Transcript — President Obama’s Address to Congress

Read the transcript or watch the video if you missed it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/us/politics/24obama-text.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Published: February 24, 2009

Following is a transcript of President Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, as recorded by CQ Transcriptions.

Page 1

OBAMA: Thank you very much.

Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, and the first lady of the United States… (APPLAUSE)

… who’s around here somewhere…

(APPLAUSE)

… I have come here tonight not only to address the distinguished men and women in this great chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the men and women who sent us here.

I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our economy is a concern that rises above all others, and rightly so. If you haven’t been personally affected by this recession, you probably know someone who has: a friend, a neighbor, a member of your family.

You don’t need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It’s the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It’s the job you thought you’d retire from but now have lost, the business you built your dreams upon that’s now hanging by a thread, the college acceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope.

The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere.

OBAMA: But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.

(APPLAUSE)

The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our problems don’t lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and our universities, in our fields and our factories, in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth.

Those qualities that have made America the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history we still possess in ample measure. What is required now is for this country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take responsibility for our future once more.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Now, if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that for too long we have not always met these responsibilities, as a government or as a people. I say this not to lay blame or to look backwards, but because it is only by understanding how we arrived at this moment that we’ll be able to lift ourselves out of this predicament.

The fact is, our economy did not fall into decline overnight. Nor did all of our problems begin when the housing market collapsed or the stock market sank.

We have known for decades that our survival depends on finding new sources of energy, yet we import more oil today than ever before.

The cost of health care eats up more and more of our savings each year, yet we keep delaying reform.

Our children will compete for jobs in a global economy that too many of our schools do not prepare them for.

And though all of these challenges went unsolved, we still managed to spend more money and pile up more debt, both as individuals and through our government, than ever before.

In other words, we have lived through an era where too often short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity, where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election.

A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations…

(APPLAUSE)

Regulations — regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn’t afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day.

Well, that day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is here.

Now is the time to act boldly and wisely, to not only revive this economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity.

Now is the time to jump-start job creation, re-start lending, and invest in areas like energy, health care, and education that will grow our economy, even as we make hard choices to bring our deficit down. That is what my economic agenda is designed to do, and that is what I’d like to talk to you about tonight.

It’s an agenda that begins with jobs. As soon…

(APPLAUSE)

Finish Reading it here

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/us/politics/24obama-text.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Great Photos of China

http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20041226_1.htm
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20041223_1.htm

Wal-Mart Ousting Long-Term Employees With False Claims of Low Productivity

My mother has worked for Wal-Mart for 20+ years and she is 62yrs. old. She is a manager over the Domestics Department, which covers the bedding and curtains etc. My mother on her annual Evaluations has always gotten “Exceeds Expectations” on her scores. She has been Employee of the Year before, and Employee of the month before in her store. She is always on time for work, and never calls in unless she is extremely sick, which is very rare. She is a hard worker, thus that is why she is a manager.

The dilemma is that, recently my mother has gotten a new supervisor that is over her in her department and Softlines which covers clothing. This new supervisor I will call her “Evil” is a slave driver and everyone hates her, but does not say anything, because they are scared of losing their jobs. My mother said that this supervisor gives her a long list of things to do that she knows my mother will not be able to finish, because my mother is setting up modulars, helping customers, stocking, scanning in pallets, doing exceptions and more. My mother said that this supervisor when telling her what she wants her to do today has the look of “I know your not going to be able to finish this ha ha” thus why I call her evil, she wants my mother to fail. This supervisor complained about my mother saying that she is not finishing her work, but she does as much as she possibly can. My mother said that she was working so hard that she was panting. When this supervisor complained about her, my mother got called into the office for a “Coaching” and they told her she has to work even harder to try to finish. My mother came home that day crying, I had to watch as my wonderful mother cried and it broke my heart. My mother is scared, because of her age and how long she has been there that maybe they are trying to get rid of her. This evil slave driving supervisor made my mother cry. My mother said that none of the other supervisors are like that. This one takes pride in making people uncomfortable and feel bad, how can this be what Wal-Mart has become.

I thought that Wal-Mart helped others and the community, then why are they trying to get rid of their long-term employees? This evil supervisor got someone in Softlines dept. fired that had been there 11 years, only by saying that she was not working fast enough. This supervisor came to dayshift from overnights, so I think that may have something to do with it, because the overnight workers are treated different and worked harder than the day workers usually. I pray that my mother does not lose her job, because it would be a Wrongful Termination. They should let these older workers finish out their retirement. Is Wal-Mart that greedy that they would lose so much by letting these people stay in their jobs?

Unfortunately, Alabama does not have a Wrongful Termination Law, so employers are free to fire someone for any reason, which is also wrong. Every state should have a law to protect employees from wrongful termination.

I am asking you to help me in emailing the new Wal-Mart CEO, executives and your local store managers  to complain about the treatment of long-term employees that have worked 10+ years and about the need for supervisors to be more understanding of the people under them.

Thank you,

Cynthia Yildirim
http://www.twitter.com/cynthiay29

Here is there site you can send Wal-Mart comments or complaints
http://walmartstores.com/7663.aspx

Current Music Hits of 2009 Playlist

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Facebook: We own your content forever, and ever

According to The Consumerist, Facebook made a small but significant change to its TOS ("Terms of Service"): now they claim complete ownership of all of the content you upload for all time and can use it for any purpose, including making money off it, even if you close your account.

read more here
http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/02/16/facebook-we-own-your-content-forever-and-ever

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I know that times are hard right now for everyone, but we always have those we love around us, even if you are single like me. I hope that you have a good one. xoxoxoxoxo

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Hey you, follow me on twitter it’s awesome.

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