Fine Arts

First lady Michelle Obama hugs Lianyun Wu during an awards ceremony for the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in the East Room at the White House on November 19. The first lady talked about the importance of afterschool and out of school arts and humanities education and presented awards recognizing programs across the country that benefit underserved youth

afternoon all

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New York Times

Thank you AJ 😉

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TPM: When President Obama spoke to workers in Wisconsin last week, Politico accidentally made itself the story. The paper’s reporter mistook the Wisconsin state flag for the seal of a local union, and cited it as an illustration of President Obama’s pro-union bias.

Politico cleaned the egg off its face by wiping the story from the Internet. But the gaffe made the rounds among actual union officials in the state and now that the laughter’s subsided, they’ve turned it into a membership drive…..

More here

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See the full infographic here

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See schedule here

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TPM

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rise and shine

Steve Benen: Six of the major Republican presidential candidates stopped by Fox News on Saturday night to field questions from Mike Huckabee and some GOP state attorneys general. The exchanges weren’t terribly newsworthy, but something transpired behind the scenes that spoke to a larger trend.

Fox News allowed a New York Times reporter to roam around before, during, after the interviews, covering how the candidates and their teams operated. One campaign “stood out by going into defensive mode immediately, insisting that the reporter stay far away”:

….. Spotting the reporter, Mr. Romney’s aides sprang into action, questioning where he worked and what he was doing there, and then insisting that he not physically approach Mr. Romney before or after he was questioned on television … The request was reiterated to executives at Fox News.

Romney’s aversion to media professionals is making the transition from an oddity to a problem. Indeed, the political press will put up with quite a bit, but it really doesn’t like being ignored, and Romney has apparently invited a backlash.

More here

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Thanks Amk

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11:10 The President meets with college presidents to discuss college affordability

USA Today: President Obama has invited the presidents of about 10 colleges and universities to a meeting at the White House on Monday to discuss affordability and productivity in higher education. While many White House events feature various presidents of colleges, a private meeting – called on short notice, with the president himself in attendance – is highly unusual.

The meeting, described as a roundtable discussion, will include Obama, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, White House advisers, and a small group of college presidents and “thought leaders” in higher education, according to an invitation sent by the White House. A list of those invited has not been released.

More here

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White House Live

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Morning everyone 😉

catching up…

never has the base so disliked a dem president! oh, wait…..

President Obama currently enjoys a higher popularity among Democratic voters than every Democratic president dating back to Harry Truman had at similar junctures in their presidencies. (Huffy Post)

afternoon raleigh

President Obama is greeted by North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue after arriving at Raleigh Durham International Airport

…. greeted by Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C.

…greeting wellwishers upon arrival on Air Force One at Raleigh-Durham

President Obama tours Cree, Inc, a manufacturer of energy efficient LED lighting, in Durham, North Carolina

President Obama sits next to Chairman of the council and CEO of General Electric Jeffrey Immelt as he meets with the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness after touring a North Carolina energy efficient LED light manufacturing facility

the president & the presidents

President Barack Obama meets with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in the State Dining Room of the White House, March 1, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

ah, republicans are suddenly worried about the deficit!

Source

The only president since Jimmy Carter to constrain out-of-control spending by Congress was Bill Clinton. But deficit spending during President Obama’s first term has so far only been in response to the recession, part of his administration’s expansionary fiscal policies which have included tax cuts and credits for most Americans.

huge in tahoe

To: Hillary Clinton <secretary@state.gov> Subject: Re: Chinese state visit FAQs

Hi. No, not a complaint as such – it’s just that my top-secret briefing notes from State have Bush’s scrawl marks all over them. Every time it says “Hu Jintao” he’s crossed it out and written “Huge in Tahoe”. It’s kind of distracting. Can I get a clean copy, please? I don’t want some photographer with a long lens catching me with this in my hand. B

To: George W. Bush <george@georgewbushlibrary.org> Subject: Re: if you get confused, just remember it’s pronounced “huge in Tahoe”

Thanks for that, I’ll bear it in mind. You know he left yesterday, don’t you? BHO.

To: Glenn Beck <glenn@glenn.beck.com> Subject: Re: thank you for finally becoming president, sir

Hey, Glenn, no problem. And thank you for taking a break from being a frothing rightwing nutcase. I guess it’s at times like these that it pays for us all to heed what Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature”. We both have our beliefs, and our separate jobs to do, and we should respect that. So I’ll try to stop thinking of you as an intemperate, paranoid buffoon as long as you’ll stop trying to portray me as the evil leader of a progressive international conspiracy hellbent on enslaving Americans. If you read out this email on the air, btw, I will have you vaporised, and your entire existence erased from human memory. If you don’t think I can do that, just go ahead and test me. Warmly, Barack.

 

From ‘All the President’s Emails’ at The Guardian

"heck, the kid did good"

😉