The President’s Weekly Address post is also an Open News Thread. Feel free to share other news stories in the comments.
From the White House – Weekly Address
In this week’s address, the President highlighted the importance of expanding opportunity for all Americans — a principle that has guided his work throughout the past six years. This past week, the President attended a summit at Georgetown University where he discussed issues like poverty and inequality, and what we can do to ensure everyone gets a fair shot.
We’ve seen real results in this area, but there is still more that can be done. And lack of opportunity is not the only barrier to success. That’s why, on Monday, the President will travel to Camden, New Jersey to visit with local law enforcement, meet with young people, and hear directly about efforts to build trust between the police and the community in a city that has faced one of the highest crime rates in America.
Transcript: Weekly Address: Creating Opportunity for All
Bolding added.Hi, everybody. Everything we’ve done over the past six years has been in pursuit of one overarching goal: creating opportunity for all.
What we’ve long understood, though, is that some communities have consistently had the odds stacked against them. That’s true of rural communities with chronic poverty. That’s true of some manufacturing communities that suffered after the plants they depended on closed their doors. It’s true of some suburbs and inner cities, where jobs can be hard to find and harder to get to.
That sense of unfairness and powerlessness has helped to fuel the kind of unrest that we’ve seen in places like Baltimore, Ferguson, and New York. It has many causes — from a basic lack of opportunity to groups feeling unfairly targeted by police – which means there’s no single solution. But there are many that could make a different and could help. And we have to do everything in our power to make this country’s promise real for everyone willing to work for it.
That’s why last Tuesday, at a summit organized by Catholics and evangelicals, I sat down with a conservative scholar and a poverty expert for a discussion on what it takes to open more doors of opportunity. We know our efforts matter: since 1967, we’ve brought poverty down by about 40 percent, thanks in part to programs like Social Security and the Earned Income Tax Credit for working families. And we know that there are folks from all faiths, and across the ideological spectrum, who care deeply about “the least of these.” So I hope this conversation continues, not as a question of whether, but of how, we can work together to grow opportunity. Because it’s not words, but deeds, that make a difference. And from expanding tax cuts for working parents, to raising high school graduation rates, to helping millions of Americans secure health insurance when they didn’t have it just a few years ago — our actions are making a difference.
Of course, lack of opportunity is not the only barrier between too many of our young people and the kind of future they deserve. On Monday, I’ll travel to Camden, New Jersey, a city that has faced one of the highest violent crime rates in America. I’ll highlight some of the innovative things they’ve done to help police do their jobs more safely and reduce crime in the process. And I’ll highlight steps all cities can take to maintain trust between the brave law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line, and the communities they’re sworn to serve and protect.
Whether we are Democrats, Republicans, or independents; whether we live in one of our poorest communities, one of our wealthiest, or anywhere in between, we all want our country to be one where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded. We want a place where you can make it if you try. That’s the promise we make to our young people. That’s the promise that makes us exceptional. And it’s the promise I’ll never stop fighting to keep, for my children and for yours.
Thanks, and have a great weekend.
~
I have one quibble with the president, I don’t think this is true:
I believe that you cannot have voted for the current Republican congressional majority and claim to care about “the least of these”. Period.
In the News: This Billionaire Tried To Get University Scientists Fired For Doing Their Job
Anyone who cares about science and the independence of research at our major universities should be chilled by this. The University of Oklahoma risks destroying the reputation of their faculty and institution by allowing one of their billionaire donors to dictate the work being done by their researchers.
In the News: How Fox News Changed American Media and Political Dynamics (PDF)
(h/t Rick Hasen)
In this paper, Bruce Bartlett, conservative commentator, discusses the impact of Fox News on the Republican Party:
This is what led to what I call the ACORN Effect from the 2008 election. People who got their news via Fox News, and who only knew or spoke with other Fox News viewers, were stunned that Barack Obama had been elected president. Their only defense from cognitive dissonance was that ACORN had stolen the election because in the fantasy world constructed at Fox, a black man could not possibly win the election.
James Fallows writes about this in The Atlantic:
In the News: Republicans debate Iraq war at major Iowa gathering for 2016
Any political event where Lindsey Graham is greeted warmly is an event firmly rooted in fantasyland. The American people do not agree with Republicans on this, they know that the war was a mistake from start to finish.
Here is a nice christianist response from Rick Santorum when asked about ISIL:
I guess anyone killed in these bombing attacks are just collateral damage in the New Crusades.
The Republican muck-a-mucks are somewhat alarmed:
And this is a problem of their own doing:
Republicans have been telling lies about Hillary Clinton for decades, starting with their contention that she killed White House aide Vince Foster. What do they expect? That they could just say “But this time it is truuuuuuuuuuuuue!!!”?
But here is something completely believable:
As Bubbanomics would say: “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”!
In the News: Tribal environmental director: ‘We are not equipped’ for North Dakota oil boom
The Lummi Nation is taking a firm stand re the proposed coal shipping terminal at Cherry Point.
http://content.sierraclub.org/coal/lummi-nation
Update on the deadly Amtrak crash: Amtrak Ordered To Take Steps To Improve Safety