peopleslounge: Checking out http://bit.ly/bq19M

peopleslounge: celebrating the fact that Membership at The People's Lounge reached 1000+ folks yesterday!!!

peopleslounge: Learning that Mr. Obama is going to "step it up" in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He plans to offer more civilian support throughout.

peopleslounge: welcoming to The People's Lounge: USA, Netherlands, Congo, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Uruguay, Jamaica, Cuba, Hungary, Kuwait, Germany and UK.

peopleslounge: Just learned that the mega-monster, GOOGLE will be laying off 200 souls.

peopleslounge: trying to reconcile the notion that the Dem led Congress just passed the largest pork-filled and earmarked spending bill in U.S. history.

peopleslounge: ... listening to a Republican Senator explain why all but 1 Republican, and 11 Dems had all voted against the just passed spending bill.

peopleslounge: ... wondering why anyone in their right minds would seriously consider George W. Bush guilty of war crimes, and/or crimes against humanity.

peopleslounge: just learned that a dentist is suing a family she served for posting a negative review about her on yelp! YIKES!!!

peopleslounge: Just learned that a peanut plant in Georgia is responsible for the recent and serious salmonella outbreak.

United We Serve: Feed a Neighbor

As we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends, let us also pause and acknowledge that many of our neighbors are struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table. The President and the First Lady are calling on all of us to come together to solve hunger in our communities.

In this spirit, the Corporation for National and Community Service in coordination with the White House and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is launching the United We Serve: Feed a Neighbor initiative. The new initiative raises awareness of hunger issues and equips Americans with the resources to mobilize against the hunger crisis.

Here’s what you can do to get started fighting hunger today:

Nicola Goren is the Acting CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service

The Official Pardoning of the Turkey

Click here to see the video.

Today at the White House, the President officially pardoned not one turkey, but two -- sparing both “Courage” and “Carolina,” a request from his compassionate daughters, Sasha and Malia. Before sending the birds to a life of “peace and tranquility” in Disneyland, the President took the time to express his gratitude for life’s blessings, and remind Americans that Thanksgiving is also a time to think of those less fortunate:

When my family and I sit around the table tomorrow, just like millions of other families across America, we'll take time to give our thanks for many blessings. But we'll also remember this is a time when so many members of our American family are hurting. There's no question this has been a tough year for America. We're at war. Our economy is emerging from an extraordinary recession into recovery. But there's a long way to go and a lot of work to do.

In more tranquil times, it's easy to notice our many blessings. It's even easier to take them for granted. But in times like these, they resonate a bit more powerfully. When President Lincoln set aside the National Day of Thanksgiving for the first time -- to celebrate America's "fruitful fields," "healthful skies," and the "strength and vigor" of the American people -- it was in the midst of the Civil War, just when the future of our very union was most in doubt. So think about that. When times were darkest, President Lincoln understood that our American blessings shined brighter than ever.

This is an era of new perils and new hardships. But we are, as ever, a people of endless compassion, boundless ingenuity, limitless strength. We're the heirs to a hard-earned history and stewards of a land of God-given beauty. We are Americans. And for all this, we give our humble thanks -- to our predecessors, to one another, and to God.

So on this quintessentially American holiday, as we give thanks for what we've got, let's also give back to those who are less fortunate. As we give thanks for our loved ones, let us remember those who can't be with us. And as we give thanks for our security, let's in turn thank those who've sacrificed to make it possible, wherever they may be.

November Release of White House Visitor Records

Building upon last month’s historic release of nearly 500 White House visitor records, today the White House releases more than 1,600 records of visits to the White House in response to another month’s worth of requests. You can view all the records in a searchable database in our Disclosures section.

We announced earlier that in December the White House would -- for the first time in history -- begin posting all White House visitor records under the terms of our new voluntary disclosure policy. As part of that initiative, we also offered to look back at the records created before the announcement of the policy and answer specific requests for visitor records created earlier in the year.

Today’s production of records is in response to over 300 requests from the public during the month of October. Those requests have yielded over 1,600 responsive records. Consistent with our earlier announcement that we will only release records that are 90 days or older, this group of records covers the time period between January 20, 2009 to August 31, 2009. All of these have been added to the online database of published visitor records in an accessible, searchable format for anyone to browse or download.

Today’s release advances the President’s historic commitment to increasing government transparency and openness. This Administration’s concrete commitments to openness include putting up more government information than ever before on data.gov and recovery.gov, reforming the government’s FOIA processes, providing on-line access to White House staff financial reports and salaries, adopting a tough new state secrets policy, reversing an executive order that previously limited access to presidential records, and webcasting White House meetings and conferences. The release also compliments our new lobbying rules, which in addition to closing the revolving door for lobbyists who work in government have also emphasized expanding disclosure of lobbyist contacts with the government.

Several of the most frequent White House visitors in today's release are, not surprisingly, Administration officials who come to the White House as part of their daily work. For example, Tom Perrelli and Spencer Overton - each an appointed official in the Administration - have visited the White House many times.

Finally, as we noted last month, sometimes rather than providing clear information transparency can have confusing or amusing results. With an average of 100,000 White House access records created each month, many White House Visitors share the same name as celebrities. In October, requests were submitted for the names of some notable figures (for example Michael Jordan and Michael Moore). The famous individuals with those names never actually came to the White House, but we have included the individuals that did visit and share those names.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Norm Eisen is Special Counsel to the President for ethics and government reform
 

Streaming Live at 11:28 - President Obama Speaks at Official Pardoning of the Turkey

At 11:28 AM EST, President Obama will speak at the official pardoning of the White House turkey. The ceremony will take place in the Rose Garden and give one lucky turkey a second chance at life. Watch it through WhiteHouse.gov/live

And in case you missed it, check out yesterday’s preview:

Click here to see the video.

[UPDATE: This event has now concluded.]

Streaming at 11:30am EST: Nancy-Ann DeParle Speaks with AllBusiness.com about Health Care Reform

At 11:30am EST, White House Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle will answer questions from AllBusiness.com about health reform and small business. 

Watch it live at WH.gov/Live.

[UPDATE: This event has now concluded.]

The First State Dinner: President Obama Welcomes His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh of India

Click here to see the video.

In honor of the arrival of His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, and his wife, Mrs. Gursharan Kaur, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will hold the first official State Dinner of the Presidency. The event promises to be a celebration of President Obama’s deep respect for India and its people, setting the tone for a long-lasting relationship between the nations.

Earlier today during the Arrival Ceremony, President Obama spoke of the enduring bonds shared by the US and India, and looked forward to continued cooperation rooted in strong democratic values:

And as the world's largest democracies, we can keep faith with our common values -- speaking out and standing up for the rights and dignity to which all human beings are entitled; and showing that nations that respect the rights and aspirations of their people are ultimately more stable, more secure and more successful. 

This is the India that America welcomes today -- a leader in Asia and around the world.  (Applause.)  These are the challenges we are summoned to meet in partnership.  This is the progress that is possible -- today and in the days and years ahead. 

And, Mr. Prime Minister, as we build our common future, we can draw strength from our shared past.  For it was exactly 60 years ago, in a ceremony not unlike this, that an American president welcomed to the White House the first prime minister of an independent India.  And while the decades that followed were not without their challenges, the spirit of that first visit is with us today -- the same sense of possibility, the same hope for the future.

Click here to see the photo gallery.

The State Dinner will be streamed live at 8:15 PM EST, so make sure to tune in.

Streaming at 2 p.m.: The History and Protocol of State Visits

As the White House prepares for tonight's State Dinner in honor of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mrs. Gursharan Kaur of India (see the Press Preview pdf), First Lady Michelle Obama hosts young women from the White House Leadership and Mentoring Program to discuss the history and protocol that surround State and Official Visits. The First Lady discusses how protocol and hospitality can help foster good relations and build strong friendships.

Joining the First Lady are White House Curator William Allman and Tanya Turner, Protocol Officer for the Visits Division at the U.S. Department of State.

[UPDATE: This event has now concluded]

The Smart Grid and You

Today, I announced a $620 million investment in the "Smart Grid" -- building on a $3.4 billion investment announced by President Obama last month as part of the Recovery Act.  So what is a "Smart Grid?"  How will it save your family money?  Check out this video:

Steven Chu is Secretary of Energy

Giving Thanks to Our Heroes This Holiday

There is nothing like the warmth of home during the holidays.  In this spirit, the Vice President and I hosted an early Thanksgiving Dinner last night for servicemembers and their families at our home, the U.S. Naval Observatory.  It was the Biden family’s small way of saying thank you to these heroes, and we could not have been more honored to share a table with this group.  As my husband said, “Never before has this place been accorded such an honor as tonight. No individual group has walked through that door that has lent more dignity than you.”

Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden host a dinner for the Fisher House at the Naval Observatory Residence, Monday, November 23, 2009. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Our guests were from the Fisher House, an organization that provides the comfort and care of a “home away from home” for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers 365 days a year. The houses allow for family members to be close to their loved ones during trying times.  I visited the Fisher House at the Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this spring and I was so touched by every person I met and the courage and patriotism of all the residents and families. 

Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden host a dinner for the Fisher House at the Naval Observatory Residence, Monday, November 23, 2009. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Our entire family knows first-hand the challenges that military families face every day.  Our son Beau recently returned from a year-long deployment in Iraq and we are so grateful to have him safely home.  However, there are many families who are missing a loved one who is serving abroad or who is recovering from an injury and cannot make it home for the holidays.   This year, and every year, we want to thank the many servicemen and women and their families across the globe for their sacrifices.

During the holiday season, enjoy the warmth of your home and consider reaching out to all of those who have given so much for our country.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Dr. Jill Biden is the Second Lady of the United States

Reality Check: Health Insurance Reform and Guns

It’s amazing that after so many months debating health insurance reform, sometimes a myth we see being spread about it can still surprise us. In October, for example, we saw a rather shocking claim that one bill being debated in the Senate "could be used to ban guns in home self-defense." Politifact appropriately dismissed that claim as false, and we thought we could all move on from bizarre claims that reform was related to the 2nd Amendment in any way whatsoever.

But apparently the Gun Owners of America, the same group that propagated that ridiculous claim, had simply gone back to the drawing board.  Today they sent out an alert misleading their members again, raising the specter of some massive government database of  "gun-related health data" despite the fact that there is no mention "gun-related health data" or anything like it anywhere in either the Senate or the House bills.

RHETORIC:  GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA CLAIMS THAT HEALTH REFORM LEGISLATION WILL "DUMP YOUR GUN-RELATED HEALTH DATA” INTO A GOVERNMENT DATABASE WHICH CAN BE USED TO "PRECLUDE YOU FROM OWNING FIREARMS."  The Gun Owners of America (GOA) claim that "the mandates in [the Senate's health reform] legislation will most likely dump your gun-related health data into a government database that was created in section 13001 of the stimulus bill.  This includes any firearms-related information your doctor has gleaned... or any determination of PTSD, or something similar, that can preclude you from owning firearms." [Gun Owners of America Alert, 11/20/09]

REALITY:  NOTHING IN THE SENATE BILL WOULD RESULT IN "GUN-RELATED HEALTH DATA" BEING SUBMITTED TO THE GOVERNMENT.  There is no mention of "gun-related health data" anywhere in the Senate’s health reform bill and there is nothing in the bill that would result in any such data being reported to the government.    The bill does provide guidelines for reporting of anonymous statistical information to help with research, but none of this would lead to gun ownership or “gun related health data” being included in reporting to the government.  [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]

RHETORIC:  GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA CLAIMS THAT SECTION 2717 OF THE SENATE HEALTH REFORM BILL WOULD ALLOW THE GOVERNMENT TO OFFER LOWER PREMIUMS TO EMPLOYERS IF THEIR EMPLOYEES DO NOT OWN GUNS.  Gun Owners of America (GOA) claims that "Special ‘wellness and prevention’ programs (inserted by Section 1001 of the bill as part of a new Section 2717 in the Public Health Services Act) would allow the government to offer lower premiums to employers who bribe their employees to live healthier lifestyles -- and nothing within the bill would prohibit rabidly anti-gun HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from decreeing that 'no guns' is somehow healthier."  [Gun Owners of America Alert, 11/20/09]

REALITY:  NOTHING IN THE SENATE HEALTH REFORM BILL WOULD LEAD TO HIGHER PREMIUMS FOR GUN OWNERS OR A "DECREE" THAT GUN OWNERS ARE LESS HEALTHY THAN OTHERS.    Section 2717 section creates guidelines for insurers to report on initiatives that  improve quality of care and health outcomes, and it specifically lists what types of programs would be involved – such as smoking cessation, physical fitness, nutrition, heart disease prevention.  There is no mention of guns, and there is no language that could result in higher premiums for gun owners or lower premiums for people who do not own guns.  Section 2705 of the bill does permit employers to provide premium discounts for employee participation in health promotion and disease prevention programs, and it prohibits insurers from discriminating against individuals for specific reasons such as health status, medical history, and genetic information.  It allows the Secretary to add other “health status-related” factors to the list.   But again, there is no mention of guns,  or any possibility that owning or not owning guns would ever be considered a "health status-related" issue.   [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]