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Excerpts of President Obama's remarks as prepared for delivery, including a list of goals the Obama campaign said the president will outline in his speech. [SNIP] President Obama's Goals for America Tonight President Obama will ask the country to rally around a set of goals on manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit – a real, achievable plan that will create jobs, expand opportunity, and ensure an economy built to last. Manufacturing - Create one million new manufacturing jobs by the end of 2016 - Double exports by the end of 2014 Energy - Cut net oil imports in...

California's increasing use of renewable power will come at a price, pushing up electricity bills across the state. And while it's impossible to tell how big the cost to consumers will be, some experts fear the total cost of renewable energy in California will be in the billions of dollars. In the next three years, many long-planned solar plants and wind farms will come online, bringing California closer to its goal of getting one-third of the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2020. As soon as they start delivering power to utility companies, the utilities' customers will start paying for...

Getting healthy is a top priority One of my New Year’s resolutions is health-related. I’m not alone. Steve Vernon of moneywatch.com states: “According to a recent poll taken by the Society of Actuaries, about 80 percent of respondents said that taking care of their health was their top strategy for managing their medical bills, well ahead of buying medical insurance.” He advises: “Take just a few steps in January to establish good nutrition habits, and you’ll be well on your way to improving your health and increasing your lifespan.” (In America, it will take energy to escape Obama-approved death panels.)...

It’s nice to be right once in a while. This was that while: taking into account Romero’s performance, it was easy to guess that Argentina would never have a chance against Germany. But can we work our statistical magic for the rest of the tournament, and answer such questions as: Is the World Cup getting harder to win? Is the game becoming more rambunctious? And what will be the likely outcome? The first Cup was held in 1930: there were only 13 teams that participated, and over the course of 18 games, 80 goals were made. Only one man was...

Would Obama dare tell Russian to make goodwill gestures toward the attackers? As Jews worldwide prepared for Seder night, the Russian capital was rocked by twin blasts that left 39 dead and scores wounded, some of them critically. Muslim terrorists in the Caucuses apparently blew themselves up during the morning rush hours with the aim of killing as many passersby as possible. Yesterday, two more explosions were detonated in Kizlyar, near the Dagestan-Chechnya border. As crowds gathered after the first car bomb went off, another was triggered to hit onlookers and rescuers. We in Israel are unfortunately no strangers to...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2009 – The active-duty services met or exceeded their November recruiting goals, Defense Department officials announced today. Of the six reserve-component services, only the Army National Guard and Air National Guard did not meet their goals; however, officials said, that’s because officials adjusted November accessions to make up for projections that the Guard components would exceed their authorized strength. Here’s the November recruiting breakdown: -- Army: 7,063 accessions with a goal of 6,858 for 103 percent; -- Navy: 3,291 accessions with a goal of 3,291 for 100 percent; -- Marine Corps: 1,789 accessions with a goal of...

Anybody else here have to annual goals identification and assesment as part of their annual review? I was looking at what they want me to enter. The categories are Quality, Growth (company), Profitability (company), and Human Capital/Development. I am a software developer. I write what they tell me to write, so I don't see where I have anything to contribute here, except to the Quality item. The company won't pay for training, so the Human Capital/Development issue is completely out of my hands. The "free" training that is offered is either BS "touchy / feely" crap I don't want or...

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration's effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure may not achieve its goal of helping 3 million to 4 million borrowers and may simply delay mortgage defaults for many, a government watchdog group says. The Congressional Oversight Panel, charged with making regular assessments of the $700 billion financial rescue fund enacted last year, said the Treasury Department should consider whether to improve the current $50 billion program or adopt new programs to meet an expected rise in foreclosures fed by increased unemployment. The panel's report is scheduled to be made public Friday. It comes a day after...

Congressional Record--Appendix, pp. A34-A35 January 10, 1963 Current Communist Goals EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, January 10, 1963 Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent and articulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier, which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism in America. At Mrs. Nordman's request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following "Current Communist Goals," which she identifies as an excerpt from "The Naked...

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT, July 29, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today he is heartened by his visit to Iraq, and that he urged Arab and Kurd Iraqis to use the good offices of the United States to help solve their problems. Gates said he is so encouraged by the situation in Iraq that American forces may speed up their drawdown, with an additional brigade coming out of the country before the elections in January. He said his view was bolstered by conversations with Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multinational Force Iraq. Gates visited...

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2009 – Iraqi and U.S. forces continued to make strides toward meeting the terms of the U.S.-Iraq security agreement in recent days with the transfer of a joint security station to Iraqi control and meetings that offered provincial leaders and female business owners an opportunity to pave the road ahead. Army Col. Butch Kievenaar, commander of the 4th Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, talks with a sheik from Iraq’s Basra province about civil action projects in a meeting at the Basra Operations Center, June 16, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Carlos M. Burger II  (Click...

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2009 – May was a banner recruiting month for every military service, but especially for the Marine Corps, which topped its active-duty goal by 42 percent and its Marine Corps Reserve goal by 12 percent, Defense Department officials announced today. The Marine recruiting successes represent a particularly high point among across-the-board recruiting successes in which every service met or exceeded its May active-duty goal, officials said. The reserve components reported similar progress. The three components that fell short of their projected May goals did so because only because they already have reached 112 percent of their...

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2009 – All 10 active-duty and reserve military components met or exceeded their recruiting goals in March, with the Marine Corps adding the highest percentage of active-duty members, Defense Department officials announced today. The Army Reserve led the reserve components, and all four active departments met or exceeded their March retention goals. “Recruiting continues to be strong in all military departments,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. Data published on the Defense Department Web site shows that the Marine Corps goal was to add 1,411 new Marines, which it exceeded by 43 percent, recruiting a total of 2,017....

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2009 – All active duty U.S. military services and reserve components met or exceeded their January recruiting needs, Defense Department officials reported today. The Army signed up 9,658 new active-duty soldiers, 107 percent of its target number of 9,000 enlistees. The Navy signed up 2,948 new active-duty sailors, 100 percent of its target number. The Marine Corps signed up 3,720 new active-duty Marines, 109 percent of its target number of 3,406 enlistees. The Air Force signed up 2,600 new active-duty airmen, 100 percent of its target number. The active Army, Marines, Air Force and Navy also...

WASHINGTON – A classified Pentagon report urges President Barack Obama to shift U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan, de-emphasizing democracy-building and concentrating more on targeting Taliban and al-Qaida sanctuaries inside Pakistan with the aid of Pakistani military forces. -- A senior defense official said Tuesday that it will likely take several weeks before the Obama administration rolls out its long-term strategy for Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2009 – As part of the Obama administration’s assessment of the strategy being employed in Afghanistan, the U.S. military will focus its efforts on achieving shorter-term goals there, the Defense Department’s top official said here yesterday. “One of the points where I suspect both administrations come to the same conclusion, is that the goals we did have for Afghanistan are too broad and too far into the future,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told reporters at a Pentagon press conference. President Barack Obama met with Gates and other National Security Council members at the White House on...

I have only one question about Israel’s military operation in Gaza: What is the goal? Is it the education of Hamas or the eradication of Hamas? I hope that it’s the education of Hamas. Let me explain why. I was one of the few people who argued back in 2006 that Israel actually won the war in Lebanon started by Hezbollah. You need to study that war and its aftermath to understand Gaza and how it is part of a new strategic ballgame in the Arab-Israel arena, which will demand of the Obama team a new approach. What Hezbollah did...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2009 – December was a recruiting success for all active-duty and reserve-component U.S. military services, which all met or exceeded their goals, according to a Defense Department news release issued today. -- The Army signed 860 new active-duty soldiers, 115 percent of its target number of 750 enlistees. -- The Navy signed 2,306 new active-duty sailors, meeting its target number of enlistees for the month. -- The Marine Corps signed 2,392 new active-duty Marines, 113 percent of its target number of 2,116 enlistees. -- The Air Force signed 2,967 new active-duty airmen, meeting its target number...

10 Planks of the Communist Manifesto, almost there Someone sent this for discussion. Is it fore real? 1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. SOON 2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. DONE 3. Abolition of all right of inheritance. MOSTLY DONE, Obama would retain a reduced version of the estate tax, as it is correctly called, though McCain would reduce it by more. 4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. SOON, (Property rights?) 5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of...

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 11, 2008 – The Air National Guard has met its fiscal 2008 end-strength goal of 106,700 airmen, the first time it’s met its target end strength since 2003, National Guard Bureau officials announced yesterday. Recruiting and retention combined to produce the achievement. The Air Guard recruited 1,194 airmen in August, 107 percent of its goal of 1,116. To date for fiscal 2008, which ends Sept. 30, the Air Guard has retained 16,518 personnel, 107.3 percent of its goal of 15,390. Air Force Lt. Col. Randy Johnson, chief of Air Guard recruiting and retention, attributed the milestone to...