President Obama begins a visit to southern California today where he plans to use a backdrop of job losses and home foreclosures to argue for a budget proposal he says will begin building a new economy.
California supported Obama in last year’s election, and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed the president’s stimulus package, which will bring a state with a double-digit unemployment rate more than $30 billion in federal help.
But an angry populism fed by the financial crisis is rising in the country, including among moderate Republicans, whose support for Obama in this state was important to his success. Here in traditionally conservative Orange County, where he will hold a town hall-style event tonight, his visit is as much a show of solidarity as sales opportunity.
The White House has begun a full frontal assault to get President Obama’s first budget through Congress. During an appearance on Tuesday at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Mr. Obama took a swipe at Republican critics of his $3.6 trillion budget and its agenda for health care, energy, taxes and economic recovery.
“If there are members of Congress who object to specific policies and proposals in this budget, then I ask them to be ready and willing to propose constructive, alternative solutions,” Mr. Obama said. “ ‘Just say no’ is the right advice to give your teenagers about drugs. It is not an acceptable response to whatever economic policy is proposed by the other party.”
The government on Saturday permanently banned the slaughter of cows too sick or weak to stand on their own, seeking to further minimize the chance that mad cow disease could enter the food supply.
The Agriculture Department proposed the ban last year after the biggest beef recall in U.S. history. The recall involved a slaughterhouse in Chino and “downer” cows. The Obama administration finalized the ban Saturday.
“As part of our commitment to public health, our Agriculture Department is closing a loophole in the system to ensure that diseased cows don’t find their way into the food supply,” President Obama said in his weekly radio and video address.
Obama annouces steps to improve the safety of our nation’s food supply. He also appoints Margaret Hamburg as Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Obama on Monday vowed to try to stop the faltering insurance giant American International Group from paying out hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to executives, as the administration scrambled to avert a populist backlash against banks and Wall Street that could complicate Mr. Obama’s economic recovery agenda.
President Obama, with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner
“In the last six months, A.I.G. has received substantial sums from the U.S. Treasury,” Mr. Obama said. He added that he had asked Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner “to use that leverage and pursue every single legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole.”
Seeking to ease the credit freeze for small businesses, the Obama administration will inject $15 billion into the industry, buying up securities that are linked to small-business loans.
With little notice by the mainstream media, President Barack Obama has removed vital protections on doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals who refuse to perform abortions and other procedures they consider immoral. It is nothing less than an assault on civil liberties and medical conscience, says Newt Gingrich.
It seems Obamas decision to consider medical care something to not be intervened by individual practitioners religious beliefs aren’t all that popular in the conservative camp.
In a long article on Newsmax, there is a long tirade regarding the awful decisions made against pro-life supporters and faith-based organizations. Quite worth a read.
Newsmax.com, one of America’s leading online news services, is conducting an urgent national online poll about President Barack Obama and his new administration.
Newsmax will provide the results of the poll to major media outlets. In addition, Newsmax will share its results with popular radio talk-show hosts across America.
And as we guess the votes on Newsmax will be heavily rightwinged, we urge all of our visitors to contribute to the voting.
Ps! This voting is not endorsed by us, and be aware that Newsmax will automatically sign up all voters for their “official newsletter” so our advice is to use a temporary email forwarder.
I can appreciate problems with discussing negotiations in public – but a state secret?
President Barack Obama came into office in January promising a new era of openness.
But now, like Bush before him, Obama is playing the national security card to hide details of the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement being negotiated across the globe.
The White House this week declared (.pdf) the text of the proposed treaty a “properly classified” national security secret, in rejecting a Freedom of Information Act request by Knowledge Ecology International.
Today on the official white house website, Obama released a memo restricting the use of presidential signing statements, and urging agency reviews of all such actions, old as well as new. Perhaps this could shed light on past abuses of executive powers, and even possibly revert some of the Bush doctrines.
To ensure that all signing statements previously issued are followed only when consistent with these principles, executive branch departments and agencies are directed to seek the advice of the Attorney General before relying on signing statements issued prior to the date of this memorandum as the basis for disregarding, or otherwise refusing to comply with, any provision of a statute.
Yesterday the man in charge called for sweeping changes in the American education system. Apparently he will, among other things, make good of his promise to link teacher pay to performance. He also has a soft spot for charter schools, which he calls “laboratories of innovation”, and intends to double the financing for those.
Obama calls for education changes
“For decades, Washington has been trapped in the same stale debates that have paralyzed progress and perpetuated our educational decline,” Mr. Obama said, in a speech here to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “Too many supporters of my party have resisted the idea of rewarding excellence in teaching with extra pay, even though we know it can make a difference in the classroom. Too many in the Republican Party have opposed new investments in early childhood education, despite compelling evidence of its importance.”
