We need to keep the partisan extremists out of Congress. We need to do it now. There is nothing more important in the short term that will affect the long term future of our country.

We need to counter the Tea Party with a reasonable message that will provide facts to voters while not rabble rousing at the same time. I have an idea for a campaign that I would call the KNOW SOMETHINGS (with a doff of the hat to the No Nothings). This campaign would particularly aim at the middle segment of the voting population that needs to be convinced and reassured that government of the people and for the people can be reestablished in this country before it’s too late. I am certain that there are millions of frustrated rational people who understand that we are in trouble and need to make radical changes, but they have no clear and united voice as the Tea Party has given to their frustrated, but irrational minions. We need to offer an alternative that delivers a clear and truthful message to help voters understand that their own self-interest lies in unity and not division.

I was just reading Plato’s Atlantis this morning, here is an excerpt that recount the condition that were afoot at the end of that great civilization - one could think he wrote it today:

“For many generations, as long as the divine nature lasted in them, they were obedient to the laws, and well affectioned toward the gods,who were their kinsmen; for they possessed true and in every way great spirits, practicing gentleness and wisdom in various chances of life, and in their intercourse with one another.

They despised everything but virtue, not caring for their present state of life, and thinking lightly on the possession of gold and other property, which seemed only a burden to them; neither were they intoxicated by luxury; nor did wealth deprive them of their self-control; but they were sober, and saw clearly that all these goods are increased by virtuous friendship with one another, and that by excessive zeal for them, and honor of them, the good in them is lost, and friendship perishes with them.

By such reflections, and by the continuance in them of a divine nature, all that which we have described waxed and increased in them; but when this divine portion began to fade away in them, and became diluted too often, and with too much of the mortal admixture, and the human nature got the upper hand, then, they being unable to bear their fortune, became unseemly, and to him who had an eye to see, they began to appear base, and had lost the fairest of their precious gifts; but to those who had no eye to see the true happiness, they still appeared glorious and blessed at the very time when they were filled with unrighteous avarice and power.”

I’ll spare you the last paragraph where Zeus calls a council of the gods to punish them since Plato’s unfinished story of Atlantis abruptly ends here. The point is that gods or no gods, man keeps doing this to himself. The story has been repeated over and over that future generations lose sight of the REAL values and principles of their founding fathers and mothers and a minority of individuals with greedy motives bring down the society, no matter how great or moral it’s past, as the first great society described to Plato by his great uncle Solon from words passed on to him from some 2500 years ago - about an even more ancient society that was brought down 2500 years before that.

I only bring in the little history lesson to illustrate that we are not unique and we are not in a unique position. Great societies have risen and fallen throughout human history. If “those of us who see” don’t push back those blinded by greed and self indulgence we are all in for a fall. We do need to take our government back, but we need to do it in a manner that befits our real history and the true intentions of that brilliant gathering of minds we call our Founding Fathers.

Over the course of the last several years, United States foreign policy has undergone stabilization in some areas, while becoming noticeably more unstable in others. This is not an accidental phenomenon, but rather the result of a series of decisions that have been made by the previous administration, inherited by the current administration, and now left for further development in the coming decades. There is little doubt that during George W. Bush’s years in office, American foreign policy served as an aggressive attempt to control Middle Eastern affairs – a systematic plan to dismantle “unstable” governments in the region and replace them with functioning democracies that might resemble the rest of the western world. Unfortunately, this approach was short-sighted, and has left us with the circumstances we face today – an unstable Iraq, a seemingly uncorrectable Afghanistan, unfulfilled support from Pakistan, continued conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and a nuclear ambitious Iran. These are just the examples that receive the majority of our attention as there are surely others.

While it is true that President Obama was certainly handed a difficult set of global difficulty in 2008, the course our country takes over the next decade remains crucial, especially in regard to American prestige, and more importantly, American influence abroad. What we can be certain of, is that we can no longer afford to falter in our policies – to move forward without uncertainty, to create policy based merely on popular opinion. Nor can such policy be created without a precise and pragmatic approach, both of which are necessary for our global survival. But while such decisions require our constant attention, we must also rely on our general global instincts – our natural ability to know what’s right or what’s not for the United States, and the discernment to recognize the difference.

The opportunity to start our foreign agenda anew must be seized immediately. Though there are many places where we could begin this effort, none requires more attention than the war in Afghanistan. The truth has been avoided time and again, and to a degree, blame must be shared by both administrations. While almost all settle on the notion that it was a necessary war to wage in 2001, it has seen far too much inconsistency since its inception. The Bush administration almost entirely neglected our commitments there because of their distraction with Iraq. President Obama has attempted to renew our efforts, but the results – at least so far – have hardly been successful. The facts are clear: we must seriously reconsider our approach to this conflict; to recognize if winning is worth the life of our fellow citizens; to determine whether winning is a realistic goal altogether. And if the victory we seek is possible, it will only come with the support of the local Afghan tribes, not from flashes of American military might. In the final analysis, it will be the decision of the people of Afghanistan – whether they want to transform themselves, or whether they return to the control of corruption and tyranny.

This world often offers us a mysterious paradoxical lesson – that sometimes it is in losing that we often find our greatest victory. If we must leave Afghanistan, it will not be a loss for us, but rather a realization that our intentions were truly for the benefit of all people, and that our pursuit for peace was not all in vain. Let us hope the leadership in the United States can recognize this challenge, and consequently follow the right course.

With one day left until the primary elections in Florida, both Republicans and Democrats continue cannibalizing their own candidates, undermining the entire purpose of a primary. This reinforces the point that Florida’s primaries are simply a reflection of two-party monopoly politics and a waste of taxpayer money.

Let’s examine some recent illustrations. In Orange County, seven candidates are competing for the Republican nomination to run against incumbent Democrat Alan Grayson for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Naturally, this log-jam of primary candidates occurs due to the Republican Party’s partnership with Democrats in monopolizing all “viable” political expression. The result is many people, with no common vision or views, compete in largely negative and high spending primaries to get access to the ballot and “viability” of the two parties that create such stagnant and narrow electoral conditions. One candidate, Ross Bieling, has openly spoken of the unfair cold shoulder he is receiving from the Orange County GOP, being outright ignored by party officials as they close ranks behind anointed nominee Daniel Webster, a former state senator. Bieling cites an example of this in how none of his e-mails to Orange County GOP chair Lew Oliver have been returned.

In Palm Beach County, the local Democrats are certainly keeping up with their Republican counterparts in cannibalizing their own primary candidates. In a local primary race for Florida House District 86, an individual came to the local party’s office to volunteer for underdog Carole Kaye, but was greeted by local party Executive Board member Bunny Steinman who told him the office was Lori Berman’s, the establishment’s endorsed candidate, and attempted to recruit him to her campaign. Reiterating his desire to volunteer for the candidate he supports, he was instead offered Berman’s literature. The office is the Palm Beach County Democratic Party’s south county office, which Steinman manages, and officially must be a common resource without bias for or against any Democratic primary candidates.

As previously noted, these incidents prove that party bosses, or “activists” as they are often referred to in the media, have absolutely no intention of upholding the original intention of primaries. Instead, primaries, and particularly Florida’s closed primaries, are merely tools by which these bosses, and those who influence them, push certain candidates and manipulate the public into validating their choices. Which begs the question, what is the point of primaries? If party “activists” want to choose who they want as their candidate then they need to abandon the taxpayer funded primary system and create party organizations that are member-driven, funded, and operated and figure it out themselves.

Observe this important point; at a meeting of the local Democratic or Republican Executive Committee you will see as many elected officials and candidates as “activists”, if not more. This is not a sign of a member-driven organization, in fact, its not even a sign of a political party. It is a demonstration of an organization that is so entrenched in the workings of the electoral system it helped design, that everyone seeking to “viably” express themselves must pay homage to it and exploit it not only for ballot access, but “viability” among the press, the public, and moneyed interests.

Even wealthy, self-funded candidates like Rick Scott, who has poured nearly $50 million into his campaign to purchase the Republican nomination for governor, cannot escape the reality of monopoly politics while attempting to drown opponents in money. Today, he complained of being shutout by the Republican Party of Florida which he claimed had only $50,000 in its federal account because it wasted all of its money helping anointed candidate Bill McCollum. The RPOF’s chair, John Thrasher recently sent out an e-mail blasting Scott for linking McCollum to the Jim Greer scandal. Later, McCollum openly thanked Thrasher for his support.

A similar example is visible in the Democratic Senate primary where billionaire self-funder Jeff Greene is coming up against the party establishment’s protection and support of Kendrick Meek. However, a greater victim is candidate Maurice Ferre who, despite being at least equally qualified, has been ignored by the press, the party, and even excluded from debates because he doesn’t possess the big money to be considered “viable.”

Clearly the role of the two “major” parties in funneling almost all “viable” political expression through themselves defines and drives our stagnant, money dominated electoral system. It is precisely these features that create a safe, attractive investment environment for moneyed interests. These interest will always attempt to invest in the incumbent, due to the ridiculously high incumbent re-election rates, and sometimes give a little to the challenger. When incumbents die, retire, or are perceived as vulnerable, prospective candidates scramble to consolidate the support of the party establishment and moneyed interests to discourage potential primary competitors. Ultimately, the two-party system produces only two “viable” candidates for the general election, and even that is only in the races considered “competitive”.

In the end the greatest victims aren’t the candidates who are on the receiving end of this undemocratic system, but the voters themselves and the public at large. The only solution is comprehensive electoral reform.

Note that if you live in a district where the only competition is a primary race between two candidates of the same party, with no other candidates of any other affiliation on the ballot, then all voters regardless of affiliation may vote in that primary, otherwise known as a “universal” primary.

Happy voting!

Democratic State Senator and Attorney General candidate Dave Aronberg once opined that Democrats should, in one way, become “more like the Republican party, where we don’t have these brutal, competitive primaries where we all destroy each other.” It seems he was alluding to the Republican Party’s well known habit for stacking behind certain candidates during primaries in order to discourage competitors and save money for the general election campaign. For example, disgraced Republican Party of Florida Chair Jim Greer attempted to anoint Charlie Crist as the sole candidate for the party’s nomination for a Senate seat while ignoring other candidates. After Crist’s defection to no party affiliation, the party’s leadership has coalesced around Marco Rubio, completely ignoring any other filed primary candidates. Unfortunately, Aronberg is blind to the fact that undemocratic behavior is not limited to Republicans. The “Democrats” cannot grasp the concept of internal democracy either.

In 2009, despite the presence of Michael E. Arth’s candidacy in the Democratic primary, Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman endorsed Alex Sink minutes after her announcement of candidacy. This hypocritical undermining of the primary process even took the form of state party staff attempting to remove Arth’s materials at a party function at which he was legitimately displaying them. In a blatant double standard, party bylaws prohibit leaders of local Democratic chapters from endorsing candidates, but do not apply to state party leaders.

Local clubs and their leaders still manage to play their own tricks to skew the primaries in favor of their anointed candidates. One need look no further than the incidents of club presidents prohibiting candidates from speaking while justifying it under the pretense that clubs are not required to give candidates equal time. However, this can go beyond simply unequal speaking time and can include restricting access to resources that, on paper, should be accessible. A good example is the race for Florida House District 86, a heavily gerrymandered district where the primary winner will have no opposition in the general election. Both candidates in the primary, Lori Berman and Carole Kaye, are entitled to use the Palm Beach County Democratic Party’s office, but since Berman pays the rent, Kaye has been prohibited and her literature removed from the office. Interestingly, the United Haitian American Democratic Club has now catching the wrath of the party for supporting Kaye’s candidacy in her defense.

Primaries were originally developed and proposed by individuals such as Robert La Follette Sr., an accomplished governor and senator from Wisconsin, a charismatic figure during the height of the Progressive Era in the early 1900s. “Fighting Bob,” as he was called, pushed for open primaries where all voters, regardless of party registration, could have a voice in candidate selection. La Follette pursued these measures to break the stranglehold that Republican and Democratic party bosses, and their sponsors from moneyed interests, had over who received nominations. In principle, primaries are supposed to give the power over candidate nominations to the voters.

Unlike what Fighting Bob proposed, Florida is a closed primary state which prevents non-affiliated voters from voting in party primaries, but uses their tax dollars to operate them. However, taking that aside, closed primary elections are supposed to put nominations in the hands of the voters registered with those parties. If that is the case, then the games of party bosses endorsing candidates, restricting speaking time and use of common resources is nothing but a shameless corruption of the primary. Instead of suggesting Democrats be more like Republicans, as clearly neither party supports internal democracy, Aronberg should have noted what a waste of taxpayer dollars primaries are, particularly when party bosses do not even have enough faith in the process to run it fairly. Over four elections, between 2002 and 2008, these elections averaged a meager 23% turnout, offering little value for the service even to most voters.

It seems the solution is not primaries, though parties should be free to pursue such methods if they choose to pay for them. The solution is to eliminate the privileged status of the Democratic and Republican parties in state law and have equal, accessible requirements for all parties to register and for candidates, affiliated or unaffiliated with parties, to obtain ballot status through much more accessible qualification requirements. For example, a small non-refundable fee, a party constitution, as well as much lower petitions for candidacy not indexed to population and lower filing fees not indexed to the salary of the elected office sought. Parties should then take on the responsibility of recording their members themselves, not through taxpayer funded voter registration forms. As such, they should also decide among themselves and their members on how and who to nominate, whether through internal democracy or not. This would eliminate the logjam of candidates, who have nothing in common, vying for the nominations of the two monopoly parties to use as election vehicles for “viable” political expression. More importantly, it would eliminate the hypocritical undermining of democracy observed in every primary election.

The Republicans are 99% accurate when they say that big government gets in the way of individual freedom and is inefficient to boot. The only fault to the theory is that they are describing big government the way they run it.

One thing the Democrats need to do right now is to make the clear distinction between the leadership during the Republican years and the current leadership. There are so many case examples that it is easy to choose a focused handful (Chrysler, Banks, Nukes) and start hammering away on the true and accurate theme that there is a quantitative and qualitative difference between, not only the philosophies, but the management of government.

Using the past, both recent and historical, a compelling case can be made that the Democrats usually better the lives of the citizenry more effectively while Republicans narrowly focus on bolstering the fortunes of the wealthy and the corporations that make them so. It was the Republicans after all that popularized the term “supply-side economics”, otherwise known as “trickle down.”

I know that everyone is certain that the Democrats are going to lose seats in both houses this November. I believe that this will not happen if they stand up and tell the truth about issues instead of demurring while Republicans say whatever they please and repeat nonsense until enough people believe that it must be true.

Speaking at the event were Dr. Robert P. Watson on gerrymandering and fair redistricting; Fred Markham on campaign finance reform; Carolyn Thompson on voting rights; and Michael E. Arth on ending the winner-take-all system and replacing it with ranked choice voting for all elections.

Attendees participated in a form of rank voting, called instant runoff voting, to elect their favorite ice cream flavor. Chocolate won. If a winner-take-all ballot had been used, Butter Pecan would have won, and far less than a majority would have been represented.

Among the proposed solutions to the electoral malaise were delegating redistricting to an independent commission with public consultation, or making it obsolete with proportional representation; public campaign financing based on granting funds to candidates who limit spending and private fundraising, or eliminating private funding altogether; implementation of instant runoff voting for both single member and multi-member races; and allowing Supervisors of Elections to improve voter access.

Organizers stressed that this Civic Forum was merely the first and that the issues covered were only some of the various reforms that would need to be implemented to realize “pluralistic, competitive, and representative democracy.” The group is working on a white paper detailing these and other reforms and will be advocating implementation to decision makers upon completion.

The Florida Initiative for Electoral Reform is a non-partisan group of concerned citizens advocating electoral reforms for the enrichment and expansion of democracy.

# # #

For more information about the Florida Initiative for Electoral Reform and its efforts to enrich and expand democracy, please visit http://www.thinkactlead.org/flier.html.

The event is being held to introduce the public to the broad concept of electoral reform with the goal of improving democracy in Florida and the nation as a whole. The Civic Forum will cover three more well known electoral reform policies in depth with expert speakers. The topics covered will include redistricting, campaign finance reform, and instant runoff voting. Subsequent breakout sessions will allow the audience to provide feedback and further recommendations. The organizers will compile the information into a white paper advocating the development of pluralistic, competitive democracy through various electoral reforms. An organization to push the ideas into action will also be created on the basis of the white paper.

Speakers at the event include Dr. Robert P. Watson, Coordinator of American Studies at Lynn University, Fred Markham, an expert on campaign finance reform, and policy analyst, urban designer, and futurist, Michael E. Arth.

The Civic Forum on Electoral Reform is a non-partisan event organized by a group of concerned citizens working together to enrich and expand democracy.

Reality check, folks. The system is broken and no one’s buying. Elected officials are bailing the ship or posting bail. Voter turnout lurks around 11% for local elections and well under 50% for anything beyond their front porch. The largest “political party” beyond the two powers is No Party Affiliation. Getting on the ballot thresholds are so high for an ordinary citizen it’s no wonder there’s nothing on the shelves. Everyone voted for the messiah to make a change. Now the honeymoon’s over and the emperor has no clothes in an antique roadshow that has lost its auction value.

Overhauling our electoral process is not for the squeamish. Prepare to get squelched at every turn of the journey. The club owners are not going to give it up. This gig has been working for them for over 200 years and they are not holding an open house anytime soon. Knowing all that, where do we begin the process?

First it starts with you. This stuff has got to gnaw at you until you can’t stand it any longer. Then you go find a support group dedicated to revamping the system. Hang out with them and plan some actions that can attract more frustrated citizens to join a movement. Organize to put something on the ballot like Instant Runoff Voting, changing the rules to make it easier for candidates to run for office and offering some decent choices, making election day a holiday, and dare I say it, making voting mandatory. Well, that ain’t gonna fly in the land of the free and the home of the brave. We don’t want anyone telling US what to do. Guess what, people? You’re already being told what to do as you keep dragging your security blankie around. Let’s see some actual competitive democracy for a change. Get on board and lay some tracks. What have you got to lose? It can’t be any worse than what we have now unless you veg out and do nothing.

Jayne King has been an ardent supporter of grassroots Electoral Reform since her earliest days in her native South Florida. As a child she listened to the political discussions and witnessed the activism within her family. With this background, her future was inevitable. She would have an enduring passion for the voice of the people. King has been involved in the changes of American government, from local level efforts to worldwide movements. Since 2008, she has been co-chair of the Florida Green Party.

There is a lot of misinformation circulating on talk radio, at town hall meetings, in the blogosphere, and around office water coolers about President Obama not accomplishing anything in his first year in office. It is time to set the record straight with a list of Obama’s initiatives for 2009.

Ethics
• Ordered the White House and all federal agencies to respect the Freedom of Information Act; Bush era limits on accessibility of federal documents have been overturned
• Instructed all federal agencies to promote openness and transparency as much as possible
• Placed limits on lobbyists’ access to the White House
• Placed limits on White House aides working for lobbyists after their tenure in the administration
• Signed a measure strengthening registration and reporting requirements for lobbyists
• Ordered that lobbyists must be removed from and are no longer permitted to serve on federal and White House advisory panels

Governance
• Held many more press conferences and provided the media with far more access than his predecessor
• Held more “town hall” events to inform and engage the public than previous administrations
• The White House website now provides information on all economic stimulus projects and spending, along with an unprecedented amount of information on our government
• Ended the Bush era practice of circumventing established FDA rules for political reasons
• Ended the Bush era practice of having White House staff rewrite the findings of scientific and environmental regulations and reports when they disagreed with the results
• The Obamas did not use the $100,000 authorized (to all First Families) for the refurbishment and redecoration of the White House’s private living quarters; they paid for it out of their own pockets
• The Obamas reused Christmas ornaments from previous White House trees rather than buy new ones
• Limited the salaries of senior White House aides (salaries cut to $100,000)
• Urging Congress to return to the pre-Bush practice of “Pay-Go” (whereby each dollar of spending is offset by a dollar in cuts or in revenues)

National Security
• Phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane (which wasn’t even used in Iraq/Afghanistan) and other outdated weapons systems
• Closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay
• Attempting to house terrorists at a new federal “super max” facility in the US
• Cut the expensive missile defense program, saving $1.4 billion in 2010
• Cancelled plans to station anti-ballistic missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic
• Replacing long-range, expensive missile systems with more efficient smaller systems
• Increased US Navy patrols off the Somali coast in response to pirating
• Established a new cyber security office and appointed a cyber security czar
• Ordered the first nation-wide comprehensive cyber threat assessment

Iraq & Afghanistan
• Began the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq
• Authorized the use of more unmanned warplanes/drones (Predator, Reaper, etc.) in Iraq/Afghanistan
• Authorized the deployment of 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, which had been pending for months during the previous administration [March 2009]
• Changed the US military command in the Afghan conflict
• Tasked the Pentagon to reorganized US policy in Afghanistan; 30,000 additional troops are being deployed, the US is prioritizing the training of Afghan forces and civil government while developing agriculture and infrastructure, aerial bombing has been limited, etc.
• Ordered the Pentagon to send additional helicopters to assist marines and special forces in Afghanistan
• Increased special forces searches for, and unmanned drone strikes on, Taliban and al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan
• Ended the Bush era “stop-loss” policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date

Military & Veterans
• Ordered that families of fallen soldiers can have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives back in the US
• Ended the Bush era “blackout” imposed on media coverage of the return of fallen US soldiers; the media is now permitted to do so pending adherence to respectful rules and approval of fallen soldier’s family
• Ended the Bush era “black out” policy on media coverage of war casualties – full information is now released
• Ordered better body armor to be procured for US troops
• Funding new Mine Resistant Ambush Vehicles (needed because of susceptibility of hummers to roadside explosives)
• Increasing pay and benefits for military personnel
• Improving housing for military personnel
• Initiating a new policy to promote federal hiring of military spouses
• Ordered that conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other neglected military hospitals be improved
• Beginning the process of reforming and restructuring the military (initiated by Bush but abandoned after the war in Iraq began) 20 years after the Cold War to a more modern fighting force… this includes new procurement policies, increasing size of military, new technology and cyber units and operations, etc.
• Ended the Bush era practice of awarding no-bid defense contracts
• Improving benefits for veterans as well as VA staffing, information systems, etc.
• Authorized construction for additional health centers to care for veterans
• Suspended the Bush-era decision to purchase an expensive fleet of Marine One (helicopters) from foreign sources
• Ordered a review of the existing “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military

Foreign Policy & International Relations
• Closed the Bush era “secret detention” facilities in Eastern Europe
• Ended the Bush era policy allowing “enhanced interrogation” (torture) and the US is in compliance with Geneva Convention standards
• Restarted international nuclear non-proliferation talks (Bush withdrew from them) and reestablished international nuclear inspection protocols
• Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic
• Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions suspended under Bush
• Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office
• Banned the export of cluster bombs
• Overturned Bush era plans to increase the US nuclear arsenal
• Authorized the Navy SEALS operation that freed by force the US shipping captain held by Somali pirates
• Restored the US commitment to the UN population fund for family planning that was suspended during the Bush era
• Instituted a new policy on Cuba, allowing Cuban families to return “home” to visit loved ones
• Extended an offer of engagement (free from sanctions and penalties) to Iran through December 31, 2009 (Iran did not accept the offer)
• Sent envoys to the Middle East and other parts of the world, reengaging in multilateral and bilateral talks and diplomacy
• Authorized discussions with North Korea and the private mission by former president, Bill Clinton, to secure the release of two Americans held in prisons
• Authorized discussions with Myanmar and the mission by Senator Jim Web to secure the release of an American held captive
• Renewed loan guarantees for Israel
• Signed the USIFTA trade agreement with/for Israel
• Authorized a $550m advance for Israel (six months prior to the scheduled date) in order to accommodate Israeli’s economic and financial needs
• Continued agreements with Israel for cultural exchanges, immigration, etc.
• Spoke on Arab television, spoke at an Egyptian university, and met with Arab leaders in an effort to change the tone of US-Arab relations
• Ordered the US to finally pay its dues to the United Nations

Economy
• Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants…) years of neglect during the Bush era
• Authorized the US Auto industry rescue plan and two GMAC rescue packages
• Authorized the housing rescue plan and new FHA residential housing guarantees
• Authorized a $789 billion economic stimulus plan
• Instituted a new rule allowing the public to meet with federal housing insurers to refinance (in as quickly as one day) a mortgage if they are having trouble paying
• Authorized a continuation of the US financial and banking rescue plans initiated at the end of the Bush administration and authorized TARP funds to buy “toxic assets” from failing financial institutions
• Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which provides small tax cuts for 95% of “working families”
• Authorized the “Cash for Clunkers” program that helped stimulate auto sales (with the related environmental/energy benefit of getting old, inefficient, polluting cars off the road)
• Ordered the closing of offshore tax safe havens (for individual and business tax evaders)
• Convened a “jobs summit” to bring experts together to develop ideas for creating jobs
• Negotiated a deal with Swiss banks to permit the US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals
• Ordered the FDIC to beef up deposit insurance
• Ended the previous policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who outsource American jobs; the new policy uses the savings to promote in-sourcing investments to bring jobs back to the US
• Convened an advisory board that is looking into simplifying the tax code
• Ended the Bush era policy of protecting credit card companies; in place of it are new consumer protections from the credit card industry’s predatory practices
• Authorized the federal government to make more loans available to small businesses and ordered lower rates for federal loans to small businesses
• After former presidents of both parties refused such action (George W. Bush refused four times), Obama placed a 35% tariff on Chinese tires and a few other products such as pipes after China was found to be illegally “dumping” exports below cost
• In November 2009, Obama extended unemployment benefits for one million workers
• In November 2009, Obama extended the Home Buyers Credit for first-time home buyers and expanded coverage for some existing homeowners who are buying again
• Reduced taxes for some small businesses to stimulate the economic recovery

Budgeting
• Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut federal spending
• Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify wasteful spending and practices
• Established a National Performance Officer charged with saving the federal government money and making federal operations more efficient (the NPO reports to the director of the Office of Management & Budget)
• Overturned the Bush-era practice of not listing certain federal programs in the federal budget (in an effort to hide programs and make the budget look smaller); such “off budget” items are now included in the annual budget
• This includes appropriations for war
• This includes emergency appropriations

Healthcare
• Removed Bush era restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research
• Offering federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research
• Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more children
• Established an independent commission to make recommendations on slowing the costs of Medicare
• Reversed the Bush era restrictions that prevented Medicare from negotiating with pharmaceuticals for cheaper drugs; now the government can again competitively bid
• Expanding vaccination programs
• Issued new disease prevention guidelines and priorities for the CDC
• Authorized the FDA to finally begin regulating tobacco
• Tasked federal labs to prioritize research on and deployment of H1N1 vaccines
• Asked multiple congressional committees to bring forward a healthcare reform bill that attempts to increase coverage and affordability; he supported holding many hearings and town halls on the issue

Energy & Environment
• Removed a ruling that now allows individual states to enact automotive fuel efficiency standards above federal standards
• Offered attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles
• Overturned Bush-era rule to weaken the Endangered Species Act
• Announced plans to purchase fuel efficient American-made fleet for the federal government
• Ended the Bush era policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide emissions
• Signed a measure requiring energy producing plants to begin producing 15% of their energy from renewable sources
• The Obamas used LED energy-saving lights on White House Christmas tree
• Announced that the federal government would reengage in the long-delayed effort to clean up “Superfund” toxic waste sites
• Announced the long-term development of a national energy grid with renewable sources and cleaner, efficient energy production
• Proposed a new refuge for Wild mustangs
• Cancelled several Bush-era mountain-top removal and mining permits
• Reengaged in international treaties and agreements to protect the Antarctic
• Asked Congress for energy reform and “cap and trade”
• Developing plan to lease US coastal waters for wind and water current energy production
• Overturned Bush-era policies that allowed uranium mining near national parks such as the Grand Canyon
• Expanded the Petrified Forest National Park
• Signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act that protects millions of acres of scenic, historic, and recreational lands and trails
• Requiring that government buildings and facilities be retrofitted to save energy costs
• Authorized studies in several western states to determine how to support large-scale solar installations
• Attended the Copenhagen talks and, after the talks were stalled, negotiated an international (voluntary) agreement on reducing carbon emissions and raising funds to assist developing nations in offsetting carbon emissions

Rights
• Instituted enforcements for equal pay for women (Lilly Ledbetter Bill)
• Appointed the first Latina to the Supreme Court
• Held the first Seder in White House
• Appointed a diverse Cabinet and diverse White House staff
• Spoke at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization
• Signed the first major piece of federal gay rights legislation that includes acts of violence against gays under the list of federal hate crimes
• Reversed the Bush era practice of politicizing Justice Department investigations and prosecutions against political opponents
• Allowing some of the 9/11 perpetrators to be tried in federal court
• Signed an extension of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Bill to provide federal research and support for treating the disease
• Allowed the State Department of offer same-sex benefits for employees

Education Policy
• Authorized construction funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access in K-12 public schools
• Authorized new funds for school construction
• Increased student loans
• Expanded the national youth service program
• Streamlined the federal student loan process to save $87 billion over the next 10 years
• Changed the rule to allow students struggling to make college loan payments to refinance their loans
• Beginning discussions with Congress for education reform
• Initiated a “Race to the Top” competitive federal grant program for states who develop innovative policies
• Instituted a “judgment review” allowing families with student loans to petition to have their current financial status determine the loan rather than the previous year’s finances
• Launched “Educate to Innovate,” a public/private partnership making $236 million available for science, mathematics, and technology education programs

Other Domestic Policies & Initiatives
• New federal funding for science and research labs
• Signed national service legislation; expanded national youth service program
• Increasing opportunities in AmeriCorps program
• Ordered a review of hurricane and natural disaster preparedness
• Instituted a new focus on mortgage fraud
• Beginning discussions for comprehensive immigration reform
• Ordered that funds be released and red tape be streamlined for the ongoing Hurricane Katrina recovery effort in the Gulf Coast
• Demonstrated an immediate and efficient response to the floods in North Dakota and other natural disasters
• Ordered the DEA to stop raids on medical marijuana usage
• Ordered a review of existing “mandatory minimum” prison sentencing
• Signed an order to limit airport tarmac delays and the time passengers had to sit in the plane/on the tarmac during delays
• Restored the EPA to “Cabinet level” status (this was the case under Clinton but not Bush)
• FEMA once again reports directly to the president (this was the case under Clinton but not Bush)

P.S. A swing set was installed for the Obama girls outside the Oval Office and a garden was planted for the White House’s vegetables and flowers.