Obama Gives Rousing Jobs Speech in New Hampshire (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | President Barack Obama returned to New Hampshire for the first time in two years to deliver a speech promoting his American Jobs Act in the gymnasium of Manchester's Central High School. As a candidate in the Granite State's first-in-the nation Presidential primary back in 2008, then-Senator Obama's appearance at Central was cut short by an impending snow storm, but MacArthur-like, he had vowed to return. He made good on his promise.

Though heckled briefly at the beginning of his speech by Occupy Wall Street protestors, the President was enthusiastically embraced by the crowd of high school seniors sitting in the bleachers and by citizens standing on the gym floor, which was sheathed in plastic to protect the parquet surface.

Fired Up

It was a diverse and upbeat crowd who were greeted by the Central High band's playing of classic rock songs, including The Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." and the closing medley from the Fab Four's Abbey Road album called "The End". Lest anyone think that this was a bit of sly editorial commentary by the students of Central, they showed their true colors by shouting down the OWS hecklers who interrupted the President by chanting "O-ba-ma!"

President Obama was in full campaign mode, showing the "Fired Up and Ready to Go!" form that had helped him place a close second to front-runner Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primary. It seemed the President was reinvigorated by being on the hustings, though his trip to the Granite State was billed as official business to push for his jobs legislation and not as a political campaign stop.

The President squarely put the blame for the sluggish economy and lack of jobs on the Republicans in Congress, whom he chided for being obstructionists. He called on the Republicans to vote for the extension of his payroll tax cut to help stimulate the economy.

Two Senators & Two Candidates

Former Governor Jeanne Shaheen, the Democrat who is New Hampshire's senior senator, was in attendance at the event, though she did not speak. Senator Shaheen was signaled out by President Obama for praise for her support of his jobs plan and for voting for legislation that was part of his original jobs package that extends tax cuts to businesses that will put unemployed veterans back to work.

Two days ago, Republican Kelly Ayotte, the state's junior senator, gave her endorsement to Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney in a rather subdued affair in front of Nashua's City Hall. The crowd at Manchester's Central High was far more diverse than the white, seemingly prosperous citizens drawn to the Republican event. Their embrace of Obama, whom the right-leaning New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper mockingly called a "Rock Star" in its coverage of his impending trip, was far more enthusiastic than the Republicans' greeting of Mitt Romney on Sunday.

The front-runner among Republican Presidential candidates in New Hampshire, Romney launched his first television and print ads specifically attacking President Obama today, to coincide with the President's arrival in New Hampshire. The gist of Romney's ads is that Obama is a failure as a president in that he has failed to turn the economy around and provide jobs.

Since the rise and eclipse of Rick Perry and Herman Cain as front-runners in the Republican field (and the recent rise to the top of the polls of the seriously flawed Newt Gingrich) have left many with the perception that Romney is the presumptive GOP nominee, I view the President's trip to New Hampshire as the opening salvo of the 2012 Presidential campaign that most likely will pit Obama against Romney. Having witnessed both campaign events, Romney and Ayotte's Nashua appearance and now this whistle-stop by President Obama, I can say that Romney and other Republicans should be cautious: Barack is back!

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Barry Manilow gives $300,000 in instruments to Joplin (Reuters)

KANSAS CITY, Mo (Reuters) – Students and staff Friday were unpacking three truckloads of new musical instruments that singer Barry Manilow donated to tornado-ravaged schools in Joplin, Missouri.

Manilow presented the instruments, valued at $300,000, to a gathering of Joplin music students on Thursday. The instruments will help replenish ones lost on May 22 when an EF-5 tornado swept through Joplin, destroying the high school and several other school buildings.

"We are just thrilled, he is such a nice person," Rick Castor, director of the Joplin High School band, said Friday. "It was just like Christmas. We opened a few of the things last night and today."

The donation includes a concert grand piano that will be placed on the stage of the temporary, and then the new auditorium, Castor said. The schools also got six new upright pianos, along with brass, string and other instruments, to replace ones that were destroyed, he said.

The instruments come from the Manilow Music Project, which for six years has helped schools that suffered cuts to music programs. Manilow is also helping with a local drive to get used instruments donated to the Joplin schools and to raise money to replace sheet music lost in the tornado.

The tornado killed 162 people.

"I know first-hand how invaluable music can be to get you through life's tough times," Manilow said in a statement. "It is an honor and a privilege to help these kids after such a disaster."

Manilow, 68, had his biggest success in the 1970s but has remained a popular touring artist for years. Castor said his students had not heard of Manilow and were surprised when he told them he is among the top-selling singer-songwriters of all time.

In speaking to the students Thursday, Manilow quipped that "back in the 1970s, I was Justin Bieber," according to The Joplin Globe.

(Writing and reporting by Kevin Murphy; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Greg McCune)

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USDA Gives $3 Million to Five Western States for Flood Aid (ContributorNetwork)

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture government website, the USDA announced it will be giving $3 million to five western states to provide emergency watershed protection as each are under threat from potential flood damages as record amounts of mountain snowpack melt.

The announcement was made today by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who said the federal funding would come directly from the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. Each state -- Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Montana, -- would be receiving financial and technical assistance in the sum of $600,000 for Emergency Watershed Protection. With this government funding, each state's Natural Resources Conservation Service

Vilsack spoke about the importance of bringing emergency funding to each of the five western states as the threat of potential flooding becomes larger. Vilsack said, "Having the EWP Program funds in advance will help USDA work quickly with local, state and tribal sponsors to provide needed assistance if the snowpack melts rapidly and causes flooding. USDA has long played a vital role in helping state and local governments and communities with water management in this region."

Many states are already bracing for flooding as the snowpack melts. According to the Republic in Greeley, Colo., officials have been forced to close several roads because the Poudre River is continuing to rise to higher than normal water levels. Sen. Mark Udall, R-Colo., said that the funding would go toward removing debris and projects that help prevent soil erosion.

Utah is also preparing for the floods as well. Utah National Guard helicopters helped deliver giant sandbags on Friday to help hold back rising floodwaters after a levee on the Weber River breached Thursday due to melting snowpack in the northern part of the state, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. So far the waters have hit farmland and several homes nearby.

The USDA press release noted the EWP Program works with local governments to bring the assistance to where it's needed and that it helps with all different types conservation efforts during major natural disasters, including floods, wildfires, windstorms, and droughts, and aids directly in protecting both citizens and public and private property. In the case of floods, the funding can help reduce storm water runoff, preventing soil erosion, and removing floating and submerged debris that get caught along river routes.

Rachel Bogart provides an in-depth look at current environmental issues and local Chicago news stories. As a college student from the Chicago suburbs pursuing two science degrees, she applies her knowledge and passion to both topics to garner further public awareness.

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