Week 7. This week's list is shorter than last week in an attempt to make this a little more reader friendly. As always, I welcome your feedback on what is or is not working. Here's another busy week pushing the Obama agenda.
March 3, 2009 Tuesday1. Obama suggests buying stocks, defends revival plan (AP) A P - Trying to pump up the nation's confidence, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that Wall Street has been hammered so hard that "buying stocks is a potentially good deal," and he dispatched top aides to Capitol Hill to defend his plans for pulling the economy out of its deep recession.
2. Obama Restoring Endangered Species Act Provision: Today President Obama will restore rules requiring U.S. agencies consult with independent federal experts to determine if their actions might harm threatened and endangered species, according to an administration official who asked not to be identified, marking yet another reversal of President Bush's environmental legacy.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/03/03/obama_re...3. Poll: Obama's rating at all-time high: After Barack Obama's first six weeks as president, the American public's attitudes about the two political parties couldn't be more different, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds. Despite the country's struggling economy and vocal opposition to some of his policies, President Obama's favorability rating is at an all-time high. Two-thirds feel hopeful about his leadership and six in 10 approve of the job he's doing in the White House.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29493021 /
4. Citi to Allow Jobless to Pay Less on Loans: Citigroup Inc. will announce Tuesday a new program aimed at addressing the latest challenge facing the mortgage industry: unemployed homeowners. Under the program, Citigroup will temporarily lower mortgage payments to an average of $500 a month for certain borrowers who have recently lost their jobs and are at least 60 days behind on their mortgage payments. Borrowers will be allowed to make the lower payments for three months. Citigroup will waive interest and penalties during this period.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123604815369915983.html5. (Obama) DoJ rejects Bush-era detainee argument: The Obama administration’s Justice Department has rejected a legal argument from the early Bush years that Congress has no role in regulating the detention, interrogation, prosecution and transfer of terror suspects.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/doj-rejects-bush-er...6. Pelosi To House GOP: Be Thankful For What You Have: Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a message for House Republicans who think they weren't given enough time to debate or amend the stimulus package that moved through Congress over an eight-day period earlier this session: You could have had much less. "To tell you the truth, I could have fast-tracked this much faster," Pelosi, a California Democrat, told a group of reporters and progressive writers at a breakfast gathering Tuesday.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/03/pelosi-to-hous...7. Hillary Clinton sends US envoys to Syria: Hillary Clinton is sending two senior US officials for talks in Syria, in a sign of thawing relations between the countries.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/sy...8. Obama announces first Transportation-funded stimulus construction project: President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that the
country was already “seeing shovels hit the ground” on the first infrastructure repair project funded through the Transportation Department’s share of the $787 billion stimulus bill. “The work begins today in Montgomery County, Maryland, where a work crew is starting on a project to resurface Maryland State Highway 650 — a very busy road that has not been fully repaired in 17 years,” added Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/03/obama-announces... /
9. President Obama, with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, marked the release of the first $26.6 billion in transportation stimulus money on Tuesday in Washington.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/us/04states.html?part... March 4, 2009 Wednesday10. Source: Obama to order gov't contracting overhaul (AP) AP - President Barack Obama plans to change how government contracts are awarded and who can earn them, a move his aides say would save taxpayers about $40 billion a year by making the process more competitive.
11. Clinton: Israeli home demolitions 'unhelpful': U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem has been "unhelpful" to Mideast peace efforts. Israel has issued orders for the demolition of dozens of Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem in recent days. It says the homes were built illegally.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090304/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_clinton_mideast12. Obama Administration Launches Housing Plan: The Obama administration Wednesday unveiled key guidelines for its housing market rescue plan that should enable loan servicers to immediately start modifying eligible mortgages.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123617623602129441.html...13. Geithner blames budget woes on Bush administration: U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday blamed soaring budget deficits partly on failure by the former Bush administration to make needed investments in energy security and healthcare.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090304/bs_nm/us_financial_...14. Official: Fla.'s Fugate is Obama's choice for FEMA: President Barack Obama plans to name Florida's state emergency director Craig Fugate to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, an official familiar with the appointment said Wednesday.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/0...15. Senator (Leahy) calls for ‘truth commission’: The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman called Wednesday for the establishment of a non-partisan “commission of inquiry” to investigate allegations of wrongdoing against former Bush administration officials in their prosecution of the war on terror.
http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/04/senator-calls-f... /
16. Obama names Genachowski as FCC chair: Finally, it’s official: D.C. venture capitalist Julius Genachowski was nominated Tuesday by President Barack Obama to chair the Federal Communications Commission.
http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2009/03/02/...March 5, 2009 Thursday17. Obama welcomes allies, skeptics to health summit (AP) AP - President Barack Obama pumped health care allies and skeptics alike for ways to overhaul the nation's costly and frustrating system Thursday and heard only applause and agreement when he told them there's "a clear consensus that the need for health care reform is here and now."
18. President Obama today announced that Vivek Kundra, chief technology officer for the District, will be the federal chief information officer. It's a job that did not exist in previous administrations; Obama, who leveraged social networks, text messages and other Internet tools on the campaign trail, promised to create a technology czar with the aim of helping the government operate more efficiently.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...19. Sanjay Gupta is neurosurgeon, CNN's chief medical correspondent. Gupta mentioned as possible surgeon general in Obama administration
CNN president says Gupta has elected to keep his medical, broadcasting jobs.
http://us.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/05/gupta.surgeon.gen...20. Nazareth Said to Withdraw Name for Deputy Treasury Secretary. Nazareth, who hadn’t yet been nominated, grew frustrated at the length of the selection process and was concerned that her SEC work would be assailed at Senate confirmation hearings, the people said. Before becoming a commissioner, Nazareth was head of the SEC’s market regulation division.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=amh...21. The Obama administration announced Thursday that it would commit another $438 million toward resettling people uprooted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, with officials pledging to speed up aid to those who still need permanent housing.
http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/05/obama-pledges-4... /
22. With the 2010 census fast approaching, computer glitches, operational missteps and ballooning costs could overwhelm the government's ability to conduct the once-a-decade count of the nation's population, congressional investigators said Thursday.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/05/national/main...March 6, 2009 Friday23. Senate bogs down over $410 billion spending bill. The Senate, tied up in a fight over a huge omnibus appropriations bill, will have to pass a stopgap spending measure Friday in order to avoid a partial government shutdown.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090306/ap_on_go_co/congress_spending24. Source: Obama to reverse limits on stem cell work (AP) AP - President Barack Obama is expected to sign an executive order on Monday reversing restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. The long-expected move is likely to stir up not only the promise of scientific breakthrough but also the controversy over where government crosses a moral line.
25. Obama on stimulus: 'I know we did the right thing': While aknowledging an "astounding" number of job losses in February, President Barack Obama told critics of his $787 billion economic recovery plan Friday that it is saving jobs and said, "I know we did the right thing." He suggested that critics talk to 25 police recruits in Ohio's capital city who owe their jobs to stimulus spending and "talk to the teachers who are still able to teach our children because we passed this plan."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090306/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_stimulus26. President Obama to Sign Executive Order (overturning ban) on Stem Cell Research Monday: ABC News has learned that on Monday morning President Obama will hold an event at the White House in which he signs an executive order overturning the ban on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/03/preside...27. Obama lawyers argue to drop Yoo torture suit: President Obama's Justice Department defended former Bush administration lawyer John Yoo in a San Francisco federal court Friday, arguing that a prisoner formerly held as an enemy combatant had no right to sue Yoo for writing legal memos that allegedly led to his detention and torture.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/0...March 7, 2009 Saturday28. Obama says will do all necessary to boost economy: President Barack Obama promised on Saturday to do "all that's necessary" to boost the economy and warned, in an opening shot at critics of his budget proposals, that the country had tough choices ahead.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090307/ts_nm/us_obama_629. A new report on how the United States should "resist and deter" Iran's alleged ambitions to acquire a nuclear-weapons capability by a think tank closely tied to the so-called "Israel Lobby" has been endorsed by two key officials who are expected to exercise major influence on Iran policy in the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=4601930. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Ankara on Saturday declared Turkey a 'friend for all times' and thanked her hosts for Turkey's military contribution to NATO's mission in Afghanistan, for economic investment in Iraq and for Ankara's role in the now stalled Israel-Syria peace process.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/arti...31. Iran said on Saturday it would consider a U.S. invitation to take part in a meeting on Afghanistan and it was ready to offer any help to its neighbor. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday that President Barrack Obama's government intended to invite Iran to an international conference on Afghanistan planned for this month.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1069212.html32. Obama: Time of crisis can be 'great opportunity': Trying to buck up a dispirited nation, President Barack Obama on Saturday promised that prosperous days will return and cast these bleak times as nothing less than a "great opportunity." Packing some heft with his hope, he defended his fast-moving and expensive agenda.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090307/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obamaMarch 8, 2009 Sunday33. With budget at stake, Obama ready to fight: The Obama administration began a vigorous new offensive this weekend to sell its economic program, countering the Republicans who call the new budget plan "mind-boggling" in its numbers and ambition. "I'm ready to fight," President Barack Obama said in his weekly radio talk Saturday, calling for the passage of a plan that would invest heavily in expanded health care, cleaner energy and education, but do so partly through taxes affecting the wealthy and polluters.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/01/america/prexy.php34. Obama Nominates Three for Assistant Treasury Secretary Posts: President Barack Obama will make nominations for three assistant secretaries of the Treasury, where Secretary Timothy Geithner’s efforts to revive the economy have been hampered by vacancies in key posts.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adz...35. Obama budget director: We'll cut pork after '09 spending bill: Facing mounting criticism of a spending package packed with billions of dollars in earmarks, the Obama administration made a vow Sunday: This president will bring a halt to pork-laden bills. Peter Orszag says it is too late to cut earmarks from the spending bill inherited from the Bush administration. " will not happen when the president has the full legislative and appropriations process in place," Peter Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told CNN's "State of the Union with John King." He argued that the White House had little choice but to support the $410 billion omnibus spending bill, which it inherited from the previous administration. The bill would keep the government running through 2009.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/08/obama.earmarks/?...36. Obama will use spring summit to bring Cuba in from the cold:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/08/cuba-obama-...37. Obama hints at talks with Taleban: President Obama has suggested there could be talks with moderate elements of the Taleban in Afghanistan as part of a process of reconciliation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7930865.stmMarch 9, 2009 Monday38. Obama signs executive order on stem cells:
http://www.americablog.com/2009/03/obama-signs-executiv...39. Don’t Rely on Bush’s Signing Statements, Obama Orders: Calling into question the legitimacy of all the signing statements that former President George W. Bush used to challenge new laws, President Obama on Monday ordered executive officials to consult with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. before relying on any of them to bypass a statute.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/us/politics/10signing...40. Obama's Popularity Remains Robust Despite March Dip: President Obama continues to enjoy strong approval ratings but his reputation has taken a few dents after just seven weeks in office, an IBD/TIPP poll found.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20090309/bs_ibd_ibd/20090309feature41. Obama to address education shake up: US President Barack Obama is expected to flesh out his vision for education reform in a speech to Hispanic business leaders on Tuesday, a White House spokesman said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090309/pl_afp/useducationpoliticsobama_2009030923122142. Health overhaul tests Obama's political skills: Embarking on arguably his most complex political fight yet, President Barack Obama is using skills honed during his presidential campaign and lessons learned from past failures to try to overhaul the health care system.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090309/ap_on_go_pr_wh/health_care_politics_543. Obama administration rejects FTA pact with SKorea US President Barack Obama's top trade envoy designate said Monday that a free trade agreement that had been signed with South Korea needs to be renegotiated.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090309/bs_afp/usskoreatradecongress_2009030923092944. Obama's trade pointman vows strict enforcement US President Barack Obama's top trade envoy nominee vowed Monday to push for strict enforcement of global trade rules even as countries were grappling with financial turmoil and a sharp economic downturn.
45. Fed chief briefs Obama on US economy Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke Monday briefed President Barack Obama about the path ahead for the stricken US economy, the White House said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090309/pl_afp/useconomypoliticsbankobamabernanke_20090309185420To review Weeks 1-6 click here:
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/GinaMaria
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