Shortly after the House of Representatives concluded tonight's vote on health insurance reform, President Obama released the following statement:
Tonight, in an historic vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would finally make real the promise of quality, affordable health care for the American people.The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a piece of legislation that will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality affordable options for those who don’t; and bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the government while strengthening the financial health of Medicare. And it is legislation that is fully paid for and will reduce our long-term federal deficit.Thanks to the hard work of the House, we are just two steps away from achieving health insurance reform in America. Now the United States Senate must follow suit and pass its version of the legislation. I am absolutely confident it will, and I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year.
Dear President Barack Obama,
Consistent with the above captioned award, I and all the members of our Non Governmental Organization, Change International salutes another cap that fits your head. May the same award endow your ability to impact people from various nations.
It is our prayers that your administration continues being source of hope, joy, good health and prosperity to mankind. Our generation will always remain proud of your achievements.
We hold you, your spouse and kids in high esteem.
Sincerely,
Jean Pierres Bassey
President
NGO Change International
P.O.BOX 27 BP 1044 Abidjan 27
Tel 00225 08288046
Cote d Ivoire
West Africa
From Vice President Joe Biden:
A few weeks ago, President Obama asked you to share your personal story about how the health care crisis has affected you and the ones you love. Hundreds of thousands of stories poured in from every corner of the country. The President and I have read through many of them ourselves -- and now I'm encouraging you to do so as well. Read these powerful, personal stories from people in your area and around the country.And after you do, please forward this note on to as many people as you can. For folks who don't yet understand why health care reform is such an urgent priority, these stories make the case far better than any statistics ever could. For those who support health care reform but haven't yet found the time to join our campaign, these stories provide more motivation than any speech any politician could ever give. So please read these stories, pass this note on to everyone in your address book, and help us show everyone in America why fixing our broken health care system is a necessity that just can't wait: http://healthcare.barackobama.com/stories Thank you, Vice President Joe Biden
A few weeks ago, President Obama asked you to share your personal story about how the health care crisis has affected you and the ones you love. Hundreds of thousands of stories poured in from every corner of the country. The President and I have read through many of them ourselves -- and now I'm encouraging you to do so as well. Read these powerful, personal stories from people in your area and around the country.
And after you do, please forward this note on to as many people as you can. For folks who don't yet understand why health care reform is such an urgent priority, these stories make the case far better than any statistics ever could. For those who support health care reform but haven't yet found the time to join our campaign, these stories provide more motivation than any speech any politician could ever give. So please read these stories, pass this note on to everyone in your address book, and help us show everyone in America why fixing our broken health care system is a necessity that just can't wait: http://healthcare.barackobama.com/stories Thank you, Vice President Joe Biden
Diebold subsidiary Premier Election Solutions admitted in a California state hearing on Tuesday that its voting machine software can lose votes and fail to log the fact that the votes were lost.
The admission, reported on Wired's Threat Level blog, is significant. For years, the company has touted the quality of its electronic voting machines amidst mounting criticism that they were prone to errors and tampering.
Prediction: 10,000 apps for Google Android Market by Oct. 2009?
The hearing related to last November's election in Humboldt County, California. Nearly 200 votes disappeared from a tally handled by Premier's Global Election Management System (GEMS) software.
Mitch Trachtenberg was one of the volunteer auditors who discovered that the GEMS system had eliminated the votes. Writing as a guest blogger in The Brad Blog, Trachtenberg said that Premier's voting systems, which are used in 34 states, could not effectively handle audits. "An election system's audit logs are meant to record all activity during the system's actual counting of ballots," he wrote. "Diebold's software fails to do that."
According to Threat Level, "the company acknowledged that the problem exists with every version of its tabulation software." California officials examined Humbolt's GEMS-created audit logs and could find no record of when 197 absentee ballots were removed from the system, which apparently prompted California's secretary of state to call the audit logs "useless."
Trachtenberg also mentioned the "disturbing revelation that Diebold had been aware of the problem for years." According to an earlier Brad Blog post, dated December 8, 2008, the tendency to delete ballots "was part of a bug [Diebold had] known about for at least four years." The blog reproduced an internal Diebold email about the problem dated 2004.
Reported problems with Diebold products are nothing new. The company was sued by Ohio last year for voting machines that allegedly dropped votes. Earlier this week, the company was forced to admit that criminals have successfully hacked Diebold ATMs.
Diebold Machines are rigged, and it is time for America to rid us of these cheating raging machines.
http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/03/18/diebold-admits-voting-machine-flaw-had-been-aware-problem-years
Even though President Obama and His Presidential Team have strategically targeted the automobile industry, are you aware that the Obama Administration is buying 17600 cars from GM to help the industry, economy, People of Mich. and America as a whole. The homelessness in Detroit (and all of America) has been rampant for years if not decades and no one took it upon themselves to change it, but this is Our Opportunity to do so Now. Now is the time for every community in America and the Whole Wide World to start appropriating, living, teaching, and applying the Principles of Change/Faith to ourselves . There has been always been talk about the Rich the Middle Class but we have forgotten the poor, the down trodden class. Poverty and lack must become the enemy of all of the people of the World!!!!! More Millionaires were created in America During the Great Depression of 1929. Questions: 1. How?. 2. When?. 3. Where?.
e-mail: basseyjp@hotmail.com
N/B:
If you wish to partner with us in this quest to affect lives positively as an individual or organization with some common goals, contac:
Jean pierres bassey
President, Ngo Change International
postal box: 27 BP 1044 Abidjan 27
phone: 00225 08 28 80 46
Abidjan, Ivory Coast/ West Africa
Wow. American Express must be getting desperate. In a bid to RID itself of customers, Amex will give you a $300 prepaid credit card if you cancel your account. According to CreditMattersBlog, it is offering the deal under the guise of enabling customers to "simplify" their finances.
I sure hope that they get a bailout deal from the American People.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/23/cancel-amex-get-300_n_169168.html
Biden and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham met with President Asif Ali Zadari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, aides said. The bipartisan pair also discussed counterterrorism, counterinsurgency and the economy with interior adviser Rehman Malik and Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani.
In a statement, Gilani said he pressed upon Biden the importance of greater U.S. aid to improve Pakistan's military capacity. Biden has spearheaded legislation to increase humanitarian spending in Pakistan but that also links military aid to Islamabad's performance in the fight against militants.
Gilani also said the two countries should share more intelligence so Pakistan could go after militant targets on its own, removing the need for U.S. missile strikes on its territory. Pakistan routinely condemns such strikes by the U.S.
Biden aides did not disclose their schedule for security reasons, but the public descriptions of the trip suggested destinations such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The United States has a strong interest in the stability of Pakistan's weak civilian government because it is considered an ally in the region.
Biden traveled in his role as a U.S. senator from Delaware. He takes office as vice president on Jan. 20 but has not yet resigned his Senate seat. Aides said Biden took the trip now because an official White House trip would take months to organize.
Biden's trip just days before becoming vice president was a clear signal that President-elect Barack Obama's new administration plans to make an immediate priority the battle against al-Qaida and Taliban militants operating along the Pakistan-Afghan border. U.S. officials worry that a conflict with India could distract Pakistan from eliminating militant sanctuaries along the Afghan frontier, and have urged India and Pakistan to cooperate.
Obama's national security team suggested the visit to help the new administration get an on-the-ground sense of the situation in those countries.
Biden, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had planned to travel with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the incoming chairman of committee, and Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Susan Collins, R-Maine. Those three bowed out of the group, citing Senate votes scheduled this weekend.
Biden was sworn in for a seventh term Tuesday, a move similar to what Lyndon Johnson did while in the same situation in 1960 when he also was vice president-elect. Edward Kaufman, Biden's chief of staff for almost two decades, was appointed to fill the seat when Biden resigns.
The state-run Associated Press of Pakistan said Zardari bestowed an award on Biden, the "Hilal-i-Pakistan," to recognize the veteran politician's "consistent support for democracy and socio-economic development in Pakistan and for his outstanding contribution to the strengthening of U.S.-Pakistan relations."
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."
Obama transition officials said the visit was in keeping with the tradition of U.S. presidents meeting with their Mexican counterpart soon after winning election.
Calderon, who was elected president in 2006, has been critical of U.S. immigration policies, and has advocated for the rights of Mexicans living in the U.S.
In Mexico, Foreign Relations Secretary Patricia Espinosa said Calderon also would meet with congressional leaders during his visit.
"There isn't a defined agenda but we would like to talk about security, migration and the economy," Espinosa told reporters.
Obama's transition office said the two men would meet at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington. The meeting comes a week before Obama's inauguration.
If you are coiming to Washington DC for the inauguration plan your trip and mode of transportation wisely.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bridges crossing the Potomac River from Northern Virginia into Washington will be closed to most traffic on Jan. 20, the day Barack Obama takes the oath as president.
In addition, about 3.5 square miles of downtown Washington will be closed to traffic starting the afternoon of Jan. 19, the day before the inauguration. The streets will reopen for morning rush hour on Jan. 21, Obama's first full day as president.
The closures were announced by the Secret Service, which is overseeing security for Inauguration Day, when officials estimate between 2 million and 3 million visitors will be in Washington.
To help relieve traffic congestion in the Washington, Virginia transportation officials announced that on Inauguration Day all but official and authorized vehicles will be barred from Interstate 66 and Interstate 395 inside the Interstate 495 Beltway that circles the capital.
The security perimeter - which covers more of the city than during previous inaugurations - includes a large part of the downtown business district and government buildings south of the National Mall. Curbside parking will be banned.
The Secret Service plans to set up 13 security stations to screen anyone arriving for the inauguration parade along Pennsylvania Avenue. Additional screening facilities will be near the Capitol and the White House. The screening stations open at 7 a.m. on Inauguration Day.
