Barack Obama's weekly youtube address

Bailouts again

I thought that I already made the last post about bailouts when I compared the blank check handed to Wall Street vs Detroit fighting for their lives.

This time the lame duck White House actually came through, and for the first time in his life, Dick Cheney actually said something smart (that did not have an evil consequence to it). The collapse of Detroit could lead to the 2nd Republican Great Depression.

I live in a region that is not very affected by the auto industry. We have dealers and service shops around here, but car manufacturing left this region years ago.

In the Senate, the GOP showed their true agenda, busting unions. If these workers were not unionized (because God forbid someone makes a livable wage, has healthcare and retirement benefits, and can actually AFFORD the product they're making). Not to mention that they fail to talk about their true base. The CEO. Their compensation adds about $2000 to the cost of every car. Do you hear them bitching about that? No.

President Bush ran on a "compassionate conservative" campaign in 2000. None of these conservatives are compassionate.

Governor Blagojevich and corrupt politics

Ok this guy was caught trying to SELL Obama's Senate seat. Now I know that Chicago politics is known for corruption, but seriously (and I am not going to pretend to know the politics of a city that I've only been to due to airport layovers).

I've been following this story all week, and since I was rather quiet on my forums about it, I didn't post anything. But it's too big to ignore.

What gets me the most is that the corporate media was trying to tie Obama to Bigliarvich. Just like they tried to tie him to Bill Ayers just because he sat on a board. They're politicans in the same state, and same party, and that's about it.

So far, IMO Obama has handled this well. Now if only he could appoint his Senate replacement, but I don't see that happening.

One more thing about Blagojevich. His hair gives Donald Trump a run for his money.

Barack Obama's weekly youtube address

Bill Richardson as Commerce Secretary

Barack Obama reveals national security team

And IMO a very good one. Watch the video

Barack Obama's weekly youtube address

bailouts take 2

I really don't understand our tax dollars being used to bailout private companies. However the activities of this week have made me even more furious. What drives me even crazier than even Republicans do is double standards. And we have seen a textbook example of a double standard when it came to bailouts this week.

First off we have the auto industry, who in my opinion have not been saints. However what they represent is the blue-collar segment of America in some parts of the country (I will admit that I have never even driven a GM car, and that I don't live in a part of the country that depends on the auto industry so I'm really not aware first hand of the economy's dependence on the auto industry). And the auto industry was told to come back when they have a concrete plan on what to do with the money. That sounds fine if you stand it by itself. And they've done some budget cutting when it comes to high paid avertising (they cut out the Tiger Woods endorsement)

However this was not an isolated incident. Just days after the auto industry fiasco happens Citibank comes and asks for a bailout. They're handed a blank check from Uncle Sam. However they represent a white-collar crowd that is not the bread and butter of an entire region of the country. And were THEY even asked twice about what to do with the money? Of course not. And when it comes to the high profile and pricey sports endorsemetns, well Citibank is still paying 400 MILLION to name the new Shea Stadium (even though I am a Yankees fan, I do respect the cross town rivals and HATE corproate stadium names, so I will continue to call it Shea Stadium). And guess who is paying for the naming of Shea Stadium? That's right it's you and me.

So tell me why Citibank can ask for a blank check and get it but GM needs to have a concrete plan?

Obama's cabinet so far

Ok both Keith and Rachel were talking about how some of Obama's cabinet picks are not pleasing the left-wing bloggers and Obama's base. I consider myself a left-wing blogger (after all, you're not exactly reading Faux News approved material) and part of Obama's base. And I'm not furious with his cabinet announcements. I even expected him to keep a few Bush positions in office. I had cabinet picks in my head awhile ago (early summer), but so far none of mine have been right. I'm still holding out for Al Gore to head the EPA but realistically I don't see that happening.

I look at it like this. A cabinet is a team. Not all the appointments will be perfect, but they have to do a job for their boss, who will be Obama. No company I've worked for has ever had a perfect staff either. And given Obama's previous experiences, I think that he would fire anyone who's job he strongly disapproves of.

Another problem is that people are expecting a massive change. Yes Obama did campaign on change, and yes we will get that. However he does want experience around him too, and most Democrats with federal-level experience in the executive branch did serve in the Clinton years. Well if Obama returns us to the Clinton years, that would not be so bad either. Last time I checked, we did well in those years. I only wish I was old enough to reap the benefits of a Clinton economy.

Change WILL come, but not overnight.

I think this picture (from September) sums it up perfectly


see Sarah Palin pictures

President-elect Obama's weekly address

Government bailouts

First the banking/investment/insurance industry got a HUGE one on our dime, and now the auto industry wants one.

I was not very happy with the banking industry bailout, and now Detroit wants one. I can see both sides of this because if either industry fails, we are screwed (not that we aren't already). If I were in charge of this bailout business, I would put a few rules in place. If they want bailouts, they have to accept that the money will come in small installments with a lot of strings attached.

1) All of the executives of the company will be immediately terminated. There will be no bonus packages, golden parachutes, and pensions/healthcare for life. Depending on the executive's performance, he or she may have to surrender some of the compensation that they previously received on the job. And executive privileges such as corporate jets with gold-plated toilets will be sold, with the money helping otu the company.
2) New executives will be hired at a rate of 10x the average employee's salary. Bonuses can be awarded based on performance but not for at least two years.
3) If one single job is outsourced, then all remaining bailout money will be forfeited. Any money already received by the government will be paid back to them at the highest interest rate that credit card companies are allowed to charge.
4) There will be no comapny-paid fancy vacations for any employees as long as the company is receiving government money. AIG I am talking to you. Any money used to benefit any executive will be paid back to the government at the interest rate charged by the most expensive payday lender.
5) No company receiving a government bailout loan will be allowed to have a lobbyist working for them in DC or any state government for the duration of the bailout, and for at least five years after the last dime of money is paid back to Uncle Sam.
6) After 6 months, government auditors need to come in and audit the company's finances. This process will be repeated every 6 months. If the auditors find any misuse of the company's finances, the remainder of the bailout will be forfeited, and the company will have to pay back the government at the highest interest rate charged by credit cards.
7) If after one year, the company shows no improvement (such as new products in development by Detroit, or refusing to loan out the money for the banks) then the bailout money will be forfeited and paid back at credit card interest rates. If the company fails, the compay fails.

a 21st century President

who addresses the nation via online video. I'm liking this. Is it January 20 yet? Anyways here goes






On a semi-related note, I will be posting a lot of back-dated video to this blog as I want to recap some of the key moments in the campaign (Biden's VP selection, DNC, etc).

something fun

www.superobamaworld.com

I've only seen two levels so far ("for everything else, there's the RNC" and "I can see Russia from my house") and I can only beat one.

Brings me back to my childhood where the original Super Mario brothers game was out. Of course I'm as bad at this one as I was the original.

a bit of fear

I know, I know. Barack Obama's campaign took the high road and promoted hope over fear. The fear-mongoring was the key to the right wing's success in the wake of 9/11. However I can't help but to be very afraid right now. NOt for the future of our country, but for the future of our President-Elect. This article explains the extensive security, and how he gave his acceptance speech behind bulletproof glass.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/3387103/Fears-grow-for-Barack-Obamas-security.html

There was already a foiled plot a week before the election (thank God that the thugs are behind bars), and I only fear that it would get worse. Despite Barack Obama's electoral landslide (yes!) we still have a very divided country, as I've seen by reading conservative forums. Just as I did not accept Bush's 2nd term, many of them do not accept Obama's first. The difference here is that I would never want anything to do with owning a weapon.

I also partially blame the GOP on this too. Not that I would make it through the doors at any GOP campaign rally (since they pre-screen their audience), but I've seen enough clips of McCain and Palin rallies on TV to know what the audience is like. I have not gotten the "Obama is a Muslim" emails (and anyone who sent them to me would not hear from me again). To John McCain's credit, he did correct a woman who accused Obama of being a Muslim terrorist. However Sarah Palin did not take the same route. At her rallies, people shouted "kill him" and "terrorist' at the mere mention of Barack Obama's name.

The people who attended the Palin rallies and shouted "terrorist" are the exact people that I fear. This time around, the Secret Service has their work cut out for them, and I don't underestimate their power. However in the back of my mind, there's some fear in there.

Sore Losers

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-onthemedia9-2008nov09,0,4216330.story

I almost want to add a video of a crying baby to this post because that's what these right-wing nutjobs are. They're sore losers. Hey Rush, yes *YOU* are the type of person that will see their taxes increase under an Obama administration, but you're filthy rich and can afford to pay it.

And you are a lying scumbag. Barack Obama is not going to seize a 401K account, so please tell your sheep, err listeners what the truth actually is. Oh wait, you don't know the truth you jackass.

Well here is a dose of truth for you Rush. You probably told us whining liberals to get over it in 2000 and 2004 and accept the fact that Bush was our president. Most of us tried to like him in 2000, but could not in 2004 as we already saw what he could do to a country. Guess what buddy. You had your turn, now it's ours. Get over it you whining scumbag. And I hope that Air America kicks your ass in the ratings.

I'm going to do a Keith Olbermann and call you today's worst person in the world. Seriously STFU.

Voter Turnout

According to this article in the Asbury Park Press, it says that voter turnout in NJ was down.
http://www.app.com/article/20081109/NEWS0301/811090324/-1/NEWS10

They (I couldnt find it online) listed the results of the two counties that encompass my region of the country. Although it is a heavily Republican area, hopefully we will do something to change that. The county south of me did not have a single town vote more for the Obama/Biden ticket than the McCain/Palin ticket.

At least my county is a little bit more Democratic. Hopefully that will change by 2012 as many enthusiastic people we met on voter registration drives wanted to vote for Obama but could not (due to age). On a positive note, Asbury Park had tremendous results of 4563 Obama/Biden to 512 McCain/Palin. My little town is not as Republican as I thought it was. It was 1132 Obama/Biden to 807 McCain/Palin. I didn't even realize there were almost 2000 registered voters in this town.

We've got our work cut out for us in the next election cycle.

Obama's victory speech

Ok I'm trying my luck with HTML this time so I can share some videos from youtube. I will start by sharing President-Elect Barack Obama's victory speech

Link suggestions

I plan on making my list of links into a very extensive collection of news sources and blogs for progressive causes. I need the help of my readers though. If you have any suggestions for some links that I should add, leave them in the comment section please.
Thanks in advance :-)

return to law and order in the White House

Ok so we've had abuse of power in the White House for the last eight years. I think that Dick Cheney in particular abused his powers saying that he was not in the legislative or executive branch.

So less than a week after Obama is elected to the White House, this chart was released to the media.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2008_government_manual&docid=214669tx_xxx-3.pdf

What a difference an administration makes.

On a lighter note, who wants to place bets on a dog that the Obama girls will get?

Confidence Restored

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

we did it

And as Bush's infamous banner says, mission accomplished

All I have to say is

Yes we can, yes we will, yes we did!

Here's to President-Elect Barack Obama and Vice President-Elect Joe Biden. I'm very confident in their abilities to lead our country over the next four years.

Much more later.

I voted

I was up early today and voted first thing in the morning. I went to bed late last night, so I didn't vote at 6 AM like I had planned on doing before heading off for a day of campaigning in PA.

I got to the fire house at 7:30, and was in and out of the polling place in five minutes. I guess that's an advantage of living in a very small tourist trap town where most people do not live here year round. The polling workers were impressed with me, and how I voted so fast.

I came armed with my sample ballot and school ID (I still do not have a NJ drivers license, and I know they would have turned me away with my NY license). There was not a single person waiting in line, and I was #80. The poll workers were impressed that i was able to vote so fast. My sample ballot was filled out, and I knew exactly how I was voting before entering the voting booth.

So how did your experiences go?

the writing on the car

Ok so in 2004, I never had any stickers on my car, even though I wanted one. I never got around to ordering one. However the day before the election, I took a bar of soap and wrote VOTE BUSH OUT all over my car.

Since Bush is not running this time (even though McCain's voting record shows how much he supports the President), I didn't want to write the same. But I wanted to get more creative.

So a guy at a Bus for Change event in Red Bank yesterday handed us a sign that I wound up paraphrasing.

My Election Day message on the car this year was "Vote McCain and our future goes down the drain. Joe the plumber can't fix it" then I put "Obama/Biden 08" and "Vote 11/4"

America's voting system and how to fix it

Before the next major election, the Help America Vote Act needs to be revised. If I held public office, I would make the following changes.
1) Require precincts to have 1 voting machine per X number of voters. That number will be the same in urban and rural districts, democratic and republican districts, rich and poor districts.
2) Allow early voting for all 50 states. Base machine capacity to assume a 25% turnout for early voters.
3) If a state requires a government-issued ID card to be able to vote, make it free of charge for people to get. In NJ a government issued ID card is $24, which could mean the difference between eating and starving for a low income household.
4) Any electronic voting machine must have a voter-verified paper trail. Two receipts would print, one for the voter and one for the machine BEFORE casting the ballot, and have the voter verify that their vote is counted correctly. Since voting machine companies can produce ATM machines that can print multiple receipts easily, I don't see how this would be a problem.
5) Any company that wishes to get in the business of voting machines must be non partisan. All executives and the company itself would be banned from making any political contributions to any campaign.
6) Allow voters without transportation to use public transportation free of charge to get to the polls.
7) State, county, and local officials should not purge voter registration roles within 6 months of an election. Require the official to attempt to make contact with every purged voter, barring an official death certificate.
8) Allow people to register to vote at the polls.

moments of election 08

Was there any single moment of this election that really shaped the outcome for you? Now that it's almost over, we can take a trip down memory lane.

For the world's longest election season, I was an undecided Democrat. To be honest, I would have been happy with any Democrat over any Republican. I didn't have much of a choce by the time my primary came along (it was on Super Tuesday) because all but Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama had dropped out already. And neither of them were my first choice. I went into the voting booth that day undecided, and wound up voting for Obama because I did not want to see the White House run by two families for most of my lifetime (ok so it's been in the control of two families since I was eight years old, and I wanted fresh blood in there). I do think that Hillary Clinton is a very capable candidate, and she was my Senator until I moved down here. I did vote for her for the Senate.

What single moment shaped the election for you? For me, it started out with a Democratic debate that was about a year ago. Of the upteen debates, this one had the most memorable moments. Hillary Clinton was grilled on drivers licenses for illegals, Kucinich is questioned about UFOs (a wtf moment in a debate that could have killed him right then and there, I really wanted him to go further). And the two Democrats still still standing used the debate to not bring down their Democratic opponents, but their Republican ones. Since the debate was right before Halloween, the moderator asked about the candidate's Halloween plans. Future president Barack Obama mentioned that he was going to dress up as Mitt Romney and have three positions on every issue. However future VP Joe Biden had *THE* best one-liner of the whole campaign season, and killed the candidacy of Rudy Guiliani at the same time with his "a noun, a verb, and 9/11" line.

The other moment that really shaped me was the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate. The moment he announced it IMO was wrong, because he took Obama's thunder away from a great DNC. But it was very clear that he was trying to go after Hillary Clinton's voters by putting a woman on the ticket. It seems fine on the surface, but once we get to know Sarah Palin, she stands about as far apart on the issues (including women's issues) than Hillary Clinton.

I'd like your comments on this one. What moments shaped this election for you?

Bus for Change on the boardwalks

The Bus for Change is an old school bus that is painted in Red, White, and Blue, and travels through NJ to help out progressive causes in the state and region. I first had exposure to the bus in mid October when we were in Asbury Park registering voters. It is a great visibility tool for any campaign. If you would like to help out the cause, you can go to www.busforchange.com and make a donation.

In the weekend prior to the election, we were blessed with very good weather. So we decided to hit the boardwalks of Bradley Beach and Belmar. We had people from all walks of life helping us with the campaign. The thing that impressed me the most was the number of helpers we had that were not of voting age. There was a child with us, who was about 10, that wore an Obama halloween mask and stood on the boardwalk waving to people. He wore a blazer, and in my opinion, played the part perfectly. The response to a child did not fly well with me. As much as many people loved him, there was no shortage of negative responses. He did draw a one-finger salute from many drivers along Ocean Avenue. But that was the least of the responses. There were people that actually called a (white) child wearing a mask the N word.

Say what you want to about the likely president, but please refrain from calling a child the N word. That is inexcusable to me, and most people.

Bradley Beach is a lot more liberal than Belmar, but we're still in a very red part of New Jersey. Belmar had a much bigger crowd at the boardwalk due to being more of a destination town, and they had a dog rescue event and hokey-pokey contest going on too. So we were able to get more visibility but a lot more negative responses.

How this election turns out in Monmouth county is still unknown. As someone who is from a much more liberal area (neighboring town to the Clintons' post White House residence) I am not used to that many conservatives around. I guess I will have to get used to being in this red part of an otherwise blue state.

this woman is clearly not ready to lead the country

If the name Sarah Palin does not scare you by now, this should. Her running mate sings songs about bombing Iran, she thinks we're already there.

Maybe you should learn how to read a map before you attempt to be #2 in command for a country. Seriously, I could do a better job. And don't blame media bias on this one as it played on the right-wing Faux News network.

the road I chose not to take

Today is Halloween. It's a day that many choose to dress up. I've had fun dressing up in the past, but today I chose not to.

It was veeeerry tempting to dress up as Sarah Palin. If I did my hair the right way, and bought some glasses and wore a business suit, I could have easily gotten away with it. I really wanted to go door to door at some of the very Republican houses in town that were so nasty to me while canvasing, and spout out some Tina Fey lines.

I chose not to though. I have decided to follow the campaign and take the high road.

Biden rally in Allentown, PA

This normally does not happen to me, but I was able to see both the future President and Vice President in the same week, okay well over a two day period :-) Thank God for the neighboring swing state of Pennsylvania.

So off I went to the Keystone state yet again. From all the signs I've seen in PA over the last two days, I am really surpised that it IS a swing state. I'd say there's about a 10:1 Obama: McCain ratio. However PA is a big state, and I know the middle and western part of the state is a lot more conservative. Still I'll take the eastern part (as it's closest to New Jersey anyways).

This was my first trip to Allentown since 2001 for a concert (I'm a former "groupie" so my experience from handling crowds at concerts comes in handy at political rallies too). Passing the state fair grounds where I saw Nine Days was kinda bittersweet, but I know I'll get to see them again. It just reminded me of a much more carefree time in my life at 21, when the world did not face the problems it does today. Two weeks after that concert the world changed forever when 9/11 hit.

I got to the event, and it was much more lax than the Obama event. First major difference was the weather. It was slightly chilly, but not raining. This one was also indoors so even if it did start to downpour, there was no worry. There was a much smaller crowd, but I kinda expected that since of the four candidates, Joe Biden is the least covered by the media. Vice Presidential candidates typically do not receive the coverage of presidentail candidates, but this time it's different since Sarah Palin is on the scene. He does not have the "celebrity' of his his opponent Caribou Barbie. It did not stop me from seeing him, especially since over the weekened, when my mom had his book out of the library, I begged her to take it. I just finished reading his book, so the timing could not have been more perfect.

It was a different wait outside too. I was called a babykiller by some protesters, and obviously single-issue voters who can't look beyond the abortion issue (that's a rant for another post). I actually shut one them up by telling her that in 18 years, all those babies will be shipped off to Iraq for John McCain's 100 year war. The volunteers working the rally could not have been nicer people. They gave everyone lawn signs (which we could not take in due to safety issues, but I was able to get it on the way out) and hot chocolate to everyone waiting. The lawn sign issue is such a contrast to NJ where our local Democratic Party HQ has sign-making parties where we handmade the signs.

I got in and was quickly able to nab the front row due to my concert experience. Since it was at a college, it is very nice to be mistaken for a college student. Even though it's my 3rd election, it's very nice when people think it's my first. It's also nice to hang around people who share my progressive values. Signs and accessories are not allowed inside at political rallies, which I would not have guessed by watching clips of them on TV. The staff at the rallies hand out signs for everyone to wave. I really wanted one, but they were strategic about handing out the signs. Even the handmade signs were handed out. So due to my location, I got a flag to wave instead.

Biden's speech was great, nothing that i hadn't seen before or clips of either. I am guessing that the candidates give the same speeches day in and day out because with all four of them, they seem similar. He did step away from the teleprompter a bit because there were two children in the audience, and he mentioned them. What I really liked about Biden's speech is how he takes the high road. He mentioned John McCain and Sarah Palin, and said that they are not bad people personally, but disagrees with their policies. I love how the Obama/Biden campaign chose to take the high road and tell Americans why they should vote FOR them and not AGAINST McCain/Palin. That alone shows a lot of class since I hate attacks.

This time the aftermath of the event did not involve an interview with NBC news, but instead I got to meet the future VP. He asked me if my vote would help him carry PA, and then I told him "unfortunately no, but it will help you carry New Jersey" I later got a pic with him, which will be posted to this blog later. From my brief conversation with him, Biden strikes me as a very down to earth guy who never let anything get to his head.

Obama rally in Chester, PA

I always wanted to do this in 2004, but since I was living in New York at the time, it's not like a presidential candidate would come to a dark blue state. Now that I live in New Jersey, I finally decided to take advantage of my neighboring swing-state of Pennsylvania, and attend a rally.

When I was home for the weekend, my friend informed me of an Obama rally this week in Chester, PA which is just south of Philly. About an hour and a half from me, and totally worth it to see the future President. The rally was in the morning, so I knew that I had to get there early. I left home at 4 AM, only stopping at 7-11 to get an Obama 7-election cup for hot chocolate.

We could not have had worse weather. It was about 39 degrees and pouring rain. I was hoping to get some good pictures, but at the same time, I was worried about ruining my camera in the rain, so it did not come out much. I was bundled up and dressed in layers, luckily I wore a hoodie so it did keep my head a little bit warm. I didn't care how cold I got because I knew that I had another sweatshirt in the car, and that I could always turn the heat on. I got to Chester wtih no traffic problems, but parking was another story. By the time I finally parked the car, the line to get in was about 5 blocks long. I am not sure how much longer it got after me. Everyone was trying to sell us stuff while we were waiting in line. One guy selling buttons was so enthusiastic about it that he kept telling us "forget Joe the Plumber (ok Joe the unlicensed plumber, and tax cheat, your 15 minutes are about to expire) what about Dan the Button Man." I purposely left my purse locked in the car because I knew security would be tight so I didn't bother. So because of that, I did not have any money with me. But that creative comment would have sold me a button otherwise (let's set aside the fact that I have 3 buttons already).

The security was not that bad oddly enough. To be honest, the security at Yankee Stadium is tighter than the security that the Secret Service provides. Once I got in, I was about 25 rows deep, which is pretty good for most people, but I am a former "groupie" that was very used to pushing my way up front. And I could not see a thing from where I am because of everyone's umbrellas. So so much for getting pictures from there. I wanted at least one picture of the future president. So I got up and moved. I wound up over by the press railing, which was not that much closer, but I was at least able to attempt to get a picture from where I was standing. Plus I knew the sound quality would be better from by where the press was.

Barack Obama came on at about 10. His first comment was on the weather, and telling us how we must have really wanted change if we were willing to wait outside in this weather to see him. I had heard most of his speech before, since I am always watching MSNBC and watch things on youtube all the time. My favorite part was when he told parents to get involved in their children's lives and to turn off the tv. My mother is in education, and she is always commenting on how detrimental screen time is to a child's life, and it's nice to see a presidential candidate think the same way.

After the speech, I had hoped to get a picture or shake hands, but instead I was approached by an NBC news Philly reporter, and was interviewed by them. I am not sure if I made it on because I only get NBC news New York. As much as I hate Fox News, if I was interviewed by the local Fox affiliate, I would have gotten to perhaps see myself on TV (since I get both NY and Philly's Fox stations). They asked me about my thoughs on Obama carrying PA. I told the reporter that the poll numbers look good, but polls do not win elections. We still have to get out and vote, and make sure our vote is counted properly (something I am very worried about this election system, as the last two presidential elections were not clean).

All and all it was a very good experience. Well worth braving the rain for it. I got about 100 feet from the future President :-)

Hey Sarah Palin

Al Gore's DNC speech

Barack Obama DNC speech

Brian Schweitzer DNC speech

Joe Biden DNC speech

Bill Clinton DNC speech

Joe Biden's introduction at the DNC

Dennis Kucinich DNC speech

Mark Warner DNC Speech

Hillary Clinton DNC speech

Caroline and Ted Kennedy DNC speech

Nancy Pelosi DNC speech

Michelle Obama DNC speech

Barack Obama selects a VP

And let's meet our new VP