Tag Archives | president
Republican Gary Johnson Running For President In 2012
The Raw Story reports:
Former Gov. Gary Johnson (R-NM) announced Thursday morning that he’s running for president in 2012, adding a fresh libertarian perspective to a field of candidates touting their social conservative credentials.
The ex-governor is perhaps best known in recent years as an outspoken opponent of the drug war who believes marijuana should be legalized. He’s in favor of same sex marriage, saying it would reflect America’s commitment to “freedom” and “liberty.” And he wants to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Johnson, a long-shot at best for the GOP nomination, first made the announcement on Twitter, following it with a series of tweets previewing his campaign platform.
“Ready for smaller government? More liberty and personal freedom,” he tweeted. “Right now, we need to fix the fiscal mess. The writing of a financial collapse is on the wall. Balance the federal budget tomorrow.”
Obama’s Top Five Broken Campaign Promises
For all he has managed to accomplish in the presidency, these are perhaps the five biggest disappointments thus far. Stephen Webster of Raw Story examines Obama’s campaign promises that never came true:
1. Health care for all
Ultimately, the [health care] debate in Washington became so heated and rife with disinformation that the administration agreed to forgo the public option, using it as a bargaining chip to ensure other proposals were passed. They also gave in to Republican demands and extended the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, promising to take on the issue again in 2012. In spite of the modest legislative victory of actually getting health reform passed, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that even after all the elements take effect in 2014, over 22 million Americans will still lack access to basic health services.2. Close Guantanamo
As a symbol of everything that liberals thought to be wrong with the Bush-era, closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison should have been an easy target for the new and popular president and his Democratic super-majority in Congress — and, in fact, then-candidate Obama promised to do just that.
Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier Returns To Haiti
Photo: Francios Duvalier and Jean-Claude Duvalier shortly before Francios' death and Jean-Claude's presidency
Shortly after Haitians remember the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake, Haiti is struck with another surprise. The return of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who took over the country at the age of 19, continuing his father’s dictatorship of fear and torture. His arrival gave rise to mix emotions: some are questioning if his crimes will finally be tried, some remember the time of his dictatorship as the last time of stability in Haiti, some wonder if this will encourage exiled former President Jean-Bertrande Aristideto visit the country. One thing is for certain, he returned out of the concern of his homeland and it’s people. Can a man and his country put aside differences to help his people in a time of need? Forbes reports:
Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, a once feared and reviled dictator who was ousted in a popular uprising nearly 25 years ago, has made a stunning return to Haiti, raising concerns he could complicate efforts to solve a political crisis and the stalled reconstruction from last year’s devastating earthquake.
LBJ Got His Johnson Out At Every Opportunity
Cracked.com has a story about “6 Presidential Secrets Your History Teacher Didn’t Mention,” and Number 6 is a doozy:
Lyndon Johnson Was a Dong-Waving Sex Machine
Johnson was a sexual beast, and also fond of (literally) waving his dick around.
While other unfaithful presidents were satisfied with little affairs here and there, Johnson’s bevy of babes was referred to by his male aides as a harem (he was said to be jealous of Kennedy’s womanizing ways and wanted to top him). Johnson would make passes at secretaries, and it was known that any who accepted would be promoted to private secretary, two words that in this context should probably have air quotes around them anytime they are uttered. By the time he was done, virtually all of his secretaries, plus his two mistresses, got the Johnson Treatment.
He then tasked the Secret Service with keeping his philandering from his wife, but it obviously did not do a good job at that.
White House To Go Solar
The White House is going green. First Michelle Obama began a vegetable garden, now they’re installing solar panels. The Obama’s are encouraging an environmentally conscious lifestyle. From The Environmental Leader:
The White House announced plans to install solar panels and a solar hot water heater on the roof of the White House Residence. These two solar installations will be part of a Department of Energy (DOE) demonstration project that shows that American solar technologies are available and reliable for installation in homes throughout the country, according to the DOE.
President Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the White House’s West Wing 31 years ago but they were removed by his successor, Ronald Reagan, reports Bloomberg.
“President Obama has said the Federal Government has to lead by example in creating opportunity and jobs in clean energy,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, in a statement. ”By installing solar panels on arguably the most famous house in the country, his residence, the President is underscoring that commitment to lead and the promise and importance of renewable energy in the United States.”
Continues at The Environmental Leader …… Read the rest
The Wealthiest Presidents – And The Poorest
Earlier this year The Atlantic estimated the net worth in today’s dollars of all 44 U.S. presidents that have served to date. The rich ones and the poor ones aren’t always the ones you might have guessed:
The net worth of the presidents varies widely. George Washington was worth more than half a billion in today’s dollars. Several presidents went bankrupt.
The fortunes of American presidents are tied to the economy at the times when they lived. For the first 75 years after Washington’s election, presidents generally made money on land, crops, and commodity speculation. A president who owned hundreds or thousands of acres could lose most or all of his property after a few years of poor crop yields. Wealthy Americans occasionally lost all of their money through land speculation — leveraging the value of one piece of land to buy additional property. Since there was no reliable national banking system and almost no liquidity in the value of private companies, land was the asset likely to provide the greatest yield, if the property yielded enough to support the costs of operating the farm or plantation.
Wyclef Jean Ineligible For Presidency, Or Is He?
Wyclef Jean has been singing about “If I Were President,” but Haiti’s electoral board says he is ineligible. Could the rapper’s position as roving ambassador override his lack of residency in Haiti? BBC reports:
Haitian hip-hop star Wyclef Jean has said he will appeal against a ruling that he cannot run in Haiti’s presidential election.
Haiti’s electoral commission said that Mr Jean was ineligible to stand as the Haitian constitution requires candidates to have lived in the country for five years prior to an election.
The 40-year-old singer lives in the US.
But he argues that his role as a roving ambassador for Haiti since 2007 exempts him from the residency requirement.
The country is still recovering from January’s earthquake, which killed an estimated 230,000 people and left more than one million homeless.
Following the ruling on Friday, Mr Jean issued a statement saying he respectfully disagreed with the electoral panel’s decision, but accepted it and urged his supporters to do the same.
President Obama Hosts Ramadan Dinner
What are you doing tonight? President Obama will be celebrating the Islamic faith. From The Hill:
President Obama will host an iftar — the special evening meal observed during Ramadan — on Friday night in the White House dining room.
Ramadan began on Wednesday and will end around Sept. 10.
Obama participated in a similar gathering last year.
Celebrations like iftar dinners “remind us of the principles that we hold in common, and Islam’s role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings,” Obama wrote in a statement Wednesday.
“Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity and racial equality … a reminder that Islam has always been part of America and that American Muslims have made extraordinary contributions to our country.”
The dinner comes amid a growing controversy over the proposed construction of an Islamic cultural center in downtown Manhattan, near the site of the World Trade Center.
Should We Celebrate President Obama’s Birthday?
With Michelle and Sasha on a trip to Spain, and Malia at camp, President Barack Obama isn’t celebrating his birthday with family. Instead, he has a busy itinerary ending with a dinner with ‘friends’ held in Chicago. After a recent poll conducted by CNN/Opinion Research it was found that “more than a quarter of the public have doubts about Obama’s citizenship, with 11 percent saying Obama was definitely not born in the United States and another 16 percent saying the president was probably not born in the country.” This raises a lot of questions on his birthday. Keith Koffler of Politico tells us why Obama’s birthday is not a cause for national celebration:
Today is President Barack Obama’s 49th birthday, which the president seems to think is an unhappy day. He has taken to lamenting his fading youth and graying hair, showing all the signs of a midlife crisis — minus the red Corvette.
