George Wenschhof Bio
President Barack Obama will convene a Health Care Summit at the White House today - over 120 are expected to attend to discuss health care reforms. The president will make opening remarks and then break out groups will be formed to discuss different areas of needed health care reform for the country. Kathleen Sebelius who has been nominated for HHS Secretary is not expected to be there today. Reuters.com has more here.
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Karl Rove and Harriet Miers will testify before Congress - a federal judge recent ruled they could not use executive privilege as a reason not to testify. The House judiciary committee chaired by John Conyers (D-NY) have been investigating the firing of U.S. attorneys for political reasons during the George W. Bush administration. Rove was a White house political adviser and Miers was White House counsel. CNN.com has more here.
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California Supreme Court to hear arguments on ban of same-sex marriages - Proposition 8 was recently passed which banned same-sex marriages in the state. Questions surround if this action was constitutional and what to do in regard to the estimated 19,000 same-sex marriages which took place prior to the ban. McClatchydc.com has more here.
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Is Michael Steele on the way out as RNC Chair? - he was selected as chair after six rounds of balloting about one month ago. Ever since then, he has been stumbling as the newly elected chair of the Republican National Committee. Whether it has been his boisterous comments of "either work with us or get out of the way..." or his recent public spat with Republican talk show host Rush Limbaugh, republicans are wondering if they made the right choice. Politico.com has more here.
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On the economic front, the Dow Jones is down 100 today in early trading - GM announced it may not be able to avoid bankruptcy and China indicated they will not be adding to their current stimulus plan. Bloomberg.com has more here.
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On the foreign policy front, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been busy in meetings with NATO - she proposed NATO resume formal relations with Russia which had been suspended after the Georgia republic-Russia flare up. NATO voted to resume relations with Russia today. In a smart move, Clinton also proposed a international meeting on Afghanistan. It will take more than just the U.S. involvement to stabilize Afghanistan. Tomorrow, she travels to Geneva to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. You can read more here.
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Thursday, March 5, 2009
Democratic Chatter 3-5-2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Democratic Chatter 3-1-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
President Barack Obama addresses the annual State of the Black Union Forum - in a video message he talks about how difficult economic times often mean even tougher times for African Americans. He spoke about how the recently passed Stimulus bill and the Children's health care bill known as SCHIP along with his budget will make a big difference in the African American community. Travis Smiley organized the event and Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and RNC chair Michael Steele were scheduled to speak. TheHill.com has more here.
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President Obama to move to rescind Bush administration abortion rule - President George W. Bush signed a rule in the last days of his administration that supported Doctors who refused to perform abortions due to moral reasons. It is being reported the Obama administration will issue new rules soon to reverse the actions by President Bush. MSNBC.com has more here.
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CPAC Picks Mitt Romney for 2012 Republican candidate for President - the Conservative Political Action Conference voted Mitt Romney as the best choice. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal finished second. Romney has finished first three years in a row so doubtful this is any barometer of who the Republican nominee will be in 2012. In fact, with Rush Limbaugh as the headline speaker yesterday, it is a scary thought that anyone CPAC would choose as a candidate would ever become President. CNN.com has more here.
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Billionaire Warren Buffet sees more gloom for the economy throughout 2009 - in a letter to shareholders, he indicated he believed the economy would be bad even beyond 2009. The fourth quarter report for his company Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. showed net income fell 96% to 117 million. Bloomberg.com has more here.
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On the foreign policy front, Israel Prime Minister designate Benjamin Netanyahu is unable to reach agreement with Tzipi Livni - President Shimon Peres named Netanyahu as Prime Minister after a razor thin election with Livni. This is not good news for the region as Netanyahu is more a right wing hawk who does not support the U.S. sponsored two state vision with Palestine. Reuters.com has more here.
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton off to Mideast on Monday - she will attend a international conference in Egypt where she will announce the U.S. pledge of 900 million to help rebuild the Gaza strip after the recent Israel incursion. She will then head to Israel to meet with PM Netanyahu and Tzipi Livni before meeting with Palestinian Authority Leaders including President Abbas. She will reaffirm the Obama administration commitment to the two state solution. On Friday she will be in Geneva to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. You can read more here.
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