ProgressOhio Member since May 11, 2008

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers a 4th of July message, which was given to U.S. Embassies worldwide to play at their 4th of July celebrations.Watch It: Hello everyone. I am delighted to welcome you on behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States as we celebrate our nation’s 233rd birthday. For Americans, the 4th of July is a day to reconnect with loved ones, to remember our history, and to renew our commitment to democracy, tolerance, and justice. As President Obama said in Cairo last month, these are not just American values, these are core principles we share with people everywhere. So it is fitting that we open our doors and share this day with our friends and neighbors around the world. Our fates and our fortunes are intertwined like never before. No one nation can meet today’s global challenges alone. We all share responsibility for working together to ensure a more peaceful and prosperous future. So I hope that today’s celebration will become tomorrow’s partnership. There’s nothing we can’t accomplish, no challenge we can’t meet, if we work together toward common goals and seek common ground. Thank you so much for joining us and have a wonderful 4th of July.

"Stand with anybody that stands RIGHT. Stand with him while he is right and PART with him when he goes wrong."
--Abraham Lincoln

President Obama takes questions submitted through YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter at a town hall in Virginia. July 1, 2009. (Public Domain)

Backers of Ohio’s proposal to bring Las Vegas-style casinos to Ohio are trumpeting the large number of signatures they’ve collected, but a new YouTube video raises new questions about how many of those signatures were gathered. Much like an earlier video that prompted a Youngstown judge to take the unprecedented step of issuing a TRO that ordered the liars to stop lying, this one contains a string of whoppers from circulators eager to get people to sign. One says the petition is about the environment (it’s not). Another says it would not change the state’s constitution (it would). One even says that Athens, Ohio, is in line for a casino. Ohio law makes it a fifth-degree felony to misrepresent the contents of a ballot proposal for the purpose of inducing someone to sign a petition. To get on the November ballot, pro-casino forces must collect valid signatures from 402,275 registered voters.

In his first public appearance since Friday, Iran’s reform presidential candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, “joined a huge rally against the result of last week’s election, defying a government ban.” Gathering in Tehran’s Revolution Square, the crowd chanted “pro-Mousavi slogans as riot police stood by.” “Mousavi we support you. We will die, but retrieve our votes,” they shouted.

The President has long noted that skyrocketing health care costs will be disastrous in terms of our long term national debt unless we pass real reform.  In this Weekly Address, the President also explains how he will cover the upfront costs of reform by eliminating overpayments from Medicaid and Medicare and driving down costs contributing to government’s health care expenditures across the board.Watch It:

Ten-year-old Kennedy Corpus has a rock-solid excuse for missing the last day of school: a personal note to her teacher from President Barack Obama.Watch It:

The House passed the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act (H.R. 2751) to bring meaningful reductions in vehicle fleet carbon emissions and fuel consumption while providing much-needed stimulus for our ailing automakers. In the wake of General Motors and Chrysler filing for bankruptcy, layoffs of auto workers, and the closure of car dealerships, this legislation will provide consumers who trade in their old, gas-guzzling vehicles with vouchers worth up to $4,500 to help pay for new, more fuel efficient cars and trucks. This measure will spur the sales of up to 1 million more fuel efficient cars and trucks — creating jobs and shoring up car dealerships — and save over 250 million gallons of gas. Under this legislation, if you have a vehicle that meets the conditions listed below and has been registered and in use for at least a year, you are eligible for a voucher to put towards a new, more efficient vehicle (miles per gallon figures refer to EPA “window sticker” values): Passenger Cars The old vehicle must get 18 mpg or less. New vehicles with improvement of at least 4 mpg will get a $3,500 voucher. New vehicles with improvement of at least 10 mpg will get a $4,500 voucher. Light-Duty Trucks The old vehicle must get 18 mpg or less. New vehicles with improvement of at least 2 mpg will get a $3,500 voucher. New vehicles with improvement of at least 5 mpg will get a $4,500 voucher. Large light-Duty Trucks The old vehicle must get 15 mpg or less. New vehicles with improvement of at least 1 mpg will get a $3,500 voucher or trade-in of a “work truck.” New vehicles with improvement of at least 2 mpg will get a $4,500 voucher. Work Trucks The old vehicle must be a pre-2002 model. New vehicles in the same or smaller weight class will get a $3,500 voucher. Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH), the sponsor of the bill:

Under direct orders from Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama, General Ray Odierno shaves Stephen's head. Watch It:

Under direct orders from Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama, General Ray Odierno shaves Stephen's head.

President Obama made remarks from the White House East Room on PAYGO, the principle that new tax or entitlement policies should be paid for.
Washington, DC : 10 min.

On Saturday, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) addressed a crowd of union activists in Pittsburgh and answered for his wavering on EFCA.

"You want my vote, I want yours," heckled one of the activists.

"I believe you'll be satisfied with my vote on this issue," Specter said in response.

In Normandy yesterday, the President spoke at the 65th Anniversary Ceremony:Lyndon Johnson once said that there are certain moments when "history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turning point in man's unending search for freedom." D-Day was such a moment. One newspaper noted that "we have come to the hour for which we were born." Had the Allies failed here, Hitler's occupation of this continent might have continued indefinitely. Instead, victory here secured a foothold in France. It opened a path to Berlin. It made possible the achievements that followed the liberation of Europe: the Marshall Plan, the NATO alliance, the shared prosperity and security that flowed from each. It was unknowable then, but so much of the progress that would define the 20th century, on both sides of the Atlantic, came down to the battle for a slice of beach only six miles long and two miles wide. More particularly, it came down to the men who landed here -- those who now rest in this place for eternity, and those who are with us here today. Perhaps more than any other reason, you, the veterans of that landing, are why we still remember what happened on D-Day.  You're why we keep coming back. For you remind us that in the end, human destiny is not determined by forces beyond our control. You remind us that our future is not shaped by mere chance or circumstance. Our history has always been the sum total of the choices made and the actions taken by each individual man and woman. It has always been up to us.  Watch:

The President makes clear that as Congress works through health care reform legislation, it must include fundamental changes that lower costs, ensure Americans have choices, and establish access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans. "But what we can’t welcome," the President says, "is reform that just invests more money in the status quo – reform that throws good money after bad habits."Watch It: Full Text Of The President's Remarks Below: