Public Congress

The June public forum of the President’s Bipartisan Fiscal Commission.

Duration : 0:18:35

Read the rest of this entry »

Janes, author of “Museums in a Troubled World: Irrelevance, Collapse or Renewal” gives a Voices of the Future interview and discusses his new book.

Duration : 0:5:42

Read the rest of this entry »

http://bullshito.net/ Let me see if I got this right…..

· – IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR.

· – IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY.

· – IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT.

· – IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE JAILED.

· – IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN.

· – IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED.

· – IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT.

· – IF YOU CROSS THE U.S. BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET…………………………

1-A JOB
2 – A DRIVERS LICENSE,
3 – SOCIAL SECURITY CARD,
4 – WELFARE,
5 – FOOD STAMPS,
6 – CREDIT CARDS,
7 – SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE,
8 – FREE EDUCATION,
9 – FREE HEALTH CARE,
10 – A LOBBYIST IN WASHINGTON ,
11 – BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE,
12 – AND THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR COUNTRY’S FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON’T GET ENOUGH RESPECT.

I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE
……………………………………
I HAD A FIRM GRASP ON THE SITUATION…I HAVE DECIDED TO BECOME A WRITE-IN CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT IN THE YEAR 2012..

HERE IS MY PLATFORM:

(1).Any use of the phrase:’Press 1 for English’ is immediately banned… English is the official language; speak it or wait outside of our borders until you can.

(2).We will immediately go into a two year isolationist attitude in order to straighten out the greedy big business posture in this country….America will allow NO imports, and we’ll do no exports.. We will use the ‘Wal-Mart ’s policy, ‘If we ain’t got it, you don’t need it.’We’ll make it here and sell it here!

(3). When imports are allowed,there will be a 100% import tax on it coming in here.

(4).All retired military personnel will be required to man one of the many observation towers located on the southern border of the United States (six month tour). They will be under strict orders not to fire on SOUTHBOUND aliens.

(5).Social Security will immediately return to its original state.If you didn’t put nuttin in, you ain’t gettin nuttin out.Neither the President nor any other politician will be able to touch it.

(6). Welfare.–Checks will be handed out on Fridays, at the end of the 40 hour school week, the successful completion of a urinalysis test for drugs,and passing grades.

(7).ProfessionalAthletes — Steroids?The FIRST time you check positive you’re banned from sports … for life.

(8).One export of ours will be allowed:wheat; because the world needs to eat.However, a bushel of wheat will be the exact price of a barrel of oil.

(9).All foreign aid,using American taxpayer money, will immediately cease and the saved money will help to pay off the national debt and,ultimately, lower taxes. When disasters occur around the world,we’ll ask The American People if they want to donate to a disaster fund, and each citizen can make the decision as to whether,or not,it’s a worthy cause.

(10).The Pledge of Allegiance will be said every day at school and every day in Congress.

(11).The National Anthem will be played at all appropriate ceremonies, sporting events, outings, etc.

My apology is offered if I’ve stepped on anyone’s toes …. nevertheless….

Sincerely, BillCosby

Duration : 0:3:22

Read the rest of this entry »

http://www.mindbites.com/lesson/4301-american-government-campaign-finance

This lesson was selected from a broader, comprehensive course, American Government. This course and others are available from Thinkwell, Inc. The full course can be found at http://www.thinkwell.com/student/product/americangovernment. The full course covers constitutional principles, civil liberties, civil rights, people and politics, choosing representatives, political institutions, public policy, key Supreme Court cases, changes in democracy, and more. The course features three renowned professors: Gerald Rosenberg, an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, Mark Rom, an Associate Professor of Government and Public Policy at Georgetown University, and Matthew Dickinson, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Middlebury College.

Gerald Rosenberg directs the American Politics Workshop and lectures at the law school at the University of Chicago. He holds a Masters Degree in Politics and Philosophy from Christ Church, Oxford University, has a law degree from the University of Michigan, and has a Ph.D. from Yale. As a specialist on the judiciary, Prof. Rosenberg is the author of The Hollow Hope: Can Courts Bring About Social Change? and spent the 2000-2001 academic year teaching at Northwestern University Law School as Jack N. Pritzker Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law. He has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and spent the 2002-2003 academic year teaching US law at Xiamen University in China. He has also been awarded the Llewellyn John & Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at the University of Chicago.

A three-time winner of his school’s Outstanding Faculty Member Award, Mark Rom received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin and worked for four years as a senior social science analyst for the General Accounting Office. Prof. Rom is the author of Fatal Extraction: The Story Behind the Florida Dentist Accused of Infecting His Patients with HIV, Poisoning Public Health, Public Spirit in the Thrift Tragedy, and coauthor of Welfare Magnets: A New Case for a National Standard.

Matthew Dickinson received his Ph.D. from Harvard. A specialist on the presidency, he is the author of Bitter Harvest: FDR, Presidential Power and the Growth of the Presidential Branch. Prof. Dickinson has published numerous articles and has provided television commentary on the presidency, presidential decision-making, and presidential advisers. His current research examines the growth of presidential staff in the post-World War II era.

Duration : 0:2:33

Read the rest of this entry »

Many Americans are unemployed because there are few jobs available for them.

Information retrieved 6/16/10 from http://www.epi.org/analysis_and_opinion/entry/policy_responses_to_long-term_unemployment/

Regarding EPI:

The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit Washington D.C. think tank, was created in 1986 to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers. Today, with global competition expanding, wage inequality rising, and the methods and nature of work changing in fundamental ways, it is as crucial as ever that people who work for a living have a voice in the economic discourse.

EPI was the first — and remains the premier — organization to focus on the economic condition of low- and middle-income Americans and their families. Its careful research on the status of American workers has become the gold standard in that field. Its encyclopedic State of Working America, issued every two years since 1988, is stocked in university libraries around the world. EPI researchers, who often testify to Congress and are widely cited in the media, first brought to light the disconnect between pay and productivity that marked the U.S. economy in the 1990s and is now widely recognized as a cause of growing inequality.

EPI’s staff includes eight Ph.D.-level researchers, a half dozen policy analysts and research assistants, and a full communications and outreach staff. EPI also works closely with a national network of prominent scholars. The institute conducts original research according to strict standards of objectivity, and couples its findings with outreach and popular education. Its work spans a wide range of economic issues, such as trends in wages, incomes, and prices; health care; education; retirement security; state-level economic development strategies; trade and global finance; comparative international economic performance; the health of manufacturing and other key sectors; global competitiveness and energy development. Its research is varied, but a common thread runs through it: EPI examines issues through a “living standards” lens by analyzing the impact of policies and initiatives on the American public.

Source: http://www.epi.org/pages/about_the_economic_policy_institute/

Unemployment occurs when a person is available and willing to work but currently without work.[1] The prevalence of unemployment is usually measured using the unemployment rate, which is defined as the percentage of those in the labor force who are unemployed. The unemployment rate is also used in economic studies and economic indices such as the United States’ Conference Board’s Index of Leading Indicators as a measure of the state of macroeconomics. (Wikipedia, Unemployment)

Unemployment Rate is the percentage of the total labor force that is unemployed but actively seeking employment and willing to work. (Investopedia)

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s.[1] It was the longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century, and is used in the 21st century as an example of how far the world’s economy can decline.[2] The depression originated in the United States, starting with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday), but quickly spread to almost every country in the world.[1] (Wikipedia, Great Depression)

In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity over a period of time.[1][2] During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way. Production as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment, investment spending, capacity utilization, household incomes, business profits and inflation all fall during recessions; while bankruptcies and the unemployment rate rise.

Recessions are generally believed to be caused by a widespread drop in spending. Governments usually respond to recessions by adopting expansionary macroeconomic policies, such as increasing money supply, increasing government spending and decreasing taxation. (Wikipedia, Recession)

Duration : 0:5:21

Read the rest of this entry »

http://www.mindbites.com/lesson/4303-american-government-media-influence-on-elections

This lesson was selected from a broader, comprehensive course, American Government. This course and others are available from Thinkwell, Inc. The full course can be found at http://www.thinkwell.com/student/product/americangovernment. The full course covers constitutional principles, civil liberties, civil rights, people and politics, choosing representatives, political institutions, public policy, key Supreme Court cases, changes in democracy, and more. The course features three renowned professors: Gerald Rosenberg, an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, Mark Rom, an Associate Professor of Government and Public Policy at Georgetown University, and Matthew Dickinson, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Middlebury College.

Gerald Rosenberg directs the American Politics Workshop and lectures at the law school at the University of Chicago. He holds a Masters Degree in Politics and Philosophy from Christ Church, Oxford University, has a law degree from the University of Michigan, and has a Ph.D. from Yale. As a specialist on the judiciary, Prof. Rosenberg is the author of The Hollow Hope: Can Courts Bring About Social Change? and spent the 2000-2001 academic year teaching at Northwestern University Law School as Jack N. Pritzker Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law. He has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and spent the 2002-2003 academic year teaching US law at Xiamen University in China. He has also been awarded the Llewellyn John & Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at the University of Chicago.

A three-time winner of his school’s Outstanding Faculty Member Award, Mark Rom received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin and worked for four years as a senior social science analyst for the General Accounting Office. Prof. Rom is the author of Fatal Extraction: The Story Behind the Florida Dentist Accused of Infecting His Patients with HIV, Poisoning Public Health, Public Spirit in the Thrift Tragedy, and coauthor of Welfare Magnets: A New Case for a National Standard.

Matthew Dickinson received his Ph.D. from Harvard. A specialist on the presidency, he is the author of Bitter Harvest: FDR, Presidential Power and the Growth of the Presidential Branch. Prof. Dickinson has published numerous articles and has provided television commentary on the presidency, presidential decision-making, and presidential advisers. His current research examines the growth of presidential staff in the post-World War II era.

Duration : 0:3:20

Read the rest of this entry »

White House Press Briefings are conducted most weekdays from the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the West Wing. (public domain)

Duration : 0:40:12

Read the rest of this entry »

Recently Obama gave himself a B+ in handling the affairs of our country. Is he joking? Americans hit an all time high regarding unemployment at over 10% under the Obama administration. Compare this to Ws average unemployment of 4.7% and Clintons average of 5.2%. For Obama to give himself a B+ is laughable to those who are waiting in the unemployment lines. Simply put: Americans and American businesses are tightening their belts under this administration. Very little confidence seems to be given to the political virgin, Obama, who ran his 08 campaign under the guise of fixing the economy. Obama hasnt fixed anything! In fact, he made sure that Wall Street received several million dollars more in tax paying dollars and off the backs of the middle class work.

The Obama apologists are saying that Obama inherited a mess and yada, yada, yada.Oh really? Then explain why the markets responded the day after he was elected with a 2000 point drop. The DOW was already pricing in an Obamanation win, and when he actually did win, the markets plummeted into an abyss. Perhaps the Obama apologist can explain why Obamas first action as President gave millions and millions of our tax paying dollars towards funding international abortions and how THIS helps the American economy? Obama is no Reagan thats for sure because he did the exact opposite of what Reagan did to this regard.

Obama lied to the American people claiming that he would put the American economy first. Obama promised he would ensure that 5 millions jobs would be created, then it dwindled to 4 million, then to 2.5 million, and then to OOPS, I lied about the jobs.

If Obama inherited Bushs mess, then perhaps the Obamabot can explain why he some what continued Bushs policy on the Afghanistan and Iraq war? The moveon.orgasm folks are pretty about this because they thought Obama was the one that was going to pull out. Folks, the democrats have had the majority in the House AND in the Senate; they could have pulled out the troops if they really wanted to. Obama thinks that his apology tour was going to create world wide peace, but I have news for the political virgin. Had Obamas apologies and the bowing down worked we would not have had an Islamic extremist try to blow up one of our aircraft a couple of days ago on Christmas day, would we? By the way, spin it how you want it was a Christmas miracle for those passengers to be alive today because of the terrorist attempt.

Obama is no Ronald Reagan because at least Reagan said he would rather die on his feet than to live on his knees, while Obama does the opposite and takes comfort in bending his knees rather than to stand on his feet and maintain American dignity as he visits international leaders.

Whatever happened to those Obama hacks who were griping about Bushs deficit? Lets According to the Heritage Foundation:

1.President Bush presided over a $2.5 trillion increase in the public debt through 2008. Setting aside 2009 (for which Presidents Bush and Obama share responsibility for an additional $2.6 trillion in public debt), President Obamas budget would add $4.9 trillion in public debt from the beginning of 2010 through 2016.
So as we can already see with the trending in Obamas first year as President, one can easily see that Obama is going to make Bush look like a crème puff. In fact, Obamas policies translates into a double digit negative Rasmussen Daily Presidential Tracking Poll. As of Saturday, December 19, 2009 Obamas Daily Presidential Tracking Poll was -14. Time will tell what will continue to happen to his ratings with the unpopular Obamacare he rammed through the House and Senate, and 57% of voters nationwide say that it would be better to pass no health care reform bill this year instead of passing the plan currently being considered by Congress. Obamas death care bill is good for a few things according to CATO:

1.Your insurance premiums will double by 2016.
2.The Senate bill raises at least 15 new or increased taxes totaling more than $493 billion. The Senate bill would require everyone to buy a government-designed insurance plan, even if it were more expensive than their current policy. Failure to comply brings a penalty of up to $6,750 for a family of four.
In a nutshell, Obamas accomplishments have consisted of the following: more tax payer funded abortions, higher unemployment, more of the same wars, giving more millions of tax paying dollars to Wall Street and unions, lying to the Hispanic people about passing immigration reform even though Latinos are the ones who voted Obama in, giving crumbs to the small American business owner, ramming down Obamacare against 57% of what Americans want, and last but not leastObama failed during the Copenhagen Climate Change s.

With all of that said, I give Obama an F.

Duration : 0:5:37

Read the rest of this entry »

In late 2007, when this was originally made…saddly, it was ahead of its time and more saddly, raised questions that fortold today and now…
In 2009, Americans are truley more so… waiste deep in the Big Muddy of it’s worse Crisis…like 1931, those who gave us the crisis now (in 2009) reassure us if only we hold to the same course…that somehow, what they have done to destroy our economy with their looting of the public trust will…they now continue to say is in fact, be what will save us…Senator McCain recently said “we should do nothing…the economy will correct itself…and warns us that trying to solve these problems (like Obama is)…will destroy our country…” Little does a man who can not remember how many homes he owns…know or care for the family loosing their only home…as we have seen…if you listen to the new republican chatter…their loud cries of socialism..if we continue with the same republican, feed the wealthy…let them share the wealth by tipping big to the poor…policies of the past eight years…then, how can we except any different resault????
The dollar continues it’s collapse, more people are loosing their homes, major companies are going out of business, what few factories that remain are closing; good jobs have long disappeared to China or India, we are still invaded by poison toys, our broken borders remain unchecked, a world that still hates us deeply, unsecured ports, a series of never ending wars gone bad; many hundreds of thousands of innocient Iraqi people have died…unneccessarily, truley, unbelievable levels of corporate, banker, Wall Street greed/corruption, a President lost (at least Bubba Bush is gone…maybe, some light ahead in the tunnel if Obama succeeds in his plan), still a congress that’s still for sale to the highest biding lobbyist and record fraud.
With all this and more…America’s in still adrift in Sea of Crisis & Greed.
Can there…could there be any hope?
Yes, there is! The solutions are many and they are simple…that is the message that this video means to send. Yes, there is hope and simple solutions that will return America to it’s place as that Shining Becon on the Hill. America needs each of it’s children now to stand up and just say no more…say no more to corruption, say no more to injustice…to say yes to American Made…say yes to freedom…American, homegrown solutions…
Just think…we made this in late 2007 to question the candidates who never addressed the issues then…saddly, you can’t say they (or you) were not warned…maybe, we need to send them this video or each should make their own and send…to each of those in congress who wax on about the Grand Days of economic success of now, Citizen Bubba Bush or who continue to give their Wall Steet Brokers bonus of millions of dollars of the people’s money while saying we will not help the deadbeat families cast out into the streets or offer them a bailout of $12 per week…let’s see…millions to CEO’s with no strings…$12 per week with strings (that $12 is taxable income according to the IRS)…You decide..deal or no deal…I submit, we need a better deal for the people and the middle class…

Duration : 0:4:12

Read the rest of this entry »

Why did Scott Brown Win?

Scott Brown election in Massachusetts – why did Scott Brown win in the race vs. Martha Coakley for the US Senate seat formerly held by Edward “Ted” Kennedy

Comments here from Bruce Fenton of the FentonReport Global (www.fentonreport.com) with leading political expert, author and radio show host Ed Dean of Florida

This clip discusses the campaigns of Coakley and Brown and the independents and tea party activism groups and thier effect on the election

Scott Brown’s official bio is as follows:

State Senator Scott Brown has led the fight in Massachusetts against wasteful government spending and higher taxes. He is a free-market advocate who believes our strength as a nation flows from its people. He believes in a culture of family, patriotism and freedom. At his September 12 announcement of candidacy for the U.S. Senate, Senator Brown articulated a core set of beliefs that guide his thinking.

* Government is too big and that the federal stimulus bill made government bigger instead of creating jobs
* Taxes are too high and are going higher if Congress continues with its out-of-control spending
* The historic amount of debt we are passing on to our children and grandchildren is immoral
* Power concentrated in the hands of one political party, as it is here in Massachusetts, leads to bad government and poor decisions
* A strong military and vigorous homeland defense will protect our interests and security around the world and at home
* All Americans deserve health care, but we shouldn’t have to create a new government insurance program to provide it

Senator Brown is a proud member of the Massachusetts National Guard, where he has served for nearly three decades and currently holds the rank of Lt. Colonel in the Judge Advocate Generals (JAG) Corps. Brown was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service in homeland security following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. His career in public service began as selectman in Wrentham. He then went on to serve three terms as a State Representative and won his current State Senate seat in a special election in 2004. He is currently in his third Senate term.
Senator Scott Brown and Family
In 2004, Senator Brown received the Public Servant of the Year Award from the United Chamber of Commerce for his leadership in reforming the state’s sex offender laws and protecting the rights of victims. He has also been recognized by the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) for his work in creating an environment that encourages job growth and expansion in Massachusetts.

Senator Brown is a graduate of Wakefield High School, Tufts University, and Boston College Law School. He lives in Wrentham, MA with his wife Gail and their two daughters, Ayla, a student at Boston College, and Arianna, a student at Syracuse University.

Duration : 0:8:54

Read the rest of this entry »