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Posts tagged President
Ronald Reagan: A Time For Choosing – October 27, 1964
Sep 3rd
[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio]
Program Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, we take pride in presenting a thoughtful address by Ronald Reagan. Mr. Reagan:
Reagan: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you and good evening. The sponsor has been identified, but unlike most television programs, the performer hasn’t been provided with a script. As a matter of fact, I have been permitted to choose my own words and discuss my own ideas regarding the choice that we face in the next few weeks.
I have spent most of my life as a Democrat. I recently have seen fit to follow another course. I believe that the issues confronting us cross party lines. Now, one side in this campaign has been telling us that the issues of this election are the maintenance of peace and prosperity. The line has been used, “We’ve never had it so good.”
Liberals vs. the 14th Amendment
Aug 1st
During the debt debate debacle, a number of liberals and progressives opined that President Obama should have bypassed Congress and unilaterally raised the debt limit. Their argument was based on the false premise that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution gives the President the authority to uphold the validity of public debts and the payment thereof. It may sound plausible if you don’t know what the Constitution actually says or the legal rationale behind its provisions. In fact, the progressives’ suggestion turns the 14th Amendment completely on its head. I wonder if the progressives are constitutionally ignorant or actually do understand. In this article, I will explain why they are mistaken and the danger of this fallacy. More >
White House Fact Sheet: Bipartisan Debt Deal
Jul 31st
(Matt’s Note: This is a fact sheet posted by the White House this evening. I do not agree with all that is said here, but am posting in order to present the position of the Administration for reference purposes.)
Bipartisan Debt Deal: A Win for the Economy and Budget Discipline
- Removes the cloud of uncertainty over our economy at this critical time, by ensuring that no one will be able to use the threat of the nation’s first default now, or in only a few months, for political gain;
- Locks in a down payment on significant deficit reduction, with savings from both domestic and Pentagon spending, and is designed to protect crucial investments like aid for college students;
- Establishes a bipartisan process to seek a balanced approach to larger deficit reduction through entitlement and tax reform;
- Deploys an enforcement mechanism that gives all sides an incentive to reach bipartisan compromise on historic deficit reduction, while protecting Social Security, Medicare beneficiaries and low-income programs;
- Stays true to the President’s commitment to shared sacrifice by preventing the middle class, seniors and those who are most vulnerable from shouldering the burden of deficit reduction. The President did not agree to any entitlement reforms outside of the context of a bipartisan committee process where tax reform will be on the table and the President will insist on shared sacrifice from the most well-off and those with the most indefensible tax breaks. More >
President Obama speaks in support of the bipartisan deal to reduce the deficit and raise the debt limit
Jul 31st
Tonight, President Obama spoke in support of a bipartisan deal to reduce the nation’s deficit and avoid default. It extends the debt limit to 2013, removing the cloud of uncertainty over our economy and ensuring that no one will be able to use the threat of default now or in only a few months for political gain. The bipartisan compromise assures that the United States meets its obligations – including monthly Social Security checks, veterans’ benefits, and the government contracts we’ve signed with thousands of businesses. More >
Rep. Bill Posey votes in favor of flawed House Debt compromise
Jul 30th
(Matt’s Commentary: I have the utmost respect for Representative Posey and I understand why he voted the way he did. I believe he’s a man of integrity but who cast the wrong vite. However, I have major issues with the GOP leadership and the many “moderate” Republicans in the House who are all too eager to pacify the liberals lest they look “mean-spirited”.
A flawed “compromise”, which was destined to die a quick death at the hands of Harry Reid in the Senate, sends a completely unacceptable message to the Administration and American people. The message it sends is that the GOP is vulnerable to caving in, once again, to the demands of the progressives in Washington. Once again, the GOP is failing miserably to communicate the message that by refusing to turn our backs on what we know is just and right, we are standing up for ALL Americans and protecting their and their children’s futures.)
Washington, Jul 29 - Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) released the following statement regarding this evening’s vote:
“In 1997, the Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Constitution passed the House of Representatives, but fell one vote short of passage in the United States Senate. That year the national debt was $5.4 trillion. Since that failure, the national debt has grown by 265% to more than $14.3 trillion – $4 trillion of that debt having been accumulated in just the past 32 months. More >
President Obama Addresses NASA in Twitter Town Hall
Jul 11th
(Matt’s Note: President Obama participated in a Town Hall via Twitter on July 6. Most of teh questions were, of course, about the economy and jobs. One participant asked about NASA and what the future holds after the space shuttle. I found the President’s answer surprisingly appropriate. Even more so considering the TOTUS was not in use and he was speaking off the cuff.)
Q So a slight deviation from the economy — we have a lot of questions, and this will be our last before we start reading some responses to your question — about the space program. And this one from Ron: “Now that the space shuttle is gone, where does America stand in space exploration?”
THE PRESIDENT: We are still a leader in space exploration. But, frankly, I have been pushing NASA to revamp its vision. The shuttle did some extraordinary work in low-orbit experiments, the International Space Station, moving cargo. It was an extraordinary accomplishment and we’re very proud of the work that it did. But now what we need is that next technological breakthrough.
We’re still using the same models for space travel that we used with the Apollo program 30, 40 years ago. And so what we’ve said is, rather than keep on doing the same thing, let’s invest in basic research around new technologies that can get us places faster, allow human space flight to last longer.
And what you’re seeing now is NASA I think redefining its mission. And we’ve set a goal to let’s ultimately get to Mars. A good pit stop is an asteroid. I haven’t actually — we haven’t identified the actual asteroid yet, in case people are wondering. (Laughter.) But the point is, let’s start stretching the boundaries so we’re not doing the same thing over and over again, but rather let’s start thinking about what’s the next horizon, what’s the next frontier out there.
But in order to do that, we’re actually going to need some technological breakthroughs that we don’t have yet. And what we can do is for some of this low-orbit stuff, some of the more routine space travel — obviously no space travel is routine, but it could become more routine over time — let’s allow the private sector to get in so that they can, for example, send these low-Earth orbit vehicles into space and we may be able to achieve a point in time where those of you who are just dying to go into space, you can buy a ticket, and a private carrier can potentially take you up there, while the government focuses on the big breakthroughs that require much larger investments and involve much greater risk.
(Read the complete transcript after the jump)
