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Several current and former U.S. officials said the most substantive give-and-take to date between U.S. and Taliban negotiators could happen in the next week, with the goal of establishing what the U.S. calls confidence-building measures – specific steps that the U.S. and the insurgents agree to take ahead of formal talks. Those talks, if they ever take place, would include the United States, the Taliban and the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai, a senior U.S. official said.

Like others interviewed, the official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive diplomacy. Elements of the U.S. outreach to the Taliban are also classified.

The diplomatic, military and intelligence branches of the U.S. government differ over the value of talks with the Taliban or whether now is the right time to so publicly shift focus away from the ongoing military campaign that primarily targets Taliban insurgents. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and some uniformed military leaders have recently sounded some of the strongest notes of caution, especially on when to grant Taliban requests for the transfer of several of its prisoners from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military and other U.S. officials said.

The latest Afghan National Intelligence Estimate warns that the Taliban will grow stronger, using the talks to gain credibility and run out the clock until U.S. troops depart Afghanistan, while continuing to fight for more territory, say U.S. officials who have read the classified document. They spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the roughly 100-page review, an amalgam of intelligence community’s predictions of possible scenarios for the Afghan war through the planned end to U.S. combat in 2014.

It says the Afghan government has largely failed to prove itself to its people and will likely continue to weaken and find influence only in the cities. It predicts that the Taliban and warlords will largely control the countryside.

Meanwhile, Karzai is still uneasy with the pace and direction of talks. He resents the selection of Qatar as the site of a Taliban political office, although he has reluctantly agreed to that U.S.-backed plan. And he worries that the United States will strike a deal with the Taliban and force that deal on his government, two Afghan officials told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive discussions. Karzai wanted the office located in Saudi Arabia, Turkey or Afghanistan.

U.S. officials close to the negotiations say that despite these warnings the Taliban high command is more ready for talks than in the past, at least with the United States if not the elected Afghan government it opposes.

One sign was the surprising public endorsement by the Taliban of the plan to open a negotiating office in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar. But U.S. officials also cite more subtle indications of a shift toward peace negotiations, including the recent participation in preliminary talks of more senior and influential Taliban representatives.

The senior U.S. official said negotiators are now confident they are talking to credible intermediaries for the main Taliban command based in Pakistan.

The administration’s top negotiator, Marc Grossman, was building support for talks among regional allies such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia this week, to be followed by discussions with Taliban representatives, U.S. and other government officials said. Ahead of those sessions, officials described them as the most substantive and highest-level to date, with plans to cover specifics of the new office and the sequence of further good faith efforts on both sides that would set the stage for real talks.

One topic was expected to be a U.S. offer to release two or three Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo to custody in Qatar, although two officials said that effort is moving more slowly than plans for the office. A waiting period would follow that transfer before any other Taliban transfers would be considered. U.S. officials said Congress would be consulted throughout.

The Taliban had sought both the office and the prisoner release as preconditions for real talks.

The senior U.S. official said the U.S. has set clear conditions for opening the office, including that the Taliban must agree not to use it for fundraising or propaganda, or to run insurgent operations. Larger conditions include assurances that the insurgents are truly interested in a political settlement and not using negotiations as a way to run out the clock until U.S. forces leave.

The central political office confers instant, though controversial, legitimacy on the diffuse insurgency as a political movement and provides a site for formal talks. The idea is to give the Taliban room to negotiate in a location with less direct pressure from Pakistan, which has ties to some militant groups and houses parts of the Taliban leadership.

The U.S. intelligence assessment looks past the near horizon for talks.

It predicts the likely outcome of two strategies: moderate engagement, in which the U.S. continues special operations raids against key Taliban leaders, and village outreach to strengthen local government, while conventional forces train Afghanistan’s army and police force, and limited engagement, in which the U.S. would continue economic and political support, and some Afghan security training, but most troops would withdraw.

Both strategies can weaken the Taliban, the analysts say, but ultimately, neither course of action is likely to stop the continued weakening of the Afghan state, the officials said. The NIE did suggest eliminating top Taliban leaders in the next two years and continuing to build Afghan government could help offset that.

In that way, the NIE’s bleak predictions also give the White House reason to hasten the reconciliation process, in order to pull U.S. troops out what some analysts termed a hopeless stalemate.

Arsala Rahmani a former Taliban official turned Afghan peace negotiator, said that in the past year the Taliban leadership had expressed to the United States a new willingness to negotiate.

“Something happened,” said Rahmani, a member of the Afghanistan peace council. “The leadership of the Taliban saw a green light from the Obama administration and after that, the Taliban leadership appointed people to get involved in the negotiation process.”

Although U.S. and Taliban representatives have met secretly several times over the past year in Europe and the Persian Gulf, the Taliban endorsement of the office plan on Jan. 3 was the first time it has publicly expressed willingness for substantive negotiations.

U.S. and other officials also said they are encouraged by the insurgents’ apparent plans to staff the new headquarters office with senior figures with ties to top Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

The U.S. considers full peace negotiations on the model of Northern Ireland or the former Yugoslavia to be a long shot now, several officials said. But the administration is trying to build a framework for political discussions between the Taliban and the Karzai government that could span the next two years when U.S. combat forces will withdraw.

The Taliban sought direct talks with the U.S., whom it considers the true power broker in Afghanistan, as an alternative to talks with the Karzai government. The United States had shunned such contacts for years, saying talks must be led by Afghans and that military gains must be consolidated before talks would be productive.

The Obama administration shifted course last year and opened the direct channel in secret. The U.S. acknowledged the previously clandestine contacts only after they were revealed publicly, apparently by allies of Karzai who felt undermined by the separate channel.

There were multiple avenues of communication between the U.S. and the Taliban over the last year, some public and others through back channels. The senior U.S. official said none was judged to be an authentic direct message from Omar.

The United States considers Omar a terrorist who could be killed by U.S. forces in the same manner as Osama bin Laden. But the U.S. also recognizes that Omar is the linchpin to a deal that could finally end the war that began with the 2001 U.S. invasion and ouster of the ruling Taliban government. The Taliban has sought a return to political and territorial influence ever since, primarily through guerrilla tactics.

U.S. and Afghan officials think Omar is interested.

A personal emissary of Omar, Tayyab Agha, conducted the initial, tentative contacts with the U.S. last year and remains a lead negotiator.

Rahmani said other Taliban negotiators include Shahabuddin Dilawar, former Taliban ambassador to Saudi Arabia; and Mohammed Sher Abbas Stanikzai., former deputy health minister during the Taliban regime. Without approval from Omar, these people would not have been appointed, he said.

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Earlier this week, President Barack Obama stood before an excited crowd in Shaker Heights, Ohio to boldly announce his appointment of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as the first Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

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This announcement came not a moment too soon.

For the last few years, millions of Americans have been struggling to overcome the devastation caused by the abuses of an under-regulated financial system. Hard-working men and women have struggled just to put food on their tables and clothes on their children’s backs.

In their desperation to make ends meet, many have fallen prey to payday lenders, check-cashing outlets, and fly-by-night tax refund companies. Under the guise of offering short-term help, these companies’ anti-consumer practices have pushed thousands of families further into debt.

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The new definition counts men as victims for the first time and drops the requirement that victims must have physically resisted their attackers.

Vice President Joe Biden, author of the Violence Against Women Act when he was in the Senate, said the new definition announced Friday is a victory for women and men “whose suffering has gone unaccounted for over 80 years.” Calling rape a “devastating crime,” the vice president said, “We can’t solve it unless we know the full extent of it.”

The change will increase the number of people counted as rape victims in FBI statistics but will not change federal or state laws or alter charges or prosecutions. It’s an important shift because lawmakers and policymakers use crime statistics to allocate money and other resources for prevention and victim assistance.

The White House said the expanded definition has been long awaited as many states and research groups made similar changes in their definitions of rape over recent decades.

Since 1929, the FBI has defined rape as the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will. The revised definition covers any gender of victim or attacker and includes instances in which the victim is incapable of giving consent because of the influence of drugs or alcohol or because of age. Physical resistance is not required. The Justice Department said the new definition mirrors the majority of state rape statutes now on the books.

Congress approved $592 million this year to address violence against women, including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking, under the Violence Against Women Act and Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. Of that amount, $23 million goes to a sexual assault services program and $39 million to a rape prevention and education program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Obama administration had sought $777 million to combat violence against women.

The change likely will result in big increases in the number of reported rapes, but it was not immediately clear how big. To take just one example of how the FBI totals will change, Chicago didn’t report any rapes to the FBI for 2010 because its broad definition of the crime didn’t match the FBI’s narrow definition.

The change has been sought by women’s groups for more than a decade.

The Women’s Law Project, on behalf of more than 80 sexual assault coalitions and national organizations concerned about violence against women, wrote FBI Director Robert Mueller in 2001 that the narrow definition reflected gender-based stereotypes and requested it be changed.

Using the old definition, a total of 84,767 rapes were reported nationwide in 2010, according to the FBI’s uniform crime report based on data from 18,000 law enforcement agencies.

Nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men in the U.S. have been raped at some time in their lives, according to a 2010 survey by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which used a broader definition.

The revised FBI definition says that rape is “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object,” without the consent of the victim. Also constituting rape under the new definition is “oral penetration by a sex organ of another person” without consent.

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The demonstrators rejected the appointment of Kamal el-Ganzouri as prime minister, breaking into chants of “Illegitimate! Illegitimate!” and setting up a showdown between the two sides only three days before key parliamentary elections.

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The size of the rally and the resilience of protesters in the face of the violence used by security forces in this week’s deadly street battles have won back for the movement much of the strength it projected during the 18-day uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February.

Showing the sort of resolve from the earliest days of the Arab Spring, the protesters say they will not leave the iconic square until the military rulers led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi step down and a civilian presidential council is formed to run the country until a new leader is elected.

“They stole our January revolution because we did not agree on who should represent us,” said activist Sedeeqah Abu Seadah. “We shouted ‘erhal’ (leave) but did not shout the name of the person we want.”

The military’s appointment of el-Ganzouri, its apology for the death of protesters and a series of partial concessions in the past two days suggest that the generals are struggling to overcome the most serious challenge to their nine-month rule, with fewer options now available to them.

Significantly adding to their predicament, the Obama administration brought its position on the crisis in Egypt closer to the protesters’ demands, urging the military to fully empower the next interim civilian government.

“We believe that Egypt’s transition to democracy must continue, with elections proceeding expeditiously, and all necessary measures taken to ensure security and prevent intimidation,” the White House said in a statement.

“Most importantly, we believe that the full transfer of power to a civilian government must take place in a just and inclusive manner that responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Egyptian people, as soon as possible,” it said.

The adjustment in the Obama administration’s approach is significant because the Egyptian military, the nation’s most powerful institution, has in the past 30 years forged close relations with successive U.S. administrations, receiving $1.3 billion annually in aid. It followed the public U.S. endorsement of the military’s original timetable for the transfer of power by late 2012 or early 2013.

The military inadvertently sparked the ongoing unrest by pushing plans for a political “guardianship” role for itself and immunity from civilian oversight even after a new parliament is seated and a new president is elected.

The last straw came when the military ordered the use of force against a small protest in Tahrir Square last weekend and then launched a failed, joint army-police raid to evacuate a larger crowd. Nearly 40 protesters have died in the past week.

The latest crisis has overshadowed Monday’s start of Egypt’s first parliamentary elections since Mubarak was replaced by Tantawi. The vote, which the generals say will be held on schedule despite the unrest, is now seen by many activists and protesters to be serving the military’s efforts to project an image of itself as the nation’s saviors and true democrats.

The next parliament is expected to be dominated by Islamists, whose political groups have decided to boycott the ongoing protests to keep from doing anything that could derail the election. However, the outcome of the vote is likely to be seen as flawed given the growing unrest and the suspension by many candidates of their campaigns in solidarity with the protesters.

The Social Democrats, a political party born out of the January-February uprising, said Friday that it would boycott the election, arguing that the vote would not be fair given the tension caused by the unrest, which it blamed on the military.

In rejecting el-Ganzouri’s government, 24 protest groups, including two political parties, announced the formation of their own “national salvation” government that they say represents the protesters. The group will be headed by Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei and four deputies.

While it is unclear how many people the statement announcing the move represents, it is an attempt by the protest movement to unify its demands and leadership.

Supporters of the military staged a rival demonstration Friday across town from Tahrir, but only several thousand people turned out. They waved identical, brand new Egyptian flags that prompted activists to post on social network sites their suspicion that the demonstration may have been staged by the military.

State television, whose coverage of the crisis shows a clear, pro-military bias, gave prominence to the supporters of the generals and hosted commentators discrediting the Tahrir protesters as irresponsible youths and violent football hooligans.

“El-Ganzouri is over and done with. We want young people to take charge of the country,” said Hamdi Arban, a 50-year-old lawyer who was in Tahrir Square. “We will stay here and we won’t get our rights except from here,” he said.

Basma el-Husseini, who directs a cultural center and was also in Tahrir, dismissed the 78-year-old el-Ganzouri as a man with little energy to keep up with the multitude of challenges facing Egypt. “They (the generals) don’t get the power of the people. All they are doing now is play for time to make people fed up.”

El-Ganzouri served as prime minister between 1996 and 1999 and was deputy prime minister and planning minister before that. Tantawi himself served under el-Ganzouri for three of the 20 years he spent as Mubarak’s defense minister.

Addressing a televised news conference, el-Ganzouri said the military has given him greater powers than his predecessor and that he wouldn’t have accepted the job if he believed Tantawi had any intention of staying in power.

“The powers given to me exceed any similar mandates,” he said. “I will take full authority so I’m able to serve my country.”

But el-Ganzouri appeared uncomfortable, grasping for words and repeatedly pausing as he spoke, giving rambling answers when pressed whether he could form a government that will satisfy the public when many prominent figures have shunned joining the new administration.

The choice of el-Ganzouri deepened the anger of the protesters, already seething over the military’s perceived reluctance to dismantle the legacy of Mubarak’s 29-year rule.

El-Ganzouri replaces Essam Sharaf, who resigned this week after nearly nine months in office. Sharaf was criticized for being weak and beholden to the generals.

Friday’s protest in Tahrir was dubbed by organizers as “The Last Chance Million-Man Protest.” Swelling crowds chanted, “Leave! Leave!” and “The people want to bring down the field marshal!”

ElBaradei was mobbed by hundreds of supporters as he arrived in the square and took part in Friday prayers, leaving shortly afterward. Some factions in the protest have cited ElBaradei as a possible member of a civilian presidential council they want to replace the generals.

“He is here to support the revolutionaries,” said protester Ahmed Awad, 35. “He came to see for himself the tragedy caused by the military.”

Fireworks lit the sky in the evening and a large banner was strung over a side street called Mohammed Mahmoud, where most of the fighting occurred, declaring that it would be renamed “Eyes of the Revolution Street,” in honor of the hundreds of protesters who suffered eye injuries as a result of tear gas used by police.

About 500 protesters camped out in front of the Cabinet office, vowing to remain to prevent el-Ganzouri’s government from entering the building.

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters also rallied in other cities, including at least 10,000 in Alexandria and smaller crowds in Luxor and Assiut in southern Egypt.

The military has rejected calls to immediately step down, saying its claim to power is supported by the warm welcome given to troops who took over the streets from the discredited police early in the anti-Mubarak uprising as well as an overwhelming endorsement for constitutional amendments they proposed in a March referendum.

Tantawi has offered another referendum on whether his military council should step down immediately.

Such a vote, activists say, would be divisive and likely open the door for a deal between the military and political groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt’s largest and best organized group, the Brotherhood is notorious for its opportunism and thirst for power. It was empowered after the fall of Mubarak, regaining legitimacy after spending nearly 60 years as an outlawed group.

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The U.S. Justice Department filed a motion on Monday to dismiss a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, who requested the images.

“We shouldn’t throw out our transparency laws because complying with them might offend terrorists,”  Tom Fitton President of Judicial Watch said in a statement. “The historical record of Osama bin Laden’s death should be released to the American people as the law requires.”

Read more at the New York Daily News.

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The investment seeks to provide underprivileged populations the same degree of protection as their wealthy counterparts.

Visit the EPA Website

In addition to providing marketable skills, part of the grant funding will help place newly trained workers into available employment.

The Moral Liberal Reports:

Program participants will master valuable skills such as “environmental site sampling” and “green building techniques” as well as “construction and demolition debris recycling” and “energy auditing and weatherization.” Graduates will use their skills to improve the environment and people’s health while supporting economic development in their communities, according to the EPA. Ideal candidates are “hard to place residents that live in the disadvantaged communities that will benefit the most through these projects.”

Read More At TheMoralLiberal.com

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The United States government is set to default on its loans on Aug. 2, due to hitting its debt limit of $14.29 trillion on May 16. Although lawmakers can vote to raise the debt ceiling, many members of Congress said they will not approve it until long-term plan to deal with debt.

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Newt Gingrich is the latest white politician to claim the Obama administration has failed Black America. As the political gears roll into action for the 2012 elections, the Republicans look to take the Black vote away from the incumbent president’s reelection bid.

An article on The Grio discusses whether or not Gingrich and his Republican Party stand a chance at showing Black America they’re on our side.

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How long will the Black community continue to allow the Obama administration and the Democratic Party to insult them and then blame it on Obama not wanting to be perceived as a “Black” president?

Let me give an example. You have invested in a business project, Obama Inc.

There were 4 classes of investors: class W, which comprised 74% of the total stock; class B, which comprised 13% of the total stock, class H, which comprised 9% of the total stock; and class G, which comprised 4% of the total stock.

How would you respond to the CEO of Obama Inc. if he says the rate of return (ROI) payout would be as follows: those who invested in class W stocks would be paid first, followed by, class G, then class L and the last to be paid back would be class B.

Well, any sane businessman would expect to be paid by order of the largest to the smallest investor. If you were part of the class W stock (74%), you should be paid first and work your way down to the smallest investor. This is normal and logical in the world of business.

Only in politics and with the Black community is this standard not adhered to.

In my above example, the class W stock represents the percentage of white voters from the 2008 presidential election (74% of the total electorate, of which Obama received 43% and McCain received 55%); the class B stock represents the percentage of Black voters from the 2008 presidential election (13% of the total electorate, of which Obama received 95% and McCain received 4%); the class H stock represents the percentage of Hispanic voters from the 2008 presidential election (9% of the total electorate, of which Obama received 67% and McCain received 31%); the class G stock represents the percentage of gay voters from the 2008 presidential election (4% of the total electorate, of which Obama received 70% and McCain received 27%).

Despite receiving 95% of the Black vote (who were the second largest shareholders in Obama Inc.), Obama has made a calculated decision to reward the gay and Hispanic communities ahead of the Black community (the smallest and second smallest shareholders in Obama Inc.). In business, the CEO (Obama) and its board of directors (the Democratic National Committee) would be sued for fraud. But Obama knows that Blacks will only complain and do nothing.

The gay community stopped giving money to Obama and the Democrats because Obama didn’t deliver on any of his campaign promises to them—recognizing gay marriage, repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and giving spousal benefits to gay couples who are federal employees.

The Hispanic community threatened not to vote for Obama or the Democratic Party if they didn’t get amnesty for those in the country illegally and passage of the Dream Act.

But, when asked what he would do specifically for the Black community, Obama said nothing—“he is the president of everyone and a rising tide lifts all boats!”

Despite being the second largest shareholder in Obama Inc., the Black community cannot point to a specific program or policy directed towards them and their issues. How do you justify dividend distributions to other shareholders, but not your second largest?

Privately, the supposed Black leaders like Al Sharpton, Marc Morial (Urban League), Ben Jealous (N.A.A.C.P.) all agree with me; but they don’t have the guts to speak out publically because they still want to get invited to the White House and take pictures with Obama.

It took Obama almost 1 ½ years before he met with the Congressional Black Caucus; and what did they do? They got mad! Obama has yet to meet with any Black businessmen to discuss the disproportionately high unemployment rate within the Black community.

Just like no one fears angering Obama, no one fears angering the Black community. Obama has made a political calculation that there is nothing to lose by ignoring the Black community and everything to gain—including white voters!

Obama believes that if he doesn’t do anything specifically for the Black community that somehow people are going to forget that he is Black.

The number 1 rule of politics is to reward your friends and punish your enemies. I didn’t realize that Blacks were enemies of Obama.

Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C.-public relations/government affairs firm. He is also a contributing editor for ExcellStyle Magazine (www.excellstyle.com <http://www.excellstyle.com> ) & U.S. Africa Magazine (www.usafricaonline.com).

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President Barack Obama this week will urge Congress to permanently extend and expand a research and development tax credit to encourage job growth.

Obama will lay out the proposal, which would cost about $100 billion over the next decade, in a Sept. 8 speech on the economy in Cleveland, Ohio, according to two administration officials speaking on condition of anonymity before the announcement.

Obama has promised to roll out “new ideas” to boost growth and spur hiring as he focuses on the economy with less than two months until the November congressional elections.

Read more at Bloomberg

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President Obama is facing criticism that his message has gone off track at a crucial time for his party and administration. With the midterm elections just 10 weeks away, the president’s approval ratings are at their lowest. Analysts are predicting big wins for Republicans in November.

Ten weeks is an eternity in politics, and Republican and Democratic strategists say there are some key things Obama can do in the final stretch to restore the confidence of the American people and minimize expected losses for his party.

1. Simplify the message

Candidate Obama inspired voters in the 2008 election with a simple message of hope and change. Halfway through his term, the president now faces the complex reality of governing.

Despite the administration’s full plate, strategists say Obama needs to return to the focus and discipline that helped him win the presidency.

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WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is providing $3 billion to unemployed homeowners facing foreclosure in the nation’s toughest job markets.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday it will send $2 billion to 17 states that have unemployment rates higher than the national average for a year. They will use the money for programs to aid unemployed homeowners. Some of those states have already designed such programs.

Another $1 billion will go to a new program being run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It will provide homeowners with emergency zero-interest rate loans of up to $50,000 for up to two years.

The administration was required to launch the HUD emergency loan program by the financial regulatory bill signed by President Barack Obama last month.

The Treasury is using money from the $700 billion Wall Street bailout to pay its share of the program. Officials said they won’t know until next month how many people are likely to be helped.

California will get the largest share of money for the Treasury program, at $476 million. Florida is in line for nearly $239 million. Illinois will receive $166 million and Ohio will receive $149 million.

The Obama administration has rolled out numerous attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis but has made only a small dent in the problem. More than 40 percent, or about 530,000 homeowners, have fallen out of the administration’s main effort to assist those facing foreclosure.

That program, known as Making Home Affordable, provides lenders with incentives to reduce mortgage payments. So far, it has provided permanent help to about 390,000 homeowners, or 30 percent of the 1.3 million who have enrolled since March 2009.

Also receiving money are Michigan, $129 million; Georgia, $127 million; North Carolina, $121 million; New Jersey, $112 million; Indiana, $83 million and Tennessee, $81 million.

Alabama is due to receive $61 million, South Carolina, $59 million; Kentucky, $56 million; Oregon, $49 million; Mississippi, $38 million; Nevada, $34 million; Rhode Island, $14 million; and Washington, D.C., $8 million.

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Christina Romer, one of President Barack Obama’s most pivotal economic advisers, is resigning, a change that comes as the White House struggles to show signs of clear economic gains to a hurting nation.

Romer, the head of the Council of Economic Advisers, announced her resignation Thursday, effective Sept. 3. She becomes the second high-level Obama aide to leave this summer, following the resignation of White House Budget Director Peter Orszag.

She will return to her job as a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. The White House cast the decision as an unsurprising one driven by family reasons; in a statement, Obama said Romer has long wanted to return to California, where her son will be starting high school in the fall.

Romer has been one of the administration’s most prominent voices on the economy, making frequent appearances on television and at White House events to promote Obama’s policies. Her resignation comes as the White House labors to convince the public that the economy is on the right track amid near-double digit unemployment.

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Obama inherited an economic disaster in 2009. Since then, the economy began growing, accelerating in the winter and spring. It spurred some modest hiring but not enough to rapidly reduce the unemployment rate, which is 9.5 percent.

“Christy Romer has provided extraordinary service to me and our country during a time of economic crisis and recovery,” Obama said. “The challenges we faced demanded more of Christy than any of her predecessors, and I greatly valued and appreciated her skill, commitment and wise counsel.”

Romer’s resignation came amid a report that she had been frustrated that she didn’t have as much access to the president as Larry Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council. One administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal relations at the White House, played down that notion, noting that Romer met with the president daily to chart the government’s response to the financial meltdown. The official said Romer and Summers often emerged as strong allies.

Summers said Monday night that Romer has been “an extraordinary friend and colleague at the White House”, and he looked forward to drawing on her advice in the future.

The official said no decision has been made on who will replace Romer as head of the Council of Economic Advisers.

The White House has vigorously defended its interventions – chiefly the $862 billion stimulus bill approved by Congress – as moves that first prevented further freefall and then began turning around the economy.

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Romer, along with Vice President Joe Biden’s top economist, Jared Bernstein, wrote in a January 2009 report that the economic stimulus package Obama was proposing would keep unemployment under 8 percent. Without the stimulus, the report said employment would rise to about 9 percent in 2010. Yet unemployment has surpassed that figure.

Republicans have seized on that point.

On Friday, the government will release unemployment numbers for July that are expected to show a loss of 65,000 jobs because of the end of temporary positions with the U.S. Census Bureau. The unemployment rate is not expected to budge much from its current 9.5 percent.

Romer called her work the “honor of a lifetime”. She said: “While I look forward to returning to research and teaching, the opportunity to help shape economic policy these past 20 months, and to work with the other members of the economic team and my colleagues on the CEA, is one I will always cherish.”

A person close to Romer said she is a top contender to be named president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, an appointment that would be made by the regional organization’s board of directors. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because a decision has not been made.

Orszag announced his resignation in June after a grueling, nonstop sprint as director of the Office of Management and Budget and as a key adviser to Obama. During his tenure, Congress passed the most expensive economic stimulus program in U.S. history and a massive health care reform bill.

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The Senate on Wednesday cleared the way to provide $10 billion to states and local school districts to prevent teacher layoffs and an additional $16 billion in federal aid to cash-strapped states, and the Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said she would summon House back from its summer recess to grant final approval to the bill.

The procedural vote in the Senate was 61 to 38, with the Maine Republicans, Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe, joining all Democrats in support of cutting off a filibuster. Senator David Vitter, Republican of Louisiana, was absent. The Senate is set to approve the measure on Thursday before adjourning for its summer recess.

Read more at NYTimes

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From LATimes.com:

Reporting from Washington — If Ronald Reagan was the classic Teflon president, Barack Obama is made of Velcro.

Through two terms, Reagan eluded much of the responsibility for recession and foreign policy scandal. In less than two years, Obama has become ensnared in blame.

Hoping to better insulate Obama, White House aides have sought to give other Cabinet officials a higher profile and additional public exposure. They are also crafting new ways to explain the president’s policies to a skeptical public

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While working on his article published yesterday in the New York Times highlighting the right-wing media’s “misleading coverage,” reporter Brian Stelter did some background research into cable news viewership demographics. While he didn’t include the findings in his story, he found them notable enough to publish on Twitter. The Huffington Post summarizes the results:

The New York Times’ Brian Stelter tweeted that, according to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News has averaged just 29,000 black viewers in primetime so far this television season (9/09-7/10). That represents just 1.38% of its 2.102 million total viewer audience.

CNN and MSNBC, meanwhile, both have far more black viewers, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of their overall audiences.

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How Fox And The Right Wing Media Twisted The Shirley Sherrod Story

From BBCNews.com:

The United States has condemned as “irresponsible” the leak of 90,000 military records, saying publication could threaten national security.

The documents released by the Wikileaks website include details of killings of Afghan civilians unreported until now.

Three news organisations had advance access to the records, which also show Nato concerns that Pakistan and Iran are helping the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has denied claims its intelligence agency backed the group.

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From WashPost.com:

In a bid to remake the enforcement of federal immigration laws, the Obama administration is deporting record numbers of illegal immigrants and auditing hundreds of businesses that blithely hire undocumented workers.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency expects to deport about 400,000 people this fiscal year, nearly 10 percent above the Bush administration’s 2008 total and 25 percent more than were deported in 2007. The pace of company audits has roughly quadrupled since President George W. Bush’s final year in office.

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From CNN.com:

Shirley Sherrod, who was forced to resign from her government job in Georgia based on incomplete and misleading reports of a speech she gave, has been offered a new job by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack But, she said Thursday she is “not so sure.”

“I’m not so sure that going back to the department is the thing to do,” Sherrod told CNN’s “American Morning.”

Sherrod said she was offered some type of civil rights position in the Office of Outreach at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and that she was expecting to receive something official in an email from the department.

“I need time to think about it,” Sherrod said, noting she wanted to see how committed the Agriculture Department was to addressing civil rights issues in the department. “I truly do need time to think about it.”

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The Sad Shirley Sherrod Snookering Saga

Shirley Sherrod Claims White House Forced Her To Resign

The Shirley Sherrod debacle, yet again, reveals an ugly and unfortunate truth. This country is suffering from a psychological disorder. Joy Leary calls it “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome.”  Whatever it is, it’s clear that we have been traumatized not only by our despicable history of slavery and racism but our ongoing refusal to deal with it.

The latest chapter is the case of Shirley Sherrod.  The NAACP – the revered organization known to many as our nation’s conscience on race – now claims that it was “snookered.”  This so-called “snookering” was done by a Tea Party activist who released an inaccurate, deceptively edited and misleading video of an Obama Administration official Sherrod, allegedly admitting racial discrimination in her provision of benefits to a White farmer.

But don’t blame the NAACP as this “snookering” deceived not only those in charge of America’s conscience on civil rights, but it also apparently deceived those in charge of America itself. Whether it was the White House or a high ranking political official inside of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, some “snookered” superior was so fooled by all of this that Ms. Sherrod, who was driving at the time, was apparently asked to pull over to the side of the road and submit her resignation on her Blackberry.

There’s a whole lot of snookering going on.

RELATED: Shirley Sherrod Claims White House Forced Her To Resign

Needless to say the media talking heads all joined in; leading the charge was Fox News which touted the video as “breaking news.”  Cable networks piled on Ms. Sherrod Monday night, and yesterday morning, the experts all joined in to tell us how discrimination is wrong – even where White people are the victims.

Snookered.

Less than a day later – eons in the world of 24 hour cable news – the truth came out.  We’d been had.  The video had been edited.  The full version actually showed Ms. Sherrod bravely offering a story of racial reconciliation and healing – something most Americans – Black or White – are simply unable or unwilling to do.

Text continues after gallery …

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Ms. Sherrod’s full story explained that her father had been murdered by a White man in 1965 when she was only 17, which was part of why she was committed to staying in the South to fight for change.  She further explained that she admittedly had reservations about helping the White farmer in the beginning given the context of her story and the documented history of racism against Black farmers.  But ultimately, Ms. Sherrod’s story was one of race and reconciliation. She explained how her experience with the White farmer taught her an important life lesson that it was about helping poor people – no matter what their race.  And the White farmer who was the alleged victim of Ms. Sherrod’s discrimination has come out in full support calling her a friend, repudiating charges of racism, and crediting her with helping to save their family farm.

This morning, the same critics of Ms. Sherrod yesterday were all wondering how this happened, and the White House is asking the Department of Agriculture to reconsider its decision to terminate Ms. Sherrod.

President Obama, Ben Jealous, Administration officials, and cable news commentators, I guess you didn’t get the memo.  When it comes to information received from Fox News reports or conservative bloggers, you might want to check it out before acting on it.  If not, you might get “snookered.”

But wait a minute.  It’s really not their fault.  How can I blame the Administration, the NAACP, Fox News or the others when I was almost “snookered” myself?  My husband and I chatted about the video Tuesday morning before the truth came out.

RELATED: VIDEO: Shirley Sherrod Leaves USDA Over Racism Charge

The fact is that America’s sore on the issue of race runs deep. It is an ugly gash in the body politic of this country that will not heal unless it is exposed. It sickens all of us in countless ways – even the most well-intentioned. It breeds fear whether it is fear of the browning of America, fear of the dilution of civil rights laws, or fear of a Black president.

How can America heal this sore?

It needs light, air and oxygen to breathe. It needs to be dealt with on a psychological, spiritual, economic and physical level. Healing will breathe life back into our country’s ideals and possibilities.While America has thrived as a great nation in spite of this sore, it is only through healing that we can achieve unprecedented levels of greatness and stop wounding each other.

While we now all agree that the myriad of victims of yesterday’s snookering owe Ms. Sherrod a heartfelt apology, what about all the other countless victims of our country’s sickness who exist in America

From ABCnews.com:

The Obama administration plans to announce its national strategy Tuesday to reduce the annual number of HIV infections in the United States and improve health care for those currently living with HIV.
Every year approximately 56,000 people in the United States become infected with HIV and there are currently more than 1.1 million Americans living with HIV.

In a report released tonight, the White House outlines its plan to reduce the annual number of HIV infections by 25 percent with five years and increase the percentage (from 65 percent to 85 percent) of newly diagnosed patients who receive care within three months of their diagnosis.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will unveil the strategy at the White House Tuesday afternoon along with Melody Barnes, the Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and Jeffrey Crowley, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy.

President Obama is scheduled to deliver remarks on the HIV plan at 5:50 p.m. at a White House reception to honor the work of the HIV/AIDS Community

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From VOANews.com:

North Korea says an American man being held for illegally crossing its border has tried to kill himself.

A statement issued by the regime’s official Korean Central News Agency says Aijalon Mahli Gomes’ suicide attempt was “driven by his strong guilty conscience,” plus disappointment and despair that the U.S. government “has not taken any measure for his freedom.”

The statement said the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang is aware of Gomes’ condition, but it did not give any details of the incident.

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President Obama suggested Thursday that his Muslim middle name – Hussein – makes a lot of Israelis nervous about his commitment to the Jewish state.

When asked by an Israeli interviewer why many Israelis are “anxious about you,” and “feel like you don’t have a special connection to Israel,” Obama said, “Some of it may just be the fact that my middle name is ‘Hussein,’ and that creates suspicion.”

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From NYTimes.com:

A former Justice Department lawyer hired during the Bush administration alleged on Tuesday that the department scaled down a voter-intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party last year because his former colleagues do not want to protect white people’s civil rights.

In testimony before the Commission on Civil Rights, J. Christian Adams, who recently resigned from a voting rights position in the Justice Department’s civil rights division, decried the decision by department superiors in May 2009.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to warm rocky relations on Tuesday, declaring after a White House meeting that any talk of a rift is unfounded. Obama said the U.S.-Israeli bond is unbreakable.

“The United States is committed to Israel’s security,” Obama said as the two leaders addressed reporters in the Oval Office. “We are committed to that special bond. And we are going to do what’s required to back that up, not just with words, but with actions.”

For the Israeli leader’s part, Netanyahu said of solving years of strife with Palestinians: “We’re committed to that peace. I’m committed to that peace.” And he said that reports of the demise of the U.S.-Israeli relationship are “flat wrong.”

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Netanyahu said without elaborating that he and Obama discussed specific steps that could be taken in the coming weeks to move the peace process forward. “When I say the next few weeks, that’s what I mean,” he said. “The president means that too.”

Netanyahu and Obama talked in the Oval Office as protesters gathered across the street in Lafayette Park and chanted “No More Aid, End the Blockade,” referring to Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The meeting between Obama and Netanyahu was their first since a troubled White House get-together on March 23. That session was frosty, coming three weeks after Israel embarrassed Vice President Joe Biden by announcing plans for new construction in east Jerusalem during his visit. The Palestinians expect east Jerusalem to be the capital of their eventual independent state.

Tuesday’s session was much friendlier than the one in March, when the White House kept Netanyahu out of sight of media coverage. This time, the leaders appeared together before reporters in the Oval Office and then went into a lengthy working lunch.

A critical topic was resuming the U.S.-mediated indirect peace talks. Netanyahu has repeatedly said he is ready to meet face to face with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but has given few indications of concessions he might be willing to make.

Specifically, he has rejected demands from Obama and the Palestinians for a full settlement freeze in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and a promise to resume negotiations from where they broke off under his more dovish predecessor, Ehud Olmert.

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Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Netanyahu must choose between settlements and peace. “We want to resume direct negotiations, but the problem is that the land that is supposed to be a Palestinian state is being eaten up by settlements,” he told The Associated Press. He said the Palestinian demand that Israel halt all construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and resume talks where they broke off in 2008 “are not conditions; these are obligations.”

Netanyahu endorsed on Sunday the U.S. idea to return to direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, just days after White House officials said Obama would push during the Oval Office session for those negotiations to get under way sooner rather than later.

Addressing his cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said the “time has come” for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to get ready to meet with the Israelis “because there is no other way to advance peace. I hope this will be one of the results of the visit to Washington.”

Aides to Obama sounded a hopeful tone late last week, telling reporters that weeks of shuttle diplomacy between the two sides by George Mitchell, Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East, had paid off and “the gaps have narrowed.”

“We believe there are opportunities to further narrow those gaps, to allow the sides to take that next step to direct talks,” added Daniel Shapiro, the senior Middle East director at the National Security Council.

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Obama and Netanyahu also are expected to discuss Israel’s decision Monday to significantly ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip to let in most consumer goods. Israel’s ban on exports from Gaza and limits on shipments of construction material remain.

Israel came under heavy international pressure, including from Obama and other top U.S. officials, to loosen its 3-year-old land and naval blockade of the seaside territory after Israel’s deadly May 31 military raid on a flotilla trying to break the embargo.

At the time, Obama said the situation was “unsustainable.” He called for a narrow blockade to bar weapons that Gaza’s Hamas rulers could use against Israel while admitting items the territory’s 1.5 million Palestinians need for daily living and economic development.

Obama and Netanyahu also are likely to discuss efforts to end Iran’s nuclear weapons pursuit, including sanctions Obama signed into law last week. That legislation followed a fourth round of U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran.

Tuesday’s meeting was the fifth between Obama and Netanyahu and would make up for a scheduled June 1 session at the White House that Netanyahu canceled to deal with fallout from the flotilla raid.

The session follows meetings Obama held at the White House in recent weeks with major Mideast players, including Abbas and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

Getting both sides to resume direct talks, which broke off in December 2008, is a huge challenge. One big sticking point is Israel’s continued construction of Jewish housing in east Jerusalem, an area the Palestinians claim as part of a hoped-for future state.

The Palestinians have refused to sit down with Netanyahu until he agrees to freeze construction in areas they want for an independent state. Israel recently said it has no intention of doing that.

Abbas said last week that the borders of a future Palestinian state and security relations with Israel are the two issues on the table. He said direct talks can resume if an agreement is reached on them.

Obama has called on Jerusalem to halt settlement construction and on the Palestinians to show progress on security and inciting violence against Israel.

From TheGrio.com:

By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III

Once again RNC Chairman Michael Steele has taken his rhetoric a bit too far. Last Thursday while speaking at a Republican fundraiser Steele said he found the dismissal of Gen. Stanley McChrystal “comical.” Steele went on to say “Keep in mind … this was a war of Obama’s choosing, ….This was not something that the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in … the one thing you don’t do is engage in a land war in Afghanistan …Everyone who has tried over a thousand years of history has failed, …”

As a result of these comments Chairman Steele has come under heavy fire from within the Republican Party. Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol among others has called for Steele’s resignation. “I ask you to consider, over this July 4 weekend, doing an act of service for the country you love: Resign as chairman of the Republican Party.” Sometimes, as with Steele, the problem is the messenger and the message.

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ATLANTA (AP) — Thurbert Baker’s gubernatorial campaign had just moved into its new rental home last week and was soaking in the atmosphere of worn carpet, bare walls and rooms empty except for desks and laptop computers.

“The roof doesn’t leak,” Baker ventured of the quintessential political campaign HQ: a bare-bones operation where, over the next seven weeks, faithful volunteers and hired political operatives will put in long hours fueled by adrenaline, Diet Coke and fast food.

Baker is an undefeated veteran of eight campaigns — five as a state representative from DeKalb County and three as state attorney general — and says he is confident. But this one is different. It’s a big-time race and he’s an underdog.

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“This is going to be intense,” he said, sitting in a sparse room that would do well for a police interrogation. “You have to take tired out of your vocabulary.”

Baker knows he has his work cut out for him. When he announced his bid for governor in April 2009, the proven vote-getter was briefly the Democratic front-runner. Baker got more votes than any other Democratic candidate in the 2006 election. The fact that he is African-American seemed to bode well for him in the 2010 primary because about half the state’s Democratic voters — maybe more — are black.

But then former Gov. Roy Barnes joined the field, relegating the six other Democratic candidates to a battle for second place and the chance to face him in a runoff. Endorsements of Barnes by former Atlanta mayors Andrew Young and Shirley Franklin left Baker shrugging.

“I don’t know how productive this name-dropping game can be,” he said. “People want to know what Thurbert Baker will do, not who your friends are. Barnes’ entry hasn’t changed my focus. I’ve run three times as attorney general. I’m not doing it any differently” with Barnes in the race.

As of March 31, the last campaign contribution reporting period, Baker was second in cash on hand among Democratic candidates with $624,000 to Barnes’ $2.8 million. As of the start of the year, Baker had collected at least $68,000 from lobbyists in the previous four years, by far topping all other Democrats but behind Republican governor candidates John Oxendine and Eric Johnson.

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As a state elected official, Baker was not able to raise money while the Legislature was in session through the end of April. He said he has been raising enough money to soon wage a television air campaign. Besides, Baker’s backers say, money does not ensure victory. Barnes raised nearly $20 million in 2002 but was beaten by Sonny Perdue, then a relatively unknown state senator who raised just $3 million.

It’s not like Baker doesn’t have key supporters. DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown is backing the attorney general, saying he has known him for more than two decades and was impressed when watching then-state Rep. Baker push a bill through the Legislature.

“He enjoyed a tremendous amount of respect in both parties,” Brown said. “The state Capitol is notorious for partisan politics. But he had relationships with everybody.”

Baker’s matter-of-fact, noncontroversial management style in office should not be confused with not knowing how to campaign, Brown said. “He’s not a back-slapping, laugh-out-loud kind of guy,” said Brown. “But he’s a good politician, make no mistake about that.”

As attorney general, Baker has largely avoided the limelight, but he did get national attention this year when he refused to sue the federal government over President Obama’s health care legislation, angering Perdue and causing House Republicans to start an effort to impeach him. He also battled Perdue in 2003 when the two came down on different sides in a political redistricting case.

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Baker’s action this year was applauded by Democrats and attracted the kind of news coverage he surely enjoyed. But in an interview, Baker smiled and said the publicity “cuts both ways. It’s not about the headlines or the 6 o’clock news. It’s about getting your job done. I can’t be concerned about the political winds of the state and do my job.”

It’s the same kind of answer he has given since 2007 when he was in the midst of the biggest controversy of his career — the Genarlow Wilson case. Wilson was imprisoned after being convicted of having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17. The case became a national sensation, seen by many as an unfair abuse of prosecution, and a judge later ordered him freed.

The Wilson family celebration lasted just an hour before they learned Baker was appealing the case to the state Supreme Court. “I don’t have the luxury of picking which cases to defend,” Baker said then, as he says now.

The Supreme Court later voted 4-3 to release Wilson, and the case remains a sore spot with many in the African-American community who disagreed vehemently with Baker’s decision. When asked about the governor’s race, longtime state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, a former civil rights leader, said he was working hard to get Barnes elected and didn’t want to talk about Baker.

“Why don’t you call the family of Genarlow Wilson?” Brooks suggested.

But while Baker may have turned off some in the black community, he has won over many other Georgians because of a hard-line approach on crime. He supports capital punishment and, as a floor leader for former Gov. Zell Miller in the 1990s, helped push the passage of the tough “two-strikes” legislation that mandated life sentences with no parole for the second conviction of a number of violent offenses.

But Baker said he doesn’t just want to be a lock-’em-up candidate. He said he sees some problems in the wide disparity in sentences for similar crimes in different jurisdictions across the state and says that must be addressed.

“No question we have to make sure our law enforcement system is used fairly,” he said toward the end of a 90-minute interview. “You have to figure a way that justice is the same across the state.”

An interview session with Baker does not create many sound bites, but that may be an asset these days.

“If he had a lot of money, he might be the perfect candidate,” said Matt Towery, a former Republican legislator who served with Baker and who now runs the polling firm, InsiderAdvantage. “He’s bright and doesn’t seem to be much the politician. And that helps this year.”

RACINE, Wisconsin (AP) — President Barack Obama on Wednesday lashed out at Republicans as out of touch with the daily problems of Americans, hoping to sharpen the contrast with the opposition party as midterm elections loom and economic anxiety still runs high.

Speaking to a town hall in his latest getaway from Washington, Obama reveled in what the Democratic Party sees as two recent political gaffes by Republicans — one House lawmaker’s apology to BP oil and another’s characterization of the nation’s financial collapse as an “ant.”

More broadly, Obama said of Republicans: “Their prescription for every challenge is pretty much the same — and I don’t think I’m exaggerating here: basically cut taxes for the wealthy, cut rules for corporations and cut working folks loose to fend for themselves.”

Yet it is Obama and Democrats, as the party in power, who stand to take the most heat from the public concern about swelling government spending. The president jumped on a chance in the town hall to defend the rescue efforts for the auto companies and the big banks and to embrace the frustration about them.

“How do we get government spending under control?” he asked, giving voice to public complaints. “That’s a legitimate question. And whether you’re a Democrat, an independent or a Republican, all of us should be worried about the fact that we have been running the credit card in the name of future generations. And somebody’s going to have pay that back.”

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RELATED: Black GOP Candidate Calls Obama “Buckwheat”

Obama said the main culprit was not the costly emergency measures under his watch but a structural habit of the government spending more than it takes in. He said the answer is to reduce spending in a “gradual way” that doesn’t hurt people.

Obama spoke in Racine, south of Milwaukee, where the jobless rate stands at a troubling 14.2 percent, well above the national average.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The stop in Wisconsin, a state Obama won in 2008, was ostensibly intended to allow the president to hear from residents in a format he favors. But with his economic leadership in deep question and national unemployment persistently near 10 percent, Obama seized a chance to defend his vision with gusto.

With the country fatigued by bailouts and worried about federal debt, Obama tried to remind people that, in his view, it was a hands-off government attitude that helped cause the problems he inherited. He said he did not want big government, but rather a “responsible government” that is on the side of the people.

“We’ve tried the other’s sides theories,” Obama said. “We know what their ideas are. We know where they led us.”

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Ticking off his grievances, Obama called out some Republicans for opposing a pending extension of unemployment benefits; a measure to raise the liability that must be paid by companies that cause environmental disasters; and a massive Wall Street reform bill.

Responding to House Minority Leader John Boehner’s gripe that the financial bill amounts to “killing an ant with a nuclear weapon,” Obama challenged Boehner to explain that to the people of Racine. The president also seized on Republican Rep. Joe Barton’s apology to BP — Barton later apologized for the apology — over the $20 billion victims’ compensation fund Obama pressured BP to establish. The president scoffed at Barton, the top Republican on the energy committee.

“Did you all read about that?” Obama said. “He apologized to BP that we had made them set up this fund — called it a tragedy that we had made them pay for the destruction that they’ve caused. … I mean, the tragedy is what the people of the Gulf are going through right now. That’s the tragedy.”

Once the audience got involved, Obama fielded questions about help for struggling homeowners, support for the military, the costly economic stimulus law and more.

The president seemed to enjoy the moment. And earlier, on his way into town, Obama found a different slice of happiness — at a pastry shop.

He made a surprise detour to O&H Danish Bakery, purveyor of a delicacy called a kringle — a large round flat pastry with a hole in the middle. He ordered one pecan and one cherry. A saleswoman recommended the cheese as well, so he said, “Let’s get a third!”

RELATED: Gov. Deval Patrick: GOP Borders On “Sedition”

From PrisonPlanet.com:

President Obama will be handed the power to shut down the Internet for at least four months without Congressional oversight if the Senate votes for the infamous Internet ‘kill switch’ bill, which was approved by a key Senate committee yesterday and now moves to the floor.

The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, which is being pushed hard by Senator Joe Lieberman, would hand absolute power to the federal government to close down networks, and block incoming Internet traffic from certain countries under a declared national emergency.

Despite the Center for Democracy and Technology and 23 other privacy and technology organizations sending letters to Lieberman and other backers of the bill expressing concerns that the legislation could be used to stifle free speech, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed in the bill in advance of a vote on the Senate floor.

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From HuffingtonPost.com:

By Sam Stein

One of Robert Byrd’s last notable acts in a career that spanned longer than any other in Congress was his decision to endorse then Senator Barack Obama in the Democratic primary.

The West Virginia Democrat was already in bad health though it would be a full two years before he would pass away. Ostensibly, there was little to gain from offering his political support to either candidate. His state’s primary had already taken place four days prior and the result had been an overwhelming victory for Hillary Clinton.

But Byrd’s endorsement was imbued with a powerful symbolism that transcended electoral math. He was once in the Klu Klux Klan (and not in an insignificant capacity). He helped filibuster the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He was publicly embarrassed, as recently as 2001, for using the term “White N—er” during an interview with Fox News.

For all of this, he spent much of his life expressing contrition. Appropriating money for memorials to civil rights icons was a start. But backing the first black presidential candidate with a legitimate chance at victory was a far more profound act.

The two created an anachronistic pairing. But Obama’s aides understood how a Byrd endorsement could help complete the moral arc of his candidacy as well as the senator’s career. And they worked hard to ensure that voters understood its importance as well.

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From HuffingtonPost.com:

Our friends at the White House Flickr just uploaded a short behind-the-scenes look at what’s been going on in Obamaland in June. So far, the President chowed down on boiled seafood in Louisiana and he met Dick Van Dyke (and fixed his bow tie!).

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Check out the gallery below!

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Last week I visited my sister who proudly told me that she refused to purchase any BP gas. On any other day her comment might have engendered an “Amen” chorus from my soul. But on that day, by that time, I had witnessed my 99th photograph of oil-soaked pelicans, fish slithering through sludge, and wetlands coated with black slime. The world had changed. So while her particular comment fell on deaf ears, my soul heard another message clearly: it is time to aggressively rethink our way of life—specifically our dependence on fossil fuels.
Twenty-one years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, we still have the same bad habits. Now, oil from another huge gas company, BP, is leaking its way from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic, and again, everyone is crying for a boycott.
But, will boycotting BP make a difference? The Montgomery bus boycott and the resilience of Rosa Parks taught us that the power of our voices when united in the pursuit of a cause can make a real difference in the world. We boycott because it’s a simple, yet effective, method of getting the message across: we disagree with you. Boycotts send a clear message and compel companies to change their standard operating procedures – even when it’s against their nature.

RELATED: Gulf Oil Spill May Not Be Stopped Til August
And what is their nature? It probably can be best described by remembering that old story about the scorpion and the frog. During a flood, a kind-hearted frog lets a scorpion ride to safety on his back. But, just as they reach the middle of the river, the scorpion stings the frog. As they both sink beneath the waves, the frog asks, “Why did you sting me?”
“It’s my nature,” says the scorpion. “That’s what I do.”
But is it only BP’s nature that needs to change as a boycott might suggest? A boycott would hurt the local economy, prolong the current economic downturn and do nothing to impact other corporate conglomerates whose hands are just as unclean as BP’s. A boycott would also do nothing about the fact that my hands, my sister’s and all of ours are pretty unclean too. It’s time to face the music: we simply cannot continue living at the expense of our environment.
This country was built with strength, ingenuity, and the firm belief that we can rise above what society dictates to us. The past 250 years of building our nation in the face of great challenges both internal and external have taught us that we have the power to change our natures and our destinies. So, instead of boycotting BP, who is, sadly, just stinging us because that’s the nature of large corporations who seek speedy profit at the expense of the rest of the world, let’s do what we know works. Let’s find real, practical ways to change our culture for the better.

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For example, my family lives in the heart of the District. This disaster has inspired us to make a commitment to spend more time on our feet and less time in our car. The other day, instead of driving to the grocery store, my daughter and I grabbed backpacks and our bicycles. Between the two of us, we were able to bring home enough food to feed my four-person family for a week.
By trying to reduce my family’s dependence on the car, I am making a statement that goes beyond simple cause and effect. By riding our bikes, we see the world differently. We get more exercise and show our children the importance of healthy living. We make careful choices at the store so that we take what we need, rather than grab everything we want in some consumerism-induced mania. We spend more time together; we take our time rather than rush. Plus, we end up giving less money to BP and all of their competitors by buying less gas, which still gets the message across.
The human race has survived over the years because of our adaptability. It’s a unique gift, and it’s one that we shouldn’t take for granted. We aren’t bound like the frog or the scorpion to only follow our natural instincts, or to take the path of least resistance. We have the strength to challenge ourselves, and those around us, to think of new ways to live better lives. Let the government deal with BP and the civil and criminal accountability that will surely arise from this spill. And while President Obama and his team are doing what they do, we, as everyday citizens, should do what we can do. Let’s put our babies on our bikes, and start where we can make a difference. As Mahatma Ghandi said, “be the change you want to see in the world.” If families and neighborhoods link together by thousands to make these kinds of positive changes in our own lives, then BP and all the others will eventually have no choice but to live up to the name – Beyond Petroleum.

RELATED: White House Under Pressure To Do More About Gulf Oil Spill

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge in New Orleans on Tuesday blocked a six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling projects imposed in response to the massive Gulf oil spill.

The White House said the administration would appeal. It had halted approval of any new permits for deepwater drilling and suspended drilling at 33 exploratory wells in the Gulf.

Several companies that ferry people and supplies and provide other services to offshore drilling rigs asked U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans to overturn the moratorium, arguing it was arbitrarily imposed.

Feldman agreed, saying in his ruling that the Interior Department failed to provide adequate reasoning for the moratorium. He said it seemed to assume that because one rig failed, all companies and rigs doing deepwater drilling pose an imminent danger.

“An invalid agency decision to suspend drilling of wells in depths of over 500 feet simply cannot justify the immeasurable effect on the plaintiffs, the local economy, the Gulf region, and the critical present-day aspect of the availability of domestic energy in this country,” Feldman wrote. The 500 foot depth is about 152 meters.

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RELATED: Oil Spill Criticism Now Directed At Obama Administration

The moratorium was imposed after the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 workers and blew out the well that has spewed millions of gallons (liters) of oil into the Gulf.

The Interior Department said it imposed the moratorium so it could study the risks of deepwater drilling. But the lawsuit filed by Hornbeck Offshore Services of Covington, Louisiana, claimed there was no proof the other operations posed a threat.

The moratorium was declared May 6 and originally was to last only through the month. President Barack Obama announced May 27 that he was extending it for six months.

In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal and corporate leaders have opposed the moratorium, saying it will result in drilling rigs leaving the Gulf of Mexico for lucrative business in foreign waters. They say the loss of business will cost the area thousands of lucrative jobs, most paying more than $50,000 a year. The state’s other major economic sector, tourism, is a largely low-wage industry.

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In its response to the lawsuit, the Interior Department said the moratorium is necessary as attempts to stop the leak and clean the Gulf continue and new safety standards are developed.

“A second deepwater blowout could overwhelm the efforts to respond to the current disaster,” the Interior Department said.

The government also challenged contentions the moratorium will lead to long-term economic harm. Although 33 deepwater drilling sites were affected, there are still 3,600 oil and natural gas production platforms in the Gulf, the government said.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration’s flagship effort to help people in danger of losing their homes is falling flat.

More than a third of the 1.24 million borrowers who have enrolled in the $75 billion mortgage modification program have dropped out. That’s more than the 27 percent who have managed to have their loan payments reduced to help them keep their homes.

Last month alone, 150,000 borrowers left the program – bringing the total to 436,000 who have exited since it began in March 2009.

Administration officials say borrowers will get help in other ways. But analysts fear the majority will still wind up in foreclosure.

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A major reason so many have fallen out of the program is the Obama administration initially pressured banks to sign up borrowers without insisting first on proof of their income. When banks later moved to collect the information, many troubled homeowners were disqualified or dropped out.

Many borrowers complained that the banks lost their documents. The industry said borrowers weren’t sending back the necessary paperwork.

Treasury officials have directed lenders to shift to a new system. They are now required to collect two recent pay stubs at the start of the process. Borrowers have to give the Internal Revenue Service permission to provide their most recent tax returns to lenders.

The growing number of people leaving the program could lead to a new wave of foreclosures. If that happens, it could weaken the housing market and hold back the broader economic recovery.

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Most of those leaving the program were rejected during a trial period lasting at least three months. More than 6,300 dropped out after having their loans modified.

Another 340,000 homeowners, or 27 percent of those who started the program, have received permanent loan modifications and are making payments on time.

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Experts say more borrowers are likely to drop out in the coming months. Some homeowners who owe more on their loans than their properties are worth are likely to conclude that paying an oversized mortgage simply isn’t worth the cost.

Even after their loans are modified, many borrowers are simply stuck with too much debt – from car loans to home equity loans to credit cards.

“The majority of these modifications aren’t going to be successful,” said Wayne Yamano, vice president of John Burns Real Estate Consulting, a research firm in Irvine, Calif. “Even after the permanent modification, you’re still looking at a very high debt burden.”

Obama administration officials contend that borrowers are still getting help – even if they fail to qualify for the program. The administration published statistics showing that nearly half of borrowers who fell out of the program received an alternative loan modification from their lender. About 7 percent fell into foreclosure.

Another option is a short sale(real_estate) – one in which banks agree to let borrowers sell their homes for less than they owe on their mortgage.

A short sale results in a less severe hit to a borrower’s credit score, and is better for communities because homes are less likely to be vandalized or fall into disrepair. To encourage more of those sales, the Obama administration is giving $3,000 for moving expenses to homeowners who complete such a sale or agree to turn over the deed of the property to the lender.

Administration officials said their work on several fronts has helped stabilize the housing market. They cited government efforts to provide money for home loans, push down mortgage rates, and provide a federal tax credit for buyers.

RELATED: Foreclosures Rise Shocking 30% In February

“There’s no question that today’s housing market is in significantly better shape than anyone predicted 18 months ago,” said Sean Donovan, Obama’s housing secretary.

The mortgage modification was announced with great fanfare a month after Obama took office.

It is designed to lower borrowers’ monthly payments – reducing their mortgage rates to as low as 2 percent for five years and extending loan terms to as long as 40 years. Borrowers who complete the program are saving a median of $514 a month. Mortgage companies get taxpayer incentives to reduce borrowers’ monthly payments.

From Gawker.com:

Someone in the White House has finally convinced Barack Obama to do a primetime address about the oil spill. He’ll be in the Oval Office. Fancy! But can we expect to hear anything new? Will he “act angrily” enough?

It takes a lot for a presidential address to merit the gravitas of an Oval Office setting — some people have to die, like in the Challenger explosion or the Oklahoma City bombing or 9/11, when the president has an immediate imperative to tell everyone to chill out, and that things will work out okay. Usually they come within a week of the incident. Eleven people did die in the BP explosion, but that was 50-some days ago, and the problems have not stopped compounding, nor will they anytime soon.

Presidential historian David Brinkley tells CNN that the Oval Office setting suggests we’ll have an aggressive, direct, warlike speech.

President Obama must angle his address to the nation on the Gulf oil disaster as more of a “warlike update” than the kind of addresses given by past presidents on national tragedies, a top presidential historian said.

“This is going to be a different kind of president address … like we’re in the middle of the war and he’s giving an update on the war on the Gulf,” said Douglas Brinkley, a professor of history at Rice University. “It’s a battlefield report — particularly trying to show that progress is being made, although it’s not fast enough for him.”

The New York Times made a similar point in its analysis today, about expecting war-talk. We’re starting to think that some folks are getting a little too caught up in their need for brutal warfare metaphors and imagery, because this is not actually a war? You know? But hopefully Obama can sate their endless bloodthirst.

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Obama Vows To Restore “Tested” Nation In State Of The Union

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The chief White House spokesman says President Barack Obama is ready to seize the damage claims process from oil giant BP unless it agrees to set up an “independent entity” to do the job.

Robert Gibbs tells television networks the aim is to compensate individuals and businesses whose livelihoods have been thrown into crisis mode in the wake of the April 20 explosion, fire and sinking of a BP’s oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The claims issue is several that Obama will address when he speaks to the nation from the Oval Office Tuesday night.

Another White House official said that Obama, in that presentation, will outline a clear plan for responding to the spill and helping the country to surmount America’s worst-ever environmental disaster.

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From the NY Times:

WASHINGTON — Hired in 2001 by the National Security Agency to help it catch up with the e-mail and cellphone revolution, Thomas A. Drake became convinced that the government’s eavesdroppers were squandering hundreds of millions of dollars on failed programs while ignoring a promising alternative.

He took his concerns everywhere inside the secret world: to his bosses, to the agency’s inspector general, to the Defense Department’s inspector general and to the Congressional intelligence committees. But he felt his message was not getting through.

So he contacted a reporter for The Baltimore Sun.

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Today, because of that decision, Mr. Drake, 53, a veteran intelligence bureaucrat who collected early computers, faces years in prison on 10 felony charges involving the mishandling of classified information and obstruction of justice.

The indictment of Mr. Drake was the latest evidence that the Obama administration is proving more aggressive than the Bush administration in seeking to punish unauthorized leaks.

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From TheGrio.com:

Right before our eyes, Barack Obama appears to be morphing into his fellow Harvard alum, George W. Bush. The dramatic oil spill that is threatening to destroy the Gulf of Mexico has surely become Obama’s Katrina. There’s still time for the president to handle his Katrina better than Bush handled his own, but this disaster could be a more devastating and complex challenge.

Now that Obama is stuck with this mess and trying to find his way out of it, perhaps some simple advice might help him navigate a disaster of unprecedented magnitude. The goal of the Obama administration should not be to emerge from this situation looking good, that’s simply not possible. It’s really a matter of minimizing the massive political damage that the administration is going to endure. Without pride or prejudice, I’ll lay out four ways that President Obama can handle this crisis. I must forewarn you – Some of these solutions are tacky and controversial, but necessary:

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1) Find a fall guy (as many as possible): Right now, the American people have two organizations they can choose to blame for this crisis – BP or the Obama administration. Obama must weed out the bad apples to give the perception of a competent administration going forward. Obama made the right decision to fire the head of the Minerals Management Service, but that’s not going to be enough. He also needs to fire someone else and make systemic changes to the entire Department of the Interior. Ken Salazar anyone?

2) Become a certified tree-hugger: Obama needs to show those on his left that he is truly committed to protecting the environment. By tap dancing with those who are determined to destroy our shores, Obama is disappointing the people who got him into office. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll showed that 55 percent of Americans favor protecting the environment, even if it means that we have less access to energy. A sickly, oil-soaked pelican on Anderson Cooper 360 doesn’t look good to anyone, no matter how much they love going to the gas station. Obama would do well to heed the results of this poll.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Supporters said Wednesday the Senate Armed Services Committee has enough votes to approve a bill overturning the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

The prediction came after several lawmakers on the panel signaled their support, including Sen. Ben Nelson, a conservative Democrat from Nebraska who had been considered a holdout.

“In a military which values honesty and integrity, this policy encourages deceit,” Nelson said of the 17-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” law.

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The bill would still face scrutiny by the full Senate, where 60 votes are usually needed to overcome Republican objections.

But an endorsement by the Senate Armed Services Committee, led by Michigan Democrat Carl Levin, was considered a crucial first step by gay rights’ groups.

The measure is more likely to survive because it was being tucked into a broader defense policy bill that typically includes popular provisions like a pay raise for the troops.

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The committee planned to vote on Thursday.

“We are increasingly confident about the (bill) and that this could very well be a historic week in the United States Congress,” said Marshall Wittmann, a spokesman for Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., who is co-sponsoring the legislation.

Gay rights groups were cautiously optimistic.

“This one will go down to the wire, and it won’t be over until the vote,” said Fred Sainz, a spokesman for Human Rights Campaign.

The legislation was a compromise between the White House and a small group of Democrats — including Levin and Lieberman — who fear that repeal efforts will be doomed if Republicans regain control of one or both houses of Congress after fall elections.

RELATED: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal Vote Expected Soon

The plan would overturn the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law but still allow the military to decide when and how to implement any changes to accommodate the new policy.

Nelson said this caveat was key to his support because it “removes politics from the process” and ensures repeal is “consistent with military readiness and effectiveness.”

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he supports repeal but would prefer that Congress wait to vote until he can talk to the troops and chart a path forward. A study ordered by Gates is due on Dec. 1.

Some lawmakers, including Democrats, took a similar stand this week and cast doubt that the measure might pass.

“I see no reason for the political process to pre-empt it,” Sen. Jim Webb, a conservative Democrat from Virginia, said of the military study.

At least one Republican — Sen. Susan Collins of Maine — has said she will support the measure.

The House planned to consider an identical bill on Thursday. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., was expected to introduce the legislation as a floor amendment to the 2011 defense authorization bill.

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick says national Republicans are bordering on “sedition” as they oppose his good friend and party ally President Barack Obama.

The Democrat on Monday decried criticism of his governing efforts during a forum for students at Suffolk University’s Rappaport Center. But he says that “seems like child’s play compared to what’s going on in Washington.”

He says partisanship in the capital “is almost at the level of sedition,” or bordering on insurrection. He mocks Republicans by saying, “If the president says ‘up,’ we will say ‘down.’”

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The governor later called his sedition comment a “rhetorical flourish.”

The Republican National Committee hasn’t returned messages seeking a response to his remarks.

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