Ending the Filibuster

— By Kevin Drum

| Sun Nov. 7, 2010 9:45 AM PST

Tim Fernholz says Senate Democrats should eliminate the filibuster when they open the 112th session of Congress in January:

Of course, the advantage for Democrats is that they will be able to have more control of the one chamber where they possess a majority, making it easier to pass their own priorities — rather than have the House pass a lot of bills and the Senate take no action, you could see a dynamic where the Senate and the House pass a lot of competing versions of bills, creating both more contrast between the parties and making the possibility of actual legislation more likely.

The funny thing is that this would actually be a pretty good time for Republicans to go along with this. Contra Tim, the fact that the GOP controls the House means that Democrats won't find it easier to pass their own priorities if they ditch the filibuster. But it might set up the contrast Tim mentions, and Republicans seem to think this contrast would be entirely in their favor. What's more, if Republicans genuinely think they can win control of the Senate and the presidency in 2012, getting rid of the filibuster now would serve them pretty well.
But they won't go along anyway. And I doubt very much that Harry Reid can find the votes to do this in the Democratic caucus even if he's inclined to try. He'd need 51 out of 53 votes and Obama's OK (in order for Biden to make the appropriate rulings), and I don't see him getting that.
But what about something narrower? The least defensible use of the filibuster is against executive branch appointments, and I wonder if Republicans couldn't be talked into supporting a change here? Maybe something that does away with the filibuster but puts in place some specific and limited ways that executive branch appointments can be delayed instead. This runs up against the hideous (and bipartisan) ego-driven nature of the Senate, where every member prizes their ability to hold up appointments in order to extort favors of one kind of another from the White House, but still — you never know. With only two years left in Obama's term and Republicans feeling like history is on their side, it's not completely out of the question.

Obama says 'midcourse corrections' to come at home

ERICA WERNER, Associated Press

Published: 05:05 a.m., Sunday, November 7, 2010

NEW DELHI (AP) — Followed by the politics of home, President Barack Obama on Sunday acknowledged that he must make some "midcourse corrections" if he is to win over a frustrated electorate and work with resurgent Republicans.

On the second of the three days he is spending in India, Obama arrived in New Delhi on Sunday afternoon in the company of his wife, Michelle. Among his airport greeters were Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who apparently broke the normally rigid rules of protocol by making the trip to personally welcome Obama to the Indian capital.

Earlier in the day while in Mumbai, Obama appeared before college students eager to question him. He told one that the midterm elections back home reflected the "right, obligation and duty" of the voters to express their unhappiness with the state of U.S. affairs by voting out many incumbents, the majority of whom are Democrats like Obama.

The president himself wasn't on the ballot last week, but his party took a beating. Republicans won control of the House, eroded the Democratic majority in the Senate, made huge gains at the state level and broadly changed the political landscape as Obama begins looking ahead to his own re-election campaign in 2012.

Obama said he will not change his determination to move America forward by investing in education, infrastructure and clean energy despite mounting pressure in Washington to cut spending. But he said, without elaborating, that the election "requires me to make some midcourse corrections and adjustments."

How those will play out over the next several months, Obama said, will depend on his talks with Republicans. His comments seemed to reflect a deeper acknowledgment of the need for change by the White House, but as he did at a news conference the day after the election, Obama stayed purposely vague on how he would reposition his agenda.

The town hall with students, now a staple of Obama's foreign travel, was part of his outreach to this democracy of more than 1 billion people. India is an emerging power in Asia and an increasingly important partner to the U.S. on trade and security, in part because its rise offers a measure of balance to the growing strength of China.

The president is in the midst of his lengthiest trip abroad as president, a 10-day journey across India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. He began Sunday by showing a softer side, chatting with students at another school and even dancing with them, albeit reluctantly, after his wife had eagerly done the same.

Obama took a range of questions from the students at St. Xavier College, a Jesuit institution, on a sweltering day. When a young woman challenged him on U.S. support of Pakistan, Obama said, "I must admit, I expected it."

India is deeply suspicious of neighboring Pakistan as a threat to its security, with memories still fresh of a deadly terrorist shooting rampage in Mumbai in 2008, by Pakistani militants. Obama on Saturday spoke of U.S. solidarity with India in honoring those slain in that attack, but his failure to mention Pakistan angered some India commentators.

Pakistan, in turn, is as wary of India and sees India's ties with the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan as part of an effort by India to encircle it. The countries have fought three wars since 1947, but now engage in periodic peace talks.

Obama told the students the United States cannot impose peace on India and Pakistan. He defended U.S. support for Pakistan and said India is the country with the biggest stake in Pakistan's stability.

"So my hope is that over time, trust develops between the two countries, that dialogue begins ... and that both countries can prosper," the president said. "That will not happen tomorrow."

Obama also said he thinks Pakistan understands the potential terrorist threat lurking within its borders. Progress on eliminating that threat, however, has not been as quick as many would like, he said. Obama said the U.S. has reaffirmed its partnership with Pakistan along with its willingness to help the country stamp out terrorism.

Speaking in a stone courtyard to students who had waited for hours in the heat, Obama encouraged them to see themselves as future leaders. He questioned what they wanted India to become, and what they want from the United States.

"Some of the challenges may be incredibly hard," Obama said. "In the face of darkness, we may get discouraged. But we can always draw upon the light of those who came before us. I hope you keep that light burning within you."

The president had time for just six questions, and scores of hands shot up each time he sought a new questioner.

Asked for his views on jihad, Obama described Islam as a religion of peace and understanding, yet one that terrorists have sought to distort by justifying killings in the name of religion. "I think all of us have to fundamentally reject the notion that violence is a way to mediate our differences," he said.

Another student pressed him on enforcing selfishness and brotherhood over materialism. Obama defended what he called the "healthy materialism" of economic growth and corporate investment that can lift people out of poverty. "If all you're thinking about is material wealth," Obama said, "then I think that shows a poverty of ambition."

To a question about his policy toward Afghanistan, Obama said a "stable Afghanistan is achievable."

He reiterated his intent to begin removing U.S. troops from Afghanistan starting next July, based on conditions on the ground. He said he supported efforts by the Afghanistan government to reconcile with current and former Taliban members who agree to cut ties with al-Qaida, renounce violence and support the Afghan constitution.

Obama also reflected on the limits of his own success. He said he tries to follow the examples of the Rev. Martin Luther King and Mohandas K. Gandhi, particularly in making decisions that uphold the rights and dignity of people everywhere.

"It's not always apparent," he said, "that I'm making progress on that front."

___

AP White House Correspondent Ben Feller in Mumbai and Associated Press writer Ravi Nessman in New Delhi contributed to this report.

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Pictures of The Asian Visit of the Obama's

US President Barack Obama along with First Lady Michelle Obama shakes a leg to Koli music with school students during a Diwali celebration in Mumbai on Sunday. — PTI

US President Barack Obama meets school children as he visits Humayun's Tomb in New Delhi - AP

US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are welcomed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur following their arrival at Palam Air Force Station in New Delhi - PTI

President Barack Obama speaks during a town hall-style meeting with students at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai - AP

President Barack Obama greets wife Michelle during a town-hall style meeting with students at Mumbai's St Xavier's College - AP

Manmohan-Obama connect: That special chemistry

    Nov 07 2010

New Delhi: Three decades may divide them, but no two world leaders share that special chemistry and intellectual delight of being in each other's company as Barack Obama and Manmohan Singh do. And it is this personal equation the two sides are banking on for a breakthrough as negotiations go down to the wire on complex issues between the two countries.
On the face of it, no one will suspect them of having much in common, one an Afro-American born to a white American mother and a Kenyan father, and another a Sikh Indian born in what is now Pakistani Punjab.
But what they share is something deeper: What Obama has called the audacity to dream, and to entwine the surging hopes of their countrymen around that dream.
Both are intellectuals with impeccable pedigreed education: Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School. Manmohan Singh studied economics at Punjab University before heading for the Economics Tripos at Cambridge and D.Phil at Oxford University.
Both had humble origins, and rose to become the leaders of their countries.
Both are introverts, self-fashioners and love ideas, say officials and aides who have seen them up close.
"They get along wonderfully. Both are cerebral leaders who love discussing ideas and have enormous respect for each other," a senior prime ministerial aide revealed/
The 78-year-old Manmohan Singh and 49-year-old Obama, an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi, got along famously since they met first at the G20 summit in London in April last year.
"He's somebody who has had a close intellectual connection with the president on a range of issues surrounding economic growth and development," said Ben Rhodes, Obama's speech writer and US Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communication.
And they both have not shied away from their open admiration for each other, prompting some critics to call them a 'mutual admiration society'.
Manmohan Singh has called him an 'icon' and 'an inspiration for millions of Indians' many a time since he was elected the first African-American president of the US in November 2008. At the G20 summit in Montreal in June, Obama said: "Whenever the Indian Prime Minister speaks, the whole world listens to him."
In barely 20 months, the two leaders have met four times on the sidelines of multilateral summits and once for full-scale bilateral talks when Obama hosted the first state dinner of his presidency for Manmohan Singh in Washington mon November 24 last year.
One year later, Manmohan Singh will be hosting Obama and his wife Michelle for a private dinner at his residence on Sunday night before they sit down for wide-ranging talks the next day.
Officials of the two sides are banking on this personal rapport between the two for a breakthrough on complex issues like high-tech exports and India's membership of the UN Security Council.
The two leaders will try to resolve some of these differences when they hold a one-on-one meeting before joining other guests at the private dinner at the prime ministerial residence at 7, Race Course Road on Sunday, said well informed sources.

They will have another opportunity to break the deadlock over some issues when they meet for restricted talks for over half an hour at Hyderabad House on Monday. But in the end, what unites them and makes them click is sure to outweigh differences, if any, as they propel their nations to forge the 21st century friendship that Obama described as a 'defining and indispensable partnership'.

Obama comes job hunting; win-win situation for India, US

7 Nov, 2010 1033hrs IST ET Bureau

US President Barack Obama on Saturday announced that the US would ease regulations governing exports to India making it easier for American firms to export products to India that can be used both for civilian and military purposes.

The President's announcement, in the course of a speech to US and Indian business leaders that included Jeff Immelt, Mukesh Ambani Ratan Tata and Anand Mahindra , fulfils a major demand of Indian business. The speech had no details, and actual implementation of the new liberalised regime would depend on the deliberations of an expert group.

"Even as we strengthen our national security, we make sure that unnecessary barriers don't stand in the way of high-tech trade between our countries. We will work with India to fundamentally reform our control on exports, which will allow greater co-operation in a range of high-tech sectors to strengthen our relation," Mr Obama said.

The easing of the so-called export control regime could result in some organisations associated with India's space and defence sectors, such as the Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO being taken off the so-called entities list, making it easier for US firms to export to them. But all this is not certain and the President only referred to "reform" of the export-control regime.

The concession on the export-control rules apart, the President's speech was firmly focused on the potential of the Indian market and the jobs that exports to India could create.

Mr Obama's Democratic Party suffered major reverses in mid-term elections last week. The Democrats lost their majority in the House of Representatives, making it difficult for the President to push through any legislation.
On Saturday, the President referred to twenty deals between Indian and American firms worth $10 billion or around Rs 44,000 crore which would create 50,000 jobs back in the US.

"I make no apologies to do whatever I can for job creation and business invest in America," the President told assembled CEOs at the Trident. He said he has "marshalled the full resources of the US government to increase exports to India."

The deals announced on Saturday included a sale of jets by Boeing to Spicejet , an airline, and a $750 million contract for supply of gas turbines by GE to power plant being built by the Anil Ambani group. "This is my longest trip outside the US as President," Mr Obama said.

The President said he "fervently" welcomed India's rise. "We want to invest in it," the President said. US companies were ready to help improve India's infrastructure and to meet her defence needs, a reference to several defence deals that are in the works. "For America this is a job strategy," the President said.

A leading Indian business leader said nothing incongruous about Mr Obama's emphasis on how the US could benefit from its ties with India. "India's brand image has long been as one extending her hand and asking for something. Let us embrace this opportunity of being treated as an equal," Mr Mahindra said at a round-table organised shortly before the US President's speech. 

FACT SHEET: The National Export Initiative: U.S. - India Transactions

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

November 06, 2010

As part of the National Export Initiative, President Obama noted that India—with its tremendous economic growth and its large and growing middle class —is a key market for U.S. exports.  Those exports are generating jobs in every corner of the United States and across every major sector.  These involve some of our country’s largest companies, but also an increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises.
On the margins of the President’s trip, trade transactions were announced or showcased, exceeding $14.9 billion in total value with $9.5 billion in U.S. export content, supporting an estimated 53,670 U.S. jobs.  These cross-border collaborations, both public and private, underpin the expanding U.S.-India strategic partnership, contributing to economic growth and development in both countries.  Notable examples include:

• Heavy Transport Aircraft:  The Boeing Company and the Indian Air Force have reached preliminary agreement on the purchase of 10 C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft, and are now in the process of finalizing the details of the sale. Once all have been delivered, the Indian Air Force will be the owner and operator of the largest fleet of C-17s outside of the United States.  Boeing, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, is the aircraft manufacturer.  Boeing reports that each C-17 supports 650 suppliers across 44 U.S. states and that this order will support Boeing’s C-17 production facility in Long Beach, California, for an entire year.  This transaction is valued at approximately $4.1 billion, all of which is U.S. export content, supporting an estimated 22,160 jobs.
• Engine Sale for the Light Combat Aircraft:  On October 1,the General Electric Company, headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, was declared the lowest bidder and selected to negotiate a contract to provide the Indian Aeronautical Development Agency with 107 F414 engines to be installed on the Tejas light combat aircraft.  Upon finalizing the contract, General Electric’s facility in Lynn, Massachusetts, and other sites across the United States will be positioned to export almost one billion dollars in high technology aerospace products.  This transaction is tentatively valued at approximately $822 million, all of which is U.S. export content, supporting an estimated 4,440 jobs. 
• Commercial Aircraft Sale:  Boeing Company, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and SpiceJet, a leading private airline in India, concluded a definitive agreement for the sale of 30 B737-800 commercial aircraft.  SpiceJet currently operates 22 Boeing aircraft and has several 737 deliveries remaining from previous agreements.  This new agreement will enable SpiceJet to offer more domestic routes and to begin offering international flights to neighboring countries.  This transaction is valued at approximately $2.7 billion, based on catalogue prices, with an estimated $2.4 billion in U.S. export content, supporting an estimated 12,970 jobs.
• Gas and Steam Turbine Sale:  The General Electric Company, headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, was selected to supply six advanced class 9FA gas turbines and three steam turbines for the 2,500-megawatt Samalkot power plant expansion to be constructed by Reliance Power Ltd., a division of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, one of the largest conglomerates in India.  General Electric purchases equipment from 240 suppliers across the United States—an estimated 14 percent of which are small- and medium-sized enterprises—for every 9FA gas-fired turbine, which are assembled in Greenville, South Carolina.  The combined equipment and maintenance contracts are valued at approximately $750 million, with an estimated $491 million in U.S. export content, supporting an estimated 2,650 jobs.
• Reliance Power and U.S. Ex-Im Bank Agreement:  Reliance Power Ltd., the flagship company of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, and the Export – Import Bank of the United States announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).  This MOU will indicate Ex-Im Bank’s willingness to provide up to $5 billion in financial support to Reliance Power for the purchase of U.S. goods and services to be used in the development of up to 8,000 megawatts of gas-fired electricity generating units and up to 900 megawatts of renewable (solar and wind) energy facilities.   
• Diesel Locomotive Manufacturing Venture:  The United States has worldwide leaders in diesel locomotive manufacturing, and the Indian Ministry of Railways announced the prequalification of the sole two bidders—GE Transportation (Erie, Pennsylvania) and Electro-Motive Diesel (LaGrange, Illinois)—for a venture to manufacture and supply of 1,000 diesel locomotives over 10 years.  The estimated U.S. content of this contract is expected to exceed $1B.
• Motorcycle Assembly Plant:  Harley-Davidson Motor Company, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, announced that preparations are underway to open a new plant in India for the assembly of Harley-Davidson motorcycles from U.S.-built “complete knock-down” kits.  This investment by the company entails job creation in both the United States and India, and it will allow the company to reduce the tariff burden on its motorcycles for sale in the Indian market, driving sales growth by making its motorcycles more accessible to Indian consumers. 
• Sale of U.S. Mining Equipment and Related Support Equipment:  On October 21, the Export – Import Bank of the United States announced the approval of more than $900 million in export finance guarantees to Sasan Power Ltd., a subsidiary of Reliance Power Ltd., supporting the sale of U.S. mining equipment and services from Bucyrus International of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and other U.S. vendors, in association with the 3,960-megawatt coal-fired Sasan power plant in Madhya Pradesh, India.  This financial commitment supports $641 million in U.S. export content, supporting an estimated 3,460 jobs. 
• Tunneling Equipment for Underground Water Channel:  On July 22,Robbins Company, headquartered in Solon, Ohio, announced an agreement with UNITY-IVRCL, a large infrastructure engineering and construction conglomerate, to provide tunnel-boring machines, conveyer equipment, and associated technical services for the construction of tunnels to convey water for the city of Mumbai.  Separately, through a contract signed in 2008 with Jaiprakash Associates, a large infrastructure conglomerate, the Robbins Company is already supplying high technology tunnel-boring machines and technical assistance to bore some of the longest underground tunnels in the world underneath a protected tiger sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh, which will increase irrigation for the production of cotton and other agricultural products.  The Mumbai contract alone is valued at $10 million, with $7 million in U.S. export content, supporting an estimated 35 jobs.
• Maharashtra Homeland Security Pilot Projects:  Palantir Technologies, a small Silicon Valley software development firm, announced a strategic partnership agreement with the Maharashtra State Police, a law enforcement agency in India, to conduct a pilot program, whereby Palantir’s end-to-end analytical software platform will be used on a trial basis to identify and alert authorities to security threats in order to help keep the citizens of Mumbai and Maharashtra safe.
• Medanta Duke Research Institute (MDRI):  Duke Medicine, located in Durham, North Carolina, one of the leading academic health systems in the United States, and Medanta Medicity, located in Gurgaon, Haryana, a hospital and medical research complex, are announcing a joint venture agreement to launch the MDRI, a proof-of-concept clinical research facility within Medanta’s hospital.  Duke Medicine will provide scientific and operational leadership, while Medanta will contribute financial resources and clinical and operational services.  Duke Medicine also will be partnering with Jubilant Life Sciences, headquartered in Uttar Pradesh, to conduct research studies and co-develop promising discoveries, with significant funding and in-kind support provided by Jubilant.  Subsequent commercialization is expected to result in licensing revenue for Duke Medicine.
• Long-range Antenna System for Rural Telecommunications:  SPX Communication Technology, a division of SPX Corporation operating out of Raymond, Maine, is in the final phase of the pilot deployment of its long-range antenna system with two leading Indian mobile operators.  This innovative technology has been shown to offer a significantly greater coverage area.  Once implemented, it is expected to create significant economies of scale, thereby improving the economic viability of rural wireless networks and making wireless communications available for people who either could not afford service or who live in areas that lack coverage.  The value of the initial trial equipment is expected to generate approximately $1 million, with 100 percent U.S. export content, supporting an estimated 5 jobs. 
• Production Equipment for the Manufacture of Pre-fabricated Housing:  Spancrete Machinery Corporation, a family-owned business in Waukesha, Wisconsin, announced the sale of six sets of its hollow core, precast production equipment, including installation, training, and after-sales support, to Hindustan Prefab Limited, a state-owned company within the Indian Ministry of Housing and Poverty Alleviation.  The production equipment will be used to manufacture inexpensive, prefabricated housing on a mass scale in India.  Spancrete also is working with Somat Engineering, Inc., from Detroit, Michigan, and their affiliate, SP Infrastructure India Ltd., in New Delhi.  This transaction is valued at approximately $35 million, all of which is U.S. export content.  Based on the company’s estimates, the transaction will support 30 jobs.
• Cell Phone Rollout for Small Indian Businesses:  Intuit, a company headquartered in Mountain View, California, which serves millions of small businesses worldwide, will launch a new mobile and web-based marketing service in partnership with Nokia, called “Intuit GoConnect”.  This innovative technology will help Indian micro and small businesses grow and thrive by bringing customer management tools to the entrepreneur, improving the way they communicate with their customers in an increasingly mobile world. 
• The Unique Identification Project:  L-1 Identity Solutions, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and another U.S.-headquartered company, lead two of the three vendor consortia, which have been prequalified by the Unique Identity Authority of India for the first phase of an effort to register Indian residents with a 12-digit unique number using biometric identifiers.  Unprecedented in scale, seeking to register 1.2 billion Indian residents, the Unique Identification program aims to enhance delivery of government services in India. 
• Sale of Precision Measurement Instruments for Fuel Cell Research:  Advanced Materials Corporation (AMC), a small, six-person firm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, received an order to supply a specially-designed Pressure-Composition Isotherm Measurement Instrument to the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi, India.  BHU will utilize AMC’s instrument to test fuel cell applications, as part of an Indian central government research program.
• Trace Explosive Detection Equipment:  Implant Sciences, a small company based in Wilmington, Massachusetts, signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence in January to supply its Quantum Sniffer H-150, trace detection devices to be used by the Indian Army to detect the presence of explosive, bomb-making materials that could be used in a terrorist attack.  The company announced that the equipment will be ready for pre-dispatch inspection and delivery in November.  The transaction is valued at approximately $6 million, all of which is U.S. export content, supporting an estimated 30 jobs. 
• VIP Helicopter Sale:  On August 25,Bell Helicopter, based in Hurst, Texas, signed a purchase agreement with Span Air, a private air charter company, for the sale of its first Bell Model 429 corporate VIP helicopter in India.  Span Air has a second order slated for delivery in mid-2011.  Bell Helicopter recently sold its 100^th helicopter in India. 
• Sales of Pre-owned Refurbished Healthcare Equipment:  Skelley Medical, a rural New Hampshire-based company, sells refurbished medical equipment to Indian hospitals in second and third tier cities through partnerships with various distributors in India.  Skelley announced plans to open an after-sales service facility in Mumbai as part of a new venture with Triage Systems, a Mumbai-based Indian medical equipment distributor.  This facility will service medical equipment purchased by their Indian hospital customers. 
• Monitoring Equipment for Greening Buildings:  Noveda Technologies, a small start-up company in Branchburg, New Jersey, is finalizing a new venture with Chennai-based Wysine Technology to jointly develop and market a new solution for web-based, real-time energy monitoring for “greening” buildings. 
• Dredges for Maharashtra Maritime Board:  Ellicott Dredges, a small company based in Baltimore, Maryland, announced the sale of two cutter suction dredges to the Maharashtra Maritime Board, a Maharashtra government entity.  The equipment will be utilized to dredge a fisherman’s port and various tributaries in the state of Maharashtra. 

The pace of trade between the United States and India is accelerating.  Between 2002 and 2009, U.S. goods exports to India quadrupled, growing from $4.1 billion to more than $16.4 billion.  Through the first eight months of 2010, U.S. merchandise exports to India totaled $12.7 billion, up 18 percent from the same period in 2009.  With economic growth estimates at about 9.7 percent in 2010, India is a key market for the Obama Administration’s National Export Initiative, which aims to double U.S. exports in five years

A US-India Partnership on Open Government

Posted by Samantha Power on November 07, 2010 at 02:56 PM EST

Today in Mumbai, President Obama attended what is likely the first ever Expo on Democracy and Open Government. India's dynamism in the technology sector is well known, as is Gandhi's legacy in India of civic action and bottom-up change, but today's expo highlighted something very fresh: Indian civil society's harnessing of innovation and technology to strengthen India's democracy -- by fighting corruption, holding government officials accountable, and empowering citizens to be the change they seek.
Just before taking the stage at the town hall at St. Xavier's College, President Obama spent about half an hour wandering through ten booths showcasing different approaches to promoting open government and strengthening open society. He visited with the Association for Democratic Reform (ADR), a network that successfully pressed for a reform in election rules that now require candidates to disclose their financial assets, educational backgrounds, and any legal action taken against them. ADR has developed an SMS service, which allows Indians to type in their zip code, and obtain a text message providing once-unavailable background information on their candidates. In a country of 700 million cell phones, this has the power to make voting choices far more meaningful. The President stopped at a booth run by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), a grassroots group that uses puppet shows and folk theater to popularize India's landmark Right to Information law. He heard how Indians have filed more than two million requests for information since the law was passed in 2005. In the United States it is mainly journalists, historians, and NGOs who generally use the Freedom of Information Act, while in India the RTI is used by ordinary citizens -- many in very remote areas -- who seek to use the law to ascertain why they have not received pensions, rations, or other basic services. One of the most remarkable features of the law is that Indian officials found to have withheld information from citizens, themselves have to pay fines.
Part of what Indian civil society groups have discovered is the importance of using personal stories and publicizing factual data in order to mobilize democratic demand.  President Obama spoke with Janagraaha, a group that created the website Ipaidabribe.com where Indians upload videos of their experiences in paying a bribe, in refusing to pay a bribe, and in "not having to pay a bribe" -- where Indian public servants provide services that citizens wish to celebrate. The website has received 120,000 hits in two and a half months. He also met with Arghyam, which holds public gatherings in rural India to test local drinking water. By ensuring that citizens are present to witness the water tests (the tests turns yellow for dirty water, purple for clean), the group is able to build bottom-up and intense pressure for clean water and hold local officials accountable if the water quality does not improve. A growing portion of this demand comes from women -- women's civil society groups, and women village leaders. The 73rd amendment to the Indian Constitution in 1993 mandated that one-third of Indian seats in government would go to women. More than one million women have been elected since this law was passed, and President Obama heard from the Hunger Project, which has trained more than 90,000 women local leaders. The President met a woman leader from a rural Panchayat who -- once elected -- overcame the opposition of the village leaders and mobilized her community to build the village's first-ever school for girls.
India is at the vanguard of figuring out how to exploit technology and innovation on behalf of democratic accountability. U.S.-based groups, as well as those throughout the developed and developing world, could learn an enormous amount from these efforts. And India may well become a kind of "city on the hill" that other countries look to for lessons on not only how to pull millions of people out of poverty, but also on how to strengthen democratic accountability. In his address in September before the UN General Assembly, President Obama hailed open society and open government, and he called on countries to bring to the  UN next September their "specific commitments" to transparency, citizen empowerment, and democratic accountability. He also said that "part of the price of our own freedom is standing up for the freedom of others." If Indian civil society groups should choose to share their experiences with citizens and NGOs in countries that have only recently embarked on their democratic journeys, the dividend will be profound.
Capitalizing on the creativity and innovation that Americans and Indians are bringing to these issues, President Obama and Prime Minister Singh are launching a US-India Partnership on Open Government, to drive forward our respective domestic efforts and to offer our support to the efforts of reformers and activists in other interested countries.
In support of this effort, we announced at today's expo an initial commitment of approximately $1m to support the work of Indian civil society in sharing their best practices abroad, with a matching commitment of in-kind assistance by Sam Pitroda that will harness India's technical expertise to assist governments in harnessing technology, improving services, and enhancing democratic accountability. This is precisely the kind of "partnership built on shared values" that President Obama has hailed during his visit to India.
Samantha Power is Senior Director and Special Assistant for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights

Is this a Joke or is Boehner a disaster waiting to happen to our Country

Whitehouse.org: United States Government in Exile

Fantastic news!      whitehouse?

My fellow Republicans,
November 2, 2010 was a historic day for this country. With your help, we were able to take control of the House of Representatives. In my role as Presumptuous Speaker, I am taking this opportinity to publish the first resulution I will introduce to the 112th Congress on January 3, 2011.
It's time to take back our country, and I am confident that the Government in Exile will be a key step towards restoring democracy, re-establishing a free and unregulated financial market, and restoring pre-existing conditions for children.

Sincerely,

John Boehner

112th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. CON. RES 1

To establish an alternate executive branch while the illegal conspiracy organized by Barack Hussein Obama controls the White House.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 3, 2011

Mr. BOEHNER of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security.

---

A BILL

To establish an alternate executive branch while the illegal conspiracy organized by Barack Hussein Obama controls the White House.

Be it enacted by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the 'Restoration of Eligibile Citizenry To American Leadership'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

(a) Findings- Congress finds the following:

(1) The currently recognized President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, has not satisfactorily established that he was not born in Kenya.

(2) The currently recognized President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, has not satisfactorily established that he is not a Muslim.

(3) The current Vice President of the United States, Joseph Biden, is an untrustworthy liberal, and likely a communist.

(4) The executive branch of the United States government has been hijacked by Barack Hussein Obama, Joseph Biden, and various liberal groups in a conspiracy of vast proportions.

(5) Article II of the United States Constitution requires the President to be a natural born citizen of the United States.

(6) The Constitution further authorizes the House of Representatives to take action, up to and including armed revolution, in such cases where an illegal coup d'etat has occurred.

(7) The election held on November 5, 2008, was in fact an illegal coup d'etat.

(b) Purpose- It is the purpose of this Act to install a replacement executive branch whose authority shall replace the illegally operating conspiracy.

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY AND SELECTION OF OFFICIALS.

(a) Authority-

(1) IN GENERAL- The executive branch in exile shall have all authority that the Constitution reserves for the executive branch. Appointments made by the executive branch in exile shall be vested with all responsibilities and authorities granted by the Constitution and by Congressional act.

(2) EXCEPTION TO AUTHORITY- The authority granted in paragraph (1) shall not apply to members of the Communist part, members of the Democratic party, homosexuals, or practicing Muslims who may be mistakenly appointed by the executive branch in exile. Nor shall the replacement executive branch have the authority to appoint, select, or employ members of these groups.

(b) Selection of Officials-

(1) As President, Ms. Sarah Palin of Wasilla, Alaska.

(2) As Vice President, Mr. Glenn Beck of Mount Vernon, Washington.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act, the following terms apply:

(1) ILLEGAL CONSPIRACY- The term 'illegal conspiracy' refers to the currently operating executive branch of the United States.

(2) EXECUTIVE BRANCH IN EXILE- The term 'executive branch in exile' refers to the replacement executive branch established by this Act.

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