U.S. Sen. Barack Obama left his Kailua rental at 7:54 a.m. Wednesday to begin his last vacation day in Hawaii at Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve.
The motorcade, which included five cars and two police vehicles, arrived at Hanauma Bay at 8:29 a.m. as rain began to fall.
"Let's get under a tree really quick," Obama told his daughters.
Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who was wearing a red and black aloha shirt, greeted the party. There was a small crowd present. On the way to the preserve, Obama's motorcade traveled through the town of Waimanalo and passed various attractions including Manana Island, affectionately called Rabbit Island by Hawaii residents, and the house where "Magnum P.I." was filmed. ….continue reading
Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and his wife, Michelle, lounged in the shade yesterday at Ala Moana Beach Park. Obama, on vacation in Hawaii, ordered take-out food from Kua Aina Sandwich restaurant at Ward Centre and picnicked at the park with family, friends and members of his entourage. (Deborah Booker/Honolulu Advertiser)
Obama Will Delay Social Security Tax Rise Until 2019
By Ryan J. Donmoyer
(Bloomberg) -- Democrat Barack Obama would wait at least a decade to impose the Social Security payroll taxes on Americans who earn more than $250,000 a year, a main component of his proposal to keep the retirement insurance system solvent.
The delay is designed to create an influx of cash to the government's Social Security fund at a time when it is projected to be paying out more in benefits than it takes in from taxes, Obama's top economic adviser, Jason Furman, said.
``Historically, many tax changes in Social Security have been phased in gradually and usually not effective immediately,'' Furman, Obama's chief economic adviser, said in an e-mailed response to questions. ``You have virtually the same impact on solvency as an immediate change.'' ….continue reading
Clinton to Get Roll-Call Vote at Nominating Convention
By Anne E. Kornblut
After weeks of maneuvering aimed at producing a display of unity when Democrats gather in Denver later this month, Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign announced yesterday that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will be formally nominated and her name included in a roll-call vote at the Democratic National Convention.
The move represented the latest, and potentially most important, symbolic gesture by Obama to Clinton supporters, and could blunt the threat of an upheaval on the convention floor. Some Clinton backers have threatened to stage a walkout or leave Denver altogether after she speaks on Aug. 26 to protest what they view as a flawed and sexist party nominating process.
In a joint statement, the two camps said the decision to enter Clinton's name into nomination was mutual, and they countered the idea that she had forced her way back into the spotlight. ….continue reading
Senator Clinton campaigning last week in Henderson, Nevada for Senator Obama.
'Barns For Obama' Launched In Rural Areas Of Ohio
By Amanda Scott
Earlier this week the Obama campaign launched an exciting new program in Ohio called Barns for Obama.
Barns for Obama combines Ohio's history of painted barns -- from the old Mail Pouch Barns to the Bicentennial Barns in every county -- with the enthusiasm for Barack Obama and the Campaign for Change.
A few weeks ago in Trumbull County, the campaign saw the completion of the first of what it expects will be many Barns for Obama. A local farmer offered his barn, and painters volunteered their time to make it happen.
Check out the video of the making of this Barn for Obama.
Food, Heat or Medicine?
By Senator Kathy Sgambati
Food, heat or medicine? By all indications, we have a growing number of families and elderly people who will be asking themselves this question as winter approaches.
Several of us in the state Senate have held meetings with our local welfare officers and social service agencies to get a sense of the scope of the crisis we face this winter. As state leaders, we are doing everything we can to prepare and to find ways for aid to be efficiently and effectively delivered to those in need.
But no one expects the energy crisis to evaporate or for oil costs to fall back to the levels of prior years -- which makes energy efficiency and alternative energy that much more critical to our future. ….continue reading
Jackson Browne sues McCain, RNC over song in ad
By Anthony McCartney
Jackson Browne doesn't want John McCain running on anything fueled by his lyrics.
The singer-songwriter sued McCain and the Ohio and national Republican commit- tees in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Thursday, accusing them of using his song "Running on Empty" without his permission.
The lawsuit claims the song's use was an infringe- ment of his copyright and will lead people to conclude he endorses McCain. The suit says Browne is a lifelong liberal who is as well-known for his music as for being "an advocate for social and environmental justice." ….continue reading
Senator Kathy Sgambati
U.S. Home Sales Fall to 10-Year Low as Prices Tumble
By Kathleen M. Howley and Dan Levy
Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Existing U.S. home sales fell to a 10- year low in the second quarter and the median price for a single- family house dropped 7.6 percent as the real estate recession deepened.
The median price tumbled to $206,500 from $223,500 a year earlier, the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors said today. Sales of single-family houses and condominiums fell 16 percent to 4.913 million at an annualized pace.
Prices are declining with the U.S. on the brink of a recession, consumer prices rising and 30-year fixed mortgage rates at a six year high last month. A third of all sales in the quarter were foreclosures or ``short sales,'' in which lenders take a loss on a property, the Realtors said. Bank repossessions almost tripled in July from a year earlier, RealtyTrac Inc., a seller of foreclosure data, said in a separate report today.
``It's getting worse,'' Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's executive vice president for marketing, said in an interview. ``The number of properties that have been foreclosed on by the banks and still haven't sold is the highest we've ever seen.'' ….continue reading
U.S. Rules Out Military Role In Georgia, But Warns Russia Off
By Ian Traynor
Washington last night ruled out using military force in Georgia after putting the Pentagon in charge of the delivery of aid to the invaded Black Sea state and US non-combat troops on the ground. Robert Gates, the defence secretary, said he saw no prospect of the US engaging militarily in the Caucasus conflict, but warned that Russia's invasion of Georgia could set back its relations with the west for years.
He added that Washington wanted to avoid a return to cold war-style confrontation with Moscow.
But the east-west climate, already chilly because of the Georgia conflict, plunged further last night when Washington and Warsaw put aside a year of dispute and agreed to station 10 interceptor rockets at missile silos in Poland as part of the US missile defence shield in the Baltic region.
As part of the deal, the Americans will reportedly supply Poland with Patriot missiles, build a permanent US military base in the country, and provide mutual security guarantees. ….continue reading
Living Costs Rising Fast,
and Wages
Are Trailing
By Michael M. Grynbaum
The cost of living, led by the soaring cost of gasoline and food, is rising at the fastest rate since the recession of the early 1990s, the govern- ment said on Thursday, handing a de facto pay cut to the American worker.
The report, from the Labor Department, offered quanti- tative proof of what Ameri- cans have been feeling for months: almost everything costs more, even as they have less money to pay for it.
Prices of a wide range of common products in the Consumer Price Index were 5.6 percent higher last month than they were in July 2007, the sharpest annual increase since January 1991. ….continue reading
Troops Deployed Abroad Give 6:1 to Obama
By Luke Rosiak
During World War II, soldiers crouching in foxholes penned letters assuring their sweethearts that they'd be home soon. Now, between firefights in the Iraqi desert, some infantrymen have been sending a different kind of mail stateside: two or three hundred dollars -- or whatever they can spare -- towards a presidential election that could very well determine just how soon they come home.
According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has Republican John McCain, and the fiercely anti-war Ron Paul, though he suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination months ago, has received more than four times McCain's haul.
Despite McCain's status as a decorated veteran and a historically Republican bent among the military, members of the armed services overall -- whether stationed overseas or at home -- are also favoring Obama with their campaign contributions in 2008, by a $55,000 margin. Although 59 percent of federal contributions by military personnel has gone to Republicans this cycle, of money from the military to the presumed presidential nominees, 57 percent has gone to Obama.
With the latest campaign finance filings, detailing June fundraising, McCain has overtaken Paul among all military donors, though Paul still leads with contributors listing an overseas address. Financial support from military personnel for anti-war candidates Obama and Paul is a trend that the Center for Responsive Politics first observed last September. ….continue reading
