by Pete Souza
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“Yes, it will be hard, and it won’t happen overnight. It won’t happen during this Congress. It won’t happen during my presidency. But a lot of things don’t happen overnight. A woman’s right to vote didn’t happen overnight. The liberation of African Americans didn’t happen overnight. LGBT rights — that was decades’ worth of work. So just because it’s hard, that’s no excuse not to try.
And if you have any doubt as to why you should feel that “fierce urgency of now,” think about what happened three weeks ago. Zaevion Dobson was a sophomore at Fulton High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. He played football; beloved by his classmates and his teachers. His own mayor called him one of their city’s success stories. The week before Christmas, he headed to a friend’s house to play video games. He wasn’t in the wrong place at the wrong time. He hadn’t made a bad decision. He was exactly where any other kid would be. Your kid. My kids. And then gunmen started firing. And Zaevion — who was in high school, hadn’t even gotten started in life — dove on top of three girls to shield them from the bullets. And he was shot in the head. And the girls were spared. He gave his life to save theirs –- an act of heroism a lot bigger than anything we should ever expect from a 15-year-old. “Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
We are not asked to do what Zaevion Dobson did. We’re not asked to have shoulders that big; a heart that strong; reactions that quick. I’m not asking people to have that same level of courage, or sacrifice, or love. But if we love our kids and care about their prospects, and if we love this country and care about its future, then we can find the courage to vote. We can find the courage to get mobilized and organized. We can find the courage to cut through all the noise and do what a sensible country would do.
That’s what we’re doing today. And tomorrow, we should do more. And we should do more the day after that. And if we do, we’ll leave behind a nation that’s stronger than the one we inherited and worthy of the sacrifice of a young man like Zaevion.”
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Full transcript
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Zaevion Dobson
FURST.
nk might have carried out a nuclear bomb test.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35240012
The mighty Nerdy had prepared a post of tweets on today’s events, at which point WordPress broke down and none of the tweets would show up. Head. Banging. Against. A. Very. Concrete. Wall.
Hopefully the glitch will be fixed tomorrow, thank you {{Nerdy}}
:-)
So sorry that all of Nerdy’s hard work was frustrated. Hope tomorrow will be a better day for WP. This has been an incredibly emotional day and I can’t stop tearing up whenever I think of the President’s remarks today and the pain of those who’ve lost someone they love to gun violence. When you see the depth of our president’s compassion against the shallowness of the R candidates, you feel as if your seeing two different species of mankind-one fully evolved and one not.
Oh, btw, someone ought to have mentioned we did have a brand new fresh from the solar system Mercury Retrograde (station retrograde around 5 am PST, today!! So glitches, phone breakdown, missed flights etc, status quo until 25 Jan. Roll with it, cause there’s nothing else we can do!! <3 We do have a lovely new moon coming in on Friday, hoping someone remembers to get that info out to {{{{{ TOD }}}}} <3. G'nite y'all. ;)
Has anyone seen this about Netanyahu bribing Congressmen?
http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-spy-net-on-israel-snares-congress-1451425210
Does anyone have access behind firewall to give us a synopsis of the article?
Clear the cookies on your computer, then google “Netanyahu bribing Congressmen;” then click on the article in the search results. That’s the trick to getting around wsj’s firewall…
Thanks, I’ll try that
i’ve not ever needed to clear the cookies - just use google
WSJ seems to amble around the point - trying to make out it was a sin to record congress people - this one is somewhat succinct
http://www.dailynewsbin.com/opinion/president-obama-catches-netanyahu-bribing-republican-congressmen-to-change-their-votes/23432/
In an explosive revelation, wiretaps uncovered by the Wall Street Journal reveal that Benjamin Netanyahu reached out to republican congressmen who had been considering voting in favor of the Iran peace deal, asking what they wanted in return for voting against the deal. In the end, not a single republican voted for the deal, meaning that Netanyahu’s bribes succeeded in swaying the ones who had been on the fence. That means that not only is Netanyahu actively working to undermine the sanctity of the United States government, the republican congressmen involved may have committed treason under the Espionage Act.
Thanks, 99ts. I hope we get names soon because these traitors need to be called out and prosecuted.
Well past time they had to face their actions.
Congrats, AMK! Off to sleep. perchance to dream.
aaand I am outta here.
Oh, my. I want to always remember that face. It is the face of a holy and whole man. To love is to suffer and to bear willingly the cost of loving. Our President is for me the model of a spiritually mature man. I haven’t seen many. He is the only political leader in my lifetime at any level who has attained this state of development. In the world of religion I think Bishop Tutu is someone who has reached this state. We are privileged to be led and governed by such a human being as Barack Obama. I don’t think there will be another like him in my lifetime.
Thank you, Bill R.
AMENNNN…
i know that we say this often…”There will never be another like him in our lifetime”….but i believe its true…because they do not come around that often…We have indeed been privileged to have the President…
Hear hear!
What a powerful speech! I had tears. If only he could stay for another 4 years.
Tears streaming down my face….just watched my President speak truth and hard facts…he needs us to be in this with him…for all of us. I see those kids in my school in my head now…I love and care for them…if anything like this needless, senseless terror invaded our space and took the lives of those precious children….well, there are no words. Stand up, America. Stand and do right by human life you swear you cherish above all else. I may never get his tear stained,painful, tormented face out of my head…I have such respect for this man. I have no words enough to thank him for his fearless truth.
THIS. Perfect, df.
Goodnight all.
LOL.
I forgot who, but some one on earlier thread challenged Obama haters to produce one person whose guns were confiscated by President Obama. So far, not a single person has been produced.
THIS is truth. It’s the US Congress that has consistently defied the will of the people. Only the President hears and understands.
Chips and TOD thank you so much for all the coverage of President Obama’s speech today. Thank God we elected this man to be president twice. I think he’s the best President that I’ve seen in my lifetime, I’m 60.
Yes. Excellent coverage of PBO’s #StopGunViolence EO
I will be 70 in February, and I know PBO has been the best President in my lifetime for sure. I feel fortunate to have realized it in present time instead of after the fact.
Yes. I’m 65 and I love the President so much. And he is indeed the greatest and most courageous President in my lifetime.
as usual, Lil’ Kim Jong Un is just seeking attention;
this time he must be pissed that the Middle East is dominating the headlines;
I hope the world can just ignore his “testing” …. whatever it is he has detonated
Congrats amk :)
Good night TOD
So, da nk nutz claim to have exploded an H bomb today. Have the kkklowns learned what is nuclear triad is yet?
Well, JO’B, I hope all those knuckleheaded seditionists had a miserable night and work up cold and hungry.
I’ve been saying this same thing for years.
It is 6:25 am EST and I am probably writing this for myself only, but I am still so affected by the president’s heart-wrenching speech yesterday and I wanted to get out somethings that i have been meditating on from the time PBO came to national attention to this present day.
Everything that I have learned about being a true Christian I have learned from the example set by Barack Hussein Obama:
1. How and husband and father should love his family with intention and attention and to show that this is the most important thing in his life.
2. To see and to respond with active love to “the least among us.” He really sees people in a way that recognizes their unique humanity whether they are the very young, the old and infirm, the prisoner, the low wage worker, the homeless veteran, the abused, those with disabilities, the forgotten, the marginalized and so many more.
3. With great joy he more than “suffers the little children to come unto him”: he seeks them out, loves being around them and sees each for the soul with great possibilities.
4.He does not deal in vengeance, be it personal or political even though he has been lied on, threatened and treated with such ugly disrespect. He treats those who “despitefully use him” with courtesy and respect; still willing to work with them to try to bring about the good that will benefit so many. PBO is to busy and spiritual to spend time and energy trying to get back at people and because he knows and understands that: “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord: I will repay.”
5. He has shown us what hope really is: the faith in things not seen, but worked for with patience and courage. Hope is not some nebulous, airy-fairy thing; it is gritty and determined; it is surety in the face of extreme adversity and heartbreak; it is love.
6. Even though we may grow weary in doing the right thing, we do not faint. We hold on to the uplifting faith, kind thoughts and prayers of others to carry us on through the fight until the goal is reached.
7.Courage is quiet and steadfast: .”Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
8. Laughter, a strong mind and body, and the company of loyal friends and colleagues can help us get through the difficult times. No one is meant to go through life without these things and they are always there for us if we reach out for them.
9 Talent and ability are nice, but without hard work, focus, and faith, they will only get you so far.
10. Love is the core for everything that we do.
There is so much more running through my mind, but writing this has helped me to settle down a bit. So thankful to have this safe place to come to to share my rambling ruminations. have a wonderful day, TOD ohana.
Beautifully stated, CEB!
Beautiful! May I share?
I just spent over 30 minutes writing a comment entitles: Everything that I learned about being a true Christian I learned from the example of PBO, hit post and it did not show up, lost somewhere in the weird world of Word press. I wrote it as a way to help me and possibly others through the wrenching emotions of yesterday and now I am even more upset. I hope the rest of my day is better than its start.
I see that it has somehow appeared (I changed from Firefox, which did not show the comment, to Google Chrome which does; or is it that a computer fairy retrieved it? Anyway, glad that it is here.
Can’t imagine the horrific drudgery of this SS assignment:
Morning:
http://theobamadiary.com/2016/01/06/early-bird-chat-627/