George Wenschhof
Tonight, President Barack Obama will attend the Congressional Black Caucus annual dinner - the Phoenix Awards dinner will be held at the D.C. Convention Center and the First Lady will also be in attendance.
--------------------
Paul Kirk sworn in as Massachusetts Senator - Vice President Joe Biden performed the ceremonial swearing in only hours after a Massachusetts Judge denied an appeal from the state Republican Party to block the appointment. Democrats now have 60 seats in the Senate as many close votes on issues are expected this fall included health care reform. The special election to fill the Senate seat in Massachusetts will be held January 19, 2010 and Kirk has indicated he will not run for the seat. You can read more here.
--------------------
Feingold wants Senate vacancies filled by special elections - there are now six serving Senators (click the link below to find out who the six are) who were not elected from the voters of their states. The Obama presidential victory led to him selecting many Senators to fill Cabinet positions and Governors of those states were able to appoint temporary replacements. Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) wants to amend the constitution to state the filling of vacant senate seats would be by special election as is done in the House of Representatives. Politico.com has more here.
--------------------
U.S. knew of secret Iran nuclear facility years ago - the underground complex was discovered during the George W. Bush administration. Interestingly, it was a recent note from Iran to the International Atomic Energy Agency disclosing the existence of this and their description of it as a pilot nuclear facility that led to the dramatic U.S. disclosure at the G-20 Summit. The NY Times has more here.
President Obama urges Iran to cooperate - on Thursday, the U.S. will conduct previously scheduled talks with Iran in Geneva. You can read more here.
--------------------
Vice President Biden tours Georgia - promises federal aid - the torrential rains in Georgia have caused an estimated 250 million in damages and have affected 20 counties across the state. President Obama has declared a major disaster to provide funds for the areas affected. CNN.com has more here.
--------------------
Ginsburg released from hospital - Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was released yesterday after spending the night in the hospital following her experiencing fainting spells. She indicated she had a clean bill of health and intended to serve another seven years on the court. Reuters.com has more here.
--------------------
To receive "Daily Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Daily Democratic Wire 9-26-2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Daily Democratic Wire 7-1-2009
George Wenschhof
Today, President Barack Obama will attend a town hall in Annandale, Virginia to discuss health care - He will also be answering some questions submitted via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The Washington Examiner has more here.
--------------------
Vice President Joe Biden begins Rural American "Listening Tour" - today in Wattsburg, Pennsylvania Biden will be joined by Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak. It is expected one of the areas to be discussed today is how to increase broadband services in rural areas. The NY Times has more here.
--------------------
Yesterday, the Minnesota Supreme Court declared Al Franken the winner in the U.S. Senate race - finally, eight months following the election in November 2008, the state of Minnesota will have two Senators on Capitol Hill. Republican Norm Coleman conceded shortly after the supreme court released their 5-0 decision. The election had approximately 2.9 million votes and Franken won by 312 votes. The Democrats now have a filibuster proof majority in the Senate. They reach the magic number of 60 by counting Independent Senators Joe Lieberman (Conn.) and Bernie Sanders (Vt.) who both caucus with the Democrats. TheHill.com has more here.
--------------------
McCain and Feingold place a hold on Obama nomination to Federal Elections Commission - the nomination of labor lawyer John Sullivan has been placed on hold by Senators Russ Feingold (D-Wisc,) and John McCain (R-Ariz.). They are the two Senators who teamed up for campaign finance reform and are unhappy with the current status of the FEC. Politico.com has more here.
--------------------
Time for Republican Governor Mark Sanford (SC) to resign? - he continues to step in his own .... as a AP interview yesterday revealed additional indiscretions by the Governor. Unfortunately for the Republicans, S.C. Lt. Governor Andre Bauer has his own issues. The Washington Post has more here.
--------------------
Interim Honduras President Roberto Micheletti says he will not step down - the United Nations and the Organization of American States are pressuring Micheletti to allow the return of President Manuel Zelaya. The Honduran constitution only allows for a single term for their President and it is alleged Zelaya added a last minute and illegal amendment to the ballot allowing him to run again. It was this action that led to his ouster from the country. Zelaya has vowed to return on Thursday. Stay tuned. MSNBC.com has more here.
--------------------
To receive "Daily Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Democratic Chatter 3-6-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
Today, President Barack Obama will be in Columbus, Ohio - He will speak at a police graduating ceremony where recruits will be able to keep their jobs due to the Stimulus bill. The Washington Post has more here.
At the conclusion of the Health Care Summit yesterday at the White House, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) spoke of the time is now. Kennedy has long been a supporter of health care reform. ThePage.time.com has a video of his remarks here.
--------------------
Sanjay Gupta withdraws from consideration for U.S. Surgeon General - He informed the President he will be staying on as CNN commentator and as a practicing neurosurgeon. He is a very good communicator for those who have watched his reporting on CNN and would have excelled in this area as Surgeon General. The stated reason he gave was a standard line of being able to stay closer to family, etc. Politico.com has more and a video here.
--------------------
Two candidates for high level Treasury department positions withdraw from consideration - This can not help Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner whose roll out on how the remaining TARP funds would be spent was less than spectacular. Annette Nazareth was under consideration for deputy Treasury Secretary and Caroline Atkinson for International Affairs undersecretary. Both had been vetted but had not yet been nominated. Reuters.com has more here
--------------------
Yesterday, the Dow dropped again - the Dow dropped 281.40 to close at 6544.44. To put all of this into perspective, the Dow high was reached on October 9, 2007 and was 14,164.53. So, in less than 18 months, the losses have exceeded 50%. This shows the seriousness of the current global economic crisis. MSNBC.com has more here.
--------------------
Unemployment hits 8.1% - further illustrating the tough times Americans are experiencing, the Labor Department released figures today that unemployment has risen to the highest level in 25 years. 4.4 million jobs have been lost since December 2007. Bloomberg.com has more here.
--------------------
410 Billion spending bill stopped in Senate - the house had voted earlier on this bill to not only continue, but also increase the funding of government agencies through the end of this fiscal year which is September 30, 2009. Democratic Senators Russ Feingold (Wisc.) and Evan Bayh (IN) both were against the bill and wanted time to review the many amendments. In what has now become a routine practice, the house will have to submit a continuing resolution bill to the Senate and have them agree prior to midnight tonight in order to keep funding government agencies. TheHill.com has more here.
--------------------
To receive "Daily Email Updates" from Air-it-out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Democratic Chatter 2-23-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
President Barack Obama will name a Stimulus bill Oversight Board today - the Director of the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board will be Earl Devany. Mr. Devany was a former fraud investigator. Vice President Joe Biden will make sure regular reports are posted on recovery.gov so Americans can track the progress. Politico.com has more here.
--------------------
Many Republican Governors support the Stimulus bill - if you were able to catch any of the Sunday morning "Talking Heads" political talk shows, you would have seen California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Florida Governor Charlie Crist speaking on how the Stimulus bill will be helping people in their states. Two Republican Governors, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Haley Barbour will be turning down the portion of the Stimulus bill that extends unemployment benefits - hardly a sign of their empathy for the situation many unemployed Americans are finding themselves in. So much for Republican party unity on this issue. The Wall Street Journal has more here.
---------------------
First Obama Budget due out Thursday - While the woes of the economy have been the focus, there is still a Budget to be submitted and approved. This is in addition to the Bailout and Stimulus bills. Expect expanding health care to receive a major emphasis in his Budget. Reuters.com has more here.
--------------------
The Senator Roland Burris (D-Ill) quagmire may lead to special elections in the future - Vacant Representative seats have long been filled by special elections while the Senate vacancies have been filled by Governor appointment. Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Representative David Drier (R-Calf.) will be submitting legislation to change the process to filling vacant Senate seats to a special election. TheHill.com has more here.
This comes after the continuing saga surrounding the appointment of Burris by impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich. Burris was interviewed by federal agents on Saturday. The Chicago Sun Times has more here.
--------------------
To receive "Daily Email Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Blagojevich Saddened, but not Surprised at Removal
George Wenschhof Bio
After just four days of the state senate impeachment trial of Governor Rod Blagojevich, the vote this afternoon was 59-0 to oust the Governor from office. Lt. Governor Patrick Quinn was immediately sworn in as Governor. The vote followed testimony from the Governor who continued to deny any wrongdoing. MSNBC.com has more as well as video here.
The removal of Governor Blagojevich ended the two months of scrutiny he has been under ever since his arrest for allegedly being involved in a pay-for-play scheme involving the filling of the vacant Barack Obama senate seat.
The Governor spoke to reporters at 7:15 PM ET expressing his sadness but no surprise at the vote removing him from office. He thanked the voters and expressed how grateful he and his family were to have been able to serve the citizens of Illinois. In a brief question and answer period with reporters he continued to say the fix was in and he looked forward to his date in court and the opportunity to clear his name.
The circus surrounding Blagojevich was further exacerbated with his appointment of Roland Burris to the vacant senate seat. After initial efforts by Democratic leadership to block the appointment failed, Burris was sworn into office. This situation, as well as the media frenzy surrounding the filling of the vacant Hillary Clinton senate seat in New york prompted Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) to offer a constitutional amendment on the manner vacant senate seats are filled. He is calling for special elections similar to what is done for vacant seats in the House.
The interesting question that will remain for pundits and constitutional lawyers to discuss remains "is it allowable to impeach and remove a Governor who has not been convicted of a crime"? Do not expect this issue to go away.
--------------------
To receive "Daily Email Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below or enter your email in the Box in the right hand margin of our Home Page.
