Politics. On Point.

Event Includes Evening Performance and Daytime Student Workshop Honoring  the Men and Women Who Serve the United States As part of the “In Performance at the White House” series and the  Joining Forces  initiative, the President and First Lady will invite music legends, members of the U.S. military, military veterans, and their families to the White House on Thursday, November 6 for a celebration of the men and women who serve the United States. The program  on the South Lawn  will have a live audience that will include hundreds of military service members, veterans, and their families. The event will feature performances by Mary J.  Blige, Common, John Fogerty , Willie Nelson, Romeo Santos, as well as active duty military members Army SGT. Christiana R. Ball, Marine Corps Capt. Matt Smith and Capt. John Ed Auer, with Don Was as music director.  The rock band Daughtry will also perform via satellite from a USO concert at Yokota Air Base in...

President Obama was busy at the podium in the James Brady briefing room Friday. Earlier in the day he announced the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shisenki amid allegations of nationwide misconduct within the Veteran Administration's (VA) hospitals. Before that, he announced that Shinseki would be firing a few officials within the VA hierarchy.  Said the president to reporters in the briefing room, "Secretary Shinseki has now begun the process of firing many of the people responsible, including senior leaders at the Phoenix VA.  He’s canceled any possible performance bonuses this year for VHA senior executives.  And he has ordered the VA to personally contact every veteran in Phoenix waiting for appointments to get them the care that they need and that they deserve.  The president said he would hold accountable those responsible, and it looks like Shinseki  also made that list. "Last week, I said that if we found misconduct, it would be punishe...

On yesterday the nation, once again, took a day to remember its veterans who lost their lives serving their country.  Amid the wreath laying, motorcycles roaring, flags waving, and parades, the fact remains that the country's surviving veterans need help, and the institutions put in place to assist them, are shrouded in incompetency and bureaucracy. Last yea r, we spoke to two individuals who are products of the United States armed forces as they told us stories of their families and loved ones who served, and their struggles with the Veterans Administration office to get the services they desperately need. Outside the Department of Veteran Affairs in Washington, DC on a cold February day, our interviewee had this message for the Department of Veteran Affairs, and President Obama . "Help the veterans, because they deserve it more than anybody else in this country." The VA has come under fire (again) for its mismanagement of veterans' cases leaving some...

In a recent video message, Congressman Boehner (R-OH) invited veterans from across the Eighth District to attend an upcoming information night with Boehner staff and representatives from the Cleveland Veterans Administration Regional Office, VA medical centers, Ohio Department of Veterans Services, and County Veterans Service Officers. Rep. Boehner explains in the video below that these events aim to provide assistance and information to constituents about services for veterans available in Ohio.     Please see schedule below for event details. An informational flyer  is provided here. Monday, September 9, 2013 5:00pm 315 High Street, 1 st  Floor  Hamilton, OH Tuesday, September 10, 2013 5:00pm American Legion Post 140 325 N. Ohio Street Greenville, OH Thursday September 12, 2013 5:00pm Moose Lodge 1802 Selma Road Springfield, OH Veterans interested in attending any of the ...

First Lady Michelle Obama will sign copies of her book American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Garden Across America at the Politics & Prose bookstore.  The book offers a look at the first vegetable garden at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden and shares inspiring stories of Americans from across the country who are actively engaged in community, school, and urban gardens. Mrs. Obama accepted no advance for American Grown and all author proceeds will go to the National Park Foundation ( www.nationalparks.org ), the official charity of America’s national parks. Funds will be used for programs that promote gardening and healthy eating and give young people the opportunity to experience the outdoors and lead more active lives, as well as for the continued care of the White House Kitchen Garden.  Random House will also donate a portion of its profits to the National Park Foundation. Earlier this week Mrs. Obama and...

This Sunday, President Obama and Mrs. Obama will participate in Veteran ’s Day activities at Arlington National Cemetery.   Presidential Obama will lay a traditional wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns followed by a remembrance ceremony at Memorial Amphitheater. We came across this very common sense and  interesting article that may lend some advice as to how to approach a veteran on this important day in our country. 1. It is never OK to ask a veteran if he or she has killed someone or to joke about it. If we have, we can't even talk about it with our spouses, much less a stranger.  2. When you thank us for our service or pay for our meal, it is really appreciated. We also appreciate packages and notes.  3. Please don't tell us that wars are a waste of dollars or lives or were fought for oil. What we hear is that, in your opinion, our best friend died for nothing. We know many people disagree with war, but it's better to keep your opinions...

Via the White House Press Office. 500 rail industry companies to hire over 5,000 veterans in 2012. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Ed Hamberger and Joining Forces Executive Director Brad Cooper announced that the railroad industry will hire more than 5,000 veterans in 2012. Five hundred companies and organizations including freight, inter-city passenger and commuter railroads, as well as rail supply companies represented by AAR are making today’s significant commitment. “As a result of their service, veterans have the right skills and training for successful careers in transportation,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. “Helping our veterans find work strengthening America’s transportation system is a commitment we are proud to fulfill.” The rail industry joins the First Lady and Dr. Biden’s Joining Forces initiative launched last year to bring Americans together to recognize, honor and take action t...

We have a very descriptive pool report that comes from Christina Wilkie of HuffPost on this afternoon's Joining Forces event with First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. The two ladies helped celebrate Mother's Day with military families and their children. The report, modified for story line and content by POP, reads below as follows. At the Naval Observatory today First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden hosted a Joining Forces service activity with congressional spouses where they assembled Mothers Day care packages that will be sent to the wives and mothers of deployed military, at the request of the soldiers. The event comes a day after FLOTUS attended the annual Congressional Club lunch for spouses of House and Senate members. This is the third time she has invited them to join her for a service activity the day after the lunch, and marks FLOTUS's first visit to the Naval Observatory. Outside in the sun under a white USO tent were ap...

Joining Forces , the military initiative designed to aid and bring awareness to the plight of military families around the country, will turn one year-old in July.   To get the celebration started a bit early, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, the duo and driving forces behind Joining Forces, today recognized winners of their Joining Forces Community Challenge .  The 'Challenge' went out to communities across the country admonishing communities to help a military family where ever they could.  First Lady Michelle Obama and NBC News correspondent Tom Brokaw at today's Joining Forces Community Challenge event at the White House.  Photo/CD Brown Said Second Lady Jill Biden, "Since we launched Joining Forces a year ago, we have been so inspired by the many ways Americans all across the country are honoring, celebrating and supporting our military families.  Our partners in this effort are businesses, schools, churches, communities and...

First Lady Michelle Obama joined forces with the cast of the hit Nickelodeon TV show iCarly  today at Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, VA. First Lady Michelle Obama 'random dances' with the cast of Nickelodeon's iCarly during a Joining Forces event at Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, Virginia.  Photo/CD Brown The White House and Nickelodeon are bringing awareness to ways kids can support U.S. military families. In a special episode called iMeet The First Lady, set to air Monday, January 16th, Carly Shay (played by Miranda Cosgrove) is devastated when she learns that her dad was deployed yet again and could not return home as originally planned to celebrate his birthday.   Her friends, in an effort to support the disappointed Carly, devise a plan where Carly gets to talk to her father via the Internet.   When the first lady finds out about the Internet webcast and Carly's friends rallying around her to offer their su...

Virginia Commonwealth University and The University of South Florida are just a couple of the 130 schools associated with the Association of American Medical Colleges ( AAMC ) and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine ( AACOM ) pledging to leverage their missions in education, research, and train the nation’s physicians to meet the unique health care needs of the military and veterans communities. Speaking at Virginia Commonwealth University today, the first lady said, "I’m inspired to see our nation’s medical schools step up to address this pressing need for our veterans and military families.  By directing some of our brightest minds, our most cutting-edge research, and our finest teaching institutions toward our military families, they’re ensuring that those who have served our country receive the first-rate care that they have earned,” says First Lady Michelle Obama. Together, the AAMC and AACOM are committing to improve the education in their ...

First Lady Michelle Obama invited military families and their children to the White House today to marvel at the White House Christmas decorations, while their children engaged in ornament making in the State Dining room with the First Lady. Photo by Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT. Four-year-old Gerald Hogan, Jr. was the star of the day, all smiles, with his ornament of White House dog, Bo.   Gerald tied a green ribbon on his ornament and lifted it up for photographers to see.  When asked if he was going to put the ornament of Bo on his tree at home, he replied, “We don’t have a tree.”   A cute four year-old talks about his White House Christmas ornament. Video/Politics. On Point. It may be a bit early yet for the Hogan family Christmas tree, but the White House was decked with boughs of holly, Christmas trees, and more.   Thirty-seven Christmas trees to be exact, to include 30 natural trees, seven made from paper, felt or aluminum. “It jus...

Leading veterans’ organizations joined President Obama at the White House and announced their support for the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits, two provisions in the American Jobs Act Congress is scheduled to consider this week. President Obama also announced three executive actions that will help veterans find jobs. Today’s announcement is part of a series of executive actions to put Americans back to work and strengthen the economy. The Returning Heroes Tax Credit provides firms that hire unemployed veterans with a maximum credit of $5,600 per veteran. The Wounded Warriors Tax Credit offers firms that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities with a maximum credit of $9,600 per veteran.   “No veteran should have to fight for a job at home after they fight for our nation overseas,” said President Obama. “Congress should pass the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior tax credits, but we can’t wait for Congress to act. That’s why today, I am directin...

The First Lady's Joining Forces Tour Wednesday, October 19, 2011 First Lady Michelle Obama will join President Obama at an event at Joint Base Langley – Eustis in Hampton, Virginia where they will discuss the importance of hiring American veterans. As part of her Joining Forces initiative, the First Lady will announce a major private sector commitment to hire veterans and military spouses. * St. Louis, Missouri: First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden will travel to Game One of the World Series to recognize Major League Baseball’s (MLB) outstanding support of America's veterans and military families as part of their Joining Forces initiative. The game will encourage Americans to support Joining Forces and MLB’s Welcome Back Veterans program to recognize and serve veterans, service members and their families. Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden will join representatives from MLB and the St. Louis Cardinals including Hall of Famer and Army veteran Red Schoendienst in hosting a mil...