Steelworkers Say President's Choice for Health and Human Services a Good One

Kansas Governor Understands the Challenges to Working Families

The United Steelworkers (USW) today heartily endorsed President Obama's selection of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to become the new Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

USW International president Leo W. Gerard said that her nomination is another example of how intent the new Administration is on addressing issues critical to America's working families.
"As both Governor of Kansas and its insurance commissioner prior, Ms. Sebelius has demonstrated a keen perception of the struggles confronting ordinary Americans," said Gerard.
"She knows change is needed and we stand confident in her ability to play an active role in revamping the health care system. Her experience provides her with an in-depth understanding of the complexities of heath care and insurance issues."

Robert Bratulich, USW District 11 Director, which includes Kansas, said,
"President Obama could not have selected a better candidate to head HHS. Governor Sebelius is a stalwart supporter of working families."

Sebelius is in the middle of her second term as governor. Prior to becoming governor, she served for eight years as Kansas insurance commissioner, where she earned praise for her consumer watchdog role. She was an early Obama supporter and worked tirelessly during his campaign.

"Under her leadership the U.S. will finally be on the path towards affordable universal health care coverage," said Bratulich.

The USW represents 1.2 million active and retired workers in North America industries including metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service sector.

Weekly White House Address, President Barack Obama

Hate groups on the rise

Fueled by immigration fears, the recession and the election of a black president, hate groups in America increased their numbers again in 2008. The count now stands at a staggering 926 — a more than 50% increase since 2000.
I'm now deeply worried about the way hate group leaders are exploiting the election of Barack Obama and the economic crisis to swell their ranks and how their anti-Semitic, white supremacist propaganda is promoting violence.
A neo-Nazi leader was quoted in USA Today saying "When the economy suffers, people are looking for answers. … We are the answer for white people."
The day after President Obama was inaugurated, a white man in Massachusetts killed two black people and raped and gravely wounded another. His arrest derailed his plan to also invade a synagogue and kill as many Jews as possible. He'd spent six months reading racist websites and concluded they "spoke the truth about the demise of the white race."
As you know, we not only track and expose the activities of racist extremists — we use innovative legal strategies to put them out of business. We recently won a $2.5 million verdict against the leader of the Imperial Klans of America for the brutal beating of a teenage boy of Latino descent in Kentucky.
As a loyal supporter, you play a vital role in our work. Please help by alerting the authorities to any hate incidents you see and by speaking out against hate whenever and wherever you see it.
And please send an extra gift to aid our crucial efforts to combat extremists who are determined to divide us along racial, ethnic and religious lines. Thank you for your dedication to justice and tolerance.
Sincerely,

Morris Dees
Founder

Creepy Trees

Retailer Meijer to harness the wind

WALKER, Mich. - Midwestern retailer Meijer wants to install wind turbines that would produce electricity for its corporate offices and at least two southwestern Michigan stores.

The President highlights Ethics, Education and Entrepreneurs during his Joint Session of Congress Address

What the President said about doing the right thing...
...But in my life, I have also learned that hope is found in unlikely places; that inspiration often comes not from those with the most power or celebrity, but from the dreams and aspirations of Americans who are anything but ordinary.

I think about Leonard Abess, the bank president from Miami who reportedly cashed out of his company, took a $60 million bonus, and gave it out to all 399 people who worked for him, plus another 72 who used to work for him. He didn’t tell anyone, but when the local newspaper found out, he simply said, ''I knew some of these people since I was 7 years old. I didn't feel right getting the money myself."

And I think about Ty’Sheoma Bethea, the young girl from that school I visited in Dillon, South Carolina – a place where the ceilings leak, the paint peels off the walls, and they have to stop teaching six times a day because the train barrels by their classroom. She has been told that her school is hopeless, but the other day after class she went to the public library and typed up a letter to the people sitting in this room. She even asked her principal for the money to buy a stamp. The letter asks us for help, and says, "We are just students trying to become lawyers, doctors, congressmen like yourself and one day president, so we can make a change to not just the state of South Carolina but also the world. We are not quitters."

What the President said about Education
In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity – it is a prerequisite. Right now, three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations require more than a high school diploma. And yet, just over half of our citizens have that level of education. We have one of the highest high school dropout rates of any industrialized nation. And half of the students who begin college never finish.

This is a prescription for economic decline, because we know the countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow. That is why it will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education – from the day they are born to the day they begin a career.

Already, we have made an historic investment in education through the economic recovery plan. We have dramatically expanded early childhood education and will continue to improve its quality, because we know that the most formative learning comes in those first years of life. We have made college affordable for nearly seven million more students. And we have provided the resources necessary to prevent painful cuts and teacher layoffs that would set back our children’s progress.

But we know that our schools don’t just need more resources. They need more reform. That is why this budget creates new incentives for teacher performance; pathways for advancement, and rewards for success. We’ll invest in innovative programs that are already helping schools meet high standards and close achievement gaps. And we will expand our commitment to charter schools.

It is our responsibility as lawmakers and educators to make this system work. But it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it. And so tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country – and this country needs and values the talents of every American. That is why we will provide the support necessary for you to complete college and meet a new goal: by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

I know that the price of tuition is higher than ever, which is why if you are willing to volunteer in your neighborhood or give back to your community or serve your country, we will make sure that you can afford a higher education. And to encourage a renewed spirit of national service for this and future generations, I ask this Congress to send me the bipartisan legislation that bears the name of Senator Orrin Hatch as well as an American who has never stopped asking what he can do for his country – Senator Edward Kennedy.

What the President said about Entrepreneurs
...(Credit) has stopped flowing the way it should. Too many bad loans from the housing crisis have made their way onto the books of too many banks. With so much debt and so little confidence, these banks are now fearful of lending out any more money to households, to businesses, or to each other. When there is no lending, families can’t afford to buy homes or cars. So businesses are forced to make layoffs. Our economy suffers even more, and credit dries up even further.

That is why this administration is moving swiftly and aggressively to break this destructive cycle, restore confidence, and re-start lending.

We will do so in several ways. First, we are creating a new lending fund that represents the largest effort ever to help provide auto loans, college loans, and small business loans to the consumers and entrepreneurs who keep this economy running.
For history tells a different story. History reminds us that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas. In the midst of civil war, we laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurred commerce and industry. From the turmoil of the Industrial Revolution came a system of public high schools that prepared our citizens for a new age. In the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill sent a generation to college and created the largest middle-class in history. And a twilight struggle for freedom led to a nation of highways, an American on the moon, and an explosion of technology that still shapes our world.

In each case, government didn’t supplant private enterprise; it catalyzed private enterprise. It created the conditions for thousands of entrepreneurs and new businesses to adapt and to thrive.

Run for Public Office today

Look around you. You can control and do right by your peers and constiuents just like President Obama but you have to run for a local public office just like he did.

The current local administration is probably not any smarter than you are but they ran for office and you didn't. Run now.

Some of you are smart enough to do so but have not been encouraged. Some of you are tough enough but have not been encouraged. This is your future too. If you have it in you, please find a local public office in your town or city to run for and when elected do what you are supposed to do.
There is the school board, city council, mayor, county assessor, county board member etc. Just do it!
That will solve America's problems and restore the American Dream.
You can do it if you try!