“Never Give Up, Never Give In. Get Into Good Trouble”...in tears as I hear the words of John Lewis ring out in the Capitol Rotunda as he lies in state..... my heart aches with sadness, pride, and renewed purpose. Rest In Peace, Good Sir. pic.twitter.com/FwQpV1pY11
The boy from Troy
Whose Mother no doubt
Did not want him to go
Traveled to the bridge
So long ago, so long ago
He marched with Dr. King
And spoke at the podium before him
They had to tone down his words
Because he spoke the harsh truth
And while he spoke the truth
He learned so well
And taught others
And I’m guessing for his Mother
To tone down the words
Forgive the others
Make his impassioned plea
Make it a learning event
On the road to Congress
Where he spent long years
And became its conscience
Educated more youthful soldiers
Boys and girls from Troy
And everywhere
Never to be taken down
And told not to be so harsh
Again.
Because he found his voice
He found his voice.
Today he is driven in a hearse
Through the streets of Washington
To pay respects at the
National Museum of African American
History and Culture
That he worked to achieve and the
Lincoln Memorial and
Black Lives Matter Lane and
the U.S. Capitol
And be driven nearby the souls who
Loved him
Some waiting in the streets.
It’s touching
It’s hard to watch.
I am so glad I got the chance
To witness the history from afar
I saw the boy from Troy speak
Before Dr. King at the podium
I saw him visit
Black Lives Matter plaza this year
I saw him in Congress
Sometimes during late-night hours
When he was speaking up
And standing up
For his fellow Americans
Gone but not forgotten
A treasure sent for only a little while
Borrowed from his Mother
So he could dedicate his life to
Getting in good trouble and now
His life has space at the museum
His life mattered
Our hearts break
Good trouble.
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John Lewis becomes the FIRST Black lawmaker to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda and his casket rests atop the catafalque built for President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral in 1865. #JohnLewis#GoodTroublepic.twitter.com/wLfcdF7WdM
The procession for civil rights icon John Lewis and his family pauses at the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., as the congressman makes his way to the U.S. Capitol for one final time. https://t.co/cNuE67wXMOpic.twitter.com/xvLCTJMrNZ
We have great news in Moneygall! A visitor centre named after President Obama, which will focus on his ancestry, will open in two weeks’ time.
It will serve as a welcoming point into the ancestral home of the President and will tell the story of his Irish Ancestry and of that historic trip to Moneygall on 05/23/11 (3 years this Friday).
We will also highlight the other 21 American Presidents with Irish ancestry and many more famous Irish Americans. It will be an Oasis on the M7 Motorway, only 1.5 hours from Dublin.
This centre will be free to visit and I have been tasked with getting memorabilia for the area.
I was wondering if any of The Obama Diary’s followers would like to send us anything connected with President Obama, his 1st election, inauguration and the subsequent election and inauguration, that we could put on display in the centre?
If people are willing to share badges, bumper stickers, newspapers, election posters, etc, we would be delighted.
We understand people would like to keep these items, but maybe if they had duplicates – eg two copies of the same newspaper or magazine – they might consider sending them to me.
(Note from Chips: Anyone who would like to send items to Henry, just email me at TheObamaDiary@gmail.com and I will give you his address)
We want this to be an exciting location with lots for people to see, so hopefully the dedicated The Obama Diary contributors and followers can send something to us for our exhibitions – and when you visit Moneygall, we will ensure you all receive the warmest of welcomes!
Kind Regards to everyone at The Obama Diary, and many thanks,
Henry
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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet Henry Healy, the President’s distant cousin, after arriving in Moneygall, Ireland, May 23, 2011 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama hugs Amy Simpson, principal of Plaza Towers Elementary School, outside what remains of the school following last week’s tornado in Moore, Okla., May 26 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama wipes away tears after speaking with Amy Simpson
President Obama talks with PM Tusk of Poland in the private residence of the White House, Sept. 17, 2009. NSC Chief of Staff Denis McDonough is in the background (Photo by Pete Souza)
Washington Post: President Obama will name deputy national security adviser Denis McDonough, a longtime trusted aide, as his new White House chief of staff Friday, officials said.
McDonough, 43, has spent the past two years as the No. 2 official in the National Security Council, helping guide some of the administration’s most high-profile decisions, including the military drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the response to earthquakes in Haiti and Japan and the aftermath of the terror attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya last fall.
Obama considers McDonough one of his “closest and most trusted advisors for nearly a decade,” a White House official said.
11:0: V.P. Biden Speaks on the Administration’s Efforts to Reduce Gun Violence (Richmond, Virginia) – White House live (audio only), CNN
12:10: President Obama makes a personnel announcement
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GOPolitico: The White House will also announce several other promotions Friday, including moving communications director Dan Pfeiffer to the job of senior adviser, and shifting deputy communications director Jennifer Palmieri into Pfeiffer’s old job. Pfeiffer’s move comes as David Plouffe, a longtime Obama political adviser, plans to leave the White House this month.
Other senior-level moves include:
Rob Nabors – Assistant to the President and Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Policy
Tony Blinken – Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor
Danielle Gray – Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary
Katy Kale – Assistant to the President for Management and Administration
Lisa Monaco – Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism (upon confirmation of John Brennan as DCIA)
Miguel Rodriguez –Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs
David Simas – Assistant to the President and Deputy Senior Advisor for Communications and Strategy
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President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will give a joint interview at the White House on Friday afternoon to CBS News’ Steve Kroft, for broadcast Sunday on “60 Minutes.”
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Steve Benen: We don’t yet know exactly why Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) gave up on ambitious reforms of filibuster rules. After months of voicing support for sweeping changes, it’s possible Reid just didn’t have the votes from his own caucus to pursue bold reforms through the “constitutional option.”
Whatever the reasoning, however, it’s important that folks understand that when Reid says protecting the filibuster is necessary to keep the Senate from being like the House, he’s wrong…..
Greg Sargent: Now that the smoke has cleared from the wreckage of yesterday’s filibuster reform debacle, what’s next for those who want to fix our broken Senate? There is no denying that yesterday’s outcome was a terrible disappoint for those who still hold out hope for functional government. At the same time, there are some silver linings…..
President Obama attends a Sandy Hook interfaith vigil at Newtown High School, Dec. 16, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
NYT: The White House has decided to circumvent Capitol Hill as it concentrates its gun-control efforts on speeches and other public appearances by President Obama and Vice President Biden outside of Washington, according to officials with knowledge of the plans.
With Obama’s gun agenda dependent on centrist Democratic senators who are nervous about their reelection prospects, the administration has calculated that the president is better off helping to build a groundswell of popular support within the lawmakers’ states rather than negotiating directly with them, officials said.
NYT: The White House delivered a strong message to Wall Street on Thursday, taking the unusual step of choosing two former prosecutors as top financial regulators.
But translating that message into action will not be easy, given the complexities of the market and Wall Street’s aggressive nature.
At a short White House ceremony, President Obama named Mary Jo White, the first female United States attorney in Manhattan, to run the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Obama also renominated Richard Cordray as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a position he has held for the last year under a temporary recess appointment without Senate approval.
With the appointments, the president showed a renewed resolve to hold Wall Street accountable for wrongdoing, extolling his candidates’ records as prosecutors.
President Obama greets a local resident on Main Street in Moneygall, Ireland, May 23, 2011 (Photo by Pete Souza)
Irish Examiner: The US President is to be immortalised in the birthplace of his ancestors with the Barack Obama Plaza in Moneygall, Co Offaly.
Around €6m is being invested in the plaza by Supermac’s founder Pat McDonagh, to commemorate the visit by the President and his wife Michelle in 2011.
It will also see the establishment of the Barack Obama Community Facility, where exhibitions of historic and current material marking the relationship between Moneygall and the United States will go on display.
This is the single biggest investment on the Offaly/Tipperary border region in decades and will bring 60 new jobs to the area, as well as 75 jobs during the construction phase.
….. greeting school children and teachers after speaking at Plaza de San Pedro in Cartagena
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Catholic priest Alvaro Gutierrez leads President Obama and President Santos on a tour of San Pedro church in Cartagena
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….. greeting Colombian singer Shakira during an event to hand over titles to representatives of the Afro-Colombian community during an event at the Plaza de San Pedro in Cartagena. The land restitution is an attempt by Colombia to recognized marginalized communities who were forced from their land by armed groups.
Sebastian Salgado, leader of the San Basilio de Palenque community of descendants of former slaves, receives a land title from President Obama during the ceremony
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…. at a joint press conference with Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos
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…. departing on Air Force One from Rafael Nunez International Airport in Cartagena en route to Washington DC
A segment of the line of people waiting for tickets to see President Barack Obama speak on Friday starts near the Michigan Union, winds around the Fleming Administration Building, back toward the Literature, Science, and the Arts Building, and north down Maynard St. Angela J. Cesere
People sleep on the floor outside of the Michigan Union Ticket Office
AnnArbor.com: Roughly 3,000 people Thursday morning received tickets to President Barack Obama’s upcoming speech — many camping outside overnight to secure their place in line — and still hundreds of hopefuls were turned away.
It’s clear: Obama mania has seeped into the University of Michigan campus as the school prepares for his speech on college affordability Friday at 9:35 a.m. at the Al Glick Field House…..
AnnArbor.com: They brought blankets and sleeping bags, sent friends on doughnut runs, did homework and broke out into an impromptu dance party next to the Cube as at least 1,000 people converged into a line at the University of Michigan overnight to get tickets to see President Barack Obama.
The crowd snaked from the Michigan Union ticket office through Regents Plaza, building from about 80 at 10 p.m. Wednesday to much larger early Thursday, prompting one person to say “people in the back of the line have no idea how many people are here because it’s so long.”….
Between 2,000 and 3,000 people were in line by 9 a.m. At that time, the line reached the intersection of South University and South State and stretched toward the Law Quad.
….Update: As of about 1 p.m. all tickets to Obama’s speech had been distributed, according to the Michigan Union Ticket Office.
A group of ten students rest their backs against each other to stay warm and get some sleep while waiting in line by the Michigan Union. They arrived around 11:30 pm Wednesday night.
U-M Taubman College of Architecture faculty member Teman Evans holds up his ticket to see President Barack Obama speak while people in line behind him cheer. Evans was the first person in line at 7:30 pm Thursday night.
President Barack Obama talks with staff in Senior Advisor David Plouffe’s West Wing office at the White House, Oct. 6, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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Jonathan Cohn (The New Republic): Remember when President Obama wouldn’t even utter the word “Republican”? Those days are long gone. And maybe, just maybe, the change in rhetoric is starting to pay off.
We’re now into week four of the administration’s campaign to promote its jobs proposal. And instead of dialing down the pressure, Obama has been dialing it up….
…. A new ABC-Washington Post poll suggests that, so far, Obama’s campaign is working …. public support for the elements of his jobs bill is high. And, more important, Obama has opened up a substantial gap with the Republicans over which party voters trust more to handle “job creation.”
… whether or not the Democrats have every single member in line is less important than whether they have 50 votes to pass it – because if they have the 50 votes, then the obstacle to enactment won’t be Democrats. It will be Republicans….
And that ought to matter to the voters. Everybody assumes Obama is campaigning hard for his jobs plan primarily to make a point to the voters about who stands for what, in advance of the 2012 elections. That’s probably true. But he’s adopted this posture because Republicans refuse to compromise. And if Republicans start to pay a political price for holding up popular legislation, there’s still a chance they will relent – and pass legislation before the year is done….
Based on Symmetry’s brilliant twitpic here (Thanks Meta)
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Business Week: Railroads shipments are the highest in almost three years, helping to defy concerns about a double-dip recession.
Total rail volumes averaged 381,831 carloads in August, the most since October 2008 … these shipments represent the bulk of materials for industrial production, so rising volumes show the economy is still growing…
… since reporting quarterly earnings in July, the three largest U.S. railroads haven’t given any indication of a sharp decline in demand similar to 2008 and 2009, when volumes fell as much as 24 percent on an annual basis.
…. Earlier this month, CSX’s Chief Financial Officer Oscar Munoz said he isn’t concerned about “any kind of overarching sort of dire circumstances around the corner,” as there is still a “general level of optimism” among customers and suppliers.
“Sure, things have moderated, but there is no one in that near state of panic that we saw certainly in late ‘08 and ‘09,” Munoz said….
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Greg Sargent (Washington Post): John Boehner has a new line he’s trying out to justify the Republican House’s rejection of Barack Obama’s jobs bill: “We’re legislating. He’s campaigning. It’s very disappointing.”
Huh? Really?
… legislating? The House of Representatives? The 112th Congress? Hard to believe that Boehner could say that one without bursting out laughing. The current House has done hardly any legislating at all. They could barely pass a bill to keep the government’s lights on back in the spring, and they almost send the nation into default in the summer…..
And outside of that there’s … well, almost nothing. As Obama pointed out today, there is no Republican initiative that can meaningfully be called a jobs bill…
…. The key here is that real legislating requires compromise, especially during times of divided government. And House Republicans have no intention of compromising with either the Senate or with Barack Obama … Even now, if Boehner really offered to deal on jobs, I don’t think anyone doubts that Obama would hop off the campaign trail and try to work something out. But there will be no legislating, because the House isn’t going to do it.
No matter what talking points John Boehner might trot out.
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About one thousand people gather and form a large ‘99%’ in the middle of Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC, October 6
Thanks nintendowii10
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Perry and Bachmann finally talk some, err, sense:
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GOPolitico’s race-baiter supreme, Julie Mason – get over it Julie, your President is black 😉 – had yet another pitiful dig at the President today for not mentioning, when he hosted the Texas A&M University women’s championship basketball team at the White House, that her beloved Rick Perry attended the college. Maybe Julie missed her buddy Knoller’s tweet…..
The President invited Perry to the White House?! See, that’s what you call class, Julie – you should try and acquire some one day 😉
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Captain Mark Kelly hugs his wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, after receiving the Legion of Merit from Vice President Joe Biden during a retirement ceremony in the Secretary of War Suite in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, in Washington, D.C., Oct. 6, 2011. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
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The photo I love more than any:
Forty years after their silent protest at the 1968 Olympics, Gold Medalist Tommie Smith hugs Bronze Medalist John Carlos, and their wives Delois Smith and Charlene Carlos after Barack Obama is officially sworn in as the President of the United States. (Boston Globe/Stan Grossfeld)
The Obama Diary 
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