Following President Trump and the Trump Administration for the Official 4 year (1461 day) Elected Term, focusing on the sitting President's use of Executive Orders, Memoranda and Executive Decisions. We are the original 1461 - all the others are imitating us
President Obama referred to Dr. Benjamin as "a relentless promoter" of programs to fight preventable illness.
Dr. Regina Benjamin has her reasons for being determined to battle preventable disease.
Her family.
Her father died with diabetes and high blood pressure.
Her older brother died at the age 44 of an HIV-related illness.
Her mother died of lung cancer after taking up smoking at a young age.
Her mother's twin brother is currently "struggling for each breath" after being a life long smoker.
Her personal list of encounters with preventable disease is a long one.
Her educational experience is also long and interesting.
Dr. Benjamin received a bachelor's degree in 1979 from the predominantly African-American Roman Catholic college - Xavier University of Louisiana in 1979.
She is currently the Trustee of Morehouse School of Medicine. Thus making her the second Morehouse School of Medicine board member to be chosen for service by President Obama. The first was Eric Holder. Mr. Holder was vice chairman of MSM's board of trustees when he was picked as U.S. Attorney General.
Prior to her appointment to the board, Dr. Benjamin was named a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellow in 2008, which awarded her a $500,000 fellowship grant to continue providing medical care.
Dr. Benjamin has served as the associate dean for rural health at the University of South Alabama's College of Medicine and as president of the State of Alabama Medical Association, from 2002-2003.
Dr. Regina Benjamin was the winner of the 1997 Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights.
She was also the first African American woman board member of the American Medical Association, and she has just served a term as chairwoman of the AMA's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs.
Dr. Benjamin will still have to pass Senate confirmation hearings.
While the current Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin has decided to take a dramatic step and leave her post as the governor what is the expected outcome of her move?
I know I have asked this same question several times now, but the answer has yet to actually surface.
I have seen speculation and interpretations going here there and everywhere. None of which is a true and focused answer. I would guess each would be as accurate as if you were to staple a bunch of theories on a wall then blindfold yourself and throw a dart. Which ever theory is struck is the theory of the day.
There is little doubt that soon to be ex-Governor Palin was an emotional hand grenade to the Presidential hopes of Sen. McCain.
The former beauty queen brought many peoples attention to the campaign quickly and sharply. She had the attention of the female right wing voters. She had the attention of the right wing gun totters. She had the hunters and the NRA. Much of the blue collar right wingers had there eyes firmly fixed on her form.
Lets face is, most of the right wing conservative base wished she was there wife. Those that didn’t want her as there wife were the women of the party and they themselves wanted to be her.
A 45 year old, attractive, former beauty queen moose hunting, self proclaimed soccer mom and Governor made people in the right wing take notice and start talking.
The conservative base had tapped into something that they did not foresee though.
Many people in the conservative political group took notice of the McCain VP pick, and were astounded. They were taken back by the mere fact that McCain took a chance. Something many didn’t think McCain was capable of doing. Especially in his second bid for the White House.
Picking an obscure, relatively unknown with little experience was almost undoubtedly the riskiest move of McCain’s political career. After all he was going up against someone who had little experience himself and this pick would remove the ability to go after the experience of Barack Obama as a maneuvering point with out sounding and looking like a hypocrite.
But that is exactly what the McCain camp did, and by doing so they effectively pulled the pin and started counting.
At this point I have to stop and wonder what would have happened if McCain had picked a better known political player such as Romney for his VP. Personally, and I may be way off base here, I think that ticket would have had an equal or better shot at taking the prize. They may even have garnered my vote. The political duo would have had decade’s worth of experience and knowledge that would have trumped anything Obama could have thrown at them. But then look at who Obama picked as his VP. Joe Biden single handedly trumped the experience card for the Obama ticket. He was the safe pick. Just for good measure he put Hillary Clinton on the ticket as well. Calculated and well balanced. Something many of us would have liked to see from McCain.
They counted right past three and kept going until they hit five, which according to the holy book of armaments should be “right out”. (Sorry – a little Monty Python’s reference seemed appropriate)
Let’s fast forward a few months to today. Here we are in mid-July. The hot soccer / hockey mom Governor of Alaska has decided to step down and hand over the Governorship of the great state of Alaska to her second in charge and move forward.
But to what end?
Gov. Palin has stated that she is not leaving politics as many have speculated over the past week. She is looking forward to hitting the campaign trails with politicians, Republicans and Democrats alike, that need or want her help in there bids for election and/or re-election.
Who is going to want to have her campaign for them though?
She pulled on the heart strings of the base of the conservative party, but she alienated the undecideds and the nonaffiliated voters. With her latest move of stepping down in mid term she added a good size chunk of conservatives who are now not so thrilled with her or her actions as well.
What good can she now offer someone who is attempting to gain an office or seat with the label of “quitter” permanently affixed on her lapel?
Former Governor Palin will not be able to reach out beyond the conservative base, and now even reaching enough of the base is in question.
Perhaps she will fare better using her time off to work on her book. Before you get upset with me for making that statement and propagating the rumors from the statement made by Levi Johnson during his press conference, keep in mind that Sarah Palin herself stated that she is going to be working on her book during and interview with the Washington Times this past Sunday.
Levi Johnson by the way is also working towards a book and movie deal.
In the end, what does the future hold for the soon to be former Governor of Alaska?
Only time will tell. I can’t wait to see it unfold.
The story line has been interesting up until now with all the plot twists and new correctors.
It’s better than any other prime time TV reality show!
Governor Palin has stated publicly that she will not be leaving politics. In fact she has stated that she is eager to re-enter the political arena on the national level.
This would work well with the statements of Levi Johnston, The 19 year old father of Palin's grandson and the former boyfriend of Bristol Palin. Levi talked about Palin's desire to "take some of this money people had been offering" for books and movie deals, and about Sarah Palin's other offers, like a reality show.
Of course all of this was released in addition to the fact that the young Mr. Johnston is also seeking his own book and movie deal.
If she were to retake the national stage and crank up the national spotlight on herself once again, she might be able to raise the offers a little bit further and remove a few layers of debt that has amassed itself in her legal defence. A debt that is being reported to be in the $500,000 range.
Palin of course denies that she is interested in taking the money and running.
The British government is trying to shore up the public faith in the Afghanistan war effort. The British public support for the effort is dropping after the death of eight British soldiers during operations over a 24 hour period.
The death toll on British forces has surpassed that of the Iraq war toll. The British death toll during the Afghanistan war has eclipsed the Iraq war total and now stands at 184.
There was little support for the Iraq war in England. Many viewed it as a mistake and regretted ever offering support and aid to America and George Bush in the efforts.
The violence and danger in the Afghanistan war are both elevated and higher than that of the Iraq war. With the British death toll already surpassing that of the Iraq war, many people in England are questioning the level of involvement that they and there countrymen should take in Obama's war.
We will look forward to our English correspondents take on the current level of British involvement in the Afghan war shortly.
President Barack Obama on July 10th announced his intent to nominate several individuals as U.S. Attorneys.
• Dennis Burke, District of Arizona • Steven Dettelbach, Northern District of Ohio • Brendan Johnson, District of South Dakota • Karen Loeffler, District of Alaska • Florence T. Nakakuni, District of Hawaii • Carter M. Stewart, Southern District of Ohio
Dennis Burke: Nominee for U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis Burke, 46, is a Senior Advisor to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano. From 2003 to 2008, Burke served as Governor Napolitano’s Chief of Staff. From 1999 to 2003, Burke worked in the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. From 1997 to 1999, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Arizona. Prior to that, Burke held a number of positions in the Federal Government, including the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Department of Justice, and the White House. After law school, Burke was a clerk for the Honorable James Moeller on the Arizona Supreme Court. Burke graduated from Georgetown University (1985) and University of Arizona, College of Law (1988).
Steven Dettelbach: Nominee for U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Steven Dettelbach, 43, is a partner with Baker & Hostettler in Cleveland Ohio, where he has worked since 2006. He also currently serves as a Commissioner on the Ohio Ethics Commission. From 2003 to 2006, Dettelbach served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Ohio. Prior to that, he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief in the Southern District of Maryland, from 1997 to 2001. From 2001 to 2003, Dettelbach served as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. From 1992 to 1997, he was an attorney in the Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section at the Department of Justice – first as a Trial Attorney and then as Acting Deputy Chief. Dettelbach graduated from Dartmouth College (1988) and Harvard Law School (1991).
Brendan Johnson: Nominee for U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota Brendan Johnson, 34, is a partner at Johnson, Heidepriem, Abdallah and Johnson, LLP, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a law firm he joined in 2005. From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Johnson was a state prosecutor in the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Office, where he tried a wide range of criminal felonies and misdemeanors. Following graduation from law school, Johnson clerked for Judge Karen Schreier on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. Mr. Johnson graduated from the University of South Dakota (1998) the University of Virginia School of Law (2001).
Karen Loeffler: Nominee for U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska Karen Loeffler, 52, has been an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the District of Alaska for twenty years and currently as its interim United States Attorney. From 1986 to 1989, she was an Assistant District Attorney for the State of Alaska and, for the last 14 months of her tenure there, she served on detail as a Special Assistant United States Attorney. From 1985 to 1986, she was an Assistant Attorney General in the Oil and Gas Division of the Alaska Attorney General’s Office. From 1983 to 1985, she was a litigation associate at Faegre & Benson in Minneapolis. Ms. Loeffler graduated from Dartmouth College (1979) and Harvard Law School (1983).
Florence T. Nakakuni: Nominee for U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii Florence T. Nakakuni, 57, has been an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Hawaii for the past 24 years. She presently serves as Chief of the Drug and Organized Crime Section, a position she has held since May 2005. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Nakakuni worked as a counsel at the Navy Office of General Counsel in Pearl Harbor. She spent two years as an attorney-advisor in the Office of Information and Privacy Appeals at the Justice Department. Following law school, Nakakuni was a law clerk for Justice Thomas Ogata of the Supreme Court of Hawaii. Nakakuni received a B.A. and B.Ed. from University of Hawaii – Manoa (1975) and graduated from the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law (1978).
Carter M. Stewart: Nominee for U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Carter M. Stewart, 40, is a lawyer at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP in Columbus, Ohio, where he has worked since 2005. From 2003 to 2005, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of California. From 1999 to 2002, Stewart was a litigation associate at Bingham McCutchen in San Francisco. Following law school, Stewart held two judicial clerkships – first for Judge Robert Carter on the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York and then for Judge Raymond Finch on the U.S. District Court of the Virgin Islands. Stewart graduated from Stanford University (1991), received a master’s degree in education from Columbia University (1995), and graduated from Harvard Law School (1997).
The full text of the Weekly Address follows the video below
This week, we’ve made important progress toward the goal of bringing about change abroad and change at home. During my visit to Russia, we began the process of resetting relations so that we can address key national priorities like the threat of nuclear weapons and extremism. At the G8 summit, leaders from nearly thirty nations met to discuss how we will collectively confront the urgent challenges of our time, from managing the global recession to fighting global warming to addressing global hunger and poverty. And in Ghana, I laid out my agenda for supporting democracy and development in Africa and around the world.
But even as we make progress on these challenges abroad, my thoughts are on the state of our economy at home. And that’s what I want to talk to you about today.
We came into office facing the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression. At the time, we were losing, on average 700,000 jobs a month. And many feared that our financial system was on the verge of collapse.
As a result of the swift and aggressive action we took in the first few months of this year, we’ve been able to pull our financial system and our economy back from the brink. We took steps to re-start lending to families and businesses, stabilize our major financial institutions, and help homeowners stay in their homes and pay their mortgages. We also passed the largest and most sweeping economic recovery plan in our nation’s history.
The Recovery Act wasn’t designed to restore the economy to full health on its own, but to provide the boost necessary to stop the free fall. It was designed to spur demand and get people spending again and cushion those who had borne the brunt of the crisis. And it was designed to save jobs and create new ones.
In a little over one hundred days, this Recovery Act has worked as intended. It has already extended unemployment insurance and health insurance to those who have lost their jobs in this recession. It has delivered $43 billion in tax relief to American working families and businesses. Without the help the Recovery Act has provided to struggling states, its estimated that state deficits would be nearly twice as large as they are now, resulting in tens of thousands of additional layoffs – layoffs that would affect police officers, teachers, and firefighters.
The Recovery Act has allowed small businesses and clean energy companies to hire new workers or scrap their plans for eliminating current jobs. And it’s led to new jobs building roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects, thousands of which are only beginning now. In the months to come, thousands more projects will begin, leading to additional jobs.
Now, I realize that when we passed this Recovery Act, there were those who felt that doing nothing was somehow an answer. Today, some of those same critics are already judging the effort a failure although they have yet to offer a plausible alternative. Others believed that the recovery plan should have been even larger, and are already calling for a second recovery plan.
But, as I made clear at the time it was passed, the Recovery Act was not designed to work in four months – it was designed to work over two years. We also knew that it would take some time for the money to get out the door, because we are committed to spending it in a way that is effective and transparent. Crucially, this is a plan that will also accelerate greatly throughout the summer and the fall. We must let it work the way it’s supposed to, with the understanding that in any recession, unemployment tends to recover more slowly than other measures of economic activity.
I am confident that the United States of America will weather this economic storm. But once we clear away the wreckage, the real question is what we will build in its place. Even as we rescue this economy from a full blown crisis, I have insisted that we must rebuild it better than before.
Without serious reforms, we are destined to either see more crises, or suffer stagnant growth rates for the foreseeable future, or a combination of the two. That’s a future I absolutely reject. And that’s why we’re laying a new foundation that’s not only strong enough to withstand the challenges of the 21st century, but one that will allow us to thrive and compete in a global economy. That means investing in the jobs of the future, training our workers to compete for those jobs, and controlling the health care costs that are driving us into debt.
Through the clean energy investments we’ve made in the Recovery Act, we’re already seeing start-ups and small businesses make plans to create thousands of new jobs. In California, 3000 people will be employed to build a new solar plant. In Michigan, investment in wind turbines and wind technology is expected to create over 2,600 jobs. And a few weeks ago, the House of Representatives passed historic legislation that would finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy, leading to whole new industries and jobs that can’t be outsourced.
To give our workers the skills and education they need to compete for the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the future, we’re working on reforms that will close achievement gaps, ensure that our schools meet high standards, reward our teachers for performance and give them new pathways to advancement.
Finally, we have made important progress in the last few weeks on health care reform that will finally control the costs that are driving our families, our businesses, and our government into debt. Both the Senate and the House have now produced legislation that will bring down costs, provide better care for patients, and curb the worst practices of insurance companies, so that they can no longer deny Americans coverage based on a pre-existing medical condition. It’s a plan that would also allow Americans to keep their health insurance if they lose their job or if they change their job. And it would set up a health insurance exchange – a marketplace that will allow families and small businesses to access one-stop-shopping for quality, affordable coverage, and help them compare prices and choose the plan that best suits their needs. One such choice would be a public option that would make health care more affordable through competition that keeps the insurance companies honest.
One other point. Part of what makes our current economic situation so challenging is that we already had massive deficits as the recession gathered force. And although the Recovery Act represents just a small fraction of our long term debt, people have legitimate questions as to whether we can afford reform without making our deficits much worse.
So let me be clear; I have been firm in insisting that both health care reform and clean energy legislation cannot add to our deficit. And I intend to continue the work of reducing waste, eliminating programs that don’t work, and reforming our entitlement programs to ensure that our long term deficits are brought under control.
I said when I took office that it would take many months to move our economy from recession to recovery and ultimately to prosperity. We are not there yet, and I continue to believe that even one American out of work is one too many. But we are moving in the right direction. We are cleaning up the wreckage of this storm. And we are laying a firmer, stronger foundation so that we may better weather whatever future storms may come. This year has been and will continue to be a year of rescuing our economy from disaster.
But just as important will be the work of rebuilding a long term engine for economic growth. It won’t be easy, and there will continue to be those who argue that we have to put off hard decisions that we have already deferred for far too long. But earlier generations of Americans didn’t build this great country by fearing the future and shrinking our dreams.
This generation – our generation - has to show that same courage and determination. I believe we will.
