Statement by the Press Secretary on the Debt Limit

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For Immediate Release January 12, 2013 Statement by the Press Secretary on the Debt Limit

“There are only two options to deal with the debt limit: Congress can pay its bills or it can fail to act and put the nation into default. When Congressional Republicans played politics with this issue last time, putting us at the edge of default, it was a blow to our economic recovery, causing our nation’s credit rating to be downgraded. The President and the American people won’t tolerate Congressional Republicans holding the American economy hostage again simply so they can force disastrous cuts to Medicare and other programs the middle class depend on while protecting the wealthy. Congress needs to do its job.”

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January 12, 2013 5:30 AM ESTWeekly Address: Ending the War in Afghanistan and Rebuilding America

President Obama talks about the bipartisan agreement that Congress reached this week which prevented a middle-class tax hike, congratulates the newly sworn-in members of Congress, and looks forward to working with the new Congress in the new year to continue to grow our economy and shrink our deficits in a balanced way.

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We'll soon reach a milestone in Afghanistan -- when Afghan forces take full responsibility for their nation's security and the war draws to a close.

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Supreme Court Reconsiders Allowing Judges To Increase Sentences Without Jury Approval

Among the major contributors to the U.S. incarceration epidemic are harsh schemes for sentencing, and some of the most disproportionate sentences come about as a result of statutorily mandated minimum sentences.

Just last week, a former medical marijuana distributor who declined to plead guilty was sentenced to a ten-year minimum prison sentence by a federal judge who said, “the court’s hands are tied.”

But for some defendants, being sentenced to the mandatory minimum prison term for the crime of which they are convicted is just the tip of the iceberg. Judges may also use their discretion to add additional time up to a maximum allowable sentence. A case before the U.S. Supreme Court today considers the scope of that discretion when judges decide unilaterally that the defendant committed acts other than that for which they were convicted.

Allen Alleyne was convicted for robbing a convenience store owner as he drove to make a bank deposit. The jury found Alleyne guilty of both having committed the robbery, and having used or carried a firearm. They acquitted him, however, of brandishing a firearm during the crime.

Nonetheless, in sentencing Alleyne, the judge independently found that Alleyne should have known his accomplice would brandish a firearm during the robbery – a finding that added two additional years to Alleyne’s  sentence above the mandatory minimum of five years. Unlike a jury, which is tasked with finding guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt,” the judge made this finding under the much lower standard of “preponderance of the evidence.”

It is easy to view Alleyne and his accomplice as serious criminals who may very well deserve to serve either a five or a seven-year sentence. But allowing a judge the discretion impinges on a criminal defendant’s constitutional right to a trial by jury. The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that a judge cannot use this discretion to increase a defendant’s sentence above the maximum allowable sentence. And a similar rationale prompted a controversial but landscape-changing decision to limit the enforceability of federal sentencing guidelines.

Although the severity of statutory sentencing schemes has led to grossly unjust results, particularly in drug crimes, their purpose was and is to limit the variability and bias that can be introduced by any given judge in imposing a criminal sentence. Letting judges make factual determinations that are the purview of the jury undermines this goal – and allows for the sorts of even longer prison terms that have contributed to our ever-bloated prison population.

Somewhat surprisingly, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear this case on the argument that an earlier high court decision on just this issue was wrongly decided. With four new justices since the 2002 decision and Justice Stephen Breyer on the fence, the Supreme Court now has a second chance to get it right.

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Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate Regarding the War Powers Resolution

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AND THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE

January 13, 2013

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

On January 11, 2013, French forces conducted an operation in Somalia in which they attempted to rescue a French citizen being held hostage by al-Shabaab. United States forces provided limited technical support to the French forces in that operation, but took no direct part in the assault on the compound where it was believed the French citizen was being held hostage. United States combat aircraft briefly entered Somali airspace to support the rescue operation, if needed. These aircraft did not employ weapons during the operation. The U.S. forces that supported this operation left Somalia by approximately 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 11, 2013.

I directed U.S. forces to support this rescue operation in furtherance of U.S. national security interests, and pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.

I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148). I appreciate the support of the Congress in this action.

Sincerely,
BARACK OBAMA

###

Before taking questions from the assembled journalists, the President took a moment to reflect on the past four years, and look ahead to his agenda for the next term, which includes new jobs, new opportunity, and new security for the middle class

President Obama talks about the bipartisan agreement that Congress reached this week which prevented a middle-class tax hike, congratulates the newly sworn-in members of Congress, and looks forward to working with the new Congress in the new year to continue to grow our economy and shrink our deficits in a balanced way.

We'll soon reach a milestone in Afghanistan -- when Afghan forces take full responsibility for their nation's security and the war draws to a close.

view all related blog posts

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Coca-Cola Takes on Obesity Controversy in New Ad Push

For Coca-Cola, the world's No. 1 beverage company, the ads reflect the mounting pressures on the broader industry.

Later this year, New York City is set to put into effect a first-in-the-nation cap on the size of soft drinks sold at restaurants, movie theaters, sports arenas and other venues. The mayor of Cambridge, Mass., has already proposed a similar measure, saying she was inspired by New York's move.

Wen PepsiCo, the No. 2 soda maker, recently signed a wide-ranging endorsement deal with pop singer Beyonce, critics called for the singer to drop the contract or donate the funds to groups that fund health initiatives.

Diana Garza Ciarlante, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola, said the new ads aren't a reaction to any negative public sentiment but that the company felt it needed to address "the issue of the times" and be part of the discussion on obesity.

"We have not done a good enough job in telling our story and being consistent in telling our story," she said, noting the company had to be careful in its messaging to remain consistent with its brand voice and avoid sounding "preachy."

A 30-second ad, which will run later this week during"American Idol" and before the Super Bowl, is much more reminiscent of catchy, upbeat advertising people have come to expect from Coca-Cola.

It features a montage of activities that add up to burning off the "140 happy calories" in a can of Coke: walking a dog, dancing, sharing a laugh with friends and doing a victory dance after bowling a strike.

Garza Ciarlante said the ad, a version of which ran in Brazil last month, is intended to address the widespread confusion about the number of calories in soda. She said the company's consumer research showed people thought there were as many as 900 calories in a can of soda.

Garza Ciarlante declined to give details on the actions Coca-Cola has planned for the year ahead. But among the options under consideration is putting the amount of activity needed to burn off the calories in a drink on cans and bottles.

Coca-Cola notes it has already made several moves to help customers make smarter choices, such as putting calorie counts on the front of its cans and bottles in the U.S. Last year, it also started posting calorie information on its vending machines ahead of a regulation that will require soda companies to do so by 2014.

Public concern over calories counts is apparent in Coca-Cola's business. In North America, all the growth in its soda business over the past 15 years has come from low- and no-calorie drinks, such as Coke Zero. Diet sodas now account for nearly a third of its sales in the U.S. and Canada. Other beverages, such as sports drinks and bottled water, are also fueling growth.

Even with the growing popularity of diet sodas, however,overall soda consumption in the U.S. has declined steadily since 1998,according to the industry tracker Beverage Digest.

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Utah Smoothie Shop Charges Liberals More, Donates Surcharge To Conservative Causes

A smoothie shop in Vernal, Utah is sparking outrage over an unorthodox pricing structure that charges liberals an extra dollar. The shop, tellingly named the I Love Drilling Juice and Smoothie Bar, is owned by George Burnett, a pro-oil and gas activist. He donates the extra money to conservative organizations like the Heritage Foundation.

“I’m very open about it, very public about it, that I’m going to charge them a little bit more, and I have liberals come in and pay the extra dollar surcharge,” Burnett said, referring to his unique pricing structure. [...] “And actually all three liberals have been happy to pay it. We had a husband and wife come in — he was conservative and she was liberal — and he paid conservative for himself and liberal for her.”

Watch it:

The juice bar is just one element of Burnett’s activist gimmick. On his website, he sells “I Love Drilling” shirts and bumper stickers. Burnett claims he wants to start a conversation about “the fiscal differences between big government/small government and liberal ways.” The liberal tax is intended to “help make that point.”

One conservative customer went even farther, explaining, “For him to do this kind of puts a face out there on people who are, in my opinion, in the wrong. ‘In the wrong’ being liberals,” Peterson said. “To see them being charged a little bit more, it makes me happy.”

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Utah School Realizes Book About Lesbian Family Helps Prevent Bullying

Last June, Utah’s Davis County School District caved to the complaints of 25 parents and removed the book In Our Mothers’ House by Patricia Polacco from general circulation in the elementary school library. The book, which features a family with two moms, was not outright banished, but was held behind the librarian’s desk such that students could not access it without first obtaining permission from their parents. The ACLU filed suit in November, and now the school has come to its senses and returned the book to general circulation. In a letter explaining the decision, the district’s assistant superintendent, Pamela Park, explains that a committee actually had positive things to say about In Our Mothers’ House, including that it will help prevent bullying:

I have considered the written summary and recommendations of the District Reconsideration Committee. I agree with and support the Committee’s conclusions regarding the book as follows:

“Removing the book completely is not a good option.”“We all know many non-traditional families” with students attending our schools.“It could help those children in same sex families see their family in a book.”“[T]his book teaches acceptance and tolerance.”“The book could help prevent bullying of kids from same sex families.”“It could be used by a family to discuss the issues . . .”

Parents can still restrict their children from checking out certain books, but that policy would not prevent students from reading the book in the library.

Another wrinkle in this situation is that Utah’s sex education law prevents the use of instructional materials that include “the advocacy of homosexuality.” However, the ACLU argued and the school agreed that library books not incorporated into a curriculum are not covered by the law.

The parents who complained about Polacco’s book may now have to deal with questions about same-sex families. It’s quite likely, however, that they may have already faced such questions given the existence of same-sex families in the school their kids attend. Now, those kids have one extra resource for understanding the diversity that surrounds them.

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Flu Reaches Epidemic Proportions in US

 Highlight transcript below to create clipTranscript:  Print  |  Email Go  Click text to jump within videoMon 14 Jan 13 | 10:38 AM ET CNBC's Bertha Coombs reports on the economic impact of the widespread outbreak of flu. Also, Dominic Ruocco, The Doctors' Office Walk-in Clinic co-owner, explains how hospitals and clinics are handling the rush of patients.

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