Beltway Insider: Sequester Gridlock; Obama Signs VAWA; February Job Numbers; Brennan Confirmed; Chavez Dies

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Category: Beltway Insider

Published on Saturday, 09 March 2013 22:16

Written by Janet Walker

President Barack Obama, still reeling from the enactment of the Sequester, received better than expected news from the Bureau of Labor Statistics as the February Job Numbers took center stage in his economic recovery initiatives.

According to Gallup, President Obama’s job approval, over the past week, rose two percentage points, to 49% of those polled approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as President dropped one percentage points to 44%.

Sequester Gridlock

With the recent enactment of the sequester, the blunt force arbitrary spending cuts, which really take from those who can least afford to lose the assistance, the Obama Administration has been meeting with Senate Republicans to initiate sincere and genuine exchanges hoping to get both parties to push aside politics and focus on those men and women, in their constituencies, in uniform, and in government service, who are suffering through this continued and unresolved budget crisis.

The Violence Against Women’s Act

President Obama also signed into law this week, the Violence Against Women’s Act, which strengthens support networks for victims of violence, domestic or otherwise. The bill also included full-citizen entitlements for illegal immigrants who may become victims and are afraid to report the crimes due to concern over deportation.

While the VAWA strengthens the governments support, the trickledown effect to the local level will be the real test of the new law as sensitivity training for advocates as well as detectives whose tendency is to deem the victim guilty and inform them of the horrors of the prosecution before any investigation has initiated is standard in most rape cases.

Sexual assault laws need to be changed on the local and state levels to destroy any statutes of limitation in prosecution. DNA databases need to be created on a national level and utilized. Victims need to be treated with respect by the system that immediately judges, condemns, pronounces guilt, and blames the victim and prosecutors need to aggressively  and zealously prosecute the perpetrators even if they are the antithesis of the image of a predator.  

February Job Numbers

February Job Numbers were released this week and while the numbers indicate employers are hiring the economy still remains deeply sluggish. Employers added 236,000 jobs in February which resulted in a .01 percent drop, from 7.8% to 7.7%, in the overall unemployment rate.

Lauded by the Obama administration as significant sign of economic growth, the February Job Numbers barely nudged the overall unemployment rate and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics “the unemployment rate has shown little movement, on net, since September 2012.”

The total number of unemployed remains at 12million and the long term unemployed, those who have been without employment for over 27 weeks remained unchanged and account for 42% or 4.8million persons.  

Sectors showing the largest growth over the past month included professional and business services, healthcare and construction.  

John O. Brennan Confirmed as CIA Director

John Owen Brennan was confirmed this week as the Director of the CIA replacing the outgoing David Petraeus, who resigned after he admitted engaging in an extramarital affair with a reporter.

Brennan, with over twenty-five years of service, was nominated in January and faced strong opposition from Senate republicans and Whitehouse watchdog organizations over his opinions on the use of Drone Strikes against American citizens and positions over past casualty.

Senator Paul Rand of Kentucky staged a talking filibuster of the vote, which allows a senator to speak on any topic of choice for as long as he wishes unless enough senators are actually present to invoke a cloture, citing President Barack Obama and his administration's use of combat drones, stating “No one politician should be allowed to judge the guilt, to charge an individual, to judge the guilt of an individual and to execute an individual. It goes against everything that we fundamentally believe in our country."

Prior to his swearing in on March 8, 2013, Brennan held the title of Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and Assistant to the President. In May 2011, he was the lead advisor in the Osama Bin Laden mission.

Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan President, Dies

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died this week.  He was 58. Medical reports have ruled the cause of death was a massive heart attack. Chavez had been battling an unknown form of cancer and had multiple operations over the past two years. Rumors had circulated since December 2012 of Chavez’s diminishing health ranging from total incapacitation to recuperation.

Elected to four terms, Chavez was so well thought of by the Venezuelan people that in his final term he won office by an unprecedented 80% of the vote. Known for his firebrand anti-American rhetoric Chavez had a continual belief that his country was a scapegoat terrorist target for the American government who continually answered his claims with alleged “intelligence” that “decisively” linked him to Osama Bin Laden’s terror network, which would make him the most hated man alive to every American.  

Chavez survived several attempted coup d'état brought on, he believed, by the America government to install a more US friendly regime for the purpose of accessing the oil rich deposits which are directly off the Venezuelan shore and not within international waters.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge stated, at a 2010 press conference in Washington, D.C, “He [Chavez] is slowly, I think, coming under the control and reigns of authority and power. I’ve not met the man and that’s not to say that he runs a very repressive regime but I think if he continues to control he will ultimately become a despot.”

Chavez was also the center of Oliver Stone’s documentary, “South of the Border.” Stone befriend Chavez during the filming and the conspiracy minded director invited the president on the film’s international press tour. The two attended the film’s premiere at prestigious Venice Film Festival. As a challenge, during the film, Chavez encouraged Stone to head off to the other six Latin American countries and meet the presidents. He did.

Stone eulogized Chavez on his Facebook page stating, “I mourn a great hero to the majority of his people and those who struggle throughout the world for a place. Hated by the entrenched classes, Hugo Chavez will live forever in history. My friend, rest finally in a peace long earned.”

For more information on President Obama: www.whitehouse.gov 

For more information on President Obama: http://www.barackobama.com/ 

Sources: Wikipedia