Category: USA
Turkey could be America’s most important regional ally, above Iraq, even above Israel, if both sides manage the relationship correctly.
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Obama Calls For Citizenship For Illegals
Immigration Reform Could Raise Cost Of ObamaCare By Hundreds Of Billions
In the wake of the U.S. Senate’s “Gang of Eight” announcement on immigration reform yesterday, President Barack Obama traveled to Las Vegas today to deliver his proposals on immigration reform.
“I am here because most Americans agree that it is time to fix a system that has been broken for way too long,” he said. He added it is time to tackle immigration reform, for immigration strengthens “our economy and our country’s future.”
Placing emphasis on bipartisanship, Obama said, “The differences are dwindling and a consensus is growing.”
Despite the years of partisanship, the president today said he felt the time has arrived to where Republicans and Democrats can “finally work together.”
Using the Kennedy-Bush amnesty plan of 2007 as a model, Obama said the infrastructure for “consensus is already in place” and he wants Congress to work immediately and take a vote on the measures “right away.”
While Obama admits those he’s helping have broken the law, he said, “They are not looking for any trouble” and “they are members of the community.”
He said the U.S. needs to make certain everyone is playing “by the rules,” but he insists “in order for immigration reform to work,” there must be a pathway to citizenship.
The president’s reasoning is that to lose these immigrants would be “bad for the economy.” He said many illegal aliens currently are studying for high tech positions but upon their graduation, they will leave America and travel to other countries with their skills.
Additionally, the president elaborated on other requirements needed for comprehensive immigration reform – elements almost identical to the proposals of the Gang of Eight from the U.S. Senate.
He said requirements for amnesty would include passing a background check, paying taxes, “going to the back of the line” and learning to speak English so that “they can earn their way to a green card and eventually citizenship.”
He also adds the nation needs to keep up enforcement and create a national system to figure out who is eligible to work and who is not.
Though the president promised to enact comprehensive immigration reform and never did, he still said in his first administration he worked to “patch up the worst cracks in the immigration system.”
The push for “comprehensive immigration reform” has not been without opposition. U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said yesterday, “The president has demonstrated he will only enforce the laws that he likes.”
Additionally, Congressman Steve Stockman, R-Texas, said, “I will not be supporting the Senate’s proposed ‘immigration reform’ should it reach the House. I cannot and will not support any immigration reform proposal that institutes an amnesty program or does not begin with a comprehensive plan to secure the borders.”
He continued, “It rewards law breaking and encourages a new flood of illegals, perpetuating the very problems it claims to solve.”
He also echoed the point of many other anti-illegal immigration activists by saying, “Our nation’s failed experiments with amnesty have proven it only encourages more illegals willing to wait it out for their turn at free citizenship.”
========Immigration Reform Could Raise Cost Of ObamaCare By Hundreds Of Billions
Earlier today, I posted on why I thought it was unlikely that immigration reform would actually pass this year. But there’s another reason why it will be difficult for Republicans to back legislation as currently outlined – immigration reform could represent a massive expansion of Obamacare, potentially costing hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade.
As the Washington Post’s Sarah Kliff details, legalizing immigrants who are currently in the country illegally could make millions of them eligible for Obamacare. Though the exact number is difficult to pin down for a number of reasons, and we don’t know how many immigrants would obtain legal status as a result of any reform package, one Congressional Budget Office report estimated that 7 million to 8 million illegal immigrants would be uninsured after Obamacare because they won’t qualify for benefits. If this population were legalized and became eligible, it would mean increasing the number of Obamacare beneficiaries by over 20 percent. (The CBO has estimated that Obamacare would cover 36 million people either through the Medicaid expansion or the exchanges.)
My very rough estimate based on existing CBO analysis is that an expansion of Obamacare on that scale could easily cost several hundred billion dollars over a decade – maybe more than a half trillion. The reason why it’s difficult to make a projection is that it’s hard to say who would qualify for Medicaid and who would qualify for subsidies. Also, given that the subsidies vary by income level, it’s hard to say (beyond educated guessing) where on the scale this newly eligible population would fall and thus how generous their subsidies would be. Also, it’s hard to say how many of them would have incomes low enough to qualify for existing Medicaid benefits anyway, which they would have been able to claim with or without Obamacare.
Having made these caveats, here are some ways of looking at what it could cost to insure newly eligible immigrants under various assumptions. After the Supreme Court’s Obamacare decision, the CBO estimated that the law would cover an additional 11 million people on Medicaid (at a cost of $643 billion from 2013 through 2022) and 25 million through the exchanges (at a cost of just over $1 trillion over the same period). So, for every additional 1 million people on Medicaid, the federal government will be spending about $58 billion over the next decade and for every 1 million people on the exchange, taxpayers would be spending about $41 billion. Projecting this out for 8 million new beneficiaries would give a range of $328 billion to $464 billion. This would be conservative, however, because the current 10-year CBO estimate includes fiscal year 2013, though the law isn’t going to be implemented until 2014 – thus the actual 10-year cost is understated. Also, this method understates the per capita cost, because I’m dividing for the decade as a whole, even though the population covered by Obamacare grows over time.
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Brother, husband to search for New York woman reported missing in Turkey
In this image provided by the family, Sarai Sierra is shown in an undated family photo, in New York. Sierra has reportedly gone missing during a trip to Turkey. (AP/Family Photo)
NEW YORK – Relatives of a missing New York City woman who disappeared while on vacation in Turkey, her first trip outside the U.S., are heading to Istanbul to look for her, her brother said Sunday.
Sarai Sierra’s family was last in touch with her on Monday, the day she was supposed to start her journey home. The 33-year-old mother of two had been in Turkey on her own since Jan. 7.
Her brother David Jimenez told The Associated Press that he and Sierra’s husband, Steven, were planning to leave for Turkey on Sunday night. He said he had no return date planned.
“I don’t want to come home without my sister,” Jimenez said.
Sierra planned to head to the Galata Bridge, a well-known tourist destination that spans the Golden Horn waterway, to take some photographs, said her mother, Betzaida Jimenez. Her daughter was then supposed to begin traveling home and was scheduled to arrive in New York City on Tuesday afternoon.
Sierra’s father went to pick her up at the airport and “waited there for hours” with no sign of his daughter, Jimenez said.
Sierra had planned to go on the trip with a friend but ended up going by herself when the friend couldn’t make it. She was looking forward to exploring her hobby of photography, her family said.
“I was nervous. I didn’t want my daughter to go,” Jimenez said, but the trip had passed smoothly with Sierra in regular contact with her family and friends through text messaging and phone calls.
“She would always call and let us know, `This is what I did today,”‘ Jimenez said.
When she didn’t show up in New York City, her husband called the place where she had been staying, David Jimenez said. The owner of the hostel checked her room and saw that her passport, equipment chargers and other items were still there.
“It looked like she was just stepping out,” he said.
The family has been in touch with authorities in their efforts to find her. No one was available to comment after hours Sunday at Istanbul police headquarters. Crime in Turkey is generally low and Istanbul is a relatively safe city for travelers, though there are areas where women would be advised to avoid going alone at night. The Galata and the nearby Galata Bridge areas have been gentrified and are home to fish restaurants, cafes and boutiques.
Sierra’s children, ages 11 and 9, do not know their mother is missing, her brother said. Betzaida Jimenez said the situation has “been a nightmare.”
“I’m forcing myself to get up because I have to get up,” she said.
But she said the tight-knit family was holding onto their faith.
“We’re praying and trusting God that she’s safe somewhere and we’re going to find her,” she said.
via Brother, husband to search for New York woman reported missing in Turkey | Fox News.
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Turkey in Obama’s Second Term
About This Event
President Obama invested considerable political capital in Turkey in his first term, cultivating a close relationship with Prime Minister Erdogan and relying on Turkey as a key regional partner. With the turmoil in Syria, continuing instability in Iraq and Southeastern Turkey, and the crisis in the Eurozone, the Turkish-American partnership has become a critical bilateral relationship. Meanwhile, Turkey faces the task of designing a new constitution which will redefine political life and the tenets of citizenship. Join our expert panel, including high-profile Turkish journalists and media personalities, for a discussion of these developments and their importance for Turkish democracy and regional stability.
Please join the Center for American Progress for a panel discussion of the challenges and opportunities confronting the U.S.-Turkish relationship at the start of President Obama’s second term, featuring Ambassador Marc Pierini, former EU representative in Turkey, and three leading Turkish journalists.
Introduction:
Rudy deLeon, Senior Vice President for National Security & International Policy, Center for American Progress
Panelists:
Ambassador Marc Pierini, visiting scholar, Carnegie Europe; former EU Ambassador to Turkey
Asli Aydintasbas, columnist, Milliyet; Regular contributor on Turkey to the Wall Street Journal and International Herald Tribune
Hamit Bilici, columnist, Zaman and Today’s Zaman, General Manager, Cihan News Agency
Ferhat Boratav, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-Türk; host, Daily Meeting; Ombudsman, Dogan TV Holding; Former producer, journalist and presenter at the BBC World Service
Moderator:
Michael Werz, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
A light lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m.
RSVP
RSVP for this event →
Location
Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC20005
Map & Directions External Link Icon
Nearest Metro: Blue/Orange Line to McPherson Square or Red Line to Metro Center
via Turkey in Obama’s Second Term | Center for American Progress.
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Get transported to musical world of Istanbul at Weston concert
WESTON —
Six expert performers from Dünya, an adventurous early music ensemble, will transport us to the kaleidoscopic musical world of Istanbul in the 16th to 18th centuries, where currents from the East and West met and mingled.
The concert will take place Friday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Congregational Church of Weston, 130 Newton St.
Unexpected encounters will be portrayed, drawn from a wide array of materials – European travelers’ accounts; the unique manuscript of a 17th century Polish convert to Islam (a sultan’s music director); popular, courtly and religious music from East and West; and Ottoman music transcribed by Europeans.
The performers sing and play an astonishing number of instruments, some lovingly recreated on the basis of miniature paintings from a lost world. They include the exotic Ottoman harp and the Turkish forerunner of the lute, as well as winds, brass, voices, viola da gamba and percussion.
“Dünya” means “world” in several languages. Joint us for a glimpse of the colorful world of old Istanbul! Reception will follow.
Performers are Robert Labaree and Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol (co-directors), Emily Lau, Zoe Weiss, Cem Mutlu and Tom Zajac.
Tickets are available at the door by cash or check for $30, $25 for seniors, and free for children under 18 and students with ID. Tickets by credit card will have an added fee of $3.
For more information call 617-489-2062 or go online (www.csem.org).
via Get transported to musical world of Istanbul at Weston concert – Wayland, MA – Wicked Local Wayland.
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Joe the Biden Eats the Bison: an Inauguration Day Poem
Interminable the accolades
for an America at the barricades.
Such specialness, such hope, such opportunity.
We, we, we the people interminably,
the real document inoperative.What is this about, this presidential rant?
About gays, blacks, latinos, unity and all the immigrants.
Just what is this about!
This too familiar verbal romp.
This sanctimonious blindness.
This faux bonhomie.America, don’t you know anything?
He kills the world with language
And not at all softly.
Wake up America!
He’s killing your world too.
It’s his tired Nobel trick,
his linguistic Guantanamo.
Wise up America!
His “We the people” kills.With his murderous dronings
he kills the world’s children.
With his We the people
he sends death squads deep into the dark bad night.
With his We the people
he sells you to big money mobsters.
With his We the people
he swears his oath
With his We the people
he lunches with the grey-headed VIPs.
President Barry and Joey the veep
munching and lunching on bison,
the exterminated food of an exterminated race.
Fifteen million of them murdered and
nary a mention, nary a trace
at the VIP Luncheon
not one word of grace
from we the people.James Ryan
21 January 2013
Inauguration Day for the 44th president of the United States of America* Oh, and it’s “Hickory-Grilled Bison with Red Potato Horseradish Cake and Wild Huckleberry Reduction” according to the official menu. With my particular historical emphasis on the word “reduction.”