If Women Ruled The World

Presidential Campaign Costs Since President Abraham Lincoln

Barack Obama spent $730 million getting to the White House in 2008—twice as much as George W. Bush spent 4 years earlier and more than 260 times what Abraham Lincoln spent in his first election (as measured in 2011 dollars). Looking at the total costs of presidential elections over the past 150 years, it would seem that the White House is the ultimate recession-proof commodity. Full Story here

The Melting Spoon

How many of you mess around with your friends from time to time?  No, I'm not talking that kind of mess. Get your mind out of the gutter!  I'm talking with your friend's minds by playing a trick on them.  Geez, this is not coming out the way I want. ugh. LOL.

Okay, let's start over.  Have you ever played a mind-trick on someone by using a deck of cards, money, or other type of object?  Well, I have, but I've never tried this one.  Watch as this spoon (pictured) disintegrates as it is stirred in water.  How does it work?  The metal is made of pure 99.99% Gallium which melts at 86°F.  Pretty interesting, heh?  Well, you can actually do it yourself by going to DisappearingSpoons.com and buying a DIY kit.  Check it out.

I Quote That - Being Single

Back In The Day - Yoko Ono, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston

Wow, truly a blast from the past.  Here's a shot of Yoko Ono, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston from back in the day.

two of these stars are not like the other - R.I.P. Elizabeth, Michael, and Whitney

Cyanide and Happiness: Results

Oh No They Didn't!

No, that is not Madonna in that video below.  That's a Brazilian drag queen about to perform a recreation of Madonna's entire Superbowl performance complete with Nicki Minaj, LMFAO, and M.I.A. stunt doubles.  Everything was fine and dandy until they got to the Cee Lo Green part, because we all know Cee Lo is definitely not this hot, muscle-y Brazilian stud, pictured here.  LOL.

In either case, if you have 13 minutes of your day to spend watching some drag show that isn't RuPaul's Drag Race, go right ahead.  I just skipped through the parts I thought were okay.

Isn't This The Truth? Truths For Mature Humans

WTF Has Obama Done? - Issue No. 017 - Natural Disasters & Emergencies

You don't need me to remind you of the costliest natural disaster on American soil and the blunder surrounding the Bush presidency when it came to the handling of Hurricane Katrina,  I think everyone remembers that.  This is why President Obama made it a priority when he got into office to order an extensive review of hurricane and natural disaster preparedness.  He enforced this policy and has made national disasters and emergencies one of his top priorities, along with everything else under his belt.

The president has also provided an additional policy in restoring our gulf coast, three sources of funding and three targeted actions.  Some of which include rebuilding our fire stations, the incomes that were lost during the BP oil spill and those hurt by drilling. I will share those in future issues of WTF Has Obama Done?.

WTF-50

Ordered an extensive review of hurricane and natural disaster preparedness.

With the still-fresh memory of Hurricane Katrina lingering over it all, Obama joined with two other men in Bloomberg and Christie who knew what was at stake when it became clear that Hurricane Irene was going to work its way up the East Coast in August 2011.

Dealing with disasters from a political perspective is never easy, because there will always be problems and no response is going to make everyone happy. But there are some things that can be done.

For Obama, the name of the game was avoiding surprises and making sure everyone knew just how serious he was taking things.

To that end, Obama allowed cameras into his meeting with FEMA director Craig Fugate and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano before the storm hit and cut his vacation a day short to get back to Washington, D.C. Making sure people know that you’re working is part of the battle, and the White House made sure people saw Obama with his sleeves rolled up even before things got rough. [Reference-1]

***

The Obama administration Monday delivered to Congress the nation's first Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, defining homeland security for the first time as including hazards beyond terrorism, in a strategic document intended to drive long-term budget decisions. 

Congress mandated the high-level strategic review in 2007, two years after Hurricane Katrina exposed failings in the government's response and four years after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The initiative was modeled after the Quadrennial Defense Review, another congressionally mandated effort that directed the Defense Department to reset its strategies and budgets against evolving threats every four years.  [Reference-2, Reference-3]

WTF-51

Provided $210 Million for building and upgrading fire stations.

You can never be too prepared . . . and that's why firefighters and other first responders should take notice of the millions of dollars the government has made available to emergency management and homeland security agencies. According to Jamie Thompson, editor for FireRescue1.com, "the [stimulus] package includes $210 million for modifying, upgrading, or constructing fire stations." [Reference-1, Reference-2]

The “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” will create opportunities for public safety agencies across the country to ramp up hiring, obtain equipment and upgrade technologies. Forward-thinking public safety agencies should be planning now for how best to position their programs to take advantage of these opportunities.  This includes $210 million for modifying, upgrading or building new fire stations; $1 billion allocated to the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) for grant distribution to state and local law enforcement; and $2 billion for the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program.  [Reference-3]

WTF-52

Haiti Economic Lift Program Act of 2010.

Senators passed the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act (H.R. 5160) on May 6, 2010 by Voice Vote.  It was introduced by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA).

Since the bill has already been passed by the House and was not amended in the Senate, it now goes to President Obama for his signature.

According to a joint press release, it would “help create sustainable support for Haiti’s economy by expanding tariff benefits for certain Haitian textile and apparel exports to the United States.”  

More specifically, it would “expand duty-free access to the U.S. market for Haitian textile and apparel exports and extend existing trade preference programs for Haiti through 2020.”

Additional details here.  [Reference-1, Reference-2]

I promise to come back to this topic in another issue, until then, please feel free to read my previous issues by clicking here.

Make sure to read the next issue
Issue No. 018 - National Service

WTF Has Obama Done is an ongoing series posted daily or weekly on BLADE 7184 until Election Day, 2012!