Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Eric Holder/Federal Government Considering Challenging Arizona's Racist New Law


WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano were critical Tuesday of Arizona's new law on immigration and Holder said the federal government may challenge it.

Napolitano said the new state law could siphon federal money and staff from hunting down dangerous immigrants.

The critical comments by the nation's top law enforcement official and the Cabinet secretary responsible for preventing terrorist attacks on U.S. soil came four days after Arizona's governor signed a law designed to crack down on illegal aliens.

Arizona's new law is subject to potential abuse, Holder told a news conference. The law – which takes effect this summer – allows police to question anyone about their immigration status if they have reason to suspect they are in the country illegally, and makes it a state crime if they are.

The Justice Department and the Homeland Security Department are reviewing the state law.

A number of options are under consideration including "the possibility of a court challenge," Holder said in response to questions on the Arizona law posed during a news conference on another topic.

Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Napolitano said the office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement fears it will have to use its stretched resources to deal with those arrested under Arizona's new law.

"We have some deep concerns with the law .. it will detract from and siphon resources that we need to concentrate on those in the country illegally, those who have committed the most serious crimes," Napolitano said.

President Barack Obama has instructed the Justice Department to examine the Arizona law that he said last week threatens to "undermine basic notions of fairness." He also is pressing anew for national immigration legislation, saying, "If we continue to fail to act at a federal level, we will continue to see misguided efforts opening up around the country." (huffPo)

We MUST Unite...Black, White, Red, Brown and ALL...to FIGHT AGAINST Arizona's unconstitutional "Legalization of Racism Act ".

Republicans should be ASHAMED !!!

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Monday, April 26, 2010


President Orders Department of Justice to Challenge

Arizona Immigration Law


Judicial Watch.org

The ink is barely dry on Arizona’s new immigration control law and President Obama has already threatened to take legal action against the measure even though it was adopted from the federal statute that’s rarely enforced.

Amid huge protests and cries of racism from the open-borders movement, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the law (SB1070) that bans “sanctuary city” policies and makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. without proper documentation. Some federal and state lawmakers claim the measure amounts to institutionalized discrimination and abuse that will lead to the arrest of seniors, kids and tourists.

Obama, who tried pressuring Brewer into vetoing the “misguided” law, assures that it threatens civil rights and undermines basic notions of fairness and trust between police and their communities. The commander-in-chief has ordered the Department of Justice to challenge its legality and vows to “closely monitor the situation” and examine the legislation’s civil rights implications.

The law marks an unprecedented effort by a state to take immigration matters into its own hands since immigration offenses are currently violations of federal law that cannot be enforced by local police. But lawmakers in Arizona are fed up with the enormous toll that hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens are having on their state as the feds sit idly by and fail to secure the southern border.

When the measure goes into effect later this year illegal aliens will be charged in state court with trespassing and anyone—documented or undocumented—seeking work from a road or sidewalk will also be criminally prosecuted. Drivers who pick up illegal alien day laborers will also be punished and all residents must provide evidence of their legal status in the U.S.

When Brewer signed the law last week she pointed out that the new state crime of willful failure to complete or carry an alien registration document was adopted verbatim from the federal statute. Furthermore, it will be implemented in a manner consistent with federal laws regulating immigration, protecting the civil rights of all persons and respecting the privileges and immunities of the United States, the governor said.

“We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act,” Brewer said during a signing ceremony. “But decades of federal inaction and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable situation.” She added that the new law represents a much-needed tool to solve a crisis the state did not create and the federal government refuses to fix.


Together...

We WILL Make The Difference !


B4B Photo of the Week !


Be Inspired...Be Informed...Be Involved...
Be In UNITY !!!


There's MUCH Work Ahead !

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Friday, April 23, 2010

PATHETIC !
Arizona Governor Signs Law Legalizing

RACIAL PROFILING !

WATCH: President Obama Responds

HuffPo

PHOENIX — Gov. Jan Brewer ignored criticism from President Barack Obama on Friday and signed into law a bill supporters said would take handcuffs off police in dealing with illegal immigration in Arizona, the nation's gateway for human and drug smuggling. (read Gov's full statement here)

With hundreds of protesters outside the state Capitol shouting that the bill would lead to civil rights abuses, Brewer said critics were "overreacting" and that she wouldn't tolerate racial profiling.

"We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act," Brewer said after signing the law. "But decades of inaction and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable situation."

Earlier Friday, Obama called the Arizona bill "misguided" and instructed the Justice Department to examine it to see if it's legal. He also said the federal government must enact immigration reform at the national level – or leave the door open to "irresponsibility by others."

"That includes, for example, the recent efforts in Arizona, which threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe," Obama said.

The legislation, sent to the Republican governor by the GOP-led Legislature, makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally. It also requires local police officers to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are illegal immigrants, allows lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws, and make it illegal to hire illegal immigrants for day labor or knowingly transport them.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund said it plans a legal challenge to the law, arguing it "launches Arizona into a spiral of pervasive fear, community distrust, increased crime and costly litigation, with nationwide repercussions."

Brewer ordered the state's law enforcement licensing agency to develop a training course on how to implement the law while respecting civil rights.

The bill will take effect in late July or early August. (read rest of article)


WATCH:



B4B Note: The Immigration Reform Battle has Officially Begun. And what's PATHETIC is the right-wing has the nerve to imply or spin that this bill is not about race or profiling...when in fact, that is EXACTLY what it is about. (The bill is titled the " Senate Bill 1070, Support Our Law Enforcement Act ") It is also being reported that The President will work toward striking down this unjust, racist law...which will surely bring the " Hatriots " out in full force !
BE PREPARED...and UNITE for CIVIL RIGHTS !!!


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Thursday, April 22, 2010

New Sheriff In Town !


WATCH:
President Goes to Wall Street to

Fight for Financial Reform



Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


President Obama...
Getting It Done !

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Tuesday, April 20, 2010


President's Civil Rights Division
Finds Lenders
GUILTY of
Loan Discrimination

African-Americans charged higher fees than whites



By Kenneth Harney

A new Obama administration get-tough policy on home-mortgage discrimination is drawing kudos from consumer advocates, along with expressions of serious concern from lawyers who represent lenders and brokers.

In a settlement last month with two subsidiaries of ailing insurance giant American International Group Inc., the Justice Department took aim at one of the most controversial practices of the housing boom years: National subprime mortgage lenders originated billions of dollars in high interest rate loans through local brokers who sometimes hit African-American and other minority applicants with excessive loan charges.

Mortgages extended to African-Americans often carried higher fees than paid by white subprime applicants — even when the borrowers’ credit profiles and other factors were roughly the same. But did these disparities in fees open those lenders who purchased the loans from local brokers to legal attack?

Weren’t the higher fees solely the result of predatory pricing by individual brokers operating independently of their wholesale lenders? If a broker charged African-Americans higher fees than whites, wasn’t this violation of fair lending laws on the broker’s shoulders?

In the millions

The Obama administration gave a resounding answer to that question: No! The consent order requires AIG’s subsidiaries to pay $6.1 million to roughly 2,500 African-American borrowers, or an average of $2,300 in cash restitution for overcharges per loan.

The companies are also required to spend at least $1 million on consumer financial education programs. None of the firms admitted wrongdoing as part of the settlement. AIG Federal Savings Bank and Wilmington Finance Inc. no longer are involved in the wholesale mortgage market. AIG took a $182 billion bailout from the federal government in 2008, and is in the process of reorganizing its business activities. No individual mortgage brokers were cited in the case.

The core message here, according to Justice Department officials: Lenders who use independent brokers to originate mortgages cannot ignore what those brokers are doing to their minority customers. They will be held responsible for civil rights violations because they should have been monitoring their broker networks for signs of discriminatory pricing — which should be detectable by examining loan packages and performing statistical analyses.

Contributing factor

Thomas E. Perez, an assistant attorney general, said “discriminatory practices by lenders, brokers and other players contributed to our nation’s housing crisis and economic meltdown. Lenders who looked the other way and ignored the discriminatory practices of brokers must be held accountable.”

Perez warned that many other lenders who use broker networks could also be vulnerable to legal actions.

Community groups and civil rights advocates hailed the settlement as a huge step forward. “It’s a new day for borrowers,” said David Berenbaum, chief program officer for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. “Borrowers should see fewer backdoor pricing abuses” — especially the bloated fees, interest rates and unequal underwriting standards that were commonplace during the housing boom years.

Harm down the road

But some mortgage industry groups and lawyers who specialize in financial issues disagree. They argue that holding giant wholesale lenders responsible for illegal acts they did not themselves directly commit not only is unfair but will do long-term harm to all borrowers.

Roy DeLoach, CEO of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, said “we absolutely oppose discrimination in any form. But we think the government’s target should be the persons who actually do the discriminating” — in this case, individual, local brokers — not the lenders who acquired the loans with no knowledge of the discriminatory fees.

DeLoach argues that the administration’s approach will discourage some lenders from dealing with brokers in general, thereby reducing competition in the marketplace, especially areas with significant minority populations.

“There will be less choice for borrowers” with fewer brokers active in the market competing for business. “That inevitably means higher rates and worse terms” because just a handful of big banks will dominate the mortgage business, DeLoach said.

Paul F. Hancock, a partner with the law firm K&L Gates who served for 20 years in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and was a deputy attorney general in Florida, says the AIG settlement “is really stretching the law, maybe even going beyond the law” by holding lenders responsible for the actions of independent brokers.

Hancock, who specializes in advising financial institutions, adds that “there is no case law” supporting the administration’s “aggressive” position. But it may prevail because “nobody wants to fight the government.”

Bottom line for consumers: Look for more fair lending settlements, more financial restitutions, and much closer supervision of loan officers -- whether they’re on lenders’ staffs or independent brokers -- to ensure that every mortgage applicant gets equal treatment.

Ken Harney’s e-mail address is kenharney(at)earthlink.net.

President Obama...
Fighting for ALL The People !


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Saturday, April 17, 2010


WATCH: President's Weekly Address
Holding Wall Street Accountable

While the Repubs are fighting to allow the continuation of loopholes and shady deregulation-which lead to the near total economic collapse of America under Bush-The President declares...there's a new sheriff in town !

(WHITE HOUSE) The strongest consumer protections ever. Bringing transparency to financial dealings. Closing loopholes to stop recklessness and irresponsibility. Holding Wall Street accountable and giving shareholders new power in the financial system. President Obama lays out what Wall Street Reform is about, and questions whether opposition from the Senate Republican Leader might have something to do with his recent meeting with Wall Street executives.



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Friday, April 16, 2010

Goldman Sachs' FRAUD Explained:
How They Pulled Off The Alleged Scheme

Excellent quick breakdown of one of the biggest frauds in U.S. history...which helped lead to the U.S. economic collapse...under George W. Bush.

ABSOLUTELY CRIMINAL !
THIS is the kind of mess (corruption) that President Obama stepped into and is working diligently to clean up...while the corrupt work diligently to obstruct.


From HuffPo

In 2007 Goldman Sachs created what is known as a "synthetic collateralized debt obligation," or CDO, called "ABACUS 2007-AC1," which we'll call Abacus. It was one of many.

Goldman invited its clients to invest in Abacus, explaining in marketing materials that the $2 billion CDO was based on 90 bonds derived from subprime mortgage loans made over the previous 18 months.

If people whose mortgages make up the bonds in Abacus keep up with their house payments, then folks who invest in Abacus -- typically banks, insurance companies, and pension fund managers -- will make money.

The financial industry jargon for those investors' position is that they are "long." They're optimistic that the underlying borrowers won't default.

To Continue: CLICK HERE
Then read synopsis under each of 6 photos for quick summary


B4B

Thursday, April 15, 2010

WATCH: President Obama Supporters
Storm Tea Party Demonstration


From HuffPo: The Tea Partiers are being countered by a start-up group called "The Other 95%," which descended on D.C. on Thursday to protest "right across from Tea Party rally."

WATCH:



"Obama passed 25 separate tax cuts," Sheryl Stein, founding member of "The Other 95%" said in a statement announcing the group's plans, "including $300 billion in middle class tax cuts -- one of the largest in history - as part of the stimulus package. Unlike President Bush's 2001 tax cuts, which went to the wealthiest 2.2%, President Obama's tax cuts overwhelmingly benefit working and middle class families -- in fact, 95% of all Americans."

I Like Their Style !


CLICK HERE if video did not appear through email server

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B4B Thought Of The Day !


Disgusting how our " liberal media " (yea...right) focuses and spotlights non-stop on any and ALL dissent against President Obama...but never, EVER showed any dissent against the Bush Regime...particularly the voices against the illegal, unjust invasion of Iraq...of which there were MANY unreported marches and rallies against. If the media had...thousands of lives would have been saved...not to mention the BILLIONS of dollars. Proves how the media manipulates by what they DO report...
and what they DON'T. ABSOLUTELY PATHETIC !

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Tuesday, April 13, 2010


FIRST LADY IN HAITI !
Makes Unannounced Visit


HuffPo

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — First lady Michelle Obama made a surprise visit Tuesday to the ruins of the Haitian capital, a high-profile reminder that hundreds of thousands of people remain in desperate straits three months after the devastating earthquake.

The first lady and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, took a helicopter tour of Port-au-Prince, where hundreds of thousands of people are still homeless because of the quake, before landing at the destroyed national palace to meet President Rene Preval. They later met with students whose lives have been upended by the disaster and walked along a vast, squalid encampment of families living under bed sheets and tents.

"It's powerful," Obama told reporters. "The devastation is definitely powerful."

A number of past and present world leaders have visited since the earthquake, including former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. But few have the star power here of the American first lady, whose husband is widely popular in Haiti and throughout the Caribbean.

The U.S. government historically has had a troubled relationship with Haiti, occupying the country for nearly two decades early in the 20th century and later backing brutal dictators, but many Haitians are grateful for the aid and security that the U.S. has provided since the earthquake.


The U.S. has provided nearly $1 billion in humanitarian aid and pledged more than $1 billion in additional aid to the impoverished country.

Obama and Biden's visit is intended to underscore U.S. commitment to the Haitian reconstruction effort and to thank American officials who have worked in the country for the past three months, the administration said in a statement.

Obama smiled and waved her way through the wrecked center of Haiti's capital.

After greeting Preval with a kiss at the crushed national palace, she set off with Biden and Haiti's first lady, Elisabeth Debrosse Preval to a post-quake child care center where 450 boys and girls are participating in art therapy classes in converted city buses donated from Santo Domingo.

Obama jumped, danced and clapped with the singing children. Then the delegation entered one of the green buses for a painting session. Biden made a blue house, Preval a green and yellow sun. Obama painted a purple fish in the ocean.

"It was a request, the kids asked me to," she said. The children's paintings were harder to read, a mix of letters and symbols. Asked what they represented, Obama said "their lives."

People were eager for a glimpse of the first ladies at the huge Champ de Mars camp – and hopeful that they would be seen as well.

"Make sure you get a good look at us!" a man living in the camp yelled at a passing press bus.
(Huffington Post)

We LOVE Our First Lady !

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Sunday, April 11, 2010


MUST WATCH !
Auto-Tune-The-News

Palin, Pelosi, Bachman, Boehner and more...
singing in total unison to a jamming groove !


I must say I Luv this incredibly creative, smart and funny political depiction by
The Gregory Brothers





CLICK HERE if video did not appear through email server

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Saturday, April 10, 2010

WATCH:
President's Weekly Address

Breaks Down Multitude of
New Tax Breaks for YOU !

As April 15th approaches, the President discusses several of the tax breaks for middle class families he has signed into law. Find out more about the Making Work Pay tax credit, breaks for first-time homebuyers, rewards for making your home more energy efficient and more through the Tax Savings Tool at WhiteHouse.gov.

WATCH:



Tax Breaks for the average Americans INSTEAD of the RICH...
Yes it IS a New Day !!!


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Thursday, April 8, 2010

President Obama on White House phone negotiating with
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev June 30, 2009

WHO KNEW that during the past year, in the midst of trying to save the U.S. economy, working hard for the historic passing of health care reform, student loan reform and the like...The President was secretly and simultaneously negotiating with Russia toward his goal of a nuclear-arms-free world !

Talk about MULTI-TASKING !

President Obama, Russia's Medvedev
Sign Historic Treaty to Cut
Nuclear Arms



PRAGUE — Making a down payment on his goal of a nuclear-arms-free world, President Barack Obama signed a new treaty with his Russian counterpart Thursday to reduce nuclear arsenals on both sides by about one-third.

In a gilded hall here at a castle in Prague’s presidential complex, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev put their signatures on a new Strategic Arms Reduction Talks treaty that calls on each country to reduce its number of warheads and long-range missiles — still maintaining plenty to ensure mutual destruction bu t a step toward reducing the nuclear threat worldwide.

For Obama, the treaty signing marks an important foreign policy accomplishment — building on the goal he laid out one year ago in this city, in a speech calling for an end to nuclear weapons worldwide. In the speech, Obama acknowledged it was a long-range goal that would outlive him and his presidency but that set him on a course of finding way to reduce the United States’ own arsenal.

“I believed then — as I do now — that the pursuit of that goal will move us further beyond the Cold War, strengthen the global nonproliferation regim e and make the United States, and the world, safer and more secure. One of the steps that I called for last year was the realization of this treaty, so I am glad to be back in Prague today,” Obama said after signing the treaty.

Obama also predicted the U.S. Senate would ratify the treaty, despite some Republicans' objections that it goes too far in reducing American military might.

Obama said the chamber has a "strong history of bipartisanship" on approving arms pacts and said he has spoken with the "chairmen of the relevant committees" in the Senate.

"We are beginning to once again move forward, leaving the Cold War behind, to address new challenges in new ways," he said. "I feel confident that we are going to be able to get [the treaty] ratified."

Obama said he hoped the effects of the new START treaty would go far beyond the deeply technical language about how many nuclear bombs each country could possess — and to warmer relations between the last remaining superpower and the only other nation with a massive nuclear stockpile.

And in his comments, he recalled that Medvedev had said, “Our relationship had started to drift, making it difficult to cooperate on issues of common interest to our people. And when the United States and Russia are not able to work together on big issues, it is not good for either of our nations or for the world. (Read rest of article)

It IS A N
ew Day !

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Wednesday, April 7, 2010


PATHETIC !!!
Fox News' LIES & FALSE stories lead to
ACORN demise !



WATCH:
Rachel Maddow: Raw footage reveals
O'Keefe LIED about ACORN

From: Raw Story

When conservative activists James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles released tapes last fall purporting to show ACORN employees advising them on how to set up a child prostitution ring, it resulted in widespread praise for their intrepid journalism and a Congressional defunding of the anti-poverty group. But it is now becoming clear to all but their most fervent supporters that the O'Keefe "expose" was deliberately misleading.

"If you were a member of Congress and you voted to defund ACORN because of the outrage portrayed in these tapes," MSNBC's Rachel Maddow proclaimed on Tuesday, "you were had."

Last week, California Attorney Gerneral Jerry Brown released some of O'Keefe's raw footage, which he obtained as part of an agreement not to prosecute O'Keefe for violating state privacy laws. Maddow reviewed several of the most severe distortions revealed by the footage, starting with O'Keefe's claim that he was wearing his outrageous pimp outfit when he visited the ACORN offices.

That claim, which Brad Friedman at Brad Blog has been debunking for months, was promoted heavily by Fox News and swallowed uncritically by most of the mainstream media. The unedited tape of O'Keefe's visit to the ACORN office in San Diego, however, includes a shot of his arm as he opens the door to leave, and he is clearly wearing a nicely pinstriped dress shirt.

The edited video released by O'Keefe also appears to show an ACORN employee advising him on how to smuggle underage girls into the United States. O'Keefe is heard off-camera saying, "What things do you need from me in terms of the shipment information," and the employee replies, "It's better if it's in Tijuana ... because I have a lot of contacts in Tijuana." O'Keefe then goes on to say, "There's twelve of them. ... Twelve girls, they're like 13 to 15 years old."

But as Maddow pointed out, in the previously unreleased portion of the video, the employee continues asking very detailed questions about O'Keefe's phone number and the exact time and location of the girls' arrival. "What's this ACORN guy going to do with all that information?" Maddow wondered. "Oh, he calls the police and reports what they've told him is going to be a crime."

According to Jerry Brown's report (pdf), "Immediately after the couple left, Vera telephoned his cousin, Detective Alejandro Hernandez, at the National City Police Department... [and said] that a self-admitted prostitute had been to the office and was discussing human smuggling."

"For that he ended up getting fired," Maddow noted wryly.

A final O'Keefe tape appeared to show a different ACORN employee reacting to the child prostitution scheme by saying enthusiastically, "You can do anything. ... Don't give up."

But the unedited tape reveals that the encouraging words came after O'Keefe had told the employee that he and his prostitute girlfriend were having trouble finding a house because she is "in a unique line of work." Her "never give up" meant to keep trying different banks until one said yes.

"This is not meant to excuse what ACORN has done wrong in the past," Maddow concluded. "But the huge tide of negative publicity ... was bullpucky. It was a dishonest political stunt that bears no resemblance to journalism and no resemblance to the actual facts. "

"But it worked," she added. "Who do you think is next on their list?"

This video is from MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, broadcast April 6, 2010.

WATCH:



It Is We The People who
MUST Fight The Lies
Ahead...With TRUTH !

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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

B4B Photo of the Week !

President Barack Obama, along with First Lady Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha, and the Easter Bunny, wave as they hosted the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, Monday, April 5, 2010, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington.
———AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

It's A New Day !

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Thursday, April 1, 2010


WATCH:
President Does 3 Minute Comedy Bit About
The Lying, Conniving, Manipulative
GOP & Media
Says: " What If Reporters Were Farmers ? "


WATCH:


Gotta Luv THE TRUTH !

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Wednesday, March 31, 2010


President OK's Oil Drilling off
U.S. Coasts


(AP)
Reversing a ban on oil drilling off most U.S. shores, President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced an expansive new policy that could put new oil and natural gas platforms in waters along the southern Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and part of Alaska.

Speaking at Andrews air base outside Washington, Mr. Obama said, "This is not a decision that I've made lightly." He addressed the expected outcry from disappointed environmentalists by saying he had studied the issue for more than a year and concluded it was the right call given the nation's voracious thirst for energy and the need to produce jobs and keep American businesses competitive.

"We're announcing the expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration but in ways that balance the need to harness domestic energy resources and the need to protect America's natural resources," Mr. Obama said, standing in front of a Navy F-18 fighter scheduled to fly on Earth Day with a half-biomass fuel mix.

The president said his decision is part of a broader strategy that also includes expanding the production of nuclear power and clean energy sources, to "move us from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and clean energy."

"The only way this transition will succeed is if it strengthens our economy in the short term and the long run," the president said. "To fail to recognize this reality would be a mistake."

Mr. Obama made no secret of the fact that one factor in his decision was attracting Republican support for a sweeping climate change bill that has languished in Congress. "Drill, baby, drill" was a mantra of the GOP during the 2008 presidential campaign.

"While our politics has remained entrenched along worn divides, the ground has shifted beneath our feet," the president said. "Around the world, countries are seeking an edge in the global marketplace by investing in new ways of producing and saving energy."

But Mr. Obama also has long been up front about his support for expanding offshore drilling — as well as other energy sources less popular with die-hard environmentalists. In his State of the Union speech, he said he wanted the United States to build a new generation of nuclear power plans, invest in new coal technologies and make "tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development." (Read rest of article)


Sunday, March 28, 2010


Tucked in Historic Health Care Bill

President Makes COLLEGE More Affordable !

By Jim Kuhnhenn

WASHINGTON -- More needy college students will have access to bigger Pell Grants, and future borrowers of government loans will have an easier time repaying them, under a vast overhaul of higher-education aid on its way to President Obama's desk.

Under the measure, private banks would no longer get fees for acting as middlemen in federal student loans.

The government would use the savings to boost Pell Grants and make it easier for some workers to repay their student loans. In addition, some borrowers could see lower interest rates and higher approval rates on student loans.

The legislation, an Obama domestic priority overshadowed by his health-care victory, has widespread reach. About 8.5 million students are going to college wit

h the help of Pell Grants.

The measure was part of a package of fixes to the health-care legislation Obama signed earlier this week. The House and Senate approved the fixes Thursday.

Key features of the measure include:

• Pell Grants would rise from $5,550 for the coming school year to $5,975 by 2017. Lawmakers had initially hoped to reach a $6,900 cap.

• More eligible students could get a full Pell Grant. Most grants go to students with family income below $20,000, but students with family income of up to $50,000 may also be eligible.

• Some college graduates will have an easier time repaying loans. The government will essentially guarantee that workers in low-paying jobs will be able to reduce their payments. Current law caps monthly payments at 15 percent of these workers' incomes; the new law will lower the cap to 10 percent.

**************

President also tucks in Health Care Bill:

HBCU'S TO SHARE $4 BILLION !!!


WASHINGTON (AP) — Riding the coattails of a historic health care vote, the House on Sunday also passed a broad reorganization of college aid that affects millions of students and moves President Barack Obama closer to winning yet another of his top domestic policies…

…In the biggest piece of education legislation since No Child Left Behind nine years ago, the bill would also provide more than $4 billion to historically black colleges and community colleges.

B4B NOTE: For those, like Tavis Smiley, who is trying to stay afloat following his shockingly disappointing anti-Obama rhetoric throughout the campaign and his current attempt to get media attention by falsely claiming that the nations first Black President doesn't care about The Black Agenda (I know...sounds ridiculous...but that's Tavis' claim) , this much needed $4B appropriation to HBCU's proves otherwise, while the passing of the monumental, historic health care bill is but one example of The President's care for ALL Americans.
It's not Obamacare...it's

Obama Cares...about ALL !!!

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Thursday, March 25, 2010


Despite Repub stall tactics...

Dems Pass Reconciliation Bill !

President Dares Republicans to Try To Repeal New Law

The House of Representatives put the finishing touches on the overhaul by passing a companion package that would make insurance more affordable, raise taxes on the wealthy and close a gap for prescription drug coverage for seniors.

The Senate approved the package earlier in the day. It now goes to Obama to sign.

The votes concluded a yearlong political struggle that tied up lawmakers, dented Obama's popularity and set the stage for a bitter campaign for control of Congress in November.

"This has been a legislative fight that will be in the record books," Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid said.

Obama, launching a public relations blitz to sell the new program, mocked his Republican critics and said their promise to make repeal of the law the centerpiece of the congressional campaign would backfire.

"If they want to have that fight, I welcome that fight," Obama said in Iowa City, Iowa, in his first major speech since signing the law on Tuesday.

"I don't believe the American people are going to put the insurance industry back in the driver's seat. We've been there already and we're not going back," he said.

The overhaul of the $2.5 trillion healthcare system is the most dramatic change in health policy in four decades. It will extend coverage to an estimated 32 million uninsured Americans and bar insurance practices like refusing coverage to those with pre-existing medical conditions.

The final changes approved by Congress on Thursday include an expansion of federal subsidies to make insurance more affordable and more state aid for the Medicaid program for the poor.

They also eliminate a controversial Senate deal exempting Nebraska from paying for Medicaid expansion costs, close a gap in prescription drug coverage for seniors and delay a tax on high-cost insurance plans.

The final package also would extend taxes for Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly, to unearned income. It also includes reform of the student loan program.

'STROKE OF A PEN'

Republicans have fought the measure as a costly government takeover of healthcare that would restrict patient choice and drive up insurance premiums.

"This has been a somber week for the American people. With the stroke of a pen, President Obama signed away another share of Americans' freedom," Republican House leader John Boehner said.

But Obama said he would be happy to engage Republicans in a debate over repeal of the law.

"I say go for it," Obama said, goading his critics. "If these congressmen in Washington want to come here to Iowa and tell small business owners that they plan to take away their tax credits and essentially raise their taxes, be my guest."

The House approved the overhaul and the companion package of changes on Sunday after a contentious debate, but had to approve the changes again after the Senate parliamentarian ordered two minor provisions on the student loan revamp be removed. The House vote was 220-207.

The parliamentarian ruled the provisions did not meet reconciliation rules requiring they have a budgetary impact.

The Senate's 56-43 vote on the changes came after Democrats killed about 40 Republican amendments designed to derail the bill or force Democrats into tough political votes before the elections.

As the end of the healthcare debate neared, the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor index of health insurers rose 0.4 percent, slightly higher than the broader market. Big insurers UnitedHealth Group rose 0.4 percent, while Aetna increased 0.4 percent.

A second major U.S. manufacturer said the overhaul would cause a huge rise in after-tax costs. Farm equipment maker Deere & Co. said it expected healthcare costs to rise by $150 million this year.

Equipment maker Caterpillar last week estimated the reform would raise its costs by more than $100 million.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs brushed off the concerns and said the first-year increase occurred because the healthcare law closed an accounting loophole.

"Our bill simply closes the loophole that allows them to deduct that money one time by not counting it as income," he told reporters on Air Force One.

(Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan, Patricia Zengerle, Thomas Ferraro; Editing by David Alexander and Peter Cooney)

Much Credit to our Dems for

Getting It Done !

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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

HEALTH CARE REFORM...
SIGNED, SEALED & DELIVERED !


IN LOVING MEMORY...

For the first time in America health care is a RIGHT...
I know I've said it before but...
THANK YOU WARRIORS...AGAIN !!!
(Greg Jones)

Yes We DID !!!

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Monday, March 22, 2010

In case you missed it...

WATCH:
The Historic (And Sometimes Insane)
Health Care Debate in 10 Minutes



We at B4B are honored that our site has been selected to be a part of the U.S. Library of Congress' Historic Collection and feel it is our duty to include this informative video recap of the historic debate for future reference and historic purposes.
Also shows our CRAZY democracy at work !

(Thanks HuffPo)

Despite it all...Yes We DID !

CLICK HERE if video did not appear through email server


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HEALTH CARE HISTORY MADE !

Photo: Moment President Obama heard
Health Care Bill passed with 219 votes


This was another long battle...Just want to Thank ALL of you Warriors who have fought, kicked, worried, prayed, harassed, bombarded and inspired others toward this Historic Day. Thanks to YOU...Americans will now have the basic right to quality health
care.
You ALL helped make history !


Warning: Following this historic accomplishment the right wing/media and 'haters' in general will work hard to spin and MINIMIZE this monumental feat...with non-stop lies, constant fake unconstitutionality claims...fake claims to repeal....the usual 'does this spell doom' or 'the Dems next big problem'...etc., etc.,...


MEANWHILE, here's a VERY honest assessment from well known REPUBLICAN strategist David Frum who confesses that, despite what you'll hear, this health care win for America actually spells DISASTER for the Republicans.
A great read...following A GREAT VICTORY for America !
Click: David Frum's The REPUBLICAN'S Waterloo


p.s. Rush Limbaugh said that if the health care bill passed he would move to Costa Rica.
Email him at ElRushbo@EIBnet.com to ask him when is he packing !


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