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As part of President Obama's commitment to government transparency, we are providing records of White House visitors on an ongoing basis online. In December 2009, we will begin posting all White House visitor records for the period from September 15th onwards under the terms of our new voluntary disclosure policy. In addition, as part of our new policy, we will post records dating from January 20th that are specifically requested on an ongoing basis. For more information, read the White House blog post announcing the new policy.

(CNSNews.com) – White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that there is no "veracity" to the argument that the U.S. Constitution does not authorize the federal government to force individuals to buy health insurance. The Congressional Budget Office has said that the federal government has never before in American history forced Americans to purchase any good or service. When the health-care bill was being debated in the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, raised questions about the constitutionality of forcing Americans to buy health insurance, which all congressional versions...

U.S. President Barack Obama has videotaped a message to be shown Saturday night at the annual memorial ceremony for Yitzhak Rabin in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. The message will relate to the murdered prime minister's legacy and the need to advance the peace process. It was prepared in response to a request from Rabin's daughter, Dalia Rabin. This is another step in Obama's attempt to speak directly to the Israeli public in light of the very low level of support he has among the Israeli public. Several polls over the past few months show the American president has won...

As President Obama contemplates U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, the military operation in the country is facing increasing violence. Eight U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday. October has been the most violent month for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the war began eight years ago. Today’s violence follows the deaths of 14 U.S. troops killed yesterday in a helicopter collision believed to have been caused by enemy fire. A total of 55 U.S. troops have been killed this month. Overall, 2009 has witnessed the highest number of U.S. and NATO troop deaths in Afghanistan since the war began.

Reporting from Washington - The Obama White House, stepping in where other Democrats feared to tread, has launched a potentially risky fight with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce -- attempting to bypass the nation's most powerful business organization and develop independent ties to corporate America. In recent weeks, President Obama, his Energy secretary and one of his other most senior advisors have begun criticizing the chamber publicly, casting it as a profligate lobbying organization at odds with its members in opposing the administration on such issues as consumer protection and climate change.

The "Homecoming Queen" at a traditionally black US university has sent a letter to President Barack Obama, complaining that her win had been questioned on campus because she is white. "It would be much easier to say that possibly some were not accepting of the news because I wasn't the most qualified contestant; however, the true reason for the disapproval was because of the color of my skin. I am not African American," the nursing student wrote to the president. She asked the president for help, suggesting that he visit Hampton University to convince students to "stop focusing so much...

Let's start with the title of your book — what is a Whitopia, exactly? It's more than just a place where a lot of white people happen to live. Absolutely. A Whitopia has three things. First, it has posted more 6% population growth since 2000. The second thing is that the majority of that growth — upwards of 90% — comes from white migrants. The third thing a Whitopia has is an ineffable social charm — a pleasant look and feel. You say many Whitopias offer a high quality of life, and tend to perform well on those "Best Places...

William White predicted the approaching financial crisis years before 2007's subprime meltdown. But central bankers preferred to listen to his great rival Alan Greenspan instead, with devastating consequences for the global economy. William White had a pretty clear idea of what he wanted to do with his life after shedding his pinstriped suit and entering retirement. White, a Canadian, worked for various central banks for 39 years, most recently serving as chief economist for the central bank for all central bankers, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. Then, after 15 years in the world's most secretive...

The Obamas’ taste in art is as broad as abstract canvases by Josef Albers, American Indian scenes by George Catlin and paintings by little-known figures like Alma Thomas, the African-American Expressionist painter. Works by those artists were among some 45 pieces that the first couple borrowed from several Washington museums to decorate their private White House residence and the West and East Wings, the White House press office announced on Tuesday.

Senior White House officials have begun to make the case for a policy shift in Afghanistan that would send few, if any, new combat troops to the country and instead focus on faster military training of Afghan forces, continued assassinations of al-Qaeda leaders and support for the government of neighboring Pakistan in its fight against the Taliban. In a three-hour meeting Wednesday at the White House, senior advisers challenged some of the key assumptions in Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's blunt assessment of the nearly eight-year-old war, which President Obama has said is being fought to destroy al-Qaeda and its allies...

The official White House blog slammed Glenn Beck today, accusing the host of displaying a "disregard for the facts in an attempt to smear the Administration's efforts to win the Olympics for the United States." Last night, the conservative firebrand attacked the President for lobbying hard to get the 2016 Olympics to come to Chicago. Today, the White House released a point by point rebuttal of some of Beck's statements. Here's an example from the post, which is titled, "Trying to Turn a Point of Pride into a Moment of Shame":

The White House unexpectedly decided to review its strategy in Afghanistan after a series of recent setbacks in the war, including allegations of fraud following last month's presidential elections and surging violence throughout the country. It begins just days after Gen. McChrystal submitted his request for as many as 40,000 additional troops to the Pentagon. Some in the administration, notably Biden, have argued for a smaller military footprint and a tighter focus on counterterrorism as the best way forward. Advocates of such a shift point to the effective use of Predator drone strikes to kill Taliban leaders in Pakistan. Two...

TORONTO (Reuters) - The White House is expected to exempt Canada from a provision in the U.S. stimulus package that gives priority to American-made products used in public works projects, CBC News reported on Tuesday. In return Ottawa will offer U.S. companies guaranteed access to procurement contracts awarded by provincial and municipal governments, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported on its website, citing Canadian government sources.

Obama Administration to Push for Tough New Economic Sanctions if Iran Doesn't Come Clean on Nuclear Plans The Obama administration is planning to push for new sanctions against Iran, targeting its energy, financial and telecommunications sectors if it does not comply with international demands to come clean about its nuclear program, according to U.S. officials. The officials said the U.S. would expand its own penalties against Iranian companies and press for greater international sanctions against foreign firms, largely European, that do business in the country unless Iran can prove that its nuclear activities are not aimed at developing an atomic...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration is close to selecting a location on U.S. soil to house some detainees from the controversial American military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an administration official said on Saturday. President Barack Obama has pledged to close the facility, which has been the target of international condemnation, by January 2010 but has faced legal, political and diplomatic difficulties that could make it hard to meet that deadline.

Over in the States, a phrase has been coined that sums up the “white-Americans-must-be-racist-because-they-oppose-President-Obama” accusation repeated ad nauseam by the BBC – Liberal McCarthyism. On Pajamas Media, via Fivefeetoffury: What we’re hearing is the liberals’ McCarthyism, which is, when in doubt, blame people for racism. Litigators have an old argument: When the law’s on your side, argue the law. When the facts are on your side, argue the facts. When neither’s on your side, pound the table. This amounts to pounding the table. I have yet to see evidence, is there — does evidence even intrude in this conversation? Is...

White racism is back. Not so much any actual racist behavior by any actual white people, but rather the charge leveled against political opponents of President Obama. Obama's election supposedly ushered in a new post-racial era where old animosities would fade from memory, but if anything, charges of white racial vitriol are as prominent as ever. Let me try to explain this eruption and suggest why accusations of white racism will become increasingly strident. In a nutshell, white racism has become the glib reason for imperfect racial progress, and the term's definitional fuzziness, it's resistance to scientific confirmation makes it

PHILIP ELLIOTT (AP) - Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON White House officials told agencies across the government Tuesday they should take care to avoid even the appearance that politics played a part in the award of federal grants. The advisory came in response to an embarrassing incident last month in which a National Endowment for the Arts official asked artists on a conference call to coordinate with the Corporation for Public Service on ways to help bolster President Barack Obama's public service agenda

Is there anyway to remind the ones calling everyone who disagrees with the potus "a racist" that he is also white? What I want to know is why is he considered a black man? Last time I checked he was born from a white mother, whose parents were both white as well. Why is he soley black? To consider him "ONLY BLACK" is racist! Why won't the conservative voices of the airwaves raise that question? I think by considering himself to be only black or all of the voices calling those who disagree a racist, should remember he is as...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is announcing $25 million in grants to states and health care systems to launch a national experiment on alternatives to medical malpractice lawsuits. The grants will be up to $3 million each for three years. They can be used to examine a broad range of ideas, including programs in which doctors and hospitals quickly acknowledge a mistake, offer an apology and restitution, and pledge to take corrective action.

Here's the mp3 of Senator Byrd. If Dem's want to play this game... I have a ton of audio clips for them.

ABC News has learned that President Obama will be meeting with 16 Democratic senators (and one "Independent Democrat") this afternoon at the White House. They are: Senators Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Mark Warner of Virginia, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Tom Carper of Delaware, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Mark Begich of Alaska, Mark Udall and Michael Bennet of Colorado, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Bill Nelson of Florida, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, and Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.

"There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House, we're asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov." The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) and the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) have filed suit in...

The White House on Monday fired back after former Vice President Dick Cheney called the Obama administration's decision to open a probe into alleged CIA abuses an "outrageous political act." White House Press Secretary Roberts Gibbs broadly dismissed Cheney's comments on "FOX News Sunday" as typical and unfounded.

By Mike Swift and Josh RichmanBay Area News Group**Posted: 08/22/2009 07:00:00 PM PDT****Updated: 08/24/2009 10:54:26 AM PDT** Ex-Marine Jack Burke went toe-to-toe with his congresswoman at a street fair in San Carlos last week, convinced that President Barack Obama's health care reform would mean politicians, not doctors, would make his medical decisions. It was not just health care making him angry, Burke said a few moments later. It was Obama's plan to limit global warming; it was the auto industry and all the other bailouts; and it was health care. The retiree said it all felt so wrong, so contrary...

Facing a barrage of questions Wednesday over the friendliness of the audience at President Obama's New Hampshire town hall meeting, the White House insisted that all questions were selected at random -- including one from an 11-year-old girl whose mother worked as an Obama organizer. Julia Hall of Malden, Mass., grabbed the microphone Tuesday during Obama's town hall meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., and told the president she saw signs "outside saying mean things about reforming health care" as she walked into the building.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's national security adviser did not rule adding more U.S. forces in Afghanistan to help turn around a war that he said on Sunday is not now in crisis. James Jones, a retired Marine general with experience in Afghanistan, said the United States will know "by the end of next year" whether the revamped war plan Obama announced in March is taking hold. The administration is redefining how it will measure progress, with new benchmarks that reflect a redrawn strategy. An outline is expected next month.

Top White House aides gave Senate Democrats a recess battle plan on Thursday, arming the lawmakers with tips for avoiding disastrous town hall meetings while showing them polling on popular aspects of the reform effort. Senior White House adviser David Axelrod and deputy chief of staff Jim Messina told senators to focus on the insured and how they would benefit from “consumer protections" in the overhaul, such as ending the practice of denying insurance based on preexisting conditions and ensuring the continuity of coverage between jobs. They showed video clips of the confrontational town halls that have dominated the media...

Four of the most powerful business leaders in America arrived at the White House one day last month for lunch with President Barack Obama, sitting down in his private dining room just steps from the Oval Office. But even for powerful CEOs, there’s no such thing as a free lunch: White House staffers collected credit card numbers for each executive, and carefully billed them for the cost of the meal with the president.

If you are a Cambridge police officer and arrest a man who admits he is predominantly white, are you guilty of racism? Go about 1:20 into this clip to hear...

President Barack Obama says his White House is more open than previous administrations and is disputing complaints he hasn't fulfilled a campaign promise to negotiate health care on C-SPAN. Obama said Wednesday that he started his restructuring of health care with a media event in the East Room and has often invited photographers to take pictures of him meeting with health care executives. He says at some point, the meetings just become too numerous to invite news organizations.

A wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not know that a gaggle of white Republican men afraid of extinction are out to trip her up.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is firing back at Sen. Jon Kyl for calling for an end to economic stimulus spending, and they're aiming for where it hurts the most - at home in Arizona. The White House on Tuesday released letters from four cabinet secretaries to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, citing Kyl's comments and outlining transportation, housing, Indian education and other projects in his home state they said would be eliminated if the senator has his way. Kyl, the No. 2 Senate GOP leader, has said the stimulus spending hasn't succeeded in boosting the economy and...

The White House on Monday said President Obama would consider asking Congress to delay the summer break if he hasn't seen sufficient progress on healthcare reform by the August recess. Hours after Obama told reporters that he is "going to get this done," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that it is unlikely legislation will be finalized before the recess.

A top official of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the government agency that oversees AmeriCorps, has refused to answer questions from congressional investigators about the White House's role in events surrounding the abrupt firing of inspector general Gerald Walpin. Frank Trinity, general counsel for the Corporation, met with a bipartisan group of congressional investigators on Monday. When the investigators asked Trinity for details of the role the White House played in the firing, Trinity refused to answer, according to two aides with knowledge of the situation.

Mummy, where are my stripes? Pure white Bengal tiger astonishes keepers By Daily Mail Reporter 06th July 2009 A beautiful rare snow white Bengal tiger doesn't have to earn her stripes because she was born without them. [Pic in URL] The playful six-month-old cub called Fareeda is so unusual none of her kind exist in the wild today and she is the first-ever to be born in Africa. Her parents Geena and Shiva are both white Bengal tigers and carry the gene for white colouring. Enlarge Fareeda is a snow white tiger cub who only has stripe markings on her...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House says its high-profile garden on the South Lawn has tested positive for lead although it is not at dangerous levels. White House spokeswoman Katie McCormick-Lelyveld said Thursday that tests on the soil in the White House garden detected lead levels of 93 parts per million. Soil is considered unsafe for growing vegetables when it reaches more than 500 parts per million.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Spinning a Supreme Court decision in its favor, the White House said Monday that the justices' reversal of a ruling that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge proves that she follows judicial precedent. The high court ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race. Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said the ruling should put to rest claims by Sotomayor 's Senate critics that she's an activist judge

A letter signed by a former Republican U.S. attorney general, a former Democratic White House Counsel, and 144 other prominent lawyers is challenging the White House’s claim that fired AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin was “confused” and “disoriented."

San Diego police Officer Frank White was found not guilty yesterday of criminal charges resulting from the shooting and wounding of a mother and her young son during a road-rage incident last year. A Vista Superior Court jury acquitted White, 29, of a felony count of grossly negligent discharge of a firearm and a misdemeanor count of exhibiting a firearm. White showed little emotion as the verdicts were read about 4 p.m., but after the jury left the courtroom, he bear-hugged his attorney, Rick Pinckard, then his wife, Jacquellyn.

The Obama White House cannot explain more than half of today's announced $80 billion in prescription drug savings. A senior official said the White House estimates $30 billion in savings will be achieved through drug companies reducing by at least 50 percent the cost of brand-name prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries who fall into the so-called coverage "donut hole."

During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised that once a bill was passed by Congress, the White House would post it online for five days before he signed it. The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. “When there’s a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you the public will have five days to look online and find out what’s in it before I sign it, so that you know what your government’s doing,” Mr. Obama said as a candidate, telling voters he would make government more transparent...

WASHINGTON- Hundreds of people protested in front of the White House Saturday calling on President Obama to denounce Iran's presidential elections. Demonstrators say they want President Obama to seek help from the United Nations and ask for a re-election or recount in the country. They say the White House's inaction over what's happening in Iran does not look good because the rest of the world looks to the U.S. for leadership.

A top White House lawyer called the firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin an act of "political courage," according to House Republican aides who were in a meeting with the lawyer Wednesday. Norman Eisen, who is the White House Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, met with staffers for Rep. Darrell Issa, the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Wednesday. Eisen, along with another White House staffer who accompanied him, "wanted to talk broadly about inspectors general," says a GOP aide familiar with what went on at the meeting....

[If this applied to Bush it ought to apply to King nObama] The White House must release its visitor logs and cannot hide behind a shield of privilege, a federal judge ruled Monday. The Bush administration has resisted public disclosure while it fights a lawsuit over alleged political influence by conservative Christian leaders. U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth concluded the information is part of the public record and is subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act as "agency records."

Activists seek unity, new definition of Black PowerBy Ashahed M. Muhammad Assistant Editor Updated Jun 1, 2009 - 11:29:08 PM MARIETTA, Ga. - At a May 22-24 gathering, the South became the nexus of Black liberation and political thought at the 2009 National Black Power Conference, which was headquartered at the Roberts Crowne Plaza, a Black-owned hotel just outside Atlanta's city limits. Organizational representatives from across the United States and those concerned with the future of the Black nation participated in the meeting. The conference was co-convened by longtime scholar Dr. Leonard Jeffries and Atty. Malik Zulu Shabazz, of the...

Well, the big story yesterday was the nut job who attacked the Holocaust Museum, killing a guard. If anything is a “hate crime,” this is, though I don’t think that means he should be punished more harshly. Yes, it’s traumatic for those who appropriately hold the museum in high regard, but he should be punished for the act, not his state of mind at the time. Of course, the slander has already begun. Not of him, but of “right-wingers” and “conservatives.” The standard media template — that he was a white Christian “right-winger” — has been trotted out, and the...

It is expected to announce plans Monday to speed up the release of remaining stimulus funds over the next 100 days by targeting the best places to spend the cash. To the naysayers, White House advisers are urging patience and asking them to look on the bright side of the stats. "It's a substantial improvement from what the job losses have been," White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee, told "FOX News Sunday," noting that the 345,000 jobs lost in May was far less than in prior months. "That's the smallest job loss since September of last year." Senior White House...

A recent study on racial preferences of online daters provides some interesting findings. Based on profile-searching criteria set by singles using Yahoo! Personals, the UCI case study reveals that gender plays an important role in interracial preferences: “Asian American men are the least preferred mate for Caucasian women” Asian American men are the least preferred mate for Caucasian women, and African American women bear the brunt of discrimination from Caucasian men. UCI researchers say that "the stereotypical images of masculinity and femininity shape dating choices" and are a contributing factor. The cross-cultural revolution is not going to be launched on...

Christians in the UK Facing Increasing Official Discrimination: Poll By Hilary White LONDON, June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A poll conducted by the Sunday Telegraph has found that thousands of Christians in Britain fear losing job promotions and are being harassed at work because of their religious beliefs. The poll has been released at the same time that reports that Britain is becoming increasingly hostile to Christian believers are increasing. In the Telegraph poll, one in five said they had faced “opposition” at work because of their beliefs. Over half said they had suffered from some kind of “persecution” at...