Politics. On Point.

President Sirleaf: "The Administration as well as the Congress have been very supportive of us." Liberian President Ellen Sirleaf Johnson with President Obama in the Oval Office, vowed "Liberia shall rise again."  Photo/CD Brown. Liberian President Ellen Sirleaf Johnson visited the White House on Thursday for talks with President Obama. Liberia has had its share of problems.   A nation devastated by war, people displaced, a broken infrastructure, and dysfunctional institutions.  In the midst of all that, it is the children who have suffered the most. But the country has been making successful strides, to which Sirleaf credits the involvement of the United States. "I come today on behalf of the Liberian people to say that we’ve made a lot of progress in that commitment. We’ve been able to maintain peace for seven years now. And I say that today, our children who are entering first grade have known -- not known a gun and not had to run, and that’s great pr

President Obama on the BP Oil Spill: "This is what I wake up to in the morning and this is what I go to bed at night thinking about." Obama addresses questions from the press on BP, immigration, and more. Photos/CD Brown Yesterday in the East Room of the White House, President Obama responded to a bevy of questions regarding the response and cleanup of the BP Oil Spill, again telling reporters the Administration acted swiftly since Day 1 of the tragedy, and that BP is the responsible party. Obama, stating he has the "brightest minds and most advanced technology in the world" at his disposal working on the oil spill, has delegated a team led by Energy Secretary and Stephen Chu , along with experts who have experience dealing with oil spills. Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, is alleged to have ties to BP . In 2007, BP awarded the bulk of a $500 million grant to the University of California, Berkeley laboratory where Chu was then director. As the oil spill c

NCAA Champs Honored At The White House (Again) The Duke Blue Devils, 2010 NCAA Champions, Being Honored by President Obama At The White House Yesterday. Photo/CD Brown. Forget about the third time being the charm. When it comes to the Duke Blue Devils winning NCCA Championships, and getting invited to the White House for their winning efforts, the FOURTH time's the charm. We had to ask Coach Krzyzewski if the other guy from the other prominent North Carolina, championship winning, institution of higher learning, ever called to congratulate the team during its NCAA championship wins. "No. Mike never calls", said Krzyzewski smiling. Mike may not have called, but President Obama certainly did. He called the Blue Devils to not only congratulate them, but to invite them to the White House - even after he had originally picked another team to win the NCAA bracket. "Now, I know that all of you remember last year, when I filled out my bracket I picked North Carol

"Hey, I'm dealing with Congress, here. It takes a little time." Move faster on " Don't Ask, Don't Tell ", shouted a heckler has President Obama was speaking at a Barbara Boxer fundraising event. In response, Obama told the heckler, "Hey, I'm dealing with Congress, here. It takes a little time".   Nebraskan senator Bob Nelson , a key figure in the process, plans to vote to ban the DADT policy. "I don't believe that most Nebraskans want to continue a policy that not only encourages but requires people to be deceptive and to lie. The 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy does just that," said Nelson. "It also encourages suspicion and senior officers to look the other way. In a military which values honesty and integrity, this policy encourages deceit." President Obama called for the policy's repeal last month in his State of the Union address. "This year I will work with Congress and our m

On Friday, May 28, 2010, at 10:00 AM EDT, Vice President Joe Biden will deliver the commencement address at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The Naval Academy was founded in 1845 by the Secretary of the Navy, George Bancroft, in what is now historic Annapolis, MD. The Academy has graduated several of America's most notables to include former president Jimmy Carter, and 2008 presidential candidate John McCain. Last weekend President Obama delivered the commencement address to the 2010 class of West Point graduates. ( Photos )

U.S. Senators (And Others) Want More Representative Kendrick Meek demanded $75 million more in aid from BP to revive Florida tourism, the state's number one industry, in a letter sent today to BP CEO Tony Hayworth. The letter comes just days after BP's promise to the state that it would spend $25 million on a marketing campaign aimed at attracting visitors back to Florida. Ad buyers who were asked to approximate the cost of the marketing campaign described by VISIT FLORIDA, the state's tourism office, estimated that it would cost a minimum of $100 million for just 12 weeks of advertising in the top cities where Florida tourists travel from. These cities are Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Hartford, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, St. Louis, Washington, DC and Toronto. The campaign would include television, radio, print, online, outdoor and promotional advertising. Kendrick Meek has consis

Has Own Celebratory Month (May) Citing the success of drug courts in helping people restore their lives through treatment and other social services, R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy, today paid tribute to the observance of May as National Drug Court Month. Director Kerlikowske lauded the drug court system as a model of the kind of collaborative, evidence-based and effective approaches the Nation must embrace to reduce drug use and its consequences. “Drug courts provide a critical service to our Nation’s families and communities by offering viable treatment options for individuals struggling with substance abuse, while reducing the burden on the Nation’s courts, jails, and prisons,” said Director Kerlikowske. “Drug courts are a key element of a holistic approach for reducing the drug abuse and its consequences in the Nation.” Drug courts, established in 1989, are specialized, mostly locally based courts, dedicated to diverting non-violent, low-level off

Makes Second Trip To Gulf Coast On Friday morning, May 28, the president will travel to the Louisiana Gulf Coast to assess the latest efforts to counter the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Administration has mobilized one of the largest responses to a catastrophic event in history, with more than 1,200 vessels in the region and more than 22,000 people, including many of the brightest scientific minds from both the public and private sector, working around the clock to mitigate the oil’s impact. The President will join more than 22,000 people in the region, including many of the brightest scientific minds from both the public and private sector, who are working around the clock to mitigate the oil’s impact. The administration will continue to hold the responsible parties accountable for repairing the damage and repaying Americans who’ve suffered a financial loss. BP continues to process claims via its claims website (www.bp.com/claims) and its helpline (1-800-440-0858). BP r

President Sirleaf in 2007 at LiberiaTrust Function.  Photo/CD Brown On Thursday, May 27, President Obama will welcome President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia to the White House. A press released earlier from the White House states, "The United States greatly values its historic bonds with Liberia. Liberia is an important democratic partner of the United States that has made tremendous strides in consolidating stability, improving governance, and contributing to regional peace and development in recent years. The American people have maintained our links to the Liberian people through some of the country’s most challenging times, and we remain deeply engaged now as Liberia continues to look to its future. President Obama welcomes the opportunity to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues of mutual importance with President Sirleaf." In 2007 President Sirleaf made a visit to Washington where she attended an event, held at Union Station, for the Liberian Educ

President Obama wants to delve deeper into what caused the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and institutes measures to insure the "environmental disaster" doesn't occur again.  Puts blame on BP - and Washington. In his weekly address the president talks about his executive order establishing a National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling . The Commission will be composed of seven members who shall be appointed by the President to examine the relevant facts and circumstances concerning the root causes of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and develop options for guarding against, and mitigating the impact of, oil spills associated with offshore drilling -taking into consideration the environmental, public health, and economic effects of such options - to include improvements to Federal laws, regulations, and industry practices applicable to offshore drilling that would ensure effective oversight, monitoring, and response capabilities; prote

President Obama nominated David J. Hickton and William C. Killian to serve as U.S. Attorneys. “I am proud to nominate these outstanding individuals to serve as United States Attorneys,” said President Obama. “I am confident they will serve the people of Pennsylvania and Tennessee with distinction.” David J. Hickton Bio. (Southern District of California) David J. Hickton has been a founding member of Burns, White & Hickton, LLC, since the firm’s inception in 1987. Prior to this, Mr. Hickton was an Associate Attorney for Dickie, McCarney & Chilcote, LLC from 1983 to 1987. From 1981 to 1983, Mr. Hickton served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gustave Diamond, United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Hickton is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University in 1978 and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1981. William C. Killian Bio. (Eastern District of Tennessee) William C. Killian has been a sole practitioner at William C. Killian,

Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden will travel to Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa the week of June 7, 2010. While in Egypt, the Vice President will meet with President Mubarak to discuss a full range of bilateral and regional issues. The Vice President will then meet with key leaders in Kenya, including Kenyan President Kibaki and Kenyan Prime Minister Odinga . In addition to discussing a range of bilateral issues, the Vice President will address our shared interests in peace and stability in the region, particularly in Sudan and Somalia. Finally, the Vice President will travel to South Africa, where he will meet with South African Deputy President Motlanthe , South African Foreign Minister Nkoana-Mashabane, and other world leaders in attendance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. The Vice President and Dr. Biden will represent the United States at the opening ceremonies of the June 11-July 11, 2010  FIFA World Cup , and attend the U.S. Men’s National Team’s firs

Who Says Hollywood Types Don't Care Enough About The Environment? Not us. Proving that point, here's word on actor Kevin Costner trying to do just that. His funded device, a centrifuge that helps pull oil from water is being considered by - wait for it (wait for it), - BP Oil . The 'Costner Machine'. Described as a centrifugal processing device that separates oil from water, pegged to help clean up BP Oil spill. Also a fisherman (when he isn't preparing for the silver screen) Costner purchased the devices from the government over 15 years ago and invested $24 million to develop the machines for the private sector. BP has already approved six of the machines for testing in the gulf, where they will extract the spilled oil, send it back to a tanker and pump 99 percent purified water back into the ocean. Chop, chop, BP! The world is waiting for you to clean up your mess! Oddly enough, and as we head into Memorial Day Weekend, this is national Safe Boating

'Power of Dream' Annual Gala Honors Stars Galore Dan Rather poses along side of US Dream Academy honorees Judge Joe Brown, actress Angela Bassett, Mr. and Mrs. Wintley Phipps (Academy founders), and MLB's Jonathan Mariner. Photo/CD Brown. Dan Rather , perhaps the most famous face of America's evening news for more than half a century, was honored by the U.S. Dream Academy  this past Tuesday. Rather's extensive resume includes the coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Civil Rights Movement, Watergate, wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and the September 11, 2001 U.S. terror attack. Rather, who came under fire for his comments about President Obama during his 2008 election campaign, currently anchors Dan Rather Reports , with hard-edged field reports and in-depth interviews and investigative pieces.  He was honored along with actress Angela Bassett , The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee , Dr. Bernice King , Judge Joe Brown , Mary

"To The Happiness Of Our People" Our First Lady (looking gorgeous, as usual) and President Obama (bow-tie a bit off center) with Mexican President Calderon and Mrs. Margarita Zavala. (More photos). Tonight’s State Dinner will be held in the East Room of the White House with State Dinner performances held under a tent on the South Lawn of the White House.  Performances are expected by Beyonce , Rodrigo y Gabriela and the United States Marine Band . The most recent State Dinner held at the White House was for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mrs. Gursharan Kaur of India hosted on November 24, 2009.  (Our coverage here ). A Message From President Calderon at the State Dinner President Calderon points out the similarities between he and President Obama, explaining the two want the same things - "Happiness of our people." "We both belong to the same generation, almost the same age. We both are lawyers, for a time we went to the same University;

The President visited Youngstown, Ohio today where he toured the facilities of V&M Star , a manufacturer of steel tubular goods, before delivering remarks on jobs and the economy to workers.  The President discussed how efforts to rescue the economy are working, creating jobs, growing small businesses and keeping communities like Youngstown going. The President also talked about how the unpopular choices he made on the economy were the right choices to make, as evidenced by the fourth straight month of job growth and largest increase of jobs in four years. He rebuked Republicans for making a politically calculated decision early on to sit on the sidelines and obstruct any measure aimed to help Americans during these difficult economic times. The President reminded all of us how much work we have to do and how he’ll keep fighting until every American who wants a good job has one. His remarks follow: "It is good to be back in Ohio, and it is good to be back in the Mahoni

Eight days after her nomination and five days after receiving the questionnaire, White House staff will deliver  Elena Kagan ’s answers to the Senate Judiciary Committee today at 3:30 in room 224 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Kagan come under fire early in her appointment regarding her practice of military recruiting . Earlier this week, the White House also requested the expeditious release of Kagan’s Clinton White House records which includes 160,000 pages of paper, including e-mail. "Those documents may well hold the best clue as to her views and her attitudes, in terms of the role of the federal government and how she would perform as a Supreme Court justice," said Senator John Cornyn . The White House will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure that the Committee is fully informed and can act in a timely fashion in deliberating on and confirming the nominee.

(via Press Release) Today, Gil Kerlikowske , Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), presented the Obama Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy at the National Methamphetamine Pharmaceuticals Initiative (NMPI) annual conference in San Diego, California. Director Kerlikowske was joined by William Blair, President of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police/Toronto Police Chief, and experts in methamphetamine and pharmaceutical diversion, including participants from Canada, Mexico, and other countries. The Administration’s inaugural National Drug Control Strategy establishes five-year goals for reducing drug use and its consequences through a balanced policy of prevention, treatment, enforcement, and international cooperation, including efforts to reduce methamphetamine production and trafficking and prevent and treat methamphetamine and prescription drug abuse. In remarks to some 440 participants, Director Kerlikowske thanked State and local law enforcem