paula | The Obama Diary

****

Monday: The President will host a meeting at the White House with business leaders to discuss the importance of common-sense immigration reform, including the Congressional Budget Office analysis that concludes that immigration reform would promote economic growth and reduce the deficit.

Tuesday: President Obama will speak at Georgetown University on the growing threat of climate change

Wednesday morning: The President and the First Family will depart for their trip to Africa. The trip will continue through the weekend, and the President and the First Lady will return July 2nd.

****

Help keep up the momentum for comprehensive #ImmigrationReform. Add your name today: http://t.co/szxFABU7A9

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 21, 2013

****

USA Today: Members of Congress will be in recess in August, but President Obama wants to make sure they hear from his supporters.

A pro-Obama organization said Friday that Obama will address an “Action August” summit designed “to plan for and discuss the action we will be taking during the August congressional recess in order to ensure that the voice of the people is heard and that Members of Congress are held accountable by those they represent.”

Organizing for Action said Obama will speak July 22 at “a working dinner with grass-roots leaders, volunteers, OFA founding members, campaign alumni and OFA staff to thank them for everything they are doing, but also to reaffirm that there is still so much left to do.”

Among the issues that OFA and Obama are pushing: an immigration bill, gun-control legislation and a new budget deal with higher taxes on the wealthy.

****

Washington Post: Vice President Joe Biden is not letting the gun-control issue rest. At a speech in Las Vegas Friday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ annual meeting, Biden said that “at least five senators” who initially opposed background checks have sought him out for an opportunity to change their votes.

“We’re in an effort to see how we can provide another opportunity for the people who voted no” on universal background checks, which failed in the Senate in April. “That’s the hardest thing for a politician and we need to provide them a rationale. We will get to this eventually.”

More here

****

The NSA story has exposed a real divide between the absolutist ideological fantasyland left and the real-world pragmatic left.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) June 22, 2013

Still waiting for someone to document one single actual case of illegal wrongdoing revealed by Snowden and Greenwald. Just one.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) June 22, 2013

****

Bob Cesca: The NSA absolutely can not intentionally target U.S. citizens without an individual warrant. Even if you’re the most vocal Edward Snowden supporter in the universe, you have no choice but to acknowledge the truth and accuracy of this statement.

How can I say such a thing? On Thursday, Glenn Greenwald wrote it deep within his latest “bombshell” article for the Guardian: “To intentionally target either of those groups requires an individual warrant.” The “groups” Greenwald referred to here are U.S. persons or residents.

And there you go.

This is easily the biggest news to come out of Thursday’s dispatch …. not only does it totally decimate CNet’s journalistic blunder from last weekend …. it it also represents a striking clarification in Greenwald’s reporting, not to mention Snowden’s claims of being able to target any American including the president at his own discretion and without a warrant. The “requires an individual warrant” line isn’t the centerpiece of the article by any stretch. It’s tossed into the mix almost as a throwaway ….

More here

****

The worse for Snowden, the better for Greenwald. RT ‏@Green_Footballs Greenwald will come out of this just fine. Snowden, not so much.

— Tom Hilton (@TVHilton) June 22, 2013

****

Charles Johnson: Glenn Greenwald’s Latest Self-Debunking Non-Bombshell – Libertarian hyperventilation continues

Here we go again. Glenn Greenwald’s latest overheated, over-long, deliberately confusing piece claims to reveal: The Top Secret Rules That Allow NSA to Use US Data Without a Warrant.

….. keep digging through the turgid prose. Keep digging. Because eventually you get to this:

FAA warrants are issued by the Fisa court for up to 12 months at a time, and authorise the collection of bulk information – some of which can include communications of US citizens, or people inside the US. To intentionally target either of those groups requires an individual warrant.

Wait a minute — did Glenn Greenwald just debunk his own exaggerated claims? Why yes, he did…..

More here

****

Right thinks Obama is a tyrant/dictator; some on left want him to be one. I want him to keep on Presidenting. I think he does it pretty well

— john miller (@deaconmill) June 21, 2013

****

TPM: Yahoo! News issued a correction Friday evening after a reporter mistakenly referred to Kenya as President Barack Obama’s birthplace.

A piece on Obama’s upcoming trip to Africa by Rachel Rose Hartman included a lede that echoed sentiments heard among the “birther” movement.

“President Barack Obama makes the first extended trip to Africa of his presidency next week — but he won’t be stopping in the country of his birth,” Hartman originally wrote.

More here

Hi there @YahooNews, instead of sneaking in corrections, how about firing your birther’s ass? H/T @rchakras pic.twitter.com/Qh89tWLLa6

— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) June 21, 2013

@rachelrhartman ‘s birther post was a copy error like Deen’s use of N word was slip of tongue. At least Deen not supposed to be a journalist

— john miller (@deaconmill) June 22, 2013

The birther who said Obama was born in Kenya is the one who counted how many times Carney told the lazy WHPC which agency to go ask.

— allanbrauer (@allanbrauer) June 22, 2013

****

NYT: Paula Deen, the self-proclaimed queen of Southern cooking and a sugary mainstay of the Food Network, was dropped by the network on Friday, after a bewildering day in which she failed to show up for an interview on the “Today” show and then in two online videos begged her family and audience to forgive her for using racist language.

More here

****

ThinkProgress: …. what was striking both about some of the accusations she faced, and her sworn testimony in the deposition, was that Deen seemed more afraid of getting caught out being racist or being accused of having caused offense than of the idea that she might have caused someone else pain…..

Deen’s desperate to be forgiven, which in this context means not facing a boycott or loss of business …. there’s no reason anyone should gratify her until she demonstrates that she’s making real efforts to become a different person and to establish a different environment in her businesses. Paula Deen isn’t entitled to our goodwill just because she wants it…..

More here

Click to see the rest of the post

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama leaving Germany, June 19

****

Today:

President Obama has no public events scheduled

9:45 AM: VP Biden delivers remarks at Esperanza’s 2013 National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast

4:15 PM: VP Biden travels to Las Vegas to deliver remarks to the League of United Latin American Citizens Youth and Young Adults Awards Banquet

****

Home

****

“Mr Sunshine” 😎

****

Bild is kind of the German equivalent of The (British) Sun, but you can’t but smile at some of their front pages. I mean, ‘Kiss me Angie”? is their take from yesterday? 😆

****

I assumed “Eine Bombige Rede” meant ‘get out the naughty mats’, but no, it’s less important than that, something to do with nuclear disarmament

****

NYT: President Obama is preparing a major policy push on climate change, including, for the first time, limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing power plants, as well as expanded renewable energy development on public lands and an accelerated effort on energy efficiency in buildings and equipment, senior officials said Wednesday.

Heather Zichal, the White House coordinator for energy and climate change, said the president would announce the new policy initiatives in the coming weeks. Another official said a presidential address outlining the new policy could come as early as next week.

More here

****

oh look, Obama’s approval rating up since March in Pew poll. boy, that’s really making Beltway headlines today….; http://t.co/4MZN5urV2i

— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) June 20, 2013

****

Click to see the rest of the post