Job Bill Passes

The last few months have been quite hard on Congress, and the Democrats in particular. Now, finally, the Democrats and the rest of Congress have something the cheer about - the passage of a jobs bill. The boost on hiring in the United States is expected to be modest, but the passage of the bill shows that a bipartisan agreement can actually be made on something. The GOP was planning to filibuster the bill, but five votes from Senate Republicans kept the bill from being filibustered; the bill ended up passing because of this. One of the key votes came from Republican Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, who is quite new to the legislative process. One of the only reasons many of the other Republicans voted against the bill was because of the "heavy hand" method Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada used. Otherwise, support for this bill was quite strong. This fact is a relief, because it shows that Congress can actually come to a decision on some pieces of legislation. One can only hope that this progress is a good sign for partisan relations in the time coming. One thing that this shows is the fact that a small number of votes in the Senate can make quite the difference - only a few people need to be swayed in order to create a majority. This thought makes a stalemate in the Senate all the more interesting. The link to the article is here.

Lawmakers on "Don't Ask Don't Tell"

The "don't ask don't tell" policy of the United States Military has been a law for almost seventeen years. For this reason, lawmakers are questioning what might happen if they lift the policy and allow gays to openly participate in the military. President Obama believes that if somebody wants to serve their country patriotically, they should not be limited to this right just because of their sexual orientation. The lawmakers do not see the policy as so cut and dry, however. Many Congressman want to talk to the service executives about what it would take to make the transition smoothly. Many of the service chiefs currently say that any plan to allows gays and lesbians to openly participate in the military must be thoughtfully executed. This entire issue falls into the realm of civil rights which we are learning in class. In essence, this issue is an example of a group of people (homosexuals) lobbying for their right to serve in the military of the country that they love. Of course, there are probably many gays and lesbians already serving time in the armed forces without openly admitting it. Withdrawing the "don't ask don't tell" policy would allow these people to openly celebrate what they have been doing for their country in a proper, truthful manner. It seems like a great possibility that this case makes it to the court systems in order to decide whether this civil right behind the decision applies in this situation. The link to the article is here.

Health Care Hang-Up

Going into the State of the Union address, President Obama's approval rating was less than 50 percent, and Congress's overall approval rating was much lower. One of the reasons for this was that fact that policymakers have not been able to pass a health care policy that most of the public agrees with. The bill that is currently in the Senate is quite different from the one that passed in the House a couple months ago, and Speaker of the House Pelosi says that the Senate version of the bill is unlikely to pass without change in the House again. Pelosi stated recently that a preferred option among many members of Congress may be to scale back legislation from the $1 trillion plan over 10 years that it is at the moment. The American people of tired of spending that does not result in a noticeable change, and the plan as it is could just be another piece of legislation along the lines of unwanted and/or unnoticeable change. It seems that it is truly a time, if not the time for legislators to step back and look at what they have done and what they need to do. Right now, it's not time to worry about reelection and the race for a majority (which seems to be the continual theme of Congress), rather, it is a time for reevaluation of what the American people actually want. Before spending $1 trillion of money that we don't actually have, and will have to borrow, Congress should make compromises between both sides and not just try to push one-sided legislation through the floor. The last thing we want to do is rely on China for more money than we already have to, and have that money pay for legislation that doesn't even do what it was supposed to do. Create promises, meet those promises, and borrow intelligently. The link to the article is here.

Obama's Helpful Attitude Towards Banks

During the attempt at health care reform, President Obama and the Democrats found themselves on the wrong side of the public's attitude; the people were disappointed. As the administration's agenda is shifting from health care reform to financial reform, they are hoping to not make the same mistake again. What is the key to not making this mistake again? Some say that the key is having a confrontational attitude about politics from the President, just as he did when addressing the wrongdoings of Wall Street and the banks. President Obama really let the banks have the full attack of people, as translated through himself. With financial reform, he needs to do this same thing. Obama needs to shift from a passive leader of a party that is somewhat divided on many issues, to a agitated aggressor of change in policy. If he adopts an attitude like that of Lyndon B. Johnson, it is quite possible that he could agitate the policymakers into actually making policy. This in-your-face style could make Congress choose sides quickly, creating change in a more effective manner. However, this effort could also ruin the President's hope of creating a bipartisan relationship between members of the government. If Obama pushes for decisive policymaking, it is likely that many congressman will just take the side of their entire party. This will allows for little discussion between members of the separate parties, leading to many disagreements and likely many filibusters now that the Democrats do not have a filibuster-proof majority. In my opinion, if President Obama treats issues with assertiveness and decisiveness, asking for a decision quickly, his popularity will rise because of the fact that something is happening. However, an effort such as this will for sure create even more tension between political parties than there already is. Honestly, however, he can't try to take a between route of moderation. Moderation is what he has tried, and it has really gotten him nowhere. Taking one, decisive action at a time is probably the only thing that will make the American people support him. The public does not like indecision. The link to the article is here.

Arms Deal With Taiwan

With many government programs being cut do to the effort to cut costs and reduce the deficit, its not hard to see why the United States made a deal with Taiwan regarding an arms deal. The United States is always in search of news ways to increase its revenue, and this is just what it is doing with a $6.4 billion arms deal with Taiwan. The United States is selling 30 Black Hawk helicopters, 112 advanced Patriot air defense missiles, a pair of mine hunting ships, and dozens of advanced communications systems to Taiwan. And which country is most against this sale? China. Actually, China's protest seems to have a reasonable root, which regards the legitimacy of Taiwan as a sovereign entity which should be able to buy arms. Interestingly enough, neither China nor the United States has recognized Taiwan as a sovereign nation. China complains that because Taiwan does have some sense of hostility towards the large, mainland nation, the arms deal actually interferes with their national security. The only thing that is good regarding the arms deal for China is the fact that it does not include F-16 fighter planes. These were the items that Taiwan wanted, and China fervently did not want Taiwan to have. In this sense, the United States compromised in its deal, to make both Taiwan and China have a positive image of the deal. It seems to me that this is a strange deal to push forward when we are already asking China to sign on to a more harsh policy regarding Iran and their nuclear weapons program. Why not wait until China signed on to the new policy regarding Iran before selling arms to Taiwan? If this ruins any kind of relations between China and the United States, much blame will be put upon the State Department. After all, when it comes to international relations, trust is often more important than making a quick buck for one's country. The link to the article is here.

Citizen Tube

Wednesday night during his State of the Union address, President Obama made it clear that he would focus much effort on openly communicating with both parties about future legislation, in an attempt to create a successful bipartisanship. However, he has even taken this one step further, but pledging to openly communicate with the public. Just another speech? No. He will be answering various questions posted on YouTube by interested citizens, part of a new project called Citizen Tube. He will gives his answers to various public questions on Monday. Some of the questions are about the normal stuff, regarding health care and the economy. However, the most popular questions among the videos are those addressing the legalization of marijuana, interestingly enough. There also also some random questions covering everything from UFOs to Scientology. Recently, regarding the most popular topic, President Obama said that legalization would probably not be the best idea, and also said that he was a little confused about the type of audience fore his YouTube questioning. So will Citizen Tube actually come across as a success? It really depends on the types of questions Obama chooses to answer. It seems that the main thing Obama can accomplish through this action is popular support. If the president shows that he is willing to support the common man and woman, the common man and woman will be more willing to support the President. Other than a slight gain in trust within the American People, it doesn't seem like many new, revealing truths will come out of this Citizen Tube effort. The link to the article is here.

U.S. Money Stuggles

One of the biggest issues that governments across the world face daily is the issue of monetary security. With an ever growing debt, the United States is in this very boat, struggling to say above the surface. President Obama made it clear in his State of the Union address Wednesday night that a major goal of the years to come will be decreasing the federal deficit. In this effort, Obama already put a spending freeze on all government programs for three years. This freeze is estimated to save $10 to $15 billion by the end of 2011. But his was not enough for what Obama had in mind. He has proposed to cut approximately 120 government programs and agencies, saving roughly $20 billion a year. One such project that is likely to get cut is the Save America's Treasures programs, which works to restore historical buildings such as small town courthouses. However, even with these cuts, President Obama has still called for $200 million for security regarding the trials of suspected terrorist, such as the mastermind behind the September 11th attacks. This just shows that for each government program that is cut, something else that is equally important or more important comes up that must be paid for. So in reality, one must wonder about whether these cuts will really lower the deficit of the United States, or if they will just go towards new initiatives regarding the flailing country. Even if the debt is slowly lowered for the U.S., one must wonder what will happen once the agencies are reinstated - will be costs outweigh the revenue as it has throughout history, or will history change for the better? The link to the article is here.

Governmental Bipartisanship

In his State of the Union address Wednesday night, President Obama made a direct attack at the members of the GOP sitting on the right side of the auditorium. He gave them a promise that he would start having more frequent meetings with the GOP leaders to talk about issues, and relationships between political parties. Today, President Obama was in Baltimore talking to some leaders of the House Republicans while they were at there retreat. The subject of the talks was just this - bipartisanship in politics. While at the retreat, Obama attacked the Republicans for a "politics of no" that had developed within their ranks; this meant that Obama was pointing out his opinion that many Republicans were just saying "no" to some decisions just because they could, just because of party politics. The Republican countered by telling Obama that even though he spoke of bipartisanship and cooperation, he himself often pushed liberal ideas without really listening to what the GOP had to say. It was in this way that the President and House Republicans jabbed each other in a respectful, civil way. After all, being respectful and civil is what bipartisanship is all about right? If anything is going to get accomplished in this time of need for America, one party cannot either completely dominate or completely hinder the political agenda. The parties are not about to merge completely - far from it. However, all that it takes is a few members from each party listening to and caring about the other side's opinion. If interest is shown, then civility will be shown. This idea applies to the president himself as well. The link to the article is here.

Obama to Focus on Jobs?

As the State of the Union approaches, many people are wondering what President Obama is going to say regarding the country spiraling sharply out of control. The chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, says that Obama should focus his address on one major thing: jobs. He believes that when jobs are increased and bettered, the people of American will actually feel that something is getting done, and that government is not just in some kind of stalemate. Jobs are the first thing Alexander believes the president should work on, followed by the debt and terrorism. The middle of these focuses actually makes quite a bit of sense: if the United States is about to spend a great sum of money on some kind of health care plan in the near future, it seems that the president should first work on the national debt, so that people don't think the government is losing control of itself (which many people already think). If Obama creates jobs and lowers the debt in some way before the health care bill passes, many more people will be on the bandwagon of success, and will therefore support the health care plan. This seems to be one of the only plans for the success of Obama's speech tomorrow night. The link to the article is here.

Country Skeptical Before the State of the Union Address

With his polls dropping below the 50 percent margin, President Obama must think about ways to create hope within the American people during his State of the Union Speech. A recent pole from the National Public Radio reveals that more than 50 percent of Americans would vote Republicans if the mid-term elections were to happen today. This correlates to the similar statistic of over 50 percent of the American people being against the proposed health care plan. Obama truly does have much to address: The state of the economy, jobs within the economy, relations with other nations regarding climate change, and the state of the health care debate. President Obama can't trash a plan that has been worked on for over a year, but he also can't put through something that the people don't actually want; he has an issue on his hands. With this in mind, Obama can't just think about reelection strategy when he makes his speech - he needs to think about what will actually please the people. This will truly be the telling factor of how he is doing as Chief of State, actually representing the people. This speech will be crucial in deciding what direction the United States will go regarding many issues.

Losing Obama's Senate Seat

The Democrats recently lost Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat in Massachussetts to a Republican politician, and what could add even more injury to this fact? Well, it looks as if the Democrats are under the threat of losing President Obama's old Senate seat in Illinois. In the eyes of the people, the moderate republican running for the seat could meet the demands of the people more than the liberal Democrats who are currently fighting over who should run for the seat; the Democrats don't know whether to run a conservative liberal (moderate) candidate, or a more left-side liberal. The Republicans, on the other hand, seem to have the perfect moderate candidate: five time representative Mark Kirk. A recent poll puts the support for Kirk at 47 percent - an amazing amount for somebody who hasn't even been nominated yet. For Obama, this could be another blow to his Senate majority is the republicans win in November. Growing discontent shows that Obama could very well be facing a republican majority in the Senate by the middle of his first term in office. The article link is here.

Obama to Propose Budget Freeze

As the State of the Union address quickly approaches on Wednesday night, many are wondering what President Obama is going to do about the growing concern regarding the federal deficit. It appears that Obama will propose a new spending freeze on the Congress budget for approximately three years. The freeze will affect a $477 billion plot of money put aside mainly for the annual appropriation of funds for domestic agencies. Interestingly enough, some agencies will gain more money than normal, while others will lose greatly because of the budget cuts. It is likely that the freeze will not affect all of the $477 billion, but rather around $250 billion over the course of a decade. The newly filibuster-proof republican numbers are pushing for this budget reform. This presidential action shows the role of the president as the chief of state, and the virtual image for the head of our nation's economy. The president's approval rating strongly relies on the state of the economy, which is why Obama is listening to the people when it comes to economic care. The article link is here.

President Obama's Influential Image

It could be said that President Obama came into office at a rough time for the United States. A large part of this fact has to deal with the deplorable condition of the economy during the past months. Even though the economy is struggling, studies show that one groups optimism has grown beyond that of all others - the blacks. African Americans are more optimistic about the Obama administration than they've been about nearly any presidency in history. Even with the tanking economy, this group shows their belief in the powers of the president. In a sense, this fact shows the idealistic image of the president at the Chief of State. The fact that an African American is representing the United States in all public appearances and statements has sparked support in this influential group, uniting them in a truly common manner. It is good and interesting to see the President of the United States fulfill his role as Chief of State in a different manner than any other president in history, creating an image for all to attempt and follow. The article link is here.

Obama the "Arm-Twister"

It was outlined in a recent Congressional Quarterly report that President Obama has acquired more votes regarding issues where he took a stance than any other president in the five decade history of the Congressional Quarterly. With regard to winning congressional votes, in his first year in office, Obama appears to be garnering more votes for issues than even the great negotiator Lyndon Johnson. When he took a clear position on an issue, Obama won approximately 96.7 percent of all votes in the House and Senate. Interestingly enough, this number was almost 10 percent higher than the George W. Bush administration after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. One question to ask from these facts is whether all of this success is coming solely from Obama's work as the Chief Legislator. More than skills as a legislator it seems to be the extreme state of turmoil in which the country sits. President Obama must keep his image in high status, which means using his power to influence the politics of the country. In this way, Obama is mixing his roles as Chief Legislator and Chief of State, trying to create a balanced workhorse. The article link is here.

Bank of America Repays $45 Billion

The Bank of America, as of Wednesday, had repaid entire $45 billion sum which it got from the government bailout plan earlier in the year. According to some, this is a sign that the economy is rising once again, because banks are now starting to actually stand on their own two feet. However, it seems that the money was paid back because the bank did not like the government restrictions which came with the funds. Apparently, the government rules where hampering the banks ability to select a new CEO, and without these government controls, this process could take the front seat for the bank. So far, a total of $116 billion have been payed back from the initial bailout, a sign that at least some of the companies are showing signs of growth and success. It seems that the criticized bailout has actually done something positive for the economy, as shown by this move of repayment. Banks are beginning a new era of management, hopefully, and will learn from the governmental which were place on them for a time. The link to the article is here.

Subpoena of White House Crashers

Apparently, in Congress, a House Homeland Security Committee voted, on Wednesday, to subpoena the couple which crashed a White House party last month, in an attempt to know the truth about what went wrong. Certain subjects in the Secret Service have already been put on a leave of absence, but the committee just wants to know what happened from the crashers point of view. However, the Salahis have invoked their 5th amendment write to not answer and questions. Overall, in my opinion, this issue is a waste of time for Congress. Yes, something went wrong; but no, we do not have to spend a month trying to sooth the feelings of the media. The United States Congress, after all, has much more important things to be working on than trying to figure out how a couple crashed a party. I understand that it is an issue of safety, but their are more important issues of safety which the House could be using their time to discuss. The link to the article is here.

A Medicare Buy-In?

Currently, one issue being debated on Capitol Hill is that of a possible Medicare buy-in for people who have not yet reached the 65 year cutoff. The buy-in discussed would be for people of ages 55 to 64 who do not have any sort of private insurance. The main problem, however, is the fact that the buy-in would cost an average of $7,600 a year as a premium. This is well above the average premium in the private sector, which is in the $4,000 range. The expense of the Medicare buy-in comes from the general costs of running the program. So if Medicare is a good option for this "middle-of-the-road" group, how could they pay for it? The answer at the moment seems to be subsidies from the government. In my mind, this seems quite strange, considering the $7,600 cost would practically be paid to the government to cover cost. So, if the government is also providing subsidies for the cost, they would essentially just be lower the age requirements for Medicare, because costs would cancel each other out. To me, it seems that Congress should come up with a more effective idea for covering this middle age group, without compromising the Medicare plane for the people which already have it. The link to the article is here.

Leaked Climate Change Emails Stir Congress

When a hacker broke into the private emails of the U.K.'s University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit, emails were made public on the internet that were never meant to be so. The controversy behind the emails caused the director of the unit, Phil Jones, to stand down. This may have been unimportant to American politics had Congress not been debating climate change issues on Wednesday. The emails made some skeptics of climate change resort to their founded beliefs. Republican representative James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin stated an argument along the lines that the email invalidated the recently concreted thought that humans are a cause of climate change. Others, however, such as Democratic representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts, say that climate change is a threat to our planet, and all of this is a diversion from the real problem at hand. For the most part, I agree with this view from Markey. A couple of private emails that were not supposed to be released to the public should not make legislators change their mind about the issues. The scientific reports are what should be concentrated on. However, because scandal is God in America, the issue of the contradicting emails will be blown out of proportions. The link to the article is HERE.

Medicare Cuts to Stay in Health Care Bill

In anther issue of bill amending, the proposed cuts in Medicare that are currently in the health care bill are to remain in the bill. This was decided upon the decline of an amendment put forth by Arizona Republican Senator John McCain. The proposal from McCain would have given up the 400 billion dollar cuts from Medicare in the health care bill, which would have overall added more money (400 billion dollars) to the cost of the bill. The bill was vetoed with a 58-42 vote. The Republicans who supported the bill were worried that 400 billion cut from Medicare would make people who rely on Medicare Advantage lose some benefits. Democrats argued against this by saying that no "guaranteed" benefits would be lost in the cut. Interestingly enough, and perhaps the most interesting aspect of this story, is the fact that the AARP strongly supported the Democrats in this decision. To me, it seems strange that the interest group supporting retirees would support a cut in Medicare, because retired people are the majority of people who would be effected by the cut. In this sense, their Democratic support goes against rational thought. In a way, it shows that other measures in the health care bill are more important that this single Medicare cut; other privileges supported by the bill must balance out the cut in the eyes of the AARP. This issue shows the amendment process in the legislature, as well as the influence of interest groups in politics. The AARP is powerful, and their support does not go unnoticed. The link is HERE.

Senate Passes Second Amendment to Health Care Bill

As the Senate debates the controversial health care bill, amendments to the bill have begun to arise. One such amendment was passed today, the second to be passed regarding the bill. This amendment, forwarded by Maryland Democrat Barbara Mikulski, would expand, specifically, the coverage of women's health care. The amendment, which was passed 61 to 39, would allow the government to require health insurance companies to cover screenings and other preventative care measures for women at little or no cost to the woman. This proposal was one of two regarding women's health care coverage, the other being an amendment to the bill introduced by Alaskan Republican representative Lisa Murkowski. Mikulski argued that Murkowski's plan did not do enough to cover the up-front costs of preventative measures for women; Mikulski want "universal access" for the service. This is an interesting event in the health care process, because it shows an issue not often thought about in health care reform. It is known that screenings and preventative measures for women are needed, but it is not so well known that many people cannot afford what the bill is basically calling "essentials." This is also and interesting issue because it shows the legislative debate process. While a bill is on the floor, many changes are made through and amendment process - an amendment process which takes time and money. It shows the thouroughness, yet slowness, of the American Legislative system. The article link is HERE.