Marathon Pundit: May 2011

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Obama nominates Boeing board member to be commerce secretary

Here's a surprising bit of news. From a Workforce Fairness Institute press release:

President Obama Names Boeing Board Member To Cabinet

Washington, D.C. (May 31, 2011) – The Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI) today released the following statement in response to President Obama naming Boeing board member John Bryson as his nominee for Commerce Secretary:

"Weeks after the National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against Boeing for building a facility in South Carolina, President Obama has decided to name a member of the company’s board as a nominee to his cabinet. This comes on the heels of disclosures showing Bill Daley, the White House chief of staff was also working with Boeing when the company decided to set up shop in a right-to-work state in order to meet demand for their 787 Dreamliner aircraft," said Fred Wszolek, spokesman for the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI). "President Obama has a choice to make, either stop hiring individuals from a company his regulatory agency believes violated Federal labor law or tell Lafe Solomon to cease action against Boeing. Either way, President Obama must choose one as he can't have it both ways."

BACKGROUND:

Obama Names John Bryson, Boeing Board Member, Commerce Secretary:

"President Obama will name a noted utility executive, John Bryson, to be the next Commerce Secretary later Tuesday. If confirmed, Bryson would replace Gary Locke who Obama has named as the next U.S. ambassador to China." (Matthew Cooper, “Obama To Name John Bryson As Commerce Secretary," National Journal, 5/31/11)

John Bryson Has Been A Boeing Board Member Since 1995. (Website, Boeing, Accessed 5/31/11)

"According to his biography released by the White House, Mr. Bryson is also a director of several major corporations, including Boeing, Walt Disney and Coda Automotive, and is a senior adviser to Fohlberg Kravis Roberts. He is chairman of the board of BrightSource Energy, the Public Policy Institute of California and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California Board of Overseers. He also serves as co-chairman of the Pacific Council on International Policy." (Jackie Calmes, " Obama To Pick Energy Executive For Commerce Post,” The New York Times, 5/31/11)

White House Official Says Mr. Bryson "Will Play A Key Role" As A Member Of President Obama's Economic Team:

"'Mr. Bryson will play a key role as a member of the president's economic team, bringing decades of knowledge and experience in the public and private sectors, and will provide valuable ideas and initiatives to strengthen America's competitiveness around the world,' a White House official said. 'Mr. Bryson will continue the (Commerce) Department's mission to drive U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace, strengthen the international economic position of the United States and facilitate global trade by opening up new markets for U.S. goods and services.'" (" Boeing Board Member To Helm U.S. Commerce Dept.," Crain's Chicago Business, 5/31/11

William Daley Resigned From Boeing's Board Of Directors To Become Obama's Chief Of Staff:

"William Daley has resigned from Boeing’s board of directors, following his appointment as President Barack Obama's chief of staff. The resignation was effective Friday. Daley, 62, joined the board in 2006. His public career includes serving as President Bill Clinton's commerce secretary from 1997 to 2000." ("Daley Goes From Boeing To White House,” St. Louis Business Journal, 1/10/11)

The Workforce Fairness Institute is an organization committed to educating voters, employers, employees and citizens about issues affecting the workplace. To learn more, please visit: http://www.workforcefairness.com.

Technorati tags:

politics

Democrats

gop

law

Huntsman on debt and Ryan plan: "A time for choosing"

Delicate Arch, Arches Nat'l Park, Utah

Each generation faces tough choices. What to do about our massive debt is one that we have to confront.

From a Wall Street Journal op-ed by former Utah governor and possible presidential candidate Jon Huntsman:

This year marks the centennial anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth—and America finds itself at a crossroads that brings to mind the title of that great man's famous speech in support of Barry Goldwater's presidential candidacy: "A Time for Choosing." We should not underestimate the seriousness of the responsibility. This is the moment when we will choose whether we are to become a declining power in the world, or a nation that again surpasses the great achievements of our history.

More...

I admire Congressman Paul Ryan's honest attempt to save Medicare. Those who disagree with his approach incur a moral responsibility to propose reforms that would ensure Medicare's ability to meet its responsibilities to retirees without imposing an unaffordable tax burden on future generations of Americans.

These aren't easy choices, and we must make them at a time of anemic economic growth and very high unemployment. That's why we must also make sweeping reforms of our tax code, regulatory policies and other government policies to improve our productivity, competitiveness and job creation.

The United States has the second-highest corporate tax rate in the world. We are losing out to countries that make it more attractive for businesses to invest there. Our tax code should encourage American businesses to invest and add new jobs here. We need a tax code that substitutes flatter and lower rates for the bewildering and often counterproductive array of deductions and loopholes, and that provides incentives to encourage savings, investment and growth.

gop

50th anniversary of Hemingway death approaches

The Chicago Tribune notes today that July 2 will mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Ernest Hemingway--which the various Hemingway sights--his home in Key West, his birthplace in Oak Park, Illinois, and Seney, Michigan, where the Nick Adams "Big-Two Hearted River" story was set--are eying with trepidation.

Hemingway committed suicide at his Idaho home in 1961--which was something a "Hemingway hero" would never do--rather, he would accept his fate.

Related post:

Upper Peninsula Upventure: Seney, Hemingway, and Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome

Technorati tags:

fiction

Blago testifies for third day, said he was not interested in selling "f*cking golden" Senate seat

Disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich took the witness stand again in his own defesnse today. The man who once called Barck Obama's former Senate "f*cking golden" said under oath that he was not interested in selling it.

Related posts:

Blago takes the stand in his corruption trial
Blago on stand: "I'm a f**king jerk"
Blago's second day of testimony

Technorati tags:

Ronald Reagan centennial car wins Indy 500

Reagan birthplace, Feb. 6, 2011

Even his centennial year, President Ronald Reagan is a winner.

From the Deseret News:

Reagan again entered the annals of racing history when Dan Wheldon's No. 98 car improbably won Sunday's Indianapolis 500 race. Per CNN, the nose of Wheldon's car was adorned with "the Reagan Presidential Foundation's seal honoring the centennial of his birth."

The IndyCar website reports that Reagan was "a lifelong auto racing fan (and) the track announcer at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines in the 1930s." Politico remembers that Reagan "drove the pace car in the 1976 Indianapolis 500" and "in 1984 became the first sitting president to attend a NASCAR race."

The 100th running of the Indy 500 ended with what Yahoo! Sports calls "the most dramatic, spectacular and heartbreaking finish in the great race's proud history": Wheldon taking the lead less than 200 yards before the finish line after frontrunner JR Hillenbrand crashed on the race's 2,000th and final turn.

Reagan passed way in 2004 from Alzheimer's Disease. Wheldon's mother is suffering from the same infirmity--and Wheldon was wearing the Alzheimer's Association logo on his racing suit. Blogger John Egan says the winner choked up when he mentioned his mother during a post-race interview.

Related posts:

No electricity

Blogging from my cell phone.. There is no electricity where I am at--Niles, Illinois--so I am unsure when I will blog next.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.9

Chicago wild strawberry blossom

On Saturday I ran in Caldwell Woods on Chicago's Northwest Side and I came across a patch of wild strawberry plants near the running path. Wild strawberries are common in Illinois, but difficult for casual observers to find. Strawberries, which are members of the rose family, are vine plants that stay close to the ground.

Related post:

California Collision: Strawberry Fields Forever

Technorati tags: