Results tagged “obama”

The Obama administration will attempt to give the federal government control over safety regulations for the nation's subway and light-rail systems. You know who else controlled an entire nation's transit system? Mussolini. But he made the trains run on time! (Or did he?) At any rate, Obama's plan would expand the U.S DOT's control over airlines and Amtrak to every subway and light-rail system in the country, including the MTA. The proposal will be presented to Congress by the end of the year.

President Obama is in town today to meet with the FBI agents credited with stopping a terrorist plot to bomb NYC subways. But that pat on the back at FBI headquarters near City Hall is just the morning's agenda; in the evening it's all about the Benjamins. (Or, rather, the Grover Clevelands.) Tonight the President will speak at a $30,400-per-couple dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at Columbus Circle; the event is expected to raise $2 million to $3 million for the DNC. Want to see Barry but dating a deadbeat who can't float the 30 grand for the Mandarin? All is not lost.

To promote his memoir I Am the New Black, Tracy Morgan has been answering questions from readers at Time magazine. One wanted to know what he thought about Barack Obama’s recent Nobel Peace Prize win. Morgan replied, "I think he deserves it. I think he’s really trying to stop nuclear war. I love Obama. You see how cool he is? You see the way he gets off of Air Force One? He kicks that leg just like Richard Roundtree. Ain’t no other countries gonna mess with us. And as far as health care is concerned, tell them to put cocoa butter on it. Those old remedies still work!"

The Post slammed Obama's "One Love" speech at the UN General Assembly yesterday, calling it "pathetic" and hailing the new prez as "naif-in-chief." The Post did not hesitate to pile it on, accusing Obama of "stunning cluelessness" and asking "Who wrote President Obama's speech for the start of the UN General Assembly yesterday — Rodney King?"

President Obama said that the U.S. needs the help of other nations in tackling the world's problems and cannot go it alone, during his forty-minute address to the U.N. General Assembly today. He called upon other nations to respond to the call, saying that the world needed "a global response to global problems."

The Daily News claims that Bill Clinton joined Barack Obama in a "presidential pile-on," joining the "push against Paterson," somehow suggesting that the embattled governor should just give in now. Clinton said on the Today Show that Paterson "is not in good shape right now."

Lots of talk this week about where the tyrants are staying. Ever wonder where the American presidents stay? All of them since Truman have stayed at the Waldorf Astoria, on 50th and Park. Huffpost embeds two video tours, one by a woman who got randomly upgraded to the presidential suite when checking in to the hotel. Glitzy!

Oh snap! Earlier today Paterson explained his friction with the Obama administration as partially the fault of the White House's own frustrations: "they haven't exactly been able to govern in the first year of their administration in the way that other administrations have, where you would have, theoretically, a period in which the new administration is allowed to pass the needed pieces of legislation." Them's fighting words!

Think your job sucks? The Times gives you the lowdown on Barack Obama's day: first a speech to the UN Climate Change Conference, with two impossible goals: establishing some kind of US credibility on the issue, and getting India and China to sign on. From there he meets with Mr. Sweetcakes himself, Benjamin Netanyahu, then with Mr. Energy and Action, Mahmoud Abbas, then with both of them at the same time.

The statements and actions of President Obama and Governor Paterson in the past few days have made it clear that the de facto Democratic Party leader has given the patriarchal blessing to Andrew Cuomo. Obama began his speech yesterday in Troy thus: "We have special guests here that I want to acknowledge. First of all, a wonderful man, the governor of the great state of New York, David Paterson. Next, your shy and retiring attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, is in the house. Andy is doing great work that has to be done."

We got all excited when we read that Obama played hoops yesterday in NYC before the UN General Assembly, but it ended up that he played in the gym at the very nice but very proper St. Bart's Church on Park Avenue, which is hardly known for rough inside play. Still hoping we'll walk by the Cage on West Fourth and see the Commander-in-Chief tossing some elbows someday.

Threatening to kill people like President Obama and NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly isn't what made Crank Yankers a hit. On Sunday afternoon, police arrested 18-year-old Bronx teen Jonathan Avalos for calling 911 five times that morning and making the threats. Police sources tell the Daily News he's undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, because standing outside an Obama event with a gun is one thing, but crank calls will not be tolerated.

President Obama and citizen Letterman look like they got along famously today during the taping of tonight's show. Even though he's attained rock star status amongst many, word is that Barack didn't take his appearance to the marquee, like Sir McCartney, Phish and TV on the Radio have in the past.

He's been on TV this morning supporting his health plan. But seriously— I think we can all agree that it's in our best interest if the president is allowed to skip to the front of the swine-flu vaccine line. We must protect Obama from the pigs!

Despite a prominent and controversial platform plank which promised dialogue with all the world's states, President Obama will not meet Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when both arrive in New York City for the U.N. General Assembly. Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. was quoted by the Hill as saying, "With respect to the Iranian leader, I don't think there's much likelihood that there will be an interaction. There's no obvious venue in which that would occur, and certainly we have no meetings or anything of the sort planned." Certainly a precondition for any meeting is a venue, and that might be hard to find in New York, especially now that they can't meet at the Helmsley Hotel.

Earlier this week an angry anonymous pamphleteer tossed thousands of anti-Obama fliers off of the Metrotech office complex in Downtown Brooklyn. It was said to be a profanity-filled poem of sorts (with an AA/BB rhyme scheme), and the Brooklyn Paper now has the full text; though reprinting it is only spreading the vitriol-filled message. Earlier this week the paper reported on the basics, saying it included the "F word" a whopping 29 times! One witness told them, “I think it’s ignorant—but this is America, so they have a right to free speech. But I don’t think they have a right to throw it in front of my store so I have to clean it up.” Another was less concerned with free speech, declaring: “That’s f—ed up. I wish I could smack the s— out of whoever did that.” So who is the culprit? Director of public safety for the Metrotech BID said, “I would say it’s a construction worker. That’s a secure building.” The developer of the building, the Clarett Group, claimed they had “not found any evidence that political fliers were dropped." See no evil, hear no evil.

A study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine estimates that a national tax of just one penny per ounce on sugary beverages would raise $14.9 billion in its first year, which could help pay for some sweet health care initiatives. Such a tax was floated by Governor Paterson earlier this year, then quickly defeated by the beverage industry. Will the same thing happen here? The health care reform plan from Senator Max Baucus has an estimated cost of $774 billion over 10 years, but includes no mention of a tax on sugary drinks, which some doctors think could lower Americans' soda consumption and ultimately reduce consumers' health problems. But according to some critics, the risk is that the tax it could transform America into a communist-run labor camp! Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent called such a tax "outrageous. I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink. It if worked, the Soviet Union would still be around." Any patriots out there who want to stop the government from forcing feeding tubes down the throat of every decent, soda-loving American can join the beverage industry's fight at Americans Against Food Taxes.

Police shut down part of West Third Street today so President Obama and former President Bill Clinton could enjoy a leisurely lunch at Italian restaurant Il Mulino, a Village mainstay. The two political powerhouses dined for about an hour and a half following Obama's big speech at Federal Hall urging Congress to pass stronger regulations on the financial industry. Did they chat about that one time Barry wrested the Democratic nomination from Bill's wife? No one knows, but according to reports they dined alone in an empty restaurant, so there was probably no standing ovation, like when Barack and Michelle finished their meal at Blue Hill. As they walked from the restaurant to their waiting limos, Clinton lapped up a reporter's question about the quality of the food, saying, "It was good. It was Il Mulino, how could it not be?" Suck it, Yelper B.D.! As for what they ate, Clinton remarked, "We had fish, pasta and salad. It was very healthy. Even I was healthy." Meanwhile, over on Hudson Street, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich glumly dined at a picnic table outside at Lucy Browne's. The street was not closed for security, and no one stopped Eater from getting this classic photo.

Tomorrow afternoon (at 2 p.m.) Times Square will serve as the stage for a Health Care rally, the NY Times reports. Over 75 "Democratic and health-related groups that support President Obama’s goals for overhauling the health care system" will converge on the Crossroads of the World to get their voices heard. The paper points out that amongst those groups will be the Upper West Side Baby Boomers and "Raising Women’s Voices, a group that mobilizes women as advocates for better health care. They and others want to ensure that any final legislation guarantees that pregnant women will have health insurance." Currently 13% of pregnant women are uninsured, with some insurers classifying pregnancy as a pre-existing condition and declining coverage. CityRoom reports that "midmorning, groups of demonstrators will congregate at sites across the city, including Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens, which has closed. They will then walk to West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, where the demonstration will begin." President Obama's website notes that the rally is in tribute of the late Ted Kennedy.

Obama-mania is still sweeping the city, and while all those Obama Fried Chicken joints were faced with protesters, less, um, controversially-named establishments could stand a shot (Obama coffee and Meal O'Bama seem to be avoiding much trouble). Clinton Hill Blog reports on the latest "tribute" to the President: a 24-hour deli opening on Myrtle between Vanderbilt and Clinton called Obama Deli and Grocery. Okay, so when are all the Michael Jackson-inspired places opening? Jacko's Lanterns, Jackson 5 Brothers Burgers, Bubbles Hot Tubs, King of Poppyseed Bagels, Pizza in the Mirror... a little help in the comments!

     

As promised back in January, the Brooklyn Cyclones of Coney Island renamed themselves the "Baracklyn" Cyclones last night to honor the 44th President "with a night of patriotic partying at the ballpark." According to the AP, the line to get in stretched for two long blocks down Surf Avenue, with the first 2,500 fans receiving a free Obama bobblehead. Anyone who proved he or she was named Barack got in for free, anyone named McCain or Palin received free bleacher seats, and plumbers named Joe got two free tickets, har. (Like we said, this was announced back in January.)

Sure, you probably know by now that the First Couple dined at locally-sourced Greenwich Village restaurant Blue Hill on Saturday night, but there are still lots of juicy details to pore over! Like the wine: a 2007 Hirsch Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, according to Eater. Besides the vino, the First Lady was also observed knocking back two martinis! (It's unclear if she had any of the Pinot.)

Less than a week before President Obama's visit to Saudi Arabia, the Justice Department has filed a brief before the Supreme Court urging justices not to hear a lawsuit brought by families of some of the 9/11 victims against the Saudi royal family. The lawsuit, which was formally filed by the families' insurance companies, contends that members of the House of Saud helped finance Al Qaeda preceding the 9/11 attacks. A district court threw out the lawsuit, finding that the Saudi royal family has legal protection under the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act. The Justice Department says their filing had nothing to do with the President's upcoming visit, and was just "coincidental." (A spokesperson explains that the brief had to be filed soon because the Supreme Court is deciding whether to hear the case before their June recess.) Kristen Breitweiser, a leader of the families, tells the Times, "I find this reprehensible. One would have hoped that the Obama administration would have taken a different stance than the Bush administration, and you wonder what message this sends to victims of terrorism around the world."

President Obama is expected to announce today that he's appointing Dr. Thomas Frieden, NYC's health commissioner, as the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Frieden, who will take office next month, is respected in the public health field for focusing on threats that affect the largest numbers of people—during the Bush years, for example, he found himself at odds with an administration that was funneling billions into bioterrorism initiatives while he was focused on stopping cigarette smoking in NYC. The Times offers a telling anecdote that underscores his agenda:

The Senate Finance Committee is meeting today to hear proposals for how to pay for President Obama's proposed universal health care plan, which is expected to cost $1.2 trillion. One idea is a 3 cent tax on soda and sweetened drinks, which could generate some $24 billion over the next four years. Here in New York, a proposed 18% tax on sugary drinks was dropped by Governor Paterson after pressure from the beverage industry; Susan Neely of the American Beverage Association insists "taxes are not going to teach our children how to have a healthy lifestyle." But Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, is one of the experts appearing before the committee today to push for the soda tax, because, as he puts it, "soda is clearly one of the most harmful products in the food supply, and it's something government should discourage the consumption of." According to the Wall Street Journal, Jacobson also wants the government to "sharply raise taxes on alcohol, move to largely eliminate artificial trans fat from food and move to reduce the sodium content in packaged and restaurant food."

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly is bummed that President Obama's proposed budget doesn't include further funding for a NYC pilot program to test whether it's possible to secure an urban area against nuclear terrorism by saturating it with radiation detectors. A Homeland Security Department official told reporters on a conference call yesterday that the so-called "Secure the Cities" program was always intended to be "a three-year activity, a three-year project." The NYPD has already received more than $53 million in DHS grants for the effort, including $20 million this year, but Kelly tells the Daily News, "It's disappointing, to say the least, after so much has been invested in a program with so much promise." Aw. Critics have questioned the technical capability of the program, and according to the Washington Post, some officials believe it's "better to spend money to secure nuclear materials at their source, coordinate a government-wide counter-proliferation strategy and to strengthen the operations of first-responders who would answer any alarm." Makes sense, but that still doesn't explain why President Hussein Obama wants NYC nuked!

Damn, this thing's for real, huh? Turns out the swine flu may very well have infiltrated the White House bubble! The AP is reporting that an aide helping arrange President Obama's recent trip to Mexico was stricken with the flu during the visit. But don't worry—the unidentified security aide, who reports to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, swears he was never within six feet of POTUS, though he did attend a dinner with Obama during the visit. And White House press secretary David Gibbs stressed today that the individual certainly didn't travel home on Air Force One; he flew commercial on April 17th with a cabin full of unlucky strangers! Gibbs explained that they're waiting for test results to confirm whether his flu was of the trendy swine variety, and added that officials would "do everything in our power" to try to track down the other passengers on that flight. (And send them thoughtful "Get Well, Soon" cards.) Three members of the man's family also experienced "mild" flu symptoms after he came back from Mexico, and all have since recovered, but still... How long before Obama starts blowing his nose during press conferences? According to Politico, the White House has now issued a health advisory outlining "protective measures" for anyone who went on Obama’s badly-timed trip to Mexico.

Is mixing up religion and politics with art even scandalous anymore? The LA Times reports that "A New York artist has canceled the public showing of his portrait of President Obama after receiving a barrage of angry e-mails condemning the religious nature of the work." Michael D'Antuono's painting, called "The Truth," depicted Obama on a crucifix wearing a crown of thorns, and was meant to be shown in a mock voting booth in Union Square starting tomorrow. According to the artist it was meant to "provoke political dialogue" on the President's 100th day in office, asking questions such as "Is Obama being crucified by the right? Do people think he's the next savior?" In the end, he said he canceled the show out of respect of the religion after receiving over a thousand emails about the use of Christian imagery. [via ArtInfo]

Washington is all astir today at the bombshell news that Republican Senator Arlen Specter will leave the GOP and join the Democratic Party, bringing Democrats within reach of a filibuster-proof majority—if and when Al Franken is seated as Minnesota's senator. A 29-year senate veteran and the fifth-oldest senator, Specter is switching his party affiliation now so he can run in the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary.

The White House will once again have a pet come this Tuesday, as the Obamas will welcome their new, long-awaited dog. With TMZ's report yesterday about a Portuguese water dog heading to the White House, the White House has now granted the Washington Post the exclusive: "The girls named it Bo -- and let it be noted that you learned that here first. Malia and Sasha chose the name, because their cousins have a cat named Bo and because first lady Michelle Obama's father was nicknamed Diddley, a source said. (Get it? Bo... Diddley?)"