Barack Obama

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Barack Obama: Then and Now

Photo (1980): Lisa Jack — from the Los Angeles Times In 1980, Occidental College student Lisa Jack got very, very lucky. A bright handsome freshman named Barry Obama agreed to a photo session for one of Jack’s class assignments. The session produced 36 shots of a cool, youthful Obama. The photo above shows Obama wearing a bomber-style jacket with swirls of smoke […]
Saturday, May 23, 2009

Mixed blessings on this Memorial Day holiday weekend

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank The economy is still struggling. Job layoffs by the thousands continue. Gasoline prices at the pumps are up. On Thursday, May 21, I paid $2.60 a gallon at a gas station in Burbank. A month ago at the same station, I paid $2.30 a gallon.  And food prices are still outrageously high; why is that […]
Friday, May 22, 2009

President Obama speaks at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation

   Photo: Lawrence Jackson/White House — President Obama shares a fistbump with a proud young graduating Midshipman at the U.S. Navy Academy commencement today. President Obama kicked off the long Memorial Day holiday weekend today with a speech to the graduating class of 2009 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland: “After an era when so many institutions and individuals acted […]
Thursday, May 21, 2009

President Obama does a phone chat with space shuttle crew

Photo: Pete Souza/White House Talking about a long distance call. President Obama chatted with the crew on board the space shuttle Atlantis late yesterday. The crew got Wednesday off to rest and relax, after completing five spacewalks and numerous repairs and upgrades on the Hubble Space Telescope. This is the fifth and final tune-up for Hubble. The president spoke with […]
Wednesday, May 6, 2009

The Obamas celebrate Cinco de Mayo

  Photo: Samantha Appleton/White House First Lady Michelle Obama shared a group hug with some students during a Cinco de Mayo celebration on Monday, May 4, at the Latin American Montessori Bilingual Charter School in Washington, D.C. Later that evening at a White House Cinco de Mayo event attended by Mexican Ambassador Arturo Saruklan, President Obama spoke about the significance of the holiday: “Nearly […]
Monday, May 4, 2009

President Obama moves to plug tax loopholes & keep more U.S. jobs at home

Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters President Obama is making good on a campaign promise to overhaul the tax system. Today the president took aim at some loopholes in the tax code and the wealthy individuals and corporations that use them to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. At the White House, the president announced steps to crack down on overseas tax havens and to […]
Saturday, May 2, 2009

100 days plus: President Obama & the H1N1 flu virus

  President Obama has a new challenge to deal in the next 100 days of his administration; a previously unknown flu virus, which has the potential to kill. Last Wednesday night, the president highlighted efforts being made to handle the two wars, the bad economy, and other problems inherited from the Bush years. The president said: “I am pleased with our progress, […]
Saturday, April 25, 2009

First Lady Michelle Obama and the Queen of Jordan

  Photo: Samantha Appleton/White House   First Lady Michelle Obama had another chat with a queen a few days ago. Mrs. Obama held a get together with Jordan’s Queen Rania in the White House Yellow Oval Room on Thursday, April 23, 2009.  Also this week, Jordan’s King Abdullah met with President Obama.   Earlier this month, the first lady and the president had a meet and greet […]