May Job Increase Only Nominal

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday that employment grew by 431,000 jobs in May; however, 411,000 of these jobs can be attributed to the temporary governmental employment of Census 2010 workers.

"While these are encouraging developments, we clearly have a very long way to go until the labor market is fully recovered," said Christina Romer, Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers in a statement.

In the private sector, there was a marginal increase in employment - 41,000 jobs - but this is only a drop in the bucket for the 15 million still left jobless.

However, hidden in this report is a sparkle of optimism. The number of involuntary part-time workers - those who cannot find a full-time job or whose hours had been cut back - fell by about 4 percent to 8.8 million.

This new batch of information shows that, although unemployment has fallen since April, the change has only been nominal and the rate has continued to rise since 2009.

Romer also emphasized that "it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report, positive or negative. ... Emphasis should be placed on persistent trends rather than month-to-month fluctuations."

Israel Will Conduct "Credible Investigation;" BP To Pay Gov't $69 Mil, Says Gibbs

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs delivered remarks Thursday afternoon on Israeli-Palestinian relations, the Deepwater Horizon Disaster, and immigration reform.

Gibbs was questioned on the heated and controversial conflict between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian supporters on the Gaza flotilla Monday. He addressed the death of the pro-Palestinian American citizen who was killed in the attack.

"We have called for... a full and credible investigation so that we have all the facts about what happened; that is tremendously important."

However, Gibbs later conceded that, "It's an Israeli investigation ... that could include international participation," leaving some questioning the accountability of the report.

When asked about the government's response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf, Gibbs assured reporters that the Federal government will, "hold BP responsible throughout this process."

"The Federal government will, at some point today, send...a bill for 69 million dollars of expenses incurred up to this point to BP," Gibbs said.

Gibbs expressed the President's position that states' individual handling of immigration law has been the result of a lack of action on the part of the Federal government to reform its own laws, but stated that he doesn't think the nation can, "deal with comprehensive immigration reform and the circumstances around the border without dealing with Arizona."

The Press Secretary touted Senator John McCain (R-AZ) as being "instrumental" in bringing immigration reform into the spotlight and stated that he doubts the U.S. can develop comprehensive immigration reform legislation without McCain "doing what he did" in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Clinton Presents New National Security Strategy

By Miles Wolf Tamboli-Talk Radio News Service

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered an address on the Obama administration's new National Security Strategy Thursday at the Brookings Institute, expounding on details inherent in the policy, which focuses on developing U.S. capacity to protect the nation without the military emphasis that has been exhibited in the past.

"We have to balance and integrate all of the elements of our power, starting with the so-called "three D's" - defense, diplomacy, and development - but also including our economic power and the power of our example; we need to have strategic patience and persistence because indirect applications of power and influence take time."

Clinton stated that the administration's strategy is to enhance international cooperation and build global alliances to dissuade attacks, and strengthen U.S. relations with other nations. This methodology parts with the Bush administration's rogue nation policy.

Central to Clinton's security strategy is the idea that the U.S. should provide incentives, "for states who are part of the solution ... enabling them and encouraging them ... and disincentives for those who [are] not." Clinton said that the U.S. also needs to focus on, "reaching beyond states to build partnerships with the private sector," including non-governmental organizations and academia.

The Obama administration refined the motives behind the "War on Terror," clarifying that the war in Afghanistan is not a war against Islamic extremists or against "terrorism," which is simply a tactic and not an entity, but against al-Qaeda, specifically, as the belligerent party.

In response to the critique that some believe the administration's plan will undercut America's power, Clinton declared that she, "could not disagree more," stating the the U.S. is simply, "trying to use every single tool in our toolkit."

In addition, the new Strategy aspires to ensure U.S. security by rebuilding and fortifying the country's economic prowess.

In light of recent changes in the global economy, Clinton asserted that the U.S. will strive to reform global institutions like the G-20 with the aim of strengthening "our engagement with regional institutions [like] NATO ... [and the Organization for American States]."

Salazar Details Inner-Workings Of Interior Department Amid Oil Spill

By Miles Wolf Tamboli-Talk Radio News Service

In Wednesday's hearing before the House Committee on Natural Resources, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar extrapolated on his plan, released last week, to split the controversial Minerals Management Service into three distinct entities with the ultimate goal of increasing transparency, accountability, and effectiveness through specialization. Salazar announced that he hopes to "strengthen oversight of offshore energy operations, improve the structure for revenue and royalty collections on behalf of the American people, and help our country build the clean energy future we need," by establishing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue.

Much of the impetus behind the restructuring is the result of recently released information about relationships between the MMS and the private oil industry. In a recent report released by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Inspector General Mary Kendall affirmed that members of the MMS accepted gifts, meals, and sports game tickets from oil executives. During the hearing, Salazar admitted that, in the past, accepting gifts from oil executives had become a "part of the culture," not just in the Obama administration, but among previous ones as well.

Another highly debated issue raised in the hearing was the particular drilling operation in question being granted a special exemption from the usual safety requirements demanded by the MMS. Salazar said Wednesday that this exemption was due to government legislation requiring the agency to complete the review of a drilling project in 30 days or less, limiting the MMS' ability to thoroughly investigate the situation. Termed the "use-it or lose-it" tax at the hearing, the legislation was originally intended to uphold efficiency in the energy resources industry, and government officials today implied that the bypassing of safety measures was an unintended side effect of the law.

House Natural Resources Committee member George Miller (D-Calif.) grilled Salazar on the MMS' lack of safety regulations, citing the fact that the oil industry's drilling technology has far outpaced the ability to prevent or clean up after accidents. Exclaiming that the MMS, "went to hell in a hand-basket," Miller expressed his discontent that, in his eyes, the MMS is irresponsible for allowing the oil industry to drill when their capacity to avoid a disaster such as this lags so far behind.

House Republicans Launch New Website To Gauge Americans' Opinions

By Miles Wolf Tamboli-Talk Radio News Service

Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have developed a new website to enhance American input in Washington policy-making.

"The number one thing that I hear over, and over, and over again everywhere I go is, 'why isn't Washington listening to us?'," said Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.) during a media event marking the launch of the website.

Entitled AmericaSpeakingOut.com, Republicans hope that the public will use the site to engage in dialogue and debate with each other, and present fresh ideas.

"America Speaking Out is about trying to enlist the voices and help of the American people, so we can begin by listening and turning around the equation ... to produce an economy and an America that meets with the approval of the American people," said House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.).

"Out of this, the ... Republican members hope to build a governing agenda," said House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-In.).

Some have criticized the Republican Party recently with assertions that leaders are out of ideas and that the party is surviving off of arraigning the Democratic Party, a notion Pence was quick to respond to.

"This is not a political party in search of a keel or in search of principles. It's not a listening tour. House Republicans know what we believe, and at AmericaSpeakingOut.com, we state those openly on the first page."

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) continued; "We know what our principles are. What we're asking the American people to do is to participate with us in terms of how ... we apply those principles."

Others have surmised that the effort is a political move, giving the Republicans a positive image before November's midterm primary elections. Boehner stated that the future of the website depends on the next Congress, implying that the website may not remain active after the elections are over.