President Obama walks out of the White House as he travels to Colorado Springs for the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony
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7:00 AM: PBO departs the White House
10:30: Arrives in Colorado Springs, Colorado
12:0: Delivers the commencement address at the United States Air Force Academy
3:30: Departs Colorado Springs en route Denver
4:0: Arrives in Denver
5:35: Delivers remarks at a campaign event (listed for coverage by CNN live streaming)
6:35: Departs Denver en route Mountain View, California
9:10: Arrives in Mountain View
10:20: Delivers remarks at a campaign event
****
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Morning everyone 
Is it me again?
Yes its you again.
Congrats on 1st proud.
Congrats on First Sue!
Good Morning TOD. Looks like PBO has another packed schedule today. He just keeps going and going and going.
Have a great Productive O’Day Everyone!
Thanks Donna, althought I think Proud will have something to say about the misplaced 1st place prize (lol).
Prouds actual name is Sue. Sorry for the confustion
Applause!!!!
Congrats proud! Proud of you!
Good morning all.
Good morning TODvillagers.
Again let me say as I stated on the last thread. It is the media that is failing our country. NATO talks and Nuclear Proliferation were huge this past weekend and all we got was “Corey Bookergate”. The left and right are both failing to mention these. No wonder why we have such and uniformed electorate.
Congrats Proud. It’s the Media Stupid, as usual. Happy Morning Chips &TODs!
Morning pugeretto, morning everyone
Couldn’t agree more, proud. The big and important issues are hard and take some serious work to comprehend and report. It seems only foreign journalists and a very few American reporters are actually trained to think. Tabloid journalism is easier. It pleases the bosses and attracts more eyeballs. That’s why you have the incessant attention to gossip and poorly sourced rumors. Throw in Republican bias and racism and you have an epic American media fail. The good news is the rise of social media is changing the equation, especially among younger people. I have not watched television news for years and I find newspaper headlines so slanted, I ignore them. All the information anyone needs is found on the internet, which is why all of us are some of the best informed people in the US and therefore the best able to have the president’s back.
It seems to me that all you need to be an American journalist these days is (1) perceived good looks for a camera or a willingness to do whatever is required to get those good looks, and (2) a willingness to lie, sensationalize and distort to benefit the company’s bottom line.
Nothing else is required.
THIS!!!!!!!
O/T: Wednesday so it’s my day to make the 2+ hr. trip each way to see my 94 year old mother. Prayers for safety and patience appreciated.
Good morning TODville. Prayers for safe travels tnmtngirl!
Just whispered a word on your behalf. Have a good visit together!
Safe journey today,tnmtngirl! Kiss mamma:) 94 years old…bless her heart. She has seen so much in her lifetime.
you are in my thoughts and prayers
God speed.
Tnmtngirl, done. (((((((((((((( Prayers and hugs to you and mom))))))))))))). Love coming your way.HZ
Yep!
They have mostly become “reality”-tv performers.
One of my sons-in-law is a police officer on Maui. He was on the COPS show for one night’s show. It is all pre-done. It is all planned and scripted out. He “played” cop for a show while being a cop in real life. Kudos to his police department. Big news and a lot of attention and fun for them. But it wasn’t “real” — how frustrating that I even have to put the word “real” in quotes to indicate it wasn’t REAL.
That’s what so many of the tv entertainers are doing in contemporary America.
PRINCIPLES OF JOURNALISM
=========================
Thanks Proud for giving me another opportunity to post the link below. The mainstream media has been carrying water for the Republican Party from day one. The media firewall is still in force, but it has some pretty big holes in it now thanks to President Obama’s team. The truth is coming out about Mitt Romney and Bain and the Republicans and the media are freaking out. It seems the first rule of journalism which is to tell the truth no longer applies. It’s all about an obsession with distracting “shiny objects”.
You are so right about the coverage of the Camp David and NATO meetings getting short shrift. It’s outrageous when you think of how important these meetings were. But the attention span of the media is like a two year old. I was furious that the second question at the NATO press conference was about Cory Booker. But the best part was that it gave President Obama an opportunity to let the world know that running a company is not the same as running a country. It was an absolutely exquisite response. It was a total rebuke of Bain as Romney’s main selling point.
The mainstream media has abdicated their responsibility to educate and inform the American people with the facts. It is long past due for them to get back to the basics. I wish I could send the principles of journalism to everyone in the media. I don’t know how they could look at those principles and look themselves in the mirror and feel any pride about what has happened to their profession.
Principles of Journalism
1. Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth
Democracy depends on citizens having reliable, accurate facts put in a meaningful context. Journalism does not pursue truth in an absolute or philosophical sense, but it can–and must–pursue it in a practical sense. This “journalistic truth” is a process that begins with the professional discipline of assembling and verifying facts. Then journalists try to convey a fair and reliable account of their meaning, valid for now, subject to further investigation. Journalists should be as transparent as possible about sources and methods so audiences can make their own assessment of the information. Even in a world of expanding voices, accuracy is the foundation upon which everything else is built–context, interpretation, comment, criticism, analysis and debate. The truth, over time, emerges from this forum. As citizens encounter an ever greater flow of data, they have more need–not less–for identifiable sources dedicated to verifying that information and putting it in context.
2. Its first loyalty is to citizens
While news organizations answer to many constituencies, including advertisers and shareholders, the journalists in those organizations must maintain allegiance to citizens and the larger public interest above any other if they are to provide the news without fear or favor. This commitment to citizens first is the basis of a news organization’s credibility, the implied covenant that tells the audience the coverage is not slanted for friends or advertisers. Commitment to citizens also means journalism should present a representative picture of all constituent groups in society. Ignoring certain citizens has the effect of disenfranchising them. The theory underlying the modern news industry has been the belief that credibility builds a broad and loyal audience, and that economic success follows in turn. In that regard, the business people in a news organization also must nurture–not exploit–their allegiance to the audience ahead of other considerations.
http://www.journalism.org/resources/principles
http://www.journalism.org/resources/principles
this was a very important week in global politics and the media completely missed it or ignored it! shame, shame, shame!!!
I agree 100%!
Totally agree. But we keep moving with POB and try to be his eyes, ears, and mouth to spread the good word about his accomplishments for the good of this nation and the world. We lift him up daily in our thoughts, prayers, and times of meditations on the good deeds within his hands. HZ
I see it’s another long and busy day for the President. I hope he gets some rest soon.
Good morning all. Another day to fight the good fight.
Federal spending is lower now than it was when President Obama took office. I’ll pause to let you absorb the news.
In January 2009, before President Obama had even taken the oath of office, annual spending was set to total 24.9 percent of gross domestic product. Total spending this year, fiscal year 2012, is expected to top out at 23.4 percent of GDP.
Here’s another interesting fact. Taxes today are lower than they were on inauguration day 2009. Back in January 2009, the CBO projected that total federal tax revenue that year would amount to 16.5 percent of GDP. This year? 15.8 percent.
One last nugget. The deficit this year is going to be lower than what it was on the day President Obama took office. Back then, the CBO said the 2009 deficit would be 8.3 percent of GDP. This year’s deficit is expected to come in at 7.6 percent.
More here: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/05/15/484767/obama-budget-chart/
Good Morning Chips, good morning everyone. And as per this very good news, as usual, watch everyone storm the gates to take credit for it. If the numbers were reversed, we know what the outcry would be.
I love this president and his brilliant mind.
Exactly africa. And I’m sure that PBO is saving all of this for the debates, when most of voting America will be focused on him and Willard, and nothing else. There willl be no MSM filter to distort or blackout what he is saying. Willard may have a Gazillion $$$ in Koch funds, the dishonest corporate MSM and even some corporate DEMS behind him, but PBO will have himself and the truth. And that will get him re-elected.
Hi Hf. Don’t forget that in addition to truth PBO will also have his moral mantra, ‘It’s the right thing to do’ to underline his decisions.
We’s got the best pres! We’s got the only Pres! We. are. so. blessed. 
Hi Chips,
Stephanie Cutter sent us all an email about the Truth Tean. Did you see it?
Hi Jovie, I’ll check my inbox! Thanks.
Tweeted and FB’d this. It’s a big deal.
can we bombard the media to cover this as breathlessly as they do when the numbers are negative
He is wheels up! I saw it.
Brad Woodhouse is coming up on Bill Press this morning.
He was really good.
GM jovie. What happened in Arkansas primary y’day ? Final numbers ?
I think 58-41. These are tough States… West Virginia was Coal, the reason that Felon got 40%.
But, Arkansas is right smack in the middle of the Country. What is up with that State?
Didn’t he lose that state to Hillary something like 3 to 1 in 2008 ? In any case, it’s never gonna flip his way and whether he wins there or not is a moot point.
Arkansas = Walmart, Tyson Chicken, and the Ozarks.
Walmart – larget multinational corporation IN THE WORLD, according to sales. Comparing sales and gdp, Walmart brings in more money each year than many nations in the world.
We crossed a threshold in 1971 – for the first time in history, of the top 100 econonomic entities in the WORLD, more had become CORPORATIONS than NATIONS.
Many social scientists predict corporations will eventually replace nations as the primary entities of human organizations, replacing nations in that role. Increasingly corporations have greater international clout than nations.
I pray for the safe travels for the president as he do the people’s work. May God continue to watch over the first family.
And for TODobots I say ‘Amen!’
Dear TODers, I am off to finish up my procrastina…um I mean my productive day. I leave you with one of my favorite says…(It has been credited to the Upanishads, Gandhi, Lao Tse…and lots of others…who knows who wrote/said it exactly…maybe Mr. LL our village librarian can help): Here it is:
Watch your thoughts, for they become your words.
Watch your words, for they become your actions.
Watch your actions, for they become your habits.
Watch your habits, for they become your character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
Have a great day everyone.
Cool.
I JUST HEARD THAT A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO! I think it was Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady? the only other thing I watched was The Fantastic Mr. Fox, so…..naw…..
Thanks for the quote CJ, Since I was a child (I am noe 53) I have been collecting quotes from everywhere and noting them in a notebook. I had a diary filled but somehow misplaced it. My heart was really broken. I recently started my collection again and this one was one that I had but had obviously forgotten. This addition means a lot to me. Create a wonderful day and live a wonderful life. Thanks again.
(I am NOW 53)
Appreciate this, CJ! I’ve added a first line on MY copy
‘Watch what you read, for this becomes your thoughts’
A couple of years online and I’m literally shocked to see how often swearing pops up in my thoughts! I can no longer say I don’t swear because even though I don’t verbalize it, it surfaces from time to time in my thoughts. Problem is to eradicate it I’d have to get completely offline and I’m not ready to do that yet, so for the time being I’ll ‘watch my thoughts’ more carefully.
Good Morning Everyone! Have a beautiful day!
BOSTON — Massachusetts’ top securities regulator has subpoenaed Morgan Stanley related to allegations that it gave some clients negative information about Facebook before last week’s initial public offering.
—
No wonder Harold Ford Jr. was stuttering on Morning Junk today. Ed Rendell too.
Monday morning before the market opened Harold Ford, Jr. was recommending Facebook stock. Warning: Don’t make investment decisions listening to Morning Joe.
They think that securities fraud may have taken place before this IPO. I read that last night, I think I saw that FBI was investigating these companies. Morgan Stanley wasn’t the only one…there was another one, too. I’ll post it if I find it.
Yup.
Good morning, TODville. Everyone have a nice day.
Thanks Chips for the chart. I think the right wing nut jobs shoulder tattoo that chart on their foreheads and derrieres when they speak so everyone can see what big liars they are going and coming.
Congratulations proud member of global zero on being first.
Just in case anyone wasn’t clear on this point: Pakistan is not our ally
———————
Pakistan jails doctor who helped CIA find Osama bin Laden
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/23/11827022-pakistan-jails-doctor-who-helped-cia-find-osama-bin-laden?lite
That Pakistan has not been our friends has been obvious to me since the Bush admismtration promised Musharraf to bomb them back to the Stone Age. Since Musharraf I think it has been an all together different Musharraf . Many Pakistani thought of Musharraf to have been a dictator
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/sep/22/pakistan.usa
A very ‘Good Wednesday Morning/Afternoon’ Chips Chica & TODvill-ians
around the world! It’s not starting out as good a day as yesterday in my corner, but I’ll take it, thank you! 
Good Wednesday to you vcprezofan2. I want to thank you for remembering me in your very wonderful goodnight and to feel better. I am just getting around to catch up. I also left a message to you for that. Thank you so much. ((((((((( Hugs of comfort to you)))))))))) HZ
Hi HZ!!! {{HZ}}. It is great to see you!
Whenever I don’t I assume you are getting some rest, but I also wanted you to know you aren’t forgotten just because we don’t see you. 
Good luck in the catching up department. I’ve definitely admitted failure on THAT! Instead, I’m focusing attention on my training to get to the TOD gate first, with varying degrees of success (depending to whom you speak, me or Chips Chica and a few others.) Anyways, it feels good to see you today! {{HZ}}
edit: spellcheck picked up the word shoulder instead of should . Of course, a shoulder would be a nice place to display it too. It would remind them every time they put theier greedy arms to get their checks from the lobbyist how dishonest they are.
I think the right wing nut jobs should tattoo that chart on their foreheads and derrieres when they speak so everyone can see what big liars they are going and coming.
Yet another proof pakistan is a terrorism supporting state. Obama, who cold shouldered zardari in the recent NATO talks, knows this unlike dubya’s pakistan is our ally on war on terror.
G’day, y’all! Many blessings, and May God Keep Our President Safely in the Center of His Heart.
Yes, we do , Pamela. “Safely in the Center of His Heart.” That is powerful. I pray with you this prayer.HZ
Make it stick this time, dammit wp.
Quinine panic poll has Robney up 6 in Florida.
Bullshit.
Robney has No offices open in Florida. We have been registering voters everyday, different shifts everyday.
Making phone calls everyday. But yet, Quini panic poll is trying to tell me we ate losing ground. This makes zero sense.
I want crosstabs, now dammit!
Wasn’t it Quinine Panic that had McCain up in Florida in 08 until the week before the election?
Right. But, rove ran one BS ad last week, and that supposedly moved the dial?
This is an assist to Rove. I see what is happening here!
Well we know that Rove and the pollsters are closely tied in their agenda. Reminds me of the gas prices narratives and polls…
I’ve been seeing that bullshit ad on all the tv stations I watch at every commercial break, rain or shin, day and night, during the week and over the weekend. Every time it comes on I mute it.
I read that David Stockman threw up the BS flag on Romney’s claims yesterday, as well…he’s a Bush guy!
I heard about this site yesterday on the radio. It’s part of the Annenberg Project. http://www.flackcheck.org/
At the top of the page under the heading is a way of letting your local media know that you want them to stop airing deceptive or untrue ads.
It’s a small drop in the bucket but it can’t hurt.
Thanks! I saved it:)
We so need to get young people engaged. My generation — we had the draft and the Vietnam War!
That would be my generation as well:) Can’t seem to get the fbomb.org to load for me….I’ll check again later…
I didn’t have any trouble loading it. Huh.
http://thefbomb.org/
I keep forgetting to mention this: On Sunday MHP had three young women, ‘feminists’, on the show. They were 17, 18 and 19 years old respectively. They were great, and were making the point that their generation does not have an issues-related sense of feminism for young people in the 21st century.
The 19 year old has a website: http://thefbomb.org/ for the purpose of engaging young women in re-defining and taking back ‘feminism’ as a positive word, and discuss issues that matter to young people.
I’m passing it on to the budding feminists that I know.
Lol reverend.
DAMN. That’s GOOD.
I love him.
I love these ads. Hope they get distributed far and wide.
New post everyone:
http://theobamadiary.com/2012/05/23/personal/