Just a few days after Christmas, more than one million of our fellow Americans lost a vital economic lifeline - the temporary insurance that helps folks make ends meet while they look for a job. Republicans in Congress went home for the holidays and let that lifeline expire. And for many of their constituents who are unemployed through no fault of their own, that decision will leave them with no income at all.
We make this promise to one another because it makes a difference to a mother who needs help feeding her kids while she's looking for work; to a father who needs help paying the rent while learning the skills to get a new and better job. And denying families that security is just plain cruel. We're a better country than that. We don't abandon our fellow Americans when times get tough - we keep the faith with them until they start that new job.While the GOP was home for the holidays, how did Obama spend some of his two-week trip across the Pacific? The Times described a bit of it:
He played golf eight out of 14 days. And he and the first lady, Michelle Obama, stepped out for dinner at a few of their favorite restaurants: Alan Wong's, Morimoto Waikiki (twice!) and Nobu Waikiki.
Island Snow, the president's favorite spot for shave ice - the island's syrupy, brightly colored and refreshingly sweet version of the snow cone - even had a message board in its back room reminding its employees to "wear Island Snow T-shirts all week long while the president is here!!"
Last week, Mr. Obama finally joined his daughters, who had been making solo shave ice runs for most of the trip, at the shop, emerging with a cherry and lemon-lime confection in a paper cone.
The president wished the crowd a "great 2014" and flashed the Hawaiian "shaka" greeting - an extended thumb and little finger often associated with surf culture - before wandering outside to enjoy his treat.
the shaved ice loaded with FDA approved aspartame sweetened kool aid!