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LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY
DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER
Week of January 23, 2009
The link to this electronic newsletter is being e-mailed to 7,500+
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CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT LIST OF EVENTS
Updated on a regular basis
Bulletin Board:
- The Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee meets the 4th Wednesday of every month at 5:00 pm at Democratic Headquarters,
- 640 Barret Avenue .
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Now Comes The Hard Part
Yesterday, under bright skies and before an estimated
crowd of more than a million people gathered on the National Mall,
Barack Hussein Obama
took the oath of office to become the 44th President of the United
States. President Obama marked the historic occasion with a somber but
stirring inaugural address, telling America that the "challenges
we face" -- real, many, and serious -- "will be met."After eight
years of conservative misrule in a complex and changing world, the
United States faces war, recession, the climate crisis, and systems of
health care and education that continue to fail too many Americans.
Obama declared these ills not just a "consequence of greed and
irresponsibility on the part of some" but also "our collective failure
to make hard choices." He repeated a common theme of his candidacy --
that good government alone is not sufficient to restore America's
promise. Instead, "the faith and determination of the American people"
set the course of the nation. "Starting today," Obama said, "we must
pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of
remaking America."
'THE PRICE AND THE PROMISE OF CITIZENSHIP': In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Bush rallied the nation to continue shopping. In 2006, with recession looming, Bush asked the American people to "go shopping more." In a stark contrast, Obama defined his ideal of the "price and the promise of citizenship." He called for "a new era of responsibility," in which every American recognizes "that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and our world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task." In a service event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, "when a grateful nation emulates Dr. King's sacrifice and service to others," Obama explained his vision of shared responsibility. "If we're just waiting around for somebody else to do it for us, if we're waiting around for somebody else to clean up the vacant lot or waiting for somebody else to get involved in tutoring a child, if we're waiting for somebody else to do something, it never gets done," he said. "We're going to have to take responsibility -- all of us."
Click Here for Video of Barrack Obama’s Speech
Limbaugh: ‘I Hope Obama Fails’
“Are
conservative talk-show hosts
eager to go on the attack, after years of defending Bush?” asks the
Louisville Courier-Journal’s Larry Muhammad. The answer is clearly yes.
Barack Obama has not yet taken office, and Rush Limbaugh is already rooting for his failure. On his radio show last Friday, Limbaugh said, “I disagree fervently with the people on our [Republican] side of the aisle who have caved and who say, ‘Well, I hope he succeeds.’”
Limbaugh told his listeners that he was asked by “a major American print publication” to offer a 400-word statement explaining his “hope for the Obama presidency.” He responded:
So I’m thinking of replying to the guy, “Okay, I’ll send you a response, but I don’t need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails.” (interruption) What are you laughing at? See, here’s the point. Everybody thinks it’s outrageous to say. Look, even my staff, “Oh, you can’t do that.” Why not? Why is it any different, what’s new, what is unfair about my saying I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what’s gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here. Why do I want more of it? I don’t care what the Drive-By story is. I would be honored if the Drive-By Media headlined me all day long: “Limbaugh: I Hope Obama Fails.” Somebody’s gotta say it.
It hasn’t taken long for Limbaugh to reveal his core hypocrisy. In July 2006, with conservatives in power, Limbaugh offered one of his common screeds against the left. “I’m getting so sick and tired of people rooting for the defeat of the good guys,” he complained.
During the Clinton presidency in the 90s, Limbaugh would begin his show with a gimmick, purporting to count the days America had been “held hostage.” In May 2007, Limbaugh recalled:
Back when Clinton was inaugurated in 1993 and we began our America Held Hostage countdown, the number of days left until Clinton was gone so we’d all be released from bondage, the joke, do you remember how mad the liberals got at that? Do you remember how mad the Drive-Bys got at that? Then they started running stories how I, Rush Limbaugh, was destroying the respect for the office of the presidency that the American people had.
A disastrous Bush presidency has come and gone, but some things haven’t changed a bit.
Tone and Challenge in the Obama Era, posted by Katrina vanden Heuvel
"Never in our national history has there been so dramatic a coincidence as this simultaneous transfer of power and the complete collapse of a system and of a philosophy."
Resonant and relevant words at this moment.
Those words come from March 1933, as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt marked the end of an epoch, and The Nation editorialized that his inaugural words "had something of the challenge, the symbolism, and the simplicity of a trumpet blast."
As Barack Obama was sworn in as America's 44th president, we heard a new trumpet blast. The simple and powerful symbolism of the 44th President's inauguration reminded us, again, of what a stirring milestone his election marks for America's scarred racial landscape---and what a victory for the forces of decency, diversity and tolerance.
More than
2 million people gathered in Washington to celebrate--a sea of people
peaceably, happily, roaring, sometimes in unison, to express their hope
and anticipation for a new era. It seemed as if towns and cities across
the country stood still for this moment--eager, almost desperate for
Obama to succeed.
And at just after high noon, Obama-- the first Community-Organizer-in-Chief--took the oath of office, placing his hand on the Lincoln bible. The man who ran by crafting and mobilizing a new coalition of the young,African-Americans, Latinos, and the once- disenfranchised, summoned generations, new and old, to return "to a new era of responsibility." He spoke of service as "the price and promise of citizenship." In somber words, reminiscent of Roosevelt's, Obama spoke of "homes lost, jobs lost, factories shuttered" and the need not to lose confidence.
These are times that demand "bold and swift action" and he challenged those "who question the scale of our ambitions." In decisive tones, Obama stamped government's role with his own vision. It is not a post-ideological one as some argue, but rather one that understands is it only through effective use of government which will improve the actual, hard conditions of people's lives will we able to restore trust in its larger purpose. As Obama said, it is "not whether it is too big or too small, it is whether our government works."
In a muted indictment of the Bush/Cheney era (one whose lasting metaphor may be Vice-President Cheney departing power in a wheelchair), Obama reached out to a world eager to reengage an America committed to the rule of law. "My message to the grandest capitals and to the smallest villages, we are friends to those who seek a future of peace and dignity." He spoke of how "our power grows in prudent use, and from the force of our example. "
And with a tone of humility absent for these last eight years, Obama spoke of withdrawing troops from Iraq, "forging a hard earned peace in Afghanistan, and lessening the nuclear threat." Most powerfully, Obama stated we "must usher in a new era of peace."
Obama's speech summoned all Americans, as President Lincoln did in his first inaugural, to heed "the better angels of our nature." And as he did at Sunday'sconcert, Obama spoke eloquently about the value of creating a community of respect, defined by qualities of "courage, fair play, curiosity and tolerance."
And in summoning generations to engage in a new era of responsibility, Obama wisely never lost sight of government's role and responsibilities. And always imbuing this moment, one defined by hope and fear in roughly equal measure, was Obama's unerring sense of confidence, possibility, even joy. Those are qualities allow people to think they are part of " a nation greater than themselves."
And in very personal words, Obama remembered the struggles of those who fought so he could stand where he did this afternoon.It is "why a man who might not have been served in a local restaurant 60 years ago can stand before you today to take this oath...How far we have traveled."
Ending with George Washington's words, issued at a difficult time in our country's history, Obama appealed to the qualities of hope and virtue that have allowed our nation to survive and endure. It is that endurance--of leaders and ordinary people--that allowed millions to witness the peaceful transfer of power to our first African American President.
Inaugural speeches, at their best, set the tone and offer we, the people, a challenge. It is now we, the people, who must act--organizing,mobilizing to counter the forces of money and establishment power which remain obstacles to meaningful reform. Let us be the wind at the new President's back, to ensure that together we complete the unfinished work of making America a more perfect union.
We can, yes. SOURCE
Report: Infrastructure Investment Can Create Thousands of New Jobs by James Parks
A new report makes a strong case that rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure could go a long way toward helping our economy recover—a key priority for President Obama. Investing in the nation’s infrastructure could create some 18,000 new jobs for every $1 billion in new infrastructure spending on the nation’s transportation, energy, water systems and public schools, according to the report.
The report, released last week by the nonpartisan Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) ), found that at least 2.6 million new jobs could be created by increased spending in a “high-end” scenario of $148 billion per year (including $93 billion in public investment). While the construction and service industries will see the vast majority of job creation, manufacturing, which has been devastated by the current economic crisis, also would benefit from such an infrastructure stimulus, seeing an increase of 252,000 jobs nationally. Click here to read the study.
Says United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard:
The nation is confronted today by the worst economic downturn in decades and a deteriorating infrastructure. We need to immediately address both problems. By making major investments to repair and upgrade our infrastructure, we will create much needed, good-paying jobs that will help to get the economy back on track. America too must have its own capacity to produce the infrastructure materials we need.
According to the report, the benefits for manufacturing would be felt throughout the economy, with new jobs created in such industries as fabricated metals (38,000), concrete and cement (21,000), glass-rubber-plastics (15,000), steel (9,000) and wood products (8,200).
In a recent radio address, President Obama said he plans to introduce an economic stimulus plan that would, among other things:
- Put nearly 400,000 people to work by repairing our infrastructure—our crumbling roads, bridges and schools.
- Build the new infrastructure we need to succeed in this century, investing in science and technology and laying down miles of new broadband lines so that businesses across our nation can compete with their counterparts around the world.
Comments:
DAILY GRILL
"Roberts Corrects Obama After Oath Stumble." -- Fox News, 1/20/09, on Chief Justice John Roberts asking President Obama to recite the first line of the oath in the incorrect order
VERSUS
"Roberts stumbled slightly over the 35-word constitutionally prescribed oath
of office as he swore in Barack Obama as the 44th president on Tuesday,
sending the new chief executive into a verbal detour of his own." -- AP,
1/20/09
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"And a third group will be held indefinitely because the sensitive nature of the evidence may not subject them to the normal criminal process." -- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), 1/21/09, on Guantanamo detainees
VERSUS
"A serious process must be established in the very near term either to
formally treat and process the detainees as war criminals or to return them
to their countries for appropriate judicial action." -- Graham,
12/12/03
Quotes of the Day
Video of Barrack Obama’s Speech
Recent Senate Votes
Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 - Vote Passed
(73-21, 4 Not Voting)
The Senate passed this bill, which is a package of over 160 bills related to
public lands, national parks, and water development legislation.
Sen. Mitch McConnell voted NO
Sen. Jim Bunning voted Not Voting
Cloture Motion; Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 - Vote
Agreed to (72-23, 3 Not Voting)
On Thursday, the Senate garnered the necessary 60 votes to start debate on
this employee pay discrimination bill.
Sen. Mitch McConnell voted YES
Sen. Jim Bunning voted Not Voting
Recent House Votes
Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 -
Vote Passed (289-139, 6 Not Voting)
The House passed this bill to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program
to cover an estimated total of 11 million children.
Rep. Brett Guthrie voted NO
Rep.
John Yarmuth voted YES
HUMOR
"Nice to have you all here. As you all know,
George Bush is no longer president, so they'll be no monologue." --Jay
Leno
"And during his inaugural address yesterday,
President Barack Obama said, 'Millions of Americans have lost their
homes and some of us who still have homes have their mother-in-laws moving
in with them.'" --Jay Leno
"Barack Obama said his first act as president will be to pardon Aretha
Franklin's hat." --Jay Leno
"Two million people attended the inauguration, compared to less than 500,000
when Bush was inaugurated four years ago. But that makes sense because four
years ago, you know, people had jobs to go to." --Jay Leno
"And there was a stumbling during the reading of the oath, when the chief
justice of the Supreme Court,
John Roberts, forgot the words for a second and then he got them in the
wrong order. See, how typical is that? Barack, just a second before he takes
over, the Republicans get one last screw up in there." --Jay Leno
"No, apparently the chief justice stumbled on the word faithfully. But to be
fair, a lot of people in Washington have trouble with any version of the
word faithfully." --Jay Leno
"And in his speech yesterday, Barack Obama promised to harness the sun, the
wind, and the soil, to which the Amish said, 'Yeah, it's a big change. Yeah,
we'll get on that right away. Yeah, Ezekiel and I haven't been doing that.'"
--Jay Leno
"The total cost of the inauguration was $170 million. They say this is the
most of the expensive celebration since that last AIG retreat on our bailout
money." --Jay Leno
"Did you see former
Vice President Cheney in the wheelchair? He's fine, nothing to worry
about. See, Cheney is very calculating. Apparently, he drove his own car,
and he grabbed the wheelchair so he could take a handicap space." --Jay Leno
"And yesterday had the largest gathering of celebrities for any inauguration
ever. In fact, there were so many celebrities and politicians together, it
broke the old record set by the Betty Ford Clinic." --Jay Leno
"And Michele Obama's inaugural ball gown, which she wore during the first
dance -- beautiful gown -- was created by a designer with the last name of
Wu, which is a great name for a designer, isn't it? Because when you walk
in, people go 'woo!' You know, Wu is so much more fortunate than that other
designer, Elliott Eh." --Jay Leno
"ABC News reporting that backstage,
President Jimmy Carter appeared to snub
President Clinton on his way out to the platform. Anybody notice that?
Apparently, Carter's upset Clinton rejected his friend request on Facebook."
--Jay Leno
"And at the congressional luncheon held after he took office, President
Obama asked lawmakers to reflect on what we know is in the hearts of the
American people. Turns out, it's grease, fat, and lots of cholesterol."
--Jay Leno
"Oh actually, you know who gave the shortest inauguration speech in history?
George Washington, whose speech was just a couple minutes long, which makes
sense because, remember, George Washington couldn't tell a lie, right?"
--Jay Leno
"Treasury secretary nominee Timothy Geithner apologized to Congress today
for not paying his taxes. And Wesley Snipes said, 'Why didn't I think of
that? Hey, I'm sorry.'' --Jay Leno
"Geithner testified to the Senate Finance Committee today that his failure
to pay taxes was just a 'careless mistake.' See, remember it was an honest
mistake last week, now it's a 'careless mistake.' He says he does his own
taxes and he just made a mistake. Well, that's great. So the guy who's going
to be in charge of the IRS is not a criminal, phew, just incompetent." --Jay
Leno
"And the show 'Dancing With the Stars' trying to get Cindy McCain on the
program. How about that? Not to be outdone,
John McCain's been offered a part in the show 'Bones.'" --Jay Leno
"Today, millions of people leaving Washington following
Tuesday's inauguration. Actually, so many people are trying to leave that
all the Amtrak trains are sold out. So, apparently, Barack Obama can work
miracles." --Conan O'Brien
"This morning, Barack Obama entered the Oval Office for the first time as
president and he spent ten minutes alone. Yep. Shows you how things have
changed. When President Bush spent ten minutes alone in the Oval Office, it
was called a time-out." --Conan O'Brien
"Today, in one of his first official acts as president, Barack Obama had an
emergency meeting with his top economic advisors to find out just, you know,
what the situation is. And, apparently, it didn't go well, because after the
meeting, Obama sold North and South Dakota." --Conan O'Brien
"Yesterday, when President Bush returned to Texas, people who were there to
greet him were holding up signs that said, 'You made us so proud.'
Afterwards, the people admitted that the store was out of 'You totally
embarrassed us' signs." --Conan O'Brien
"Yesterday, at Barack Obama's inauguration, he was sworn in on an old Bible
that was used by Abraham Lincoln. Yeah, and the weird part is, Lincoln
checked the Bible out of a library. There are $73,000 in late fees." --Conan
O'Brien
"Today was
Joe Biden's first full day as vice president. Yeah, advisors say Biden
spent most of the day watering his hair." --Conan O'Brien
"Yesterday, this is weird, vendors along the parade route were selling
binoculars that they called 'Barackulars.' That's true. And even worse, the
ShamWow guy was selling 'ShamWowbamas.'" --Conan O'Brien
OFF TO THE RACES
Look To Obama, By Charlie Cook
My 22-year-old daughter Becky reminded me last year of a conversation we apparently had seven or eight years ago, in which she asked my wife Lucy and I whether we thought a woman or a black would be elected president first.
While, sadly, I don't recall the conversation, apparently Lucy and I both responded that a woman would probably be elected first, and certainly in our lifetime. However, we weren't sure whether a black would or not, but that surely it would happen in Becky's lifetime. She reminded us of the conversation after Barack Obama had clinched the Democratic nomination, when he was ahead in the general election polls but not by an insurmountable lead.
Whether one is a Democrat or Republican, supported Obama or John McCain, it's hard not to have a sense of awe and appreciate the enormous symbolic importance and historic nature of the inauguration of Obama as the 44th president. The fact that just about 18 months ago, most of us thought there was very little chance of this happening any time soon, let alone this year, makes it all the more remarkable.
Journalists and other commentators are being challenged today, attempting to capture the magnitude and significance of this event without sounding trite or sycophantic. But after we acknowledge the significance and our awe for the historic moment, we will need to move on.
A few years ago in evangelical circles the bumper sticker mantra was, "What Would Jesus Do?"
For so many questions these days, the most appropriate response will center on Obama. Can Democrats hold on to the Virginia governorship this November? The answer is, "How is Obama doing?" The answer is the same to the question of whether Democrats can hold on to the 54 congressional seats they have picked up over the last 30 months.
Are you going to see a disproportionate number of retirements from either party in the House or Senate? Can Democrats pick up another three or four Senate seats from the GOP?
The answers to all of these questions will hinge on how Obama is doing as president. His performance and his popularity will determine the tilt in the terrain and the strength of the players on each side. It affects retirements, recruiting, fundraising. To be perfectly honest, it's almost easier to say what it doesn't affect than what it does.
Three yardsticks are useful in determining how he is doing and how his performance is affecting the political terrain and dynamics for this fall's off-year and next-year's midterm elections. The first is obviously his job approval rating.
The current trend estimate of Obama's job-approval rating, which is really just measuring the transition at this point, hovers over 70 percent.
Clearly these are hyper-inflated numbers and no president can sustain approval ratings like that, but whether he can keep his approval numbers at least in the mid-50s is important. The economy's terrible shape will obviously put downward pressure on his numbers, but Obama will be advantaged, at least for the next year, by the fact that President Bush currently has ownership of the recession.
But people will have to see some bottoming out and stabilization by early next year and some real economic improvement by the end of the summer of 2010 if Obama hopes to keep their confidence in him.
The second yardstick is the generic congressional ballot test on national polls, in which voters are asked which party they would rather see in control of Congress or which party's candidate for Congress they intend to support.
Last year, the Democratic advantage ranged from a low of around 4 or 5 points to a high of between 12 and 15; the average usually ran around 8 or 9 points.
Those are leads that are hard to sustain for long periods of time, particularly for a party that is holding on to the White House as well as both chambers.
If you see the Democratic advantage drop below that range, it would be a sign that disillusionment toward Democrats has begun to set in.
The generic ballot test is not an accurate predictor of how many seats a party will gain or lose, but it is a good indicator of which party is likely to gain seats.
It is also fairly accurate at predicting whether gains will be small, medium or large. The generic ballot test is a fairly sensitive indicator, so it's important to watch averages of several different polls rather than overreact to one, particularly if it shows something different from most recent ones. However, this is an important diagnostic indicator to watch over the next year.
The third yardstick is party identification. Four years ago, the two parties were essentially at parity. Last year, the Democratic advantage ballooned, and the question is whether they can sustain an advantage.
Going back to parity would mean erosion, rather than settling. If there is widespread disillusionment with the party, it would be reflected in party ID, though it is more of a lagging indicator than the generic ballot test.
In the end, how Obama and the enlarged Democratic majorities will be judged in November 2010 will be based on whether the economy has begun to improve, whether they are seen as having tried their best to address this recession and whether they have remained true to the supporters that put them into office. Then we will have the answers to all these questions.
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Charlie Cook's "Off To The Races" is published each Tuesday by National Journal Group Inc. For more information about National Journal Group's publications, go to
http://www.nationaljournal.com/about/
THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF OPEN GOVERNMENT: At noon on Jan. 20,
a new White House website launched. The site includes space for a
White House blog,
Obama's weekly video address,
the White House pool reports, and a link to the
White House Twitter feed. With this site and yesterday's directives from
Obama, the White House is building the infrastructure it needs to deliver on
its promises of transparent and accountable governance. But the Obama
administration is not yet making the best use of the existing
infrastructure. For example, the White House blog does
not allow for public comments. Instead, the Office of Public Liaison
offers only a web form where the public an submit comments to the
administration. And as the Sunlight Foundation noted, the executive orders
issued by Obama yesterday -- despite being released to news organizations
almost immediately -- were
not posted to the website until late last night, and the blog contains
no mention of issuing them. TechPresident recently noted that the laws
governing presidential record-keeping might
hobble promises of open governance by slowing, or halting entirely, the
adoption of new technologies. While such concerns do highlight the need to
update the Presidential Records Act, the Obama team demonstrated during
the transition that open government is attainable, and they can do so again
in the White House
ADMINISTRATION -- OBAMA ORDERS HALT TO
LAST-MINUTE BUSH REGULATIONS: Hours after being sworn in as America's
44th president, Barack Obama ordered "a
freeze on new or proposed regulations at all government agencies and
departments" made in the final months and weeks of Bush administration. A
memo from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said that
every regulation would have to be reviewed by the department or agency
head appointed by Obama. In some cases, however, Obama is too late. For
example, "just six weeks ago, the Bush administration issued revised
endangered species regulations to reduce the input of federal scientists and
to block the law from being used to fight global warming."
The rule went into effect before Obama took office, therefore requiring
him "to restart the lengthy rulemaking process." For rules that have already
taken effect, "the Democratic-controlled Congress might be able to help the
Obama administration by using the Congressional Review Act, a legislative
tool to bring new federal regulations under scrutiny," notes the AP. Obama
will also act to overturn older Bush regulations; one of his first moves in
office will be to
reverse the "global gag rule" that "prevents federal money from going to
international family planning groups that" provide abortion counseling or
services.
JUSTICE -- FEDERAL JUDGE RULES CHENEY DID NOT INTEND TO ILLEGALLY DISCARD RECORDS: U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has lifted an injunction mandating the preservation of outgoing Vice President Cheney's records. A group of historians and nonprofit organizations -- including the American Historical Association, the Society of American Archivists, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington -- filed a joint lawsuit in September asking that Cheney's papers be made public. In her decision, which came on the eve of President Obama's inauguration, Kollar-Kotelly rejected the plaintiffs' claim that Cheney "intended to illegally discard some of his official records." While the Justice Department offered what Kollar-Kotelly called "constantly shifting arguments," that was not enough to undermine the testimony of Claire M. O'Donnell, a Cheney aide, who pledged that "key Cheney documents and other materials will be transferred as required to the National Archives." Stanley I. Kutler of the University of Wisconsin Law School and one of the plaintiffs in the case does not expect Cheney to comply with the law. "When the Archives goes to open Cheney's papers, they are going to find empty boxes," he said. "Why did he fight this order so much if he did not have the intent to leave with these papers?" The DOJ had previously argued, unsuccessfully, that the lawsuit was unconstitutional.
Think Fast
As one of his first acts in office, President Obama ordered a freeze on new or proposed regulations by the Bush administration at all government agencies and departments. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel issued a memo declaring that "no proposed or final regulation should be sent to the Office of Federal Register for publication unless and until" it is approved by the new administration.
Professor Neal Katyal of Georgetown University, who successfully argued the landmark detainee rights case Hamdan v. Rumsfeld before the Supreme Court, will serve as Obama's deputy solicitor general.
After running "the most technologically savvy presidential campaign in history," President Obama's staffers encountered "a jumble of disconnected phone lines, old computer software, and security regulations forbidding outside e-mail accounts" on their first day at their new jobs. "It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.
It appears that President Obama will get to keep his Blackberry. More specifically, he'll get a "spy-proof" alternative that is "reportedly capable of encrypting top secret voice conversations and handling classified documents."
In a move signaling his "intent to keep one of the most ambitious and politically crucial campaign promises at the top of his agenda," President Obama will convene a White House working session on health care reform in the late winter or the early spring. The meeting, which could come as early as March, is expected to bring together members of Congress and other stakeholders in health care reform.
Bill O’Reilly is "kind of an a-hole," says actress Jessica Alba. "I don't know how he does it. Maybe he's born that way." When pressed for an example of O’Reilly's a-holeness, Alba said she didn't have one, "because that means I'm admitting I actually watch Fox."
INTERESTING
Why Not Brand Presidential
Libraries? Posted by Jim Hightower
Shhhhh. Don’t tell anyone, but George W’s pharaonic new presidential library is being funded by special interests.
Such as whom, you ask? That’s a secret, say the Bushites who are in charge of raising $300 million to build the thing in Dallas. The honcho of The George W. Bush Library Foundation says curtly: “It’s our decision not to disclose who the donors are.”
That’s so Bush, isn’t it? Secrecy and executive imperiousness were central tenets of his regime, including such classic hide-and-seek games as Cheney’s secret energy task force, Bush’s executive order to withhold presidential and vice-presidential documents from public view, secret memos authorizing the CIA to use torture, the secret program of spying on millions of Americans… and on and on. Thus, it’s no surprise that Bush & Company have now decreed that we’re not allowed to “follow the money trail” into his library – even though the donors could be exchanging their cash for favors.
Not that Bush is alone in wanting to keep the public in the dark. Bill Clinton, too, refused for years to disclose who put up funding for his presidential showcase in Little Rock. He only recently gave us a list, compelled to do so by Barack Obama as a condition of appointing Hillary Clinton to his cabinet. And what a list it is, showing multimillion-dollar donations from foreign governments, corporations, and billionaires who had benefited under Clinton – and still want his influence on national policies.
Whether it’s Bush, Clinton or whomever, what have they got to hide? These are tax-deductible donations to institutions getting public support – so let the sun shine in! Besides, you'd think that corporations would see the marketing potential of attaching their logos to these libraries. It's already good branding opportunity: “The Halliburton Bush Library,” for example. That sounds about right, doesn’t it?
“Bush library donors to be kept secret,” Austin American Statesman, January 6, 2009.
“In Clinton List, a Veil Is Lifted on Foundation,” www.nytimes.com, December 19, 2008.
Buy American Mention of the Week, By Roger Simmermaker
NONE THIS WEEK.
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Roger Simmermaker is the author of How Americans Can Buy American: The Power of Consumer Patriotism and writes "Buy American Mention of the Week" articles for WorldNetDaily.com and his website www.howtobuyamerican.com. Roger is a member of the Machinists Union and National Writers Union, has been a frequent guest on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, and has been quoted in the USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Business Week among many other publications.
GOOD NEWS
Today, President Obama is expected to sign executive orders "directing the Central Intelligence Agency to shut what remains of its network of secret prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantánamo detention camp within a year, government officials said."
VIDEOS
None for this issue
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Charles Horton, Treasurer - Tim Longmeyer, Chairman