I have watched the President Obama on David Letterman’s show along with my wife and I am really impress with the President’s understanding of our nation’s problems and how to resolve them. I have confident in President Obama and his entire government that our nation will be prospering soon.
There is small segment of people whom have not realized the full potential of President Obama’s health care reform. We must educate our fellow Americans whom may not understand the health care reform and the positive effect; it will have on our society as a whole. For some people, it is not easy to accept change, but when the change is good for the entire nation and for the good of our people, it must not wait, but must be embraced with both hands. It is time to support our President, congress, and our government, to provide equal opportunity for all of our people in the health care system.
I still remember that day when I left the US Army in 1988 and moved to private sector. I was starting my real estate career in Chicago and had no medical insurance at the time. Most of insurance company’s premiums were out of my reach, unless I was part of a company that offered group health insurance. I did not understand then and I do not understand now, why there is double standard in the health insurance industry. It seems to me then, some of the insurance companies were above people and the Government.
Unfortunately, my two years old son, Ahmed, was diagnosed for nephritic syndrome and was admitted in children hospital. We prayed every day for his health. We were lucky, because of greatest doctors at children’s hospital; Ahmed was well taken care and fully recovered from the illness after one year.
We were stuck with a large medical bill and children hospital agreed for an installment payment on monthly basis. We could have avoided the financial hardship if we had the affordable medical insurance at the time. Now, not only millions people are without health insurance but people with health insurance are being dropped from their plans and others are being denied coverage because of their poor medical history. Present health insurance system has been broken for a long time and need to be fixed now and without any delay. I have read the President Obama’s health care reform plan and support it all the way.
I appeal to our small segment of fellow Americans whom oppose the health care reform, please do not create any more roadblocks to our life time opportunity to reform the health care system. It will make our nation stronger and prosper in the long run. God bless our nation and help us to overcome our differences.
I am impressed with the President's speech and the health care reform is the key to our future. Health care reform is the key to our nation’s prosperity. This is not the time to ask, “Where the funds will come from”; this question should have been asked before the unjust and unnecessary war. Our government is of the people, by the people, and for the people and the President’s health care reform is for the people and it has been the people’s agenda all along. Enough is enough for people whom oppose it and enough of their arrogance. I support the health care reform all the way and determine to make it a reality. God bless our nation.
Here are two major factors facing Pakistan; one is military and other is few old political families, whom don’t want to give up their crown. It is mistake to think that Pakistan may be run effectively by the old politicians only. But people of Pakistan are fed up with the business as usual, corrupt military and the politicians. Pakistan has huge pool of young educated people whom are not given any opportunity to participate in the politics and the government. And it only natural, when all else is failed, people are forced into depending and relying on extremist and fundamentalist for the better or worst outcome. Peace and democracy may be achieved by stable elected government only and not declaring Marshal-law. Pakistan will run well, if only, military play the role to defend the country and its boarders and not to intervene inside politics. It will best if the Military is under the Secretary of Defense like here in the USA and not be above the Pakistan’s government or completely independent. Other idea is to spend all or any overseas funds given to the government of Pakistan or military should be spent to eliminate poverty and increase education rather than spend on wars and killing people. There must be independent panel from the USA and not be associated with the Pakistan’s inner or outer circle, to oversea the funds being invested properly for the welfare of people, to build infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and build industries to create jobs in Pakistan not being stolen by the government officials and politicians. Only, then people of Pakistan will realize us as friends and not foes.
Hello thank you for those that have called my company and picked up some of our rooms that we had left over from a cancelled school group. Here is what I have left: 6 rooms for January 18 one night only. 1 Room left over the dates of the 18, 19 and 20. 1 Room left for the 20th. We have rooms that we can sell for 174.00 for the 21st of January for anyone that needs to stay over.
If you want to get the last couple of rooms that we have please call me at 847-509-8350 ext 234. We greatly appreciate it.
Erica Crawford
Below is my original post
Hello I work for Educational Tours in Deerfield, IL. I am sending you a fax to let you know that to we have some extra rooms available for the Inauguration. The rooms have 2 double beds each. The Sheraton has a free shuttle that takes guests to the Metro rail.
Below is the pasted email from my manager explaining the situation that caused the rooms to become available. If you know of anyone that is looking for a room for any of those 3 dates over the Inauguration can you send them our way?
--- see below for email from Lisa Curtin Director of Operations at Educational Tours
Educational Tours has 7 rooms available for the Inauguration at the Sheraton in College Park, Maryland. The rate is $239.00 plus tax. We have the rooms from January 18-21, checking in on the 18th and out on the 21st. For those that need a room on the 21st the rate is 174.00
A group cancelled because their community faced a company shut down that caused layoffs and we now have this inventory. If you know of anyone that is looking for rooms please let me know
If you would like to secure one or more of these rooms please contact me at 847-509-8350 ext 234 or Lisa Curtain Director of Operations at 847-509-8350 ext 258.
Thank you
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."
View Official site www.artistforobama.com
Obama is very prescient. Here is a letter dated 22 March 2007 to convene a summit regarding the impending mortgage crisis:
We cannot sit on the sidelines while increasing numbers of American families face the risk of losing their homes.
And while neither the government nor the private sector acting alone is capable of quickly balancing the important interests in widespread access to credit and responsible lending, both must act and act quickly...
[A] consortium of industry-related service providers and public interest advocates may be able to bring quick and efficient relief to millions of at-risk homeowners and neighborhoods, even before Congress has had an opportunity to act. There is an opportunity here to bring different interests together in the best interests of American homeowners and the American economy. Please don't let this opportunity pass us by.
We are at 9-11 scale crises our nation’s economy is at risk of collapsing, and as we observe the two candidates what do we see? ·
In this time of crisis, who looks like he will actually work with the other side to come up with a solution?
Who looks more like leader who will be calm and collected and will put his country rather his own political ambitions first? ·
Who’s shown time and again that he will not gamble with our future?·
Who picked their vice president not because it will energize the base but because he/she will him govern?·
Who has real plan for America to go forward rather than stay the course?
The answer without a doubt is Barack Obama.On the other hand:·
Who’s surrounded himself with the good ole boy network and divorced himself from the problems of real America? John McCain·
Who is been in Washington for 26 years and has done nothing to actually help the average American families? John McCain
I can go on and on. But I am sure you get the picture.
Everyone knew Rove was working for McCain, but evidence is now coming to light. How can McCain separate himself from Bush when he has lots of people in his camp that use to work for Bush along with tons of lobbyist?
Fixed, oops I mean Fox News know's that they can't provide fair and balanced reporting from someone like Rove if he is in the tank for McCain. But since mostly everyone at that network is in the tank for McCain, being fair and balanced is a mute point.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement on the House Judiciary Committee's hearing on the proposed deal between DHL and UPS. In July, Senator Obama called on the Bush Administration to carefully examine the consolidation of DHL air operations under UPS, which could result in the loss of 8,000 jobs throughout Ohio:
"I commend the House Judiciary Committee for holding a hearing today on the implications of the proposed deal between DHL and UPS, which would allow UPS to assume DHL's air transport services. I have called for a hearing on the same subject in the Senate.
"Several years ago, DHL purchased Airborne's trucks and hired much of its personnel. However, DHL was unable to buy the entire company, which included air transport services, because of federal rules preventing foreign firms from owning domestic airlines. ABX was then established in Wilmington, Ohio, to take control of Airborne's air transport operations, which DHL uses as its primary contractor for that service. Today, DHL wants to terminate that contract and instead contract with UPS, a primary competitor, for those services.
"This proposed deal creates two problems. First, as a matter of consumer policy, it threatens competition to allow two direct competitors to act as partners. Second, it would eliminate 8,000 jobs in Wilmington as well as other jobs that depend on DHL workers, and it would abandon the infrastructure they currently use. Because UPS will use its existing infrastructure and employees to handle DHL's delivery needs, this deal is unlikely to create new jobs.
"While these companies are not proposing a merger, DHL and UPS intend to partner to have UPS provide a key component of the delivery service DHL sells. I have asked the Department of Justice to examine the proposed deal because I believe that it would be bad for consumers and competition, and may possibly violate antitrust laws. This deal would result in DHL becoming almost entirely dependent on its main competitor - UPS - to deliver packages for DHL, and therefore may very well cause serious harm to competition in the express package delivery market. The Justice Department should oppose any deal that would substantially reduce competition and consumer choice in this vital market.
"If the antitrust scrutiny concludes that the deal is legal and it moves forward, the federal government has a real responsibility to step in and help all of those that will be unemployed. Unfortunately, this situation would not qualify these workers for trade adjustment assistance since the jobs are not being shifted overseas; nor are they the result of a free trade agreement. Instead these jobs are being lost in the context of a global market and competition among multinational firms.
"If we know in advance that a deal like this will disrupt a community, then the government should have a strong rapid response strategy that combines federal and state resources and lets people know we will not abandon them. We have reached out to the Administration on this issue, and to its credit, the Administration has a team working on it.
"After everything the people of Ohio did to attract DHL's business, DHL owes it to them to try to negotiate, in good faith, an alternative structure or a new contract to save these 8,000 jobs. Congress was responsive and open to DHL when high-priced Washington lobbyists represented its interests in purchasing Airborne years ago. Now, Congress owes it to the hardworking people of Ohio and American consumers the same level of access, deference, and responsiveness that DHL received."
The McCain campaign is lying about their candidates' records. Today, they're out with a new ad that pushes blatant lies to dress up these party-line politicians as agents of change. Let's set the record straight: Palin was a supporter of the infamous Bridge to Nowhere -- the symbol of the Republican culture of corruption -- only turning her back on it after the project's bloated pork-barrel waste was exposed. In just six years, John McCain has voted for nearly $150 billion in earmarks -- just like the Bridge to Nowhere.
The McCain campaign will say or do anything to sound like "mavericks" or reformers -- but the record shows that their ticket is in lockstep with George Bush and his dead-end policies. But a little straight talk cuts easily through these lies. While the ad trumps up the pair's reformer credentials, McCain and Palin are defending the very things they claim to fight against. How can they be trusted to change the same system they've exploited? Barack Obama and Joe Biden understand the change we need in Washington. Watch the ad and spread the truth to stop the McCain campaign's lies right now:
I have decided to start another MySpace page for our group One Million MySpace Friends for Obama/Biden'08! to hopefully register new voters. Show your support for this effort by plumping our friends list on MySpace and add us to your top friends!
http://www.myspace.com/thispage_8
Making lots of friend requests is a lot of hard work that has to be done every day to make the page a success. Please make a friend request so we can impress new voters with our numbers and advertise our page in your bulletins by reposting. I will be posting the address in bulletins.
Thanks for all you do!
Beth
Administrator and Founder
One Million MySpace Friends for Obama'08!
