> The center opened to the public on Friday, Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States and honoring the contributions of Black Americans. ...

President Obama talked about the power of our shared values.

“And it’s why the exhibits here focus not just on policies but on the shared values that make democracy possible. A belief in the intrinsic dignity and worth of all people, and that no one is above the law or beneath its protection. A belief in checks and balances in our government, and an accountability that comes with an independent judiciary, and a robust free press. A belief that our military and law enforcement owe allegiance not to any president or political party, but to the people and our Constitution. A belief in the peaceful transfer of power after the people have spoken in fair and free elections, recognizing that in a large, complicated society like ours, no group or faction gets its way 100% of the time. And a belief that qualities of character, honesty, integrity, kindness, compassion, a sense of duty and honor, those things matter in our public dealings, just as they do in our private lives.”

#presidentobama #barackobama
#michelleobama #uspol #uspolitics
#democrats #presidentiallibrary
#danrather #substack #chicago
#johnlegend #jenniferhudson
#brucespringsteen #common
#christinaaguilera #eddievedder
#theroots #steviewonder
#blackhistory #juneteenth
#juneteenth2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/steady/p/higher-ground

> The autocrats’ anxiety is entirely justified. Comedy is their kryptonite. They rule by intimidation, and when we laugh at them, their power to scare us evaporates. As Mark Twain wrote in The Mysterious Stranger, “Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.”

Which brings me to Stephen Colbert, who hosts his final “Late Show” tonight. ...

I seriously doubt tonight’s farewell episode is the last we’ll hear from the indefatigably creative Colbert, who will likely move to a new platform where he’ll enjoy more freedom and financial success than he had at CBS.

-- Andy Borowitz, May 21, 2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/borowitzreport/p/trump-will-lose-his-war-on-laughter-ad2

#andyborowitz #stephencolbert
#CBS #Trump #ShariRedstone #thelateshowwithstephencolbert
#marktwain #substack
#comedyiskryptonitetoautocrats
#PresidentObama #WarOnLaughter
#Paramount #BigfatBribe

The Obama Presidential Center

"You are America. Unconstrained by habit and convention. Unencumbered by what is, ready to seize what ought to be. For everywhere in this country, there are first steps to be taken, there is new ground to cover, there are more bridges to be crossed. America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We The People.’ ‘We Shall Overcome.’ ‘Yes We Can.’ That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.”

Opening June 19 2026, Chicago.

https://www.obama.org/

#Politics #PresidentObama #BarackObama #POTUS

Directive UFO

Over the last 50 years, only a few U.S. presidents have addressed the release of UFO/UAP files. President Carter once reported that he saw a possible “UFO” in 1969 and said he would publicly disclose UFO information. Due to national security concerns, nothing was released. President Reagan’s now-famous speech at the United Nations (and one I used in First World) said in part, “I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world.” Despite some claims that Reagan received classified UFO briefings, nothing was ever released. President Clinton said he looked into the mysterious Area 51, but nothing was released. While President Obama’s administration documented UAP encounters, nothing during his occupancy of The White House was ever released.

In February 2026, President Trump ordered the Pentagon and related agencies to identify and release records on UFOs/UAPs. On May 8, the Department of War released an initial tranche of files. For the first time in this country’s history, actual files on one of the most secretive, guarded, and mysterious subjects on this planet have been released to the general public. To say this is unprecedented in a presidential administration would be an understatement. I understand there will be future releases on a rolling basis from numerous government agencies. Suffice it to say, we look forward to them.

Ever since the Roswell incident in 1947, involving the apparent crash of an extraterrestrial spacecraft, there has been a simple question almost everyone wants answered—are we alone in the universe or not? In my view, there’s no question that we are not alone. But until definitive proof is presented, this subject will remain mired in one conspiracy theory after another. It’s one thing to think you saw a UFO; it’s another to take a picture of it. But until some sort of device, ship, or signal is received, it’s just speculation. Of course, this entire discussion is the basis of First Signal and the larger First World Universe I created.

The question of whether we are alone in the universe won’t be answered easily by the release of government files. But what we may see is the emergence of a pattern. Let’s think about this for a moment. In my film First Signal, aliens already live on Earth. Some participate in our society (Elisabeth Seward/James Griffin), while others (Cedric Yonah) are more observers and governors of the planet. Their technology, from communications to transportation, operates not only in secret but largely remains invisible to us. In the world of First Signal, a superior alien race knows the level of paranoia and doubt on the planet. Even Cedric’s antagonist, General Reager, states, “Do you think it’s a good idea for the public to know about this? Do you? They can barely handle bad weather?” Once the general public knows, one has to wonder whether there will be a global panic, acceptance, or worse. Then the overall question will be how the news of an alien civilization reconciles with the 84% of the global population that identifies with some form of religion. Trust me, this question is being discussed somewhere.

But what President Trump did with his order to release UFO/UAP files needed to be done. If this is the first step toward the absorption and dissemination of this information to prepare us for an inevitable announcement, I’m certainly all for it. Again, in my view, there’s no question that there are others in the universe. The James Webb Telescope alone has imaged parts of the universe that, until its launch, had only been speculation. There are estimates that there are approximately 2 trillion galaxies in the universe that we can see. Personally, I think it’s tremendously exciting to know that we are not alone. And if we are or have been visited by an alien civilization, we should count ourselves lucky. Because out of the billions and billions of galaxies and Earth-like planets, someone, somewhere, thought we, as a planet and as a species, despite all our issues, were worthy enough to visit.

Not alone.

Barack Obama in the Trump Era

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/barack-obama-in-the-trump-era