July 11, 2009...10:42 am

Weekly Address: Recovery and the Jobs of the Future

 

31 Comments

Filed under The President's Weekly Address

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31 Comments

  • Steve
    July 11, 2009 at 11:25 am

    Dog’s Eye If you are still on you should repost that last comment from the last thread…very good thoughts on PKers.

    Oh and …First!

  • dnd
    July 11, 2009 at 12:15 pm

    When schools starts, I wonder what Sasha and Melia are going to write about in their “What I did over summer vacation” assignment. ;)

  • Brian In NYC
    July 11, 2009 at 12:22 pm

    Sure beats driving ti the shore and staying in some motel with a noisy a/c aye dnd?

  • Brian In NYC
    July 11, 2009 at 5:01 pm

    Breaking News Alert
    The New York Times
    Saturday, July 11, 2009 — 4:53 PM ET
    —–

    Cheney Is Linked to C.I.A. Concealment of Terror Program

    The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a
    secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years
    on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the
    agency’s director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and
    House intelligence committees, two people with direct
    knowledge of the matter said Saturday.

    The report that Mr. Cheney was behind the decision to conceal
    the still-unidentified program from Congress deepened the
    mystery surrounding it, suggesting that the Bush
    administration had put a high priority on the program and its
    secrecy.

    Mr. Panetta, who ended the program when he first learned of
    its existence from subordinates on June 23, briefed the two
    intelligence committees about it in separate closed sessions
    the next day.

  • dog's eye view
    July 11, 2009 at 6:40 pm

    at Steve’s request: bringing forward this morning’s comment on Promise Keepers.

    RE Promise Keepers and groups of that type: several online discussions re Sanford’s confessions and affair with his “soul mate” mentioned PK and similar groups as a tool for keeping dead marriages together and maintaining social control along fundamentalist religious lines.

    OK, know Promise Keepers etc. could save some marriages that CAN be saved. But some are too far gone, and it’s dishonest not to admit that, theologically or however.

    Maintaining a troubled marriage and seeing only the first (heterosexual) marriage as valid is not realistic when both partners can live to age 70 and beyond.

    This is not an anti-marriage remark. Only a comment from someone who knows many in happy and fulfilling second marriages, who survived a bad one the first time out.

  • Brian In NYC
    July 11, 2009 at 6:40 pm

    It really makes Cheney’s actions since leaving office all the more understandable.

  • dog's eye view
    July 11, 2009 at 6:47 pm

    Have not listened to President Obama’s weekly address on jobs of the future, but Bob Herbert had an excellent NYTimes column this morning on growing joblessness in the US.

    Was going to link to it anyway; it might dovetail with Obama’s message (or maybe not).

    Column: The Human Equation

    “The crisis staring America in its face and threatening to bring it to its knees is unemployment. Joblessness. Why it is taking so long — seemingly forever — for our government officials to recognize the scope of this crisis and confront it directly is beyond me.

    There are now five unemployed workers for every job opening in the U.S. The official unemployment rate is 9.5 percent, but that doesn’t begin to tell the true story of the economic suffering.

    ….. I’d like to see the president go on television and, in a dramatic demonstration of real leadership, announce a plan geared toward increasing employment that is both big and visionary — something on the scale of the Manhattan Project, or the interstate highway program or the Apollo spaceflight initiative.

    My choice would be a “Rebuild America” campaign that would put men and women to work repairing, maintaining, designing and rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure in the broadest sense — everything from roads and schools and the electrical power grid to innovative environmental initiatives and a sparkling new mass transportation network, including high-speed rail systems.

    One of the ways of financing such an effort would be through the creation of a national infrastructure bank, which would provide federal investment capital for approved projects and use that money to leverage additional private investment.

    There was a time when Americans could think on such a scale and get it done. We used to be better than any other nation on the planet at getting things done. It would be tragic if the 21st century turns out to be the time when that extraordinary can-do spirit disappears and we’re left with nothing more meaningful and exciting than lusting after tax cuts and trying to pay off credit card debt.”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/opinion/11herbert.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

    ======

    Love the idea of that national infrastructure bank.

    I hope and pray that we are still Americans who can think big and get it done.

    Healthcare insurance/access for all, too. To protect budding entrepreneurs and those who want to move around in our redeveloping economy.

  • dog's eye view
    July 11, 2009 at 6:48 pm

    oh yeah, re Cheney. Interesting to see how this one plays out.

  • dnd
    July 11, 2009 at 6:53 pm

    Yeah Brian, that does make clearer why Cheney’s been sayin’ what he’s sayin’. Wonder what the Cheney apologists are gonna come up with now.

  • dog's eye view
    July 11, 2009 at 7:01 pm

    Why I love Balloon Juice.

    John Cole headlines the Cheney revelation “From the Shit You Already Knew Department”

    His take: “I was listening to NPR yesterday, and one analyst stated that the reason Washington is terrified to investigate this is because they know that so many laws were broken so flagrantly that any investigation will lead to the indictment of Bush and Cheney, and that, for obvious reasons, terrifies the Democrats (you can listen to that piece here). It would simply consume Washington and destroy Obama’s agenda, and they want to avoid that at all cost. Holder, on the other hand, may not give two hoots about Obama’s agenda and the delicate sensibilities of the Democrats, and go after them anyway.

    I’m not sure what the point of Obama even having an agenda if they don’t go about holding people accountable for what they have done here. Otherwise, we’ll just be going through this again in the future.

    I’d also like to point out to everyone that Bill Clinton was impeached over a blowjob.”

    http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=23936

  • dog's eye view
    July 11, 2009 at 7:02 pm

    I say go after the suckers and let the chips fall where they may.

    You do not want to let Cheney set precedent. Criminal charges might clear the air.

  • dnd
    July 11, 2009 at 7:09 pm

    dog,
    Thanks for the Herbert link. I think he’s wrong on a number of levels.

    First, the Manhattan project was top secret. Nobody knew about it other than those involved. It didn’t employ a lot of people or change the economy. Second, the interstate highway system and the Apollo project were singular projects. Much simpler to focus on than a cacophony of infrastructure projects.

    But to his point, I think Obama should come out, as Kennedy did with the moon-shot and say we’re gonna develop clean, renewable energy technologies, by some certain date.

    The biggest benefits of the moon shot was not beating the Rooskies there, nor was it the cosmological discoveries of bringing back a few moon rocks. The two biggest benefits of the moon shot was the technological problems developed while trying to solve other problems and galvanizing people into achieving that goal.

  • dnd
    July 11, 2009 at 7:16 pm

    I think the problem with going after Cheney, at least right now, is that politically it will be perceived (or exploited) as vengeance rather than justice.

    Holder should bring in Patrick Fitzgerald, lay low, and build a rock solid case.

  • dog's eye view
    July 11, 2009 at 7:16 pm

    Definitely clean, renewable energy projects.

    But work on that infrastructure, too: built and human. Some of it is falling apart.

    We’re already in July. This could be a long, hard winter.

  • dog's eye view
    July 11, 2009 at 7:20 pm

    Too convenient to not pursue it lest justice be seen as vengeance.

    The Bush-Cheney maladministration was as bad as it gets. Nixon had some real accomplishments.

    Don’t let timing allow criminals to evade justice. Think of the terrible precedent set.

  • nannymm
    July 11, 2009 at 7:28 pm

    “Don’t let timing allow criminals to evade justice. Think of the terrible precedent set.”

    Well said, Dog’s Eye. This must be pursued. If crimes were committed, they must be prosecuted regardless of the political consequences. Let’s see if our Democratic leaders have the political courage to do what is right. If they don’t, they don’t deserve to lead.

  • dog's eye view
    July 11, 2009 at 7:39 pm

    Agree, Nanny! The Dems cannot be complicit in letting this slide by. And some of them may be endangered by future revelations. If so: regrettable. but, again, chips fall where they may.

    We need sunshine on this one.

    Not politics as usual. It’s killing us.

  • dog's eye view
    July 11, 2009 at 8:02 pm

    PS: so glad Sasha and Malia are along for the Russia/Europe/Ghana trip.

    Maybe it spur kids’ interest in geography and current events.

  • Brian In NYC
    July 11, 2009 at 8:52 pm

    Independent’s Day

    Obama doesn’t want to look back, but Attorney General Eric Holder may probe Bush-era torture anyway

    http://www.newsweek.com/id/206300

  • anon-paranoid
    July 11, 2009 at 10:31 pm

    Like I said the other day…

    Think Cheney Assassination Squad….

    Remember the Seymour Hersh story that will be coming out this fall I believe. I left a comment on it the other day. And the more I think about it the more I believe some Democrats were involved in it as well.

    At least in the not wanting prosecution of Bush\Cheney because other crimes will be found out that they were involved in.

    Shit, we could use the same rope to hang Cheney after he’s found guilty that we used on Saddam Husein.

    Now that would be irony.

    God Bless.

  • Brian In NYC
    July 12, 2009 at 11:14 am

    top of the morning peeps

  • dnd
    July 12, 2009 at 11:55 am

    More on Cheney:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/us/politics/12intel.html?_r=1&hp

    I’m kinda surprised we haven’t heard something from him lately. ;)

  • anon-paranoid
    July 12, 2009 at 12:16 pm

    dnd…

    I still think it the Assassination Squad at issue. Cheney was ordering the murders of people and I still believe that he ordered the death of Ranger Pat Tillman.

    God Bless.

  • dnd
    July 12, 2009 at 12:21 pm

    anon-p,
    I think shit’s gonna hit the fan when that Sy Hersh book comes out this fall.

  • dnd
    July 12, 2009 at 12:31 pm

    I’m starting to think Sarah Palin won’t get a show on Fox. She’ll get her own 24 hour cable channel!

    MoDo. “Sweet, Tweet Revenge” (caution, this is really funny):
    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/opinion/12dowd.html?ref=opinion

    Frank Rich. “She broke the GOP and now she owns it”:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/opinion/12rich.html?ref=opinion

    And my favorite curmudgeon, Ed Quillen. “Sarah Palin and modern populism”:

    http://www.denverpost.com/quillen/ci_12771364

  • trout boy
    July 12, 2009 at 6:18 pm

    damn this thing work anymore? Knock Knock Knock

  • trout boy
    July 12, 2009 at 6:24 pm

    http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/07/mccain-refuses-to-believe-palin-quit/

    any of yall see this today? McCain refused to believe Palin quit. Is this the start or continuation of senility?

  • Steve
    July 13, 2009 at 4:06 am

    If Richard Cheney can shoot a guy in the face, cover it up, get discovered and come away unscathed, he can do anything!

  • dnd
    July 13, 2009 at 7:34 am

    New thread.


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