From one of the best presidents ever:
Do you remember this photo?
I sure do.
In 2009, Carlton Philadelphia, a National Security Council staffer, brought his wife and two sons to the Oval Office for a departure photo. Carlton’s older son, Isaac, asked me a few questions about policy, but a more surprising question came from his younger brother, five-year-old Jacob.
“Is your hair like mine?” he asked.
It wasn’t the kind of question a president gets every day.
So, I bent down and told him, “Go ahead, touch it.”
He replied, “Yeah, I think that’s pretty much what I’ve got. ”
White House photographer Pete Souza captured that moment and for years the photo hung in the halls of the West Wing. It was a reminder of one of the reasons I first ran for president: that if I were to win, young people—Black kids, Hispanic kids, kids who may not have always felt like they belonged—might see more possibilities for their own future.
It’s hard to believe 13 years have passed. Today, Jacob will graduate high school and continue on to the University of Memphis to study political science. And I couldn’t be more proud of him.
Congratulations, Jacob, and best of luck to the Class of 2022.
—Barack
Just a reminder there are good things, good people, and hope in the world. Some days it’s hard to remember.
My new morning reminder:
This is an open thread
I have a good thing. And I think something could be made out of it.
The NRA has suddenly, for some reason, become culturally radioactive. You all read yesterday how Don McLean bailed out of playing the NRA convention. It’s not that he disagrees with them, he’s a noted wingnut, but it’s…problematic for his career.
Three more acts joined him as of this morning. All “Nazi-adjacent”, but they need future gigs and have decided this is not the hill that their careers are going to die on:
Gaitlin Brothers with the following statement from the band leader:
“I cannot, in good conscience, perform at the NRA convention in Houston this weekend.”
“While I agree with most of the positions held by the NRA, I have come to believe that, while background checks would not stop every madman with a gun, it is at the very least a step in the right direction toward trying to prevent the kind of tragedy we saw this week in Uvalde— in my beloved, weeping TEXAS. I’m a 2nd Amendment guy, but the 2nd Amendment should not apply to everyone. It’s that simple.”
Take a second look at the last two sentences.
Restless Heart: out
And the cruelest cut of them all: Lee Greenwood. Out. That guy is even more of a steady presence on the wingnut chitlin’ circuit than Ted Nugent. And he won’t do this.
Hope for change. There’s a crack in the wall right now. We might be able to make something of it.
Wonderful photo, wonderful story. Congratulations to Jacob on his high school graduation! I hope the sky is the limit for him.
What a wonderful way to begin the day. Thanks, TaMara!
@The Moar You Know: Interesting.
Thanks, AL, for this wonderful video! I needed it.
SORRY TaMara! I just assumed . . .
@zhena gogolia: That’s it, you’re banned. 😂🤣😂
@The Moar You Know: It sounds like Abbott bailed, too.
“Just a reminder there are good things, good people, and hope in the world. Some days it’s hard to remember.” My mind went immediately to this scene.
FRODO: What are we holding on to, Sam?
SAM: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.
That’s put a shine on my day.
What a lovely thing to do.
ETA
“Is your hair like mine?” asked no one of TFG ever
@ TaMara: Half-bailed. There will be a pre-recorded message.
@kalakal: lolol
Thanks for front paging this. I watched the video this morning and it brought a smile to my face. I will never forget that photo and what it represents.
The iron is still hot but it will cool rapidly.
.
Governor Abbott seems to believe that there is a mysterious element that lies midway between chicken shit and chicken salad.
“The NRA has suddenly, for some reason, become culturally radioactive.”
That happened after Parkland too and it lasted for about two weeks.
>>Just a reminder there are good things, good people, and hope in the world
______________________
And then there’s Baud!
@TaMara
May 27, 2022 at 10:30 AM
@zhena gogolia: That’s it, you’re banned. 😂🤣😂
______________
About damn time! 🙂
@Baud
Is that a play on the old “Maude” theme song?
That was a hugely important picture, and the update is a great story. Thanks.
Everyone knows that representation matters, even if they don’t say those words. That’s why the RWNJs try so desperately hard to control who is seen as “normal” and “American” and all the rest. Breaking their control is essential for fairness and progress.
Cheers,
Scott.
@Dorothy A Winsor May 27, 2022 at 11:15 AM
A long time ago, when I thought for a hot minute for starting my own blog, I considered naming it “And Then There’s Baud” based on that show.
@The Moar You Know: Josh Marshall has a piece up on the same topic. He says in response to previous massacres, Republicans and the NRA put themselves on the side of stopping future massacres via gun advocacy — the whole “good guy with a gun” thing. They never, ever owned for a second that the NRA or guns could be a part of the problem; MOAR GUNS was always the solution — that’s how they framed it.
Marshall noted that uber-gun-humper TX Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also bailed on the NRA conference, but his “sends regrets” message implicitly implicates the NRA and guns in the grieving families’ pain:
“While a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and an NRA member, I would not want my appearance today to bring any additional pain or grief to the families and all those suffering in Uvalde.”
It is a tone shift.
Interesting. This blog automatically converts my emoticon to emoji.
@Baud – I would have read your blog.
@Gin & Tonic
Thanks! But trust me, after about a week, all of the content would have been “Looks like we could use another open thread.”
In the spirit of talking about good things, does anyone here belong to Moms Demand Action? It’s patterned after MADD only advocates for gun control.
So, rather loke the police storming an active shooter incident, these musical and political leaders have decided they’re all for the reputation of being heroic doors of deeds and protectors, but just not if there’s any chance of actual personal danger.
(whoops, how’d that apostrophe get in my nym? sorry)
Strong supporters of the Second Amendment can take a hike if they think the first clause doesn’t count at all. The real Second Amendment doesn’t apply to anyone who is not in a “well regulated” state militia.
Not to mention that all rights given by the Constitution have some reasonable limits. I can’t shout “fire” in a crowded theater or libel or defame someone. The absolutist interpretation of the last clause of the Second Amendment is a danger to civil society. I’m heartsick.
Greg Abbott also bailed on the NRA gun-fest, but I gather that the Fat Orange Clown is still onboard. He’s a shameless turd of a human being, after all.
I’m so old I remember when Don McClean palled around with Pete Seeger. Then I didn’t hear about that one-hit wonder again until just now. Ugh.
Weapons of war shouldn’t be readily available for purchase and wielding in public places for the same reason that they don’t let NASCAR, Formula 1, or Indycars on the general interstate highways.
(I say this as someone who learned how to handle weapons of war as a conscript.)
Just read where in 2019, Moscow Mitch was paid over a million dollars to keep any gun legislation out of the Senate.
@Lapassionara – Agreed that the Constitution doesn’t give any absolute rights, and the recent SCOTUS is wrong about the 2A (but even there they said that there could be regulation), but you’re making Popehat cry with the “fire in a crowded theatre” thing. That goes back to a bad decision by OW Holmes (in a protest case about advocating against a draft in WWI) that was subsequently reversed.
https://www.popehat.com/2012/09/19/three-generations-of-a-hackneyed-apologia-for-censorship-are-enough/
tl;dr – It’s not against the First Amendment to falsely yell “fire” in a crowded theater.
HTH.
Cheers,
Scott.
@ Betty Cracker:
The NRA has had to bail on that whole “good guy with a gun” line because we now know those good guys stand around with their guns FOR AN HOUR DOING NOTHING.
The takeaway from Q-anon’s “libertarian” site Reason is that the shooter was a frustrated mid-operation transsexual… as the libertarians gleaned from 4chan.
@ Mike in NC — That’s the kind of fact that needs to be used against the GOP very loudly now.
@debbie There was a case (one. a single one in many years) a number of years back where an active shooter was stopped by someone with a gun. (In a church IIRC. WTF should people have to feel the need to carry guns for protection in an f’ing church?)
Of course, that “good guy with a gun” was a woman.
Just did a bit of surfing the ‘net, and more and more people are asking: Why does Texas have so many fat lazy cops who don’t want to do their jobs?
In other somewhat positive news, Ford delivered its first electric truck today, a year after announcing it.
Tesla on the other hand announced their electric truck in 2019, and has postponed their first delivery date a number of times, most recently to 2023.
What a delight, to hear from that young man again! And what a great way to spend the intervening years, traveling all over the world. (What it was like for his Dad, working in the State Department while Tillerson and Pompeo were decimating its staff and otherwise running it into the ground, I prefer not to dwell on.)
Here’s a small funny thing:
The other day, a work crew was doing some minor construction in my townhouse complex. I’m on the sofa, and I hear noises identical to the ones cats make when they’re about to throw up. I check: Oscar is asleep to my right, Jeannie is asleep to my left. Some cat outside in distress? I jump up off the sofa to potentially go to the rescue, look outside, and…. it’s the construction crew cutting through an old fence.
So T-111 fencing being cut sounds like a cat about to hawk up a hairball. Information you can use!
@Mike in NC
Not just Texas. I noticed a couple of years ago that in a lot of stories about police harassment and murders that there were often so many cops involved for what should be minor incidents. There were apparently four cops needed to arrest George Floyd over a counterfeit 20 dollar bill for example.
I’m planning to bring up two topics periodically on my social media.
1) Protect our children (eg gun control)
2) Respect women (anti Forced Birth)
Semi related – had a massage last night and talked with my therapist about this. She leans liberal – but owns guns and enjoys the shooting range and hunting. We don’t have answers (not that we get to make those decisions anyhow, other than voting and pestering our reps), but mental health resources, closing the gun show loophole, instituting a waiting period, and doing gun buybacks all seem like good steps forward.
Also related – there are a few buybacks happening nationwide next month – https://www.abqjournal.com/2503093/turn-your-guns-into-plowshares-ex-next-month-you-have-a-chance-to-l.html
Guns to Gardens is the tagline. That article is about the NM event, but Madison (WI) is having one too, I guess.
Well, of course they couldn’t act rashly. Dude had a gun – a man could get hurt, y’know? Now if somebody had reported a person of unwhiteness asleep in the bushes….hey, duty calls and shoot to kill.
As he himself would say, good god.
Richard M. Nixon
@dick_nixon
32m
The only explanation is they shot at least one kid themselves.
https://twitter.com/dick_nixon/status/1530228120271339521?s=20&t=hLQCAYymwm3ymSJZHjLWuA
ETA: And now someone’s blaming it on a dead teacher who couldn’t sure the connecting door in time.
Secure, idiot.
Of course! A person selling a teenager a semi-automatic on credit or rounds and rounds of ammunition can hardly be expected to know death and mayhem may ensue but leaving a door open is criminal negligence.
Please for a new thread so I can stop ruining TaMara’s.
This cartoon cuts to the quick:
https://twitter.com/QuicklyThisWay/status/1530204783386275841?s=20&t=hLQCAYymwm3ymSJZHjLWuA
I don’t know if this has been mentioned already, so forgive me if this is a repeat, but I really miss the numbering of comments. I lose my way easily.
@jnfr May 27, 2022 at 1:40 PM
The little cottage is lacking many of the creature comforts of the big house.
Okay, a bit of a frustrated rant about the U.S. passport agency (acknowledging from the start my situation is a bit privileged).
I am traveling abroad on June 10. My passport expires in August, and as a general rule countries don’t like to let you in unless you have 90 days left on your passport (funny rule, but at least I knew about it). My wife and I also traveled abroad at the end of March, so I knew I had to get my renewal application in nearly as soon as we got back and that it had to be expedited (5-7 week processing time). So I did both of those things. It turns out that the passport folks don’t start counting the 5-7 weeks until they officially received the application, but even starting from that date I had about 9-1/2 weeks (no jokes) before my trip begins, so plenty of time.
A couple of weeks after I filed it, I got an email and then a letter saying I’d missed something on the form – something that, by the way, wasn’t mentioned in the instructions. I sent a revised application back in the envelope they provided the next day.
Today’s mail, 2 weeks before the trip – no passport – and the State Department site says the application is still being processed. So, following instructions, I called to get an in-person appointment for a new passport, and found that there are none available – apparently anywhere – between now and my trip. The advice was, essentially, to wait and see if the passport arrives before I go.
So now I’m going to have to do this through my Congressman, which is a pain in the neck for me and for the constituent services people, but for reasons that the person who answered the phone admitted she does not understand, I can’t do until 10 days before the trip.
I’m actually pretty confident that I’ll end up getting the passport in time, but it’s really annoying, and still a bit stressful, particularly considering that I actually did everything I could do to have it in hand well before my trip. Also, if I need a new photo I’m going to be ticked.
Good news? My grandson, the brave little man, got his second Covid vaccine today. So now everyone in my close family is fully vaccinated and (where appropriate) boosted.
@randy khan: Was the omitted item an Enhanced Driver License card? My neighbor ran into a very similar situation where his renewal application wasn’t being processed because he didn’t send back a card that acts as an EDL. Since he never used it, he forget he even had it – and, as you note, the instructions for renewal aren’t very clear on that issue. The instructions are to send back the old passport , but don’t mention that the EDL card is considered part of the passport.
(My neighbor did ultimately get his passport in time without needing Congressional service. I hope your Congressperson can help!)
@randy khan:
It’s no use for you now, but for other people who might run into the same situation: you can apply for a second passport https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/second-passport-book.html
Bringing over a comment I posted on Facebook, for a different aspect of the school shooting coverage – can we please stop referring to these kids as babies?
” I watch the news coverage of this latest school shooting, and it grates on my nerves when the anchors and commentators keep referring to the shooting victims as ‘babies’. “They were just babies!” “What are we doing to protect our babies?” They’re children, they’re not babies. No school age child would want to be called a baby. I was actually getting angry about it, and wondered why. Then I remembered. A tale of long ago…
I grew up in a family with five kids, a boy and four girls. Our parents and adult relatives fell into a habit of speech when referring to the kids. Robert, the only boy, was just Robert. Dorothy and Carol, my older sisters, were ‘the girls’. And Jane and I, the youngest, were – you guessed it – ‘the babies’.
I’m sure nobody meant any insult, they probably starting using the term when we really were babies and it just became a habit. But there came a time, I think we were about four, when Jane and I decided we just weren’t going to allow that to continue. Every time we heard someone refer to us as ‘the babies’, we objected. Loudly. “We are NOT! BABIES!” Eventually, we broke them of the habit – after that the folks referred to ‘the girls’ and ‘the twins’. That was acceptable, you can be a twin and still be a Big Kid.
Anyhoo! That was over sixty years ago, and I STILL remember how offended I was, at the age of about four, that an adult was calling me a baby. So – do we really need to be calling murder victims by a term that they themselves would probably consider insulting?”
@CaseyL: That wasn’t it. I have a different name on my birth certificate (and therefore on my passport) than I use in my normal life, and the form requires you to provide all names you are known by. It turns out that they want you to sign it with both names, which I’m pretty sure didn’t do either of the other times I renewed my passport.
@Calouste: Interesting. I never would have thought of that.
I just watched the Somebody Feed Phil Maine episode and I didn’t realize he is related to my friends. Such a nice episode. So many people I know were featured.