News from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

AFP

Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009 – Remarks by the president on the economy, Wakarusa, Ind. – President announces $2.4 billion in grants to accelerate the manufacturing and deployment of the next generation of U.S. batteries and electric vehicles – Statement by president on the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee – President Obama’s message to…

News from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Chris Graham

Monday, Aug. 3, 2009 – Press Briefing with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs – Remarks by President Obama and Kuwait Amir Sheikh Sabah before Oval Office meeting – Remarks by President Obama at George Mason University on the Post-9/11 GI Bill – Statement by the press secretary on the visit of President Mubarak of Egypt to the…

Chris DeWald | I’ve stroked, now what? (Part III)

AFP

I learned a little more today from doing research on Social Security. According to www.ssa.gov, Social Security as we know it did not really arrive in America until 1935. There was, however, one important precursor which offered something we could recognize as a social security program, yet only available to one certain segment of the…

Chris Graham | Do the right thing, Tim

Chris Graham

I get that the flap over Gov. Tim Kaine’s travel schedules got going because Republicans didn’t have anything better to do with their time this summer. But the wild swing by GOP chair Pat Mullins has connected solidly and sent the political baseball uncomfortably toward the cheap seats in deep left-center, uncomfortably, that is, for…

Health director urges continued vigilance against swine flu

Chris Graham

Central Shenandoah Health District Director Dr. Doug Larsen said today that local residents need to continue to protect themselves against the H1N1 flu virus, with new cases being confirmed each week in the state. The Virginia Department of Health is closely monitoring the outbreak to keep Virginians informed of this rapidly evolving public health issue.

Billy Parish | The first step is the hardest

AFP

The House recently passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act , an important step toward protecting our environment and building a clean energy economy. ACES has generated a lot of strong opinions, for and against, especially in the environmental community. Now, I’m not a scientist or a policy wonk, but I did help start…

In the News

AFP

– Local News: Rose named grand marshal of Valley 4th parade – Local News: Rockingham seeks Auxiliary Deputy applicants – Local News: Drinking Liberally meeting next week – State News: Organizing for America announces Virginia staff 

A clear direction on energy

Chris Graham

We may not yet have a firm grasp on exactly what we need to do to merge the words clean and energy in perfect harmony, even with the 219-212 vote of the House of Representatives on cap-and-trade legislation last week. But we do at least have direction, and considering how much muck was thrown into…

Erik Camayd-Freixas | What court ruling on identity theft means to migrants

AFP

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ignacio Flores-Figueroa, a Mexican migrant worker from Illinois convicted of identity theft in 2007. Like most migrant workers, Flores-Figueroa did not know that the Social Security number in the false papers he was forced to buy in order to get work was a number that…