REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE CONFIRMATION OF RICHARD CORDRAY AS DIRECTOR OF THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

State Dining Room THE PRESIDENT: Well, for decades, the middle class in this country was the engine that powered the economy, and that allowed us to all grow together. Hard work paid off. Responsibility was rewarded. It was that basic bargain that made this country great -- that no matter who you are or where you came from, you could make it if you put in enough blood, sweat and tears. But over time, a winner-take-all philosophy began to take hold and it delivered huge rewards to those at the very top, but left everybody else working harder and harder just to stay afloat. A lot of families took on more debt just to keep up. Mortgages were sold that people really didn’t understand and, in some cases, couldn't afford. The financial sector was able to make huge bets with other people’s money. And that strain of irresponsibility eventually came crashing down on all of us. Now, I ran for President to restore that basic bargain. I ran because I believed that our economy works best not from the top down, but from the middle out and from the bottom up, where you’ve got a rising, thriving middle class and ladders of opportunity for everybody. So four years ago, even as we were working on restoring the economy and dealing with the immediate crisis, we also wanted to figure out how do we set new rules for the road to make sure that a few bad apples in the financial sector couldn't break the law, or cheat consumers, or put the entire economy at risk. And I was fortunate even when I was running for President to have some friends like Elizabeth Warren, who had already done a lot of academic work on this and had a whole series of ideas about how we might start making sure that consumers were treated better, and as a consequence, take some of the risk out of the system. And because of those conversations and that work, and because of some terrific efforts by other members in Congress, we were able, for the time in history, to get a consumer watchdog on the job -- to look out for the interests of everyday Americans. And I am very proud to say that last night, Rich Cordray was finally confirmed -- (laughter) -- by the United States Senate to keep serving as America’s consumer watchdog and as the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. So we’re very pleased about that. (Applause.) I first nominated Rich for this position two years ago this week. (Laughter.) He was eminently qualified. He had the support of Democrats and Republicans from across the country. A majority of state attorneys general from both parties -- Rich’s former colleagues -- called on him to be confirmed. And for two years, Republicans in the Senate refused to give Rich a simple yes-or-no vote -- not because they didn’t think he was the right person for the job, but because they didn’t like the law that set up the consumer watchdog in the first place. But without a director in place, the CFPB would have been severely hampered. And the CFPB wasn’t able to give consumers the information they needed to make good, informed decisions. Folks in the financial system who were doing the right thing didn’t have much certainty or clear rules of the road. And the CFPB didn’t have all the tools it needed to protect consumers against mortgage brokers, or credit reporting agencies, or debt collectors who were taking advantage of ordinary Americans. As a consequence, last year, I took steps on my own to temporarily appoint Richard so he could get to work on their behalf. And Americans everywhere are better off because he did. And thanks to not only Rich, but his terrific team -- I know many are represented here -- we’ve made real strides, even despite the fact that the agency was hampered by the confirmation process. And I would argue that part of the reason we were able to finally get Rich confirmed today is because he’s shown through his leadership and because of the very hard work that everybody at the CFPB has already done that this is making a difference in the lives of the American people -- a positive difference day in, day out. It’s hard to argue with success. So, yesterday, Richard was officially confirmed. I want to thank Senators from both parties, including Senator Reid, Senator McConnell, Senator McCain, for coming together to help get Rich confirmed. And obviously, Elizabeth, who wasn’t a senator when she thought this up, but is now a senator -- she was poking and prodding people for a long time -- (laughter) -- to help make it happen. Senator Reid’s leadership, in particular, was obviously instrumental in getting this done, and I couldn’t be more grateful to him. And together, we’re giving Americans a guarantee that the protections they enjoy today will still be around next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and for years to come. While we’re on the topic of nominations, I also want to thank the Senate for agreeing to give my other nominees who’ve waited far too long the votes that they deserve. These are all highly qualified men and women who are just ready to go to work for the American people -- for students and for seniors, for veterans, for middle-class families. Special interests, they’ll always have their lobbyists. They’ll always have the capacity to tilt the system in their favor. But middle-class folks deserve leaders who are going to stand up for them as well on a day-to-day basis, in the trenches. So let me use this opportunity to remind people of what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under Rich’s leadership can do and has done already, even in some difficult circumstances. Today, if you want to take out a mortgage or a student loan or a payday loan, or you’ve got a credit reporting agency or debt collector who’s causing you problems -- maybe they're not playing by the rules, maybe they're taking advantage of you -- you have somewhere to go. The CFPB has already addressed more than 175,000 complaints from all across the nation, giving people an advocate who is working with them when they're dealing with these financial institutions that may not always be thinking about consumers first. Today, as part of the CFPB’s “Know Before You Owe” efforts, students and their parents can get a simple report with the information they need before taking out student loans. And more than 700 colleges have joined to make this information clear and transparent. It’s making a difference. And by the way, if you’ve noticed that some credit card forms are becoming easier to understand than they used to be, that’s because of the work of Rich’s team and other folks across this administration have done to make sure that people understand the kinds of debts that they're taking on through their credit cards. Today, veterans have access to tools that they need to defend against dishonest lenders and mortgage brokers who try to prey on them when they come home from serving their country. Today seniors are better protected from someone who sees their homes or their retirement savings as an easy target for get-rich-quick schemes. And thanks to the hard work of folks at the CFPB, so far 6 million Americans have gotten more than $400 million in refunds from companies that engaged in unscrupulous practices. So this is not just some abstract, theoretical exercise. Families, many of them hard-pressed, have money in their pockets, maybe, in some cases, saved a home or were able to send their kids to college, because of the work that Rich and his team is doing right now. And that’s money that oftentimes families didn’t have the power to recover before. So Americans are better off because of what Rich has done as our consumer watchdog and his outstanding team is doing each and every day. And, by the way, that’s just the tangible benefits that we know of, that $400 million in refunds. But part of what happens is when you've got a watchdog, people don’t try as many things. And everybody starts tightening up their practices because they know somebody is watching. And so that has ripple effects throughout our economy. So Americans everywhere are better off because of the work that these folks have done. And now that Rich has gotten the yes-or-no vote he deserved, businesses and consumers have more certainty than they did before that this will continue. So we've come a long way over the last four and a half years. Our economy is growing. Our businesses have created 7.2 million new jobs over the past 40 months. We've locked in new safeguards to protect against another crisis, and we are making sure that we are doing everything we can to change the incentives inside the financial system and try to end tax-funded -- taxpayer-funded bailouts for good. And even though more work remains, our system is fairer and it's more sound than it was when the crisis hit. Of course, we've still got a long way to go to restore that basic bargain, to restore that sense of security that too many middle-class families still are fighting to rebuild. But if we just keep letting people like Rich do their jobs, if we let all these incredible young people know that you're going to keep on going for a long time, you're building something that will last beyond our government's service and we'll be providing protections for generations to come -- and if we keep focused on that North Star -- a rising, thriving middle class, an economy where prosperity is broad-based -- then I'm confident that we're ultimately going to get to where we need to go. So I want to thank everybody. And I just want to give Rich a quick chance to say something. (Applause.) MR. CORDRAY: Thank you. I want to thank the President -- this President, in particular, who has believed in us from the beginning. I want to thank the Senate and the senators for the chance to persevere and be confirmed as the director of this Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. All I ever asked for, all I ever worked for was to have a chance to have an up-or-down vote on the merits, and I thank them for that. For nearly two years, as the President indicated, we have been focused on making consumer finance markets work better for the American people. Today's action -- the action -- I was sworn in by the Vice President this morning, and the Senate confirmation -- means that there will be certainty for those markets and for the industries we oversee. For me, it also reaffirms that our central responsibility is to stand on the side of consumers and see that they’re treated fairly, just as the President described it. It’s something that people deserve. It’s something that they want and need. And we’re there to try to provide it. We will continue that essential work and each one of us -- those of us here and those of us in Washington and around the country who work for this new Consumer Bureau, including most especially myself -- we’re grateful for the opportunity that you’ve given us to serve our country in this important way.

Supreme Court decision Disappointing: Atty. Gen. Holder

Statement by the President on the Supreme Court Ruling on Shelby County v. Holder (what we should care about instead of ___________).

I am deeply disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision today.  For nearly 50 years, the Voting Rights Act – enacted and repeatedly renewed by wide bipartisan majorities in Congress – has helped secure the right to vote for millions of Americans.  Today’s decision invalidating one of its core provisions upsets decades of well-established practices that help make sure voting is fair, especially in places where voting discrimination has been historically prevalent.

As a nation, we’ve made a great deal of progress towards guaranteeing every American the right to vote.  But, as the Supreme Court recognized, voting discrimination still exists.    And while today’s decision is a setback, it doesn’t represent the end of our efforts to end voting discrimination.

 I am calling on Congress to pass legislation to ensure every American has equal access to the polls.  My Administration will continue to do everything in its power to ensure a fair and equal voting process.

Editor's Note: Now, my dear sweet Republic, in light of this Supreme Court decision, what in the world could be of more importance? The People should consider where today's decision will lead us as a nation. The right to vote is a lynch pin in our identity as a Nation.

What do we instead find ourselves discussing?

What is the point of voting Democrat: Entitlements may have to change - Ginger Gibson - POLITICO.com

President Obama to Democrats: Entitlements may have to change - Ginger Gibson - POLITICO.com
Both parties seem to have the same idea: F**k the poor, the elderly, the disabled, widow and orphan.
I hear them say through the media: We need to keep our money we make because we are the job creators and the tax payers. So no tax hike, no closing of loopholes. We have done enough for America, no more.
So, in the future we will be funding our lavish lifestyles by not paying taxes or next to nothing in tax. We should keep our money.
That is what I hear. I hear the wealthy in this country asking a poor person for a handout.
All of us would have more money if we paid no sales tax, no rent, no car note, no insurance etc.
These neo-conservative voices on the Hill sound like children at play. They give no thought to their actions and are greedy and selfish. They are not about to trade the trinkets they own for the lives of Americans. Harsh. I guess Sarah Palin was right and now comes the Death Panels.
Wow. Never saw it coming.

Pres. Obama's Early Education Plan for Children

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

February 14, 2013

President Obama’s Plan for Early Education for all Americans

“In states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children…studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of their own.  We know this works.  So let’s do what works and make sure none of our children start the race of life already behind.”

                                                                                                President Barack Obama

                                                                                                State of the Union, February 12, 2013

The beginning years of a child’s life are critical for building the early foundation needed for success later in school and in life.  Leading economists agree that high-quality early learning programs can help level the playing field for children from lower-income families on vocabulary, social and emotional development, while helping students to stay on track and stay engaged in the early elementary grades.  Children who attend these programs are more likely to do well in school, find good jobs, and succeed in their careers than those who don’t.  And research has shown that taxpayers receive a high average return on investments in high-quality early childhood education, with savings in areas like improved educational outcomes, increased labor productivity, and a reduction in crime. 

In his State of the Union address, President Obama called on Congress to expand access to high-quality preschool to every child in America.  As part of that effort, the President will propose a series of new investments that will establish a continuum of high-quality early learning for a child – beginning at birth and continuing to age 5.  By doing so, the President would invest critical resources where we know the return on our dollar is the highest: in our youngest children.

·         Providing High-Quality Preschool for Every Child:  The President is proposing a new federal-state partnership to provide all low- and moderate-income four-year old children with high-quality preschool, while also expanding these programs to reach additional children from middle class families and incentivizing full-day kindergarten policies. This investment – financed through a cost-sharing model with states – will help close America’s school readiness gap and ensure that children have the chance to enter kindergarten ready for success.

·         Growing the Supply of Effective Early Learning Opportunities for Young Children: To expand high-quality early learning opportunities in the years before preschool, the President will call for a significant investment in a new Early Head Start-Child Care partnership.  Competitive grants will support communities that expand the availability of Early Head Start and child care providers that can meet the highest standards of quality for infants and toddlers, serving children from birth through age 3. 

·         Extending and Expanding Evidence-Based, Voluntary Home Visiting: Voluntary home visiting programs enable nurses, social workers, and other professionals to connect families to services and educational support that will improve a child’s health, development, and ability to learn.   President Obama has already committed $1.5 billion to expand home visitation to hundreds of thousands of America’s most vulnerable children and families across all 50 states.  The President will pursue substantial investments to expand these important programs to reach additional families in need.

The President’s Commitment to Early Education

A zip code should never predetermine the quality of any child’s educational opportunities.  Yet studies show that children from low-income families are less likely to have access to high-quality early education, and less likely to enter school prepared for success.  By third grade, children from low-income families who are not reading at grade level are six times less likely to graduate from high school than students who are proficient.  Often, the high costs of private preschool and lack of public programs also narrow options for middle-class families.

High-quality early childhood education provides the foundation for all children’s success in school and helps to reduce achievement gaps.  Despite the individual and economic benefits of early education, our nation has lagged in its commitment to ensuring the provision of high quality public preschool in our children’s earliest years. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that the United States ranks 28^th out of 38 countries for the share of four-year olds enrolled in early childhood education.  And fewer than 3 in 10 four-year olds are enrolled in high-quality programs. 

Preschool for All

·         The President’s proposal will improve quality and expand access to preschool, through a cost sharing partnership with all 50 states, to extend federal funds to expand high-quality public preschool to reach all low- and moderate-income four-year olds from families at or below 200% of poverty.  The U.S. Department of Education will allocate dollars to states based their share of four-year olds from low- and moderate-income families and funds would be distributed to local school districts and other partner providers to implement the program.  The proposal would include an incentive for states to broaden participation in their public preschool program for additional middle-class families, which states may choose to reach and serve in a variety of ways, such as a sliding-scale arrangement.

·         Funds will support states as they ensure that children are enrolled in high-quality programs.   In order to access federal funding, states would be required to meet quality benchmarks that are linked to better outcomes for children, which include:

o   State-level standards for early learning;

o   Qualified teachers for all preschool classrooms; and

o   A plan to implement comprehensive data and assessment systems.

Preschool programs across the states would meet common and consistent standards for quality across all programs, including:

o   Well-trained teachers, who are paid comparably to K-12 staff;

o   Small class sizes and low adult to child ratios;

o   A rigorous curriculum;

o   Comprehensive health and related services; and

o   Effective evaluation and review of programs.

·         The proposal also encourages states to expand the availability of full-day kindergarten.  Only 6 out of 10 of America’s kindergarten students have access to a full day of learning.  In order to ensure that our kindergartners spend the time they need in school to reach rigorous benchmarks and standards, funds under this program may also be used to expand full-day kindergarten once states have provided preschool education to low- and moderate-income four year-olds.

·         Under the President’s proposal, investment in the federal Head Start program will continue to grow.  The President’s plan will maintain and build on current Head Start investments, to support a greater share of infants, toddlers, and three-year olds in America’s Head Start centers, while state preschool settings will serve a greater share of four-year olds. 

Quality Early Learning for Our Youngest Children

·         The President will also launch a new Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership program, to support states and communities that expand the availability of Early Head Start and child care providers that can meet the highest standards of quality for infants and toddlers, serving children from birth through age 3.  Funds will be awarded through Early Head Start on a competitive basis to enhance and support early learning settings; provide new, full-day, comprehensive services that meet the needs of working families; and prepare children for the transition into preschool.  This strategy – combined with an expansion of publicly funded preschool education for four-year olds – will ensure a cohesive and well-aligned system of early learning for children from birth to age five. 

·         The President is proposing to expand the Administration’s evidence-based home visiting initiative, through which states are implementing voluntary programs that provide nurses, social workers, and other professionals to meet with at-risk families in their homes and connect them to assistance that impacts a child’s health, development, and ability to learn. These programs have been critical in improving maternal and child health outcomes in the early years, leaving long-lasting, positive impacts on parenting skills; children’s cognitive, language, and social-emotional development; and school readiness. This will help ensure that our most vulnerable Americans are on track from birth, and that later educational investments rest upon a strong foundation. 

Building on Success

President Obama has committed to a comprehensive early learning agenda for America’s children that begins at birth and provides the support and services needed to set them on a path of success in school and in life:

·         Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge: The Early Learning Challenge has rewarded 14 states that have agreed to raise the bar on the quality of their early childhood education programs, establish higher standards across programs and provide critical links with health, nutrition, mental health, and family support for our neediest children.

·         Head Start and Early Head Start: President Obama has made historic investments in the Head Start and Early Head Start programs to reach an additional 61,000 children.  Under the President’s leadership, enrollment in Early Head Start in particular has nearly doubled.  The Obama Administration has also implemented needed reform in the Head Start program by identifying lower-performing grantees and ensuring that those failing to meet new, rigorous benchmarks face new competition for continued federal funding. 

·         Supporting our Federal Child Care System: The President has proposed new investments to expand access and quality in the Child Care and Development Block Grant.

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Dear God We Need Your Help

Dear God:

We need help.

I cannot believe that we as a nation of rational, thinking belivers still think that any type of gun control or regulation will turn the tide of violence that has engulfed our nation. I cannot believe we do not believe in you. I cannot believe that we will not pray together.

The Devil is kicking our asses. Satan is beating us like a pimp beats a hooker.  Lucifer, the father of all lies, is tricking us into killing ourselves and we still won’t turn to God and pray. Instead we dry our tears pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and walk right back into Satan’s hateful arms, ready for another beating.

I don’t get it.

Plenty of people here in America and on this earth have some rememberence of their religious upbringing and understand what SPIRITUAL WAREFARE IS ABOUT.  Those people need to step up and start talking about what they know--outside of church. In short, we all need to actually do what the Pastors and the Reverends and the Fathers have been telling us to do each Sunday. We have to do what Jesus said to do 2000 years ago. We must obey God, as our knees are bent and our tongues are confessing on every airwave, "God help us".

A cry to God is what I hear, in essence, coming from every news reader. It is what every reporter is reporting.

There are plenty of people who work in the mental health arena and understand what is broken with our system and what works. We need to start a conversation with those people and listen to what they say and then do what they say.

We cannot be a nation of rational beings and continue on this way. We are our brother's keeper, our sister's keeper whether we want to be or not. If we are not then we are neglectful in our duties. How can we count ourselves amongst the civilized groups of people we yearn to belong to and be socially accepted by but literally be civically neglectful? It won't work. It defies logic.

When we pray, en masse, God hears us. He said if the people who are called by my name would turn from their sin and pray, He will hear us and help us God will heal us if we ask, in other words.

We are a world of children - spiritual children - and it is due time we grew up. It is not just the politician who needs to do something. We the people need to do something as well. If we allow 20 angels to be murdered and do nothing, God help us all as we are spiritually dead. The spiritually dead are zombies.

Our belief in God has nothing to do with His existence. Our refusal to obey God has nothing to do with the strength of His Law or Rule. Like an impudent child, we will be chastised as an unchastised child is unloved. We are loved but hardheaded. We refuse to listen, to act in accordance to His Word or to wake up. We buy pins and buttons, we protest and march but we won't pray, seemingly.

The children are dead. They are the latest in a long, long list of martyrs who still cry out to God, “how long?”

Report what you see and hear. Help a family struggling with a mentally ill relative. Politicians need to on Monday, begin to unravel the red tape mess that is our mental health system. Disabled people and their families need and deserve our full attention.

Understand that a gun is not the problem. Guns would go unused and litter the streets like plastic grocery bags if no one used them. Even if every person in America each owned three guns, if they went unused, unloaded they would be meaningless.

 People are the problem. People who buy and use guns for violence are the problem. Let us be our own keepers of self and help ourselves by attending to the people who buy and use guns for violence. Be damned the economy of the gun industry. Let's save some lives.

Colin Powell endorses Obama for second term

Colin Powell endorses Obama for second term