President-elect Barack Obama introduces the team that will head up the nation’s major scientific departments in his weekly video/radio address.
** OBAMA TODAY – SUNDAY. President-elect Barack Obama is in Hawaii today for the Christmas holidays with wife Michelle and their two daughters.He has no public events.
With signs of a deepening economic downturn, Obama has upped his goal for job creation/retention – set only last month – from 2.5 million jobs to 3 million.
The new job target was set after a meeting last Tuesday in which Christina D. Romer, who is Mr. Obama’s choice to lead his Council of Economic Advisers, presented information about previous recessions to establish that the current downturn was likely to be “more severe than anything we’ve experienced in the past half-century,” according to an Obama official familiar with the meeting. Officials said they were working on a plan big enough to stimulate the economy but not so big to provoke major opposition in Congress.
Mr. Obama’s advisers have projected that the multifaceted economic plan would cost $675 billion to $775 billion. It would be the largest stimulus package in memory and would most likely grow as it made its way through Congress, although Mr. Obama has secured Democratic leaders’ agreement to ban spending on pork-barrel projects.
As I previously noted, the Obama team expects it to end up around $850 billion.
Meanwhile, the Blago scandal, at least insofar as it involves Obama and his team, doesn’t look like much. Notwithstanding the incessant cable chatter.
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos reports that the Obama review of contacts with the embattled Illinois governor doesn’t show all that much. Incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel evidently had only one recent conversation with Blagojevich, about his congressional seat, which Blago held before him. He talked with Blago’s chief of staff four times about the governor’s prospective appointment to replace Obama in the Senate. In which it was clear that there would be no quid pro quo (much less a financial deal) for a favored appointee, Obama’s longtime friend and top advisor Valerie Jarrett, who will be a major force in the new White House.
It’s important to keep in mind that the federal prosecutor going after Blago has already stated that there was no impropriety on the part of the Obama camp.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appears Sunday night on 60 Minutes. I saw that CBS News had correspondent Scott Pelley and a crew following him around at last month’s Governors’ Global Climate Summit in LA and other events.
The 60 Minutes story will focus on Schwarzenegger’s role as a global figure on climate change and renewable energy policy.
** JERRY BROWN ASKS CALIFORNIA’S TOP COURT TO TOSS GAY MARRIAGE BAN. Former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown moved late yesterday to have the state Supreme Court invalidate Proposition 8. This will have Brown, two-time runner-up for the Democratic presidential nomination, going against the lead lawyer for Prop 8, controversial Whitewater special prosecutor Ken Starr, now head of the Pepperdine Law School.
Brown had said after the election that he’d defend the initiative, a standard practice. He changed his mind after he and his staff of lawyers researched the matter. As the LA Times reports …
The California Constitution protects certain rights as “inalienable,” Brown wrote. Those include a right to liberty and to privacy, which the courts have said includes a person’s right to marry. The issue before the court “presents a conflict between the constitutional power of the voters to amend the Constitution, on the one hand, and the Constitution’s Declaration of Rights, on the other,” Brown wrote.
The issue “is whether rights secured under the state Constitution’s safeguard of liberty as an ‘inalienable’ right may intentionally be withdrawn from a class of persons by an initiative amendment.”
Voters are allowed to amend other parts of the Constitution by majority vote, but to use the ballot box to take away an “inalienable” right would establish a “tyranny of the majority,” which the Constitution was designed, in part, to prevent, he wrote.
In an interview, Brown said he had developed his theory after weeks of consultation with the top lawyers in his office. “This analysis was not evident on the morning after the election,” he said.
** PALIN SCANDAL. Alaska State Troopers have arrested the mother of Bristol Palin’s boyfriend on drug charges. Sherry L. Johnston was arrested Thursday after troopers served a search warrant on a Wasilla home. The 42-year-old Johnston has been charged with six felony drug counts. The charges involve the drug OxyContin, a strong prescription painkiller. Johnston is the mother of 18 year-old Levi Johnston. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced in September that her 18year-old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant and Johnston is the father.
** OBAMA TODAY — SATURDAY. President-elect Barack Obama leaves Chicago today for a 10-day holiday trip to Hawaii. He will spend the holidays with family and friends and, with the Cabinet appointed, continue to do transition work during his stay in the Aloha State. Vice President-elect Biden will be in Delaware.
Here’s Obama’s weekly video/radio address, excerpted: Over the past few weeks, Vice President-elect Biden and I have announced some of the leaders who will advise us as we seek to meet America’s twenty-first century challenges, from strengthening our security, to rebuilding our economy, to preserving our planet for our children and grandchildren. Today, I am pleased to announce members of my science and technology team whose work will be critical to these efforts.
Whether it’s the science to slow global warming; the technology to protect our troops and confront bioterror and weapons of mass destruction; the research to find life-saving cures; or the innovations to remake our industries and create twenty-first century jobs – today, more than ever before, science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and prosperity as a nation. It’s time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore America’s place as the world leader in science and technology. Right now, in labs, classrooms and companies across America, our leading minds are hard at work chasing the next big idea, on the cusp of breakthroughs that could revolutionize our lives. But history tells us that they can’t do it alone. From landing on the moon, to sequencing the human genome, to inventing the Internet, America has been the first to cross that new frontier because we had leaders who paved the way: leaders like President Kennedy, who inspired us to push the boundaries of the known world and achieve the impossible; leaders who not only invested in our scientists, but who respected the integrity of the scientific process.
Because the truth is that promoting science isn’t just about providing resources – it’s about protecting free and open inquiry. It’s about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient – especially when it’s inconvenient. …
Dr. John Holdren has agreed to serve as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. John is a professor and Director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, as well as President and Director of the Woods Hole Research Center. A physicist renowned for his work on climate and energy, he’s received numerous honors and awards for his contributions and has been one of the most passionate and persistent voices of our time about the growing threat of climate change. …
John will also serve as a Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology – or PCAST – as will Dr. Harold Varmus and Dr. Eric Lander. Together, they will work to remake PCAST into a vigorous external advisory council that will shape my thinking on scientific aspects of my policy priorities.
Dr. Varmus is no stranger to this work. He is not just a path-breaking scientist, having won a Nobel Prize for his research on the causes of cancer – he also served as Director of the National Institutes of Health during the Clinton Administration. … Dr. Eric Lander is the Founding Director of the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard and was one of the driving forces behind mapping the human genome – one of the greatest scientific achievements in history. …
Finally, Dr. Jane Lubchenco has accepted my nomination as the Administrator of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is devoted to conserving our marine and coastal resources and monitoring our weather. As an internationally known environmental scientist, ecologist and former President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Jane has advised the President and Congress on scientific matters, and I am confident she will provide passionate and dedicated leadership at NOAA. …
I am confident that if we recommit ourselves to discovery; if we support science education to create the next generation of scientists and engineers right here in America; if we have the vision to believe and invest in things unseen, then we can lead the world into a new future of peace and prosperity. Thank you, and happy holidays everybody.
President-elect Barack Obama appointed the new secretaries of labor and transportation and other posts yesterday in Chicago.
** CALIFORNIA CRACKING. From my latest column.
** 12 KEY THINGS ABOUT THE MUMBAI CRISIS. From my December 5th column.
** OBAMA’S NEW POWER TROIKA FACES CRISES OLD AND NEW. From my December 3rd column.
** HAPPY THANKSGIVING, MR. PRESIDENT-ELECT! While Barack Obama promised “a new and brighter day yet to come” in his Thanksgiving address, an old and darker day yet to leave reminds that events — and perhaps political fate itself — can turn on a dime in presidential politics. …
For a political operation that prefers to focus on its preferences, it’s a sharp reminder to Team Obama that the presidency can be every bit as reactive as it is proactive. … From my November 28th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** SCHWARZENEGGER’S CALIFORNIA. Here is my series of five columns on the governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger for the Los Angeles Times in debate with Pulitzer Prize-winning former Times reporter/editor Bill Boyarsky, whose columns are also included.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. After crashing over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, crude oil closed on Friday at $42.36 per barrel. Energy markets are closed on the weekend
The drop of $105 per barrel since the record high over the summer comes on acknowledgment that the weak US economy will cut future demand and on the easing of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It is clear that that, contrary to much chatter, neither the US nor Israel is about to launch a strike against Iran. And the Russian war with Georgia, confounding much speculation and reporting to the contrary, actually decreased the geopolitical risk premium in the oil market.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum.
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| Comments (44) |
That’s a good holiday talk by the new Prez. Good science picks, too.
That was a good press conference yesterday, too.
Good for Brown on Prop 8. That’s a bad initiative.
As I stated last evening, good on Jerry.
Jerry Brown can solve the problem Gavin Newsom created.
Barack’s getting pretty darn good at those.
Jonas Blane Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 9:06 am
That was a good press conference yesterday, too.
Barack’s speech today is terrific. Good picks. Let’s get science back at the center of policy. After eight years of know-nothing politics.
The appointment of Jane Lubchenco as head of NOAA is another strong indication that science will be a player in the Obama administration. She is a highly-respected scientist, runs a large marine sciences organization at Oregon State, and has been head of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has run organizations as well as done research. It’s a great step forward and a great appointment.
lol
Capitol Boy Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Jerry Brown can solve the problem Gavin Newsom created.
Capitol Boy Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Jerry Brown can solve the problem Gavin Newsom created.
————–
Good point. Have a drink on me!
I will!
She sounds great. NOAA is key. Go Oregon!
larry Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 10:19 am
The appointment of Jane Lubchenco as head of NOAA is another strong indication that science will be a player in the Obama administration. She is a highly-respected scientist, runs a large marine sciences organization at Oregon State, and has been head of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has run organizations as well as done research. It’s a great step forward and a great appointment.
Meanwhile the L.A. Times poll has finally faded to black. As Bill has noted in its last years it had lost much of its relevance:
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2008/12/los_angeles_times_poll_fa.php
It is sad to see a once fairly good paper approach dementia. Latest stupidity: folding the vibrant Bottleneck Blog on traffic etc. into
an all purpose L.A. Now Blog. Great, take a success and make it hard to find…
New video today?
PRESIDENT ELECT RABBI “SAMMY” BARRACK
“Barack Obama, the US president-elect, has signaled climate change and genetic research will be among his top priorities when he takes office in January.”
The President Rabbi Elect seems to have a lot in common with another Jewish Black Afro-American Sammy Davis Jr., of “Rat Pack” fame. Both are Black Afro-Americans, Both share amazing vocal talents, one in singing the other in oratory skills, both have one eyed singular blind vision, one with a “Glass Eye”, the other with sightless one eyed vision of Change, both run with Rat Packs, and both are tied to Jewish Religion. And, all of these attributes have combined to give us President Rabbi Elect “Sammy” Obama
Well, we can also see that President Elect Rabbi “Sammy” Obama, the (US/MIC) United States Military Industrial Complex Imperial President Elect has signaled that the present preferential treatment of the (51st) State Israel will continue, and will be the highest among his priorities when he takes office in January, which would only be natural as the first Black Afro-American Jewish Imperial President.
Jewish/American voters and writers, who voted (78%), Seventy-Eight Percent, with the staunch support of highly influential Jewish leaders such as (COS) Chief of Staff & Mossad Agent, Rahm Emanuel, Jon Stewart, Sara Silverman, and President Rabbi Elect “Sammy” Obama’s favorite writer Philip Roth, the Jewish American Community feel’s the President Rabbi Elect will act in the best interest of Israel, and is their President Rabbi Elect. The Jewish voters see the President Rabbi Elect “Sammy” Obama as (Megilah) Yiddish for “Epic or Big Deal”, a (Megilah) “The Whole Thing”, the (Barak) “Blessed Lighting”, and Barrack is certainly “Jewish”, in the image of Sammy the entertainer, so once again we give you President Elect Rabbi “Sammy” Obama.
This has both domestic and international consequences if Jewish voters are “American,” shouldn’t they be supporting the candidate which will act in the best interest of “America”, and not in the interests of Israel lock-step? Or, should they exercise there right of return to Israel a Right denied to Palestrina’s, and vote in Israeli elections for the best interest of Israel?
Shouldn’t President Elect “Sammy” Obama be neutral in respect to international relationships and not bias in favor of one side or the other? Shouldn’t foreign policy be based upon what’s in best interests of the Government and People of the United States or at least the (US/MIC) United States Military Industrial Complex? Shouldn’t foreign policy be flexible and not written in stone from Mt. Sinai?
Now George W. Bush had a considerable amount of Jewish / American’s within his Administration, but very few if any at all Islamic / American’s
Deputy White House Chief of Staff: Joshua B. Bolten (2001-2003)Deputy White House Chief of Staff – Joel Kaplan (2006-2008)
Secretary of Homeland Security – Michael Chertoff – (2005-2008)
Attorney General – Michael Mukasey (2007-2008)
Assistant to the President : Lewis Libby (2001-2005)
Deputy Secretary of Defense ” Paul Wolfowitz (2001-2005)
Chairman of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee – Richard Perle
Douglas Feith.
We can only assume that this will not only continue under the President Elect Rabbi Elect “Sammy” Obama, but may well be increased, it doesn’t bode well for Islam and certainly is not Change, in any sense of the word, the performance and show will go on, the question is will the audience survive until the last curtain.
Okay then.
What you see above is easily the most crass and irrational thing posted here in quite awhile.
I’m going to leave it up for purposes of humor.
Enjoy your Christmas break, sport.
Thought about it … We’re about to get into a bunch of holiday stuff, no sense burning up something entertaining today.
># Jonas Blane Says:
December 21st, 2008 at 9:27 am edit
New video today?
I think I reported months ago that the LA Times Poll would disappear after the election. It was really a Bloomberg poll as much as anything at the end.
># Dana Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 10:16 pm edit
Meanwhile the L.A. Times poll has finally faded to black. As Bill has noted in its last years it had lost much of its relevance:
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2008/12/los_angeles_times_poll_fa.php
It is sad to see a once fairly good paper approach dementia. Latest stupidity: folding the vibrant Bottleneck Blog on traffic etc. into
an all purpose L.A. Now Blog. Great, take a success and make it hard to find…
Where should Oregon go?
I love Oregon, actually.
># Capitol Boy Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 3:19 pm edit
She sounds great. NOAA is key. Go Oregon!
larry Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 10:19 am
The appointment of Jane Lubchenco as head of NOAA is another strong indication that science will be a player in the Obama administration. She is a highly-respected scientist, runs a large marine sciences organization at Oregon State, and has been head of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has run organizations as well as done research. It’s a great step forward and a great appointment.
Poor Gavin.
I’m so glad I defended him last year against the lefty bloggers when he had the affair with his staffer who was married to his campaign manager.
># Ann Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 10:27 am edit
lol
Capitol Boy Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Jerry Brown can solve the problem Gavin Newsom created.
Very good points.
># larry Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 10:19 am edit
The appointment of Jane Lubchenco as head of NOAA is another strong indication that science will be a player in the Obama administration. She is a highly-respected scientist, runs a large marine sciences organization at Oregon State, and has been head of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has run organizations as well as done research. It’s a great step forward and a great appointment.
I believe it was called faith-based …
># Capitol Boy Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 10:10 am edit
Barack’s speech today is terrific. Good picks. Let’s get science back at the center of policy. After eight years of know-nothing politics.
Five days in a row …
># Capitol Boy Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 10:08 am edit
Barack’s getting pretty darn good at those.
Jonas Blane Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 9:06 am
That was a good press conference yesterday, too.
They are very good appointments.
># Jonas Blane Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 9:01 am edit
That’s a good holiday talk by the new Prez. Good science picks, too.
lol
Bill Bradley Says:
December 21st, 2008 at 11:31 am
Okay then.
What you see above is easily the most crass and irrational thing posted here in quite awhile.
I’m going to leave it up for purposes of humor.
Enjoy your Christmas break, sport.
“The 42-year-old Johnston has been charged with six felony drug counts. The charges involve the drug OxyContin, a strong prescription painkiller”
No wonder Rush was so “high” on Sarah Palin…
True. I just shake my head at the genius of Sam Zell destroying a brand and proving again a fortune is no sure indicator of intelligence.
>Bill Bradley Says:
December 21st, 2008 at 11:33 am
I think I reported months ago that the LA Times Poll would disappear after the election. It was really a Bloomberg poll as much as anything at the end.
Bad snow storm in Spokane, where my Mom & Brother live. But they say it is a very fluffy light snow–local weather person said 50 inches would equal an inch of water.
Bill and my fellow poster–best holiday wishes and don’t neglect to have some fun. Fun is good.
I don’t think Bill’s overworking.
Somebody’s got a bad fever.
TRIATHLON Says:
December 21st, 2008 at 11:22 am
PRESIDENT ELECT RABBI “SAMMY” BARRACK
“Barack Obama, the US president-elect, has signaled climate change and genetic research will be among his top priorities when he takes office in January.”
The President Rabbi Elect seems to have a lot in common with another Jewish Black Afro-American Sammy Davis Jr., of “Rat Pack” fame. Both are Black Afro-Americans, Both share amazing vocal talents, one in singing the other in oratory skills, both have one eyed singular blind vision, one with a “Glass Eye”, the other with sightless one eyed vision of Change, both run with Rat Packs, and both are tied to Jewish Religion. And, all of these attributes have combined to give us President Rabbi Elect “Sammy” Obama.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Quite the puff piece for Arnold from “60 Minutes.”
The Times was in grave trouble before Sam Zell ever came to town.
Dana Says:
December 21st, 2008 at 12:41 pm
True. I just shake my head at the genius of Sam Zell destroying a brand and proving again a fortune is no sure indicator of intelligence.
>Bill Bradley Says:
December 21st, 2008 at 11:33 am
I think I reported months ago that the LA Times Poll would disappear after the election. It was really a Bloomberg poll as much as anything at the end.
That’s a good one.
Brasky Says:
December 21st, 2008 at 12:37 pm
“The 42-year-old Johnston has been charged with six felony drug counts. The charges involve the drug OxyContin, a strong prescription painkiller”
No wonder Rush was so “high” on Sarah Palin…
Some people seem to be excited that Obama may have science advisors who actually are scientists, energy and environmental cabinet members who have some real experience and knowledge in their fields, and a Labor Secretary who isn’t anti-labor. Sadly, that just shows how far downhill our government has gone over the past 8 years. The standards are so low that it seems radical to have a labor secretary who ‘doesn’t choke on the word union’ as Obama promised he also would not do. These recent appointments may actually be good ones after a string of miserable Clinton retreads, militarist Bush appointees, conservative economists, and an education secretary who follows a corporate CEO model and believes in the lunacy of standardized testing. I recommend that you check out the critique by writer Stephen Lendman at http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11444 or http://sjlendman.blogspot.com and Alfie Kohn’s critique of Arne Duncan at TheNation.com.
What new video today?
Cheney v. Biden and Russia pitching a natural gas cartel.
Heaven forbid that we learn if students have measurable skills!
>Paul Burton Says:
December 21st, 2008 at 10:54 pm edit
Some people seem to be excited that Obama may have science advisors who actually are scientists, energy and environmental cabinet members who have some real experience and knowledge in their fields, and a Labor Secretary who isn’t anti-labor. Sadly, that just shows how far downhill our government has gone over the past 8 years. The standards are so low that it seems radical to have a labor secretary who ‘doesn’t choke on the word union’ as Obama promised he also would not do. These recent appointments may actually be good ones after a string of miserable Clinton retreads, militarist Bush appointees, conservative economists, and an education secretary who follows a corporate CEO model and believes in the lunacy of standardized testing.
Very.
>marcus waldron Says:
December 21st, 2008 at 8:12 pm edit
The Times was in grave trouble before Sam Zell ever came to town.
Oh, yes.
># marcus waldron Says:
December 21st, 2008 at 8:11 pm edit
Quite the puff piece for Arnold from “60 Minutes.”
I don’t mind the sympathy …
>Len Says:
December 21st, 2008 at 5:59 pm edit
I don’t think Bill’s overworking.
Indeed.
># Dana Says:
December 21st, 2008 at 12:44 pm edit
Bad snow storm in Spokane, where my Mom & Brother live. But they say it is a very fluffy light snow–local weather person said 50 inches would equal an inch of water.
Bill and my fellow poster–best holiday wishes and don’t neglect to have some fun. Fun is good.
[...] There will be no evidence of wrongdoing by Obama. He knows the milieu too well. What we have here is the latest cable chatfest hysteria, along with the relatively new element of yaposphere blog nonsense and the old toxic talk radio culture. [...]
Thanks. Though you’re linking to the wrong thread.
Krav Maga for the WIN…
[...]No seriously, Krav Maga is the future of hand to hand combat[...]……