SON OF NOEL SERRANO TO WED SOON

WHAT A MAJOR BLUNDER FOR OBAMA

NEW YORK -- A "furious" President Obama has ordered a review of the decision to fly a Boeing 747 frighteningly close to the lower Manhattan skyline, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.

Witnesses reported seeing a plane circle over the Upper New York Bay near the Statue of Liberty.



The review will focus on "why that decision was made and to ensure that it never happens again," Gibbs said. Jim Messina, a deputy chief of staff, will lead the effort.
On Tuesday, Obama told reporters, "It was a mistake. It was something we found out about along with all of you. And it will not happen again."
Officials said that when Obama first found out about the incident, he was "furious."
The incident has led to a large amount of criticism from New Yorkers and politicians.
After a YouTube video showed panicked New Yorkers scrambling as the plane flew frighteningly close to the lower Manhattan skyline, a former Homeland Security adviser questioned whether the man who approved the flyby should remain in his White House office.
Fran Townsend, who advised President George W. Bush for more than three years, called the move "crass insensitivity" in the wake of 9/11.
"I'd call this felony stupidity. This is probably not the right job for Mr. Caldera to be in if he didn't understand the likely reaction of New Yorkers, of the mayor," Townsend said Tuesday on CNN's "American Morning."
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Louis Caldera, director of the White House Military Office, quickly apologized for Monday's incident after the planes prompted workers and residents to evacuate buildings in New York and New Jersey. Watch Townsend slam Caldera »
"Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision," Caldera said. "While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it's clear that the mission created confusion and disruption."
The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft, which functions as Air Force One when the president is aboard, was taking part in a classified, government-sanctioned photo shoot.
On Tuesday Sen. John McCain wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates saying he was "profoundly disturbed" by the flyover "against the backdrop of September 11."
"The supposed mission represents a fundamentally unsound exercise in military judgment and may have constituted an inappropriate use of Department of Defense resources," McCain, a ranking member of the Senate's Armed Services Committee, wrote in the letter.
He requested an investigation into the cost of the flyover.
Air Force officials estimate that the mission and the photo shoot for the 747 and an accompanying F-16 fighter jet cost $328,835. But they said "the hours would have been flown regardless, and the expenses would have been accrued on a different mission."
An Air Force source told CNN on Tuesday that the White House Military Office planned a photo shoot over various Washington monuments next week, but the shoot has now been canceled.
An angry Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it "defies the imagination" that an agency would schedule the photo shoot so near the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said the FAA's decision to not announce the flyby "borders on being either cruel or very, very stupid."
Witnesses reported seeing the plane circle over the Upper New York Bay near the Statue of Liberty before flying up the Hudson River. Watch the plane fly over Manhattan »
The YouTube video shows dozens of people standing in a parking lot, watching the plane approach. As it nears, they begin to run. Someone unleashes an expletive. "Run, run!" says one person. "Oh my God," cries another.
A 911 call released by the Hudson County Sheriff's Department in New Jersey shows the panic caused by the plane.
"There's a plane falling, there is a big aircraft falling like 9/11," a man says to the operator. "Everybody is running and people are crying and panicking."
Two officials said the White House Military Office was trying to update its file photos of Air Force One.
Bloomberg said he was perturbed. Watch the White House apologize »
"I'm annoyed -- furious is a better word -- that I wasn't told," he said, calling the FAA's decision to withhold details about the flight "ridiculous" and "poor judgment."
"Why the Defense Department wanted to do a photo op right around the site of the World Trade Center defies the imagination," he said. "Had we known, I would have asked them not to."
Linda Garcia-Rose, a social worker who counsels post-traumatic stress disorder patients in an office three blocks from where the World Trade Center stood, called the flight an "absolute travesty." Watch the White House respond to questions about the scare »
"There was no warning. It looked like the plane was about to come into us," she said. "I'm a therapist, and I actually had a panic attack."
Garcia-Rose, who works with nearly two dozen patients ages 15 to 47, said she was inundated with phone calls from patients.
"They're traumatized. They're asking 'How could this happen?' They're nervous. Their anxiety levels are high," she said. iReport.com: Tell us what you think
Garcia-Rose said she is considering filing a class-action suit against the government for sanctioning the plane's unannounced flight.
"I believe the government has done something really wrong," she said.
Capt. Anna Carpenter of Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland said local law enforcement agencies and the FAA had been given notice of the exercise.
New York Police Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne said the department had been alerted about the flight "with directives to local authorities not to disclose information about it."

The politics of 'torture' heating up in Washington

Who knew what, and when?

Some congressional Democrats are calling for an investigation into controversial CIA interrogation techniques.

Those questions, focused on recently released Bush-era CIA memos detailing "enhanced interrogations" of suspected al Qaeda members -- are now being posed inside the Beltway, as calls by Democrats for an independent investigation into torture allegations have become louder.
House Minority Leader John Boehner said Thursday that the release of what he described as the "torture" memos is politically motivated.
"Last week, they [Obama administration] released these memos outlining torture techniques. That was clearly a political decision and ignored the advice of their Director of National Intelligence [Dennis Blair] and their CIA director [Leon Panetta]," Boehner said.
The Ohio Republican pointed out that he saw a partial list of the number of members of the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans "who were briefed on these interrogation methods and not a word was raised at the time, not one word."
Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Michigan, also blasted concerns being raised by Democrats.
"Only now that we have a new administration are people coming out who were aware of these programs saying wait a minute, these were terrible programs. In reality, two, three years ago, they signed off on it, they voted for legislation that funded these programs, and now all of a sudden these are terrible practices," he said.
But when asked whether or not she raised objections to the interrogation measures at the time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- a then-ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee -- vehemently said "we were not, I repeat, we were not told that waterboarding or other enhanced methods were used."
"What they did tell us is that they had some legislative counsel ... but not that they would. And that further, further the point was that if an when they would be used they would brief Congress at that time," she added.
President Obama has called waterboarding -- which simulates drowning -- torture, and has defended releasing the CIA memos.
One memo showed that CIA interrogators used waterboarding at least 266 times on suspected al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
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Earlier this week, Obama left open the possibility of criminal prosecution Tuesday for former Bush administration officials who drew up the legal basis for aggressive interrogation techniques many view as torture.
Obama said it will be up to Attorney General Eric Holder to decide whether or not to prosecute the former officials. Prosecutions of CIA interrogators carrying out Justice Department orders would not, however, be prosecuted, according to Obama and Holder.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller said he agreed that CIA operatives shouldn't face prosecution, but is "not prepared to say the same for the senior Bush administration officials who authorized or directed these policies in the first place."
"The focus for right now should be on finding the facts," the West Virginia Democrat added.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said that he wants a commission of inquiry to look into the matter.
"We must take a thorough accounting of what happened, not to move a partisan agenda, but to own up to what was done in the name of national security, and to learn from it," he said.
But the Senate's top Democrat said Thursday that it's important for both Democrats and Republicans to take a step back and let the appropriate investigation take place.
Majority Leader Harry Reid said while he doesn't support an independent "truth commission" to look into the affair, he does want the Senate Intelligence Committee to take the lead.
"I think it would be very unwise from my perspective to start having commissions, boards, tribunals until we find out what the facts are. I don't know a better way to get the facts than through the intelligence committee," he said.
That position puts Reid at odds with Pelosi, who said Thursday that, "I have always been for a truth commission."
Earlier this week, the Senate Armed Services Committee released a 230-page report detailing interrogation tactics used at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq -- and the methods employed at Guantanamo Bay.
The report showed that top Bush administration officials gave the CIA approval to use waterboarding, a controversial interrogation technique, as early as 2002.
"These are 230 pages of facts as to how abusive techniques were used, what I consider to be abominable legal opinions were written to justify those techniques," Chairman Carl Levin, D-Michigan, told CNN. Read more on the report
Levin now wants the Department of Justice to investigate exactly what happened -- something Obama called for on Tuesday.
On Thursday afternoon, Holder told a House committee on the memo prosecution question, "I will not permit the criminalization of policy differences."
But, he said, "it is my responsibility as the attorney general to enforce the law. It is my duty to enforce the law. If I see evidence of wrongdoing I will pursue it to the fullest extent of the law and I will do that in an appropriate way."
Other Democrats are calling for criminal inquiries to be held.
"It is the duty of the United States under the law to at least have an investigation," Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-New York, said.
Democratic leadership sources say, however, that strong GOP resistance makes that a hard sell.
Reid insisted that despite calls for investigations and even prosecutions to take place, there is no Democratic divide.
"Justice must be served. Retribution ought not be what were talking about," he added.
Resistance has begun to show -- coming from a top Senate Republican.
Sen. John McCain -- a Vietnam War P.O.W. who was tortured -- has been a vocal opponent of the practice. But on Wednesday, he told reporters that it's important for the country to move forward.
"If we prosecute individuals for providing their best recommendation to the president of the United States, it will have a chilling effect from now on," the Arizona Republican said.
McCain -- along with Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Connecticut, and Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina -- on Wednesday sent a letter to Obama strongly urging him not to prosecute government officials who provided legal advice related to detainee interrogations.
"Pursuing such prosecutions would, we believe, have serious negative effects on the candor with which officials in any administration provide their best advice, and would take our country in a backward-looking direction at a time when our detainee-related challenges demand that we look forward," they said in the letter.
The senators' concerns are also being echoed by Obama's defense secretary, who warns of the consequences abroad.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that he was is concerned with the "potential backlash" in the Middle East and in the war zones. He said the release might have a negative impact on the troops.
But Gates said with all the congressional investigations being released and lawsuits, the release of the memos was going to happen.
"There is a certain inevitability that much of this will eventually come out," Gates said. "Pretending that we could hold all this and keep it all a secret, even if we wanted to, I think was probably unrealistic."

" WHO CONTROLS THE PAST, CONTROLS THE FUTURE"

It's a line from George Orwell's novel "1984." But it could also serve as the rallying cry for two groups battling over President Obama's ambitious domestic agenda -- and the legacy of two former presidents.
Critics of Obama's proposed $3.5 trillion federal budget say he's poised to jeopardize the economic gains unleashed by President Reagan.
They say he will make the same mistakes that President Lyndon B. Johnson did when he committed massive amounts of federal money to create a slew of anti-poverty programs dubbed "The Great Society."
"The Great Society created a lot of programs and wasted a lot of money," said Kenneth Khachigian, a former Reagan speechwriter and adviser. "The biggest war on poverty was the economic boom started by Reagan."
But others like Joseph Califano Jr., Johnson's senior domestic adviser, say the notion that the Great Society was a failure is one of the "greatest political scams" in American history.
Republican leaders who have labeled Obama's budget proposals socialist are rehashing the rhetoric their predecessors used to attack Great Society programs like Head Start 40 years ago, Califano says.
"I'm hearing the same round of arguments," Califano said. "The Republicans said that if you provide Head Start and preschool education to poor kids, it would 'Sovietize' our kids and be communistic."
'Failure' of the Great Society
The clash between both points of view centers on Obama's plan for reviving the nation's economy.
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The Senate and the House of Representatives passed similar versions of Obama's $3.5 trillion budget for 2010 last week. The budget didn't receive a single Republican vote in either chamber. Both chambers will meet after Easter recess to produce a final budget.
Even before last week's vote, though, Obama's budget was creating a partisan wedge. Proponents said it would use trillions of dollars to transform education, spark a green industrial revolution and provide health care to all Americans.
CNN political analyst David Gergen said Obama's budget "set forth the most ambitious reform agenda of any president since Lyndon Johnson."
Gergen's comment could be taken as a compliment or a reprimand, depending on one's historical point of view.
Craig Shirley, author of "Reagan's Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All," took it as a warning.
His model for reviving the nation is Reagan, who moved "power from the government to the people" by cutting taxes and making government less intrusive.
Shirley, alluding to an alleged Reagan quip that "Johnson declared war on poverty and poverty won," says out-of-wedlock births, illiteracy and bloated federal programs increased during the Great Society.
He says Medicare and Medicaid, two vaunted Great Society programs that provide health care to the poor and elderly, are now virtually bankrupt.
"All evidence says that the Great Society was a failure," Shirley said.
Khachigian, Reagan's speechwriter, says Obama's budget would also create tension between people who fought their way up the economic ladder and those who did not. Under Obama, the well-off would be "brought back down through higher taxes and subsidizing benefits for people who have not worked as hard."
Obama's budget is influenced by the president's previous job as a community organizer, Khachigian says.
"You can't have been a community organizer and not have in your mindset that agencies of the government exist to, as Obama said, to 'spread the wealth,' '' Khachigian said.
If Obama wants to look at an economic blueprint for lifting the nation out of a nasty recession, he should look at Reagan, Khachigian says.
Reagan's tax cuts helped end the deep recession he inherited when he came into office, he said. The economy took off, and everyone benefited.
"I would argue that the biggest war on poverty took place when the economy started booming in 1983,'' Khachigian said.
The 'myth' of Reagan's tax cuts
Other analysts had a different take on the legacy of the Reagan Revolution and what it can teach Obama.
Will Bunch, author of "Tear Down This Myth: How the Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics and Haunts Our Future,'' says Reaganomics is built on a fable.
Reagan didn't prove that tax cuts and small government lead to economic growth, because he never consistently did both, he says.
Bunch says Reagan did cut taxes in 1981 but raised them in succeeding years. He also expanded the federal government and created a huge national debt.
"His initial 1981 tax cuts went so far that he was actually forced to increase taxes a half-dozen times in the years that followed, something you never hear about," Bunch said.
Obama would do better to follow the example of Johnson, not Reagan, says Califano, Johnson's senior domestic adviser.
He says Johnson's Great Society was designed to give the most vulnerable Americans -- the poor, the elderly, the disabled and racial minorities -- the same opportunities as the affluent.
"The Great Society saw government as providing a hand up, not a handout," said Califano, who wrote about his time with the president in "The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson."
He says the Great Society proved that government wasn't incompetent.
Johnson persuaded Congress to pass at least 100 Great Society proposals. Programs awarded college students financial aid, gave struggling families food stamps and gave millions of Americans access to health insurance for the first time.
It also reduced poverty, Califano says. About 22 percent of Americans lived below the poverty line when Johnson took office in 1963. By 1970, when the impact of Great Society programs was being felt, the poverty rate dropped to 12.6 percent, Califano says. (The poverty rate in 2007 was 12.5 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.)
Califano, who calls Obama's budget a logical extension of the Great Society, says Obama personally benefited from the Great Society "crown jewel": the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which ensured African American participation at the polls.
"My God, Obama wouldn't be president if Lyndon Johnson hadn't passed that civil rights law," Califano said. "He would not have gotten the votes to get elected."
Robert Weisbrot, co-author of "The Liberal Hour: Washington and the Politics of Change in the 1960s,'' says the Great Society also helped lay the foundation for the modern environmental movement with its passage of clean air and water laws. Read why Weisbrot says Obama can't create another Great Society
"We can find much to celebrate in those years in the 1960s when we see a burst of reform when the government is ready to face problems openly and decisively," Weisbrot said.
There may be, however, one point of agreement for supporters and critics of Obama's domestic agenda. It was expressed by Khachigian, Reagan's former speechwriter.
When asked whether he was miffed that some people were now comparing Obama to Reagan, he said his opposition to Obama's budget was based on something deeper: fear.
He says the nation could become a Failed Society if Obama's approach doesn't end a brutal recession.
"It's not a matter of pride but of practicality," he said. "If this doesn't work, we're all in deep doo-doo."

HAVING JESUS IS GREATER THAN FAME OR FORTUNE

I’d Rather Have Jesus – The History of I’d Rather Have Jesus is a song written by Rhea F. Miller with the tune written by George Beverly Shea. This poem, written in 1922, was left on a piano in the Shea home by Bev Shea who wanted her son to find it and change the course of his life. The words, I’d rather have Jesus, moved George so much and spoke to him about his own aims and ambitions in life. He sat down at the piano and began singing them with a tune that seemed to fit the words. Shea’s mom heard him singing it and asked him to sing it at church the next day. George’s life direction did change. He was offered a popular music career with NBC, but a few years later chose to become associated with evangelist Billy Graham and sang this hymn around the world.
I’d Rather Have Jesus – The Lyrics "I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I’d rather be His than have riches untold; I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands, I’d rather be led by His nail pierced hand.Than to be a king of a vast domain Or be held in sin’s dread sway, I’d rather have Jesus than anything This world affords today. I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause; I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause; I’d rather have Jesus than world-wide fame, I’d rather be true to His holy name. He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom; He’s sweeter than honey from out of the comb;He’s all that my hungering spirit needs,I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.
I’d Rather Have Jesus – The Bible’s Support This hymn. It is about dedication and commitment. To follow after Jesus is costly. Matthew 16:24-26 says: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?’” I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold. . . Philippians 1:21 reminds us: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead. . . Philippians 3:8 says, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” I’d rather have Jesus than world-wide fame, I’d rather be true to His holy name. . . Praise God for the words of Rhea Miller and the caring of Bev Shea. Because of them, George followed after Jesus and we are blessed with the fruit.

LOOSENING THE BONDS

According to the Bible, our Father has given us the authority to “bind” and “loose.”
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19)
“Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18)
I freely confess that there is a lot about this subject that I do not claim to grasp. However, I believe that there is a danger here of ignoring or “watering down” the meaning of something we do not fully understand. Of course, another danger may be to claim we understand the implications when we really do not! A good prayer might be, “Father, You have given me authority and power to bind and loose. Teach me to use it wisely as I prepare for an eternity of ruling and reigning with You.”
Someone might say, "Can't God do these things as He wills, without me getting involved in "binding" and "loosing?"
Well, of course He can. God can do anything He wants without any help from any of us! These things are given to us as part of our training and preparation for eternity!
Here are some beginning thoughts about possible things we might need to “bind” or to “loose.” These are only some thoughts that may help you get started. Always let the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit be your Guide!
To Loose/Release:
People from the deceptions/strongholds of demons (“And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” —Luke 13:16) (“To proclaim liberty to captives, And freedom to prisoners.” —Isaiah 61:1 and Luke 4:18)
People from the grip of disease, sickness, pain. (Luke 13: 16 above) (“And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly.” —Mark 7:35) (“Thou hast loosed my bonds.” —Psalm 116:16)
The power of God in me to do His work. (“Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” —Ephesians 3:20)
From sin. (“For he who has died is freed from sin.” —Romans 6:7) (“Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke?” —Isaiah 58:6) (“To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood.” —Revelation 1:5) (“Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go forth.’" —Isaiah 49:9)
The Word of God to work. (“The word of God is not imprisoned.” —2 Timothy 2:9) (“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” —Isaiah 55:11)
The Holy Spirit from my spirit into my mind, will, emotions, body, and into the lives of others (in order to give wisdom, encouragement, and understanding, as well as to heal, bring conviction, deliver from demons, and grant repentance). (“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” —John 7:38)
Praise from the hearts of men. (“And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God.” —Luke 1:64 )
Angels, to do their work of ministry, protection, and warfare. (“So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. And on the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and roused him, saying, "Get up quickly." And his chains fell off his hands.” —Acts 12:5-7)
People from mourning and depression. (“Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness.” —Psalm 30:11)
People from the slavery of debt. (“And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.” —Matthew 18:27)
To Bind:
Demons, away from people (“Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.” —Matthew 12:29)
The tongues of critics, divisive people, etc. (“Let the lying lips be dumb, Which speak arrogantly against the righteous With pride and contempt.” —Psalm 31:18)
Christians, to each other in love (especially husbands to wives and parents to children). (“That their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love.” —Colossians 2:2)
Secular authorities to execute God’s judgment. (“To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishment on the peoples; To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute on them the judgment written; This is an honor for all His godly ones. Praise the Lord!” —Psalm 149:7-9)
The wounds left by tragic life experiences. (“He heals the brokenhearted, And binds up their wounds.” —Psalm 147:3) (“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted.” —Isaiah 61:1)
Kindness and truthfulness to ourselves. (“Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.” —Proverbs 3:3)

HOW FAMILIES CAN SURVIVE IN THIS ECONOMY

Spend less than you make, and save the rest! Start to build an emergency fund or keep contributing to your existing one. When times are hard, it will ease your mind to know that you have some emergency money on hand in case something happens. If you are barely making it each month, then you need to reevaluate your big expenses. -Move to a less expensive home-Trade in your current vehicle, for a less-expensive, fuel efficient vehicle -Develop a financial plan, and stick with it-Have money deducted from your paycheck and put into a savings account
Step2Try to limit shopping. The less trips you make to the store, the less you spend in gas and everywhere else! -Try to shop at one store that will offer price matches, so you can limit unnecessary trips.-Avoid temptation by not looking at store circularsRemove yourself from email list that encourage pointless spending-Try to plan your meals for a week ahead, and clip coupons from online websites, and other places you find them
Step3Be creative everyday. Tap into your resourceful side by trying to give new light to things you already own. There are tons of things you already own, which all have hidden potential.-Swap services with neighbors and friends-Try bartering for things you need on website forums-Pair coupons with grocery store sales to get maximum savings-Make your own cleaning products, and grow your own vegetables and fruit, do your own repairs (within reason)-Participate in FREE activities
Step4Less is more. Occasionally, less is more. Think about removing some unnecessary things from your budget. -As an alternative to eating out, invite friends over for a potluck dinner-Get rid of cable, and read more books, check out DVDs from the library or watch shows online at hulu.com-Get rid of your landline phone, and just use your cell phone for everything-Tidy up the house, and get rid of things you do not need on Craigslist or ebay
Step5Give, give, and give some more. Lastly, be grateful for what you already have. Even in this current economic crisis, we are still the wealthiest country in the world. If you can contribute to the less fortunate, this is the perfect time to do it. If you cannot give monetarily, volunteer your time.-Help at a food pantry-Put together meals for families who have lost their jobs

OBAMA MEETING IN EUROPE AT THE G-20

LONDON, England -- Leaders of the world's largest economies agreed on Thursday to a package worth more than $1 trillion to tackle the global economic crisis.

Barack Obama: "The challenge is clear" for world leaders to tackle the economic crisis.


U.S. President Barack Obama called the deal "a turning point in our pursuit of global economic recovery." The plan calls for reform of the international banking system and the injection of more than $1 trillion into the world financial system.
The Group of 20 is taking "unprecedented steps" to attack the global economic downturn, stimulate growth and expand loans to troubled nations, Obama said at the close of the group's meeting in London.
"The challenge is clear," the U.S. president said. "The global economy is contracting. Trade is shrinking. Unemployment is rising. The international financial system is nearly frozen." Watch Obama's speech »
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown heralded the emergence of a "new world order" Thursday following the release of what he called an "unprecedented" package of measures to tackle the crisis.
The deal agreed by the leaders of the world's largest economies included reform of the international banking system and the injection of more than $1 trillion into the world financial system. Watch what was agreed to at the summit »
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had voiced concerns prior to the summit about the wisdom of pumping further public money into economies already in recession, welcomed Thursday's agreement -- though hinted at unresolved disagreements behind the scenes.
There had been concerns that a rift was opening up between the approach being championed by the U.S. and Britain -- more economic stimulus -- and that favored by France and Germany -- more banking regulations.
Sarkozy said the agreement represented "great progress" on reform of financial institutions and said "a page had been turned." Merkel described the deal as "a very, very good, almost historic compromise."
The six-point plan includes banking reform measures and more than $1 trillion to be spent on restoring credit, growth and jobs, as well as measures clamping down on tax havens and a commitment to build a green and sustainable economy. iReport: What's the economy like where you are?
Much of the G-20 communique issued at the end of the London summit restated promises and goals that international leaders had made earlier, relying on language such as "we remain committed" and "we reaffirm our historic commitment."
But Brown said: "Our message is clear and certain. We believe that in this new global age our prosperity is indivisible. We believe global problems require global solutions," Brown said.
"I think a new world order is emerging and with it the foundations of a new and progressive era of international cooperation." Watch Brown's statement »
Brown said the new rescue package, which includes a commitment to treble the resources available to the International Monetary Fund to $750 billion, amounted to "the largest macro economic stimulus the world has ever seen."
Along with existing national stimulus measures, Brown said efforts to bolster economies amounted to more than $5 trillion.
The six-point consensus consisted of measures to:
Restore confidence, growth, and jobs;
Repair the financial system to restore lending;
Strengthen financial regulation to rebuild trust;
Fund and reform our international financial institutions to overcome this crisis and prevent future ones
Promote global trade and investment and reject protectionism, to underpin prosperity;
Build an inclusive, green, and sustainable recovery.
Obama said: "We owe it to all of our citizens to act and to act with urgency. We have agreed upon a series of unprecedented steps to restore growth and prevent a crisis like this from happening again."
"We have rejected the protectionism that could deepen this crisis. ... This cooperation between the world's leading economies signals our support for open markets," he said. "Second, we are committed to comprehensive reform of a failed regulatory system."
Obama added: "We can rebuild our global prosperity if we act with the sense of common purpose, persistence, and optimism that our moment demands."
Obama said the United States would also provide $448 million in additional aid to vulnerable nations which he described as "future drivers of world economic growth."
Brown said the G-20 would meet again later in the year to review the success of its plans and said details of the summit would be announced over the next few days. Watch global impact of the downturn »
"Together with the measures we have each taken nationally, this constitutes a global plan for recovery on an unprecedented scale," the G-20 communique said.
As expected, the communique included tough new measures to reform global financial institutions, citing "major failures" in regulation of the sector as "fundamental causes of the crisis."
The G-20 members will also establish a new Financial Stability Board to provide "early warning of macroeconomic and financial risks," the summit's final communique said, but it was not clear if board would have regulatory powers.
Brown said the final deal included agreement on tighter regulation of hedge funds, tax havens and the banking system.
"We will implement new rules on pay and bonuses at a global level that reflect actual performance with no more rewards for failure," Brown said. "We want to encourage corporate responsibility in every part of the world."
There were only a few protesters outside the summit when it started Thursday -- a marked difference from the thousands who gathered in central London 24 hours earlier. Watch more on the protests »
Police said they arrested nearly 90 people on Wednesday and were expecting more problems.

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