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Close Topic OptionsPres. Barack Obama's Next Move - Page 18 of 91
Obama promotes nuclear-free world US President - Page 18 - Politics, Business, Civil, History - Posted: 5th Apr, 2009 - 2:32pm
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Now that he is President of the United States of America what can we see coming from Pres. Barack Obama?
Pres. Barack Obama's Next Move - Page 18
What the heck was Pres. Obama doing in Jay Leno show? 
I do not think it is common for a President to go to this kind of shows, not when they're in office and when the country is in the worst economic shape possible.
Plus his big mouth about the Special Olympics....
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| President Barack Obama's lighthearted Thursday night appearance on NBC's Tonight Show didn't leave everyone clutching their sides with laughter. Obama's comments to Jay Leno about his low bowling score - in particular, an off-the-cuff remark that it was "like Special Olympics or something" - had the chief executive calling Special Olympics chairman Tim Shriver from Air Force One on Thursday before the program even aired. "He expressed his disappointment and apologized," Shriver told Friday's edition of ABC's Good Morning America. "He was very sincere." In a statement issued Friday, White House spokesman Bill Burton said, "The President made an offhand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics. He thinks that the Special Olympics are a wonderful program that gives an opportunity to shine to people with disabilities from around the world." |
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It seems like the Obamas like parties. They plan to held one every Wednesday night. I wonder who is going to pay for all these luxuries?
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| It's a cold evening in the nation's capital, but the guests at a local cocktail party hardly feel the winter chill. Amid the low symphony of glasses clinking and a dull hum of chatter, men and women mill about, likely dining on the finest finger foods that catering has to offer. It's Wednesday night at the White House, and the era of the cocktail party has returned. Only eight weeks into the Obama administration, the president and first lady have already hosted their fair share of social events. Indeed, White House social secretary Desiree Rogers has announced that the Obama administration plans to make Wednesday night social events a tradition. "It's not so much a cocktail party necessarily," Katie McCormick Lelyveld, press secretary to first lady Michelle Obama, told FOXNews.com. "It's a gathering that takes on the shape of the week's agenda. The driving force is to reserve time Wednesday evenings to have at hand to use for whatever is at the top of the list of priorities that week." The announcement seemed to be a departure from the past several years, as the parties had all but fallen out of fashion since the Reagan era. President George W. Bush was rumored to dislike cocktail parties, and had given up drinking years before he was sworn in. As former press secretary Dee Dee Myers told Politico.com, the Clintons did not have a wide circle of friends in Washington and were "not as social" as the Obamas have shown themselves to be. The Reagans reportedly cultivated relationships with Washington society and Hollywood alike, while Carter instead enjoyed a more quiet social life. But the Obamas, known to be active in their community, have already hosted several events that have taken on different forms: from a bipartisan meeting of Democrats and Republicans before voting on the stimulus bill, to a concert in honor of Obama's favorite musician, Stevie Wonder, to a Super Bowl party (on a Sunday, of course), to a black history event hosted by the first lady. But not everyone is lifting a glass to toast the host and hostess. The political watchdog group Freedom Watch has sought information from the federal government as to how much taxpayer money is being used for the events, according to a report in World Net Daily. Others have pointed out that the extra socializing isn't necessarily doing all that much for negotiation purposes. As Letitia Baldrige, former social secretary to first ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Lady Bird Johnson, told FOXNews.com, "no real, substantial conversation takes place" at White House cocktail parties. "We had them, we didn't like them, but they are a necessary evil," Baldrige said. "The best thing is to be invited to dinner, really, then lunch, then a morning breakfast meeting. These are sit-down, conversation-friendly events. "But cocktail parties need a herd mentality. You go with the herd mentality and talk about what the herd is talking about. It's nothing more, really, than going there to see and be seen." The party's main function, Baldrige said, is simply to take care of people who feel left out or hurt. "It's a way of taking care of social obligations," she said. "It's just a way of making people feel good." In fact, Baldrige says it is an unspoken rule not to argue or protest at a cocktail party. "It would be grossly inappropriate to do so," she said.... |
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Page 18 Move Obamas Barack Pres
Obama is keeping this campaign promise, to have "dialogue" with Iran.
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| After all these years of frayed relations between Iran and the United States, Obama chose Nowruz, the Persian celebration of spring and the new year, to send out a televised message directly to the Iranian people. The White House released it late Thursday night, timed to appear on Iranian TV on Nowruz. It also happened to go out just a few minutes before the unfortunate Special Olympics comment aired on Leno's show. But the real significance is not in the accident of timing, but in the president's conciliatory tone. Trita Parsi, a respected scholar on Iran, put it this way: "Through this carefully written message, Obama is doing something crucial: He is sending a signal of strategic intent that America's objective is to find constructive relations between the US and Iran, I.e. Ending the destructive enmity that has existed for three decades. This is important since tactical collaboration with Iran in Afghanistan would be unlikely to achieve unless America assured the Iranians that the broader long-term objective is to find a positive relationship between the two countries. By using the term "Islamic Republic," Obama is also signaling America's acceptance of Iran's revolution. This does not mean that America will not welcome democratization in Iran, but it does signal that the policy of regime change has been cast aside. Obama is focusing on behavioral change, not regime change. Recognizing that Iran has a rightful place among nations, clarifies that America recognizes that a country and civilization of Iran's size cannot be isolated and contained inevitably. By pointing out that this role comes with responsibilities, he signals Iran that its rightful role is within reach if its policies change. This is a significant break with the Bush Administration policies. Through this speech, President Obama does not only express tremendous respect and recognition of the Iranian nation and civilization, he also demonstrates that he recognizes that outreach to the Arab world is different from outreach to Iran. He shows an important understanding of the uniqueness of the Iranian civilization, a point that likely won't be lost on the Iranians." |
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| By Thomas Erdbrink Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, March 22, 2009; Page A15 TEHRAN, March 21 -- Iran's supreme leader on Saturday called President Obama's promise of better ties a "slogan" but said that if the United States changed its "attitude," Iran would do the same. ... "They say, 'We have extended a hand toward Iran.' What kind of hand is this? If the extended hand is covered with a velvet glove but underneath it, the hand is made of cast iron, this does not have a good meaning at all," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a crowd of tens of thousands in the northeastern city of Mashad, state television reported. "They are talking of extending a hand to Iran on the occasion of the new year and they are congratulating the Iranian people," Khamenei said. "At the same time, they are accusing Iran of terrorism and the manufacturing of nuclear weapons. We ask, have you lifted the unjust sanctions against the Iranian people and returned [Iranian] assets you hold? Have you retracted hostile propaganda against Iran?" ..."They chant the slogan of change but no change is seen in practice," Ayatollah Khamenei said in a speech before a crowd of tens of thousands in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad. "We have no experience of this new president and administration," he said. "We will wait and see. If you change your attitude, we will change, too. If you do not change, then our nation will build on its experience of the past 30 years." |
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Now here are two things that really concern me that I have heard that the Obama Administration is pushing or leaning towards. One is the limitation of the charitable contribution for tax deductions.
Source 7
Source 8
Now on the surface, I can look at this as a way to catch the "rich" guys that are donating large quantities to charities and benefiting by it if they successfully put themselves in another tax bracket. However, think about how much you have to donate to actually drop you down to the 22% bracket. If you rake in about a million in a year, you better find about a million in charities and other deductions to drop you down to the 22% tax bracket. If you do it, then you get a few thousand dollars in shifting of tax brackets. If not, then you dont benefit nearly as much.
But what happens to the charities?
I dont think everyone donates to get deductions, but the rich definitely do and apply for the deduction (look at our failed nominees as of late). Now if they are not able to donate as much as normally would due to the new proposed regulation, then the charity ends up on the short end of the stick and by a lot most likely. So now these charities will be dependent on the government for money. Again, expanding governments reach into nearly every sector...now charities. If they dont give to the charity then the charity goew without. This is just no good and seriously concerns me with this governments direction.
I have also heard from a tax preparer that they have been notified of the likely change to the tax code listed above as well as a potential increase in taxes to those paying greater than $90,000. Seems like rich is getting less rich all the time!
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Post Date: 25th Mar, 2009 - 5:53pm / Post ID: #
NOTE: News [?]
Pres. Barack Obama's Next Move
Obama doesn't talk like Bush; he just acts like him
By Ted Rall
Nothing has really changed. From reading your e-mails to asserting the right to assassinate American citizens to bailing out companies whose executives pay themselves big bonuses, Obama's changes are nothing but toothless rhetoric. Ref. Source 3
TOPIC: Pres. Barack Obama's Next Move