President Barack Obama holds a press conference in the East Room at the White House.
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Ben Armbruster: Obama Announces Plans To Reform Surveillance Programs
President Obama announced on Friday that he plans to institute new reforms to include greater oversight of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs, just over two months after former NSA consultant Edward Snowden leaked secret documents detailing their scope and reach. First, Obama said he would work with Congress to reform the authorities authorizing NSA surveillance so that they include more safeguards and oversight to further protect from abuse.
Obama said he would also push to give greater assurances to the American people that the secret court authorizing surveillance that privacy is being protected, including having government arguments “challenged by an adversary.” Third, Obama said he wants to declassify more information about the programs, including the legal rationals behind them, and create a website to learn more about U.S. surveillance activities. Finally, Obama said he would assemble a team of outside independent experts to review communications and surveillance technologies and issue a report on findings and recommendations by the end of the year.
More here
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In the last 12 months, personal healthcare costs rose at the slowest rate in the last 50 years. http://t.co/vu7vQJ5aR8
— Elsie Snuffin (@ElsieSnuffin) August 9, 2025
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Optimism and hope is what this country was founded on. The opposite of both is fear, which is the only message the GOP has. GOP=unAmerican
— john miller (@deaconmill) August 9, 2025
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ICYMI: #ActionAugust is in full swing and @OFA supporters are making their voices heard. http://t.co/tlh1TAawJT
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 9, 2025
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ThinkProgress: Politico Revives Junk Science Suggesting Hispanics Are Dumber Than Whites
Earlier this year, Jason Richwine lost his job writing about immigration policy for the conservative Heritage Foundation after it came to light that he suggested Hispanics and blacks were genetically less intelligent than whites and Asians in his graduate dissertation. I conducted a lengthy review of Richwine’s research, finding that it was grounded in poor conceptual analysis and wildly outdated research.
Friday morning, Politico published an op-ed by Richwine misrepresenting his research, the controversy surrounding it, and the facts about race and intelligence in some really basic ways….
More here
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Here's how to find a Congressional town hall meeting near you. on.msnbc.com/15le7ig
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Kailani K-M (@kailanikm) August 09, 2025****
They just can’t help themselves. RT @thinkprogress: Senate candidate tweets racist attack on opponent Cory Booker http://t.co/bS74w09zCz”
— The 12th Doctor (@DCPlod) August 9, 2025
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Sahil Kapur: Obama Torches GOP For ‘Ideological Fixation’ With Repealing ObamaCare
“Now, I think the really interesting question is why it is that my friends in the other party have made the idea of preventing these people from getting health care their holy grail,” he said. “Their number one priority, the one unifying principle in the Republican Party at the moment is making sure that 30 million people don’t have health care. And presumably repealing all those benefits I just mentioned. Kids staying on their parents’ plan, seniors getting discounts on their prescription drugs, a return to limits on lifetime limits, continuing to get blocked from health care insurance.”
“That’s hard to understand as an agenda that’s going to strengthen our middle class. At least they used to say, well, we’re going to replace it with something better. There’s not even a pretense now that they’re going to replace it with something better. The notion is simply that those 30 million people or the 150 million who are benefitting from the other aspects of affordable care, will be better off without it. That’s their assertion. Not backed by fact, not backed by any evidence. It’s just become an ideological fixation.”
More here
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Reuters: U.S. To Reopen 18 Of 19 Embassies Closed Amid Security Concerns
Eighteen of the 19 U.S. embassies closed this month due to worries about potential terrorist attacks will reopen on Sunday, the U.S. State Department said on Friday.
“Our embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, will remain closed because of ongoing concerns about a threat stream indicating the potential for terrorist attacks emanating from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
The United States will also keep its consulate in Lahore, Pakistan, shuttered, Psaki said, adding it closed on Thursday due to a “separate credible threat.”
More here
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Pete Souza: The pool press covers Pres Obama signing the student loan bill
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White House.gov
Him so cute!
And smart!
And can definitely outwit the GOP-PEES
He can do that in his sleep!! :lol:
With one hand tied behind his back!
Y’all!
Hi, Pamela! I have to tell you, my car costs today only totalled $20. They replaced my battery free of charge since the other was only a year old, and I paid for a replacement bulb for my running light. I was quite happy! You don’t need to respond to this since I know you will have read it; plus I’m heading off to read before turning in for the night. :grin:
Yet another very fine thread, UT!!! Thank you!!
Fact …
Hope all of you read Spandan’s TPV essay.
#TrustBarack
Bobfr, It was a great article per usual.
IN_DEED, Sabreen!!!
“Hope all of you read Spandan’s TPV essay.”
I did, Bob. It’s absolutely a must read. As always, Spandan used facts to challenge lies, hype, and sensationalism. In any other presidency, the media would have hailed the President for having gone the extra mile, in the reforms he announced to day, in order to ease the fears of the American people. As Spandan clearly demonstrates, most of these fears about what the government is doing to invade their privacy has nothing to do with reality; rather, they are a result of all the hype and sensationalism in the media.
“As Spandan clearly demonstrates, most of these fears about what the government is doing to invade their privacy has nothing to do with reality; rather, they are a result of all the hype and sensationalism in the media.”
Key point, nath!! Thank you.
And caring…..
Thank you, UT for all the wonderful tweets.
Congratulations, VL.
And magnetic. Thanks, LDS,
Fact ….
… the worst outcomes that the private contractors of the MIC could have ever anticipated are rapidly unfolding thanks to the way our courageous and righteous President is leveraging the actions of a TRAITOR to dismantle the Patriot Act and FISA abuses.
KARMA & IRONY are truly twins :)
#TrustBarack
Bob - I was thinking that earlier tonight. So many have forgotten what that reign of fear under Bush/Cheney actually felt like. Our country is so much better off now. As is the world, without the likes of them. With President Obama as our leader. Thank you for everything you do to get THAT message out there, on a daily basis.
Remember all the *alerts* - Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue - but they never said why the alerts were given. Every time Bush fucked up we would get an alert. So we got alerts all the time. They wanted us to live in fear 24/7.
Oh, my. Hadn’t thought of those awful fucked-up alerts in a while, either. This is just one of the reasons we can’t let another Republican back in the White House for DECADES. And we’ve got to put the gavel back into Nancy Smash’s hands in 2014, and keep the Senate, to allow the President to get more good stuff done before January 2017!
Thank you Jacqueline!!!
#TrustBarack He’s Earning It Every Day
Great, great, tweet, Bob! The level of amnesia in the media, and among the emoprogs, is truly astounding. What the president did today was to go the extra mile to re-assure the American people that the government is not interested in violating their privacy. At the same time, he reminded them that the government’s #1 responsibility to protect the American people from people intent on doing them harm. What I witnessed today was a president dedicated to both the right of privacy and the necessity of protecting the American people. It’s really sad that once again the media opted to manipulate and sensationalize this issue in order to attack President Obama and diminish the importance of what he proposed.
Bob, this is the kind of reform that PBO wanted from the beginning, even when he accepted, at the start of his presidency, that much of the surveillance processes were necessary. I believe it has always been his goal to ensure that future presidents don’t give in to abuses. He has had to establish that our surveillance apparatus was effective in alerting us to terrorist activities and that the US could respond swiftly and effectively. At the same time, he wants to leave a legacy of assurance to the American people that surveillance can be effective without encroaching on our privacy. In the perspective of time, this vision, this process toward appropriate balance will be remembered as a significant achievement for our country, long after the incompetent media and sensation seeking traitors have passed from the scene.
” In the perspective of time, this vision, this process toward appropriate balance will be remembered as a significant achievement for our country, long after the incompetent media and sensation seeking traitors have passed from the scene.”
Fully agree with you, Jackie. Well stated!
Please let people know there’s a Help Center available to take calls and do live chats on questions about Obamacare:
https://www.healthcare.gov/help-center/
Rt’d, meta. Thank you so much. A wonderful tool indeed. HZ
BOOM! Even as the MSM tries to bury this nugget of truth…. we will SPREAD the facts.
Yes, we will hopefruit2. We know that President Obama will make sure that he will do everything in his power to make sure he stay open and honest to the Oath of his Office. This President takes knows what he fought for while in the Senate, and these foolish people should know by now that he has taken measures to clean up as much as possible of W’s and his administration’s mess. HZ
Indeed HZ. Well-said! :)
I am glad POTUS, FLOTUS, and the first family will be going on there vacation tomorrow. I regret it’s only for eight days. At least two weeks. Congress has five weeks off.
Today on Politics Nation, Al Sharpton said PBO and family have taken a total of 92 days of vacation since he’s been in office…President Bush had taken over 300 days during the same length of time. But does any president really take a vacation!??!!? You know the RW’s are gonna try to have a hay day with this one. I will continue to lift President Obama and his beautiful family in prayer. Take care.
Please continue to lift the First Family in prayer. And let’s hope the First Family enjoy their vacation, and not pay any attention to what those haters will say. Regardless what the Obamas do those haters would fine fault with it. So I say to POTUS, FLOTUS, Malia, Sasha, and Bo, we love you, we got your back, and enjoy your vacation.
Good Night, TODobots - Sweet Dreams!
“Don’t let the grass grow on the path of friendship.” ~American Indian (Blackfoot) proverb
Amk: Good Morning. I just wanted you to know that I am still thinking of you and your family, and wishing you strength and peace as you face whatever lies ahead in your today.
(((((( Loving hugs to you, vcprezofan2))))))) I still lift you and your family up as well. VC, did I miss something? Is amk and family okay? HZ
TY, HZ. And yes, Amk told us earlier today that his 79 yr old mother passed away. (I’m really slipping away this time.) Take care of yourself.
Vc, thank you so much. So how I missed it. I will do my very best to do that, vc. Your kindness is so beautiful. Now, you must do the same, okay.
My thoughts of comfort goes out to our beautiful amk and his family. ((((((( Lots of comforting hugs to Amk and his lovely family.))))))))))HZ
#TrustBarack
I want to again say that I am so grateful to be a part of the Best family online., our TOD family and our brilliant Chips. I want to thank UT, LL., zizi, LovelyPlains and all of the great and brilliant contributors in this family. You all give so much, and I want you all to know how bless I feel to come here and sit at the table and work with each of you as we support President Obama.
We have such a beautiful and tight family, and POB knows that and he appreciates it so much. Trust me. The team cares and appreciates every good deed that we put forth on President Obama’s behalf. They know that a group like ours is so important for getting the work that still needs to get done.
I know we will pray for our First Family to have a beautiful vacation. One thing about POB when he does get some time away, he is present in the moments with his family and friends, even though he still has the world to worry about. But it is in our strength as a beautiful and strong TOD family, he keeps his “center ” focused. () for a wonderful and relaxing time even with all that is going on around him.
I give thanks for our SS detail
I give thanks for his advisers
I give thanks for our strong and beautiful First Lady
I give thanks for our great VP Joe Biden
I give thanks for his personal assistant,
I give thanks for our pilots on Marine One and Airforce One
I give thanks for his Communication Team
I give thanks for his loyal friends who will be with him during this time
I give thanks for all of our Department Secretaries within his Administration
I give thanks for Sec. Hagel and Sec. Kerry and their team
I give thanks for his National Security Advisor, Dr. Susan Rice and her team
I give thanks for all of our military men and women all over the world
I give thanks for our return of our wonderful Speaker of the House, Ms. Nancy Pelosi(we will return her as our Speaker in 2014)
I give thanks for all of the decent Senators who are working hard with this President
I give thanks for all of the team who are now working at OFA and all over this nation to help all Americans
I give thanks for all of the prayers of goodness to ask for wisdom, grace, favor, and strength to our President to do the duties of the people.
And I also give thanks for our AG, Eric Holder who also has a lot on his plate.
And I give thanks for our brilliant and beautiful heart and mind of our Chipsticks. (((((((((((((((((((( We give thanks and we love you, Chips))))))))))))
Good Night ,my beautiful Chips and my TOD family. I am sipping my water with my beautiful glass straws , another lovely pampering gift from my loving brother. I found out that I am allergic to plastic. Oh, the glass straws are Wonderful!!!
I saw our wonderful MightyPamela here today. That is good. I was asking about her last evening. ((((((( Hugs of healing to Gobrookly,. Layla, Vc., and all of my TOD family members who need a little hugging tonight.)))))))) I love you all so much. Good Night, Mr. President. Have a great time, and thanks for putting a spanking on the foolish ones posing as journalist. What a joke they are for sure.HZ
Thank u HZ. That was wonderful. Thank you for your prayers and extremely thoughtful words for the President, the First Family, his staff and the TOD Family. May God be with you.
That was all perfect and lovely, HZ, and I thank you for it.
But I also give thanks for your “devilish” nature that was out and about earlier, in total support of our great President! Enjoyed that a lot!
Good night all. Be Bless
Most likely the most intelligent President in the history of the United States and I have to watch this shit on these news channels just fucking with his intelligence. What a sad state of affairs the U.S. has become, that their own news outlets are trying to fuck Americans. It’s massively sick. I guess its all about money and what news channel can make more money. What do these big news channels execs tell their anchors to do? It seems CNN has changed into a FOX news. So many positive things have happened under Obama yet these idiot media and the GOP continually go after him. Why are they so afraid of him? He schools them all in his press conferences and they still don’t get it. I have confidence that this administration is going to make these teatards and the gop wish they never fucked with him. The American public will decide and this president is extremely smart on how he took his oath of office for the people. They can’t touch it.
I’ve read a little about this Summer guy, sounds like the worst person to head the Fed Reserve. Sure hope the President doesn’t choose him. He looks like a total creep and his background is something to be afraid of.
That’s not true, Joy! Larry Summers is a distinguished economist who was part of Bill Clinton’s team that oversaw record job creation. I don’t know the sources you’ve been reading. I hope not the emoprog sources!
it’s Huffington Post probably. They’ve had a serious problem with Summers for some reason that I’m SURE has nothing to do with the AOL merger.
Hello is anyone there?
I finally was able to view and listen to the President’s news conference. All I could say was, WOW! President Obama was truly magnificent on all issues. Yet, in the aftermath of the Presser, the only issue the MSM are obsessed about is Edward Snowden! Not the health insurance coverage of 30 million Americans! Not the immigration reforms that would affect 13 millions! Not the importance of ensuring that the economy continues to create jobs for millions of people who are unemployed! Rather, the obsession is about whether Snowden, the man who prefers to be in Russia, and who shared sensitive classified information with U.S. adversaries should be regarded as an American hero. Today’s overall media response to President Obama’s news conference sealed my utter disgust of the sensationalist and propagandist U.S. media.
A little celebratory music for our dear Chips when she awakens to the next day in her Birthday Week!!
… time for a bit of rest …
#TrustBarack
Yes We Can
Great !
“I don’t know a bill that has so many and diverse supporters: Labor, Chamber of Commerce, student groups, Evangelicals …”
Let’s get this done !”
Today President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will be in Florida to address injured veterans at the Disabled American Veterans National Convention in Orlando. President Obama is expected to speak to attendees at noon following an introduction by the first lady.
President Obama and his family will return to Martha’s Vineyard Saturday for a week long vacation.
Vacation site photos: http://mvgazette.com/sites/default/files/article-assets/main-photos/2013/js_obama_house.jpg and
| Live Now | President Obama and First Lady depart for Florida: http://www.cbsnews.com/liveFeed/widget.shtml
I had to go to the hospital last month due to back problems and like everyone I got a bill. I was on medicare luckily due to having a disability and fortunately the bill for ambulance was short of two hundred dollars (it would have been a whole lot more). Also a bill that was $1600 turned into $75 dollars. All these bills added up but would have been STAGGERING if I didn’t have health insurance. I am so happy for the affordable healthcare act aka Obamacare.
Rise and Shine.
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/08/10/rise-and-shine-576/