The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a United States federal law requiring larger employers to provide employees job-protected unpaid leave due to a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform his or her job, or to care for a sick family member, or to care for a new child (including by birth, adoption or foster care). The FMLA is administered by the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration of the United States Department of Labor. Rep. William Ford [D-MI] sponsored the bill and President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, signed the bill into law on February 5, 1993
Monday Feb. 7, 2011
All Times Eastern
7:00 AM
8:00 AM
9:00 AM
9:30 AM
Pres Obama receives the Presidential Daily Briefing.
10:00 AM
11:00 AM
11:30 AM
Pres Obama delivers remarks at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
12:00 PM
12:30 PM
Pres Obama has lunch with Paul Volcker.
1:00 PM
White House briefing
The White House holds its daily briefing with reporters. Topics expected to be discussed include the crisis in Egypt and the state of the economy.
2:00 PM
2:30 PM
Pres Obama and VP Biden meet.
3:00 PM
4:00 PM
5:00 PM
5:15 pm
VP Biden meets with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
Naval Observatory
Feb 7, 2011
WhiteHouse.gov http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
11:30 AM EST
Pres. Obama at U.S. Chamber of Commerce
1:00 PM EST
White House briefing
The White House holds its daily briefing with reporters. Topics expected to be discussed include the crisis in Egypt and the state of the economy.
—
CNN http://live.cnn.com/
Egyptian State TV http://www.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=stream1
11:30 AM EST
Pres. Obama at U.S. Chamber of Commerce
1:00 PM EST
White House briefing
The White House holds its daily briefing with reporters. Topics expected to be discussed include the crisis in Egypt and the state of the economy.
2:00 PM EST
U.S. Senate Session
—
CSPAN http://www.cspan.org/
Egypt: Gov’t, Protestors Begin Dialogue http://www.cspan.org/Events/Egypt-Govt-Protestors-Begin-Dialogue/10737419428/
9:04 AM EST
Brookings Institution Immigration Policy- Darrell West http://www.cspan.org/Events/Brookings-Institution-Discussion-on-Immigration-Policy/10737419443/
9:30 AM EST
U.S.-Japan Research Institute: Future of Alliance http://www.cspan.org/Events/Discussion-on-US-Japan-Relations/10737419444/
11:30 AM EST
Pres. Obama at U.S. Chamber of Commerce http://www.cspan.org/Events/President-Addresses-the-US-Chamber/10737419401-1/
1:00 PM EST
White House briefing
The White House holds its daily briefing with reporters. Topics expected to be discussed include the crisis in Egypt and the state of the economy. http://www.cspan.org/Events/White-House-Briefing-with-Press-Secretary-Robert-Gibbs/10737419445/
2:00 PM EST
U.S. Senate Session
4:30 PM EST
State Department Press Briefing http://www.cspan.org/Events/State-Department-Press-Briefing/10737419446-1/
Family and Medical Leave
Entitlement
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), most Federal employees are entitled to a total of up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for the following purposes:
* the birth of a son or daughter of the employee and the care of such son or daughter;
* the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care;
* the care of spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the employee who has a serious health condition; or
* a serious health condition of the employee that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her positions.
Under certain conditions, an employee may use the 12 weeks of FMLA leave intermittently. An employee may elect to substitute annual leave and/or sick leave, consistent with current laws and OPM’s regulations for using annual and sick leave, for any unpaid leave under the FMLA. (The amount of sick leave that may be used to care for a family member is limited. See “Sick Leave to Care for a Family Member with a Serious Health Condition”) FMLA leave is in addition to other paid time off available to an employee.
Job Benefits and Protection
* Upon return from FMLA leave, an employee must be returned to the same position or to an “equivalent position with equivalent benefits, pay, status, and other terms and conditions of employment.”
* An employee who takes FMLA leave is entitled to maintain health benefits coverage. An employee on unpaid FMLA leave may pay the employee share of the premiums on a current basis or pay upon return to work.
Advance Notice and Medical Certification
* An employee must provide notice of his or her intent to take family and medical leave not less than 30 days before leave is to begin or, in emergencies, as soon as is practicable.
* An agency may request medical certification for FMLA leave taken to care for an employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent who has a serious health condition or for the serious health condition of the employee.
http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/HTML/fmlafac2.asp
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (P.L. 103-3, 107 Stat. 6) to help people who were stressed about trying to balance the competing demands of work and family. The law was signed by President William J. Clinton on February 5, 1993. Experts often refer to the legislation as the “FMLA.”
Changes taking place in the American family over the past decades led to the need for the FMLA. With an increasing number of single-parent families and two-parent families in which both parents work, the birth of a child or a serious family illness often placed workers in the position of having to choose between keeping their jobs or providing care to a family member.
Women were especially burdened because they have traditionally had the role of caregiver. Not only have parents sometimes lost time from work to attend to their families, but their own medical problems could lead to missed work days as well. These absences from work caused problems with employers who needed a reliable work force; too many absences due to illness, therefore, could get an employee fired. The FMLA allows employees to take unpaid leaves of absence from their jobs in these kinds of situations. It provides a minimum level of job security for people trying to balance the demands of their jobs with family obligations.
Section 2601 of the FMLA states the purpose of the law:
… to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families, to promote the stability and economic security of families, and to promote the national interests in preserving family integrity … to entitle employees to take reasonable leave for medical reasons, for the birth or adoption of a child, and for the care of a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition … to promote the goal of equal employment opportunity for men and women.
Not everyone was in favor passing the FMLA; legislators extensively debated the proposed bill in Congress before it was passed. While many legislators thought the FMLA was needed to help families, some argued the FMLA would unnecessarily interfere with relationships between employers and employees and would hurt small businesses. Others argued that the leaves of absence taken by some workers would place unfair burdens of additional work on others who remained on the job.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/family-and-medical-leave-act-of-1993
Testimony on Safety and Well-Being of Abused & Neglected Children by Olivia A. Golden
Acting Assistant Secretary for Children and Families
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources
November 20, 1996
Senator DeWine, Members of the Committee,
I am pleased to appear before the Committee today to discuss the very important issue of assuring the safety and well being of children who have been abused or neglected. Perhaps no issue is more important to the future of our country than assuring that children — all children — grow up in families where they are safe, healthy, nurtured and loved.
I commend you for holding today’s hearing and for the commitment and determination with which you have pursued the safety of our children. Many of us share your concerns about the ability of our often overburdened child welfare programs to protect the safety and well-being of our nation’s most vulnerable children. This Administration, in close consultation with state and community leaders, has taken numerous steps to strengthen these systems over the past several years as we have strived to ensure that:
* Every decision made is in the child’s best interest; and
* The focus of child welfare services is on securing a safe and permanent home environment for the child.
Much remains to be accomplished, however, and we hope to work with you and your colleagues in the 105th Congress to take further steps to better protect the safety of our nation’s most vulnerable children.
For the entire article: http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/t961120a.html
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
February 5, 1993
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT (CLINTON)
Today, I am pleased to sign into law H.R. 1, the “Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.” I believe that this legislation is a response to a compelling need — the need of the American family for flexibility in the workplace. American workers will no longer have to choose between the job they need and the family they love.
This legislation mandates that public and private employers with at least fifty workers provide their employees with family and medical leave. At its core is the provision for employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the care of a newborn or newly adopted child, for the care of a family member with a serious medical condition, or for their own illness. It also requires employers to maintain health insurance coverage and job protection for the duration of the leave. It sets minimum length of service and hours of work requirements before employees become eligible.
The need for this legislation is clear. The American workforce has changed dramatically in recent years. These changes have created a substantial and growing need for family and medical leave for working Americans.
In 1965, about 35 percent of mothers with children under 18 were labor force participants. By 1992, that figure had reached 67 percent. By the year 2005, one of every two people entering the workforce will be women.
The rising cost of living has also made two incomes a necessity in many areas of this country, with both parents working or looking for work in 48 percent, or nearly half, of all two parent families with children in the United States.
For the entire article: http://clinton6.nara.gov/1993/02/1993-02-05-family-and-medical-leave-act-statement-by-the-president.html
CBO Confirms: The Health Care Law Reduces the Deficit
Nancy-Ann DeParleJuly 24, 2012 05:39 PM EDT
This afternoon, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest look at the Affordable Care Act – the health care law. This report affirms that repealing the health care law would deny tax credits for millions of middle class families and result in higher deficits and fewer Americans with insurance.
Once again, the Congressional Budget Office has found that repealing the health care law will increase the federal budget deficit by more than $100 billion in the first decade and more than a trillion dollars in the next decade. CBO also found that 30 million Americans would remain uninsured without the Affordable Care Act.
And CBO projects that most Governors will choose to expand their Medicaid programs. The Medicaid expansion is completely paid for by the Federal government in the first three years, and the Federal government will cover at least 90 percent of these costs in the years ahead. According to CBO “…states and local governments will probably realize savings in existing programs that provide direct care to people who are uninsured or that cover uncompensated costs incurred by providers serving uninsured residents.” Other independent analysts have also found that states that fully implement the Affordable Care Act could save money through reductions in the amount they spend to care for the uninsured.
We hope states will take advantage of the options in the health care law to improve access to affordable coverage. And history suggests that they will act. All but two states implemented Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) within five years of enactment – despite less generous financial support than the Affordable Care Act provided for this Medicaid expansion.
As the President has said, this law is here to stay, and we will continue our efforts to work with States to deliver the benefits of the law to the American people.
(Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton) Interview With Michele Kelemen of NPR
2/6/11 State.gov
Munich, Germany
QUESTION: So, thanks for taking the time to talk to us.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Absolutely.
QUESTION: Do you think the Egyptian people can trust a transition process that is essentially in the hands of the military and former intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I think that the Egyptian people are looking for an orderly transition that can lead to free and fair elections. That’s what the United States has consistently supported. We are putting a lot of effort into making sure that the dialogue process that has begun is meaningful and transparent, and leads to concrete actions.
Now, the people themselves, and the leaders of various groups within Egyptian society, will ultimately determine whether it is or is not meeting their needs. Today we learned that the Muslim Brotherhood has decided to participate, which suggests that they, at least, are now involved in the dialogue that we have encouraged.
We are going to wait and see how this develops. But we have been very clear about what we expect.
QUESTION: But some people on the street are saying, you know, “Suleiman looks like Mubarak II,” keeping a lot of the old structures in place. Is he reassuring you that he is really doing things differently?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Look, we have had numerous conversations with him and others, both the Vice President and I have spoken with him in the last several days. We hear that they are committed to this, and when we press on concrete steps and timelines, we are given assurance that that will happen.
But ultimately, we are not the arbiters. It’s the people of Egypt who are the arbiters. And a number of voices that are now being heard recognize there has to be some process. And there is a desire to test this, to see how it unfolds, and we support that.
For the entire article: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2011/02/156050.htm
The Easy Cuts Are Behind Us
February 5, 2011 By JACOB LEW – NYTimes.com
N a little over a week, President Obama will send Congress his budget for the 2012 fiscal year. The budget is not just a collection of numbers, but an expression of our values and aspirations. As the president said in his State of the Union address, now that the country is back from the brink of a potential economic collapse, our goal is to win the future by out-educating, out-building and out-innovating our rivals so that we can return to robust economic and job growth. But to make room for the investments we need to foster growth, we have to cut what we cannot afford. We have to reduce the burden placed on our economy by years of deficits and debt.
When I left the Office of Management and Budget in January 2001, the country had a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion over the next decade. When I returned last November, decisions to make two large tax cuts without offsetting them and to create a Medicare prescription drug benefit without paying for it, combined with the effects of the recession, meant that the nation faced projected deficits of $10.4 trillion over the next decade.
We cannot win the future, expand the economy and spur job creation if we are saddled with increasingly growing deficits. That is why the president’s budget is a comprehensive and responsible plan that will put us on a path toward fiscal sustainability in the next few years — a down payment toward tackling our challenges in the long term.
This starts with doing what families and businesses have been doing during this downturn: tightening our belts. In the budget, the president will call for a five-year freeze on discretionary spending other than for national security. This will reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade and bring this category of spending to the lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was president.
For the entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/opinion/06lew.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=lew&st=cse
Obama and Chamber of Commerce: President to speak Monday
February 4, 2011 Charles Riley – finance.yahoo.com / CNNMoney.com
It’s finally happening.
After months of trying to pin down a time that works for both parties, President Obama will march out of the White House on Monday morning and make his way across H Street to the headquarters of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Once there, he will deliver a speech to more than 200 members of the Chamber, a business lobby that is among the most influential players in Washington.
The meeting is seen as another sign of the thawing relationship between the Obama administration and the business community. It took months to materialize after first being floated by the administration in November.
For Obama, it will mean playing nice with a group that has been vocally opposed to many of his policies.
Indeed, in the months leading up to November’s midterm elections, the White House and Chamber lobbed rhetorical rocks back and forth at one another.
The Chamber opposed Obama on health care, tax policy, regulation and Wall Street reform. And they backed their words with cash. In 2010, the group gave millions of dollars in campaign donations to Republican candidates.
Obama responded by using the Chamber as a political punching bag in the final days of the campaign, accusing the group of funneling money from overseas to support Republican candidates.
But shortly after the election, both sides began to sing a different tune. Obama invited 20 CEOs to the White House for a conversation about the economy. The Chamber praised the move.
For the entire article: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Obama-and-Chamber-of-Commerce-cnnm-2574425214.html?x=0&.v=1
President Obama to Business: “Now is the Time to Invest in America”
Posted by Jesse Lee on February 07, 2011
The President walked across the park today to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – a hub of big business that has supported the President on the Recovery Act and further infrastructure rebuilding while also giving voice to industries opposed to the health reform law – to deliver a stark message of shared responsibility for winning America’s future:
But I want to be clear: even as we make America the best place on earth to do business, businesses also have a responsibility to America.
As he laid out in his State of the Union Address, he will be focusing on the first half of that pact – by having government rebuild America’s infrastructure for communications and transport, by helping gear education toward equipping students for today’s businesses, and by streamlining regulations to make sure there’s aren’t unnecessary burdens on job creation – a mission elaborated on this morning by OIRA Administrator Cass Sunstein.
But as the President explained, businesses must look toward the greater good as well, and realize that a prosperous middle class is good for the bottom line:
So if I’ve got one message, my message is now is the time to invest in America. Now is the time to invest in America. (Applause.) Today, American companies have nearly $2 trillion sitting on their balance sheets. And I know that many of you have told me that you’re waiting for demand to rise before you get off the sidelines and expand, and that with millions of Americans out of work, demand has risen more slowly than any of us would like.
We’re in this together, but many of your own economists and salespeople are now forecasting a healthy increase in demand. So I just want to encourage you to get in the game. As part of the bipartisan tax deal we negotiated, with the support of the Chamber, businesses can immediately expense 100 percent of their capital investments. And as all of you know, it’s investments made now that will pay off as the economy rebounds. And as you hire, you know that more Americans working will mean more sales for your companies. It will mean more demand for your products and services. It will mean higher profits for your companies. We can create a virtuous circle.
The Week Ahead: Obama at the Chamber
02/07/11 By Emily Cahn and Alicia Cohn -TheHill.com
(Democrat excerpts only)
Monday, Feb. 7
President Obama will address the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the powerful business lobbying group, Monday morning.
His speech is a high-profile example of the outreach efforts the administration has extended to the business community after the two sides sparred publicly in the closing weeks of the 2010 midterm election.
President Obama will address the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the powerful business lobbying group, Monday morning.
His speech is a high-profile example of the outreach efforts the administration has extended to the business community after the two sides sparred publicly in the closing weeks of the 2010 midterm election….
The Senate is in session only two days this week – Monday and Tuesday.
The Brookings Institution will hold a discussion on “Immigration Policy: Highly Skilled Workers and U.S. Competitiveness and Innovation,” at 9 a.m. at the Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.
Former White House press secretaries Ari Fleischer, Joe Lockhart, Mike McCurry, Dee Dee Myers and Dana Perino will discuss their experiences managing a president’s message at George Washington University’s Jack Morton Auditorium, 730 21st St. N.W., at 7 p.m. Tickets are required in advance.
For the entire article with Republican information and the rest of the week’s information: http://thehill.com/homenews/news/142367-the-week-ahead-obama-at-the-chamber
TEAM OF RIVALS
2/7/11 – POLITICO44
President Obama will begin his week by going straight to the Chamber of Commerce, one of the biggest opponents of his domestic agenda during his first two years in the White House. Recently, though, the Chamber’s president, Tom Donuhue, has expressed approval of decisions made in the West Wing, like the appointment of Bill Daley as chief of staff, the content of Obama’s State of the Union speech and the direction of his executive order to review business regulations.
POLITICO’s Morning Money reports that Obama is expected to “exhort the crowd to start hiring and support his infrastructure spending plans while also pledging to push hard on trade deals and tax reform.”
And POLITICO’s Mike Allen reports in Playbook that Donohue will say he wants to “reaffirm the American business community’s absolute commitment to working with you and your administration to advance our shared objectives.” And he’ll add, “America works best when we work together.”
CEOs: Locke Obama’s secret weapon
2/7/11 BEN WHITE- POLITICO
When Commerce Secretary Gary Locke arrived in Silicon Valley for an October meeting with 25 top technology executives, expectations were predictably low.
The CEOs, like many in corporate America, were accustomed to hearing generically positive talk from administration officials on issues such as speeding up patent approvals and reducing corporate taxes to help bring back the nearly $1 trillion in profits currently languishing in overseas accounts.
Even if Locke wanted to do something, the commerce secretary slot hasn’t been a traditional power center in most administrations. It certainly was not viewed as such in a White House widely perceived as hording power in a tight West Wing inner circle.
The executives started to speak. Locke, a soft-spoken Chinese-American former trade lawyer and Washington governor, listened quietly.
Then he started asking questions. Then he started talking about setting firm targets for speeding up patent approval (which he has done) and the possibility of addressing the repatriation of profits in a matter of months as part of President Barack Obama’s renewed focus on growth and jobs. The issue is now a part of the debate on tax reform.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/48959.html
I deeply admire Secretary Locke, and how he has conducted his career both at the state level and now as part of the Cabinet.
President Obama does not hire people who aren’t magnificent, does he?
Hello Ms O’Boomer! Yes I agree that Pres Obama has qualified people working with him in the administration.
And qualified people like you (I mean it!) giving us the news.
Evening with Arne
Duncan dropping by Biden’s place
02/07/11 By MATT NEGRIN – POLITICO
Education Secretary Arne Duncan plans to have a chat with Vice President Biden on Monday, the White House says.
Duncan was scheduled to stop by the Naval Observatory residence for a private meeting in the evening.
The only other item on Biden’s public schedule for Monday is an Oval Office meeting in the afternoon with President Obama.
Good Monday morning everyone! I HOPE that you have a good day!
Good morning CR. Interesting articles upthread on the Chamber of Commerce and Gary Locke. I think these business people go into thes meetings with their minds made up against the President and come out realizing this administration is serious about getting things done.
Good Monday morning Jackie!
Good Morning everyone! HOPE-ing for a good day.
Good Monday morning Sandy!
Good morning Sandy. Any news on the job front?
No they went with another candidate. I just hooked up with a temp agency, waiting for an assignment tomorrow.
Still keeping our fingers crossed for you Sandy!
Thank you friend.
Sandy – As I’m sure you know, temp agencies very often lead to a full-time job. All the best! Keep smiling!
Good morning O’Team. HOPE you have a terrific Monday. Please join me in lighting a candle for our President, First Family and the Nation.
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=PBO
53 now.
Thank you Jackie!
Happy Monday, everybody!
Kat’s Weekday Obama Administration Report, 2/7/11
>^..^<
Today's report features:
• President at Chamber of Commerce: On C-SPAN at 11:30 a.m. EST.
• Weekly Address: The President discusses how America innovation can create jobs, especially in infrastructure and energy.
• Beyond the border: The President and Canadian Prime Minister Harper discuss a new vision for managing shared security responsibilities.
• State news: Secretary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister at Munich START Treaty ceremony; Secretary comments on Middle East.
• Final Frontier: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden describes his life and work as part of Black History Month; This Week @ NASA; Defense Department launches National Space Security Strategy.
• President to discuss National Wireless Initiative: A look at the President’s Thursday event.
• White House Council for Community Solutions: Video of kickoff meeting; Melody Barnes explains the Council’s focus on youth development, education and employment.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/2/7/941611/-Kats-Weekday-Obama-Administration-Report,-2-7-11
Good Monday morning and thank you Kat!
President Drops By Youth Roundtable
From: whitehouse | February 07, 2011
President Obama drops by a Youth Engagement Roundtable at Penn State University. Watch as the President speaks about how the next generation will contribute to winning the future for America.
Good morning CR & ProPBO friends,
Don’t know if this has been noted here as yet, but Matt Lauer said on Today Show this a.m., that First Lady Michelle Obama will be live on Wednesday morning Today Show.
Good Monday morning and thank you AZGrammy!
Thanks, azgrammy! I’ve already set my DVR.
Next Up…
11:30 AM EST
President Obama Speaks at U.S. Chamber of Commerce -Washington, DC
WhiteHouse.gov http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
CNN http://www.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=stream4
CSPAN
http://www.cspan.org/Events/President-Addresses-the-US-Chamber/10737419401-1/
February 07, 2011
Remarks by the President to the Chamber of Commerce
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
11:30 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Please, have a seat. Thank you very much, Tom, for the gracious introduction. I want to make a few other acknowledgments. To Tom Bell, the Chamber Board President, thank you for helping to organize this. There are some members of my administration I want to make sure are introduced. My Chief of Staff, Bill Daley, is here. (Applause.) Senior advisor Valerie Jarrett, who is interfacing with many of you and has gotten terrific advice from many of you, is here as well. Secretary Ray LaHood, our Transportation Secretary. Ambassador Ron Kirk, who is working hard to get trade deals around the world. Our Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills. My director of the National Economic Council, Gene Sperling, is here. And I also want to make mention, Fred Hochberg, our Export-Import Bank Chairman; Elizabeth Littlefield, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation President. And I also want to acknowledge a good friend, Paul Volcker, the outgoing chair of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Thank you all for being here. (Applause.)
Now, Tom, it is good to be here today at the Chamber of Commerce. I’m here in the interest of being more neighborly. (Laughter.) I strolled over from across the street, and look, maybe if we had brought over a fruitcake when I first moved in, we would have gotten off to a better start. (Laughter.) But I’m going to make up for it.
The truth is, this isn’t the first time I’ve been to the Chamber, or the first time that we’ve exchanged ideas. Over the last two years, I’ve sought advice from many of you as we were grappling with the worst recession most of us have ever known. It’s a recession that led to some very difficult decisions. For many of you, that meant restructuring and branch closings and layoffs that I know were very painful to make. For my administration, it meant a series of emergency measures that I would not have undertaken under normal circumstances, but that were necessary to stop our economy from falling off a cliff.
Now, on some issues, like the Recovery Act, we’ve found common cause. On other issues, we’ve had some pretty strong disagreements. But I’m here today because I am convinced, as Tom mentioned in his introduction, that we can and we must work together. Whatever differences we may have, I know that all of us share a deep, abiding belief in this country, a belief in our people, a belief in the principles that have made America’s economy the envy of the world.
For the entire transcript; http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/02/07/remarks-president-chamber-commerce
Good Monday morning O friends.
Good Monday morning COS!
PBO is airing on live c-span tv.
FCC to update phone subsidy program for broadband
2/7/11 JOELLE TESSLER -AP
WASHINGTON – The federal government spends more than $4 billion a year, collected from phone bills, to subsidize phone service in rural and poor areas. Now, it’s considering ways to give those places more for the money: high-speed Internet connections instead of old-fashioned phone lines.
The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote Tuesday to begin work on a blueprint for transforming a subsidy program called the Universal Service Fund to pay for broadband.
The details the agency works out could have profound consequences not just for residents of rural areas who are still stuck with dial-up connections or painfully slow broadband speeds. Many rural phone companies — including both landline and wireless carriers — rely heavily on Universal Service funding and could lose some of this money. New FCC rules could also pave the way for cable companies to begin collecting from the program.
Although the Universal Service Fund was established to ensure that all Americans have access to a basic telephone line, the Internet is replacing the telephone as today’s essential communications service, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said.
“Broadband serves the same role in the 21st Century that telephone service served in the 20th Century,” Genachowski said. “So we need to modernize this program.”
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/feJkAU
Smarter Regulation
Posted by Cass Sunstein on February 07, 2011
Winning the future requires promoting economic growth and job creation while also protecting the health and safety of the American people. On January 18, 2011, President Obama signed an important Executive Order designed to fulfill that goal.
The Executive Order emphasizes the need for predictability and for certainty — and for achieving regulatory goals with the smartest and least costly tools. It directs agencies to seek public comments on rules, to minimize burdens on the private sector, to simplify and harmonize their regulations, to promote flexibility and freedom of choice, and to make sure that the benefits justify the costs. It also directs agencies, within 120 days, to produce plans for a government-wide review of existing regulations to determine whether they should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed.
Also on January 18, the President signed a memorandum requiring agencies to take new steps to reduce regulatory burdens on small business. As the President wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “Small firms drive growth and create most new jobs in this country. We need to make sure nothing stands in their way.”
In the recent past, a great deal has happened to promote the President’s goals. Consider just a few examples:
* The Department of Energy, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Commerce have asked the public for ideas about which regulations to streamline or repeal. Others will be following in the near future.
* The FDA has announced twenty-five significant reforms to its process for reviewing new medical devices, creating a smarter program that will promote innovation, keep jobs here at home, and bring safe, effective, and important technologies to patients more quickly.
* Responding to public comments, the Department of Labor has withdrawn its proposal to change workplace noise standards, emphasizing that “addressing this problem requires much more public outreach and many more resources than we had originally anticipated.”
* Listening to the concerns of many stakeholders, the Environmental Protection Agency has announced a three-year exemption of biomass from its greenhouse gas permitting rule.
* The Department of Labor has withdrawn its rule requiring reporting of musculoskeletal disorders, stating that it wants “greater input from small businesses on the impact of the proposal.”
For the entire article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/02/07/smarter-regulation
The President’s speech to the Chamber is excellent. I cannot imagine why these people cannot see him as the great leader that he is.
I agree Jackie! YES AMERICA CAN!
No damage from fire near Smithsonian Natural History Museum
2/7/11 Wendell Marsh-Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A fire that sent a plume of smoke over the National Mall near the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History on Monday did not cause any injuries or damage to the museum’s contents, a fire department spokesman said.
The fire started early on Monday morning in a separate building from the museum that houses heating and air conditioning equipment.
Washington, D.C. fire department spokesman Kenneth Crosswhite said the fire was extinguished and the cause was unclear. Investigators were on the scene, he said.
Amtrak and senators announce NY-NJ rail tunnels plan
2/7/11 Edith Honan -Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Amtrak announced plans on Monday for a $13.5 billion commuter rail project connecting New York City and New Jersey, reviving an idea rejected late last year by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as too expensive.
Passenger rail service Amtrak would spend $50 million to “begin preliminary engineering and design” on two rail tunnels under the Hudson River, the company said in a joint statement with U.S. senators from the two states.
Additional funding would come from local, regional and state governments in New York and New Jersey, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and from private investors, the statement said.
Christie canceled a similar $8.7 billion tunnel project last October, which was to be the largest U.S. public works project, citing billions of dollars in projected cost overruns that would be borne by the state.
It is the exact opposite in our area. Our CalTrain service is planning to stop servicing our area come July; that will mean that nearest train stop will be 40 miles away.
That’s unbelievable, CR. So much for moving forward on mass transit, right? One step forward, two steps back. I’m guessing it’s all financial.
Next Up…
4:30 PM EST
State Department Press Briefing
CNN http://live.cnn.com/
CSPAN http://www.cspan.org/Events/State-Department-Press-Briefing/10737419446-1/
Philip J. Crowley – Assistant Secretary
Daily Press Briefing , Washington, DC
February 7, 2011
TRANSCRIPT:
1:43 p.m. EST
MR. CROWLEY: Good afternoon and welcome to the Department of State. A few things to mention before taking your questions. The United States congratulates the Government of Sudan on the announcement of the Southern Sudan referendum results. As Secretary Clinton said in a statement that we just released, we congratulate Northern and Southern leaders for facilitating a peaceful and orderly vote. And now that the people of Southern Sudan have made this compelling statement, we commend the government for accepting its outcome. We look forward to working with Southern leaders as they undertake the tremendous amount of work to prepare for independence in July and ensure the creation of two viable states living side by side in peace.
QUESTION: P.J., just on that –
MR. CROWLEY: Yeah.
QUESTION: When does the – does it – do you wait until July before you recognize the country, or do you do that now?
MR. CROWLEY: That’s a very good question. Well, I think they actually have to – I think it would be July, would be my guess. If that’s wrong, I’ll let you know. But I think now there’s a process that leads to a formal step of independence, I would suspect that they would petition to be recognized by the United Nations. At that point, we would recognize them.
QUESTION: Okay. And just one other thing on Sudan.
MR. CROWLEY: Sure.
QUESTION: There are apparently 22,000 Southern Sudanese who are stuck in the North. Do you know anything about that?
MR. CROWLEY: Well, this is something that we anticipated as part of the process, that various issues – citizenship issues could become a part – and this – these – we’ve had discussions between North and South over how to resolve these kinds of issues, and I think we’ll be working with both sides. As we laid out in our plan, there will be extensive post-referendum work done. Citizenship is one of those issues.
QUESTION: Well, no. I’m talking about – meaning physically stuck, like unable to get back to the South, not an issue of passport –
MR. CROWLEY: I don’t know that we’re aware. I don’t think we’re surprised.
For the entire article: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2011/02/156137.htm
Secretary Locke Delivers Keynote Address on U.S.-India Commercial Relations in New Delhi
2/7/11 commerce.gov
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke delivered the keynote address today at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) luncheon in New Delhi, where he discussed increasing the kind of mutually beneficial trade that provides win-win opportunities for both countries.
Locke added that seizing the full potential of our cooperation will require India to take further steps to open its economy, including: reducing a variety of tariff and non-tariff barriers; lifting restrictions on foreign direct investment; and improving the protection on intellectual property.
CII works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the growth of industry in India, partnering industry and government alike through advisory and consultative processes.
Secretary Locke is in New Delhi as the first stop of a high-technology trade mission he is leading to promote exports of leading U.S. technologies and services related to civil nuclear energy, civil aviation, defense and homeland security, and information and communications technology. The mission will continue through February 11, and also make stops in Mumbai and Bangalore.
Visit the Commerce Department’s India trade mission website at http://trade.gov/indiamission2011/index.asp for updates on the trade mission.
It’s amazing how so many Cabinet members are involved in international affairs.
I can’t believe that Dan Lothian(sp) just asked Gibbs, about PBO’s response to SP’s statement about the 3a.m. call. Gibbs said that he had read the statement several times and still did not understand it. Ouch! I don’t know why they continue to try and put this person in the same league as PBO.
Maybe the MSM can’t help themselves and it is like they can’t help but say “do you know what the village idiot did today?”
Perfect answer, CR.
I agree CR.
Democrats, Hoping To Break Through Impasse, Reach Deal On Three Judges
2/7/11 Sam Stein – HuffingtonPost
WASHINGTON — In what Senate Democrats are hoping is a sign of forthcoming comity around the politics of filling judicial vacancies, Republicans have agreed not to block the confirmation of three nominees who had been stalled in the last Congress.
A Democratic leadership aide said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have settled on moving the following three judicial appointees in votes on Monday evening.
* Paul Holmes, of Arkansas, who is being appointed to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas;
* Diana Saldana, of Texas, who is being appointed to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas;
* Marco Hernandez, of Oregon, who is being appointed to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Oregon.
Hernandez will be confirmed via unanimous consent, the others by regular roll call votes. Why the distinct paths is not entirely clear. But the aide explained that all would get the needed votes.
That the confirmation of three judges is considered a victory for the president underscores just how fractious the process has become. The president’s top counsel, Bob Bauer, called the crisis of judicial vacancies a Cold War-like standoff between the parties during a rare public speech last week.
The hope, however, is that Monday’s vote will be a template for an accelerated effort in getting nominees confirmed. Democrats have talked about doing a weekly push for a handful of appointments, in part because they have more time on the Senate calendar than in the last Congress.
Date of President Obama’s nomination of Paul K. Holmes III: April 28, 2010
Date of President Obama’s nomination of Diana Saldaña: July 14, 2010
Date of President Obama’s renomination of Marco A. Hernandez: July 14, 2010
———-
List of nomination still awaiting vote from Congress
Courts of Appeals
Name / Date Of Nomination
Goodwin Liu – January 5, 2011
Edward C. DuMont – January 5, 2011
Susan L. Carney – January 5, 2011
James E. Graves, Jr. – January 5, 2011
Victoria F. Nourse – January 5, 2011
Caitlin Halligan – January 5, 2011
Jimmie V. Reyna – January 5, 2011
Bernice B. Donald – January 5, 2011
Henry Franklin Floyd – January 26, 2011
District courts
Name / Date Of Nomination
Edward M. Chen – January 5, 2011
Louis B. Butler – January 5, 2011
John J. McConnell, Jr. – January 5, 2011
Amy Totenberg – January 5, 2011
Anthony J. Battaglia – January 5, 2011
Edward J. Davila – January 5, 2011
Max O. Cogburn, Jr. – January 5, 2011
James E. Shadid – January 5, 2011
James E. Boasberg – January 5, 2011
Amy Berman Jackson – January 5, 2011
Sue E. Myerscough – January 5, 2011
Steve C. Jones – January 5, 2011
Michael H. Simon – January 5, 2011
Charles Bernard Day – January 5, 2011
Kathleen M. Williams – January 5, 2011
Marina Marmolejo – January 5, 2011
R. Brooke Jackson – January 5, 2011
Mae A. D’Agostino – January 5, 2011
Cathy Bissoon – January 5, 2011
Vincent L.Vincent L. Briccetti – January 5, 2011
Roy B. Dalton Jr. – January 5, 2011
Sara Lynn Darrow – January 5, 2011
John A. Kronstadt – January 5, 2011
Kevin H. Sharp – January 5, 2011
Claire C. Cecchi – January 5, 2011
Mark R. Hornak – January 5, 2011
Robert D. Mariani – January 5, 2011
John A. Ross – January 5, 2011
Esther Salas – January 5, 2011
Michael F. Urbanski – January 5, 2011
Arenda L. Wright Allen – January 5, 2011
Michael Charles Green – January 26, 2011
J. Paul Oetken – January 26, 2011
Nelva Gonzales Ramos – January 26, 2011
Natasha Perdew Silas – January 26, 2011
Linda T. Walker – January 26, 2011
Paul A. Engelmayer – February 2, 2011
Arvo Mikkanen – February 2, 2011
For the list of all Nomination & Appointments that are still without a confirmation date: http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/nominations-and-appointments
Reid: Bipartisan Effort To Fill Court Vacancies Must Be New Standard
February 7, 2011 democrats.senate.gov
Washington, D.C.–Nevada Senator Harry Reid released the following statement today on the bipartisan confirmation to the federal district court of Marco Hernandez, Paul Holmes and Diana Saldana:
“Today’s unanimous confirmation of three qualified district court judges is a victory, not for Democrats or for Republicans, but for the U.S. justice system. That system desperately needs new hands to fill long-vacant seats and take up a crushing caseload that is slowing our courts and putting the constitutional right to a speedy trial at risk.
“This bipartisan action is an important step forward. But it is also a small step. Our courts have too many cases and too few judges on the bench. In some places, the shortage of judges is crippling the system. Democrats and Republicans must work together to ensure the health of this nation’s justice system, and I hope today’s bipartisan effort to give our courts in crisis the tools they need will be the standard in the future instead of the exception.”
Background guidance: Today there are more than 100 judicial vacancies, nearly half of which are designated as ‘emergencies.’ Those emergency seats, including the three filled today, have been empty for more than 18 months and/or have hundreds of cases backed up. All three nominees were non-controversial, had Republican support and came out of committee with unanimous approval last year. Marco Hernandez of Oregon was first nominated by President George Bush in 2008. Diana Saldana of Texas has the support of her two Republican home state senators. And Paul Holmes received the support of three home state senators – one bipartisan pair in this Congress and another in the last Congress.
—–
To read reactions to this:
http://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=330943&
February 07, 2011
NOMINATION SENT TO THE SENATE
Suzan D. Johnson Cook, of New York, to be Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, vice John V. Hanford III, resigned.(Originally nominated on 6/16/10)
Readout of Secretary Napolitano’s Meeting With Turkish State Minister Hayati Yazici
February 7, 2011 dhs.gov
Washington, D.C. — Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today met with Turkish State Minister Hayati Yazici to discuss increasing collaboration between the United States and Turkey to combat terrorism and other transnational crime.
During the meeting, Secretary Napolitano underscored the Obama administration’s commitment to working closely with Turkey to strengthen the security of the global supply chain. She also noted Turkey’s participation in Project Global Shield—an international initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the World Customs Organization (WCO), the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, and Interpol in 2010 to interdict precursor chemicals used in building improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Under Project Global Shield, more than 60 participating countries are currently sharing information with each other to ensure that chemicals entering their countries are being used in safe and legal ways, leading to successful interdictions of a number of suspicious shipments and providing promising investigative leads on the smuggling of precursor chemicals into Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Last month, Secretary Napolitano traveled to Brussels, where she met with top European officials and joined WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya to announce a new partnership between DHS and the WCO to enlist other nations, international bodies and the private sector in strengthening the security of the global supply chain. She also traveled to London to meet with United Kingdom counterparts and International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary General Efthimios Mitropoulos to deepen cooperation between the United States and the UK and to discuss ways the IMO could further these global supply chain security efforts.
These initiatives are designed to prevent terrorists from exploiting the global supply chain to plan and execute attacks; protect the most critical elements of the supply chain system, such as transportation hubs and related critical infrastructure, from attacks and disruptions; and build the resilience of the global supply chain to ensure that if something does happen, the supply chain can recover quickly.
Progress on the Intellectual Property Enforcement Strategy
Posted by Victoria Espinel on February 07, 2011
In his State of the Union address, President Obama re-emphasized our nation’s commitment to help turn America’s innovative spirit into economic prosperity for our people and our nation. That is what my job and my office is all about. America’s creativity and ingenuity cannot thrive without intellectual property protection and enforcement, which allows a revolutionary idea to blossom into economic opportunity.
A little over a year ago, I was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the first U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator. A little over six months ago, I submitted to Congress the inaugural Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement (Strategy), which was developed as a result of significant public input (including more than 1,600 public comments) and the coordinated efforts of the Federal agencies that enforce intellectual property rights. It included 33 specific actions that we committed to undertake to improve intellectual property enforcement.
In the little more than six months since we issued that Strategy in June, the U.S. Government has been hard at work taking the steps we identified to improve intellectual property enforcement. Today, I have sent to Congress the first annual report outlining what we have done to implement the Strategy (pdf). Some of the significant activities that I want to highlight for you are:
* Voluntary Private Sector Action
* Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
* Increased Law Enforcement Action
* Technology Neutral Procurement
For the entire article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/02/07/progress-intellectual-property-enforcement-strategy
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: Coming Together to Fight HIV/AIDS
Posted by Jeffrey S. Crowley on February 07, 2011 a
To commemorate National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Senior Advisor to President Obama Valerie Jarrett shared her heart-felt thoughts on the importance of combating HIV/AIDS.
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness is not just a day to increase awareness, but a day to act on your own health.
* Do you know your status? If not, text your zipcode to 566948 (“KNOWIT”) to find and HIV testing site near you or go to HIVtest.org.
* You can also call 1-800-CDC-INFORMATION for more information and testing sites in your area.
* Visit http://www.aids.gov for Federal resources, events in your area and tools to commemorate National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
Watch her video message:
February 07, 2011
CORRECTED: Statement by the President on the Intent to Recognize Southern Sudan
On behalf of the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Southern Sudan for a successful and inspiring referendum in which an overwhelming majority of voters chose independence. I am therefore pleased to announce the intention of the United States to formally recognize Southern Sudan as a sovereign, independent state in July 2011.
After decades of conflict, the images of millions of southern Sudanese voters deciding their own future was an inspiration to the world and another step forward in Africa’s long journey toward justice and democracy. Now, all parties have a responsibility to ensure that this historic moment of promise becomes a moment of lasting progress. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement must be fully implemented and outstanding disputes must be resolved peacefully. At the same time, there must be an end to attacks on civilians in Darfur and a definitive end to that conflict.
As I pledged in September when addressing Sudanese leaders, the United States will continue to support the aspirations of all Sudanese—north and south, east and west. We will work with the governments of Sudan and Southern Sudan to ensure a smooth and peaceful transition to independence. For those who meet all of their obligations, there is a path to greater prosperity and normal relations with the United States, including examining Sudan’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. And while the road ahead will be difficult, those who seek a future of dignity and peace can be assured that they will have a steady partner and friend in the United States.
Congratulating Sudan on the Results of the Southern Sudan Referendum
Hillary Rodham Clinton – Secretary of State
Washington, DC
February 7, 2011
The United States congratulates the Government of Sudan on the announcement of the Southern Sudan referendum results. We congratulate northern and southern leaders for facilitating a peaceful and orderly vote, and now that the people of Southern Sudan have made this compelling statement, we commend the Government of Sudan for accepting its outcome.
We look forward to working with southern leaders as they undertake the tremendous amount of work to prepare for independence in July and ensure the creation of two viable states living alongside each other in peace. The Government of Southern Sudan must launch a process of inclusive governance and take steps to improve good governance and service delivery, as well as to adopt long-term security and economic arrangements with the North.
In line with the bilateral discussions held between the United States and the Government of Sudan, and in recognition of the success of the Southern Sudan referendum as a critical milestone of the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the United States is initiating the process of withdrawing Sudan’s State Sponsor of Terrorism designation, the first step of which is initiating a review of that designation. Removal of the State Sponsor of Terrorism designation will take place if and when Sudan meets all criteria spelled out in U.S. law, including not supporting international terrorism for the preceding six months and providing assurance it will not support such acts in the future, and fully implements the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, including reaching a political solution on Abyei and key post-referendum arrangements.
We urge both northern and southern leaders to continue to work together toward full implementation of the CPA, and urge them to work expediently to reach agreement on the post-referendum arrangements that will define their future and lead to a mutually beneficial relationship.
SUPER BOWL CHAMPS
2/7/11 POLITICO44
From the White House: “This afternoon, President Obama called Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy to congratulate him and the team on their Super Bowl victory. The President commended Coach McCarthy on his leadership in guiding the team through a rash of injuries both throughout season and during the game. He also asked the coach to pass on how impressed he was with Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers’ game and season. The President told McCarthy that even a Bears fan can appreciate what the victory means to the people of Green Bay and Wisconsin and said he looks forward to hosting the team at the White House, just as Charles Woodson predicted.
February 07, 2011
Readout of President Obama’s Call to Green Bay Packers Coach Mike McCarthy
This afternoon, President Obama called Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy to congratulate him and the team on their Super Bowl victory. The President commended Coach McCarthy on his leadership in guiding the team through a rash of injuries both throughout season and during the game. He also asked the coach to pass on how impressed he was with Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers’ game and season. The President told McCarthy that even a Bears fan can appreciate what the victory means to the people of Green Bay and Wisconsin and said he looks forward to hosting the team at the White House, just as Charles Woodson predicted.
Dems mock ‘light’ GOP schedule as lacking job-creation focus
02/07/11 By Russell Berman – TheHill.com
Barely a month into the new Congress, Democrats are mocking House Republicans for what they say is a less-than-ambitious legislative agenda.
The GOP majority is bringing only a handful of bills to the floor this week, and none would be characterized as major legislation. Four of the five measures will be considered under a procedure generally reserved for non-controversial legislation; the fifth is a resolution that merely instructs committees to review federal regulations for their impact on job growth.
Democratic leaders contend it doesn’t amount to much.
“Members return Tuesday from a week and a half of recess for another light legislative agenda in the House of Representatives,” Kristie Greco, spokeswoman for the assistant Democratic leader, Rep. James Clyburn (S.C.), wrote in a note to reporters over the weekend. “Perhaps if House Republicans had a jobs agenda, the schedule would be more robust.”
For the entire article: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/142563-house-dems-mock-light-gop-schedule-as-lacking-jobs-focus
This is ridiculous. They were rewarded for being the party of no in the midterm elections. I wonder what kind of talking points and advice have been given by Frank Luntz. They are lazy. The Dems worked their buns off the first 2 years.
Just saw on TPM where Rep. Jane Harman of CA is apparently leaving Congress to run a think tank. She’s supposed to be a “hawkish Blue Dog Democrat,” in a district that’s “solidly Democratic,” so it appears we’ll keep her seat in the House. Special election coming up.
Okay thanks for the heads up Ms O’Boomer!
I saw that news about Harman on CNN’s ticker early this morning. I vaguely rember her opposing PBO on something long time ago. Wasn’t she on one of those intelligence committes? I am praying that we regain some of the lost seats in the House in 2012 and praying really hard that the repugs don’t take over the Senate. Did you all see that link on BWD’s site for the article by Howard Kurtz slamming O’Reilly?
By one measure, federal taxes lowest since 1950
2/7/11 STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, AP
Actually, as a share of the nation’s economy, Uncle Sam’s take this year will be the lowest since 1950, when the Korean War was just getting under way.
And for the third straight year, American families and businesses will pay less in federal taxes than they did under former President George W. Bush, thanks to a weak economy and a growing number of tax breaks for the wealthy and poor alike.
Income tax payments this year will be nearly 13 percent lower than they were in 2008, the last full year of the Bush presidency. Corporate taxes will be lower by a third, according to projections by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The poor economy is largely to blame, with corporate profits down and unemployment up. But so is a tax code that grows each year with new deductions, credits and exemptions. The result is that families making as much as $50,000 can avoid paying federal income taxes, if they have at least two dependent children. Low-income families can actually make a profit from the income tax, and the wealthy can significantly cut their payments.
“The current state of the tax code is simply indefensible,” says Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. “It is hemorrhaging revenue.”
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/fDXVVA
Report: Olbermann going to Current TV – On Media: Report: Olbermann going to Current TV
February 07, 2011 Keach Hagey- POLITICO
Brian Stelter and Bill Carter may have saved the media reporters of America from having to tune in to tomorrow’s conference call about Keith Olbermann’s future plans.
They’re reporting that Olbermann is headed to Current TV, the public affairs channel co-founded by Al Gore and, as it happens, partially owned by Comcast.
They make a good case that Olbermann had the gig lined up before he left MSNBC, though nobody’s commenting about any of it.
Thanks for this news CR. I know a lot of people hated KO, and he could be crazy sometimes against PBO, but overall I would cut him off and would not watch when he was on those rants. We need as many people as we can get to push back on the repugs and Faux and at least he was good at that. I was also impressed at his advocacy for the free health clinics and the families in AZ who was cut off of the organ transplant lists. I know it is one of the channels which I currently get, but I never watch it.
February 07, 2011
Letter from the President on High Performance Computer Exports
Attached is the text of a letter from the President on high performance computer exports.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/2011teraflops.idl_.rel_.pdf
The following is the text of the pdf link:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
February 7, 2011
TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,
THE CHAIRMEN OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE
COMMITTEES ON ARMED SERVICES,
AND THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE
ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS
February 7, 2011
Dear Mr. Chairman: (Dear Madam Chairman:)
In accordance with the provisions of section 1211(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 (Public Law 105-85), I hereby notify you of my decision to establish a new level for the notification procedure for digital computers set forth in section 1211(a) of Public Law 105-85.
The new level will be 1.5 Weighted TeraFLOPS. In accordance with the provisions of section 1211(e), I hereby notify you of my decision to remove Albania and Croatia from the list of countries covered under section 1211(b). The attached report
provides the rationale supporting these decisions and fulfills the requirements of Public Law 105-85, sections 1211(d) and (e).
I have made these changes based on the recommendation of the Departments of State, Defense, Commerce, and Energy.
Sincerely,
BARACK OBAMA
Tuesday Feb. 8, 2011
All Times ET
10:30 am
The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press
10:45 am
The Vice President will deliver remarks on the Administration’s plan to build a 21st century infrastructure – from roads and bridges to high-speed rail
30th Street Station, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Open Press
12:30 pm
Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
James S. Brady Briefing Room
Open Press
2:30 pm
The President meets with the National Policy Alliance
Roosevelt Room
Closed Press
4:30 pm
The President and the Vice President meet with Secretary of Defense Gates
Oval Office
Closed Press
Feb 8, 2011
WhiteHouse.gov http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
10:45 am
The Vice President will deliver remarks on the Administration’s plan to build a 21st century infrastructure – from roads and bridges to high-speed rail
30th Street Station, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Audio only)
12:30 PM EST
White House briefing
The White House holds its daily briefing with reporters.
—
CNN http://live.cnn.com/
Egyptian State TV http://www.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=stream1
10:00 AM EST
Senate Democrats on women’s health
Four Democratic senators brief reporters over their concerns with legislation that they say would endanger the health of women by limiting health care access.
10:45 AM EST
V.P. Biden speaks on Transportation – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
11:00 AM EST
Pentagon briefing on Afghanistan
Two U.S. Army colonels brief reporters on current operations in Afghanistan.
12:00 PM EST
Border security briefing
Federal immigration officials make an announcement regarding security along the U.S.-Mexican border.
12:30 PM EST
White House briefing
The White House holds its daily briefing with reporters.
2:00 PM EST
U.S. House Session
2:00 PM EST
Toyota safety report released
The U.S. Department of Transportation releases the results of its study into potential electronic causes of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles.
3:30 PM EST
U.S. State Department hold talks in efforts to combat Human Trafficking
4:00 PM EST
Hearing on abortion and taxpayer money
The House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on proposed legislation that, if passed, would block the use of taxpayer money to pay for abortions.
—
CSPAN http://www.cspan.org/
10:00 AM EST
U.S. Response to Unrest in Egypt Douglas Feith; Paul Marshall; Lee Smith – Hudson Institute http://www.cspan.org/Events/Experts-Analyze-Situation-in-Egypt/10737419452/
11:00 AM EST
Pentagon briefing on Afghanistan
Two U.S. Army colonels brief reporters on current operations in Afghanistan.
12:30 PM EST
White House briefing
The White House holds its daily briefing with reporters. http://www.cspan.org/Events/White-House-Briefing-with-Press-Secretary-Robert-Gibbs/10737419445/
2:00 PM EST
U.S. House Session
2:00 PM EST
DOT to Release Report on Sudden Acceleration of Toyota Vehicles http://www.cspan.org/Events/DOT-to-Release-Report-on-Sudden-Acceleration-of-Toyota-Vehicles/10737419464-1/
3:30 PM EST
U.S. State Department hold talks in efforts to combat Human Trafficking
4:00 PM EST
Hearing on abortion and taxpayer money
The House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on proposed legislation that, if passed, would block the use of taxpayer money to pay for abortions. http://www.cspan.org/Events/House-Cmte-Brings-Up-Proposed-Anti-Abortion-Bill/10737419451/
—-
Department of State
3:30 PM EST
U.S. State Department hold talks in efforts to combat Human Trafficking http://blogs.state.gov/
——-
Department of Defense
11:00 AM EST
Pentagon briefing on Afghanistan
Two U.S. Army colonels brief reporters on current operations in Afghanistan. http://www.defense.gov/
CR, if you get a chance please watch Rachel’s show tonight about the non work and all the days off coming from the republicans. She is calling them out and boy am I glad. The American people need to know this.
Rachel Maddow- Pr. Obama too soft on ungrateful business-
From: StartLoving4 | February 07, 2011
Rachel Maddow- House GOP skips jobs for abortion fight and time off
From: StartLoving4 | February 07, 2011
House Republican Calendar
House Schedule
January 5 112th Congress, 1st Session convenes
January 13 – 15 Republican Retreat
January 17 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 31 – February 4 Constituent Work Week
February 21 President’s Day
February 22 – February 25 Constituent Work Week
March 9 Ash Wednesday
March 13 Daylight Savings Time Begins
March 17 St. Patrick’s Day
March 21 – March 25 Constituent Work Week
April 18 – 29 Spring Recess
April 18 Passover Begins
April 22 Good Friday
April 24 Easter Sunday
April 25 Passover Ends
May 8 Mother’s Day
May 16 – May 20 Constituent Work Week
May 30 Memorial Day
June 6 – June 10 Constituent Work Week
June 14 Flag Day
June 19 Father’s Day
June 27 – July 1 Constituent Work Week
July 4 Independence Day
July 18 – July 22 Constituent Work Week
August 8 – September 2 August Recess
September 5 Labor Day
September 26 – September 30 Constituent Work Week
September 28 Rosh Hashanah Begins
September 30 Rosh Hashanah Ends
October 7 Yom Kippur Begins
October 10 Columbus Day
October 17 – October 21 Constituent Work Week
November 6 Daylight Savings Time Ends
November 7 – November 10 Constituent Work Week
November 21 – November 25 Constituent Work Week
November 11 Veterans Day
November 24 Thanksgiving Day
December 8 Target Adjournment
December 20 Hanukkah Begins
December 25 Christmas Day
Source: http://www.house.gov/house/House_Calendar.shtml
“Constituent Work Week” also known as “Week Off”
House Republicans will have “every two weeks of House business followed by a week long recess“
Thanks for posting CR.
I saw this last night. Ash Wednesday? Daylight Savings Time Ends? Too hilarious.
LaHood, Biden to outline transportation plan
2/7/11 The Trucker News Services
PHILADELPHIA — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will join Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday in to reveal information about the Obama Administration’s plan to build a 21st Century infrastructure, from roads and bridges to high-speed rail.
The DOT said in a press advisory that Biden and LaHood would discuss new initiatives “to increase the nation’s competitiveness, export goods to new markets and put Americans back to work while growing the economy and helping America win the future.”
The reference to “win the future” relates to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Jan. 25 during which the president noted steps the nation had taken to put the economy back on track.
“But we have to do more. These steps we’ve taken over the last two years may have broken the back of this recession, but to win the future, we’ll need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making,” Obama told the nation before outlining his administration’s plans for the future.
The event will take place at Tuesday morning at the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia.
Getting Our Railways Up To Speed
Posted by Paul Wiley on February 08, 2011
This morning Vice President Biden was in Philadelphia to unveil a key proposal in the President “Build” plank of his plan to win the future for America, along with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who previewed the announcement on his blog The proposal will place high-speed rail on equal footing with other surface transportation programs and revitalize America’s domestic rail manufacturing industry by dedicating $53 billion over six years to continue construction of a national high-speed and intercity passenger rail network.
“As President Obama said in his State of the Union, there are key places where we cannot afford to sacrifice as a nation – one of which is infrastructure,” said Vice President Biden. “As a long time Amtrak rider and advocate, I understand the need to invest in a modern rail system that will help connect communities, reduce congestion and create quality, skilled manufacturing jobs that cannot be outsourced. This plan will help us to do that, while also increasing access to convenient high speed rail for more Americans.”
The $8 billion investment in high-speed rail the President is proposing just for next year will help revitalize the domestic rail industry, as well as foster innovation and job creation by connecting major population centers. Strong Buy American requirements will create tens of thousands of middle-class jobs in construction, manufacturing, and rail operations.
Communities like Brunswick, Maine are already seeing the benefits of this renewed focus on American infrastructure. For the first time since the 1940s, Brunswick will have rail service connecting them to Portland and Boston. This rail service has led to a major uptick of construction and tourism through town, including a new theater, hotel, and 21st century health clinic.
Brunswick is just one of the success stories that will come from investments in high-speed rail. As we start building for this transportation of the future, it will put Americans back to work and keep our economy growing.
‘Build Week’ Tour Highlights Transportation Projects That Reflect President’s Goal to ‘Win the Future’ By Investing in America
Tour Begins Today In Raleigh; U.S. Transportation Officials Showcase New Transit Maintenance Facility
February 8, 2011 dot.gov
RALEIGH, NC – The U.S. Department of Transportation today highlighted an energy-efficient bus maintenance facility that’s helping one of America’s fastest growing cities meet rising demand for safe, efficient public transportation. The $28.6 million facility now under construction, being built with $22.3 million from the Federal Transit Administration, is one of several federally funded projects around the nation that are moving America closer to meeting the goal President Obama set forth in his State of the Union Address to “out-build the rest of the world.”
Raleigh is one of the first stops on the Obama Administration’s “Build Week,” a week-long tour by Administration officials to showcase projects that are already making a big difference in the economy by spurring private sector investment and creating jobs in the communities where they are being built. Deputy Secretary John Porcari attended the event.
The Raleigh event takes place as Vice President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, at an event in Philadelphia, announce a comprehensive plan to continue construction of a national high-speed and intercity passenger rail network.
“The Obama Administration understands that in order to win the future and grow America’s economy over the long-term, we must modernize our national transportation network,” said Secretary LaHood. “We’re committed to repairing our existing infrastructure and building new ways to move people, goods and information around so we can strengthen our communities and our economy.”
For the entire article: http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2011/fta0811.html
US Department of Transportation – FTA 08-11
February 8, 2011 dot.gov
‘Build Week’ Tour Highlights Transportation Projects That Reflect President’s Goal to ‘Win the Future’ By Investing in America
Tour Begins Today In Raleigh; U.S. Transportation Officials Showcase New Transit Maintenance Facility
RALEIGH, NC – The U.S. Department of Transportation today highlighted an energy-efficient bus maintenance facility that’s helping one of America’s fastest growing cities meet rising demand for safe, efficient public transportation. The $28.6 million facility now under construction, being built with $22.3 million from the Federal Transit Administration, is one of several federally funded projects around the nation that are moving America closer to meeting the goal President Obama set forth in his State of the Union Address to “out-build the rest of the world.”
Raleigh is one of the first stops on the Obama Administration’s “Build Week,” a week-long tour by Administration officials to showcase projects that are already making a big difference in the economy by spurring private sector investment and creating jobs in the communities where they are being built. Deputy Secretary John Porcari attended the event.
For the entire article: http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2011/fta0811.html
Conversations With America – U.S. Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking
2/4/11 State.gov
On Tuesday, February 8, 2011, Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons will hold a conversation with Wade Henderson, President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, on U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking. Cheryl Benton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Public Affairs will moderate the discussion. The event will be streamed live on DipNote, the Department of State’s official blog, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Members of the general public are invited to participate by submitting questions, some of which will be selected for response during the live broadcast.
This is the ninth in the Conversations With America video series coordinated by the Bureau of Public Affairs, in which the State Department’s senior leadership hosts conversations live, online, with leaders of prominent non-governmental organizations. Discussion topics include foreign policy and global issues and provide a candid view of how leaders from civil society engage the Department on pressing foreign policy issues.
View the text and video from other Conversations With America by following the links below:
Conversations With America: Haiti in 2011: The Way Forward (January 10, 2011)
Conversations With America: Leading Through Civilian Power: The First QDDR (January 6, 2011)
Conversations With America: The Millennium Development Goals (September 16, 2010)
Conversations With America: A Discussion on PEPFAR (August 10, 2010)
Conversations With America: A Discussion on the NEW START Treaty (July 29, 2010)
Conversations With America: U.S. Engagement with Muslim Communities (July 9, 2010)
Conversations With America: The U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue (June 8, 2010)
Conversations With America: A Discussion on Afghanistan and Pakistan (April 19, 2010)
First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign At One Year: Weighing The Impact
February 07, 2011 obamafoodorama.blogspot.com
First Lady Michelle Obama will mark the one-year anniversary of Let’s Move! on Tuesday and Wednesday during a series of events and media appearances. Right now, there’s no mathematical calculation possible for the Administration-wide effort to reduce the national prevalence of a childhood obesity epidemic that took decades to create. But in interviews with expert observers about the impact of the campaign’s first year, the words “historic,” “unprecedented,” and “impressive” became a theme. And there was a consensus that the support for Let’s Move! from the business sector is a unique event in any national campaign ever run by a First Lady, in a year that has had a series of groundbreaking firsts.
Members of Mrs. Obama’s staff also weighed in on the campaign year.
For the entire article: http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2011/02/michelle-obamas-lets-move-campaign-at.html
Celebrating the Let’s Move One-Year Anniversary in Commerce City, Colorado
February 7, 2011 Posted by Marguerite Salazar, HHS Regional Director for Colorado, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Utah and Wyoming – letsmove.gov
As a Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I have had the opportunity to see many amazing partnerships and innovative ideas to increase access to healthy living. This morning I saw another example of partnership around First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign in Commerce City, Colorado. It brought out the best in this community and highlighted all of the ways we can work together to support healthier children and families.
I was lucky enough to help celebrate the one-year anniversary of Let’s Move! with not only the City of Commerce City Colorado, but our great soccer team, the Colorado Rapids. Together we hosted a free celebration for the community that included our federal partners, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Education, along with other community organizations, like Kaiser Permanente, PlayWorks and Cooking Matters Colorado, to just name a few.
The day was filled with fun activities and free healthy snacks donated by Walmart. Even with the cold and wind, over 300 children and families came out to celebrate healthy living. It was fun to watch the various fitness challenges and kids jumping rope and doing pushups. Even the Rapids mascots joined the fun by attempting to hula hoop.
The day was an amazing success that culminated with the Mayor of Commerce City, Paul Natale, and Colorado Rapids Managing Director, Jeff Plush, praising the goals of Let’s Move! and encouraging the crowd to get outside, to walk in the National Wild Life Refuge, or enjoy a bike ride on the greenway. In addition to the new outdoor activities, Commerce City announced Saturday that they are working with community non-profits and neighborhood organizations to create three more community gardens in the summer of 2011. The new programs sound wonderful, but most of all, I have to praise the families that took the time out of their busy weekend to learn, support and celebrate healthy living. Today they embodied what the Let’s Move! Campaign is all about, and I could not have been more proud of the example this city and surrounding community set here in Colorado.
FLOTUS wants me to move, I’m moving. 5 miles/day.
Let’s Move! Marks First Year Anniversary
February 08, 2011
Let’s Move! National Campaign to Solve the Problem of Childhood Obesity Marks First Year Anniversary
First Lady Michelle Obama Praises Broad Coalition of Support and Real Progress Made in Communities Across America
On the first anniversary of Let’s Move!, First Lady Michelle Obama is celebrating the impact of parents and leaders across the country on efforts to improve children’s health through nutrition, and physical fitness. Since the launch of the initiative at the White House on February 9, 2010, many sectors have stepped up with a diverse array of commitments to support Let’s Move! – from the medical community to schools, business leaders, mayors, sports leagues, community leaders, and more. And now, every day, all around the country, steps are being taken to support parents and caregivers, and effect meaningful changes that will help ensure children have the best chance to live healthy and productive lives.
Tomorrow, the First Lady will deliver a major address focused specifically on the campaign’s efforts to meet the needs of parents. In a personal speech, Mrs. Obama will share how this issue has affected her as a parent, highlight the momentum Let’s Move! has gained, and look ahead to what more needs to be done to reduce childhood obesity. Also, to provide parents and families with information on healthy food and physical activity options for children, the First Lady will unveil a national Let’s Move! PSA campaign, created by the Ad Council, that will reach 33,000 media outlets.
“One year later, Let’s Move! is far more than just a campaign. It is so much more than just a slogan. It’s a nationwide movement to give our kids everything they need – all the energy, strength and opportunities they need to fulfill every last bit of their potential and achieve every last one of their dreams,” said First Lady Michelle Obama.
For the entire article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/02/08/lets-move-marks-first-year-anniversary
The Week Ahead: Obama at the Chamber
02/07/11 By Emily Cahn and Alicia Cohn – TheHill.com
(Democrat excerpts only)
Tuesday, Feb. 8
Michelle Obama joins a series of afternoon calls speaking directly to the Let’s Move! community; including calls with Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin; Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack; Interior Secretary Ken Salazar; and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
The House is back in session at 2:30 p.m., with votes expected in the evening.
Senate Democrats head to Charlottesville, Va., in the afternoon for a retreat that will last through Thursday.
For the entire article with Republican information and the rest of the week’s information: http://thehill.com/homenews/news/142367-the-week-ahead-obama-at-the-chamber
Petraeus to draft withdrawal plans
02/08/11 By MJ LEE – POLITICO
Five months away from when President Obama said troops would start to leave Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus is still saying the pace of withdrawals will be “determined by conditions on the ground.”
“As [Obama] has said, it’s a task to be carried out a pace determined by conditions on the ground, and we’ll obviously have to be closer to that time to have a sufficiently rigorous understanding of the conditions on the ground to inform those options and that recommendation,” Petraeus, the top American commander in Afghanistan, told the Financial Times in Kabul.
Petraeus said that come July, he will provide Obama with possible strategies “with assessments of risk for each course of action,” then make a recommendation on how to initiate a “responsible drawdown” of American forces sent to Afghanistan.
However, Petraeus was careful to downplay the 30,000-strong ISAF surge, pointing out that the bigger increase in security was with Afghan forces.
“We intend to actually increase the pressure on the Taliban this year, ‘we’ now meaning our Afghan partners and ourselves,” he said.
“I think a strategic level commander has to be conscious of the strategic context within which he is operating,” Petraeus added. “The challenge that faces any coalition commander is always that you have to capitalize on the strengths of certain contingents, recognize, say, the challenges of other contingents, complement what one does with what another does, and at the end of the day take the hand you’re dealt and play it as best you can.”
Obama signaled in December that he was committed to the July timeline, saying that success in Afghanistan was “a result of us having sent a clear signal that we will begin the transition of responsibility to Afghans and start reducing American forces next July.”
Advise the Advisor – Your Direct Line to the White House
Posted by Macon Phillips on February 07, 2011
Staying connected to the American people is incredibly important to President Obama. That’s why he tries to get out of Washington as much as he can and it’s why he reads ten letters from Americans across the country every day. And it’s why we’re kicking off a new program today called Advise the Advisor.
Think of it as your direct line to senior staff at the White House.
Here’s how it works: one of the President’s closest advisors will post a short video to let you know more about what’s going on here at the White House and ask for your advice, opinions and feedback on important issues. We’ll go through as much of your feedback as possible and post a summary of what you’ve told us later in the week.
This week, David Plouffe, Senior Advisor to the President, is kicking off the series, focusing on President Obama’s vision for winning the future by out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building rest of the world, by reforming our government to make it smarter, more effective and better prepared for the 21st century, and by taking responsibility for our debts and deficits.
Check out his video and then head over to WhiteHouse.gov/Advise to let us know how American innovation is affecting your community and what we can do to help remove the obstacles to innovation that you see where you live.
AP source: Obama wants jobless aid help for states
2/8/11 JIM KUHNHENN, AP
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is proposing short-term relief to states saddled with unemployment insurance debt, coupled with a delayed increase in the income level used to tax employers for the aid to the jobless.
The administration plans to include the proposal in its budget plan next week. The plan was described by a person familiar with the discussions on the condition of anonymity because the budget plan is still being completed.
Rising unemployment has placed such a burden on states that 30 of them owe the federal government $42 billion in money borrowed to meet their unemployment insurance obligations. Three states already have had to raise taxes to begin paying back the money they owe. More than 20 other states likely would have to raise taxes to cover their unemployment insurance debts. Under federal law, such tax increases are automatic once the money owed reaches a certain level.
Under the proposal, the administration would impose a moratorium in 2011 and 2012 on state tax increases and on state interest payments on the debt.
In 2014, however, the administration proposes to increase the taxable income level for unemployment insurance from $7,000 to $15,000. Under the proposal, the federal unemployment insurance rate would be adjusted so that the new higher income level would not result in a federal tax increase, the person familiar with the plan said.
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/f3vMRh
Salazar, Chu Announce Major Offshore Wind Initiatives
Strategic plan, $50 million in R&D funding, identified Wind Energy Areas will speed offshore wind energy development
2/7/11 doi.gov
NORFOLK, VA – Unveiling a coordinated strategic plan to accelerate the development of offshore wind energy, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced major steps forward in support of offshore wind energy in the United States, including new funding opportunities for up to $50.5 million for projects that support offshore wind energy deployment and several high priority Wind Energy Areas in the mid-Atlantic that will spur rapid, responsible development of this abundant renewable resource.
Deployment of clean, renewable offshore wind energy will help meet the President’s goal of generating 80 percent of the Nation’s electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.
“The mid-Atlantic Wind Energy Areas are a key part of our ‘Smart from the Start’ program for expediting appropriate commercial-scale wind energy development in America’s waters,” Secretary Salazar said. “Through the Strategic Work Plan, the United States is synchronizing new research and development initiatives with more efficient, forward-thinking planning so that we can help quickly stand up an American offshore wind industry. This initiative will spur the type of innovation that will help us create new jobs, build a clean energy future, and compete and win in the technologies of the 21st century.”
“Offshore wind energy can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, diversify our energy supply, and stimulate economic revitalization,” said Secretary Chu. “The Department of Energy is committed to working with our federal partners to provide national leadership in accelerating offshore wind energy deployment.”
The joint plan, A National Offshore Wind Strategy: Creating an Offshore Wind Industry in the United States, made public today is the first-ever interagency plan on offshore wind energy and demonstrates a strong federal family commitment to expeditiously develop a sustainable, world-class offshore wind industry in a way that reduces conflict with other ocean uses and protects resources. The plan focuses on overcoming three key challenges: the relatively high cost of offshore wind energy; technical challenges surrounding installation, operations, and grid interconnection; and the lack of site data and experience with project permitting processes.
For the entire article: http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Chu-Announce-Major-Offshore-Wind-Initiatives.cfm
Energy and Interior are really engaged in the development of a green economy.
Former Dow Research Scientist Convicted of Stealing Trade Secrets and Perjury
2/7/11 neworleans.fbi.gov
WASHINGTON—A federal jury in Baton Rouge, La., today convicted a former research scientist of stealing trade secrets from Dow Chemical Company and selling them to companies in the People’s Republic of China, as well as committing perjury, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux Jr. for the Middle District of Louisiana.
After a three-week trial, the jury found Wen Chyu Liu, aka David W. Liou, 74, of Houston, guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft and one count of perjury.
According to the evidence presented in court, Liou came to the United States from China for graduate work. He began working for Dow in 1965 and retired in 1992. Dow is a leading producer of the elastomeric polymer, chlorinated polyethylene (CPE). Dow’s Tyrin CPE is used in a number of applications worldwide, such as automotive and industrial hoses, electrical cable jackets, and vinyl siding.
While employed at Dow, Liou worked as a research scientist at the company’s Plaquemine, La., facility on various aspects of the development and manufacture of Dow elastomers, including Tyrin CPE. Liou had access to trade secrets and confidential and proprietary information pertaining to Dow’s Tyrin CPE process and product technology. The evidence at trial established that Liou conspired with at least four current and former employees of Dow’s facilities in Plaquemine and Stade, Germany, who had worked in Tyrin CPE production, to misappropriate those trade secrets in an effort to develop and market CPE process design packages to various Chinese companies.
For the entire article: http://neworleans.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel11/no020711.htm
Former Houston Gas Trader Pleads Guilty in $7.9 Million Wire Fraud Case
2/7/11 houston.fbi.gov
HOUSTON—Former Houston gas trader Stephanie Roqumore has pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud arising from her scheme to defraud numerous natural gas trading companies of nearly $8 million, United States José Angel Moreno announced today.
Today, at a hearing before United States District Judge Lynn N. Hughes, Roqumore, 48, admitted that from March 2002 through April 2010, she used false and fraudulent financial statements to defraud 12 known companies—Virginia Power Energy Marketing, Inc.; Coral Energy Resources, L.P.; Occidental Energy Marketing, Inc.; Energy-Koch Trading, L.P.; Cargill, Inc.; Hess Corporation; Natural Fuel Resources, Inc.; Proliance Energy, LLC; Southwest Energy, L.P.; Adams Resource Marketing, LTD; Allegheny Energy; and CMS Resource Energy Management Company. Judge Hughes scheduled Roqumore’s sentencing for May 9, 2011. Each of the wire care fraud counts carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in a federal prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition to pleading to the criminal charges, Roqumore has agreed to a forfeiture order of over $4.8 million in illegal proceeds from her scheme.
Roqumore admitted that as the sole employee, owner, and operator of three natural gas trading companies: SRR Energy Management Resources, Inc, d/b/a Gas Energy Management, Inc. (GEM); Gas American Resources, Inc. (GAR); and, Resource American Energy (RAE), she contacted natural gas trading companies all over the country requesting to trade natural gas with them. If the company was interested in trading with Roqumore, the two parties entered into a Base Contract for Sale and Purchase of Natural Gas. Shortly after entering into the contract, Roqumore would request a line of credit from the trading company in order to purchase natural gas from them. The companies required financial statements from Roqumore for whichever of her three companies she was using at the time. The line of credit was granted based on the net worth of the company provided in its financials. The financial statements that Roqumore provided to obtain the lines of credit were intentionally falsified by her to make her companies (GEM, GAR and RAE) appear to be more profitable and worth far more than they actually were.
For the entire article: http://houston.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel11/ho020711a.htm
Building Resilience Must Start at Basic Training, Mullen Says
2/7/11 By Terri Moon Cronk -American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2011 – Leadership that builds resilience in service members and their families starting with the first day of basic training is essential to the U.S. military’s future, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.
“That kind of investment up front will prevent us from the expenditure of a huge number of resources down the road,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told the audience of 600 people at the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury’s third annual Warrior Resilience Conference in Arlington, Va.
The conference’s “Total Force Fitness” theme supports a joint strategy to build resilience for service members’ multidimensional and holistic fitness.
“This is as important as who we are, where we are and what we need to do with respect to the future as anything we have,” Mullen said.
The need for resilience emerged over time, the chairman said, and it’s only going to grow.
“We’re going to see a set of problems we’ve been stuffing away in compartments that we didn’t want to deal with that are potentially going to rise dramatically in terms of severity and sheer numbers,” he said. “We need to attack that issue, not just wait for it to show up.”
Mullen noted that Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. has talked about leadership taking care of service members when they’re home, “which is something we haven’t been focused on in a long time.”
The chairman said he recently visited Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., noting that the 35,000 troops there represent the largest number of service members stationed there in a long time.
“It struck me that the only ones who knew anything about [that kind of leadership] were the E-8s and E-9s. … They took care of that leadership at a time when we hadn’t done that kind of leadership for almost a decade,” Mullen said.
But that group eventually will rotate out or retire in the next few years, he added.
“We are in a race to provide garrison leadership that is critical to our future to those soldiers and airmen, there [and] across the board,” the chairman said.
For the entire article: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=62722
Official Cites Need for Collaboration in Solving DOD Issues
2/7/11 By Elaine Wilson – American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2011 – Collaboration is key to solving some of the Defense Department’s toughest issues, whether it’s building resilience in service members and their families or keeping the best and brightest in the department’s ranks, the Pentagon’s top personnel official said today.
“We try too often to do it ourselves. … There are a lot of smart people out here in this world, but we tend not to receive them or see them because of our own biases,” Clifford L. Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, told attendees of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury’s 2011 Warrior Resilience Conference in Arlington, Va.
Whether it’s rank or religion, position or gender, moving beyond biases will help to foster an environment open to the new ideas and effective solutions service members and their families deserve, Stanley said.
“Our warriors, our men and women who serve in uniform, deserve our very best,” he added. “They deserve more than we can give them in this lifetime.”
Stanley encouraged the audience to keep cooperative efforts in mind as they moved forward with the conference, intended to increase leaders’ awareness of Total Force Fitness. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, created the initiative to foster a holistic approach to well-being that keeps the individual, family and organization in mind.
Resilience plays a key role in well-being, but the trick is deciphering what makes some people resilient and others less so, Stanley noted. Some people can weather extreme circumstances and come out unscathed, and others may crumble, he said.
Stanley cited his own life as an example. His wife was shot in a sniper attack in 1975, he said, and is paralyzed as a result. They’re celebrating their 40-year anniversary in June, their daughter is a Navy nurse practitioner, and they’ve had their “bumps” as well, he added.
“Each of us experiences similar kinds of things in life,” he said, “and those things help us become better, and some of us crumble. … Some of us have challenges as a result.”
Everyone is going to take some flak from others, Stanley noted. “Somebody is not going to like what you have to say,” he told the group. “They’re not going to love you back.”
For the entire article: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=62720
Happy Tuesday, everybody!
>^..^<
Kat's Weekday Obama Administration Report, 2/8/11
Today’s report features:
• President addresses Chamber of Commerce: "Even as we make America the best place on Earth to do business, businesses also have a responsibility to America."
• National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, talks about combating HIV/AIDS; resources at Aids. gov.
•White House press briefing: Mr. Gibbs takes questions on Egypt and the President’s visit to the Chamber of Commerce.
• Advise the Advisor: New video series featuring senior White House staff to collect feedback on important issues. This week: David Plouffe on innovation.
•Protecting Consumers: Elizabeth Warren introduces real stories of unfair financial practices; how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will fight for consumers.
• President with young leaders at Penn State: The President speaks about how the next generation will contribute to winning the future.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/2/8/936823/-Kats-Weekday-Obama-Administration-Report,-2-8-11-
Happy Tuesday Kat!
Good Tuesday morning everyone! I HOPE that you have a good day!
Hi CR!
Obama appoints Pawlenty’s pastor
02/07/11 By ABBY PHILLIP – POLITICO
President Obama has named Tim Pawlenty’s pastor, Leith Anderson, who is also the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, to his council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
Anderson has been a senior pastor at Wooddale Church in Minnesota, one of the largest evangelical churches in the country, since 1977. He is known as a moderate evangelical leader and since taking the helm of the NAE in 2006 has steered the organization toward more moderate political engagement.
They issued statements of support for the START Treaty ratification last year, supported Obama’s push for comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act, and issued a report on 18 issues in which NAE and Obama concur.
As Pawlenty seemingly prepares to launch a bid against Obama in 2012, he will likely be up against another evangelical candidate in the Republican primaries, Mike Huckabee. Meanwhile, Obama has continuously fought against widespread misconceptions that he is not a Christian.
“Every day I read a poll [about Obama’s religion] I think it’s odd,” Anderson told POLITICO last year, coming to Obama’s defense. “I read all these polls and my mind always flashes back to Jay Leno and ‘Jaywalking,’” referring to the comedian’s routine that pokes fun at Americans’ ignorance of seemingly basic facts.
Good morning CR and Kat. I had an early dentist appointment so I am late checking in. HOPE you all have a terrific Tuesday.
Good Tuesday morning Jackie!
Only 42 candles lit this morning. Please join me in lighting a candle for our President, First Family and the Nation.
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=PBO
Thank you Jackie!!
Done.
Next Up…
11:00 AM EST
Pentagon briefing on Afghanistan
Two U.S. Army colonels brief reporters on current operations in Afghanistan
CNN http://live.cnn.com/
Department of Defense http://www.defense.gov/
Next Up…
10:45 AM EST
V.P. Biden speaks on Transportation – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
WhiteHouse.gov http://www.whitehouse.gov/live (Audio Only)
CNN http://www.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=stream4
February 08, 2011
Vice President Biden Announces Six Year Plan to Build National High-Speed Rail Network
Plan Lays Out Vision for Long Term Infrastructure Investments Needed to Win the Future
Philadelphia, PA – Vice President Joe Biden today announced a comprehensive plan that will help the nation reach President Obama’s goal of giving 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years, as outlined in his State of the Union address. The proposal will place high-speed rail on equal footing with other surface transportation programs and revitalize America’s domestic rail manufacturing industry by dedicating $53 billion over six years to continue construction of a national high-speed and intercity passenger rail network. As a part of President Obama’s commitment to winning the future by rebuilding America’s roadways, railways and runways, the plan will lay a new foundation for the nation’s economic opportunity, job creation, and competitiveness.
The Vice President made the announcement with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood during a visit to Philadelphia’s historic 30th Street Station, where passengers traveling from Pittsburgh and Harrisburg on Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor connect to high-speed Acela service to Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C. Since track improvements raised speeds between Harrisburg and Philadelphia to 110 mph in 2006, the Keystone Corridor has seen rail ridership rise by 57 percent. In fact, more passengers now travel from Harrisburg to Philadelphia – and from Philadelphia to New York City and Washington D.C. – by rail than by plane.
“As President Obama said in his State of the Union, there are key places where we cannot afford to sacrifice as a nation – one of which is infrastructure,” said Vice President Biden. “As a long time Amtrak rider and advocate, I understand the need to invest in a modern rail system that will help connect communities, reduce congestion and create quality, skilled manufacturing jobs that cannot be outsourced. This plan will help us to do that, while also increasing access to convenient high speed rail for more Americans.”
For the entire article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/02/08/vice-president-biden-announces-six-year-plan-build-national-high-speed-r
Govt to release findings of Toyota investigation
2/8/11 KEN THOMAS -AP
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is poised to announce the results of a 10-month investigation into whether faulty electronics played a role in Toyota vehicles’ sudden, unintentional acceleration and other safety problems.
The Transportation Department said it would issue on Tuesday the findings of its study, which has examined whether electronics or electromagnetic interference played a factor in the Japanese automaker’s safety recalls.
Toyota has recalled more than 11 million vehicles globally since fall 2009 to address sticking accelerator pedals, gas pedals that became trapped in floor mats, and other safety issues. The recalls have posed a major challenge for the world’s No. 1 automaker, which has scrambled to protect its reputation for safety and reliability.
A preliminary part of the study, released last August, failed to find any electronic flaws based on a review of event data recorders, or vehicle black boxes. The study has been conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and NASA engineers with expertise in electronics.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood declined to comment Monday in advance of the report’s release, saying the department would “talk in great detail about this” Tuesday.
Toyota said in a statement that it looks forward to reviewing the NASA and NHTSA report regarding its electronic throttle control systems.
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/feVXhV
Obama packs in private meetings
02/08/11 By MATT NEGRIN – POLITICO
President Obama has a slew of meetings at the White House on Tuesday, but they’re all behind closed doors and won’t be shown to reporters or the public. According to the White House, after Obama gets his daily briefing, he’ll meet with the National Policy Alliance in the Roosevelt Room. He’s then got a session planned with Vice President Biden and Defense Secretary Robert Gates in the Oval Office.
Meanwhile, Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will ride to Philadelphia to talk about infrastructure.
Obama to lunch with Boehner, Cantor
02/08/11 By MATT NEGRIN – POLITICO
President Obama will have lunch at the White House on Wednesday with three top Republicans: House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
“The president looks forward to discussing all issues foreign and domestic,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters on Tuesday. “Obviously, without a doubt, there will be a heavy discussion of the economy and spending, and I think the president will have a chance to talk through with them many of the things he outlined in the State of the Union. And I have no doubt they have their cares and concerns as well.”
The lunch will be at 12:30 p.m., Gibbs said.
If I were forced to sit with “The Weeper of the House” and “Cynical Cantor” I would need a portable heater for their icy demeanor and a sick bag because they make me sick to my stomach.
Hi CR..!!
CR – Tell us how you really feel. (Of course, I feel the same way, truth be told!)
Hi Ms O’Boomer!
Happy tuesday PrObama Family
From my twitter timeline:
RT @Ziggy_Daddy: Andrew Sullivan: The Daily Dish | That Pre-Game #Obama Interview http://bit.ly/e0M29J
Happy Tuesday Tigerfists!
The Myth of Obama’s Big Spending
2/8/11 Andrew Romano- Newsweek Daily Beast
NEW YORK – The Myth of Obama’s Big SpendingDoes the president really suffer from what House Speaker John Boehner calls a “spending illness”? Not according to an exclusive Newsweek-Daily Beast estimate of his outlays on new legislation since taking office.
• The Newsweek Daily Beast team found that President Obama “spent” $21 billion more on GOP-friendly tax cuts than on government programs. • He’s laid out $884 billion for six major, immediate spending increases that aren’t offset elsewhere in the budget, from the stimulus package to Cash for Clunkers. • But he’s made $905 billion in tax cuts, including the Bush tax-cut extension in December. • His health-care reform will tilt his spending vs. tax-cutting equilibrium toward the former in future years.
Nothing unites Republicans quite like the unshakable belief that Barack Obama has become the Carrie Bradshaw of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, unable to stop himself from frittering away ridiculous sums of money on frivolous things. But what Republicans never mention when railing against Obama’s alleged fiscal recklessness is how much money he has spent, and what exactly he’s spent it on.
To rectify the situation, Newsweek and The Daily Beast have come up with an exclusive estimate of the amount the president has spent on new legislation since taking office in January 2009. This isn’t the sum total of all government outlays; that number would include spending on mandatory entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, which no president can control, as well as spending on income-support programs such as food stamps and Medicaid, which automatically increases as citizens get poorer (i.e., during a recession). Instead, we focused on the times when Obama decided to spend money that wouldn’t have been spent if the government had simply been humming along on autopilot.
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/hwhW3w
Oh…I saw this too:
RT @BBCWorld: Michelle Obama says President #Obama has quit smoking and hasn´t smoked at all in almost a year, from AP
Yeah! Congratulations POTUS for kicking that habit!
Proud of our President!
Wow. That is awesome considering the stress he has to be under running this country. I am so very proud and thankful for our President.
Hey Kat, CR and my other O friends. I am also very proud of our President for kicking the smoking habit.
Hi COS!
Business travel bounces back as economy improves
2/8/11 SCOTT MAYEROWITZ- AP
U.S. companies are forecast to spend 5 percent more on travel in 2011 than they did last year — a sign of confidence in the economy that is giving a boost to airlines, hotels and rental-car companies. That’s double the growth rate from 2010, which followed two years of decline.
Last year’s bump in business travel — companies spent an estimated $228 billion — helped U.S. airlines post their first collective profit in three years. And profits are rising at hotel chains like Marriott and Hyatt and rental-car companies like Avis and Hertz.
Perhaps the most telling sign of a rebound, industry officials say, is the return of corporate retreats. They had all but vanished during the recession, part of an effort by businesses to avoid the appearance of extravagance at a time of government bailouts and rising unemployment.
Executives sending their workers back on the road say travel is critical to their companies’ success.
For the entire article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110208/ap_on_bi_ge/us_business_travel
Next Up…
3:30 PM EST
U.S. State Department hold talks in efforts to combat Human Trafficking http://blogs.state.gov/
CNN http://live.cnn.com/
CSPAN http://www.cspan.org/
Department of State http://blogs.state.gov/
U.S. Efforts to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Office of Public Liaison- Bureau of Public Affairs
February 8, 2011
On Tuesday, February 8, 2011, Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, will hold a conversation with Wade Henderson, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, on U.S. efforts to monitor and combat modern slavery. The discussion will be moderated by Cheryl Benton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Public Affairs.
For the video: http://www.state.gov/video/?videoid=782272862001
I like the article up thread where PBO appointed Tim Pawlenty’s pastor. It is funny that I am seeing on CNN’s ticker that Pawlenty says that he can beat PBO in 2012. PBO is so smart and wise. I wonder if Pawlenty will change his church membership.
Ha!
You know, COS, I was wondering the same thing.
From my twitter timeline:
RT @betsyzel: “@thedailybeast: 4 Reasons the Supreme Court Will Uphold #Obama’s Health Care http://thebea.st/gM55wb” – (cont) http://tl.gd/8mpr6l
I don’t even have to read your link – I’m happy with this news! (But now I’ll go read it.)
Thanks Tigerfists!
“To all the breathless health care analysts predicting an epic partisan showdown at the Supreme Court over the reform law’s constitutionality, Tribe frankly says, oh please, leave your “swing vote” argument at home. The Court will almost certainly uphold the law.”
This article gives me more hope that the Supreme Court won’t go off the rails on this law. Thanks for posting Tigerfists.
I agree, having now read it. The conclusions drawn sound totally rational and give one HOPE.
Also visited a second link on that site. Discussed what’s in store for “original baby boomers” (like me) who will be eligible for Medicare this year. I think 50,000 of us a day turn 65 in 2011 (hope that figure is right). Anyway, I laughed to hear that the new Health Care Reform law provides for a “Welcome to Medicare” physical. Oh, boy, can’t wait. (Especially since, in my mind, I’m still 15, and will want to go for ice cream after it.)
Too gusty and chilly here for ice cream….how about a nice cup of hot cocoa?
Oh, right, it’s 5° here tonight. Hot cocoa might be good.
You are funny Jacqueline.
I am one of the babyboomers. I agree about the ice cream. I never thought I would rush age 65. I am knocking on the door right now but not quite there.
I’ll be there in October! Might as well laugh about it.
Happy, Healthy Text4baby Turns One
Posted by Phil Larson on February 08, 2011
If you are pregnant or a new mom and haven’t heard of text4baby, it’s time you got to know a happy and healthy public-private partnership that is celebrating its first birthday this month.
Launched on February 4, 2010, by U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, text4baby is a free text messaging service that delivers timely health information three times a week during pregnancy and through a baby’s first year. Women can sign up for the service by texting BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411. In the year since its launch, 135,000 subscribers have signed up for the service and millions of text messages have been sent. More than 300 outreach partners, including national, state, business, academic, non-profit, and other groups, are helping to promote the service.
Text4baby puts valuable health information directly into the hands of moms and moms-to-be all around the Nation. With the help of this free and simple service, subscribers can learn new things specific to their stage of pregnancy or age of their baby, learn about medical and nutritional services they may not realize are available to them, and get reminders to make those prenatal appointments.
For the entire article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/02/08/happy-healthy-text4baby-turns-one
Supercomputers, Semi Trucks, and America’s Clean Energy Future
Posted by Dan Leistikow on February 08, 2011
To strengthen our economy and win the future, President Obama is calling for investments in innovation and technology leadership.
Today’s announcement from the Department of Energy is a perfect example of how these investments in innovation can create jobs and make America more competitive.
The Department’s Jaguar Supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is one of the fastest, most powerful machines in the world – roughly equivalent to 100,000 times the computational power of typical home laptop. We are making the supercomputer available to innovative companies – large and small – who are using it to develop and test new products that can be manufactured in the United States.
A small company in South Carolina and Georgia, the BMI corporation, has used the Jaguar to develop some aerodynamic components that can be attached to the undercarriage of a semi truck to reduce wind resistance. They used highly sophisticated computer modeling to simulate the airflow and optimize the design.
The result is a new product being manufactured in Georgia that will make semi trucks 7 to 12 percent more fuel efficient. The potential impact is huge – outfitting all of America’s 1.3 million Class 8 semi trucks with this kind of technology would save about 1.5 billion gallons of diesel fuel each year, meaning an annual savings of about $5 billion.
The company was able to use the supercomputer to dramatically reduce both the time and cost of moving from a concept to a specific design that was ready to be manufactured. Originally, the process was supposed to take 3 1/2 years. With the partnership of the Department of Energy and the Jaguar Supercomputer, they did it in 18 months.
In the process, they’ve developed a product that will create American manufacturing jobs, make trucking companies more competitive, cut costs forbusinesses across the country by making shipping less expensive, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Not bad at all.
Dan Leistikow is the Director of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Energy
Dr. William Spriggs’s Story: Working Hard for America’s Workforce
Posted by Dr. William Spriggs on February 08, 2011
Editor’s Note: This post is part of the Celebrating Black History Month series, highlighting the contributions of African Americans whose work is helping advance the President’s goal of winning the future.
My parents had the greatest influence on who I am today. My father was a Tuskegee Airman and earned a PhD in Physics, and taught college for many years. My mother, also a World War II veteran, was a school teacher and taught me to read and write. They both instilled in me the values of hard work, honesty, and being humble; as well as my faith. My mother completed college while I was in elementary school, and I remember studying history together. She would check out children’s books covering the topics she was learning about. Growing up when I did during the height of the Civil Rights movement and the 100th anniversary of the American Civil War were important influences on me.
I was born in Washington, DC and attended the public elementary schools in Northeast and Southeast Washington before my family moved to Norfolk, and then Virginia Beach. After high school I attended Williams College, and then graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There I earned a Masters and PhD in economics, served as the co-president of the Teaching Assistants’ Association, American Federation of Teachers Local #3220, and most importantly met my wife of 25 years.
For the entire article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/02/08/dr-william-spriggss-story-working-hard-americas-workforce
Totally enjoyed that! We once hosted a very inspirational visit from a former Tuskegee Airman at the Navy command where I worked back in the ’90s. It was great to see him at the controls of some of the high-tech training systems that our current-day military use.
February 08, 2011
Readout of the Vice President’s Call with Egyptian Vice President Omar Soliman
Vice President Biden spoke today to Egyptian Vice President Omar Soliman to reiterate the United States’ support for an orderly transition in Egypt that is prompt, meaningful, peaceful, and legitimate. Vice President Biden urged that the transition produce immediate, irreversible progress that responds to the aspirations of the Egyptian people.
The Vice President reaffirmed that the future of Egypt will be determined by the Egyptian people. The Vice President took note of steps the government of Egypt has pledged to take in response to the opposition and urged the government to take immediate action to follow through on its commitments.
Based on our nation’s fundamental belief in the importance of universal rights and representative governments, as well as on consultations with Egypt’s opposition and a broad cross section of civil society, Vice President Biden and Vice President Soliman discussed additional steps that the United States supports, including:
* Restraining the Ministry of Interior’s conduct by immediately ending the arrests, harassment, beating, and detention of journalists, and political and civil society activists, and by allowing freedom of assembly and expression;
* immediately rescinding the emergency law;
* broadening participation in the national dialogue to include a wide range of opposition members; and
* inviting the opposition as a partner in jointly developing a roadmap and timetable for transition.
These steps, and a clear policy of no reprisals, are what the broad opposition is calling for and what the government is saying it is prepared to accept. Vice President Biden expressed the belief that the demands of the broad opposition can be met through meaningful negotiations with the government.
I notice that the House is currently voting on certain provisions in the Patriot Act. Does anyone know which privisions they are voting on? Whatever it is, it appears that the majority of the dems are against it.
I just found this, COS:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/02/08/patriot-act-extension-a-matter-of-timing/
Thanks jacqueline for this link.
U.S., French Defense Leaders Sign Space Agreement
2/8/11 By Jim Garamone -American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2011 – U.S. and French defense leaders consulted on a wide range of mutual interests and signed an agreement on space situational awareness at the Pentagon today.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and French Defense Minister Alain Juppe discussed Afghanistan, restoring NATO, containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions and defeating international terrorism, and also addressed the situation in Egypt.
Gates hosted Juppe and his party last night at a restaurant that once hosted John Quincy Adams and Marquis de Lafayette in 1824.
On Egypt, both men emphasized the need for a peaceful transition. Gates said the Egyptian military “has conducted itself in an exemplary manner” through the protests.
“They have acted with great restraint, and frankly, they have done everything that we have indicated we hoped they would do,” Gates said. “They have made a contribution to the evolution of democracy that we’ve seen in Egypt.”
Egypt needs an orderly transition, but it needs to continue to move forward in a way that allows people to see “a steady pace in implementing a number of the reforms that have been announced and which the Egyptian government has committed,” Gates said.
Juppe stressed that both the United States and France want free and fair elections in Egypt.
For the entire article: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=62733
New Strategy Calls for Redefined Leadership
2/8/11 By Jim Garamone- American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2011 – The first revision in seven years of the National Military Strategy calls for redefining leadership in a changing world.
The document released here today is the first revision since 2004 of the ways and means that the military will advance U.S. national interests. It builds on the 2010 National Security Strategy and the objectives in the latest Quadrennial Defense Review.
“Our military power is most effective when employed in support and in concert with other elements of power as part of whole-of-nation approaches to foreign policy,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote in the strategy. “This strategy is designed to meet the expectations of the American people that their military reflect the best of this great nation at home and abroad.”
Changing leadership in this whole-of-nation concept is key to the strategy. “This strategy acknowledges the need for military leadership that is redefined for an increasingly complex strategic environment,” it says. Military leadership will emphasize mutual responsibility and respect and will require a full spectrum of leadership approaches – facilitator, enabler, convener and guarantor.
The National Military Objectives are designed to counter violent extremism, deter and defeat aggression, strengthen international and regional security and shape the future force.
Violent extremism directly threatens Americans, their way of life, and America’s vital interests, the strategy says. Al-Qaida is the main group, and it remains a threat. The military will continue to work with NATO and allies in Afghanistan to pursue the Taliban, strengthen the Afghan government, and train and equip Afghan security forces.
For the entire article: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=62738
Special Operations Faces Soaring Demands, Commander Says
2/8/11 By Karen Parrish -American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2011 – Demand in Afghanistan for special operations forces is “insatiable,” even as U.S. Special Operations Command increases its troop strength by a battalion a year, Socom’s commander said today.
Speaking at the National Defense Industrial Association’s 22nd Annual Special Operations and Low-intensity Conflict Symposium, Navy Adm. Eric T. Olson discussed the effect nearly a decade of war has had on the Defense Department’s most elite warriors.
“As we have essentially doubled our force over the last nine years [and] tripled our budget over the last nine years, we have quadrupled our overseas deployments over the last nine years,” Olson said.
“We are doing more with more, but the more we’re doing it with doesn’t match the more we’ve been asked to do,” he said. “We are, frankly, beginning to show some fraying around the edges.”
As Olson’s 2010 Socom posture statement sets out, the command’s mission covers combat, training and equipping indigenous forces, as well as synchronizing planning of global operations against terrorist networks.
The posture statement reads in part, “Special operations forces respond to the sound of guns with a combination of speed, discipline, and tenacity. They also apply their knowledge and experience well ahead of the sound of the guns to prevent violence from erupting whenever and wherever possible. These are warriors who can act swiftly with precision and lethality, yet remain simultaneously capable of building long-term relationships and trust with international partners.”
Olson, a former Navy SEAL who has commanded Socom since 2007, said he doesn’t pretend the demand for special operations forces will decrease over the next few years.
“We saw 100,000 American troops come out of Iraq; we only saw about 500 special operations [members] as part of that,” he noted.
For the entire article: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=62737
This is so awful. God bless our military and their families.
There are quite a few in the frustrati that
are hell bent on doling out some humility to
POTUS…To me it’s funny that for some reason
they feel personally offended and enraged
with the playful, human interaction with his
audience…It’s because of hard work that
Pres. Obama is in positon to recall hundreds of facts instantly and answer with an
intelligent comeback.
Maybe if the PUMAS,Teabaggers, Naderites, Hamsherites, DeRothchilds, LaRoucheies and Anti-Intellectuals studied a little harder they wouldn’t feel so insecure
De Rothchild says “Frankly..I don’t like him”
OMG, what memories. I remember all of these. The drama will be among the republicans this time. I am waiting to see how nasty they are going to get with each other. They have that type of reputation.
Do y’all also remember the video of when candidate Obama brushed his shoulders off? Think it was both in response to our current Secretary of State’s remarks to him and around the time of that awful ABC debate during the campaign!
Yes I remember that and the
“Lipstick on a pig”.
Hi everyone,
I am anxious to share a bumper sticker I saw in Bellingham, Wa. yesterday. So I will post the first part in this comment. Then, my next post will provide the punch line. Jackie O, NO PEEKING! Here we go:
DO YOU KEEP HEARING CRAZY VOICES?
OK, here is the punchline:
TURN OFF FOX NEWS!
I though I would end up ROTPLMBO (rolling on the pavement laughing my butt off)
Good one canadabarb.
lol..!!
I like you laughing smiley face Tigerfists!
Wow that was good!
Please feel free to share the motto on any blog you wish; send it to your friends & foes alike.
I don’t really have any foes. But I’ll try to make some!
(Great bumper sticker, CanadaBarb! Good evening to ya!)
Jackie,
Just go to any “comment” section on the net blogs, post a positive remark about our PBO; instant foes. See how simple that will be? lol
I can’t even get myself past Step 1.
LOL!
Wow, the fact that PBO has stopped smoking is a story on the NBC Nightly news. I have been seeing headlines from all over the place; even the Phillipines. PBO is truly a world leader. I don’t know if there isn’t anyone who doesn’t know who he is. I think he will go down in history as the first president known by most kids.
President Establishes Intellectual Property Enforcement Advisory Committees
Posted by Victoria Espinel on February 08, 2011
I am pleased to tell you that today President Obama issued an Executive Order called “The Establishment of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Advisory Committees,” establishing two intellectual property enforcement advisory committees designed to improve the Federal Government’s intellectual property enforcement efforts. The President’s issuance of the Executive Order further confirms his Administration’s commitment to creating jobs and improving the economy by strengthening the enforcement of intellectual property laws, the laws designed to protect and foster America’s inventiveness and creativity.
In his State of the Union address, the President emphasized that to remain competitive in today’s world economy, to create jobs and new business opportunities, we need to unleash the creative spirit of the American people, the same spirit that has made us the most prosperous nation in the world. In his weekly address on January 29, 2011, the President reiterated that “America will win the future by out-innovating, out educating and out building our competitors.” At a meeting at the White House on January 28, 2011, flanked by Cabinet members, other senior Administration officials, and the CEOs of several of our top companies, Vice President Biden echoed the President’s remarks, further noting that we must also work hard to protect our intellectual property to ensure that the “innovative ideas and creative products reach their full potential without being stolen, co-opted or, quite frankly, compromised.”
For the entire article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/02/08/president-establishes-intellectual-property-enforcement-advisory-committees
Department of Justice Press Release
United States Attorney’s Office
District of Maryland
February 8, 2011 baltimore.fbi.gov
Federal Jury Convicts Two Drug Dealers with Ties to Mexican Drug Cartels
A Total of Four Drug Conspirators Convicted in the Baltimore Drug Trafficking Scheme
BALTIMORE, MD—A federal jury convicted Wade Coats, age 45, of Baltimore, Maryland, and Jose Cavazos, age 43, of Midlothean, Texas, late yesterday of conspiring to distribute, and possessing with intent to distribute, marijuana and cocaine. Coats was also convicted of possessing a gun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
The convictions were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Ava Cooper-Davis of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Washington Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Colonel Terrence Sheridan, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III.
“Coordination by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies is essential to combat international drug cartels that import drugs and violence to Maryland,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.
“DEA’s investigation of this drug trafficking organization (DTO) was a long-term, highly complex effort. This investigation used a myriad of investigative techniques, to include confidential sources, surveillance, and other techniques to expose this DTO,” stated Ava A. Cooper-Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration. “Cocaine and marijuana for this DTO came directly from a powerful Mexican drug cartel. The conviction today of Wade Coats and Jose Cavazos is another example of our success in the fight against major Mexican drug cartels operating in the United States.”
For the entire article: http://baltimore.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel11/ba020811.htm
House rejects extensions of Patriot Act provisions
2/8/11 JIM ABRAMS, AP
WASHINGTON – The House on Tuesday failed to extend the life of three surveillance tools that are key to the nation’s post-Sept. 11 anti-terror law, a slipup for the new Republican leadership that miscalculated the level of opposition.
The House voted 277-148 to keep the three provisions of the USA Patriot Act on the books until Dec. 8. But Republicans brought up the bill under a special expedited procedure requiring a two-thirds majority, and the vote was seven short of reaching that level.
The Republicans, who took over the House last month, lost 26 of their own members, adding to the 122 Democrats who voted against it. Supporters say the three measures are vital to preventing another terrorist attack, but critics say they infringe on civil liberties. They appealed to the antipathy that newer and more conservative Republicans hold for big government invasions of individual privacy.
Earlier on Tuesday, Republicans also pulled a bill from the floor because of dissatisfaction about extending trade benefits for three South American countries while continuing a program that helps retrain Americans who lose their jobs to foreign competition.
The Patriot Act bill would have renewed the authority for court-approved roving wiretaps that permit surveillance on multiple phones. Also addressed was Section 215, the so-called library records provision that gives the FBI court-approved access to “any tangible thing” relevant to a terrorism investigation.
For the entire article: http://yhoo.it/ekoKNI
Progress despite the so-called House Republican majority. Love it.
Claire McCaskill, John Tester, Ben Nelson and Joe Manchin are considering voting against HCR according to Rachel on her show tonight. She used Blanche Lincoln as a reminder of what happens to Dems who pretend that they are not dems and vote against their own party and brag about it to get re-elected. She had this huge envelope addressed to Claire and she inserted a poster of Blanche Lincoln inside the envelope to mail to Claire to show her what will happen to her if she doesn’t act like a real Democrat. I was dying laughing. I think they are actually going to mail it to her.
Administration Implements Affordable Care Act Provision to Improve Care, Lower Costs
Value-Based Purchasing Will Reward Hospitals Based on Quality of Care for Patients
4/29/11 hhs.gov
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today launched a new initiative which will reward hospitals for the quality of care they provide to people with Medicare and help reduce health care costs. Authorized by the Affordable Care Act, the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program marks the beginning of an historic change in how Medicare pays health care providers and facilities—for the first time, 3,500 hospitals across the country will be paid for inpatient acute care services based on care quality, not just the quantity of the services they provide.
This initiative helps support the goals of the Partnership for Patients, a new public-private partnership that will help improve the quality, safety and affordability of health care for all Americans. The Partnership for Patients has the potential over the next three years to save 60,000 lives and save up to $35 billion in U.S. health care costs, including up to $10 billion for Medicare. Over the next ten years, the Partnership for Patients could reduce costs to Medicare by about $50 billion and result in billions more in Medicaid savings.
“Changing the way we pay hospitals will improve the quality of care for seniors and save money for all of us,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Under this initiative, Medicare will reward hospitals that provide high-quality care and keep their patients healthy. It’s an important part of our work to improve the health of our nation and drive down costs. As hospitals work to improve their performance on these measures, all patients – not just Medicare patients – will benefit.”
For the entire article: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/04/20110429a.html
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titled: “ StartUp America”
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