President Barack Obama signing an executive memorandum for the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative
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Jonathan Capehart: The Unrealistic Expectations Of Obama In Ferguson Shooting
The president of the United States has awesome powers and responsibilities. But being a superhero is not one of them. But you wouldn’t know that by listening to those demanding that President Obama do all sorts of questionable things in response to the tumult over the police killing of Michael Brown. They want Obama to act out in some visceral way. They want more emotion from him on the horrible actions in and images coming out of Ferguson, Missouri. They just want him to do something. All the while completely ignoring what he’s actually doing, what he actually can do and what he is actually capable of doing. Michael Eric Dyson, a professor at Georgetown University, said on “Face the Nation” on Sunday, “[W]e need presidential leadership. He needs to step up to the plate and be responsible.” White House officials tell me that personnel from the Department of Justice’s community relations service arrived in Ferguson on Aug. 10, the day after Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Brown.
Some won’t be satisfied until Obama bursts into East Room clad in Kente cloth brandishing a definable “black agenda” wapo.st/1pIlxL6
—
Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) August 23, 2025The level of attention has only ratcheted up from there. DOJ is conducting its own parallel federal investigation. FBI agents swarmed Ferguson over the weekend. A third autopsy of Brown’s body conducted by the federal government was done yesterday. Because of the ongoing investigation the last thing anyone should want is for the president to be rhetorically reckless in talking about the police killing of Michael Brown. deep in his second term, we know the president is no fan of the theater of politics, especially needless theatrics that might make people feel good in the short-term, but do nothing to advance a greater cause or achieve a worthwhile mission in the long run. Obama cares. Deeply. But if you’re expecting him to do seemingly heroic and showy things that make you feel good but do nothing to actually fix big, systemic problems in the long-term you will never be satisfied. All the energy being used to harangue the president should be directed at officials in Ferguson and St. Louis County who have refused to release key documents in the case.
More here
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President Barack Obama speaks about his budget during the State of the Union Address
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Exhibit A
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NYT: Obama Cares. Look At The Numbers.
A true measure of a president’s priorities lies hidden in plain sight in his budget proposals. Under that standard, Mr. Obama has been more committed to communities like Ferguson than any Democratic president in the past half century. Mr. Obama earmarked 17 percent of his budget for these needs, versus Mr. Clinton’s 12 percent and Jimmy Carter’s 8 percent. These presidents all faced economic challenges, although of different degrees and strength. Each was committed to the needs of the poor and the disadvantaged. But Mr. Obama made good on that commitment far more concretely. No president gets all he requests, but the outcomes speak well for Mr. Obama, too. Christopher Wimer of Columbia University found, for example, that tax and transfer policies lowered the poverty rate by only 1 percentage point in 1967, under President Lyndon B. Johnson, but by almost 13 points in 2012.
Did Mr. Obama plan to spend more simply because he had more mouths to feed? No. Even after accounting for the higher numbers of poor people caught in the Great Recession, Mr. Obama’s record outshines his predecessors’. His proposed first-term spending per poor individual was $13,731 to Mr. Clinton’s $8,310 and Mr. Carter’s $4,431, in 2014 dollars. Mr. Obama even exceeds Mr. Johnson, whose budget priorities amounted only to $111 per poor person. (Because Mr. Johnson was the first postwar president to tackle poverty issues with so many new programs, it is not surprising that his proposed funding levels were low at the start.) The same pattern shows up in spending per poor family. Mr. Obama allocated $67,132, Mr. Clinton $39,820, Mr. Carter $20,790, and Mr. Johnson $546, again using 2014 dollars.
More here
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White House.gov
Helloo NW
Helloooooooo, Roberta. Congratulations on first.
1st!
I’ll be happy to share the honors Don.
Oh my I can hardly believe it. 1st😊👏
Congratssssssssssss http://textimages.us/congratulations02.htm
Perfect Nerdy, thrilled you posted this, thank you soooooooooo much.
Thanks, Chiparoo.
The look on Boners face tells it all for the GOP
pathetic, useless man
BOOM!
Magnificent!!
This crap makes me want to spit nails. Michael Eric Dyson can take his ODS and shove it. If I never hear his sanctimonious voice or see his snarling face again, it will be too soon.
ODS – OBAMA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME
http://www.democratsforprogress.com/2013/08/11/ods-obama-derangement-syndrome/
Good for Only4RM !
And I have a compliant Chips, I was on the other thread talking to NW and she was here starting a new Post and didn’t tell me! :-(
She’s a Chelsea fan, GGail, they’re like that :roll:
She cut me deep Chips and yet, I must tell her that this is a good Post. “where’s the love”????
When Manchester United are top of the table GGail, I will give you endless hugs.
(Don’t even think about saying it…)
I’ll settle for hugs when ManU gets *closer* to the top. Baby steps…
You’re going to be waiting for a looooooooooong time.
More chance of spotting Big Foot.
Woah, look who I just saw in my garden:
:cool:
Stop putting Danny in weird costumes.
He said to tell you he prefers this:
Oh, that poor puppy.
Look what I found - MU pet beds!1!1!
Oh hahaha!
“When Manchester United are top of the table GGail, I will give you endless hugs.”
Put. Down. The. Drink. It’s too early, Chips.
You wound me, GGail.
I give you pictures when you get first place on TOD, and now you’re jumping ship to Chips?
Oh, the horror!!!!!!!
:)
NW, you left me!! but I’ll take a pic as an apology :D
Says the Manchester United fan who cheats on 99.9% of the posts.
:shock:
She’s a lawyer. She knows of what she tweets. Prof Dyson is no match.
People who have been involved in civil rights cases — not just read about them — know why PBO is not going to Ferguson. I guess these intellectuals would rather risk losing the case just for appearance sake. Would they rather have the DOJ drop their investigation so that PBO can go to Ferguson without worrying about a conflict of interest?
These black intellectuals help to feed the unrealistic expectations that PBO is omnipotent and has no limitations to his authority. This, even as we watch the GOP constantly accusing him of over-reaching.
“People who have been involved in civil rights cases — not just read about them — know why PBO is not going to Ferguson.”
Yes, swbluega, that is the heart of the matter.
Yes, and do not forget also Bobfr and swbluega, when he returned to Chicago from law school, he worked as a Civil Rights Lawyer. HZ
But why are people like him, from the left, mad at this president?
What’s the agenda?
I don’t get it?
For most of them the agenda is the desire to get on TV and:
Impotent men
Love it!!!!
There are times when you must call it like it is, Michael Dyson is acting like a dam idiot. POTUS showing up in Ferguson will do what, the main thing is for Darrin Wilson, that police officer to be tried.
Oh SNAP!
Thank you Nerdy!
I’m dashing in for a peek before work. I will be looking forward to reading J. Capehart’s article this evening.
However, I feel like PBO is pretty close to a superhero, considering the arch-villains he has to contend with - and STILL he gets it done.
It is a good read.
Is vcprezofan2 here?
Thanks for the reminder of what a bad-ass our PBO is:
“Now, where were we?”
Michelle Obama said that becoming President reveals who you are, but the more I listen to these blackademics the more I believe that President Obama has made some of these blackademics reveal who they are.
THISSSS! You nailed it Don. TU
TU/sb TY - Thank You.
“…. President Obama has made some of these blackademics reveal who they are.”
Total Exposure would be an understatement, Don.
“Poverty Pimps” on the same train with Tavis and Cornell…….Ever heard the term, “Hidden Agenda”?
Yes, sailor. For these dudes, their agenda has always flashed like a Manhattan marquee!!
So very true Don
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Michael Eric Dyson should shut up about PBO and go to Ferguson himself - make himself useful - maybe register some people to vote. These stupid people who bleat about ‘leadership’ and ‘optics’ work my last nerve. That’s an excellent piece by J Capehart.
HELL. YES!
Only4RM and others are whipping Dyson but good!
Dyson say he is not the President, but Dyson is a Pastor, a man of the church. So why haven’t he been there. Why is he sitting on his behind criticizing the President for not going to Ferguson when he haven’t been himself.
Maybe Dyson think Phil Griffin will see going after the President and Griffin will give him a show.
Phil Griffin will see him going after the President and offer him a show.
Thank you to 4RM and anyone else who is putting it to Dyson.
One hell-of-a selfie in the article …
His courage and humor are to be admired.
For perspective, it’s the star on top of this building …
Wow, how did he get up there. I thought it looked high.
He’s a ‘roofer,’ Marilyn. Think of it as metropolitan mountain climbing. No building is to high or complex for them not to try to climb it and, when the buildings are close enough to one another, they’ll go from building to building :)
After the rally, PoliticusUSA was able to catch up with Ferguson resident Kayla Reed for an interview. Reed is one of the founders of the Justice Core, an advocacy group started at the onset of the protests in Ferguson. She spoke at length about the group’s mission and efforts to engage young people in and around Ferguson. The group is looking to get young black residents more involved in the political process, both locally and nationally. Reed and the group’s other leaders are looking to register more voters in the area, poiting out the abysmally low voter turnout in the most recent municipal election in Ferguson.
#OWNthe114th
Yes We Must
Looking at MED’s wiki page it appears Mike is all about Mike. What a pretentious a**hole…..he is just another hater whose private and public life does not hold a candle to President Obama.
Roger that, jojo.
WOAH!, I finally turned on the telly and I found a Soccer match and Arsenol scored! GOOOAAALLLLLLL! LOL!!!!
Arsenol just scored again and has tied the score 2-2 at 90:30 :shock:
That you’re watching Everton v Arsenal is one of the funnier things in the history of planet earth :lol:
I’m hooked Chips!!!
I can see that!!!! :lol:
And I recognized your Howard (beard) fella LOL!!!!
The football you actually play with your feet is the most awesome sport in the world. Rugby comes next.
Last night on The Mall in DC ….
https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPR/status/503240188026699776
Lovely tribute to Ukraine as it prepares to celebrate its Independence Day, tomorrow, 24 August 2014. As President Poroshenko noted today in his meeting with German Chancelor Merkel, Ukraine is more united in its independence now than it was when it declared independence in 1991.
Dang. Sorry. Not the correct tweet.
Where the hell were these blackademics before 2008? They damn sure didn’t help the black farmers get their money, they damn sure didn’t get black people health insurance, and they damn sure didn’t help our black gay brothers and sisters from getting kicked out of the military. So where the hell were they? I’ll tell you where they were, they were at each other’s schools sitting on some fucking panel theorizing about how to end racism or make it better for African Americans. But do you know where President Obama was? He was out in the streets registering people to vote, he was condemning an unjust war before it became fashionable to do so. We got pictures of Barack Obama fresh out of college walking in poor black neighborhoods registering people to vote. We got pictures of a young Barack Obama helping black folk. We got pictures of a young Barack Obama sitting in a village in Kenya breaking bread with his grandmother. And these same motherfuckers want to question his blackness
Chips, NW - please accept my nomination of Don’s comment to be a “Word from Don” front page item.
Thank you.
This
You speak the truth Don!
Hope these folk read it, Don. Very, very well done!
#FORWARD Together
Preach it Don! Too often academics do not live in the real world, and just TALK! I can say that, because I am an academic too…..and PBO walks the walk, doesn’t just talk the talk, as MED and others do.
Blackademics like Corny and Dr. Dyson suffer from the illusion that THEY should be the ones occupying the singular position PBO will occupy for the entirety of American history. Or, at the very least, that PBO, as the nation’s first black President (sorry Bubba, it ain’t you), should be listening to their pearls of wisdom.
Righteous rant, Don. Bravo!
Thank you Don. Was just telling my son that, IMO, the reason they are attacking PBO is that for all their supposed intellect and treatises on black psychosis and status, their work hasn’t moved the lot of us one inch toward equality or progress. They are afraid of getting their manicured hands roughed up. Not to mention striving doesn’t pay very well.
tell it, Don.
TELL IT!
GA, TOD! Once again doing a drive-by. Will read you later. Have a Blessed day!
Reality on the ground ….
How anyone can refer to war in terms like ‘endgame’ is beyond me. But, the message in tweet is accurate. Bibi is losing support from Israelis and he’s approaching irreparable damage not just with the Obama Administration but with American (European, South American ….) Jews.
Fact is Bibi cannot defeat Hamas no matter how many Palestinians he kills. Time for a legitimate peace effort which Bibi has NEVER pursued.
Yes, Yes, Yes!
Was reading some articles that claimed that the president was holding back sending arms to Israel… Not sure if it was true, posted it and got slammed. However I hope it was true.
er type too fast sometimes meant ingore = ignore lol
LOL. So true.
Good Heavens. It was in 2006 that Time Warner hired Glenn Beck. He left for Fox in 2009. Now HLN was interested in GBTV as of June this year?
I hope that there will be a total boycott by players before 2022.
Nena, don’t get me started. No rational person would have chosen Qatar in the summer as an appropriate country in which to hold a sporting event. Likewise with Russia in 2018, with its kleptocracy and crumbling infrastructure. Neither country was chosen to “broaden the base”; I’m convinced that much bribery was employed, especially for Qatar. Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, is one of the most corrupt men on the planet, totally ensconced in his bubble, and tone deaf. This was supposed to be his last term in office, but now he’s decided to run again.
LL, from the minute I read about the 2022 venue, I screamed Bloody Murder.
This is blatant bribery in broad day light. Qatar? Why?
I <3 baby Pandas.
http://i1.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/image001-1.png?
NAACP Match in Ferguson…..a Silent Match with Cpt Johnson in the lead…….A Huge Match. Just saw that on MSNBC.
Here’s a tweet from NAACP
We can’t go around chest-thumping when We are still seeing this in our society.
The Cartoon is not too far fetched……unfortunately.
https://twitter.com/JovSullivan/status/503263452128100353
A paid advertisement by bobby?
President Obama naïve?????!!!!! Hardly. However, he is not a cynic, which is the philosophical stance of most politicians, such as Jindal. This is why they do not understand him. PBO is a realist, with hope and optimism. Otherwise he would never have run for office, and would not have been able to accomplish what he has!!!
Who broke twitter!!??
bbl
http://www.aquariusmoon.info/TownsquareAstrology/TheObamaLegacyProject/index.html
A little something I’ve been working on for weeks.
I just emailed MED at his Georgetown academic address. I wrote as one academic to another and remarked that a chief failing of us academics is that we talk, but don’t act. I asked him to stop yelling at President Obama to “go to Ferguson” and go there himself and register voters. I suggested he should follow in the footsteps of the unknown Barack Obama who did that on the south side of Chicago. If he did that, he could gain some credibility and authority. He needs to put shoe leather into it. I mentioned that as chief executive officer of the DOJ, which is conducting an investigation, PBO could not involve himself personally. I closed with my mother’s constant saying: “What you do speaks so loudly, I can’t hear a thing you say.”
I like that Carolyn
“What you do speaks so loudly, I can’t hear a thing you say.”
New post:
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/08/23/where-the-hell-were-these-blackademics-before-2008-2/
I appreciate all the great tweets people are composing. I lurk mostly and besides being informed do a lot of RT work with all the great tweets people are posting.
I really appreciate all your RTs, Bill!!! Thank you
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2014/08/a-pragmatists-musings-on-ending-racism.html
…. Now…if you’ve been paying attention, you might have seen how President Obama is providing leadership on these issues. His administration is busy advocating for universal pre-K, ending the school-to-prison pipeline, opening up the opportunity for a college education to more young people, passing comprehensive immigration reform, cracking down on police brutality, initiating a clemency initiative, and being Smart on Crime.
When the President’s critics - like Michael Eric Dyson - say he needs to step up, use the bully pulpit and provide leadership, what they mean is that he should talk about racism. That is aimed at tackling the personal. For better or worse, this President has decided to focus on the systemic.
For better or worse, this President has decided to focus on the systemic…
******************
systemic is that part that often goes ignored….it is important to break down the pillars of structural and institutional racism….
Great post NW…Obama really cares.
That Dyson is driving me crazy. However, I love that PBO ignores their ignorant ass!