands of people to events around the world.

…. In a statement released by the inaugural committee, the president said the careers of Evers-Williams and Giglio “reflect the ideals that the Vice President and I continue to pursue for all Americans – justice, equality and opportunity.”

More here

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Myrlie Evers-Williams and her children, Reena, Van and Darrell, photographed shortly after her husband (and their father), Medgar Evers, was assassinated in 1963. Fifty years later she will deliver the invocation for the inauguration of the President of the United States.

“I am humbled to have been asked to deliver the invocation for the 57th inauguration of the President of the United States – especially in light of this historical time in America when we will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement.” (NBC)

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Jerry Mitchell (May 2011): It is a life path difficult to imagine.

Aspiring concert pianist turned back by Jim Crow.

Marries Medgar Evers, a leader for the young civil rights movement in Mississippi.

Works as both his secretary and a stay-at-home mother.

Hears a shot just after midnight, June 12, 1963, and she dashes out to see that her husband has been assassinated, shot in the driveway of their home. Her children follow, see their mother cradling him in a pool of blood and cry out for daddy to get up.

He never does…..

Full post here

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More interviews with Myrlie Evers-Williams here

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Charles Pierce: …. Ever since that thoroughgoing, bean-counting, soulless bastard Robert McNamara was in charge of it, the Defense Department steadily has moved away from the notion that its primary constituency is the men and women in uniform. Certainly, to name one recent example, Donald Rumsfeld proved to be far more in love with his own brilliant theories on defense policies than he cared about the fact that we weren’t sending enough poor sods in inadequate body-armor to carry them out. This is a problem that Chuck Hagel never will have.

…. There are good, solid, deeper political reasons to approve of his nomination. But this is the best one. Chuck Hagel knows what the basic job of soldiering really is and, therefore, I think, he knows what the basic job of being Secretary Of Defense is. It’s to fight for people, and not for weapons systems. It’s to care for the human beings in your charge more than the fanciful bloodless academic exercises held at a distance…..

….In a season when Lincoln’s Second Inaugural is the big finish of a box-office bonanza, Hagel has lived the peroration as well as anyone has.

Full post here

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Gabrielle Giffords:

Dear fellow American,

Two years ago, a mentally ill young man shot me in the head, killed six of my constituents, and wounded 12 others. Since that terrible day, America has seen 11 more mass shootings – but no response from Congress to prevent gun violence. After the massacre of 20 children and six of their teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary though, it’s clear: This time must be different.

Americans for Responsible Solutions will encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership by communicating directly with the constituents that elect them.

Join us today, and tell your elected leaders that Americans are demanding responsible solutions to reduce gun violence.

See here

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Morning everyone, wonderful news about Myrlie Evers-Williams