Monday, June 30, 2008

President Bush Signs H.R. 2642, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 VIDEO PODCAST

President Bush Signs H.R. 2642, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008  VIDEO PODCAST

President George W. Bush delivers a brief statement Monday, June 30, 2008, at the White House after signing H.R. 2642, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008. With him from left are: Deputy U.S. Secretary of State John Negroponte, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, U.S. Secretary of Veterans' Affairs James Peake and John Walters, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The war supplemental spending package includes nearly $162 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, increased education benefits for veterans, and an additional 13 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits. White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian
President Bush Signs H.R. 2642, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 FULL STREAMING VIDEO Oval Office 9:48 A.M. EDT. PODCAST OF THE ARTICLE

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. A few moments ago I signed legislation that funds our troops who are in harm's way. Our nation has no greater responsibility than supporting our men and women in uniform -- especially since we're at war. This is a responsibility all of us in Washington share -- not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans. And I want to thank leaders of the House and Senate for getting this bill to my office.

America remains a nation at war. There are enemies who intend to harm us. Standing in their way are brave men and women, who put on the uniform, who raise their right hand, and took an oath to defend our freedom.
They volunteered to deploy in distant lands, far from their families, far from their homes, and far from comfort of America. And every day, they risk their lives to defeat our adversaries and to keep our country safe.

We owe these brave Americans our gratitude. We owe them our unflinching support. And the best way to demonstrate that support is to give them the resources they need to do their jobs and to prevail. The bill I sign today does exactly that. It provides necessary funds to support our troops as they conduct military operations in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in other theaters in the war on terror.

I appreciate that Republicans and Democrats in Congress agreed to provide these vital funds without tying the hands of our commanders, and without an artificial timetable of withdrawal from Iraq. Our troops have driven the terrorists and extremists from many strongholds in Iraq; today violence is at the lowest level since March of 2004. As a result of this progress, some of our troops are coming home as result of our policy called "return on success." We welcome them home. And with this legislation we send a clear message to all that are servings [sic] on the front line that our nation continues to support them.

We also owe a debt of gratitude to our nation's military families. They endure sleepless nights, and the daily struggle of caring for children while a loved one is serving far from home. We have a responsibility to provide for them. So I'm pleased that the bill I sign today includes an expansion of the GI Bill. This legislation will make it easier for our troops to transfer unused education benefits to their spouses and children. It will help us to recruit and reward the best military on the face of the Earth. It will help us to meet our responsibilities to those who support our troops every day -- America's great military families.

The bill also includes agreed-upon funding for other critical national priorities. This bill includes $465 million for the Merida Initiative -- a partnership with Mexico and nations in Central America to crack down on violent drug trafficking gangs. The bill includes nearly $2.7 billion to help ensure that any state facing a disaster like the recent flooding and tornadoes in the Midwest has access to needed resources. This bill includes a measured expansion of unemployment insurance benefits with a reasonable work requirement. And this bill holds overall discretionary spending within the sensible limits that I requested.

The bill is a result of close collaboration between my administration and members of both parties on Capitol Hill. I appreciate the hard work of my Cabinet -- especially the leaders of Defense and State, and Veterans Affairs, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, as well as OMB. I want to thank House and Senate leadership and leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. I am particularly grateful to Congressmen Boehner, Hoyer, Obey, and Lewis. And I want to thank members who worked hard for the GI Bill expansion -- especially Senators Webb and Warner, Graham, Burr, and McCain.

This bill shows the American people that even in an election year, Republicans and Democrats can come together to stand behind our troops and their families.

Thank you for coming.

END 9:53 A.M. EDT For Immediate Release, Office of the Press Secretary, June 30, 2008

Sunday, June 29, 2008

'Internet predator' stereotypes debunked

American Psychological Association
Internet offenders target teens, not young children -- rarely use force, abduction or deception

WASHINGTON— Contrary to stereotype, most Internet sex offenders are not adults who target young children by posing as another youth, luring children to meetings, and then abducting or forcibly raping them, according to researchers who have studied the nature of Internet-initiated sex crimes.

Rather, most online sex offenders are adults who target teens and seduce victims into sexual relationships. They take time to develop the trust and confidence of victims, so that the youth see these relationships as romances or sexual adventures. The youth most vulnerable to online sex offenders have histories of sexual or physical abuse, family problems, and tendencies to take risks both on- and offline, the researchers say.

In short, the researchers draw a clearer picture about adults who troll the Internet for sex with minors in the study, “Online ‘Predators’ and Their Victims: Myths, Realities and Implications for Prevention,” published in the February/March issue of American Psychologist. The journal is published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

The study was based on three surveys—two comprising telephone interviews of a combined 3,000 Internet users between the ages of 10 and 17; first in 2000 and again in 2005; and one involving 612 interviews with federal, state and local law enforcement officials in the United States between October 2001 and July 2002. These studies were conducted by the authors, Janis Wolak, JD, David Finkelhor, PhD, Kimberly Mitchell, PhD and Michele Ybarra, PhD, at the Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire.

“To prevent these crimes, we need accurate information about their true dynamics,” said Janis Wolak, lead author of the study. “The things that we hear and fear and the things that actually occur may not be the same. The newness of the environment makes it hard to see where the danger is.”

For example, in spite of public concern, the authors found that adolescents’ use of popular social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook do not appear to increase their risk of being victimized by online predators. Rather, it is risky online interactions such as talking online about sex to unknown people that increases vulnerability, according to the researchers.

“Most Internet-initiated sex crimes involve adult men who are open about their interest in sex,” Wolak said. “The offenders use instant messages, e-mail and chat rooms to meet and develop intimate relationships with their victims. In most of the cases, the victims are aware that they are talking online with adults.”

“A majority of the offenders are charged with crimes such as statutory rape, that involve non-forcible sexual activity with adolescent victims who are too young to consent to sexual intercourse with adults,” she added.

Current educational efforts that are focused on discouraging children from giving out or posting personal information, warning about deception online, and urging parents to monitor their children may not be effective, according to the authors.

Wolak and her colleagues say more effort should be directed at helping teens appreciate the drawbacks and inappropriateness of romantic relationships with adults. These efforts should include frank discussions of the dynamics of Internet-initiated sex crimes. Since many of the victims do not have good relationships with parents, ways to reach vulnerable teens directly, through sources they find credible, need to be found.

Among the study’s other findings:

* Internet offenders pretended to be teenagers in only 5 percent of the crimes studied by researchers.

* Nearly 75 percent of victims who met offenders face-to-face did so more than once.

* Online sex offenders are seldom violent, and cases involving stalking or abduction are very rare.

* Youth who engaged in four or more risky online behaviors were much more likely to report receiving online sexual solicitations. The online risky behaviors included maintaining buddy lists that included strangers, discussing sex online with people they did not know in person and being rude or nasty online.

* Boys who are gay or are questioning their sexuality may be more susceptible to Internet-initiated sex crimes than other populations. Researchers found boys were the victims in nearly one-quarter of criminal cases, and most cases included facts that suggested victims were gay or questioning their sexuality. ###

STUDY: Online “Predators” and Their Victims: Myths, Realities, and Implications for Prevention and Treatment, Janis Wolak, PhD, David Finkelhor, PhD and Kimberley J. Mitchell, PhD Crimes Against Children Center at the University of New Hampshire and Michelle L. Ybarra, PhD, Internet Solutions for Kids, Inc., American Psychologist, Vol. 63, No.2 .

LINKS

  • Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs office in PDF fotmat. apa.org/journals/releases/
  • Janis Wolak, Research Assistant Professor, can be reached at (603) 285-5841 or by email at janis.wolak@unh.edu
  • Co-author David Finkelhor, Director of the Crimes against Children Research Center, can be reached at (603)767-1010 or by email at david.finkelhor@unh.edu
  • Co-author Kimberly Mitchell, Research Assistant Professor can be reached at 603-862-4533 or by email at kimberly.mitchell@unh.edu
The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare.

Contact: Kim Mills kmills@apa.org 202-336-6048 American Psychological Association

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Freedom Calendar 06/28/08 - 07/05/08

June 28, 1864, Republican majority in Congress repeals Fugitive Slave Acts.

June 29, 1982, President Ronald Reagan signs 25-year extension of 1965 Voting Rights Act.

June 30, 1910, Estelle Reel (R-WY), first woman in nation elected to statewide office and first woman confirmed by U.S. Senate to a federal post, retires after 12 years as U.S. Superintendent of Indian Schools.

July 1, 1991, President George H. W. Bush appoints Clarence Thomas to U.S.Supreme Court; previously served on U.S. Court of Appeals and as Chairman of U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

July 2, 1862, U.S. Rep. Justin Morrill (R-VT) wins passage of Land Grant Act, establishing colleges open to African-Americans, including such students as George Washington Carver.

July 3, 1986. At ceremony rededicating the Statue of Liberty, President Ronald Reagan honors immigrants from all nations who come “to build a new world of peace and freedom and hope”.

July 4, 1867, Republican Party is established in Georgia with racially-integrated state convention.

July 5, 1801, Birth of David Farragut, Tennessee-born Hispanic appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as first U.S. Navy Admiral.

“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

From section 1 of the 14th Amendment, written in 1866 by Rep. John Bingham (R-OH), one of the founders of the Republican Party.

Technorati Tags: and or and or and or and or and or or

Presidential Podcast 06/28/08

Presidential Podcast Logo
Presidential Podcast 06/23/08 en Español. Subscribe to the Republican National Convention Blog Podcast Subscribe to Our Podcast feed or online Click here to Subscribe to Our Republican National Convention Blog Podcast Channel with Podnova podnova Podcast Channel and receive the weekly Presidential Radio Address in English and Spanish with select State Department Briefings. Featuring full audio and text transcripts, More content Sources added often so stay tuned.

Tags: and

Bush radio address 06/28/08 full audio, text transcript

President George W. Bush calls troops from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2005. White House photo by Eric Draper.bush radio address 06/23/08 full audio, text transcript. President's Radio Address en Español
Subscribe to the Republican National Convention Blog Podcast Subscribe to Our Podcast feed or online Click here to Subscribe to Republican National Convention Blog's PODCAST with podnova podnova Podcast Channel and receive the weekly Presidential Radio Address in English and Spanish with select State Department Briefings. Featuring real audio and full text transcripts, More content Sources added often so stay tuned.

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.

This week, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives held a conference to highlight the work being done by our Nation's armies of compassion, with help from the Federal government. This conference demonstrated the remarkable difference these groups have made over the past eight years.

When I first came to office, I was troubled to see many of our citizens' greatest needs going unmet. Too many addicts walked the rough road to recovery alone. Too many prisoners had the desire for reform but no one to show them the way. Across our country, the hungry, homeless, and sick begged for deliverance -- and too many heard only silence in reply.

The tragedy was that there were good men and women across America who had the desire to help but not the resources. Because many of them worked with small charities, they were overlooked by Washington as potential partners in service. And because many of them belonged to faith-based organizations, they were often barred from receiving support from the Federal government.

So I set about to change this with a new approach called "compassionate conservatism." This approach was compassionate, because it was rooted in a timeless truth: that we ought to love our neighbors as we'd like to be loved ourselves. And this approach was conservative, because it recognized the limits of government: that bureaucracies can put money in people's hands, but they cannot put hope in people's hearts.

Putting hope in people's hearts is the mission of our Nation's faith-based and community groups, so my Administration decided to treat them as trusted partners. We held these groups to high standards and insisted on demonstrable results. And they have delivered on those expectations.

Through their partnerships with the government, these organizations have helped reduce the number of chronically homeless by nearly 12 percent -- getting more than 20,000 Americans off the streets. They have helped match nearly 90,000 children of prisoners with adult mentors. And they have helped provide services such as job placement for thousands of former inmates.

Faith-based and community groups have also had a powerful impact overseas. In Africa, they have participated in our Malaria Initiative. In just over two years, this effort has reached more than 25 million people -- and according to new data, malaria rates are dropping dramatically in many parts of that continent.

These groups have also been a vital part of the Emergency Plan for AIDS relief. When we launched this program in 2003, about 50,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa were receiving anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS. Today, that number is nearly 1.7 million.

Behind each of these statistics, there are stories of people whose lives have been changed by the kindness of faith-based and community organizations. One such person is Ramie Siler. Ramie was once lost to substance abuse, recidivism, and depression. Even when she tried to get clean for her daughter's high school graduation, Ramie couldn't break free from her addiction. Then she found a faith-based group called The Next Door. At The Next Door, Ramie met people who stood by her throughout her difficult recovery. They gave her a second chance to become a productive citizen and good mother. Today, Ramie is reunited with her daughter. She now helps other women as the Next Door case manager. When Ramie describes her turnaround, she uses the words of Saint Paul: "Old things have passed away; behold, all things are becoming new."

I'm grateful to every American who works to create this spirit of hope. Because of you, our Nation has made great strides toward fulfilling the noble goals that gave rise to the Faith-Based and Community Initiative. Because of you, I'm confident that the progress we have made over the past eight years will continue. Because of you, countless souls have been touched and lives have been healed.

Thank you for listening.

END

For Immediate Release June 28, 2008

Tags: and

Discurso Radial del Presidente a la Nación 06/28/08

Presidente George W. Bush llama a tropas de su rancho en Crawford, Tejas, día de Thanksgiving, jueves, de noviembre el 24 de 2005.  Foto blanca de la casa de Eric Draper.forre el audio de la dirección de radio 06/23/08 por completo, transcripción del texto. (nota de los redactores: ninguna lengua española mp3 lanzó esta semana, apesadumbrada) PODCAST
Chascar aquí para suscribir a nuestro canal republicano de Blog Podcast de la convención nacional con Odeo Suscribir a nuestro canal de Podcast de Odeo o del podnova Chascar aquí para suscribir a nuestro canal republicano de Blog Podcast de la convención nacional con Podnova y recibir la dirección de radio presidencial semanal en inglés y español con informes selectos del departamento del estado. Ofreciendo transcripciones audio y con texto completo verdaderas, más fuentes contentas agregaron a menudo así que la estancia templó.

Buenos Días.

Esta semana la Oficina de Iniciativas Basadas en la Fe y Comunitarias de la Casa Blanca celebró una conferencia para destacar la labor que llevan a cabo los ejércitos de compasión de nuestra Nación, con ayuda del gobierno federal. Esta conferencia demostró la gran diferencia que estos grupos han hecho en los últimos ocho años.

Cuando yo asumí la presidencia, me inquietó ver sin satisfacer muchas de las necesidades apremiantes de nuestros ciudadanos. Demasiados adictos caminaban solos el camino difícil de la recuperación. Demasiados prisioneros tenían el deseo de reformarse pero no había quien les mostrara el camino. A lo largo de nuestro país los que padecían hambre, los que no tenían hogar y los enfermos rogaban ser liberados - y demasiados escucharon solo el silencio como respuesta.

La tragedia es que había buenos hombres y mujeres en todo Estados Unidos que tenían el deseo de ayudar - pero no los recursos. Ya que muchos de ellos trabajaban con pequeñas entidades caritativas, no eran tomados en cuenta por Washington como potenciales socios de servicio. Y porque muchos de ellos pertenecían a organizaciones basadas en la fe, frecuentemente eran excluidos de recibir apoyo del gobierno federal.

Por lo tanto decidí cambiar esto con un nuevo enfoque llamado "conservatismo compasivo". Este enfoque era compasivo porque era basado en una verdad eterna: que debemos amar a nuestros vecinos de la misma forma en que quisiéramos ser amados nosotros. Y este enfoque era conservador ya que reconocía los límites del gobierno: que las burocracias pueden poner dinero en manos de la gente, pero no pueden poner la esperanza en los corazones de la gente.

Poner la esperanza en los corazones de la gente es la misión de los grupos basados en la fe y comunitarios de nuestra Nación, por lo cual mi Administración decidió tratarlos como socios de confianza. Les impusimos normas elevadas a estos grupos y les exigimos resultados demostrables. Y ellos han cumplido con esas expectativas.

A través de su asociación con el gobierno estas organizaciones han ayudado a reducir el número de personas que crónicamente no tienen hogar en casi el 12 por ciento - haciendo que más de 20,000 estadounidenses dejen las calles. Han ayudado a juntar a cerca de 90,000 hijos de prisioneros con mentores adultos. Y han ayudado a brindar servicios como asistencia en encontrar empleo para miles de ex - prisioneros.

Los grupos basados en la fe y comunitarios también han tenido un impacto considerable en el extranjero. En África han participado en nuestra Iniciativa contra la Malaria. En un poco más de dos años este esfuerzo ha alcanzado a más de 25 millones de personas - y según nuevos datos, las tasas de malaria están disminuyendo de forma dramática en muchas partes de ese continente.

Estos grupos también han sido parte esencial del Plan de Emergencia para alivio contra el SIDA. Cuando lanzamos este programa en 2003, unas 50,000 personas en África al sur del Sahara recibían tratamiento antiretroviral contra VIH/SIDA. Hoy en día ese número se aproxima a 1.7 millones.

Detrás de cada una de estas estadísticas, hay historias de personas cuyas vidas han sido cambiadas por la gentileza de organizaciones basadas en la fe y comunitarias. Una tal persona es Ramie Siler. Alguna vez Ramie estaba perdida en el abuso de sustancias, recaída y depresión. Aun cuando trató de sanarse para la graduación de secundaria de su hija, Ramie no pudo librarse de su adicción. Luego encontró un grupo basado en la fe llamado The Next Door donde Ramie conoció a personas que la apoyaron durante su difícil recuperación. Le dieron una segunda oportunidad para convertirse en una ciudadana productiva y una buena madre. Hoy en día, Ramie está de nuevo junto a su hija. Ahora ella ayuda a otras mujeres como la administradora de casos de Next Door. Cuando Ramie describe su cambio, usa las palabras de San Pablo: "Las cosas viejas han pasado; miren, todas las cosas se convierten en nuevas".

Les agradezco a todos los estadounidenses que trabajan por crear este espíritu de esperanza. Debido a ustedes, nuestra Nación ha dado grandes pasos hacia cumplir las nobles metas que dan lugar a la Iniciativa Basada en la Fe y Comunitaria. Debido a ustedes, yo confío que el progreso que hemos logrado en los últimos ocho años continuará. Debido a ustedes, un sinnúmero de almas habrán sido tocadas y vidas habrán sido curadas.

Gracias por escuchar.

Para su publicación inmediata Oficina del Secretario de Prensa 28 de junio de 2008

Etiquetas De Technorati: , y

Friday, June 27, 2008

Thomas A. Betro Biography

Thomas A. BetroThe President nominated Thomas A. Betro, of Virginia, to be Inspector General at the Department of State. Mr. Betro currently serves as Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Prior to this, he served as Deputy Director for Operations at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Earlier in his career, he served as Assistant Director for Counterintelligence at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Mr. Betro received his bachelor's degree from Colby College and his master's degree from the Naval War College.

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 27, 2008

Thomas A. Betro became the third civilian Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) on January 8, 2006, following his appointment to the position by the Honorable Dr. Donald C. Winter, Secretary of the Navy.
Thomas Betro and Lauren HollyThomas Betro and Lauren Holly - , real-life director of NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service), made a cameo appearance on the CBS television show NCIS. The CBS show ET ran an interview with Tom; watch a clip at ETonline.com.As the Director of NCIS, Mr. Betro is the senior official responsible for criminal, counterintelligence, counterterrorism investigations and operations, as well as security matters within the Department of the Navy (DoN). He leads an agency comprised of some 2400 civilian and military personnel that has a presence in over 150 locations world-wide. He is responsible for executing an annual operating budget of approximately 460 million dollars.
Mr. Betro joined NCIS in 1982, and has served in a variety of organizational assignments and mission areas, both within the United States and overseas. He served two separate tours as an NCIS Special Agent Afloat during deployments of the USS JOHN F. KENNEDY and USS ENTERPRISE.

In April 2001, Mr. Betro was selected to serve as a Deputy to the National Counterintelligence Executive (NCIX). He later was appointed to the position of National Counterintelligence Executive (Acting) by the NCIX Board of Directors, on behalf of the President of the United States.

Upon returning to NCIS in January 2003, Mr. Betro served as Assistant Director of Counterintelligence until August 2003, when he was promoted to Deputy Director for Operations.

Mr. Betro 48 is n native of Walpole Mass. He received a number of awards including the Naval Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 2000. holds a Master of Arts degree from the Naval War College, where he earned the James Forrestal Award for "Excellence in Strategy and Force Planning in 1996," and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Colby College, Waterville, ME. in 1981

Mr. Betro was promoted to the Senior Executive Service in March 2002.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Supreme Court Decision on Second Amendment D.C. v. Heller

the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
President Bush Pleased by Supreme Court Decision on Second Amendment
The President strongly agrees with the Supreme Court's historic decision today that the Second Amendment protects the individual right of Americans to keep and bear arms. This has been the Administration's long-held view. The President is also pleased that the Court concluded that the DC firearm laws violate that right.

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 26, 2008

RELATED:Tags: and or and

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Santanu "Sandy" K. Baruah Biography

"“Entrepreneurship drives innovation. Innovation drives productivity. Productivity drives higher wages and higher standards of living.”"
Sandy' K. Baruah
Santanu 'SandyThe President intends to nominate Santanu "Sandy" K. Baruah, of Oregon, to be Administrator of the Small Business Administration. Mr. Baruah currently serves as Assistant Secretary for Economic Development at the Department of Commerce. Prior to this, he served as Chief of Staff of the Economic Development Administration at the Department of Commerce.
Earlier in his career, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development at the Department of Commerce. Mr. Baruah who lives in Portland earned a bachelor of science degree in political science from the University of Oregon and his master's degree from Williamette University.

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 25, 2008

Sandy K. Baruah (Bah-roo-ah) was nominated by President Bush on September 6, 2005 to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 17, 2005. Mr. Baruah has served the Bush Administration since 2001. Prior to his nomination and confirmation as the Assistant Secretary, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations and Chief of Staff at the Economic Development Administration (EDA).

Sandy K. Baruah is Sworn In as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development

Sandy K. Baruah is Sworn In as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development
As Assistant Secretary, Mr. Baruah’s role is to lead and manage the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, the domestic economic development arm of the Commerce Department. The mission of EDA is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy.
EDA’s annual investment budget for fiscal year 2006 is over $200 million and the bureau has an investment portfolio under active management of $1.5 billion. In addition to its headquarters in Washington, D.C., EDA has six regional offices across the nation with 175 professional employees.

Assistant Secretary Baruah represented the agency before the White House, the Congress, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, France, and other forums on a broad range of economic development issues. Mr. Baruah also served as the Commerce Department’s senior representative to President Bush’s post-Hurricane Katrina Lessons Learned Exercise that examined the federal response to the 2005 hurricane and made significant recommendations for improvements in how the federal government handles future significant disasters. He is an executive member of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

Working with his predecessor, David A. Sampson (now Deputy Secretary of Commerce), Assistant Secretary Baruah helped lead significant accomplishments for EDA, including the agency’s induction into the Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame, passage of EDA’s Congressional reauthorization, the agency’s inclusion in President Bush’s Executive Order which established the Preserve America Initiative, and achieved the second-highest effectiveness ranking from the White House’s Office Management and Budget.

Prior to joining President Bush’s team at the Commerce Department, his previous government service included work with U.S. Senator Bob Packwood. Sandy spent seven years with Portland, Oregon-based corporate management consulting firm Performance Consulting Group. As a business consultant, he worked on engagements with clients such as Walt Disney World, Intel, Key Bank, Citizens Bank and others.

Sandy Baruah’s previous government service includes work with U.S. Senator Bob Packwood and service to President George H.W. Bush, with positions in the office of the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of the Interior. Mr. Baruah holds a B.S. from the University of Oregon and earned an M.B.A. from Willamette University.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

John McCain on Energy Security and Our National Security VIDEO

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain delivered the following remarks as prepared for delivery at a town hall meeting in Fresno, CA, June 23 at 10:00 a.m. PDT (1:00 p.m. EDT):
Thank you all very much. I appreciate the kind introduction from Jim Woolsey, and the warm welcome to Fresno State. I'm here to listen about energy issues as well as to talk. So let me just offer a few ideas before we begin our discussion.

All across this state and nation, people are hurting because the price of gasoline is higher than it should be, and more than many folks can afford. Because of far-off events in the world oil market, a barrel of oil has more than doubled in a year. And the bad effects of that are spreading across our economy. The cost of business is rising, the cost of food and other essentials is rising, the whole cost of living is rising. What isn't rising is the value of your paychecks and the rate of America's economic growth. Back in the 1970's, they used to call this "stagflation." And it feels the same today, because the unwise policies of our government have left America's energy future in the control of others.

America imports about one third of its oil from Canada and Mexico and no one need worry about a reliance on friendly, stable neighbors, and partners in NAFTA. The Middle East and Venezuela are a different story. We import roughly a quarter of our oil from them, and they have a disproportionate impact on world prices. When we buy foreign oil from these and other sources, there are many consequences -- all of them far-reaching and none of them good. Worst of all, by relying on foreign oil, we enrich bad actors in the world, some of whom finance terrorists.

Some in Washington seem to think that we can still persuade OPEC to lower prices -- as if reason or cajolery had never been tried before. Others have even suggested suing OPEC -- as if we can litigate our way to energy security. But America is not going to meet this great challenge as a supplicant or a plaintiff. We are not going to meet it with words at all -- we are going to meet it with action. We're going to produce more, conserve more, and invent more. And to a large extent, this strategy hinges on innovations in the cars and trucks we drive.

Ninety-seven percent of transportation in America runs on oil. And of all that oil, about 60 percent is used in cars and trucks. Yet the CAFE standards we apply to automakers -- to increase the fuel efficiency of their cars -- are lightly enforced by a small fine. The result is that some companies don't even bother to observe CAFE standards. Instead they just write a check to the government and pass the cost along to you. Higher end auto companies like BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes employ some of the best engineering talent in the world. But that talent isn't put to the job of fuel efficiency, when the penalties are too small to encourage innovation. CAFE standards should serve large national goals in energy independence, not the purpose of small-time revenue collection.

Innovation in the use of alternative fuels in transportation presents the greatest opportunity for energy independence. At the moment, entrepreneurs and engineers are trying to figure out which among the various alternatives to oil works best. Alcohol-based fuels are the farthest along in both development and commercial use. Some, such as ethanol, are on the market now, and new sources of ethanol are on the horizon that will not require the use of so much cropland. Corn-based ethanol, thanks to the money and influence of lobbyists, has been a case study in the law of unintended consequences. Our government pays to subsidize corn-based ethanol even as it collects tariffs that prevent consumers from benefiting from other kinds of ethanol, such as sugarcane-based ethanol from Brazil. The result is that Americans take the financial hit coming and going. As taxpayers, we foot the bill for the enormous subsides paid to corn produ cers. And as consumers, we pay extra at the pump because of government barriers to cheaper products from abroad.

Here's a better way. Instead of playing favorites, our government should level the playing field for all alcohol fuels that break the monopoly of gasoline, lowering both gasoline prices and carbon emissions. And this can be done with a simple federal standard to hasten the conversion of all new vehicles in America to flex-fuel technology -- allowing drivers to use alcohol fuels instead of gas in their cars. Brazil went from about five to over 70 percent of all new vehicles with flex-fuel capacity. It did all that in just three years. Yet those same automakers that helped Brazil make the change say it will take them longer to reach the goal of 50 percent new flex-fuel vehicles for America. But I am confident they can do more, and do it faster, in the interest of our energy security. And if I am elected president, they will. Whether it takes a meeting with automakers during my first month in office, or my signature on an act of Congress, we will meet the goal of a swift conversion of American vehicles away from oil.

At the same time, smart policy can also help to broaden the market for energy-efficient cars. Right now we have a hodgepodge of incentives for the purchase of fuel-efficient cars. Different hybrids and natural-gas cars carry different incentives, ranging from a few hundreds dollars to four grand. They're the handiwork of lobbyists, with all the inconsistency and irrationality that involves.

My administration will issue a Clean Car Challenge to the automakers of America, in the form of a single and substantial tax credit based on the reduction of carbon emissions. For every automaker who can sell a zero-emissions car, we will commit a 5,000 dollar tax credit for each and every customer who buys that car. For other vehicles, whatever type they may be, the lower the carbon emissions, the higher the tax credit. And these large tax credits will be available to everyone -- not just to those who have an accountant to explain it to them.

Furthermore, in the quest for alternatives to oil, our government has thrown around enough money subsidizing special interests and excusing failure. From now on, we will encourage heroic efforts in engineering, and we will reward the greatest success.

I further propose we inspire the ingenuity and resolve of the American people by offering a $300 million prize for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars. This is one dollar for every man, woman and child in the U.S. -- a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency -- and should deliver a power source at 30 percent of the current costs.

My friends, energy security is the great national challenge of our time. And rising to this challenge will take all of the vision, creativity, and resolve of which we are capable. The good news is, these qualities have never been in short supply. We are the country of Edison, Fulton, and two brothers named Wright. It was American ingenuity that took three brave men to the moon and brought them back. Think of all the highest scientific endeavors of our age -- the invention of the silicon chip, the creation of the Internet, the mapping of the human genome. In so many cases, you can draw a straight line back to American inventors, and often to the foresighted aid of the United States government.

For all the troubles and dangers our energy vulnerability presents, we know that we can overcome them, because we have overcome far worse problems and met far greater goals. Together, we Americans can achieve anything we set our minds to. I believe this about our country. I know this about our country. And now it is time to show those qualities once again.

Thank you.

Monday, June 23, 2008

President Bush Welcomes 2007 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury to White House VIDEO PODCAST

President Bush Welcomes 2007 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury to White House VIDEO PODCAST

President George W. Bush delivers remarks to congratulate the 2007 WNBA Champions, the Phoenix Mercury, Monday, June 23, 2008, in the East Garden at the White House. White House photo by Chris Greenberg
President Bush Welcomes 2007 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury to White House FULL STREAMING VIDEO East Garden 11:02 A.M. EDT. PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLE

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. Please be seated. Welcome to the White House. And it is fitting that we use the East Garden because,
one, this is rarely used; and two, it is an opportunity for me to welcome a lot of people to the -- that are here to see the WNBA champs, Phoenix Mercury. And we're glad you came. (Applause.)

People who follow sport in America will know that the Phoenix Mercury played together as a great team, and they brought new glory to women's athletics and the sport of basketball. As they like to say, "Mighty Mercury, we are number one!" (Laughter.) And these women proved it.

I want to thank Jay Parry, President and COO of the Phoenix Mercury, for joining us. Ann Meyers Drysdale, the General Manager of Phoenix Mercury. Where is your son? There he is. Kind of looks like the big right-hander. You're right. (Laughter.)

Corey Gaines, the head coach -- Coach, thanks for coming, proud you're here. I particularly want to pay my respects to the co-captains of the team, Cappie Pondexter and Diana Taurasi.

Now, this is not the first time that Diana has been here to the White House. She came with the mighty UConn Huskies. And she told me she was going to amount to something in life when I saw her. (Laughter.) She said, "I will be back," and she is, as the champion. Welcome. Glad you're here.

And I wish these two -- these two great athletes all the best at the Olympics in Beijing. They're going to be carrying on the great tradition of women's basketball here in the United States. And even though it's going to be tough, a lot of teams are getting ready for them, they're going to come back with the Gold and America will be proud. (Applause.)

I welcome the other athletes on the stage and the newly -- the new athletes who have joined the Phoenix Mercury. Must be pretty cool to be playing with champs. I bet it's wearing off on you, what it means to make the sacrifices necessary to win the title and be invited here in the White House.

I want to welcome Congressman Trent Franks -- Congressman, thanks for coming. Thanks for taking an interest in the Phoenix Mercury. I know they're proud to have your support.

I welcome members of the Junior WNBA that have joined us. Thanks for coming, thanks for taking an interest in women's basketball. (Applause.) I want to -- do thank -- do want to thank the WNBA representatives and personnel who've joined us; appreciate you promoting women's athletics. As the father of twin girls, there's nothing better than having good role models for girls to look at, and there are no better role models than women basketball players. They're great athletes. They're well-conditioned people. They're disciplined.

I want to welcome the Phoenix fans here, professionally known as the "X-factor." I know these women really love the fact that they play in a city that supports them. And I hope the fans that, you know, aren't here recognize that even here in Washington D.C. we've heard of the Phoenix Mercury, and proud to -- proud to have them come.

The team's playoff slogan was, "One team, one city, one goal." And they've fulfilled the goal. You became the first WNBA team in history to win the championship on the road. For the second year in a row, you set the record for the highest scoring average in WNBA history.

You were led ably by Coach Paul Westhead. I know he is proud of the women. And Corey Gaines was the assistant coach, so he had the pleasure of being part of a championship program, and he knows what it takes to get you in a position where you can win this year, as well. Of course, I'm not going to be around to welcome you -- but play hard anyway. (Laughter.)

The thing I love about this team and a lot of champions that I get to recognize here at the White House is the fact that they understand you're a champ on the courts, and you're a champ off the courts. The -- this team spent weekends on a Habitat for Humanity program called, "Women Build." They served meals at homeless shelters. They honored breast cancer survivors. They helped sign up runners for Race for the Cure. They collected water bottles from fans and donated them to the Salvation Army's Extreme Heat Emergency Project. They participated in Read to Achieve. They helped stuff backpacks with supplies for underprivileged children.

They support the junior WNBA program, fully understanding that promoting healthy lifestyles is good for America, and there's no better way to have a healthy lifestyle than to participate in athletics. They've done their duty as citizens of the United States. I'm honored to welcome you. I'm proud of your championship trophy. I thank you for what you do for the country. May God bless you all. (Applause.)

MS. MEYERS DRYSDALE: Mr. President, on behalf of the 2007 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury, we'd like to thank you for your invitation to the White House. The Phoenix Mercury and the WNBA is all about leadership, being a strong role model, teamwork, and making a difference in other's lives.

This team accomplished a lot last year and had a lot of firsts. The coaches, fans and players never stopped believing in themselves. Mr. President, we know your support for the Phoenix Mercury is genuine, because of the influence of the women in your life.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

MS. MEYERS DRYSDALE: All first ladies -- your graceful mother, your classy wife --

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

MS. MEYERS DRYSDALE: -- your very strong-willed daughters -- (laughter.) You think?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, that's why my hair is white. (Laughter.)

MS. MEYERS DRYSDALE: We are very proud of this team. And on behalf of the Phoenix Mercury, we'd like our two Olympians, Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter, to present you with a Phoenix Mercury jersey and a replica banner of our championship. (Applause.)

END 11:08 A.M. EDT

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 23, 2008

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Tiny refrigerator taking shape to cool future computers

Eckhard Groll, at left, a professor of mechanical engineering, and Suresh Garimella, the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Researchers at Purdue are developing a miniature refrigeration system small enough to fit inside laptops and personal computers, a cooling technology that would boost performance while shrinking the size of computers. The researchers collect data using a myriad of sensors to precisely measure how a refrigerant boils and vaporizes inside tiny "microchannels" in a part of the refrigeration system called an evaporator.

Data are needed to determine how to vary this boiling rate for maximum chip cooling. Eckhard Groll, at left, a professor of mechanical engineering, and Suresh Garimella, the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Professor of Mechanical Engineering, discuss the microchannel data at the Ray W. Herrick Laboratories. (Purdue News Service photo/David Umberger)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers at Purdue University are developing a miniature refrigeration system small enough to fit inside laptops and personal computers, a cooling technology that would boost performance while shrinking the size of computers.

Unlike conventional cooling systems, which use a fan to circulate air through finned devices called heat sinks attached to computer chips, miniature refrigeration would dramatically increase how much heat could be removed, said Suresh Garimella, the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

The Purdue research focuses on learning how to design miniature components called compressors and evaporators, which are critical for refrigeration systems. The researchers developed an analytical model for designing tiny compressors that pump refrigerants using penny-size diaphragms and validated the model with experimental data. The elastic membranes are made of ultra-thin sheets of a plastic called polyimide and coated with an electrically conducting metallic layer. The metal layer allows the diaphragm to be moved back and forth to produce a pumping action using electrical charges, or "electrostatic diaphragm compression."
In related research, the engineers are among the first to precisely measure how a refrigerant boils and vaporizes inside tiny "microchannels" in an evaporator and determine how to vary this boiling rate for maximum chip cooling.

The research is led by Garimella and Eckhard Groll, a professor of mechanical engineering.

"We feel we have a very good handle on this technology now, but there still are difficulties in implementing it in practical applications," said Garimella, director of the Cooling Technologies Research Center based at Purdue. "One challenge is that it's difficult to make a compressor really small that runs efficiently and reliably."

Findings will be detailed in two papers being presented during the 12th International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference and the 19th International Compressor Engineering Conference on July 14-17 at Purdue. The papers were written by doctoral students Stefan S. Bertsch and Abhijit A. Sathe, Groll and Garimella.

New types of cooling systems will be needed for future computer chips that will likely generate 10 times more heat than today's microprocessors, especially in small "hot spots," Garimella said.

Miniature refrigeration has a key advantage over other cooling technologies, Groll said.

"The best that all other cooling methods can achieve is to cool the chip down to ambient temperature, whereas refrigeration allows you to cool below surrounding temperatures," he said.

The ability to cool below ambient temperature could result in smaller, more powerful computers and also could improve reliability by reducing long-term damage to chips caused by heating.

One complication is that the technology would require many diaphragms operating in parallel to pump a large enough volume of refrigerant for the cooling system.

"So you have an array of 50 or 100 tiny diaphragm compressors, and you can stack them," Groll said.

The researchers conducted laboratory experiments with the diaphragms in Garimella's Thermal Microsystems Lab, developed a computational model for designing the compressor and validated the model with data from the lab. Findings showed that it is feasible to design a prototype system small enough to fit in a laptop, Garimella said.

The model enables the engineers to optimize the design, determining how many diaphragms to use and how to stack them, either parallel to each other or in series.

"If you stack in one direction, you get more pressure rise, and if you stack in the other direction, you get more volume pumped," Groll said.

Learning how to manufacture the devices at low cost is another major challenge, with industry requiring a cost of about $30 each.

"We can't currently produce them at this price, but maybe in the future," Groll said.

Another portion of the research focuses on learning precisely how refrigerant boils and turns into a vapor as it flows along microchannels thinner than a human hair. Such evaporators would be placed on top of computer chips.

Bertsch, the doctoral student who led work to set up experiments at the university's Ray W. Herrick Laboratories, observed how refrigerant boils inside the channels and measured how much heat is transferred by this boiling refrigerant. He also created mathematical equations needed to properly design the miniature evaporators.

"This overall project represents the first comprehensive research to carefully obtain data showing what happens to heat transfer in arrays of microchannels for miniature refrigeration systems and how to design miniature compressors," Garimella said. "Eventually, we will be able to design both the miniature compressors and evaporators."

###

Some of the research was performed at the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Purdue's Discovery Park.

The research is funded by the Purdue-based National Science Foundation Cooling Technologies Research Center, a consortium of corporations, university and government laboratories working to overcome heat-transfer obstacles in developing new, compact cooling technologies. Groll's research is based at Herrick Laboratories.

CONTACTS: Related Web sites:

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Freedom Calendar 06/21/08 - 06/28/08

June 21, 1832, Birth of U.S. Rep. Joseph Rainey (R-SC), former slave who in 1870 became first African-American member of U.S. House.

June 22, 1870, Republican Congress creates U.S. Department of Justice, to safeguard the civil rights of African-Americans against Democrats in the South.

June 23, 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower meets with Martin Luther King and other African-American leaders to discuss plans to advance civil rights.

June 24, 1940, Republican Party platform calls for integration of the armed forces; for the balance of his terms in office, FDR fails to order it

June 25, 1996, Death of U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Elbert Tuttle, appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower; eulogized for ensuring that Brown v. Board of Education became “a broad mandate for racial justice”.

June 26, 1857, Abraham Lincoln declares Republican position that slavery is “cruelly wrong,” while Democrats “cultivate and excite hatred” for blacks.

June 27, 1940, Charles Anderson (R-KY), first African-American state legislator from a southern state in the 20th century, serves as delegate to the 1940 Republican National Convention.

June 28, 1864, Republican majority in Congress repeals Fugitive Slave Acts.

"Don't forget I was born in '45. At that time, Vienna and half of Austria laid in ruins. And without the participation of America, what fate would have Europe? Where would be Europe today? Not the peaceful, prosperous Europe like we love it and where we live.

Nothing -- I will never forget that America fed us with food, with economic support. The American people, at that time, the American government invested billions of dollars in Europe to develop the former enemy. And now we are a partner. So I think it's grotesque to say that America is a threat to the peace in the world compared with North Korea, Iran, other countries."


Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel

Technorati Tags: and or and or and or and or and or or

Presidential Podcast 06/21/08

Presidential Podcast Logo
Presidential Podcast 06/21/08 en Español. Subscribe to the Republican National Convention Blog Podcast Subscribe to Our Podcast feed or online Click here to Subscribe to Our Republican National Convention Blog Podcast Channel with Podnova podnova Podcast Channel and receive the weekly Presidential Radio Address in English and Spanish with select State Department Briefings. Featuring full audio and text transcripts, More content Sources added often so stay tuned.

Tags: and

Bush radio address 06/21/08 full audio, text transcript

President George W. Bush calls troops from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2005. White House photo by Eric Draper.bush radio address 06/21/08 full audio, text transcript. President's Radio Address en Español and In Focus: Energy
Subscribe to the Republican National Convention Blog Podcast Subscribe to Our Podcast feed or online Click here to Subscribe to Republican National Convention Blog's PODCAST with podnova podnova Podcast Channel and receive the weekly Presidential Radio Address in English and Spanish with select State Department Briefings. Featuring real audio and full text transcripts, More content Sources added often so stay tuned.

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Americans are concerned about the high price of gasoline. Everyone who commutes to work, purchases food, ships a product, or takes a family vacation feels the burden of higher prices at the pump. And families across our country are looking to Washington for a response.

The fundamental problem behind high gas prices is that the supply of oil has not kept up with the rising demand across the world. One obvious solution is for America to increase our domestic oil production. So my Administration has repeatedly called on Congress to open access to new oil exploration here in the United States. Unfortunately, Democrats on Capitol Hill have rejected virtually every proposal. Now Americans are paying the price at the pump for this obstruction. So this week, I asked Democratic congressional leaders to take the side of working families and small businesses and farmers and ranchers and move forward with four steps to expand American oil and gasoline production.

First, we should expand American oil production by increasing access to the Outer Continental Shelf, or OCS. Experts believe that the OCS could produce enough oil to match America's current production for almost ten years. The problem is that Congress has restricted access to key parts of the OCS since the early 1980s. So I've called on the House and Senate to lift this legislative ban and give states the option of opening up OCS resources off their shores while protecting the environment. There's also an executive prohibition on exploration in the OCS, which I will lift when Congress lifts the legislative ban.

Second, we should expand American oil production by tapping into the extraordinary potential of oil shale. Oil shale is a type of rock that can produce oil when exposed to heat and other processes. One major deposit in the Rocky Mountain West alone would equal current annual oil imports for more than a hundred years. Unfortunately, Democrats in Congress are standing in the way of further development. In last year's omnibus spending bill, Democratic leaders inserted a provision blocking oil shale leasing on Federal lands. That provision can be taken out as easily as it was slipped in -- and Congress should do so immediately.

Third, we should expand American oil production by permitting exploration in northern Alaska. Scientists have developed innovative techniques to reach this oil with virtually no impact on the land or local wildlife. With a drilling footprint that covers just a tiny fraction of this vast terrain, America could produce an estimated 10 billion barrels of oil. That is roughly the equivalent of two decades of imported oil from Saudi Arabia. I urge members of Congress to allow this remote region to bring enormous benefits to the American people.

Finally, we need to expand and enhance our refining capacity. It has been 30 years since a new refinery was built in our Nation, and lawsuits and red tape have made it extremely costly to expand or modify existing refineries. The result is that America now imports millions of barrels of fully refined gasoline from abroad. This imposes needless costs on American families and drivers. It deprives American workers of good jobs. And it needs to change.

I know Democratic leaders have opposed some of these policies in the past. Now that their opposition has helped drive gas prices to record levels, I ask them to reconsider their positions. If congressional leaders leave for the Fourth of July recess without taking action, they will need to explain why $4-a-gallon gasoline is not enough incentive for them to act.

This is a difficult time for many American families. Rising gasoline prices and economic uncertainty can affect everything from what food parents put on the table to where they can go on vacation. With the four steps I've laid out, Congress now has a clear path to begin easing the strain high gas prices put on your family's pocketbook. These proposals will take years to have their full impact, so I urge Congress to take action as soon as possible. Together, we can meet the energy challenges we face -- and keep our economy the strongest, most vibrant, and most hopeful in the world.

Thank you for listening.

# # # For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 21, 2008

Tags: and

Discurso Radial del Presidente a la Nación 06/21/08

Presidente George W. Bush llama a tropas de su rancho en Crawford, Tejas, día de Thanksgiving, jueves, de noviembre el 24 de 2005.  Foto blanca de la casa de Eric Draper.forre el audio de la dirección de radio 06/21/08 por completo, transcripción del texto. (nota de los redactores: ninguna lengua española mp3 lanzó esta semana, apesadumbrada) PODCAST
Chascar aquí para suscribir a nuestro canal republicano de Blog Podcast de la convención nacional con Odeo Suscribir a nuestro canal de Podcast de Odeo o del podnova Chascar aquí para suscribir a nuestro canal republicano de Blog Podcast de la convención nacional con Podnova y recibir la dirección de radio presidencial semanal en inglés y español con informes selectos del departamento del estado. Ofreciendo transcripciones audio y con texto completo verdaderas, más fuentes contentas agregaron a menudo así que la estancia templó.

Buenos Días.

Los estadounidenses están inquietos por el precio elevado de la gasolina. Todos los que conducen al trabajo, compran comida, transportan un producto, o toman una vacación en familia sienten la carga de precios más elevados en la gasolinera. Y las familias a lo largo del país están esperando una respuesta de Washington.

El problema fundamental detrás de los elevados precios de gasolina es que la oferta de petróleo no ha seguido el curso de la creciente demanda en todo el mundo. Una solución obvia sería que Estados Unidos aumentara nuestra producción doméstica de petróleo - por lo tanto mi administración ha pedido en varias ocasiones al Congreso que abriera el acceso a nueva exploración petrolífera aquí en los Estados Unidos. Desafortunadamente, los demócratas en el Congreso han rechazado virtualmente todas las propuestas. Ahora los estadounidenses están pagando el precio de esta obstrucción en la gasolinera. Por lo tanto esta semana pedí a los líderes demócratas del Congreso que se pusieran de parte de las familias trabajadoras y pequeñas empresas y agricultores y rancheros y que siguieran adelante con cuatro pasos para aumentar la producción de petróleo y gasolina en Estados Unidos.

Primero, debemos aumentar la producción de petróleo en Estados Unidos aumentando el acceso a la Plataforma Continental Exterior, OCS por sus siglas en inglés. Los expertos consideran que la OCS produciría una cantidad equivalente a la que Estados Unidos produce actualmente durante casi diez años. El problema es que el Congreso ha restringido el acceso a áreas claves de la OCS desde principios de la década de los 1980. Por lo tanto he pedido a la Cámara de Representantes y al Senado que levanten esta prohibición legislativa y den a los estados la opción de abrir los recursos OCS afuera de sus costas a la vez que protejan el medio ambiente. Existe también una prohibición ejecutiva sobre la exploración en la OCS, la cual yo suspenderé cuando el Congreso suspenda la prohibición legislativa.

Segundo, debemos aumentar la producción de petróleo estadounidense aprovechando el extraordinario potencial del petróleo de esquisto bituminoso. El petróleo de esquisto bituminoso es un tipo de roca que puede producir petróleo cuando se expone al calor y otros procesos. Un gran yacimiento en las Montañas Rocosas podría por sí sólo igualar las importaciones anuales de petróleo por más de cien años. Desafortunadamente, los demócratas en el Congreso están obstaculizando el camino a un mayor desarrollo. En el presupuesto general del año pasado, los líderes demócratas introdujeron una cláusula que bloqueaba los contratos de exploración de petróleo de esquisto bituminoso en tierras federales. Esa cláusula puede ser eliminada tan fácilmente como fue introducida y el Congreso debe hacerlo inmediatamente.

Tercero, debemos aumentar la producción de petróleo en Estados Unidos permitiendo la exploración en el norte de Alaska. Los científicos han desarrollado técnicas innovadoras para alcanzar este petróleo prácticamente sin ningún impacto ambiental o sobre la vida silvestre local. Con una huella ambiental que cubre apenas una fracción pequeñísima de este enorme terreno, Estados Unidos podría producir un estimado de 10,000 millones de barriles de petróleo. Esto es aproximadamente el equivalente a dos décadas de petróleo importado de Arabia Saudita. Insto a los miembros del Congreso que permitan que esta región remota brinde enormes beneficios al pueblo estadounidense.

Finalmente, necesitamos ampliar y mejorar nuestra capacidad de refinamiento. Han pasado casi 30 años desde que se construyó una nueva refinería en nuestra Nación y la expansión o modificación de refinerías existentes se ha vuelto sumamente costosa debido a juicios y barreras burocráticas. Como resultado Estados Unidos ahora importa millones de barriles de gasolina totalmente refinada del extranjero. Esto impone costos innecesarios a las familias y conductores estadounidenses. Priva a los trabajadores estadounidenses de buenos empleos. Y esto tiene que cambiar.

Yo sé que los líderes demócratas se han opuesto a algunas de estas políticas en el pasado. Ahora que su oposición ha ayudado a llevar los precios de la gasolina a niveles récord, les pido que reconsideren su posición. Si los líderes del Congreso se retiran para el receso del 4 de julio sin tomar acción, deben explicar por qué el galón de gasolina de $4 no es suficiente incentivo para impulsarlos a tomar acción.

Estos son tiempos difíciles para muchas familias estadounidenses. Los precios cada vez más elevados de la gasolina y la incertidumbre económica pueden afectar todo desde los alimentos que los padres ponen en la mesa hasta dónde pueden ir de vacaciones. Con los cuatro pasos que he indicado, el Congreso tiene un camino claro para comenzar a aliviar la tensión que los elevados precios de la gasolina han puesto en las carteras de su familia. Estas propuestas tomarán años para tener su impacto completo, por lo cual insto al Congreso que actúe lo más pronto posible. Juntos podemos resolver los retos energéticos que enfrentamos - y mantener a nuestra economía como la más fuerte, la más dinámica y la más prometedora del mundo.

Gracias por escuchar.

Para su publicación inmediata Oficina del Secretario de Prensa 21 de junio de 2008

Etiquetas De Technorati: , y

Friday, June 20, 2008

President Bush Discusses the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Funding For Troops VIDEO PODCAST

President Bush Discusses the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Funding For Troops VIDEO PODCAST

President George W. Bush addresses his remarks to reporters Friday, June 20, 2008 at the White House, thanking members of the House and Senate for their bipartisan cooperation in reaching agreement on war funding and intelligence gathering legislation. White House photo by Eric Draper
President Bush Discusses the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Funding For Troops FULL STREAMING VIDEO Oval Office Patio 9:11 A.M. EDT. PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLE

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week Congress moved forward on two important issues affecting the national security of our country.
Yesterday the House passed a responsible war funding bill that will provide vital resources to our men and women on the front lines in the war on terror. This legislation gives our troops the funds they need to prevail without tying the hands of our commanders in the field or imposing artificial timetables for withdrawal.

The bill also supports our military families by passing an expansion of the GI Bill that makes it easier for our troops to transfer unused education benefits to their spouses and their children. I want to thank the members of Congress for their action on this legislation, and I urge the Senate to pass it as soon as possible.

Members of the House and Senate also reached a bipartisan agreement yesterday on legislation to allow our intelligence professionals to quickly and effectively monitor the plans of terrorists abroad, while protecting the liberties of Americans here at home.

My Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General tells me that this is a good bill. It will help our intelligence professionals learn our enemies' plans for new attacks. It ensures that those companies whose assistance is necessary to protect the country will themselves be protected from liability for past or future cooperation with the government.

The enemy who attacked us on September the 11th is determined to strike this country again. It's vital that our intelligence community has the ability to learn who the terrorists are talking to, what they're saying, and what they are planning.

I encourage the House of Representatives to pass this bill today, and I ask the Senate to take it up quickly so our intelligence professionals can better protect Americans from harm.

I'm pleased with the bipartisan cooperation on both these bills, and I thank the members for their efforts. Thank you.

END 9:13 A.M. EDT For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 20, 2008

Thursday, June 19, 2008

J. Patrick Rowan Biography

The President intends to nominate J. Patrick Rowan, of Maryland, to be Assistant Attorney General (National Security Division) at the Department of Justice. Mr. Rowan currently serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General (National Security Division) at the Department of Justice. Prior to this, he served as Associate Deputy Attorney General in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice. Earlier in his career, he served as Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General. Mr. Rowan received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and his JD from the University of Virginia.

Acting Assistant Attorney General J. Patrick Rowan

J. Patrick Rowan became the Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security on March 31, 2008. Mr. Rowan previously served as the NSD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General. As the Principal Deputy, Mr. Rowan supervised the NSD’s prosecutors in the Counterterrorism and Counterespionage Sections and focused on the Department’s efforts to disrupt terrorists and other national security threats through investigation and prosecution.

Prior to the establishment of the NSD, from November, 2005, to October, 2006, Mr. Rowan served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General and assisted in the management of national security functions for the Justice Department. In that position, Mr. Rowan was the Department’s liaison to the intelligence community and supervised the formation of the NSD. Before that, he held a number of positions in the Department, including Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, Special Counsel for the Office of General Counsel of the FBI, and Counsel to the Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. From 1991 to 2002, Mr. Rowan served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, where he prosecuted a range of offenses, including fraud, public corruption, and homicide. Before joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Mr. Rowan was an associate at Covington & Burling.

Mr. Rowan graduated from Dartmouth College, cum laude, and the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif.

Brent R. Orrell Biography

Brent R. OrrellThe President intends to nominate Brent R. Orrell, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary of Labor (Employment and Training). Mr. Orrell currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training at the Department of Labor. Prior to this, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Administration for Children and Families within the Department of Health and Human Services. Earlier in his career, he served as a Legislative Director to Senator Sam Brownback. Mr. Orrell received his bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and External Relations Acting Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement (starting October 2007)

Brent Orrell joined the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and External Relations in June 2005. Before joining ACF, he was the Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Prior to his service at DOL, he worked in both the United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives for 15 years.

In his work at DOL, Mr. Orrell focused on several key aspects of the implementation of the President’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative. Working with the Employment and Training Administration, he was responsible for designing the Initiative’s first mini-grants program to fund small faith-based and community organizations that provide job development services to poor and under-served communities. He was the principle author of the Ready4Work, a three-year, $32.5 million demonstration project to faith-based and community groups assisting men and women who are returning from prison. Ready4Work was the basis for the President’s four-year, $300 million request to Congress for a comprehensive prisoner re-entry program that was announced in the January 2004 State of the Union Address. Finally, Mr. Orrell designed and implemented Touching Lives and Communities, a technical assistance program encouraging state and local workforce development officials to partner with faith-based and community organizations in the delivery of formula grant-funded job development programs.

From 1987 to 2001, Mr. Orrell worked for members of the House and the Senate in a variety of policy-related positions. Most recently he served as Legislative Director to Senator Sam Brownback. From 1998 to 2000 he was Administrative Assistant to Congressman Gil Gutknecht.

From 1996 to 1998, Mr. Orrell served as Legislative Director to Senator Dan Coats. He was the lead staff person overseeing the Project for American Renewal, an omnibus legislative package designed to highlight and support the work of religious and community organizations. He also oversaw the creation of REAL Life, a separate faith-based and community package more narrowly tailored to the economic, social and educational problems of urban areas.

From 1989 to 1996, Mr. Orrell served as Deputy Legislative Director to Senator Sam Nunn where he handled health care, welfare, judiciary and other domestic policy issues.

Mr. Orrell graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in European History in 1986. He and his wife, Beth, reside in Northern Virginia with their three children.

Republican Convention Names ShadowTV Official Broadcast Monitoring Provider

ShadowTV Logo2008 Republican National Convention Names ShadowTV Official Broadcast Monitoring Provider, Service to deliver real-time notification of convention coverage across the nation.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. - To help monitor the massive amounts of media coverage expected during the 2008 Republican National Convention, President & CEO Maria Cino today announced ShadowTV, Inc., as the convention’s Official Broadcast Monitoring Provider.

"The excitement and energy of the 2008 Republican National Convention will be documented by 15,000 journalists from around the world - making it second only to the Olympics in terms of press coverage," Cino said. "It is important that we have the technology to document the broadcast coverage of the convention, and ShadowTV will help us track what the broadcast media is saying about it."

As the Official Broadcast Monitoring Provider, ShadowTV will provide the convention with digital, continuous access to live and archived broadcast coverage of the 2008 Republican National Convention. ShadowTV’s patent-pending technology will provide the convention with real-time notification when convention-related news is reported by any of the more than 250 television stations ShadowTV monitors across the nation.

"The real-time capability of ShadowTV is second-to-none," Cino added. "And the digital technology will go a long way toward our promise of a greener convention as we avoid the necessity of using non-recyclable video tapes."

"We are proud the Republican National Convention selected us as the official video monitoring service for this high profile event," said Joachim Kim, ShadowTV’s founder and President. "Our real-time alerts and ability to search live broadcasts and years of archives from around the country will allow the 2008 Republican National Convention staff to immediately identify and pass along important news coverage to all appropriate contacts."

About ShadowTV, ShadowTV® is a new patent pending streaming video service. It was developed from the ground up to manipulate video for efficient delivery via the Internet. ShadowTV can provide all-digital continuous-access to live and archived television content via the web. It enables financial institutions, advertising agencies, PR agencies and other corporations to monitor televised news and commercials for financial reports, competitive intelligence, and shareholder relations. ShadowTV can be found online at www.shadowtv.com.

About the Republican National Convention, The 2008 Republican National Convention will be held at Saint Paul's Xcel Energy Center from Sept. 1-4, 2008. Approximately 45,000 delegates, alternate delegates, volunteers, members of the media and other guests are expected to attend the convention. Minneapolis-Saint Paul is expected to receive an estimated $150-$160 million positive economic boost from the four-day event. For more information about the 2008 Republican National Convention, please visit our website at www.GOPConvention2008.com and join our social network sites on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube.