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The current State Department website covers the Administration of President Barack Obama since he first took office on January 20, 2009. The Department’s archive sites provide content available online prior to that date. The archive sites are not updated, and external links may no longer function; they provide publications and information from the State Department for archive and research purposes.
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U.S. Diplomacy Center
Thursday Sep. 2, 2010
All Times Eastern
VP Biden returns from Iraq.
7:00 AM
8:00 AM
9:00 AM
10:00 AM
11:00 AM
11:30 AM
Pres Obama meets with his national security team.
12:00 PM
R Gibbs briefs members of the press.
1:00 PM
Pres Obama receives the economic daily briefing.
2:00 PM
3:00 PM
4:00 PM
5:00 PM
Secretary of State Clinton: “A New Era of Engagement”
Posted by Katherine Brandon on July 15, 2009
Secretary of State Clinton gave a sweeping policy speech at the Council on Foreign Relations today. She outlined the administration’s goals and approaches to foreign policy, discussing some of the world’s greatest challenges, the shape of American leadership in the world, the need for global cooperation, and the benefits of diplomacy.
She emphasized that although there are unprecedented foreign policy challenges facing America today, these challenges also present opportunities:
But they are not reason to despair about the future. The same forces that compound our problems – economic interdependence, open borders, and the speedy movement of information, capital, goods, services and people – are also part of the solution. And with more states facing common challenges, we have the chance, and a profound responsibility, to exercise American leadership to solve problems in concert with others. That is the heart of America’s mission in the world today.
Now, some see the rise of other nations and our economic troubles here at home as signs that American power has waned. Others simply don’t trust us to lead; they view America as an unaccountable power, too quick to impose its will at the expense of their interests and our principles. But they are wrong.
The question is not whether our nation can or should lead, but how it will lead in the 21st century. Rigid ideologies and old formulas don’t apply. We need a new mindset about how America will use its power to safeguard our nation, expand shared prosperity, and help more people in more places live up to their God-given potential.
For the entire article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/07/15/secretary-state-clinton-a-new-era-engagement
March 26, 2010
Remarks by the President on the Announcement of New START Treaty
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
10:47 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. I just concluded a productive phone call with President Medvedev. And I’m pleased to announce that after a year of intense negotiations, the United States and Russia have agreed to the most comprehensive arms control agreement in nearly two decades.
Since taking office, one of my highest priorities has been addressing the threat posed by nuclear weapons to the American people. And that’s why, last April in Prague, I stated America’s intention to pursue the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons, a goal that’s been embraced by Presidents like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.
While this aspiration will not be reached in the near future, I put forward a comprehensive agenda to pursue it — to stop the spread of these weapons; to secure vulnerable nuclear materials from terrorists; and to reduce nuclear arsenals. A fundamental part of that effort was the negotiation of a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia.
Furthermore, since I took office, I’ve been committed to a “reset” of our relationship with Russia. When the United States and Russia can cooperate effectively, it advances the mutual interests of our two nations, and the security and prosperity of the wider world. We’ve so far already worked together on Afghanistan. We’ve coordinated our economic efforts through the G20. We are working together to pressure Iran to meet its international obligations. And today, we have reached agreement on one of my administration’s top national security priorities — a pivotal new arms control agreement.
In many ways, nuclear weapons represent both the darkest days of the Cold War, and the most troubling threats of our time. Today, we’ve taken another step forward by — in leaving behind the legacy of the 20th century while building a more secure future for our children. We’ve turned words into action. We’ve made progress that is clear and concrete. And we’ve demonstrated the importance of American leadership — and American partnership — on behalf of our own security, and the world’s.
Broadly speaking, the new START treaty makes progress in several areas. It cuts — by about a third — the nuclear weapons that the United States and Russia will deploy. It significantly reduces missiles and launchers. It puts in place a strong and effective verification regime. And it maintains the flexibility that we need to protect and advance our national security, and to guarantee our unwavering commitment to the security of our allies.
For the entire article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-announcement-new-start-treaty
Signing of New START Nuclear Arms Treaty with Russia
Internet Freedom: Where the United States Stands
Posted by Jesse Lee on January 21, 2010 at 06:06 PM EDT
This morning Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a landmark speech on internet freedom around the world, making it clear exactly where the United States stands:
On their own, new technologies do not take sides in the struggle for freedom and progress, but the United States does. We stand for a single Internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas. And we recognize that the world’s information infrastructure will become what we and others make of it. Now, this challenge may be new, but our responsibility to help ensure the free exchange of ideas goes back to the birth of our republic.
DipNote, the State Department’s blog, has full coverage including the transcript and highlights, but it’s well worth your time to watch it in full:
June 25, 2010
A New Approach to Advancing Development
At the Muskoka G8 Summit, President Obama outlined his views on a new approach to development. In his recently released National Security Strategy, development is recognized as a moral, strategic, and economic imperative for the United States and our partners. Development, diplomacy, and defense are components of a comprehensive, integrated approach to the challenges we face today. Countries that achieve sustained development gains make more capable partners, can engage in and contribute to the global economy, and provide citizens with the opportunity, means and freedom to improve their lives.
President Obama launched a study of U.S. development policy in September 2009 and will be issuing a new policy directive in the near future. The new U.S. development policy builds on two signature initiatives launched by the Obama Administration in 2009 to focus on results-based, strategic investments aimed at promoting meaningful and lasting results:
• Feed the Future: At the London G20 Summit in 2009, President Obama announced a global food security initiative that has the support of the world’s major and emerging donor nations, includes strong roles for our multilateral institutions, and is led by partner countries that are ready and willing to develop comprehensive plans and commit their own resources to agricultural and market development. Secretary Clinton launched the comprehensive U.S. strategy – “Feed the Future” – to implement this groundbreaking effort in May 2010. To date, the United States has led international efforts to review nine comprehensive country strategies, commit new resources in support of those strategies, collaborate in the establishment and initial capitalization of the World Bank-led Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, and launch a new research and development program.
• Global Health Initiative: In May 2009, President Obama announced the Global Health Initiative (GHI), which builds on the progress and success of PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Program on AIDS Relief) and also expands our global health effort and impact by including investments to strengthen health systems, improve maternal child health, address neglected tropical diseases, and foster increased research and development. The GHI will integrate our health programs in order to reduce inefficiencies and expand impact, and is designed to save lives and achieve sustainable outcomes. This new, integrated approach will be fast-tracked in eight countries.
For the entire article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/a-new-approach-advancing-development
G20 Summit Presidential Press Conference
Video Remarks to Celebrate 10th Anniversary of the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
July 26, 2010
I am delighted to mark the 10th anniversary of the State Department’s Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.
This fund supports the preservation of cultural heritage around the globe, including restoration and conservation of cultural sites, monuments, objects, collections, and forms of traditional expression. Since its creation by Congress, the fund has demonstrated America’s respect for the world’s cultural heritage by supporting more than 640 projects in over 100 countries.
Some of those projects include preserving a 15th century citadel in western Afghanistan; conserving Greco-Roman archaeological material in Libya; and helping the people of Haiti assess the full extent of damage to historic buildings during the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010, so that their rich heritage might still be preserved for generations to come.
Cultural heritage serves as a reminder of the historical experiences and achievements of humanity. Ancient structures and objects offer important lessons for today. Confucius once said: “Study the past if you would divine the future.” The more we know about each other — and about our world’s diversity of cultures and traditions — the more we can learn from each other to build a better future.
Obama: US combat in Iraq over, ‘time to turn page’
9/1/10 By BEN FELLER, AP White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON – Claiming no victory, President Barack Obama formally ended the U.S. combat role in Iraq after seven long years of bloodshed, declaring firmly Tuesday night: “It’s time to turn the page.” Now, he said, the nation’s most urgent priority is fixing its own sickly economy.
From the Oval Office, where George W. Bush first announced the invasion that would come to define his presidency, Obama addressed millions who were divided over the war in his country and around the world. Fiercely opposed to the war from the start, he said the United States “has paid a huge price” to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future — a cost that now includes more than 4,400 troops dead, tens of thousands more wounded and hundreds of billions of dollars spent.
In a telling sign of the domestic troubles weighing on the United States and his own presidency, Obama turned much of the emphasis in a major war address to the dire state of U.S. joblessness. He said the Iraq war had stripped America of money needed for its own prosperity, and he called for an economic commitment at home to rival the grit and purpose of a military campaign.
In his remarks of slightly less than 20 minutes, only his second address from the Oval Office, Obama looked directly into the TV camera, hands clasped in front of him on his desk, family photos and the U.S. and presidential flags behind him. His tone was somber.
Even as he turns control of the war over to the Iraqis — and tries to cap one of the most divisive chapters in recent American history — Obama is escalating the conflict in Afghanistan. He said that winding down Iraq would allow the United States “to apply the resources necessary to go on offense” in Afghanistan, now the nation’s longest war since Vietnam.
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/benBtU
US seeks Israeli peace talks with Syria, Lebanon
8/31/10 AFP
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States is pushing for peace talks between Israel, Syria and Lebanon, US envoy George Mitchell said, as the Israelis prepared to resume direct negotiations with the Palestinians.
Wider peace talks between Israel and its northern Arab neighbors, which have been in perpetual conflict with the Jewish state since its creation in 1948, are seen as vital to any lasting peace in the region.
“With respect to Syria, our efforts continue to try to engage Israel and Syria in discussions and negotiations that would lead to peace there and also Israel and Lebanon,” said Mitchell, US President Barack Obama’s Middle East envoy.
“You will recall that when the president announced my appointment two days after he entered office, he referred to comprehensive peace and defined it as Israel and Palestinians, Israel and Syria, Israel and Lebanon, and Israel at peace with and having normal relations with all of its Arab neighbors,” Mitchell said, before adding: “And that remains our objective.”
The US envoy was briefing journalists ahead of Thursday’s resumption of direct peace talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas.
Top level talks in search of an elusive Middle East peace deal broke off in December 2008 when Israel invaded the Palestinian Gaza Strip to halt militant rocket fire on its south.
Obama’s administration has been trying to engage Syria and has asked the Senate to approve the first US ambassador to Damascus in five years. Republican senators have so far successfully blocked the move.
The appointment has proven controversial in Washington, especially after Israeli President Shimon Peres said this year that Syria was supplying Hezbollah with Scud missiles that could cause major damage to Israeli cities.
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/d3blPm
Barack Obama seeks peace within year
9/1/10 By LAURA ROZEN & CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN – POLITICO
President Barack Obama opened the first round of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations Wednesday in nearly two years by challenging Mideast leaders to put aside decades of antagonism and reach a peace accord within the next year.
“Do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of peace?” Obama asked, standing alongside leaders of Jordan, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinians in the East Room of the White House.
Each leader pledged to work towards an agreement and expressed hope that the intensive talks that began Wednesday with a series of one-on-one meetings with Obama and continue Thursday at the State Department would eventually yield a breakthrough. The leaders made the statements to reporters and a small audience just before a working dinner at the White House.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “my partner in peace.”
“It is up to us, with the help of our friends, to conclude the agonizing conflict between our peoples and to afford them a new beginning,” Netanyahu said to Abbas.
Abbas, in turn, said the “time has come for us to make peace.” He used his remarks to call for a permanent freeze on Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank – a major point of contention that could potentially stall the talks. “We will spare no effort and we will work diligently and tirelessly to ensure that these negotiations achieve their goals and objectives in dealing with all of the issues,” he said.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/41662.html
September 01, 2010
Remarks by President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel after Bilateral Meeting
12:24 P.M. EDT
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Hello, everybody. Prime Minister Netanyahu and I just had a very productive discussion about our shared efforts to advance the cause of peace between Israelis and Palestinians and throughout the Middle East. I’m going to have more to say about today’s meetings not only with Prime Minister Netanyahu but with the other participants of the talks here in the Rose Garden later this afternoon. But I did want to specifically take some time out to speak to the people of Israel and to the region about the senseless slaughter that took place near Hebron yesterday.
There are going to be extremists and rejectionists who, rather than seeking peace, are going to be seeking destruction. And the tragedy that we saw yesterday where people were gunned down on the street by terrorists who are purposely trying to undermine these talks is an example of what we’re up against. But I want everybody to be very clear: The United States is going to be unwavering in its support of Israel’s security and we are going to push back against these kinds of terrorist activities.
And so the message should go out to Hamas and everybody else who is taking credit for these heinous crimes that this is not going to stop us from not only ensuring a secure Israel but also securing a longer-lasting peace in which people throughout the region can take a different course.
I also want to express the deepest condolences of the American people to the families of those who were gunned down. And I want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu, during a very difficult time for his country, still being so committed to the cause of peace that he is here with us today.
Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Well, thank you, Mr. President, for expressing what I think is the sentiment of decent people everywhere, in the face of this savagery and brutality.
Four innocent people were gunned down and seven new orphans were added, by people who have no respect for human life and trample human rights into the dust and butcher everything that they oppose.
I think that the President’s statement is an expression of our desire to fight against this terror. And the talks that we had, which were, indeed, open, productive, serious in the quest for peace, also centered around the need to have security arrangements that are able to roll back this kind of terror and other threats to Israel’s security. That is a fundamental element, an important foundation, of the peace that we seek and work for.
For the entire transcript: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/01/remarks-president-obama-and-prime-minister-netanyahu-israel-after-bilate
President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu on Hebron Attacks
September 01, 2010
Remarks by the President in the Rose Garden after Bilateral Meetings
WITH PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU OF ISRAEL,
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY,
HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH OF JORDAN,
AND PRESIDENT HOSNI MUBARAK OF EGYPT
Rose Garden
5:27 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody.
Upon taking office, I declared that America is a friend of each nation and every person who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that the United States was ready to lead in pursuit of that future. At the beginning of my administration, I stated that it was our policy to actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as a comprehensive peace between Israel and all of its Arab neighbors. And to support my outstanding Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton’s leadership, I appointed a special envoy and one of our nation’s finest statesmen, former Senator George Mitchell, to guide our efforts.
As I’ve said many times, our goal is a two-state solution that ends the conflict and ensures the rights and security of both Israelis and Palestinians. And despite the inevitable challenges, we have never wavered in pursuit of this goal. I’ve met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on numerous occasions. Between them, Secretary Clinton and Senator Mitchell have made countless trips to the region.
Over the past year, both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority have taken important steps to build confidence. And with Senator Mitchell’s support, Israelis and Palestinians have engaged in several rounds of proximity talks -— even in the face of difficult circumstances. But we’ve always made it clear that the only path to lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians is direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
Tomorrow, after nearly two years, the parties will relaunch those direct talks.
Today, I had a series of very productive meetings with key partners in this effort. I urged Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas to recognize this as a moment of opportunity that must be seized. I thanked President Mubarak of Egypt and His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan, for their valuable leadership and for the support that will be necessary going forward. And I look forward to hosting these four leaders at a private working dinner at the White House tonight.
I also want to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to many friends and allies, especially our Quartet partners. And former Prime Minister Tony Blair will be joining us as representing the Quartet at the dinner this evening.
For the entire transcript: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/01/remarks-president-rose-garden-after-bilateral-meetings
President in the Rose Garden after Bilateral Meetings
September 01, 2010
Readout of President Obama’s Meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan
President Obama and King Abdullah met today and reaffirmed the strong relationship between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the United States of America.
President Obama thanked King Abdullah for his leadership and support for peace in the region, and both leaders stated their strong support for the resumption of direct talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and for comprehensive peace in the region. They expressed their hope that the resumption of direct negotiations will lead to two states living side-by-side in peace and security.
President Obama and King Abdullah consulted on the details of the launch event for direct talks at the Department of State scheduled for tomorrow. The President made clear that Jordan’s leadership will be needed to ensure that the talks are successful, and reassured King Abdullah that the United States believes that the only way to achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians is through direct negotiations.
The leaders also discussed regional and bilateral issues, and committed to seeking ways to strengthen the partnership between the United States and Jordan.
September 01, 2010
Remarks by President Obama, President Mubarak, His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas Before Working Dinner – East Room
7:05 P.M. EDT
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good evening, everyone. Tomorrow, after nearly two years, Israelis and Palestinians will resume direct talks in pursuit of a goal that we all share —- two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. Tonight, I’m pleased to welcome to the White House key partners in this effort, along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the representative of our Quartet partners, former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
President Abbas, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Your Majesty King Abdullah, and President Mubarak —- we are but five men. Our dinner this evening will be a small gathering around a single table. Yet when we come together, we will not be alone. We’ll be joined by the generations —- those who have gone before and those who will follow.
Each of you are the heirs of peacemakers who dared greatly -— Begin and Sadat, Rabin and King Hussein -— statesmen who saw the world as it was but also imagined the world as it should be. It is the shoulders of our predecessors upon which we stand. It is their work that we carry on. Now, like each of them, we must ask, do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of peace? All of us are leaders of our people, who, no matter the language they speak or the faith they practice, all basically seek the same things: to live in security, free from fear; to live in dignity, free from want; to provide for their families and to realize a better tomorrow. Tonight, they look to us, and each of us must decide, will we work diligently to fulfill their aspirations?
And though each of us holds a title of honor —- President, Prime Minister, King —- we are bound by the one title we share. We are fathers, blessed with sons and daughters. So we must ask ourselves what kind of world do we want to bequeath to our children and our grandchildren.
Tonight, and in the days and months ahead, these are the questions that we must answer. And this is a fitting moment to do so.For Muslims, this is Ramadan. For Jews, this is Elul. It is rare for those two months to coincide. But this year, tonight, they do. Different faiths, different rituals, but a shared period of devotion —- and contemplation. A time to reflect on right and wrong; a time to ponder one’s place in the world; a time when the people of two great religions remind the world of a truth that is both simple and profound, that each of us, all of us, in our hearts and in our lives, are capable of great and lasting change.
In this spirit, I welcome my partners. And I invite each to say a few words before we begin our meal, beginning with President Mubarak, on to His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas.
For the entire transcript: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/01/remarks-president-obama-president-mubarak-his-majesty-king-abdullah-prim
——-
For the CSPAN video: http://www.cspan.org/Watch/Media/2010/09/01/HP/R/37682/Leaders+Remark+on+Mideast+Peace+talks.aspx
Remarks by President Obama, President Mubarak, His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas Before Working Dinner – East Room Sept 1, 2010 (1 of 6 videos)
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I so love our President.
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Good Morning O’Team
Please join me in lighting a candle with hope that Middle East Leaders will give peace a chance.
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=pbo
Good morning and thank you Donna!
JB as I go off to work I will leave you with this mornings humor.
Your Governor at last nights debate. I’m sorry but she is an idiot. That opening statement (that she had to check her notes to remember) was awful!
I know Donna, thanks for sharing this. I taped the Boxer debate and watched the entire interview above. I was so tense because this woman drove me up the wall. The rest of the debate was just as bad. She would just belt out something while Terry was speaking and stumbled on words left and right. This is the person that has the majority of support here.I swear, it must be me that lives on another planet because Terry Goddard is the adult in the room. The other two, one very meek and the other weird. We need lots of help here, that is for sure. We have such a great opportunity if we can seize it: Democratic Governor (Terry Goddard), Democratic Secretary of State (Chris Deschene), Democratic Superintendent of Schools (Penny Kotterman), Democratic Attorney General (Felecia Rotelini), Democratic US Senator (Rodney Glassman)and a Democratic Congressman (Jon Hulburd replacing John Shadegg.)
Gates in Afghanistan to meet with Karzai, Petraeus
9/2/10 By ANNE GEARAN, AP
KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Afghanistan’s capital Thursday for meetings with President Hamid Karzai and top NATO commander Gen. David Petraeus.
The Pentagon chief also plans to visit U.S. troops.
Gates flew Thursday morning to Kabul from Baghdad, where he participated in ceremonies marking the formal close of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq.
The end of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan is still far away. Two American troops died in fighting in Afghanistan on Thursday, while NATO and local officials said coalition and Afghan forces had killed at least 37 insurgents in a series of ground and air engagements.
From one region to another
Mideast leaders begin peace act
09/01/10 By MATT NEGRIN -POLITICO
Hours after addressing the nation on the end of combat efforts in Iraq, President Obama will start early Wednesday hosting the leaders of four Middle East nations as a prelude to peace talks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel gets to go first, meeting with Obama in the Oval Office at 10:45 a.m. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will get his session at 1:30, followed by King Abdullah II of Jordan at 2:45 and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt at 4 p.m. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will join each of the meetings, the State Department says.
After the meetings, Obama will make a statement, then speak to the press along with the heads of state before finally dining with all of them.
Good Morning Everyone! I HOPE that you have a good day!
Good Morning everyone! Hope you all have a happy Thursday.
Good morning Sandy!
Good morning, guys.
Skip DK this morning, so your souls can stay clean from negativity.
Have a good day.
Good morning BWD! You have a good day also my friend!
Thanks for the warning, BWD. How are you doing?
I’m okay, thanks. How are you?
Other than feeling like I’m on a constant roller coaster, I guess I’m doing well!
Good morning, OTeam. Here is today’s livestream schedule.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
All times Eastern
10:00 AM
Middle East peace talks opening statements: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas deliver opening statements as they begin peace talks at the State Department.
Livestreamed at CNN: http://live.cnn.com/ and CSPAN: http://cspan.org/
10:30 AM
Pentagon briefing on Afghanistan: The commanding general for Regional Command Southwest will brief reporters on current operations in Afghanistan.
Livestreamed at CNN: http://live.cnn.com/
12:00 PM
Middle East peace talks briefing: George Mitchell, the U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, speaks with reporters at the State Department.
Livestreamed at CNN: http://live.cnn.com/
12:00 PM
White House briefing: Press Secretary Robert Gibbs holds the daily press briefing with reporters.
Livestreamed at the WH: http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/ and CNN: http://live.cnn.com/
Good morning, good friends. Looking forward to a productive day for peace talks. Let’s focus on lots of positive energy building between and among the participants in those rooms. We know they want to work together. Now let’s wish for the very best to come from their hearts and their minds. PEACE for all.
CR, I have the livestream schedule in moderation. Thank you and a very good morning to ya!
Good morning and thank you Meta!
Sec. Clinton speech on peace talks begins now:
http://go.usa.gov/czB
Good morning, Sandy. I’m so excited for these talks to begin. Anyone know how long they’ll be here in the U.S.?
Sorry meta I’m not sure how long they’ll be in the US.
Clinton; “now is the opportunity to move on peace”
9/2/10 CSPAN
Sec. of State Hillary Clinton has brought together in Washington D.C. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for their first face-to-face meeting on Middle East peace talks since December 2008. Read More »
While security concerns and other settlement issues will be covered in the discussions, a major objective of the Obama administration is to broker an agreement on a Palestinian state within a year. Officials hope to get the two regions to agree to additional talks in Egypt in two weeks and possibly continue negotiations during the U.N General Assembly meeting at the end of the month.
President Obama met yesterday with the leaders of Israel, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority and later hosted a working dinner at the White House with the four leaders.
CSPAN Opening Statements video: http://www.cspan.org/Watch/Media/2010/09/02/HP/R/37684/Clinton+now+is+the+opportunity+to+move+on+peace.aspx
She gave excellent opening remarks.
U.S. and Argentina Will Hold First Bilateral Meeting on Science and Technology
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
September 1, 2010
The Governments of the United States of America and the Argentine Republic will hold the first bilateral Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) on Science and Technology Cooperation at the National Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Science in Buenos Aires on September 2-3, 2010. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Science, Space and Health Lawrence Gumbiner from the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs will lead the U.S. delegation and Secretary Alejandro Ceccato from the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Coordination will head the Argentine delegation.
U.S. and Argentine participants will affirm the significant role science and technology plays to enhance and complement each country’s political, economic and commercial infrastructure. Delegates will discuss potential collaborative activities that will enhance the development of professional and scientific networks, build capacity, strengthen institutional links, expand joint research, advance science knowledge and technology for innovation, and seek collaborative opportunities for civil safety and global security.
In particular, participants will examine scientific and technological cooperative activities currently underway between the two countries’ agencies, research centers, and academic institutions in the fields of innovation, basic science and astronomy, climate change, energy, earth science, forensic science, agriculture and food safety, and health. Delegates will explore several priority areas where bilateral collaboration could be further advanced including nanotechnology, atmospheric and space research, alternative energy research, and biotechnology.
The Joint Commission Meetings follow Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman’s bilateral discussions in Washington, DC, last month. The meetings will take place under the auspices of the Agreement related to Scientific and Technical Cooperation between the Government of the United States and the Government of the Argentine Republic, which was signed on April 7, 1972, and entered into force on April 11, 1972. The Joint Commission Meetings will include delegates representing ministries, technical agencies, and academic institutions from both countries related to science and technology.
For the entire article: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/08/146539.htm
US officials to visit China for talks
9/2/10 AFP
BEIJING (AFP) – US National Economic Council chairman Larry Summers will visit China next week for talks on bilateral relations, China announced Thursday.
Summers and Deputy National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon will visit China September 5-8, foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.
The National Economic Council is a key White House policy-making body.
Jiang gave no further details, such as which Chinese leaders would meet the two US officials.
Jiang also said former US president Jimmy Carter would visit China from September 5-10, travelling to Beijing, Shanghai and Hunan province.
Carter last week travelled to China’s neighbour North Korea to bring home an American teacher who had been imprisoned there.
But he also met North Korea’s number two leader, Kim Yong-Nam, who voiced support for resuming long-stalled nuclear disarmament talks hosted by Beijing.
Jiang said Carter would attend a pair of conferences but did not mention any meetings between the former US president and Chinese officials.
Gen. Petraeus calls relationship with Karzai sound
9/2/10 By ANNE GEARAN, AP
KABUL, Afghanistan – The top US military commander in Afghanistan says the sometimes strained relationship between the US and Afghan President Hamid Karzai is solid.
Gen. David Petraeus (peh-TRAY’-uhs) says Karzai shares US concerns about corruption in his country. Petraeus acknowledged “friction” over the case of a close Karzai aide arrested this summer in a corruption probe. The aide was released after Karzai intervened.
Petraeus says he heard Karzai assure President Barack Obama that he will back the work of US-sponsored anticorruption investigators.
The United States has said it views the case of Mohammed Zia Salehi as a test of Karzai’s willingness to take on graft and sleaze in his government.
Salehi was arrested by Afghan police after allegedly being wiretapped discussing a bribe. He called Karzai from his jail cell in July and was freed hours later.
Soon afterward Karzai blasted the work of the US-backed corruption investigators involved in that case and sought more control over them.
“President Karzai is the first to note that more has to be done,” about corruption overall, Petraeus told reporters Thursday. He said “friction” over the Salehi case has been resolved.
“It’s a relationship in which there is candor,” Petraeus said. “We do not always come at every issue from the same perspective but I think that’s a reflection of the strength of the relationship.”
Boxer, Fiorina debate: California economy is center stage
Sen. Barbara Boxer and GOP challenger Carly Fiorina faced off Wednesday night, drawing sharp distinctions between them. The Boxer, Fiorna debate was gaffe-free but too scripted, analysts say.
9/2/10 Daniel B. Wood – Christian Science Monitor
Neither candidate made any large gaffes or scored a knockout. The proceedings were fast-paced and informative, with both participants articulate and combative, feminine but in charge.
Those are the assessments of top political analysts, voters, and academics across California after the televised one-hour debate Wednesday night between Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) of California and firebrand Republican challenger Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard.
“This was a hard-hitting debate, if not a particularly spontaneous one,” says Jessica Levinson, political reform director of the Center for Governmental Studies, echoing an oft-heard analysis. “My biggest disappointment is that the event felt so scripted. At times, it seemed less like an exchange of ideas, and more like an exchange of talking points. I yearned for a moment like the one that occurred on the ‘West Wing’ [TV show], when both candidates agreed to throw out the rules and have a free and open dialogue about the campaign issues.”
Ms. Fiorina repeatedly painted Senator Boxer as an ineffective incumbent, say Ms. Levinson and others, and Boxer drew a picture of Fiorina as a newcomer so conservative that she is out of step with Californians. The economy, which is top of mind for many Californians, took center stage. While Fiorina accused Boxer of taxing and spending the state into a fiscal mess, Boxer accused Fiorina of being a greedy CEO, firing people, shipping jobs overseas, and accepting a large severance package.
“As Boxer kept saying, there is a clear choice on issues and they kept recapping them. How you weight them and what you know about the facts will determine who you thought won,” says Barbara O’Connor, director of the Institute for Study of Politics and Media at California State University, Sacramento. She says the key issues are jobs, immigration, gay marriage, abortion, gun control, and the role and size of government.
“Assertions on both sides miscast facts. On a truth-o-meter, Boxer has an edge,” says Ms. O’Connor. “But most voters don’t know it at that level. On a visceral and urgency level, it was about even. Whether people liked them more or enough to be energized about voting is unclear.”
For the entire article: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Election-2010/Senate/2010/0902/Boxer-Fiorina-debate-California-economy-is-center-stage
Republican challenger Carly Fiorina took aim at the nation’s troubled economy during her first debate with Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. The recession and California’s unemployment rate loomed large in the debate.
Sept. 1, 2010 AP
Good morning CR and O family. I watched the debate and Fiorini is a very dislikeable woman. All I could think of while watching her was how she made fun of Sen. Boxer’s hair. I could not get that out of my mind for some reason. I don’t think she could care less for the underprivileged. She seems very vain. I am praying that she does not win.
Good morning COS! Go Boxer!
No bank account? Get your tax refund on plastic
9/2/10 DANIEL WAGNER, AP
WASHINGTON – A new Treasury Department program to give people without bank accounts faster access to their tax refunds will help some avoid costly short-term loans. But careless consumers could end up racking up fees and padding bank profits.
The pilot program using debit cards has two goals: steering Americans toward lower-cost ways of getting their refunds quickly, and saving the government the cost of printing and mailing checks and other overhead expenses.
“It’s part of a broader set of initiatives … to move toward the all-electronic Treasury,” said Michael Barr, Treasury’s assistant secretary for financial institutions. He said taxpayer savings are “a factor” in the move, but that Treasury sees tax time as an moment to encourage the use of lower-cost banking products.
Starting next year, the pilot tax account program will be offered to several hundred thousand Americans. Treasury will offer several different kinds of cards and study which are most effective. Eventually, the program could be expanded to reach the 9 million American households that don’t have bank accounts.
For consumers, the debit cards will be virtually identical to checking accounts, though there won’t be any checks. They will be insured like bank deposits and will shield consumers from having to pay for fraudulent purchases when cards are lost or stolen. In some cases, the cards will store other income and offer bill-paying services.
The cards’ biggest advantage over paper checks is speed. People without bank accounts are more likely to borrow against their tax refunds and pay steep fees. That’s because the checks can take six weeks to arrive — far longer than the eight to 15 days it takes to have your refund deposited in a bank account.
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/9aJaXW
Unemployment claims drop for second straight week
9/2/10 CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP
WASHINGTON – The number of people requesting unemployment benefits declined for the second straight week, suggesting that the slowing economy isn’t prompting widespread job cuts.
New claims for unemployment aid fell last week by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 472,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists had expected a slight increase, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure, fell by 2,500 to 485,500, its first decrease after four straight increases.
Even with the declines, claims are still at much higher levels than they would be in a healthy economy. When economic output is growing rapidly and employers are hiring, claims generally drop below 400,000.
Still, some economists saw the report as mildly encouraging.
It appears “that a wave of panicked layoffs has passed, as companies have become a bit calmer in the face of the financial and economic disruptions of late spring and early summer,” Pierre Ellis, an economist at Decision Economics, wrote in a note to clients.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said productivity fell in the spring by the largest amount in nearly four years while labor cost rose. That indicates companies may have reached the limits of their ability to squeeze more work out of their reduced work forces.
Productivity, or the amount of output per hour of work, dropped at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the April-to-June quarter, double the 0.9 percent decline initially reported a month ago.
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/d6pmMC
Pending home sales rise 5.2 percent in July
9/2/10 Lucia Mutikani – Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose unexpectedly in July, an industry group said on Thursday, suggesting a tax credit-related housing market decline was close to bottoming.
The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in July, increased 5.2 percent to 79.4 from June. June contracts were revised to show a slightly bigger 2.8 percent decline instead of the previously reported 2.6 percent fall.
Compared to the July last year, pending home sales fell 19.1 percent. Economists polled by Reuters forecast the index, which leads existing home sales by a month or two, falling 1.0 percent in July.
Home sales and building activity have dropped sharply following the end in April of a popular tax credit for home buyers.
“Home sales will remain soft in the months ahead, but improved affordability conditions should help with a recovery,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.
Gulf oil platform explodes, burning off La. coast
9/23/10 By ALAN SAYRE, AP – 11 mins ago
NEW ORLEANS, La. – An offshore petroleum platform exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site where BP’s undersea well spilled after a rig explosion.
The Coast Guard said no one was killed in the explosion, which was spotted by a commercial helicopter flying over the site Thursday morning. All 13 people aboard the rig have been accounted for, with one injury. The extent of the injury was not known.
They were rescued from the water by an offshore service vessel, the Crystal Clear, said Coast Guard Cmdr. She said they were taken to a nearby platform. All were being flown to the Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma to be checked over.
“Thirteen people were seen huddled together in the water wearing gumby suits or immersion suits, water protection suits, so we were able to confirm that all people were accounted for,” Coast Guard spokesman Chief Petty Officer John Edwards said.
Seven Coast Guard helicopters, two airplanes and three cutters were dispatched to the scene from New Orleans, Houston and Mobile, Ala., Ben-Iesau said. She said authorities do not know whether oil was leaking from the site.
The platform, known as Vermilion Oil Platform 380, was owned by Mariner Energy of Houston, according to a homeland security operations update obtained by The Associated Press. The platform was not producing oil and gas, according to the operations report.
Melissa Schwartz, spokeswoman for Bureau of Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement, said the platform was authorized to produce oil and gas at this water depth but had not been recently in active production.
“There were ongoing maintenance activities underway,” she said, adding it was in approximately 340 feet of water.
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/9Y5OWc
Damn, damn, damn. PBO just can’t get a break.
No sign of oil spill after Gulf platform fire
9/2/10 By ALAN SAYRE, AP 43 mins ago
NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Coast Guard is saying there are no immediate signs of a spill from an oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast.
All 13 crew members were rescued from the water in the second such disaster in the Gulf in less than five months.
The Coast Guard initially reported an oil sheen a mile long and 100 feet wide had begun to spread from the site of the fire, about 200 miles west of the site of BP’s massive spill. But officials said at a Thursday afternoon news conference that boats at the platform have not seen any oil sheen.
Feds sue Arizona sheriff in civil rights probe
9/2/10 By JACQUES BILLEAUD, AP
PHOENIX – The U.S. Justice Department sued Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Thursday, saying the Arizona lawman refused for more than a year to turn over records in an investigation into allegations his department discriminates against Hispanics.
The lawsuit calls Arpaio and his office’s defiance “unprecedented,” and said the federal government has been trying since March 2009 to get officials to comply with its probe of alleged discrimination, unconstitutional searches and seizures, and having English-only policies in his jails that discriminate against people with limited English skills.
Arpaio had been given until Aug. 17 to hand over documents it first asked for 15 months ago.
Arpaio’s attorney, Robert Driscoll, declined immediate comment on the lawsuit, saying he had just received it and hadn’t yet conferred with his client.
Arpaio’s office had said it has fully cooperated in the jail inquiry but won’t hand over additional documents into the examination of the alleged unconstitutional searches because federal authorities haven’t said exactly what they were investigating.
It’s the latest action against Arizona by the federal government, which earlier sued the state to stop its strict new immigration law that requires police officers to question people about their immigration status.
“The actions of the sheriff’s office are unprecedented,” said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the department’s civil rights division. “It is unfortunate that the department was forced to resort to litigation to gain access to public documents and facilities.”
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix and names Arpaio, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and the county.
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/ceM0XH
Hey Vero, you mentioned the other day that you got the OFA app for your new iPad. I have it on my iPhone and they just added a great new canvassing tool. It’s spelled out here and I think it’s the same for the iPad as you’ll see when you scroll down a bit. Check it out!
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/iphone2010
Now with this new canvassing tool, you can see how thoroughly integrated the whole process of GOTV has become. It’s amazing and it will really produce more information faster so we can be more effective in the field.
From Ezra Klein
Posted at 9:30 AM ET, 09/2/2010
Does Elizabeth Warren have something to tell us?
Elizabeth Warren is the frontrunner to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She’s also, however, a professor at Harvard Law School, which isn’t very compatible with taking a full-time job in Washington. Something’s going to have to give. And if this e-mail Brady Dennis obtained is any indication, it’s not Warren’s political ambitions:
When fall classes began Wednesday at Harvard Law School, Elizabeth Warren was scheduled to be teaching contract law to first-year students. But something happened on the way to the chalkboard.
“I’m writing to let you know that Professor Jerry Frug will be teaching your Contracts class this term instead of Professor Elizabeth Warren,” law school dean Martha Minow wrote to students on Tuesday, according to an e-mail obtained by The Washington Post. “Professor Warren regrets that she will not be able to teach you this fall and we regret the last minute change.”
Last-minute change?
I’d also note that as the election outlook grows grimmer for the Democrats, the White House seems to be picking a new fight on jobs. I wouldn’t be shocked if they decided to pick one on consumer protections, as well.
I am pretty sure she is going to be the President’s choice.
and I hasten to add that it wouldn’t matter if the President chose Jesus Christ for this position, there is going to be flack. He is damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. He might as well just do what he wants because there will be criticism. God love him.
Jackie I totally agree. And I am sure some of the criticism will be coming from the professional left. I was listening to one of the talk shows this morning and a caller called in and said that Democrats need to stop demonizing each other. He was referring to people like Alan Grayson and Anthony Weiner calling Democrats weak. He said that all Dems should not be lumped into one category. People like the blue dogs should be called out but Dems who are trying to do what is right should not have to suffer because of the blue dogs.
Speaking of Anthony Weiner, has anyone seen or heard from him since his big rant on the House floor?
No. I have to say I’m loving them being on recess so I don’t have to listen to their endless preening. UGH. I sometimes wonder if PBO decided to run for the Presidency in part to escape the insanity of the Senate.
I imagine that was part of it Meta. PBO is not a petty person and he has very little patience with drama. That’s why he dislike cable so much.
Hypocrisy Alert: Seven States Suing Federal Government Request Federal Subsidies
September 1st, 2010 by Speaker’s Press Shop
In the latest example of Republican politicians’ hypocrisy, seven states suing the federal government claiming the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional have requested and been approved for federal subsidies through reform to cover early retiree health care costs.
AP, “Some states suing feds also claim health subsidies”:
Some states suing to toss out President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law are also lining up to claim a share of its subsidies for the medical costs of retired employees.
An administration official said Tuesday seven states suing the federal government are among 16 already approved for subsidies to help with the health care costs of early retirees. The seven are Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska and Nevada.
Times-Picayune, “Louisiana approved for participation in program it is suing to end”:
Louisiana is one of seven states suing to overturn President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul law while also applying to get money provided under the legislation to help cover the medical costs of early retirees…
In addition to the state of Louisiana itself, 16 Louisiana companies and government entities also were approved for participation. They include Entergy Corp., St. Tammany Parish public schools, St. Bernard Parish government, the Orleans Levee District, Plaquemines Parish government and the Albemarle Corp.
The Journal Gazette (Indiana), “Feds OK 75 in state for health subsidies”:
The state of Indiana, dozens of schools, one of the state’s largest private employers and unions will receive money under the nation’s new health insurance law when early retirees file high-cost medical claims.
Indiana applied for the subsidies even though it has sued to block the health insurance law…
In addition, the state of Indiana, Eli Lilly and Co., Elkhart County, Ball State University, Indiana State Police, NiSource, Purdue University and unions representing plumbers, painters and cement masons were accepted into the program.
Americans are all too familiar with Congressional Republican hypocrisy. Just last week, in a speech before the City Club of Cleveland, Mr. Boehner said “all this stimulus spending has gotten us nowhere…”:
But that very same day the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a report showing the Recovery Act added as many as 3.3 million jobs and the Ohio Department of Transportation announced that 9,500 Ohioans were employed on Recovery Act-funded construction projects just in the month of July.
Mr. Boehner is also on the record supporting the use of Recovery Act funds in his home state of Ohio stating it “will create much-needed jobs.”
In fact, many Congressional Republicans have publicly criticized the Recovery Act while going out of their way to take credit for it in their home districts.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 3:13 pm by Speaker’s Press Shop and is filed under Affordable Health Care, In the News, Retirement Security. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
The Washington Post: ‘Five Reasons for Economic Optimism’
September 2nd, 2010 by Speaker’s Press Shop
Congressional Democrats continue to support legislation to provide tax cuts for the middle-class, create good-paying American jobs, and reduce the deficit – while Republicans threaten to take Americans back to the “exact same” failed agenda of the Bush Administration. While clearly more needs to be done, including Senate Republicans dropping their blockade of the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act, which provides tax relief for small businesses and enables small businesses to have more access to loans, an article in today’s Washington Post outlines five reasons “that a slow-and-steady [economic] recovery is likely to continue.” From the Washington Post:
Is there any reason for hope in this gloomy summer for the economy? A certain fatalism – that a double-dip recession is inevitable – has crept into a lot of economic analysis lately, but it may be overstating the degree to which we are in dire straits. A roaring recovery is probably not on the way, but here are five reasons that a slow-and-steady recovery is likely to continue.
Savings
The savings rate rose from 2.7 percent at the start of the recession, in the beginning of 2008, to 5.9 percent in July. That means households are farther along in readjusting their spending patterns to match their incomes than was previously realized. That should make them freer to spend more in the months ahead.
Credit
Gradual healing is underway in the financial sector, making loans more available for households and businesses. The most recent edition of the Federal Reserve’s senior loan officers survey showed that more banks have eased lending standards for corporate loans. For companies with access to global capital markets, interest rates remain quite low, which supports growth.
Manufacturing
The industrial sector is actually holding up. July industrial production was up 1 percent, and early indicators show that the expansion continued last month. The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday that its index of activity in the manufacturing sector rose in August, to 56.3 from 55.5 (numbers above 50 indicate expansion). It appears that manufacturers view final demand for their products as steady enough to keep producing.
Housing
No one is expecting home-building activity to return to pre-crisis levels for a very long time. But in July, builders began building new housing units at a paltry annual rate of 546,000, less than half of what’s needed to keep up with population growth. The housing market just can’t contract that much more. When housing starts fell from a 2.3 million annual rate in early 2006 to the low of 477,000 in April 2009, it was a major drain on the economy, but a decline of that scale is now mathematically impossible.
Trade
A steep rise in imports dragged down the economy in the second quarter to an unprecedented degree. If the trade deficit had not widened, the gross domestic product would have grown at a healthy 5 percent annual rate. With many other world economies doing better than the U.S. economy right now, exports may be set to rise more than imports in the coming quarters, which would help domestic growth.
It’s all in people’s heads. The media creates a gloomy and depressing narrative, and it’s infecting.
Two New Studies: Health Reform Benefits Small Business
Posted by Stephanie Cutter on September 02, 2010
Under the old health care system, many businesses found it difficult, if not impossible to provide health insurance benefits to their workers. Over the past decade the percentage of small firms offering coverage decreased and many businesses have suffered under the weight of high health care costs.
The Affordable Care Act helps make it easier for employers to provide health benefits. This year, small businesses are eligible for health care tax credits and starting in 2014, small businesses with up to 100 employees will have access to state-based Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Exchanges, which will expand their purchasing power. Additionally, the Business Roundtable estimated that provisions in the legislation could save $3,000 per person in health costs.
In less than a day, two new studies have confirmed that the Affordable Care Act will deliver significant benefits to small businesses. Yesterday, the Rand Corporation released a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine that indicated that the Affordable Care Act will strengthen employer-based health insurance. Here’s how the LA Times summarized the report:
An economist and two health policy researchers at the nonprofit Rand Corp. conducted a simulation to predict what is likely to happen once employers are able to offer coverage through these exchanges. Overall, they estimate that the proportion of U.S. workers who will have access to health insurance through their jobs will jump from 84.6% to 94.6%. That works out to 13.6 million additional workers having the option to buy affordable health plans.
Most of that bump is likely to come from smaller businesses with 50 or fewer employees. Today, only 60.4% of these employees can get health insurance through their jobs. Once the exchanges are functioning, the Rand researchers forecast that 85.9% of small business employees will have the option of buying health plans at work – an increase of 10.5 million workers.
Part of the reason for that growth is that the policies that will be offered through the exchanges will be less expensive, the researchers said. Small companies will be able to band together to pool their risk, which will give them more leverage to bargain with insurance companies. It also means their premiums should be more stable from year to year.
Today, the Commonwealth Fund finds that millions of small businesses will benefit from the new small business tax credits included in the new law. The study notes that 16.6 million Americans work at firms that could be eligible for the tax credit in the next three years alone and predicts that the new law will extend employer-based coverage to up to 7 million people who are currently without employer health insurance. Check out the new study by clicking here.
Stephanie Cutter is Assistant to the President for Special Projects
There’s Courage in Our Country’s Classrooms
Posted by Secretary Arne Duncan on September 02, 2010
As students head back to school this fall, I travelled over the last two weeks on an eight-state bus tour to highlight “Courage in the Classroom.” The mission of the tour was simple: to honor our nation’s unsung heroes—our teachers.
For the entier article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/02/there-s-courage-our-country-s-classrooms
How to Get a Government-Backed, Zero-Down-Payment Mortgage
9/2/10 By Luke Mullins Luke Mullins – USNews
More than four years after real estate values peaked, the historic plunge in home prices remains fresh in the minds of mortgage lenders. After taking painful losses on delinquent home loans, banks have imposed tougher standards–such as increased credit scores and higher down payment requirements–on applicants of all stripes. And as investors fled for the hills, the exotic mortgage products that helped fuel the real estate boom have largely disappeared from the private market. But that doesn’t mean all buyers need a big pile of cash to snag a home loan. In fact, loan guarantees from Uncle Sam are enabling hundreds of thousands of borrowers to obtain mortgages without putting any money down. To help consumers determine whether or not they might be eligible for such financing, here’s a rundown on how to get a government-backed, zero-down-payment mortgage:
[In Pictures: 9 Smart Ways to Come Up with Down-Payment Cash.]
USDA Rural Development: Although it was originally designed to assist farmers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development housing program has since evolved to serve rural communities in their entirety. Through the USDA’s loan guarantee program, the agency agrees to assume as much as 90 percent of the losses on qualified mortgages in the event that they go delinquent. This guarantee, in turn, enables approved lenders to finance as much as 100 percent of the property’s appraised value. “[The mortgages] are government-backed so they are guaranteed,” says Tammye Trevino, the USDA Rural Development housing administrator. (The USDA also has a smaller, direct lending program that provides subsidized mortgages to very low income borrowers.)
The program only applies to rural areas with 20,000 residents or less. Participating families, meanwhile, must demonstrate that they lack adequate housing but have the wherewithal to remain current on their payments. Since the program is aimed at low- and moderate-income residents, applicants can earn no more than 115 percent of the area’s median income to be eligible. “The average credit score is between 670 and 675,” Trevino says.
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/czU2r4
Economic data dampen fears of new recession
9/2/10 By Lucia Mutikani – Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rebounded unexpectedly in July and new claims for jobless benefits fell last week, helping dampen fears the economy could face a double dip recession.
The data on Thursday, including sturdy sales from U.S. retailers last month, followed a report on Wednesday showing a surprising gain in manufacturing activity and suggested the economy retained some underlying strength.
“This is an economy that has hit a soft patch. It’s not an economy that appears to be heading toward a double-dip recession,” said Brian Levitt, an economist at OppenheimerFunds in New York.
Investors appeared to agree earlier fears of a double-dip recession might have been overdone as they sold long-dated U.S. government bonds and bought some stocks. The broad Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) was up 0.32 percent at midday.
The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed, rose 5.2 percent in July from a month earlier. Analysts had expected the index, which leads actual sales by a month or two, to fall 1 percent.
Home sales have dropped sharply since a popular tax credit for home buyers ended in April and the surprise gain in pending sales raised hopes the sector could soon stabilize.
A separate report from the Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped for a second straight week last week, slipping 6,000 to 472,000.
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/b1TMmR
Good day all!
meta, thanks for the link on the iPad app. When I get home I’ll check it out. The app is so cool, I’m really loving all the different apps for the iPad.
On another note, I’m loving the Middle East peace initiative. I notice that most of the articles that have been highlighted around the net are negative on the prospects. Ah well, such are the times we are living in.
Howdy, Vero. I must say that after listening to all the opening remarks today and the briefing yesterday, I am greatly encouraged. Now a LOT can go wrong over the next year obviously but I believe there is good will and an eagerness to move into the a new century of prosperity and that can’t happen as long as this conflict is taking up all the mental, emotional and financial energy of the region. Caution is definitely warranted but I will remain hopeful until I hear otherwise.
Look at this gallery of photos and you can see how hard working and sincere everyone is. Pete Souza is a master.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/photogallery/working-towards-middle-east-peace?utm_source=090210&utm_medium=image&utm_campaign=daily
U.S. says Israelis and Palestinians agree to more talks
9/2/10 Andrew Quinn and Jeffrey Heller Andrew – Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israeli and Palestinian leaders began their first round of direct peace negotiations in more than a year on Thursday, pledging to meet again in two weeks as part of a U.S.-brokered quest for peace.
U.S. Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held productive meetings and would meet again in the region on September 14-15 and every two weeks thereafter.
The direct peace negotiations came despite widespread skepticism and fresh violence in the volatile West Bank that underscored the challenges facing both leaders as they seek an agreement to establish an independent Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel.
“President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu are committed to doing what it takes to achieve the right result,” Mitchell told reporters, adding that both he and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would attend the September talks.
“This will not be easy,” Netanyahu said earlier as talks hosted by Clinton began at the State Department. “A true peace, a lasting peace, would be achieved only with mutual and painful concessions from both sides.”
Mitchell said both sides agreed that the talks were sensitive and that they would therefore release little information about details of their discussions.
But he said they agreed that the first item on the agenda would be to work up a “framework agreement” to establish the fundamental compromises necessary to reach a final deal within a year.
The talks mark the latest in a long line of efforts dating back decades to resolve one of the world’s most intractable disputes.
For the entire article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_palestinians_israel
“Quote stuffing” a focus in (May) flash-crash probe
9/2/10 By Roberta Rampton – Reuters
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. regulators probing the May flash crash are focusing on a trading practice known as “quote stuffing” in which large numbers of rapid-fire orders to buy or sell stocks are placed and canceled almost immediately.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are also examining something called sub-penny pricing, said a person familiar with the “flash crash” probe.
CFTC Commissioner Scott O’Malia told Reuters on Thursday his agency is reviewing data from Nanex LLC, a trade database developer that issued a study suggesting computer algorithms used quote stuffing to gain an edge during the May 6 crash.
“If traders are flooding the market with orders with the intention of slowing other traders down, then we should consider addressing this under new disruptive trading practices authority,” O’Malia said.
He serves as head of the CFTC’s technology advisory committee, which in July raised concerns about what effect quote stuffing has on investors and prices.
“I don’t see how quote stuffing as a trading practice benefits futures markets,” O’Malia said.
The SEC and the CFTC have yet to explain what caused the crash that drove the Dow Jones industrial average down some 700 points in minutes, before sharply rebounding. The SEC is still requesting “a huge amount of general data” from exchanges and other trading venues, said a second person familiar with the investigation.
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/9sEfpy
September 01, 2010
President Obama Signs North Carolina Disaster Declaration
The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of North Carolina and ordered Federal aid to supplement State and local
response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Earl beginning on September 1, 2010, and continuing.
The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hyde, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, and Washington Counties.
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.
W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Michael Bolch as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FEMA (202) 646-3272.
Making Preparations Prior to the Impacts of Hurricane Earl
Posted by Nikki Sutton on September 02, 2010 at 02:15 PM EDT
President Obama spoke with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate this afternoon and yesterday morning to ensure we are doing everything in our power to keep people safe in advance of Hurricane Earl along the eastern seaboard. The President will continue to monitor the situation as FEMA tracks the storm’s movement in conjunction with the National Hurricane Center.
Late last night, President Obama signed a pre-landfall Disaster Declaration for North Carolina, ensuring the availability of federal aid to assist state and local authorities. Local officials in the Outer Banks of North Carolina began issuing evacuation orders on Wednesday, and we encourage everyone living on or visiting the East Coast to monitor and follow any evacuation orders made by their local officials. FEMA has deployed teams to North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhodes Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine to support storm preparations as well as response and recovery efforts as needed. FEMA has also prepositioned commodities for rapid delivery, including water, meals, tarps, blankets, generators and other essential items.
If you live on the East Coast, now is the time to take the necessary steps to prepare for the storm. Visit Ready.gov for important information on putting together an emergency supply kit, making a plan with your family, and staying informed as new information becomes available.
Just sent an email to the White House asking them to tell Gibbs and other press folks there to STOP ANSWERING DUMB QUESTIONS ABOUT BECK, THE PRESIDENT’S RELIGION, ETC.
This is Gibbs’ response to a question about Beck’s assertion that the president believes in liberation theology: http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0910/w_h_vs_beck_b6481045-c252-4e74-be56-c5d507cc5568.html
President Obama is a “mainstream Christian,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday, questioning why Glenn Beck has said the president follows “liberation theology.”
“People are entitled to their own opinion, as ill-informed as it may be,” Gibbs told reporters. “But they’re not entitled to their own facts.”
Gibbs called Obama a “committed, mainstream Christian” and said he had “no evidence that would guide me as to what Glenn Beck would have any genuine knowledge as to what the president does or does not believe.”
“I can only imagine where Mr. Beck conjured that from,” he said.
I don’t know why Gibbs can’t just say “no” when asked if the president follows liberation theology, and “no” when asked if the president is anything other than a Christian.
No more long answers, even if you are just mocking someone or something. Just say NO and move on!
I agree Vero. I cringed when he answered. Bill Press asked that question, knowing what the answer would be. He is in a feud with Beck on his radio show for the statement he made on Monday on KO while Lawrence O’Donnell was hosting, and he is trying to drag the president into his mess. This is where I find Democrats useless. Enough already and leave the president out of this.
Did you listen to Ed today? I caught the first segment and he was saying how he’s going to get 300K people on the Mall for a rally. Is he talking about the Oct. 2 rally? Or is he planning one all on his own, because if he’s talking about the Oct. 2 rally, it is a combined effort and I resent him making it sound like it’s his deal.
I don’t listen to Ed anymore. I cut him loose long time ago when he started dissing PBO during the healtcare debate. I think he is speaking of the 10/2/10 rally. You know Ed has a huge ego and he will brag later on how many people came to the 10/2 rally because he said so. I certainly hope he stop discouraging people to vote in the midterm. Hopefully, he is trying to make up for that statement without admitting that he made a mistake in saying it.
I certainly hope he’s not going to be given time to get up on the stage and talk about Sissy Room this and weak that. I’m kind of worried that the 10/2 rally will be a progressive whinefest. I really hope not because that would just put the finish on us.
It won’t be, not with the NAACP and National Action Network involved. They’ve been with POTUS all along and aren’t really part of the professional left.
5 Tax Moves to Make Now
9/2/10 By DR Dr – USNews
It may seem a bit strange to be talking about income taxes in September. There are, however, good reasons to think about taxes well before April 15. For starters, there are some big changes in the tax code that go into effect in 2011. Depending on your income tax bracket and investments, some simple planning now could save you a bundle later.
And taking steps now to organize your tax files can avoid headaches and aggravation at tax time. So we’ve put together 5 tax moves to make now to take advantage of changing tax laws and to better prepare for tax season.
1. Evaluate Capital Gains
2. Make Money Now
3. Green Your Home
4. Get Organized
5. Plan Your Tax Preparation
For the entire article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20100902/ts_usnews/5taxmovestomakenow
Stocks edge higher after jobs, housing reports
9/2/10 By STEPHEN BERNARD, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK – Stocks edged higher Thursday after reports on housing, manufacturing and jobs indicated the economy continues to grow, albeit slowly.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 25 points in late afternoon trading. Broader indexes also rose.
Even though the latest economic data pointed to modest improvements, Thursday’s moves were muted because traders are cautious ahead of the government’s monthly report on employment due out Friday. Traders often limit big moves before the jobs data because it is considered so vital to determining the health of the economy.
“We’re treading water,” said Dan Genter, CEO of RNC Genter Capital. Traders are waiting to see if Friday’s jobs data “provides more of a rescue or a shark attack.”
The monthly report is likely to provide further evidence that the jobs market remains weak. The Labor Department’s monthly data is expected to indicate employers are still not hiring workers in large numbers. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predict the unemployment rate inched up to 9.6 percent last month from 9.5 percent in July as private employers hired just 41,000 workers last month.
With little broad conviction about the health of the economy, investors chose to target specific stocks following monthly retail sales reports and the latest acquisition activity.
“It’s a trader’s market,” said Kenneth Polcari, managing director at ICAP Equities.
For the entire article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100902/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street
Here we go…more opportunities for the press to embarrass themselves!
President Obama will hold a press conference next Friday, the White House announced. The question-and-answer session with reporters will be at the White House.
I am sure they have started already getting together their gotcha questions. They are pathetic.
At least they will not say that they don’t have access to the president.
But seriously, i’m happy that he’s doing it. He should do it every two weeks until the election. Just take complete control of the message, the narrative and public attention.
Great idea BWD.
I was thinking just yesterday that he should do one, so I’m happy to hear this. YES! I hope he sets them all straight.
Did anyone hear Bill Plant ask Gibbs what PBO thought about the Democrats taking a big nose dive in the pills last month. Where is he getting his information from?
Well, the polls are not looking good right now. We probably should be clear eyed on that.
He did ask that and was quite dramatic about it. He didn’t cite his sources specifically but the question was asked in the context of why the President isn’t doing more for all the candidates? Of course. I felt like saying, “because he’s not a bottomless pit able to be everywhere at all times and be all things to all people” I tell you, it’s just a relentless onslaught.
BTW, guys, there’s another place we can feel quite safe among PBO fans. It’s being run by Deaniac83 from DK, who’s really one of the good guys:
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2010/09/glenn-greenwalds-unhinged-attack-on.html
Thanks BWD!
Yes, I have this site bookmarked. I think Kat or Vero posted info from this bloger and I started reading it everyday. I was happy to see he/she take on Grenwald. I love this blogger.
http://www.polising.com/2010/09/gallup-obama-in-positive-territory-for.html
It’s interesting. The media hyperventilates over any Gallup polling that finds the Democrats in despair. But when Gallup finds Barack Obama’s approval rating jumping a net 12 percentage points in two and a half weeks, with more approving than disapproving for two straight days — the first time that has been the case since mid-July — all we hear is… crickets. Interesting.
I am suprised when the favorable numbers seem to be drifting upwards that they don’t suspend that weeks polling altogether. We sure don’t want anyone to think the President is doing a good job do we?
Good post over on DailyKos about the Boxer/Fiornia debate.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/9/2/898554/-Boxer-vs.-Fiorina:-The-Peoples-Senator-vs.-Privileged-CEO
Thanks Jackie!
Thanks Jackie. As I stated above, I really like this blogger’s site. I think we have been giving her a lot of hits. It is always nice to find someone blogging for the Dems.
September 02, 2010
Trip by National Economic Council Director Lawrence H. Summers and Deputy National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon to China
On September 4, 2010, National Economic Council Director Lawrence H. Summers and Deputy National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon will travel to Beijing, China for three days of meetings with Chinese leaders and policymakers, including Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo. Lawrence H. Summers and Thomas E. Donilon will discuss a wide range of issues touching on bilateral and international issues.
September 02, 2010
Readout of President Obama’s Recent Calls on the Middle East
President Obama called President Sarkozy earlier today to thank him for his support for a comprehensive Middle East peace, and to consult on next steps to encourage further progress in the direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The President noted that he had a productive series of meetings yesterday, and said that he believed the two parties were committed to achieving progress. President Sarkozy affirmed his full support for the peace talks and his commitment to working with President Obama and the other leaders to advance the process. Both leaders agreed to remain in close touch on this issue as part of their ongoing cooperation.
Earlier in the week on Monday, August 31, the President called King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to discuss the situation in the region, including direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians and the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq.
Republicans Obstructing Legislation to Help Small Businesses
September 2nd, 2010 by Speaker’s Press Shop
A new poll released yesterday shows small business owners continue to be concerned about the country’s economic recovery.
Democrats are fighting for American workers, their families and small businesses and we will continue to work to grow our economy and create jobs. What is clear is that Republicans are continuing to obstruct progress and seek to take us back to the failed economic policies of the Bush Administration.
Here are the facts about the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act passed by House Democrats:
Estimated Job Impact: 450,000-500,000 new American jobs
Passed the House: June 17, 2010
Opposed by House Republicans: 98% voted NO
A similar bill has been blocked by Senate Republicans for months.
Tomorrow’s early 9/3/10 Friday POTUS Schedule:
10:00 am
The President delivers a statement to the press on the monthly jobs numbers
Pre-set 9:10AM – Final Gather 9:40AM – North Doors of the Palm Room
Open Press
As you know, the national and internet is all a buzz about Governor Brewers 13 second pause in her opening debate statement last night. She has a 19 point lead over Attorney General Terry Goddard. A political science expert, an attorney for a large law firm here in Phoenix came on PBS tonight and assessed the performances from last night. Now, he is a republican. He worked for former Governor Fife Symington who went to jail and left office, but the guy was pretty reasonable. He said Goddard’s strongest point was on the private prison issue and that he should have gone for the jugular on that issue because Brewer’s campaign manager and one of the Senator’s that authored SB1070 are linked to private prisons where it is believed is the real reason for the push for the law in the first place.
After saying all of that, the point of this post is to tell you that, according to him, President Obama’s approval rating in Arizona is 39% which is the lowest in the country. He also said that the Republican strategy is to wrap all the Democratic candidates into Obama policy for the win. I guess this is nothing new, but it bothers me a lot. They said the popularity of SB1070 is the Republican’s best issue.
Pearl Harbor marks 65th anniversary of WWII’s end
9/2/10 AUDREY McAVOY, AP
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — Don Fosburg recalled friends and family killed in World War II as he marked the 65th anniversary of the end of the conflict on Thursday.
“You start thinking about all the guys who didn’t make it. I had a cousin who was on Bataan and didn’t survive. His brother was blown up off the coast of Africa,” said the 84-year-old, who was a radioman aboard the USS Missouri during the war. “You start to thinking about the guys that you knew. You can’t help but do that. And maybe you think you’re pretty lucky.”
Fosburg returned to the Missouri — now a museum moored in Pearl Harbor — for a ceremony commemorating 6½ decades since Japan formally signed surrender papers on board the battleship when it was anchored in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945.
He remembered the mood being calmer than some two weeks before that occasion, on the night of Aug. 15, when sailors cheered and hollered after a fellow radioman got word Japan had agreed to unconditionally surrender.
“He woke me up: ‘They’ve accepted the surrender. The war is over!’ Then it went through the ship, and it was quite a bit of celebration,” Fosburg said. “It woke everybody up.”
Veterans Secretary Eric Shinseki, who delivered the keynote address, hailed the sacrifices of those who fought on Pacific atolls, European forests and manned supply depots and refueling stations.
For the entire article: http://apne.ws/b2EZ1Y
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