Showing posts with label Michelle Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michelle Obama. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Leaning Out: How Michelle Obama became a feminist nightmare.
Last Tuesday, when Michelle Obama took a fashionably shod toe and dipped it into her husband’s efforts to address the nation’s higher-ed gap, the move was greeted by some feminists with a relieved, “It’s about damn time!”
Here, finally, was an issue worthy of the Ivy-educated, blue-chip law firm-trained first lady, a departure from the safely, soothingly domestic causes she had previously embraced. Gardening? Tending wounded soldiers? Reading to children? “She essentially became the English lady of the manor, Tory Party, circa 1830s,” feminist Linda Hirshman says.
Speaking last week at Bell Multicultural High School, a couple of miles north of the White House, the first lady touted the importance of a college degree, citing her own journey from a one-bedroom apartment on Chicago’s South Side to Princeton as evidence of how far hard work and good schooling can take you. “I’m here today because I want you to know that my story can be your story,” she told the predominantly low-income, heavily minority student body.
The personal plea was part of a glitzy rollout for a new administration initiative. Working with Education Secretary Arne Duncan, the first lady will become an “ambassador” for the new “North Star” program meant to make the United States the global leader in the percentage of young people it propels through college (we currently rank 12th, according to the White House), with special outreach to communities on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum.
Via: Politico Magazine
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Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Michelle Obama: ‘My Husband Has Got Swag’
First Lady Michelle Obama was a part of another hard-hitting interview on BET Tuesday night where she talked up her husband and took questions from the audience and world-renowned journalist Bow Wow.
Mrs. Obama told the audience that she believes her husband “has got swag.” She also said that the President “sings all the time.”
The full exchange is available below:
MRS. OBAMA: Question number two: On a scale of 1 to 10, how awesome was it when the President started singing “Let’s Stay Together” — Al Green? That was pretty awesome. I mean, he’s got a pretty good voice.
KESHIA CHANTE: He does.
MRS. OBAMA: I always say my husband has got swag. He’s got a little swag. (Applause.)
BOW WOW: He definitely does.
MRS. OBAMA: It was really sweet. But he sings all the time. Oh, yes, he’s in the bathroom all the time just singing. He is always willing to sing. He’s like, you want me to sing now, want me to sing something for you? But he has got a good voice. That was very sweet.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
First lady rallies on Obamacare: 'There but for the grace of God go I'
The president has dispatched first lady Michelle Obama to rally Democrats around his beleaguered Obamacare which she has boiled down to one religious phrase: “There but for the grade of God go I.”
At a New York City fundraiser for Senate Democrats Monday, the first lady opened with a long defense of Obamacare, suggesting her audience lives by the principle that everyone should have insurance.
We don’t believe in handouts. We don’t think anyone should get a free ride,” she said Monday afternoon in a speech at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers.
“But we also understand one simple principle — that there but for the grace of God go I; that in the blink of an eye, any of us — any of us — could be faced with a terrible diagnosis. Any of us could be injured in a horrible accident. Any of us could lose the job we count on to support our family — any of us,” she said.
“And when that happens, it shouldn’t mean falling off a cliff. It shouldn’t mean having to go without food, or medicine, or a roof over our heads — not here in the United States of America. Not in the greatest country on the planet. That is not who we are,” Obama added.
She conceded that political fights over the years, including over Obamacare, haven’t been a cakewalk. “I know it hasn’t always been easy. I know that there have been plenty of ups and downs over these years,” she said.
But, she added, the fight to keep Obamacare is something Democrats should join, not quit as it is besieged with problems. “What happened last month reminded us that the folks that we send to Washington make decisions about some very important issues — issues that affect our lives every single day. Will we be able to see a doctor when we’re sick? Will our businesses have what they need to create good jobs? Will our kids have what they need to learn and grow — things like decent nutrition, safe streets, good schools?”
Michelle Obama: 'Barack Hasn't Done Any of This Alone'
(CNSNews.com) - "Write the biggest check you can possibly write," First lady Michelle Obama told a gathering of female Democratic senators in New York City on Monday.
She said her husband needs these women to "dig deep" so the "right people" -- Democrats -- will be elected in the 2014 midterms.
Touting the nation's economic recovery, Mrs. Obama said, "Barack hasn't done any of this alone, just sitting by himself in the Oval Office. So sad," she joked.
She said her husband "needed Congress" to pass the stimulus law, a fair pay law, and the Affordable Care Act.
And then she talked about "frustrating defeats," and two situations where President Obama "had to sign an executive order."
"The DREAM Act -- an act that gives immigrant kids a fair shot, kids brought here by their parents through no fault of their own -- this act failed, once by just five votes in the Senate, and once by just four. So the President had to sign an executive order to finally get these kids some relief.
Via: CNS News
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She said her husband needs these women to "dig deep" so the "right people" -- Democrats -- will be elected in the 2014 midterms.
Touting the nation's economic recovery, Mrs. Obama said, "Barack hasn't done any of this alone, just sitting by himself in the Oval Office. So sad," she joked.
She said her husband "needed Congress" to pass the stimulus law, a fair pay law, and the Affordable Care Act.
And then she talked about "frustrating defeats," and two situations where President Obama "had to sign an executive order."
"The DREAM Act -- an act that gives immigrant kids a fair shot, kids brought here by their parents through no fault of their own -- this act failed, once by just five votes in the Senate, and once by just four. So the President had to sign an executive order to finally get these kids some relief.
Via: CNS News
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Monday, November 18, 2013
Obama Trumps ‘Bo’ as Christmas Dog in the Manger
Last Christmas Michelle and Barack Obama chose a black-and-white photograph of Wonder Dog ‘Bo’ cavorting in the snow on the White House lawn as the centerpiece for their official Christmas card.
Via: Canada Free Press
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As Todd Starnes of Fox News pointed out: “The 2012 card made no mention of any specific holiday, nor did it include a Bible verse noting the Birth of Christ.”
The card emailed to millions and Vanity Fair-deemed as “best ever” made Portuguese Water Dog Bo ‘Christmas Dog in the Manger’.
This year, Barack Obama trumps Bo as Christmas Dog in the Manger.
Images from BarackObama.com, depicting two talking digital snowmen, advise recipients that:
“the best way to spread holiday cheer
is by talking about Health Care at this time of the year.”
Oh, how romantic with BO-knows poetry is BarackObama.com!
Monday, November 11, 2013
Obama using food-stamp cash to fund Michelle’s ‘Let’s Move’
As you dig into your Butterball with all the trimmings this Thanksgiving, remember that millions of famished schoolkids around America may be forced to forgo classic turkey — and chow down instead on vegan black-bean patties and organic locavore quinoa salad.
On Nov. 1, sizable cuts were gouged into the federal food-stamp program (or, as it’s now called, SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), which feeds 47.6 million people, or nearly one in six Americans. In the city, 1.9 million folks get the bulk of their Jell-O and Campbell’s Soup from stamps.
But news has spread among the poor, like leafy green vegetables, that it wasn’t heartless Republicans who triggered the cuts.
Rather, some of the food-stamp cash was snatched to pay for Michelle Obama’s pet project, Let’s Move. What?
It’s come to this. Some 76 million meals a year will vanish from this city — poof! — partly because the president diverted money from SNAP to the first lady’s signature program, part of her Let’s Move anti-obesity initiative — the bean-sprout-heavy, $4.5 billion Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.
The rest of the $5 billion annual food-stamp cuts was taken when 2009 stimulus funds dried up. But with ObamaCare woes stealing the oxygen in Washington, there’s little urgency to replace dandelion greens served on recyclable trays with family-friendly buttered mashed potatoes.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Blake Lively, Harvey Weinstein and Hollywood Makeup Artists Create Teachable Moments at White House
It was all Michelle Obama's idea, gushed mega-producer Harvey Weinstein, as he and some of Hollywood's greatest gathered at the White House Friday for a careers-in-film workshop for high school students out of D.C., New York and Boston.
Weinstein, Whoopi Goldberg, actress Blake Lively and a handful of directors and producers gave the kids a serious pep talk, emceed by CBS News' Gayle King.
Weinstein said that the idea to bring Hollywood to Washington to talk jobs came about around the same time Michelle Obama was being tapped to announce best picture last year at the Academy Awards.
"This is what I want to do," Weinstein recalled the first lady saying in a meeting. (Weinstein also revealed that he couldn't believe it didn't leak that FLOTUS was going to play such a pivotal part in the Oscars. "Amazingly, enough, we did keep in a secret," Weinstein recalled.)
At the afternoon discussion, while Goldberg, producer Bruce Cohen, director Ryan Coogler, actress Naomie Harris and director David Frankel all spouted words of wisdom, Lively's story stood out as she talked about her unexpected path into the business.
Lively said in high school she was disinterested in acting, the family business, and interested in attending an Ivy League school.
"It was the only thing I knew I didn't want to do," she said of a career in Hollywood. "I wanted to get a great education."
To pursue this goal, Lively became class president and practically overdosed on extracurriculars, to the point where the school tried to tell her no.
"They said, 'you can't do this,'" she recalled.
But the acting bug eventually got Lively and high school administrators again came down on her, not allowing her to walk at graduation because she missed too many school days shooting the movie, "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants."
"They didn't let me do that because they wanted to shut me down," she said. (Years later, they asked the star to speak at graduation. She said no.)
Lively's breakout role came on the CW soap "Gossip Girl."
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Obama-Tied Firm Got $100k to Create Michelle’s “Let’s Move” Logo
A marketing firm with close ties to the president got a plum no-bid contract for $100,000 to design the “Let’s Move” logo for Michelle Obama’s childhood obesity campaign, according to government documents obtained by Judicial Watch.
The arrangement violates federal contracting rules and is even acknowledged by federal officials as an “unauthorized commitment,” the records obtained by JW show. As a result the agency that illegally awarded the contract, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), prepared a “request for ratification of an unauthorized commitment” to legitimize the expenditure. The justification provided to JW as part of the records is that the program was too important and time-sensitive for the official who awarded the no-bid deal to research the rules.
In all, JW obtained 44 pages of documents from the USDA, the agency largely in charge of distributing funds for the First Lady’s $4.5 billion measure (Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act) to revolutionize the inner-city diet and conquer childhood obesity. Among the documents is a scathing electronic mail exchange between the USDA Deputy Director (Jodey Edwards) in the Office of Procurement & Property Management and an agency administrative officer named Yvette Ward. Edwards asks “What did we get for our money … any deliverable? I know this is an unauthorized commitment: however the contractor still must provide evidence of what is being paid for …”
The firm that raked in the cash is Shepardson, Stern & Kaminsky (SS+K), which had previously served as the official agency for Obama for America’s youth initiatives in both 2008 and 2012. SS+K also received a sweet $2 million deal from the Obama Department of Education for the “TEACH” teacher recruitment campaign in 2010. Before the Obama administration started doling out money to the little-known firm, it had landed only one government contract—awarded in 2002 by the Department of Defense—worth $50,000.
The SS+K team that worked on “Let’s Move” consisted of the following: Robert Shepardson a partner in the firm who previously led SS+K’s work on Obama political campaigns; Marty Cooke, who is no longer with SS+K but served as creative director during Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign; Rebecca Matovic, a partner who also did work for the Gates Foundation, the Environmental Defense Fund, George Soros’ Open Society Foundation, and the governments of Bolivia and Colombia.
The USDA official who inappropriately authorized the no-bid “Let’s Move” slogan deal appears to have been a political appointee named David Lazarus, the records obtained by JW show. Lazarus is a former senior advisor to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack who previously served as National Rural Vote Deputy Director for Obama for America and as an advisor to the Obama-Biden transition team.
Not surprisingly, no significant action was taken against the parties responsible for the violation. Senior procurement officials simply spoke with the offender to “explain the procurement process,” according to the records. Training on procurement rules was subsequently provided to all senior advisors, the files further reveal, adding this: “The Senior Procurement Executive had intended to provide this seminar as part of the training that was given to new incoming political appointees at the start of the administration, but thought administrative oversight this wasn’t done.”
“Let’s Move” is described as “America’s move to raise a healthier generation of kids,” a comprehensive initiative launched by the First Lady dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity. The goal is to solve this crisis within a generation, according to the “Let’s Move” website, by among other things, ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food. Looking at the website and the slogan that cost U.S. taxpayers $100,000, it’s difficult to see the “time-sensitive” importance that could justify a no-bid contract.
Via: Judicial Watch
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Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Michelle Obama dreams of kids begging for fruits and vegetables instead of cookies and candy
First lady Michelle Obama teamed up with "Sesame Street" characters to promote fruits and vegetables to children on Wednesday.
Obama argued that if children saw fruits and vegetables branded with "Sesame Street" Muppets stickers, they would be more attracted to the products.
“Just imagine what will happen when we take our kids to the grocery store, and they see Elmo and Rosita and the other Sesame Street Muppets they love up and down the produce aisle,” she said. “Imagine what it will be like to have our kids begging us to buy them fruits and vegetables instead of cookies, candy and chips.
The Sesame Workshop and the Produce Marketing Association joined the Partnership for a Healthier America to utilize "Sesame Street" characters to deliver messages about the importance of eating fruits and vegetables.
First Lady Michelle Obama To Give Keynote Address At Disney’s ‘Veterans Institute’ Workshop On November 14
Complimentary ‘Veterans Institute’ program is designed to encourage and support hiring of military veterans Disney will share expertise from its ‘Heroes Work Here’ initiative with other companies to help them build their own veteran-hiring programs
Burbank, Calif. and Lake Buena Vista, Fla. – First Lady Michelle Obama will give the keynote address at Disney’s first-ever Veterans Institute workshop on November 14, 2013 at Walt Disney World Resort. Building on its successful Heroes Work Here initiative to hire, train and support military veterans, Disney is hosting the free Veterans Institute workshop to inspire other companies to employ servicemen and women transitioning to the private sector.
The First Lady has made supporting military families and U.S. troops a top priority. In 2011 Mrs. Obama and Dr. Jill Biden launched Joining Forces, an initiative dedicated to connecting servicemen and women, veterans, and military spouses with the resources they need to find jobs at home. Through this initiative, Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden have met with military families, learned about their successes and challenges, and have connected them with businesses and non-profit organizations as they look for work in the private sector. Joining Forces highlights the workforce potential of veterans and military spouses, expands employment and career development opportunities for veterans and military spouses, and helps employers create military family-friendly workplaces.
“We applaud First Lady Michelle Obama’s efforts to raise awareness of the strengths and unique needs of veterans and their families, and we are honored to have her join Disney’s first-ever ‘Veterans Institute,’ a program designed to showcase the value of veterans, share best hiring practices, and encourage greater employment opportunities for military men and women transitioning into civilian life,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company.
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