Rahm Emanuel has been elected Mayor of Chicago. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

The election results are in, and Chicago voters have elected Rahm Emanuel as Mayor of Chicago. Emanuel, the former firebrand White House Chief of Staff for the Obama administration, had to overcome serious legal challenges to his candidacy but handily won the election. He will be inaugurated in May.

Runoff avoided as Emanuel yields majority of votes

Speculation had been rampant that the Chicago mayoral election would result in a second runoff election because candidates wouldn’t receive a sufficient majority of votes, meaning more than 50 percent. In some areas, such as Chicago, a two-round voting system is implemented in the case that no candidate receives more than 50 percent of votes. Rahm Emanuel received 55 percent of the votes in the Chicago election, according to the Christian Science Monitors, avoiding a runoff and becoming the mayor-elect. The closest competition that Rahm faced for mayor was Gery Chico, former Chief of Staff for outgoing Mayor Richard Daley. Chico received 24 percent of the vote.

Legal obstacles

Rahm Emanuel had faced legal challenges in his bid to become the 55th mayor of Chicago. Early on, his candidacy was challenged in court on the grounds that he lived primarily in Washington, D.C., as he was the Chief of Staff for the Obama White House and thus wasn’t a true resident of Chicago, according to the Washington Post. However, a series of appeals that went to the Illinois Supreme Court, which found in favor of Emanuel. He entered a field of six final candidates, and emerged the clear winner.

Emanuel replaces Chicago legend

Rahm Emanuel is taking over from Mayor Richard M. Daley, who has served as Mayor of Chicago since 1989, according to CBS. Emanuel faces a budget deficit of $655 million and rising crime rates. One of his first promises in his victory speech was to add another 1,000 police officers to the City of Chicago and to cut at least $75 million in his first month in office.

Sources

Christian Science Monitor

Washington Post

CBS

Joe Lieberman won't run for office in 2010. CC by Unknown/Wikimedia Commons

Senator Joe Lieberman has announced that he will not run for re-election in 2012. After more than 20 years as a United States Senator, Joe Lieberman has decided to retire. After four terms, he has decided it is time to move on.

Senator Joe Lieberman getting out after four terms

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has finally a he’ll retire from Senate after four terms in office. The New York Times reports that a press conference in a Marriott hotel in Stamford was the site of the announcement from Lieberman, and it was expected. He made a joke about telling his wife that “when Regis leaves television, I’ll leave the Senate,” while saying he wanted to move to something else. Regis Philbin indeed recently announced his retirement from television. Next Lieberman made it clear he didn’t quite agree with Republicans or Democrats right now.  Lieberman is an independent in the Senate — one of only two right now. Both tend to lean Democrat in most decisions.

Political career ending

Joe Liebermann has been in elected office for almost 40 years. He was elected to serve as the Attorney General of Connecticut from 1983 to 1989 after being a State Senator in Connecticut for 10 years. He took his seat in the U.S. Senate immediately after his Attorney General post. He’s held the position since, despite losing the Democratic primary in 2006. He ran successfully as an independent. He has been criticized for advocating the war in Iraq and endorsing John McCain in the 2008 election, citing Barack Obama’s lack of experience.

Others want the position

Many successors are thinking of running to take his place. Linda McMahon, who unsuccessfully ran as the Republican candidate against Richard Blumenthal, is rumored to still want a Senate seat. There was an announcement already from former Secretary of State of Connecticut, Susan Bysiewicz. She plans on running in the 2012 election for the seat.

Sources

New York Times

NPR

President Obama says that there's no such thing as "shovel ready" jobs in Washington. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

In a recent interview, President Obama said that are is no such things as “shovel ready” jobs. One of the constant criticisms of his administration thus far is the lack of job creation. The president pledged, while he was on the campaign trail, that the government would create jobs . Unemployment has dropped about 1 percent since he took office. Along with opposition to health care reform and Wall Street reform, he has been panned for not creating many jobs.

No such thing as shovel ready

Obama is almost halfway through his first term as president. The stimulus programs he spearheaded were thought to be vehicles toward job creation. Critics on both sides of the political aisle have condemned stimulus programs as wasteful and ineffective. Recently, Obama sat down for an interview with the New York Times. The president addressed the lack of job creation among other issues. He said that it became clear to him once he got to Washington that there were no such thing as shovel ready projects in the public works sector to get people working. Franklin Delano Roosevelt authorized many public works projects during the Great Depression to keep people employed.

Obama looks to long term

Obama stresses that his concern has always been to do good over the long term. He, and others quoted in the interview such as David Axelrod, maintain that popular opinion is swayed by the short term. The appearance of a lack of success gets him portrayed as a villain, due to no one being able to focus on benefits that may come from his policies in years to come. Obama says in the interview with Peter Baker that in a democracy like the United States, things always take longer than anticipated, but patience is never regarded as a virtue. The Obama “shovel ready” comments certainly make it seem so.

Wither Washington

In the classic film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” an idealistic man becomes a Congressman, then he is broken by the cynical Washington machine. It is difficult to know whether Barack Obama is falling victim to similar circumstances. Departures of high level staff, such as Rahm Emanuel make it appear he is struggling.

Sources

New York Times

The Obama internet bill will give government greater authority to listen in. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

The Obama Internet policy is taking a bit of a different turn aside from calling for greater broadband access. Currently, the Obama administration and law enforcement and security agencies are pushing for new regulations of the Internet and the telecommunications industry. If these new laws pass, it will grant the government greater access for surveillance purposes. Basically, it will mean that fewer means of communication will be beyond the all watching eye of Washington.

Obama Internet spying agenda

There is a bill that is planned for next year, according to the New York Times, that will expand wiretap and surveillance powers for law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The White House is on board, and the Obama Internet surveillance bill will likely go to Congress next year. The bill will mandate that all methods of communication be designed to allow government surveillance. The reason is that some communications, especially those on the Internet, are encrypted and private.

Not good for developers

Though this law would certainly favor large companies that have the engineering staff to handle new specifications, startup tech firms will be at a disadvantage. The recent ban of the Blackberry in several countries was due to Research In Motion having designed the phone so e-mails and texts are encrypted, private communications. RIM, along with other tech companies such as voice over internet protocol company Skype, would have to re-engineer products to allow for government intervention. Law enforcement and intelligence officials have complained that their surveillance abilities are “going dark,” as fewer people rely totally on phone communications.

All hearing ears

There are few methods of communication, aside from speaking in person, that are not subject to domestic surveillance. Granted, Obama has not had a scandal similar to the Bush domestic spying controversies. The government maintains that its requests for access are not unreasonable, nor unprecedented. A greater degree of surveillance may seem a great tool for catching criminals in the act, but can easily be misused.

Sources

New York Times

The Dorothy Height funeral was held at Washington National Cathedral, where President Barack Obama honored the civil rights icon with a heartfelt eulogy. Flickr photo.

At the Dorothy Height funeral in Washington D.C. Thursday, President Barack Obama delivered the eulogy. Before he spoke at the service held in the Washington National Cathedral, he issued an executive order directing that the American flag fly at half staff on land and at sea worldwide. The Dorothy Height biography establishes her as the leading female voice of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Dorothy Height’s civil rights activism continued well into her 90s and took part in discussions about health care at the White House until late last year. She had been at Howard University Hospital. Dorothy Height died April 20. She was 98.

At the Dorothy Height funeral

At the Dorothy Height funeral at Washington National Cathedral, President Obama lightened the reverent mood with what the New York Times reports as a fondly humorous portrait of the feisty Ms. Height that often drew laughter from the audience. Obama noted that Height made 21 visits to the White House since his inauguration. “We did come to know her during the early days of my campaign, and we came to love her as so many loved her,” the president said. “We loved her stories, and her smile and those hats.” Dorothy Height’s trademark look was a collection of big, brightly colored hats that she coordinated with her outfits.

Dorothy Height’s last presidential honor

Obama’s heartfelt eulogy at the Dorothy Height funeral and executive flag order aren’t the first time Dorothy Height’s civil rights devotion has been honored by the President of the United States. Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994. George W. Bush awarded Height Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.The Associated Press reports that when Bush awarded her the medal, he said that Height had met with every U.S. president since Eisenhower, and “she’s told every president what she thinks since Dwight David Eisenhower.”

Dorothy Height biography

The Dorothy Height biography includes marching alongside Martin Luther King Jr. She was on the platform at the Lincoln Memorial, sitting only a few feet from King, when he gave his famous “I have a dream” speech at the March on Washington in 1963. Dorothy Height’s civil rights activism was underscored by her leadership of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years, from 1957 to 1997. Height spearheaded programs to help poor rural families raise their own livestock and worked to ease racial tensions with a program called “Wednesdays in Mississippi,” in which black and white women from the north traveled to meet with their Southern counterparts.

Dorothy Height’s legacy

In coverage of the Dorothy Height funeral, the New York Times noted that Height was considered by historians and civil rights activists as one of the last links to the social activism of the New Deal era of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Her career spanned most of one century and part of another, in which she witnessed events ranging from anti-lynching protests to the inauguration of President Obama. When Obama won the election, Height told Washington TV station WTTG that she was overwhelmed with emotion.

“People ask me, did I ever dream it would happen, and I said, if you didn’t have the dream, you couldn’t have worked on it,” she said.

Many health industry analysts are blowing off President Barack Obama’s health care reform bill passed Monday. This reform is expected to yield a higher percentage of stocks because it is expected that government payments to privately run Medicare plans will be on the rise, according to one Lewis Krauskopf writer for Reuters.com website. Late Friday it was announced that, indeed, a higher-than-expected payment rate will be in effect for 2011. For this reason, health care share value for health insurance companies with heavy Medicare ties was elevated.

Can reform win approval in Congress?

Obama’s proposal is not the favorite bill amongst many middle and high class citizens who have to rely on short term loans online. Analyst actually expects the bill to fail. Sadly, these people haven’t had the experience of being too rich for state aid, but remaining too poor to afford health insurance. Wall Street was definitely paying close attention to any clues revealed during a bipartisan White House summit held Thursday. Realistically this reform will start off as a subtle change, but anything astronomical is unlikely. Mark the words of analyst Tim Nelson about how sooner or later a health care reform bill will be passed because the ones who advocate for the change simply won’t give up.

Humana Inc (HUM.N) and the UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N)

Humana Inc (HUM.N) and UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N) are two of the biggest Medicare providers of the Advantage plans. Their stocks consequently increased 5.5 percent and 3.5 percent Monday. This includes the Morgan Stanley Health care Payor index, as well. HMO of health insurers was up 1.6 percent, according to Krauskopf.

Obama’s proposal comes after months of debate

This debate is nothing new to the Senate and House of Representatives; it has been amongst the most debated topics in congress for years.

Krauskopf states that:

“The proposal draws heavily from the reform bill passed by the Senate in December,” said analysts at Jefferies & Co. “We view the release of the President’s proposal as a relative non-event since it does very little in improving the chances of healthcare reform being legislated through bipartisan efforts in Congress.”

Discounted Health Insurer Stocks

When Wall Street first caught word of the proposed Health care reform bill that would threaten their future incomes, they panicked. To resolve any unnecessary losses, they decided to trade their health insurer shares at a discounted level. This panic subsided when democrats lost their majority vote in the senate last month. This reform will continue to stress out the stocks and its holders. According to Krauskopf:

“The stocks have underperformed since earlier this month when the Obama administration seized on premium increases by WellPoint Inc’s (WLP.N) Anthem Blue Cross unit in California to ratchet up attacks on the industry”.

Share holders must expect the unexpected in this case because it is a sure possibility that:

“Democrats will try to push reform measures through a budget process called reconciliation that requires a simple majority and could bypass Republicans” states Krauskopf.

Hopefully this issue is resolved soon so that the government can focus on something different for a change.

(Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dborman2/ / CC BY 2.0)

Start your quick Short Term Loans Online application HERE!

Are they responsible for the Illinois earthquake? I think not. (Photo: daily44.wordpress.com)

No Barack Obamas, Rod Blagojeviches or Roland Burrises were harmed in the making of this story. Thankfully, Mothra avoided the Chicago area and Ronald Jones of Southland avoided utility shut off with the help of payday loans. Yet there was an Illinois earthquake anyway.

The Illinois earthquake came before dawn

MSNBC reports that the 3.8 magnitude Illinois earthquake was felt as far away as Iowa and Indiana, but the U.S. Geological Survey indicates that no damage or injuries were reported. It began around 4 a.m. Wednesday in an area about 50 miles northwest of Chicagoland. Needless to say, an Illinois earthquake, Chicago earthquake or whatever you want to call it is exceedingly rare. Luckily it was small – or as a Sycamore Fire Department spokesman told the media, “just a little shake.”

Kane County – the next fault line?

Not exactly, but Sheriff’s had to deal with a large influx of calls from startled residents. dispatchers near the epicenter in Kane County have been flooded with calls from startled residents. Books were tossed from their shelves and some residents were tossed from their beds according to Sheriff’s dispatcher reports, but it was nothing too serious.

If this had indeed been an Illinois earthquake emergency, the twin fairy princesses would have appealed to the great Mothra to spare the people of Chicagoland. Interpretive dance would have ensued, and surely someone has misplaced their dancing shoes. Quick payday loans would be imperative.

Related Video:

Image from Flikr.com.

At a Joint Session of Congress, the president’s speech last night outlined his health care reform plan and addressed controversies and misunderstandings that have surrounded it.The series of videos at the end of this post shows his full speech, but if you don’t have time to watch it, here are some highlights.

The president’s speech last night started off nice and friendly as he spoke about the things Congress and regular Americans generally agree on. He opened by talking abou the economy and acknowledging that we are still deep in the midst of a recession.

President’s speech last night well received

President Barack Obama got his first standing ovation about a minute into his speech when he said “I will not let up until those Americans who seek jobs can find them.” This is great news for people who want to get payday advances, because you need paydays to get payday cash advances.

A hard-hitting moment came in the president’s speech last night when Obama, referring to health care, said “I am not the first president to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.” Very loud cheering followed, and it seemed he had his audience in the palm of his hand.

President’s speech last night part one

The first item on Obama’s agenda last night was outlining and explaining the health care bill currently making its way through Congress. The plan has two main parts, he said. The first part “makes what you already have work better for you,” he said.

In the president’s speech last night, he emphasized that nothing in the plan requires people to change the health care coverage they already have. What it does do to existing health insurance is make it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions or drop coverage when people get sick. It also gets rid of caps on coverage and adds caps on out-of-pocket expenses.

“In America, no on should go broke because they get sick,” Obama said.

President’s speech last night part two

Obama explained that the second major part of the health care plan provides a way for people without coverage to get it. The health care plan offers a public option for people who cannot get private insurance through their employer or afford to pay for private insurance.

The public option will be self-supporting, paid for by the premiums it collects. It won’t be paid for by taxes. People will be required to carry some type of basic health insurance — who they get it from is their choice — just as people are now required to have car insurance.

“Improving our health care system only works if everybody does their part,” Obama said.

And the evening takes a turn

Up until this point, the president’s speech was punctuated only by cheering and standing ovations. However, it was time to deal with the rough stuff. The president addressed the controversies that have come up because of the health care plan, fabricated by people and “spread by those whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost,” he said.

Joe Wilson became an instant celebrity — and in this case that is not a good thing — when he yelled “you lie!” after Obama said that the health care plan “will not cover those who are here illegally. You can see a short clip of that moment in my article about the web site called Joe Wilson is Your Pre-Existing Condition. To see the clip in its full context, check out the third video below. The moment of “truth” comes about two minutes in.

All kinds of good stuff

Luckily, that was the only disturbance that distracted from the president’s speech last night. He addressed concerns about how the public health care option will work, which will be similar to Medicare and Medicaid. He emphasized that it won’t put private health insurance companies out of business, much like public universities haven’t driven private colleges out of business. In fact, he believes only about 5 percent of Americans will sign up for the public health care option.

He said it will hold private insurance companies accountable and create competition that will drive prices down and quality up. He explains that the health care reform bill will not add  to the deficit and will mostly be paid for by finding savings within the existing health care system.

Watch the president’s speech last night

If you didn’t watch the president’s speech last night, I highly recommend that you check it out for yourself, as it definitely clears up a lot of confusion and gives you the information you need to form your own opinion about the health care reform bill.