Chat Away

The First Lady doubts President’s ability to accurately sort Toys for Tots.

President is sad.

The President and First Lady Deliver Toys for Tots

1:45 ET: The President and the First Lady deliver toys and gifts donated by Executive Office of The President staff to the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots Campaign, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling

 

FLOTUS Spreads Some Holiday Cheer

First Lady Michelle Obama, Chairman and CEO of Toys For Tots Ret. Marine Corps Lieutenant General Peter Osman and USMC Staff Sgt. Catalina Perez arrive to help sort toy donations for Toys For Tots at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington

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Find out how you can bring joy to kids in need this holiday season by donating locally to Toys for Tots → go.wh.gov/sZNRe3

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  (@FLOTUS) December 20, 2013

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First Lady Michelle Obama hugs a Marine during an event for Toys for Tots Campaign at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling http://t.co/u6o3fstSYM

—
TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) December 19, 2013

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Catching Up

First Lady Michelle Obama at the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots campaign, which collects toys for needy children, at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, December 11

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Greg Sargent: Until today, it was not certain whether Republicans would stage another showdown over the debt ceiling. They were said to be thinking about it, but reports carefully noted no decision had been made. However, Mitch McConnell today publicly confirmed that it’s on.

….. this is not an explicit declaration that Republicans will refuse to raise the debt ceiling unless they get the spending cuts they want. But it is certainly a threat to do this.

Pay close attention to how this is covered …. raising the debt ceiling is not merely giving Democrats something they want. It is averting a threat to the economy and to the whole country. Top Republicans have admitted this….

More here

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Quote of the day – Stephen Colbert: “My network contract prohibits me from taking on another full-time job. So the Senate would be perfect.”

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Steve Benen: When it comes to voter-suppression techniques, Republicans generally maintain a certain pretense, at least in public. They argue that measures such as voter-ID laws aren’t about blocking Americans’ access to their own elections, but rather, about preventing imaginary fraud. The defense isn’t compelling, but GOP officials generally repeat it with a straight face.

Once in a great while, however, a Republican will slip and tell the truth…..

More here

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Washington Post: Three things you should know about Rob Nabors:

evening all

CBS: During a Toys-for-Tots event Friday, a marine asked First Lady Michelle Obama to accompany him to the ball next November. The music drowns out the invitation but you can still see the exchange and hug.

ABC: While sorting donations at the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign, this afternoon First Lady Michelle Obama received an unusual request.

Across a pile of race cars, the Associated Press reports Lance Cpl. Aaron Leeks invited Obama to be his date for next year’s Marine Corps Ball.

The 20-year-old Marine from Maryland told the AP, Obama said “she’d love to go.”

“Actually she said I’d need to speak to her husband, too, but she said she’d love to,” Leeks said.

No word yet on whether the request has received the president’s approval. “If the president’s watching this, this might be the first he’s heard of it,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney joked at today’s daily briefing.

First Lady Michelle Obama delivers toys and gifts donated by White House staff to the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots campaign at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

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The only thing that ever disappoints me about Steve Benen is that his charts aren’t BIGGER!

Any way, he’s back after a two day break and he’s catching up on the news about the drop in unemployment (see here) – this chart shows unemployment claims going back to the beginning of 2007.

And they say the Stimulus didn’t work?

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Don’t miss:

Milt Shook: There’s No Such Thing as an “Indefinite Detention Bill” and Other Pro Left Lies. (Stay to the end, and watch me expose Glenn Greenwald as a liar once again.)

Full post here

Thank you creolechild

Steve Benen on the NDAA: …… There’s been a fair amount of coverage this week, arguing that the bill, among things, empowers the executive branch “to throw American citizens into prison for life without charges or a trial.” Adam Serwer’s reporting shows otherwise.

This is not to say the NDAA is a good bill…. but it’s not quite as outrageous as some reports have suggested.

I had one related thought about this. President Obama has been facing quite a bit of criticism from the left over the NDAA’s provisions … if I’m making a list of those responsible for the NDAA’s most odious measures, the White House wouldn’t be on top. I’d start, obviously, with congressional Republicans whose misguided worldview intended to make the NDAA even more offensive, but it was a whole lot of congressional Democrats who went along with them.

… Regardless, the NDAA is done. Recalling a phrase I’m sure I’ve used more than once this year, it’s bad, but it could have been worse.

Full post here

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afternoon all

President Obama at the 71st General Assembly of the Union for Reform Judaism

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First Lady Michelle Obama delivers toys and gifts to the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots campaign at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, DC on December 16

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Hi everyone, just a reminder, I don’t allow anonymous comments appear on the site – please remember to sign in with your chosen name and email address (which won’t be visible to others). You can also sign in using your Twitter or Facebook accounts (see here).

Sorry about the hassle, but it’s the only way of keeping Fire/Teabaggers out of the place 😉

morning comrades!

😆

toys for tots

First Lady Michelle Obama joins marines to sort toys donated to the US Marine Corps Reserve Toys For Tots program at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling on December 17

looking up

First lady Michelle Obama welcomes military families to the White House, December 1

toys for tots

First Lady Michelle Obama speaks during a ceremony to welcome the military families who organize the Quantico and Anacostia branches of the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots drive in the East Room at the White House, December 1

Toys for Tots

First Lady Michelle Obama shows a cookie she made as she and some military families visit ‘creative stations’ in the State Dining Room to learn how to make holiday ornaments, cards and treats