President Barack Obama expressed satisfaction Tuesday with the Senate Finance Committee’s passage of a health care bill, but said more work remains.

Good morning. Well, this is not how I expected to wake up this morning. After I received the news, Malia walked in and said, “Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it is Bo’s birthday!” And then Sasha added, “Plus, we have a three-day weekend coming up.

When then-Sen. Barack Obama was contemplating running for president, many of the party loyalists were saying the junior senator from Illinois should not bother stepping into the race, saying he was too inexperienced to take on the “inevitable” nominee, then-Sen. Hillary Clinton.

As the final, somber sounds of the bugle playing taps echoed over the hills, we put Edward Kennedy to his final rest. The question now is whether we will fulfill the charge that he left us with: to make affordable, quality health care a right for all Americans, not a privilege for a few.

Dear Madam Speaker: (Mr. President:)

I am transmitting an alternative plan for pay increases for civilian Federal employees covered by the General Schedule (GS) and certain other pay systems in January 2010.

For generations, education has opened doors to untold
opportunities and bright futures. Through quality instruction
and a personal commitment to hard work, young people in every
part of our Nation have gone on to achieve success. Established
by men and women of great vision, leadership, and clarity of
purpose, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
have provided generations of Americans with opportunity, a solid
education, and hope.

Massachusetts- (Democrat) Senator Edward M. Kennedy whose nickname was “Ted” has died late Tuesday, August 25, 2009. Senator Kennedy was battling brain cancer. Unfortunately, he succumbed at the age of 77 at his home in Hyannisport, Massachusetts. Kennedy is survived by his wife, Victoria Ann Reggie Kennedy; his ex wife, Joan Bennett; and five children, Patrick, Kara, and Edward Jr. from his first marriage to Bennett and Curan and Caroline Raclin, stepchildren from his second wife Victoria.

Anybody can call themselves a gang member, a gang member is a person who wants to be somebody with nowhereto go but down or prison. If you want to be bad, I mean show nuff bad, go to school. That’s where the real gang bangers hang out. On a daily basis, you’ll have to fight with low down dirty, and sometimes sneaky English.

Uptown Magazine celebrates its Fifth Anniversary with the August/September issue on newsstands August 11th. Usher is profiled in All Grown Up, a candid look into life as a newly single dad. Featured stories include a fashion shoot in Paris and retrospective of “Clique,” event photos from the past five years.

We are down to the last rounds of the health care debate. The ideas are on the table. The estimated costs are published. The insurance industry lobby is up in arms. The White House and congressional leaders are starting to push. Now it is a question of will. Will conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats sabotage the best chance for health care reform in a generation?

On Wednesday in Washington, D.C., James W. von Brunn, 88-year-old anti-Semite and white supremacist, took a .22-caliber rifle into the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and shot and killed security guard Stephen T. Johns.

“The fight for American manufacturing is the fight for America’s future,” declared President Barack Obama, as he pledged billions to help save and reorganize Chrysler and General Motors.

President Obama spoke today with Japanese Prime Minister Aso to review the situation following North Korea’s nuclear test. The President underscored that North Korea’s nuclear test was a clear violation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions and therefore warranted a collective response by the international community.

BARACK OBAMA WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION DINNER SECOND HALF

Despite voter surveys showing a close presidential race, Illinois Senator Barack Obama continues to enjoy a clear advantage in gathering the electoral votes he will need to win election in November, according to a convention guide that will be distributed next week to delegates and press at the Democratic Convention by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies (Joint Center).

The only real grade Barack Obama can be given for his first 100 days is an “incomplete.” He has been remarkably fast out of the blocks — arguably getting off to the best start of any president since Franklin D. Roosevelt and the “original” 100 days — but the presidency is a long distance race, not a sprint. A good start is important but the real tests are yet to come.

Tomorrow will mark the President’s hundredth day in office. A lot of attention will be given to this largely symbolic day, and the truth is that what we do every day after it will be just as important — if not more. But our accomplishments in this time have been remarkable, and they’re having real effects on people and communities throughout the country.

Will Congress step up to health-care reform? This week, an obscure conference committee meeting between a handful of members from the House and Senate may well decide the fate of Obama’s health care reform. It’s a decision that directly involves over $1,000 in costs billed to you if you have insurance.

Obama Plan to Get back at AIG (CARTOON)

POTUS will deliver remarks and sign HR 146, the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will introduce POTUS, and 13members of Congress will also be on stage as POTUS signs the bill into law.