WH Clarifies President Obama's Gun Photo

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The President was telling the truth about his shooting experience, says Press Secretary, and not claiming to be a hunter or sport shooting expert...
After the White House on Saturday released a photo of President Obama shooting a rifle at the target range at Camp David last year on his birthday, Press Secretary Jay Carney today fielded questions about the topic from reporters aboard Air Force One as the President traveled to Minnesota to deliver remarks about his gun control proposals and meet with local law enforcement officials. 

The White House released the photo after President Obama, when asked if he had ever fired a gun, told The New Republic during an interview  published on Jan. 27 that "Yes, in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time." 

"The fact is the president was asked a question--did not volunteer, but was asked a question about whether or not he had ever shot a weapon," Carney said. 

"He answered with the truth, which is that he has enjoyed shooting competitively with friends at Camp David on multiple occasions. I think it’s fair to say that we believed that would’ve been answer enough -- and what I said from the podium that as a rule we don’t treat his private time at Camp David with friends and family as matters for public consumption, that’s the truth, as you know." 

"But there were persistent questions about this and we decided to release a photo of the president shooting at Camp David."

The caption with the released photo read "President Barack Obama shoots clay targets on the range at Camp David." Asked whether President Obama shoots skeet or trap, Carney said: 

"You know, I am not an expert, and I don’t think he would claim to be either. What I can tell you is that he has enjoyed competing with friends up there at Camp David. As you probably know, the president likes competition of all kinds."

Asked whether President Obama is good at shooting, Carney said: "I think he has gotten better." 

"But here’s the thing to understand: The president has made clear he grew up in Hawaii, he’s spent time in California, Chicago and Cambridge. He never pretended to or suggested that he had grown up as a hunter or engaging in sports activities with weapons. He simply said that he had, and this is the truth, that he had enjoyed shooting at Camp David. That’s a fact."

President Obama told TNR "I have a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that trace back in this country for generations. And I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake."

Carney said that the photo was "not the only time he shot a weapon," but was not sure whether President Obama had gone shooting before becoming president.  Asked whether President Obama personally owns any firearms, Carney said, "Not that I’m aware of."

The photo caused an internet sensation on Saturday, with White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer and former Senior Advisor David Plouffe taking to twitter to challenge disbelievers.  Plouffe channeled Clint Eastwood as he called skeptic "skeet birthers," tweeting the photo with "Attn skeet birthers. Make our day - let the photoshop conspiracies begin!"

After the topic trended on Twitter with the hashtags #skeetgate and #NextWhiteHousePhoto, Plouffe tweeted "Day made. The skeet birthers are out in full force in response to POTUS pic. Makes for most excellent, delusional reading. #whereistrump."

Carney previously answered questions about the President's gun shooting claim at last Monday's daily press briefing, when he said he was not aware of any photos of the President shooting a gun.

President Obama landed at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport at 11:56 AM Central time. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken traveled with President Obama aboard Air Force One.  In Minneapolis, President Obama was scheduled to deliver remarks and meet with with local leaders and law enforcement at the Minneapolis Police Department Special Operations Center.

*Photo by Pete Souza/White House, taken at Camp David on August 4, 2012

Video: Miami Heat Promote Healthy Eating For First Lady's Let's Move! Campaign

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How do world-class athletes fuel up? Dwyane Wade, Shane Battier, and coach Eric Spoelstra tell all...
 While visiting the White House last week for an East Room ceremony to celebrate their 2012 NBA championship with President Obama, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, forward Shane Battier, and head coach Erik Spoelstra took time out to answer questions about the healthy foods that fuel their world-class play for a video for First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign.  Mrs. Obama marks the third anniversary of the launch of her national campaign this week, on Feb. 9.  (Above, Wade's own Instagram as he handed President Obama a personalized #44 jersey and  autographed ball at the ceremony)

Speaking in the Red Room, the players and coach revealed their "go-to" pre-game meals.  Battier said his regime is "very healthy, very basic," and he eats chicken, quinoa or wild rice and plenty of vegetables, including beets and broccoli.  Wade said he loves chicken and pasta "for every game."  

Spoelstra gets a little more creative, and said he makes his own "green smoothie" with vegetables and fruit ("some people think it's disgusting"), or a "power salad," with "every ingredient you could possibly think of...spinach...chicken or fish...a little bit of cheese."



Visit LetsMove.gov for more on Mrs. Obama's campaign.  CLICK HERE for links to all Let's Move! posts.

*Photo courtesy of Dwyane Wade, via Instagram

Big Food CEOS, Ag Labor Leaders To Meet With President Obama On Immigration Reform

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The list of attendees for Tuesday's meetings...
President Obama will continue his push for immigration reform on Tuesday with two different White House meetings.  The first will be in the morning at 11:00 AM, with progressive and labor leaders including Arturo Rodriguez of United Farm Workers, and the second, in the afternoon at 3:20 PM, will be with a dozen business leaders from major corporations, including The Coca Cola Company's Chair and CEO Muhtar Kent and Cargill's Chair and CEO Greg Page.

The White House said the separate closed-press meetings in the Roosevelt Room are part of the President's ongoing "dialogue with outside leaders on a number of issues – including immigration reform and how it fits into his broader economic agenda, and his efforts to achieve balanced deficit reduction."  Click here to read the White House fact sheet on the President's proposal for comprehensive immigration reform.

The 11:00 AM meeting with progressive and labor leaders will include:

Deepak Bhargava, Center for Community Change

Marshall Fitz, Center for American Progress

Wade Henderson, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Marielena Hincapie, National Immigration Law Center

Deepa Iyer, NCAPA/SAALT

Ben Jealous, NAACP

Cristina Jimenez, United We Dream

Eliseo Medina, SEIU

Mee Moua, Asian American Justice Center

Janet Murguia, National Council of la Raza

Ali Noorani, National Immigration Forum

Arturo Rodriguez, United Farm Workers

Frank Sharry, America’s Voice

Rachel Tiven, Immigration Equality

Gustavo Torres, Casa de Maryland

Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO

The 3:20 PM meeting with business CEOS will include:

Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs Group

Greg Brown, Chairman and CEO, Motorola Solutions

Steve Case, Chairman and CEO, Revolution LLC

Joe Echevarria, CEO, Deloitte LLP

Paul Jacobs, Chairman and CEO, Qualcomm

Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, The Coca Cola Company

Klaus Kleinfeld, Chairman and CEO, Alcoa

Monica Lozano, CEO, Impremedia

Marissa Mayer, President and CEO, Yahoo!

Greg Page, Chairman and CEO, Cargill

Jeff Smisek, Chairman and CEO, United Continental

Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott International

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A White House Recipe From 'American Grown' - Collard Greens With Smoked Turkey Leg

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The dish is a First Family favorite, says Executive Chef Cris Comerford...
Collard greens grow abundantly in First Lady Michelle Obama's Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn, which flourishes through all four seasons thanks to the use of protective hoop houses.  A staple dish in the Southern states that is traditionally made with ham hocks or fat back, White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford has a contemporary recipe for collard greens that is featured in Mrs. Obama's book American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America.  In service to Mrs. Obama's healthy eating aesthetic, the Top Toque uses a smoked turkey leg instead of ham.  (Above: Mrs. Obama and Comerford in the White House kitchen)

The smoked turkey, wrote Comerford, "adds so much flavor and much less fat to the finished dish."  Made with onions and garlic, and served with hot sauce and a splash of apple cider vinegar, the dish is a favorite of the First Family, Comerford said, and "has been served at Thanksgiving, as well as at some special private private dinners in the White House." 

Collards are a good source of vitamin C and soluble fiber, as well as low in calories; a quarter pound cooked has about 46 calories. The greens have also been credited with cancer-fighting properties.

In the South, cornbread is traditionally used to soak up what is called the "pot liquor," the nutrient-rich broth that is created after cooking collard greens; there will be plenty to soak up with Comerford's recipe.  Check out White House Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses' recipe for Sweet Potato Quick Bread as a dunking alternative.  During the White House holiday parties in 2012, the recipe was served as tiny muffins accompanying carved ham and turkey, but it can also be made as regular-sized loaves.  Check the sidebar for all White House recipes.

A large, deep pot is called for in Comerford's recipe, which is cooked on top of the stove.  She does not specify if the skin is left on the turkey leg, but it typically falls off after cooking, and the turkey meat is then added to the collard greens.


 White House Collard Greens
Ingredients
*1 Smoked Turkey Leg

*1 Bay Leaf

*1 Onion, quartered

*3 Quarts Water

*1 Tablespoon Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

*1 Medium Onion, finely chopped

*6 Cloves Garlic, minced

*2 Bunches Collard Greens (about 2 pounds), well washed, large ribs removed, torn into bite-size pieces

*Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

*Hot Sauce, for serving

*Apple Cider Vinegar, for serving

Method
1.  Place the smoked turkey leg, bay leaf, quartered onion, and water in a large pot.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and allow to simmer for about an hour, uncovered.  Strain the stock into a large container and then set the leg aside to cool.  Discard the onion and bay leaf.

2.  Drizzle olive oil into a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the chopped onion and garlic, and cook until translucent, 5-7 minutes.  Add the collard greens and strained stock and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and cook for about 40 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

3.  Remove the meat from the turkey leg and add it to the pot during the last five minutes of cooking.  Season with salt and pepper.

4.  Serve with your favorite hot sauce and a splash of apple cider vinegar.

_______________________
Reprinted from American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America by Michelle Obama. Copyright © 2012 by the National Park Foundation. Published by Crown, a division of Random House, Inc.

*Top and collards photo by Quentin Bacon for American Grown; Comerford photo by Eddie Gehman Kohan/Obama Foodorama

NARAL Dinner: President Obama Thanks Abortion Rights Activists

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"I couldn’t be prouder of the work each of you is doing"...
President Obama praised abortion-rights activists and marked the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, in a video shown on Tuesday night at the NARAL Pro-Choice America annual dinner in Washington, D.C.  Stephanie Cutter, the President's former deputy campaign manager, delivered the keynote at the dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel, where the group also welcomed its new president, Ilyse Hogue.

"Tonight, we celebrate the historic Roe v. Wade decision handed down 40 years ago, but we also gather to recommit ourselves to the decision’s guiding principle: that women should be able to make their own choices about their bodies and their health care, " President Obama said, according to a video transcript published in The Washington Post.

"I couldn’t be prouder of the work each of you is doing to make this world a fairer and more just place for all Americans," President Obama said.  "And I look forward to continuing that work with you in the years ahead."

Access to abortion, contraceptive freedom, and the definition of "legitimate" rape were topics of intense controversy during the President's reelection race, and Cutter told the dinner guests that the GOP "misread their mandate after the 2010 elections."

"They thought that 2012 would mean an even better year for that extreme agenda...They nominated Senate candidates who didn’t understand that rape actually can cause pregnancy," she said.

Cutter also took aim in her remarks at GOP presidential challenger Mitt Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). She said that during the 2012 White House race, Obama campaign staffers had a joke about Romney that when he watched the TV show Mad Men, he thought he was watching the 11 o’clock news."

Last week, in response to the Obama administration being sued by religious and other groups over the contraceptive-coverage policy in the President's Affordable Care Act, the White House announced a proposed rule that would exempt religious nonprofit organizations from the requirement.  It would also allow for funds to be protected so women would get the coverage, but the religious groups will not be paying for it.  All the same, more lawsuits are expected.

The President also thanked NARAL's outgoing president, Nancy Keenan, calling her a "friend and counselor to me and my administration."

The full text of Obama’s video message to NARAL:

"Good evening, everybody. Tonight, we celebrate the historic Roe v. Wade decision handed down 40 years ago. But we also gather to recommit ourselves to the decision’s guiding principle: that women should be able to make their own choices about their bodies and their health care. We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to protecting a woman’s access to safe, affordable health care and her right to reproductive freedom, because we know that we are better off as a nation when women are treated fairly and equally in every aspect in life, whether it’s the salary you earn or the health decisions you make. This is a country where the success of all of us depends on the empowerment of each of us, where all Americans should have the freedom and opportunity to reach their potential. And I know that’s what you’re fighting for every day."

"So, to everyone at NARAL Pro-Choice America, thank you for your tireless advocacy for the health and well-being of women and families. I’d especially like to thank your outgoing president, Nancy Keenan, who’s been a friend and counselor to me and my administration. And I welcome Ilyse Hogue, who we know will continue Nancy’s legacy of outstanding leadership of this organization. Finally, congratulations on your keynote speaker, Stephanie Cutter, an exceptional pick for pretty much any job, if I do say so myself."

“I couldn’t be prouder of the work each of you is doing to make this world a fairer and more just place for all Americans. And I look forward to continuing that work with you in the years ahead."

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Statement by the President on the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Jan. 22, 2013:

"On the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we reaffirm its historic commitment to protect the health and reproductive freedom of women across this country and stand by its guiding principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters, and women should be able to make their own choices about their bodies and their health care. Today and every day, my Administration continues our efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies, support maternal and child health, and minimize the need for abortion. On this anniversary, we recommit ourselves to supporting women and families in the choices they make and redouble our efforts to promote safe and healthy communities."

Gates Foundation MET Study Findings Found Flawed

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The King of Data, Microsoft Titan Bill Gates, wrote in the Wall Street Journal last week that if we just meticulously study every major problem and follow the data where it leads us, we can solve many vexing issues, from global warming to hunger to education.

But this week one of Gates' bigger data projects, the Measures of Effective Teaching study, was found wanting:

The recommendations in the final Measures of Effective Teaching work products may not be supported by the project's hard data, the National Education Policy Center contends in a review of the project.

The review, released last week, was written by Jesse Rothstein, of the University of California, Berkeley, and William Mathis, of the University of Colorado at Boulder. The NEPC has taken issue with several prior work products from the MET study.

In the critique, the scholars take aim at the study's randomization component, the basis for the MET report's headline finding that projections based on the three measures studied, which include "value added" test-score analysis, seemed to be quite accurate overall. But Rothstein and Mathis note that there was a high degree of noncompliance with the randomization, and also suggest that teachers of certain students appear more likely to have dropped out of the study. (Rothstein made a similar point in Education Week's story on the final MET results.)

The scholars also say that none of the three main measures studied—student surveys, value-added test-score growth, and observations of teachers—was particularly predictive of how teachers' students would do on the alternative, "conceptually demanding" tasks. That's potentially worrisome, since the tests being designed to measure the Common Core State Standards are purportedly more in line with such tasks. "There is evidently a dimension of effectiveness that affects the conceptually demanding tests that is not well captured by any of the measures examined by the MET project," the authors write.

The scholars also question one of the very premises of the MET study: its use of growth in student test scores as the baseline standard for comparing the impact of all the measures it tested.

"It is quite possible that test-score gains are misleading about teachers' effectiveness on other dimensions that may be equally or more important," the paper states.

Bruce Baker also found this Gates Foundation MET study wanting, noting:

I’ve written several previous posts explaining the absurdity of the general framework of this research which assumes that the “true indicator of teacher effectiveness” is the following year value-added score. That is, the validity of all other indicators of teacher effectiveness is measured by their correlation to the following year value added (as well as value-added when estimated to alternative tests – with less emphasis on this). Thus, the researchers find – to no freakin’ surprise – that prior year value added is, among all measures, the best predictor of itself a year later. Wow – that’s a revelation!
As a result, any weighting scheme must include a healthy dose of value-added.  But, because their “strongest” predictor of itself analysis put too much weight on VAM to be politically palatable, they decided to balance the weighting by considering year to year reliability (regardless of validity).
The hypocrisy of their circular validity test is best revealed in this quote from the study:

Teaching is too complex for any single measure of performance to capture it accurately.

But apparently the validity of any/all other measures can be assessed by the correlation with a single measure (VAM itself)!?????

This was an ideological study with a political agenda. 

The Gates Foundation people go into the study assuming test scores adequately measure teacher performance and value-added measurements accurately measure test scores. 

They then seek to prove those findings with the data and wrap themselves into pretzels to do so. 

The newspapers report the findings, even though the findings are horse hockey, and then we get politicians (or union leaders) pointing to these findings as sufficient justification for the new value-added or growth model teacher evaluation systems.

As always, the fix is in.

Findings first, data and research after.

Mayor Bloomberg King's Game 911 Tech System CityTime Mega-Crimes

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http://mayorbloombergkingofnewyork.blogspot.com/2012/06/suzannah-troy-note-to-press-activists.html  King's Game Danish film -- from Albany under the reign of andy cuomo to mike bloomberg and mrs. bloomberg Christine Quinn his mini-me -- the 2 get off playing good cop bad cop we have the largest mega corruption EVER and no one seems to notice...

Don't forget mega-corrupt MTA SAIC deal -- oh yeah and than the MTA and it's board got integrity?  Even less now that Andrew Cuomo stabbed the people of NYC in the back and sent a message go ahead and be violent towards women and get rewarded as well re: Dave Paterson silencing his 6 foot 9 best friend Dave Johnson's girlfriend in to silence.

Johnson fled.  The only honest folks with integrity resigned from their jobs in Albany as the corrupt Paterson and Johnson stayed on.  Finally paterson was forced to fire johnson who did plead guilty!

Judge Judy Kaye is a political fixer and betrayed all decency folks to do Cuomo's political fixing and it is is because of Paterson's daddy Basil who has powerful connections so from Albany to City Hall the most corruption EVER.

I had hoped Cuomo might change things but he has clearly signaled he is now part of the problem.

9-11 a nightmare I still can't believe but this too seems like a bad dream -- really mind blowing they are getting away with the largest tax payer abuse -- billions upon billions and no one seems to notice or care and the most corrupt players are all above the law while the little people are falsely arrested ticketed etc.