Big Cheese Day at the White House

In 1835 New York dairy farmer Thomas Meacham sent President Andrew Jackson a 1,400-pound wheel of cheese as a gift. It aged in the Entrance Hall of the White House for two years. On January 29, 1837 the President, as was the custom, invited the public to a reception in the East Room and offered a choice refreshment: Cheese. Hungry citizens finished the entire cheese in two hours, but its fragrance lingered in Entrance Hall for some time.

At 9:00 PM on January 29, 2014, the day after he delivers the State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama has invited the public to a virtual Big Block of Cheese Day. There’s no free cheese, but White House officials will respond to questions in real time via  Twitter,  Facebook,  Tumblr,  Instagram  and Google+ Hangout  (hashtag #AsktheWH). Whether this is a good idea or not remains to be seen, but it sure seems like White House staffers learned about Andy Jackson’s big cheese from the West Wing TV show:

Health Care Website Gets a Second Opinion

In a generous effort to help beleaguered Republicans regain face, President Obama handed them a punchline. He’s having the Obamacare website fixed by the guy who overhauled Cash for Clunkers.

 More:

“Who is Jeffrey Zients, and how is he qualified to fix HealthCare.gov?” Josh Hicks, Washington Post blog

“Meet Jeff Zients: The Man Charged With Fixing Obamacare’s Broken Site,” Abby D. Phillip, ABC News

Who is Jeffrey Zients? Ask his mom,” Jayne O’Donnell, USA Today

Related:

“Could Obama’s Campaign Tech Gurus Fix Healthcare.gov? Let’s Ask ‘Em!” Tim Murphy, Mother Jones

“Here’s the Obama administration’s plan to fix HealthCare.gov,” Sarah Kliff, Washington Post blog

“QSSI, contractor chosen to fix HealthCare.gov, faced questions from lawmakers last year,” Jia Lynn Yang, Washiongton Post

“Why We Need a Healthcare.gov Witch Hunt,”  John Dickerson, Slate

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Image (“ACA Website Fix, after Andreas Vesalius”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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A Living Wage for All Working Americans

“Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty.” Barack Obama, State of the Union Address, February 12, 2013

“I’ve been dealing with the minimum wage issue for the last 28 years that I’ve been in elected office, and when you raise the price of employment, guess what happens? You get less of it.” House Speaker John Boehner (R, OH-8).

“Economists: A $9 minimum wage won’t hurt jobs,” Natasha Lennard, Salon

“A history of the minimum wage since 1938 [chart],” Annalyn Kurtz, CNN Money

“Obama proposes $9/hour minimum wage. OK, says business owner,” Elizabeth Fuller-Wright, Christian Science Monitor

“40% Of Americans Now Make Less Than 1968 Minimum Wage,”  Dave Johnson, Campaign for America’s Future

“Minimum Wage 101,” Mike Konczal, The American Prospect

“Minimum wage a bad idea? Ask execs who pay even more,” Charles Wilbanks and Alain Sherter, CBS News

“Minimum Wage Battle May Wound Republicans,” Steven T. Dennis, Roll Call

“Who would be affected by President Obama’s proposed minimum wage increase?” Natilie Sabadish and Doug Hall, Economic Policy Institute

“Why isn’t raising the minimum wage considered a no-brainer?” Robert Reich, Salon

“If You Notice That $9 Is More Than $7.25, Are You a Communist?” Kris Benson, Wonkette

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Adam Smith Endorses Obama Tax Plan

“It is not unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.”

– Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 1776

Related:

“Let the Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy Expire Already,” Senator Bernie Sanders, Truthdig

“How to raise taxes on the rich,” Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money

“Tax hike for wealthy won’t kill growth, CBO says,” Reuters via NBC News

“The Great Capitalist Heist: How Paris Hilton’s Dogs Ended Up Better Off Than You,” Gerald Friedman, Naked Capitalism [caution: numbers n’ stuff]

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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America, You Done Good

We voted. Now we can get back to work.

Someone go tell that obstructionist, Tea-Party, do-nothing Congress.

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Hoopster-In-Chief

President Barack Obama played basketball with some pals in Chicago today, his Election Day custom. Thanks to his running dribbling mate, NBA great Scotty Pippen, his team won by 20 points. The election will be much, much closer.

Time to Choose: Hoops or Dancing Horse?

November 6, 2012. It’s time to decide between Barry, who likes basketball and bodysurfing, and Willard, who likes cheerleading and his dancing horse, Rafalca.

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Homer Simpson on the 2012 Election

Political opinion from Fox Network commentator Homer Simpson.

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Adam Smith Endorses Obama Tax Plan

“Let me me ask you, what’s the better way to make our economy stronger? Do we give … tax breaks to every millionaire and billionaire in the country? Or should we make investments in education and research and health care and our veterans?”

— Barack Obama, April 12, 2012
“Obama: Tax the rich to help grow the economy,” David Jackson, USA Today

Obama Writes Off Extraterrestrial Vote

In a daring political move, the White House has issued a statement denying the existence of space aliens on Earth. With this act, President Obama risks offending extraterrestial voters, an important swing bloc (especially in Roswell NM and Nevada’s Area 51). Democratic Party operatives probably figure that E.T.s will support one of their own, like Michele Bachmann, anyway.

The official statement on space aliens was written by Phil Larsen of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Mr. Larsen wrote in response to online petitions from supporters of Rep. Ron Paul demanding recogition of space alien Personhood and E.T. voting rights.

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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