George Wenschhof
Always busy weeks when it comes to politics so I will try to point out some of the highlights. For links to more in depth articles go back to my Daily Democratic Wire posts on this site for the past week.
The week started with President Barack Obama promoting a "pay as you go" system which would help to ensure money was available for future proposed programs. This was due to the increased budget deficit the country is facing and the high national debt.
Some good economic news came out as 10 of the largest US banks were given the OK by the US Treasury to begin paying the government back 68 Billion of the "TARP" funds they had received.
Retail sales were up slightly and unemployment claims were down which were a few more good signs the economy problems may have bottomed out.
Another area to watch in regard to the economy - Russia announced they would sell some US Treasury notes and begin buying new Bonds issued by the International Monetary Fund. Russia and China hold substantial portions of the US debt.
Vice President Joe Biden conducted a "Road to recovery" tour showing up at various groundbreakings of road projects in different states paid by funds from the Stimulus Bill. Remember, the President put Biden in charge to make sure the money is being spent in a intended manner.
Obama also highlighted health care reform as he traveled to Green Bay, Wisconsin to attend a town hall meeting at a local high school. This came as House and Senate Democrats presented proposals for health care reform.
In the area of national health, the world Health organization declared the H1N1 Flu (also known as the swine Flu) a pandemic due to the fact it had spread globally. This is the first declared pandemic since 1968. So far, most of the reported cases have been mild.
After some far right obstructionist Republicans expressed disappointment, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) who is the chair of the senate Judiciary Committee, set the date of July 13 as the date when the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor will begin.
Creigh Deeds wins the Democratic nomination for Governor in Virginia. Terry McAuliffe had been seen as an interloper and a very bad pitchman and was beaten badly by Deeds. No surprise to me who often referred to McAuliffe as "McAwful" when he served as chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Bad news for Republicans as a pair of Gallup polls showed first that republicans were unable to name a leader in their party and then showed 38% had low opinion of their party. Then Fox News released a poll showing 63% of Americans have a favorable opinion of President Obama.
On the international front, a pro-western bloc won a majority of seats in Parliament in Lebanon elections. Supporters of Saad al-Hairi won 71 of the 128 seats in Parliament. the other 58 seats were won by Iran backed Hezbollah.
North Korea sentenced two American journalists to 12 years of hard labor which has brought a response to intervene from everyone from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to Jesse Jackson, Bill Richardson and Al Gore.
Initial and early results in Iran election for President was showing record turnouts. Incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadineajad was being reported as winning by state run media with challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi also claiming victory and voter fraud.
Stay Tuned....
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