Welcome to a special edition of West Wing Week, featuring a Summer Social Media Mailbag Q&A session with White House staffers. But before we get to your questions, here are a couple scenes from the President's week.
August 21, 2014 | 4:30 | Public Domain
Welcome to a Special Edition of West Wing Week, featuring a Summer Social Media Mailbag q&a session with White House Staffers. But before we get to your questions, here are a couple scenes from the President's week.
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
As the Department of Defense has now announced, earlier this summer the President authorized an operation to attempt the rescue of American citizens who were kidnapped and held by ISIL against their will in Syria. The President authorized action at this time because it was the national security team’s assessment that these hostages were in danger with each passing day in ISIL custody. The U.S. Government had what we believed was sufficient intelligence, and when the opportunity presented itself, the President authorized the Department of Defense to move aggressively to recover our citizens. Unfortunately, that mission was ultimately not successful because the hostages were not present.
Given the need to protect our military’s operational capabilities, we will not be able to reveal the details of this operation. But the President could not be prouder of the U.S. forces who carried out this mission and the dedicated intelligence and diplomatic professionals who supported their efforts. Their effort should serve as another signal to those who would do us harm that the United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to hold their captors accountable.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the remaining hostages’ families and their loved ones during this difficult time. We continue to call for their immediate release. On behalf of all Americans, we keep these individuals and their families in our thoughts and prayers.
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:
President Obama said, “The extraordinary dedication these men and women bring to their new roles will greatly serve the American people. I am grateful they have agreed to serve in this Administration and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”
President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:
Patricia Welbourn Lorsch, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Patricia Welbourn Lorsch is a former journalist, teacher, and political activist. She wrote and taught journalism at the Calcutta School of Journalism and Mass Communication from 1972 to 1975. Previously, she was a staff writer for Weekend Magazine in Montreal until 1970. She was a feature writer for the Daily Express in London until 1964, and she began her journalism career in 1961 as a reporter for the Evening Standard in London. Ms. Lorsch has been on the Board of Cambridge Family and Children’s Service since 2008, where she is currently Chair of the Development Committee. She serves on the Board of the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is a member of the Democratic National Finance Committee. Ms. Lorsch received a B.A. in French and Russian Languages from McGill University and studied drama at the Centre International du Spectacle in Paris.
Rusty Rueff, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Rusty Rueff is Chairman Emeritus of the GRAMMY Foundation and a co-founder of the Patti and Rusty Rueff Foundation. He served as President and a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Conservatory Theater from 2003 to 2013. Mr. Rueff was CEO of SNOCAP, Inc. from 2005 to 2008. He was Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Electronic Arts from 1998 to 2005, and previously worked at PepsiCo from 1988 to 1998 and at Pratt & Whitney from 1986 to 1988. Mr. Rueff serves on the Purdue University College of Liberal Arts Dean’s Advisory Council, and is a benefactor of Purdue’s Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts. He is a corporate Director of Glassdoor.com, HireVue, runcoach, ReThink Books, 1-page, and Workboard. Mr. Rueff received a B.A. in Radio and Television and an M.S. in Counseling from Purdue University.
Orlan Boston, Appointee for Member, Board of Governors of the United Service Organizations, Incorporated
Orlan Boston is a Principal at Ernst & Young LLP, and has been the Americas Leader in the Transaction Advisory Services Life Sciences Practice since 2012. Prior to joining Ernst & Young LLP, Mr. Boston worked at Deloitte Consulting from 1997 to 2012. He became a Partner at Deloitte in 2007, and previously served in various positions which include National Life Sciences Mergers & Acquisitions Consulting Leader, a member of the National Markets & Services Leadership Committee, and Chief Diversity Officer. He has held roles in a number of organizations, including member of the NY LGBT Community Center Board of Directors, founder of The Center Young Leaders Council, contributing author of the I Am Eco-Warrior book, and executive producer of HBO’s The Out List documentary film. Mr. Boston received a B.S. from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
John D. Goldman, Appointee for General Trustee, Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
John D. Goldman was President of the San Francisco Symphony from 2001 to 2012 and has served on the Symphony’s Board of Governors since 1996. Previously, he was the Chairman of Willis Insurance Services of California, Inc. and CEO of Goldman Insurance Services. He served as Assistant Secretary of Transportation for the State of California from 1978 to 1981. Mr. Goldman was appointed to the Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2011. He served as the President of the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund and is the former President of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties. Mr. Goldman received a B.A. from Swarthmore College and an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Amalia Perea Mahoney, Appointee for General Trustee, Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Amalia Perea Mahoney was the Director of Galeria Amalia Mahoney, an art gallery in Chicago specializing in Latin American Art, from 1995 to 2001. She was first appointed to the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2013. Ms. Mahoney is a Steering Committee Member of the Women’s Board at the Goodman Theatre of Chicago and the University of Chicago Women’s Board. She is the former President of Friends of the St. Columbanus Food Pantry. She is a member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Chicago Committee of Human Rights Watch, Arts Club of Chicago, and the Aspen Institute Society of Fellows. Ms. Mahoney received a B.A. from Loyola University Chicago.
Alyssa Mastromonaco, Appointee for General Trustee, Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Alyssa Mastromonaco is a contributing editor to Marie Claire, a position she has held since 2014. Previously, she served as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House from 2011 to 2014, and as Assistant to the President and Director of Scheduling and Advance at the White House from 2009 to 2011. She also served as Director of Scheduling and Advance during President Obama’s first presidential campaign beginning in 2007. She has worked for President Obama since February 2005, when she joined his United States Senate office as Director of Scheduling, and then was Political Director for the Hopefund, President Obama’s Political Action Committee. Earlier in her career, she was Director of Scheduling for Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004, and before that, she was Press Secretary for Congressman Rick Boucher. She serves on the Board of Directors of HeadCount.org and the Board of Visitors of the University of Wisconsin. Ms. Mastromonaco received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Reginald Van Lee, Appointee for General Trustee, Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Reginald Van Lee is an Executive Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he has worked since 1984. He was named Partner at Booz Allen Hamilton in 1993 and Senior Partner in 2003. He was first appointed to the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2013 and served as a Member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities from 2009 to 2013. He is Chairman of the Washington Performing Arts Society and Vice-Chair of the board of the Washington Ballet. He is a Trustee of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporation and the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Mr. Van Lee is Chair of the board of the National CARES Mentoring Movement and a board member of the MAC AIDS Fund. He is Chairman Emeritus of the board of the Evidence Dance Company. Mr. Van Lee received a B.S. and an M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
Danielle Gray, Appointee for Member, Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States
Danielle Gray is a litigation partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, a position she has held since 2014. Ms. Gray recently served as Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary at the White House from 2013 to 2014. She was Deputy Director of the National Economic Council and Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy from 2011 to 2013. Ms. Gray was Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division in the Department of Justice from 2010 to 2011. From 2009 to 2010, she was Associate Counsel to the President at the White House. Prior to joining the Administration, Ms. Gray served as Deputy Policy Director for Obama for America from 2007 to 2008. From 2004 to 2005 and from 2006 to 2007, she practiced law in Washington, D.C. and New York. Ms. Gray served as a law clerk for Justice Stephen G. Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2005 to 2006 and for Judge Merrick B. Garland on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit from 2003 to 2004. In 2014, she was selected as a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, and was named a Lecturer of Law at Harvard Law School. Ms. Gray received an A.B. in Economics and Public Policy from Duke University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Barry Thom, Appointee for United States Commissioner, Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission
Barry Thom is currently the Deputy Regional Administrator, West Coast Region for the Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce, a position he has held since 2013. From 2007 to 2013, Mr. Thom served as Deputy Regional Administrator, Northwest Region for NOAA's Fisheries Service. He also served as a Strategic Planner for NOAA's Fisheries Service in the Northwest Region. From 2001 to 2006, Mr. Thom served as a Marine Resource Management Specialist for NOAA. He began his career in 1997 as an Assistant Project Manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Mr. Thom received a B.S. from Oregon State University and an M.S. from the University of Washington.
Allan Holt, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Allan Holt is a Managing Director and Co-Head of the U.S. Buyout group at The Carlyle Group. Previously, he was Head of Carlyle’s Global Aerospace, Defense, Technology and Business/Government Services team. From 1989 to 1992, he worked at Avenir Group, Inc. Prior to this, he was Director of Planning and Budgets at MCI Communications Corporation. Mr. Holt serves on a number of boards including The Hillside Foundation, Inc., and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. He also serves on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience. Mr. Holt received a B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.
This afternoon, the President made a statement on the killing of journalist James Foley by the terrorist group ISIL. He was 40 years old.
"The entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of Jim Foley," President Obama said. "Jim was a journalist, a son, a brother, and a friend. He reported from difficult and dangerous places, bearing witness to the lives of people a world away."
Foley was taken hostage in Syria almost two years ago while reporting on the conflict there. The President made clear in today's statement that Foley's life "stands in stark contrast to his killers":
August 20, 2014 | 5:21 | Public Domain
On August 20, 2014, President Obama delivered a statement on the murder of James Foley by the terrorist group, ISIL.
The Edgartown School
Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
12:52 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. Today, the entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of Jim Foley by the terrorist group, ISIL.
Jim was a journalist, a son, a brother, and a friend. He reported from difficult and dangerous places, bearing witness to the lives of people a world away. He was taken hostage nearly two years ago in Syria, and he was courageously reporting at the time on the conflict there.
Jim was taken from us in an act of violence that shocks the conscience of the entire world. He was 40 years old -- one of five siblings, the son of a mom and dad who worked tirelessly for his release. Earlier today, I spoke to the Foleys and told them that we are all heartbroken at their loss, and join them in honoring Jim and all that he did.
Jim Foley’s life stands in stark contrast to his killers. Let’s be clear about ISIL. They have rampaged across cities and villages -- killing innocent, unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence. They abduct women and children, and subject them to torture and rape and slavery. They have murdered Muslims -- both Sunni and Shia -- by the thousands. They target Christians and religious minorities, driving them from their homes, murdering them when they can for no other reason than they practice a different religion. They declared their ambition to commit genocide against an ancient people.
So ISIL speaks for no religion. Their victims are overwhelmingly Muslim, and no faith teaches people to massacre innocents. No just God would stand for what they did yesterday, and for what they do every single day. ISIL has no ideology of any value to human beings. Their ideology is bankrupt. They may claim out of expediency that they are at war with the United States or the West, but the fact is they terrorize their neighbors and offer them nothing but an endless slavery to their empty vision, and the collapse of any definition of civilized behavior.
And people like this ultimately fail. They fail, because the future is won by those who build and not destroy and the world is shaped by people like Jim Foley, and the overwhelming majority of humanity who are appalled by those who killed him.
The United States of America will continue to do what we must do to protect our people. We will be vigilant and we will be relentless. When people harm Americans, anywhere, we do what’s necessary to see that justice is done. And we act against ISIL, standing alongside others.
The people of Iraq, who with our support are taking the fight to ISIL, must continue coming together to expel these terrorists from their communities. The people of Syria, whose story Jim Foley told, do not deserve to live under the shadow of a tyrant or terrorists. They have our support in their pursuit of a future rooted in dignity.
From governments and peoples across the Middle East there has to be a common effort to extract this cancer, so that it does not spread. There has to be a clear rejection of these kind of nihilistic ideologies. One thing we can all agree on is that a group like ISIL has no place in the 21st century.
Friends and allies around the world, we share a common security and a common set of values that are rooted in the opposite of what we saw yesterday. And we will continue to confront this hateful terrorism, and replace it with a sense of hope and civility. And that’s what Jim Foley stood for, a man who lived his work; who courageously told the stories of his fellow human beings; who was liked and loved by friends and family.
Today, the American people will all say a prayer for those who loved Jim. All of us feel the ache of his absence. All of us mourn his loss. We keep in our prayers those other Americans who are separated from their families. We will do everything that we can to protect our people and the timeless values that we stand for.
May God bless and keep Jim’s memory, and may God bless the United States of America.
END
12:57 P.M. EDT
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
The Edgartown School
Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
12:52 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. Today, the entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of Jim Foley by the terrorist group, ISIL.
Jim was a journalist, a son, a brother, and a friend. He reported from difficult and dangerous places, bearing witness to the lives of people a world away. He was taken hostage nearly two years ago in Syria, and he was courageously reporting at the time on the conflict there.
Jim was taken from us in an act of violence that shocks the conscience of the entire world. He was 40 years old -- one of five siblings, the son of a mom and dad who worked tirelessly for his release. Earlier today, I spoke to the Foleys and told them that we are all heartbroken at their loss, and join them in honoring Jim and all that he did.
Jim Foley’s life stands in stark contrast to his killers. Let’s be clear about ISIL. They have rampaged across cities and villages -- killing innocent, unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence. They abduct women and children, and subject them to torture and rape and slavery. They have murdered Muslims -- both Sunni and Shia -- by the thousands. They target Christians and religious minorities, driving them from their homes, murdering them when they can for no other reason than they practice a different religion. They declared their ambition to commit genocide against an ancient people.
So ISIL speaks for no religion. Their victims are overwhelmingly Muslim, and no faith teaches people to massacre innocents. No just God would stand for what they did yesterday, and for what they do every single day. ISIL has no ideology of any value to human beings. Their ideology is bankrupt. They may claim out of expediency that they are at war with the United States or the West, but the fact is they terrorize their neighbors and offer them nothing but an endless slavery to their empty vision, and the collapse of any definition of civilized behavior.
And people like this ultimately fail. They fail, because the future is won by those who build and not destroy and the world is shaped by people like Jim Foley, and the overwhelming majority of humanity who are appalled by those who killed him.
The United States of America will continue to do what we must do to protect our people. We will be vigilant and we will be relentless. When people harm Americans, anywhere, we do what’s necessary to see that justice is done. And we act against ISIL, standing alongside others.
The people of Iraq, who with our support are taking the fight to ISIL, must continue coming together to expel these terrorists from their communities. The people of Syria, whose story Jim Foley told, do not deserve to live under the shadow of a tyrant or terrorists. They have our support in their pursuit of a future rooted in dignity.
From governments and peoples across the Middle East there has to be a common effort to extract this cancer, so that it does not spread. There has to be a clear rejection of these kind of nihilistic ideologies. One thing we can all agree on is that a group like ISIL has no place in the 21st century.
Friends and allies around the world, we share a common security and a common set of values that are rooted in the opposite of what we saw yesterday. And we will continue to confront this hateful terrorism, and replace it with a sense of hope and civility. And that’s what Jim Foley stood for, a man who lived his work; who courageously told the stories of his fellow human beings; who was liked and loved by friends and family.
Today, the American people will all say a prayer for those who loved Jim. All of us feel the ache of his absence. All of us mourn his loss. We keep in our prayers those other Americans who are separated from their families. We will do everything that we can to protect our people and the timeless values that we stand for.
May God bless and keep Jim’s memory, and may God bless the United States of America.
END
12:57 P.M. EDT
Ever wondered what a first day as a new employee at the White House looks like?
What about a first day as the very first employee of a brand-new government service designed to remake the way people and businesses interact with their government online?
From parking forms to press conferences, from orientation to setting a new BlackBerry password to meeting with senior advisors, follow along as Mikey Dickerson, Administrator of the newly created U.S. Digital Service, makes his way through Day One.
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of North Dakota and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms and flooding during the period of June 25 to July 1, 2014.
Federal funding also is available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms and flooding in the counties of Benson, Bottineau, Divide, Eddy, McHenry, Mountrail, Pierce, Renville, and Ward and the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.
Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures in all areas within the state.
W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Lee K. dePalo as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.
FEMA said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
Eleven years ago today, 22 humanitarian aid workers were killed in a horrific attack on the UN Headquarters in Baghdad. Their lives were cut short as they worked selflessly to save others. Each year on August 19 we pay homage to them, their colleagues worldwide who have been killed or injured in the line of duty, and the heroic efforts of those humanitarians currently in the field.
Today, there is an unprecedented need for humanitarians and the spirit they embody. Some 108 million people need humanitarian assistance, and more people have been displaced by conflict than at any time since World War II. Nearly eleven million Syrians and Iraqis have fled for their lives. Millions need shelter, food, water, and medical care in the wake of factional fighting in the Central African Republic and a clash among South Sudan’s political leaders has put millions of people at risk of famine. In these places and others—including Gaza, Somalia, Yemen, and now West Africa with the Ebola outbreak—humanitarians assume great personal risk to help those in need.
Even as they do their utmost to help the most vulnerable, all too often humanitarians are harassed, kidnapped, or killed for their commitment. There were 251 incidents of major violence against aid workers in 30 countries in 2013. These attacks resulted in 460 aid workers killed, kidnapped, or seriously wounded; many of them heroic local staff working to help neighbors in need. As the world’s largest humanitarian donor, the United States expresses its deepest respect to these individuals dedicated to serving others. On behalf of the American people, we are proud to support their work and humbled by their sacrifice. The world needs more of their dedication, selflessness, and courage.
