Cloudy Forecast for Budget Plan

"The Congressional Budget Office placed a new hurdle in front of President Obama’s agenda on Friday, calculating that the White House’s tax and spending plans would create deficits totaling $2.3 trillion more than the president’s budget projected for the next decade."- Jackie Calmes, New York Times.

There are many against the presidents plan, one of these individuals is Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. He believes this forecast proves the choices the Obama administration has made for the economy are poor ones and will negatively impact future generations.

Calmes also reported that long term predictions have a tendency to be unreliable, but they set a base for debates between the two parties. It basically gives them a reason to argue with each other.

Stacie Ayala

Journalism 311 Student

Obama Reaches out to Iran

President Obama starred on the Late Night with Jay Leno show last night. According to the Wall Street Journal Jay and Mr. Obama discussed everything from bowling to the AIG situation.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that The White House released a video tape which shows President Obama's recent attempts to reach out to Iran. "The president appealed directly to the Iranian government and its people to forge a new relationship with the U.S. The video, which was also posted online, is a sign of his administration's intensifying efforts to use diplomacy to end Tehran's nuclear East-based militant groups."- Jay Solomon, The Wall Street Journal.

The president also timed this message for the Persian holiday Nowruz.

Stacie Ayala

Journalism 311 Student

The President and Jay

Photo Credit: Gerald Herbert, Associated Press

Tonight President Obama will be a guest on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." He is the first president to be interviewed on a late-night show. Edward Wyatt form the New York Times reports, "Asked by Mr. Leno if it was fair to judge him based on just 59 days in office, President Obama said Washington 'is a bit like ‘American idol’ except everybody’s Simon Cowell. Everybody’s got an opinion.' But, he said, the American people are in a place where 'they understand that it took us a while to get into this mess, and it will take us a while to get out of it.'"

Jay and Mr. Obama briefly discussed the recent AIG bonus upset. On a side note: The Wall Street Journal reported today on the recent updates about that issue. Edward Liddy CEO of AIG, announced that some of the employees will be returning their bonuses and some of those bonuses were up to $6.4 million dollars.

The NY Times reported that only once was Mr. Obama speechless tonight during his interview. This was when Treasurer Secretary Timothy Giethner's department came up. The interview was not all seriousness Jay made a few cracks at Mr. Obama, but everyone was excited for his presence on the show.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/heeeeres-barack/?scp=3&sq=president%20barack%20obama&st=cse

Stacie Ayala

Journalism 311 Student

Obama in Orange County

President Obama landed in Southern California today at the Long Beach Airport. He spoke at an Orange County Town Hall meeting today at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Southern California residents were given the opportunity to ask President Obama about issues such as illegal immigration, education and real estate.

Jennifer Muir, Niyza Pirani and Cameron Bird reported from the Orange County Register today, "Ivan Martinez wasn’t sure he’d be able to speak. President Obama was standing on a stage in front of him -- sleeves rolled up from the hot, heavy, stage-lit air -- as a White House aide handed the Costa Mesa High School senior a microphone. 'I want to know what you plan to do about the broken immigration system, and when you plan on doing this,' Martinez said. The crowd erupted in raucous applause, the same hooting and cheering that punctuated much of the president’s first visit to Orange County." Many were on their tip-toes today trying to get attention drawn to them, in hopes of asking President Obama about issues related to their lives.

The Orange County Register also reported today about a gathering of around 35 protesters who were not excited about President Obama's visit to Orange County. Some supported signs saying, " 'Go back home, leave us alone!' said Elisa Mohr, her head titled up. 'Go back to Chicago. We don’t want you here!' " reported Muir, Bird and Pirani.

President Obama's visit to Orange County today uplifted many Southern California resident's spirits, and gave them a better outlook for the future.

Photo Credit: Leonard Ortiz, The Orange County Register

Stacie Ayala

Journalism 311 Student

The AIG Upset Continues

Photo Credit: European Pressphoto Agency

Today the Wall Street Journal reported immense upset and confusion over the bonuses which American International Group deemed acceptable to distribute to its employees, who were the essential cause to AIG’s failure.

President Barack Obama called upon every resource, in attempt to put a stop to the distribution of AIG’s objectionable bonuses. Over the weekend a outburst of rage unfolded as the bonuses became known to the public. In the end the government does not have control over the payments, but they will be more watchful in the future.


According to the OC Register President Obama has come to the OC. President Obama will be landing in Long Beach around 3 p.m. tomorrow and will be speaking at the Orange County Fairgrounds on Wednesday at 4 p.m. At 10 a.m. this morning White House officials began distributing tickets to a roaring and excited crowd.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/first-president-beach-2337393-event-mallett

Stacie Ayala

Journalism 311 Student

A.I.G. Distributes Bonuses

Photo Credit: Doug Mills/ New York Times

The popular topic of today is the bonuses which were distributed within the American International Group. According to the New York Times today, over the past 6 months AIG received $170 billion from the government in order to stay afloat. Last Friday, it was confirmed that AIG had distributed $165 million as bonuses for company employees.

Edmund L. Andrews and Jackie Calmes reported this morning that, "Mr. Obama ordered the Treasury Department to, 'pursue every single legal avenue to block these bonuses' and the American taxpayers whole."

This entire situation becomes even more unsettling because none of the economic advisers or Chief Executive of AIG, Edward M. Liddy, will take responsibility for the final decision on the bonuses.

Andrews and Calmes reported, "Mr. Geithner, according to Treasury officials, insisted that the bonus plan was 'unacceptable' and called Mr. Liddy on Wednesday to demand changes. AIG executives said they would have never proceeded with the bonus payments before getting approval from the Treasury and the Federal Reserve."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/business/17bailout.html?_r=1&ref=politics

Stacie Ayala

Journalism 311 Student

Obama 3/13

Today the New York Times reported that President Obama is considering Texas Governer Rick Perry's request to send troops to the southern border. This is due to the drug violance which has been seriously escalating over the past year. The following link will take you to the New York Times website. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/us/politics/14border.html?_r=1
The Wall Street Journal discussed today President Obama's views on protecting the nations food supply. According to Jane Zhang of the Wall Street Journal, "Mr. Obama said he as instructed the Agricultural Detartment and the Department of Health and Human Services 'to work to come up with a plan so that a lot of these different agencies that have some jurisdiction over food safety are interegated in a much more effective way and things areen't falling through the cracks.' He also said there's work to be done 'with food producers so that there are better warning signals of potential problems than we have right now.'"

Obama 3/12

The New York Times today hit a sensitive and serious subject for many Americans. The issue, should same-sex partners federal employees be provided with health insurance benefits? According to the New York Times, many gay right supporters, gave their vote to president Obama because of his promise to fend for gay rights. Now these gay couples are looking to Obama for the support he promised.
The president also signed a $410 billion spending package the he said, "marks the old way of doing business." He revealed new rules and criticized Bush for taking advantage of his signing privilege.
The Wall Street Journal reported today, "Obama and Geithner got failing grades for their efforts to revive the economy from economists in a Wall Street journal survey."

Stacie Ayala
Journalism 311 Student

Obama 3/11

Today Laura Meckler The Wall Street Journal, reported about President Obama's vision for U.S. education. Laura Meckler says, "Barack Obama laid out a broad education vision Tuesday that includes expanded merit pay for teachers and more charter schools, ideas long troubling to teachers unions." Although the president wants to reward those who administer excellence in teaching may supporters believe pay breaks can't be equally distributed. Obama wants to serve Americans by supporting volunteer work, raising the quality of education in preschools, and help those who desire to achieve a higher education find financial aid with ease. Meckler goes on in the article and discusses how President Obama would like states to "raise standards for student achievement." Overall, although many support Barack Obama and welcome his approach to help cure this economic disaster some question his techniques. I believe we all hope Obama succeeds for the sake of America. Photo Credit Associated Press

Presidential Passtime 3/10

According to The Wall Street Journal President Obama instructed an overview of Bush's signing statements. The administration is being attentive by checking with Attorney General Eric Holder. On Monday Pres. Obama announced a reverse in Mr. Bush's ban on federally funded embryonic stem cell research. This is one of the many items President Obama has overturned since he took office in January.
According to Pres. Obama, "As a person of faith I believe we are called to care or each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research and the humanity and conscious to do so responsibly." This is an attachment which will take you to the announcement Pres. Obama made with concerns to stem cell research. http://www.latimes.com/video/?slug=la-na-obama-stem-cells10-2009mar10-vid
I have personally argued for stem cell research in the past, and personally know how important it is to act responsibly when working with stem cells. Cloning is the most common fear amongst the population and portrays a negative out look on the research. I believe embryonic stem cell research will open doors to cure many diseases one of the mot important being cancer.

Stacie Ayala
Journalism 311 student

The Internet President

Photo Credit: Barackobama.com

I was watching the weekly Obama address on YouTube, and I decided to write my final post about the significance of the internet in spreading a message. Not since President Franklin D. Roosevelt's infamous "fireside chats" has a president presented himself in a more intimate setting than President Obama has. Obama has adapted to the internet era to recap key issues in our country and what is being done to combat those issues.

Now the majority of us weren't alive or old enough to understand Roosevelt's "fireside chats," and how influential it was to the country at the time. With Obama's weekly YouTube address, anyone can go onto the internet and get a face-to-face response from our nation's leader about what is going on. Obama's weekly address is something I look forward to and I never miss a post.

Not only does Obama's weekly address recap the week in Washington, but the president uses it to release upcoming information and events that are to take place in the following week. This week's address expectedly focused on the economy. Incredibly, over 4.4 million jobs have been lost, raising our unemployment rate to over 8 percent.

Despite these gloomy times, Obama charismatically provides a rebuttal of things that our country can look forward to. With the new stimulus bill being signed, Obama ensures that over 3.5 million jobs will be saved and created. In addition, Obama calmly says that over 95 percent of Americans will receive a "tax break" starting April 1. These are things that anyone can listen to from the leader of our country with a couple clicks of the mouse.

I strongly encourage everyone to watch Obama's weekly address. These things happening in our country affect us all, and it is crucial for every American to have a knowledge of what is going on and what is being done. Anyone can read the New York Times or the Orange County register for their news, but with Obama's internet address, you can receive news straight from the donkey's mouth. Maybe generations from now, Americans can look back and stress the relevance and intimacy our president gave us with his weekly internet address.

Obama Vows to Cure Health Care

As reported from the Huffington Post, President Obama has big plans to overhaul the United States Health Care system. Obama's goal is to provide health care coverage for every American citizen, regardless of income or status.

Obama has called together 120 people consisting of doctors, patients, business owners, insurers and drug industry representatives to provide wide-ranging perspectives on how to improve the United States health care system that currently leaves 48 million people uninsured. Obama expects this reform to be a bipartisan effort, although his goals are to have new legislation by the end of this year. In addition, the White House is planning to hold more health care events around the country to help in structuring the reform. 

This seems like one of the first major issues where bipartisanship will play a factor, with both Democrats and Republicans looking to improve this effort. The GOP however, is still looking for the end result to be less government-run with balanced coverage expansions. 

A move to a European-style health care system would greatly benefit the United States. As a country, the U.S. has struggled to provide affordable and reliable coverage. This simply needs to change. President Obama has made clear that he wants change and he wants it now. 

This particular article had more of a feature story lead, but clearly indicated the issues throughout. The sufficient use of quotes from Obama, Democrats, and Republicans alike gave great perspective on this critical topic while the supplementing facts provided immediacy to what the current situation is. 

Obama-Brown Aim for the World Economy

Photo Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times


As reported from The New York Times, Prime Minister Gordon Brown met with President Obama at the White House for the first time since Obama took office to discuss the troubled world economy. Both men agreed that a "global New Deal" that would set common principles for regulating banks could ultimately ease resistance to increased oversight across borders.

During the meeting, Brown and Obama attempted to lay down the groundwork for a meeting with the Group of 20, the nations in the world with the 20 largest economies in an attempt to discuss ways to combat this world recession.

Although getting the majority of those 20 countries to give billions of dollars to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, it seems clear that something needs to be done in order to find a way out of this rut.

In addition, the two men discussed the ongoing peace between the United States and Britain, ensuring that the bond between these two countries would continue.

Obama has really shown his eagerness to uphold peace between countries. Obama made it clear in his campaign that he seeks peace with countries like Iran, and I believe that a man with his character can ultimately negotiate peace even between the most hostile of countries. This is a new era filled with new opportunities to expand global peace, and I believe that President Obama will use his position to move the U.S. in the right direction.

Obama Plays "Let's Make a Deal"

Photo Credit: abcnews.com

As reported from The New York Times, President Obama has written a letter to the President of Russia negotiating a deal to cease deploying a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would assist in preventing Iran from developing long-range weapons.

A spokeswoman in the Russian administration said that Obama's letter was a reply to a letter President Dmitri A. Medvedev wrote shortly after Obama took office. Obama and Medvedev will meet for the first time on April 2 in London, where they hope to further develop Russian-American relations.

There were no details in Obama's letter sent, but a Russian press-secretary for Medvedev stated that there were no "specific proposals or mutualy bonding initiatives."

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

Photo Credit: Associated Press

As reported from The New York Times, a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff declared that Iran has accumulated enough uranium that with further purification could be used to build an atomic bomb. 

Now what does this mean for President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates?

It's time to speed up the peace talks with Iran. 

Obama came into the presidency looking to negotiate peaceful talks with Iran.  It appears that although Iran claims that its nuclear program is strictly meant for peaceful pursuit of energy supplies, no one would like to anger the country with the potential to build a weapon of mass destruction. Plain and simple; a happy Iran is a peaceful Iran. 

Although I do find it very curious that if Iran is seriously building its nuclear weapons program based on providing energy supplies, then why did Iran understate by a third, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the amount of Uranium it had enriched? 

This entire fiasco seems to have a steady resolution, but as history has showed us, countries in an arms race never fall back. It appear to be a quasi-love-triangle from Iran, Russian, and the United States. Let me try to break it down for you. 

Since Iran has begun implementing their nuclear weapons development, the United States has planned to build missile sites in Poland and the Czech Republic in order to stabilize a potential Iranian attack. On the other end, Russia seemingly believes that the United States is planning to build those sites in order to limit Russia's expanding nuclear proliferation. This results in Russia bolstering their arsenal, leaving all three countries amounting unnecessary artillery. 

This is where it gets interesting. Russia has a stronger bond with Iran than the United States does, so here is where President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates come into play. Using simple bargaining strategies, Obama is proposing to cease their European missile ventures under the condition that Russia talks with Iran and persuades them to cut their nuclear research. As a result, Russia would stop their nuclear development, resulting in three happy countries and one less stressed world. 

It is critical that President Obama uses his position as the leader of the free world and initiate bonds with countries historically seen as enemies. Maybe if Obama could negotiate friendly interaction, we could live in a world without nuclear bombs. No one needs another Hiroshima or Pearl Harbor, let's keep it clean and safe. 

"Yes We Can" I Hope He Does

Photo Credit: Lisagoldman.net

President Obama has set his sights high, proposing to cut the federal budget deficit in half by the time his four year term is up. Obama will attempt this by notably raising taxes on businesses and the wealthy, and by cutting spending on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In order to slash into this $1.3 trillion deficit, President Obama, along with members of congress, advocacy groups, independent experts and unions will discuss what must be done to remedy this daunting situation.

The Los Angeles Times reported that there are a couple key factors preventing criticizing President Obama from implementing this budget cut, with one being the overly optimistic assumptions.

As stated in his weekly video address, President Obama said that he will have a budget that is "sober in its assessments, honest in its accounting, and lays out in detail my strategy for investing in what we need, cutting what we don't, and restoring fiscal discipline."

Is this too difficult to achieve? I believe in everything Obama says, but it seems extremely difficult to halve our budget in four years to $533 billion from $1.3 trillion. Another con to Obama's promise is that if for some reason he doesn't meet this summit of a goal, the he ultimately could cost him the reelection in 2012.

In addition to embracing the recently signed $787 billion American

Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Obama plans on following through with

the domestic agenda he advocated throughout his presidential campaign.

This agenda focuses on changing major environmental policies and a significant

restructuring of health care coverage.