Gop Committing 'suicide' On Immigration Reform, Obama Says, During Rev

[dalapathi]

Jae C. Hong/APRepublicans are committing long-term 'suicide' by not backing immigration reform, President Obama said Thursday.
Republicans are committing long-term “suicide” by not backing immigration reform, President Obama said Thursday.

Obama met with tech entrepreneurs in Santa Monica and was pure Obama during a “town hall”: incisive, engaging, eclectic, and, yes, at times professorially long-winded if ultimately impressive. One couldn’t possibly imagine a predecessor like George W. Bush being so intellectually comprehensive, confident and sharp.

One question involved the immigration code and allowing more immigrants with technical skills into the country. That’s a big issue in Silicon Valley and elsewhere.

He noted that 25 percent of Nobel Prize winners in the sciences are naturalized Americans (interesting factoid) and “the idea that we would make it harder for talent to come here….makes no sense.” He reminded the informally-clad, out of Central Casting tie-less entrepreneurs (who might have needed reminding) that the Senate passed immigration reform but it’s dead in the Republican-run House.

“If Republicans were thinking long-term politically, it is suicide for them not to do this,” he said. “Because the demographics of the country are such that you will lose a generation of immigrants which says, ‘That party doesn’t seem to care about me.’ In the short term, they have a problem with the Tea Party and others who often express virulently anti-immigrant sentiment.”
Yes, he conceded, his side wasn’t helped by the flood of unaccompanied children who came over the border during the summer, with the resulting “two or three weeks of publicity that fanned concern about that situation.” But, he said, “I am confident that eventually this will get fixed and congress will see the light because the logic is too compelling.”
The town hall was, like all White House events, clearly the result of a fair bit of premeditated stagecraft, notably with an opening in which he was introduced to leaders of several start-ups sitting at computers displaying their wares.

The first aims to distribute professional photographers’ work to any of us. Then there was one that aims to rank products and firms as far as energy efficiency.

Then there was one so clearly up the alley of the former Chicago community organizer; namely an online platform for social action that would help you raise money, supplies and volunteers for a local cause.

“I started as a community organizer and could have used one of these,” Obama said.

He said much more in the next part of the gathering, taking questions that allowed him to go on at great length---many of his answers were in a five- to seven-minute range, both admirably and impractically out of sync with our era of short attention spans and 90-second network TV news segments. For a White House that frets about "getting the message out" more effectively, somebody might encourage the boss to do a smidgen of self-editing in public.

He discoursed on the role of technology in improving the health care system, touching upon not just the great potential advantages for everybody but also the potential for commercial “hucksterism.”
The CEO of a start-up, who’s the mother of three small children, wondered about the slow advance of women in technology and what could be done to get more into the field.

“Great question,” Obama said, which he tends to say about every question at every town hall meeting.

He spoke about unfortunate changes in career paths many people take when they get to college, with “folks who have talent in math and science” finding themselves “steered into finance because it looks like the path of least resistance and is more lucrative.”
“If our best talent are all ending up on Wall Street, not engineers, our economy will be out of balance.”
The academic in Obama came out in responding to another question on the confusing (for most) but important topic of so-called net neutrality, or the notion that Internet providers should let everybody have access and not favor any particular websites or products.

In addition, he was thoughtful in responding to a related question on changing intellectual property laws, a sensitive topic for tech entrepreneurs anxious about inventing something but then getting ripped off (though there are also those who also clearly would like the chance to rip others off).

Later, he discoursed on the state of American manufacturing and our crying need to create more manufacturing hubs, where universities, government and research labs combine to focus on technologies that will actually create jobs. Germany has 60 of them. We have four.

The session ended with a fairly droll exchange with the co-founder of an online marketplace for brain power, or essentially a site where smart people can offer advice to others, even anonymously, on any topic. The co-founder wondered whether Obama, when done with his own current gig in two years, might want to come aboard.

“The idea of being able to dabble in the issues of the day while being in sweat pants and baseball caps sounds pretty attractive,” Obama said. “But I’d have to check out your perks. Do you have, like, a sushi bar?”
He ended with a fitting, if somewhat ironic, pitch for folks to get involved in politics, be it national or local. So many of the decisions that will impact them, or that they might want to be made, will be made in that arena.

The irony was that for all the grand elements of the Millennial generation he was celebrating Thursday---their diversity, greater percentage of college degrees and interest in community service—they also exhibit declining trust in government and politics.

Obama’s historic 2008 election has not galvanized a younger generation as many assumed.

It’s why he was right to note, before splitting, that “even as you’re doing all this neat, cool, interesting stuff,” it might be smart to pay attention to what is going on in their nation’s capitals and their City Halls.

Maybe some of them can find riches in an app that will get more of their generation off their butts and actually voting.
Jae C. Hong/APOne question involved the immigration code and allowing more immigrants with technical skills into the country. That’s a big issue in Silicon Valley and elsewhere.
Jae C. Hong/APThe town hall was, like all White House events, clearly the result of a fair bit of premeditated stagecraft, notably with an opening in which he was introduced to leaders of several start-ups sitting at computers displaying their wares.
Source : http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc...ealing-town-hall-techies-blog-entry-1.1969435

[KothaHero]

pure BS, this man is just mere talk n no action type fellow, inka yemundi after nov election his legacy is over

[k2s]

Adi radu man.adi radu