Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres made a surprise appearance by video uplink at a Hillary Clinton rally on Monday evening, energizing the young audience and tossing Clinton a few inside-the-beltway questions she might get on a Sunday morning talk show.
Clinton took several questions from DeGeneres, who led off by jokingly asking Clinton if she would consider banning glitter. Then the comedian put on a straight face and turned to the presidential horserace.
As we all know, Degeneres noted, Obama has now won 11 states in a row. What needs to happen to change the momentum?
Clinton was ready with an answer about her now well-known comeback plan, but she accidentally swapped out one state for another that must also be on her brain: Well, were going to win Ohio and Michigan!
After ten seconds of applause and smiles, she let the crowd know that her strategy hadnt taken a suddenly bizarre turn.
Wait a minute, Ohio and Texas, she shouted. We already won Michigan."
Degeneres also asked Clinton if she is being given a harder time because she is a woman (the question got a loud cheer from the mostly female audience at George Washington University).
I think that it's my opportunity to make my case the best I can, Clinton said with a smile, while offering a standard line that she is up to whatever challenges the White House may hold.
Clinton was introduced at the event, a low dollar fundraiser," by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who told the college students that we wont need to win in Pennsylvania in April if Clinton pulls off victories in Ohio and Texas next week.
Rendell attempted to contradict the prevailing wisdom that Barack Obama has a lock on the youth vote. He told the crowd that the young people of America dont belong to any one candidate."
NYANI - THIS IS MY GIFt TO YOU TODAY! THERE'S GOOD NEWS COMING FROM HILLARY CAMPAIGN
Congrats - honestly, maana I really like Ellen De Generes, I think it's a great endorsement!
Huh!! and you must have missed Louis Farakkhan's endorsement...I really admire him and I think it's a wonderful endorsement...
About McCain...his record, intergrity, and patriotism speaks for itself. It doesn't need Nyani to do anything on his behalf. On the other hand what change has your man brought to Washington since he's been there for the past 3 years? Please answer the question and don't dance around it, ok?
a. Senator Obama is one of the authors of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (S. 2180). The bill would lengthen the cooling off period to two years for lawmakers and staff who seek to become lobbyists, and it would require immediate disclosure as soon as any job negotiations begin. The bill would open conference committee meetings to the public and require that all bills be posted on the Internet for 24 hours before they can be voted on by the Senate. Finally, the bill would end all lobbyist-funded gifts, meals, and travel and strengthen the Senate office that monitors lobbyist disclosure forms.
b. The Congressional Ethics Enforcement Commission Act (S. 2259)
The bill would create an outside ethics commission to receive complaints from the public on alleged ethics violations by members of Congress, staff, and lobbyists. The commission would have the authority to investigate complaints and present public findings of fact about possible violations to the House and Senate Ethics Committee and Justice Department. By taking the initial fact finding out of the hands of members of Congress, who are often reluctant to investigate their colleagues, the bill ensures prompt and fair disposition of public complaints.
To avoid manipulation of the commission for political purposes, any person filing a complaint that they knew to be false would be subject to a fine and/or imprisonment. No complaints could be filed against a member of Congress for 30 days before a primary election and 60 days before a general election.
The bill has been widely endorsed by reform groups. According to Common Cause, "this legislation would do more to reform ethics and lobbying than any other piece of legislation introduced thus far because it goes to the heart of the problem: enforcement." Public Citizen praised Senator Obama "for having the courage to challenge the business-as-usual environment on Capitol Hill and introduce far-reaching legislation." Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington stated: "This is the first bill that deals seriously with the lack of oversight and enforcement in the existing congressional ethics process. . . . This bill will help restore Americans' confidence in the integrity of Congress.
c. The Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act (S. 2261) The bill would shed light on the almost 16,000 earmarks that were included in spending bills in 2005. Under the bill, all earmarks, including the name of the requestor and a justification for the earmark, would have to be disclosed 72 hours before they could be considered by the full Senate. Senators would be prohibited from advocating for an earmark if they have a financial interest in the project or earmark recipient. And, earmark recipients would have to disclose to an Office of Public Integrity the amount that they have spent on registered lobbyists and the names of those lobbyists.
d. The Curtailing Lobbyist Effectiveness through Advance Notification, Updates, and Posting Act (The CLEAN UP Act) (S. 2179)
The bill aims to improve public access to information about all legislation, including conference reports and appropriations legislation, in particular after hurried, end-of-session negotiations. Conference committee meetings and deliberations would have to be open to the public or televised, and conference reports would have to identify changes made to the bill from the House and Senate versions. Finally, no bill could be considered by the full Senate unless the measure has been made available to all Senators and the general public on the Internet for at least 72 hours.
Senator Obama is a cosponsor of the Medicare Informed Choice Act (S. 1841), which would extend enrollment without penalty until the end of 2006. This bill would also allow all Part D beneficiaries to change their plan once during 2006.He helped draft and introduce the National MEDiC Act (S. 1784), which promotes patient safety initiatives, including early disclosure and compensation to patients injured by medical errors. He also introduced the Hospital Quality Report Card Act (S. 2359), which will use federal hospital quality reporting requirements to inform and assist patients and other consumers in making their health care decisions.
He introduced the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Efficiency Act (S. 2247), which would leverage the federal government's purchasing power to encourage increased adoption of technology by participating health plans.
Starting in March 2005, he obtained $25 million for international efforts to combat the avian flu and called for an inter-agency task force to immediately address this issue. This funding is now being used to mitigate the effects of the pandemic in Southeast Asia.
Senator Obama introduced the Attacking Viral Influenza Across Nations Act (S. 969), which calls for collaboration and cooperation at the state, national, and international level to ensure preparedness in the event of pandemic influenza. Such preparedness includes the procurement of antivirals, development of effective vaccines, and improvement of the public health infrastructure and medical surge capacity in hospitals.
Senator Obama also worked to push $7.9 billion through the Senate to help the U.S. prepare for the possibility of an avian flu pandemic.
As a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Obama pressured the Environmental Protection Agency to issue long overdue rules for home remodeling and renovation that could prevent 28,000 lead-related illnesses each year, resulting in an annual net economic benefit of more than $4 billion.
In 2005, Senator Obama introduced the Lead Free Toys Act (S. 2048), requiring the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to ban any children's product containing lead.
He also introduced the Healthy Communities Act (S. 2047) to identify and address problems in communities that are at high risk from environmental contaminants. In addition, recognizing the contribution of housing, parks, trails, roadways, and public transportation to healthy lifestyles, Senator Obama introduced the Healthy Places Act (S. 2506) to assess and support improvements to the built environment.
Unajua rafiki yangu Nyani, sijui kwa nini ulifikiri ninakukejeli, au ndiyo hasira imepanda. I REALLY like Ellen. Unlike your sarcastic remark about Farakkan.
Anyway, tuache hasira uliomba changes atakazoleta Obama naomba nianze kwa kuonyesha record yake in the senate
1. Ethics
Naamini ya kuwa Obama ataleta mabadiliko ya 'business as usual' in Washington kwa kuhakikisha ya kuwa lobbyists do not 'buy' votes on Capitol Hill. Sign ya kwanza ni kwamba campaign yake is financed by grass root supporters - they plan to make it to 1 million supporters by March 4th! This is unprecedented.
What he has done to prove that he is serious about Ethics inaweza kuonekana katika kazi yake akiwa Senate
Senator Obama played a key role in the crafting of the immigration reform bill that the Senate passed in May 2006. The bill, which President Bush supports, would provide more funds and technology for border security and prevent employers from skirting our laws by hiring illegal immigrants. The bill also would provide immigrants who are now contributing and responsible members of society an opportunity to remain in the country and earn citizenship. But not all illegal immigrants would be guaranteed the right to remain in the U.S. under this proposal; they would first have to pay a substantial fine and back taxes, learn English, satisfy a work requirement, and pass a criminal background check.
Senator Obama offered three amendments that were included in the Senate bill. The first amendment strengthens the requirement that a job be offered at a prevailing wage to American workers before it is offered to a guestworker. The second amendment makes it simple, but mandatory, for employers to verify that their employees are legally eligible to work in the United States. And the third amendment authorizes $3 million a year for the FBI to improve the speed and accuracy of the background checks required for immigrants seeking to become citizens.
S.J.RES.23 : A joint resolution clarifying that the use of force against Iran is not authorized by the Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq, any resolution previously adopted, or any other provision of law
S.1977 : A bill to provide for sustained United States leadership in a cooperative global effort to prevent nuclear terrorism, reduce global nuclear arsenals, stop the spread of nuclear weapons and related material and technology, and support the responsible and peaceful use of nuclear technology.
Ok and how are these little insignificant bills going to directly affect or drastically change my life for the better...?
Hawa lobbyists kwa mfano wanahakikisha that bills and etc are passed to benefit large corporations who are their clients, so you the consumer pay more and more for things you don't have to. Chukulia mfano wa madawa huko Marekani! Duh! Naona tuna kazi leo.... the bill would end all lobbyist-funded gifts, meals, and travel and strengthen the Senate office that monitors lobbyist disclosure forms.
Duh Nyani! Mbona unakuwa mbishi?
Ok tuchukulie 'insignificant bill' 2180 itakusaidia kuhakikisha kwamba takrima INAKOMA katika Congress ya USA. Jamani you want to tell me that's not important
Hawa lobbyists kwa mfano wanahakikisha that bills and etc are passed to benefit large corporations who are their clients, so you the consumer pay more and more for things you don't have to. Chukulia mfano wa madawa huko Marekani! Duh! Naona tuna kazi leo.
Naomba utulize akili yako usome vizuri niliyokuwekea hapa na punguza jazba.
Kuna watu wengi especially kwenye hii forum, wamewalabel Obama supporters kwamba ni un-informed na delusional . Nimeiona hii clip moja kwenye you tube ambapo Mwandishi mmmoja mzungu alimfuata huyu kijana kwa lengo la kuprove his theory - kwamba watu wengi wanamshangilia tuu bila sababu , to his amazement the guy was able to articulate his position so eloquently. Hii clip ni classic example ya kuwa Citizens who are supporting Obama are well informed and they are not drinking Kool Aid as it has been potrayed by the media.
Please check these two clips
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kica8hmSdAM&feature=related[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2zO5d-XZWA&feature=related[/media]
Nimeiangalia hii clip yaani huyu jamaa Mghana amenifurahisha sana jinsi alivyompelekesha yule mwandishi aliyedhani ana-deal na mtu ambaye hajui anachokiongolea.
Vipi na yule State Senator wa Texas kwenye kipindi cha Chris Matthews....mimi nadhani yule anafurahisha na kuwakilisha wengi zaidi...Lol
hahahahaha sawa bwana LOL !! Yule jamaa utakuta ndio ilikuwa mara yake ya kwanza kuongea kwenye National TV kwa hiyo alipatwa na mchecheto kidogo pale Chris Matthews alivyokuwa anamuuliza maswali kwa hasira.
Ahahahahahaha...Mazee state senator na former Mayor wa Austin inakuwa mara yake ya kwanza kuongea kwenye national TV...okay....binafsi alinifurahisha sana, nevertheless...