What You Need to Know: 03.10.09

Obama: ‘We’ve let our grades slip’
“President Barack Obama on Tuesday embraced a new approach to public education that adds up to merit pay for the better teachers and longer days and school years for students.

These proposals, which constitute the new president’s vision of an education system that meets 21st century challenges, were sure to generate loud criticism, particularly from teachers’ union.”

Obama Looks to Limit Impact of Tactic Bush Used to Sidestep New Laws
“Calling into question the legitimacy of all the signing statements that former President George W. Bush used to challenge new laws, President Obama ordered executive officials on Monday to consult with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. before relying on any of them to bypass a statute.

But Mr. Obama also signaled that he intended to use signing statements himself if Congress sent him legislation with provisions he decided were unconstitutional. He promised to take a modest approach when using the statements, legal documents issued by a president the day he signs bills into law that instruct executive officials how to put the statutes into effect. But Mr. Obama said there was a role for the practice if used appropriately.”

Stimulus Dollars Energize Efforts To Smarten Up the Electric Power Grid
“Smart grid is an essential component of President Obama’s plan to change the nation’s energy habits and reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels, especially foreign oil. It would energize his hopes for more jobs and fewer pollutants while remaking a network still moored to the 1950s.

The computer-based upgrade will become all the more important if Obama succeeds in creating a cap-and-trade system that would charge companies for excessive carbon emissions. That policy would put a premium on conservation and the delivery of solar and wind energy.”

Senate expects final spending bill vote today
“The Senate is expected to pass a $410 billion spending bill today covering foreign aid and domestic agency budgets.

When senators vote on the measure, it will include some 8,000 pet projects known as earmarks.”

U.S. Stocks Stage Rally
“U.S. stock markets rallied strongly at the morning bell as investors fixated on news that Citigroup had posted profits in the first two months of the year and as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called for a revamping of the financial system.”

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Rock the Vote Bio: Rock the Vote was founded in 1990 to organize artists and fight against censorship of musicians. Since then we've evolved to focus on empowering young people to get involved in the political process. We use pop culture, peer-to-peer organizing, and the latest technology to raise visibility of politics and demystify the process of registering to vote. @rockthevote Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 at 11:53 am and is filed under what you need to know. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.