dagblog - Comments for "I Haven’t Totally Given Up on Obama, but as My Late Wife Used to Say, He’s Working My Last Nerve "

So I take it, AT, that you

Wattree — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:16:36 +0000

So I take it, AT, that you suggest that Democrats simply continue to "compromise" and allow Republicans to drag the nation back into the pre-depression dark ages, because that's precisely their agenda.

Drawing a line in the sand is exactly what we need to wake people up. That's exactly what's going on in Michigan and Wisconsin, and to great effect.

Desider, Job creation is

Wattree — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:09:17 +0000

In reply to Long dead thread, but if

Desider,

Job creation is being purposely stifled by the corporatists in order to try to restore the GOP to power, and thus, the status quo. But in spite of that, Obama has managed to create more jobs in his first two years than Bush and his tax cuts for the rich could do in his entire eight years as president. I'd say that, along with the fact that there hasn't been a Republican president since Ike who has created anything other than economic disaster. If I'm wrong here, in any regard, please point it out.

Long dead thread, but if

Desider — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 10:26:36 +0000

In reply to Desider, Here's a few. This

Long dead thread, but if you're crediting Obama for job growth, you're off in the weeds already.

And especially for the black population where it's been job loss.

And sometimes all playing

Elusive Trope — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:38:05 +0000

In reply to You are absolutely right,

And sometimes all playing hardball gets you is a good sweat. The point is no one knows what the outcome will be to draw the line in the sand. It may mean stagnation legislatively and continued backsliding in the day to day lives of the "people." But as long as ideologues are happy who cares?

Like I've said, Obama is our

Elusive Trope — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:34:58 +0000

In reply to Desider, Here's a few. This

Like I've said, Obama is our transition president. If you want a true liberal president, give Obama eight years then we will be a position to convince the general public that a liberal president won;t mean the end of the US.

Desider, Here's a few. This

Wattree — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:28:56 +0000

In reply to I'm more curious by the

Desider,

Here's a few. This is about a year old, so it's not up to date:

- Spur Job Creation: "In addition, to help those most affected by the recession, the Budget will extend emergency assistance to seniors and families with children, Unemployment Insurance benefits, COBRA tax credits, and relief to states and localities to prevent layoffs."

- Reforming the Job Training System: "The Budget calls for reform of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), which supports almost 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers nationwide and a range of other services. With $6 billion for WIA at DOL—and an additional $4 billion in the Department of Education—the Budget calls for reforms to improve WIA." Strengthen Anti-Discrimination Enforcement: "To strengthen civil rights enforcement against racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, religious, and gender discrimination, the Budget includes an 11 percent increase in funding to the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. This investment will help the Division handle implementation of a historic new hate crimes law. The Budget also provides an $18 million, or 5 percent increase, for the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC), which is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee. This increased investment will allow for more staff to reduce the backlog of private sector charges."

- Support Historically Black Colleges and Universities: "The Budget proposes $642 million, an increase of $30 million over the 2010 level, to support Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), including Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In addition to this discretionary funding increase for MSIs, the Administration supports legislation passed by the House of Representatives and pending in the Senate that would provide $2.55 billion in mandatory funding to MSIs over 10 years."

- Help Families Struggling with Child Care Costs: "The Budget will nearly double the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for middle-class families making under $85,000 a year by increasing their credit rate from 20 percent to 35 percent of child care expenses. Nearly all eligible families making under $115,000 a year would see a larger credit. The Budget also provides critical support for young children and their families by building on historic increases provided in ARRA. The Budget provides an additional $989 million for Head Start and Early Head Start to continue to serve 64,000 additional children and families funded in ARRA."

- Reform Elementary and Secondary School Funding: "The Budget supports the Administration’s new vision for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) … The Budget provides a $3 billion increase in funding for K-12 education programs authorized in the ESEA, including $900 million for School Turnaround Grants, and the Administration will request up to $1 billion in additional funding if Congress successfully completes ESEA reauthorization."

- Increase Pell Grants: "The Recovery Act and 2009 appropriations bill increased the maximum Pell Grant by more than $600 for a total award of $5,350. The Budget proposes to make that increase permanent and put them on a path to grow faster than inflation every year, increasing the maximum grant by $1,000, expanding eligibility, and nearly doubling the total amount of Pell grants since the President took office."

- Help Relieve Student Loan Debt: "To help graduates overburdened with student loan debt, the Administration will strengthen income-based repayment plans for student loans by reducing monthly payments and shortening the repayment period so that overburdened borrowers will pay only 10 percent of their discretionary income in loan repayments and can have their remaining debt forgiven after 20 years. Those in public service careers will have their debt forgiven after 10 years. The Budget also expands low-cost Perkins student loans."

- Prevent Hunger and Improve Nutrition: "The President’s Budget provides $8.1 billion for discretionary nutrition program supports, which is a $400 million increase over the 2010 enacted level. Funding supports 10 million participants in the WIC program, which is critical to the health of pregnant women, new mothers, and their infants. The Budget also supports a strong Child Nutrition and WIC reauthorization package that will ensure that school children have access to healthy meals and to help fulfill the President’s pledge to end childhood hunger. The President continues to support the nutrition provisions incorporated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)."

- Revitalize Distressed Urban Neighborhoods: "The Budget includes $250 million for HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods program, which will target neighborhoods anchored by distressed public or assisted housing with physical and social revitalization grounded in promising, measurable, and evidence-based strategies."

- Increase Funding for the Housing Choice Voucher Program: "The President’s Budget requests $19.6 billion for the Housing Choice Voucher program to help more than two million extremely low income families with rental assistance to live in decent housing in neighborhoods of their choice. The Budget continues funding for all existing mainstream vouchers and provides flexibility to support new vouchers that were leased and $85 million in special purpose vouchers for homeless families with children, families at risk of homelessness, and persons with disabilities."

- Preserve 1.3 Million Affordable Rental Units through Project-Based Rental Assistance Program: "The President’s Budget provides $9.4 billion for the Project-Based Rental Assistance program to preserve approximately 1.3 million affordable rental units through increased funding for contracts with private owners of multifamily properties. This critical investment will help low-income households to obtain or retain decent, safe and sanitary housing. In addition, the Administration requests $350 million to fund the first phase of this multi-year initiative to regionalize the Housing Choice Voucher program and convert Public Housing to project-based vouchers."

- Promote Affordable Homeownership and Protect Families from Mortgage Fraud: "The Budget requests $88 million for HUD to support homeownership and foreclosure prevention through Housing Counseling and $20 million to combat mortgage fraud. In addition, the Budget requests $250 million for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation’s (NRC) grant and training programs. Of the $250 million, $113 million is requested for foreclosure prevention activities, a $48 million increase (74 percent) over 2010."

- Fight Gang Violence and Violent Crime: "The Budget provides $112 million for place-based, evidence supported, initiatives to combat violence in local communities, including $25 million for the Community-Based Violence Prevention Initiatives that aim to reduce gun and other violence among youth gangs in cities and towns across the country, and $37 million for the Attorney General’s Children Exposed to Violence Initiative, which targets the youth most affected by violence and most susceptible to propagating it as they grow up."

- Expand Prisoner Re-entry Programs: "The Budget provides $144 million for Department Justice prisoner re-entry programs, including an additional $100 million for the Office of Justice Programs to administer grant programs authorized by the Second Chance Act and $30 million for residential substance abuse treatment programs in State and local prisons and jails. In addition, the Budget provides $98 million for Department of Labor programs that provide employment-centered services to adult and youth ex-offenders and at-risk youth.."

- Fully Fund the Community Development Block Grant Program: "The Budget provides $4.4 billion for the Community Development Fund, including $3.99 billion for the Community Development Block Grant Formula Program (CDBG), and $150 million for the creation of a Catalytic Investment Competition Grants program. The new Catalytic Competition Grants program uses the authorities of CDBG, but will provide capital to bring innovative economic development projects to scale to make a measurable impact."

You are absolutely right,

Wattree — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:09:09 +0000

In reply to Obama keeps trying to appease

You are absolutely right, Tommy.

But the fact is, it's our fault. We've allowed ourselves to become lazy-minded, apathetic, and ignorant. If we weren't, money would have absolutely no impact on our political environment. Money only serves one purpose in our political system - it's used to influence the thinking of an ignorant, divided, and disengaged electorate.

Artappraiser, You obviously

Wattree — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 23:58:36 +0000

In reply to I find your essay to be

Artappraiser,

You obviously missed the following:

"As I’ve pointed out many times in this column, the primary quality that should set progressives apart from all others is an affinity for humanity, independence of thought, and a fierce determination to remain a seeker of truth above all else, regardless to where that truth may lead."

Richard, I don't see you as a

Wattree — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 23:50:31 +0000

In reply to I do not wish to sound like a

Richard,

I don't see you as a bootlicker at all. If I did I wouldn't have nearly as much respect as I do for your opinion. I think we're just two objective thinkers capable of connecting the same dots. It's really not brain surgery for anyone with a historical perspective that extends beyond last week's news cycle.

You're missing the point,

Wattree — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 23:37:22 +0000

In reply to I know you've been on Obama

You're missing the point, AT.

It's not about retribution. It's about adhering to the rule of law. Every democracy is couched in the rule of law, so without it, you no longer have a democracy, you have anarchy. In addition, by failing to prosecute Bush and Cheney, the president elevated them to a class that's above the law, and we can't tolerate a class that is above the law and still maintain the kind of society in which we've become accoustomed.

One of the reasons that over a million innocent men, women, and children died, and thousands of American troops were maimed and kill in Iraq, was because President Ford failed to follow the rule of law. If Richard Nixon had been prosecuted and jailed for his part in Watergate, and we would have made Ronald Reagan his cellmate for the Iran/Contra affair and for flooding America's inner cities with durgs in order to support his illegal war in Nicaragua, Bush and Cheney would never have dared pulled the stunt that they did in Iraq. In turn, if their excursion into Iraq hadn't happened, we wouldn't be in the economic fix that we currently find ourselves. Make sense?