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Tag: Barack Obama

  • George W. Bush Won’t Bash Obama On Iraq

    George W. Bush Won’t Bash Obama On Iraq

    George W. Bush is taking the high road.

    The former president could comment on Barack Obama’s weak foreign policy and blame that for the strengthening of terror groups and the rise of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).

    He could say “I told you so” to those who say he imagined Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), but he won’t.

    He could even comment on Obama’s recent decision that there will be no sending of U.S. troops “back into combat”, despite the rising threat to the people of Iraq and major oil resources that are now being threatened.

    But he won’t.

    In the meantime, as ISIS continues to storm through Iraq, Obama is weighing his options.

    “I’ll be reviewing those options in the days ahead,” Obama said on the White House South Lawn. “I do want to be clear, though. This is not solely, or even primarily, a military challenge.”

    Now, ISIS forces are discovering chemical weapon stockpiles that were left behind in Saddam Hussein’s old stomping grounds and are trying to figure out how to use them if they can.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Glbj4sVC_4

    They have taken four cities just this weekend, and the weekend isn’t over. They overtook Rutba, Qaim, Rawah and Anah, as well as an important border crossing with Syria, which will allow them to more easily move large weapons and troops.

    Obama has now deployed up to 300 military advisors and the likes of John Kerry, but still retains that he will send in no troops for the purpose. However, he has stated that he would possibly approve targeted strikes against ISIS and their allies should Baghdad request them.

    What do you think? Does George Bush have room to talk against Obama and his weak policies or is he being prudent because it was Bush’s fault for getting the US involved in the first place?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Troutdale Shooting: One Student, Shooter Dead

    A gunman shot and killed a student at an Oregon high school Tuesday and was later found dead in a bathroom stall.

    Authorities have identified the victim as 14-year-old high school freshman Emilio Hoffman.

    This is the third violent outbreak in a high school or college campus in less than three weeks and brings the total number of school shootings to 74 since the Sandy Hook shooting in December 2012.

    This means, on average, a school shooting occurs every 7.33 days since the tragedy in Newtown — a statistic that troubles President Barack Obama.

    “We’re the only developed country on Earth where this happens,” Obama said Tuesday during a question-and-answer session on Tumblr. “And it happens now once a week. And it’s a one-day story. There’s no place else like this.”

    Reynolds High School — in Troutdale, a suburb of Portland — was immediately locked down and evacuated room by room following the shooting.

    “A gunman entered the high school this morning, shot one student. Unfortunately, that student has died,” Troutdale Police Chief Scott Anderson said at a news conference. “The gunman was located and the gunman is also deceased.”

    Todd Rispler, a Reynolds HS gym teacher and track coach, was grazed by a bullet but was able to make his way to the school’s office to initiate the lockdown, Anderson said.

    Although no official statement has been made concerning the shooter, USA Today cited a police spokesman as saying the shooter was a teenager who shot himself to death in a bathroom stall following the attack.

    President Barack Obama spoke of his fear and frustration Tuesday at the lack of gun control and rash of violence in schools.

    “The country has to do some soul searching about this. This is becoming the norm and we take it for granted in ways that, as a parent, are terrifying to me,” Obama said.

    “Today, Oregon hurts as we try to make sense of a senseless act of violence,” said Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber.

    Image via YouTube

  • Sarah Palin Spared by Hillary Clinton in ’08 Campaign

    Hillary Clinton celebrated the release of her new book, Hard Choices, at a Barnes & Noble in Manhattan Tuesday morning. The memoir seeks to expose the thought processes behind some of the tougher decisions Clinton had to make during her term as Secretary of State under Barack Obama during his first term as president. While the book contains subjects one would expect, such as Benghazi, Arab Spring, and controversies with Russia, it contains another detail many may find surprising.

    Yesterday, Sarah Palin came to national prominence once again through the use of social media. Apparently, Palin was lucky enough to get her hands on an advance copy of Clinton’s memoir. Suffice it to say, Palin was more than happy to see an opportunity to attack the Democrats and Barack Obama once again.

    Palin’s tweet highlighted one of the more controversial parts of Clinton’s memoir, that being her recollection of the Obama campaigns initial reaction to the announcement of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running-mate:

    They immediately issued a dismissive statement and reached out to me in hopes I would follow suit. But I wouldn’t. I was not going to attack Palin just for being a woman appealing for support from other women. I didn’t think that made political sense and it didn’t feel right. So I said no, telling them there’d be plenty of time for criticism. A few hours later the Obama campaign reversed itself and congratulated Governor Palin.

    Tuesday morning, Clinton was able to clarify that segment of her book during an interview with Good Morning America‘s Robin Roberts:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0iIMhEYgPM

    That very first day, the Obama campaign said, well, we want you to go out and criticize her, I said, ‘For what? For being a woman? No let’s wait until we know where she stands. I don’t know anything about her, do you know anything about her?’ And nobody of course did. I think it’s fair to say that I made it clear I’m not going to go attack somebody for being a woman or a man. I’m going to try and look at the issues, where they stand, what their experience is, what they intend to do and then that’s fair game.

    The Obama administration chose to not speak on the account mentioned in Clinton’s book, but did reveal that the decision to attack Palin was made by Obama’s campaign without his input or involvement.

    While Clinton’s book has experienced much success in its first day (competing with John Green’s A Fault in Our Stars for top-spot on best-seller lists), it has only stirred Republican antagonism toward Clinton and the Democrats, culminating in a direct response from the Republicans in the form of an ebook entitled Failed Choices, in which the GOP attacks Clinton for the decisions she did make as Secretary of State.

    In a Monday interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, Clinton revealed her feelings toward the Republican antagonism: “It’s more of a reason to run, because I do not believe our great country should be playing minor-league ball. We ought to be in the majors. I view this as really apart from, even a diversion from, the hard work that the Congress should be doing about the problems facing our country and the world.”

    As of now, Clinton has yet to decide if she will run for President in 2016. If she does, though, she will likely have competition from the GOP and another woman, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren.

    Image via YouTube

  • Elizabeth Warren Seeks to Lessen Student Loan Burden

    On Monday, President Obama signed an executive order which would extend the ability to cap one’s student loan repayment amount at 10 percent of one’s income, finally allowing those who borrowed money before 2007 to take advantage of an opportunity many have already capitalized on. Following his own executive order, Obama continued to push student-loan legislation, however, as he endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren’s new bill which seeks to lessen the burden on student loan borrowers across the country.

    The bill, titled Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, is co-sponsored by two other Democratic Senators – Al Franken of Minnesota and Dick Durbin of Illinois. Simply put, the bill’s mission is to help student loan borrowers reduce the interest rates on their student loan repayments. Currently, federal student loan interest rates are at 3.86 following the passage of a law which tied undergraduate student loan interest rates to the rates on Treasury bonds.

    If passed, Senator Warren’s bill would allow those who are currently paying the old federal student loan interest rate of 6.8 percent to refinance their loans to include the lower rate of 3.86 percent. The American Federation of Teachers estimates that this shift in interest rates would save students a total of $14 billion.

    Senator Warren’s bill comes on the heels of the release of her new book, A Fighting Chance, in which Warren discusses her poor upbringings and how the United States can help the middle classes and lower to achieve the American Dream once again: “I’m here … to give each one of our kids a fighting chance to build a future full of promise and discovery,” Warren states in her book.

    While the bill will have much popular support from the millions of people suffering from student loan debt in the United States (the second largest debt next to mortgages), it is going to face much opposition from the Republicans in Washington, many of whom see the bill as a disingenuous political push: “This bill doesn’t make college more affordable, reduce the amount of money students will have to borrow, or do anything about the lack of jobs grads face in the Obama economy,” complained Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

    House Speaker John Boehner echoed the sentiments of McConnell, stating, “Today’s much-hyped loophole closure does nothing to reduce the cost of pursuing a higher education or improve access to federal student loans — nor will it help millions of recent graduates struggling to find jobs in the Obama economy.”

    With 55 Democrats in the Senate and 60 votes needed to pass the bill, Senator Warren will have to be rhetorically savvy in the next two days in order to help push her bill through during the vote on Wednesday.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Maya Angelou: Remembrances of America’s Wise Woman

    Maya Angelou was often called America’s wise woman, and since her passing on Wednesday at the age of 86, many notable people have shared their remembrances of the poet, civil rights leader and storyteller extraordinaire. In addition to those in the video clip above, a few people in high places also shared their words about their friend. mentor, and favorite writer.

    “Above all, she was a storyteller – and her greatest stories were true,” President Barack Obama said.

    “Her gifts were born out of pain,” Patricia Rosier, president of the National Bar Association, said. “This allowed those who came before us and those after us to rise. She was not afraid to fiercely explore her self-identity so that we, too, could fully be who we are.”

    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the autobiography of Maya Angelou’s earliest years, and that story alone makes one wonder how she became the woman the country–and the world–will long remember. In it she encompasses difficult topics like racism, rape, literacy, and women living in a male dominated society. After reading the book and then listening to some of Angelou’s brilliant poetry, it is clear she evolved. But what an evolution, and how difficult that evolution must have been.

    Marc Morial is president of the National Urban League. He recalls sitting with Maya Angelou in her kitchen and talking with her for hours. He called the conversation an “incredibly powerful experience.”

    “With equal parts majesty and humility, she held court — and I listened intently, absorbing every word and meaning that she had to impart,” he said.

    Hillary Clinton shared one of her memories via a Twitter post.

    Even country superstar Toby Keith weighed in on Maya Angelou–not so much with a personal memory but with a fond remembrance.

    Rev. Jesse Jackson said of his dear friend that “she has much to teach this generation and generations unborn about what it means to be an authentic person, and the power of the genuine.”

    His words certainly ring true. Maya Angelou has indeed left her earthly life but has left behind a legacy in her mastery of the English language. Everyone can read her works and then walk away from her words a bit richer and with a bit more wisdom.

    Hopefully everyone who remembers her will do exactly that–and perhaps they will all take it one step further, too. If every person who treasured Maya Angelou would simply perform one act of selflessness in her name, perhaps even more of her legacy will live on.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Blocked Live Grenade: Hero to Receive Medal of Honor

    An Afghanistan war veteran, who threw himself between a live grenade and a fellow Marine, will receive the medal of honor from President Barack Obama next month.

    Retired Cpl. William “Kyle” Carpenter will become the tenth recipient of the award for valor exhibited in Afghanistan or Iraq when Obama presents the medal during a White House ceremony on June 19.

    Carpenter, 24, was wounded Nov. 21, 2010, while guarding a patrol base in a small village in Helmand Province.

    According to a Marine Corps summary of the action, Carpenter and Lance Cpl. Nicholas Eufrazio were on a roof providing security for the patrol base.

    Three grenades were lobbed into the compound across the street from where Carpenter and Eufrazio were hidden behind a sandbag barrier. The first grenade injured an Afghan National Army soldier, and the second did not detonate.

    The third landed close to Carpenter and Eufrazio. Without a thought to himself, Carpenter placed himself between the grenade and Eufrazio to shield him, and took the brunt of the explosion.

    The hero was severely wounded with a depressed skull, a collapsed right lung, multiple facial fractures, the loss of a third of his lower jaw and fragment injuries to his arms and legs.

    Thanks to the heroic efforts by Carpenter, Eufrazio only received a head injury from shrapnel.

    A native of Flowood, Mississippi, Carpenter was immediately evacuated and underwent emergency brain surgery. He also lost his right eye.

    Carpenter was a long-term patient at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, until he medically retired last July, and is currently a student at the University of South Carolina.

    Image via YouTube

  • Obama Slur Forces Police Commissioner To Resign

    A police commissioner of a New Hampshire town has resigned after admitting to using a racial slur to describe President Obama.

    82-year-old Robert Copeland announced his resignation on Sunday, according to the Board of Selectmen Chair Linda Murray.

    “The town is pleased,” Murray said. “This gives us the opportunity to move on. We are a very accepting community that really takes care of each other.”

    Last week, the town held a meeting, where more than 100 citizens voiced their outrage and suggested that Copeland step down from his Wolfeboro post. While at the meeting, Copeland admitted to using the racial slur, and an added obscenity, while referring to Obama.

    Copeland made the remark while he was having dinner at a restaurant in March. A citizen of the town Jane O’Toole overheard Copeland’s comments, and went to the town officials.

    “I believe I did use the ‘N’ word in reference to the current occupant of the White House,” Copeland said in an email that he sent in April to the other two commissioners and then forwarded it to O’Toole. “For this, I do not apologize — he meets and exceeds my criteria for such.”

    These comments also did not sit well with the townspeople. There were several citizens at the meeting that were there to offer their support to Copeland. However, the louder voice was those who found Copeland’s remarks derogatory and uncalled for.

    “Comments like these, especially coming from a public official, are not only inexcusable but also terribly, unfortunately, reflects poorly on our town,” O’Toole said. “I feel it was the right thing for him to do to stop this incredible train that had been blowing through our town,” she added. “I’m thrilled the people of Wolfeboro have stood up and said that this is not acceptable.”
    .
    Efforts to contact Copeland for a comment have been unsuccessful.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Narendra Modi To Be Next PM Of India After Violent And “Cool” Elections, Exit Polls Show

    Four major exit polls have pegged Narendra Modi to be the next prime minister of India.

    The campaign has been a lengthy one. Reuters reported that Indian elections are a five week process, in which security forces visit 815 million voters, in staggered groups.

    Last Monday, when the Indian election process wrapped up, Modi was considered the front runner. It appears now that he and his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, will indeed form the next government of the world’s largest democracy.

    Yesterday Modi released a statement on his blog calling the elections “cool and rightly so!” He added, “One needs to log in to Facebook or Twitter on polling day to see the number of Selfies my young friends are sharing. This is a very positive sign and I hope it continues in the times to come.”

    Unfortunately violence has marred the coolness of the elections. The Hindustan Times reported that four villagers in Bengal were shot during a ideological clash. Modi spoke of the violence on his blog stating: “It is unfortunate that we witnessed some untoward incidents during the poll process during which some lives were lost. I salute all those who were unfortunately martyred and offer my deepest condolences to their families. These brave individuals lived and died for democracy. It is our duty to ensure that their sacrifices do not go in vain.”

    World leaders like U.S. President Barack Obama are heralding the change in government, according to AFP. “We look forward to the formation of a new government once election results are announced and to working closely with India’s next administration to make the coming years equally transformative,” the president said, calling the elections “a vibrant demonstration of our shared values of diversity and freedom”.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • North Korea’s State Owned News: “Obama is a monkey”

    Propaganda is usually more eloquent, combined with images of gallantry and false promises through meaningless slogans; a rhetoric that allows for no free thought or discussion – ‘you’re either with us or against us.’

    North Korea spares no elegance when it tries to make a point, whether it’s a myriad of empty threats, execution by flamethrower, or bombardments from its state-run media front; Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), currently threw out some bigoted comments describing President Barack Obama as a “wicked black monkey.”

    “Divine punishment to the world’s one and only delinquent Obama”, published in Korean on May 2nd, came just in time with Obama’s state visit to South Korea. The article is composed of essays penned by four different people, despite the style being indistinguishable. If it wasn’t labeled a government publication, it’d pass as satire:

    “You can also tell this by his appearance and behavior, and while it may be because he is a crossbreed, one cannot help thinking the more one sees him that he has escaped from a monkey’s body,” it stated.

    The written diatribe lists Obama as a monkey four times, as well as calling him a “clown”, “dirty fellow” and somebody who “does not even have the basic appearance of a human being”; it geared towards the United States as “paper tiger” – its strength as a nation being largely a “myth.”

    “It would be better for him to live with other monkeys at a wild animal park in Africa … and licking bread crumbs thrown by onlookers,” wrote steel worker Kang Hyok at Chollima Steel Complex, author of one of the four essays.

    Another author, a military officer named Han Jin-Sung, wrote with more madness:

    “These Yankees have no idea who they are dealing with, and we will teach them the true taste of fire and war. Our nuclear strikes of justice and our powerful baptism by fire will decimate America, that devil’s den, without a trace — that is our resolution.”

    The articles have drawn criticism from the White House’s National Security Council, which said they were “particularly ugly and disrespectful.”

    State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said on Thursday that the North Korean dispatch was “offensive and ridiculous and absurd.”

    “I don’t know how many words I can use up here to describe the rhetoric … It’s disgusting,” Harf told reporters at the Foreign Press Center in Washington.

    Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor of North Korea studies at Korea University in South Korea said that North Korea is trying to garner attention by publicizing such controversy, and that the government will distance themselves from it, attributing the remarks to their citizens who ultimately penned the piece.

    “If it was to publish such a report in the voice of the authorities it would entrap them, whereas reporting the story under some ordinary citizen’s name will give them leeway,” said Yoo.

    The published pieces are particularly a response towards President Obama’s recent visit to South Korea, where he and South Korean President Park Geun-hye held a summit in Seoul last month. During his visit, Obama said at a joint news conference with Park that he’s considering further sanctions against North Korea, and that the U.S. will not hesitate to engage in military action to defend its allies.

    Politics explode.

    Images via Wikimedia Commons (1), (2)

  • Christiano Ronaldo on TIME’s ‘Most Influential’ List

    FIFA soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo is featured this year in TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” and joins other influentials like Pope Francis, Barack Obama and pop icon Beyoncé on this year’s list.

    There were only five other sports dignitaries noted on the magazine’s 2014 list. They were Brooklyn Nets star Jason Collins, Seattle Seahawks SuperBowl champion Richard Sherman, Tennis virtuoso Serena Williams and golf pro Lydia Ko.

    Brazilian soccer legend Pele heralded his fellow ‘futball’ star on the magazine page featuring the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2013 winner.

    “Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most influential athletes in sports today. I greatly respect his competitive mind-set on the field, and it’s no surprise that he is currently considered the best soccer player in the world. He reminds me a bit of my late friend and Portuguese soccer legend Eusebio,” said Pele.

    “I had the opportunity to share his joy onstage at this year’s FIFA Ballon d’Or ceremony in Zurich. Cristiano never ceases to give his best for his national team. He reminds me a bit of my late friend and Portuguese soccer legend Eusébio. They have the same elegance and creativity,” said Pele.

    “Back when I played, I would have loved having a teammate like Cristiano to play with up front. I would like to encourage him to keep up the hard work and to continue to fuel the passion for the sport among today’s youth.”

    The Portuguese native is the only Real Madrid player in history to have scored more than 30 goals in four consecutive seasons and the fastest player to have reached 100 goals.

    Image via YouTube

  • Obama: Clemency Guidelines Must be Expanded

    On Monday, Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder released a video in which he called for the expansion of clemency criteria for nonviolent drug offenders. If the clemency guidelines are expanded, it could lead to reduced sentences for hundreds, or even thousands, of convicts currently serving harsh punishments for minor drug violations.

    Thus far in his presidency, Obama ranks as the president with the worst pardoning or clemency rate. As of March, President Obama had pardoned 39 people, while denying 1, 333 requests. Obama’s clemency rate is even worse, with the odds of one receiving clemency approximately 1 in 5,000.

    The video released by Attorney General Holder, however, suggests that President Obama is seeking to institute wide-scale clemency in his latter days as president with this new change in the clemency guidelines:

    “The White House has indicated it wants to consider additional clemency applications, to restore a degree of justice, fairness, and proportionality for deserving individuals who do not pose a threat to public safety… The Justice Department is committed to recommending as many qualified applicants as possible for reduced sentences.”

    The video from Holder corroborated the message given by Obama during his December clemency of eight people languishing under too-strict laws against crack-cocaine:

    “There are still too many people in federal prison who were sentenced under the old regime — and who, as a result, will have to spend far more time in prison than they would if sentenced today for exactly the same crime. This is simply not right,” stated Holder.

    This news comes on the heels of Obama granting clemency for a man who had served too many years in prison due to a simple typo in his sentencing. Ceasar Cantu’s sentence for drug trafficking and money laundering was reduced from 15 to 11.5 years following Obama’s pardon. The mistake in sentencing was caught by Cantu’s attorneys, but after the one year statute of limitations had passes on challenging such issues.

    Kathryn Ruemmler, an attorney who currently serves as White House Counsel, feels that Obama’s attempt to expand his clemency powers is a result of two different factors: “The president believes that one important purpose can be to help correct the effects of outdated and overly harsh sentences that Congress and the American people have since recognized are no longer in the best interests of justice. This effort also reflects the reality that our overburdened federal prison population includes many low-level, nonviolent offenders without significant criminal histories.”

    The move by Obama to expand the clemency criteria comes four years after his passage of the Fair Sentencing Act, legislation which meant to reduce the disparity between those convicted for crack-cocaine as opposed to power-cocaine.

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  • Kathleen Sebelius Says She Told Obama Staying “Wasn’t an Option”

    Kathleen Sebelius, who resigned last week as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, said on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that she made the decision to leave and told President Barack Obama last month that staying “wasn’t an option.”

    Sebelius’ appearance on Meet the Press was her first interview since the White House announced her resignation Friday. She said that she and the president first spoke about her future after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – also known as Obamacare – started to show it was recovering from a problematic launch on October 1.

    “The president and I began to talk after the first of the year, and I went back to him in early March,” Sebelius said.

    “I made it pretty clear that it really wasn’t an option to stay on, Sebelius said.

    “I thought it was fair to either commit to January 2017 or leave with enough time that he would get a strong, competent leader,” Sebelius said.

    “That really wasn’t a commitment I was willing to make and he knew that,” Sebelius continued.

    Sebelius was responding to speculation that she was asked to resign after the failed Obamacare rollout last fall.

    President Obama announced her resignation on Friday, as well as his nomination of budget director Sylvia Mathews Burwell to take over as health secretary.

    Although the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act had a rocky start because of technical glitches with the program’s website, enrollment totals after the March 31 deadline exceeded projections. Sebelius’ resignation comes at a high note for the program. She announced last week that 7.5 million people signed up for private health coverage under the law. 

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Sophie Okonedo Shines In Broadway’s “Raisin In The Sun”

    Sophie Okonedo is stunning in her Broadway debut of “A Raisin In The Sun” opposite Denzel Washington. The British born actress, best known for her role in Hotel Rwanda, stars as Ruth, Walter’s (Washington) distressed, but strong, wife. A review by The Washington Post calls Sophie the play’s mournful foundation: “Okonedo is deceptively subdued as Ruth, who embodies the bone-breaking hardship of poverty.”

    “A Raisin In The Sun” follows a poor family struggling in one small Chicago apartment until they receive their salvation: a $10,000 check from a life-insurance policy payout. The real struggle begins when the family all has differing opinions on what to do with the money.

    On getting the role, Sophie says it was a “dream come true.” “Hansberry knew so much about the human spirit, getting older, and living in the world when you don’t have much,” she says of the 1950s production. Despite the age of the play, Sophie believes the content of “Raisin” is still relevant today. “The gap between the rich and the poor is bigger than ever. That grips me.”

    The Washington Post adds that “you can see Ruth’s weariness in the carriage of Okonedo’s shoulders, the set of her mouth. She embraces every part of the character.” Okonedo says that she decided to focus more on portraying Ruth’s strength rather than her fatigue. “She’s quite tough, quite robust,” says Okonedo. “She couldn’t be falling apart every second. She’d have to be trying to keep it together.”

    “A Raisin In The Sun” has been receiving overall rave reviews and has even seen some high profile guests. This weekend President Obama and First Lady Michelle attended the play, heading backstage to meet the actors during intermission. “I was so excited I couldn’t even hear anything he said,” Sophie says about meeting the president. She was also able to squeeze in a quick hug with Michelle. “I hugged her! I just couldn’t help it. She just feels so approachable.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Kathleen Sebelius Resigns as Secretary of Health

    Kathleen Sebelius will resign from her post as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, President Obama will announce today, the White House said.

    Sebelius, 65, will step down just after enrollment in President’s Obama healthcare program topped first-year goals.  A former Democratic governor of Kansas, Sebelius spent five years as secretary, and presided over one of the biggest changes in healthcare in the U.S. since Medicare and Medicaid started nearly 50 years ago.

    President Obama is expected to name Sylvia Mathews Burwell, 48, director of the Office of Management and Budget, as the next health department secretary, the White House said.

    “From her work on Head Start, to expanding mental health coverage, to advancing cutting-edge health care research and, of course, her unwavering leadership in implementing the Affordable Care Act, Secretary Sebelius often calls her work here the most meaningful of her life,” Dori Salcido, a department spokeswoman, said in an e-mail confirming Sebelius’s resignation.

    Sebelius helped implement 2010 healthcare law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. It is expected that under the new law, health insurance will eventually be offered to 25 million more people in the U.S., paid for with changes to Medicare, taxes on health-care providers, a requirement that all Americans have insurance, and a provision that allows young people to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until the age of 26.

    The deadline for first-year enrollment in the program was March 31, and after a troubled start, total enrollment reached 7.1 million people, and exceeded initial projections. Enrollment has since risen to 7.5 million, as individuals were given an extended deadline to complete applications.

    Sebelius told Obama in early March that she would resign, according to an e-mail from the White House. She said the end of the health law’s first enrollment period on March 31 would be “the right time to transition the department to new leadership,” the e-mail said.

    Sebelius and Burwell are expected to join Obama for the public announcement today at the White House.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Fort Hood Shooting Leaves 4 Dead; Gunman Sought Mental Help

    An Iraq War veteran being treated for mental illness opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas, on Wednesday afternoon, leaving four people dead, including the gunman, and 16 people wounded.

    The soldier, identified as 34-year-old soldier Ivan Lopez, turned the gun on himself and died of a self-inflicted wound after opening fire at the military base where more than a dozen people were slain in an attack in 2009, according to authorities.

    Lopez was identified by U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

    “We do not know a motive,” Lt. Gen. Mark A. Milley told reporters at a press conference Wednesday night.

    “But we know this soldier to have behavioral health and mental health issues,” Milley said.

    Milley also said authorities did not believe the attack was related to terrorism, but that they are not ruling anything out at this time.

    Lopez, who was being treated for depression and anxiety, went into two buildings on the base and opened fire before he was confronted by military police, Milley said.

    The shooting occurred at approximately 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Emergency personnel, the FBI and SWAT teams were called in to the base following the shooting.

    The shooter used a .45 caliber Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol that had been purchased recently, Milley added.

    Nine of the victims in the shooting were hospitalized with gunshot wounds at Scott & White hospital in Temple, Texas. As of early Thursday morning, three victims were listed as being in critical condition.

    According to Milley, all of the shooting victims were members of the military.

    Lopez served for four months in Iraq in 2011, and was undergoing an evaluation for post traumatic stress disorder, according to Milley. Lopez arrived in Fort Hood, one of the largest U.S. Army bases, in February from another military base.

    In 2009, 13 people were killed and more than 30 wounded in a mass shooting at Fort Hood by then-Maj. Nidal Hasan, an army psychiatrist. A U.S. Senate report following the incident described it as the worst attack on American soil since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, The FBI said that though Hasan expressed anti-American sentiments prior to the shooting, he had had no ties to terrorist groups.

    Hassan was sentenced to death after admitting to the shooting during his court martial hearing in August 2013, and is now on death row.

    “We’re following it closely. The situation is fluid right now,” President Obama told reporters in Chicago.  He said that investigators would “get to the bottom of exactly what happened.”

    “We’re heartbroken something like this might have happened again,” the president said.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Michigan Minimum Wage Increase Praised by Obama

    President Barack Obama spoke at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Wednesday and praised the state’s ongoing effort to raise minimum wage.

    Obama addressed a crowd of about 1,400 that included many students. He called for support in raising the state minimum wage to $10.10 from $7.40 by 2017. Democrats in the U.S. Senate are planning a vote for the raise, but Republicans and GOP lawmakers are mostly working to block the wage hike.

    Raise Michigan, a coalition of civil rights, faith, labor and community groups, wants voters to decide instead. The organization needs to gather 258,000 valid signatures by late next month to put before the state’s legislature a measure that would raise minimum wage to $10.10 by 2017, and automatically increase it with inflation in future years. The minimum wage for tipped employees would gradually increase from $2.65 until it reaches the minimum wage for other workers.

    “People in Michigan shouldn’t be working full time and still living in poverty,” said Ryan Bates, one of the organizers of the Raise Michigan effort.

    “The issue resonates deeply. Everyone understands what it means to work hard but not get ahead,” Bates said.

    If Raise Michigan secures the required number of signatures and state lawmakers do not act on the measure, it would head to a statewide vote in November.

    “It would help millions more work their way out of poverty right away,” Obama said in his speech.

    “It’s easy to remember — 10, 10. It will lift millions of people out of poverty,” Obama said.

    Nationally, Obama wants to raise the federal hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 by 2016.

    If the minimum wage were raised, it would raise wages for 28 million people across the nation, including almost one million people in Michigan, the president said.

    The president’s speech came just one day after the Obama administration received positive news that its Affordable Health Care Act beat expectations for its first year of enrollment. The deadline for participants to enroll for coverage for this year was March 31.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Fort Hood Shooting Not Linked to Terrorism

    A senior Department of Homeland Security spokesperson has stated that the shooting that occurred Wednesday at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas was a “soldier on soldier” incident, and that no links to terrorism have yet been suspected. The Homeland Security source added that there was “currently no (counter terrorism) nexus” and that the shooter killed himself.

    The shooter has been identified as Army Specialist Ivan Lopez, who was incidentally present at the scene of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting which killed 13. Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly that the “knowledge I have is he (Lopez) was a truck driver.”

    Officials at the Scott & White Temple Hospital in Temple, Texas, said that the facility had received four patients from the shooting and that another two were being driven in. The conditions of those injured ranged from stable to critical, and included gunshot wounds to the abdomen, chest, neck and extremities.

    An employee of the Fort Hood Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center stated that two patients were being treated in that facility, and that more were expected to arrive. A witness outside the hospital told Fox News, “It’s chaos. I see lots of ambulances coming in. There are helicopters everywhere.”

    The Fort Hood Press Center has issued and alert that the facility is still on lock down, and posted to Twitter that “All personnel on post are asked to shelter in place.”

    Fort Hood added an update on the shooting via its Facebook page:

    UPDATE: Fort Hood’s Directorate of Emergency Services has an initial report that a shooter is dead but this is unconfirmed. The injured personnel are being transported to Carl R. Darnall Medical Center and other local hospitals. Numerous law enforcement agencies are in support and on the scene. The number of injured are not confirmed at this time. No further details are known at this time. There has been a shooting at Fort Hood and injuries are reported. Emergency crews are on the scene. No further details are known at this time.

    President Obama said the U.S. government is doing everything it can to make sure all personnel are secure. “We’re heartbroken that something like this might’ve happened again,” Obama said.

    Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel comments on the attack:

    In 2009, U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan, a psychiatrist who had converted to radical Islam while serving in the military, killed 13 people and shot dozens more at Fort Hood. Hasan, who represented himself at a military trial, was sentenced to death in August.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Jack Lew Resting at Home After Surgery

    United States Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew is resting comfortably after undergoing prostate surgery in New York. The surgery had been planned for Tuesday as an outpatient procedure, though Lew developed a low-grade fever and was kept overnight for observation, according to Treasury spokeswoman Natalie Wyeth Earnest. In a statement today, Earnest added that Lew is now home and that “He is in good spirits, talking with staff and looks forward to being back in the office next week.”

    Since 2013, Lew has been 76th Secretary of the Treasury, and also served served as the 25th White House Chief of Staff from 2012 to 2013. The attorney previously served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton and Obama Administrations, and is a member of the Democratic Party.

    Here Lew discusses the end of the concept of the U.S, economy being “Too Big to Fail” with Charlie Rose:

    Lew, 58, underwent the operation for a benign prostate enlargement, and is set to resume his duties sometime next week. He was scheduled to to appear before the House Financial Services Committee today to go over issues related to the international financial system, including possible changes at the International Monetary Fund. The meeting has been postponed.

    When Barack Obama nominated Lew for the position of Secretary of the Treasury on January 10, 2013, the president was unaware of Lew’s dopey looking signature, which would appear on all U.S. paper currency for the duration of his tenure. Obama even joked that he might rescind Lew’s nomination.

    Here’s Lew’s original signature:

    jack lew

    Here’s Lew’s new and improved money signature:

    Jack Lew

    In December, 2013 Lew commented that the U.S. government might run out of money to pay the country’s debt by late February or early March of 2014. Lew stated, “The creditworthiness of the United States is an essential underpinning of our strength as a nation; it is not a bargaining chip to be used for partisan political ends. Increasing the debt limit does not authorize new spending commitments. It simply allows the government to pay for expenditures Congress has already approved.”

    Images via Wikimedia Commons

  • Affordable Care Act Deadline Nears, Obama Urges People to Enroll

    President Obama marked four years on Sunday since he signed the Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010, and urged people to enroll in the program as the March 31 deadline approaches.

    The president celebrated the law’s anniversary and urged people to sign up for coverage, which has come to be more commonly referred to as Obamacare, as the deadline to enroll approaches later this month. Individuals who are not enrolled in a health care program after March 31 will be fined.

    President Obama said in a statement:

    “Since I signed the Affordable Care Act into law, the share of Americans with insurance is up, and the growth of health care costs is down, to its slowest rate in fifty years – two of the most promising developments for our middle class and our fiscal future in a long time.”

    Obama admitted the controversial program has been difficult to sell, even as the deadline approaches. In his statement, he promised to spend the next year with his administration making improvements.

    “This is what’s at stake any time anyone, out of some outdated obsession, pledges to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act.  And that’s why my administration will spend the fifth year of this law and beyond working to implement and improve on it,” said Obama.

    Obama concluded by encouraging people to enroll.

    “If you’re an American who wants to get covered – or if you know someone who should – it’s now last call for 2014.  March 31st is the deadline to get covered this year,” Obama said.

    The HealthCare.gov website had a hard time getting up and running, but the Department of Health and Human Services said a wave of people has enrolled in the last week, and enrollment recently passed the 5 million mark.

    Officials have scaled back their original estimate of seven million enrolled to six million. According to recent enrollment figures released March 17, more than one million sign-ups were still necessary to reach the reduced goal by March 31.

    There is a concern that there needs to be an increase in the number of customers ages 18-34 enrolled in the program, and the White House has in recent weeks been appealing to younger people through various media outlets. During the past month, Obama urged daytime viewers to sign up for coverage during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show from the White House.  The President also sat down in the Diplomatic Reception Room for separate interviews with comedian Zach Galifianakis and a health care expert from Web M.D., and dialed in to Rickey Smiley’s hip hop radio show to appeal to listeners.

    From January until the end of March, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the HealthCare.gov site and administers the Affordable Care Act, will have spent $52 million on paid media, officials said.

    You can read Obama’s statement on the fourth anniversary of the Affordable Health Act here.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Jimmy Carter Thwarts NSA, Uses Post Office

    Jimmy Carter Thwarts NSA, Uses Post Office

    Jimmy Carter, in an interview for NBC’s Meet the Press, says he uses snail mail when communicating with foreign leaders. He is pretty sure that the NSA is spying on him, a fear that is not unfounded, according to Fox News.

    “I have felt that my own communications are probably monitored,” the former Democratic president said. “And when I want to communicate with a foreign leader privately, I type or write the letter myself, put it in the post office and mail it, because I believe if I send an email, it will be monitored.”

    Why the 89-year-old former president and founder of The Carter Center would need to be monitored, I don’t know, but the actions taken by the Obama administration and the NSA just don’t sit well with him. He said the practice of spying on American citizens’ emails, internet use, and cell phone calls has been “extremely liberalized and I think abused by our own intelligence agencies.”

    He also admitted that Mr. Obama didn’t bother to consult him when dealing with Russian President Vladmir Putin, even though he has direct experience which could have been helpful and has been consulted by former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan on dealing with “unsavory characters”.

    In fact, in 1980 Carter boycotted the Summer Olympics in Moscow because Russia had just invaded Afghanistan. But he feels that he knows the reason, and because of its sensitive nature, he understands Obama’s reluctance to consult him, according to NBC.

    He said,“I think the problem was that — in dealing with the issue of peace in between Israel and Egypt — the Carter Center has taken a very strong and public position of equal treatment between the Palestinians and the Israelis. And I think this was a sensitive area in which the president didn’t want to be involved.”

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • President Obama Reveals His Picks For The Final Four

    It’s March Madness time again, and like no president before him had done, President Obama has taken the time to publicly fill out an NCAA March Madness bracket, letting everyone know what his final four picks will be.

    He has proven over the years that he is a big fan of college basketball, and has even shown a bit of favoritism toward certain teams in a way. From 2009 until 2013, President Obama has picked three different teams to win the championship, and he as been correct once.

    In the era that has become known as “Barack-etology,” Obama has picked Indiana (over Louisville in 2013), Kansas (over Ohio State in 2011 and Kentucky in 2010) and North Carolina (over Kentucky in 2012 and Louisville in 2009).

    However, he did also correctly pick that Louisville would go to the championship in 2013, a game that they won. He predicted that they would lose to Indiana, and Louisville ended up winning when they beat another Big Ten school, Michigan.

    Speaking on last year’s championship game, President Obama said that it was “one of the best championship games that any of us have seen in a very, very long time.”

    This year could be the most exciting one that basketball fans have seen in a while since no team seems to be a real front-runner heading into the tournament, except possibly Florida, who went undefeated in conference play, and earned the No.1 overall seed.

    As a result, President Obama only has two No.1 seeds in his final four, but as most people know, a Final Four that consists of four No.1 seeds almost never happens. The president’s final four picks are Florida, Arizona, Michigan State, and Louisville.

    Do you agree with Obama’s picks? Who will be making the Final Four this year?

    Last year Obama’s men’s bracket ranked 2,080,996 out of 8.15 million entries in ESPN.com’s free ESPN Men’s Tournament Challenge, placing him in the 74.4th percentile. Every year is different though, and this could be his year again.

    Michigan State and Louisville are the No.4 seeds in the East, and Midwest, respectively. However, both teams are on a role after winning their conference championships, and are likely contenders to win it all. They are led by Michigan State’s Gary Harris, and Louisville’s Russ Smith, both contenders for the Wooden Award.

    President Obama correctly placed Louisville in the championship last year, but do they have the potential to get back? They lost Peyton Siva, but still have a load of talent on their team, and are seeking another championship.

    Image via Youtube