tagged w/ Obama Administration
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By Stephen C. Webster
Thursday, June 7, 2012 12:42 EDT
In a last minute addition to the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has submitted an amendment that would legalize the production of industrial hemp, a potential new bumper crop for U.S. farmers.
“Industrial hemp is used in many healthy and sustainable consumer products. However, the federal prohibition on growing industrial hemp has forced companies to needlessly import raw materials from other countries,” Wyden said in prepared text. “My amendment to the Farm Bill will change federal policy to allow U.S. farmers to produce hemp for these safe and legitimate products right here, helping both producers and suppliers to grow and improve Oregon’s economy in the process.”
Allowing American farmers to produce industrial hemp, which is different from its more notorious cousin marijuana, would yield significant and immediate profits the first year, according to an analysis conducted in 1998 (PDF) by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Kentucky.
Researchers found that farmers in the state of Kentucky alone could see between $220 to $605 in net profits per acre of hemp. Adjusted for inflation using the consumer price index, those 1998 dollars would actually be worth $310 and $854 today, although the study’s authors note that variables in supply and demand for hemp could change that valuation.
The average price farmers are getting on an acre of corn, which has been falling thanks to relatively strong supply this year, clocked in at roughly $921 according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) figures out last week, but their overall take drops significantly due to the costs of production, leaving them in the $200 range on net profits. While a legalized hemp industry would likely never become as essential to Americans as corn, the potential for a high value crop and hundreds of millions, if not billions, in new economic activity is clear.
“This is the first time since the 1950s that language supporting hemp has come to the floor of the House or Senate for a vote. The last time such language was presented was the Miller’s Amendment to the Marihuana Tax Act,” Eric Steenstra, president of the advocacy group Vote Hemp, said in an advisory. “The time is past due for the Senate as well as President Obama and the Attorney General to prioritize the crop’s benefits to farmers and to take action… With the U.S. hemp industry valued at over $400 million in annual retail sales and growing, a change in federal policy to allow hemp farming would mean instant job creation, among many other economic and environmental benefits.”
It’s not clear if the bill has a shot, however. Conservative groups like the Club for Growth are urging Senators to vote against the farm bill, which is under consideration this week, because it has too many attachments unrelated to the agricultural sectors.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), has also called on other Senators to stop adding unrelated amendments, which the Senate spent much of Wednesday doing. If the Senate’s top partisans cannot find an agreeable solution to limiting the bill’s amendments, it is likely to languish and die.
The federal government does not differentiate between marijuana and industrial hemp, but it allows the importation of thousands of products made from industrial hemp. President Barack Obama’s drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, warned as recently as April in comments made online that industrial hemp was a “controlled substance,” which sent hemp advocates on a rhetorical tirade.
Bills seeking to legalize industrial hemp have cleared at least one legislative chamber in 17 states overall, including Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia, where those bills became law. Scientists say the psychoactive component of marijuana is almost completely undetectable in hemp.
Photo: Flickr user vhhammer, creative commons licensed.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/06/07/hemp-legalization-added-to-senate-farm-bill/
"Why is it always the Democrats who see the benefit of Hemp, while these people who call themselves 'Conservative' do not even understand the definition of the Word???" =)By Stephen C. Webster
Thursday, June 7, 2012 12:42 EDT
In a last minute addition... more
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Published on Jun 6, 2012 by BarackObamadotcom
Supporters in Ohio rocked for Barack with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers after a weekend of action in April.
Being Obama supporters, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers decided to throw a free concert to reward volunteers who held over 650 phone shifts in a four day period. Over half of those shifts were from brand new volunteers who had never volunteered before at the local OFA office.
As one fired up volunteer put it:
"To work together and do phone-banking and volunteering and then get a concert afterwards as a reward—it's awesome."
Get involved with the nearest Ohio office near you: http://my.barackobama.com/redhotchilipeppersvid
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101732803
"Funny how we were talking about Bono and Madonna the other day, I am Happy to see the Red Hot Chilli Peppers taking a lead in this countries future!!!" =)Published on Jun 6, 2012 by BarackObamadotcom
Supporters in Ohio rocked for Barack... more
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Sometimes when something is going so terribly wrong, there is simply no need for timelines.Sometimes when something is going so terribly wrong, there is simply no need for... more
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If you were a child in the District of Columbia school system (51st in state rankings for academic achievement, first for school violence), you and your parents probably greeted the election of Barack Obama with great joy. If someone had suggested to you then that the president would attempt to torpedo the scholarship program that permits some district kids to attend the private schools of their choice, you might have thought you were hearing racist smears.
But that is what happened. As he did in previous years, Obama has once again attempted to zero out funding in 2013 for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, a small federal outlay that provides scholarships to some 1,600 students to attend private or parochial schools. Since the program’s inception in 2004, more than 10,000 families have applied to participate. The average income of OSP participants is $24,000.
The administration claims that it “strongly opposes” the OSP because it “has not yielded improved student achievement.” But as the Black Alliance for Educational Options reports:
“The most recent federal evaluation of the OSP showed that students who used their scholarships had a 91 percent graduation rate – 21 percent higher than those who were offered but did not use scholarships and more than 30 points higher than D.C. public school students. The program has also produced gains in reading.”
The president delivers energetic speeches about the “knowledge economy” and the urgent need to improve education for all of America’s kids. He’s been troubled and adamant about the problem of school dropouts: In a 2010 speech, for example, the president declared: “This is a problem we cannot afford to accept or ignore. The stakes are too high – for our children, for our economy, for our country. It’s time for all of us to come together … to end America’s dropout crisis.” But the program in D.C. that cuts dropout rates by 30 points? He’s standing in the schoolhouse door saying, “No exit.”
At least two students, Sarah and James Parker, were able to attend Sidwell Friends – the school the Obamas chose for their daughters – thanks to the scholarships. The Wall Street Journal’s William McGurn quoted their mother, who noted that at the public school her kids would be obliged to attend without the scholarships, fewer than half of the students are proficient at reading or math. “I once took Sarah to Roosevelt High School,” Deborah Parker recounted, “to see its metal detectors and security guards. I wanted to scare her into appreciation for what she has at Sidwell.” Too bad she couldn’t take Obama on the same tour.
The last time Obama, who likes to style himself as the voice of the 99 percent, attempted to kill the Opportunity Scholarship Program, it was saved by Speaker of the House John Boehner – just another white Republican who cares nothing for blacks and Hispanics. During tense budget negotiations in 2011, Boehner succeeded in getting the president’s approval for a five-year reauthorization of the $20 million program.
Now the president is proposing, as Democrats always do, to increase funding for the Department of Education by 2.5 percent, taking it to $70 billion, and once again to eliminate funding for the OSP, moving those funds back to the public schools.
It’s easy to see why the president wants to double down on the current system. Ever-increasing expenditures have done so much for the kids of the District of Columbia. The district now spends $18,000 per student. More than 60 percent of district fourth-graders cannot read at grade level. Only 14 percent of eighth-graders are proficient in reading. The Washington Post reports that in math, the district has, “by a wide margin, the nation’s highest proportion of fourth- and eighth-graders in the ‘below basic’ category – and the lowest in proficient/advanced.” During the 2007-’08 academic year, police received more than 3,500 calls from public schools, 900 of them for violent incidents.
The overwhelming majority of parents who’ve been able to take advantage of Opportunity Scholarships are happy with them, along with more than 70 percent of district residents generally. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who has joined Speaker Boehner in attempting to secure funding for the program, said “If Dr. King were alive today, he’d be fighting his heart out for the OSP.”
But Dr. King is not alive, and the first black president, whose daughters are in no danger of losing their spots at Sidwell, has turned his back.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/may/29/obama-turns-back-on-students/If you were a child in the District of Columbia school system (51st in state rankings... more
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According to the NY Post, Obama friends tried to bribe Rev. Jeremiah “God damn America” into shutting up between now and November. When he opens his mouth, Wright tends to say things that rebound onto his protege of 20 years.
It’s interesting that a sitting president may have tried to muzzle his mentor with money, but I’m less interested in that, than this:
“And one of the first things Barack said was, ‘I really wish you wouldn’t do any more public speaking until after the November election.’ He knew I had some speaking engagements lined up, and he said, ‘I wish you wouldn’t speak. It’s gonna hurt the campaign if you do that.’
“And what did you say?” I asked. “I said, ‘I don’t see it that way. And anyway, how am I supposed to support my family?’ And he said, ‘Well, I wish you wouldn’t speak in public. The press is gonna eat you alive.’
“Barack said, ‘I’m sorry you don’t see it the way I do. Do you know what your problem is?’ And I said, ‘No, what’s my problem?’ And he said, ‘You have to tell the truth.’ I said, ‘That’s a good problem to have. That’s a good problem for all preachers to have. That’s why I could never be a politician.’
What truth is that? That white folks’ greed runs a world in need? That 9-11 was America’s chickens coming home to roost? That HIV is a US government conspiracy against black people? That Bill Clinton did to America what he did to Monica Lewinsky?
Is that the truth that Wright can’t stop saying, Mr. President? Do we have a full blown racial conspiracy nut in the presidency?
If the mainstream media didn’t have such a perverse idea of what is controversial and what isn’t, someone would interview the president about all this.
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/05/13/obama-to-rev-wright-your-problem-is-you-hav...
groups: CommunityAccording to the NY Post, Obama friends tried to bribe Rev. Jeremiah “God damn... more
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According to the NY Post, Obama friends tried to bribe Rev. Jeremiah “God damn America” into shutting up between now and November. When he opens his mouth, Wright tends to say things that rebound onto his protege of 20 years.
It’s interesting that a sitting president may have tried to muzzle his mentor with money, but I’m less interested in that, than this:
“And one of the first things Barack said was, ‘I really wish you wouldn’t do any more public speaking until after the November election.’ He knew I had some speaking engagements lined up, and he said, ‘I wish you wouldn’t speak. It’s gonna hurt the campaign if you do that.’
“And what did you say?” I asked. “I said, ‘I don’t see it that way. And anyway, how am I supposed to support my family?’ And he said, ‘Well, I wish you wouldn’t speak in public. The press is gonna eat you alive.’
“Barack said, ‘I’m sorry you don’t see it the way I do. Do you know what your problem is?’ And I said, ‘No, what’s my problem?’ And he said, ‘You have to tell the truth.’ I said, ‘That’s a good problem to have. That’s a good problem for all preachers to have. That’s why I could never be a politician.’
What truth is that? That white folks’ greed runs a world in need? That 9-11 was America’s chickens coming home to roost? That HIV is a US government conspiracy against black people? That Bill Clinton did to America what he did to Monica Lewinsky?
Is that the truth that Wright can’t stop saying, Mr. President? Do we have a full blown racial conspiracy nut in the presidency?
If the mainstream media didn’t have such a perverse idea of what is controversial and what isn’t, someone would interview the president about all this.
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/05/13/obama-to-rev-wright-your-problem-is-you-have-to-tell-the-truth/According to the NY Post, Obama friends tried to bribe Rev. Jeremiah “God damn... more
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This is a very important topic, and an excellent interview. It addresses what may, or may not, be “unintended consequences” very well.
This is a "Must see".
Here's a direct link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK1kWqb5t6U&feature=youtu.beThis is a very important topic, and an excellent interview. It addresses what may, or... more
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Ted's got massive stones!
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The evolution is complete. President Obama disclosed in a television interview recorded Wednesday that he had changed his long-standing position, a move that should satisfy (at least for now) a Democratic base that was growing frustrated with him over the controversial social issue.
ABC News
In an interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts, the president described his thought process as an “evolution” that led him to this decision, based on conversations with his staff members, openly gay and lesbian service members, and his wife and daughters.
EQUALITY!!!! Well maybe... Anyone think this will go well or is he just doing it for the LGBT vote and campaign contribution.The evolution is complete. President Obama disclosed in a television interview... more
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Thom Hartmann talks with Steve Bucci, Ph.D. , Senior Research Fellow, Defense and Homeland Security-the Heritage Foundation Website: www.heritage.org about the Cybersecurity Information Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), introduced by House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD). Under CISPA, the U.S. government will be able to share information about incoming cyber attacks — that includes providing American companies details on malware, viruses, and other malicious code that pose a threat to their security. But will it mean the end to our online privacy?Thom Hartmann talks with Steve Bucci, Ph.D. , Senior Research Fellow, Defense... more
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Edit to ask you guys and gals to spread it far and wide on facebook and anywhere else.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101726726
"Yes!!! Please share with all you know, there is much at stake and we need BO for for more years, not Mitt Romney!!!"Edit to ask you guys and gals to spread it far and wide on facebook and anywhere else.... more
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Purveyors of the first view will often further argue that we might expect the real, more aggressive and progressive Obama to emerge in the second term. Hell hath no righteous fury, it is suggested, like a lame duck true believer with nothing to lose. Well, maybe, and I certainly hope this is the case. But I tend to side with NFL coaching legend Bill Parcells here: At some point, “you are what your record says you are.”Purveyors of the first view will often further argue that we might expect the real,... more
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WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE?
This video and beautiful powerful song made by Makana was done as a result of a vote in Hawaii that refused to give people the right to know about GMO. Powerful lobbyists in Washington DC representing the purveyors of monoculture and environmental contamination for their own profit used that money to corrupt those who put the interests of the few above the many. But this is not the end. We have voices. We have passion. And we have the truth on our side.
Occupying our food system now in any way we can do so be it on a street, in a garden or on a modem is essential and crucial now. There is no more time left for petty distractions. Monsanto, DOW Chemical, BASF, Bayer, Syngenta, et al have drawn the battle lines. Their goal is clear: control your seeds in order to control your life. And make no mistake, this is a war they are waging against nature itself. So please watch this video and contact those mentioned who came down once again on the side of those who care nothing about your planet, your food, or your health. Let them know they will no longer get away with putting their own interests ahead of the biodiversity of this planet. WE ARE THE MANY, THEY ARE THE FEW.
Thank you, Hawaii. MahaloWHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE?
This video and beautiful powerful song made by Makana was... more
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By David Edwards
Friday, May 4, 2012 11:16 EDT
Ted Nugent recently said presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign “expressed support” after the musician made comments that caused the U.S. Secret Service to wonder if he had threatened the life of President Barack Obama.
In a recent interview where the conservative rocker flew into a rage, Nugent revealed to CBS reporter Jeff Glor that he had spoken to Romney’s campaign after he told a crowd at the National Rifle Association (NRA) convention that he would be “either be dead or in jail by this time next year” if Obama was re-elected.
“We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November!” he exclaimed to the NRA audience. “Any questions?”
Glor wondered if the Romney campaign was “unhappy” over those remarks.
“No,” Nugent replied. “They expressed support. … I got the sensation that it was — not from Mitt himself or Ms. Romney — ‘Stay on course, Ted.’ Freedom of speech is beautiful thing.”
The Romney supporter recalled that he had an “adorable” meeting with the Secret Service for as long as 40 minutes after making the controversial comments.
“I feel sorry for liberals who can be that brain dead as to take a clear statement of fear on my part and turn it into a threat against somebody else,” Nugent explained.
“If Mitt Romney wins, he needs at least some of the moderate vote,” Glor noted. “You are many things, you are not moderate.”
“Call me when you sit down across from someone who has more families with dying little boys and girls who get a call to take them on their last fishing trip in life!” an enraged Nugent screamed. “Call me when you meet someone who does that more than I do because that’s really moderate! In fact, you know what that is? That’s extreme! I’m an extremely loving, passionate man! And people who investigate me honestly — without the baggage of political correctness — ascertain the conclusion that I’m a damn nice guy! And if you can find a screening process more powerful than that, I’ll suck your fucking dick!”
“Or fuck you!” he said, turning to Glor’s female producer. “How’s that sound?”
Glor told CBS hosts Charlie Rose and Erica Hill that Nugent later offered a “full apology” for his outburst.
“Yesterday, he called me on the phone after we got back from New York,” Glor said. “And said after our interview, he was rushed to the emergency room and had a kidney stone removed. So, that’s what he said may have contributed to his high level of energy.”
The CBS reporter added that Nugent’s musical career was not suffering because he is “more known now” after the controversial comments.
“His quote to us was that his ‘guitar eats faces,’ as only Ted Nugent can say it.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/04/nugent-romney-camp-expressed-support-after-anti-obama-tirade/
Watch this video from CBS’s This Morning, broadcast May 4, 2012.
"I Hate to give this Douche Bag any more attention than he deserves, but this is out of Control!!!" If for some reason this video doesn't show, Please check the link, Thanks!!! =)By David Edwards
Friday, May 4, 2012 11:16 EDT
Ted Nugent recently said... more
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"Sadly I agree, we are no longer worthwhile Americans, we are simply a commodity!!!"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101726198
"So how do we turn this around??? Any Suggestions Folks???""Sadly I agree, we are no longer worthwhile Americans, we are simply a... more
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By Stephanie Whiteside / current.com
When it comes to policies on sex education, it's the GOP that's pushing for abstinence-only policies, right? Not necessarily; the Obama administration quietly added an abstinence-only curriculum to the list of officially sanctioned guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The program is the South Carolina-based Heritage Keepers program, which is included as one of the 31 evidence-based programs for preventing teen pregnancy and it was included in the list this spring.
By Stephanie Whiteside / current.com
When it comes to policies on sex education,... more
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Campaign Manager Ms. Cutter says to "share" this so I am - hope you enjoy and it helps when you see inaccuracies on Facebook, etc.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101725784
"I agree with Stephanie Cutter and think we all need to share this information, so I Hope you folks will do just that!!!" =)Campaign Manager Ms. Cutter says to "share" this so I am - hope you enjoy... more
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The video outlines the challenges America faced as President Obama took office at the height of the worst recession in almost a century and details the progress that has been made reclaiming the security of the middle class and building an economy that's meant to last, where hard work pays and responsibility is rewarded.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101725237
"I believe it is very Important for Folks to remember all that BO has struggled for, for a Better America!!!" =)The video outlines the challenges America faced as President Obama took office at the... more
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The war on terror now exists solely as a war against U.S. citizens.
Recently, the Obama State Department officially declared the "War on Terror" to be over. This should mean that the threat of a terrorist attack against America either at home or abroad has become so miniscule that it poses no further concern for the Federal government. Yet, the Obama Administration was seemingly concerned enough about Terrorism as of 12/11 that the President signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act which gives the US military the power to detain US citizens for indefinite periods, literally shoot anyone who is even suspected of anti-government activity that is uncooperative, and arrest those who have anti-government opinions such as speaking out against the Gestapo-like tactics used by the TSA each time anyone wishes to fly a commercial airline, for example.
President Obama was also seemingly concerned enough about terrorism to use his executive powers to implement the National Defense Resources Preparedness Act into law, March 16, 2012, which gives him the right to seize control over all public and private entities in the country, literally when he deems todo so.
Such fascist laws as the Patriot Act which give the Federal government the right to spy on its own citizens in the form of telephone taps, scrutinizing all bank accounts, the monitoring all internet usage by everyone, recording travel by all and produced the TSA is as alive today as it ever was, shortly after 9-11.
Other freedom killing bills such as SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), PIPA (Protect IP Act), ACTA (Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement), and CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act) that have sprung up of late are all directed at spying on American citizens and keeping tabs on our personal lives.
Today, in every town and municipality in the US, there are cameras at every street corner and most are equipped with microphones while recording every conversation going on by anyone within range of them.
American society today gives new meaning to George Orwell's book 1984 and even goes far beyond the book's big brother scenario.
If the War on Terror is officially over as we are told it is, there shouldn't be a need for any of this but, the Federal government's desire to spy on us and know everything about our every move has drastically increased just since January of this year. Thus, proving that it is the citizens of the US that the Federal Government is interested in and not international terrorists. We have become the enemies of the state in the eyes of the Federal Government.
The US Federal government fears its own citizens, because it is afraid that massive riots and civil unrest will erupt at any given time when the people realize they have been taken for idiots by their own government....
continued at:
http://www.thecypresstimes.com/article/News/Opinion_Editorial/THE_WAR_ON_TERROR_NOW_THE_WAR_ON_UNITED_STATES_CITIZENS/59208The war on terror now exists solely as a war against U.S. citizens.
Recently, the... more
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Dagum
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added this
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1 year ago
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