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TGIF …&some News


Day 66 in the BP disaster and no end in sight and though people are pissed this is not the fault of the President …

MJ is being celebrated all over the country; maybe all over the World and the same ole comments about him being strange and or weird by people in the Media is just wrong because these kids are watching listening to folks who said much worse when he was alive but you know what -what happened to respecting the dead? I will not be watching gone too soon because of the ian halprin connection… It is yet another vehicle to make money off MJ and it’s offensive that he and so many others have done so; he stated the payroll or people still living off MJ is offensive … what do you call what he is doing eh?

Storms are moving in all along the Gulf and the country  … in more ways than we all want to think about. It’s time that Americans stir up their own storms all across the country to tell Senator Ben Nelson and Republicans what they have done is unacceptable and will clearly bring us all back to that day when the President announced over 750thousand jobs were lost per month and destroy the efforts already accomplished.

Today the President will be in Canada at the G20/G8 summit, Italy and France both were eliminated in the 1st round of soccer but the US will be playing Ghana Saturday and the players and coaches all say they will be throwing everything they got at Ghana, Florida closes more beaches due to oil washing on shore. Gov. Jindal has made some comments about the impact that is being made from the previous moratorium that seems odd to me as a mom, worker, and safety-first advocate. It is obvious that those who worked for oil rigs in the area have lost their jobs but who would begrudge a President from wanting to have each well checked for safety given the history that BP seems to have and it apparently is not the best. The Gov of LA stated that the moratorium should be overturned because it would affect their economy. Yes, it is true and the Alabama judge agreed with Governor Jindal. It just seems strange that we have yet to fix the current oil well gushing into the Gulf with Reporters stating that other wells may need to be adjusted and or at least new rules need to be implemented. It is obvious the Feldman decision will be appealed.

The question is -what happens if there is another accident, does that mean Gov Jindal is directly responsible if anything happens? Did you know that only 33 wells out of 36 hundred were placed in moratorium status  and while people would be out of work for 6 months over 3thousand are still functioning and maybe it’s just me but couldn’t the workers from the 33 be distributed to the over 3000 functioning wells to work on? in addition, how strange is it that Jindal and the rest of the Republicans wanted the moratorium overturned because of jobs but they refuse to help the rest of the country with a YES to the jobs bill… talk about hypocrisy.

Reports are that the conferees committee voted to move reform forward and was and are a great achievement but this is not the final vote. It sounds like this committee tried to have courage but felt any true reform might make folks run to other countries to keep their money. The bill will need to go through both Chambers of Congress before a final vote but this is a start to reforming Wall Street which will need adjustments to reflect what is going on in the world as well. I admit it is good that the President was able to take the agreement with him to the summit and just heard this reform was bigger than any other since the depression.

Other News …

C-SPAN …

Conferees Approve financial regulation bill, 27-16 on Thursday evening

The House-Senate conference committee on the financial regulations bill wrapped up its work early today following a marathon 20-hour session. The measure passed out of conference on a party line vote, with 27 Democrats voting for it, and 16 Republicans voting against. In remarks this morning before his departure to Canada for the G-8 summit, President Obama praised the conferess for passing what he said is the “strongest financial reform since the Great Depression.” The legislation now goes back to both chambers for final consideration. The House Conference Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) said he hopes to see the legislation signed into law by President Obama before July 4th.

Oil Creeps Along Florida Coast; Moratorium Remains Overturned

Portions of Pensacola Beach are closed in order for workers to remove oil from the sand. At least 33 miles of Florida’s Panhandle beaches have health advisories suggesting that people should not swim or fish in the water.  Yesterday, a federal judge denied a request to keep a deepwater drilling moratorium in place, pending a government appeal. The moratorium prohibits drilling in more than 500 feet of water and prevents new permits from being issued.
BP replaced the containment cap over the underwater well Wednesday night after an accident that morning forced BP to stop their containment efforts. Earlier this week, Adm. Thad Allen announced that authorities are exploring whether pipelines could be extended from the well to several platforms elsewhere in the Gulf where oil could be captured or sent to a different reservoir. This option would allow containment to continue in the event of a hurricane.
World Leaders meet to discuss global issues

World Leaders meet to discuss global issues

TodayPresident Obama and seven other world leaders are in Canada for the two-day G-8 “Group of Eight” summit. The leaders will likely focus their talks on regional and global issues, disaster relief and health related issues. The countries being represented at the G-8 include: United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada and Russia.

Following the two-day forum will be the larger G-20 meeting, an economic forum summit set up to discuss strategies for restoring global growth, and measures for reforming global trade and financial governance.
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Friday -follow Congress


The Senate Convenes at 9:30amETJune 25, 2010

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to HR H.R.5297, the Small Business Lending Fund Program. There will be no roll call votes during Friday’s session of the Senate.

Votes:

Unanimous Consent:
Passed S.3104, Radio Free Asia

Adopted S.Res.566, a resoltuion expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the situation in Kyrgystan

The Senate confirmed the nomination of John Pistole to be an Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security.


The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 4:00pmET June 25, 2010

4:03 P.M. –

The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to a previous special order. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on June 28, 2010.

H.R. 5136:

to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2011 for military activities of the Department of Defense, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes

4:02 P.M. –

Papers returned to House pursuant to H. Res. 1467

The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 1467 and pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that the Senate had returned the papers on H.R. 5136.

4:01 P.M. –

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG – The Chair led the House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.

4:00 P.M. –

Today’s prayer was offered by the House Chaplain, Rev. Daniel Coughlin.

The Speaker designated the Honorable Henry Cuellar to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.

The House convened, starting a new legislative day.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Introducing RaiseYourVote.com


Organizing for America

We just launched RaiseYourVote.com, the centerpiece of our huge voter registration effort.

RaiseYourVote.com isn’t just a voter registration site. It serves as a powerful clearinghouse for voter information across the country — armed with pretty much everything you need to know to cast your ballot. It even automatically personalizes to the user’s location — so when you visit the site, you’ll see voter information for your state.

But the power of a site like this depends on how many voters see it.

Check out RaiseYourVote.com today — and please share it with your friends.

Introducing RaiseYourVote.com. Check it out.

The 2008 election was a pivotal moment for our democracy. We saw 15 million people cast ballots for the first time and millions more vote for the first time in decades. These voters helped put President Obama over the top, and made the difference in tight races across the country.

This site is about ensuring that we build on that same energy this year. Congressional elections are known to have lower participation than those for president, so we’re starting early with a tool that will help get more Americans involved. And, really, RaiseYourVote.com is just the online part of our unprecedented voter registration efforts already under way on the ground, which we’re ramping up with a national voter registration day of action across the country on July 17th.

Casting a ballot shouldn’t be too hard or confusing for anyone — and we’re trying to make it as easy as possible for everyone to get the information they need. In fact, we even created a RaiseYourVote.com “widget” that users can install on their own blogs or websites, making it easy for people everywhere to make registering to vote as simple as possible.

Please help us spread the word — send it on to three friends today:

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Texas GOP says gays shouldn’t have custody of children


Sign the petition to RNC Chairman Michael Steele:

What you are about to read is shocking but true.

The 2010 Texas Republican Party Platform says gay people shouldn’t have custody of children.1

It says issuing a marriage license or performing a marriage ceremony for a same-sex couple should be punishable by jail time.2

It wants to restore 19th-century Texas statutes outlawing sex between men.3

It’s one thing for extremist groups to spout this type of bigotry. But one of the nation’s two main political parties? That’s taking it WAY too far.

The Republican National Committee is trying to avoid the issue, but a huge public outcry can force them to take sides. Is this really what they want voters to think the GOP stands for as the 2010 elections approach?

At a time when Americans are looking for real solutions to the challenges we face, the Texas GOP decided to focus on propaganda, not policy:

“Homosexuality tears at the fabric of society, contributes to the breakdown of the family unit, and leads to the spread of dangerous, communicable diseases.”

“Homosexuality must not be presented as an acceptable ‘alternative’ lifestyle in our public education and policy, nor should ‘family’ be redefined to include homosexual ‘couples.'”

“We oppose the recognition of and granting of benefits to people who represent themselves as domestic partners without being legally married.”

They’re not just against marriage equality; they’re against basic equal rights. They think it should be 100% legal to fire someone for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Even their word choice shows a possible anti-transgender bias, using the phrases “natural man” and “natural woman.” The list goes on – far beyond the usual Republican talking points on “traditional family values” and even the GOP platforms in other conservative states.

And they don’t stop with attacking LGBT citizens. They also call for evicting the United Nations from the U.S., requiring drivers’ licenses to indicate citizenship, opposing legislation to allow stem cell research, rescinding no-fault divorce laws, reversing Roe v. Wade, and shutting down the U.S. Department of Education.

I want to be clear: HRC is a bipartisan organization. We’ve endorsed Republican candidates for election. So this isn’t about party politics – it’s about deep intolerance that deserves to be rejected.

After you’ve signed, please spread the word to your friends – LGBT and straight, Republican and Democrat – and help us get the word out.

Let’s not allow the national Republican Party to hem and haw their way out of this one.

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese
Joe Solmonese
President

P.S. The full platform is available here (PDF).

~ my 2cents ..., ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

thorny Thursday &some News


It is a day to take a deep breath and slowly let it out … and repeat if needed.

Tell cable heads to stop saying that Polls matter – they are subjective vehicles that none of us with brains takes too seriously —take that Msnbc and Cnn- people are smarter than this and if there are questions about why our President poll numbers are so low -how about telling your representative to help the President achieve what he campaigned on instead of looking out for their own skins… our President can lead Congress to the well or list of things that need to be reformed on his agenda but Congress has to have the courage to do what’s right, so far CONGRESS has been the let down, not our President.  The low numbers are from progressives who are willing to throw someone under the bus when things get tough instead of getting strong tough and making those calls to the various members of Congress to let them know we support the President …it’s time you did as well.  Congress is the place where the laws are made people not the President -he has set out his agenda but Republicans have continued to block him; this will continue to happen unless Republican constituents finally see where Republicans stand and it ain’t with the people. Ask yourself why a Politician would bet against the failure of a Democratic Party who is doing the peoples business for an agenda that supports big Banks, Wall Street, most if not all Republicans truly feel BP got the raw deal and that they support BP and not the people of the Gulf Coast.  It is a sad state of affairs to know any Republican would say that the spill should be paid by the taxpayers, that this was a Chicago style shake down, ask the families of the 11 men who died, ask all those people who made their living from the beauty and land of the Gulf Coast.  I have to say 1st nations people and those who kept the land in a pristine state before oil rigs, big tourism and hotels would be  greatly disappointed that this is what progress looks like to the people here today.

The other things that upset me about Republicans? Is that Republicans are hawks, we see them  giving President Obama the thumbs up when it comes to fighting Wars and spending money somewhere else instead of on the people in their own country. I am not into fighting any War. I do understand why he is in that area and though it might seem like a move that most folks on the left disagree with they must remember Obama did not start the Afghanistan or the Iraq Wars he does feel the right War was Afghanistan and has pursued it. Only time will tell and possibly We the People will need to march against any Wars in a time when money any money should be spent here in the States. The War is not an issue any President should take lightly, though it might seem the last one did. This President’s decision to pursue War or continue the Afghan assault was not decided on a whim, and the public should understand, have patience, and put themselves in the President’s shoes regarding any decision to put the lives of our  men and women in jeopardy. It was something the house of Bush decided quickly and set out on 2Wars and left no real window to leave especially after 9/11, not to mention those imprisoned at Gitmo finding their way back home only to join terrorist groups against Americans.

It is a time to stand with the President not run and or vote to give the President a message – We all need to call our representatives in Congress because they are the ones who create and pass laws people. The President can lead them to the agenda that 53% of us voted for but if they have their own these things will not get done. I have to wonder if people really understand what the process is because to be honest people say the President should use his executive order and do something and maybe he will have to when it comes to the jobs bill but it could be repealed in the future and that is the down side.

If Congress, specifically Republicans would realize that it’s time get our system back on track instead of stalling blocking and hoping the public will become so disheartened they will opt to have Republicans take over.

As Americans we must see through what Republicans have in store for us and vote against the corporatist that they are and call our representatives to make a hard left away from Wall Street and reform all things that have cripple this economy

Other News …

**the judge who overturned the administrations request for a stay for a 6 month moratorium has stated he will not delay his ruling

**a man has been stopped with weapons/tools and a chainsaw in his car near the location of the G20 meeting

watch Conferees: Part 1 watch Conferees: Part 2 House/Senate Cmte

watch Hearing on U.S.-China Relationship

watch Hearing on MedPAC

watch Hearing on MMS Reorganization

C-SPAN …

Congress focuses on IRAQ as President replaces U.S. commander in Afghanistan

The Senate Armed Services Committee is considering two military nominations regarding the leadership of U.S. troops. General Ray Odierno, who currently serves as the Commanding General of the U.S. Forces – Iraq, has been selected to lead the U.S. Joint Forces Command. Lieutenant-General Lloyd Austin has been tapped to replace Gen. Odierno as the top U.S. Iraq commander. Yesterday, President Obama accepted the resignation of the top Afghanistan war general Gen. Stanley McChrystal over critical remarks he made in Rolling Stone magazine. The President has picked Gen. David Petraeus as his replacement. His confirmation hearing is expected to take place early next week.

Economy, iran two issues to be addresed in Obama-Medvedev meeting

Leading into this weekend’s G-8 and G-20 economic summits, President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hold a bilateral meeting today on U.S.-Russian relations. The two leaders are likely to discuss policy toward Iran and global financial issues. After their meeting, they will hold a joint news conference followed by an address at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to U.S. and Russian business leaders.

watch News Conf.: c-span.org at 1:45pm ET    watch U.S. Chamber: c-span.org at 3:05pm ET
read LA Times: DC prepares for Russian president

Conferees to Wrap up Financial regulations legislation

The 43-member House and Senate Conference Committee moves into its final day of deliberations on financial regulation legislation. Members plan to wrap-up the two chambers’ different versions of the regulatory overhaul bill, including work on derivatives, which is one of the biggest components. They’re also expected to have more debate on the Volcker Rule, a proposed ban on some speculative trading by banks with federally insured deposits.

During the meeting yesterday, Conference Chairman Frank (D-MA) told members they would finish work on the bill by the end of the week, even if they had to stay late into the night. The committee hopes to have a bill approved by both chambers of Congress and signed into law by President Obama by July 4th