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A former top aide toPresident Obamasaid Republicans targeting TikTok is "bad faith BS," the latest in a string of Democrats downplaying or defending the popular social media app amid Chinese espionage fears.

Dan Pfeiffer, a former Obama senior adviser who now co-hosts Pod Save America, took to Twitter over the weekend to make the comments as fears surrounding the app continue to grow. Last year, a report showed that a TikTok team in China accessed data of U.S. TikTok users, including two journalists.

"The Republicans see the issue as a win-win," Pfeiffer tweeted. "If Biden doesn't ban TikTok, they can paint him as soft on China. If Biden does ban TikTok, he risks alienating the young voters who put him over the top in 2020. Per usual from the GOP, it's bad faith BS."

'SQUAD' DEFENDER OF ALLEGED CHINESE SPY APP TIED TO NONPROFIT THAT RECEIVED $150K FROM ITS PARENT COMPANY

Pfeiffer's comments follow several other Democrats rushing to TikTok's defense. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to the app on Saturday and came out against a ban.

"This is not only my first TikTok, but it is a TikTok about TikTok," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Do I believe TikTok should be banned? No."

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"I think it's important to discuss how unprecedented of a move this would be," she continued. "The United States has never before banned a social media company from existence, from operating in our borders, and this is an app that has over 150 million Americans on it."

Atrio of Democratic lawmakersalso held a press conference on Capitol Hill last week defending TikTok. During the gathering, New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman claimed that politicians are hypocrites for singling out the app when its American-owned counterparts have allowed Russia, for example, "to interfere with our 2016 election" and have "allowed lies and misinformation to live on their platforms."

FBI DIRECTOR CHRIS WRAY TESTIFIES CHINESE-OWNED TIKTOK HAS POWER TO 'DRIVE NARRATIVES,' 'DIVIDE AMERICANS'

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Bowman also suggestedthat racism fuels TikTok's opposition. "Let's not have a dishonest conversation," he said. "Let's not be racist towards China and express our xenophobia when it comes to TikTok because American companies have done tremendous harm to American people."

Bowman, meanwhile, is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, whose affiliated nonprofit, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, in Decemberreceived a $150,000 donationfrom ByteDance, TikTok's parent company. The donation went towards honoring members of the caucus.

California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, joined Bowman at the press conference. Like the Congressional Black Caucus, a nonprofit affiliated with the Hispanic caucus received a $150,000 donation from ByteDance in December, Fox News Digital previously reported. Ocasio-Cortez is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Republican lawmakers, on the other hand, have been sounding the alarm over what they say are Chinese spying concerns.

DESANTIS SAYS HE WOULD BAN TIKTOK NATIONWIDE IF GIVEN THE AUTHORITY: 'I DON'T WANT OUR KIDS ON' THIS STUFF

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been vocal about her opposition to a TikTok ban.

"The evidence that China is using TikTok to spy on and influence American citizens is clear, and it only keeps mounting as time goes on," Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio wrote in aFox News Digital op-ed.

"Moreover, Beijing's influence on ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, is undeniable. Not only does Chinese law compel ByteDance to hand over data at a moment's notice, but the Chinese government also holds an ownership stake in the tech giant's key domestic subsidiary."

Last Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before theHouse Energy and Commerce Committee. During the hearing, Republican Florida Rep. Neal Dunn asked whether ByteDance had ever spied on American citizens.

"I don't think that spying is the right way to describe it," Chew responded.

Pfeiffer did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

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Former top Obama aide claims GOP concerns over alleged Chinese spy app is 'bad faith BS' - Yahoo News

Dear editor,

As we all know from numerous Chicago City Council debates, protests, and letters to the Hyde Park Herald, many South Side Chicagoans have been outraged that the Obama Presidential Center has been locatedor not locatedin their neighborhood. Clearly, no location will satisfy all constituencies, so heres a modest proposal: Why dont we build hundreds of Obama Centers in neighborhoods all over the South Side?

Talented and charismatic politicians such as Barack Obama appeal to individuals in a variety of ways. For instance, Obama has always been a Rorschach test for left-of-center voters who have endlessly debated whether he is a pragmatic centrist or closet radical. But what if everyone on the South Side could create their own Obama Center and reimagine for themselves and others which Obama is important to them? In Obamas adopted hometown, centers would no doubt celebrate his history-making status as the first black president, his policy victories, his soaring rhetoric, and his community work here in Chicago. By contrast, local conservativesand college students who think they are funny might feel compelled to design ironic Obama Centers. And, of course, postmodern Obama Centers (perhaps actual houses of cards?) might serve as commentaries on the very notion of an Obama Center or whether Americans should practice politics as a form of hero-worship.

More practically, each South Side resident with an available room would have space for an Obama Center. The layout and memorabilia would vary depending on room size and building access. (Renters could negotiate with landlords about center aesthetics and permanency.) Those with two extra rooms could have two Obama Centers, each with a separate interpretation of Obamas significance, or maybe just one for Barack and one for Michelle. Side hustles for empty nesters might include remaking recently vacated rooms as Obama Centers, Airbnbs, or gift shops. Businesses could also get into the act: staff at Valois Restaurant could do a podcast from Baracks Tableplaced right across from Slims Table. And perhaps an Obamacare Center at the University of Chicago Medical Center? Repurposing existing real estate as Obama Centers could bring needed investments to many (not just one) South Side neighborhoods without costly, large-scale construction compromising existing neighborhood cultures, spaces, or parks. This solution would thus honor not only Obama but also Jane Jacobss New Urbanism.

The possibilities are endless. Many Obama Centers would be solely online, but some people could also reinvent themselves as Obama Centers and I dont just mean tattoos or plastic surgery. Could a new performance art form, the Obama Center, come into existence on historically significant street corners, like where the Obamas first kissed on 53rd and Dorchester? Of course, academics at Chicago universities would also study the economic and cultural impacts of various Obama Centers. And Obama Center tourism would become the fashion for political wannabes thumbing Obama-centered travel books at the Seminary Coop Bookstore (e.g., Lonely Planet: Obama Center).

Our belated solution would also stimulate surprisingly useful political debates, even if the official Obama Presidential Center has already been built in Jackson Park. For although the official center might be a resonant physical analogue for Obamas now monumental career, having hundreds more Obama Centers would also encourage people to visit neighborhoods new to them, to discuss politics with people there, and to put new political coalitions together. The resulting community organizing might productively highlight the now downplayed Chicago-based activist work of the younger Obama, thus reshaping ongoing discussions about his political legacy and the official center designed to promote that legacy. And isnt that, seriously, what presidential centers are supposed to do?

In jest,

William Weaver

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A belated solution to the Obama Presidential Center location debate - Hyde Park Herald

I first came across the term third culture kids(TCK) in 2008, when Barack Obama was running for election to become the first ever Black American president of the United States.

Obama, who is currently in Australia for a speaking tour, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He spent six years there before moving to Indonesia with his mother, who had recently remarried. He returned to Hawaii when he was 10 to continue his education.

Much like the former US president, I too lived in different countries growing up. I was born in Pakistan, then moved to the Gulf nation of Bahrain, and then my family moved again, making our home in Sydney.

Obama and I are third culture kids (TCK), a term coined by American sociologist Ruth Useem in the 1950s, to mainly describe the children of expatriates who spent a significant time during their childhood living in a culture other than their country of nationality or their parents country of nationality.

Obama has never been one to shy away from speaking about his identity. In his memoir, Dreams from My Father, Obama wrote about his childhood spent in Indonesia and Hawaii, and how these experiences shaped his sense of identity and perspective on the world. My identity might begin with the fact of my race, but it didnt, couldnt, end there. At least thats what I would choose to believe, he wrote. In his now infamous speech during his first presidential campaign, then Senator Obama spoke passionately about his race and identity: I am the son of a Black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Pattons Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. Ive gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the worlds poorest nations.

He went on to say, At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either too Black or not Black enough.

This feeling of not belonging as if youre neither here nor there is commonly felt by many TCK

This feeling of not belonging as if youre neither here nor there is commonly felt by many TCK.

In an article in The New York Times about TCK, Noor Brara wrote: If asked, any third-culture kid will tell you that shape-shifting rousing one of the many selves stacked within you to best suit the place youre in becomes a necessary survival skill, a sort of feigned fitting in that allows you to relate something of yourself to nearly everyone you meet.

Its something I have felt personally, as if my identity was scattered across continents, especially when I was growing up. Its also something Ive tried to tap into in my own writing.

In the novel I wrote,The Matchmaker, the protagonist Kal discovers he is a TCK. Kal reads in a book: TCK were adaptable, did well in social situations, made friends easily. They were not of one place but of many. But despite the positives, TCK often felt alone, not knowing where exactly to call home or which culture to identify with. As soon as he does, everything clicks into place and he realises just having a label to his identity helps him navigate the world better.

And while it can be confusing, at least initially, to figure out your identity, a recent studyfound that, Contrary to previous knowledge, this review found that TCKs are not confused by the multiplicity of their identity.

Obamas own complex identity helped him, at least a little bit, to become relatable to vast swathes of people not just in America, but around the world. It is why so many of us turn up to listen to him speak to this day.

Obama once said: .... what I benefited from is a multiplicity of cultures that all fed me

I was raised as an Indonesian child and a Hawaiian child and as a Black child and as a white child, Obama once said. And so what I benefited from is a multiplicity of cultures that all fed me.

Its this feeling of being fed by multiple cultures rather than being alienated by them, that perhaps TCK can turn to, especially when we feel we dont belong.

In my case, I was confused about who I was and where I belonged as I was growing up - a feeling that spilled into my 20s. As Ive become older, Ive come to realise that identities are complex. They are shaped not only by where we grew up or the places we lived, but by so many other factors too. In many ways, Ive made peace with the fact that my identity doesnt neatly fit in a box. My multifaceted identity has helped shape me into the person I am today.

Saman Shadis an author and freelance writer. Her debut novel,The Matchmaker,is out now through Penguin Australia.

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Barack Obama - the most famous Third Culture Kid - SBS

Michelle Obama and Ellen DeGeneres talk fear on the latest episode of Obamas Audible podcast, The Light We Carry.

The conversation about fear comes up in The Light We Carrys fourth episode, called Decoding Fear. Both women discuss how fear has played a part in their lives.

The post Michelle Obama Discusses Fear With Ellen DeGeneres: They Took The Image Of A Smart Black Woman And Turned It Into A Threat appeared first on Blavity.

According to the official description:

Ellen DeGeneres and Michelle discuss the role fear plays in their liveswhy its important, the people who would weaponize it, and ways to turn the things that terrify you into rocket fuel. Michelle also tells the story of being forced to decide whether her husband would run for president and the time that inviting a Star Wars character to the White House ended up scarring one of her daughters. Plus, a special lesson on starting kind.

In the exclusive clip embedded below, DeGeneres commends Obama on maneuvering fear throughout her stint as First Lady.

They took the image of a smart, articulate, outspoken black woman and they turned it into a threat. So yes, it definitely hurt, said Obama. It was stunning at first, because when you see yourself in a way thats not you, you wonder how easily your whole persona can be manipulated when youre in the public eye.

Obama added that the medias focus on spewing negative has become the easy go-to.

What prevents you from seeing my humanity? Something is broken, she said.

The Light We Carry is produced by Audible and the Obamas production company, Higher Ground. The podcast examines how people can overcome obstacles in their lives as long as they remember their personal power.

Per the logline:

Listen as Mrs. Obama and her friends explore themes like building meaningful relationships; issues connected to race, gender, and visibility; the habits and principles they have used to successfully adapt to change and overcome obstacles; and the importance of lighting up for others to reveal the richness and potential around us. As ever, Michelle Obama brings her trademark humor, candor, and compassion while she discusses her tools for living in todays world.

Listen to the clip below:

Audible Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast for Blavity

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Michelle Obama Discusses Fear With Ellen DeGeneres: They Took The Image Of A Smart Black Woman And Turned It Into A Threat - Yahoo News

Linda Furuto

Changemakers around the world are selected annually by Obama Foundation Leaders to inspire and accelerate positive change in their communities. For 2023, University of Hawaii at Mnoa College of Education (COE) Professor of Mathematics Education, Linda Furuto, has been chosen to be one of 105 global leaders.

Furuto will be among just 34 leaders participating in the Asia-Pacific program, representing a cohort of 22 countries/territories across the region. The 2023 cohort of Asia-Pacific Leaders are focusing on a broad range of issues, including the climate crisis, Indigenous rights, education and more.

I cant think of anyone more qualified than Linda to represent the COE as an Obama Leader, said Department of Curriculum Studies Chair Patricia Espiritu Halagao. Her cutting-edge work with ethnomathematics and involvement as the UH ambassador to the Pacific Voyaging Society (PVS) Moananuikea Voyage will greatly contribute to better understanding how education can serve our global communities. And, above all, she exudes the values of a humble, caring and committed servant leader.

During the six-month, non-residential Obama Leaders program, Furuto will participate in weekly virtual skill-building workshops, network building opportunities and a variety of moderated conversations with members of the Obama Foundation global network. Upon completion of the program, leaders join the Obama Foundations alumni community as the next generation of civically active, positive role models who are prepared to create tangible solutions to the challenges of our time.

Furuto is the director of the Ethnomathematics Graduate Certificate and Master of Education in Curriculum Studies Mathematics Education programs at COE. She led the highly acclaimed Ethnomathematics and STEM Institute for 10 years, garnering a 2019 UH Presidents Green Initiative Award and 2022 PBS Hawaii Home is Here feature for exploring sustainability, stewardship and ancestral knowledge through mathematical sciences. This institute would become the first ethnomathematics academic program in the world.

Prior to joining the COE in 2013, Furuto was an associate professor of mathematics and head of mathematics and science at UH West Oahu. A UH Board of Regents Medal for Excellence in Teaching recipient, she is also an apprentice navigator and education specialist with PVS, and is part of the 20232026 Moananuikea Voyage of the Pacific.

I am truly grateful to be part of the UH Mnoa College of Education surrounded by inspiring students, staff, faculty and communities grounded in a sense of purpose and a sense of place, said Furuto. By collectively expanding our perspectives on how we intentionally wayfind 360 , I believe we can create a world where every child knows know who they are, where they come from, and where they are going through values-based STEM education. I look forward to continuing to work together to strengthen the P-20 pipeline by creating alternative STEM pathways to traditional learning goals in ethnomathematics and STEM.

Read the full story at the COE website.

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UH professor selected as 2023 Obama Foundation Global Leader ... - University of Hawaii