Monday, May 2, 2011

WATCH: President's Speech:
BIN LADEN D
EAD


President Obama Gives Orde
r, Bin Laden is Killed,
White House Time Line

(ABC) In 2009, intelligence officials identified areas in Pakistan where the courier and his brother operate – but they were still unable to pinpoint precisely where.

In August 2010 came a big break. Intelligence identified a compound that aroused their suspicion – eight times larger than other homes in the area, built in 2005, on a property valued at $1 million. But access to the compound was severely restricted, with elaborate security and 12 to 18 foot walls topped with barbed wire. Incongruently, the compound has no phone service or televisions. The main building had few windows and a seven foot wall for privacy. Residents burned their trash.

Intelligence officials concluded that unit was “custom built” to hide someone. A third family was identified as living there – and the size and makeup matched the bin Laden family members most likely with him. The location and design of compound were consistent with what experts expected his hideout might look like. Their final conculsion: there was a strong probability that this was bin Laden’s hideout.

While he publicly downplayed the importance of capturing or killing bin Laden, on June 2, 2009 President Obama had signed a memo to the director of the CIA, Leon Panetta, stating “in order to ensure that we have expanded every effort, I direct you to provide me within 30 days a detailed operation plan for locating and bringing to justice Usama Bin Ladin…”

Beginning in September of 2010 the CIA began to work with the president on a set of assessments that led him to believe that in fact it was possible that bin Laden may be located at that compound. The president was was told it contained “a key al Qaeda facilitator appeared to be harboring a high-value target.”

The president directed action to be taken “as soon as he concluded that the intelligence case was sufficient.”


By mid February, though a series of “intensive” meetings at the White House and with the president, administration officials determined there was a “sound intelligence basis” for pursuing this “in an aggressive way” developing course of action in pursuit of bin Laden at this location. By the middle of March the president began a series of national security meetings that he chaired to pursue again the intelligence that had been developed and a course of action.


The president chaired no fewer than five national security council meetings on this topic – on March 14th, March 29th, April 12th, April 19th and April 28th.

“When a case had been made that this was a critical target we began to prepare this mission in conjunction with the US military,” a senior administration official said.

At 8:20am on Friday, April 29th in the Diplomatic Room, President Obama met with National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, White House chief of staff William Daley, White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan and deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough and gave the order for the operation.


Officials said only a very small group of people knew about the operation beforehand. “That was for one reason and one reason alone, we believed that it was essential to the security of the operation and our personal,” an official said. “Only a very small group of people inside our own government knew about this operation in advanced.” Shortly after the raid, U.S. officials contacted senior Pakistani officials to brief them on the results of the raid. They also contacted a number of close partners and allies in the world.


Officials say the administration is ensuring bin Laden’s body is being “handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition.”

“In the wake of this operation there may be a heighted threat to the homeland and to U.S. systems and facilities abroad,” an official cautioned. “Al Qaeda operatives and sympathizers may try to respond violently to avenge Bin Laden’s death and other terrorist leaders may try to accelerate their efforts to strike the United States. But the United States is taking every possible precaution to protect Americans here at home and overseas.”

Asked if U.S. officials are hearing of specific threats against specific targets, the officials said, “no.”

The State Dept. has sent guidance to embassies worldwide and a travel advisory has been issued for Pakistan.

Watch: President's Speech, Bin Laden is Dead



Related:
Press Briefing by Senior Administration Officials
on Killing of Bin Laden


ANOTHER Fine Job
MR. PRESIDENT !
and Thank You to Our Special Forces

B4B Home Page


Sunday, May 1, 2011


(video) MUST WATCH !
President Chumps Trump;

Takes on Birthers/Media at 2011
White House Correspondents
Dinner

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama exercised his revenge Saturday after weeks of attacks from his would-be Republican challenger Donald Trump, joking that the billionaire businessman could bring change to the White House, transforming it from a stately mansion into a tacky casino with a whirlpool in the garden.

With Trump in attendance, Obama used the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner to mock the reality TV star's presidential ambitions. The president said Trump has shown the acumen of a future president, from firing Gary Busey on a recent episode of "Celebrity Apprentice" to focusing so much time on conspiracy theories about Obama's birthplace.

After a week when Obama released his long-form Hawaii birth certificate, he said Trump could now focus on the serious issues, from whether the moon landing actually happened to "where are Biggie and Tupac?"

"No one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than 'the Donald,'" Obama said, referring to Trump's claims the same day that he was responsible for solving the issue.

For Trump's decision to fire actor Busey instead of rock singer Meat Loaf from his TV show earlier this month, Obama quipped: "These are the types of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir."

Trump chuckled at some of the earlier jokes, but was clearly less amused as comedian Seth Meyers picked up where Obama left off.

"Donald Trump often talks about running as a Republican, which is surprising," said the Saturday Night Live actor, entrusted with providing some of the comedy for the evening. "I just assumed he was running as a joke."


WATCH: President Chumps Trump

Trump stared icily at Meyers as he continued to criticize the real estate tycoon.

The two men found themselves in the same room after an intense week of attacks from Trump, who has piggybacked on the birther conspiracies and even Obama's refusal to release his university grades to raise the profile of his possible presidential bid.

And the birth certificate was clearly the key punchline for the evening, which typically offers the president a chance to show off his humorous side and a town consumed by politics and partisanship to enjoy a light-hearted affair.

Obama's presentation started after the wrestler Hulk Hogan's patriotic anthem, "Real American," played. Images of Americana from Mount Rushmore to Uncle Sam were shown on the screen, alongside his birth certificate. And then he offered to show his live birth video, which turned out to be a clip from the Disney film, "The Lion King."

On the serious side, Obama took time to thank the troops for their service overseas and noted that the people of the South, especially Alabama, have suffered heart-wrenching losses.

Subscribers: Click B4B Main Page for video

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

President to Announce Cabinet Changes
as Robert Gates Retires


By: Althea Dixon

WHITE HOUSE Correspondent

Blacks4Barack Org.


(D.C.) President Obama will nominate CIA Director Leon Panetta this week as secretary of defense, replacing Robert M. Gates as part of a series of national security shifts that will also place Afghanistan war commander Gen. David H. Petraeus in the top CIA job, U.S. officials said.

Ryan C. Crocker, a five-time ambassador who retired in 2009 after wartime service in Iraq, will be assigned to head the U.S. diplomatic mission in Kabul.

Marine Lt. Gen. John R. Allen, Air force who is currently the deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command, will take Petreaus’s job in Afghanistan. Gates’s retirement date is scheduled for June 30, when Panetta will take over at defense, assuming he is confirmed by the Senate.

Patraeus will retire from the Army, to become CIA Director. He will assume Duty the first of September.

The agency will be headed for several months by an interim director. The delay in Petraeus’s move will allow him to oversee the critical summer fighting season in Afghanistan and the initial withdrawal of U.S. combat troops pledged by Obama. Officials said that both the numbers and configuration of units to be withdrawn will be decided under Gates prior to his retirement. Postponement of Petraeus’s departure will also allow time for a smooth handover to Allen.

Planning for the changes has been underway since March. Panetta accepted the National Security post Monday after much consideration.The President will make the announcement tomorrow.

These changes are dependent upon Senate Nomination Agreement.

B4B NOTE: We would like to thank Robert Gates for all he has done for the safety and well-being of Our Country. Your work is Greatly Appreciated.

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President Releases Long Form Birth Certificate
to Shut Up Morons Like Trump,
Michelle Bachm
ann and other
'he's not one of us' racists.


THE WHITE HOUSE:

In 2008, in response to media inquiries, the President’s campaign requested his birth certificate from the state of Hawaii. The state sent the campaign the President’s birth certificate, the same legal documentation provided to all Hawaiians as proof of birth in state, and the campaign immediately posted it on the internet. That birth certificate can be seen below.

When any citizen born in Hawaii requests their birth certificate, they receive exactly what the President received. In fact, the document posted on the campaign website is what Hawaiians use to get a driver’s license from the state and the document recognized by the Federal Government and the courts for all legal purposes. That’s because it is the birth certificate. This is not and should not be an open question.

The President believed the distraction over his birth certificate wasn’t good for the country. It may have been good politics and good TV, but it was bad for the American people and distracting from the many challenges we face as a country. Therefore, the President directed his counsel to review the legal authority for seeking access to the long form certificate and to request on that basis that the Hawaii State Department of Health make an exception to release a copy of his long form birth certificate. They granted that exception in part because of the tremendous volume of requests they had been getting.

B4B NOTE: The true culprit in all this ignorance has been the media who has given non-stop coverage combined with legitimizing the racist, birther 'he's not one of us' sentiment guised as a birth certificate issue. Absolutely PATHETIC !

President Obama:
" We don't have time for this silliness"

B4B Home Page


Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Presenting: (again)
The President's Birth Certificate !


For the American Morons like Donald Trump, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann and others, of whom the media absolutely salivates for the opportunity to shine light to their ignorant birther claims, we present, again, President Obama's birth certificate for all, including the lost, ignorant and purposefully confused to see. Extremely sad that at a time when Our Country is faced with such a list of conditions and issues that need serious attention, these morons would rather spend time planting racist tinted seeds that The President " is not one of us ", while being aided by the media. Just PATHETIC ! Please share this birth certificate everywhere you can.

Fight Ignorance...
With TRUTH !

Saturday, April 16, 2011

WATCH: President's Weekly Address
Discusses His Budget Plan for America
Including Plan to Tax The Rich !


WATCH:


Subscribers CLICK B4B MAIN PAGE for video

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

DETAILS of THE PRESIDENT'S
BUDGET PLAN

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

APRIL 13, 2011

FACT SHEET: THE PRESIDENT’S FRAMEWORK FOR SHARED PROSPERITY AND SHARED FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

The President believes that we need a comprehensive, pro-growth economic strategy that invests in winning the future, lays the foundation for strong private-sector job growth and ensures that shared prosperity will keep the American dream alive for generations to come. A key component of that strategy must be a commitment to fiscal responsibility and to living within our means. Today, the President is laying out a comprehensive, balanced deficit reduction framework to cut spending, bring down our debt and increase confidence in our nation’s fiscal strength, while supporting our economic recovery and ensuring we are making the investments we need to win the future.

· $4 Trillion in Deficit Reduction: The President is setting a goal of reducing our deficit by $4 trillion in 12 years or less. This deficit reduction would be phased in over time to protect and strengthen our economic recovery and the recovering labor market.

· Debt on a Declining Path, Backed Up By An Across the Board “Debt Failsafe” Trigger: The President’s framework would require that, by the second half of the decade, our nation’s debt is on a declining path as a share of our economy. To enforce this requirement, the President is calling on Congress to enact:

Ø A Debt Failsafe that will trigger across-the-board spending reductions (both in direct spending and spending through the tax code) if, by 2014, the projected ratio of debt-to-GDP is not stabilized and declining toward the end of the decade. Consistent with prior fiscal enforcement triggers put in place by Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton, the trigger should not apply to Social Security, low-income programs, or Medicare benefits.

· Balance Between Spending Cuts and Tax Reform: The President’s framework would seek a balanced approach to bringing down our deficit, with three dollars of spending cuts and interest savings for every one dollar from tax reform that contributes to deficit reduction. This is consistent with the bipartisan Fiscal Commission’s approach.

· Shared Sacrifice from All, Including the Most Fortunate Americans: The President believes strongly that, as we make difficult choices to live within our means, we cannot afford to make our deficit problem worse by extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

· Bipartisan, Bicameral Negotiations on a Legislative Framework: The President has asked Majority Leader Reid, Speaker Boehner, Minority Leader Pelosi and Minority Leader McConnell to each designate four Members from their caucuses to participate in bipartisan, bicameral negotiations led by the Vice President, beginning in early May. The goal of these negotiations is to agree on a legislative framework for comprehensive deficit reduction.

· Policy Highlights. The policy highlights in the President’s framework build on the down-payment included in his FY 2012 Budget. They include:

Ø Non-security discretionary spending: The President is proposing to build on the savings from the FY 2011 budget agreement, while investing in key drivers of economic growth like energy innovation, education, and infrastructure. This would entail cutting non-security discretionary spending to levels consistent with the Fiscal Commission, saving $770 billion by 2023.

Ø Security spending: The President’s framework will go beyond the Fiscal Year 2012 Budget to achieve deeper reductions in security spending. It sets a goal of holding the growth in base security spending below inflation, while ensuring our capacity to meet our national security responsibilities, which would save $400 billion by 2023.

Ø Health care: The President’s framework builds on the Affordable Care Act by including new reforms aimed at further reducing the growth of health care spending – a major driver of long-term deficits. The President opposes any plan that would simply shift costs to seniors and the vulnerable by undermining Medicare and Medicaid. Building on the foundation of the historic deficit reduction achieved through the Affordable Care Act, the framework would save an additional $340 billion by 2021, $480 billion by 2023, and at least an additional $1 trillion in the subsequent decade. These savings complement the new patient safety initiative that could lower Medicare costs by another $50 billion over the next decade by providing better care. The President’s framework includes initiatives that will:

o Bend the long-term cost curve by setting a more ambitious target of holding Medicare cost growth per beneficiary to GDP per capita plus 0.5 percent beginning in 2018, through strengthening the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).

o Make Medicaid more flexible, efficient and accountable without resorting to block granting the program, ending our partnership with States or reducing health care coverage for seniors in nursing homes, the most economically vulnerable and people with disabilities. Combined Medicaid savings of at least $100 billion over 10 years.

o Reduce Medicare’s excessive spending on prescription drugs and lower drug premiums for beneficiaries without shifting costs to seniors or privatizing Medicare. Combined Medicare savings of at least $200 billion over 10 years.

Ø Other mandatory spending: Outside of health care, comprehensive deficit reduction must include savings in other mandatory programs, including agricultural subsidies, the federal pension insurance system, and anti-fraud measures, while protecting and strengthening programs that serve low-income families and other vulnerable Americans. The President’s framework includes a target of $360 billion in savings from other mandatory programs by 2023.

Ø Tax reform: the President is calling for individual tax reform that closes loopholes and produces a system which is simpler, fairer and not rigged in favor of those who can afford lawyers and accountants to game it. The President supports the Fiscal Commission’s goal of reducing tax expenditures enough to both lower rates and lower the deficit.

Ø Social Security: The President does not believe that Social Security is in crisis nor is a driver of our near-term deficit problems. But, in the context of an aging population and a Social Security wage base that is declining as a share of overall earnings, Social Security faces long-term challenges that are better addressed sooner than later to ensure that the program remains for future generations the rock-solid benefit for older Americans that it has been for past generations. That is why the President supports bipartisan efforts to strengthen Social Security for the long haul. These efforts should be guided by several principles, including strengthening the program and not privatizing it, improving retirement security for the vulnerable while protecting people with disabilities and current beneficiaries, and not slashing benefits for future generations.


DETAILS OF THE PRESIDENT’S FRAMEWORK FOR

SHARED PROSPERITY AND SHARED FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

1. A Fiscally Responsible Economic Strategy to Invest in Competitiveness and Growth

The President believes that, if we are going to promote economic recovery, invest in our long-term competitiveness and meet our values of dignity for retirees, protection for the most vulnerable and opportunity for all Americans, a comprehensive, balanced deficit reduction framework must be part of our overall economic growth strategy.

The question is not whether we need to bring down long-term deficits and debt to build economic confidence and promote investment in the United States; instead it is how to best do so consistent with a pro-growth economic strategy. The framework the President outlined today charts a course to achieve deficit reduction and support economic growth, with a balanced approach and an enforceable backstop to ensure that we achieve our economic and fiscal goals.

2. A Deficit Reduction Goal and Enforceable Debt Failsafe

The framework the President announced today offers a balanced approach to maintaining our economic recovery while living within our means. It centers on the following goal:

· Achieving $4 trillion in deficit reduction over 12 years or less. The President believes that this goal is achievable over a 12 year period, consistent with the goals of promoting economic growth that benefits the middle class and strengthening the health and economic security of our nation’s seniors, people with disabilities and most vulnerable. The Administration projects that this framework will reduce deficits as a share of our economy to about 2.5% of GDP in 2015, and put deficits on a declining path toward close to 2.0% of GDP toward the end of the decade.

· Deficit reduction should be phased in over time to ensure that fiscal policy does not undermine the momentum of our economic recovery. Our economy has created 1.8 million private sector jobs over the last 13 months and the pace of job growth has accelerated in recent months. While long-term deficit reduction is a crucial component of the President’s economic strategy, this goal cannot be used as an excuse to undermine the near-term policies and investments we need to continue our economic recovery.

· Deficit reduction efforts should be held accountable by a “Debt Failsafe” trigger: The President is confident that, with a robust economic recovery and bipartisan agreement on deficit reduction, we will put our debt as a share of the economy on a declining path by the second half of the decade. However we must provide a strong incentive for Congress to act on a deficit reduction framework and renew confidence that we will hit this goal. Therefore, the President is calling for:

Ø A debt failsafe that will ensure that our nation’s debt is on a declining path as a share of our economy. If by 2014, budget projections do not show that the debt-to-GDP ratio has stabilized and is declining in the second half of the decade, the failsafe will trigger an across the board spending reduction, including on spending through the tax code.

Ø The trigger will ensure that deficits as a share of the economy average no more than 2.8% of GDP in the second half of the decade.

Ø Consistent with prior fiscal enforcement mechanisms put in place by Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton, the trigger should not apply to Social Security, low-income programs, or benefits for Medicare enrollees.

Ø The trigger should also include a mechanism to ensure that it does not exacerbate an economic downturn or interfere with our nation’s ability to respond to a national security emergency.

3. Discretionary Spending

· Non-Security Savings Equal to the Fiscal Commission’s, While Investing In Our Future:

Ø The budget agreement negotiated by the President last week represented the largest one-year reduction in discretionary spending in our history, even as it invested in areas key to our long-run economic growth and competitiveness.

Ø We should build on this year’s savings, while ensuring that we continue to make the investments we need to win the future and not threaten the economic recovery. The President believes we can do so while generating additional deficit reduction by cutting non-security spending to levels consistent with what the Fiscal Commission recommended over the next decade.

Ø This would generate an additional $200 billion in savings over 10 years beyond the $400 billion in savings from the President’s Budget. Over 12 years, it will generate a total of $770 billion in deficit reduction.

· Additional Discipline on Security Spending While Keeping America Safe:

Ø While the President will never accept cuts that compromise our ability to defend our homeland or America’s interests around the world, Secretary Gates has shown over the last two years that there is substantial waste and duplication in our security budget that we can and should eliminate—proposing savings of $400 billion in current and future defense spending.

Ø As part of a comprehensive deficit reduction framework, the President is calling for pushing harder to not only eliminate waste and improve efficiency and effectiveness, but conduct a fundamental review of America’s missions, capabilities, and our role in a changing world.

Ø The framework sets a goal of holding the growth in base security spending below inflation, while ensuring our capacity to meet our national security responsibilities, which would save $400 billion by 2023. (The President will make decisions on specific cuts after working with Secretary Gates and the Joint Chiefs on the comprehensive review.)

Ø Note: this deficit reduction is in addition to the savings generated from ramping-down overseas contingency operations.

4. Health Care

· Medicare and Medicaid Savings of $480 Billion by 2023 and At Least an Additional $1 Trillion over the Subsequent Decade, Providing Better Care at Lower Costs:

Ø Building on the Affordable Care Act, the President is proposing additional reforms to Medicare and Medicaid designed to strengthen these critical programs by reducing waste, increasing accountability, promoting efficiency, and improving the quality of care, without shifting the cost of care to our seniors or people with disabilities.

Ø The framework will save $340 billion over ten years and $480 billion by 2023 (including the proposals already included in the President’s Budget). This framework includes the same aggregate savings that House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan proposed in his November 2010 plan with Alice Rivlin and an amount sufficient to fully pay to reform the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) physician payment formula while still reducing the deficit.

Ø Over the subsequent decade, the President’s proposal will save well over $1 trillion by further bending the cost curve, doubling the savings from the Affordable Care Act.

Ø The President’s framework offers a stark contrast with the House Republican plan that would increase seniors’ health costs by $6,400 annually starting in 2022, raise health insurance premiums for middle-class Americans and small businesses, cut Federal Medicaid spending by one-third by the end of the decade, and increase the number of uninsured by 50 million.

· The President’s framework proposes specific reforms to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid over the long term, including:

Ø Addressing the long-term drivers of Medicare cost growth: The President’s framework would strengthen the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) created by the Affordable Care Act. The IPAB has been highlighted by economists and health policy experts as a critical contributor to Medicare’s solvency and sound operations. Under the Affordable Care Act, IPAB analyzes the drivers of excessive and unnecessary Medicare cost growth. When Medicare growth per beneficiary exceeds growth in nominal GDP per capita plus 1 percent, IPAB recommends to Congress policies to reduce the rate of growth to meet that target, while not harming beneficiaries’ access to needed services. Congress must consider IPAB’s recommendations or, if it disagrees, enact policies that achieve equivalent savings. If neither acts, then the Secretary of Health and Human Services would have to develop and implement a proposal to achieve the savings target.

The President’s framework will strengthen IPAB to act as a backstop to the other Medicare reforms by ensuring that Medicare spending growth does not outpace our ability to pay for it over the long run, while improving the program and keeping Medicare beneficiaries’ premium growth under control. Specifically, it would:

o Set a new target of Medicare growth per beneficiary growing with GDP per capita plus 0.5 percent. This is consistent both with the reductions in projected Medicare spending since the Affordable Care Act was passed and the additional reforms the President is proposing.

o Give IPAB additional tools to improve the quality of care while reducing costs, including allowing it to promote value-based benefit designs that promote proven services like prevention without shifting costs to seniors.

o Give IPAB additional enforcement mechanisms such as an automatic sequester as a backstop for IPAB, Congress, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Ø Reforming the Federal-State partnerships to strengthen Medicaid and promote simplicity, efficiency, and accountability: Under current law, States face a patchwork of different Federal payment contributions for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The President’s framework would replace the current complicated Federal matching formulas with a single matching rate for all program spending that rewards States for efficiency and automatically increases if a recession forces enrollment and State costs to rise.

In addition, the President has called on the National Governors Association (NGA) to make recommendations for ways to reform and strengthen Medicaid, and the framework will consider the ideas that its Task Force produces. The President also supports reform of Medicaid to incentivize more efficient, higher quality, care for high-cost beneficiaries, including those who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. These nine million beneficiaries comprise 15 percent of Medicaid enrollment but consume nearly 40 percent of total Medicaid spending.

Ø Improving patient safety: Together with employers, States, hospitals, physicians and nurses, the Administration has launched a new public-private partnership called Partnership for Patients that will help improve the quality, safety and affordability of health care for all Americans. The two goals of this new Partnership are: preventing patients from getting injured or sicker while they are in the hospital and helping patients heal without complication. Achieving the initiative’s goal would mean more than 1.6 million patients will recover from illness without a preventable complication, reducing costs by up to $50 billion in Medicare and billions more in Medicaid over the next 10 years.

Ø Cutting unnecessary prescription drug spending: The framework would limit excessive payments for prescription drugs by leveraging Medicare’s purchasing power – similar to what was called for by the bipartisan Fiscal Commission. It would speed up the availability of generic biologics, and prohibit brand-name companies from entering into “pay for delay” agreements with generic companies. And, it would implement Medicaid management of high prescribers and users of prescription drugs.

Ø Reducing abuse and increasing accountability in Medicaid and Medicare: The framework would clamp down on States’ use of provider taxes to lower their own spending while not providing additional health services through Medicaid; recover erroneous payments from Medicare Advantage; establish upper limits on Medicaid payments for durable medical equipment; and take other actions to improve program integrity.

· A major contrast with the House Republican approach. The President’s framework rejects plans that would end Medicare as we know it or transform Medicaid into a dramatically underfunded block grant, putting at serious risk not only seniors but also the most vulnerable children and people with disabilities. Some of the major problems with the House Republican approach include:

Ø The House Republican plan does nothing to reduce health costs. Instead it actually increases costs by doing nothing to reform the way health care is delivered in addition to putting a larger fraction of the burden on beneficiaries and States.

o In the first year the Republican plan goes into effect, a typical 65-year-old who becomes eligible for Medicare would pay an extra $6,400 for health care, more than doubling what he or she would pay if the plan were not adopted.

o States would get one-third less for Medicaid by 2021, potentially leaving 15 million people without coverage, including seniors in nursing homes, people with disabilities, children and pregnant women.

Ø The House Republican plan would no longer guarantee the same level of benefits and choices that seniors have today in Medicare, because the proposal allows private health plans to determine benefits, raise cost sharing, and limit choice of doctors and hospitals.

5. Other Mandatory Spending

· Outside of health care, comprehensive deficit reduction must include savings in other mandatory programs.

· The President’s Budget includes measures to reform agricultural subsidies, shore up the federal pension insurance system, restore solvency to the federal unemployment insurance trust fund, and enact anti-fraud measures.

· Building on these efforts, the President’s framework includes a target of $360 billion in savings from other mandatory programs by 2023.

· The Fiscal Commission and other bipartisan efforts have put forward additional proposals that should be considered as part of a comprehensive deficit reduction effort to meet this target.

· Reforms to mandatory programs should protect and strengthen the safety net for low-income families and other vulnerable Americans.

6. Tax Reform

· The President is calling on Congress to undertake comprehensive tax reform that produces a system which is fairer, has fewer loopholes, less complexity, and is not rigged in favor of those who can afford lawyers and accountants to game it.

· He believes we cannot afford to make our deficit problem worse by extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

· He also supports efforts to build on the Fiscal Commission’s goal of reducing tax expenditures so that there is enough savings to both lower rates and lower the deficit. Reform should be designed to ask more of those who can afford it while protecting the middle class and promoting economic growth.

· In addition, as he explained in the State of the Union, the President is continuing his effort to reform our outdated corporate tax code to enhance our economic competitiveness and encourage investment in the United States. By eliminating loopholes, reducing distortions and leveling the playing field in our corporate tax code, we can use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years without adding to the deficit.

7. Social Security

· The President does not believe that Social Security is a driver of our near-term deficit problems or is currently in crisis. But he supports bipartisan efforts to strengthen Social Security for the long haul, because its long-term challenges are better addressed sooner than later to ensure that it remains the rock-solid benefit for older Americans that it has been for past generations. The President in the State of the Union laid out his principles for Social Security reform which he believes should form the basis for bipartisan negotiations that could proceed in parallel to deficit negotiations:

Ø Strengthen retirement security for the low-income and vulnerable; maintain robust disability and survivors’ benefits.

Ø No privatization or weakening of the Social Security system; reform must strengthen Social Security and restore long-term solvency.

Ø No current beneficiary should see the basic benefit reduced; nor will we accept an approach that slashes benefits for future generations.

###

BEWARE:
BLACK OBAMA BASHERS AHEAD: !
Not only will the 'Professional Left' continue doing all they can to de-energize support for The President leading up to the 2012 election...but Black so-called 'leaders' like Dr. Cornell West, Tavis Smiley and others are also dedicated to 'Obama bashing' designed to de-energize Black/minority support. IMO...ignorant, self-destructive and PATHETIC !
WATCH: Rev. Al Sharpton, Dr. Cornell West Spar on MSNBC


Subscribers CLICK B4B MAIN for video

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Meet 'Mama Kaye' Wilson:
Sasha and Malia's Godmother,
1st Granny's Travel
Companion

1st Granny Marian Robinson (left) with Godmother 'Mama Kaye'
return to D.C. after South America visit

This week's Chicago Tribune has an illuminating look at Eleanor Kaye Wilson a.k.a. "Mama Kaye" -- a close friend of the Obama family and Sasha and Malia's godmother.

We first heard of Mama Kaye back in 2009, when she was named to the President's Commission on White House Fellows. HuffPost blogger Carol Felsenthal wrote at the time:

Ms. Kaye's bio on the White House press release describes her as an educator whose work has included stints at DePaul University's School for New Learning and at the Chicago City Colleges system, "where she developed ... a welfare-to-work education and training program for General Assistance participants."

Ms. Wilson, who lives in Olympia Fields, is the Obama girls' godmother as well as a friend and contemporary of Michelle's mother, Marian Robinson. Yvonne Davila, a friend of Michelle's since their days working in City Hall, told me that when Michelle and Barack were on the campaign trail, the Obama girls would often stay with with Mama Kaye, whom she describes as "the Martha Stewart of our group. ... She does foods that are amazing. She also does arts and crafts and it's such a great [treat] for our kids to go over there."

More recently, we came across Mama Kaye's name in the White House pool reports during the First Family's trip to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador -- it seems that she served as a traveling companion for Robinson and "greeted foreign officials and enjoyed red-carpet treatment, just footsteps behind the president," the Tribune adds.

And some other factoids from the Tribune's breakdown:

  • "After Obama won the presidency, the voluble, gregarious woman told The Washington Post that she didn't want to sleep in the Lincoln Bedroom, lest she'd be the one to spill coffee on the Gettysburg Address."
  • "Last February, Obama singled out 'Mama Kaye' at a prayer breakfast in Washington for setting up prayer circles for him around the country. She started with her own Bible study group, he said, but "once I started running for president and she heard what they were saying about me on cable, she felt the need to pray harder."
  • Mama Kaye's husband, Wellington Wilson, 76, is an ex-Marine and former educator. He's referred to as "Papa Wellington" even by one Barack Obama.
Story continues below

The more we find out, the more we embrace this White House's chain of command. If mom says no, ask grandma. If grandma says no, ask grandma's friend. If grandma says no, ask Papa Wellington...how could a man with that name be anything short of awesome?

Read the rest at ChicagoTribune.com.

It IS A New Day !

B4B Home Page

Saturday, April 9, 2011

President Interjects:
Averts Shutd
own


WATCH: President's Weekly Address
Discusses Budget Compromise to Avoid Shutdown


After weeks of negotiations, President Obama and leaders from both the Democratic and Republican parties in Congress found common ground in an agreement about the United States' budget. This means the government will remain open to serve the public, including small businesses who need need loans to grow, families who've applied for mortgages and others who are visiting national parks and museums. It also means that hundreds of thousands of Americans - including brave men and women in uniform - will get paychecks on time.

In his Weekly Address, the President discusses the importance of the bipartisan budget agreement that represents both a significant investment in the United States' future - and the largest annual spending cut in our history.

Align CenterCLICK HERE for Weekly Address

B4B NOTE....BOTTOM LINE: Due to whiny, we'll 'teach Obama a lesson', Dem non-voters literally handing The Power to the Evil Side in states across the country and in Congress this past November...massive cuts are ahead at federal, state & local levels...more mass layoffs ahead...social programs cut...and the Restructuring of America in a VERY negative way...unless we
Wake Up....UNITE....
and FIGHT !


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Monday, April 4, 2011

President's Message to
Kick-Off 2012 Campaign

It's GET FIRED UP Time !

2012


Today, we are filing papers to launch our 2012 campaign.

We're doing this now because the politics we believe in does not start with expensive TV ads or extravaganzas, but with you -- with people organizing block-by-block, talking to neighbors, co-workers, and friends. And that kind of campaign takes time to build.

So even though I'm focused on the job you elected me to do, and the race may not reach full speed for a year or more, the work of laying the foundation for our campaign must start today.

We've always known that lasting change wouldn't come quickly or easily. It never does. But as my administration and folks across the country fight to protect the progress we've made -- and make more -- we also need to begin mobilizing for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest.

As we take this step, I'd like to share a video that features some folks like you who are helping to lead the way on this journey. Please take a moment to watch:

Watch the video

In the coming days, supporters like you will begin forging a new organization that we'll build together in cities and towns across the country. And I'll need you to help shape our plan as we create a campaign that's farther reaching, more focused, and more innovative than anything we've built before.

We'll start by doing something unprecedented: coordinating millions of one-on-one conversations between supporters across every single state, reconnecting old friends, inspiring new ones to join the cause, and readying ourselves for next year's fight.

This will be my final campaign, at least as a candidate. But the cause of making a lasting difference for our families, our communities, and our country has never been about one person. And it will succeed only if we work together.

There will be much more to come as the race unfolds. Today, simply let us know you're in to help us begin, and then spread the word:

http://my.barackobama.com/2012

Thank you,

Barack

Donate

It's WARRIOR TIME !
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Sunday, April 3, 2011


BUDGET NEWS:
President Speaks Out


THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________
April 2, 2011

Readout of the President's Calls Today to Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Reid on Ongoing Budget Negotiations


Today, the President made separate calls to Speaker Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Reid to discuss the ongoing negotiations on the Continuing Resolution.

The President made clear that we all understand the need to cut spending, and highlighted the progress that has been made to agree to all work off the same number - $73 billion in spending cuts in this year alone. The President said that he has instructed his team to continue to work hard over the weekend with the appropriators to help reach resolution on the composition of those cuts, and reiterated our opposition to cuts that will undermine our economic growth, job creation, and our ability to win the future. He also made clear that we continue to oppose efforts to use this process to further an ideological agenda on issues that have nothing at all to do with reducing spending or reducing the deficit.

The President highlighted the progress that has been made but made clear that this process is running short on time, and he urged both sides to reach a final solution and avoid a government shutdown that would be harmful to our economic recovery.

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B4B News U Should Know


PATHETIC ! Be mindful of the GOP's well orchestrated, 'Never Again', strategic, master plan to destroy EVERY entity they FEEL helped get America's 1st Black President elected. First....ACORN...then the Unions...now AARP (and more). Further exemplifies the dangerous repercussions of handing The Power to the Evil Side (by listening to The Professional-whiny- Left....and not voting). SHAME !

Right Wing Congress to
Inve
stigate AARP


Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – The powerful House Ways & Means Committee has asked the Internal Revenue Service to conduct a probe of the AARP, one of the nation’s largest and most powerful membership organizations. The committee released a new report, “Behind the Veil: The AARP America Doesn’t Know,” that charges the AARP with a conflict of interest between the interests of its members, its massive insurance business and its tax exempt status.

The committee report says that the AARP stands to make as much as $1 billion over the next decade because of the new health care law it helped push through Congress. The AARP spent $22 million lobbying Congress during the year-long health care fight. (read rest of article)

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

BEWARE: Looks like she's finally being honest. Fact is...it never WAS a 'lefty' publication. To the contrary...it helped hand The Power to the Evil Side by de-energizing Dem voters. Time for Jane Hamsher at FDL to be honest too....with their non-stop 'teach Obama a lesson' ignorant, self-destructive rants. PLUS...keep I keen, mindful eye on MSNBC's Ed Schultz and the new guy Cenk Uyger as well as Adam Green (PCCC) who all have mastered the art of dissuading and de-energizing support through their regular " I was a strong supporter of The President.....BUT (then they fill-in the slam) !"....routine.

Arianna: The Huffington Post is not a
'lefty' Publicati
on Anymore


(Raw Story) In a recent interview with The New York Times, Arianna Huffington revealed a bit of news that's not likely to show up on The Huffington Post's front page any time soon: the site is no longer "lefty" in its political bent.

That will likely come as a surprise to the massive audience of Democrats and liberals The Huffington Post has attracted over the years, who've turned the site into a powerful voice for progressive values and one of the largest online publications going.

Speaking to New York Times reporter Andrew Goldman, Huffington said that for the last three years she has been walking the post-partisan talk.

"The tag line that we’ve used a lot is 'Beyond left and right,'" she reportedly said.

The Times' writer fired back, suggesting that she was "trying to tell me that Smurfs aren’t blue" by claiming that The Huffington Post was not founded as a "lefty" publication.

"I’m just telling you that it is very clear that we have progressive views, but to call everything we’re doing lefty — it misses the whole point that American policy needs to be redefined beyond left and right," she reportedly said. "It’s a completely obsolete view of politics."

"Still, I’m amazed you’re trying to tell me that The Huffington Post wasn’t started as a lefty blog?" Goldman asked.

"I’m not trying to tell you anything," she reportedly replied. "I’m telling you things. I’m not trying, O.K.?"

The interviewer also claimed that "salacious," "boob-related" posts on Huffington's front page tend to get his clicks more than their original reporting -- a point Arianna said was "really a shame."

The published text of Huffington's interview was "condensed and edited," according to a tag below the piece.

Huffington has of late been feuding with Bill Keller, the Times' executive editor, who recently compared her business practices to "Somali piracy."

The Huffington Post has significantly more readers than The New York Times.

But in recent months Huffington has been under fire from liberals and progressives, namely due to AOL's announcement that it was purchasing the site and making Arianna the editor-in-chief of its new Huffington Post Media Group, under which all their editorial content now falls.

Some 900 of AOL's global employees were let go after the Huffington Post purchase, representing about 20 percent of its workforce. The majority were in back-office operations in India.

AOL reportedly paid $315 million for the site, sparking an outcry from a group of unpaid Huffington Post contributors who demanded to share in the proceeds. (read rest of article)

Knowledge is Power...

Pass It On !

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