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Thank You, JPAC

WASHINGTON--(JPAC) Barack Obama tonight delivered a speech that will be remembered as one of the best he has made. Many waited hours just to get to shake hands with the President as he walked down the isle in the senate chamber.Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the house, and Joe Biden, the Vice President sat behind the president as is tradition Before a joint session of congress, the President made remarks on everything from energy to healthcare- but relating it all to the economy. For example, the crushing cost of healthcare causes a bankruptcy in America every thirty seconds, says the newly elected Commander in Chief. President Obama promised that health care reform would not wait another year,and that America would soon be the leader again in the automobile industry. He promised education reform, stating that it was essential to receive a good education in an economy where "the best thing you can sell is your knowledge." He called for all students to participate in at least one year of higher level education, and said that high school dropouts would no longer be a factor, as it would no longer be an option. He also pledged to end tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans.he took a swipe at the former president after stating that we could not leave our Children a deficit they could not pay, or, as the president put it "The Deficit we inherited." Overall, he connected with the average Joe, speaking "as a father," and emphasizing that he too felt the effects of the economic crisis. The GOP's reaction is yet to be heard, but should be know by tomorrow, however it was just as evident as when George Bush was in office which party sat on which side of the isle.

--Brennan Jones

WASHINGTON (JPAC)-- Today on a conference call with reporters, the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)announced record funding for his department. Much of the money will go to "rapid re-housing." This program sends millions of dollars to cities such as San Fransisco, DC, and Boston (most notably, although there are over 15 more cities and areas receiving federal aid.) This rapid re housing will help get homeless people and families out of uninhabitable circumstances and on to temporary government housing. During the Bush Administration, there were even rumors that HUD would close it's doors, but because of the foreclosure crisis, it took on a new role in American Politics. HUD has been notoriously underfunded, and these funds are a shock to many HUD employees. Shaun Donovan, the secretary, described the increase in funding as a "quantum leap." The 1.6 billion is up from 23 billion in 2008 provided by the Bush Administration as an annual budget. An additional 1.5 billion will be spent by HUD, most likely on foreclosure, but details have not yet been announced. The Secretary said that this money would "Help many who will never be homeless from becoming homeless," and also emphasized the impact on renters, a new show for HUD. and many who already were. When asked by JPAC's own Brennan Jones about homeless veterans,and how much, if any would be given, Mr. Donovan said that HUD had a "voucher" program running with the VA, but did not specify whether any of the 1.6 or 1.5 billion would be used directly for assistance to Homeless Vets. The question remains, as asked by another reporter from Miami, are the agencies ready to spend this money wisely? Never has HUD hoped for this much money before, and is expected to go and spend like if someone from JPAC would if they got a credit card. This will be the first true test of Obama's picks for high level decisions, and the first show of whether the stimulus money can be spent wisely.

-- JPAC

CORRECTION: HUD had 23 million, NOT 23 billion last year to fund homelessness projects, not as their annual budget.

We're Back, and Washington was very busy in our absence. Before we get to all that though, one quick thing. We're very sorry that our inaugural blogs haven't been up yet. We're having some technical difficulties with the site, so we'll try to at least get some photos up. Anyway, The stimulus. Ah,the controversy. Is it too much, too little, necessary at all? Regardless to the answers of these questions, the senate passed the bill today, and is currently working on negotiations. We've requested interviews with the two senators from our Home state of Virginia, and a few prominent representatives. After these interviews are complete, if we do, in fact, get them, we'll be back with some commentary.

Thanks,
Brennan

We're Having a bit of difficulty with these, we were almost able to get them up live from the mall, but we'll hopefully have a full day's worth of them up by friday. Thanks for your patience,

JPAC

Wow. I'm so excited. Tomorrow, Manuel (our vice president) and Alan (our Project Designer) are going to witness history.We're going to the inauguration. As media, we'll be able to access the mall 4 hours earlier than the general public, and we'll be bringing the laptop. With limited battery life, we won't be able to use it constantly, but we're looking now at a way to find a way to turn an iphone's internet into a wireless hotspot, so we MAY be able to post LIVE video blogs from the inauguration!!!!!! Anyway, the concert on Tuesday was freaking amazing, and we'll be doing a video blog later tonight. At this time tomorrow, The man we know as the decider will be Known as FORMER president Bush (or the former decider?), and we will have our first black president. Dr. King's Dream Realized. History, made.

WASHINGTON--George, Mr. president, El Presidente, The Decider, The White House Cowboy, Bush XLIII or just plain “W.” are all names that have been thrown around as nicknames for our current and 43rd president, George W. Bush. The famous Quotes- "Is our children learning?" or, "The Terrorists will never stop thinking of ways to harm our country, and neither will we," or my personal favorite "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best!" Ah, W. What fun we've had as a nation. We'd like to thank you for all the laughs you've brought us, if only to ease nervousness about your worsening policy. The lying, the scandals, Florida, Iraq, "The Axis,” all fond memories of your presidency of which we will forever cherish. Heck, you proved that ANYONE can be president! (Dan Quayle did that job for the vice presidency with "Poppy" in ‘88)And all those wonderful laws passed, No Child Left Behind, The Patriot Act, and the bailout, you've left us with a pretty big mess, haven't you George? And what have you got to say for it? Oh, I remember! "History will judge my actions. And in History, We'll all be dead." Right. Despite the faltering economy, the foreclosure crisis, and Gitmo, these have been some of the funniest years in history, and we can thank you for that, Mr. Bush. The butt of millions of jokes, by liberals and conservatives alike, and sell out crowds to see someone do your impression. Oliver stone made a movie about you, and you’re not even out of office! Thanks, George. We'll never have another time like these last eight years (four of which were spent counting down the days until you were out of office). Unfortunately, good presidents tend to be less funny, but I guess you have to give and take, right? So, George, while you were responsible for the death of four thousand American soldiers and over 88,000 (at least) Iraqi civilians in a war that we entered on faulty intel, not stopping torture of inmates at secret CIA prisons, and ruining people's lives here at home because of the economic mess, it's all good. You made our lives funny. So, be content in knowing that you made a nation laugh (and cry), even though your job was to make a nation better off. Don't look at the glass as half empty, with your approval ratings, its actually three-fifths empty. Have a good month in the white house before you have to move out. Many Americans will cry when you leave, and you'll see it as sadness that you're gone, further affirming your out-of-touch assertion that you did the right thing. But we'll know one fact for certain- those tears, they will be tears of pure joy that you're gone, cries of “he’s finally out!” will ring through towns and cities all across this great nation of which you have tried so hard to screw-up royally, and that we can finally start back on that road called “progress” where you’ve set us back so many years. With that, I say a final goodbye, and good riddance.
-- Brennan Jones, Alan Tao, and Manuel Gauto

WASHINGTON- We all know the story of Governor Rod Blagojevich's attempt to start his own little "Get Rich Quick" scam by selling Barack Obama's vacant Illinois Senate Seat to the highest bidder. Blagojevich's defense is rather juvenile: he didn't do anything, he just talked about it, or, he more recent, "these accusations are completely false." First off, this guy is the quintessential dishonest politician. I was seeing him do something a few months ago and could tell he was definetly pretty corrupt, just by his speaking style, and his toupee that is wearing a toupee super glued to his scalp. Anyway back to his less than thin defense, this governor apparently doesn't understand the law very well. hes incriminating himself by saying that he "only talked about these things." If what he said thee is admissible in court (and i have no idea if it is, i am anything but a legal expert) he's done. It's conspiracy to commit bribery, with a sentence of (and this is straight from the conservative blogs, so again, don;'t treat it as absolute fact) at least three years. So, governor, you best keep your mouth shut. There's no way you'll get off anyway, but if you make it too easy, you'll take all the fun out of the trial, and we don't want that.

Barack Obama recently announced that he would keep Robert "Bob" gates on as the Defense Department's Lead man. Rummy's successor has orchestrated the policy in Iraq since he began the job. If Obama is so against the current Iraq policy, why keep gates? It's not like Obama doesn't have information that gates does about the war. I at least hope after we're out of iraq, gates will resign and He'll put someone like Chuck Hagel on. Obama's message of change seems not to be working to well overall though, not just with Gates on as Secy. of Defense. People like Eric Holder or John podesta, or even having a Clinton in his cabinet all bear witness to the statement that this is a second Clinton administration. While Bush is criticized for having his self-proclaimed "buddies" at cabinet level positions, Obama seems to be doing the same thing. When he's not appointing a Clinton-ite, he's appointing someone from Chicago. is this the end of the "Good 'ol Boy's" era? Or is it just anther empty promise form our leaders? I've met Barack Obama. I've seen him speak. Being at one of his rallys is the ultimate feeling. i have never felt more "Fired up and ready to go" in my life, even waiting in the rain for 8 hours in Manassas Virginia to get a seat on the backdrop bleachers on November Third. He cares. He wants to do things well. But as I stare at my George W. Bush action figure (With Authentic presidential Cowboy Boots!) i remember a man who had the same intentions, an outsider who came in, a bi-partisan leader, a reformer, a man who was like any one of us. A man, who stepped up in a crisis, and led this nation patriotically and with vigor. He proceeded to loose his touch, his leadership, and his bi-partisanship. He got caught up in the Ways of Washington, and got caught doing so. A good man turned sour. I don't want that, and we as a country can't afford, another man to get caught up in the ways of Washington. With the people who surround him now, i'm not sure that's possible.I pray, however, that it is, that he can rise above the fray. I believe in Obama. I hope against hope he doesn't disappoint.