President Obama: Day One News Roundup

• On First Day, Obama Quickly Sets Tone – New York Times
• Obama halts prosecutions at Guantanamo – New York Times
• Oath administered once again – New York Times
• Clinton approved, Holder delayed – New York Times
• Obama: New era of openness – Washington Post
• Lobbying rules tightened – Washington Post
• Guantanamo closure faces hurdles – Washington Post
• Inauguration head count: 1.8 million – Washington Post
• Obama asks Pentagon for responsible Iraq drawdown – Associated Press

Obama Inauguration: News Roundup – Stories From Around the Planet

New York Times

• Obama is sworn in as 44th President
• Analysis: Speech spanned history and confronted Bush
• Opinion, Timothy Egan: Man in a Hurry
• Hope mixes with doubt as world reacts
• Obama team moves into White House
• Still calling Dr. Gupta

Washington Post

• Obama sworn in as 44th U.S. President
• Obama halts all regulations under review
• Analysis by Broder: Obama asks Nation to rise to the challenge
• “He’s for the whole world”

Chicago Tribune

• A New Era of Responsibility
• Analysis: Blunt criticism of the past
• While Obama sworn in, Blago fingerprinted
• Link: Inauguration Breaking News Blog

Other U.S. & World Coverage

• For thousands there was only one place to be – Christian Science Monitor
• Obama vows to meet U.S. challenges – BBC
• Analysis: The speech translated – Times of London
• Obama takes office as Republicans’ scapegoat – Pravda
• Let the remaking of America begin today – Guardian (U.K.)
• Obama: We are ready to lead – Jerusalem Post
• Obama makes history – Agence France Presse
• President Obama – Los Angeles Times
• Obama takes reins of presidency – Associated Press

Sen. Ted Kennedy Collapses at Inaugural Lunch

Update 2: Kennedy Talks to Medical Personnel; Told Dodd He didn’t want to go to hospital

CNN reporting Kennedy’s doctor says seizure brought on by fatigue. Senator will overnight in hospital for observation and is expected to be released in the a.m.

• Kennedy falls ill at Congressional lunch – Los Angeles Times
  

Update:

CNN & House Chaplain: Kennedy had seizure during luncheon; House chaplain says Kennedy “responded well” to paramedics … developing

Developing … CNN

News Coverage: U.S. Airways Flight Crash Lands in Hudson River – No Deaths

• All 155 escape plane’s plunge into Hudson – New York Times
• Birds in both engines may have brought down jet – New York Times
• Hero pilots disabled plane to safety – New York Post
• Hero pilot saves all aboard – New York Daily News
• Rescuers: Never seen anything like this – Newsday
• Miracle on the Hudson – Newsday

Sanjay Gupta Would Be Another Inspired Pick

How about a U.S. Surgeon General who still practices neurosurgery from time to time, donates his time to worthy health-related causes around the world and has the media chops to liven up the staid post?  How about Dr. Sanjay Gupta?

Word out tonight is that the Obama team has approached the CNN star who was also a health care adviser to Hillary Clinton when she was First Lady.

I’ll be honest with you, I have no idea who currently holds the surgeon general’s post.  I’m not even going to expend the energy to look because whoever it is won’t be there in a month or two.

I remember Jocelyn Elders – I think she advocated something that the right wingers got all bent out of shape about.  I also remember C. Everett Koop, he was the guy who stood up to the cigarette industry.  I also remember that if you held a picture of Koop upside-down, it looked like Koop right-side up.

Read more

Israeli-Gaza Update Sunday a.m. | Ground War | Jan. 4

• Israeli troops bisect Gaza – New York Times
• Israeli Govt: No intention of taking over Gaza – Jerusalem Post
• Civilians die in Gaza fighting – al-Jazeera
• Civilian toll rises; operation could take days – Reuters
• Bodies of Hamas leader’s children paraded – Daily Mail (U.K.)
• Egypt condemns Gaza attack – Bloomberg
• Gaza attacks further split Arab rulers, people – Washington Post
• Analysis: Invasion a double-edged sword – Washington Post

New Year Wish: Print Journalism Does Not Die

Newspapers – or at least print journalism – cannot be allowed to die.

I’ve always had a soft spot for good print news reporters.  Many of them become deep experts in the subject matter of their beats and find enlightening ways to bring this background to their often limited space in the newspaper.  Many also have an uncanny ability to quickly take in information, retain it and apply it to the bigger picture of our world.  Learning about sometimes complex issues and being able to write about them in a way that is accessible to the masses is a huge talent.  Finally, the best journalists are endlessly curious.  Intellectual curiosity is a gift and journalists share this gift with the world every day.

A Reuters story caught my eye the other day.  Frank Nicastro, a Connecticut lawmaker, wants to extend the economic bailout ethic to the newspaper industry.  He’s asking other legislators to support his proposal for the state to prop up some of Connecticut’s local papers.

Nicastro and fellow legislators want the papers to survive, and petitioned the state government to do something about it. “The media is a vitally important part of America,” he said, particularly local papers that cover news ignored by big papers and television and radio stations.

2008 was a year with lots of bad news for newspapers big and small all over the country.  Many dailies cut staff, including newsroom personnel.  Others announced plans to cease publishing newsprint editions on certain days of the week.  The Christian Science Monitor, one of the best sources for international news for decades has ceased to publish a print edition, period.

Since this country’s founding, a free and active press has been crucial to our democratic institutions and a necessary adjunct to good causes such as the abolitionists, worker health and safety and civil rights.  The free press has been described as the “Watchdog” over government.  It’s even been described as the “Fourth Estate” – or the de facto fourth branch of the federal government.

What lengths would Nixon et al have gone to without the investigating of the Washington Post?  More recently, the Post exposed major problems with the medical care being given to veterans and service members at the Walter Reed Amy Hospital.  The Toledo Blade’s news coverage of “Coingate” expedited the state government response to corruption in public office.

Put simply, we need the Fourth Estate.  Television news is often rushed, vapid infotainment.  Radio news, outside of NPR, CBC or the BBC is practically non-existent.  Radio talk, while sometimes entertaining, is an abysmal source for information because it’s mostly cloaked in a partisan fog.

The news pages of newspapers are the last bastion of daily, objective, dispassionate dose of information one can use to be better informed citizen.  Newspapers cover the things like city council, zoning boards and civic events that TV and radio only cover when there’s death or dismemberment involved.  Newspapers are the only purveyors of news where a sense of journalistic, civic duty seems to be still alive.

Is Nicastro’s government bailout of newspapers a good idea?  Loans, maybe.  The Reuters story also said:

Relying on government help raises ethical questions for the press, whose traditional role has been to operate free from government influence as it tries to hold politicians accountable to the people who elected them. Even some publishers desperate for help are wary of this route.

Providing government support can muddy that mission, said Paul Janensch, a journalism professor at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, and a former reporter and editor.

“You can’t expect a watchdog to bite the hand that feeds it,” he said.

The newspaper industry needs to do one thing.  The best minds in journalism, the business of advertising-supported media and the internet need to work together to build the next business model for delivering the news the public needs.  We can’t lose the sense of objectivity or the ideals of journalistic ethics just because we may quit soaking newsprint with ink.  Shame on publishers for not recognizing this and coming up with the business model that will support their noble business through the next decades.  Because they’ve lagged behind technology, unfortunately many more of the nation’s newspapers will die than was probably necessary.

Publishers across this country need to ask themselves everyday: “How do I translate the daily newspaper into a business and medium that serves society as well in the 21st century as it did for the last 300 years.

News Update: Israeli Attacks on Gaza Going on One Week; Tanks, Troops Mass on Border

• Israelis worry Dimona nuke facility in range of Hamas rockets – Times of London
• Tank crews on border await orders to move in – Bloomberg
• How Hamas is altering Israeli politics - Christian Science Monitor
• Israel kills top Hamas leader Rayyan – Jerusalem Post
• Top Hamas leader & family killed by Israelis – al-Jazeera
• IDF strikes Holfe Mosque – Jerusalem Post
• Egypt FM: Hamas gave reason for Israel to attack – Haaretz
• Israel pursues diplomacy but presses attack – New York Times

Transcript: Rod Blagojevich appoints Roland Burris to U.S. Senate | With Bobby Rush | December 30, 2008

(Source: CNN)

GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH (D), ILLINOIS: Thank you very much.

Merry Christmas. Happy holidays. Happy new year. Feliz navidad y prospero ano nuevo.

The people of Illinois are entitled to have two United States senators represent them in Washington, D.C.

As governor, I am required to make this appointment. If I don’t make this appointment, then the people of Illinois will be deprived of their appropriate voice and vote in the United States Senate.

Therefore, I am here to announce my intention to appoint an individual who has unquestioned integrity, extensive experience, and is a wise and distinguished senior statesman of Illinois. This man actually once was an opponent of mine for governor.

(LAUGHTER)

So I’m here today to announce that I am appointing Roland Burris as the next United States senator from the Illinois.

Read more

Bravo! Caterpillar!

We’ve gotten so used to the self-serving executivocracy in this country that the thought of a major company actually cutting from the top doesn’t register long enough for serious consideration.  How many op-eds have you read recently where there was a serious plan/argument for corporate cutbacks that didn’t start with the workforce?  There have been many calls for cutting executive pay, but it’s been in the context of government bailouts – as if you have to take government money before you do the right thing.

A new day has dawn … Caterpillar or Peoria, IL announced today that it’s cutting back like many other manufacturers.  The difference is that they are cutting executive pay up to 50%, managers and support employees will have pay reduced up to 15%, slashing bonuses and offering early retirements.

In other the words the cuts are beginning at the top.  Along the way, more people who are employed today, may actually still have jobs tomorrow.

• Caterpillar to cut executive pay; sets hiring freeze – Bloomberg
• Caterpillar to cut white collar pay up to 50% – USA Today

Text: Rod Blagojevich Statement to the Media | December 19

(Source: Chicago Tribune)

“Thank you very much. I’m here to tell you right off the bat that I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing, that I intend to stay on the job and I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight, I will fight, I will fight. Until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong.   “And I’m not going to quit a job the people hired me to do, because of false accusations and a political lynch mob. Now that’s what I’m going to do. Let me tell you what I’m not going to do. I’m not going to do what my accusers and political enemies have been doing. And that is talk about this case in 30 second sound bites on ‘Meet the Press’ or on the TV news. Now I’m dying to answer these charges, I am dying to show you how innocent I am. And I want to assure everyone who is here and everyone who’s listening that I intend to answer every allegation that comes my way. However, I intend to answer them in the appropriate forum, in a court of law, and when I do, I am absolutely certain that I will be vindicated.

“Rudyard Kipling wrote, if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, and blaming it on you, if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, and make allowance for their doubting too, if you can wait, and not be tired by waiting, or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, or being hated, don’t give way to hating. Now I know there are some powerful forces arrayed against me. It’s kind of lonely right now. But I have on my side the most powerful ally there is, and it’s the truth. And besides, I have the personal knowledge that I have not done anything wrong. To the people of Illinois, I ask that they wait and be patient. Sit back and take a deep breath. And please reserve judgment. Afford me the same rights that you and your children have. The presumption of innocence. The right to defend yourself. The right to your day in court. The same rights that you would expect for yourselves.

“And one last thing. To all of those, to those of you who have expressed your support of Patti and me during this difficult time, I’d like to thank you for your thoughts, I’d like to thank you for your prayers and I’d like to thank you for your good  wishes. Patti and I cannot express to you how grateful we are for your kindness. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.”

Transcript: President George W. Bush at American Enterprise Institute, Includes Q&A | December 18, 2008

(Source: White House Press Office)

10:44 A.M. EST

MR. DeMUTH: Mr. President, what’s on your mind this morning?

THE PRESIDENT: First, thanking you for being the leader that you’ve been, and thanking AEI for generating good thought. People in the public arena need to have support for philosophy — and that’s what you provide, so I appreciate all your hard work.

I thought I’d share some thoughts about the presidency — you could call it “reflections by a guy who’s headed out of town.” (Laughter.) And then I’d be glad to answer questions — and foreign policy, if you want to. Read more

What Happened to the Automakers Bailout?

Remember when the U.S. financial services sector was in its darkest hour?  My Lord, Congress, the President, Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke and candidates for county commissioner all called for a bailout – nearly a trillion dollars worth.  Inside of a week Barney Frank and Chris Dodd marshalled the troops on Capitol Hill and we had ourselves a big bill.  Even being defeated in the House on its first go-round couldn’t stop the $700 billion love offering to the likes of Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo.

Our government – Democrats, Republicans – executive and legislative branch – fell over themselves to deliver for Wall Street.  John McCain even suspended his presidential campaign for about 12 hours.

The Wall Street/Main Street construct has been used so much as to become trite.  Well, here goes another one.  Washington, Main Street needs some help now.  It’s called keeping the Big Three U.S. automakers solvent in the worst economy since the 1930s. 

Forget about the entitled UAW-represented autoworker for a moment and think about that machine shop you drive by on your way to work every day.  Think for a moment about the truck driver living next door.  Ask yourself what’s going to happen to your cousin Bob who works at the Chevy dealership and his 75 co-workers. Read more

Transcript: Obama News Conference Announcing Environment and Energy Team | December 15

(Source: CQ Transcriptswire)

• SPEAKER: PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA
• STEVEN CHU, ENERGY SECRETARY NOMINEE
• LISA JACKSON, EPA ADMINISTRATOR NOMINEE
• NANCY SUTLEY, HEAD, COUNCIL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY-DESIGNATE CAROL BROWNER, ENERGY CZAR-DESIGNATE
• VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

[*] OBAMA: Good afternoon, everybody.

Over the past few weeks, Vice President-elect Biden and I have announced key members of our economic and national security teams. In the 21st century, we know that the future of our economy and national security is inextricably linked with one challenge: energy.

So today we’re pleased to introduce the majority of the team that will lead our efforts on energy and the environment. I say the majority, because we are going to be doing separate announcements for the secretary of the interior, who’s going to have a lot to do on energy policy. And, obviously, interior or — transportation and agriculture will be important, as well. Read more

What Did Rahm Emanuel Get Caught Saying on Tapes? Probably Nothing.

News reports this morning are saying that President-Elect Barack Obama’s chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel’s voice was captured during wire taps of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.  Surprise, surprise.

The speculation in the media will begin about what Emanuel said to Blagojevich or his staff, and it may border on hysterics.  Ultimately, I don’t think they’ll find Emanuel did anything wrong. Read more

Next Page »