President Obama this afternoon honored immigrants who joined the US military and in return had their citizenship expedited. "You're part of a larger story, America's story," he said at a naturalization ceremony. "Much of the strength of this country is...
'" [...]The White House increased the pressure on Congress a little to hurry up and approve $1.5 billion in additional funding to deal with the swine flu outbreak. It just released a letter from President Obama sent Thursday to House Speaker...
[...]What kind of jurist will President Obama look for to replace David Souter on the Supreme Court? Based on what he said as a candidate, perhaps someone very much like Souter, at least in a more moderate, restrained judicial philosophy....
[...]Daniel Kurtzman:
"In a move that has stunned Washington, D.C., longtime Pennsylvania Republican Senator Arlen Specter has switched parties. He is the first Republican senator to switch teams since Senator Larry Craig, I guess." --Jay Leno
"President Obama, if you take a look at it, has accomplished quite a lot" [...]
Advocacy groups of different stripes are weighing in today on Supreme Court Justice David Souter's retirement -- and his possible replacement. A selection: Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America: Speculation regarding Justice David Souters possible retirement is yet another...
[...]A Supreme Court seat isn't just another Washington job, so Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick doesn't appear to be ruling out his interest as categorically. Governor Deval Patrick Patrick, a close friend and political soulmate of President Obama's, was mentioned for...
' [...]Yes. Ed Glaeser sings a paean to discord:
Is the governor engaging in political grandstanding? Absolutely. Is he being confrontational? Indubitably. But he is also dead right. The pension situation is a mess; reform needs to apply to current workers as well as prospective state hires. The transportation system is [...]
GO CELTS.
[...]President Obama this afternoon praise the House's passage of a bill designed to protect consumers from sudden increases in interest rates and late fees. The legislation, which House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank of Massachusetts helped shepherd, passed by...
[...]A new poll suggests that more observant Catholics are more likely to be up in arms by University of Notre Dame's controversial decision to award an honorary degree to President Obama and have him deliver the commencement address next month....
[...]At first at least, President Obama was a little resistant about making a big deal about reaching 100 days in office, though he ended up having a series of events, capped by a prime-time news conference. Hillary Rodham Clinton, his...
[...]The ship captain from Vermont who survived a harrowing hostage ordeal testified this afternoon before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is examining the threat of piracy off the Horn of Africa, and possible solutions. Captain Richard Phillips, 53,...
[...]President Obama this afternoon invited four key lawmakers to offer his support to legislation to revamp how the Pentagon buys weapons. "These four leaders have put together a procurement reform package that is long overdue. They've shown extraordinary courage and...
'" [...]By Alan Wirzbicki, Globe correspondent WASHINGTON -- Hundreds of protestors clad in orange jumpsuits and black hoods gathered at the White House this morning to denounce President Obama for his opposition to an inquiry of allegations of torture at secret...
[...]Vice President Joe Biden's penchant for not staying entirely on message forced the White House to issue a clarification this morning on how Americans should avoid swine flu. On NBC's "Today" show this morning, Biden suggested that flying commercial airliners...
[...]A Senate panel today begins the hard slog toward an overhaul of immigration policy -- the goal that Congress punted during the Bush administration and the issue that animated the rank-and-file during last year's Republican presidential primaries. The Senate Judiciary...
[...]The swine flu outbreak could be hitting close to home for the Obama administration, spokesman Robert Gibbs disclosed this afternoon. A member of the advance team for President Obama's trip earlier this month to Mexico has flu-like symptoms, but others...
[...]Not surprisingly, but perhaps justifiably, conservative critics are all over the White House press corps for its not-so harsh interrogation of President Obama in the 100-day news conference Wednesday night. On Fox News Channel, comedian-turned-commentator Dennis Miller complained about softball...
[...]President Obama announced today that Chrysler will partner with Italian company Fiat and go through a quick bankruptcy, moves he said will give the storied US automaker a "new lease on life." The partnership, he said, will save 30,000 jobs...
[...]By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff WASHINGTON -- Harvard professor Ashton B. Carter is vowing to undertake a "program by program" review of all weapons systems if confirmed as President Obama's top Pentagon acquisition official, telling the Senate Armed Services Committee...
[...]US Senator Ben Cardin introduced a bill to allow newspapers to operate as nonprofit organizations, following four bankruptcies in the industry in as many months.
Under the proposed bill, advertising and circulation revenue could be claimed as tax exempt, Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, said yesterday in a [...]
President Obama is hosting an online town hall meeting this morning focusing on the economy, his latest bid to make the White House more accessible. UPDATE: "I promised to open up the White House," and the virtual town hall...
[...]The White House announced today that Social Security recipients will get their extra $250 payments from the stimulus plan in May. Those who receive Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits don't need to take any action to get the...
' [...]The Obama administration today announced plans to invest $3.2 billion in energy efficiency and conservation projects across the country as part of the economic stimulus package. These investments will save taxpayer dollars and create jobs in communities around the country,...
[...]Calling for a renewed war on cancer, Senators Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas introduced legislation today designed to improve research and treatment. In a joint article, the two senators point out that since the...
[...]Working harder isn't going to do it once the Boston Globe has finished with its current round of 50 reductions to the newsroom staff. Once that process has been completed, the news staff will have shrunk from about 550 full-time journalists (or their equivalent) in 2000 to roughly 330.' [...]
Metaphorical pitchforks and torches, it seems, are not only being handed out on Connecticut bus tours of the mansions of AIG executives. A series of Facebook sites that oppose Governor Patrick have picked up new energy in recent weeks.
The groups are dwarfed by Patrick's primary Facebook page, which [...]
In preaching patience to American worried sick about the economic swoon, President Obama is trying to create his own scorecard for success in the economic recovery. It's not the stock market's daily gyrations, or what the cable talking heads are...
[...]President Obama's grassroots group announced today it is launching its first TV ad, a call to backers to contact Congress in support of his budget. "America is facing tough times," the announcer says. "Fortunately, President Obama has a plan...
" [...]Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele has reportedly hired Gentry Collins to be the party's new political director. Could be a sign of Romney making inroads with Steele. Collins has been a Romney guy for several years.
Back in 2005, when Romney became chairman of the Republican Governors Association, he made [...]
On day two of his California trip, President Obama highlighted alternative energy this afternoon as one of the most promising avenues to economic recovery. "The nation that leads on energy will lead the world in the 21st century," he said...
[...]Members of Congress are seeming to revel in bashing AIG -- the poster child in Washington for Wall Street greed -- particularly during Wednesday's at-times contentious grilling of the insurance giant's CEO. But as a watchdog group points out today,...
[...]By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff WASHINGTON -- Congress has thrown a lifeline to a nonprofit organization in Lawrence that helps veterans start their own businesses, setting aside annual operating funds that the group's president says will save it from having...
[...]Vice President Biden's middle class task force is holding a forum in the Midwest today, and like the first one in Philadelphia, the focus is on green energy as an engine of the economic recovery. The town hall event is...
[...]A national day of protests are being organized for April 11 for bank nationalization. Progressives need a clear agenda and to own the anger that's out there. A New Way Forward should be our focus. The protest in Boston is at the Boston Common in front of the state [...]
House Republicans find themselves in a tough spot with today's vote on taxing back those AIG bonuses. They, too, want to respond to the public anger over the $165 million in bonuses, which went to the very same traders...
[...]Senator John F. Kerry convened a hearing today on US-Russia relations, saying that he "wholeheartedly" agrees with President Obama that it's time to "reset" the relationship. "In recent years, Americas relationship with Russia has reached arguably its lowest and least...
" [...]Labor groups, trying to capitalize on the public anger over the AIG bonuses, says they are mounting protests across the country today outside the offices of AIG, Bank of America, Citigroup, and other major banks. They say that 10,000 protestors...
[...]Interesting piece in the Phoenix by Mike Miliard:
"What kind of revolution appeals most to you?" read the now-deleted poll question on Sean Hannity's message board: "Military Coup, Armed Rebellion, or War for Secession?"
The next four to eight years are gonna be some fun!
Barely two months into the Obama administration, wing-nuts [...]
I'm a couple of days late with this, but I think I'm still the first to report it: Egobudike "Ego" Ezedi, executive director of the Roxbury YMCA, sent an email letter out to his associates earlier this week, with this announcement:
I want to announce that I will be taking a [...]
Yes, he's a Republican whose appearance in the final week of the presidential campaign was arguably the high point for GOP nominee John McCain. But these days, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of President Obama's best allies, more so...
[...]So, we've had some amusement and indigestion on the site lately. Let's put some things in perspective:
A transportation reform bill of some kind will happen, regardless of the utterances, bloggy or otherwise, of Mr. Aloisi. As Aloisi himself points out, this is all a sideshow. The sister story is a' [...]
Embedded video from CNN Video Senator Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, acknowledged today that his staff agreed to dilute an executive pay provision in the economic stimulus bill that would have applied...
[...]Addressing public outrage over the AIG bonuses, President Obama told a town hall meeting in Costa Mesa, Calif., this evening he is "absolutely committed" to getting the tools to prevent another AIG from happening again. He quickly broadened his pitch...
[...]By Bryan Bender Globe Staff WASHINGTON _ President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates recently held their first -- if only brief -- one-on-one to plot strategy for how to permit gays to serve openly in the...
[...]Under increasing criticism for his economic proposals and his approval rating dropping, President Obama will hold his second prime-time news conference on Tuesday. The White House announced that Obama will appear at 8 p.m. and it will be nationally televised...
[...]The White House announced late today that it has dropped a proposal -- strongly objected to by veterans groups -- to bill vets' private insurance for treatment of service-related injuries and disabilities. The proposal was designed to generate more than...
' [...]In this week's issue of the Boston Phoenix -- in print tomorrow, online now -- I take a look at the nation-wide explosion of "state sovereignty" initiatives, introduced in state legislatures to declare that the federal government has overstepped its constitutional bounds.
This exact same "Tenth Amendment Movement" reared its [...]
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced today that the Army will basically end by March 2011 the controversial "stop loss" practice that prevents soldiers from leaving after their service obligation is up. Gates also said soldiers whose service is extended...
[...]President Obama today nominated a New England environmentalist to be a top regulator at the Environmental Protection Agency. He announced his selection of Cynthia J. Giles as assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance at EPA. She is vice president and...
[...]This is rather unconvincing. After years of bad reputation for its shoddy healthcare offerings, Walmart is trying to pretend it cares about healthcare reform.
Wal-Mart is ramping up its Washington activity to push for comprehensive health care reform, and the world's largest retailer says it is ready to use [...]
President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named Major General J. Scott Gration as the special envoy for Sudan, and rededicated himself to end what the United States has declared a genocide in Darfur. "General Grations personal and professional...
" [...]The biggest hoops fan in the White House perhaps ever, President Obama couldn't help himself. He took time out from trying to rescue the economy, quell the outrage over the AIG bonuses, and prosecute two wars to fill out his...
' [...]President Obama added a senior aide today when the Senate confirmed former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk as US trade representative. The Senate vote was 92-5 for Kirk, who has promised to push other countries to live up to fair trade....
[...]This post will serve as an online forum to discuss your thoughts and ideas on what the Democratic Party Platform should say about the Environment.
This is the next in our series of 10 "online forums" on BlueMassGroup over seven weeks, to give people an opportunity to discuss the 2009 [...]
President Obama said this afternoon that while the AIG bonuses have been consuming attention and "rightfully so," he wants to fast-track legislation to create a body -- similar to the FDIC for banks -- that would regulate financial firms like...
[...]On his very full plate, it was one issue that President Obama had yet to take on. Until today, that is, when he discussed immigration with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Obama supported comprehensive reform, including a possible path to citizenship...
[...]The White House has released Barack Obama's handwritten grid of picks for the NCAA Men's Tournament. His predictions are incredibly conservative -- in the "wuss" meaning of the word, not the political meaning. Almost exclusively favorites throughout.
His Final Four: Louisville, Memphis, Pitt, and North Carolina. That's two states [...]
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee today approved a public service bill with bipartisan backing from panel chairmen Edward M. Kennedy and Orrin Hatch. The legislation, supported by President Obama with his call for more volunteerism, is designed...
[...]Vice President Biden announced today that states will receive $100 million in stimulus money to feed low-income older Americans. The funding is expected to provide nearly 14 million meals nationwide, the White House said. Across the country, older Americans depend...
[...]As President Obama heads back out on the road to sell his economic plans, he tells his grassroots army that his election wasn't change but only the chance to make change. In a video released today, he urges them...
' [...]--Massachusetts rates high on the "Well-Being Index" (don't ask me to explain it), but the breakdown by congressional district suggests that the eastern part of the state is being weller (or whatever) than the west. Best in the state? CD-6, under the loving oversight of John Tierney. His district' [...]
Edward Liddy, the chairman and CEO of AIG, faces a congressional committee this morning, his chance to calm the furor over $165 million in bonuses that went to many of the employees who almost killed the insurance giant. But Representative...
[...]Esteemed Phoenix reporter Adam Reilly wonders if Governor Patrick is losing the Netroots. His evidence is two posts today here, one by Charley (nauseated by sister Aloisi's job) and one by David (describing similar indigestion and fulminating about a bundle of other angrifying news from permajobs at [...]
I didn't think that it was ever appropriate for the press or others to take shots at me through members of my family, but it seems that the rules of the game have changed. Today's Globe story about my sister was filled with misleading and inaccurate information. In short, she' [...]
President Obama has pledged to improve services for the active duty military and veterans alike, and made sure to pay a visit Monday to the Department of Veterans Affairs on the 20th anniversary of it becoming a Cabinet-level agency. But...
[...]In all the outrage over the bonuses paid to the American International Group executives who almost buried the company, the usually mild-mannered Senator Chuck Grassley went the furthest. In a radio interview Monday, the Iowa Republican called on AIG executives...
[...]I don't have time for more than a drive-by post, but I'm surprised there's been know BMG conversation on the meme du jour, the extended and uncut Daily Show throwdown with CNBC's manic money mullah, Jim Cramer:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c... (caution: clips contain f-bombs)
The Boston Herald gave the interview a positive [...]
Lawrence Summers, perhaps President Obama's top economic adviser, gave a clear definition of the administration's goal of remaking the American economy today: "Our single most important priority is bringing about economic recovery and ensuring that the next economic expansion, unlike...
" [...]The Daily Show's Jon Stewart ripped into financial TV personality Jim Cramer last night in an interview that is quickly generating buzz across the Internet. Stewart harshly accused Cramer, the host of CNBC's "Mad Money," and his network Thursday night...
[...]WASHINGTON -- The embattled chairman of the Republican National Committee, who has been accused of being too liberal, too flip, too willing to pick fights and too willing to apologize for them, has received a vote of mixed confidence from...
[...]Once again, the economy dominates the president's agenda today, even as the Dow and markets abroad continued to rally. President Obama huddles with senior advisers for his daily economic briefing this morning. At noon, he'll head to a closed-door meeting...
' [...]By Joseph Williams, Globe Staff WASHINGTON -- The brief, but rocky tenure of Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele grew shakier today when he was forced to reassure the party's conservative heavyweights by insisting he is "pro-life -- always has...
" [...]At a meeting in Cambridge this past Sunday, Pam Wilmot of Common Cause articulated the case for the Governor's ethics reform package and for further disclosure requirements not part of the existing proposal. Speaking to a group gathered by Cambridge-Somerville for Change Wilmot made one particular point that [...]
President Obama met this afternoon in the Oval Office with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in the wake of harsh words between the two countries over a confrontation between Navy ships in the South China Sea. According to the White...
[...]In his push for more diplomacy, President Obama has highlighted the role of the United Nations in helping preserve peace around the globe. So the White House didn't take too kindly to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon describing the United States...
' [...]The battle over an union organizing bill introduced this week is shaping up to be one of the most expensive on Capitol Hill in recent years. Just how potentially costly was made clearer today by a campaign finance watchdog group,...
[...]Before an audience of top business leaders, President Obama plans to hit back today at those who say he is taking on too much with a far-reaching agenda while the economy burns. In a speech to the Business Roundtable, Obama...
[...]President Obama's Lincoln fealty went a step further today as he took time out to speak at the dedication of Abraham Lincoln Hall at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. While there are many monuments to Lincoln across the...
[...]The US House of Representatives just passed a resolution declaring March 14 "Pi Day." Math nerds will understand why it's on that particular date.
Ten Republicans voted against the resolution. What do they have against pi? Why don't they want it to have its own day? Are they partial to some' [...]
Tax troubles apparently won't stop Ron Kirk from becoming the next US trade representative. The Senate Finance Committee today sent his nomination to the full Senate after it was held up briefly after the former Dallas mayor had to pay...
' [...]Vice President Biden and Energy Secretary Chu today detailed a chunk of the $787 billion in stimulus cash -- $8 billion in state and local weatherization and energy efficiency efforts that they say will put 87,000 Americans to work and...
[...]State senator Marian Walsh of West Roxbury, long rumored to be up for one or another job in state government, has landed one: assistant executive director of the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority (HEFA). OK, it's technically outside the government, but close enough. State House News Service was (I [...]
Kevin Cullen has an excellent column in today's Globe about Paul Levy, who runs Beth Israel Deaconess. At a meeting with hospital staff, the CEO said:
"I want to run an idea by you that I think is important, and I'd like to get your reaction to it," Levy' [...]
Michelle Obama, who has declared supporting military families as one of her signature issues as first lady, will stress that issue in her first out-of-town trip. She plans to tour the Fort Bragg Army base in North Carolina, meet with...
[...]Bristol Palin, the daughter of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, was a teenage mother. Now, she's a single mom. The Associated Press and People magazine are reporting that Bristol Palin, 18, and Levi Johnston, 19, the father of the baby born...
[...]Even as the buzz grows for the need for a second massive economic stimulus package, President Obama and Vice President Biden will be huddling with state and local officials today to reinforce the need to spend the approved $787 billion...
[...]Our friends at MassINC do some of the most interesting and important work hereabouts. How, for example, could you possibly live without map-king Robert David Sullivan's breakdown of how MA will look in a Deval Patrick vs. Tim Cahill primary?
Anyway, Thursday evening MassINC is hosting a spiffy [...]
By Bryan Bender and Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff WASHINGTON -- A Somali-American community leader warned a US Senate panel today that Boston may be among a half a dozen cities where youths are being recruited to travel to Somalia to...
[...]Hi BMGers. It's me, Lori Ehrlich. Swaptions have captured the attention of several readers (and pirates) here so I thought I'd share some of my research for context and conversation. Have some strong coffee and read on. I'll post the whole thing here but it's also just up at this [...]
What's former president Bush up to these days? Writing both a book and some e-mails, apparently. Andrew Card, who served as Bush's chief of staff from 2000-2006, gave a glimpse into the former president's post-election life today at the...
[...]President Obama announced this afternoon his nominations for several key foreign policy posts. He selected Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry as ambassador to Afghanistan, Christopher R. Hill as ambassador to Iraq, Ivo Daalder as ambassador to NATO and Alexander Vershbow as...
[...]True to his word, President Obama this afternoon issued a signing statement raising objections to some provisions in the $410 billion spending bill that he says run afoul of the constitution. In a two-page statement (read it here), Obama says...
[...]Things must be pretty tense on Beacon Hill these days. Mary Connaughton's aggravated. Aloisi's irritated. Therese Murray is dissed.
Again ... the frustrating thing about the Transport Reform Rodeo down at the State House is the lack of specificity. Certainly, Jim Aloisi ought to act like a grownup, and [...]
MoveOn.org is moving on from the Iraq war to healthcare. The powerful grassroots group, which was a key early supporter of Barack Obama, got its start in vehement opposition to the Iraq war. But now that Obama is president...
[...]Before dispatching Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to lay the groundwork for the G-20 economic summit next month, President Obama today stressed the need for global action to stem the worldwide recession. "We can do a really good job here at...
" [...]So will he be the drug commissar? Vice President Biden is expected this afternoon to formally announce Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. But the job, commonly known as the drug...
[...]
