The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
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Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.”

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.

‘Put in the hard work’
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

Continued…

Supreme Court Justice Nominee Sonia Sotomayor with President Barack Obama

By now, everyone has heard about President Obama’s selection for the Supreme Court Justice who will replace Justice David Souter upon his retirement at the end of this session. Her name is Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic nomination for the Supreme Court. She is a self-proclaimed ‘newyorkrican’ and described best as a ‘reasonable liberal’ who seems to be the kind of person that does not like to legislate from the bench. As expected, she seems to like to decide toward minorities. That is all well and good, but if you are anything like me, you will want to know what she is going to do for or to your wallet.

The best legal experts have basically said that she is very hard to pin down on business issues, is very diverse, and can best be described as ‘balanced’. As Americans have grown to expect from David Souter, the justice she would replace if approved by the Senate, Sotomayor’s stances are unpredictable and sometimes defy expectations of both supporters and critics. “She has not been consistently … on one side of the spectrum or the other,” said Evan Tager, a partner at the law firm Mayer Brown, who has reviewed her decisions as a judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Some conservative critics argue that her opinions and decisions in high-profile affirmative action and securities litigation cases show she will ‘bend’ the law to favor employees and consumers over businesses. Sotomayor has, however, supported limiting damages in lawsuits against companies and will dismiss discrimination claims if she finds they aren’t supported by the law.

Carl Hittinger, a lawyer with DLA Piper based in Philadelphia, has said she reminds him of Justice Samuel Alito, he said. Justice Alito, appointed by the second President Bush in 2006, is considered one of the more pro-business members of the court so far. If this is the case, businesses and investors have little to fear with her. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, however, refused to take a position on Sotomayor’s nomination so far, just simply saying it looks forward to “closely examining” her credentials.

The minority aspect mentioned earlier may be bigger than we realize though. She tends to set aside her business mind when discrimination is involved. There was a decision on whether New Haven, Conn. officials should dismiss the results of a promotional exam for firefighters due to low minority scores. In its decision, the three judge panel, of which Sotomayor was one, found that too few minorities had scored high enough and that the results should be dismissed. Roger Pilon, vice president for legal affairs at the libertarian Cato Institute, said that ruling “speaks volumes about her mindset,” concerning minority conflicts as far as business is concerned.

“There’s nothing in her record that suggests she’s … hostile to business,” said Tom Goldstein, a veteran Supreme Court analyst who has also argued before the court 21 times. “She’ll fit comfortably in (Souter’s) seat.” Most people ‘in the know’ expect Sotomayor will be similarly unpredictable.

The matter was so urgent that Justice Ramos allowed them to all meet in his Connecticut home on a Saturday afternoon, the day when all state supreme court justices should be observing collegiate football day instead of hearing about a buyout…

Another part of the unfiled lawsuit brought up by Citi is they are demanding $60 billion from Wells Fargo for interfering with the process of the purchase of Wachovia. That’s just outrageous.

Citi stands to gain a lot from the purchase of Wachovia, they would be able to sell off the bad loan debt to the government and the bailout package.

Greedy Citi, Greedy…