Obama Calls Democratic, GOP Leaders To Debt Talks

President Obama invited Democratic and Republican congressional leaders to the White House for face-to-face meetings on the budget Thursday.

"It's my hope," Obama told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, "that everybody's going to leave their ultimatums at the door, that we'll all leave our political rhetoric at the door, and we're all going to do what's best for our economy and do what's best for our people."

The president would like to reach an agreement within two weeks, which would leave time to raise the federal debt ceiling before an Aug. 2 deadline.

At the same time, the financial world remains skittish, and investors are on alert. They're still recovering their confidence from some pretty hard shakes in 2007 and 2008. Now they're watching other countries, especially Greece, deal with the effects of too much government debt built up over years of spending.

And then they look at the U.S., where the federal government is borrowing 40 cents of every dollar it spends. The debt tops $14 trillion, and the benefits the government has promised to people who are retiring cost a lot more than it can afford.

Investors see serious work that needs to be done, but members of Congress don't necessarily seem to be acting so serious.

"That is almost so irresponsible that it is frightening," says former Rep. John Tanner, a Democrat from Tennessee. He finds it jaw-dropping that some lawmakers continue to say the U.S. can just nip and tuck here and there or find some easy solution and things will be just fine.

"This debt ceiling business is a live-fire exercise — they're not shooting blanks," Tanner adds.

At the Concord Coalition, a fiscally conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., Chief Economist Diane Lim Rogers says lawmakers may actually be making the problem worse with their rhetoric.

"All show, a lot of theatrics, a lot of hype — it doesn't help the cause because it makes the American people think, 'Oh, it's just politics,' " Rogers says.

It's not politics, she says — it's real. If lawmakers can't get together and fix this problem, the U.S. could lose its status as the most stable of the world's economies. That would hurt everybody in the country.

Rogers says the Democrats think "maybe we can just tax rich people, or evil corporations, or maybe we don't have to cut major benefit programs — maybe we can just cut waste, fraud and abuse."

On the other side, Republicans say, the only solution they'll accept is spending cuts, and they will not consider ending tax breaks for corporations or raising taxes of any kind.

None of this sits well with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who was chairman of the House Budget Committee when he balanced the budget with President Clinton in the 1990s.

Kasich told CBS that lawmakers must drop all the posturing and ideological orthodoxy: "At the end of the day, you look yourself in the mirror, and you say to yourself, 'Did I do what was right for families and for children, and if I paid a political price, so what?' "

That's the kind of attitude the president wants in his meeting Thursday. Come to the White House, he says, but leave your rhetoric at the door.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/06/137640605/obama-calls-democratic-gop-leaders-to-debt-talks?ft=1&f=1014

nancy pelosi harry reid john mccain al gore bill clinton

Cleanup Of Montana Oil Spill Complicated By Flooding

A ruptured Exxon-Mobil oil line has spewed an estimated 42,000 gallons of crude oil into Montana's Yellowstone River. While company officials are still trying to figure out the extent of the spill, high flood waters and mountain runoff are spreading the oil beyond the river's banks, complicating the cleanup efforts. Melissa Block speaks with Rob Rogers, who has been covering the story for the Billings Gazette.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/05/137631007/cleanup-of-montana-oil-spill-complicated-by-flooding?ft=1&f=1007

sarah palin al sharpton bill oreilly fox news hamid karzai

Your Brain On Kids: Share Your Story

Raising a child inevitably means getting caught up in the moment and focusing on day-to-day demands — child care, meals, baths, bedtime. It can mean losing sight of the actual experience of being a parent.

So, in our new essay series Your Brain On Kids, we will provide a space to step back and reflect.

For each installment of the series, we'll ask you to consider a question. We'll publish a number of essays on related topics from you, our listeners and readers.

We're looking for diverse takes on the topics raised, though certain questions may be aimed at a specific subset of parents, or even childless individuals.

For our first question, we are looking for parents with one child between the ages of 1 and 4. If you are interested in contributing, please fill out the form below. Your essay should be 500 words or less. We'll be accepting essays until 11:59 PM EDT on July 11.

The question: Has parenthood changed you? Was there a moment or incident that sparked the realization? Tell us about it.

By submitting your essay, you consent to have it reviewed by NPR staff and for NPR to contact you for additional information; however, it does not obligate NPR to contact you or feature your material. Your essay will not be used or published by NPR unless you sign a release. For additional information, please see our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/06/137377626/your-brain-on-kids-share-your-story?ft=1&f=1057

al sharpton bill oreilly fox news hamid karzai barak obama

Minn. Lawmakers To Resume Budget Negotiations

State government operations in Minnesota have been shut down since last week after a budget stalemate. Rachel Stassen-Berger, a political reporter for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, talks to Steve Inskeep about budget negotiations.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/05/137617838/minn-gop-gov-to-resume-budget-negotiations?ft=1&f=1014

al gore bill clinton newt gingrich sarah palin al sharpton

Minn. Residents Want Government Shutdown To End

In Minnesota, the state government has been shut down since Friday. Days of around-the-clock talks failed to produce a deal last week between the Republican-controlled legislature and the Democratic governor. There were no new budget negotiations over the holiday weekend. Frustrated residents lined parade routes and shouted at waving politicians, telling them to "get back to work."

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/05/137617822/minnesota-residents-want-government-shutdown-to-end?ft=1&f=1014

hamid karzai barak obama hillary clinton george w bush nancy pelosi