First Lady Michelle Obama graces the cover of the December-January 2014 Ladies Home Journal.
Lady in Red
Sophisticated Lady
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Black Girls Rock!
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Potus Takes Oath of Office
Flotus & Daughters at Great Wall of China
My Brothers Keeper
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AFRO PUFFS
Most Adorable Shoe Stealer
Six Little Babies
Fatherhood
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Even though 3Chics Politico is written and curated by three women: Ametia, Rikyrah, and SouthernGirl2, I must nominate this as one of the most engaging blogs I've found. Devoted to politics and culture, these three shine a light on contemporary life with humor and spirit.
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Presidential hug
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http://youtu.be/vebNPRLV7yA
Sunday, Nov 17, 2013 06:00 AM CST
America’s angriest white men: Up close with racism, rage, and Southern supremacy
Up close with small-town white rage, with bitter, scary men who feel left behind by economic and cultural change
Michael Kimmel
Who are the white supremacists? There has been no formal survey, for obvious reasons, but there are several noticeable patterns. Geographically, they come from America’s heartland—small towns, rural cities, swelling suburban sprawl outside larger Sunbelt cities. These aren’t the prosperous towns, but the single-story working-class exurbs that stretch for what feels like forever in the corridor between Long Beach and San Diego (not the San Fernando Valley), or along the southern tier of Pennsylvania, or spread all through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, across the vast high plains of eastern Washington and Oregon, through Idaho and Montana. There are plenty in the declining cities of the Rust Belt, in Dearborn and Flint, Buffalo and Milwaukee, in the bars that remain in the shadows of the hulking deserted factories that once were America’s manufacturing centers. And that doesn’t even touch the former states of the Confederacy, where flying the Confederate flag is a culturally approved symbol of “southern pride”—in the same way that wearing a swastika would be a symbol of German “heritage” (except it’s illegal in Germany to wear a swastika).
There’s a large rural component. Although “the spread of far-right groups over the last decade has not been limited to rural areas alone,” writes Osha Gray Davidson, “the social and economic unraveling of rural communities—especially in the midwest—has provided far-right groups with new audiences for their messages of hate. Some of these groups have enjoyed considerable success in their rural campaign.” For many farmers facing foreclosures, the Far Right promises to help them save their land have been appealing, offering farmers various schemes and legal maneuvers to help prevent foreclosures, blaming the farmers’ troubles on Jewish bankers and the one-world government. “As rural communities started to collapse,” Davidson writes, the Far Right “could be seen at farm auctions comforting families . . . confirming what rural people knew to be true: that their livelihoods, their families, their communities—their very lives—were falling apart.” In stark contrast to the government indifference encountered by rural Americans, a range of Far Right groups, most recently the militias, have seemingly provided support, community, and answers.
In that sense, the contemporary militias and other white supremacist groups are following in the footsteps of the Ku Klux Klan, the Posse Comitatus, and other Far Right patriot groups who recruited members in rural America throughout the 1980s. They tap into a long history of racial and ethnic paranoia in rural America, as well as an equally long tradition of collective local action and vigilante justice. There remains a widespread notion that “Jews, African-Americans, and other minority-group members ‘do not entirely belong,’” which may, in part, “be responsible for rural people’s easy acceptance of the far right’s agenda of hate,” writes Matthew Snipp. “The far right didn’t create bigotry in the Midwest; it didn’t need to,” Davidson concludes. “It merely had to tap into the existing undercurrent of prejudice once this had been inflamed by widespread economic failure and social discontent.”
And many have moved from their deindustrializing cities, foreclosed suburban tracts, and wasted farmlands to smaller rural areas because they seek the companionship of like-minded fellows, in relatively remote areas far from large numbers of nonwhites and Jews and where they can organize, train, and build protective fortresses. Many groups have established refuge in rural communities, where they can practice military tactics, stockpile food and weapons, hone their survivalist skills, and become self-sufficient in preparation for Armageddon, the final race war, or whatever cataclysm they envision. Think of it as the twenty-first-century version of postwar suburban “white flight”—but on steroids.
They’re certainly Christian, but not just any Christian—they’re evangelical Protestant, Pentacostalist, and members of radical sects that preach racial purity as the Word of Jesus. (Catholicism is certainly stocked with conservatives on social issues, but white supremacists tap into such a long and ignoble tradition of anti-Catholicism that they tend to have their own right-wing organizations, mostly fighting against women’s rights and gay rights.) Some belong to churches like the Christian Identity Church, which gained a foothold on the Far Right in the early 1980s. Christian Identity’s focus on racism and anti-Semitism provides the theological underpinnings to the shift from a more “traditional agrarian protest” to paramilitarism. It is from the Christian Identity movement that the Far Right gets its theological claims that Adam is the ancestor of the Caucasian race, whereas non-whites are pre-Adamic “mud people,” without souls, and Jews are the children of Satan. According to this doctrine, Jesus was not Jewish and not from the Middle East; actually, he was northern European, his Second Coming is close at hand, and followers can hasten the apocalypse. It is the birthright of Anglo-Saxons to establish God’s kingdom on earth; America’s and Britain’s “birthright is to be the wealthiest, most powerful nations on earth . . . able, by divine right, to dominate and colonize the world.”
http://www.salon.com/2013/11/17/americas_angriest_white_men_up_close_with_racism_rage_and_southern_supremacy/
GO COWBOYS!
Her complexion is awesome!
I agree, vl. I thank the LORD that President and Mrs. Obama are so synced (sp) to one another. They make a great couple.
Indeed they do. They are just right for each other and always will be.
This Is Why We Fight
by BooMan
Sun Nov 24th, 2013 at 11:47:02 AM EST
I don’t care that Mary Stamper “chose” to have 11 kids even though she doesn’t have a steady job with health benefits, or that Gary Gross has no job, smokes, and drank so much that he damaged his liver by the age of 36. I don’t care that Ronald Hudson has diabetes, five kids, and an income below $15,000. All I care about is that they are eligible for Medicaid in Kentucky thanks to ObamaCare. It’s not my responsibility to pass moral judgment on other people’s life choices; it’s my responsibility to make sure that everyone who needs to see a doctor can see a doctor. I don’t think there is a single political issue that should take precedence before this one, so I am ecstatic that these folks are signed up for Medicaid. This is exactly why I am became politically active.
It would be nice if some of these people decided to vote for the Democratic Party, but that is not the point of these reforms. The point is to help them whether or not we get any political credit for helping them.
But, at least one of them seems to get it.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2013/11/24/11472/089
@EliClifton
‘Every POTUS since Carter tried 2 make a deal with Iran. None have succeeded. President Obama just did.’ http://bit.ly/180wEDs @Cirincione
Just wanted to thank everyone for the prayers for Peanut’s mother. Things are looking up, and so far, it’s been nothing but positive news. I thank all of you for keeping my family in your prayers.
Good news, Rikyrah! Praise God!
God is MERCIFUL. Blessings abound in God’s care.
I am so glad to hear you are receiving positive news for Peanut’s mother, rikyrah.
What a relief!
Praise God!
Good Morning from Wyoming Chics! Did you have a good BDay Riikyrah? Hope so!
Isn’t it a great morning to be a supporter of President Obama and his leadership? Couldn’t get enough of the excitement and hard to wind down. Have no idea when I went to sleep, woke up with the iPad in my lap! At least there wasn’t a strange guy in my bed. Just my Sam and Bear. (Real Dogs) ;) Hubby was working nights. He doesn’t have a job where he can call or I can call him on a whim. So I just read what people wrote. Senators Cornyn and Graham made huge fools of themselves. They are getting twitter hammered I noticed. GOOD. MSM does not control the news anymore. Spoiled brats. Peace isn’t profitable I guess. SOS Kerry is the best. Always respected him. He’s going to go down as great if this works out. I follow more than my quota compared to my number of followers so I couldn’t follow some of the new, interesting people.
Now I’m looking at the most beautiful woman in the world. Who else gets that much better with age? No wonder our President is so good. She’s got his back. Thank you for the work you do. I peek in everyday. I don’t have time to comment, but I just had to today. It should be a great week. Have a great Thanksgiving if I don’t pop in again.
Do you hate the Pilgrams? Why are we now fighting over Thanksgiving the one holiday to give thanks for family and friends? Is this been going on in twitter ever year? Remember I’m sort of a newbie at that. Let’s not be like RWNJ. Let’s discuss the bad stuff another day. I love my Country in spite of our wrongs. I think we’ve come a long way if we just keep the stupid RWNJs out. They are poisoning us with hatred.
Oh Happy Day! :) Love you Three a Chics!
Hi CarolMae. Thank you for stopping in and commenting when you can. We love you right back. 3 Chics got POTUS & FLOTUS back.
Yes, you do! That’s why I love you.
Man provides thousands of books to impoverished areas
By MARY MITCHELL November 8, 2013 7:40PM
When William Hall, 29, pulled up to CHA’s Altgeld Gardens one day last summer, he drew a huge crowd.
But Hall wasn’t selling CDs or bootleg DVDs out of his trunk.
Hall, a youth minister and founder of “Acts of Love,” was pushing free books.
“We got to the cul de sacs, popped open the trunks, and we saw kids literally running to the cars, and leaving with more books than they could carry,” he said.
Hall created “Acts of Love” 2-1/2 years ago. The goal was to give away a million books to impoverished children across America. Since then, the Chatham resident has given away 101,112 books in Chicago, Detroit, Flint, Mich; Milwaukee, Minnesota, Atlanta, Memphis, Baltimore, D.C. and Gary.
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“What I’ve seen in the last two years and through my own experiences is how the literacy and poverty are like brothers and sisters,” Hall said during a recent interview.
“We talk about the prison industrial complex. We talk about the absence of a father. We talk about the lack of access to education, but we are not talking about literacy.” During the summer, “Acts of Love” went to Englewood four times, and collaborated with Asiaha Butler, president and co-founder of R.A.G.E. (Resident Association of Greater Englewood) to establish a home library.
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What Hall witnessed while handing out books in poor neighborhoods may explain why so many children are struggling in the classroom.
“The times in which we have been invited into actual apartments and homes, you see more video games, more flat screen TVs and no books. No shelves for books,” Hall said.
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In January, Hall is planning to launch a family-focused literacy effort called family literacy academies, the next phase of his “Acts of Love” campaign.
“Literacy is something that is not learned. It is taught. The parent academy is to teach parents that don’t know how to read, and also give them the resources to be better parents,” he said. “The first parent academy is planned for January and will be held at Bidler Elementary School in the Austin community.
“Our focus now is to begin to be the voice for the parent, and the voice for the child that does not have access,” Hall said.
“If you do not challenge a young person’s mind. If you do not give them content that can change their thinking, the way they live, their habits; then how can you say you love a child?” he asked.
For more information go to millionactsoflove.org
http://www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/23606572-452/man-provides-thousands-of-books-to-impoverished-areas.html
http://www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/23606572-452/man-provides-thousands-of-books-to-impoverished-areas.html
Chicago Sun-Times: Affordable Care Act Counselor Tries Health Insurance Marketplace For First-Hand Knowledge
As one of those people who is supposed to help Illinoisans find new options for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, Joann Boblick figured she should check out healthcare.gov and see how it works. Glitches with the website have kept many Americans from viewing insurance plans available. But Boblick was able to get through to Illinois’ marketplace on healthcare.gov. She also found an insurance plan that will be cheaper than the one she has.
“The first time, I got nowhere. The site just said come back later. The second time, I decided to come back later because I was waiting too long,” said Boblick, 36, of Western Springs. “The third time was the charm.” Boblick currently pays a premium of $340 a month with a deductible of $6,000. The Blue Choice Bronze PPO 006 that she enrolled in on Oct. 7 costs $185 a month with the same deductible and offers the same doctors, dentists and hospitals she has now. That’s even though Boblick made too much money — about $65,000 — to qualify for a subsidy to pay for a new insurance plan.
For those still waiting to log on at HealthCare.gov, Boblick suggested people think of getting insurance as they would think of getting a new iPhone the first day. “People wait days for an iPhone. Care about it that much,” she said. “Realize it’s more important than the iPhone.”
http://www.suntimes.com/news/23728771-418/affordable-care-act-counselor-tries-health-insurance-marketplace-for-firsthand-knowledge.html
AP: Secret US-Iran Talks Set Stage For Nuke Deal
The United States and Iran secretly engaged in a series of high-level, face-to-face talks over the past year, in a high-stakes diplomatic gamble by the Obama administration that paved the way for the historic deal sealed early Sunday in Geneva aimed at slowing Tehran’s nuclear program, The Associated Press has learned.
The discussions were kept hidden even from America’s closest friends, including its negotiating partners and Israel, until two months ago, and that may explain how the nuclear accord appeared to come together so quickly after years of stalemate and fierce hostility between Iran and the West. President Barack Obama personally authorized the talks as part of his effort – promised in his first inaugural address – to reach out
The talks were held in the Middle Eastern nation of Oman and elsewhere with only a tight circle of people in the know, the AP learned. Since March, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Jake Sullivan, Vice President Joe Biden’s top foreign policy adviser, have met at least five times with Iranian officials.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IRAN_SECRET_TALKS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
AP: Iran Deal Leaves Israel Few Options
After feverishly trying to derail the international community’s nuclear deal with Iran in recent weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now has little choice but to accept an agreement that he has derided as deeply flawed.
Netanyahu believes the six-month deal leaves Iran’s military nuclear capabilities largely intact, while giving Iran relief from painful economic sanctions, undermining negotiations on the next stage. At the same time, Israel’s strongest piece of leverage, the threat of a military strike on Iran, seems to be out of the question despite Netanyahu’s insistence it would remain on the table.
U.S. officials said Sunday’s deal was just a first step and further negotiations aim for a final agreement that would prevent any threat from Iran’s nuclear program. They said the relief from sanctions was minimal and that the most biting economic measures, including sanctions on Iran’s vital oil industry, remained in place and more could be imposed if Iran fails to follow through.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/analysis-iran-deal-leaves-israel-few-options
Kennett Area Dems @KennettDems
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Syrian chemical weapons destroyed.
Iranian nuclear program halted.
American lives lost: 0.
Thank you, Mr. President!
6:40 AM – 24 Nov 2013
Sidelining the Warmongers
by BooMan
Sun Nov 24th, 2013 at 09:24:50 AM EST
Any agreement with Iran was going to have to allow the Iranian government to argue that they’d gotten a good deal. Likewise, any agreement was going to be opposed by Israel and Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia’s satellites in the Gulf region. Any agreement with Iran was also destined to be opposed by President John McCain, Vice-President Sarah Palin, and Secretary of State Lindsey Graham. All of that was baked in the cake, and none of it has even a little bit to do with the details of the agreement.
There has been enormous pressure on the administration to join in a regional sectarian fight on the side of the Sunnis against the Shiites, most pressingly in Syria’s civil war, but the administration has wriggled out of that trap and has so far allowed diplomacy to prevail against the desires of the warmongers. Those who preferred Obama to Clinton because of the distinction in their positions on the authorization to use military force in Iraq now have something concrete to point to, to argue that electing Obama would lead to a more peaceful world than would electing Clinton.
Diplomacy may or may not work in these cases, but at least it is being pursued. War should always be a last resort, and I’m glad we have an administration that understands that.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2013/11/24/92450/061
Here is a poem (“United We Stand”) about standing together to bring about change:
United We Stand(Original Song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GALhqGdc6UQ
Uploaded on Oct 7, 2011 by FromMeWithAmor who commented:
“I wrote this song. I hope you like it.”
KSK(africa) @lawalazu
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This is what happens when grown ups work together = Iran Nuclear Agreement. Not unilateral cowboy, we are king, mission accomplished bunk.
7:27 AM – 24 Nov 2013
Haaretz.com ✔ @haaretzcom
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Israel finds itself isolated in world arena, with only Saudi sheikhs and US lawmakers at its side, says @ChemiShalev http://htz.li/I9HwrW
7:26 AM – 24 Nov 2013
Retweeted by Laura Rozen
Dan Williams @DanWilliams
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UN nuclear agency says would be ready to help verify implementation of deal between Tehran and six powers – @Reuters
7:23 AM – 24 Nov 2013
Retweeted by Reuters Top News
Richard Wolffe ✔ @richardwolffedc
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That’s the problem with peace prize winners. They are so wedded to that whole peace thing.
10:08 PM – 23 Nov 2013
Roger Cohen ✔ @NYTimesCohen
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Iran deal: A victory for sanity with potential to usher a great civilization back into community of nations. Hawks will holler. Let them.
9:00 PM – 23 Nov 2013
Eric Boehlert @EricBoehlert
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FIXED: first Syria “blunder,” now the Iran deal. I don’t know how many more historic, peaceful pacts the Obama presidency can withstand
8:54 PM – 23 Nov 2013
David Plouffe @davidplouffe
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Few months ago odds were one more war/conflict, maybe two, in our future. Now, perhaps none. Diplomacy first – truly turning the page.
9:49 PM – 23 Nov 2013
pourmecoffee ✔ @pourmecoffee
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What is with this guy Obama? It’s like he thinks we elected him to reform healthcare and get out of and avoid wars or something.
8:40 PM – 23 Nov 2013
Love these tweets, they’re spot on.
In rural Kentucky, health-care debate takes back seat as the long-uninsured line up
By Stephanie McCrummen, Published: November 23
BREATHITT COUNTY, Ky. — On the campaign trail, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was still blasting the new health-care law as unsalvageable. At the White House, President Obama was still apologizing for the botched federal Web site.
But in a state where the rollout has gone smoothly, and in a county that is one of the poorest and unhealthiest in the country, Courtney Lively has been busy signing people up: cashiers from the IGA grocery, clerks from the dollar store, workers from the lock factory, call-center agents, laid-off coal miners, KFC cooks, Chinese green-card holders in town to teach Appalachian students.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/in-rural-kentucky-health-care-debate-takes-back-seat-as-people-sign-up-for-insurance/2013/11/23/449dc6e0-5465-11e3-9e2c-e1d01116fd98_story.html
This is a wonderful thread….. I can’t gush enough about our wonderful First Lady.
Brilliant choice for the subject of this thread :)
It’s 3 chics TRIBUTE & REBUTTAL to the Beckies nonsense.
First Lady Michelle Obama has REJECTED the “mammy” stereotype and is committed to caring for her own daughters.
BAM!
Thank you for posting this video.
MHP was on point.
Michelle Robinson Obama is NOT Mammy, and she declares to the world that HER CHILDREN are worthy of her primary devotion.
Absolutely FANTASTIC!
Bam! Wham!
Love it!
I just HAD to transcribe this part of the video:
Melissa Harris-Perry to Ms. Cottle —
I guess she told you!!! This was so awesome. I don’t listen to Melissa a lot…time constraints but I really appreciate her stance on this. President and Mrs. Obama are children of GOD first…everything else is secondary. Take care, tw
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Good Morning Everyone!
Wishing all of you a wonderful SUNDAY!
To ALL sisters AND brothers HERE and on ALL other blogs who stand up for the cause of justice and equality as we advocate for Trayvon, Jordan, Renisha, Kendrick, and all who need our support:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=eBpYgpF1bqQ
It IS because we stick together as FAMILY that we CAN be strong in standing up to the hateful racists and the Zidiot-type people.
from “He’s Able
Our shining, beautiful First Lady!
Thank you for this tribute page to her, Ametia!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VTqaLiq2kqQ
Goor Morning, Everyone. :-) Our First Lady ROCKS!
She does indeed!