Vs.
Now, if you had to pick a leader based on the words they use often, which would it be?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Comparisons
Vs.
Now, if you had to pick a leader based on the words they use often, which would it be?
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Good Quote...
Andrew Sullivan quotes Mark Murrary noting that with Bush's $1.35 trillion tax cut in 2001, 28 House and 12 Senate Democrats voted in favor of bipartisanship...and Bush didn't really win the election.
However, so far NO House Republicans have voted for the recovery act, and only 3 Senate Republicans may vote, even though some agree with it.
Sullivan:
Agreed.
However, so far NO House Republicans have voted for the recovery act, and only 3 Senate Republicans may vote, even though some agree with it.
Sullivan:
Bipartisanship means nothing if it is only ever respected by one party. The GOP is borderline autistic in its understanding of the necessary to-and-fro of democratic government. Or rather: its ideological nature prevents it from engaging in the actual tasks of pragmatic government. Or from seriously thinking of the long-term national interest rather than the short-term partisan one.
Agreed.
Right-wing crazy, a chronicling
Bob Cesca has put together a great collection of the strange, uninformed, partisan and just plain silly behavior of the current right-wing nutjobs (I call them "right-wing" because I feel Republican is getting a bad rap from these weirdos).
Read it here.
Read it here.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sounds good to me...
Huffington Post has a good breakout of 15 things the stimulus spends money on:
• $7.2 billion to "increase broadband access and usage in unserved and underserved areas of the Nation."
• $16.4 for transit projects and high-speed rail: this not as much as mass-transit advocates wanted (and the total includes grants to states). But it's an important step forward on this front.
• $6 billion "for local clean and drinking water infrastructure improvements." Not only will this promote better health, it will, House Democrats say, create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
• $15.6 billion to "increase the maximum Pell Grant by $500." Education staffers on the Hill insist this will do wonders in getting lower-income children into upper-level schools. Seven million students, they say, will be helped in their pursuit of higher education.
• $3.95 billion for job training. Much of this money will be funneled through the states. The funds will not only get people to work, but create the foundation for emerging industries and companies to blossom.
• $4.5 billion to repair federal buildings and increase energy efficiency. Think short-term jobs and long-term energy cost savings.
• $2 billion in "grant funding for the manufacturing of advanced batteries systems and components and vehicle batteries that are produced in the United States." This could help the U.S. regain supremacy in the car wars.
• $11 billion for "smart-grid related activities, including work to modernize the electric grid."
• $2 billion to provide quality child care services. More parents will be able to go to work as the cost of childcare falls.
• $29 billion for highways. The one area of agreement between Republicans and Democrats: infrastructure is the quickest way to get job growth immediately.
• Tax credits "for families that purchase plug-in hybrid vehicles." This could grow up to $7,500.
• $20 billion in tax incentives to spur the use of renewable energy over the next 10 years.
• $3 billion for the National Science Foundation. This stems from an Obama campaign promise to not leave science neglected. The money will provide for "basic research in fundamental science and engineering -- which spurs discovery and innovation."
• $19 billion to accelerate adoption of Health Information Technology (HIT). Another Obama pet-project, this will modernize health care and help save billions of dollars for hospitals.
• $10 billion to "conduct biomedical research in areas such as cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease and stem cells, and to improve NIH facilities."
• $7.2 billion to "increase broadband access and usage in unserved and underserved areas of the Nation."
• $16.4 for transit projects and high-speed rail: this not as much as mass-transit advocates wanted (and the total includes grants to states). But it's an important step forward on this front.
• $6 billion "for local clean and drinking water infrastructure improvements." Not only will this promote better health, it will, House Democrats say, create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
• $15.6 billion to "increase the maximum Pell Grant by $500." Education staffers on the Hill insist this will do wonders in getting lower-income children into upper-level schools. Seven million students, they say, will be helped in their pursuit of higher education.
• $3.95 billion for job training. Much of this money will be funneled through the states. The funds will not only get people to work, but create the foundation for emerging industries and companies to blossom.
• $4.5 billion to repair federal buildings and increase energy efficiency. Think short-term jobs and long-term energy cost savings.
• $2 billion in "grant funding for the manufacturing of advanced batteries systems and components and vehicle batteries that are produced in the United States." This could help the U.S. regain supremacy in the car wars.
• $11 billion for "smart-grid related activities, including work to modernize the electric grid."
• $2 billion to provide quality child care services. More parents will be able to go to work as the cost of childcare falls.
• $29 billion for highways. The one area of agreement between Republicans and Democrats: infrastructure is the quickest way to get job growth immediately.
• Tax credits "for families that purchase plug-in hybrid vehicles." This could grow up to $7,500.
• $20 billion in tax incentives to spur the use of renewable energy over the next 10 years.
• $3 billion for the National Science Foundation. This stems from an Obama campaign promise to not leave science neglected. The money will provide for "basic research in fundamental science and engineering -- which spurs discovery and innovation."
• $19 billion to accelerate adoption of Health Information Technology (HIT). Another Obama pet-project, this will modernize health care and help save billions of dollars for hospitals.
• $10 billion to "conduct biomedical research in areas such as cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease and stem cells, and to improve NIH facilities."
Too little too late?
I personally agree with the idea of a stimulus bill. Spending is okay with me, if it's on the right things and since we've spent our way into a massive debt on the WRONG things these last eight years, there are a lot of good causes waiting for some attention. But there is an argument that it's too late and we'll recover on our own...
And after this image came out yesterday, these headlines showed up this morning:
U.S. Economy: Retail Sales Unexpectedly Halt Six-Month Slide
New jobless claims drop slightly to 623,000
Of course, there was also this headline:
Home Prices in U.S. Slid 12% in Fourth Quarter, Most on Record
My take. Well, it's great that we are not continuing the downward death spiral that was our employment rate and it's great that people are slowly starting to spend again but stocks are still super low, there are still an enourmous number of people without jobs and even if it is now leveling out we are not in a prosperous state.
And after this image came out yesterday, these headlines showed up this morning:
U.S. Economy: Retail Sales Unexpectedly Halt Six-Month Slide
New jobless claims drop slightly to 623,000
Of course, there was also this headline:
Home Prices in U.S. Slid 12% in Fourth Quarter, Most on Record
My take. Well, it's great that we are not continuing the downward death spiral that was our employment rate and it's great that people are slowly starting to spend again but stocks are still super low, there are still an enourmous number of people without jobs and even if it is now leveling out we are not in a prosperous state.
Friday, February 6, 2009
No hurry, just keep bickering...
The blue line = 1990
The red line = 2001
The green line = Now
So, if the there is no more space below the image does that mean we can stop worrying about job loss?
F*cking plant grass, build schools, upgrade the powergrid and shoot the zombies already!!!!
The red line = 2001
The green line = Now
So, if the there is no more space below the image does that mean we can stop worrying about job loss?
F*cking plant grass, build schools, upgrade the powergrid and shoot the zombies already!!!!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The writer is president of the United States
Entire article here.
Now is the time to protect health insurance for the more than 8 million Americans at risk of losing their coverage and to computerize the health-care records of every American within five years, saving billions of dollars and countless lives in the process.
Now is the time to save billions by making 2 million homes and 75 percent of federal buildings more energy-efficient, and to double our capacity to generate alternative sources of energy within three years.
Now is the time to give our children every advantage they need to compete by upgrading 10,000 schools with state-of-the-art classrooms, libraries and labs; by training our teachers in math and science; and by bringing the dream of a college education within reach for millions of Americans.
And now is the time to create the jobs that remake America for the 21st century by rebuilding aging roads, bridges and levees; designing a smart electrical grid; and connecting every corner of the country to the information superhighway.
These are the actions Americans expect us to take without delay. They're patient enough to know that our economic recovery will be measured in years, not months. But they have no patience for the same old partisan gridlock that stands in the way of action while our economy continues to slide.
So we have a choice to make. We can once again let Washington's bad habits stand in the way of progress. Or we can pull together and say that in America, our destiny isn't written for us but by us. We can place good ideas ahead of old ideological battles, and a sense of purpose above the same narrow partisanship. We can act boldly to turn crisis into opportunity and, together, write the next great chapter in our history and meet the test of our time.
Now is the time to protect health insurance for the more than 8 million Americans at risk of losing their coverage and to computerize the health-care records of every American within five years, saving billions of dollars and countless lives in the process.
Now is the time to save billions by making 2 million homes and 75 percent of federal buildings more energy-efficient, and to double our capacity to generate alternative sources of energy within three years.
Now is the time to give our children every advantage they need to compete by upgrading 10,000 schools with state-of-the-art classrooms, libraries and labs; by training our teachers in math and science; and by bringing the dream of a college education within reach for millions of Americans.
And now is the time to create the jobs that remake America for the 21st century by rebuilding aging roads, bridges and levees; designing a smart electrical grid; and connecting every corner of the country to the information superhighway.
These are the actions Americans expect us to take without delay. They're patient enough to know that our economic recovery will be measured in years, not months. But they have no patience for the same old partisan gridlock that stands in the way of action while our economy continues to slide.
So we have a choice to make. We can once again let Washington's bad habits stand in the way of progress. Or we can pull together and say that in America, our destiny isn't written for us but by us. We can place good ideas ahead of old ideological battles, and a sense of purpose above the same narrow partisanship. We can act boldly to turn crisis into opportunity and, together, write the next great chapter in our history and meet the test of our time.
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