WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said Saturday that current financial rules exploit consumers and he put critics of his proposed overhaul on notice: "While I'm not spoiling for a fight, I'm ready for one."
Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to defend his recent proposal, which is intended to prevent a repeat of the breakdown that has sent the U.S. economy reeling. But such major changes face a fight in Congress and opposition from some leaders in the banking and insurance industries.
In the address, Obama focused on a consumer watchdog office that he wants to set up.
"This is essential," Obama said. "For this crisis may have started on Wall Street. But its impacts have been felt by ordinary Americans who rely on credit cards, home loans and other financial instruments."
The Consumer Financial Protection Agency would take over oversight of mortgages, requiring that lenders give customers the option of "plain vanilla" plans with clear and affordable terms.
"It will have the power to set tough new rules so that companies compete by offering innovative products that consumers actually want and actually understand," Obama said. "Those ridiculous contracts — pages of fine print that no one can figure out — will be a thing of the past. You'll be able to compare products, with descriptions in plain language, to see what is best for you."
More broadly, Obama's changes would begin to reverse the easing on federal regulations pressed by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Democratic leaders in Congress are promising legislation will get passed this year, but that depends in part on how Congress answers big questions about the overhaul, including the role of the Federal Reserve.
"I welcome a debate about how we can make sure our regulations work for businesses and consumers," Obama said. "But what I will not accept — what I will vigorously oppose — are those who do not argue in good faith."
By that, Obama said, he meant those who defend the status quo at any cost. He didn't name any people or organizations, but said special interests are already mobilizing to fight change. He called that typical Washington.
"These are the interests that have benefited from a system which allowed ordinary Americans to be exploited," Obama said. The president said he would stand up for his plans, saying: "While I'm not spoiling for a fight, I'm ready for one. The most important thing we can do to put this era of irresponsibility in the past is to take responsibility now."
by the associated press
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Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Obama tells Iran's leaders, Stop 'unjust' actions
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Saturday challenged Iran's government to halt a "violent and unjust" crackdown on dissenters, using his bluntest language yet to condemn Tehran's postelection response.
Obama has sought a measured reaction to avoid being drawn in as a meddler in Iranian affairs. Yet his comments have grown more pointed as the clashes intensified, and his latest remarks took direct aim at Iranian leaders.
"We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people," Obama said in a written statement. "The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights."
Obama has searched for the right tone in light of political pressures on all sides. On Capitol Hill, Congress pressed him to condemn the Iranian government's response. In Iran, the leadership was poised to blame the U.S. for interference and draw Obama in more directly.
Obama met with advisers at the White House as developments in Iran grew more ominous, with police seen beating protesters.
"Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away," the president said, recalling a theme from the speech he gave in Cairo, Egypt, this month.
"The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government," Obama said. "If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion."
Obama's comments came as protesters outside the White House waved Iranian flags and denounced Iranian government efforts to suppress the protesters.
Protesters in Iran have demanded that government cancel and rerun the June 12 elections that ended with a declaration of overwhelming victory for hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi says he won and claimed widespread fraud.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said there was no ballot rigging. He warned of a crackdown if protesters continued their massive street rallies.
Then on Saturday, police in Iran beat protesters and fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands who rallied in open defiance of Iran's clerical government. Witnesses described fierce clashes after some 3,000 protesters chanted "Death to the dictator!" and "Death to dictatorship!" in downtown Tehran.
Obama's criticism came one day after both houses of Congress voted overwhelmingly to condemn the actions by the Iranian government against demonstrators and moves to interfere with Internet and cell phone communications. That was seen in part as a veiled criticism of Obama's response, too.
The president already was on record as saying the United States stood behind those who were seeking justice in a peaceful way. He responded to critics that he hadn't been forceful enough in support of protesters, telling CBS News: "The last thing that I want to do is to have the United States be a foil for those forces inside Iran who would love nothing better than to make this an argument about the United States. That's what they do."
That was Friday, before the conflict in Iran appeared to deepen.
Obama has refrained from passing final judgment on the underlying question of the legitimacy of the election itself, although he has expressed "deep concerns" about it.
The president returned Saturday to his theme that the world is watching the way the Iranian government responds.
Obama cited Martin Luther King's statement that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
"I believe that," the president said. "The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian people's belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness."
Police clashed with protesters around Tehran immediately after the presidential election and gunfire from a militia compound left at least seven dead, but further force remained in check until Saturday's developments.
The National Iranian American Council, a leading organization of Iranian-Americans in the U.S., called for new elections while demanding an end to the violence "against unarmed protesters and bystanders."
"The only plausible way to end the violence is for new elections to be held with independent monitors ensuring its fairness," the group said in a statement. "Such elections would be consistent with the Iranian constitution."
by the associated press
Obama has sought a measured reaction to avoid being drawn in as a meddler in Iranian affairs. Yet his comments have grown more pointed as the clashes intensified, and his latest remarks took direct aim at Iranian leaders.
"We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people," Obama said in a written statement. "The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights."
Obama has searched for the right tone in light of political pressures on all sides. On Capitol Hill, Congress pressed him to condemn the Iranian government's response. In Iran, the leadership was poised to blame the U.S. for interference and draw Obama in more directly.
Obama met with advisers at the White House as developments in Iran grew more ominous, with police seen beating protesters.
"Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away," the president said, recalling a theme from the speech he gave in Cairo, Egypt, this month.
"The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government," Obama said. "If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion."
Obama's comments came as protesters outside the White House waved Iranian flags and denounced Iranian government efforts to suppress the protesters.
Protesters in Iran have demanded that government cancel and rerun the June 12 elections that ended with a declaration of overwhelming victory for hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi says he won and claimed widespread fraud.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said there was no ballot rigging. He warned of a crackdown if protesters continued their massive street rallies.
Then on Saturday, police in Iran beat protesters and fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands who rallied in open defiance of Iran's clerical government. Witnesses described fierce clashes after some 3,000 protesters chanted "Death to the dictator!" and "Death to dictatorship!" in downtown Tehran.
Obama's criticism came one day after both houses of Congress voted overwhelmingly to condemn the actions by the Iranian government against demonstrators and moves to interfere with Internet and cell phone communications. That was seen in part as a veiled criticism of Obama's response, too.
The president already was on record as saying the United States stood behind those who were seeking justice in a peaceful way. He responded to critics that he hadn't been forceful enough in support of protesters, telling CBS News: "The last thing that I want to do is to have the United States be a foil for those forces inside Iran who would love nothing better than to make this an argument about the United States. That's what they do."
That was Friday, before the conflict in Iran appeared to deepen.
Obama has refrained from passing final judgment on the underlying question of the legitimacy of the election itself, although he has expressed "deep concerns" about it.
The president returned Saturday to his theme that the world is watching the way the Iranian government responds.
Obama cited Martin Luther King's statement that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
"I believe that," the president said. "The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian people's belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness."
Police clashed with protesters around Tehran immediately after the presidential election and gunfire from a militia compound left at least seven dead, but further force remained in check until Saturday's developments.
The National Iranian American Council, a leading organization of Iranian-Americans in the U.S., called for new elections while demanding an end to the violence "against unarmed protesters and bystanders."
"The only plausible way to end the violence is for new elections to be held with independent monitors ensuring its fairness," the group said in a statement. "Such elections would be consistent with the Iranian constitution."
by the associated press
President Obama tells fathers to be there for kids
WASHINGTON — Growing up without a father left a hole in his heart, President Barack Obama told young men Friday at the White House in a remarkably personal Father’s Day weekend message. He implored fathers everywhere — and the children when they’re older — to be involved in the lives of their own children.
"This isn’t an obligation,” said the father of two in a message to millions of wayward dads. "This is a privilege to be a father.”
Obama spent hours Friday with teenagers, young men, community mentors and everyday dads in hopes of launching what he called a national conversation on responsible fatherhood. Each story was personal. But one of them commanded the most attention: his own.
He spoke about how his father left home early. The future president was just 2 at the time and saw his dad only once more, at age 10.
"I had a heroic mom and wonderful grandparents ... but despite all their extraordinary love and attention, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t feel my father’s absence,” Obama said. "That’s something that leaves a hole in a child’s heart that a government can’t fill.”
The president said he promised himself he would not repeat his father’s mistakes.
"Just because your own father wasn’t there for you, that’s not an excuse for you to be absent also. It’s all the more reason for you to be present,” he said.
An estimated 24 million American children are growing up with absent fathers. Those children are at higher risk of falling into lives of poverty and crime.
by the associated press
"This isn’t an obligation,” said the father of two in a message to millions of wayward dads. "This is a privilege to be a father.”
Obama spent hours Friday with teenagers, young men, community mentors and everyday dads in hopes of launching what he called a national conversation on responsible fatherhood. Each story was personal. But one of them commanded the most attention: his own.
He spoke about how his father left home early. The future president was just 2 at the time and saw his dad only once more, at age 10.
"I had a heroic mom and wonderful grandparents ... but despite all their extraordinary love and attention, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t feel my father’s absence,” Obama said. "That’s something that leaves a hole in a child’s heart that a government can’t fill.”
The president said he promised himself he would not repeat his father’s mistakes.
"Just because your own father wasn’t there for you, that’s not an excuse for you to be absent also. It’s all the more reason for you to be present,” he said.
An estimated 24 million American children are growing up with absent fathers. Those children are at higher risk of falling into lives of poverty and crime.
by the associated press
Friday, June 19, 2009
Obama administration is delaying, Bush-era secret detention and interrogation
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is delaying by a week its release of an internal CIA report on the agency’s Bush-era secret detention and interrogation program.
The roughly 150-page report was expected to be released Friday, but a CIA spokesman said officials were still poring through the documents.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for the release of all documents relating to the CIA’s interrogation program, said it was disappointed by the delay.
The legal organization has been waiting for the release of a less-censored version of the report for more than a year. In the version released in May 2008, all but a few paragraphs and individual words were blacked out.
"We can only hope that this delay is a sign that the forces of transparency within the Obama administration are winning over the forces of secrecy and that the report will ultimately be released with minimal redactions,” ACLU attorney Amrit Singh said in a statement.
Singh said the agency "should not be permitted to use national security as a pretext for suppressing evidence of its own unlawful conduct,” adding that "the American people have a right to know the full truth about the torture program that was authorized in their name.”
CIA spokesman George Little called Singh’s characterization "both wrong and offensive.”
The review by the inspector general for the CIA was completed in 2004.
John L. Helgerson, the now-retired CIA inspector who spearheaded the investigation, said Thursday that the report is "a comprehensive look at everything the agency had been doing related to detention and interrogation.”
Helgerson said his review "found a great deal running very well. We also found things to be concerned about.” The investigation was conducted in response to concerns expressed by agency employees, he added.
Helgerson said a large portion of the report addresses CIA activities, sources and methods that should remain classified.
by the associated press
The roughly 150-page report was expected to be released Friday, but a CIA spokesman said officials were still poring through the documents.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for the release of all documents relating to the CIA’s interrogation program, said it was disappointed by the delay.
The legal organization has been waiting for the release of a less-censored version of the report for more than a year. In the version released in May 2008, all but a few paragraphs and individual words were blacked out.
"We can only hope that this delay is a sign that the forces of transparency within the Obama administration are winning over the forces of secrecy and that the report will ultimately be released with minimal redactions,” ACLU attorney Amrit Singh said in a statement.
Singh said the agency "should not be permitted to use national security as a pretext for suppressing evidence of its own unlawful conduct,” adding that "the American people have a right to know the full truth about the torture program that was authorized in their name.”
CIA spokesman George Little called Singh’s characterization "both wrong and offensive.”
The review by the inspector general for the CIA was completed in 2004.
John L. Helgerson, the now-retired CIA inspector who spearheaded the investigation, said Thursday that the report is "a comprehensive look at everything the agency had been doing related to detention and interrogation.”
Helgerson said his review "found a great deal running very well. We also found things to be concerned about.” The investigation was conducted in response to concerns expressed by agency employees, he added.
Helgerson said a large portion of the report addresses CIA activities, sources and methods that should remain classified.
by the associated press
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Gay activists grows Frustrated and impatient with Obama and Congress
NEW YORK (AP) — Frustrated gay-rights leaders want President Barack Obama to be far more forceful in supporting their political goals, but they also fault the Democratic-led Congress and vow to step up lobbying efforts in hopes of seeing campaign promises fulfilled.
"We can wait for the president to try to move members of Congress, or we can redouble our efforts and get about doing that work ourselves," Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said Thursday.
The two most contentious proposals on the activists' agenda — both backed by Obama during his election campaign — would extend federal recognition to same-sex partnerships and repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bars gays from serving openly in the military.
The president says he wants to work with Congress to achieve both goals, but many gay-rights activists contend he is moving too slowly and hesitantly. The frustration was eased only slightly, if at all, when Obama signed a memorandum Wednesday extending limited benefits to the same-sex partners of gay federal employees.
"The atmospherics were fine, but the substance was zero," Ethan Geto, a New York-based activist and political consultant, said of the signing ceremony.
Obama's problem with the gay community, Geto said, stems largely from the high expectations raised by his campaign rhetoric.
"He said the gay-rights agenda would be a priority for his administration — and he received an enormous amount of support from the community," Geto said. "Now people are beginning to really question his commitment. ... Gay donors are running away in droves."
Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry, which campaigns nationally for gay marriage rights, said he remains optimistic over the long term because the American public "is ready for change."
"What we need now is leadership from the president, Congress and state officials to deliver that change," he said. "I'm frustrated and disappointed that the administration has not yet delivered on the vision we share for a more equal America."
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the longest serving of the three openly gay members of Congress, said many activists placed unrealistic expectations on Obama and underestimated the need to lobby Congress relentlessly in the style of the National Rifle Association.
"It's not that Obama doesn't want to do it, but you need the votes," Frank said. "You can't complain about the president until you've called your senator."
Leaders of some national gay-rights organizations acknowledged Frank's point.
"We're working hard to secure the needed votes," said Rea Carey of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "All these issues will take work on the part of Congress as well as the president."
The gay-rights bill closest to a vote in Congress would expand the federal hate-crimes law to cover anti-gay violence. It has passed the House and is awaiting a Senate vote, but Solmonese said its backers are proceeding cautiously, wary of possible Republican maneuvers to derail it.
Later this year, action is possible on a bill that would outlaw workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
There's no timetable, however, for the pending bill to repeal "don't ask, don't tell." Obama says he wants to build support for the change among military commanders before urging Congress to move ahead.
Gay-rights leaders concede that Obama has his hands full with wars, recession, health care reform and other challenges, but they nonetheless feel slighted — compared to other liberal constituencies — by a president who, during the campaign, said he would be a "fierce advocate" for gay rights.
"Show us you are indeed that fierce advocate," said Jody Huckaby, executive director of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
Huckaby said he was particularly dismayed last week when Obama's Justice Department defended the Defense of Marriage Act, which allows states to reject other states' legal gay marriages and prohibits federal recognition of any same-sex partnerships. As candidate, Obama promised to repeal the act.
On the other hand, some conservative activists continue to decry Obama's commitment to a "radical homosexual agenda" and have launched protests against some of the gays appointed to administration jobs. The prime target at the moment is Kevin Jennings, founder of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, who has been named to oversee the Education Department's Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools.
Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the responsibility for inaction on gay-rights priorities lies with both Obama and Congress.
"It's shocking to realize we still live a country where gay and lesbian people can't serve openly in the military, have no federal protections in the private workplace, and same-sex couples are entitled to no benefits under federal law," Minter said.
"There's so much anger in our community. We expect the president and Congress to move forward."
by the associated press
"We can wait for the president to try to move members of Congress, or we can redouble our efforts and get about doing that work ourselves," Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said Thursday.
The two most contentious proposals on the activists' agenda — both backed by Obama during his election campaign — would extend federal recognition to same-sex partnerships and repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bars gays from serving openly in the military.
The president says he wants to work with Congress to achieve both goals, but many gay-rights activists contend he is moving too slowly and hesitantly. The frustration was eased only slightly, if at all, when Obama signed a memorandum Wednesday extending limited benefits to the same-sex partners of gay federal employees.
"The atmospherics were fine, but the substance was zero," Ethan Geto, a New York-based activist and political consultant, said of the signing ceremony.
Obama's problem with the gay community, Geto said, stems largely from the high expectations raised by his campaign rhetoric.
"He said the gay-rights agenda would be a priority for his administration — and he received an enormous amount of support from the community," Geto said. "Now people are beginning to really question his commitment. ... Gay donors are running away in droves."
Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry, which campaigns nationally for gay marriage rights, said he remains optimistic over the long term because the American public "is ready for change."
"What we need now is leadership from the president, Congress and state officials to deliver that change," he said. "I'm frustrated and disappointed that the administration has not yet delivered on the vision we share for a more equal America."
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the longest serving of the three openly gay members of Congress, said many activists placed unrealistic expectations on Obama and underestimated the need to lobby Congress relentlessly in the style of the National Rifle Association.
"It's not that Obama doesn't want to do it, but you need the votes," Frank said. "You can't complain about the president until you've called your senator."
Leaders of some national gay-rights organizations acknowledged Frank's point.
"We're working hard to secure the needed votes," said Rea Carey of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "All these issues will take work on the part of Congress as well as the president."
The gay-rights bill closest to a vote in Congress would expand the federal hate-crimes law to cover anti-gay violence. It has passed the House and is awaiting a Senate vote, but Solmonese said its backers are proceeding cautiously, wary of possible Republican maneuvers to derail it.
Later this year, action is possible on a bill that would outlaw workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
There's no timetable, however, for the pending bill to repeal "don't ask, don't tell." Obama says he wants to build support for the change among military commanders before urging Congress to move ahead.
Gay-rights leaders concede that Obama has his hands full with wars, recession, health care reform and other challenges, but they nonetheless feel slighted — compared to other liberal constituencies — by a president who, during the campaign, said he would be a "fierce advocate" for gay rights.
"Show us you are indeed that fierce advocate," said Jody Huckaby, executive director of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
Huckaby said he was particularly dismayed last week when Obama's Justice Department defended the Defense of Marriage Act, which allows states to reject other states' legal gay marriages and prohibits federal recognition of any same-sex partnerships. As candidate, Obama promised to repeal the act.
On the other hand, some conservative activists continue to decry Obama's commitment to a "radical homosexual agenda" and have launched protests against some of the gays appointed to administration jobs. The prime target at the moment is Kevin Jennings, founder of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, who has been named to oversee the Education Department's Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools.
Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the responsibility for inaction on gay-rights priorities lies with both Obama and Congress.
"It's shocking to realize we still live a country where gay and lesbian people can't serve openly in the military, have no federal protections in the private workplace, and same-sex couples are entitled to no benefits under federal law," Minter said.
"There's so much anger in our community. We expect the president and Congress to move forward."
by the associated press
White House fights for Obama's Iran stance
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The White House Thursday defended President Barack Obama's stance on Iran's political crisis, amid fresh Republican demands for him to strongly back demonstrators in Tehran.
"The president believes that he's struck the right tone as do others in the administration, as do others in the Republican Party, as do others in the Democratic Party," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
Obama has warned that universal rights of peaceful protest should be honored in Iran, but has refused to pick sides in the post-election showdown between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.
In Iran, tens of thousands of Mousavi supporters demonstrated for a sixth straight day on Thursday, keeping up the pressure on the Islamic regime over the disputed vote, witnesses told AFP.
Mousavi joined the crowds, most of whom were dressed in black as a mark of mourning for demonstrators killed in clashes during the protests, which have been banned by the authorities. Iranian state radio has reported seven deaths since the protests started.
Obama has warned that US "meddling" in Iran's internal politics would be counterproductive, downplayed policy differences between the two rivals in the disputed poll and vowed to push forward his engagement policy with Iran.
Officials appear concerned that a vehement intervention in the crisis could give Iranian authorities the chance to portray demonstrators as agents of the United States and prompt a crackdown.
But senior Republicans have started to squeeze Obama on the issue, accusing him of treating a regime with long record of antipathy to Washington and opposition demonstrators with moral equivalence.
"America has a moral responsibility to stand up for these brave people, to defend human rights, and to condemn the violence and abuses by the regime in Tehran," said Eric Cantor, a member of the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives.
Cantor also highlighted a comment by Gibbs on Wednesday, that the situation represented a "vigorous debate" between Iranians about their leadership, though the spokesman reiterated Obama's concerns about the suppression of dissent.
"The administration's position that what's going on in Iran is a 'vigorous debate' is absurd," Cantor said.
"People are being brutalized and murdered by the regime in Tehran. We have no idea exactly how many have died or have been seriously injured, since the regime has restricted journalists.
"In no way do these actions constitute a 'vigorous debate.'"
Obama's vanquished 2008 Republican election foe John McCain has also been hammering the president on his stance on Iran.
"He should speak out that this is a corrupt, fraud, sham of an election," Obama's defeated 2008 election rival John McCain told NBC on Tuesday.
"The Iranian people have been deprived of their rights. We support them in their struggle against a repressive, oppressive regime.
Gibbs also disputed reports quoting senior officials, that some high-profile members of the administration wanted Obama to speak out more forcefully in favor of Mousavi supporters who believe last week's election was stolen.
"There's no debate in the White House. Everybody's on the same page. There's no difference of opinion," Gibbs said.
The New York Times had earlier reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden would like to take a slightly stronger tone in favor of the protestors.
by the associated press
"The president believes that he's struck the right tone as do others in the administration, as do others in the Republican Party, as do others in the Democratic Party," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
Obama has warned that universal rights of peaceful protest should be honored in Iran, but has refused to pick sides in the post-election showdown between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.
In Iran, tens of thousands of Mousavi supporters demonstrated for a sixth straight day on Thursday, keeping up the pressure on the Islamic regime over the disputed vote, witnesses told AFP.
Mousavi joined the crowds, most of whom were dressed in black as a mark of mourning for demonstrators killed in clashes during the protests, which have been banned by the authorities. Iranian state radio has reported seven deaths since the protests started.
Obama has warned that US "meddling" in Iran's internal politics would be counterproductive, downplayed policy differences between the two rivals in the disputed poll and vowed to push forward his engagement policy with Iran.
Officials appear concerned that a vehement intervention in the crisis could give Iranian authorities the chance to portray demonstrators as agents of the United States and prompt a crackdown.
But senior Republicans have started to squeeze Obama on the issue, accusing him of treating a regime with long record of antipathy to Washington and opposition demonstrators with moral equivalence.
"America has a moral responsibility to stand up for these brave people, to defend human rights, and to condemn the violence and abuses by the regime in Tehran," said Eric Cantor, a member of the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives.
Cantor also highlighted a comment by Gibbs on Wednesday, that the situation represented a "vigorous debate" between Iranians about their leadership, though the spokesman reiterated Obama's concerns about the suppression of dissent.
"The administration's position that what's going on in Iran is a 'vigorous debate' is absurd," Cantor said.
"People are being brutalized and murdered by the regime in Tehran. We have no idea exactly how many have died or have been seriously injured, since the regime has restricted journalists.
"In no way do these actions constitute a 'vigorous debate.'"
Obama's vanquished 2008 Republican election foe John McCain has also been hammering the president on his stance on Iran.
"He should speak out that this is a corrupt, fraud, sham of an election," Obama's defeated 2008 election rival John McCain told NBC on Tuesday.
"The Iranian people have been deprived of their rights. We support them in their struggle against a repressive, oppressive regime.
Gibbs also disputed reports quoting senior officials, that some high-profile members of the administration wanted Obama to speak out more forcefully in favor of Mousavi supporters who believe last week's election was stolen.
"There's no debate in the White House. Everybody's on the same page. There's no difference of opinion," Gibbs said.
The New York Times had earlier reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden would like to take a slightly stronger tone in favor of the protestors.
by the associated press
President Barack Obama ask time spend volunteering
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged Americans to volunteer in their communities this summer by tutoring students, picking up trash or getting involved in other projects that also might speed economic growth.
In a video message, Obama said people can help the country prosper by donating time to schools and hospitals.
"Economic recovery is as much about what you’re doing in your communities as what we’re doing in Washington,” Obama said.
The president’s remarks came ahead of a new "United We Serve” initiative that will be led by the government-run Corporation for National and Community Service.
The effort is aimed at getting people to tackle problems in education, health, energy and the environment and community renewal.
It starts on June 22.
by the associated press
In a video message, Obama said people can help the country prosper by donating time to schools and hospitals.
"Economic recovery is as much about what you’re doing in your communities as what we’re doing in Washington,” Obama said.
The president’s remarks came ahead of a new "United We Serve” initiative that will be led by the government-run Corporation for National and Community Service.
The effort is aimed at getting people to tackle problems in education, health, energy and the environment and community renewal.
It starts on June 22.
by the associated press
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Obama to gives more benefits for gays
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama plans to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.
The president plans to announce the decision today from the Oval Office, a White House official said.
The decision is a nod to a reliably Democratic voting bloc that has grown frustrated with Obama’s pace on their priorities.
Some advocate groups have grown frustrated the administration hasn’t taken action on the policy on gays in the military.
John Berry, the highest-ranking gay official in the administration and the de facto human resources chief for the administration, told a gay rally last weekend Obama planned to act on benefits soon.
by the associated press
The president plans to announce the decision today from the Oval Office, a White House official said.
The decision is a nod to a reliably Democratic voting bloc that has grown frustrated with Obama’s pace on their priorities.
Some advocate groups have grown frustrated the administration hasn’t taken action on the policy on gays in the military.
John Berry, the highest-ranking gay official in the administration and the de facto human resources chief for the administration, told a gay rally last weekend Obama planned to act on benefits soon.
by the associated press
You're Fired, Obama
WASHINGTON — A White House lawyer says President Barack Obama fired Gerald Walpin, the watchdog for AmeriCorps programs, because he was "unduly disruptive” and engaged in "trouble and inappropriate conduct.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, wants to know what role, if any, the first lady played.
from wire
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, wants to know what role, if any, the first lady played.
from wire
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Obama named tribal adviser
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Monday named a member of the Cherokee Nation to his domestic policy team. Kimberly Teehee, who has been working for U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Mich., will serve as senior policy adviser for American Indian affairs. Obama made the announcement in taped remarks to the National Congress of American Indians. The president also announced that the White House will hold a tribal nations conference this fall.
from wire
from wire
Obama's Health plan could cost $1 trillion
WASHINGTON — A leading health care bill under consideration in Congress would cost the government an estimated $1 trillion over the next decade and reduce the ranks of the uninsured by about one-third, or 16 million individuals, congressional budget officials said Monday in a preliminary estimate report.
In a letter to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas W. Elmendorf said the estimate was based on major provisions contained in an incomplete draft of the bill. He noted that "taking all of its provisions into account could change our assessment of the proposal’s effects on the budget and insurance coverage rates though probably not by substantial amounts relative to the net costs already identified.”
The CBO released its preliminary estimate as several congressional committees looked ahead to votes on legislation that President Barack Obama has placed atop his list of domestic priorities.
Ironically, hours later, key House Democrats unveiled a plan to pour nearly $300 billion into physician payments in Medicare over the next decade. Under current law, doctors face a 21 percent cut in Medicare fees in January.
Obama has proposed reducing overall costs within the health care system at the same time coverage is extended to an estimated 50 million who lack it. He has proposed nearly $1 trillion in savings through spending cuts and tax increases.
Many of the cuts would fall on major health care providers and will be difficult to support for many Democrats in Congress.
Eager to minimize the political risk, the White House and top aides on the Senate Finance Committee are both negotiating directly with the pharmaceutical industry, officials said during the day.
by the associated press
In a letter to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas W. Elmendorf said the estimate was based on major provisions contained in an incomplete draft of the bill. He noted that "taking all of its provisions into account could change our assessment of the proposal’s effects on the budget and insurance coverage rates though probably not by substantial amounts relative to the net costs already identified.”
The CBO released its preliminary estimate as several congressional committees looked ahead to votes on legislation that President Barack Obama has placed atop his list of domestic priorities.
Ironically, hours later, key House Democrats unveiled a plan to pour nearly $300 billion into physician payments in Medicare over the next decade. Under current law, doctors face a 21 percent cut in Medicare fees in January.
Obama has proposed reducing overall costs within the health care system at the same time coverage is extended to an estimated 50 million who lack it. He has proposed nearly $1 trillion in savings through spending cuts and tax increases.
Many of the cuts would fall on major health care providers and will be difficult to support for many Democrats in Congress.
Eager to minimize the political risk, the White House and top aides on the Senate Finance Committee are both negotiating directly with the pharmaceutical industry, officials said during the day.
by the associated press
Monday, June 15, 2009
Compromise could ease health care overhaul
WASHINGTON — As Congress begins work on putting President Barack Obama’s goal of universal health coverage into law, administration officials and allies sought to sidestep an unpopular tax on existing benefits and Republicans’ objection to a government competitor to private plans.
Cabinet officials and Obama allies on Sunday sought to rein in lawmakers, who were expected this week to introduce specific plans that run counter to Obama’s political promises. Many urged lawmakers to consider a cooperative program that would expand coverage to the 50 million uninsured Americans with taxpayer support without direct governmental control.
The concessions could be the smoothest way to deliver the bipartisan health care legislation the administration seeks by its self-imposed August deadline, officials said.
"There is no one-size-fits-all idea,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on ABC’s "This Week.”
"The president has said, ‘These are the kinds of goals I’m after: lowering costs, covering all Americans, higher-quality care.’ And around those goals, there are lots of ways to get there,” Sebelius said.
While supporters from Obama’s left have advocated a government-run option, presidential aides and congressional leaders in both parties have sought a speedy compromise.
Leading that pack: the cooperative approach, similar to rural utilities that have government financial support but operate independently. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., who chairs the Budget Committee, has offered the co-op idea as a way to avoid a bruising and protracted political wrangle on Capitol Hill.
Conrad’s plan drew interest from moderate Republicans, and Obama’s team also sees such a compromise as an option.
But the answer for Republicans: Unacceptable.
"I think that ... a government plan is a nonstarter,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "There are a whole lot of other things we can agree to do on a bipartisan basis.”
To reach that bipartisan solution, Democrats were likely to make concessions to find the $1 trillion the plan would cost over the next decade.
One way to get there would be to tax health benefits for families whose coverage costs $15,000 a year or more in premiums paid by employer and employee combined.
But Obama personally opposes the move, which is politically unpopular.
by the associated press
Cabinet officials and Obama allies on Sunday sought to rein in lawmakers, who were expected this week to introduce specific plans that run counter to Obama’s political promises. Many urged lawmakers to consider a cooperative program that would expand coverage to the 50 million uninsured Americans with taxpayer support without direct governmental control.
The concessions could be the smoothest way to deliver the bipartisan health care legislation the administration seeks by its self-imposed August deadline, officials said.
"There is no one-size-fits-all idea,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on ABC’s "This Week.”
"The president has said, ‘These are the kinds of goals I’m after: lowering costs, covering all Americans, higher-quality care.’ And around those goals, there are lots of ways to get there,” Sebelius said.
While supporters from Obama’s left have advocated a government-run option, presidential aides and congressional leaders in both parties have sought a speedy compromise.
Leading that pack: the cooperative approach, similar to rural utilities that have government financial support but operate independently. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., who chairs the Budget Committee, has offered the co-op idea as a way to avoid a bruising and protracted political wrangle on Capitol Hill.
Conrad’s plan drew interest from moderate Republicans, and Obama’s team also sees such a compromise as an option.
But the answer for Republicans: Unacceptable.
"I think that ... a government plan is a nonstarter,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "There are a whole lot of other things we can agree to do on a bipartisan basis.”
To reach that bipartisan solution, Democrats were likely to make concessions to find the $1 trillion the plan would cost over the next decade.
One way to get there would be to tax health benefits for families whose coverage costs $15,000 a year or more in premiums paid by employer and employee combined.
But Obama personally opposes the move, which is politically unpopular.
by the associated press
Thursday, June 11, 2009
President Obama the time to fix health care is right now
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — President Barack Obama went to the nation's heartland Thursday to challenge critics of his proposed health care overhaul, asking: "What's the alternative?"
Obama has run into opposition from fellow Democrats in Congress and the nation's largest doctors' association.
Dismissing criticism, Obama attempted to sell his proposals directly to Americans. He did not directly respond to the American Medical Association's president, who remains unconvinced of the wisdom of the White House's call for a public health plan. Instead, Obama broadly described his critics as naysayers.
"I know there are some who believe that reform is too expensive, but I can assure you that doing nothing will cost us far more in the coming years," Obama said. "Our deficits will be higher. Our premiums will go up. Our wages will be lower, our jobs will be fewer, and our businesses will suffer."
The president's warnings come as reservations have been expressed by health care providers, Congress — led by Obama's fellow Democrats — and the public. During the brief ride from the airport to a town hall-style meeting, Obama passed several hundred protesters. Many held signs such as "NObama" and "No to Socialism."
White House aides brushed off the protests and instead focused on the president's message of the day: Inaction on health care overhaul is too dangerous to put off and would cost money the country simply doesn't have.
"I will not welcome endless delay or a denial that reform needs to happen," the president said in a speech that contained no new policy proposals but instead repeated oft-repeated generalities.
Obama has set an August deadline for an overhaul that has vexed Washington for decades.
by the associated press
Obama has run into opposition from fellow Democrats in Congress and the nation's largest doctors' association.
Dismissing criticism, Obama attempted to sell his proposals directly to Americans. He did not directly respond to the American Medical Association's president, who remains unconvinced of the wisdom of the White House's call for a public health plan. Instead, Obama broadly described his critics as naysayers.
"I know there are some who believe that reform is too expensive, but I can assure you that doing nothing will cost us far more in the coming years," Obama said. "Our deficits will be higher. Our premiums will go up. Our wages will be lower, our jobs will be fewer, and our businesses will suffer."
The president's warnings come as reservations have been expressed by health care providers, Congress — led by Obama's fellow Democrats — and the public. During the brief ride from the airport to a town hall-style meeting, Obama passed several hundred protesters. Many held signs such as "NObama" and "No to Socialism."
White House aides brushed off the protests and instead focused on the president's message of the day: Inaction on health care overhaul is too dangerous to put off and would cost money the country simply doesn't have.
"I will not welcome endless delay or a denial that reform needs to happen," the president said in a speech that contained no new policy proposals but instead repeated oft-repeated generalities.
Obama has set an August deadline for an overhaul that has vexed Washington for decades.
by the associated press
President Barack Obama pushes senators on health
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama urged lawmakers Wednesday to work through partisan differences that are threatening health care legislation.
The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee starts working on the bill next week. Democratic and Republican senators said Obama was willing to listen to all sides but insisted that Congress must pass a bill this year.
Senators agree on issues like getting all Americans covered and prohibiting insurance industry practices that deny coverage to people with health problems. But there are disagreements over financing, requiring employers to offer coverage and whether the government should sponsor a plan.
by the associated press
The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee starts working on the bill next week. Democratic and Republican senators said Obama was willing to listen to all sides but insisted that Congress must pass a bill this year.
Senators agree on issues like getting all Americans covered and prohibiting insurance industry practices that deny coverage to people with health problems. But there are disagreements over financing, requiring employers to offer coverage and whether the government should sponsor a plan.
by the associated press
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
President Obama talks about Jesus
It is no secret that President George W. Bush was heavily criticized by the atheist community during his time in office. The Arizona director of American Atheists, Monty Gaither, said back in 2001: "Unlike someone like Jimmy Carter, who talked about his religion a lot but never tried to alter the laws to favor religion, Bush not only talks about it, but he wants to shove it down everyone's throat."
Now the Politico newspaper reports in a June 9, 2009 article titled "Obama Invokes Jesus More Than Bush,” that the current president has actually spoken about his faith far more frequently: "Barack Obama has mentioned Jesus Christ in a number of high-profile public speeches — something his predecessor George W. Bush rarely did in such settings."
Yet, the Politico says that atheists who railed against President Bush are giving president Obama a free pass. Nathan Bupp, from the atheist organization Center for Inquiry, tells the paper that non-believers see the current president's invocations of faith as a, "symbolic gesture... they realize (President Obama) is not doing what he's doing for Pat Robertson-type reasons."
Apples & Oranges?
A Nebraska abortion provider has likened the murder of fellow late-term abortion Dr. George Tiller to the assassination of this country's most renowned civil rights leader. The Washington Times reports that Dr. LeRoy Carhart says: "This is the equivalent of Martin Luther King being assassinated. This is the equivalent of Pearl Harbor, the sinking of the Lusitanian and any other major historic event where we've tolerated the intolerable for too long."
Carhart compares activists who plant crosses in the yards of abortion providers to the Ku Klux Klan: "I think there is absolutely no difference in putting a cross in front of a person's home because of what race they belong to than there is putting a cross in front of our homes because we do abortions."
Carhart regularly assisted Tiller in conducting late-term abortions
from fox news
Now the Politico newspaper reports in a June 9, 2009 article titled "Obama Invokes Jesus More Than Bush,” that the current president has actually spoken about his faith far more frequently: "Barack Obama has mentioned Jesus Christ in a number of high-profile public speeches — something his predecessor George W. Bush rarely did in such settings."
Yet, the Politico says that atheists who railed against President Bush are giving president Obama a free pass. Nathan Bupp, from the atheist organization Center for Inquiry, tells the paper that non-believers see the current president's invocations of faith as a, "symbolic gesture... they realize (President Obama) is not doing what he's doing for Pat Robertson-type reasons."
Apples & Oranges?
A Nebraska abortion provider has likened the murder of fellow late-term abortion Dr. George Tiller to the assassination of this country's most renowned civil rights leader. The Washington Times reports that Dr. LeRoy Carhart says: "This is the equivalent of Martin Luther King being assassinated. This is the equivalent of Pearl Harbor, the sinking of the Lusitanian and any other major historic event where we've tolerated the intolerable for too long."
Carhart compares activists who plant crosses in the yards of abortion providers to the Ku Klux Klan: "I think there is absolutely no difference in putting a cross in front of a person's home because of what race they belong to than there is putting a cross in front of our homes because we do abortions."
Carhart regularly assisted Tiller in conducting late-term abortions
from fox news
It's OK to borrow to pay for health care , Obama said
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed budget rules that would allow Congress to borrow tens of billions of dollars and put the nation deeper in debt to jump-start the administration's emerging health care overhaul. The "pay-as-you-go" budget formula plan is significantly weaker than a proposal Obama issued with little fanfare last month.
It would carve out about $2.5 trillion worth of exemptions for Obama's priorities over the next decade. His health care reform plan also would get a green light to run big deficits in its early years. But over a decade, Congress would have to come up with money to cover those early year deficits.
Obama's latest proposal for addressing deficits urges Congress to pass a law requiring lawmakers to pay for new spending programs and tax cuts without further adding to exploding deficits projected to total about $10 trillion over the next decade.
If new spending or tax reductions are not offset, there would be automatic cuts in so-called mandatory programs — although Social Security payments and the Medicaid health care program for poor and disabled would be exempt and cuts to Medicare would be sharply limited.
"The 'pay-as-you-go' rule is very simple," Obama said. "Congress can only spend a dollar if it saves a dollar elsewhere."
Last month Obama suggested a tougher plan that would prohibit Congress from swelling the deficit in one year by putting off until later years the tax increases or spending cuts to pay for it.
The requirement for legislation to be financed over the coming decade generally mirrors existing congressional rules and reflects the likelihood that Obama's health care plan will add many billions of dollars to the deficit in the early years. Savings and revenues in later years would have to make up for the initial deficits.
Congress lived under a so-called "pay-go" regime in the 1990s and the early years of this decade. But it didn't stop lawmakers from passing President George W. Bush's landmark 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and big increases in farm subsidies without making the required spending cuts elsewhere. A $127 billion surplus in 2001 subsequently turned into deficits over the next four years of $159 billion, $377 billion, $413 billion and $319 billion.
The rules still exist and lawmakers routinely find ways around them. For example, a bill to effectively double GI Bill education benefits was enacted last year. Congress also regularly waives the rules to pass an annual "patch" to the alternative minimum tax, sparing some 20 million families from a $2,000 tax increase on average.
Still, Democrats profess a faith in pay-as-you-go rules.
"It is no coincidence that this rule was in place when we moved from record deficits to record surpluses in the 1990s — and that when this rule was abandoned, we returned to record deficits that doubled the national debt," Obama said.
In fact, the surpluses of the late 1990s were largely due to a huge influx of tax revenues from a booming economy.
Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., said the House is likely to pass Obama's latest proposal next month. The plan faces far tougher sledding in the Senate, where Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., has expressed serious reservations.
Conrad said Obama's proposal does nothing about the fiscal perils the country already faces, including deficits that the Congressional Budget Office predicts will average nearly $1 trillion a year over the next decade.
"I remain concerned about the potential effect of this proposal on American farmers, seniors and veterans," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
Republicans said new budget rules ring hollow in the wake of the Obama-championed $787 billion stimulus package and other deficit spending. They said legal limits on appropriations should be put into place as they were in the 1990s, though such "caps" were easily evaded when surpluses appeared.
Congress is just ramping up the annual appropriations process, which in the House would award increases averaging 12 percent to non-defense programs. Obama's proposal does not include the comparable "caps" from the 1990s.
"Time after time this year, Democrats have ignored calls for fiscal responsibility," said House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio. "We don't need more rhetoric and gimmicks. We need action to tackle the tremendous fiscal challenges facing this nation."
Obama's proposal would require future tax cuts to be financed by tax increases elsewhere. But again, he carves out several exceptions, including for an extension of Bush's tax cuts due to expire in 2011 and relief from the alternative minimum tax.
The federal deficit is on pace to explode past $1.8 trillion this year, more than four times last year's all-time high. The record borrowing is credited with pushing up interest rates, which could imperil chances for a recovery later in the year.
by the associated press
It would carve out about $2.5 trillion worth of exemptions for Obama's priorities over the next decade. His health care reform plan also would get a green light to run big deficits in its early years. But over a decade, Congress would have to come up with money to cover those early year deficits.
Obama's latest proposal for addressing deficits urges Congress to pass a law requiring lawmakers to pay for new spending programs and tax cuts without further adding to exploding deficits projected to total about $10 trillion over the next decade.
If new spending or tax reductions are not offset, there would be automatic cuts in so-called mandatory programs — although Social Security payments and the Medicaid health care program for poor and disabled would be exempt and cuts to Medicare would be sharply limited.
"The 'pay-as-you-go' rule is very simple," Obama said. "Congress can only spend a dollar if it saves a dollar elsewhere."
Last month Obama suggested a tougher plan that would prohibit Congress from swelling the deficit in one year by putting off until later years the tax increases or spending cuts to pay for it.
The requirement for legislation to be financed over the coming decade generally mirrors existing congressional rules and reflects the likelihood that Obama's health care plan will add many billions of dollars to the deficit in the early years. Savings and revenues in later years would have to make up for the initial deficits.
Congress lived under a so-called "pay-go" regime in the 1990s and the early years of this decade. But it didn't stop lawmakers from passing President George W. Bush's landmark 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and big increases in farm subsidies without making the required spending cuts elsewhere. A $127 billion surplus in 2001 subsequently turned into deficits over the next four years of $159 billion, $377 billion, $413 billion and $319 billion.
The rules still exist and lawmakers routinely find ways around them. For example, a bill to effectively double GI Bill education benefits was enacted last year. Congress also regularly waives the rules to pass an annual "patch" to the alternative minimum tax, sparing some 20 million families from a $2,000 tax increase on average.
Still, Democrats profess a faith in pay-as-you-go rules.
"It is no coincidence that this rule was in place when we moved from record deficits to record surpluses in the 1990s — and that when this rule was abandoned, we returned to record deficits that doubled the national debt," Obama said.
In fact, the surpluses of the late 1990s were largely due to a huge influx of tax revenues from a booming economy.
Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., said the House is likely to pass Obama's latest proposal next month. The plan faces far tougher sledding in the Senate, where Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., has expressed serious reservations.
Conrad said Obama's proposal does nothing about the fiscal perils the country already faces, including deficits that the Congressional Budget Office predicts will average nearly $1 trillion a year over the next decade.
"I remain concerned about the potential effect of this proposal on American farmers, seniors and veterans," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
Republicans said new budget rules ring hollow in the wake of the Obama-championed $787 billion stimulus package and other deficit spending. They said legal limits on appropriations should be put into place as they were in the 1990s, though such "caps" were easily evaded when surpluses appeared.
Congress is just ramping up the annual appropriations process, which in the House would award increases averaging 12 percent to non-defense programs. Obama's proposal does not include the comparable "caps" from the 1990s.
"Time after time this year, Democrats have ignored calls for fiscal responsibility," said House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio. "We don't need more rhetoric and gimmicks. We need action to tackle the tremendous fiscal challenges facing this nation."
Obama's proposal would require future tax cuts to be financed by tax increases elsewhere. But again, he carves out several exceptions, including for an extension of Bush's tax cuts due to expire in 2011 and relief from the alternative minimum tax.
The federal deficit is on pace to explode past $1.8 trillion this year, more than four times last year's all-time high. The record borrowing is credited with pushing up interest rates, which could imperil chances for a recovery later in the year.
by the associated press
Sunday, June 7, 2009
President Obama says Normandy changed course of history
OMAHA BEACH, France — Recalling the "unimaginable hell” of D-Day suffering, President Barack Obama paid tribute Saturday to the against-all-odds Allied landings that broke Nazi Germany’s grip on France and turned the tide of history.
"The sheer improbability of this victory is part of what makes D-Day so memorable,” Obama said.
He spoke under a sunny sky at the American Cemetery on cliffs overlooking Omaha Beach and other landing sites where American, British and Canadian soldiers established a beachhead 65 years ago under the withering fire of Nazi troops awaiting the Allies’ cross-channel gamble.
Normandy’s cliffs, still pocked with gun emplacements and other remnants of the war, including the white headstones of thousands of buried American troops, provided sure footing for the U.S. commander in chief.
"Friends and veterans, what we cannot forget — what we must not forget — is that D-Day was a time and a place where the bravery and selflessness of a few was able to change the course of an entire century,” he said.
"At an hour of maximum danger, amid the bleakest of circumstances, men who thought themselves ordinary found it within themselves to do the extraordinary.”
This D-Day anniversary assumed special significance because veterans of the battle are reaching their 80s and 90s and their numbers are dwindling. One American veteran, Jim Norene, returned to France for Saturday’s ceremony, but died Friday night.
"Jim was gravely ill when he left his home,” Obama said. "But just as he did 65 years ago, he came anyway. May he now rest in peace ... and may his family always find solace in the heroism he showed here.”
by the associated press
"The sheer improbability of this victory is part of what makes D-Day so memorable,” Obama said.
He spoke under a sunny sky at the American Cemetery on cliffs overlooking Omaha Beach and other landing sites where American, British and Canadian soldiers established a beachhead 65 years ago under the withering fire of Nazi troops awaiting the Allies’ cross-channel gamble.
Normandy’s cliffs, still pocked with gun emplacements and other remnants of the war, including the white headstones of thousands of buried American troops, provided sure footing for the U.S. commander in chief.
"Friends and veterans, what we cannot forget — what we must not forget — is that D-Day was a time and a place where the bravery and selflessness of a few was able to change the course of an entire century,” he said.
"At an hour of maximum danger, amid the bleakest of circumstances, men who thought themselves ordinary found it within themselves to do the extraordinary.”
This D-Day anniversary assumed special significance because veterans of the battle are reaching their 80s and 90s and their numbers are dwindling. One American veteran, Jim Norene, returned to France for Saturday’s ceremony, but died Friday night.
"Jim was gravely ill when he left his home,” Obama said. "But just as he did 65 years ago, he came anyway. May he now rest in peace ... and may his family always find solace in the heroism he showed here.”
by the associated press
President Obama urges health action
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address that "it’s time to deliver” on his health care agenda.
"If we do nothing, everyone’s health care will be put in jeopardy,” he said.
The first bill containing language to put in place his health care goals has begun circulating on Capitol Hill. Draft legislation from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee would require employers to cover their employees or pay a penalty, and would guarantee coverage for all.
Congress still hasn’t figured out how to pay for a plan that could cost $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion or even more over a decade.
by the assiocated press
"If we do nothing, everyone’s health care will be put in jeopardy,” he said.
The first bill containing language to put in place his health care goals has begun circulating on Capitol Hill. Draft legislation from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee would require employers to cover their employees or pay a penalty, and would guarantee coverage for all.
Congress still hasn’t figured out how to pay for a plan that could cost $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion or even more over a decade.
by the assiocated press
Saturday, June 6, 2009
President ask world to learn from Holocaust
WEIMAR, Germany — President Barack Obama absorbed the stark horrors memorialized at the Buchenwald concentration camp Friday and said the lesson for the modern world is vigilance against evil, against subjugation of the weak and against the "cruelty in ourselves.”
Obama honored the 56,000 who died at the Nazi camp and the thousands who survived. He invoked, too, his great-uncle, who helped liberate a Buchenwald satellite prison in 1945 and came back a haunted man.
"More than half a century later, our grief and our outrage over what happened have not diminished,” Obama said after witnessing the crematory ovens, barbed-wire fences and guard towers.
Obama challenged Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has expressed doubts that 6 million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis, to visit, too.
"To this day, there are those who insist the Holocaust never happened,” Obama said. "This place is the ultimate rebuke to such thoughts.”
by the associated press
Obama honored the 56,000 who died at the Nazi camp and the thousands who survived. He invoked, too, his great-uncle, who helped liberate a Buchenwald satellite prison in 1945 and came back a haunted man.
"More than half a century later, our grief and our outrage over what happened have not diminished,” Obama said after witnessing the crematory ovens, barbed-wire fences and guard towers.
Obama challenged Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has expressed doubts that 6 million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis, to visit, too.
"To this day, there are those who insist the Holocaust never happened,” Obama said. "This place is the ultimate rebuke to such thoughts.”
by the associated press
Friday, June 5, 2009
President Obama gives out OLIVE Branch Muslims
CAIRO — "Assalamu aleikum,” the president of the United States said.
"We love you,” cried the crowd, sounding like partisans at a campaign rally in Chicago.
In such small ways, on a day rich with symbolism built from small things, President Barack Obama achieved a cultural communion between America and Islam that he wants to see writ large in the world.
His greeting of "assalamu aleikum” — peace be upon you — set the tone of a 55-minute speech at Cairo University on Thursday in which he invoked his middle name, Hussein, quoted from the Quran and spoke of his country’s common purpose with a religion he said Americans will never engage in war.
The reaction from typically antagonistic quarters was largely respectful. Some Islamic and Arab figures spoke of the change they are seeing.
But they’re not convinced it’s change they can believe in.
"There is a change between the language of President Obama and ... George Bush,” said Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas. But "all we can say is that there is a difference in the statements, and the statements of today did not include a mechanism that can translate his ... views into actions.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in advance of the speech that any statements by Obama were just "words, speech and slogan” that would leave in place sanctions designed to persuade the nation to stop its nuclear program.
But Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a cleric who was vice president under reformist President Mohammad Khatami, called the speech "compensation” for a hostile environment created by Bush.
"This can be an initial step for removing misconceptions,” he said.
Obama’s speech was designed to reset relations after Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Yet he also called sternly for Israelis and Palestinians to live up to their obligations in seeking peace, demanded Iran bow to international demands to halt its nuclear weapons program and bid Muslim countries help in eradicating the threat of fundamentalist’ violence across the globe.
The Israeli government issued a statement saying it, too, hoped for a new era. But it skirted any reference to Obama’s calls for a settlement freeze in the West Bank and the creation of a Palestinian state.
Obama addressed the Israeli-Palestinian dispute pointedly in his address, knowing it goes to the heart of Muslim anger toward the West.
"It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true,” he said. "Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed.”
by the associated press
"We love you,” cried the crowd, sounding like partisans at a campaign rally in Chicago.
In such small ways, on a day rich with symbolism built from small things, President Barack Obama achieved a cultural communion between America and Islam that he wants to see writ large in the world.
His greeting of "assalamu aleikum” — peace be upon you — set the tone of a 55-minute speech at Cairo University on Thursday in which he invoked his middle name, Hussein, quoted from the Quran and spoke of his country’s common purpose with a religion he said Americans will never engage in war.
The reaction from typically antagonistic quarters was largely respectful. Some Islamic and Arab figures spoke of the change they are seeing.
But they’re not convinced it’s change they can believe in.
"There is a change between the language of President Obama and ... George Bush,” said Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas. But "all we can say is that there is a difference in the statements, and the statements of today did not include a mechanism that can translate his ... views into actions.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in advance of the speech that any statements by Obama were just "words, speech and slogan” that would leave in place sanctions designed to persuade the nation to stop its nuclear program.
But Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a cleric who was vice president under reformist President Mohammad Khatami, called the speech "compensation” for a hostile environment created by Bush.
"This can be an initial step for removing misconceptions,” he said.
Obama’s speech was designed to reset relations after Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Yet he also called sternly for Israelis and Palestinians to live up to their obligations in seeking peace, demanded Iran bow to international demands to halt its nuclear weapons program and bid Muslim countries help in eradicating the threat of fundamentalist’ violence across the globe.
The Israeli government issued a statement saying it, too, hoped for a new era. But it skirted any reference to Obama’s calls for a settlement freeze in the West Bank and the creation of a Palestinian state.
Obama addressed the Israeli-Palestinian dispute pointedly in his address, knowing it goes to the heart of Muslim anger toward the West.
"It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true,” he said. "Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed.”
by the associated press
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