Me, too.
Just think...
As disabled or elderly folks, we can't always do everything we'd like - or need - to do for our critters. If we lived in a community of other animal lovers, we would have neighbors who understood our plight and could help us. Conversely, we could help them when they need it.
That's what community is all about.
Wouldn't it be great to know that, if you had to go in the hosptal, or just caught a bad cold and needed to rest for a few days, that there would be someone close by who is familiar with the care and feeding of your pets?
I got evicted. It was awful and illegal and I will keep you posted on what I have presented in federal court. Landlord had 3 city building cases filed against him before I was evicted. No permits for repairs were issued by building dept. Over 30 violations were found and city claimed that all but one was corrected. How? Landlord stole lease extension saying I had no rights and could not tell upstairs tenant to stop emitting noise in my unit. Landlord returned May 2008 rent check in a letter and next day sued me for not paying May 2008. Landlord also lied to court about having combined rental building with his home to deny my rental rights. Told city and judge that no records for what landlord claimed existed and had city and county proof and I got evicted. Learned from trying to fight the eviction that city court cases were addressed to the 2 separate buildings that I told the judge existed. Landlord presented a non city drawing as his proof. I learned that city maps and city zoning has no record of the new 4 car garage/storage building for landlord that matches the single property pin description that landlord lied about being his home and the 4 unit apartment building. Landlord's 4 car garage/storage building given permits for an address that would have placed them between owners home and rental building. Yet they are behind the rental building, the 4 car garage runs past the 4 unit dwelling that landlord told eviction judge was a 5 unit single pin building, and the driveway on city maps/zoning too runs between owners home and rental building yet is placed beside rental building and different owner building. The two upper illegal conversions in the building both had 2nd exit doors without staircases because owner using driveway. I could not even dismiss the eviction with the Illinois Retaliatory eviction act because Judge said that the 30 violations were all corrected. Judge was unfair and I reported them to the Judicial Review Board. I hope my amended federal building case will expose the corruption. Wish me luck. Thank you. Renee
ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/...&ActName=Retaliatory+Eviction+Act. - Cached
City of Chicago Office of the Inspector General Welcome to the Chicago Inspector General's website. We are an independent office dedicated to ensuring honesty and integrity in City government by rooting ...www.chicagoinspectorgeneral.org/ - Similar
Just a little disclaimer and some more info about us here...
First, if you think, looking at the picture of me and my horse, that I don't look disabled, think again. That picture is nearly 10 years old, and if you look closely, I was wearing a back brace then. Since then I have had 3 cervical discs replaced with "spacers" (the FDA has not yet approved the actual disc replacements yet - see the next paren), and been diagnosed with 5 herniated lumbar discs (awaiting FDA approval of surgical techniques successfully used in Europe for years), emphysema, arthritis and a myriad of other health problems, including a TBI (traumatic brain injury) that affects my cognitive abilities.
My poor old horse ain't gettin' any younger, either. He was mildly foundered years ago, and has an arthritic shoulder from a fall we took. The last time I was on his back was to ride him to the polls, fully tricked out in banners and flags for our candidate, on Election Day 2006 to vote for Texas Governor. The 5 mile round trip was about all either of us could manage. Both our tails were dragging by the time we got home - but we made our statement!
Second, I am not noted for my tact nor my political correctness. Just to support that statement, I'll say that Jack Nicholson and Bill Mayer are two of my favorite celebrities. That should tell you something! So, if you're easily offended, you can leave - don't go away mad, just go away. Don't complain; I do enough of that all by myself!
On the other hand, if you're serious about helping elders and disabled persons obtain better living conditions, then you'll just have to overlook my abrasive personality, and look at the beauty of this plan. Yes, of course, this is a self-serving enterprise, but if I can help myself AND help others at the same time, I can die peacefully, knowing I have left a legacy of good.
Http://savingtails.blogspot.com only outlines the PAL Community; I have published more details of the plan in other places, but I'll be darned if I can remember where ... I guess I'll have to re-write it. (A mind is a terrible thing to lose.)
Finally, I am in serious need of organizational help for this project! If you have the skills and/or funds necessary to help us obtain 501c3 status, funding, grant writing, advertsing, lobbying, or just want to help by being a supporter, please join my team in groups, blogs, causes, or wherever you find me. I may post on Facebook (see Critter Link), MySpace, Twitter, and wherever else I am.. Meanwhile, you may be able to find PAL by Googling "savingtails" , "critterlink", "Critter Link" or "PAL Community".
Addendum: My keyboard is worn out and sticky, and I'm a lousy typist, so I make lots of typos that i don't always catch. Please pardon me; I do the best I can.
Mitakuye Oyasin (We are all related),
CritterLink
Since I sent this email, the city is trying to dismiss the case. Until the city plays all of its cards, I hope that my additional proof will hold the city accountable.
Renee McManusChicago, Il 60614May 7, 2009RE: Would like to call this case - Operation show your cards depts ofbuilding, law, revenue, streets & sanitation, zoning, planning, mapping,housing, police, environment, fire and the Cook County Tax assessor. The citywill have to explain explain why codes and ordinances are not being enforcedand that it is not clout talking.I hope you are well. I got evicted last Wednesday. I have to wonder why andhow. I know. I live in one of the most corrupt places in the westernhemisphere. And I was the tenant offered tenant help by President Obama'ssenate office. I had been emailing President Obama when he was in Springfieldand then in DC. Crook County eviction judges side with slum landlords and donot ask that the owner prove that the building is up to code and prove nobusiness malpractice like - co mingling security deposit with rent beforechallenging a tenant response. The owner supplies the building and the citydecides if the buildings stay open and sign on to provide new housing. In theforeclosure market or not having $$$$ to buy, you rent. Where are you leftwhen the city is not acting fairly or actually sabotaging your rights. Youfinally go to federal court. First please let me give you some history. As atenant I kept running into building problems, bad managers, bad tenants, andquestioned why annual inspections and tenants calling the city were notstopping the problems. The city would ignore a problem but if a tenant used atenant group and or a tenant attorney to sue the landlord, the buildingproblems handled privately would let a tenant win money and or avoid aretaliatory eviction. The city would ignore problems and if a court matterarose, lie about things being turned compliant. If a building had futuredevelopment plans, the previously dismissed violations suddenly mattered andfines would be issued and the building would have to close. No one continuesto question why the city is not responsible for our housing problems and notinvolved in every tenant/landlord case. I have. I had been asking locally,state capital wise and in the federal atmosphere that if everyone had to be incompliance, then why were violations not being stopped. I kept asking. I keptasking all the way to federal court. Had thought I would have had to beg forthe judge to listen and take on the case today, and read the line call outsidethe court room and learned that the judge signed on. The city will have a fewweeks to explain their corruption and I will have a chance to respond. Noncity inspections to public utility companies found violations that the cityeither lied about not being there or were dismissed in court. The inspectorswalking around the building would see violations. The owners driveway is noteven placed where it is on city maps dividing owners home and this rental slumbut is placed besides this rental building and different owner next door. Thetwo upper units here have doors without staircases because landlord wantsdriveway access. The whole building was never zoned to have been rented andthe first annual inspection and all tenant 311 would have exposed this and thecity chose to take clout and lie. As a tenant, since I was not covered by the Chicago Landlord Tenant Ordinancethat would have had all tenant issues hammered out in civil court and beenawarded ordinance damages, I had to rely only on the city to protect me. I hadbeen calling 311 for unit and building inspections. I would alert our racistrogue on the take 43 ward alderman Vi Daley and she was a principal player inthe sabotage. The police harassed me and would protect a loud neighbour whoin turn has a rental building full of violations that the city would notrespond too. The city failed me when I asked that the laws be enforced. Thecity also lied in responding to the two congressional inquiries on my buildingand to the dept of environment made by President Obama's Senate office fromDecember 2007 and the claim of having answered again in March 2008. Up totoday, I get emails from the building department telling me that unless thingshave changed in my unit and building, there is no need to respond to 311calls. That will be a remark that will help me win this case. Along with thecity never having inspected my unit and the two upper illegal conversionshere, the city and cook county tax assessor's office let landlord run allsorts of scams that not only defrauded me out of my tenant rights but have thecity issuing fake reports and fake permits. I want to stop this unfairpractice of not having the rental ordinance not cover all tenants. I want toalso stop the sabotage leading to payoffs move from the building department tonot respond to tenant 311 calls when a case is active. The call shows thatproblems still exist and it will be harder for clout judges to dismissbuilding cases when tenants have records of problems. 311 emails need to sendback the tenant complaint and include the service request number for ourrecords. I sent all of my information and letters to our Chicago InspectorGenerals Office. I included some of the letters from President Obama's Senateoffice, the contact made to racist rogue on the take Alderman Vi Daley'soffice from Obama's office, proof that no permits for the repairs existed,proof that the owner was using a fake building number with permits that Iwould later learn were issued one year before the building number was wronglyregistered, my home inspection report and police reports about the sabotageand harassment I was getting for calling about noise for clout protectedrental properties. I gave them 120 days to respond and they did not.The show of cards is having all of us explain how codes and ordinances wereenforced or alas, maybe falsely claimed to have been provided.Will have more to say when I add the information I uncovered before Christmas.I only learned that the Obama 2nd inspection lead to a filed lawsuit a fewweeks ago because the building dept spokesperson would email and say that nocases were open and no violations existed. I say different and the truth is inthe architecture. Maybe this case will lead me to being the change I believewith the help of a federal judge ruling for me.I hope more tenants will question why their alderman and the city are notenforcing renters rights and providing up to code housing. Thanks.Renee McManusps- asked for order of protection stay of eviction. looks like i will beliving here and not evicted as i passionately and patiently wait for the cityand Inspector General office to respond and do some explaining. The city overestimated how much they underestimated me.pss- the city will have to explain why they chose to look at the wrong addressfor the Obama inspection and kept telling that I needed a FOIA (freedom ofinformation act)form to get the results. And other matters.might have to login - http://my.barackobama.com/page/dashboard/public/gGn8SP
I witnessed at least four students who received their stimulus check last week. It was a visible sign of the integrity in our government and so many were encouraged by the check.
On behalf of those who I witnessed show joy and appreciation, we say, Thank you.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/968952034?z00m=19760638
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin skyrocketed to the headlines when she became John McCain's surprise nominee for vice president in 2008 -- but even out of the spotlight of a national campaign, Palin continues to garner attention outside of Alaska.
Most recently, she made headlines for her take on accepting Alaska's portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 -- commonly called the stimulus plan. Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic does a nice job of running down her waffling statements.
But the most baffling part to me is that, of the $930 million allocated for Alaska, she only rejected the $28.6 million slated for energy efficiencymeasures. The New York Times explains:
The stimulus funds for states' energy offices come with other efficiency-oriented stipulations. To be eligible for the money, governors must offer assurances that their state will not only strengthen its building code, but also that they will make energy efficiency and renewable energy a priority when spending the funds. The states are also supposed to make sure that utilities have incentives to help their customers make their homes and businesses more energy-efficient...
Sounds great to me. But Palin has other ideas, claiming that "mandating universal energy building codes" was a bad idea for Alaska. The problem is, rejecting that money is an even worse idea for our environment. The future of this planet depends on everyone -- including residents of Alaska -- to start conserving energy now. And the best way to get started is through government-funded programs like the state energy grants Governor Palin just rejected.
Even fellow Alaskan Republicans agree; Alaskan Senate Resources Committee Co-Chair Lesil McGuire (an Anchorage Republican) sent Palin a letter formally urging her to take the energy efficiency funds. The Anchorage Daily News reports that Senator McGuire "said in an interview that Palin herself set a goal of Alaska receiving 50 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2025. 'And then to come back and reject the implementation of an energy saving code the building community hasn't rejected and that other states are readily adopting, I think it sends a hypocritical message,' McGuire said."
Agree it's hypocritical? You can let Sarah Palin know! Demand that she accepts the $28.6 million in stimulus funds for energy efficiency programs today by signing this petition.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=s2009-182
39 Republicans voted against it.
Only one Republican voted for it, Olympia Snowe of Maine.
here's the link to the action:
http://homelessness.change.org/actions/view/accessible_housing_for_all
PLEASE HELP SUPPORT THE AMENDMENTS TO HR 1408 IN FINANCE COMMITTEE
LETTER TO GO OUT IS EDITABLE and IS EASIeR TO READ THAN FRONT PAGE Which is JUST ThE DETAILS
LETS GET 10K SIGNATURES TO BEGIN REAL WORK ON ACCESSIBLE HOUSING FOR ALL.
ALREADY many OBAMA FEDERAL STIMULUS funds for adultS disabled are being diverted to other programs - huge cuts including to psychologists are planned !
PLEASE VOTE NO ON 1E BECAUSE THAT BILL IS THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY !
DON'T ALLOW MH SPECIFIC $ TO "DISAPPEAR" IN THE CA GENERAL FUND.!!!!!!!!!!
WARning: CA CUTTING CARE TO DISABLED ADULTS on ssi/ssp THROUGHOUT all PROGRAMS increasing disability and inability among Adults with mh and multiple disability!
Act Now To Defeat Proposition 1E
California's Special Election is less than two months away. We must act quickly and take the necessary steps to defeat Proposition 1E.
From NAMI California by Grace McAndrews, Executive Director, March 26, 2009
It's up to us to act now to defeat this harmful act.
HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO:
FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN
Attached for your convenience is a Fact Sheet & Contribution Form and Endorsement Forms for Individuals and Organizations. Please be as generous as you can. We ask that you share this information with all of your contacts, including members of your affiliate, neighbors, co-workers and friends listed in your address book. Post information on your web site and in your newsletter. Write letters to your local newspaper. Hold parties to support the campaign. Do whatever else is necessary to get the word out.
GET OUT THE VOTE
Voters who are registered to vote must vote at their polling place or vote-by-mail. This is critical. People who are not registered to vote must register by the deadline and vote either at their polling place or use the vote-by-mail ballot. This is critical as well. Historically, voting is light in special elections. We believe there is a good chance that t hose who opt for the vote-by-mail ballot may very well dictate the results of the May 19th election.
Those who wish to vote-by-mail can use the application printed on their Sample Ballot which will be sent prior to the elections, or one can apply in writing to their county elections official. If choosing the latter, you will need to submit a completed application or letter to your county elections official between 29 days and 7 days before the election. You can find the telephone number and address of your county elections official by looking in the front of your telephone directory in the White Pages Government Listing section under County Offices. Look for “Elections”, Registrar of Voters”, “County Clerks”, or “Voting.” For complete “how to” information of Registering to Vote and vote-by-mail, visit the following web site: www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections Go to Voter Reigstration, click on Vote by Mail.
Critical Downloads:
Click Here to download the Fact Sheet and Contribution Form
Click Here to download the Endorsement Forms for Individuals and Organizations
NOTE: 501©3 affiliates can participate in this process as well as donate money to the campaign. Your affiliate's non-profit status will not be affected.
Thanks for helping to defeat Proposition 1E!!
Source: NAMI California
Link: http://namialifornia.org
Hope everyone is well. Back in September 2008, I contacted our Chicago Inspector General's Office regarding city corruption and the monumental sabotage from the city responding to President Obama's Senate office trying to help. I gave the IG office 120 days to respond and NOTHING happened. After sending a FOIA (freedom of Information Act) request I got back the ....confidentiality response. I had called the IG office was told that it is policy not to contact the person. I asked what compare/contrast work from a city employee to someone from the yellow pages would be used to answer my inquiry and what the city was answering and I got no response. The only thing I have going on my side is this building and all the pathetic spin doctoring to Chinese Whispers games from the city can not stop - is the truth in the architecture. Below is my email to US Attorney Fitzpatrick regarding this. Only a judgement is going to lead to changes. Folks need to get hip to their rights but they also need to contact the city - so a record is made. It also protects their tenancy from illegal landlord retaliation. I think what is vital is that tenants learn about their rights and start contacting the only power we have to stop bad housing - the city. And if you live in one of the most corrupt places in the western hemisphere - you need all the help you can muster. Wish me luck. thanks.
Chicago OfficeDirksen Federal Building219 South Dearborn Street, Fifth FloorChicago, Illinois 60604Dear Department of Justice and US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald,I hope you are well. I foolishly waited for the city to enforce codes andordinances. As a tenant, only the city of Chicago can provide housing, rentalhousing compliance, and stop bad housing practices. Tenant groups and tenantattorneys earn money from situations where they have no power to enforce thelaws and changes and provide housing. Where are you left when the city is notresponding or responding unfairly. And we need to include all tenants underthe Chicago Landlord Tenant Ordinance. Currently all housing tenant courtcases are handled by private attorneys and if faults are found, nointervention from the city is included. The same problems continue. I am fedup. I was contacted about the unfair housing situation from President Obama'sSenate office in November 2007. I really thought that the city would rise tothe challenge and enforce codes and ordinances but the legacy of putridcorruption was too strong. Changes would mean the end of kick back schemes,racism in a barrio and housing developments, and gosh being respectful to atenant with the lease because the owner provided the building, and lettingtenants know that the city has to get the owner to answer for the housingproblems. Why should the owner not have to prove that the unit and buildingare up to code and the business practices listed on the ordinance are incompliance. For example, have owner prove that they did not co mingle thesecurity deposit and that no previous year or upcoming year have any citybuilding cases. Each lease violation is one to two months rent and factor thatwith an entire building every year. Where is the money going that keeps theseissues out of city court and when handled only placing them amongst privateattorneys? And if one violation is in practice then why is the city notinvolved and collecting fees? I have given the city every chance to respondand the city lied from the start. When cases are on federal level and out ofCrook County Circus Court, I hope that an honest show of cards from all willbe possible. The forwarded email and the attachments summarize the housingissue. I will be filing a motion next week. I have uncovered more informationabout the city and county lying and I will ask if I can add the work since myIG appeal came from a September letter. Nothing has changed it only got worst.Thank you. Renée McManus
*please note rules for hud housing occupants medical and disability deductions are different than tax/irs rules
www.hud.gov/.../both.cfm
Tax Deductions for People with Disabilities
Read Estate Planning for People with Disabilities to find out what you need to know before planning your estate.
March 27, 2009 Chicago Clout got this one wrong; Chicago Rental Problems need InspectorsChicagoClout Chicago Clout owner purchases famous political baseball from BleacherSports in Winnetka ... Chicago Clout review Bill Maher and Ann Coulter March 11, 2009 at ...www.chicagoclout.com - 59k - Cached
http://digg.com/health/FACTBOX_Groups_agree_and_disagree_on_U_S_health_overhaul
In the old days in my s.plainfield and middlesex, nj schools Children's health was often first addressed at the schools. It was most of my neighborhoods front line medical care and it was preventative and effective.
WHY NOT add in every EVERY PUBLIC SCHOOL HAVE ( adjusted by student size) A NURSE PRACTICiONER AND An AIDE. MOST BASiC KIDS HEALTH CAN BE HANDLED HERE AND FAR CHEAPER THAN WAITING FOR ER CARE.MANY CHILDREN with disabilities CARE CAN BE DEALT WITH ON THE FRONT LINES BY THE SCHOOL COUNSELOR AND NP, When they have been properly trained.KEEPING THESE CHILDREN IN MAIN STREAM SCHOOLS whenever possible EVEN IF some of THE CLASSES ARE SEPaRATE to address special needs GIVES THEM BETTER SOCIaL EXPERIENCE and future successes too....And there are many more ways to keep America it's healthiest without breaking the bank.
FIRST STAGE HEALTH CARE FOR PUBLIC PRESCHOOL -HS in response to:
Date: Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:35:07 -0500
From: Spoon <bspoons@consolidated.net>
Subject: [SiCKOUniversalHealthCare-HR676] Groups agree and disagree on U.S. health overhaul Politics First 100
Message-ID: <000901c99c1e$c50152c0$8f01a8c0@spoon01>
Reuters apparently does not know (or refuses to recognize) that we exist.
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-BarackObama/idUSTRE52169Y20090302
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Get ready for the in-law in chief.
President-elect Barack Obama's mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, is moving into the White House at least temporarily to join Michelle Obama and the two children, transition officials said Friday.
That's good news not just for late-night comics, but for 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha. During the campaign, Robinson retired from her job as a bank executive secretary to help care for her granddaughters.
"Mrs. Robinson will be coming with the family to help the girls get acclimated, and she will determine in the coming months whether or not she wants to stay in D.C. permanently," said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, spokeswoman for Michelle Obama.
Michelle Obama also made another hotly awaited decision: She's keeping the White House chef. Cristeta Comerford took the job in 2005 and is the first woman and first minority to serve as executive chef.
"Cristeta Comerford brings such incredible talent to the White House operation and came very highly regarded from the Bush family," Michelle Obama said in a statement released by the transition team. "Also the mom of a young daughter, I appreciate our shared perspective on the importance of healthy eating and healthy families."
Plenty of in-laws have taken up residence in the White House before, not to mention cousins, grandchildren and other relatives.
"Throughout history there have been many extended first families in office," said Robert Watson, author of "Life in the White House."
Ulysses S. Grant's father-in-law, Richard Dent, stayed for several years. Harry S. Truman's mother-in-law, Madge Gates Wallace, lived there, too, and was critical of her son-in-law.
"She never liked him. She always felt that Bess had married below her station," said Myra Gutin, a first lady historian and professor at Ryder University in New Jersey.
"For his part, he was gracious. Whatever Mother Wallace wanted, she pretty much got."
Mamie Eisenhower's mother also had extended stays, but like her daughter she tended to sleep until noon, said Maria Downs of the White House Historical Association.
Even the presidents' mothers can be tough. Lillian Carter stayed in the White House and got on well with her son Jimmy, but Gutin said that when he first told her, "Mom, I'm going to run for president," she replied, "President of what?"
By all accounts, Obama has a good relationship with his mother-in-law. She had put off retirement for years, but finally retired last summer to take care of the granddaughters while their parents campaigned.
"She didn't want anyone else taking care of the kids but her," McCormick Lelyveld said. "She wanted to be the one there."
Barack Obama has called her one of the unsung heroes of his campaign, and spoke of holding her hand on election night.
But when asked by "60 Minutes" if Robinson would move in, he quipped: "Well, I don't tell my mother-in-law what to do. But I'm not stupid. That's why I got elected president, man."
Powell, an honorary co-chair of the inauguration, announced the Presidential Inaugural Committee's "Renew America Together" volunteering initiative on Friday to take place on Jan. 19, the King holiday.
President-elect Barack Obama, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and their families will volunteer in the Washington area that day, a day before the Jan. 20 inauguration. They're asking Americans to do the same in their own communities.
"I think it will capture the imagination of the American people," Powell said, adding that there was a "fervor" for the new administration that should be tapped.
The goal is to make public service a greater priority throughout American life.
"It's not enough, I think, just to do it one day a year," Powell said.
The inaugural committee launched a Web site, USAService.org, to help Americans find opportunities to volunteer in their own communities. Spokeswoman Linda Douglass said there are already nearly 5,000 online listings, and people are welcome to add their own.
The Corporation for National and Community Service, the agency that oversees AmeriCorps, has been working for 14 years to make King day a national day of service at the request of Congress. They also worked with the inaugural committee on the new project.
Although a troubled economy has meant a drop in charitable giving, Powell said he was confident that Obama and Biden could appeal to the generous American spirit.
"My experience is, in time of need, the American people recognize that they have to do more than they would have otherwise," he said.
Powell founded the America's Promise Alliance, a group that tries to improve children's lives, and has also worked with the Boys and Girls Club and the United Negro College Fund.
He said he has not been asked to work in the Obama Administration and has made it clear he doesn't want to.
"I'm not looking for a job," he said. "I'm very happy in private life, thank you very much."
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama has increased his employment goal with the nation's economic outlook worsening, seeking to create or save 3 million jobs in the next two years instead of the 2.5 million he proposed last month.
Obama set the more ambitious target earlier this week after meeting with top economic advisers who cautioned that the nation's unemployment rate could exceed 9 percent given the current pace of job losses, Obama transition officials said Saturday.
During the presidential campaign, Obama pledged to create or save 1 million jobs. He increased that goal to 2.5 million over two years just last month.
Obama and his family traveled Saturday to his home state of Hawaii for a two-week vacation. But advisers were using Obama's guidance as a roadmap for a draft stimulus package to have ready when he returns on Jan. 2, advisers said.
Obama met with Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his economic leadership team Tuesday in Chicago.
Transition officials said Christina Romer, an economics professor who Obama has chosen as chair of his Council of Economic Advisers, opened the meeting by arguing that historical data and wide-ranging expert opinions suggest that upcoming economic problems could be more severe than anything the country has faced over the past half century. She said the country is likely to lose another 3 million to 4 million jobs over the next year without significant action.
Biden and Obama responded by pushing for a more ambitious jobs plan, driven by federal investments in health care, education and energy that could have a stimulative effect and lay the ground work for long term reform and a more sustainable economy. Ideas included weatherizing 1 million homes, shifting to a paperless health system, investing in disease prevention and modernizing schools.
Obama's team and congressional staff over the last week have been scrambling to come up with details of a plan to pump up the droopy economy with $650 billion or more in government spending over the next few years.
The aides met in the basement of the Capitol on Friday to devise ways to pump public money into science, energy, education, health care and infrastructure programs, as well as to help the poor and unemployed.
They hope unleashing a torrent of spending in the near term will create jobs and lift the economy.
Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress want to enact the still-emerging plan as soon as possible after he takes office on Jan. 20.
The plan, which some Obama aides think could swell to about $850 billion after negotiations with Congress, would be the largest investment in public infrastructure since the federal highway system was established in the 1950s. It also would provide tens of billions in dollars of aid to financially strapped states.
Obama declined Friday to put a price tag on his plan, but said the economic problems require a bold approach.
"I'm not going to give you a number because we're still making these evaluations," he said in response to a question at a Chicago news conference where he named four new members of his administration. "But you are exactly right that what we've seen, in terms of the evaluation of economists from across the political spectrum, is that we're going to have to be bold when it comes to our economic recovery package."
Biden, speaking in an interview set to air Sunday, said he believed there will be another stimulus package of roughly $700 billion to keep the economy from "absolutely tanking."
"The economy is in much worse shape than we thought it was in," Biden told ABC's "This Week," according to excerpts released Friday.
Transition officials said Obama and Biden directed the team to incorporate several principles into their job-creation programs, including:
-No earmarks for any spending proposals.
-Requirements that states and local governments use federal funds quickly to ensure immediate job creation.
-New public-private partnerships to support innovation. Transition officials said Obama expressed frustration with Washington's failure to jump-start "smart grid" power lines to increase electricity savings and said more partnerships with the private sector could help that idea get under way.
-Full transparency to ensure citizen oversight of fund allocation.
-Investments in ideas that work over ideology.
-A focus on reducing waste in the federal budget.
-Steps to protect workers from future recessions by enacting measures like the existing unemployment insurance program that automatically expand stimulus in tough times.
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Here is a sampling of the world's reactions to Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election.
``It's America showing some maturity,'' said Greg Ryan, 38, a financial planner in Sydney, Australia, adding Obama will be a more ``peaceful'' president than George W. Bush. ``America's gone too far down that world policeman thing.''
Obama's victory is a ``generational change'' and he may take global warming more seriously. ``That's the big picture isn't it, the environment. The war over water is going to be bigger than the war over oil in the long run.''
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&refer=home&sid=aoR_RoR0WGgc
God bless America
God bless Obama & Biden
okay let me take another bite of my sandwich....lol hmm good i think better with nourishment, Maryland is on fire.. its been a busy campaign it's not over yet, it is astonishing to see people out in full force . People are serious about this. And heck yeah!! they should be. you know working on this campaign has brought a lot of people together in ways personal and otherwise, making phone calls canvassing sign waving etc. you had little baby obamas yes the kids are in on the act... this is cute a little girl about 18 months old came in the towson headquarter
s chanting obama! obama!. she looked so serious.. this is a moment of change I cannot reinterate that enough. I found out you have to be sick and tired of being sick and tired when you get tired,, hmmm, you stand up for whats right there's no doubt, and the young voters my god, what a blessing. the schools have been teaching the kids about politics, thats what i am talking about, growth . i know some young adults that can put some adults to shame. yes they are supposed to be knowledgable. I found out never judge a book by it's cover, well until next guess what we got this one. No Doubt.!
Peace and Blessings
Paula Cuffie
