great way to put a message out

Filibuster - they are going to feel it buster. 

sweet home Chicago

He is smiling from deep inside while doing this. He is showing us another side. 

This would be the greatest

I believe this a great way for the President to mix with regular people.  Yes, of course, they use it to generate donations but you don't even need to donate to get a chance.  It certainly would be a once in a lifetime event.

 

Hey look Sam there's a carrot

I love this kinda stuff. Don't know about you but it makes feel like these guys are more real.

enjoyable interesting entertaining mix

I have not posted anything up here for quite some time.  I still find the videos on whitehouse.gov a great benefit.  This video shows 5 great entertainers that were honored by the Kennedy Art Center.  I watched the award show on TV a few weeks ago.  I hope they rebroadcast it.

A hottie for President

Lighten up people, this looked like a nice fun time to me.  I think the lady has a great sense of humor.

I guess it's probably the technology of the times but I've never watched the President of the US (POTUS would be the short way of writing that) order fast food this many times.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Shows how to hike Appalachian Trail

First thing - BRING YOUR WIFE.

President and First Lady did some hiking around Asheville NC. 

from Asheville Citizen Times

Handlers moved the press out of view of the first couple, but White House spokesman Bill Burton said they encountered five hikers during their hour-long hike on a segment of the Mountains-to-Sea trail.

Remember how Gov. Sanford (R-SC) claimed to be hiking the Appalachian Trail but was attending to a mistress instead.

how many pens does it take

Yesterday I watched on Cspan the historical signing of the health reform bill.  As you might expect there was a big crowd gathered around the President as he sat down to sign it.

Here's the full video clip with speeches and the signing.

"On Behalf of My Mother"

But what surprised me was the number of pens he used to sign it.  After searching around today I found the number to be 22. 

Do you think that's a record number of pens?

No, LBJ used more that 75 to sign the Civil Rights Act.  Here's where I found that - Times site.

Now I'm wondering what company makes those pens.

Here's a clip about the signing pens that the White House put out.

( Sure hope they never start using those difficult check-out electronic signing machines.  Nobody can sign those dumb things.)

what if the news came as trailers

don't ask - just do it

Maybe they get their advice from Nike - Just do it.

An organization and a clothing company both have used the Obama's in advertisements without permission.   The other day I noticed a story about PETA using Michelle Obama for their no fur campaign.  Today I see an article about President Obama being plastered on a Times Square billboard.

This story was also reported on the Huffington Post site.

I guess both groups got what they wanted - publicity.  The news media coverage of it helps spread their names or brands.  It's wrong for these groups to use cheap tricks to promote their brands.  I think less of them because of it.  If only it could backfire on them and then others might be discouraged from cheap tricks like this.

These decisions in creating ads using public officials just shows the lack of respect within those groups.

what you can learn on youtube

Youtube - oddball, weird clips that typically have awful comments.  That's true, but I have found some good and educational clips on youtube - like this one.

caption this

Don't look now but President Obama is behind you!

or

Blow in my ear and I'll follow you anywhere.

I found this picture over at the Chicago Tribune site.



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there's an app for that

President blocks - Reggie recovers evidence

The right wing will call this a foul.

Here's the picture:

Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama

(photo from AP)

I was surprised by this news this morning.  President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today for what the committee called "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

He didn't get the 2016 Olympics for the US but this is a greater worldwide recognition.

Obama is the third sitting U.S. president to win. Theodore Roosevelt, won the award in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson, won in 1919.

This shows that the world likes him more than some Americans.  Isn't it good that the western world and other areas too, like him?  

Some Americans will dislike anything and everything he does but I think we should be proud of this award.  I am.

inspiring speech to start school year

Wow -
I don't know why (could it be that they just don't like him no matter what?) some were upset that the President decided to give a speech to students starting their school year.

He had a great message for our future generation - personal responsibility.

Here's a line that caught my attention:

"There is no excuse for not trying."

He gave some inspiring stories about real students.

What bothers me the most about the complainers is:
their stubbornness failed to allow them to give the Presidency the respect and trust it deserves.

It's OK to criticize the President's speech but I believe you should wait until the speech is delivered. It would be interesting to hear what part of this speech bothered them.

Now had Vice President Biden talked I could understand some being scared that it might lengthen the school day.

not a job I would want

Looks like President Obama is having a good laugh over a picture of his press secretary, Robert Gibbs. With all the problems he faces everyday, I wonder how much he gets a good laugh.

I know I would not want to face the press daily and try to explain things to them.

Chicago Whitehouse

Note the statue in the above picture is not at Obama's house, but it's not too far away.

It's the Statue of the Republic that was erected in 1918 as a reminder of the 65 foot 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in the Jackson Park area of Chicago. A great way to learn about that 1893 fair is through the book, "The Devil in the White City".

So last Friday, my daughter talked me into driving into Chicago for an outdoor concert. I thought I could make the trip more worthwhile by finding Obama's Chicago house. My daughter's schedule failed to give me much time to research before I was on the road. I knew what general area it was in and was able to pin it down to the Kenwood neighborhood.

So on a rainy Friday I started driving around looking for it. I knew the street was blocked off, so I just needed to find police cars and barricades.

I first turned off Lake Shore Drive (anyone call it LSD?) at Jackson Park and proceed north through the Univ. of Chicago campus (reminds me of France).

I found the closed off block on South Greenwood.

After the trip, with a little internet searching I found this on the hydepark.org site.

About the time of Mr. Obamas' run for the U.S. Senate, the Obamas bought 5040 S. Greenwood, a large house in the historic Kenwood Historic District, near Hyde Park Boulevard across Greenwood Avenue from landmarked Congregation K.A.M. Isaiah Israel. Information about the house, gathered from Jean Block's Hyde Park Houses and Construction News - May 28, 1910 includes: Original owner A. R. Clarke, a contractor who also owned and was the owner/architect. The architect was Bishop & Company. Built in 1910. 5040: A Historical Georgian revival home built in 1910 with four fireplaces, glass-door bookcases fashioned from Honduran mahogany, and a 1,000-bottle wine cellar…

You will be lucky to glimpse it and cannot take photographs. You have to keep walking on the other side of the street. The street is closed to through traffic and owners need special ID to enter. Those attending services or events at KAM and expecting to park in the lot must register a day in advance and have their names on a list. Traffic is also regulated on East Hyde Park Boulevard (5100) and when there is a motorcade or such, the street may be barricaded.

That above description is correct.

After driving by the barricades at both ends of the block, I decided I would venture on foot. Parking my car a house (the lots in this area are large) away from one of the parked police cars, I proceeded to walk up to the Chicago policeman guarding the north barricade.

Expecting he would just command me to move along, I was surprised he was willingly to talk to me. He confirmed that I could not walk down the block and noticing my camera told me where I could take some pictures. He also advised me that I would see mostly trees.

While I was talking to him, a young boy (guessing 11 yrs. old) came riding up on a bike. He was stopped and briefly questioned. Apparently, he was going to visit a friend on the block. He knew the right names and addresses so he was allowed through. It must be interesting living on that block.

Well the pictures I got are not that great. I suggest waiting until the leaves fall for a better picture. You can find better pictures than mine on the internet.

how would he report on Obama

On Friday, July 17, 2009, Walter Cronkite made news one more time. Walter died at the age of 92.

It wasn't until I started to dislike our current news media and their focus on ratings and not the news that I realized how good it was to have news reported by Walter Cronkite. As it has been widely reported the man was a trusted source of news.

I noted Walter's death on my other blog "A Few Clowns Short", but realize he be should mentioned here too. His reporting of world events was honest. He first supported the Vietnam War but after a couple of visits, he came out against it.

I don't know if Walter publicly commented on Obama's presidency. President Obama had these words to say:

did you bring home anything from the meeting

Looks like some countries got T-shirts from Brazil.




I wonder what they do with those nice chairs now that the meeting is over?