Posted by Len on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 10:29 am CT in Politics
From the White House weblog:
In this week’s address, President Barack Obama said that while times are still too difficult for too many American families, this week saw real evidence of progress in the economy. On Thursday, we learned that in the third quarter the GDP grew for the first time in over a year, and grew faster than it has in the previous two years. And on Friday, reports from across the country made it clear that Recovery Act has now created or saved over one million jobs. The American people are still hurting, but these are signs that we are starting to move in the right direction.
Watch the video of the President’s address below or read the full text, as prepared for delivery, after the break.
Click below to listen to the audio only:
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I haven’t posted much about the little feud that has flared up between Levi Johnston and Sarah Palin. I think it’s rather ridiculous that the woman who Johnny McCain and the Republicans felt was qualified to be Vice President of the United States (and a 73-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency) is involved in a very public feud with the 19-year-old father of her illegitimate grandchild. (Weren’t these kids supposed to be married by now? Weren’t we told during the campaign last year that they were headed toward matrimonial bliss? Surely that wasn’t just another Republican lie? You think?) Besides, these people are very much yesterday’s news and it kind of baffles me why anybody (including me) is even paying them any attention. It must be that whole “it’s difficult to turn away from a car wreck” business.
Young Levi has shown up on CBS’ Early Show the past couple of mornings. He says there is a lot he could be telling about Ms. Sarah but because he is such a gentleman he isn’t. Ms. Sarah is not taking kindly to this at all. In a statement released today, she said:
“CBS should be ashamed for continually providing a forum to propagate lies. Consider the source of the most recent attention-getting lies — those who would sell their body for money reflect a desperate need for attention and are likely to say and do anything for even more attention.”
She was referring to Mr. Johnston’s plans to reveal all for Playgirl Magazine.
Posted by Len on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 5:25 pm CT in Politics
President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Prevention Act into law today…
Those who say they see no difference between Democrats and Republicans or who think that President Obama is governing no differently than Johnny McCain would have need only look at this two minutes and twenty-four seconds of video. This would not have happened in a Republican administration. Not in a million years.
CHEYENNE-More than 11 years after University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was tortured and left to die on a fence post outside Laramie, President Obama signed legislation Wednesday extending federal hate crime law to cover attacks based on sexual orientation.
Civil rights leaders, including Matthew’s mother Judy Shepard, said the passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Prevention Act gives long-overdue protection to people attacked because of their sexual orientation.
However, Wyoming’s congressional delegation [Ed.: all Republican; all three of them] have opposed the legislation, saying current state laws already work to punish those who commit violent acts against gays and lesbians.
The legislation gives federal authorities power to pursue charges in violent crimes motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
The bill has been in the works since 1998, when Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student from Casper, was robbed, tortured, and murdered by Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney. Both are currently serving two consecutive life sentences in prison.
Jill Shepard, who watched President Obama sign the legislation Wednesday at the White House, said in a statement that she and her husband Dennis were glad to finally see the bill pass.
“When Dennis and I started calling 10 years ago for federal action to prevent and properly prosecute hate crimes against gay, lesbian and transgendered Americans, we never imagined it would take this long,” Shepard said in the statement. “We are incredibly grateful to Congress and the president for taking this step forward on behalf of hate crime victims and their families, especially given the continuing attacks on people simply for living their lives openly and honestly.
Jill Shepard added, “But each of us can and must do much more to ensure true equality for all Americans.”
President Obama’s remarks at a reception held to celebrate the legislation follow the break.
I’m not a huge fan of Jay Leno (he’s just a little too free with the gay jokes) and have only watched his new prime time show a couple of times, but our First Lady sure looked good (dare I say hot?) when she appeared on the show last night…
I have so much admiration and respect for this lady. She really has it together, doesn’t she? I said way back during the campaign that she was going to make a heck of a First Lady, and I was right.
I don’t know how long it will be before NBC has YouTube take the video down, so enjoy it while you can. I also apologize for posting three videos in as many posts, but I thought this one warranted the exception.
UPDATE: As expected, NBC made YouTube take the video down. Here it is, in two parts (with commercials), directly from NBC:
Posted by Len on Saturday, October 24th, 2009 at 11:10 am CT in Politics
From the White House weblog:
In this week’s address, President Barack Obama spoke of how important small businesses are to the economy and described the steps his administration is taking to support them. Health insurance reform will allow small business to purchase insurance for their employees through exchanges, which will increase the quality of coverage while lowering the costs, and reform will provide tax credits to those businesses. To free up credit, the President called on Congress to increase the size of various SBA loans, and he announced that the administration will be making more credit available to the small local and community banks that many small businesses depend on.
Watch the video of the President’s address below or read the full text, as prepared for delivery, after the break.
Click below to listen to the audio only:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Posted by Len on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 9:07 pm CT in Politics
In a new video released by the White House today, First Lady Michelle Obama talks about the importance of health care reform for families (and women in particular)…
