Obama to be Sworn in as 44th US President

[Daniyal]

Inauguration Day has arrived in Washington, D.C. At noon, Barack Obama will take the oath of office using president Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural Bible during the swearing-in ceremony on the steps of the US Capitol.

Record Crowds Expected in Washington, D.C.

Millions of people have descended on Washington to watch Obama become the nation’s first African American president and to mark the end of the Bush administration. Authorities are preparing for what could be the largest crowd in Washington’s history. People began lining up near the Mall today hours before sunrise. Celebrations are also being held across the country and the world today.

Obama: I Will Take Your Voices into the Oval Office

On Sunday, Obama spoke before over 400,000 people from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during a star-studded concert.

Barack Obama: “As I prepare to assume the presidency, yours are the voices I will take with me every day when I walk into that Oval Office, the voices of men and women who have different stories but hold common hopes, who ask only for what was promised us as Americans: that we might make of our lives what we will and see our children climb higher than we did.

Obama & Biden Ride Train to Washington

The official inaugural festivities began on Saturday when Barack Obama and his vice president Joseph Biden traveled to Washington on a whistle stop train ride with stops in Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore. Vice President-elect Biden spoke in Wilmington, Delaware.

Vice President-elect Biden: “Folks, this is more than an ordinary train ride. This is a new beginning. In our most difficult nation—most difficult moments, our nation has always chosen a leader the times demand. And I believe that’s why this nation has turned to Barack Obama. It’s turned to Barack to bring hope back to the nation and the change we so desperately need. My fellow Delawareans, the next president of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

This morning, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will have coffee at the White House with outgoing President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney will be spending the day in a wheelchair, because he pulled a muscle in his back on Monday while moving boxes.

Report: Inauguration to Cost $170 Million

ABC News reports the total cost of the inauguration will be at least $170 million. Part of the money has come from prominent Wall Street executives from Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, UBS Americas, Goldman Sachs, Wachovia, who bundled large donations for the inauguration



More Information Go To Democracy Now.org

[flopstock]

It was 11 am central time for us, and we held our press run so that we could include the historic event in todays paper.



It was awesome to watch. It must have been even more awesome to be present at it.:-6

[qsducks]

Daniyal;1114449 wrote: Inauguration Day has arrived in Washington, D.C. At noon, Barack Obama will take the oath of office using president Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural Bible during the swearing-in ceremony on the steps of the US Capitol.

Record Crowds Expected in Washington, D.C.

Millions of people have descended on Washington to watch Obama become the nation’s first African American president and to mark the end of the Bush administration. Authorities are preparing for what could be the largest crowd in Washington’s history. People began lining up near the Mall today hours before sunrise. Celebrations are also being held across the country and the world today.

Obama: I Will Take Your Voices into the Oval Office

On Sunday, Obama spoke before over 400,000 people from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during a star-studded concert.

Barack Obama: “As I prepare to assume the presidency, yours are the voices I will take with me every day when I walk into that Oval Office, the voices of men and women who have different stories but hold common hopes, who ask only for what was promised us as Americans: that we might make of our lives what we will and see our children climb higher than we did.

Obama & Biden Ride Train to Washington

The official inaugural festivities began on Saturday when Barack Obama and his vice president Joseph Biden traveled to Washington on a whistle stop train ride with stops in Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore. Vice President-elect Biden spoke in Wilmington, Delaware.

Vice President-elect Biden: “Folks, this is more than an ordinary train ride. This is a new beginning. In our most difficult nation—most difficult moments, our nation has always chosen a leader the times demand. And I believe that’s why this nation has turned to Barack Obama. It’s turned to Barack to bring hope back to the nation and the change we so desperately need. My fellow Delawareans, the next president of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

This morning, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will have coffee at the White House with outgoing President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney will be spending the day in a wheelchair, because he pulled a muscle in his back on Monday while moving boxes.

Report: Inauguration to Cost $170 Million

ABC News reports the total cost of the inauguration will be at least $170 million. Part of the money has come from prominent Wall Street executives from Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, UBS Americas, Goldman Sachs, Wachovia, who bundled large donations for the inauguration



More Information Go To Democracy Now.org


Was Dick hiding his secret files?

[chonsigirl]

I passed out his Baltimore speech for the students to read tonight-they are going to look at the historical events and meanings for the city here.

[Daniyal]

President Obama has signed his first piece of legislation into law, reversing a Supreme Court ruling that blocked women from filing pay discrimination lawsuits. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is named for a female employee of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company who was paid 40 percent less than male colleagues doing the same job. Ledbetter lost her suit against Goodyear after the court ruled she did not file a complaint on time.

President Obama: “This is only the beginning. I know that if we stay focused, as Lilly did, and keep standing for what’s right, as Lilly did, we will close that pay gap, and we will make sure that our daughters have the same rights, the same chances and the same freedoms to pursue their dreams as our sons."

Obama Denounces “Shameful Wall Street Bonuses

Meanwhile, President Obama has criticized Wall Street following news financial executives received an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses last year. The average payout amounted to $112,000.

President Obama: “When I saw an article today indicating that Wall Street bankers had given themselves $20 billion worth of bonuses, the same amount of bonuses as they gave themselves in 2004, at a time when most of these institutions were teetering on collapse and they are asking for taxpayers to help sustain them, and when taxpayers find themselves in the difficult position that if they don’t provide help, that the entire system could come down on top of our heads, that is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful."

Although bonuses declined from 2007, the $18.4 billion equaled the same amount paid in 2004.

Democracy Now.org

[Daniyal]

Meanwhile, President Obama has criticized Wall Street following news financial executives received an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses last year. The average payout amounted to $112,000.

President Obama: “When I saw an article today indicating that Wall Street bankers had given themselves $20 billion worth of bonuses, the same amount of bonuses as they gave themselves in 2004, at a time when most of these institutions were teetering on collapse and they are asking for taxpayers to help sustain them, and when taxpayers find themselves in the difficult position that if they don’t provide help, that the entire system could come down on top of our heads, that is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful."

Although bonuses declined from 2007, the $18.4 billion equaled the same amount paid in 2004.

[Daniyal]

The Senate has passed a measure expanding government health insurance for low-income children. The $33 billion State Children’s Health Insurance Program measure would be funded in part by a tax increase on cigarette packs. The House passed its version of the SCHIP expansion earlier this month. Former President George W. Bush twice vetoed similar measures, but President Obama has vowed to sign it into law.



Democracy Now.org

[Richard Bell]

Daniyal;1114449 wrote: Cheney will be spending the day in a wheelchair, because he pulled a muscle in his back on Monday while moving boxes.




You might say he suffered a Barack ache !

[Daniyal]

Soon my Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, will announce a new strategy for reviving our financial system that gets credit flowing to businesses and families. We’ll help lower mortgage costs and extend loans to small businesses so they can create jobs. We’ll ensure that CEOs are not draining funds that should be advancing our recovery. And we will insist on unprecedented transparency, rigorous oversight and clear accountability, so taxpayers know how their money is being spent and whether it is achieving results.

McCaskill on Corporate Executives’ Pay: “These People Are Idiots

On Capitol Hill, Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri has proposed new pay limits for Wall Street executives. McCaskill wants any company taking federal bailout money to limit compensation for all employees to $400,000 a year, the same salary as President Obama. McCaskill made the proposal after it was revealed Wall Street firms had given themselves $18 billion in bonuses last year.

Sen. McCaskill: “We have a bunch of idiots on Wall Street that are kicking sand in the face of the American taxpayer¦ These financial institutions, on the brink of extinction, come to the American taxpayer for hundreds and billions of dollars. At the very same time, they think they’re going to buy a $50 million corporate jet. They’re going to pay out $18 billion in bonuses. They paid an average of $2.6 million to every executive at the first 116 banks that got taxpayer money under TARP.

Despite Economic Crisis, States Shrink Welfare Rolls

New questions are being raised over how the welfare system is helping people affected by the economic crisis. A report by the New York Times has found that the number of people receiving cash assistance through welfare programs is at or near the lowest in more than forty years despite soaring unemployment. Eighteen states cut their welfare rolls last year. Many of the states hardest hit by the economic crisis have made drastic cuts. Michigan cut its rolls by 13 percent. Rhode Island had the nation’s largest welfare decline of 17 percent.



Democracy Now.org

[Chezzie]

Richard Bell;1124333 wrote: You might say he suffered a Barack ache !


heh heh excellent:yh_rotfl

[Daniyal]

Chezzie;1125330 wrote: heh heh excellent:yh_rotfl


I want thank you & bell for your statement Really . I Had a bet with some one on my job this would happen . What took yall solong

[Daniyal]

Senators Seek Stimulus Cuts as Obama Warns of Economic “Catastrophe

A bipartisan group of senators is seeking to cut at least $80 billion from President Obama’s $900 billion economic stimulus plan. Most of the cuts would come to education spending, including $40 billion for state programs. President Obama, meanwhile, has intensified his push for Senate approval. Speaking before Energy Department employees, Obama warned of “catastrophe if the stimulus bill isn’t passed.

President Obama: “If we do not move swiftly to sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, an economy that is already in crisis will be faced with catastrophe. This is not my assessment. This is not Nancy Pelosi’s assessment. This is the assessment of the best economists in the country."

[Daniyal]

Obama, meanwhile, has signed into law an expansion of government health insurance for low-income children, following congressional approval last month. The $33 billion expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program will be funded in part by a tax increase on cigarette packs. Former President George W. Bush twice vetoed similar measures.



Democracy Now.org

[Daniyal]

The Senate is expected to vote to end debate today on a compromise version that will cut more than $100 billion from President Obama’s economic stimulus plan. The cuts include $35 billion for education, $5 billion for jobless workers’ healthcare and $8 billion to refurbish federal buildings. A final Senate vote tomorrow would lead to negotiations with the House, which passed a larger version of the package last week.

Nearly 600,000 Jobs Lost in January

The vote follows Friday’s news that nearly 600,000 jobs were lost last month, bringing the unemployment rate to 7.6 percent—its highest in sixteen years. On Sunday, White House economic adviser Larry Summers urged congressional action on the stimulus bill.

White House economic adviser Larry Summers: “The economy lost 600,000 jobs just in January, lost three million jobs last year. We’ve got to give this economy some help. The Senate bill, the House bill—the overlap is 90-plus percent. We’ve got to work through the differences, find the best bill we possibly can and get it in place as quickly as possible to contain what is a very damaging and potentially deflationary spiral."

President Obama is expected to fly to Indiana today to tout the stimulus plan in areas badly hit by the economic crisis. On Friday, Obama continued pressuring lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

President Obama: “It is inexcusable and irresponsible for any of us to get bogged down in distraction, delay or politics as usual, while millions of Americans are being put out of work. Now is the time for Congress to act. It’s time to pass an Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Plan to get our economy moving.

Loopholes Could Bypass Bailout Pay Caps

In other economic news, questions are growing around President Obama’s crackdown on executive pay at taxpayer-rescued firms. Last week, Obama announced a $500,000 salary cap at firms receiving future government bailouts. The move followed outcry over news Wall Street firms paid out more than $18 billion in bonuses last year. But the Wall Street Journal reports the curbs have several loopholes that could negate its impact. Firms could still pay out higher salaries by changing executives’ titles, restructuring pay packages, or simply putting it to a shareholder vote. Executives and managers could also get more money, because the plan doesn’t limit awards of restricted stock. Critics have called on Obama to impose the plan retroactively so that it also applies to firms that have already received bailout money.

Bank Closures Bring 2009 Total to 9

Regulators have closed four banks in Georgia and California. The largest, County Bank of Merced, California, had $1.7 billion in assets and $1.3 billion in deposits. Nine banks have been shuttered so far this year.



Democracy Now.org

[Daniyal]

The Senate is set to vote today on its version of the economic stimulus package. The final price tag is said to be $838 billion. Senate backing would lead to talks with the House, which passed a larger bill last week. On Monday, President Obama continued to press for congressional approval. Speaking at his first presidential news conference, Obama again warned of “catastrophe absent the bill’s passage.

President Obama: “Now, my administration inherited a deficit of over $1 trillion, but because we also inherited the most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression, doing little or nothing at all will result in even greater deficits, even greater job loss, even greater loss of income, and even greater loss of confidence. Those are deficits that could turn a crisis into a catastrophe, and I refuse to let that happen. As long as I hold this office, I will do whatever it takes to put this economy back on track and put this country back to work.

Just three Republicans joined Democratic senators in moving to cut off debate for today’s final vote. Earlier in the day, President Obama traveled to Indiana, where he spoke at a campaign-style town hall in Elkhart.

President Obama: “The situation we face could not be more serious. We have inherited an economic crisis as deep and as dire as any since the Great Depression. Economists from across the spectrum have warned that if we don’t act immediately, millions of more jobs will be lost, the national unemployment rates will approach double digits, not just here in Elkhart, all across the country.

Report: $9.7 Trillion Government Tab in Financial Crisis

Bloomberg News estimates the economic stimulus package would raise the government tab in addressing the financial crisis to $9.7 trillion. In addition to the Wall Street bailout and the current stimulus plan, the US government is believed to have lent or spent more than $8 trillion through the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The $9.7 trillion figure would nearly be enough to pay off every mortgage in the nation.

New Bailout Measures Include Public-Private Financing for Toxic Assets

The Obama administration is set to announce further bailout measures later today. These include a program for a public-private partnership in refinancing purchases of toxic bank securities as well as freeing up more money for the auto and banking industry. The Washington Post reports the costs of the new provisions could top $1.5 trillion. More on the economy after headlines.

[Daniyal]

Back at the White House, President Obama took several other questions on domestic and foreign policy at his inaugural news conference. Obama was asked about Senator Patrick Leahy’s proposal for a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate Bush administration crimes.

President Obama: “My view is also that nobody is above the law, and if there are clear instances of wrongdoing, that people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen, but that, generally speaking, I’m more interested in looking forward than I am in looking backwards. I want to pull everybody together, including, by the way, the—all the members of the intelligence community who have done things the right way and have been working hard to protect America and I think sometimes are painted with a broad brush without adequate information. So I will take a look at Senator Leahy’s proposal, but my general orientation is to say let’s get it right moving forward.”



For More Information & News Go To Democracy Now.org

[Daniyal]

Senate and House leaders have agreed on a $789 billion economic stimulus package aimed to save or create 3.6 million jobs. The bill will fund construction and infrastructure projects, provide tax relief to individuals and businesses, and extend unemployment benefits. It is the nation’s largest economic rescue program since Franklin Roosevelt launched the New Deal. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced the deal on Wednesday.

Sen. Harry Reid: "The bills were really quite similar, and I’m pleased to announce that we’ve been able to bridge those differences. Like any negotiation, this involved give and take, and if you don’t mind my saying so, that’s an understatement.”

The final size of the package is less than what both the House and Senate originally passed and far smaller than what many economists say is needed. The final bill includes $507 billion in spending programs and $282 billion in tax relief. A deal was struck on Wednesday after several spending provisions were stripped from earlier versions of the bill. The final bill eliminated a $16 billion line item for school construction, $30 billion in aid to state governments to prevent reductions in social services to the poor and out of work. Lawmakers also removed $50 billion for loan guarantees for construction of new nuclear reactors and so-called “clean coal” plants. In addition, Congress stripped whistleblower protections for federal employees from the compromise stimulus bill.

Bank CEOs Testify on Capitol Hill

Meanwhile, the CEOS of Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and other major banks appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday to testify before the House Financial Services Committee. The bank executives were repeatedly grilled over how they were spending the billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded bailouts and their role in the economic crisis.

Rep. Barney Frank: “I’ve said this the opposite of that terrible problem in warfare of collateral damage, when innocent people are injured in the course of trying to attain a military objective. One of the problems we have, gentlemen, is that you are the recipients of collateral benefit. That is, in an effort to get the credit system functioning, things will be done that will be to the benefit of the institutions over which you preside because there is no alternative. But you need to understand, as I think many of you do, how angry that makes people.”

James Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, admitted some mistakes were made.

James Dimon: “Finally, it must be said that today’s economic crisis is the result of a lot of mistakes by a lot of people, and all of us who are here today, and many who are not here, bear some measure of responsibility for the current state of financial markets.”

Barney Frank also questioned the bank CEOs over why banking executives needed to receive enormous bonuses.

Barney Frank: “If in good times you were told you weren’t going to get a bonus, what part of your job would you not do? I mean, if you weren’t getting a bonus, would you, like, leave early on Wednesday, or would you take longer lunches? Would you bypass a certain class of investments?”

Merrill Lynch Gave $1M Bonuses to 70 Employees in 2008 Despite $27B Loss

While the bank executives were testifying on Capitol Hill, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo disclosed new details about how Merrill Lynch paid out over $3 billion in bonuses last year just before the company was sold to Bank of America. 700 Merrill Lynch employees received bonuses of $1 million or more in 2008, even though the brokerage firm lost $27 billion. The top four bonus recipients received a total of $121 million in bonuses.

Geithner Questioned About Bank & Housing Recovery Plans

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday he would inform Congress as soon as possible if more taxpayer money were needed to bail out the banking sector as part of the effort to reinvigorate the economy. Geithner testified before the Senate Budget Committee one day after he sketched out his plan to spend as much as $2.5 trillion to aid banks, unfreeze consumer credit markets and stem the soaring foreclosure rate. This is part of his exchange with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

Sen. Lindsey Graham: “Will housing be fixed without any new money?”

Tim Geithner: “I don’t know that…uh—”

Graham: “On a scale of one to ten—one, you won’t need any money; ten, you’re likely to need more money to fix housing—”

Geithner: “For housing?”

Graham: “Yeah.”

Geithner: “Can’t tell you that at this point, but if we think there’s a good case for doing it, we’re going to come tell you how we’re going to do it.”

Graham: “OK, good. So, you have no clue.”

Geithner: “No, that’s not fair, Senator. Senator, what I will not do is, even if you are frustrated by the absence of details—”

Graham: “See, I just don’t believe that’s enough money to fix housing and banking. I just wish you would say that, because you’re going to come up here and ask us for more money. I know you will. Senator Conrad said on the floor. Let’s just get on with this thing. Let’s tell people some idea of what awaits them.”





More Information At Democracy Now.org

[Daniyal]

In a new USA Today/Gallup poll, two-thirds of Americans say they want investigations into the role of Bush administration officials in torture, warrantless wiretapping and the politicization of the Justice Department. 40 percent of respondents said they want to see prosecutions. Senator Patrick Leahy recently proposed the formation of a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate Bush administration crimes. On Monday, President Obama was asked about Leahy’s proposal.

President Obama: “My view is also that nobody is above the law, and if there are clear instances of wrongdoing, that people should be prosecuted, just like any ordinary citizen, but that, generally speaking, I’m more interested in looking forward than I am in looking backwards. I want to pull everybody together, including, by the way, the—all the members of the intelligence community who have done things the right way and have been working hard to protect America and I think sometimes are painted with a broad brush without adequate information. So I will take a look at Senator Leahy’s proposal, but my general orientation is to say let’s get it right moving forward.

Some Obama administration officials have already ruled out prosecutions. Earlier this month, the new head of the CIA, Leon Panetta, said CIA officers would not be prosecuted for harsh interrogations authorized by the Bush White House. On Thursday, the Senate confirmed Panetta by a voice vote.

[Daniyal]

Meanwhile, The Guardian newspaper reports US defense officials may be preventing Barack Obama from seeing evidence that Binyam Mohamed, a former British resident held in Guantánamo Bay, has been tortured. The prisoner’s lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, says he sent Obama evidence of what he called “truly mediaeval abuse, but substantial parts were blanked out before the President could read it. Smith says Obama should be aware of the “bizarre reality of the situation. Smith said, “You, as commander in chief, are being denied access to material that would help prove that crimes have been committed by U.S. personnel. This decision is being made by the very people who you command. The Guardian reports US defense officials might have censored the evidence to protect the President from criminal liability or political embarrassment.

Documents Reveals CIA & Pentagon Worked Closely on Rendition

In related news, three human rights groups released more than a thousand pages of Pentagon and CIA documents Thursday that reveal the two agencies worked closely together in rendering terrorism suspects to black sites. The documents also confirm the existence of secret prisons in Iraq and Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.



Democracy Now.Org

[Daniyal]

President Obama meanwhile is set to unveil a $50 billion foreclosure prevention plan later today. The program would offer government money to mortgage companies that let borrowers restructure loans. The plan also reportedly grants bankruptcy judges greater leeway to change mortgages and lets homeowners refinance loans if they owe more than their home is worth. The expected announcement comes one day after Obama signed the economic stimulus bill into law at a ceremony in Denver.

President Obama: “And what makes this recovery plan so important is not just that it will create or save three-and-a-half million jobs over the next two years, including 60,000-plus here in Colorado, it’s that we’re putting Americans to work doing the work that America needs done, in critical areas.

Auto Giants Request Additional $21.6B; GM to Cut 47,000 Jobs

The auto giants General Motors and Chrysler have asked the government for another $21.6 billion in federal aid. The companies say they need the money to avoid filing for bankruptcy. GM also unveiled a plan to cut 47,000 more jobs; close five North America plants; and drop several brands, including Saturn and Hummer. General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner said the company wants to avoid bankruptcy.

GM CEO Rick Wagoner: “Based on our analysis, we continue to believe that bankruptcy would be a highly risky and very costly process, potentially very time-consuming, that should only be undertaken as a last resort. So our focus, our primary efforts continue to be on transforming our business and executing GM’s viability plan outside of bankruptcy court.

GM has already received some $13.4 billion in loans under the auto industry bailout. It says it would need as much as $100 billion in government financing if it goes through bankruptcy.

Treasury: Banks Reduced Lending After Bailout

New figures show the taxpayer-funded bailout of Wall Street did not lead to the promised boost in bank lending. The Treasury Department says the twenty largest banks receiving taxpayer bailout money actually reduced giving out loans in the last three months of 2008. The Treasury says the drop in lending would have been greater without



Democracy Now.org

[Daniyal]

President Obama has unveiled a $275 billion program to address the national housing crisis. Speaking in Phoenix, Arizona, Obama said the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan could help as many as nine million homeowners avoid foreclosure and reduce mortgage payments.

President Obama: “This plan will not save every home. But it will give millions of families resigned to financial ruin a chance to rebuild. It will prevent the worst consequences of this crisis from wreaking even greater havoc on the economy. And by bringing down the foreclosure rate, it will help to shore up housing prices for everyone.

$75 billion would be allotted to help up to four million struggling homeowners by creating incentives for lenders to renegotiate the terms of subprime loans. The plan also promises to help an additional five million households struggling to pay off their mortgages by lifting restrictions on refinancing and by pledging an additional $200 billion dollars for the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.



Democracy Now .org

[Daniyal]

As President Obama is scheduled to announce his $50 billion foreclosure prevention plan today, we go to Minneapolis to speak with Cheri Honkala of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign. The group is taking matters into its own hands and finding housing for homeless people in foreclosed and vacant homes. We also speak to Dwayne Cunningham, a homeless man who recently moved into a vacant home .

Cheri Honkala, National Organizer with the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign. She grew up in Minneapolis and is based in Philadelphia.

Dwayne Cunningham, Recently moved into a vacant home under the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign home-takeover program.

AMY GOODMAN: President Obama is set to unveil his long-awaited foreclosure prevention plan today at a speech in Phoenix, Arizona. Obama has promised to devote at least $50 billion to the plan; however, the package is not expected to mandate massive changes to stop defaulting mortgages. Rather, it’s likely to funnel government payments to mortgage companies, which will use that money to reduce borrowers’ interest rates and, therefore, their monthly payments.



By the end of 2008, slightly more than nine percent of all mortgages in the US were either delinquent or in foreclosure, this according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. A total of 8.1 million US homes, or 16 percent of all households with mortgages, could fall into foreclosure by 2012, this according to a report by Credit Suisse.



As people were getting thrown out of their homes across the country, and in the absence of any real government action thus far, some are taking action on the local level. The community organizing group ACORN recently unveiled a campaign in at least twenty-two cities to help homeowners resist foreclosure evictions. Meanwhile, the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America is busing homeowners facing foreclosure to the homes of chief executives of financial institutions to protest outside.



Sheriffs in some places have also taken a stand. In Wayne County in Michigan, Sheriff Warren Evans suspended all evictions starting February 2nd, until the federal government implements a plan to help homeowners facing foreclosures.



And in Ohio, Congress member Marcy Kaptur, recently speaking on the House floor, encouraged homeowners facing foreclosures to stay in their homes. And you can go to our website at democracynow.org to hear our full conversation with Congress member Kaptur.



Today, we go to Minneapolis to look at a similar organizing effort. The Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign recently revealed to the media its long-running project moving homeless people into many of the foreclosed and vacant homes in Minneapolis’s North and South Side. They’re also seeking a city moratorium on foreclosures, short sales and evictions.



Cheri Honkala is a national organizer with the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign. She grew up in Minneapolis, but she’s based in Philadelphia. Also joining us is Dwayne Cunningham, who, along with his wife Lonnetta, recently moved into a vacant home.



We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Cheri, lay out the campaign that you have going now in Minneapolis.



CHERI HONKALA: We’ve begun to do a variety of things. One is that on March 11th we are organizing folks across the Twin Cities, and we’re going to stop sheriff sales on March 11th by going in and holding sit-ins over and over again to stop the sheriff sales.



The other thing that we’re doing is that we’re putting homeless people with vacant properties. So, any of the homes that have already been foreclosed on, that are sitting there vacant, we’re moving homeless families into them.



And then we’re also organizing what’s called emergency response teams as a part of the Underground Railroad project. And we’re going in and remaining with families that are in the final stages of foreclosure and saying that we’re not going to leave. We’re asking for a moratorium on evictions, foreclosures and sheriff sales, until we can deal with this serious affordable housing crisis in our country.



AMY GOODMAN: Well, let me go to Dwayne. Dwayne, can you talk about what you’ve done in Minneapolis, where you’ve moved into?



DWAYNE CUNNINGHAM: Well, it’s like this. I’ve been homeless for a while, so I’m just going to cut this short. But the home I just was blessed with by the homeless association, I couldn’t have got no better, because I’m outside of the cold, and being in the cold is not that nice. And trying to get in to talk to landowners or people who may foreclose their own homes, I can’t get in no doors. I have no numbers. I can’t get no door. So the best number I have and the best door I can walk through is this door right here.



AMY GOODMAN: And how—



DWAYNE CUNNINGHAM: And I know it’s going to help me.



AMY GOODMAN: How, Dwayne Cunningham, did you link up with Cheri Honkala? How did you learn about this program?



DWAYNE CUNNINGHAM: Well, say, for instance, she heard about me and my plight, as far as my situation. And I have an injury I sustained back in June. I met Cheri through my wife and through another associate, a relative of mine. And ever since I met her, she’s been like a guardian angel over me and my wife, so, yeah, I’ve become like family to her. We’re like family.



So, whatever she’s on, I know it’s got to be something positive, because there’s not been one person that came to her I ain’t seen her—I have never seen her turn away no one. So, this is the truth, you know. I don’t know what you’re looking for, you know. I don’t know what the people are looking for, but this is the truth. Why you’ve got all these people out here homeless, and you’ve got all these homes, south and north, south and north. I’m talking about more homes than there is people homeless. And you still—this is—it’s red tape. So she’s cutting the red tape. That’s the way I look at it.



AMY GOODMAN: Cheri Honkala?



CHERI HONKALA: Yeah. One of the things is that Dwayne and his wife were not allowed to be vouchered into appropriate facilities. They both have very serious healthcare issues, and for insurance reasons, you know, the shelter just basically told me, you know, “Cheri, this is not an appropriate place for them to be at. So, we didn’t think living in their car was an appropriate place for two people that have serious medical issues to be staying. So that’s why we thought they were an important candidate for one of our takeover houses.



AMY GOODMAN: And Cheri, what has been the response overall of the city of Minneapolis?



CHERI HONKALA: Well, I mean, so far, in the thirteen houses that we have, there was only one house that we were kicked out of. But as Dwayne was saying, there’s plenty of them. So, you know, with thousands of empty properties, it was easy just to take that family and re-move them into another abandoned house. So, unless the police department starts to, you know, put police officers in front of every abandoned property, we’re OK.



The one property that folks were kicked out of, were only kicked out of there because we had a, you know, overactive cowboy police department at that particular property. But other than that, the police know that there’s more important things that they need to be doing, like dealing with murders and drug issues and all of those kinds of things.



And people, quite frankly, are sick of having empty houses next to them, that are then used for drug houses and those kinds of things. So, you know, we’re about the business of bringing the neighbors back into the neighborhood, as opposed to throwing them out onto the streets.



AMY GOODMAN: Cheri, you’re going to court today? You’re on trial?



CHERI HONKALA: Well, actually, I got a late-night call that they’ve postponed it now to March 9th. I think that we’re stirring up some controversy here in the Twin Cities, so I don’t know if they know what they’re going to do with it.



But yes, I’m standing trial against Housing and Urban Development, because during the Republican National Convention, the head of HUD here, the director, promised that he would meet with hundreds of families across the state of Minnesota to hear their foreclosure stories and to, you know, listen to the troubles that they’re dealing with. And right before the Republican convention, he went back on that commitment. So we organized a bunch of folks to bring them down to their office during public hours in a public building, and instead, they had us met by Homeland Security, and myself and another member, Deeq Abdi, were arrested and charged with trespassing. So we go to trial on that on March 9th. And the director of HUD has been subpoenaed in the case.



AMY GOODMAN: Overall, Cheri, you were homeless for years with your son. Can you talk about the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign that you started?



CHERI HONKALA: Yeah. Well, the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign is actually across the entire country. And one of the things that we do, and for people that are watching the show or listening today, is we teach people how to reclaim housing as a human right. We’ll teach you how to move into an abandoned government-owned property, to house families. We’ll teach you how to hold a sit-in, to hold a house that’s in the process of foreclosure. You know, we help people with food, with—that aren’t getting access to healthcare—all of the basic necessities of life.



It’s not enough to just try and change things in the halls of Congress, because people are dying today, the people that don’t have access to healthcare, the people that are going to freeze on the streets because they’re pushed out of their homes. And so, that’s why we have to take these immediate measures. We can’t just wait until perhaps some laws are changed in a year or two from now. You know, we’re going to lose people now. We’re going to lose them to our prison system, or worse, they’re going to die because they’re going to freeze to death on the streets, when we’ve got all these empty heated homes.



AMY GOODMAN: Finally, Dwayne, before we move on to our next segment, the RNC 8, others who were arrested at the Republican National Convention, President Obama is in Phoenix, Arizona today to sign off on legislation around the closing of houses, home foreclosures. Very briefly, what do you want him to do?



DWAYNE CUNNINGHAM: I think everyone should be given the chance to own a home. And that’s what I feel he should be trying to sign. If he signed anything, I think that should be the most important thing he should be sign: everybody have the opportunity to own a home.



AMY GOODMAN: Well, Dwayne Cunningham, I want to thank you for being with us. And Cheri Honkala, national organizer for the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign. She grew up there in Minneapolis, usually based in Philadelphia.



Democracy Now.org

[Daniyal]

Protests are continuing today outside the offices of the New York Post following the publication of a cartoon that critics say depicts President Obama as an executed chimpanzee. After a number of civil rights activists and organizations called for a boycott of the paper, the Post issued an apology of sorts last night. We hear some of the voices from Thursday’s protest, including the civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton

AMY GOODMAN: We wrap up now with the voices of protest. Juan?



JUAN GONZALEZ: Yes. Well, protests are continuing today outside the offices of the New York Post following the publication of a cartoon that critics say depicts President Obama as a chimpanzee. The cartoon shows a white police officer shooting dead a chimpanzee in the street. His partner, another white officer, says, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.



After a number of civil rights activists and organizations called for a boycott of the paper, the Post issued an apology of sorts last night.



AMY GOODMAN: The apology said in part, “It was meant to mock an ineptly written federal stimulus bill. Period. But it has been taken as something else—as a depiction of President Obama, as a thinly veiled expression of racism. This most certainly was not its intent; to those who were offended by the image, we apologize. However, there are some in the media and in public life who have had differences with The Post in the past—and they see the incident as an opportunity for payback. To them, no apology is due.



Well, on Thursday, the Reverend Al Sharpton led a protest outside the offices of the Post. I interviewed a number of people who were outside in the hundreds that were there.



AMY GOODMAN: What’s your name?



DONOVAN: Donovan. Donovan.



AMY GOODMAN: And how old are you?



DONOVAN: Nine years old.



AMY GOODMAN: And why are you here today?



DONOVAN: Because I want all—I want them to stop comparing black people to monkeys.



AMY GOODMAN: Did you see the cartoon? How did you feel when you saw it?



DONOVAN: Sad. Sad.



AMY GOODMAN: Are you here with your mom?



DONOVAN: Yes.



AMY GOODMAN: Where is she?



DONOVAN: Right here.



DARLENE: Right here.



AMY GOODMAN: Hi. What’s your name?



DARLENE: Darlene.



AMY GOODMAN: And when did you see the cartoon?



DARLENE: I saw it this morning, and I was very disturbed, because it showed—it really discriminated and demeaned blacks, as I see it.



AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about why you brought your son out today?



DARLENE: I brought him out for one thing. I didn’t—I wanted to be here, and I wanted him to see what I was coming out for.



SALAAM ISMIAL: My name is Salaam Ismial. I’m with the National United Youth Council Incorporated. I was doing a lecture on Black History Month, and then one of the youngsters said, “Did you see what was on TV? They’re saying, talking about Obama, it looked like a monkey, and they shoot him. This is how a kid explained it to me. Monkey was something that I know, I can relate to. When I was in the kindergarten, they used to call black boys monkeys in Jersey City, New Jersey. So I understand what that means. This is not funny. This is hurtful. And now our young people can see that for the first time in their life. They see a person that looks like them, a black president, and now they’re talking about depicting him as a monkey, and to go out and shoot him dead.



LYNNE STEWART: I’m Lynne Stewart. I’m an embattled ex-lawyer, a victim of the Bush administration. And I’m here today because it not only attracts all of us, even those of us who are not Obama supporters, but this cuts across all of that.



LLOYD “TYKE RIDDICK: Lloyd “Tyke Riddick out of New Jersey. And I’m exceptionally upset with this. I was in the Air Force six-and-a-half years. I’m seventy-four years old. I’ve been through hell for this country.



AMY GOODMAN: Some of the voices at the protest. It was led by Al Sharpton, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and New York City Council member Charles Barron.



AMY GOODMAN: What did you think of Attorney General Eric Holder’s speech, saying we are a nation of cowards?



CHARLES BARRON: Well, now he can show some bravery—it was an excellent remark—he can show some bravery now by joining us and investigating the New York Post for threatening the life or suggesting that the life of the first black president should be taken, because he is the architect of the stimulus package. So, Holder should back up that talk with some action.



AMY GOODMAN: What was that last comment you made?



REV. AL SHARPTON: I said that even though they called us chimps, we came to let them know we’re not chumps.



AMY GOODMAN: Do you think Rupert Murdoch should be investigated overall?



REV. AL SHARPTON: Absolutely. I think that the arrogance and insensitivity they display now opens up a whole area of let’s look at the—how do you get these waivers, in the first place? How do you operate under such level of—



AMY GOODMAN: What waiver?



REV. AL SHARPTON: Well, the waiver that got him the right to owning two TV stations and a newspaper in this town. He had to get an FCC waiver for that. Well, there’s a new president, a new administration, new FCC. We’re going to review that. We’re going to Washington next week.



AMY GOODMAN: Some of the voices of protest outside the New York Post. Today, Reverend Sharpton says that he will be there along with Spike Lee and others. They’re calling for a boycott of the New York Post. And we’ll continue to cover this controversy.



Democracy Now.org

[Daniyal]

In other economic news, President Barack Obama has pledged to cut the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term, despite the fiscal stimulus package. During his weekly radio address, Obama said the nation can’t generate sustained growth without getting the nation’s deficit under control.

President Obama: “No single piece of this broad economic recovery can, by itself, meet the demands that have been placed on us. We can’t help people find work or pay their bills unless we unlock credit for families and businesses. We can’t solve our housing crisis unless we help people find work so that they can make payments on their homes. We can’t produce shared prosperity without firm rules of the road. And we can’t generate sustained growth without getting our deficits under control. In short, we cannot successfully address any of our problems without addressing them all. And that is exactly what the strategy we are pursuing is designed to do.

Obama Backs Bush Policy on Bagram Detainees

The Obama administration has embraced another key argument of former President Bush’s counterterrorism policy. In a court filing on Friday, the Justice Department told a federal judge that prisoners held at the US Air Force base at Bagram in Afghanistan have no legal rights to challenge their imprisonment. Human rights groups say they are becoming increasingly concerned that the use of extra-judicial methods in Afghanistan could be extended under the new US administration. Bagram Air Base is about to undergo a $60 million expansion to provide enough space to house five times as many prisoners as remain at Guantanamo.



Democracy Now .org

[Daniyal]

President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress last night to push his response to the economic crisis, promise healthcare reform and vow an end to the Iraq war. In a fifty-two-minute speech, Obama touched on the banking crisis but revealed few details of how he plans to steer banks like Citigroup and Bank of America from collapse.

President Obama: “This plan will require significant resources from the federal government and, yes, probably more than we’ve already set aside. But while the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economy that sputters along for not months or years, but perhaps a decade.

Obama called on Congress to invest in areas like energy, healthcare and education, while stressing the need to reduce the federal deficit. Without offering details, Obama also urged what his administration has called its top fiscal priority: healthcare reform.

President Obama: “I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. Once again, it will be hard. But I also know that nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform, the cost of our healthcare has weighed down our economy and our conscience long enough. So let there be no doubt: healthcare reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year.

Study: 4 Million Americans Lost Healthcare Under Recession

While speaking of achieving universal healthcare, the Obama administration has refused to endorse the single-payer approach favored by most Americans but opposed by the insurance industry. Obama’s pledge for healthcare reform comes as a new study warns as many as 14,000 people could be losing their health coverage every day. The Center for American Progress says an estimated four million Americans have lost their health insurance since the recession began.

Obama to Announce 19-Month Timeline for Withdrawal of Iraq Combat Troops

Meanwhile, on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama said he will soon announce a plan to end the war in Iraq.

President Obama: “I am now carefully reviewing our policies in both wars, and I will soon announce a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war.

Administration officials say Obama is preparing to order US combat troops to withdraw from Iraq by August 2010. The nineteen-month deadline would be three months longer than what Obama proposed on the campaign trail. As many as 50,000 US troops would still remain in Iraq under Obama’s plan. A “senior military officer told the Los Angeles Times, “When President Obama said we were going to get out within 16 months, some people heard, ‘get out’, and everyone’s gone. But that is not going to happen.



Democracy Now.org

[Daniyal]

And President Obama honored the musician Stevie Wonder last night at a White House ceremony. Obama presented Wonder with the nation’s highest honor for popular music, the Library of Congress Gershwin Award for Lifetime Achievement.

President Obama: “Just like Michelle, it was Stevie’s albums that I found, and his songs became the soundtrack of my youth. And through them, I found peace and inspiration, especially in difficult times. And I think it’s fair to say that had I not been a Stevie Wonder fan, Michelle might not have dated me. We might not have married. So the fact that we agreed on Stevie was part of the essence of our courtship. And I’m not alone. Millions of people around the world have found similar comfort and joy in Stevie’s music and his unique capacity to find hope in struggle and humanity in our common hardships.

Wonder went on to perform several songs for President Obama and assembled guests. The ceremony was a long way from one of Wonder’s most politically charged songs. His 1974 number one hit “You Haven’t Done Nothing is known as a pointed criticism of then-President Richard Nixon, the Vietnam War and Watergate.

Democracy Now.org

[Daniyal]

President Obama has unveiled a $3.55 trillion spending budget for the coming fiscal year. On Thursday, Obama said the plan includes tax relief for lower-income Americans while repealing Bush administration tax cuts for the wealthy.

President Obama: “No part of my budget will be free from scrutiny or untouched by reform. We will end no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq and end tax breaks for corporations that ship jobs overseas. And we’ll save billions of dollars by rolling back tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans while giving a middle-class tax cut to 95 percent of hardworking families.

Large businesses and wealthy Americans would see tax increases worth nearly $2 trillion over the next ten years. The estate tax would also be preserved, overriding the Bush administration measure for its repeal. The extra revenues would help pay for a $634 billion reserve fund that Obama says will be used toward universal healthcare.

President Obama: “With this budget, we are making a historic commitment to comprehensive healthcare reform. It’s a step that will not only make families healthier and companies more competitive, but over the long term it will also help us bring down our deficit.

Budget to Include War Spending

The plan estimates the US deficit will grow to a record $1.75 trillion. In another change, war funding will now be included in fiscal budgets instead of as a supplemental. Obama said the previous exclusion of war costs from budget plans has led to “dishonest accounting. Obama is seeking $130 billion for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan in 2010. He says the number will drop once the US withdraws combat troops from Iraq by 2011. Overall, Obama is seeking a four percent increase in military spending, from $513 billion to $534 billion. Other budget items include some $250 billion in additional funding for bailing out the nation’s banks and an end to agricultural subsidies for farmers making more than $500,000. In the budget document, President Obama blames Bush administration policies and reckless Wall Street behavior for the economic crisis. Obama says, “We arrived at this point as a result of an era of profound irresponsibility that engulfed both private and public institutions, from some of our largest companies’ executive suites to the seats of power in Washington, D.C.

[Daniyal]

President Obama is reportedly set to announce an order to withdraw most US troops from Iraq by September of 2010. The Washington Post reports Obama will announce today a plan that would leave 35,000 to 50,000 troops in Iraq until the end of 2011. The deadline is three months longer than what Obama promised on the campaign trail. The remaining US troops won’t be classified as “combat,” but they’ll retain free reign to carry out attacks.

Iraq Loosens Restrictions on Foreign Oil Companies

The Iraqi government is granting international oil corporations an increased stake in developing Iraqi oil. Winning bidders in future projects will be granted a 75 percent stake rather than the current limit of 49 percent. Iraq has also lowered the minimum production target for companies to get paid for their work.

Pentagon Lifts Media Ban on Soldiers’ Remains

The Pentagon has announced it’s easing a media ban on the coffins of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the soldiers’ family members will now be able to decide whether the coffins can be photographed.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates: “If the family of one of the fallen says that they do not want media coverage of the return of the dignified transfer process, then that will be the decision. There will be no media coverage. If they say that’s OK with them, then it will be available.”

Gates made the decision after President Barack Obama ordered a review of the media ban earlier this month.

Obama to Charge Lone “Enemy Combatant” in US

The Obama administration is reportedly preparing to bring charges against the only so-called “enemy combatant” jailed in the United States. Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri has been held in isolation at a naval brig in South Carolina for more than five years. He has never stood trial or been convicted of any crime. A Supreme Court hearing challenging his indefinite jailing is currently set for April, forcing the administration to decide whether to continue Bush administration policy or allow al-Marri to defend himself in a US court. Al-Marri will reportedly be charged with providing material support to members of al-Qaeda. His attorney, Jonathan Hafetz, said, “If true, the decision to charge al-Marri is an important step in restoring the rule of law and is what should have happened seven years ago when he was first arrested.” Hafetz continued, “It is vital the Supreme Court [still] hear the case…[to make] clear once and for all that indefinite military detention of persons arrested in the US is illegal and that this never happens again.”

Senate Panel to Review CIA Treatment of Foreign Prisoners

The Senate Intelligence Committee is preparing to launch a review of the CIA’s treatment of foreign prisoners in the so-called war on terror. Congressional officials say lawmakers will use classified material and public testimony to document the use of torture practices, including waterboarding. The probe is being billed as a “study” and won’t make recommendations on whether to prosecute Bush administration officials.

UK Admits Sending 2 Prisoners to US

The British government has retracted previous denials of involvement in the US program of kidnapping and transferring suspects to foreign jails. On Thursday, British Defense Minister John Hutton said Britain has previously handed the US two prisoners captured in Iraq. The prisoners were then sent to Afghanistan, where they remain after more than four years.

Palestinian Unity Talks Continue in Egypt

In Egypt, unity talks continue between the leading Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas. The two groups are meeting along with ten other Palestinian factions on resolving a power split between the West Bank and Gaza for the past eighteen months. The factions have agreed on establishing five committees to resolve ongoing differences.

Hamas leader Abu Marzouq: “Thank you for coming, everyone. This is a historic day, a day the Palestinians have been looking forward to for a year and a half, the day the Palestinians move towards union and the real beginning of Palestinian unity.”

The talks are continuing ahead of an international donors conference for Gaza on Monday. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to attend as part of her first Middle East tour since taking the State Department helm.

Ex-CIA Exec Director Gets 3-Year Jail Term in Bribe Case

Back in the United States, the CIA’s former executive director has been sentenced to more than three years in prison on wire fraud charges related to accepting bribes. Kyle “Dusty” Foggo was the third-highest-ranking official at the CIA until his resignation in 2006. Federal prosecutors say he took $70,000 worth of gifts in exchange for doling out lucrative CIA contracts. Foggo originally faced twenty-eight charges, but prosecutors agreed to drop twenty-seven of them in exchange for the guilty plea on wire fraud.

Progressive Coalition to Challenge Incumbent Dems

A coalition of unions, bloggers and activists has announced a campaign to challenge Democratic incumbents who shun progressive policies. The group Accountability Now says it plans on raising money to fund challenges to centrist and right-wing Democrats in the primaries.

Democracy Now.org

[Daniyal]

(Feb. 28) - Rush Limbaugh brought a cheering crowd to its feet several times Saturday in Washington as he called on fellow conservatives to take back the country in the keynote speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference.



We conservatives have not done a good enough job of just laying out basically who we are because we make the mistake of assuming that people know. What they know is largely incorrect, based on the way we're portrayed in pop culture, in the drive-by media, by the Democrat party," the conservative talk show host told a mostly-young crowd of energized supporters.

"We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be. We recognize that we are all individuals. We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. We believe that the preamble of the Constitution contains an inarguable truth, that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty, freedom. And the pursuit of happiness," he said, pausing several times for enthusiastic applause.

Looking ahead to the 2012 election, Limbaugh said conservatives will have to choose the right candidate to take the country back.

Limbaugh's impassioned remarks, punctuated by chest-thumping, fist-pumping and chants of "USA" from the crowd, capped off three days of talk at CPAC focusing on rebuilding the Republican Party.

"He played to his crowd here," CNN Political Editor Mark Preston said. "And this crowd is now energized, something we haven't seen from Republicans, certainly not conservatives, since the November election."



Limbaugh used his self-described "first national address," which ran more than hour longer than his allotted 20 minutes, to criticize President Barack Obama for inspiring fear in Americans in order to push a liberal agenda of "big government."

"He wants people in fear, angst and crisis, fearing the worst each and every day because that clears the decks for President Obama and his pals to come in with the answers which are abject failures, historically shown and demonstrated. Doesn't matter. They'll have control of it when it's all over. And that's what they want," Limbaugh said.

"They see these inequalities, these inequities that capitalism produces. How do they try to fix it? Do they try to elevate those at the bottom? No, they try to tear down the people at the top. "

Limbaugh praised Obama as one of the most gifted politicians he has seen, but said, "It just breaks my heart that he does not use these extraordinary talents and gifts to motivate and inspire the American people to be the best they can be. He's doing just the opposite."

Limbaugh also dismissed the notion of bipartianship as a "false premise" given the diverging views of the Democrat and Republican parties on a variety issues, among them, the recent $787 stimulus package signed by Obama.



Bipartisanship occurs only after one other result. And that is victory," he said. Watch Limbaugh discuss bipartisanshipVideo

"What they mean is we check our core principles at the door, come in, let them run the show, and then agree with them," he said.

Limbaugh's rollicking speech came the day after Obama supporters put out a political ad implying that the conservative radio host has become the de facto head of the Republican Party in the absence of a clear GOP leader.

The ad argues that the Republican leadership in Congress is following Limbaugh's lead in opposing the Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus package.

"So who are Republican leaders listening to?," the announcer asks before the 30-second ad cuts abruptly to footage of Limbaugh saying, "I want him [Obama] to fail."

It was paid for by Americans United for Change and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union, two groups that supported Obama during the election and are advocating for his agenda.

Limbaugh doesn't speak for all Republicans or conservatives. Copies of the American Conservative magazine with the headline, "How radio wrecks the right," were distributed to CPAC attendees, Preston said.

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"There is some criticism of Rush Limbaugh. Some people think he is a reactionary," Preston said.

Comparing the remark to his desire to see the Arizona Cardinals "fail" in this year's Super Bowl game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Limbaugh defended his comment without denying it. Watch Limbaugh explain failure remarkVideo

"This notion that I want the president to fail, folks, this shows you a sign of the problem we've got," he said.

"What is so strange about being honest and saying, I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation? Why would I want that to succeed?" he said, bringing the crowd once again to its feet.

"Did the Democrats want the war in Iraq to fail? Well, they certainly did. And they not only wanted the war in Iraq to fail, they proclaimed it a failure





AOL.NEWS

[Daniyal]

President Barack Obama announced Friday plans to pull US combat forces out of Iraq by August 2010. Obama broke the news at Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in North Carolina.

President Barack Obama: “As a candidate for president, I made clear my support for a timeline of sixteen months to carry out this drawdown, while pledging to consult closely with our military commanders upon taking office to ensure that we preserve the gains we’ve made and to protect our troops. Those consultations are now complete, and I have chosen a time line that will remove our combat brigades over the next eighteen months.

US Plans to Keep up to 50,000 Troops in Iraq Until 2011

Under President Obama’s plan, up to 50,000 US troops would remain in Iraq through 2011.

President Barack Obama: "As I have long said, we will retain a transitional force to carry out three distinct functions: training, equipping, and advising Iraqi Security Forces as long as they remain non-sectarian; conducting targeted counterterrorism missions; and protecting our ongoing civilian and military efforts within Iraq. Initially, this force will likely be made up of 35,000 to 50,000 US troops.

President Obama’s decision to keep 50,000 troops in Iraq has angered many critics of the war. Iraq Veterans Against the War described Obama’s proposal as a “plan for almost three more years of an unjustified military occupation. During an interview on MSNBC, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke out against part of Obama’s plan.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “And I don’t know what the justification is for 50,000, a presence of 50,000 troops in Iraq. I do think that there’s a need for some, and I don’t know that all of them have to be in country. I would think a third of that, maybe 20,000, a little more than a third, 15,000 or 20,000.

President Obama’s speech on Iraq left several major questions unanswered. He did not address whether the US will keep permanent military bases in Iraq, and he made no promise to withdraw the over 100,000 private US military contractors and mercenaries stationed in Iraq.

US to Give Another $30 Billion Bailout to AIG

The Obama administration has agreed to give the insurance giant AIG an additional $30 billion as part of a revamped government bailout. This comes on top of the $150 billion in taxpayer money already doled out to the firm. The New York Times reports federal officials felt they had no choice but to prop up AIG, because its business and trading activities are so intricately woven through the world’s banking system. AIG is expected to report today a record $62 billion loss, the biggest quarterly loss in corporate history. The $30 billion bailout of AIG comes three days after the firm sued the US government over a disputed $300 million tax bill.

GDP Shrinks 6.2 Percent; Housing Prices Plummet 10 Percent

In other economic news, more signs have emerged that the financial crisis is worsening. The Commerce Department has announced gross domestic product shrank at a 6.2 percent annual pace from October through December, the most since 1982. The Census Bureau is reporting that the median price of new homes fell by a staggering ten percent between December and January. The FDIC says 250 banks are now on the agency’s list of banks that could fail. Sixteen banks have already failed this year compared with twenty-five in all of 2008. In California, the unemployment rate has topped ten percent for the first time in a quarter century.



Democracy Now.org

[Daniyal]

President Obama is convening a White House summit today on reforming the nation’s healthcare system. The Obama administration has asked some 120 lawmakers, insurers and doctors to attend. Obama finally gave a last-minute invite to the House’s leading advocate for single-payer universal healthcare, Democratic Congress member John Conyers of Michigan. Obama had reportedly refused to invite Conyers but relented after public outcry. Conyers is expected to be the lone single-payer advocate in attendance.

US to Overhaul Government Contract Procurements

On Wednesday, President Obama announced a plan to overhaul contracting policies in all government departments. Singling out military contracts in Iraq, Obama said the new rule changes would save taxpayers $40 billion a year.

President Obama: “And this wasteful spending has many sources. It comes from investments in unproven technologies. It comes from a lack of oversight. It comes from influence-peddling and indefensible no-bid contracts that have cost American taxpayers billions of dollars.

Geithner: Admin Could Scrap Repeal of Tax Deductions for Wealthy

Obama, meanwhile, is facing opposition from members of his own party on a plan to reduce tax deductions for wealthy Americans. The plan would save around $318 billion over ten years. Under questioning from Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the Obama administration would consider dropping the proposal.



Democracy Now.org

[Daniyal]

AOL.NEW



WASHINGTON (March 7) - A Democratic official rebuked conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh on Friday for suggesting a health care proposal will be named in memory of Sen. Edward Kennedy, who is battling brain cancer. On his radio show, Limbaugh said President Barack Obama's proposed health care revisions will be championed by "the liberal lion Teddy Kennedy."

"Before it's all over, it'll be called the Ted Kennedy Memorial Health Care bill," Limbaugh said.



Brian Wolff, executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, called the remark outrageous and reprehensible.

Limbaugh has been at the center of a partisan dispute since telling a conservative group last month that he hoped Obama's economic policies would fail. Democrats have accused Republicans of letting Limbaugh be their de facto leader, which GOP officials deny.Limbaugh did not respond immediately to a request for comment that was sent to the e-mail address provided on his Web site.



Obama Says Crisis Offers 'Opportunity'

WASHINGTON (March 7) - Overseeing a dispirited nation, President Barack Obama on Saturday sought to assure people that bleak times will give way to better days, calling the mounting economic crisis a time to discover America's next "great opportunity."

"That is what we can do and must do today," Obama said in his weekly radio and video address, taped on Friday at the White House. "And I am absolutely confident that is what we will do."

On Saturday morning, the president and first lady Michelle Obama flew by helicopter to the presidential retreat in Camp David, Md., for the weekend. Their daughters, Sasha and Malia, traveled to Camp David separately, the White House said.

The work week ended on more down news, with the report of 651,000 more American jobs slashed and an unemployment rate climbing to 8.1 percent. That is the highest rate of people out of work in more than 25 years, as the recession continued to put enormous pressures on families and industries.

Obama recapped the work of the latest hectic week in his young presidency. His goal was to reassure the country that he and his team are taking specific steps to create jobs in the short term and begin to address huge issues such as health care.

His rundown of the past week: the launch of a more detailed plan to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure; a new credit plan to spur lending for people and businesses; an overhaul of the way the government hands out private contracts to reduce waste; and a summit on how to overhaul health care.

On the last point, Obama has set a goal of signing a bill this year that would fix the U.S. health care system, which is the costliest in the world and leaves an estimated 48 million people uninsured, plus many others lacking adequate coverage.

"Our ideas and opinions about how to achieve this reform will vary, but our goal must be the same: quality, affordable health care for every American that no longer overwhelms the budgets of families, businesses and our government," Obama said.

Obama says he is not wedded to a plan on how to fix the problem. But one proposal he has endorsed, giving Americans the option of buying medical coverage through a government plan, is drawing opposition from Republicans.

Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., emphasized that point in the Republican weekly radio address.

"I'm concerned that if the government steps in it will eventually push out the private health care plans millions of Americans enjoy today," Blunt said. "This could cause your employer to simply stop offering coverage, hoping the government will pick up the slack."

As the White House takes on so many huge issues at once, Obama is encouraging people to take a longer view, and not get caught up in the fits and starts. The president said in his address that the nation will continue to face difficult days in the months ahead. Still, he ended with hope.

"Yes, this is a moment of challenge for our country," Obama said. "But we've experienced great trials before. And with every test, each generation has found the capacity to not only endure, but to prosper — to discover great opportunity in the midst of great crisis."



Government-run plan could trip up health overhaul

WASHINGTON -Giving Americans the option of buying medical coverage through the government — an idea put forth by President Barack Obama — is a potential deal breaker for some Republicans and insurance companies whose support would ease the way for a health care overhaul.

The proposal, which Obama advocated in his presidential campaign, would for the first time offer government-sponsored coverage to middle class families, as an alternative to private health plans. By some estimates, it could reduce premiums by 20 percent or more — making it much more affordable to cover the estimated 48 million people who don't have health coverage.

But insurers fear competition from a government plan could drive them out of business, and Republicans worry it would lead to a government takeover of health care. Liberals, meanwhile, are equally adamant that Americans deserve the choice of government-sponsored health care.

Such a plan could be similar to what seniors have in Medicare, which is government run. Or it might be designed like the federal employee health plan, available to members of Congress, and delivered through private insurers.

Whatever he decides, Obama could find himself trapped between liberals in his own party and conservatives he's trying to woo in support of a health care overhaul.

Asked about the issue at the White House health care summit this week, the president said he would address the qualms. And while saying he wanted to consider all ideas, he did not abandon the notion of a government plan.

"I'm not going to respond definitively," Obama said, answering a question from Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. "The thinking on the public option has been that it gives consumers more choices and it helps ... keep the private sector honest, because there's some competition out there.

"I recognize, though, the fear that if a public option is run through Washington, and there are incentives to try to tamp down costs ... that private insurance plans might end up feeling overwhelmed."

Obama says he is committed to preserving a health care system in which government, employers and individuals share responsibility. Many Americans may not realize the government already picks up nearly half the nation's $2.4 trillion health care bill, through programs including Medicare and Medicaid.

A public plan for the middle class could give a final nudge that puts the system squarely in government hands.

Obama's campaign proposal — a foundation for Democrats in Congress — called for setting up a national insurance marketplace through which individuals and small businesses could buy coverage. People could pick private insurance or opt for a public plan that would resemble coverage for federal employees.

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., meanwhile, said he is wary that a public plan could make insurance reforms "a sham." His views carry weight because he is the Senate health committee's top Republican.

"It's important that the private market be involved, and not to set up the whole thing so it's a sham to compete with the government, so the government eventually can be the only supplier," Enzi said in a recent interview. "We are not going to do an expansion of Medicare. To use that as the model and try to make everybody compete with it would severely limit the market."

A recent analysis by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit group that sponsors health care research, is giving supporters of a public plan some ammunition.

The study estimated costs and coverage under a hypothetical health reform plan similar to what Obama proposed in the campaign. It found that a public plan like Medicare could reduce projected health care costs by about $2 trillion over an 11-year period. Premiums in the public plan would be at least 20 percent lower, partly because of reduced administrative costs. Within a decade or so, some 105 million people would be in the public plan, compared with about 107 million with private insurance.

Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis said the administration has been very interested in the study. "Some of their top economists are on the phone, poring over it," she said in an interview.

But Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the industry group America's Health Insurance Plans, said Medicare and Medicaid pay hospitals and doctors below their actual costs. "It would be very difficult to create a level playing field," he said.

Democrats say they will fight to ensure a public plan stays in the final bill.

"We're not trying to figure out what represents the interests of private insurers, we're trying to come up with a plan that makes sure all Americans have health care," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., who serves on a House panel that will help write the bill.



Ted Kennedy back in Washington for health summit

WASHINGTON -Sen. Edward M. Kennedy received a royal welcome of sorts when he appeared Thursday at a health care summit hosted by President Barack Obama.

Warm applause greeted Kennedy, back in Washington for the first time since casting a vote on the economic stimulus bill last month. Earlier this week it was announced that Kennedy is to be awarded an honorary knighthood by Britain.

"To Sir Edward Kennedy," Obama said amid laughter and applause from those gathered at the White House. "That's the kind of greeting a knight deserves."

Kennedy, who recently turned 77, is battling brain cancer and has been in Florida continuing his treatment and physical rehabilitation.

The Massachusetts Democrat has championed health care reform for decades and hopes to work with Obama and Democrats who control Congress to forge a breakthrough in coming months.

"I'm looking forward to being a foot soldier in this undertaking and this time we will not fail," said Kennedy.

He chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and was a strong Obama backer during the 2008 campaign.

Kennedy is to be feted Sunday at the Kennedy Center with a birthday concert salute.

The senator suffered a seizure at a legislative luncheon in the Capitol following Obama's inauguration in January, leaving many of his colleagues and friends shaken and worried. He returned to the Senate in February for a key vote on the economic stimulus package.

He plans to travel between Florida and Washington for Senate business until the weather gets warmer, aides have said.

Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor after he had a seizure in May while he was at his family's home in Hyannis Port, Mass. He underwent surgery in June.

Kennedy surprised his colleagues in July when he returned to Capitol Hill to vote on a Medicare bill. He also made an unscheduled appearance at the Democratic National Convention to rally Democrats for Obama. His speech drew a rousing response from delegates.

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WASHINGTON -President Barack Obama's chief of staff says talk show personality Rush Limbaugh is a top figure in the Republican Party.

Chief of staff Rahm Emanuel says Limbaugh is the "intellectual force" of the GOP. Emanuel says Republicans now have to live with that choice.

Limbaugh gave a major speech at the Conservative Political Action Committee meeting this weekend in Washington. Limbaugh says it's fine for Republicans to criticize Obama's plans and says Republicans must return to their core beliefs.

Limbaugh has been a vocal critic of Obama's, saying he hopes the new president's plans fail. Liberal and labor groups have broadcast ads citing Limbaugh as a driving force inside the GOP.

Emanuel spoke on CBS' "Face the Nation."



Obama has big challenge in overhauling health care .

WASHINGTON -Now for the hard part.

Even if the national credit card is maxed out and partisanship remains the rule for Washington's political tribes, President Barack Obama and Congress are plunging ahead with a health care overhaul.

This week, Obama will start the dialogue on how to increase coverage, restrain costs and improve quality.

Whether a bill can get through Congress and to Obama this year is uncertain. For half a century, the track record on health care has been one of missed opportunities, spectacular failures and hard-won incremental gains.

Obama plans to stress the need for major changes in his address to Congress on Tuesday, administration officials say. He quickly will follow up with a budget that includes a commitment to expand coverage for the uninsured. A White House summit on health care is being planned in coming weeks.

"They don't intend to blink. They intend to plow ahead," said health economist Len Nichols of the nonpartisan New America Foundation. "Health reform is seen as essential to balancing the federal budget and economic recovery in the long run."

People in the U.S. spend $2.4 trillion a year on health care, or about $7,900 per person. That's more than twice as much per capita as in other advanced countries. But few would claim those dollars are buying good value. The costs are a staggering burden for taxpayers, employers and families, and the recession is leaving more people without insurance.

Yet even a self-described optimist such as Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., says he has doubts about prospects for overhauling health care. "It needs to be done up front and quickly," said Enzi, the senior Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. "I'm not so sure that we haven't already lost that, with so many other things coming in and weighing us down."

In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton took the better part of a year to deliver a 1,300-page health care bill to Congress and later waved his veto pen at lawmakers who might have given him half a loaf. He got nothing. Obama has shown a tendency to be more pragmatic.

Administration and congressional officials say Obama will lay out a vision and see if Congress can make the details work. The Senate has gotten an early start and is shaping up as the proving ground for legislation.

"The Obama administration has said they are going to give the Senate a very wide

berth," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who for years has tried to get Democrats and Republicans working together. "There are areas in which there is going to be spirited debate. But there are four or five major areas where there's a lot of common ground."

Polls show most people support coverage for all and believe government should help guarantee it. But what looks like consensus starts to break down once thorny details such as costs and the government's influence on the doctor-patient relationship come into the picture.

Administration officials say Obama has made a down payment by expanding coverage for children of low-income working families and by providing subsidies to help people who lose their jobs keep health benefits.

As he moves forward, Obama will follow the plan laid out in his campaign.

It calls for government, employers, families and individuals to keep sharing financial responsibility for health care. The approach would overhaul the health insurance market, particularly for self-employed people and small businesses. It would set up a national insurance purchasing "exchange" through which people would be guaranteed access to private health insurance or the choice of a new public plan.

Obama sees coverage for all as a goal to be reached in steps. His plan would not require every individual to purchase insurance. The estimated cost is about $90 billion a year, to start with.

The plan might sound simple in a brief summary, but it's not. Potential dealbreakers lurk at every turn.

Many liberals can't get excited about doing battle for just a promise — not an immediate guarantee — of coverage for all.

Conservatives and insurance companies fear that a public plan offered to workers and their families could become the gateway for Canada-style government health care for all.

Employers, hospitals, doctors, and drug companies worry that the government's already pervasive influence in health care will become stifling.

The initial work has fallen to the Senate, where Democratic Sens. Max Baucus of Montana and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts want to present a bill by the summer.

Baucus is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees Medicare and taxes. Kennedy, who is under treatment for brain cancer, leads the Senate health committee. He has pursued the goal of coverage for all his entire career and doesn't want this opportunity to slip away.

Baucus has already outlined a plan that differs in some key details from Obama's. For example, it contemplates taxing some health insurance benefits to raise money for expanded coverage. That's an idea Obama has rejected but one that certain Republicans favor.

It takes 60 votes to get a bill through the Senate, and Democrats don't have them.

In the House, the effort seems to be moving more slowly. Senior aides from leadership offices and committees are talking. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is expected to take a leading role.

Some experts believe the issue is too complicated to try to accomplish in one year and one bill.

Watching and waiting are people such as Robyn Perry, 56, of Lake Worth, Fla., who recently lost a job with health benefits. She has struggled to find coverage now that she is self-employed. Private plans are either too expensive or won't take her because she had a ministroke several years ago. A plan sponsored by local government accepted her, but won't cover her outside her county.

"Something has to be done," said Perry. "I work. I make decent money. But I still can't get coverage. I would really like to find a normal health insurance plan that would cover me wherever I get sick, not just in Palm Beach county."

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On the Net:

White House: Health Care



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Obama Lifts Stem Cell Research Ban

President Barack Obama has overturned a ban on federal funding for stem cell research, reversing the policy of his predecessor George W. Bush.

President Obama: “When it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between

sound science and moral values. In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research, and the humanity and conscience to do so responsibly.

Religious conservatives have generally opposed embryonic stem cell research, because it involves destruction of embryos, which they view as human life. On Monday, President Obama said the research will not be used for cloning humans.

President Obama: “I can also promise that we will never undertake this research lightly. We will support it only when it is both scientifically worthy and responsibly conducted. We will develop strict guidelines, which we will rigorously enforce, because we cannot ever tolerate misuse or abuse. And we will ensure that our government never opens the door to the use of cloning for human reproduction. It is dangerous, profoundly wrong, and has no place in our society or any society.

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In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court has refused to expand the protections for minorities under the federal voting rights law, a decision that may affect the redrawing of legislative boundaries after the 2010 Census. The court’s conservative majority ruled only electoral districts with majority of blacks or other minorities are to be protected by a provision of the Voting Rights Act. Civil rights groups said the ruling could result in more districts with minorities constituting less than half the population, diluting their voting strength.

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In business news, the pharmaceutical giant Merck has announced plans to buy one of its chief rivals, Schering-Plough Corporation for $41 billion. The move comes just weeks after Pfizer said it would buy Wyeth. The two mergers in the pharmaceutical industry are expected to result in 35,000 job losses. Questions have been raised over the link between the mergers and the taxpayer bailouts of the banking industry. Dr. John Abramson of Harvard Medical School said the mergers are only happening now because the drug companies can get the money from the banks thanks to the Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. Abramson said, “The TARP money is supposed to be loosening up credit and keeping Americans employed. They shouldn’t be using bailout money to get rid of people.

Obama Administration to Review Bush Signing Statements

In other news from the White House, the Obama administration has called into question the legitimacy of all signing statements issued by President Bush. The New York Times reports Obama has ordered executive officials to consult with Attorney General Eric Holder before relying on any of them to bypass a statute. However, President Obama has refused to rule out using signing statements himself.



Democracy Now.org

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The Obama administration says it will ask Congress for a $100 billion commitment to the International Monetary Fund to aid struggling nations hit by the economic crisis. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said poorer countries need assistance for the downturn to reverse.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: “It’s time now for us to move together and to begin to act to put in place a stronger framework of reforms. A lot of good work has happened, but we need to now bring this together so that we’re together as a world economy working together. Everything we do in the United States will be more effective if we have the world moving with us.”

It’s unclear what kind of conditions recipient nations would face for accepting the new IMF aid. President Obama said Geithner will push for greater international commitments at an upcoming summit of G20 finance ministers.

President Obama: “We’ve got two goals in the G20. The first is to make sure that there is concerted action around the globe to jumpstart the economy. The second goal is to make sure that we are moving forward on a regulatory reform agenda that ensures that we don’t see these same kinds of systemic risks and the potential for this kind of crisis again in the future.”



Obama Signs Spending Bill; Provisions Include Increased Chemical Disclosure

President Obama has signed into law the $410 billion omnibus spending bill funding the federal government for much of this year. The bill includes a measure that will force companies to provide more information on chemicals they release into the environment. The provision reverses a 2006 Bush administration regulation that eased requirements on reporting chemicals.

Obama Issues 1st Signing Statement

With his signature on the spending bill also came Obama’s first signing statement, a presidential declaration freeing him from following some of the bill’s contents. Obama took issue with five provisions, including one relating to negotiations with foreign governments and international organizations.

Foreclosures Rose 6% in February

Newly released figures show the number of homes threatened by foreclosures rose 30 percent in February over the same period last year. According to RealtyTrac, nearly 291,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice last month, up six percent from January.



Democracy Now.org

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The Obama administration has nominated Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske to be the nation’s new drug czar. The White House announced the pick as it also unveiled a new plan to emphasize treatment over jailing in drug-related cases. Under the policy, the Obama administration will order greater use of alternative drug courts that allow offenders to seek treatment rather than serve jail time. Kerlikowske said efforts should focus on reducing demand.

Gil Kerlikowske: “The success of our efforts to reduce the flow of drugs is largely dependent on our ability to reduce demand for them, and that starts with our youth. Our nation’s drug problem is one of human suffering. And as a police officer, but also in my own family, I have experienced the effects that drugs can have on our youth, our families and our communities.

Kerlikowske says his step-son has struggled with addiction. Appearing with Kerlikowske, Vice President Joe Biden said the US will also focus on the drug wars in Mexico.

Vice President Joe Biden: “Since the beginning of last year, there have been nearly 7,000 drug-related murders in Mexico. If we had said that years ago, we would have looked at each other like we were crazy. But 7,000 drug-related murders in Mexico. Violent drug trafficking organizations are threatening both the United States and Mexican communities.

EU Report Faults Global Strategy on Drugs

Kerlikowske’s nomination comes as the US takes part in a UN conference in Vienna on setting a global drugs strategy for the next decade. A new European Commission report says the previous decade’s strategy has been a failure. The US has been widely criticized for its longtime resistance to decriminalization and supporting treatment-based alternatives.



Obama Launches White House Council on Women and Girls

Back in the United States, President Obama has signed an executive order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls. The Obama administration says the council will “provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and ensure government agencies consider how their policies impact women and families. Senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett will serve as the council’s chair.

Obama, Clinton Honor “Women of Courage

At the State Department, First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton honored eight women from around the world at the third annual Secretary of State’s Award for International Women of Courage. The women are chosen based on nominations from US embassies.

bq. First Lady Michelle Obama: “The women we honor here, standing on this stage today, risk their lives to fight for themselves and for their mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers and friends. And in doing so, they create a better society not just for them, but for their fathers, sons, brothers, grandfathers and husbands. The women we honor today are not just changing their own circumstances, they are changing the world.

The eight women come from Guatemala, Afghanistan, Iraq, Malaysia, Niger, Russia, Uzbekistan and Yemen.





Democracy Now.org

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Dr. Quentin Young, Longtime Obama Confidante and Physician to MLK, Criticizes Admin’s Rejection of Single-Payer Healthcare

While the Obama administration claims “all options are on the table for healthcare reform, it’s already rejected the solution favored by most Americans, including doctors: single-payer universal healthcare. We speak with Dr. Quentin Young, perhaps the most well-known single-payer advocate in America. He was the Rev. Martin Luther King’s doctor when he lived in Chicago and a longtime friend and ally of Barack Obama. But he was noticeably not invited to Obama’s White House healthcare summit last week.



AMY GOODMAN: The chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Montana Democrat Max Baucus, has also plainly said single payer is off the table. I want to play a clip of what he had to say at an event recently. He was asked why single payer was not being considered as an option.



UNIDENTIFIED: I know that in the Helena Independent Record, you were quoted as saying that single-payer healthcare is off the table. I’d like to know your reasons for putting single-payer healthcare off the table and intending instead to a mandatory insurance payment—or, I’m sorry, purchase by Americans, which is an inefficient way of guaranteeing healthcare to everyone.



SEN. MAX BAUCUS: Well, I just have to make a judgment. And I think at this time in this country, single payer is not going to get even to first base in the Congress. I just—and we’re also—we’re a big—we’re a big country. It’s—you know, we’re a battleship. We’re an ocean liner. We’re not a PT boat. We’re not a speedboat. It takes time to turn those big, big ships. You just can’t just turn them overnight. And we are—United States of America, we’re a different country. We’re constituted differently than European countries, than Canada and other countries. We’re a younger country, where there’s more of an entrepreneurial sense in America than in those other countries. It’s kind of “go west, young man in, you know, America and so forth.



So we’ve got to come up with our uniquely American result. An uniquely American result will be a combination of public and private insurance, but one in which everyone is covered. And just my judgment—and every member of Congress agrees with me, I think, at least those I’ve spoken with, that this is not the time to push for single payer. It may come down—it may come later. But it’s not going to happen in America, in my view. So I’m not going to waste my time pushing on something that isn’t going to happen.



AMY GOODMAN: Montana Democratic Senator Max Baucus, seen as the most important figure on Capitol Hill around the issue of healthcare right now, the most powerful force with Senator Kennedy being ill.



Dr. Quentin is with us now from Chicago, national coordinator for Physicians for a National Health Program. He was Reverend Martin Luther King’s doctor when King was organizing in Chicago. He was a close ally of Barack Obama in Chicago. He wasn’t invited to the White House healthcare summit last week, but he is going to Washington tomorrow. Dr. Quentin Young, your response to Senator Baucus? And welcome.



DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Well, greetings, Amy.



He was naming the ways in which our country is supposedly different from other countries. He neglected one huge one: the millions of dollars that people like him receive from these huge vested interests in the health industry and how somehow that influences their certitude that America is not ready for decent healthcare guaranteed by the national government. It’s really a major tragedy, because time has run out, if even without the economic downturn, which is a very polite way to describe our present plight, we would have to have this reform; but with it, we will not economically, let alone medically, survive.



And it’s painful to have people in high places, like Senator Baucus, deny the democratic method of debating the pros and cons even of these various proposals. It is pitiful. And we have to, as has already been pointed out, get the American people outraged at this taking away of the right to decent healthcare in this richest, still richest, of all countries. So I have no pity for Senator Baucus’s position. It’s wrong, and we’re going to have to overcome it.



AMY GOODMAN: First, I want to congratulate you, Dr. Young. This past weekend, hundreds of people turned out for a big celebration. You’re eighty-five now. You had the Illinois governor, the new Illinois governor, there. You had three Congress members celebrating your life.



DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Yeah.



AMY GOODMAN: You’ve been a longtime friend of Barack Obama.



DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Yeah.



AMY GOODMAN: How has he changed over the years?



DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Well, Barack Obama, as we know, was a community organizer, a very lofty calling, in my book, and he made the decision, when the opportunity came, that he could get more done politically, and he accepted the nomination for the seat in the State Senate. It’s not that long ago, really. It’s about a six, eight years ago.



Barack Obama, in those early days—influenced, I hope, by me and others—categorically said single payer was the best way, and he would inaugurate it if he could get the support, meaning majorities in both houses, which he’s got, and the presidency, which he’s got. And he said that on more than one occasion, and it represented the very high-grade intelligence we all know Barack has.



However, as his political fortunes went upward, including the campaign for presidency, the nomination and, finally, the election, he qualified his position from saying it’s the best system, but that given the past American history with employment-based healthcare, he would have a plan that—and he has put one forward—that encompasses other incremental approaches.



AMY GOODMAN: I want to play what President Obama himself said about single payer and how his position appears to have changed. This is what he said back in June of 2003, before he was elected even to the US Senate.



STATE SEN. BARACK OBAMA: I happen to be a proponent of single-payer universal healthcare coverage. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent—14 percent—of its gross national product on healthcare, cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. And that’s what Jim’s talking about when he says everybody in, nobody out: a single-payer healthcare plan, universal healthcare plan.



AMY GOODMAN: That was State Senator Obama. This is Senator Obama. He’s speaking more recently, when he was on the presidential campaign trail.



UNIDENTIFIED: ¦on what you were just addressing.



SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Right.



UNIDENTIFIED: And why not single payer? Why not get the corporate—



SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Right.



UNIDENTIFIED: —battling and the lobbyists out of the way—



SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Right.



UNIDENTIFIED: —and just go to a single payer?



SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, I’ve said this before. If I were designing a system from scratch, then I’d probably set up a single-payer system. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the terminology, single payer basically means that you’ve got one government-funded program. It doesn’t have to all be government-run, but it’s government-funded. Everybody—Medicare would be an example of a single-payer system, if everybody was in Medicare.



But the problem is we’re not starting from scratch. We’ve got a system in which most people have become accustomed to getting their health insurance through their employer. And for us to immediately transition from that, and given that a lot of people work for insurance companies, a lot of people work for HMOs—you’ve got a whole system of institutions that have been set up—making that transition in a rapid way, I think, would be very difficult. And people don’t have time to wait. They need relief now.



So, my attitude is, let’s build off the system that we’ve got. Let’s make it more efficient. We may be, over time, as we make the system more efficient and everybody is covered, decide that there are other ways for us to provide care more effectively.



AMY GOODMAN: That’s Senator Obama on the presidential campaign trail. Dr. Quentin Young, what’s wrong with that?



DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Well, it’s one of the few times when Barack has been dishonest. He knows and all America knows that our experience with employment-based insurance and these other Mickey Mouse things have been increasingly a total disaster. You have a $2.5 trillion industry with vested interests—the private hospitals that are for profit, the HMOs, the health insurance industry—making billions upon billions, and things getting worse. He knows and should act on the fact that time is running out.



The American people are hurting. Over a million Americans go bankrupt due to medical bills each year, and there’s a new study, incidentally, that will show that 50 percent of the bankruptcies are due to health costs; it will be 60 percent. So we have a worsening situation. And a man who wants to lead a country which is in great peril had best do some courageous things.



I really feel that we have to mount a national concern about this. As a doctor, up until a year ago, after sixty years of practice, I can testify that this system is—well, “broken is a gross understatement. It’s wrecked. And it’s ruining people, and the public can’t put up with it anymore.



AMY GOODMAN: Dr. Quentin Young, explain. Over and over, you hear Senator Baucus, you hear President Obama, saying it’s not that they’re against this—at least Obama certainly was saying this—it’s that it’s impractical, and people won’t support it. What is the polling—what are the polling figures on single payer? We almost never see it discussed on television, unless an opponent brings it up.



DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Well, let me say, we have single payer in this country. It was enacted in 1965. It’s called Medicare. And it was put through the Congress by Lyndon Johnson. And then, overnight—overnight, in one year, the system was put in place, and it’s probably the best insurance program in the whole country. The seniors of this country are highly dependent on Medicare. It’s kept them from penury, and that’s—it was done in one year, Amy. No drag-out, no problems. All the things that people worried about just didn’t happen.



Now we’re talking about—somewhat more complicated, but not much—giving single payer to everybody in the country. It’s its simplicity that’s its virtue. It entails one source of payment. Doctors don’t have to wait, as they do so often presently. There’s no hassles. There’s people who will be unemployed; let’s concede, the vast army of people that are dedicated to denying care in the present insurance system will be no longer needed.



And we—our bill, House bill 676, sponsored, first of all, by Congressman Conyers, but with ninety-two supporters in the last Congress—we’re up to sixty in this. It’s extremely popular. This bill will, once enacted, will take a year at the most to fully implement, and then the huge burden of fear of getting sick, which is the plight of almost all America—it’s not a poor person’s problem any longer; it’s middle-class America. And it has to be changed. I wish somehow Barack could see this as the thing that will give dignity and grace to his tenure at the very beginning. It’s very important that this be enacted.



AMY GOODMAN: It seems that the single most important word that people are using is “choice, that people want choice.



DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Yes. Indeed, they do. And indeed, they’re entitled to it. That choice is all but disappeared under the burden of private insurance schemes, which gives you limited panels. An employer, which has been vaunted minutes ago by President Obama—these employers change plans, and then you have to get brand new doctors. Continuity is lost. It’s a zoo.



The choice, under single payer, is total. The only limiting factor is the number of people a doctor may see. And that apart, your card is good for any program you approach, and it’s—choice is total. And it really is the only way to go.



Let me mention something that’s important enough to be underlined. Under the weight of this private insurance system, doctors have finished training with huge debts, $150,000 on average, and the specialties, as it’s worked out under a private system, are paying on average two to three times what primary care doctors get. Primary care is very simple. It’s family practitioners, pediatricians and general internists. You need about 60 percent of your doctors in that category to have a balanced system. Well, that’s been slipping away, and now we’re well under 50 percent of primary care doctors. And that has to be reversed, or no system will work. And increasingly, there’s large areas in this country where people cannot find a primary care doctor. And in almost every, certainly metropolitan area, there’s an excess of specialists. That has to be done with—



AMY GOODMAN: You say now, Dr. Young, that although the AMA during Roosevelt’s time prevented national health insurance from being passed, that the majority of doctors in America today are for single payer?



DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Yes, and I’m saying that emphatically, Amy. A study, April 2008, a refereed study published in the very prestigious Annals of Internal Medicine had the very—for me, very happy return that 59 percent of America’s doctors now support a government-run national health insurance to pay for healthcare.



AMY GOODMAN: And finally, Dr. Young, because we just have a minute—



DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: OK.



AMY GOODMAN: This brouhaha over the last week with the White House healthcare summit, 120 people, there were going to be no single-payer advocates. Congressman Conyers asked to go. At first, he was told no. He directly asked President Obama at a Congressional Black Caucus hearing. He asked to bring you and Marcia Angell—



DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Yes.



AMY GOODMAN: —former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. You weren’t allowed to go. Do you have President Obama’s ear anymore? You have been an ally of his for years, for decades.



DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Well, it’s mixed. I think we’re friends, certainly. At this gala that you mentioned, which was embarrassing, he did send a very complimentary letter. And I appreciate that, but I’d much rather have him enact single payer, to tell the truth. And we did—it’s fair to say, after a good deal of protest, I think we were told there was a—phones rang off the hook. They did allow our national president, Dr. Oliver Fein, to attend with Dr. Conyers—Congressman Conyers. That’s fine, but we need many more people representative of the American people at large to get this thing through the Congress, and Baucus, notwithstanding, be overruled.



AMY GOODMAN: There, tomorrow, you’re headed to Congress. You’re going to be meeting with a Senate group on this issue?



DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: I am, indeed. I was invited. And there, let’s be candid. They don’t want a lot of single payer presence, but they can’t keep it out. Trade unions across the country, by the hundreds, have endorsed it. There are lay groups. By that, I mean non-professional groups. Nurses, the California Nurses/National Nurses Organizing Committee, are for it. It’s a very formidable list, Amy, of popularity. The American people understand it, and they want it, and we have to make it happen.



AMY GOODMAN: Dr. Quentin Young, I want to thank you for being with us, Physicians for a National Health—your group is called?



DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Program.



AMY GOODMAN: Physicians for a National Health Program, pnhp.org. Russell Mokhiber, I want to thank him, Corporate Crime Reporter, his group, singlepayeraction.org. And Geri Jenkins, with the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, nnoc.net. We’ll link to all of those sites. These are the voices that are not being heard in the media, and we’ll see how much they get heard on Capitol Hill.



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President Barack Obama met recently with the prime ministers of Canada and Britain. This week’s meeting with Britain’s Gordon Brown, who was pitching a “global New Deal, created a minor flap when the White House downsized a full news conference to an Oval Office question-and-answer session, viewed by some in Britain as a snub. The change was attributed to the weather, with the Rose Garden covered with snow.

It might have actually related not to snow cover, but to a snow job, covering up the growing divide between Afghanistan policies.

U.S. policy in Afghanistan includes a troop surge, already under way, and continued bombing in Pakistan using unmanned drones. Escalating civilian deaths are a certainty. The United Nations estimates that more than 2,100 civilians died in 2008, a 40 percent jump over 2007.



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The failed insurance giant AIG is preparing to pay out $450 million in bonuses to top executives and other employees despite receiving a $173 billion government bailout. The bonuses include over $165 million to executives in the Financial Products unit, which lost $40 billion last year and played a major role in the meltdown of the global financial system. AIG is paying out the bonuses even though it is now 80 percent owned by the US government. On Sunday, Lawrence Summers, the director of the White House National Economic Council, described the bonuses as outrageous, but he said the bonuses are part of a contract.

Lawrence Summers: “We are a country of law. There are contracts. The government cannot just abrogate contracts. Every legal step possible to limit those bonuses is being taken by Secretary Geithner and by the Federal Reserve system.

AIG’s new chief executive Edward Liddy justified the bonuses, saying AIG would have trouble attracting and retaining talent “if employees believe their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the US Treasury.

AIG Lists Banks It Gave Bailout Money To

Meanwhile, AIG has disclosed for the first time the names of the financial institutions that benefited from the government’s $173 billion bailout. Goldman Sachs was the largest recipient at nearly $13 billion. Over $35 billion was also paid out to foreign banks including Société Générale of France, Deutsche Bank of Germany, Barclays of Britain and UBS of Switzerland.





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Facing increasing public outcry, the Obama administration pledged Monday to try to block the bailed-out insurance giant AIG from paying out as much as $450 million in bonuses to top executives and other workers. AIG is attempting to hand out the bonuses despite the company’s central role in the meltdown of the global economy. AIG has already received $173 billion in government bailouts. During the last quarter of 2008, AIG lost a record $62 billion—that amounts to over $460,000 per minute. On Sunday, Lawrence Summers, one of the President’s top economic advisers, said the government cannot just abrogate contracts, but yesterday President Barack Obama asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to pursue every legal avenue to block the bonuses.

President Obama: “This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed. Under these circumstances, it’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. I mean, how do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?

Andrew Cuomo Subpoenas AIG over Bonuses

AIG has so far refused to publicly reveal who is set to receive the money. On Monday, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a subpoena to uncover this information and to determine if the bonuses are legal. Cuomo said if a company enters into contracts in which it agrees to pay funds it effectively doesn’t have, it’s akin to a looting of a company. While Cuomo is issuing subpoenas, Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa has suggested the top executives at AIG should consider taking their own lives. Grassley said, “The first thing that would make me feel a little bit better towards them, if they’d follow the Japanese model and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, ‘I’m sorry,’ and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide.

Treasury Report: Banks Decrease Lending After Bailout

A new Treasury report has found the nation’s largest banks are continuing to reduce the flow of credit to new homeowners and consumers despite receiving hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts. In December, the nation’s twenty-one largest banks lent out $162 billion for first mortgages. Less than half that amount was lent out in January. New home equity credit lines decreased from $15 billion to just $5 billion.



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The Federal Reserve has announced a massive new government intervention in the US economy. The Fed says it will buy up $1.2 trillion in government bonds and mortgage-linked securities to free up the frozen credit market. The purchases will increase the Fed’s holdings in financial markets to $3 trillion, an increase of 50 percent. The new mortgage securities purchase will account for more than half of the new spending, at $750 billion. That’s on top of the $500 billion in securities previously bought. According to analysts at Wachovia Bank, the federal government could end up funding up to 70 percent of mortgages issued this year.

Uncertainty Grows on When Admin Knew of AIG Bonuses

The Obama administration is facing questions on when it knew of AIG’s plans to hand out $165 million in bonuses after receiving its $170 billion taxpayer bailout. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says he didn’t know until last week and only told White House officials two days after finding out. But testifying on Capitol Hill Wednesday, AIG CEO Edward Liddy said government officials were informed three months ago. The Washington Post reports the Treasury was told at least one month ago.

AIG Exec: Employees to Give Back Half of Bonuses

Liddy, meanwhile, also defended the bonuses, saying they were essential to retaining top employees.

AIG CEO Edward Liddy: “Make no mistake. Had I been CEO at the time, I would never have approved the retention contracts that were put in place over a year ago. It was distasteful to have to make these payments. But we concluded that the risks to the company, and therefore the financial system and the economy, were unacceptably high.

Liddy says he’s asked a few hundred AIG executives and employees to give back at least half of the extra pay but refused to give details on who is keeping their bonuses. AIG is also facing questions on the billions of dollars in taxpayer money it used to repay other financial firms.

Dodd: Bonus Protections Added to Stimulus Bill at Admin’s Request

Questions, meanwhile, are also surrounding Treasury officials and lawmakers for political maneuvering that effectively authorized the executive bonuses with the passage of the stimulus bill last month. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden says he introduced a provision that would have forced bailout recipients to cap bonuses at $100,000 and tax those exceeding it at 35 percent. The measure passed through the Senate but was inexplicably removed during talks with the House. Meanwhile, the chair of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Christopher Dodd, is claiming he inserted a provision protecting contractually promised bonuses at the request of the Obama administration. Dodd didn’t name the administration officials who told him to insert the provision. He says he wouldn’t have done so had he known it would have allowed the bonuses at AIG.

Fannie Mae to Hand Out Million-Dollar Bonuses

As the controversy over payments grows, the government-backed mortgage giant Fannie Mae has announced plans to give four top executives at least $1 million in what it calls “retention bonuses. The bonuses are being handed out amidst Fannie’s request for some $15 billion in government aid.

Judge Orders Disclosure of Merrill Lynch Bonuses

Meanwhile, a New York judge has ordered the disclosure of employee bonuses paid out at Merrill Lynch just before Bank of America bought out the firm in a government-backed deal. The ruling came in New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s attempt to subpoena several top Merrill Lynch executives who were each paid more than $10 million in cash and stock. Overall, Merrill Lynch handed out over $3 billion in bonuses just before the Bank of America deal. For its part, Bank of America has received $45 billion in government aid.

Obama: No More “Business as Usual for Wall Street

Meanwhile, at the White House, President Obama invoked the controversy surrounding AIG to call for changes to the financial system.

President Obama: “As we get out of this crisis, as we work towards getting ourselves out of recession, I hope that Wall Street and the marketplace don’t think that we can return to business as usual. The business models that created a lot of paper wealth but not real wealth in this country and have now resulted in crisis can’t be the model for economic growth going forward.

Obama later traveled to California for a tour to promote his economic stimulus plan. Speaking at a town hall-style event in Costa Mesa, Obama said he takes responsibility for the AIG controversy.

President Obama: “I know Washington is all in a tizzy, and everybody’s pointing fingers at each other and saying it’s the their fault, the Democrats’ fault, the Republicans’ fault. Listen, I’ll take responsibility. I’m the President. So—we didn’t draft these contracts, and we’ve got a lot on our plate, but it is appropriate, when you’re in charge, to make sure that stuff doesn’t happen like this. So we’re going to do everything we can to fix it.



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posted: 10 HOURS 5 MINUTES AGOcomments: 809filed under: Political News, The Obama Presidency

March 24) -- Meghan McCain, a contributor to TheDailyBeast.com, is the daughter of Sen. John McCain and Cindy McCain. But it's her recent verbal sparring with conservative Republicans that's put her in the spotlight.

In a wide-ranging interview on Monday on CNN's "Larry King Live," McCain discussed her thoughts on President Obama, her recent heated exchange with radio host Laura Ingraham, her tattoos and more.

The following transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity:

Larry King: [President Obama] is taking some criticism for smiling and laughing [during his 60 Minutes interview.] Are you one of those critics?

Meghan McCain: You know, I actually am not. I think anyone that would possibly think that the president is not taking the economy seriously -- I just think it's ridiculous. ...

King: [Is President Obama getting overexposed]?

McCain: I think he is on the verge of it. I do think you have to be careful. But it is a different generation. [My] generation ... we like our celebrities. And I think that he realizes that because he is very much a Generation Y president. However, he is on the risk of alienating his older followers.

King: Does Obama seem like the same guy who ran against your dad? How do you view him?

McCain: He's our president and when the election was over and when President Obama won, all negative feelings were gone. I support the president.

King: How does your dad feel about that?

McCain: I think the same way. You know, my family is really good at letting go of things and moving on. And he just holds no grudges.

King: Do you think most of the people in your party agree with [Rush] Limbaugh? Do they want him to fail?

McCain: I don't know, because there are many different personalities within the party. ... I would never want my president to fail, no matter which party is in power.

King: You interviewed the [Louisiana] governor's wife?

McCain: I interviewed [Supyira] Jindal, the first lady of Louisiana. And she's a fascinating woman. She totally impressed me because she was very warm and friendly.

I went down and interviewed her and the piece came out today on TheDailyBeast.com.

King: Do you like him [Gov. Bobby Jindal]?

McCain: I do. You know, we do veer off on some things politically, but any leader that I'm going to have I'm going to veer off politically.

King: Do you consider yourself a moderate? Are you moderate liberal?

McCain: I consider myself a progressive Republican. I am liberal on social issues. And I think that the party is at a place where social issues shouldn't be the issues that define the party. And I have taken heat, but in fairness to me, I am a different generation than the people that are giving me heat. I'm 24 years old. I'm not in my 40s, I'm not in my 50s and older.

King: Therefore, you must, based on what you said, disagree with your father? ... Do you discuss it?

McCain: We have a very big generation gap between me and my father. Yes, we discuss them. He's very open-minded. I was raised in an open-minded home. I was raised a Christian, but I was raised open-minded Christian -- one to accept people, love people, not pass judgment. ...

I believe in gay marriage. ... I personally am pro-life, but I'm not going to judge someone that's pro-choice. It is not my place to judge other people and what they do with their body.

King: We have an e-mail question from Veronica, Huntington Park, California: "Do you share most of your father's political views?"

McCain: When it comes to war and the economy, and many fiscal conservative values, I agree with him. I mean I fell in love with the Republican Party because of my father.

King: Earlier this month, [you] wrote a DailyBeast column criticizing right-wing pundit Ann Coulter. Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham fired back at you, including making a comment about your weight. You then gave a straight talk response in an appearance on "The View." What led to that?

McCain: You know, it's so funny. I was in the airport today and this guy goes, "Hey, Meghan, kiss my fat ass." And I was like oh my gosh. That's where this has gone to.

As far as I'm concerned with what's going on with Laura Ingraham, on my end, it's over. There are nine million women in this country suffering from eating disorders. And I'm not going to be bullied around about my weight and what kind of standards I'm not fitting. ...

King: Were you surprised that Laura, who's had breast cancer, got into something that personal?

McCain: I had never heard of her before until this happened.

King: You didn't know her?

McCain: No. I'm not familiar with her work. But I hope she doesn't do it again.

King: What about Ann Coulter?

McCain: She didn't respond, which is fine with me. ... All I wanted to do is show women that you don't have to be Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham to have a place in the Republican Party. ... Supriya Jindal is a good role model, but a lot of people hadn't heard of her.

And I just want to show that you don't have to think one way and fit into this one box in order to be a member of the Republican Party.

King: Were [your parents] angry at Laura Ingraham?

McCain: My mother was. She's a very protective mama bear.

King: Are you a tattooer?

McCain: I have one. My brothers have a lot of tattoos. I love tattoos. I do. I know, you never would have thought me, right? But I do.

King: No. You don't look like a tattooer. What do your folks think of that?

McCain: I've got supportive parents, you know. My mom thinks it's cute. ... I have a little star on my foot.

King: What kind of dad is your father?

McCain: He's great. I love my dad so much. He's the best father to me. And like I said, he's so supportive of me and my career and what I do and speaking my mind.

When you grow up having a maverick as a father and an example, you can understand how I turned out like this



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By JENNIFER LOVEN, AP

posted: 2 HOURS 51 MINUTES AGOcomments: 3231filed under: Political News, The Obama Presidency



WASHINGTON (March 24) – President Barack Obama claimed early progress Tuesday night in his aggressive campaign to lead the nation out of economic chaos and declared that despite obstacles ahead, "we're moving in the right direction." At the second prime-time news conference of his presidency, Obama also toned down his criticism of bonuses to executives at bailed-out AIG, and shot back at Republican critics of his budget.

In office for 64 tumultuous days, Obama cast his budget — now under review in Congress — as essential if the economy is to recover. The tax and spending plan "is inseparable from this recovery because it is what lays the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity," he said.

Looking to reassure recession-weary Americans about his recovery strategy, President Barack Obama touted his $3.6 trillion budget -- now under review in Congress -- as essential if the economy is to bounce back. The tax and spending plan "is inseparable from this recovery because it is what lays the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity," he said Tuesday night.

The president also defended the U.S. dollar in the wake of China's suggestion for a universal currency, saying: "The dollar is extraordinarily strong right now," and "I don't believe that there is a need for a global currency."

The news conference, lasting 55 minutes, came at a pivotal, early moment in Obama's young presidency. Democrats in Congress are readying budget proposals that will largely determine how much of his first-term agenda will be passed, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is churning out near-daily proposals to solve the nation's economic crisis and the administration is struggling with public and congressional outrage over bonuses paid to executives of bailed-out AIG. Additionally, Obama departs next week for his first European trip as commander in chief, with the global economy a major focus.

Flexible on some points, Obama was unyielding on others. Pressed on why he seemed to delay before condemning the AIG bonuses, Obama said, "It took us a couple of days because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak."

The news conference was dominated by questions about the economy. Obama defended the steps his administration has taken to counter the recession and an unprecedented credit crisis. He said teachers and others have jobs today because of the economic stimulus measure that Congress passed, and the nation is "beginning to see signs of increased sales and stabilized housing prices for the first time in a long time."

He said full-fledged recovery is months away, and he added, "It will take patience."

At the same time, he said, "we're in a better place because of the decisions that we made."



Obama put in a plug for the request Geithner made to Congress earlier in the day for extraordinary authority to take over failing companies like American International Group Inc., much as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. now does for banks.

"It is precisely because of the lack of this authority" that AIG's problems threatened to bring down the entire U.S. economy, he said. Top Democrats in Congress reacted positively to the proposal, although it is not clear when legislation might be considered.

Obama has been vocal in his unhappiness over the $165 million in retention bonuses paid to executives at AIG, although his favorable reference to business men and women seeking profits was a new twist.

"Bankers and executives on Wall Street need to realize that enriching themselves on the taxpayers' dime is inexcusable, that the days of outsized rewards and reckless speculation that puts us all at risk have to be over," he said.

"At the same time, the rest of us can't afford to demonize every investor or entrepreneur who seeks to make a profit. That drive is what has always fueled our prosperity, and it is what will ultimately get these banks lending and our economy moving once more," he said.

On other issues, Obama:

- Said the American people are assessing his ability as chief executive based on his skills and work, not the color of his skin. He said there was justifiable pride in January, when he was inaugurated as the first black president.

- Strongly defended his proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy by reducing the value of the deductions they may take for items such as home mortgages or charitable donations. It's a "realistic way for us to raise some revenue from people who benefited enormously over the last several years. Its not going to cripple them. They will still be well-to-do," he said.

- Called his decision to expand federal support of embryonic stem cell research the "right thing to do and the ethical thing to do." He said he wrestled with the ethics of the decision but is hopeful that the science will lead to help for people with debilitating diseases.



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Ending a key policy of the Bush years, the Obama administration announced March 13 it was dropping the term "enemy combatant" to justify holding prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. It's the second major policy change in regard to the U.S. prison there -- Obama signed an order in January to close the facility within a year. Click for more of Obama's biggest breaks from Bush.



Said the recent elections in Israel would not make it easier to create a stable environment with side-by-side Israeli and Palestinian states.

The president opened the news conference with a prepared statement read from a screen, turning the event's opening moments into a brief speech delivered to a nationwide TV audience in addition to the roomful of reporters.

He said his administration was taking steps to make sure banks have money to lend "even if the economy gets worse."

Obama said he did not feel the government should call on Americans to make sacrifices beyond those imposed by the recession and credit crisis. "Folks are sacrificing left and right ... across the board, people are making adjustments large and small," he said.

Obama was quick with a retort when asked about Republican criticism of his budget, with its huge projected deficits.

"First of all," he said he inherited a deficit of over $1 trillion from his predecessor. And secondly, he said the Republicans have yet to offer an alternative to his own tax and spending plan.

Obama has emphasized a desire to cut projected deficits in half by the end of his current term, although recent estimates make it appear almost impossible barring an extraordinary series of events.

Given concern in Congress over the red ink, Senate Democrats are drafting a separate budget plan that assumes Obama's proposed middle class tax cut expires after two years — the sort of sleight of hand that other administrations of both parties have used in the past.

While Congress' budget does not go to the White House for a president's signature, the White House traditionally seeks to influence its provisions. Obama restated his objectives Tuesday night — health care overhaul, a new energy policy and more money for education and deficit control.

Obama stepped to the microphone one day after his administration unveiled a plan to melt the credit freeze by helping banks shed bad loans. Under the proposal, the government will finance the purchase by private investors of as much as $1 trillion of the $2 trillion in bad assets still held by the nation's banks, in the hopes of freeing banks to begin lending more freely and churn up economic activity.

On Wednesday, Obama is heading to Capitol Hill to lobby Senate Democrats.

Before Obama's speech, Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell emphasized Republican criticism of the president's proposed budget as an over-spending, over-taxing disaster. A Congressional Budget Office analysis released last Friday estimates Obama's budget would generate deficits totaling $9.3 trillion over the next decade

"If these plans are carried out, we run the risk of looking like a Third World country," said McConnell, R-Ky.

Obama's job approval rating is 63 percent, according to Gallup polling. That number has been relatively stable recently, down from the 68 percent when the president took office mostly on a loss of support among Republicans.



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March 26) - Sarah Palin is teeing off on the media once again.

In a little-noticed speech to a GOP dinner in Alaska last week, Palin riffed for nearly an hour on a variety of topics — including her relationship with former McCain staffers, the Bush administration's anti-terror efforts, and actress Ashley Judd.

But the Alaska governor returned multiple times to the "unprecedented level of media slant" that she witnessed during her two-months on the Republican ticket with John McCain.



Unlike some other unsuccessful vice-presidential candidates, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has remained squarely in the public eye since she and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., lost the GOP bid for the White House in November. Palin has commanded continued media attention as she speaks out against the press and about other issues



Her speech, delivered last Friday to the Anchorage Lincoln Day Dinner, was recorded by the Alaska Republican Party and posted online Tuesday.

Reflecting on the campaign, Palin said there were "a variety of reasons" Republicans lost in November, namely the faltering economy, but she seemed to place most of the blame on the press.



Some in the media actually participated in not so much the 'who-what-where-when-why' objective reporting on candidates and positions, those five W's that I learned when I had a journalism degree so many years ago in college, when the world of journalism was quite different than it is today," she said.

"No, things have changed," she continued. "But complaining? Or whining? Absolutely not. But I am going to call it like I see it. It doesn't do any good to whine about any of this. But I can call it like I see it. Sometimes it gets me in a lot of trouble when I speak candidly, and I speak from the heart and I do such a thing. But I am going to."

And there was that media slant this go round," she said. "And unless things change, the GOP had really better can stand together, 'cause we got that on the battlefield also. I call it like I see it and like I lived it on the campaign trail. Notcomplaining, but dealing with reality."Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, was the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 2008, but how would she fare at the top of the ticket? A nationwide survey by Public Policy Polling finds that if she were the GOP candidate in 2012, Barack Obama would win by 20 points

Those are the cards that are dealt us," she said, "and we had better learn to play that hand and do things right and do things better."

Later in the speech, she told a story about praying for strength before last October's Vice Presidential debate with Joe Biden in St. Louis.

"So I'm looking around for somebody to pray with, I just need maybe a little help, maybe a little extra," she said. "And the McCain campaign, love 'em, you know, they're a lot of people around me, but nobody I could find that I wanted to hold hands with and pray." As the crowd laughed, Palin grinned and said she meant no disrespect to the McCain campaign. She said she ultimately prayed with her daughter Piper.



governor also took a shot at an environmental group fronted by actress Ashley Judd — the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund — that has mounted a campaign against the governor to halt the practice aerial wolf hunting in Alaska. Palin called on her fellow Republicans to "stand up to those goofy Defenders of Wildlife celebrity starlets who don't even know about Alaska."



administration's elimination of the term "enemy combatant" and reminded the crowd that "we're at war." She lauded former President Bush for his efforts to prevent another terrorist attack after September 11, standing up for the 43rd president even though "the political and media elite ridiculed and mocked him."

"It's no small accomplishment that no terrorist attack has occurred since 9/11," Palin said.



Adding her voice to the debate over the future of the GOP, Palin said the Republican Party would be happy to welcome Democrats and independents who might grow frustrated with Democratic overreach, but she rejected the suggestion that the party should become more moderate. Instead, she argued, Republicans need to better communicate their ideas.

"Sometimes, the middle of the fence is really the most uncomfortable place to be," she said. "How about we just keep it simple? To grow, we've got to be who we are."



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The Obama administration has unveiled plans to boost

government regulation over the financial system. On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner outlined proposals including expanding federal regulation for the first time to cover financial derivatives trading, large hedge funds and insurers such as AIG. Regulators would also impose uniform standards to limit the range of functions of major financial firms, including banks. Speaking before the House Financial Services Committee, Geithner said the changes were prompted by the failure of the economic system to regulate excess and greed.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: “Our system failed in basic fundamental ways. Compensation practices rewarded short-term profits over long-term return. Pervasive failures in consumer protection left many Americans with obligations they did not understand and could not sustain. The huge apparent returns to financial activity attracted fraud on a dramatic scale. Market discipline failed to constrain dangerous levels of risk-taking throughout the system.

The new rules come on top of previously announced proposals for government authority to seize troubled non-banking financial firms. President Obama is expected to promote the plan in meetings with top Wall Street bankers later today.

AIG Questioned on Billions in Bank Payouts

The insurance giant AIG is facing new congressional and legal scrutiny over how it funneled tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer bailout money to banks facing huge losses that AIG had insured. In what some have called the “backdoor bailout, AIG gave nearly $13 billion to Goldman Sachs and tens of billions more to other firms, including Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and several foreign banks. On Thursday, twenty-six House Democrats signed a letter by Congress member Elijah Cummings asking the bailout program’s inspector general to investigate the payments. Meanwhile, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed AIG for information related to the derivatives payments funneled to the banks.



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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to Mexico today, a day after the Obama administration announced it would send more money, technology and manpower to secure the United States-Mexico border and bolster the Mexican government’s anti-narcotics operation. We go to the US-Mexico border to speak with independent journalist John Gibler.



AMY GOODMAN: We move now to the border. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to Mexico today, a day after the Obama administration announced it would send more money, technology and manpower to secure the United States-Mexico border and bolster the Mexican government’s anti-drug operation.



President Obama laid out the new plan at his press conference on Tuesday night.



PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We are sending millions of dollars in additional equipment to provide more effective surveillance. We are providing hundreds of additional personnel that can help control the border, deal with customs issues. We are coordinating very effectively with the Mexican government and President Calderon, who has taken on a extraordinarily difficult task of dealing with these drug cartels that have gotten completely out of hand.



And so, the steps that we’ve taken are designed to make sure that the border communities in the United States are protected, and you’re not seeing a spillover of violence, and that we are helping the Mexican government deal with a very challenging situation.



We’ve got to also take some steps. Even as he is doing more to deal with the drug cartels sending drugs into the United States, we need to do more to make sure that illegal guns and cash aren’t flowing back to these cartels. That’s part of what’s financing their operations. That’s part of what’s arming them. That’s what makes them so dangerous.



AMY GOODMAN: Earlier Tuesday, Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano said the administration was, quote, “still considering and looking at deploying the National Guard at the border. She added she would meet with Texas Governor Rick Perry to discuss sending a thousand National Guard troops to the border.



Secretary of State Clinton’s visit to Mexico marks the start of several high-level meetings between Mexico and the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder are scheduled to meet with Mexican officials in early April before President Obama’s visit just ahead of the Summit of the Americas.



Mexican authorities say over 6,000 people were killed in drug-related violence last year, and some American analysts have warned Mexico could become a, quote, “failed state.



For some analysis from the US-Mexico border, I’m joined now on the telephone from El Paso, Texas, by independent journalist and author John Gibler. His book Mexico Unconquered: Chronicles of Power and Revolt came out earlier this year.



John, welcome to Democracy Now! The reaction on the border to the announcement yesterday, and what you see happening there?



JOHN GIBLER: Good morning, Amy. Thank you very much.



The reaction on the El Paso side is one of mild relief. There is a good deal of people kind of scared about this idea of spillover violence. And the reaction on the Juarez side of the border that I’ve been able to judge so far is one of skeptical “Well, we’ll see. There’s a lot of energy, kind of skeptical of the Obama administration. They’ve not seen a lot of real promise and initiative from the US government on the drug war.



And one of the reasons there is, first of all, I think the United States government has always liked to export the perception of chaos and violence to other countries, like Colombia and now Mexico. So while the drug violence in Mexico is very real, at least the Mexican people are sufficiently outraged to demand change. Over the last few years, as the violence has exploded, every 2nd or 3rd of January the main headline of Mexico’s national dailies is the number of people that have been executed the year before. In 2007, that number was about 3,000. As you mentioned, in 2008, it was about 6,000 people. But where is the corresponding count in the United States?



Here, drug executions and violence between dealers who are disputing and battling over turf are a daily occurrence across the country, but the violence seems to have been ghettoized. There is no national political consciousness in the mainstream media or in the government about how that violence stems itself from the drug war. So now you have the mainstream media, the President coming along and warning us of spillover violence from Mexico.



I think that expresses the kind of racist logic of the drug war, where first drug violence is seen as spilling over from another country, instead of as something that is always transnational and related to the drug trade, and second, you know, the absence of the corresponding outrage for the drug violence that plagues most US cities—and the response there from the government seems to always be build more prisons and incarcerate more people of color.



AMY GOODMAN: And this issue of Mexico as a failed state?



JOHN GIBLER: I think, there again, it’s not so much that the state is failing, rather than rather uncomfortable facts about its true nature are exposed. And that has to do with the fact that the drug cartels, and for decades now, have so deeply infiltrated pretty much every institution in the state of [inaudible], so when the drug cartels enter into this extreme, bloody, very real war over territory, over trafficking routes, that war takes place within the structure of the state itself. That is, the different people in the judicial branch of government, the executive branch of government, the highest levels of the federal anti-drug forces, like those offices in the federal attorney general’s office, where Noe Ramirez Mandujano, the ex-anti-drug czar, was recently found taking $450,000 in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel. Well, people start to fall internally to the state, as well, is one of the kind of levels [inaudible] casualties of that violence between rival cartels.



But here, as well, this should be a moment to pause and reflect and look back at the United States, as well, because, again, I think the US always tries to export this perception of chaos, export the perception of corruption, and it’s as if once the drugs cross the border they somehow teleport to their end users and are just [inaudible] across this vast nation without the aid of an incredible distribution network, highly organized, that will always need to rely on local fixers, and local fixers involved in every level of government. Again, here I think the Mexican people might have something to teach us in the fact that their outrage at the level of corruption and violence pushes society to act more, whereas here there’s just this tendency to export all of this chaos and violence to other countries and not look at how—you know, or [inaudible] to find the places where the drug cartels have also infiltrated the state here in the US.



AMY GOODMAN: John Gibler, I want to thank you for being with us, independent journalist and author—his book is Mexico Unconquered—speaking to us from near the border in El Paso, Texas.



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[Daniyal]

The attack came two days after President Obama defended his decision to send 21,000 more US troops to Afghanistan and to increase aid to Pakistan. Obama said his one goal is to wipe out al-Qaeda militants whom he said were plotting new attacks on the United States.

President Obama: “The world cannot afford the price that will come due if Afghanistan slides back into chaos or al-Qaeda operates unchecked. We have a shared responsibility to act, not because we seek to project power for its own sake, but because our own peace and security depends upon it. And what’s at stake at this time is not just our own security; it’s the very idea that free nations can come together on behalf of our common security.”

The New York Times reports the Obama administration was divided over what to do in Afghanistan. The commanders in the field wanted a larger surge of troops but Vice President Joseph Biden reportedly warned against getting into a political and military quagmire.

White House Forces Out GM CEO Wagoner

In business news, General Motors Chair and CEO Rick Wagoner has stepped down after he was asked to resign by the Obama administration as part of the government’s demand for GM and Chrysler to restructure before receiving more federal aid. President Obama is scheduled to unveil his full plan for the auto industry today. The McClatchy Newspapers reports Obama will reject requests for almost $22 billion in new taxpayer bailout money for GM and Chrysler, saying the car makers have failed to take steps to ensure their viability. The government sought the departure of the GM chief and said the company needed to be widely restructured if it had any hope of survival. The government is expected to provide the company with sixty days’ operating capital to give it time to undertake reforms. The government will also grant Chrysler thirty days’ operating funds, but said it must merge with the Italian car maker Fiat in order to remain viable. So far, GM and Chrysler have received $17.4 billion in government rescue money, a fraction of what the government has given to help revive the banking industry.

Unemployment Rate Over 10% in Seven States

New employment figures show Michigan still has the nation’s highest unemployment rate at 12 percent. In February, the unemployment rate jumped into double figures in Nevada, North Carolina and Oregon. The jobless rate is also above ten percent in California, South Carolina and Rhode Island.



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