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President Obama and Freedom to Marry founder and president Evan Wolfson will both receive the Medal Of Distinction at Barnard College Monday:
“I am deeply moved to join with President Obama to celebrate the next generation of leaders coming up among Barnard women, and to share the Barnard Medal of Distinction with him,” said Wolfson. “And I will thank the President for doing what we elect presidents to do – showing moral leadership in standing up for freedom, fairness, and families – and for speaking in such personal terms about the journey he and so many Americans have made to understand who gay families are and why marriage matters. In explaining his change of heart, the President spoke in heartfelt words that rang true, because he described the very same journey that so many Americans – a majority now – have made.”
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1:10: PBO delivers the commencement address at Barnard College
3:00: Tapes an appearance on “The View” at ABC Studios (The full interview will be embargoed until airing on Tuesday morning)
5:05: Delivers remarks at a campaign event at the Rubin Museum of Art (Pooled Press)
6:50: Delivers remarks at a campaign event at a Private Residence (Print Pool for Remarks Only)
8:30: Departs New York
9:40: Arrives at the White House
good morning
Congratulations on #1!
thanks
It’s Donna Dem!
Morning OurManFlint!
sweet!!!
Lovely indeed!
Ha! I could only wish Chips
I had to chuckle because my first (very initial, I confess) reaction was why is Chips using a picture of DD4O? What terrific thing has DD done that I missed? [TOD is really convincing me that when friends kept telling me over the years that I'm too naive...they MIGHT have had a point.]
Morning!
Heh heh something nice for the guys today !!!
Yeah buddy!
First
Oops..not first
try fourth
Sorry Mr. Romney. No dice.
No chocolate cake for you!
He looks like Count Dracula in the first pic.
Not sure how are raincoat makes him look like a vampire, but if you’re comparing him to the the deliciously hunky Frank Langella version of Count Dracula from back in the seventies, then okay, I can work with that fantasy.
Huh? That makes no sense.
Congrats on 1st. Wow you are fast. Just left the blog…new post up and not even close to first. Feels like the old BarackObama.com blog.
Premier League: Manchester City on victory parade
Tens of thousands of Manchester City fans are expected to line the streets later for a victory parade after the club won the Premier League title.
City clinched the championship – their first since 1968 – with a dramatic 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers on Sunday, pipping local rivals Manchester United.
Fans will cheer on the players as the open-top bus parade makes a 1.8-mile journey through the city.
It begins in Albert Square at 18:30 BST and ends at Corporation Street.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-18055225
There are some lovely pics for chips too.
I guess your meds have worn off!!
I discovered there aren’t enough meds in the world to ease the pain of yesterday, ourmanflint.
You gals need to appreciate the game than the teams.
Na, I can only appreciate the game when my boys aren’t involved.
man (u) crush is no good.
Certainly not yesterday
But I’ll keep the faith 
It’s never just a game when you’re winning. George Carlin
Not true for connoisseurs of the game.
Josh Romney got booed off the Stage at the Arizona Republican Convention on Saturday.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/watch-josh-romney-get-booed-off-the-stage-by-ron-paul-supporters-in-arizona/
Dan, CEO of GM couldn’t bring himself to criticize Romney, so he gave credit to Bush for the bailout too. The only positive information on that statement was that there were no lending institution willing to poney up a risky financial capital for the auto industry. I’m willing to bet that same CEO and others in his league will vote for Mitt. Color me unimpressed.
I call Bullshit !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Obama Asks Bush to Provide Help for Automakers
: November 10, 2008
WASHINGTON — The struggling auto industry was thrust into the middle of a political standoff between the White House and Democrats on Monday as President-elect Barack Obama urged President Bush in a meeting at the White House to support immediate emergency aid.
Mr. Bush indicated at the meeting that he might support some aid and a broader economic stimulus package if Mr. Obama and Congressional Democrats dropped their opposition to a free-trade agreement with Colombia, a measure for which Mr. Bush has long fought, people familiar with the discussion said
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/us/politics/11auto.html?pagewanted=all
I didn’t remember that. Hostage taking…
Bush would have written a check, which would have lined the pockets of the CEO’s. Let’s be very clear on one thing that has yet to be pushed by the campaign: PBO asked for structural changes from GM that brought the stubborn company into the 21st century. The unions made significant sacrifices for the good of the industry, but benefited from its success by way of bonuses. This is precisely how unionization should work.
Another Romney lie(s) that he can’t keep straight: the unions compromised plenty (or didn’t compromise at all? I get so confused) But they didn’t have to wait to share in the success, which would be anathema to the lies of vulture capitalists.
Why Rattner’s Attack On Obama Is Actually Bad For Romney: ‘Bain Capital’s Responsibility Was Never To Create…Jobs’
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/05/14/483518/steven-rattner-bain/
RUNNING A COUNTRY IS NOT THE SAME AS RUNNING A BUSINESS.
Here is a terrific comment at the Think Progress Steven Rattner post:
Victoria Lamb Hatch · Top Commenter
—————————————–
Now’s a good time to point out that running a company isn’t the same as running a country. Profit is the priority when running a company, of course. And when your company’s business is to save other failing companies, the only way to do that is to go into the failing company with a machete and start slashing.
Running the country is different. In a company, if a division is costing more than it’s producing, it can be eliminated. If an employee is costing more than he is producing, he can be terminated. If a subsidiary isn’t fitting into the financial goals of the company, it can be divested. In a company, when you get rid of something or someone, that something or someone becomes someone else’s problem. This can’t be done in a country. You can’t just cut off aid to poor people. The poor people don’t go away. You can’t just throw the elderly under the bus. They don’t go away. And you can’t ignore the healthcare needs of the people, just because that would cost money. People still get sick.
Oh, you can say you’ll do these things. You can say you’re going to balance the budget and fix the economy by screwing the poor, the elderly, and the sick. And like a company making these promises in order to raise their stock price, you might get enough enthusiasm to win elections. But perceived potential value can be fleeting, particularly when the country winds up with even more poor and sick people, and fewer people have money in their pocket to keep the economy going.
Running a country is not the same as running a business. We need to understand that.
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BAIN CAPITAL’S RESPONSIBILITY WAS NEVER TO CREATE JOBS, IT WAS ABOUT PROFITS FOR INVESTORS
__________________________________
But before conservatives pounce, they may want to watch Rattner’s entire remarks, which are really an indictment of Romney.
“Mitt Romney made a mistake ever talking about the fact that he created 100,000 jobs,” Rattner said. “Bain Capital’s responsibility was never to create 100,000 jobs, or some other number, it was to make profits for its investors.” Rattner — who spent his career at Lehman Brothers and other Wall Street firms — made it clear that he thinks the ad is “unfair” only because it assumes that companies should care about their employees.
___________________________________
Good day LH,
And, we know they made profits by risking other people’s money and getting out fast, early – leaving a wake of destruction …
#AmericaThisIsNotATest
#PRESSON
Sharing the message ….
…. and to many more, some who clearly refuse to see the harm and are more than willing to enable it …
#PRESSON
I wonder how many Americans, even here, understand the damage done by the ‘fiduciary responsibility’ issue. Every time there are new regulations, the government has to go to court to defend against lawsuits that pit the ‘fiduciary responsibility of a company (read: pay profits to investors) against regulations and the public good.
This has been going on for decades (it may be over 100 years but I’m not sure about that). Corporations used to have a civic responsibility. This goes back to the early years of America. Corporations (the modern organization of which came into being in the 19th century) had to serve a public purpose at least along with profits. That got minimized by a series of Supreme Court decisions, and we are always perilously close to profits and profits only being upheld. This is another serious danger of a (God forbid) Romney presidency. You will have all federal courts packed to push this envelope further into RWNJ nirvana.
Already we’re at a point where corporations enjoy no personal liability for their actions, lower taxes and a host of other benefits that ‘persons’ don’t have. Yet they have ‘free speech’ to use unlimited funds to affect elections.
Until ‘personhood’ means that the CEO of BP goes to jail for killing 11 workmen in the Gulf, then the entire system is rigged.
Excellent Comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A very warm “welcome back” to BWD and TOAITR. Will be one of my go-to pages every day. Love you, BWD!
Good Morning Chips & TODville! Don’t tell me the race to keep up has already started!!
I better not linger.
Hope everyone is enjoying a good start to their week!
Is PBO wearing his superhero cape as he strides through the garden in the first picture?
What superhero cape does this human being wear?
Look at the picture again. It looks like PBO is wearing a cape…at least it does to me.
A coat.
Here’s another one from today VC:
You are quick Chips and funny too. Love it!
VC, I actually thought Matrix, Like he was feeling like flowing into a different dimension… LOLOL Besides, he’s a Superman fan. No capes!!
Edna Mode! NO CAPES!!!
I love Edna!!!
oops. I meant to say “He’s a Spiderman fan — no capes” I loved Edna Mode’s character best of all. (Believe it or not, but her voice is actually a man’s voice at a higher speed, one of the move’s producer’s Brad ____forget his last name.)
I’m so happy the “kid” movie makers have finally figured out they need to put in something for adults. The Incredibles was the best at having stuff for both the kids AND the adults who pay to take the kiddos to the movies…
I totally agree. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched it — with AND without little ones in the room.
i thought that too.
oh man, i forgot to sign in. it is me l&l.
I read the Andrew Sullivan piece yesterday and I don’t know that President Obama’s support of gay marraige is part of his “long game”. I feel that he really came to more of a personal decision based on his own beliefs, as many others have. When he mentioned his daughter’s feelings of having friends with same sex partners, and it being no big deal, that’s not a long game–it’s more a progression of change of thinking. If nothing else, this is a thinking man. God bless him.
On Voice of America, Barnard seniors talk about Commencement
http://barnard.edu/headlines/voice-america-barnard-seniors-talk-about-commencement
Watch graduating seniors Jessica Blank ’12, Jaclyn D’Aversa ’12 and Sara Lederman ’12 discuss their experiences at Barnard and their upcoming Commencement ceremony on Voice of America. President Spar also comments on the significance of President Barack Obama speaking at a women’s college this year.
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Barnard College President Spar discusses Obama’s upcoming commencement address on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe
[Warning: Ignore the first minute,they start with a pretty rank ad from Restore Our Future highlighting Hilary Rosen & Bill Maher comments about Ann Romney]
http://barnard.edu/headlines/president-spar-discusses-obamas-upcoming-commencement-address-msnbcs-morning-joe
That clip with the GM CEO must go VIRAL. The man, who is probably a republican, is pretty clear that Romney doesn’t deserve any credit. Is it just me or he expressed contempt towards Romney ?
Of course, he uses a false equivalency between President Bush and President Obama and it makes me cringe. The Obama team made all the tough management decisions necessary so the industry could survive in the long term, while President Bush simply gave them money for a few weeks and didn’t solve anything. If we want to be generous, we could say that at least President Bush, as a lame duck, helped the industry survive for a few weeks before the COMPETENT team came into office…
Bush traded the Auto Loan for the Columbian Free Trade Agreement after Obama asked him to help the Auto industry.
I have a post up thread with the link to 11-10-2008.
Thanks I missed it. I will read it for sure.
Off-Topic: Nice update on Ted Williams, the formerly homeless man with the golden voice
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/47412924/ns/today-today_news/
My prayers to Mr. Williams that he continues with his sobriety. He rose so fast, from being homeless for so long then becoming an overnight celebrity. So many people took advantage of him and luckily there were good people around him who are in his corner. I especially hated what Dr. Phil did to him. I no longer watch his show nor can I stand him. He is such an ambulance chaser all for his ratings.
Matt Taibbi on msnbc looks and sounds crazed. He doesn’t utter a word that isn’t anti-Obama and refuses to acknowledge facts disproving his statements.
He is the new leader of OWS.
He’s extremely bitter that his OWS didn’t turn out to be Obama’s waterloo as he had hoped. I’m waiting for him to endorse Romney. It’s just a matter of time.
I’ve stopped reading his articles. Too biased. Heck, I’ve come to even question the hit piece on McCain he did a few years ago, now that I understand how he operates, with omissions and distortions, painting everything in the worst possible light. He sometimes makes some good points, but he’s so cynical and attributes the worst motives to every one who disagrees with his politics. He’s the twin of Greewald.
When he shows up on the tee vee I leave the room. Stopped reading his slanted, fever-filled ravings a long time ago.
By being as crazed as they are, they actually stop debate. I think it would be okay to have an honest, substantive discussion on Afghanistan policy, etc. We should be able to do that without destroying the President in the process. But no — they have hijacked the discussion with their black/white, “Obama is evil because he doesn’t do what I want him to do, facts be damned” “reporting” and we can no longer have a good, honest debate. They are immensely destructive.
How is that ‘progressive’? How is deliberately avoiding exculpatory facts considered ‘good journalism’?
Richard Clarke was interviewed on Bill Maher on Friday. He’s a frequent guest. He specifically said that the Obama administration gets warrants for electronic eavesdropping, for example. Bill Maher scoffed that it wasn’t true and Richard Clarke got all over him on it. Because Richard Clarke may be one of the few people Bill Maher really respects on foreign policy, he backed off.
Now when someone like Richard Clarke says it, it should be accepted. But because of the poisoned reporting by the likes of Matt Taibbi and others, the looney left has accepted that the Obama administration is as bad as the Bush administration. Yes, they have fought to keep certain rights in the executive branch. And this is where I’m more moderate than I am a lefty: I believe in this very complex, dangerous world there are some things that the executive and judicial branches need at their disposal. I do NOT believe we need to know everything that the CIA knows in real time. It’s absurd. And yet this is what the looney left reporters have advocated.
Mat is still living in 2008. All he kept saying is Obama got lots of money from Wall Street. He needs to get over 2008. It’s 2012 now and Wall Street is pissed at the president and is not giving money now.
Corrupt to the core bastards.
That Romney/GM toon is great!
Warren calls for JPMorgan CEO to resign from NY Fed
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/14/warren-calls-for-jpmorgan-ceo-to-resign-from-ny-fed/
Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren (D) is calling for JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to resign from his position at the New York Federal Reserve Bank to acknowledge that he was in a position of trust after his company revealed that it had recently lost $2 billion as a result of bad bets on derivatives.
“I’d like to see some real accountability here,” Warren told CBS host Charlie Rose on Monday. “I’d like to see Jamie Dimon, for example, resign from his position as a Class A director of the New York Federal Reserve Bank.”
————
This woman simply MUST be elected to the Senate!!! SHE MUST!! Okay?!!
Fine by me, I have donated to her campaign.
Me, too!
Magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes southern Peru near Chile
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/14/magnitude-6-2-earthquake-strikes-southern-peru-near-chile/
A strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook an area of southern Peru near the border with Chile early Monday, seismologists said, prompting people to flee their homes but reportedly causing no casualties. The quake occurred at 1000 GMT on the Chilean side of the border 107 kilometers (65 miles) northeast of the port city of Arica, and 66 kilometers northeast of Tacna, Peru, according to the US Geological Survey.
The quake struck at a depth of 98 kilometers, the agency said. Dozens hurried into the streets in Tacna, according to early reports from local authorities, and the quake caused power cuts to 3,000 people in Arica where people initially feared a tsunami but later returned to their homes.
Good Morning TOD Family!
Just wanted to let you all know that tomorrow is my birthday and on Wednesday I’m leaving for Brazil! Yes! Hubby and I will spend 4 days in Rio de Janeiro and 4 days in Salvador, Bahia. Very excited…been wanting to make this trip for a long time now. HOWEVER… but I expect you all to hold it down while I’m gone!
Happy Birthday/Happy Trip, Dakota. Please take us with you, please.
Wow! Lots of Taurus folks on the blog!
Wow! Enjoy your birthday and have a fabulous time in Rio!
For you, dakota!!
Obama targets ‘Romney Economics’
By Steve Benen
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It also underscores one of the great ironies of the 2012 campaign: voters consider job creation the nation’s #1 issue, and arguably Mitt Romney’s weakest issue and biggest vulnerability is … job creation.
When we think about Romney’s record on jobs, the natural focus is on his tenure as governor, when he had a chance to put his job-creation know-how to good use. Regrettably, his efforts didn’t work in Massachusetts, and his state’s record on job creation was “one of the worst in the country,” ranking 47th out of 50 states in job growth. It’s one of the reasons Romney left office after one term deeply unpopular with his constituents.
But with Romney generally content to pretend his one term in office simply never occurred, and focusing almost exclusively on his private-sector background, his habit of making millions from companies by laying off their workers is politically problematic, to put it mildly.
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http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/14/11697387-obama-targets-romney-economics
What will Robme run on? Not as a liberal governor in MA, not as a vulture capitalist with BAIN, not as a uniter like Bush because of the divisive teaparty……I know……all he has is that he is NOT Obama, which we all know…..he’s not caring, he’s not a leader, he’s not thinker, he doesn’t know how to tell the truth, and he’s has no real accomplishments for all of this 65yrs that has helped make ordinary peoples’ lives better…..not even his dog.
Heads up, he’s arrived:
http://theobamadiary.com/2012/05/14/heads-up-pbo-at-barnard-college/
President speaks on CSPAN in a few. Also, I am a huge Jeopardy fan. Chris and Robert will be on tonight. This is all for charity. DC insiders all week. I can’t wait to see if my 20 year old daughter can beat them all. We play together when we get to be home at that time in the evening. I am pretty good at History…she loves Literature and science.
Chris and Robert who?
Applicable to Romney, Cantor, Ryan, Walker, etc., etc.
I have spent DAYS grading papers – still at it. I’ve just read a paper written about a quote from an assigned reader, “The Sociologically Eamined Life” by Michael Schwalbe. This is the quote:
“For one person to inflict harm on another, the person doing the harm must disregard the feelings of the person being harmed. It is as if the injurer treats the other as an object — a thing with no feelings worthy of respect.”
By now, you’ve heard that Betty White has endorsed PBO for re-election
http://www.thegrio.com/entertainment/betty-white-backs-barack-obamas-re-election-campaign.php
Remember this cute birthday greeting from the President for Ms. White’s 90th? LOL!
Good morning O peeps (well for the last 4 minutes of it). Another great getting up day again. Off to get my free daily intake of vitamin D straight from the sun. No pills for this cookemom. It’s been confirmed that PBO will not attend some international conference to be held in Russia later this year. Take that you old Putinhead!
Interesting article from Af-Am man who was in Romney’s class at Cranbrook and worked with President Obama on Harvard Law Review
Classmate of Romney, Obama recalls both men
http://www.thegrio.com/politics/classmate-of-mitt-romney-at-cranbrook-obama-at-harvard.php
Of the Romney bullying incident: “So I didn’t have any personal recollection of that incident but, before that story broke, I did talk to some of my classmates and a couple of them had said something about it. But when I heard about it, my response was, ‘Yeah, that probably happened.’ I don’t doubt the veracity of the people who said it because I know them and they are very ethical people. I have no reason to question the validity of the story.”
Of Barack Obama: “We worked together on a law review at Harvard,” Barthwell said. “Barack was from Chicago, I was from Detroit and that was back in the days of the Bad Boys (Detroit Pistons) so I used to ride Barack about (the Chicago Bulls)…”Barack was a very, very nice guy; a very smart guy. In a city full of upright people, he really stood out as being an exceptionally intelligent man,” Barthwell said. “I’ve never heard a bad thing come out of that man’s mouth and I haven’t yet.”
Wow! Check this out! Now these are some pretty cool co-workers!
Miami-Dade County colleagues of Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina Fulton generously donated several months of their vacation time
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/11/2794656/trayvon-martins-mother-got-about.html
Heads up. PBO is about to speak. http://www.whitehouse.gov/live