Rush Limbaugh Report

It never ends

2012-01-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

My mom is having some major health issues...so much so that I'm not going to be able to post here for another couple of days while we get it straightened out.

Note to all my readers: If you have high blood pressure, make damn sure you take your medication or 20 years later you'll have congestive heart failure and wham, bam goes your quality of life.

Forget About Wallstreet Execs, What About Lawyers Pay?

2012-01-27T15:34:00.002-07:00

How many people have had to declare bankruptcy, or seen their savings seriously depleted, because they had to pay a lawyer $300 an hour or more to do their divorce work?

How many defendants at trial have had to sell everything they own in order to pay their legal costs to defend themselves? I'm thinking of that Korean couple who owned two dry cleaning stores. Then they lost some loon's $200 pair of pants, and instead of just being reimbursed for $200, the guy sues them for $2 mil - and the case is accepted, and by the time the case is thrown out as specious six months later, the dry cleaners have had to sell one of their two stores to pay their legal bills. How sick is that?

I say cap lawyer's pay at $25 an hour.

Regime Approves Paydays for TARP Firm Execs
RUSH: Other items in the news, from the New York Daily News: "Treasury Department Approves Huge Paydays for Execs at Firms Who Received TARP Bailout Money." Folks, do you remember how Obama put a "cap" on CEO salaries of guys who took TARP money? He capped CEO salaries at TARP firms at 500 grand. If your company took TARP bailout money, then your CEO is limited to a salary of $500,000. You remember when he said that his compensation czar, his pay czar (a guy named Kenneth Feinberg) was gonna rein in all those crazy Wall Street salaries and that we had to get rid of all of these bonuses? Well, it turns out that during the height of the recession, the pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, approved pay packages for the bailed out companies that gave 49 executives more than $5 million each.

In fact, AIG's CEO alone got $10.5 million for two years in a row. Now Obama tells this guy Feinberg, "You go out there and we're gonna cap these people's earnings at $500,000. If they're getting bailout money, their salaries are capped at $500,000," and everybody says, "Well, how can you do that?" "We can do it because we're keeping them afloat. We bailed them out, so we're telling them." But under the table while nobody's looking: "The Treasury Department approved pay packages worth $5 million or more for 49 executives at a handful of firms that received the biggest taxpayer bailouts between 2009 and 2011.

"A scathing new audit this week by the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program blasted those payments, all of which occurred despite a $500,000 salary cap that President Obama and Congress established in 2009 at firms receiving 'exceptional assistance' under TARP." Now, we know Obama never really meant to put a cap on the salary of his donors -- uh, friends. It was all a show! It turns out that wasn't true. Obama said, "You know what? Not only are these bonuses too high, and I'm the only one separating you from the peasants with the pitchforks, but from now on, you can't earn more than $500,000," and they're earning $5 million bonuses.

One of them is an AIG guy! Remember how you were told to hate AIG? Remember how you were told the SEIU goes to the AIG exec's front lawn up in Connecticut and protests? You were told these people are rotten to the core. You should hate 'em and you should despise 'em? And then you were told Obama's gonna get even with them by limiting their pay to 500 grand a year? They're getting ten million. They're getting $10 million, ladies and gentlemen, all under the table while nobody was noticing.

27 Jan 2011, Fri, Rush Limbaugh headlines

2012-01-27T15:28:00.002-07:00

--Santorum Hammers Romney on Obamacare
--Was Elliott Abrams Deceived on Newt?
--These People Rip Drudge for Bias?
--Pressure Mounts for Limbaugh Endorsement
--Soros: Not Much Difference Between Romney and Obama
--The Free Market Works
--Sarah Palin vs. Brit Hume on Newt -- and Cucumber Sandwiches at Romney Rallies?
--The State of the Hoax: Obamaism Collapses Worldwide
--Doctor's Wife on Obama's Class Warfare
--Ron Paul and Medical Marijuana
Stack of Stuff
--Ron Paul Approved Racist Newsletters
--Pathetic 2011 GDP Growth
--Gallup: Obama Had Most Polarized Third Year of Any Presidency
--Buffett: Leave My Secretary Alone
--Regime Approves Paydays for TARP Firm Execs
--Demi Moore in Crisis After Losing Boy Toy
--Electric Car Firm That Received Biden Visit and $118M in Stimulus Funds Files for Bankruptcy
--Obama: Bush Is Food Stamp President, Not Me

Why Are We Paying Companies To Outsource Our Jobs?

2012-01-27T15:25:00.002-07:00

As I wrote about a few weeks ago, I signed up to get email alerts from the Barack Obama camp, just to see what they have to say and their version of what they do, as opposed to what Rush and the conversavtive media say they do.

Today I got this email:

Under current law, American companies can actually get a tax deduction for outsourcing jobs.

That's the opposite of how it should work. President Obama is proposing to end tax deductions for outsourcing, create a new tax credit for bringing jobs home, and lower tax rates for companies that manufacture and create jobs in the United States.

I don't have time to research it now, but I'd really like to know what bright bulb decided to give companies a tax break if they sent American jobs overseas!

I thought they did it simply because the wages they'd have to pay overseas were lower, I didn't think it was because they were actually encouraged - tax wise - to do it!

Vetting Candidates for President

2012-01-27T09:55:00.002-07:00

There is still a movement afoot to get President Obama thrown out of office - not because he's leading this country down the path of destruction but because he wasn't born in the US.

A couple of days ago in Atlanta, Georgia, he was supposed to show up at a court to provide proof that his birth certificate isn't a fake - and of course had a lawyer show up in his stead saying, "sorry, no.

For my part, the birth certificate thing doesn't matter now. It DID matter at the beginning of the campaign for President. That's when he should have released it, along with all school records, etc. That's when everyone running for President should have to present such material, and have it verified.

And if they try to bring lawyers to bear to say, "No, we don't want to show it" - that should automatically invalidate their candidacy.

Having said that... if the only way to get rid of Obama today is for "us" to show that his birth certificate is fake... that means that this country is in baaaad shape. After all he's done - some good things sure but mostly bad things that are leading us to economic ruin like Europe! - and people can still vote for him... well....it's just sad, that's all.

27 Jan 2011, Fri, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

2012-01-27T09:51:00.001-07:00

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2012/01/182641.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
9:30 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:00 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Dinah Shelton and commissioners.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:30 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with President Obama, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY BILL BURNS
Deputy Secretary Burns is on foreign travel to Ghana, Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia through January 30, leading a high-level U.S. Government delegation.

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH
Administrator Shah is on foreign travel in Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

US FOR ECONOMIC, GROWTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ROBERT HORMATS
Under Secretary Hormats is on foreign travel in Davos, Switzerland through January 28 to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

US FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS MARIA OTERO
11:00 a.m. Under Secretary Otero chairs the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee meeting, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with Director of the Peace Corps Aaron Williams, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with USAID Deputy Administrator Don Steinberg, at USAID.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS ELLEN TAUSCHER
10:00 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher meets with Sri Lankan Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Under Secretary Tauscher attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

4:15 p.m. Under Secretary Tauscher attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

AS FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS ROBERT BLAKE
9:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with Ambassador Teresita Schaffer and Ambassador Howard Schaffer, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Blake joins Under Secretary Kennedy’s meeting with Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with Turkmenistan Ambassador Meret Orazov, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS JOHNNIE CARSON
Assistant Secretary Carson accompanies Deputy Secretary Burns on foreign travel to Ghana, Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia through January 31. Please click here for more information.

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN

8:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Countryman attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

11:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Countryman meets with Chairman of Algerian Atomic Energy Commission Mohamed Derdour and Merzak Remki of the IAEA, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Countryman meets with Turkish Deputy Director for Arms Control and Disarmament Omer Tuzel, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ
12:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez meets with Algerian Ambassador Abdallah Baali in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED MEDIA COVERAGE)

AS FOR ARMS CONTROL, VERIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE ROSE GOTTEMOELLER
Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller is on foreign travel to Geneva, Switzerland and Vienna, Austria through January 27.

AS FOR OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS KERRI-ANN JONES
1:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Jones meets with the Canadian Embassy’s Deputy Head of Mission Deborah Lyons and Alberta’s representative to the U.S. David Bronconnier, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Jones meets with Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) and Department of Energy officials, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS ANDREW SHAPIRO
2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Shapiro attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY ANN STOCK
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Stock delivers opening remarks at the Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES) Malaysian student arrival orientation, in Alexandria, Virginia.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock attends the Japan-U.S. Cherry Blossom Centennial Kick-off Gathering, at the Japanese Ambassador’s residence in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock meets with Department of Education Under Secretary Martha Kanter, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock meets with Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR AMBASSADOR ERIC GOOSBY
Ambassador Goosby is on foreign travel in Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

10:00am LOCAL Ambassador Goosby will participate in the press conference and launch of the Business Leadership Council in Davos, Switzerland.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER
3:00 p.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with Sandy Thomas, Vice President for Global Girl Scouting Strategic Alliances, Girls Scouts of America, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

SR FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS
2:00 p.m. LOCAL Special Representative Lewis meets with Ceará Governor Cid Gomes, Ceará Tourism Secretary Bismarck Maia and State Secretary for the FIFA World Cup Ferruccio Feitosa in Fortaleza, Brazil.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

SPECIAL ENVOY TO MONITOR AND COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM HANNAH ROSENTHAL
11:00 a.m Special Envoy Rosenthal participates in a candle-lighting ceremony to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, at the United States Holocaust Memorial and Museum, in Washington, DC.

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE
10:30 a.m. Twitter Briefing with Spokesperson Victoria Nuland

12:30 p.m. Daily Press Briefing with Spokesperson Victoria Nuland

27 Jan 2012, Fri, Pres and VP Schedules

2012-01-27T09:49:00.002-07:00

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule
9:45 am
The President delivers remarks at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor expanding on his State of the Union proposals to keep college affordable and within reach for all Americans
Ann Arbor, MI
Open Press

11:00 am
The President departs Michigan en route Joint Base Andrews
Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport
Open Press

12:25 pm
The President arrives Joint Base Andrews
Travel Pool Coverage
Out-of-Town Travel Pool Coverage
The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route Cambridge, Maryland
Press Information

1:20 pm
The President delivers remarks at the Democratic Issues Conference
Cambridge, Maryland
Travel Pool Coverage

3:00 pm
The President arrives at the White House
South Lawn
Open Press

3:30 pm
The President and the Vice President meets with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Oval Office
Closed Press

4:30 pm
The President delivers remarks at a campaign event
Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Print Pool

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
10:30 am
The Vice President delivers remarks at the House Democratic Issues Conference
Cambridge, Maryland
Open Press

3:30 pm
The President and the Vice President meets with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Oval Office
Closed Press

Brewer and Obama

2012-01-26T15:36:00.001-07:00

This is funny and sad at the same time.

As always, it's like we're in the twilight zone. Border states trying to protect themselves from illegal immigrants (illegal - that means people who come here against our laws!) and the Federal government doesn't want to support them.

RUSH: Move on to Obama and Jan Brewer. Obama lands in Arizona and perfunctorily the governor shows up on the tarmac to greet Obama, and they went at it. She's pointing her finger at him. He walks away from her. They had a heated discussion, and everybody saying, "What happened here? What is this all about?" Apparently she has let Obama have it in a book. Don't forget, he is suing her and her state over their attempts to enforce, essentially, federal immigration laws. There is no love lost whatsoever. Obama doesn't bow to her. He gets off and he starts giving her the business. He starts trash-talking her, and she doesn't take it. She starts pointing her finger back.

I'll tell you what I think is going on. I'll repeat something to you that I've said previously. 'Cause I think this is a great illustration of how Obama sees himself, who he is, how he operates. My theory, which I have shared on many previous occasions, is this man has had the road paved for him. He has never been challenged by anyone, anywhere. If he needed an A, a professor found a way to get him an A when he deserved a C. I don't know that, that specific example, but I am totally confident that he has had, in terms of being challenged and opposed, he's had a charmed life. The 2008 campaign was a charmed campaign. There was no vetting. There was no challenge whatsoever in the media. Well, some perfunctory stuff like that David Ehrenstein piece in the LA Times, "Barack the 'Magic Negro,'" but that was perfunctory as well. He wasn't authentically black, 'cause he wasn't down for the struggle, didn't have slave blood. They had to say that stuff just to protect their own street cred.

But he's had a charmed life. Nobody challenges this guy. She has, and that just isn't done. (imitating Obama) "You don't challenge me. Who the hell do you think you are? You know who I am? I am this country. I am The One who made Warren Buffett's secretary a real human being. I. Who are you? You're human debris." He's this clean, articulate guy. People like Bite Me thought, "Wow, this is really cool." He's had his knee breakers quietly mow down anybody who opposed him at any election. So when a US governor offers up an example of his childlike behavior, he gets in her face. And he was all in Bobby Jindal's face. He was in Bobby Jindal's face over something that happened in Louisiana after the BP oil spill. He said to Jindal, (paraphrasing) "Nothing's good gonna come of what you did here, nothing good's gonna come of this."

Remember, he is suing Arizona. He's suing Brewer's state. The United States president is suing a state over a law the state voted on. So she's at that airplane to welcome him to the state, he's suing out of respect for the office. He gets off the plane, insults her over a passage in a book she wrote. You talk about holding a grudge, this guy's got countless grudges, countless chips on the shoulder. I don't think he can take it. This is why I have longed for somebody on our side just to treat the guy as your normal, average political opponent and go for it. This guy is so thin-skinned you can see through him. And he shows it. And his thin-skinnedness is what was on display on the tarmac out in Arizona. Same thing with Bobby Jindal.

Will Republicans Go After Obama The Way They're Going after Each Other?

2012-01-26T15:30:00.002-07:00

This is the question Rush asked today and it is so valid.

The Republican in-fighting is just getting vicious... and frankly I dont' like it.

But they need to go after Obama with at least 10% of this viciousness - something they never did in 2008, that's for sure.

There's a crisis right now- Egypt is not allowing some American businesspeople - including the son of the Transportation Secretary - to leave their piddly little country.

What are we going to do about it:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/26/state-department-urges-egypt-to-immediately-lift-travel-restrictions-on/

Anyway - what should they take Obama to task on?

1) Bowing low to foreign leaders, instead of standing up like a fellow leader
2) The Obama tsars
3) Keystone pipeline
4) His vacations
5) The food police in schools
6) The Somali pirates - yes we did one good thing, but these pirates are really operating with impunity and they all should be killed
7) The Mexico border

26 Jan 2012, Thu, Rush LImbaugh Headlines

2012-01-26T15:25:00.001-07:00

--Coordinated Avalanche Against Newt Doesn't Match My Memory of Reagan Years
--Will Republicans Go After Obama the Way They're Going After Each Other?
--The Real Barack Obama Shows Up on Tarmac in Arizona
--Caller Accuses Host of Backing "Socialist" Romney
--Where in the World is Rush Revere?
--Warren Buffett Runs a Sweatshop!
--Newt Supporters Aren't Swayed
--The Food Police Discuss El Rushbo
--Homeless Update: Republican Duo in Florida Wants Homeless Housed in Sports Stadiums
--Voters See Gingrich Fighting for an Ideal and Romney Fighting to Get Elected
--Photos: Obama Inspects New Tool for His Reelection Campaign in Arizona!
Stack of Stuff
--Frank to Tie Knot
--Media Matters: Rush is Anti-Reagan
--Media Spins Economic "Recovery" for Obama
--HARP 2 is Here: Is Romney for It?
--Obama Orders 12 Pizzas in Vegas
--GM CEO Says Volt a Punching Bag
--Reuters Hit Piece on Rubio
--Does Nagging Kill Marriages?
--Green Car Battery Company Goes Bust
--Fried Food Doesn't Kill You

26 Jan 2011, Thu, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedules

2012-01-26T09:41:00.002-07:00

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2012/01/182517.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
9:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with assistant secretaries from the regional bureaus, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton holds a town hall meeting on the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)
This event will be broadcast live on BNET.

11:45 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with General James Mattis, Commander, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:40 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with participants from the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Washington Ambassadors Conference, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:50 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with participants from the U.S.-Philippines Bilateral Strategic Dialogue, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY BILL BURNS
Deputy Secretary Burns is on foreign travel to Ghana, Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia through January 30, leading a high-level U.S. Government delegation. Please click here for more information.

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH
Administrator Shah is on foreign travel in Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

US FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS WENDY SHERMAN
3:30 p.m. Under Secretary Sherman meets with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai, at the Department of State
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ECONOMIC, GROWTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ROBERT HORMATS
Under Secretary Hormats is on foreign travel in Davos, Switzerland through January 28 to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

8:45 a.m. LOCAL Under Secretary Hormats participates in a panel “Sustainable Transportation: Architecting an Integrated Approach”, in Davos, Switzerland.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

10:30 a.m. LOCAL Under Secretary Hormats meets with Klaus Kleinfeld of ALCOA, in Davos, Switzerland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:30 a.m. LOCAL Under Secretary Hormats meets with European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding, in Davos, Switzerland.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

11:40 a.m. LOCAL Under Secretary Hormats meets with Douglas Flint of HSBC, in Davos, Switzerland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:15 p.m. LOCAL Under Secretary Hormats attends a meeting on “Jobs and the Future of Work”, in Davos, Switzerland.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

2:00 p.m. LOCAL Under Secretary Hormats attends a panel on “The Implications of the Arab Spring”, in Davos, Switzerland.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

5:00 p.m. LOCAL Under Secretary Hormats meets with Cynthia Carroll of Anglo American, in Davos, Switzerland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:00 p.m. LOCAL Under Secretary Hormats meets with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, in Davos, Switzerland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

7:10 p.m. LOCAL Under Secretary Hormats meets with Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold, in Davos, Switzerland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS MARIA OTERO
9:00 a.m. Under Secretary Otero chairs the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee Meeting, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:15 a.m. Under Secretary Otero attends Secretary Clinton’s town hall meeting on the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR),at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:30 a.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with the Afghan Minister of Counter Narcotics Zarar Moqbel Osmani, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS ELLEN TAUSCHER
11:30 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher delivers remarks at the Sixth Annual Strategic Weapons in the 21st Century Conference, in Washington, DC. Please click here for more information.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

1:00 p.m. Under Secretary Tauscher attends a meeting at the Pentagon.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY DOD)

3:00 p.m. Under Secretary Tauscher meets with private industry nuclear executives, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL
12:00 p.m. Ambassador Marshall hosts a reception in honor of recently accredited ambassadors to the U.S. and their spouses, at Blair House in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:00 p.m. Ambassador Marshall attends a welcome reception in honor of UK Ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott and Lady Susan Westmacott, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS ROBERT BLAKE
9:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Blake participates in the EU-U.S. Dialogue on Asia, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake attends the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Washington Ambassadors Conference, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake delivers remarks at the American Enterprise Institute, in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM BROWNFIELD
9:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Brownfield attends the opening session of the U.S.-UK Counternarcotics Bilateral meeting, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS OF STATE FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL
9:15 a.m. Assistant Secretary Campbell and Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Peter Lavoy welcome the Philippines delegation for the 2nd U.S.-Philippines Bilateral Strategic Dialogue, at the Department of State.
(CAMERA SPRAY AT THE C STREET ENTRANCE)

AS FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS JOHNNIE CARSON
Assistant Secretary Carson accompanies Deputy Secretary Burns on foreign travel to Ghana, Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia through January 31.

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Countryman hosts a meeting of the G8 Nonproliferation Directors Group, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ
11:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez delivers remarks on the interaction of tax and aid, at the World Bank in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

2:15 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez meet with UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR ARMS CONTROL, VERIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE ROSE GOTTEMOELLER
Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller is on foreign travel to Geneva, Switzerland and Vienna, Austria through January 27. On Thursday, Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller participates in a Monterey Institute-PIR Center workshop on the future arms control agenda, in Vienna, Austria.

ACTING AS FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS MIKE HAMMER
2:00 p.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Hammer meets with Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ACTING AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ROBERTA JACOBSON
2:30 p.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Jacobson meets with Director of the Inter-American Defense College Rear Admiral Jeffrey Lemmons, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER
Assistant Secretary Posner is on foreign travel in Egypt to meet with government officials and civil society representatives.

AS FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS ANDREW SHAPIRO
Assistant Secretary Shapiro meets with representatives from U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY NORTHCOM)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY ANN STOCK
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Stock meets with Moroccan Ambassador Rachad Bouhlal, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock attends a reception hosted by Chief of Protocol Ambassador Marshall in honor of recently accredited ambassadors to the U.S. and their spouses, at Blair House in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stocks attends a welcome reception in honor of UK Ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott and Lady Susan Westmacott, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR AMBASSADOR ERIC GOOSBY
Ambassador Goosby is on foreign travel in Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

3:15 p.m. LOCAL Ambassador Goosby is interviewed by Randi Zuckerberg of R to Z Media, discussing the importance of social media in advancing the Global Plan to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015, in Davos, Switzerland.

7:00 p.m. LOCAL Ambassador Goosby meets with Rhonda Zygocki of Chevron to discuss Chevron’s role as a private sector partner in the global plan to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015, in Davos, Switzerland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

7:30 p.m. LOCAL Ambassador Goosby participates in an event recognizing the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, in Davos, Switzerland.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

COORDINATOR FOR THREAT REDUCTION PROGRAMS AMBASSADOR BONNIE JENKINS
8:30 a.m. Ambassador Jenkins chairs panel discussions on the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (GP), in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER
1:30 p.m. Ambassador Verveer attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

11:30 a.m. Ambassador Verveer attends an event in honor of UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna, in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

4:00 p.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with Estonian Director General for Security and Policy Miko Halja, and Estonian Director for NATO and Security Policy Eerik Marmei, to discuss UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:00 p.m. Ambassador Verveer attends a welcome reception in honor of UK Ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott and Lady Susan Westmacott, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

SR FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS
Special Representative Lewis is on foreign travel in Brazil through February 1, to promote sub-national engagement between the U.S. and Brazil. Please click here for more information.

9:00 a.m. LOCAL Special Representative Lewis meets with Mayor of Natal Micarla de Sousa, in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

10:30 a.m. LOCAL Special Representative Lewis meets with Rio Grande do Norte Secretary of Education Betânia Ramalho, in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

2:00 p.m. LOCAL Special Representative Lewis meets with Rio Grande do Norte Secretary of Labor and Social Assistance Luiz Eduardo Carneiro Costa, in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

SPECIAL ENVOY TO MONITOR AND COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM HANNAH ROSENTHAL
10:30 a.m. Special Envoy Rosenthal meets with UN Assistant Secretary-General of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic, in New York City.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY UN)

5:00 p.m. Special Envoy Rosenthal meets with UN Officer for Culture Rochelle Roca-Hachem, in New York City.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY UN)

6:00 p.m. Special Envoy Rosenthal attends the opening of the exhibition, “A Monument of Good Deeds: Dreams and Hopes of Children During the Holocaust” and “The Holocaust: Keeping the Memory Alive”, commemorating UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day, in New York City. Please click here for more information.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY UN

DIRECTOR OF POLICY PLANNING SULLIVAN
11:45 a.m. Director of Policy Planning Sullivan attends U.S.-Philippines Strategic Dialogue meeting, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE
12:30 p.m. Daily Press Briefing with Spokesperson Victoria Nuland

26 Jan 2011, Thur, Pres and VP Schedules

2012-01-26T09:39:00.001-07:00

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule
1:00 pm
The President delivers remarks at UPS Las Vegas South about the importance of American workers developing American-made energy to an economy that’s built to last
Local Event Time:
10:00AM PST
Las Vegas, NV, UPS Las Vegas South
Open Press

3:05 pm
The President departs Las Vegas en route Buckley Air Force Base
Local Event Time:
12:05PM PST
Las Vegas McCarren International Airport
Open Press

4:35 pm
The President arrives Buckley Air Force Base
Local Event Time:
2:35 PM MST
Buckley Air Force Base
Open Press

5:30 pm
The President delivers remarks at Buckley Air Force Base on American energy and the steps the Administration is taking to promote energy security
Local Event Time:
3:30PM MST
Buckley Air Force Base
Open Press

6:15 pm
The President departs Buckley Air Force Base en route Detroit, MI
Local Event Time:
4:15PM MST
Buckley Air Force Base
Open Press

8:30 pm
The President arrives Detroit, MI
Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport
Open Press

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

Romney offers tough review of Obama’s State of the Union speech

2012-01-25T15:24:00.001-07:00

From Washington Post: Romney offers tough review of Obama’s State of the Union speech
ORLANDO — Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney offered a tough review Wednesday of President Obama’s State of the Union speech, accusing him of being “detached” from the realities of a still lagging economy.

“The detachment between reality and what he says is so extraordinary, I was just shaking my head at the TV last night,” Romney told about 150 supporters gathered on the concrete floor of a metal fabrication factory here as he campaigned ahead of Florida’s Jan. 31 GOP primary.

“This is a president who talks about deregulation, even as he regulates. Who talks about lowering taxes, even as he raises them. Who talks about expanding energy resources, even as he tries to shut them down,” Romney said.

The candidate for the Republican presidential nomination used the word “detached” repeatedly to describe the president’s attitude, picking up on a critique of Obama that he sometimes can appear aloof.

Romney, whose personal wealth has been on display this week after he released his tax records, did not address a central argument of Obama’s address — that economic fairness demands that wealthier Americans pay more to help stabilize the economy and reduce the debt. Instead, he argued that Obama’s policies are not doing enough to reverse the squeeze on the middle class.

“If you really think things are going well in this country and we’re on the right track, that his policies are working, you ought to vote for him,” he said. “But I think, on that basis, if we ask the American people if they think things are going well or not so well ... he’s not going to be president very long.”

One of Romney’s rivals for the nomination, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, tried to turn Obama’s theme to his own advantage as he campaigned in Florida.

Santorum, speaking to a crowd of about 250 people at First Baptist Church in Naples said that he was “very excited about the President’s speech last night.” His comment drew laughs from the conservative Christian crowd, leading Santorum to say that he “actually was” glad to hear Obama’s message, because it dovetails with his own.

“The president of the United States made the case for Rick Santorum for being the nominee of the Republican party,” he said as the audience applauded. “What did the president lead with? ... What was the first voter group he went after, the one he spent the most time on, the one he was going to do the most to try to help? Manufacturing, blue collar workers.

“Who’s been running their campaign for president here on the Republican side of the aisle, saying we need to focus on upward mobility? We need to focus on small town and blue collar America to create the ladder of success through manufacturing jobs to be able to rise is society again,” Santorum said. A few audience members shouted “Santorum!” and “Rick!”

Romney’s and Santorum’s responses to Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night were among an array of reactions from conservative critics, whose divergent responses mirrored the fractures on display this year in a bruising Republican presidential primary campaign.

Rush on Obama's Speech

2012-01-25T15:22:00.001-07:00

Rush had a lot to say about Obama's speech last night.

He says it better than I could, of course!

USH: Folks, I have to tell you, I was telling Snerdley today that speech, yeah, it was a campaign speech, and yeah, it was this and that, it was a repeat and so forth. It was chock-full of lies. It was fantasyland. No, it didn't soar. It was boring. It was an hour-and-a-half long. There was nothing to set it apart, nothing about it that's going to be memorable in a positive way. General Motors, the number one car company in the world again? It just isn't true. None of the economic news is true. He did two things. He lied. He tried to paint the economy as back. We are back, except where we're not back, and that's Bush's fault. But we are back.

He also used the usual trick of speaking about events in America as though he's running for office for the first time. He's running against things that are happening that are his policies that he is pretending he's had nothing to do with. He knows full well he's not gonna be called on that by the media. There was one offhand less-than-casual reference to Obamacare, which you would think in a State of the Union with a socialist doing the remarks, making the remarks, that he would be singing the praises of that piece of legislation and talking about what a game-changer it is and how it's the best thing that happened to the country. Not a word of substance about it.

In fact, there are a lot of facts that were omitted in the State of the Union speech. He didn't talk about the 13.1 million unemployed Americans. He didn't talk about the 5.6 million unemployed Americans who have been on unemployment longer than 27 weeks. He didn't talk about 8.1 million involuntary part-time workers. He didn't talk about the falling civilian labor force participation rate was 64%. The number of jobs, the universe of jobs shrinking, didn't bring that up. Didn't talk about the national debt, $15.2 trillion, five trillion of which is his! Do you realize one-third of our entire national debt as a nation over 200 years, one-third of it is his, his alone. Of course he didn't bring it up. He didn't talk about the Keystone pipeline.

This speech was so filled with contradictions. He talked about teamwork is what made America great? Teamwork? Do you know, ladies and gentlemen, how wrong that is? Do you know what our founding documents are about? The rights and freedom of the individual versus government. There's nothing about teamwork. There's nothing about compromise, getting along and working together. The whole point of this government, the whole point of this country, the whole point of this founding was to champion the power and the rights and the civil rights and the freedoms and the liberty of the individual over government. I'm gonna tell you, if anybody on our side running for office anywhere -- Senate, House, president -- is on their game, this is an immediate, I mean they have just, Obama unwittingly has tossed a softball with the bases loaded.

This is worth two grand slams, this whole concept of teamwork, when this country was premised on the power, the rights of the individual, on the uniqueness of all of us, that we are different, that we all bring different things. Then there was this, whatever we do, we gotta have fairness. There must be fairness. That's a code word for class warfare. Fairness is in the liberal dictionary, and it gives them the opportunity, the right, the power to redistribute wealth. That's what fairness is.

And another example of hypocrisy. Obama starts off his State of the Union address by thanking the military while at the same time he is slashing the Pentagon budget by about a trillion dollars and firing 80,000 soldiers. Opens up by praising an element of government that he is slashing to shreds. He closed it, too. You know, I'll tell you what's also obvious here. This speech, it was a lie from front to back, and it was an attempt -- it was Obama's attempt -- to align himself with America's greatness. And, folks, it didn't work.

Now, for those of us who know Obama. It mighta worked for some of you who don't. For those of us who know Obama, it was pitiful. We know he didn't mean it. He's talking about American greatness all night? He doesn't believe that. He doesn't believe what he said. What we learned last night is how much trouble he's in. We learned what he thinks he has to say in order to win reelection. We had it confirmed: He cannot run on his record. He cannot run on the current condition for most Americans in this country. He can't run on life as it is in America.

He has to join the platitudes of this country. He has to make it appear as though he is one of us and has the same love for the traditions and institutions that made this country great, but it came off as phony. It came off as empty. And then there was this. "On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Some even said (sic) we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen. In exchange for help we demanded responsibility. We got workers and automakers to settle their differences. We got the industry to retool and restructure. Today General Motors is back on top as the world's number one automaker"?

When did I miss that? Yeah, okay, in China! That's who's buying the cars. Okay, cool. "Chrysler has grown faster in the US..." By the way, I'm not gonna believe any set of such numbers this regime puts out this year. I'm not gonna believe the unemployment number; I don't believe this General Motors number. What an absolute crock. Anyway, after talking about all the wonderful, great, miraculous things he did with General Motors, then what did he say? "It's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no cop-outs. An America built to lasts, insists on responsibility from everybody." Now, maybe I'm a bitter clinger, but the car companies appear to have received a bailout to me. The UAW got a bailout to me, and the UAW was handed General Motors and Chrysler, if you ask me. Now, I don't know what that is if it's not a bailout. So he spends a whole speech talking about, "No more bailouts. We're not gonna do that! No handouts, no cop-outs," and then he gives as his greatest example of American prosperity a company he bailed out! Who wrote this? This speech was an embarrassment.

What's Worse - Fat Kids or Poor Kids?

2012-01-25T15:16:00.002-07:00

Rush brought this up today, and its so true.

As he pointed out, Barack Obama and his wife Michele are married, and they've got two kids. They are the "nuclear family" - the role models for all the black community out there where 75% of kids are born out of wedlock - and thus 75% are born into poverty and never get out of it. (And while white kids aren't at that percentage yet, they are the fastest rising percentage of illegitimacy.) And why not? Have sex, no need to get married or even know who you're having sex with. The government will put you on welfare and let you continue to have as many kids as you want.

Instead of focusing on fat kids, Mrs. Obama should focus on the much more dire problem of the disintegration of the black family.

RUSH: I want to go back to Mitch Daniels here for just a second and make a comment, because he ended his opening by praising the Obamas for setting a great family values example. And he's right, they do that well. Mom and dad and the two kids. It's a good-looking family. And here's a point about that, though. Just today the First Nutritionist, Moochelle Obama, unveiled tougher nutrition standards that school meals will have to meet starting this year. There's a story, I've got it in the Stack of Stuff from earlier this week. Junk food in the schools did not contribute to any negative characteristics or aspects of the kids. When they tried to get the junk food out of the schools a black market sprung up. The kids didn't eat the tasteless tofu rot that was put in there under the guise of health. They wanted no part of it.

That's not the kind of teamwork, you see, that the people of this country want. They don't want their government telling them what they cannot eat. They don't want the government telling them what they must eat. Even little leftist robot kids don't. They'll find a way around it. They have found a way around it, and they are not harming themselves in the process. Now, here's Michelle Obama unveiling tougher nutrition standards that school meals are gonna have to meet starting this year, the new standards required by the 2010 school nutrition bill that increased funding for school meals. So, yeah, I'll give you more money for school meals, but you've gotta do X, Y, and Z in order to qualify and get and keep it.

Now, she ought to just broom that stuff. She ought to get rid of that. You know, the best thing Michelle Obama could do -- and I'm not joking here -- the best thing Michelle Obama could do for people in poverty is to simply highlight the solid nuclear family that she has with her husband, Barack, and the two kids.
That's the ticket out. In fact, Santorum made that point brilliantly in a recent Republican debate, talking about the three tickets out of poverty, just the three simple things you can do. One is to graduate high school. The other is not have babies until you are married. And that may be at the top of the list. Now, the president of the United States and his wife and family can be and are role models for the people of this country. There is no greater thing Michelle Obama could do than to simply do what Mitch Daniels credited her and her husband for doing last night, and that is setting a wonderful standard for family values and so forth.

25 Jan 2012, Wed, Rush Limbaugh headlines

2012-01-25T15:11:00.002-07:00

--Obama's Pitiful Speech Full of Lies
--Newt: I Wasn't Knocking Lewinsky Sex
--Mitt Adviser: GOP Won't Repeal Obamacare
--Moochelle Shows Up at Class Warfare Rally Wearing $2,400 Cocktail Dress
--Mitch Daniels Delivers Terrific Speech
--How the First Lady Could Help the Poor
--Obama's Disgusting Use of Warren Buffett's Secretary as a Prop
--Caller Chastises Host Over Newt
--Two If By Tea: The Way Tea Ought to Be
--Liberals and the "Fairness" Schtick
--Our Favorite Daniels Supporter Calls Back
--Why Congress Mobs the President Like Groupies
Stack of Stuff
--What Could We Buy with Bill Clinton's $76 Million Income?
--RNC Video on Obama's Recycled Speech
--Pelosi Says She Has Dirt on Newt, Then Her Office Walks It Back
--Green Window Melts Green Car?
--Bernanke Undercuts Obama's Entire Speech...

25 Jan 2012: SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

2012-01-25T09:43:00.002-07:00

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2012/01/182445.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
9:30 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with the senior management team, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:00 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Brazilian youth participating in the Youth Ambassadors program, at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS)

10:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:45 p.m. Secretary Clinton delivers remarks and participates in a question and answer session at the Inaugural Steering Committee Meeting with the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY BILL BURNS
9:30 a.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Ivo Daalder, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY TOM NIDES
Deputy Secretary Nides joins Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Neal Wolin on foreign travel to Israel, the West Bank and Tunisia through January 26 to meet with senior government officials and discuss recent developments in the region.

8:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with the President and Members of the Tunisian American Chamber of Commerce, in Tunis, Tunisia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY THE TUNISIAN AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE)

10:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with President Moncef Marzouki, in Tunis, Tunisia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY THE TUNISIAN GOVERNMENT)

11:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Finance Minister Houcine Dimassi, in Tunis, Tunisia.
(MEDIA DETERMINDED BY THE TUNISIAN GOVERNMENT)

1:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Deputy Foreign Minister Hedi Ben Abbes, in Tunis, Tunisia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY THE TUNISIAN GOVERNMENT)

3:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, in Tunis, Tunisia.
(MEDIA DETERMINDED BY THE TUNISIAN GOVERNMENT)

7:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with the Civil Society Businessmen, in Tunis, Tunisia.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH
Administrator Shah is on foreign travel in Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

US FOR ECONOMIC, GROWTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ROBERT HORMATS
Under Secretary Hormats is on foreign travel in Davos, Switzerland through January 28 to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

10:00 a.m. Under Secretary Hormats participates in a panel discussion on “Exploring the Political and Economic Implications of Resources Scarcity”, in Davos, Switzerland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:30 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats participates in a meeting on the “Food-Energy-Water-Climate Change Nexus,” in Davos, Switzerland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with Tanzania President Kikwete, in Davos, Switzerland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:05 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in Davos, Switzerland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

7:30 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) President Thomas Mirow, in Davos, Switzerland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

8:00 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats attends a meeting hosted by GE Vice Chairman John Rice on “Innovation and Trade”, in Davos, Switzerland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS MARIA OTERO
8:45 a.m. Under Secretary Otero hosts the global issues principals meeting, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:30 a.m. Under Secretary Otero delivers remarks at the Ambassadorial Seminar, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:30 p.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with the Peruvian Ambassador Harold Forsyth, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS ELLEN TAUSCHER
10:00 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher meets with French Director For Strategic Affairs, Patrick Maisonnave, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:00 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher meets with Director of the Institute of US and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Science, Sergey Rogov, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:30 p.m. Under Secretary Tauscher attends the sixth annual Strategic Weapons in the 21st Century Conference Dinner jointly sponsored by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in Washington, DC. (CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS ROBERT BLAKE
8:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with Permanent Representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Ambassador Karen Kornbluh, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:15 a.m. Assistant Secretary Blake attends Secretary Clinton’s meeting with Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with John Mroz of the EastWest Institute, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with U.S. Executive Director to the Asian Development Bank Ambassador Robert Orr, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake delivers remarks at a Central Asia Caucasus Institute forum, in Washington, DC. Please click here for more information.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)
For more information on attending please contact the SAIS Communications Office at (202)663-5626 or fklubes@jhu.edu.

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM BROWNFIELD
3:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Brownfield meets with Ambassador to Paraguay James Thessin, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS JOHNNIE CARSON
Assistant Secretary Carson is on foreign travel to Ghana, Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia from January 25 – 30.

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN
Assistant Secretary Countryman holds bilateral consultations on international security and nonproliferation issues in Burma through January 24.

AS FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ
12:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez meets with Colombian Ambassador Silva, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez participates in a meeting on the Telecommunications Supply Chain, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

AS FOR ARMS CONTROL, VERIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE ROSE GOTTEMOELLER
Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller is on foreign travel to Geneva, Switzerland and Vienna, Austria through January 27. On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller participates in meetings relating to conventional forces in Europe, in Vienna, Austria.

ACTING AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ROBERTA JACOBSON
10:00 a.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Jacobson attends Secretary Clinton’s meeting with Brazilian youth participating in the Youth Ambassadors program, at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

11:00 a.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Jacobson meets with Martha Smith, President and CEO of the U.S.-Mexico Foundation, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS KERRI-ANN JONES
8:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Jones appears before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power at the Rayburn House Office Building, in Washington, DC.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER
Assistant Secretary Posner is on foreign travel in Egypt to meet with government officials and civil society representatives.

AS FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS ANDREW SHAPIRO
Assistant Secretary Shapiro travels to Illinois to visit U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM).
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY ANN STOCK
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Stock delivers remarks at a reception for Secretary Clinton’s meeting with Brazilian youth participating in the Youth Ambassadors program, at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock chairs the inaugural steering committee meeting for the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC), at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER
10:00 a.m. Ambassador Verveer gives a presentation at the Foreign Service Institute’s Ambassadorial Seminar, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Ambassador Verveer attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

SR FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS
Special Representative Lewis meets with elected officials and private sector leaders in Brasilia and Recife, Brazil through January 25.

9:00 a.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with Pernambuco Secretary of Labor and Social Inclusion Antonio Carlos Maranhao, in Recife, Brazil.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

10:30 a.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with Pernambuco Arena Director Marcos Lessa, Recife, Brazil.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with Mayor Of Recife Joao da Costa, in Recife, Brazil.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

5:00 p.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with Rio Grande do Norte Governor Rosalba Ciarlini and World Cup Secretary Demetrio Torres, in Natal, Brazil.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

SR TO MUSLIM COMMUNITIES FARAH PANDITH
Special Representative Pandith travels to New York to meet with representatives from TED.

SPECIAL ENVOY TO MONITOR AND COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM HANNAH ROSENTHAL
5:30 p.m. Special Envoy Rosenthal attends a film screening of “The Last Flight of Petr Ginz” to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, in New York City. Please click here for more information.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)
Please contact Holocaustremembrance@un.org for more information on attending.

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE
12:30 p.m. Daily Press Briefing with Spokesperson Victoria Nuland

25 Jan 2012, Wed, Pres and VP Schedules

2012-01-25T09:40:00.001-07:00

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule
9:50 am
The President departs the White House en route Joint Base Andrews
South Lawn
Open Press

10:05 am
The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route Cedar Rapids, IA
Travel Pool Coverage
Out of Town Travel Pool Coverage (Gather 8:45AM—Virginia Gate, Joint Base Andrews)
12:20 pm

The President arrives Cedar Rapids, IA
Local Event Time:
11:20 AM CST
Eastern Iowa Airport
Open Press

12:40 pm
The President tours Conveyor Engineering & Manufacturing
Local Event Time:
11:40AM CST
Cedar Rapids, Conveyor Engineering & Manufacturing, IA
Travel Pool Coverage

12:55 pm
The President delivers remarks at Conveyor Engineering & Manufacturing
Local Event Time:
11:55AM CST
Cedar Rapids, Conveyor Engineering & Manufacturing, IA
Open Press

2:30 pm
The President departs Cedar Rapids, IA en route Phoenix, AZ
Local Event Time:
1:30 PM CST
Eastern Iowa Airport
Open Press

5:35 pm
The President arrives Phoenix, AZ
Local Event Time:
3:35PM MST
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport
Open Press

6:30 pm
The President delivers remarks at Intel Ocotillo Campus
Local Event Time:
4:30PM MST
Intel Ocotillo Campus
Open Press

8:35 pm
The President departs Phoenix, AZ en route Las Vegas, NV
Local Event Time:
6:35 MST
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport
Open Press

9:30 pm
The President arrives Las Vegas, NV
Local Event Time:
6:30 PM PST
Las Vegas McCarren International Airport
Open Press

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

Mark Steyn In For Rush Today

2012-01-24T12:10:00.002-07:00

I only listened to a few minutes of his monologue.

He was ripping the "debate" that took place last night, and the ridiculous questions that Brian Williams asked, like "If China were Cuba, how would you react to them?) and crap like that.

I didn't watch the debate last night, but I saw a few seconds of it, where Romney must have asked Newt some question and Newt was really pissed off and said, "I'm appalled you would ask a question like that."

I must say these guys are doing themselves more harm than good with these attack tactics. Focus on Obama and on what *you* would do to get the country back on track.
For example, would either of these guys have signed the Keystone Pipeline into business?

Apparently they were also asked a question about Terry Schiavo, the brain-dead woman who was the subject of a lawsuit. Husband wanted to let her die, parents wanted to keep her alive. Rush of course and lots of people, for relgious reasons, wanted her left alife.

I'm afraid I don't understand that. Even if she wasn't brain dead....what kind of life was she living? Could not move. Could not speak. Could not communicate. Could do nothing but lie in bed all day with other people feeding her, cleaning her, etc? What is that but a kind of hell on earth, and what Christian person would consign her to that? Or anyone in such a state? It's one thing to be a vegetable and not know that you're still alive, it's another thing to still be able to think, trapped in your own mind. How could that be anything but hell?

24 Jan 2012, Tues, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

2012-01-24T12:05:00.002-07:00

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2012/01/182374.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
9:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton hosts the inaugural meeting of the International Council on Women's Business Leadership, at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS FOR REMARKS)

12:00 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

5:15 p.m. Secretary Clinton attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

8:30 p.m. Secretary Clinton attends the State of the Union address, at the U.S. Capitol Building.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY CONGRESS)

DEPUTY SECRETARY BURNS
10:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with Brazilian Ambassador Mauro Vieira, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Burns attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

5:15 p.m. Deputy Secretary Burns attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY TOM NIDES
Deputy Secretary Nides joins Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Neal Wolin on foreign travel to Israel, the West Bank and Tunisia through January 26 to meet with senior government officials and discuss recent developments in the region. Click here for more information.

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH
11:30 a.m. Administrator Shah meets with Qatari Ambassador Ali Bin Fahad Al-Hajri, at USAID.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ECONOMIC, GROWTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ROBERT HORMATS
Under Secretary Hormats is on foreign travel in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland through January 28 to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

US FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS MARIA OTERO
12:30 p.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with Costa Rican Ambassador Muni Figueres at the Metropolitan Club in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS ELLEN TAUSCHER
11:00 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher meets with Director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Dr. Parney Albright, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL
6:00 p.m. Ambassador Marshall hosts a reception for Chiefs of Mission, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

9:00 p.m. Ambassador Marshall accompanies the Diplomatic Corps to President Obama’s State of the Union address, at the U.S. Capitol Building.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY CONGRESS)

AS FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS ROBERT BLAKE

10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with Fatema Sumar, Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake attends a reception for Chiefs of Mission, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM BROWNFIELD
2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Brownfield meets with the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), Stuart Bowen, in Arlington, VA.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Brownfield meets with British Deputy Ambassador Catherine Royle, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN
Assistant Secretary Countryman holds bilateral consultations on international security and nonproliferation issues in Burma through January 24.

AS FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez participates in a roundtable discussion with leaders from the water technologies industry, at the Department of Commerce.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez delivers remarks at the Ambassadorial Seminar, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez participates in interviews with Radio Sawa and Al-Hurra on his recently completed trip to the Maghreb region, at the Department of State.

AS FOR ARMS CONTROL, VERIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE ROSE GOTTEMOELLER
Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller is on foreign travel to Geneva, Switzerland and Vienna, Austria through January 27.

10:00a.m. Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller delivers remarks on behalf of the United States to the opening session of the Conference on Disarmament.
Click here for more information.

ACTING AS FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS MICHAEL HAMMER
2:00 p.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Hammer participates in a Twitter Q&A on the State Department’s Spanish-language Twitter feed @USAenEspanol, at the Department of State.

5:30 p.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Hammer attends a reception to commemorate 70 years of diplomatic relations between Iceland and the United States at the residence of the Icelandic Ambassador.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS KERRI-ANN JONES
6:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Jones attends an event in connection with the Neureiter Symposium on Science Diplomacy at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER
Assistant Secretary Posner is on foreign travel in Egypt to meet with government officials and civil society representatives.

ACTING AS FOR POPULATION, REFUGEES AND MIGRATION DAVID ROBINSON
12:00 p.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Robinson holds a Facebook chat on how the United States provides aid and sustainable solutions for refugees, victims of conflict and stateless people around the world.

2:00 p.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Robinson participates in a press call on updates in the Horn of Africa with USAID Assistant Administrator Nancy Lindborg and Bureau of African Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy, Bruce Wharton.

AS ANN STOCK
11:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Stock meets with U.S. Ambassador-designate to India Ambassador Nancy Powell, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock addresses the Ambassadorial Seminar, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock hosts a reception for the new public diplomacy coned foreign service officers from the 165th A-100 class, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock attends a reception for Chiefs of Mission, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR AMBASSADOR ERIC GOOSBY
9:00 a.m. Ambassador Goosby addresses the Haiti Earthquake 2-Year Public Commemoration Events Briefing on Health and Cholera, at the Rayburn Building in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER
9:15 a.m. Ambassador Verveer participates in the inaugural meeting of the Secretary’s International Council on Women’s Business Leadership (ICWBL), at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with former Swedish Foreign Minister and International Council on Women’s Business Leadership participant Maud Olofsson, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with a delegation of local and provincial Pakistani female parliamentarians participating in an International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) on “Women as Political Leaders,” at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

SR FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS
Special Representative Lewis meets with elected officials and private sector leaders in Brasilia and Recife, Brazil through January 25.

DIRECTOR OF POLICY PLANNING JAKE SULLIVAN
9:00 a.m. Director Sullivan is interviewed on LiveAtState, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Director Sullivan attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE
12:30 p.m. Daily Press Briefing with Spokesperson Victoria Nuland

24 Jan 2012, Tue, Pres and VP Schedules

2012-01-24T12:03:00.001-07:00

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule

9:00 pm
The President delivers the State of the Union Address; the First Lady attends
United States Capitol
Travel Pool Coverage

The Vice President has no public schedule.

Tomorrow, the President is hitting the campaign trail.

Solyndra Destroying Their Product????

2012-01-23T17:12:00.001-07:00

Talk about ineptness. Whoever gave these folks a loan should be kicked to the curb.

Solyndra Throws Stuff Away
RUSH: There's a story I have here on Solyndra. I wanted to make a point about private entrepreneurism, capitalism, and so forth. The Solyndra story is from CBS San Francisco. "After filing for bankruptcy last year, Fremont solar company Solyndra still owes American taxpayers half a billion dollars. But CBS 5 caught them destroying millions of dollars worth of parts. At Solyndra’s sprawling complex in Fremont, workers in white jumpsuits were unwrapping brand new glass tubes used in solar panels last week. They are the latest, most cutting-edge solar technology, and they are being thrown into dumpsters.

"Forklifts brought one pallet after another piled high with the carefully packaged glass. Slowly but surely it all ended up shattered. And it’s not a few loads. Hundreds of thousands of tubes on shrink-wrapped pallets will meet a similar demise. Solyndra paid at least $2 million for the specialized glass. A CBS 5 crew found one piece lying in the parking lot. Solyndra still owes the German company that made the tubes close to another $8 million," and they're throwing the stuff away, with the imprimatur of Obama, with the approval of Obama.

Just throw it away. Doesn't matter, even though they owe the money. They're in bankruptcy. They've gotta pay things back. They're throwing the stuff away. Nothing like that could happen in the private sector. Nothing at all like that could happen. It's just striking out there.

How much does the media influence who we'll vote for?

2012-01-23T17:06:00.003-07:00

I didn't hear this on Rush today - although he's talked about it a bit too - but rather on the Glenn Beck show.

Right now, if you just read the papers, it's a 2-man race. Romney and Gingrich. But there are other people in the primaries....Santorum, etc.

Now, I have to vote for Romney, I'm afraid. I'm not going to vote for someone who will try to force women to have babies regardless of whether they've been raped or may die if they're forced to bear the child.

On the other hand I don't like Romney's name-calling campaign against Newt. That annoys me.

23 Jan 2012, Mon, Rush Limbaugh headlines

2012-01-23T17:00:00.002-07:00

--DC Elites Tell You in Their Own Words What I've Been Telling You Since November 10th
--The GOP Establishment in Abject Panic: They Don't Understand Their Own Base
--Newt is a Vessel: He Won South Carolina Because He Articulated Conservatism
--David Brooks' Tortured Path to Blaming the Ruination of America on Rush Limbaugh
--Electability Results from Getting Elected
--Why Apple Can't Make iPhones in America
--Obama Voter Changes His Mind After Keystone Pipeline Decision
--Reluctantly... My Advice for Rick Santorum
Stack of Stuff
--TSA Detains Rand Paul
--Zero Hedge on Minimum Wage Households and Disposable Income.
--TIME Compares Newt to Nixon
--Tyler Screeches National Anthem
-- NFL Championship Games Pull Big Ratings
--Why Two If By Tea Doesn't Go Retail
--Solyndra Throws Stuff Away
--Tall Men Have Less Heart Attacks
--Crist Advisors Working for Mitt?

23 Jan 2012, Mon, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

2012-01-23T08:44:00.002-07:00

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2012/01/182339.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
9:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with the assistant secretaries, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

*****
DEPUTY SECRETARY BURNS
10:15 a.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with Israeli Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya’alon, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE )

1:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Burns delivers remarks to the Ambassadorial Seminar, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:45 p.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with Japanese Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:15 p.m. Deputy Secretary Burns attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY TOM NIDES
Deputy Secretary Nides joins Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Neal Wolin on foreign travel to Israel, the West Bank and Tunisia through January 26 to meet with senior government officials and discuss recent developments in the region.

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH
11:15 a.m. Administrator Shah meets with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, at the Department of Agriculture.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:15 p.m. Administrator Shah meets with the Advisory Committee On Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA), at USAID.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ECONOMIC, GROWTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ROBERT HORMATS
11:05 a.m. Under Secretary Hormats participates in the signing of the U.S.-Korea Environmental Cooperation Agreement, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:30 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats delivers remarks at the Arab Uprisings: A U.S. Perspective on the Economic Challenges One Year After the Egyptian Revolution, at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS MARIA OTERO
3:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with Afghan Minister of Counter Narcotics Zarar Moqbel Osmani, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS WENDY SHERMAN
11:00 a.m. Under Secretary Sherman delivers remarks to the Ambassadorial Seminar, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS ELLEN TAUSCHER
10:15 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher meets with Coordinator for Iran and North Korea Sanctions Robert Einhorn, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS ROBERT BLAKE
8:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Blake speaks with Maldivian Foreign Minister Naseem, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM BROWNFIELD
11:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Brownfield meets with Afghan Minister of Counter Narcotics Zarar Moqbel Osmani, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN
Assistant Secretary Countryman holds bilateral consultations on international security and nonproliferation issues in Burma through January 24.

AS FOR ARMS CONTROL, VERIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE ROSE GOTTEMOELLER
Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller is on foreign travel to Geneva, Switzerland and Vienna, Austria through January 27.

ACTING AS FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS MICHAEL HAMMER
Acting Assistant Secretary Hammer meets with the Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu at the Department of State.

ACTING AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ROBERTA JACOBSON
Acting Assistant Secretary Jacobson consults with various leaders of human rights NGOs regarding the annual Colombia human rights certification process, at the Department of State.

AS FOR OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS KERRI-ANN JONES
11:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Jones participates in a ceremony for the signing of a bilateral Environmental Cooperation Agreement by Under Secretary Hormats and Republic of Korea Ambassador Han Duk-soo, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER
Assistant Secretary Posner is on foreign travel in Egypt to meet with government officials and civil society representatives.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE STEPHEN RAPP, OFFICE OF GLOBAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Ambassador Rapp meets with former Chilean President Richardo Lagos, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER
10:30 a.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with representatives from Limited Brands, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:30 p.m. Ambassador Verveer attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

2:00 p.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with Afghan Minister of Counter Narcotics Ahmad Moqbel Zarar Osmani, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with Alexander Boehmer and Carolyn Irvin of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

SR FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS
Special Representative Lewis meets with elected officials and business leaders in Brasilia, Brazil.

DIRECTOR OF POLICY PLANNING JAKE SULLIVAN

2:00 p.m. Director Sullivan meets with Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

23 Jan 2012, Monday, Pres and VP Schedules

2012-01-23T08:42:00.001-07:00

Neither the President nor the VP have much on tap today....

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule
10:30 am
The President and the Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

1:40 pm
The President welcomes the six-time Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins to the White House to honor the team and their 2011 Stanley Cup victory

19 Jan 2011: Rush Limbaugh headlines

2012-01-20T11:01:00.002-07:00

I missed posting last night. Apologies. Here are the headlines from yesterday's show.

--Drudge Screwed Up ABC's Plans for the Marianne Gingrich Interview
--Santorum Supporter on Gingrich Story
--Barack Obama is the Problem
--Chatter Begins for New Candidate
--Rick Perry is a patriot
--Brian Ross Brings Us the Salacious Details
--Keep the campaign in perspective
--Newt Plays America's Grandfather
--Occupy Guy on Romney's Wealth
--Translating Bob Beckel
--The Do-Nothing President
--Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't
Stack of Stuff
--Rasmussen in SC: Gingrich 33, Romney 31, Paul 15
--Daniel Henninger Defends Romney Better Than Romney Does
--Biden Has Another "Stand Up, Chuck" Moment
--Poll: 64% of Americans Believe Candidates Attack Each Other
--Romney Concedes Iowa to Rick Santorum ...

Connecticut: Senator Richard Blumenthal (D) (Private profession - lawyer)

2012-01-20T09:42:00.002-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Richard Blumenthal (born February 13, 1946) is the junior United States Senator from Connecticut and a member of the Democratic Party. Previously, he served as Attorney General of Connecticut.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Blumenthal is a graduate of Harvard College, where he was editorial chairman of The Harvard Crimson. He studied for a year at Cambridge University in England before attending Yale Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. While at Yale, he was a classmate of future President Bill Clinton and future Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. From 1970 to 1976 Blumenthal served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, where he earned the rank of sergeant.

After college Blumenthal served as administrative assistant and law clerk for several Washington figures. From 1977 to 1981 he was United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. In the early 1980s he worked in private law, including volunteer counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1984 to 1987, when he was elected to the Connecticut Senate. He was elected state Attorney General in 1990, and served for twenty years. During this period he was frequently speculated as a contender for Governor of Connecticut, but he never pursued the office.

Blumenthal announced his 2010 run for U.S. Senate after Democratic incumbent Chris Dodd announced his retirement. He faced professional wrestling magnate Linda McMahon in the general election, winning by a 12-point margin with 55 percent of the vote. On January 5, 2011 he was sworn in and took seats on the Senate Armed Services; Judiciary; Aging; and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees.

Early life and education
Blumenthal was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jane M. (née Rosenstock) and Martin A. Blumenthal, who was the president of a commodities trading firm. His mother was born in Omaha, Nebraska to a Jewish family that originated in Prussia, and his father was a Jewish immigrant from Frankfurt, Germany.

Blumenthal graduated from Harvard College with an A.B. magna cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. As an undergraduate, he was editorial chairman of The Harvard Crimson. Blumenthal was a summer intern reporter for The Washington Post in the London Bureau. He was also selected for a Fiske Fellowship that allowed him to study at Cambridge University, Cambridge England for one year after graduation from Harvard College.

He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. While at Yale, he was classmates with future President Bill Clinton and future Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. One of his co-editors on the Yale Law Journal was future United States Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. His brother, David Blumenthal, is a recognized health policy expert and is Chairman of the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System.

Military service
Blumenthal served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. He studied administration. He was discharged honorably six years later, with the rank of sergeant.

Early political career
Blumenthal served as administrative assistant to United States Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff, as aide to Daniel P. Moynihan when Moynihan was Assistant to President Richard Nixon, and as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun. At age 31, he became United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, serving from 1977 to 1981, and as the chief federal prosecutor of that state successfully prosecuted many major cases involving drug traffickers, organized crime, white collar criminals, civil rights violators, consumer fraud, and environmental pollution. From 1981 to 1986, he was a volunteer counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

Before he became Attorney General, Blumenthal was a partner in the law firm of Cummings & Lockwood, and subsequently in the law firm of Silver, Golub & Sandak. In December 1982, while still at Cummings & Lockwood, he created and chaired the Citizens Crime Commission of Connecticut, a private, non-profit organization. In 1984, when he was 38, Blumenthal was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives, representing the 145th district. In 1987, he won a special election to fill a vacancy in the 27th District of the Connecticut Senate, at the age of 41. Blumenthal resided in Stamford, Connecticut.

In the 1980s, Blumenthal testified in the State Legislature in favor of abolishing Connecticut’s death penalty statute. He did so after representing Florida death row inmate Joseph Green Brown, who had been wrongly convicted. Blumenthal succeeded in staving off the Brown’s execution just 15 hours before it was scheduled to take place.

Attorney General career
Blumenthal was first elected as the 23rd Attorney General in 1990 and was re-elected in 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006. On October 10, 2002 he was awarded the Raymond E. Baldwin Award for Public Service by the Quinnipiac University School of Law.

Pequot land annexation bid
In May 1995, Blumenthal and the state of Connecticut filed lawsuits challenging a decision by the Department of the Interior to approve a bid by the Mashantucket Pequots for the annexation of 165 acres of land in the towns of Ledyard, North Stonington and Preston. The Pequots' bid sought to have the land placed in a Federal trust, a legal designation that would have given the tribe sovereign control. Blumenthal argued that The Department of the Interior's decision was “fatally, legally flawed, and unfair," and that "it would unfairly remove land from the tax rolls of the surrounding towns and bar local control over how the land is used, while imposing tremendous burden.” The tribe announced the withdrawal of the land annexation petition in February 2002.

Interstate air pollution
In 1997, both Blumenthal and Governor John G. Rowland petitioned the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address interstate air pollution problems created from Midwest and southeastern sources. The petition was filed in accordance with Section 126 of the Clean Air Act, which allows a United States state to request pollution reductions from out-of-state sources that contribute significantly to its air quality problems.

In 2003, Blumenthal and the Attorneys General of 8 other states (New York, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont) filed a federal lawsuit against the Bush Administration for "endangering air quality by gutting a critical component of the federal Clean Air Act". The suit alleged that changes in the Act would have exempted thousands of industrial air pollution sources from the Act’s New Source Review provision and that the new rules and regulations would lead to an increase in air pollution.

Big Tobacco
While Attorney General, Blumenthal was one of the leaders of a 46-state lawsuit against the tobacco industry, which alleged that the companies involved had deceived the public about the dangers of smoking. Blumenthal argued that the state of Connecticut should be reimbursed for Medicaid expenses related to smoking. In 1998, the tobacco companies reached a $246 billion national settlement, giving the 46 states involved 25 years of reimbursement payments. Connecticut's share of the settlement was estimated at about $3.6 billion.

In December 2007, Blumenthal filed suit against RJ Reynolds alleging that a 2007 Camel advertising spread in Rolling Stone magazine used cartoons in violation of the master tobacco settlement, which prohibited the use of cartoons in cigarette advertising because they entice children and teenagers to smoke. The company paid the state of Connecticut $150,000 to settle the lawsuit and agreed to end the advertising campaign in question.

In April 2011, Blumenthal expressed support for the Food and Drug Administration’s pledge to follow up on a report from the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, which recommended that menthol cigarettes be removed from the marketplace to protect public health. Blumenthal stated that tobacco companies were using menthol cigarettes to target children and teen consumers and encourage them to smoke.

Microsoft lawsuit
In May 1998, Blumenthal, along with attorneys general from 19 other states and the District of Columbia, filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Microsoft accusing the company of abusing its monopoly power to stifle competition. The suit, which centered on Microsoft's Windows 98 operating system and the company's contractual restrictions imposed on personal computer manufacturers to tie the operating system to its Internet Explorer browser, was eventually merged with a federal case brought by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) under Attorney General Janet Reno. A 2000 landmark federal court decision ruled that Microsoft had violated antitrust laws, and the court ordered that the company be broken up.

In 2001, the federal appeals court agreed, but rather than breakup the company, sent the case to a new judge to hold hearings and determine appropriate remedies. Remedies were later proposed by Blumenthal and eight other attorneys general; these included requiring that Microsoft license an unbundled version of Windows in which middleware and operating system code were not commingled.

In 2001, the Bush Administration's DOJ settled with Microsoft in an agreement criticized by many states and other industry experts as insufficient. In November 2002, a federal court ruling imposed those same remedies. In August 2007, Blumenthal, along with five other states and the District of Columbia, filed a report alleging that the federal settlement with Microsoft, and court-imposed Microsoft remedies, had failed to adequately reduce Microsoft's monopoly.

Stanley Works
On May 10, 2002 then Attorney General Blumenthal and Connecticut State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier helped to stop the hostile takeover of New Britain-based Stanley Works, a major Connecticut employer, by filing a lawsuit alleging that the move to reincorporate in Bermuda based on a shareholder's vote of May 9 was "rife with voting irregularities." The agreement to temporarily halt the move was signed by New Britain Superior Court Judge Marshall Berger.

On June 3 Blumenthal referred the matter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for further investigation and on June 25 he testified before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means that "Long-time American corporations with operations in other countries can dodge tens of millions of dollars in federal taxes by the device of reincorporating in another country" by "simply [filing] incorporation papers in a country with friendly tax laws, open a post-office box and hold an annual meeting there" and that Stanley Works, along with "Cooper Industries, Seagate Technologies, Ingersoll-Rand and PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting, to name but a few, have also become pseudo-foreign corporations for the sole purpose of saving tax dollars."

Blumenthal stated that "Corporations proposing to reincorporate to Bermuda, such as Stanley, often tell shareholders that there is no material difference in the law" but said that this was not the case and was misleading to their shareholders. In order to rectify this situation he championed the Corporate Patriot Enforcement Act to close tax loopholes.

Charter schools lawsuit
In September 1999, Blumenthal announced a lawsuit against Robin Barnes, the president and treasurer of New Haven-based charter school the Village Academy, for serious financial mismanagement of the state-subsidized charitable organization. Citing common law, Blumenthal’s suit sought to recover money misspent and serious damages resulting from Barnes’s alleged breach of duty.

In a Connecticut Supreme Court decision, Blumenthal v. Barnes (2002), a unanimous court determined that the state’s Attorney General could act using only the powers specifically authorized by the state legislature, and that since the Attorney General’s jurisdiction is defined by statute rather than common law, Blumenthal lacked the authority to cite common law as the basis for filing suit against Barnes. Despite this ruling, Blumenthal announced that he intended to pursue a separate 2000 lawsuit against the school's trustees filed on behalf of the State Department of Education.

Regional transmission organization
In 2003 Blumenthal, along with former Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly, Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, and consumer advocates from Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire, opposed "the formation of a regional transmission organization (RTO) that would merge three Northeast and mid-Atlantic power operators, called Independent Service Operators (ISOs), into a single super-regional RTO."

In a press release he is quoted as saying "This fatally flawed RTO proposal will raise rates, reduce accountability and reward market manipulation. It will increase the power and profits of transmission operators with an immediate $40 million price tag for consumers." The opposition was due to a report authored by Synapse Energy Economics, Inc., a Cambridge-based energy consulting firm, which alleged that consumers would be worse off under the merger.

Gina Kolb lawsuit
In 2004, Blumenthal sued Computer Plus Center of East Hartford and its owner, Gina Kolb, on behalf of the state. It was alleged that CPC overcharged $50 per computer, $500,000 in total, on a three-year, $17.2 million contract to supply computers to the state. Blumenthal sued for $1.75 million. Kolb was arrested in 2004 and charged with first degree larceny. Under a plea deal, she was admitted to a rehabilitation program. Kolb later countersued, claiming the state had grossly abused its power. Kolb was initially awarded $18.3 million in damages; however, the Attorney General appealed the decision and the damages initially awarded were slashed by 90 percent to $1.83 million. In ruling, Superior Court judge Barry Stevens described the jury's initial award of $18.3 million as a "shocking injustice" and said it was "influenced by partiality or mistake."

Big East and ACC
Attorney General Blumenthal played a pivotal role in one of the biggest college athletics stories of the decade; expansion of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the departures of Boston College, Miami, and Virginia Tech from the Big East. He led efforts by the Big East football schools (Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia) in legal proceedings against the Atlantic Coast Conference, the University of Miami and Boston College, accusing them of improper disclosure of confidential information and of conspiring to dismantle the Big East. According to Blumenthal, the case was pursued because "the future of the Big East Conference was at risk -- the stakes huge for both state taxpayers and the university's good name."

The suits cost the schools involved $2.2 million in the first four months of litigation. The lawsuit against the ACC was initially dismissed on jurisdictional grounds but was subsequently refiled.[51] A declaratory judgment by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts exonerated Boston College in the matter. Virginia Tech accepted an invitation from the ACC and withdrew from the suit to remove themselves from the awkward position of suing their new conference. An out-of-court settlement in the amount of $5 million was eventually reached, which included a $1 million exit fee that Boston College was required to pay the Big East under the league's constitution.

Interstate 84
In October 2, 2006, Blumenthal launched an investigation concerning a botched reconstruction project of the Interstate 84 in Waterbury and Cheshire. The original contractor for the job, L.G. DeFelice, went out of business and it was later revealed that hundreds of storm drains has been improperly installed.

Blumenthal subsequently announced lawsuits against L.G. DeFelice and the Maguire Group, the engineering firm that inspected the project. United States Fidelity & Guaranty, the insurer behind the performance bond for the Interstate-84 construction, agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle the claims. Under the terms of the agreement, the state of Connecticut retained the right to sue L.G. DeFelice for additional funds. In 2009, the bonding company agreed to pay an additional $4.6 million settlement, bringing the total award to $22.1 million ($30,000 more than the repair costs).

Lyme disease guidelines lawsuit
In November 2006, Blumenthal launched an antitrust investigation into the Infectious Diseases Society of America's (IDSA's) 2006 guidelines regarding the treatment of Lyme diseas Responding to concerns from chronic Lyme disease advocacy groups, Blumenthal claimed the IDSA guidelines would "severely constrict choices and legitimate diagnosis and treatment options for patients."

In 2008, Blumenthal ended the investigation after the IDSA agreed to conduct a review of the guidelines. In 2010, an eight-member independent review panel unanimously agreed that the original 2006 gudeline recommendations were "medically and scientifically justified" in the light of the evidence. The committee did not change any of the earlier recommendations but did alter some of the language in an executive summary of the findings. Blumenthal said he would review the final report.

Internet pornography, prostitution, and sexual predators
MySpace/Facebook
In March 2006, Blumenthal noted that more than seven incidents of sexual assault in Connecticut had been linked directly to MySpace contacts. Earlier that year, Blumenthal and attorneys general in at least five other states were involved in discussions with MySpace that resulted in the implementation of technological changes aimed at protecting children from pornography and child predators on the company’s website. At Blumenthal's urging, MySpace installed a link to free blocking software (“K9 Web Protection”); however, in May 2006, Blumenthal announced that the site had failed to make the program easy to find and that it was not clearly labeled. Blumenthal also urged MySpace to take further steps to safeguard children, including purging deep links to pornography and inappropriate material, tougher age verification, and banning users under 16.

Blumenthal was co-chair, along with North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, of the State Attorney General Task Force on Social Networking. In 2008, the attorneys general commissioned the Internet Safety Technical Task Force report, which researched "ways to help squash the onslaught of sexual predators targeting younger social-networking clients".

Blumenthal's office subpoenaed MySpace for information about the number of registered sex offenders on its site. In 2009, MySpace revealed that over a 2-year span it had roughly 90,000 members who were registered sex offenders (nearly double what MySpace officials had originally estimated one year prior). Blumenthal accused MySpace of having "monstrously inadequate counter-measures" to prevent sex offenders from creating MySpace profiles.

Blumenthal and Cooper secured agreements from MySpace and Facebook to push toward making their companies’ sites safer. Both sites implemented dozens of safeguards, including finding better ways to verify users' ages, banning convicted sex offenders from using the sites, and limiting the ability of older users to search members under 18.

Craigslist
In March 2008, Blumenthal issued a letter to Craigslist attorneys demanding that the website cease allowing postings for erotic services, which he claimed promoted prostitution, and he accused the site of "turning a blind eye" to the problem. Blumenthal worked with Craigslist and a group of 40 attorneys general to create new measures on the site designed to thwart ads for prostitution and other illegal sexual activities. In April 2009, Craigslist came under the scrutiny of law enforcement agencies following the arrest of Philip H. Markoff (aka the "Craigslist Killer"), suspected of killing a 25-year-old masseuse he met through Craigslist at a Boston hotel.

Blumenthal subsequently called for a series of specific measures to fight prostitution and pornography on Craigslist—including steep financial penalties for rule breaking, and incentives for reporting wrongdoing. Blumenthal claimed that "Craigslist has the means -- and moral obligation -- to stop the pimping and prostituting in plain sight."

Blumenthal, leading a coalition of 39 states, subpoenaed Craigslist in May 2010 as part of an investigation into whether the site was taking sufficient action to curb prostitution ads and whether it was profiting from them. Blumenthal stated that prostitution ads had remained on the site despite previous assurances that they would be removed.

The subpoena sought documents related to the company's processes for reviewing potentially objectionable ads, as well as documents detailing the revenue gained from ads sold to the company's erotic services and adult services categories. In August 2010, Blumenthal called on the website to shut down the section permanently and take steps to eradicate prostitution ads from other parts of the site. Blumenthal also called on Congress to alter a landmark communications law (Communications Decency Act) that Craigslist has cited in defense of the ads.

Following continued pressure, Craigslist removed the adult services sections from its U.S. sites in September 2010 and from its international sites in December 2010. Blumenthal called the company's decision a victory against sexual exploitation of women and children, and against human trafficking connected to prostitution.

Blumenthal and other state attorneys general reached a settlement with Craigslist on the issue; the settlement called for the company to charge people via credit card for any ads that were suggestive in nature so the person could be tracked down if they were determined to in fact be offering prostitution. However, Blumenthal remarked that subsequent to the settlement, the ads had continued to flourish using veiled code words.

Terrorist surveillance program
In October 2007, Blumenthal and the attorneys general of 4 other states lobbied Congress for the rejection of proposals to provide immunity from litigation to telecommunications firms that cooperated with the federal government's terrorist surveillance program following the September 11 attacks in 2001. In 2008 the Congress passed and President George W. Bush signed into law a new terrorist surveillance bill including the telecom immunity provisions opposed by Blumenthal.

Countrywide Financial
In August 2008 Blumenthal announced that Connecticut had joined California, Illinois and Florida in suing subprime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (now owned by Bank of America) for fraudulent business practices. The suit alleged that Countrywide pushed consumers into "deceptive, unaffordable loans and workouts, and charged homeowners in default unjustified and excessive legal fees." According to Blumenthal, "Countrywide conned customers into loans that were clearly unaffordable and unsustainable, turning the American Dream of homeownership into a nightmare" and when consumers defaulted, "the company bullied them into workouts doomed to fail."

Blumenthal also claimed that Countrywide "crammed unconscionable legal fees into renegotiated loans, digging consumers deeper into debt" and that the company "broke promises that homeowners could refinance, condemning them to hopelessly unaffordable loans." The lawsuit demanded that Countrywide make restitution to affected borrowers, give up improper gains and rescind, reform or modify all mortgages that broke state laws. It is also sought civil fines of up to $100,000 per violation of state banking laws, and up to $5,000 per violation of state consumer protection laws.

In October 2008 Bank of America initially agreed to settle the states' suits for $8.4 billion, and in February 2010, Countrywide mailed payments of $3,452.54 to 370 Connecticut residents. The settlement forced Bank of America to establish a $150 million fund to help repay borrowers whose homes had been foreclosed upon, $1.3 million of which went to Connecticut.

Blumenthal commented in defense of U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Christopher Dodd, who had been harshly criticized for accepting a VIP loan from Countrywide, stating that "there's no evidence of wrongdoing on [Mr. Dodd's] part any more than victims who were misled or deceived by Countrywide." In August 2010, Dodd was cleared by the Senate Ethics Committee, which found "no credible evidence" that he knowingly tried to use his status as a U.S. senator to receive loan terms not available to the public.

Global warming
Blumenthal has been a vocal advocate of the position that human activity is responsible for rising global temperatures and that prompt action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions must be taken. He has urged the Environmental Protection Agency to declare carbon dioxide as a dangerous air pollutant. "I urge the new Obama EPA to declare carbon dioxide a danger to human health and welfare so we can at last begin addressing the potentially disastrous threat global warming poses to health, the environment and our economy. We must make up for lost time before it's too late to curb dangerous warming threatening to devastate the planet and human society."

He has brought suit against a number of electric utilities in the Midwest, arguing that coal-burning power plants are generating excess CO2 emissions. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently agreed to allow Blumenthal's lawsuit to proceed. Blumenthal personally has stated "no reputable climate scientist disputes the reality of global warming. It is fact, plain and simple. Dithering will be disastrous."

Prospect of gubernatorial candidacy
Blumenthal was frequently considered a top prospect as the Democratic candidate for Governor of Connecticut but he did not run against Republican governors John G. Rowland or M. Jodi Rell in the elections of 1998, 2002, and 2006.

On March 18, 2007, Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie reported Blumenthal had become seriously interested in running for Governor in 2010.[86] On February 2, 2009, Blumenthal announced he would forgo a gubernatorial run and seek re-election that year as Attorney General.

U.S. Senate
2010 election
After Sen. Chris Dodd announced on January 6, 2010 that he would retire at the end of his term, Blumenthal told the Associated Press that he would run in the election for Dodd's seat in November 2010.[88] Later that day, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden called Blumenthal to express their best wishes.

The same day, Public Policy Polling released a poll they took on the two preceding evenings, including races where Blumenthal was paired against each of the three most mentioned Republicans contending for their party's nomination for the seat. He led by at least 30% in each hypothetical race: against Rob Simmons 59–28, against Linda McMahon 60–28, and against Peter Schiff 63–23, with a ±4.3% margin of error cited. Rasmussen Reports also polled after Blumenthal announced his candidacy and found a somewhat more competitive race, but with Blumenthal holding a strong lead.

A February poll by Rasmussen found that Blumenthal held leads of 19 (against Simmons) and 20 (against McMahon), and that Republicans had made up little ground since the initial Rasmussen poll after Blumenthal announced. On May 21, Blumenthal received the Democratic nomination by acclamation for Senator of Connecticut, after opposing candidate Alpert was not allowed to speak at the convention by the committee, except to withdraw his name for nomination after preparing a speech.

Days after the nomination, Quinnipiac University polling indicated that Blumenthal held a 25-point lead over McMahon. The Cook Political Report changed its prediction on the race to Leans Democratic, making Blumenthal the favored candidate over McMahon.

On the November 2nd election, Blumenthal was elected to the U.S. senate, defeating former WWE CEO Linda McMahon, 55% to 43%.

Allegations about military service
On May 17, 2010, prior to the election, The New York Times published an article citing a speech delivered by Blumenthal in Norwalk, Connecticut in which he he seemed to have mistakenly implied that he had served in Vietnam.

Blumenthal's opponent, Republican Senate candidate Linda McMahon, announced that her campaign research team had found video footage of the speech and provided the story to The New York Times. After the Times story was published, Rasmussen Reports indicated that Blumenthal's lead over McMahon had shrunk to three percentage points. Politico contested the Times article's claims, noting that Blumenthal, a member of the Marine Corps Reserve, had in fact accurately described his military service record at the outset in his Norwalk speech.

Connecticut's The Day newspaper, meanwhile, stated that its staff could find no articles in its archives with any suggestion by Blumenthal that he had served in Vietnam. Blumenthal defended his representation of his military service, commenting "On a few occasions, I have misspoken about my service and I regret that. I take full responsibility, but I will not allow anyone to take a few misplaced words and impugn my record of military service."

Blumenthal's executive officer, Larry Baldino, responded to the Times story with a letter to the editor of the New Haven Register, in which he acknowledged the statements were 'misleading' but dismissed the outcry as 'petty.' Baldino further defended Blumenthal as 'good natured' and described him as 'one of the best Marines with whom I ever worked.'

Tenure
Blumenthal was sworn into the 112th United States Congress on January 5, 2011. He also planned on returning to Connecticut every weekend and joining a "listening tour" of his home state. On January 20, Blumenthal visited small businesses in eastern Connecticut. The next day, he visited Danbury, Connecticut.

Committee assignments
* Committee on Armed Services
o Subcommittee on Airland
o Subcommittee on Personnel
o Subcommittee on Seapower
* Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
o Subcommittee on Children and Families
o Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
* Committee on the Judiciary
o Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
o Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights
o Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security
o Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law
* Special Committee on Aging

Caucus memberships
* Senate Oceans Caucus

20 Jan 2012, Fri, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

2012-01-20T09:38:00.002-07:00

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2012/01/182269.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
10:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with President Obama, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

11:30 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:15 p.m. Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, at the Department of State.
(JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY FOLLOWING BILATERAL MEETING AT APPROXIMATELY 1:30 P.M.)

DEPUTY SECRETARY BILL BURNS
10:15 a.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with UK Ambassador Sir Peter John Westmacot, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with Louise Arbour of the International Crisis Group, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY TOM NIDES
7:30 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides participates in a secure video conference with Embassy Islamabad, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

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

3:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides hosts a Law of the Sea roundtable, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH
9:00 a.m. Administrator Shah meets with Louise Arbour of the International Crisis Group, at USAID.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Administrator Shah delivers closing remarks at the 12th NCSE National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS WENDY SHERMAN
Under Secretary Sherman hosts her G8 counterparts for an all-day meeting in preparation for the G8 Foreign Ministers meeting in May, at the Blair House.

US FOR ECONOMIC, GROWTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ROBERT HORMATS
9:30 a.m. Under Secretary Hormats holds a conference call with William Donald of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:30 a.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with Ambassador-designate Nancy Powell, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:30 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats speaks with Timothy J. Regan of Global Government Affairs Corning Incorporated, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats holds a conference call with J. Patrick Boyle, President of the American Meat Institute, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:30 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with students from Centre College, Lexington, KY, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS MARIA OTERO
Under Secretary Otero is on foreign travel through January 20 to Chile and Colombia.

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL
9:00 a.m. Ambassador Marshall delivers remarks on protocol and diplomacy at a retreat for Congressional spouses, in Baltimore, Maryland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS ROBERT BLAKE
8:45 a.m. Assistant Secretary Blake attends an interagency roundtable on Islam in secular Central Asia, at the Foreign Service Institute.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

4:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Ambassador Knut Vollebaek, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN
Assistant Secretary Countryman is on foreign travel to Malaysia, Singapore and Burma through January 24 to conduct bilateral consultations on international security and nonproliferation. On Friday, Assistant Secretary Countryman holds bilateral consultations in Singapore.

AS FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ
Assistant Secretary Fernandez is on foreign travel in Algiers, Algeria and Paris, France through January 20 to discuss U.S. economic policy in North Africa and entrepreneurship with government, civil society and private sector representatives. In Paris, he will meet with officials at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

AS FOR EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS PHILIP GORDON
12:15 p.m. Assistant Secretary Gordon joins Secretary Clinton’s meeting with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ACTING AS FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS MIKE HAMMER
Acting Assistant Secretary Hammer continues his travel and media engagement in Miami, Florida. On Friday he meets with members of the Knight Foundation and conducts interviews with Radio Marti and Univision.

ACTING AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ROBERTA JACOBSON
9:30 a.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Jacobson meets with interns and fellows from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute at the Department of State.

AS FOR OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS KERRI-ANN JONES
2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Jones attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

AS FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER
8:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Posner meets with NGO representatives to discuss Egypt, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Posner delivers remarks about the Middle East to the Federalist Society, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN
Ambassador Benjamin is on foreign travel to Tanzania through January 20 to chair the East Africa Regional Strategic Initiative in Dar Es Salaam.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER
9:00 a.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with Pakistani Civil Society activist Mosarrat Qadeem, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:30 a.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with Baroness of Winterbourne and member of the United Kingdom House of Lords Emma Harriet Nicholson, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with Rear Admiral Kathleen Dussault of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

SPECIAL ENVOY TO MONITOR AND COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM HANNAH ROSENTHAL
3:30 p.m. Special Envoy Rosenthal meets with U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Miguel Diaz to discuss Christian-Jewish relations, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE:
11:30 a.m. Spokesperson Victoria Nuland will gaggle off-camera, on-the-record in the PA Conference Room (Room 2208).

20 Jan 2012, Fri, Pres and VP Schedule

2012-01-20T09:35:00.001-07:00

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule
12:05 am
The President arrives Joint Base Andrews
Travel Pool Coverage
In-Town Travel Pool Coverage (Gather Time 8:30PM – North Doors of the Palm Room)

12:20 am
The President arrives the White House
South Lawn
Open Press

10:15 am
The President meets with Secretary of State Clinton
Oval Office
Closed Press

5:05 pm
The President meets with senior advisors
Oval Office
Closed Press

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
11:00 am
The Vice President attends a campaign event
Local Event Time:
8:00 AM PST Los Angeles

2:00 pm
The Vice President tapes a radio interview with Ryan Seacrest.
Local Event Time:
11:00 AM PST Los Angeles

3:15 pm
The Vice President attends a campaign event
Local Event Time:
12:15 PM PST

6:30 pm
The Vice President joins Dr. Biden at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton to visit with wounded warriors and their families
Local Event Time:
3:30 PM PST
Pooled Press

My Open Email To Rush

2012-01-19T09:48:00.001-07:00

Sent this to Rush today... he gets thousands of emails so I doubt if he'll see it...but it seems such an obvious thing to me...

The Dems keep saying that Republicans are trying to block the minority vote by insisting that they have photo ids to vote.

But don't they also need photo IDs to get jobs?

So rather than the ACLU and the Dems spending all that money on legal fees to prevent the ID vote from going forward, why don't you ask why they don't launch a program aimed at actually getting these people IDs so they can not only vote but get jobs!

If an ID costs so much money (and I checked the South Carolina website and it costs $10 to get a state ID), why don't they save on the legal fees and spend that money helping minorities put themselves in a position to get jobs.

By not doing so - they are blocking minorities attempts to get jobs and are effectively forcing them to be unemployed and on welfare. (Although how anyone can be on welfare without an ID to show who they are to begin with is something I don't understand.)

It's 9 months to the election - plenty of time for people to get IDs - whether they save up the money to pay for it themselves or get the ACLU to pay for it for them.

The idea that Republicans are attempting to suppress the minority vote just doesn't hold water, since those minorities have 9 months before the upcoming electin to get an ID and nothing is stopping them from doing that.

19 Jan 2012, Thu, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

2012-01-19T09:43:00.002-07:00

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2012/01/181496.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
9:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with the assistant secretaries from the regional bureaus, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:00 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:30 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with OMB Director and White House Chief of Staff-designate Jack Lew, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY BILL BURNS
10:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with Ambassador to Brazil Thomas Shannon, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:30 a.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with Saudi Justice Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdelkarim al-Issa, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:15 a.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY TOM NIDES
1:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

5:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Special Envoy for Middle East Peace David Hale, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH
10:30 a.m. Administrator Shah delivers keynote remarks at a Brookings Institution panel, “U.S. Aid and Transparency for Global Development,” in Washington, DC. Click here for more information.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

1:00 p.m. Administrator Shah meets with Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, at USAID.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS WENDY SHERMAN
10:00 a.m. Under Secretary Sherman meets with UK Political Director Sir Geoffrey Adams, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Under Secretary Sherman meets with Japanese Political Director Koro Bessho, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Under Secretary Sherman meets with French Political Director Jacques Audibert, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

7:00 p.m. Under Secretary Sherman meets with G-8 Political Directors, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ECONOMIC, GROWTH, ENERGY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT ROBERT HORMATS
10:00 a.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with Lithuanian Minister of Transportation and Communications Eligijus Masiulis, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats participates in a Washington Export Council meeting, in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

4:15 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats participates in a meeting for the Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society, at the Department of State. Click here for more information.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS MARIA OTERO
Under Secretary Otero is on foreign travel to Chile and Colombia through January 20.

US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS ELLEN TAUSCHER
10:30 a.m. Under Secretary Tauscher meets with Israeli Director of Policy and Political-Military Affairs Amos Gilad, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Under Secretary Tauscher meets with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL
2:00 p.m. Ambassador Marshall hosts a reception in honor of departing Qatari Ambassador His Excellency Ali Bin Fahad Al Hajri, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS ROBERT BLAKE
11:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with Lithuanian Minister of Transportation and Communications Eligijus Masiulis, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake delivers remarks at the American Enterprise Institute, in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AFFAIRS ESTHER BRIMMER
Assistant Secretary Brimmer is on foreign travel in Paris, France through January 19 to help launch a new anti-racism program, “Teaching Respect for All” (TRA). The program is a partnership between U.S and Brazilian Governments and UNESCO. Assistant Secretary Brimmer will also meet with her P3 counterparts. Click here for more information.

AS FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL
12:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Campbell participates in a Stimson Center Chairman's Forum on U.S. policy in East Asia and the Pacific, in Washington, DC. Click here for more information.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)
Contact aumminger@stimson.org for more information on attending.

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN
Assistant Secretary Countryman is on foreign travel to Malaysia, Singapore, and Burma through January 24 to conduct bilateral consultations on international security and nonproliferation. On Thursday, Assistant Secretary Countryman participates in bilateral consultations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

AS FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ
Assistant Secretary Fernandez is on foreign travel in Algiers, Algeria through January 20 to discuss U.S. economic policy in North Africa and entrepreneurship with government, civil society, and private sector representatives. Click here for more information.

AS FOR ARMS CONTROL, VERIFICATION, AND COMPLIANCE ROSE GOTTEMOELLER
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller delivers remarks at the Peace and Security Strategy Retreat, at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ACTING AS FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS MIKE HAMMER
Acting Assistant Secretary Hammer meets with representatives from the Miami Herald and interviews with reporters from Spanish language stations, Radio Caracol and Radio Actualidad, in Miami, Florida.

5:00 p.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Hammer delivers remarks on U.S. foreign policy priorities for 2012 at an event co-sponsored by the Center for Hemispheric Policy and the Department of State Miami Media Hub, in Miami, Florida.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

COORDINATOR FOR INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION PROGRAMS DAWN MCCALL
Coordinator McCall is on foreign travel in Malaysia to meet with representatives from NGOs, local bloggers, academics, and local opinion leaders. Click here for more information.

AS FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER
11:40 a.m. Assistant Secretary Posner discusses human rights with students at Georgetown University, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN
Ambassador Benjamin is on foreign travel to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania through January 20 to chair the East Africa Regional Strategic Initiative.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE STEPHEN RAPP, OFFICE OF GLOBAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE
10:30 a.m. Ambassador Rapp meets with International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Registrar Adama Dieng, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR AMBASSADOR ERIC GOOSBY
10:00 a.m. Ambassador Goosby delivers opening remarks at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation’s concluding event for Project HEART at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

12:00 p.m. Ambassador Goosby delivers opening remarks concerning global HIV/AIDS efforts and greets Congressional colleagues at a meeting of the HIV Congressional Caucus, in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER
9:00 a.m. Ambassador Verveer delivers the keynote address at the Heinrich Boell Foundation and Partners Conference on “Gender Equity and Sustainable Development,” in Washington, DC. Click here for more information.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

SR FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS
10:00 a.m. Special Representative Lewis attends the U.S. Conference of Mayors 80th Winter Meeting, in Washington, DC. Click here for more information.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

11:30 a.m. Special Representative Lewis and Ambassador to Brazil Thomas Shannon co-lead a meeting on U.S. – Brazil sub-national cooperation, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Ambassador to Brazil Thomas Shannon, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

SPECIAL ENVOY TO MONITOR AND COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM HANNAH ROSENTHAL
5:30 p.m. Special Envoy Rosenthal delivers remarks on the “Six Trends of Anti-Semitism” at the Georgetown University’s Program for Jewish Civilization, in Washington, DC. Click here for more information.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

DIRECTOR OF POLICY PLANNING SULLIVAN
12:00 p.m. Director of Policy Planning Sullivan meets with Yale Law School students, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

Press Briefing Schedule
11:45 a.m. Daily Press Briefing with Spokesperson Victoria Nuland

19 Jan 2012, Thu, Pres and VP Schedule

2012-01-19T09:40:00.002-07:00

President on travel again...

9:15 am
The President departs the White House en route Joint Base Andrews
Open Press

9:30 am
The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route Orlando, Florida
Travel Pool Coverage

11:40 am
The President arrives Orlando, Florida
Orlando International Airport
Open Press

12:35 pm
The President delivers remarks where he will unveil a strategy that will significantly help boost tourism and travel
Main Street USA, Walt Disney World Resort

2:15 pm
The President departs Orlando, Florida en route New York, NY
Orlando International Airport
Open Press

4:30 pm
The President arrives New York, NY
John F. Kennedy International Airport
Open Press

5:30 pm
The President delivers remarks at a campaign event
Daniel Restaurant
Print Pool

6:30 pm
The President delivers remarks at a campaign event
Daniel Restaurant
Print Pool

7:50 pm
The President delivers remarks at a campaign event
Private Residence
Print Pool

9:25 pm
The President delivers remarks at a campaign event
Apollo Theatre
Pooled TV, Open to Correspondents

11:05 pm
The President departs New York, NY en route Joint Base Andrews
John F. Kennedy International Airport
Open Press

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
11:00 am
The Vice President attends a campaign event
Local Event Time:
8:00 AM PST
San Francisco

1:00 pm
The Vice President attends a campaign event
Local Event Time:
4:00 PM PST
Los Angeles

2:30 pm
The Vice President and Deputy Secretary of Education Tony Miller delivers remarks on college affordability at Galena High School
Local Event Time:
11:30 AM PST
Reno
Open Press

9:00 pm
The Vice President meets with business leaders to discuss the economy
Local Event Time:
6:00 PM PST

How Many Kids Today Get Up at 4 am?

2012-01-18T15:04:00.002-07:00

Jim Clyburn was talking about Newt and his idea that kids should have to work in school to learn a work ethic.

Clyburn, who is black, says Newt wants white kids to see black kids as "servants."

CLYBURN: People who are poor are not suffering from any kind of a work ethic. I grew up pretty poor, but I got up at four o'clock in the mornings and delivered milk on a milk truck before going to school at 8:30, and I don't need Newt Gingrich to tell me what it is to have a work ethic. What he is talking about is stratifying people. He's saying that the poor children in their schools ought to be the janitors in their schools so that the other people in the schools, who aren't so poor, can see them, uh, as their servants.

Clyburn got up at 4 am to deliver milk on a mil truck before going to school at 8:30.

And look where he's at.

How many black kids today are going to get up at 4 am to go to work, before going to school. I'd say very few. (But then, few white kids would do it, too. But most white kids don't need to, whereas most black kids, to get out of poverty, do.)

Of course today, most black kids can't get jobs because they don't have photo IDs which are a pre-requisite for getting a job. So the Dems, by insisting that blacks and Latinos shouldn't have to produce photo IDs to vote, are actually telling blacks - you don't need to get a job. Just sit back and rake in the welfare and vote Democrat, and we'll take care of you.

That's the only reason I can think of why Dems don't want blacks to get IDs.

I was on this one website that I'd mentioned here before. I'd asked the question - why do a "disproportionate" number of blacks not have IDs. And all the responses from the folks there - Democrats all - were that the Republicans wanted to suppress the black vote. Not a one of them answered the question - why dont they just go out and get IDs?

It's the middle of January - election isn't until November. Let's say they can't afford the $10 to get an ID right now. So they give up coffee or a donut every day for a month...and then they've got their $10, plus enough bus fare left over to go to the government building that issues State Ids.

Let's say it takes them two months to save up that money, or three months.

By May, they'd have enough money to pay for their state-issued photo ID.

That still gives them 5 months before the election - at which they would then be allowed to vote with no hassles.

And if they have a state-issued photo ID.... then they'll be able to get a job! So it's a win-win situation!

New Yorker's Making $50,000 a Year "Can't find food"?

2012-01-18T15:00:00.002-07:00

This is beyond obscene. If someone who earns $50,000 a year in New York can't afford to buy food, then it's about time they moved to a suburb or something where the cost of housing is substantially cheaper. Easy solution.

New Yorkers Struggle to Find Food
RUSH: Every day you can find a story like this, sometimes more than one. This is from the Business Insider: "Nearly three million New Yorkers are reporting having difficulty affording food while a growing percentage of college-educated New Yorkers are also reporting higher levels of difficulty, according to a new report from the Food Bank For New York City.

"One in three expressed concerns that they might need" assistance finding food. This is despite all the food stamps out there! "The number of affected residents making between $50,000 and $75,000 -- and therefore not eligible for food assistance programs -- increased by 6 percent. To cope, they're cutting back on spending by purchasing fewer essential items like dairy, meat and fresh fruits and turning to soup kitchens and food stamps" which is all part of Obama's plan: Creating more and more dependency on government for the necessities of life. Now, when will this be called "The Obama Economy"?

When will this proposal be called Obamaville? I don't know how you blame anything going on in New York on any Republican, unless you want to go back and try to say that this is Giuliani's mess, but it can't be and it isn't. You've got a liberal nanny for mayor who now wants to put bars out of business by limiting the number of adult beverages you can have every day. Now you've got food banks reporting increased activity: 2.9 million New Yorkers! The population's what, seven million, and 2.9 New Yorkers report having difficult affording food? It's Obamaville. (interruption) Well, I don't know if there's any trans fat foods around. Even if you're starving and you find some trans fats, I'm sure they'll charge you. It's absurd.

That's not "sissification" of New Yorkers - making them unable to be willing to provide for themselves and instead looking to the government to help them out. That's "welfare-ization" of people.

Rush Insults Women Again

2012-01-18T14:54:00.003-07:00

The Captain of the Costa Concordia was a coward. He abandoned ship while there were still passengers on board - and he's been lying about it ever since.

So what is really making my blood boil is Rush blaming the Captain's cowardice on the "sissification" of the world. Bullshit, Rush.
Chickified Captain Says He Fell into Lifeboat

RUSH: The captain of the Costa Concordia, you hear what this guy says now? He tripped and fell into the lifeboat! He tripped as he was running away. He was running to do his captain duties and he tripped and fell into the lifeboat and got trapped in there for an hour. He couldn't get out because it was suspended over the side. He didn't run away. He tripped and fell in there. I mean, the sisification of our worldwide culture is well underway, well underway. Yep, the guy tripped! (laughing) Well, who's to say it didn't happen? (laughing)

So cowards are only cowards because they've been "sissified"? What about all the cowards that were cowards prior to the last several decades that Rush is presumably talking about.

What about all the heroes today - men and women who lay their lives on the line for their fellow troops in Afghanistan. Those who did it in Iraq. Why weren't they "sissified"?

Sorry, people, but the fact that Rush equates this one man's cowardice with women gaining more power and men - well, some of them - gaining a bit more sensitivity...it's just outrageous.

18 Jan, 2012, Wed, Rush Limbaugh Headlines

2012-01-18T14:50:00.002-07:00

--Media Feasts on Romney Tax Remark
--Palin Launches Her Own Version of Operation Chaos, Urges SC to Vote Newt
--Mitt Goes Scorched Earth on Newt Again
--Conservatives Want a Street Fighter
--Scandal! Romney Donates to His Church
--Pelosi Admits Nobody Thinks Mitt Can Win
--Clyburn: Newt Wants White Kids to See Black Kids as Servants
--Election-Year Politics: Obama Rejects Keystone, Floats Phony "Budget Cuts"
--How Romney Should Respond
Stack of Stuff
--Tebow Turns Down CBS
--Steve Jobs on Education in 1996
-- New Yorkers Struggle to Find Food
--Dems Want to Lower Voting Age to 16
--Chickified Captain Says He Fell into Lifeboat

Nothing Heroic About One Captain Ordering Another To Get Back on His Ship

2012-01-18T13:02:00.002-07:00

Thanks to Wikipedia being dark today (a move I support, by the way) I can't do the research to find what I assume would be there - a complete timeline of the Costa cruise ship disaster.

But apparently, after the ship grounded and tilted and began to take on water, the captain of the boat and most of its crew abandoned ship, leaving the passengers behind to fend for themselves.

At some point in time, the Italian coast guard arrived, and the captain of one of those ships ordered the captain of the Costa to get back on board and direct rescue efforts.

The other captain refused.

Now, with that timeline, the cruise ship captain is being castigated as a coward.

No argument there.

But the other captain is being hailed as a hero. Why? He kept yelling other orders for the first captain to get back on his ship. Very good. But that was his job. Nothing heroic about it.

what would have been heroic is if he'd said, "Eff this" and ordered his boat close to the cruise ship so that he himself could get on board and direct rescue efforts from there.

But that's not what he did .

So no, he's not a hero. Just someone who was trying to make someone else do his job.

I will do more research tomorrow to see exactly what happened - I admit all I've been reading are the headlines, and today, the article about "A tale of two captains".

Also, many responders to these articles, have been wondering why the passengers waited for life boats and did not just swim to shore which was "a few hundred yards away." They're also getting criticized for referring to their terrifying experience as "like the Titanic."

For myself, I'm pretty sure they're not referring to the Titanic that went down in 1912, but rather the Titanic movie with Leonard DiCaprio, which had all the scenes of the ship turning over and people trying to crawl up a vertical floor, etc. No need to criticize them for that!

18 Jan 2012, Wed, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

2012-01-18T09:56:00.001-07:00

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2012/01/181007.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
10:50 a.m. Secretary Clinton presents the 13th Annual Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE), at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS)
Pre-set time for video cameras: 10:00 a.m. from the 23rd Street Entrance Lobby.
Final access time for journalists and still photographers: 10:35 a.m. from the 23rd Street Entrance Lobby.

11:45 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Cultural Ambassador Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, at the Department of State. As a Cultural Ambassador, Abdul-Jabbar will lead conversations with young people on the importance of education, social and racial tolerance, cultural understanding, and using sports as a means of empowerment.
(POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Ambassador to France Charles Rivkin, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:30 p.m. Secretary Clinton speaks with outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:15 p.m. Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, at the Department of State.
(CAMERA SPRAY PRECEDING MEETING)

2:30 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Ambassador to China Gary Locke, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:30 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY BILL BURNS
1:15 p.m. Deputy Secretary Burns participates in Secretary Clinton’s bilateral meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, at the Department of State.
(CAMERA SPRAY PRECEDING MEETING)

4:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with Singaporean Permanent Secretary Bilahari Kausikan, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY TOM NIDES
8:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides attends a meeting, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

10:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides participates in a secure video conference with Embassy Baghdad, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:30 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with a delegation from the Aga Kan Development Network for Afghanistan, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:15 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Treasury Under Secretary Lael Brainard, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Ambassador to China Gary Locke, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with the economic task force team, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH
1:30 p.m. Administrator Shah meets with Senator Chris Coons, at the University of Delaware, Wilmington Campus.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Administrator Shah meets with officials from the University of Delaware and President of Delaware State University Harry Lee Williams, at the University of Delaware, Wilmington Campus.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:10 p.m. Administrator Shah tours a DuPont agriculture center, in Wilmington, Delaware.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:30 p.m. Administrator Shah meets with faith-based leaders, at the University of Delaware, Wilmington Campus.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:45 p.m. Administrator Shah delivers keynote remarks at Senator Chris Coons’ “Opportunity: Africa” Conference, at the University of Delaware, Wilmington Campus.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)
Click here for more information.

US FOR ECONOMIC, GROWTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ROBERT HORMATS
9:30 a.m. Under Secretary Hormats attends a meeting, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

10:50 a.m. Under Secretary Hormats attends Secretary Clinton’s presentation of the 13th Annual Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE), at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

1:00 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with Deputy USTR Ambassador Miriam Sapiro and Egyptian Trade Minister Mahmoud Eisa, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:00 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats speaks with UK Ambassador to the OECD Dominic Martin.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:30 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:30 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats participates in an Institute for Education INFO Public Policy Roundtable, at the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS MARIA OTERO

Under Secretary Otero is on foreign travel to Chile and Colombia through January 20.
US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS ELLEN TAUSCHER

12:00 p.m. Under Secretary Tauscher delivers remarks to members of the Business Council for International Understanding, in Washington, DC. Click here for more information.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL
3:00 p.m. Ambassador Marshall participates in the Ambassador Credentialing Ceremony with President Obama, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AFFAIRS ESTHER BRIMMER
Assistant Secretary Brimmer is on foreign travel in Paris, France to help launch a new anti-racism program, “Teaching Respect for All” (TRA). The program is a partnership between U.S and Brazil governments and UNESCO. Assistant Secretary Brimmer will also meet with her P3 counterparts to discuss a variety of topics.

2:30 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Brimmer participates in a CO.NX web chat with Special Envoy Rosenthal and Special Representative Pandith in coordination with the launch of a new anti-racism program, “Teaching Respect for All” (TRA), in Paris, France.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL
11:00a.m. Assistant Secretary Campbell hosts the U.S. – Singapore Strategic Partners Dialogue with Singaporean Permanent Secretary Bilahari Kausikan, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN
Assistant Secretary Countryman is on foreign travel to Malaysia, Singapore and Burma through January 24 to conduct bilateral consultations on international security and nonproliferation. In Burma, he will be following up on Secretary Clinton’s trip to continue engagement and direct dialogue on nonproliferation issues.

AS FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ
Assistant Secretary Fernandez is on foreign travel in Marrakech, Morocco through January 18 to participate in the Partners for a New Beginning U.S.-North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity (PNB-NAPEO) U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference.

ACTING AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ROBERTA JACOBSON
Acting Assistant Secretary Jacobson meets with officials from SOUTHCOM and the Florida Regional Center, in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, Florida.

COORDINATOR FOR INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION PROGRAMS DAWN MCCALL
Coordinator McCall is on foreign travel in Malaysia to meet with representatives from NGOs, local bloggers, academics and local opinion leaders.

AS FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER
12:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Posner meets with Swedish Ambassador Jonas Hafström, at the Ambassador’s residence.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:15 p.m. Assistant Secretary Posner meets with Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY ANN STOCK
9:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Stock meets with Ambassador to Brazil Thomas Shannon, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:50 a.m. Assistant Secretary Stock attends Secretary Clinton’s presentation of the 13th Annual Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE), at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

11:45 a.m. Assistant Secretary Stock attends Secretary Clinton’s meeting with Cultural Ambassador Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, at the Department of State. As a Cultural Ambassador, Abdul-Jabbar will lead conversations with young people on the importance of education, social and racial tolerance, cultural understanding, and using sports as a means of empowerment.
(POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN
Ambassador Benjamin is on foreign travel to Tanzania to chair the East Africa Regional Strategic Initiative in Dar Es Salaam through January 20.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER
12:00 p.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah II of Jordan, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

SR FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS KRIS BALDERSTON
Special Representative Balderston is on foreign travel in Marrakech, Morocco through January 18 to participate in the Partners for a New Beginning U.S.-North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity (PNB-NAPEO) U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference.

SR FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS
9:00 a.m. Special Representative Lewis attends the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting, in Washington, DC. Click here for more information.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

2:00 p.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee, in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA PRESS COVERAGE)

SR TO MUSLIM COMMUNITIES FARAH PANDITH
8:30 a.m. Special Representative Pandith participates in a CO.NX web chat with Special Envoy Rosenthal and Assistant Secretary Brimmer in coordination with the launch of a new anti-racism program, “Teaching Respect for All” (TRA), in Washington, DC.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

SPECIAL ENVOY TO MONITOR AND COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM HANNAH ROSENTHAL
8:30 a.m. Special Envoy Rosenthal participates in a CO.NX web chat with Special Representative Pandith and Assistant Secretary Brimmer in coordination with the launch of a new anti-racism program, “Teaching Respect for All” (TRA), in Washington, DC.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

1:30 p.m. Special Envoy Rosenthal meets with representatives from Jewish organizations, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE
12:30 p.m. Daily Press Briefing with Spokesperson Victoria Nuland

18 Jan 2012, Wed, Pres and VP Schedule

2012-01-18T09:53:00.001-07:00

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule
10:30 am
The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

3:00 pm
The President participates in an Ambassador Credentialing Ceremony
Oval Office
Closed Press

3:30 pm
The President meets with Secretary Geithner
Oval Office
Closed Press

5:25 pm
The President hosts a reception with U.S. Mayors
The East Room
Closed Press

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
9:30 am
The Vice President attends a campaign event at the Bentley Reserve.
Local Event Time:
12:30 PM PST (San Francisco)

11:15 am
The Vice President attends a campaign event at the Bentley Reserve
Local Event Time:
2:15 PM PST (San Francisco)

3:00 pm
The Vice President meets with business leaders in technology and innovation to discuss the economy
Local Event Time:
6:00 PM PST (San Francisco)

Why don't blacks have IDs redux

2012-01-17T16:52:00.002-07:00

Well, of course a lot of blacks have IDs - but alot of them don't and I'm still trying to figure out why.

I posted my question at a website I frequent - it's a movie fan website but there's a folder there for off-topic discussions (and funnily enough it is this folder that gets the most activity) and no one answered it. They are all liberals there, and all they said was that the Republicans wanted the voter ID law in place to prevent blacks from voting. Not one of them answered the question I asked - why don't these people have IDs? How can they not have IDs? Either they have jobs or they have welfare, one way or the other they need an ID to get money - so why don't they have IDs?

According to the article that I linked to - blacks and Latinos and the elderly are the ones who are "disproportionately" hit by the law because they can't afford to have a picture ID.

Bushwa. I looked up the cost of getting a state Id in South Carolina - costs all of $10. In other words, give up a coffee at McDonalds for ten straight days, and you have enough money to get yourself a state ID.

So money has nothing to do with it.

Why don't they have IDs?

What is a "benefit" and what are earned payments?

2012-01-17T16:49:00.002-07:00

According to Rush, reading from an article in the Wall Street Journal.

No wonder we're going bankrupt.

48% of Americans Get Some Sort of Government Assistance
RUSH: Here's news from the Wall Street Journal. No surprise here: 48.6% of US lived in households are receiving some type of government benefits in the second quarter of 2010, Census Bureau numbers. "Some 48.6% of the population lived in a household receiving some type of government benefit." Nearly half of America lives in a household receiving government benefits. Nearly half. (interruption) You're not surprised, are you? You are surprised? You're surprised at that? Well, what's the difference in that and 47% aren't paying any income tax? Don't the two kind of go together?

"The pool of Americans relying on government benefits rose to record highs last year as an increasing share of families tapped aid in a weak economy. Some 48.6% of the population lived in a household receiving some type of government benefit in the second quarter of 2010, up a notch from 48.5%." So it's up one-tenth of 1% in the first quarter. So we are immersed here in looksism and class envy. Forty-eight-point-six percent receiving some type of government benefit. That can only help Obama. That can only help the Democrats. That's what they're doing.

Celebrity spokespersons don't do it for free

2012-01-17T16:43:00.003-07:00

I learned this a few years ago. All those actors and show people who do benefits for charity? They get paid. There was one benefit for a boxer who was going blind (this was a few years ago)...the benefit raked in a lot of money but after all the celebrities had been paid for their time - there was nothing left for the boxer.

So Kerry Kennedy was paid to travel to Ecuador and speak out about the rain forests. You'd think if she cared so much she'd have done it for free and insisted that any payment be given to the indigenous folks in Ecuador - whose livlihoods have indeed been ruined by what the oil companies did.

Daily Mail: NY Governor's ex-wife Kerry Kennedy 'making $40 MILLION by advocating for rainforests'

Activist Kerry Kennedy apparently has more than just a humanitarian interest in the outcome of the trial over the environmental damages caused to Ecuadorian rain forests.

It was revealed today that Ms Kennedy, who is the ex-wife of Governor Andrew Cuomo and former president John F. Kennedy's niece, has a financial stake in the contentious legal battle.

Ms Kennedy has spoken out against oil company Chevron and the damages that their predecessors caused to the tropical wildlife in Ecuador, using her famous name and position as a human rights activist to drum up support for the Ecuadorians involved in the 16-year-long legal battle.

Local courts recently ordered Chevron to pay $18billion in damages-which the company is now appealing- and if the decision is upheld, $40million of that money could go straight to Ms Kennedy.

The New York Post reports that Ms Kennedy, 52, was hired to put a well-known face on the issue, and she has publicly campaigned for the cause by appearing on CNN and writing an op-ed piece for The Huffington Post.

In the 2009 Huffington Post piece, Ms Kennedy told of her trip to the northern area of the country where Texaco- an oil company later bought and now represented by Chevron- drilled about 350 oil wells throughout the rain forest.

'The jungle is a tangle of oil slicks, festering sludge, and rusted pipeline,' she wrote.

Just a few months after penning the article, she was paid $50,000 by the lead attorney in the case against Chevron, Steven Donziger.

'Kerry Kennedy, daughter of RFK and human rights lawyer, is coming to Ecuador... This could give us a real boost... Will cost money, but not much,' an internal email to the legal team read in October 2009 just before The Huffington Post article.

The budget of the legal team also says that she was due to receive $10,000 per month in 2010 and $40,000 to cover additional expenses.

She is also allotted a 0.25 per cent stake in the financial outcome of the court case. That means that if the recent demand that the company pay $18billion is upheld, Ms Kennedy will be walking away with $40million.

In addition to using her Kennedy name, the legal team was clear that they hoped that her close ties to New York politics would help their fight against Chevron.

Not only was Ms Kennedy's father a former New York senator, but she and current governor Cuomo were married for 13 years and have three daughters together.

Though their divorce was notoriously acrimonious- it was rumored that Mr Cuomo walked in on Ms Kennedy mid-tryst with a married family friend- she surely could have some influence in getting state government officials to call her back.

The legal team wrote emails saying that Ms Kennedy may try to convince New York state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to have the state cut its' $780million investment in Chevron.

A Chevron spokesman told The Post that 'this is exactly the type of documented misconduct' the plaintiffs have done before.

Though the paper was unable to reach Ms Kennedy herself, Ecuadorian lawyer Pablo Fajardo, who works with her on the case, was happy to defend their position and said that she would continue to work with the team.

The battle in the courthouse is expected to continue for some time, as the plaintiffs hope to expand the scope of their potential financial windfall by looking into international assets that Chevron holds. Their biggest success thus far has been the decision saying the company owes Ecuadorians $18billion, though that money is still being fought over during the appeal.

Rush does a disservice to all female ship captains

2012-01-17T16:35:00.002-07:00

The captain of the Contra Costa abandoned his ship, and his passengers, and saved himself.

Rush dared to say:

RUSH: We're talking about the cultural divide and how things change. This Costa ship that hit the rock and is listing over in Italy? The captain made sure he was one of the first people off the ship (chuckling) and there are stories galore today contrasting him and the crew, the male crew, of the Titanic who all went down. "Women and children first!" They went down with the ship. This guy was the first off, and he went back trying to get the black box and his crew did a mutiny and they all tried to get off. They said, "It's every man for himself!"

The captain of the Titanic, after all the lifeboats were filled and all that was left was the crew and the male passengers who didn't make the boats at that point, declared, "All hands for yourselves now." This guy declared it at the outset. Chickification. This guy thought he was a woman. He's no different, first off. "I'm outta here, man! I steered this thing into a rock and I'm not hanging around to get caught. I'm gone." He was showing off.

So what is Rush implying? That women are bad drivers, drive their car into a pole or something and run away?

That's ridiculous. The captain of the Contra Costa was a grown man whose job it was to keep his passengers safe. Any captain, man or woman, knows that it is his job to keep passengers safe, and for crew to debark last.

For Rush to equate his cowardice with him being "chickified" is just ridiculous, and disrespects every female captain of an airplane or a ship who knows what their job requires of them.

It's interesting that of all the things he could have said about the cowardly Captain, he chose to say that he was "chickified."

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I agree with Rush on a lot of stuff but there's no denying he's a male chauvanist pig.

I remember...was it a week or so ago? ...he was complaining that Republican candidates were being criticized for unimportant things - Newt was fat and Perry had a Texas accent and sounded stupid... this from the guy who told us no one wanted to see Hillary Clinton grow old in the White House.

17 Jan 2012, Tue, Rush Limbaugh headlines

2012-01-17T16:32:00.002-07:00

--Debate Proves Conservatism Sells
--Montage: Newt's Grand Slams
--Newt Turns Racially Charged Question From Williams into Explanation of Conservatism
--Interview with Wisconsin Governor Walker
--Scott Walker: A Man on the Bleeding Edge
--I Don't Have to Write Another Book Because Mark Levin Wrote "Ameritopia"
--More Soundbites from the GOP Debate
--Memories of a Shoeshine Boy
Stack of Stuff
--Fox Voter: Newt is Fat, White and Rich
--48% of Americans Get Some Sort of Government Assistance
--Solyndra Redux
--Money Does Buy Happiness
--Kerry Kennedy Rakes in Millions Off Rainforest BS
--Chickified Captain Abandons Ship
--Rise of Groupthink
--Costa Concordia Death Toll at 11
-- GOP Race Intensifies
--Obama Will Outsmart His Critics
--Pelosi: GOP Knows Romney Can't Win

Fired Because She Was Willing to Work for Free????

2012-01-17T10:48:00.001-07:00

Only in Chicago...

From the Good Morning America: Chicago Woman Fired for Doing Work at Lunch Wins Unemployment Claim
Sharon Smiley had worked for 10 years as a receptionist and administrative assistant at a Chicago real estate company until she was fired for skipping lunch one day. After a two-year battle, an appeals court in Illinois has found that denial of her unemployment benefits was "clearly erroneous."

Smiley, 48, punched out of work for lunch Jan. 28, 2010, but remained at her desk to finish a project assigned by a manager because she did not plan to eat that day, she said. Smiley, who had passed her 10-year anniversary with the company more than a month before, said another manager told her it was time for her to go to lunch and step away from her desk, but she refused. That manager observed Smiley working on a spreadsheet on her computer, answering the phone and responding to questions by people who approached her desk, according to a filing from the appellate court of Illinois.

Her former employer, Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc., did not return a request for comment.

The company's human resources director then became involved, explaining that hourly non-exempt employees were required to take a 30-minute lunch break, a policy that had been in the company handbook for 10 years, according to the filing. Not following the policy would be a violation of Illinois' labor laws, the HR director said.

The prominent location of Smiley's desk, "which was directly at the front door of the office, made this particularly important for her," according to the human resources director in the court filing. She and Smiley had "many discussions ... over her eating breakfast at her desk," the filing states

"I knew you couldn't eat lunch at your desk," Smiley told ABC News. "I was under the impression that because I was punched out and I could do what I want."

Smiley said her job had became so stressful that she suffered a stroke and was off work for almost three months, beginning July 13, 2009, according to the court filing.

Like several states, Illinois has a law that requires employers to provide employees a lunch break. But the law cannot be read to require an employer to fire a worker who refuses to take a break in order to finish her work, said Michael LeRoy, law professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

"Nonetheless, Illinois is an employment-at-will state, which means the employer can fire someone for a good reason, no reason, or a bad reason, as long as it is not discriminatory," he said.

Companies often have policies that are designed to limit the number of hours employees can work in a given day or week, largely in order to avoid overtime pay obligations, Cheryl Anderson, law professor with Southern Illinois University School of Law, said. Such policies often require employer permission to work beyond an employee's regular scheduled hours.

After being fired, Smiley learned she was ineligible for unemployment benefits because she had been discharged for misconduct connected with her work.

She appealed to the Illinois Department of Employment Security's board of review three times, was denied, then took her case to a circuit court. That court ruled Smiley, who did not challenge the firing, was eligible for benefits.

Smiley received a check with a lump sum on Nov. 28 for several months of unemployment, a percentage of her previous salary. Then she received a check every two weeks for $528 until she obtained her latest job last month.

The appellate court of Illinois affirmed the circuit court ruling Jan. 11, saying the "insubordination arose from [Smiley's] efforts to perform additional work for [her employer], beyond what was required of her," as first reported Monday in the Chicago Tribune.

"The insubordination occurred in a meeting with her superiors which lasted only four minutes," the court ruling stated.

The court ruling also said there was evidence that managers had been able to work with her in the past to perform new tasks with which she was uncomfortable.

An unemployed person in Illinois is qualified for unemployment unless there is misconduct, which "has been defined as conduct evincing such willful or wanton disregard of an employer's interests," according to the state's legal test in a ruling from the board of review.

"Workers generally have to be guilty of gross misconduct, which includes insubordination," professor Anderson said. "The bar is set high for the employer to prove that, and in this case, the court found the employer's argument that her actions amounted to insubordination to be inadequate."

In the case that established the precedent in 1987, an ambulance driver was fired after having four minor accidents in three months backing up a vehicle. The hearing officer and state agency denied his unemployment claim, but the state supreme court said the law requires "evil design" or wanton disregard of its interests, and that test was not satisfied.

"If the ambulance driver with four accidents in three months qualified for a benefit, then by implication, Ms. Smiley did, too," professor LeRoy said.

After nine months of unemployment, Smiley obtained a similar job at another company on Dec. 13. She said her new employer has a more liberal lunch policy.

"They told me I could sit at my desk, I could be at my computer during lunch, or I could look at magazines. And in my area, they have two flat-screen TVs on the wall," she said with a chuckle.

17 Jan 2012, Tue, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

2012-01-17T09:45:00.002-07:00

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2012/01/180815.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
Secretary Clinton is on foreign travel to, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, Lome, Togo, and Sal, Cape Verde. She is accompanied by Counselor and Chief of Staff Mills, Assistant Secretary Carson, Ambassador-At-Large Verveer and Policy Planning Director Sullivan.

8:45 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivore.
(CAMERA SPRAY PRECEDING MEETING)

9:30 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with President Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
(CAMERA SPRAY PRECEDING MEETING)

10:20 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton holds a joint press availability with President Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

11:15 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton meets with the staff and families of Embassy Abidjan in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
(POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:45 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton participates in a roundtable discussion with youth and community leaders at the Center for Research and Action for Peace in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
(POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:40 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with President Faure Gnassingbe, Lome, Togo.
(CAMERA SPRAY PRECEDING MEETING)

3:45 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton meets with the staff and families of Embassy Lome in Lome, Togo.
(POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)

8:00 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister José Neves, Sal Island, Cape Verde.
(CAMERA SPRAY PRECEDING MEETING)

DEPUTY SECRETARY BILL BURNS
Deputy Secretary Burns is on foreign travel in Moscow, Russia.

DEPUTY SECRETARY TOM NIDES
9:15 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:30 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides accepts the credentials of UK Ambassador-designate Sir Peter Westmacott, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Pakistani Ambassador Sherry Rehman, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:15 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with USAID Administrator Shah and Under Secretary of Defense Michele Flournoy, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Singaporean Permanent Secretary Bilahari Kausikan, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Japanese Minister Goshi Hosono, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with the budget team, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

7:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH
2:15 p.m. Administrator Shah meets with Deputy Secretary Nides and Under Secretary of Defense Michele Flournoy, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ECONOMIC, GROWTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ROBERT HORMATS
10:00 a.m. Under Secretary Hormats attends the 2nd Advisory Committee meeting on the Secretary’s Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:45 a.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with Jordanian Minister of Planning Dr. Jaffar Hassan, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats participates in a meeting with Jordanian entrepreneurs, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:00 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with U.S. Representative to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization Ambassador Duane Woerth, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:45 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats holds a conference call with Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Miriam Sapiro, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS MARIA OTERO
Under Secretary Otero is on foreign travel to Chile and Colombia through January 20.

COUNSELOR AND CHIEF OF STAFF CHERYL MILLS
Counselor Mills accompanies Secretary Clinton on foreign travel.

US FOR POLITCAL AFFAIRS WENDY SHERMAN
10:00 a.m. Under Secretary Sherman meets with Australian Ambassador to Iran Marc Innes-Brown at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:15 p.m. Under Secretary Sherman joins President Obama’s meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

4:30 p.m. Under Secretary Sherman meets with Singaporean Permanent Secretary Bilahari Kausikan at the Department of State
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS ROBERT BLAKE
11:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Blake meets with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake hosts a luncheon in honor of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin, at the Department of State
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake hosts the Chinese Central Asian Sub Dialogue, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Blake hosts a dinner in honor of the Chinese Central Asian Sub Dialogue, at the Metropolitan Club in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AFFAIRS ESTHER BRIMMER
Assistant Secretary Brimmer is on foreign travel to Paris, France to help launch a new anti-racism program, known as “Teaching Respect for All” (TRA). The program is a partnership between the U.S. and Brazilian governments and UNESCO. Assistant Secretary Brimmer will also meet with her P3 counterparts to discuss a variety of topics.

AS FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL
9:15 a.m. Assistant Secretary Campbell and Special Representative for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies greet Republic of Korea Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Issues Lim Sung-nam and Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Shinsuke Sugiyama for the U.S.-Japan-Republic of Korea Trilateral, at the Department of State.
(CAMERA SPRAY AT THE C STREET ENTRANCE)

3:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Campbell delivers opening remarks at the USIP’s “Assignment: China Reporting on China from Nixon to Now” covering the 40th anniversary of President Nixon’s trip to China in 1972 at the United States Institute of Peace, Washington, D.C.
(MEDIA TO BE DETERMINED BY HOST)

AS FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS JOHNNIE CARSON
Assistant Secretary Carson accompanies Secretary Clinton on foreign travel.

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN
Assistant Secretary Countryman is on foreign travel to Malaysia, Singapore and Burma through January 24 to conduct bilateral consultations on international security and nonproliferation. In Burma, he will be following up on Secretary Clinton’s trip to continue engagement and direct dialogue on nonproliferation issues.

AS FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ
Assistant Secretary Fernandez is on foreign travel to Marrakech, Morocco, to lead the U.S. delegation to the second U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference taking place January 16 through 18. This conference is the annual regional partnership event for the U.S. – North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity (NAPEO), announced last year at the inaugural U.S. – Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference in Algeria as part of the global alliance, Partners for a New Beginning.

AS FOR ARMS CONTROL, VERIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE ROSE GOTTEMOELLER
9:00 a.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller visits the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, in Richland, Washington.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:30 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller delivers a speech "From Telegraph to Twitter: Arms Control Diplomacy in the Information Age," at a an event organized by the Jackson School of International Studies, with the support of the Center for Global Studies and the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management UW Student Chapter, at the University of Washington.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AS FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER
9 a.m. Assistant Secretary Posner delivers opening keynote remarks at the at the 8th annual State of the Net Conference, at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, DC.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

10:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Posner participates in the 2nd meeting of the Advisory Committee on Secretary Clinton’s Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Posner meets with Ambassador to China Gary Locke, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY ANN STOCK
12:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock attends a luncheon hosted by the UN in honor of Jordanian Queen Rania Al Abdullah, at the Newseum in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN
Ambassador Benjamin is on foreign travel to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania through January 20 to chair the East Africa Regional Strategic Initiative.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE STEPHEN RAPP, OFFICE OF GLOBAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Ambassador Rapp is on foreign travel to France, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Lithuania through January 17 where he meets with officials from ministries of justice and foreign affairs.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER
Ambassador Verveer accompanies Secretary Clinton on foreign travel.

SR FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS KRIS BALDERSTON
Special Representative Balderston is on foreign travel in Marrakech, Morocco through January 18 to participate in the Partners for a New Beginning U.S.-North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity (PNB-NAPEO) U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference.

SR FOR NORTH KOREA POLICY GLYN DAVIES

9:15 a.m. Assistant Secretary Campbell and Special Representative for North Korea Policy Davies greet Republic of Korea Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Issues Lim Sung-nam and Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Shinsuke Sugiyama for the U.S.-Japan-Republic of Korea Trilateral.
(CAMERA SPRAY AT THE C STREET ENTRANCE)

COORDINATOR FOR INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION PROGRAMS DAWN MCCALL
Coordinator McCall is on foreign travel in Singapore to visit American Corners and discuss public diplomacy support for the embassy.

DIRECTOR OF POLICY PLANNING JAKE SULLIVAN
Director Sullivan accompanies Secretary Clinton on foreign travel.

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE
12:30 p.m. Daily Press Briefing with Deputy Spokesperson Mark C. Toner

17 Jan 2012, Tues, Pres and VP Schedules

2012-01-17T09:42:00.002-07:00

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule
10:00 am
The President and the Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

10:30 am
The President meets with senior advisors
Oval Office
Closed Press

11:05 am
The President meets with the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness
State Dining Room
Pool Spray at the Top

12:30 pm
The President and the Vice President meet for lunch
Oval Office
Closed Press

2:15 pm
The President meets with King Abdullah II of Jordan
Local Event Time:
Oval Office
Pool Spray at the Bottom

3:05 pm
The President and the First Lady honor the 2011 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals
East Room
Open Press

4:35 pm
The President and the Vice President meet with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
Oval Office
Closed Press

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
10:00 am
The President and the Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

11:30 am
The Vice President meets with King Abdullah II of Jordan

12:30 pm
The President and the Vice President meet for lunch
Oval Office
Closed Press

4:35 pm
The President and the Vice President meet with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
Oval Office
Closed Press

Huntsman Gone From Race

2012-01-16T15:32:00.003-07:00

After only a couple of primaries, Huntsman has left the race. All sorts of states still left, but because he's lost in the teeny tiny ones..no chance of him getting a looksee into the larger ones.

I think it's pretty safe to say that Romney is going to be the Republican candidate for president.

Now if only the rest of the Republicans will stop squabbling and start working together. Get him elected first - the idea is to beat Obama, right? Show the country what a Republican can do in office now!

Exterminators Can't Kill Rats??? What is Happening in this Country?

2012-01-16T15:23:00.003-07:00

Well...damn.

After posting my outrage over the fact that rats in DC couldn't be killed and had to be moved en masse to Virginia - and Rush spent a whole monologue on it...

After I post my outrage, I read the supporting material.

Which apparently Rush never read.

http://dcist.com/2012/01/_cuccinelli_well_i_saw.php
First, the law you're referring to -- the Wildlife Protection Act of 2010, sponsored by Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) -- explicitly exempts rats and mice from its provisions. So yes, while a family of raccoons might have to be relocated, rats are fair game for pest control experts. (And before you jump on us over the wisdom of the law, note that a Northern Virginia-based pest control expert testified on behalf of the bill. Just sayin'.)

16 Jan 2011, Mon, Rush Limbaugh headlines

2012-01-16T15:19:00.002-07:00

--EIB Observes "Day of Service" by Broadcasting on Martin Luther King Day
--Denver Lost Because God Was Watching the Huckabee Forum on Fox
--Huntsman was Too Much Like Reagan?
--A Caller Enthused for Mitt Romney
--Washington, DC, Law Forces Exterminators to Capture and Relocate Rats
--The Day I Murdered a Mouse
--Dr. King's Niece Says He'd be a Pro-Life, Social Conservative Today
--The Conspiracy Has Been Exposed
--Is It Lesser of Two Evils Time?
--Dingy Harry is Full of It
--Valerie Jarrett Campaigns from Pulpit
--Mitt Hands Out Cash from Stash
Stack of Stuff
--Big NFL Weekend
--Huntsman to Drop Out, Endorses Mitt
--Cruise Ship Horror

Connecticut: Senator Joe Lieberman (D) (Private profession - lawyer)

2012-01-16T11:24:00.003-07:00

From wikipedia (His bio at Wikipedia has not been updated for some time.):
Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman (born February 24, 1942) is the senior United States Senator from Connecticut. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was the party's nominee for Vice President in the 2000 election. Currently an independent, he remains closely affiliated with the party.

Born in Stamford, Connecticut, Lieberman is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School. He was elected as a "reform Democrat" in 1970 to the Connecticut Senate, where he served three terms as Majority Leader. After an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980, he served as state Attorney General from 1983 to 1989. Lieberman defeated moderate Republican Lowell Weicker in 1988 to win election to the United States Senate and was re-elected in 1994 and 2000. In the 2000 United States presidential election, Lieberman was the Democratic nominee for Vice President, running with presidential nominee Al Gore, becoming the first Jewish candidate on a major American political party presidential ticket. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2004 presidential election.

During his re-election bid in 2006, he lost the Democratic Party primary election but won re-election in the general election as a third party candidate under the party label "Connecticut for Lieberman". Lieberman himself is not a member of the Connecticut for Lieberman party; he is a registered Democrat.

Lieberman was officially listed in Senate records for the 110th and 111th Congresses as an "Independent Democrat" and sits as part of the Senate Democratic Caucus. But since his speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention in which he endorsed John McCain for president, Lieberman no longer attends Democratic Caucus leadership strategy meetings or policy lunches. On November 5, 2008, Lieberman met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to discuss his future role with the Democratic Party. Ultimately, the Senate Democratic Caucus voted to allow Lieberman to keep chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Subsequently, Lieberman announced that he will continue to caucus with the Democrats. Lieberman announced in January 2011 that he will not seek re-election in 2012.

Early life
Lieberman was born in Stamford, Connecticut, the son of Marcia (née Manger) and Henry Lieberman. His paternal grandparents immigrated from Poland and his maternal grandparents were from Austria. He received an A.B. in both political science and economics from Yale University in 1964 and was the first member of his family to graduate from college. At Yale he was editor of the Yale Daily News and a member of the Elihu Club. He later attended Yale Law School, receiving his law degree in 1967. After graduation from law school, Lieberman worked as a lawyer for the New Haven-based law firm Wiggin & Dana LLP.

A spokesperson told The Hartford Courant in 1994 that Lieberman received an educational deferment from the Vietnam War draft when he was an undergraduate and law student from 1960 to 1967. Upon graduating from law school at age 25, Lieberman qualified for a family deferment because he was already married and had one child, Matt.

Personal life
Lieberman met his first wife, Betty Haas, at the congressional office of Senator Abraham Ribicoff (D-CT), where they worked as summer student interns. They married in 1965 while Joe Lieberman was in law school. They had two children – Matt and Rebecca. Betty, who is also Jewish, later worked as a psychiatric social worker. In 1981, the couple divorced. When asked about the divorce in an interview with New York Magazine, Lieberman said, "one of the differences we had was in levels of religious observance," adding, "I'm convinced if that was the only difference, we wouldn't have gotten divorced."

In 1982, he met his second wife, Hadassah Freilich Tucker, while he was running for Attorney General of Connecticut. Hadassah Lieberman is the child of a Holocaust survivor. According to Washington Jewish Week, Lieberman called her for a date because he thought it would be interesting to go out with someone named Hadassah. (Hadassah is the name of the Women's Zionist Organization of America).

Since March 2005, Hadassah Lieberman has worked for Hill & Knowlton, a lobbying firm based in New York City, as a senior counselor in its health and pharmaceuticals practice. She has held senior positions at the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven, the American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO), Pfizer, National Research Council, Hoffmann-La Roche, and Lehman Brothers.

Joe and Hadassah Lieberman have a daughter, Hani. Lieberman also has a stepson from Hadassah's previous marriage, Ethan Tucker. Matt Lieberman graduated from Yale University in 1989, and from Yale Law School in 1994. He is former Head of School of Greenfield Hebrew Academy in Atlanta, GA. Rebecca Lieberman graduated from Barnard College in 1991, and from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1997. She is married to Jacob Wisse. Ethan Tucker, son of Gordon Tucker, graduated from Harvard College in 1997 and received his rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

Lieberman has said that there is currently "a constitutional place for faith in our public life", and that the Constitution does not provide for "freedom from religion." He attends Kesher Israel Congregation in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. and Beth Hamedrosh Hagodol – B'nai Israel, The Westville Synagogue, New Haven, Connecticut. He also attends Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford.

He was the first observant Jew to run on a major party Presidential ticket. (1964 Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater's father was Jewish, but Sen. Goldwater's mother was an Episcopalian, and the Senator practiced his mother's faith.)

Early political career
Lieberman was elected as a "reform Democrat" to the Connecticut Senate in 1970, where he served for 10 years, including the last six as Majority Leader. He suffered his first defeat in Connecticut elections in the Reagan landslide year of 1980, losing the race for the Third District Congressional seat to Republican Lawrence Joseph DeNardis, a state senator from suburban Hamden with whom he had worked closely on bipartisan legislative efforts. In 1981 he wrote an admiring biography of long-time Connecticut and national Democratic leader John Moran Bailey, reviewing also in the book the previous 50 years of Connecticut political history. From 1983 to 1989, he served as Connecticut Attorney General.

In the 1986 general election, Lieberman won more votes than any other Democrat on the statewide ticket, including Governor William O'Neill.[18] As Attorney General, Lieberman emphasized consumer protection and environmental enforcement.

U.S. Senate
Tenure
In 1988, Lieberman defeated moderate Republican Lowell Weicker to win election to the United States Senate and was re-elected in 1994 and 2000. Like Bill Clinton and Dick Gephardt, Lieberman served as chair of the Democratic Leadership Council.

Lieberman was first elected to the United States Senate as a Democrat in the 1988 election, by a margin of 10,000 votes. He scored the nation's biggest political upset that year, after being backed by a coalition of Democrats and unaffiliated voters with support from conservative Republicans, who were disappointed in three-term Republican incumbent Lowell Weicker's moderate voting record and personal style. During the campaign, he received support from the Connecticut's Cuban-American community which was unhappy with Weicker. Lieberman has since remained firmly anti-Castro. Six years later, Lieberman made history by winning by the largest landslide ever in a Connecticut Senate race, drawing 67 percent of the vote and beating his opponent by more than 350,000 votes.

In 1998, Lieberman was the first prominent Democrat to publicly challenge Bill Clinton for the judgment exercised in his affair with Monica Lewinsky. However, he voted against removing Clinton from office by impeachment. In 2000, while concurrently running for the vice presidency, Lieberman was elected to a third Senate term with 64 percent of the vote easily defeating the Republican Philip Giordano.

When control of the Senate switched from Republicans to Democrats in June 2001, Lieberman became Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, with oversight responsibilities for a broad range of government activities. He was also a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and chair of its Subcommittee Clean Air, Wetlands and Private Property; the Armed Services Committee, where he chaired the Airland Subcommittee and sat on the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities; and the Small Business Committee. When Republicans gained control of the Senate in January 2003, Lieberman resumed his role as ranking minority member of the committees he had once chaired.

In the 110th Congress, Lieberman is Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is responsible for assuring the efficiency and effectiveness of the Federal Government. In addition, he is a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee; Senate Armed Services Committee, where he is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Air Land Forces and sits on the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities; and the Small Business Committee.

Fundraising
Since 1989, Lieberman has received more than $31.4 million in campaign donations from specific industries and sectors. His largest donors have represented the securities and investment ($3.7 million), legal ($3.6 million), real estate ($3.1 million) and health professional ($1.1 million) industries.

Committee assignments
* Committee on Armed Services
o Subcommittee on Airland (Chairman)
o Subcommittee on Personnel
o Subcommittee on SeaPower
* Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (Chairman)
* Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Caucus memberships
* Senate Caucus on Global Internet Freedom (Co-Chair)
* Congressional Fire Services Caucus (Co-Chair)
* Congressional Public Service Caucus (Co-Chair)
* International Conservation Caucus

Electoral history
Presidential politics
2000 VP campaign
In August 2000, Lieberman was selected as the nominee for Vice President of the United States by Al Gore, the Democratic Party nominee for President. Lieberman was the first Jewish candidate on a major political party ticket. The announcement of Lieberman's selection was unusual in that it did not cause a positive "bump" in the Gore campaign's poll numbers according to a Newsweek poll done at the time.

Polling also indicated that Lieberman had badly lost his televised debate against Dick Cheney, leading some to suggest later that Gore had lost the election due to choosing Lieberman as his running mate.

The Gore/Lieberman ticket won a plurality of the popular vote, with over half a million more votes than the Republican ticket of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, but they were defeated in the Electoral College by a vote of 271 to 266.

Like Democratic VP candidates Lyndon B. Johnson in 1960, Lloyd Bentsen in 1988, John Edwards in 2004, and Joe Biden in 2008, Lieberman's Senate term was due to expire during the election cycle. He decided to run for reelection to maintain his seat, as Johnson, Bentsen and Biden did. All four won, but since Johnson and Biden were also elected Vice-President, they gave up their seats.

2004 primaries
On January 13, 2003, Lieberman announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination as a candidate in the 2004 presidential election.

Describing his Presidential hopes, Lieberman opined that his historically hawkish stance would appeal to voters. Indeed he initially led in polls of primaries, but due to his political positions he failed to win a support of liberal Democratic voters, who dominated the primaries.

Prior to his defeat in New Hampshire, Lieberman famously declared his campaign was picking up "Joementum"; however, he failed to provide such momentum during the New Hampshire primary debates, held at Saint Anselm College days before the primary.

On February 3, 2004, Lieberman withdrew his candidacy after failing to win any of the five primaries or two caucuses held that day. He acknowledged to the Hartford Courant that his support for the war in Iraq was a large part of his undoing with voters.

Lieberman's former running candidate Al Gore did not support Lieberman's Presidential run, and in December 2003 endorsed Howard Dean's candidacy, saying "This is about all of us and all of us need to get behind the strongest candidate [Dean]."

Finally Lieberman withdrew from the race without winning a single contest. In total popular vote he placed 7th behind eventual nominee, Massachusetts senator John Kerry, future Vice Presidential nominee, North Carolina Senator John Edwards, former Governor of Vermont Howard Dean, Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich, retired General Wesley Clark and Reverend Al Sharpton.

2008 activism
On December 17, 2007, Lieberman endorsed Republican Senator John McCain for president in 2008, contradicting his stance in July 2006 where he stated "I want Democrats to be back in the majority in Washington and elect a Democratic president in 2008." Lieberman cited his agreement with McCain's stance on the War on Terrorism as the primary reason for the endorsement.

On June 5, Lieberman launched "Citizens for McCain," hosted on the McCain campaign website, to recruit Democratic support for John McCain's candidacy. He emphasized the group's outreach to supporters of Hillary Clinton, who was at that time broadly expected to lose the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama.

Citizens for McCain was prominently featured in McCain team efforts to attract disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters such as Debra Bartoshevich.

Lieberman spoke at the 2008 Republican National Convention on behalf of McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Lieberman was alongside McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham during a visit to French president Nicolas Sarkozy on March 21, 2008. Lieberman was mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential nominee on a McCain ticket, although Lieberman had denied interest.

ABC News reported that Lieberman was McCain's first choice for Vice President until several days before the selection, when McCain had decided that picking Lieberman would alienate the conservative base of the Republican Party. Lieberman had been mentioned as a possible Secretary of State under a McCain administration.

Many Democrats wanted Lieberman to be stripped of his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs due to his support for John McCain.

Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reached out to Lieberman, asking him to caucus with the Republicans. Ultimately, the Senate Democratic Caucus voted 42 to 13 to allow Lieberman to keep chairmanship (although he did lose his membership for the Environment and Public Works Committee). Subsequently, Lieberman announced that he will continue to caucus with the Democrats.

Lieberman credited President-elect Barack Obama for helping him keep his chairmanship. Obama had privately urged Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid not to remove Lieberman from his position. Reid stated that Lieberman's criticism of Obama during the election angered him, but that "if you look at the problems we face as a nation, is this a time we walk out of here saying, 'Boy did we get even'?" Senator Tom Carper of Delaware also credited the Democrats' decision on Lieberman to Obama's support, stating that "If Barack can move on, so can we."

Liberal members of the Democratic caucus were reportedly angry at the decision to not punish Lieberman more severely. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont (who is also an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats) stated that he voted against Lieberman "because while millions of people worked hard for Obama, Lieberman actively worked for four more years of President Bush's policies."

Lieberman's embrace of certain conservative policies and in particular his endorsement of John McCain have been cited as factors for his high approval rating among Republicans in Connecticut with 66% of Republicans approving of him along with 52% of independents also approving of his job performance, this however is also cited for his low approval rating among Democrats: 44% approving and 46% disapproving. Currently 51% of voters approve of his performance along with 40% disapproving.

2006 Senate election
Primary
Lieberman sought the Democratic Party's renomination for U.S. Senate from Connecticut in 2006 but lost to Ned Lamont, a Greenwich businessman and antiwar candidate.

Lieberman was officially endorsed by the Connecticut Democratic Convention, which met in May. However, Lamont received 33 percent of the delegates' votes, forcing an August primary.

In July, Lieberman announced that he would file papers to appear on the November ballot should he lose the primary, stating, "I'm a loyal Democrat, but I have loyalties that are greater than those to my party, and that's my loyalty to my state and my country." He stated that he would continue to sit as a Democrat in the Senate even if he was defeated in the primary and elected on an unaffiliated line, and expressed concern for a potentially low turnout. On July 10, the Lieberman campaign officially filed paperwork allowing him to collect signatures for the newly formed Connecticut for Lieberman party ballot line.

On August 8, 2006, Lieberman conceded the Democratic primary election to Ned Lamont, saying, "For the sake of our state, our country and my party, I cannot and will not let that result stand," and announced he would run in the 2006 November election as an independent candidate on the Connecticut for Lieberman ticket, against both Lamont and the Republican candidate, Alan Schlesinger.

General election
Polls after the primary showed Lieberman ahead of Ned Lamont by 5 points. Later polls showed Lieberman leading by varying margins. Alan Schlesinger barely registered support[citation needed] and his campaign had run into problems based on alleged gambling debts. Thus, "Lieberman was able to run in the general election as the de facto Republican candidate – every major Republican office-holder in the state endorsed him – and to supplement that GOP base with strong support from independents."

On August 9, 2006, Hillary Clinton affirmed her pledge to support the primary winner, saying "voters of Connecticut have made their decision and I think that decision should be respected", and Howard Dean called for Lieberman to quit the race, saying he was being "disrespectful of Democrats and disrespectful of the Democratic Party".

On August 10, in his first campaign appearance since losing the Democratic primary, referencing the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot, Lieberman criticized Lamont, saying:

“ If we just pick up like Ned Lamont wants us to do, get out [of Iraq] by a date certain, it will be taken as a tremendous victory by the same people who wanted to blow up these planes in this plot hatched in England. It will strengthen them and they will strike again. ”

Lamont noted Lieberman's position was similar to George W. Bush's and Dick Cheney's position. Lamont said, “That comment sounds an awful lot like Vice President Cheney’s comment on Wednesday. Both of them believe our invasion of Iraq has a lot to do with 9/11. That’s a false premise.” Lieberman's communications director replied that Lamont was politicizing national security by "portraying [Lieberman] as a soul mate of President Bush on Iraq".

On August 17, 2006 the National Republican Senatorial Committee stated that they would favor a Lieberman victory in the November election over Democratic nominee Ned Lamont. The NRSC did state, however, that they were not going so far as to actually support Lieberman.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani praised Lieberman at a South Carolina campaign stop on August 18, saying he was "a really exceptional senator." Other Republican supporters of Lieberman included Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, former Representative and Republican Vice Presidential candidate Jack Kemp, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Senator Susan Collins of Maine.

Five Democratic Senators maintained their support for Lieberman, and Lieberman also received the strong support of former Senator and Democratic stalwart Bob Kerrey, who offered to stump for him. Democratic minority leader Harry Reid, while endorsing Lamont, promised Lieberman that he would retain his committee positions and seniority if he prevailed in the general election.

On August 28, Lieberman campaigned at the same motorcycle rally as Republican Congressman Christopher Shays.[citation needed] Shays told a crowd of motorcycle enthusiasts, "We have a national treasure in Joe Lieberman."

Mel Sembler, a former Republican National Committee finance chairman, helped organize a reception that raised a "couple hundred thousand dollars" for Lieberman, who was personally in attendance. Sembler is a prominent Republican who chaired I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby's legal defense fund. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a fundraiser for Lieberman at his home in November, co-hosted by former mayor Ed Koch and former Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato. Koch called Lieberman "one of the greatest Senators we've ever had in the Senate."

Despite still considering himself a Democrat, Lieberman was endorsed by numerous Republicans who actively spoke out in favor of his candidacy. Lieberman was also the focus of websites such as ConservativesforLieberman06.com.

On November 7, Lieberman won re-election with 49.7% of the vote. Ned Lamont garnered 40% of ballots cast and Alan Schlesinger won 10%. Lieberman received support from 33% of Democrats, 54% of independents and 70% of Republicans.

Following the election, Lieberman struck a deal with Democratic leadership allowing him to keep his seniority and chairmanship of the Governmental Affairs Committee. In return, he agreed to vote with the Democrats on all procedural matters unless he asked permission of Majority Whip Richard Durbin. He is free to vote as he pleases on policy matters. Along with Bernie Sanders, Lieberman's caucusing with the Democrats gave them a 51–49 majority in the Senate, leaving a slim one Senator majority to control the Senate in the 110th Congress.

Criticism
While he officially considers himself a member of the Democratic party, Lieberman has been accused of being more conservative than many Republicans. His own party refused to nominate him as a candidate in the 2006 election, so he ran as an independent candidate to retain his senate seat. In February 2007, Lieberman spoke before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of the confirmation of Sam Fox as ambassador to Belgium. Fox, a prominent Republican businessman and political donor, was a contributor to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign in 2004.

Fox is also reported to have donated to Lieberman's 2006 Senate campaign. Critics claim Lieberman was a favorite of Fox News , since he was willing to go on the conservative channel and play the role of someone in the “opposition” party who criticised fellow Democrats.

Lieberman was a supporter of the Iraq War and has urged action against Iran. In July 2008, Lieberman spoke at the annual conference of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) then later, in July 2009, accepted from John Hagee CUFI's "Defender of Israel Award". Pastor Hagee, CUFI's founder and leader, has made a number of controversial remarks, including a statement that the Catholic Church is "the great whore" and a suggestion that God sent Adolf Hitler to bring the Jews to Israel.

In May 2010, while favoring the filibuster and threatening to use it in 2009 to eliminate a public health option as part of the healthcare proposal, Lieberman once strongly opposed it. In 1995, he joined with Senator Tom Harkin to co-sponsor an amendment to kill the filibuster. “The filibuster hurts the credibility of the entire Senate and impedes progress,” Lieberman told the Hartford Courant (Jan 6, 1995).

In April 2010, Lieberman blasted President Obama for stripping terms like "Islamic extremism" from a key national security document, calling the move dishonest, wrong-headed and disrespectful to the majority of Muslims who are not terrorists.

Lieberman has favoured greater use of surveillance cameras by the federal government and referred to attempts by Congress to investigate illegal wire-tapping as "partisan gridlock". On June 19, 2010, Lieberman introduced a bill called "Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010",[77] which he co-wrote with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE). If signed into law, this controversial bill, which the American media dubbed the "Kill switch bill", would grant the President emergency powers over the Internet. However, all three co-authors of the bill issued a statement claiming that instead, the bill "[narrowed] existing broad Presidential authority to take over telecommunications networks". American computer security specialist and author Bruce Schneier objected to the "kill switch" proposal on the basis that it rests on several faulty assumptions and that it's "too coarse a hammer". Schneier wrote:

Defending his proposal, Sen. Lieberman pointed out that China has this capability. It's debatable whether or not it actually does, but it's actively pursuing the capability because the country cares less about its citizens. Here in the U.S., it is both wrong and dangerous to give the president the power and ability to commit Internet suicide and terrorize Americans in this way.

Sen. Lieberman has been a major opponent of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks. His staff "made inquiries" of Amazon.com and other internet companies such as Paypal, Visa, and Mastercard which resulted in them suspending service to WikiLeaks. Blogger Glenn Greenwald called Lieberman's actions "one of the most pernicious acts by a U.S. Senator in quite some time," and accused Lieberman of "emulat[ing] Chinese dictators" by "abusing his position as Homeland Security Chairman to thuggishly dictate to private companies which websites they should and should not host—and, more important, what you can and cannot read on the Internet."[81] Lieberman has also suggested that "the New York Times and other news organisations publishing the US embassy cables being released by WikiLeaks could be investigated for breaking US espionage laws."

Along with Senators John Ensign and Scott Brown, Lieberman "introduced a bill to amend the Espionage Act in order to facilitate the prosecution of folks like Wikileaks." Critics have noted that "[l]eaking [classified] information in the first place is already a crime, so the measure is aimed squarely at publishers," and that "Lieberman’s proposed solution to WikiLeaks could have implications for journalists reporting on some of the more unsavory practices of the intelligence community." Legal analyst Benjamin Wittes has called the proposed legislation "the worst of both worlds," saying:

"It leaves intact the current World War I-era Espionage Act provision, 18 U.S.C. 793(e), a law [with] many problems . . . and then takes a currently well-drawn law and expands its scope to the point that it covers a lot more than the most reckless of media excesses. A lot of good journalism would be a crime under this provision; after all, knowingly and willfully publishing material 'concerning the human intelligence activities of the United States or any foreign government' is no small part of what a good newspaper does."

As a result of these statements and actions, Lieberman has been perceived as an opponent of Internet Free Speech and become the target of Anonymous attacks under Operation Payback.

Political positions
Lieberman was one of the Senate's strongest advocates for continued prosecution of the war in Iraq. He is also an outspoken supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship. On domestic issues, he strongly supports free trade economics while reliably voting for pro-trade union legislation.

He has also opposed filibustering Republican judicial appointments. With Lynne Cheney and others, Lieberman co-founded American Council of Trustees and Alumni in 1995. Lieberman is a supporter of abortion rights and of the rights of gays and lesbians to adopt children, to be protected with hatecrime legislation, and to serve openly in the military.

Lieberman is one of the Senate's leading opponents of violence in video games and on television. Lieberman describes himself as being "genuinely an Independent," saying "I agree more often than not with Democrats on domestic policy. I agree more often than not with Republicans on foreign and defense policy." Senator Lieberman is also famous for championing, authoring and leading the effort that led to the repeal of Don't ask don't tell.

Senator Lieberman was an integral part in attempting to stop WikiLeaks from publishing further material using US-based corporations in the United States diplomatic cables leak of 2010.

Published works
Lieberman is the author of seven books: The Power Broker (1966), a biography of the late Democratic Party chairman, John M. Bailey; The Scorpion and the Tarantula (1970), a study of early efforts to control nuclear proliferation; The Legacy (1981), a history of Connecticut politics from 1930 to 1980; Child Support in America (1986), a guidebook on methods to increase the collection of child support from delinquent fathers; In Praise of Public Life (2000); An Amazing Adventure (2003), reflecting on his 2000 vice presidential run; and The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath (2011), written with David Klinghoffer.

16 Jan 2012, Monday, SoS CLinton and Staff Schedule

2012-01-16T11:13:00.001-07:00

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2012/01/180806.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
Secretary Clinton is on foreign travel to Monrovia, Liberia, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, Lome, Togo, and Sal, Cape Verde. She is accompanied by Counselor Mills, Assistant Secretary Carson, Ambassador Verveer, and Policy Planning Director Sullivan. Click here for more information.

10:00 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with Liberian President Johnson Sirleaf in Monrovia, Liberia.
(POOLED CAMERA SPRAY)

10:45 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton attends the inauguration of Liberian President Johnson Sirleaf in Monrovia, Liberia.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

1:30 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Clinton meets with Embassy staff and their families and attends a ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the New Embassy Compound in Monrovia, Liberia.
(POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)

16 Jan 2012, Mon, Pres and VP Schedules

2012-01-16T11:12:00.001-07:00

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

There is no public schedule posted for the President or the Vice President

In flap over S. Carolina law, old tensions and a campaign issue

2012-01-15T11:42:00.002-07:00

Can someone explain to me why black people in South Carolina don't all have IDs? How can anyone get on welfare with out an ID? How can anyone cash welfare checks without an ID? How can anyone get a job without an ID? This is not the 1960s. This is the 2010s. There is no excuse for folks not getting IDs. If they can't afford to get an ID, they can't afford to have kids, for goodness sake!

From the article below: Various nationwide studies have indicated that African Americans, Latinos, the elderly, people with disabilities and students are less likely to have a photo ID than other voting groups, in part because of the expense involved in obtaining one.
According to DMV.org (http://www.dmv.org/sc-south-carolina/id-cards.php), it costs $5 to get a state ID in South Carolina.

From Yahoo News: In flap over S. Carolina law, old tensions and a campaign issue
COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) - The state that fired the first shot in the Civil War is once again battling the U.S. government in a racially charged conflict that is drawing heated rhetoric from Republican presidential candidates.

South Carolina is in a standoff with Democratic President Barack Obama's administration over a new state law that would require residents to produce a photo ID before they could vote. Federal officials say it could disproportionately keep black voters away from the polls.

For South Carolina's Republican leaders - and Republican presidential candidates seeking support in the state's primary on January 21 - the Justice Department's move is the latest in a series of intrusions into state business by Washington.

Republican candidates are waving the banner of states' rights as they tout their small-government credentials.

"Each of our states are under assault right now by this administration," Texas Governor Rick Perry said Saturday at a candidates' forum in Charleston. "We may be under assault - South Carolina, they're actually at war with you."

Such declarations might make for smart politics in a state that has a suspicion of Washington woven into its DNA, but they risk stirring up the race-baiting that has been an ugly feature of South Carolina politics in the past.

The rallying cry of states' rights was used to defend slavery before the Civil War and racial segregation during the post-World War Two battles over civil rights.

Recently, South Carolina Republicans have argued that the federal government is interfering in their plans for education, healthcare, labor law, immigration policy and voting.

In South Carolina, Perry hasn't been the only Republican presidential candidate to inject controversial imagery into discussions of states' rights and bloated federal programs.

Former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich has called Obama a "food stamp president" and suggested that low-income children should clean their schools to learn the value of work and replace unionized janitors.

And former Senator Rick Santorum said last week the coming election would be the most important since 1860, the year before the Civil War began. He has since changed the date to 1980, when conservative icon Ronald Reagan was elected president.

Candidates from a party looking to increase its share of minority voters and who are vying to take on Obama, the United States' first African-American president, should tread more carefully on racial issues, analysts and others say.

U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat and the highest-ranking African American in Congress, says some candidates have been using coded phrases to play up racial tension.

"What we hear more and more today is people picking up what I call 21st-century words and phrases to transmit the same thoughts that went into the political procedure years ago," Clyburn told Reuters.

"That's the stuff of which dangerous activity is built."

'THIS ISN'T THE '60s ANYMORE'

Bashing the federal government is good politics in South Carolina, but any attempt to play on racial tension is likely to backfire, said Clemson University professor J. David Woodard.

"This isn't the '60s anymore; things have changed dramatically," said Woodard, who also is a Republican consultant. "That would blow up in your face right away if you did that."

With reporters from around the world crisscrossing South Carolina this week, injecting race into political discussions risks dredging up stereotypes of an Old South that faded away before most of residents here were born, Woodard and others here say.

Increasing urbanization and the arrival of international businesses such as BMW and Michelin have ushered in a new era of tolerance, many residents say.

Republicans proudly point to their Indian-American governor, Nikki Haley, and an African-American congressman, Tim Scott, as evidence that prejudice is largely a thing of the past.

Even so, South Carolina's electorate remains sharply split along racial lines. In the 2008 presidential election, 73 percent of whites here voted for Republican John McCain, while 96 percent of blacks voted for Obama.

And the old attitudes haven't disappeared entirely.

"I hate to say it, but ever since the schools integrated (in the 1960s), it went downhill," unemployed paralegal Vicki Cotterman said at a campaign stop for Perry in Walterboro on Thursday. "The white boys try to be like some of the black thugs - they go around with their pants down to their knees. It's disrespectful."

Insurance agent Patti McBride said she believed Obama, a practicing Christian, actually is a Muslim because he has an unusual first name.

"Our country was founded on Christianity, and now we have a Muslim with a Muslim name as the president, for God's sakes," McBride said.

IN CONSTANT CONFLICT

South Carolina has been in almost constant conflict with Washington since Obama took office.

The state has joined several others in a legal challenge to Obama's healthcare law. South Carolina officials have rejected $144 million in federal money for public schools on the grounds that it represents an intrusion into state affairs.

State officials also vigorously fought the National Labor Relations Board, which challenged Boeing Co.'s decision to shift 1,000 jobs into South Carolina from Washington state, where laws are more friendly to labor unions.

"I had no idea that the hardest part about being the governor of South Carolina would be the federal government," Haley said Wednesday at a rally for Mitt Romney, the front-runner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Before it stepped into the voter ID case, the U.S. Justice Department sued to block a new South Carolina law that would require law officers to check suspects' immigration status.

The voter ID conflict stems from a new state law that would require voters to show photo identification at the polls. Federal officials and South Carolina Democrats who oppose the law say it could disenfranchise up to one-third of black and other minority voters.

On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to address the conflict at a rally in Columbia marking Martin Luther King Day, the national holiday recognizing the civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968.

Holder, like Obama, is black. The visit is widely viewed as a way for Obama's administration to steal some of the spotlight from the Republican primary and remind voters of the policy differences between Democrats and Republicans.

South Carolina is one of six Republican-led states that tightened their laws last year to require a photo ID, a measure conservatives say will deter fraud.

Two other Republican-led states have similar laws in place, while 23 other states require voters to produce some form of identification.

South Carolina, like other largely southern states with a history of racial discrimination, must get pre-approval from the U.S. government before implementing new voting laws.

About 200,000 registered voters in South Carolina do not have a driver's license or other state-issued ID, according to the state election commission.

Various nationwide studies have indicated that African Americans, Latinos, the elderly, people with disabilities and students are less likely to have a photo ID than other voting groups, in part because of the expense involved in obtaining one.

The Justice Department blocked the law on December 23 on the grounds that it would disproportionately affect minority voters. Republican presidential candidates call it another example of Obama's overly intrusive government.

"If the only people who vote in elections are law-abiding, hardworking citizens who are deeply committed to America, the left wing of the Democratic Party will cease to exist," Gingrich said on Friday at a campaign stop in Duncan, South Carolina.

Clyburn, a veteran of the desegregation battles of the 1960s, sees it as an attempt to return to an earlier era when blacks were kept from the polls.

"All of that's designed to tamp down voter involvement," Clyburn said. "They can cloak it any way they want to cloak it."

US Senators: Colorado: Michael Bennett (D) Private occupation - lawyer

2012-01-15T11:29:00.003-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American businessman, lawyer, and politician. He is currently the junior United States Senator from Colorado, and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously worked as managing director for the Anschutz Investment Company, chief of staff to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, and the superintendent of Denver Public Schools.

Born in New Delhi, India, he is the son of Douglas J. Bennet, a former State Department official and college president. In high school Bennet worked as a Senate page on Capitol Hill. After graduating from Wesleyan University he worked for Ohio Governor Richard Celeste. He went on to receive his law degree from Yale Law School, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal. He worked as a law clerk and later as Counsel to the U.S. Deputy Attorney General in the Clinton administration.

Bennet worked for six years with the Anschutz Investment Company in Denver. As Managing Director he led the reorganizations of four distressed companies, requiring the restructuring of over $3 billion in debt. As chief of staff to Mayor Hickenlooper, he worked on balancing budgets and negotiating collective-bargaining agreements. He became superintendent of the Denver public school system in July 2005, where he revised a merit pay proposal with the support of local teachers. Acknowledging his work in Denver, Time magazine listed him among the nation's eleven leading educational activists in 2011.

As one of President Barack Obama's early advisers on education issues, Bennet was speculated in late 2008 as a frontrunner for Obama's United States Secretary of Education. He was instead appointed by Governor Bill Ritter to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Ken Salazar when Salazar became Secretary of the Interior in January 2009. Bennet was re-elected in the 2010 Senate election where he defeated Republican Ken Buck. Now serving his first full term, he is the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources.

Early life, family, and education
He was born in New Delhi, India while his father, Douglas J. Bennet, was serving as an aide to Chester Bowles, then the U.S. ambassador to India. The elder Bennet ran the United States Agency for International Development under President Jimmy Carter, served as President and CEO of National Public Radio (1983–1993), Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs in the Clinton Administration (1993–1995), and President of Wesleyan University (1995–2007). His grandfather, Douglas Bennet, had been an economic adviser in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration.[3] His grandmother, Phoebe Bennet née Benedict, is a direct-line descendant of Edward Fuller, who crossed the Atlantic Ocean from England to Plymouth Colony on the Mayflower in 1620.

Bennet's mother, Susanne Christine (née Klejman] immigrated to the United States with her family in 1950. Her parents were Polish Jews and survived imprisonment in the Warsaw Ghetto. Bennet's mother is a retired school librarian who teaches English as a second language for a Washington nonprofit,[5] and is also an art historian specializing in Roman antiquities. She is fluent in English, Polish, Swedish and Spanish.

His brother, James Bennet, is editor of The Atlantic and a former correspondent of The New York Times.

He grew up in Washington, D.C. as his father served as an aide to Vice President Hubert Humphrey, among others. Bennet was held back in second grade because of his struggle with dyslexia. He was enrolled at St. Albans School, an all-boys preparatory school, and served as a page on Capitol Hill. Bennet also served as a Coro Foundation fellow in New York city.

On October 26, 1997, he married Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund attorney Susan Daggett in Marianna, Arkansas. They have three daughters and reside in Denver's Congress Park neighborhood.

Bennet earned his B.A. in history with honors from Wesleyan University in 1987, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi, and his law degree from Yale Law School, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal.

Though not raised in an observant household, Bennet acknowledges his family's Jewish roots. Bennet has stated that he was "raised with two different heritages, one [that] was Jewish and one [that] was Christian," and that he believes in God.

Career before U.S. Senate
From 1988 until 1990, when he left to attend Yale, he served as an aide to Ohio Governor Richard Celeste. After law school he served as a law clerk for the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.[18] He then served as Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General during Bill Clinton's administration. His father, Douglas J. Bennet, worked in the Clinton White House as well, as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs.

Bennet then entered the business world, working for six years in Denver as Managing Director for the Anschutz Investment Company where he had direct responsibility for the investment of over $500 million. He led the reorganizations of four distressed companies, including Forcenergy (which later merged with Denver-based Forest Oil), Regal Cinemas, United Artists and Edwards Theaters, which together required the restructuring of over $3 billion in debt. Bennet also managed, on behalf of Anschutz, the consolidation of the three theater chains into Regal Entertainment Group, the largest motion picture exhibitor in the world.

Moving back into public service, Bennet served for two years as the Chief of Staff to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. Highlights of his accomplishments at the city include: closing an initial 10-percent budget gap in the first two months of office; balancing two consecutive budgets in Denver's worst recession in history while preserving city services; conducting five collective-bargaining negotiations; devising strategies to pass five ballot initiatives; and assembling a very diverse, widely acknowledged leadership team for the city.

Bennet was appointed superintendent of Denver Public Schools on June 27, 2005, taking office on the following July 1. During his tenure, he revised a merit pay proposal that earned the support of local teachers and he was initially opposed to closing the failing Manual High School, which was later reopened.

Bennet was among the many officials whose names were circulated for United States Secretary of Education in the Obama Administration, which was eventually filled by Arne Duncan. Bennet and his wife were early supporters of Barack Obama's presidential bid during the 2008 Democratic primaries[23] and he was among those who advised Barack Obama on education issues.

U.S. Senate
Appointment
On January 3, 2009, he was named by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter to fill the seat in the United States Senate vacated by United States Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on January 20. Upon taking office on January 21, 2009, he had stated that he would seek election at the end of his term in 2010.

Referencing Bennet's tenure as superintendent of Denver Public Schools, Time magazine listed Bennet among eleven leading educational activists for 2011. In a January 2011 article in Time entitled "Shaking Schools Up in an Already Tumultuous Year," the author of the article, Andrew J. Rotherham, said of Bennet: "If the federal No Child Left Behind Act is modified this year, or if anything else of significance happens in Washington on education policy, this Colorado Democrat will be at the center of it."

2010 election
Bennet ran for re-election as Senator from Colorado in the 2010 election. On September 16, 2009, former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff announced his campaign to challenge Bennet for the Democratic nomination. Bennet received endorsements from President Barack Obama, U.S. Senator Mark Udall, and U.S. Representatives Betsy Markey, Jared Polis, and John Salazar of the Colorado congressional delegation.

On August 10, 2010, Bennet defeated Romanoff in the primary and won his party's nomination, facing Republican candidate Ken Buck. The campaign became one of the most expensive in the country, with the candidates spending a reported $15 million combined, and outside groups another $30 million. Bennet portrayed Buck as an extremist conservative opposed to abortion and direct election of Senators, while Buck and the groups supporting him characterized Bennet as a big-spending liberal.

On November 3, the day after polls closed, Bennet was declared the winner, and Buck conceded. Bennet returned to Washington in January 2011 to start a full six-year term.

Committee assignments
Bennet sits on the following committees and subcommittees in the 112th United States Congress (2011–2012).

* Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
o Commodities, Markets, Trade and Risk Management
o Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources (Chairman)
o Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Food and Agricultural Research
* Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
o Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
o Securities, Insurance, and Investment
o Security and International Trade and Finance
* Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
o Children and Families
o Employment and Workplace Safety
* Special Committee on Aging

Political positions
Healthcare reform
Bennet voted in support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. In November 2009, when the bill was still working its way through Congress, Bennet stated, during a CNN interview, that he would support health care reform even if it meant losing the election. In his speeches on the floor, Bennet emphasized reports by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office to argue that a vote for health care reform is fiscally responsible.

Immigration
Bennet has been a strong supporter of immigration reform. In September 2009, Bennet cosponsored the DREAM Act (S. 729), which proposed amending the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 by giving residency to aliens enrolled in higher education programs or serving in the military. Bennet has also stated that the country is in need of comprehensive immigration reform and that even bills like DREAM will not be adequate to solve US immigration problems.

Fiscal policy
In February 2009, Bennet voted for the $787 billion stimulus package. In August 2009, Bennet sponsored a bill which placed spending caps on the federal government. Bennet is also a cosponsor, and outspoken supporter of the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO, S.1600) Act, which would require Congressional proposals which requires spending to state in detail where the funds come from. Bennet has also been a strong supporter of financial regulatory reform, stating that he believes such reform is necessary to America’s future economic well-being, and that the proposed legislation recently unveiled by Senator Chris Dodd’s Banking Committee (of which Bennet is also a member) is a “strong start”.

Alternative energy
In December 2009, Bennet cosigned a letter to Obama and Senate majority leader Harry Reid urging them to consider supporting the Solar Manufacturing Jobs Creation Act (S.2755). The letter, signed by the bill’s sponsor and cosponsors, explained that this bill could create as many as 10,000 new jobs. The letter further stated concern that China and other countries are passing the US in production of alternative energy, and that this bill would provide an opportunity to reduce that trend.

Obscene Profit Break - Of Interest to Scrabble Players

2012-01-15T02:05:00.002-07:00

http://www.amazon.com/Eve-QiNus-Flashwords-Unofficial-ebook/dp/B006XLTMK4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1326618036&sr=1-1

A 7-letter word (bingo) in Scrabble is a spectacular play, averaging 70 points in a single turn. But if you know your 2-letter and 3-letter words back-words and fore-words (and middle-words), you can easily make up those points in two well-played turns, by making five 2-and 3-letter words in a single turn and reaping the benefits.

In Volume 1 of Eve Le QiNu's Flashwords, an unofficial Scrabble and other word game study guide we help you memorize all the 2-letter and 3-letter words currently approved for Scrabble.

We do this by the Flashcard system. You read a definition, you think of the word, you go to the next page and find out if you're right. Or you're given a list of words - all the 3-letter words that begin with the letter A and end in the letter A and are asked, Which one is missing.

It's a fun game and one that will help you memorize these words quickly.

We've broken it into two volumes, as this volume already has 2000 pages.

First we cover the 2-letter words, then the 3-letter words which end in the letters from A to G. (The next volume will cover 3-letter words that end in letters from H to Z, plus some other fun stuff).

For each section of words, we provide unique definitions for those words that most people have never heard of (most of the words in the 4th edition of the Official Scrabble Dictionary are words most people have never heard of.)

At the back of the book are also word lists - 2 letter words sorted by first letter and last letter, and 3 letter words sorted by first letter, middle letter and last letter.

Eve Le Qinu is the pseudonym of Caroline Miniscule, who has written two science fiction novels - the Coldest Equations: The People Out There and The Coldest Equations: The Labyrinth Makers.

She also has a five year mission to memorize every single word in the Scrabble dictionary and become a world champion Scrabble player.

Government Has Always Been Ineptly Run...

2012-01-13T17:59:00.001-07:00

But Obama and his czars sure aren't solving the problem.

RUSH: "Barack Hussein Obama, mmm, mmm, mmm!" had a big meeting at the White House today where, all of a sudden, Barack Obama wants to make the government smaller. All of a sudden, Barack Obama's concerned about the inefficiency of the bureaucracy. All of a sudden, Barack Obama has realized that government isn't working for small business. All of a sudden, Barack Obama has realized the trouble that average people have dealing with the government. All of a sudden, Barack Obama has realized that there are one hundred... Oh. No, this is the way to put it. "The Department of Homeland Security," according to Barack Obama just moments ago, "reports to 100 different congressional committees and subcommittees and agencies."

And, all of a sudden, Barack Obama said (paraphrased): "That's too much paper! That's too many reports! We've gotta streamline this." The streamlining Barack Obama's talking about will be unnoticeable after his health care bill is implemented. What a joke. What an absolute transparent, phony baloney, plastic banana, good-time rock 'n' roller FM type of a scam. All of a sudden, Obama's the great small government reformer in an election year, with health care just waiting to be implemented, which will blow the size of this government up in ways that people cannot imagine -- and then yesterday he had a big meeting on insourcing jobs.

Who took the video of the urinating soldiers?

2012-01-13T17:54:00.002-07:00

That's what I want to know. I don't want to even read the story, but you'd think these idiots would know that if they're going to urinate on dead bodies - even if its the Taliban that doesn't hesitate to rape women, burn men, and laugh while they do - that they shouldn't do it with cameras around.

Rush is saying that it should be an embarrassment for Obama, as everything specific folks in the military during Bush's time were an embarrasment to him - according to the media. (Well, soldiers urinating on corpses isn't the same as condoned torture at Abu Gharib - but frankly torturing terrorists isn't that bad of an idea, frankly.)

RUSH: According to a report that I saw earlier today, we are not going to let this terrible peeing scandal stop us from negotiating the Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan. Some people are starting to call this Urinegate. "Taliban Says Marine Tape Will not Hurt Afghanistan Talks." Now, what does that say? You go back to the Bush years, we had the Abu Ghraib pictures and, "Oh, no, my God, that's the end of the US military. Oh, what a horrible country. Oh, gee, what a great terrorist recruitment tool. Oh, Abu Ghraib, that stupid Bush, oh, no, how horrible." Remember that? Remember when I said, "Ah, it looks like a fraternity hazing prank." But, oh, they got all over me on that. And the left used that to try to destroy the military and its credibility and the mission. You remember.

So now we have a videotape of some marines breaking the rules and taping it. It's curious why they did that, and now it's gotten out. Snerdley, which do you think is more offensive, a greater transgression: Abu Ghraib photos or the urination on corpses of the Taliban. Abu Ghraib far worse. Abu Ghraib far worse than urinating on Taliban corpses. I know we don't know when this happened. The details are sketchy. So as a discussion matter, we'll take it as it is. But get this Reuters story: "Taliban Says Marine Tape Will not Hurt Afghanistan Talks." Now, what does that tell you? What does that tell you?

All of a sudden you have something that, if they wanted to, the left could exploit as another Abu Ghraib. That goes without saying, Abu Ghraib blamed on Bush, why isn't this blamed on Obama? Nothing can go wrong. This will be blamed on the individuals, not Obama. When a president is Republican, everything that the government does is blamed on him. But the more important question here, the Taliban, those, according to the story, was their people who were dead who were the urinatees. And the Taliban says that that tape is not gonna hurt anything, we're not bothered by that. I'm simply asking, what does that tell you? (interruption) No. It doesn't tell us that they're tired of being hit by drones.

13 Jan 2012, Fri, Rush Limbaugh headlines

2012-01-13T17:48:00.002-07:00

--CNBC Retracts Story on GM, Obama, Bain
--If You Want to Live Forever, Don't Get Old
--Election Year Conversion: Barack Obama Wants to Streamline Government
--The Latest on Newt vs. Mitt
--I am the News... Again
--Yes, Obama Is Landslideable Beatable
--Only 2% Hate the 1%
--Why Conservatives are Wary of Romney
--Mitt Claims He'll Roll Back So Much Liberalism, He May Only Last One Term
--Taliban Urinationgate and Vampire Movies
Stack of Stuff
--Pebble Beach Pro-Am Wants to Pair Tebow and Tiger?
--Gallup: 40% Self-Identify as Conservative
--Headline of the Day: Woman Says Fake Penis Got Her Fired
--Why Regulation of TV and Radio is Popular
--Do Muslims Die of Pancreatic Cancer?
--Nuclear Regulatory Commission Pulls Tissue Holder from Bed, Bath & Beyond
--Go with the Broncos ...

US Senators, Colorado: Mark Udall (D) [Private profession - Educator]

2012-01-13T09:58:00.002-07:00

From Wikipedia
Mark Emery Udall (born July 18, 1950) is the senior United States Senator from Colorado and a member of the Democratic Party. From 1999 to 2009, Udall served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Colorado's 2nd congressional district. He also served a term in the Colorado House of Representatives.

Born in Tucson, Arizona, he is the son of former U.S. Representative Morris "Mo" Udall. The Udall family is one of America's more prolific political families. Mark Udall graduated from Williams College in 1972 and moved to Colorado. He worked at the Colorado Outward Bound School for 20 years, including ten years as the school's executive director. He was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1996. After one term he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served five terms and worked on energy and national resources.

Udall won a competitive election for the U.S. Senate in 2008, defeating Republican challenger Bob Schaffer. He chairs the Senate Energy Subcommittee on National Parks. Udall is a prolific mountaineer and was featured in Men's Journal magazine for his athletic abilities.

Early life, education, and teaching career
Mark was born in Tucson, Arizona, and is the son of Patricia J. (née Emery) and Morris "Mo" Udall, a former congressman from Arizona and candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1976. He is a first cousin of Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico; a second cousin of Senator Mike Lee of Utah; and a double second cousin of former Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon. He is also the nephew of former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall. The Udall family is one of America's more prolific political families.

Mark Udall graduated in 1968 from Canyon del Oro High School, located in the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley. He graduated from Williams College in 1972 and moved to Colorado. He was an instructor, course director and program director with the Colorado Outward Bound School for 20 years, serving as a program director for 10 years from 1975–1985 and as executive director from 1985-1995.

In January 2008, Udall acknowledged to the Rocky Mountain News that he had pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana in 1972, and served a year's probation.

U.S. House of Representatives
Udall as a Congressman
Elections
In 1996, Mark Udall was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives, vacated by incumbent Peggy Lamm, the sister-in-law to former Governor Richard Lamm and Dottie Lamm, the 1998 Democratic U.S. Senate candidate. After only one term, Udall won the Democratic nomination for the 2nd District in 1998 after 12-year incumbent David Skaggs retired. The race was unexpectedly close, with Udall narrowly defeating Boulder's Republican Mayor, Bob Greenlee, by 50% to 48%. He easily won reelection four times thereafter.

Tenure
He is co-chair of the Congressional Fitness Caucus, Vice President of the Democratic Freshman Class, on the Democratic Homeland Security Task Force and Co-chair of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus

Udall has always touted his commitment to working for bipartisanship in Congress. On his campaign website, he discusses his advocacy for the environment and development of alternative fuels. He is a strong supporter of the U.S. military and military-related industries, including the development of new jobs in the aerospace field. Udall has stated that he has opposed the Patriot Act since it was first initiated. In November 2011 Udall introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 that would have forbidden indefinite detention of United States citizens; the amendment was rejected by the Senate.

Legislative accomplishments
* In 2000, a proposal led by Democratic Congressman Mark Udall and Republican Senator Wayne Allard proposed transforming Rocky Flats, a former nuclear weapons production site, into a wildlife refuge, setting aside 6,400 acres (25 km²) after cleanup and closure. The Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge Act passed in 2001.

* Amendment 37: Mark Udall championed the effort to pass Amendment 37, a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard that requires an increase in the production of energy by renewable energy sources to 20% by 2020. Voters overwhelmingly supported Amendment 37 in 2004 and it was the first RES to be passed by voters as opposed to legislators.

* Mark Udall was part of the bipartisan effort of all Colorado delegates who proposed and passed a bill to improve the ability of the government to address the problems caused by the pine beetle infestation in Colorado's forestlands. It was estimated that all mature lodgepole pines could be decimated by 2010 if action is not taken.

* Mark Udall secured $19 million in research and development funding for Colorado defense companies.

* Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) worked together successfully to pass legislation that would provide funding to school districts to replace older diesel buses with buses that use renewable sources of energy, such as compressed natural gas or electricity.

* Mark Udall re-introduced H.R. 595, the Stimulating Leadership in Cutting Expenditures (SLICE) Act, in January 2007 with the support of representatives including Jeff Flake and Tim Ryan. This Act would allow the President to identify specific items of federal spending that he thinks should be cut from appropriation bills and then require Congress to vote on each of those items individually. The goal would be to reduce the amount of federal money that goes to congressional earmarks.

* Mark Udall co-authored with Republican Representative Frank Wolf legislation that promoted a 'responsible' redeployment strategy in Iraq.

Committee assignments
Just prior to his election as a U.S. Senator, Udall served on the following committees in the 110th Congress:

* Committee on Armed Services
o Subcommittee on Readiness
o Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats
* Committee on Science and Technology
o Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
o Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
* Committee on Natural Resources
o Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
o Subcommittee on Water and Power
* Co-chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus [14]
* NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Previous Committee membership

* Committee on Agriculture
* Committee on Small Business

U.S. Senate
2008 election
On January 15, 2007, Senator Wayne Allard announced he would not run for a third term. Mark Udall ran unopposed in the primary election and was chosen as the Democratic nominee for the race, running against Republican former U.S. Representative Bob Schaffer. The Colorado U.S. Senate race became one of the most competitive races in the country.

As of August 28, 2008, over $10 million had been spent on so-called attack ads against Udall by political parties and independent issues group; more than any other Senate race in the US. Udall's campaign responded by creating a website that addresses the claims in those ads.

Udall's first cousin, U.S. Representative Tom Udall, ran for and won the U.S. Senate seat in New Mexico left open by the retirement of Pete Domenici (R-NM). Including their double second cousin, Senator Gordon Smith, there were three Udalls running in Senate elections in 2008. Smith in Oregon was narrowly defeated in his bid for a third term.

On September 28, 2008, Udall and Schaffer appeared on Meet the Press's Senate Debate series, discussing the proposed bailout of the U.S. financial system.

On election day, Udall defeated Schaffer by a 53% to 43% margin.

Committee assignments
* Committee on Armed Services
o Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
o Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
o Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
* Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
o Subcommittee on Energy
o Subcommittee on National Parks (Chairman)
o Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
* Special Committee on Aging

Caucus memberships
* Congressional Fitness Caucus
* International Conservation Caucus
* Parkinson’s Disease Caucus (co-chair)
* Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus (Co-Chair)
* Sportsmen's Caucus

Personal life
Udall is a 5th generation Westerner and currently lives in Eldorado Springs, a suburb of Boulder, with his wife and two children, one of whom is on the women's varsity volleyball team at University of Virginia. He is an enthusiastic outdoorsman and enjoys skiing, golfing, hiking and camping. An avid mountaineer, he has climbed all 14ers (54 mountains in Colorado with peaks above 14,000 feet elevation) and attempted some of the world's most challenging peaks, including Mt. Everest. He was featured in Men's Journal Magazine, which touted his athletic abilities.

13 Jan 2012, Fri, SoS and Staff Schedule

2012-01-13T09:52:00.002-07:00

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2012/01/180650.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
9:25 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Central American and Dominican youth ambassadors, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

9:30 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:00 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Counselor Mills and Special Adviser for Global Youth Issues Ronan Farrow, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:55 a.m. Secretary Clinton makes a statement on Burma in the Treaty Room.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)
Pre-set time for video cameras: 10:40 a.m. from the 23rd Street Entrance Lobby.
Final access time for journalists and still photographers: 10:45 a.m. from the 23rd Street Entrance Lobby.

2:30 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:45 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with President Obama, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY BILL BURNS
Deputy Secretary Burns is on foreign travel to Ankara, Turkey and Cairo, Egypt.

DEPUTY SECRETARY TOM NIDES
7:30 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides hosts a conference call with ambassadors to discuss the Global Health Initiative.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides hosts a webinar with Assistant Secretary Fernandez, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:45 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Italian Ambassador-designate Claudio Bisogniero, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Special Assistant to the President Samantha Power, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH
3:00 p.m. Administrator Shah meets with Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

US FOR POLITCAL AFFAIRS WENDY SHERMAN
4:00 p.m. Under Secretary Sherman accepts the credentials of Micronesian Ambassador-designate Asterio Takesy, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ECONOMIC, GROWTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ROBERT HORMATS
Under Secretary Hormats is on foreign travel to Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through January 16.

US FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS MARIA OTERO
Under Secretary Otero is on foreign travel to Chile and Colombia through January 20.

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL
10:00 a.m. Ambassador Marshall hosts a State of the Administration Speaker Series event featuring Senior Advisor for Innovation Alec Ross, followed by a technology training session for the Diplomatic Corps with representatives from Facebook and Twitter.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL
11:45 a.m. Assistant Secretary Campbell delivers keynote remarks at the Korean Economic Institute Korean American Day Celebration, in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN

8:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Countryman attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Countryman attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

AS FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ
12:45 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez meets with Moroccan Ambassador Rachad Bouhlal, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS PHILIP GORDON
Assistant Secretary Gordon is on foreign travel to Germany, Lithuania and Denmark. On Friday in Copenhagen, Denmark, Assistant Secretary Gordon meets with EU Political Directors and senior Danish government officials.

ACTING AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ROBERTA JACOBSON
9:45 a.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Jacobson meets with Central American and Dominican youth ambassadors, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS KERRI-ANN JONES
10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Jones attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

2:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Jones meets with NASA Associate Deputy Administrator Rebecca Keiser and Science and Technology Advisor William Colglazier, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ACTING AS FOR POPULATION, REGUGEES AND MIGRATION DAVID ROBINSON
2:00 p.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Robinson meets with the UN Somalia Country Team and USAID Assistant Administrator Nancy Lindborg, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS ANN STOCK
2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock attends a Broadcasting Board of Governors board meeting, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN
3:00 p.m. Ambassador Benjamin meets with Lebanese Ambassador Antoine Chedid, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE STEPHEN RAPP, OFFICE OF GLOBAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Ambassador Rapp is on foreign travel to France, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Lithuania through January 17 to meet with officials from ministries of justice and foreign affairs.

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

10:00 a.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with Fariba Nawa, author of “Opium Nation: Child Brides, Drug Lords and One Woman’s Journey Through Afghanistan,” at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:00 a.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with girls from an Afghan orphanage and attends a cultural performance, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:00 p.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with Lorena Aguilar of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health Ariel Pablo Mendez, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Ambassador Verveer meets with Assistant Secretary of Treasury Marisa Lago, at the Department of the Treasury.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

SPECIAL ADVISOR FOR INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S ISSUES SUSAN JACOBS
Ambassador Jacobs is on foreign travel to the Republic of Korea, China, Vietnam and Cambodia to meet with stakeholders regarding the protection of children in the inter-country adoption process.

COORDINATOR FOR INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION PROGRAMS DAWN MCCALL
Coordinator McCall is on foreign travel in Jakarta, Indonesia to participate in the one year anniversary celebrations of Embassy Jakarta’s American Center, @america.

SR AND POLICY COORDINATOR FOR BURMA DEREK MITCHELL
Ambassador Mitchell is on foreign to Burma and Thailand through January 13. Ambassador Mitchell visits Burma as a follow up to Secretary Clinton’s December visit. In Thailand, Ambassador Mitchell meets with local officials and assistance groups aiding refugees in the border region.

13 Jan 2012, Fri, Pres and VP Schedules

2012-01-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule
10:45 am
The President meets with Secretary of the Treasury Geithner
Oval Office
Closed Press

11:20 am
The President delivers remarks on government reform
East Room
Open Press

1:45 pm
The President attends a campaign event
Local Event Time:
The Jefferson Hotel, Washington, DC
Closed Press

3:45 pm
The President meets with Secretary of State Clinton
Oval Office
Closed Press

5:30 pm
The President and the First Lady host Tuskegee Airmen along with cast and crew members of the movie Red Tails for a screening at the White House
The Family Theatre

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
10:30 am
The Vice President delivers remarks on college affordability at Central Bucks High School West
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Open Press

2:00 pm
The Vice President attends a campaign event in Philadelphia
3:15 pm
The Vice President attends an event to thank local supporters
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Does Nobody Want Green Cards?

2012-01-12T15:19:00.001-07:00

Make the charging stations first, make the green cars affordable...may be then they'll be bought...

Nobody Wants Green Cars
RUSH: I just love these kinds of stories where I've been right all along. "The US auto industry remains unsold over the future of 'green cars' such as electrics," which are coal-driven, "and hybrids, as carmakers struggle with the first steps in a market most agree shows promise over the long term." No! There is not general agreement that there is promise in the green car industry in the long term. "Automakers wheeled out a variety of new hybrids and plug-in electrics," driven by coal, "at the annual Detroit auto show this week, touting their great energy savings along with new, freshened designs.

"But despite that apparent commitment, behind the scenes, the manufacturers remain split between doubts and optimism over their potential." What's the doubt? Nobody wants these! The only way you end up with 'em is if it's a statement like wearing an AIDS ribbon. "Look at me! I'm better than you. I care more than you do. You see this ribbon? It means I'm better than you are! See me in this hybrid? That means I care more than you!" A vanity buy is what this is. People aren't buying these things. They have to be paid to buy them. GM has had to recall every Volt that they've ever made, and they all depend on higher gasoline prices. That's what Obama's for.

___________
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.

The GOP Delegate Count - just beginning!

2012-01-12T15:14:00.002-07:00

The folks at Glenn Beck's radio show (he was out with a back injury) were talking yesterday...or maybe the day before...about how the big states never get a chance to choose the President of the country, because the caucuses for the choosing of the candidates happens in the small states.

And Rush said something similar today:GOP Delegate Count

RUSH: Some fascinating numbers coming out of the New Hampshire primary. Now, there 1,144 delegate votes needed to win the Republican nomination. That's the total necessary: 1,144. After two primaries... Well, you really have to say one because the Hawkeye Cauci does not produce delegate votes. But after two skirmishes... We'll count the Hawkeye Cauci as a primary just for the sake of this discussion. After Iowa and New Hampshire, Romney has 12 delegate votes (12 out of 1,144) and Ron Paul has ten. He lost two primaries but he's got ten delegate votes. He's two votes behind Romney, and they're telling us the race is over. The Republican establishment says, "It's over! Everybody's gonna implode in South Carolina. It's up for grabs," but nothing...

They're telling us that the presumptive nominee is Romney, it's over. Okay, so you got 1144 delegate votes to wrap up the nomination. Romney has 12 and they're telling us it's over. Ron Paul has ten, Santorum has seven, Huntsman two, Gingrich two. Even Rick Perry has two! Even Rick Perry has two delegate votes right now. He's only ten behind Romney. And they're telling us that the race is over. They are. It's the same thing that happened in 2000. (interruption) Yeah, he's come in dangerously high in both places. He's on the verge of winning in Iowa, until "The Intelligent People" took him out.

Business Owners? Trust No One

2012-01-12T15:07:00.003-07:00

I was thinking back to my post of yesterday, in which I commented that Pepsi - and other large businesses - were going to be forced to hire people with felony records (that were mostly minorities) which is just ridiculous. The government has no business telling businesses that they must hire minorities just because they're felons (thereby punishing minorities who have played it by the rules all their lives...)

However, having said that, it must be admitted that running background checks on people and only hiring people with clean records is going to keep your business safe. Many's the person who's led an exemplary life, til one day they step into a casino, get the gambling bug, and a year later need to start stealing to feed the habit. And the news is rife with folks - mostly whites - who have just been arrested after embezzling from their businesses for decades.

Which doesn't change the fact that if businesses don't want to hire people with prison records, they shouldn't have to.

But in any event, that's why every business should have the dictum - trust no one. Have two or three safeguards in place to prevent people from stealing from you. After all, it is never the newbie who is in a position to steal millions of dollars, it's always someone who'se been with a company for several years and has the implicit trust of his employers.

12 Jan 2012, Thu, Rush Limbaugh headlines

2012-01-12T15:02:00.002-07:00

--I'm Still Looking Forward to Getting Older
--State-Run Media Spins and Buries: Jobless Claims Rise, Retail Sales Weak
--Was Romney Ready for Bain Attack?
--C-SPAN Goes Blue
--Romney vs. Buffett
--Obama is Just in Over His Head?
--Newt's Revenge Divides GOP to the Delight of Liberals
--Clyburn Compares Romney to Madoff
--Callers on Newt and Mitt
--Robert Kraft on Bain and Tim Tebow
Stack of Stuff
--Abandoned Baby Found at Occupy DC
-- GOP Delegate Count.
--Red Wine Scientist Made It Up
--Nobody Wants Green Cars
-Hypocrisy: The New York Times on Layoffs

___________
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.

Nothing To Show For All That Money Sent to Haiti

2012-01-12T12:59:00.003-07:00

Billions of dollars in aid were sent to Haiti. With what result?

This is the same situation that exists in other parts of the world that the richer countries try to help. We pour in billions of dollars, which does absolutely no good, because the governments of these countries skim - or rather gouge - billions off the top and leave only a few thousand to go to the actual starving people whom they could care less about.

We must stop sending aid to these countries. Yes on the surface it will appear that we're racist and uncaring and unfeeling, but all you have to do is look at the results to see that we're just pouring money down the toilet - and leaving that much less money for us to help our own citizens.

From Yahoo News: Still in ruins: Haiti marks two years after quake

Haitians flocked to churches Thursday to mark the second anniversary of the catastrophic 2010 earthquake that killed a quarter-of-a-million people in the poorest country in the Americas.

The flattened presidential palace and Port-au-Prince's hollowed-out cathedral offered striking symbols of the failure of an international aid effort that never lived up to its promise, despite billions of pledged dollars.

By the ruins of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, whose roof and towers collapsed after the 7.0-magnitude quake, Jean Wilbert, a 40-year-old cripple ekes out an existence in a makeshift camp with his mother.

"I've been here for the past two years," Wilbert told AFP, admitting he found it hard emotionally to move on from the disaster. "I cannot detach myself from this place where I lost my two legs," he said.

UN fact sheets highlighted the hundreds of thousands of people relocated from tent cities in 2011 and the 1.1 million children now receiving daily food aid, but the pace of reconstruction has been painfully slow.

That is partly explained by the cataclysmic scale of the January 12, 2010 disaster, which killed, injured or displaced one in six of the Caribbean nation's entire population, razing some 250,000 homes in the capital alone.

But Haiti was also already the economic basket case of the Western Hemisphere, a dysfunctional country often ruled by a corrupt elite while 80 percent of the population lived below the poverty line, most in stinking slums.

More than half-a-million people displaced by the 2010 quake subsist in 800 squalid tent camps around the capital, and the health authorities, propped up by an army of NGOs, are still battling a cholera epidemic that has killed nearly 7,000 people since November 2010.

In this largely Roman Catholic country, places of worship were holding services throughout the day to remember the disaster, throwing open their doors to quake survivors, many still traumatized by the events of that day.

Government officers were shuttered along with schools and businesses.

At 4:53 pm local time (2153 GMT), the moment the earthquake struck, President Michel Martelly was to lay a wreath at the mass grave north of the capital where most of the dead lie entombed, dumped there in lorry-load after lorry-load in the days after the disaster.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon paid tribute to those who died -- including more than 100 UN personnel -- and called on international donors to keep up their "vital support" for the rebuilding two years after the disaster.

"Despite considerable achievements, including in the areas of rubble removal and the resettlement of displaced persons, many Haitians remain in need of international assistance," Ban said.

Shocked in the immediate aftermath of one of the deadliest disasters of modern times, the international community promised billions of dollars of aid money to "build back better."

Decentralization -- away from the slum-infested, sprawling capital of three million -- was the buzzword in a plan to be implemented under the watchful eye of former US president Bill Clinton.

This grandiose vision now appears to have been a pipe-dream.

Less than half the $4.59 billion pledged has been received and disbursed, and the coffers of the aid agencies are also drying up.

More than 50 percent of the quake rubble has now been cleared, but little has been erected in its place.

Most of the hundreds of thousands of people who fled Port-au-Prince after the quake have since returned to the overcrowded capital, desperate for work and food in a country still lacking another effective pole to attract labor.

Martelly, a former carnival entertainer and pop singer, was sworn in as the new president in May, riding a populist wave and promising to bring the change that the country so badly needs.

But faced with a parliament dominated by his political opponents, it took him five months to even get a prime minister appointed.

Martelly has recently tried to nurture smaller, community-based projects such as a flagship housing program -- 6/16 -- aimed at taking residents out of six camps and relocating them to 16 neighborhoods.

Alongside it, he has created the Carmen project, whereby approved home-owners receive funds to repair their houses under the supervision of certified engineers.

Josef Leitmann, program manager of the World Bank-run Haiti Reconstruction Fund, sees glimmers of progress at last.

"You have a vision of where the government wants to go, and that's just critical," he told AFP. "Second you've got leadership to take that vision and communicate it to people and inspire people and third you have political will to implement the vision."

I'm reminded of that old quote - Give a man food and you'll feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you'll feed him for a lifetime. Obviously we've got to stop giving and start teaching.

California Senator (D): Barbara Boxer [Private profession - stockbroker]

2012-01-12T09:44:00.002-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Barbara Levy Boxer (born November 11, 1940) is the junior United States Senator from California (since 1993). A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1983–1993).

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Boxer graduated from Brooklyn College. She worked as a stockbroker for several years before moving to California with her husband. During the 1970s, she worked as a journalist for the Pacific Sun and as an aide to U.S. Representative John L. Burton. She served on the Marin County Board of Supervisors for six years and become the board's first female president. With the slogan "Barbara Boxer Gives a Damn", she was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1982, representing California District 6. She sat on the House Armed Services Committee, and was involved in government oversight, passing several procurement reforms.

Boxer won the 1992 election for the U.S. Senate. She holds the record for the most popular votes in any U.S. Senate election in history, having received 6.96 million votes in her 2004 re-election. Boxer is the chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee and the chair of the Select Committee on Ethics, making her the only senator to preside over two committees simultaneously. She is also the Democratic Chief Deputy Whip.

She is currently twenty-third in seniority in the United States Senate.

Early life and family
Barbara Levy Boxer was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents Sophie (née Silvershein; born in Austria) and Ira Levy. She attended public schools, and graduated from George W. Wingate High School in 1958.

In 1962, she married Stewart Boxer and graduated from Brooklyn College with a bachelor's degree in Economics. While in college she was a member of Delta Phi Epsilon (social) sorority and was a cheerleader for the Brooklyn College basketball team.

Boxer worked as a stockbroker for the next three years, while her husband went to law school. Later, the couple moved to Greenbrae, Marin County, California, and had two children, Doug and Nicole. She first ran for political office in 1972, when she challenged incumbent Peter Arrigoni, a member of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, but lost a close election. Later during the 1970s, Boxer worked as a journalist for the Pacific Sun and as an aide to John Burton, then a member of Congress. In 1976, Boxer was elected to the Marin County Board of Supervisors, serving for six years. She was the Board's first woman president.

In 1994, her daughter Nicole married Tony Rodham, brother of then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a ceremony at the White House. The couple had one son, Zachary, and divorced in 2000.

Boxer's husband, Stewart, a prominent attorney in Oakland, represents injured workers in worker's compensation cases, keeping a very low political profile. Many cases are referred to him by labor unions, including the Teamsters. In 2006, the Boxers sold their house in Greenbrae, where they had lived for many years, and moved to Rancho Mirage. Their son, Douglas, a lawyer, practices with Stewart and is a member of the Oakland Planning Commission, having been appointed to that office by then-mayor Jerry Brown.

According to one story, which Boxer has acknowledged, in 1972, Stewart had planned to run for the Marin County Board of Supervisors, but decided the campaign would interfere with his law practice in Oakland, so Barbara ran instead. She was supported in that election by Marin Alternative, a broad-based, liberal political organization which she had helped found a few years before. A very active force in Marin County politics for a while, Marin Alternative dissolved in the late 1970s.

Boxer's first novel, A Time to Run was published in 2005 by San Francisco-based publishing company Chronicle Books. Her second novel Blind Trust was released in July 2009 by Chronicle Books.

U.S. Representative
Boxer was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1982, defeating Dennis McQuaid. Her slogan was "Barbara Boxer Gives a Damn." In the House, she represented California District 6 (Marin and Sonoma Counties) for five terms.

During this time she focused on human rights, environmental protection, military procurement reform, and abortion issues from a pro-choice stance. She was also involved in seeking protection for whistleblowers in government and pushed for higher budget allocations for health, biomedical research, and education.

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, with the help of the Project on Military Procurement (now Project On Government Oversight [POGO]), Boxer exposed the "$7,600 Pentagon coffee pot" and successfully passed more than a dozen procurement reforms.

In 1992, Boxer was embarrassed by the House banking scandal, which revealed that more than 450 Congressional Representatives and aides, herself included, wrote overdraft checks covered by overdraft protection by the House Bank. In response, she issued a statement saying "in painful retrospect, I clearly should have paid more attention to my account" and wrote a $15 check to the Deficit Reduction Fund for each of her 87 overdrafts.

In 1991, during the Anita Hill Senate hearings, where Hill accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, Boxer led a group of women House members to the Senate Judiciary Committee – demanding that the all-white, all-male Committee of Senators take Hill's charges seriously.

U.S. Senator
Elections
Democratic Senator Alan Cranston retired in 1992, creating an open contest, which Boxer won in the U.S. Senate elections that year, defeating Bruce Herschensohn, a conservative television political commentator, by 4.9% after a last-minute revelation that Herschensohn had attended a strip club. In 1998, she won a second term, beating sitting California State Treasurer Matt Fong by 10% of the vote.

She had decided to retire in 2004 but says she decided to run to "fight for the right to dissent" against conservatives like Tom DeLay.[citation needed] After facing no primary opposition in the 2004 election, Boxer defeated GOP candidate Bill Jones, the sitting California Secretary of State, by a margin of 20 percentage points. In 2010, Boxer defeated GOP candidate Carly Fiorina, former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard, by a margin of 10 percentage points.

Committees
* Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
o Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
o Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
o Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
o Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
o Subcommittee on Science and Space
* Committee on Environment and Public Works (Chairwoman)
* Committee on Foreign Relations
o Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs
o Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
o Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy and Global Women's Issues (Chairwoman)
o Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection
* Select Committee on Ethics (Chairwoman)

A member of the Senate Democratic Leadership, Boxer serves as the Democratic Chief Deputy Whip, which gives her the job of lining up votes on key legislation. [18] She also serves on the Democratic Policy Committee's Committee on Oversight and Investigations

Caucus memberships
* Senate Oceans Caucus

Presidential politics
2004
On Valentine's Day 2005, Senator Boxer received 4,500 roses for calling attention to alleged voting irregularities in Ohio during the 2004 presidential election.

On January 6, 2005, Boxer joined Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) in filing a U.S. Congressional objection to the certification of Ohio's Electoral College votes in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. She called the objection her "opening shot to be able to focus the light of truth on these terrible problems in the electoral system". The Senate voted the objection down 1–74; the House voted the objection down 31–267. It was only the second Congressional objection to an entire State's electoral delegation in U.S. history; the first instance was in 1877.

2008
As a superdelegate, Boxer had declared that she would support the winner of the California primary, which was won by Hillary Clinton. However, she reneged on that pledge and remained neutral, only officially backing Obama's candidacy the day after the last primaries, once he had garnered enough delegate votes to clinch the nomination.

Platform and votes
Health care
Senator Boxer is part of a coalition to increase medical research to find cures for diseases. In 2007, she authored successful bipartisan legislation with Senator Gordon Smith to combat HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis globally. In 1997, she authored a Patients' Bill of Rights. She has written a bill to make health insurance tax-deductible and another bill to let any American buy into the same health insurance program that members of Congress have. She supports comprehensive prescription drug coverage through Medicare and the right of all consumers to purchase lower-cost prescription drugs re-imported from Canada.

In October 2002, Boxer urged the Bush Administration to take specific steps to address the causes of the steep increase in autism cases in California. She wrote Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson to establish a common national standard for the diagnosis of autism; instruct the CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to convene a task force to review the current literature on autism and conduct its own study if necessary; and direct the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to work with the states to create a national chronic disease database.

Boxer is an advocate for embryonic stem-cell research, which has the potential to help those with diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, spinal cord injuries, and other diseases.

In March 2010, Boxer voted to support the health care reform proposed by the Obama Administration and Democratic 111th Congress by voting yes on the Health Care Reconciliation Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Education
Boxer introduced legislation providing Federal funding for local after-school programs, which have been shown to increase student performance while decreasing juvenile delinquency, crime, and drug use. Her 'Computers in Classrooms' law encourages the donation of computers and software to schools.

Boxer supported the No Child Left Behind Act. Since its passage in 2001, she claims that the bill has been underfunded by billions of dollars. She vows to work towards a goal that assures it will be fully funded going forward, as originally pledged by former President George W. Bush.

Boxer has voted to increase the maximum award for the Pell Grant program, which provides grants to lower income students for college. In addition, she has supported tax benefits that she claims will help more families pay for higher education.

Boxer has co-introduced legislation that she claims is designed to allow college graduates to refinance their student loans at market rate, in order to ease the financial burden on those starting their careers.

Boxer established the Excellence in Education award to recognize teachers, parents, businesses and organizations that are working to make positive changes in education. Since 1997 Senator Boxer has presented the Excellence in Education Award to 38 recipients.

The economy
Senators Boxer and John Ensign (R-NV) are the authors of the Invest in the USA Act. This legislation, which was signed into law in October 2004 as a small part of the more comprehensive American Jobs Creation Act, is intended to encourage American companies to bring overseas profits back to the United States, to create jobs in the U.S., and stimulate domestic economic growth.

In March 2004, Boxer offered an amendment to the Federal budget to create a $24 billion jobs reserve fund. The amendment would set aside funds for a variety of investments to improve the economy and create jobs by establishing a manufacturing jobs tax credit for companies that create jobs in the United States, expanding investment in science research and development, providing a tax credit to small businesses to pay for health insurance for their employees, and expanding trade adjustment assistance to help those who lose their jobs because of foreign trade. The Boxer amendment would also end the tax break that companies receive after moving plants overseas.

On October 1, 2008, Boxer voted in favor of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.

The environment
Boxer successfully led the 2003 Senate floor battle to block oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In 2005, Boxer voted again to block oil drilling at ANWR.

Boxer has introduced the National Oceans Protection Act (NOPA) of 2005. Some of the provisions of this act are: strengthen ocean governance; protect and restore marine wildlife and habitats; address ocean pollution; improve fisheries management. The bill also addresses needs regarding marine science, research and technology, marine mammals, coastal development, and invasive species.

Boxer is an original cosponsor of Senator Jim Jeffords’ (I-VT) Clean Power Act. This legislation would reduce emissions of three pollutants coming from power plants; sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury, and also reduce emissions of carbon dioxide .

As the new head of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in January 2007, Boxer wants to reduce energy consumption. She is attempting to curb global warming by leading pilot programs. The few things that she and some of her fellow Senators are doing could cut electricity consumption by as much as 50 percent in their Capitol Hill offices.

Senator Boxer was the Senate sponsor of the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act, which was signed in to law by President George W. Bush on October 17, 2006. The bill protected 275,830 acres (1,116 km2) of federal land as wilderness and 21 miles (34 km) of stream as a wild and scenic river, including such popular areas as the King Range and Cache Creek.[37] Senator Boxer worked with Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative Mike Thompson (the bill's House sponsor) in the five-year effort to pass the legislation.

Boxer along with her colleague Dianne Feinstein voted in favor of subsidy payments to conventional commodity farm producers at the cost of subsidies for conservation-oriented farming.

Reproductive rights
Boxer maintains a strong stance in support of reproductive rights and the "pro-choice" movement. Boxer authored the Freedom of Choice Act of 2004 and participated in the floor fight for passage of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.

Boxer is an original cosponsor of the Title X Family Planning Services Act of 2005, S.844, by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY). This legislation aims to improve access to women's health care. It authorizes funding for family planning services grants; allows states to provide such services to individuals who may not be eligible for Medicaid; prohibits health insurance providers from excluding contraceptive services, drugs or devices from benefits; establishes a program to disseminate information on emergency contraception; requires hospitals receiving federal funding to offer emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault; provides grants to public and private entities to establish or expand teen pregnancy prevention programs; and requires that federally funded education programs about contraception be medically accurate and include information about health benefits and failure rates.

She was strongly critical of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which would prevent taxpayer-funded abortions possibly resulting in women not being able to pay with their own funds for abortion coverage Affordable Health Care for America Act.

Social Security
Boxer supports the current system of Social Security, and opposed President George W. Bush's plan for partial privatization of Social Security. She introduced the 401(k) Pension Protection Act to protect retirement by requiring the diversification of 401(k) plans. A modified version of the bill was signed into law as part of the 1997 tax bill.

Following the Enron scandal, Boxer again worked to ensure that retirement plans are diversified. She also introduced a bill to prohibit accounting firms from auditing and consulting for the same company.

National security
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Boxer authored a bill to protect commercial airliners against attacks by shoulder-fired missiles, and wrote the law allowing airline pilots with special training to carry guns in the cockpit.

Boxer wrote the High-Tech Port Security Act, and sponsored the Chemical Security Act to address terrorist threats against chemical plants. Senator Boxer also cosponsored comprehensive rail security legislation.

Iraq War
In October 2002, Boxer voted against the joint resolution passed by the U.S. Congress to authorize the use of military force by the Bush Administration against Iraq. In June 2005, Senators Boxer and Russ Feingold (D-WI) cosponsored Senate Resolution 171 calling for a timeframe for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Boxer's petition demanding an exit strategy from Iraq drew 107,218 signatures.

Boxer was sharply critical of General Petraeus testimony regarding the political and military situation in Iraq in 2007, charging him with reporting while wearing 'rosy glasses'.

Surveillance
In June 2008 Boxer spoke in the Senate in opposition to the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, a pending bill in the United States Congress to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and later broke with her counterpart Sen. Dianne Feinstein and voted against it.

Election reform
Boxer voted in support of the 2002 Help America Vote Act, which mandated the use of voting machines across the country, among other provisions. On February 18, 2005 Senators Boxer, Hillary Clinton, and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones introduced the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, which would provide a voter verified paper ballot for every vote cast in electronic voting machines and ensure access to voter verification for all citizens.

The bill mandates that this ballot be the official ballot for purposes of a recount. The bill sets a uniform standard for provisional ballots and requires the Federal Election Assistance Commission to issue standards that ensure uniform access to voting machines and trained election personnel in every community. The bill also mandated improved security measures for electronic voting machines.[50] The bill did not pass.

Bush nominees
During the confirmation hearings for the United States Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Rice in January 2005, Boxer challenged her to admit to alleged mistakes and false statements made by the Bush Administration in leading the United States into the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and ultimately voted against confirmation, along with twelve other senators.

The dissent was the highest vote against a Secretary of State nominee since 1825 when Henry Clay was so named.

Boxer voted against John Bolton's nomination for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and filibustered him on the Senate floor. As a result of the strong Democratic opposition Bolton could not obtain Senate approval. However, President Bush bypassed the Senate by employing the constitutional right of recess appointment, only the second time such an appointment has been used for a United States ambassador to the United Nations since the UN's founding in 1945. Recess appointments themselves have been used numerous times by various presidents.

Boxer voted against the confirmation of Chief Justice of the United States nominee John Roberts, and against the confirmation of Associate Justice nominee Samuel Alito.

Foreign policy
In 1997, the Senate passed a Boxer resolution calling on the United States not to recognize the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan because of its human rights abuses against women.

In 2002, Senator Boxer voted against the U.S. invasion of Iraq. She has subsequently referred to that vote as the best vote of her career. She also voted against the first Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) while a member of the House in 1991 and was a very vocal protester against the Vietnam War in the 1970s.

Boxer is a cosponsor of S. 495, or the Darfur Accountability Act of 2005, which would impose sanctions against perpetrators of crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Drug Policy Reform
Senator Boxer has come out against reforming marijuana policy and is opposed to the California Ballot measure to legalize and tax marijuana for those 21 and older in the state.

Gun control
Senator Boxer joined colleagues to pass a Federal ban on various semi-automatic firearms and established the COPS program. She supports reauthorization of both programs.

LGBT issues
The Human Rights Campaign gave Boxer ratings of 100%, 88% and 100% for the 107th, 108th, and 109th sessions of Congress, respectively, indicating a support of the HRC's slate of pro-gay rights legislative issues. In 1996, she was one of fourteen Senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act and also voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and 2006, although when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued a directive to the city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples she stated that she supported California's domestic partnership law but agreed with its definition that marriage was between a man and a woman. However, her 2010 re-election campaign website states that "Senator Boxer supports marriage equality."

She has also co-sponsored the Matthew Shepard Act, which expanded the federal definition of hate crimes to include crimes based on the victim's sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as the Uniting American Families Act. She opposed Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that prohibited same-sex marriage in California. Proposition 8 passed with a 52.30% to 47.70% majority, but has since been over turned by a federal court

India-U.S. nuclear deal
Boxer is one of the most outspoken critics of the nuclear energy deal between the United States and India. Boxer is of the opinion that India should not get help from the U.S. in the civilian nuclear energy sector until it breaks its relationship with Iran.

Censuring President Bush
Senator Boxer was, along with Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, one of only two Senate Democrats to come out in favor of Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold's resolution to censure President George W. Bush.

Congressional scorecards
Project Vote Smart provides the following results from congressional scorecards.

* American Civil Liberties Union – 83% for 2005–2006
* Americans for Democratic Action – 95% for 2006
* American Land Rights Association – 11% for 2006
* Americans for Tax Reform – 5% for 2006
* AFL-CIO – 100% in 2006
* Campaign for America's Future – 100% for 2005–2006
* Conservative Index-John Birch Society – 20% for Fall 2004
* Children's Defense Fund – 100% for 2006
* Drum Major Institute – 100% for 2005
* Family Research Council – 0% for 2006
* FreedomWorks – 17% for 2006
* Gun Owners of America – 0% for 2006
* Humane Society of the United States – 100% for 2005–2006
* League of Conservation Voters – 100% for 2006
* NARAL Pro-Choice America – 100% for 2006
* National Association of Wheat Growers – 0% for 2005
* National Education Association – 100% for 2005–2006
* National Federation of Independent Business – 0% for 2005–2006
* National Journal – Composite liberal score of 95% for 2006
* National Organization for Women – 96% for 2005–2006
* National Rifle Association – F for 2006
* National Right to Life Committee – 0% for 2005–2006
* National Taxpayers Union – 11% for 2006
* Population Connection – 100% for 2006
* Republican Liberty Caucus – 10% for 2005
* Secular Coalition for America – 90% on 2006 scorecards[69]
* United States Chamber of Commerce – 25% for 2006

Public image, political reception and controversy
Criticizing Condoleezza Rice's judgment
Boxer criticized then United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's judgment in relation to the war in Iraq: "I personally believe – this is my personal view – that your loyalty to the mission you were given, to sell the war, overwhelmed your respect for the truth."

In January 2007, Boxer was in the news for comments she made when responding to Bush's plans to send an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq. "Who pays the price?" Boxer asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "I'm not going to pay a personal price. My kids are too old and my grandchild is too young. You're not going to pay a personal price with an immediate family. So who pays the price? The American military and their families... not me, not you." When Rice interjected, Boxer responded by saying, "Madam Secretary, please. I know you feel terrible about it. That's not the point. I was making the case as to who pays the price for your decisions. And the fact that this administration would move forward with this escalation with no clue as to the further price that we're going to pay militarily... I find really appalling."

The New York Post and White House Press Secretary Tony Snow considered this an attack on Rice's status as a single, childless female and referred to Boxer's comments as "a great leap backward for feminism." Rice later echoed Snow's remarks, saying "I thought it was okay to not have children, and I thought you could still make good decisions on behalf of the country if you were single and didn’t have children." Boxer responded to the controversy by saying "They’re getting this off on a non-existent thing that I didn’t say. I’m saying, she’s like me, we do not have families who are in the military."

Keith Olbermann accused the commentators, particularly Rush Limbaugh, of making Boxer's comments into an issue when the same people were not outraged when "Laura Bush said Secretary Rice would never be elected president because she was not married."

Television appearances
She has made cameo appearances as herself in several television shows, including Murphy Brown (1994), Gilmore Girls (2002) and Curb Your Enthusiasm (2007),[76] as well as a cameo (as herself) in the 2000 film Traffic. On November 2, 2005 she made an appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to discuss her new novel “A Time To Run”.

Awards and honors
Boxer has been awarded with two Doctor of Laws honorary degrees, one from Mills College and the other from Dominican University of California.

California Senator: Dianne Feinsten (D) [Private profession - none]

2012-01-12T09:37:00.002-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein (born June 22, 1933) is the senior United States Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988.

Born in San Francisco, Feinstein graduated from Stanford University. In the 1960s she worked in city government, and in 1970 she was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She served as the board's first female president in 1978, during which time the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk drew national attention to the city. Feinstein, who was the first to discover the shootings, succeeded Moscone as mayor. During her tenure as San Francisco's first female mayor she took a politically moderate stance, leading a revamp of the city's cable car system and overseeing the 1984 Democratic National Convention.

After a failed gubernatorial campaign in 1990, she won a 1992 special election to the U.S. Senate. Feinstein was first elected on the same ballot as her peer Barbara Boxer, and the two became California's first female U.S. Senators. Feinstein formerly chaired the Senate Rules Committee (2007–2009) and has chaired the Select Committee on Intelligence since 2009. She is also the first woman to have presided over a U.S. presidential inauguration.

She is currently twenty-second in seniority in the United States Senate.

Early life
Feinstein was born Dianne Emiel Goldman in San Francisco to Betty (née Rosenburg), a former model, and Leon Goldman, a nationally renowned surgeon. Feinstein's paternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Poland, while her maternal grandparents, who were of the Russian Orthodox faith, left St. Petersburg, Russia, after the 1917 Russian Revolution. Her mother's surname, "Rosenburg", originates from German ancestry

Personal life
Feinstein graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart High School (California) in 1951 and from Stanford University in 1955 with a B.A. in History.

In 1956, she married Jack Berman (died 2002), a colleague in the San Francisco District Attorney's office. Feinstein and Berman divorced three years later. Their daughter, Katherine Feinstein Mariano (b. 1957), is Presiding Judge of the San Francisco Superior Court.[6]

In 1962, shortly after beginning her career in politics, Feinstein married neurosurgeon Bertram Feinstein; her second husband died of colon cancer in 1978.

In 1980, Feinstein married Richard C. Blum, an investment banker. In 2003, Feinstein was ranked the fifth-wealthiest senator, with an estimated net worth of $26 million. By 2005 her net worth had increased to between $43 million and $99 million. Her 347-page financial-disclosure statement[9] – characterized by the San Francisco Chronicle as "nearly the size of a phone book" – draws clear lines between her assets and those of her husband, with many of her assets in blind trusts.

Early political career
In 1961, Feinstein worked to end housing discrimination in San Francisco. Prior to elected service, she was appointed by then-California Governor Pat Brown to serve as a member of the California Women's Parole Board. Feinstein also served as a fellow at the Coro Foundation in San Francisco.

President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
In 1969, Feinstein was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She remained on the Board for nine years.

During her tenure on the Board of Supervisors, she unsuccessfully ran for mayor of San Francisco twice, in 1971 against mayor Joseph Alioto, and in 1975, when she lost the contest for a runoff slot (against George Moscone) by one percentage point, to supervisor John Barbagelata.

She was elected president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978 with initial opposition from Quentin Kopp.

On November 27, 1978, San Francisco mayor George Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by a rival politician, Dan White, who had resigned from the Board of Supervisors only two weeks prior. Feinstein was close by in City Hall at the time of the shootings, and discovered Milk's body after hearing the gunshots and going to investigate. Later that day at a press conference originally organized by Moscone to announce White's successor, Feinstein announced the assassinations to the stunned public, stating: "As president of the board of supervisors, it's my duty to make this announcement. Both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed."

Feinstein appears in archival footage and is credited in the Academy Award-winning documentary film The Times of Harvey Milk (1984). She appears again briefly in archival footage, announcing the death of Moscone and Milk in the 2008 film Milk. Feinstein and her position as President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors are also alluded to several times in the movie, and a portrayal of her character has a few off-screen lines.

As president of the Board of Supervisors upon the death of Mayor Moscone, Feinstein succeeded to the mayoralty on December 4, 1978

Mayor of San Francisco
Feinstein served out the remainder of Moscone's term. She made no staffing changes to his team until she was elected in her own right in 1979. She was re-elected in 1983 and served a second full term.

One of the first challenges to face Feinstein as mayor was the state of the San Francisco cable car system. In late 1979, the system had to be shut down for emergency repairs, and an engineering evaluation concluded that it needed comprehensive rebuilding at a cost of $60 million. Feinstein took charge of the effort, and helped win federal funding for the bulk of the rebuilding job. The system closed for rebuilding in 1982 and reopened in 1984 in time for the Democratic National Convention that was held in the city that year. Feinstein also oversaw planning policies to increase the number of high rise buildings in San Francisco.

Perhaps because of her statewide ambitions, Feinstein was seen as a relatively moderate Democrat in one of the country's most liberal cities. As a supervisor, she was considered part of the centrist bloc that included Dan White and was generally opposed to Moscone. As mayor, Feinstein angered the city's large gay community by refusing to march in a gay rights parade and by vetoing domestic partner legislation in 1983.

In the 1980 presidential election, while a majority of Bay Area Democrats continued to support Senator Ted Kennedy's primary challenge to President Jimmy Carter even after it was clear Kennedy could not win, Feinstein was a strong supporter of the Carter-Mondale ticket. She was given a high profile speaking role on the opening night of the August Democratic National Convention, urging delegates to reject the Kennedy delegates' proposal to "open" the convention, thereby allowing delegates to ignore their states' popular vote, a proposal that was soundly defeated.

In the run up to the 1984 Democratic National Convention, there was considerable media and public speculation that Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale might pick Feinstein as his running mate. However, he chose Geraldine Ferraro instead. Also in 1984, Feinstein proposed banning handguns in San Francisco, and became subject to a recall attempt organized by the White Panther Party. She won the recall election and finished her second term as mayor on January 8, 1988.

In 1985, at a press conference, Feinstein revealed details about the hunt for serial killer Richard Ramírez, and in so doing angered detectives by giving away details of his crimes.

In 1987, City and State magazine named Feinstein the nation's "Most Effective Mayor." Feinstein served on the Trilateral Commission during the 1980s while mayor of San Francisco.

Governor's election
In 1990, Feinstein made an unsuccessful bid for Governor of California. Although she won the Democratic Party's nomination for the office, she then lost in the general election to Republican Senator Pete Wilson, who vacated his seat in the Senate to assume the governorship. In 1992, she was fined $190,000 for failure to properly report campaign contributions and expenditures associated with that campaign.

U.S. Senate career
Elections
On November 3, 1992, Feinstein won a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated a year earlier when Senator Pete Wilson resigned to become governor. The election was held at the same time as the general election for U.S. President and other offices. Barbara Boxer was elected at the same time for the Senate seat to be vacated by Alan Cranston. Because Feinstein was elected to an unexpired term, she became a senator as soon as the election was certified in November while Boxer would not take office until the expiration of Cranston's term in January; thus Feinstein became California's senior senator, even though she was elected at the same time as Barbara Boxer. Feinstein was re-elected in 1994, 2000, and 2006.

Committees
* Committee on Appropriations
o Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
o Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
o Subcommittee on Defense
o Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
o Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies (Chairwoman)
o Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
* Committee on the Judiciary
o Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
o Subcommittee on the Constitution
o Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs
o Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Refugees
o Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security
* Committee on Rules and Administration
* Select Committee on Intelligence (Chairwoman)

Political positions and votes
2008 presidential politics
As a superdelegate, Feinstein had declared that she would support Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. However, once Barack Obama became the presumptive nominee for the party, she fully backed his candidacy. Days after Obama amassed enough delegates to win the Democratic Party nomination, Feinstein lent her Washington, D.C. home to both Clinton and Obama to have a private one-on-one meeting.

Feinstein did not attend the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver because she fell and broke her ankle.

She chaired the United States Congress Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, and acted as mistress of ceremonies, introducing each participant at the 2009 presidential inauguration.

Feinstein voted for the extension of the PATRIOT ACT, and the FISA provisions.

Feinstein co-sponsored (along with Tom Coburn, an Oklahoman Republican) an amendment through the Senate to the 'Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011' that eliminated the 'Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit'. The Senate passed the amendment on June 16, 2011. Introduced in 2004, the subsidy provided a 45c per gallon credit on pure ethanol and a 54c per gallon tariff on imported ethanol. These subsidies had resulted in an annual expenditure of $6 billion, the removal of which will help to quash the escalating US debt crisis.
[edit] 2010 Gubernatorial election

Feinstein had been reported as considering a run for Governor of California in 2010 to replace term limited Republican incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger. A private poll in July 2008 showed Feinstein far outpacing former governor Jerry Brown, 50 percent to 24 percent, with Congressman John Garamendi at 10 percent. A February 2009 poll showed that 36 percent of Democrats sampled in the poll said they would support Feinstein if she ran for governor.

Brown earned 14 percent, followed by Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa, at 9 percent and 22 percent undecided. By October, although undeclared, in a poll by Field Research she led the Democratic field with 52 percent of all voters and 68 percent of Democratic voters. After months of speculation, Feinstein announced in February 2010 that she would not be running for governor. Feinstein became campaign chair for Barbara Boxer in the United States Senate election which resulted in Boxer's reelection.

Awards and honors
Feinstein was presented with the Woodrow Wilson Award for public service by the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution on November 3, 2001 in Los Angeles, California.

Media Choosing Our Candidate And Dissing Him At Same Time?

2012-01-12T09:33:00.003-07:00

It's interesting to read the media coverage on the Republican debates and the potential candidates. The media has chosen Mitt Romney to be our candidate, while at the same time pointing out that he's not good enough to defeat Obama.

Here's what my Yahoo news headline of the day was:
For electability's sake, S.C. GOP voters think Mitt is it
Republicans in South Carolina who aren't sold on Mitt Romney as the party's 2012 presidential nominee were skeptically scoping out the other options on Wednesday as the fractured field tried to convince the state's voters that they have what it takes to beat the front-runner and--more important--President Barack Obama.

12 Jan 2012, Thu, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

2012-01-12T09:28:00.002-07:00

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2012/01/180512.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
9:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with the assistant secretaries of the regional bureaus, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:30 a.m. Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, at the Department of State.
(JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY FOLLOWING BILATERAL MEETING AT APPROXIMATELY 11:05 a.m.)

12:30 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

7:30 p.m. Secretary Clinton delivers remarks at a celebration of the opening of the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

DEPUTY SECRETARY BILL BURNS
Deputy Secretary Burns is on foreign travel to Ankara, Turkey and Cairo, Egypt.

DEPUTY SECRETARY TOM NIDES
7:30 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides hosts a secure video conference with Embassy Kabul, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides hosts an interagency meeting on the Law of the Sea, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with the senior budget team, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with Assistant Secretary Posner and Deputy Director of Foreign Assistance Rob Goldberg, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Nides meets with former Representative Toby Moffett, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH
8:45 a.m. Administrator Shah delivers keynote remarks at a roundtable event, “Advancing Country Ownership for Greater Results,” at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

9:45 a.m. Administrator Shah delivers remarks at an Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Youth Leadership event, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

11:30 a.m. Administrator Shah meets with Deputy Secretary Nides, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR ECONOMIC, GROWTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ROBERT HORMATS
Under Secretary Hormats is on foreign travel to Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through January 16.

11:30 a.m. LOCAL Under Secretary Hormats meets with Central Bank Governor Farouk el Okdah, at the Central Bank of Egypt.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

US FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS MARIA OTERO
Under Secretary Otero is on foreign travel to Chile and Colombia through January 20.

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL
2:00 p.m. Ambassador Marshall accepts the credentials of Mali Ambassador-designate Lamine Keita, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

COUNSELOR AND CHIEF OF STAFF CHERYL MILLS
Counselor Mills is on foreign travel in Haiti to meet with U.S. and Haitian government officials.

AS FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS JONNIE CARSON
11:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Carson delivers remarks on China, the U.S., and the changing development landscape in Africa, at the Brookings Institution.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AS FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN
8:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Countryman attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Countryman attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

AS FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ
2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez meets with Waleed Al-Wohaib of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, Islamic Development Bank, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS PHILIP GORDON
Assistant Secretary Gordon is on foreign travel to Germany, Lithuania and Denmark. On Thursday, Assistant Secretary Gordon attends the annual Snow Meeting on Euro-Atlantic security issues and meets with high-level Lithuanian and other Baltic government officials.

AS FOR ARMS CONTROL, VERIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE ROSE GOTTEMOELLER
12:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller and Assistant Secretary of Defense Andy Weber participate in a roundtable discussion on the chemical and biological weapons agenda hosted by Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies, at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS KERRI-ANN JONES
2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Jones meets with Canadian Ambassador Gary Doer, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY ANN STOCK
8:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Stock participates in a Broadcasting Board of Governors board meeting, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock delivers opening remarks at the launch event for season two of DanceMotion USA, in Washington, DC.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

6:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock joins Secretary Clinton at the opening of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing, in New York City.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN
9:30 a.m. Ambassador Benjamin meets with Turkish Undersecretary for Public Order and Security Murat Ozcelik, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER
Ambassador Verveer participates in events surrounding the Jewish World Watch (JWW) I Witness Award, in Los Angeles, California.

SR FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS
9:45 a.m. Special Representative Lewis delivers remarks in remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, in Atlanta, Georgia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

12:00 p.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with members of the Georgia State Senate, in Atlanta, Georgia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

3:00 p.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with Speaker of the Georgia State House of Representatives David Ralston, in Atlanta, Georgia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

SPECIAL ENVOY TO MONITOR AND COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM HANNAH ROSENTHAL
11:30 a.m. Special Envoy Rosenthal meets with Irish Deputy Chief of Mission Kevin Conmy, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR WAR CRIMES ISSUES STEPHEN RAPP
Ambassador Rapp is on foreign travel to France, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Lithuania through January 17 to meet with officials from ministries of justice and foreign affairs.

DIRECTOR OF POLICY PLANNING SULLIVAN
3:15 p.m. Director of Policy Planning Jake Sullivan meets with Strobe Talbott, at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12 Jan 2012, Thu, Pres and VP Schedule

2012-01-12T09:26:00.001-07:00

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule
12:30 am
The President arrives Joint Base Andrews
Open Press

12:45 am
The President arrives the White House
Open Press

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
12:15 pm
The Vice President and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan deliver remarks on college affordability at Lincoln High School
Gahanna, Ohio
Open Press

Rush Clarifies His Stance on Newt's Desire for the Presidency

2012-01-11T20:14:00.001-07:00

I had shared...yesterday I think it was...Rush's comments that he wants to stick it to Romney because he wants Romney to fail, not because he, Newt, actually doesn't want to be President (as Rush said had motivated Perot and Bush 41)

He clarified it today

RUSH: I did not mean to say, and I'm sorry if you inferred from that, that I don't think Newt wants to win. I don't believe that. I think he wants to win. I think he's in it to win, but I think he's now got an equal, coequal motivator, and that is to stick it to Romney as Romney stuck it to him.

I Feel A Lot Less Safe Now

2012-01-11T19:59:00.004-07:00

Rush didn't mention this today, but he'll doubtless be talking about it tomorrow.

As anyone who has applied for a job knows, you are asked if you've ever been convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony. A misdemeanor didn't keep you - necessarily - from getting a job, but a felony would.

So for most businesses - at least those who actually did background checks on applicants to see if they were telling the truth - you could be sure that the person installing your cable or making your Pepsi or what have you wasn't a criminal.

But because a "disproportionate" number of felons are black, the Justice Department decided that denying people jobs because of a criminal record is racist, and businesses can't do it any more.

Here's what the solution should have been.

Every black leader in the black community should have gone into its churches and its schools and said, "Hey, if you commit a crime and go to jail, you'll never be able to get a decent job and you'll be on welfare for the rest of your life. So don't do it. Show Whitey that you're not criminally inclined - let them do the crimes so you can get the jobs!"

Instead, they're being told - yeah, go ahead and do all the crime you want. You'll still be able to get a job at a good company. (in the same way, they're being told - don't worry about learning math. If a company makes you take a math test and you flunk it, it's racist, so don't even worry about it, the ACLU will take care of it.)

I want to know 2 things.

1) If Pepsi has been working voluntarily with the government since 2006 (that'd be before Obama and Holder, by the way) why are they being fined! And what is going to be done with all that money - will it go into a black scholarship fund?

2) While apparently 300 blacks were denied jobs because of their criminal records, how many white people with criminal records were denied jobs - and will they be allowed to reapply now also?

From Washington Post: Pepsi Beverages pays $3.1 million to settle federal race discrimination charges

WASHINGTON — Pepsi Beverages Co. will pay $3.1 million to settle federal charges of race discrimination for using criminal background checks to screen out job applicants — even if they weren’t convicted of a crime.

The settlement announced Wednesday with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is part of a national government crackdown on hiring policies that can hurt blacks and Hispanics.

EEOC officials said the company’s policy of not hiring workers with arrest records disproportionately excluded more than 300 black applicants. The policy barred applicants who had been arrested, but not convicted of a crime, and denied employment to others who were convicted of minor offenses.

Using arrest and conviction records to deny employment can be illegal if it’s irrelevant for the job, according to the EEOC, which enforces the nation’s employment discrimination laws. The agency says such blanket policies can limit job opportunities for minorities with higher arrest and conviction rates than whites.

The company has since adopted a new criminal background policy and plans to make jobs available to victims of the old policy if they are still interested in jobs at Pepsi and are qualified for the openings.

“I commend Pepsi’s willingness to reexamine its policy and modify it to ensure that unwarranted roadblocks to employment are removed,” EEOC Chairwoman Jacqueline Berrien said in a statement.

Pepsi Beverage spokesman Dave DeCecco said the company’s criminal background check policy has always been neutral and that the EEOC did not find any intentional discrimination. He said after the issue was first raised in 2006, the company worked with the EEOC to revise its background check process “to create a workplace that is as diverse and inclusive as possible.”

“We are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion and we have been widely recognized for our efforts for decades,” DeCecco said.

He said the new policy would take a more “individualized approach” in considering the applicant’s criminal history against the particular job being sought.

Pepsi Beverages is PepsiCo’s beverage manufacturing, sales and distribution operating unit in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Under the settlement, the company will provide the EEOC with regular reports on its hiring practices and offer antidiscrimination training to its hiring personnel and managers.

About 73 percent of major employers report that they always check on applicants’ criminal records, while 19 percent do so for select job candidates, according to a 2010 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.

But increased federal scrutiny of such policies has led some companies to reevaluate their hiring process. Pamela Devata, a Chicago employment lawyer who has represented companies trying to comply with EEOC’s requirements, said there has been an uptick over the past year in EEOC charges over the use of background checks.

“The EEOC has taken a very aggressive enforcement posture on the use of criminal background and criminal history,” Devata said.

The commission held a special meeting on the topic last summer, and Devata said employers have been expecting the EEOC to issue more specific guidance.

EEOC officials have said, for example, that an old drunken driving conviction may not be relevant to a clerical job, but a theft conviction may disqualify someone from working at a bank.

Julie Schmid, acting director of the EEOC’s Minneapolis office, said the EEOC recommends that employers consider the nature and gravity of offenses, the time that has passed since conviction or completion of a sentence, and the nature of the job sought.

“We hope that employers with unnecessarily broad criminal background check policies take note of this agreement and reassess their policies to ensure compliance” with antidiscrimination laws, Schmid said in a written statement.

11 Jan 2012, Wed, Rush Limbaugh headlines

2012-01-11T19:55:00.002-07:00

--Gingrich and Perry Blew It on Bain Attack (Update: Newt Admits He Made a Mistake)
--Are You Sitting Down? Romney Compares His Career at Bain Capital to Obama's Takeover of the Auto Industry!
--Mitt Misses a Teachable Moment on Obama's Worldview
--A Clarification on Newt and Perot
--Ron Paul Kills Conservatives
--Mitt's Best Speech So Far
--Belafonte Rips Obama
--Queasiness in the Right-Leaning Media
--El Rushbo Blows Up Cable News
--Now It's Cool to Say Obama Failed
--And Finally... If You Own a Car and a TV, You Will Die
Stack of Stuff
--Romney Wins New Hampshire
--Michelle Obama: Tired of 'Angry Black Woman' Stereotype
---On to South Carolina

___________
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.