President Obama talks to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key as they arrive for the gala dinner together with other head of states participating in the 21st ASEAN Summit, Cambodia, Nov 19, 2012
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Yes, it is the first anniversary of that shirt
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MoooOOOooorning Early Birds!
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Today:
2:30: President Obama departs Joint Base Andrews en route Camp David
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BREAKING: U.S. payrolls rise 195,000; unemployment rate stays at 7.6%
— Bloomberg News (@BloombergNews) July 5, 2013
MORE: Revisions add combined 70,000 jobs for May, April
— Bloomberg News (@BloombergNews) July 5, 2013
U.S. jobless rate holds close to four-year low | http://t.co/al4yzOAkAO
— Bloomberg News (@BloombergNews) July 5, 2013
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Steve Benen: U.S. job growth improves, exceeds expectations
Going into this morning, most economists projected job growth from June to be about 155,000 new jobs. With this in mind, the new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows not only good news, but unexpectedly good news…..
The U.S. economy added a better-than-expected 195,000 jobs in June and employment gains for May and April were revised sharply higher, the U.S. government said Friday. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.6%, but the size of the labor force increased by 177,000, according to the Labor Department said.
…. Perhaps the most important – and most heartening – detail in this new report is the upward revisions for the previous two months…
More here
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Best stock market and job growth since the 90s. We should raise taxes on the 1% every year?
— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) July 5, 2013
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Business Insider: It’s a beat!
195K new private sector jobs was well ahead of the 165K new jobs that was expected.
More here
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In a statement probably typed up 4 months ago… RT @tackettdc: Glass half empty: Boehner says growth tepid, unemployment rate too high
— Duke (@DukeStJournal) July 5, 2013
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Ah, funny how this didn’t get much attention….
NYT: I.R.S. Scrutiny Went Beyond the Political
In 2010, a tiny Palestinian-rights group called Minnesota Break the Bonds applied to the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status. Two years and a lot of prodding later, the I.R.S. sent the group’s leaders a series of questions and requests almost identical to the ones it was sending to Tea Party groups at the time.
…. The controversy that erupted in May has focused on an ideological question: Were conservative groups singled out for special treatment based on their politics, or did the I.R.S. equally target liberal groups? But a closer look at the I.R.S. operation suggests that the problem was less about ideology and more about how a process instructing reviewers to “be on the lookout” for selected terms was applied to any group that mentioned certain words in its application.
More here
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ThinkProgress: What The Mainstream Media Misses About Texas’ Ongoing Abortion Battle
Over the past week, Texas has captured national attention with a dramatic show-down between a Republican-controlled legislature and thousands of reproductive health advocates…. but many of the narratives the media is crafting aren’t actually getting at the full scope of the story.
In addition to criminalizing abortion services after 20 weeks, the other provisions in Texas’ abortion proposals would impose harsh restrictions on abortion providers. By subjecting abortion clinics to new regulations that would force them to make expensive updates to their facilities — unnecessary measures that major medical groups, like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, oppose — Texas’ bill would force 90 percent of the state’s clinics to close their doors. That would leave just five abortion clinics in the entire Lone Star State, which happens to be the second most populous state in the country.
…. And the real catch? Outside of the debate about abortion access after 20 weeks — even outside of the fight for abortion rights altogether — the “abortion clinics” in question are often providing health services that encompass much more than helping women terminate a pregnancy. Many of them also provide preventative care, family planning counseling, STD testing, and cancer screenings. And they offer those health services to Texans of both genders who are typically uninsured.
More here
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News Observer: Gov. Pat McCrory doled out handshakes and hailed parade-goers as he rode in this Rowan County town’s Fourth of July parade Thursday, but he wouldn’t say what he’d do about a controversial abortion bill if it reaches his desk.
That question has been on many minds in North Carolina this week, after the N.C. Senate Wednesday approved sweeping new rules that could limit abortions. The bill now goes to the N.C. House.
The legislation would require N.C. abortion clinics to meet tougher standards similar to those governing outpatient surgery clinics. As a result, critics say, it would effectively close the majority of the state’s 16 abortion clinics. It would also require doctors to be present when women take pills to induce abortions.
More here
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SERIOUSLY: Entire House #GOP leadership has signed pledge to put Koch Brothers ahead of the planet http://t.co/vEzJnoS44O #GOP #unAmerican
— The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) July 5, 2013
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Oh boy…..
Mediaite: Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, the Archbishop of Santo Domingo, was a little shocked when reporters switched from questioning him about the U.S.’s openly gay nominee for Ambassador to the Dominican Republic to the subject of the regional egg trade: “We go from faggots and lesbians to this?” he said, laughing. “We’re jumping to chickens now?”….
More here
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Woah – nice voice! Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin E. Dempsey sings the National Anthem at the Washington Nationals versus Milwaukee Brewers at Nationals Park on July 4:
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#Obama #ShirtColorGate Shorter –> @TheObamaDiary pic.twitter.com/GNg3Xpi3iA
— Eric Wolfson (@ericwolfson) July 5, 2013
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@TheObamaDiary SOLVED: Hawaiian Punch!
— allanbrauer (@allanbrauer) July 5, 2013
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MooooOOOOoooorning!
PS:
I think it's spelled ASH pic.twitter.com/uK2Od4rwJe
— Kelly (@greeleygeek) July 5, 2013
President Obama, in that shirt, returns a greeting to Bun Rany, wife of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, prior to a gala dinner in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
All times US EST
Monday:
9:0 PM (tonight): The President participates in the Trans-Pacific Partnership meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
10:45 PM: Meets with Prime Minister Noda of Japan
11:45 PM: Meets with Premier Wen Jiabao of China
Tuesday:
1:15 AM: Attends East Asian Summit Plenary Sessions
4:50 AM: Meets and greets with United States Embassy personnel
5:35 AM: Departs Phnom Penh en route Washington, DC
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Wednesday: The President returns to Washington, DC in the morning. Later, he will pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey at the White House and the First Family will participate in a service event in the Washington, DC area.
Thursday: The President will celebrate Thanksgiving at the White House. There are no public events scheduled.
Friday: The President has no public events scheduled. The First Lady will be presented with the official White House Christmas Tree at the North Portico.
President Obama talks to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key as they arrive for the gala dinner together with other head of states participating in the 21st ASEAN Summit, Cambodia, Nov 19
… with Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard
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President Obama receives a floral tribute upon his arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport for the ASEAN Summit, November 19
….. arriving at the ASEAN Summit at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh
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More soon – no, not necessarily more pics of that shirt, although if it happens to feature in other ASEAN Summit pics, well then, so be it 😕
Thank you ObamaBuilt2LastNZ!
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First Lady Michelle Obama participates in a tug of war with Jimmy Fallon in the Blue Room of the White House during a “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” taping for the second anniversary of the “Let’s Move!” initiative, Jan. 25. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
** NBC tonight at 12:35 am ET **
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AP: The number of available jobs in the United States jumped in December to near a three-year high, supporting other data that show a brighter outlook for hiring.
Companies and governments posted 3.38 million jobs in December, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That’s up from the 3.12 million advertised in the previous month and nearly matches the three-year high reached in September. Job openings in the private sector reached the highest point in almost three and a half years.
…. The report on job openings follows Friday’s optimistic employment figures. Those showed employers added 243,000 net jobs in January, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent.
….. It generally takes one to three months for employers to fill job openings. December’s big jump in postings is likely one reason January’s jobs report was healthy. But it also suggests job growth may continue in the coming months.
More here
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TPM – thanks Loriah
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Steve Benen: For months, Republican presidential candidates have been eager, if not desperate, to accuse President Obama of waging a “war on religion”….
…. Mitt Romney seems to have settled on a policy to match the attack: the Obama administration’s decision to require coverage of contraception as preventive care under the Affordable Care Act is, according to the former governor, an “attack on religious liberty”.
…. As a substantive matter, Romney’s lying. The administration’s policy already exempts churches and other houses of worship and “doesn’t require any individual or employer to violate a religious belief – it simply ensures that their employees with different beliefs have the same access to birth control as all other women.”
…. he’s not only lying; he’s also denouncing Obama for adopting a policy similar to one Romney used to support …. as governor, a previous iteration of Romney required all Massachusetts hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, to provide emergency contraception to rape victims.
More here
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USA Today: Pundits and bishops warn President Obama he could lose the white Catholic vote over requiring a contraception option for insurance plans. But Catholic women say they want birth control covered in employee health plans.
…. The Catholic bishops, backed by conservative evangelicals, say the Obama administration shouldn’t include contraception coverage as part of free preventive care options in employers’ health insurance plans …. here’s where the Catholic women come in. According to the Public Religion Research Institute poll released today:
….58% of all Catholics agree employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception. That slides down to 52% for Catholic voters, 50% for white Catholics.
… the numbers might bring pause to pundits mulling the “Catholic vote”.
More here
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Steve Benen: For months, Republican super PACs have been raising vast sums from wealthy donors …. the political world, however, hasn’t heard much from Democratic super PACs, which have raised far less money.
That will apparently soon change … Jim Messina argued overnight that the Obama campaign just doesn’t have a choice.
He added that Republican super PACS, in aggregate, are “expected to spend half a billion dollars, above and beyond what the Republican nominee and party are expected to commit to try to defeat the President.” That may sound like hyperbole, but it’s a reasonable estimate. The Koch brothers alone are prepared to spend $100 million later this year to defeat Obama.
…. Democrats had a choice: stick to principle, refuse to play by the new rules, and make defeat far more likely, or level the playing field …. The only surprise here is that anyone would be surprised by the decision.
Full post here
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Thanks Mary
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NYT: The delicate Karl Rove said he was “frankly, offended” …. (by)…. the Chrysler ad that Clint Eastwood narrated, which many people who don’t share Mr. Rove’s political worldview thought was rather uplifting.
…. he suggested the words were dictated by “the President of the United States and his political minions,” who bailed out Detroit with taxpayer dollars. It’s just another example of “Chicago-style politics,” he said, whatever that means.
The White House said it had nothing to do with the ad, but it had a great deal to do with Detroit’s resurgence, and that’s what’s really offensive to Mr. Rove and other Republicans. They’d prefer to drown out the good news coming from the carmakers, such as these recent headlines…
More here
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Flashback … from 2004:
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I’m still catching up with the news – and all the comments! – after being out today, will post again soon-ish 😉
President Barack Obama stands with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife Kristiani Herawati during a family photo before the East Asia Summit Gala dinner in Nusa Dua, on the island of Bali
President Obama and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono talk as Balinese dancers perform on stage at the East Asia Summit dinner
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What a beautiful difference five years makes. Just sayin’:
President George W. Bush chats with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of the Asian-Pacific leaders meeting in Hanoi, 19 November 2006.
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President Obama speaks after announcing a commercial deal between Boeing and Indonesia’s Lion Air at a signing ceremony in Nusa Dua, on the island of Bali, Indonesia.
Boeing and Lion Air have reached agreement on the purchase of 201 Boeing 737MAX and 29 Next Generation 737ER aircraft. The order will support over 110,000 U.S. jobs at Boeing and at suppliers in 43 states. This represents one of the largest trade deals between the United States and Indonesia in history….
Boeing and Singapore Airlines have reached agreement on the purchase of eight Boeing 777-300ER widebody aircraft with a total list price value of $2.4 billion, $2 billion in U.S. export content and supporting an estimated 11,000 U.S. jobs….
More here
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THIS:
The Hill: A senior military official says U.S. forces soon will begin winding down counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan, signaling a major shift in the decade-old conflict.
U.S. forces are working to “set the conditions” for Afghan government officials and security forces to assume control of key provinces by next fall as American troops begin to exit, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos told The Hill.
More here
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NYT: Chrysler said Wednesday that it would add 1,100 jobs at a sport utility vehicle plant here as it spends $1.7 billion developing new models for its Jeep brand.
…. Chrysler is one of several carmakers adding large numbers of jobs in the United States after years of steep employment declines in the auto industry. On Thursday, Toyota is scheduled to begin production at a new plant in Mississippi that will employ about 2,000 people.
The mayor of Toledo, Mike Bell, described Chrysler’s announcement as “the equivalent of a blood transfusion” for this heavily industrial city along the Michigan border.
More here
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FactCheck: Republican presidential candidates Rick Perry and Mitt Romney both claim President Barack Obama said that “Americans are lazy.” He didn’t. To the contrary, Obama has consistently and repeatedly praised American workers as the “most productive in the world,” a bit of boosterism he has repeated dozens of times. His recent words — “we’ve been a little bit lazy, I think, over the last couple of decades” – actually referred to collective efforts to promote foreign investment in the U.S., and not to American workers or voters as individuals. Perry and Romney simply rip those words out of their context in order to mislead.
More here
Wow, some proper journalism from CBS:
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Washington Post: A think tank founded by GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich collected at least $37 million over the past eight years from major health-care companies and industry groups, offering special access to the former House speaker and other perks, according to records and interviews.
Full article here
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President Barack Obama greets soldiers following his remarks at the Royal Army Air Force Base in Darwin. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
More photos from Australia at the White House site
Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!
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And thanks to our video Queen for this, the President’s speech to the troops in Darwin:
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Morning everyone 😉
A man shows his shirt that was signed by Vice President Joe Biden following a statement by President Obama in the Rose Garden at the White House, September 12
Billy Hayes holds Barack Obama t-shirts inside his shop in Moneygall, Co Offaly, Ireland, as Obama-fever is sweeping the village ahead of the much anticipated visit by U.S. President Obama in May.
Obama White House.gov WH Tumblr The People’s View Smartypants Steve Benen