Thursday, January 17, 2013

Healthcare reform tax on medical devices is a mistake

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During a time when our nation’s economy struggles to stabilize and manufacturing jobs continue to diminish there has been one industry within the manufacturing sector that has ascended as a global leader – America’s medical device industry. This industry, described as an American success story, has brought us lifesaving technologies such as pacemakers, CT scanners, artificial joints, defibrillators, and cardiac stents; as well as many jobs here at home.
 
The medical device industry employs over 400,000 Americans directly and is indirectly accountable for roughly 2 million high-skilled manufacturing jobs. According to a 2012 Battelle Technology Partnership Practice report, over 14,000 people are directly employed in Ohio by the medical technology industry. Further, from a Lewin Group report, for every medical technology job an additional 1.9 positions are created in the state.

While Americans are currently experiencing a decrease in wages, the average annual salary within the medical device industry is 40 percent above the national average, according to the Medical Device Manufacturers Association. In Ohio, the average medical technology employee earns 12.8 percent more than the average employee earnings in the state.
 
Unfortunately, the future of this growing and innovative industry is confronted with much uncertainty as it prepares for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (also known as ObamaCare), specifically a 2.3 percent excise tax on the sale of any medical device. A 2.3 percent excise tax will be devastating to the medical device industry, threatening to stifle innovation and the creation of American jobs. Once estimated to be a $20 billion excise tax, but now is estimated to collect over $30 billion in taxes, this ObamaCare pay-for went into effect January 1, 2013.
 
Combined with a 35 percent corporate tax rate, state and local taxes, and the 2.3 percent tax on its sales, not profits, many medical device manufacturers are faced with a severe tax hike. As a result, companies are looking at a host of options to offset this tax in order to remain competitive and profitable, including increased consumer prices, relocating business to overseas where tax rates are much lower, and layoffs. In a recent Reuters report, publicly traded medical technology companies have cut approximately 7,000 American jobs in 2012, and according to an AdvaMed survey conducted in late December of last year, 62 percent of companies surveyed said they are planning layoffs or reduced hiring to help offset the tax.
 
Along with the loss of domestic jobs, budgets for research and development have been slashed. A report from the Pacific Research Institute shows that it is estimated that the medical device tax will reduce industry research and development investment by $2 billion annually. Ultimately, medical devices will be produced outside of the United States and our national health care quality hindered.
 
While we move forward to spur our economic growth, we cannot afford burdensome tax policies, such as the medical device tax that create a hostile business environment and hamper job retention and creation. With a strong manufacturing presence and numerous innovative, world-class hospitals and medical centers, Ohio stands to lose on jobs and economic growth should this tax not be repealed.  In addition to jobs in Ohio, full repeal of this tax will save up to 47,000 jobs nationally, support medical innovation, and provide American families with more choices and flexibility.
 
Congress must act to repeal the medical device tax before the policy becomes irreversible. In June of last year, a bill of which I am a cosponsor, H.R. 436 sponsored by Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.), to repeal the medical device tax, passed the U.S. House; however, it was not taken up in the Senate, despite its growing bipartisan support.
 
There are few industries that have had such positive growth over the past several years as the medical device industry, and in this fragile economy, these jobs are more important than ever. The medical device tax is one of the most onerous taxes contained in the health care law, and must be repealed.
 
Latta, a Republican from Ohio, serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

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Scottish Archbishop Expects Government To Cater To Church’s Opposition To Marriage Equality

Archbishop Mario Conti

Not expecting to be outdone by the many other bishops who’ve attacked same-sex couples already this month, Scottish Archbishop Emeritus Mario Conti penned a letter this week to the Catholic journal The Tablet expressing his own opposition to marriage equality. In fact, he believes the Catholic Church’s stance must “surely be worthy of consideration” by the government because it helps “promote the moral well-being of society.” Here’s how Conti framed that position:

While it is true, certainly within Catholic social teaching, that governments are not required to make all immoral actions illegal, to many it is unhelpful, unnecessary and indeed profoundly unwise for political action to do quite the opposite, namely to attempt through the law, by equating homosexual unions with heterosexual marriage, to render moral what is in itself morally defective.

So far in 2013, members of the Catholic hierarchy have already referred to same-sex marriage as “morally defective” and an “immoral activity,” and claimed that gay people don’t really exist, but if they claim to, then God obliges them to a life of chastity. And Conti’s implication here isn’t just that he wants to prevent same-sex marriage, but that his preference would be to make homosexuality itself “illegal.”

Combined with Pope Benedict’s multiple malignant statements in December, the Catholic Church’s hierarchy has established itself as the archenemy of loving same-sex families in 2013. These religious leaders provide no argument against marriage equality except their own moral judgment, but then expect the governments of the world to cater to their whims when even their own followers largely do not agree. They imagine a universe where there is no such thing as gay people or same-sex marriage, but with each passing day that false reality becomes more delusional.


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Rush Limbaugh: Marriage Equality Is Helping To ‘Normalize Pedophilia’

Blowhard Rush Limbaugh dedicated a lengthy diatribe on his radio show yesterday to the idea that there is a movement underway to try to “normalize pedophilia” by classifying it as a sexual orientation like heterosexuality and homosexuality. Limbaugh based his claims on an article in The Guardian that addresses questions science still has about the nature of pedophilia, but then he drew his own conclusions that normalizing same-sex marriage is similarly going to lead to normalizing the sexual abuse of children:

LIMBAUGH: There is a movement on to normalize pedophilia, and I guarantee you your reaction to that is probably much the same as your reaction when you first heard about gay marriage. What has happened to gay marriage? It’s become normal — and in fact, with certain people in certain demographics it’s the most important issue in terms of who they vote for. So don’t pooh-pooh. There’s a movement to normalize pedophilia. Don’t pooh-pooh it. The people behind it are serious, and you know the left as well as I do. They glom onto something and they don’t let go. [...]

What is their objective? They want us to all think that pedophilia is just another sexual orientation.  You know who’s gonna fall right in line is college kids, just like they have on gay marriage, just like they do on all other revolutionary social issues.  Their own definition of the cutting edge, civil rights, freedom, understanding, tolerance. So I’m just warning you here. You think it can’t happen. “Impossible!  Don’t be nutso and wacko on us, Rush.”

Listen to it:

But pedophilia is not considered a sexual orientation. It’s considered a psychiatric disorder and a paraphilia. The issue with pedophilia is that the target of the sexual impulse is children, who can be physically and emotionally scarred by such contact. Pedophilia, like other paraphilias, violates the consent of another entity, whereas sexual orientations do not. In fact, the moral condemnation of same-sex orientations is a judgment of who has the attractions, not who the attractions target. For example, a sexual orientation toward men can present in women or in men, but conservatives have only ever objected to men having that orientation. That judgment is based on religious dogma, not any intention to reduce harm to others.

Limbaugh’s tirade is dangerous and unnecessarily conflates homosexuality with pedophilia, as opponents of LGBT equality have done for decades. There is no way to compare two loving consenting adults to harming a child. If there were a valid reason to be concerned that society was no longer interested in protecting young people from sexual abuse, Limbaugh would have a compelling argument to make and many would surely rally around his cause. Instead, his words serve only to further demonize the LGBT community with archaic myths.


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NOAA: 2012 Was Officially The Warmest Year On Record For The U.S., Second Most Extreme

Last year was officially the hottest ever recorded for the lower-48 states. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric tallied weather and temperature data for 2012, and found that the year was both the warmest and the second-most extreme for weather ever recorded for the contiguous U.S.

According to NOAA’s latest “State of the Climate” report, the average temperature for the lower-48 states was 55.3°, which is 3.2°F above the 20th century average, and 1.0°F above the previous record-year of 1998.

Last year was marked by an historic drought, above-average wildfires, multiple freak storms that wiped out power to millions, and multiple severe heat waves. According to the U.S. Climate Extremes Index, 2012 was the second most extreme year on record — coming in below 1998, the previous hottest year on record.

Precipitation was also down significantly in 2012. Average rainfall for the lower-48 states was 2.57 inches below average, contributing to the severe drought that gripped the nation and helping make the wildfire season the third most destructive on record.

To see how these and other billion-dollar extreme weather events impacted Americans, check out the Center for American Progress report, “Heavy Weather: How Climate Destruction Harms Middle- and Lower-Income Americans.”

Here’s how NOAA breaks down last year’s temperature records:

U.S. temperature

Every state in the contiguous U.S. had an above-average annual temperature for 2012. Nineteen states had a record warm year and an additional 26 states had one of their 10 warmest.On the national scale, 2012 started off much warmer than average with the fourth warmest winter (December 2011-February 2012) on record. Winter warmth limited snow with many locations experiencing near-record low snowfall totals. The winter snow cover for the contiguous U.S. was the third smallest on record and snowpack totals across the Central and Southern Rockies were less than half of normal.Spring started off exceptionally warm with the warmest March on record, followed by the fourth warmest April and second warmest May. The season’s temperature was 5.2°F above average, making it easily the warmest spring on record, surpassing the previous record by 2.0°F. The warm spring resulted in an early start to the 2012 growing season in many places, which increased the loss of water from the soil earlier than what is typical. In combination with the lack of winter snow and residual dryness from 2011, the record warm spring laid the foundation for the widespread drought conditions in large areas of the U.S. during 2012.The above-average temperatures of spring continued into summer. The national-scale heat peaked in July with an average temperature of 76.9°F, 3.6°F above average, making it the hottest month ever observed for the contiguous United States. The eighth warmest June, record hottest July, and a warmer-than-average August resulted in a summer average temperature of 73.8°F, the second hottest summer on record by only hundredths of a degree. An estimated 99.1 million people experienced 10 or more days of summer temperatures greater than 100°F, nearly one-third of the nation’s population.Autumn and December temperatures were warmer than average, but not of the same magnitude as the three previous seasons. Autumn warmth in the western U.S. offset cooler temperatures in the eastern half of the country. Although the last four months of 2012 did not bring the same unusual warmth as the first 8 months of the year, the September through December temperatures were warm enough for 2012 to remain the record warmest year by a wide margin.

U.S. precipitation

The nationally-averaged precipitation total of 26.57 inches was 2.57 inches below average and the 15th driest year on record for the lower 48. This was also the driest year for the nation since 1988 when 25.25 inches of precipitation was observed.The driest conditions during 2012 occurred across the central United States. Two states, Nebraska and Wyoming, had their driest years on record. Eight additional states had annual precipitation totals ranking among the bottom ten. Drier-than-average conditions stretched from the Intermountain West, through the Great Plains and Midwest, and into the Southeast. Wetter-than-average conditions occurred in the Pacific Northwest, where Washington had its fifth wettest year on record, as well as parts of the Gulf Coast and Northeast.Each season of 2012 had precipitation totals below the 20th century average:

You can read the full report here. Climate Central has a killer interactive detailing the temperature data for each state here. And Peter Sinclair’s latest video, “2012: The Year Climate Change Got Real,” is basically the video version of this report.

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Presidential Memorandum -- National Flood Insurance Program

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For Immediate Release January 07, 2013 Presidential Memorandum -- National Flood Insurance Program

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY

SUBJECT: National Flood Insurance Program

I have reviewed your request for approval to issue notes to the Secretary of the Treasury in excess of $20.725 billion, but not to exceed $30.425 billion, for the National Flood Insurance Program and am hereby granting approval for you to do so.

BARACK OBAMA

Blog posts on this issue January 08, 2013 1:52 PM ESTHappy Birthday, Stephen Hawking

On Professor Hawking’s 71st birthday, we’d like to share a never-before-seen video from his visit to the White House.

January 07, 2013 4:25 PM ESTPresident Obama Nominates John Brennan as CIA DirectorPresident Obama Nominates John Brennan as CIA Director

President Obama announces John Brennan as his nominee for the next head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

January 07, 2013 4:19 PM ESTPresident Obama Wants Chuck Hagel to Run the PentagonPresident Obama Wants Chuck Hagel to Run the Pentagon

The President asks Sen. Chuck Hagel to serve as Secretary of Defense.

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Abandoning 'Hastert Rule' to get immigration reform

What can we learn from the fiscal cliff deal? That Congress could actually enact comprehensive immigration reform.

Let’s face it, the Congress passed the fiscal cliff deal because its members had a sudden epiphany. The compromise — hammered out by the Senate early New Year’s morning as the country teetered over the cliff — was approved by the House of Representatives because the Republican leadership, fearing the wrath of the American people if the nation went cliff-diving, had little choice. And it wasn’t even the whole Congress or even the whole Republican conference that made the deal happen. It was a bipartisan group, with Speaker John Boehner pushing forward. To get there Boehner violated the “Hastert rule” — the majority of the majority rules — and actually got something done on a bipartisan basis.

It can happen again with immigration reform — one of the major items on President Obama’s second term “to do” list.

Like the fiscal cliff, immigration reform poses daunting political challenges. No issue raises passions and prejudices more. That’s because immigration is visceral:  it is about our national soul; our essence as individuals, as a people, as a culture, and as a nation. Immigration is about where we have been and where we are going. It is about what kind of a country we want to be. Do we want to be a welcoming nation that opens its arms to people from all over the world, and from all walks of life? Or do we want to isolate ourselves, turn our backs on those in need, and restrict out of ignorance and xenophobia critical opportunities for engineers, entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers and scientists like Einstein, who was, by the way, a refugee?

We all want to keep our borders safe. But continued border security depends on an immigration policy that works — a policy that is safe, orderly, and fair — and that promotes rather than destroys families and businesses, and enables America to compete in a global economy.

In 1989, in his final address to the nation, President Ronald Reagan described his vision of America as a shining city. He said:

“[I]n my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And (if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here).”

Reagan understood that America’s strength is its openness: its celebration of creativity and new ideas. We can only hope that those who claim his legacy heed his lesson. We are a welcoming nation, and it’s our job to put a human face on all of the immigrants who grace our shores, no matter how they got here. 

As the national conversation now turns to immigration policy we must remember the simple truth that immigration is good for America. It is good for America to reunite families and bring in the best and the brightest to our universities, research institutions and industries; it is good for America to create a system for skilled and unskilled workers that promotes our economy and enables employers to grow their businesses; it is good for America to legalize 12 million undocumented workers whose full participation in the U.S. workforce will increase the wages and working conditions of all Americans by adding as much as $1.5 trillion to the gross domestic product over the next ten years, by adding $5 billion in consumer spending and by creating nearly a million jobs; and it is good for America to live up to its commitment to due process and the rule of law.

The American people instinctively understand this. A recent CNN poll found that 65% of registered Republicans, Democrats and Independents support overhauling our dysfunctional immigration system — including giving the millions of undocumented immigrants a chance to earn their way to a green card and, eventually, U.S. citizenship. And, as a matter of basic politics, neither party can afford to ignore the growing influence of Latino voters who overwhelmingly support an immigration overhaul.

The 113th Congress has a unique opportunity. Its members can put politics aside for the good of the nation, get to work for the American people, and hammer out a safe, functional, and compassionate immigration system. Done right, immigration reform will create jobs for U.S. workers, keep American families safe and together and give American businesses the tools they need to remain competitive in a global economy.

Let’s hope they seize this historic moment.

Leopold is general counsel at American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
 

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Biden, NRA to meet on guns

Vice President Biden will meet this week with the National Rifle Association and a variety of other groups as his task force on guns intensifies its efforts. 

Biden will meet Wednesday with gun-safety organizations and shooting victims groups and on Thursday will meet with gun ownership organizations and sportsmen who use guns recreationally, according to the White House. 

NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said the organization accepted an invitation received from the White House late Friday. 

"We are sending a rep to hear what they have to say," Arulanandam said.

Biden will also meet with members of the video game and entertainment industry, which have come under scrutiny in the debate over gun violence. 

Biden is leading a task force charged with making recommendations to President Obama to prevent shooting massacres, and it increasingly looks like the task force is taking a broad look at how to limit gun violence. 

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The task force was assembled in response to the shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., which resulted in 27 dead, including 20 children. Obama has described the day as the worst of his presidency, and has said he will look to take quick action on the Biden group's recommendations. 

The Washington Post recently reported that the White House is weighing a broad approach on gun control that would go beyond bans on assault weapons and high-capacity clips that have garnered attention in the past. The Post said the Biden group was considering universal background checks for gun buyers and a national database to track the movement and sale of weapons. 

Members of Congress have suggested a willingness to look at the issue of gun violence, but any significant changes to gun laws would be expected to encounter resistance from Republicans and many Democrats. 

The NRA opposes new restrictions on gun ownership, and has proposed that one way to deal with the issue of gun violence is to put armed guards in schools. 

White House press secretary Jay Carney at his Tuesday press briefing said the vice president was overseeing a process engaged with a variety of stakeholders to look at gun violence. 

"They include gun owners and groups that represent gun owners," he said.

Asked specifically what the vice president hoped to hear from the NRA, Carney stressed that the White House "doesn't want to prejudge any recommendations that any stakeholders would present." 

Carney said that the meeting was "designed to get input" from stakeholders — a sign that the administration is hoping the gun group will present its own recommendations on preventing gun violence.

In addition to his meetings, Biden will hold conference calls with elected officials from across the country as part of his effort, the White House said. 

Separately, Cabinet officials will hold meetings with organizations to discuss gun-violence prevention. 

Education Secretary Arne Duncan will meet with education groups, parents and teachers. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will meet with mental health advocates. Other senior White House staff members will meet with medical groups, community organizations and advocates for children and families to discuss gun violence, the White House said. 

"Soon after" the meetings, according to the White House, Biden will pass his task force's recommendations to Obama, who will then release a set of proposals for reducing gun violence and urge movement to enact those proposals. 

—This story was posted at 11:58 a.m. and last updated at 1:20 p.m.

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Off-The-Charts Heat Wave Brings Australia Its Hottest Average Temperature And New Map Colors For Temps Above 122°F!

Global warming has given new meaning to “off-the-charts” heat wave in Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

The Bureau of Meteorology’s interactive weather forecasting chart has added new colours – deep purple and pink – to extend its previous temperature range that had been capped at 50 degrees [122°F].

The Australian government’s new forecasting map now has colors that go up to 54°C [129°F].

Many parts of the country have already set local records with temperatures as high as 118°F. It remains to be seen whether temperatures blow past 122°F [50C] – or already have (“large parts of central Australia have limited monitoring”).

How unprecedented is the Australian heat wave? As meteorologist Jeff Masters explains, it is both deep and widespread:

It’s been a summer like no other in the history of Australia, where a sprawling heat wave of historical proportions is entering its second week. Monday, January 7, was the hottest day in Australian history, averaged over the entire country, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The high temperature averaged over Australia was 105°F (40.3°C), eclipsing the previous record of 104°F (40.2°C) set on 21 December 1972. Never before in 103 years of record keeping has a heat wave this intense, wide-spread, and long-lasting affected Australia. The nation’s average high temperature exceeded 102°F (39°C) for five consecutive days January 2 – 6, 2013–the first time that has happened since record keeping began in 1910. Monday’s temperatures extended that string by another day, to six. To put this remarkable streak in perspective, the previous record of four consecutive days with a national average high temperature in excess of 102°F (39°C) has occurred once only (1973), and only two other years have had three such days in a row–1972 and 2002 (thanks go to climate blogger Greg Laden for these stats.) Another brutally hot day is in store for Wednesday, as the high pressure region responsible for the heat wave, centered just south of the coast, will bring clear skies and a northerly flow of air over most of the country.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology doesn’t pull punches on what is driving this astounding heat:

‘‘The current heatwave – in terms of its duration, its intensity and its extent – is now unprecedented in our records,’’  the Bureau of Meteorology’s manager of climate monitoring and prediction, David Jones, said.

‘‘Clearly, the climate system is responding to the background warming trend. Everything that happens in the climate system now is taking place on a planet which is a degree hotter than it used to be.’’

As the warming trend increases over coming years, record-breaking heat will become more and more common, Dr Jones said.

‘‘We know that global climate doesn’t respond monotonically – it does go up and down with natural variation. That’s why some years are hotter than others because of a range of factors. But we’re getting many more hot records than we’re getting cold records. That’s not an issue that is explained away by natural variation.’’

The world’s continued inaction on limiting carbon pollution, coupled with ever-more worrisome observations and analysis, has led a number of Australian researchers to join the ever-growing club of unexpectedly blunt scientists:

According to a peer-reviewed study by the Australian-based Global Carbon Project, global average temperatures are on a trajectory to rise a further four to six degrees [C] by the end of this century, with that rise felt most strongly over land areas. It would be enough to tip Tuesday’s over-40 temperatures over much of mainland Australia very close to 50 degrees in some parts.

Those of us who spend our days trawling – and contributing to – the scientific literature on climate change are becoming increasingly gloomy about the future of human civilisation,’’ said Liz Hanna, convener of the human health division at the Australian National University’s Climate Change Adaptation Network.

‘We are well past the time of niceties, of avoiding the dire nature of what is unfolding, and politely trying not to scare the public. The unparalleled setting of new heat extremes is forcing the continual upwards trending of warming predictions for the future, and the timescale is contracting.’’

The time to cut carbon pollution sharply was a long time ago, but acting now is still much less suicidal than delaying further.

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House Democrat: ‘Majority’ of NRA members would back stricter gun laws

The House Democrat elected to replace former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) on Monday said he believes the majority of National Rifle Association (NRA) members would back new gun-control laws.

“There are a lot of NRA members in this country, and we have significant evidence to suggest that they are not all opposed,” Rep. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.) said Tuesday on CNN. “In fact, there may well be a majority who are in favor of some limitations on the assault weapon availability.” 

Barber recounted an anecdote about a hunter and gun enthusiast from his district who told him he would favor some gun restrictions.

“This is not about taking away people’s guns,” Barber said. “This is about preventing mass shootings and doing so through providing mental health services and reducing access to these assault weapons and the high-capacity magazines that shot us in Tucson.”

Barber was among the 19 people, including Giffords, who were shot in 2011 by Jared Lee Loughner at an event in Tucson, Ariz. Giffords was shot in the head at the event, and stepped down last year to concentrate on her recovery. Six people were killed in the incident.

Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, launched a new effort to promote gun-control laws on Tuesday, the two-year anniversary of the Tucson shooting.

In an op-ed in USA Today, Giffords said her new group, Americans for Responsible Solutions, would “raise the funds necessary to balance the influence of the gun lobby, and will line up squarely behind leaders who will stand up for what's right.” “Until now, the gun lobby's political contributions, advertising and lobbying have dwarfed spending from anti-gun violence groups,” they wrote. “No longer. With Americans for Responsible Solutions engaging millions of people about ways to reduce gun violence and funding political activity nationwide, legislators will no longer have reason to fear the gun lobby.”

Barber said he believed it was “possible” to take on the NRA, but that money is needed to “make a difference in communicating information and getting a message out,” which was the impetus for Giffords’s new initiative.

But the push for heightened gun control will face strong opposition from the NRA, which argues that more restrictions will do little to prevent violence.

Gun-control efforts also face an uncertain path in the Republican-controlled House. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee that oversees firearms regulations, told Roll Call last month that “gun control is not going to be something that I would support.”

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Obama urges participation in National Day of Service

By Alicia M. Cohn - 01/08/13 01:19 PM ET

President Obama invited Americans to join him in a Day of Service ahead of his inauguration, in a personal tweet sent Tuesday.

The president, first lady, vice president and other senior members of the administration will participate in the National Day of Service on Jan. 19, the Saturday before Obama is sworn in for his second term.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) and the White House are promoting the Day of Service, inviting citizens nationwide to participate in local events by looking up opportunities and organizations on the PIC website.

The Obama family has participated in a community service project in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day for the past few years.

This year, president's private swearing-in takes place Jan. 20, but the public event and parade will occur Jan. 21, which happens to be the holiday. The committee has highlighted King’s legacy as another reason to participate in the service day.

The committee has been busy on social media since its launch last month, sharing bits of trivia from past presidential inaugurations and highlighting participants in the inaugural parade, photos from construction of the stage on the Capitol steps and safety tips for the big day.

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Black Wealth, Racial Disparities In Movies, And Why We Don’t Have A Harriet Tubman Biopic

Writing about Harriet Tubman, who’s been a subject of his in recent days, Ta-Nehisi Coates took up a subject near to my own heart, the lack of support for biopics about people of color. And he identifies an important point about one of the hurdles for getting such movies made:

Moreover, movie-making is risky and expensive. Any discussion of the lack of a Harriet Tubman biopic should begin with the shameful fact that median white wealth in this country stands at $110,000 and median black wealth stands at around $5,000. It would be nice to think that this gap reflected choices cultural and otherwise, instead of the fact that for most this country’s history its governing policy was to produce failure in black communities, and most of its citizens supported such policies. It would be nice if Hollywood were more moral and forward-thinking than its consumer base. But I would not wait around for such a day.

It’s absolutely true that there isn’t an African-American or Latino equivalent of Megan Ellison, the daughter of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, and the head of Annapurna Pictures. In 2012 alone, Ellison gave us two movies that I think would have been hard-pressed to be financed by more conventional production companies, and certainly not at the length and pacing that they’ve made it into theaters, Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, and Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master. Part of what makes Ellison important is not just that she can afford to finance pictures like these in the first place, but that she can afford to lose money on some of them. That’s actually the most necessary criteria to get truly daring movies made, because it means there’s space to focus on a figure who isn’t necessarily a four-quadrant subject, to approach someone who might be broadly fascinating from a novel perspective, as Anderson did with the founder of Scientology in The Master, to give a filmmaker the space they need to tell a story with nuance and completeness, or to accept an unusual arc that doesn’t hit the emotional beats of a conventional three-act structure.

George Lucas, at least with Red Tails, showed that he was prepared to spend $58 million—which doesn’t actually count as an enormous amount of money for an action movie anymore—to tell an under-explored historical story. But that’s not the same thing as spending money repeatedly, or pulling together other groups of investors to commit to a series of projects aimed at building an audience for a different kind of movie.

And at the end of the day, financing the production of a movie is only half the battle. Movies need to find distributors who will put them in theaters, or to find video on demand placement. Advertising costs, which aren’t built into production budgets, are enormous—Reuters estimated in 2010 that studios were spending between 55 and 58 cents for every dollar they spent on movie production and release costs on marketing. That’s a daunting hurdle for movies that are being made and distributed outside of that system: word of mouth about a movie’s excellence or importance go only so far when they’re up against reams of television spots, wrapped buses, and giant billboards.

With, say, a Harriet Tubman biopic (if such a movie could get made without Zoe Saldana in the starring role, and without being turned into a ludicrous action picture), it would be nice to get the movie made in the first place, but the real goal should be to get that film in front of a whole bunch of people. And it takes more than some rich people and some visionaries to achieve that. It takes an infrastructure that’s willing to take risks and absorb losses with people like Ellison because they want to be in business with those rich people and those visionaries, and to be associated with the critical buzz and awards that can come from working with those people, even if the financial returns aren’t there. Black wealth is part of the equation. But the infrastructure part of the lift is heavy, too.


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