Unemployment down in 39 states

The numbers are still bad, but it's progress.

The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates dropped in 39 states in April. That's an improvement from March when 34 states had reported decreases. Rates rose in three states and the District of Columbia. They were unchanged in eight states.

Employers added workers in 42 states. Only eight states and the District of Columbia lost jobs last month.

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Fox News worried about a foreign born person influencing US elections

And no, they're not talking about Rupert Murdoch. As Media Matters points out, Murdoch's News Corp loses more money in less than a year in one publication as George Soros has spent in the last eight years.

Earlier this week, writing at Foxnews.com, the Media Research Center's Dan Gainor published a very ominous look at the media world of George Soros, and how the progressive billionaire was trying to "influence" the American press by funding various journalism institutions, such as ProPublica and the Columbia School of Journalism.

The piece contained some sizable holes, however. For instance, we noted how Gainor failed to mention the ominous Soros "ties" that could be connected between Soros and Fox News if you wanted to play the guilt-by-association game that Gainor engaged in. While Gainor didn't like some of the topics being covered by the Soros-funded institutions, he failed to point out anything that was wrong or unseemly or biased with the journalism they produced. In fact, Gainor praised their work.

So what's the big deal? We're still not sure. Nonetheless, Gainor has returned with another riveting installment, and now the bogeyman exercise is becoming comical.

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Economist: "Great Chinese bubble" to burst soon

Late last year we heard about the ghost cities in China and in April, Nouriel Roubini talked about a hard landing. Time to move out of any strong positions in China.

The banking industry in China could make the US drop look small. CNBC:

“Now the U.S. is in crisis, they can’t continue absorbing China’s surplus production, so China’s year of rapid export led growth is going to quickly come to an end,” Duncan told CNBC on Friday.

He believes the recent explosion of domestic credit creation has saved the collapse of China’s economy.

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Comcast hires FCC’s Meredith Attwell Baker for NBC

Your corporate retainers and handmaidens at work (h/t Sam Seder, my emphasis):

Cable giant Comcast Corp. has hired Federal Communications Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker as senior vice president of government affairs for its NBCUniversal unit.

Baker, who will leave the FCC when her term expires in June, is the latest hire for Comcast, which has been beefing up its already formidable lobbying team since taking over NBCUniversal. Earlier this year, Comcast wooed National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. President Kyle McSlarrow away from the association to be president of Comcast/NBCUniversal Washington.

"Commissioner Baker is one of the nation's leading authorities on communications policy and we're thrilled she's agreed to head the government relations operations for NBCUniversal," McSlarrow said in a statement.

She voted on the Comcast-NBC merger, and this is her reward. She's prevented from lobbying for a while; I'll bet she doesn't even have to show up for work on any schedule but her own.

Michael Powell got the same kind of sweet deal, by the way:

It is not uncommon for government officials to end up working for companies that they used to regulate. Former FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell, for example, recently succeeded McSlarrow as head of the national cable association.

That "national cable association" is the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. Powell becomes president, replacing the guy Comcast hired to be president of "president of Comcast/NBCUniversal Washington," as noted above. President of the cable association is a multi-million-dollar job.

Commissioner Baker is a Republican and married to the son of James Baker (yep, the daughter-in-law). And of course, Michael Powell is Colin Powell's son.

The AP called Ms. Baker "a reliable pro-business voice who frequently expressed concern that the agency was imposing unnecessary and onerous regulations on phone and cable companies." She also opposed network neutrality and in March 2011 (note: two months ago) stated that the review of the Comcast NBC merger "took too long." Now we know why she seemed to be on a schedule.

Baker was an Obama appointment, just so you know.

Welcome to Thank You Street, Ms. Baker; your carriage awaits.

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Keith Olbermann’s Special Comment on Michael Moore and the shooting of bin Laden

Via the FOK News Channel ("Friends of Keith"), here's Keith Olbermann's Special Comment on the criticism that Michael Moore has been receiving regarding his comments on the shooting of Osama bin Laden. (For reference, that story is here.)

I'll let Olbermann speak for himself (h/t Raw Story):



I'm just the messenger here, folks. As Olbermann notes, not everyone has to agree with everyone about everything.

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In lighter news, this is just fabulous

Just click through and see for yourself. Read the rest of this post...

Over 4,000 sign open letter to FedEx, AT&T;, Comcast, Nissan over their attempt to kill gay rights laws in Tennessee

That's 4,000 people in just over 12 hours.

As you may know, we reported yesterday that local leaders of some of the top companies in America, and the world, through their role as board members of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, were responsible for passage of a hate law in Tennessee that not only repealed gay/trans civil rights protections in Nashville, but literally banned any city in the state from ever again passing any civil rights legislation about any minority.  The law was created by the religious right, and the chamber of commerce was only too happy to support it and actively lobby for it.

Each of these companies is on the board of the TN Chamber of Commerce - the chamber acted in their name, they quite literally run the state chamber - they own this:

Nissan, FedEx, AT&T, Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG. Whirlpool, Embraer, Alcoa, and United HealthCare.

Here's our open letter to those companies, if you haven't read it, signed it, yet.

Here's more on FedEx's ongoing assault on our community, including a senior exec's role in Prop 8.

And here's more on how local business leaders conspired with the religious right to deprive gay and trans Americans of their civil rights.

Joe and I will be ramping up the campaign even further in the coming days, targeting specific companies for actions and more.  Stay tuned. Read the rest of this post...

GOP Senator Coburn: We have to raise taxes

Be interesting to ask other senators to comment on this now:

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) tells ABC News that the federal debt is now so out of control that the credit rating of the United States is in jeopardy and the only way to deal with it is a bipartisan agreement that increases tax revenues.

"The fact is we're at the lowest tax rate this country's been in a hundred years," Coburn said in an interview on ABC's Subway Series with Jonathan Karl. "And nobody believes that we're going to get a bipartisan agreement without some way to increase revenue for the federal government. We're also at the lowest level in a long time in terms of revenues coming in."

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Florida church to pray for bin Laden's soul

Actually quite a fascinating story about when if ever it's appropriate to rejoice over a man's death.

That doesn't mean that those who have lost loved ones to terrorism can or should forgive bin Laden. Forgiveness is much easier to grant when someone has asked for it and expressed repentance. And some faiths allow for exceptions, arguing that certain acts and certain people are so evil that they cannot be forgiven. The Christian tradition, however, is very clear on the example to which believers should aspire — Jesus forgiving his killers as he hung on the cross.
In the days following bin Laden's death, Father James Martin wrote about the difficulty of forgiving such a man, noting: "Forgiveness is the hardest of all Christian acts." So maybe Henry Borga is onto something in kicking this one over to God and asking Christians to just pray about it. In all the churches I've attended over the years, I've heard prayers offered for presidents and other political leaders, victims of war and natural disaster, and relatives and congregants. But I've never heard anyone pray for an enemy, despite the fact that it's an admonition from Jesus himself. Maybe that's the best place the start.

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Immigration reform groups tell Obama to stop campaigning on DREAM Act

There seems to be a lack of understanding within the Obama team that people expect action more than words. We've seen a lot of talk about reforming Wall Street but they keep making more money. We hear that the wars are going to end but they keep fighting and spending tax dollars. It's great to hear the administration talk about important issues but ultimately, supporters expect results. When fund raising is based on support of a specific issue, people want to see real results, oddly enough. Hand-wringing just doesn't work after a point. Huffington Post:

Immigration advocacy groups have a message for President Barack Obama: Stop using the DREAM Act to ask for campaign money unless you can deliver relief from deportation for undocumented youth.

United We DREAM, a group of young people pushing for the bill, started a petition last week asking the president to remove discussions of the bill in campaign literature and fundraising emails unless he is willing to use his executive power to block deportations for DREAM Act-eligible students.

The DREAM Act would grant legal status to some undocumented young people who came to the U.S. as children and are now looking to attend college or join the military.

Why won't the President use his executive power to block those deportations?

Obviously, these ads show the President is courting Latino voters. They helped elect him in 2008. But, there are problems now. Obama didn't delivered on his promise to enact immigration reform during his first year. Even worse, Obama is deporting more immigrants than Bush did -- including DREAM-eligible students (not just criminals, as claimed.) Polling from Latino Decisions shows that Obama's approval rating with Latino voters is 73%, but only 41% are planning to vote for his reelection. As the pollsters note, "This 32 point gap could spell trouble down the road." Sure could. And, that probably explains why Obama is reaching out and doing ads now. But, as the actions speak louder than words. Obama has the power to stop the deportations, but won't (like "we have to defend DOMA" -- even though they didn't have to.) More from Huffington:

As the deportations continue, DREAM Act supporters say it is disingenuous for Obama to use his support for the bill to drum up support for his reelection.

"Every time I talk to folks, people are really angry about it," Saavedra said. "Knowing he can do something about it is frustrating people the most."

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Christine Lagarde emerges as favorite to replace Strauss-Kahn at IMF

Lagarde remains popular in France and is appreciated for the work that she has done during the economic crisis. Now more than ever, it's also a good idea to change the old boy network and have a woman in charge of the IMF. Bloomberg:

“We want to see an open process that leads to a prompt succession,” Geithner said in a statement. John Lipsky, the Washington-based IMF’s acting managing director, “will provide able and experienced leadership to the fund at this critical time for the global economy,” Geithner said.

European officials moved to maintain control over the institution that approved a record $91.7 billion in emergency loans last year and provides a third of the euro-region’s bailout packages. Italy and Sweden backed Lagarde, and Handelsblatt newspaper reported that the German government is preparing to support her.

“I would argue that Christine Lagarde has outstanding credentials,” Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday. Her gender is an “advantage” since “half of the world has not been represented as managing director” of the IMF, Borg said.

DSK has won his bail release and will start his defense for what looks like a very difficult trial. CNBC is reporting that he has a comfortable pension of $250,000 per year waiting for him upon retirement. A state pension from France is also waiting which will be healthy, though perhaps not as healthy as the pension from the IMF. Read the rest of this post...

British government eyes rail reform

The right wingers always love the idea of privatization. Years ago the British Conservatives broke apart the rail system that worked fine for years and replaced it with a privatized system that has consistently been inefficient. The results of this latest report should come as no surprise to anyone. Every time I travel to the UK I get sticker shock when I purchase a train ticket. Now they're looking at ways to trim costs for travelers and are asking the rail operators to be more efficient as well. Privatizing only makes it worse, so just accept the costs and understand that they are for the broad benefit of the population. Not everything has to be a cash cow.

With so many conservatives still calling for privatization around the world, remind me again why privatization is so great?

An overhaul of the fares system was the most eye-catching recommendation in a study by Sir Roy McNulty, former chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority. The report into rail industry costs also outlined changes to slash the £5.2bn state subsidy, including phasing out ticket offices in small stations, removing conductors and giving train operators control of maintenance on some routes.

McNulty said fares in the UK were 30% higher than in France, Holland, Sweden and Switzerland, with operating costs running 40% higher than those countries. "There is a clear imperative to give both farepayers and taxpayers a better deal," McNulty said. "This industry has a serious cost deficiency issue to address. Everyone concerned must be aware that passengers are paying above the odds."

Keep this in mind the next time you hear a Republican scream for privatization. The results in the US have hardly been different. These programs shift money to well connected friends or campaign contributors and leave taxpayers with higher costs. Before the half-wit House GOP privatizes the TSA, they need to actually prove that such a scheme would financially work. Then they can explain how privatized the TSA actually can deviate from the TSA mandated rules, which admittedly stink. Read the rest of this post...

Leaked UK paper suggests pension reform

As we have seen so often elsewhere during this economic crisis, conservatives (in this case the Conservative Party) is planning to throw the pain onto the working people while life remains easy going for those who caused the crisis. If this leaked paper is accurate, strikes may be coming soon to the UK. The Guardian:

The stakes were raised further on Thursday when two of the biggest and most militant unions, the Public and Commercial Services Union and Unite, signed an accord pledging to fight "vicious" spending cuts.

The leaked "discussion paper", written by the chief secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander, reveals that the government proposes to raise the retirement age to 66 for most state employees, and replace final salary schemes with pensions based on career salary averages. Contributions will increase by 3.3 percentage points with some protection for those earning less than £15,000 or £18,000.But it goes further, changing the rate of accruals so that the proportion of the average salary accrued for each year worked is reduced. Currently new teachers accrue one 60th of their final salary for every year they work, meaning they have to work for thirty years to receive half their annual salary in pension when they retire. The models in the paper suggest that this should rise to either one 80th, 90th or 100th, of the salary accrued for each year worked. It means some public sector workers would have to work ten years longer to get half of their average salary.

In another fine example of right wing moral leadership, British PM extended the privilege of a photo-op in front of 10 Downing Street with the crown prince of Bahrain. As in the same Bahrain where civilians are being executed on the streets because they dared to protest. Read the rest of this post...