Daily Democratic Wire 2-11-2010

George Wenschhof

The big dig-out begins from Snowmaggeden II - the ferocious wind has now died down, but left behind to contend with are huge snow drifts. It appears, from my home window vantage point, it will take days for the dig-out. The advice today from officials is to again stay home and in the case of an emergency, call 911. Let's hope the power stays on for those who have it and for those who do not, let's hope it is restored quickly.

This has to be a record amount of snowfall over a one week period for Frederick county, Maryland. I remember a large snow in the mid 1990's and one in the mid 1960's when as young boy in grade school at North Frederick Elementary, it seemed we had a week off from school. over the past five years, the winters have been mild with light snow so this blizzard comes as an extra shock.

Republican Mayor of the City of Frederick, Randy McClement, should take note that voters remember how their elected officials handle their responsibility of snow removal. Already, complaints from voters are reaching my ears.

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Yesterday, President Obama met with Black Leaders to discuss the economy and his proposed Jobs bill - Meeting with the President were Reverend Al Sharpton, Benjamin Jealous of the NAACP and Marc Morial of the Nation Urban League. Their concern was for aid to be directed to areas where there are large numbers of unemployed minorities. As of January, the unemployment rate for blacks was 16.5% compared to 9.7% overall and 8.7% for whites. The Washington Post has more here.

For some time now, I have been calling for a federally subsidized public service employment program which should have been included in the 800 billion Stimulus program and now should be a part of the proposed jobs bill. It is way pass time for the president and Congress to include this type of program to aid the unemployed.

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Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) meets with Democratic senators to discuss Jobs bill - to appease Republicans and with hope of bipartisan approval, various tax cuts have been added to the proposal. In addition, unemployment extension is also included. There is no guarantee Republicans will sign on to the bill as witnessed when Democrats added tax cuts to the Stimulus bill, only 3 Republican Senators from the party of "no" voted in favor of the bill. TheHill.com has more here.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar - she will be leaving on February 13 and returning February 16. Al Qaeda and the stalled Arab-Israeli peace process are among the subjects expected to be discussed. Today, Clinton meets with President Obama and Vice President Biden at the White House. You can read more here.

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Last night, it was Vice President Joe Biden's turn on CNN "Larry King Live" - when asked about Sarah Palin, Biden said "she was an engaging personality but some of the things she says are kind of like...out there." Well said and I would add hardly presidential in substance.



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NY Governor David Paterson to announce reelection bid on February 20 - despite receiving pressure from the White House to drop out of the race, Paterson is moving forward. Democrat Andrew Cuomo is expected to make his announcement to run for Governor in March. FirstRead MSNBC.com has more here.

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