Hello
Friday mishmash to follow.
Yesterday, during a fundraiser with Richard Blumenthal in Connecticut, president Obama spoke is some highly grave terms about the far right billionaires backing Republican candidates through shadowy groups, taking maximum advantage possible of the Citizens United verdict. This is scary stuff.
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Full video is here and the entire transcript is here.
....This is a tough election season. People are hurting and they are understandably frustrated. And a lot of them are scared. And a lot of them are anxious. And that means that even when people don’t have ideas, if they’ve got enough money behind them, they may be able to convince some folks that, you know what, just cast a protest vote, throw the bums out. That’s a mentality that has an appeal. And you can’t blame folks for feeling that way sometime. But that’s not a future for our country, a country that’s more divided, that’s more unequal, that’s less dynamic, where we’re falling behind in everything from investment in infrastructure to investment in R&D. That’s not a vision for the future.
And if that’s not a future you accept for this nation, if that’s not the future you want for your kids and for your grandkids, then we are asking you for help in this election.
Because if you don’t think the stakes are large -- and I want you to consider this -- right now, all across the country, special interests are planning and running millions of dollars of attack ads against Democratic candidates. Because last year, there was a Supreme Court decision called Citizens United. They’re allowed to spend as much as they want without ever revealing who’s paying for the ads. That’s exactly what they’re doing. Millions of dollars. And the groups are benign-sounding: Americans for Prosperity. Who’s against that? (Laughter.) Or Committee for Truth in Politics. Or Americans for Apple Pie. Moms for Motherhood. I made those last two up. (Laughter.)
None of them will disclose who’s paying for these ads. You don’t know if it’s a Wall Street bank. You don’t know if it’s a big oil company. You don’t know if it’s an insurance company. You don’t even know if it’s a foreign-controlled entity.
In some races, they are spending more money than the candidates. Not here because here the candidate is spending a lot of money. (Laughter.)
They’re spending more money than the parties. They want to take Congress back and return to the days where lobbyists wrote the laws. It is the most insidious power grab since the monopolies of the Gilded Age. That’s happening right now. So there’s a lot of talk about populist anger and grassroots. But that’s not what’s driving a lot of these elections.
We tried to fix this, but the leaders of the other party wouldn’t even allow it to come up for a vote. They want to keep the public in the dark. They want to serve the special interests that served them so well over the last 19 months.
We will not let them. We are not about to allow a corporate takeover of our democracy. We’re not about to go back to the days when special interests took advantage of Main Street families. (Applause.) We’re not going to go back to the days when insurance companies wrote the rules that let you languish without health care because you had a preexisting condition. We’re not going to go back to the exact same agenda we had before I took office.
A lot has changed since that last election, but what hasn’t changed is the choice facing this country. It is still fear versus hope. It is still the past versus the future. It is still a choice between sliding backwards and moving forward. That is what this election is about. That’s the choice you will face in November....
...We have had the most productive, progressive legislative session in at least a generation. And so I want everybody here to – when you are talking to your friends and your neighbors and your coworkers, I want you to feel good about the support that you've provided, because you didn’t send me there to do what was easy; you sent me there to do what was hard. We have tackled some of the hardest problems facing this country and we did so in the midst of crisis, and we are succeeding...".
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Terrific new DNC ad:
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Amusing:
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President Obama and Elizabeth Warren, earlier today at the WH:
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Transcript:
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Before we begin I just want to mention a report that was released by the Census Bureau yesterday about what happened to wages during the last decade. It revealed that between 2001 and 2009, the incomes of middle-class families fell by almost 5 percent.
I want to repeat that. Between 2001 and 2009, the incomes of middle-class families fell by 5 percent.
In the words of today’s Wall Street Journal, this "lost decade" was the worst for families in half a century -- a decade that obviously ended in a devastating recession that made things even worse.
We know that a strong middle class leads a strong economy. And that's why, as we dig our way out of this recession, we've set our sights on policies that grow the middle class and provide a ladder for those who are struggling to join it. And that's why I am urging the leaders of the other party to stop holding middle-class tax cuts hostage and extend this relief to families immediately. They need it. They need our help. And that's why we're here today.
Part of what led to the financial crisis were practices that took advantage of consumers, particularly when too many homeowners were deceived into taking out mortgages on their homes that they couldn’t afford. But we also know that these practices predated the crisis, and we also know that these practices don't just exist in the housing market.
For years, banks and mortgage lenders and credit card companies have often used fine print and confusing language and attractive, front-end offers to take advantage of American consumers. We’ve seen banks charge unreasonable overdraft fees. We’ve seen credit card companies hit folks with unfair rate hikes. We’ve seen mortgage lenders offer cheap initial monthly payments and interest rates that later skyrocketed. All this has cost middle-class families billions of dollars -- tens of billions of dollars -- that they could have used to pay the bills or make the mortgage, or send their kids to college.
And I have to say when Michelle and I were first starting a family, we had to navigate a lot of these financial decisions -- whether it was buying a first home, or paying off our college loans, or putting a lot of debt on credit cards. And obviously, we were better off than a lot of families, but we still often found ourselves confused or finding ourselves in tough situations as a consequence. So we’ve got a pretty good idea -- I’ve got a personally good idea of how this can be difficult and sometimes confusing for the average consumer.
And that's partly why even when I was still in the U.S. Senate, I took such a great interest in the work of the woman standing next to me. I have known Elizabeth Warren since law school. She’s a native of Oklahoma. She’s a janitor’s daughter who has become one of the country’s fiercest advocates for the middle class. She has seen financial struggles and foreclosures affect her own family.
Long before this crisis hit, she had written eloquently, passionately, forcefully, about the growing financial pressures on working families and the need to put in place stronger consumer protections. And three years ago she came up with an idea for a new independent agency that would have one simple overriding mission: standing up for consumers and middle-class families.
Thanks to Elizabeth’s efforts, as well as the dedication and persistence of the person to my right, Secretary of Treasury Geithner, as well as leaders in Congress like Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, that agency will soon become a reality.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was one of the central aspects of financial reform, will empower all Americans with the clear and concise information they need to make the best choices, the best financial decisions, for them and their families.
Never again will folks be confused or misled by the pages of barely understandable fine print that you find in agreements for credit cards or mortgages or student loans. The bureau is going to crack down on the abusive practices of unscrupulous mortgage lenders. It will reinforce the new credit card law that we passed, banning unfair rate hikes and ensure that folks aren’t unwittingly caught by overdraft fees when they sign up for a checking account. It will give students who take out college loans clear information and make sure that lenders don’t game the system. And it will ensure that every American receives a free credit score if they are denied a loan or insurance because of that score.
Basically, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be a watchdog for the American consumer, charged with enforcing the toughest financial protections in history.
Now, getting this agency off the ground will be an enormously important task, a task that can’t wait. And that task is something that I’ve asked Elizabeth to take on. Secretary Geithner and I both agree that Elizabeth is the best person to stand this agency up. She was the architect behind the idea for a consumer watchdog, so it only makes sense that she’d be the -- she should be the architect working with Secretary of Treasury Geithner in standing up the agency.
She will help oversee all aspects of the bureau’s creation, from staff recruitment to designing policy initiatives to future decisions about the agency. She will have direct access to me and to Secretary Geithner, and she will oversee a staff at the Treasury Department that has already begun to work on this task.
She will also play a pivotal role in helping me determine who the best choice is for director of the bureau. And given the importance of these economic issues, I also want Elizabeth to have a role as a White House advisor as well as advisor to Secretary Geithner on consumer issues.
Elizabeth understands what I strongly believe -- that a strong, growing economy begins with a strong and thriving middle class. And that means every American has to get a fair shake in their financial dealings.
For years financial companies have been able to spend millions of dollars on their own watchdog -- lobbyists who look out for their interests and fight for their priorities. That's their right. But from now on, consumers will also have a powerful watchdog -- a tough, independent watchdog whose job it is to stand up for their financial interests, for their families’ future. And I am proud that we got this done, and I'm equally proud that Elizabeth Warren will be helping to make her original vision a reality.
So we are extremely proud of you, Elizabeth. Good luck.
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I posted this video yesterday, but didn't give it the attention it deserve. This speech at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's 33rd Annual Awards Gala, is just a MUST-SEE. Especially the second half. I almost beg those who plan on sitting out in November to watch it.
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Full transcript is here.
...So let me say this, not just to the folks who are in this room, but to the Latino community across this country. You have every right to keep the heat on me and keep the heat on the Democrats, and I hope you do. That's how our political process works. (Applause.)
But don’t forget who is standing with you, and who is standing against you. (Applause.) Don’t ever believe that this election coming up doesn’t matter. Don’t forget who secured health care for 4 million children, including the children of legal immigrants. Don’t forget who won new Pell Grants for more than 100,000 Latino students. Don’t forget who fought for credit card reform, a new agency to protect consumers from predatory lending, and protections for folks who send remittances back home. Don’t forget who cut taxes for working families. Don’t forget who your friends are. No se olviden. Don’t forget. (Applause.)
We can’t go back now. Not when there is so much work to be done. We’ve got to move forward. We’ve got to move forward on jobs, and on the economy, and on immigration reform, and all the unfinished business of our time. These are serious times. They require serious leaders and serious citizens, and your voice matters. Your voice can make the difference...
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Do you know anyone who's qualified?:
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Hey soldier, the president wants you...to get your money
Only one in four Americans trusts the federal government -- no wonder soldiers who were "stop-lossed" into staying in uniform longer than their official enlistment period aren't rushing to pocket the thousands of dollars they're owed. So the government is rolling out the commander-in-chief to warn the troops the deadline for claiming their retroactive bonuses is rapidly approaching.
"Some veterans think this is some sort of gimmick or scam, or it's some way for the government to call you back to service," President Obama said in a video message released Wednesday. "Nothing could be further from the truth. As your commander in chief, I am here to tell you that this is no gimmick or trick. You worked hard; you earned this money." The use of what was often called a "back-door draft" angered many soldiers who -- counting on the end of their enlistment to begin school or get married -- found their plans derailed.
Fewer than half the troops eligible for the bonus bucks -- $500 for every month a soldier's enlistment was involuntarily extended, largely to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq -- have applied for them. Despite using everything from veterans groups to bloggers and direct mailings, only about 58,000 of the 145,000 people eligible have applied as the Oct. 21 deadline looms. So only about $219 million of the $534 million set aside for the stop-loss bonuses has been paid out. Most former troops are pocketing about $4,000 -- not small change in the middle of a recession.
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West Wing week. Don't miss the very end of it:
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All these by AP:
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(September 16, Official WH photo by Pete Souza)