Obama signed Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Obama signed his first bill into law approving equal-pay legislation. Obama said that it would “send a clear message that making our economy work means making sure it works for everybody” and that “It is fitting that with the very first bill I sign — the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act — we are upholding one of this nation’s first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness.” Lilly Ledbetter is a woman who complained that she had been paid less than men at the end of her career as a supervisor in a tire factory. When she was close to retirement she found out that her male colleagues were making a lot more money than she was. A jury found that the company was guilty of pay discrimination, but in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court threw out the case. Congress tried to pass a law that would overturn the decision, but while Bush was still in office, the White House opposed the bill. Ledbetter will not receive any money as a result of the legislation, but personal satisfaction is enough for her.

Polls Close in Iraq Elections Held Amid Tight Security

As the U.S. get less involved with Iraq, it starts to show signs of stability. The Iraqis get a chance to vote for the first time in four years on Saturday in one of the 7,000 polling stations available. There was almost no violence and people even brought their families to witness the second opportunity they had to vote since former president Saddam Hussein's government collapsed. The cease-fire and the surge in U.S. troops in 2007 have contributed to the security improvements. More than 14,000 candidates are running for 440 seats to lead councils that are similar to the positions of state legislatures in the U.S.

Obama Moves to Reverse Labor Policies

President Obama continues to slowly chip away at the Bush administration policies. Today, he and Vice President Biden announced plans to help out organized labor and the middle class. At a White House ceremony, President Obama signed three executive orders that he claimed would “reverse many of the policies towards organized labor that we’ve seen these last eight years, policies with which I’ve sharply disagreed.” Vice President also attacked Bush and Cheney (coincidentally on Cheney's 68th birthday) when he announced to labor officials in the audience, "Welcome back to the White House."

Obama's executive orders would require federal contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change, and would make it harder for federal contractors to discourage union activities. Also, Biden announced that the first meeting of a task force that would "bring together those Cabinet members who have the greatest impact on the well-being of the middle class" would be on February 27 in Philadelphia. This task force will examine various issues, such as health care and college opportunities, and will aim at "restoring the balance in the workplace." The task force will be led by Jared Bernstein, a liberal economist writing on the impact of Obama's stimulus plan. And according to Biden, the first meeting will focus on "green jobs, those jobs that pay well, can’t be outsourced and will help us move toward a cleaner, more self-sufficient energy future.”

President Obama claims that there is no need for conflict between workers and employers, and that American business and industry can be "lean and mean", and competitive in the global marketplace. Vice President Biden claims that by helping out the middle class, the administration can help out the poor; and "by the way, the wealthy do better as well. Everyone does better."

Florida Speaker Steps Down

Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Ray Sansom (Republican), stepped down from his position, claiming he could not carry out his duties while being investigated for corruption. On the same day he was sworn in as speaker, he had taken a $110,000-a-year part-time job as vice president for development and planning with Northwest Florida State College. The Leon County grand jury voted on Monday to investigate Sansom's ties to the college after a series of articles in The St. Petersburg Times that reported on how Sansom steered millions to the college. Other news reports talked of how Sansom pushed for legislation that raised the college from its community college status and how he won millions for construction projects for the college. Sansom had also suddenly resigned from his college job this month. Sansom's stepping down followed the resignation of the speaker of the Massachusetts House, Salvatore F. DiMasi (Democrat). DiMasi's former campaign treasurer and accountant was accused of making illegal campaign contributions and illegal lobbying. Sansom's stepping down also occurred a day after Blagojevich was impeached. Clearly, a lot of corruption is floating around; but then again, politics has never always been a clean game.

Republicans Choose First Black Party Chairman

The Republican National Committee chose Michael Steele, former lieutenant governor of Maryland to be the chairman. The election took six ballots before he could get the 85 votes needed to win. He won with 91 votes out of 165, defeating Katon Dawson, the South Carolina Republican chairman. During the election Dawson faced many concerns such as reinforce the notion that Republicans are becoming a Southern regional party and to help ease these concerns he stopped going to his all white country club. One of the things Steele had going for him was that he was one of the two non-members of the committee running. Steele stated that "it’s time for something completely different and we’re going to bring it to them. We’re going to bring this party to every corner, to every boardroom, to every neighborhood, to every community. And we’re going to say to friend and foe alike, ‘we want you to be a part of us, we want you to be with us and for those of you who are going to obstruct, get ready to be knocked over.’ " Ken Blackwell, another African American running for the position pulled out of the race after the fourth ballot with only 15 votes. “Obviously, the winds of change are blowing at the R.N.C.,” Mike Duncan said. The election showed the party's desire for a clean break from the former President who withdrew after the third ballot. He got 41 votes on the third ballot which was 11 votes short of the 52 he got on the first ballot. Chip Saltsman of Tennessee also run, but he distributed a CD with a song called “Barack the Magic Negro” which caused concern. He dropped out on the eve of the contest after apparently failing to qualify for the ballot.

U.S. Economy: GDP Shrinks at Fastest Pace Since 1982

The U.S. economy shrank 5.1% in the fourth quarter. To make things worse companies such as from Starbucks and Pep Boys- Manny, Moe & Jack have announced job cuts. Obama used these events to push his stimulus package forward claiming that "this is a continuing disaster for America’s working families.” Consumer spending dropped from 3.5% after having already dropped 3.8% earlier. Many believe that Obama's stimulus plan could help the economy. “Without the stimulus plan, the economy would be flat to declining in the second half of the year,” said Meyer, vice chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC in Washington.

Blagojevich's Last Day

Rod R. Blagojevich made the most of his last day as governor, such as using the state-owned jet, having drivers drive him home, and all the other extra benefits he got for being governor. Throughout the day, he was still fuming about the unfairness of his impeachment trial, but knew what the outcome was going to be. He ended up leaving the Capitol in Springfield through "a secret basement corridor full of grunting, clanking pipes, bare walls and puddles.

There were certain moments in the day where Blagojevich reflected on his political life, talking about his guilt towards his family. He called his political life a "personal Greek tragedy", saying how he saw his circumstances, but still loved his job. He claims that his biggest error was the friends he chose.

Senate Passes Health Bill for Children

On a vote of 66-32, the Senate passed a bill that would provide health insurance to more than 4 million uniinsured children. During his term, President George W. Bush twice vetoed similar bills. But President Obama was more than willing to sign this bill. Democrats fully supported this bill, declaring that their first priorities are women and children; in addition, Obama had just signed a bill that makes it easier for women to challenge pay discrimination at work. The bill would increase tobacco taxes to balance the increased spending, which is roughly more than $32 million over four and a half years. However Republicans criticize the bill, seeing it as a threat to replace private health insurance with government programs. They also fear that bill will cover children from higher-income families. Senator Jon Kyl (Republican-Arizona) complained about a provision that could cover children with family incomes three times over the poverty level ($66, 150 for a family of four). But no matter how hard the Republicans tried to propose amendments, the Democrats rejected them.

One of the most important parts of the bill was letting states use federal money to provide health insurance to children and pregnant women who are legal immigrants. Currently, legal immigrants are barred from Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance program for five years after they enter the United States.

Obama criticizes wall street bonuses

Obama called the bankers “shameful” for giving themselves $18.4 billion in bonuses. Financial executives have received the same level of bonuses as they had in 2004, when the economy was a lot better. Obama has said, “That is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful, and part of what we’re going to need is for folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility. The American people understand that we’ve got a big hole that we’ve got to dig ourselves out of, but they don’t like the idea that people are digging a bigger hole even as they’re being asked to fill it up. . . there will be time for them to make profits and there will be time for them to make bonuses. Now is not that time.” This response came the day after the president met privately with business leaders. One of the business leaders was the chairman of the board of Citigroup, which received taxpayer money last year. They wanted to buy a $50 million business jet, but the administration was able to urge them to cancel that. I think Obama has the right to be angry at the businesses for spending so much money and being so irresponsible with the money that they got. This is not the time to buy a $50 million business jet. Businesses should be spending taxpayer's money more responsibly.

Illinois Senate Kicks Blagojevich Out of Office

Governor Rod Blagojevich was finally impeached and banned from holding political office in the state again. His position will be given to his estranged lieutenant governor, Pat Quinn. Blagojevich was arrested last month for a number of crimes, one of which was an attempt to auction off President Obama's former U.S Senate seat. He was also charged with pressuring people for campaign money. Tapes were found proving this and Blagojevich told the Senate that "all of us in politics do in order to run campaigns and win elections." Blagojevich did not show up for his trial all week, (he spent the time instead talking with the media) but he did return in time to make a speech in which he claimed that "You haven't proved a crime, and you can't because it didn't happen. How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?" The Senators responded by calling him a "dishonest," "devious," "corrupt," and a "hypocrite." Personally I am not sad to see him go.

Gore talks to Senate about the climate

Al Gore urged lawmakers to act quickly on Obama’s stimulus package. This package contains billions of dollars in alternative energy investments. He told the Senate Foreign Relations Commitee that this new spending proposed by Obama will begin to quickly reduce pollutants blamed for global warming. The plan will invest in energy efficiency, renewables, a unified national energy smart grid and the move to clean cars. Gore says, “These crucial investments will create millions of new jobs and hasten our economic recovery, while strengthening our national security and beginning to solve the climate crisis.” Gore was challenged by some Republican members of the committee. They wanted him to "endorse nuclear power as a clean alternative to coal and to endorse returning to the public all revenues from a carbon reduction regime." I think it's great that Obama is taking action to help the environment with these investments. Hopefully these investments will lead to a positive change in the environment.

Salmonella Was Found at Peanut Plant Before

100 products have been recalled including cookies and crackers and it's not joke. More than 500 people in 43 states, 100 in which are children under 5 are sick and eight are died after eating products made from peanut butter. The peanut butter was from a plant called Peanut Corporation of America in Blakely, Ga. The plant knowingly sent out peanut butter that had mold growing on its ceiling and walls. Tests on the product showed it has salmonella. The plant took no steps to clean up after tests showed the contamination and continued to store pallets of peanut butter next to supplies of peanuts. Federal regulations state that raw and finished materials should be stored separately. Along with the salmonella contamination, dirty surfaces, grease residue and dirt buildup were found throughout the plant. It seems that with all of our regulations on food supply there are still products slipping through the cracks.

Relief for States and the Jobless on Health Insurance

The stimulus package doesn't just call for increased spending and tax cuts, it will also help the poor, the uninsured, and the unemployed. The House Democrats would create a temporary new entitlement that allows workers getting unemployment checks to qualify for Medicaid. Spouses and children would also receive benefits, regardless of how much money the family has. Also, the stimulus package will provide a subsidy for laid-off workers to keep the health insurance they had from their former employers. Overall, the bill would give $127 billion over the next two and a half years to individuals and states for health care. Republicans criticize this amount, calling it "a back door to universal health coverage". The stimulus bill prohibits states from enforcing a means test, as well as provides much needed relief for Medicaid programs since state revenues are decreasing while the number of Medicaid recipients is increasing. As for the laid-off workers, the bill stipulates that the federal government will pay for 65% of the premiums of the laid-off workers for a year. However, Republicans fear that people with a family income of over $1 million will take advantage of this option, and wanted to deny these subsidies to people with annual incomes of more that $100,000 or assets of more than $1 million. But Democrats ignored the Republicans' arguments. Do you think giving money to health care like this and using these methods will help us more or hurt us more?

Blagojevich Asks to Speak at His Impeachment Trial

After refusing to attend his impeachment trial for three days, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich has asked to speak to the Illinois State Senate tomorrow before they start their deliberations on whether to remove him from office. He will not testify or be cross-examined. He will only speak to address the Senate to respond to the prosecution's closing argument. I feel that Blagojevich is being really ridiculous. All this time, he has declared his impeachment trial unfair; yet all of a sudden, he wants to attend the trial to speak to the Senate. Also, he isn't willing to be questioned, yet was more than happy to answer any questions that the media had during his numerous interviews earlier this week. I feel like he's not handling this situation in a very professional manner, and that he's not taking this seriously.

However, another interesting fact from the impeachment trial is that the prosecution only called six of its thirteen scheduled witnesses. The prosecution claimed that they didn't want repetitive testimonies, yet some of the senators are a little unsettled by this. Getting rid of half of the witnesses speeds up the trial, but also withholds information that may be important in a trial as massive as this; therefore making the trial look politically motivated. How do you guys think eliminating half the witnesses will affect the trial?

Obama wins House passage of economic stimulus

Obama passed his $825billion economic stimulus package by a 244-188 vote in the House. All Republicans and 11 Democrats refused to support the bill. The Republicans believe that the bill spends too much money with not enough tax cuts. Obama commented that "we can't do is drag our feet or allow the same partisan differences to get in our way. We must move swiftly and boldly to put Americans back to work, and that is exactly what this plan begins to do." Meanwhile a similar bill is expected to pass in the Senate and both House and Senate will have to work on the bill to resolve the differences. Even though the second bill also has Republicans worried, both sides have agreed to talk to each other.

Post office wants to cut a delivery day

The postmaster general told Congress that the post office could be forced to cut a delivery day because of massive deficits. The post office is asking lawmakers to lift the requirement that they deliver mail six days a week. They have looked at skipping a day when the mail flow would be light, such as Tuesday. The post office was $2.8 billion in the red last year and could experience a net loss of $6 billion or more this fiscal year. "It is possible that the cost of six-day delivery may simply prove to be unaffordable...I reluctantly request that Congress remove the annual appropriation bill rider, first added in 1983, that requires the Postal Service to deliver mail six days each week," said Potter, the postmaster general. A study made by the Postal Service study estimates that they could save $3.5 billion by cutting a day. Potter also has asked Congress to ease the requirement that it makes advance payments into a fund for future health benefits for retirees. I would not mind if the post office went from a six-day to five-day delivery if it was on a day when mail flow is light. Do you think Congress should let them cut a delivery day?

Advance on Stem Cells

The next medical advancement made on stem cells will take place soon as parapalegics will be injected with new stem cells that could heal tissue damage.
After Bush left office, Geron Cooporation of Menlo park won approval to treat patients with stem cell research for the first time. If Obama sticks to his pledges on stem cells, this research and maybe even cures will continue.
Scientists are hoping that the cells drawn from approved embryotic cells will be injected into humans and hopefully stimulate the growth of new cells that will replace damaged tissue, muscles, and nerves.
With the debate about stem cells, how long will this research actually take place?

Lawmakers Hear Blagojevich Tapes

Today, for the first time, some of Illinois governor, Rod. R. Blagojevich's, phone calls were played aloud during his impeachment trial. The phone calls focused on legislation that would send casino revenues to the horse racing industry. This legislation was part of Blagojevich's plans to raise campaign funds from horse racing interests, who would then in turn benefit from the bill that Blagojevich would sign. Not only that, but Blagojevich has a separate corruption case by federal prosecutors in Chicago going on along with his impeachment trial.

Yet, even with his impeachment trial happening, he spent Monday and today on every television show possible proclaiming his innocence and condemning politics and his impeachment unfair. He claims this because the impeachment process bars him from calling in witnesses that he wants to bring in. It just seems a bit ridiculous that instead of focusing on the impeachment trial, as he should be doing, he is on almost every television talk show blaming others for his predicament when there is clear evidence that he is guilty to various degrees. I feel that, as a politician, Governor (not that he will be for long) Blagojevich should be handling this whole impeachment trial more professionally. And as to Blagojevich's complaints, I agree with Illinois State Representative Jack D. Franks that "an impeachment process is not a criminal trial,...It’s not a civil trial. It’s a question of whether he can continue to lead or not.”

here's the link to a video of his interview with the Associated Press:
http://video.ap.org/?f=KSTOP&pid=WXhnomq7jqfjmFXpEZUoPVAfBiWXFcVD

Afghanistan 'top priority' for US

Under the Obama administration the U.S. foreign policy has changed. It has become less about nation-building and more about keeping out al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Our primary goal is to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for terrorists and extremists to attack the United States and our allies. And whatever else we need to do flows from that objective," Robert Gates told lawmakers. Obama is going to focus more on Afghanistan and Pakistan than Iraq to fight the war on terror. I don't know how his plan will work out, but considering Bush's plan hasn't worked maybe changing the focus will help.

Putting Partisanship Aside for the Economy

This afternoon, President Obama held a meeting with Congressional Republicans to discuss his stimulus plan, which is scheduled to be considered on Wednesday in the House. The meeting was behind closed doors and lasted two hours. In the meeting, Obama addressed any major questions Republicans had, as well as tried to attract some more Republican votes for his plan. He also gave more detail about how his stimulus plan was put together, and listened to and welcomed the thoughts and ideas the Republicans had. Obama is willing to consider the ideas from the Republicans and is willing to change his plan if he feels those ideas are better. On Monday, Obama urged the Democrats to strike a part of the bill that will provide $200 million for family planning for low-income people. Overall, the fact that our Democratic President sat down with our all of our Congressional Republicans was a big step for the future relationship between the White House and Congress. According to officials from both sides, the meeting was "the beginning of a dialogue between Congressional Republicans and the White House that did not exist even when George W. Bush was in the Oval Office". Such a meeting fosters hope for a good relationship between the White House and Congress, which hopefully will help our nation through these hard times.