Michelle Speaks

"... dominating her opponent so thoroughly in the debate, he was too scared to face her again."

"... a little frustrated that some of us are choosing to ignore Donald Trump's gross incompetence while asking Kamala to dazzle us at every turn."

“The price of apathy towards public affairs

is to be ruled by evil men.” --Plato

This is the election for people who've always hated politics, and walked away.

And sorry not sorry, kids, but this election is because of people who hated politics and walked away.

Obama Brings It

Differences

My family and I are mourning the loss of our beloved grandmother, Sarah Ogwel Onyango Obama, affectionately known to many as “Mama Sarah” but known to us as “Dani” or Granny. Born in the first quarter of the last century, in Nyanza Province, on the shores of Lake Victoria, she had no formal schooling, and in the ways of her tribe, she was married off to a much older man while only a teen. She would spend the rest of her life in the tiny village of Alego, in a small home built of mud-and thatch brick and without electricity or indoor plumbing. There she raised eight children, tended to her goats and chickens, grew an assortment of crops, and took what the family didn’t use to sell at the local open-air market.

Although not his birth mother, Granny would raise my father as her own, and it was in part thanks to her love and encouragement that he was able to defy the odds and do well enough in school to get a scholarship to attend an American university. When our family had difficulties, her homestead was a refuge for her children and grandchildren, and her presence was a constant, stabilizing force. When I first traveled to Kenya to learn more about my heritage and father, who had passed away by then, it was Granny who served as a bridge to the past, and it was her stories that helped fill a void in my heart.

During the course of her life, Granny would witness epochal changes taking place around the globe: world war, liberation movements, moon landings, and the advent of the computer age. She would live to fly on jets, receive visitors from around the world, and see one of her grandsons get elected to the United States presidency. And yet her essential spirit—strong, proud, hard-working, unimpressed with conventional marks of status and full of common sense and good humor—never changed.

We will miss her dearly, but celebrate with gratitude her long and remarkable life.

I think we can anticipate the hatred that's likely to come from the "conservatives" on this.

And unfortunately, it's not weird that they'll do their best to shit on this while trying even harder to deny the simple fact that if this was a politician mourning the loss of his dear old grandma back in Italy or Denmark or Ireland or Lithuania, or wherever, they wouldn't think twice about sending their thoughts and prayers.

They Weren't Listening

Oct, 2016 ... they're not listening still.

Once Upon A Time

...in a land quickly fading from our memory, there was a real president. But we grew stoopid and lazy, and 61,000,000 of us got snookered into believing that a guy who had never succeeded at anything but being a game show host was a good choice to lead the biggest baddest bestest country on Earth.

And here we are.

Go, Joe

Obama talks up Joe Biden

We'll see if Biden is any kind of smart. I have my doubts. I know he's not dumb, but I don't know that's he's smart in the right ways

I know he can work the legislature, but can he motivate us to keep the pressure on the congress critters? Can he teach us how to bring that pressure for him - for us?

We need him to do exactly that, but yeah - we'll see.

What We're Up Against

The Daddy State will simply change history when it suits them.

The Hill:

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro said he wasn’t aware of “a single major Republican figure” that made claims of former President Obama being an illegitimate president, seemingly ignoring President Trump’s repeated assertions that Obama was not born in the U.S.

“Republicans impeached Bill Clinton in the 1990s, they never made a move to impeach Barack Obama despite the myriad of scandals that cropped up during his administration,” Shapiro said in a video clip reported Monday by The Daily Beast.

Shapiro did not elaborate on the “myriad of scandals” he is referencing.

“I’m not aware of a single major Republican figure who said Barack Obama is not the president of the United States," he added.

Trump help spur the "birtherism" conspiracy theory before he entered politics with unfounded accusations that Obama was not born in the U.S. He was among the most prominent figures to call on Obama to produce his birth certificate, not typically asked of presidential candidates, when he discussed a possible 2012 presidential run.

Trump finally admitted the fact that the then-president was born in the U.S. in September 2016, without apologizing or explaining the change in his beliefs.

Other prominent Republicans backed the conspiracy theory, including Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), who campaigned in 2012 saying he wanted to send Obama “home to Kenya.”

Obama was born in Hawaii.

Today's Tweet

"I've just been mentored"

.@BarackObama says being a man isn't about 'eight-pound chains' or 'women around you twerkin',' it's about being a good human.pic.twitter.com/89ufZyifUN

— Psychonaut (@WakingLifeDream) February 21, 2019

Yes - I'll Rub It In

Once Upon A Time

...we had a president who wasn't a whiny-butt pussy about every-fuckin'-thing.

Memorial Day, 2010

When Trump flies to France and then drops out of the ceremony at a military cemetery because of “rain” we must remember he’s a liar.

It could just be that he’s having a bad hair day that could be made much worse by the weather.

— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) November 10, 2018

Overheard On The Toobz

From a bunch of posts across Twitter and Facebook and Reddit et al:

Out of the blue, I asked, "Have you ever read Reinhold Niebuhr?"

Obama's tone changed. "I love him. He's one of my favorite philosophers."

So I asked, "What do you take away from his writing?"

"I take away," answered Obama, "the compelling idea that there's serious evil in the world; and hardship; and pain. And we should be humble and modest in believing we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn't use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away ... the sense that we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard, and not swing from naive idealism to bitter realism."

We've had presidents who think about - and can articulate - some great notions.

We've had some great presidents. And we can have them again, but not without a fight.

Today's Tweet

It's just an Obama kinda day.

A wiseman once said... pic.twitter.com/rZKDvYkCGN

— UnsilentMajority 🌹 (@The_UnSilent_) May 12, 2018

Not Even Two Years Ago

10 March 2018

To the students of Parkland —

We wanted to let you know how inspired we have been by the resilience, resolve and solidarity that you have all shown in the wake of unspeakable tragedy.

Not only have you supported and comforted each other, but you’ve helped awaken the conscience of the nation, and challenged decision-makers to make the safety of our children the country’s top priority.

Throughout our history, young people like you have led the way in making America better. There may be setbacks; you may sometimes feel like progress is too slow in coming. But we have no doubt you are going to make an enormous difference in the days and years to come, and we will be there for you.

Barack Obama     Michelle Obama
I miss the fuck outa those two.

Today's Brain Teaser

If I didn't do anything the entire 8 years I was in office, what exactly is Trump reversing?

Seasonal Quickie

Don't try to tell me you don't miss this guy - just a little.

BTW - that whole War On Christmas thing?  

He Knows

Obama knows a lot.  One of the things he knows (that I never really recognized, much less gave him any credit for) is that sometimes not saying what's on your mind is an OK thing.

I'm not trying to rationalize here. I'm trying to get my head around how decent this guy truly is.

He knew what was going on - what "The Left" has been saying forever - but when he was being The President, he mostly kept his mouth shut about how shitty the Repubs had allowed their party to get. He only opened up when he was in full campaign mode.

Maybe he should've let fly. Things would certainly be different now if he had, but different doesn't necessarily mean better. So it's all speculation - Coulda Shoulda Woulda.

What we know for sure is that in the face of all the shit they threw at him, he was still doing everything he could do to be everybody's POTUS.

"When they go low, we go high."

I've always phrased that one a little differently: "Come at my knees and I'll take your fuckin' head off".

But I'm workin on it, Prez. Honest I am.

Luther's Return

We'll be talking about Luther for a good long time.

Keegan Micheal Key

Obama Speaks

Obama's remarks on the AHCA via Facebook:

The Senate bill, unveiled today, is not a health care bill. It’s a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America.

Today's Tweet

I AM IN TEARS pic.twitter.com/VUX8OcM4eo

— Chanel #45 (@monicamenzeI) June 19, 2017

And a reminder of what we're losing:

President Obama spoke truth last year about trashy trump & his words are more relevant today than ever before. 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/64MPKWUbWf

— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) June 19, 2017

My Guy Is Smokin' Hot

...your guy ain't doodly squat