President Should Stop Obstructing Job Creation for America's College Graduates

Iowa City, IA - When President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Iowa campus today, Americans for Prosperity - Iowa (AFP-IA) will be on campus to rally in support of job creation and economic freedom. Americans for Prosperity - Iowa state director Mark Lucas believes the White House should change its policies to make it easier for companies to grow and create jobs.

"A college degree doesn't matter much when there are no jobs available in the economy," says Lucas.

Recent employment data shows that one in two college graduates are unemployed or underemployed and the unemployment rate for 21 to 24 year-olds is over 13 percent.

"The President had an opportunity to support the Keystone Pipeline which would have created thousands of much-needed jobs," said Lucas. "The White House claims they want to lower unemployment. This administration is content to see half a billion dollars wasted on failed companies like Solyndra, while blocking job growth that would come with the Keystone pipeline."

The rally will be held along Grande Avenue on the President's motorcade route. Americans for Prosperity - Iowa will watch the President's speech and discuss it over a pizza lunch at the Wig & Pen restaurant on 1220 Hwy 6 West at 1:00PM. The President is scheduled to speak at the University of Iowa campus today as part of his effort to get Congress to extend an interest rate cap on the federally subsidized Stafford college student loan program.

SPRINGFIELD, IL (04/25/2012)(readMedia)-- As the creed states, a Ranger is a more elite Soldier who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea, or air. Staff Sgt. Matthew Madiar of Chicago and Sgt. 1st Class Zach Phillips of Portland, Ore., lived the Ranger Creed while competing at the 29th Annual David E. Grange, Jr. Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning, Ga., April 13 to 15.

Madiar, with the Illinois Army National Guard's Troop C, 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry Regiment in Aurora, Ill., and Phillips with the Oregon Army National Guard (Team 50), placed third among 50 two-man Ranger teams. This is the highest a National Guard team has ever placed. The only two National Guard teams that qualified for the competition placed in the top six with only 34 of 50 teams completing the 60-hour competition.

"I was physically and mentally exhausted after the Darby Queen obstacle course," said Phillips. "That was the one and only time I questioned if I was going to make it to the end."

Not only did the team finish, they excelled. Before the obstacle course, Rangers began the competition with a three-mile buddy run that transitioned into a 15-mile foot march. After the obstacle course, the team was flown by helicopter to the urban assault course. Both National Guard teams were in the top five standings for the day. Only 34 teams remained after the first day of endurance events.

Day two began with timed skill events. The high-stress shoot at the Krilling Range was one of the most successful events, said Madiar. The 500-yard course consisted of moving a stretcher with a simulated casualty throughout the obstacle with periodic stops at various ranges to fire five vintage rifles at steel and six-inch targets.

The teams then moved by a Stryker fighting vehicle for eight, round-robin timed stations. The major event of the day was the Tri-Tower Challenge, where competitors climbed a 60-foot wall, 30-foot collapsible ladder and a 20-foot knotted rope, rappelling down in between each climb. Team 49, consisting of National Guardsmen Capt. Robert Killian with the Colorado Army National Guard and 1st Lt. Nicholas Plocar with the Wisconsin Army National Guard, set the course record with a time of 6 minutes, 32 seconds.

Night two finished up with a six-hour night orienteering course, which was the most challenging event, said Madiar. The long distance, time constraints and rough terrain made it the toughest event.

Day three consisted of water events. Competitors jumped from a helicopter into a pond, then swam 100-meters to shore followed by a water confidence course. Once completed, both National Guard teams were airlifted to start the timed leadership skills event where Team 50 (Madiar and Phillips) came out about two and a half minutes quicker then Team 49.

"When it came time, we did everything exactly the way we practiced and it worked out well for us," said Phillips.

The final event of the day, which highlighted how well the two National Guard teams compared to the Active Duty teams, was the three-mile Buddy Run where Team 49 came in first and Team 50 in sixth place.

"All I was worried about was just finishing," said Madiar. "We weren't tracking the standings because they changed so much."

The 10-week intense pre-training program leading up to the competition paid off for the Guardsmen. Team 50 was awarded third place overall for the competition, while team 49 came in fifth.

Madiar and Phillips both said they would like to compete again next year as long as they are partners.

"If it works out, we can capitalize on our success and come back a little stronger and smarter next year," said Phillips.

Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy E. Beck, 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team also contributed to this story

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley has earned a score of 100 percent in an interim report monitoring key small business votes during this session of the United States Senate.

The report was issued by the National Federation of Independent Business, the largest advocacy organization representing small and independent businesses in the United States.  Click here to see the report.

Grassley said that jobs and the economy are the number one issue nationwide, small businesses create two-thirds of all new jobs, and Congress should act to improve the landscape for job creation.

"The priorities need to be giving employers and small business owners greater certainty with taxes and regulations.  The threat of higher taxes and overly burdensome regulations inhibit economic activity and job creation.  There also ought to be a much more active effort by the administration to expand international trade.  Manufacturers, farmers and the services industry need new markets for products created by U.S. workers, and the rest of the world is moving ahead and building trading relationships without us.  Affordable energy is a major economic issue, too, and much more needs to be done to increase domestic production of traditional and alternative energy sources, both for lower energy costs and job creation," Grassley said.

Barack and Michelle do it. Brad and Angelina do it. John and Yoko did it. How?

As the divorce rate hovers near an estimated 50 percent in the United States, many blame career stress as a major cause of separations. But somehow some couples grow stronger, especially when they work together.

One couple who have worked together for nearly a decade in the stressful world of theater, producing Off-Broadway plays, has decided to share their secrets.

"In part, it is because we work together that our bond has strengthened after 10 years of marriage," says Jamillah Lamb, co-author along with her husband, David, of Perfect Combination: Seven Key Ingredients to Happily Living & Loving Together (www.acoupleoflambs.com).

The couple has worked together professionally in their stage company, Between The Lines Productions, Inc., for nine years. But the Lambs say even couples who aren't business partners are working together every day; because being in any relationship requires negotiating, compromising, and decision-making. Just think about the last time you had to decide whose mother's house you were going to for Christmas or where you were going to go for vacation or even which movie you were going to see last weekend.

"We get more opportunity to grow together because, between home and work, we're making 100 decisions a day instead of 10," Jamillah says.

The couple live by their guiding rule, "Love like kids, act like adults."

"That means to love freely and completely, without a fortress around your heart, and behave responsibly," David says.

A crucial ingredient for any successful marriage is friendship, the Lambs say. Here are some of their tips:

• Enjoy life: Some couples won't go to theme parks until they have children. But letting one's inner child out to play with their partner's inner child strengthens a relationship's bond.

• Forgive the small stuff: No one is always right, and no one wants to be around someone who always needs to be right.

• Appreciate individuality: Everyone needs to have their own identity, including those in a long-term relationship and couples who work together. David enjoys his comic book collection, while Jamillah keeps a library of romance novels.

• Do not misdirect anger: In psychology, it's called transference; dumping your bad day on someone else. It is poison for any relationship.

• Remember your love: Couples may fight, but guard what you say. There's no need for ugliness even when you disagree.

Couples need to remember relationships take work, but they can also be a blast of fun, David says.

"Love is worth the sacrifice," they agree. "Today, with stories of celebrity couples walking away after only days of marriage and even more people living as though sacrifice is nearly a curse word, we say: 'It's worth the sacrifice.' For us, it means that we are willing to give up something that we thought was valuable or important for something even more important: love and our happiness."

Love is, in part, the acknowledgement and deep appreciation for another human being, Jamillah says.

"Couples should never take each other for granted," she advises. "In love, as in business, everyone wants to be appreciated. The simplest gesture can go a long way to help your significant other feel like they are making a significant contribution to your life, your family, or your business."

About David & Jamillah Lamb

David and Jamillah Lamb have been married for 10 years. They founded and have run Between The Lines Productions, Inc. since 2003. Born and raised in Queens, N.Y., David attended the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and New York University School of Law. He is the playwright of "Platanos y Collard Greens." Jamillah Lamb grew up in the same Chicago neighborhood as first lady Michelle Obama. She earned her master's degree in public policy at Harvard. Together they wrote Perfect Combination: Seven Key Ingredients to Happily Living & Loving to share what they have learned as successful partners in love and in business.They live in Brooklyn with their daughter.