To recap
What'
That'
We wish Presi
Not an impor
Friday, January 23, 2009
What missing in this picture?
To a lot of people this issue might not be a huge difference or importance to the relevancy of President Obama's big task at hand. But we wanted to point out his "flub" and second reading of his sworn in ceremony.
To recap President Obama had to be sworn in twice because a few words Justice Roberts stumbpled upon. As reported by the "media" Justice Roberts and President Obama had to repeat the oath to avoid reports on the officiality of his position.
What's missing here?
That's right, the Holy Bible. Even if he could not obtain Lincoln's Bible, you would think there would be a single Bible somewhere in the White House.
We wish President Obama the best of luck and during this tough economic times all of us should come together and help reviliatize our economy.
Not an important issue but tell us What Do You Think?
To recap
What'
That'
We wish Presi
Not an impor
Obama signs order reversing abortion-funds policy
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday quietly ended the Bush administration's
ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform
abortions or provide information on the option. Liberal groups welcomed
the decision, while abortion rights foes criticized the president.
Known as the "Mexico City policy," the ban has been reinstated and then reversed by Republican and Democratic presidents since Ronald Reagan established it in 1984. Democrat Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but Republican George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.
A White House spokesman,
Bill Burton, said Obama signed an executive order on the ban, without
coverage by the media, late Friday afternoon. That was in contrast to
the midday signings with fanfare of executive orders on other subjects earlier in the week.
Obama's action came one day after the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion.
The Bush policy had banned U.S. taxpayer money, usually in the form of Agency for International Development
funds, from going to international family planning groups that either
offer abortions or provide information, counseling or referrals about
abortion. The rule also had prohibited federal funding for groups that
lobby to legalize abortion or promote it as a family planning method.
Both Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton,
who will oversee foreign aid, had promised to do away with the rule
during the presidential campaign. Clinton visited the U.S. Agency for
International Development on Friday but made no mention of the step.
Obama has spent his first days in office aggressively signing executive orders reversing Bush administration policies on issues ranging from foreign policy to government operations.
TV cameras were invited in for Wednesday's announcements on ethics
rules and for Thursday's signing of orders on closing the Guantanamo
Bay prison camp and banning torture in the questioning of terror
suspects.
In a move related to the
lifting of the abortion rule, Obama also is expected to restore funding
to the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), probably in the next budget. Both
he and Clinton had pledged to reverse a Bush administration determination that assistance to the organization violated U.S. law.
The Bush administration
had barred U.S. money from the fund, contending that its work in China
supported a Chinese family planning policy of coercive abortion and
involuntary sterilization. UNFPA has vehemently denied that it does.
Organizations that had pressed Obama to make the abortion-ban change were jubilant.
"Women's health
has been severely impacted by the cutoff of assistance. President
Obama's actions will help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies,
abortions and women dying from high-risk pregnancies because they don't
have access to family planning," said Tod Preston, a spokesman for
Population Action International, an advocacy group.
Anti-abortion groups criticized the move.
"President
Obama not long ago told the American people that he would support
policies to reduce abortions, but today he is effectively guaranteeing
more abortions by funding groups that promote abortion as a method of population control," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee.
Obama also is expected at some point to lift or ease restrictions on federal money for stem cell research, an issue that divides people along similar battle lines, but there was no word about any action on that Friday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
has expressed interest in pressing legislation on stem cells in the
first 100 days of the new Congress if the new administration doesn't
act.
Some scientists want broader use
of embryonic stem cells than is currently allowed, hoping for new
treatments for many diseases. Obtaining stem cells from four- or
five-day-old embryos kills the embryos, and many opponents see that as
taking life.
-
In a time of financial crisis, we continue to handout bailouts like money grows on the trees. Do we really need our money going overseas to be solving another countries problems before our own? Our countries problems should be solved first before handing out aid to foreign affairs.
ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform
abortions or provide information on the option. Liberal groups welcomed
the decision, while abortion rights foes criticized the president.
Known as the "Mexico City policy," the ban has been reinstated and then reversed by Republican and Democratic presidents since Ronald Reagan established it in 1984. Democrat Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but Republican George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.
A White House spokesman,
Bill Burton, said Obama signed an executive order on the ban, without
coverage by the media, late Friday afternoon. That was in contrast to
the midday signings with fanfare of executive orders on other subjects earlier in the week.
Obama's action came one day after the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion.
The Bush policy had banned U.S. taxpayer money, usually in the form of Agency for International Development
funds, from going to international family planning groups that either
offer abortions or provide information, counseling or referrals about
abortion. The rule also had prohibited federal funding for groups that
lobby to legalize abortion or promote it as a family planning method.
Both Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton,
who will oversee foreign aid, had promised to do away with the rule
during the presidential campaign. Clinton visited the U.S. Agency for
International Development on Friday but made no mention of the step.
Obama has spent his first days in office aggressively signing executive orders reversing Bush administration policies on issues ranging from foreign policy to government operations.
TV cameras were invited in for Wednesday's announcements on ethics
rules and for Thursday's signing of orders on closing the Guantanamo
Bay prison camp and banning torture in the questioning of terror
suspects.
In a move related to the
lifting of the abortion rule, Obama also is expected to restore funding
to the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), probably in the next budget. Both
he and Clinton had pledged to reverse a Bush administration determination that assistance to the organization violated U.S. law.
The Bush administration
had barred U.S. money from the fund, contending that its work in China
supported a Chinese family planning policy of coercive abortion and
involuntary sterilization. UNFPA has vehemently denied that it does.
Organizations that had pressed Obama to make the abortion-ban change were jubilant.
"Women's health
has been severely impacted by the cutoff of assistance. President
Obama's actions will help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies,
abortions and women dying from high-risk pregnancies because they don't
have access to family planning," said Tod Preston, a spokesman for
Population Action International, an advocacy group.
Anti-abortion groups criticized the move.
"President
Obama not long ago told the American people that he would support
policies to reduce abortions, but today he is effectively guaranteeing
more abortions by funding groups that promote abortion as a method of population control," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee.
Obama also is expected at some point to lift or ease restrictions on federal money for stem cell research, an issue that divides people along similar battle lines, but there was no word about any action on that Friday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
has expressed interest in pressing legislation on stem cells in the
first 100 days of the new Congress if the new administration doesn't
act.
Some scientists want broader use
of embryonic stem cells than is currently allowed, hoping for new
treatments for many diseases. Obtaining stem cells from four- or
five-day-old embryos kills the embryos, and many opponents see that as
taking life.
-
In a time of financial crisis, we continue to handout bailouts like money grows on the trees. Do we really need our money going overseas to be solving another countries problems before our own? Our countries problems should be solved first before handing out aid to foreign affairs.
Obama adviser: White males need not apply
.Robert Reich tells House panel stimulus package should emphasize 'social return' over worker skill
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
A top economic adviser to President Obama has told a
congressional panel the billions of dollars in the proposed economic
stimulus plan should be allocated with social issues in mind, to make
sure the money doesn't go to just "white male construction workers" or
the highly skilled.Robert Reich, who served as labor secretary
under President Clinton, was speaking to the House Steering and Policy
Committee Jan. 7 about funding infrastructure projects across the
nation."It seems to me that infrastructure
spending is a very important and good way of stimulating the economy.
The challenge will be to do it quickly, to find projects that can be
done that will have a high social return, that also can be done with
the greatest speed possible," Reich said.
"I am concerned, as I'm sure many of you are, that these jobs not
simply go to high skilled people who are already professionals or to
white male construction workers," he said.
Reich's statements were highlighted in a video by NakedEmporerNews, which is embedded here:
The hearing took place two weeks before Obama was inaugurated.
"I have nothing against white male construction workers," Reich
said. "I'm just saying there are a lot of other people who have needs
as well.
"There are ways in which the money can be, criteria can be set
so the money does go to others, the long term unemployed, minorities,
women," he said.
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., appeared to agree, suggesting federal money be directed to specific groups of people.
The federal government, he said, must "remove the discretion"
about where the funds go, or what projects would be involved, even to
the point of eliminating any input from governors or state legislatures.Reich agreed: "Governors ought to be, should be given a choice of signing on the bottom line or not."
Then Rangel noted the "middle class" would be unlikely to create any opposition to funds directed to minorities.
"One thing that you can depend on, you don't have to be worried
about what the middle class is going to do. Things are so bad, they
have to put food on their tables, get clothes for their kids, get them in school," he said.
Who
is Barack Obama REALLY? Get the book that says his "change" is designed
to uproot American culture and replace it with the failed, secular,
socialist policies of the past.
Commentator Michelle Malkin said Reich's statements expose "the
lie that the Obama administration is actually interested in
revitalizing basic infrastructure for the good of the economy."
"No, what Team Obama really wants is to ensure that the least
skilled, least qualified workers get jobs based on their chromosomes
and pigment," she said.
Malkin cited Reich's own blog,
where the Obama adviser wrote of the economic stimulus plan: "I'd
suggest that all contracts entered into with stimulus funds require contractors
to provide at least 20 percent of jobs to the long-term unemployed and
to people with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty
level."
This, Malkin wrote, is "spoken like a true-blue wealth
redistributor. The 'needs' (read: demands) of politically protected
minorities trump the need for competently build roads and bridges."
....
On his blog, Reich makes his case for, "The Stimulus: How to
Create Jobs Without Them All Going to Skilled Professionals and White
Male Construction Workers."
"At least 2 percent of project funds should be allocated to such training.
In addition, advantage should be taken of buildings trades
apprenticeships -- which must be fully available to women and
minorities," he wrote.
Race already has become an issue several times in the Obama administration.
As WND reported, Democratic Party strategist Donna Brazile admitted she swiped Obama's complimentary blanket
from his inauguration ceremony and then joked it was not a criminal
offense because, "We have a black president ... this was free."
Outrage also erupted over the inauguration
benediction by Rev. Joseph Lowery, the 87-year-old civil rights pioneer, for
asking God to help mankind work for a day when "white would embrace what is
right."
Obama reacted to the benediction with a smile.
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
A top economic adviser to President Obama has told a
congressional panel the billions of dollars in the proposed economic
stimulus plan should be allocated with social issues in mind, to make
sure the money doesn't go to just "white male construction workers" or
the highly skilled.Robert Reich, who served as labor secretary
under President Clinton, was speaking to the House Steering and Policy
Committee Jan. 7 about funding infrastructure projects across the
nation."It seems to me that infrastructure
spending is a very important and good way of stimulating the economy.
The challenge will be to do it quickly, to find projects that can be
done that will have a high social return, that also can be done with
the greatest speed possible," Reich said.
"I am concerned, as I'm sure many of you are, that these jobs not
simply go to high skilled people who are already professionals or to
white male construction workers," he said.
Reich's statements were highlighted in a video by NakedEmporerNews, which is embedded here:
The hearing took place two weeks before Obama was inaugurated.
"I have nothing against white male construction workers," Reich
said. "I'm just saying there are a lot of other people who have needs
as well.
"There are ways in which the money can be, criteria can be set
so the money does go to others, the long term unemployed, minorities,
women," he said.
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., appeared to agree, suggesting federal money be directed to specific groups of people.
The federal government, he said, must "remove the discretion"
about where the funds go, or what projects would be involved, even to
the point of eliminating any input from governors or state legislatures.Reich agreed: "Governors ought to be, should be given a choice of signing on the bottom line or not."
Then Rangel noted the "middle class" would be unlikely to create any opposition to funds directed to minorities.
"One thing that you can depend on, you don't have to be worried
about what the middle class is going to do. Things are so bad, they
have to put food on their tables, get clothes for their kids, get them in school," he said.
Who
is Barack Obama REALLY? Get the book that says his "change" is designed
to uproot American culture and replace it with the failed, secular,
socialist policies of the past.
Commentator Michelle Malkin said Reich's statements expose "the
lie that the Obama administration is actually interested in
revitalizing basic infrastructure for the good of the economy."
"No, what Team Obama really wants is to ensure that the least
skilled, least qualified workers get jobs based on their chromosomes
and pigment," she said.
Malkin cited Reich's own blog,
where the Obama adviser wrote of the economic stimulus plan: "I'd
suggest that all contracts entered into with stimulus funds require contractors
to provide at least 20 percent of jobs to the long-term unemployed and
to people with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty
level."
This, Malkin wrote, is "spoken like a true-blue wealth
redistributor. The 'needs' (read: demands) of politically protected
minorities trump the need for competently build roads and bridges."
....
 Reich's blog headline |
On his blog, Reich makes his case for, "The Stimulus: How to
Create Jobs Without Them All Going to Skilled Professionals and White
Male Construction Workers."
"At least 2 percent of project funds should be allocated to such training.
In addition, advantage should be taken of buildings trades
apprenticeships -- which must be fully available to women and
minorities," he wrote.
Race already has become an issue several times in the Obama administration.
As WND reported, Democratic Party strategist Donna Brazile admitted she swiped Obama's complimentary blanket
from his inauguration ceremony and then joked it was not a criminal
offense because, "We have a black president ... this was free."
Outrage also erupted over the inauguration
benediction by Rev. Joseph Lowery, the 87-year-old civil rights pioneer, for
asking God to help mankind work for a day when "white would embrace what is
right."
Obama reacted to the benediction with a smile.
Obama moves to reshape US policy by closing Gitmo
..
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obamamoved quickly Thursday to reshape U.S. national-security policy,ordering the Guantanamo Bay prison camp closed within a year,forbidding the harshest treatment of terror suspects and naming newenvoys to the Middle East and Afghanistan-Pakistan. "We have no time to lose," he said at the State Department as he welcomed newly confirmed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to help him forge what he called "a new era of American leadership" in the world.
Hesaid his administration is committed to lead. "We can no longer afforddrift, and we can no longer afford delay, nor can we cede ground tothose who seek destruction," he said.
On his second full day in office, Obama moved to reverse some of the most contentious policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush.
By ordering shut the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,closing any remaining CIA secret prisons overseas and banning harshinterrogation practices, Obama said he was signaling that the U.S.would confront global violence without sacrificing "our values and ourideals."
"First, I can say withoutexception or equivocation that the United States will not torture," hesaid. "Second, we will close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp anddetermine how to deal with those who have been held there."
The president and Clinton jointly announced the appointment of former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, a veteran troubleshooter who helped broker peace in Northern Ireland, as special envoy to the Middle East. Former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who helped write the peace deal that ended Bosnia's 1992-95 war, was named special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Obama said he would aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israeland the Palestinians while also always defending Israel's "right todefend itself." He called on Israel and Hamas to take steps aimed atensuring that the cease-fire that's in place in Gaza will endure.
And,citing a "deteriorating situation" in both Afghanistan and Pakistan,Obama said that region is now "the central front" in the battle againstterrorism and extremism.
"There, as in the Middle East, we must understand that we cannot deal with our problems in isolation," he said.
Earlier, in signing a series of executive orders in the Oval Officethat included closing Guantanamo, Obama said his administration wouldnot "continue with a false choice between our safety and our ideals," aslap at policies pursued by Bush.
Themuch-maligned U.S. prison camp would be shut down within a year, inkeeping with a frequent Obama campaign promise. The administrationalready has suspended trials for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo for120 days pending a review of the military tribunals.
Congressional Democrats welcomed the moves.
"President Obama is ushering in a new era of smart, strong and principled national security policies, and Congress stands ready to work with him each step of the way," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, outgoing chairman of the Intelligence Committee.
But there was skeptical questioning from Republicans. House Minority Leader John Boehnerwas among a group of House Republicans who quickly filed a bill seekingto bar federal courts from ordering Guantanamo detainees to be releasedinto the United States.
Boehner,R-Ohio, said it "would be irresponsible to close this terroristdetainee facility" before "important questions" are resolved. Boehnersaid these include where will the detainees go when Guantanamo isclosed and how will they be secured?
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said such issues would be determined in the coming days.
"Obviously, what started today was a process," Gibbs said.
Thepresident set up a task force that would have 30 days to recommendpolicies on handling terror suspects who are detained in the future andwhere Guantanamo detainees should be housed once it has closed.
Obama also signed an order requiring all U.S. personnel to follow the U.S. Army Field Manual while interrogating detainees and told the Justice Department to review the case of Qatar native Ali al-Marri, who is the only enemy combatant currently being held in the U.S.
Separately, retired Adm. Dennis Blair, Obama's pick to oversee the nation's intelligence agencies, told a Senate confirmation hearingthat the manual would no longer be called the Army Field Manual butwould be renamed "the manual for government interrogations."
Blair told the Senate Intelligence Committee the manual alsowill be reviewed for possible changes. It now outlines 19 legaltechniques and forbids nine.
Blair said he hoped to rebuild trust in the nation's intelligence agencies. These agencies "must respect the privacy and civil liberties of the American people, and they must adhere to the rule of law," he said. As director of national intelligence, Blair will oversee the CIA, National Security Agency and other assorted intelligence units.
U.S. foreign policy in the new administration will be overseen by four former senators — Obama and Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden, who served together until after this year's election, and Mitchell, who served much earlier as Senate majority leader.
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