Democratic Chatter 2-20-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama returns to Washington after a one day trip to Canada - his meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Halter in Ottawa, covered free trade and the use of environmental friendly technologies. While agreement was reached on the use of green energy, no agreement was reached on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Reuters.com has more here

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Today the President will host Mayors from across the country at the White House to discuss the Stimulus bill - You can read more here. On Sunday, the White House will be the site of the Governors Association Dinner. Earth, Wind and Fire will perform. WhiteHouse.gov has more here.

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Live-Blogging from the White House - how cool is this! The Website, WhiteHouse.gov has had a Blog since it's launch, but now it is providing live blogging as events unfold. The President's trip to Canada was the first use of the new feature. Check out the step by step posts, along with plenty of photos for you to view. Politico.com has more here.

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Dow Jones drops after gloomy economic forecast - the Federal Reserve forecast of a prolonged recession throughout this year lead to a drop in the Dow of 89.65 to close at 7465.95. This is a six year low. CNN.com has more here. The idea of nationalizing troubled banks may be picking up support as former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan feels it will be necessary. McClatchydc.com has more here.

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Pressure continues to mount for Senator Roland Burris (D-Ill.) to resign - Burris may face perjury charges based on his testimony to the Illinois impeachment panel and the Senate is taking up the issue in the Ethics committee. This, after revelations that former Governor Rod Blagojevich's brother had contacted him several times asking for campaign contributions and Burris attempted to hold a fund raiser for him. Now, it is being reported Black clergy who had previously supported his appointment, will be meeting with Burris to encourage him to resign. MSNBC.com has more here.

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Leon Panetta sworn in as CIA Director - Vice President Joe Biden handled the ceremonies making Leon Panetta official. There were concerns during the confirmation process, he did not have any experience in the intelligence field. Panetta, a former white House Chief of Staff under the Clinton administration vowed honesty from the agency. ThePage.time.com has more here.

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