President Obama’s Online Townhall - Speak On It, America!
One of the reasons that I absolutely adore our President is the way he communicates directly with the people. In what should have been the most talked about event for the people yesterday before it upstaged by the GOP and their Non-Detailed Budget. President Obama had an informative online townhall meeting with tens of thousands of viewers around the world. The MSM picked up on it but cut it short for viewers at home to show that dibocle that is the GOP. For those that missed it, the Obama administration has released the video in it’s entirety. Speak On It, America!
Speak On It, America! - Citizen Journalists
Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the last week or so, then you saw Comedy Central’s The Daily Show Host, Jon Stewart hand Jim Cramer his ass on a platter. In case you missed it, the unedited version is below.
Jon Stewart was great. He asked the tough questions and wouldn’t allow Jim Cramer to spin his way through the interview as had been seen during Jim’s media blitz on all of the NBC family channels and even on Martha Stewart’s Show.
What Jon accomplished was something that has been lacking for far too long because our media had lost their way. We can’t sit back and keep hoping that they finally remember what their purpose is. We must take matters into our own hands and get as much information as possible into the hands of the people. We must become Citizen Journalists. I’m sure we can do a much better job than the folks who sit behind their fancy desks and play with their magic screens while spewing political talking points that have nothing to do with helping the American people. So we must start helping ourselves.
The Launch Of The Recovery.gov Website
One of the promises that President Obama made during his pitch for the economic stimulus package was to provide complete transparency regarding the allocation of monies that will be disbursed. He has kept that promise by launching his newest website recovery.gov .
This is a website that lets we, the taxpayers, figure out where the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going. There are going to be a few different ways to search for information. The money is being distributed by Federal agencies, and soon we’ll be able to see where it’s going — to which states, to which congressional districts, even to which Federal contractors. As soon as they are able to, they’ll display that information visually in maps, charts, and graphics.
This level of transparency is a welcomed change from the old way of doing things in Washington. If you agree then it is time to Speak On It, America!
President Obama Addresses The Nation - 02/09/2009 - Speak On It, America!
President Obama held his first press conference since his historical Inauguration. After holding a Town Hall Meeting in Indiana, where he took questions directly from the people. He held this press conference to reiterate the importance of passing the Economic Recovery Plan. He is speaking to the people, now it is time for us to Speak On It, America.
Our Silence Is Deafening! - Speak On It, America!
I used to love Sundays. Now Sundays are the worst days. Sundays are filled with the opinions of the media and not the voices of the people and that’s really a saddening thing. I tried to sit through the Sunday morning political shows this morning and I just couldn’t because they’ve become most annoying to me. I sat there, staring at these people who are getting paid to basically mislead their audience about the Economic Recovery Plan. I watched as three different pundits said things that I already knew weren’t exactly true and I really felt bad for the people that were watching that didn’t know what I did. There was no one to counter it. I couldn’t push a button on my remote that would intercept their signal and allow me to flag the falsehoods. There was nothing I could do but yell at my television.
That has to stop. The only way that it’s going to stop is if We The People, stop it. We have to start speaking for ourselves and getting our families, friends, neighbors, co-workers and even strangers to do the same. Our silence is deafening and the people that are doing all the talking, do not have our best interests at heart.
We have to make this a movement from coast to coast, our very survival depends on it. If you don’t think so, take a look around and see who is worrying and suffering and see who is not. Do the people doing all the talking seem worried to you?
President Obama’s Weekly Address - 02/07/09 - Speak On It, America!
An added feature to this site will be the inclusion of President Obama’s Weekly Address to the nation. I am including this feature because it is imperative that We The People have an understanding of which direction our President is heading without the unnecessary, negative spin from the “punditry” . I will include the complete transcript as well. Please leave your comments and if you have any questions feel free to ask. We’ll try to find the answers together.
REMARKS OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
WEEKLY ADDRESS
The White House
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Yesterday began with some devastating news with regard to our economic crisis. But I’m pleased to say it ended on a more positive note.
In the morning, we received yet another round of alarming employment figures – the worst in more than 30 years. Another 600,000 jobs were lost in January. We’ve now lost more than 3.6 million jobs since this recession began.
But by the evening, Democrats and Republicans came together in the Senate and responded appropriately to the urgency this moment demands.
In the midst of our greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, the American people were hoping that Congress would begin to confront the great challenges we face. That was, after all, what last November’s election was all about.
Legislation of such magnitude deserves the scrutiny that it’s received over the last month, and it will receive more in the days to come. But we can’t afford to make perfect the enemy of the absolutely necessary. The scale and scope of this plan is right. And the time for action is now.
Because if we don’t move swiftly to put this plan in motion, our economic crisis could become a national catastrophe. Millions of Americans will lose their jobs, their homes, and their health care. Millions more will have to put their dreams on hold.
Let’s be clear: We can’t expect relief from the tired old theories that, in eight short years, doubled the national debt, threw our economy into a tailspin, and led us into this mess in the first place. We can’t rely on a losing formula that offers only tax cuts as the answer to all our problems while ignoring our fundamental economic challenges – the crushing cost of health care or the inadequate state of so many schools; our addiction to foreign oil or our crumbling roads, bridges, and levees.
The American people know that our challenges are great. They don’t expect Democratic solutions or Republican solutions – they expect American solutions.
From the beginning, this recovery plan has had at its core a simple idea: Let’s put Americans to work doing the work America needs done. It will save or create more than 3 million jobs over the next two years, all across the country – 16,000 in Maine, nearly 80,000 in Indiana – almost all of them in the private sector, and all of them jobs that help us recover today, and prosper tomorrow.
Jobs that upgrade classrooms and laboratories in 10,000 schools nationwide – at least 485 in Florida alone – and train an army of teachers in math and science.
Jobs that modernize our health care system, not only saving us billions of dollars, but countless lives.
Jobs that construct a smart electric grid, connect every corner of the country to the information superhighway, double our capacity to generate renewable energy, and grow the economy of tomorrow.
Jobs that rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges and levees and dams, so that the tragedies of New Orleans and Minneapolis never happen again.
It includes immediate tax relief for our struggling middle class in places like Ohio, where 4.5 million workers will receive a tax cut of up to $1,000. It protects health insurance and provides unemployment insurance for those who’ve lost their jobs. And it helps our states and communities avoid painful tax hikes or layoffs for our teachers, nurses, and first responders.
That’s what is at stake with this plan: putting Americans back to work, creating transformative economic change, and making a down payment on the American Dream that serves our children and our children’s children for generations to come.
Americans across this country are struggling, and they are watching to see if we’re equal to the task before us. Let’s show them that we are. And let’s do whatever it takes to keep the promise of America alive in our time.
Thank you.
Copied from the Official Website of The President
State Of The Economy - Speak On It America!
Our Economy is in shambles. Our money is going down the drain. Our dollars have lost their value. Our bills are past due and our checks aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.
But you know that already, don’t you? It’s time to Speak On It, America!
It’s Time To Speak On It, America!
Welcome to Speak On It, America! The online forum for everyday people to speak for themselves about what’ going on in our communities and in our country. For far too long, the polls, pundits and politicians have been speaking for Americans and it’s about time that we start speaking for ourselves.
Through the development of this forum, I intend to put faces on the American public. Through the use of video and the internet, we can make our voices heard. We can also make the voices of those that are less fortunate and considerably overlooked heard as well.
I will be taking my video camera and going out into my community and engaging in conversations, ranging a variety of topics concerning ordinary, everyday people who are just like me, simply trying to make it in these trying times. These are the stories that need to be told and the “punditry” isn’t going to do it, so it is up to me and it is up to you.
