Sunday Reflection: Lives With Purpose, Love & Joy

"What we can do is to live out our lives as best we can with purpose, and love, and joy. We can use each day to show those who are closest to us how much we care about them, and treat others with the kindness and respect that we wish for ourselves. We can learn from our mistakes and grow from our failures. And we can strive at all costs to make a better world, so that someday, if we are blessed with the chance to look back on our time here, we can know that we spent it well; that we made a difference; that our fleeting presence had a lasting impact on the lives of other human beings." -- President Barack Obama's eulogy for Sen. Ted Kennedy, August 29, 2009. The full eulogy is here, and is but one example of the 44th President's ennobling and uplifting oratory. 

Today is President Obama's 63rd birthday, another milestone in a life filled with purpose, love and joy.

 

Tonight's Programming Reminder!

A reminder for your high school class of 2020 and everyone in general:

As coronavirus has prompted the cancellation of high school graduation ceremonies across the country, The Entertainment Industry Foundation, The LeBron James Family Foundation, XQ Institute, and a broad coalition of partners are coming together to pay tribute to millions of high school seniors, their extraordinary teachers, and their families, as rally everyone around a message of hope and unity.

Graduate Together: America Honors the Class of 2020 will air simultaneously across ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, as well as a broad alliance of social media and streaming platforms. The one-hour primetime special airs on Saturday, May 16, and will honor the more than 3 million high school seniors across the country. 

President Barack Obama will deliver a commencement address to the virtual class of 2020. The one-hour event will also feature dozens of artists, educators and other notables. The "Graduate Together" program will air at 8:00 PM Eastern and Pacific time, 7:00 PM Central and Mountain time.  Congratulations to all the graduating seniors!

Prior to that, starting at 7:00 PM Eastern, CNN will host a special, "Class of 2020: In This Together," which will feature President Bill Clinton as well as guests from the entertainment industry, etc.

I guess nobody invited the puerile, nasty, dumb, racist, conceited kid with the fake tan to either celebration.  Sad!

Tweet Of The Day -- Relief For Hurricane Michael

A message from the last legitimate President (click on the embedded link for charitynavigator.org):

America is always at our best when we look out for each other. Please do what you can to help people recover and rebuild from Hurricane Michael. https://t.co/psmPZnmlqY

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October 12, 2018

You can be sure these organizations won't be tossing paper towels to the people recovering from Hurricane Michael.

More on the catastrophic devastation and climbing death toll here.

Vid Of The Day - Obama's Affordable Care Open Season Pitch

Since the sociopaths of the Trump regime won't publicize it, former President Obama will -- today starts the open season for enrolling in, or changing, your health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act:

Today’s the day! You can go to https://t.co/p8DQwo89C7 and sign up for health coverage. Need a pep talk first? @BarackObama has you covered. pic.twitter.com/78DAFgUV77

— Get America Covered (@GetUSCovered) November 1, 2017

Photo Of The Week - Great Pain Averted

(click on image to enlarge)

(Photo: Pete Souza, White House)

President Obama wisely opts not to try to do a full split like U.S. Olympic gold medal gymnasts (l. to r.) Aly Raisman, Laurie Hernandez, Simone Biles, and Madison Kocian, during a Thursday celebration of Olympic medalists at the White House.  A man's got to know his limitations!

The Obamas Continue Making The Case For Hillary Clinton (UPDATED)

Two of Hillary Clinton's most effective campaigners are starting to make their presences felt:



Then President Obama called into the "Steve Harvey Morning Show" to discuss various topics including unfit neo- fascist weaselheaded f*cknugget Donald "Rump" Trump's misogyny and the importance of voting for Secretary Clinton (you can hear the full radio interview here).  Here are a few choice takes:

 -- "You have somebody who basically insulted women," he said, "And then doubled down in terms of how he talks about them, and talks about their weight, and talks about how they look instead of the content of their character and their capabilities." 

-- "[He is] not somebody I want in the Oval Office that my daughters are listening to and that sons are listening to," Obama said. "And so, across the board you’ve got somebody who appears to only care about himself." 

-- "If there’s one message I want to deliver to everybody, if you don’t vote that’s a vote for Trump," he said. "If you don’t vote, that’s a vote for Trump."

Somehow, that message has got to get through to these folks in particular.  Anything other than a vote for Secretary Clinton is something you'll regret for the rest of your lives.

UPDATE:  And here's a clip of Michelle Obama speaking at La Salle University in Philadelphia today, specifically addressing the problem of millennials not voting or voting third party (full speech here):

President Obama: "Democracy Is On The Ballot"

We took a line from the President's speech Saturday to the Congressional Black Caucus for our "Sunday Exhortation", but here is a longer segment that we thought you should see and that we hope will form the essence of the President's stump speech over the next five weeks:



"Hope is on the ballot;  fear is on the ballot."

It's an existential election for America, and that's not hyperbole, folks.

Sunday Exhortation

“I will consider it a personal insult, an insult to my legacy, if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election. You want to give me a good send-off? Go vote.” -- President Obama at the Congressional Black Caucus dinner last night.

We would extend the President's "community" to all Americans who value not only the President's important legacy, but also the past 80 years of progressive accomplishments (summarized nicely here), which would be clearly endangered should Secretary Clinton not defeat unfit neo- fascist white nationalist buffoon Donald "Rump" Trump. Donate. Proselytize. Organize. Vote.

Guess Who's Having His Birthday Today

Hint:  His approval rating (54%) is approaching his age (55).

Here's a photo gallery of him through the years.

Yeah, it's this guy (taking our call wishing him a happy birthday):



(Photo:  White House)

Sunday Reflection - Visions

President Obama, speaking at the Democratic National Convention last Wednesday night:

... What we heard was a deeply pessimistic vision of a country where we turn against each other, and turn away from the rest of the world. There were no serious solutions to pressing problems -- just the fanning of resentment, and blame, and anger, and hate. 

And that is not the America I know. The America I know is full of courage, and optimism, and ingenuity. The America I know is decent and generous.

One of those visions is not the America we know either ... at least pre- November 8 America. There's a good, optimistic vision of the future of America, and then there's an evil, pessimistic vision. It's up to us to shape which of those futures it will be, starting now.

President Obama Passes The Baton (After Whacking Trump With It)

President Obama was in full voice last night at the Democratic National Convention, contrasting the fear mongering,  dark vision of neo- fascist banana Republican and Siberian candidate Donald "Rump" Trump with the reality that most Americans live in:

"Ronald Reagan called America 'a shining city on a hill.' Donald Trump calls it 'a divided crime scene' that only he can fix.... He's just offering slogans, and he's offering fear. He's betting that if he scares enough people, he might score just enough votes to win this election.  

"And that's another bet that Donald Trump will lose. And the reason he'll lose it is because he's selling the American people short. We're not a fragile people. We're not a frightful people. Our power doesn't come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order as long as we do things his way. We don't look to be ruled. Our power comes from those immortal declarations first put to paper right here in Philadelphia all those years ago: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that We the People, can form a more perfect union. 

"That's who we are. That's our birthright -- the capacity to shape our own destiny."

He then wrapped up his speech, asking that "we reject cynicism and reject fear, and to summon what is best in us and show the world we still believe in the promise of this great nation."



Then, there was this:



One of our favorite lines from the speech: "This election isn't just about Donald Trump's judgment. It's about our own."

You can look at the full 45 minute speech here if you missed it last night.

BONUS:  Tom Sullivan at Hullabaloo has some of the highlights of some of the featured speeches last night.

Sunday Reflection

On Friday, President Obama commented on neo- fascist demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump's dark, apocalyptic "Midnight in America" speech:

"The one thing that I think is important to recognize is this idea that America is somehow on the verge of collapse, this vision of violence and chaos everywhere, doesn't really jibe with the experience of most people.  I hope people the next morning walked outside and birds were chirping and the sun was out, and this afternoon, people will be watching their kids play in sports teams and go to the swimming pool and folks are going to work and getting ready for the weekend."

Everyone, take a deep breath.



Here's a nice antidote from Fareed Zakaria (h/t Crooks and Liars):

Sunday Reflection - A "Tough Week"

"There is sorrow, there is anger, there is confusion about next steps, but there is unity in recognizing that this is not how we want our communities to operate.  This is not how we want to be as Americans.  And that serves as the basis for us being able to move forward in a constructive and positive way." -- President Obama, speaking yesterday at the conclusion of a NATO meeting in Warsaw, Poland, about the "tough week" of shootings in Baton Rouge, LA, Minneapolis/ St. Paul, MN, and Dallas, TX, last week.

Unfortunately, misguided reactions like this, this, this, and this from some in the law enforcement community show that they're still not getting it and, in fact, are doing their part in making things worse.

The President's Remarks Today

President Obama delivered a forceful defense of American values in the face of bigoted attacks by "the presumptive Republican nominee" on Muslim Americans.  He begins with an update on efforts to defeat ISIL/ISIS and the investigation into the Orlando massacre, then lays into the destructive, nonsensical blathering of a certain narcissistic dolt:

Key point:

"There's no magic to the phrase 'radical Islam. If someone seriously thinks we don't know who we're fighting, if there's anyone out there who thinks we're confused about who our enemies are, that would come as a surprise to the thousands of terrorists we've taken off the battlefield."

That "certain narcissistic dolt" has bitten off more than his big mouth can chew.

BONUS:  Hillary Clinton also addressed the problem posed by Rump and Islamophobia.

President Obama "Slow Jams The News"

Seven minutes of wonderful last night on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (and we, too, wish he "could go for three like ... Steph Curry."):

Quote Of The Day

(First, a quick thanks to my brother blogger for keeping Hackwhackers running more than smoothly during my recent visit to China. Xie xie!)

Yesterday, President Obama spoke to Rutgers University graduates in New Jersey and had some not- too- veiled warnings about neo- fascist empty vessel Donald "Rump" Trump:

“In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue.  It’s not cool to not know what you’re talking about. That’s not keeping it real, or telling it like it is. That’s not challenging political correctness. That’s just not knowing what you’re talking about.

“When our leaders express a disdain for facts, when they’re not held accountable for repeating falsehoods, and just making stuff up while actual experts are dismissed as elitist, then we’ve got a problem. The rejection of facts, the rejection of reason and science, that is the path to decline.”

 "Ignorance is not a virtue."  Something American voters need to reflect on before pulling the lever for Rump or his know- nothing nihilist Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid/ Shooters Party down- ticket mates.

Photo Of The Day - You Will Bow Down!

There he goes again!  Here we see President Obama bowing down, in the Oval Office no less (probably apologizing!).  Or perhaps he's praying to Mecca, eh?  That's not what Real Leaders do!  They wear lots of brass and braid and ride white horses!

President Barack Obama plays with August DuBois during an Oval Office visit with his parents, Joshua and Michelle DuBois, April 11, 2016. Joshua is the former Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama: No Contradiction Between Caring About Police Safety And Reform

Here's an excerpt from President Obama's speech to the Congressional Black Caucus on Saturday, in which he makes it quite clear that caring for the safety of police officers and criminal justice reform is not an either/ or proposition, but a both/ and proposition (h/t Crooks and Liars):



Nice, deserved swipe at GOP-TV Fox "News" for its on-going campaign of calumny, implying the President doesn't care about the lives of police officers.

Quote Of The Day - Birfter Trolling Edition

"I suspect that some of my critics back home are suggesting that I'm back here to look for my birth certificate. That is not the case." -- President Obama speaking yesterday at a state dinner in Nairobi, Kenya, trolling (to much applause and laughter) the "birfer" conspiracy cranks who think he was born in Kenya.

BONUS:  Unsurprisingly, some of the frothing cement heads don't get the joke (hint:  it's on you, you cretins).

Photo And Quote Of The Day - Selma, Alabama

President Obama speaks at Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, March 7, 2015. (Getty Images)

... Right now, in 2015, fifty years after Selma, there are laws across this country designed to make it harder for people to vote. As we speak, more of such laws are being proposed. Meanwhile, the Voting Rights Act, the culmination of so much blood and sweat and tears, the product of so much sacrifice in the face of wanton violence, stands weakened, its future subject to partisan rancor.

How can that be? The Voting Rights Act was one of the crowning achievements of our democracy, the result of Republican and Democratic effort. President Reagan signed its renewal when he was in office. President Bush signed its renewal when he was in office. One hundred Members of Congress have come here today to honor people who were willing to die for the right it protects. If we want to honor this day, let these hundred go back to Washington, and gather four hundred more, and together, pledge to make it their mission to restore the law this year.

Full transcript of President Obama's address here.