American Politics, Progressive News, Human Rights, Civil Disobedience, Foreign Policy, Current Events, Cultural Activism, and Social Justice.
http://www.dustcircle.com | http://www.facebook.com/dissentingheretic | http://www.twitter.com/dustcirclenews

Thursday, May 31

True Patriotism


By Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog

30 May 12

rue patriotism isn't cheap. It's about taking on a fair share of the burdens of keeping America going.
Those who earn tens of millions of dollars a year but pay less than 14 percent of their incomes in taxes, and argue the rich should pay even less, are not true patriots.
Those who defend indefensible tax loopholes, such as the "carried interest" loophole that allows private-equity managers to treat their incomes as capital gains even if they risk no income of their own, are not true patriots.
Those who avoid taxes by putting huge amounts of their earnings into IRAs via foreign tax shelters are not true patriots.
Those who want to cut programs that benefit the poor - Food Stamps, child nutrition, Pell grants, Medicaid - so that they can get a tax cut for themselves and their affluent friends - are not true patriots.

Robert Reich is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton. He has written thirteen books, including "Locked in the Cabinet," "Reason," "Supercapitalism," "Aftershock," and his latest e-book, "Beyond Outrage." His 'Marketplace' commentaries can be found on publicradio.com and iTunes.
Labels: , , , , , ,

The Price of Democracy


We pay a lot of money for health care in the United States, more per capita than anywhere else in the industrialized world. If you point out this inescapable fact to opponents of socialized medicine, they invariably respond that we get high-quality care in return. Exasperated, you might go further and say that spending nearly $8,000 a year per capita still leaves us with the 8th-lowest average life expectancy among OECD countries, that the Japanese spend $5,000 less per person per year and live longer. But rich foreigners flock to the United States for operations, your interlocutor insists, so clearly we get what we pay for. The uninsured, alas, would agree with this grim assessment – since they have little to no money, they get little to no care.
Americans also spend more per capita on the military than any other industrialized country (the United Arab Emirates, with a population of only 7 million people, is the only country with a higher rate). The Pentagon and its clients boast that all this money is well spent, that no country comes close to us in terms of quality or quantity of security. Critics, meanwhile, decry the waste, the cost overruns, the systems that work poorly (the F-35) or will never work (missile defense), and of course the enormous opportunity costs.
On health care and the military budget, no one can dispute that the United States spends exorbitantly. Whether we get our money’s worth is a matter of considerable debate.
But there is one arena in which the United States is a world-class spender where you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would argue that we get world-class results for our money. I’m talking about our electoral system, which has produced a legislature that attracted a historic low of 10 percent public approval this year, an administration still beholden to Wall Street and the military industrial complex, and (indirectly) a Supreme Court that tilts  so far to the right that I’m surprised the building itself hasn’t fallen over.
The presidential candidates spent, for instance, over $1.3 billion on the 2008 campaign, a record. The election cycle in 2008 cost more than $5 billion, including congressional races and the primaries. We spent, in other words, about $17 per capita for our last big elections. Sound like a bargain?
Over the border, Canadians spent about $12 per capita for the last election. Australians spent about $7 per person in the 2010 parliamentary elections. Cambodians spent over $45 per person in their first democratic election in 1993, but had brought the cost down considerably to only $2 a person by 2003.
These per-capita figures run the risk of apple-orange comparisons, since countries have very different financing for elections. In the United States, as in Australia and the United Kingdom, private donors dominate. In Sweden and Mexico, on the other hand, public financing is the norm.
But the overall point holds: we spend lavishly on elections, much of it on campaign ads. Politics is not a game for the faint of wallet. Nearly half of our members of Congress are millionaires. These elected officials spend 30-70 percent of their time fundraising, and they are highly, shall we say, responsive when Big Money talks. Indeed, lobbying brings in one of the best returns on investment. In a recent This American Life episode, a tax professor estimated what one dollar of lobbying netted on the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which provided tax breaks to multinational corporations repatriating their profits. Bernie Madoff offered 10-percent return on investment. These lobbyists got 22,000-percent return. The former went to jail, the latter went to the bank, and we the people were taken to the cleaners.
You’d think that the best political minds of our generation would be focused on how to reduce the hold that money has over our democracy. True, we’ve had various waves of campaign finance reform, culminating in the McCain-Feingold legislation of 2002. But the cost of campaigning continues to rise. It’s quite counterintuitive, then, that we recently changed the rules of the game so that we can pump even more hundreds of millions of dollars into politics.
Actually, “we” is a misnomer. As Jeffrey Toobin points out in The New Yorker, the decision to overturn campaign finance reform in the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision was largely the work of one man: Chief Justice John Roberts.
Article image
The Citizens United case should have been focused narrowly on one provision of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law that prohibited private funding of TV and radio ads about candidates within a certain period before elections. Citizens United produced a documentary slamming Hillary Clinton and planned to show it in the run-up to the 2008 elections. Blocked from broadcasting the documentary during that defined pre-election period, Citizens United took the case to court.
Roberts and his conservative cohort on the Court saw an opportunity to interpret the First Amendment on free speech in such a way to open the floodgates for political contributions. The Court determined in its 5-4 decision that corporations and individuals enjoyed equal rights to free speech and so corporate entities should not be restricted in their campaign contributions. The Bill of Rights doesn’t, of course, mention corporations at all. It talks about the “people,” about soldiers and “the accused,” about the federal government and the states. To argue that the First Amendment’s provision that “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press” applies to corporations making campaign contributions is as absurd as asserting that buying a nuclear weapon is protected by the Bill of Rights (I’m just waiting for the NRA to make this argument).
“The Roberts Court,” Toobin concludes, “will guarantee moneyed interests the freedom to raise and spend any amount, from any source, at any time, in order to win elections.”
As a result of the Citizens United decision, political campaigns don’t have to disclose the identity of their contributors.  “Citizens United created an environment in which it is perfectly legal for a shell non-profit corporation to engage in election-related spending on behalf of a hidden interest,” writes Lisa Rosenberg of the Sunlight Foundation. “And there is nothing to ensure that the hidden interest is not a foreign national, a foreign company or a foreign government.” U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies can already establish political action committees, and their contribution levels have been rising. Now, foreign entities have additional ways of illegally masking their influence on American politics.
It would be useful to have a watchdog within Congress who represented the public interest against the moneyed elite. But politicians are simply too busy trying to get reelected to scrutinize the money flow.
Imagine, however, if we had 535 William Proxmires in Washington. Proxmire was the legendary skinflint from Wisconsin. In its obituary for the senator when he died in 2005 at the age of 90, The Washington Times wrote that Proxmire “said most senators could get re-elected without spending a penny, but he didn’t take the chance — in his last election, he spent $145.10, down from the $178.75 he lavished on his previous bid. Much of it went for postage to return campaign contributions, which he did not accept. Proxmire preferred the cheapest kind of politicking: He would shake hands till his hands bled, then start again the next day with bandaged hands.”
The Citizens United decision ensures that any potential Proxmire will not have the remotest chance of getting elected – not on less than $200 in campaign funds.
Setting a Bad Example
China is rapidly expanding its economy and creating a new middle class to sustain this growth. Or, at least, that’s the story we’ve been reading in the U.S. press. But Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF) contributor Nan Chen tells a different story, about a China whose growing inequality looks a lot like the 99-to-1 situation in the United States.
“Rather than a middle class of laborers in the manufacturing industry, China has seen disturbing levels of income inequality and the emergence of a new ‘elite’ class at the same time that the United States is experiencing similar shifts,” she writes in China’s Missing Middle Class. “This has implications not only for China’s growth, but also for U.S. exports that stand to benefit from a healthy Chinese middle class of consumers. Moreover, the growing wealth disparity in China suggests that China’s embrace of free-market economics and unfettered globalization may result in the same social ills seen in the United States.”
Asia, meanwhile, seems to be following our lead as well on military spending. Writes FPIF columnist Conn Hallinan in Asia’s Mad Arms Race, “The Philippines is spending almost $1 billion on new aircraft and radar, and recently held joint war games with the United States. South Korea has just successfully tested a long-range cruise missile. Washington is reviving ties with Indonesia’s brutal military because the island nation controls the strategic seaways through which pass most of the region’s trade and energy supplies. Australia is also re-orienting its defense to face China, and Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith has urged ‘that India play the role it could and should as an emerging great power in the security and stability of the region.’”
Finally, FPIF contributor Anya Barry looks at how the Arab Spring has contributed to the immigration debate in Europe. “Much of the West voiced great support for the Arab Spring,” she writes inEurope’s Dilemma: Immigration and the Arab Spring. “However, the European Union in particular soon curbed its enthusiastic reaction when residents of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) began streaming into Europe after turmoil from the Arab Spring left many MENA civilians unable to remain in the region. Immigration from the Middle East and North Africa to the European Union surged over the past year, causing the leaders of many EU countries to speak out against the growing influx of Arab immigrants seeking refuge within their borders.”
Labels: , , , , ,

Wednesday, May 30

[DOX] Kill-the-Gays Pastor Curtis F. Knapp



DOX on Pastor Curtis Knapp, who said gays should be killed. 
[NOTE: I do not endorse violence. This is not for violent reactions]

Pastor Curtis Knapp
(785) 858-4725
(785) 858-4466
2xx W. 18th St., Concordia, KS 66901
curtisknapp@gmail.com [edited]

fiveknapps@juno.com
manyknapps@juno.com

785-336-6251 (church)
New Hope Baptist Church
West Highway 36, RR1 Box 113
Seneca, Kansas 66538
9:30 a.m. Sunday school
10:45 a.m. Worship
6:30 p.m. Sunday evening Bible study

Curtis Knapp was born in Fort Worth, Texas
Concordia Lutheran High School, Class of 1987 · Fort Wayne, Indiana
University of Kansas, Class of 1991

Address History: 2 in Lawrence, KS, 4 in Seneca, KS, 1 in Dubois, KS, 210 PINECONE DRIVE, LAWRENCE KS 66046
Known Cities: Seneca, KS; Dubois, KS; Du Bois, NE, Lawrence, KS, Concordia, KS, Topeka, KS

FATHER: DENNIS KNAPP
Possible Relatives: Catherine Holthaus, Catherine L Knapp, Erlene Knapp, Catherine E Freeborn, Catherine Holthaus, Dennis Knapp, Charles H Knapp, Barbara S Knapp, Catherine L Knapp

Contributed $100 on 10/10/2008 to KATHY MARTIN, Board of Education -
as Curtis & Catherine Knapp, 29621 | Road, Seneca, KS  66538
KANSAS GOVERNMENTAL ETHICS COMMISSION (source):
http://ethics.ks.gov/CFAScanned/EdEven/2008ElecCycle/200810/BOE06KM_200810.pdf

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000814627319 (private)
OTHER POSSIBLE RELATIVES:
Nancy Knapp - https://www.facebook.com/jackieanndishpan
Drew Knapp - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=899125626
Lisa Knapp - https://www.facebook.com/lisa.p.knapp.5
Ace Knapp - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001626778421

Pastor Curtis Knapp of New Hope Baptist Church in Seneca, Kansas thinks gays should be put to death:
"They should be put to death. That's what happened in Israel. That's why homosexuality wouldn't have grown in Israel. It tends to limit conversions. It tends to limit people coming out of the closet. — 'Oh, so you're saying we should go out and start killing them, no?' — I'm saying the government should. They won't but they should. [You say], 'oh, I can't believe you you're horrible. You're a backwards neanderthal of a person.' Is that what you're calling scripture? Is God a neanderthal backwards.. in his morality. Is it his word or not? If it's his word, he commanded it. It's his idea, not mine. And I'm not ashamed of it."


http://www.goodasyou.org/knappks.mp3
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

A Long List of President Obama’s Accomplishments


Print FriendlyWith Citations

May 29, 2012
By 



If you’re one of those folks who thinks President Obama is a “disappointment,” you haven’t been paying attention the last few years. And those of you who try to draw comparisons with the Bush Administration should put away the hallucinogens and have your memory checked.  If you were in a coma for the eight Bush Years, I apologize and forgive you. But please join the real world. So far, this president has done most of what he said he would do if elected; imagine what he could have done by now if progressives had supported him and not given him a Congress that doesn’t look at him as if he’s the demon seed.

Not only is he NOT a “disappointment,” he’s pretty much the opposite. And no, I don’t just say that because he took out Osama bin Laden, helped Libya determine their own destiny for the first time in a while, and because he seems able to handle international incidents without starting a new war. The guy does nearly everything we elect a president to do, and he doesn’t brag about it constantly.

Is he perfect? No, he’s human. Does he deserve some criticism? I suppose, but I must admit I haven’t seen any complaints that were of based on anything having to do with the real world. One I can’t forgive him for is pulling Janet Napolitano out of Arizona. But the thing is, on balance, he’s mostly stellar. Besides, criticism about certain specific problems is one thing; taking on an overall “Obama sucks” meme not only has the potential to put Willard Romney into power, it’s also a lie. Just because you wanted a president who would give you a glitter-farting unicorn and didn’t quite get that doesn’t mean he’s not doing well at the job we hired him for.

What follows is a PARTIAL list of Obama’s accomplishments so far. Unlike many such lists, there is a link to a citation supporting every single one.

Legislative Prowess
Despite the characterizations of some, Obama’s success rate in winning congressional votes on issues was an unprecedented 96.7% for his first year in office.  Though he is often cited as superior to Obama, President Lyndon Johnson’s success rate in 1965 was only 93%.   http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122436116

Fiscal Responsibility
Within days after taking office, he signed an Executive Order ordering an audit of government contracts, and combating waste and abuse.   http://1.usa.gov/dUvbu5
Created the post of Chief Performance Officer, whose job it is to make operations more efficient to save the federal government money.   http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99087765
On his first full day, he froze White House salaries.  http://on.msnbc.com/ewJUIx
He appointed the first Federal Chief Information Officer to oversee federal IT spending. http://www.cio.gov
He committed to phasing out unnecessary and outdated weapons systems, and also signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop waste, fraud and abuse in the defense procurement and contracting system.  http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/06/gates.budget.cuts/     http://www.ndia.org/Advocacy/PolicyPublicationsResources/Documents/WSARA-Public-Law-111-23.pdf
Through an executive order, he created the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.  http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/18/news/economy/obama_debt_commission/index.htm

Improving the Economy, Preventing Depression
He pushed through and signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as “the stimulus package,” despite the fact that not one Republican voted for that bill. In addition, he launched recovery.gov, so that taxpayers could track spending from the Act.   http://1.usa.gov/ibiFSs   http://1.usa.gov/e3BJMk
In his first year, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economy 3.5%.  http://reut.rs/i46CEE
He completed the massive TARP financial and banking rescue plan, and recovered virtually all of its costs.   http://1.usa.gov/eA5jVS   http://247wallst.com/2011/03/31/tarp-might-make-money/
He created the Making Home Affordable home refinancing plan.  http://1.usa.gov/goy6zl
He oversaw the creation of more jobs in 2010 alone than Bush did in eight years. http://newsjunkiepost.com/2010/10/08/its-official-more-private-sector-jobs-created-in-2010-than-during-entire-bush-years/
He oversaw a bailout of General Motors that saved at least 1.4 million jobs, and put pressure on the company to change its practices, resulting in GM returning to its place as the top car company in the world.  http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-gm-global-sales-20120119,0,4294360.story
He also doubled funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership which is designed to improve manufacturing efficiency.  http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/7/double-funding-for-the-manufacturing-extension-par/
He signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act giving  the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud in every corner of the financial system. It also created a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial fraud that led to the economic meltdown.  http://abcn.ws/g18Fe7
He signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which was designed to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive credit card practices.  http://1.usa.gov/gIaNcS
He  signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures. The bill also provided $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness, and to stabilize the housing market.  http://www.zillow.com/blog/2009-05-21/president-obama-signs-helping-families-save-their-homes-act/
Through the Worker, Home Ownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, he and Congressional Democrats provided tax credits to first-time home buyers, which helped the U.S. housing market recovery.   http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/   http://themortgagereports.com/3173/home-buyer-tax-credit-2010
He initiated a $15 billion plan designed to encourage increased lending to small businesses.
http://1.usa.gov/eu0u0b
He created business.gov, which allows for online collaboration between small businesses and experts re managing a business. (The program has since merged with SBA.gov.)   http://www.business.gov
He played a lead role in getting the G-20 Summit to commit to a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis.   http://www10.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/world/europe/03summit.html?_r=5
He created a $60 billion bank to fund infrastructure improvements such as roads and bridges. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/31/create-a-60-billion-bank-to-fund-roads-and-bridge/
He implemented an auto industry rescue plan, and saved as many as 1 million jobs.  http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/31/content_11102980.htm   Many are of the opinion that he saved the entire auto industry, and even the economy of the entire Midwest. http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-cohn/78781/obama-gm-detroit-auto-bailout-worked
Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, he saved at least 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors that would have otherwise been lost.   http://1.usa.gov/ez30Dc
He dismantled the Minerals Management Service, thereby moving forward to cut ties between energy companies and the government. http://www10.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/us/12interior.html?_r=5
Provided funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police and firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession.  http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/188/increase-funding-for-local-emergency-planning/
He used recovered TARP money to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan.   http://on.msnbc.com/i1i8eV
Crafted an Executive order establishing the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability to assist in financial education for all Americans. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13530

Wall Street Reforms and Consumer Protection
Ordered 65 executives who took bailout money to cut their own pay until they paid back all bailout money.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/16/pay-czar-cuts-salaries-fo_n_540849.html
He pushed through and got passed Dodd-Frank, one of the largest and most comprehensive Wall Street reforms since the Great Depression.  http://www.salon.com/2010/05/21/us_financial_overhaul_10/   http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamawallstreetreformactsigning.htm
Dodd-Frank also included the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau http://1.usa.gov/j5onG
He made it so that banks could no longer use YOUR money to invest in high-risk financial instruments that work against their own customers’ interests.  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20008835-503544.html
He supported the concept of allowing stockholders to vote on executive compensation. http://bit.ly/fnTayj
He wholly endorsed and supported the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax avoidance loopholes.  http://www.financialtaskforce.org/2009/10/27/president-obama-statement-on-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act-of-2009/    http://www.financialtaskforce.org/2009/10/27/the-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act-of-2009/
He made a deal with Swiss banks that permits the US government to gain access to the records of criminals and  tax evaders.  http://www.law.com/jsp/law/international/LawArticleIntl.jsp?id=1202433002570&slreturn=1
He established a Consumer Protection Financial Bureau designed to protect consumers from financial sector excesses.  http://bit.ly/fnTayj
He oversaw and then signed the most sweeping food safety legislation since the Great Depression.  http://thedc.com/gxkCtP 

Civil Rights and Anti-Discrimination
He advocated for and signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which made it a federal crime to assault anyone based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/28/hate.crimes/index.html
He pushed through, signed and demanded the Pentagon enact a repeal of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy that forced soldiers to lie to fight for their country, and put our troops at risk by disqualifying many qualified soldiers from helping.  http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-22/politics/dadt.repeal_1_repeal-openly-gay-men-president-barack-obama?_s=PM:POLITICS http://www.enewspf.com/reader-blogs/view/259-dont-ask-dont-tell-ends-tuesday-forever-in-the-usa.html
He appointed Kareem Dale as the first ever Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy.  http://1.usa.gov/fi5IY0
Helped Congress pass and signed the Civil Rights History Act. http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h586/show
He extended benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.  http://1.usa.gov/g2RLCj
He’s appointed more openly gay officials than anyone in history.  http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/oct/26/obama-has-appointed-most-us-gay-officials/
He issued a Presidential Memorandum reaffirming the rights of gay couples to make medical decisions for each other. http://1.usa.gov/aUueGT
He established a White House Council on Women and Girls  http://1.usa.gov/rFfqMM
He signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers. This was after the GOP blocked the bill in 2007. Only 5 Republican Senators voted for the bill.   http://www.youtube.com/das_captcha?next=/watch%3Fv%3DUtKAKlurRAY
Wrote and signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies evaluate the effect of their policies and programs on women and families.    http://bit.ly/e1puTk
He expanded funding for the Violence Against Women Act. http://1.usa.gov/dSbI0x
Under his watch, National Labor Relations Board has issued final rules that require all employers to prominently post employees’ rights where all employees or prospective employees can see it, including websites and intranets, beginning November 2011.  http://1.usa.gov/qu2EhQ

Fighting Poverty
He provided  a $20 billion increase for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps). http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/food_stamps/index.html
He signed an Executive Order that established the White House Office of Urban Affairs.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/02/AR2009070201410.html

Improved Foreign Relations and American Status Abroad
He visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any previous president during his first six months in office.   http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/nov/19/chain-email/chain-e-mail-claims-obama-has-visited-more-countri/
As he promised, he gave a speech at a major Islamic forum in Cairo early in his administration. http://nyti.ms/dKvY4g 
He did much to restore America’s reputation around the world as a global leader that does the “right thing” in world affairs, at least according to the rest of the planet.   http://www.pewglobal.org/2009/11/02/highlights-from-2009-pulse-of-europe-survey/  http://www.pewglobal.org/2010/06/17/2010-pew-global-attitudes-press-conference-video/
He re-established and reinforced our partnership with NATO and other allies on strategic international issues.  http://1.usa.gov/e7QuDj
He improved relations with Middle East countries by appointing special envoys. http://1.usa.gov/tiGAGe
Offered $400 million to the people living in Gaza, called on both Israel and the Palestinians to stop inciting violence. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/obama-offers-abbas-400m-in-extra-aid-for-gaza-in-flotilla-aftermath-1.295093
He refused to give Israel the green light to attack Iran over their possible nuclear program. http://articles.cnn.com/2009-07-07/politics/obama.israel.iran_1_iran-military-action-israel?_s=PM:POLITICS
He worked to make donations to Haiti tax-deductible in 2009.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/22/donations-to-haiti-are-ta_n_433867.html
He established a new U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.   http://1.usa.gov/eX28DP
Issued Executive Order blocking interference and helping to stabilize Somalia.  http://1.usa.gov/hxdf8U
He established new, more reasonable policies in our relations with Cuba, such as allowing Cuban-Americans to visit their families and send money to support them.  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103030021   http://www10.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/world/americas/05cuba.html?_r=5
He ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. It was Republicans (and a smattering of Democrats) who prevented him from following through.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/20/barack-obama-guantanamo-congress-veto
Ordered a review of our detention and interrogation policy, and prohibited the use of torture, or what Bush called “enhanced interrogation.” He ordered interrogators to limit their actions to the Army Field manual.  http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/22/guantanamo.order/index.html
He ordered all secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed.  http://bbc.in/h6N9ax
On his second day in office, he signed a detailed Executive Order that banned torture, reversed all  Bush torture policies, and put the United States in compliance with the Geneva Convention.  http://1.usa.gov/dL6Zve    http://www10.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/us/politics/23obama.html?_r=5
In response to the emerging “Arab Spring,” he created a Rapid Response fund, to assist emerging democracies with foreign aid, debt relief, technical assistance and investment packages in order to show that the United States stands with them. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/215/create-a-rapid-response-fund-for-emerging-democrac/
Passed the Iran Sanctions Act, to prevent war, and to encourage Iran to give up their nuclear program. http://1.usa.gov/wLtNjb
He authorized and oversaw a secret mission by SEAL Team Six to rescue two hostages held by Somali pirates. http://www.youtube.com/das_captcha?next=/watch%3Fv%3DGilmEe46ASk

Better Approach to “Defense”
Created a comprehensive new strategy for dealing with the international nuclear threat.  http://1.usa.gov/gDX1nE
He authorized a $1.4 billion reduction in Star Wars program in 2010. http://1.usa.gov/gLFZl2
He restarted nuclear nonproliferation talks and built up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols to where they had been before Bush.   http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/25/world/fg-obama-nuclear25
He signed and pushed to ratification a new SALT Treaty.  http://politicsreport.com/news/new-salt-treaty-ratified-71-26
Negotiated and signed a new START Treaty that will last until at least 2021.  http://1.usa.gov/cI1bC4
Through the Defense Authorization Act, he reversed the Bush Administration and committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq.   http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/132/no-permanent-bases-in-iraq/
He developed the first comprehensive strategy with regard to Afghanistan and Pakistan designed to facilitate the defeat of al Qaeda and the withdrawal of most troops, as well as the rebuilding of Afghanistan. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032700836.html
He returned our focus to Afghanistan, stabilized the country, and began the process of withdrawing our troops. http://www.seattlepi.com/national/politico/article/Obama-to-withdraw-troops-from-Afghanistan-1434332.php
Fulfilled campaign promise and ended our involvement in Iraq, and will complete full troop withdrawal before Christmas 2011. http://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthashaddock/2011/10/21/obama-announces-full-troop-withdrawal-from-iraq-by-years-end/
He took steps to severely weaken al Qaeda and limited their ability to terrorize the world.  http://news.yahoo.com/us-general-al-qaida-iraq-severely-weakened-220321757.html
He negotiated and signed a nuclear nonproliferation treaty with India. http://1.usa.gov/aHp0Cn
He took decisive action to use NATO to limit the slaughter of innocents in Libya, so that the Libyan people could topple a despotic government and determine their own fate.  http://aje.me/qAh4Sj

Treating  Soldiers and Veterans with Respect
He made sure that families of fallen soldiers could be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB, by providing funding for it.  He also ended the media blackout on coverage of the return of fallen soldiers.http://nyti.ms/glqN66   http://bbc.in/gWSSkA
He funded Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with an extra $1.4 billion to improve veterans’ services. http://1.usa.gov/huhqfo
Created the Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record program for military personnel, in order  to improve the quality of their medical care.  http://1.usa.gov/f4yaxW
He put an end to the Bush-era stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan beyond their enlistment date. (personal note: my son will be in harm’s way for six fewer months with Obama as president, so you know I love this one).http://www10.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/washington/19gates.html?_r=5
He supported and signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act, which made more money available to enable better medical care for veterans.  http://1.usa.gov/fN4ur1
He ushered through the largest spending increase in 30 years for the Department of Veterans Affairs for improved medical facilities, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities.     http://1.usa.gov/gY8O3x
He created the Green Vet Initiative, which provided special funding to the Labor Department to provide veterans with training in green jobs.  http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/466/create-a-green-vet-initiative-to-promote-environ/
He oversaw a $4.6 billion expansion of the Veterans Administration budget to pay for more mental health professionals.  http://bit.ly/gjzTxX

Education
Completely reformed the student loan program, to make it possible for students to refinance at a lower rate.   http://www10.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/us/politics/31obama.html?_r=5
Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act , he invested heavily in elementary, secondary and post-secondary education.   http://1.usa.gov/gGRIAr   This includes a major expansion of broadband availability in K-12 schools nationwide   http://articles.cnn.com/2010-07-01/politics/obama.broadband.connection_1_broadband-services-broadband-access-new-businesses?_s=PM:POLITICS , as well as an expansion in school construction.  http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2009/02/in_his_first_ever_press.html
Also through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, he put $5 billion into early education, including Head Start. http://1.usa.gov/tzT2Rr
Signed the Post-9/11 GI Bill, also known as GI Bill 2.0 http://bit.ly/hPhG7J 
He oversaw expansion of the Pell Grants program, to expand opportunity for low-income students to go to college.  http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/275/expand-pell-grants-for-low-income-students/
He passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which provided an extra $12.2 billion in funds.  http://1.usa.gov/dQvtUe 

Greater Transparency and Better Government
He signed an order banning gifts from lobbyists to anyone in the Executive Branch. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/427/ban-lobbyist-gifts-to-executive-employees/
He signed an order banning anyone from working in an agency they had lobbied in previous years. He also put strict limits on lobbyists’ access to the White House.   http://nyti.ms/gOrznV
He held the first-ever first online town hall from the White House, and took questions from the public. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h2uzQs2_XBgeHotRBvNhY7DR572g
The Obama White House became the first to stream every White House event, live. http://1.usa.gov/kAgOP5
He established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities.  http://www.serve.gov
He provided the first voluntary disclosure of the White House Visitors Log in history. http://1.usa.gov/hQ7ttV
He crafted an Executive Order on Presidential Records, which restored the 30-day time frame for former presidents to review records, and eliminated the right for the vice president or family members of former presidents to do the reviews. This will provide the public with greater access to historic  White House documents, and severely curtails the ability to use executive privilege to shield them.
http://1.usa.gov/gUetLb
He improved aspects of the Freedom of Information Act, and issued new guidelines to make FOIA more open and transparent in the processing of FOIA requests.   http://1.usa.gov/gjrnp2
National Safety and Security
He’s restored federal agencies such as FEMA to the point that they have been able to manage a huge number of natural  disasters successfully.   http://www.independentmail.com/news/2010/nov/10/obama-declares-record-number-federal-natural-disas/
Authorized Navy SEALS to successfully secure the release of a US captain held by Somali pirates and increased patrols off the Somali coast. http://www10.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/world/africa/13pirates.html?_r=5
Ordered and oversaw the Navy SEALS operation that killed Osama bin Laden. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/901/we-will-kill-bin-laden/

Science, Technology and Health Care
He created a Presidential Memorandum to restore scientific integrity in government decision-making.
http://1.usa.gov/g2SDuw
Opened up the process for fast-tracking patent approval for green energy projects.  http://cleantechnica.com/2010/11/11/green-innovation-getting-more-support-from-fast-patent-approval-process/
He eliminated the Bush-era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. He also provided increased federal support for biomedical and stem cell research.   http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/09/obama-administration-stem-cell-funding    http://ti.me/edezge
Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, he committed more federal funding, about $18 billion, to support non-defense science and research labs.  http://www10.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/science/18sfstimulus.html?_r=5
He signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first comprehensive attempt to improve the lives of Americans living with paralysis.  http://www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.ddJFKRNoFiG/notfound.asp?from=www%2Echristopherreeve%2Eorg%2Fsite%2Fpp%2Easpx%3Fc%3DddJFKRNoFiG%26b%3D4442889&referer=http%3A%2F%2Flongurl%2Eorg
He expanded the Nurse-Family Partnership program, which provides home visits by trained registered nurses to low-income expectant mothers and their families, to cover more first-time mothers. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/229/expand-the-nurse-family-partnership-to-all-low-inc/
His EPA reversed research ethics standards which allowed humans to be used as “guinea pigs” in tests of the effects of chemicals, to comply with numerous codes of medical ethics.  http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/06/chemical-testing/
Conducted a cyberspace policy review.   http://1.usa.gov/gmbdvC
He oversaw enhanced earth mapping, to provide valuable data for agricultural, educational, scientific, and government use.   http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/345/enhance-earth-mapping/
He ushered through a bill that authorized the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products.  http://on.msnbc.com/fiKViB As a result,  the FDA has Ordered Tobacco Companies to Disclose Cigarette Ingredients and banned sale of cigarettes falsely labeled as “light.”
Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, he provided $500 million for Health Professions Training Programs.  http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/76/expand-funding-to-train-primary-care-providers-and/
He oversaw a 50% decrease in cost of prescription drugs for seniors. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/hr4872    http://1.usa.gov/fVNkt9
He eliminated the Bush-era practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating with drug companies on price. http://www.pharmatimes.com/article/11-04-15/US_govt_will_negotiate_Medicare_drug_prices_says_Obama.aspx
Two weeks after taking office, he signed the Children’s Health Insurance Re-authorization Act, which increased the number of children covered by health insurance by 4 million.   http://themiddleclass.org/bill/children039s-health-insurance-program-reauthorization-act-2009
He held a quick press conference, and urged Congress to investigate Anthem Blue Cross for raising premiums 39% without explanation. Rep. Waxman responded by launching a probe, and Anthem Blue Cross put the increase on hold for two months.    http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100218/hl_nm/us_usa_healthcare_insurers/
Ushered through and signed the Affordable Health Care Act, which expanded health insurance coverage to 30 million more people,  and ended many common insurance company practices that are often detrimental  to those with coverage.  He also established  http://www.healthcare.gov/
Through the Affordable Health Care Act, he allowed children to be covered under their parents’ policy until they turned 26.  http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/obama-signs-bill-on-student-loans-health-care/
Through the Affordable Health Care Act, he provided tax breaks to allow 3.5 million small business to provide health insurance to their employees, and 29 million people will receive tax breaks to help them afford health insurance.  http://nyti.ms/fNB26V
Through the Affordable Health Care Act, he expanded Medicaid to those making up to 133% of the federal poverty level. http://www10.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/your-money/health-insurance/22consumer.html?_r=5&ref=policy
Through the Affordable Health Care Act, health insurance companies now have to disclose how much of your premium actually goes to pay for patient care.  http://nyti.ms/fNB26V
Provisions in the Affordable Health Care Act have already resulted in Medicare costs actually declining slightly this fiscal year, for the first time in many years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Last year’s increase was 4%. Compare that to the average 12% annual inflation rate during the previous 40 years. http://1.usa.gov/oMxpTh

Strengthening the Middle Class and Families
He worked to provide affordable, high-quality child care to working families.   http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/244/provide-affordable-high-quality-child-care/
He cracked down on companies that were previously denying sick pay, vacation and health insurance, and Social Security and Medicare tax payments through abuse of the employee classification of independent contractor.   http://www10.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/business/18workers.html?_r=5
Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act , he cut taxes for 95% of America’s working families.   http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/sep/18/barack-obama/a-credit-for-workers-cuts-taxes-for-middle-class/
Under Obama, tax rates for average working families are the lowest they’ve been since 1950.  http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2011/02/08/under-obama-taxes-reach-lowest-level-since-truman
He extended and fully funded the patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax for 10 years. http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/alternative-minimum-tax-now-part-of-the-senate-stimulus.php
He extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the unemployed from 9 months to 15 months, and he’s extended unemployment benefits several times.  http://aol.it/evtVxD   http://nyti.ms/emrqKJ    http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/05/news/economy/Extending_unemployment_benefits/index.htm    http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Obama+compromises+with+extend+cuts+unemployment+benefits/3941758/story.html

Environment and Energy
He fast-tracked regulations to allow states to enact federal fuel efficiency standards that were above federal standards.    http://www10.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/us/politics/26calif.html?_r=5
He fast-tracked increased fuel economy standards for vehicles beginning with the 2011 model year. It was the first time such standards had been increased in a decade.   http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22650.html
He oversaw the establishment of an Energy Partnership for the Americas, which creates more markets for American-made biofuels and green energy technologies. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/225/establish-an-energy-partnership-for-the-americas/
His EPA reversed a Bush-era decision to allow the largest mountaintop removal project in US history.  http://cleantechnica.com/2011/01/13/obama-administration-reverses-largest-appalachian-mountaintop-removal-permit-in-us-history/
He ordered the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances.    http://1.usa.gov/g3MTbu
He ordered energy plants to prepare to produce at least 15% of all energy through renewable resources like wind and solar, by 2021. http://reut.rs/fV155p  (As you can see, Republicans are trying hard to kill it.)
He oversaw the creation of an initiative that converts old factories and manufacturing centers into new clean technology centers. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/310/establish-program-to-convert-manufacturing-centers/
Bypassed Republican opposition in Congress and ordered EPA to begin regulating and measuring carbon emissions.   http://www.energyboom.com/policy/us-epa-begin-regulating-carbon-emissions
He created a program to develop renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that will produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents.   http://1.usa.gov/fgfRWq
He reengaged in the climate change and greenhouse gas emissions agreements talks, and even proposed one himself. He also addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference, officially reversing the Bush-era stance that climate change was a “hoax.”  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/87/i51/8751notw11.html  http://www.youtube.com/das_captcha?next=/watch%3Fv%3DyZ-SMqh7q3o  http://www10.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/us/politics/03obama.html?_r=5&hpw
He fully supported the initial phase of the creation of a legally binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide.  http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2009/2009-02-16-02.asp
He required states to provide incentives to utilities to reduce their energy consumption. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/475/require-states-to-provide-incentives-for-utilities/
Following Bush’s eight year reign, he reengaged in a number of treaties and agreements designed to protect the Antarctic.  http://jonbowermaster.com/blog/2009/04/obama-calls-for-limits-on-antarctic-tourism/
Created tax write-offs for purchases of hybrid automobiles, and later he and Democrats morphed that program into one that includes electric cars.   http://www.hybridcars.com/federal-incentives.html
Mandated that federal government fleet purchases be for fuel-efficient American vehicles, and encouraged that federal agencies support experimental, fuel-efficient vehicles.   http://www.autoobserver.com//2009/06/gsa-buys-210-million-worth-of-fuel-efficient-vehicles-from-us-carmakers.html  http://1.usa.gov/fLWq5c    http://1.usa.gov/hmUSbk
He oversaw and pushed through an amendment to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 authorizing advances from Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. http://1.usa.gov/yTRYVo
He also actively tried to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to eliminate the liability limits for those companies responsible for large oil spills. http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/05/12/12greenwire-white-house-proposes-bill-to-lift-caps-on-offs-45047.html
He initiated Criminal and Civil inquiries into the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. http://www10.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/us/02spill.html?_r=5
Through his EPA, he asserted federal legal supremacy, and barred Texas from authorizing new refinery permits on its own. http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/business/article/EPA-bars-Texas-authority-to-issue-refinery-730499.php?&showAllComments=y
His EPA improved boiler safety standards to improve air quality, and save 6500 lives per year.  http://www.nrdc.org/media/2011/110223a.asp
Through the EPA, he took steps to severely limit the use of antibiotics in livestock feed, to increase their efficacy in humans. http://grist.org/article/food-fda-takes-steps-to-limit-use-of-antibiotics-in-livest/
He increased funding for National Parks and Forests by 10%  http://www.npca.org/news/media-center/press-releases/2009/park_funding_102909.html
He announced greatly improved commercial fuel efficiency standards. http://1.usa.gov/oQiC1K
He announced the development of a huge increase in average fuel economy standards from 27.5mpg to 35.5mpg starting in 2016 and 54.5 starting in 2025   http://1.usa.gov/qtghsW

Other Stuff
He has expanded trade agreements to include stricter labor and environmental agreements such as NAFTA.  http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/8/include-environmental-and-labor-standards-in-trade/
He oversaw funding of  the design of a new Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History, which is scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015.  He protected the funding during the recent budget negotiations.   http://on.fb.me/fD0EVO    http://thedailyrecord.com/2011/04/18/most-smithsonian-funding-intact-under-budget-deal/
Oversaw and passed increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/327/support-increased-funding-for-the-nea/
He nominated Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Sotomayor is the first Hispanic Justice in the court’s history, and the women represent only the third and fourth women to serve on the court, out of a total of 112 justices.   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/sotomayor-confirmed-by-fu_n_253146.html  http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/aug/05/elena-kagan-us-supreme-court
He appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history, including more women than any other incoming president.   http://www.diversityinc.com/content/1757/article/6319/
He eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education, and  he rescinded the global gag rule.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/20/bush-teen-pregnancy-cdc-report  http://www.guttmacher.org/media/inthenews/2009/01/23/index.html
He loosened the rules and allowed the 14 states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves without federal interference.   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/new-medical-marijuana-pol_n_325426.html
Ushered through and signed national service legislation, increasing funding for national service groups, including triple the size of the Americorps program.   http://articles.cnn.com/2009-04-21/politics/obama.service_1_summer-of-service-program-americorps-national-service?_s=PM:POLITICS

Read the original article at http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/what-has-obama-done-since-january-20-2009.html

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...