People who do not believe President Barack Obama was born in Honolulu in 1961 have stepped up their requests for proof of his birth this month, in the hopes that the new gubernatorial administration will offer more information.

The state Department of Health says it has received 27 requests for information about Obama’s birth certificate this month, compared with 16 in November. There were 16 requests alone in the first half of this week, although most came from a single person.

Since 2008, “birthers,” who believe Obama was born in Kenya and thus ineligible to be president, have been requesting information from the state about his birth. The requests continued despite Obama’s camp releasing a copy of his certificate of live birth and reports of Obama’s birth announcements published in 1961 in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and The Honolulu Advertiser.

Three weeks into his term, newly elected Gov. Neil Abercrombie told The New York Times that with regard to the birthers, he is “going to take care of that.”

Read More @ The Honolulu Star Advertiser

A Virginia judge’s ruling earlier this month that a key provision of President Barack Obama’s health care law is unconstitutional was hailed as a major breakthrough for all segments of the Republican Party save, perhaps, one.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.), whose own successful dalliance with health care reform in Massachusetts is cited as an intellectual model for Obamacare, stands to gain little from this specific policy topic being at the center of political discourse.

At least that’s how the conventional wisdom goes. And in the wake of Judge Henry E. Hudson’s decision, there was, as expected, another wave of debate over Romney’s own role in championing the individual mandate for insurance coverage — the provision that was ruled unconstitutional.

Whether this pattern persists through the 2012 elections (should Romney run) depends on the whims of legal processes and the vindictiveness of the rest of the Republican presidential field. Romney, after all, was not the first conservative to champion an individual mandate. The Heritage Foundation did so as well. But the former governor tends to get the preponderance of attention when the conversation turns in that direction.

As the scrutiny mounts, Romney has begun to fine-tune his pitch for why his own plan made for sound policy, but Obama’s amounted to an “unconstitutional power grab by Washington,” as aide Eric Fehrnstrom put it.

For starters, team Romney has begun arguing that the better indication of his policy preference would be the 2008 campaign’s white paper, not the Massachusetts model. The former, as Fehrnstrom noted in a pre-Christmas exchange with the Huffington Post, is a reflection of what Romney would do nationally — a “federalist approach to health care reform.” It doesn’t have an individual mandate but, rather, encourages states to deregulate their insurance markets.

“Mitt said repeatedly in the 2008 campaign that his plan was not designed for the nation as a whole,” said Fehrnstrom. “He said states may want to copy parts of it, and perhaps improve on its features, but he was very explicit in saying the federal government should not impose a one-size-fits-all plan on the entire nation.”

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle began their second day in India at The Holy Name High School in Mumbai. Michelle donned a black-and-white sheath, a pink cardigan and black kitten heels — let’s call them her dancing shoes, because, yes, there was more dancing involved today. Read More

NEW YORK (AFP) – International scientists nudged back the minute hand of the symbolic Doomsday clock Thursday, Read More

By: Andy Barr (Politico)The Olive Garden restaurant chain is denying that it canceled all of its scheduled ads on CBS late night comic David Letterman’s “Late Show” in response to a crude joke Letterman told about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter and instead contends that its ad schedule concluded.

POLITICO reported Thursday that the company would pull its remaining television spots and was emailing Letterman critics with a note informing them that “there will be no more Olive Garden ads scheduled for ‘The Late Show’ with David Letterman in this year’s broadcast schedule,” citing the talk show host’s “inappropriate comments.”

“We apologize that Mr. Letterman’s mistake, which was not consistent with our standards and values, left you with a bad impression of Olive Garden,” wrote Sherri Bruen, the company’s guest relations manager.

Bruen said the company “screens network television programs whenever possible,” but explained that “telecasts, such as ‘The Late Show’ with David Letterman, are taped on a daily basis, preventing advertisers from reviewing the content prior to airing.”

Olive Garden’s manager of media relations, who asked not to be quoted on the record, confirmed to POLITICO Thursday that the emails were sent by the restaurant chain, and also confirmed that the company would be pulling its remaining television spots on the program for the rest of the year when asked that question.

But in a statement released later in the day, Olive Garden Director of Media Relations Rich Jeffers disputed POLITICO’s report as “erroneous.”

“No authorized spokesperson for the company confirmed the information in his report,” Jeffers said. “The Olive Garden media schedule is planned months in advance. The schedule for the Late Show with David Letterman was completed earlier this month. We take all guest concerns seriously. And, as always, we will factor those concerns in as we plan our advertising schedule in the future.”

When asked about the cancellation confirmation POLITICO obtained from the company’s media relations office, Jeffers responded in an email that the individual listed as the press contact on the company’s website was unauthorized to speak for the company.

“The so called ‘confirmation’ didn’t come from an authorized spokesperson for the company. The guest email you received did not say any ads were pulled. And as our statement says, the schedule — which is set months in advance — was completed earlier this month.”

// CBS did not return several calls seeking comment.

Letterman has apologized for his comment last week about Palin’s daughter getting “knocked up by Alex Rodriguez” during the governor’s recent visit to a Yankees baseball game. Palin attended the game as part of a trip to New York.

“I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception,” Letterman said. “And since it was a joke I told, I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke.”

After repeatedly blasting the late night comic in statements and interviews last week, Palin accepted Letterman’s apology on Tuesday.

“Letterman certainly has the right to ‘joke’ about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction,” she said in a statement.

Michelle Obama takes London! The dresses, the jewels, AND what she wore to meet the Queen. (Anyone noticed how dwarf-like the Queen looked in between these two skyscrappers? Cute!) Read More

Brain dead D-list actress Angie Harmon is flexing her political muscles in a recent interview. Since Angie’s stellar career is filled with bombs like Baywatch Nights, Renegade, and gems like Agent Cody Banks, we are going to assume she’s just as wrong about Obama and she is about her slim career choices. There is nothing wrong with someone not liking Obama, I am just sick of hearing some people claim that they are racists for NOT liking him. The most shocking thing about Obama’s win is how little race has had anything to do with his current position. The only people who are making this racism claim are the white republicans who keep mentioning it everytime someone calls them on a comment. It’s weird, but starting to get common. Angie Harmon is officially a douche sack.

Angie Harmon is not afraid to come out and say she doesn’t like how President Obama is handling the job — but she’s sick of having to defend herself from being deemed a racist.

“Here’s my problem with this, I’m just going to come out and say it. If I have anything to say against Obama it’s not because I’m a racist, it’s because I don’t like what he’s doing as President and anybody should be able to feel that way, but what I find now is that if you say anything against him you’re called a racist,” Harmon told Tarts at Thursday’s Los Angeles launch of the new eyelash-growing formula, Latisse. “But it has nothing to do with it, I don’t care what color he is. I’m just not crazy about what he’s doing and I heard all about this, and he’s gonna do that and change and change, so okay … I’m still dressing for a recession over here buddy and we’ve got unemployment at an all-time high and that was his number one thing and that’s the thing I really don’t appreciate. If I’m going to disagree with my President, that doesn’t make me a racist. If I was to disagree with W, that doesn’t make me racist. It has nothing to do with it, it is ridiculous.”

Speaking of dislikes, the starlet has also had enough of the double-standards in the media.

“I do think McCain would have done a better job, only because I think he has more experience. I also think if W or John McCain or Reagan would have gone and done a talk show, the backlash would have been so huge and in his face, and ‘What is our president doing? How unclassy!’ But Obama does it and no one says anything,” Harmon said.

And in spite of the scornful opinions most of her Tinseltown counterparts have shared on Gov. Sarah Palin, Harmon remains a true fan.

“I admire any kind of woman like her. My whole motto is to know what I stand for and know what I don’t stand for and have the courage to live my life accordingly and she does exactly that. The fact that this woman has made the decisions she’s made and literally lived her life according to that and takes heat for it is absolutely disgusting to me,” she added. “People cannot look at this woman. I really think they’re afraid of her and her morals, ethics and values and the fact that she hangs on them. Is she the most experienced person in the world? But she was running to be the Vice President, so we then put the most inexperienced person as the President. That didn’t make any sense to me.”

However Harmon is definitely in the Hollywood minority when it comes to her criticism of Obama as other lasses at the Latisse party were quick to advocate their unequivocal support.

“The sort of criticism over the last couple of weeks is a bit unfounded, he’s been in office for barely any time and I think he inherited a lot on his plate and he’s doing a pretty remarkable job,” quipped Mandy Moore. “I think it’s cool that he went on Leno and I watched the “60 minutes” interview as well last week. The guy is just so articulate and he is so well versed in something that is so new to him and I think he has a good team around him. It sounds cliché, but he makes me feel proud to be an American.”

Debra Messing also told Tarts that our new President is not only meeting her expectations, but going far beyond.

“He is thoughtful and considerate and he gets all the information before he speaks which I think is a wonderful quality for the ruler of the free world to have,” she explained.

The ladies of “Entourage” certainly showed their Obama-loyalty too.

“It’s not an over night process. It’s going to get worse before it gets better; we’re all kind of in the same boat now. Everybody’s broke and everybody’s struggling and he makes me feel like I know him and that I know Michelle and that they’re like us and they’re out to try to save the USA. It’s just an amazing period to watch him take on these challenges and everyday in the news to hear about AIG or possibly global currency changing, it’s incredible. He’s facing big challenges and he’s got a lot of support and I’m just praying things get better,” Debi Mazar said, while co-star Perrey Reeves added that Obama is a “wonderful leader” and she’s looking forward to his future endeavors.

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President John F. Kennedy once quipped that he was merely “the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris.”
This week, Barack Obama might find out how he felt.
The first couple’s trip to Europe Tuesday takes Michelle Obama to a land that likes her husband but seems positively fascinated by her.

The British press in particular has followed Michelle Obama’s every move breathlessly, from her dresses to the “kitchen garden” behind the White House. One London paper tracked down her high-school prom date. Another asked plaintively, “Why Doesn’t the UK Have a Michelle Obama?”

So while the president has to juggle the politics, Michelle Obama’s job is in some ways more subtle and just as complicated. France’s first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, was judged recently on her curtsy before the Queen, and back in the day, Jackie O.’s outfits and her command of the French language were closely scrutinized.
“Her every ensemble will be front page news and endlessly interpreted and decoded,” said Patricia McDonald, a London-based editor for the Michelle Obama fashion blog, www.mrs-o.org. “Will she break out a new wardrobe, or in deference to the economy, recycle her greatest hits?”

Michelle Obama’s official schedule says she will accompany the president to many of his events – they both will have tea with Queen Elizabeth II, for instance – but she’ll have some solo outings as well. She’ll visit an all-girls school in London where the population is mostly minority and the second language is English — an echo of her work in Washington, DC.

Sarah Brown, Britain’s first lady, will give Michelle Obama a tour of a health facility in London Wednesday and will take her and other spouses on a tour in London Thursday during the G-20 economic summit.
In France, Obama will join NATO spouses in visiting a hospital and a cathedral. And at all of these events, she’ll stand next to some of the world’s most high-profile political spouses— including Bruni-Sarkozy, the Italian-born ex-supermodel who is an admirer of the self-described girl from the Chicago’s South Side.
“She looks like she’s a great, strong, intelligent woman,” Bruni-Sarkozy said in one recent interview. “I must say that she doesn’t look like she [needs] advice … I think it would probably be better for me to be getting advice from her.”
Aides say Michelle Obama is aware of the moment and she has been reading up on her fellow members of the first ladies’ club ahead of the trip.

But her first stride across the global stage is about more than merely sightseeing with other first ladies. The first spouses also will have a chance to talk to each other about their various projects and how they see their roles in their respective countries — Bruni-Sarkozy, for instance, has an interest in shedding light on HIV/AIDS.
And for all the attention that will be paid to the arrival of America’s first black president, there is also a deep fascination with his wife – her humble roots, her Ivy League education, her groundbreaking role and her ability to juggle being first lady and raising two daughters out of the spotlight.

Some Europeans even seem puzzled by the complex mix of expectations placed on Michelle Obama in America. While her sleeveless-in-winter look caused a bit of a stir here—seen as immodest by some and fashion forward by others—across the pond, many observers just didn’t understand the fuss.
“In the U.S., Michelle is the locus for a nation’s attitudes about femininity, motherhood, feminism and sexuality,” McDonald said. “In Europe, she carries less symbolic significance. Her willingness to experiment are all traits European fashionistas admire — and if the occasional misstep is the result of taking a few risks, c’est la vie.”
Michelle Obama’s aides also insist that she is there in a support role to her husband. Yet if history is any guide, first ladies can overshadow their spouses, and the comparisons to Jacqueline Kennedy’s 1961 trip to Paris seem sure to abound, much like some are fond of comparing Michelle O. to Jackie O.

Kennedy had a few built-in advantages, of course – she charmed Charles de Gaulle with her style and impeccable French, and her French maiden name and schooling at the Sorbonne didn’t hurt—but her turn in Paris proved that little things matter.
Notably, Bruni-Sarkozy, who had been fodder for British tabs for her racy, rock-and-roll past, was able to sway public opinion in her simple visit with the Queen.
“She was so elegant in her Chanel and the way she did her curtsy in front of the Queen, she was elegant,” Renaud Girard, a foreign editor with Le Figaro said. “She was so modest. The British public
loved it. They became mad with her and she became instantly a new Jackie.”
The comparisons are inevitable, as are the questions – will Obama stick with American designs, or go international? What does one wear to have tea with the Queen? And what will she wear to stand next to Bruni-Sarkozy, dubbed the “Chanel gazelle?”
Brown, Britain’s first lady, was quite candid after her meeting with Bruni-Sarkozy that it’s all a bit intimidating.
“Well, I didn’t stand a chance, did I?” Brown confessed in one interview. “I mean, I was standing next to a supermodel. I thought that whatever I wore didn’t matter. With all due respect to myself, I knew that day I couldn’t win.”
But at least some in France think their First Family could take a few lessons from Michelle Obama.
“She has shown that she has a good sense of communication and PR, like being photographed at a charity place,” said Marie Colmant, a French television commentator. “When she was doing that, our French first lady and the president were in Mexico at a luxury villa. She has a good perception of the temperature of the American people. She gets it.”

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WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will talk about regulatory reform, risks to the financial system and executive bonuses when he meets top bankers on Friday, the White House said on Thursday. “Wall Street and Main Street, all of us, are in the same boat together,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. He said Obama would receive an update from top bank chief executives “on precisely what they’re seeing” in the troubled financial sector. The Obama administration is ramping up efforts to reach out to the financial community to ensure its participation in government plans to stabilize the financial system. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is scheduled to meet Thursday evening with the Financial Services Roundtable, which represents the largest financial services firms.Geithner unveiled on Monday more details on the government’splan to cleanse banks’ balance sheets of up to $1 trillion in distressed assets, most of them tied to mortgages. Earlier on Thursday, Treasury released its plans for
regulatory reform, calling for broad changes to curb risk-takingon Wall Street, including a new regulator to oversee the entire financial system. The announcements came on the heels of an outpouring of public outrage over $165 million in bonuses being paid at troubled insurer American International Group (AIG.N), which has been propped up with up to $180 billion from taxpayers. Last week the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to claw back most of the AIG bonus money, making investors and banks wary of partnering with the government because of fears that the rules could later change. Goldman Sachs is prepared to pay back the U.S. government’s $10 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) investment as soon as allowed by regulators, a person familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

A growing number of financial firms that have received aid from the $700 billion TARP have said they plan to repay the
money after lawmakers tagged on restrictions involving executive pay and dividend policies. A White House official said earlier this week that Obama plans to “reiterate his belief that getting the economy back on track will require an understanding that each of us must look beyond our own short-term interests to the wider set of obligations we have to each other in order for America to succeed.” (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Karey Wutkowski; Editing by
Eric Walsh and Matthew Lewis)

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WASHINGTON – Congressional Democrats advanced budget outlines Wednesday that largely mirror President Barack Obama’s tax and spending plans while imposing marginal changes to tame ballooning deficits. “This budget will protect President Obama’s priorities — education, energy, health care, middle class tax relief and cut the deficit in half,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said after the president met privately in the Capitol with rank-and-file Democrats. Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said the purpose of the president’s visit was not to round up votes to assure passage of the plan. “He came here to show leadership and to show we’re together on his priorities,” the senator said.

Conrad indicated changes had been made to reflect concern about the deficit, the most notable of which was to assume the president’s middle class tax cut would expire after 2010. Future attempts to extend the tax reductions would have to be paid for from elsewhere in the budget to avoid adding to the red ink, he said. Obama came to the Capitol as committees in the House and Senate settled down to review similar budget plans, with votes on the floors of both houses expected by the end of next week. A version put forward by the House Budget Committee foresees a $598 billion federal deficit after five years. And there would be a $1.2 trillion red-ink figure for the 2010 budget year, as opposed to $1.4 billion under Obama’s plan as scored by the Congressional Budget Office.

Obama, after describing his tax and spending plan Tuesday night as essential for economic recovery, traveled to the Capitol for a meeting with Senate Democrats on the issue. Budget director Peter Orszag said the companion fiscal blueprints in the House and Senate would bolster administration efforts to give a higher priority to education and clean energy programs as well as taking into account Obama’s desire to overhaul health care. In a briefing for reporters in advance of Obama’s Hill visit, Orszag said the plans were “fully in line with the president’s key priorities.” Obama has said that he understands the process will require considerable give and take, but that he doesn’t want to lose sight of the overall goals. He characterized them as “98 percent the same as the budget proposal the president sent up in February.”

The most immediate impact of the budget outlines — which are nonbinding blueprints spelling out the parameters of subsequent implementing legislation — is to impose a cap on the amount of money that can be doled out by the appropriating panels for the budget year starting Oct. 1. The House plan, unveiled by Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt Jr., D-S.C., would cut spending less — just a $7 billion reduction from Obama’s domestic agency budgets for next year — than would the companion Senate plan, which would curb such spending by $15 billion. On larger issues like taxes, health care and combating global warming, the congressional Democratic plans simply seek to punt difficult decisions into the future. The House measure also backs Obama’s plans to essentially eliminate the federal guaranteed student loan program, replacing such loans with direct loans made by the Department of Education. The proposal would be advanced on a fast-track under the plan, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates would save $92 billion over 10 years that could be used to fund other aid to students.

Obama has been hearing increasingly vocal opposition to the blueprint he sent to Congress last month, however. Some of the opposition on spending, particularly, has come from moderate to conservative members of his own party. For their part, Republicans have almost universally assailed his spending plan as overly ambitious, saying that it would dump trillions in debt on future generations. While the budget plans that Democrats started pushing through Congress largely mirrored Obama’s blueprint, the plan advanced by Senate Democrats employs some sleight of hand — such as assuming that Obama’s signature $400 tax cut for most workers and $800 for couples will not be renewed beyond 2010 — to cut projected deficits to a more sustainable level.

Orszag also revealed Wednesday that the administration was studying ways to simplify the U.S. tax code, seeking to close loopholes with an eye toward further budget savings.

Meanwhile, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor charged that Obama’s budget is “so far out of the mainstream” that even members of Obama’s own party are reluctant to support it.

The Virginia Republican said it puts too many taxes on businesses and said that policymakers must “provide relief to the job creators.”

Both the House and Senate budget chairmen have been forced by worsening deficit estimates to scale back Obama’s requests for domestic programs, while deeply controversial revenues from his global warming initiative won’t be included either.

Conrad announced a budget blueprint Tuesday that would scrap Obama’s signature tax cut after 2010 while employing some sleight of hand to cut the annual budget deficit to a sustainable level.

The senator promises to reduce the deficit from a projected $1.7 trillion this year to a still-high $508 billion in 2014. Along the way, the Senate plan would have Obama’s “Making Work Pay” tax credit, which will provide $400 tax cuts to most workers and $800 to couples, expire at the end of next year. Those tax cuts were included in Obama’s stimulus package.

Democrats point out that Obama inherited an unprecedented fiscal mess caused by the recession and the taxpayer-financed bailout of Wall Street. Rather than retrenching, however, they still promise to award big budget increases to education and clean energy programs, while assuming Obama’s plans to overhaul the U.S. health care system advance.

“The best way to bring our deficit down in the long run is … with a budget that leads to broad economic growth by moving from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest,” Obama said in a Tuesday night news conference.

Conrad’s budget version makes several shaky assumptions, especially that Congress will raise taxes by about $114 billion over 2013-14 to make sure middle-class taxpayers won’t get hit by the alternative minimum tax. He also saves $87 billion by promising Congress will come up with spending cuts or new revenues to avoid cuts in Medicare payments to doctors.

Neither budget includes Obama’s $250 billion set-aside for more bailouts of banks and other firms.