Your friend can't think of *one thing* to counter a freeper?
Well, here's a nicely-timed summary from Rachel Maddow:
"Even before today's historic Wall Street reform agreement, President Obama, of course, did what politicians have been trying to do for more than 60 years. He passed health reform, which, for the first time, establishes government responsibility for the health care of American citizens. Consider also the stimulus bill. It didn't just throw a lasso around our entire economy and yank and yank it back from the brink, it also pumped about $100 billion into the crumbling embarrassment of our national infrastructure and transportation system. It was the largest investment in infrastructure since Ike. For solving our country's energy problems, something Obama has compared to man walking on the moon, it contained about $60 billion in spending and tax incentives for renewable and clean energy, also a historic investment. It also included an unheralded but giant investment in science and tech, amping up the budgets at NASA, the National Science Foundation, and an experimental energy research agency that was created under President George W. Bush, but never funded until now.
"President Obama also expanded state kids' health insurance to cover another four million kids. He signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act amending the 1964 civil rights act for equal pay for equal work. He signed a nuclear arms deal with Russia that would reduce both countries' arsenals by a third. He created a new global nonproliferation initiative to keep nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists. He set forth an international way forward on that radical left-wing proposition of Ronald Reagan, a world without nuclear weapons.
"Then there are the legislative and policy achievements that don't just build on previously-set precedents, but set new ones. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act. It had languished in Congress for years. The Food and Drug Administration permitted for the first time to regulate tobacco. Better late than never, he dismantled the scandal-plagued Minerals Management Service, broke it into three parts so that the folks who collect money from oil leases aren't the same ones regulating the industry. And now, it will actually investigate the industry that it was busy schtupping and doing drugs with during the last administration. Obama fired two wartime commanding generals in little over a year.
"He overhauled the astonishing stupidity of the student loan system in which banks were being subsidized to give loans that were guaranteed by the government anyway, a license to print money. That was ended in the savings put toward actual aid to students. He canceled a weapons program that was bloated, unnecessary and totally irrelevant to either of our current wars, the F-22. Why even mention the cancellation of a single weapons system? Because that never happens. Weapons systems never get canceled. The F-22 did, which is itself a miracle."
And Rachel didn't even mention the administration's successful efforts on China revaluing its currency, the advances on expanded stem-cell research, the national service bill, and the most sweeping land-protection act in 15 years.
More Links:
Here's a link to the Vice President's report on how much has been accomplished through the Recovery Act:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/vice-president-biden-delivers-report-president-summer-recovery-act-activityRecovery.gov
http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspxProgress To-Date
The Recovery Act has already begun to put over $620 billion to work and many programs are ahead of schedule.
$223 billion in tax relief has been provided to American families and businesses, including the Making Work Pay tax credit for 95 percent of working families.
$227 billion in financial assistance has been obligated or made available to help the hardest-hit through aid like unemployment benefits and Medicaid
$170 billion has been obligated or begun to be put to work on technology, innovation and infrastructure projects.
The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) estimates that the Recovery Act is responsible for between 2.2 and 2.8 million jobs through March of 2010.
This figure is in-line with estimates by independent economists, including those of the non-partisan CBO.
Summer Activity
We are entering Recovery Summer and will see the highest levels of Recovery Act project activity yet.
Highway Projects
There will be six times as many highway projects underway in July 2010 as in July 2009 projects will surge from 1,750 last summer to over 10,700 this summer.
While last summer about 9,185 miles of highway started being improved, this summer 29,244 miles will start being improved thats the equivalent of ten cross-country road trips on improved highways.
States across the country will see an increase in highway projects this summer:
o Colorado: This summer there will be 90 highway projects underway versus 23 last summer.
o Michigan: This summer there will be 646 highway projects underway versus 21 last summer.
o California: This summer there will be 450 highway projects underway versus 9 last summer.
Clean and Drinking Water
This summer 2,828 clean and drinking water projects will be underway versus 129 last summer more than 20 times as many.
States across the country will see an increase in clean and drinking water projects this summer:
o Michigan: This summer there will be 91 active clean and drinking water projects versus 24 last summer.
o Ohio: This summer there will be 205 active clean and drinking water projects versus 42 last summer.
o Massachusetts: This summer there will be 111 active clean and drinking water projects versus 45 last summer.
Home Weatherization
This summer, 82,000 homes will be weatherized versus 3,000 last summer 27 times as many homes this summer as last.
States across the country will see an increase in the number of homes weatherized this summer:
o California: This summer there will be 5,887 homes weatherized versus 0 last summer.
o Michigan: This summer there will be 5,163 homes weatherized versus 106 last summer.
o Massachusetts: This summer there will be 2,360 homes weatherized versus 111 last summer.
o Ohio: This summer there will be 4,200 homes weatherized versus 2,044 last summer.
National Parks
This July, there will be 799 projects underway at our national parks versus 101 last July nearly 8 times as many this summer.
This July, there will be 1,711 public lands projects underway versus 106 last July 16 times as many this summer.
Summer Milestones
Recovery Act projects will achieve several significant milestones this summer.
Tomorrow, June 18th, the President will break ground on the 10,000th Recovery Act road project to get underway.
By the end of June, Recovery Act investments will have built, expanded or renovated over 1,100 community health care centers, providing health care for an additional 2.5 million Americans.
By August, one million more Americans will have smart meters in their homes thanks to the Recovery Act investment in building a smart energy grid.
Also by August, more than 200,000 homeowners will have had their homes weatherized through the Recovery Act, saving them an average of over $400 a year on their energy bills.
By September 30th, 70 percent of Recovery Act funds will have been paid out.
Continued Job Impact
The job impact of the Recovery Act will be continue to climb through the summer and into the fall, eventually hitting the original target of 3.5 million jobs by the end of 2010.
According to the Council of Economic Advisers:
June 30, 2009 338,000 jobs
September 30, 2009 850,000 jobs
December 31, 2009 1,750,000 jobs
March 30, 2010 2,500,000 jobs
December 31, 2010 Administration target of 3.5 million jobs
Estimates from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office have thus far have confirmed or exceeded these CEA estimates.
In May, the CBO reported that as many as 2.8 million jobs were created or saved by the Recovery Act through the first quarter of 2010.
Jobs have been reported by recipients in every single Congressional District and U.S. territory. These reports are available at www.Recovery.gov.
$20 BILLION is also a nice piece of change to have obtained up front for the BP victims.
Stuff that has to do with aid to small businesses (Obama is the most pro-small biz prez in my memory):
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statement-president-obama-house-passage-small-business-lending-fund-and-small-businVisiting whitehouse.gov and clicking on the "Legislation" link also brings up an amazing amount of signed legislation.
These are off the top of my head. Sorry, I'm tired, or I would organize this info a bit better. You can also look through former posts in this group for more ideas. But your friend should know no amount of links will most likely turn "tea partiers/freeps." But I guess he can always try. :)
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
