Among the good things going on today include the President’s signing of the Wall Street reform bill, Congress with the additional vote of Carte Goodwin and a couple of Republicans have advanced the UI benefits bill through cloture. Though Republicans used the 30hr cloture process to delay the vote …Unemployment Bill HR4213 and possibly the Jobs Bill HR5297 will both pass though watered down significantly. The President has done plenty that will improve the lives of Americans. We the People need to be reminded of the accomplishments and so, going back 18 months and remember that the President signed the lily Ledbetter bill, the treaty with Russia to reduce nuclear weapons, same sex couples working for the government have more rights than before and working laws that cover everyone not just a select few, he is working on DADT and the GM bailout helped millions of people keep their jobs and President Obama should be commended for it.
My rant for today is the wacky behavior and comments though not limited to folks on the right is definitely more disingenuous, and seems much more dangerous typical hater rhetoric. I may not agree with how people on the left of center act or independents who seem willing to throw our President under the bus but people on the right and or Republicans have been the least compassionate in this time of need. As for folks on the left acting wacky in my opinion. I am very upset that the Stupak amendment is still alive and women, sisters and daughters need to rise up against any legislation that refuses to recognize us as responsible people of the United States who should have the right to choose. It is the 21st Century and this whole abortion thing should not even be on anyones table of well we cannot let women have the right to make their own decisions even if they agree to pay for that right with their own money. They call people names when they don’t get their way, they race-bait, provoke fear whenever they can and not only is it wacky don’t they get it, the things they refuse to give Americans also effects their constituents. Yes, i did vote for Obama and will again because Republicans/Conservatives proved themselves useless. Republicans have no one in charge, no solutions only complaints and the solutions they do have are only for the top 2% and that 2% has been getting breaks for too long it’s obvious that Bush, Cheney and Paulson all f’d us and because of that i personally am subscribing to what works and that is the government right now. If you watch the movie, “House of Cards.” you would understand why Wall Street types, capitalists like Bernie madoff and others like him engaged in creative accounting. The big Wall Street folks such as AIG created a monster and the pay out by aig to various Banks was great, it worked its way overseas to become something too big to fail … Is that the kind of Capitalism you want? Then you are foolish… Capitalism does not mean firms should engage in cooking the books, secret transactions and or becoming bigger than their sum value or investing in schemes … that — is what happened …
We the People need capitalism with a small c and a lot more regulation … with a huge R
Other News …
**US declares new sanctions against N.Korea
C-SPAN ..
President Obama to Sign Wall Street Bill into Law
President Obama will sign into law today the financial regulation bill (H.R. 4173), the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, which has been one of the White House’s top domestic priorities after the passage of health care legislation. The Senate passed the bill last week by a vote of 60-39, with the support of three Republicans: Sen. Brown (R-MA), Sen. Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Snowe (R-ME). The House voted and approved the bill by 237–192 last month, also with support of three Republicans. The measure became a priority of Democratic leadership in congress after the 2008 financial collapse. The legislation creates a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as well as other provisions to protect consumers from predatory lending.
Special Inspector General for the Treasury Department, Neil Barofsky, along with Elizabeth Warren, the chairwoman of the Congressional Oversight Panel, are testifying before the Senate Finance Committee to investigate the progress of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Committee Chairman, Max Baucus (D-MT) is asking the witnesses about government efforts to pay back TARP losses, as well as the effects of the recently passed Wall Street Reform legislation.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke will present his biannual testimony on monetary policy this afternoon to the Senate Banking Committee and Thursday before the House Financial Services Committee.
Lawmakers are likely to press Bernanke on the status of the economic recovery, with a focus on whether he believes another round of fiscal stimulus is required. His testimony comes at a time when there is concern that economic growth may be slowing due to the high unemployment rate.
The Fed meets regularly to consider its policy, which influences the availability and cost of money and credit.
The day will start with a lot of talk, whispers or whining with both the negative and positive vibes of something big is about to happen. If you listen to the right or Republicans clearly it is negative noise and or rhetoric that you will hear.
it is truly a day for being still, breathe deep breath slowly out and repeat when needed …
The numerous things on my mind that seem big include the Byrd replacement proceedings today, the Arizona birther and SB1070 are about to become official at the end of the month, there will be a vote on the Elena Kagan appointment for the Supreme Court today, Congress will possibly vote on HR4213 and HR5297 and are expected to pass because of the Byrd replacement of Carte Goodwin.
Republicans continue to their true colours with a lot of comments that border on unseemly, unbelievable definitely offensive and all about Profits over the People with a whole lot of talking points coming from their coaches or benefactors from Big Banks and Wall Street.
In a time when people are suffering the Political Party of No who says that it’s not that they don’t want folks to get unemployment they want the bill to be paid for yet when we were close to a depression on the brink of a financial ruin and really have not come back from completely they say No. However, it is not lost on me what the clear intent of this Political Party is and that is to bring the current administration to its knees and while Republican constituents continue to believe in small government; the only agency that could help was the government and that is the way it is suppose to be in any national emergency. The vote on the unemployment extensions should not have had this much trouble passing because it was and still is a national emergency. Republicans in the past have voted quite easily for unemployment extensions but since they are not in power they choose to stall, block and vote No. It is time to wake up folks. Republicans in Congress have been clear they are for supporting the upper class not the middle or lower class or they would have seen the need for their own constituents and voted YES to pass the UI benefits a long time ago -What happened to the United States financial system became an emergency very quickly. The fact that over 700 thousand people were dumped a week is no joke it was a reality that many people who have held jobs all their lives lost and then lost homes lost their 401k and more.
The collapse affected all aspects of business and how they treated their workers, decisions had to be made some made bold choices to outsource jobs others cut worker hours, some had to be let go, the worst of them decided it was a good time to fire the unwanted and some jobs that were will never be again. Now, reporters state that there are five people applying for every one job possibly available and while that is going on companies have reduced worker hours, changed paid jobs to commission only, jobs that were for all are now only for internship eligible… The world of work has changed and the fixes needed to our economy will need to address this aspect as well.
There are many people stating Congress will not get to immigration, as there are other more important things to deal with like climate change and clean energy. This President has shown that he can manage to deal with more than one issue at a time. The question is whether Congress and even more specifically the Democratic Party in the Senate up to dealing with all the bills that have been piling up that need to be voted into law. The changes that the current bills waiting for votes will fix our economy and help all Americans not just the select few that Republicans seem to feel deserve to be helped. If you have forgotten let me remind you that the Republican hcr bill offered up would only help about 3 million people and while laughable by all accounts they actually got on national TV and told over 300 million people this was their proposal. The information following that announcement was that there were no real numbers included so it could not be scored, the question of how they would choose who to be included in their bill swiftly was dumped, and folks in the Media hardly covered it at all. It was worthy of national coverage but it was so ridiculous the Media somehow was able to make it disappear. Now, most Republicans who were for immigration reform are no longer on board hey that is a surprise right? Immigration is important to all aspects of the United States economy whether we want to admit or not. We are getting closer to the end of the month and the Arizona laws that offend me are about to become official and will effect all not just people in Arizona but the whole country. The moves of the Governor in Arizona are wrong on so many levels and gotta say it is hard to believe other parts of the country want to put forth the same type of law that clearly gives the local police the right to engage in legal racial profiling. The real problem is employers who do not want to pay fair wages or insurance to folks who need, want to work and willing to work for less than minimum wage.
Other News …
**Boeing gets about 10billion in orders for Planes
**Tacoma Macy’s and the union are still at odds over fair hiring contracts and worker treatment
**King County of Seattle is considering raising the sales tax to deal with the 60million deficit
**The Gov’t has no real concern with the seepage yet but BP is planning another procedure called the Static Kill
**The Conf Cmmte vote for Elena Kagan was 13-6 with Grassely deciding to vote for her, the full Senate vote could happen next week
**There are rumors that Chief Justice Gingsburg may retire early
Afghanistan, Economy, Oil spill on agenda as President meets with P.M. Cameron
Prime Minister David Cameron makes his first visit to Washington today to meet privately with President Obama at the White House. The two leaders are expected to discuss Afghanistan, the economy and BP’s handling of the Gulf oil spill. Following the meeting, they will hold a joint news conference.
The two last met at the G8 and G20 meetings in Canada last month, where the Prime Minister revealed he wanted to withdraw troops from Afghanistan within five years.
Yesterday, the BBC questioned P.M. Cameron on the recent revelation that BP lobbied the British government regarding the handling of the Lockerbie bomber, while simultaneously negotiating an oil deal with Libya. P.M. Cameron responded: “All I know is, as leader of the opposition, I could not have been more clear that I thought the decision to release al-Megrahi was completely and utterly wrong.”
In May, Cameron became Britain’s 12th Prime Minister under Queen Elizabeth.
Judiciary Cmte. to Vote on Nomination of Elena Kaga
The Senate Judiciary Committee is meeting today to discuss and vote on the nomination of Elena Kagan to be the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Last week, the committee delayed the vote on her nomination for one week. If confirmed, she would replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens and become the fourth woman in the Supreme Court’s history.
COAST GUARD HEARINGS RESUME; BP WELL MANAGERS ABOARD RIG ABSENT
BP employees who where involved in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, including survivors, testify before an independent hearing investigating the accident. Two of BP’s top supervisors, Donald Vidrine and Robert Kaluza, were also scheduled to appear before the joint Coast Guard & Bureau of Energy Management Commission hearing, but have declined. Vidrine cited health problems, while Kaluza’s attorney has not offered a reason for his absence.
Vidrine and Kaluza are reported to have argued with one another over how to proceed with operations on the Deepwater Horizon before the explosion. If the Justice Department finds that their actions led to the explosion, they could face criminal charges.
The commission is holding a week-long series of hearings regarding the explosion; this is the third session of hearings intended to collect facts and produce recommendations that will aid both organizations in their research and oversight duties.
We are at a moment in time when people need to be looking out for each other because our financial outlook truly depends on the domino that is the government; we the People are the government and we all need help. It starts from the poor and is not limited to the middle class it includes our small business community, the private sector, and government workers. If you have not already heard, first responders, teachers, firefighters, and doctors who get government funds have become the first laid off, cut and or fired left and right. It is beyond my understanding to hear comments from the likes of a Sharron angle. She continues to state that people on unemployment are spoiled, oh and get this she said that Harry Reid’s effort to call NV banks to plead for over 79thousand jobs to be saved based on a local project was wrong to do. In a normal situation, too big to fail should be imposed on most projects if the money is funny but we are not in a normal situation.
Who is putting Political Party and Profits before The People? Who or What do you believe in? The facts or the stuff Republicans are throwing at us, come on even Alan Greenspan who implemented these tax cuts now calls for letting them expire, he went so far to as state that they were all wrong. No one on the Republican side can throw positive rhetoric on what happened to get us into this mess we, thankfully are slowly but surely coming out of because of the Obama Administration.
In addition to the financial rhetoric, we have racial rhetoric that has moved back and forth from SB1070 to coloreds, if you listen to Mark Williams; and do we really need anyone to break down the Mark Williams satire letter? It is quite obvious what he thinks and just to respond to Mr. Williams and others who feel he was not behaving like a racist – There are jerks in every race but there are also Black folks work just as hard have work ethics and integrity and if we were to judge you by your comments -you sir have no ethics. It would be great if he were banned from the airwaves entirely.
Speaking of airwaves, we all wait for news, any news from the various Media outlets who will give us good news about the BP cap because there are reports that something (methane) is seeping out from the bottom, which sounds ominous. We will all hear they have to lift the cap to release pressure on the well then hope that replacing it will be an easy task. We have to wait for the Senate to begin the replacement proceedings of the beloved late Senator Byrd with Governor Joe Manchin’ appointment of Carte Goodwin; this replacement will clinch the Democratic Party’s ability to pass the extensions bill (HR4213) for unemployment and hopefully the small business bill (HR5297) as well. It should be an eye-opening situation for folks who really have yet to decide who they want in power, who they want to govern, who has been working for The People, which includes the Middle and lower class, the poor, average Joe and Main Street instead of those who have turned their backs on those listed here. It is an obvious choice to me but far be it from me to understand why caring for people and their station in life as the wrong thing to do or that it is spoiling them. The US has undergone a financial crisis that began when a group of fairly wealth off people decided to dabble in off the grid behavior. And while it was covered up for who knows how long it all became too much that folks had to listen to the few regulators doing all but shooting at the moon to get attention someone’s attention at the end became anybody who would listen… hey, go get “House of Cards” by CNBC and grab the whole story for yourself.
We have many things to deal with before our country is back on track and the best way would be for our Congress to all work on a bipartisan basis. And if this cannot happen the Democratic Party needs to blow full ahead to knock the filibuster out and get the votes that help Americans first unlike the last guy who spent and sent money on 2Wars tax cuts that added to the financial problems we now have.
BP Claims Fund Administrator discusses payout process
Kenneth Feinberg, appointed by President Obama and BP to oversee the $20 billion BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill compensation fund, participated in a question and answer session on his role as the Administrator of the Gulf Claims Facility. Hosted by the Economic Club of Washington, Feinberg outlined the process for responding to oil spill claims, and relatee his experiences dealing with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, the Hurricane Katrina Mediation and other programs.
Coast Guard Holds Investigatory Hearing into Deepwater Horizon Explosion
The Coast Guard is holding a week-long series of hearings in New Orleans to develop conclusions on the “how” and “why” the Deepwater Horizon explosion happened in late April. This is the third session of hearings intended to collect facts and produce recommendations which will aid the Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement in their research. Witnesses will provide information concerning the structure of the well, the explosion itself, and the leaks associated with the blowout preventer. According the federal officials, tests revealed last night that oil is seeping out near BP’s blown-out oil well. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen (Ret.) did not provide further details on the size of the leak but indicated scientist have focused on the spot and are conducting evaluations.
President Obama, P.M. Cameron to discuss economy and oil spill
President Obama will host Prime Minister Cameron at the White House tomorrow, where they are expected to discuss Afghanistan, the economy and BP’s handling of the Gulf oil spill. The two leaders last met at the G8 and G20 meetings in Canada last month, where the Prime Minister revealed he wanted to withdraw troops from Afghanistan within five years. On the eve of Cameron’s first visit to the White House as Britain’s Prime Minister, political editor for Sky News, Adam Boulton joined the Washington Journal to discuss US-British relations. One topic of discussion was the oil spill and recent revelations that BP lobbied the British government over a prison transfer agreement for the Lockerbie bomber while negotiating a major oil deal with Libya.
Sunday buzz… while the temps on the East Coast are hot and def out of control the left Coast, depending on what part you live in is cool and or experiencing rain. The ranting and def un-PC raving of MGibson has us all tuned in as he alienates several in a matter of minutes hey maybe he will get into politics next because he probably will fit right in. nuff said. In another bit of strange but obviously important to the french is the new law to ban burqas, which still seems odd to me because of the obvious ramifications of being told what you can and cannot wear because …well that part is not clear but it seems very exclusionary to me and maybe somewhat racist -it is a cultural thing that is not meant to offend anyone and i might be wrong but wearing a burqa-style veil has now become a choice; it just seems like such an odd thing for the french to want to control and begs the question again why did they need to implement a law about the way a person dresses because the door is now open to tell people actually force people to accept laws that seem discriminatory. The notion that anyone could be told what to wear is strange -it isn’t about gangs about signs or whatnot it’s aged old cultural ritual that offends the french government? odd
In other odd news while people wait to see if the newest BP cap is still holding the talk seems to have taken another turn to negative and that just is odd. It should be a positive thing to see this cap is holding and the relief wells are being drilled, yet cable heads have decided to take the public on yet another path to what if not this is great. I watched a couple of shows say ok so it is holding but now people are praising gov Jindal for standing up to the government while others are saying he is just doing photo opp… who is dumb enough to think this man is actually standing up to government when ok he is government a part of our country that wants oil drilling in their area who did not have a contingency plan themselves, did not have the national guard out there asap and why didn’t they insist on respirators, Hazmat suits sooner why didn’t they have some sort of pre authorization in place to put barriers up for the Marshes, Wetlands or beaches in case there was an oil leak or a oil disaster because things do happen and anyone with that much power should have had a plan. It is my contention that Gulf Coast Government failed a lot of people but that part is not being covered by many.
Saturday thoughts …Are Americans now going to be subject to words of hate, fear and what seems like threats to me from some folks on the right until the November elections? In addition, should we expect them to engage in this ugliness daily? should we be scared, are we going backward, are people listening to the race baiting from Fox News and should our children our future be afraid? equality is worth the fight but we are in the 21st Century and moving forward is a very powerful and an adult thing to do -we should all take part because going backward is not an option.
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
-George Orwell
I sat here listening to Senator Pat Robertson’s response to the President’s morning address, which btw was great but the comments coming out of the mouth of Senator Robertson were negative. I only heard the scare tactics, the fear mongering Senator Robertson and the Republican Party is engaging in. It is offensive and plays into the minds of those most needing the Republicans to vote yes to HR5297 and H.R.4213 not to provoke fear and or violence because the fear this party of No is engaging in has consequences unlike the Obama Administration wanting to help All Americans
On July 16, 2010, our President laid it out for everyone …The President blasts Republicans in the Senate who are blocking unemployment insurance and small business tax breaks to create jobs, even as they push for permanent, massive tax cuts for the richest Americans…
Moreover, as we wait to see if the newest BP cap holds then move into the next phrase, hopefully in front of us. We also have to hear the unbelievable noise from the airwaves, cable, and mainstream TV touting the bad Poll numbers our President has going into the elections hovering around 50%. In my book 50% is not bad it can be better and probably will; you see i have faith in most Americans to see through the forest of nasty moldy trees such as McCain, Angle, Boehner, Canter, Barton, McConnell, Bachmann and so many who have shown their true colours and where they stand and clearly it’s with Wall Street because they were among others a group of folks using creative accounting procedures which eventually helped to bring this economy to its knees (almost)
I watched the 2008 elections and while the McCain/Palin ticket looked among other things, a sad reminder of what Republicans look like. It was also look at how some can make a joke out of our political process, which could have come close to becoming a reality. Thank goodness, someone turned on the light and 53% of our population saw the light and voted for the only possible person to help lead us out of the ditch the last guy drove us into without a word or warning or a solution. The ditch -in my opinion was worse than the Bush administration told us worse than the Obama administration knew until one silly mismanaged thing happened after another… and while progressives want him to act vote and be more left of center it is by definition that most would then call him the S-word. Its obvious most if not all American Presidents must and have to govern in the middle on most issues. However, it is not lost on me or others that we have issues that most Presidents avoided were unable to redress or introduce because as the group responsible for creating and make laws were if nothing else more conservative than we are today. Though we are literally in the 21st Century, the lawmakers on the Hill are slow to follow or be progressive. This is not to say that debates and or conflicts should not happen as not all legislation though progressive is correct or good for the American public, it would be nice to have the obvious things move through without so much trouble. We will forever wonder what pace our economy would be at if the stimulus amount had been as big as some economist had stated it should be, we will continue to wonder just how bad was it and why did the last Admin wait so long do anything about it.
I have some theories about the need to make change we can all believe in if the system is so bad, so corrupt, so needing its band-aid ripped off that the 2 month window helped create a moment when the road to change was all too obvious. We were in trouble the solutions just as bad but Barack Obama stepped up, was willing, able, who is supported by most members of Congress and who 53% voted for. The notion that the stars were in alignment is such a cliché but just think about it. Is it possible the last guy finally saw the problems for what they were and could no longer keep the masque on the financial numbers that someone somewhere saw it too and meetings and deals had to be made… happening way before the 2008 election, question is when and this was kept from the public.
It would be in the best interest of voters if the Democratic Party met regularly to get on the same page that says this is the agenda we need to work on in both Chambers of Congress. Though Democrats might not always agree on political policy, they all agree we need to fix the problems so they will transition into the 21st Century. We need to have our system function beyond what other countries are now and become that the nation that was number one in so many things only to have gotten us in the current condition and still digging our way out. I don’t know what happened in Canada but they have improved so much faster than we have though we have what 300mil people and obviously a bigger financial system -maybe it’s time to confer with a neighbor or two to find out just what did they do to rectify their countries financial system. just sayin
BP announced last week that oil had stopped flowing into the Gulf after engineers closed three valves on the new capping stack. President Obama described the sucessful capping as “good news” but added that more work is needed to permantly contain the oil. Engineers will continue to monitor the pressure within the well to determine if the cap can hold the oil without leaking from other locations along the pipe. The results of these integrity tests will provide BP with insight into how to proceed with their efforts to seal the leaking well. National Incident Commander Thad Allen reminded the public that the cap was not designed to be a permanent fix – it will allow four vessels to contain the oil and assure redundancy in the event of severe weather. BP hopes two relief wells will provide a permanent solution; the first well is within 5 feet of its target and should be completed sometime in August.
Last week, the national commission investigating the cause of the Gulf Coast disaster held a public meeting in New Orleans. President Obama established the bi-partisan commission in May to investigate the oil spill and give recommendations on ways to prevent and lessen the impact of future oil spills resulting from offshore drilling. Witnesses included the Interior Department’s newly appointed Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Michael Bromwich. He talked about the Interior Department’s second moratorium order to stop deep water drilling.
Arizona senate GOP candidates square off in debate
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) met Friday night with his primary challengers vying for the Republican nomination in Arizona’s U.S. Senate election this fall. Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) and conservative “tea party” activist Jim Deakin debated the four-term Senator in the first of two televised Republican primary debates. During the one-hour debate, the three candidates discussed a host of issues including immigration policy, financial legislation and health care. While they each sought to establish their positions on issues, Hayworth criticized McCain’s voting record, Deakin called his opponents “career politicians,” and McCain referenced his voting record against the President’s policies. Senator McCain also noted the support he’s received from many conservative organizations stating, “They know I’m going to go back to Washington not only to fight, but to lead.” The second and last debate before Arizona’s Aug. 24 Republican primary will be held tonight in Tucson, AZ.
Lawmakers Look Into Airline Fees; Impact on Industry
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reported that airlines earned $7.9 billion from additional fees in 2008 and 2009. Many of these fees include a variety of unbundled services for food; extra carriers; blankets; bathroom use; priority seating and more. On Wednesday, the House Transportation Aviation Subcommittee questioned whether the airline industry should better disclose these fees to flyers. Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello (D-IL) agreed with the GAO’s findings and supported statements from witnesses representing the GAO, Department of Transportation and associations for air travel and travel agents. “I frankly do not believe that we are going to get where we need to be unless we do this either through rulemaking or action taken by the Congress,” Rep. Costello stated.
This weekend, Book TV will be live from the 12th Annual Harlem Book Fair at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Panels will include discussions on religion, Barack Obama, human rights and reading in the digital age. The Harlem Book Fair will also hold a tribute to Book TV, presented by Max Rodriguez, founder of the Harlem Book Fair. The Harlem Book Fair’s mission is to partner with local and national leadership organizations to promote literacy. The Fair is the nation’s largest African American literary event celebrating family literacy, community empowerment, and community cooperation.
Today is an amusing day for those of us who have to listen to folks on the right talking trash about the latest Obama Administrations win. We must say this … 2 big sweeping bills passed in Congress which were on the Obama campaign agenda … YaY !!!! …and BP’s newest cap is doing the job at this moment, the pressure is rising which they say is a positive sign though after 87days we are all waiting hoping for the best.
With the help from three Republicans, a final vote in the Senate of 60-39 for Wall Street Reform finally happened. This vote was a big fing deal like the one Biden said about Health Care Reform. The drama was great because the Senate wasted no time, the first vote for cloture was 60-38 to move the Wall Street bill forward then a couple of hours later the final vote of 60-39 came through. This reform bill should move us all beyond Wall Street to get Every Street fixed with this somewhat watered down bill. The Bush Administration did let the people down and avoided reforming anything financial. We all know that all things financial finally needed to be repaired and reintroduced so that it functions correctly not corruptly and President Obama was able to get some in Congress to see and accept the idea and step up to the plate and got it done.
The President will sign the bill into law next week, until then celebrate because it’s Friday! Woke up to some strange weather in the 206 but then heard that the DC area experienced an Earth Quake reported being 3.6. It is considered minor or barely felt earthquake if you live on the left coast but it will be the topic so many on cable, main stream TV and airwaves because they don’t usually have them there and is the largest recorded earthquake in that area.
The President has gotten things done though the Administration is not getting the credit in this nasty climate; what seems to be louder and even noisier is the trash that Republicans keep talking …Boehner came out and not only announced they would repeal Wall Street Reform on national TV they let their constituents finally see where they stand. The last few days and or months; say, since the 2008 elections we have been bombarded with crazy talk from the right and while we may gasp at all or most of what they throw out at us. It should open the eyes of all that have been trying to decide which side of the isle they should be on … it is clear to me Republican talk is cheap.
More amusing is the ramping up of race and the importance of it now that we have an African American President. In addition to race, it is also amusing at how easy folks on the right seem to be throwing out labels to describe President Obama’s actions in a time when the jig is up so to speak. The corruption of not only just Wall Street came out some say a few things about the last administration were not just swept under the rug they were shoved and an agreement made to move on. It is obvious that Wall Street’s creative accounting procedures finally coming to an ugly head and the show, “House of cards” by David Faber on Cnbc was a cruel reminder and or an awakening at how greed affects the mind. It was a truthful documentation of the nasty journey our economy took … for who, by who and how it (they)almost brought all of us down …and if we have to subscribe to labels … call me a Marxist who believes in Socialism at this time ….. We need someone who cares, who is socially responsible and who believes the gap between the haves and have none needs to shrink. School me, what can be wrong with caring for all the people of the US … not just the top one or 2percent… especially since that one percent has been wheeling and dealing starting from the house of bush and trickled down to main street … gotta admit it’s time for a change.
Obama is not a socialist or a Marxist …
Other News …
**Rising pressure on the BP well cap is a positive sign
**West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin announced the temporary appointment to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Senator Robert Byrd. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said that the Senate will swear in the new senator on Tuesday, July 20th
*”Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $550 million to settle federal claims that it misled investors in a subprime mortgage product as the housing market began to collapse.” The settlement with the SEC “would rank among the largest in the 76-year history” of the agency, but “represent[s] only a small financial dent for Goldman, which reported $13.39 billion in profit last year.”
**Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) has joined the chorus of Republicans already calling for repeal of the recently-passed financial overhaul bill. “Oh, I’d love for it to be repealed,” said Chambliss, the ranking Republican on the Agriculture Committee, which played a key role in writing the bill.
**Yesterday, the U.S. Army “reported a record number of suicides in a single month among active duty, Guard and Reserve troops, despite an aggressive program of counseling, training and education aimed at suicide prevention.” In June, there were 32 soldiers who are believed to have committed suicide, and suicides “for the first half of the year are up 12 percent over 2009.”
Well Cap Holding; No Oil Leaking as Integrity Tests Continue
BP announced yesterday that oil had stopped flowing into the Gulf after engineers closed three valves on the new capping stack that was placed earlier this week. Engineers will continue to monitor the pressure within the well to determine if the cap can hold the oil without leaking from other locations along the pipe. The results of these integrity tests will provide BP with insight into how to proceed with their efforts to seal the leaking well. However, National Incident Commander Thad Allen reminded the public that the cap was not designed to be a permanent fix – it will allow four vessels to contain the oil and assure redundancy in the event of severe weather. BP hopes two relief wells will provide a permanent solution; the first well is within 5 feet of its target and should be completed sometime in August.
Lawmakers pass Financial Bill, President to sign next week
President Obama praised the Senate yesterday for passing the financial regulation bill (HR4173), also known as the American Financial Stability Act of 2010 by a vote of 60-39. During his statement, he thanked lawmakers for passing the measure that would “crack down on abusive practices” in the financial system, and added, “the reform puts in place the strongest consumer protection. “The measure, which is the biggest overhaul of the system since the Great Depression, became a top priority of Congress and the White House after the 2008 financial collapse. The legislation creates a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as well as other provisions to protect consumers from predatory lending.
The President is expected to sign the bill sometime early next week. The House approved the bill last month by a vote of 237-192.
At 2pm this afternoon West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin will make a temporary appointment to fill the vacant Senate seat left by the late Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV).
It is also expected that Gov. Manchin will indicate whether he plans to run for the same seat in November 2010 if the West Virginia legislature approves a special election for that date. The legislature is in special session to determine if the governor can order a special election before 2012, Sen. Byrd’s re-election year.
Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) also said yesterday that the Senate will swear-in the new West Virginia senator on Tuesday, July 20th.
Senator Byrd served in Congress for 57 years and was the Senator from West Virginia for 51 years before passing away last month.
Among the good things going on today include the President’s signing of the Wall Street reform bill, Congress with the additional vote of Carte Goodwin and a couple of Republicans have advanced the UI benefits bill through cloture. Though Republicans used the 30hr cloture process to delay the vote …Unemployment Bill HR4213 and possibly the Jobs Bill HR5297 will both pass though watered down significantly. The President has done plenty that will improve the lives of Americans. We the People need to be reminded of the accomplishments and so, going back 18 months and remember that the President signed the lily Ledbetter bill, the treaty with Russia to reduce nuclear weapons, same sex couples working for the government have more rights than before and working laws that cover everyone not just a select few, he is working on DADT and the GM bailout helped millions of people keep their jobs and President Obama should be commended for it.
Bill Signing: c-span.org at 11:30am ET
Newsweek: How Reform Could Affect You
C-SPAN’s Economic Webpage
Admiral Allen (Ret.) Daily Oil Spill Update (7/16)
Be a Seed for Change 
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