On June 21, 2009, the Senate confirmed Hillary Rodham Clinton as the 67th United States Secretary of State. It was the first day in office for President Barack Obama and while he was busy engaging himself in several affairs, Hillary Clinton’s nomination for the post as Secretary of State was finally confirmed in the full Senate by a vote of 94-2.

The two senators who opposed the confirmation were Republicans David Vitter of Louisiana and Jim DeMint of South Carolina. Prior to the confirmation, hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee commenced on January 13, 2009. By January 15, the said body voted 16-1 to approve Hillary Clinton.

Both Republicans and Democrats in general share the same sentiment that such prompt confirmation was essential for the new president to be able to start with his work in dealing with the current major and critical foreign policy issues such as Iran’s nuclear threats and the increasing violence in the Middle East, particularly the wars in Gaza and Iraq.

As a result of the confirmation from the Senate, Hillary Clinton was sworn in as the 67th U.S. Secretary of State in her office, which is located in the Russell Senate Office Building. Present at the private ceremony was her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and her Senate staff. On the same day, Hillary Clinton resigned from the Senate, submitting her resignation letters to Vice President Joe Biden, president of the Senate; and New York Governor David Paterson.

A few Republicans expressed their concerns over conflicts of interest that may arise considering that the fundraising efforts for Bill Clinton’s foundation included donations overseas. Nevertheless, both parties in Congress greatly supported Hillary Clinton for the post.

Hillary Rodham Clinton was born on October 26, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois. She attended Maine East High School and then entered Wellesley College from where she graduated in 1969 with a B.A. degree in political science with departmental honors. Hillary Clinton then obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 1973. Back in Yale, she served on the editorial board of the Yale Law Review and Social Action, worked for the Yale Child Study Center, interned with Marian Wright Edelman, and met Bill Clinton, whom she married in 1975.

Following graduation, Hillary Clinton practiced law, working as a staff attorney for the Children’s Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts and as Consultant to the Carnegie Council on Children. She also joined in the impeachment inquiry staff advising the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Watergate scandal. In 1975, she taught at the University of Arkansas Law School and then joined the Rose Law Firm in 1976. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the board of the Legal Services Corporation. She held the title “First Lady of Arkansas” for twelve years (1979–1981, 1983–1992) when her husband Bill Clinton became governor of the said state twice. Hillary Clinton was First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001; she then served as a U.S. Senator from 2001 to 2009. Hillary Clinton was a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2008 election but lost to Obama.

• Official State Department biography of Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton.
• Secretrary Hillary Clinton faces a tough job in securing Mideast peace process.
• Hillary Clinton criticizes George W. Bush on North Korea policy.

An article from USA Today presented a full account of Barack Obama’s first day as the 44th President of the United States of America.

In the face of an ongoing recession, wars in Iraq and Gaza, the threat of terrorism, and at this desperate time when America has duly entrusted its fate to this man, Barack Obama is sending a clear message that there is certainly no time to waste. Barack Obama’s first day as president was indeed a chock-full of must-dos reflecting his commitment of bringing change to America.

*January 21, 2009, Wednesday, 8:35 a.m. – Newly inaugurated President Barack Obama walked into the Oval Office and spent 10 minutes alone to contemplate. He read a personal note left behind by his predecessor, George W. Bush. The note was placed inside an envelope inscribed with “To: #44, From: #43.” White House staff, however, did not disclose its content. The note was a presidential tradition that started when Ronald Reagan left a note for George H.W. Bush.

After a quiet moment alone, President Barack Obama was ready for a full day of carrying out his presidential duties.

*Morning Service and Open House. The President, along with his wife Michelle, attended the National Prayer Service, a tradition following the Inauguration Day that started when George Washington took office. The couple was seated in front, joined by Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, as well as former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton. In the afternoon, the first couple greeted 200 selected guests, in their effort of making White House accessible to the public.

*Executive Orders. President Barack Obama signed several executive orders in his first day of office. One was to freeze the salaries of around 100 White House staff members who make $100,000 a year or more, for the duration of the financial crisis. The President also imposed strict ethics rules such as banning lobbyists from giving gifts to any member of his administration, and staff members being barred from becoming lobbyists for two years after leaving his administration. President Barack Obama also issued another executive order to promote transparency by limiting the ability of past presidents to obstruct the release of records of their administrations. He also had his aides disseminate a draft executive order that would close the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba within a year as well as suspend military trials of terror suspects who have been held in the said facility, pending a review of the military tribunals. On January 22, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the executive order that would close the said prison.

*Middle East Diplomacy. President Barack Obama called four Middle East leaders from Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority, and informed them that his administration will address serious peace issues among Israelis, Palestinians, and Arabs. President Barack Obama also expressed his commitment to prevent arms smuggling to Hamas fighters and to help in the reconstruction effort for Palestinians in Gaza. The President then met with his military advisors over the issue of Iraq, reiterating his intention to withdraw combat troops from Iraq in 16 months.

• Official White House biography of President Barack Obama
• Article about Barack Obama’s years at the Harvard Law Review.
• A current anaylsis of the President’s economic stimulus package.

President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package, approved by Congress and signed by the president into law on Feb. 17, 2009, includes federal funding for research and development – a reason for Bay Area research universities to celebrate.

The stimulus plan is said to allocate $21.5 billion for federal research and development to be invested within two years, for which most of the support will be directed to climate research, biomedical matters, and energy. This funding is the realization of President Barack Obama’s promise of restoring science to its rightful place.

After years of sluggish funding for basic research in various sciences, local research universities in Bay Area, San Francisco acknowledged that the financial aid coming from the stimulus plan would bolster education, research, and future businesses. Bay Area research universities, principally Stanford University and the University of California-Santa Cruz, stated that they are the leading candidates for funding, based on their notable track record for research grants secured. They added that several under-funded projects have suffered in the recent years.

The government has been funding majority of scientific research except for studies on some specific diseases and embryonic stem cells. However, funding has been sluggish and inadequate over the years and a number of labs were forced to stop their work and close. One concrete example is the gravity reference sensor project of Stanford University that could have been utilized by future space missions. The project lost funding and had to be stopped. Another example is Stanford chemistry department chairman Richard Zare’s research project involving the creation and destruction of chemical bonds, whose progress had slowed down since he could not secure federal funding for six months in 2007.

With the funding on hand, a brighter future awaits the world of science, especially since these local research institutions will be able to use the money on renovation of facilities, equipment, financial aid, new construction, research support, and new technological advancements in local laboratories. According to Bruce Margon, vice chancellor for research of the University of California-Santa Cruz, the research university is recognized in the 21st century to be “just as important as the steel mill to the economic strength of our country.”

Research and development funding included in the stimulus plan consists of $140 million for the U.S. Geological Survey for natural science research and $1.3 billion for facility renovation and purchase of equipment. In addition, it also allocates $1 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; $1.6 billion for Department of Energy’s Office of Science; $3 billion for the National Science Foundation for fundamental science and engineering research; and $8.2 billion to the National Institutes of Health for biomedical research.

Related Sources:

An MSNBC article features President Barack Obama’s signing of the economic
stimulus package into a law.

Stanford University is featured in an article in The Time Herald.

The New York Times features details of the final economic stimulus package
passed by Congress.

A Feb. 18, 2009 article from Reuters reveals President Barack Obama’s plan to solve America’s housing crisis as a part of his serious initiative to revive the nation’s economy. The President pledged up to $275 billion as assistance to at least nine million American families. These families will be given the chance to restructure or refinance their mortgages to avert foreclosures.

The home mortgage crisis is a major factor in the economic meltdown. Numerous American homeowners are burdened with home mortgages they are unable to pay, subjecting their homes to foreclosure. In fact, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, just over 9% of all home loans in the United States were in arrears or in foreclosure at the end of 2008. Moreover, Credit Suisse reported that 16% of all households with mortgages could end up facing foreclosure by 2012 – that is equivalent to a total of 8.1 million homes in the United States.

In a speech addressed to an attentive audience in Mesa, Arizona, President Barack Obama articulated the interconnection of the housing crisis, the financial crisis, and the even broader economic crisis.

Another article, this one from The New York Times, revealed that the housing plan comprises three parts. The first component seeks to aid homeowners who are up-to-date on their payments but are paying high interest rates and have no way of refinancing due to insufficient equity in their homes.

The second part would provide incentives to lenders who would change the loan terms to make them affordable for the straining borrowers, thus helping around four million people who are at risk of foreclosure. To make this possible, a $75 billion program will be created to subsidize loan modifications that allow a reduction of the household’s monthly payment to as low as 31% of the family’s gross monthly income.

The last part would consist of $200 billion worth of additional financial backing to government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae was created to buy mortgages from approved mortgage sellers, securitize them, and sell the resulting mortgage-backed security to investors in the secondary mortgage market with a guarantee that principal and interest payments are appropriately passed over to the investor. Freddie Mac was established to expand the secondary market for mortgages in the United States. Freddie Mac purchases mortgages on the secondary market, pools them, and sells them as mortgage-backed securities to investors on the open market. By buying mortgages, both GSEs provide banking and other institutions ensure that funds are constantly available so buyers can make new loans.

With this plan, as much as five million homeowners who are still making payments but cannot qualify for conventional refinancing will be able to refinance through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Related Sources:

The Wall Street Journal features an article on the housing bailout plan.
An article from MSNBC features a consumer’s guide to the president’s housing plan.
An article from Reuters features FDIC talking about Obama’s housing plan to have impact in March.

NY Senator Hillary Clinton’s nomination to US Secretary of State, by President-elect Barack Obama, will soon leave the NY Senate Seat open. Recently, Caroline Kennedy expressed interest in taking on the role of a US Senator for the state of New York. Caroline Kennedy is a part of the influential and historical Kennedy Family dynasty. If she is wins, she will have the same senate seat as the late Robert Kennedy, whom was assasinated in 1968, while he was running for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

Her family has long been considered by many to have been America’s version of a Royal family.The American public has been following her trials and tribulations her entire life. Does Caroline Bouvier Kennedy, daughter to the late John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, have what it takes to be the next US Senator for New York?

Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is the eldest surviving daughter of the late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.  She was just a child when her father was assinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas, in 1963.  She spent some of her childhood in the white house and has immediate relatives, whom also had served in public office. Her family and historical connection in US politics are invaluable, though in much respects, Caroline Kennedy has built a family career of her own over the years.

The Radcliffe graduate, worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  She is also a graduate of Columbia University law school.  She is a member of the bar in New York and Washington D.C.  She is also a member of the Commission of Presidential Debates and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She has a great deal of experience in law, education and politics. She has also contributed a great deal to charitable works, as well. She went on to publish many works in civil liberties.

Caroline Kennedy’s political views include a pro-choice stance, legalization of gay marriages, advocate for gun control and is in favor of restoring the ban on assault weapons.

Caroline Kennedy co-authored the following civil liberties books with Ellen Alderman:

• In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights In Action (1991)
• The Right to Privacy (1995)

Caroline Kennedy edited these New York Times best-selling volumes:

• The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (2001)
• Profiles in Courage for Our Time (2002)
• A Patriot’s Handbook (2003)
• A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children (2005)

Caroline Kennedy wrote a collection of poems and prose called A Family Christmas.

Related Political News:

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s nomination to US Secretary of State finalized, as announced in the Huffington Post.

The Washington Post published an editorial by Jamie Gorelick, discussing “A New Agenda For Justice.” Ms. Gorelick provides valuable insight for the new Department of Justice.

The Washington Post published an editorial debating the Caroline Kennedy’s potential seat on the NY Senate.

The Los Angeles Times’ Top of the Ticket for Nov. 21, 2008 reports that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has finally decided to accept President-elect Barack Obama’s offer as the United States Secretary of State.

Reports revealed that the senator is giving up her Senate seat in order to prepare for her new role as the country’s top diplomat. Talks between the former first lady and the president-elect have been progressing steadily since Hillary Clinton was first asked to fill in the position in mid-November.

When the Obama administration takes over the White House, Hillary Clinton will become only the 3rd woman in U.S. history to serve as Secretary of State, after Madeleine Albright and Condoleeza Rice.

View the article about Hillary Clinton added to Obama’s Cabinet at Secretary of State.

About Hillary Clinton

The former first lady was born Hillary Diane Rodham on October 26, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois. She was an active student at Maine East High School where she was selected for the National Honor Society. She finished her senior year in high school at Maine South High School as a National Merit Finalist. Hillary completed her Bachelor of Arts in 1969 at Wellesley College with departmental honors in political science. She received her law degree from Yale Law School in 1973.

Before marrying William “Bill” Clinton in 1975, Hillary Clinton worked as staff attorney for the Children’s Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts; as consultant to the Carnegie Council on Children; as an advisor to the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Watergate scandal; and taught at University of Arkansas’ School of Law where Clinton was also a faculty member.

Prior to becoming first lady of Arkansas, Hillary joined the Rose Law Firm and specialized in patent infringement, intellectual property law, and pro bono in child advocacy.

When Bill Clinton won as Governor of Arkansas in 1978, Hillary became Arkansas’ First Lady. She actively supported her husband via various committees and projects. She took on the same role when Clinton was re-elected in 1982.

Hillary Clinton was the 1st First Lady to have a post-graduate degree when Clinton took on the presidency in 1993. She has been a senator of the United States since 2001. Hillary Clinton ran for the office of United States President in 2008.

In The Australian’s November 11, 2008 issue, it was revealed that United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was included in Glamour magazine’s “Women of the Year” list. Condoleezza Rice was cited for her dedication to women’s issues especially those related to the country’s foreign policy.

Other high profile personalities who made it to the celebrity and fashion magazine’s list of 10 include actress Nicole Kidman, Senator Hillary Clinton, and Chanel’s Maureen Chiquet. A 10-year old Yemeni girl who broke tribal rules by getting a divorce was also included in the list.

The awards were handed out to the 10 lucky women last November 11, 2008.

Glamour magazine has included the list in its December 2008 issue.

Conoleezza Rice is one of Glamour’s Women of the Year.

About Condoleezza Rice:

Condoleezza Rice, the 66th United States Secretary of State, made history as she became the 1st black woman and only the 2nd woman to hold the prestigious position.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Rice was an early learner as she began studying French, ballet, music, and figure skating at the age of three. She initially set her sights on becoming a concert pianist but eventually graduated at the age of 19 from the University of Denver with a B.A. in political science.

Condoleezza Rice first practiced her skills in political science when she worked in the State Department during the Carter administration. She then received her PhD in political science from Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the age of 26. Condoleezza Rice eventually moved on to higher, more significant positions.

Prior to becoming the U.S. Secretary of State, Rice was the Special Assistant to the Director of the Chiefs of Staff in 1986; Condoleezza Rice then served in President George H.W. Bush’s administration’s National Security Council where she became Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. From 2001 to 2005, Condoleezza Rice served as the National Security Advisor and left her teaching post (political science) at Stanford which she assumed in 1991. She was the first woman to occupy the position.

Condoleezza Rice became only the 2nd woman Secretary of State (after Madeleine Albright) in January 2005.

In the Nov. 24, 2008 issue of FoxNews.com, a transcript from the show America’s News HQ revealed several vital facts about what Geraldine Ferraro, 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee, has to say about President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton.

In the interview, Geraldine Ferraro expressed confidence that the former first lady will do well as the country’s top diplomat. Geraldine Ferraro believes that Hillary’s international credibility will help improve the country’s image. She also stressed that the Clintons are well-respected and so therefore, Hillary’s new assignment will do the country a lot of good.

Having worked with Hillary in her 2008 bid for presidency, Geraldine Ferraro is confident that Hillary will function well in the international community.

It is also important, she pointed out, that the new president and Hillary are able to agree on practically every issue.

The former vice presidential nominee also stressed that the main reason for choosing several key Clinton administration people for the Obama team is vast experience and nothing else. She likewise revealed that there are also a number of people with no Clinton ties who were chosen based on their performance and experience.

View the interview with Geraldine Ferraro from Fox News.

Geraldine Ferraro:

Born in Newburg, New York, Geraldine Ferraro went to Marymount Manhattan College on a scholarship and worked 2 or 3 jobs while studying. She took home her Bachelor of Arts in English in 1956 and became a licensed teacher. After working as an elementary school teacher, Ferraro studied law and eventually earned her Juris Doctor degree in 1960 from Fordham University.

Geraldine Ferraro got her big break when she became Queen County’s Assistant District Attorney and was tasked to head the Special Victims Bureau in 1977.

Prior to being nominated as Walter Mondale’s vice president for the 1984 Presidential Elections, Geraldine Ferraro was a member of the House of Representatives and represented New York’s 9th District.

During President Bill Clinton’s term, Geraldine Ferraro served as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. She held this position from 1994 to 1996.

Geraldine Ferraro was inducted in the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1994. She helped found the National Organization of Italian American Women in 1980.