Tag Archives: BarackObama

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a few thousand of us gathered in Springfield, Illinois, to launch an improbable campaign for President.


Five years ago today, a few thousand of us gathered in Springfield, Illinois, to launch an improbable campaign for President.

The task was to build a grassroots movement capable of making the kind of change we believe in.

You’ve got to see this video about that journey — it will make you smile:


From the very start this has been an experiment in our political process, testing whether ordinary people really can still come together to change this country.

We proved that it’s possible. But we’ve also learned that entrenched interests adapt and claw back even harder, which means this election will be even more of a challenge.

I can’t wait to see what you can do.

Barack

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More than 1 million people like you power this campaign. If you can, please donate today.

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just another rant …

A call to action to those fighting for fair share … Stand UP and be counted

In a time when millions are unemployed, more layoffs coming and Corporate America is still outsourcing and holding jobs hostage. The Republican Party continues to cut slash and burn American Workers on the State and City levels. The party of No, which used to be just a conservative family values scary group, is now so extreme that the slogan “taking their country back”, is no longer code and the Teapublican base loves it. Obviously, it is about not wanting “his kind” in the White House. The notion that President Obama resembles any of those stupid adjectives Rience Priebus and his comrades use to describe President Obama belongs in a SNL sketch. While we all might want to laugh …reality check – our Democracy seems to be at risk.

What happened to the buyer’s remorse of 2010 and FYI  seniors cannot forget what Teapublicans have in mind for them … Vouchers and Privatization

Yes, Teapublicans want to Privatize Public Service Jobs, which includes Teachers, Fire Fighters, Police, while gutting Social Service programs that help the elderly, women, and children already suffering are now willing to take the basics away from the middle class. The fact is Teapublicans have successfully forced their ideology into our lives. The latest Teapublican mission accomplished, getting a conservative at the helm of a Woman’s health care Company for one let alone the power to shove Women off the health care resource cliff.  I wonder did she say one thing and do another because my memory of the old Komen for the cure would know that Women’s health care should be safe and affordable. The New Susan G Komen for the cure’s decision to dump or halt grants to Planned Parenthood has lost the support of many who have donated in the name of someone they love or because of the connection and knowledge, that women’s health care has to come from different resources. Yet, the New Komen for cure and the actions of Justice Roberts regarding Citizens United offer up a peak at how Teapublicans want us to live. I am upset and feel the New Komen for the cure has betrayed all who say Planned Parenthood saved their lives and it is obvious that Citizens United has upset the balance of fair play with unlimited amounts of cash being injected into campaigning …

My question to you is … Who do you blame for the chaos?

While the Democratic Party battles in Congress against attacks on the middle class. Teapublicans on the State level have managed to pass legislation against women, voter, children, and worker rights. I wonder what our neighborhoods will look after this nasty group is finished wreaking havoc on us all on the local level. We need to fight back on both the local and Federal level.  We all have to know that the more folks out of work the better the chances of less quality but more costly those services will be. Think separate but equal. I have to say, it is disturbing to see in the light of day how low the Party of NO is willing to go with deals made in the shadows.

The media and certain Politicians say that in times of crisis people separate into cliques. I say Teapublican Politicians and “the media” that engage them have been doing a great job in manipulating the information viewers hear or see. It is offensive but best believe no one should forget Boehner, Cantor, McConnell made a choice to play games with the lives of Americans instead of passing legislation that would get us back on track, disagree but a divided government is unacceptable.  I have to say the November Midterms was proof that manipulation works. These jerks used false info, anger and American gullibility to move their agenda forward, clearly a whole lot of Tea Party carpetbaggers said one thing and did another.

We all probably have family or know people who marched for civil and equal rights, felt compelled to be a part of that ideal of “strength in numbers” we all hear frequently that I consider important and speaks volumes when a change is near just over the horizon waiting to happen. This feeling of wanting a better way of life is spreading all over the world and while a couple of tyrants have seen the light others continue to participate in overt genocide, others shutdown access to the World outside and risk killing their own people. I get the feeling the Republican Tea Party is a lot like those folks in other countries currently doing all they can to either keep control or take anyone down that happens to be in the way. In our case, American voters are demanding fair share but the people with the power have gone rogue without thinking about what the full impact on the lives of the many will be or don’t care and have decided to take that risk and try to usurp the rights of Americans whether it’s done legally, by consensus or not.

We are all Freedom Fighters on some level every day.

in other news of the day …

1/31/12: White House Press Briefing

President Obama Speaks at Washington Auto Show

 President Announces New Housing Initiatives

Senate Committee Looks at Annual U.S. Threat Assessment

CBO Director Discusses Economic Outlook

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James Kvaal – Policy Director, BarackObama.com


Here’s something that President Obama laid out in his State of the Union that I think deserves special attention:

 Recent news reports have raised questions about whether members of Congress are profiting from inside information about the very businesses they’re supposed to be regulating — information about pending legislation that could move markets and generate investor profits.

The President offered one simple fix: End insider trading by members of Congress, extending the rules that apply to anyone else whose jobs give them access to sensitive information about businesses.

If you think this simple effort at good government should be a priority during this campaign, it’s up to you to speak out. Say you support the President and spread the word:

http://barackobama.com/Ban-Insider-Trading

 Thanks,

 James

James Kvaal
National Policy Director
Obama for America

 P.S. — Here’s the full quote from the State of the Union:

“Send me a bill that bans insider trading by members of Congress; I will sign it tomorrow. Let’s limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact. Let’s make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress can’t lobby Congress, and vice versa — an idea that has bipartisan support, at least outside of Washington.”

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a message from Caroline Kennedy


Four years ago today, I joined my Uncle Teddy and thousands of excited students at American University to endorse Barack Obama as the next president of the United States.

Barack Obama had stirred something in young people and the young at heart. I saw the passion in my own teenage children, and I heard it from a different generation of people who said they felt like they did when my father ran for president.

We felt strongly that we needed to elect a president who urged us to believe in ourselves, who could tie that belief to our highest ideals, and who understood that together we can do great things.

Four years later, as I think about what first inspired me to support Barack Obama, I’m proud we have a president who has fought hard for the values Teddy held dear, and stood up on issues that matter.

Will you join me by saying what first inspired you to stand with Barack Obama?

http://my.barackobama.com/Teddy

Teddy understood that the challenges of health care aren’t political — they are personal. That’s why he fought for 40 years to make health care a right and not a privilege for American families.

How proud he would have been to see his candidate sign the Affordable Care Act into law as president, giving all Americans the security of knowing that their health care will be there when they need it most.

In his speech four years ago today, Teddy reminded us all of that bright light of hope and possibility that shines even in the darkest hours. He knew that with Barack Obama as president, America would shine again. I don’t think he would be surprised to know that four years later, this president would have ended the war in Iraq, repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and guaranteed women the right to equal pay for equal work.

The 2012 election will be harder than the last. As you think about what role you can play this time, I want you to remember that when Teddy joined this campaign, it wasn’t just Barack Obama who drew him in.

It was you.

The possibility of a campaign run by ordinary people determined to change our country for the better and willing to work as hard as necessary inspired him then, and it’s what inspires me today.

Thanks for all you do.

I’ll see you out there,

Caroline

P.S. — If you’d like to take some time to watch that speech, it’s here.

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What a Fair Shot at Success Means …for ALL Americans


What a Fair Shot at Success Means

Posted by Matt Compton on December 6, 2011 at 6:47 PM EST
 
 In the state where his mother was born, President Obama made an argument about laying a new foundation for broad-based prosperity in America.

“It starts,” he said, “with making sure that everyone has a fair shot at success.”

That means giving Americans the education, infrastructure, and resources necessary to out-innovate our global competitors, structuring our tax system fairly to pay for those investments, and it means creating an environment where everyone — from Main Street to Wall Street — plays by the same set of rules. The President said:

As infuriating as it was for all of us, we rescued our major banks from collapse, not only because a full blown financial meltdown would have sent us into a second Depression, but because we need a strong, healthy financial sector in this country.

But part of the deal was that we would not go back to business as usual. That’s why last year we put in place new rules of the road that refocus the financial sector on this core purpose: getting capital to the entrepreneurs with the best ideas, and financing to millions of families who want to buy a home or send their kids to college. We’re not all the way there yet, and the banks are fighting us every inch of the way.

And Republicans are standing with Wall Street to block broader reform by refusing to confirm a head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — the watchdog group is charged with protecting everyday Americans from lenders who are out to take advantage of them. Here’s what President Obama had to say:

The man we nominated for the post, Richard Cordray, is a former Attorney General of Ohio who has the support of most Republican and Democratic Attorneys General throughout the country.

But the Republicans in the Senate refuse to let him do his job. Why? Does anyone think the problem before that led to this crisis was too much oversight of mortgage lenders or debt collectors? Every day we go without a consumer watchdog in place is another day when a student, or a service member, or a senior citizen could be tricked into a loan they can’t afford – something that happens all the time. Financial institutions have plenty of lobbyists looking out for their interests. Consumers deserve to have someone whose job it is to look out for theirs. And I intend to make sure they do.

The Senate is slated to vote on Richard Cordray’s confirmation later this week. Check back at WhiteHouse.gov for more information.

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  • President Obama: “In America, We Are Greater Together”

    Posted by Matt Compton on December 6, 2011 at 5:43 PM EST
    20111206 POTUS in Osawatomie Members of the audience listen as President Barack Obama delivers remarks at Osawatomie High School in Osawatomie, Kansas, Dec. 6, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

    More than a century after Teddy Roosevelt outlined a vision for a “New Nationalism” in a Kansas town called Osawatomie, President Obama visited the same community to talk about what he called a make-or-break moment of the middle class.

    He described how the world has undergone an economic transformation unlike any other in our collective history — and how that change has upended our expectations of social mobility in this country. Where professionals ranging from factory workers to travel agents to accountants once enjoyed the promise of a good job and steady income in exchange for their hard work, today they and a range of people like them must compete with new technology and individuals from around the world.

    The President told the 1,200 people gathered in Osawatomie that there are two ways to respond to these challenges.

    Some in Washington, he said, argue that we should let the markets take care of everything — rolling back regulation and slashing taxes:

    Now, it’s a simple theory. And we have to admit, it’s one that speaks to our rugged individualism and our healthy skepticism of too much government. That’s in America’s DNA. And that theory fits well on a bumper sticker. But here’s the problem: It doesn’t work. It has never worked. It didn’t work when it was tried in the decade before the Great Depression. It’s not what led to the incredible postwar booms of the ‘50s and ‘60s. And it didn’t work when we tried it during the last decade.

    Thankfully, President Obama said, we can choose a different path:

    [T]here’s another view about how we build a strong middle class in this country — a view that’s truer to our history, a vision that’s been embraced in the past by people of both parties for more than 200 years.

    It’s not a view that we should somehow turn back technology or put up walls around America. It’s not a view that says we should punish profit or success or pretend that government knows how to fix all of society’s problems. It is a view that says in America we are greater together — when everyone engages in fair play and everybody gets a fair shot and everybody does their fair share.

    Read the entire speech here.