Obama To Hold Ramadan Dinner At White House

[alsame]

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/2009/09/obama-to-hold-ramadan-dinner-at-white-house.php


President Obama will hold a dinner to celebrate Ramadan tonight at the White House.

During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims fast during daylight hours. The fast is broken after sunset with a dinner, or iftar, usually as a community. Tonight's dinner will be held at 8 p.m. ET.

The dinner will also "highlight the contributions of American Muslims," according to the White House. A guest list will be released later today.

Obama is not the first president to celebrate the Islamic holiday. President Clinton was the first to hold official iftars, and President Bush continued the tradition throughout his two terms.



Live Stream tonight at http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/

[joeybee12]

1. What's that sound?

Oh, freeper heads exploding.

[scheming daemons]

2. Actually, they better not say shit about it.... Bush started the practice in 2002

[spinbaby]

4. But that's different

Because Bush isn't a secret foreign Muslin like Obama.

:rofl:

[bullwinkle428]

5. Prediction : Hannity will INSIST that Obama is initiating the tradition this year

just to work his pathetic cultists into a lather (*cough* "VA death books" *cough*), and won't ever attempt to offer a correction down the road.

[jenmito]

14. And I can only IMAGINE the conspiracy theory Glenn Beck will invent! n/t

[alsame]

6. That won't stop them - they'll freak out about the guest list or the

contributions of American Muslims cited by the President.

[joeybee12]

10. Oh no he didn't! And hawaii was part of Kenya until 1982...and

birht certificates are supposed to be in crayon...and....

[Cha]

3. The goodness is our whole world

needs to be celebrated.

[undeterred]

7. I tole you heez a Muslin.

:hide:

[jenmito]

8. K&R.

[jenmito]

9. Isn't it funny how we haven't heard how in Egypt, the best dates (the food not the calendar) are

called "Obama dates" because they love Obama and want to honor him? I FINALLY heard ONE person talk about that today-Evan Coleman-MSNBC terrorism analyst. He was talking about how we're much safer under Obama because he has so much good will in the Muslim world. He was disputing Cheney's claim about how we're less safe under Obama. He went on to point out that the WORST dates were named the "Bush dates." :D

[alsame]

11. I knew about the "Obama dates", but I never heard

about the "Bush dates". :rofl:

[jenmito]

12. It IS funny! It was in the article posted here a while ago:

Hashim named his poorer dates after Israeli Foreign Minister Avidgor Lieberman, a hard-liner who is particularly disliked in Egypt for once saying its president, Hosni Mubarak, can "go to hell."

Other low-quality dates were named after Lieberman's predecessor, Tzipi Livni, and after Bush. They all go for about 17 cents a pound (36 cents a kilogram)."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ighdslVwzR6_4JpA5n5K9ZNEpXBwD9A7CTPO0

[alsame]

15. LOL. We should start doing that with food too - we could name

rotten things after Repubs. :rofl:

[jenmito]

17. I already do in my own house!

:D

[Parker CA]

16. I heard him say that this morning and lost it laughing. Hilarious how they have the "Bush dates"

that are the worst of the selections. Such an apt name, especially when compared to the "Obama dates." I want to try some!!

[jenmito]

18. I only wish they had "Cheney dates" unless they DID but were all thrown out before

they got to the market. :D

[Parker CA]

19. They're probably the rotted and moldy ones sitting at the bottom of the trash bins. nt.

[WHAT]

27. the bush dates with pits...or just the pits

could be called cheneys...

[alsame]

20. And the bitter ones are "McCain dates". nt

[jberryhill]

21. Those are just the pits /nt

[nolabear]

24. Well, I know I'm playing to the right crowd at least. n/t

[nolabear]

23. Cheney dates are the pits.

I'm just sayin'

[Lex]

13. Cool.

:thumbsup:

[onenote]

22. some links for folks to use in response to the predictable attacks

As noted, it is inevitable that the rushes, hannitys, becks and other pinheads will try to turn this into some conspiratorial act by Obama. Just so folks are prepared to bombard anyone who repeats such nonsense, here are a couple of links:

Bush hosts iftar two months after 9/11: http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-10/2007-10-05-voa1.cfm

Bush hosts iftar in 2007: http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-10/2007-10-05-voa1.cfm

[alsame]

25. Guest list - big crowd!

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
___________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release September 1, 2009

Below is a list of some of the expected attendees at tonight’s White House dinner celebrating Ramadan:

CABINET
Secretary Robert Gates, Department of Defense
Attorney General Eric Holder, Department of Justice
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services

DEPUTY CABINET SECRETARIES
Deputy Secretary Dennis Hightower, Department of Commerce
Deputy Secretary Tony Miller, Department of Education

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
Congressman Andre Carson (Indiana 7th)
Congressman John Conyers (Michigan 14th)
Congressman Keith Ellison (Minnesota 5th)
Congressman Rush Holt (New Jersey 12th)
Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN)

DIPLOMATIC CORPS
Ambassador Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al Hussein, Jordan
Ambassador Adel A.M. Al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia
Ambassador Husain Haqqani, Pakistan
Ambassador Erlan A. Idrissov, Kazakhstan
Ambassador His Excellency Said Tayeb Jawad, Afghanistan
Ambassador Aziz Mekouar, Morocco
Ambassador Peter N.R.O. Ogego, Kenya
Ambassador Roble Olhaye, D’jibouti
Ambassador Michael Oren, Israel
Ambassador Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat, Indonesia
Ambassador Klaus Scharioth, Germany
Ambassador Meera Shankar, India
Ambassador Nabi Sensoy, Turkey
Ambassador Sir Nigel Elton Sheinwald, United Kingdom
Ambassador Sameh Hassan Shoukry, Egypt
Ambassador Samir Shakir Mahmood Sumaida’ie, Iraq
Ambassador Pierre Nicolas Vimont, France
Chargé d'Affaires Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Bangladesh
Chargé d'Affaires Ilango Karuppanan, Malaysiav
Chargé d'Affaires Mohamed O Maiga,
Chargé d'Affaires Angela Oi Foong Shim, Brunei
Chargé d'Affaires Baba Gana Wakil, Nigeria
Mr. Maen Areikat, Chief of Mission, PLO

COMMUNITY MEMBERS
Ms. Bilquis Abdul-Qaadir, University of Memphis
Professor Azizah Al-Hibri, University of Richmond School of Law
Ms. Reema Ali, Karamah: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights
Mr. Hasan Chandoo, Oppenheimer & Co.
Nathan Diament, Director, Institute for Public Affairs, Orthodox Union*
Imam Plemon El-Amin, Atlanta Masjid al-Islam
Mr. Wahid Hamid, PepsiCo
Ms. Dina Hammad
Mr. Lutfi Hassan
Ms. Nashala Hearn
Ms. Rosalind Hearn
Imam Yahya Hendi, Chaplain, Georgetown University
Pastor Joel Hunter, Northland Church*
Mr. Nooman Husain
Mr. Imad Hussain
Mr. Sanford Ibrahim, CEO, Radian Group
Mr. Jameel Jaffer, Staff Attorney, ACLU
Mrs. Elsheba Khan
Dr. Mansur Khan, UMMA Community Clinic
Ms. Farhana Khera, Muslim Advocates
Lt. Commander Abuhena Saifulislam, U.S. Marine Corps
Mr. Kareem Salama
Imam Yusuf Saleem, Masjid Muhammad
Dr. Ingrid Mattson, President, Islamic Society of North America
Mr. Farooq Mitha
Ms. Dalia Mogahed, Director, Gallup Center for Muslim Studies*
Ms. Hutham Olayan, Olayan America Corp.
Mr. Eboo Patel, Interfaith Youth Corps*
Imam Yusuf Saleem, Masjid Muhammad
Rabbi David Saperstein, Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism*
Ms. Mina Trudeau, Executive Director, El Fatiha Foundation
Mr. J. Saleh Williams, Congressional Muslim Staffers Association
Mr. Mohamed Zakariya, Zakariya Calligraphy

*denotes members of the President’s Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Expected-attendees-at-tonights-White-House-dinner-celebrating-Ramadan/

[SoxFan]

29. Damn it, I knew Dick Lugar was born in Yemen!!!

[treestar]

26. Good!

I await righties going into hysterics and then informing them that Bush did the same thing.

[Douglas Carpenter]

28. kick and recommended

[ensho]

30. good

nt