Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Is Child Obesity Worse Than Child Illegitimacy?

I was thinking about this today. Whenever a President is inaugerated, his wife always has her own project to work on. For Mrs Reagan it was "Just Say No," the war on drugs (which didn't work too well, unfortunately). Michele Obama chose to go after childhood obesity.

But what should she have gone after? 75% of all black kids are born out of wedlock. Of those, I'd say 70% of them are born to teenage girls who can't afford to keep themselves, let alone their babies, and so mom and kid(s) will live in poverty and on welfare their entire lives.

And no, it's not just a black thing. Latinos are second on the list, but illegitimacy rates for whites are rising faster than anyone's. [Indeed, all of my Uncle's step-grandchildren are illegitimate - the step-son has never had a job, and has five kids now from at least three different women, I think, so the fact he doesn't have a job and doesn't wear a condom is apparently attractive to a lot of women..]

That's a national crisis, and that's what should be addressed by Mrs. Obama. But if she did, there'd be a firestorm. The religious right doesn't want anyone given condoms, apparently, because their religion says thou shalt be fruitful and multiply (even if multiplying condemns you to live in poverty for your whole life). And women's groups will say that a woman has a right to have a child. Well, she may well do, but not on someone else's dime!

Supposedly, poor kids are more obese than middle class or wealthy kids. Why is this? Well, the poor can't afford to eat "well." They have to go to McDonalds for 1,000-calorie Big Macs, instead of eating sirloin steak at home. Or they bypass nutritional food for Twinkies and candy, comfort food to help them feel better amidst their poverty.

So eliminating poverty would go a long way toward elimiating obesity, and eliminating illigitimate births (or at least, cutting them way down) would go a long way toward solving that problem.

How to do it though? The Christian dictum of "no sex before marriage" will not work. But how about a dictum about ethics? "Thou shalt stand on your own two feet and use a condom while having sex until you have a decent education and a job and can afford to pay for a child on your own, so that your child won't be a burden to others.'

and 'It's easy to have a baby. Anyone can do it. Stay in school and get an education and a job, then you'll be someone special.'

That sounds good to me.

__________
My Schedule of Regular Posts
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Twitter is a Joke

I was relieved to learn today that Rush is not on Twitter - of all the stupid things people get involved in today, Twitter has to be one of the stupidest.
RUSH: Are you familiar with this Anthony Weiner business that's out? I've had one e-mail on this today, and the e-mail said, "Go ahead! Go ahead and talk about it," and I, frankly... (sigh) I had to look into this. I was not aware. I don't tweet or twit, whatever, and I don't read Twitters, unless I can't help it, unless somebody reports one in the context of something else that I'm reading. So I had to really dig deep to find out what this thing is all about, and the first thing I had to ask myself is... I guess they're calling it Weinergate -- "Is Weinergate really big enough to investigate?" The Weinergate story, to me, seems like it's hard to swallow. There are just too many coincidences here. I guess what the guy did is he's tweeting with some babe in see that, right?

Or twitting with some babe? He's twitting with some babe in Seattle, and he supposedly sends a picture of his bulging package in his underwear and he claims that he was hacked, that it actually isn't him. So I don't know if the picture in question of Congressman Weiner's underwear is an example of stand-up comedy or not. I don't know if it's an attempt to distract people from what's going on, but I guess if anything... (sigh) You can say this does put the twit in Twitter, 'cause it got everybody captivated. I looked at all these people analyzing this and they put it on a timeline and chronology, and it escapes me why this is such a big deal.

I saw the picture and it's not that big a deal even if it's not a hacker. Look, I know, "If it was a Republican doing it," blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, but this guy's already a weird little guy to me anyway; and he just married Hillary's valet or valet, whatever, Huma, Huma Abedin. He married her not long ago. I don't find here referenced in any of these stories. She could just tell us right now whether it's him or not, not that she would. But somebody tell me why it's a big deal? (interruption) Yeah? If it's him it's an ugly thing. Tweeting a picture of bulging package to some babe in Seattle not his wife, if it is indeed him -- and, by the way, I guess it's pretty difficult to believe it isn't him because he's claiming he was hacked and then not hacked immediately.

but the double standard
RUSH: I know all about the story with Chris Lee, the married congressman who sends a picture of himself nude from the waist up. He sends a picture out on the Internet, to the woman that he'd met on the Internet, published online. He's a Republican, and he had to resign; and Weiner has done this and he hasn't had to resign. The thing is, Weiner's face is not shown. Well, they say his face is not in this picture. They say that this is just a picture. Well, I saw the picture. He's wearing briefs, bulging briefs. Only Huma would know, and maybe not even from this picture. So... (interruption) No, a lineup wouldn't work here.

What I always ask myself, when these things come out, is how stupid are these politicians? You're in the public eye... do you really want to have an affair and risk your whole career...or in this case, not even have an affair, just send pictures of yourself to a total stranger...

Do you really think this is not going to come out and ruin your career?

Anyone who does this, Republican or Democrat, should be immediately stripped of office. Not because their morals are suspect, but because they are clearly stupid.

___________

My Schedule of Regular Posts
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

31 May, 2011, Tues, Rush Limbaugh Headlines

--Welcome to Obamaville, 2011: Downsizing the American Dream
Unbeatable? With a housing double dip, riots, no jobs?

--The Obama Stimulus Has Failed
The question is: Did they really think it would work?

--Caller Sparks Outrage By Claiming We Need a Miracle to Beat Obama
After all these years, why do you still doubt your host?

--Sarah Palin Toys with the Media
Her magical mystery tour has gotten under their skin.

--Weinergate: Too Small to Matter
Weiner is irrelevant. We're trying to save the country.

--The Left Sells Doom and Gloom
A look back on some great liberal doomsday scenarios.

__________
My Schedule of Regular Posts
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

31 May, 2011, Tues, SoS Clinton Schedule

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2011/05/164647.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
9:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with the Assistant Secretaries, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:05 p.m. Secretary Clinton delivers closing remarks to the U.S.-Colombia High Level Partnership Dialogue, in the George Marshall Conference Center at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

4:25 p.m. Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with Colombian Foreign Minister Holgiun, at the Department of State.
(JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY FOLLOWING BILATERAL MEETING AT APPROXIMATELY 5:00 P.M.)

6:00 p.m. Secretary Clinton hosts a dinner for Partners for a New Beginning, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


DEPUTY SECRETARY JAMES STEINBERG

9:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg co-chairs the Democracy, Human Rights and Good Governance Working Group of the U.S.-Colombia High Level Partnership Dialogue, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg hosts a working lunch for the U.S.-Colombia High Level Partnership Dialogue, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg meets with Bahraini Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY THOMAS NIDES
9:15 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides joins Secretary Clinton’s meeting with the Assistant Secretaries, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides attends Secretary Clinton’s dinner for the Partners for a New Beginning Summit, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJIV SHAH

9:15 a.m. Administrator Shah joins Secretary Clinton’s meeting with the Assistant Secretaries, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


US FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS ROBERT HORMATS

11:00 a.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:00 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats participates in the Partners for a New Beginning Summit, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:30 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats attends Secretary Clinton’s dinner for the Partners for a New Beginning Summit, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


US FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS JUDITH MCHALE

8:45 a.m. Under Secretary McHale makes remarks at the Opening Session of the U.S.-Colombia High-Level Partnership Dialogue and at the Culture and Education Working Group, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:00 a.m. Under Secretary McHale meets with Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:30 p.m. Under Secretary McHale attends Secretary Clinton’s dinner for the Partners for a New Beginning Summit, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS MARIA OTERO
9:15 a.m. Under Secretary Otero joins Secretary Clinton’s meeting with the Assistant Secretaries, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:00 a.m. Under Secretary Otero participates in the U.S.-Colombia High Level Partnership Dialogue, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL
Ambassador Marshall hosts “Taste of New Zealand” - a cultural exchange event under the Diplomatic Partnerships Division of the Office of Protocol with children from America and New Zealand and New Zealand Ambassador Mike Moore, at Blair House.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS ROBERT BLAKE
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with Dr. Patricia Flor, German Special Envoy for Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with Vice Admiral LeFever, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with Uzbekistan Ambassador Nematov, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM BROWNFIELD
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Brownfield meets with Ambassador Richard Olson, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Brownfield meets with Brazilian Under Secretary for South and Central America and the Caribbean Antonio Simoes, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Brownfield attends a reception for Colombian Foreign Minister Holquin, at the Embassy of Colombia.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR NEAR EASTERN AFFAIRS JEFFREY FELTMAN
10:45 a.m. Assistant Secretary Feltman meets with Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs Helga Schmid of the European External Action Service, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ
10:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez participates in the Partners for a New Beginning Summit, at the Aspen Institute.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez participates in the U.S.-Colombia High Level Partnership Dialogue, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez attends Secretary Clinton’s dinner for the Partners for a New Beginning Summit, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER
Assistant Secretary Posner participates in the U.S.-Colombia High Level Partnership Dialogue, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


AS FOR POPULATION, REFUGEES AND MIGRATION ERIC SCHWARTZ

10:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Schwartz meets with Isabel Coleman, Senior Fellow and Director of the Women and Foreign Policy Program of the Council on Foreign Relations, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


AS FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS ANDREW SHAPIRO

Assistant Secretary Shapiro is on foreign travel in Colombia to visit Tolemaida Airbase to observe Colombian training activities and meet with senior civilian and military officials in Bogota to build on security cooperation initiatives aimed at meeting shared security challenges.


AS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS ANN STOCK

12:00 p.m Assistant Secretary Stock participates in the U.S.-Colombia High Level Partnership Dialogue and hosts the Cultural and Education Working Group, at the Department of State.

AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ARTURO VALENZUELA
8:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Valenzuela participates in the U.S.-Colombia High Level Partnership Dialogue, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:25 p.m. Assistant Secretary Valenzuela joins Secretary Clinton’s bilateral meeting with Colombian Foreign Minister Holgiun, at the Department of State.
(JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY)

5:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Valenzuela meets with Brazilian Under Secretary for South and Central America and the Caribbean Antonio Simoes, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

7:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Valenzuela meets with Dr. Joseph Westphal, Under Secretary of the Army, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER
Ambassador Verveer is on foreign travel in Papua New Guinea through June 1 to participate in the Pacific Women’s Empowerment Initiative policy dialogue, “Healthy Women, Healthy Economies.” Click here for more information.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS KRIS BALDERSTON
6:00 p.m. Special Representative Balderston participates in the Partners for a New Beginning Summit and attends the Secretary’s dinner in its honor.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS
Special Representative Lewis is on foreign travel in China through June 3 to participate in programs with national and provincial officials.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE TO MUSLIM COMMUNITIES FARAH PANDITH
6:30 p.m. Special Representative Pandith attends Secretary Clinton’s dinner for the Partners for a New Beginning Summit, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE
1:15 p.m. Daily Press Briefing.


______
My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

31 May, Tues, Pres and VP Schedules

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/complete
11:00 am The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

1:15 pm The President makes a personnel announcement
State Dining Room
Open Press

4:15 pm The President meets with senior advisors
Oval Office
Closed Press

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
No public schedule.

________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Their deaths are what you make them

Rush is off today. So is President Obama.

I'll be starting a new feature today, "Rush in the News."

And I'll share a poem:
The young dead soldiers do not speak.
Nevertheless, they are heard in the still houses:
who has not heard them?
They have a silence that speaks for them at night and when the clock counts.
They say: We were young. We have died.
Remember us.
They say: We have done what we could but until it is finished it is not done.
They say: We have given our lives but until it is finished no one can know what our lives gave.
They say: Our deaths are not ours: they are yours, they will mean what you make them.
They say: Whether our lives and our deaths were for
peace and a new hope or for nothing we cannot say,
it is you who must say this.
We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning.
We were young, they say. We have died; remember us.
Archibald MacLeish, 1941

________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

FEMA: Strangling people with red tape

I read a certain message board - not a political one. One of the people who frequent that board has a friend who lives in Joplin. He lost everything in the tornado.
He met with a FEMA adjuster yesterday who walked through the house and said everything is a total loss. Now the dumb part. He has to apply for a loan first. He will be turned down due to his income then he can apply to FEMA for emergency funds because he doesn't have enough money to get the loan. What a ridiculous process. Why can't someone just skip the loan app and apply directly for the funds you may qualify for.

And someone else responded:
This happened to many of my friends affected by Hurricane Charlie when it went through Florida. As it turned out, a friend with the least damage of all got his money first. He and his family weren't even displaced from their home.


_______________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Booklist: The Good Fight by Walter F. Mondale


Walter Mondale isn't much mentioned anymore, but in this book he explains Lilberal policiies, so I thought it would make for interesting reading.

The Good Fight: A life in Liberal Politics by Walter F. Mondale and David Hage
Scribner, 2010
359 pages plus index, 8 pages pg photos
Library: 973.926 MON

Description
For more than five decades in public life, Walter Mondale has played a leading role in America's movement for social change-in civil rights, environmentalism, consumer protection, and women's rights-and helped to forge the modern Democratic party.

In The Good Fight, Mondale traces his evolution from a young Minnesota attorney general, whose mentor was Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, into a US senator himself. He was instrumental in pushing President Johnson's Great Society legislation through Congress and battled for housing equality, against poverty and discrimination, and for more oversight of the FBI and CIA. Mondale's years as a senator spanned the national turmoil of the Nixon administration,; its ultimate self-destruction in the Watergate scandal would change the course of his own political fortunes.

Chosen as running mate for Jimmy Carter's successful 1976 campaign, Mondale served as vice president for four years. With an office in the White House, he invented the modern vice presidency; his inside look at the Carter administration will fascinate students of American history as he recalls how he and Carter confronted the energy crisis, the Iran hostage crisis, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and other crucial events, many of which reverberate to the present day.

Carter's loss to Ronald REagan in the 1980 election set the stage for Mondale's own campaign against Reagan in 1984, when he ran with Geraldine FErraro, the first woman on a major party ticket; this progressive decision would forever change the dynamic of presidential elections.

With the 1992 election of President Clinton, Mondale was named as ambassador to Japan. His intriguing memoir ends with his frank assessment of the Bush-Cheney administration and the first two years of the presidency of Barack Obama. Just as indispensably, he charts the evolution of Democratic liberalism from John F. Kennedy to Clinton to Obama while spelling out the principles required to restore the United States as a model of progressive government.

The Good Fight is replete with Mondale's accounts of the many American political heavyweights he encountered as either an ally or as an opponent, including JFK, Johnson, Humphry, Nixon, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Senator Gary Hart, Reagan, Clinton and many others.

Eloquent and engaging, The Good Fight illuminates Mondale's philosophies on opportunity, governmental accountability, decency in politics, and constitutional democracy, while chronicling the evolution of a man and the country in which he is lucky enough to live.

Table of Contents
Introduction: Taking Care
1. A progressive takes root
2. High tide
3. The fight for equality
4. Lost trust: Vietnam and the election of 1968
5. Poverty and opportunity
6. The Battle for a more responsive state
7. Spies, security and the rule of law
8. Meeting a new Democrat
9. Our first year in the White House
10. Showing the world a different America
11. America in an age of limits
12. Hostage crisis
13. The election of 1980
14. Mondale vs Reagan
15. An Alliance in Asia
16. Looking forward
Acknowledgments
Index

______
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday througout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Friday, May 27, 2011

27 May, 2011, Fri, SoS Clinton and Staff

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2011/05/164516.htm:
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
Secretary Clinton is on foreign travel in Islamabad, Pakistan, accompanied by Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (ET +9 hours).

9:10 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with Pakistani President Zardari, in Islamabad, Pakistan.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:30 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton and Admiral Mullen hold an expanded bilateral meeting with President Zardari, Army Chief of Staff General Kayani, Acting Foreign Minister Khar and Interior Minister Rehman Malik, in Islamabad, Pakistan.
(POOLED CAMERA SPRAY)

1:30 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton and Admiral Mullen hold a joint press availability, in Islamabad, Pakistan.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton meets with the staff and families of Embassy Islamabad, in Islamabad, Pakistan.
(POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY JAMES STEINBERG

9:30 a.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg participates in a White House meeting.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

1:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY THOMAS NIDES
3:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS WILLIAM BURNS
Under Secretary Burns is on foreign travel in Deauville, France through May 28, accompanying President Obama to the G-8 Summit.

US FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS ROBERT HORMATS
Under Secretary Hormats is on foreign travel to participate in the G-8 Summit in Deauville, France through May 28.

UNDER SECRETARY FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS MARIA OTERO
Under Secretary Otero returns from foreign travel in Iraq.

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL
Ambassador Marshall accompanies President Obama on his foreign travel.

AS FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ
Assistant Secretary Fernandez is on foreign travel in Paris, France for meetings at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

AS FOR EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS PHILIP GORDON
Assistant Secretary Gordon accompanies President Obama on his foreign travel.

AS FOR OCEANS, ENVIRONMENT AND SCIENCE KERRI-ANN JONES
9:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Jones meets a delegation organized by the Pembina Institute to discuss the Keystone pipeline, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Jones meets with a delegation of environmental non-governmental organizations called the “Green Group,” at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ARTURO VALENZUELA
Assistant Secretary Valenzuela is on foreign travel in Mexico through May 27.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER

Ambassador Verveer is in Paris, France for continued meetings at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and to discuss the newly launched UNESCO Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS
Special Representative Lewis is on foreign travel in China through June 3 to participate in programs with national and provincial officials.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE TO MUSLIM COMMUNITIES FARAH PANDITH
8:00 a.m. Special Representative Pandith delivers opening remarks at the Tech@State: Serious Games conference, in the Jack Morton Auditorium at George Washington University.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE
12:30 p.m. Daily Press Briefing.

____________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

27 May, 2011, Fri, Pres and VP Schedules

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/complete
2:30 am The President holds a bilateral meeting with President Sarkozy of France
Local Event Time: 8:30 AM CEST
Deauville, France, Hotel Royal Barriere
Pool Spray at the Bottom

3:30 am The President participates in a G-8 Working Session
Local Event Time: 9:30 AM CEST
Centre International de Deauville, Deauville, France
Closed Press

4:15 am The President participates in a G-8 Working Session
Local Event Time: 10:15 AM CEST
Centre International de Deauville, Deauville, France
Pool Spray at the Top

5:30 am The President participates in an expanded group G-8 Working Session
Local Event Time: 11:30 AM CEST
Centre International de Deauville, Deauville, France
Pool Spray at the Top

6:45 am The President participates in the expanded G-8 Family Photo
Local Event Time: 12:45PM CEST
Centre International de Deauville, Deauville, France
Press Information
Stills Only Pool Spray

7:00 am The President participates in an expanded working lunch with G-8 Leaders
Local Event Time: 1:00 PM CEST
Deauville, France, Villa Le Cercle
Closed Press

8:25 am The President departs Deauville, France en route Paris, France
Local Event Time: 2:25 PM CEST
Deauville, Deauville-Saint-Gatien Airport, France
Travel Pool Coverage

9:10 am The President arrives in Paris, France
Local Event Time: 3:10 PM CEST
France, Orly Airport, Paris
Travel Pool Coverage

9:40 am The President departs Paris, France en route Warsaw, Poland
Local Event Time: 3:10 PM CEST
France, Orly Airport, Paris
Travel Pool Coverage

11:50 am The President arrives in Warsaw, Poland
Local Event Time: 5:50 PM CEST
Poland, Warsaw, Warsaw Chopin Airport
Open Press

12:25 pm The President participates in wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Local Event Time: 6:25 PM CEST
Poland, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw
Travel Pool Coverage

1:00 pm The President participates in wreath laying at the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial
Local Event Time: 7:00 PM CEST
Poland, Warsaw, Warsaw Chopin Airport
Travel Pool Coverage

1:25 pm The President arrives at the Presidential Palace
Local Event Time: 7:25 PM CEST
Poland, Presidential Palace, Warsaw
Open Press

1:30 pm The President and President Komorowski of Poland host dinner for Central and European Union Leaders
Local Event Time: 7:30 PM CEST
Poland, Presidential Palace, Warsaw
Pool Spray at the Top

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
No public schedule.

_______
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Rush Critiques Obama's Press Conference With David Cameron

I don't know that it was embarrassing - just typical political speech, which they all should be ashamed of! Never answer a question directly, always skirt around it.
RUSH: All right, let's listen. This is, I guess, the joint press conference yesterday in London at Lancaster House; David Cameron, the PM, joining President Obama. Reporter said, "Mr. President, you've talked about the need for robust action on your country's deficit and debt positions. Do you agree with the Prime Minister's supporters that he led the way on the issue, or do you feel that in fact he's traveled too far and too fast?"

OBAMA: One thing that I'm absolutely clear about is David and I want to arrive at the same point, a point in which we're making sure that our governments are doing what they need to do to ensure broad-based prosperity.

RUSH: They can't.

OBAMA: The other point I think David and I would agree on is that this is going to be a constant process of trying some things, making adjustments. There are gonna be opportunities for us to make investments. There are gonna other areas where we think those were good ideas at the time, programs that were started with the best of intentions and it turns out they're not working as well as they should. If a program's not working well we should get rid of it and put that money into programs that are working well. It means that we've gotta make sure that we take a balanced approach and that there's a mix of cuts but also thinking about how do we generate revenue so that there's a match between money goin' out and money comin' in.

RUSH: (pause) Hmm? (pause) Sorry, folks, I don't think there was any "there" there. Okay, that was pretty meandering. That was wandering aimlessly in vain search of a coherent thought, and I don't think he found one. That was just gobbledygook. On Libya, another reporter: "Mr. President, you've said that Moammar Khadafy's exit from Libya is inevitable and that the US will continue with the campaign until his attacks stop. Does that also mean that you will commit the US to that campaign until Khadafy's removed from power, and would you be willing to commit additional US resources if that meant speeding up Khadafy's exit?"

OBAMA: The reason that we intervened in Libya was to protect people on the ground, uhh, and to give the Libyan people the space that they needed in order t'bring about, uhhh, a change toward democracy.

RUSH: The space that they needed?

OBAMA: We are strongly committed to seeing the job through, making sure that a minimum Khadafy doesn't have the capacity to send in a bunch of thugs to murder innocent civilians. So we have not put forward an -- any artificial timeline in terms of how long this will take.

RUSH: Yeah, you did. I mean, you said it would just take "days" at the outset. You said it would just take days. Yeah, you said "weeks, not months." That's right, "weeks, not months," and now it's open-ended. "Well, there's no timeline on this. No timeline on it. We gotta give the Libyan people the space that they need to bring about a change toward democracy." We have to give the Libyan people space? It's Khadafy that's gotta give 'em the space. I think that's right! Obama is the one that ran against Bush for not having a timeline to get out of Iraq. He wanted a timeline for exiting Iraq. And now, "Well, we can't be bound by timelines. Of course that's artificial." Let's listen to one from Cameron. Cameron wanted to get in on the Khadafy answer after that.

CAMERON: I so agree that the two key things here are patience and persistence. In terms of the US role, I would make this point which I'm not sure is widely understood in Britain or in Europe. Already a huge number of the sorties and the support and the air assets that are actually bringing the pressure to bear are US assets. There was this enormous effort at the beginning as the President said, but also a sustained amount of assets that have been used -- and as the President said, there are also unique assets and capabilities that the US has that others don't have that are so vital. We all have to ask: What is it that we can all do to make sure the pressure is really brought to bear?

RUSH: Oh, now, you could take this any number of ways. But it sounds to me like the Prime Minister here, when he says, " Already a huge number of the sorties and the support and the air assets that are actually bringing the pressure to bear are US assets." It sounds to me like Cameron wants everybody to know (paraphrased): "You know, this operation, you guys aren't that much on the sidelines. The American people are being told that you're kinda on the sidelines, that NATO, the UN, whoever else running this show, but a lot of US assets are behind this." Cameron's making it clear here just how involved the United States is. By the way, Snerdley you got the quote on Obama wrong. Here's was the actual quote. March 21st, Obama was in Santiago, Chile...

OBAMA MARCH 21: Let me emphasize that we anticipate this transition to take place in a matter of days and not a matter of weeks.

RUSH: You thought it was "weeks, not months." He said "days, not weeks." Right, and it's now been months with no end in sight 'cause any end in sight is an artificial timeline. But don't forget: He was insistent that Bush tell us exactly when we're getting out of Iraq.



_________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

26 May, 2011, Thu, Rush Limbaugh Headlines

--Medicare Debate Presents Huge Opportunity for Gutsy Republicans
Medicare is the deficit. Even Bill Clinton knows it.

--Ninety-Seven Senate Racists Vote Against President Obama's Budget
Rep. Jim Clyburn says all criticism of Obama is racist.

--There Is No Economic Recovery (But Only Fox News Kooks Know It)
Rolling Stone says only kooks think the economy sucks.

--Reviewing Obama's Embarrassing Joint Presser with David Cameron
Without the teleprompter, our President is clueless.

--TV Alert: Rush Goes "On the Record" with Greta Van Susteren, Tonight at 10PM ET on Fox News Channel

--Joplin, MO: Open for Business
The citizens of Joplin are picking themselves up.
• You Can Help: The Joplin Chamber of Commerce

--Who Is Governor Jon Huntsman?
Hear what he has to say on carbon and health care.

Stack of Stuff Quick Hits Page
» The Oprah Off to Cable, Never to Be Heard From Again
» SCOTUS Upholds Arizona Law Penalizing Employers
» Liberal Judge Sumi Voids Wisconsin Union Law
» Ex Regime Official Orszag Calls for Panic in Markets

--Will Christie and Palin Run?
They're making moves that candidates would make.




______
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

What is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)?

From Wikipedia:
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, French: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, OCDE) is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It defines itself as a forum of countries committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seeking answers to common problems, identifying good practices, and coordinating domestic and international policies of its members.

The OECD originated in 1948 as the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), led by Robert Marjolin of France, to help administer the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Later, its membership was extended to non-European states. In 1961, it was reformed into the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development by the Convention on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Most OECD members are high-income economies with a high Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as developed countries.

The OECD's headquarters are at the Château de la Muette in Paris, France.

Objectives and activities

Aim
The OECD defines itself as a forum of countries committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a setting to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices, and co-ordinate domestic and international policies.

Its mandate covers economic, environmental, and social issues. It acts by peer pressure to improve policy and implement "soft law"—non-binding instruments that can occasionally lead to binding treaties. In this work, the OECD cooperates with businesses, trade unions and other representatives of civil society. Collaboration at the OECD regarding taxation, for example, has fostered the growth of a global web of bilateral tax treaties.

The OECD promotes policies designed:

to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in Member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy;
to contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as nonmember countries in the process of economic development; and
to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, nondiscriminatory basis in accordance with international obligations.

International investments and multinational enterprises
Between 1995 and 1998, the OECD designed the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, which was abandoned because of a widespread criticism from civil society groups and developing countries. In 1976, the OECD adopted the Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises, which was rewritten and annexed by the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in 2000.

Among other areas, the OECD has taken a role in coordinating international action on corruption and bribery, creating the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, which came into effect in February 1999. It has been ratified by thirty-eight countries.

The OECD has also constituted an anti-spam task force, which submitted a detailed report, with several background papers on spam problems in developing countries, best practices for ISPs, e-mail marketers, etc., appended. It works on the information economy and the future of the Internet economy.

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment)
The OECD publishes the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which is an assessment that allows for a comparison of educational performances between countries.

Taxation
The OECD publishes and updates a model tax convention which serves as a template for bilateral negotiations regarding tax coordination and cooperation. This model is accompanied by a set of commentaries which reflect OECD-level interpretation of the content of the model convention provisions. This model generally allocates the primary right to tax to the country from which capital investment originates (i.e., the home, or resident country) rather than the country in which the investment is made (the host, or source country). As a result, it is most effective as between two countries with reciprocal investment flows (such as among the OECD member countries), but can be very unbalanced when one of the signatory countries is economically weaker than the other (such as between OECD and non-OECD pairings).

Since 1998, the OECD has led a charge against harmful tax practices, principally targeting the activities of tax havens (while principally accepting the policies of its member countries which would tend to encourage tax competition). These efforts have been met with mixed reaction: the primary objection is the sanctity of tax policy as a matter of sovereign entitlement.

The OECD maintains a 'blacklist' of countries it considers uncooperative in the drive for transparency of tax affairs and the effective exchange of information, officially called "The List of Uncooperative Tax Havens". In May 2009, all remaining countries were removed from the list.

On 22 October 2008, at an OECD meeting in Paris, 17 countries led by France and Germany decided to draw up a new blacklist of tax havens. The OECD has been asked to investigate around 40 new tax havens in the world where undeclared revenue is hidden and which host many of the non-regulated hedge funds that have come under fire during the 2008 financial crisis. Germany, France and other countries called on the OECD to specifically add Switzerland to a blacklist of countries which encourage tax fraud.

Publishing
The OECD publishes books, reports, statistics, working papers and reference materials. All titles and databases published since 1998 can be accessed via OECD iLibrary.

______________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

26 May, 2011, Thur, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2011/05/164316.htm

SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON:
Secretary Clinton is on foreign travel in Paris, France to participate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting and delivers remarks at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).


DEPUTY SECRETARY JIM STEINBERG
:
11:30 a.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg meets with the China's Leader's Development Program, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg meets with senior officials from the ASEAN nations in Washington for the 24th ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue and the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Senior Officials Meeting, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY TOM NIDES:
11:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Mike Alfant of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Deputy Attorney General James Cole, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH
:
Administrator Shah accompanies Secretary Clinton on foreign travel in Paris, France.

9:30 a.m. LOCAL Administrator Shah accompanies Secretary Clinton to the OECD Session on Development and Gender, in Paris, France.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)


UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS BILL BURNS
:
Under Secretary Burns is on foreign travel in Deauville, France through May 28, accompanying President Obama to the G-8 Summit.


US FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS ROBERT HORMAT
S:
Under Secretary Hormats is on foreign travel to participate in the OECD Ministerial meeting in Paris, France and in the G-8 Summit in Deauville, France through May 28.

12:45 p.m. LOCAL Under Secretary Hormats participates in the Road to France’s 2011 G8 Deauville Summit, Deauville, France.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS JUDITH MCHALE:
10:00 a.m. Under Secretary McHale meets with Malaysian Chief Secretary Sidek, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


US FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS MARIA OTERO
:
Under Secretary Otero is on foreign travel.


US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS ELLEN TAUSCHER
:
8:00 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher speaks with Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:30 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher speaks with the German Commissioner for Disarmament and Arms Control, Ambassador Peter Gottwald.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:00 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher speaks with French Director General for Strategic Security and Disarmament Patrick Maissonave.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Under Secretary Tauscher meets with Dutch Ambassador Renee Jones-Bos, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:15 p.m. Under Secretary Tauscher speaks with Swiss Ambassador Manuel Sager.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL
:
Ambassador Marshall accompanies President Obama on his foreign travel.

AS FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS ROBERT BLAKE:
1:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with Kazakhstan Minister of Economic Integration and Economic Affairs Zhanar Aitzhanova, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AFFAIRS ESTHER BRIMMER:
Assistant Secretary Brimmer accompanies Secretary Clinton on foreign travel in Paris, France for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting and an event at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

AS FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL:
Assistant Secretary Campbell hosts senior officials from the ASEAN nations for the 24th ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue and the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Senior Officials Meeting, at the United States Institute of Peace.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ:
Assistant Secretary Fernandez is on foreign travel in Paris, France to participate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting.

AS FOR EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS PHIL GORDON:
Assistant Secretary Gordon accompanies President Obama on his foreign travel.

AS FOR OCEANS, ENVIRONMENT AND SCIENCE KERRI-ANN JONES:
1:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Jones meets with Nigel Purvis, President of the NGO Climate Advisors, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR POPULATION, REFUGEES AND MIGRATION ERIC SCHWARTZ:
5:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Schwartz meets with Anne Richard of the International Rescue Committee and Michael Klosson of Save the Children, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS ANN STOCK:
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Stock meets with the U.S. winner of the Exchanges Connect Photo Contest, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock meets with Matt Armstrong, Executive Director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Stock meets with the Malaysian Chief Cabinet Secretary to discuss support for ECA-funded teaching programs in Malaysia, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ARTURO VALENZUELA:
Assistant Secretary Valenzuela is on foreign travel in Mexico through May 27.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR ERIC GOOSBY:
4:00 p.m. Ambassador Goosby meets with Senator Richard J. Durbin, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER:
Ambassador Verveer accompanies Secretary Clinton on foreign travel in Paris, France for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting and a visit to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

2:15 p.m. LOCAL Ambassador Verveer attends Secretary Clinton’s remarks at the launch of UNESCO’s new Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education. In Paris, France.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

3:15 p.m. LOCAL Ambassador Verveer delivers remarks at the launch of UNESCO’s new Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education. In Paris, France.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS:
Special Representative Lewis is on foreign travel in China through June 3 to participate in programs with national and provincial officials.

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE:
1:15 p.m. Daily Press Briefing with Acting Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner

_______________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

What is the G8?

From Wikipedia
The Group of Eight (G8, and formerly the G6 or Group of Six) is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of six major economies: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1976, Canada joined the group (thus creating the G7). In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8. In addition, the European Union is represented within the G8, but cannot host or chair. "G8" can refer to the member states or to the annual summit meeting of the G8 heads of government. The former term, G6, is now frequently applied to the six most populous countries within the European Union. G8 ministers also meet throughout the year, such as the G7/8 finance ministers (who meet four times a year), G8 foreign ministers, or G8 environment ministers.

Each calendar year, the responsibility of hosting the G8 rotates through the member states in the following order: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada. The holder of the presidency sets the agenda, hosts the summit for that year, and determines which ministerial meetings will take place. Lately, both France and the United Kingdom have expressed a desire to expand the group to include five developing countries, referred to as the Outreach Five (O5) or the Plus Five: Brazil, People's Republic of China, India, Mexico, and South Africa. These countries have participated as guests in previous meetings, which are sometimes called G8+5.

With the G-20 major economies growing in stature since the 2008 Washington summit, world leaders from the group announced at their Pittsburgh summit on September 25, 2009, that the group will replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy nations.

Structure and activities
By design, the G8 deliberately lacks an administrative structure like those for international organizations, such as the United Nations or the World Bank. The group does not have a permanent secretariat, or offices for its members.

The presidency of the group rotates annually among the member countries, with each new term beginning on 1 January of the year. The country holding the presidency is responsible for planning and hosting a series of ministerial-level meetings, leading up to a mid-year summit attended by the heads of government. The president of the European Commission participates as an equal in all summit events.

The ministerial meetings bring together ministers responsible for various portfolios to discuss issues of mutual or global concern. The range of topics include health, law enforcement, labor, economic and social development, energy, environment, foreign affairs, justice and interior, terrorism, and trade. There are also a separate set of meetings known as the G8+5, created during the 2005 Gleneagles, Scotland summit, that is attended by finance and energy ministers from all eight member countries in addition to the five "outreach countries" which are also known as the Group of Five — Brazil, People's Republic of China, India, Mexico, and South Africa.

In June 2005, justice ministers and interior ministers from the G8 countries agreed to launch an international database on pedophiles. The G8 officials also agreed to pool data on terrorism, subject to restrictions by privacy and security laws in individual countries.

Global energy
G8 leaders confer together during the 2009 summit in L'Aquila (Abruzzo, Italy).At the Heiligendamm Summit in 2007, the G8 acknowledged a proposal from the EU for a worldwide initiative on efficient energy use. They agreed to explore, along with the International Energy Agency, the most effective means to promote energy efficiency internationally. A year later, on 8 June 2008, the G8 along with China, India, South Korea and the European Community established the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, at the Energy Ministerial meeting hosted by Japan holding 2008 G8 Presidency, in Aomori.

G8 Finance Ministers, whilst in preparation for the 34th Summit of the G8 Heads of State and Government in Toyako, Hokkaido, met on the 13 and 14 June 2008, in Osaka, Japan. They agreed to the “Go8 Action Plan for Climate Change to Enhance the Engagement of Private and Public Financial Institutins.” In closing, Ministers supported the launch of new Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) by the World Bank, which will help existing efforts until a new framework under the UNFCCC is implemented after 2012.

Annual summit
The annual G8 leaders summit is attended by eight of the world's most powerful heads of government. However, as noted by commentators the G-8 summit is not the place to flesh out the details of any difficult or controversial policy issue in the context of a three-day event. Rather, the meeting is to bring a range of complex and sometimes inter-related issues. The G8 summit brings leaders together not so they can dream up quick fixes, but to talk and think about them together.[16]

Each of the 36 G8 summit meetings could have been called a success if the events had been re-framed as venues to generate additional momentum for solving problems at the other multilateral conferences that meet throughout the year. The G8 annual summit sets the stage for what needs to be done and establishes an idea of how to do it, even if that idea is, at best, rough and patchy. The serial annual summits can be parsed chronologically in arguably distinct ways, including as the sequence of host countries for the summits has recurred over time, series, etc.

The summits have also been the site of numerous, large-scale anti-globalization protests.



______
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

26 May 2011, Thur, Pres and VP Schedules

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/complete
4:20 am The President departs London, United Kingdom en route Deauville, France
Local Event Time: 9:20 AM BST
London, Stansted Airport, United Kingdom
Open Press

5:45 am The President holds a bilateral meeting with President Medvedev of Russia
Local Event Time: 11:45 AM CEST
Deauville, France, Hotel Royal Barriere
Pool Spray at the Bottom

6:55 am The President arrives at Villa La Cercle and is welcomed by President Sarkozy of France
Local Event Time: 12:55 PM CEST
Deauville, France, Villa La Cercle
Travel Pool Coverage

7:00 am The President attends a working lunch with G-8 Leaders
Local Event Time: 1:00 PM CEST
Centre International de Deauville, Deauville, France
Closed Press

8:45 am The President participates in a G-8 Working Session
Local Event Time: 2:45 PM CEST
Centre International de Deauville, Deauville, France
Pool Spray at the Top

10:30 am The President participates in a G-8 Working Session
Local Event Time: 4:30 PM CEST
Centre International de Deauville, Deauville, France
Pool Spray at the Top

11:45 am The President holds a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Kan of Japan
Local Event Time: 5:45 PM CEST
Deauville, France, Hotel Royal Barriere
Pool Spray at the Top

1:30 pm The President has dinner with G-8 Leaders
Local Event Time: 7:30 PM CEST
Deauville, France, Le Ciro’s Barriere Restaurant
Closed Press


http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president

1:00 pm The Vice President holds the next meeting of the bipartisan, bicameral group of Members of Congress to continue work on a legislative framework for comprehensive deficit reduction
U.S. Capitol | Show Details
Participants in the meeting will include the Vice President, Senator Daniel Inouye, Senator Jon Kyl, Senator Max Baucus, Representative Eric Cantor, Representative James Clyburn, Representative Chris Van Hollen, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jacob Lew, and Director of the National Economic Council Gene Sperling.
Closed Press

________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

President Obama's Gaffes Continue

If I recall correctly, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, the only "gaffes" the most recent President Bush made were to be a bit creative with words, and of course pronounce words with a Texan accent.

But President Obama?

Here's the latest on how he's faring in jolly old England:
Libs blame botched toast on everyone but Obama.The first thing you look at is the Queen, and you note the Queen fully aware of the gaffe that's taking place here. I mean you do not offer the Queen your glass until the music's over. You don't pick up your glass and offer your Queen your glass to toast until the music's over. He had no teleprompter 'cause you can't put one in there so he's got no cards and they're on the table, and they're way back so he has to lean over to read every other word of the toast. He blows the word "vitality" at the beginning; he pauses because he's unsure of himself and the band (for whatever reason) starts playing. My take, when I look at it, I said, "This is like the Academy Awards where some recipient's gone on and on too long and they give him the hook." So he continues to give the toast while the band is playing "God Save the Queen." He finally figures out he should stop that. It's totally botched.

Here is the audio of that: Buckingham Palace yesterday in London.

OBAMA: Ladies and gentlemen, please stand with me and raise your glasses as I propose a toast: To Her Majesty the Queen. The vit...al...ity of --

(band strikes up "God Save the Queen")

OBAMA: -- the special relationship between our peoples and in the words of Shakespeare, "To this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England. To the Queen...

RUSH: At that point he gave up. The Queen's looking dumbfounded, not looking at him. He's offering her the glass. She doesn't clink it. He finally goes on a little longer and he says again "to the Queen," and they clink glasses and so forth. Now, here's the media montage. Of course, now, if Bush had done this it would have been portrayed as a horrible breach of protocol, and an international incident, but with Obama it's everybody else's fault but his.

JAKE TAPPER: The orchestra mistakenly played the British National Anthem, "God Save the Queen," before the president was done. He forged on undeterred.

SUNLEN MILLER: Interrupting the President's toast! Music over his words to the Queen.

CARL QUINTANILLA: The band started up.... Band started up before he was finished with his toast.

ROBERT MOORE: The band struck up the National Anthem too early.

CHIP REID: The special moment turned awkward when the orchestra started playing "God Save the Queen" while the president was still toasting.

ARTHUR AIDALA: Poor Obama! I don't think he knew what to do.

F. CHUCK TODD: Somebody in the President's, uh, protocol staff, uh, clearly didn't brief him well enough.

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: She kind of left him hanging. Would it have killed her...?

F. CHUCK TODD: She really did! (chuckles)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: She could have just said, "To heck with the protocol; I'll clink your glass."

RUSH: See? The Queen botched it. The Queen should have understood what was going on. Obama was poorly briefed. (sigh) I'm tired of people making excuses for these people. It's everybody else's fault but the Obamas -- the worldly, sophisticated Obamas. He seems to be... I mean, "God Save the Queen!" I mean, it's a national anthem. You shut up. He seems to be unaware that it is standard practice to pipe down and stand at attention when a national anthem is being played. He was the last guy to put his glass down. He was the only guy with his glass up, put his glass down when he finally figured it out and stood at the quasi-attention. Toasts to the Queen by tradition are brief and to the point. Nobody gives speeches. You say, "To Her Majesty the Queen," and you sit down and you shut up. In fact, I don't even think it was the fault of the orchestra, because traditionally toasts to the Queen are very short and they're not much more involved than "To the Queen." That's it. I think the band probably figured, "Okay, that's toast. Let's get it in gear, here, Lester." It was kinda funny to watch.




___________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday througout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Does The Cream Rise to the Top (or...Is College Necessary)

Rush spoke a bit about Peter Thiel, one of the cofounders of Paypal, who is conducting an experiment, paying some top students to stop attending college and rather work on their ideas for two years.

Rush then points out that he never went to college, and look at him now.

The question is, what kind of people can succeed without going to college? Well - those who are great with computers, obviously. I believe Steve Jobs never went to college. He didn't need to! (Although, it's one thing to not need college level classes in computers or what have you, but if you want to form your own business, you need to take classes in accounting, advertising, and running a business! If not from a votech or college, from a few good books!
RUSH: Peter Thiel, one of the cofounders of PayPal, he's also a bigwig in a gay activist group, GOProud, gay Republicans. I have met Peter Thiel. I have met Peter Thiel at the home of Ann Coulter. He is a smart guy. I had a conversation with him one night with Conrad Black and we were discussing China, economics and so forth. That's just who he is, cofounder of PayPal. You might have seen him mentioned if you saw the movie Social Network. He was mentioned in the latter half of the movie when they're setting up Facebook.

This story is from the San Francisco Chronicle: "In a move meant to provoke thought about the value of higher education, Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal, is giving 24 students money not to attend college for two years but to develop their ideas instead. The winners were announced today for a new fellowship that has sparked heated debate in academic circles for questioning the value of higher education and suggesting that some entrepreneurial students may be better off leaving college. Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal, will pay each of the 24 winners of his Thiel Fellowship $100,000 not to attend college for two years and to develop business ideas instead.

"The fellows, all 20 years old or younger, will leave institutions including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University, to work with a network of more than 100 Silicon Valley mentors and further develop their ideas in areas such as biotechnology, education, and energy. More than 400 people applied for the fellowship, and 45 of them were flown out to San Francisco in late March." I think essentially here a scholarship not to go to the college. (interruption) Oh, you don't like this, Dawn? You're shaking your head in there? I know this is a touchy subject for a lot of people.

As many of you may know and remember, I did not go to college. I came very close to flunking out because I got an F in speech class twice, if you can believe it. I went to every class. I gave every speech. I just didn't outline them according to the instructions that were given, so I got an F for insolence and insubordination. I said, "You should call the class outline 101, not speech 101." And then there was ballroom dance, I've told the story over and over again. But I knew what I wanted to do. I knew when I was eight what I wanted to do. When I started working my first job was shining shoes at the barbershop. I wanted to always work. I started in radio when I was 16 and every day of summer vacation I'm getting up at four or five o'clock in the morning go to work at a radio station. You couldn't keep me out of there. I just loved it. From the time I discovered that and when I first started work at a radio station everything else to me was a problem, everything else was an obstacle. It was not helpful and led to great problems with my father.

My father and mother came from the Great Depression. That was the formative experience in their lives, and given that their belief was, and what they inculcated to me and my brother, who did go to college, as a lawyer and a talent agent and an author and a columnist, they told us you have no prayer of making anything of yourself if you don't go to college. I didn't rebel against my parents in the typical ways that kids rebel. I didn't think they were full of it and try to burn down the house or anything, but I did rebel in telling them that, you know, your values are not mine. I know what I want to do. I was so impatient to get started doing it.

I remember when I got my first job out of town, which is Pittsburgh in 1971, something hit me. I left home and I realized I'm gonna have to be able to demonstrate what I know 'cause I don't have a diploma that says I'm educated, and I'm never gonna have one 'cause I could not stand the classroom. I hated it. It was like prison. But that value of my father's is an American dream value. Go to college or you don't stand a chance. It still hasn't changed much. And as you know, there are anecdotal examples of people that dropped out that are very famous. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, any number of entrepreneurs. The Zuckerberg guy dropped out of Harvard to devote full time to Facebook. And you can't take anecdotes like that, say, "Well, that's good for everybody." But with the cost of a college education these days, I am seeing more and more people asking themselves, is it ultimately worth it? Is there value here in it? In the sense that, okay, you go to junior high, high school, you graduate, and then it's just automatic, next stop, college, gotta go there, gotta park yourself there ....




_________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday througout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

25 May, 2011, Wed, Rush Limbaugh headlines

--Get a Grip, Wishy-Washy GOP! Dems Pull Off Fraud Win in NY-26
Paul Ryan's Medicare reform did not lose this election.

--Queen Declines to Bail Out Bam
Libs blame botched toast on everyone but Obama.

--Media Defends Obama on Disasters
So what if there's death, destruction across the country?

--Amazing Line from Joplin, Missouri
"Everybody's doing pretty good, all things considered."

• Novel That Woke Up Rush Early: The Jefferson Key

Talk Radio Can't Do This Alone: Stand Up and Sell Conservatism
We need elected conservatives to step up and lead.

--The Truth About Medicare
It'll be destroyed for real if we just do an Atlas Shrugged.

--Obama Beatable, Despite His Race
Shelby Steele's interesting column on the 2012 election.
WSJ: Obama's Unspoken Re-Election Edge

--Passion Defines Bibi Netanyahu
Great leaders in all fields have this trait in common.

Welcome Back, Kotter Parody: Give It Back

--Maybe Going to College Really Isn't the Next Thing You Should Do
PayPal co-founder pays kids not to go to school

__________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday througout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

25 May, 2011, Wed, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedules

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2011/05/164216.htm

SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON:
Secretary Clinton accompanies President Obama on his State Visit in London, United Kingdom. Later in the day, Secretary Clinton travels to Paris, France to participate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting and 50th Anniversary Commemoration.

DEPUTY SECRETARY JIM STEINBERG:
9:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg participates in a White House meeting.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

11:15 a.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg delivers remarks to the Foreign Policy Advisor (POLAD) Conference, at the National Defense University.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg participates in a White House meeting.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY TOM NIDES:
10:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides speaks with Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides attends a meeting at the White House.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Max Stier and Tina Sung, of the Partnership for Public Service, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH:
11:00 a.m. Administrator Shah attends a meeting at the White House.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS BILL BURNS:
Under Secretary Burns is on foreign travel in Deauville, France through May 28, accompanying President Obama to the G-8 Summit.

US FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS ROBERT HORMATS:
Under Secretary Hormats is on foreign travel to participate in the OECD Ministerial meeting in Paris, France and in the G-8 Summit in Deauville, France through May 28.

1:00 p.m. LOCAL Under Secretary Hormats participates in the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting and Working Lunch, in Paris, France.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

8:00 p.m. LOCAL Under Secretary Hormats participates in the G-8 dinner and Working Session, in Deauville, France.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS JUDITH MCHALE:
2:00 p.m. Under Secretary McHale meets with Matt Armstrong, Executive Director of the Advisory Commission for Public Diplomacy, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS MARIA OTERO:
Under Secretary Otero is on foreign travel.

US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS ELLEN TAUSCHER:
8:00 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher speaks with Swedish Foreign Ministry Political Director Bjorn Lyrvall.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

8:30 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher speaks with Belgian Director General for Multilateral Affairs Jean-Arthur Régibeau.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL:
Ambassador Marshall accompanies President Obama on his foreign travel.

AS FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS ROBERT BLAKE:
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Blake speaks to students from the College of International Security Affairs, at the National Defense University.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with John Gerretsen, International Oil and Gas Manager for Solar Turbines, Inc, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with Lois Quam, Executive Director of the Global Health Initiative, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM BROWNFIELD:
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Brownfield attends the International Judicial Relations Committee Spring meeting, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Brownfield attends a reception hosted by the Colombian Embassy on the Tall Ship ARC “Gloria,” in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AS FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL:
Assistant Secretary Campbell hosts senior officials from the ASEAN nations for the 24th ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue and the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Senior Officials Meeting, at the United States Institute of Peace.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR NEAR EASTERN AFFAIRS JEFF FELTMAN:
Assistant Secretary Feltman is on foreign travel in Cairo, Egypt through May 26. While in Cairo, he is meeting with senior government officials and civil and political society activists.

AS FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ:
Assistant Secretary Fernandez is on foreign travel in Paris, France to participate in the 50th Anniversary of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting.

AS FOR EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS PHIL GORDON:
Assistant Secretary Gordon accompanies President Obama on his foreign travel.

COORDINATOR FOR INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION PROGRAMS DAWN MCCALL:
9:30 a.m. Coordinator McCall meets with members of the United States Judicial Conference Committee on International Judicial Relations, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR POPULATION, REFUGEES AND MIGRATION ERIC SCHWARTZ:
1:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Schwartz moderates a panel discussion following a screening of the PBS film “Welcome to Shelbyville,” in the George Marshall Conference Center at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR POLITICAL MILITARY AFFAIRS ANDREW SHAPIRO:
2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Shapiro meets with Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, Espen Barth Eide, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Shapiro delivers closing remarks to the Foreign Policy Advisors (POLAD) Conference, at the National Defense University.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ARTURO VALENZUELA:
Assistant Secretary Valenzuela is on foreign travel to Costa Rica and Mexico through May 27.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN:
Ambassador Benjamin is on foreign travel in North Africa through May 27.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR ERIC GOOSBY:
11:00 a.m. Ambassador Goosby meets with State Acting Inspector General Harold Geisel to discuss PEPFAR’s in-country operations, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:00 p.m. Ambassador Goosby hosts a roundtable discussion with journalists to discuss PEPFAR’s progress in the global HIV/AIDS response in light of the upcoming 30th anniversary of the AIDS pandemic and the United Nations High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER:
Ambassador Verveer is on foreign travel in Paris, France accompanying Secretary Clinton to the OECD Ministerial Meeting. After Paris, Ambassador Verveer continues on foreign travel to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea through June 1. Click here for more information.

5:30 p.m. LOCAL Ambassador Verveer accompanies Secretary Clinton to the OECD’s 50th Anniversary Commemoration, in Paris, France.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS KRIS BALDERSTON:Special Representative Balderston is on foreign travel in Israel until May 25.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS:
Special Representative Lewis is on foreign travel in China through June 3 to participate in programs with national and provincial officials.

SPECIAL ENVOY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE TODD STERN:
2:30 p.m. Special Envoy Stern appears before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOUSE)
Click here for more information.

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE:
1:15 p.m. Daily Press Briefing with Acting Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner


____________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday througout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

25 May, 2011, Wed, Pres and VP Schedules

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/president
4:50 am The President holds a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Cameron
Local Event Time: 9:50 AM BST
10 Downing Street, London, United Kingdom
Pool Spray at the Top

5:05 am The President holds a meeting with Prime Minister Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Clegg
Local Event Time: 10:05 AM BST
10 Downing Street, London, United Kingdom
Pool Spray at the Top

5:35 am The President holds an expanded bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Cameron
Local Event Time: 10:35 AM BST
10 Downing Street, London, United Kingdom
Pool Spray at the Top

6:30 am The President and Prime Minister Cameron attend an event hosted by Mrs. Cameron and the First Lady to honor military families, U.S. and U.K. service members and veterans
Local Event Time: 11:30 AM BST
10 Downing Street, London, United Kingdom
Pool Spray

7:25 am The President and Prime Minister Cameron hold a a joint press conference
Local Event Time: 12:35 PM BST
Lancaster House, London, United Kingdom
Travel Pool Coverage

10:30 am The President delivers remarks to the U.K. Parliament
Local Event Time: 3:30 PM BST
London, Parliament, United Kingdom
Open to pre-credentialed media

11:55 am The President holds an U.S. Embassy meet and greet
Local Event Time: 4:55 PM BST
London, The Grosvenor House Hotel, United Kingdom
Closed Press

3:30 pm The President and the First Lady will reciprocate the hospitality of Her Majesty the Queen and hold a dinner in her honor at the residence of the American ambassador in London
Local Event Time: 8:30 PM BST
London, United Kingdom, Winfield House
Press Information

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
12:30 pm The Vice President attends a luncheon where he will deliver remarks celebrating the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s moon shot speech
the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Open Press

6:00 pm The Vice President delivers remarks at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner
Nashua, New Hampshire
Open Press





__________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday througout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.

Booklist: Forward Drive by Jim Motavalli

This book, written in 1992, is about "clean" aka "green" cars. I found it very interesting reading, to see the plot to replace our reliable cars with electric ones, 20 years later.


So okay, it's not a book about classic cars, but it's a book that perhaps foreshadows the doom of real cars and the freedom of the road.

Forward Drive: The Race to Build "Clean" Cars for the Future, by Jim Motavelli
Sierra Club, 2000
237 pages, plus People interviewed, Notes, Bibliography and index. No photos
Library: 629.22 Mot

Description
As alternative-fuel cars from major automakers are entering the US market-promising far better performance and range than the disappointing electric vehicles of past decades - "clean" cars are no longer being relegated to side-show status; they're about to take center stage.

Forward Drive presents the fascinating story of the race to build the cara of thefuture-ones that can help to address the problems (including global warming, fossil-fuel depletion, and urban sprawl) that have accompanied the rise and spread of traditional gas-powered cars.

The book traces the history of automobile development, including early attempts to create practical electric vehicles, and it explores new technologies for clean cars, especially hybrid (gas/electric) drives and hydrogen-based fuel cells.

In his research, author Jim Motavelli conducted extensive interviews with fuel-cell makers, energy researchers, and key auto-industry figures at GM, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota and Honda, giving us a clear picture of how US and foreign automakers are getting serious about clean cars.

With his passion for cars and his knowledge of their history and workings, he presents an insightful, informative and highly readable book about revolutionary cars on the immediate horizon.

Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Pulling the plug: A brief history of alternative motion
2. A dizzying ride: Internal combustion's rapid rise and coming decline
3. Engines of ingenuity: New technologies for the clean car
4. Road warriors and early adopters: living with a battery-operated EV
5. U-turn: The big three get serious about green cars
6. The Global green car: Germany and Japan on the Fast Track
7. Thinking about tomorrow: Visionaries, pessimists, and investors at the crossroads
8. Jump-starting the EV: Federal funding for alternative fuel
9. Clearing the air: Clean cars and sustainable transportation in the 21st century
People interviewed
Notes
Select bibliography
Index

_______________
In the interests of Order and Method: My Schedule of Regular Posts:
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday througout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.