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 discussed climate change and how the most ambitious climate agreement in history is creating private sector partnerships that are advancing the latest technologies in clean power. Reiterating his State of the Union call to invest in the future rather than subsidize the past, the President said the budget he will present to Congress on Tuesday will double funding for clean energy research and development by 2020 in an effort to help private sector job creation and lower the cost of clean energy. The President also highlighted ways American entrepreneurship is addressing one of the greatest challenges of our time, and called on leaders in Washington to do the same.
Transcript: Weekly Address: Doubling Our Clean Energy Funding to Address the Challenge of Climate Change
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address, The White House, February 6, 2016Hi everybody. One of the things that makes America great is our passion for innovation – that spirit of discovery and entrepreneurship that helps us meet any challenge.
One of the greatest challenges of our time is climate change. Over the last seven years, we’ve made historic investments in clean energy that helped private sector companies create tens of thousands of good jobs. And today, clean power from the wind or the sun is actually cheaper in many communities than dirtier, conventional power. It’s helped grow our economy and cut our total carbon pollution more than any other country on earth.
That leadership helped bring nearly 200 nations together in Paris around the most ambitious climate agreement in history. And in Paris, we also launched one of the most important partnerships ever assembled to accelerate this kind of clean energy innovation around the world. Investors and business leaders including Bill Gates, Meg Whitman, and Mark Zuckerberg joined us, pledging their own money to help advance new technologies to the market.
That’s important because we’ll only meet this challenge if the private sector helps lead the way.
As I said in my State of the Union address, rather than subsidize the past, we should invest in the future. That’s why the budget I will send to Congress this Tuesday will double funding for clean energy research and development by 2020. This will include new investments to help the private sector create more jobs faster, lower the cost of clean energy faster, and help clean, renewable power outcompete dirty fuels in every state.
And while Republicans in Congress are still considering their position on climate change, many of them realize that clean energy is an incredible source of good-paying jobs for their constituents. That’s why we were able to boost clean energy research and development in last year’s budget agreement. And I hope they support my plan to double that kind of investment.
Because it’s making a difference across the country. In Idaho, our Battery Test Center is helping electric cars run longer on a single charge. In Ohio, entrepreneurs are pioneering new ways to harness wind power from the Great Lakes. In Tennessee, researchers are partnering with utilities to boost storage and solar power to create a more resilient electric grid.
The point is, all across the country, folks are putting their differences aside to face this challenge as one. Washington should do the same. That’s how we’re going to solve this challenge – together. And that’s how we’re going to give our kids and grandkids the future they deserve – one with a safe, secure, and prosperous planet.
Thanks everybody, and have a great weekend.
Bolding added.
~
This is just sad:
President Obama’s statement on the economy after the new jobs report was released:
(Bolding and underlining added)
The statement turned into an impromptu news conference. There is more at the link.
NPR reports:
From the White House: As Unemployment Drops Below 5%, Here Are Five Facts About America’s Jobs Market
More at the link.
Excellent news about the job market. Let’s see—under Democratic administrations, the stock market soars, the job rate soars, the deficit gets reduced…so why vote for Rethugs? Beats me.
When did “well-paid jobs” become “good-paying jobs”? So ungrammatical. I’d love to move to a country where people actually speak English, but Britain is just as bad. The ungrammatical British novels I read and the ungrammatical articles from major British news sources make me want to scream. I’m just an old crank, I suppose.
Ha! I will join you in your old crankiness. Grammar is important to me and the English speaking people here have been dropping their Good Grammar “G”s literally (that is probably “good-payin’ jobs” when it is spoken, you know) and figuratively as social media drives what is acceptable. I am not sure many people know how to construct a grammatically proper sentence any longer.
And get off my lawn!!! :)
In the News: Not just Flint but Southern California poisoned by government “can’t be bothered”ism …
One family’s daughter was sickened and coincidentally became well after the family was moved.
And file this under “what could possibly go wrong if you frack in an earthquake zone?”
C’mon, California. Really?
From the Twitterator:
In the News: Affordable Care Act success story …
PLUS when hospitals close, it is bad for business and bad for the bottom line in state government.
Troubling news from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) … a commission set up to help America vote.
How can an executive director wield this much power? And who let this fox into the hen house??
The EAC was set up as part of the Help America Vote Act of 2002:
Making it more difficult to vote for certain citizens helps how?
Now for something fun …
On Tuesday, the president will be releasing his 2017 fiscal year budget for Congress’ consideration.
Included in it is a provision to help community colleges:
Planning to Etch-a-sketch?
In the News: Secretary Clinton to travel to Flint Sunday …
There was much reaction about “politicizing” this issue, including this comment by a Flint resident: “”This is a water issue. It’s not a political issue. ”
Bull. It is a problem caused by a political ideology that says that you cannot tax for public services and that the lives of poor people can be sacrificed on the altar of discredited supply side economics. It is a problem festering because the governor of Michigan knows damn well that if he waits long enough, people will forget and he can renege on his promise to “make this right”.
And it needs a political response because unless he is held politically responsible for his moral failings, nothing will get done.
In the News: Secretary Clinton rally in New Hampshire at Great Bay Community College with an introduction from Sen. Al Franken …
Sen. Franken said that Hillary Clinton is a Paul Wellstone progressive. He cited Paul’s famous line as proof: “We all do better when we all do better”.
Here is Al Franken’s intro (about 8 minutes long). It is worth your time
In the News – from Wisconsin: State Supreme Court refuses to allow district attorneys to hire outside attorneys to help in their appeal to the federal courts …
Election Law expert Rick Hasen:
They are simply digging themselves a deeper hole. Fortunately, Federal District Judge Lynn Adelman, who has been assigned this case, is one of the good guys and will not let the State Supreme Court flout the laws.
In the News: North Carolina’s gerrymander declared unconstitutional …
Look at these districts!!
They obviously didn’t even care to pretend that they were fair any longer.
In the News: Wisconsin’s repeal of 48 hour wait for hand gun purchase allowed killer to buy gun and kill former co-worker …
The 48 hour wait was just recently repealed. The blood of that young woman is on the hands of those who voted to repeal a commonsense gun safety regulation.
This is the account of his court appearance:
Meanwhile in Louisiana, another starve-the-beast state (although one that recently elected a Democratic governor), Water woes …