Does the federal government boost economic growth through job creation? Are the Feds more of a help than a hindrance in putting the unemployed back to work?
When speaking to Congress on September 8, President Barack Obama said government is a catalyst that aids in creating jobs. "Ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by Washington, but by our businesses and our workers," he declared. "But we can help."
Convinced the Federal government's scope includes job creation, Obama knows one effective way this is accomplished. Professors in university laboratories conduct theoretical research. Seeds for future jobs are planted here. These scholars acquire research patents. Entrepreneurs then help package potential money-making products. Businesses take risks, getting consumers to buy what was hatched in laboratories. Who's a prime investor with seed money to finance such research? The Federal government.
(We received this press release from the Fifer Campaign. I support Bob, and not just because he can fix a phone. - promoted by KathrynCWallace)
Walks nearly 64 miles, fixes cell phones in spare time
ARVADA, Colo. (Aug. 31, 2011) - Bob Fifer, a candidate for the Arvada City Council, has already knocked on 1,000 doors this campaign season, talking to voters about ways he can most help them when he is elected to office Nov. 1.
On the way to those 1,000 doors in various districts of Arvada, he has walked nearly 64 miles and taken an estimated 152,000 steps - with a goal of reaching 2,000 doors over the next eight weeks. He has listened to long lists of the things residents like best about Arvada - and some of the issues they hope he can help solve.
One elderly woman even asked him to help fix her cell phone.
"It was over 100 degrees that day, and after she invited me in for water, I ended up staying almost an hour," he said. "While I was talking to her, her cell phone rang; and it was so loud, it startled me. She laughed and said she had been trying to fix the volume for months."
The cell phone was a relic by today's standards, and Fifer had to invest considerable time to figure out the settings. He works for CenturyLink, but he is on the network side, not involved in mobile hardware. Before long, he was back on the trail, listening to concerns on topics ranging from road conditions to golf course maintenance. He estimates about 60-70 percent of residents have been available to listen to his description of all the ways he loves Arvada and plans to make it even better.
And he has the volume turned up on his own mobile device, in case anybody has additional questions -- including the elderly resident with the antiquated flip-phone.
"I told her to call me if she has any more trouble," he said.
Fact: The global economy thrives (well, not so much anymore) on products from slave conditions and environmental destruction because of slave conditions and environmental destruction.
Fact: choosing one product deemed to be more ethical than another will never solve the problem unethical products create.
Fact: despite year after year of record oil profits that correlate to global warming and land, air, water and species annihilation, this video has the audacity to ask for donations.
Fact: the laws of land do not permit solving problems like the Canadian Tar Sands.
Once again The Fates have come our way to provide a story, and once again, we have a contender for the "Ironic Story Of The Year".
It's got everything you need for serious irony: an irascible comedian who mocked religion at every opportunity, a city that loved him, and the rich coincidence of his having been born at the crossroads of New York City's communities of religious education.
And that's why, today, we'll be talking about the effort to name the street right next to Manhattan's Seminary Row...Carlin Street.
(And before we go further, a language warning: we'll be quoting George Carlin liberally, and that means there may be present today certain of the seven words with which he created one of his best known routines. You are now officially warned.)
I don't think too many people realize it, but Michael Brown is a regular weeknight talk-show host on Denver's KOA radio.
That's, Michael Brown of "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" fame.
When you think about it, Brownie's easily the most famous media figure in town.
But what do you do with fame like that, if you're Michael Brown?
If I were in his shoes, I'd run from it and be thankful that "Michael Brown" is an utterly generic name that won't immediately be associated with the phrase, "heck of a job."
In other words, you could probably move on and avoid your past.
But Brownie acatually plays the clip of Bush delivering the heck-of-a-job line every time he opens his radio show on KOA--and after most commercial breaks. It's part of his intro, as you can hear here.
I just got a very loud and annoying knock on my door from some canvasser who was paid to try to convince me to vote against my own best interest. He was paid by special interests who claim they don't have enough money to pay their workers but they can manage to pay for a campaign that says they're poor. He left a leaflet containing the usual woefully incomplete argument on my door. The emotionally tugging (interpret "tug" how you will) part goes like this:
"We're a nonprofit child care center focused on helping needy families and teen moms. Initiative 300 would create a mandate we can't afford. This initiative will hurt... please vote no.
That's from Kathie Maxwell, principal at Aurora's bacteria-ridden Children's Haven Child Care Center. Of course, what Kathie fails to tell you is that when needy families and teen moms have paid sick days, then yes, they probably won't be taking the tykes in because with the passage of Initiative 300 they'll be taking care of their children instead of contributing to an outbreak.
When I ran for County Clerk last year, I told people of both parties that this kind of administrative position should be non-partisan. And I meant it. Clerks and Secretaries of State have a unique obligation to be non-partisan because they oversee elections and campaign finance laws. But in 2010, Republicans across the state won offices based on the letter next to their name and some of them are still figuring out what that means. Case in point is Scott Gessler. Gessler was so appalled by the low pay of state employees like the Secretary of State that he wanted to moonlight with his old law firm, a direct conflict of interest. He eventually dropped that plan, still haven't heard if he's going to fight for state workers to make more money.
But, that's old news. Now we have found out that Gessler is holding a fundraiser to help the Larimer County Republican Party (LCRP) to pay a fine. The Coloradoan reports that Gessler's office has already reduced a fine against the LCRP by $33,000 to $15,700, a move that couldn't possibly have anything to do with party. And as if that wasn't enough, he is now going to participate in a dunk tank at a fundraiser to help pay the fine, a gross example of conflict of interest. The fine was levied because of failure to file campaign finance reports throughout 2010. This is in turn related to the Chair allegedly stealing $17,000 from the party. Wow!
I don't know much about how the Republicans do it, but I know how the Democrats choose leadership, democratically. So, the Election of Chair and Treasurer of the party really matter. The votes that led to these overly cumbersome campaign finance laws really matter. And the election of a part time, partisan Secretary of State, really matter. If we don't elect competent people, incompetent people will win. That applies to all of the parties. Now go out and get some competent people elected!
In the spirit of the First Amendment, unemployed Americans demonstrate outside of the new Congressional Super Committee proceedings with a very loud, very clear, and temporarily interrupting message of "JOBS. NOW."
The media was of course invited to the affair and unwittingly, a wide length of power and communications cord prevented the chamber door from shutting out the noise, much to the presenting Republican's dismay.
Watch this video as several minutes of the proceedings are derailed while they try to figure out what to do about the overwhelming disruption:
Towards the end Chair Rep. Jeb Hensarling R-Texas spins the incident to validate the extreme right-wing agenda to slash a trillion or two in government programs which, we can be assured, will minimally affect positive job growth while perpetuating the acceleration of wealth concentration.
The Representative from Texas has received innumerable accolades from the worst of the worst Conservative think tanks. He, like so many, supports a federal TABOR-like amendment to the United States Constitution.
But we in Colorado know the anxiety and pressure of what's gonna happen after years and years of seemingly impending cuts to our own state budget. We've come to rely on federal assistance for maintenance of programs that hold the "civil" in civil society. If this committee ignores the rabble outside and proceeds with business as usual, the economy will continue to grind to a halt and the people will be caught in the millstone.
Historically the role of government in crises can be a tempering one but the noxious extremism that dominates discourse forbids temperance.
It is not extreme to acknowledge or communicate by using many voices to shout over the rhetoric and into the chambers of the deaf. We need jobs. Now.
Howdy Squarestaters! I know a lot of you are from the Denver Metro area and to those of you who aren't, some of you may be in town on September 17th so I want to invite you to a really cool and totally free (canned goods are appreciated) event in NW Denver. It's our Jobs Jam event and it will feature speeches from a few local electeds and some great bands. From the Colorado Wants To Work Website:
Come support job creation in Colorado! We all know there aren't enough jobs to go around. Now is the time to do something about it!
-Talk with community organizations and non profits working toward more and better jobs in Colorado and find out what you can do to help.
-Listen to great local bands.
-Get information on local trade apprenticeship programs.
-Hear from local elected officials.
No Cover, but please bring a can of food or other nonperishable item if you are able. All contributions will be given to the Labor's Community Agency food bank.
Hope to see you there in support of good jobs in the community.
The policy needs are beyond obvious. Though they've failed this basic test before, it would be politically brain-dead for Democrats, especially Colorado's Wimpy Senators Udall and Bennet, to not fully support the goals behind this speech. (I'm looking at you too, me!)
Republicans will bitch and moan about every fine point, but cannot refudiate the President's challenge that America's greatest leaders have never hesitated to invest in a future that would help their progeny at every turn. Republicans will not and cannot do what's right in today's environment. Democrats will hesitate to do what's right and might fritter away the opportunity while the economy continues to suffer. That is truly the most disconcerting part of this drama.
But I have been waiting for this President Obama for three years. I hope his team in DC sees the light and supports him in this critical plan for our economy. If they don't, then once again his eloquent words will be the narration to an empty dream. This is the dream that was expected by the millions who voted for him in November, 2008. They will never see it without unwavering support from those citizens and leaders who also said "Yes, we can" that election day.
That's the day I voted for President Barack Obama, the president we saw flashes of again last night.
While Colorado's weather this summer shifted from warm to wet to hot, it was plain and simply nothing but hot, hot, and hot in the states to our south. How hot was it?
It was so hot that Texas and Oklahoma set the U.S. record for the 1st and 2nd hottest summers: 86.8F and 86.5F, respectively, beating out Oklahoma's 1934 record (set during the Dust Bowl years) of 85.2F. To be clear, from June through August, the average of all the temperatures taken at the top of every hour came out to above 86 degrees. Oh, Louisiana's 2011 summer now ranks 4th warmest all-time at 84.5F.
When records from the previous hottest period in the nation's history are falling, it's time to pay attention. Instead of natural variability playing the primary role, the heat wave this year has been boosted by the altered background state.
I took a break to enjoy the holiday, as I'm sure many of you did, but my inbox kept busy, and on Friday came a doozy, courtesy of the Washington Post.
You remember that little bit of a banking crisis we had a couple of years back, where banks around the world might have possibly, maybe, just a little, conspired in a giant scheme to package toxic mortgage loans into Grade A, investment-ready securities instruments, which then blew up in everyone's faces to the tune of a whole lot of taxpayer bailouts?
Well all of a sudden, it looks like an agency of the Federal Government is looking to do something about it, in a real big way.
Last Friday the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced they're suing 17 firms (I'll give you a list, bit it's pretty much all the usual suspects); depending on who you ask the Feds are seeking an amount as high as $200 billion.
As Joe Biden would say, it's a big...well, it's a big deal, anyway, and that's why we're starting the new week with this one.
A good number of progressive folks from Fort Collins and surrounding areas turned out tonight at Avogadro's Number to hear Tom Griggs announce his candidacy for House District 52. The recent vacating of this seat by John Kefalas, who will be running for State Senate, allows another progressive to step up and continue the tradition of working for the values of the people of Colorado. We can look forward to an exciting year ahead as Tom's campaign moves ahead to the finish line.
Vince Carroll has a column about the events in Saguache. I wanted to post the entire thing word for word because it's that good, but that's not why you come to squarestate and the Post frowns on such duplication. So go here and read it.
Short history: In the 2010 election, there were two races that were extremely close, including the Clerk's race. There was also a tax measure that was decided by one single vote. All of this is exactly the sort of circumstance that cries for recounts and re-examination. Indeed, the "public" believes that we WILL have recounts and examinations in such close cases, it is part of why anyone has any faith in our democratic process. But in this case, not even the canvass board was willing to certify the election. In short there was no validation of this election by any citizen review. We had the word of the clerk alone that these results were accurate. As Carroll says:
Too many clerks seem to believe that they should be both the first and last line of defense of election integrity. No one must look over their shoulder or second-guess procedures - or at least no one outside the official club. Hence the clerks' repeated attempts to keep voted ballots under wraps and their strained explanations for why voter identity could be breached if they do not.
Billionaire Warren Buffett and GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry clash. Their fixes for our nation's fiscal mess are polarized. Buffett stands convinced that shared sacrifice, especially among the well-heeled, will stimulate the economy. Perry tells us shared prosperity for the rich will get the economy moving again.
"My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly economy," confesses Buffett, the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. In a New York Times op-ed piece, he declares, "It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice."
Buffett knows how the rich have enormously benefitted from a stock market that has dramatically risen from its lows in 2008 to almost doubling in 2011. Moreover, the wealthy have gotten fatter savings because of tax breaks since the Reagan presidency.
The richest 1% in our nation own almost 20% of the wealth, rivaling the percentage reached in the 19th century Gilded Age when robber barons controlled U.S. economy. Their portion of the nation's wealth has increased nearly 8% since the 1970s. Meanwhile, Joe Six-pack's wallet hasn't thickened in four decades.
While the politics of education reform swirl all around us, it's important to keep clear on what works and what doesn't. The good news is that the Denver Public Schools is actually doing very well in supporting a particular segment of our student population, English learners. The confusing part is that we seem ready to ignore that fact and follow a path that is completely divergent from real, lasting reform. The right path to close the achievement gap and provide opportunity for all Denver's students is clear, and we would do well to heed the evidence.
In 1999, the Department of Justice won a decision on behalf of the Congress of Hispanic Educators which asserted that the Denver Public Schools lacked adequate programs for students of limited English proficiency. DPS was ordered to allow parents to choose either full Spanish-language instruction, sheltered instruction (English with instructions in Spanish) or complete English immersion for their children (Click here to read those court documents).
Last week, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) wrapped up their tour to push Big Oil's agenda under the guise of more jobs and lower energy prices in an effort to weaken protections for our air, water, public lands and oceans.
Ironically, it turns out that the AFP tour did help promote jobs ... in China. Part of the free giveaways to the few who actually showed up to the "Running on Empty" tour stops, included $20 gas cards to Diamond Shamrock and small foam gas station pumps.
It turns out the toys were a made in China. Talk about a rookie campaign mistake.
The gaffe says everything about what AFP is all about ... lining the pockets of their funders like the oil refinery magnates the Koch Brothers and Big Oil companies like ExxonMobil, Shell and BP... while ignoring what is actually important to western states and American families.
If AFP is going to be shilling for multinational oil companies and conservative political operatives, the least they could do is make sure the props are made in America.
All across the country, Republican members of Congress have done their best to duck their critics this August, traditionally the month when town halls can become heated and policy agendas shifted. But with congressional and Republican approval ratings way, way down, it seems the GOP is preoccupied with quieting those who might criticize them over facing the music back home.
In Florida, Rep. Daniel Webster (R) distributed a sort of blacklist of local activists that aimed to tear down those who might criticize him at his town hall meetings. The tone of the list was almost comically paranoid, with photos next to big warnings that activists once worked for the "Barak [sic] Obama Presidential Campaign" in 2008.
In Ohio, Rep. Steve Chabot (R) ordered police on scene at one of his August town halls to confiscate the video cameras of progressives in attendance, a step up from his overall ban on constituent cameras in his meetings that he's had in place "since at least June," according the the Huffington Post's Amanda Terkel.
This kind of thing needs a lot more attention than our complaining about Obama and the Democratic Congresspersons...unless we want to cede our country and our lives to these fascists.
I just got a very loud and annoying knock on my door from some canvasser who was paid to try to convince me to vote against my own best interest. He was paid by special interests who claim they don't have enough money to pay their workers but they can manage to pay for a campaign that says they're poor. He left a leaflet containing the usual woefully incomplete argument on my door. The emotionally tugging (interpret "tug" how you will) part goes like this:
September 17th, 2011 2-6pm 
Last week, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) wrapped up their tour to push Big Oil's agenda under the guise of more jobs and lower energy prices in an effort to weaken protections for our air, water, public lands and oceans.
