Tag: Film

Email Your Senator. This Means You.

Trish

It’s not that hard to write your senators and urge them to pass Obama’s economic stimulus plan. There are only two senators per state, after all. I just sent this message to Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.). I sent the same message to both, ignoring the fact that Martinez wrote the tax cut alternative plan.

Tax cuts are all well and good for people who have jobs and therefore, taxes to pay. For people without jobs, they’re a lot like on-site child care for non-parents — a great workplace benefit, for someone else.

Please support and help gain passage of Obama’s economic stimulus plan, and do it fast. We need jobs, not tax cuts, and we need new, green-energy and good-paying infrastructure jobs the most. Thanks!

Takes two seconds. Google your person and the word, “contact.” It will take you right there.

This is urgent, folks. FOX Snooze and talk radio are beating the drum, and there’s a rightwing flood of calls and emails pouring in. We need to rouse ourselves and let them hear from us.

Republicans Have Hijacked the Stimulus Message

Trish

Joan Walsh at Salon says Republicans are winning the media war over the economic stimulus package.

This had merely been a stupid GOP talking point until 10 minutes ago; now it’s becoming a stupid media talking point. Funny how that works.

…the stimulus fight is tougher than it should be for Democrats. Clearly the best ally the Republicans have is the economic illiteracy of the pundit class in America. I’m watching NBC’s Chuck Todd say the Democrats have lost the “message war” over the stimulus, because it’s now just seen as a “spending bill.” There’s no way for a stimulus bill not to be a spending bill…This had merely been a stupid GOP talking point until 10 minutes ago; now it’s becoming a stupid media talking point. Funny how that works.

Walsh says timing is bad for Democrats, with the failures of the TARP bailout all over the news. The question is, why isn’t this bad for the Republicans? That bill was passed under Bush and managed by his Republican administration. It was their idea to take away taxpayer oversight of how the funds were distributed.

It’s not good that we’re debating how to spend the second “tranche” of the awful TARP program at the same time as we’re having the stimulus debate; I think the inequities and inefficiencies of TARP are smogging the atmosphere for the as-yet-unfinished stimulus bill. We all heard about a desperately needed $700 billion bailout bill a few months ago — it rewarded bad behavior and, worst of all, it didn’t work. So why should Americans be any more optimistic about the separate (and it’s hard to keep straight that it is separate) stimulus bill Obama has championed?

Walsh offers a good suggestion on how to salvage the media battle and get the right message to the citizenry.

…Obama and the Democrats need to break three or four categories of spending out of the bill, and crusade for them daily, in real-life, real-job, real-money terms. This mess is complicated, and I’m not suggesting that Obama demagogue or exaggerate, but what the plan will accomplish is getting lost in debate over tax cuts and tax credits, shovel-ready vs. forward-looking projects, and confusion over the stimulative role of direct grants to the states. There is so much confusion and ignorance at work here, only some of it willful. Obama has an enormous educational and not merely political task in front of him this week, and he can’t expect much help from most of the media.

Why the Republicans Better Support Obama’s Stimulus Package

Buck Banks

Remember how everybody likes to describe the Democratic Party as behaving like a circular firing squad? Well House Republicans appear to be taking careful aim at both feet by threatening to oppose President Obama’s proposed economic stimulus package. The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder makes a pretty compelling case for why the GOPers should wise up and lay off:

Over a 48 hour period when 100,000 job layoffs have been announced, Hill Republicans have decided to take a stand against the stimulus.

Now — President Obama’s approval rating is about 70 percent;

Congressional approval is still around 20 percent;

After the election, Democrats still have a 9 point lead in generic identification.

The public approves of the stimulus plan by a very large margin — the numbers vary with the wording of the poll question, but it’s at least a plus 40 percent.

Obama is the most talented political figure of our generation — Boehner and McConnell are, uh, less talented.

Obama’s got the megaphone, they’ve got …

Squat, frankly. Ambinder makes the further point that the GOP continues to call for tax breaks instead of spending increases. Of course their tax breaks are not aimed at those of modest means, but at the wealthy. If they continue to cleave to tried-and-failed Bush-onomics, they will get steamrolled by the people-backed Obama-nomics. And pity the fools (or not) when the mid-terms roll around in 2010.

Cook: One President, Two Nations

Buck Banks

The National Review’s Charlie Cook had a very interesting column today that gives a pretty good overview of where we are as a nation in relation to our new president. It’s worth a read:

John Edwards was right when he spoke about there being “two Americas.” The way Edwards framed it, there was an America of “haves” and an America of “have-nots.” My version is a bit different. There is an America that watched with hope and excitement as Barack Obama took the oath of office to become the 44th president of the United States. And there is an America that watched with dread and skepticism.

It’s not exactly that they want Obama to fail but more that they feel they have little reason to believe that he will succeed in a way that helps them personally.

In the first and much larger group, there are many people who have a deep appreciation for the historic nature of Obama’s presidency and a sense that he is the right person for the job and will do well. A subset of this group is so worried about the nation’s economic problems that they hope Obama succeeds even though they didn’t vote for him.

The second group is profoundly pessimistic. Because of his race and education, Obama is very different from any of their friends, neighbors, or co-workers. The people in this group are deeply suspicious of his motives. Some are afraid that he will dismantle our nation’s military and leave America vulnerable. Others fear he will tax away everything they worked hard to accumulate. It’s not exactly that they want Obama to fail but more that they feel they have little reason to believe that he will succeed in a way that helps them personally. Voters in this group rarely support a Democrat for president, but their pessimism about this particular Democratic president is especially acute. I doubt that Obama will ever be able to win these people over. The bigger question is whether they will ever accept him as president.

Recent poll results are fascinating and confirm that the first group is substantially larger than the second. Gallup found that 83 percent of Americans approved of the way that Obama handled his transition, compared with 12 percent who disapproved. This favorable rating is significantly higher than those of Presidents-elect Clinton or George W. Bush. In two Gallup Polls taken after Election Day, Obama’s approval numbers were 78 percent and 75 percent. Clinton’s final pre-inaugural Gallup approval rating was 68 percent; Bush’s was 61 percent.

[…]

Citigroup Using Bailout Money to Buy $50 Mil Jet

Jon Ponder

Is it time to sharpen the guillotines yet?

Beleaguered Citigroup is upgrading its mile-high club with a brand-new $50 million corporate jet – only this time, it’s the taxpayers who are getting screwed.

Even though the bank’s stock is as cheap as a gallon of gas and it’s burning through a $45 billion taxpayer-funded rescue, the airhead execs pushed through the purchase of a new Dassault Falcon 7X, according to a source familiar with the deal.

The French-made luxury jet seats up to 12 in a plush interior with leather seats, sofas and a customizable entertainment center, according to Dassault’s sales literature. It can cruise 5,950 miles before refueling and has a top speed of 559 mph.

There are just nine of these top-of-the-line models in the United States, with Dassault’s European factory churning out three to four 7Xs a month.

Citigroup decided to get its new wings two years ago, when the financial-services giant was flush with cash, but it still intends to take possession of the jet this year despite its current woes, the source said.

The bank owns two 10-year-old Falcon 900EXs that are reportedly for sale.

Green America Offers Seven ‘Green’ Fixes for Economy

Buck Banks

Green America (formerly Co-op America) offers seven solutions to our current economic crisis that simultaneously aid the environment. You can read all of them here, but my favorite is the idea of Clean Energy Victory Bonds:

How are we going to pay for this green energy revolution? Green America and our allies at Clean Edge propose Clean Energy Victory Bonds. Modeled after victory bonds in World War II, Americans would buy these bonds from the federal government to invest in large-scale deployment of green energy projects, with particular emphasis in low-income communities that are hardest hit by the broken economy. These would be long-term bonds, which would pay an annual interest rate, based in part on the energy and energy savings that the bonds generate. During WWII, Americans bought over $185 billion in bonds — that would be almost $2 trillion in today’s dollars.

I’d buy one, would you?

Economy Inspires More Serious Drinking

Trish

Disco Absolut

Now here’s some American ingenuity I can get behind. L.A.’s Edison lounge is among those whose happy hours feature drinks with names that, rather than make you forget your sad financial condition, help you deal with it, including:

  • Bourbon Bailout
  • 401K (served with a reply card to check whether your retirement account is half-empty or half-full)
  • Rejected Resume
  • Battered Bull
  • Welfare Punch

Absolut Vodka is going the other way, offering a special holiday bottle that looks like a disco ball. Hey, can’t shop. Let’s dance! And drink!

People are reportedly opting for stronger slugs these days, returning to good old fashioned Old Fashions.

Julian Cohen, head of the consumer insights team at Fortune Brands Inc’s beverage division, said those “heritage cocktails,” traditionally made with heavier-flavored spirits like bourbon and cognac, mirror a wider preference.

“You’re seeing a lot of darker flavors — honeys, blackberries and raspberries, versus things like pomegranate and papaya,” Cohen said. “When times are tough we want to go to things that are comfortable … that are part of our history.”

With most offices either nixing the holiday party or at least omitting the free alcohol (which, after all, is the only reason to go), more of us have to tend to our own vices, and we’re making it count. Bartender, none of that sissy stuff! Give me a “Made-Off Martini!”

Bank Execs Have Personally Pocketed $1.6 Bil from Bailout – So Far

Jon Ponder

Corporate socialism has now officially run amok. According to a report from the Associated Press, as much as $1.6 billion of the taxpayer funded $350 billion bank bailout fund has gone directly to top executives at America’s leading financial institutions.

Even at banks where compensation was reduced, executives still received millions in salary, bonuses and perks:

Benefits included cash bonuses, stock options, personal use of company jets and chauffeurs, home security, country club memberships and professional money management, the AP review of federal securities documents found.

The total amount given to nearly 600 executives would cover bailout costs for many of the 116 banks that have so far accepted tax dollars to boost their bottom lines…

The average paid to each of the banks’ top executives was $2.6 million in salary, bonuses and benefits.

John Thain, CEO of Merrill-Lynch, took home $83 million of the $10 billion taxpayers gave his company. At Goldman Sachs, CEO Lloyd Blankfein pocketed nearly $54 million from his company’s $10 billion bailout. All totaled, Goldman Sach’s top five executives walked off with a total of $242 million from the public dole.

Capital One’s chairman, Richard D. Fairbank, received $1 million less this year than he expected, but still received $17 million from the $3.56 billion his company took.

San Francisco’s Wells Fargo Bank used part of its $25 billion in taxpayer money to make financial planners available to its top executives at $20,000 each.

The $350 billion is just half of the $700 billion allocated to bail out the banks, and George Bush has indicated he may release some or all of it before he leaves office. This underscores the fact that the $1.6 billion appropriated by the bank execs in 2008 represents only what they have pilfered so far.

No Wonder We Can’t Fit Into Our Old Jeans

Trish

New research on the television watching habits of Americans could shed light on the obesity epidemic. The results: we sit on our asses a lot. And by “a lot,” I mean pretty much most of the time.

Nielsen has announced the results of its second annual media consumption survey, which found that television and Internet usage continues to increase…

The measurement company said the average person in the U.S. watched 142 hours of TV a month, up 4% from last year.

The average American watches 142 hours of TV a month, up 4% from last year

People who used the Internet were online 27 hours a month, up 6%, and those who watched video on mobile phones watched three hours a month, unchanged compared with a year ago.

“Americans keep finding more time to spend with the three screens,” Nielsen vice chairperson Susan Whiting said. “TV use is at an all-time high, yet people are also using the Internet more often — 31% of which is happening simultaneously.”

But who could blame us? Between the two-year presidential campaign, the Olympics in China, watching one wheel at a time fall off of the economy, the horrific siege of Mumbai, and all the other news, there’s just a lot to keep up with. And with 4.43 million of us unemployed, what else have we got to do?