President Barack Obama helps fill backpacks with items to give to homeless children while participating in a service project at The Inspired Teaching School
First Lady Michelle Obama helps fill backpacks with items to give to homeless children
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6th grader at school: "I thought it was going to be Beyonce." (long pause) "Then I realized it was going to be you and it's even better."
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Angela GreilingKeane (@agreilingkeane) September 11, 2025****
President Barack Obama uses a ratchet wrench as he helps build a playground while participating in a service project at the Inspired Teaching School, a high-performing public charter school in northeast Washington, DC, to commemorate the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance
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The Inspired Teaching playground is ready for some presidential help. http://t.co/szzfQVvhqW
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Angela GreilingKeane (@agreilingkeane) September 11, 2025****
The first couple meet their service partners at Inspired Teaching charter school in DC. http://t.co/IUDmfPNhPV
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Angela GreilingKeane (@agreilingkeane) September 11, 2025****
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Backpacks the first couple will be filling will go to homeless kids in DC. In partnership with #Kaboom, they're "play packs."
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Angela GreilingKeane (@agreilingkeane) September 11, 2025****
Backpacks being filled by POTUS include a book about playgrounds, notes from kids at Inspired Teaching, a frisbee, ball and Play Doh.
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Angela GreilingKeane (@agreilingkeane) September 11, 2025****
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama help build a playground
A family waits on their front porch for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to depart from the Inspired Teaching School
White House.gov
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First!
Thank you Nerdy! Beautiful post for the delight of my eyes.
You’re welcome.
Hi
Could It be Magic?
Just came back and Leave a message is calling Loudly😉
Hey TODers!
Is Mark Knoller lying here….
You are the second runner up, Nena. Good Evening!
Lost😦
Oh well…..Win some
and Lose some😦
Happy to congratulate Twin Gold Medalists: NCLB and LadyTNT😉
Thanks for this Up-lifting Thread NW.
The Obamas are always on the Move…..thinking about others. Thank You Pres Obama and FLOTUS Mrs Obama.
You’re welcome, Nena.
Please see bottom of previous thread for some important updates on Ukraine and the impact of sanctions and Vlad’s arrogant stupidity. Seemed better there than in this delightful thread.
Congrats NCLB
Thank you NW!
There I was just posting away on the old thread.
Dudette, I don’t want you to be left behind!!!
Thank you, Kind Friend! I appreciate that!
Our Beautiful President and First Lady always on the go and doing wonderful things for the children. What a blessing we have in both our POTUS and FLOTUS. HZ
Anther fool got caught with his beliefs in full display in a glass jar!!!
This time in a televised local debate, in front of an audience of interested voters and party loyalists. A spectacular fail, and I’m not exaggerating.
“Legitimate rape”, “Macaca”, “47%”, when we catch Republicans saying what they really believe, it’s curtains. Tonight, at a local candidate forum, the Republican candidate for Pueblo County Commissioner essentially endorsed the Sandy Hook truther position.
Even his Republican cheerleaders, who showed up en masse to support their challenger, turned on him. The boos, gasps, and shouts of shock and contempt came from just about all of the ~200 folks in attendance. There may have been a few people with their tin foil hats in their pockets, but the very vocal outrage seemed unanimous.
The debate was essentially over at that point. The cheerleader applause after each of his answers was distinctly muted. Details below the cloud rising from his vaporized candidacy.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/11/1328881/-Another-Republican-candidate-implodes-by-telling-the-truth-about-his-beliefs?detail=email
Don’t miss the above link if you haven’t read it already. This part is the funniest.
——————-
I expected Ready to deflect this easily with a quick, “Why are you talking about nonsense on Facebook, I asked you about voting to raise rates on low income Puebloans for the sake of “clean energy”. Explain that vote.”
But no.
Ready went for it, and began to claim that there is no proof that Sandy Hook actually happened. Unbelievable.
That was when the crowd erupted. There for a second I thought they were going to drag him out in the street and tar and feather him like he was a Wall Street banker. I’ve never seen spontaneous public outrage come out of left field like that.
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Video of the above fool committing political suicide with his comment about Sandy Hook.
NCLB, I’m convinced that local Republicans have all gone berserk. I think the national party has led them to believe that any expression of insanity and prejudice is okay because they are, as Republicans, foreordained to win elections no matter what they say. It used to be that politicians would put on a public “face” during elections. Now they feel they’ve been given permission to express their true selves in all their repellent ugliness. I say, “keep talking and hang yourselves, Republicans.”
yeah, they all come back to reality from the spun fantasy world, Just like lil nate.
Of course she is still wearing Ray Rice jersey, she weren’t the one who was knock out cold. Some people you just can’t explain.
Hmm?
First thing I thought was “squid ink” — There’s this great pasta place near me that has a mushroom pasta dish where the black coloring of the pasta comes from squid ink. It’s scrumptuous! I think that’s more because of the creamy mushroom sauce rather than the squid ink.
I am so blessed that my Great Dane lasted until she was 14 years old. Sweet baby….heart goes out to his people
What an astounding life, df.
The WH is always under fire from everybody.
Not a new story. This has been going on since early this year on that One judge. A deal made with 2 GA GOPer senators.
We got a good number of judges confirmed based on this unfortunate but necessary deal with the devils.
NFL, MLB, etc. Most of the Parks and stadiums are Freebies…taxed nothing and given away by the states.
When laws on the books were written, they were Not as profitable. Yet, no attempt is made today to change things……..Serious attempts. Until the public demands and KNOW what and how unequal our tax codes are, NOTHING changes.
Oh dear….From my Twitter TL it appears that Rachel is tripping once again. Now she’s making the ludicrous claim that PBO is not a “hugger” Showed pics of VP Biden hugging, and said PBO is not that guy….it’s a variation on “PBO is aloof and unable to interact with real Murrkicans…”
I don’t like her or Matthews- they’re bi polar with the reporting.
At least Hayes is consistently peevish.
I’m taking a break from Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews.
Me too….as PBO says this is “silly season” when all the batshitcrazies say the dumbfuck things during election time.
I could hear her trite comments. Apperantly, VP Biden is the hugger, whereas, POTUS is not. VP is the touchy feeling get down kind of a guy and POTUS is not known for that.
VP Biden was to deal with Congress, especially, since 2011. But now POTUS is calling House Intel Chair and some other GOPer and in some interviews on the Radio they were not bashing nor insulting POTUS and things seemed to have worked out. Then she asked, could it have been because of War footing now? or could it have been because personal in touch by the president worked and works?
Attacking president Obama the person is what Lazy, Lame and Foolish people do when They have Nothing else to attack. Maher had charged MSNBC for too much cheering for their side…….so Here comes Dr. Maddow?
Apparently…..oops.
Rachel also made a big deal out of PBO calling members of congress, as if he had not done that before. I remember PBO calling members of congress individually when he was trying to pass ACA. Rachel basically lied tonight or did not do her research.
I am floored. Rachel can be irritating at times, but to me, she has never looked as the kind of “pundit” who would display such silliness. I expect that from a Chris Matthews. Not from her.
What… the… ??????
As our JOB succinctly put it, she talks for a living. ’nuff said.
Well, as someone who’s been on the winning end of a hug from President Obama, I beg to differ. He is an exceptional hugger.
Hey, Rachel, there are literally thousands of photos of President Obama hugging women, children, men from all walks of life. Get a grip!
This is so ridiculous that I’m at the point where I’m thinking along the lines of what amk said - Maddow is getting paid to “just say something - anything” about the President - whether it makes sense or not, whether it’s true or not. And of course, it MUST be negatively slanted for maximum effect - as far as her bosses’ desires go. #SICK
You know what, hf? The level of insanity on TV is just beyond belief and I don’t even watch it. But everything I hear reported here and on twitter and from what I see on clips and videos, half of this country have lost their damn minds.
Earlier this morning I tweeted this:
I believe this is where our major downfall began. Our media is now nothing more than a collection of carnival barkers and hideous clowns shouting and whinging like a bunch of rabid animals foaming at the mouth. They are full of self-importance and it’s never about anything except the MONEY. And with the absolutely incredible presidency of Barack Obama, we are witnessing the absolute meltdown of common sense and common values, our democracy. They are unworthy of our attention. And as you say, it’s truly SICK.
Indeed meta. It’s really a shame that at a time when Americans should be savoring this Presidency - not just because of the historic nature, but because of the quality of stewardship led by PBO, VP Biden and their fine cabinet of intelligent, hardworking public servants, this is when the media is at its most craven; we’re seeing the steepest decline in the quality of reporting, it’s all about money, pleasing bosses with political agendas…Americans who rely on the US media for info are an uninformed, demoralized and cynical mass of people…what a shame.
OMG, this is the perfect paragraph. You have to tweet every bit of this out, hf. It’s important that people see we are not fooled. Please tweet this.
Thanks meta for your kind words - I will get to it soon - will try to break it down into tweetable nuggets.
YAYAYAYAY. RT’d and faved/
Been saying this for years, meta. The Telecom bill and Gramm-Leach-Blilley deregulating the financial industry. But that is easier to fix and will be someday. The consolidation of the media is a genie damn near impossible to put back in the bottle.
Yeah, I don’t see how we ever climb out of this horrific mess. It’s depressing.
Her level if comprehension of many, many photos of our President hugging must be very retarded (yes, I used a non-PC word apparently). It fits.). Rachel, whom I used to admire and who my infatuated hubby has even ceased watching, is this really the most significant content of a news program you could come up with? Oh my God! The stupid ….it burns!!
Meet George jetson jane his wife…
😀
Okay friends. Need help again. Someone posted earlier this week a long and thorough explanation between ISIL and ISIS. It included explanation about Arabic meaning, etc. Can someone find that for me and share? Just saw a post on Facebook about this. It is saying that “everyone else” calls them ISIS, but not PO………and why is that? He is not recognizing the Jewish state of Israel. So keep in mind when you hear him calling the terrorists ISIL, he is positioning the US an an enemy of Israel. Yep! I have told the person that is totally misleading and incorrect and that I would try to find the thorough explanation I read.
. Thanks!,
Nothing to do with Israel…….That I know of.
ISIL the L is for Levant. Levant includes Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
The Terror Group calls itself IS. Islamic States.
Google. NYT, Mediaite, etc have written about this and POTUS and his Team also explained that. POTUS is not the ONLY person using ISIL.
The way I see it….If Pres Obama says it is ISIL…..then that is what US should call it. It is he and his Team that are currently degrading and ultimately, will decimate ISIL.
I found it….. What some shared here. From the Washington Post. Will pass to this person tomorrow.
Megalomania + Nukes is a really bad cocktail ….
#TrustBarack
Bob, rattling the Chinese like this is the purest insanity on Putin’s part. How much isolation is he aiming for in the world.? Does he want to make every nation his enemy? I hope the Russian people get a clue very soon or this lunatic is going to lead them to a place that they will not recover from. Even the czars and Stalin knew better than to make every nation their enemy.
TN, in my experience when people make ignorant, hostile claims about the president, despite all evidence to the contrary, they have closed their minds off to the truth. You can present fact after fact, but nothing will get past the wall of prejudice. It’s worth a try, though, in case less informed people reading the trash are persuaded by the lunacy.
Agree. I will share the link and leg it go with that.
….let….. Time for me to say nighty nite.
So West Wing Clip for 9-12-14 is out already?
Josh “The Voice” Earnest at the WH presser on 9-11-14
Oh, do I miss those days? One second my heart was up to my throat, then came Keith and everything looked fine.
CNN Breaking News
Convicted school shooter T.J. Lane — serving life in prison for killing three fellow students at Chardon High School in northeastern Ohio in 2012 — has escaped from prison, police in Lima, Ohio, said in a Facebook post.
Lane, who was 17 at the time of the rampage, was sentenced in March 2013 to spend the rest of his life in prison without parole.
This is is becoming more and more about the NFL and less and less about Rice…
Yep the Rice ship sailed on Monday although anonymous owners are trying to blame Janay in WSJ now…
o/t BT can you fee a comment from moderation? -TY
Well, I’m no where near caught up in this village of ours, but I’m extremely tired so I’m now waving to everyone. Good night! Will be heading to Niagara Falls for a weekend conference so will check in when/if I can.
Dear Desertf, you can take my word for it, after this weekend of out-of-town travel is older I’ll be sticking closer to home.😀
TWO WEEKENDS IN A ROW!!! OMG! I’m so proud of you for venturing out….have a wonderful time there and safe travels, vc:)
This is the NFL’s “independent investigation” ..keep in mind the it is being overseen by the Giants & Steelers owners who already support Goodell
I have heard enough from this senile, vindictive, stupid old man. This was in my Inbox tonight…as response to a letter I wrote right after Hobby Lobby….
Thank you for contacting me to share your views regarding the Supreme Court’s decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. I appreciate knowing your thoughts on this issue.
As you know, this case is the result of a dispute between Hobby Lobby, an arts and crafts chain with nearly 30,000 employees nationwide, and the Obama Administration. In June 2013, Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a regulation that mandated businesses with 50 or more employees offer insurance plans that include all 20 FDA-approved contraceptive drugs and devices. Hobby Lobby, who offers their employees insurance plans that include coverage for 16 of the 20 FDA-approved contraceptive drugs and devices (they believe the remaining 4 to be abortifacients and thus in violation of their sincerely held religious beliefs), were forced to choose between their religion or a severe fine imposed by the IRS. Subsequently, Hobby Lobby sued HHS.
On June 30, 2025 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby, stating that, “we doubt that Congress…would have believed it a tolerable result to put family-run businesses to the choice of violating their sincerely held religious beliefs or making all of their employees lose their existing healthcare plans.” Specifically, the Court ruled that the mandate violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) which passed the Senate resoundingly in the 103rd Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.
I supported Hobby Lobby in this case arguing for the ongoing and central importance of RFRA’s protections against government-imposed violations of religious liberty. Today’s ruling confirms RFRA’s purpose and sheds light on the harmful policies at work through the sweeping scope of Obamacare and its subsequent mandates. I strongly believe that religious freedom and individual liberty must be preserved in the face of big-government mandates.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to contact me again on this or any other matter of concern.
Sincerely,
John McCain
Sincerely held religious beliefs my DYING ASS! This entire response makes me want to puke!
RFRA - another law Bill Clinton signed. Although no one anticipated that it would be misused like this.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/11/michael-che-snl-weekend-update_n_5798930.html?utm_hp_ref=snl#comments
You’ll be seeing even more of Michael Che come Sept. 27. Bill Carter of The New York Times is reporting that the newest “Daily Show” correspondent and “Saturday Night Live” writer will be taking a spot at the “Weekend Update” desk during SNL’s 40th season.
Che replaces Cecily Strong and will co-host “Update” alongside Colin Jost, who enters his second year in the coveted role. Strong remains a repertory player. Che will end his brief run as a “Daily Show” correspondent in the move.
Che, a native New Yorker who got his start in stand-up in 2009, began writing for SNL in 2013, and joined the “Daily Show” cast this year.
Also
Sarah Silverman will Host SNL for the 1st time….this season.
I knew Cecily Strong when she was a little girl. She played the youngest Joad child in a production of Grapes of Wrath that I stage managed. Her parents decided to direct her career, going back to when she was 6 years old. I was happy to see her achieve some level of national success, if short-lived (at least on SNL).
Tally would appreciate this: we held what we call “pick up rehearsals” when the cast gets together before a weekend of shows to refresh lines, etc. The actor playing Tom Joad, the lead, couldn’t make one of the rehearsals and Cecily did his part - every single line. She was 7 years old.
This cogently sums up the sham going on at NFL HQ right now:
Are You ready? I am Not Ready.
Are We Ready? I am Not Ready.
For Winter let alone Snow.
SD here it is.
President Obama’s address was viewed live by 35 million people according to Neilson….the most since any national address (March ’09)
Fox has 4M plus.
MSNBC had 1.6M
CNN had 1.3M
All the Business Channels. C-SPAN. PBS. Al Jazeera. CBS. ABC. NBC. Fox Local.
Live Streaming sites.
I am guessing that more than 35M saw POTUS speak.
Plus the WH site (where I watched it as I cannot stand to listen to the pundits)!
Thanks so much for these important updates. This is the kind of background preparation President Obama’s able team are doing day in and day out. This is the stuff of discussion in the Situation Room not on clips on cable TV round tables.
Thanks so much LP for this important info (including the Neilson ratings bit). I’m hoping that Nerdy or Chips can front page this tomorrow - it’s important that lurkers and casual readers see this and understand what it means, and why it matters. As meta said, you will not find this on cable TV or even print media…
Well, I am Free At Last; from MSNBC/Cable News. Listening to Lawrence bash PBO CONCERNING HIS SPEECH was the last straw..
Earlier TODAY, Andrew Sullivan and PMCarpenter were disappointed and whining. Carpenter went so far as to call Al Sharpton a sycophant because he spoke up for the president during Rachel’s coverage last night. I gave up on TWEETY months ago. Nobody else on MSNBC attracts me , so I am pretty much done.
That is it for me. I’ll read more. Listen to tv when I can hear the president himself. TPM, Steve BENEN, and, believe it or not, Charles Pierce had the most measured and sensible reactions. So I’ll check them out. I don’t even want to hear what Stewart will say tonight, so I won’t upset myself by tuning in. This place becomes more necessary every day. So glad to be a part of this resolute and determined family.
I believe the president has made the best decision he possibly could for this horrible situation. He never said he was against war, just dumb wars. What he’s having to deal with now comes as a result of a dumb war. Nobody knows how this will end, but I appreciate his thoughtful, deliberate approach. His necessary toughness, if you will.
Could not agree with you more, Eve!
#TrustBarack
Thanks, Bob. I’m in good company, if You agree with me.
THIS.
Thank you, eve, for stating all this so well. Benen is always reliable, one of the last truly thought journalist, as is Think Progress. But that’s about it for me. The rest of them have nothing to add but idiocy. It’s as though President Obama’s intelligence, calm demeanor and steadfastness - traits that were considered optimum for a President up until a few years ago - have literally driven them insane.
Totally Insane!
Welcome to the club Eve. You’ve made the right decision and your mental health will be thanking you for months and years to come.
Sure hope so. It’s amazing to me how rigid the thinking is on the right and the left. Plus, I admit that I am very protective of this president. Though I know he can’t do everything right, it makes me so angry when people refuse to give him the credit he does deserve. In this matter of ISIL, a Romney, A McCain, and a HRC, would have us fighting on the ground right about now.
ISIL IS A rattlesnake. Living in Georgia, I know that there is no negotiating with rattlesnakes. You either kill them or get out of the way.
President OBAMA knows that ISIL is a rattler, and so he is doing what he can to keep them out of our space.
I think it’s more than just about being protective of this President. I didn’t vote for GWB, but I don’t recall ever being so adamantly critical of every little thing he said, or did unless it was something that really mattered AND he gave me a reason to be critical. The current media’s reflexive and unyielding inclination - to attack this President no matter what - is beyond the pale!
You are so right! It’s as if their pens, keyboards, and mind are in attack mode where OBAMA is concerned. I gave Bush his due as well, when it was deserved. President OBAMA, for the most part, is not afforded this courtesy,
I detested W with a passion but I never micromanaged his daily life or parsed his every meal. What we are witnessing is an illness.
Exactly.
Did anyone see Lawrence O’Donnell rewrite tonight? I hope someone can post it up here, because it is worth listening too.
Aw, heart melting…….
This is what senility does to an old fool.
Defines the US media - they listen to this nonsense!
Yet another, awaiting moderation ….
I have a feeling that the media are mad that PBO’s speech actually seemed to go well with the American people and their Rand Paul was summarily dismissed by viewers everywhere. They are also mad that PBO is not going to start another silly war and he corrected their deliberately distorted narratives about ISIS. They are mad that when he talks, the American people listen…they tune in to hear what their President has to say because at the end of the day, people trust him more than any politician or news media pundiot out there….
Has anyone been talking with any interest about Paul in the last 24 hrs (apart from mocking how poorly his speech was received)? NO.
Whoa!
I read her book, My Beloved World, this weekend when my old modem died. It was great.
Thank you Nerdy wonka for these inspiring, uplifting posts today. Just the thing to read before going to bed! You do a magnificent job, and you do have magnificent subjects to work with!
New thread.
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/09/11/chat-on-40/