In a political climate rife with partisanship, it is always a pleasant surprise to see lawmakers from both sides of the aisle coming together to solve our nation’s problems. One of the issues desperately needing bipartisan attention is nuclear power, an issue that has become particularly critical after the administration’s short-sighted announcement this year not to fund the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage facility.

Luckily, several House Republicans and Democrats have come together to introduce a resolution that would stop the Obama administration from ending the Yucca Mountain project.

Just days after firmly supporting the passage of Obamacare, Democrats like Majority Whip James Clyburn (SC) and John Spratt (SC) are taking a stand against President Obama’s decision to end Yucca Mountain. Even Washington Democrat Jay Inslee, who was one of the chief salesmen for the Waxman-Markey energy tax last summer, joined in this rebuke of the president’s energy policy.

As stated previously, the Yucca Mountain facility is the nation’s legally designated location for nuclear waste storage, and billions of dollars have been spent on its research and development. The administration’s decision to cut its funding without an alternative will harm the nuclear industry who has been eagerly waiting its opening.

These facts have united Republicans and Democrats, especially those whose districts and states currently store nuclear waste in temporary facilities and have done so for many years under the assumption that a long-term nuclear storage facility like Yucca Mountain would be completed. With the Yucca Mountain facility near completion, the thought of starting from scratch with a yet to be determined replacement facility is disheartening.

After already waiting years for a promised storage facility, the nuclear industry is now being told to wait even longer. This uncertainty could potentially deter further investment in nuclear energy sector and even counteract the administration’s push for increased nuclear power.

Overall, while the administration may feel that the fight over Yucca Mountain is coming to a close, the recent actions in Congress may indicate that things are only beginning to heat up. Congress still has the power over the budget and the power to decide what funding Yucca Mountain may or may not receive. With Republicans and Democrats standing together on this issue, the opportunity to positively influence the fate of Yucca Mountain and alter the administration’s current course dramatically increases.

As the Obama administration has acknowledged, nuclear power needs to be an important part of our energy future. However, a nuclear waste repository like Yucca Mountain is needed soon in order to help the nuclear industry grow.

1. Chernobyl’s radiation containment system worked.
2. Iran’s ‘free and fair’ election system worked.
3. Tiger Wood’s system of keeping the wife unaware of the girlfriends worked.
4. USSR’s system of government worked.
5. Japan’s air defense system worked against the Enola Gay
6. Obama’s system of leading the U.S. into an ‘era of post-partisanship’ worked.
7. The Death Star’s defense system worked against two separate rebel assaults.
8. The Nuclear Nonproliferation system worked well with regards to North Korea.

If you happen to have any other ideas for systems that worked, be sure to share them in the comments or tweet them with the tag #thesystemworked.

[As armed troops in Hummers surround Autobots and Major Lennox’s men, Lennox starts to yell at those surrounding his men to stand down.]

 

Major Lennox: Drop your weapons! Drop your weapons! Tell them to lower their weapons. Tell them to lower their weapons now!

 

Army Officer: Major, there is nothing I can do. Talk to him.

 

[Galloway, special envoy from President Obama, steps out of a Hummer]

 

Galloway: Your NEST team has been deactivated. You are to cease anti-Decepticon operations and return to Diego Garcia pending further orders.

 

Major Lennox: No, we take our orders directly from chairman Morshower.

 

Galloway: I will see your chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and raise you a President of the United States.

 

[Galloway shows Major Lennox papers from the President]

 

Galloway: I have operational command now.

 

Galloway: An alien blood feud has been brought to our shores for which our soldiers are paying the price.

 

[Galloway looks towards the Autobots]

 

Galloway: The secret is out! This is our war now and we will win it as we’ve always have… with a coordinated military strategy.

 

One of the Autobots: This fool is terribly misinformed.

 

Major Lennox: You’re going to need every asset we’ve got…

 

Galloway: What we need is to draw battle plans as we explore every possible diplomatic solution.

 

Major Lennox: Like what? Handing over the kid?

 

[Pause before Galloway answers]

 

Galloway: All options are being considered.

 

[Galloway turns and walks away]

 

Random foreign military personnel: Whatever the Decepticons are after, this is just the start.

 

Major Lennox: There is no negotiating with them…

 

Galloway: I am ordering you to stand down. You won’t be needing this anymore.

 

[Galloway rips on insignia patch off of Major Lennox’s uniform]

 

Galloway: Get your assets back to base. Take that pile of scrap metal back to Diego Garcia too. Let’s go!

 

[Major Lennox stands by USAF Master Sergeant Epps as Galloway drives away]

 

Master Sergeant Epps: I really don’t like that guy. A$$…hole.

If you haven’t watched the movie or don’t know you the characters are, click here for a list of the cast.

As I stated in my previous article, Galloway is ultimately proven wrong and the military saves the day, seemingly without the approval of the president. If that isn’t a slight against the president I really don’t know what is.

I suppose in my driveway antics, I’d run the risk of squashing an Autobot, one of the good robot aliens, as well. If either Mudflap or Skids, a pair of new characters who speak in an appallingly offensive ghetto patois, were my victims, I could live with myself. The world doesn’t need more versions of Jar Jar Binks. But what if it were the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime? Optimus truly cares about the future of the human race, unlike the Obama Administration, which Bay represents as so prissy and antiwar it just wants the alien robots off the planet. Bay’s Obama would probably drive his Prius over Optimus if he had the chance. But no problem; if you still had your hearing in the deafening home stretch of Revenge of the Fallen, you’d know that just about any chunk of metal can be brought back to life by merging the Matrix with its Spark. (I’m fairly sure this process has nothing to do with Keanu Reeves. As for the Spark, without benefit of the Hasbro manual, it’s impossible to say whether it is of the plug family or something more ephemeral like Chi.)

What the article fails to mention is that the movie clearly went out of its way to mention Obama. Here is where they scene happened:

**Warning: This is not spoiler, but will definitely reveal some of the plot**

In the movie, the Decepticons are invading the planet in Mass and the President Obama’s liaison to NEST (military group that works with the friendly Autobots to protect world) orders the group to stand down and not fight the invasion. Instead President wants to look into all options including diplomacy. They even are considering giving Sam (Shia LaBeouf’s character) to the Decepticons (which means certain death) in order to appease them.

Without giving too much away, let’s just say the “Obama way” isn’t followed and the day is saved.

The funny thing is that they don’t just make vague references to some nameless president like in most movies; they actually reference President Obama by name in at least one scene if not more.

Even though the critics are already saying this movie was a dud, I would recommend going to see it if not just for this part.

So what does it mean if the president enjoys personal popularity but declining support on particular issues?  Well, if things continue on these trends, Democrats will at the very least lose seats in the 2010 midterm election.

In an article that looks at these polling trends, the author argues that Obama will face a tough election in 2012 and makes an interesting contrast to the Clinton presidency.

Interestingly, Obama’s polling is now the exact opposite of President Clinton’s in the days after Monica Lewinsky. Back then, the president’s approval for handling specific issues was his forte, while his job approval remained high but his personal favorability lagged 20 points behind. Ultimately, it is a politician’s performance on specific issues that determines his electability. Personal favorability withers in the face of issue differences. Obama is about to find out that you cannot rely on image to bolster your presidency when the underlying issues are crumbling.

 

All this data suggests that Obama might run out of steam just as he gets to his healthcare agenda. As unemployment mounts, month after month, and Obama’s claims of job creation (or savings) ring hollow, it is possible that he will not have the heft to pass his radical restructuring of the healthcare system. The automaton Democratic majority may pass it anyway, but it will be a one-way ticket to oblivion if they do.

Read the rest of the article.

In other news, only 26% of Americans feel the economy is improving.

Here is the quote from Scully:

SCULLY: Yet, it all takes money. You know the numbers, $1.7 trillion debt, a national deficit of $11 trillion. At what point do we run out of money?

 

OBAMA: Well, we are out of money now. We are operating in deep deficits, not caused by any decisions we’ve made on health care so far. This is a consequence of the crisis that we’ve seen and in fact our failure to make some good decisions on health care over the last several decades.

In this quote, Scully says ‘$1.7 trillion debt’ and ‘deficit of $11 trillion.’ However, we all know that this is wrong. We have a  $1.7 trillion deficit for this year and a national debt of $11 trillion.

Is this mix-up significant? Probably not in the grand scheme of things. However, it does highlight the fact that a lot of people, even those that are well-informed, get ‘debt’ and ‘deficit’ confused and while Scully most likely knows the difference between the two, the sad fact is I doubt the majority of Americans do.

To see the entire transcript of the C-SPAN interview, click here.

Now, however, I discovered that they aren’t easily accessible on his site so below is the complete lists every.pdf Fact Sheet that was on his website a day before the election.

You may notice that some Fact Sheets have seemingly two copies below. I purposely did this because those PDF’s appeared in two separate places on BarackObama.com with two separate file names.

Overall Promises

Obama’s Blueprint for Change.pdf

Business/Tax

Tax Plan Fact Sheet.pdf

Small Business Fact Sheet.pdf

Tax Plan Fact Sheet.pdf

Domestic Issues

Urban Fact Sheet.pdf

The Impact of the Obama Economic Plan for America’s Working Women.pdf

Tackling Domestic Hunger.pdf

Rural Plan Fact Sheet.pdf

Immigration Fact Sheet (PDF)

Transportation Fact Sheet.pdf

Poverty Fact Sheet.pdf

Economy

Obama’s Fiscal Policy.pdf

Mortgage Fact Sheet.pdf

A RESCUE PLAN FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS.pdf

Education

Pre K-12 Education Fact Sheet.pdf

National Service Plan Fact Sheet.pdf

Making College Affordable for Everyone.pdf

Education Reform Fact Sheet.pdf

Environment/Energy

Energy Fact Sheet.pdf

Wildfire Fact Sheet.pdf

Environment Fact Sheet.pdf

Government

Taking Back our Government Fact Sheet.pdf

Health

Supporting Americans with Autism Spectrum Disorders.pdf

Healthcare FAQ.pdf

Healthcare Full Plan.pdf

AIDS Fact Sheet.pdf

Cancer Fact Sheet.pdf

Disability Plan Fact Sheet.pdf

Science and Technology

Science Fact Sheet.pdf

Innovation and Technology Fact Sheet.pdf

War/Defense

Obama’s Plan to Defeat Terrorism Worldwide (PDF)

Keeping Promises to our Nation’s Veterans & Building a 21st Century VA (PDF)

Homeland Security Fact Sheet.pdf

Defense Fact Sheet (1).pdf

21st Century Threats.pdf

Defense Fact Sheet (2).pdf

World

Israel Fact Sheet.pdf

China Fact Sheet.pdf

Latin America Fact Sheet.pdf

Foreign Policy Democratization and Development Fact Sheet.pdf

Europe Fact Sheet.pdf

Other

Obama on Faith.pdf

Katrina Fact Sheet.pdf

Arts Fact Sheet.pdf

Child Advocacy Fact Sheet.pdf

CREATING EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.pdf

With the recent flip-flopping in the administration’s policy, it shouldn’t take you too long to discover other campaign promises listed in these documents that has been flipped on as well. Good Luck.

Well, I think part of it has to do with the fact that they are now calling it by another name: the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. However, don’t be fooled because H.R. 1388, Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act (GIVE Act), is the bill that actually got signed by the president.

How do I know the bill signed by Obama was H.R. 1388? Well, the Serve America Act (S. 277) (sponsored by Kennedy) just made it out of committee but was never even voted on in either the House of Representatives of the Senate. What seems to have happened was that the Serve America Act was adopted as an amendment to the GIVE Act.

Therefore, H.R. 1388 ( the GIVE Act) was passed by both chambers and handed to the president yesterday to sign (which he did today). Since the signing seems to have been reported after 5:00pm EST, I’m assuming that the records on GovTrack.us will show that it was signed into law when they update it sometime tomorrow or in the near future.

Now, why is the GIVE Act so controversial? Well, most of the controversy revolves around this section:

SEC. 1310. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.

 

Subtitle C of title I (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 132 the following:

 

‘SEC. 132A. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.

 

‘(a) Prohibited Activities- An approved national service position under this subtitle may not be used for the following activities:

 

‘(1) Attempting to influence legislation.

 

‘(2) Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes.

 

‘(3) Assisting, promoting, or deterring union organizing.

 

‘(4) Impairing existing contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements.

 

‘(5) Engaging in partisan political activities, or other activities designed to influence the outcome of an election to Federal office or the outcome of an election to a State or local public office.

 

‘(6) Participating in, or endorsing, events or activities that are likely to include advocacy for or against political parties, political platforms, political candidates, proposed legislation, or elected officials.

 

‘(7) Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of proselytization, consistent with section 132.

 

‘(8) Consistent with section 132, providing a direct benefit to any–

 

‘(A) business organized for profit;

 

‘(B) labor union;

 

‘(C) partisan political organization;

 

‘(D) nonprofit organization that fails to comply with the restrictions contained in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, except that nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent participants from engaging in advocacy activities undertaken at their own initiative; and

 

‘(E) organization engaged in the religious activities described in paragraph (7), unless the position is not used to support those religious activities.

 

‘(9) Providing abortion services or referrals for receipt of such services.

 

‘(10) Conducting a voter registration drive or using Corporation funds to conduct a voter registration drive.

 

‘(11) Carrying out such other activities as the Corporation may prohibit.

 

‘(b) Ineligibility- No assistance provided under this subtitle may be provided to any organization that has violated a Federal criminal statute.

 

‘(c) Nondisplacement of Employed Workers or Other Volunteers- A participant in an approved national service position under this subtitle may not be directed to perform any services or duties, or to engage in any activities, prohibited under the nonduplication, nondisplacement, or nonsupplantation requirements relating to employees and volunteers in section 177.’.

The original language that got people all up in arms back in mid-march was a little more explicit in what and who it banned. Take a look:

SEC. 1304. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.

 

Section 125 (42 U.S.C. 12575) is amended to read as follows:

 

SEC. 125. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.

 

(a) Prohibited Activities- A participant in an approved national service position under this subtitle may not engage in the following activities:

 

(1) Attempting to influence legislation.

 

(2) Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes.

 

…

 

(7) Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization.

Now it seems from the current, signed version that the writers of the bill tried to tone it down for the version reported earlier in March. For example, they rephrased “A participant in an approved national service position under this subtitle may not engage in the following activities” in Sec 125 (a) to read “An approved national service position under this subtitle may not be used for the following activities” in Sec 132 (a) of the new version. In conjunction with this, they also added the phrase “consistent with section 132″ to the end of Sec 132 (a)(1) which didn’t appear in the original version.

Now, I don’t know how the new phrasing will affect what those participating in the “National Service Trust Program” but it still seems to me that religious and free speech rights will be greatly hampered if you take part. However, I think it will take a court case and a couple first amendment lawyers to sort out how this law will/should apply.

However, right now I’m just wondering how signing this $5,700,000,000 act correlates with the mere $100,000,000 he decided cut from the budget yesterday.

For example, remember that random “Obama vs. Putin – Shirtless” poll that was up back in December? Well it obviously wasn’t done become its back now with what seems to be the same results. Take a look: