The President’s Day

@petesouza: Pres Obama and Medal of Honor recipient SSG Pitts during benediction as his wife and son watch

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Text of the President’s remarks here

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Rabbi David Saperstein claps as President Obama approaches to sign an executive order to protect LGBT employees from federal workplace discrimination

Surrounded by LGBT supporters, including Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, President Barack Obama signs executive orders to protect LGBT employees from federal workplace discrimination in the East Room of the White House. President Obama’s executive orders prohibit discrimination against gay and transgender workers in the federal government and its contracting agencies, without a new exemption that was requested by some religious organizations

President Obama arrives to make a statement on the situation in Ukraine and Gaza

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Text of the President’s remarks here

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President Obama attends a town hall meeting to discuss his My Brother’s Keeper initiative while at the Walker Jones Education Campus in Washington. President Obama announced that leaders of 60 of the largest school systems have pledged to expand minority boys’ access to better preschools and advanced classes and to try to prevent grade retention, suspensions and expulsions

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Text of the President’s remarks here

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President Obama listens as he is introduced by the president of the NBA Players Association and Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul

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Text of the President’s remarks here

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President Obama bestows former Army Staff Sergeant Ryan M. Pitts with the Medal of Honor in the East Room of the White House. Pitts is the ninth living recipient of the nation’s highest decoration for battlefield valor for actions in Iraq and Afghanistan

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Chips butting in on Nerdy’s post:

A year ago today, the weirdest thing happened: Manchester United and Chelsea teamed up.

Well, me and Nerdy.

Yup, it’s exactly 12 months since Chelsea Girl took over the running of TOD with me, and I don’t have to tell you how much she has contributed since then, or how much work she has put in to the site with wonderful posts like this, every single day. And without her, TOD honestly wouldn’t even exist any more.

Nerdy?

Thank you for everything – your intelligence, your energy, your passion, your determination, your dedication, your friendship, and your support.

It was a very, very happy day when you came in to TOD’s life, and mine.

Thank you Chelsea Girl.

This Is What Change Looks Like

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Zack Ford: Obama Administration Announces Executive Order Protecting LGBT Employees Of Federal Contractors

The White House announced Monday that President Obama will issue an executive order requiring that all companies who contract with the federal government must not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The order, expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, is an extension of orders previously issued by past presidents — most recently Johnson — similarly banning employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin among all contractors and subcontractors who do over $10,000 in business with the government in any one year. The protections will reach over one million LGBT workers across the country, making it the single largest expansion of LGBT workplace protections in our country’s history. There continue to be 29 states that offer no employment protections on the basis of sexual orientation and 32 with no protections based on gender identity, but many LGBT workers in those states will now have workplace protections for the first time ever. As many as 43 percent of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and 90 percent of transgender people have experienced some form of harassment or discrimination in the workplace.

The single largest expansion of LGBT workplace protections in our country’s history thkpr.gs/1vtxvJH http://t.co/wPwizWCDxQ

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CAP Action (@CAPAction) June 16, 2014

One of the largest companies that could be impacted by the executive order is Exxon Mobil, which last month voted down LGBT employment protections for the 17th time. The company claims to have a “zero tolerance” policy on the books for mistreatment, but that does not have the same legal force or consistency as the protections shareholders have voted down each year. As many as 9 out of 10 voters believe federal law already protects LGBT workers from discrimination. Though this isn’t true, many of the country’s biggest companies do already have corporate policies prohibiting such discrimination. Businesses of all sizes have found that nondiscrimination protections are good for their bottom line, improving the recruitment, retention, and productivity of talented employees and appealing to a wider customer base. A new Human Rights Campaign poll finds that 63 percent of voters support federal LGBT employment protections.

More here

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Share the news: President Obama will prohibit federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

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The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 16, 2014

Executive action to ban fed contractors from discriminating against #LGBT workers is good for America & for business #WorkplaceEquality

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Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) June 16, 2014

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#FairnessMeans more than 1 million LGBT workers protected from discrimination. thkpr.gs/1vtxvJH http://t.co/wsDDyqCgiC

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CAP Action (@CAPAction) June 16, 2014

Huge news: Obama admin to issue executive order banning #LGBT employment discrimination. thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/06/1… (via @TPEquality)

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Jacob Combs (@jacobdcombs) June 16, 2014

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LGBT community asked Obama for a lot of stuff. By the end of today, they’ve gotten most of it. buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/w…

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E McMorris-Santoro (@EvanMcSan) June 16, 2014

Nice bit of Monday news: "President Obama to sign executive order on LGBT nondiscrimination" politico.com/story/2014/06/… via @POLITICO

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Jared Solomon (@jaredssolomon) June 16, 2014

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BREAKING:@WhiteHouse plans to extend #LGBT workplace protections to millions. Say thnx w/@HRC hrc.org/ThankObama http://t.co/YdfwlEUXv5

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HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) June 16, 2014

Federal Contractor Executive Order would protect more than 20 percent of the American workforce-28 million workers. hrc.org/thankobama

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HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) June 16, 2014

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