Robert Gibbs, Barack Obama’s chief spokesman, got into hot water this week for daring to speak the truth – that the Democrats could lose control of the House of Representatives in November. But it could be even worse than that.
Contrary to pretty much every projection until now, Democratic control of the Senate is also starting to coming into question. While Mr Obama’s approval ratings have continued to fall, and now hover at dangerously close to 40 per cent according an ABC-Washington Post poll published on Tuesday, the fate of his former colleagues in the Senate looks even worse.
In the past few days polls have shown Republican challengers taking the lead over previously safe Democratic incumbents, such as Barbara Boxer in California and Russ Feingold in Wisconsin. Indeed, given the uniformly negative direction in the numbers, it is now quite possible the Republicans could win the Senate seats formerly held by both President Obama in Illinois, and Joe Biden, vice-president, in Delaware.
Add to that the continuing woes of Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic majority leader, in Nevada, where the Republican party’s recent nomination of Sharron Angle, a far-right and highly eccentric Tea Party supporter, appear to have had no positive effect on Mr Reid’s prospects, and the Grand Old party has a good shot at taking control of both houses of Congress. Worse for Mr Obama, political scientists say that at this stage in the calendar, there is almost nothing he can do about it.
“If you ask me where the silver lining is for President Obama, I have to say I cannot see one,” says Bill Galston, a former Clinton official, who has been predicting for months the Democrats could lose the House. “Just as BP’s failure to cap the well has been so damaging, Obama’s failure to cap unemployment will be his undoing. There is nothing he can do to affect the jobless rate before November.”
The direction of the data could hardly be worse. According to Democracy Corps, a group headed by Stanley Greenberg, a liberal pollster who is a close friend of Rahm Emanuel, Mr Obama’s chief of staff, a majority of US citizens see Mr Obama as “too liberal”.
Astonishingly, 55 per cent of citizens think Mr Obama is a “socialist” against only 39 per cent who do not share that diagnosis. The same poll shows 48 per cent support for Republicans against just 42 per cent for Democrats. The numbers are eerily similar to 2006, except that it was George W. Bush’s Republicans who were on the receiving end four years ago.
“The bottom line here is that Americans don’t believe in President Obama’s leadership,” says Rob Shapiro, another former Clinton official and a supporter of Mr Obama. “He has to find some way between now and November of demonstrating that he is a leader who can command confidence and, short of a 9/11 event or an Oklahoma City bombing, I can’t think of how he could do that.”
In private, informal advisors to Mr Obama are almost as negative. According to one, the US public’s loss of confidence in Mr Obama’s leadership is a factor above and beyond their dissatisfaction over the state of the real economy, which continues to slow as last year’s $787bn stimulus starts to run dry. The adviser, who asked to remain anonymous, said the public did not know what Mr Obama really believed. Examples include his lukewarm support last year for a public option in the healthcare bill and his equally lukewarm support today for a Senate bill that would extend unemployment insurance and aid state governments to keep teachers in their jobs.
In both cases, Mr Obama has offered only token, negotiable, support. “I never thought I would say this, but even I’m unsure what President Obama really believes,” says the adviser. “Instead of outsourcing decisions to Congress, he should spell out his bottom line. That is what leaders are for.”
Next week, Mr Obama is likely to sign a historic Wall Street re-regulation bill into law. Earlier this year he did the same for healthcare. But polls show the public either does not care, or even opposes these otherwise big reforms. “The longer this goes on, the more it looks like Obama wasted his first year on healthcare,” said the outside adviser. “It’s still the economy, stupid.”
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Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
fema info
Sometimes I wonder what goes on at our town meetings? When I'm not thinking about more exciting stuff. Like, if today's the day I put hospital corners on my bed.
Recently, I read a blow-by-blow account of such a meeting. Now, I don't know who came up with the term "minutes" to depict the slow-moving action, but I think he had a more objective and fluid sense of time than Stephen Hawking.
Here's what happened when the town board last met.
At their last meeting, the board proposed that they amend Chapter 155 of the Town Code, entitled, "Garbage, Rubbish And Refuse." Amazingly, chapter 155 of Tolstoy's "War And Peace" has the same exact title. Tolstoy has better characterization, but he's got nothing on Harrison for raw suspense. A novelization of the proceedings will be out in the fall.
Mayor Joan Walsh stated that this amendment was "only for three family homes," who will be exempt from paying a carting fee in the year 2010. But they will have to begin paying again in 2011. When this was announced, gasps were heard around the room and several people fainted.
However, the board was not through with discussing "Garbage, Rubbish And Refuge." Even though the tension and excitement in the room was already at a fever pitch.
Next up was the controversial amendment, "Placement For Collection: Collection In Commercial Districts." This should have been resolved in the previous meeting, but the board got bogged down in semantics and spent several hours just defining "placement." And all they could resolve was that they'd tackle the rest of the title in the next meeting.
So, it was resolved, that "Every Commercial Establishment within the Town/Village of Harrison" shall "annually pay a Commercial Registration Fee for the carting away of its Garbage, Rubbish And Refuse." The board was near an agreement on this when someone suggested that "Garbage, Rubbish and Refuse" was a tautology, or, an unnecessary repetition of words. Then someone said that "an unnecessary repetition" was itself a tautology. So things bogged down for the second time in a month.
The suggestion that they instead re-title the amendment "Blood, Sweat And Tears" went unheeded.
Finally, the amendment was passed because Harrison needed the money.
The board then put forward the amendment that every commercial establishment must also pay a fee for the collection of "trash, rubbish and garbage." Which, if carefully worded, would seem like a completely different amendment and allow the town to charge everyone twice. This amendment passed enthusiastically.
Finally, the board got around to the meat of the garbage question. That's right, the kind of pails it should be put in. It was proposed that each commercial establishment shall put out no more than 10 pails or cans for the collection of trash. Although some merchants have put out 12 and said it's the same according to The New Math. The quality of each pail, it was proposed, must be approved by the Public Works Commissioner. If you bought them from his brother, Joe the pail salesman, approval would occur that much quicker.
All the board members called out "Aye!" So either the amendments passed, or they really are just in there watching "Pirates Of The Caribbean."
The other order of business that the board voted on, had to do with installing an emergency generator at police headquarters, to the tune of $210,000. The board first resolved to make sure there was that much money in their Capital Improvement Account. Not like the last time, when all they found was some petty cash and some handwritten IOUs - misspelled.
It turns out the money was available. Then the Law Department had to prepare a contract and the Treasurer had to do an audit. And, after submitting their bills to the town, Harrison was $30,000 short.
Finally the money was all in place.
The last order of business for this recent board meeting was the Authorization To Adopt The Hazard Mitigation Plan. Now, I'm no fan of hazards. And I feel they should be mitigated whenever you get a break in the day. But there's one catch here. This plan was supposed to be presented to FEMA. What happened after that in the meeting? I'm still unsure, because I didn't read the minutes. Whenever I see the name FEMA. I have a tendency to scream and throw stuff across the room. In this case, it was my laptop, which broke.
It should be ready Thursday.
So, I really don't know how the most recent board meeting ended. But, I'm concerned. FEMA doesn't really have a great history, especially when it comes to mitigating hazards. Harrison, are you sure you want their advice about this?
Recently, I read a blow-by-blow account of such a meeting. Now, I don't know who came up with the term "minutes" to depict the slow-moving action, but I think he had a more objective and fluid sense of time than Stephen Hawking.
Here's what happened when the town board last met.
At their last meeting, the board proposed that they amend Chapter 155 of the Town Code, entitled, "Garbage, Rubbish And Refuse." Amazingly, chapter 155 of Tolstoy's "War And Peace" has the same exact title. Tolstoy has better characterization, but he's got nothing on Harrison for raw suspense. A novelization of the proceedings will be out in the fall.
Mayor Joan Walsh stated that this amendment was "only for three family homes," who will be exempt from paying a carting fee in the year 2010. But they will have to begin paying again in 2011. When this was announced, gasps were heard around the room and several people fainted.
However, the board was not through with discussing "Garbage, Rubbish And Refuge." Even though the tension and excitement in the room was already at a fever pitch.
Next up was the controversial amendment, "Placement For Collection: Collection In Commercial Districts." This should have been resolved in the previous meeting, but the board got bogged down in semantics and spent several hours just defining "placement." And all they could resolve was that they'd tackle the rest of the title in the next meeting.
So, it was resolved, that "Every Commercial Establishment within the Town/Village of Harrison" shall "annually pay a Commercial Registration Fee for the carting away of its Garbage, Rubbish And Refuse." The board was near an agreement on this when someone suggested that "Garbage, Rubbish and Refuse" was a tautology, or, an unnecessary repetition of words. Then someone said that "an unnecessary repetition" was itself a tautology. So things bogged down for the second time in a month.
The suggestion that they instead re-title the amendment "Blood, Sweat And Tears" went unheeded.
Finally, the amendment was passed because Harrison needed the money.
The board then put forward the amendment that every commercial establishment must also pay a fee for the collection of "trash, rubbish and garbage." Which, if carefully worded, would seem like a completely different amendment and allow the town to charge everyone twice. This amendment passed enthusiastically.
Finally, the board got around to the meat of the garbage question. That's right, the kind of pails it should be put in. It was proposed that each commercial establishment shall put out no more than 10 pails or cans for the collection of trash. Although some merchants have put out 12 and said it's the same according to The New Math. The quality of each pail, it was proposed, must be approved by the Public Works Commissioner. If you bought them from his brother, Joe the pail salesman, approval would occur that much quicker.
All the board members called out "Aye!" So either the amendments passed, or they really are just in there watching "Pirates Of The Caribbean."
The other order of business that the board voted on, had to do with installing an emergency generator at police headquarters, to the tune of $210,000. The board first resolved to make sure there was that much money in their Capital Improvement Account. Not like the last time, when all they found was some petty cash and some handwritten IOUs - misspelled.
It turns out the money was available. Then the Law Department had to prepare a contract and the Treasurer had to do an audit. And, after submitting their bills to the town, Harrison was $30,000 short.
Finally the money was all in place.
The last order of business for this recent board meeting was the Authorization To Adopt The Hazard Mitigation Plan. Now, I'm no fan of hazards. And I feel they should be mitigated whenever you get a break in the day. But there's one catch here. This plan was supposed to be presented to FEMA. What happened after that in the meeting? I'm still unsure, because I didn't read the minutes. Whenever I see the name FEMA. I have a tendency to scream and throw stuff across the room. In this case, it was my laptop, which broke.
It should be ready Thursday.
So, I really don't know how the most recent board meeting ended. But, I'm concerned. FEMA doesn't really have a great history, especially when it comes to mitigating hazards. Harrison, are you sure you want their advice about this?
Friday, July 9, 2010
Scenes from the Tennessee flood - FEMA assistance
Homeowners rebuilding after the spring floods can receive valuable information from hazard mitigation specialists with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at Lowe’s stores in Nashville and Smyrna, beginning Monday, July 12, 2010.
The specialists can answer questions about protecting homes from future disaster damage, as well as offer other home improvement tips and techniques. Topics will include mold and mildew cleanup and prevention, flood insurance, flood- and wind-resistant building methods, wind straps and other measures to make homes stronger and safer. Publications on these topics will also be available.
FEMA mitigation specialists will be available at the following Lowe’s locations July 12 through July 19:
• 7665 Highway 70 S., Nashville, TN 37221
• 410 Genie Lane, Smyrna, TN 37167
Specialists will be in the stores:
• 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Monday, July 12, 2010
• 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, July 13 through July 18, 2010
• 8 a.m. to noon, Monday, July 19, 2010
Mitigation specialists will also be available at the following location July 12 through July 17:
• 7034 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, TN 37209
Specialists will be in the store from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
There is no cost to talk with the specialists.
Participation in Special Events
FEMA mitigation specialists will also participate in the following special events in Tennessee during July:
• Soul Food Festival, Riverfront Park, First Avenue North and Broadway, Nashville, TN 37201, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., July 14, 2010
• Nashville Farmers Market, 900 Rosa Parks Blvd., Nashville, TN 37208, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., July 16 through July 17, 2010
• Tony Formosa Racing, Tennessee State Fairgrounds, 625 Smith Ave., Nashville, TN 37203, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., July 17, 2010
• DeKalb County Fair, 300 Fairgrounds Road, Alexandria, TN 37012, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., July 19 through July 24, 2010
Follow the recovery in Tennessee online at http://twitter.com/tema, http://twitter.com/fema, http://www.facebook.com/TNDisasterInfo , www.youtube.com/fema and http://www.flickr.com/photos/t_e_m_a .
The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA and TEMA do not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.
If you like this article, please click this subscribe button above. It free to subscribe to Examiner Articles and you only need your email address to subscribe. You are never spammed or contacted, you are only notified of new articles from this page. Please check out my Tri-Cities Examiner page in the links to the right of this page.
The specialists can answer questions about protecting homes from future disaster damage, as well as offer other home improvement tips and techniques. Topics will include mold and mildew cleanup and prevention, flood insurance, flood- and wind-resistant building methods, wind straps and other measures to make homes stronger and safer. Publications on these topics will also be available.
FEMA mitigation specialists will be available at the following Lowe’s locations July 12 through July 19:
• 7665 Highway 70 S., Nashville, TN 37221
• 410 Genie Lane, Smyrna, TN 37167
Specialists will be in the stores:
• 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Monday, July 12, 2010
• 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, July 13 through July 18, 2010
• 8 a.m. to noon, Monday, July 19, 2010
Mitigation specialists will also be available at the following location July 12 through July 17:
• 7034 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, TN 37209
Specialists will be in the store from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
There is no cost to talk with the specialists.
Participation in Special Events
FEMA mitigation specialists will also participate in the following special events in Tennessee during July:
• Soul Food Festival, Riverfront Park, First Avenue North and Broadway, Nashville, TN 37201, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., July 14, 2010
• Nashville Farmers Market, 900 Rosa Parks Blvd., Nashville, TN 37208, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., July 16 through July 17, 2010
• Tony Formosa Racing, Tennessee State Fairgrounds, 625 Smith Ave., Nashville, TN 37203, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., July 17, 2010
• DeKalb County Fair, 300 Fairgrounds Road, Alexandria, TN 37012, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., July 19 through July 24, 2010
Follow the recovery in Tennessee online at http://twitter.com/tema, http://twitter.com/fema, http://www.facebook.com/TNDisasterInfo , www.youtube.com/fema and http://www.flickr.com/photos/t_e_m_a .
The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA and TEMA do not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.
If you like this article, please click this subscribe button above. It free to subscribe to Examiner Articles and you only need your email address to subscribe. You are never spammed or contacted, you are only notified of new articles from this page. Please check out my Tri-Cities Examiner page in the links to the right of this page.
Board discusses financing, bond issue for renovation projects
A citizens group is close to having enough signatures to petition the Decorah School Board for a bond issue.
At a special meeting Tuesday morning, Superintendent Mike Haluska explained the bond issue, estimated at approximately $10.4 million, could go before District voters as soon as Tuesday, Sept. 14.
Haluska said although the amount of work the District will be able to afford to have done at Decorah High School and John Cline School depends on how the bids come in, he said the projected cost is between $16 and $19 million.
The project would likely include a remodel of the high school to address the aging heating, venting and cooling system, installed when the building was originally constructed in 1954.
Other modifications would include an increase in natural lighting to the art room, and adding increased security to the Iowa Communications Network (ICN) room, which is frequently utilized by the public.
The school's lunch room would also be expanded to add another serving line and accommodate more students. A new gymnasium would be built and the old one could be utilized as a staging area while the rest of the building's classes were being remodeled.
Haluska added the exact specifications of the high school project will also depend on whether or not the District receives Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding.
"If FEMA dollars are available, we will build a new safe room to FEMA specs. If we don't have the FEMA money, we will still reinforce the walls, so we have a safe place (during a disaster), but we wouldn't have the same degree of ventilation or a generator," said Haluska.
Haluska said with regard to John Cline School, "At the very least, John Cline will be climate controlled."
The breakdown
Haluska explained in addition to the bond referendum, the District's Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) and statewide penny proceeds will cover the rest of the $19.5 million the District will deposit in its construction account.
Of the $10.4 million, $10, 280,355 will go toward construction, with $124,645 for the underwriter's discount and the cost of issuance. Of the $5,705,000 the District will receive via PPEL through 2024, $4.2 million will be deposited into the construction account, $1.4 million will be used to pay off the 2004 debt for middle school construction, and another $89,000 will go to the underwriter's discount and cost of issuance. Haluska said the $5 million the District will use from statewide penny proceeds is only half of the District's projected revenues through 2028.
At a special meeting Tuesday morning, Superintendent Mike Haluska explained the bond issue, estimated at approximately $10.4 million, could go before District voters as soon as Tuesday, Sept. 14.
Haluska said although the amount of work the District will be able to afford to have done at Decorah High School and John Cline School depends on how the bids come in, he said the projected cost is between $16 and $19 million.
The project would likely include a remodel of the high school to address the aging heating, venting and cooling system, installed when the building was originally constructed in 1954.
Other modifications would include an increase in natural lighting to the art room, and adding increased security to the Iowa Communications Network (ICN) room, which is frequently utilized by the public.
The school's lunch room would also be expanded to add another serving line and accommodate more students. A new gymnasium would be built and the old one could be utilized as a staging area while the rest of the building's classes were being remodeled.
Haluska added the exact specifications of the high school project will also depend on whether or not the District receives Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding.
"If FEMA dollars are available, we will build a new safe room to FEMA specs. If we don't have the FEMA money, we will still reinforce the walls, so we have a safe place (during a disaster), but we wouldn't have the same degree of ventilation or a generator," said Haluska.
Haluska said with regard to John Cline School, "At the very least, John Cline will be climate controlled."
The breakdown
Haluska explained in addition to the bond referendum, the District's Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) and statewide penny proceeds will cover the rest of the $19.5 million the District will deposit in its construction account.
Of the $10.4 million, $10, 280,355 will go toward construction, with $124,645 for the underwriter's discount and the cost of issuance. Of the $5,705,000 the District will receive via PPEL through 2024, $4.2 million will be deposited into the construction account, $1.4 million will be used to pay off the 2004 debt for middle school construction, and another $89,000 will go to the underwriter's discount and cost of issuance. Haluska said the $5 million the District will use from statewide penny proceeds is only half of the District's projected revenues through 2028.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
FEMA says no to Streator
The Federal Emergency Management Agency deemed the state of Illinois has the necessary local resources for continued tornado relief efforts.
What does that mean for Streator? No federal grant money.
Mark Peterson, a FEMA spokesman, told The Times Wednesday the state's request for federal aid was denied June 29, despite Streator city manager Paul Nicholson's report no word had been sent to Streator.
"The city works through the county and the county works through the state," Peterson explained. "We denied Gov. (Pat) Quinn's request but that essentially is a denial to the city of Streator's."
As a result, Streator will not receive federal grants; however, the U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest, long-term loans to those affected. Essentially, the city will have to pay for its own cleanup efforts.
"If FEMA were to accept the request, there would be more funds available through grants and the SBA loan program," said Patty Thompson, Illinois Emergency Management Agency communications manager. "The loan program through the SBA will still help many people."
Thompson also confirmed there is nothing more on the horizon as far as federal assistance.
"All options have been explored," she said. "We pursued them all and FEMA didn't work out."
What does that mean for Streator? No federal grant money.
Mark Peterson, a FEMA spokesman, told The Times Wednesday the state's request for federal aid was denied June 29, despite Streator city manager Paul Nicholson's report no word had been sent to Streator.
"The city works through the county and the county works through the state," Peterson explained. "We denied Gov. (Pat) Quinn's request but that essentially is a denial to the city of Streator's."
As a result, Streator will not receive federal grants; however, the U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest, long-term loans to those affected. Essentially, the city will have to pay for its own cleanup efforts.
"If FEMA were to accept the request, there would be more funds available through grants and the SBA loan program," said Patty Thompson, Illinois Emergency Management Agency communications manager. "The loan program through the SBA will still help many people."
Thompson also confirmed there is nothing more on the horizon as far as federal assistance.
"All options have been explored," she said. "We pursued them all and FEMA didn't work out."
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