Motley Moose – Archive

I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in “Cheers & Jeers”.

OK, you’ve been warned – here is this week’s tomfoolery material that I posted.

ART NOTES – an exhibition entitled Looking at Women is at the Brooks Museum Of Art in Memphis, Tennessee through February 22nd.

HAIL and FAREWELL to Frank Borghi – the goalkeeper on the US squad that was badly outplayed … but defeated England 1-0 (that shocked the World Cup of 1950 in Brazil) – who has died at the age of 89. It also turns out that (as a WW-II medic) he bandaged the shrapnel wounds of a fellow soldier from St. Louis near Remagen, Germany … who turned-out to be future sports broadcaster Jack Buck. With the death of Frank Borghi, the only survivor from that 1950 team is Walter Bahr – later a successful soccer coach at Penn State and the father of future Super Bowl champion placekickers Matt Bahr and Chris Bahr.

Also to several other sports figures: pro golfer Charlie Sifford – who had to challenge the PGA’s formal exclusion of blacks (which lasted until 1961) at age 92 ….. plus the NBA referee Norm Drucker – the only official ever to eject Wilt Chamberlain from a game – at age 94 … and the former University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith – long-known for his liberal politics in the conservative sports world – who has died at the age of 83.

Next, the musician Joe Mauldin – the bassist in Buddy Holly’s back-up band The Crickets – at age 74 …. the woman who launched the professional skin-care business almost single-handedly in the US, Christine Valmy – who was unable to practice law in her native Romania due to Soviet-era restrictions – at age 88 …. and finally, to David Landau – an editor of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, a firm supporter of the two-state solution and a better understanding of Israel around the world – who has died at the age of 67.

THURSDAY’s CHILD is Marissa the Cat – a North Carolina kitteh who survived three hours in a house fire (hiding in a wall) … and after being treated for smoke inhalation, is expected to escape with some burn marks and an injured eye.

THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at the feud between the makers of the Hammond B-3 organ and the Leslie speaker – a musical match match made in heaven – which many rock and jazz organists will confirm – but which incredibly (for decades) the two firms were at odds with each other.

THE NEWLY-ELECTED prime minister of Greece (elected on an anti-austerity platform) has met with a natural ally, the center-left Democratic Party prime minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi – who said, “I spent my first year as a first minister accused of being a dangerous leftist man” …. which some members of the US Democratic Party can probably relate to.

SHOULD HE BE SERIOUS about launching a presidential bid: it seems that Ben Carson will need to walk-back some viewpoints contained in his two most recent books (about deportations, alternative fuels, the Glass-Steagall Act, green technologies and Wall Street) … which he may have already begun to do so.

POLITICAL NOTES – Tony Abbott, the unpopular right-wing prime minister of Australia is in danger of losing his post this coming week in Parliament, after a number of mis-steps … including his decision to confer an Australian knighthood on Britain’s Prince Phillip – garnering derision from many quarters (even from your-friend-and-mine, Rupert).

FRIDAY’s CHILD is Jaffy the Cat – one of three English hero kittehs who constantly followed around a fifty-five year-old woman and sat on her lap, poking at her abdomen … who turned-out to have a rare form of cancer of the appendix (usually not detected until it is too late).

ALTHOUGH best known for his super spies and villains: 50 years ago, James Bond creator Ian Fleming wrote a bedtime story for his young son about a magical flying car … and in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, he created one of the best-loved stories in children’s fiction.

BRAIN TEASER – try this Quiz of the Week’s News from the BBC.

OLDER-YOUNGER BROTHERS? – veteran Boston radio host Jose Masso – last year inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame – as well as Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN).

   

…… and finally, for a song of the week ………………………… when initial (and as of then, unconfirmed) reports of his death surfaced early this week: I was surprised to learn that while I had often cited him before, I had never written a profile of the R&M singer Don Covay – whose songs are better known when performed by others and who (as the All-Music Guide’s Jason Ankeny noted) had a scope and diversity (from rock to deep soul) no doubt prevented him from having consistent commercial success in his own right. But he had an especially major influence on one English singer ……… and so for a multitude of reasons: it’s time to tell his story.    

Born Donald Randolph in South Carolina in 1936, his Baptist minister father died when Don was only eight years old. Afterwards, the family relocated to Washington, D.C. where at age fifteen he joined a doo-wop group called The Rainbows – although he was there only two years and never performed with a sometime-guest singer named Marvin Gaye (contrary to some reports).

He obtained work as a chauffeur to Little Richard and often worked as his opening act. From 1957-1961 he released several R&B singles (such as “If You See Mary Lee” and “Standing in the Doorway”) that garnered only modest success. He began to concentrate on songwriting, and his composition “Pony Time” went on to be a #1 hit for Chubby Checker.

This gained him recognition from the executives at the legendary Brill Building and he wrote material for their songwriting factory. Beneficiaries included Solomon Burke (“I’m Hanging Up My Heart for You”), Gladys Knight and the Pips (“Letter Full of Tears”), Wilson Pickett (“I’m Gonna Cry”) and old friend Little Richard (“I Don’t Know What You’ve Got but It’s Got Me”).

His breakthrough single came with 1964’s Mercy, Mercy – with a then-unknown Jimi Hendrix on guitar. A year later, the Rolling Stones recorded the tune …. but just listen to Don Covay’s original recording at this link – and you will quickly learn who Michael Philip Jagger’s main influence as a young singer was.

Covay signed with Atlantic Records in 1965 and his time spent with Booker T and the MG’s proved to be his first successful period (and where he found a sometime songwriting partner in MG’s guitarist Steve Cropper). “Please Do Something” gained some airplay and his follow-up See-Saw became his highest-charting song of the 1960’s (reaching #5 on the R&B charts and #44 on the pop charts).

Alas, he could not sustain the momentum: and returned to songwriting for others on the side. In 1967, Aretha Franklin scored a #2 hit with Don Covay’s Chain of Fools – that Covay had actually written a dozen years earlier (and whose own recording of had flopped, miserably). Covay also wrote hits for Etta James (“Watch Dog”) and Otis Redding (“Think About It” and “Demonstration”).

In 1968, he formed a supergroup The Soul Clan with four other soul music stars: Solomon Burke, Joe Tex, Ben E. King and Arthur Conley. Wow. Hard to believe, but only one of their songs (Soul Meeting) could even reach the R&B Top 40. After the band disintegrated, Covay formed a band with former Shirelles guitarist Joe Richardson and folksinger John Paul Hammond called Jefferson Lemon Blues Band – an unsuccessful attempt to join the burgeoning blues-rock music trend, though they did release two albums before ending in 1970.

In 1972, Don Covay became an executive at Mercury Records, and while there recorded the album Super Dude – a more mature sound that enjoyed some success, with singles “I Was Checkin’ Out, She Was Checkin’ In” and “Somebody’s Been Enjoying My Home” and a 1975 release that featured a Gospel-inspired “It’s Better to Have (And Don’t Need)” along with “Rumble in the Jungle” … yes, based upon the Ali-Foreman heavyweight title bout. But the rest of the decade he floundered (even with production help from Gamble & Huff) and was inactive in the music business for several years.

In 1986, the Rolling Stones asked Don Covay to sing harmony on their 1986 recording Dirty Work and as a result Don Covay was able to perform on the oldies circuit until suffering a stroke in 1992 at the age of 56 (although he never completely stopped writing songs). The next year, a tribute album – featuring musicians such as Robert Cray, Ron Wood, Iggy Pop, Todd Rundgren, Gary ‘U.S.’ Bonds and Ben E. King won wide praise for bringing Covay’s music catalog to a wider audience.

The following year (1994) he was awarded a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm & Blues Foundation – but was unable to receive it in person due to his stroke. His health gradually improved and he was finally able to receive his prize in the year 2000: arriving at the Philadelphia banquet in a wheelchair-accessible van … given to him by the Rolling Stones.

That same year, he was able to record his final album Ad Lib – mainly new material, along with some reworkings of “Mercy, Mercy” and his own definitive version of “Chain of Fools” – with guest musicians such as jazzman Lee Konitz, Huey Lewis, Ann Peebles, Paul Rodgers (of Bad Company), Wilson Pickett and Savoy Brown guitarist Kim Simmonds. After a twenty-five year hiatus, it was a good valedictory effort. There is also a 1994 career retrospective album containing his major works.

Don Covay died in Long Island, New York on Saturday, January 31 at the age of 78.

He has been nominated for induction for the Songwriters Hall of Fame and if he does make it: it will be due to the success of the songs others made famous. Besides the numerous cover versions already mentioned: others who recorded his material include “You Can Run But You Can’t Hide” (Jerry Butler), “The Usual Place” (J. Geils Band), “Take This Hurt Off Me” (Small Faces), “Mr. Twister” (Connie Francis) and was name-checked by Bobby Womack (on I Was Checking Out).

I first saw the name Don Covay on the writer’s credit for a song on the first Steppenwolf album (released in January, 1968) called Sookie Sookie – which was co-written with Covay by Steve Cropper. It was not a hit for Don Covay, but often served as an opening concert song for Steppenwolf. You can listen to the Steppenwolf version at this link and even a funky instrumental version by jazz guitarist Grant Green at this link … and below here is how Don Covay sang it in 1966, nearly fifty years ago.

While it has been supplanted by electronic keyboards the past three decades: the Hammond B-3 electro-mechanical organ changed popular music in the 20th Century. Its counterpart was the Leslie rotating speaker – which brought-out the sound of this instrument like no other. Yet because the Leslie came from a rival manufacturer: what should have been a “beautiful friendship” became, instead …… a corporate feud of the first magnitude.

To understand this saga: one needs to know about their inventors Laurens Hammond and Donald Leslie – who grew up less than 200 miles from each other – and how (amazingly) they worked at cross-purposes for many years: when in fact their inventions were a match made-in-heaven. Despite this feud: their products (which were originally designed for churches and homes) ….. changed the face of popular music in the 20th Century.

Laurens Hammond (photo left, below) was born in Evanston, Illinois in 1895 and whose father committed suicide when he was only three. His mother moved the family to France to further her art studies and young Laurens already showed himself to be a prodigy: submitting a primitive design of an automatic transmission (in 1909) at age 14 which the engineering department at Renault decided …. to forego.

Graduating with a mechanical engineering degree from Cornell, Hammond served in WW-I before inventing a spring-driven clock (the Hammond Clock) at age 24. The company he founded struggled during the Depression; one of the products he developed to diversify the company included electro-mechanical organs – which Hammond developed from a piano.

The use of mechanical tonewheels (in lieu of the prevailing pipe organ technology in use at churches) made for a new way for people to play the instrument when introduced in 1935 and – while it was heavy – it could be transported to public venues. It meant that groups using one could forego having a bassist (with the pedals providing an ensemble’s bottom-end sound). The model that sold best with popular musicians was the Hammond B-3 developed in 1954.

It was popularized in its early days by the jazzman Jimmy Smith – a former pianist who began using organs in the early 1950’s and was often described on TV/radio as “Jimmy Smith on the Hammond B-3” – you would not hear other musical instruments so noted. It is no exaggeration to say that it was Jimmy Smith who set the standard for jazz/blues organ playing … and made the Hammond B-3 its gold standard.

Electro-mechanical organs were eventually supplanted in the mid-1970’s by electronic keyboards (although the Hammond Company did release a “New B-3” in 2002). Some of the bands/musicians who used a Hammond organ: in jazz (Jimmy Smith, Joey DeFrancesco, Dr. Lonnie Smith), and in rock (Santana, Procol Harum, Boston, Pink Floyd and Deep Purple) and even in the post-1975 era: fully electronic Hammonds were used by The Grateful Dead’s Brent Mydland, Page McConnell of Phish and Danny Federici of the E Street Band.

Yet with all of the new designs able to reproduce the old organ sounds (and weighing much, much less to carry) there are musicians to this day who will not part with their old electro-mechanical models – to the chagrin of sore-backed roadies. Gregg Allman, in fact, brings two old ones on his current tour, just in case one has trouble. And just last year, a documentary film (called “Killer B-3”, complete with numerous interviews) was released.

Laurens Hammond helped design guided missile controls during WW-II, and his retirement from his company in 1955 didn’t stop him, either: he was granted another 20 patents after age 65 (to go along with the 90 he previously held). Laurens Hammond died in July, 1973 at the age of 78 – and at the time of his death, there were over 31 manufacturers of electric organs, a true testament to his work.

But for all of his work in creating a new instrument for-the-ages: the speakers used on Hammonds in their early years sounded fine in a concert hall …. but poorly in a smaller, more confined space (flat and brittle, with no resonance) where they were often used.

It was thus left to Donald Leslie (photo right, below) – a native of Danville, Illinois (less than 200 miles south of Laurens Hammond’s birthplace) – to solve the problem. Leslie worked at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C. during WW-II, and was a radio repairman at a Los Angeles store in the mid-1930’s who owned a first generation Hammond organ. Around 1938, he heard a truck pass by his home with a horn broadcasting a political announcement, and noticed the sound trailing off as it passed by – the Doppler effect.

That gave Don Leslie the idea for a dynamic type of speaker: which he built at home with both a rotating horn speaker and a separate woofer, creating a vibrant sound (with the Doppler effect) that swirls around as if in a concert hall. He made the first commercial production of the Leslie speaker around 1940, when he offered to either license it (or sell outright) to the Hammond Organ Company.  

But Laurens Hammond was quite paranoid about this interloper, and rejected the offer. Donald Leslie founded Electro-Music as a result, and marketed his device on its own. And the improved sound was so evident, his company took off in production. The Hammond company, it should be duly noted, improved its own speaker on several occasions – but never equalling Don Leslie’s unit.

And here is where this story moves from merely business … into the world of human drama.

Laurens Hammond wanted control of his instrument’s sound so badly, he (a) had his engineers constantly switch its cable connectors to thwart the use of Leslies and (b) forbade music dealers from selling Leslies if they wanted to be Hammond dealers.

It led to a Kabuki-like dance, where dealers sold cable converters and Leslies secretly through rival stores (whisper, whisper) – which aspiring organists were willing to put up with. In 1957 (seventeen years after the founding of Electro-Music) the Hammond Company finally contacted Leslie about buying-him-out: “Too late!” was his response.

It should be noted that use of the Leslie speaker isn’t limited to organs: numerous musicians use it with other instruments (or voice) on their recordings: examples are The Beatles (“Tomorrow Never Knows”), Elton John (“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”), Black Sabbath (“Planet Caravan”), Aerosmith (“What it Takes”), Tori Amos (“Horses”), Smashing Pumpkins (“Rhinoceros”), The Byrds (“The Ballad of Easy Rider”) and Eric Clapton back in 1968 with Cream (“Badge”).

Don Leslie eventually sold his company to CBS in 1965, and after the death of Laurens Hammond in 1973, relations between Hammond’s company and Electro-Music warmed considerably. The Hammond Company bought Electro-Music from CBS in 1980, and today the company is part of the Hammond Suzuki company.

Even today, such as the annual NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) trade-show convention: this year’s event (that just recently concluded) featured an organ effects pedal that lists among its attributes, “The modulation control is like having a dial for your Leslie speaker” … pre-supposing that a serious organist would be using a Leslie speaker.  

Donald Leslie died in September, 2004 at the age of 93. He obtained over fifty patents himself, and lived in the same house in Altadena, California for over sixty years.

     

One musician who has long used Hammond keyboards with a Leslie speaker (and who is a student of their history) is Steve Winwood – and the song by which this veteran Englishman broke onto the US charts some forty-eight years ago (at only age 18) was Gimme Some Lovin’ (fair-use extract below) written by himself, his brother Mervyn (“Muff”, later to be a record producer) and their bandleader, the Welshman Spencer Davis who now lives and performs on Catalina Island in California. The song begins modestly, before the swirling Hammond/Leslie sound takes over. The organ part was featured in some financial planning TV commercials five years ago (with Dennis Hopper) and below: you can hear the original.

Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings diaries give the Moose, old and new, a place to visit and share words about the weather, life, the world at large and the small parts of Moosylvania that we each inhabit.

In lieu of daily check-ins, which have gone on hiatus, Welcomings diaries will be posted at the start of each week (every Sunday morning) and then, if necessary due to a large number of comments, again on Wednesday or Thursday to close out the week. To find the diaries, just bookmark this link and Voila! (which is Moose for “I found everyone!!”).

The format is simple: each day, the first moose to arrive on-line will post a comment welcoming the new day and complaining (or bragging!) about their weather. Or mentioning an interesting or thought provoking news item. Or simply checking in.

So … what’s going on in your part of Moosylvania?

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The President’s Weekly Address post is also an Open News Thread. Feel free to share other news stories in the comments.

From the White House – Weekly Address

In this week’s address, President Obama highlighted the progress our economy has made, with more than 3.1 million jobs created in 2014 – the best year for job growth since the late 1990s. America has come a long way, and with the right policies, we can continue to grow our economy into one where those who work hard can get ahead.

That’s why earlier this week the President released a budget proposal focused on middle-class economics – the idea that this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, does their fair share, and plays by the same set of rules. The President said he looks forward to working with anyone, Republican or Democrat, who is willing to fight for commonsense policies that will help the middle class succeed.

Transcript: Weekly Address: Everyone Who Works Hard Should Get Ahead

Hi everybody. I’m talking with you today from Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis, where I just held a town hall and heard from everyday Americans about what we can do, together, to make their lives a little better.

This week, we got news that confirms what we already know — that our businesses continue to create jobs for hardworking folks all across the country. Last month, America’s businesses added another 267,000 jobs. In 2014, our economy created more than 3.1 million jobs in all — the best year for job growth since the late 1990s. All told, over the past 59 months, the private sector has added 11.8 million new jobs-the longest streak on record. And in the single most hopeful sign for middle class families, wages are rising again.

America is poised for another good year – as long as Washington works to keep this progress going. We have to choose — will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well, or will we build an economy where everyone who works hard can get ahead?

Because while we’ve come a long way, we’ve got more work to do to make sure that our recovery reaches more Americans, not just those at the top. That’s what middle-class economics is all about — the idea that this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.

This week, I sent Congress a budget built on middle-class economics. It helps families afford childcare, health care, college, paid leave at work, homeownership, and saving for retirement, and it could put thousands of dollars back into the pockets of a working family each year. It helps more Americans learn new skills to earn higher wages, including by making two years of community college free for responsible students all across the country. It invests in the research and infrastructure our businesses need to compete and create high-paying jobs. And it pays for this with smart spending cuts and by fixing a tax code that’s riddled with special-interest loopholes for folks who don’t need them, allowing us to offer tax breaks to students and families who do need them.

I believe this is where we need to go to give working families more security in a time of constant economic change. And I’ll work with anyone-Republican or Democrat-who wants to get to “yes” on these issues. We won’t agree on everything, and that’s natural — but we should stop refighting old battles, and start working together to help you succeed in the new economy.

That’s what you elected us to do — not to turn everything into another Washington food fight, but to have debates that are worthy of this country, and to build an economy not just where everyone can share in America’s success, but where everyone can contribute to America’s success.

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

Bolding added.

~

I wasn’t going to jump into this conversation, but I want to add another dimension to the discussion of the benefits vs. dangers of vaccinating. I feel qualified by the fact that my first-born child had a severe reaction to her first DPT vaccination many years ago.

We got her first vaccination on time when she was two months old. Within ten minutes, she was screeching non-stop, like a threatened animal. We got sent home anyway, where she continued to screech for many hours until she had a seizure and went into a coma for three days. Happily, she woke up and seemed perfectly fine. She didn’t have any long term neurological damage.  

Vaccinations carry some risk — but the folks who produce those vaccinations work hard to mitigate that risk. I know this, because my first-born was a high-risk recipient for her entire childhood.

She still got all of her vaccinations on schedule throughout her childhood — sans the pertussis vaccine that caused the problem. When she was in college, she elected to have a new version of the pertussis vaccine that wasn’t as likely to cause a reaction to sensitive people. She had the vaccination under observation, and she tolerated it well.

Here is the thing: Western medicine screws up some things, certainly, but some things they do really well. Public health is something they do really well. They aren’t just vaccinating people with no thought to risk, in fact, they rigorously keep track of the danger, and do their best to mitigate against it.

Today, it’s a lot more dangerous to skip vaccines than to get them, especially in the areas where it’s popular to skip vaccinations all together. When most people are vaccinated, unvaccinated people have sympathetic immunity — they don’t get a disease because their community is immune. They don’t get exposed. Today, we’re at a crossing point where sympathetic immunity doesn’t exist…

Folks who have religious objections to vaccination often attribute their children’s lack of preventable disease to healthy lifestyle or faith. A correlation does not imply causality. Their children’s lack of preventable disease came from sympathetic immunity.

Please have a look at this article by Amy Parker, an adult child of anti-vaccers.

As healthy as my lifestyle seemed, I contracted measles, mumps, rubella, a type of viral meningitis, scarlatina, whooping cough, yearly tonsillitis, and chickenpox, some of which are vaccine preventable. In my twenties I got precancerous HPV and spent 6 months of my life wondering how I was going to tell my two children under the age of 7 that mummy might have cancer before it was safely removed.

The White House has released its Fiscal Year 2016 Budget. The president spoke at the Department of Homeland Security about the budget in general and the importance of a fully funded DHS in particular:

[This budget is] a broader blueprint for America’s success in this new global economy.  Because after a breakthrough year for America — at a time when our economy is growing and our businesses are creating jobs at the fastest pace since the 1990s, and wages are starting to rise again — we’ve got some fundamental choices to make about the kind of country we want to be.

Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well?  Or are we going to build an economy where everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead? […]

The budget I’ve sent to Congress today is fully paid for, through a combination of smart spending cuts and tax reforms. […]

I’m going to keep fighting to make sure that every American has the chance not just to share in America’s success but to contribute to America’s success.  That’s what this budget is about.

Full transcript below.

Transcript: Remarks by the President on the FY2016 Budget

Department of Homeland Security, Washington, D.C., 11:27 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)  Thank you, everybody.  Please, have a seat.  Well, good morning, everybody.   It is good to be here at the Department of Homeland Security.  And let me thank Jeh Johnson not only for the outstanding job that’s he’s doing as Secretary of DHS, but also for a short introduction.  I like short introductions.  (Laughter.)  Give him a big round of applause.  (Applause.)

This is a great way to start the week, because I get to do something I enjoy doing, which is saying thank you.  Nobody works harder to keep America safe than the people who are gathered here today.  And you don’t get a lot of attention for it — that’s the nature of the job.  But I know how vital you are, and I want to make that sure more Americans know how vital you are.  Because against just about every threat that we face — from terrorist networks to microscopic viruses to cyber-attacks to weather disasters — you guys are there.  You protect us from threats at home and abroad, by air and land and sea.  You safeguard our ports, you patrol our borders.  You inspect our chemical plants, screen travelers for Ebola, shield our computer networks, and help hunt down criminals around the world.  You have a busy agenda, a full plate.  And here at home, you are ready to respond to any emergency at a moment’s notice.  

It is simply extraordinary how much the Department of Homeland Security does every single day to keep our nation, our people safe.  It’s a critical job, and you get it done without a lot of fanfare.  And I want to make sure that you have what you need to keep getting the job done.  Every American has an interest in making sure that the Department of Homeland Security has what it needs to achieve its mission — because we are reliant on that mission every single day.

Now, today, I’m sending Congress a budget that will make sure you’ve got what you need to achieve your mission.  It gives you the resources you need to carry out your mission in a way that is smart and strategic, and makes the most of every dollar.  It’s also a broader blueprint for America’s success in this new global economy.  Because after a breakthrough year for America — at a time when our economy is growing and our businesses are creating jobs at the fastest pace since the 1990s, and wages are starting to rise again — we’ve got some fundamental choices to make about the kind of country we want to be.

Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well?  Or are we going to build an economy where everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead?

And that was the focus of my State of the Union Address a couple weeks ago — what I called middle-class economics.  The idea that this country does best when everybody gets a fair shot, and everybody is doing their fair share, and everybody plays by the same set of rules.

The budget that Congress now has in its hands is built on those values.  It helps working families’ paychecks go farther by treating things like paid sick leave and childcare as the economic priorities that they are.  It gives Americans of every age the chance to upgrade their skills so they can earn higher wages, and it includes my plan to make two years of community college free for responsible students.  It lets us keep building the world’s most attractive economy for high-wage jobs, with new investments in research, and infrastructure and manufacturing, as well as expanded access to faster Internet and new markets for goods made in America.



It’s also a budget that recognizes that our economy flourishes when America is safe and secure.  So it invests in our IT networks, to protect them from malicious actors.  It supports our troops and strengthens our border security.  And it gives us the resources to confront global challenges, from ISIL to Russian aggression.

Now, since I took office, we have cut our deficits by about two-thirds.  I’m going to repeat that, as I always do when I mention this fact, because the public oftentimes, if you ask them, thinks that the deficit has shot up.  Since I took office, we have cut our deficits by about two-thirds.  That’s the fastest period of sustained deficit reduction since after the demobilization at the end of World War II.  So we can afford to make these investments while remaining fiscally responsible.  And, in fact, we cannot afford — we would be making a critical error if we avoided making these investments.  We can’t afford not to. When the economy is doing well, we’re making investments when we’re growing.  That’s part of what keeps deficits low — because the economy is doing well.  So we’ve just got to be smarter about how we pay for our priorities, and that’s what my budget does.

At the end of 2013, I signed a bipartisan budget agreement that helped us end some of the arbitrary cuts known in Washington-speak as “sequestration.”  And folks here at DHS know a little too much about sequestration — (laughter) — because many of you have to deal with those cuts, and it made it a lot harder for you to do your jobs.

The 2013 agreement to reverse some of those cuts helped to boost our economic growth.  Part of the reason why we grew faster last year was we were no longer being burdened by mindless across-the-board cuts, and we were being more strategic about how we handled our federal budget.  And now we need to take the next step.  So my budget will end sequestration and fully reverse the cuts to domestic priorities in 2016. And it will match the investments that were made domestically, dollar for dollar, with increases in our defense funding.

And just last week, top military officials told Congress that if Congress does nothing to stop sequestration, there could be serious consequences for our national security, at a time when our military is stretched on a whole range of issues.  And that’s why I want to work with Congress to replace mindless austerity with smart investments that strengthen America. And we can do so in a way that is fiscally responsible.

I’m not going to accept a budget that locks in sequestration going forward.  It would be bad for our security and bad for our growth.  I will not accept a budget that severs the vital link between our national security and our economic security.  I know there’s some on Capitol Hill who would say, well, we’d be willing to increase defense spending but we’re not going to increase investments in infrastructure, for example, or basic research.  Well, those two things go hand in hand.  If we don’t have a vital infrastructure, if we don’t have broadband lines across the country, if we don’t have a smart grid, all that makes us more vulnerable.  America can’t afford being shortsighted, and I’m not going to allow it.

The budget I’ve sent to Congress today is fully paid for, through a combination of smart spending cuts and tax reforms. Let me give you an example.  Right now, our tax code is full of loopholes for special interests — like the trust fund loophole that allows the wealthiest Americans to avoid paying taxes on their unearned income.  I think we should fix that and use the savings to cut taxes for middle-class families.  That would be good for our economy.

Now, I know there are Republicans who disagree with my approach.  And I’ve said this before:  If they have other ideas for how we can keep America safe, grow our economy, while helping middle-class families feel some sense of economic security, I welcome their ideas.  But their numbers have to add up.  And what we can’t do is play politics with folks’ economic security, or with our national security.  You, better than anybody, know what the stakes are.  The work you do hangs in the balance.

In just a few weeks from now, funding for Homeland Security will run out.  That’s not because of anything this department did, it’s because the Republicans in Congress who funded everything in government through September, except for this department.  And they’re now threatening to let Homeland Security funding expire because of their disagreeing with my actions to make our immigration system smarter, fairer and safer.

Now let’s be clear, I think we can have a reasonable debate about immigration.  I’m confident that what we’re doing is the right thing and the lawful thing.  I understand they may have some disagreements with me on that, although I should note that a large majority — or a large percentage of Republicans agree that we need comprehensive immigration reform, and we’re prepared to act in the Senate and should have acted in the House.  But if they don’t agree with me, that’s fine, that’s how our democracy works.  You may have noticed they usually don’t agree with me.  But don’t jeopardize our national security over this disagreement.

As one Republican put it, if they let your funding run out, “it’s not the end of the world.”  That’s what they said.  Well, I guess literally that’s true; it may not be the end of the world.  But until they pass a funding bill, it is the end of a paycheck for tens of thousands of frontline workers who will continue to get — to have to work without getting paid.  Over 40,000 Border Patrol and Customs agents.  Over 50,000 airport screeners.  Over 13,000 immigration officers.  Over 40,000 men and women in the Coast Guard.  These Americans aren’t just working to keep us safe, they have to take care of their own families.  The notion that they would get caught up in a disagreement around policy that has nothing to do with them makes no sense.  

And if Republicans let Homeland Security funding expire, it’s the end to any new initiatives in the event that a new threat emerges.  It’s the end of grants to states and cities that improve local law enforcement and keep our communities safe.  The men and women of America’s homeland security apparatus do important work to protect us, and Republicans and Democrats in Congress should not be playing politics with that.

We need to fund the department, pure and simple.  We’ve got to put politics aside, pass a budget that funds our national security priorities at home and abroad, and gives middle-class families the security they need to get ahead in the new economy.  This is one of our most basic and most important responsibilities as a government.  So I’m calling on Congress to get this done.

Every day, we count on people like you to keep America secure.  And you are counting on us as well to uphold our end of the bargain.  You’re counting on us to make sure that you’ve got the resources to do your jobs safely and efficiently, and that you’re able to look after your families while you are out there working really hard to keep us safe.

We ask a lot of you.  The least we can do is have your backs.  That’s what I’m going to keep on doing for as long as I have the honor of serving as your President.  I have your back.  And I’m going to keep on fighting to make sure that you get the resources you deserve.  I’m going to keep fighting to make sure that every American has the chance not just to share in America’s success but to contribute to America’s success.  That’s what this budget is about.

It reflects our values in making sure that we are making the investments we need to keep America safe, to keep America growing, and to make sure that everybody is participating no matter what they look like, where they come from, no matter how they started in life, they’ve got a chance to get ahead in this great country of ours.  That’s what I believe.  That’s what you believe.  (Applause.)  Let’s get it done.

Thank you.  God bless you.  God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

END

11:43 A.M. EST

Bolding and underlining added.

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White House Budget Links:

– Senior administration officials discuss the budget:

– An interactive view of the budget is here: Interactive Budget.

– The nuts and bolts are here: Office of Management and Budget: The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2016

– 5 new things about this year’s budget. One of them is the look of the budget document itself:

So instead of the plain blue budget cover that administrations typically affix to the budget, this year’s cover features the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York — one of the bridges that has benefited from the President’s previous investments in infrastructure upgrades.

At the beginning of February, when the earth appears frozen and lifeless, there are stirrings below the surface and above us in the sky. The light is returning; today there is nearly an hour more daylight than there was on the Winter Solstice.

Mid-January through mid-February is when the Great Horned Owls start breeding and nesting. While the rest of us look out at the wintry landscape here in North Central Blogistan and wait for spring, the owls are already beginning their nesting year.

(Don’t forget to hover …)

The mother Great Horned Owl will sit on her eggs for about a month. The newly born owlets will stay in the nest for about 6 weeks (until around the Spring Equinox), then move to nearby branches where they start the serious business of learning how to fly. By Summer Solstice, they will be competent flyers and will learn to hunt and fend for themselves although they often stay with their parents until fall.

The pagan holiday of Imbolc is celebrated between January 30th and February 2nd. This cross-quarter marks the mid-point between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox and with it comes the promise of the light and more: the stirrings of life that remind us of the cycle of the earth.

We should start preparing ourselves for spring physically and mentally. Life will get busier and this may be one of our last chances to contemplate what we want for the new cycle. Goals for personal growth, new beginnings, dreams for the future and connections to one another.

To all my pagan friends, Blessed Imbolc! And to everyone, may the light find you and bring you the warmth of the early spring and the promise of new beginnings.

Note: As the wheel of the earth turns and we are once again at Imbolc, this post is not so much a rerun as it is a return. That’s my story and I am sticking with it. 🙂  

Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings diaries give the Moose, old and new, a place to visit and share words about the weather, life, the world at large and the small parts of Moosylvania that we each inhabit.

In lieu of daily check-ins, which have gone on hiatus, Welcomings diaries will be posted at the start of each week (every Sunday morning) and then, if necessary due to a large number of comments, again on Wednesday or Thursday to close out the week. To find the diaries, just bookmark this link and Voila! (which is Moose for “I found everyone!!”).

The format is simple: each day, the first moose to arrive on-line will post a comment welcoming the new day and complaining (or bragging!) about their weather. Or mentioning an interesting or thought provoking news item. Or simply checking in.

So … what’s going on in your part of Moosylvania?

…

The President’s Weekly Address post is also an Open News Thread. Feel free to share other news stories in the comments.

From the White House – Weekly Address

In this week’s address, the President described the progress our economy has made, laying a foundation for a future that prioritizes middle-class economics.

This week, the President will send a budget to Congress centered on the idea that everyone who works hard should have the chance to get ahead. His plan will reverse harmful sequestration cuts and instead make paychecks go further, create good jobs here in the United States, and prepare hardworking Americans to earn higher wages. The President made the case for his budget, and affirmed his commitment to doing everything he can to ensure more Americans can get ahead in this new economy.

(In Spanish, from Juan Gonzalez, asesor del Vicepresidente para asuntos del Hemisferio Occidental, more at  WhiteHouse.gov/Espanol)

Transcript: Weekly Address: A Path Towards a Thriving Middle Class

Hi, everybody.  At a moment when our economy is growing, our businesses are creating jobs at the fastest pace since the 1990s, and wages are starting to rise again, we have to make some choices about the kind of country we want to be.

Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well?  Or will we build an economy where everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead?

That was the focus of my State of the Union Address – middle-class economics.  The idea that this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.

This week, I will send a budget to Congress that’s built on those values.

We’ll help working families’ paychecks go farther by treating things like paid leave and child care like the economic priorities that they are.  We’ll offer Americans of every age the chance to upgrade their skills so they can earn higher wages, with plans like making two years of community college free for every responsible student.  And we’ll keep building the world’s most attractive economy for high-wage jobs, with new investments in research, infrastructure, manufacturing, and expanded access to faster internet and new markets.

We can afford to make these investments. Since I took office, we’ve cut our deficits by about two-thirds – the fastest sustained deficit reduction since just after the end of World War II.  We just have to be smarter about how we pay for our priorities, and that’s what my budget does.  It proposes getting rid of special interest loopholes in our tax code, and using those savings to cut taxes for middle-class families and reward businesses that invest in America.  It refuses to play politics with our homeland security, and funds our national security priorities at home and abroad.  And it undoes the arbitrary, across-the-board budget cuts known as “the sequester” for our domestic priorities, and matches those investments dollar-for-dollar in resources our troops need to get the job done.

Now, I know that there are Republicans in Congress who disagree with my approach.  And like I said in my State of the Union Address, if they have ideas that will help middle-class families feel some economic security, I’m all in to work with them.  But I will keep doing everything I can to help more working families make ends meet and get ahead.  Not just because we want everyone to share in America’s success – but because we want everyone to contribute to America’s success.



That’s the way the middle class thrived in the last century – and that’s how it will thrive again.

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

Bolding added.

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