Tag Archives: Joe Biden

March 19, 2013 · 11:42 AM

10 things you need to know today: March 19, 2013

The Week

Cyprus bailout heads to a vote, Pope Francis celebrates his inaugural mass, and more in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion

1. RAND PAUL BACKS CITIZENSHIP PATH FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
As the GOP prepares to reach out to minority voters to repair its image, Sen. Rand Paul plans to use a Tuesday speech to endorse a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants. Paul, a Kentucky senator and potential 2016 presidential candidate, is joining a growing group of prominent Republicans who are rejecting the party’s hardline positions on immigration in the wake of November’s elections, when Latino voters overwhelmingly backed President Obama and other Democrats. “If you wish to live and work in America, then we will find a place for you,” Paul plans to say, according to a copy of his speech obtained by The Associated Press. [Associated Press]
………………………………………………………………………………

2. CYPRUS READY TO REJECT BAILOUT TERMS
Cypriot lawmakers appear likely to reject a divisive tax on bank deposits in a vote scheduled for Tuesday, which could imperil a $13 billion European Union bailout the country needs to avoid a banking collapse. “It looks like it won’t pass,” says government spokesman Christos Stylianides. The vote has already been postponed twice as Cyprus’ new president, Nicos Anastasiades, tries to make the bailout terms more palatable. Angry depositors have been lining up at ATM machines trying to withdraw their money before the tax — 6.75 percent on accounts up to $130,000 and 10 percent on larger ones — can be imposed. [Reuters]
………………………………………………………………………………

3. BOMBERS STRIKE ON ANNIVERSARY OF IRAQ INVASION
Insurgents hit Shiite areas in Baghdad with a wave of bombings on Tuesday, killing at least 56 people and highlighting increasing sectarian tensions on the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The attacks, most of them car bombings, occurred over a single hour, and targeted small restaurants, bus stops, a police station, and busy streets. No one immediately claimed responsibility, but the strikes were similar to past attacks by al Qaeda in Iraq. [Associated Press]
………………………………………………………………………………

4. FRANCIS OFFICIALLY INSTALLED AS NEW POPE
Pope Francis celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday to mark the official launch of his reign as leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. Hundreds of thousands of people joined dignitaries for the rite, which, at two hours, was an hour shorter, and simpler than the one that launched the papacy of Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI. The new pontiff, the first Jesuit pope, signaled his plan to abandon much of the Vatican’s traditional pomp, and reinvigorate the scandal-plagued church with a greater focus on the poor and disadvantaged. [Reuters]
………………………………………………………………………………

5. OBAMA PREPARES TO LEAVE FOR ISRAEL
President Obama is scheduled to depart Tuesday night on his first trip to Israel as president. Obama isn’t expected to push forward a new peace initiative. Middle East experts say he’s likely to focus on mending a sometimes rocky relationship with the Israeli government during the four-day visit, which comes less than two days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new coalition government was installed. With new administrations in Israel and the U.S., says Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes, there’s value in “just having a broad strategic conversation.” [ABC News]
………………………………………………………………………………

6. HILLARY CLINTON PUBLICLY BACKS GAY MARRIAGE
Hillary Clinton on Monday released a six-minute video announcing her support for gay marriage, becoming the latest politician to switch positions on the issue. The move fueled speculation that Clinton will run for president in 2016 — the other top contenders, including Vice President Joe Biden and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, also back gay marriage. “LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones,” Clinton says in the video. “And they are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage.” [Politico]
………………………………………………………………………………

7. BLOOMBERG FIGHTS SMOKING BY HIDING CIGARETTES
A week after a court overturned his signature sugary drink regulations, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Monday proposed new legislation that would make it illegal for stores to publicly display cigarettes. Bloomberg said that “even one new smoker is one too many,” and that hiding cigarettes would keep some young people from picking up the habit, driving down the smoking rate for the city as a whole. Despite a drop in the smoking rate over the past decade, cigarettes remain a leading preventable cause of death, killing 7,000 New Yorkers per year, the city said. [NYC.gov, New York Daily News]
………………………………………………………………………………

8. POLICE SAY WOMEN WERE PAID TO LIE ABOUT MENENDEZ 
Police in the Dominican Republic said Monday that a local lawyer had paid three Dominican women to lie and say they had been paid to have sex with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). One of the women allegedly received $300, and the other two $425 to make the false claims in videotaped interviews. Menendez said the announcement shows “that this was a smear from the very beginning.” Last fall, two Dominican women told the conservative Daily Caller website that Menendez had paid them for sex. The Daily Caller says it is still investigating whether the women who have recanted are the ones it interviewed. [Politico]
………………………………………………………………………………

9. FLORIDA STUDENT MAY HAVE PLANNED DORM MASSACRE
A former University of Central Florida student found dead in a dorm might have been planning a massacre before deciding to commit suicide instead. The dead man was identified as James Oliver Seevakumara, 30. He was found shot in the head in his bedroom in a residence hall, where he faced eviction after failing to enroll this semester after studying business administration at the Orlando school from 2010 to 2012. Officials said Seevakumara had a .45-caliber handgun, a .22-caliber tactical rifle, and backpack with four improvised explosive devices in it. Seevakumara reportedly started buying weapons and ammunition in February. [Los Angeles Times]
………………………………………………………………………………

10. LIL WAYNE RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL
Rapper Lil Wayne has been released from the Los Angeles hospital where he was treated after suffering a seizure last week, his publicist tweeted late Monday. An online report on Friday suggested that the artist, born Dwayne Carter, was on life support near death, sparking panic among his fans. Lil Wayne’s associates swatted down the report as “nonsense,” and the rapper tweeted, “I’m good everybody… Thnx for the prayers and love.” [CNN]

Related articles

1 Comment

Filed under U.S. Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

March 17, 2013 · 5:44 AM

West Wing Week 3-15-2013: “We Don’t Have a Moment to Waste”

The White House

International Courage Awards: Last Friday, the First Lady joined Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department for the International Women of Courage Awards—where nine different women were honored. The event was a celebration of the strength and sacrifice of individuals who have worked tirelessly for the advancement of women’s rights for all.

Trade Export Council: On Tuesday, President Obama touched base with business and government leaders at a meeting of the President’s Export Council.

“The good news is we are well on our way to meeting a very ambitious goal that we set several years ago to double U.S. exports,” said the President. “And what we know is, is that a lot of the growth, a lot of the new jobs that we’ve seen during the course of this recovery, have been export-driven.”

To maintain and ignite growth, President Obama discussed finishing new trade deals with Europe and the Asia-Pacific. The Administration signed legislation in 2011 supporting free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama which has kept America competitive in foreign trade, while creating jobs for Americans.

Sultan of Brunei: On Tuesday, President Obama welcomed His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei to the Oval Office for a bilateral meeting to share their desire for “a strong, peaceful, prosperous Asia-Pacific region.”

Brunei, a small country in the South China Sea, will be holding the ASEAN East Asia Summit meeting in October. The visit is a symbol of the President’s goal of working towards a peaceful and prosperous presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

#AskFLOTUS : On Monday, in celebration of Let’s Move’s third anniversary the First Ladyparticipated in a question and answer session through Twitter. The First Lady tweeted responses to questions such as how much exercise our kids need a day and her favorite healthy winter recipe. For the record, a minimum of 60 minutes a day is required and the First Lady’s favorite winter dish is turkey and veggie chili. Head over to Pinterest for MyPlate Recipes which haves hundreds of tasty recipes for a healthy diet.

Check out the Q & A on Storify and follow @FLOTUS and @LetsMove for the latest updates.

“Being Biden”: On Thursday, Vice President Biden introduced a new audio series called “Being Biden” to give Americans an opportunity to connect with the White House through the lens of Vice President Biden. In the series, the Vice President will discuss special photos and share why the moments matter to him. Check out the first installment atwhitehouse.gov/beingbiden.

Subscribe and receive an email update when new stories are posted, sign up here.

Ask Him Anything: On Wednesday, Gene Sperling, the Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to President Obama for Economic Policy, fielded questions on the President’s plan to reduce the deficit. Through Reddit’s “Ask Me Anything” forum, Sperling answered economic policy questions from users, and even joked about the West Wing, a TV series on which he once worked.

You can read through the Q & A on Reddit here.

Hire Vets: On Wednesday, the First Lady addressed the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers, and challenged them to hire our veterans and military spouses. Through Joining Forces, the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden have made it a priority to support them:

“We’ve got to hold ourselves to the same standards of service and patriotism as they’ve held themselves,” said the First Lady. “And we’ve got to join forces so that we can truly serve our veterans and military families as well as they have served us.”

 

Related articles

Comments Off

Filed under West Wing Week

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 11, 2013 · 5:53 AM

Obama jokes about press, GOP and himself

barack-obama

President Obama leave the Gridiron Dinner Friday, March 9th.

I’m a bit late with this particular story but after finally reading about it, I decided to share.   According to various press reports, this president can really deliver a punchline…

USA Today – The Oval

Did you hear the one about President Obama, Sen. John McCain, and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel?

“These days, John McCain and I are spending so much time together that he told me we were becoming friends,” Obama told member of the Gridiron press club during its annual dinner Saturday night.

“I said, ‘John, stop — Chuck Hagel warned me how this ends up!’”

Appearing at the white-tie dinner in which politicians and journalists make fun of each other, Obama cracked wise about politics, the news media, the sequester and even about himself.

“My joke writers have been placed on furlough,” Obama began. “I know a lot of you reported that no one will feel any immediate impact because of the sequester — well, you’re about to find out how wrong you are.”

He added: “Of course, there’s one thing in Washington that didn’t get cut — the length of this dinner. Yet more proof that the sequester makes no sense.”

Other topics covered by Obama and his substitute joke writers:

Complaints by reporters: “Some of you have said that I’m ignoring the Washington press corps — that we’re too controlling. You know what, you were right. I was wrong and I want to apologize in a video you can watch exclusively at whitehouse.gov.”

His agenda: “I have my top advisers working around the clock. After all, my March Madness bracket isn’t going to fill itself out. And don’t worry — there is an entire team in the situation room as we speak, planning my next golf outing, right now at this moment.”

His skeet-shooting photo: “Of course, maintaining credibility in this cynical atmosphere is harder than ever — incredibly challenging. My administration recently put out a photo of me skeet shooting and even that wasn’t enough for some people. Next week, we’re releasing a photo of me clinging to religion.”

Changes in his administration: “With all these new faces, it’s hard to keep track of who is in, who is out. And I know it’s difficult for you guys as reporters. But I can offer you an easy way of remembering the new team. If Ted Cruz calls somebody a communist, then you know they’re in my Cabinet.”

Vice President Biden: “Look, it’s no secret that my vice president is still ambitious. But let’s face it, his age is an issue. Just the other day, I had to take Joe aside and say, ‘Joe, you are way too young to be the pope. … You can’t do it. You’ve got to mature a little bit.’”

The press: “I know that there are people who get frustrated with the way journalism is practiced these days. And sometimes those people are me. But the truth is, our country needs you and our democracy needs you.”

Obama wrapped up by making fun of his recent mix-up of Star Wars and Star Trek:

“In the words of one of my favorite Star Trek characters — Capt. James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise — ‘may the force be with you.’”

Related articles

Comments Off

Filed under President Obama's Humor

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

March 9, 2013 · 8:35 AM

Week in one-liners: Paul, Reid, Ailes

 

The top quotes in politics…

Politico

“I would have worn different shoes.” — Sen. Rand Paul reflecting on his 13-hour filibuster.

“You need strong convictions but also a strong bladder. — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid commending Paul’s effort.

“It kills me not to be there” —  Former Gov. Mitt Romney on not making it to the White House.

“He’s just a great guy.” — Dennis Rodman praising his friend Kim Jong Un.

“I’m going to invite him over to my house.” — Journalist Bob Woodward making amends with Gene Sperling.

“I like him. But he’s dumb as an ashtray.” — Fox News chief Roger Ailes knocking Vice President Joe Biden.

“It’s just silly.” —House Speaker John Boehner criticizing the White House for canceling tours.

 

1 Comment

Filed under Politico's Top Political Quotes

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

March 3, 2013 · 1:21 PM

VP Joe Biden and AG Eric Holder in Selma today for “Bloody Sunday” commemoration

selma-bridge-cross-2013.jpg

Police ready Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge for the Sunday, March 3, 2013, commemoration of Bloody Sunday. (Vasha Hunt/al.com)

AL.com

SELMA, Alabama — Vice President Joe Biden is in Selma this morning for the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the violent 1965 clash between law enforcement and protesters on the Edmund Pettus Bridge during a march for voting rights.

Images of the clash in which officers wielded billy clubs and tear gas against protesters helped galvanize support for passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Biden will speak at noon at the Unity Day Brunch. He will then join a crowd expected to numbers in the thousands as the group makes the annual symbolic crossing across the bridge.

Biden’s visit comes four days after the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments challenging Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act which requires states with a history of discrimination to get Justice Department approval before making any change to election procedure. The case is out of Alabama’s Shelby County. Shelby County argued the South and Shelby County has changed and the oversight is no longer needed.

On March 7, 1965 marchers made it just a few blocks from the churches where they had assembled. When they reached Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were attacked by state troopers and Dallas County deputies, some on horseback wielding billy clubs and firing canisters of tear gas into the marchers.

The attack was broadcast on national news programs and reported in newspapers throughout the country.

Eight days later, President Lyndon Johnson called a joint session of the Congress where he proposed the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act. Later that year, 100 years after the end of the Civil War, African-Americans were guaranteed the right to vote.

Related articles

1 Comment

Filed under Selma 2013

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

February 22, 2013 · 1:34 PM

“Obama’s Sequester?” No Way

“Obama’s Sequester?” No Way

Speaker of the House, John Bohener, et al are making sure that they pin the “sequester” bill on President Obama.  The idea is to blame Obama for anything that goes wrong once the sequester is set in motion.

Economist and former Economic Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden,  Jared Bernstein knows a thing or two about these things and wrote the following piece:

Salon

It’s time to defuse the latest fiscal time bomb

This originally appeared on Jared Bernstein’s blog, On the Economy.

For my sanity and yours, I rarely get into the silliest corners of politics, but this conservative talking point that the word “sequester” must actually be called “Obama’s sequester,” like they had nothing to do with it, is really beyond the pale.  I get that both sides are trying to position themselves to not get blamed for this totally preventable, self-inflicted wound, but here are some facts that belie this ridiculous Republican disowning of a policy they supported.

–The sequester was part of the Budget Control Act, passed in 2011 with bipartisan support.  In fact, a larger share of House R’s voted for the bill than D’s: 174 (73%) voted for it and 66 against, while Ds were split 95-95.   In the Senate, 28 Rs voted for it and 19 against, while D’s supported it 45-6.

–Voting in support of the bill that contained the sequester were Reps Boehner, Ryan, Cantor and Sen. McConnell.

–Speaker Boehner said of the bill including the sequester: “I got 98% of what I wanted.”  Given their highly amped up disdain of the sequester now, I find it hard to believe that this was the 2% he didn’t want.

–On the day of the vote, Rep Paul Ryan explained the spending cuts in the bill to Sean Hannity, adding the following:

“And if they breach that amount across the board, sequester comes in to cut that spending, and you can’t turned that off without a supermajority vote. We got that in law. That is here…”

–Then there’s the Power Point slide that the Daily Beast put up yesterday from Speaker Boehner in July of 2011 advertising the sequester as a selling point to his fellow R’s: “[The bill] sets up a new sequestration process to cut spending across-the-board…”

So, should we be calling this “Ryan’s sequester?”…“Boehner’s sequester?”

No.  We—they—should stop acting like truculent kids on the playground, get to work, and defuse their latest fiscal time bomb.

Related articles

4 Comments

Filed under Sequester

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

January 20, 2013 · 4:07 PM

President Obama Officially Sworn In (C-SPAN)

As per The United States Constitution, an elected President must be sworn in on January 20th of the year following the election.  The inaugural “pomp and circumstance” version will occur tomorrow January 21st 2013 because January 20th fell on a Sunday.  January 21, 2013 is also the national floating holiday for Martin Luther King’s birthday.

H/t: Yankee Clipper

Related articles

 

Comments Off

Filed under U.S. Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

January 19, 2013 · 1:26 AM

“My God, What Have We Done?”: White House Staffers React to Insane Online Petitions

Death Star Petition

My favorites were the petition for a Death Star and a petition to stop petitions…

Mother Jones

It’s not all laughs for the White House staffers who deal with petitions demanding Obama build a Death Star or create a Joe Biden reality TV show, but they don’t mind.

As White House officials were busy pondering new gun violence prevention measures, preparing for the coming debt ceiling showdown with Republicans, and meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the Obama administration on January 11 also issued an official decision: the US government would not construct the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, commonly known as the Death Star from Star Wars Episode IV.

This was no joke. Well, almost no joke. “The Administration does not support blowing up planets,” the official White House statement read. “Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?” The response also address the dubious claim that such a large-scale federal undertaking would be a tremendous boon for the American economy. (The Galactic Empire has since issued a press release mocking the Obama administration for its decision.)

This official declaration was compelled by the White House’s own rules. Under its We the People initiative, anybody with internet access can petition the White House on any matter, and if a petition gains 25,000 signatures, the president—or his people—have to respond. Well, that’s how it worked until Tuesday. After being hit by all sorts of, shall we say, nonserious petitions like the Death Star one that reached the 25,000-signature benchmark, the White House has raised the bar. From now on, a petition will require 100,000 signatures in order to win White House attention. (When WTP debuted, the threshold was a measly 5,000.) But that fix may still not block the frivolous—the Death Star request drew over 34,000 signatures, and other ludicrous posts have managed to surpass the 100,000 mark—and some White House officials connected to the We the People project say (on background, of course), What were we thinking?

Continue reading here…

Related articles

 

2 Comments

Filed under U.S. Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

January 16, 2013 · 9:18 PM

Has the NRA lost it entirely?

Has the NRA lost it entirely?

This article speaks to the NRA’s ad that targets Sasha and Malia Obama. (The announcer calls them: “the president’s kids”.)

Salon – Joan Walsh

While Obama signs 23 executive orders on gun control, the organization takes a bizarre shot at his family

On the eve of President Obama announcing his gun control agenda, based on Vice President Joe Biden’s task force recommendations, the National Rifle Association needed to go big: to remind Americans that the organization protects their gun rights, and to remind politicians that they’re a smart and formidable political force they’d be unwise to cross.

Instead, they showed us the truth: They’re part of the vast and increasingly incompetent right-wing conspiracy that’s sacrificed its own effectiveness for the pleasure of hating Democrats generally and our first black president in particular.

You’ve either seen or read about the ad: A narrator intones, “Are the president’s kids more important than yours?” (Huh? you might say.) “Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their schools? Mr. Obama demands the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, but he’s just another elitist hypocrite when it comes to a fair share of security.”

Of course, the NRA ignores the common-sense answer to its own question: Every president’s child is protected by armed guards. They’re called the Secret Service. Outside of the fever swamps of anti-Obama hatred, no one could possibly have a problem with that, let alone call it hypocrisy.

Just the way Fox News’ insularity and reality denial has been a form of media and political malpractice, harming its viewers by shielding them from the Obama victory to come in 2012, the NRA has disabled itself by wallowing in anti-Obama hatred and paranoia.  On the eve of the president’s big stand, when they most needed to show their supposedly formidable political muscle, instead they showed that they’re completely tone-deaf and politically silly. That’s because they’ve been marinating in the bile of Obama’s enemies, where the president’s modest moves on guns, in the wake of the Newtown massacre, are a trigger to call for his impeachment – thanks, Ed Meese, Mr. Iran-Contra! – or worse.

And on that fringe, of course, everyone knows the president is just a big fat elitist hypocrite. Over on that fringe, Sasha and Malia Obama don’t elicit feelings of tenderness and protectiveness like they do in the rest of the country. They elicit feelings of contempt, as the children of “elitist hypocrites,” if they provoke any feelings at all.

In the real world, we know that our first black president has faced more assassination threats than any president in history, and that the Secret Service has a particularly tough job protecting him and his family. In the NRA’s world, wingnuts pray for his death with Psalm 109, which asks God, “may his children be fatherless and his wife a widow” and “may no one … take pity on his fatherless children.)

And no, I’m not quoting some lone NewsMax commenter or a Breitbart blogger’s tweet: The verse has been popular among right-wing ministers and politicians since Obama’s inauguration. It’s spawned bumper stickers. Almost exactly a year ago, Kansas’ Republican House Speaker Mike O’Neal was emailing it around to his political allies. “At last — I can honestly voice a Biblical prayer for our president! Look it up — it is word for word! Let us all bow our heads and pray. Brothers and Sisters, can I get an AMEN? AMEN!!!!!!” O’Neal refused to apologize. Then he apologized. Then he retired. Wayne LaPierre might want to look to O’Neal for inspiration.

To be fair, maybe the NRA is simply saying that every child in America should be protected by an armed guard, like Sasha and Malia Obama are. That would be consistent with LaPierre’s creepy maxim: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” (More to the point: That would sell a hell of a lot of guns, the NRA’s real goal.) In reality, though, the ad springs from a reflexive belief that most Americans share LaPierre’s contempt for the president.

We don’t, Wayne. We just reelected him. He’s the first president since Dwight Eisenhower to get more than 50 percent of the vote twice. Your hatred is blurring your vision and hurting your political aim. That’s bad for the NRA but it’s good for the rest of us.

Related articles

12 Comments

Filed under Gun Lobby, NRA, President Barack Obama

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

· 9:15 AM

NRA targets Obama’s kids in a scathing new ad

File photo: Malia Obama, Sasha Obama and first lady Michelle Obama listen as President Obama speaks at the DNC in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 6, 2012. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Malia Obama, Sasha Obama and first lady Michelle Obama listen as President Obama speaks at the DNC in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 6, 2012.

This is the latest despicable piece of crap coming from the not so bright folks at the NRA…

MSNBC’s The Last Word

The National Rifle Association is getting personal. In a new web video the gun lobby calls President Obama an “elitist hypocrite” for using the Secret Service to protect his two children, Sasha, age 11, and Malia, age 14.

The ad, posted to the NRA’s Stand and Fight website, criticizes Obama for opposing the NRA’s proposal of increasing the number of armed guards in schools as a way to prevent shootings like the Sandy Hook massacre.

“Are the president’s kids more important than yours?” asks the voiceover on the ad. “Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school?” It continues, “Mr. Obama demands the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, but he’s just another elitist hypocrite when it comes to a fair share of security. Protection for their kids and gun-free zones for ours.”

The video does not show pictures of the president’s daughters, using instead images of outspoken gun control advocates such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Vice President Joe Biden.

The ad apparently served as a preemptive strike against President Obama, who plans to unveil his high anticipated proposals to reduce gun violence on Wednesday. Along with school security, mental health and the entertainment industry, the president is also expected to recommend universal background checks, a ban on high-capacity magazines and some sort of assault weapons ban.

Last week, Obama signed a bill to restore lifetime Secret Service protection for presidents elected after 1997, which includes himself and George W. Bush, and presidents in the future, along with their wives. The law gives children of former presidents protection until the age of 16.

George W. Bush signed a directive four days before he left office, authorizing the Secret Service to provide a period of extended protection for his daughters Jenna and Barbara. Bill Clinton had also authorized extended coverage for his daughter Chelsea when his term ended. The Secret Service asked that the period of additional protection be kept confidential.

Related articles

6 Comments

Filed under NRA, Obama Family

Tagged as , , , , , , ,