News From Barack’s Blog On MLK & Roger Ebert’s Passing

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Jueseppi B.

 

By Jueseppi B.

 

Barack'sblog

 

 

 

Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. With Our Lives

 

Valerie Jarrett
Valerie Jarrett

April 04, 2013

 

Today marks the 45th anniversary of the death of one of America’s great heroes and a giant of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Dr. King was working on the frontlines of a movement in Memphis to support the sanitation workers on strike when his life was taken. It was there that he gave his last speech, I’ve Been on a Mountaintop.

 

Today, we pause and reflect on Dr. King’s extraordinary life and his tireless work to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice. We stand on the shoulders of so many of our Civil Rights heroes who we’ve lost, such as Dr. King, Dorothy Height, and Rosa Parks. Yet their legacy continues.

 

This August, we also mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, when thousands descended upon the capital to rally for civil and economic rights for all Americans. It was there, at the Lincoln Memorial, that Dr. King gave his most iconic speech, I Have a Dream.

 

Since Dr. King’s untimely and tragic death, we have strived to advance his ideals and realize his dream for all Americans to have the same economic and social opportunities.

 

 

During the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in 2011, President Obama said:

 

“If he were alive today, I believe he would remind us that the unemployed worker can rightly challenge the excesses of Wall Street without demonizing all who work there; that the businessman can enter tough negotiations with his company’s union without vilifying the right to collectively bargain. He would want us to know we can argue fiercely about the proper size and role of government without questioning each other’s love for this country with the knowledge that in this democracy, government is no distant object but is rather an expression of our common commitments to one another. He would call on us to assume the best in each other rather than the worst, and challenge one another in ways that ultimately heal rather than wound.”

 

Here at the White House, we work each and every day to ensure that that our actions express those common commitments to each other: building an economy that serves the middle class and those striving to climb the ladders of opportunity into the middle class; making common sense immigration reform; protecting our children from harm; and giving all children the education required to pursue their dreams.

 

As we move forward on these challenges together, may we always live up to the words spoken by Dr. King the day before he died, “Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation.”

 

 

MLK Memorial

 

 

Valerie B. Jarrett is a Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama

 

 

 

Statement by the President on the Passing of Roger Ebert

 

 

roger_ebert_54299

 

Michelle and I are saddened to hear about the passing of Roger Ebert.  For a generation of Americans – and especially Chicagoans – Roger was the movies.  When he didn’t like a film, he was honest; when he did, he was effusive – capturing the unique power of the movies to take us somewhere magical.  Even amidst his own battles with cancer, Roger was as productive as he was resilient – continuing to share his passion and perspective with the world.  The movies won’t be the same without Roger, and our thoughts and prayers are with Chaz and the rest of the Ebert family.

 

 

527538_3297557136274_530686939_n

 

blogger4peacelogo

 

DAP-EMAIL-HEADER-4

 

 

obama-logo-head (3)

 

 

 

Filed under: "BARACK" The Vote, Black History, Causes, Celebrity, Crime, Education, Event, History, Movie Reviews, News, Obituary, Photographs, Race, Racism, Stories, The White House, World News | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

The Week That Was; West Wing Week: 03/01/13 Or “Hope Springs Eternal”

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Jueseppi B.

 

By Jueseppi B.

 

 

obama_sign_of_progress1

 

 

West Wing Week: 03/01/13 or “Hope Springs Eternal”

 

 

Adam Garber
Adam Garber

March 01, 2013
This week, the President urged Congress to take a responsible approach to deficit reduction instead of the indiscriminate across-the-board spending cuts called the sequester. He also met with the Prime Minister of Japan, America’s Governors, and the country’s only all-black Ranger unit, and unveiled a truly moving monument to Rosa Parks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, February 22nd

  • Prime Minister Abe of Japan visited the White House for a bilateral meeting with the President, where they discussed the important relationship between the two countries.
  • The White House Office of Digital Strategy hosted programmers from across the country for an Open Data Day Hackathon where participants were given access to We the People Petitions’ API in an effort to find ways to make the online platform both more detailed and more user-friendly.

 

 

Monday, February 25th

  • The President, Vice President, First Lady, and Dr. Biden spoke at the Meeting of the National Governors Association. The President praised governors for working across party lines, and called for the same kind of cooperation in Washington.

 

 

Tuesday, February 26th

  • The President traveled to Newport News, Virginia to visit a ship building facility, and highlight the devastating impact the sequester would have on jobs and middle class families, and to urge Congress to take action to replace these arbitrary cuts with balanced deficit reduction.
  • West Wing Week caught up with the President & CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries to hear his take on what’s at stake in the sequester negotiations.

 

 

Wednesday, February 27th

 

 

Thursday, February 28th

  • The President met with both the Commander in Chief of the VFW and with the National Commander of the American Legion.

Catching Up with The Curator: Watch Meeting–Dec. 31st 1862–Waiting for the Hour

 

Published on Feb 27, 2013

Go inside the White House with White House Curator, Bill Allman, as he gives insight into the painting Watch Meeting–Dec. 31st 1862–Waiting for the Hour by William Carlton and learn why President Obama hand-picked this painting to hang just outside his office in the West Wing.

 

 

 

 

 

February 28, 2013

Statement from the President

 

 

 

White House Schedule – March 1, 2013

 

10:05 AM EST:  The President hosts the bipartisan, bicameral leadership of Congress at the White House; the Vice President also attends in the Oval Office.

 

From The AP: The White House says automatic spending reductions set to kick in will be put off until as close to midnight Friday as possible.

 

The law, passed by Congress on Jan. 2 simply says that “on March 1, 2013, the president shall order a sequestration for fiscal year 2013.” That’s budget talk for an $85 billion reduction in defense and domestic spending between now and Oct. 1.

 

Obama can issue that order at any point in the day.

 

And White House press secretary Jay Carney says that means midnight, Friday – or as close to midnight as possible: 11:59 p.m. and 59 seconds.

 

Because, Carney says, Obama remains “ever hopeful.”

 

 

 

add

 

 

 

The Sequestration Map Provided by Addicting Info…….. click on this link, then follow these instructions when you see the map:

 ”To see how badly you’ll be screwed if our GOP-led congress refuses to compromise by March 1st, roll your mouse over the abbreviation for your state. Data from the White House’s report, “What Is the Sequestration?” with details organized by state.”

 

Thank you Addicting Info.

 

 

 

282808_123702927796432_324339832_n

 

 

 

 

OBAMA RE ELECTED

 

 

 

 

 

Filed under: Bad News, Business, Causes, Congress, Democrats/Democratic, Disaster, Economy, Event, GOPukes/RepubliCANTS, History, Jobs, News, Photographs, Politics, POTUS Obama, Stories, Tax Returns/Taxes, The White House, Videos, White House Blog, World News | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

My Soapbox Runneth Ovah: Rosa Parks, The Voting Rights Act, The First Lady & Let’s Move

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Jueseppi B.

 

By Jueseppi B.

 

 

jasonsoapbox-copy

 

 

 

Repealing The Voting Rights Act Of 1965:

 

Greg Sargent: Judging by all the early reporting on the first round of Supreme Court arguments about a key section of the Voting Rights Act, that provision may be in real peril. Conservative justices expressed sharp skepticism of the law, with much attention being paid to Antonin Scalia’s description of it as a “perpetuation of racial entitlement.”

 

…. all may not be lost. That’s because proponents of the Voting Rights Act are focused mainly on holding on to Justice Anthony Kennedy.

 

Full post here

 

 

 

If The United States Supreme Court Justices intend to take sections of the U.S. Constitution and repeal them, and upgrade them and redo them…..let’s give the entire U.S. Constitution a remake. Start with the antiquated 2nd amendment of 1791, BEFORE YOU REPEAL THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.

 

I mean how many have died from voting in America as opposed to the death toll figures from guns in America? Let me repeat: If the SCJOTUS wish to repeal The Voting Rights Act of 1965, these dumbass better for sure repeal the 2nd amendment written in 1791 to ensure a well regulated militia to combat slavery uprisings and save caucasian slave owning families lives.

 

Which Constitutional right is relevant in 2013?

 

 

Rep John Lewis: Scalia‘s ‘racial entitlement’ comment an affront to a cause ‘people died for’

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Full White House Dedication Ceremony Speech From POTUS Obama:

 

 

obama-rosa-parks

 

rosaparksstatue

 

 

 

 

President Obama Dedicates a Statue Honoring Rosa Parks

 

Published on Feb 27, 2013

President Obama speaks at a ceremony dedicating a statue in honor of Rosa Parks at the U.S. Capitol. February 27, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

rosa-parks

 

 

 

Statutory Hall: Rosa Parks Takes Her Place Among American History Giants

 

 

 

 

 

bctmxtbcmaaapss

 

 

 

 

Ms. First Lady Michelle Obama visits Northside Elementary School to promote Let’s Move

 

 

Michelle Obama Visits Mississippi

 

Published on Feb 27, 2013

First Lady Michelle Obama visits Northside Elementary School in Clinton to celebrate three years of the White House’s “Let’s Move!” campaign to fight childhood obesity and promote exercise, nutrition education and healthy eating in school cafeterias.

 

 

 

 

 

20130227-rosa

President Barack Obama touches the Rosa Parks statue after the unveiling during a ceremony in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Feb. 27, 2013. Helping with the unveiling, were, from left: Sheila Keys, niece of Rosa Parks; Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.; House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio; House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Assistant Democratic Leader Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.; and Elaine Eason Keys. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

 

 

 

130227_obamarosaparksphoto_tom-williamscqrollcall_500

President Barack Obama with a three-year-old relative of Rosa Parks after unveiling a statue in her honor.

 

 

 

Rosa Parks has a Permanent Place in the U.S. Capitol

 

Matt Compton
Matt Compton

February 27, 2013

National Statuary Hall inside the U.S. Capitol was once the meeting place of the House of Representatives. Now it’s home to a collection of statues and monuments — two from each state — representing some of the defining figures in our nation’s history.

 

Today those sculptures were joined by that of a civil rights icon. One hundred years after she was born and 58 years after she refused to give up her seat on an Alabama city bus, Rosa Parks has a permanent place in the halls of Congress.

 

President Obama was one of the leaders on hand for the unveiling of the statue this morning.

 

“Rosa Parks held no elected office,” he said. “She possessed no fortune; lived her life far from the formal seats of power. And yet today, she takes her rightful place among those who’ve shaped this nation’s course.”

 

The statue is close to nine feet tall and depicts Rosa Parks in bronze wearing the same clothes she wore on the day she was arrested. The monument consisting of both her statue and the granite pedestal on which it rests weighs 2,100 pounds.

 

“Rosa Parks’s singular act of disobedience launched a movement,” President Obama told today’s crowd. “The tired feet of those who walked the dusty roads of Montgomery helped a nation see that to which it had once been blind. It is because of these men and women that I stand here today. It is because of them that our children grow up in a land more free and more fair; a land truer to its founding creed. And that is why this statue belongs in this hall — to remind us, no matter how humble or lofty our positions, just what it is that leadership requires; just what it is that citizenship requires.”

 

 

 

rosa-parks-bus_obama

 

 

 

From Amnesty International USA:

 

 

Need an AK-47? How about 6,000 for an army of child soldiers?

 

The International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX), which concluded last week in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, bills itself as one of the biggest arms bazaars in the world. However, among the more than 1,100 companies exhibiting at IDEX were manufacturers whose products have made it a lot easier for bad guys to wreak havoc. After all, there are currently no global checks in place to keep guns out of the wrong hands.

 

We’ve got less than a month to go before states convene at the United Nations in New York to finalize a historic Arms Trade Treaty. Take action now to make this Arms Trade Treaty strong so that no more weapons can fall through gaping loopholes and into dangerous hands.

 

Amnesty International has been able to trace the flow of weapons from manufacturers exhibiting at IDEX to the very weapons used in countries where serious human rights abuses have taken place.

 

There were no checks in place then to stop the free flow of weapons:

  • from Pakistan to Sri Lanka, even though the country was embroiled in a brutal civil war that lasted three decades
  • or from China to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where both armed groups and government forces alike use child soldiers
  • or from the United States to Bahrain, like the tear gas used by government forces against peaceful protesters

 

 

 

But we can ensure that there are checks in place now if we urge the Obama administration to support a strong Arms Trade Treaty.

 

 

All the while, NRA officials keep fueling a false#gunversation about the Arms Trade Treaty claiming that its purpose is to infringe on American gun owners rights — knowing full well that it has no impact on gun rights within U.S. borders whatsoever. In fact, the gun lobby will be in D.C. today continuing to spread their misinformation campaign during Congressional hearings about gun control.

 

 

So if NRA officials have their way and the Arms Trade Treaty is weakened, then we would see more children recruited as soldiers, more women raped in conflict zones, more families driven from their homes and more senseless deaths.

 

 

We’ve got to make sure the record is set straight before March 18, when Arms Trade Treaty negotiations begin. We must do all we can to close dangerous loopholes, like the one that makes international gun shows an open bazaar for the suppliers of warlords and human rights criminals.

 

 

The Arms Trade Treaty has the potential to protect families from gun violence on a global scale. Show President Obama that you care about protecting families worldwide against gun violence by taking action now.

 

 

Your voice makes a difference in the global gun debate.

 

 

Thank You,

Michelle Ringuette
Chief of Campaigns & Programs
Amnesty International USA

 

 

 

19219_365857606855231_1982075481_n

 

 

 

 

282808_123702927796432_324339832_n

 

 

 

OBAMA RE ELECTED

 

Filed under: Awards, Bad News, Black History, Bullying, Cartoons, Causes, Celebrity, Congress, Court Room/Legal, Democrats/Democratic, Dumb Shit, Education, Event, Fun & Games, Good News, GOPukes/RepubliCANTS, Gun Control, Gun Violence, Health, History, Michelle Obama, News, NRA, Opinion, Photographs, Politics, POTUS Obama, Race, Racism, Stories, The White House, Videos, White House Blog, Women's Causes, World News | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Black History Moment: The U.S. Postal Service Releases The 2013 Rosa Parks (Forever®) Stamp

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Jueseppi B.

By Jueseppi B.

 

bctmxtbcmaaapss

 

 

 

Rosa Parks stamp unveiled

 

Published on Feb 4, 2013

A stamp honoring Rosa Parks has been unveiled on what would have been her 100th birthday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Parks Stamp Issued on Her 100th Birthday

 

 

 

 

Rosa Parks (Forever)

 

The U.S. Postal Service 2013 Rosa Parks (Forever®) stamp honors the life of this extraordinary American activist who became an iconic figure in the civil rights movement. In 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks courageously refused to give up her seat on a municipal bus to a white man, defying the discriminatory laws of the time.

 

The stamp art, a gouache painting on illustration board, is a portrait of Parks emphasizing her quiet strength. A 1950s photograph served as the basis for the stamp portrait.

 

The response to Parks’s arrest was a boycott of the Montgomery bus system that lasted for more than a year and became an international cause célèbre. In 1956, in a related case, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that segregating Montgomery buses was unconstitutional.

 

Soon after the boycott ended, Parks moved to Detroit, Michigan. She joined the 1963 march on Washington and returned to Alabama in 1965 to join the march from Selma to Montgomery. The many honors Parks received in her lifetime include the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1996), the Spingarn Medal (1979), and the Congressional Gold Medal (1999). Upon her death in 2005, she became the first woman and second African American to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC.

 

Artist Thomas Blackshear II created an original painting for the stamp, which was designed by art director Derry Noyes.

 

The stamp honoring Rosa Parks is one of three stamps in the civil rights set celebrating freedom, courage, and equality being issued in 2013. It is being issued as a Forever® stamp. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.

 

Made in the USA.

Issue Date: February 4, 2013

 

 

blackhistoryrosa

 

 

 

Rosa_parks_bus

 

 

 

Rosa Parks on Bus

 

 

 

19219_365857606855231_1982075481_n

 

 

 

bloggers4peace

 

 

 

blackhistorymonthbanner

 

 

 

Filed under: Art, Awards, Black History, Causes, Celebrity, Education, Good News, Gun Control, Gun Violence, History, Holidays, News, Photographs, Race, Racism, Women's Causes, World News | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Black History Month Moment: Presidential Proclamations

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Jueseppi B.

By Jueseppi B.

 

282623_3276084501052_1480380124_n

 

 

 

 

Presidential Proclamations

 

January 31, 2013

Presidential Proclamation: National African American History Month, 2013

 

The White House

 

Office of the Press Secretary

 

For Immediate Release
January 31, 2013

Presidential Proclamation: National African American History Month, 2013

 

By The President of The United States of America

 

 

A Proclamation

In America, we share a dream that lies at the heart of our founding:  that no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter how modest your beginnings or the circumstances of your birth, you can make it if you try.  Yet, for many and for much of our Nation’s history, that dream has gone unfulfilled. For African Americans, it was a dream denied until 150 years ago, when a great emancipator called for the end of slavery. It was a dream deferred less than 50 years ago, when a preacher spoke of justice and brotherhood from Lincoln’s memorial.  This dream of equality and fairness has never come easily — but it has always been sustained by the belief that in America, change is possible.

 

Today, because of that hope, coupled with the hard and painstaking labor of Americans sung and unsung, we live in a moment when the dream of equal opportunity is within reach for people of every color and creed.  National African American History Month is a time to tell those stories of freedom won and honor the individuals who wrote them.  We look back to the men and women who helped raise the pillars of democracy, even when the halls they built were not theirs to occupy.  We trace generations of African Americans, free and slave, who risked everything to realize their God-given rights.  We listen to the echoes of speeches and struggle that made our Nation stronger, and we hear again the thousands who sat in, stood up, and called out for equal treatment under the law.  And we see yesterday’s visionaries in tomorrow’s leaders, reminding us that while we have yet to reach the mountaintop, we cannot stop climbing.

 

Today, Dr. King, President Lincoln, and other shapers of our American story proudly watch over our National Mall.  But as we memorialize their extraordinary acts in statues and stone, let us not lose sight of the enduring truth that they were citizens first.  They spoke and marched and toiled and bled shoulder-to-shoulder with ordinary people who burned with the same hope for a brighter day.  That legacy is shared; that spirit is American.  And just as it guided us forward 150 years ago and 50 years ago, it guides us forward today.  So let us honor those who came before by striving toward their example, and let us follow in their footsteps toward the better future that is ours to claim.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2013 as National African American History Month.  I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

 

BARACK OBAMA

 

 

 

obama-mlk

 

 

 

 

February 01, 2013

Presidential Proclamation — 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Rosa Parks

 

 

The White House

 

 

Office of the Press Secretary

 

 

For Immediate Release
February 01, 2013

Presidential Proclamation — 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Rosa Parks

 

 

100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF ROSA PARKS

- – - – - – -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 

 

A PROCLAMATION

 

On December 1, 1955, our Nation was forever transformed when an African-American seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger. Just wanting to get home after a long day at work, Rosa Parks may not have been planning to make history, but her defiance spurred a movement that advanced our journey toward justice and equality for all.

 

Though Rosa Parks was not the first to confront the injustice of segregation laws, her courageous act of civil disobedience sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott — 381 days of peaceful protest when ordinary men, women, and children sent the extraordinary message that second-class citizenship was unacceptable. Rather than ride in the back of buses, families and friends walked. Neighborhoods and churches formed carpools. Their actions stirred the conscience of Americans of every background, and their resilience in the face of fierce violence and intimidation ultimately led to the desegregation of public transportation systems across our country.

 

Rosa Parks’s story did not end with the boycott she inspired. A lifelong champion of civil rights, she continued to give voice to the poor and the marginalized among us until her passing on October 24, 2005.

 

As we mark the 100th anniversary of Rosa Parks’s birth, we celebrate the life of a genuine American hero and remind ourselves that although the principle of equality has always been self-evident, it has never been self-executing. It has taken acts of courage from generations of fearless and hopeful Americans to make our country more just. As heirs to the progress won by those who came before us, let us pledge not only to honor their legacy, but also to take up their cause of perfecting our Union.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 4, 2013, as the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Rosa Parks. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate service, community, and education programs to honor Rosa Parks’s enduring legacy.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

 

BARACK OBAMA

 

 

Rosa Parks on Bus

 

 

 

19219_365857606855231_1982075481_n

 

 

 

blackhistorymonthbanner

 

 

Filed under: Black History, Causes, Celebrity, Democrats/Democratic, Education, Good News, Joy & Happiness, News, Photographs, Politics, POTUS Obama, Race, Racism, The White House, World News | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 14,479 other followers

%d bloggers like this: