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Astronaut Kelly shrugs off political rumors; NASA Administrator Bolden says U.S. will lead in space
Astronaut Mark Kelly, commander of the last flight of the space shuttle Endeavour, tamped down rumors that he would follow his wounded wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., into politics. “She’s the politician in the family. I am the space guy and I see no reason to change that now,” Kelly said at a National Press Club luncheon July 1, where he joined NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr. Kelly announced June 21 that he plans to retire from the U.S. Navy and NASA Oct. 1 to focus on Giffords’ recovery from a January gunshot to the head. Six people also died and 12 others were wounded in…
Type: News
Actor Gary Sinise forms foundation to aid disabled veterans
Actor-activist-patriot Gary Sinise announced the formation of The Gary Sinise Foundation at a National Press Club luncheon June 30. The Foundation, with a newly assembled staff and offices located in Los Angeles, is a culmination of Sinese’s decades-long efforts with the USO, Disabled American Veterans, Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, Operation International Children and various other groups to give aid, comfort and, just as importantly, recognition, to disabled war veterans and their families for the sacrifices they made, and continue to make, in Iraq and Afghanistan. “We’re a staff…
Type: News
LGBT leader calls New York same-sex marriage bill "game changer"
Rea Carey, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Task Force, called the New York state legilature's passage of a same-sex marriage bill, "a major turning point in progress toward marriage equality, a game changer" at a June 28 Newsmaker. Carey, who leads the oldest organization supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights, said the bill doubles the population eligible for same-sex marriage. "What a difference 42 years makes," she said. In 1969, when homosexual acts were illegal, mass arrests of LGBT people at the Stonewall Inn in New York City led to six days of riots.…
Type: News
Johnston: To counter Jihadists, put religion at center of foreign policy
The best way to address Jihadist terrorism is to make religion a central component of American foreign policy, according to Douglas Johnston, an expert on foreign policy and religion, who spoke at the National Press Club on June 23. “We’re dealing with symptoms and not the real cause," Johnston said in a critique of current U.S. policy. "And that’s the problem." The International Correspondents Committee hosted the event to coincide with the launch of Johnston's new book, "Religion, Terror, and Error: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Challenge of Spiritual Engagement." The book argues that what is…
Type: News
A rarity: Gaiman signs books for sold-out Club audience
Award-winning author Neil Gaiman drew more than 500 people to a National Press Club Book Rap June 23. After Gaiman spoke, he signed copies of his recently released “American Gods Tenth Anniversary Edition.” Gaiman normally does not personalize books, so the book signing at the Club event, organized by Emily Whitten of the Book and Author and Young Members Committees, was a rare opportunity for the enthusiastic crowd. “American Gods” was originally published in 2001. Gaiman’s first event promoting the book was at the Borders in the World Trade Center in New York City, he said. He returned home…
Type: News
Panelist calls counterfeit medicines 'heinous crime'
Industry experts described threats to health and safety from counterfeit electrical and pharmaceutical products at a June 23 Newsmaker. "This is a heinous crime," said Patrick Ford, senior director, American Region at Pfizer Inc. He said that counterfeit Alzheimer medicines could result in faster deterioration of patients while counterfeit blood pressure medicines could threaten lives. He cited the danger to children from fake vaccines. Tom Grace, manager of anti-counterfeiting and brand protection at Eaton Corp., displayed counterfeit circuit breakers whose failure could cause electrical…
Type: News
FDIC chairman blames “short-termism” for nation’s financial crisis
Outgoing Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair, making her final public appearance as head of the banking oversight agency, told a National Press Club luncheon on June 24 that pervasive short-term thinking led to the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression. “‘Short-termism’ is a serious and growing problem for both business and government,” she said, noting the tendency of humans to discount potential problems that could occur far into the future. While not specifically blaming one segment of American society more than another, she said the nation’s political…
Type: News
Former FEMA Director urges Book Rap audience to be prepared
“FEMA will not save you,” said Michael Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Brown, who served as the first undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA director from 2003 to 2005, was forced to resign in the wake the federal government's poor response to Hurricane Katrina. He presented his book, “Deadly Indifference: The Perfect (Political) Storm: Hurricane Katrina, the Bush White House and Beyond,” at a National Press Club Book Rap June 21. The government will not always be there, Brown warned. “There needs to be an understanding of the role…
Type: News
House Republican says growing deficits will have "dire" consequences
A leading House budget hawk says continuing massive budget deficits are just as serious as the “scare tactics” coming from the Obama administration about a possible default on the national debt. “We don’t believe that if Aug. 1 or 2 comes and we don’t raise the debt limit, that the next day the skies will all be black and the ground beneath us and the buildings will all be crumbling here in Washington,” Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., said during a National Press Club Newsmaker event Tuesday. “We do believe that if you raise the debt limit and you don’t take care of the spending problems at the…
Type: News
Journalist Bahari: "I am free now, but others are not."
Journalist Maziar Bahari, who spent almost four months in a six-by 12 foot cell in Tehran's Evin prison on what he says were unspecified espionage charges, urged journalists to remember others who are imprisoned and work for their release. "I am free now, but others are not," the Iranian-born Bahari told a Newsmaker audience June 16. Bahari, a journalist, filmmaker and former Newsweek correspondent, also co-authored with Aimee Molloy a book about this experience, Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity and Survival, which he distributed at the Newsmaker. Complimentary…
Type: News