Archive for September, 2009:
President Obama at the U.N. General Assembly: “Join us in building the future that our people deserve”
This morning, nine months after taking office, President Obama made his first address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He spoke to the world leaders gathered there about their skepticism regarding America's engagement with the international community, and reflected on how he has worked to change that in his first months as President of the United States.
I took office at a time when many around the world had come to view America with skepticism and distrust. Part of this was due to misperceptions and misinformation about my country. Part of this was due to opposition to specific policies, and a belief that on certain critical issues, America has acted unilaterally, without regard for the interests of others. This has fed an almost reflexive anti-Americanism, which too often has served as an excuse for our collective inaction.
Like all of you, my responsibility is to act in the interest of my nation and my people, and I will never apologize for defending those interests. But it is my deeply held belief that in the year 2009 – more than at any point in human history – the interests of nations and peoples are shared.
The religious convictions that we hold in our hearts can forge new bonds among people, or tear us apart. The technology we harness can light the path to peace, or forever darken it. The energy we use can sustain our planet, or destroy it. What happens to the hope of a single child – anywhere – can enrich our world, or impoverish it.
...This is what we have done. But this is just a beginning. Some of our actions have yielded progress. Some have laid the groundwork for progress in the future. But make no mistake: this cannot be solely America’s endeavor. Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world’s problems alone. We have sought – in word and deed – a new era of engagement with the world. Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.
The President then called on the nations of the world to engage in a new cooperative effort to secure international peace and prosperity. And he outlined four pillars that he believes essential to securing that prosperous future: non-proliferation and disarmament; the promotion of peace and security; the preservation of our planet; and a global economy that advances opportunity for all people.
This body was founded on the belief that the nations of the world could solve their problems together. Franklin Roosevelt, who died before he could see his vision for this institution become a reality, put it this way – and I quote: “The structure of world peace cannot be the work of one man, or one party, or one Nation…. It cannot be a peace of large nations – or of small nations. It must be a peace which rests on the cooperative effort of the whole world.”
The cooperative effort of the whole world. Those words ring even more true today, when it is not simply peace – but our very health and prosperity that we hold in common. Yet I also know that this body is made up of sovereign states. And sadly, but not surprisingly, this body has often become a forum for sowing discord instead of forging common ground; a venue for playing politics and exploiting grievances rather than solving problems. After all, it is easy to walk up to this podium and to point fingers and stoke division. Order Generic Cialis Online without Prescription Nothing is easier than blaming others for our troubles, and absolving ourselves of responsibility for our choices and our actions. Anyone can do that.
Responsibility and leadership in the 21st century demand more. In an era when our destiny is shared, power is no longer a zero sum game. No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold. The traditional division between nations of the south and north makes no sense in an interconnected world. Nor do alignments of nations rooted in the cleavages of a long gone Cold War.
Finally, he called on those assembled in the chamber to recommit to The United Nations as an institution, and to work together to build a strong future for all world peoples.
Now it falls to us – for this institution will be what we make of it. The United Nations does extraordinary good around the world in feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and mending places that have been broken. But it also struggles to enforce its will, and to live up to the ideals of its founding.
I believe that those imperfections are not a reason to walk away from this institution – they are a calling to redouble our efforts. The United Nations can either be a place where we bicker about outdated grievances, or forge common ground; a place where we focus on what drives us apart, or what brings us together; a place where we indulge tyranny, or a source of moral authority. In short, the United Nations can be an institution that is disconnected from what matters in the lives of our citizens, or it can be indispensable in advancing the interests of the people we serve.
We have reached a pivotal moment. The United States stands ready to begin a new chapter of international cooperation – one that recognizes the rights and responsibilities of all nations. With confidence in our cause, and with a commitment to our values, we call on all nations to join us in building the future that our people deserve.
Read the full remarks at WhiteHouse.gov.
Vice President Biden at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners: “An unsustainable position”
Yesterday, Vice President Joe Biden addressed a meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners at Maryland's National Harbor. He concentrated on the rapidly rising costs of health care in America, a factor in the debate known all too well to those charged with regulating our state insurance markets.
Vice President Biden also spoke about reform as a "moral issue," noting that no one can truly be secure in their insurance with our current system. Check out highlights from the speech below, or read the full remarks at WhiteHouse.gov.
You understand first-hand this crisis. You've seen the impact on families, and on businesses, of the skyrocketing insurance premiums. You've seen the pressure it places on hard-working Americans and on businesses, who in my view overwhelmingly want to do the right thing by their employees by providing health -- decent health coverage, but are put in a really difficult spot.
And you're working hard each and every day to combat these problems and to stop the unjustifiable increases in health care costs and insurance costs, I should say, in just as -- just look at what you've been up against. I know you know it, but it's important Buy Accutane the public know it. A report released by the White House today finds that health insurance premiums in states have gone up between 90 and 150 percent in the last decade, far faster than wages and inflation.
...All around the country -- all around the country we're seeing these gaps widen. And all in all, there was a 5.5 percent rise in premiums for families just this past year. During this Great Recession, when inflation actually fell [point] 7 percent. Inflation fell [point] 7 percent, and premiums increased 5.5 percent.
So the soaring premiums are not only hurting families and killing small businesses, they're hurting our competitive position all around the world. But as the report points out, they're hurting -- they're hurting our whole free enterprise system. They're hurting our ability to compete -- the business -- of business competing internationally.
...To state the obvious, this is simply an unsustainable position. Families, businesses, state budgets, our national economy -- all demand a significant change. And you're stuck in the middle of it all. You're stuck in the middle of it all. You read the letters. You see the tears. The people -- if it's like my state of Delaware and a lot of small states, people actually importune you on the street. They know who you are. They know your job. They come up to you. I'll bet you if I went around the room of insurance commissioners here, and ask you just to give me 10 stories, 10 stories you know first-hand from people literally approaching you -- at your home, your neighborhood, the grocery store, the football game, church -- it would be a literal saga. Well, it's happening all across America.
...I want to restore stability in our health care system. And there are basic ground rules we need right now. One, no discrimination for preexisting conditions; no exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductible or copays; no cost sharing for preventive care; no dropping of coverage for the seriously ill; no gender discrimination; no annual lifetime caps on coverage -- (applause) -- extended coverage for young adults; guaranteed insurance renewal.
...And far from running insurance companies out of business, we will be building the best thing about today's -- building on the best things about today's system, with more competition, more choice for customers -- and for the insurance companies, more customers, paying customers.
So when our critics say -- the third argument I hear is they say, well, this is not a moral issue. And some of us say there is a moral component to this. Well, tell that to the father who is fighting cancer and is told that his insurance won't cover any more treatment, because he's reached the annual limits. Tell that to a little girl who is in a full body cast, requires speech and physical therapy to recover only to be denied coverage for that therapy because it's deemed "maintenance" rather than "recovery." I could go to you and you could give me 25 other stories about why this is and does have a moral component to it. Or the mother with a diabetic child who is trying to cover the cost of insulin her child needs just to stay alive.
...So there's got to be a solution. Now, I'm confident that the one we are proposing is just the solution we need. But let's face it. Let's face it, there's a dire need to make this work. According to a stark report issued last week at Harvard University, as many as 45,000 people per year die owing to a lack of health insurance -- 45,000 individuals, according to a Harvard study. How is that possible?
...If we do nothing, in 10 years one in every $5 Americans earn will be spent on health care; in 30 years, one out of every $3 will be spent on health care if we do not bend the cost curve. Spending by the federal government on Medicare and Medicaid alone will be 15 percent of GDP by 2040 -- it's now about 5 percent. Right now about 46 percent of health care is government funded through Medicare and Medicaid.
...You support reform. You've said it in your health care reform principles. You said we need to protect consumers and increase the affordability and access to insurance. You all get it. You know better than almost anyone about the inefficiencies, the cost shifting -- the bad practices that presently corrode our health care system. You know these reforms will only serve to strengthen the vital work that you do each and every day. You're the best equipped to educate consumers. You are the best equipped to field complaints. You're the best equipped to serve as a critical line of defense against the abuse and fraud that had crushed families, crushed businesses, and crushed the dreams of millions of Americans. And you'll remain so.
Folks, the problem is real. The need for reform is acute, and the time is now. The poet Virgil once said the greatest wealth is health. The greatest wealth is health. Well, we're here to improve America's health, and in the process not incidentally secure and maintain America's wealth. They are not separable.
Listen Live: Vice President Biden Hosts Town Hall on Health Insurance Reform and Seniors
“No nation…can escape the impact of climate change”
Amid this week's meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon has designated today as a conference on climate change. This morning, President Obama addressed over 100 assembled representatives of the world's nations, emphasizing that although the challenge ahead of us is great, we hold the solutions to this global crisis.
This conference is an important step forward in developing the strategy that nations will discuss during the United Nations Climate Change Conference this December in Copenhagen. Read highlights from the President's remarks below, or the full text after the jump.
No nation, however large or small, wealthy or poor, can escape the impact of climate change. Rising sea levels threaten every coastline. More powerful storms and floods threaten every continent. More frequent droughts and crop failures breed hunger and conflict in places where hunger and conflict already thrive. On shrinking islands, families are already being forced to flee their homes as climate refugees. The security and stability of each nation and all peoples -- our prosperity, our health, and our safety -- are in jeopardy. And the time we have to reverse this tide is running out.
And yet, we can reverse it. John F. Kennedy once observed that "Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man." It is true that for too many years, mankind has been slow to respond or even recognize the magnitude of the climate threat. It is true of my own country, as well. We recognize that. But this is a new day. It is a new era. And I am proud to say that the United States has done more to promote clean energy and reduce carbon pollution in the last eight months than at any other time in our history...
We've proposed the very first national policy aimed at both increasing fuel economy and reducing greenhouse gas pollution for all new cars and trucks -- a standard that will also save consumers money and our nation oil. We're moving forward with our nation's first offshore wind energy projects. We're investing billions to capture carbon pollution so that we can clean up our coal plants. And just this week, we announced that for the first time ever, we'll begin tracking how much greenhouse gas pollution is being emitted throughout the country...
But though many of our nations have taken bold action and share in this determination, we did not come here to celebrate progress today. We came because there's so much more progress to be made. We came because there's so much more work to be done.
It is work that will not be easy. As we head towards Copenhagen, there should be no illusions that the hardest part of our journey is in front of us. We seek sweeping but necessary change in the midst of a global recession, where every nation's most immediate priority is reviving their economy and putting their people back to work. And so all of us will face doubts and difficulties in our own capitals as we try to reach a lasting solution to the climate challenge...
We also cannot allow the old divisions that have characterized the climate debate for so many years to block our progress. Yes, the developed nations that caused much of the damage to our climate over the last century still have a responsibility to lead -- and that includes the United States. And we will continue to do so -- by investing in renewable energy and promoting greater efficiency and slashing our emissions to reach the targets we set for 2020 and our long-term goal for 2050.
But those rapidly growing developing nations that will produce nearly all the growth in global carbon emissions in the decades ahead must do their part, as well. Some of these nations have already made great strides with the development and deployment of clean energy. Still, they need to commit to strong measures at home and agree to stand behind those commitments just as the developed nations must stand behind their own. We cannot meet this challenge unless all the largest emitters of greenhouse gas pollution act together. There's no other way...
But the journey is long and the journey is hard. And we don't have much time left to make that journey. Cheap Accutane It's a journey that will require each of us to persevere through setbacks, and fight for every inch of progress, even when it comes in fits and starts. So let us begin. For if we are flexible and pragmatic, if we can resolve to work tirelessly in common effort, then we will achieve our common purpose: a world that is safer, cleaner, and healthier than the one we found; and a future that is worthy of our children.
Open Thread
Photo: President Barack Obama laughs during the taping of his appearance on the "Late Show with David Buy cheap Accutane Online Letterman" in New York
Listen Live: President Obama Speaks on the Economy
UPDATED: The President's speech has concluded, and we'll have a full transcript of his remarks later in the Buy cheap Cialis Online day.
Open Thread
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Photo: Rally for Health Reform with President Obama at the University of Maryland
President Obama on the Sunday Morning News Shows
This morning, President Obama will sit down for interviews on a number of the major Sunday morning news shows, including ABC's This Week George Stephanopoulos, CBS's Face the Nation, NBC's Meet Provigil online No prescription the Press, CNN's State of the Union with John Roberts, and Univision.
Check your local listings for times and channels.
Video Message from the President: “Warm Wishes for Rosh Hashanah”
At sundown tonight, the Jewish community here in the United States and all over the world celebrates the start of the new year. Earlier today, President Order Generic Accutane Online without Prescription Obama released a special video message: