170 Responses to “Early Bird Chat”
Comments are currently closed.
White House.gov
- Honoring Law Enforcement this National Police Week
- Honoring our Veterans this National Military Appreciation Month
- Marking a Milestone for School Choice
- Celebrating National Small Business Week
- President Trump Proposed a Massive Tax Cut. Here’s What You Need to Know.
WH Tumblr
- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
The People’s View
- Action item Tuesday Liberal Librarian
- Jeff Sessions to testify in open hearing on Tuesday Liberal Librarian
- Weekend open thread: Barack Obama speaks in Montreal Liberal Librarian
- Meanwhile, in the Senate Liberal Librarian
- Open thread: UK election night extravaganza! Liberal Librarian
Smartypants
- Pete Souza Shade
- Obama: "The Best Is Yet To Come"
- What We Should Be Talking About on the Anniversary of 9/11
- Parallels with JFK
- A Tale of Two Ground Games
A Writing Corner (LL)
- Confessions of an Anglophile: Of Roman emperors and naked boobs
- Diary of a football fanatic
- My new favorite podcast
- Accepting you’re a man of a certain age
- On Marriage: A Quarterly Report
Greg Sargent
- Happy Hour Roundup
- Jeff Sessions’s testimony raises more questions than it answers
- How the Republican Coward Caucus is about to sell out its own constituents — in secret
- If Trump tips into full-blown authoritarianism, will Republicans step up? Don’t count on it.
- Happy Hour Roundup
Steve Benen
- Maddow: Trump's lawyer may need a lawyer
- Schumer: Logical that 'fearless prosecutors' would worry Trump
- Schumer: Republicans hiding health bill because they're ashamed
- Senator Schumer: 'Sessions is in dereliction of his duty'
- New Trump team strategy: refuse to answer Trump Russia questions
STILL BATTLING FAKE NEWS ON PBO..BREAKS MY HEART..HOPE THEY LEFT FOR VACATION………………<3
WHEN DO THESE PEOPLE STOP WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA….SWINE!
HAVE A BLESSED DAY..HELL IS FREEZING OVER HERE!….:(
Good morning, NW. Lots of love and gratefulness to you.
TODers, please take a close look at your email. The DNC has sent out a request for input about the next election for Chair. Please take a minute and send them your thoughts. It’s very important to make our voices heard.
Thanks for that heads-up meta, I had missed it in my email.. Now done. Heres what I wrote to them:
I’d like to see Tom Perez as DNC Chair. He has served us well as labor Sec under POTUS and I believe he is what we need. I do not want anyone that a non-Democrat, such as Bernie Sanders picks. I do not blame Democrats for the Electoral loss, just too many outside influences… Russia, media; etc. I want us to fight Trump and his administration every single step of the way. I want him to be called out immediately nationwide when he lies, leaks, backtracks and attempts to undermine the workings of our govt. We know he plans to wreck the very agencies working to better American lives. I want we Dems to be an obstacle to his goals, every single day of his administration. We must be vocal and smart and determined and brave. Also, remember we are not the “white peoples party” We are ALL inclusive, the party of every color creed race and religion.. behave like it and be damn proud of that, we really DO represent what is best about America. Thank you for allowing me to speak to this. Sheri Baltimore, MD
I want him also. I think he has courage and great leadership skills and that’s what we need right now. I am really praying he’ll get in.
I hope so too, Betsy.
Excellent, sherijr. Thanks so much. My remarks had some of the same points.
Fingers crossed for Sec Perez.
yes, agree.
thanks a lot for your input. I will give mine shortly
Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot ~ The Selma-to-Montgomery legacy includes the sacrifices of young people whose history is seldom told. Share their stories with your students.
Teachers can order this kit for free. The kit includes:
The documentary, Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot (40 minutes);
A viewer’s guide to help you plan how you’ll teach about the Selma-to-Montgomery marches, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and voting issues today;
A timeline of activities and events leading up to and following the marches;
A map of Alabama illustrated with locations significant to the voting rights struggle.
http://www.tolerance.org/selma-bridge-to-ballot
That was for our teacher friends!
We are sure going to need this in the coming years. Thanks, Booms.
Hope you and your family are doing well. Merry Christmas to you and a special shout out to Steve!
(That *Booms* still gets me every time - Ha!) Thanks, darlin’. We’re all doing fine, trying to stay off the slick icy streets this weekend (except for family members who live in Florida, who are all out and about, I’m sure - and good for them!). I’ll pass along your shout out to Steve! Merry Christmas to you!
Good morning Ms. Meta.
yes, we are going to need this in the coming years …. perhaps starting now …as you can see from the recent (pre and post election) gop activities at the federal and state level.
thanks a lot for sharing this information.
I am planning to get a copy of this material because it will be very useful to have and share with others
Sounds great!
Thanks. I just ordered it for my classroom!
Yes!!!
Thank you, JER. This is exactly what I logged on to see today. Thanks again for all of the fabulous Obama finds that you contribute to the blog.
It is my pleasure, CEB.
Welcome home to Hawaii, Obama Family! So sweet that grown-up Malia still holds her Daddy’s hand coming down the steps of AF1. That makes up for all the cold-hearted treatment by the GOP and too many in the press. Hope they have the best Christmas ever!
Good morning Ms. Chips, Danny and TOD family, I hope all is well with everyone this lovely Saturday morning. Congrats Sue, on being first this morning.
Nerdy, thanks so much for helping Ms. Chips and the sacrifices you are making for us TOD’ers. 💫🙏👌👊❤
To all, I hope that you approach this Holiday season remembering those who are homeless, hungry, and destitute, especially the children today. ❤ ❤ ❤
Notwithstanding the nightmare of BuffoonTrump in the Whitehouse, I am more than ever, Thankful to God that President Obama is still the President of The United States of America. ⭐🏆 ⭐🏆 ⭐🏆
❤️🌹🙏🏻🌹❤️
G’morning Nerdy & TOD! Happy Saturday everyone 🙂 Glad to see our First Family enjoying their break in warm sunny Hawaii.
It’s stuff like this that has Trump stewing despite his “victory.”
// For a fashion designer, getting the chance to dress a First Lady is a big deal. It’s arguably more monumental than a premiere or award show, with just as high a level of glitz and glam. For Christian Siriano, dressing First Lady Michelle Obama twice was a dream — but don’t expect Siriano to design clothes for Melania Trump anytime soon. As Siriano tells me in an interview about his planned projects for 2017, “[Melania and I] don’t share the same values and the same things.” While the designer’s schedule is certainly busy, dressing Trump just isn’t something that’s on his radar right now. And it’s certainly not comparable to dressing Obama.
“Obviously Michelle…is a really a special first lady. She was a fashion risk taker. She wears things that were unconventional. She was a true fashion icon. She’s what every designer would dream to dress. She’s like any actress that shows up to an event and if you think she’s gonna wear a red ball gown, she shows up in pant suit. That’s what you want,” Siriano says. “But also Michelle represents a very powerful woman on her own — what she does. Her own charities, her own thing.” //
https://www.bustle.com/articles/200504-why-christian-siriano-wont-dress-melania-trump-anymore-exclusive
GM hf….
have you read Coates piece…My President is Black….
i wondered what you thought of his assessment of why the President has so much faith in America…white America…he once compared the President’s faith and trust in white folks with Dr King’s similar belief….
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/01/my-president-was-black/508793/
Hey Pf - to be honest I don’t think PBO’s faith in anyone is blind. He’s very much grounded in reality. However, I think he has a healthy optimism about the nature of people and situations. Both PBO and MLK envisioned their ideal, but understood fundamentally that the circumstances are not ideal. So they set about to do the hard work of what it would take to get as close as possible to that ideal - whether or not the ideal is actually achieved is beside the point, but the idea is that you work towards a goal, and you keep working on it and trying to make things better than they were. I think too many people misinterpret this as naivete. However, if we look back at what both MLK and PBO have accomplished, relative to cynical others who talk a big game, yet accomplish relatively little, (e.g, Prophet Brother West, etc.)
The President was always able to send out a message of hope and progress and hard work…that nothing just happens but that it requires work to achieve progress and that progress was not inevitable…one thing Dr King said was that our paths are intricately linked (black and white workers)…however America rises when blk people are victorious in their struggles for Peace and Freedom but America tumbles when the racism of white folks is victorious…
and today the Electoral College votes…
hard to have faith…
Good morning (afternoon, evening) TOD ….
some have a clue …. hundreds of millions better do something about it real soon now …. it’s now one way or another time …..
So stupid he can’t tell that’s he’s stupid!
Correct. Putin (and others) couldn’t be happier about it ….
And, then there’s this ….
back to work ….
Yes, I believe all of us here have decided to “stick with love.” And once we get DJT out of D.C., we can get back to it! #LoveTrumpsHate
That metallic rose colored dress was my favorite dress too. Guess I am gaining dress fashion from all the seasons of Project Runway I have been watching.
Just noticed that Ms Brazile, like lots of other folk, is ‘whistling past the graveyard’ 21st Century-style, i.e., by tweeting the obvious but totally missing the point that armies of millions of men failed to do what Putin has achieved ….
…. keep’on whistling ……….
Whenever things are going rough, just end whatever it is we’re doing, and bring out Bo and Sunny, according to this poster…. 🙂
JER ❤ Thank you!
You are welcome, GGail.
Michelle Obama is such a sweet soul. I love our First Lady.
Yikes!
Great idea!
Congratulations on first, Sue! Stay warm and happy.
Five weeks from today Trump will be your President. #NotMyPresident
petesouza - Another snowman from yesterday. Yes he enjoyed the prank. See previous post for the backstory.
Oh I just love this ! 🙂
I do, too. You can tell the “snowman gang” loved joking with him.
yep, it was fun and cute - love that kind of humorous stuff 🙂
Love this!!!
great!
thanks for sharing this
I had been wondering how PBO reacted to the snowmen seen through his Oval Office window.
I can’t forget how frequently people said that they “wanted a revolution” as a way to justify their vote;
we are at a very clarifying moment to demonstrate how serious people were about the demands to address income inequality.
with the gop set to destroy the socio-economic safety net, individual rights, the environment etc. I hope the “revolutionaries” are ready to get to work everyday to stop this.
we shall see who was committed to the goal and who was just shouting it out because it was “the-in-thing” to do;
first on the chopping block is Obamacare and Medicaid;
A little taste of life in Trumplandia ….
they are going after everyone
that is everyone who says anything unfavorable or critical
back to work ….
learned a few things about Dr. Heimlich including:
didn’t know that he was from Cincinnati Ohio; and
- that he got to use his maneuver just a few months ago;
that’s our senator schatz on the left- excellent, hard working dem
THANKS FOR THE REPORTS JER..SO GLAD THEY ARE OUT OF THE TUNDRA AND IN THE SUNSHINE…I WSH THEY WOULD STAY THERE AND SKIP ALL THE TRUMP DRAMA TILL THEY MOVE INTO THEIR OWN HOUSE..ADIOS..CHURCH THIS DAY..GONNA’ SLIDE OVER!..GOD IS GOOD!
President Barack Obama and his daughter Sasha depart the White House.
Sasha’s boots. Mom’s style has been pass down.
My goodness what a beauty she & Malia are. Sasha looks like a model here, very graceful and classy like her stunning mama… well like her papa too for that matter 😉
Natasha is drop dead gorgeous. OHMYGOODNESS!
Yesterday I told you all that there was a murder by my house of an elderly man in his home… today they caught the TWO men who did it. Literally the fastest solving of a murder I’ve seen in the 4 yrs I’ve lived here. Both of these guys (usually together) have passed our house many times going around the corner to the drug dealer’s. So we recognized them straight off as two of the local junkies. I’ve never talked to either of them as neither spoke or made eye contact with me- ever. Guess I’m now glad of that. here’s the story for anyone interested: http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2016/12/17/2-suspects-arrested-for-the-murder-of-a-83-year-old-man/
This is just so awful-unspeakable. Thanks for the update and thankful they have been caught. Suppose after $$$$ for drugs.
Thank God they were caught, but this is so tragic.
Yes, I was concerned about this, the who could have done it.. and w/ so many issues in our neighborhood, a murderer walking around was scary to be honest.
No doubt about that! So glad they were caught, in this case.
such a tragedy for the elderly man, his family and his friends.
may he rest in peace and his family find some solace;
glad to know that the people who committed that act are under arrest;
my guess from yesterday’s comment was that there was probably a connection to drugs;
they saw someone vulnerable and permanently victimized him!!
I hope that you and your neighbors can eventually learn to trust again and not feel so vulnerable in your homes
thank you Linda. He lived alone, but his wife lived in Florida. But his brother lived nearby and was the one who called police out to check on him. Just a sad, brutal and unnecessary crime. I know these two guys lived on the same block, possibly next door. My two ladies next door talked to him a few weeks ago and he had complained then that there were “drug people” living next door and he didn’t know what to do about it. According to the report it states that they were there to rob him. We have a ton of thefts and robberies here (including my own garage) and I have no doubt that the majority are done by the drug addicts that walk the neighborhood all day and night. I hope this is a wake up call for folks and for the police.
what a trauma for the brother!
you just wonder why they had to end his life;
we never know how those who live amongst us are going to behave
I am already tired of ivanka and her arrogance in the face of many conflicts of interest;
heavens, the trumps are one corrupt, greedy, cruel, and arrogant family;
Maybe there is hope in Barron. I doubt it, he will probably be like his dad, what ashame.
not a chance ….
With all the excesses that little 10-year-old boy has, he always seems to me to be totally devoid of happiness in his surroundings. Just like his older siblings. That’s the heartbreak of all this - for them. For us, it’s that this family exists at all, sorry to say.
Eff those gold-plated arses. Sorry, can’t find my way to kindness w/ these grifters.
I’ve seen other pics of their gaudy penthouse and what I immediately noticed is that there are NO books.
We don’t need no stinking readin’ books!
I will wait - but for now, that is not a family I want to represent me
Don’t even wait, Linda. These are grifters, not the ones you should even pause, give a “let’s see”, not even worthy of a side eye. 🙂
And, now we all have nukes ….
“The same pundits who predicted that Donald Trump would never win the election tell us now that he cannot possibly lose the Electoral College. They have almost entirely ignored the unequivocal statements of various legal, political and ethics scholars that the Electoral College should not elect Donald Trump on Monday unless his assets are liquidated and placed in a truly blind trust managed by an independent trustee. Nothing could be further from what Alexander Hamilton and the Founders intended than for the Electoral College to rubber-stamp the results of the Nov. 8 election.
The Founders created the Electoral College to protect the nation — an untested democracy — from itself. In fact, notwithstanding the frustration of a system that could elect a candidate with 2.5 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton, the Electoral College system may be one of the Constitution’s most brilliant concepts. With deliberate measure and compromise, the Founders created a decentralized, layered election process in which the public would vote for its president but each state would be represented in the Electoral College, which would ensure the office would not be held by someone who is unqualified, who is a demagogue, or who is subject to the influence of a foreign power that might use bribes, gifts or other “emoluments” to take advantage of a president. Texas elector Christopher Suprun suggested that Donald Trump ticks all three of these boxes when he announced recently that he would not vote for Mr. Trump and called on other Republican electors to unite behind an alternative candidate.
It is with regard to this last requirement that legal and ethics scholars are sounding an alarm regarding Donald Trump. The Electoral College, as Hamilton put it, should prevent foreign nations from “…raising a creature of their own to the chief magistry” of the United States. Our country has never elected a president with a $300 million debt to the state-owned Bank of China, a $364 million debt to German’s Deutsche Bank, and business deals in countries around the world where government help is often required.”
Transforming sheet & hood wardrobes to brown shirts and arm bands, undoubtedly made in Asia and stamped with a T ….
So sickening. And surreal. Unfortunately, it’s very real and we must resist it.
When I heard Trump Jr asked Kasich if he wanted to be VP then said if so he would be in charge of foreign and domestic programs Kasich said something like what will the President be doing? Jr said Making America Great. I envisioned Donald just out there traveling the Country speaking in front of adoring crowds, tweeting, and reacting aggressively to potential problems. So I believe he is doing what he wants to do now and will continue to find ways to feel important and bask in the limelight.
This is one of the most important challenges to ever hit our democracy, among many. Please dear Lord guide the electoral college members on the right path - the only path.
Just as important as winning the Civil War, Jacqueline … at least ….
Totally agree, Bob.
Note to self:
even if I ever get to be able to afford it, I will NEVER decorate my dwellings in fake or real gold.
why: because demagogue has made it represent to me a permanent stamp of greed, evil, & tackiness
have fun mr president!
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/34081124/obama-spends-first-day-of-hawaii-vacation-playing-golf
Droppin in & still so way behind in catching up w/ all the posts. How’s Dudette? How are you all?
.
The original:
One of my all-time favorite songs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So happy you love Grapevine. It’s one of my favorites too! Great beat to a sad story, i.e. the lyrics!
So many songs from way back … that many of us still love!
Oh, joy, our current temperature is 14 degrees F, and it’ll be getting down to 2 degrees overnight - with a high tomorrow of 4 and a low of -2 degrees. Snow and a wind chill advisory overnight.
Nighty night! Stay toasty!
here, sleet and ice have been alternating since Friday night and of course very low temperatures.
more of the same to come throughout Sunday.
I am just watching through the window & afraid to step out - just burrowing like a squirrel until time to go to work
Great idea about not venturing out! Too slippery and cold!
This little boy so touched my heart w/ his courage:
I Love this virtual worldwide Hallelujah Chorus:
Damn, the Mormons invaded. That’s not the link I wanted to post. Hope this one posts:
.
Just watched the new original Netflix movie Barry. Although the actors ears were small and he was physically larger than Barack Obama his facial features were very similar. I especially thought he sounded like Barack. He had his speech pattern down. The story starts out in August, 1981 when he transferred from Occidental College in CA to Columbia University in NY. It ends right when he first moved to Chicago. Lots of more years to go for more movies. Ashley Judd plays Ann Durham (his Mom) and Jena Elfman plays his girlfriend Charlotte’s Mom. Watch it. You will like it.
I just downloaded it on my iPad. Can’t wait to watch it.
This is so joyous:
Love this whole album!
Goodnight TOD & Thank you Gazelle for the special selection of music!!!
You’re so welcome, Sir Bob! Always appreciate your international posts.
Reggae version, which was popular in Europe & Africa back in the day:
Had to return to post ….
Bruce’s version:
I love the interpretation of this song from these fab artists &, from childhood, I’ve always had a soft spot for Joe Cocker.
A Little Something-fab from Joe:
Love you guys! And if I can’t check in before New Year’s (been travelling), have a blessed & safe one.
Here’s my hug in a song to all of you. NW thank you so much for keeping the “home” lights up. Chips, I hope you’re healing, and that we once more hear from you and read your mischievous sense of humor. Never lose that deliciousness. No matter what, ok?
Happy holidays, fab new year! xoxo
Morning everyone.
https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/trump-business-empire-constitutional-train-wreck-and-divesting-wont-help
n two days the electors will meet to formally ratify Trump’s election. Is there anything they can do while they have all this power, and Trump’s undivided attention? Well, at the very least, they should demand to see his tax returns. They are constitutional officers, at least until Monday, and have a duty of fealty to the Constitution that created their office. They must at least check the official record to see whether Trump receives income from foreign powers, which will, a few short weeks from now, be a violation of the Constitution, and an impeachable offense.
Failure to make that demand, in light of the blindingly obvious warning signs of a looming Emoluments Clause train wreck, would be elector malpractice.
But really, because the likelihood of a constitutional train wreck is near 100 percent, the electors should simply reject Trump, thereby throwing the election into the House of Representatives, where of course the winner will still be Trump. But at least the electors will be able to sleep at night, their conscience clear, their constitutional duty fulfilled.
Another very good read
https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/electoral-college-constitution-and-trumps-conflicts-interest
Oh god.
http://qz.com/865637/watch-how-the-world-makes-fun-of-donald-trump-in-funny-and-sometimes-weird-satire/
I see it just like this
Read this. Read it again.He is unfit and unqualified.
Trump celebrated the fact that he “shattered the hell out of” the “blue wall” that the Clinton campaign and many pundits predicted would bolster her victory.
“He’s up with the red [map], and he’s going and his hands start to shake, and he’s gasping for breath, he can’t breathe, he’s choking like a dog,” Trump said, narrating election night coverage as he continued to pick up key states. “And for months he’s been saying I have no path to victory and you know, the bad news is a lot of people probably believed him and they didn’t go out to vote. It’s called suppressing the vote.”
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/310853-trump-mocks-media-as-he-recounts-election-day-win
Suppressing the vote is a GOOD thing to this man….NOTMYPRESIDENT
#NotMyPresident…..Never
WTF!
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/46702_Photo_of_the_Day-_Donald_Trump_Featured_on_Russian_Nesting_Doll_in_Red_Square#rss
Freudian Slip
http://progressiveerupts.blogspot.com/2016/12/unpresidented.html
I need to get out of here
http://www.abc15.com/news/state/arizonas-electoral-college-voters-urged-not-to-back-trump
PHOENIX - Arizona’s 11 Electoral College voters have each been inundated with tens of thousands of emails, hundreds of letters and untold numbers of phone calls urging them not to cast their ballots for president-elect Donald Trump.
They say the anti-Trump effort is a waste of time, and that’s a generous description of their reaction.
“We got a stack of letters from idiots,” said elector Ed Robson, a Phoenix homebuilder.
The 11 electors are all Republicans because Trump won the Arizona election with 49 percent of the vote compared to Democrat Hillary Clinton’s 45 percent. They were picked by the state party and will gather Monday to formally cast their votes.
All swore to party officials that they will back Trump, even though they’re not legally bound to do so, and plan to hold to that pledge.
GM all.
Just in case you need to correct the myriad ” progressives ” and media jokers now trying to pretend PBO’s administration did not issue any statement about the Russian hacking :
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2016/10/07/joint-statement-department-homeland-security-and-office-director-national
New post.
https://theobamadiary.com/2016/12/18/early-bird-chat-905/
good day