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Aug
13
136 Responses to “Five Years Ago Today…..”
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RIP Teddy Kennedy…..Your dream Lives On ;)
Good morning, TOD!
Hey everyone! Did you realize that Ted Cruz just wants to look out for AA and HIspanics and THAT’S why he wants to get rid of Obamacare??? He CARES about you! WHO KNEW! What a POS. Everyone needs to get their behinds to the polls and vote these people out. We need to be done with this kind of BS.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/25/ted-cruz-republicans-repealing-obamacare-to-help-african-americans-and-hispanics/
This is his lameass reason…all of it WRONG, but hey….the ones that WANT to believe this nonsense, will.
“Because it’s not working and it’s hurting Americans,” Cruz insisted. “And by the way, the people that it’s hurting the most are the most vulnerable among us are the more vulnerable among us. The people who are losing their jobs are young people, are Hispanics, are African-Americans, are single moms. I don’t think that’s fair, I don’t think that’s right.”
PS…Candy Crowley is incompetent
That’s why no amount of reading of Plouffe’s book will make a difference…if the candidate is TERRIBLE to begin with.
Did Crowley follow upwith Cruz and ask him how Obamacare was hurting these groups?
Saw a clip of a town hall pushing getting rid of Obamacare using the Yes We Can phrase from Obama’s campaign. Seemed like an oxymoron to me.
He talks a lot of bull. He wants to repeal every single word of Obamacare. But he will help his constituents enroll if they ask for it. These people are bat kaka crazy. We need every hand on deck for 2014.
Jindal losing his ever loving mind.
Didn’t Bobby Jindal tell his party to stop being the STUPID party just months ago? Hmm?
It looks like the STUPID is enshrined in Bobby Jindal?
They are confused. They have no plan. They can’t govern.
I do not have a word to describe these folks anymore…I just know they cannot be in charge of anything…because they will bring about the demise of our country….
LOL… just used your words in a tweet!
All the party has is “the stupid”….why get rid of something they feel comfortable with.
guess this nonsense explains why he had to shorten his name.
how is this garbage going to win the gop any votes from the minority communities?
yes, even Americans who have been in this country for many decades are not only proud of their heritage, but they focus on learning more about any missing parts
The Liberal Lion - miss his presence in congress every single day.
UTA, so right, as always.
Dear Teddy’s passing bequeathed the shiny object known as *Scott Brown* for the MSM to chase. MSM then also conveniently ignored his health decline and passing when they claimed that President Obama had a super-majority in the Senate.
Dems miss Teddy, but we need to do him proud in 2014, and cast votes to gain the House majority. It makes no sense that the supposedly population-based legislative body his a GOP majority (gerrymandering, I know) since the cards are stacked in the GOP’s favor in the Senate with each state getting 2 votes, regardless of population.
As BobFR would say, #DemLandslide2014
In 1980 at the DNC Convention……Vintage Edward M. Kennendy
The Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
Oops….Typo. So sorry.
He was truly a champion for the poor, as rich as his family is. I have often wondered about GOP. Who are these people?
Demons.
It’s just beyond me how this man can still be a Republican. That party left him a long time ago.
Co-sign.
Ditto.
I saw General Powell on Face the Nation this morning. It is to darn bad the Republican party doesn’t have more people like Gen. Powell. Instead of sick ass folks like Ted Cruz, Tom Colburn, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Eric Canter, Steve King, Rand Paul, and all those other racists ass folks, I didn’t name. Colburn claim to be a friend of POTUS, but yet at Town Hall meetings making comments about impeaching POTUS. What a friend.
Love God!
Anyone heard from GOBrooklyn lately? Haven’t see her last couple of days. Hope all is well with her.
Was she returning home? I thought that I read that here…maybe that’s what she’s doing. That would be a good thing:)
I am usually way behind on the blog so I was just checking, cause didn’t see her on twitter either. That would be a good thing if she is going home. Thanks, DF.
I guess I was sadly wrong on this…see Arapaho’s comment below. I send good thoughts and healing to her. She has had a tough road lately….
@GoBrooklyn posted on Twitter that she was admitted to the hospital yesterday for a weekend stay.
She was exhausted but grateful for her supporters.
We’re all sending healing thoughts and prayers her way.
Thanks!!
oh dear. Thx arapaho!
Much healing thoughts and prayers going forth for our Gobrooklyn. ()HZ
Thank you for the news - sending all good thoughts to {{{{{gobrooklyn}}}}}
Please add mine to the mix! All the best to her.
There were so many great posts yesterday, and who are interested may have missed the 1963 NYT front page article about MLK’s speech 50 years ago this week (second tweet has PDF of the original article).
Wow.
GA, ToDers. RIP our lion Senator of MA. We still and will always miss you.
This is not the first time he’s prioritized his career over the will of the people who elected him, and all common sense. We saw it in his veto of bills on marriage equality. His foot-dragging on medical marijuana for critically sick people. His delayed decision to finally accept federal dollars to expand Medicaid as part of Obamacare, and his refusal to build a health care exchange. All issues, like tighter gun laws, that New Jerseyans overwhelmingly support.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
DEMS tell me again…why are you voting for Christie…you do know of course that he cannot win without your vote!
https://twitter.com/rockportbasset/status/371640607602536448
Koch brothers and their ilk are destroying the country from within - they are destroying the very fabric of the country. Far more damaging than any terrorist blowing up a structure. The Kochs and company have done generations of damage. To the middle class. To race and class relations. To education. To the environment. To America’s interests around the world. They are the ones people should be afraid of - they are stealing the future for millions.
I tried to retweet this and found out that he blocked me. Why, I have no idea.
I’d consider that a badge of honor! :)
Thanks. I have no idea who he is.
this is the core of what we need to do with a sharp focus & do it everyday
INDEED!
I posted this last night, but didn’t see the same outrage that I feel, so I’m posting again.
Donor gives a cool half-million to Cuccinnelli, but punishes household staff for not refilling shampoo bottles when only 1/3 of the bottle is full.
1) It’s despicable that Americans just sit back and accept the fact that people can buy politicians legally.
2) What kind of person who thinks nothing of dropping a half-mil finds it acceptable to demean and humiliate people who are in his home on a regular basis? Withholding wages over something so petty?
wow what a horses ass
So unbelievable - what is there to gain from treating staff in this fashion - other than to ensure the job is not done very well.
Yeah. Yeah. Can’t wait to go back.
We’ve come a long way….
Is this the kind of “free” America that teabaggers want to go back to?
Yes. Yes, it is.
Sad and true
Hopefruit2 has been telling us all this fact for a long time now.
Yep! This explains the media’s behavior.
Much love and gratefulness for all of the support and hard work that the late Sen. Ted Kennedy extended without reservation to our brilliant President. We miss Sen. Ted Kennedy, but Bo will always remind us of the love and beautiful support that Sen. Ted Kennedy and his lovely and smart wife, Mrs. Viciki Kennedy showed in their support.
We know POB must miss Sen. Kennedy, but he will always stay close to the Kennedy family. HZ
Beautifully said, HZ! I really loved Sen. Ted Kennedy. His support for President Obama demonstrated his courage, his great political insight and, above all, his great commitment to justice.
Ted Kennedy will live on as the man who helped bridge the 20th century to the 21st. He died knowing we were in good hands with the election of Barack Obama. I’m sure that is what keeps the president motivated every day.
Yup!
So funny!
https://twitter.com/Kahsai/status/371709883243970560
Great to hear and see Senator Ted M Kennedy again.
sometimes I wonder if the Dem resistance & back-stabbing of PBO will have been less if Sen. Kennedy had been alive in today to handle some the old guard.
Interesting question
LInda, I mentioned above that I believed Ted Kennedy died knowing that we were in good hands with President Obama, the silly, inept congress on both sides (all the bought out ones)
“the silly, inept congress on both sides (all the bought out ones), hadn’t even crossed my mind, because I know PBO has go this :)
Just popping in, TODville, to see how y’all are doing! Happy Sunday.
More on the Kennedy clan …
I found what Bobby’s youngest daughter, Rory, had said back in ’08 when she, too, endorsed candidate Obama for President (in an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle), and thought everybody might like the reminder of one of the things Ethel had related to her and others:
“Last Monday, I was very moved to see my uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and my cousin, Caroline Kennedy, publicly endorse Sen. Barack Obama. I thought their statements of support were brave, intelligent and responsible. Given the importance of this election, and the remarkable strength of our candidates, it’s not an easy decision for anyone looking to cast a vote for a new direction in this country … Recently, my mother, Ethel Kennedy, said of Obama: ‘I think he feels it. He feels it just like Bobby did. He has the passion in his heart. He’s not selling you. It’s just him.’ I agree. Obama is a genuine leader. We Americans - women included - desperately need that kind of leader now. Not a president of a particular gender or a specific race, but a president with a different vision, one who inspires a sense of hope.”
And that’s exactly what we got, Rory, TWICE!
What insightful and truthful observations by both Ethel Kennedy and Rory Kennedy. Thanks JOB for sharing it. Have a wonderful Sunday.
nath - If memory serves, didn’t you say you had worked for RFK’s campaign? Thought you might enjoy this, in particular! Have a wonderful Sunday, too. I think most of us are resting up after the big day yesterday, filled with emotions!
Yes I did during the Oregon primary, which, sadly, he lost to Eugene McCarthy! I also got a chance to briefly shake his hand at one of his campaign appearances. One the most horrific thing that will be with me forever was watching him assassinated live on T.V. after he won the California primary. The horror of that evening took so long to recover from. I am sure you too remember those dark days. Within just a span of two months we had lost MLK and RFK. In spite of all his haters, Teddy Kennedy courageously kept the dream alive with his magnificent work in the Senate. I am so grateful that I was alive to see the last of the Kennedy brothers endorse, and work tirelessly, for the election of a brilliant man who also happens to be the first African American President.
THIS^^^^. I remember it all, too, nath. I also remember seeing Lee Harvey Oswald killed before our eyes on our old black and white TV.
Those were truly trying days, JOB! I also know of many people who were so disillusioned by all the tragedies and ugliness and and turned to drugs ruining their lives. This is why, despite being an old man, I cried so hard, with tears of joy, on Nov. 4th 2008. I never thought that it would happen in my life time.
You were not alone by a long shot!
None of us will ever forget those times - or the tears of joy (and so many other emotions ) we all shed on Nov. 4th, 2008. I’m so glad everybody here “gets it.”
^^ THIS
:)
Do you remember, JOB, that Ethel was pregnant with Rory when RFK was shot. When she was born a few months later, some announcer said the name was as close to Robert as Ethel could get. When I first heard this statement I was so glad that Rory had so much of her father in her. I did so love that man.
Yes, jackieg, I remember that. And I loved him, too.
Not surprising, Jovie, that the privileged, overpaid David Brooks would say that an outstanding program for poor and handicapped preschoolers isn’t successful. He’s never met a family whose child attends Head Start. He has no idea of the difference it makes in the lives of poor people to have a place where there pre-school children can learn something and be safe and protected. He’s talking out of his hat to project the appearance of one “in the know” when he is, in fact, an ignorant fool.
“UGA spreads word about health insurance exchanges”
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-08-24/uga-spread-word-about-health-insurance-exchanges
The University of Georgia took on a big job when it signed on to help uninsured Georgians shop for health insurance under the federal Affordable Care Act, which requires Americans to have health insurance or face a penalty by next year…“There are 1.7 million uninsured people in Georgia, and our goal is to get as many of them signed up before the deadline as possible…”
College administrators applied for a $1.66 million federal grant to train and deploy ”health navigators”…The proposal fit neatly into one of the missions of the college and UGA’s Cooperative Extension Service….
UGA already had a support system in place for the health navigators — the statewide network of Cooperative Extension offices….In addition to the Cooperative Extension’s 163 offices across the state, the effort will tap into a big network of partners such as the Small Business Development Center and VITA, the volunteer program that helps low- and moderate-income people prepare income tax returns….They’ll also be reaching out to churches, libraries, “places that people congregate…”
——-
That’s good to know. Georgia is one of the Republican run states that defaulted to the federal exchanges and opted not participate in medicaid expansion. Almost certain that the state will not much to facilitate the process.
how long…….not longgg!
Thanks prettyfoot for the memory! This speech, which he gave at the conclusion of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery March for voting rights, was one of his most passionate speeches.
Of all of his speeches, that one was one of the most moving to me.
Yes it was JOB! And if you listen carefully, you can hear a very determined person who used biblical language, such as not sounding “the trumpet of retreat” to signal his defiance of those people who were ben’t on stopping progress.
yes….this is the speech that he made the statement…about the arc of justice…PBO has that inscription written on the rug in his office….what a profound message that is
Yes indeed, prettyfoot! There is really no mistaking the fact that President Obama holds Dr. King in such a high esteem and has been greatly influenced by his words and deeds.
Finally had time to see “The Butler” this afternoon and was really impressed with how good a film it is and how beautifully well acted. Forrest Whitaker manages to convey so much turmoil, emotion, heartache, and tragedy with just the smallest facial gestures-it is just a brilliant, brilliant and subtle performance. And Oprah was genuinely amazing. The violent scene at the lunch counter and on the Freedom bus was gut wrenching and all too reminiscent of the experience my childhood friend had at a lunch counter in Georgia that led to her imprisonment in the mid-sixties. By the time Barack Obama is elected in the end, I was dripping tears on my blouse. So many memories of that night. So much emotion. There was a lot of clapping at the end and it was a largely white audience of a certain age. People were genuinely moved. Hope this movie reaches larger and larger audience each week. Hope it gets lots of Oscar nominations. It’s worth whatever time you can take to go see it.
Everyone who sees it applauds this movie. My sis and bro in law saw it this week, and they raved, said we had to see it, which we will. Expecting many Oscar nominations.
Heartily agree, jackie g, as one of those white Americans of a certain age (old.) The Butler was hisory I remember told with passion. Hope millions of Americans get to see it. This week was something!
With Cory Booker and others invoking the names of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman it struck me that those three men were my generations Trayvon. Meaning that the memory of these deaths are a permanent part of who i am and my feelings about justice. Injustice . If you haven’t seen the Gene Hackman Wiilem Defoe film about this part of our story it is played on TV occasionally and it is great.
The first time I heard POTUS mention Schwerner Chaney and Goodman was when he and Hillary went to address Aipac during the 2008 campaign. Of course I’d been on board before then but I bet he changed many minds and hearts that day. The slaughter in Missisippi of 3 young people who were peacefully trying to register voters resonates just as much now as it did then at least for me.
You’re right, Vicki. Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman were the Trayvon Martin of our day. The difference is that the three young men knew that there was real risk in registering voters. Young Trayvon was just trying to get home in the rain. But it’s still horrible injustice perpetrated on the innocent by racists.
I watched this program last night a documentary remembering MLK and Robert F Kennedy. It showed this film of how Bobby spoke to the crowd that was ready to riot after the murder of MLK. It is a remarkable documentary that was on PBS how RFK spoke and quieted the crowd and how then Mayor Lugar of Indianapolis did not want him to speak because he was in fear of a riot. Due to Bobby’s remarks to the crowd there were NO riots in Indianapolis that night.
I lived on the outskirts of a city in the Northeast and was still in high school, as was my younger sister, that awful night. My older sister was working a part-time job, evening shift. I remember my mother calling her at work to tell her to come right home (she was the only driver, too, and had our only car), because the word was spreading via our TV of “dire warnings” that there “might be riots,” in all the cities. My grandmother lived with us, and was wheelchair bound, so my mother felt it would be better if we all drove out to the country where my aunt and uncle lived, to stay overnight with them, in case something happened. Can’t remember what happened in the inner-city, but nothing happened in our neighborhood and we came home the next morning. We were all feeling bad about the assassination of Dr. King, and then scared because of the fear mongering that was going on.
Not a lot has changed in the media - they love to spread the word about riots - and just hate it when it doesn’t happen. Much of the racial divide can be well put at the feet of the media - they stir the trouble because it sells news and keeps the US divided. Scum.
Exactly. As I watched the replay of the August 25, 2025 MTP, it was so “in your face” how the media was pushing the riot idea and, in fact, one of the guys said that to one of the people who kept going back to that. Nearly all the questions were accusatory or fear-filled or some other negative question/comment. I kept thinking “The media hasn’t changed at all.” Sad!
Hard to believe Dr. King was only in his mid- to late 30s when he went through all that, and many were younger. No riots after the March on Washington, but I do believe there were around the country after the assassination of Dr. King. It was a horrible, anxious time for the nation, not to mention the King family and supporters. All right-minded people, with hearts and souls, were grieving or angry or both.
If you remember/….the media spread the *violence* myth around the verdict of Trayvon Martin…that there would be violence….the only violence was in Cali…and I felt that instigated by the police
Good one Mr. Plouffe. :)
#TrustBarack
Yes We Can
This program aired today on CSPAN3. You may recall, a couple of years ago, PBO & FLOTUS attended an MLK Day program at Kennedy Center honoring Mr. Jones.
Too cool!!!!!
FYI you can see POTUS and FLOTUS enjoying the music……..
Watched it hundreds of times after it first aired—-thought it was so awesome—-that gal can sing! Wow.
Me too d!!!!!! I can just watch over and over! I love PBO and the First Lady chilling!!!!!! They feel the music!
Gives me an ‘error’……not found. ?????
me, too. searched for link:
http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=bostonred-sox&id=30467
Thanks! What a cool story….from an oh so cool President. :)
I sorry! :). Glad you liked the story!
Jovie, what happened to your Apollo Twitter account? Now I’m seeing Jovie only.
They suspended it I called somebody an asshole. Or something like that! :)
So I got a new one!
I’m sure it was a Tbagger who got you suspended. LOL!
Wear that suspension like a badge of honor. Oh, wait, think you already are! :)
For a supposedly “exotic” Kenyan socialist muslim, President Obama knows so much more about American sports (basketball, football, baseball, etc) than some of the real American teabaggers I know.
Was it my short nap yesterday that caused me to miss the appearance of top Hollywood/Sports folks at the march?
I was thinking the same thing! In ’63 the “stars” were much more connected to the community.
BTW, I’ll be in Chicago Sept 18th, departing afternoon of the 19th; can we meet for lunch or at the DuSable?
There’s an outside chance I will be able to do this. I got a few things brewing and will let you know via the mail. Okay?
okay!
Well, I didn’t take any nap, though I should have, and I still didn’t see any superstars “Hollywood/sports folks at the march.” I’ve been debating myself whether to characterize the absence of the entertainment industry (movies&sports) super stars at the march as a clear sign of of Progress or clear evidence that, unlike 1963, the 2013 super stars are totally disconnected from the problems of regular people. I think it’s a bit of both, but I would love to know what you think. You always share so much wisdom and common sense deeply rooted in your experience.
I got mine, now you get yours. Besides, I’m kinda busy and there ain’t gonna be that many folks around anyway……..Ask old boys Smiley and West!
New post.
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/08/25/its-the-weekend-why-arent-you-laughing/