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Showing posts with label PRESIDENT OBAMA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PRESIDENT OBAMA. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Friday, May 23, 2014
COUNCILMAN BROWNLEE'S REMOVAL FROM MAPLE HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL, AND THE REMOVAL OF HIS CAMERA IS A BLOW TO GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY
I wish the last 7 minutes of the May 21st Maple Heights council meeting video tape didn't upset me, but it has. Councilman Brownlee's removal from the council meeting should never have happened. The removal of his camera by the law director should never (in my opinion) have occurred; and the lack of response (by other council members) to the councilman's removal, and the removal of the camera is disturbing.
I think a lot of politicians/public officials/political appointees from city municipalities are not used to being challenged publicly. They are not used to the type of government transparency that citizens are demanding and the courts have allowed. And while these politicians, etc may not like it (and I understand why), it is necessary. I direct you to the White House web page on transparency. A message/memo from President Obama.
"Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
SUBJECT: Transparency and Open GovernmentMy Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.
Government should be transparent. Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing. Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset. My Administration will take appropriate action, consistent with law and policy, to disclose information rapidly in forms that the public can readily find and use. Executive departments and agencies should harness new technologies to put information about their operations and decisions online and readily available to the public. Executive departments and agencies should also solicit public feedback to identify information of greatest use to the public.
Government should be participatory. Public engagement enhances the Government's effectiveness and improves the quality of its decisions. Knowledge is widely dispersed in society, and public officials benefit from having access to that dispersed knowledge. Executive departments and agencies should offer Americans increased opportunities to participate in policymaking and to provide their Government with the benefits of their collective expertise and information. Executive departments and agencies should also solicit public input on how we can increase and improve opportunities for public participation in Government.
Government should be collaborative. Collaboration actively engages Americans in the work of their Government. Executive departments and agencies should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperateamong themselves, across all levels of Government, and with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals in the private sector. Executive departments and agencies should solicit public feedback to assess and improve their level of collaboration and to identify new opportunities for cooperation.
I direct the Chief Technology Officer, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Administrator of General Services, to coordinate the development by appropriate executive departments and agencies, within 120 days, of recommendations for an Open Government Directive, to be issued by the Director of OMB, that instructs executive departments and agencies to take specific actions implementing the principles set forth in this memorandum. The independent agencies should comply with the Open Government Directive.
This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by a party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
This memorandum shall be published in the Federal Register.
BARACK OBAMA"
What President Obama is committed to, your mayor, council representative, department head, law director, and other public employees must also be committed to.
Vigorous debate, discussions, sharing of ideas, criticism, community engagement is desirable and necessary if you want a financially healthy, vibrant community.
RELATED:
Promoting Transparent, Effective and Accountable Government
Open Government
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
PRESIDENT OBAMA, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER AND THE WAR ON DRUGS
It's about time President Obama.
President Obama is about to grant clemency for a large number of
prisoners who are serving time for simple drug offenses.
Liz Goodwin tells the story of a woman named Barbara Scrivner who has languished in prison for 20 years serving a 30 year sentence for selling a few ounces of methamphetamine.
Liz Goodwin tells the story of a woman named Barbara Scrivner who has languished in prison for 20 years serving a 30 year sentence for selling a few ounces of methamphetamine.
Liz Goodwin says it plain and simple: "Thousands and thousands of people like Scrivner are serving punishingly
long sentences in federal prison based on draconian policies that were a
relic of the "tough on crime" anti-drug laws of the '80s and '90s.
Thirty years after skyrocketing urban violence and drug use sparked
politicians to impose longer and longer sentences for drug crimes,
America now incarcerates a higher rate of its population than any other
country in the world. This dubious record has finally provoked a
bipartisan backlash against such stiff penalties. The old laws are
slowly being repealed." More
Attorney General Eric Holder's speech last year
highlighted the horrible injustices that have been done to far too many
people because of the "The War on Drugs"; and Michelle Alexander has been
talking to audiences and writing about "The War on Drugs" for years now.
So again I say, ... It's about time President Obama!!!
RELATED:
So again I say, ... It's about time President Obama!!!
RELATED:
Obama plans clemency for hundreds of drug offenders, by Liz Goodwin, April 21, 2014
2013: The Year the Prison System Changed?
2013: The Year the Prison System Changed?
2013: The Year the Prison System Changed? December 3, 2013
Michelle Alexander: The New Jim Crow
4 Industries Getting Rich Off the Drug War
32 Reasons Why We Need To End The War On Drugs, by Matthew Boesler, and Ashley Lutz, July 12, 2012
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
APPLY FOR HEALTH INSURANCE AT THE HEALTH INSURANCE MARKETPLACE
-
GO TO THE HEALTH INSURANCE MARKETPLACE (You can even have a "Live Chat" (see bottom right at the Marketplace website)
Create an account
First provide some basic information. Then choose a user name, password, and security questions for added protection.
Apply
Starting October 1, 2013 you’ll enter information about you and your family, including your income, household size, and more.
Use this checklist now to help you gather the information you’ll need.
Pick a plan
Next you’ll see all the plans and programs you’re eligible for and compare them side-by-side.
Enroll
Choose a plan that meets your needs and enroll!
Coverage starts as soon as January 1, 2014.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
PRESIDENT OBAMA PROCLAIMS MAY 15, 2013 AS PEACE OFFICERS MEMORIAL DAY
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S PROCLAMATION FOR PEACE OFFICERS MEMORIAL DAY
Day
after day, police officers in every corner of America suit up, put on
the badge, and carry out their sworn duty to protect and serve. They
step out the door every morning without considering bravery or heroics.
They stay focused on meeting their responsibilities. They concentrate on
keeping their neighborhoods safe and doing right by their fellow
officers. And with quiet courage, they help fulfill the demanding yet
vital task of shielding our people from harm. It is work that deserves
our deepest respect — because when darkness and danger would threaten
the peace, our police officers are there to step in, ready to lay down
their lives to protect our own.
This week, we pay
solemn tribute to men and women who did. Setting aside fear and doubt,
these officers made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the rule of law
and the communities they loved. They heard the call to serve and
answered it; braved the line of fire; charged toward the danger. Our
hearts are heavy with their loss, and on Peace Officers Memorial Day,
our Nation comes together to reflect on the legacy they left us.
As
we mark this occasion, let us remember that we can do no greater
service to those who perished than by upholding what they fought to
protect. That means doing everything we can to make our communities
safer. It means putting cops back on the beat and supporting them with
the tools and training they need. It means getting weapons of war off
our streets and keeping guns out of the hands of criminals —
common-sense measures that would reduce gun violence and help officers
do their job safely and effectively.
Together, we can
accomplish those goals. So as we take this time to honor law enforcement
in big cities and small towns all across our country, let us join them
in pursuit of a brighter tomorrow. Our police officers serve and
sacrifice on our behalf every day, and as citizens, we owe them nothing
less than our full and lasting support.
By a joint
resolution approved October 1, 1962, as amended (76 Stat. 676), and by
Public Law 103-322, as amended (36 U.S.C. 136-137), the President has
been authorized and requested to designate May 15 of each year as “Peace
Officers Memorial Day” and the week in which it falls as “Police Week.”
NOW,
THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America,
do hereby proclaim May 15, 2013, as Peace Officers Memorial Day and May
12 through May 18, 2013, as Police Week. I call upon all Americans to
observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also
call on Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, officials of the other territories subject to the jurisdiction of
the United States, and appropriate officials of all units of government,
to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers
Memorial Day. I further encourage all Americans to display the flag at
half-staff from their homes and businesses on that day.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
thirty-seventh.
Monday, February 4, 2013
NATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH
From the Whitehouse page:
By The President of The United States of America
A Proclamation
In America, we share a dream that lies at the heart of our founding: that no
matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter how modest your
beginnings or the circumstances of your birth, you can make it if you try. Yet,
for many and for much of our Nation's history, that dream has gone unfulfilled.
For African Americans, it was a dream denied until 150 years ago, when a great
emancipator called for the end of slavery. It was a dream deferred less than 50
years ago, when a preacher spoke of justice and brotherhood from Lincoln's
memorial. This dream of equality and fairness has never come easily -- but it
has always been sustained by the belief that in America, change is possible.
Today, because of that hope, coupled with the hard and painstaking labor of
Americans sung and unsung, we live in a moment when the dream of equal
opportunity is within reach for people of every color and creed. National
African American History Month is a time to tell those stories of freedom won
and honor the individuals who wrote them. We look back to the men and women who
helped raise the pillars of democracy, even when the halls they built were not
theirs to occupy. We trace generations of African Americans, free and slave,
who risked everything to realize their God-given rights. We listen to the
echoes of speeches and struggle that made our Nation stronger, and we hear again
the thousands who sat in, stood up, and called out for equal treatment under the
law. And we see yesterday's visionaries in tomorrow's leaders, reminding us
that while we have yet to reach the mountaintop, we cannot stop climbing.
Today, Dr. King, President Lincoln, and other shapers of our American story
proudly watch over our National Mall. But as we memorialize their extraordinary
acts in statues and stone, let us not lose sight of the enduring truth that they
were citizens first. They spoke and marched and toiled and bled
shoulder-to-shoulder with ordinary people who burned with the same hope for a
brighter day. That legacy is shared; that spirit is American. And just as it
guided us forward 150 years ago and 50 years ago, it guides us forward today.
So let us honor those who came before by striving toward their example, and let
us follow in their footsteps toward the better future that is ours to claim.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America,
by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim February 2013 as National African American
History Month. I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the
people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs,
ceremonies, and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of
January, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence
of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh."
Related:
African American History Month
Related:
African American History Month
Monday, September 10, 2012
DEMOCRATS MUST TAKE BACK THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN 2012
Obama, Yes. And Win the House Too. by Roger Hickey
"President Obama is enjoying a post-convention bump in job approval (Gallup says 7 percentage points - from 45 to 52 percent) after the negative and divisive Republican convention, followed by the energetic populism of the Democrats in Charlotte. With large leads among women and people of color, and the stark contrast on economic issues building movement toward Obama even among white males in key states, the prospects for Obama winning a second term are starting to look pretty good.
But what about the House? Prospects for Dems keeping the Senate are looking better, but if the House of Representatives stays in Republican hands, even if President Obama is re-elected his second term will be crippled. Obama can still name good Supreme Court justices, and he can veto terrible legislation - both good reasons to vote for him - but, in the face of Republican obstructionism, he will be virtually powerless to pass economic recovery laws aimed at creating jobs and getting the economy growing and not shrinking.
Continue reading ..............HERE
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
JOIN US IN GETTING PRESIDENT OBAMA RE-ELECTED
To Maple Heights residents:
Please join the Maple Heights Neighborhood Team to help re-elect President Barack Obama. We will be phone banking on Thursday, July 19th, 7pm-8:30pm at 14904 Brunswick Ave.
** Now that the event is over, if you would like to continue helping re-elect President Obama, please email: rudolph.michele@yahoo.com or contact her on facebook.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
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