The President and Malia during a visit to Honolulu Zoo
(January has barely begun and we already have a contender for photo of the year :-) )
****
Leaving Hawaii
03
Jan
16
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GM Chips.
Mooooooooooooooorning Roberta!!
I agree with the Contender of the year for the first photo. It just makes you put a smile on your whole face. Beautiful. What a find. Thanks Chips.
It’s a gem, Roberta! :-)
GM early early birds. Congrats on first Roberta
I’m reading some fun responses to the latest RW stupid in Oregon - mainly surrounding cutting off power and electricity and allowing the group involved to be overcome by their own bodily functions (said in a not so politically correct tone) :)
Second photo - PBO has some regret in the eyes - maybe would like to stay longer in Hawaii.
GM 99ts.
You’re absolutely right, you can see PBO’s expression in the video JER posted (thanks, JER!).
His look says to me “can’t believe I have to leave this warm and generous island and citizens and deal with the NONSENSE waiting for me in slushy and unwelcoming DC.”
Thank you for your sacrifices, President Obama and family — the country is a better place for your dedication and hard work.
PBO has an INCREDIBLY full agenda this year — a whirlwind, it’ll be hard for TOD to keep pace!
Good Morning BFF and TOD.
Morning {BFF}!
I feel for them. Leaving Hawaii must be so hard, especially coming back to the ugliness of DC. I love that soft dress on Michelle-she looks beautiful and at peace.
Safe journey!!
Morning. Our president must be feeling very keenly the fact that Malia will be off to college after this year, beginning a whole new phase of her growing adulthood. I’m sure a part of him wants all the quality time he can get while she’s still “at home.” Once he returns to the WH there won’t be any peace for him or a moment’s rest and his family time will be more restricted. This is such a bittersweet time in a parent’s life. Those sweet little girls of 2008 have become young women and I’m sure that’s both glorious and poignant for mom and dad.
THIS IS SO SAD FOR ME…DC IS SUCH AN UGLY DISRESPECTFUL PLACE..BUT I AM LIFTED WITH THE PHOTO OF MALIA…A PROFILE OF HOPE AND THE FUTURE. WE ALSO HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO IS FILLED WITH GRACE AND INTEGRITY.THEREFORE…WE PRESS FORWARD…OFF TO MY NEW CHURCH TODAY FOR SOME GOD LOVING AND HUGGING WORSHIP TIME!
Good morning TOD :)
Congrats on 1st Roberta!
Can’t wait from some idiot #NEWSTAINER (I realize that’s redundant) demands that POTUS have a beer with these white terrorists ….
BTW, we have plenty of data on who ‘radicalized’ them ….
GM Bobfr.
MSM is clearly reporting this event with as much sympathy for the insurgent traitors as possible.
Susanne posted a link last night to HuffPo that is the widely-reported (by all media outlets) AP version.
Arapaho, this double standard is simply intolerable. If you are a white armed terrorist committing a federal crime, you get all the understanding in the world. If you’re a person of color, you are shot first and then that action is justified by demonizing the victim. Wake up Americans and see what’s become of your country where justice is a mockery.
But there’s pushback (#OregonUnderAttack is #1 national hashtag):
The #NEWSTAINERS are apologists for white supremacists, Arapaho, because almost to a person they are all also white supremacists.
They are also vastly outnumbered by folk who communicate faster and more directly with one another and increasingly with everyone on the planet - in ‘real time.’
We will prevail.
agree so much, Bob.
These anarchists need to be rounded up, tried and jailed for a very long time. No civilized country can tolerate citizens deciding on their own to take over federal buildings and steal federal land.
GM TODville.
Thank you so much for the video of PBO and @FLOTUS leaving Hawaii — wonderful genuine warmth between PBO and Michelle and the Bon Voyage committee:
“Greeters on the tarmac included:
Governor David Ige
Dawn Amano-Ige, First Lady of Hawaii
Admiral Harry B. Harris, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command”
And also, JER, thank you for this tweet on previous thread:
And LL will be heartened to hear that PBO ordered stylish martini:
He’s got the Midas touch.
Am sure the back channels had much stronger language flowing from US to House of Saud barbarians ….
At this point I’d be willing to pay more for gas to extricate the US completely from Saudi oil. Let them fail spectacularly and let them know what true widespread economic suffering is.
I take some hope in this, JackieG …..
Wow! I wonder if Saudis ever before demonstrated like this. Tried, but couldn’t see whether any of the protesters were women. How I would love to see Saudi women become part of a massive movement for change.
Good morning Ms. Chips, Danny, and TOD family, I hope all is well with everyone this lovely Sunday morning. Congrats Roberta, on being first this morning.
To all, I hope you are blessed and have an uplifting spirit today. <3 <3 <3
Thank God, that President Obama is still the President of The United States of America. ⭐🏆 ⭐🏆 ⭐🏆
Happy Sunday, TODers
Heeeeeeeeya Chips
Saudi Arabia will face “divine revenge” for its execution of a prominent Shia cleric, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned.
Ayatollah Khamenei described Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr as a “martyr” who acted peacefully.
Protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran late on Saturday, setting fire to the building before being driven back by police.
Several hundred people gathered outside the building again on Sunday afternoon.
The authorities have changed the name of the street on which the Saudi embassy stands, naming it after the executed Sheikh Nimr, one of 47 people executed for terrorism offences on Saturday.
But Ayatollah Khamenei said the cleric had been executed for his opposition to Saudi Arabia’s Sunni rulers.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35216694
the fall of sadistic saud house has begun.
I hope you’re right AMK. That is one fall that I would truly rejoice in.
You said it, Africa. If there’s anyone in this country who doesn’t immediately see the difference in treatment, they are living in lala land. If they see it and don’t feel outrage, they are part of the problem.
Well if we listen to some people in America, President Obama haven’t done a dam thing these seven years.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/MalheurNWRHeadquarters.jpg/300px-MalheurNWRHeadquarters.jpg (Where they are now)
It must be pretty poignant. Not only are the girls growing up, but the clock is ticking down towards the end of his Presidency. Time’s flying.
Now for the idiots taking over the Federal Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. I agree with everybody who says let them starve and freeze-if they want to die, let it be from hunger and cold (it’s 13 degrees with wind chill) as they turn off the power supply and shut off the water. Hopefully as they start to feel frostbite and thirst, they may rethink this needless stand. Unfortunately, I don’t think they have thought this through enough. In a shootout with the Feds, there is only one winner-and it’s not them. And the Feds can certainly wait them out-they’ll be well supplied, rotate watchers and perimiter standers if they decide that’s the better choice. Nothing like that for the domestic terrorists. I doubt if many people will be coming to join them in 13 degree weather, with the prospect of armed Federal Guards blocking off the one road leading to the complex.
They are fighting to preserve something that cannot be preserved much longer. Logging is going to be replaced soon my more recycled materials that don’t require cutting down strands of tress all the time. Paper is already being recycled heavily(There is a woman in China who buys all the recycled paper materials to create new packaging). A lot is being done with materials that are also being recycled into materials-a lot of aluminum is being recycled, as also rare metals, steel and other things. Fewer mining jobs. And the age of oil will soon be over as electric cars become cheaper-so fewer oil drilling jobs.
Also the Federal Land Management jobs created are steady jobs in areas where little else would otherwise relocate to-and those jobs are broadbased jobs. The refuge creates jobs for hotel people, souvenir people, people who sell birdwatching and camera supplies, jobs managing the preserve. And these jobs are at least all spring-summer and fall jobs, year after year after year. Also these jobs aren’t liable to relocate to far-away shores And they don’t pollute, bring in roughnecks and the like and leave poor locals to try and clean up the place. Which is plenty of reason for the locals not to side with these
Bundy folks. And nobody wants their insanity either in other aspects, which is what the Bundy crowd brings as well.https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/MalheurNWRHeadquarters.jpg/300px-MalheurNWRHeadquarters.jpg (Where they are now)
It must be pretty poignant. Not only are the girls growing up, but the clock is ticking down towards the end of his Presidency. Time’s flying.
Now for the idiots taking over the Federal Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. I agree with everybody who says let them starve and freeze-if they want to die, let it be from hunger and cold (it’s 13 degrees with wind chill) as they turn off the power supply and shut off the water. Hopefully as they start to feel frostbite and thirst, they may rethink this needless stand. Unfortunately, I don’t think they have thought this through enough. In a shootout with the Feds, there is only one winner-and it’s not them. And the Feds can certainly wait them out-they’ll be well supplied, rotate watchers and perimiter standers if they decide that’s the better choice. Nothing like that for the domestic terrorists. I doubt if many people will be coming to join them in 13 degree weather, with the prospect of armed Federal Guards blocking off the one road leading to the complex.
They are fighting to preserve something that cannot be preserved much longer. Logging is going to be replaced soon my more recycled materials that don’t require cutting down strands of tress all the time. Paper is already being recycled heavily(There is a woman in China who buys all the recycled paper materials to create new packaging). A lot is being done with materials that are also being recycled into materials-a lot of aluminum is being recycled, as also rare metals, steel and other things. Fewer mining jobs. And the age of oil will soon be over as electric cars become cheaper-so fewer oil drilling jobs.
Also the Federal Land Management jobs created are steady jobs in areas where little else would otherwise relocate to-and those jobs are broadbased jobs. The refuge creates jobs for hotel people, souvenir people, people who sell birdwatching and camera supplies, jobs managing the preserve. And these jobs are at least all spring-summer and fall jobs, year after year after year. Also these jobs aren’t liable to relocate to far-away shores And they don’t pollute, bring in roughnecks and the like and leave poor locals to try and clean up the place. Which is plenty of reason for the locals not to side with these
Bundy folks. And nobody wants their insanity either in other aspects, which is what the Bundy crowd brings as well.
LOL.
On a visit to the Honolulu Zoo (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Where is Sasha?
Morning:) What an amazing photo to wake up to! Love it! Malia looks more and more like her handsome dad every day:) Just an adorable photo…
Got to go read up on the crazy terrorists in Oregon before I comment….freeze them seems fair.
LOL…
The fact that these terrorist assholes are granted space to do this is so infuriating.
Nerdy, it makes want to scream!!! We have two countries and two different justice systems. A house divided like this cannot stand.
THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER CAN FILL YOU IN ON ALL THE WHITE PIGS THAT OCCUPY THIS COUNTRY UNDER THEIR OWN FORM OF DEMOCRACY!
PIGS WITH TIES…AND DEEP POCKETS……………..THESE GUYS DESIRE A RETURN TO PLANTATION LIFE AND BURNT CROSSES IN THE YARD. GOD IS GOING TO RIP THEM TO PIECES!
I love our president and his optimism-just wish I could feel that way. PBO is challenging us by holding up a higher standard by which to live in the world. He knows how easy it is to give in to cynicism and he’s spoken of it many times. He’s telling us cynicism will defeat us, but optimism will allow us to triumph. I’m working on it.
DITTO!!!!!!!!!
These two weeks in Hawaii obviously refresh and regenerate him every year. For those with “eyes to see, and ears to hear” his visits have taught them that Yes, Hawaii is a state, and people born there ARE Americans. Also, people have been shown that there is power in working together and searching for solutions, and that life is not a zero-sum, win-lose game. This is where PBO gets his ideal of all sides winning, and trying to make that part of the American way. Whether the unwilling, blind and deaf, know it or not, he has made changes that will continue to permeate the culture long after he is no longer president. Thank you. President Obama.
A townhall you say?
Must-see TV!
WOW….prime time! No need to DVR :)
This town hall should be interesting. Will try to watch it.
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Obviously ….
bbl ……………….
I have been thinking about this difference…could it be because that those handling the containment of Bundy and his crew are not local officers but the FBI and Federal Marshals and because Bundy and crew are armed insurrectionists that they do not want to create another Waco…
how the press is handling the news is not surprising…that we call them out about it is necessary…
and for the record…how the Federal marshals are handling this incident is preferred…
G’morning Chips, TOD, lurkers, etc, and congrats Roberta on #1! Happy Sunday everyone. :)
who cudda noed?
What the fuck are they so goddamn angry about?
I don’t even watch the news anymore, I certainly don’t watch political news show anymore. I don’t have the stomach for the bullshit, I get most of my news from twitter, and from here, and from the daily news briefings at the Whitehouse.
I’m with you. As soon as it became evident way back before the inauguration that the MSM were not going to give President Obama a fair account, I stopped watching their BS. It’s trash, it’s toxic and I don’t have the stomach for it. And now, I don’t know how anyone can listen to their 24/7 propaganda about Trump. Truly vile.
Agreed, Meta.
Paging Captain Yardarm with the naughty mats!!!
// NOT
So a group of people really did take over a federal building, I say call in seal team 6 to take the federal building right back from them.
I agree with you 100%!
INDEED…THE TYPICAL DONALD TRUMP FAN AND POSTER BOY!
Well they did say that they want their country back, I mean they had to start somewhere. This is what happens when you start down that road demanding to see the President’s birth certificate.
My wife is from Jamaica; sometimes we talk about building a house on one of its beaches when we retire. The way things are going we might start building sooner rather than later.
the clown who actually shut down US govt is likely to be the winner first gop primary. the party has gone off the deep end.
Do it:) You’ll have lots of company….I’ve been to Jamaica, I’ll go again!
THERE ARE ALOT OF PEOPLE LEAVING THE US…BUT THAT WON’T SOLVE THE PROBLEM…THE MORAL STRUCTURE OF SOCIETY IS GONE…IT IS A GODLESS SOCIETY AND NOONE RESPECTS HUMAN LIFE…THAT’S ON A GOOD DAY. NOT A CYNIC HERE..A REALIST…YES!…WE MUST ALWAYS FIGHT FOR AND STAND FOR THE BETTERMENT OF SOCIETY…HOWEVER…GOD MAY CHOOSE TO START OVER FROM SCRATCH AND BAKE A NEW CAKE!
CRUZ WOULD LOOK MIGHTY AWESOME IN A VELCRO WRAP AROUND OR AN ORANGE SUIT…………….WHERE DO THEY DIG UP THESE PEOPLE?…WERE THEY ACTUALLY BORN OR JUST DROPPED FROM A PASSING DARK CLOUD?
RIGHT WING REPUGNANTS HAVE BEEN SEEKING AN OVERTHROW EVER SINCE PBO ENTERED THE WH…PBO HAS ALSO UNCOVERED MANY OF THE WRONGS IN THIS ALLEGED DEMOCRACY…THEY ARE NOT HAPPY CAMPERS AND THEY HATE HIM WITH A PASSION!..PEOPLE LIKE THE BUNDYS AND TRUMP AND YES THE CRONIES IN CONGRESS HAVE A PLAN…THEY ARE NOT GOING TO WAIT A YEAR FOR PBO TO LEAVE OFFICE…IT’S CYA TIME AND CERTAINLY HIS. I BELIEVE THERE IS A PLAN IN THE WORKS AS WE SPEAK!…BE EXTREMELY ALERT AND CAREFUL!
That’s disgusting and pathetic! They even got some poor schmo in a wheelchair,(no doubt getting some FEDERAL help!) to hold a freaking teabagging flag. Yup…dickless wonders alright.
fyi…
I WOULD NOT ALLOW THIS TO GO ON FOR LONG…OTHER COUNTRIES ARE WATCHING HOW WE SOLVE THIS SITUATION….IT NEEDS TO END..LIKE YESTERDAY!
Good morning, Chips and TODville.
POTUS, FLOTUS, Malia, Sasha, Mrs. Robinson, Bo and Sunny return to DC today and it signifies a major transition into the final year of their journey as our beloved First Family. I’m feeling so emotional about this but let’s vow to work just as hard on President Obama’s agenda this year as we have in all our previous years together. There is a lot of work yet to do so let’s remain FIRED UP and READY TO GO until we reach our squad goals!!
GM Meta.
Not the greatest article about PBO, but the headline is true (unlike AP’s headlines about #OregonUnderAttack:
Jan 3, 3:37 AM EST
Obama returns from Hawaii saying he’s ‘fired up’ for 2016
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-01-03-03-37-16
This will be a THRILLING year for Obots. PBO is going to everywhere at once (both overseas and on the campaign trail in the Fall), we’ll have plenty of time to mope after Nov 8th. :(
I feel the same way Meta. I watched the video and got so teary. We have to give it our all to end this stretch. Let’s go!!
G’morning meta - I concur with everything you said. This is the “all-hands-on-the-deck” year for us, and I look forward to every minute of it.
Always worth another play - I’m so glad the internet is forever
So so so many great memories, this one among them. What a time in our lives.
I can still remember the joy and relief when he won the election - the world started breathing again
OMG, I’ll never forget it. I think I was hyperventilating.
Damn…thanks 99ts for posting this! This is also the “Fired-up! Ready to Go!” speech. I LOVE IT :) :)
Meta used the term - doesn’t take much to remind me of this speech - I am so grateful to be living in the age of Obama
99ts, that has brought back so many good memories. In fact, i am now re-energized, Fired-UP and Ready-To-Go to complete this fourth quarter in winning style. Thanks for sharing.
Idiots!
We don’t need no stinkin’ book learnin’!
This should piss EVERYONE OFF!! They have now involved children that want and need to be in school learning…just because THEY love living in Dumbfuckistan doesn’t mean that everyone else does!
“Dumbfuckistan” LOLOL!
GM DF.
BillR, who was born in eastern Oregon near the California border (recall he said it was near the CA town that #BatKid was from, Tule Lake CA), had some insight into school closures on the overnight thread.
Although the wildlife refuge is 50 or so miles from Burns OR, that’s where the armed occupiers convened to lay siege on an (unoccupied) federal building.
I think the number of protestors in overinflated in the media (who basically are stenographers for any spokesman, whether it’s Baghdad Bob or GOP/RWNJ mouthpiece).
Doubt if the occupiers will be able to endure a week without water, heat and food.
American exceptionalism ….
Voting on 8 Nov 2025 and every election is a ‘life or death’ issue, for real and we know what side the white supremacist #NEWSTAINERS are supporting.
GM TODville.
More on PBO’s “Guns In America” townhall on Thursday (see jojovie, africatimes2 posts upthread).
Special delivery to Carolyn — really enjoy the tweet feed from local OKC news station.
cc: @GabbyGiffords
Last comment is in the WP ditch … any road side crew help will be appreciated … bb late today if possible …. Happy New Year TOD … we’ve got a lot of work to do in 2016 to keep America from drowning in a sea of GOP debt and blood …. no joke.
coincidence? hints being leaked that president obama is going to sign executive action about gun control measures this week, then this wack-job theater show starts in oregon while our president is literally flying back from his vacation. all coordinated.
Agree that the occupiers are badmouthing President Obama now, and it’s fueled their hate and provided motivation to join like-minded bigots who think the federal government exists only so they can mooch off of it (i.e., graze on federal lands, occupy federal buildings, set fire to federal property, etc.).
But the protests began because two ranchers are scheduled to report for prison on Monday for setting fire to federal land.
From the article:
“BURNS — In this quiet, high desert town, frost covers the sagebrush and most people are staying indoors because of the below freezing temperatures.
Yet, tensions in this Eastern Oregon community are running high as two local ranchers prepare to go to prison. Dwight Hammond, and his son Steve were convicted of arson related to fires on federal land in 2001 and 2006.
Dwight Hammond and Steve Hammond were sentenced in accordance with federal anti-terrorism laws and are scheduled to report to prison on Monday. Their lawyer said both men will do so voluntarily.
As the Hammonds plan to leave for prison, many in Harney County are not happy about who is coming into Burns.”
Quite enlightening and apropos…
http://www.salon.com/2016/01/03/marilynne_robinson_talks_religion_fear_and_the_american_spirit_the_left_at_a_basic_level_lost_courage_because_they_dont_know_how_to_deal_with_the_proclaimed_religiosity_of_the_other_si/
<3 So, they attach the word 'militia' to justify another group of madmen having guns. God bless The First Family, we are all so grateful to them.
i’ve known some people over the years that spew this same “tyranny” talk that these terrorists are using in oregon right now. would always have fun watching their reactions when shown that the constitution says very clearly the exact opposite of what they claim, in article1, section 8:
“To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;”
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
then of course, “militia” is used in the 2nd amendment, and the framers clearly use that word in regard to what we now call the national guard. militias are supposed to “suppress insurrections” against the u.s. government according to the constitution. exact opposite of what these republican/libertarians claim, and by definition, what they preach is anti-constitutional. that always shuts them up.
I’m just SHOCKED that these “patriots” know absolutely zilch about the country or the Constitution, or the meaning of a word in context….Thank you for this 4more…
I will never understand these people and their “tyranny’ talk, now I have fears just like the next person. But I don’t think for one second that the government is out to fuck my shit up.
NORMAL people don’t have that fear! :)
Chat on
http://theobamadiary.com/2016/01/03/chat-away-746/
They’ve been angry since January 20, 2025
……………
Poll: Republicans angrier than Democrats
January 03, 2016, 09:00 am
More than three quarters of Republicans, 77 percent, said they now get angry at least once a day, compared with 67 percent of Democrats.
White Americans are also angrier than African Americans and Latinos, pollsters found.
Fifty four percent of whites said they find themselves feeling angrier more often about current events. Thirty three percent of African Americans said the same thing, as did 43 percent of Latinos.
Pollster said there is a strong correlation between a high degree of anger and “the sense that the U.S. is no longer the most powerful country in the world; that the American dream is dead; that the gap between the rich and poor is widening; and that one’s life didn’t turn out as well as one had imagined when they were younger.”
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/264600-poll-republicans-angrier-than-democrats
To hell with there anger, I know what they are angry about. Maybe not all of them, but a hell of alot of them are piss about a black man being President of their country, that’s why they want to MAKE AMERICA WHITE AGAIN.
YOU ARE RIGHT ON IT BELLA…HOWEVER…GOD DID NOT INTEND FOR HIS CREATION TO SURVIVE IN WOVEN SEGREGATION AND A GODLESS SOCIETY WILL NOT STAND!