tagged w/ Economic issues
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For some people, our economy may be turning around, but millions of families are at risk of going hungry, in one of the richest nations on earth. The poorest people in America are those who were the first to feel the downturn, and will be the last to feel the country’s financial recovery. The hardworking poor in America’s heartland, with their long and deep traditions in mining, manufacturing and military service, are increasingly seen in food pantry lines, feeling ashamed and angry. Their stories and images push beyond stereotypes and reveal a hidden America of families living in poverty, which is both surprising and haunting.
This piece includes a number of emotionally moving photographs, a memorable slide show, three documentary short films about poverty in America and the Kris Kristofferson music video, “This Old Road.”
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/the-poor-in-america-friends-and-neighbors-in-the-heartland/For some people, our economy may be turning around, but millions of families are at... more
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The cast of Obama Czars hit the dance floor on the new show with the highly anticipated season premiere of Dancing with the Czars .
You will be introduced to twelve Czars, who hold varying positions of power within the administration.
The great thing about them is that Czars operate with impunity and are "under the radar" when it comes to making policy. They are accountable to no one except the President and, oh man, can they dance.The cast of Obama Czars hit the dance floor on the new show with the highly... more
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IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley suggested on Monday that AIG executives should take a Japanese approach toward accepting responsibility for the collapse of the insurance giant by resigning or killing themselves.
Possibly if it was either or, there would be less corporate thieves under the guise of "executives".....Hmmm?IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley suggested on Monday that AIG executives... more
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The U.S. Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, appointed by President Obama last week, has been placed on leave, following an FBI raid yesterday at the District of Columbia’s IT offices.
What the blazes is this, does Obama and his team have a problem finding people with integrity...or is that only something from times long past...?The U.S. Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, appointed by President Obama last... more
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OHMIGOD, what the hell, Jesus Christ, the entire world economy is collapsing all around us at this very moment. And the financial crumbling is worse than it’s ever, ever been. Housing, banks, Wall Street, huge industries….everything is falling down worser than the old Humpty Dumpty story. Everything’s being torn into a shattered heap. Yep, it surely is.
And what about all the poor men peoples who are caught up in this nightmare…lost their jobs, losing their homes, pensions suddenly vanished into thin air, savings just disappeared, cars been repossessed. Here our men folks are sposed to stand up so tall through sweaty toil and the worst of troubles, trying to be strong like the Rocks of Gibralter. But they’ve got feelings too, you know, and now they’re just suffering like they’re all bent down, tired and weakened-out by all this stuff. This financial collapse has turned into a bunch of horrendous nightmares for our country’s men folks. Even stolen away their menliness, ’cause now all they have left to do is think and think about this downright Horrible, Stinky Obsession, this Recession for Men calamity. And a short little video here really shows just what I mean about this Recession for Men thingee!
Includes photographs of these very sad and downtrodden guys, as well as the short video spoof!OHMIGOD, what the hell, Jesus Christ, the entire world economy is collapsing all... more
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Thomas Fleming writes; "Several polls of historians have named George W. Bush the worst president in American history. This baffles me. I've been writing about presidents for a long time. What I know, and what I presume these gentlemen know, doesn't connect".
This brief article brings forth a glimmer of light to the shortcomings and character flaws of past POTUS such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, FDR, and Jimmy Carter as examples.
Fleming further writes; "My purpose is not to denigrate these men. John Adams had great political courage. He often espoused unpopular views, warning us, among other things, that a majority can be as tyrannical as a king or dictator -- something that we may need to remember in the next few years".
"In this light, however wavering, maybe it's time to suspend the rush to judgment on George W. Bush for 10 or 20 years. I suspect we will decide Mr. Bush's first term, with his decisive response to 9/11, deserves some praise, and that his second term succumbed to an awesome amount of bad luck, from his generals' disagreements on how to fight the war in Iraq to the Wall Street collapse of 2008.
Many presidents have run out of luck in their second terms, but Mr. Bush's record in this department will be hard to match. Beyond the popularity polls there may be a dimension we should remember in judging every president: Sympathy"
I for one have respect that Dubyah stayed the course to protect our home land, and had the courage to hold to his ground, while others abandoned the cause because of "popular polls." Our elected "representatives" that apparently show their true colors......YELLOW.!Thomas Fleming writes; "Several polls of historians have named George W. Bush the... more
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It looks that constructive steps are being taken to monitor the banking system and it seems that they are beyond taking the Feds 'word' for granted,.. about time, I say.It looks that constructive steps are being taken to monitor the banking system and it... more
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The new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission took steps on Friday to reinvigorate the agency's policing of Wall Street, two days after a congressional hearing chastised SEC investigators for failing to uncover Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion fraud.
"I like to tell the staff we are going to act like our hair is on fire," SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro told reporters after an appearance at a conference.
Schapiro halted a Bush administration program that made it harder for SEC lawyers to negotiate settlements with companies and vowed to cut red tape for investigators probing possible wrongdoing.
The now-abandoned pilot program requiring SEC investigators to seek commission approval for settlements "discouraged staff from arguing for a penalty," Schapiro told a Practicing Law Institute conference in Washington.
*Now let us re-instate laws prohibiting Banks, Investment Firms, and the Insurance Industry from co-mingling and we may be on a start to recovering some regulation and controls that protect the peoples interest* - What's your thoughts on this?The new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission took steps on Friday to... more
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*WARNING, DANGER WILL ROBINSON, WARNING, WARNING
excerpt from linked article :
(“The moment government acquires any sort of equity interest in a company, the next logical role for the government as investor is to try to do things the agents of government feel are fiduciarily in line with the taxpayer interest,” Franc said in an interview. “In a way it does make sense. That’s the slippery slope.") Do you realize what this implicates ?*WARNING, DANGER WILL ROBINSON, WARNING, WARNING
excerpt from linked article :... more
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On October 13, Neel Kashkari, an interim assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury, sought to ease concerns about how the just-enacted $700 billion financial bailout plan would be implemented. “We are committed to transparency and oversight in all aspects of the program,” Kashkari said, “and have already taken several important steps in this area.”
On October 13, Neel Kashkari, an interim assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury, sought to ease concerns about how the just-enacted $700 billion financial bailout plan would be implemented. “We are committed to transparency and oversight in all aspects of the program,” Kashkari said, “and have already taken several important steps in this area.”
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This is a short article that reveals in all its censored glory what our elected officials think we ought to know. For their effort I give congress and the executive branch an F. This news, at least in my opinion, would also lead me ponder whether or not our president-elect is as virtuous or wise as everyone thinks he is.
Obama said himself, “In return for their support, the American people must be assured that the deal reflects the basic principles of transparency, fairness, and reform.”
Well I’m sorry to say this but its kinda hard to judge the principles of the bill if the government censors the information. Personally I don’t know what’s scarier, a president-elect who campaigns for a 700 billion dollar plan without reading the fine print or a president elect who votes for a 700 billion dollar plan and doesn’t care whether or not it adheres to the aforementioned principles.On October 13, Neel Kashkari, an interim assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury,... more
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DEMOCRATIC White House hopeful Barack Obama today turned to Google and a financial oracle to push his jobs and economic recovery plans just two weeks from election day.
Senator Obama called on Google CEO Eric Schmidt and finance sage and former Federal Reserve chief Paul Volcker, titans of the new and traditional economy, as he sought to convince voters he could chart a way out of the current crisis
He also used his "Jobs Summit" to take a swipe at President George W. Bush and his fellow Republican, Senator Obama's White House foe John McCain, as the economic crisis dominates the home stretch of the epic White House duel.
DEMOCRATIC White House hopeful Barack Obama today turned to Google and a financial... more
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ABC News' George Stephanopoulos reports: If Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain doesn't vote for the Bush administration's $700 billion economic bailout plan, some Republican and Democratic congressional leaders tell ABC News the plan won't pass.
"If McCain doesn't come out for this, it's over," a Top House Republican tells ABC News.
A Democratic leadership source says that White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten has been told that
Democratic votes will not be there if McCain votes no -- that there is no deal if McCain doesn't go along.
Full article found here
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/stephanopoulo-4.htmlABC News' George Stephanopoulos reports: If Republican presidential candidate... more
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A breakdown of potential Obama VP by several metrics including executive experience, military service, economic expertise, etc...A breakdown of potential Obama VP by several metrics including executive experience,... more
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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 04, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Venture capital investments in US cleantech companies grew by 41% to $961.7 million in Q2 2008, up from $683.5 million in Q1 2008, according to an Ernst & Young report based on data from Dow Jones VentureOne. This is the highest total cleantech investment on record, and comes amidst a quarter in which overall venture capital investment was down by nearly 8%. Year-on-year cleantech investment follows this upward trend, increasing 83% from Q2 2007.
Energy/Electricity Generation companies attracted the most investment of any sector this quarter with $494.9 million -- 52% of the total. The top three deals of the quarter were solar-related companies. The deals included, SunEdison, in Beltsville, MD, which raised $131 million, eSolar, in Pasadena, CA, which raised $130 million and BrightSource in Oakland, CA, which raised $115 million. It is also worth noting that corporate investors were involved in all of these deals.
Energy Efficiency companies made up 20% of total investment dollars and continues to be a top cleantech investment segment despite a slight 4% decline to $188.3 million in Q2. The third largest segment this quarter was Alternative Fuels, which comprised 13% of the overall US cleantech market. The segment, made up entirely of biofuels transactions, attracted $129 million of investment, down 44% from the previous quarter.SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 04, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Venture capital investments in... more
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Democratic leaders, caught off guard by a swing in public opinion and undermined by some of their own members, are scrambling to run down the clock on calls to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling.
Tuesday evening, five Democratic senators met with five of their Republican colleagues to hash out a plan that would include far more drilling — from the land and from the sea — than would be allowed under any current Democratic proposal.
“There’s going to be substantially more drilling and substantially more conservation,” Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) said of the plan her moderate colleagues are hoping to cobble together. “Democratic leaders are going to be pushed, and Republican leaders are going to be pushed.”Democratic leaders, caught off guard by a swing in public opinion and undermined by... more
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The “Emergency Economic Plan” will provide $500 for an individual and $1000 for a married couple and is supposed to relieve the burden of high gas, food and energy prices. He plans on paying for this bill by imposing a five year windfall profit tax on oil company profits. When you consider the average American spends more than $1,300 a year on gas alone I wonder how effective this plan will be?The “Emergency Economic Plan” will provide $500 for an individual and... more
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California's ballot initiatives are often signs of things to come around the nation. In a special June election, Californians will be voting on Proposition 98, which would abolition rent control in the state.California's ballot initiatives are often signs of things to come around the... more
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With the Pennsylvania primary just six days away, Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate in Philadelphia gave Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama a last chance to settle old and new scores as they headed into a week that could make or break their presidential aspirations. Clinton wanted to extend her five point lead in Pennsylvania, while Obama was trying to unveil a debate performance that reflected the recent national poll figures that show him surging way past Clinton in the areas of trustworthiness and electability.
During the debate, Obama and Clinton each defended their handling of missteps and misstatements on the campaign trail and directed sharp criticisms toward each other. They began their first head-to-head encounter in nearly two months focused on political disputes, rather than upon their relatively narrow policy differences. Obama, who leads in the number of delegates needed to claim the nomination, fielded tough questions about his relationship with his former pastor, his patriotism and his description of small-town voters as “bitter,” the latter a controversy that has engulfed his campaign for much of the past week.
Clinton, who has been quoted as saying in private conversations that she does not think Obama can win the general election, made her clearest statement to date of her confidence in Obama. When asked whether Obama would win against Sen. John McCain, Clinton adamantly replied: “Yes, Yes, Yes.”
Obama responded by saying that he believes he’s better suited to beat McCain, that his ability to unify the electorate would be the key to winning in November. “When we are unified, there is nothing that we cannot tackle,” he said.
A photograph and the video of this exchange are included.With the Pennsylvania primary just six days away, Wednesday’s Democratic... more
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