17344: BHM 2026—President Donald J. Trump.

USA TODAY reported on an unintended Black History Month promotion from President Donald J. Trump, who continues to angle for a repeat White Man Of The Year honor.

 

‘I didn’t make a mistake’ Trump says of post depicting Obamas as apes

 

“I look at a lot of, thousands, of things,” Trump said of the video. “And I looked at the beginning of it, it was fine.”

 

By Zac Anderson, USA TODAY

 

President Donald Trump declined to apologize for sharing a video depicting former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as apes, telling reporters “I didn’t make a mistake.”

 

Trump told reporters while traveling on Air Force One to Florida on Feb. 6 that he only looked at the beginning of the roughly one-minute long video, which starts off talking about unsubstantiated voter fraud claims regarding the 2020 election, and didn’t see the portion with the Obamas that has been widely condemned as racist.

 

“I just looked at the first part... I didn’t see the whole thing,” Trump said, indicating he gave it to someone else to post and “somebody slipped and missed a very small part.”

 

“I guess probably nobody reviewed the end of it,” Trump said.

 

Asked about calls from GOP lawmakers for him to apologize, Trump said he didn’t plan to. He later said “of course I do” when asked if he condemned the racist part of the video.

 

The brief portion of the video with the Obamas appears to have been created by artificial intelligence. It depicts the bodies of two apes with the faces of the former president and first lady. Apes are flying around in the background of what appears to be a jungle.

 

The video was among dozens of posts on Trump’s Truth Social account in the late hours of Feb. 5 and early hours of Feb. 6. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the Obama post, saying it was “from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King.”

 

“Please stop the fake outrage,” Leavitt added.

 

The White House later distanced the president from the video amid growing criticism, including from many top Republicans. A White House official said the video had been shared erroneously by an unnamed member of Trump’s staff. It was removed from Trump’s Truth Social account after being up for about 12 hours.

 

The video drew a strong response from Republican lawmakers, who often are reluctant to criticize the leader of their party.

 

Sen. Tim Scott, a close Trump ally and prominent Black Republican from South Carolina who is leading the Senate’s campaign efforts this year, wrote he was “praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.”

 

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, called the post “blatantly racist and inexcusable.” Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Nebraska, said a “reasonable person” would deem the video “racist” and called for Trump to apologize. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, called the video “totally unacceptable” and also said an apology is in order.

 

Trump said he is the “least racist president you’ve had in a long time” and that “I’ve been great” for Black voters, pointing to criminal justice reform and other policies.

 

The president earlier this year was accused of racism by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for sharing a controversial deepfake video of the lawmaker wearing a sombrero hat with mariachi music playing.

 

Jeffries again slammed Trump as a racist after the video post depicting the Obamas as apes.

 

“This guy is an unhinged bottom feeder,” Jeffries said in a video posted on social media

 

Contributing: Joey Garrison, Melina Khan 

16465: Media Mistrust, Misdeeds, And Messes.

MediaPost recently spotlighted former President Barack Obama sharing his perspectives about the impact of media on society and democracy. Hey, it’s bad enough that media can’t be trusted—but it’s even worse in Adland, where media agencies are steeped in lies, deceptions, unethical behaviors, shady practices, and systemic racism.

 

Barack Obama Calls For A New Kind Of Media

 

By Steve Rosenbaum

 

Former President Barack Obama is thinking about media’s impact on society and democracy.

 

Obama spoke at the annual Democracy Forum in Chicago sponsored by the Obama Foundation. The room was full of young activists and organizers. And, with the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas, he was thoughtful about the growing strife between American political parties.

 

“I’ve had discussions with young politicians and media figures,” Obama said, choosing his words carefully. The question he was coming to: “How do we balance this idea of diversity? We each have our own identities. We each have our own stories. We understand the power of narratives. And I think this generation in particular very much wants to talk about who’s controlling the narrative.”

 

The narrative, his story, their story, our story — was on everyone’s mind.

 

“Here’s the good news,” Obama proposed. “I think people are starting to instinctively understand that the level of polarization that we’re at right now is not helping anybody, except maybe some talking heads, and folks on TikTok — who are monetizing it, by the way. So people kind of sense this isn’t healthy, but we don’t know how to get out of it.”

 

Social media came of age under Obama’s watch, and he thinks back on that with honest concern. He told a recent gathering at The Atlantic: “If we do not have the capacity to distinguish what’s true from what’s false, then by definition the marketplace of ideas doesn’t work. And by definition our democracy doesn’t work. We are entering into an epistemological crisis.”

 

So where does that leave us? “We’re too comfortable right now with the idea that the other side are idiots and hateful and can’t be reasoned with. We’re a little too comfortable right now with that idea,” said the 44th President of the United States.

 

“You know a lot of that is around competing narratives. The question is, how do we then take that understanding that everybody’s stories matter? That we can’t just look at the world through one lens. How do we do that and then still find the possibility of finding common ground, and then still aspire to understanding and empathy and collaboration?” Obama asked the question he was clearly thinking about.

 

Right now, “we really don’t hear each other. We really don’t see each other,” he pondered. “And if we can’t break through that, then we’ll never get to all the wonderful ideas and amazing projects that are out there.”

 

His talk was a flash back to the concerns he raised in another discussion, at Stanford in 2022: “Inside our personal information bubbles, our assumptions, our blind spots, our prejudices aren’t challenged, they are reinforced — and naturally, we’re more likely to react negatively to those consuming different facts and opinions. All of which deepens existing racial and religious and cultural divides.”

 

Obama also seems to have misinformation, AI, and deep fakes on his mind: “For more and more of us, search and social media platforms aren’t just our window into the internet. … No one tells us that the window is blurred, subject to unseen distortions and subtle manipulations.”

15283: Ford Drives For Unity With Promotional & Political Propaganda.

 

Advertising Age reported Ford produced and proceeded to air commercials calling for nationwide unity following the recent Capitol insurrection. It’s a good thing that Twitter permanently suspended President Donald Trump’s account—preventing him from tweeting his furious disapproval—as Trump would likely view the Ford spots as damnable disloyalty after he publicly praised the automaker in 2020. Double coincidence: Ford’s campaign features voiceover work from actor Bryan Cranston, who has publicly criticized Trump as being insane. And of course Ford will show support for unity per President Joe Biden’s call to action—as Biden partnered with President Barack Obama to deliver a financial bailout when the automaker struggled in 2009.

 

Ford To Run Ads Stressing Unity Following Capitol Riot

 

The spots, called ‘Builders,’ will debut Saturday during college basketball on Fox

 

By Michael Martinez

 

Ford Motor Co. today will begin running new 30- and 60-second ads that stress unity following riots this month at the U.S. Capitol that left 5 dead.

 

Called “Builders,” the spots focus on the ability of Americans to come together and create, featuring images of construction workers, nurses, firefighters and other volunteers.

 

“Look to the builders,” actor and pitchman Bryan Cranston says in the commercials. “No matter what goes wrong in this country, they’re out there. Follow their lead. The ones serving and building others up…Look to the people who don’t give up on their principles when times get tough.”

 

No mention of riots

The ads do not make direct mention of the Jan. 6 riots, in which supporters of President Donald Trump broke into the Capitol building attempting to stop Congress from certifying the results of the Nov. 3 election. But they were produced less than a week after the attack by New York ad firm Wieden+Kennedy using scenes from previous Ford commercials.

 

“In tough times, Ford and our country have always come together and built things — vehicles, tanks, even relationships,” Kumar Galhotra, president, Americas & International Markets Group, said in a statement. “This spot shows from our perspective where our nation should focus — on the fixers, the builders, the ones who can bring us together.”

 

The ads debut today during college basketball on Fox. They will also begin airing on more than a dozen cable stations the same day. Ads will also run during coverage of Joe Biden’s inauguration, a Ford spokesman confirmed to Ad Age.

 

The spot is the latest in Ford’s “Built for America” series of commercials that began running last year. Among other topics, they highlight Ford’s U.S. manufacturing commitment as well as its effort to build personal protective equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Michael Martinez is a reporter for Automotive News.

13334: Obama’s Transformation.

Wow, the pressures of the presidency have taken their toll on Barack Obama—he’s been turned into an old White man.

12716: Presidential Debate.

Artist/Writer/Recovering Adman Lowell Thompson—aka RaceMan—will discuss President Barack Obama on June 27, 2015.

12662: Black & White Cartoon.

Artist/Writer/Recovering Adman Lowell Thompson created the cartoon depicted above and is open to receiving comments from the culturally competent and critics alike.

12609: Mad Men & Politics.

From The New York Daily News…

12325: Amy Pascal Lacks Integrity.

The New York Times reported Sony Chair Amy Pascal attended the obligatory powwow with Rev. Al Sharpton to discuss her culturally clueless emails recently exposed to the public. Still wondering why this woman hasn’t been terminated. But it looks like Sony is running a PR scheme to back her, garnering supportive commentary from Oprah, Tyler Perry and even Chris Rock (the support from Rock, incidentally, is suspect, as Scott Rudin—Pascal’s email pal—produced Rock’s latest movie).

So why should Pascal be fired without further examination of her alleged “non-racist” persona? In her initial apology, Pascal insisted, “The content of my emails to Scott were insensitive and inappropriate but are not an accurate reflection of who I am.” Sorry, but the woman is delusional if she believes her own bullshit. It’s all a matter of integrity. The dictionary defines integrity as “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.” Chairman and CEO of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. Josh Weston said, “I’ve always tried to live with the following simple rule: ‘Don’t do what you wouldn’t feel comfortable reading about in the newspapers the next day.’” It’s a safe bet Pascal is not comfortable reading about her ignorance in the newspapers and World Wide Web. So she should quit arguing that the conversation with Rudin was “not an accurate reflection of who I am.” Her position lacks moral character and honesty.

Additionally, check out Sony Corporation’s official stance on employment: “Sony is committed to supporting and developing its employees by fostering a winning team spirit and high personal accountability. We hope you’ll consider joining our dynamic team—one that values broad cross-cultural perspective, takes great pride in its work and shares an unwavering commitment to excellence and success.” Pascal falls short in the “high personal accountability” and “broad cross-cultural perspective” departments.

Most disturbing is Pascal’s disrespect for President Barack Obama. Are Hollywood power players so egotistical that they have no reservations pooh-poohing meetings with the Commander-In-Chief—and doing so with racist remarks? Unfortunately, Pascal is a racist. Or maybe saying she displayed “unconscious bias” would be a more contemporary way to describe the situation. Regardless, the woman should not be representing a major studio, especially given the discrimination and racism still so prevalent in the industry.

If Pascal had an ounce of integrity, she would resign. Hey, Madison Avenue is always looking for female leaders—and Pascal would fit right in.

Sony’s Movie Chief Meets With Black Leaders

By Brooks Barnes

LOS ANGELES — Black leaders, angered by racially insensitive emails sent by Amy Pascal, the movie chief at Sony Pictures Entertainment, emerged from a meeting with her on Thursday saying they had reached an understanding about how to move forward.

Ms. Pascal, who is also co-chairwoman of Sony Pictures, met at a Manhattan hotel with the Rev. Al Sharpton and the president of the National Urban League, Marc H. Morial, after the disclosure last week by hackers of unseemly racial banter in private emails. The email exchange in question, between Ms. Pascal and the producer Scott Rudin, turned on President Obama’s supposed taste for black-themed films.

“I left feeling that Amy is someone we can work with,” Mr. Morial, a former mayor of New Orleans, said in a telephone interview. “It’s important that we look forward. Amy again expressed her deep regret and committed Sony’s help in pushing for far greater diversity in movies and television.”

Asked whether Ms. Pascal had his support in keeping her job, Mr. Morial said: “One executive losing a job does not change the larger picture. The larger picture is our focus.”

Mr. Sharpton, who had harshly criticized Ms. Pascal after the online publication of her email exchange with Mr. Rudin, which he called “offensive, insulting,” wrote on Twitter that Thursday’s 90-minute meeting was a “very pointed and blunt exchange.” He added in comments with the news media that Ms. Pascal and other Sony leaders had agreed to meet again soon with civil rights leaders.

Mr. Sharpton called the email exchange between Ms. Pascal and Mr. Rudin, who was not involved in Thursday’s meeting, the byproduct of “an exclusionary, almost all-white hierarchy” in Hollywood. He added that, for him, “The jury is still out on where we go with Amy.”

Ms. Pascal declined to comment.

Ms. Pascal’s defenders, while not condoning the email exchange, point out that Sony has one of Hollywood’s better track records in making films with predominantly black casts. On Friday the studio will release a remake of “Annie” with Quavenzhané Wallis in the lead role. In 2014 Sony has also released “Think Like a Man Too,” “No Good Deed” and “About Last Night.”

The email exchange has polarized Hollywood’s black community.

Some people, like Oprah Winfrey, have voiced support. “I would hope that we would not stand in judgment, in such harsh judgment, of a moment in time where somebody was hacked and their private conversations were put before the world,” Ms. Winfrey told reporters this week. Tyler Perry similarly told CNN that he “absolutely” did not believe that Ms. Pascal was racist.

“When I read their comments, I see the humor, even if some people would find it unacceptable,” John Singleton, the director of “Boyz N the Hood,” wrote in The Hollywood Reporter.

But other black actors, writers and producers saw the comments as intolerable, with the television heavyweight Shonda Rhimes as perhaps the most outspoken. “Calling Sony comments ‘racially insensitive remarks’ instead of ‘racist?'” Ms. Rhimes wrote on Twitter. “U can put a cherry” on excrement “but it don’t make it a sundae.”

While silent publicly, other black actors, including Will Smith and Jamie Foxx, have privately phoned Ms. Pascal to express their support, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Mr. Smith’s company, Overbrook Entertainment, has long been based at Sony. Mr. Foxx stars in “Annie.”

12201: Loretta Lynch Leading List…?

From The New York Times…

Loretta Lynch, Federal Prosecutor, Is Called a Leading Candidate for Attorney General

By Julie Hirschfield Davis and Matt Apuzzo

WASHINGTON — Loretta E. Lynch, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, has emerged as a leading contender to be the next attorney general, officials close to the process said, as President Obama looks outside his inner circle to fill a crucial post.

The White House declined to comment on whether Mr. Obama would tap Ms. Lynch, who if chosen and confirmed would be the first African-American woman to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement official. She would replace Eric H. Holder Jr., who is stepping down.

Ms. Lynch, a low-profile prosecutor, has risen to the top of the president’s short list in recent days, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the nomination publicly. Officials said that a formal White House announcement could come soon, although it is unlikely to happen before Mr. Obama returns to Washington on Nov. 16 after a trip to Asia.

A Lynch nomination might carry substantial political benefits for a White House recalibrating its strategy after Republicans took over the Senate. Indeed, Ms. Lynch is a two-time United States attorney who has twice been confirmed by the Senate by acclamation — in 2000 and again in 2010. She has no personal ties to Mr. Obama or his policies, freeing her of the political baggage that has weighed down other candidates once thought to have an edge in the process.

The nomination would also allow the president, questioned in recent days about what he might do differently after the electoral thrashing by Republicans, to bring a fresh face into an administration many have criticized as too insular.

Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez, another contender for the post, is known to be close with Mr. Obama and faced virulent Republican opposition to his confirmation last year. A Perez nomination could be seen as a provocation to the newly ascendant Republicans, who would probably pick a fight over selection. That would leave open the top job at the Labor Department, which could engender a second messy confirmation fight.

Similarly, Donald B. Verrilli Jr., the solicitor general, has ties to Mr. Obama and his administration that could prove problematic during a confirmation process, including his role in defending the Affordable Care Act before the Supreme Court.

Kathryn Ruemmler, the former White House counsel who had been a top choice for the job, took herself out of the running last month after concluding that her confirmation process would likely devolve into a partisan free-for-all in a highly polarized political environment.

Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is chairman the Judiciary Committee, said this week that with control of the Senate passing to the Republicans, Mr. Obama “has to look at somebody who would be easier to confirm.”

“There are some names that have been out there” that “could easily get confirmed,” Mr. Leahy told a Vermont public radio station on Wednesday, without offering any names. “Others would be far more difficult.”

The White House declined to comment on Mr. Obama’s choice or when he would announce it.

“We’re not going to speculate on this in advance of the president’s decision,” Eric Schultz, the deputy White House press secretary said.

Ms. Lynch declined through a spokesman to comment.

Senator Charles E. Schumer, a New York Democrat who twice recommended Ms. Lynch to the White House as United States attorney, said she would make “an outstanding attorney general.”

She supervised the successful prosecution of a white New York police officer who sodomized a Haitian immigrant, Abner Louima, with a broken broomstick in 1997. The case became a national symbol of police brutality.

As United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ms. Lynch oversaw all federal prosecutions in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island. The office’s many terrorism cases have given it a reputation as a hub of expertise on national security matters. She also leads the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, a panel of United States attorneys who advise the attorney general on policy and operational issues.

If Ms. Lynch is nominated and confirmed, it would be the first time in nearly two centuries that a president had elevated a United States attorney directly to the position of attorney general. The last time was in 1817, when President James Monroe chose William Wirt, the top prosecutor in eastern Virginia, for the job.

Ms. Lynch, who was born in Greensboro, N.C., has undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard.

After graduating law school in 1984, she spent six years as an associate for the New York law firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel before becoming a federal prosecutor. She rose through the ranks to become the chief assistant United States attorney in 1998 and was nominated the following year to lead the office for the remainder of President Bill Clinton’s term. Before returning to the job in 2010, she was a partner at Hogan & Hartson, the large law firm now known as Hogan Lovells.

12120: Cartoonish Brush Off.

From The New York Daily News…

Obama ‘watermelon toothpaste’ cartoon in Boston tabloid called racist

The Boston Herald removed Jerry Holbert’s editorial cartoon and apologizes after storm of critics rip the association of President Obama and watermelon toothpaste as ‘stupid.’

By Jason Molinet | NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

There’s an ink stain on Jerry Holbert’s résumé after the veteran editorial cartoonist for the Boston Herald made a reference featuring President Obama that’s been decried as racist.

The cartoon — “White House invader got farther than originally thought” — shows Obama brushing his teeth in a White House bathroom while an intruder bathes in the tub behind him. The man says: “Have you tried the new watermelon flavored toothpaste?”

Angry posters on social media derided the watermelon remark as racist.

“Really? No one notice the racism in this Obama cartoon in the Boston Herald? Really? Everyone else did,” tweeted cartoonist Mike Lynch.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick weighed in, calling the editorial offensive. “Frankly my expectations are not very high, it was stupid,” Patrick told Mass Live.

The Herald issued an apology and removed the offensive editorial cartoon from its website Wednesday.

“As Jerry Holbert discussed on Boston Herald Radio this morning, his cartoon satirizing the U.S. Secret Service breach at the White House has offended some people and to them we apologize,” The Herald said in a statement. “His choice of imagery was absolutely not meant to be hurtful. We stand by Jerry, who is a veteran cartoonist with the utmost integrity.”

Holbert is a New Jersey native who received the National Cartoonist Society’s Editorial Cartoon Award in 2000. He took to Boston Herald Radio Wednesday morning and insisted the offensive phrase was not intentional.

“I did the sketch and because it’s calling for a new flavor I thought I’d do something different than spearmint and peppermint,” Holbert said. “I remember my son’s girlfriend bought some toothpaste in the past and left it in the closet upstairs. I went and pulled it out. It’s a kid’s Colgate watermelon flavor. I thought, ‘That would be good.’”

Interestingly, the cartoon syndicate where Holbert’s work also appears reached out Tuesday night and asked him to alter his latest submission. He obliged and in the syndicate version the toothpaste reference is raspberry flavor.

“They said there’s a racial element to it,” Holbert said. “I disagreed to be honest, but I [fixed] it anyway. I didn’t think people thought like this anymore. I didn’t think of it at all when I did the cartoon.”

But the cartoonist never flagged his editors at the Herald.

“I don’t think along the lines of racial jokes, I never do. Naive, stupid those kind of things I understand, but racist I’m definitely not,” Holbert said. “I want to apologize to anyone I offended that was hurt by the cartoon. It was not my intention.”

Back to the drawing board.

12101: Eric Holder Is No Coward.

From The New York Times…

A Champion of Civil Rights, if Not of Civil Liberties, Just Like His Hero

By Matt Apuzzo

WASHINGTON — Something was not quite right when Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. had his photograph taken recently at Department of Justice headquarters. The wrong painting was on the wall behind him.

Aides scurried to reorganize the portraits so subsequent photographs would capture Mr. Holder, in the best light, framed by his hero: Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

Mr. Holder, who announced his resignation Thursday, frequently invoked the Kennedy legacy as he made civil rights the centerpiece of his six-year tenure. He succeeded in reducing lengthy prison sentences, opened civil rights investigations against police departments in record numbers and challenged identification requirements for voters.

“I have loved the Department of Justice ever since, as a young boy, I watched Robert Kennedy prove during the civil rights movement how the department can — and must always — be a force for that which is right,” Mr. Holder said at a White House farewell on Thursday.

But Mr. Holder has continued Mr. Kennedy’s work in another way, one he is less likely to embrace but is no less part of his legacy. Like Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Holder has frustrated and confounded even his staunchest allies for his views on civil liberties.

Mr. Holder approved of the National Security Agency’s authority to sweep up millions of phone records of Americans accused of no crime. He subpoenaed journalists and led a crackdown on their sources. He defended the F.B.I.’s right to track people’s cars without warrants and the president’s right to kill an American who had joined Al Qaeda.

“This is an attorney general who displayed an odd approach, an odd schism between civil rights and civil liberties,” said Elizabeth Goitein, a lawyer with the Brennan Center for Justice, a group that frequently supported Mr. Holder’s civil rights policies.

A child of the civil rights era, Mr. Holder, 63, was shaped by images of violence in Selma, Ala. He relished his place in history as the nation’s first African-American attorney general and used that to engage in discussions of race and inequality, even when President Obama was reluctant to do so.

A native of New York City, Mr. Holder spoke about being stopped without cause by the police and, after the recent shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., Mr. Holder sought to go there as the administration’s emissary.

But those who cheered him one day were bewildered the next as Mr. Holder, the most prominent liberal voice in the Obama administration, took positions giving the government wide authority to keep tabs on Americans.

It happened so often, it prompted a game of amateur psychology among civil liberties groups: Was Mr. Holder, at heart, unsympathetic to issues of privacy and government overreach? Was he overrun by other national security officials? Or had he been persuaded that keeping America safe required taking positions he might otherwise have opposed?

“At the end of the day, does it matter?” Ms. Goitein said. “If civil liberties were on his mind, and we didn’t see it, well, that and $2 will get you a cup of coffee.”

Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, praised Mr. Holder’s tenure but acknowledged being frequently frustrated.

“You build your legacy when you can, and you cut your losses when you can’t,” Mr. Romero said. “The attorney general cut his losses on civil liberties when it comes to national security.”

No attorney general is without critics, and each leaves a complicated legacy. Mr. Holder has faced criticism for not prosecuting the major figures in the financial collapse. Republicans grilled Mr. Holder and his aides over the flawed Fast and Furious gun trafficking investigation, which led to a vote holding Mr. Holder in contempt of Congress.

But Mr. Holder’s tenure is unique in that his biggest supporters are also among his loudest critics. Groups like the A.C.L.U. cheered his call to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for minor drug crimes and his push for prisoner clemency. They applauded when Mr. Holder, like no attorney general before him, cast the drug war in civil rights terms. He spoke of broken families and a cycle of prison and poverty.

Those same groups have sued Mr. Holder over government surveillance. They demanded documents — and were rebuffed — detailing the department’s policies for tracking cars using hidden transmitters. They fought to release the legal opinions authorizing the attack that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an American who joined Al Qaeda.

Under Mr. Holder, the government accepted the theory that records that might someday be relevant to a terrorism investigation were immediately relevant — and could be seized. That analysis underpinned the N.S.A.’s collection of phone records.

“If you were to ask, ‘What would Bobby Kennedy do if he were sitting in Eric Holder’s chair?’ You might not find many differences, on all these issues,” said Thomas J. Perelli, a lawyer who served as Mr. Holder’s associate attorney general.

Though Mr. Kennedy presided in a different era with different laws, he similarly used wide surveillance authority to target Communists and other threats. He authorized wiretaps of civil rights leaders including the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Bobby was certainly not shy about using wiretapping and used it as much as any attorney general,” said Evan Thomas, a journalist and Kennedy biographer. “Holder is following in Bobby’s footsteps in that sense.”

In a brief interview Thursday, Mr. Holder said he saw no contradiction in his views.

“I have national security responsibilities that obviously I have to take seriously, but I perform that national security responsibility in a way that is consistent with how I view these other civil rights issues,” he said. “There is a consistency there that, if they examine it closely, I think they can find.”

Asked about the N.S.A.’s authority to seize phone records, Mr. Holder said he supports proposals to limit that authority. But he declined to say why he accepted it in the first place.

Those who worked closest with him say Mr. Holder is easygoing and eager to be liked. But it was the reality of the office, they say, that underpinned his opinions.

“You see the intelligence every day. You see the threats come in, you see the plots getting thwarted, and you become a believer,” said Amy Jeffress, a lawyer at Arnold & Porter and a former counselor to Mr. Holder on national security. “That makes it harder to throw out entire programs because they’ll be unpopular with civil liberties groups.”

Mr. Holder’s Justice Department started more investigations than any of his predecessors into government officials who disclosed information to reporters. He subpoenaed journalists’ emails and phone records, and demanded their testimony. The New York Times reporter James Risen, who has refused to reveal his sources about information on Iran, remains under subpoena.

Mr. Holder acknowledged in the interview that those efforts went too far at times and pointed to new rules limiting investigations involving journalists.

Mr. Holder said the changes he helped enact in the criminal justice system were his proudest accomplishment. “We turned this aircraft carrier around after years of overreliance on incarceration,” he said.

Sherrilyn Ifill, the president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said that in that area, Mr. Holder’s legacy was secure. “On the issue of civil rights, he has been the most engaged and extraordinary attorney general,” she said.

Michael D. Shear and Charlie Savage contributed reporting.

12080: Veep Bleeps.

The New York Post reported on recent gaffes delivered by Vice President Joe Biden, prompting the question: Did America’s first Black president choose a culturally clueless veep?

Gaffe-a-minute: VP invokes senator accused of harassment

By Geoff Earle

WASHINGTON — Vice President Joe Biden on Friday committed his third stumble of the week when he praised former Oregon Republican Sen. Bob Packwood at a Democratic Women’s Leadership Forum — perhaps not the best venue to recall a figure identified with sexual harassment.

Biden invoked Packwood — who quit Congress in 1995 after 19 women accused him of making unwanted advances — while slamming the modern Republican Party for straying from the moderates who cooperated with Democrats in an earlier era.

“It was Republicans who expanded access to the polls. It was Republicans in the Judiciary Committee that did motor voter [registration]. It was Republicans that were involved, guys like Mac Mathias and Packwood and so many others. It wasn’t Democrats alone,” Biden said.

His slip came on a day when he was promoting the new White House “It’s On Us” campaign to discourage violence against women.

Biden’s comment capped a week in which he apologized after using the term “Shylocks” — a term with centuries-old anti-Semitic overtones — to refer to unscrupulous lenders preying on veterans.

Biden also referred to “the wisest man in the Orient” — using an antiquated term for Asia quickly red-flagged by critics.

11945: Extra! Extra! Offensive! Ignorance!

From The New York Post…

Obama called the N-word in headline

By Kevin Fasick and Laura Italiano

The WHAT in the White House?

Well-heeled West Villagers will be in for a rude surprise when they open the latest copy of their local newspaper and see the headline, “The N----r in the White House” — except without the dashes.

The shocking headline in the WestView News is a reference to President Obama and sits at the top of Page 15 above an opinion piece that criticizes what it calls the anti-black “racism” of far-right voters.

The convoluted screed by author and journalist James Lincoln Collier is actually a pro-Obama piece — but that didn’t stop West Villagers from decrying the printing of the slur.

“It’s disrespectful in any context to refer to the president of the United States as the N-word,” said one West Villager, Eugene May.

“If you were quoting something or referring to the historic context of the word being used, I can understand the justification,” said May, 31.

Any ironic intent in calling Obama by the word was no consolation, he said.

“It seems he’s just using it for shock value,” May added.

Fellow West Villager Joe Megie, a self-described “black Republican,” also blasted the headline.

“My first take is, it’s sad,” said Megie, 38, the CFO of Gay Men’s Health Crisis.

What, neighbors wondered, was the neighborhood monthly’s 86-year-old editor/publisher, George Capsis, thinking?

“The editorial staff continues to object” to the use of the word, Capsis writes in a head-scratcher of an explanation.

“In this article, however, Jim reminded me that The New York Times avoids using the word which convinced me that WestView should,” he added.

Collier “wanted to use the word” to “shock us into accepting that there are people who believe and use this outrageous word,” Capsis went on.

In the piece, Collier, an author of novels for young adults, complains that “far-right voters hate Obama because he is black.”

“The simple truth is that there is still in America an irreducible measure of racism,” the piece reads, going on to condemn how “America’s increasing tolerance of far-right opinion has made racism more acceptable.”

Capsis, who did not respond to email and voicemail requests for comment on Saturday, must have been expecting backlash from the toxic header.

Below the piece ran another op-ed, written by an African-American columnist and titled, “The Headline Offends Me.”

“The decision to use the headline feels misguided to me,” Alvin Hall writes. “I don’t see how its use benefits anyone, but I do feel all too clearly how it deeply offends me.”

Capsis is no stranger to controversy. Last year, he slapped state Sen. Brad Hoylman in the face at a rally for mayoral candidate Christine Quinn, whom he blamed for causing the closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital.

11929: Smalling Mistake On World Cup.

From DiversityInc…

World Cup: Obama Confused With English Defender

By Chris Hoenig

Talk about a “World Cup”: a souvenir mug celebrating the English soccer team includes the American President’s face on it.

UK discount company Wholesale Clearance UK ordered 2,000 of the mugs from an unnamed supplier, according to the UK’s Metro. Each was to include the picture of one member from England’s World Cup squad.

When they opened up the shipment, they were surprised to find President Barack Obama’s “mug” on the outside of the mug labeled for England defender Chris Smalling.

“The Dorset company in question was given the seemingly easy job of sourcing royalty-free pictures of each England squad player to use on the England mugs, along with other accompanying items such as England coasters, England mouse mats etc.,” Karl Baxter of Wholesale Clearance told the newspaper.

“They passed this onto to their young, bright eyed and bushy tailed new apprentice. The designs were proofed and signed off by their boss, who had clearly had a heavy night with the lads playing poker and before he’d had his first vat of coffee the following morning.

“They immediately contacted us and 2,000 of the England items was dispatched to our warehouse. We eagerly unpacked them and, indeed it turned out that the Chris Smalling cup had Barack Obama’s head on instead of Chris’s.”

While the President is athletic, standing 6’1” and regularly playing basketball, it would seem an intern and a late-night poker game don’t stand up as the greatest of excuses for confusing the most powerful man in the world and the 6’4” Manchester United player.

“The comment “Ooops” does not even come close to describing the reaction to the insult, the idiocy and the stupidity of the mistake,” Peter Fay commented via Facebook.

Other readers enjoyed some jokes at both the souvenir company and English national team’s expense.

“They have a better chance of shifting the Obama mugs than the actual England team ones,” Ruari Thomson joked, referencing England’s first-round exit from the tournament. “Better luck in 2018 lads!”

11768: My Brother’s Keeper.

From The New York Times…

Obama Starts Initiative for Young Black Men, Noting His Own Experience

By Michael D. Shear

WASHINGTON — President Obama spoke in unusually personal terms at the White House on Thursday about how he got high as a teenager and was at times indifferent to school as he deplored what he called America’s numbness to the plight of young black men.

Drawing on the power of his own racial identity in a way he seldom does as president, Mr. Obama sought to connect his personal narrative about growing up without a father to that of a generation of black youth in the United States who he said faced higher odds of failure than their peers.

“I didn’t have a dad in the house,” Mr. Obama said as he announced a $200 million, five-year initiative, My Brother’s Keeper, to help black youth. “And I was angry about it, even though I didn’t necessarily realize it at the time. I made bad choices. I got high without always thinking about the harm that it could do. I didn’t always take school as seriously as I should have. I made excuses. Sometimes I sold myself short.”

Mr. Obama said the idea for My Brother’s Keeper occurred to him in the aftermath of the killing of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager whose death two years ago sparked a roiling national debate about race and class. He called the challenge of ensuring success for young men of color a “moral issue for our country” as he ticked off the statistics: black boys who are more likely to be suspended from school, less likely to be able to read, and almost certain to encounter the criminal justice system as either a perpetrator or a victim.

“We just assume this is an inevitable part of American life, instead of the outrage that it is,” Mr. Obama told an audience of business leaders, politicians, philanthropists, young black men from a Chicago support program, and Mr. Martin’s parents. “It’s like a cultural backdrop for us in movies, in television. We just assume, of course it’s going to be like that.”

“These statistics should break our hearts,” he added. “And they should compel us to act.”

Mr. Obama’s remarks come as the end of his time in office is in sight, with the president mindful of the legacy that his administration will leave behind on race and other civil rights issues like same-sex marriage and immigration. Mr. Obama has embraced the right of gay men and lesbians to marry, and Eric H. Holder Jr., his attorney general, has aggressively sought to ensure that all eligible Americans have access to the ballot box.

Although Mr. Obama nods on occasion to his history-making status as the nation’s first black president, he has sought to avoid being defined entirely by his race. He most often emphasizes that he is the leader of all Americans. But in recent years, the president has spoken more about the black experience in the United States — most strikingly after the death of Mr. Martin, when Mr. Obama said, “If I had son, he’d look like Trayvon.”

On Thursday, the president combined his personal remarks on race with a broader call to focus on “the larger agenda”: economic insecurity and stalled mobility for Americans of any color.

“The plain fact is there are some Americans who, in the aggregate, are consistently doing worse in our society,” Mr. Obama said, “groups that have had the odds stacked against them in unique ways that require unique solutions, groups who’ve seen fewer opportunities that have spanned generations.”

The president also called for action from business leaders, members of religious groups, actors, athletes and anyone who can intervene in the lives of black men before they veer off course. He said a White House task force would examine ways the federal government can help, too.

“It doesn’t take that much, but it takes more than we are doing now,” Mr. Obama said. “We will beat the odds. We need to give every child — no matter what they look like, no matter where they live — the ability to meet their full potential.”

He also challenged black men to do better themselves, and said they must not make excuses for their failures or blame society for the poor decisions they have already made.

“You will have to reject the cynicism that says the circumstances of your birth or society’s lingering injustices necessarily define you and your future,” Mr. Obama said.

“It will take courage, but you will have to tune out the naysayers who say if the deck is stacked against you, you might as well just give up or settle into the stereotype.”

“Nothing will be given to you,” he said.

Thursday’s announcement is unlikely to satisfy Mr. Obama’s most vocal critics in the black population, who have accused him of forgetting his roots.

Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of African and African-American studies at Duke, said the president’s initiative did not focus enough on the more systemic forms of racism in America.

“These young men weren’t killed because of structural situations that didn’t give them opportunities,” Mr. Neal said.

“It’s other kinds of racism and violence that those boys were dealing with. The initiative is not addressing those things.”

The initiative is the latest example of Mr. Obama’s efforts to bypass Congress, which has stymied him on many of the economic policies he considers central to the lives of blacks.

In a show of support, leaders from more than a dozen nonprofit foundations and executives from some of the nation’s largest companies joined the president, along with Magic Johnson, the retired basketball superstar, and Gen. Colin L. Powell, the former secretary of state.

White House officials said the foundations had pledged to spend at least $200 million over the next five years in a search for solutions to the problems black men face with early-childhood development, school readiness, educational opportunity, discipline, parenting and the criminal justice system.

“This is not a one-year proposition,” Mr. Obama said. “It’s not a two-year proposition. It’s going to take time. We’re dealing with complicated issues that run deep in our history, run deep in our society and are entrenched in our minds.”

Gail C. Christopher, vice president for program strategy for the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, which has committed $750,000 to My Brother’s Keeper, said the initial money would be used for hiring staff, consultants and firms “to get something established that has legs.”

But more money will be needed for the initiative to have an impact, Ms. Christopher said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s a drop in the ocean of money that will be needed to transform the opportunity structures in our society,” she said.

Mr. Obama acknowledged the limits of an approach that relies little on the government. But he offered hope in the power of his office to bring together people as diverse as the Rev. Al Sharpton, the television host and civil rights campaigner, and Bill O’Reilly, the conservative host on Fox News and best-selling novelist. Both attended the event at the White House.

“If I can persuade, you know, Sharpton and O’Reilly to be in the same meeting,” the president said, “then it means that there are people of good faith who want to get some stuff done.”

11763: Belated Medals Of Honor.

From The New York Post…

Veteran shocked to hear of Medal of Honor, 40 years later

By Associated Press

MIAMI — Melvin Morris was commanding a strike force on a mission near Chi Lang, South Vietnam, when his special forces group came under attack and a fellow commander was killed near an enemy bunker.

Despite massive enemy fire directed at him and his men, hitting him three times, the 72-year-old Morris told The Associated Press on Friday that he was able to get to his fallen comrade and recover the body. He also retrieved a map that included strategic information that would have been trouble if it fell into enemy hands.

More than four decades later, as a way to try to correct potential acts of bias spanning three wars, President Barack Obama will bestow the Medal of Honor on the Florida man and 23 other veterans. They come after a decade-long congressionally mandated review of minorities who may have been passed over for the U.S. military’s highest honor because of long-held prejudices.

Morris became one of the first soldiers to don a “green beret” in 1961 and volunteered twice for deployments to Vietnam during the war. After his Sept 17, 1969, ordeal, the then-Staff Sgt. Morris received a Distinguished Service Cross in 1970. He said he never realized that being black might have kept the higher honor from him.

“I never really did worry about decorations,” Morris said.

He got a huge surprise when the Army contacted him in May and arranged for Obama to call him at his Cocoa, Fla., home.

“I fell to my knees, I was shocked,” Morris said. “President Obama said he was sorry this didn’t happen before. He said this should have been done 44 years ago.”

The unusual mass ceremony, scheduled for March 18, will honor veterans, most of Hispanic or Jewish heritage, who already had been recognized with the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second-highest military award.

Morris is one of only three of the recipients still living. The others are Spc. 4 Santiago J. Erevia of San Antonio, cited for courage during a search and clear mission near Tam Ky, South Vietnam, on May 21, 1969; and Sgt. 1st Class Jose Rodela of San Antonio, cited for courage during combat operations in Phuoc Long province, South Vietnam, on Sept. 1, 1969.

Among those posthumously honored is Pfc. Leonard M. Kravitz, the uncle of musician Lenny Kravitz.

The Army conducted the review under a directive from Congress in the 2002 National Defense Authorization Act. The law required that the record of each Jewish American and Hispanic American veteran who received a Service Cross during or after World War II be reviewed for possible upgrade to the Medal of Honor.

The Pentagon said the Army reviewed the cases of the 6,505 recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars and found an eligible pool of 600 soldiers who may have been Jewish or Hispanic.

Of the 24, eight fought in the Vietnam War, nine in the Korean War and seven in World War II.

“From the beginning of the encounter, until he was medically evacuated, Morris reacted to each situation with a professionalism, and single-minded determination possessed by few men,” according to the information released by the Army about Morris.

He had to keep the medal a secret since Obama’s call and said he’s happy to be honored, but that it’s even more important to recognize his friends that never returned home.

“Those that aren’t even here to receive their medals, those are my heroes,” said Morris, who retired from the Army in 1986 as a sergeant first class. “They gave their whole life. They gave everything. They gave it all.”

The posthumous recipients are:

• Sgt. Candelario Garcia, born in Corsicana, Texas, for courageous actions during combat operations in Lai Khe, South Vietnam, on Dec. 8, 1968.

• Spc. 4 Leonard L. Alvarado, born in Bakersfield, Calif., died during combat operations in Phuoc Long province, South Vietnam, on Aug. 12, 1969.

• Staff Sgt. Felix M. Conde-Falcon, born in Juncos, Puerto Rico, killed during combat operations in Ap Tan Hoa, South Vietnam, on April 4, 1969.

• Spc. 4 Ardie R. Copas of Fort Pierce, Fla. killed during combat operations near Ph Romeas Hek, Cambodia, on May 12, 1970.

• Spc. 4 Jesus S. Duran of San Bernardino, Calif., for courageous actions during combat operations in South Vietnam on April 10, 1969.

• Cpl. Joe R. Baldonado, born in Colorado, killed during combat operations in Kangdong, North Korea, on Nov. 25, 1950.

• Cpl. Victor H. Espinoza of El Paso, Texas, for courageous actions during combat operations in Chorwon, North Korea, on Aug. 1, 1952.

• Sgt. Eduardo C. Gomez, born in Los Angeles, for courageous actions during combat operations in Tabu-dong, South Korea, on Sept. 3, 1950.

• Pfc. Leonard M. Kravitz, born in New York City, killed during combat operations in Yangpyong, South Korea, on March 6-7, 1951.

• Master Sgt. Juan E. Negron of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, for courageous actions during combat operations in Kalma-Eri, North Korea, on April 28, 1951.

• Master Sgt. Mike C. Pena, born in Newgulf, Texas, killed in action during combat operations in Waegwan, South Korea, on Sept. 4, 1950.

• Pvt. Demensio Rivera, born in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, for courageous actions during combat operations in Changyong-ni, South Korea, on May 23, 1951.

• Pvt. Miguel A. Vera, born in Puerto Rico, killed during combat operations in Chorwon, North Korea, on Sept. 21, 1952.

• Sgt. Jack Weinstein of Saint Francis, Kan. for courageous actions during combat operations in Kumsong, South Korea, on Oct. 19, 1951.

• Pvt. Pedro Cano, born in La Morita, Mexico, for courageous actions during combat operations in Schevenhutte, Germany, on Dec. 3, 1944.

• Pvt. Joe Gandara, born in Santa Monica, Calif., for courageous actions during combat operations in Amfreville, France, on June 9, 1944.

• Pfc. Salvador J. Lara, of Riverside, Calif., for courageous actions during combat operations in Aprilia, Italy, May 27-28, 1944.

• Sgt. William F. Leonard, of Lockport, N.J., for courageous actions during combat operations near St. Die, France, on Nov. 7, 1944.

• Staff Sgt. Manuel V. Mendoza, born in Miami, Ariz., for courageous actions during combat operations on Mount Battaglia, Italy, on Oct. 4, 1944.

• Sgt. Alfred B. Nietzel, born in New York City, for courageous actions during combat operations in Heistern, Germany, on Nov. 18, 1944.

• 1st Lt. Donald K. Schwab, born Hooper, Neb., for courageous actions during combat operations near Lure, France, on Sept. 17, 1944.

11709: Global Ignorance.

Not sure what this campaign from Turkey is trying to communicate. Pretty sure it’s insulting, misogynistic and racist.

From Ads of the World.

11708: Sarah Palin And MLK.

MLK Day would not be complete without color commentary from Sarah Palin.

11634: You’ve Come A Long Way, Barra.

Reuters reported General Motors is elevating Global Product Development Chief Mary Barra to CEO, making her the first woman to run the automaker. Since GM was founded in 1908, the move was arguably long overdue. However, it must be pointed out that a White woman still rose to the top before a Black executive. Then again, one might argue that President Barack Obama officially took over GM during the bailout.

General Motors names product chief Mary Barra as new CEO

DETROIT, Dec 10 (Reuters) - General Motors Co on Tuesday said Chief Executive Dan Akerson will step down next month and be replaced by Mary Barra, the company’s global product development chief, marking the first time a major U.S. automaker has been led by a woman.

The company said in a statement that Akerson, who is also the chairman, will leave on Jan. 15, pulling ahead his planned departure by several months. His wife was recently diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer.

Barra, 51, the executive vice president for global product development, purchasing and supply chain, was elected by the company board as the next CEO and will become a director. Theodore Solso, 66, will succeed Akerson, 65, as chairman.

11615: White Is Not Right.

Not sure what this Nigerian campaign is trying to communicate. Pretty sure someone’s gonna be offended.

From Ads of the World.