This is a national discussion group. Please help me keep it relevant by keeping the focus of the blog on women's opinions about the issues.
Please do not use this blog to advertise your local events. This group is spread around the entire country, so your time would be better spent organizing in your local or regional groups.
Thanks.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/11/20/weekly-address-traveling-abroad-our-economy-home
In an address recorded in Seoul, South Korea, the President discusses his trip to Asia. He talks about his push to stop nuclear proliferation in North Korea, Iran, and around the world. He talks about promoting America's principles for an open society in China while making progress on joint efforts to combat climate change. And talks in-depth about the primary objective of his trip: engaging in new markets that hold tremendous potential to spur job creation here at home.
Read the Transcript | Download Video: mp4 (128MB) | mp3 (4MB)
It's been awhile since I've been active here. Honestly, after working night and day to get President Obama elected, I thought I'd be able to rest on my laurels...or at least rest. But noooo, his critics started in on him immediately - as in Nov. 5, 2008 immediately. So I have been working unofficially by writing letters to editors, rounding up support for health care, explaining the bill drafts to friends and strangers, correcting the media, etc. But I want to organize my efforts and measure my results. So I'm back. I miss having reinforcements and knowing that I'm not in this fight alone. Most of all, I miss being around doers instead of talkers.I've been easing my way back into the swing of things by attending a few events per week. This past Wednesday, I attended the Northern CA Weekly Conference Call to see what our strategy is for getting health care passed. Last Thursday, I attended my first official Call for Health Care event. It was great! Much easier than Calling for Change :) Partly because we were calling from a list of people who have already claimed to support the President and/or the health care reform bill. Of the 30 calls I made, I spoke to about 10 people who were at home. They were all still on-board with reform and agreed to call their congressional representatives to let them know.
It's been awhile since I've been active here. Honestly, after working night and day to get President Obama elected, I thought I'd be able to rest on my laurels...or at least rest. But noooo, his critics started in on him immediately - as in Nov. 5, 2008 immediately. So I have been working unofficially by writing letters to editors, rounding up support for health care, explaining the bill drafts to friends and strangers, correcting the media, etc. But I want to organize my efforts and measure my results. So I'm back. I miss having reinforcements and knowing that I'm not in this fight alone. Most of all, I miss being around doers instead of talkers.
I've been easing my way back into the swing of things by attending a few events per week. This past Wednesday, I attended the Northern CA Weekly Conference Call to see what our strategy is for getting health care passed. Last Thursday, I attended my first official Call for Health Care event. It was great! Much easier than Calling for Change :) Partly because we were calling from a list of people who have already claimed to support the President and/or the health care reform bill. Of the 30 calls I made, I spoke to about 10 people who were at home. They were all still on-board with reform and agreed to call their congressional representatives to let them know.
One very memorable caller - an 80 year-old man - was so passionate about this issue! He told me a couple stories about falling through the "donut hole" - the gap between health insurance coverage. At the end of our call, he wanted to do more than call his representatives (again), though. He wanted to personally visit their offices so they could SEE just who is in need of new health care. I'm paraphrasing because he used more...colorful language. :) He signed up as a volunteer to help spread the word about health care. That was my last call of the night. I left on a high note to see an elderly person with that much fight in him, who is willing to use his *ahem* gift of gab in a productive way. It reminded me of my 86 year-old grandmother writing 80 postcards to send to people for Obama for America.It was a very encouraging first night back in the saddle, so to speak. I look forward to tomorrow's tabling event to inform shoppers about health care (we created a game to make the information exchange fun). Next week, I'm hosting a couple of events. We'll see if I still have my organizing touch. :) Let's get it done!
One very memorable caller - an 80 year-old man - was so passionate about this issue! He told me a couple stories about falling through the "donut hole" - the gap between health insurance coverage. At the end of our call, he wanted to do more than call his representatives (again), though. He wanted to personally visit their offices so they could SEE just who is in need of new health care. I'm paraphrasing because he used more...colorful language. :) He signed up as a volunteer to help spread the word about health care. That was my last call of the night. I left on a high note to see an elderly person with that much fight in him, who is willing to use his *ahem* gift of gab in a productive way. It reminded me of my 86 year-old grandmother writing 80 postcards to send to people for Obama for America.
It was a very encouraging first night back in the saddle, so to speak. I look forward to tomorrow's tabling event to inform shoppers about health care (we created a game to make the information exchange fun). Next week, I'm hosting a couple of events. We'll see if I still have my organizing touch. :) Let's get it done!
It's been a while that I watched BMJ. When I began watching tonight in the middle of the program I entered into President Johnson's conversation in 1965 with McNamara on escalation of the war, when the troops there were in the range of 45 thousands. I sat pinned down to my chair till the end of the program.
That "while" wiyhout BMJ was a wasted while. God bless Bill Moyers of the USA! fib
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This week on the JOURNAL, Bill Moyers looked back some four decades to his experience as a member of President Lyndon Johnson’s administration. At the time, Johnson made a series of fateful decisions to escalate the war in Vietnam, where eventually over two million American military personnel would serve. Estimates indicate that nearly 60,000 U.S. troops – and more than a million Vietnamese – were killed during the course of the conflict.
With an eye on President Obama’s deliberations on whether to deploy more U.S. troops in addition to the 68,000 already in Afghanistan, Moyers presented a montage of recorded conversations and his personal memories of President Lyndon Johnson’s decisions to escalate the war in Vietnam. He said:
“Our country wonders this weekend what is on President Obama’s mind. He is apparently about to bring months of deliberation to a close and answer General Stanley McChrystal’s request for more troops in Afghanistan. When he finally announces how many, why, and at what cost, he will most likely have defined his presidency, for the consequences will be far-reaching and unpredictable. As I read and listen and wait with all of you for answers, I have been thinking about the mind of another President – Lyndon B. Johnson. I was 30 years old, a White House assistant, working on politics and domestic policy. I watched and listened as LBJ made his fateful decisions about Vietnam... Barack Obama is not Lyndon Johnson, Afghanistan is not Vietnam and this is now, not then. The situation is different. But listen – and you will hear echoes and refrains that resonate today.”
The nation is divided about America’s mission in Afghanistan. In a new WASHINGTON POST – ABC News poll, 55% of respondents expressed confidence that President Obama will pick a strategy that will work, but 52% said that the war in Afghanistan has not been worth fighting given the costs versus the benefits.
What do you think?
I am on the third chapter of David Plouffe's book "The Audacity to Win" and I am enjoying it. It reads very well.
I feel compelled to compare it to Richard Wolffe's book "Renegade"; in Renegade you get a closer look as to being on the trail of the Obama campaign but in Plouffe's book you actually hear all the raw language spoken and feel the tense situations. The Obama team was not a bunch of dreamers who felt that Obama's success was inevitable they were prepared to give it their all and fail. Plouffes says that the prima dona mentality was common among candidates but that Obama is the exception and that the team never woke up dreading their candidate.
11/18/09 Posted by Molly Fedick - WhiteHouse.gov
Veterans Day serves as a reminder to not only honor America's men in uniform, but also the women—the mothers, sisters, daughters, and grandmothers who, throughout history, broke barriers and endured hardships to serve our country. Today at the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama, along with Blue Star Mom Dr. Jill Biden, welcomed some of those women in celebration of their bravery and commitment to protecting our freedoms:
In this room alone, we have the first female four star general. We have the first woman in the Navy to be promoted to Master Chief. The first woman in the Army Reserve to be promoted to the general officer rank. We have the first woman in the Army to receive the Expert Field Medical Badge. We have the first African American woman to serve as Chief Nurse at Walter Reed Hospital. And so many more "firsts" and "onlys" -- and that's the result of your hard work and your courage and your persistence. But we know these achievements aren’t yours alone. That's something that Jill and I have talked about, we've learned more about over the course of this year, because we know that service doesn’t just end with the person wearing the uniform. You all know that. We know that our servicemen and women’s sacrifices are their families' sacrifices as well. And many of you have spouses, partners, children, parents who stood by you and encouraged you and prayed for you every step of the way. And this day is their day too, as far as we're concerned. So let’s take a moment to recognize those members of our families who supported you in your service as well. (Applause.)The First Lady continued, praising them not only for the good they've done, but for the good they have inspired in others:But I hope you all know that your service -- that your legacy is more than just your own service. I hope that you know that your legacy will be measured in the service of every woman who follows in the trails that you've blazed -- every woman who benefits from your daring and determination. It will be measured in the inspiration that you provide to our daughters and our granddaughters -- and to our sons and our grandsons as well.Because of you, when young women wonder how high they can rise in our military, they can look at General Ann Dunwoody and her four hard earned stars. That can see that, it's real. When they ask what kind of jobs they can do, they can look to women like all of you who’ve played just about every kind of role imaginable. And when they ask whether they can cut it -- whether they have what it takes to succeed -- all they have to do is to look at your lives, to look into your lives and to look at the careers that you've developed that inspire us all. First Lady Michelle Obama attends a Women in the Military Tea in the East Room of the White House Nov. 18, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)
In this room alone, we have the first female four star general. We have the first woman in the Navy to be promoted to Master Chief. The first woman in the Army Reserve to be promoted to the general officer rank. We have the first woman in the Army to receive the Expert Field Medical Badge. We have the first African American woman to serve as Chief Nurse at Walter Reed Hospital. And so many more "firsts" and "onlys" -- and that's the result of your hard work and your courage and your persistence.
But we know these achievements aren’t yours alone. That's something that Jill and I have talked about, we've learned more about over the course of this year, because we know that service doesn’t just end with the person wearing the uniform. You all know that. We know that our servicemen and women’s sacrifices are their families' sacrifices as well. And many of you have spouses, partners, children, parents who stood by you and encouraged you and prayed for you every step of the way. And this day is their day too, as far as we're concerned. So let’s take a moment to recognize those members of our families who supported you in your service as well. (Applause.)
The First Lady continued, praising them not only for the good they've done, but for the good they have inspired in others:
But I hope you all know that your service -- that your legacy is more than just your own service. I hope that you know that your legacy will be measured in the service of every woman who follows in the trails that you've blazed -- every woman who benefits from your daring and determination. It will be measured in the inspiration that you provide to our daughters and our granddaughters -- and to our sons and our grandsons as well.
Because of you, when young women wonder how high they can rise in our military, they can look at General Ann Dunwoody and her four hard earned stars. That can see that, it's real. When they ask what kind of jobs they can do, they can look to women like all of you who’ve played just about every kind of role imaginable. And when they ask whether they can cut it -- whether they have what it takes to succeed -- all they have to do is to look at your lives, to look into your lives and to look at the careers that you've developed that inspire us all.
First Lady Michelle Obama attends a Women in the Military Tea in the East Room of the White House Nov. 18, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)
To view the video: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/11/18/so-many-firsts-and-onlys-first-lady-honors-military-women
It is really amazing how indifferent the international media and human rights organizations are to atrocities against helpless human beings done by Saudi Arabia and Yemen in Northern Yemen. These two countries have made close to 200,000 civilians homeless and all of them are forced to migrate. And Saudi Arabian Government with the help of their Yemeni counterparts are killing and injuring thousands more over there. WHY? Due to the sad fact these Houthis are a helpless & poor minority in Northern Yemen. Is there a difference between North Yemeni Genocides and those done by Hitler and Serbs in Europe and racists extremists in Rwanda? Certainly not but perhaps lack of interest by some countries would prevent them from stopping these outrageous atrocities against humanity. Lately Saudis have outdone themselves by dropping phosphorus bombs on civilians. Is there a difference between these cruel acts and those done by 911 terrorists? Certainly NOT! In both cases: 1-atrocities were done against innocent human beings; 2- They were not provoked by those innocent civilians; 3-and mostly Saudis and some Yemenis are involved; 4-these heinous acts were conducted by citizens of countries who call themselves allies of the US, with friends like these who needs enemies! 5-Not even one Shia or Iranian is involved in these types of aggressive and monstrous acts and those people are wrongfully branded enemies of the US?! Really with friendly and harmless foes like these who needs those types of hostile and harmful allies? Really which one is which? I am really confused now!
I say hang'em!
It is human, silent and unobtrusive. I say, ban the mow-blow-and-go "gardeners"- they are not. One of the special pleasures of travel in Central America are the old fashioned loundry rituals. There, it is not question of choice. Laundry is done by women's hands and is hang outside, watched carefuly, hastily carried inside when rain comes. For many women it is the only source of income. These women, I once thought, should also be awarded all those big green prizes that go to somebody else.
I think more hanging laundry would make our USA neighborhoods safer. Perhaps the sight of children playing ouside would return with it. fib
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November 18, 2009 | 1 comments
U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry
Carin Froehlich has help from her granddaughter Ava as they hang some laundry in the front yard of her residence in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, November 12, 2009. REUTERS/Tim Shaffer
PERKASIE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Carin Froehlich pegs her laundry to three clotheslines strung between trees outside her 18th-century farmhouse, knowing that her actions annoy local officials who have asked her to stop.
Froehlich is among the growing number of people across America fighting for the right to dry their laundry outside against a rising tide of housing associations who oppose the practice despite its energy-saving green appeal.
Although there are no formal laws in this southeast Pennsylvania town against drying laundry outside, a town official called Froehlich to ask her to stop drying clothes in the sun. And she received two anonymous notes from neighbors saying they did not want to see her underwear flapping about.
"They said it made the place look like trailer trash," she said, in her yard across the street from a row of neat, suburban houses. "They said they didn't want to look at my 'unmentionables.'"
Froehlich says she hangs her underwear inside. The effervescent 54-year-old is one of a growing number of Americans demanding the right to dry laundry on clotheslines despite local rules and a culture that frowns on it.
Their interests are represented by Project Laundry List, a group that argues people can save money and reduce carbon emissions by not using their electric or gas dryers, according to the group's executive director, Alexander Lee.
Widespread adoption of clotheslines could significantly reduce U.S. energy consumption, argued Lee, who said dryer use accounts for about 6 percent of U.S. residential electricity use.
Florida, Utah, Maine, Vermont, Colorado, and Hawaii have passed laws restricting the rights of local authorities to stop residents using clotheslines. Another five states are considering similar measures, said Lee, 35, a former lawyer who quit to run the non-profit group.
'RIGHT TO HANG'
His principal opponents are the housing associations such as condominiums and townhouse communities that are home to an estimated 60 million Americans, or about 20 percent of the population. About half of those organizations have 'no hanging' rules, Lee said, and enforce them with fines.
Carl Weiner, a lawyer for about 50 homeowners associations in suburban Philadelphia, said the no-hanging rules are usually included by the communities' developers along with regulations such as a ban on sheds or commercial vehicles.
The no-hanging rules are an aesthetic issue, Weiner said.
"The consensus in most communities is that people don't want to see everybody else's laundry."
He said opposition to clotheslines may ease as more people understand it can save energy and reduce greenhouse gases.
"There is more awareness of impact on the environment," he said. "I would not be surprised to see people questioning these restrictions."
For Froehlich, the "right to hang" is the embodiment of the American tradition of freedom.
"If my husband has a right to have guns in the house, I have a right to hang laundry," said Froehlich, who is writing a book on the subject.
Besides, it saves money. Line-drying laundry for a family of five saves $83 a month in electric bills, she said.
Kevin Firth, who owns a two-bedroom condominium in a Dublin, Pennsylvania housing association, said he was fined $100 by the association for putting up a clothesline in a common area.
"It made me angry and upset," said Firth, a 27-year-old carpenter. "I like having the laundry drying in the sun. It's something I have always done since I was a little kid."
(Editing by Mark Egan and Paul Simao)
Sez Me at 05:41 PM on 11/18/09
Some time ago we said good bye to Duston who told us he would be going back to Kabul. So he went. Usually when incidents like the most recent Kabul bombing happen, one thinks of one's friends that could be there, in danger. And so I did as well, thinking he must be well anyway, most likely. Kabul is big (I thought). Not so. It is a small world after all. This is what came yesterday. fib
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Hibiscus Tea and Honey in Berlin
"Dear Friends,
At first, I should offer a quick explanation of this letter: I have not yet read any email replies you may have sent me since my last correspondence back around mid October or so. I am currently drinking Hibiscus Tea sweetened with a little honey in an Army Hospital in Berlin Germany. My Laptop Computer has not had internet for two weeks:
October 28th, 2009 began with a loud bang at exactly 6 AM Kabul time. Actually an explosion at the front gate to the Guesthouse where I was living. I don’t know if it was an RPG or Suicide Bomber, and will truly never know for a fact which one it was. The first explosion was followed by machine gun firing and then an RPG hit the front of the building. The Taleban killed the exterior gate residence guards, entered the front house and proceeded to kill as many UN Election Employees as possible before the Police arrived. A long and intense gun-battle ensued over the next hour and a half and the attackers were eventually killed around 7:30 AM. Some of my friends, and some employees, of the Guesthouse were also killed and many wounded during this incident.
I escaped physically unharmed within 90 seconds of the first sound of the attack.
The media incorrectly portrayed the building as the “UN Guesthouse” whereas technically it was a privately run guesthouse, and I referred to it in earlier email to you as the “Zoo”, because it had lots of animals and birds on the property. I do not know who survived other than I have a “story” of the massacre as I experienced it. I ended up with a large group of UN Election Employees who also survived as we hid together in the neighboring courtyard while the Taleban shot it out with the surviving guards, burned down the place and then shot it out again with the Police.
Around 7:40 AM , I was transferred by the Police to a temporary safe location, and then the Bank security man found me and I was taken to the big famous Hotel ( The Serena ) which is heavily guarded in downtown Kabul. Immediately after I arrived, I was standing in the Hotel Lobby , on the cell phone, calling the Germans who I work for, when a mortar round or RPG hit the Lobby. The glass exploded , and once again, I was not injured and everyone ran to the Hotel bunker to wait for the All Clear sign. The Hotel suffered nothing but broken glass and some jittered nerves, but for me, it was the second attack in less than two hours and I withdrew into my own little brain…..telling myself that no place was safe as it seemed like the terror was following me around that morning in Kabul.
Since then, I have stayed in German Army Hospitals except for the plane rides to Germany where I am now. I am receiving treatment for Psychological Trauma and am getting better quickly. I hope to be released to Outpatient within about 4 days. And then about a month more of Outpatient therapy and then final release back into the employment world when I will be able to totally navigate on my own. The goal is to prevent and reduce the long term possibility or impact of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ( “PTSB”) which we all heard of with the Korean and Vietnam War Veterans and other traumatic incident survivors.
I shall not assign my survival that day to my training, skills, experience and quick thinking ( although I am told by many that it was a critical part of my actions and movement within the first minute of the attack ). I have been given yet another chance on the Planet by my Higher Power. I am no more “religious” today than I was a minute before 6 AM on October 28th; however I have grown substantially. My spirituality is stronger now than ever; and I am convinced that God has a Plan for me, I just need to follow the Steps and listen for His guidance on a daily basis.
Only once since then have I wanted or seriously thought of taking a drink, and I asked to be relieved of that notion, and it was granted. I take some light weight sleeping medication and hope to reduce the strength soon, then be totally free of it within two more weeks or so depending on what the Doctors say. I am receiving excellent medical care here in Germany, with three Doctors and a bevy of Nurses. I see a Trauma Specialist MD every other day and I am recuperating well.
My employment contracts ends in February so money is temporarily not a problem, and I have good insurance for the hospital expenses. So, for today, all I ask for is another chance to be free of my Weaknesses and Character Defects and look for the next path I am to take.
I totally and unconditionally TRUST.
Work the Steps. Turn it over to God. Clean House. Help Others.
With ALL my Love,
Duston"
TOKYO (AFP) – US President Barack Obama charmed his Tokyo audience on Saturday with references to green tea ice cream, Japanese traditional hospitality and, of course, the small town that bears his name.
"I could not come here without sending my greetings and my gratitude to the citizens of Obama, Japan," said the president to the delight of the western Japan town that has turned its accidental fame into a cottage industry.
The ancient fishing town of 30,000, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Tokyo, has long supported its White House namesake, and some of its residents were in Tokyo to steal a glimpse of the president.
Wearing "I Love Obama" T-shirts, a small delegation braved rainy weather on a Tokyo sidewalk and waved as the presidential motorcade passed by.
"The president clearly looked at us and recognised us," said an excited Seiji Fujihara, who leads a dance troupe that on Friday performed a hula dance in honour of the president, who was born in Hawaii.
"I was so touched when President Obama mentioned our town," Fujihara gushed. "I felt goose bumps."
Obama in his speech Saturday recalled a childhood visit to Kamakura, a temple-studded town near Tokyo, where he "looked up at that centuries-old symbol of peace and tranquility, the great bronze Amida Buddha."
Then he quipped: "As a child, I was more focused on the matcha (green tea) ice cream. But I have never forgotten the warmth and hospitality that the Japanese people showed a young American far from home."
Obamania was alive and well among the audience -- where many hailed his personal charm and wide knowledge about the region.
"His voice was good. He spoke naturally. He has something that attracts people," said Yasuko Maki, a 60-year-old housewife.
Her husband, Akihiro, 66, agreed: "He covered every subject and explained how America will handle it. He intends to work as our partner. He is different from former US presidents."
Best of "W" quotes from THAT past president (who were his English teachers?) :
1. "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."--Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004 2. "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."--Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000 3. "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"--Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000 4. "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country."--Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004 5. "Neither in French nor in English nor in Mexican."--declining to answer reporters' questions at the Summit of the Americas, Quebec City, Canada, April 21, 2001 6. "You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.''--Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001 7. "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense."--Washington, D.C., April 18, 2006 8. "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."--Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005 9. "I've heard he's been called Bush's poodle. He's bigger than that."--discussing former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as quoted by the Sun newspaper, June 27, 2007
10. "And so, General, I want to thank you for your service. And I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq."--meeting with Army Gen. Ray Odierno, Washington, D.C., March 3, 2008 11. "We ought to make the pie higher."--South Carolina Republican debate, Feb. 15, 2000 12. "There's an old saying in Tennessee--I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee--that says, fool me once, shame on--shame on you. Fool me--you can't get fooled again."--Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002 13. "And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I'm sorry it's the case, and I'll work hard to try to elevate it."--speaking on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007 14. "We'll let our friends be the peacekeepers and the great country called America will be the pacemakers."--Houston, Sept. 6, 2000 15. "It's important for us to explain to our nation that life is important. It's not only life of babies, but it's life of children living in, you know, the dark dungeons of the Internet."--Arlington Heights, Ill., Oct. 24, 2000 16. "One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures."--U.S. News & World Report, Jan. 3, 2000 17. "People say, 'How can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil?' You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in's house and say I love you."--Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002 18. "Well, I think if you say you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness."--CNN online chat, Aug. 30, 2000 19. "I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep on the soil of a friend."--on the prospect of visiting Denmark, Washington, D.C., June 29, 2005 20. "I think it's really important for this great state of baseball to reach out to people of all walks of life to make sure that the sport is inclusive. The best way to do it is to convince little kids how to--the beauty of playing baseball."--Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2006
21. "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."--LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000 22. "You know, when I campaigned here in 2000, I said, I want to be a war president. No president wants to be a war president, but I am one."--Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 26, 2006 23. "There's a huge trust. I see it all the time when people come up to me and say, 'I don't want you to let me down again.' "--Boston, Oct. 3, 2000 24. "They misunderestimated me."--Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000 25. "I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office."--Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008 Slate V: The Best of Video Bushisms
11/13/09 Lousia Lim - NPR
It is a tale of two brothers, but no ordinary brothers. One is president of the United States; the other is his half-brother, who lives in China. As President Obama arrives this weekend in China, his half-brother recently released a semi-autobiographical novel, revealing the abusive nature of their father.
Mark Obama Ndesandjo's face bears an uncanny resemblance to his more famous sibling. His eyes are familiar, yet different.
Ndesandjo and Obama share the same father, but their lives have veered apart. Barack Obama hardly knew their father, who left when Barack was 2. But his younger half-brother Mark grew up in Kenya under the same roof as their violent authoritarian father.
"He managed to work his way up through ... sheer intellect, will and also, at the same time, persistence to go to Harvard and some very high levels in American society," Ndesandjo says of their father. "Then something happened. It was an explosive mixture of drink, maybe disappointment and an inability to understand his own demons that caused the domestic violence we had in our home."
Ndesandjo (pronounced de-SANZ-jo) wrestles with that legacy in his semi-autobiographical book Nairobi to Shenzhen. Like Obama, his mother was a white American, so the book describes his struggle with his multiracial identity. Like Obama, he went to university in the U.S., studying physics and math at Brown, then earning further degrees at Stanford and Emory.
But his academic success was overshadowed by those formative years in Kenya. He says the violence at home hardened him, making it difficult for him to forge relationships or even to look closely at himself.
"With me what happened is that I also didn't want anything to do with anything that had to do with my father. This could include aspects of African culture. It could be not wanting to be associated with the Obama name," Ndesandjo says.
After losing his marketing job in the U.S. after Sept. 11, 2001, Ndesandjo moved to China where he took refuge in music and community work. A gifted pianist, Ndesandjo recorded an album and he volunteers at a local orphanage. Last year, he married a Chinese woman.
But he says Barack Obama's election campaign turned his life upside down.
"I didn't want anything to do with American politics: It's scrappy, it's something that turns huge spotlights on everybody. But then slowly I began to see an atmosphere around the world that was moving from one which had been in fear towards one of hope," he says.
Indeed, the spotlight did turn on Ndesandjo. Last year he flew to Austin, Texas, using money he had been saving to buy a piano, to meet Barack Obama for the first time in many years. He says it was an emotional moment.
"Well, first I hugged him, and he looked at my moustache, and he said, 'Hey, what's this little thing here?' And I said, 'It's a moustache, dude.' Then he said, 'You have a little less hair than last time I saw you.' And I said to him, 'Well, so do you.' And he said, 'Oh I couldn't afford a haircut then.'"
His half-brother's election has allowed him to take pride in the Obama name, which he hadn't used for many years. Their father — who had six other children — died in a car crash in Kenya in 1982.
Barack Obama's 1995 memoir Dreams From My Father dwells on his absent father and how it shaped Barack's life story.
I didn't want anything to do with American politics: It's scrappy, it's something that turns huge spotlights on everybody. But then slowly I began to see an atmosphere around the world that was moving from one which had been in fear towards one of hope.
- Mark Obama Ndesandjo
For Obama and Ndesandjo, their father's shadow looms large over their lives. Back in 2004, Barack Obama described that influence in an NPR interview.
"There's a wonderful saying by Lyndon Johnson that every man is either trying to live up to his father's expectations or making up for his mistakes. I guess I'm sort of doing both. I think in some ways I still chase after his ghost a little bit," Obama said.
Ndesandjo calls Obama's reflections interesting.
"Well, I guess in my case I don't see myself chasing after his ghost. I think for a long time his ghost was chasing after me," he says.
These mirror-image reactions in a way reflect the relationship. These half-brothers have much that is shared — and much that is not. Ndesandjo is planning to meet his half-brother on his trip to China, which starts Sunday.
"I look at my brother — President Obama — and I'm so totally proud of all that he's been able to do. I'm extremely excited my brother is coming to China," he says.
In Dreams From My Father, Obama describes meeting Mark as being like "looking into a foggy mirror." All these years later, Ndesandjo says he finally hopes to wipe clean the fog from that mirror.
To hear the audio of the interview: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120387029&ft=1&f=1004
11/14/09 Robbie Dingeman - Honolulu Advertiser
President Obama's announcement last night that Honolulu will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation annual meeting in 2011 put his hometown at the center of one of his most important international initiatives.
Hawaii has been vying for months to host the gathering of 21 heads of government from the Asia-Pacific region who discuss the economy, trade and investments.
And last night, leaders from Washington, D.C., to Downtown Honolulu praised Hawai'i's selection as a way to put the state on the map as a serious international business meeting place where East meets West year-round.
East-West Center President Charles Morrison said the summit is expected to bring 19 heads of state, many Cabinet ministers and other high-ranking officials, and more than 10,000 participants.
Holding the leaders meeting in Hawai'i "attracts attention and excitement no amount of money can buy," said Morrison, who is attending this year's APEC meeting in Singapore.
"Hawai'i has never had anything remotely approaching an international meeting where the president of the U.S., president of China, prime minister of Japan, and many other heads of state come at the same time, not to mention something like 75 Cabinet officials, the heads of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organization, and leading regional and global business people," Morrison said.
He added, "This may be arguably the biggest and most open international meeting of 2011, and it's in Hawai'i."
The 2011 event will be held from Nov. 12 to 20.
The president made the Hawai'i announcement to APEC leaders gathered in Singapore.
"When America hosts APEC in a few years, I look forward to seeing you all decked out in flowered shirts and grass skirts, because today I'm announcing that we are bringing this forum to my home state of Hawai'i in 2011," he said.
In comments to the APEC leaders, Obama stressed the critical importance of the region.
"Perhaps no connection between Asia-Pacific and the United States runs stronger or deeper than the economic ties we share," he said.
In his first major trip to Asia as president, Obama has called himself the "first Pacific president." He was born in Honolulu and lived here — except for four years in Indonesia — until he went to the Mainland for college.
"America's four top trading partners are now APEC members, with the countries that form the Association of Southeast Asian nations collectively making up the fifth," Obama said.
He noted that 60 percent of the goods and services the United States exports go to APEC nations — exports that support millions and millions of American jobs.
"The United States is also the largest export market for Asia, which has led to more affordable goods and services for American consumers," he added.
Obama earlier indicated that the United States will also be engaging with the four Trans-Pacific Partnership countries (Brunei, Chile, Singapore, New Zealand) with the goal of shaping a regional agreement that will have broad-based membership and the high standards worthy of a 21st century trade agreement.
"We also believe that continued integration of the economies of this region will benefit workers, consumers, and businesses in all of our nations," he said. "Together, with our South Korean friends, we will work through the issues necessary to move forward on a trade agreement with them."
The APEC meeting rotates among members and was first held in the United States near Seattle in 1993. That's where then-President Bill Clinton came up with the tradition of having the leaders wear outfits chosen by the host. The 2010 meeting will be held in Japan.
The meeting here is seen as a coup for the state's visitor industry as it underscores Hawai'i as a good site for international business gatherings, especially for the Asia-Pacific region.
Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann last night said he was "ecstatic" that Honolulu had been selected to host the 2011 APEC Summit.
In addition to collaborating with the East-West Center and Hawai'i Tourism Authority on the proposal to host the conference, Hannemann said he lobbied for the effort in meetings with White House and State Department officials in June.
"When President Charles Morrison of the East-West Center first approached the city about collaborating on a proposal to host APEC, the key component was security," Hannemann said, and Honolulu beat out the two California cities there.
"Honolulu, and all of Hawai'i for that matter, will be on the world stage come 2011, and it will be our opportunity to show that we're more than sun, sand, sea, surf and the spirit of aloha," Hannemann said.
Aside from the immediate economic impact, Morrison said it opens a new line of business over the longer term for the state as "a truly world-class international center."
Gov. Linda Lingle said the selection of Hawai'i to host the APEC Leaders Meeting is "an affirmation of Hawai'i's strategic role as a leader in the Asia-Pacific region, and will help build a stronger economic foundation for Hawai'i's future."
"We appreciate President Obama selecting Hawai'i for this important meeting and recognizing the significant role Hawai'i plays as America's most diverse and strategically located state," she said.
U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye also praised the selection.
"The spotlight that will shine on Hawai'i during the APEC meetings will remind the world that our culture and strategic location is the ideal site to gather global leaders and debate the needs of a diverse society," he said.
Inouye said the state serves as a bridge between the East and the West, and "will help show our Asia-Pacific neighbors that the United States remains committed to collaborating on economic policy as the world emerges from international recession."
HTA president and chief executive officer Mike McCartney said the leaders meeting will help to combat the state's image as more of a place to play than work, often dubbed "the boondoggle effect."
"The APEC meetings will dispel that misconception and position Hawai'i as a global business destination," McCartney said. "The world will see that Hawai'i is an ideal place to conduct business due to our strategic location in the Pacific and our multi-cultural diversity."
State tourism liaison Marsha Wienert earlier said she does not yet have an estimate of what the economic value of having the international meeting here would be, but it is significant.
The last high-level international gathering for Honolulu was the Asian Development Bank meeting in 2001.
That meeting had stirred worries of violent protests that had erupted in other cities but the meeting went smoothly with only small non-violent demonstrations.
San Francisco, the Los Angeles-Orange County area, New York and Miami were being considered as possible venues for the conference. Earlier, Hawaii Convention Center's SMG general manager Joe Davis said the decision was narrowed to between Honolulu and the two California destinations weeks ago.
The 21 members of APEC are: Australia; Brunei; Canada; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; New Zealand; Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; the United States; Chinese Taipei; Hong Kong, China; People's Republic of China; Mexico; Papua New Guinea; Chile; Peru; Russia; and Vietnam.
