All Articles Tagged "Obama"
Excuse Me Ma’am But Get Your Finger Out Of My President’s Face
I don’t know about you but I’m not feeling how this image of Arizona Republican Governor Jan Brewer seemingly telling Obama off shortly after arriving in the Western state is headlining media news around the nation. For one, it seems that folks are getting a little too giddy about the fact that Obama appears to be disrespected by a subordinate. I also have an issue with the Governess thinking she can get away with sticking a finger in the President’s face in such a public way. You don’t have to be from the hood to know that putting a finger in someone’s face is the ultimate sign of disrespect.
Brewer’s confrontation was allegedly sparked by her sentiments on illegal immigration, which clashes with those of the President.
According to USA Today, Brewer told reporters that the President was “a little disturbed about my book, Scorpions for Breakfast. I said to him that I have all the respect in the world for the office of the president. The book is what the book is. I asked him if he read the book. He said he read the excerpt.”
In her book, Brewer claims that during a meeting about illegal immigration in 2010, the President was patronizing and lectured her like a “kid in a classroom.”
Although Brewer has reacted to the above photo and has stated that she would never disrespect the President of The United States, the saying “a picture speaks a thousand words” rings true here. The Governor certainly needs to work on her body language because obviously there’s some subconscious ish going on right here.
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‘Baby Bump’ and ‘Amazing’ Top List of Words to Banish in 2012
I’m pretty sure 2011 was the year the word “swag” was banned for ridiculous overuse, but that didn’t stop people from coming up with a ton of other words to use over, and over, and over again.
This year, results from Lake Superior State University’s annual call for nominations of words that have been misused, overused, and should therefore banished, placed “amazing, “baby bump,” and “shared sacrifice” at the top of the list.
“Baby bump” can easily be blamed on Beyonce and all her here today-gone tomorrow pregnancy shenanigans so we should be good after she gives birth–whenever that will be. I doubt anyone will be as excited about any other celebrity couple’s expectancy in the new year.”
I think Obama is the culprit behind “shared sacrifice.” He ran his presidential campaign on that motto in 2008, so it’s pretty likely he’ll pick that back up in 2012, although in my opinion that’s not such a bad phrase to throw around. Amazing, on the other hand, I’m impartial to. I can see how the word could be overused because how many things are actually “amazing” but it’s not a term I really heard a lot this year.
“Occupy,” “ginormous,” “man cave” and “the new normal,” were also some of the most noted words from the 1,500 nominations submitted from around the globe.
What words do you never want to hear used again in the new year?
Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.
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Desiree Rogers on Leaving the White House: I Like to Be in Charge
While many saw Desiree Rogers’ short stint at the White House as a blemish on her career in light of the party-crashing incident, Rogers saw her leave as an opportunity to do something she really wanted to do. Since then, the former social secretary has become CEO of Johnson Publishing, working to rebuild two iconic black brands, Ebony and Jet.
In a recent interview with Businessweek, Rogers discussed the new strategy behind the publications: I wanted to make Ebony prettier and more relevant. With Jet, people would say, ‘What are you going to do to my Jet?’ We’re being very careful not to fall into a vacuum where we assume all black people want to read the same thing. That said, there are broad issues that impact the community. My daughter is 21, and she doesn’t see the world in white and black. But she wants to read about our history. She helped me think about things in a different way.”
Rogers is off to a strong start. I haven’t seen so much buzz surround Ebony in years. The redesign of the mag has caught the attention of a younger generation who had written the publication off, and new website is expected in January. Rogers also seems secure in her choice to enter the publishing world.
“Washington is like playing the Super Bowl, only there are no timeouts, no potty breaks, and the arena is filled with the media. In government, you have to learn to put yourself second in a big way. But I am a business person at heart. I like to be in charge.”
How do you think Desiree Rogers is doing so far with revitalizing Ebony and Jet?
Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.
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Obama Speeds Up Aid for College Students: How Will It Help You?
(ABC News) – President Obama will pitch a plan today to help ease the burden of loans on college students, as a new report shows that higher education is becoming more expensive for many young Americans.
Starting next year, borrowers’ student loan payments will be capped at 10 percent of their discretionary income, and they could be eligible for forgiveness on the balance of their debt in 20 years. Under the current plan, loan payments are limited to 15 percent of a borrower’s discretionary income, and their balance is forgiven after 25 years.
The plan will also help provide an opportunity for reduced interest payments. Students will be able to consolidate their loans under the same terms and conditions in a move that proponents say will simplify the payment process and help nearly 6 million borrowers. The Department of Education will send out a letter this year to borrowers who qualify, and those who consolidate their payments will receive a one-time, half percent reduction on their interest rate for some of their loans.
Obama heads West to campaign, push jobs bill
CNN) – President Barack Obama visits Las Vegas Monday, part of Western trip that will mix campaigning with presidential business — and an appearance on “The Tonight Show.”
A campaign event was scheduled at The Bellagio hotel and casino on Monday afternoon. Obama then will meet with homeowners at a private residence and will deliver remarks, according to an official schedule released by the White House.
The president then will travel to Los Angeles, where he will deliver remarks at two more campaign events. The public campaign events are among Obama’s first in the West, although some private events have been held.
On Tuesday, Obama will tape an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” according to the White House.
Obama’s African American Supporters Shouldn’t Play the Race Card
(Washington Post) — The call by some members of the black media for African Americans to support President Obama in racial solidarity is a terrible idea. Just as terrible as women supporting women only because of their sex, or any other group viewing the world solely through the narrow prism of their own experience.
If pursued and played by Obama, it would be the worst thing not only for his reelection campaign but also for the country. The man who was elected on a promise of unity — neither black nor white nor red nor blue — can’t now play the race card. Any of his supporters who play that hand will be doing a disservice to themselves and to the nation.
Big Cash Edge Powers Obama in Drive for ’12
President Obama is exploiting his early lead in campaign fund-raising to bankroll a sprawling grass-roots organization and information technology apparatus in critical general election battlegrounds. He is doing so even as the Republican candidates conserve cash and jockey for position in what could become a drawn-out nominating battle.
Obama Ready To Move Forth With Jobs Bill
(AP) — President Barack Obama said Tuesday he’s prepared to break his jobs bill into pieces and try to move it that way, hours before the measure faced likely defeat at the hands of Republican senators opposed to stimulus spending and a tax surcharge on millionaires. ”I don’t know how Congress will respond to the overall package, but our expectation is if they don’t pass the whole package we’re going to break it up into constituent parts,” Obama told members of his jobs council in Pittsburgh not long before the first congressional vote on the $447 billion jobs plan.
The plan combines payroll tax cuts for workers and businesses with $175 billion in spending on roads, school repairs and other infrastructure, as well as unemployment assistance and help to local governments to avoid layoffs of teachers, firefighters and police officers.
Can Obama See the Promise in the Protest?
(New York Times) — Anti-Wall Street protesters marched past the gates of the White House on Thursday, bringing their message of economic injustice to the capital and posing an opportunity, but also a threat, to President Obama, who presents himself as a fervent defender of the middle class. Brandishing placards that said “No More Wall Street White House” and chanting “Shame! Shame!” the crowd took aim at the president, even if it saved most of its vitriol for the nearby headquarters of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — or as one banner labeled it, “Chamber of Corporate Horrors.” To hear some Democratic analysts tell it, the mushrooming protests could be the start of a populist movement on the left that counterbalances the surge of the Tea Party on the right, and closes what some Democrats fear is an “enthusiasm gap” between their party and Republicans in the 2012 election. But that assumes the president is able to win the support of these insurgents, rather than be shunned by them.
Does Obama’s Jobs Bills Have Legs?
(TheLoop21) — By now, you’ve heard the mantra from President Obama “pass this jobs bill,“ which he’s echoed no less than a thousand times throughout September to numerous voting constituencies, in the front and back yards of his political opponents and across every social media platform worth mentioning. Much of the money in the American Jobs Act bill is slated for infrastructure “shovel ready” jobs but can the bill really get those proverbial shovels in the dirt? The dirty truth is that many jobs deemed “shovel ready” are anything but. In a recent Politico article, a Berekley professor said, “Unfortunately, there aren’t many jobs ready to go at the snap of a finger.” And earlier this week, when Obama visited GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry’s state of Texas, he was welcomed with an ad that reminded the administration of when Obama admitted himself that jobs weren’t as shovel-ready as he thought. So why so much focus on the shovel-ready if there’s little certainty that they will dig us out of unemployment?
