I didn't watch it.
"Obama casts tough year in optimistic light; Says ‘big things’ can still be done; health law fiasco is biggest regret" by Matt Viser | Globe staff, December 21, 2013
WASHINGTON — President Obama, capping the most difficult year of his presidency, came to the White House podium on Friday for his final press conference of the year and openly declared himself ready to put a dismal 2013 behind him.
“I know you are all eager to skip town and spend some time with your families,” he said at the start, before he left for a two-week vacation in Hawaii. “Not surprisingly, I am, too.”
So was Congre$$.
For the next hour, he faced a flurry of questions about the botched rollout of his health care plan, the lost trust from the American public, and his historically low poll numbers.
“Has this been the worst year of your presidency?” came the first question.
A year after winning a second term from an American public who liked him, trusted him, and wanted him to succeed, Obama now faces a struggle in 2014 to get his administration back on track.
He highlighted economic improvements and other positives, but acknowledged on Friday that his biggest regret was the implementation of the health care law, which despite being his signature legislative accomplishment has faced delays and disappointments with a finicky website and changes in some of the plans.
“Obviously we screwed up,” he said. “The first month and a half was lost because of problems with the website and about as bad a bunch of publicity as you could imagine.”
But he tried to draw a distinction, arguing that the problem was not with the law itself, but in how his administration has handled it.
“The basic structure of that law is working, despite all the problems. Despite the website problems, despite the messaging problems, despite all that, it’s working” Obama said. “We’ve got a couple million people who are going to have health insurance just in the first three months. . . . The demand is there and, as I said before, the product is good.”
I'm glad I don't watch this stuff because I would have been screaming at the television.
“When you try to do something this big, affecting this many people, it’s going to be hard,” he added.
He sought to strike an optimistic tone. The title of this press conference could have been: Wait till next year. The economy was showing signs of improving, he pointed out. The health care problems are being taken care of.
Related: Slow Saturday Special: Same Old Horse $hit
And I'm sick of it.
Also see: And then inequality happened
“I firmly believe that 2014 can be a breakthrough year for America,” he said. “Let me repeat. 2014 needs to be a year of action,” he added at another moment in the hourlong session. “We’re poised to do really big things,” he promised later.
Obama said he hoped that the recent budget deal would help spur Congress to more bipartisan action.
Yeah, I was told it was a broken city but that has been fixed and they are now cooperating!
Obama would not take the bait on the question of whether this was the worst year of his presidency. First, he simply laughed at the idea. Then, he said he doesn’t govern by polls and said the year has to be put into perspective.
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Outside the White House, that verdict has already been delivered. In the judgment of the Washington Post, he has experienced “the worst year in Washington.” The nonpartisan fact-checking site Politifact gave him the dubious distinction of “Lie of the Year” for promising Americans they could keep their insurance plans if they wanted to. He’s become the butt of jokes about White House bumbling on “Saturday Night Live.”
All the signs of a failed presidency.
He blamed much of his poor year on Congress’s unwillingness to go along with his priorities. The Democratic-controlled Senate did not pass his gun control legislation. The Republican-controlled House has yet to take up an immigration overhaul....
Two parts of the agenda fail to pass (thankfully) and they are complaining the whole thing is broken. Pfft!
Obama also discussed some of the recommendations he’s received to scale back the collection of telephone records by the National Security Agency. The revelations that the NSA has been collecting vast amounts of information on phone calls and e-mails has triggered a vigorous debate over whether the government has been invading privacy in the name of protecting national security.
“I have confidence in the fact that the NSA is not engaging in domestic surveillance or snooping around,” Obama said.
And because he says it I'm supposed to feel better about having all my records collected?
Some aspects of the NSA programs might have to change, he added, if the benefits of the intelligence gathering is outweighed by concerns about potential abuse.
Spoken like a true totalitarian.
Remember, folks, the spying is based on the lie of terrorism.
“And if that’s the case,” Obama said, “there may be another way of skinning the cat.”
Someone call the SPCA.
He hinted he might support a plan to have the data remain with telephone companies and allow the government to get it only on a case-by-case basis.
Related:
"In a statement Friday, the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees urged the White House to reject a recommendation to scrap the bulk collection of telephone records known as metadata."
So nice to see biparti$an$hip when it comes to war and tyranny.
The president said he must do more to restore relationships with international allies, in the wake of disclosures that the United States had been gathering intelligence on other foreign leaders.
It pissed them off, but not really.
He also pleaded with Congress not to try to impose new sanctions on Iran, which could derail a preliminary deal that Secretary of State John Kerry helped orchestrate last month.
“It is my goal to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Obama said. “But I sure would rather do it diplomatically. I’m keeping all options on the table, but if I can do it diplomatically, that’s how we should do it.”
I know I'm supposed to be cutting the guy a break because he's not onboard the Israel agenda on this right now, and maybe that is the best we an hope for in a president now; however, after eight years of blogging for change it is not good enough now.
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"Obama orders military to review sex assault policies; Ultimatum seeks accountability on zero tolerance" by Nedra Pickler | Associated Press, December 21, 2013
WASHINGTON — The sexual assault measures were part of a sweeping, $632.8 billion bill the Senate passed on an 84-to-15 vote late Thursday that also covers combat pay and other benefits, new ships, and aircraft and military bases.
The defense bill provides $552.1 billion for the regular military budget and $80.7 billion for the war in Afghanistan and other overseas operations, a reflection of deficit-driven efforts to trim spending and the drawdown in a conflict lasting more than a decade.
Except Congre$$ put back all the cuts with the budget deal.
The measure also gives the administration additional flexibility to move detainees out of the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to foreign countries. It stops well short of the president’s goal of closing the detention facility and bans detainee transfers to the United States....
The stain of torture shall continue.
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Related:
"The House overwhelmingly passed the bill last week on a strong bipartisan vote. Congress has passed a defense policy bill every year since the Kennedy administration, but the 52d year has been one of the more tortuous....
Is it just me, or are you offended by the bad metaphor?
The legislation also would authorize funds for the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria and provide money to study the feasibility of establishing a missile defense site on the East Coast."
But they aren't wasting money or anything.
"Bill to ease pain of spending cuts gains ground; Bipartisan effort would add back $63b" by David Espo | Associated Press, December 17, 2013
WASHINGTON — Bipartisan legislation to soften across-the-board spending cuts gained ground among Senate Republicans on Monday and Democrats expressed optimism it would have the 60 votes needed to pass by week’s end....
The measure at the center of the maneuvering would restore about $63 billion in across-the-board cuts scheduled to take effect in the current budget year and the next one.
To offset the spending increases, the White House-backed legislation calls for $85 billion in budget savings over the next decade, extending existing cuts to Medicare providers, for example, raising a security fee on airline tickets, and requiring federal civilian employees to pay a greater share of their own pensions.
Cutting Medicare so they can fund war -- if it gets cut, that is. This is a kick-the-can-down-the-road deal.
Another element, to save about $6.3 billion over a decade by holding down increases in military retirement pay, has drawn opposition from veterans groups and Republican Senators Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina....
Worship the war beast.
One member of the Democratic leadership, Senator Chuck Schumer, said of the bill, ‘‘It is a pretty safe bet it’s going to pass. . . . I think Mitch McConnell [the Kentuckian who is the Senate GOP leader], the Republican leadership knows they can’t let it go down.’’
Schumer acknowledged that Democrats are disappointed that the bill does not include an extension of unemployment benefits, but he said that will probably be taken up in a separate bill. He calls the compromise worked out with a House ‘‘a breakthrough’’ in the gridlock hampered Congress’s legislative action....
The bill cleared the House last week on a lopsided vote of 332 to 94, with Speaker John Boehner and the rest of the GOP leadership working hard to build support for it.
The measure became something of a prize in a long-running struggle between Tea Party-aligned conservative groups who oppose it and establishment Republicans eager to demonstrate an ability to govern smoothly and to erase the taint on their party from October’s partial government shutdown.
Across the Capitol, Democrats are in the majority and the entire GOP leadership has either announced its opposition to the measure or is expected to.
At the same time, there is no evidence of a concerted effort by McConnell or his second-in-command, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, to defeat the bill and open up the possibility of more politically damaging budget brinkmanship in January....
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"Budget compromise passes Senate test vote; Bill aims to ease budget standoffs; vote considered filibuster-proof" by David Espo | Associated Press, December 18, 2013
WASHINGTON — Year-end legislation to ease Congress’s chronic budget brinkmanship and soften across-the-board spending cuts passed a test vote in the Senate Tuesday and moved to the cusp of final passage.
Tuesday’s vote to send the measure toward final approval was 67 to 33, more than enough to break a filibuster.
It was a rare display of Senate bipartisanship that masked strong Republican complaints about slicing into military retirement benefits.
The measure is expected to clear the Senate and go to President Obama on Wednesday. A simple, 51-vote majority is required for passage.
The compromise marked a modest accomplishment at the end of a year that was punctuated by a partial government shutdown, a near-default by the US Treasury, and congressional gridlock on issues ranging from immigration to gun control.
‘‘This bipartisan bill takes the first steps toward rebuilding our broken budget process. And, hopefully, toward rebuilding our broken Congress,’’ said Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, who negotiated the compromise with Representative Paul Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin.
The first major test of that is likely to come in February, when Congress faces a vote to raise the government’s debt limit.
Even as the bill was advancing, Republicans vowed that the requirement for curtailing the growth in cost-of-living benefits for military retirees under age 62 wouldn’t long survive.
The Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, has said the panel will review the change, estimated to trim some $6.3 billion in benefits, early next year.
‘‘This provision is absolutely wrong; it singles out our military retirees,’’ protested Senator Kelly Ayotte, Republican of New Hampshire, at a news conference shortly before the vote.
By late afternoon, the bipartisanship had faded as Republicans ratcheted up their criticism and maneuvered for political gain.
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Because spending would rise immediately but many of the savings would take place later in the decade, deficits would increase as a result of the measure for the current budget year and the two that follow.
Meaning there will be no savings. This is nothing more than a TAX and SPEND BILL so the government can show bond buyers a pile of money.
Over the 10-year period, the legislation shows a $23 billion cut in red ink — a trifle compared with the government’s overall debt of more than $17 trillion and rising....
It had been clear for several days that the overall measure was headed for Senate passage, particularly after the Republican-controlled House had voted overwhelmingly last week to approve it.
All so they can get home for Christmas.
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"Bipartisan budget agreement clears Congress" by David Espo | Associated Press, December 19, 2013
WASHINGTON — Congress sent President Obama legislation Wednesday to scale back across-the-board cuts on programs ranging from the Pentagon to the national park system, adding a late dusting of bipartisanship to a year more likely to be remembered for a partial government shutdown and near-perpetual gridlock.
Someone got dusted all right, taxpayers.
Obama’s signature was assured on the measure, which lawmakers in both parties and at opposite ends of the Capitol said they hoped would curb budget brinkmanship and prevent more shutdowns in the near future.
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The legislation passed the Democrat-controlled Senate on a vote of 64 to 36, six days after clearing the Republican-run House by a similarly bipartisan vote of 332 to 94.
The product of intensive year-end talks, the measure met the short-term political needs of Republicans, Democrats, and the White House. As a result, there was no suspense about the outcome of the vote in the Senate — only about fallout in the 2014 elections and, more immediately, its impact on future congressional disputes over spending and the nation’s debt limit.
‘‘I’m tired of the gridlock and the American people that I talk to, especially from Arkansas, are tired of it as well,’’ said Senator Mark Pryor, a Democrat who supported the bill yet will have to defend his vote in next year’s campaign for a new term. His likely Republican rival, Representative Tom Cotton, voted against the measure.
We are tired of all of you!
The measure, negotiated by Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, and Representative Paul Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, averts $63 billion in across-the-board spending cuts that were themselves the result of an earlier inability of lawmakers and the White House to agree on a sweeping deficit reduction plan. That represents about one-third of the cuts originally ticketed for the 2014 and 2015 budget years and known in Washington as sequestration.
Democrats expressed satisfaction that money would be restored for programs such as Head Start and education, and lawmakers in both parties and the White House cheered the cancellation of future cuts at the Pentagon.
To offset the added spending, the legislation provides about $85 billion in savings from elsewhere in the budget. Included are increases in the airline ticket tax that helps pay for security at airports and a fee corporations pay to have pensions guaranteed by the government.
Those aren't savings, they are taxes.
Most controversial by far was a provision to curtail annual cost-of-living increases in benefits that go to military retirees under age 62, a savings of $6.3 billion over a decade for the government.
Hey, vets deserve their benefits, but so do the rest of us.
By one estimate, the result would be a reduction of nearly $72,000 in benefits over a lifetime for a sergeant first class who retires at age 42 after 20 years of service.
How many trillions did they give to Wall Street?
Veterans groups and their allies in Congress objected vociferously to what they said was a singling out of former members of the military, and key lawmakers in both parties said they would take a second look at the provision next year.
But Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said a veteran of identical rank who retired at 38 would still wind up with $1.62 million in retirement pay over a lifetime. He also pointed out that a prominent deficit commission headed by former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles and former senator Alan Simpson had recommended abolishing cost-of-living increases for military retirement pay, a far deeper curtailment.
McCain, who was a Vietnam prisoner of war, also asked rhetorically if there were an alternative to the pending legislation that would also ‘‘prevent us from shutting down the government again, something that I refuse to inflict on the citizens of my state.’’
In response, Murray said there was no other legislation to accomplish that.
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"Obama offers holiday greeting to troops" Associated Press, November 29, 2013
WASHINGTON — President Obama celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving at the White House Thursday and called several members of the armed forces to thank them for their service to the country.
Many presidents have preferred to spend the holiday at Camp David, the secluded Maryland mountaintop retreat, but Obama has more often chosen to have dinner at the executive mansion.
Obama placed calls to several uniformed personnel. The White House said he talked to 10 service members — two each from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The White House said the president wished them and their families a happy Thanksgiving.
It was not clear who joined the president, first lady Michelle, and daughters Sasha and Malia for dinner.
The menu included turkey, honey-baked ham, cornbread stuffing, oyster stuffing, greens, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and dinner rolls.
Glad they are eating well.
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Time for lunch myself.
