And Happy New Year to all of DU from
me
Mira

http://www.markfiore.com/mark-fiore-blog/item/cartoons/2015-the-year-in-one-breath

There is a new candidate in the 2016 presidential race … soft of.

Frank Underwood, the fictional, scheming sitting president played by Kevin Spacey on the hit Netflix series “House of Cards” appeared in a ‘campaign ad,’ which also functions as a teaser trailer for the fourth season during Tuesday night’s GOP presidential debate.

In the clip a warm voiceover declares over patriotic images of the U.S.: “It’s a new day in America. Today, more people will go to work, return home to their families, and sleep more soundly than ever before. All because one man refuses to settle. Putting people before politics. That man is Frank Underwood”

“America, I am only getting started,” Underwood says directly to the camera from the Oval Office.




http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/house-cards-debuts-frank-underwood-campaign-ad-during-gop-debate?cid=eml_mda_20151216

Below is an excerpt from The President’s Devotional by Joshua Dubois, the former head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He’s recounting events that occurred Sunday, December 16, 2012 — two days after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and 6 adult staff members. Dubois had gotten word the day before that the President wanted to meet with the families of the victims:

I left early to help the advance team—the hardworking folks who handle logistics for every event—set things up, and I arrived at the local high school where the meetings and memorial service would take place. We prepared seven or eight classrooms for the families of the slain children and teachers, two or three families to a classroom, placing water and tissues and snacks in each one. Honestly, we didn’t know how to prepare; it was the best we could think of.

The families came in and gathered together, room by room. Many struggled to offer a weak smile when we whispered, “The president will be here soon.” A few were visibly angry—so understandable that it barely needs to be said—and were looking for someone, anyone, to blame. Mostly they sat in silence.

I went downstairs to greet President Obama when he arrived, and I provided an overview of the situation. “Two families per classroom . . . The first is . . . and their child was . . . The second is . . . and their child was . . . We’ll tell you the rest as you go.”

The president took a deep breath and steeled himself, and went into the first classroom. And what happened next I’ll never forget.

Person after person received an engulfing hug from our commander in chief. He’d say, “Tell me about your son. . . . Tell me about your daughter,” and then hold pictures of the lost beloved as their parents described favorite foods, television shows, and the sound of their laughter. For the younger siblings of those who had passed away—many of them two, three, or four years old, too young to understand it all—the president would grab them and toss them, laughing, up into the air, and then hand them a box of White House M&M’s, which were always kept close at hand. In each room, I saw his eyes water, but he did not break.

And then the entire scene would repeat—for hours. Over and over and over again, through well over a hundred relatives of the fallen, each one equally broken, wrecked by the loss. After each classroom, we would go back into those fluorescent hallways and walk through the names of the coming families, and then the president would dive back in, like a soldier returning to a tour of duty in a worthy but wearing war. We spent what felt like a lifetime in those classrooms, and every single person received the same tender treatment. The same hugs. The same looks, directly in their eyes. The same sincere offer of support and prayer.

The staff did the preparation work, but the comfort and healing were all on President Obama. I remember worrying about the toll it was taking on him. And of course, even a president’s comfort was woefully inadequate for these families in the face of this particularly unspeakable loss. But it became some small measure of love, on a weekend when evil reigned.

—

From The President’s Devotional. Copyright 2013 Joshua Dubois.

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Obama had a cardinal rule: “...You don’t put stuff on your head if you’re president,” That’s politics 101. You never look good wearing something on your head."

Chief White House photographer Pete Souza posted a photo to Instagram today showing the president donning a tiara alongside a group of Girl Scouts from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The photo, from the annual White House Science Fair, was taken in May.
What a delightful, sweet picture. This is a man very secure within himself. Humble with a good sense of humor. This is a man who's made up his mind to enjoy his final years in office and not give a rat's ass what anyone thinks.

I love this comment from someone on Huffington Post:

Sometimes you see a photo and just know. This is a man with daughters. The kind of man who probably let his nails be polished and has had many a cup of imaginary tea, while in the company of teddy bears. I understand he plays basketball as well.
It's predictable what the ugly, joyless responses from the right wingers will be. But, I'm not going to give a rat's ass. Haters gonna hate.

from:
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/25/1354080/-This-Is-Why-I-Love-Obama?detail=emailclassic

NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report)—Calling criticism of her misrepresentations about Planned Parenthood “typical left-wing tactics,” the Presidential candidate Carly Fiorina said, on Sunday, “I will not be bullied into telling the truth.”

Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” the former Hewlett-Packard C.E.O. denied that spreading misinformation about Planned Parenthood was “in any way incendiary,” but added, “What is truly incendiary is demanding that someone who is seeking the highest office in the land stop lying.”

Fiorina noted that many of her rivals for the Republican nomination—including Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Ted Cruz—had successfully used lying as a key element of their campaign strategies. “All I am trying to do is level the playing field,” she said.
Additionally, she argued that she had not singled out Planned Parenthood as the subject of falsehoods during her campaign. “Look at the things I have said about my tenure at Hewlett-Packard,” she said. “I have steadfastly avoided facts from day one.”

Striking a defiant note, she said that she refused to allow a “tiny cabal of left-wing truth-fetishists” break her resolve. “Anyone who thinks I’m going to start suddenly telling the truth doesn’t know what Carly Fiorina is made of,” she said.

www.borowitzreport.com

Who are the happiest people in your environment and your acquaintances?
In my life, it's the ones I consider the smart ones.

NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report)—There are growing fears among supporters of the Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump that his new focus on Muslims is distracting him from his campaign against Mexicans.

After the billionaire said he would consider shutting down mosques if he were President, supporters expressed concern that such signature proposals as a wall with Mexico and mass deportations were being lost in the shuffle.

Carol Foyler, who viewed a recent Trump appearance on television, said that she was “alarmed” to hear him talk about closing mosques “without mentioning the wall with Mexico even once.” “I just worry, I guess, that with all of this talk about Muslims he’s really forgetting about Mexicans,” she said. “It feels kind of like a bait-and-switch.”
Another Trump supporter, Harland Dorrinson, agreed. “Shutting down the mosques is a great idea, sure, but he shouldn’t do that if it’s going to divert resources from forcibly deporting eleven million immigrants,” he said. “I would be very sad to see that happen.”

But Tracy Klugian, a die-hard Trump volunteer who is working for his campaign in Iowa, called such criticism of her candidate “misguided.” “You don’t get to be a successful businessman like Donald Trump without being able to multitask,” she said.

=======================
After today's developments:
Borowitz tweet today:
Dear Donald Trump: Heard your idea about registering Muslims and tracking their movements. You might want to tweak it a little so it doesn't sound EXACTLY like something the Nazis did.