Stand up with President Obama - Stand up for Justice!

Friend --
Today, I was asked a direct question and gave a direct answer:I believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

I hope you'll take a moment to watch the conversation, consider it, and weigh in yourself on behalf of marriage equality:
http://my.barackobama.com/Marriage
I've always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally. I was reluctant to use the term marriage because of the very powerful traditions it evokes. And I thought civil union laws that conferred legal rights upon gay and lesbian couples were a solution.
But over the course of several years I've talked to friends and family about this. I've thought about members of my staff in long-term, committed, same-sex relationships who are raising kids together. Through our efforts to end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, I've gotten to know some of the gay and lesbian troops who are serving our country with honor and distinction.

What I've come to realize is that for loving, same-sex couples, the denial of marriage equality means that, in their eyes and the eyes of their children, they are still considered less than full citizens.
Even at my own dinner table, when I look at Sasha and Malia, who have friends whose parents are same-sex couples, I know it wouldn't dawn on them that their friends' parents should be treated differently.

So I decided it was time to affirm my personal belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. I respect the beliefs of others, and the right of religious institutions to act in accordance with their own doctrines. But I believe that in the eyes of the law, all Americans should be treated equally. And where states enact same-sex marriage, no federal act should invalidate them.
If you agree, you can stand up with me here.
Thank you,

Barack

President Obama endorses Equality and Human Rights for Same-sex-Couples

President Obama became the first U.S. president to endorse same-sex marriage today, telling ABC News that it "should be legal."

"I've just concluded that, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married," Obama told ABC's Good Morning America.
After years of what he had called an "evolving" view of the issues, Obama said family and friends gradually persuaded him that gay and lesbian couples should be treated the same as heterosexual ones.
Facing a re-election bid in which gay rights are a hot button issue, Obama also said his endorsement is a personal view, and that states should set their own marriage laws. The interview took place a day after voters in North Carolina approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

President Obama edorses Marriage Equality and Human Rights

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/05/obama-likely-to-discuss-gay-marriage-today/1?csp=ip

Financing Program to help familes save

May 8, 2012
NEW FINANCING PROGRAM WILL HELP FAMILIES SAVE ON UTILITY BILLS, IMPROVE HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Manitobans will also Enjoy the Lowest Combined Rate for Electricity, Heating, Auto Insurance in Canada, Guaranteed: Premier
Manitoba Hydro will cover the upfront cost of home improvements that reduce energy consumption through a new financing program, Premier Greg Selinger announced today.

“More efficient homes and buildings make life more affordable for Manitoba families,” said Selinger. “Reducing our energy use also protects all Manitobans against future energy price increases while reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.”
Under the new program, expected to be in place by fall 2012, Manitoba Hydro will finance the upfront capital costs of energy and water retrofits, and will recover the costs through a monthly charge on the customer’s utility bill. Projects will be eligible when the improvement results in utility cost savings projected to be greater than the monthly repayment charges amortized over the lifespan of the improvement. The program will be more effective in older and less energy-efficient homes, where measures like insulation, high-efficiency furnaces or low-flush toilets have cost-effective paybacks.
The program will be complementary to Manitoba Hydro’s existing Power Smart Residential Loan Program and will build on the success of existing Power Smart programming, which already saves Manitobans over $36 million every year on their utility bills, said Selinger. The new, on-meter program will act as a top‑up for customers. It will allow financial flexibility, enabling them to put more cost-effective measures on the meter and use the loan for other projects, the premier added.

The premier also announced the province will follow through on a commitment to guarantee Manitobans pay the lowest combined electricity, home heating and auto insurance bills in the country.

The plan would require the province to table a utility rate bundle comparison report by the end of September 2012. The contents of the report, including utility cost comparison data, would be prepared by Deloitte, the independent accounting firm selected in March following an open tender process. The accounting firm would be responsible for identifying the average Manitoba consumption of electricity, natural gas for home heating and auto insurance, and comparing the cost of the same utility bundle in other provinces.
“This is the next step in following through on our commitment to keep Manitoba one of the most affordable places to live, work and raise a family,” said Selinger. “We know affordability is an advantage Manitoba families value.”
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The President's romantic or awkward side - Always the Gentleman - Vote Obama

There has always been some curiosity about the president’s pre-Michelle love life. Obama briefly described one unnamed romantic interest in “Dreams From My Father,” who turns out to be a composite of a couple of women, including a New Yorker named Genevieve Cook.


If I were just starting out in life, I think one of my goals would be to become a composite girlfriend of a future president. You get a part in the story, but there’s really not all that much pressure.

Cook and the other woman, Alex McNear, depict a young Barack Obama who’s pretty similar to the one in “Dreams From My Father” — searching for his identity, smart and introspective. He was tough to get close to. Cook kept a diary that called him “guarded, controlled” with a whole lot of “distance and wariness.”

While Obama was obviously in many ways a remarkable young man, this last part actually sounds a lot like 80 percent of all the 22-year-old boyfriends on the planet. (The others may require an occasional restraining order.)

When Cook told Obama she loved him, he said “thank you.” I cannot tell you how often that sort of thing happens.
 Read the rest......




http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/opinion/collins-obamas-wonderful-town.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120505

Barack Obama is Spicing up the Elections 2012

A WEEK ago the Obama re-election campaign unveiled a slogan for the fall campaign — its answer to Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America,” Bill Clinton’s “bridge to the 21st century,” and other successful re-election pitches. There were reports that the slogan-writing process had been a struggle for the White House, and the final product bore those rumors out. “Forward,” the Obama campaign will be declaiming to Americans, which feels like a none-too-subtle admission that a look backward at the Obama economic record might be bad news for the president’s re-election prospects.
But maybe the White House doesn’t need a slogan. After all, it has a person instead: a composite character who’s been the talk of Washington these last few days, and whose imaginary life story casts the stakes in this presidential campaign into unusually sharp relief.

Her name is Julia, and she has the lead role in an Obama 2012 slide show that follows what’s supposed to be an American everywoman from childhood into retirement, tracking everything the Obama White House’s policies would do for her and everything the “Romney/Ryan” Republicans would not. The list of Obama-bestowed benefits includes Head Start when Julia’s a tyke, tax credits and Pell grants to carry her through college and low-interest loan repayment afterward, guaranteed birth control when she’s a 20-something and government-sponsored loans when she wants to start a business, all of it culminating in a stress-free retirement underwritten by Medicare and Social Security.




http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/opinion/sunday/douthat-the-party-of-julia.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120506

Let the Nice Guy Finish First - Vote for President Obama

America would face a terrible set back if they change course in mid-stream. President Obama needs another term to complete his mission.
He has worked hard for America, honestly and faithfully and he deserves to win again to continue his good work.

Wise saying by the President of USA

President Obama Entertaining Speech

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/entertainment/president-obama-hilarious-speech-2012-white-house-correspondents-dinner