3rd State of the Union Address - January 24, 2012

Yesterday, the President of the United States presented his 3rd State of the Union Address. It was a wonderful address, where the President addressed all facets of the present state of this country. The entire video of the speech can be watched right here. 
Listen to the stark contrasts of success compared to the slurred version that you hear from the Republican candidates running to compete against this President.

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Newt Gingrich - Will Loose a General Election Against President Barack Obama in 2012

The Republicans seem to be running a loosing battle to defeat the current President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama. Why? Because their most popular candidates, the ones that most likely have a chance at the Republican nomination, have so much baggage that disqualifies them from being the President, that it is almost a sure thing that the Democrats will have their President living in the Oval Office for the next four years.

There is so much evidence why I truly believe this statement.

Let's start with the present frontrunner in the Republican race. Newt Gingrich who was Speaker in the House of Representatives in the early 1990's, helped the U.S. House capture the majority for the first time in forty years. That may sound great, but now because of him and his past, and the leading of the present speaker John Boehner, it may now be another 40 years before the House is regained by the Republicans. I say this prior to watching the House heading over to the loss column for the Republicans because of their contribution of the "do-nothing" Congress this past year.

Yes, it is true that under Newt's leadership, Congress passed the first balanced budget in a generation which the government repayed a debt of over $400 billion. Back then, Newt Gingrich now claims that the "Congress also cut taxes for the first time in sixteen years and reformed welfare, leading to over sixty percent of welfare recipients either getting a job or going to school" as stated by Newt Gingrich himself. You may think that he deserves all the credit for that, but this is hardly the case. Let it be known that Mr. Newt Gingrich all but got thrown out of the Congress after just 4 years. Actually he stepped down in face of a rebellion by the members that he led. Like Boehner , he was responsible for unexpected losses in an election in 1998.  Boehner  will be inevitably responsible for the Republicans loosing the majority in the House in 2012.  Even his own party members, one of them named Bob Livingston told reporters that he intended to challenge Gingrich when the House Republicans were to meet after the election to pick their leaders for the 106th Congress. Livingston led the way, but others including Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer (R-Tex.) and Small Business Committee Chairman James M. Talent (R-Mo.) pronounced their interest. Policy Committee Chairman Christopher Cox (R-Calif.) formally announced his candidacy on CNN's "Larry King Live.

Gingrich became their "whipping boy" after the election and deservedly so. In his resignation statement from the house, Newt said,

"Today I have reached a difficult personal decision," the statement said. "The Republican conference needs to be unified, and it is time for me to move forward where I believe I still have a significant role to play for our country and our party."
"Newt recognized that he had a problematic public persona, kind of a negative [persona]. And he said he was just not the person to lead at this time," said Rep. Constance A. Morella (R-Md.).

So in just four short years, Newt was OUT. So now he feels that he is qualified by his tenure as Speaker of the House that he couldn't even lead after just 4 short years that he believes that he is better than President Barack Obama to lead the country?

He has been married 3 times. His present wife was his mistress and the cause of the breakup of Newt's second marriage. Callista Gingrich, his mistress back then and now his third wife, does not qualify to be the first lady of this country. Yes, she is Catholic just like myself, but that does not render the forgiveness of moral believing Americans that she is a good fit to be a first lady. She was equally responsible for breaking up a marriage and I would especially like to see the 'annullment papers' to show that they are actually married as practicing Catholics at this time. Without an annullment, they could have never married in the Catholic Church. Does Newt Gingrich realize what turmoil his wife will go through even if she became the First Lady of the United States? What would she stand for?
It takes two to make decisions concerning marriage in this country, and that's why I equally blame Newt Gingrich for the divorce. I also blame him for not admitting and publically denouncing the facts as they were presented by his ex-wife that the affair with Callista and her husband ever took place as he even asked his wife for her ok to allow him to have an affair with another woman.
How can the people of this country elect a person with those morals? This is the reason why I believe that the Republicans should be getting ready to go on to another 40-year fast from the White House, especially if Newt Gingrich is the nominee to run against President Obama. And the alternative, Mitt Romney, a person who has flip-flopped his ideas time and time again; a person who lies about how rich he actually is and is not openly willing to share his tax returns for the citizens of this country to see. Is this the kind of person that you would want as President of the United States?


WAKE UP AMERICA...   SMELL THE ROSES....  PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA IS ON THE VERGE OF BECOMING A 2 TERM PRESIDENT AND HE HASN'T EVEN BEGUN HIS RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN YET.

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Obamas mark MLK Day with service project

1/16/12 12:00 PM EST

The president, first lady and daughter Malia volunteer at Browne Education Campus in Washington. Obama said daughter Sasha couldn't make it.

In his remarks, he said, "And at a time when the country has been going through some difficult economic times, for us to be able to come together as a community, people from all different walks of life, and make sure that we’re giving back, that’s ultimately what makes us the strongest, most extraordinary country on Earth, is because we pull together when times are good, but also when times are hard.  And you guys all represent that.

"So on behalf of our family, we want to say thank you.  I’m sure Dr. King, were he here, he’d want to say thank you.  And I look forward to spending some time next to you guys.  Hopefully I have some good instructors here so that I don’t mess anything up.  So if you’re putting a paintbrush in my hands, make sure that I’ve got some very clear lines, and I’ll try to stay within them."

Last year, the Obamas spent time at a Washington middle school, where they painted pillars in the lunchroom. Tonight, the first couple is scheduled to attend a musical tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr at the Kennedy Center.

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A Survey for Non-US Citizens for U.S. President

As someone who observes what is going on in the Republican process to choose a candidate to run against Barack Obama, I  can't help but realize that none of the candidates seem worthy to run against President Barack Obama this year. Which candidate has a good record when it comes to family values? Rick Santorum comes to mind, and he also is of the Catholic faith. Since I am also a practicing Catholic, I can appreciate him in that regard, and also that his family values are extremely high. He hasn't had the multiple of wives that other candidates have had. He doesn't change his conservative ideas, although he may have from time to time that doesn't compare to much, compared to Mitt Romney, known as the 'flip-flopper' candidate.
With all this said, I do not trust Rick Santorum, as he is for very conservative values, those in many cases that are totally opposite of the values of President Barack Obama. He, like the other candidates, Santorum continuesly blurbs out lies about President Obama, and truthfully, if I were any one of those Republican candidates, I would be ashamed of the lies and deception that they ALL bring to the political race to the nomination of the Republican as candidate to run against Barack Obama this coming November.
It makes for good TV, as Fox and MSNBC continuesly bring stories forward to support their own candidates, 'Fox News Network' supporting the Conservative Republicans, and 'MSNBC' continues to support the Democrats and Barack Obama.

The one candidate that has been steady in his beliefs regarding the political front is Ron Paul. Unfortunately he is running for a party that will never truly accept him. In matter of fact, Ron Paul's progress and his likeness amongst republicans polled so far and for republicans that have attended and voted in the caucasas is very high. Yet, because of his long standing belief of Ron Paul not able to accept Israel as a country to defend if attacked, many Republicans will never vote for him.

Amongst the many surveys out for the candidates, a survey has now come out for Ron Paul. It is targeted at non-citizens of the United States, that may like to give their opinion of the U.S. Political process, and outwardly vote on the candidate they would choose if they were a  U.S. citizen and could vote in the U.s. The website can be found at: http://www.ronpaulinternationalpoll.com and the survey is easy to take.

To take the survey, just click on the following link...

http://www.ronpaulinternationalpoll.com  

Again, it is a non-US Citizens poll/survey for people who may be following U.S. politics and the race of Republican candidates for a choice of one to run against President Barack Obama in November of 2012.

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House GOP relents on payroll tax cut deal

Washington (CNN) -- A compromise measure to extend the payroll tax cut for two months comes before the House and Senate on Friday after Speaker John Boehner dropped his opposition under mounting pressure from the White House, congressional Democrats and fellow Republicans.


Both chambers will be asked to give unanimous consent, a procedural move that would allow the measure to pass even though most members will be home for the holidays.

If no one shows up to object in person, the plan originally worked out by the Senate and modified slightly Thursday to get the support of Boehner and House Republicans would go to President Barack Obama's desk.Obama has promised to sign it, as well as a separate appropriations bill to fund the government through September 2012, before heading off to Hawaii to join his family for the holidays.

What the payroll tax deal would do

The agreement represented a symbolic triumph for the president, who pushed hard for extending the payroll tax cut as part of his jobs package and rallied public support for his stance.

While the two-month extension was shorter than desired, Obama urged congressional leaders to follow through on their stated intention to negotiate a one-year extension that all parties have said they favor.

"Today's victory is yours," Obama said in a tweet to followers Thursday night. "Keep making your voices heard -- it makes all the difference."

The agreement also includes the addition of legislative language to ease the administrative burden on small businesses implementing the plan, and a commitment to the negotiations on a one-year extension of the payroll tax cut as well as other benefits, according to statements by congressional leaders and Obama.

Boehner succumbed Thursday to calls from across the political spectrum for House Republicans to stop blocking congressional approval of the Senate-passed measure.

While minor changes were made to the Senate plan, Thursday's agreement produced essentially the same proposal as the one the Senate passed last Saturday in an 89-10 vote, with strong Republican support.

A House GOP uprising during a caucus conference call Saturday caused Boehner to reject the Senate plan, setting up this week's political showdown in the final days before the payroll tax rate was set to rise.

According to GOP sources, another conference call Thursday involved Boehner describing the terms of the agreement without allowing any members to ask questions or raise objections. One Republican House member on the call described Boehner as "tired and ticked off."

Boehner, R-Ohio, then announced the deal to reporters, calling the House GOP's prior opposition to the Senate plan the right thing to do, even if politically questionable.

"It may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world," Boehner said, but the end result was "we were able to fix what came out of the Senate."

The speaker also acknowledged the pressure he was under, saying: "I talked to enough members over the last 24 hours who say we don't like the two-month extension and if you can get this fixed, why not do the right thing for the American people even if it's not exactly what we want."

Analysts said Boehner had little choice but to back down.

"It became increasingly obvious he had to fold," said CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen, using poker terminology. Boehner was under "intense pressure from senior Republicans" over a situation that "became so botched," Gergen said.

Darrell West , the vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, said the issue has worked in the favor of Democrats because they had Republicans "seemingly willing to accept a tax increase" by opposing the Senate extension of the payroll tax cut.

"Any time you can get the other party in opposition to its own stated principles, that's a good thing," West said.

The ongoing impasse pitting the House Republican leadership against the White House, congressional Democrats and fellow Republicans was the kind of political gamesmanship that Americans dislike about Congress, Obama said earlier Thursday.

The two-month Senate compromise was passed after Senate negotiators were unable to agree on a one-year extension.

But Boehner demanded negotiations on a one-year extension, arguing that anything shorter would simply prolong the issue and cause uncertainty for American taxpayers and businesses.

His stance drew sharp criticism this week, including an editorial in the conservative Wall Street Journal that said House Republicans had lost the political advantage of advocating tax cuts to Obama and the Democrats.

Gergen: Winds shift toward Obama

On Thursday, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell also called for Boehner to accept a short-term extension, and similar statements by other conservative Republicans showed the tide turning against Boehner and his GOP leaders.

Meanwhile, conservative Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Nebraska, and Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisconsin, added their voices to GOP calls for House Republicans to relent in their standoff.

"While I would prefer a year-long tax holiday, I refuse to let anyone play games with my constituents who stand to face a significant tax hike if we don't act," Duffy said in a statement. "That's why I will support any option to extend the payroll tax cut."

Obama, meanwhile, reiterated the Democratic position in a phone call with Boehner Thursday morning, stating that the House should pass the Senate's two-month extension and then negotiators should get to work on a longer-term deal.

The president also met with a group of middle-class Americans as part of a White House attempt to illustrate the impact on 160 million American workers if the tax holiday ends December 31. The typical worker's take home salary will shrink by about $40 per pay period without the tax cut.

"It's time for the House to listen ... to the voices all across the country and reconsider," Obama said. "I am ready to sign that (Senate) compromise into law the second it lands on my desk."

Obama blamed the impasse on "a faction of House Republicans" that refused to support the Senate compromise, even though leaders of both parties had insisted they wanted to extend the payroll tax cut.

He prompted laughter by adding: "Has this place become so dysfunctional that even when people agree to things we can't do it? It doesn't make any sense."

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, reinforcing Obama's stance, released a statement promising that he will be "happy to restart the negotiating process to forge a year-long extension" as soon as the House passes the Senate's compromise plan.

Many in the GOP fear the issue damaged the party's anti-tax reputation heading into the 2012 campaign.

Pushed by his conservative, tea party-infused House GOP caucus, Boehner had continued to insist that anything short of an immediate 12-month extension of the tax holiday would only create more economic instability and do little to generate job growth.

Also at stake: extended emergency federal unemployment benefits and the so-called "doc fix," a delay in scheduled pay cuts to Medicare physicians.

Both of those measures, along with the tax holiday, were scheduled to expire in nine days.

All top Democrats and Republicans publicly agreed on the need for a one-year extension, but critics of the House GOP's stance insisted that the Senate's two-month extension was necessary to give negotiators more time to hammer out a deal over how to pay for the continuation.

They accused House Republicans of creating the very instability they had railed against, and of needlessly creating yet another congressional crisis at the end of a year filled with Capitol Hill showdowns.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the GOP's 2008 presidential nominee, strongly criticized the House GOP's stance on CNN's "American Morning" Thursday.

"The Republicans are losing this fight. We need to get back on track," McCain said. "A thousand dollars a year is a big amount of money to most Americans, and I think it's very important. ... I worry about the fact that we are continuing to increase the debt and the deficit, but now it's become very symbolic, and I think it has to be done."

The Wall Street Journal editorial, normally a conservative political platform, blasted Boehner and his House GOP colleagues, arguing that they had "achieved the small miracle of letting Mr. Obama position himself as an election-year tax cutter."

"At this stage, Republicans would do best to cut their losses and find a way to extend the payroll holiday quickly," the paper's editorial writers said.

Numerous Senate Republicans have indicated they felt politically undercut by their House colleagues after agreeing to the two-month compromise negotiated by McConnell and Reid.

A number of Republicans have said the party should have declared victory after winning an agreement by Obama -- as part of the payroll tax cut package -- to make a decision within the next 60 days on whether to proceed with the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Republicans and some Democratic union leaders say the controversial pipeline will create thousands of new jobs; critics question its environmental impact.

A failure to act could have had major political fallout. Numerous observers believe Obama is preparing to parrot Harry Truman's 1948 campaign next year by running against an unpopular, dysfunctional Congress controlled partly by the GOP.

CNN's Jessica Yellin, Ted Barrett, Dana Bash, Kate Bolduan, Lisa Desjardins, Matt Hoye, Xuan Thai, Brianna Keilar and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.

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Tax Cuts Fail - Now What?

Opinion of the Editor 'James' 'Obama in the White House' blog

Just when you didn't think things couldn't get worse with the United States Congress, things got worse. The latest fling thrown out by the Republicans in the House is to turn away a tax cut extension, that if not approved by January 1, would raise everyone's taxes, approximately affecting 160,000,000 people. Middle class Americans stand a chance to save at least $1,000 per year if passed, but if not, they would inherit at least another minimum of $40 per pay check of taxes.
Right up front, the Republican Senators of the House did elect to pass the bill, and it was fully expected to pass in the House, but when it came down to the vote, thanks to the leadership of John Boehner, the Speaker of the House, the bill failed.
The reason... Because Boehner says that passing just a temporary bill for an extention of 2 months is not the answer, and the President needs to sign a bill for at least a full year. He may be right, but why has it taken the Republicans this long to come up with the fact that a 2 month extension is not acceptable. So instead, the Republican lead House was fully prepared to allow the bill to fail just so that they could possibly gain more concessions from the Democrats.
It looks as if John Boehner has stepped too far across the line. What he was promoting was to hurt approximately 160,000,000 people in the United States.
If the bill doesn't pass, what does it mean to Americans.
Besides the $40 minimum added tax on your paycheck each week, people will elect to do without something to make up the difference. It is not a matter of choice here, but a matter of necessity. The Republicans believe that just $40 bi-weekly is not too much to sacrifice.
But what this would me would be that at Christmas, the Republican party would be responsible for being a Scrooge at Christmas, led by the biggest Scrooge himself, John Boehner. Now, his days are numbered, as the people from Ohio pretty much had enough of him, along with the rest of the country.
People would have problems paying the bills. They would curtail their travel plans. They will push back in purchases. Screwing this one up should really cost the Republicans something that they want the most, and that's the White House. People do not trust the Republican led Congress anymore. Their rating is the lowest ever recorded in U.S. history. Many of the Congressmen will loose their jobs. and not only will President Obama win a 2nd term as President, the House most likely will turn over to the Democrats. So then where the Republican ticket be. Most likely totally out of business and maybe extinct. It is possible that the Republican ticket may not exist during the elections of 2016.
To make it even worse for the Republicans, they are not united on their own front. There is one new front runner after another in the race for the Republican nomination, but with just 2 weeks left to go before the Iowa caucuses, there still is no clear front-runner, especially with the downgrading campaign Newt Gingrich is having. Now Ron Paul is in the lead just two weeks away from the Caucasus. If he wins Iowa, he may just win the second one, and then what will happen. Mainly, the party will be in trouble, because Ron Paul most likely will never be able to beat President Obama. Mitt Romney is the one person so far that may have a shot to stand up against the President. Again, this is my opinion. But what I am witnessing with the Republican race is something that is just unbelievable. To me, there truly is not a good solid person to represent the Republican nomination, and because of this, President Barack Obama should get re-elected, and should do so easily.

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99% verses 1%

Who is the so-called 99% and who are the 1%?

It doesn't seem to be a fair fight, as the 99'ers are going against that single 1%. And of course when you really look at it, that is exactly the case.

So who are the 1%'ers?

They are basically known as 'them'.

They are the people who possess most of the nations's wealth.
They bankroll their handpicked political candidates.
They control the banks.
They get million-dollar paychecks.
They get billion-dollar bailouts.

They do all that, but what do they don't do?

They do not pay enough taxes, and in some cases, allot less the the average American.

They don't invest their wealth in American jobs.

So who are the 99%'ers?

They are basically known as 'us'.

We are the 99% who toil at low-wage jobs.
We are the people that hold underwater mortgages.
We are the people who face foreclosures.
We are the ones who suffer job layoffs.
We are the ones who have to deal with plant closings.

With all in what we do, we still pay our taxes, but the Republicans still do not do their fair share.

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Obama to let states decide benefit levels under health law

The decision shifts to local officials the decision on what medical insurers must offer consumers starting in 2014.

December 16, 2011|By Noam L. Levey, Washington Bureau

Reporting from Washington — Seeking to defuse a potential showdown over a key part of the new healthcare law, the Obama administration moved Friday to let states, rather than the federal government, define which medical benefits insurance companies will have to offer consumers starting in 2014.

That allows state leaders to retain more control of health insurance even as the law extends a new federal guarantee that all Americans can get coverage, even if they are sick.

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Veterans for Peace want the U.S. Military Budget cut by 50%

Sometimes, it seems as if President Obama can't do enough. Yesterday, there were occupy protesters in Iowa who joined members of the Veterans for Peace. They parked themselves right outside President Obama's Iowa re-election campaign headquarters. What do they want? They want President Obama to end all foreign wars and also to cut the U.S. military budget in half.
They may not have heard, but the military spending in Iraq has been cut to nothing. The war in Iraq has officially been ended as of December 16, 2011 but people seem to think that the United States is spending too much on foreign wars.
Some may argue that this is the case, and maybe the 'occupy protesters' are showing their support for President Obama.

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Obama 'very pleased' with vote on payroll tax cut extension

Posted by

CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) - President Barack Obama praised the Senate for voting on Saturday to extend the payroll tax cut by another two months but urged members of Congress to reach an agreement that would extend the cuts and unemployment benefits for a full year.

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Opinion of the Editor James - 'Obama in the White House Blog'

The bill as presented today to fend off a raise of middle class taxes was avoided, but at the expense of the President also including into the bill a plan that would require the President to make a decision regarding the oil pipeline being built in Canada, that is destined to run through the central states to the Gulf coast. The United States would buy the oil. 

President Obama has his reasons, as he has elected not to support such a pipeline. Nevertheless, the Republicans have pushed the payroll tax cut bill extension through, only to allow it if the President would include a provision in the bill for the oil pipeline. This would require President Obama to act on the bill within 60 days, instead of a year it normally would have taken. 

Originally, President Obama said that he would veto the bill if Congress presented it. It may be in the bill that will receive full support by Congress on Monday, but I highly doubt if President Obama would sign such a bill. And if he doesn't the Republicans will hold this against him for the election. Never mind all the things that they (the Conservatives) have done to block legislation. It is ok for them to do it, but not ok if they want the legislation to pass, and the Republicans will blame anyone and everyone who stands in their way. 

The Republicans seem to want to continue to keep the middle class people hostage as they will only pass legislation that only is to their advantage, not the middle class. They continue to turn down bills that the President Obama along with the Democrats want to pass, but only seem to want to consider every and any bill that would hurt the Democrats and President Obama. 

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