On This Day: President Barack Obama gestures during a roundtable discussion with Hispanic print and web media in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, on Aug. 7, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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Today (All Times Eastern)
11:20: The President delivers remarks and signs H.R. 3230, the Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014; Fort Belvoir, Virginia
12:15: White House press briefing
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Courant: Number Of Residents Without Health Insurance Drops 50%
The number of people in Connecticut without health insurance has dropped by 50 percent since 2012, according to research findings released Wednesday by the state’s health insurance exchange. Access Health CT, the state-run onlinehealth insurance marketplace created under the federal Affordable Care Act, has enrolled more than 256,000 state residents in private health plans or Medicaid since the website launched last fall.
CEO Kevin Counihan said at a press conference with the governor Wednesday that the percentage of state residents who lack health coverage dropped from 7.9 percent at the start of the open enrollment period to 4 percent now. About 286,000 residents did not have insurance before the launch of the marketplace. “Nobody expected us to be down to 4 percent,” said Counihan, who compared the figure to those of European countries with national health insurance, where uninsured rates hover around 2 percent to 3 percent.
More here
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AP: BofA Nears $16-$17B Settlement With US
Bank of America is nearing a $16 billion to $17 billion settlement to resolve an investigation into its role in the sale of mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis, a person directly familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The deal with the bank, which must still be finalized, would be the largest Justice Department settlement by far arising from the economic meltdown in which millions of Americans lost their homes to foreclosure.
It would follow earlier multibillion-dollar agreements reached in the last year with Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The deal would be the latest arising from the sale of toxic mortgage securities leading up to the recession. The Justice Department last year reached a $13 billion settlement with JPMorgan and in July announced a $7 billion settlement with Citigroup. Each of these deals is designed to offer some financial relief to homeowners, whose mortgages were bundled into securities by the banks in question and then sold to investors.
More here
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Reid Cherlin: The Presidency And The Press
Somewhere between Seoul and Kuala Lumpur, with Air Force One cruising just shy of the speed of sound, Barack Obama decided to have a word with the press. It has been tradition for Obama to make a visit back to the press cabin during the last leg of exhausting presidential foreign trips – just a friendly off-the-record chat – but this junket, a barnburner taking the chief executive to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines this past April, wouldn’t be over for three days. The president’s blood was up over two analysis pieces in The New York Times. One, written by national security correspondent David Sanger and timed for Obama’s arrival in Seoul, accused the administration of dangerously underestimating Kim Jong-Un. A second story, splashed on the paper’s front page, had effectively declared the trip a failure while it was still in progress.
With the chat being off the record, a definitive accounting of what was said is hard to come by; it is clear, though, that the thrust of the president’s message was this: Foreign policy is hard, you guys are scoring it like a campaign debate, and moreover, you’re doing it inaccurately. He went further, telling the dozen or so reporters that what he favored was a judicious use of American power, and that his primary concern was not to get the country embroiled in situations from which it might take a decade to extract ourselves. He offered up an oddly sophomoric mantra for his foreign policy: “Don’t do stupid shit.”
More here
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Brave, brave Sir Rand of Paul who was, was in fact not brave at all; for when two DREAMers came to call he chose to flee the mini-mall.
— That 70s Hoe (@eclecticbrotha) August 6, 2025
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Victoria Stilwell: Jobless Claims Fall As Average Drops To Eight-Year Low
Fewer Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, sending the average over the past month to an eight-year low, a sign the labor market continues to gain momentum. Jobless claims decreased by 14,000 to 289,000 in the week ended Aug. 2 from 303,000 in the prior period, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an increase to 304,000. Companies are holding on to more workers in an effort to keep up with increased orders and stronger consumer demand, contributing to a virtuous cycle of growth as the economy accelerates. Fewer layoffs and more jobs
would support further gains in incomes and household spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy. “This is one of the early steps in the process of a really good run for the labor market,” said Thomas Simons, a money market economist at Jefferies LLC in New York, whose forecast for the drop in claims was the closest in the Bloomberg survey. “If we have fewer layoffs, it’s a necessary precondition for an acceleration in hiring, and as hiring increases and the slack in the labor force is taken up, that should put some upward pressure on wages as well.”
More here
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An ode by @JOBoomr: Ezra Klein sold his soul For a potential bag of cash First he can shut his pie hole And then he can kiss my ass. :-)
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) August 7, 2025
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Tommy Christopher: Liberal MSNBC Host Says Obama “Broke Politics”
Fresh off his weeks-long stint flacking for Paul Ryan’s poverty plan, Vox publisher and All In fill-in host Ezra Klein further dabbled in Beltway view-from-nowhere dumbshittery Wednesday night when he declared, to MSNBC viewers, that President Obama broke politics. He promised to change politics, but instead, he broke them worse than they already were broken…
…. The theory is that despite all of his promises, Republicans were such pricks that Obama had no choice but to become a partisan ramrod, further dividing our country. Now, even if you accept that narrative, saying Obama broke politics is like saying Jesus sure stained the shit out of that cross… The truth is, it started within hours of President Obama’s inauguration. President Obama didn’t break politics, politics set out to break him…
More here
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Seventeen: Michelle Obama’s Open Letter To American Girls: Commit To Your Education & Get Involved In Others
Did you know that right now, 62 million girls around the world are not in school, and in some countries, fewer than ten percent of girls complete high school (as compared to 85 percent in the U.S.)? Did you know that when girls are educated, they go on to earn higher wages, get married later, and have healthier children who are more likely to attend school themselves? So you might be wondering: why on earth are so many girls worldwide not in school? There are many answers to this question. Sometimes, families simply can’t afford to send their daughters to school (some countries don’t have free public education, and families have to pay school fees); or girls live in rural areas, far from schools, and have no means of transportation; or girls can’t afford to buy sanitary pads, so they’re unable to attend school during their periods, and they wind up falling behind and dropping out.
But often, the problem isn’t just about resources, it’s also about attitudes and beliefs. In some places, girls are viewed as less worthy of an education than boys, so when a family has limited funds, they’ll educate their sons instead of their daughters. Knowing the heartbreaking challenges so many girls in the world are facing, think about all the girls you know who don’t take their education seriously – girls who skip class, or don’t do their homework, or even drop out because they don’t see the point of school. To any girl – or any young person – who might be thinking this way, I have a simple message: you can do better – for yourself, your family and your country.
More here
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The First Lady’s letter to American girls: Commit to your education & get involved in others’→ http://t.co/kwYeD73JFb pic.twitter.com/WdcaWowrw7
— The First Lady (@FLOTUS) August 7, 2025
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White people support harsher criminal laws if they think more black people are arrested http://t.co/MYUCzL3W7e
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— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) August 7, 2025
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Jamming with the FLOTUS. She’s officially SCC (no audition needed):-) http://t.co/QnCmhVbDAZ
— SoulChildrenChicago (@ChiSoulChildren) August 6, 2025
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On This Day
President Obama delivers remarks on the economy from the Rose Garden, on Aug. 7, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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White House.gov
Kerry in kabul
Heard that early this morning Vicki.
Mornin’ :)
HellllOOOOOOoooooo….GB!
gm gb - I’ve been in and out all week - think I missed your birthday - hope it was one of the best.
Thanks, 99! It was a good one :)
Thank yooooooooooooou Nerdy, LEGEND!!!!
You’re weeeeeeeeeeeeeelcome, Chips.
Good Morning, Nerdy. I love this Rise and Shine. Thank you once again.
It has the news: Economy and employment growing.
It has the opinion: Ezra Klein is repulsive and pathetic.
It tells us POTUS will be signing the VA bill and making remarks!!
It has FLOTUS spotlighted.
And as I added, SOS Kerry has landed in Kabul to prod the election results process along. Does this man never rest??
Thanks, Vicki.
A caller to Norman Goldman’s show last night made an important point: The message is being framed like this chart: 10% less uninsured, 5% less uninsured, etc. The RW is using that frame against us: “after all the hoopla it’s only down 5%”. These percentages are based on the TOTAL NUMBER OF UNINSURED per state.
A better way of framing it would be “Arkansas cuts its number of uninsured almost 50%”
Much more powerful.
Morning NW and thank you!
MoOOooorning, Jackie and you’re welcome.
GM Nerdy W - many thanks for R&S
You all should be super proud of the administration’s job figures. We elected ourselves a RW government and now - for the first time since forever - our unemployment is higher than in the US. We got through the recession with much less loss of jobs - but this lot couldn’t create a job to save their souls.
Nerdy W. thank you, I have been looking forward to seeing FLOTUS dancing with with Soul Children of Chicago to that song Happy. FLOTUS loves to dance.
Dancing is good exercise. I need to do it more.
I was talking to myself again….
Morning everyone! Pass this one around…
http://thedailybanter.com/2014/08/15-reasons-rand-paul-definitely-friend-left/
And it seems as if this surge of relevancy for Rand Paul in the presidential sphere is partly fueled by easily-deceived, privileged voters on the left who are climbing aboard an all new whimsical wheezy jalopy, evidently unaware that Rand Paul is an opportunist who’s views are generally anathema to progressivism. Among those naive leftists are Ronan Farrow and Ralph Nader in spite of his horrendous views on an entire roster of critical issues, many of which are torn from his father’s mystical playbook.
Simply because he occasionally tosses a few token scoops of chum to the left (then quickly backpedals), the left appears to be more than willing to ignore the following positions:
At the link….
aqua buddha won’t get past the primaries.
He’s a complete and utter fraud…just like his daddy was
Good morning NW, Chipsticks & TOD family.
Great R&S Nerdy!!!
Moooooooooooorning West Coaster!!!
Moooorning.Chips!
Now don’t rat me out, but, I’m playing hooky today. (cough cough) :D
O.M.G.
Calling your boss, right now. :roll:
Hahaha, right after I sent my sick-out text, my VP called me. I almost fainted! I know he wanted to order me to work, but he didn’t. He wanted some documents that I had prepared for him and I directed him to them in our server directory. :shock:
When I read that, I just pictured this:
:-)
That call would make me faint for sure!
Morning, GGail and thanks.
If this was posted on TOD before - I apologize for the duplicate. :)
G’morning Nerdy, Chips, TOD, lurkers, everyone and congrats Vicki on #1! Thanks NW for today’s Thursday R & S and yesterday’s excellent summary of the African Summit.
You’re welcome, HF.
Gooooooooood Morning….everyone…
Love the President’s Hands….
RE: Ezra Klein:….
these folks are no longer casual about their disdain for the President…..the President still is moving the country /Forward…he has NOT lost his base…and so they think that if they get more outrageous…and shout louder that they will be effective….like i always say….the so-called professional left and the RW/GOP 2 sides of the SAME coin..
No matter what anyone says, there is a reason the far-left loves Putin, and this is one reason. The racism and homophobia.
i love this stamp…pre-ordered mine…..
POTUS is seen interacting with royalty and world leaders as well as working people. He rubs elbows with the rich as well as the poor. He can relate to elderly as well as the young. He reaches back to help bring others forward. He inspires us to have hope and continue to dream.
There are lines in Kipling’s poem “IF” that I think characterizes President Obama:
“If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,..
…If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,…
…If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch…”
This is why whenever President Obama’s adversaries think they have won, he continues to rise above the obstruction and hate. He continues to move forward and triumph.
Took me back to this blog entry by smartypants…..
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2013/12/understanding-why-some-people-cant-see.html
In describing President Obama as an integral leader, Jim Stuart recently wrote this:
On balance, most of us in the US and elsewhere have a binary view of conflict: if you win, I lose, and vice versa. And we are completely immersed in the consciousness of scarcity, resource conflict, and fear of the other. Clearly, Gandhi, Mandela and King operated from a different level of consciousness, where abundance, peacemaking, and trust were the qualities seen first, and were part of each leader’s basic operating system. Developmental psychologists call this level of consciousness integral, and tell us that less than 5% of the world has attained this consciousness level. Obama, I believe, is part of this small percentage of people who see things whole…
…none of this makes sense to our pundits - that operational mode doesn’t compute - power is everything; the powerful are always the winners; never let your guard down; he who has the gold rules, etc, - so folks just cannot see it when something like what has just happened, occurs.
Another Fantasssssssstic Rise and Shine….
whenever there is major news in the Financial District…..we never hear the praise due to the Justice Dept
Thanks, PF
when did bbc become enquirer? screaming headline in their website on killer pistorius. live coverage on teevee. ugh.
The amount of coverage that trial is getting is mind-boggling. If Pistorius was a poor guy, he’d have been locked up for life months ago.
Heads up!
11:20 EDT: The President delivers remarks and signs H.R. 3230, the Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014; Fort Belvoir, Virginia
GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY.
Morning BFF! My gawd, he can’t even have an uninterrupted vacation.
Unlike what some people may say or think - this interruption is not to appease the RWNJ’s or the MSM’s barking about his vacation.
This is likely because some important business may be going down in mid-August and he’s expected to be actively on the scene followed by official statements….like the Iran nuclear deal, e.g..
There’s no way PBO would interrupt his vacation for routine “meetings” He could do those via teleconference or skype while on the vineyard.
I think you have it right. Mark your calendars for those dates and Aug 20 for some pretty important announcements.
There’s no way PBO would interrupt his vacation for routine “meetings” He could do those via teleconference or skype while on the vineyard…..
***********
YOU are the bomb!!…just saying…smilin
The reason I posted this comment is because since yesterday, some folks (likely RWers) on Twitter were all giddy about this possible interruption….I said to myself, let the poor things wallow in their delusional bliss for now…
#DelusionalBliss!
I, and countless others, will absolutely blow a fucking gasket if this happens….
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.609436
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked United States legislators to assist Israel in fending off charges that Israel committed war crimes during its month-long operation in Gaza, the New York Post reported on Wednesday.
“The prime minister asked us to work together to ensure that this strategy of going to the International Criminal Court does not succeed,” Democratic congressman Steve Israel told the Post by phone from Tel Aviv.
Israel was one of a group of American lawmakers who met with Netanyahu in Israel on Wednesday.
Congressman Israel told the Post that Netanyahu “wants the U.S. to use all the tools that we have at our disposal to, number one, make sure the world knows that war crimes were not committed by Israel, they were committed by Hamas. And that Israel should not be held do a double standard.”
Netanyahu defended Israel’s conduct of the war during a press conference on Wednesday, calling it both “justified” and “proportional.”
I WILL LOSE IT….
Yet Bibi wants Israel held to a double standard. Did Hamas do thinsg for which it should be condemned? Yes it did. Did Israel? Definitely. And to a far worse degree.
So Bibi wants Israel’s actions to be ignored while Hamas gets all the blame. That is the double standard. So if he doesn’t want Israel held to a double standard, then he should be willing to accept world condemnation of both Israel and Hamas. And for it to be fair, Israel’s should be significantly higher.
This is utter bullshit.
Why are taxpayers funding trips to Israel for our so-called representative lawmakers, who are on vacation, to meet with Israeli heads of state, when we have a very fine and efficient State Department, our SOS being maligned by same so-called heads of state. This reeks beyond comprehension.
sure does
what the frack?????
We need to push back on this one. Writing my officials right now.
Thanks desertflower.
Another good article from Smartypants:
HEADLINE: Dear liberal media: Change doesn’t come from Washington
// …I’ve always thought that Klein should stick to wonking instead of punditry. But on this one, he failed at both. On the wonk side, the problem with that chart is that it failed to take into account what has happened to the Republican Party in the last decade. We all know by now that the party has gotten more and more extreme in their views….
…What we see is that, when it comes to party identification, the Democrats have bounced around a bit in response to major events (the impeachment of President Clinton and the election of Barack Obama), but are basically at the same point today they were in 1990 (from 33% to 32%). Republicans on the other hand have lost a lot of ground - going from 31% of the electorate to 24%. Pretty much all of those who abandoned the party have become independents (from 29% to 38%). So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to Klein that as the Republican Party is shedding their more moderate members, the remaining hardliners are more opposed to a president from the other party. That isn’t about polarization, its about the potential death of the Republican Party.
On the pundit side of things, Klein swings and misses because he is totally focused on what is going on in Washington DC. He misses what President Obama has been saying all along. //
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2014/08/dear-liberal-media-change-doesnt-come.html?spref=tw
Some of the replies to this tweet are absolutely ridiculous and shows just how the RW can not understand satire, sarcasm or nuance.
Study: White People Support Harsher Criminal Laws If They Think More Black People Are Arrested
Stanford research suggests support for incarceration mirrors whites’ perception of black prison populations
Informing the white public that the percentage of black Americans in prison is far greater than the percentage of white people behind bars may not spur support for reform. Instead, it might actually generate support for the policies – such as stop-and-frisk and three-strikes laws – that created the situation.
BY SHARA TONN August 6, 2025
Stanford psychology researchers discovered that when white voters perceive more black Americans in the prison population, they support harsher laws.
Although African-Americans constitute only 12 percent of America’s population, they represent 40 percent of the nation’s prison inmates.
But informing the white public of this disproportionate incarceration rate may actually bolster support for the very policies that perpetuate the inequality, according to a studypublished in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/august/prison-black-laws-080614.html
STREAM IS UP NOW: Veterans Accountability Act Signing - http://www.cbsnews.com/liveFeed/widget.shtml
Rick Perry Staffs Up for White House Bid
Associated Press: “Those close to Perry say he is aggressively eyeing a second presidential bid… With the help of veteran Republican operative Henry Barbour, Perry has also begun hiring staff in key states to help prepare for a possible run. His travel and staffing is being paid by a nonprofit group, led by his chief political adviser, called Americans for Economic Freedom, which can raise and spend unlimited sums of money without disclosing its donors.”
http://www.pressherald.com/2014/08/06/for-2016-presidential-bid-texas-governor-has-eyes-on-new-hampshire/
“Rick Perry Staffs Up for White House Bid’
Can’t stop laughing, rikyrah!!
OOPS ……..
Jon Karl truly, truly, truly is pitiful!!
First class journalism brought to you by Dumbass University.
This man is SICK.
So I guess this will be Jon Karl’s question at the briefing today……
Josh, the pool saw a very animated President Obama frowning and making hand gestures as he spoke to Denis McDonough today. In the interest of transparency, can you tell us exactly what they were talking about??? If not, I’ll have to make something up. /snark/
And you know Ladyhawke, that’s most probably what he WILL ask!!
C_SPAN is going to cover POTUS and bill signing. They are airing a Conservative meeting now so I have the sound off.
I’m watching on Whitehouse.gov, and the program has started.
Live now!
Okay the sound is gone, or is it just my stream that’s faulty?
The sound is weird.
Try the CBS stream.
http://www.cbsnews.com/liveFeed/widget.shtml
Yes, that worked - thanks :)
Wjat happened to the sound? Is it just my computer???
The sound is weird.
Try CBS.
http://www.cbsnews.com/liveFeed/widget.shtml
I gave up on WH, I’m watching on c span
And there you have it.
And hella bitter where basically if you were banking on the failure of something to be your own personal cash cow, and it succeeds, you have no choice but to lash out in anger.
LOL. Smart kid. Not so much the father.
Hooooooooowling!!!! :lol:
I.Love.President Obama!!!
Me.too!!! :D
Reportedly delay was to discuss airlifts to aid Iraqi religious minority stranded on a mountain top surrounded by ISIS—-or airstrikes.
President Obama in good spirits and happy signing this important bill. Also PBO looked very handsome in that tie and blue shirt.
OMG, stop the presses. President Obama was using his hands and frowning. This could be something HUGE!!!!
:-)
“frowny” :lol:
That frown is making me *melt*. Please stop POTUS!
TOD family, I need your help. I’m trying to locate the pictures (flick pics?) of POTUS & FLOTUS with each Summit dignitary. Thanks in advance :-)
Here you go GGail, just scroll down!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/statephotos/with/14659890249/
Chips! I don’t care what they say about you…you’re my angel <3
:-) Although, if I’m the best angel you can find, your soul is in seeeeeerious trouble GGail!
Well… :D
Help me out here:)
http://www.juanitajean.com/2014/08/07/what-happens-when-you-cross-crazy-with-stoopid/
Donald Trump has donated to the political campaign of Louie Gohmert. Money. Really.
Yep, that combination is probably what caused ebola.
LOL. Love it. You are too funny. Thanks for picking up my spirits today :D
Monty says:
August 7, 2025 at 10:06 am
Trump and Gohmert should get together and form a new political party: the Ebola Party!
Poor Hawaii—now an earthquake as the islands await 2 approaching hurricanes
Cutting off nose to spite face. Lots of places the food can go, limited places for Russia to get replacement food to feed his own people.
Chat on!
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/08/07/chat-on-33/
oh really, Ezra?
The PRESIDENT is to blame?
NOT the racist muthaphuckas that met the NIGHT OF HIS INAUGURATION
and decided…
during the worst economic downtown of this country since the Great Depression that they would commit
ECONOMIC TREASON
against this country because they wanted the Black Man out of the White House..
No, THEY didn’t break politics…
The President did?
G-T-F-O-H
…………………………………………………………………….
Liberal MSNBC Host Says Obama Broke “American Politics Even Further”
Tommy Christopher on August 07, 2025
Fresh off his weeks-long stint flacking for Paul Ryan’s poverty plan, Vox publisher and All Infill-in host Ezra Klein further dabbled in Beltway view-from-nowhere dumbshittery Wednesday night when he declared, to MSNBC viewers, that President Obama broke politics. He promised to change politics, but instead, he broke them worse than they already were broken. Just listen:
…..
“The president didn’t do all of this by fixing American politics. He did this by breaking American politics even further.”
http://thedailybanter.com/2014/08/liberal-msnbc-host-says-obama-broke-politics/
Awesome R&S NW.
Wow.
Those apply for Unemployment Insurance Benefit numbers……..Fantastic numbers ;)