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It feels like not long ago that Jenna Bush Hager and her twin sister Barbara gave the Obama sisters a grand tour of their new home, the White House. In reality, its been 12 years since George W. Bush transferred the presidency to Barack Obama, and according to Michelle Obama, that warm introduction to first daughtership remains meant a lot to Sasha and Malia Obama.

In November, Jenna shared some snapshots from that day to Instagramthe girls visibly joyful while learning how to slide down the mansions best banister. [They] remember that time more than a lot of things that I wouldve thought of because they saw those pictures too, and we sat and had an entire dinner about those first days and how they just cherished these two young, beautiful women who had done what they were doing, who were taking time out of their lives, because it was very clear you guys were excited to do it, Michelle recently told Jenna on Today.

At the time, Jenna was recently married and teaching in Baltimore. She drove to the White House straight from work to show Malia, 10 and Sasha, 7 the places most kid-friendly facetsprime hiding spots, the movie theatre, floral shop, and bowling alley. You came in from wherever you were especially to meet with them and they knew that, and it made a difference in their entire experience, Michelle added.

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Although it was a kind gesture on Jenna and Barbaras part, they enjoyed the visit just as much as the young sisters did. It was just a really beautiful day because Barbara and I saw ourselves in those little girls, Jenna said in a previous episode of Today. They were around Malia and Sashas age when their grandpa, George H.W. Bush took office. So to see their wonder at this historic house and also their nervousness, you just related with them so much, she explained.

Still, Jenna was shocked by how much of an impact she and Barbara made. I couldnt believe [Michelle] said that, Jenna later reflected on Today. What I think it shows is that none of us ever know the power that we have. This happened to be in the White House, but in any house, the kindness that you show somebody.

She then admitted that the tour was actually Laura Bushs idea. My mom looked at Mrs. Obama and thought, put politics aside, shes a mother thats nervous about her two little girls moving from Chicago to Washington, Jenna said.

Now, both Obama sisters have moved on to even bigger adventures. Malia, now 22, is a senior at Harvard University, per Today, and Sasha, now 19, is a sophomore at the University of Michigan. Time flies when youre a living part of American history.

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Michelle Obama Shares What Jenna Bush Hagers White House Tour Meant to Sasha and Malia - Prevention.com

One of the major goals of the Trump presidency, if not the number one aim, was erasure of the legacy of President Barack Obama.

Whether the topic was the Paris Climate Accord, the Iran Nuclear Deal, the Affordable Care Act, civil rights for LGBTQ citizens, or immigration reform, the standing policy rule in the Trump White House was if Obama was for it, the president was against it.

Add to that Trumps Twitter obsession with his predecessor. Obama appeared in around 3,000 Trump tweets over the last ten years, many of which were devoted to how the 45th president outdid the 44th.

For example, Trump expressed amazement at how Obama left over 100 federal judge vacancies for him to fill, not mentioning that the U.S. Senate under Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blocked all judicial appointments in the two years before Trump took office.

Trump consistently took credit for Obama accomplishments, such as criminal justice reform and veterans health care choice. He succeeded in passing an enormous tax cut bill for corporations and the affluent, but failed in his very first legislative priority, repealing Obamacare.

Of course, Trump issued dozens of executive orders overturning Obama decisions, approving the Keystone XL pipeline Obama had rejected, and reversing his fuel-efficiency standards and power plant emissions limits.

Dont let the pandemic distract you: Were in the middle of a dangerous rollback of voting rights | Opinion

However, many of these directives are in the process of being repealed by actions of President Biden.In contrast to Trump, Biden has shunned press gatherings and public appearances in favor of a nose-to-the-grindstone approach. When he does speak publicly, Biden makes it a point not to mention the name of the former guy.

Bidens efforts to obliterate the Trump legacy should surprise no one. What might come as a shock is how Obamas vice-president is attempting to be not only the anti-Trump, but also the anti-Obama.

To be sure, Biden is stocking his administration with Obama alumni. During the 2020 Democratic primaries, he frequently mentioned his partnership with his former boss.

Upon taking office, though, members of the Biden team have discussed avoiding Obamas mistakes.What they mean is shown by how Biden and Congressional Democrats managed to enact the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill.

More help is on the way: In the Philly burbs, Biden touts benefits of $1.9T COVID relief bill

Liberal critics argued Obamas response to the Great Recession was too timid and too modest.

The presidents stimulus package of 2009 was less than $800 billion after concessions to Congress. It contained tax cuts in the form of increased pay embedded in paychecks, not as checks mailed to citizens.

The Obama recovery bill helped prevent another Great Depression, but all people heard was Republican criticism of how its contents went to the undeserving and how it would contribute to the national debt.

In facing the severe economic downturn produced by the COVID pandemic, Biden made sure to propose over $1 trillion more than did Obama in 2009.

And, very soon, checks will be coming directly to households, although not with Bidens signature as his predecessor insisted.

Furthermore, Biden did not waste time seeking Republican votes, as Obama did in passing the economic stimulus and Affordable Care Act. The Republican response then was delay-and-obstruct.

To Biden, Republicans are unreliable business partners, and he treated them as such. Not a single GOP member of Congress voted for the presidents proposal, though some have since claimed credit.

The bottom line is Biden got what he wanted.

Federal deficit-spending, a major concern of the Obama years, does not seem very important to Biden. He is preparing another trillion-dollar-plus initiative to repair the nations infrastructure and promote a carbon-neutral economy.

Lest it appear that Biden and his aides are backstabbers, their criticisms of the Obama presidency reflected 44s own assessments in his autobiography, A Promised Land, released after the election.

The former president admits he didnt do enough to promote his early achievements, and he allowed Tea Partiers to set the narrative.

Moreover, Obama confessed he was startled at the lengths Republicans would go to ruin his presidency, including shutting down the government, bringing the U.S. to the brink of financial default, and telling an untold number of untruths.

Nobody is startled now.

One wonders, however, when the new administration will encounter the roadblocks which faced Obama.Handing out checks is easy. Reforming immigration, reducing gun violence, weaning Americans off fossil fuels all problems that plagued Obama are hard.

It is easy to dismiss a political party that cares more about cancellation of Pepe Le Pew than prevention of the spread of coronavirus, but electoral history tells us the Republicans are likely to win the 2022 midterm elections.

Before that happens, Biden may take Obamas advice, based on painful experience, and move to abolish the filibuster.

Like all presidents, Biden wants to make history. Time will tell whether, in remembering the past, he will avoid repeating it.

Opinion contributor Fletcher McCllellan is a political science professor at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa. His work appears biweekly on the Capital-Stars Commentary Page. Readers may email him at [emailprotected], and follow him on Twitter: @mcclelef.

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Biden as the Anti-Obama: I didn't see that one coming | Fletcher McClellan - Pennsylvania Capital-Star

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(Bloomberg) -- The name Cisneros is synonymous with business acumen and opulence in the minds of Venezuelans old enough to remember the pre-Hugo Chavez years.Over generations, the billionaire family brought the Studebaker, Pepsi-Cola and department stores to the oil-rich country. It launched DirecTV in Latin America, ran beauty pageants, produced soap operas and owned banks, TV stations, ice-cream makers and brewers.Now, decades after having moved most of the family and its assets to the U.S. as Chavez was ramping up his socialist revolution, a new generation of Cisneros is scouring the ravaged economy for assets to buy on the cheap.Eduardo Cisneros, the grandson of patriarch Diego Cisneros, co-founded a private-equity fund in Florida that has raised over $200 million from investors, according to a filing with the SEC. The fund, called 3B1 Guacamaya Fund LP, has already used about $60 million of that cash to snap up Venezuelan businesses, including a paint maker, over the past year, according to several people with knowledge of the deals who asked not to be named because they werent authorized to speak publicly about the matter.In making the plunge, Eduardo and his partner -- Rodrigo Bitar, the head of a boutique New York-based M&A shop -- are positioning themselves as early arrivals in what could prove to be a scramble to acquire choice assets in the once-wealthy nation at deeply discounted prices. After years of mismanagement that triggered a 70% decline in the size of the economy and drove millions of Venezuelans to flee, Chavezs hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, is slowly embracing free-market reforms to alleviate the crisis and consolidate his hold on power.Some local analysts are actually predicting the economy will grow in 2021 as Maduro loosens Covid restrictions. An expansion, no matter how tepid, would halt a string of seven straight years of economic contraction.The opportunities for profit are immensely high in the first phase of economic recovery, said Peter West, an economic adviser at Londons EM Funding. But you also have to be an investor with high appetite for risk, willing to dip your toes in the water.The 3B1 Guacamaya fund operates in the same Coral Gables, Florida, headquarters as Cisneros Corporation, a consulting service with young, modern and creative professional leadership founded by brothers Eduardo, Andres and Henrique, according to its website.The fund acquired a majority stake in publicly-listed paint maker Corimon CA. The company hasnt reported results since 2015. Back then, it had 1,300 employees working in 190 stores in Venezuela and several other countries in Latin America.Calls and messages seeking comment from Eduardo Cisneros, Cisneros Corp. General Counsel Mark Lopez and Bitar werent returned. Corimons chief executive officer Esteban Szekely also didnt respond to calls and messages seeking comment.As limited as the deals have been so far -- names of the other businesses acquired besides Corimon werent ascertainable -- Cisneros and Bitar have quickly become the talk of the small, tight-knit community of dealmakers and financiers in leafy eastern Caracas. Two-hundred million dollars may not go far in most financial capitals in the world, but in Venezuelas atrophied M&A market, it makes the duo an immediate force.And their arrival has some of the locals speculating that the proverbial bottom to the economy and market that theyve been waiting on for decades -- spanning all the way back to the collapse that followed the oil boom of the 1970s -- may finally be approaching.Hemmed in by U.S. sanctions, Maduro is overseeing a reform push that includes an ad-hoc dollarization of the economy following years of hyperinflation and stifling government controls. His regime has also begun to offload dozens of key state enterprises to private investors in exchange for a share of the revenue or products.While Chavez seized thousands of private companies, the Cisneros family managed to retain control of the businesses they kept in the country. Today, Venezuelans still drink the familys Regional beer, use phone and data plans from its wireless provider Digitel and watch its TV station Venevision.Diego Cisneros, a Cuban immigrant who settled in Venezuela, started the business empire in the 1930s.His sons Gustavo and Ricardo -- whos Eduardos father -- took control of the organization in 1970, and in the 1980s, the clan began an expansion outside of its home market, buying up U.S.-based sports equipment and baby product maker Spalding & Evenflo and a stake in the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision.In 2000, the family made Florida its base for the Cisneros Group and kept expanding across the Americas, first under the leadership of Gustavo and then his daughter Adriana Cisneros. There is no link between Cisneros Group and Cisneros Corp. or 3B1 Guacamaya, Miguel Dvorak, the COO of Cisneros Group, said in a statement.Back in Caracas, a newly-formed local association for private capital named Venecapital held an event earlier this month entitled: Venezuela, back on the radar of international investors.In it, speakers heralded Venezuela as the frontier market with the greatest potential, saying those who seize opportunities in the nation arent sitting around waiting for the regime change that never seems to come. They pointed to telecom, real estate and the gas and oil service sectors as attractive targets for foreign investors.Maduros government approved a so-called anti-blockade law in October, opening a path to increased foreign investment in the energy industry, which was nationalized in the 1970s.Last year, Scale Capital, a Chilean investment and management firm, reached a deal to acquire DirecTVs operations in Venezuela for an undisclosed amount.Last year an international fund called Phoenix Global Investment bought food-producer Cargills assets in Venezuela, where it had operated for 34 years. In August 2019, a Chilean investor group bought the local branch of U.S.-based insurer Liberty Mutual Holding Co.The main risk is to enter too early, before the right conditions are set, EM Fundings West said. Its not hard to imagine a scenario in which things get worse, at least in the short term.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.

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Westmoreland County commissioners will approve a resolution to support gun rights this week.

Republican commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew, along with Democrat Gina Cerilli Thrasher, said they will declare Westmoreland a Second Amendment County, a move they concede has no teeth but shows support for gun owners.

There are bills seeking to take away our Second Amendment rights in the Legislature, and we want to work with our local law enforcement agencies, our sheriff, to protect our Second Amendment rights, Kertes said We want to protect our ability to own rifles and high-capacity magazines.

Commissioners did not disclose the text of the resolution they will consider at their meeting Thursday but said it is based on a similar resolution approved this month in Washington County. That resolution, according to Washington County commissioners, would enable nonenforcement of gun control laws prohibiting ownership of certain weapons if officials believe the law to be unconstitutional.

Kertes said Westmorelands proposed resolution will carry no specific policy directives.

Our powers are limited, but we want the public to know we are standing with them, Kertes said.

Thrasher called the resolution silly but said she will vote for its passage.

I am pro-Second Amendment, but I dont really understand the purpose of this resolution. We dont have any jurisdiction over the United States Constitution and the Second Amendment, Thrasher said.

In addition to Washington, commissioners in Greene and Fayette counties approved similar resolutions, and Westmorelands leaders said Thursdays vote is part of an effort to unify the region in support of gun rights.

Josh Fleitman, the Western Pennsylvania manager for the gun-control advocacy group Ceasefire PA, said resolutions such as the one under consideration in Westmoreland are unenforceable.

It does nothing to make the county safer and, in fact, makes counties less safe and creates confusion about how and when gun laws will be enforced, Fleitman said. Its kind a solution in search of a problem.

Chew said he will support the Second Amendment resolution, which he described as no different than other proclamations on key issues.

We are limited in jurisdiction, but governments all over pass resolutions in favor of key issues, Chew said. The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania sends out resolutions they suggest we adopt annually. This isnt one sent by CCAP, but its the same: our support for the full Second Amendment rights granted in both the commonwealth and federal constitutions.

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293, rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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I feel like its time we had a discussion about a now very topical subject. Our rights. Specifically as laid out in the Bill of Rights. Beautiful, God-given rights that would have been lost long ago without the Second Amendment.

Our founders put the right to bear arms in the number two spot for a very good reason. It was their way of saying, Here are your top five God-given rights, and here is how you defend them.

With very serious enemies of those rights and specifically the right to bear arms, in the White House the Second Amendment is once again a very hot topic of conversation. As such, it needs to be understood as thoroughly as possibly. What does it mean sentence by sentence? Lets find out:

A well-regulated militia: This has been interpreted to mean different things depending on the view of the interpreter. The Left wants it to mean the National Guard or similar force. The Right says it means the people. George Mason of Virginia famously said, What is the militia? It is the whole of the people. Those words are used to support the people argument.

However, if you read the Federalist Papers and the letters of the Founders you come to a slightly different meaning.

In essays 27 through 29 of the Federalist Papers (written by Alexander Hamilton), you clearly see that the term, a well-regulated militia, means a standing professional army. An army in the control of the central or federal government.

It is important to know that the citizens of the new United States of America had a very strong aversion to the government having a professional army. Such armies have been used throughout history to subjugate societies everywhere. The people of the USA did not want that.

This desire creates a problem because a nation, any nation, absolutely needs a military to remain free and sovereign.

That brings us to the second portion of the sentence, being necessary to the security of a free state,

Hamilton and Madison were attempting to convince the people of the necessity and assure them it could be done without threat of subjugation.

If it were to be written in the common speech of today, we might say it like this: A professional military, including a Navy, is necessary for the security of a free nation; however, because it is a danger to allow the government to have that military and navy, every citizen must be armed and trained if possible.

They wrote it as a constitutional right.

Far too often these days, we tend to use the term self-defense and that allows the enemies of the Constitution to claim its not necessary, because the police protect us. The police and that very military.

As citizens of our country, we are always ready to respond in a minute, (Minute men and women) are the militia in waiting. We are not a well-regulated militia. We are armed because of the inherent danger of that very necessary well-regulated militia. It really is very simple and straight forward.

I read one book of letters from the Revolutionary War period and do not remember the name of the writer, but he stated The Second Amendment allowed the average citizen to remain armed in a fashion equal to or in excess of the common soldier. A fairly high percentage of the people that owned their own firearms had rifles.

Today we call them Kentucky rifles, though most were made in Pennsylvania. Accurate to sometimes 300 or 400 yards. The weapon used by military was a musket, unrifled, and very inaccurate.

When Biden says we dont need AR-15s for self-defense, hes right. We do, however, need them to remain armed equal to or in excess of the common soldier, or as close as possible on a budget. We need them to prevent the subjugation of ourselves.

When we speak of the Second Amendment we need to speak of it in those terms, the ability to defend our freedom. Stopping a burglar or killing a trophy elk are just very nice bonuses.

In the future when you hear Biden or Harris say that you dont need an AR-15 to hunt deer understand its a distraction. Dont fall for it.

Rusty Rogers is a resident of Saratoga who pens a weekly article for the Rawlins Times.

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